U a | / ax — eee A WEEKENM ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOLUME SExwil NOVEMBER 1g02 to APRIL 1903 “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.’—\VORDSWORTH x ie Vondon MeATe M | LesACN ANE DEYC ©;,° Limite NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY | nes te it : rages it : RicHarp Ciay anp Sons, Limitrep, BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. at 7 a a . . , - P a mK 29 lu: 4s No, “tional Museo™- 7 : > ‘ % & 7 ~ ‘ tr a ié ; ‘ 7 5 i Natu June 18, IN Dees Aspott (GrorGE), Cellular Magnesian Limestone of Dur- ham, 214-15 Abercromby (the Hon. John), the Oldest Bronze-age Ceramic Type in Britain, 118 Aberration, Spherical, of the Eye, Edwin Edser, 559 Aboriginal Remains in North-west Florida, Clarence B. Moore, 612 Academy, the British, 104 Academy of Sciences, Prizes Proposed by the, for the Year | 1903, 259 d’Achiardi (Dr. Antonio), Death of, 155 Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego, Sir M. Conway, 175 Acoustics : Quasi-waves, P. Duhem, 71; the Paradox of the Piano Player, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 127; Sound Waves and Electromagnetics, the Pan-potential, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 202; on the Vowel ‘‘ 1 ”’ (as in Pique), Louis Bevier, 251; the Archives of Phonographic Re- cords, 301; the Affective Quality of Auditory Rhythm, Robert MacDougall, 399; Characteristics of Electric Earth-current Disturbances and their Origin, J. E. Taylor, 454; Transmission of Sound through the Atmo- sphere, C. V. Boys, F.R.S., 502 Across Coveted Lands, A. H. Savage Landor, 489 Activity, the Principle of, and Lagrange’s Equations, Rotation of a Rigid Body, Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368; Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 368 Adams (G. I.), Eastern Choctaw Coalfield, 448; the Oil- and Gas-fields of the Western Interior and Northern Texas Coal-measures, and of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary of the Western Gulf Coast, 449 Adams (Lionel), the Mole (Talpa Europaea), 95 Adams (Prof.), Proper Motion of the Sun Compared with Stellar Velocities, 400; New Spectroscopic Binaries, 472 Adeney (Dr. W. E.), Ultra-violet Spark Spectrum of Ruthenium, 406 Adkin (R.), a Hybrid Selenia bilunariaxS. tetralunaria, 21 aoe (E.), CEuvres complétes de Jean-Charles Galissard de Marignac, 146 Adrenalin as a Life Restorer, 326 Aérial Navigation: a Practical Handbook on the Construc- tion of Dirigible Balloons, Aérostats, Aéroplanes and Aéromotors, Frederick Walker, 218 Aérography, Evolution of, Percival Lowell, 114 Aéronautics : International Balloon Ascents made from April to June last, Dr. H. Hergesell, 13; in July, August and September, Dr. Hergesell, 135; of October 2 and November 6, 1902, Dr. Hergesell, 326; of December 4, Dr. Hergesell, 398; International Balloon Ascents of January 9, 444; Lebaudy’s Navigable Balloon Ascent, 63 ; the Lebaudy Dirigible Balloon, 350; Meteorology at Great Altitudes, A. Lawrence Rotch, 137; Dr. von Bezold on the Importance of Aéronautics for Meteorological Re- searches, 138; Prof. Hergesell on International Aéro- nautical Experiments for the Scientific Exploration of the Atmosphere, 138; General Rykatchef on the Preliminary Results attained with Kites, Ballons-sondes, and Manned Balloons during the past Five Years in Russia, 138; M. Teisserenc de Bort on Results of Observations of the Decrease of Temperature in the High Atmosphere, 139 ; Observations of the Berlin Aéronautical Observatory, Prof. Assmann, 139; Registration Balloon of Caoutchouc, Prof. Assmann, 139; Sensitive Ther:..ometer for Registra- tion Balloons, M. Teisserenc de Bort, 139; Exploration of the Atmosphere over the Ocean by Kites and Kite Stations, A. L. Rotch, 139; Results obtained from Con- tinuous Soundings of the Atmosphere, M. Teisserenc de Bort, 140; Atmospheric Carriers of Electricity, Prof. Ebert, 140; Journeys across the Sea in a Balloon, Henri Hervé’s Balloon, Lieut.-Colonel G. Espitalier, 181; Aérial Navigation: a Practical Handbook on the Con- struction of Dirigible Balloons, Aérostats, Aéroplanes and Aéromotors, Frederick Walker, 218; Variations in the Activity of Reduction of Oxyhamoglobin in the Course of a Balloon Ascent, M. Tripet, 287; Travels in Space, E. Seton Valentine and F. L. Tomlinson, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 293; International Aéronautical Ascents of February 5, 519; Experiments by M. Canovetti on the Resistance of the Air to Moving Bodies, M. Barbet, 592 Afforestation of the Black Country, Prof. W. Schlich, F.R.S., 395 Africa: the South African Sheep and Goat Disease known as “‘ Heartwater,’’ C. P. Lounsbury, 38; Agriculture and _ Forestry in the Transvaal, 86; Discovery of a New Form- ation, the ‘* Ibiquas Series,’’ in Cape Colony, 113; the Enemies of Lepidoptera in Natal, G. F. Leigh, 166; Traces of Past Glacial Action in the Orange River Colony, South Africa, G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, 223; . Quartz Crystals of Peculiar Habit from South Africa, T. V. Barker, 382 ; the Sedimentary Deposits of Southern Rhodesia, A. J. C. Molyneux, 383; Uniform Time Adopted by South African Governments, 519; Die Wanderheuschrecken und ihre Bek&émpfung in unseren afrikanischen Kolonieen, Dr. L. Sander, 244; Bird Ex- termination about Cairo, Dr. W. Innes, 328 Aftermath of the Paris Exhibition, the, Dr. F. Perkin, 465 Agassiz (Alexander, For. Mem. R.S.), on the Formation of Barrier Reefs and of the Different Types of Atolls, Paper read at the Royal Society, 547 L’Age de la Pierre, G. Riviére, 55 Agriculture : Meteorological Observatories and Agriculture in U.S.A., 65; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, 1901, 485 ; Field Oper- ations of the Division of Soils, 1900, Milton Whitney, Supp. November 6, 1902, vi.; Agriculture and Forestry in the Transvaal, 86; Agricultural Industry and Educa- tion in Hungary, 102; Phellomyces sclerotiophorus Potato Scab, Prof. T. Johnson, 166; Swede-rot from County Down, Prof. T. Johnson, 263 ; Bird Extermination about Cairo, Dr. W. Innes, 328; Agricultural Notes, 354; Agriculture in West Indies, 355; Cotton Cultivation in the West Indies, 543 ; Annali della Regia Scuola Superiore di Agricoltura di Portici, 582;, Chemical Agriculture : Circuit of Nitrogen, Prof. Meyer,» 21; the Problem of Alkali in the Soil, J. D. Tinsley, 66; Pot Experiments to Determine the Limits of Endurance for Injurious Sub- stances, Wheat, F. B. Guthrie and R. Helms, 120; In- ternal Action of Copper Sulphate in the, Resistance of the Potato to Phytophthora infestans, Emile Laurent, 167; Chimica Agrarfa, Campestre e Silvano, Italo Giglioli, 169; Virgil on Agriculture and the Nitrification of the Soil, Dr. George Henderson, 191;. the Potash Salts: their Production and Application to Agriculture, Industry and Horticulture, L. A. Groth, 222; Fluctua- tions in the Level and in the Alkaline Character of the Ground Water, W. P. Headden, 305; Nitrogen and Carbon in Clays and Marls, Dr. N. H. J. Miller, 478; b Mollwo lv Index Nature, June 18, 1503 the Elements of Agricultural Geology: a Scientific Aid to Practical Farming, Primrose McConnell, 31 Aid, Mutual, a Factor of Evolution, P. Kropotkin, 196 Air, the Movement of, Studied by Chronophotography, M. Marey, 487 Aitken (Prof. R. G.), Observations of Jupiter’s Fifth Satellite, 496; Catalogue of Measures of New Double Stars, 619 Alcock (A., F.R.S.), a Naturalist in the Indian Seas, or Four Years with the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator, 320 Alcock (Dr. H. N.), Negative Variation in the Nerves of Warm-blooded Animals, 405 Alcohol for Scientific Purposes, 164 Alderson (Prof. Victor C.), Technical Education at Home and Abroad, Lecture at the Chicago Literary Club, 356 Alexander’s (Mr. B.), Ornithological Results of, Expedition to Fernando Po, 373 Algebra: Examples in, C. O. Tuckey, 55; a Short Introduc- tion to Graphical Algebra, H. S. Hall, J. Harrison, 577; Algebra, Kaliprasanna Chottoraj, 608 Algeria: Monographie des Cynipides d’Europe et d’Algérie, Abbé J. J. Kieffer, 124 Algol Variable R.V. (13, 1902) Lyrz, Prof. Pickering, 183 Algols: Untersuchungen iiber den Lichtwechsel, Ant. Pannekoek, 558 Algué (Father), Manila, 398 Allard (G.), Volemite in Primulacez, 72 Allchin (Dr. W. H.), a Manual of Medicine, 554 Allcock (C. H.), Theoretical Geometry for Beginners, 577 Allen (Dr. E. J.), the Organisation of Fishery Research, 417 Alloys of the Gold-Silver Series, on Certain Properties of the, the late Sir William Roberts-Austen, K.C.B., F.R.S., and Dr. T. Kirke Rose, 285 Alpine Geology, a Study in, Dr. Franz Wahner, 364 Alternating Current Engineering, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 580 Alternators, the Parallel Running of, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 101 Amar (M.), Action of Calcium Oxalate in the Nutrition of Plants, 576 Ambidexterity, Sir Samuel Wilks, Bart, F.R.S., 462 Ameghino (Dr. F.), Phylogeny of the Proboscidea, 113 America: the Diet of the Indians of California, V. K. Cheshunt, 14; Biologia Centrali-Americana. Lepidoptera—Rhopalocera, Frederick Ducane Godman, F.R.S., and the late Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25 ; American Journal of Science, 45, 93, 310, 429, 573; Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 45, 310, 477; Transac- tions of the American Mathematical Society, 45, 117, 477: American Journal of Mathematics, 117, 477 ; American Food and Game Fishes, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann, 122; the Great Mountains and Forests of South America, Paul Fountain, 220; Recent American Botany, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 234; an American Report upon the West Indian Eruptions, Edmund Otis Hovey, 256; the Science of Astronomy, Prof. Asaph Hall at the American Association for Advancement of Science, Washington Meeting, 282; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 298; Report of the United States Naval Observatory, 353; Forestry in the United States of America, Prof. W. Schlich, F.R.S., 353; American Magi- cal Ceremonies, 392; Real Things in Nature, a Reading Book of Science for American Boys and Girls, Edward S. Holden, 461; Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 594; Irrigation in the Western States of America, Elwood Mead, 607; Two Books on American Sport, Supp. November 6, 1902, ix Amur Tribes, the Decorative Art of the, Berthold Laufer, Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 560 Anesthesia, Production of Sleep and of General, by Electric Currents, S. Leduc, 96 Analysis of Oils and Allied Substances, the, A. C. Wright, 460 Analysis of Steel-Works Materials, the, Harry Brearley and Fred. Ibbotson, 76 Analogue to the Action of Radium, Prof. J. D. Everett, BURSS 55, 535 Anatomy: Death of Prof. Zaayer, 180; Text-Book of Anatomy, Dr. A. Keith, 122; Death of Privy Councillor Ground Temperature Observations at Insecta— | von Kupffer, 155; Surface Anatomy of the Cerebral Con- volutions in Nasalis, Colobus and Cynopithecus, F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., 334; Comparative Mammalian and Rep- tilian Vomerine Bones, Dr. R. Broom, 168; Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbelthiere, Dr. Robert Wiedersheim, 533 ; Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbelthiere, mit Bertick- sichtigung der Wirbellosen, Carl Gegenbaur, Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S., 605 Ancient Astronomical Records, Discovery of, Prof. Hilprecht, 400 Ancient Astronomy, Franz Boll, 481 Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal, Prof. William H. Burr, 508 Andamans and Nicobars, in the, C. Boden Kloss, 514 Anderson (Dr.), New Variable Star 15, 1902, Delphini, 16 Anderson (Dr. J.), the Zoology of Egypt—Mammalia, 266 Anderson (Dr. Tempest), Characteristics of Recent Volcanic Eruptions, Discourse at the Royal Institution, 308; Vol- canic Studies in Many Lands, 464 André (Ernest), Monographie des Mutillides d’Europe et d’Algérie, 342 Andrew (S. O.), Geometry, an Elementary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, 577 Andrews (Dr.), Report upon the Atmosphere of the Central London Railway, 591 Andrews (Ernest J.), Elements of Physics, 609 Andrews (Thomas, F.R.S.), the Effect of Segregation on the Strength of Steel Rails, 13 Angel (Mr.), Products of the Decomposition of Normal Cupric Acetate under the Influence of Heat, 89 Animal Histology: Lehrbuch der vergleichenden tologie der Tiere, Dr. Karl Camillo Schneider, 98 Animal Instincts and Animal Training, School of the Woods, Some Life Studies of, William J. Long, 55 Animal Thermostat, Lord Kelvin at Section A, British Association at Belfast, 4o1 His- | Animaux, La Vie des, illustrée, E. Perrier, 342 Annals of Mathematics, 477 Annandale (Nelson), Results of Expedition to the Malay Peninsula, 215 Antarctica: the Cruise of the Gauss from Cape Town to Kerguelen, 33; Amphipoda of the Southern Cross Ant- arctic Expedition, A. O. Walker, 238; the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539; the British Antarctic Expedi- tion, 516; the German Antarctic Expedition, 590; the National Antarctic Expedition, Captain Colbeck, 615 Anthropology: Lectures on Anthropology and Ethnology, Dr. H. W. Marett Tims, 9; Eastern Uganda, an Ethno- logical Survey, C. W. Hobley, E. Sidney Hartland, 10; the Diet of the Indians of California, V. K. Cheshunt, 14; the Musical Bow and the Goura, Henry Balfour, 37; An- thropological Institute, 118, 215, 310, 502; Results of Ex- pedition to the Malay Peninsula, Nelson Annandale and H. C. Robinson, 215 ; Risley’s Tribes of Bengal, S. M. Jacob, 223; Ngarrabul and other Australian Tribes, Part i., Medical and Surgical Practice, John MacPherson, 288; American Magical Ceremonies, 392; Anthropology: its Position and Needs, Address at Anthropological Institute, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 449; the Weight of the Human Brain, F. Marchand, 498; Remains from the Grotte des Enfants, Dr. R. Verneau, 499; Anthropological Notes, 498; (1) Skulls from the Daurs’ Graves, Driffield, York- shire; (2) a Method to Facilitate the Recognition of Sergi’s Skull Types, Dr. William Wright, 502 ; the Decor- ative Art of the Amur Tribes, Berthold Laufer, Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 560; Death of Prof. Laborde, 589 Anthropometry: Index-tabellen zum anthropometrischen Gebrauche, Carl M. Fiirst, 30; Anthropometric Investiga- tions Among the Native Troops of the Egyptian Army, Dr. C. S. Myers, 118; the Future of Anthropometry, Dr. C. S. Myers, 310 Antitoxins, Physical Chemistry Applied to Toxins and, Dr. A. Harden, 114 Antlers, Carved and Perforated Antlers, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S., 174 Arber (E. A. Newell), on the Morphology of the Flowers in Certain Species of Lonicera, 20; Fossil Flora of the Cum- berland Coalfield, 94 Arc of Meridian, Measurement of an, in Spitzbergen, Sir Martin Conway, 536 Archeology : the Reliquary and Illustrated Archzologist, 6; Nature, June 18, 1993 Lnaex V the Mycenzean Discoveries in Crete, H. R. Hall, 57; Roman Ships Submerged in the Lake of Nemi, 64; Le- gendary Origin of the Name Pelée, 64; Irish Gold Orna- ments Acquired by the British Museum, R. Cochrane, 89; the Oldest Bronze-age Ceramic Type in Britain, the Hon. John Abercromby, 118; Death of M. Alexandre Ber- trand, 133; Materiali per lo Studio della ‘‘ Eta della Pietra ’’ dai tempi preistorici all’ epoca attuale, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 145 ; Death and Obituary Notice of Henry Stopes, 156; Carved and Perforated Antlers, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S., 174; the Seven Tablets of ths Creation, L. W. King, F.S.A., 204; Discovery of In- scribed Wooden Tablets on the Niya River Site, Chinese Turkestan, Dr. Stein, 231; the Coloured Drawings on the Walls of the Cave of La Mouthe, Emil Riviére, 311; a Colouring Matter from the Figures in the Cave of La Mouthe, Henri Moissan, 311,; Annals of the Kings of Assyria, E. A. Wallis Budge and L. W. King, F.S.A., 435; Aboriginal Remains in N.W. Florida, Clarence B. Moore, 612; a History of Egypt from the End of the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII., B.c. 30, E. A. Wallis Budge, Supp. November 6, 1902, iii Architecture, Natural Proportions in, Jay Hambidge at the Hellenic Society, 68 Archives of Phonographic Records, the, 301 Arctica: the Norwegian North Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, Scientific Results, Fridtjof Nansen, 97; Photographs of the North Polar Region, M. Flammarion, 400; State of the Ice in the Arctic Seas in 1902, 494; Likelihood of a Great Ice Season, 521 ; Measurement of an Arc of Meridian in Spitzbergen, Sir Martin Conway, 536; Four Years’ Arctic Exploration and Scientific Observation in the Fram, Captain Sverdrup and P. Schei, 616 Aristotelian Society, Proceedings of the, 315 Arithmetic : Junior Arithmetic Examination Papers, W. S. Beard, 79; the Modern Arithmetic, Archibald Murray, 147; How to Work Arithmetic, Leonard Norman, 558 Armstrong (Prof. H. E., F.R.S.), the Conditions Determina- tive of Chemical Change and of Electrical Conduction in Gases and on the Phenomena of Luminosity, 82 ; Heuristic Method of Teaching Chemistry, 237: the Assumed Radio- activity of Ordinary Materials, 414 Arrhenius (Svante), Text-book of Electrochemistry, 437 d’Arsonval (M.), a Simplified Form of Foucault’s Pendulum, 114 Arth (M.), Electrochemical Laboratories at Nancy, 182 Artificial Mineral Waters, William Kirkby, 32; the Re- viewer, 32 Aso (K.), Action of Certain Poisonous Substances Supplied as Food to Seedlings, 136 Assaying: Aids to the Analysis and Assay of Ores, Metals, Fuels, &c., J. J. Morgan, 201 Assmann (Prof.), Observations of the Berlin Aéronautical Observatory, 139; Registration Balloon of Caoutchouc, 139 Assuan, the Great Irrigation Dam at, 184 Assyria, Annals of the Kings of, E. A. Wallis Budge and L. W. King, F-.S.A., 435 Assyriology: the Seven Tablets of the Creation, L. W. King, F.S.A., 204 Asteroids, Missing, Prof. E. C. Pickering, 472 Astronomy: Leonid Meteors, 1902, a Forecast, John R. Henry, 8; Leonid and Bielid Meteor Showers of November, 1902, Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 103; a Sickle Leonid, G. McKenzie Knight, 204; the Leonids of 1902 and Quadrantids of 1903, John R. Henry, 298; Our Astro- nomical Column, 16, 39, 66, 90, 114, 137, 158, 183, 211, 233, 254, 280, 306, 329, 352, 376, 400, 424, 447, 472, 496, 522, 544, 567, 593, 618; the Nebula around Nova Persei, Prof. C. D. Perrine, 16; Spectrum of the Nebulosity Surround- ing, Prof. Perrine, 593 ; Change of Focus in the Light from Nova Persei, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 66; Early Observations of Nova Persei, Prof. Pickering, 90; Proper Motion and Parallax of Nova Persei, Asten Bergstrand, 183 ; Observa- tions of the Light of Nova Persei, 496; Pulkova Observa- tions of Nova Persei, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 515; Density and Change of Volume of Nova Persei, C. E. Stromeyer, 612 ; Coronal Disturbance and Sun-Spots, Prof. Perrine, 16; Variation in Magnitude of a Orionis, Dr. E. Packer, 16; Variability of a Orionis, Herr J. Plassman, 137; the Variable Star 13, 1902, Lyre, 16; the Algol Variable R.V. (13, 1902) Lyra, Prof. Pickering, 183; Variable or Temporary Star in Lyra, Herr Seeliger, 545; New Variable Star 15, 1902, Delphini, Dr. Anderson, 16; New Variable Star 16, 1902, Delphini, Madame Ceraski, 114; New Variable Stars, 158; Observations of Long Period Variable Stars, Father Esch, 254; Observations of Variable Stars, M. Luizet, 233; A. Stanley Williams, 329 ; New Variable Star 21, 1902, Sagittae, Madame Ceraski, 254; a Unique Variable Star, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 467; Comet 1902 b as Observed in Ceylon, H. O. Bar- nard, 39; Near Approach of Comet 1902 b to Mercury, Prof. Seagrave, 39; Transparency of Comet 1902 b, Prof. O. C. Wendell, 447 ; Comet 1902 b, J. Guillaume and G. le Cadet, 455 ; Spectrum of the Comet 1902 b, A. de la Baume- Pluvinel, 472, 528; Comet 1902 b (Giacobini), C. F. Pechule, 158; New Comet 1902 d (Giacobini), 137; G. Bigourdan, 167; G. Fayet and P. Salst, 167; G. Fayet, 307; Observations of the Giacobini Comet (1902 d) made at the Observatory of Besancon, P. Chofardet, 192; Comet 1902 d, M. Ebell, 183, 233; F. Ristenpart, 280; Elements and Ephemeris of, G. Fayet, 159; Ephemeris for Comet 1902 d, F. Ristenpart, 544; New Comet, 1903 a (Giacobini), 280, 329; M. Ebell and Prof. H. Kreutz, 307 ; Elements and Ephemeris of Comet 1903 a, G. Fayet, 352; Observations of Comet 1903 a, P. Chofardet, 376 ; Comet 1903 a, Paul Briick, 424, 544; Comet 1902 c (Grigg), 91; Elements and Search-Ephemeris for Comet 1896 (Giacobini), Herr M. Ebell, 447; Ephemeris for Comet- Tempel,-Swift, J. Bossert, 40, 307; Return of Perrine’s Comet 1896 vii., Herr Ristenpart, 329; Comet 1902 b (Perrine), Herr Ebell, 424 ; New Minor Planets, Prof. Max Wolf, 39, 67, 158; Three Stars with Large Proper Motions, A. Verschaffel, 40; the Pyramid Spot on Jupiter, Leo Brenner, 40; Jupiter and His Great Red Spot, W. F. Denning, 159; Spectrographic Determination of the Rota- tion Period of Jupiter, V. M. Slipher, 280; Physical Constitution of Jupiter, Prof. G. W. Hough, 329; Definition of Jupiter’s Markings, Acceleration in the Motion of the Great Red Spot, W. F- Denning, 329; Observations of Jupiter's Fifth Satellite, Prof. R. G. Aitken, 496 ; Observations of Jupier’s Markings, Senor José Comas Sola, 447; Observations of the Aurora, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 67; Cooperation in Observing Stellar Radial Velocities, Prof. E. B. Frost, 67; the Mark- ings on Venus, Prof. Percival Lowell, 67; Die Mechanik des Himmels, Carl Ludwig Charlier, 77; Suggestion made by Sir D. Gill that the Brighter Stars are Rotating with Respect to the Fainter Stars, Prof. H. H. Turner, 94; Herschel’s Nebulous Regions of the Heavens, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 94, 158; Dr. Isaac Roberts and Herschel’s Nebulous Regions of the Heavens, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 424; Astronomical Occurrences in December, 90; in January, 211; in February, 306; in March, 424; in April, 496; in May, 618; Apparent Deviations from Newton's Law of Gravitation, Peter Lebedew, 91; Total Light of all the Stars, Gavin J. Burns, 91; Royal Astronomical Society, 94, 190, 286, 501, 598; Observations of the Perseid Shower, Herr Koss, 114; Observations of the Per- seids, August 10 and 11, 1902, Charles P. Olivier, 211; Evolution of Aérography, Percival Lowell, 114; a Simpli- fied Form of Foucault’s Pendulum, M. D’Arsonval, 114 ; Activity of the Lunar Crater Linné, Prof. E. C. Pickering, 137; Redeterminations of the Velocity of Light and the Solar Parallax, M. Perrotin, 137; the Annuaire Astrono- mique, 137; Companion to The Observatory, 1903, 159; Star with Probable Large Proper Motion, J. Pidoux, 184; Report of the Government Astronomer for Natal, 1gor, 184; Total Eclipse of the Moon, April 22, 1902, Dr. W. van der Gracht, 184; the Colour of the Eclipsed Moon, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 376; Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet, J. H. Jeans, 189; Astronomy without a Telescope, E. Walter Maunder, 201; Magnetic Storms and Sun-spots, Father Cortie, 211; the Moscow Observa- tory, 211; the Spectrum of e Aurige, Prof. H. C. Vogel, 233; Observations with a Binocular Telescope, D. W. Edgecomb, 233; the Quadrantids of 1903, G. McKenzie Knight, 247; the Quadrantids, 1903—a Coincidence, W. H. Milligan, 535; Prof. A. S. Herschel, BaRES 535i Sun-spots and Summer Heat, Alex. B. MacDowall, 247: the Heavens at a Glance, 1903, 254; Observations of Occultations, G. W. Hough, 254; the Relation between v1 Faculz and Prominences, Signor Mascari, 280; the Photo- graphy of Steliar Regions, Egon von Oppolzer, 280; the Science of Astronomy, Prof. Asaph Hall at American Association for Advancement of Science, Washington Meeting, 282; Report on the Total Solar Eclipse of January, 1898, Kavaoji Dadabhai Naegamvala, 307; 4 | Bright Meteor, C. J. Lacy, 307; February Meteors, Mr. Denning, 447; a Remarkable Meteor, J. E. C. Liddle, | 464, 487; the Lyrid Meteors, John R. Henry, 584; Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 584; the Planet Mars, E. Touchet, 307; Report of the Harvard College Observatory, 307; Publications of West Hendon House Observatory, Sunder- land, T. W. Backhouse, 343; Death and Obituary Notice of James Glaisher, F.R.S., 348 ; the Constant of Aberration and the Solar Parallax, Dr. Chandler, 352; a New Form of Spectroscope, Antonio Sauve, 352; Report of the United States Naval Observatory, 353; Determinations of Stellar | Radial Velocities, M. Deslandres, 376; Proper Motion of the Sun Compared with Stellar Velocities, Profs. Frost and Adams, 400; Cooperative Determinations of Veloci- ties in the Line of Sight, Mr. Newall, 568; the Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 377; Solar Prominences and Spot Circula- tion, 1872-1901, Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 569; Solar Eclipse of 1900 May 28, Spectroscopic Results, J. Evershed, 381 ; Photographs of the North Polar Region, M. Flammarion, 400; a Device for Obtaining Good Seeing, Prof. S. P. Langley, 400; Discovery of Ancient Astronomical Records, Prof. Death of Prof. W. Hilprecht, 400; Harkness, 420; Obituary Notice of, 442; New Star Catalogue, 425; Parallax Determinations by Photography, C. c Stromeyer, 431; Man’s Place in the Universe as In- dicated by Astronomy, Dr. A. R. Wallace, F.R.S., 447; Proper Motion of Stars, Gavin J. Burns, 447; Solar Phenomena and Meteorology, M. l’Abbé Loisier, 447; a Text-book of Field Astronomy for Engineers, G. C. Com- stock, 460; Death of Prof. C. Dufour, 468; New Spectro- scopic Binaries, Profs. Frost and Adams, 472; Missing Asteroids, Prof. E. C. Pickering, 472; a Rich Nebulous Region in the Constellation Lynx, Prof. Max Wolf, 472; Wolf’s Rich Nebulous Region in the Constellation Lynx, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 568; Sphaera; neue griechische Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte Sternbilder, Franz Boll, 481; Stellar Parallax, Dr. W. L. Elkin, 496; Mea- sures of Saturn’s Rings, Prof. F. E. Seagrave, 496; New Catalogue of Double Stars, W. J. Hussey, 496; Magnetic Observations During Eclipses, Dr. L. A. Bauer, 496; Probable Presence in the Sun of the Newly-Discovered Gases of the Earth’s Atmosphere, Prof. Liveing, F.R.S., 502; Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena, Wm. Digby, 510; Bis an’s Ende der Welt! Prof. F. J. Studni¢ka, 511 ; a New Star in Gemini, Prof. Hartmann, 522; Prof. Hale, 522; Prof. H. H. Turner, 522; Mr. Newall, 522; Nova Geminorum, Prof. Hartwig, Prof. Hartmann and Dr. Ludendorff, 567; Prof. Millosevich, 593; Dr. Halm, 593; Drs. Ristenpart and Guthnick, 593; Prof. Hartwig, 593; Nova Geminorum before its Discovery, Prof. Pickering, 618; the New Star in Gemini, F. A. Bellamy, 598; the Solar Constant, Prof. S. P. Langley, 522; the Magnesium Spectrum Line at A 4481, Sir William and Lady Huggins, 522; Opposition of Mars, W. F. Denning, 525; Grundziige der astronomisch-geo- graphischen Ortsbestimmung auf Forschungsreisen, Prof. Dr. Paul Giissfeldt, Major C. F. Close, 532 ; the Twentieth Century Atlas of Popular Astronomy, Thomas Heath, 534; Variation of Solar Radiation Received on the Earth’s Surface, M. Henri Dufour, 545; Annals of the Royal Uni- versity Observatory of Vienna, 545; International Cata- logue of Scientific Literature, 557; the Period and Light- curve of 5 Cephei, Prof. A. A. Nijland, 568 ; Experiment to Illustrate Precession and Nutation, Rev. H. V. Gill, 586; Recently Discovered Terrestrial Gases in the Chromo- sphere, Prof. S. A. Mitchell, 619 ; Catalogue of Measures of New Double Stars, Prof. R. G. Aitken, 619; the Cam- brian Natural Observer, 619 Astrophysics: a Sub-Tropical Solar Physics Observatory, Prof. S. P. Langley, 207 Atlantic Forecasts of the U.S. Weather Bureau, 36 Atlantis Problem, the, Dr. R. F. Scharff, 143, 446 [ndex Nature, June 18, 1903 Atlantische Ozean, Supp. February 5, 1903, vii Atlas of the Atlantic Ocean, a New, Supp. February s, 1903, Vii Atlas, the Twentieth Century, Thomas Heath, 534 Atoms, the Size of, H. V. Ridout, 45 Aubel (Edmond van), Electrical Resistance of Lead Sulphide at Very Low Temperatures, 47; on Hall’s Phenomenon and Thermoelectric Power, 72; Action of Radio-active Bodies on the Electric Conductivity of Selenium, 599 Auger (V.), Kékulé Method of Production of True Thio- acids, 455; Pyrophosphorous Acid, 552 Aurora, Observations of the, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 67 e Aurigz, the Spectrum of, Prof. H. C. Vogel, 233 Australia: Report on the Rainfall of South Australia, 13; the Rabbit Pest in Australia, its Cause and its Cure, W. Rodier, 43; Recent Dust Storms in, Will. A. Dixon, 203 ; H. Stuart Dove, 203 ; Remarkable Meteorological Pheno- mena in, H. J. Jensen, 344 Austria, Recent Science in, 425 Automatic Telephone Exchange, the, 40 Automobiles : Les Moteurs a Explosion, G. Moreau, C. R. D’Esterre, 145; Théorie des Moteurs 4 Gas, G. Moreau, C, R. D’Esterre, 145; Count Zeppelin’s Automobile- launch, 373; Electric Automobiles, H. F. Joel, 304; Das Bee eweinad und seine Behandlung, Wolfgang Vogel, Sr of Popular Astronomy, Babes (V.), the Genesis of Giant Cells, 359 Babylonian and Assyrian Legends of the Creation, L. W. King, F.S.A., 204 : Backhouse (T. W.), Volcanic Dust Phenomena, 174; Publi- cations of West Hendon House Observatory, Sunderland, 343 Bacteriology : Ice-creams Bacteriologically Examined, 14; Bactericidal Effect of Human Blood in vitro, Messrs. Wright and Windsor, 14; the Phosphorescence of Meat, Prof. Molisch, 22; Bacteriological Technique and Special Bacteriology, Thomas Bowhill, 149; Germs in Space, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 103; Prof. Theo. D. A. Cockerell, 103; Lord Kelvin, 181; Death of Major Walter Reed, 155; Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, H. E. Dur- ham, 172; a Typhoid Antitoxin, M. Chantemesse, 2709 ; Oysters and Typhoid Fever, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 370; Comparative Bactericidal Power of the Electric Arc be- tween Poles of Ordinary Carbon or of Carbon containing Iron, Alfred Chatin and S. Nicolau, 311; Natural and Artificial Sewage Treatment, Jones and Roechling, 315; Bacterial Treatment of Sewage, Prof. Frank Clowes, F.R.S., 402; Peculiar Effects of Light, Micrococcus phos- phoreus, Dr. H. Molisch, 426; Value of Bacteriological Tests in Judging Butter, David Houston, 431; the ‘‘ Red Plague,’’ New Bacillus Discovered in Eels, Dr. F. Inghilleri, 445; Lamp Lighted by Means of Bacteria, Prof. Hanos Molisch, 468; Bacteria in Daily Life, Mrs. Percy Frankland, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 583; Report upon the Atmosphere of the Central London Railway, Dr. Clowes and Dr. Andrews, 591; Microbes and Digestion and Disease, Mdlle. P. V. Tsiklinsky, 617 Bagwell-Purefoy (E.), Introduction of the Brimstone But- terfly into Tipperary, 158 Bailey (C.), the Oxlip, 566 Baily (P. H.), Light-Therapeutics, 32 Baird and Tatlock (Messrs.), Silica Vessels, 182 Baker (Dr. H. F.), Integration of Linear Differential Equations, 190; of Functions of Several Variables, 262 Baker (Ira Osborn), a Treatise on Roads and Pavements, 557 Baker (R. T.), a Research on the Eucalypts especially in regard to their Essential Oils, 524 Baker (W. M.), Elementary Geometry, 57 Baldwin (James Mark), Development and Evolution, in- cluding Psychophysical Evolution, Evolution by Ortho- plasy, and the Theory of Genetic Modes, 2902 ~ Balfour (Henry), the Musical Bow and the Goura, 37 Balfour’s (Mr.), Apologetics Critically Examined, 341 Ball (Dr. John), the Semna Cataract of the Nile, a Study in River-erosion, 142; Survey of Jebel Garra, 157 Ball (Sir Robert, F.R.S.), the Reflection of Screws, 143 aw Natwe, | June 18, 1903 Index Vil Ballistics; the New 16-inch Gun at Sandy Hook, 276; Armour-piercing Projectiles, David Carnegie, 374 Ballooning: Aérial Navigation: a Practical Handbook on the Construction of Dirigible Balloons, Aérostats, A€éro- planes, and Aéromotors, Frederick Walker, 218; the Lebaudy Dirigible Balloon, 350; Conditions of Safety of Navigable Balloons, Commandant P. Renard, 592 Balthazard (M.), the Heart of Tuberculous Subjects, 359 ; the Heart in a Pathological State, 503 Baluchistan, through Persia and, A. H. Savage Landor, 489 Bamberger (Mr.), Tertiary Nitroso-paraflins, 521 Barbadoes, Fall of Volcanic Ash on the Island of, October 15-16, 36 Barbéra (M.), L’Etere e la Materia ponderabile, 413 Barbet (M.), Experiments by M. Canovetti on the Resist- ance of the Air to Moving Bodies, 592 Barillet (C. L.), Bipolar Electrodes with a Soluble Anode, 168 Barker (Mr.), on the Fungus of Samsu, 20 Barker (T. V.), Quartz Crystals of Peculiar Habit from South Africa, 382 Barley (William H., F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 64 Barnard (Prof. E. E.), Change of Focus in the Light from on Nova Persei, 66; Observations of the Aurora, 67; Colour of the Eclipsed Moon, 376; Herschel’s Nebulous Regions | of the Heavens, 424 Barnard (H. O.), Comet 1902 b as Observed in Ceylon, 39 | Barnard (Mr.), Luminous Bacteria, 19 Barnes (C. L.), Experiments Depending on Hawksbee’s Law of Fluids, 166 Barnett (Mrs. F. H.), Our Dog’s Birthday Book, 246 Barrett (Charles G.), the Lepidoptera of the British Islands, 438 Barrett (Prof.), the Properties of the Allovs of Iron, 14 Barrett-Hamilton (G. E. H.), Traces of Past Glacial Action in the Orange River Colony, Sonth Africa, 223 Barrier Reefs, on the Formation of, and of the Different Types of Atolls, Alexander Agassiz, For. Mem. R.S., at the Royal Society, 547 Barton (Dr. E. H.), a Simple Sensitive Flame, 345 Basil, a Pot of, A. E. Shipley, 205; Prof. Percy Groom, 271 Basset (A. B., F.R.S.), Classification of Quartic Curves, 80; the Principle of Least Action, 343; Lagrange’s Equa- tions, 464 Bateson (W., F.R.S.), the Resolution of Compound Charac- ters by Cross-breeding, 215; Mendel’s Principles of Heredity in Mice, 462, 585 Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Lakes, Sir John Murray and Laurence Pullar, 167 Batteries, Secondary, their Theory, Construction, and Use, E. J. Wade, Maurice Solomon, 410 Baubigny (H.), Separation of the Alkalis from Peroxide of Manganese, 192 Bauer (Dr. L. A.), United States Magnetic Declination Tables and Isogonic Charts for 1902, 294; Magnetic Observations during Eclipses, 496 Baume-Pluvinel (A. de Ja), Spectrum of Comet 1902 b, 472, 528 Baxendell (J.), the Duration of Rainfall, 598 Bayard (F. Campbell), English Climatology, 1881-1900, 119 ao (Hugh J. L.), Cretaceous Region of Abu Roash, 30 Beard (Dr. J.), Embryology of Tumours, 599 Beard (W. S.), Junior Arithmetic Examination Papers, 79 Beazley (C. Raymond), the Dawn of Modern Geography, 73; Dawn of Modern Geography, 464 Becquerel (Henri), Magnetic Deviability and the Nature of Certain Rays Emitted by Radium and Polonium, 335; Emanations from Radio-active Bodies, 400; Radiation of Polonium and Radium, 407 Becquerel Rays and _ Radio-activity, G.€.V.O., F.R:S., 103 Beddard (A. P.), Practical Physiology, 385 Beddard (F. E., F.R.S.), Surface Anatomy of the Cerebral Convolutions in Nasalis, Colobus, and Cynopithecus, 334 Bedford College for Women, Lecture at, Electricity and Matter, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 450 Bedson (P. P.), the Gases Enclosed in Coal, 376 Belcher (J. Hope), Practical Electricity, 149 Lord Kelvin, Belief, Foundations of, Mr. Balfour’s Apologetics Critically Examined, 341 Bell (Prof. Charles J.), Death of, 276 Bell (Dr. Louis), the Art of Illumination, 483 Bellamy (C. V.), Rainfall of Dominica, 119; Climate of Cyprus, 191 Bellamy (F. A.), the New Star in Gemini, 598 Belloc (G.), Spontaneous Reduction of the Carbon in Steel, 431 Beltrami (Eugenio), Opere Matematiche di, 79 Bempton Cliffs, the Birds of, E. W. Wade, 472 Ben Nevis Observatories, the Meteorology of the, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 61 Benedikt (Prof. Moriz), Das biomechanische (neo-vitalis- tische), Denken in der Medizin und in der Biologie, 342 Bengal, Risley’s Tribes of, S. M. Jacob, 223 Benischke (Dr. Gustav), Der Parallelbetrieb von Wechsel- strommaschinen, 101; Die Grundgesetze der Wechsel- stromtechnik, 580 Benson (Miss Margaret), on the Seed-like Fructification of Miadesmia membranacea, Bertrand, 19 Bergstrand (Asten), Proper Motion and Parallax of Nova Persei, 183 Berlin Tuberculosis Congress, the, 10 Bernacchi (M.), the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539 Berthelot (M.), the Impurities in Compressed Oxygen, 95; the Chinchona Alkaloids, 311, 335 Bertrand (Gabriel), Arsenic in the Animal Kingdom, 72 Bertrand (M.), Death of, 133 Berzelius (J.), Briefwechsel zwischen, und F. Wohler, 49 Bevier (Louis), on the Vowel I (as in Pique), 251 Bezold (Dr. von), Importance of A€ronautics for Meteor- ological Researches, 138 Bielid Meteor-showers, the Leonid and, of November, 1902, Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 103 Bierry (H.), on Nephrotoxins, 576 Bigelow (Prof. Frank H.), a Contribution to Cosmical Meteorology, 225 Bigourdan (G.), New Comet Giacobini (d 1902), 167 Billitzer (Dr.), Action of Acetylene as Kathodic Depolarising Agent in the Electrolysis of Acid and Alkaline Solutions, 425; Acid Character of Acetylene, 425; Formation of Carbon Ions in Aqueous Solution, 425 Billy (M.), Kékulé Method of Production of True Thio- acids, 455 Binaries, New Spectroscopic, Profs. Frost and Adams, 472 Bingley (Godfrey), Photograph of Carboniferous Limestone by, 32 Binocular, a New, 473 Biogen-hypothese, Die, Prof. Max Verworn, 385 Biology: Biologia Centrali-Americana, Insecta—Lepidop- tera—Rhopalocera, Frederick Ducane Godman, F.R.S., and the late Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25; Interpretacion Dinamica de la Division Cellular, A. Gallardo, Prof. Marcus Hartog, 42; Die organischen Regulationen. Vorbereitungen zu einer Theorie des Lebens, Hans Driesch, Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, 50; Death of Albert Hénocque, 250; Tachygenesis and University Studies, Prof. Leopoldo Maggi, 252; Biology in Universities, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 270; Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., 270; Das _ biomechanische (neo-vitalistische) Denken in der Medizin und in der Biologie, Prof. Moriz Benedikt, 342; Le Léman, Monographie limnologique, Prof. F. A. Forel, 411; Pelagic Life in the Lochs, James Murray, 455; the New Biological Station at Port Erin, 474; Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht der biologischen Blatt-typen von ein und sechzig Siphonogamenfamilien, Prof. Dr. A. Hansgirg, 438; Problems in Biological Energetics, M. A. Chauveau, 551-2; Marine Biology, a Rare Squid from the Sagami Sea, Messrs. Ijima and Ikeda, 38; Importance of Boring Algas in the Disinte- gration of Corals, Dr. J. E. Duerden, 88; the Minnesota Seaside Station, 152; Notes on Rearing the Later Stages of Echinoid Larvz, L. Doncaster, 215; Amphipoda of the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, A. O. Walker, 238; Morphology and Growth of the Gastropod, Prof. A. W. Grabau, 278; the Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon, Discourse at the Royal Institution by Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., 620 Biometrika, 550 Amount of vill Lndex Nature, June 18, 1903 Biot (M.), New Method of Chlorination of Aromatic Hydro- | carbons, 192 Birds : London Birds and Other Sketches, T. Digby Pigott, 102; a Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old-Fashioned Names of British Birds, C. H. Hett, 125; the Birds of Bempton Cliffs, E. W. Wade, 472; Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 594; Lord Lilford on Birds, T. Digby Pigott, C.B., Supp. February 5, 1903, iii Birds’ Eggs, Wolley’s Collection of, 219 Birdwood (Sir George), Testimonial to; 135 Birthday Book, Our Dog’s, Mrs. F. H. Barnett, 246 Bischof (Prof. Gustav), Death of, 276 Bisiker (W.), Across Iceland, 346 Black Country, the Afforestation of the, Prof. W. Schlich, | F.R.S., 395 | Blackwood (Lady Alicia), My Dog Frizzie and Others, 202 Blake (J. C.), Estimation of Bromic Acid by the Direct Action of Arsenious Acid, 45 Bleekrode (Dr.), the Bending of Two Alabaster Slabs in the Alhambra, 135 Bleyer (Dr. J. Mount), Light—its Therapeutic Importance in Tuberculosis, 350 Bloch (Eugéne), the Emanation from Phosphorus, 239 Blondlot (R.), Equality of the Velocity of Propagation of the X-rays and of Light in Air, 46; Determination of the Velocity of the X-rays, 71; Velocity with which the Different Varieties of X-rays are Propagated in Different | Media, 239; the Polarisation of the X-rays, 359; Action of a Polarised Bundle of very Refrangible Radiations on very Small Electric Sparks, 431; a New Kind of Light, 527 Blondlot (T.), Velocity of the Propagation of the X-rays, 24 Bodroux (F.), another Application of the Organo-mag- nesium Compounds to Organic Synthesis, 233; a Mode of Formation of Phenols, 311 Boll (Franz), Sphaera; neue griechische Texte und Unter- | suchungen zur Geschichte der Sternbilder, 481 Bombay Presidency, the Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Climbers of the, W. A. Talbot, 148 Bones: Can these Bones Live? Prof. Dr. Schwalbe, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 530 Bonney (Prof. 1. G., F.R.S.), Secular Changes of Climate, | 150; Magnetite-mines near Cogne, 262; the Holy Shroud, 296; More Letters of Charles Darwin, 529; March Dust from the Soufriére, 584 Borchgrevink (M.), the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedi- tion, 539 Bordas (M.), Diminution in the Amount of Lecithin in Heated Milks, 264 Bordier (M.), the Temperature of Calefaction and on its Use in Alcohol Determinations, 407 Bormand (J. A.), Cavitation in Screw Steamers, 24 Borneo, Central, Geological Explorations in (1893-94), Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 506 Bort (M. Teisserenc de), Results of Observations of the Decrease of Temperature in the High Atmosphere, 139; Sensitive Thermometer for Registration Balloons, 139; Results Obtained from Continuous Soundings of the Atmosphere, 140 Bosco (Dr. Camillo), Study of the Cranium of a Beaver of the Quaternary Period, 374 Bose (E.), Zur Theorie des Auerlichtes, 82 Bose (Prof. Jagadis Chunder), Response in the Living and Non-Living, 409; Electric Pulsation accompanying Auto- matic Movements in Desmodium gyrans, 454 Bossert (J.), Ephemeris for Comet Tempel,-Swift, 40; Search-ephemeris for the Comet Tempel,-Swift, 307 Bosworth (F.), Macmillan’s Short Geography of the World, Bernhard $5 Botany: the Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire, J. F. Robinson, 5; Black-spot Disease of Pine-apples, 13} Plants of Chatham Island, L. Cockayne, 14-15; Culti- vation of Vanilla in Tahiti, 38; Report of the Dominica Botanic Station during the Year ending March 31, 1902, 38; Treatment of Fungoid Pests, A. Howard, 38; New Cryptocarya from Lord Howe Island, Cryptocarya greg- soni, J. H. Maiden, 47; New South Wales Linnean Society, 47, 168, 287; Bacterial Origin of the Gums of the Arabin Group, R. Greig Smith, 47; Forest Flora of the School Circle, N.-W.P., Upendranath Kanjilal, 52; Flora of the Liverpool District, C. T. Green, 55; | Volemite in Primulacee, J. Bougault and G. Allard, 72; Handbook of the Trees of New England, L. L. Dame and Henry Brooks, 79; Journal of Botany, 93, 214, 285, 405; Natural History Journey in Chile, H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., 95; Linnean Society, 95, 191, 238, 454, 479; Influence of Organic Materials on the Development and Anatomical Structure of Phanerogams, Jules Laurent, 96; Death of Prof. Ladislava Celakovského, 111; Obituary Notice of, 302; Death of M. Dehérain, 133; Obituary Notice of, 179; Flora of the Malayan Peninsula No. 13, Sir George King, 136; Pitcher Plants as a Trap for Blatta americana, 136; a New Fruit, Anamomis esculenta, 136; Action of Certain Poisonous Substances supplied as Food to Seedlings, K. Aso, 136; Enzyme contained in the Secretion of Nepenthes, Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S., 142; the Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency, W. A. Talbot, 148; Death of Prof Millardet, 155; Phellomyces sclerotio- phorus Potato Scab, Prof. T. Johnson, 166; Formation of Chlorophyll in Rarefied Air and in Rarefied Oxygen, Jean Friedel, 168; Immunisation of the Lettuce against the Fungus Bremia lactucae, E. Marchal, 168; Flora Simlensis : a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla and the Neighbourhood, Sir H. Collett, K.C.B., 170; Botany prior to Linnzus, Dr. B. Schorler, 181; Larch and Spruce Fir Canker, George Massee, 181; Photosyn- thesis outside the Organism, Luigi Macchiati, 192; Duration of the Gern:inating Power of Seeds Preserved in a Vacuum, Emile Laurent, 192; a Pot of Basil, A. E. Shipley, 205; Prof. Percy Groom, 271; Papaw-trees and Mosquitoes, E. Ernest Green, 487; the Resolution of Compound Characters by Cross-breeding, W. Bateson, 215; Local Floras of India, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 223; the Reviewer, 223; Birches, M. L. Fernald, Plants of the Galapagos Islands, Dr. B. L. Robinson, Calo- chortus, Carl Purdy, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 234; Flora of the Galapagos Islands, B. L. Robinson, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 561; Experiments on the Effect of Mineral Starvation on the Parasitism of the Uredine Fungus, Puccinia dispersa, on the Species of Bromus, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S., at the Royal Society, 235; Germinating Power of Seeds Exposed to Sunlight, Emile Laurent, 239; Influence of Formaldehyde upon the Vegetation of some Freshwater Alga, Raoul Bouilhac, 240; Plants used for Food during Periods of Drought, Mr. Gammie, 252; Buckleya quadriala, S. Kusano, 253; Theories of Plant Evolution, Prof. Schwendener, 253; Methods of Botanical Teaching, Prof. Farmer, F.R.S., 260; Swede-rot from County Down, Prof. T. Johnson, 263; Death of Prof. Sirodot, 276, 324; Development of Cauloglossum transversartum, J. R. Johnston, 279; the Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at Naples, Prof. Italo Giglioli, 296; Cultivation of Scottish Larch, Hawie Brown, 305; Botanical Survey of the Dismal Swamp Region, T. H. Kearney, 305; Influence of the Nature of the External Medium on the State of Hydration of the Plant, Eug. Charabot and A. Hebert, 311; a Kinase in some Basidiomycetes, C. Delezenne and H. Mouton, 311; Thomson’s Gardener’s Assistant, 315; Hypopeltis Tea- pest, E. E. Green, 328; Insects and Petal-less Flowers, Prof. Plateau, G. W. Bulman, 319; E. Ernest Lowe, 368; Pericaulom Theory of the Structure of Plants, Prof. Potonié, 351; the Genesis of Giant Cells, V. Babes, 359; the Working of a Peasant’s Garden, Antigua, 355; Comparative Structure of the Point of Junction in Grafted Plants, Lucien Daniel, 360; Vegetation in Atmospheres Rich in Carbon Dioxide, E. Demoussy, 360; Nutrition of Sterigmatocystis migra, Henri Coupin, 384; Sir William Hooker’s Scientific Work, 404; Freshwater Algz, New British Forms, W. West and G. S. West, 405; Cultural Experiments with Isolated Plant Cells, Prof. Haberlandt, 426; two Peculiar Effects of Light, Chromophyton Rosanoffi; Micrococcus phosphoreus, Dr. H. Molisch, 426; Poisonous Effects of Leaves of Primula obconica, Dr. A. Nestler, 426; Electromotive Force in Plants, A. B. Plowman, 429; the Cohesion Theory of the Ascent of Sap, Dr. Henry H. Dixon, 431; Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht der biologischen Blatt-typen von ein und sechzig Siphonogamenfamilien, Prof. Dr. A. Hansgirg, 438; Possible Uses of Essential Oils in the Economy of Plant Life, Dr. George Henderson, 454; Electric Pulsa- Nature, | June 18, 1903 Index IX tion accompanying Automatic Movements in Desmodium gyrans, Prof. J. C. Bose, 454; Specialisation of Para- sitism in the Erysiphaceee, E. 5S. Salmon, 454; Botanical Notes, 475; Care of Pastures, 476; Death of Prof. M.S Voronin, 492; Progress of the New Vegetation of Krakatao, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 498; on the Histology of Uredo dispersa and the Mycoplasm Hypo- thesis, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S., 500; Rust-fungi and the ‘‘ Mycoplasm’’ Hypothesis, Prof. Ward, F.R.S., 502; Nature of Ferments in Plants which Act upon Proteids, Prof. Vines, 521; ee especially in Regard to their Essential Oils, T. Baker and H. G. Smith, Dr. T. A. Henry, 524; Eats Cultivated in the United States, A. J. McClatchie, Dr. T. A. Henry, 524; the Oxlip, C. Bailey, 566; the Statolith Theory of Geotropism, Francis Darwin, Bi Rese s 7.0 H. Marshall | a Research on the | ; Action of Calcium Oxalate in the Niterition | of Plants, M. Amar, 576; Localisation of AEsculin and of | Tannin in the Chestnut Tree, A. Goris, 576; Distribution of Pithophora, Kumagusu Minakata, 586; Flora and Sylva, 594; a University Text-book of Botany, Douglas Houghton Campbell, Supp. November 6, 1902, vii; see also British Association, Section K Béttger (Dr. Wilh.), Grundriss der qualitativen Analyse, vom Standpunkte der Lehre von den lIonen, 557 Bottone (S. R.), Galvanic Batteries: their Theory, struction and Use, 31 Bouchard (Ch.), Experimental Researches on Adrenaline, 143; the Heart of Tuberculous Subjects, 359; the Heart in a Pathological State, 503 Boudouard (O.), Alloys of Copper and Magnesium, 72 Boudroux (F.), Synthesis of Anisic Acid and Paraethoxy- benzoic Acid, 384 Bougault (J.), Volemite in Primulacez, 72 Bouilhac (Raoul), Influence of Formaldehyde Vegetation of some Fresh-water Alga, 240 Boulenger (G. A., F.R.S.), able Case of Geographical Distribution among Fishes, 84 Boulger (G. S.), Wood: a Manual of the Natural History and Industrial Applications of the Timbers merce, 245 Bourne (A. A.), Elementary Geometry, 577 Bouty (E.), Dielectric Cohesion of Gases, 263 ; tric Cohesion of Mixture of Gases, 503 Bouveault (L.), Ethyl Dinitroacetate, 311 Bowhill (Thomas), Bacteriological Technique and Special Bacteriology, 149 Bowman (H. L.), Determinations of the Refractive Indices of Pyromorphite and Vanadinite, 382 Bowman (W.), Bending of Marble Slab, 420 Boyce (Prof. Rubert), Note on the Discovery of the Human Trypanosome, 56 Boycott (Dr.), Ankylostomiasis in Dalcoath Mine, Cornwall, Con- upon 158 Boys (Prof. C. V., F.R.S.), the Conservation of Mass, 103 ; Transmission of Sound through the Atmosphere, 502 Brakes, a Mathematical Investigation of the Theory of Railway, Prof. A. Sommerfeld, 277 Bramwell (Sir Frederick), Adoption of a Common Language by the United States, England Suggested by, 18 Brandy, Cognac, Manufacture and Nature of, Braun (J. von), F. Wohler, 49 Brazilian Deer, Dr. E. Goeldi on, 620 Brearley (Harry), the Analysis of Steel-works Materials, 76 Bredig (Mr.), Change in Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide by Metallic Mercury, 424 Brenner (Leo), the Pyramid Spot on Jupiter, 40 Brewing : Notice of Prof. Emil Chr. Hansen, Dr. Klocker, 7 Bridges (Rev. G. J.), Sunset Glows, 209 Briggs (S. H. C.), Series of Double Chromates, 238 Brigham (Albert Perry), an Introduction to Physical Geography, 147 Brioschi (Francesco), Opere Matematiche di, 79 Britannica, Encyclopzedia, 505 British Academy, the, 104 British Antarctic Expedition, the, 516 British Association Meeting at Belfast Section K (Botany) continued.—On the Composition of Germany, France, and 136 Briefwechsel zwischen J. Berzelius und the Explanation of a Remark- the Dielec- the | of Com- | Pave) Broom (Dr. the Flora of the North-east of Ireland, Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, 19; on Foliar Periodicity in Ceylon, Mr. Herbert Wright, 19; on the Movements of the Flower- buds and Flowers of Sparmannia africana up to the Time of the Setting of the Fruit, Mrs. D. H. Scott, 19; on Luminous Bacteria, Mr. Barnard and Prof. Allan Macfadyen, 19; on the Suspension of Life at Low Tem- peratures, Prof. Macfadyen and Mr. Rowland, 19; Experiments on the Effect of Temperature on Carbon Dioxide Assimilation in the Leaves of the Cherry Laurel, Miss Gabrielle L. C. Matthaei, 19; Experi- ments Made to Determine the Resistance of Seeds to High Temperatures, Dr. Henry H. Dixon, 19; on the Germination of Fatty Seeds, Prof. J. Reynolds Green, F.R.S., and Mr. H. Jackson, 19; on the Seed-like Fructification -of Miadesmia membranacea, Bertrand, Miss Margaret Benson, 19; on Two Specimens of Lyginodendron oldhamium obtained from Dulesgate, Mr. Lomax, 19; on the Occurrences of Nodular Con- cretions (Coal Balls) in the Lower Coal-measures, Mr. Lomax, 19; on Sporangiophores as a Clue to ples among Pteridophyta, Dr. D: H= Scott, F:R:S:; 19; the Dorsiventrality of the Podostemacez, Mr. John C. Willis, 20; on the Morphology of the Araucariex, Miss Sibille O. Ford, 20; Sex Relationship in Ceylon Species of Diospyros, Mr. Herbert Wright, 20; on the Nature of the Vascular System of the Stem in Certain Dicotyledonous Orders, Mr. Worsdell, 20; on the Morphology of the Flowers in Certain Species of Lonicera, E. A. Newell Arber, 20; Recent Observa- tions on the Structure of the Central Body in. Various Species of Cyanophycea, Mr. Harold Wager, 20; on the Fungus of Samsu, Mr. Barker, 20 Section L (Educational Science) continued.—Report of Committee on the Teaching of Elementary Mathe- matics, 17; on the Recommendations of the Mathe- matical Association Committee, Mr. A. W. Siddons, 17; on the Subjects to be Taught as Science in Schools and the Order in which they should be Taken, Dr. C. W. Kimmins, 17; on the Introduction of Experi- mental Science into Irish Schools, W. Mayhowe Heller, 17; Position of Science in Irish Intermediate Schools, Mr. R. M. Jones and Mr. T. P. Gill, 17; on the Recent Reforms of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr. W. J. M. Starkie, 18; Report of the Committee on the Teaching of Science Subjects in Elementary Schools, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, 18; Preliminary Report of the Committee on the Conditions of Health Essential to the Carrying On of the Work of Instruction in Schools, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., 18; on the Pre- liminary Training of Teachers with Special Reference to Women, Miss L. E. Walter, 18; the Problem of the Training of Teachers Essentially Different in a Primary and Secondary School, Prof. H. L. Withers, 18; Adoption of a Common Language by the United States, Germany, France, and England Suggested by Sir Frederick Bramwell, 18; on the Teaching of the English Language in our Schools, Mr. P. J. Hartog, 18; on the Misuse of Common English Words, Prof. G. M. Minchin, 19; British Association Geological Photographs, 32; Animal Thermostat, Lord Kelvin, 401; the Prevention of Dew Deposits on Lantern Slides, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 476 British Birds, a Glossary of Popular, Local, Fashioned Names one SHeerett British Book of Constants, a, John Castell-Evans, British Forestry, 324 British Islands, the Lepidoptera of the, Charles G. Barrett, 438 British Isles, a Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the, J. W. Taylor, 412 British Museum: Handbook of Instructions for and Old- 125 314 Collectors, 173 Brochet (André), Bipolar Electrodes with a Soluble Anode, 168 | Brooks (Henry), Handbook of the Trees of New England, R.), Mammalian and Reptilian Vomerine Bones, 168 Brown (Hawie), Cultivation of Scottish Larch, 305 Brown (J.), the Dissociation Theory of Electroly sis, 414 x Index Brown (W.), the Properties of the Alloys of Iron, 14 Browning (P. E.), Ceric Chromate, 573 Bruce (Dr. Mitchell), Diseases of the Circulation, 554 Briick (Paul), Comet 1903 a, 424, 544 Brugnatelli (Luigi), New Mineral, ‘* Artinite,”’ 423 Bruhn (Dr. J.), Estimates of the Stresses in the Riveted Attachments in Ships, 278 Brunhes (B.), Magnetic Survey of the Summit of the Puy de Déme, 542 Diffraction, 80; the Paradox of the Piano Player, 127; | the Vibrations of Gun Barrels, 248; Death and Obituary Notice of Rev. Dr. H. W. Watson, F.R.S., 274; Travels in Space, E. Seton Valentine and F. L. Tomlinson, 293 Bryden (H. A.), Decline and Fall of the South African Elephant, 278 Low, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 299 Budge (E. A. Wallis), a History of Egypt from the End of the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII. B.C. 30, Supp. to November 6, 1902, iii; Annals of the Kings of Assyria, 435 Budgett (Mr.), Expedition to Uganda, 334 Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 45, 477 Bulman (G. P.), Death of, 616 Bulman (G. W.), November Swallows, 56; Genius and the | Struggle for Flowers, 319 Bullfinch and Canary, George Henschel, 609 Burke (Walter), Fire-walking in Fiji, 130 Burns (Gavin J.), Total Light of all the Stars, 91; Proper Motion of Stars, 447 Burr (Prof. William H.), Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal, 508 Burstall (Miss), Curriculum in Different Types of Schools, 236 Burt (B. C.), Solubilities and Transition Points of Lithium Existence, 270; Insects and Petal-less Nitrate and its Hydrates, 382 Business, a Science of, and Our Industries, Sir William Preece, 86 Butler (G. W.), Genius and the Struggle for Existence, 344 Butter, Value of Bacteriological Tests in Judging, David Houston, 431 Butter-making on the Farm and at the Creamery, C. W. W. Tisdale and T. R. Robinson, Prof. Douglas A. Gilchrist, 343 Butterflies: Butterflies of the Borderland between North and South America, Frederick Ducane Godman, F.R.S., and the last Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25; Catalogue of the Collection of Palearctic Butterflies formed by the late John Henry Leech, Richard South, 583 Cain (Mr.), Rate of Decomposition of Diazo-compounds of the Naphthalene Series, 238 Calder (W. J.), Vitality and Low Temperatures, 104 Calmette’s Antivenin Inactive Against Venom of Australian Tiger Snake, Dr. Tidswell, 111 Cambrian Natural Observer, 619 Cambridge : Cambridge Philosophical Society, 46, 119, 215, 406, 502; Address at the Cambridge Philosophical Society, the Origin of the Thoroughbred Horse, Prof. Ridgeway, 187; Mathematics in the Cambridge Locals, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 81; Cambridge Mathematics, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 390; the Student’s Handbook to the University and Colleges of Cambridge, 149 Camera, How to Buy a, H. C. Shelley, 102 Camera, Nature and the, A. Radclyffe Dugmore, 534 Campbell (Albert), a Daylight Photometer, 332 Campbell (A.), Commutator for Condenser Tests, 430; on the Measurement of Small Resistances, 501 Campbell (Douglas Houghton), a University Text-book of Botany, Supp. November 6, 1902, vii Campbell (George), a Revolution in Cosmology, 6 Canary, Bullfinch and, George Henschel, 609 Cancer, Local Distribution of, in Scotland, Dr. W. G. Aitchison Robertson, 167 Canovetti (M.), Experiments by, on the Resistance of the Air to Moving Bodies, 592 the Science of Cantor Lecture at Society of Arts, the Future of Coal Gas, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 426 Nature, June 18, 1903 Cantrill (T. C.), Geology of Coalfield Country around Cardiff, 89 Card (George W.), a New South Wales Meteorite, 345 | Carlsbad Meeting of the German Association of Naturalists and Physicians, Dr. F. Schuman-Leclercg, 20 Carnegie (Andrew), Address at the University of St. Andrews, 153 Carnegie (David), Armour-piercing Projectiles, 374 | Carnet de Notes d’un Voyageur en France, A. C. Poiré, Bryan (Prof. G. H., F.R.S.), a Simple Experiment in | 511 Carpenter’s (Captain Alfred, D.S.O.), Report to the Meteorological Council, London Fog Inquiry, 1901--2, 548 | Carré (P.), Action of Phosphoric Acid upon Erythritol, 407; Action of Phosphorus Trichloride upon Glycol, 528 | Carriére (M.), Cryogenin in Fevers, 240 Bubonic Plague, Reports and Papers on, Dr. R. Bruce | Cartaud (G.), Cellular Structure in Amorphous Bodies, 264 Cartesian Philosophy, Studies in the, Norman Smith, 389 Carus (Prof. Julius Victor), Death of, 540; Obituary Notice of, 613 Carved and Perforated Antlers, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, PIRES.) 74. Case (E. C.), ‘‘ Pelycosaurian’’ Reptiles of the Permian and Triassic Formations of North America, 520 Castell-Evans (John), Physico-chemical Tables, vol. i. Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry, 314 Castology, a View of the Oolite Period and Earliest Man, J. Craven Thomas, 461 Catalogue of Scientific Papers, the Royal Society’s, 9 Cattle Disease, Spirillosis in the Bovide, A. Laveran, 623 Cayeux (L.), Eruptions of the Secondary Period in Crete, ” 432 Cecil (the Hon. Mrs. Evelyn (Alicia Amherst)), Children’s Gardens, 55 Celakovského (Prof. Ladislava), Death of, 111; Obituary Notice of, 302 Celestial Mechanics: Die Carl Ludwig Charlier, 77 Cell-Division, Dynamic Interpretation of, A. Gallardo, Prof. Marcus Hartog, 42 Cement, Le Ciment Armé et ses Applications, Marie-Auguste Morel, 102 Ceraski (Madame), New Variable Star, 16, 1902, Delphini, 114; New Variable Star, 21, 1902, Sagittz, 254 Ceylon, the Pearl Fisheries of, Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., at the Royal Institution, 620 Chablay (E.), Essence of Calamintha Nepeta or Marjo- laine, 384 Chamberlain (Mr.), on Education, 34 Chance (Sir James, Bart.), the Lighthouse Work of, 386 Chandler (Dr.), the Constant of Aberration and the Solar Parallax, 352 Chantemesse (M.), a Typhoid Antitoxin, 279 Chapman (A. C.), Essential Oil of Hops, 550; Compound of Dextrose with Aluminium Hydroxide, 550 Chapman (Dr.), Notodonta (Hybocampa) dryinopa from Queensland, 23 Chapman’s Zebra, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 301 Charabot (Eug.), Influence of the Nature of the External Medium on the State of Hydration of the Plant, 311 Charlier (Carl Ludwig), Die Mechanik des Himmels, 77 Charon (Ernest), Chloride of Cinnamylidene, 287 Chatin (Alfred), Comparative Bactericidal Power of the Electric Are between Poles of Ordinary Carbon or of Carbon containing Iron, 311 Chavanne (Joseph), Obituary Notice of, 303 Chaveau (A.), Problems in Biological Energetics, 551--2; on Animal Heat, 575 Chemistry: Chemical Study of Carlsbad Springs, Prof. Meyerhofer, 20; Carlsbad Meeting of the German Asso- ciation of Naturalists and Physicians, Dr. F. Schuman- Leclercq, 20; Constitution of the Molecule of Albumen, Prof. Hofmeister, 21; Diamonds Obtained with Gold- schmid’s Thermite Method, Prof. MHasslinger, 22; Synthesis of the Alkaline Hyposulphites and of the Hyposulphites of the Alkaline Earths in an Anhydrous Condition, M. Mboissan, 23; Galact- amine, E. Roux, 24; Le Mixte et la Com- binaison Chimique: Essai sur ]’Evolution d’une Idée, E. Duhem, 29; Jahrbuch der Chemie, 1901, 30; Artificial Mineral Waters, William Kirkby, 32; the Reviewer, 32; Mechanik des Himmels, Nature, ] June 18, 1903 Index Instantaneous Chemical Reactions and the Theory of | Electrolytic Dissociation, L. Kahlenberg, 41; Estima- tion of Bromic Acid by the Direct Action of Arsenious Acid, F. A. Gooch and J. C. Blake, 45; the Size of Atoms, H. V. Ridout, 45; Alkalis on Glass and on Paraffin, Francis Jones, 46; Analysis of Nine Specimens of Air of a Coal Mine, Nestor Gréhaut, 46; Method for Preparation of Metallic Nitrides, M. Guntz, 47; Barium Ammonium and Barium Amide, M. Mentrel, 47; Product of Action of Barium Hydroxide on Dimethylvioluric Acid, A. Whiteley, 117; Hydrates and Solubility of Barium Acetate, Prof. Walker and W. A. Fyffe, 238; Sub-salts of Barium, M. Guntz, 528; Maisine, New Albuminoid from Maize, E. Donard*and H. Labbé, 47 ; a Chlorosulphate of Aluminium, A. Recoura, 47; Theory of the Aluminium Anode, W. W. Taylor and J. K. H. Inglis, 93; Com- pound of Dextrose with Aluminium Hydroxide, A. C. Chapman, 550; Briefwechsel zwischen J. Berzelius und F. Wohler, J. von Braun and O. Wallach, 49; Intro- ductory Chemistry for Intermediate Schools, Lionel M. Jones, 54; Chemical Society, 71, 117, 166, 238, 358, 382, 430, 550, 574; Combination of Carbon Monoxide with Chlorine under the Influence of Light, Dr. Dyson and Dr. Harden, 71; Carbon Monoxide, a Product of Combustion of the Bunsen Burner, Dr. Thorpe, 358; Constituents of Oil of Rue, Dr. Power and Mr. Lees, 71; Di-indigotin, Dr. Moir, 71; Catalytic Racemisation of Amygdalin, Dr. J. W. Walker, 71; Asymmetric Optically Active Selenium Compounds, Prof. Pope and Mr. Neville, 71; Alloys of Copper and Magnesium, O. Boudouard, 72; Arsenic in the Animal Kingdom, Gabriel Bertrand, 72; Armand Gautier, 72; Localisation of Normal Arsenic in some Organs of Animals.and Plants, Armand Gautier, 95; Diffusion of Arsenic in Nature, F. Garrigou, 192; Qualitative Separation of Arsenic, Antimony, and Tin, Prof. J. Walker, 238; Detection of Arsenic in Malt, Beer, and Food Stuffs, W. Thomson, 503; on the Dis- tribution in the Organism and the Elimination of Arsenic Given Medicinally in the Form of Sodium Methylarsenate, A. Mounyrat, 504; Action of Hydrogen on the Sulphides of Antimony in the Presence of Arsenic, H. Pelabon, 552; Volemite in Primulacee, J. Bougault and G. Allard, 72; Lexikon der Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen, M. ; Richter, 78; Products of the Decomposition of Normal Cupric Acetate under the Influence of Heat, Messrs. Harcourt and Angel, 89; Influence of Moisture on the Combination of Hydrogen and Chlorine, Messrs. Mellor and Russell, 90; the Velocity of Crystallisation, Dr. von Pickardt, 90; Reduction of Vanadic Acid by Hydrochloric ’ Acid, F. A. Gooch and L. B. Stookey, 93; the Impuri- ties in Compressed Oxygen, M. Berthelot, 95; Muscula- mine, S. Posternak, 96; Atmospheric Hydrogen, A. Leduc, 96; Hand- und Hiilfsbuch zur Ausfiihrung physiko-chemischer Messungen, W. Ostwald and R. Luther, 101; Physical Chemistry Applied to Toxins and Antitoxins, Dr. A. Harden, 114; ‘‘ Dynamic Isomerism ”’ of Thiourea and Ammonium Thiocyanate, 117; Inter- action of Ketones and Aldehydes with Acid Chlorides, F. H. Lees, 117; a Reaction of Phenolic Colouring Matters, A. G. Perkin and C. R. Wilson, 117; Mixtures of Constant Boiling Point, Dr. S. Young, 117; Conden- sation Points of the Thorium and Radium Emanations, E. Rutherford and F. Soddy, 117; Atomic Weight of Radium, 424; the Heat-giving Properties of Radium Salts, P. Curie and A. Laborde, 491 ; Radium, Profesl-plc Thomson, F.R.S., 601; Determination of Strychnine and Brucine in Nux Vomica, E. Dowzard, 117; General Theory of Action of Diatases, Victor Henri, 119; Uranous Oxide, CEchsner de Coninck, 119 ; Estimation of Glycerol in Wine, A. Trillat, 119; Chemisches Prak- tikum, Dr. A. Wolfrum, 125; the Enzyme Contained in the Secretion of Nepenthes, Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S., 142; Composition of Gaseous Hydrates, M. de Forcrand, 143; the Transformation .of Pyrophosphoric Acid into Orthophosphoric Acid, H. Giran, 143; Manganese Aluminate, Em. Dufau, 143; Separation of the Alkalis from Peroxide of Manganese, H. Baubigny, 192; Two Silicides of Manganese, P. Lebeau, 287: Oxidation of the Acetates of Manganese and Cobalt by Chlorine, H. Copaux, 383; the Reduction of Acetol, Andre Kling, | 143; the Temperature of Inflammation and Combustion XI in Oxygen of the Three Varieties of Carbon, Henri Moissan, 143; (Euvres completes de Jean-Charles Galissard de Marignac, 146, 607; E. Ador, 146; Acht Vortrage iiber physikalische Chemie, J. H. van ’t Hoff, 149; Death of Prof. J. Wislicenus, 155; Obituary Notice of, 228; Death and Obituary Notice of Alfonso Cossa, 156; Constitution of Enolic Benzoylcamphor, Dr. M. O. Forster, 166; Isomeric Benzoyl Derivatives from Isonitro- socamphor, Dr. M. O. Forster, 166; the Quantity of Free Hydrogen in the Air and the Density of Atmospheric Nitrogen, Armand Gautier, 167; Thallic Chloride, V. Thomas, 168; Essence of Vetiver, P. Genvresse and G. Langlois, 168; the Principles of Inorganic Chemistry, Wilhelm Ostwald, 171; Papers on Etherification and on the Constitutions of Salts, Alexander W. Williamson, F.R.S., 173; Action of Boron Chloride upon Gaseous Ammonia, M. Joannis, 192 ; New Method of Chlorination of Aromatic Hydrocarbons, MM. Seyewetz and Biot, 192; Argon, Oxide of Carbon, and Hydrocarbons in the Gas from the Fumaroles of Mont Pelée, Henri Moissan, 1092; Argon in the Gases from the Bordeu Spring at Luchon and Free Sulphur Water, Henri Moissan, 239 ; Liquid Sulphur Dioxide as a Solvent, 352; Amorphous Sulphur, Alexander Smith and W. B. Holmes, 352; Nature of the Sulphur Compound in Bayen Spring at Bagnéres-de- Luchon, F. Garrigou, 624; Preparatory Lessons in Chemistry, Henry W. Hill, 202; Electrochemical Notes, 211; the Potash Salts: their Production and Application to Agriculture, Industry, and Horticulture, L. A. Groth, 222; New Method of Preparing Silicon Analogue of Ethane, Prof. Henri Moissan, 233; Another Application of the Organo-magnesium Compounds to Organic Synthesis, F. Bodroux, 233; Chemical Character of Bleaching Powder, Herr Wintler, 233 ; Heuristic Method of Teaching Chemistry, Prof. Armstrong, 237; Reagent for the Identification of Carbamide, H. J. H. Fenton, 238; Rate of Decomposition of Diazo-compounds of the Naphthalene Series, Messrs. Cain and Nicoll, 238; State of Carbon Dioxide in Aqueous Solution, Prof. J. Walker, 238; Constitution of Metallic Cyanides, J. E. Marsh, 238; Action of Acids on Cellulose, M. Gostling, 238; Purpurogallin, A. G. Perkin and A. B. Steven, 238; the Destructive Distillation of Ethyl Gallate, A. G. Perkin, 238; Series of Double Chromates, S. H. C. Briggs, 238; the Emanation from Phosphorus, Eugéne Bloch, 239; Analysis of the Gas from Mineral Springs in the Pyrenees, Ch. Moureu, 240; New Method for the Volu- metric Estimation of Hydroxylamine, M. L. J. Simon, 240; Death of Dr. H. E. Schunck, F.R.S., 250; Obituary Notice of, 275; the Reversible Transformation of Am- monium Thiocyanate into Thiourea, Messrs. Reynolds and Werner, 253; Relationship between the Red and Yellow Oxides of Mercury, K. Schick, 253; Chemical Dynamics and Statics Under the Influence of Light, Dr. M. Wildermann, 253; Activity of Some Salts of the Rare Earths as Producing Oxidation, André Job, 263; Objections of M. Leduc to the Proportion of Free Hydro- gen in Air, Armand Gautier, 263 ; Cellular Structure in Amorphous Bodies, G. Cartaud, 264; Oxidation of Am- monia and Amines by Catalytic Action, A. Trillat, 264; Diminution in the Amount of Lecithin in Heated Milks, M. Bordas and Sig. de Raczkowski, 264; the Chemistry of the Terpenes, F. Heusler and Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 267; Notions fondamentales de Chimie Organique, Prof. Ch. Moureau, 269; Death of Prof. Gustav Bischof, 276; Death of Prof. Charles J. Bell, 276; Synthetic Carbolic Acid in Germany, Dr. F. Rose, 278; on Certain Proper- ties of the Alloys of the Gold-Silver Series, the late Sir William Roberts-Austen, K.C.B., F.R.S., and Dr. T. Kirke Rose, 285; Chloride of Cinnamylidene, Ernest Charon and Edgar Dugoujon, 287; Formation of the Purple of Purpura lapillus, Raphael Dubois, 287; the Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School, Alexander Smith and Edwin H. Hall, Prof. A. Smithells, F.R.S., 295; a Mode of Formation of Phenols, F. Bodroux, 311; Ethyl Dinitroacetate, L. Bouveault and A. Wahl, 311; Influence of the Nature of the External Medium on the State of Hydration of the Plant, Eug. Charabot and A. Hebert, 311; a Kinase in Some Basi- diomycetes, C. Delezenne and H. Mouton, 311; Acetal- dehyde in the Ageing and Alterations of Wine, A. Trillat, ¢ Xil Index Nature, June 18, 1903 311; Comparative Bactericidal Power of the Electric Arc between Poles of Ordinary Carbon or of Carbon Con- taining Iron, Alfred Chatin and S. Nicolau, 311; the Chinchona Alkaloids, MM. Berthelot and Gaudechon, 311, 335; the Chemistry of Indiarubber, Carl Otto Weber, C. Simmonds, 313; Physico-Chemical Tables, vol. i., Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry, John Castell-Evans, 314; Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry, Holmes C. Jackson, 316; Die Zersetzung stickstofffreier organischen Substanzen durch Bakterien, Dr. O. Emmerling, F. Escombe, 316; Isomeric Change in Benzene Derivatives, Dr. kK. J. P. Orton, at the Royal Society, 332; Electrolytic Superoxides of Lead, Nickel, and Bismuth, A. Hollard, 335; Chlorination of Aromatic Substituted Hydrocarbons by Ammoniacal Plumbic Chloride, A. Seyewetz and P. Trawitz, 335; 1 : 6 Hexanediol and its Derivatives, l’Abbé J. Hamonet, 336; a New Reducing Agent, Titanium Trichloride, E. Knecht, 352; the Electrochemical Society, 354; Interactions of Silicophenylamide with Thiocarb- imides, Prof. Emerson Reynolds, 358; Relation between Absorption Spectra and Chemical Structure of Certain Alkaloids, Drs. Dobbie and Lauder, 358; Influence of Molybdenum and Tungsten Trioxides on the Specific Rotation of /-Lactic Acid and Potassium /-Lactate, Dr. Henderson and Mr. Prentice, 358; Estimation of Ethyl Alcohol in Essences and Medicinal Preparations, Dr. YT. E. Thorpe and Mr. Holmes, 358; Influence of Nitro- groups on the Reactivity of Halogen Derivatives of Benzene, Dr. Lapworth, 358; Thermodynamique et Chimie, P. Duhem, 366; Vergleichende Chemische Physiologie der Niederen Tiere, Dr. Otto von Fiirth, 366; Simple Apparatus for the Manufacture of Oxygen, 375; the Gases Enclosed in Coal, P. P. Bedson, 376; Solubilities and Transition Points of Lithium Nitrate and its Hydrates, Dr. F. G. Donnan and Mr. B. C. Burt, 382; Distillation of Chlorine Water, Dr. A. Richardson, 382; a New Vapour Density Apparatus, J. S. Lumsden, 382; Tertiary Butyl Phenol, E. W. Lewis, 382; a New Synthesis of Orthodiazine, R. Marquis, 383; Synthesis of Anisic Acid and Paraethoxy- benzoic Acid, F. Bodroux, 384; Essence of Calamintha Nepeta or Marjolaine, P. Genvresse and E. Chablay, 384; Silica Glass, 403; Action of Phosphoric Acid upon Erythritol, P. Carré, 407; Action of Epichlorhydrin on the Sodium Derivatives of Acetone-dicarboxylic Esters, A. Hallor and F. March, 407; Change in Catalytic De- composition of Hydrogen Peroxide by Metallic Mercury, Bredig and Weinmayr, 424; Composition of Oleum Cacao, J. Klimont, 425; Action of Acetylene as Kathodic Depolarising Agent in the Electrolysis of Acid and Alka- line Solutions, Dr. Billitzer, 425; Chitin, Drs. Frankel and Kelly, 425; Peculiar Reaction Exhibited by Iron and Steel, Dr. von Cordier, 425; Influence of Constitution on the Affinity Constants of Organic Acids, Prof. Weg- scheider, 425; Acid Character of Acetylene, Dr. Billitzer, 425; New Acetylenic Acids, Ch. Moureu and R. Delange, 455; Hydration of the Acetylenic Acids, Ch. Moureu and R. Delange, 528; Formation of Carbon Ions in Aqueous Solution, Dr. Billitzer, 425 ; the Future of Coal Gas, Cantor Lecture at Society of Arts, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 426; Molecular Arrangement of N-substituted Imino-ethers, Dr. G. D. Lander, 430; Biological Method for Resolving Inactive Acids into their Optically Active Compounds, Dr. A. McKenzie and A. Harden, 430; Colour Changes in Solutions of Cobalt-Chloride, Prof. W. N. Hartley, F.R.S., 430; Products of Reduction of Copper Salts by Hydroxylamine, E. Péchard, 431; the Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity, Dr. C. Krauch, C. Simmonds, 436; Text-book of Electrochemistry, Svante Arrhenius, 437; the Methods of Liquefying Gases, Dr. M. W. Travers, 443; Heat of Combustion of Phosphorus and on the Phosphoric Anhydrides, H. Giran, 455; Kékulé Method of Production of True Thio-acids, V. Auger and M. Billy, 455; Para-ethyl-benzoic . Aldehyde, H. Fournier, 455; Method for Estimating Glycerol in the Blood, Maurice. Nicloux, 455; Two Tetra-alkyl- diamido-diphenylanthrones, A. Haller and A Guyot, 455; the Analysis of Oils and Allied Substances, A. C. Wright, 460; the Aftermath of the Paris Exhibition, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 465; Death of René Mamert, Cheshire 468; Nitrogen and Carbon in Clays and Marls, Dr- N. H. J. Miller, 478; Hydrides of Rubidium and Ce- sium, Henri Moissan, 479; Non-Conductivity of the Metallic Hydrides, Henri Moissan, 479; Cuprous Sul- phate, A. Joannis, 480; the Oxydases of Cuttle Fishes, C- Gessard, 480; Theoretical Organic Chemistry, J. B. Cohen, 485; the Bearing of Recent Discoveries on the Physics of Taste and Smell, F. Southerden, 486; Appara- tus for the Liquefaction of Air and Hydrogen, Prof. Olszewski, 494; the Solidification of Fluorine and the Combination of Solid Fluorine with Liquid Hydrogen, Profs. H. Moissan and J. Dewar, 497; Experiments on Liquid Fluorine, MM. Moissan and Dewar, 544; Lead in Peaty Water, Dr. Houston, 498; the Stereochemistry of Benzene, H. O. Jones and J. Kewley, 503; on the Combination of Plumbic Acid with Organic Acids, M. Albert Colson, 503; Heat of Transformation of Yellow into Red Phosphorus, H. Giran, 503; on Collargol, H. Hanriot, 503; Action of Hot Metals on the Fatty Acids, Al. Hébert, 503; the Properties of a Solution of Sodium Sulphate, C. Marie and R. Marquis, 503; New Method of Preparation of Ammonium Chloroplumbate, A- Seyewetz and P. Trawitz, 504; on Tetraphenylbuta- nediol, Armand Valeur, 504; Tertiary Nitroso-paraffins, Messrs. Bamberger and Seligman, 521; Combination of Carbonic Acid with Potassium Hydride, Henri Moissan, 527; Action of Phosphorus Trichloride upon Glycol, P. Carré, 528; Action of Mixed Organo-magnesium Com- pounds on Bodies containing Nitrogen, Louis Meunier, 528; the Catalytic Decomposition of Ethyl Alcohol by Finely Divided Metals, Paul Sabatier and J. B. Sen- derens, 528; on the Alkyl- and Acyl-cyano-camphors and the Alkylcamphocarbonic Esters, A. Haller, 551; Essential Oil of Hops, A. C. Chapman, 550; Constitution of Cotarnine, Messrs. Dobbie, Lauder, and Tinkler, 551; Decomposition of Mercurous Nitrite by Heat, Dr. P. Ray and J. N. Sen, 551; Action of Nitrogen Tetroxide on Pyridine, J. F. Spencer, 551; Pyrophosphorous Acid, V. Auger, 552; Constitution of the Nitrocelluloses, Léo Vignon, 552; Grundriss der Qualitativen Analyse, vom Standpunkte der Lehre von den Jonen, Dr. Wilh, Bottger, 557; Recent Progress in Chemical Re- search, Prof. J. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., 567; Ceric Chromate, P. E. Browning and C. P: Flora, 573; Chemical Composition of Axinite, W. E. Ford, 573; an Attempt to Estimate the Relative Amounts of Krypton and of Xenon in Atmospheric Air, Sir William Ramsey, K.C.B., F.R.S., 573; Absorption Spectra of Nitric Acid in Various States of Concentration, Prof. W. N- Hartley, 574; Discoloured Rain, E. G. Clayton, 574: Reversibility of Enzyme or Ferment Action, A. C. Hill, 574; Action of Caustic Alkalis on Cinnamic Acid Dibro- mide and its Esters, Messrs. Sudborough and Thompson, 575; Colour of Mercuric Iodide at Different Tempera- tures, D. Gernez, 576; Lead Tetracetate, Alb. Colson, 576; Preparation of the Crystalline Sulphides of Zinc and Cadmium, Georges Viard, 576; Action of Alkaline Earth Bases on Salts of the Pyrogallol Sulphonic Acids, Marcel Delage, 576; the Principles of Dyeing, G. S. Fraps, 581; Report upon the Atmosphere of the Central London Railway, Dr. Clowes and Dr. Andrewes, 591; Catalytic Decomposition of Alcohols by Finely Divided Metals, Paul Sabatier and J. B. Senderens, 599; Practical Chemistry and Physics, J. Young, 608; Practical Proper- ties of Nickel Carbonyl, James Dewar, F.R.S., and Humphrey Owen Jones, 623; Soluble Cellulose, Léo Vignon, 624; Methods of Gas Analysis, Dr. Walther Hempel, Supp. November 6, 1902, x; Agricultural Chemistry, Circuit of Nitrogen, Prof. Meyer, 21; ““ Chimica Agraria Campestre e Silvano,’’ Italo Giglioli, 169 (Frederick J.), Form of Polariser. 157 Simple Reflecting Cheshunt (V. K.), the Diet of the Indians of California, 14 Chicago Literary Club, Lecture at, Technical Education at Home and Abroad, Prof. Victor C. Alderson, 356 Children’s Gardens, the Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil (Alicia Amherst), 55 Chisholm (G. G.), Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel, 322 Nature, June 18, 19031 Index XIll Chofardet (P.), Observations of the Giacobini Comet (1902 d) Made at the Observatory of Besancon, 192; Ob- servations of Comet 1903 a, 376 Chottoraj (Kaliprasanna), Algebra, 608 Chree (Dr. Charles, F.R.S.), Relationships between Sun- spots and Terrestrial Magnetism, 381; Magnetic Work | in New Zealand, 418; the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539 Chromosphere, Recently Discovered Terrestrial Gases in the, Prof. S. A. Mitchell, 619 Chronophotography, the Movement of Air Studied by, M. | Marey, 487 Church (A. H.), Lepidoptera and Choice of Plant Food, 166 Church (Col. G. E.), Through the Heart of Patagonia, H. Hesketh Prichard, 321 -Clark (Joseph), Recent Remarkable Sunsets, 12 Claude (Henri), Experimental Researches on Adrenaline, 143 Clayton (E. G.), Discoloured Rain, 574 Clayton (H. H.), Eclipse Cyclone of 1900, 191 4 Climate, Secular Changes of, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 150 Clinton (Mr.), Measurement of Small Capacities and In- ductances, 429 Close (Major C. F.), Grundziige der Astronomisch- geographischen Orts-bestimmung auf Forschungsreisen, Prof. Dr. Paul Giissfeldt, 532 Clowes (Dr.), Report upon the Atmosphere of the Central London Railway, 591 Clowes (Prof. Frank, F.R.S.), Sewage, 402 Coal, Increase in the Output of, 471 Coal-fields of Scotland, the, Robert W. Dron, 125 Coal Gas, the Future of, Cantor Lecture at Society of Arts, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 426 Coast-protection in Norfolk and Suffolk, 277 Coblyn (Lieut. J. H.), Transmission of Vision to Distance by Electricity, 252 Coburn (F.), British Wild Goose, Anser paludosus, 252 Cochrane (R.), Irish Gold Ornaments Acquired by the British Museum, 89 Cockayne (L.), Plants of Chatham Island, 14-15 Cockerell (Prof. T. D. A.), Germs in Space, 103; Recent American Botany, 234; Chapman’s Zebra, 391; the Name Solenopsis, 559 Cognac Brandy, Manufacture and Nature of, 136 Cohen (J. B.), Theoretical Organic Chemistry, 485 Coin, the New Nickel, 396 Colbeck (Captain), the National Antarctic Expedition, 615 Colbeck (Lieut.), the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, Bacterial Treatment of 539 Cole (Prof. Grenville A. J.), Composite Gneisses in Boy- lagh, 135; an Introduction to Physical Geography, Grove Karl Gilbert and Albert Perry Brigham, 147; Geological Explorations in Central Borneo, Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff, 506 ;Grundrisz der Mineralogie und Geologie, zum Gebrauch beim Unterricht an Hoheren Lehran- stalten sowie zum Selbstunterricht, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwalbe, 530; Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks Based on Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, Whitman Cross, Joseph P. Iddings, Louis V. Pirsson, and Henry S. Washington, 578 Collectors, Handbook of Instructions for, 173 Collett (Sir H., K.C.B.), ‘‘ Flora Simlensis : a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla and the Neighbourhood,”’ 170 Collins (Dr. T. Byard), the Action of Birds’ Wings, 542 Colour of the Eclipsed Moon, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 376 Coloured Dust on February 22-23, Fall of, Wm. Marriott, 391 Colours, the Reproduction of, by Photography, H. E. Dresser and Sir H. Trueman Wood, 127 Colson (Albert), on the Combination of Plumbic Acid with Organic Acids, 503; Lead Tetracetate, 576 Columbus (Christopher), Ashes of, Transferred to Seville Cathedral, 63 Comets : Comet 1902 b, 39; J. Guillaume and G. Le Cadet, 455; as Observed in Ceylon, H. O. Barnard, 39; Near Approach of Comet 1902 b to Mercury, Prof. Seagrave, 39; Transparency of Comet 1902 b, Prof. O. C. Wendell, | Constable (Mr.), 447; the Spectrum of Comet 1902 b, M. de la Baume- Pluvinel, 472; Comet 1902 b (Giacobini), C. F. Pechule, 158; Comet 1902 b (Perrine), Herr Ebell, 424; Comet 1g02 ¢ (Grigg), 91; New Comet 1902 d (Giacobini), 137; G. Bigourdan, 167; P. Salst, 167; G. Fayet, 167, 307; Observations of, Made at the Observatory of Besangon, P. Chofardet, 192; Comet 1902 d, M. Ebell, 183, 233; F. Ristenpart, 280, 544; Elements and Ephemeris of Comet 1902 d, G. Fayet, 159; Comet 1903 a (Giacobini), 280, 307, 329; M. Ebell and Prof. H. Kreutz, 307 ; Comet 1903 4, Paul Briick, 424, 544; Elements and Ephemeris of, G. Fayet, 352; Observations of Comet 1903 a, P. Chofardet, 376; Ephemeris for Comet Temple,-Swift, J. Bossert, 40, 307; Element and Search-ephemeris for Comet 1896 V (Giacobini), Herr M. Ebell, 447; Return of Perrine’s Comet 1896 vii, Herr Ristenpart, 329 Comparative Anatomy: Mammalian and Reptilian Vome- rine Bones, Dr. R. Broom, 168 Comstock (G. C.), a Text-book of Field Astronomy for Engineers, 460 Congenital Dislocation of the Hips, Prof. Lorenz’s Treat- ment of, 272 Congresses: Compte rendu du deuxiéme Congress inter- national des Mathématiciens tenu a Paris, 6 au 12 Aodt 1900, 245; Positive Sciences at the International Congress of History, Prof. Piero Giacosa, 613 Coninck (C&chsner de), Uranous Oxide, 119 Conservation of Energy, Sir Oliver Lodge and the, Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 611 Conservation of Mass, the, D. M. Y. Sommerville, Prof. €. V. Boys, F.R.S., 103 on Distribution Losses 80; in Electricity Supply, 494 Constants, a British Book of, John Castell-Evans, 314 Constitution of the New Education Committees, 371 Conte (A.), Nuclear Emissions Observed in the Protozoa, 240 Conway (Prof. A. W.), the Propagation of Light in a Uniaxal Crystal, 71 Conway (Sir M.), Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego, 175; Measurement of an Arc of Meridian in Spitzbergen, 536 Coomaraswami (Ananda K.), the Tiree Marble, 262 Cooper (Captain A. J.), Causes of Weather and Earth- quakes, 616 Cooperation in Observing Stellar Radial Velocities, Prof. E. B. Frost, 67 Cooperative Determinations of Velocities in the Line of Sight, Mr. Newall, 568 Copaux (H.), Oxidation of the Acetates of Manganese and Cobalt by Chlorine, 383 Copeman (S. Monckton), the Inter-relationship of Variola and Vaccinia, 189 Cora (Prof. Guido), Severe Snowfall in Piedmont, 86 Corals: Importance of Boring Algas in the Disintegration of, Dr. J. E. Duerden, 88; Horny Membrane of Neohelia porcellana, Prof. Sydney J. Hickson, F.R.S., 344; on the Formation of Barrier Reefs and of the Different Types of Atolls, Alexander Agassiz, For.Mem.R.S., at the Royal Society, 547 Cordier (Dr. von), Peculiar Reaction Exhibited by Iron and Steel, 425 Cornil (V.), the Implantation of Dead Bone in Contact with Living Bone, 407 Coronal Disturbance and Sun Spots, Prof. Perrine, 16 Cortie (Father), Magnetic Storms and Sun Spots, 211 Cosmology, a Revolution in the Science of, George Camp- bell, 6 Cossa (Alfonso), Death and Obituary Notice of, 156 Cost of Scientific Education in Germany and England, Walter Smith, 127 Coudray (P.), the Implantation of Dead Bone in Contact with Living Bone, 407 Coupin (Henri), Nutrition of Sterigmatocystis nigra, 384 Craft (Camille), a Scale of Interference Colours, 469 Craniology of the People of Scotland, Sir William Turner, 167 Craniology : (1) Skulls from the Daurs’ Graves, Driffield, Yorkshire ; (2), a method to facilitate the recognition of Sergi’s skull types, Dr. William Wright, 502 Crawford (Prof. L.), a Geodesic on a Spheroid and an Associated Ellipse, 71 XIV Index Hs Nature, L June 18, 1903 Creation, the Seven Tablets of the, L. W. King, 204 Cremieu (V.), New Magnetic Systems for the Study of Feeble Fields, 480; Electric Convection, 624 Crete, the Mycenzean Discoveries in, H. R. Hall, 57 Crichton-Browne (Sir James), the Dust Problem, 113 Crompton (H.), the Specific Heats of Liquids, 166 Crookes (S. Irwin), Genius and the Struggle for Existence, 415 Crooks (Sir William, F.R.S.), the Emanations of Radium, Lecture at the Royal Society, 522 Cross (Whitman), Geology of Rico Mountains in South- West Colorado, 448; Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks, based on Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, 578 Crossland (C.), Coral Reefs of Pemba Island and British East Africa, 119 Crystallisation, the Velocity of, Dr. von Pickardt, 90 Crystallography: Solution of Problems in Crystallography by Trigonometry, S. L. Penfield, 45; Crystallography of a Mineral from the Lengenbach, R. H. Solly, 142; Con- nection between the Molecular Volumes and Chemical Composition of Some Crystallographically Similar Minerals, G. T. Prior, 142; Quartz Crystals of Peculiar Habit from South Africa, T. V. Barker, 382; Variation of Angles in Crystals, Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., 573 Cunningham (J. T.), the Japanese Artificial Treatment of Longtailed Fowls, 527 Cunningham (Lieut.-Colonel), on 4ic residuarity and re- ciprocity, 382 Curie (P.), Induced Radio-activity and the Emanation from Radium, 335; Disappearance of the Radio-activity In- duced by Radium on Solid Bodies, 383; the Heat-giving Properties of Radium Salts, 491 Curious Projectile Force, a, 247; Sir Norman Lockyer, KGlB!, FeRiss, 297 Currents, Tidal, in Dawson, 228 Curtis (Mr.), the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539 Curtis (W. C.), Differences in the Life-history of Planarta maculata, 158 Curvature of Wheel Spokes in Photographs, R. M. Milne, 8 Cuthbertson (Clive), Refractivities of the Elements, 32 Cynipides d’Europe et d’Algérie, Monographie des, Abbé J. J. Kieffer, 124 Daft (L.), Method of Electrically Locating Ore Deposits, 65 5 Dame (L. L.), Handbook of the Trees of New England, 79 | Daniel (Lucien), Comparative Structure of the Point of | Junction in Grafted Plants, 360 Danne (J.), Disappearance of the Radio-activity Induced by Radium on Solid Bodies, 383 Danysz (J.), Pathogenic Action of the Rays Emitted by | Radium on Different Tissues and Organisms, 407 Darbishire (Mr.), Experiments in the Mendelian Theory of Heredity, Japanese ‘‘ Waltzing Mice,’’ 550 Darwin (Charles), Observations Géologiques sur les Iles Volcaniques Explorée par 1|’Expédition du ‘‘ Beagle’’ et | Notes sur la Géologie de 1’Australie et du Cap de Bonne Espérance, 31; Dr.- A. R. Wallace’s Relations with Darwin, 276; More Letters of Charles Darwin, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 529 Darwin (Francis, F.R.S.), Geotropism, 57 David (P.), Magnetic Survey of the Summit of the Puy de Déme, 542 David (Prof. T. W. Edgeworth, F.R.S.), on Important Geological Fault at Kurrajong Heights, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, 407 Davis (H. N.), Method of Demonstrating Newton’s Rings by Transmitted Light, 573 the Statolith Theory of Davis (J. R. A.), the Natural History of Animals; the | Animal Life of the World in its Various Aspects and Re- lations, 562 Davis (Prof. W. M.), River Terraces in New England, 182 Dawkins (Prof. W. Boyd, F.R.S.), an Ossiferous Cavern of Pliocene Age at Dove Holes, Buxton, 287 Dawn of Modern Geopraphy, C. Raymond Beazley, 464 Dawson (W. Bell), Tidal Currents in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 228 Daylight Photometer, a, Albert Campbell, 332 the Gulf of St. Lawrence, W. Bell | | Deakin (Rupert), Euclid: Books v., vi., xi., 577 Dean (Prof. B.), Origin of the Paired Limbs of Verte- brates, 65; Origin of Vertebrate Limbs, 136 Debierne (A.), Induced Radio-activity Produced by Salts of Actinium, 407; the Production of Induced Radio- activity by Actinium, 503 Dechant (Otto), the Diathermanosity of Water and Certain Solutions, 425 Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes, the, Berthold Laufer, Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 560 de Crespigny (Rose C.), the New Forest; its Traditions, Inhabitants, and Customs, 461 Deep Sea, a Romance of the, A. Alcock, F.R.S., 320 Deer, Brazilian, Dr. E. Goeldi on, 620 Deer Family, the, T. Roosevelt, Supp. Nov. 6, 1902, ix Definite Figures, the Formation of, by the Deposition of: Dust, Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., 545 DeGarmo (Prof. C.), Interest and Education, the Doctrine of Interest and its Concrete Application, 413 Dehérain (Prof. P. P.), Death of, 133; Obituary Notice of, 179 Delage (Marcel), Action of Alkaline Earth Bases on Salts of the Pyrogallol Sulphonic Acids, 576 Delage (Yves), Physiological Injections, 143; the Hypna- gogic Images, 527 Delange (R.), New Acetylenic Acids, 455; Hydration of the Acetylenic Acids, 528 Delezenne (C.), a Kinase in some Basidiomycetes, 311 Delphini, New Variable Star, 15, 1902, Dr. Anderson, 16 Delphini, New Variable Star, 16, 1902, Madame Ceraski, 114 Demoussy (E.), Vegetation in Atmospheres Rich in Carbon Dioxide, 360 Denning (W. F.), Jupiter and his Great Red Spot, 159; Definition of Jupiter’s Markings, Acceleration in the Motion of the Great Red Spot, 329; February Meteors, 447; Opposition of Mars, 525 Density and Change of Volume of Nova Persei, C. E. Stromeyer, 612 Deposition of Dust, the Formation of Definite Figures by the, Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., 545 Derriman (W. H.) an Oscillating Table for Determining Moments of Inertia, 333 Deslandres (M.), Determinations Velocities, 376 Dessau (Bernardo), La Telegrafia Senza Filo, 582 Determinants, Historical Note in Regard to, Dr. Thomas Muir, F.R.S., 512 De Winton (W. E.), the Zoology of Egypt—Mammalia, Dr. J. Anderson, 266 Dew Deposits on Lantern Slides, the Prevention of, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., at the British Association at Belfast, 476 Dewar (Prof. J., F.R.S.), the Solidification of Fluorine and the Combination of Solid Fluorine with Liquid Hydrogen, 497; Experiments on Liquid Fluorine, 544; Physical Properties of Nickel Carbonyl, 623 Diamonds obtained with Goldschmid’s Thermite Method, Prof. Hasslinger, 22 | Dibden (Charles), St. Elmo’s Fire during Snow-storm, 174 Dickson (Prof. L. E.), the Abstract Group Simply Iso- morphic with the Group of Linear Fractional Trans- formations in a Galois Field, 190 Dietary Studies, Recent, Mrs. Percy Frankland, 185 Differential Calculus for Beginners, Alfred Lodge, 123 Differential Equations, Theory of, A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S., 1 Diffraction, a Simple Experiment in, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 80 Digby (Wm.), Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena, 510 Dines (W. H.), Method of Kite-flying from a Steam-vessel and Meteorological Observations obtained thereby off Scotland, 311 Discovery of Japan, the, Kumagusu Minakata, 610 Disease, Use of Roéntgen Rays in treatment of, 445 Diseases of the Respiratory and Circulatory Organs, W. HH. Allchin, 554; Dr. Samuel West, 554 Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis, the, J. Brown, F.R.S., of Stellar Radial Dr. 414 Divers (Dr. Edward, F.R.S.), Suggested Nature of the Phenomena of the Eruption of Mont Pelée on July 9, Observed by the Royal Society Commission, 126 Nature, ] June 18, 1903 xv Dixon (E. T.), a point in a recent paper by Prof. D. Hilbert, 382 Dixon (Dr. Henry H.), Experiments made to determine the | the Resistance of Seeds to High Temperatures, 19; Cohesion Theory of the Ascent of Sap, 431 Dixon (Will. A.), Recent Dust Storms in Australia, 203 Dobbie (Dr.), Relation between Absorption Spectra and Chemical Structure of Certain Alkaloids, 358 Dobbie (Mr.), Constitution of Cotarnine, 551 Dogs: My Dog Frizzie, and Others, Lady Alicia Black- wood, 202; Our Dog’s Birthday Book, Mrs. F. H. | | Earth’s Surface, Barnett, 246; Can Dogs Reason? Dr. Alex Hill, 558; Sir William Ramsey, K.C.B., F.R.S., 609 Donard (E.), Maisine, a New Albuminoid from Maize, 47 Doncaster (L.), Notes on Rearing the Later Stages of Echinoid Larve, 215 Donnan (Dr. F. G.), Solubilities and Transition Points of Lithium Nitrate and its Hydrates, 352 Double Stars, New Catalogue of, W. J. Catalogue of Measures of New Double Stars, R. G. Aitken, 619 Dove (H. Stuart), Recent Dust Storms in Australia, 203 Dove Dale Revisited, with Other Holiday Sketches, 173 Dowzard (E.), Determination of Strychnine and Brucine in Nux Vomica, 117 Dresser (H. E.), the Reproduction of Colours by Photo- graphy, 127 Driesch (Hans), Die organischen Regulationen, bereitungen zu einer Theorie des Lebens, 50 Dron (Robert W.), the Coalfields of Scotland, 125 Drude (Paul), the Theory of Optics, 413 Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 143 Dublin Royal Society, 166, 262, 406, 431, 599 Hussey, 496; Prof. Vor- Dubois (Raphael), Formation of the Purple of Purpura | lapillus, 287 Duerden (Dr. J. E.), Importance of Boring Algas in the | | L’Eau dans 1’Alimentation, F. Disintegration of Corals, 88 Dufau (Em.), Manganese Aluminate, 143 Dufour (Prof. C.), Death of, 468 Dufour (Henri), on the Diminution of the Intensity of the Solar Radiation, 504; Wariation of Solar Radiation re- ceived on the Earth’s Surface, 545 Dugmore (A. Radclyffe), Nature and the Camera, 534 Duhem (E.), Le Mixte et la Combinaison Chimique Essai sur Evolution d’une Idée, 29 Duhem (P.), Quasi-waves, Chimie, 366 Duncan (F. Martin), First Steps in Photo-micrography, 60 Duan (J.), Applied Mechanics for Beginners, 245 Dunlap (O. E.), a Remarkable Diversion in the Waters of Niagara caused by Ice, 618 Dupont (Maurice), Apparatus for Determining the Duration of Luminous Impressions on the Retina, 96 Duporeq (M. E.), Death of, 589 Durham (H. E.), Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 172 Dust : Volcanic Dust Phenomena, T. W. Backhouse, 174; Fall of Coloured Dust on February 22-23, Wm. Marriott, 391; March Dust from the Soufriére, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 584 Dust Problem, the, Sir James Crichton-Browne, 113 Dust, the Formation of Definite Figures by the Deposition of, Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., 545 Dust Storms in Australia, Recent, Will. A. Dixon, 203; H. Stuart Dove, 203 ’ Dutch Prime Minister on Economics, a, Dr. N. G. Pierson, 71; Thermodynamique et 457 Duty-free Alcohol for Scientific Purposes, 164 Dyeing, the Principles of, G. S. Fraps, 581 Dynamics: the Waste of Energy from a Moving Electron, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 6, 32; Sur les Principes de la Mécanique Rationelle, C. de Freycinet, 27; Interpretacion Dinamica de la Division Cellular, A. Gallardo, Prof. Marcus Hartog, 42; the Use of the “Inertia Skeleton,’’ Index | Prof. A. M. Worthington, 351-2; the Principle of Least | Action, Lagrange’s Equations, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 297; the Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equations, Rotation of a Rigid Body, Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368; Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 368; Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c., Prof. W. McF. Orr, 415; R. F. W., 415 Dynamo, the Modern, C. F. Guilbert, 4 Dyson (Dr.), Combination of Carbon Monoxide with Chlorine under the Influence of Light, 71 Earle (Walter), ‘‘ Eyes Within,’’ 173 Earp (Rowland A.), Analysis of the ‘‘ Red Rain’’ of February 22, 414 Earth and Sky, J. H. Stickney, 6 Variation of Solar on the, Henri Dufour, 545 Earthquakes: the Turkestan Earthquake of August 22, R. D. Oldham, 8; Earthquake at Oran, 63 ; Earthquakes and Earth Physics, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., at the Royal Geographical Society, 69; Earthquake at Oued Marsa, 86; Earthquake at Andijan, 180, 208, 230, 250, 541; Deaths caused by Earthquake at Andijan, 324; Earth- quake at Syracuse, 208; Recent Earthquakes in Trans- caucasia and Transcaspia, 230; Earthquake Observations in Galicia, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., 235; Recent Earth- quakes in Guatemala, Edwin Rockstroh, 271; Earth- quake at Davos, 276; at Charleston, 303; Recent Earthquakes, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., 348; Earthquake Shocks in U.S.A., 349; Earthquake in Western Jamaica, 349; at Guam (Ladrones), 396; at Tuxpan, 421; Earth- quakes in Vogtland and the Erzgebirge, 443 ; Earthquake in Dominica, 443 ; at Aquila, 443; at Bunder Abbas, 471; Earthquake Shocks, March 19-20, 491; Earthquake in the Midlands, 519; Prof. Milne’s Views, 491; Earth- quake’ at Jerusalem, 519; in the Southern Urals, in Catania, at Mentone, 541; Earthquake Shocks at Colon and at Panama, 589; Causes of Weather and Earth- quakes, Captain A. J. Cooper, 616; Earthquake In- vestigation Committee of Japan, Dr. F. Omori, 619 Malméjac, 246 Ebbels (Arthur), Genius and the Struggle for Existence, Radiation received 415 Ebell (M.), Comet 1902 d, 183, 233; Comet 1903 a (Giaco- bini), 307; Comet 1902 b, Perrine, 424; Elements and Search-Ephemeris for Comet 1896 v. (Giacobini), 447 Ebert (Prof.), Atmospheric Carriers of Electricity, 140 Eclipses: Total Eclipse of the Moon, April 22, 1902, Dr. W. van der Gracht, 184; Colour of the Eclipsed Moon Prof. E. E. Barnard, 376; Report on the Total Solar Eclipse of January, 1898, Kavaoji Dadabhai Naegam- vala, 307; Solar Eclipse of 1900, May 28, Spectroscopic Results, J. Evershed, 381; Magnetic Observations during Eclipses, Dr. L. A. Bauer, 496 Economic Vegetable Products, Dr. Julius Wiesner, Prof Henry G. Greenish, 553 i i Economics, Principles of, Dr. N. G. Pierson, 457 Edgecomb (D. W.), Observations with a Binocular Tele- scope, 233 Edinburgh Geological Society, 358 Edinburgh Mathematical Society, 287 Edinburgh Royal Society, 167, 239, 263, 334, 455, Edison (Mr.), New Storage Battery Tvenrea nese Edkins (J. S.), Practical Physiology, 388 ; Edser (Edwin), Light for Students, 340; Spherical Aberra- tion of the Eye, 559 Education: Mr. Chamberlain on Education, 34; Mathe- matics in the Cambridge Locals, Prof. John Perry F.R.S., 81; Cambridge Mathematics, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 390; the Needs of King’s College London, 85; Agricultural Industry and Education in Hungary, 102; Cost of Scientific Education in Germany and England, Walter Smith, 127; Education in Ger- many and England, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 226; Univer- sity Education in the United Kingdom and Germany, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 463; The Student’s Handbook to the University and Colleges’ of Cambridge, 149; Secondary and Technical Education, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 176; Technical Education at Home and Abroad, Prof. Victor C. Alderson at the Chicago Literary Club, 356; the University in the Modern State, 193, 433; Sir Oliver Lodge, 193; the North of England Science Conference, 236; Aims of Education, M. E. Sadler, 236; Curriculum in Different Types of Schools, Miss Burstall, 236; Co- ordination and Delimitation of Science Teaching in Xvi Index Nature, Dyan 18, 1903 Various Grades of Schools, Dr. Kimmins, 237; Heuristic Method of Teaching Chemistry, Prof. Armstrong, 237; the Methods of Nature-Study, H. Wager, 237; Tachy- genesis and University Studies, Prof. Leopoldo Maggi, 252; London Conference of Science Teachers, 259; Teaching of Geometry, W. D. Eggar, 260; Methods of Botanical Teaching, Prof. Farmer, F.R.S., 260; Death and Obituary Notice of Quintin Hogg, 276; the Associa- tion of Public School Science Masters, Wilfred Mark Webb, 284; Tyranny of Greek, J. Talbot, 285; How to make Practical Work of any Use in ‘‘ a Low Big Form,”’ E. C. Sherwood, 285; the Schoolmaster’s Yearbook for 1903, a Reference Book of Secondary Education in England and Wales, 367; Science and the Education Act of 1902, Rev. D. A. Irving, 369; Constitution of the New Education Committee, 371; Interest and Educa- tion, the Doctrine, of Interest and its Concrete Applica- tion, Prof. C. DeGarmo, 413; Recent Conferences be- tween Science Masters and Examiners, 419; Mr. J. Jackson’s System of Upright Penmanship, 445 ; Principles of Class Teaching, J. J. Findlay, Supp. February 5, iv; See also British Association, Section L Edwards (R. W.), Elementary Plane and Solid Mensuration for Use in Schools, Colleges, and Technical Classes, 200 Eggar (W. D.), the Teaching of Geometry, 260; Practical Exercises in Geometry, 577 Egnell (Axel), Variation of the Mean Velocity of the Wind in the Vertical, 383 Egypt: the Zoology of Egypt—Mammalia, Dr. J. Anderson and W. E. de Winton, 266; the Egyptian Medical Con- gress, 273; Mosquitoes and Malaria in, Major Ronald Ross, 327 Egyptology: a History of Egypt from the End of the Neolithic Period to the Death of Cleopatra VII., B.c. 30, E. A. Wallis Budge, Supp. to November 6, 1902, iii Eigenmann (Dr. C. H.), the Solution of the Eel Question, 136 Electricity : the Generators of Electricity at the Paris Ex- hibition of 1900, C. F. Guilbert, 4; Wireless Telegraphy between Europe and America, 35; Transatlantic Wireless Telegraphy, 179; Maurice Solomon, 206; Wireless Tele- graphy between the U.S. and England, Mr. Marconi, 275: Chess Match between Atlantic liners by Wireless Telegraphv. 276; the Present State of Wireless Tele- graphy, Maurice Solomon, 131; Wireless Telegraphy from the Cape to Cairo, 276; Wireless Telegraphy with a Moving Train, 349; Mr. Marconi and the Post Office, Maurice Solomon, 370; Interception of Wireless Tele- graphic Messages, Prof. Fleming, 518; the Orling- Armstrong System of Wireless Telegraphy and Tele- phony, 541; La Telegrafia Senza Filo, Augusto Righi and Bernardo Dessau, 582; Wireless Telegraphy in Italy, 590; the Multiplex System of Page-printing Telegraphy, the late H. A. Rowland, 65; New System of Telegraphic Time Signals in the United States, 277; Die Inter- nationalen absoluten Masee insbesondere die elektrischen Masse, Dr. A. von Waltenhofen, 29; Galvanic Batteries, their Theory, Construction and Use, S. R. Bottone, 31; the Waste of Energy from a Moving Electron, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 6, 32; the Automatic Telephone Ex- change, 40; Telephonic Communication between Copen- hagen and Frankfort, 349; Instantaneous Chemical Reactions and the Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation, L. Kahlenberg, 41; Free Ions in Aqueous Solutions of Electrolytes, Julius Olsen, 45; the Size of Atoms, H. V. Ridout, 45: Electrical Resistance of Lead Sulphide at Very Low Temperatures, Edmond van Aubel, 47; the Elements of Electrical Engineering, Tyson Sewell, 53; Electric Tramways, C. and B. Hopkinson and E. Talbot, 65; the Nernst Lamp, Dr. C. C. Garrard, 67; Nernst Lamps in Lanterns, C. Turnbull, 464; on Hall’s Phenomenon and Thermoelectric Power, Edmond van Aubel, 72; Conductivity of Solutions at Low Tem- peratures, J. Kunz, 72; Electrical Conductivity of Sub- stances Dissolved in Liquid Hydrocyanice Acid, Messrs. Kahlenberg and Schlundt, 90; Theory of the Aluminium Anode, W. W. Taylor and J. K. H. Inglis, 93; Pro- duction of Sleep and of General Anzesthesia by Electric Currents, S. Leduc, 96; Der Parallelbetrieb von Wechselstrommaschinen, Dr. Gustav Benischke, tor; Die 'Grundgesetze der Wechselstromtechnik, Dr. Gustav ce Benischke, 580; Measurement of Temperature by Electrical Means, 112; the Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis, Prof. Kahlenberg, 112; Battery in which the Depolariser is Atmospheric Oxygen, G. Rosset, 112; Ionisation of a Salt Flame, Georges Moreau, 119; Practi- cal Electricity, J. Hope Belcher, 149; Capital in New York State interested in the Development and use of Electricity, 156; Some Limits in Heavy Electrical En- gineering, James Swinburne at Institution of Electrical Engineers, 159; Bipolar Electrodes with a Soluble Anode, André Brochet and C. L. Barillet, 168; Electrochemical Laboratories at Nancy, M. Arth, 182; Portable Capillary Electrometer, S. W. J. Smith, 190; Improvement in Exner’s Electroscope, Messrs. Elster and Geitel, 209; Sound Waves and Electromagnetics, the Pan-potential, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 202; Electrochemical Notes, 211; Spontaneous lonisation in Air, J. Patterson, 215; the Fulham Baths Accident, 231; the Emanation from Phosphorus, Eugéne Bloch, 239; Magnetofriction of the Anode Bundle, H. Pellat, 239; the Hewitt Mercury Lamp and Static Converter, 248; Death and Obituary Notice of James Wimshurst, F.R.S., 250; Transmission of Vision to a Distance by Electricity, Lieut. J. H. Coblyn, 252; Dielectric Cohesion of Gases, E. Bouty, 263; Freezing-point Depression in Electrolytic Solutions, Prof. James Walker and A. J. Robertson, 263; Electro-plating and Electro-refining, A. Watt and A. Philip, 295; Electric Automobiles, H. E. Joel, 304; Proof of a Rotating Electromagnetic Field produced by a Helicoidal Modifica- tion of Stratifications in a Tube of Rarefied Air, Th. Tommasina, 311; a Course of Simple Experiments in Magnetism and Electricity, A. E. Munby, 316; Electric Generating Plant at Niagara Falls Destroyed by Fire, 324; On the Electrodynamic and Thermal Relations of Energy of Magnetisation, Dr. J. Larmor, Sec. R.S., 333; Theory of the Quadrant Electrometer, G. W. Walker, 334; Photometric Work at the National Physical Laboratory, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, 349; Measurement of Electric Resistance as Analysis for Fer- mentations and in Pathological Cases, M. Lesage, 350; Electrochemical Society, the, 354; Electric Waves, H. M. Macdonald, F.R.S., Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S., 361; Re- sults obtained by depositing thin films of metal on glass and other surfaces by Kathodic Rays in a bell glass receiver, L. Houllevigue, 375; Effects of Frost in New York on Elevated Railway, 397; Electric Discharges through Hydrogen in Silica-glass Vacuum Tubes, Prof. J. Trowbridge, 398; New Electric Heating Apparatus, E. G. Rivers, 397; Electrolytic Valves, Albert Nodon, 407; Response in the Living and Non-Living, Jagadis Chunder Bose, 409; Secondary Batteries: their Theory, Construction, and Use, E. J. Wade, Maurice Solomon, 410; the Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis, J. Brown, F.R.S., 414; Action of Acetylene as Kathodic De- polarising Agent in the Electrolysis of Acid and Alkaline Solutions, Dr. Billitzer, 425; Measurement of Small Capacities and Inductances, Prof. Fleming and Mr. Clinton, 429; Electromotive Force in Plants, A. B. Plow- man, 429; Action of a Polarised Bundle of very Re- frangible Radiations on very small Electric Sparks, R. Blondlot, 431; Text-book of Electrochemistry, Svante Arrhenius, 437; Electricity and Matter, 450, 487; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., at Bedford College for Women, 450; Characteristics of Electric Earth-current Disturbances and their Origin, J. E. Taylor, 454; Opera di Galileo Ferraris, 460; Two Simple Lecture Experiments, Dr. Garbasso, 470; on a Thermostat with Electrical Heating and Regulation, C. Marie and R. Marquis, 480; Per- manent Electric Vibrations, Dr. H. C. Pocklington, 486; New Storage Battery Invented by Mr. Edison, 494; on Distribution losses in Electricity Supply, Messrs. Con- stable and Fawssett, 494; on the Measurement of Small Resistances, A. Campbell, 501; a Resistance Comparator, Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt, 501; a Potentiometer for Thermo- couple Measurements, Dr. Lehfeldt, 501; the Dynamics of the Electric Field, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 502; Effect of Temperature on Electrocapillary Phenomena, M. Gouy, 503; the Dielectric Cohesion of Mixture of Gases, M. Bonty, 503 ; a Sensitive Gold-Leaf Electrometer, C. T. R. Wilson, F.R.S., 503; the Dimensions of Large Inductance Coils, James E. Ives, 520; Electrification of Nature. June 18, 1903 Index Xvil the Metropolitan District Railway, 518; Electrical Con- ductivitv of Solutions at the Freezing Point of Water, W. C. D. Whetham, F.R.S., 526; Method of Electrically Locating Ore Deposits, L. Daft and A. Williams, 565; Electrical Conductivity Imparted to a Vacuum by Hot Conductors, O. W. Richardson, : 574; Atmospheric Elec- tricity at the Summit of Mont Blanc, G. le Cadet, 575; Italian Visit of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 588; a New Form of Self-restoring Coherers, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 598; Projection of Matter Round the Electric Spark, Jules Semenov, 599; Action of Radio- active Bodies on the Electric Conductivity of Selenuim, Edmund von Aubel, 599; Electric Convection, V. Crémieu and H. Pender, 624 Elements, Refractivities of the, Clive Cuthbertson, 32 Elkin (Dr. W. L.), Stellar Parallax, 496 Elliot (G. F. Scott), Nature Studies (Plant Life), 486 Elster (Mr.), Improvement in Exner’s Electroscope, 209 Elwes (H. J., F.R.S.), Natural History Journey in Chile, Walter Smith, 127; Education in Germany and England, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 226 English History, a New Student’s Atlas of, Emil Reich, 461 Entomology: Notodonta (Hybocampa) dryinopa, from Queensland, Dr. Chapman, 23; Entomological Society, 23, 118, 166, 214, 311, 430, 479, 551, 598; Biologia Cen- trali-Americana. _Insecta-Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera, Fre- derick Ducane Godman, F.R.S., and the late Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25; the South African Sheep and Goat Disease, known as ‘‘ Heartwater,’’ C. P. Lounsbury, 38; Monographie des Cynipides d’Europe and d’Algérie, Abbé J. J. Kieffer, 124; Death and Obituary Notice of Prof. Adolfo Targioni-Tozzetti, 156; Introduction of the Brimstone Butterfly into Tipperary, E. Bagwell-Purefoy, 158; Cause of Hostility of Ants of the Same Species, Miss A. M. Field, 158; Habits of Apatura iris, Dr. Norman H. Joy, 166; Lepidoptera and Choice of Plant Food, A. H. Church, R. McLachlan, and Mr. Goss, 166; the Enemies of Lepidoptera in Natal, G. F. Leigh, 166; a Hybrid Selenia bilunaria x S. tetralunaria, R. Adkin, 214; Die Wanderheuschrecken und ihre Bekamprung in unseren Afrikanischen Kolonieen, Dr. L. Sander, 244; Function of the Flagellated Body of the Malaria Para- site, Dr. Moore, 279; Origin of the Coleoptera, Canon Fowler, 311; Insects and Petal-less Flowers, Prof. Plateau, G. W. Bulman, 319; E. Ernest Lowe, 368; Hypopeltis Tea-Pest, E. E. Green, 328; Monographie des Mutillides d’Europe et d’Algérie, Ernest André, 342; Symphilism, E. Wasmann, 351; Effects of Natural Se- lection and Race-tendency upon the Colour-patterns of the Lepidoptera, A. G. Mayor, 351; Collection of Butter- flies formed by David Hanbury on the Arctic Coast of North America, 430; the Lepidoptera of the British Islands, Charles G. Barrett, 438; Catalogue of the Col- lection of Palaarctic Butterflies formed by the late John Henry Leech, Richard South, 583; Coleoptera of Colorado, H. F. Wickham, 399; a Case of Pseudo- mimicry, Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S., 439; Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., 439; Cerataphis Lataniae, Miss A. L. Embleton, 454; Spiders and Wasps from Singa- pore, C. J. Saunders, 479; Entomology at Oxford, 572; a Katydid’s Resourcefulness, Arthur G. Smith, 612; Method of Studying the Action of Insects’ Wings by In- stantaneous Photography, Robert von Sendenfeld, 617 Entropy, Sidney A. Reeve, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 602 Ephemeris for Comet Tempel,-Swift, J. Bossert, 40 Erdmagnetische Untersuchungen im Kaiserstuhl, Dr. G. Meyer, 187 Ernecke (Ferdinand), Physikalische Apparate, 121 Eruptions: Eruption of Soufriére, 63, 93, 111, 302, 491; Eruption of the Soufriére, October 15 and 16, Sir R. B. 95 Emanesonsict Radium, the, Sir William Crooks, F.R.S., at Royal Society, 522 Embleton (Miss A. L.), Cerataphis Lataniae, 454 Embryology : Embryology of Tumours, Dr. J. Beard, soa; Lehrbuch der Vergleichenden Entwickelungsgeschichte * der niederen Wirbelthiere in systematischer Reihenfolge und mit Beruchsichtigung der experimentellen embryo- logie bearbeitet, Prof. Heinrich Ernst Ziegler, Supp., November 6, 1902, vili Emmerling (Dr. O.), Die Zersetzung Stickstofffreier organischen Substanzen durch Bakterien, 316 Encyclopedia Britannica, 505 Energy: the Waste of, from a Moving Electron, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 6, 32; Sir O. Lodge and the Con- servation of Energy, Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 611; Die Entwickelung unserer Naturanschauung in xix. Jahr- hundert und Friedrich Mohr, Ch. Jezler, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Supp., Nov. 6, 1902, v Engineering : Presidential Address by J. C. Hawkshaw, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 12; the Effect of Segregation on the Strength of Steel Rails, Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., 13; the Properties of the Alloys of Iron, Prof. Barrett, W. Brown and R. Hadfield, 14; Cavitation in Screw Steamers, J. A. Bormand, 24; Utilisation of the Internal Heat of the Earth, Rev. E. Rattenbury Hodges, 36; Mine Ventilation, H. W. G. Halbaum, 38; the Elements of Electrical Engineering, Tyson Sewell, 53; Death and Obituary Notice of William H. Barlow, F.R.S., 64; Der Parallelbetrieb von Wechselstrom- maschinen, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 101; Die Grund- gesetze der Wechselstromtechnik, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 580; Le Ciment Armé et ses Applications, Marie-Auguste Morel, 102; Les Moteurs a Explosion, G. Moreau, C. R. Llewelyn, 63; Eruptions of 1902 of La _ Soufriére, D’Esterre, 145; Théorie des Moteurs A Gas, G. Moreau, St. Vincent, E. T. Hovey, 93; a Preliminary Re- C. R. D’Esterre, 145; Some Limits in Heavy Electrical port on, 256; the Eruption of the Soufriére on Engineering, James Swinburne .at Institution of Elec- September 3 and 4, H. Powell, 94; Report upon trical Engineers, 159; the Great Irrigation Dam at the Eruption of the Soufriére on March 22, H. Assuan, 184; Material of Machines, Albert W. Smith, 222; ments in Ships, Dr. J. Bruhn, 278; Physico-Chemical Tables, vol. I., Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry, John Castell-Evans, 314; Hohere Analysis fiir Ingenieure, Dr. John Perry, Prof. A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., 338: Steel Ships, their Construction and Main- tenance, a Manual for Shipbuilders, Ship Superintendents, Students, and Marine Engineers, Thomas Watsor, 389; the Design of Simple Roof Trusses in Wood and Steel, M. A. Howe, 439; Stereotomy, A. W. French and H. C. Ives, 439; Leonardo da Vinci as a Hydraulic Engineer, M. A. Ronna, 440; a Text-book of Field Astronomy for Engineers, G. C. Comstock, 460; Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal, Prof. William H. Burr, 508; a Treatise on Roads and Pavements, Ira Osborn Baker, 557: British Standard Sections, British Standard Beams, Standard Size of Conductors, Italian Visit of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 588; the Thermodynamics of Heat Engines, Sidney A. Reeve, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 602; Surveying as Practised by Civil Engineers and Surveyors, John White- law, jun., Supp., Feb. 5, 1903, v England, Cost of Scientific Education in Germany and, Estimates of the Stresses in the Riveted Attach- 587 ; Powell, 563; Eruptions of Mont Pelée, 93, 111, 134, 208, 302, 491; E. T. Hovey, 93, 256; Eruptions of Dense Clouds from Mont Pelée, A. Lacroix, 335; White River choked by Mont Pelée Eruption, Prof. Lacroix, 155; Suggested Nature of the Phenomena of the Eruption of Mont Pelée on July 9, Observed by the Royal Society Commission, Dr. Edward Divers, F.R.S., 126; Conse- quences of Shattering of the Cone in Crater of Mont Pelée, Prof. Lacroix, 208; West Indian Volcanic Erup- tions, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., 91; Eruption of Vesuvius, 180, 443, 468, 519; Eruption of the Volcano Colima, 421, 442; Eruptions in Nicaragua and Chili, 230; Eruption of Del Tierra Firme (Colombia), 563; Characteristics of Recent Voleanic Eruptions, Dr. Tempest Anderson at the Royal Institution, 308; See also Volcanoes Esch (Father), Observation of Long Period Variable Stars, 254 Esclangon (E.), Recent Sunset Glows at Bordeaux, 95. Escombe (F.), Die Zersetzung Stickstofffreier organischen Substanzen durch Bakterien, Dr. O. Emmerling, 316 Espitalier (Leut.-Colonel G.), Journeys Across the Sea in a Balloon, Henri Hervé’s Balloon, 181 Esterre (C. R. D’), Les Moteurs A Explosion, G. Moreau,. 145; Theorie des Moteurs 4 Gas, G. Moreau, 145 XVIil Lndex Nature, June 18 1603 Ether: De Ether, Dr. V. A. Julius, Materia ponderabile, M. Barbera, 413 Etherification, Papers on, and on the Constitution of Salts, Alexander W. Williamson, F.R.S., 173 Ethnology : Lectures on Anthropology and Ethnology, Dr. H. W. Marett Tims, 9; Eastern Uganda, an Ethno- logical Survey, W. Hobley, E. Sidney Hartland, 10; Fire- w alking in Fiji, Walter Burke, 130; Dr. R. Fulton, 130; Materiali per lo Studio della, ‘* Eta della Pietra, + Gai tempi preistorici all’ epoca attuale, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 145; in the Andamans and Nicobars, C. Boden Kloss, 514 Eucalypts Cultivated in the United States, A. J. McClatchie, | Dr. A. Henry, 524 Eucalypts, a Research on the, especially in Regard to their Essential Oils, R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith, Dr. T. A. Henry, 524 Euclid: Geometry, an Elemenary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, S. O. Andrew, 577; Euclid: 413; L’Etere e la Books v., vi., xi., Rupert Deakin, J. Harrison, 577 Europe: Monographie des Cynipides d’Europe_ et d’Algérie, Abbé J. J. Kieffer, 124; the Geography of North-west Europe, G. G. Chisholm, 322 European Fungus-flora, Agaricacee, G. Massee, 221 Everett (Miss A.), Photographs of Cross-sections of Hollow Pencils formed by Oblique Transmission through an Annulus of a Lens, 46 Everett (Prof. J. D., F.R.S.), on Skew Refraction through a Lens, 382; Area of Triangle in Terms of Sides, 440; Analogue to the Action of Radium, 535 Evermann (Barton Warren), American Food and Game | Fishes, 122 Evershed (J.), Solar Eclipse of 1900, May 28, Spectroscopic Results, 381 Evolution. Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution, P. Kro- | potkin, 196; Mind in Evolution, L. T. Hobhouse, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, F.R.S., 199; the Resolution of Com- pound Characters by Cross-breeding, W. Bateson, 215; Dr. A. R. Wallace’s Relations with Darwin, 276; De- velopment and Evolution, including Psycho-physical | Evolution, Evolution by Orthoplasy, and the Theory of | Genetic Modes, James Mark Baldwin, 292; Evolution of | Vertebrates, Dr. W. H. Gaskell, 351; Effects of Natural Selection and Race-tendency upon the Colour-patterns of the Lepidoptera, A. G. Mayor, 351; Die Progressive Reduktion der Variabilitat und ihre Beziehungen zum Aussterben und zur Entstehung der Arten, Daniel Rosa, 389 ; Evolution of the Cheek-teeth of Mammals, Dr. Tims, 400 Ewart (Prof. Cossar), New Horse from the Western Islands, Celticus, 239 Exner’s Electroscope, Improvement in, Messrs. Geitel, 209 Explorations in Iceland, W. Bisiker, Dr. Th. Thoroddsen, 340 Explosions, Protective Action of Wire Gauze against, H. Mache, 423 Eye, Spherical Aberration of the, Edwin Edser, 559 “Eyes Within,’? Walter Earle, 173 the Callosities of the Horse, 239; a Equus Caballus Elster and Dr. Fabre (Charles), Traité encyclopédique de Photographie, 201 Facula and Prominences, the Relation between, Signor Mascari, 280 ‘ Farcy,’’ Disease Resembling, in the Philippines, 209 Farr (Dr.), the Interpretation of Milne Seismograms, 501 Farrington (Oliver C.), Free Phosphorus in the Saline Township Meteorite, 310 Fata Morgana of the Straits of Messina, the, 393 Faune Infusorienne des Eaux stagnantes des Environs de | Genéve, Dr. Jean Roux, Supp. February 5, vi Faune Rhizopodique du Bassin du Léman, Dr. Penard, Supp. February 5, vi Fawssett (Mr.), on Distribution Losses in Electricity Supply, Eugéne 494 Fayet (G.), Elements and Ephemeris of Comet 1902 d, 159; New Comet Giacobini (d 1902), 167, 307; Elements and | Ephemeris of Comet 1903 a, 352 Fenton (H. J. H.), Reagent for the Identification of Carba- mide, 238 Fernald (M. L.), Birches, 234 | | Fleming (Prof.), Ferraris (Galileo), Opere di, 460 Ferrero (General Annibale), Death and Obituary Notice of, 156 Ferrers (Rev. Norman Macleod, F.R.S.), Death of, 324 Field (Miss A. M.), Cause of Hostility of Ants of the same Species, 158 Fife (Herbert C.), Submarine Warfare, 218 Fife, the Geology of Eastern, Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S.; 200 Fiji, Fire-walking in, Walter Burke, 130; Dr. Robert Fulton, 130 Findlay (J. J.), Principles of Class Teaching, Supp. February 5, iv Finn (F.), Variation in Birds, 521 Fire Prevention, Facts on, Emeritus, 217 Fire-walking in Fiji, Walter Burke, 130; Dr. Robert Fulton, 130 Fisher (Prof. W. R.), Traité de Sylviculture, Principales Essences Forestiéres, Prof. P. Mouillefert, 482 Fisheries: International North Sea Fisheries’ Scientific Investigation, 36; the Methods of Investigating the North Sea Fisheries, Dr. D. Noél Paton, 174; the Organisation of Fishery Research, Dr. E. J. Allen, 417; the Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon, Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., at the Royal Institution, 620 Fishes: the Explanation of a Remarkable Case of Geo- graphical Distribution among Fishes, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 84; American Food and Game Fishes, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann, 122 Flame, a Simple Sensitive, Dr. E. H. Barton, 345 Flammarion (M.), Photographs of the North Pole Region, 400 Fleig (C.), Mechanism of the Action of Secretion on the Pancreatic Secretion, 407 Measurement of Small Capacities and Inductances, 429; Interception of Wireless Telegraphic Messages, 515 Fletcher (W. C.), the Elements of Geometry, 577 Flint (A. S.), Stellar Parallax, 594 Flora (C. P.), Ceric Chromate, 573 Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire, the, J. F. Robin- son, 5 Flora of the Galapagos Islands, B. L. Robinson, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 561 Flora of the Liverpool District, C. T. Green, 55 Flora Simlensis: a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla and the Neighbourhood, Sir H. Collett, K.C.B., 170 Flora and Sylva, 594 Floras of India, Local, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., the Reviewer, 223 Florida, North West, Aboriginal Remains in, Clarence B. Moore, 612 Fluids, Liquidogenic Theories of, E. Mathias, 455 Fluorine, the Solidification of, and the Combination of Solid Fluorine with Liquid Hydrogen, Profs. H. Moissan and J. Dewar, 497 Fog Inquiry 1901-02, London, Captain Alfred Carpenter’s, D.S.O., Report to the Meteorological Council, 548 223; Folk-lore: Fire-walking in Fiji, Walter Burke, 130; Dr. R. Fulton, 130; Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, W. G. Woods-Martin, 243; American Magical Cere- monies, 392 Food : Recent Dietary Studies, Mrs. Percy Frankland, 185 Forcrand (M. de), Composition of Gaseous Hydrates, 143 Ford (Miss Sibelle O.), on the Morphology of the Arau- carieze, 20 Ford (W. E.), Chemical Composition of Axinite, 573 Forel (Prof. F. A.), Sunset Effects at Morges, Switzerland, 36; Le Léman, Monographie limnologique, 411 Forest Flora of the School Circle, N.-W.P., Upendranath Kanjilal, 52 Forestry : Agriculture and Forestry in the Transvaal, 86 Larch and Spruce Fir Canker, George Massee, 181; Cultivation of Scottish Larch, Hawie Brown, 305; British Forestry, 324; Forestry in the United States of America, Prof. W. Schlich, F.R.S., 353; the Afforestation of the Black Country, Prof. W. Schlich, F.R.S., 395; a Manual of Indian Timbers, T. S. Gamble, F.R.S., 427; Traité de Sylviculture. Principales Essences Forestiéres, Prof. P. Mouillefert, Prof. W. R. Fisher, 482 Nature, June 18, 1903 Index XIX Forests of Upper India and their Inhabitants, the, Thomas W. Webber, 198 Forests of South America, the Great Mountains and, Paul Fountain, 220 Forster (Dr. M. O.), Constitution of Enolic Benzoylcamphor, 166; Isomeric Benzoyl Derivatives from _ Isonitroso- camphor, 166 Forsyth (Prof. A. R., F.R.S.), Theory of Differential Equa- tion, 1; the Differential Invariants of a Surface and their Geometric Significance, 500 Fortress of the Mole, the, 379 Forze Idrauliche, Le, Torquato Perdoni, 413 Fossils: Contribution to the History of Fossil Man, Albert Gaudry, 359 Foster (Prof. C. Le Neve, F.R.S.), Mining Statistics for 1g02. Output and Value of the Minerals in the United Kingdom, 37; Relative Importance of Different Countries in the Mining Industries, 565 Foucault’s Pendulum, a Simplified Form of, M. D’Arsonval, 114 Fountain (Paul), the Great Mountains and Forests of South America, 220 Fountain, the Bubbelen Natural, in Norway, Dr. Hans Reusch, 590 Fournier (H.), Para-ethyl-benzoic Aldehyde, 455 Fowler (A.), New Series of Lines in the Spectrum of Mag- nesium, 574 Fowler (Canon), Origin of the Coleoptera, 311 Fowler (Gilbert J.), Sewage Works Analyses, 457 France: L’Industrie Francaise des Instruments de Pré- efsion, 121; the New Nickel Coin, 396; a French Work on Sylviculture, Prof. P. Mouillefert, Prof. W. R. Fisher, 482; Carnet de Notes d’un Voyageur en France, A. C. Poiré, 511 Frankel (Dr.), Chitin, 425 Frankland (Mrs. Percy), Recent Dietary Studies, 185; Bac- teria in Daily Life, 583 Fraps (G. S.), the Principles of Dyeing, 581 Frémont (Ch.), New Method of Testing Rails, 263 French (A. W.), Stereotomy, 439 Freycinet (C. de), Sur les Principes de la Mécanique Rationelle, 27 Frick (Prof.), Treatment of Feverish Diseases without Alcohol, 21 Friedel (Jean), Formation of Chlorophyll in Rarefied Air and in Rarefied Oxygen, 168 Frizzie, my Dog, and Others, Lady Alicia Blackwood, 202 Frost (Prof. E. B.), Cooperation in Observing Stellar Radial Velocities, 67; Proper Motion of the Sun Compared with Stellar Velocities, 400; New Spectroscopic Binaries, 472 Froude (R. E., F.R.S.), the Holy Shroud of Turin, 367 ' Fry (Sir Edward), on Natural Selection, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 343; Sir Edward Fry, 414 Fulton (Dr. Robert), Fire-walking in Fiji, 130 Funeral of Sir George Stokes, the, 345 Fungi: Experiments on the Effect of Mineral Starvation on the Parasitism of the Uredine Fungus, Puccinia dispersa, on the Species of Bromus, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S., at the Royal Society, 235 Fungus-flora, Agaricacee, European, G. Massee, 221 First (Carl M.), Index-tabellen zum anthropometrischen Gebrauche, 30 Furth (Dr. Otto von), Vergleichende Chemische Physiologie der Niederen Tiere, 366 Byte (W. A.), Hydrates and Solubility of Barium Acetate, 23 Gadow (Dr. Hans, F.R.S.), the Mexican Axolotl, 330; Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbelthiere, mit Beriick- sichtigung der Wirbellosen, Carl Gegenbaur, 605 Galapagos Islands, Flora of the, B. L. Robinson, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 561 Gale of February 26, Effects of the, Lord Rosse, F.R.S., 462 Galicia, Earthquake Observations in, Prof. J. Milne, BR Ss, /235 Gall-insects, Abbé J. J. Kieffer, 124 Gallardo (A.), Interpretacion Dinamica de Cellular, 42 Galton (Francis, F.R.S.), Sir Edward Fry on Natural Selec- tion, 343; Pedigrees, 586 la_ division Galvanic Batteries: their Theory, Construction and Use, S. R. Bottone, 31 Gamble (T. S., F.R.S.), a Manual of Indian Timbers, 437 Gammie (Mr.), Plants used for Food during Periods of Drought, 252 Garbasso (Dr.), Two Simple Lecture Experiments, 470 Gardener’s Assistant, Thomson’s, 315 Gardens, Children’s, the Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil (Alicia Amherst), 55 Garrard (Dr. C. C.), the Nernst Lamp, 67 Garrett ([T. R. H.), Temperatures in Lochs Morar, Eilt and Dubh (Ailort), 455 Garrigou (F.), Diffusion of Arsenic in Nature, 192; Nature of the Sulphur Compound in Bayen Spring at Bagnéres- de-Luchon, 624 Gas: the Future of Coal Gas, Cantor Lecture at Society of Arts, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 426; the Theory of the Gas Mantle, Maurice Solomon, 82; Zur Theorie des Auer- lichtes, W. Nernst and E. Bose, 82; Theory of the In- candescent Mantle, A. H. White, H. Russell, and A. F. Traver, 82; Theory of the Incandescent Mantle, A. H. White and A. F. Traver, 82; the Conditions Determin- ative of Chemical Change and of Electrical Conduction in Gases, and on the Phenomenon of Luminosity, Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 82; the History of the Inven- tion of Incandescent Gas Lighting, Auer von Welsbach, 82 Gas, Radio-active, from Well Water, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 609 Gas Analysis, Methods of, Dr. Walther Hempel, Supp. November 6, 1902, x Gases, Terrestrial, Recently Discovered in the Chromo- sphere, Prof. S. A. Mitchell, 619 Gaskell (Dr. W. H.), Evolution of Vertebrates, 351 Gaudechon (M.), the Chinchona Alkaloids, 311, 335 Gaudry (Albert), Contribution to the History of Fossil Man, 359 Gauss, the Cruise of the, from Cape Town to Kerguelen, 33 Gautier (Armand), Arsenic in the Animal Kingdom, 72; Localisation of Normal Arsenic in some Organs of Animals and Plants, 95; the Quantity of Free Hydrogen in the Air and the Density of Atmospheric Nitrogen, 167 ; Objections of M. Leduc to the Proportion of Free Hydrogen in Air, 26 3 | Gegenbaur (Carl), Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbethiere, mit Beriicksichtigung der Wirbellosen, 605 Geikie (Sir Archibald, F.R.S.), the Geology of Eastern Fife, 200 Geissler (Dr. Phil. Kurt), Die Grundsatze und das Wesen des Unendlichen in der Mathematik und Philosophie, 387 Geite, Seismometry and, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., 538 Geitel (Mr.), Improvement in Exner’s Electroscope, 209 Gemini, a New Star in, Prof. H. H. Turner, 522; Mr- Newall, 522; Prof. Hartmann, 522; Prof. Hale, 522 Geminorum, Nova, Prof. Hartwig, 567, 593; Prof. mann and Dr. Ludendorff, 567; Prof. Millosevich, Dr. Halm, 593; Drs. Ristenpart and Guthnick, 503 Geminorum, Nova, before its Discovery, Prof. Pickering, 618 Geneva, Biology of the Lake of, Prof. F. A. Forel, 411 Genius and the Struggle for Existence, G. W. Bulman, 270; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 270; Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, F.R.S., 296; G. W. Butler, 344; F. W. Headley, 344; S. Irwin Crookes, 415; Arthur Ebbels, 415 Genvresse (P.), Essence of Vetiver, 168; Essence of Cala- mintha Nepeta or Marjolaine, 384 Geodesy : Death and Obituary Notice of General Annibale Ferrero, 156; Conditions Necessary to Obtain Nickel Steel Alloys of Extremely Low Coefficients of Expansion, C. E. Guillaume, 352 Geography: Geschichte des Christentums in Japan, Hans Haas, 28; a Teacher’s Manual of Geography to Accom- pany Tarr and McMurray’s Series of Geographies, Charles McMurray, 31; the Cruise of the Gauss from Cape Town to Kerguelen, 33; Les Lois de la Geographie, Carlos de Mello, 53; Macmillan’s Short Geography of the World, George F. Bosworth, 55; World-shaking Earthquakes, Lecture at the Royal Geographical Society, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., 69; the Explanation of a Remarkable Case of Geographical Distribution among Fishes, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 84; the Dawn of Modern Geography, Hart- 593 XX Lndex Nature, June 18, 1903 C. Raymond Beazley, 73, 464; Dr. Sven Hedin’s Explor- ations in Central Asia, Secular Movements in the Region of Lop-Nor, 134; the Atlantis Problem, Dr. R. F. Scharft, 143, 446; Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego, Sir M. Conway, 175; Obituary Notice of Joseph Chavanne, 303; Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel, G. G. Chisholm, 322; the Globe Geography Readers, Vincent T. Murché, 367; Death of Ritter von Scherzer, 444; Annual Awards by Royal Geographical Society, 4609 ; through Persia and Baluchistan, A. H. Savage Landor, 489; the Discovery of Japan, Kumagusu Minakata, 610; Four Years’ Arctic Exploration and Scientific Observation in the Fram, Captain Sverdrup and P. Schei, 616; Physical Geography: Coral Reefs of Pemba Island and British East Africa, C. Crossland, 119; an Introduction to Physical Geography, Grove Karl Gilbert and Albert Perry Brigham, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 147; Elementi di Geografia Fisica, Fisica Terrestre e Meteorologia, ad uso delle Scuolo Classiche, Techniche, Normali ed Agrarie, Prof. Francesco Porro, 390; Grundziige der Astronomisch-geographischen Ortsbestimmung auf Fors- chungsreisen, Prof. Dr. Paul Guesfeldt, Major C. F. Close, 532 Geology : Death and Obituary Notice of William Gunn, 12; the Elements of Agricultural Geology : a Scientific Aid to Practical Farming, Primrose McConnell, 31; Observ- ations Géologiques sur les Iles Volcaniques explorées par l’Expedition du Beagle, et Notes sur la Géologie de l’Australie et du Cap de Bonne Esperance, Charles Darwin, 31; British Association Geological Photographs, 32; Photographs of Carboniferous Limestone, by Prof. S. H. Reynolds and Godfrey Bingley, John E. Marr, A. S. Reid, 32; Obituary Notice of the Rev. Thomas Wiltshire, 35; Secular Bending of a Marble Slab under its own Weight, Dr. T. J. J. See, 56; Spencer Pickering, F.R.S., $1; W. Bowman, 420; Geology of Coal-field Country around Cardiff, A. Strahan and T. C. Cantrill, 89; Geological Society, 94, 142, 214, 262, 287, 383, 406, 478, 527, 575; Geological Society’s Prize Awards, 250; Fossil Flora of the Cumberland Coal-field, E. A. Newell Arber, ‘94; Remarks on E. A. Newell Arber’s Communication : on the Clark Collection of Fossil Plants from New South Wales, Dr. F. Kurtz, 94; the Eruption of the Soufriére on September 3 and 4, H. Powell, 94; New Boring at ‘Caythorpe, Henry Preston, 95 ; Discovery of a New Form- ation, the ‘* Ibiquas Series,’’ in Cape Colony, 113 ; Com- posite Gneisses in Boylagh, Prof. G. A. J. Cole, 135; the Beaumont Oil-field, R. T. Hill, 136; the Semna Cataract of the Nile, a Study in River-erosion, Dr. John Ball, 142; Geological Notes on the North-West Provinces (Himalayan) of India, Francis J. Stephens, 142; Phono- litic Rocks from St. Helena and Ascension, G. T. Prior, 142; La Géologie générale, Stanislas Meunier, 148; Survey of Jebel Garra, Dr. John Ball, 157; Summary of Progress of the Geological Survey of the United King- dom and Museum of Practical Geology for 1901, 170; Memoirs of the Geological Survey, United Kingdom: the Geology of the Isle of Man, G. W. Lamplugh, 55s; River Terraces in New England, Prof. W. M. Davis, 182; Geology of Lower Strathspey, L. W. Hinxman and J. S. Grant Wilson, 182; Geology of Eastern Fife, Sir Archi- bald Geikie, F.R.S., 200; Well Sections in Suffolk, William Whittaker, F.R.S., 214; Cellular Magnesian Limestone of Durham, George Abbott, 214-15; Traces of Past Glacial Action in the Orange River Colony, South Africa, G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, 223; Magnetite- mines near Cogne, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 262; the Tiree Marble, Ananda K. Coomdraswamy, 262; an Ossiferous Cavern of Pliocene Age at Dove Holes, Buxton, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., 287; Mono- graptus in New South Wales, T. S. Hall, 288; the Move- ments of Glaciers, 282 ; Cretaceous Region of Abu Roash, Hugh J. L. Beadnell, 306; Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel, G. G. Chisholm, 322; Com- pression of Interior of Earth Implies Evolution of Heat, George Romanes, 334; Edinburgh Geological Society, 358; Geological Survey of the Fassa District in South Tyrol, Mrs. Dr. Ogilvie Gordon, 358; Das Sonnwendge- birge im Unterinnthal, Ein Typus Alpinen Gebirgsbaues, Dr. Franz Wahner, 364; the Figure of the Earth, Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S., 383; the Sedimentary Deposits of | Geotropism, Southern Rhodesia, A. J. C. Molyneux, 383; the Granite and Greisen of Cligga Head, J. B. Scrivenor, 406; Geology of Patagonia, J. B. Scrivenor, 406; an Important Geological Fault at Kurrajong Heights, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Prof. T. W. Edgeworth David, F.R.S., 407; the Older Rocks of Charnwood Forest, Prof. W. W. Watts, 423; Eruptions of the Secondary Period in Crete, L. Cayeux, 432; the Atlantis Problem, Dr. R. F. Scharff, 143, 446; the Geological Survey of the United States, 448; Geology of Rico Moun- tains in South-west Colorado, Whitman Cross and A. C. Spencer, 448; Glacial Cirques, F. E. Matthes, 448; Esmeralda Formation in Western Nevada, H. W. Turner, 448: Origin of Mineral Veins at Boulder Hot Springs in Nevada, W. H. Weed, 448; Eastern Choctaw Coal-field, J. A. Taff and G. I. Adams, 448; Newark (Triassic) System of the Pomperaug Valley, Connecticut, W. H. Hobbs, 448; Laccoliths of the Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming, T. A. Jagger, jun., 448; Iron- ore Deposits of the Lake Superior Region, C. R. Van Hise, 448; Arkansas Bauxite Deposits, C. W. Hayes, 448; Geology of the Black and Grand Praries, Texas, R. T. Hill, 449; Corundum, J. H. Pratt, 449; Economic Geology of the Silverton Quadrangle, Colorado, F. L. Ransome, 449; the Oil and Gas Fields of the Western Interior, and Northern Texas Coal-measures, and of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary of the Western Gulf Coast, G. I. Adams, 449; Geological Relations and Dis- tribution of Platinum, J. F. Kemp, 449; El Paso Tin Deposits in Texas, 449; Pyrite and Marcasite, H. N. Stokes, 449; Mineral Resources of the United State§ for the Year 1900, David T. Day, 449; ‘‘ Exotic Blocks ”’ of Malla Johar, Dr. A. von Krafft, 470; the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Products of Ice-erosion, W. H. Prest, 471; the Mica Deposits of India, T. H. Holland, 471; Nitrogen and Carbon in Clays and Marls, Dr. N. H. J. Miller, 478; Geological Explorations in Central Borneo (1893-94), Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff, Prof. Grenville, A. J. Cole, 506; Petrological Notes on Rocks from Southern Abyssinia, Dr. Catherine A. Raisin, 527; the Overthrust Torridonian Rocks of the Isle of Rum and the Associated Gneisses, Alfred Harker, F.R.S., 527; Grundrisz der Mineralogie und Geologie zum Gebrauch beim Unterricht an hodheren Lehranstalten sowie zum Selbstunterricht, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwalbe, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 530; Underground Waters, Charles S. Slichter, 547; Geology of the Tintagel and Davidstow District, John Parkinson, 575; the Cause of the Glacial Period, H. L. True, Supp. February 5, viii Geometry Prior to 1850, Dr. Loria, 37; the Multi-linear Quaternion Function in Relation to Projective Geometry, Prof. C. J. Joly, 143; the First Principles of Ratio and Proportion, and their Application to Geometry, H. W. Croome Smith, 173; the Teaching of Geometry, W. D. Eggar, 260; a Point in a Recent Paper by Prof. D. Hilbert, E. T. Dixon, 382; the Differential Invariants of a Surface and their Geometric Significance, Prof. Forsyth, F.R.S., 500; the Psychology and Natural De- velopment of Geometry, Dr. E. Mack, 524; Practical Exercises in Geometry, W. D. Eggar, J. Harrison, -77: an Elementary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, S. O. Andrew, J. Harrison, 577; Theoretical Geometry for Beginners, C. H. Allcock, J. Harrison, 577 ; Elementary Geometry, W. M. Baker and A. A. Bourne, J. Harrison, 577; the Elements of Geometry, R. Lachlan and W. C. Fletcher, J. Harrison, 577; Plane Geometry, Adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teaching, T. Petch, J. Harrison, 577; Euclid: Books v., vi., xi., Rupert Deakin, J. WHarrison, 577; a Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra, H. S. Hall, J. Harrison, 577 the Statolith Theory of, Francis Darwin, FRS., 575 Germany : Meeting of the German Association of Naturalists and Physicians, Carlsbad, Dr. F. Schuman-Leclercq, 20; Cost of Scientific Education in Germany and England, Walter Smith, 127; Education in Germany and England, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 226; University Education in the United Kingdom and Germany, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 463; Verhandlungen der deutschen zoologischen Gesell- schaft, xii., WVersammlung, Giessen, 1902. Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, 507 Nature, June 18, 1903 Index Xxl Germs in Space, Sir Oliver Lodge, BsR:S:,) 103 3) Prot. Theo. D. A. Cockerell, 103; Lord Kelvin, 181 Gernez (D.), Colour of Mercuric Iodide at Temperatures, 576 Geschlechtsbestimmenden Ursachen, Das Problem der, Dr. M. von Lenhossék, 366 Gessard (C.), the Oxydases of Cuttle Fishes, 480 Giacobini, Comet 1902 b, C. F. Pechule, 158 (Giacobini), New Comet 1902 d, 137; G. Bigourdan, 167; P. Salst, 167; G. Fayet, 167, 307; Observations of the, made at the Observatory of Besancon, P. Unofardet, 192 Giacobini, Comet 1903 a, 280, 329; M. Ebell and Prof. H. Kreutz, 307 Giacobini, Elements and Search-ephemeris for Comet 1896 V., Herr M. Ebell, 447 Giacosa (Prof. Piero), Positive Sciences at the International Congress of History, 613 Gibbs (Prof. J. Willard), Death of, 615 Gibson (Dr. G. A.), Condition of the Blood in Cyanosis, 263 Giglioli (Enrico Hellyer), Materiali per lo Studio della ‘Eta della Pietra’’ dai tempi preistorici all’ epoca attuale, 145 Giglioli (Italo), Chimica Agraria, Campestre e Silvano, 169 ; the Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at Naples, 296 Gilbert (Grove Karl), an Introduction to Physical Geo- graphy, 147 Gilchrist (Prof. Douglas A.), Buttermaking on the Farm and at the Creamery, C. W. W. Tisdale and T. R. Robinson, 343 Giles (W. B.), Howlite and other borsilicates from the Borate Mines of California, 575; a tantalite from Green Bushes, W. Australia, 575 Gill (Sir D.), Suggestion made by, that the Brighter Stars are rotating with Respect to the Fainter Stars, Prof. H. H. Turner, 94 Gill (Rev. H. V.), Experiment to Illustrate Precession and Nutation, 586 Gill (T. P.), Position of Science in Irish Intermediate Schools, 17 Giran (H.), the Transformation of Pyrophosphoric Acid into Orthophosphoric Acid, 142: Heat of Combustion of Phosphorus and on the Phosphoric Anhydrides, 455 ; on the Heat of Transformation of Yellow into Red Phos- phorus, 503 Glacial Action in the Orange River Colony, South Africa, Traces of Past, G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, 223 Glacial Period, the Cause of the, H. L. True, Supp., February 5, 1903, Vili Glaciers: the Movements of, 282; Chronologie des Varia- tions Glaciaires, Charles Rabot, 405 Gladstone (Dr. J. H.), Report of the Committee on the Teaching of Science Subjects in Elementary Schools, 18 Gaaisher (James, F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 34 Glasgow, the Royal Philosophical Society of, 70 Glass, Silica, 403 5 Different Glazebrook (Dr. R. T.), Photometric Work at the National ; Physical Laboratory, 349 Globe Geography Readers, the, Vincent T. Murché, 367 Goadby (Kenneth W.), the Mycology of the Mouth, 534 Goat Disease, the South African Sheep and, known as ** Heartwater,’’ C. P. Lounsbury, 38 Godman (Frederick Ducane, F.R.S.), Biologia Centrali- Americana, Insecta—Lepidoptera—Rhopalocera, 25 Goeldi (Dr. E.), on Brazilian Deer, 620 Goette (Dr. Alexander), Lehrbuch der Zoologie, 459 polgechmidt (Dr. Victor), Ueber Harmonie und Complica- tion, 7: Gooch (F. A.), Estimation of Bromic Acid by the Direct Action of Arsenious Acid, 45; Reduction of Vanadic Acid by Hydrochloric Acid, 93 Gorczynski (Dr. Ladislaus), Dimensions of Physical Units, 232 Gordon (J. W.), the Helmholtz Theory of the Microscope, 551 Gordon (Dr. M. H.), Malaria in India, Captain S. P. James, 513 Gordon (Mrs. Dr. Ogilvie), Geological Fassa District in South Tyrol, 358 Gore (Col. St. G. C.), General Report of the Survey of India, 210 Survey of the Goris (A.), Localisation of Aesculin and of Tannin in the Chestnut Tree, 576 Goss (Mr.), Lepidoptera and Choice of Plant Food, 166 Gosselet (J.), Fishes in the Devonian Layer of the Pas-du- Calais, 455 Gostling (M.), Action of Acids on Cellulose, 238 | Gottingen, Royal Society of Sciences, 48, 552 Gouy (M.), Effect of Temperature on Electrocapillary Phenomena, 503 Government Grant for Scientific Research, Prof. R. T- Hewlett, 150 Grabau (Prof. A. W.), Morphology and Growth of the Gastropod, 278 Gracht (Dr. W. van der), Total Eclipse of the Moon, April 22, 1902, 184 Gravitation, Apparent Deviations from Newton’s Law of, Peter Lebedew, 91 Green (C. T.), Flora of the Liverpool District, 55. Green (E. E.), Hypopeltis Tea-Pest, 328; Papaw-trees and Mosquitoes, 487 Green (Prof. J. Reynolds, Fatty-seeds, 19 Greenhill (Prof. A. G., F.R.S.), Héhere Analysis fiir In- genieure, Dr. John Perry, 338 Greenish (Prof. Henry G.), Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzen- reiches, Dr. Julius Wiesner, 553 Gréhaut (Nestor), Analysis of Nine Specimens of Air of a Coal Mine, 46 Grigg, Comet, 1902 c, 91 Groom (Prof. Percy), a Pot of Basil, 271 Groth (L. A.), the Potash Salts, their Production and Application to Agriculture, Industry and Horticulture, 222 Groves (W. H.), The Rational Memory, 461 F.R.S.), on the Germination of Gruner (P.), Ueber die mneueren Dammerungserschein- ungen, 493 Guatemala, Recent Earthquakes in, Edwin Rockstroh, 271 Guctietine (G.), a Method of determining the Work- measures of the Specific Heat of Water, 592 Guilbert (C. F.), the Generators of Electricity at Paris Exhibition, 4 Guillaume (C. E.), Conditions Necessary to obtain Nickel Steel Alloys of extremely low Coefficients of Expansion, 22: Changes in Nickel Steels, 383; Variation in the Modulus of Elasticity in Nickel Steels, 431 Guillaume (J.), Comet, 1902 b, 455 Guilloz (Th.), Method of Stereoscopic Radioscopy, 480 Gulf of St. Lawrence, Tidal Currents in the, W. Dawson, 228 Gun-barrels, the Vibrations of, Prof. G. H. Bryan, RES: 248 Gunn (William), Death and Obituary Notice of, 12 Guntz (M.), Method for Preparation of Metallic Nitrides, ’ 47; Sub-salts of Barium, 528 Giissfeldt (Prof. Dr. Paul), Grundziige der astronomisch- geographischen Ortsbestimmung auf Forschungsreisen, the Bell 532 Guthnick (Dr.), Nova Geminorum, 503 eae Guthrie (F. B.), Pot Experiments to Determine the Limits of Endurance for Injurious Substances (Wheat), 120 Guye (C. E.), Magnetic Hysteresis at High Frequencies, 624 Guyot (A.), 455 Haas (Hans), Geschichte des Christentums in Japan, 28 Haberlandt (Prof.), Cultural Experiments with Isolated Plant Cells, 426 Haddon (Dr. A. C., F.R.S.), Anthropology, its Position and Needs, Address at Anthropological Institute, 449; the Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes, Berthold Laufer, Two Tetra-alkyl-diamido-diphenylanthrones, 560 Hadfield (R.), the Properties of the Alloys of Iron, 14 Halbaum (H. W. G.), Mine Ventilation, 38 Haldane (Dr.), Ankylostomiasis in Dalcoath Mine, Corn- wall, 158 Hale (Prof.), a New Star in Gemini, 522 Hall (Prof. Asaph), the Science of Astronomy, Address at the American Association for Advancement of Science, Washington Meeting, 282 XXli Index Nature, June 18, 1903 Hall (Edwin H.), the Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School, 295 Hall (H. R.), the Mycenaan Discoveries in Crete, 57 Hall (H. S.), a Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra, 577 Hall (Radcliffe), Analysis of Volcanic Dust from Barba- does, 157 Hall (f. S.), Monograptus in New South Wales, 288; | Crab-eating Seal, 327 Haller (A.), Action of Epichlorhydrin on the Sodium Deri- | vatives of Acetone-dicarboxylic Esters, 407; two Tetra- alkyl-diamido-diphenylanthrones, 455; on the Alkyl- and Acyl-cyano-camphors and the Alkylcamphocarbonic Esters, 551 Halliburton (Dr.), Physico-chemical Cause of Death from Hyperpyrexia is the Coagulation of Cell-globulin, 520 Halm (Dr.), Nova Geminorum, 593 Hambidge (Jay), Natural Proportion in Architecture, Lec- ture at the Hellenic Society, 68 Hamlyn-Harris (Dr. R.), Apparatus for Facilitating the Manipulation of Celloidin Sections, 623 Hammer (Prof.), A Medizwval Treatise on Surveying, Prof. Reinhold, 42 Hammerschlag’s Method, Error in the Estimation of the Specific Gravity of the Blood by, A. G. Levy, 238 Hamonet (l’Abbé J.), 1 : 6 Hexanediol and its Deriva- tives, 336 Hanbury (David), Collection of Butterflies formed by, on the Arctic Coast of North America, 430 Hann (Dr. J.), Daily Rotation of the Mean Wind Direc- tion, and on a Semi-diurnal Oscillation of the Atmosphere on Mountain Peaks, 303 Hann (Prof.), the Accumulation of Meteorological Obser- vations, 497 Hanna (Mr.), Neutralising Power of Anti-venomous Serum | towards Cobra Venom, 38 Hanriot (H.), on Collargol, 503 Hansen (Prof. Emil Chr.), Notice of, Dr. Klécker, 87 Hansgirg (Prof. Dr. A.), Phyllobiologie, nebst Uebersicht der biologischen Blatttypen von ein und sechzig Siphono- gamenfamilien, 438 Harcourt (Mr.), Products of the Decomposition of Normal Cupric Acetate under the Influence of Heat, 89 Harden (Dr.), Combination of Carbon Monoxide with Chlorine under the Influence of Light, 71; Physical Chemistry applied to Toxins and ; logical Method for Resolving Inactive Acids into their Optically Active Compounds, 430 Harding (Chas.), Remarkable Winters, 466 Harker (Alfred, F.R.S.), the Overthrust Torridonian Rocks of the Isle of Rum and Associated Gneisses, 527 Harkness (Prof. W.), Death of, 420; Obituary Notice of, 442 Harmonie und Complication, Ueber, Dr. schmidt, 78 Harris (R. A.), a New Theory of the Tides of Terrestrial Oceans, 583 Harrison (J.), Practical Exercises in Geometry, W. D. Eggar, 577; Geometry, an Elementary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, S. O. Andrews, 577; Theoretical Geometry for Beginners, C. H. Allcock Baas Elementary Geometry, W. M. Baker and A. A, Bourne, 577; the Elements of Geometry, R. Lachlan and W. CG, Fletcher, 577; Plane Geometry, Adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teaching, T. Petch, 577; Euclid, Books y. vi., xi., Rupert Deakin, 577; a Short Introduction to Gra- phical Algebra, H. S. Hall, 577 Hartert (Ernst), Aus den Wanderjahren eines Naturfor- schers Reisen und Forschungen in Afrika, Asien und Amerika, nebst daran ankniipfenden meist ornitholo- are fea Supp. February 5, viii artlan 2. Sidney), Eastern Uganda, a i Survey, C. W. Hobley, 10 = Rie nclonical Hartley (Prof. W. N.), Absorption Spectra of Metallic Nitrates, 166; Colour Changes in Solutions of Cobalt Chloride, 430; Absorption Spectra of Nitric Acid in Various States of Concentration, 574 Hartmann (Prof.), Nova Geminorum, 522, 567 Hartog (Prof. Marcus), Interpretacion Dinamica de la division Cellular, A. Gallardo, 42 Victor Gold- Antitoxins, 114; Bio- | Hartog (P. J.), on the Teaching of the English Language in Our Schools, 18 Hartwig (Prof.), Nova Geminorum, 567, 593 Harvard College Observatory, Report of the, 307 Harvie-Brown (J. A.), Birds of the Outer Hebrides, 399 Hasslinger (Prof.), Diamonds obtained with Goldschmid’s Thermite Method, 22 Haswell (Prof. W. A.), Cestode Worm Infesting the Ali- mentary Canal of the Port Jackson Shark, 328 Hausschwamm, der echte, und andere das Bauholz zerstor- ende Pilze, Dr. R. Hertwig, 557 Hautefeuille (M.), Death of, 133 Hawkshaw (J. C.), Presidential Address at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 12 Hayashi (T.), the Problem,’’ 64 Hayes (C. W.), Arkansas Bauxite Deposits, 448 Headden (W. P.), Fluctuations in the Level and in the Alkaline Character of the Ground Water, 305 Headley (F. W.), Genius and the Struggle for Existence, so-called ‘‘ Isosceles Trapezium 344 “ Heartwater,’’ the South African Sheep and Goat Disease, known as, C. P. Lounsbury, 38 Heat: on Hall’s Phenomenon and Thermoelectric Power, Edmond van Aubel, 72; Products of the Decomposition of Normal Cupric Acetate under the Influence of Heat, Messrs. Harcourt and Angel, 89; Determination of the Ratio of the Specific Heats at Constant Pressure and at Constant Volume for Air and Steam, Mr. Mackower, oa; Vitality and Low Temperatures, W. J. Calder, 104; Measurement of Temperature by Electrical Means, 112; the Temperature of Inflammation and Combustion in Oxygen of the Three Varieties of Carbon, Henri Mois- san, 143; Apparatus used in the Determination of the Thermal Conductivities of Solids over Wide Ranges of Temperature, Dr. C. L. Lees, 166; the Specific Heats of Liquids, H. Crompton, 166; Freezing-point Depres- sion in Electrolytic Solutions, Prof. James Walker and A. J. Robertson, 263; Animal Thermostat, Lord Kelvin, at Section A. British Association at Belfast, qgo1; the Temperature of Calefaction and on its Use in Alcohol Determinations, M. Bordier, 407; Measurement of Low Temperatures, Dr. M. W. Travers, 421; the Diather- manosity of Water and Certain Solutions, Otto Dechant, 425; Freezing Points of Aqueous Solutions are Lowered by Pressure to Greater Extent than that of Water, A. Lampa, 425; the Methods of Liquefying Gases, Dr. M. W. Travers, 442; Temperatures in Lochs Morar, Eilt and Dubh (Ailort), T. R. H. Garrett, 455; the Limits of Combustibility of Different Flames, L. Pelet and P. Jomini, 470; on a Thermostat with Electrical Heating and Regulation, C. Marie and R. Marquis, 480; the Heat-giving Properties of Radium Salts, P. Curie and A. Laborde, 491; the Thermal Enerev of Radium Salts, J. W. Mellor, 560; Radium Emission, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 511; Radium, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 601 ; Temperature Coefficients of Magnets of Chilled Cast-iron, B. O. Peirce, 194; a Potentiometer for Thermocouple Measurements, Dr. Lehfeldt, 501; on the Heat of Trans- formation of Yellow into Red Phosphorus, H. Giran, 503 ; Effect of Temperature on Electrocapillary Phenomena, M. Gouy, 503; Practical Exercises in Heat, E. Sea Robson, 510; Experiments on Liquid Fluorine, MM. Moissan and Dewar, 544; the Evaluation of the Absolute Scale of Temperature, Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt, 550; on Animal Heat, A. Chauveau, 575; A. Laveran, s7<; Method of Determining the Work-measures of the Specific Heat of Water, G. Guglielmo, 592; the Thermodynamics of Heat Engines, Sidney A. Reeve, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 602 ; Die Entwickelung unserer Naturanschauung in XIX. Jahrhundert und Friedrich Mohr, Ch. Jezler, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Supp. November 6, 1902, v Heath (Thomas), the Twentieth Century Atlas of Popular Astronomy, 534 Heavens at a Glance, the, 1903, 254 Heaviside (Oliver, F.R.S.), the Waste of Energy from a Moving Electron, 6, 32; Sound Waves and Electro- magnetics, the Pan-potential, 202; the Principle of Least Action, Lagrange’s Equations, 297: the Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equations, Rotation of a Rigid Body, 368 Nature, June 18, 1993. Hebert (A.), Influence of the Nature of the External Medium on the State of Hydration of the Plant, 311 Hébert (Al.), Action of Hot Metals on the Fatty Acids, $93 Hebrides, Local Magnetic Focus in, Sir W. J. L. Whar- ton, KiG-BS F.R=S., 84 Heck (Dr.), the Aye-Aye of Madagascar, 65 Index Hedin (Dr. Sven), Explorations in Central Asia, Secular | Movements in the Region of Lop-nor, 134 Hellenic Society, Lecture at, Natural Proportions in Archi- tecture, Jay Hambidge, 68 Heller (W. Mayhowe), on the Introduction of Experimental Science into Irish Schools, 17 Hellman (Prof. G.), Rain-chart of Westphalia, 469 Helmholtz Theory of the Microscope, J. W. Gordon, 551 Helms (R.), Pot Experiments to Determine the Limits of Endurance for Injurious Substances, Wheat, 120 Hempel (Dr. Walther), Methods of Gas Analysis, Supp., November 6, 1902, x Hemsley (W. Botting, F.R.S.), Local Floras of India, 223; Progress of the New Vegetation of Krakatao, 408 ; Flora of the Galapagos Islands, B. L. Robinson, 561 Henderson (Dr.), Influence of Molybdenum and Tungsten Trioxides on the Specific Rotation of I-lactic Acid and Potassium I-lactate, 358 Henderson (Dr. George), Virgil on Agriculture and the Nitrification of the Soil, 191; Possible Uses of Essential Oils in the Economy of Plant-life, 454 Hénocque (Albert), Death of, 250, 442 Henri (Victor), General Theory of Action of Diastases, 119 Henry (John R.), Leonid Meteors, 1902, a Forecast, 8; Leonids of 1902 and Quadrantids of 1903, 298; the Lyrid Meteors, 584 Henry (Dr. T. A.), a Research on the Eucalypts especially in regard to their Essential Oils, R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith, 524; Eucalypts Cultivated in the United States, A. J. McClatchie, 524 Henschel (George), Bullfinch and Canary, 609 Hepworth (Commander), the Southern Cross Expedition, 539 Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at Naples, the, Italo Giglioli, 296 Herdman (Prof. W. A., F.R.S.), Biology in Universities, 270; the Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon, 620 Heredity: Mendel’s Principles of Heredity in Mice, W. Bateson, F.R.S., 462, 585; Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, F.R.S., 512, 610; Experiments in the Mendelian Theory of Heredity, Japanese ‘‘ Waltzing Mice,’’ Mr. Darbi- shire, 550 Hergesell (Dr. H.), International Balloon Ascents made from April to June last, 13; International Aéronautical Balloon Ascents in July, August, and September, 135; International Aéronautical Experiments for the Scientific Exploration of the Atmosphere, 138; International Balloon Ascents of October 2 and November 6, 1902, 326; International Balloon Ascents of December 4, 398 Herschel (Prof. A. S., F.R.S.), the Leonid and Bielid Meteor-showers of November, 1902, 103; the Quadran- tids, 1903—a Coincidence, 535; the Lyrid Meteors, 584 Herschel’s Nebulous Regions of the Heavens, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 94, 158, 424; Prof. E. E. Barnard, 424 Hertwig (Dr. R.), Der echte Hausschwamm und andere das Bauholz zerst6rende Pilze, 557 bee a (B.), Magnetic Hysteresis at High Frequencies, 24 Hervé’s (Henri), Balloon, Lieut.-Colonel G. Espitalier, 181 Hett (C. H.), a Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old- Fashioned Names of British Birds, 125 Heusler (F.), the Chemistry of the Terpenes, 267 Hewitt Mercury Lamp and Static Converter, the, 248 Hewlett (Prof. R. T.), Thirteenth Annual Report of the Local Government Board, 1900-1, 5; Government Grant for Scientific Research, 150; the Jubilee of Lord Lister, 154; Oysters and Typhoid Fever, 370; Bacteria in Daily Life, Mrs. Percy Frankland, 583 Hickson (Prof. Sydney, F.R.S.), Neohelia porcellana, 344 Hilbert (Prof. D.), a Point in a Recent Paper by, E. T. Dixon, 382 ; Hilger (Otto), Death of, 208; Obituary Notice of, 230 Hill (Dr. Alex.), Can Dogs Reason? 558 Antarctic Prof. Horny Membrane of XXill Hill (A. C.), Reversibility of Enzyme or Ferment Action, 574 Hil (B. F.), Terlingua Quicksilver Deposits of Brewster County, Texas, 113 Hill (Henry W.), Preparatory Lessons in Chemistry, 202 Hill (Leonard), Practical Physiology, 388; Diseases of the Respiratory and Circulatory Systems, 554 Hill (R. T.), the Beaumont Oil-field, 136; Geology of the Black and Grand Prairies, Texas, 449 Hilprecht (Prof.), Discovery of Ancient Records, 400 Hinton (C. H.), Recognition of the Fourth Dimension, Astronomical 7 Stkaeeal (L. W.), Geology of Lower Strathspey, 182 5 Hise (C. R. van), Iron-ore Deposits of the Lake Superior Region, 445 Histology: Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Histologie der Tiere, Dr. Karl Camillo Schneider, 98 ; Methods and Theory of Physiological Histology, Gustay Mann, 484 ; on the Histology of Uredo dispersa and the ‘* Myco- plasm ’’ Hypothesis, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, BeRE Sey 00 Hitere: a New Student’s Atlas of English History, Emil Reich, 461; Death of Dr. Gustav Storm, 493 ; Historical Note in Regard to Determinants, Dr. Thomas Muir, F.R.S., 512; Positive Sciences at the International Con- gress of History, Prof. Piero Giacosa, 613 Hobbs (W. H.), Newark (Triassic) System of the Pom- peraug Valley, Conifecticut, 448 Hobhouse (L. T.), Mind in Evolution, 199 Hobley (C. W.), Eastern Uganda, an Ethnological Sur- vey, 10 Hobson (Dr.), the Infinite and the Infinitesimal in Mathe- matical Analysis, 71 Hobson (Sir E. W., F.R.S.), Sir O. Lodge and the Con- servation of Energy, 611 Hodges (Rev. E. Rattenbury), Utilisation of the Internal Heat of the Earth, 36 Hodgkins Gold Medal Awarded, Another, 104 Hoff (J. H. van ’t), Acht Vortrage Uber physikalische Chemie, 149 Hofmann (Karl), Die radioactiven Stoffe nach dem gegen- wiartigen Stande der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnis, 511 Hofmeister (Prof.), Constitution of the Molecule of Albu- men, 21 Hogg (Quinton), Death and Obituary Notice of, 276 Holden (Edward S.), Real Things in Nature, a Reading Book of Science for American Boys and Girls, 461 Holland (T. H.), the Mica Deposits of India, 471 Hollard (A.), Electrolytic Superoxides of Lead, Nickel and Bismuth, 335 ; Holm (Dr. E.), Das Objectiv im Dienste der Photographie, 86 Halines (W. B.), Amorphous Sulphur, 352 Holmes (Mr.), Estimation of Ethyl Alcohol in Essences and Medicinal Preparations, 358 Holy Shroud of Turin, the, Dr. Paul Vignon, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 241; Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 296; Major-General J. Waterhouse, 317, 345; Worthington G. Smith, 317; R. E. Froude, F.R.S., 367 Hooker’s (Sir William) Scientific Work, 404 “Hope Reports,’ Entomology at Oxford, 572 Hopkinson (C. and B.), Electric Tramways, 65 Horn, Round the, Before the Mast, A. Basil Lubbock, 439 Bec Membrane of Neohelia porcellana, Prof. Sydney J. Hickson, F.R.S., 244 Horse, the Origin of the Thoroughbred, Prof. Ridgeway at the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 187 Horticulture: the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, 44; Children’s Gardens, the Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil (Alicia Amherst), 55; the Potash Salts, their Pro- duction and Application to Agriculture, Industry and Horticulture, L. A. Groth, 222; Thomson’s Gardener’s Assistant, 315 Hough (Prof. G. W.), Observations of Occultations, 254; Physical Constitution of Jupiter, 329 Houllevigue (L.), Results Obtained by Depositing Thin Films of Metal on Glass and other Surfaces by Kathodic Rays in the Bell Glass Receiver, 375 Houston (Dr. A. C.), the Earth in Relation to the Preser- XXiV Index [ Nature, June 18, 1903 vation and Destruction of Contagia, being the Milroy Lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, George Vivian Poore, 75 Houston (David), Value of Bacteriological Tests in Judging Butter, 431 Houston (Dr.), Lead in Peaty Water, 498 Hovey (E. T.), Eruptions of 1902 of La Soufriére, St. Vin- cent, and Mont Pelée, 93 Hovey (Edmund Otis), Martinique and St. Vincent, a Pre- liminary Report upon the Eruptions of 1902, 256 Howard (A.), Treatment of Fungoid Pests, 38 Howe (M A.), the Design of Simple Wood Trusses in Wood and Steel, 429 Howland (H. N.), Elements of Physics, 609 Huggins (Sir William and Lady), the Magnesium Spec- trum Line at A 4481, 522 Human Anatomy, Dr. A. Keith, 122 Hungary, Agricultural Industry and Education in, Hussey (W. J.), New Catalogue of Double Stars, 496 Hutchinson (Dr. A.), the Diathermancy of Antimonite, 575 Hutchinson (Horace), the New Forest, habitants, and Customs, 461 Hutchinson (Dr. Jonathan), the Aetiology of Leprosy, 590 Hutton (Captain F. W.), a Case of Pseudo-mimicry, 439 Hydraulics: Le Forze Idrauliche, Torquato Perdoni, 413; Hydro-tachymeter for Regulating Hydraulic Turbines, L. Ribourt, 431; Leonardo da Vinci as a Hydraulic Engineer, M. A. Ronna, 440; Irrigation Institutions, Elwood Mead, 607 Hydrogen, the Solidification of Fluorine and the Combina- tion of Solid Fluorine with Liquid, Profs. H. Moissan and J. Dewar, 497 Hydrography : the Hydrographical Work of the North Sea Investigation Committee (Scotland), Prof. D’Arcy W. 102 its Traditions, In- Thompson, 246; Atlantische Ozean, Supp. February 5, 1903, Vii Hydrophobia : Prevention of Rabies, 178 Hygiene : Advanced Hygiene, A. E. Ikin and R .A. Lyster, yy S the Ventilation of the Tubes, 488; the Ventilation, Heating and Management of Churches and Public Build- ings, J. W. Thomas, 510 Hygrometric Determinations, E. V. Windsor, 463 Ibbotson (Fred), the Analysis of Steel-works Materials, 76 Iceland, Across, W. Bisiker, Dr. Th. Thoroddsen, 346 Ichthyology : Poisonous Fish, Prof. Takahasi, 21; Ulcer Disease of Rainbow Trout, R. Grieg Smith, 47; the Coloration of Fishes, Prof. D. S. Jordan, 65; the Ex- planation of a Remarkable Case of Geographical Dis- tribution among Fishes, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 84; Fresh-water Fishes of Borneo, Prof. L. Vaillant, 88; American Food and Game Fishes, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann, 122; the Solution of the Eel Question, Dr. C. H. Eigenmann, 136; the Methods of Investigating the North Sea Fisheries, Dr. D. Noel Paton, 174; Development of the South American Lung- fish, J. G. Kerr, 328; Cestode Worm Infesting the Alimentary Canal of the Port Jackson Shark, Prof. W. A. Haswell, 328; the Organisation of Fishery Re- search, Dr. E. J. Allen, 417; the Oxydases of Cuttle Fishes, C. Gessard, 480 Iddings (Joseph P.), ‘Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks, based on Chemical and Mineral Characters with a Systematic Nomenclature, 578 Igneous Rocks, Quantitative Classification, based on Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, Whitman Cross, Joseph P. Iddings, Louis V. Pirsson and Henry S. Washington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 578 Ijima (Mr.), a Rare Squid from the Sagami Sea, 38 Ikeda (Mr.), a Rare Squid from the Sagami Sea, 38 Ikin (A. E.), Recent Advances in Science, 102; Advanced Hygiene, 222 Illumination, the Art of, Louis Bell, 483 Index Animalium sive Index nominum quae ab A.D. MDCCLVIII., generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, Societatibus Eruditorum adjuvantibus a Carolo Davies Sherborn confectus. Sectio prima, a kalendis | Januariis MpccLviI usque ad finem Decembris mpccc, Cantabrigiae. E. typographico Academico mMpccccil., 365 Index-tabellen zum anthropometrischen Gebrauche, M. First, 30 Index Zoologicus, C. O. Waterhouse, 295 India: Forest Flora of the School Circle, N. W. P. Upen- dranath Kanjilal, 52; Report of the Meteorological De- partment of India for 1g01-2, 87; the Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency, W. A. Tal- bot, 148; Flora Simlensis, a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla and the Neighbourhood, Sir H. Collett, K.C.B., 170; the Forests of Upper India and _ their Inhabitants, Thomas W. Webber, 198; Punjab Govern- ment’s Scheme for Extensive Inoculation against Plague, 209; General Report of the Survey of India, Col. St. G. C. Gore, 210; Risley’s Tribes of Bengal, S. M. Jacob, 223; Local Floras of India, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 223; the Reviewer, 223; Plants used for Food during Periods of Drought, Mr. Gammie, 252; a Naturalist in the Indian Seas, or Four Years with the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship, Investigator, A. Alcock, F.R.S., 320; an Account of the Indian Triax- onia, Collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship, Investigator, Franz Eilhard Schulze, 509; a Rat-snake Swallowed by a Cobra, 350; Indian Rainfall, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 394; a Manual of Indian Tim- bers, T. S. Gamble, F.R.S., 437; Malaria in India, Captain S. P. James, Dr. M. H. Gordon, 513; Consti- tution of a Board of Scientific Advice for the Further- ance of Scientific Work in India, 568 India-rubber, the Chemistry of, Carl Otto Weber, C. Sim- monds, 313 Industries, Our, Suggestions for a Science of Business, Sir William Preece, 86 Inertia: an Oscillating Table for Determining Moments of Inertia, W. H. Derriman, 333; Balance by which Moments of Inertia can be Determined without the Use of Stop Watches, Mr. Skinner, 333 Inghilleri (Dr. F.), the ‘‘ Red Plague, covered in Eels, 445 Inglis (J. K. H.), Theory of the Aluminum Anode, 93 Injections, Physiological, Yves Delage, 143 Innes (Dr. W.), Bird Extermination about Cairo, 328 Inorganic Chemistry, the Principles of, Wilhelm Ostwald, Carl ”” New Bacillus Dis- 171 Insecticide, Crude Oil and Soap, a New General, Mr. Maxwell-Lefroy, 616 Insects and Petal-less Flowers, Prof. Plateau, G. W. Bul- man, 319; E. Ernest Lowe, 368 Institution of Civil Engineers, Presidential J. C. Hawkshaw at, 12 Institution of Electrical Engineers, Address at, Some Limits in Heavy Electrical Engineering, James Swin- burne, 159 Instrument Makers, Cooperation Among, 121 Instruments de Précision, 1’Industrie Frangaise des, 121 Interaction between the Mental and the Material Aspects of Things, Sir Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S., 595 Interest and Education, the Doctrine of Interest and its Concrete Application, Prof. C. DeGarmo, 413 International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 557 International North Sea Fisheries, Scientific Investigation, 36 Ionen, Grundriss der qualitativen Analyse, vom Stand- punkte der Lehre von den, Dr. Wilh. Bottger, 557 Ireland: on the Composition of the Flora of the North- East of Ireland, R. Llovd Praeger, 19; Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, a Folklore Study, W. G. Woods- Martin, 243; Royal Irish Academy, 263 Irrigation Dam at Assuan, the Great, 184 Irrigation Institutions, Elwood Mead, 607 Irving (Rev. Dr. A.), Science and the Education Act of 1902, 369 Isle of Man, the Geology of the, G. W. Lamplugh, 555 Isomeric Change in Benzene Derivatives, Dike] Orton, at the Royal Society, 332 Isthmian Canal, Ancient and Modern Engineering and the, Prof. William H. Burr, 508 Italy: Agricultural Science in Italy, Italo Giglioli, 169 ; Annali della Regia Scuola Superiore di Agricoltura di Address, by Nature, Tune 18, 1903 L[ndex XXV Portici, 582; Italian Visit of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 588; Wireless Telegraphy in Italy, 590 Ives (F. E.), Simple Way of Measuring Obejcts under the Microscope, 520 Ives (H. C.), Stereotomy, 439 Ives (James E.), the Dimensions of Large Inductance Coils, 520 Jackson (C. F. V.), the Opal Mining Industry of Queens- land, 542 Jackson (H.), on the Germination of Fatty Seeds, 19 Jackson (Holmes C.), Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry, 316 Jackson (J.), System of Upright Penmanship, 445 Jacob (S. M.), Risley’s Tribes of Bengal, 223; Sequences for Determining the nth Root of a Rational Number, 478 Jaggar (Dr. T. A., jun.), Peculiar Sequence followed by Eruptions of Mont Pelée, 135; Laccoliths of the Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming, 44% James (Captain S. P.), Malaria in India, 513 Jameson (Dr. H. Lyster), the Origin of Pearls, 280 Japan: Geschichte des Christentums in, Hans Haas, 28; the Discovery of Japan, Kumagusu Minakata, 610; Seis- mological Notes, Dr. F. Omori, 619 Jeans (J. H.), Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet, 189 Jensen (H. J.), Australia, 344 Jezler (Ch.), Die Entwicklung unserer Naturanschauung in xix Jahrhundert und Friedrich Mohr, Supp. November 6, 1902, Vv Joannis (M.), Action of Boron Chloride upon Gaseous Ammonia, 192; Cuprous Sulphate, 480 Job (André), Activity of Some Salts of the Rare Earths as Producing Oxidation, 263 Joel (H. E.), Electric Automobiles, 304 Johnson (Prof. T.), Swede-rot from County Down, 263; Phellomyces sclerotiophorus Potato Scab, 166 Johnston (J. R.), Development of Cauloglossum transver- sarium, 279 Johnston (Dr. T. N.), Loch Morar and Lochs Beoraid and Nostarie, 455 Joly (Prof. C. J.), the Multi-linear Quaternion Function in Relation to Projective Geometry, 143 Joly (J., F.R.S.), the Conservation of Mass, 262 Jomini (P.), the Limits of Combustibility of Different Flames, 470 Jones (H. O.), the Stereochemistry of Benzene, 503; Phy- sical Properties of Nickel Carbonyl, 623 Jones (Francis), Alkalis on Glass and on Paraffin, 46; the Bending of Marble, 503 Jones (Lionel M.), Introductory Chemistry for Intermediate Schools, 54 Jones (R. M.), Schools, 17 Jones (Prof. T. Rupert), Carved and Perforated Antlers, Remarkable Meteorological Phenomena in Position of Science in Irish Intermediate 174 Jones and Roechling, Natural and Artificial Sewage Treat- ment, 315 Jonquiéres (Ernest de), Mathematical Work of, 64 Jordan (Prof. D. S.), the Coloration of Fishes, 65 ; Ameri- can Food and Game Fishes, 122 Journal of Botany, 93, 405, 500, 597 Journal of Mathematics, American, 117, 477 Joy (Dr. Norman H.), Habits of Apatura iris, 166 Jubilee of Lord Lister, the, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 154 Julius (Dr. V. A.), De Ether, 413 Jupiter; the Pyramid Spot on, Leo Brenner, 40; Jupiter and His Great Red Spot, W. F. Denning, 159; Defini- tion of Jupiter’s Markings, Acceleration in the Motion of the Great Red Spot, W. F. Denning, 329; Observa- tions of Jupiter’s Markings, José Comas Sola, 447: Spectrographic Determination of the Rotation Period of Jupiter, V. M. Slipher, 280; Physical Constitution of, Prof. G. W. Hough, 329; Observations of Jupiter’s Fifth Satellite, Prof. R. G. Aitken, 496 Kahlenberg (L.), Instantaneous Chemical Reactions and the Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation, 41; Electrical Conductivity of Substances Dissolved in Liquid Hydro- ,Kimmins (Dr. €. cyanic Acid, 90; the Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis, 112 Kanjilal (Upendranath), Forest Flora of the School Circle, NEE Wises ya52 Katydid’s Resourcefulness, a, Arthur G. Smith, 612 Kayser (H.), Handbuch der Spectroscopie, 265 Kearney (I. H.) Botanical Survey of the Dismal Swamp Region, 305 , Kearton (R.), Natural History of Selborne, Gilbert White, with Notes by, 419 Kehr (Prof.), Résumé of 730 Operations for the Removal of Gall Stones, 22 Keith (Dr. A.), Text-book of Anatomy, 122 Kelly (Dr.), Chitin, 425 Kelvin (Lord, G.C.V.O., F.R.S.), Becquerel Rays and Radio-activity, 103; Germs in Space, 181; the Scientific Work of Sir George Stokes, 337; Animal Thermostat, Paper read at Section A., British Association at Bel- fast, 401 Kemp (J. F.), Geological Relations and Distribution of Platinum, 449 Kerr (J. G.), Development of the South American Lung- fish, 328 ; Kewley (J.), the Stereochemistry of Benzene, 503 Kieffer (Abbé J. J.), Monographie des Cynipides d’Europe et d’Algerie, 124 W.), on the Subjects to be taught as Science in Schools and the Order in which they should be taken, 17; Coordination and Delimitation of Science- Teaching in various Grades of Schools, 237 King (Sir George), Flora of the Malayan Peninsula, No. 13, 136 King (L. W., F.S.A.), the Seven Tablets of the Creation, 204; Annals of the Kings of Assyria, 435 King’s College, London, the Needs of, 85 Kirkby (William), Artificial Mineral Waters, 32 Klein (Dr. E., F.R.S.), Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague, Dr. R. Bruce Low, 299 Klimont (J.), Composition of Oleum Cacao, 425 Kling (Andre), the Reduction of Acetol, 143 Klécker (Dr.), Notice of Prof. Emil Chr. Hansen, 87 Kloss (C. Boden), in the Andamans and Nicobars, 514 Knecht (E.), a New Reducing Agent, Titanium Trichloride, 2 Knight (G. McKenzie), a Sickle Leonid, 204; the Quad- rantids of 1903, 247 {Kohl (Max), Physical Apparatus, 121 Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen, Lexikon der, M. M. Richter, 8 Kaltzoff (N. K.), the Development of the Skull of the Lamprey, 88 Koss (Herr), Observations of the Perseid Shower, 114 Krafft (Dr. A. von), ‘‘ Exotic Blocks,’’ of Malla Johar, 470 Krafft-Ebing (Prof. Richard Baron Von), Death of, 208 Krakatao, Progress of the New Vegetation of, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 498 Krauch (Dr. C.), the Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity, 436 Kraus (Dr.), the Action of Immune-hzmolysine, 21 Krebs (A.), Automatic Carburettor for Explosion Motors, 119 Kreutz (Prof. H.), Comet 1903 a (Giacobini), 307 Kropotkin (P.), Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution, 196 Kuliako (A.), the Revivification of the Heart, 264 Kunz (J.), Conductivity of Solutions at Low Temperatures, 72 Kupffer (Privy Councillor von), Death of, 155 Kurtz (Dr. F.), Remarks on E. A. Newell Arber’s Com- munication on the Clark Collection of Fossil Plants from New South Wales, 94 Kusano (S.), Buckleya quadriala, 253 Labbé (H.), Maisine, a New Albuminvid from Maize, 47 Laboratories: Directions for Laboratory Work in Physio- logical Chemistry, Holmes C. Jackson, 316; the Physio- logical Laboratory of the University of London, 441 Laborde (A.), the Heat-giving Properties of Radium Salts, 491 Laborde (Prof.), Death of, 589 Lachlan (R.), the Elements of Geometry, 577 XXxvi Index Nature, June 18, 1903 Lacroix (Prof.), the Situation in Martinique, 36; White River choked by Mont Pelée Eruption, 155; Conse- quences of Shattering of the Cone in Crater of Mont Pelée, 208; Eruptions of Dense Clouds from Mont Pelée, 335 Lacy (C. J.), A Bright Meteor, 307 Laffitte (Pierre), Death of, 230 Lagrange’s Equations. The Principle of Least Action, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 297; the Principle of Activity | and, Rotation of a Rigid Body, Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368; | Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 368; Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c., Prof. W. McF. Orr, 415; R. F. W., 415; Lagrange’s Equations, A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 464 Lake-country Rambles, William T. Palmer, 79 Lakes: Loch Morar and Lochs Beoraid and Nostarie, Dr. T. N. Johnston, 455; Temperatures in Lochs Morar, Eilt and Dubh (Ailort), T. R. H. Garrett, 455; Pelagic Life in the Lochs, James Murray, 455 Lamb (Mr.), Neutralising Power of Anti-venomous Serum towards Cobra Venom, 38 Lamb (Prof.), on Wave-propagation in Two Dimensions, 71 Lambert (Rev. F. C.), Bromide Printing, 510 Lamp Lighted by Means of Bacteria, Prof. Hanos Molisch, 468 Lampa (A.), Freezing Points of Aqueous Solutions are Lowered by Pressure to Greater Extent than that of Water, 425 Lamplough (F. E.), Proustite Crystals, 142 Lamplugh (G. W.), Fossiliferous Band at the Top of the Lower Greensand, near Leighton Buzzard, 406- Memoirs of the Geological Survey, United Kingdom: the Geology of the Isle of Man, 555 ; Lander (Dr. G. D.), Molecular Arrangement of N-substi- tuted Imino-ethers, 430 Landois (Prof. Leonard), Death of, 180 Landor (A. H. Savage), Across Coveted Lands, 489 Langley (Prof. S. P.), a Sub-tropical Solar Physics Observ- atory, 207; a Device for Obtaining Good Seeing, 400; the Solar Constant, 522 Langlois (G.), Essence of Vetiver, 168 Language: the Elements of Experimental Phonetics, Edward Wheeler Scripture, Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 268 Lannelogue (M.), Tuberculosis and Diaphysis of the Long Bones of the Limbs, 431 ; Lantern Slides, the Prevention of Dew Deposits on, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., at the British Association at Belfast, 476 Lapworth (Dr.), Influence of Nitro-groups on the Reactivity of Halogen Derivatives of Benzene, 358 ; Larmor (Dr. J., F.R.S.), the Mathematical Expression of the Principle of Huygens, 262 Larmor (Dr. J., Sec.R.S.), on the Electrodynamic and Thermal Relations of Energy of Magnetisation, 333); Electric Waves, H. M. Macdonald, F.R.S., 361 Laslett (E. E.), Descending Intrinsic Spinal Tracts in the Mammalian Cord, 165 Lauder (Dr.), Relation between Absorption Spectra and Chemical Structure of Certain Alkaloids, 358; Constitu- tion of Cotarnine, 551 Laufer (Berthold), the Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes, 560 Laughter, an Essay McDougall, 318 Laurent (Emile), Internal Action of Copper Sulphate in the Resistance of the Potato to Phytophthora infestans, 167; Duration of the Germinating Power of Seeds Preserved in a Vacuum, 192; Germinating Power of Seeds Exposed to Sunlight, 239 Laurent (Jules), Influence of Organic Materials on the De- velopment and Anatomical Structure of some Phanero- gams, 96 Laveran (A.), on Animal Heat, 57s; Anopheles and Malaria, 575; Spirillosis in the Bovide, 623 Le Cadet (G.), Comet 1902 b, 455; Atmospheric Electricity at the Summit of Mont Blanc, 575 Aj Le Souéf (Mr.), Feathers of the Emeu, 390 Lead Accumulator, the, E. J. Wade, Maurice Solomon, 410 Lead Poisoning and Water Supplies, Dr. Houston, «08 Least Action, the Principles of, A. B. Basset, FR SS:, 343 on, Prof. James Sully, Dr. W. Lebaudy’s Navigable Balloon Ascent, 63 Lebeau (P.), Two Silicides of Manganese, 287 Lebedew (Peter), Apparent Deviations from Newton’s Law of Gravitation, 91 Leduc (A.), Atmospheric Hydrogen, 96 Leduc (S.), Production of Sleep and of General Anzsthesia by Electric Currents, 96 Lee (Alice), Correlation of Characters in Man, 261 Leech (John Henry), Catalogue of the Collection of Palz- arctic Butterflies Formed by the late, Richard South, 583 Leeds (E. N.), Gigantic Sauropod Dinosaur from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough, 617 Lees (Dr. C. L.), Apparatus used in the Determination of the Thermal Conductivities of Solids over Wide Ranges of Temperature, 166 Lees (F. H,), Interaction of Ketones and Aldehydes with Acid Chlorides, 117 Lees (Mr.), Constituents of Oil of Rue, 71 Lehfeldt (Dr. R. A.), a Potentiometer for Thermocouple Measurements, 501; a Resistance Comparator, 501; the Evaluation of the Absolute Scale of Temperature, 550 Leigh (G. F.), the Enemies of Lepidoptera in Natal, 166 Leighton (Dr. G.), the Question of Adders Swallowing their Young, 182 Lendenfeld (tobert von), Method of Studying the Action of Insects’ Wings by Instantaneous Photography, 617 Lenhossék (Dr. M. von), Das Problem der geschlechts- bestimmenden Ursachen, 366 Leonid Meteors, 1902, a Forecast, John R. Henry, 8 Leonid and Bielid Meteor-showers of November, 1902, the, Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 103 Leonid, a Sickle, G. McKenzie Knight, 204 Leonids of 1902 and Quadrantids of 1903, John R. Henry, 298 Lepidoptera: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta— Lepidoptera—Rhopalocera, Frederick Ducane Goodman, F.R.S., and the late Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25; Lepi- doptera and Choice of Plant Food, A. H. Church, R. McLachlan, and Mr. Goss, 166; the Enemies of Lepi- doptera in Natal, G. F. Leigh, 166; Effects of Natural Selection and Race-tendency upon the Colour-patterns of the Lepidoptera, A. G. Mayor, 351; the Lepidoptera of the British Islands, Charles G. Barrett, 438 Leprosy, the Propagation of, Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., 111; the A&tiology of, Dr. Jcenathan Hutchinson, 590 Lesage (M.), Measurement of Electric Resistance as Analysis for Fermentation and in Pathological Cases, 350 Leube (Prof.), Physiological Albuminuria, 21 Levy (A. G.), Error in the Estimation of the Specific Gravity of the Blood by Hammerschlag’s Method, 238 Lewenz (Marie A.), Correlation of the Mental and Physical Characters in Man, 261 Lewes (Prof. V. B.), the Future of Coal Lecture at Society of Arts, 426 Lewis (E. W.), Tertiary Butyl Phenol, 382 Liddle (J. E. C.), a Remarkable Meteor, 464, 487 Light: Light-therapeutics, P. H. Baily, 32; Light, its Therapeutic Importance in Tuberculosis, Dr. J. Mount Bleyer, 350; Redetermination of the Velocity of, and the Solar Parallax, M. Perrotin, 137; Light for Students, Edwin Edser, 340; a New Kind of Light, R. Blondlot, 527 Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance, Bart., the, 386 Lighting : the Theory of the Gas Mantle, Maurice Solomon, 82; Zur Theorie des Auerlichtes, W. Nernst and E. Bose, 82; Theory of the Incandescent Mantle, A. H. White, H. Russell and A. F. Traver, 82; Theory of the Incan- descent Mantle, A. H. White and A. F. Traver, 82; the Conditions Determinative of Chemical Change and of Electrical Conduction in Gases, and on the Phenomena of Luminosity, Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 82; the History of the Invention of Incandescent Gas Lighting, Auer von Welsbach, 82; the Art of Illumination, Louis Bell, 483 Lightning, Live Trout Killed by, 304, 327 Lilford (Lord), on Birds, T. Digby Pigott, C.B., Supp. February 5, iii; Lord Lilford, T. Digby Pigott, C.B., Supp. February 5, iii Line of Sight, Cooperative Determinations of Velocities in the, Mr. Newall, 568 the Mental ana Physical Gas, Cantor Nature, ] June 18, 1903 Index Linnean Society, 95, 142, 191, 238, 454, 479, 551, 575 Linnean Society, New South Wales, 47, 168, 287 Lippmann (G.), Methods for Verifying whether a Ruler or Sliding Bar is Rectilinear, and for Fixing a Collimator in the Focal Plane of a Lens or Telescope, 37; Determin- ation of the Exact Position of a Mercury Meniscus Illuminated by a Bundle of Horizontal Rays, 95; Use of a Telegraph Wire for Registering Automatically Earth Vibrations, 335 Lister (Lord), the Jubilee of, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 154 Liveing (Prof., F.R.S.), Probable Presence in the Sun of the Newly-discovered Gases of the Earth’s Atmosphere, 502 Liverpool: Flora of the Liverpool District, C. T. Green, 55; the University of, 151; Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, H. E. Durham, 172 Liversidge (Prof., F.R.S.), Meteoric Dusts, New South Wales, 47; New South Wales Meteorites, 312; Platinum and Iridium Metals in Meteorites, 408 Living Substance, a Theory, the, Prof. Max Verworn, 385 Local Government Board, 1900-1, Thirteenth Annual Report of the, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 5 Lockyer (Sir Norman, K.C.B., F.R.S.), the Similarity of the Short-period Barometric Pressure Variations over Large Areas, 224; a Curious Projectile Force, 297; the Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism, 377; Solar Prominence and Spot Circulation, 1872-1901, 569 Lockyer (Dr. William J. S.), the Similarity of the Short- period Barometric Pressure Variations over Large Areas, 224; the Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism, 377; Solar Prominence and Spot Circulation, 1872-1901, 569; Indian Rainfall, 394; a Unique Variable Star, 467; Pulkova Observations of Nova Persei, 515 Locomotion, Royal Solomon, 346 Locusts, Migratory, Dr. L. Sander, 244 Lodge (Prof. Alfred), Differential Calculus for Beginners, 123; Method of Representing Imaginary Points by Real Points in a Plane, 262 Lodge (Sir Oliver, F.R.S.), Advice to Passengers Opening Carriage Doors of a Train in Motion, 64: Personal, 81; Germs in Space, 103; the University in the Modern State, 193; Biology in Universities, 270; Genius and the Struggle for Existence, 270; Society for Psychical Re- search, 330; Electricity and Matter, Lecture at Bedford College for Women, 450; Radium Emission, 511; Inter- action between the Mental and the Material Aspects of Things, 595 ; a New Form of Self-restoring Coherers, 598 ; Sir Oliver Lodge and the Conservation of Energy, Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 611 Loisier (M. 1’Abbé), Solar Phenomena and Meteorology, 447 Lomax (Mr.), Two Specimens of Lyginodendron oldhamium obtained from Dulesgate, 19; on the Occurrence of Nodular Concretions (Coal Balls) in the Lower Measures, MG) London: London Birds and other Sketches, T. Digby Pigott, 102 ; London Conference of Science Teachers, 259 ; the Mismanagement of London University Library, F. H. Perry-Coste, 271; the Physiological Laboratory of the University of, 441; Royal Commission on London Loco- motion, Maurice Solomon, 346; London Fog Inquiry, 1g01-02, Captain Alfred Carpenter’s, D.S.O., Report to the Meteorelogical Council, 548 Long (William J.), School of the Woods: some Life Studies of Animal Instinct and Animal Training, 55 Lénnberg (Dr. Einar), Variations in the Elks’ Antlers in Sweden, 191 Lorenz’s (Prof.) Treatment of Congenital Dislocation of the Hips, 272 Loria (Prof. Gino), Geometry Prior to 1850, 37; Mathe- matical Work of Ernest de Jonquiéres, 64 Lounsbury (C. P.), the South African Sheep and Goat Disease known as ‘‘ Heartwater,’’ 38 Love (Prof. A. E. H.), Wave Motions with Discontinuities at Wave-fronts, 262; Exact Solutions of the Problem of the Bending of an Elastic Plate under Pressure, 599 Low (Dr. R. Bruce), Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague, 299 Commission on London, Maurice XXVII Low Temperatures, Vitality and, W. J. Calder, 104 Lowe (E. Ernest), Tooth of Hippopotamus amphibius found in the Mendip Hills, 157; Insects and Petal-less Flowers, 368 Lowell (Prof. Percival), the Markings on Venus, 67; Evolu- tion of Aérography, 114 Lubbock (A. Basil), Round the Horn before the Mast, 439 Ludendorff (Dr.), Nova Geminorum, 567 Luizet (M.), Observations of Variable Stars, 233 Lumsden (J. S.), a New Vapour Density Apparatus, 382 Lunar Crater Linné, Activity of the, Prof. E. C. Pickering, 137, Luther (R.), Hand- und Hiilfsbuch zur Ausfiihrung physiko- chemischer Messungen, 101 Lydekker (Mr.), Origin of the Present and Past Vertebrate Faunas of South America, 304 Lydekker (R.), the Wild Sheep of the Kopet Dagh, Persia, Ovis vignei arkal, 383; Callosities of the Limbs of the Equide, 478 Lynx, a Rich Nebulous Region in the Constellation, Prof. Max Wolf, 472 Lynx, Wolf’s Rich Nebulous Region in the Constellation, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 568 Lyon (M. W.), Females of the American Bats, Lasiurus, Quadrimamme and Multiparous, 399 Lyre, the Variable Star 13, 1902, 16 Lyre, the Algol Variable R.V. (13, 1902), Prof. Pickering, 183 Lyrid Meteors, the, John R. Henry, 584; Prof. A. S, Herschel, F.R.S., 584 Lyster (R. A.), Advanced Hygiene, 222 Macchiati (Luigi), Photosynthesis Outside the Organism, 192 McClatchie (A. J.), Eucalypts Cultivated in the United States, 524 McConnell (Primrose), the Elements of Agricultural Geology: a Scientific Aid to Practical Farming, 31 Macdonald (H. M., F.R.S.), Applications of Fourier’s Theorem, 191; Electric Waves, 361 4 MacDougall (Robert), the Affective Quality of Auditory Rhythm, 399 McDougall (Dr. W.), the Theory of Laughter, Prof. James Sully, 318 MacDowall (Alex. B.), Sun-spots and Summer Heat, 247 Macfadyen (Prof. Allan), Luminous Bacteria, 19; on the Suspension of Life at Low Temperatures, 19 MacGregor (Sir William), the Prophylaxis of Malaria, 209 ; the Possibility of Stamping out Malaria, 231 Mach (Dr. E.), the Psychology and Natural Development of Geometry, 524 Mache (Dr. H.), Protective Action of Wire Gauze against Explosions, 423 Machines, Material of, Albert W. Smith, 222 McKendrick (Prof. John G., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Prof. John Young, 249; the Elements of Experimental Phonetics, Edward Wheeler Scripture, 268 McKenzie (Dr. A.), Biological Method for Resolving In- active Acids into their Optically Active Compounds, 430 Mackenzie (Dr. Hector), Diseases of the Respiratory Organs, 554 Mackower (Mr.), Determination of the Ratio of the Specific Heats at Constant Pressure and at Constant Volume for Air and Steam, 94 McLachlan (R.), Lepidoptera and Choice of Plant Food, 166 Macleod (J. J. R.), Practical Physiology, 388 Macmillan’s Short Geography of the World, George F. Bosworth, 55 MacMunn (Dr. C. A.), Counting the Red Corpuscles of the Blood by Photography, 327 McMurry (Charles), a Teacher’s Manual of Geography to Accompany Tarr and McMurry’s Series of Geographies, I MecPHerson (John), Ngarrabul and other Australian Tribes, Part i., Medical and Surgical Practice, 288 M’Vail (Dr. John C.), the Vaccination Acts, 254 Madras Rainfall and the Frequency of Sun-spots, Subha Rao, 326 M. B. | Madreporia: Horny Membrane of Neohelia porcellana, Prof. Sydney Hickson, F.R.S., 344 XXVIII Index Waa cn ee Maggi (Prof. Leopoldo), Tachygenesis and University | Marconi (Mr.), Wireless Telegraphic Communication be- Studies, 252 Magical Ceremonies, American, 392 Magnesium Spectrum Line at A 4481, Sir William and Lady | Huggins, 522 Magnetism: Local Magnetic Focus in Hebrides, Sir W. J. L. Wharton, K.C.B., F.R.S., 84; on a Vibration Magnetometer and Ball-ended Magnets of Robison, G. F. C. Searle, 119 ; Temperature Coefficients of Magnets of Chilled Cast Iron, B. O. Peirce, 494; Magnetic Observ- ations in Baden, Dr. G. Meyer, 187; Magnetic Storms and Sun-spots, Father Cortie, 211; United States Mag- netic Declination Tables and Isogonic Charts for 1902, L. A. Bauer, 294; the Relation between Solar Promin- ences and Terrestrial Magnetism, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., Dr. William J..S. Lockyer, 377; Re- lationships between Sun-spots and Terrestrial Magnetism, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 381; Magnetic Properties of the Terrestrial Atmosphere, Charles Nordmann, 624; Pheno- mena of Magnetic Double Refraction and the so-called ““ Bimagnetic Rotation ’’ of the Plane of Polarisation, Dr. Quirino Majorana, 304; Proof of a Rotating Magnetic Field produced by a Helicoidal Modification of Stratifica- tions in a Tube of Rarefied Air, Th. Tommasina, 311; a Course of Simple Experiments in Magnetism and Elec- tricity, A. E. Munby, 316; on the Electrodynamic and Thermal Relation of Energy of Magnetisation, Dr. J. Larmor, Sec.R.S., 333; Magnetic Deviability and the Nature of Certain Rays Emitted by Radium and Polonium, Henri Becquerel, 335 ; Magnetic Work in New Zealand, Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 418; Death and Obituary Notice of Major-General C. J. B. Riddell, C.B., F.R.S., 421; New Magnetic Systems for the Study of Feeble Fields, V. Cremieu and H. Pender, 480; Magnetic Observations during Eclipses, Dr. L. A. Bauer, 496; the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539; Dr. Chree, F.R.S., 539; M. Bernacchi, 539; Lieutenant Colbeck, 539; Magnetic Survey of the Summit of the Puy de Déme, B. Brunhes and P. David, 542; Magnetic Work in Maryland, U.S.A., 572; Magnetic Dichroism of Liquids, Georges Meslin, 576; Distortion of a Magnetic Field by Explosions, Prof. F. E. Nipher, 600; Magnetic Hysteresis at High Frequencies, C. E. Guye and B. Herz- field, 624 Maiden (J. H.), New Cryptocarya from Lord Howe Island, Cryptocarya Gregsoni, 47 Major (Dr. Forsyth), the Okapi, 88; Okapi from Congo Free State, 118; Ocapia liebrechtsi, 210 Marjorana (Dr. Quirino), Phenomena of Magnetic Double Refraction and the so-called ‘‘ Bimagnetic Rotation ’’ of the Plane of Polarisation, 304 Malaria: the Prophylaxis of, Sir William MacGregor, 209 ; the Possibility of Stamping out, Major Ronald Ross, 231; Sir William MacGregor, 231; Mosquitoes and Malaria, Progress of the Expedition in Sierra Leone, Dr. Logan Taylor, 251; Function of the Flagellated Body of the Malaria Parasite, Dr. Moore, 279; Mosquitoes and Malaria in Egypt, Major Ronald Ross, 327; Malaria in India, Captain S. P. James, Dr. M. H. Gordon, 513; Anopheles and Malaria, A. Laveran, 575 Malméjac (F.), L’Eau dans |’Alimentation, 246 Mamart (René), Death of, 468 Mammals, Evolution of the Cheek-teeth of, Dr. Tims, 400 Mamontow (W.), Diamond from the Ural Mountains, 617 Man, Contribution to the History of Fossil, Albert Gaudry, 359 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 23, 46, 95, 166, 215, 262, 406, 431, 479, 503, 527 Mangin (L.), Phthiriosis, 384 Mann (Dr. Gustav), Methods and Theory of Physiological Histology, 484 Marble Slab, the Secular Bending of a, under its own Weight, Dr. T. J. J. See, 56; Spencer Pickering, F.R.S., 81; W. Bowman, 420 pene Dust from the Soufriére, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 5°4 March (F.), Action of Epichlorhydrin on the Sodium Derivatives of Acetone-dicarboxylic Esters, 407 Marchal (E.), Immunisation of the Lettuce against the | Fungus Bremia Lactucae, 168 Marchand (F.), the Weight of the Human Brain, 498-9 tween the United States and England, 275; Mr. Marconi and the Post Office, Maurice Solomon, 370 Marey (M.), the Movement of Air Studied by Chronophoto- graphy, 487 : Marie (C.), on a Thermostat with Electrical Heating and Regulation, 480; Properties of a Solution of Sodium Sulphate, 503 Marignac (Jean-Charles Galissard de), Cuvres complétes de, E. Ador, 146; CZuvres completes de, 607 Marine Biology: a Rare Squid from the Sagami Sea, Messrs. Ijima and Ikeda, 38; Importance of Boring Algas in the Disintegration of Corals, Dr. J. E. Duerden, 88; the Minnesota Seaside Station, 152; Notes on Rear- ing the Later Stages of Echinoid Larvae, L. Doncaster, 215; Amphipoda of the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedi- tion, A. O. Walker, 238; Morphology and Growth of the Gastropod Shell, Prof. W. A. Grabau, 278; the Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon, Discourse at the Royal Institution by Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., 620 Marine Zoology: an Account of the Indian Triaxonia, Collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator, Franz Eilhard Schulze, 509 Marquis (R.), a New Synthesis of Orthodiazine, 383; on a Thermostat with Electrical Heating and Regulation, 480; Properties of a Solution of Sodium Sulphate, 503 Marr (John E.), Photograph of Carboniferous Limestone by Prof. S. H. Reynolds, 32 Marriott (Wm.), Fall of Coloured Dust on February 22-23, 391 Mars, Opposition of, W. F. Denning, 525 Marsh (J. E.), Constitution of Metallic Cyanides, 238 Martin (Rudolf), Remains of the Ostrich, Struthio kara- theodoris, in the Upper Miocene Deposits of Samos, 478 Martinique, the Situation in, M. Lacroix, 36 Martius (Dr. Gotz), Duration of Light Sensations, 252 Maryland, U.S.A., Magnetic Work in, 572 Mascari (Signor), the Relation between Prominences, 280 Mascart (M.), Storm of March 2, 1903, at Azores, 455 Mas6é (Saddera), Seismic and Volcanic Centres of the Philippine Archipelago, 279 Mass, the Conservation of, D. M. Y. Somerville, 80; Prof. C..V.Boys, F.R.S:, 103 Massee (George), Larch and Spruce Fir Canker, 181; European Fungus-flora, Agaricaceze, 221 Material Aspects of Things, Interaction between the Mental and the, Sir Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S., 595 Material of Machines, Albert W. Smith, 222 Materials, Radio-activity of Ordinary, Hon. R. J. Strutt, 369, 439; Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 391; Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 414; Prof. E. Rutherford, Facule and 511 Mathematics: Theory of Differential Equations, A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S., 1; Integration of Linear Differential Equations, Dr. H. F. Baker, 190; Isoclinal Lines of a Differential Equation of the First Order, J. H. Maclagan Wedderburn, 334; Recognition of the Fourth Dimension, C. H. Hinton, 13; Transactions of the American Mathe- matical Society, 45, 117, 477: Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 45, 310, 477; Examples in Algebra, C. O. Tuckey, 55; the so-called ‘‘ Isosceles Trapezium Problem,’’ T. Hayashi, 64; Mathematical Work of Ernest de Jonquiéres, Prof. Gino Loria, 64; Mathematical Society, 70, 190, 262, 382, 478, 599; a New Connection of Bessel Functions with Legendre Functions, E. T. Whittaker, 71; the Infinite and the Infinitesimal in Mathe- matical Analysis, Dr. Hobson, 71; on Wave-propagation in Two Dimensions, Prof. Lamb, 71; a Geodesic on a Spheroid and an Associated Ellipse, Prof. L. Crawford, 71; Junior Arithmetic Examination Papers, W. S. Beard, 79; Opere Matematiche di Francesco Brioschi, 70: Opere Matematiche di Eugenio Beltrami, 79; Classification of Quartic Curves, A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 80; Mathematics in the Cambridge Locals, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 81; Cambridge Mathematics, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 390; American Journal of Mathematics, 117; Annals of Mathe- matics, 117, 477; Groups of Order p” which contain Operators of Order p”—*, G. A. Miller, 117; Differential Calculus for Beginners, Alfred Lodge, 123; Slide-rule for Powers of Numbers, Prof. Perry, 141; the Reflection of Nature, June 18, 1903. Index XXIX Screws, Sir Robert Ball, F.R.S., 143; the Multi-linear Quaternion Function in Relation to Projective Geometry, Prof. C. J. Joly, 143; the Modern Arithmetic, Archibald Murray, 147; the First Principles of Ratio and Propor- tion, and their Application to Geometry, H. W. Croome Smith, 173; the Abstract Group Simply Isomorphic with the Group of Linear Fractional Transformations in a Galois Field, Prof. L. E. Dickson, 190; Applications of Fourier’s Theorem, H. M. Macdonald, 191; Elementary Plane and Solid Mensuration for use in Schools, Colleges and Technical Classes, R. W. Edwards, 200; First Stage Mathematics, 202; Compte rendu du deuxiéme Congrés international des Mathématiciens tenu a Paris, 6 au 12 Aofit, 1900, 245; the Teaching of Geometry, W. D. Eggar, 260; Method of Representing Imaginary Points by Real Points in a Plane, Prof. A. Lodge, 262; the Mathematical Expression of the Principle of Huygens, Dr. J. Larmor, 262; Wave Motions with Discontinuities at Wave-fronts, Prof. A. E. H. Love, 262; of Functions of Several Variables, Dr. H. F. Baker, 262; on Non- uniform Convergence and the Term by Term Integration of Series, W. H. Young, 262; Death and Obituary Notice of Rev. Dr. H. W. Watson, F.R.S., Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 274; Edinburgh Mathematical Society, 287; the Principle of Least Action, Lagrange’s Equations, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 297; the Principle of Least Action, A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 343, 464; the Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equations, Rotation of a Rigid Body, Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368; Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 368; Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c., Prof. W. McF. Orr, 415; R. F. W., 415; Death of the Rev. Norman Macleod Ferrers, F.R.S., 324; Hoéhere Analysis fiir Ingenieure, Dr. John Perry, Prof. A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., 338; Factorisation of Large Numbers, F. J. Vaes, 375; on gic Residuarity and Reciprocity, Lieut.- Colonel Cunningham, 382; a Point in a Recent Paper by Prof. D. Hilbert, E. T. Dixon, 382- Die Grundsatze und das Wesen des Unendlichen in der Mathematik und Philo- sophie, Dr. Phil. Kurt Geissler, 387: Simple Mechanical Device for Obtaining Rapidly any Required Set of Numbers having the same Ratio among themselves as any other given Set of Numbers, ‘‘ Ratiometer,’’ A. E. Munby, 424; Area of Iriangle in Terms of Sides, Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S., 440; Sequences for Determining the nth Root of a Rational Number, S. M. Jacob, 478: Death of Prof. F. J. Studnicka, 492; the Differential Invariants of a Surface and their Geometric Significance, Prof. Forsyth, F.R.S., 500; Historical Note in Regard to Determinants, Dr. Thomas Muir, F.R.S., 512; the Psychology and Natural Development of Geometry, Dr. E. Mach, 524; Opinions et Curiosités touchant la Mathé- matique, Georges Maupin, 531; a New Theory of the Tides of Terrestrial Oceans, R. A. Harris, 583; Death of M. E. Duporcq, 589; Practical Exercises in Geometry, W. D. Eggar, J. Harrison, 577; Geometry, an Elemen- tary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, S. O. Andrew, J. Harrison, 577; Theoretical Geometry for Beginners, C. H. Allcock, J. Harrison, 577; Elementary Geometry, W. M. Baker and A. A. Bourne, J. Harrison, 577; the Elements of Geometry, R. Lachlan and W. C. Fletcher, J. Harrison, 577; Plane Geometry, adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teaching, T. Petch, J. Harrison, 577; Euclid, Books v., vi., xi., Rupert Deakin, J. Harri- son, 577; a Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra, H. S. Hall, J. Harrison, 577; Exact Solutions of the Problem of the Bending of an Elastic Plate under Pressure, A. E. H. Love, 599; Functions Defined by Definite Integrals with not more than Two Singularities, E. T. Whittaker, 599; Algebra, Kaliprasanna Chottoraj, 608 ; Death of Prof. J. Willard Gibbs, 615 Mathias (E.), Liquidogenic Theories of Fluids, 455 Matter, Electricity and, 487; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., on, at Bedford College for Women, 450 Matter, Properties of, a Text-book of Physics, J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., and J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., Supp. February 5, ix Matthaei (Miss Gabrielle L. C.), Experiments on the Effect of Temperature on Carbon Dioxide Assimilation in the Leaves of the Cherry Laurel, 19 Matthes (F. E.), Glacial Cirques, 448 Maunder (E. Walter), Astronomy without a Telescope, 201 | | Maupin (Georges), Curiosités touchant la Mathématique, 531 Maurel (E.), Ratio of the Weight of the Liver to the Total Weight of the Animal, 144, 359 Mawley (E.), Phenological Observations for 1902, 406 Maxwell-Lefroy (Mr.), Crude Oil and Soap, a New General Insecticide, 616 Mayor (A. G.), Effects of Natural Selection and Race- tendency upon the Colour-patterns of the Lepidoptera, 351 Mazelle (Dr. E.), Connection between the Movements of the Microseismic Pendulum and Meteorological Phenomena, Opinions et 542 Mead (Elwood), Irrigation Institutions, 607 Mechanics: Die Mechanik des Himmels, Carl Ludwig Charlier, 77; Applied Mechanics for Beginners, J. Duncan, 245; New Method of Testing Rails, Ch. Exact Solutions of the Problem of the Elastic Plate under Pressure, A. E. H. Frémont, 263; Bending of an Love, 599 Medieval Geography, C. Raymond Beazley, 73, 464 Medicine : the Force of Mind, or the Mental Factor in Medi- cine, A. T. Schofield, 54, 150; W. McD., 150; Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, H. E. Durham, 172; the Prophylaxis of Malaria, Sir William MacGregor, 209; Cryogenin in Fevers, M. Carriére, 240; the Egyptian Medical Congress, 273; Das biomechanische (neo- vitalische) Denken in der Medizin und in der Biologie, Prof. Moriz Benedikt, 342 ; Abandonment of the School of Medical Research at Netley, 490; Diseases of the Organs of Respiration, Dr. Samuel West, 554; a Manual of Medi- cine, Dr. W. H. Allchin, 554; Diseases of the Respiratory and Circulatory Systems, Leonard Hill, Dr. Hector Mackenzie, Dr. Mitchell Bruce, 554 Meldola (Prof. R., F.R.S.), Le Linceul du Christ; Etude scientifique, Dr. Paul Vignon, 241; Die Entwicklung unserer Naturanschauung in xix. Jahrhundert und Fried- « rich Mohr, Ch. Jezler, Supp. November 6, 1902, v Mellor (Carlos de), Les Lois de la Géographie, 53 Mellor (J. W.), the Thermal Energy of Radium Salts, 560 Mellor (Mr.), Influence of Moisture on the Combination of Hydrogen and Chlorine, 90 Memory, the Rational, W. H. Groves, 461 Mendel’s Principles: of Heredity in Mice, W. Bateson, F.R.S., 462, 585; Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, F.R.S., 512, 610 Mendelian Theory of Heredity, Experiments in Japanese ‘‘ Waltzing Mice,’’ Mr. Darbishire, 550 Mensuration: Elementary, Plane and Solid, for Use in Schools, Colleges, and Technical Classes, R. W. Edwards, 200 Mental, Interaction between the, and the Material Aspects of Things, Sir Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S., 595 Mentrel (M.), Barium Ammonium and Barium Amide, 47 Mercury, Near Approach of Comet 1902 b to, Prof. Seagrave, 9 Mercury Lamp, the Hewitt, and Static Converter, 248 Meridian, Measurement of an Arc of, in Spitzbergen, Sir Martin Conway, 536 Meslin (Georges), Magnetic Dichroism of Liquids, 576 Messina, the Fata Morgana of the Straits of, 393 Metallurgy: the Effect of Segregation on the Strength of Steel Rails, Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., 13; the Analysis of Steel-Works Materials, Harry Brearley and Fred. Ibbotson, 76; Death of Sir William Roberts-Austen, K.C.B., F.R.S., 85 ; Obituary Notice of, Dr. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 105 ; Conditions Necessary to Obtain Nickel Steel Alloys of Extremely Low Coefficients of Expansion, C. E. Guillaume, 352; Changes in Nickel Steels, Ch. E. Guillaume, 383; Variation in the Modulus of Elasticity in Nickel Steels, C. E. Guillaume, 431; Spontaneous Reduc- tion of the Amount of Carbon in Steel, G. Belloc, 431; Development of the Uses of Iron, J. H. Wicksteed, 616 Meteorology: Recent Remarkable Sunsets, Joseph Clark, 12; Sunset Effects at Morges, Switzerland, Prof. F. A. Forel, 36; Recent Sunsets, M. Perrotin, 46; Recent Sun- set Glows at Bordeaux, E. Esclangon, 95; Sunset Glows, Rev. G. J. Bridges, 209; Coloured Sunrises and Sunsets caused by the Volcanic Eruptions in the West Indies, P. Gruner, 493; International Balloon Ascents, made from April to June last, Dr. H. Hergesell, 13; International the, XXX Lndex Nature, June 18, 1903 Aéronautical Balloon Ascents in July, August, and Septem- ber, Dr. Hergesell, 135; of October 2 and November 6, 1902, Dr. Hergesell, 326; of December 4, Dr. Hergesell, 398; of January 9, 444; of February 5, 519; Photo- graphs of Halos and Parhelia, Dr. A. Sprung, 13; Re- port on the Rainfall of South Australia, 13; Rainfall during the Past Winter in South Australia, Sir Charles Todd, 209; Rainfall of Dominica, C. V. Bellamy, 119; Madras Rainfall and the Frequency of Sun-spots, M. B. Subha Rao, 326; Indian Rainfall, Dr. William tigers Lockyer, 394; Rainfall for 1902 in the British Islands, 469; Rain-chart of Westphalia, Prof. G. Hellman, 469 ; | the Duration of Rainfall, J. Baxendell, 598 ; Table of Rain- fall Extremes at Camden Square for Forty Years, 1858-97, 616; Diurnal Movements of the Atmosphere at Hamburg, Prof. J. Schneider, 13; Forecast Work of the U.S. Weather Bureau, 13; Atlantic Forecasts of the Wes: Weather Bureau, 36; the Meteorology of the Ben Nevis Observatories, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 61; Wet or Cool Summers and Severe Winters, 63 ; Meteorological Observa- tories and Agriculture in U.S.A., 65; Summer and Win- ter, 81; Severe Snowfall in Piedmont, Prof. Guido Cora, 86; Wind Charts for the Coastal Regions of South America, South of the Equator, 87; Report of the Meteorological Department of India for 1901-2, 87; Atmospheric Hydrogen, A. Leduc, 96; Aurora Borealis in Norway, Prof. M. Tromholt, 112; Relation between the Moon’s Motion in Declination and the Quantity of Rain in New South Wales, H. C. Russell, F.R.S., 114; Royal Meteorological Society, 1109, 191, 311, 406, 502, 5098; English Climatology, 1881-1900, F. Campbell Bayard, 119; Climatological Table for the British Empire for 1901, 252; the Weather for Week ending December 11, 135; | Weather for Week Ending April 2, 518; the Week’s Weather, April 23, 591; Weekly Weather Report, 27 Meteorology at Great Altitudes, A. Lawrence Rotch, 137; Importance of Aéronautics for Meteorological Researches, Dr. von Bezold, 138; International Aéronautical Experi- | ments for the Scientific Exploration of the Atmosphere, Prof. Hergesell, 138; Preliminary Results Attained with Kites, Ballons-sondes, and Manned Balloons during the Past Five Years in Russia, General Rykatchef, 138; Re- sults of Observations of the Decrease of Temperature in the High Atmosphere, M. Teisserenc de Bort, 139; Ob- servations of the Berlin Aéronautical Observatory, Prof. Assmann, 139; Registration Balloon of Caoutchouc, Prof. Assmann, 139; Sensitive Thermometer for Registration Balloons, M. Teisserenc de Bort, 139; Exploration of the | Atmosphere over the Ocean by Kites and Kite Stations, A. L. Rotch; 139; Results Obtained from Continuous Soundings of the Atmosphere, M. Teisserenc de Bort, 140; Atmospheric Carriers of Electricity, Prof. Ebert, 140; | Secular Changes of Climate, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 150; St. Elmo’s Fire during Snow Storm, Charles Dibden, 174; Germs in Space, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 103 ; Prof. Theo. D. A. Cockerell, 103; Lord Kelvin, 181; Recent High Tides in Leeward Islands, Possibly Connected with Late Volcanic Disturbances, Francis Watts, 181; Climate of Cyprus, C. V. Bellamy, 191; Eclipse Cyclone of 1900, H. H. Clayton, 191; Recent Dust Storms ijn Australia, Will. A. Dixon, 203; H.. Stuart Dove, 203; the Dust Storms of February 22-23, 521; International Conference on Weather-Shooting, 213; the Similarity of the Short- Period Barometric Pressure Variations over Large Areas, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William Ie Se Lockyer, 224; a Contribution to Cosmical Meteorology, Prof. Frank H. Bigelow, 225; Climate of the Coast of Iceland, M. Willaume-Jantzen, 231; Pilot Charts of the Meteorological Office, 235; Sun-spots and Summer Heat, Alex. B. MacDowall, 247; Relationships between Sun- spots and Terrestrial Magnetism, Dr. C. Chree. F.R.S., 381; Solar Prominences and Spot Circulation, 1872-1901, Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and Dr. William JoeSs Lockyer, 569; Daily Rotation of the Mean Wind Direc- | tion and on a Semi-Diurnal Oscillation of the Atmosphere on Mountain Peaks, Dr. J. Hann, 303; Obituary Notice of Joseph Chavanne, 303 ; Killing of Trout by Lightning, | 304, 327; Method of Kite-flying from a Steam Vessel and Meteorological Observations obtained thereby off Scot- land, W. H. Dines, 311; Remarkable Meteorological Phenomena in Australia, H. J. Jensen, 344; Death and Obituary Notice of James Glaisher, F.R.S., 348; Hurri- cane and Great Wave at the Society Islands, 349 ; Peculiar- ity of Lightning Flashes, Herr von Szalay, 350; Variation of the Mean Velocity of the Wind in the Vertical, Axel Egnell, 383; Fall of Coloured Dust on February 22-23, Wm. Marriott, 391; Coloured Rain, 396; Analysis of the ‘““Red Rain’’ of February 22, Rowland A. Earp, 414; Discoloured Rain, E. G. Clayton, 574; the Fata Morgana of the Straits of Messina, 393; Effects of Frost in New York on Elevated Railway, 397; the Canadian Climate, R. F. Stupart, 398; Variation of Precipitation at Salt Lake City, L. H. Murdoch, 398; Ground Temperature Observations at Manila, Father Algué, 398; Phenological Observations for 1902, E. Mawley, 406; Heavy Sand- storm at Sea near Canary Islands, 420; Death and Obituary Notice of Major-General C. J. B. Riddell, C.B., F.R.S., 421; Disastrous Gales in the British Islands from the Atlantic, 422; Unusually Cold Water during last December in Mid-Ocean on the Transatlantic Steamer Routes, 423 ; ‘‘ White Water,’’ 423; Solar Phenomena and Meteorology, M. 1’Abbé Loisier, 447 ; Effects of the Gale of February 26, Lord Rosse, F.R.S., 462 ; Hygrometric Deter- minations, E. V. Windsor, 463 ; Remarkable Winters, 466; the Recent Dust-fall on the Continent, 469; Sandstorm at Sea off the African Coast, 491-2; State of the Ice in the Arctic Seas in 1902, 494; the Accumulation of Meteor- ological Observations, Prof. Schuster, F.R.S., 497; Prof. Hann, 497; Storm of March 2, 1903, at Azores, M. Mas- cart, 455; Transmission of Sound through the Atmo- sphere, C. V. Boys, F.R.S., 502; on the Diminution of the Intensity of the Solar Radiation, Henri Dufour, 504; Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena, Wm. Digby, 510; Likelihood of a Great Ice Season, 521; the Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition, 539; Commander Hepworth, 539; Mr. Curtis, 539; Dr. W. N. Shaw, 539; the Connection between the Movements of the Microseismic Pendulum and Meteorological Phenomena, Dr. E. Mazelle, 5425 London Fog Inquiry, 1901-02, Captain Alfred Carpenter’s D.S.O. Report to the Meteorological Council, 5485. the Easter Inclement Weather, 564; Atmospheric Electricity at the Summit of Mont Blanc, G. le Cadet, 575; Violent Snowstorm in Prussia, Denmark, and Russia, 591; Death of A. F. Osler, F.R.S., 615; Meteorology in British South Africa, 616; Causes of Weather and Earthquakes, Captain A. J. Cooper, 616; Atlantische Ozean, Supp. February 5, 1903, Vii Meteors: Leonid Meteors, 1902, a Forecast, John R. Henry, 8; Leonids of 1902 and Quadrantids of 1903, John R. Henry, 298; the Leonid and Bielid Meteor- showers of November, 1902, Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 103; a Sickle Leonid, G. Mackenzie Knight, 203; Ob- servations of the Perseid Shower, Herr Koss, 114; Ob- servations of the Perseids, August 10 and 11, 1902, Charles P. Olivier, 211; a Bright Meteor, C. J. Lacy, 307; Febru- ary Meteors, Mr. Denning, 447; a Remarkable Meteor, J. E. C. Liddle, 464, 487; the Quadrantids of 1903, G. McKenzie Knight, 247; the Quadrantids, 1903—a Coin- cidence, W. H. Milligan, 535; Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 535; the Lyrid Meteors! John R. Henry, 584; Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 58 4 . Meteoric Dusts, New South Wales, Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S., Mctccvitese Free Phosphorus in the Saline Township Meteorite, Oliver C. Farrington, 310; New South Wales Meteorites, Prof. Liversidge, 312; a New South Wales Meteorite, George W. Card, 345; Platinum and Iridum Metals in Meteorites, Prof. Liversidge, F,R.S., 408 Metz (G. de), the Modulus of Rigidity of Copal Varnish, 479-80 Meunier (Louis), Action of Mixed Organo-magnesium com- pounds on Bodies Containing Nitrogen, 528 Meunier (Stanislas), Native Sulphur in the Sub-soil of the Place de la République in Paris, 119; La Geologie Géné- rale, 148 Mexican Axolotl, the, Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S., 330 Mexico: Eruption of Colima Volcano, 421, 443; Earth- quake at Tuxpan, 421 Meyer (Prof.), Circuit of Nitrogen, 21 Meyer (Dr. G.), Erdmagnetische Untersuchungen im Kaiserstuhl, 187 Meyerhofer (Prof.), Chemical Study of Carlsbad Springs, 20 Nature, June 18, 1603 Index XXxX1 Mice, Mendel’s Principles of Heredity in, W. Bateson, | F.R.S., 462,585 Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, F.R.S., 512, | 610; Experiments in the Mendelian Theory, Japanese | Waltzing Mice, Mr. Darbishire, 550 Microscopy: Messrs. James Swift and Son’s Microscopes with ‘‘ Ariston ’’ fine-adjustment, 15 ; Connection between Amounts of Oxygen and Carbonic Acid Dissolved in Natural Waters and the Occurrence in these of Micro- scopic Organisms, Messrs. Whipple and Parker, 16; Microscopes and Microscopical Accessories, Carl Zeiss, 121; a Simple Form of Reflecting Polariser, Frederick J. Cheshire, 157; Royal Microscopical Society, 191, 239, 382, 454, 623; New Apparatus for Obtaining Monochromatic Light with an Ordinary Mixed Jet, Dr. Edmund J. Spitta, t91; the ‘* Black and White Dot Phenomenon ”’ on Dia- tom Valves under High Powers of the Microscope, Julius Rheinberg, 209; the Visibility of Ultra-Microscopic Par- ticles, H. Siedentopf and R. Zsigmondy, 380; Photo- micrography of Opaque Objects as Applied to the De- lineation of the Minute Structure of Chalk Fossils, Dr. Arthur Rowe, 454; Common Basis of the Theories of Microscopic Vision, Julius Rheinberg, 470; Simple Way of Measuring Objects under the Microscope, F. E. Ives, 520; the Helmholtz Theory of the Microscope, J. W. Gordon, 551; First Steps in Photo-Micrography, F. Mar- tin Duncan, 609; New Method of Using the Electric Arc in Photomicrography, E. B. Stringer, 623; Apparatus for Facilitating the Manipulation of Celloidin Sections, Dr. R. Hamlyn-Harris, 623 Midlands, Earthquake in the, Prof. Milne’s Views, 491 Miers (Prof. H. A., F.R.S.), Variation of Angles __ Crystals, 573 Millardet (Prof.), Death of, 155 in Miller (G. A.), Groups of Order 7”, which contain Operators | of Order # Miller (Dr. N. Marls, 47: Milligan (A. W.), Nesting-mound of the Mallee (Lipoa ocellata), 65 Milligan (W. H.), the Quadrantids, 1903—a Coincidence, m~2 “119 7 H. J.), Nitrogen and Carbon in Clays and 535 Millosevich (Prof.), Nova Geminorum, 593 Milne (Prof. J., F.R.S.), World-shaking Earthquakes, Lecture at the Royal Geographical Society, 69; West In- dian Volcanic Eruptions, 91; Earthquake Observations in Galicia, 235 ; Recent Earthquakes, 348; Earthquake in the Midlands, 491; Seismometry and Géite, 538 Milne Seismograms, the Interpretation of, Dr. Farr, sor Milne (R. M.), Curvature of Wheel Spokes in Photographs, Milroy Lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians in 1899, the Earth in Relation to the Preservation and De- struction of Contagia, being the, George Vivian Poore, Dr. A. C. Houston, 75 Minakata (Kumagusu), Distribution of Pithophora, 586; the Discovery of Japan, 610 Minchin (Prof. G. M.), on the Misuse of Common English Words, 19 Mind, the Force of, on the Mental Factor in Medicine, A. T. Schofield, 54, 150; W. McD., 150 Mind in Evolution, L. T. Hobhouse, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, F.R.S., 199 5 Mine Ventilation, H. W. G. Halbaum, 38 Mineral Springs, the Nature of Hot Springs, Prof. Suess, 20 Mineral Waters, Artificial, William Kirkby, 32; the Re- viewer, 32 Mineralogy: Obituary Notice of the Rev. Thomas Wilt- shire, 35; Artificial Production of Rubies by Fusion, A. Verneuil, 72; Terlingua Quicksilver Deposits of Brewster County, Texas, B. F. Hill, 113; Native Sulphur in the Sub-soil of the Place de la République in Paris, Stanislas Meunier, 119 ; Death of M, Hautefeuille, 133 ; Mineralogi- cal Society, 142, 382, 575; Proustite Crystals, F. E. Lamplough, 142; Minerals from the Lengenbach, Binnen- thal, R. H. Solly, 142; Crystallography of a Mineral from Lengenbach, R. H. Solly, 1q2; Connection between the Molecular Volumes and Chemical Composition of some Crystallographically similar Minerals, G. T. Prior, 142: Crystalline Form of Carbides and Silicides of Iron and Manganese, L. J. Spencer, 142; Death of Dr. Antonio d’Achiardi, 155; the Tiree Marble, Ananda K. Coomara- swamy, 262; Volume Composition of Rocks, Charles C. Moore, 306; Free Phosphorus in the Saline Township Meteorite, Oliver C. Farrington, 310; Determinations of the Refractive Indices of Pyromorphite and Vanadinite, H. L. Bowman, 382; Quartz Crystals of Peculiar Habit from South Africa, T. V. Barker, 382; Platinum and Iridium Metals in Meteorites, Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S., 408; New Mineral, ‘‘ Artinite,’’ Luigi Brugnatelli, 423 ; Origin of Mineral Veins at Boulder Hot Springs in Nevada, W. H. Weed, 448; Arkansas Bauxite Deposits, C. W. Hayes, 448; Corundum, J. H. Pratt, 449; Pyrite and Marcasite, H. N. Stokes, 449; the Mica Deposits of India, T. H. Holland, 471; Petrological Notes on Rocks from Southern Abyssinia, Dr. Catherine A. Raisin, 527 ; Grundrisz der Mineralogie und Geologie zum Gebrauch beim Unterricht an hoheren Lehranstalten sowie zum Selbstunterricht, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schwalbe, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 530; the Opal Mining Industry of Queensland, C. F. V. Jackson, 542; the Western Austra- lian Tellurides, L. J. Spencer, 565 ; Chemical Composition of Aximite, W. E. Ford, 573; the Diathermancy of Anti- monite, Dr. A. Hutchinson, 575; Magnetite in the Upper Bunter Sands and Anatase in the Trias of the Midlands, J. B. Scrivenor, 575 ; Howlite and other Borosilicates from the Borate Mines of California, W. B. Giles, 575; Tantalite from Green Bushes, W. Australia, W. B. Giles, 575; Diamond from the Ural Mountains, W. Mamontow, 61 Minerals Output and Value of the Minerals in the United Kingdom, Prof. C. Le Neve Foster, 37; Statistics of Mineral Production in India for 1892 to 1901, 112 Mining: Mining Statistics for 1901, Output and Value of the Minerals in the United Kingdom, Prof. Le Neve Foster, F.R.S., 37; Analysis of Nine Specimens of Air of a Coal Mine, Nestor Gréhaut, 46; Protective Action of Wire Gauze against Explosions, Dr. H. Mache, 423 ; Iron- ore Deposits of the Lake Superior Region, C. R. Van Hise, 448; Corundum, J. H. Pratt, 449; Economic Geology of the Silverton Quadrangle, Colorado, F. EE. Ransome, 449; Geological Relations and Distribution of Platinum, J. F. Kemp, 449; El Paso Tin Deposits in Texas, 449; Increase in the Output of Coal, 471; Method of Electrically Locating Ore Deposits, L. Daft and A. Williams, 565; Relative Importance of Different Countries in the Mining Industries, Prof. C. Le Neve Foster, F.R.S., 565 Minnesota Seaside Station, the, 152 Mitchell (Prof. S. A.), Recently Gases in the Chromosphere, 619 Mohr on the Dynamical Theory of Heat and the Conserva- tion of Energy, Ch. Jezler, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Supp. November 6, 1902, Vv Moir (Dr.), Di-indigotin, 71 é Moissan (Henri), Synthesis of the Alkaline Hyposulphites and of the Hyposulphites of the Alkaline Earths in an An- hydrous Condition, 23; Temperature of Inflammation and Combustion in Oxygen of the Three Varieties of Carbon, 143; Argon, Oxide of Carbon, and Hydrocarbons in the Gas from the Fumaroles of Mont Pelée, 192 ; Analysis of the Gases from Mont Pelée, 263; New Method of Pre- paring Silicon Analogue of Ethane, 233; Argon in the Gases from the Bordeu Spring at Luchon and Free Sulphur Water, 239; a Colouring Matter from the Figures in the Cave of La Mouthe, 311; Hydrides of Rubidium and Ce- sium, 479; Non-conductivity of the Metallic Hydrides, 479; the Solidification of Fluorine and the Combination of Solid Fluorine with Liquid Hydrogen, 497; Experiments on Liquid Fluorine, 544 Mole, the Fortress of the, 379 Molengraaff (Dr. G. A. F.), Central Borneo, 506 Molisch (Prof. Hanos), the Phosphorescence of Meat, 22; Two Peculiar Effects of Light, Chromophyton Rosanoffit, Micrococcus phosphorus, 426; Lamp Lighted by Means of Bacteria, 468 Mollusca: the Origin of Pearls, Dr. H. Lyster Jameson, 280; a Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles, J. W. Taylor, 412 Molyneux (A. J. C.), the Sedimentary Deposits of Southern Rhodesia, 383 Mont Pelée: Suggested Nature of the Phenomena of the Discovered Terrestrial Geological Explorations in XXX Eruption of Mont Pelée on July 9, Observed by the Royal Society Commission, Dr. Edward Divers, F.R.S., 126,see also Volcanoes Moon, Total Eclipse of the, April 22, 1902, Dr. W. van der Gracht, 184 Moon, Colour of the Eclipsed, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 37 Moore (Charles C.), Volume Composition of Rocks, 306 Mcore (Clarence B.), Aboriginal Remains in North-West Florida, 612 Moore (Dr.), Function of the Flagellated Body of the Malaria Parasite, 279 Morbology : the Berlin Tuberculosis Congress, 10; Tuber- culosis and Milk, 88; Tuberculosis and Diaphysis of the Long Bones of the Limbs, M. Lannelogue, 431; the South African Sheep and Goat Disease known as ‘‘ Heart- water,’’ C. P. Lounsbury, 38; Note on the Discovery of the Human Trypanosome, Prof. Rubert Boyce, Major Ronald Ross, F.R.S., Prof. Ch. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., 56; the Propagation of Leprosy, Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., 111; the Altiology of Leprosy, Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, 590; Ankylostomiasis in Dalcoath Mine, Cornwall, Dr. Haldane and Dr. Boycott, 158; Local Dis- tribution of Cancer in Scotland, Dr. W. G. Aitchison Robertson, 167; Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, H. E. Durham, 172; Prevention of Rabies, 178; the Inter-rela- tionship of Variola and Vaccinia, S. Monckton Copeman, 189; Disease Resembling ‘‘ Farcy’”’ in the Philippines, 209; the Possibility of Stamping out Malaria, Major Ronald Ross, 231; Sir William MacGregor, 231 ; Function of the Flagellated Body of the Malaria Parasite, Dr. Moore, 279; Malaria in India, Captain S. P. James, Dr. M. H. Gordon, 513; Anopheles and Malaria, A. Laveran, 575; Lyphoid Infection and Shellfish, Dr. Nash, 231; a Typhoid Antitoxin, M. Chantemesse, 279; Oysters and Typhoid Fever, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 370; the Vaccination Acts, 254, 274; Dr. John C. M’Vail, 254; Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague, Dr. R. Bruce Low, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 299; the Parasite of Trypanosomiasis, 590 ; Spirillosis in the Bovide, A. Laveran, 623 Moreau (Georges), Ionisation of a Salt Flame, 119; Les Moteurs a Explosion, 145; Theorie des Moteurs A Gas, 145 Morel (Marie-Auguste), Le Ciment Armé et ses Applications, 102 Morgan (Prof. C. Lloyd, F.R.S.), Mind in Evolution, L. T. Hobhouse, 199; Beginnings of Mind, 306 Morgan (J. J.), Aids to the Analysis and Assay of Ores, Metals, Fuels, &c., 201 Morgana, the Fata, of the Straits of Messina, 393 Morphology: on the Morphology of the Araucariee, Miss Sibille O. Ford, 20; on the Morphology of the Flowers in | Certain Species of Lonicera, E. A. Newell Arber, 20; the Origin of the Paired Limbs of Vertebrates, Prof. B. Dean, 65; Origin of Vertebrate Limbs, Prof. B. Dean, 136; the Development of the Skull of the Lamprey, N. K. Koltzoff, 88 ; the Callosities of the Horse, Prof. Cossar Ewart, 2393 Morphology and Growth of the Gastropod Shell, Prof. A. W. Grabau, 278; Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbel- thiere, mit Beriicksichtigung der Wirbellosen, Carl Gegenbaur, Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S., 605 Moscow Observatory, the, 211 Moser (Dr.), Theory of the Unity of Species of the Strepto- cocci in Scarlet Fever, 21 Mosquitoes: a Pot of Basil, A. E. Shipley, 205; Prof. Percy Groom, 271; Papaw-trees and Mosquitoes, E. | Ernest Green, 487; Mosquitoes and Malaria, the Prophy- Index Nature, June 18, 1903 Mott (Dr.), Physico-chemical Cause of Death from Hyper- pyrexia is the Coagulation of Cell-globulin, 520 Mouillefert (Prof. P.), Traité de Sylviculture, Principales Essences Forestiéres, 482 4 Mountaineering: Ascent of Aconcagua, by Reginald Rankin, 181 : Mountains and Forests of South America, the Great, Paul Fountain, 220 Mounyrat (A.), on the Distribution in the Organism and the Elimination of Arsenic given Medicinally in the Form of Methylarsenate, 504 : Moureu (Ch.), Analysis of the Gas from Mineral Springs in the Pyrenees, 240; Notions fondamentales de Chimie Organique, 269; New Acetylenic Acids, 455; Hydration of the Acetylenic Acids, 528 Mouth, the Mycology of the, Kenneth W. Goadby, 534 Mouton (H.), a Kinase in some Basidiomycetes, 311 Movement of Air Studied by Chronophotography, M- Marey, 487 Muir (Dr. Thomas, F.R.S.), Historical Note in Regard to Determinants, 512 3 Munby (A. E.), a Course of Simple Experiments in Magnetism and Electricity, 316; Simple Mechanical De- vice for Obtaining Rapidly any Required set of Numbers having the same Ratio among Themselves as any Other Given Set of Numbers, ‘‘ Ratiometer,’’ 424 Murché (Vincent T.), the Globe Geography Readers, 367 Murdoch (L. H.), Variation of Precipitation at Salt Lake City, 398 Murray (Archibald), the Modern Arithmetic, 147 Murray (James), Pelagic Life in the Lochs, 455 Murray (Sir John), Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Lakes, 167 Museums: Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 340 Music: the Musical Bow and the Goura, Henry Balfour, 37; Ueber Harmonie und Complication, Dr. Victor Gold- schmidt, 78; Bullfinch and Canary, George Henschel, 609 Mutillides d’Europe et d’Algérie, Monographie des, Ernest André, 342 Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution, P. Kropotkin, 196 Mycenzan Discoveries in Crete, the, H. R. Hall, 57 Mycology : European Fungus-flora, Agaricacee, G. Massee, 221; the Mycology of the Mouth, Kenneth W. Goadby, 534; Der echte Hausschwamm und andere das Bauholz zerstérende Pilze, Dr. R. Hertwig, 557 ““Mycoplasm ’’ Hypothesis, Rust-fungi and the, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S., 502 | Myers (Dr. C. S.), Anthropometric Investigations among the Native Troops of the Egyptian Army, 118; the Future of Anthropometry, 310 Naegamyala (Kavaoji Dadabhai), Report on the Total Solar Eclipse of January, 1898, 307 Nansen (Fridtjof), the Norwegian North Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, Scientific Results, 97 Naptha Found on Sakhalin Island, 349 Naples, the Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at, Prof. Italo Giglioli, 296 > Nash (Dr.), Typhoid Infection and Shell-fish, 231 Natal, Report of the Government Astronomer for, 1901, 184 ; Natanson (Dr. Ladislaus), the Deformation of a Thin Cylindrical Disc of Plastico-viscous Material under the Action of Normal Pressure on its Opposite Faces, 251 Natural and Artificial Sewage ‘Treatment, Jones and Roechling, 315 laxis of Malaria, Sir William MacGregor, 209; Progress | Natural History: Next to the Ground; Chronicles of a of the Expedition in Sierra Leone, 251; Mosquitoes and Malaria in Egypt, Major Ronald Ross, 327; Anopheles and Malaria, A. Layeran, o/5 Motion: the Principle of Least Action, Lagrange’s Equa- tions, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 297, 368; A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 343, 464; Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368, 415; ) as Oe bd Motors: Automatic Carburettor for Explosion Motors, A. Krebs, 119; Les Moteurs A Explosion, G. Moreau, C. R. D’Esterre, 145; Théorie des Moteurs a Gas, G. Moreau, C. R. D’Esterre, 145; Das Motor-zweirad und Seine Behandlung, Wolfgang Vogel, 316 Dr. Logan Taylor, | Country Side, Martha McCullock Williams, 54; School of the Woods: some Life Studies of Animal Instincts and Animal Training, William J. Long, 55; Lake-country Rambles, William T. Palmeg, 79; Linnean Society, 95, 191, 238, 454, 479; Differences in the Life-history of Planarta maculata, W. C. Curtis, 158; New South Wales Linnean Society, 168, 287; Death of Dr. John Young, 180; Obituary Notice of, Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 249; the Origin of the Thoroughbred Horse, Prof. Ridgeway at the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 187; the Forests of Upper India and their Inhabitants, Thomas W. Webber, 198; the Great Mountains and Forests of South America, Paul Fountain, 220; a Nature, June 18, 1903 Index XXXIli Naturalist in the Indian Seas; or Four Years with the | Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator, A. Alcock, F.R.S., 320; La Vie des Animaux illustrée, E. | Perrier, 342; the Fortress of the Mole, 379; Natural History of Selborne, Gilbert White, with Notes by R. Kearton, 419; Real Things in Nature, a Reading Book of Science for American Boys and Girls, Edward S. Holden, 461; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. Gustav F. R. von Radde, 519; in the Andamans and Nicobars, €. Boden Kloss, 514; Can Dogs Reason? Dr. Alex. Hill, 558; Sir William Ramsey, K.C.B., F.R.S., 609; | the Natural History of Animals; the Animal Life of the World in its Various Aspects and Relations, J. R. A. Davis, 562; a Katydid’s Resourcefulness, Arthur G. Smith, 612; Death of G. P. Bulman, 616; Dr. E. Goeldi on Brazilian Deer, 620; the Deer Family, T. Roosevelt, Supp. November 6, 1902, ix; Salmon and Trout, D. Sage, Supp. November 6, 1902, ix; Faune Infusorienne des Eaux Stagnantes des Environs de Genéve, Dr. Jean Roux, Supp. February 5, 1903, vi; Faune Rhizopodique du Bassin du Léman, Dr. Eugéne Penard, Supp. February 5, 1903, vi; Aus den Wanderjahren eines Naturforschers, Reisen und Forschungen in Afrika, Asien und Amerika, nebst daran ankniipfenden meist ornith- ologischen Studien, Ernst Hartert, Supp. February 5, 1903, Vili Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena, Wm. Digby, 510 Natural Proportions in Architecture, Jay Hambidge at the Hellenic Society, 68 Natural Selection: Dr. A. R. Wallace’s Relations with Darwin, 276; Sir Edward Fry on Natural Selection, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 343; Sir Edward Fry, 414 Nature and the Camera, A. Radclyffe Dugmore, 534 Nature Notebook, My, E. Kay Robinson, 558 Nature Student’s Note Book, the, Rev. Canon Steward, Tables for Classification of Plants, Animals, and Insects | in Full Detail, Alice E. Mitchell, 367 Nature Studies (Plant Life), G. F. Scott Elliott, 486 Nature Study Exhibition and Conferences, August, 1902, Official Report of the, 534 Naval Architecture: Submarine Warfare, Herbert C. Fyfe, 218; Steel Ships, their Construction and Maintenance. | A Manual for Shipbuilders, Ship Superintendents, Students, and Marine Engineers, Thomas Watson, 389 Naval Engineering: Estimates of the Stresses in the Riveted Attachments in Ships, Dr. J. Bruhn, 278 Navigation : Pilot Charts of the Meteorological Office, 235; Steam Navigation, Count Zeppelin’s Automobile Launch, 73 Navy, Science and the, 289 Nebula around Nova Persei, the, Prof. C. D. Perrine, 16 Nebulosity Surroinding Nova Persei, Spectrum of the, 593 Nebulous Region in the Constellation Lynx, A. Rich, Prof. Max Wolf, 472; Wolf’s Rich Nebulous Region in the Constellation Lynx, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 568 Nebulous Regions of the Heavens, Herschel’s, Dr. Isaac Roberts, 94, 158; Dr. Isaac Roberts on, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 424 Neohelia porcellana, Horny Membrane of, Prof. Sydney J. Hickson, F.R.S., 344 Nernst (W.), Zur Theorie des Auerlichtes, 82 Nernst Lamp, the, Dr. C. C. Garrard, 67 Nernst Lamps in Lanterns, C. Turnbull, 464 Nestler (Dr. A.), Poisonous Effects of Leaves of Primula obconica, 426 Netley, Abandonment of the School of Medical Research at, 490 Neville (Mr.), Asymmetric Optically Active Selenium Com- pounds, 71 New England, Handbook of the Trees of, L. L. and Heary Brooks, 79 New Forest, the, its Traditions, Inhabitants, and Customs, Rose C. de Crespigny and Horace Hutchinson, 461 New South Wales Linnean Society, 47, 168, 287 New South Wales Meteorite, a, George W. Card. 345 New South Wales Royal Society, 47, 120, 312, 407 New Zealand: Magnetic Work in, Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 418; Plants of Chatham Island, L. Cockayne, 14-15 Newall (Mr.), a New Star in Gemini, 522; Cooperative Determinations of Velocities in the Line of Sight, 568 Dame Newton (Edwin T.), the Elk in the Thames Valley, 262 Newton’s Law of Gravitation, Apparent Deviations from, Peter Lebedew, 91 Next to the Ground; Chronicles of a Country Side, Martha McCullock Williams, 54 Niagara: Electric Generating Plant at Niagara Falls Destroyed by Fire, 324; a Remarkable Diversion in the Waters of, caused by Ice, O. E. Dunlap, 618 Nicloux (Maurice), Method for Estimating Glycerol in the Blood, 455; Glycerine in Normal Blood, 528 Nicobars, in the Andamans and, C. Boden Kloss, 514 Nicolau (S.), Comparative Bactericidal Power of the Elec- tric Are between Poles of Ordinary Carbon or of Carbon Containing Iron, 311 Nicoll (Mr.), Rate of Decomposition of Diazo-compounds ol the Naphthalene Series, 238 Nijland (Prof. A. A.), the Period and Light-Curve of 8 Cephei, 568 Nipher (Prof. F. E.), Distortion of a Magnetic Field by Explosions, 600 Nobel Prize Awards, 155 Nodon (Albert), Electrolytic Valves, 407 Nopessa (F. B., jun.), Systematic Position of the Armoured Dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of the Gosau District, 425 Nordmann (Charles), Magnetic Properties of the Terrestrial Atmosphere, 624 Norman (Leonard), How to Work Arithmetic, 558 North Sea Fisheries: International Scientific Investigation, 36; the Methods of Investigating the, Dr. D. Noél Paton, 174 North Sea Investigation Committee (Scotland), the Hydro- graphical Work of the, Prof. D’Arcy W. Thompson, 246 Norwegian North Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, Scientific Results, Fridtjof Nansen, 97 Nova Geminorum, Prof. Hartwig, 567; Prof. Hartmann and Dr. Ludendorff, 567; Prof. Millosevich, 593; Dr. Halm, 593; Drs. Ristenpart and Guthnick, 593; Prof. Hartwig, 593; Nova Geminorum before its Discovery, Prof. Pickering, 618; see also Astronomy Nova Persei: the Nebula Around, Prof. C. D. Perrine, 16; Spectrum of the Nebulosity Surrounding, Prof. Perrine, 593; Change of Focus in the Light from, Prof B.- B- Barnard, 66; Observations of the Light of Nova Persei, 496; Early Observations of, Prof. Pickering, 90; Proper Motion and Parallax of, Asten Bergstrand, 183 ; Pulkova Observations of, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 515; Density and Change of Volume of, C. E. Stromeyer, 612 November Swallows, G. W. Bulman, 56 Nutation, Experiment to Illustrate Precession and, Rev. H. V. Gill, 586 Objectiv im Dienste der Photographie, Das, Dr. E. Holm, 86 Olenvatories: the Meteorology of the Ben Nevis Observ- atories, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 61; Companion to the Observatory, 1903, 159; a Sub-Tropical Solar Physics Observatory, Prof. S. P. Langley, 207: the Moscow Observatory, 211; Report of the Harvard College Ob- servatory, 307; Publications of West Hendon House Observatory, Sunderland, T. W. Backhouse, 343; Report of the United States Naval Observatory, 353; Annals of the Royal University Observatory of Vienna, 545 Occultations, Observations of, G. W. Hough, 254 Oceanography: the Norwegian North Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, Scientific Results, Fridtjof Nansen, 97; Tidal Currents in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, W. Bell Dawson, 228 Oceans, a New Theory of the Tides of Terrestrial, R. A. Harris, 583 yf Oils and Allied Substances, the Analysis of, A. C. W right, 60 Onan, the, Dr. Forsyth Major, 88 y Okapi from Congo Free State, Dr. Forsyth Major, 118 Okapis, Ocapia liebrechtsi, Dr. Forsyth Major, 210 Oldham (R. D.), the Turkestan Earthquake of August 22, 8; Records of Shillong Seismograph Examined by R. D. Oldham, 157 Olivier (Charles P.), Observations of the Perseids, August 10 and 11, 1902, 211 - 5 N XXXIV L[ndex -7unaeeeee Olsen (Julius), Free Ions in Aqueous Solutions of Electro- lytes, 45 Olszewski (Prof.), Apparatus for the Liquefaction of Air and Hydrogen, 494 Omori (Dr. F.), Macro-seismic Measurements in Tokio between September, 1887, and July, 1889, 88-9; Horiz- ontal Pendulum Tromometer, 619; Transit Velocity of the First Preliminary Tremor of Earthquakes of Near Origin, 619; Seismological Notes, 619 Oolite Period and Earliest Man, Castology : a View of the, J. Craven Thomas, 461 Ootheca Wolleyana, 219 Oppolzer (Egon von), Photography of Stellar Regions, 280 Opposition of Mars, W. F. Denning, 525 Optics: Curvature of Wheel Spokes in Photographs, R. M. Milne, 8; Photographs of Cross-sections of Hollow Pen- cils formed by Oblique Transmission through an Annulus of a Lens, Miss A. Everett, 46; Equality of the Velocity of Propagation of the X-rays and of Light in Air, R. Blondlot, 46; the Propagation of Light in a Uniaxal Crystal, Prof. A. W. Conway, 71; a Simple Experiment in Diffraction, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 80; Deter- mination of the Exact Position of a Mercury Meniscus Illuminated by a Bundle of Horizontal Rays, G. Lipp- mann, 95; Apparatus for Determining the Duration of’ Luminous Impressions on the Retina, Maurice Dupont, 96; Velocity of Light and the Solar Parallax, M. Perrotin, 119; Death of Otto Hilger, 208; Obituary Notice of, 230; Transmission of Vision to a Distance by Electricity, Lieut. J. H. Coblyn, 252; Duration of Light Sensations, Dr. Gétz Martius, 252; Reflection and Refraction of Light, Lord Kelvin, 334; Light for Students, Edwin Edser, 340; the Epidia- scope, Carl Zeiss, 376; the Visibility of Ultra-microscopic Particles, H. Siedentopf and R. Zsigmondy, 380; on Skew Refraction Through a Lens, Prof. J. D. Everett, 382; the Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance, Bart., 386; the Production of Metallic Surfaces having the Properties of Japanese ‘‘ Magic’’ Mirrors, Thomas Thorp, 406; the Theory of Optics, Paul Drude, 413; Two Peculiar Effects of Light, Chromophyton rosanoffi, Micrococcus phosphorus, Dr. H. Molisch, 426; Lamp Lighted by Means of Bacteria, Prof. Hanos Molisch, 468; Action of a Polarised Bundle of very Refrangible Radiations on Very Small Electric Sparks, R. Blondlot, 431; Common Basis of the Theories of Microscopic Vision, Julius Rheinberg, 470; the Helmholtz Theory of the Microscope, J. W. Gordon, 551; a New Binocular, 473; the Hypnagogic Images, Yves Delage, 527; a New Kind of Light, R. Blondlot, 527; on Refraction at a Cylindrical Surface, A. Whitwell, 550; a New Lens, Mr. Blakesley, 550; Spherical Aberration of the Eye, Edwin Edser, 559; Method of Demonstrating Newton’s Rings by Transmitted Light, H. N. Davis, 573 Ores, Metals, Fuels, &c., Aids to the Analysis and Assay of, J. J. Morgan, 201 Organic Chemistry: Lexikon der Kohlenstoff-Verbin- dungen, M. M. Richter, 78; Notions Fundamentales de Chimie Organique, Prof. Ch. Moureu, 269; Theoretical Organic Chemistry, J. B. Cohen, 485 Organic Selection: Development and Evolution; including Psychophysical Evolution, Evolution by Orthoplasy, and the Theory of Genetic Modes, James Mark Baldwin, 2092 a Orionis: Variation in Magnitude of, Dr. E. Packer, 16; Variability of, Herr J. Plassman, 137 Ornithology: November Swallows, G. W. Bulman, 56; Nesting-mound of the Mallee (Lipoa ocellata), A. W. Milligan, 65; London Birds and Other Sketches, T. Digby Pigott, 102; Ootheca Wolleyana, 219; British Wild Goose, Anser paludosus, F. Coburn, 252; Bird- extermination about Cairo, Dr. W. Innes, 328; Ornith- ological Results of Mr. B. Alexander’s Expedition to Fernando Po, 373; Birds of the Outer Hebrides, J. A. Harvie-Brown, 399; Feathers of the Emeu, Mr. Le Souéf, 399; the Birds of Bempton Cliffs, E. W. Wade, 472; Variation in Birds, F. Finn, 521; the Japanese Artificial Treatment of Long-tailed Fowls, J. T. Cunningham, 527; the Action of Birds’ Wings, Dr. T. Byard Collins, 542; Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 594; Bullfinch and Canary, George Henschel, 609; Lord Lilford on Birds, T. Digby Pigott, C.B., Supp. February 5, 1903, iii; Lord Lilford, T. Digby Pigott, C.B., Supp. February 5, 1903, iii Orr (Prof. W. McF.), the Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equations. Rotation of a Rigid Body, 368; Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, 415 Orton (Dr. K. J. P.), Isomeric Change in Benzene Deriv- atives, Lecture at Royal Society, 332 Osler (A. F., F.R.S.), Death of, 615 Ostwald (W.), Hand- und Hiilfsbuch zur Ausfthrung physikochemischer Messungen, 101; the Principles of Organic Chemistry, 171 Oxford, Entomology at, 572 Oxygen Generator, Portable Automatic, 375 Oysters and Typhoid Fever, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 370 Pacific Cable, Completion of the, 12 Packer (Dr. E.), Variation in Magnitude of a Orionis, 16 Page (F. J. M.), Radium Bromide, 616 Palearctic Butterflies, Catalogue of the Collection of, formed by the late John Henry Leech, Richard South, 8 paeavotany : Fossil Flora of the Cumberland Coalfield, E. A. Newell Arber, 94; Remarks on E. A. Newell Arber’s Communication, on the Clark Collection of Fossil Plants from New South Wales, Dr. F. Kurtz, 94; Vege- tative Activity at the Epoch of the Coal-measures, B. Renault, 384; Dictyozamites in England, A. C. Seward, F.R.S., 478; Fruits and Seeds of British pre-Glacial and inter-Glacial Plants (Thalamiflore), Mrs. Reid, 551 Palzolithics: L’Age de la Pierre, G. Riviére, 55 Paleontology: Phylogeny of the Proboscidea, Dr. F- Ameghino, 113; Tooth of Hippopotamus amphibius Found in the Mendip Hills, E. Ernest Lowe, 157; a New Horse from the Western Islands, Prof. Cosser Ewart, 239; the Elk in the Thames Valley, Edwin T. Newton, 262; an Ossiferous Cavern of Pliocene Age at Dove Holes, Buxton, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., 287; Contribution to the History of Fossil Maz, Albert Gaudry, 359; Study of the Cranium of a Beaver of the Quaternary Period, Dr. Camilio Bosco, 374; Fossiliferous Band at the Top of the Lower Greensand, near Leighton Buzzard, G. W. Lamplugh and J. F. Walker, 406; Systematic Position of the Armoured Dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of the Gosau District, F. B. Nopessa, jun., 426; Fishes in the Devonian Layer of the Pas-du- Calais, J. Gosselet, 455; Remains of the Ostrich Struthio karatheodoris in the Upper Miocene Deposits of Samos. Rudolf Martin, 478; Remains from the ‘‘ Grotte des Enfants,’’ Dr. R. Verneau, 499; ‘“‘ Pelycosaurian ’’ Rep- tiles of the Permian and Triassic Formations of North America, E. C. Case, 520; Gigantic Sauropod Dinosaur from the Oxford Clay, near Peterborough, E. N. Leeds, 617; Text-book of Palzontology, Karl A. von Zittel, Supp. February 5, x Palmer (William T.), Lake-country Rambles, 79 Pan-potential, the, Sound Waves and Electromagnetics, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 202 Pannekoek (Ant.), Untersuchungen tiber den Lichtwechsel Algols, 558 Papaw-trees and Mosquitoes, E. Ernest Green, 487 Para, Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicines, H. E. Durham, 172 Paradox of the Piano Player, the, Prof. G. H. Bryan, FRosi 27 Parallax, Stellar, A. S. Flint, 594 Paris (Gaston), Death of, 442 Paris: the Generators of Electricity at the Paris Exhibition of 1900, C. F. Guilbert, 4; the Aftermath of the Paris Exhibition, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 465; Paris Academy of Sciences, 23, 46, 71, 95, 119, 143, 167, 192, 215, 239, 263, 287, 311, 335, 359, 383, 407, 431. 455, 479, 503, 527, 551, 575, 599, 623; Paris Academy of Sciences Prizes for , 1902, 215; the Solidification of Fluorine and the Com- bination of Solid Fluorine with Liquid Hydrogen, Profs. H. Moissan and J. Dewar at the Paris Academy of Sciences, 497; Compte rendu du deuxiéme Congrés International des Mathématiciens tenu a Paris, 6 au 12 Aotit, 1900, 245; Rapports présentés au Congrés Inter- national de physique réuni a Paris en 1900, 556 Nature. ] June 18, 1903 Lind ev XXXV Parker (Mr.), Connection between Amounts of Oxygen and Carbonic Acid Dissolved in Natural Waters and the Occurrence in these of Microscopic Organisms, 16 Parkinson (John), Geology of the Tintagel and Davidstow District, 575 Parks (Dr. G. J.), Thickness of Liquid Film found by | Condensation at Surface of a Solid, 430 Patagonia, through the Heart of, H. Hesketh Prichard, Colonel G. E. Church, 321 Pathology : Measurement of Electric Resistance as Analysis for Fermentations and in Pathological Cases, M. Lesage, 350; the Heart of Tuberculous Subjects, MM. Ch. Bouchard and Balthazard, 359; Abandonment of the School of Medical Research at Netley, 490; the Heart in a Pathological State, MM. Ch. Bouchard and Balthazard, 503 Patterson (J.), Spontaneous Ionisation in Air, 215 Paton (Dr. D. Noél), the Methods of Investigating the North Sea Fisheries, 174 Pavements, a Treatise on Roads and, Ira Osborn Baker, 557 Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon, the, Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., at the Royal Institution, 620 Pearls, the Origin of, Dr. H. Lyster Jameson, 280 Pearson (Karl, F.R.S.), Correlation of the Mental and Physical Characters in Man, 261 Peaty Water, Lead in, Dr. Houston, 4098 Péchard (E.), Products of Reduction of Copper Salts by Hydroxylamine, 431 Pechule (C. F.), Comet 1902 b Giacobini, 158 Pedigrees, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 586 Peirce (B. O.), Temperature Coefficients of Magnets of Chilled Cast Iron, 494 | Pelabon (H.), Action of Hydrogen on the Sulphides of | Antimony in the Presence of Arsenic, 552 Pelet (L.), the Limits of Combustibility of Different Flames, 470 Pellat (H.), Magnetofriction of the Anode Bundle, 239 Pembrey (M. S.), Practical Physiology, 388 Penard (Dr. Eugéne), Faune Rhizopodique du Bassin du Léman, Supp. February 5, vi Pender (H.), New Magnetic Systems for the Study of Feeble Fields, 480; Electric Convection, 624 Penfield (S. L.), Solution of Problems in Crystallography by Trigonometry, 45 Penmanship, System of Upright, J. Jackson’s, 445 Penrose (F. C., F.R.S.), Death of, 372 Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, 1902-3, 270 Perdoni (Torquato), Le Forze Idrauliche, 413 Perforated Antlers, Carved and, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, BeReS. 074 Perkin (A. G.), a Reaction of Phenolic Colouring Matters, 117; Purpurogallin, 238; the Destructive Distillation of Ethyl Gallate, 238 Perkin (Dr. F. Mollwo), Education in Germany and Eng- land, 226; the Chemistry of the Terpenes, F. Heusler, 267; the Aftermath of the Paris Exhibition, 465 Perman (Dr. E. P.), the Evaporation of Water in a Current of Air, 477 Perrier (E.), La Vie des Animaux, 342 Perrine (Prof. C. D.), the Nebula Around Nova Persei, 16; Spectrum of the Nebulosity Surrounding Nova Persei, 593; Coronal Disturbance and Sunspots, 16 Perrine’s Comet, 1896 vii, Return of, Herr Ristenpart, 329; Perrine. Comet 1902 b, Herr Ebell, 424 Perrotin (M.), Recent Sunsets, 46; Velocity of Light and the Solar Parallax, 119; Redetermination of the Velocity of Light and the Solar Parallax, 137 Perry (Prof. John, F.R.S.), Mathematics in the Cambridge Locals, 81; Slide-rule for Powers of Numbers, 141; Hohere Analysis fiir Ingenieure, 338; Cambridge Mathe- matics, 390; the Thermodynamics of Heat Engines, Sidney A. Reeve, 602 Perry-Coste (F. H.), the Mismanagement of London Uni- versity, 271 Persei, Nova, the Nebula around, Prof. C. D. Perrine, 16; Spectrum of the Nebulosity Surrounding, Prof. Perrine, Persei, 496; Pulkova Observations of, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 515; Density and Change of Volume of, C. E. Stromeyer, 612 Perseid Shower, Observations of the, Herr Koss, 114 Perseids, Observations of the, August 10 and 11, 1902, Charles P. Olivier, 211 | Persia, Through, and Baluchistan, A. H. Savage Landor, 489 Personal, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 81 Petal-less Flowers, Insects and, Prof. Bulman, 319; E. Ernest Lowe, 368 Petch (T.), Plane Geometry, Adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teaching, 577 Petrography : Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks Based on Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, Whitman Cross, Joseph P. Iddings, Louis V. Pirsson, and Henry S. Washington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 578 Philip (A.), Electro-plating and Electro-refining, 295 Philippines, Disease Resembling ‘‘ Farcy ’’ in the, 209 Philology : Death of Gaston Paris, 442 Philosopher, a Biological, Hans Driesch, Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, 50 Philosophy: the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow, 70; the World and the Individual, First Series: the’ Four Historical Conceptions of Being, Josiah Royce, A. E. Taylor, 99 ; the World and the Individual, Second Series : Nature, Man, and the Moral Order, Josiah Royce, A. E. Taylor, 99; Cambridge Philosophical Society, 119, 502; Die Grundsatze und das Wesen des Unendlichen in der Mathematik und Philosophie, Dr. Phil. Kurt Geissler, 387 ; Studies in the Cartesian Philosophy, Norman Smith, 389 ; Chemical Philosophy: Le Mixte et la Combinaison Chimique: Essai sur 1’Evolution d’une Idée, E. Duhem, Plateau, G. W. 29 Phonetics, the Elements of Experimental, Edward Wheeler Scripture, Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 268 Phonographic Records, the Archives of, 301 Photography : Curvature of Wheel Spokes in Photographs, R. M. Milne, 8; Photographs of Halos and Parhelia, Dr. A. Sprung, 13; Photograph of Carboniferous Lime- stone by Prof. S. H. Reynolds and Godfrey Bingley, John E. Marr, A. S. Reid, 32; British Association Geological Photographs, 32; Photographs of Cross-sec- tions of Hollow Pencils Formed by Oblique Transmission through an Annulus of a Lens, Miss A. Everett, 46; How to Buy a Camera, H. C. Shelley, 102; the Reproduction of Colours by Photography, H. E. Dresser and Sir H. Trueman Wood, 127; Aspects of Photographic Develop- ment, Alfred Watkins, 157; on a Dark Chamber for Three-colour Photography, M. Prieur, 168; Traité ency- clopédique de Photographie, Charles Fabre, 201; Photo- graphy of Stellar Regions, Egon von Oppolzer, 280; Counting the Red Corpuscles of the Blood by Photo- graphy, Dr. C. A. MacMunn, 327; Photographs of the North Polar Region, M. Flammarion, 400; Parallax Determinations by Photography, C. E. Stromeyer, 431; Photographs of Volcanic Phenomena, Tempest Anderson, 464; the Prevention of Dew Deposits on Lantern Slides, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., at the British Association at Belfast, 476; the Figures, Facts, and Formule of Photography, 484; Das Objectiv im Dienste der Photo- graphie, Dr. E. Holm, 486; ‘‘ The Amateur Photo- grapher ’’ Library, (25) Enlargements: their Production and Finish, G. Rodwell Smith, (26) Bromide Printing, Rev. F. C. Lambert, 510; Telephoto Lens Adaptable to Objective of Camera, 520; Nature and the Camera, A. Radclyffe Dugmore, 534; First Steps in Photo-Micro- graphy, F. Martin Duncan, 609; Method of Studying the Action of Insects’ Wings by Instantaneous Photography, Robert von Lendenfeld, 617; Nova Geminorum before its Discovery, Prof. Pickering, 618 Photometer, a Daylight, Albert Campbell, 332 Physical Geography: Coral Reefs of Pemba Island and British East Africa, C. Crossland, 119; an Introduction to, Grove Karl Gilbert and Albert Perry Brigham, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 147 593; Change of Focus in the Light from, Prof. E. E. | Barnard, 66; Early Observations of, Prof. Pickering, | go; Proper Motion and Parallax of Nova Persei, Asten Bergstrand, 183; Observations of the Light of Nova Physics: Refractivities of the Elements, Clive Cuthbertson, 32; the Waste of Energy from a Moving Electron, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 6, 32; Methods for Verifying whether a Ruler or Sliding Bar is Rectilinear and for Fixing a XXXVI Index f Nature, |. June 18, 1903 Collimator in the Focal Plane of a Lens or Telescope Objective, G. Lippmann, 37; Physical Society, 45, 93, 141, 190, 333, 429, 501, 550; Relationship between Spectra of Some Elements and the Squares of their Atomic Weights, Dr. W. M. Watts, 45; Radio-activity from Rain, C. T. R. Wilson, 46; the Secular Bending of a Marble Slab under its own Weight, Dr. T. J. J. See, 56; Spencer Pickering, F.R.S., 81; W. Bowman, 420; the Bending of Marble, Francis Jones, 503; the Bending of Two Alabaster Slabs in the Alhambra, Dr. Bleekrode, 135; the Conservation of Mass, D. M. Y. Sommerville, 80; Prof. C. V. Boys, F.R.S., 103; J. Joly, F.R.S., 262; the General Solution of Laplace’s Equation and of the Differential Equation of Wave-motions, and on an Undulatory Explanation of Gravitation, E. T. Whittaker, 94; Wave Motions with Discontinuities at Wave-fronts, Prof. A. E. H. Love, 262; Hand- und Hiulfsbuch zur Ausfiihrung physikochemischer Mess- ungen, W. Ostwald and R. Luther, 101 ; another Hodgkins Gold Medal Awarded, 104; Death of Prof. O. N. Rood, 111; Physical Chemistry Applied to Toxins and Anti- toxins, Dr. A. Harden, 114; Cavitation in Liquids, S. Skinner, 119; Physical Apparatus, Max Kohl, 121; Physikalische Apparate, Ferdinand Ernecke, 121; Acht Vortrage tuber physikalische Chemie, J. H. van ’t Hoff, 149; Experiments depending on Hawksbee’s Law of Fluids, C. L. Barnes, 166; on an Inversion of Ideas as to the Structure of the Universe, Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S., 171; Apparatus for a Lecture Experiment on Gaseous Diffusion, Prof. L. R. Wilberforce, 190; Vapour- density Determinations, Sir W. Ramsay and Dr. Steele, 190; a Sub-Tropical Solar Physics Observatory, Prof. S. P. Langley, 206; Dimensions of Physical Units, Dr. Ladislaus Gorezy ski. 232; a Curious Projectile Force, 247; Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 297; Death of Rev. Dr. H. W. Watson, F.R.S.,.250; Death and Obituary Notice of James Wimshurst, F.R.S., 250; the Deformation of a Thin Cylindrical Disc of Plastico- viscous Material under the Action of Normal Pressure on its Opposite Faces, Dr. Ladislaus Natanson, 251; Plas- ticity of Clays, B. Zschokke, 278; the Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School, Alexander Smith and Edwin H. Hall, Prof. A. Smithells, F.R.S., 2a; the Principle of Least Action, Lagrange’s Equations, Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 297; A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 343, 464; the Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equa- tions, Rotation of a Rigid Body, Prof. W. McF. Orr, 368 ; Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S., 368; Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c., Prof. W. McF. Orr, 415; R. F. W., 415; Physico-Chemical Tables, vol. i., Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry, John Castell-Evans, 314; an Oscillating Table for Determining Moments of Inertia, W. H. Derriman, 333; Balance by which Moments of Inertia can be Determined without the Use of Stop Watches, Mr. Skinner, 333; a Simple Sensitive Flame, Dr. E. H. Barton, 345; Death of Sir George Gabriel Stokes, Bart., F.R.S., 324; the Funeral of, 345; the Scientific Work of, 367; Lord Kelvin, F.R.S., 337; Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials, Hon. Ro J-Strutt,, 369, 4395, Prof.) J-.Ji,,..chomson, oF -R-S., 391; Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 414; Prof. E. Rutherford, 511; Results Obtained by Depositing Thin Films of Metal on Glass and Other Surfaces by Kathodic Rays in a Bell Glass Receiver, L. Houllevigue, 375; Comparative Strength and Elasticity of Portland Cement, Mortar, and Concrete, when Reinforced with Steel Rods and when not Reinforced, Prof. W. H. Warren, 407; De Ether, Dr. V. A. Julius, 413; L’Etere e la Materia ponderabile, M. Barbéra, 413; Protective Action of Wire Gauze Against Explosions, Dr. H. Mache, 423; Dr. IL. H. Siertsema’s Measurements of the Magnetic Rota- tion of the Plane of Polarisation of Liquefied Chloride under Atmospheric Pressure, 423; the Diathermanosity of Water and Certain Solutions, Otto Dechant, 425; Freezing Points of Aqueous Solutions are Lowered by Pressure to Greater Extent than that of Water, A. Lampa, 425; Commutator for Condenser Tests, A. Campbell, 430; Thickness of Liquid Film Formed by Condensation at Surface of a Solid, Dr. G. J. Parks, 430; Death of Dr. Hénocque, 442; the Methods of Liquefying Gases, Dr. M. W. Travers, 443; Electricity and Matter, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., at Bedford Col- lege for Women, 450; Liquidogenic Theories of Fluids, E. Mathias, 455; the Evaporation of Water in a Current of Air, Dr. E. P. Perman, 477; the Modulus of Rigidity of Copal Varnish, G. de Metz, 479-80; the Bearing of Recent Discoveries on the Physics of Taste and Smell, F. Southerden, 486; the Movement of Air Studied by Chronophotography, M. Marey, 487; the Slipperiness of Ice, S. Skinner, 502; Practical Exercises in Heat, E. S. A. Robson, 510; the Tutorial Physics, R. Wallace Stewart, 533; the Formation of Definite Figures by the Deposition of Dust, Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., 545; Problems in Biological Energetics, M. A. Chaveau, 551-2; Rapports présentés au Congrés International de Physique réuni a Paris en 1900, 556; Practical Chemistry and Physics, J. Young, 608; Elements of Physics, Ernest J. Andrews end H. N. Howland, 609; Sir O. Lodge and the Conservation of Energy, Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 611; Death of Prof. J. Willard Gibbs, 615; Physical Properties of Nickel Carbonyl, James Dewar, F.R.S., and Humphrey Owen Jones, 623; a Text-book of Physics, Properties of Matter, J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., and J. J- Thomson, F.R.S., Supp. February 5, ix; Astro Physics : Recently Discovered Terrestrial Gases in the Chromo- sphere, Prof. S. A. Mitchell, 619 Physiology: Grundziige der physiologischen Psychologie, Wilhelm Wundt, 2; Carlsbad Meeting of the German Association of Naturalists and Physicians, Dr. F- Schuman-Leclercq, 20; the Action of Immune-hzemo- lysine, Dr. Kraus, 21; Physiological Albuminuria, Prof- Leube, 21; Arsenic in the Animal Kingdom, Gabriel Bertrand, 72; Armand Gautier, 72; Localisation of Normal Arsenic in some Organs of Animals and Plants, Armand Gautier, 95; Musculamine, S. Posternak, 6; Vitality and Low Temperatures, W. J. Calder, 104; Ex- perimental Researches on Adrenaline, Ch. Bouchard and Henri Claude, 143; Adrenalin as a Life Restorer, 326; Physiological Injections, Yves Delage, 143; Ratio of the Weight of the Liver to the Total Weight of the Animal, E. Maurel, 144, 359; Descending Intrinsic Spinal Tracts in the Mammalian Cord, C. S. Sherring- ton, F.R.S., and E. E. Laslett, 165; Death of Prof- Leonard Landois, 180; Zeitschrift fiir allgemeine Physio- logie, 212; an Introduction to Physiology, William Townsend Porter, 222; Error in the Estimation of tht Specific Gravity of the Blood by Hammerschlag’s Method, A. G. Levy, 238; the Callosities of the Horse, Prof. Cossar Ewart, 239; Nuclear Emissions Observed in the Protozoa, A. Conte and C. Vaney, 240; Condition of the Blood in Cyanosis, Dr. G. A. Gibson, | 263; Diminution in the Amount of Lecithin in Heated Milk, M. Bordas and Sig. de Raczkowski, 264; the Revivifica- tion of the Heart, A. Kuliako, 264; Variations in the Activity of Reduction of Oxyhamoglobin in the Course of a Balloon Ascent, M. Tripet, 287; Die Zersetzung stickstofffreier organischen Substanzen durch Bakterien, Dr. O. Emmerling, F. Escombe, 316; Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry, Holmes C. Jackson, 316; Counting the Red Corpuscles of the Blood by Photography, Dr. C. A. MacMunn, 327; De- scriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 340; the Heart of Tuberculous Subjects, MM- Ch. Bouchard and Balthazard, 3c; Die Biogen-hypo- these, Prof. Max Verworn, 385; Practical Physiology, A. P. Beddard, J. S. Edkins, Leonard Hill, J. J. R. Macleod, and M. S. Pembrey, 388; Negative Variation in the Nerves of Warm-blooded Animals, Dr. H. N- Alcock, 405; Mechanism of the Action of Secretin on the Pancreatic Secretion, C. Fleig, 407; the Implantation of Dead Bone in Contact with Living Bone, V. Cornil and P. Coudray, 407; Epithelia Hyperplasia, Ed- Retterer, 432; the Physiological Laboratory of the University of London, 441; Method for Estimatine Glycerol in the Blood, Maurice Nicloux, 45<: Glycerine in Normal Blood, Maurice Nicloux, 528; Methods and Theory of Physiological Histology, Gustav Mann, 484; the Weight of the Human Brain, F. Marchand, 498-9 ; the Heart in a Pathological State. MM. Ch. Bouchard and Balthazard, 503; on Animal Heat, A. Chaveau, 575; A. Laveran, 575; on Nephrotoxins, H. Bierry, 576; Nature, ] Sune 18, 1903 L[ndex XXXVI1 Microbes and Digestion and Disease, Mdlle. P. V. Tsiklinsky, 617; Chemical Physiology: Vergleichende chemische Physiologie der niederen Tiere, Dr. Otto von Fiirth, 366; Physico-chemical Cause of Death from Hyperpyrexia is the Coagulation of Cell-globulin, Drs. Halliburton and Mott, 520 wviano Player, the Paradox of the, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S.; 227 Pickardt (Dr. von), the Velocity of Crystallisation, 90 Pickering (Prof.), Early Observations of Nova Persei, 90; Activity of the Lunar Crater Linné, 137; the Algol Vari- able R.V. (13, 1902) Lyre, 183; Missing Asteroids, 472 ; Nova Geminorum before its Discovery, 618 Pickering (Spencer, F.R.S.), the Secular Bending of Marble, 81 Pictorial Annual, Penrose’s, 1902-3, 270 Pidoux (J.), Star with Probable Large Proper Motion, 184 Pierson (Dr. N. G.), Principles of Economics, 457 Pigott (T. Digby, C.B.), London Birds and other Sketches, 102; Lord Lilford on Birds, Supp. February 5, iii; Lord Lilford, Supp. February 5, iii Pilot Charts of the Meteorological Office, 235 Pirsson (Louis V.), Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks Based on Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, 578 Pithophora, Distribution of, Kumagusu Minakata, 586 Plague: Punjab Government’s Scheme for Extensive Inoculation against, 209; Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague, Dr. R. Bruce Low, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 299 Planets : New Minor Planets, Prof. Max Wolf, 39, 67, 158; Near Approach of Comet 1902 b to Mercury, Prof. Seagrave, 39; the Pyramid Spot on Jupiter, Leo Brenner, 40; Jupiter and his Great Red Spot, W. F. Denning, 150; Definition of Jupiter’s Markings, Acceleration in the Motion of the Great Red Spot, W. F. Denning, 329; Spectrographic Determination of the Rotation Period of Jupiter, V. M. Slipher, 280; Physical Constitution of Jupiter, Prof. G. W. Hough, 329; Observations of Jupiter’s Markings, José Comas Sola, 447; Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet, J. H. Jeans, 189; the Planet Mars, E. Touchet, 307; Opposition of Mars, W. F. Denning, 525; Missing Asteroids, Prof. E. C. Pickering, 472 Plassman (Herr J.), Variability of a Orionis, 137 Plateau (Prof.), Insects and Petal-less Flowers, Bulman, 319 Plowman (A. B.), Electromotive Force in Plants, 429 G. W. Pocklington (Dr. H. C.), Permanent Electric Vibrations, 486 | Poiré (A. C.), Carnet de Notes d’un Voyageur en France, 5 Poore (George Vivian), the Earth in Relation to the Preservation and Destruction of Contagia, being the Milroy Lectures Delivered at the Royal College of Physicians, 75 Pope (Prof.), Asymmetric Optically Active Selenium Com- pounds, 71 Porro (Prof. Francesco), Elementi di Geografia Fisica, Fisica Terrestre e Meteorologia, ad uso delle Scuolo Classiche, Techniche, Normali ed Agrarie, 390 Port Erin, the New Biological Station at, 474 Porter (William Townsend), an Introduction to Physiology, 222 Post Office, Mr. Marconi and the, Maurice Solomon, 370 Posternak (S.), Musculamine, 96 Pot of Basil, a, A. E. Shipley, 205; Prof. Percy Groom, 271 Potato, Internal Action of Copper Sulphate in the Resist- ance of the, to Phytophthora infestans, Emile Laurent, 167 Potonié (Prof.), Pericaulom Theory of the Structure of Plants, 351 Poulton (Prof. E. B., F.R.S.), a Case of Pseudo-mimicry, 439 Powell (H.), the Eruption of the Soufriére on September 3 and 4, 94; Report upon the Eruption of the Soufriére on March 22, 563 Power (Dr.), Constituents of Oil of Rue, 71 Poynting (J. H., F.R.S.), a Text-book of Physics, Proper- ties of Matter, Supp. February 5, ix Praeger (R. Lloyd), on the Composition of the Flora of the North-east of Ireland, 19 Pratt (J. H.), Corundum, 449 Precession and Nutation, Experiment to Illustrate, Rev. H. V. Gill, 586 Precious Plants, a Periodical of, 594 Preece (Sir William), a Science of Business and Our Indus- tries, 86 Prentice (Mr.), Influence of Molybdenum and Tungsten Trioxides on the Specific Rotation of l-lactic Acid and Potassium I-lactate, 358 Prest (W. H.), the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Pro- ducts of Ice-erosion, 471 Preston (Henry), New Boring at Caythorpe, 95 Prichard (H. Hesketh), Through the Heart of Patagonia, 321 Prieur (M.), on a Dark Chamber for Three-colour Photo- _ graphy, 168 Principes de la Mécanique Rationelle, Freycinet, 27 Prior (G. T.), Connection between the Molecular Volumes and Chemical Composition of some Crystallographically Similar Minerals, 142; Phonolitic Rocks from St. Helena and Ascension, 142 Prizes Proposed by the Academy of Sciences for the Year 1903, 259 Projectile Force, a Curious, 247; Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C-B:, F.R.S.; 207 Protozoa: Faune Infusorienne des Eaux stagnantes des Environs de Genéve, Dr. Jean Roux, Supp. February 5, vi; Faune Rhizopodique du Bassin du Léman, Dr. Eugéne Penard, Supp. February 5, vi Pseudo-mimicry, a Case of, Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S., 439; Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., 439 Psychiatry: Death of Prof. Richard Baron von Krafft- Ebing, 208 Psychology: Grundziige der physiologischen Psychologie, Wilhelm Wundt, 2; the Force of Mind, or the Mental Factor in Medicine, A. T. Schofield, 54, 150; W. McD., 150; Mind in Evolution, L. T. Hobhouse, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, F.R.S., 199; Correlation of the Mental and Physical Characters in Man, Alice Lee, Marie A. Lewenz and Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 261; Development and Evolu- tion, Including Psychophysical Evolution, Evolution by Orthoplasy, and the Theory of Genetic Modes, James Mark Baldwin, 292; Letters on Reasoning, J. M. Robert- son, 294; Beginnings of Mind, Prof. Lloyd Morgan, F.R.S., 306; Society for Psychical Research, Sir Oliver Lodge, 330; the Rational Memory, W. H. Groves, 461; Psychology and Natural Development of Geometry, Dr. E. Mach, 524; Interaction between the Mental and the Material Aspects of Things, Sir Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S., 595; Sir O. Lodge and the Conservation of Energy, Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 611 Pulkova Observations of Nova Persei, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 515 Pullar (Laurence), Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Lakes, 167 Purdy (Carl), Calochortus, 234 Purification and Disposal of Sewage, Gilbert J. Fowler, 457 Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht der biologischen Blatt-typen von ein und sechzig Siphonogamenfamilien, Prof. Dr. A. Hansgirg, 438 Pyramid Spot on Jupiter, the, Leo Brenner, 40 Sur les; \@. ide Quadrantids of 1903, the, G. McKenzie Knight, 247; the Quadrantids, 1903—a Coincidence, W. H. Milligan, 535 ; Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., 535; Leonids of 1902 and Quadrantids of 1903, John R. Henry, 298 Quartics: Classification of Quartic Curves, A. B. Basset, F.R.S., 80; on gic Residuarity and Reciprocity, Lieut.- Colonel Cunningham, 352 Quartz Vessels, 88 Queensland, the Opal Mining Industry of, C. F. V. Jack- son, 542 Quinton (J. P.), Ascent of the Soufriére while in Activity, by, 134 Rabbit Pest in Australia, the, its Cause and its Cure, W. Rodier, 43 Rabies, Prevention of, 178 Rabot (Charles), Chronologie des Variations Glaciaires, 495 XXXViil Index Nature, June 18, 1903 Raczkowski (Sig de), Diminution in the Amount of Lecithin in Heated Milk, 264 Bae (Dr. Gustav F. R. von), Death and Obituary Notice of, 519 Radial Velocities, Cooperation in Observing Stellar, Prof E. B. Frost, 67 Radiation, Electric, from Wires, H. M. Macdonald, F.R.S., Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S., 361 Radiation and Spectroscopy, H. Kayser, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 265 Radiography: Velocity of the Propagation of the X-rays, T. Blondlot, 24, 71; Equality of the Velocity of Propaga- tion of the X-rays and of Light in Air, R. Blondlot, 46; the Velocity of Propagation of X-rays, Maurice Solomon, 185; Velocity with which the Different Varieties of X-rays are Propagated in Different Media, R. Blondlot, 239; Roéntgen Rays in Treatment of Disease, 445; the Polarisation of the X-rays, R. Blondlot, 359; Radio- activity from Rain, C. T. R. Wilson, 46; the Cause and | Nature of Radio-activity, Messrs. Rutherford and Soddy, 66; Becquerel Rays and Radio-activity, Lord Kelvin, G.C.V.O., F.R.S., 103; Induced Radio-activity and the Emanation from Radium, P. Curie, 335; Radio- activity of Ordinary Materials, Hon. R. J. Strutt, 369, 439; Prof. J. J. Thomson, F. R.S. 1 39ls ror. Henry E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 414; Die radioactiven Stoffe nach dem gegenwartigen Stande der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnis, Karl Hofmann, 511; Disappearance of the Radio-activity Induced by Radium on Solid Bodies, P. Curie and J. Danne, 383; Emanations from Radio- active Bodies, Henri Becquerel, 400; Induced Radio- activity Produced by Salts of Actinium, A. Debierne, 407; on Production of Induced Radio-activity by Actinium, A. Debierne, 503; Radio-activity from Snow, C. T. R. Wilson, F.R.S., 502; Action of Radio-active Bodies on the Electric Conductivity of Selenium, Edmund von Aubel, 599; Radio-active Gas from Well Water, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 609; Magnetic Deviability and the Nature of Certain Rays Emitted by Radium and Polonium, Henri Becquerel, 335; Radiation of Polonium and Radium, Henri Becquerel, 407; Pathogenic Action of the Rays Emitted by Radium on Different Tissues and Organisms, J. Danysz, 407; Method of Stereoscopic Radioscopy, Th. Guilloz, 480; Radium Emission, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 511; the Emanations of Radium, Sir William Crooks, F.R.S., at the Royal Society, 522; Analogue to the Action of Radium, Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S., 535; Radium, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 601; the Thermal Energy of Radium Salts, J. W. Mellor, 560; Radium Bromide, F. J. M. Page, 616 Rails, the Effect of Segregation on the Strength of Steel, Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., 13 Railways: Opening Carriage Doors of a Train in Motion, Sir Oliver Lodge’s Advice to Passengers, 64; Automobile System to be tried on Paris-Lyons-Marseilles Railway, 182; a Mathematical Investigation of the Theory of Rail- way Brakes, Prof. A. Sommerfeld, 277; Swift Loco- motion on Midland Railway between Leeds and Carlisle, 349; Italian Visit of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 588 Rain: Analysis of the ‘‘ Red Rain” of February 22, Row- land A. Earp, 414 Rainfall, Indian, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 394 Raisin (Catherine A.), Petrological Notes on Rocks from Southern Abyssinia, 527 Ramage (Hugh), Abnormal Changes in the Spectrum of Lithium, 214 Ramsay (Sir W., K.C.B., F.R.S.), Vapour-density Deter- minations, 190; an Attempt to Estimate the Relative Amounts of Krypton and of Xenon in Atmospheric Air, 573 ; Can Dogs Reason? 609 Rankin (Reginald), Ascent of Aconcagua by, 181 Ransome (F. L.), Economic Geology of the Silverton Quadrangle, Colorado, 449 Rao (M. B. Subha), Madras Rainfall and the Frequency | of Sun-spots, 326 Rational Memory, the, W. H. Groves, 461 Ray (Dr. P. C.), Decomposition of Mercurous Nitrite by Heat, 551 : Ray Society, 166 Reagents, the Testing of Chemical, for Purity, Dr. C. Krauch, C. Simmons, 436 Reale Istituto Lombardo Prize Awards, 493 Reason? Can Dogs, Dr. Alex. Hill, 558; Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., 609 Reasoning, Letters on, J. M. Robertson, 294 Recoura (A.), a Chlorosulphate of Aluminium, 47 “Red Rain’? of February 22, Analysis of the, Rowland A. Earp, 414 Red Spot, Jupiter and his Great, W. F. Denning, 159 Red Spot, Acceleration in the Motion of the Great, Defini- tion of Jupiter’s Markings, W. F. Denning, 329 Reed (Major Walter), Death of, 155 Reeve (Sidney A.), the Thermodynamics of Heat Engines, 602 Refractivities of the Elements, Clive Cuthbertson, 32 Reich (Emil), a New Student’s Atlas of English History, 401 Rad (A. S.), Photograph of Carboniferous Limestone by Godfrey Bingley, 32 Reid (Mrs.), Fruits and Seeds of British pre-Glacial and Be ciial Plants (Thalamiflorz), 551 Reinhold (Prof.), a Medizeval Treatise on Surveying, 42 Reliquary and Illustrated Archzologist, the, 6 Remarkable Meteor, a, J. E. C. Liddle, 464 Remarkable Winters, Chas. Harding, 466 Renard (P.), Conditions of Safety of Navigable Balloons, 592 Renault (B.), Vegetative Activity at the Epoch of the Coal-measures, 384 Resourcefulness, a Katydid’s, Arthur G. Smith, 612 Respiration, Diseases of the Organs of, Dr. Samuel West, 554 Response in the Living and Non-living, Jagadis Chunder Bose, 409 Retterer (Ed.), Epithelia Hyperplasia, 432 Reusch (Dr. Hans), the Bubbelen Natural Fountain in Norway, 590 REVIEWS AND Our BOOKSHELF :— Theory of Differential Equations, A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S., 1 Grundziige der physiologischen Psychologie, Wilhelm Wundt, 2 The Generators of Electricity at the Paris Exhibition of 1g00, C. F. Guilbert, 4 Thirteenth Annual Report of the Local Government Board, 1900-1, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 5 The Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire, J. F. Robin- son, A Revolution in the Science of Cosmology, George Camp- bell, 6 The Reliquary and Illustrated Archeologist, 6 Earth and Sky, J. H. Stickney, 6 Eastern Uganda, an Ethnological Survey, C. W. Hobley, E. Sidney Hartland, 10 Biologia Centrali-Americana, Insecta—Lepidoptera—Rho- palocera, Frederick Ducane Godman, F.R.S., and the late Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., 25 Sur les Principes de la Mécanique Ration~ie, C. de Freycinet, 27 Geschichte des Christentums in Japan, Hans Haas, 28 Le Mixte et la Combinaison Chimique: Essai sur l’Evolution d’une Idée, E. Duhem, 29 Die Internationalen absoluten Masse insbesondere die elektrischen Masse, Dr. A. von Waltenhofen, 29 Index-tabellen zum Anthropometrischen Gebrauche, Carli M. First, 30 Jahrbuch der Chemie, 1901, 30 Observations Géologiques sur les Iles Volcaniques ex- plorées par V’Expédition du Beagle, et Notes sur la Géolegie d’Australie et du Cap de Bonne Esperance, Charles Darwin, 31 Galvanic Batteries: their Theory, Construction and Use, S. R. Bottone, 31 : The Elements of Agricultural Geology: a Scientific Aid! to Practical Farming, Primrose McConnell, 31 A Teacher’s Manual of Geography to Accompany Tarr and McMurry’s Series of Geographies, Charles McMurry, 31 . Nature, ] June 18, 1903 Index XXXIX Interpretacion Dinamica de la division Cellular, A. Gallardo, Prof. Marcus Hartog, 42 The Rabbit Pest in Australia, its Cause and Cure, W. Rodier, 43 The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, 44 Briefwechsel zwischen J. Berzelius und F. Wohler, J. von Braun and O. Wallach, 49 Die organischen Regulationen, Vorbereitungen zu einer Theorie des Lebens, Hans Driesch, Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, 50 Forest Flora of the School Circle, Upendranath Kanjilal, is Lois de la Geographie, Carlos de Mello, 53 The Elements of Engineering, a First Year’s Course for Students, Tyson Sewell, 53 The Force of Mind: or the Mental Factor in Medicine, A. T. Schofield, 54 Introductory Chemistry for Intermediate Schools, Lionel M. Jones, 54 Next to the Ground; Chronicles of a Country Side, Martha McCullock Williams, 54 L’Age de la Pierre, G. Riviere, 55 Flora of the Liverpool District, C. T. Green, 55 Examples in Algebra, C. O. Tuckey, 55 Children’s Gardens, Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Cecil Amherst), 55 (Alicia | School of the Woods: some Life Studies of Animal In- | stincts and Animal Training, William J. Long, 55 Macmillan’s Short Geography of the World, George F. Bosworth, 55 The Meteorology of the Ben Nevis Observatories, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 61 The Dawn of Modern Geography, C. Raymond Beazley, 73 | The Earth in Relation to the Preservation and Destruc- | tion of Contagia, being the Milroy Lectures Delivered | at the Royal College of Physicians in 1899, together with other Papers on Sanitation, George Vivian Poore, Dr. A. C. Houston, 75 The Analysis of Steel-works Materials, Harry Brearley and Fred. Ibbotson, 76 Die Mechanik des Himmels, Carl Ludwig Charlier, 77 Lexikon der Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen, M. M. Richter, 78 7 Ueber Harmonie und Complication, Dr. Victor Gold- schmidt, 78 Opere Matematiche di Francesco Brioschi, 79 Opere Matematiche di Eugenio Beltrami, 79 Handbook of the Trees of New England, L. L. Dame and Henry Brooks, 79 Lake-country Rambles, William T. Palmer, 79 Junior Arithmetic Examination Papers, W. S. Beard, 79 Zur Theorie des Auerlichtes, W. Nernst and E. Bose, Maurice Solomon, 82 Theory of the Incandescent Mantle, A. H. White, H. Russell and A. F. Traver, Maurice Solomon, 82 Theory of the Incandescent Mantle, A. H. White and A. F. Traver, Maurice Solomon, 82 The Conditions Determinative of Chemical Change and of Electrical Conduction in Gases, and on the Pheno- mena of Luminosity, Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., Maurice Solomon, 82 The History of the Invention of Incandescent Gas Lighting, Auer von Welsbach, Maurice Solomon, 82 The Norwegian North Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, Scientific Results, Fridtjof Nansen, 97 Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Histologie der Tiere, Dr. Kar! Camillo Schneider, 98 The World and the Individual. First Series: The Four Historical Conceptions of Being, Josiah Royce, A. E. Taylor, 99 The World and the Individual. Second Series: Nature, Man, and the Moral Order, Josiah Royce, A. E. Taylor, 99 Der Parallelbetrieb von Wechselstrommaschinen, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 101 Hand- und Hilfsbuch zur Ausfiihrung physikochemischer Messungen, W. Ostwald and R. Luther, 1o1 London Birds and Other Sketches, T. Digby Pigott, 102 How to Buy a Camera, H. C. Shelley, 102 Recent Advances in Science, A. E. Ikin, 102 Agricultural Industry and Education in Hungary, 102 Le Ciment Armé et ses Applications, Marie-Auguste Morel, 102 L’Industrie Francaise des Instruments dé Précision, 121 Microscopes and Microscopical Accessories, Carl Zeiss, 121 Physical Apparatus, Max Kohl, 121 Physikalische Apparate, Ferdinand Ernecke, 121 American Food and Game Fishes: a Popular Account of all the Species found in America North of the Equator, with Keys for Ready Identification, Life Histories and Methods of Capture, David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann, 122 Text-book of Anatomy, Dr. A. Keith, 122 Differential Calculus for Beginners, Alfred Lodge, 123 Monographie des Cynipides d'Europe et d’Algérie, VAbbé J. J. Kieffer, 124 Chemisches Praktikum, Dr. A. Wolfrum, 125 The Coal-fields of Scotland, Robert W. Dron, 125 A Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old-fashioned Names of British Birds, C. H. Hett, 125 Materiali per lo Studio della ‘‘ Eta della Pietra’’ dai tempi preistorici all’ epoca attuale, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 145 Les Moteurs a Explosion, G. 145 Théorie des Moteurs 4 Gas, G. Moreau, C. R. D’Esterre, 145 CZuvres Complétes de Jean-Charles Gallisard de Marignac, E. Ador, 146 An_ Introduction to Physical Geography, Grove Karl Gilbert and Albert Perry Brigham, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 147 The Modern Arithmetic, Primary and Elementary Grades, Archibald Murray, 147 The Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency, W. A. Talbot, 148 La Géologie générale, Stanislas Meunier, 148 The Student’s Handbook to the University and Colleges of Cambridge, 149 Bacteriologicaly Technique Thomas Bowhill, 149 Practical Electricity, J. Hope Belcher, 149 Acht Vortrage iiber physikalische Chemie, J. H. van ’t Hoff, 149 Chimica Agraria, Campestre e Silvano, Italo Giglioli, 169 Flora Simlensis : a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla, Colonel Sir H. Collett, K.C.B., 170 The Principles of Inorganic Chemistry, Wilhelm Ostwald, 171 On an Inversion of Ideas as to the Structure of the Universe, Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S., 171 Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, H. E. Durham, 172 Eyes Within, Walter Earle, 173 Handbook of Instructions for Collectors, 173 The First Principles of Ratio and Proportion and their Application to Geometry, H. W. Croome Smith, 173 Year-book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of Great Britain and Ireland, 173 Papers on Etherification and on the Constitution of Salts, Alexander W. Williamson, F.R.S., 173 Dove Dale Revisited : with Other Holiday Sketches, 173 Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego, Sir M. Conway, 175 Summary of Progress of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom and Museum of Practical Geology for Ig0I, 179 Erdmagnetische Untersuchungen im Kaiserstuhl, Dr. G. Meyer, 187 Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution, P. Kropotkin, 1a6 The Forests of Upper India and their Inhabitants, Thomas W. Webber, 198 Mind in Evolution, L. T. Hobhouse, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, F.R.S., 199 The Geology of Eastern Fife, Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S., 200 Elementary Plane and Solid Mensuration, for Use in Schools, Colleges and Technical Classes, R. W. Edwards, 200 Traité encyclopédique de Photographie, Charles Fabre, 201 Moreau, C. R. D’Esterre, and Special Bacteriology, xl Astronomy without a Telescope, E. Walter Maunder, 201 Aids to the Analysis and Assay of Ores, Metals, Fuels, &c., J. J. Morgan, 201 First Stage Mathematics, 202 Preparatory Lessons in Chemistry, Henry W. Hill, 202 My Dog Frizzie and Others, Lady Alicia Blackwood, 202 The Seven Tablets of Creation, L. W. King, 204 Zeitschrift fiir allgemeine Physiologie, 212 Facts on Fire Prevention, Emeritus, 217 Aérial Navigation: a Practical Handbook on the Con- struction of Dirigible Balloons, Aérostats, Aéroplanes and Aéromotors, Frederick Walker, 218 Submarine Warfare, Past, Present and Future, Herbert C. Fyfe, 218 Ootheca Wolleyana, 219 The Great Mountains and Forests of South America, Paul Fountain, 220 European Fungus-flora, Agaricacee, G. Massee, 221 An Introduction to Physiology, William Townsend Porter, 222 The Potash Salts; their Production, and Application to Agriculture, Industry and Horticulture, L. A. Groth, 222 Advanced Hygiene, ‘A. E. Ikin and R. A. Lyster, 222 Materials of Machines, Albert W. Smith, 222 On Some Phenomena which Suggest a Short Period of Solar and Meteorological Changes, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William J. S. Lockyer, On the Similarity of the Short-Period Pressure Variation over Large Areas, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William J. S. Lockyer, 224 A Contribution to Cosmical Meteorology, Prof. Frank L. Bigelow, 225 Le Linceul du Christ; Etude scientifique, Paul Vignon, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 241 The Shroud of Christ, Paul Vignon, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 241 Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, W. G. Martin, 243 Das Wanderheuschrecken und ihre Bekampfung in un- seren afrikanischen Kolonieen, Dr. L. Sander, 244 Applied Mechanics for Beginners, J. Duncan, 245 Compte rendu du deuxiéme Congrés international des Mathématiciens tenu a Paris, 6 au 12 Aott, 1900, 245 Wood’: a Manual of the Natural History and Industrial Applications of the Timbers of Commerce, G. S. Boulger, 245 L’Eau dans 1’Alimentation, F. Malméjac, 246 Our Dogs’ Birthday Book, Mrs. F. H. Barnett, 246 Martinique and St. Vincent, Edmund Otis Hovey, 256 Handbuch der Spectroscopie, H. Kayser, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 265 Woods The Zoology of Egypt—Mammalia, J. Anderson and W. E. de Winton, 266 The Chemistry of the Terpenes, F. Heusler, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 267 The Elements of Experimental Phonetics, Edward Wheeler Scripture, Prof. John G. McKendrick, 268 Notions fondamentales de Chimie organique, Prof. Ch Moureu, 26¢ Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, 1902-3, 270 The Zoological Record for 1901, 270 On the Origin of Pearls, Dr. H. Lyster Jameson, 280 Development and Evolution: Including Psychophysical Evolution, Evolution by Orthoplasy, and the Theory of Genetic Modes, James Mark Baldwin, 292 Travels in Space, E. Seton Valentine and F. L. Tomlin- son, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 293 United States Magnetic Declination Tables and Isogonic Charts for 1902, L. A. Bauer, 294 Letters on Reasoning, J. M. Robertson, 294 Electro-plating and Electro-refining, A. Watt and A. Philip, 295 The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School, Alexander Smith and Edwin H. Hall, Prof. A. Smithells, F.R.S., 295 Index Zoologicus, C. O. Waterhouse, 295 Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague, Dr. R. Bruce Low, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 299 Index [ Nature, June 18, 1903 The Chemistry of Indiarubber, Carl Otto Weber, C. Simmonds, 313 Physico-chemical Tables, vol. i., Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry, John Castell-Evans, 314 Natural and Artificial Sewage Treatment, Jones and Roechling, 315 Thomson’s Gardener’s Assistant, 315 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 315 Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemis- try, Holmes C. Jackson, 316 Die Zersetzung stickstofffreier organischen Substanzen durch Bakterien, Dr. O. Emmerling, F. Escombe, 316 Das Motor-Zweirad und seine Behandlung, Wolfgang Vogel, 316 A Course of Simple Experiments in Magnetism and Elec- tricity, A. E. Munby, 316 A Naturalist in the Indian Seas: or Four Years with the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator, A. Alcock, 320 Through the Heart of Patagonia, H. Hesketh Prichard, Colonel G. E. Church, 321 % Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and _ Travel, Europe, the North-west, G. G. Chisholm, 322 Hohere Analysis fir Ingenieure, Prof. John Perry, Prof. A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., 338 Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 340 Light for Students, Edwin Edser, 341 Mr. Balfour’s Apologetics Critically Examined, 341 La Vie des Animaux illustrée, E. Perrier, 342 Das biomechanische (neo-vitalistische) Denken in der Medizin und in der Biologie, Prof. Moritz Benedikt, 342 Monographie des Mutillides d’Europe et d’Algérie, Ernest André, 342 Publications of West Hendon House Observatory, Sunder- land, T. W. Backhouse, 343 Buttermaking on the Farm and at the Creamery, C. W. W. Tisdale and T. R. Robinson, Prof. Douglas A. Gilchrist, 343 Across Iceland, W. Bisiker, Dr. Th. Thoroddsen, 346 Electric Waves, H. M. Macdonald, F.R.S., Dr. J. Larmor, BuR-S., 362 Das Sonnwendgebirge im Unterinnthal, Ein Typus Alpinen Gebirgsbaues, Dr. Franz Wahner, 364 Index Animalium sive Index nominum que ab a.p. MbDCCLVIII generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, Societatibus Eruditorum adjuvantibus, a Carolo Davies Sherborn confectus. Sectio prima, a kalendis Januariis MpccLvii usque ad finem Decembris mpccc, Cantabrigia. E. Typographico Academico mpcccci, 395 Vergleichende chemische Physiologie der niederen Tiere, Dr. Otto von Fiirth, 366 Thermodynamique et Chimie, Lecons l'usage des Chimistes, P. Duhem, 366 Das Problem der geschlechtsbestimmenden Ursachen, Dr. M. von Lenhossék, 366 The Schoolmaster’s Yearbook for 1903, a Reference Book of Secondary Education in England and Wales, 367 The Globe Geography Readers, Vincent T. Murché, 367 The Nature Student’s Note Book, part i., Nature Notes and Diary, Rev. Canon Steward; part ii., Tables for Classification of Plants, Animals and Insects in Full Detail, Alice E. Mitchell, 367 The Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William J. S. Lockyer, 377 Die Biogen-hypothese, Prof. Max Verworn, 385 The Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance, Bart., 386 Die Grundsatze und das Wesen des Unendlichen in der Mathematik und Philosophie, Dr, Phil. Kurt Geissler, 387 Practical Physiology, A. P. Beddard, J. S. Edkins, Leonard Hill, J. J. R. Macleod and M. S. Pembrey, 388 Studies in Cartesian Philosophy, Norman Smith, 389 Die Progressive Reduktion der Variabilitat und ihre Beziehungen zum Aussterben und zur Entstehung der Arten, Daniel Rosa, 389 Steel Ships: their Construction and Maintenance, a élémentaires a Nature, June 18, 1903 Index xli Manual for Shipbuilders, Ship Superintendents, Students and Marine Engineers, Thomas Watson, 389 Elementi di Geographia Fisica Terrestre e Meteorologia, ad uso delle Scuole Classiche, Techniche, Normali ed Agrarie, Prof. Francesco Porro, 390 Bacterial Treatment of Sewage, Dr. Frank Clowes, 402 Response in the Living and Non-Living, Jagadis Chunder | Bose, 409 Secondary Batteries: their Theory, Construction and Use, E. J. Wade, Maurice Solomon, 410 Le Léman, Monographie limnologique, Prof. F. A. Forel, 411 A Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles, J. W. Taylor, 412 Interest and Education, the Doctrine of Interest and its Concrete Application, Prof. C. DeGarmo, 413 The Theory of Optics, Paul Drude, 413 Le Forze Idrauliche, Torquato Perdoni, 413 De Ether, Dr. V. A. Julius, 413 L’Etere e la Materia ponderabile, M. Barbéra, 413 Report of the Committee on Ichthyological Research, Dr. E. J. Allen, 417 The Natural History of Selborne, Gilbert White, R. Kear- ton, 419 Annals of the Kings of Assyria, E. A. Wallis Budge and L.. W. King, F.S.A.; 435 The Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity, Krauch, C. Simmonds, 436 ee book of Electrochemistry, Sv fapte Arrhenius, 43 A Manual of Indian Timbers, T. S. Gamble, F.R.S., "437 Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht ae biologischen Blatt- typen von ein und sechzig Siphonogamenfamilien, Prof. Dr. A. Hansgirg, 438 The Lepidoptera of the British Islands, a Descriptive Account of the Families, Genera, and Species Indi- genous to Great Britain and Ireland, their Preparatory States, Habits and Localities, Charles G. Barrett, 438 The Design of Simple Roof Trusses in Wood and Steel, M. A. Howe, 439 Stereotomy, A. W. French and H. C. Ives, 439 Round the Horn before the Mast, A. Basil Lubbock, Principles of Economics, Dr. N. G. Pierson, 457 Sewage Works Analysis, Gilbert J. Fowler, 457 Lehrbuch der Zoologie, Dr. Alexander Goelte, 459 The Analysis of Oils and Allied Substances, A. C. Wright, 460 Opere di Galileo Ferraris, 460 A Text-book of Field Astronomy for Engineers, G. C. Comstock, 460 A New Student’s Atlas of English History, 461 The Rational Memory, W. H. Groves, 461 Real Things in Nature, a Reading Book of Science for American Boys and Girls, Edward S. Holden, 461 Castology : a View of the Oolite Period and Earliest Man, J. Craven Thomas, 461 The New Forest, its Traditions, Inhabitants and Customs, Rose C. de Crespigny and Horace Hutchinson, 461 Volcanic Studies in Many Lands: being Reproductions of Photographs by the Author of above One Hundred Actual Objects, with Explanatory Notices, Tempest Anderson, 464 Sphezra; neue griechische Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Sternbilder, Franz Boll, 481 Traité de Sylviculture, Principales Essences Forestiéres, Prof. P. Mouillefert, Prof. W. R. Fisher, 482 The Art of Illumination, Louis Bell, 483 Drwics 439 Emil Reich, Methods and Theory of Physiological Histolorv, Gustav Mann, 484 The Figures, Facts, and Formule of Photography, 484 US. Department of Agriculture, Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, 485 Theoretical Organic Chemistry, J. B. Cohen, 485 Nature SieGhes | (Plant Life), G. F. Scott Elliot, 486 Das Objectiv im Dienste der Photographie, Dr. E. Holm, 486 Across Coveted Lands, A. H. Savage Landor, 489 On Lead Poisoning and Water Supplies, Dr. Houston, 498 Encyclopedia Britannica, 505 Goleta Explorations in Central Borneo (aBqn—-o8): Dr. . F. Molengraaff, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 506 Verhandlungen der deutschen zoologischen Gesellschaft, xii. Versammlung, Giessen, 1902, Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, 507 Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal, Prof. William H. Burr, 508 An Account of the Indian Triaxonia, Collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator, Franz Eilhard Schulze, 509 The Ventilation, Heating and Management of Churches and Public Buildings, J. W. Thomas, 510 Practical Exercises in Heat, E. S. A. Robson, 510 ““ The Amateur Photographer ”’ Library, No. 25, Enlarge- ments : their Production and Finish, G. Rodwell Smith, No. 26, Bromide Printing, Rev. F. ©. Lambert, 510 Natural Law in Terrestrial Phenomena, Wm. Digby, 510 Bis an’s Ende der Welt! Prof. F. J. Studnitka, 511 Die Radioactiven Stoffe nach dem gegenwartigen Stande der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnis, Karl Hofmann, 511 Carnet de Notes d’un Voyageur en France, A. C. Poiré, 511 Malaria in India, Captain S. P. James, Dr. M. H. Gordon, 513 In the Andamans and Nicobars, C. Boden Kloss, 514 A Research on the Eucalypts Especially in Regard to their Essential Oils, R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith, Dr. T. A. Henry, 524 Eucalypts Cultivated in the United States, A. J. McClatchie, Dr. T. A. Henry, 524 More Letters of Charles Darwin, Prof. T. G. Bonney, 529 Grundrisz der Mineralogie und Geologie, zum Gebrauch beim Unterricht an hoheren Lehranstalten sowie zum Selbstunterricht, Prof. Dr. Bernard Schwalbe, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 530 Opinions et Curiosités touchant la Mathématique, Georges Maupin, 531 Grundztige der astronomisch-geographischen Ortsbestim- mung auf Forschungsreisen, Prof. Dr. Paul Gussfeld, Major C. F. Close, 532 The Tutorial Physics, Higher Text-book of Heat, R. Wallace Stewart, 533 Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbelthiere, Wiedersheim, 533 Nature and the Camera, A. Radclyffe Dugmore, 534 The Twentieth Century Atlas of Popular Astronomy, Thomas Heath, 534 Official Report of the Nature Study Exhibition and Con- ferences, August, 1902, 534 Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Monologen—Kritische Aus- gabe—Mit Einleitung, Bibliographie und Index, Fried- rich Michael Schiele, 534 Mycology of the Mouth, Kenneth W. Goadby, 534 Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzenreiches, Dr. Julius Wiesner, Prof. Henry G. Greenish, 553 A Manual of Medicine, W. H. Allchin, 554 Diseases of the Organs of Respiration, Samuel West, 554 Memoirs of the Geological Survey, United Kingdom : the Geology of the Isle of Man, G. W. Lamplugh, 555 Rapports présentés au Congrés international de Physique réuni a Paris en 1900, 556 Grundriss der qualitativen Analyse, vom Standpunkte der Lehre von den Ionen, Dr. Wilh. Bottger, 557 A Treatise on Roads and Pavements, Ira Osborn Baker, Dr. Robert 557 International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, 557 Der echte Hausschwamm und andere das _ Bauholz zerstorende Pilze, Dr. R. Hertwig, 5=7 How to Work Arithmetic, Leonard Norman, 558 Untersuchungen tber den Lichtwechsel Algols, 558 My Nature Notebook, E. Kay Robinson, 558 The Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes, Berthold Laufer, Prof. Alfred C. Haddon, F.R.S., 560 Flora of the Galapagos Islands, B. L. Robinson, W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., 561 The Natural History of Animals; the Animal Life of the World in its Various Aspects and Relations, J. R. A. Davis, 562 Hope Reports, 572 Practical Exercises in Geometry, son, 577 Geometry : an Elementary Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Euclid, S. O. Andrew, J. Harrison, 577 W. D. Eggar, J. Harri- xii Index Fs Nature, llyzexe 18, 1903 Theoretical Geometry for Beginners, J. Harrison, 577 Elementary Geometry, W. M. Baker and A. A. Bourne, J. Harrison, 577 The Elements of Geometry, Fletcher, J. Harrison, 577 Plane Geometry, Adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teach- ing, T. Petch, J. Harrison, 577 Euclid: Books v., vi., xi., Rupert Deakin, J. Harrison, R. Lachlan and W. C. eye A Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra, H. S. Hall, J. Harrison, 577 Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks Based on Chemical and: Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, Whitman Cross, Joseph P. Iddings, Louis V. Pirsson and Henry S. Washington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 578 Die Grundgesetze der Wechselstromtechnik, Dr. Gustav Benischke, 580 The Principles of Dyeing, G. S. Fraps, 581 Annali della Regia Scuola Superiore di Agricoltura di Portici, 582 La Telegrafia senza Filo, Augusto Righi and Bernardo Dessau, 582 Catalogue of the Collection of Palzarctic Butterflies Formed by the late John Henry Leech, Richard South, 58 Bacteria in Daily Life, Mrs. Percy Frankland, 583 Meridian Observations for Stellar Parallax, A:oert S. Flint, 594 Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 594 The Thermodynamics of Heat Engines, Sidney A. Reeve, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 602 Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbelthiere, mit Beriick- sichtigung der Wirbellosen, Carl Gegenbaur, Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S., 605 ; log (x—2) +... + Om[log(x—a)]™ where qy, $y, - - - @m are one-valued functions not infinite at a. These equations are called by Prof. Forsyth “equations of Fuchsian type.” The equation of the hypergeometric series is of this type, and is remarkable as being the only one, of order higher than the first, which is completely determined when the positions of the critical points and the indices associated with them are assigned. An equation of Fuchsian type may have one or more algebraic integrals. If all the integrals are algebraic, the group of the equation must be finite; so here we have a most unexpected concurrence of two apparently disconnected theories. A very interesting problem is that of determining linear equations the groups of which are isomorphic with known finite groups ; another is that of finding out whether a given equation has any algebraic integrals. All the foregoing theory is discussed and illustrated by Prof. Forsyth in a very attractive and lucid manner ; thus chapter i. deals with the existence of a synectic ntegral near an ordinary point and sets of independent integrals ; chapter ii. with the expansions near a critical point and with Hamburger’s method of grouping them; chapter iii. with regular integrals; chapter iv. with equations of Fuchsian type; and chapter v. with equa- tions of the second and third orders possessing algebraic integrals. Illustrations are supplied by the familiar equations of mathematical physics, by the equation of the elliptic quarter-period, and by that of the hyper- geometric series. It is delightful to see how the dis- cussion of these equations is illuminated by the general theory. After a chapter on equations w th only some of their integrals regular, we come to the consideration of integrals with essential singularities. The most familiar example ofa function with an essential singularity at a finite place is exp (21), which is the integral of a2y’+y=0; and it is easy to see that if P is any polynomial in a2—}, the expression expP has an essential singularity and satisfies a linear equation of the first order. Suppose now that we find that a given equation has an integral with an essential singularity at the origin ; it may be possible to express it in the form expP.a?y(x), where p is constant and (x) holomorphic. Such an integral has been called “normal”; the discussion of these integrals, and others obtained by putting +1/' for ¥, is given in chapter vii., which contains important results due to Thomé, Hamburger, Poincaré and others. There is also a brief account of “double-loop integrals” after Jordan and Pochhammer, and of Poincaré’s theory of asymptotic integrals. In his paper on the motion of the moon, Hill was led to the solution of a linear equation by a method in- volving the use of infinite determinants. In chapter viii. Prof. Forsyth discusses this method in some detail, after giving a preliminary account of infinite determinants and their properties. The subject of this chapter is not very attractive in itself, but on account of its practical NO. 1723, VOL. 67] importance has naturally attracted a good deal of attention. Chapter ix. deals with equations with uniform periodic coefficients, and gives an account of this part of the subject which ought to encourage young mathematicians to read the original sources and experiment on their own account. It is, of course, the equations with doubly periodic coefficients that are most interesting. Thanks principally to Hermite, Halphen and Picard, some ex- tremely beautiful results have been already obtained in this field, and there can be no doubt that others are awaiting discovery. The last chapter of this volume, on equations with algebraic coefficients, must have been very difficult to write, and appeals mainly to the specialist. Its principal topic is Poincaré’s celebrated theorem that the integrals of any linear equation with algebraic coefficients can be expressed by means of Fuchsian and Zetafuchsian functions. As Prof. Forsyth justly remarks, we cannot hope to make practical use of Poincaré’s theorem until the analysis of automorphic functions has reached a higher state of development. To this end the treatise by Klein and Fricke, now in course of publication, will doubtless contribute largely. In conclusion, it may be well to remark that this volume is in great measure independent of its prede- cessors, and that a great part of it will be quite intelligible to junior mathematicians provided that they know the elements of the theory of a complex variable. To them, therefore, as well as to their seniors, this book may be heartily commended. G. B. M. SCIENTIFIC PS YVCHOLOGY. Grundziige der physiologischen Psychologie. helm Wundt. Erster Band. mann, 1902.) HIS volume of 553 pages is the first of the three volumes in which the fifth edition of Prof. Wundt’s great work is to appear. The rapid increase in size of the work in each of the successive editions is thus main- tained in the present one, and, as in the case of the previous editions, has been necessitated by the rapidity of the growth of the youngest of the natural sciences, experimental or, as Prof. Wundt prefers to call it, physiological psychology. And even the increase in bulk of this book does not by any means fully express the rate of growth of the science, a growth towards which this country has contributed so lamentably little. For the book is primarily a record of the work and the views of the author and of his pupils in the great Leipzig school. Nevertheless, Prof. Wundt has found it necessary to rewrite almost the whole of the book, so that, as he tells us, it must be regarded as almost a new one. The greater part of this first volume is concerned with matters not strictly psychological, but rather with those studies which form an essential part of the equipment of the psychologist, namely, the fine and coarse anatomy, the embryology and the physiology of nervous tissues, both special and comparative. It is, perhaps, open to question whether it is wise to attempt to treat so vast a range of subjects in the scope of a single volume. For Von Wil- Funfte vollig umgearbeitete Auflage. Pp. xv +553. (Leipzig: W. Engel- Price ros. net. NoveEMBER 6, 1902] NATURE 3 the psychologist may be tempted to content himself with the cursory review that is alone possible in such a work. It should certainly be possible nowadays for the writer on psychology to assume. on the part of his readers a competent knowledge of the gross anatomy of the nervous system and of the principles of the conservation of energy. (In the anatomical section occurs an error that is, perhaps, of the nature of a slip. In Fig. 79 and in the accompanying text the uncrossed fibres of the optic nerves are represented as going to the nasal sides of the retin. Now although v. Kolliker and others still main- tain that the decussation of the optic nerve-fibres in the chiasma is complete, and although there is some ground for believing that there occur considerable individual variations in the proportion of crossed and uncrossed fibres, yet all authorities agree that the uncrossed fibres go tothe temporal sides of the retina.) The propriety of including an account of the general physiology of nerves is less open to question, the less so as Prof. Wundt is here on his own ground and can speak with authority. In this section Wundt makes a timely protest against the uncritical acceptance and wholesale application of Hering’s doctrine of assimilation and dis- similation now so common among physiologists, and yet he teaches somewhat dogmatically a view that differs but little from the one he rejects. He too groups together under the term “inhibition” (Hemmung) all phenomena to which it can in any sense be applied, and assumes that one and allare manifestations of constructive metabolic processes, thus affording one more instance of the fact that the study of logic cannot prevent a man forming illogical conclusions. It cannot be too frequently pointed out that we have no evidence of active inhibitory processes within the nervous system and that all the numerous cases of “inhibition” may, and in the present state of knowledge should, be regarded as cases of interference or prevention only. Wundt goes so far as to assume a differentiation of the bodies of nerve-cells into two parts, the anabolic inhibitory and the katabolic augmentor parts, and applies this hypothesis to the explanation of the valve-like nature of the paths of the spinal cord. But although the hypothesis seems to have been devised in order to explain this phenomenon, it is not by any means clear that it can be made to do so. The discussions of the functions of the cortex and especially of the “ speech-centres ” are admirably thorough and suggestive, and here Wundt gives a great develop- ment to the conception of a “‘brain-centre.” It is, perhaps, to be regretted that he retains the term “centre,” for it properly expresses a crude conception of which the period of usefulness is now at an end. In treating of the fundamental constituents of psychical processes, Wundt distinguishes two fundamental kinds of psychical element, the sensations and the feelings (Emp- findungen und Gefiihle), the former including all those that have an objective reference and that are determined directly or indirectly by stimulation of sensory nerve- endings both within and on the surface of the body, the latter being the purely subjective elements. Com- pounded of sensations is the presentation (Vorstellung) and of feelings the emotion (Gemiithsbewegung). Wundt thus sets aside the old distinction of sensation and idea as that which is excited from without and from NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | within respectively, asserting that the distinction is purely logical and not at all psychological. Though we may admit that Wundt’s use of the terms is a convenient one, yet it is impossible to follow him in denying the psychological character of the distinction usually made by English authors, or to admit his claim that the occurrence of hallucinations, which are purely patho- logical states, necessitates this denial. If the distinction were not psychologically valid, if we did not immediately recognise in the presentation the peculiar quality of reality that distinguishes it from the representation, the term hallucination would have no meaning. Perhaps the most interesting part of the volume is the discussion of the ‘law of specific nervous energies.” This principle Wundt would replace by one which he declares to be directly opposed to it, and which he de- scribes as “the principle of the adaptation of the sensory functions to the stimulus and of the sensory apparatus to the functions.” This is based upon and assumes the truth of the following principles: that of the original similarity of function of all nerve-elements, which Wundt establishes by tracing in a most interesting manner the differentiation of the various senses from the general sen- sibility of the amceba upwards; the principle of the adaptation of nerve-elements through use or habituation ; and the possibility, which we seem compelled to assume in some cases, that nerve-elements may come gradually to discharge the functions of others when those others are in any way rendered incapable of functioning. Now, admitting that the “law of specific nervous energies,” as set up by Johannes Miiller and by Helmholtz, is not in any sense an explanatory principle, but merely a részmé of a large group of facts, and admitting that it demands genetic treatment such as Wundt supplies, yet it is not possible to admit that even the most complete account of the evolution of the specific differentiations of sense can abolish the truths of which this “law” is the summary expression ; to account for the origin of a thing or belief is not necessarily to explain it away. The fact remains that any specialised nerve of sense, when subjected to stimuli whether normal or abnormal, leads only to the kind of affection of consciousness peculiar to that sense. Wundt’s account of the adaptations of the senses to stimuli is admirable and no doubt true so far as it goes, but it is far from being a complete explanation of the genesis of the specific functions. Reducing the problem to its simplest terms, suppose a primitive sense-organ to be affected in the same way by two classes of stimuli, say two rates of vibra- tion of the circumjacent medium—and then suppose that either rate of vibration comes in the course of evo- lution to determine a differentiation of one part of the nerves of the organ, so that one set of nerves comes to respond in one way tothe one vibration-rate only and the other set in another way to the other (or that all the nerves come to respond in two distinct ways), and sup- pose the difference of response to consist in a difference in rate of vibration of the substance of the nerves, or in a difference of propagated chemical changes. Up to this point we may accept Wundt’s account of the differ- entiation-process as adequate. But when we inquire— How comes it that the soul reacts to these two vibration- rates (or two kinds of chemical change) with two different 4 NATURE [ NovEMBER 6, 1902 qualities of sensation? then we find ourselves still completely in the dark. Wundt himself seems to have felt this inadequacy and to have introduced in conse- quence towards the close of his exposition a new factor, the “entgegen kommende Triebe des empfindenden Wesen.” This introduction of the “ feeling being ” amounts, it would seem, tonothing more than an admission of our ignor- ance. And indeed we have here reached the very kernel of the problem of life, of that mystery of the relations of soul and body which has vexed the thinkers of all ages, of that “master knot of human fate” of which the Persian poet wrote eight hundred years ago “« There was the door to which I found no key, There was the veil through which I might not see.” And these words remain equally true to-day, in spite of the splendid labours of Johannes Miiller, of Fechner, of Wundt and of many others. It is interesting to note that Wundt assumes the principle of the inheritance of acquired characters as absolutely necessary to the explanation of the evolution of the nervous system, and that in this he is in agreement with most of the psychologists who have considered the problem. For the principle of natural selection, which is so satisfactory when we are dealing with the neck of the giraffe or the protective colouring of a butterfly, seems hopelessly inadequate when we have to account for those million-fold coordinated details of nervous disposi- tion which together determine in large part, if not wholly, the tendencies and character of a human being. In the last section Wundt deals with Weber's law and maintains his well-known psychological interpretation of it, in opposition to the now very generally accepted physiological interpretation. The attention of English readers may be called to the novel and ingenious ex- planation suggested by Heymans in the Zettschrift fiir Psychologie, Bd. 26. W. McD. THE MODERN DYNAMO. The Generators of Electricity at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. By-C. F. Guilbert. Pp. iv + 766. (Paris: C. Naud, 1902.) Price 30 fr. HERE were probably few who went to the Paris Exhibition two years ago who did not pay a visit to the Palais d’Electricité ; and no one who did so can have failed to have been impressed by the enormous size of the electric generators exhibited there. We even know of feminine sightseers, on pleasure bent, sparing a few hours from the fascinating display of M. Worth to look at, and possibly learn a little about, the “ purrin’ dynamos.” The massive grandeur of these magnificent machines, examples of the best design and workmanship of all nations; the complicated nature of their parts working in perfect harmony and smoothness, and obedient to the control of one or two men ; their spotless cleanliness and the impression of reserved power which they conveyed ; all these must have moved even the most matter-of-fact observer into sympathy with the ideas which inspired Mr. Kipling to write “ M‘Andrew’s Hymn.” Sucha collection merited the permanent record which it has obtained in the pages of M. Guilbert’s book. Something of the spirit of the machines which he de- scribes seems to have entered into the author, for his NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | book, like the dynamos, is very large. There are nearly 800 pages, with, to use the author’s own words, “615 en- gravings and plans, of which 118 plates.” M. Guilbert has adopted a somewhat novel plan with the laudable desire of making his book attractive to foreign readers. The title pages and preface are in the language of the country in which the copy is to be sold ; the chapter and section headings, the descriptions of the illustrations and the tables, are given in French, German and English. We rather doubt the wisdom of this innovation, since it increases the size of a volume already bulky, and still the most important part, the text, remains only in French. The result of the translation, too, is apt at times to be rather humorous, as, for example, when the author translates xészé (which the mere Englishman is content to use in the original French) into a non-existent English equivalent. Criticism of a book of this kind is almost out of the question. M. Guilbert begins by describing the system of classification which he has adopted, and then, taking each division in turn, gives a more or less detailed description of the principal exhibits which come within it. Photographs of the generators and clearly executed diagrams of the whole machine or of important details greatly help out the letterpress. The book is therefore, in a way, like a descriptive catalogue, but it is one which gives a large amount of very valuable information, and M. Guilbert deserves great credit for the painstaking way in which he has collected and the clear manner in which he has arranged the data supplied by the manu- facturers. It may be objected that the work is two years out of date and that the machines of 1900 are almost ready for the scrap heap in 1902. But rapid as the advance of electrical engineering is, there are few engineers who will not benefit to-day by the careful study of what was best two years ago, especially as it is the best, not of one country only, but of all countries ; there will be many also interested in the design and improvement of electric generators who will desire to possess this book, even though it should become in the course of a few years of historical interest only. As we turn over the pages of M. Guilbert’s book, we find difficulty in selecting any particular machine for special notice. As the most noticeable feature in dynamo development in recent years has been the steadily increasing size of the unit, we may perhaps be pardoned if we pick out one of the largest machines exhibited at Paris. The Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft ex- hibited a three-phase alternator of 4000 h.p. The output of this machine was 3000 kilovolt-amperes with a power factor of o'9, making 2700 kilowatts. This alternator is one of a set of twenty-two, eight of which are already installed at the Berlin Electricity Works, the remaining thirteen being under construction. To bring this machine to Paris and to erect it in the German annexe, where there was no travelling crane, was a work of no small difficulty. The total weight was 160 tons, the armature frame weighing 80 and the field magnet 70 tons, the remaining 10 tons being due to the bedplate. The armature and field magnet were brought to the exhibi- tion in quarters, each quarter being carried mounted between two railway trucks in the position most suited NoveEMBER 6, 1902 | NATURE 5 for its subsequent erection. The whole work of erection was successfully completed in three weeks. The A.E.G. alternator was not in actual operation a Paris, but was rotated for exhibition purposes by a small motor. An equally large generating set was exhibited by the Helios Company, driven by a triple-expansion engine and used for the lighting of the exhibition. This machine was of special design, as the makers desired to satisfy the requirements of the exhibition authorities and also to make the alternator suitable for subsequent disposal for other purposes. Another alternator of special interest was that exhibited by the Société ’Eclairage Electrique which generated at 30,000 volts. This was designed more as an experimental machine, to show the possibility of directly generating at very high pressure and so dis- pensing with step-up transformers. The alternator had only an output of 180 k.v.-a. It is interesting in this con- nection to recall that last February Messrs. Schuchert and Co. completed three 1500 kw. three-phase alternators generating at 20,000 volts, for supplying power to the Valtellina Railway. M. Guilbert has collected together all the chief data of the various machines in ten tables as an appendix at the end of the book. There is also given as an appendix a series of twenty oscillograph curves showing the poten- tial wave-forms of a number of the alternators. These, which were taken by means of M. Blondel’s oscillo- graph, though very interesting, are hardly accompanied by sufficient data to make them of great value. A casual inspection is, however, sufficient to show that, as M. Guilbert remarks, much progress remains to be made in the construction of alternators before a practically sinu- soidal potential-curve is obtained. Yet though much remains to be done, much has already been accomplished, and the manufacturer of the modern dynamo has nothing of whichto beashamed. His machines are efficient, and he has shown that he is capable of making them of a size suitable to the ever-increasing requirements, and there can be little doubt that when the time arrives he will be able to meet still greater demands. It is not likely to be long before these are made, especially for generators for traction work. But a year or two ago the Westinghouse Company built two 2700 kw. generators for the Boston Elevated Railway ; one is inclined to ask what the size of the units will be when, say, the London and North-Western or the Canadian Pacific Railway is run electrically. We can only hope that it will not be long before an answer has to be given to his question ; that our progress in the future will be as rapid and as sound as it has been in the past; and that the next seventy years will be as full of development and improve- ment as have been the seventy which have passed since Faraday “did not despair of being able to construct a new electrical machine.” M.S. OUR BOOK SHELF. Thirteenth Annual Report of the Local Government Board, 1900-1. Supplement containing the Report of the Medical Officer for 1900-1. (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1902.) THE scientific memoirs contained in this volume are of considerable interest. Drs. Klein and Houston have investigated the behaviour of pathogenic organisms NO. 1723, VOL. 67| when inoculated upon various farinaceous media, and conclude that the likelihood of infection of the human subject from such source is probably remote. A number of food-stuffs were similarly examined by Dr. Klein for the presence of pathogenic organisms, with the result that none was found. Dr. Gordon has continued his studies upon the bacteriology of scarlatina, and he adduces further proof that the Strep/ococcus scarlatinae is a species distinct from other streptococci and that it may be the causative organism of this disease. Two papers are concerned with the behaviour of micro-organisms when inoculated into the soil. In the first, Dr. Houston inoculated soil with crude sewage, and found that on the whole the soil-microbes ousted the sewage ones and that the addition of sewage to soil resulted in a temporary increase only of the sewage microbes. In the second, Dr. Sidney Martin has continued his work upon the nature of the antagonism of the soil to the typhoid bacillus ; this organism survives but a short time in the soil, being destroyed by the products of the putrefactive bacteria which exist therein. Dr. Klein also reports on the infection of cockles and mussels with the typhoid and cholera microbes, and shows that these organisms may persist in the interior of the molluscs for some time after the source of infection has been removed. The importance of rats in the dissemination of plague has induced Dr. Haldane to devise an apparatus for gener- ating carbonic oxide gas for destroying these pests in plague-infected ships. This is described and some expe- riments with it are detailed. There is also an interesting report upon research work in connection with glycerinated vaccine lymph. The volume concludes with a number of well-executed photographs illustrating the various papers. R. T. HEWLETT. The Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire. By J. F. Robinson. Pp. vii + 253. (London: A. Brown and Sons.) Price 7s. 6d. THE “Flora of the North Riding of Yorkshire,” compiled by Mr. J. G. Baker so long ago as 1863, furnishes a delightful account of the plants and the plant-associa- tions of that division. Dr. F. A. Lees is responsible for a “Flora of the West Riding” which is equally successful. The present work, therefore, fills up an important gap and completes the botanical survey of the county. The enumeration of plants is preceded by a historical review of earlier compilations and a series of sketches referring to the physiography, meteorology and plant distribution of the district. These, taken in combination with the geological map, add greatly to the interest of the book. At the same time, these chapters seem capable of some improvement. The physiographical chapter brings out very clearly the interesting features of the division, the ancient lake-area now represented by a single lake and patches of marsh in the plain of Holderness, the estuary of the Humber, the Cretaceous formation of the Wolds and the mixed character of the deposits in Derwent-land. But the ecological chapter suffers by being too con- densed, and “xerophiles,’ ‘‘ pelophiles,” ‘arenophiles ” are tumbling over one another. The contrast of “ xero- philes” and “pelophiles” on pp. 35, 39, represents a confusion of terms. A more detailed and localised account of the plant forms on the different alluvial deposits and an extension of the very brief indication of successive littoral colonies, as well as fuller descriptions of other local formations, might well be given, and the extra space could be more than gained bya less generous use of type and spacing in the flora proper. In the enumeration of plants, the author and his colleagues have endeavoured to sift out the aliens which are especially abundant round Hull Docks, and also the recorded localities have received personal confirmation as far as possible. The author and the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Club deserve the thanks of botanists for a 6 NATURE | NOVEMBER 6, 1902 compilation which represents much hard work and which will serve to stimulate interest in that division of the county, inasmuch as it indicates a somewhat unexpected wealth and variety of plant forms. Mr. J. J. Marshall has furnished a list of the mosses of the Riding. A Revolution in the Science of Cosmology. By George Campbell. Pp. 210. (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., Ltd., 1902.) IN spite of the authors description of himself as “a professor and teacher of the natural sciences for many years,” this attempt to revise the generally accepted theory of planetary evolution shows a very imperfect acquaintance with scientific principles. The leading idea is that the earth was never ina molten condition, but is now undergoing the process of fusion in consequence of the pressure of the external strata on the interior mass. The sun also is declared to have once been an opaque body, and to represent more or less what the earth and other planets will become. In this connection it is only necessary to point out that while a gaseous mass con- tracting under the influence of its own gravity will rise in temperature, there is no ground for extending this principle to masses which are liquid or solid. Among the other unacceptable ideas met with is that which accounts fora prehistoric change in the polar climate by supposing that the North Pole of the earth was “suddenly” turned from the sun and remained in that position for ages, having ceased for the time being to rotate on its axis (pp. 35 and 140). Again, on p. 64, speaking of the Whirlpool nebula, it is stated that ‘the violent agitation of the mass must result in a very low temperature,” whereas a high temperature would be expected. The author appears to have a vague idea that elec- tricity plays an important part in the development of worlds, and that “atoms of interstellar space” repre- sent the primary state of all matter, but he makes no contribution of value to the subject. The Religuary and Illustrated Archaeologist, Edited by J. Romilly Allen. Vol. viii. Pp. 287. (London: Bemrose and Sons, Ltd., 1902.) Price 12s. net. STUDENTS of any branch of archzeology will find some- thing to interest them in this volume. The periodical, of which the numbers issued during the present year are included in the volume, is ‘‘a quarterly journal and review devoted to the study of the early pagan and Christian antiquities of Great Britain ; medizeval archi- tecture and ecclesiology ; the development of the arts and industries of man in the pastages ; and the survivals of ancient usages and appliances in the present.” Notes on interesting and important papers contributed to some of the separate numbers of the Re/iguary have already appeared in these columns, so that it is only necessary to say here that the eighth volume, with its numerous, well-produced illustrations, would make a handsome addition to the library of the student of antiquities. Earth and Sky. A Second and Third Grade Nature Reader and Text-Book. By. J. H. Stickney. Pp. vill + 118. (Boston, U.S.A.,and London: Ginn and Co., 1902.) Price 1s. 6d. THIs is a reading book for young children. Its object is, the author says in his preface, “ to bring before chil- dren’s minds their own relation to the natural world in such a way as to appeal to imagination and reflection.” The lessons will probably prove interesting to those for whom they are intended, but they do not sufficiently en- courage the child’s own activity. It is not enough to tell young pupils about natural objects ; they should be en- couraged to observe for themselves, instead of being content with the descriptions of others. NO. 1723, VOL. 67] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | The Waste of Energy from a Moving Electron. THE subject of the dynamics of a moving charge being of considerable interest now, I have thought the following may be useful. I have shown that a charge Q on a sphere of radius A, when suddenly jerkedinto motion at speed z, generates a spherical electromagnetic shell of depth 2A, in which the magnetic force H tends to the value given by ‘ ; 2 2 sin 0 (1) , u I —=cos/é when R, the distance from the initial centre of Q, is great. Along with this H, we have perpendicular electric force in the shell, according to E=uvH, or vectorially, E= VvB, if v is the vector velocity of the shell. The angle @ is that between u and R. The energy wasted by this shell equals the energy left behind, that is, U-U,+T, if Up is the initial, U the final electric energy in the field, and T the final magnetic field energy. On its first formation, H and E in the shell are different ; they then include in accumulated form all the H and E whichare left behind by the shell as itexpands. The applied force impulse follows from my formula for the force on the ether, viz. F=(a/dt)VDB per unit volume. Denoting the time integral by M, then M=M,+M,, where M, belongs to the shell ultimately, and is lost, whilst M, is left behind in the field. We have T=3M,z and U—-U,)=4My.z ; so that altogether 4Mu=U —-U,+T. Both M, and M, are parallel to u. If, now, a second impulse acts, changing the velocity from wy, tou, say, another spherical shell is generated. Disregarding the part left behind, (1) above shows that the magnetic force in it is 2AH= 2 ( Ba Tee ) (3) I Us ear 4amR\, ta cos@ 1-—-!cos @ v (2) when the direction does not change. More generally, substitute the vector change in the quantity on the right side of (1) properly vectorised. Then the change in @ will be allowed for as well. The energy lost in this second shell may be calculated by (3). It amounts to {ee amar - He) —p, la, (4) Uy — Uy v" J where P is the potential function aol (1+2 a i ) rere ; ae Ga a (5) investigated by Searle and Morton. Take “=o, w and w, to obtain P,, Py, Pp. It may be shown that the substitution of two impulsive changes in the same direction for a single one reduces the waste ; that is, the one impulse 2. wastes more energy than the two successive impulses 2, and 2. —2,. In fact, the saving is great, and ten equal partial impulses in succession waste not much more than one-tenth part of that wasted by a single impulse of , size equal to their sum. There is a residuum, however, and that is what appears as continuous waste when z varies continuously. When Az is small a/NSt= OF sin 6 Au > 2 ? unk. ( 1-~ cos 0) and now the waste of energy in the shell wave corresponding to Av is 127A u>\* (7-9) ae The magnetic force in the above shells is uniform in the depth of the shell, when the impulse acts strictly at the front of a shell. (6) (7) NoveMBER 6, 1902] NATURE 7 But if Az be distributed uniformly over the time 2A/v, the shell will be doubled in depth, and H will rise at uniform rate from 0 to the same full value in the middle of the shell and then fall similarly to zero in the second half. Now if a second Etta a acts in the same way, beginning as soon as the first Az has made H reach full strength, H will continue of that full strength. And soon witha third Aw. Finally, it 2A=vAt, and Az/A‘is steady, and allowing for the variable depth of the shell according to (11) below, we come to = Ae: (ae I 6mv \Ad (8) ); I uw? \3 La Or, if W is the rate of Ie ee esta 6rv\ at ( = 1" )) v" This holds when the acceleration and the velocity are parallel. By the manner of construction, it is necessary that dz/d¢ should not vary sensibly in the time taken by light to traverse the diameter 2A. to represent the waste in time Ad. waste (9) By a fuller analysis, allowing for change of direction of motion, | I find that the waste of energy per second from a charge ( with | velocity u and acceleration a is (10) when 0, is the angle between the velocity and acceleration (absolute). The dimension A does not appear. W is the same for any size, subject to the restriction mentioned. The smaller A the better, of course, It is exactly true with A=o, only then the motion would be impossible. This calculation of the waste may be confirmed by following up my investigation of the electric and magnetic field by the | method I gave in 1889 (‘‘ Elec. Pa.,” vol. ii. p. 504). The waste is greatest when the velocity and acceleration are parallel, and least when perpendicular. There is another reserv- ation, viz. 2 must be less than v. If not, special treatment is required, after the manner I have already published. _The meaning of waste is this. When Q moves through the distance zd, it casts off a spherical shell of depth vat ( ea II) 1 — cose v and the energy of this shell when it has gone out to an infinite distance is Wa. When at a finite distance, E and H in this elementary shell are given by E=E,+E, H=H,+H,, H,=VuD,, H,=VvD,, (12) u xo) R-ZR E, anR%c ( ii (13) I —=—cos 6 u R ——R)cos ¢! 25D [ 2 z ( v ) E,= — —— = | * (14) u 3 (: — — cos °) Here the part E,, H, belongs to the steady travelling state of steady u, whilst the other part E,,H, is electromagnetic, and represents the waste. Theangle between the acceleration a and R is ¢!. The waste part has B,,H. tangential, that is, perpendicular to R. H, is also tangential to the sphere, but E, is radially directed from the point which Q would reach at the moment in question (belonging to the sphere R) if it were not accelerated at all. This means the steady travelling state (see ‘‘ El. Pa.,” vol. ii. p. 511, equation 29). There is another way of treating the question, viz. by the vector and scalar potentials. The vector potential of the impressed current Qu is not Qu/47R, but (doc. czt.) Qu A= > “u gR(1 — 7 608 a) NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | (15) This is referred to origin at the virtual position of the charge, not the actual. The actual is best for the steady state, the virtual to show the wavesemitted. The factor (1 — w/v cos @)~} expresses the Doppler effect. Divide by uc to obtain the scalar potential 6. Then : H=curl A, E=-wA-ve in Maxwell’s manner. The trouble here is the differentiations, which require great care, since u, R and @ all vary in a rather complicated way as moves. The relations (12) exhibit the field clearly. For an infinitely small sphere of Q, the energies in the shell at distance R corresponding to the displacement zd¢ of Q are T=7T, +1,+2T , U=U,+U24+2Uj, where , relates to the B,H, partand to the other part, whilst y» refers to the mutual energy. They are connected thus : Q?udt U,=T2, Uy=Ty, Ui=T, + — (16) 8rR%c O2xdt u2/v2 #Q?a udt cos 0 t= — Bee Lapis : 1 jJarR’c x2” 1arR ieee , Ts 29 O222, To 352) Sy T.- PQA Gua eae (18) I27v Ke where K2=1 — w/v. The corresponding ‘‘ momenta,” or force-impulses, say | M,=3VD,B,, M,=3VD,_B,, M),==VD,B,, M,,=VD,B,, are | given by 2T.u My, = Sn tats we 2T).u ee a= (19) These are all parallel to u. But M,, is not, though it is in the plane of u and a. Its components parallel to u and to a are 2 Cea I — >> sin’6, cos 6; ~ (20) With the previous restriction, these are independent of the size of the sphere of Q. But to obtain exact formulze without this restriction, either a very difficult integration must be effected over the surface of the sphere of Q, every element of which will usually have (effectively) a different velocity and acceleration, on account of the Doppler effect, or we may derive the resulting formule by a differentiating operator. Thus, for example, exhibiting it for @ only, let ) be the formula when A=0, then the real @ is, by a previous investigation, shin gA 5 = qa 09 (21) outside the sphere, and , ¢ = shinigr Poa, (22) gr inside the sphere, where ¢ is the differentiator d/d(v4) and os is the common value of both #’sat R=A. But this 4 is not the same as the previous ¢; it is the corresponding value ; the place where the differentiations are performed is at the end of R. The differentiations are troublesome. Thirdly, we may calculate the time integral of #), and then apply Taylor's theorem. Nearly all the trouble in the electronic theory is connected with the necessity of making A finite to have finite energy (though this does not apply to the waste) and finite moving forces, ‘with the consequent resulting two superposed waves, one outward from the surface of Q, the other inward, and then outward again. The results for impulses work out easily enough, but not for continuous accelerations. Details of the above will be published in vol. iii. of ‘* Electro- magnetic Theory” (and perhaps elsewhere), which is, as the advertisement says, ‘‘in preparation.” Returning to the waste formula, an electron revolving in a circle of radius x has 6, = 37, and 2°/r =a. So we want an applied force along u varying as w* to maintain the motion, since the waste varies as w+. This revolving electron has some- times been supposed to be a circular current. But it is really a vibrator. The free path followed under decay of energy without fresh supply would perhaps be difficult to follow 8 NATURE [| NovEMBER 6, 1902 completely. | It is rather hard for the magnetism. The kinetic energy of molecules is the natural source of the radiation, but the connection between them and the electrifica- tion is very obscure, and how the electrons get knocked off is harder still, and what they are is hardest of all. Larmor thinks they run through the ether like knots on a string. If they do, as they may, ow do they do it? Connections are wanted. OLIVER HEAVISIDE, “explanation” of Leonid Meteors, 1902. A Forecast. THE historical interest which attaches to the Leonid star showers naturally renders the near approach of mid-November a subject of paramount importance to meteor observers. Nor is expectation lessened on the present occasion by the moderate though somewhat unexpected brilliance of the Leonid display witnessed last year in America on the morning of November 15. The question must naturally occur to many, will there be a revival of the phenomenon in the November of 1902, and if so, will it make its appearance in a less or a more intensified form than in the previous year? Generally speaking, the prospects of a star shower on the night of November 15 this year are very good. An analysis made by the writer of the conditions under which last year’s shower appeared, and also of those connected with the more brilliant meteoric spectacles of the past, shows that the event of November 15, 1901, is likely to be much surpassed by the meteoric phenomenon of 1902. The display falls due on the night of November 15 on the present occasion, and not on that of November 14 as was the case last year and was duly predicted by the writer (Dazly Chronicle, November 14), though the maximum occurred some- what later on that night than had been expected. The first phase of the shower will take place, however, at an hour not very well suited for its observation in western Europe, the time of its maximum being November 15d. 1oh. 45m. G.M.T., when the radiant will be not much more than just above the horizon. Meteors from a radiant in full activity as it emerges above the horizon afford an interesting spectacle, however, and though their numbers must in consequence be seriously diminished, they somewhat atone for their paucity by often long and rapid flights across the heavens. This first appearance of the shower will of course be best observed in places situated at least a few hours to the east of Greenwich, though it ought not to escape observation in our less favoured localities. This early display promises to vie in brilliancy with that observed on the western slopes of the Pacific in 1901, if atmospheric conditions turn out favourable in those places best suited for its observation on the night of November 15, and in all places where the radiant will be above the horizon at the time of its maximum it ought to render shooting stars pretty abundant during the early hours of that night. The second maximum of the Leonid display has been calcu- lated to take place on November 15d. 18h. 45m., and promises to be the richest display of the night, though the time of its highest brilliancy will scarcely enable observers to obtain the most satisfactory view of it on this side of the Atlantic, as the increasing twilight between six and seven o’clock in the morning must somewhat impede observation. Along the eastern coast of America, on the other hand, the shower is likely to prove an attractive spectacle to observers, and its full strength can better and more accurately be subjected to calculation than with us, as its maximum will occur there at about two o’clock (local time) on the morning of November 16. Though that hour is rather early for its best observation, as the Leonid radiant is most favourably situated for purposes of meteoric observation in any place at about 4 o’clock in the morning (local time), yet on the present occasion at no other place can a better and more systematic watch be maintained for the anticipated star shower than along the Atlantic side of the American continent. Passengers on vessels crossing the Atlantic will no doubt find themselves specially favoured with opportunities for observing the pheno- menon, as has been the case in previous star showers, such as that of 1868. The calculations made with respect to this meteor display go to prove that it will decline rather rapidly after 18h, 45m. on the night of November 15, the maximum showing a tendency to occur rather before th n after the time indicated, and on this account shooting stars are very likely to appear in unusual numbers to European observers throughout the night in question. As has been already stated, the shower expected in NO. 1723, VOL. 67)| the present year gives considerable promise of surpassing in intensity that of 1901. Indeed, the calculated strength of the former is from ten to fifteen times that of the latter, but the presence of a full moon throughout the night of November 15 has not been taken into account in the determination of the foregoing comparison, and this circumstance must detract con- siderably from the relative splendour of the meteoric epoch of the present year. The full moon will probably obliterate the close of this year's shower, the end of which has been timed to take place on November 16d. 2h. 30m., and is generally of too weak a character to require any special consideration. It may be added that the foregoing calculations have been based on the assumption that the maximum of the Leonid shower of 1866 occurred at th. 15m. on the morning of November 14, G.M.T. Joun R. HENRY. 20 Rathmines Road, Dublin, November 3; Curvature of Wheel Spokes in Photographs. MANY people must have noticed the curious curved a ppear- ance presented in a photograph by the spokes of a moving vehicle. It is well known that the envelope of a diameter of a circle rolling along a straight line is a cycloid of half the dimen- sions of the cycloid traced by a point on the circumference. The part of the moving spoke which makes the strongest impression on the photographic plate will be where it intersects the consecutive position, so that the photograph really gives us a small piece of the envelope of each spoke. The effect may be compared to the ordinary caustics of reflection or refraction. The accompanying photograph shows, not only the curvature of the spokes, but also the cusps of the envelopes of the spokes the ends of which have touched the ground during the exposure. In the diagram, the envelopes for a circle with fourteen equidistant diameters are drawn, and the parts of the envelopes which have been put in strongly indicate the appearance that would be presented in a photograph, supposing that three spokes had touched the ground during the exposure. The spokes on the upper half of the moving wheel leave no impression on the plate, because their points of ultimate intersection lie owtszde the spokes themselves. R. M. MILNE. Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, S.E. The Turkestan Earthquake of August 22, INFORMATION received in India leaves no room for doubt that the earthquake of August 22, which left such conspicuous traces on the seismographs of Europe, had its origin in Central Asia. The representative of the Indian Government at Kashgar reports that there was a severe earthquake there at 8 a.m. on August 22, which lasted one-and-half minutes. Repeated NoveEMBER 6, 1902 | NATURE 9 shocks were felt throughout the day, and shocks are reported on | staff upon the preparation of the copy for the press. At | first the printing and publication were undertaken by every day up to August 30, At 10 p.m. on September 2, a very sharp and severe shock was felt. It is said, though this has probably no direct connection with the earthquake, that the disturbance was followed by extreme heat, which lasted, at any rate, to the end of the month. At Kashgar a good number of walls, made of sun-dried bricks, were knocked down, but masonry buildings do not seem to have suffered; sixteen deaths are said to have occurred through falling of houses. In the Artush district, to the north of Kashgar, the damage was much greater ; nearly all the houses— presumably built of sun-dried brick—are said to have collapsed, | tion.” and 667 deaths are known, besides more than 1000 persons | severely injured. range the shock appears to have been less violent, and it is re- ported that the damage done at Narin and Atbashi was not great, In the opposite direction the shock was felt at Yarkand, whence three shocks are reported to have been felt between 9 and Io a.m. Some damage was done to the city wall and some private buildings ; two children were killed by walls falling on them. These particulars are sufficient to show that the earthquake was one of the first order of magnitude. Yarkandand Narin, at both of which it was destructive, are about 240 miles apart in a straight line, but are not sufficient to determine with certainty the position of the epicentre. This was evidently either to the east-north-east of Kashgar or more probably to the west-north- west among the mountains of the Alai Tian Shan range. It may consequently be taken that this earthquake, which will probably never be the subject of a detailed study, originated in about lat. 4o° N., long. 74° E. of Greenwich. Calcutta. R. D. OLDHAM. Lectures on Anthropology and Ethnology. THE letter of ‘‘ Anthropotamist” in your issue of October 30 ought to meet with general approval. In mentioning the educational institutions at which anthro- pology and ethnology are taught, your correspondent has entirely omitted London. May I point out that courses of lectures in these subjects have been established at this college for the past two years, and have been attended by upwards of thirty students? Of these, two have previously contributed papers to the Phz/osophical Trans- acttons and Biometrika dealing with questions of physical anthropology, while a third is the author of a volume treating of one phase of ethnology. It may be fairly claimed that to this college belongs the credit of being a pioneer in the systematic teaching of this subject in London. H. W. Maretr TIMs. Bedford College for Women (University of London), November 2. THE ROYAL SOCIETY’S CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. ie following memorandum has been issued by the treasurer of the Royal Society :— The Royal Society has been engaged continuously during the past forty years in cataloguing the various scientific papers which have been issued in all parts of the world since the beginning of the last century. The original scheme of the Catalogue of Scientific Papers provided that the papers should be catalogued only under the names of their respective authors arranged alpha- betically. This “ Authors’ Catalogue” has now been carried down to the end of 1883, and comprises twelve quarto volumes. _ More recently it has been decided to prepare also a sub- ject index of the same papers, that is to say, a catalogue in which the papers are indexed according to the subject- matter of which they treat. Considerable progress has been made with this subject index, though nothing has as yet been published. The expense of this work has been very large ; since, although a great amount of gratuitous labour has been readily given by Fellows of the Society, it has been necessary toemploy a considerable permanent salaried NO. 1723, VOL. 67]| In Russian territory north of the Tian Shan | H.M. Stationery Office, the Treasury having determined that the Catalogue should be printed at the public ex- pense. In coming to this conclusion, the Lords of the Treasury stated that they had regard “to the importance of the work with reference to the promotion of scientific knowledge generally, tothe high authority of the source from whence it came, and to the labour gratuitously given by members of the Royal Society for its produc- This arrangement, however, came to an end after the publication of the first eight volumes. The Treasury, in 1889, informed the Society that the Catalogue could no longer be printed and published by the Stationery Office. The unsold volumes were, however, handed over to the Society, and Parliament voted a sum of 1000/. to assist the Society in continuing the printing and pub- lication. The four subsequent volumes have been printed and published by the Cambridge University Press, which has received subsidies from the Society for this purpose and receives the sums arising from sales. The total sum expended by the Society upon the Catalogue down to the end of June last has been 14,7902. 5s. 5@. Towards this expenditure a donation of 2000/, was made by Dr. Ludwig Mond in 1892. Sums amounting to 524/. 11s. 9d. have been received as the proceeds of sales of the volumes handed over to the Royal Society by the Stationery Office, and, as already stated, 1000/. has been received from the Treasury. The Council has also hitherto devoted the income of the Handley fund (which they have power to apply as they may deem best for the advancement of science) towards defraying the cost of producing the Catalogue. The total sum received from this source has been 2394/. IIs. lod. A sum of 341Z. IIs., arising from money invested until actually required, has also been available for the same purpose. These pecuniary aids amount in all to 6260/. 14s. 7a. As will be seen, they have not been nearly sufficient to meet the whole cost, and the Society has been compelled to make up the balance of 8529/. Ios. tod. out of its general income. As it became obvious that to continue permanently to prepare and publish catalogues of the ever-increasing stream of scientific literature was wholly beyond the means of the Society, the Council took steps to obtain international cooperation in this great work. Such co- | operation has happily been secured, and the cataloguing of the scientific literature of the present century is now in the hands of an international council. The Royal Society has, however, incurred large special responsi- bilities in connection with the matter, having undertaken, inter alia, to act as the publishers of the Catalogue, and also to advance the capital required to start the enter- prise. The International Catalogue is concerned only with the scientific literature appearing after the commence- ment of the present century. The Royal Society’s Catalogue, as already stated, is at present carried down to the end of the year 1883 only, and the subject index for that period is but partially dealt with. The foreign delegates, assembled to consider the establishment of the international council, expressed their sense of the great importance of the Royal Society’s Catalogue and of the obligations which men of science in all countries were under to the Society for having undertaken it. They also expressed the hope that the Society would complete the Catalogue up to the close of the last century, so as to bring it into line with the International Catalogue. In order to complete the Catalogue, it will be neces- sary to prepare and publish a catalogue of authors for the seventeen years 1883-1900, and to complete and publish the subject index for the whole of the past cen- tury. The Council of the Royal Society are satisfied that this work must be done, and have not felt justified 10 NATIRE [ NovEMBER 6, 1902 in refusing to undertake it. They have accordingly com- menced operations, and it is hoped that the copy may be produced ready for the press in about five years. Owing to the enormous increase in the number of scientific publications at the close of the last century, it is estimated that to complete the Catalogue and to subsidise a publisher for undertaking the printing and publication, he retaining the proceeds of the sale, will cost at least 12,000/. The question now arises whether the funds of the Royal Society ought to continue to be burdened with any part of this expense. The activity and responsibilities of the Society have greatly increased in recent years, and it is much straitened by its inability to increase its expenditure, either on its own establishment or in other directions, owing to the incessant demands of the Cata- logue. The Council consider that the time has now come for them to appeal to those who are ina position to afford substantial financial assistance, to enable them to complete this great undertaking without devoting any part of their funds, so sorely needed for other purposes, to this object. They are thankful to be able to announce that Dr. Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., has been so impressed with the importance of the Catalogue, with the necessity for producing the subject index of the scientific literature of the past century so far as possible in the same com- plete form as that adopted by the International Council for the literature of the present century, and with the justice of the view that the Royal Society ought for the future to be relieved of the cost of producing the Cata- logue, that he has most generously added to his previous gift of 2000/. the munificent donation of 6000/., payable in four annual instalments of 1500/. The President and Council have also much pleasure in stating that Mr. Andrew Carnegie, fully appreciating the value of the Society’s undertaking and the claims that it has on the liberality of those who, though not Fellows of the Society, are interested in the promotion of natural knowledge, has contributed the handsome sum of 1000/. towards its accomplishment.- They venture to hope that others may be willing to contribute towards a fund to provide for the total cost of this national work. Noveniber, 1902. THE BERLIN TUBERCULOSIS CONGRESS. = Congress on Tuberculosis, which has recently concluded its sittings in Berlin, was instituted under the auspices of the Central International Organ- isation for the Prevention of Consumption, which is itself an outcome of the international congresses which have met during recent years in Paris, Berlin, Naples and London. An international association of this kind is to some extent a new departure and is not without political significance ; its analogue may be found in the international systems at present existing for meteor- ological observations. Heretofore international co- operation against disease has been confined to sudden outbreaks of the more virulent epidemic maladies. It must be the sincere hope of every philanthropist that the result of this organisation may be the complete annihilation of one of the most potent and widespread causes of disease in existence. The dissemination of tuberculosis was naturally one of the subjects which engaged the attention of the Congress. It is now recognised that tuberculosis is an infectious disease, and therefore that it is preventable. One of the chief sources of infection is the sputa of consumptive patients. In this connection much has been done recently to check the habit of indiscriminate spitting in public places. At the present time in Glasgow, Man- chester, Liverpool and some other towns, it is a penal NO. 1723, VOL. 67] offence to spit on the corporation tramcars, and the Glamorganshire County Council has made a bye-law to the effect that spitting on the floor of public carriages, churches or other public buildings is punishable by a fine not exceeding 52. Another point of interest brought to light by the Con- gress was the growth during recent years of provision for consumptive patients in sanatoria. This has occurred through new hospitals being built and old ones being enlarged. As a marked instance of the latter, the Mount Vernon Hospital at Hampstead may be quoted. Four years ago there was accommodation at this hospital for fifty patients ; when the present building operations are complete there will be accommodation for two hundred and fifty. At the present time in the United Kingdom there are, however, only about 1000 beds for poor patients and about 1200 for paying patients. The question of the compulsory notification of tuber- culosis and the disinfection by the municipal authorities after deaths from tubercular disease was also discussed. The opinion seemed generally in favour of compulsory notification, which already exists in Norway. An in- teresting paper was read on the subject of dispensaries for consumptives, which have been founded in Belgium. They are supported by private societies with the aid of town councils. The patients receive food, coal, clothes, bedding, antiseptics, lodging disinfection every three months, and family washing every week. v4 Perhaps the most interesting item in the proceed- ings of the Congress was Prof. Koch’s address upon the transmission of bovine tuberculosis to man. This authority maintains the thesis he enunciated in London last year, that the meat and milk of tuberculous cattle are very rarely, if ever, the sources of tuberculous in- fection to the human subject. In this connection Prof. Koch laid special emphasis on the fact that though for more than a year past he had received official reports of all tuberculous cases coming under the notice of the German hespitals and the professors of pathology at German universities, no undoubted case of primary tuberculous infection of the intestines had occurred. He also drew attention to the fact that most drastic measures would be required if the meat and milk of tuberculous cattle were condemned as food, and that such an action would cause a great increase in the price of these foods, which would be to the detriment of the community. Be Wele ANTHROPOLOGY AND GOVERNMENT IN THE UGANDA PROTECTORATE.' 12 the population of British East Africa, or even of the Uganda Protectorate only, can furnish as many anthropological problems as that of the little corner of the country between the north-eastern horn of Lake Victoria Nyanza and Mount Elgon, it is quite time that a scientific collection of the facts were commenced. Mr. Hobley’s “Ethnological Survey” deals only with a district about 120 miles long by 60 or 70 miles wide. He enumerates within this area four distinct races, or at least peoples of four stocks, beside a number of miscellaneous tribes whose racial connections are at present unknown. It is obvious that with such a wealth of material a work of 95 imperial octavo pages must simply be of a preliminary character. The only stocks with which the author attempts to deal in detail are the Bantu Kavirondo, interesting as being “ practically the most northerly representatives of the Bantu race,” the Ja-luo,a Nilotic people, and the Nandi and allied tribes, conjectured to be a mixture of 1 “ Eastern Uganda: an Ethnological Survey.”” By C. W. Hobley, Assoc. M.Inst.C.E., Sub-commissioner Uganda Protectorate. Occasional Papers, No.1. (Published by the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Treland, 1902.) Price ros. NovEMBER 6, 1902 | Negroes of the Nile Valley and some Hamitic people. The information furnished was collected in the first in- stance for administrative purposes. It consequently relates chiefly to such matters as would come more directly under the notice of a British official in the early stages of the settlement of the country. Mr. Hobley has | in regard to such matters been minute and careful in his SORE ORO Gr _¢| VERANDAH PoLes + 0. FoR 32 STONES” Gene Pace 2 No 2 f & Fic. 1.—Plan of Kavirondo Hut. inquiries. He has made an excellent beginning, though, as he himself says, “it would be presumptuous to suppose that [his] observations do more than touch the fringe of inquiry into the habits and customs of these interesting people.” As examples of the painstaking manner in which he has collected his material, his plans of the Kavirondo | and Nandi huts, and his figures, placed side by side, of the hoe (the principal agricultural implement of the con- tinent) used by the Kavirondo and that used by the Nandi, may be referred to. By the courtesy of the Anthropological Institute we are enabled to reproduce these. N.4TURE GOATS etc. WCRER PARTITION. Sass) Fic. 2.—Plan of Nandi Hut. The externals of native life and the outline of their | customs, especially the customs relating to marriage and married life, are most fully treated. But there is evi- dently much detail still to be ascertained, and the under- lying beliefs call for inquiry. The social organisation is hardly touched. Mr. Hob- ley’s use of the words claw and ¢ribe lacks precision. Both words seem to be used _ territorially ; the clan is a local subdivision of the tribe, under a subordinate chief. By anthropologists the word c/an is now gener- ally used to indicate blood-relationship, actual orimputed. It should be kept strictly for this purpose and some other word found for a village settlement or other local sub- division the inhabitants of which may or may not be held to be blood-brothers. The important subject of religion, so intimately connected with social organisation, is almost a blank. The details concerning divination by the entrails of animals slain (in sacrifice ?) and concerning the ceremonies in making peace, however, are interesting and valuable. These are matters likely to have come frequently under the sub-com- missioner’s eye. On the other hand, he is not likely to have suffered much from the medical practice of the Kavirondo. Hence his account of it is not very illuminating. The anthropologist who reads that the old women who are called in “ put pebbles in a gourd and rattle them, and then advise certain remedies,” will suspect that the NO. 1723, VOL. 67] If pebbles are not only put into the gourd, but thrown out like dice, and that the practitioner divines from their fall, as among the more southerly Bantu, what is the matter and what remedies, if any, are to be prescribed. Probably Mr. Hobley has never witnessed theceremony but writes from imperfect information. Useful plates of | the Ja-luo are provided, and a plate of three Masai warriors. But nothing in the way of physical measurement has been at- tempted. Physical descriptions are vague, and evidence of race is chiefly made to rest on the deceptive basis of language. There is an excellent map of the district, showing the distribution of the various tribes. Vocabularies of several of the lan- guages and grammatical observations are appended. I have called attention to some of the deficiencies of this “Survey,” not by any means for the purpose of finding fault, but in the hope that Mr. Hobley, who has commenced so well, will be induced to prosecute the work still further. Such investiga- tions ought to have the most strenuous encouragement on the part of the administration, both for scientific pur- poses (to which no administration ought to be indifferent) and because everything that contributes to our knowledge of the people, their physical and mental capacities, their prejudices, customs and beliefs must make for good government. E, SIDNEY HARTLAND. NOTES. Pror. W. H. Hormes, head curator for anthropology of the National Museum, has been appointed chief of the United States Bureau of Ethnology at Washington in succession to the late Major J. W. Powell, the former director. Prof. Holmes is well known to anthropologists for his studies on the pottery and decorative art of the aborigines of America, and on the manufacture of stone implements, &c. He has also decided and advanced views on the arrangement of ethnological | museums. Fic. 3.—Kavirondo Hoe. Fic. 4.—Nandi Hoe- Tue Lancaster Town Council has decided to confer the honorary freedom of the borough upon Mr. James Mansergh, F.R.S., past president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, who is a native of the borough. Last week the Bangor Eisteddfod Committee voted from its surplus a sum of 30/. to the University College of North Wales to assist in the development of the fisheries department- WA In September Prof. White arranged for a fisheries exhibit in the arts and science section of the Eisteddfod, and_ partly owing to this as well as to the good work which the College has been doing in connection with the Welsh fisheries, the Com- mittee decided to make the grant. The sum will be utilised in developing the fisheries collection at the College, which is in course of formation. A RICH collection of Babylonian antiquities has been pre- sented by the Sultan to Prof. Hilprecht, head of the archae- ological department of the University of Pennsylvania, in recognition of the services rendered by him to the Imperial Museum at Constantinople. Prof. Hilprecht has placed the collection in the University Museum. A TELEGRAM from Kingstown, St. Vincent, published in the Times, says :—‘‘ The British botanists, Messrs. Powell, Quinton and’ Foster, spent an hour and a half on the summit of the Soufriére on October 28. The crater was then active, emitting steam and ashes. The new crater showed no signs of recent eruption. There was a slight eruption that night, and the dis- turbances continue, causing much excitement at Georgetown, where the tremors are continually felt.” Mr. JosEPpH CLARK writes from Street, Somerset, to confirm Mr. Clayden’s observations of recent remarkable sunsets (p. 659). On Friday, October 24, very brilliant colours were seen and par- ‘ticular notice was taken of the long time during which the clouds to the south-east retained a rosy tint. On Tuesday, October 28, there was a fine display of bright rose-colour on the eastward rolling clouds, an effect also noticed at Paris on the same evening. + WE regret to record the death, on October 23, of Mr. William Gunn, F.G.S. Mr. Gunn joined the staff of the Geological Survey in 1867 as assistant geologist, and attained the rank of district geologist in 1901.. He, was engaged during his long service in Durham and Northumberland, in the Scottish High- lands and latterly in Arran ; and the results of his work appear for the most part in the maps and memoirs of the Geological Survey. His discovery of remnants of Secondary fossiliferous strata in a volcanic vent in Arran was brought before the Geological Society last year. five, Tue Thomson foundation gold medal of the Royal Geo- graphical Society of Australasia, Queensland, will be awarded to the author of the best original paper (provided it be of suf- ficient merit) on each of the following subjects, the papers to be sent in by the dates named :—(1) The commercial development, expansion and potentialities of Australia—or, briefly put, the commerce of Australia (July 1, 1903) ; (2) the pastoral industry of Australia, past, present and probable future (July 1, 1904) ; (3) the geographical distribution of Australian minerals (July 1, 1905); (4) the agricultural industry of Australia (July 1, 1906). The competition is open to members and non-members of the Society alike, whether residing in Australasia or elsewhere. _ SOME of the services which medical science has rendered to the State were referred to last week by Lord Roberts in an address delivered at the annual meeting for the distribution of the prizes gained during the past year by the students of the St. George’s Hospital Medical School. Lord Roberts remarked that no section of the public was more deeply interested in the work and in the scientific researches of the medical profession than soldiers were, and that a deep debt of gratitude was due to those who, by their constant study, earnest inquiry and careful experiments, learned and taught how to heal the sick, to tend the wounded, to alleviate pain and NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | Mr. Gunn had quite recently | retired from the public service, having attained the age of sixty- | NATURE | | [ NovEMBER 6, 1902 suffering, to fight sickness and disease and to maintain health in camp and in quarters. A comparison of statistics as to the loss by sickness and disease in the Crimea and during the war in South Africa showed what a changed and improved condition of things prevailed now, changes and improvements which were largely due to the march ‘of medical science. If great results were to be achieved, if success was to be won, there must be no slacking off in any pursuit or profession nowadays, least of all in the professions of medicine and surgery. Fresh fields in many directions remained to be explored, fresh developments to be observed and followed up, fresh results to be recorded. Ir was announced on the reopening of the House of Commons Committee dealing with the London electric railways that the Bill promoted by the London United Railways for a ‘‘ tube” from Hammersmith to Piccadilly would be withdrawn (see NATURE, vol. Ixvi. p. 296). This railway was intended to provide, with the Piccadilly and City and North-East London Railways, a through route from west to north-east, linking the tramway system of the London United Tramways with the City. THE last link of the Pacific cable was completed at the end of last week, and it is hoped that it will very soon be opened for public traffic. The Pacific Cable Board does not, however,assume responsibility until thirty days after completion, The com- pletion of this cable marks another step forward in cable enter- prise. It is more than 8000 miles long, and is built up in five sections as follows :—Vancouver to Fanning Island (3653 miles), thence to Fiji (2181 miles), to Norfolk Island (1019 miles), and then to Moreton Bay, Queensland (906 miles) and New Zealand (513 miles). The cable has been laid by the Telegraph Con- struction and Maintenance Company at a contract price of rather under 2,000,000/., and in less than two years ; it is com- forting to reflect that England still stands preeminent in this branch of electrical engineering. The completion of the line was made the occasion of the exchange of congratulatory messages between Mr. Chamberlain and the different governors of interested colonies. Among the most interesting of these are two sent by Sir Sandford Fleming to Lord’ Minto; these com- pletely circled the world, one, in an easterly direction, in roh.'25m., and the other, going westerly, in thirteen hours and ahalf. We have still some progress to make before we are able with Puck to “put a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes.” THE presidential address delivered by Mr. J. C. Hawkshaw before the Institution of Civil Engineers on Tuesday covered | a wide range of subjects, among them being docks, timber’ and forestry, canals, means of traffic and transport, the world’s supply of fuel, water-power available for industrial uses, and the value of purely scientific studies to the engineer. Upon the latter point, Mr. Hawkshaw made the following remarks at the end of his address :—‘‘ Wherever our work may take us we have always something at hand to observe if we give some thought to geology or some branch of biology. Geology calls to its aid all sciences ; biology, even botany, is not one, but many sciences. Every science and every question of science is first a matter of fact. Facts observed which seem trivial in themselves may lead to much. Reaumur it was who first suggested that wood-fibre should be used for making paper. He was led to do so from observing the structure of wasps’ nests. Out of that observed fact a great industry has grown which threatens to tax the forest supplies of the world. If we accept the view of M. Maurice Levy that from the study of celestial mechanics was derived later general mechanics, then all our progress has come from the study of what was useless at the time it was studied. We might well, I think, increase the number of optional subjects for our examinations. There is no branchof natural knowledge which may not be studied with advantage by an engineer as a change NoveEMBER 6, 1902 | and relaxation in the round of daily work, and as a training of his power of observation. For after all is said, it is only by observing that we can know.” AT a meeting of the Society of Engineers held on Monday, November 3, a paper was read on ‘‘ The Effect of Segregation on the Strength’of Steel Rails” by Mr. Thomas Andrews, F.R.S. In the course of the paper, the nature and. primary causes of segregation in steel rails were described, and the influences of local transverse and longitudinal segregation on the loss of strength in such rails was demonstrated. Microscopic studies have specially indicated some of the latent sources of weakness which occur in segregated steel rails leading to their premature fracture in main-line service. Numerous chemical, physical and high-power microscopic examinations have been made on a con- siderable number of rails in which local segregation of some of the chemical constituents had been detected, and the author’s investigations have demonstrated that local segregation of this nature distinctly reduces the general physical strength and main- line endurance of steel rails in which segregation exists. Reference was also made to the importance, in the interests of public safety, of detecting and eliminating from service, so far as practicable, rails having a tendency to segregated chemical composition. Sir CHARLES Topp, Government Astronomer of South Australia, has published his valuable report on the rainfall of the colony for the year 1899, showing the monthly and yearly amounts and the averages for previous years at a large number of stations. The report is illustrated by maps showing clearly at a glance the rainfall characteristics of the. year. stations registered their average amount, principally owing to the failure of the rains during the latter part of the winter (July and August) and in October and December. The report contains a table showing the yearly rainfall at Adelaide for sixty-one years, 1839 to 1899, and the years when the fall was above or below the normal amount (20°85 inches). WE have received from Dr. H. Hergesell, president of the International Aéronautical Committee, a preliminary report of the balloon ascents made during the three months April to June last. Austro-Hungary, France, Germany and Russia took part in the investigation, and twenty-one ascents were made. The following were the greatest altitudes attained by the un- manned balloons:—April 3, Itteville (near Paris), 14,260 metres, minimum temperature —60°'7 C., temperature at start- ing 7. May 1, Berlin, 19,564 m., lowest reading —58°'s, on ground 6°°8. June 5, Berlin, 16,750 m., —58°°2, 18°74. Vienna, 10,480 m., —62°°8, 15°. The greatest heights attained by manned balloons were in ascents from Berlin :— April, 5403 m., temperature —19°'4, at starting 6°°6 May, 5510 m., = 30), 6°°2 June, 5936 m., — 18°'0, 20°'9 In the latter case the observers were Dr. Berson, and Prof. Palazzo, of Rome. On each occasion Mr. Rotch sent up kites from his observatory at Blue Hill, near Boston, U.S. On the days of the ascents, areas of low barometric pressure lay over western Europe in April and May, and an area of high barometric pressure in June. ” ” ” ” In his report for the year 1900-1, the first volume of which is now to hand, the chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau directs attention to an important extension of the forecast work of the Bureau made during the year with which the report is concerned. At the end of 1900 was begun, by an arrangement with our own Meteorological Office, the transmission by cable from London to Washington of meteorological reports from certain observing stations in the British Isles and on the conti- nent of Europe, and from Ponta Delgada, Azores. These NO 23, VOL. 07 | NAT ORE Very few | 13 reports, with observations from Nassau, Bermuda and Turks Island, have been regularly published on the daily weather maps issued at Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, together with forecasts of the force and direction of the wind and the state of the weather for the first three days out of steamers bound east from American ports. Arrangements were also made with Portugal towards the end of 1900 for the receipt at Washington of reports from the meteor- ological observatory at Horta, in the Azores. . Observations are now regularly transmitted by cable from this place, and have proved of much value in the work of forecasting the movements of storms on the Atlantic Ocean. THE Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies has issued a Report on certain economic experiments conducted in connection with the Antigua Botanic Station during the period from May, Igor, to April, 1902., Considerable variation was shown in the crop results, to a great extent attributable to the abnormally wet season, the year’s rainfall amounting to 75°46 in., the total for the preceding year being 42°67 in. February was the only dry month. The experiments have for their objects the improvement of local food products, the intro- duction of new crops, and the placing on record of interesting facts bearing on insect and fungoid attacks, climatic conditions, &c. An investigation of the black-spot disease of pine-apples and of their rotting. during transit to’ Europe, has, led ; to the conclusion that the former is due to injury, during the period of growth, from the attacks of a Penicillium, and the latter to injury, after cutting, from the attacks of 77zchosphaeria Saccharz (rind fungus) and a species of Diplodia. Pror. J. SCHNEIDER contributes an interesting paper, on the diurnal movements of the atmosphere at Hamburg, to the September number of the Meteorologische Zeitschrift. The wind observations published in the ‘* Deutsche Meteorologische Jahrbuch” for the years 1887 to 1896 are dealt with by resolv- ing into components in west-east and south-north directions, and the diagram of hourly. movement shows that the daily curve is entirely closed, its form being egg-shaped, with the narrow end pointing north-east, and its total perimeter about 45. kilometres. Dr. A. SPRUNG describes a number of photographs of halos and parhelia, taken by him at Potsdam on March. 23, in the August issue of the AZeteorologische Zettschrift.' One of the photographs is reproduced. The' phenomena are of special interest from the fact that they include both parhelia and the rare large halo, and that’ the dark spaces are indicated in the photographs. Measurements of the plates give the following mean results, which are compared with the means of direct measurements made by different observers :— / Mean radius Distance of Mean radius - ‘ of small ring. « parhelia. of large ring. Photograph... 22° 22’ ee S252) 46° 25’ Observers’ ... 22° 23’ ay wedaode 46° 15/ THE problem of the representation by a. finite number of parametric formulz in two variables of the neighbourhood ‘of a singular point of an algebraic surface was first solved in 1892 by. Gustav Kobb,* but’ his solution received: criticism at the hands of Beppo Levi in 1897. Mr. C. W. M. Black, writing in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, now gives a new investigation of the problem, which is claimed not only to supply the deficiencies in Kobb’s reasoning, but also to extend the discussion from the case of an algebraic surface to the more general case of any analytic surface whatever. Mr. C. H. Hinton has published, in the Szz//etén of the Philosophical Society of Washington, a paper on the ‘‘ Recogni- tion of the Fourth Dimension.” In it the author examines 14 NALORE [| NoveMBER 6, 1902 what would be the general character of the motions of bodies in space of four dimensions. The most interesting feature of this line of inquiry is the possibility which is pointed out of con- structing representations of the phenomena of electromagnetism by means of vortex motions in four-dimensional space. Thus a vortex with a surface as its axis affords a geometric image of a closed circuit, and there are rotations which by their polarity afford a possible definition of static electricity. Has it occurred to the author that the property that electricity which is free to move in a conductor assumes a superficial distribution may enable us to form a conception of matter in four-dimensional space assuming a three-dimensional distribution ? THE work done by Prof. Barrett and Messrs. W. Brown and R. Hadfield on the properties of alloys of iron is of very high importance to all engineers, whether electrical or civil. The third part of a paper on the subject is published in the Sczentz/ic Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society for September ; the two first parts were published in 1899. In the present section, non-magnetic alloys of iron and alloys more magnetic than best Swedish charcoal iron are considered. Manganese added to iron to the extent of about 13 per cent. gives an alloy which is practically non-magnetic ; astill more remarkable effect isseen with manganese-nickel-steels ; magnetic alloys of iron with manganese or nickel can be made non-magnetic by adding a suitable amount of the other metal. There is possibly a great future for such alloys in shipbuilding. The alloys more magnetic than the best commercial iron are made with nickel, silicon and aluminium. The authors suggest that an iron alloy containing silicon and aluminium will very probably prove to be the best material to use for transformers. The great value of this work is obvious, and we should like to be able to deal with it more fully ; fortunately, the results are easily accessible, as a paper covering practically the same ground as all three of the Dublin papers was read by the authors before the Institution of Electrical Engineers last February (_/owrvnai 1.E.E., vol. xxxi. p. 674). THE Health Department of the City of London has hada number of samples of ice-creams bacteriologically examined. A large proportion of the samples was found to be unsatisfactory ; in several micro-organisms were very numerous, while in some virulent organisms of the Sacz//us coli type were present ; one contained pyogenic organisms and produced abscesses in guinea- pigs, and another contained an anaérobic organism, perhaps the bacillus of malignant cedema. Many of the ice-creams from which samples were examined had set up gastro-enteritis in boys employed by the Post Office. The London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1902, which came into force on November i, contains clauses relating to ice-creams, regulating their manufacture, &c., and notices in Italian have been printed for distribution among the vendors. WITH the publication of the October number (vol. ii. No. 4), the Journal of Hygiene completes its second volume and its second year of issue. Messrs. Wright and Windsor contribute a paper upon the bactericidal effect of human blood zx wtro, and find that whereas human blood-serum has a powerful bacteri- cidal action upon the typhoid bacillus and cholera vibrio, it is without action upon the JZ. pyogenes, B. pestis and M, melitensis. Dr. Haldane details the results of a lengthy ex- perimental investigation upon the air of factories and work- shops, Prof. Tunnicliffe discusses the digestibility of the various albuminous constituents of human milk and its sub- stitutes, and Dr. Ritchie concludes his survey of the current theories regarding immunity. : Priousty minded people have a tendency to accept as ancient anything which pretends to be a monument of Biblical history ; as a consequence of this trait, Jewish shekels NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | and half-shekels have been forged and even invented to supply the demand. An interesting exposure of these frauds is given by Mr. G. F. Hill in the Religuary and Illustrated Archaeologist for October. There are other illustrated papers in this journal dealing with ecclesiastical architecture and stone-carving. APART from the superstition bound up with the use of native medicinal remedies of the North American Indians, it is probable that their knowledge of herbs is much more extensive than that of the white man. Mr. V. K. Cheshunt, who has endeavoured to elicit from the Indians of Mendocino County, California, trustworthy information respecting the uses to which they put various indigenous plants, attributes our knowledge of Cascara sagrada to these tribes and suggests that other plants, such as Ceanothus, Croton and Eriogonum, would well repay investigation. The diet of the inland tribes is peculiar, as they regard young clover shoots as a delicacy, and make use of acorns and the variety of horsechestnut known as “‘ buckeye ” for making a porridge or baking into bread. The method adopted is to pound up the seeds into very fine flour and wash out the tannin and other stringent ingredients with water. A porridge or thick soup is formed by boiling the flour, while a favourite recipe for making bread consists in mixing the dough with red clay. The product is a heavy, black, cheese-like substance, in which the clay probably absorbs the oil and converts the last trace of tannin into a more digestible form. Another curious custom previously in vogue was the use of poisonous plants, soap root and turkey mullein, which were thrown into streams to poison the fish. These were then caught and eaten without any deleterious consequences. New fields for research are continually opening up ; the last illustration of this is the discovery by Prof. G. Elliot Smith that it is possible to map the convolutions of the brains of non- mummified ancient Egyptians. The brain is naturally preserved in the vast majority of the bodies in Egyptian cemeteries from predynastic to recent Coptic, the favourable conditions being burial in dry soil and removal from all direct access to the air. Prof. Elliot Smith gives an illustrated preliminary paper on the natural preservation of the brain in the ancient Egyptians in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology (vol. xxxvi. p. 375). Ina memoir, which will be published in a short time, he intends to give a full account of the structure of the brain in the predynastic and protodynastic Egyptians. In the Report of the Madras Museum for 1901-1902, the appointment of the director, Mr. E. Thurston, as superinten- dent of the Ethnographic Survey of Madras is an announce- ment which will be read with satisfaction by all anthropologists. The papers on the hill and other primitive Madras tribes already published by Mr. Thurston have placed him in the first rank among the students of anthropology and ethnography, and he will now doubtless have fuller opportunities of pursuing these subjects. Anthropological studies have, it appears, an amusing, if not a somewhat embarrassing, aspect in Madras. When on tour in one district, for example, Mr. Thurston was reputed to be collecting for the Victoria Memorial, inoculating for the plague and recruiting for the Boer war, the measurements that he took giving rise to the idea that he was an army tailor! The ethnographic reports of native assistants are, moreover, not exactly what they should be, as witness the following :—“‘ They know how to make fire; 7.e., by friction of wood as well as stone, &c. They take a triangular cut of stone and one flat oblong size flat. They hit one another with the maintenance of coir or copper, then fire sets immediately and also by rubbing the two barks frequently with each other they make fire.” THE account of the ‘‘ Plants of Chatham Island,” which formed the subject of an address by Mr. L. Cockayne to the NoveMBER 6, 1902]| members of the New Zealand Institute, not only possesses the interest which attaches to the impressions obtained bya personal visit, but is additionally so as it is still possible to trace the original vegetation and study the changes which are taking place owing to the introduction of animals and foreign plants. A remarkable and regrettable instance of the latter is the almost complete annihilation of the plant well named Myosolidium aobile, which originally lined the shore just above high-water mark. The sheep feed on the leaves and the pigs grub up the rhizomes, and now this plant is limited to quite a few localities. A striking feature of the island is the large Te Whanga lagoon, which occupies about one-third of the island. This, however, is not so important botanically as the swamps, which represent a transition stage from lagoon or lake to drier localities which rapidly become forest lands. Not the least curious feature, and one which has been noted but not satisfactorily explained in other countries, is the occurrence of plants with xerophytic characters growing in the swamps. Such an one is a peculiar Restiaceous plant, Leftocarpus sémplex, which grows in the wettest parts, while another is O/earda traversit, which, however, may be taken as an indication that the swamp is passing into a dry condition. MEssrs. JAMES SWIFT AND Son have sent to us, for trial, one of their compound microscopes of recent type, fitted with their newly patented “‘ Ariston” fine-adjustment. The essence of this is the setting of the micrometer-screw and its milled head upon a closed tube, which, like a jacket, surrounds the pillar. By the attachment to the head of this jacket of a couple of levers, upon the upper part of which the screw reacts by means of a fine point, there is assured a successful elimination of the trouble- some side-movement resulting from a bending of the metal composing the limb when the fine-adjustment is subjected to pressure. In thus ensuring to the operator the comfort of abso- lute rigidity, the conditions employed give with a coarse screw a slow rate of speed and a very delicate result. The apparatus is entirely satisfactory, and can be fitted to certain of Messrs. Swift’s microscopes at small cost. It is worthy their newer mechanical stage, their ruled ‘‘ finder,” and the devices, simple but effectual, which they have from time to time introduced into the construction of their instruments for compensation in wear and tear. In these and other similar matters of recent years, Messrs. Swift have shown themselves constantly on the alert for improvement. In the excellence of their ;4;-in. homogeneous oil immersion, they have produced an English-made lens of first-rate capacity which is a marvel of cheapness ; and it must not be forgotten that in the early days of the modern student’s microscope they were the first to introduce the Jackson type of stand, just as we believe it was the Englishman Collins who similarly first produced the iris-diaphragm, which, like it, was a triumph for British manufacture. THE Report of the U.S. National Museum, under the direc- tion of the Smithsonian Institution, for the year ending June 30, 1900, is, as usual, remarkable for the many interesting papers it contains and the wealth of beautifully executed illustrations which accompany them. The first part of the volume contains the report of the assistant secretary, and includes sections con- tributed by the head curators of the departments of anthro- pology, biology and geology. Part ii. makes up nearly 600 of the 738 pages to which the report runs ; it contains seven con- tributions, some of which may fairly be called monographs. Mr. W. H. Holmes, head of the anthropological department of the museum, describes his anthropological studies in California, his contribution being illustrated with fifty excellent plates. The pictures of the baskets made by the Tulare Indians and the scenes showing incidents in their everyday life are particularly fine. An exhaustive study of aboriginal American harpoons, in NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | NATURE ES which they are treated as a study in ethnic distribution and in- vention, is by Dr. O. T. Mason, the curator of the division of ethnology. Nineteen plates and nearly a hundred figures accompany this article. The Commissioner of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service of China, Mr. A. E. Hippisley, gives a sketch of the history, with twenty-one plates, of ceramic art in China, and supplies a catalogue of the Hippisley collection of Chinese porcelains. The remaining papers are, ‘‘ Contri- butions to the History of Musical Scales,” by Mr. C. K. Wead, of the U.S. Patent Office; ‘‘A Collection of Hopi Ceremonial Pigments,” by Mr. W. Hough; a ‘“‘ Descriptive Catalogue cf the Collections of Gems in the U.S. National Museum,” by Mr, Wirt Tassin ; and a catalogue of the meteorite collection, by the same author. Messrs. C. GRIFFIN AND Co., Lrp., have recently pub- lished a ninth edition, revised and enlarged, of Prof. A. Jamie- son’s ‘‘ Elementary Manual on Steam and the Steam Engine.” From the same publishers we have received the fifth edition of Prof. Jamieson’s ‘‘ Elementary Manual of Applied Mechanics,” which has also been enlarged. A NUMBER of stereoscopic slides of scientific interest have been prepared by Messrs. Erdmann and Schanz, Bedford Hill, Balham, London, S.W. Among the subjects represented are type studies from India and Ceylon, hoar-frost scenes and wild animals. A compact and effective stereoscope with aluminium hood is supplied by the same firm. Two more volumes belonging to the Sczen¢ia series, published in Paris by M. C. Naud, have been issued. One, No. 14 of the biological series, by Prof. A. Imbert, of the University of Montpellier, is entitled ‘‘ Mode de Fonctionnement économique de l’Organisme.”” Tae other, No. 20 of the physico-mathematical series, is by M. H. Laurent, ‘‘ Sur les principes fondamentaux de la Théorie des Nombres et de la Géometrie.” Each volume is a short monograph giving the present state of knowledge of the subject surveyed. THE thirty-fourth volume of the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, which has now been published, contains the papers communicated to, or read before, the Society from March, 1g01, to April, 1902, and some of the contributions included in the publication are of high mathematical interest. We have also received the second volume of ‘‘ Mathematical Questions and Solutions from the Aducational Times.” The collection is edited by Miss Constance Marks, and is supple- mented by papers and solutions which have not hitherto been published. THE volume containing the physical papers of the late Prof. Henry A. Rowland, the preparation of which for publication was announced in April of this year, is now nearly ready for distribution to its subscribers. It has been edited under the direction of a committee, consisting of President Remsen, Prof. Welch and Prof. Ames, who have made every effort to present to the world, in a suitable form, this memorial of their colleague. The price of the volume will be one guinea per copy for orders sent in advance of publication, after which the price will be increased. Orders may be sent to Prof. Joseph S. Ames, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. A BRILLIANT address on ‘‘The Rise of the Experimental Method in Oxford” was delivered by Prof. Clifford Allbutt before the Oxford University Scientific Club last May, as the ninth Robert Boyle lecture. An abstract of the address was given in these columns on May 22 (p. 90), and readers of it could not fail to be struck by the richness and charm of the style in which Prof. Allbutt dealt with his subject. The complete discourse, which has now been published by Mr. 16 NATURE [ NoveMBER 6, 1902 Henry Frowde at the price of one shilling net, should be obtained by everyone interested in the history of science. In a communication published in the May number of the Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, Messrs. Whipple and Parker discuss the connection between the amounts of oxygen and carbonic acid dissolved in natural waters and the occurrence in these of microscopic organisms. It has long been known that exhaustion of nitrates takes place in ground water supporting a vigorous growth of algze, and it has been assumed that hitrates are the fundamental factor in the development of these. Nitrates are indeed important, but the inadequacy of this explanation became manifest when it was observed that some water, comparatively poor in nitrates, at times supported large growths of alge. The authors point out the apparent importance of carbonic acid, and express the opinion that the algze are influenced by it more than by the nitrates. The study of the number of organisms in water at different depths has given some interesting results. Water taken from Lake Cochituate was found to contain the following numbers of Mallomonas per cubic centimetre :— Depth in feet ... 0 10 30 30 40 50 No. of organisms 0 Oo 1454 548 112 88 At the surface and throughout the circulating water above the thermocline, oxygen was abundant, but carbonic acid was absent. Near the bottom of the lake there was carbonic acid, but no oxygen, whereas just below the thermocline both gases were present, and as Mallomonas is a chlorophyll-bearing organism it fcund there ccnditions favourable for its development. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Kusimanses (Cvossarchus obscurus), a White-crested Tiger Bittern ( 77gr7sema leucolophum), a Great- billed Touracou (Zwracus macrorhynchus), a Sharpe’s Wood Owl (Syrnium nuchale) from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Hurst ; a Mute Swan (Cygzus olov), a White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), four Widgeon (Mareca penelope), two Pintails (Da/fila acuta), four Pochards (Fudigula ferina), six Common Ducks (Anas doscas) European, two Black Swans (Cygnus atratus) from Australia, presented by Mr. W. N. McMillan; a Persian Gazelle (Gazel/a subgutterosa) from Central Asia, presented by Mr. B, T. Ffinch; two Emperor Boas (Soa imfperator) from Central America, presented by Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S.; a Thick-tailed Opossum (D7de/phys crassicaudatus) from La Plata, a Blue-fronted Amazon (Chrysotzs oestiva) from South America, deposited. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. VARIATION IN MAGNITUDE OF a ORIONIS.—Mr. D. E. Packer, of Birmingham, has recorded, ina letter to No. 1961 of ithe English Mechanic, the observation that a Orionis is in- creasing in brightness. Although a known variable, its general variations for the past thirty years have been so minute as to attract no particular attention, but Mr. Packer says that, on the night of October 15, the star was distinctly brighter than Capella and only slightly less bright than Sirius. Herschel recorded very marked variations in the magnitude of this star between 1836 and 1840, and Sir W. Huggins noticed variations in its spectrum during a second period of variability, 1849-1852. Mr. J. E. Gore confirms Mr. Packer’s observ- ations. THE NEBULA AROUND Nova PErRsEI.—Prof. C. D. Perrine publishes, in the AzZleti (23) of the Lick Observatory, several reproductions, and the measures, of the excellent photographs of the nebula around Nova Persei which were obtained with the Crossley reflector, and he also discusses the striking changes observed in the condensations of the nebula. From measurements of the negatives obtained on March 29, 1901, and January 10-11, 1902, respectively, it appears that the inner ring of nebulosity is expanding radially, at an average rate of NO. 1723, VOL. 67| 1’’"4 per day, whilst the outer ring is similarly expanding 2-8 per day. These measurements of the inner ring would carry it back to the Nova on February 8, 1901, whilst the outer ring is similarly carried back on February 16-17; both the plates give the same dates. This does not imply the prior formation of the inner ring, for. considering the uncertainties of measurement, Perrine suggests their contemporary origin. Many suggestions have been made to explain the apparent velocities of parts of the nebula, the two chief explanations being the transition of material particles, and the propagation of a wave of light through, and reflection from, the fine particles of matter making up the nebula. The former seems unlikely, because the movement contains a large tangential factor, whilst the latter theory would have to presume largely variant velo- cities of the light waves, a presumption which is inconsistent with our present knowledge of light. In order to test the “reflection” theory, Prof. Perrine introduced a double-image prism between the plane mirror of the Crossley reflector and the photographic film, and found that the light was not polarised, z.e. the two images were of equal intensity. On_ polarising the light from a@ Lyrz and treating it in the same manner, he found that the mirrors of the instrument had practically no effect on polarised light. The final result points to the existence of little or no polar- isation in the light from condensation D, and, with less certainty, in that from condensation A, and therefore refutes the reflection theory. CoRONAL DISTURBANCE AND SuN-Spots.—In No. 98 of Popular Astronomy, Prof. Perrine demonstrates the close con- nection between the coronal disturbance, photographed at Sumatra during the total eclipse of 1901, and the group of sun- spotsand extensive faculee which came round the limb of the sun on May 19. From photographs of the solar disc obtained at Dehra-Dun, India, between May 18 and 28, inclusive—of which copies were kindly supplied to Prof. Perrine by the Astronomer Royal—it is seen that a fairly large group of spots and faculz came round the limb on May 19, and that at the time of the eclipse this group would be very near to the limb, The position angle of the spot, as projected on to the limb, was 60°:2, whilst that of the apex of the coronal disturbance was 60°0, and during the eleven days under observation this was the only group of spots photographed. This shows conclusively that the spot and the coronal disturbance were in the same line of sight, and further reductions have shown the probability that the origin of the coronal disturbance was also near to the limb at the time, The long, thread-like prominence seen projected almost tangentially from the sun’s limb during the eclipse appears to have emanated from the same group of spots and faculz, so that, in this case at least, all these phenomena appear to have had a common origin. This aggregation of related phenomena seemed to point to the possibility of the existence of a great disturbance in the solar atmosphere on this date, and a further investigation was made in order to discover if any measurable displacement of the coronal masses took place in the disturbed region. The photographs compared were taken at an interval of five minutes, and no measurable displacement can, with certainty, be traced thereon; from this we may conclude that the velocity across the line of sight was less than twenty miles per second. A comparison between the photographs obtained at Mauritius and Sumatra, respectively, with an. interval of one-and-a-half hours, would probably decide this question of movement. THE VARIABLE STAR 13, 1902, LyRa:.—Further observations of this Algol variable have given the following results :— Approximate position for 1900, 19h, 12m. 3Is. +32° 14/°8. Range of magnitudes, 10°98 to about 12°8. Period, 3d. 14h. 22m. 235.°5. The Variable Star Committee of the Astronomische Gesell- schaft has assigned to this star the designation R.V. Lyrz (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 3821). New VARIABLE STAR, 15,1902, DELPHINI.—Dr. Anderson, of Edinburgh, has communicated to No, 3821 of the Astro- nomische Nachrichten his observation that a star, not men- tioned in the B.D., but having the approximate position R.A. = 20h. 34m. 43s., Dec. = + 11° 21'*5 (18550), has proved to be a variable. Assigning the’magnitudes 9°5, 9°7and11‘2 toB. D. +11°°4353, B.D. + 11°°4358, and astar having the approximate position November 6, 1902] NATURE 20h. 34m. 37s. + 11° 18’°5, respectively, the following magni- tudes have been observed for the newly discovered variable :— ° Date, 1902. Magnitude. September 4 Ban oat 9°6 Ay 6 ae ane 9°6 ” 24 9°8 ” 25 9°8 October 7 10-2 EDUCATION AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. "THOUGH the youngest offspring of the British Association, the Section of Educational Science has developed so rapidly that its growth in strength and influence is being watched with interest not unmixed with anxiety by several of the older sections. Most of the meetings devoted to the discussion of educational topics were largely attended this year, and all of them have been reported in detail, thus showing that science in education and education in science appeal to a wide public. The Section provides a platform on which it is possible, not only to state the place science should occupy in the curricula of school and college, but also to describe the character of the instruction which should be given, and to construct an organic educational science out of the disjointed body of opinion. It is easy to see that, rightly directed, the work of the Section may have an important influence in determining lines of progress in education ; and the success so far achieved justifies faith in the promise of the future. One characteristic of the proceedings of the Section is espe- cially noteworthy. Instead of accepting a variety of papers on diverse disconnected subjects, each meeting has been devoted to the discussion of a specific matter introduced by one or two papers. Attention has thus been concentrated upon definite points, and it has been possible to obtain the expression of com- petent opinion around them. Imperfections of scope and method have been pointed out, difficulties described and re- forms advocated with a breadth of view and maturity of experience which command the attention of the educational world. As an instance of the effect of the work of the Section, mention may be made of the discussion on the scope and teaching of elementary mathematics, opened last year by Prof. Perry, which led to the appointment of a committee with Prof. Forsyth as chairman. In the report presented by this com- mittee, several desirable reforms were indicated, all of them of a kind capable of adoption by teachers and examiners. The committee considers that different methods of teaching mathe- matics might be adopted for different classes of students, and corresponding types of examination should be used. Emphasis islaid upon the recommendation that the teaching of demon- strative geometry should be preceded by the teaching of practical and experimental geometry, together with a considerable amount of accurate drawing and measurement. In demonstrative geometry, no single book should be placed in a position of authority, nor should there be a single syllabus in control of all examinations. It is recommended that some association of arithmetic and algebra with geometry is desirable in all cases where this may be found possible. Examining bodies are advised that no candidate should be allowed to pass unless he gives evidence of some power to deal with questions not in- cluded in the text-book adopted. With regard to arithmetic and algebra, regret is expressed that the decimal system of weights and measures has not been adopted in this country. Graphical methods should be used wherever possible, and tables of simple functions should be introduced as soon as the student is capable of understanding the general nature of the functions tabulated. In opening the discussion on points arising from this report, Mr. A. W. Siddons described the recommendations of the Mathematical Association Committee, of which he is honorary secretary. Like the British Association Committee, that of the Mathematical Association recommends that a first introduction to geometry, and to each new branch of geometry, should be experimental with the use of instruments and numerical measure- ments and calculations. So far as deductive geometry is con- cerned, Mr. Siddons pointed out that there seem to be four alternatives:—(1) To have no one syllabus placed in the position of authority; (2) to replace Euclid by ove standard NOw 723, VOL. 107 | 17 syllabus ; (3) to modify Euclid by omission and readjustment ; (4) to retain Euclid in its present form. The Mathematical Association Committee has recommended the adoption of a modified Euclid ; itis considered that the time is not yet ripe for the proposal of a standard to be adopted finally in place of Euclid. The modifications proposed include :—(1) The omission of some propositions which do not help on the course or which should be regarded as axiomatic ; (2) improved methods of proving other propositions, including the use of hypothetical constructions ; (3) the addition of a few proposi- tions ; (4) the adoption of Playfair’s axiom and the ‘‘ limit” definition of a tangent ; (5) the use of angles greater than two right angles ; (6) that the exact treatment of incommensurables be regarded as a branch of higher mathematics. The discussion upon the two reports was distinguished this year by the fact that mathematical masters from several public and other large schools were present and took part init. It is evident from the opinions expressed that reforms in the directions advocated by the two committees would be welcomed by many teachers. Mathematical ideas can be obtained by means of Froebel’s boxes of geometrical solids and simple plane figures, but the school work after the kindergarten is not usually conducted on the same sound and systematic plan. An address on the sub- jects to be taught as science in schools and the order in which they should be taken, given by Dr. C. W. Kimmins, indicated desirable directions of study. Dr. Kimmins pointed out that the great reforms which have taken place in recent years in the teaching of science in schools have been due in large measure to the British Association report on the teaching of chemistry. Similar reports are needed on the teaching of other subjects suitable for instruction in schools, and it is hoped that the committee appointed on the teaching of botany will be of value in this connection. Dr. Kimmins suggested that the interval between the kinder- garten (pupils five to eight years of age) and the experimental science course should be utilised for suitable nature-study teaching. During this interval, thorough instruction should b2 given in practical mathematics, including the mensuration which is generally taken as part of the experimental science course. This should be given in the time devoted to mathematics, not science. Finally, it was considered that the subjects requiring special attention are the teaching of natural history and botany, and the correlation of science and art teaching. When experimental science is introduced into schools, the best course of practical instruction to follow is one based upon heuristic principles, such as that which has been introduced into Irish national schools. Mr. W. Mayhowe Heller, who has organised the work, described the methods and results of the scheme. The Commissioners of National Education, in taking steps to introduce practical instruction into their schools, are attempting to do the work accomplished in the towns of Eng- land and Scotland by local educational enterprise. In elementary science, the typical course for boys and girls is based on the 1889 recommendation of the British Association Committee. Teachers attending training courses have to perform all experi- ments of the course themselves. Free equipment grants of ap- paratus for manual instruction and elementary science are given to necessitous schools. Very few schools at present have labor- atories, but at the sametime a great deal of individual experi- menting can be accomplished. Object lessons are allowed as a substitute for a systematic course of instruction in experimental science, but these must attempt to achieve the same results as the science lesson, viz. accurate habits in observation, work, de- scription and reasoning. Practical instruction of this kind is of the highest importance to Ireland ; for upon its successful intro- duction into the national schools depends the future of technical instruction. The position of science in Irish intermediate schools was brought before the Section in two papers, one by Mr. R. M. Jones, head-master of the Royal Academical Institution, and another by Mr. T. P. Gill, secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. Mr. Jones gave a survey of the working of the new scheme of intermediate education and indicated the probable tendency of developments. Practical work in physics and chemistry has been introduced into inter- mediate schools, the scheme followed being that of the De- partment of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. The result is that laboratories in which simple measurements and weigh- ings can be conveniently carried on have been provided in many 18 schools, and the work done in them is of a most inspiring character both to teacher and pupil. The science programme for the Irish intermediate or secondary schools was dealt with by Mr. Gill, who though by training and inclination a humanist, expressed his complete satisfaction with the aims and scope of the scheme. The programme was intro- duced for three reasons, which Mr. Gill expressed,as follows :-— ‘* First, because we believe that science has a part as well as letters in the science of general education—(remember, I am speaking now only of the science part of the programme, and only of the secondary schools)—and, secondly, because the teaching of experimental science according to this programme involves a method now commonly called the heuristic method, which we believe has a great educational value and may be applied to the advantage of the study of other subjects as well as science. The third reason is the special value of science in connection with technical instruction.” Mr. Gill confessed that in admitting the claim of science in general education, and standing as its champion, he did so as a convert, and one who has been brought to that realisation of the power and value of science which is forced upon every modern man. “Scientific physics,” he remarked, ‘‘ which have now their recognised place in public instruction, are ad- mittedly no more difficult to learn or to teach than Latin or Greek, and in our Irish public schools at the present time I venture to say Latin and Greek are not so well taught as our experimental science, with all the great drawbacks and the difficulties which have beset us in the endeavour to provide teaching power. The secondary school which has to do with the future leaders, the industrial and intellectual leaders of the country, would hardly be true to its function as a preserver of the equipoise of general knowledge, would hardly be a living institution informed by the spirit of the age, if it failed to take notice in its curriculum of the place science occupies to-day in the mental and material life of society.” Dr. W.J. M. Starkie, Resident Commissioner of National Edu- cation in Ireland, created a sensation among Irish educationists by a paper in which he criticised the recent reforms of primary and secondary education, undertaken with a view to their co- ordination. He condemned the managerial control of national schools in Ireland, and pleaded for that which every civilised country in Europe has long since attained—a single local authority for education outside of technical schools and univer- sities. Nothing can be done, however, until educated and inde- pendent laymen come forward in sufficient numbers to make their influence felt on such authorities. As regards English schools, Dr. J. H. Gladstone read the report of the committee on the teaching of science subjects in elementary schools; but the changes which have been caused by the introduction of the Block grant in place of the former examination grants havé made it difficult to arrive at definite information as to the number of pupils receiving instruction in science. It is felt that the time has now arrived for a general survey of the progress made since the committee was appointed in 1879, and such a statement will, it is hoped, be presented to the Association next year. Before any subject can be taught with success, the health of the pupil and the training of the teacher have to be considered. A preliminary report of the committee on the conditions of health essential to the carrying on of the work of instruction in schools was presented by Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S. At- tention has so far been directed to the following points :—The periods of day appropriate for different studies, the length of lessons, and periods of study suitable for children of different ages ; anthropometrical and physiological observation forms in use in various schools with a view to preparing a typical form for general use ; anthropometrical and physiological observ- ations recorded in different schools for a series of years on the same children ; investigations into the causes of defective eye- sight in school children and a definition of the conditions necessary for preserving the sight; the practical knowledge of hygiene possessed by school teachers. Much interesting infor- mation has been collected and tabulated, and it is hoped that when the final report is presented next year some action will be taken upon its recommendation. Given pupils in a condition to study with profit, it is desirable that the teachers should be trained to direct their mental activities. In a paper on the preliminary training of teachers, with special reference to women, Miss L. E. Walter described the various avenues to qualification as teachers in elementary NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | NADTORE | NovEMBER 6, 1902 schools, and suggested some practicable improvements in the courses of study pursued between the ages of about fourteen and eighteen years. She condemned the excessive book-work which must be done by pupil teachers who desire to pass their examinations, especially when scientific subjects are concerned. It was urged that in every pupil teachers’ school or centre the students should be taught (1) how to read books with permanent profit ; (2) how to increase their knowledge practically by simple experiments as distinct from book-work. In the course of a brilliant address, Prof. H. L. Withers pointed out that the problem of the training of teachers is essentially different in a primary and secondary school. In the former a considerable, though incomplete, system has been in existence for the best part of a century, while in the latter the provision made is still so defective that at least in the case of boys’ schools it may be said that we have everything to do from the beginning. For the primary teacher large Government grants are given, while nothing is as yet allowed for the secondary. Primary schools are fairly homogeneous. Secondary schools display a great multiplicity of types, social and educa- tional, day and boarding. The problem in the two cases was, therefore, treated separately by Prof. Withers. As regards the latter, it was remarked that the multiplicity of types is so great that anything like a single stereotype system of training would be futile. The secondary schools themselves must take a large share in framing an elastic variety of systems, and the training provided must be consistent with all that is best and strongest in our existing tradition. Analogy with other professions sug- gests that a combination between the great schools and the Universities is essential for the institution of a complete system of professional training. Though in several respects the posi- tion of men as regards training is quite distinct from that of women, yet for the purposes of both who desire to obtain their professional training at universities, each university should, fcr the future, be equipped with a department of education as effective as its departments of law and medicine. As much as possible should be done to refer students to the principles of mental, moral and physical science, upon which the theory and practice of education must ultimately be based. In secondary schools a knowledge of educational principles is not regarded as of much importance, and young men go to them to teach without having received any training. In the course of time some of them became good schoolmasters, gain- ing experience at the expense of their pupils. In such cases the school has the same relation to the teacher as the workshop to the engineer, but there is little doubt that the master and the engineer should receive some practical training before under- taking professional duties. Prof. Perry’s presidential address on the training of engineers was discussed at a joint meeting with the Section of Engineering, Among the points brought forward in the course of the discussion were, that it would be an advantage if students of engineering could spend five months each year in a workshop and five months in a technical college ; that preliminary training in habits of observation and accuracy was of the greatest value ; that teachers should be kept in close touch with the practice of their profession, and their laboratories should be equipped with modern tools and machinery ; and that we have little to learn from Germany in the matter of education or of turning out work, but much to learn as regards financial ability and the science of commerce. Language is an important factor in determining commercial developments. It is therefore worth while to consider Sir Frederick Bramwell’s suggestion that the great commercial nations—the United States, Germany, France and England— should each adopt a common language to be learnt in addition to their own, in order to facilitate intercommunication and save the trouble of learning several languages for business purposes. Italian was suggested as a suitable language for the purpose, because it is easy of acquirement, founded upon a classic basis, and could be adopted without arousing feelings of jealousy among the nations accepting it. Latin was also suggested as a suitable common language, as it was in medizeval times. Many people believe that English will in the course of time become the language of commerce, but if this is to be realised more attention must be paid to the teaching of our mother tongue in schools than is usually the case. Mr. P. J. Hartog dealt with this subject in a paper which led toa good discussion. He held that a mastery of our language is as necessary for the so- called practical uses of the leaders in war, diplomacy, science and commerce as for the historian and the philosopher. Though NovEMBER 6, 1902] NAT OPE LQ on the grounds of utility English ought to be given an important place in the school curriculum, it is one of the most neglected subjects. The result is that few boys leaving school are able to write a good letter, and many adults are unable to describe things or events in precise terms. On this account many mis- leading statements are made which might have been avoided. Mr. Hartog pleaded for the rational and systematic teaching of the mother tongue in our schools. By neglecting this sub- ject the teacher is deprived of a very powerful instrument of education. Prof. G. M. Minchin gave, in a paper, a number of examples of the misuse of common English words and ex- pressions, among them being split infinitives, zwz¢ou? instead of undess, misplaced sha// and zw2//, and many others which should be avoided by all who desire to use words in their correct sense and place, and preserve our language from barbarisms. Other subjects were considered during the meetings of the Section, but limitations of space will not permit descriptions of them, or of the many valuable points brought forward by speakers in the discussions. It was evident from what was read and said that a large amount of material of interest to men of science and practical teachers is available, so the Section is likely to be even more active in the future than it has been during its two years of existence. R. A. G. BOTANY AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. ‘THE semi-popular lecture was given on Monday, September 15, by Prof. F. W. Oliver, on ancient and modern seeds. The lecturer gave a clear and interesting description, illustrated with lantern slides, of the gradual evolution of the seed, and dealt with some of the more interesting questions concerning the morphology of various seed structures. On Friday, September 12, the botanists paid a visit to the Belfast Botanic Gardens, and under the guidance of the able curator, Mr. McKimm, inspected the extremely interesting fernery which has recently been constructed. On Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. C. H. Waddell, the indefatigable local secretary of Section K, conducted a botanical excursion to Colin Glen. After an interesting ramble, the members were entertained to tea by Mr. and Mrs. Kidd, whose kindness was much appreciated. Much interest was taken in a collection of characteristic Australian plants, exhibited by Mr. Thomas Steel during the meeting. Prof. I. Bayley Balfour, F.R.S., exhibited and described specimens of the various forms of Zyrica ¢etralix found in Connemara. Mr. James Stirling, Government Geologist of Victoria, ina paper on the flora of the Australian Alps, dealt with the origin and distribution of the mixed types of plants now growing on the highest altitudes over south-east Australia, and their correlation with other Alpine and the Tertiary floras of the region. Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger read a paper on the composition of the flora of the north-east of Ireland. This area includes the counties of Down and Antrim, and the flora numbers 820 species of flowering plants and vascular cryptogams, the total flora of Ireland being reckoned at 1020 species. There is in the local flora an almost complete representation of British type plants. English type plants are rather poorly represented. Scottish type plants reach in Antrim their maximum for Ireland ; in Down they are somewhat fewer. Of Highland type species there is a fair representation ; Antrim, though of less elevation, contains more Alpine plants than Down, Germanic plants are extremely few in Ireland. In Atlantic type plants, Down and Antrim are comparatively rich. Mr. Herbert Wright (Ceylon) contributed a paper on foliar periodicity in Ceylon, in which he showed that some ‘trees undergo complete defoliation twice per year; others exhibit incremental foliar activity several times per year, in addition to a complete annual renewal. The irregularity of foliar periodicity is very pronounced. There is not a month when all the trees are in full leaf. In the department of plant physiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, of Calcutta, gave an interesting demonstration, illustrated by ex- periments, on the response of plants to stimulation (vide Journ. Linn. Soc., xxxv., 1902). Mrs. D. H. Scott gave an account of the movements of the flower-buds and flowers of Sfarmannia africana up to the time of the setting of the fruit. At first the buds hang all in one plane; each bud has a joint on the stalk, NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | which is much swollen below the flower. The buds rise one by one from the drooping position to the horizontal ; then make a sharp curve inwards, and just before flowering the bud hangs down in an exactly vertical position. The flowers open during sunlight at a temperature not below 60° F. (15°'5 C.), so that on a cold day perhaps only one flower and on a hot day three or four may be open at the same time. The flowers reopen for several days ; during this time they gradually take up a vertical position, pollen often being formed for five or six days. Then, if fertilised by bees, the flower-stalk falls again into the hori- zontal position, from which it rises again as the fruit ripens. Mr. Barnard and Prof. Allan Macfadyen, ina paper on luminous bacteria, stated that these organisms require particular and exact conditions in order to exhibit their luminous properties. They must have a suitable nutrient soil containing such propor- tions of salts as shall render the medium isotonic. A supply of free oxygen is essential; in the absence of oxygen the organisms live, but are non-luminous. The luminosity appears to be due to the vital processes of the cell, and an exposure to the temperature of liquid air does not destroy it. Prof. Macfadyen and Mr. Rowland also contributed a paper on the suspension of life at low temperatures, in which they showed that ten hours’ exposure to the temperature of liquid hydrogen (about — 252° C.) had no appreciable effect onthe vitality of the various organisms (bacteria and yeast) tested. Miss Gabrielle L. C. Matthaei (Cambridge) described experiments on the effect of temperature on carbon dioxide assimilation in the leaves of the cherry laurel. The lowest temperature at which assimilation could be detected was — 6°C. This is the first well-established case of assimilation below o° C. For temperatures between —6° C. and 33° C. it was found that assimilation is affected in exactly the same way as is respiration. Provided the illumination is sufficient, the assimilation increases with the temperature. Dr. Henry H. Dixon (Dubiin) gave an account of some experiments made to determine the resistance of seeds to high temperatures. The maximum temperature to which the various seeds were exposed and still retained their germinating power varied from 90° C. to 121° C. The president communicated a paper by himself and Mr. H. Jackson on the germination of fatty seeds. In the case of Ricinus, the reserves consist mainly of oil and aleurone, hardly a trace of carbo- hydrate being present. In germination, the oil diminishes and both cane sugar and glucose make their appearance, accom- panied by the formation of lecithin, a fatty body which contains nitrogen and phosphorus. Several important papers on fossil plants were read. Miss Margaret Benson described the seed-like fructification of Miadesmia membranacea, Bertrand. The foliage leaf bears a ligule in a longitudinal groove with thickened base and sides. In the sporophylls, the sporangia are inserted singly in the prox- imal end of the groove, and are large and pedicellate. In the megasporophyll, the sides of the groove are completely coherent above the sporange, and thus forma velum. The wall of the megasporange is composed of several layers of isodiametric cells, and encloses a single thin-walled megaspore or embryo sac. The microsporange has no velum, and the wall is formed of a palisade layer. Miss Benson also described the structure of some sporangia found associated with petioles and other fragments of Lyginodendron oldhamium. Mr. Lomax described two specimens obtained from Dulesgate, which show that Lyginodendron had a branching stem ; also that the branch was given off in the one case between two leaf-stalks and in close proximity to several roots. The position of the roots shows that they must have been aérial roots, and not, as generally accepted, basal or confined to the basal regions of the stem. Mr. Lomax also read a paper on the occurrence of nodular concretions (coal balls) in the Lower Coal-measures. These bodies consist of a quantity of fragments of short pieces of stems, &c., some with the cortex, some without, some split in fragments, and so on. From an examination of these nodules it appears that, at least in this case, these plant remains have not grown on the spot where we now find them, and the author comes to the conclusion that the various portions of plants have been carried into their present position after being broken in fragments, and before petrification, or they have been carried froma parent bed after petrification. In a paper on sporangiophores as a clue to affinities among Pteridophyta, Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., pointed out that some years ago he suggested the probability of an homology between the ventral sporangiophores of Spheno- phyllum or Cheirostrobus and the similarly placed synangia of 20 NATURE [NovemBER 6, 1902 the Psiloteze ; on this ground, among others, an affinity between the fossil and the recent family appeared tenable. has recently been supported by Prof. Thomas, of Auckland, N.Z., on evidence drawn from certain remarkable variations which he observed in the genus Tmesipteris. On the view suggested, the synangium of the Psiloteze is neither a reduced strobilus nor a septate sporangium, but a ventral sporangiophore bearing a variable number of sporangia, normally two or three, according to the genus. Mr. A. C. Seward, F.R.S., and Mr. Arber gave an account of some fossil Nipa seeds from Belgium. In the domain of plant morphology, several interesting papers were communicated. Mr. John C. Willis, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, described the dorsiven- trality of the Podostemacez, and showed that it extends both to the vegetative and floral organs. The more modified types show a progressive increase in dorsiventrality of the vegetative system followed throughout by an increase in that of the floral. The same series, regarded ecologically, shows that though the flowers are steadily more and more zygomorphic—a condition usually regarded as an adaptation to insect visits—we have here flowers which stand stiffly erect, and-are more and more anemo- philous and autogamous. Miss Sibille O. Ford (Cambridge) gave an account of the morphology of the Araucarieze, which include the two genera Araucaria and Agathis ; they are charac- terised by the regularity of their branching and the persistence of their leaves. The apex of the stem shows no definite apical cell, but a somewhat irregular dermatogen. Well-marked annual rings may be found in the wood, and bordered pits are found on the tangential walls of the latest formed summer wood. Mr. Herbert Wright (Ceylon) described the sex relationships in Ceylon species of Diospyros. These plants have hitherto been regarded as dicecious, but he finds from an examination of fresh material frequent departures from this condition, some being moncecious, others dicecious and polygamous, and others dicecious, moncecious and polygamous. Mr. Worsdell gave an account of the various theories as to the nature of the sporangial, integuments in various groups of plants. The author maintains Celakovsky’s view that in the ferns the soriferous segment of pinnule, bearing asa rule sporangia on its lower (dorsal) surface, is the homologue of the outer integument of the ovule in Angiosperms, and zduszm that of inner inte- gument. Mr. Worsdell also read a paper on the nature of the vascular system of the stem in certain dicotyledonous orders, in which he comes to the conclusion, from anatomical data, that no hard and fast line exists between the two classes of dicotyle- dons and monocotyledons. The flowering stem and peduncle, as being those parts of the caulome which have undergone least modification owing to the necessities of adaptation to external conditions, exhibit, asa rule, most clearly the primitive structure which in the vegetative parts has become obscured. Mr. E. A. Newell Arber (Cambridge) read a paper on the morphology of the flowers in certain species of Lonicera, The genus includes about seventy species which belong to the section Xylosteum. In this section, the gyncecea of a two-flowered dichasium are more or less completely united together. In some cases, the two inferior ovaries are united in one plane by ¢he wnzon of their receptacular walls. In others they are for the most part free from one another, but surrounded by an outer parenchymatous tissue, arising from the base. This tissue is the result of the Jusion of the bracteoles of the true flowers. Mr. Harold Wager communicated some of the results of his recent observations on the structure of the central body in various species of Cyano- phyceze which show that, although wanting some of the characteristics of the nuclei of higher organisms, it must be regarded as nuclear in character and possibly as a nucleus of a simple or rudimentary type. In another paper, Mr. Wager dealt with the function of the nucleolus. This body, in the cases examined by him, appears to be intimately connected with the nuclear network, and ccntains chromatin material which contributes directly to the formation of the chromosomes. Prof. Oliver and Miss Edith Chick hada paper on the morphology of Torreya myristica, in which some interesting features of morpho- logical importance were described. Among other papers brought before the Section were the following contributions from mycologists :—Miss Lorrain Smith described a disease of the gooseberry which attacks the hard stem of the bushes above and below the ground level. The inner bark is permeated and completely destroyed by the my- celium of a fungus. The outer bark cracks and splits, and sclerotia are formed on the outside or half embedded in the NO. 17235 VOL, 67) This view . cortex. Mr. Barker (Cambridge) gave an account of the fungus of Samsu, a fermented drink of Eastern Asia, obtained by the distillation of a fermented liquor prepared from rice. The con- version of the starch into fermentable sugars is due largely to a species of Monascus. Hitherto this genus has been placed in the Hemiasci on account of a supposed formation of spores in a sporangium, surrounded by aninvestment of hyphz. It is, how- ever, one of the simplest sexual Ascomycetes. Mr. E. M. Freeman (Cambridge) contributed a paper on the darnel seed fungus, in which several new and important facts were brought forward, CARLSBAD MEETING OF THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF NATURALISTS AND PHVSICIANS. ‘THE seventy-fourth annual meeting of the Association of German Naturalists and Physicians was held on September 21-28 at Carlsbad, after an interval of not less than forty years. At the meeting, very naturally, the hot springs for which the place is famous suggested a suitable subject for discussion. Geologists and chemists alike concentrated their attention upon them. Prof. van *t Hoff, who may be regarded as the veritable creator of modern theoretical and physical chemistry, was there to elucidate the subject. Prof. Meyerhofer applied the latest teaching of that particular science to the springs, exciting a keen interest by his masterly method of dealing with the subject, more particularly when entering into the newest dis- coveries with regard to the theory of osmotic pressure and of ions which van ’t Hoff and Arrhenius have effectively established. The entire organism in biology may be shown to be a collection of osmotic cells, enclosing saline solutions, and the movement of liquids in them is to a high degree, if not entirely, determined by the laws of osmotic pressure. The Carlsbad springs have been again and again subjected to osmotic analysis, and this has led to a considerably deeper insight into the cause of their hygienic action than the merely chemical analysis which had first been judged sufficient. Mineral waters of high osmotic pressure, so it has been ascertained, remain in the stomach longer than waters of low osmotic pressure, and this fact enables the physician the better to judge what kind of water should be selected in dealing with any particular affection of the stomach. The study of the waters has been carried further, and the value of certain distinct rules and modified methods has been ascertained as facilitating com- parison in respect of osmotic pressure between mineral springs and liquids occurring in the human body. Among other results, it has been shown that natural mineral waters are much more efficacious than artificial imitations. Very possibly this is due to the presence in the natural springs of certain chemical sub- stances held in solution in such infinitesimal quantities that make them escape the notice of the purely chemical analyst. Such undiscovered ingredients may very well act by catalytic methods and so increase the efficacy of the solution. That question, indeed, requires further elucidation, which is likely to prove of much benefit to balneological science, to the relief of suffering humanity. Another lecture of great interest was that delivered by Prof. Suess, of Vienna, on the nature of hot springs. The mineral springs which are due to infiltration from surface water go by the name of ‘‘ vadose” springs ; they may be either cold or hot, according to their depth. It has been proved in the case of more hot springs than one that they run along earth crevasses formed before their own origin. Thus at Carlsbad the springs have followed the preexisting metallic veins (ore- lodes) which thousands of years ago found an outlet from the interior to the surface. The Carlsbad springs yield yearly about 56 million kilogrammes of solid ingredients which originate in the interior of the earth and contain in correspondingly small quantities the same elements as the ore-lodes the course of which they follow. Carlsbad is therefore maniiestly a “‘ juvenile,” z.e. volcanic, water. Attempts made to search for an area of infiltra- tion (as for ‘‘ vadose” waters) or to estimate the depth of its origin from any kind of a so-called thermal scale have proved absolutely futile. Nor yet can the presence of mineral ingre- dients be explained by the nature of the granite through which they run to the surface. The cavities which were long supposed to have been formed by the continual effusion of 5°88 million NoveEMBER 6, 1902] NATURE 21 kilogrammes of fixed ingredients annually are due to an entirely different cause. Carlsbad, it ought to be remembered, stands on a spathic lode of horn stone. Whether its hot waters in the depth still precipitate heavy metals and are active in building up a metallic vein, reaching finally daylight in an impoverished state, or whether the conditions of to-day do not admit of such an activity, it isimpossible to say. The presence of arsenic, anti- mony and zinc, indeed, favours the former conclusion. The Congress held general meetings in which very interesting communications were made. Thus, Prof. Weber, Amsterdam, had much to say upon the Malay Archipelago and the history of its fauna. He reconstructed, so to speak, the great bridge between the people of East Asia and Australia. Again, Prof. Voller, director of the Electrotechnical Institute of Hamburg, explained the foundation and methods of electrical wave telegraphy. Communications showed that very substantial progress has recently been made, thanks to the theoretical study of the subject by Prof. Braun, of Strassburg, and the practical experiments of Prof. Slaby, of Charlottenburg. Some practical demonstrations of what has been called the Slaby-Braun system, for which the Congress was indebted to the General Electrical Company, of Berlin, and the Society for Wireless Telegraphy (by the Braun and Siemens-Halske process), of Berlin, helped to make the matter very much clearer. The Carlsbad Congress, which was, according to established usage, held in a number of distinct sections—28 in all—was opened with a very interesting address on the constitution of the molecule tof albumen, by Prof. Hofmeister, of Strassburg. Investigation of this important subject is beset by difficulties. However, in spite of this, modern science has, by means of continued inquiry, succeeded in establishing certain valuable facts which promise to lead to a clear knowledge of the subject. Thus it has been ascertained that glycocol, which is derived from albuminoid bodies, becomes transformed intourea. There- fore the road to further discovery must, one would think, lie across glycocol, and we can unconstrainedly trace back the other principal nitrogenous final products, just like urea, to the splitting up of the molecule of albumen, and wice versd we might reconstruct the molecule of albumen from the final products. Prof. Emil Fischer, of Berlin, in the Section of Chemistry, spoke on practically the same subject in an intensely interesting way. He was able to state that he succeeded in obtaining albuminoid substances by synthesis the possibility of which had so far only been dreamed of. Furthermore, Prof. Leube, of Wiirzburg, reviewed the whole question of physiological albuminuria (both ‘‘ manifest” and latent”). He showed that in some healthy individuals albumen passes in the urine regularly after standing, whereas it disappears when the persons affected alter their position to sitting or lying. Muscular exertion may also be productive of albuminuria, but only in a standing position. Food of itself causes no albumin- uria. It may, indeed, result, after the eating of raw eggs, but only when the person eating them has been standing. Such disposition to albuminuria is probably owing to an innate greater transfusibility of the filtrating membrane of the kidney. It is innocuous. Prof. v. Eiselsberg, of Vienna, dealt with the subject of the thyroid gland. His paper showed that goitre is caused bysome mineral constituents occurring in certain geological formations and transmitted by water. In all probability, cretinism is due to similar causes, made effective through the action of the thyroid gland. Prof. v. Wettstein, of Vienna, made ““Neo-Lamarckism ” his subject, and explained the great import- ance of ‘‘selection” in the development of species, showing that by “selection” alone is it possible to account for the remarkable variety of forms to be observed in the same scale of organisation. The argument is, however, manifestly incom- plete. For “selection” cannot account for the progress of development which, on the other hand, ‘‘ direct accommodation ” does explain. Prof. Penck, of Vienna, in his paper on prehistoric man, proved that the interval between the older and the younger Stone age can only have been a very short one. In future, therefore, we will have to consider rather an advance of the culture of the younger Stone age than an immigration of Neolithic people, bearing in mind that, according to the present standard of our knowledge, Europe is the scene of a prehistoric culture the peginning of which lies a few hundred thousands of years ack. So much for the general meetings. NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | The sz2ctional gatherings proved no less interesting and instructive. In the Pedriatric Section, Dr. Moser, of Vienna, threw new light upon the theory, still to be proved, of the unity of species of the streptococci in scarlet fever. He has used a mixture of bouillon-cultures of streptococci from various cases of scarlet fever for immunising animals. In this way he has obtained a serum from horses which was shown to possess a specific curative value in scarlet fever when tried in the pedriatric clinic of the University (Prof. Escherich). The serum, which was prepared in the Serothera- peutical State Institute (Prof. R. Paltauf), has been used in the clinic since November, 1900. Of 699 scarlet fever cases of St. Anna Hospital, the worst were picked out and $1 received in- jections. It is the clinical aspect which in all these cases speaks for the specifically curative effect of theserum. If the injection is made on the first or second day there is no death ; at a later period the result is less certain. The effect of the injection is that the fever vanishes or subsides, the general feeling improves in a remarkably short time, the nervous disturbances disappear very rapidly, the children feeling surprisingly better. Up to now it has proved necessary to inject the serum in considerable quantities, and the effect has sometimes been that sensitive children have suffered in consequence from eczema. This, how- ever, passes away speedily without causing any injury. In the St. Anna Hospital it was found possible to lessen mortality to 8-9 per cent. out of almost 400 cases, whereas in the other hospitals of the town the average mortality was 13°09 per cent. Yet these results were obtained under partial application of the method, owing to the insufficient quantities and low concentra- tions only of the serum being available, so that only a fraction of the sick could be subjected to this treatment. Prof. Escherich spoke energetically of the favourable action obtained with the serum. Prof. Paltauf expressed regret that the quantity of serum necessary cannot yet be precisely determined, as is the case with the diphtheria serum. The Government has, however, granted the Serotherapeutical Institute an exceptional subsidy of 10,000 kr. so as to produce this scarlet fever serum in sufficient quantities. In the Section of Dentistry, Dr. Sickingen furnished really astounding material illustrating the necessity of paying careful attention to the teeth of soldiers. As a result, an appeal was made to the Ministry of War recommending that garrison dentists should be appointed in the army. Furthermore, the Section of Hygiene adopted a resolution urging that as a means of raising the general hygienic condition of the people, special district dentists and school dentists should be appointed by the State and prohibited from engaging in private practice. Dr. Sternberg, in the Section for Pathological Anatomy, related that dead tubercle bacilli may bring about the same anatomical changes as living ones, causing the death of the animals experimented upon. Dr. Kraus, Vienna, spoke of the action of immune-hzemolysine (the serum of rabbits treated previously with canine erythrocytes) ; small quantities of such serum have been found to produce a grave disease which has been characterised as heglobinzemia, hemoglobinuria, grave anemia or possibly icterus. Prof. Takahasi (Tokio) spoke on poisonous fish. Of such he showed the Tetrotone (called ‘‘ Tugu” in Japan) to be the most poisonous of all. Its ovary contains most of the poison, the next dangerous being the liver ; the muscles, on the other hand, are entirely free from the poison. Accordingly, a police regulation has been enforced, permitting the sale of this fish only after the internal organs have been removed. Prof. Frick, Zurich, spoke of the treatment of feverish diseases without alcohol, and aroused considerable interest in view of the bearing of this matter upon the anti-alcoholic movement. Ife said that the popularity of alcohol is entirely due to its quality as a narcotic. Alcohol, however, possesses a number of qualities which make its use seriously contra- indicated in the ward altogether, and more particularly in febrile diseases. Moreover, the power of resistance against infectious matter is abated in the animal organism by the con- sumption of alcohol, and this is the reason why drinkers show in any kind of infectious disease a lesser power of resistance than people who practise abstinence. Another question of great interest raised in the proceedings was that of the ‘‘ circuit of nitrogen.” Among the highly in- structive communications which were made on the subject, space will permit me here to mention only one. Prof. Meyer, of Gottingen, began his paper with these words : —‘‘ Cellulose must become a food stuff.” He pointed out the necessity for nitrogen both in vegetable and animal life, and the importance 22 NATORE [ NovEMBER 6, 1902 of preserving it and turning it to practical account in the economy of nature. The population of the German Empire, so he instanced, increases at the rate of one per cent. every year, yet the quantity of nitrogen provided for our sustenance by the ordinary channels remains constantly the same. We shall, therefore, have to take advantage of the free nitrogen present in the air, first to benefit the plants and indirectly to benefit the plant-eating animals. It is known that small organisms, such as the so-called nitrifying bacteria, are able to assimilate directly the free nitrogen occurring in the atmosphere. The immense importance of this economic question is understood upon realising that in the German Empire an area of twelve-and-a-half million acres is covered with lupins and other leguminous plants, culti- vated for agricultural purposes, and that these maintain a close touch (‘‘ symbiose”) with the nitrifying bacteria. The nitrogen of the air which these bacteria attract on such an area may amount to five million quintals, representing at the current market rate something like 300,000,000 marks. In the Section of Legal Medicine, the director of the Forensic Institute of Graz spoke of the serum diagnostic of blood, and pointed out the difficulties and responsibility involved. Jolles in- sisted upon the importance of chemical examination of blood, and explained some clinical apparatus which he has devised for such purpose, viz. the ferrometer, the phosphometer and the hzemoprometer. In the Botanical Section, Prof. Molisch, of Prague, in his paper on the phosphorescence of meat, described the method by which it is possible to obtain such with the certainty of a physical experiment. It is invariably the same micro-organism which causes the phenomenon, namely, the AZzcrococcus phos- phoreus, Cohn, a bacterium which has made itself at home all over the continent, though it may be true that it came originally from the sea. Prof. Pribram, Vienna, spoke of the new institute for biological investigation in Vienna, in which it has been made possible to observe an organism during several genera- tions and of studying the principal question of biology, namely, the transmission ofacquired characters. Prof. Roehman, Breslau, showed that he had succeeded in keeping mice in the best of health with food consisting of albuminates, carbohydrates and salts mingled ina certain ratio. Prof. Exner, Vienna, with the help of an ‘‘acousto-meter,” demonstrated that the bad acoustic properties of many public rooms are due in the main to the existence of an echo. Police-Surgeon Dr. Schrank, in the Section for Hygiene, advocated international legal proceedings to prevent the spreading of venereal diseases. An important demonstration took place in the Section of Mathematics after Prof. Klein, Gottingen, had finished his re- port on the present condition of the ‘*‘ Encyclopzedia of Mathe- matical Sciences.” Prof. Molk, Nancy, added that this great work is now being edited in common by German and French authors, and that this is the first occasion since 1870 that men of science of either side of the Vosges have been brought into active co- operation. In the Section of Astronomy, Prof. Archenholz, of the Treptow Observatory, mentioned that in the determination of the influence which sun spots have on our atmosphere, it is rather the position of these spots and their size on the solar disc than their number which enters into account. Prof. Hasslinger, of Prague, in the Chemical Section, relates the results of his latest experiments by which he has secured diamonds with Gold- schmid’s thermite method. By adding carbon in various forms, such as that of finely suspended graphite toa fused mass, similar to the South African mother stone Kimberlit, he succeeded in obtaining true diamonds. This is not only an entirely new method, but also corroborates the theory previously maintained of the natural origin of diamonds. In the Section of Gynzcology, the conservative treatment by bath cures, mud poultices, hot baths, thermophor, &c., was forcibly advocated as yielding complete success and as well qualified to substitute the radical operations, while pus-formation can be stopped by incision only. Prof. Chroback, of Vienna, pointed out that even so pronounced a radical as Prof. Martine expressed himself in favour of the conservative method. Prof. Kehr, of Halberstadt, gave a véswmé of no less than 730 operations executed for the removal of gall stones. Where gall stones were removed from the gall bladder, mortality was found to be at the rate of 2 per cent., when the gall bladder was removed with the stones it rose to 3 per cent.,and when the stones occurred in the hepatic duct to 6’5 per cent. ; however, by con- tinual practice he managed in the last 200 operations to restrict mortality to only 14 per cent. NO. 1723, VOL. 67] ! distinctly gained by its transactions. From these short notes it will be seen that there was abundant material of a very varied character brought under the notice of the Congress, and dealt with ina manner to make the latter a not unworthy successor of its precursors. Science generally has The next Congress is to be held September 21, 1903. F. ScHuMAN-L ECLERCQ. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. OxrorpD.—The 240th meeting of the Scientific Club was held on October 31. Dr. A. D. Darbi- shire, Balliol, showed an interesting case of reversion. The offspring of an albino pet mouse and a Japanese ‘‘ waltzing ” mouse bears many resemblances to a common house mouse, and does not ‘* waltz.” Mr. H. M. Hartley, Balliol, read a paper on ‘‘Jons Jakob Berzelius.” Mr. W. K. Spencer (Magdalen) has been elected to the Bur- dett Coutts’ scholarship in geology. The Chemistry School suffered a heavy loss at the beginning of the present term in Mr. Vernon Harcourt’s resignation of the Lee’s readership, which he held for forty-three years. Mr. Harcourt was a Balliol undergraduate, and in 1858 was placed in the first class in the Natural Science School. During the next year he was elected to the Lee’s readership at Christchurch. In addition to his research work, he took an important part in the teaching of chemistry. He did not merely train his pupils in the ordinary curriculum required for the schools, but imbued them with the ambitions of the researcher, and it is a striking testimony to his efforts that the best experimental work by Oxford men of the present generation has come from those who were his own pupils or worked under his influence. His departure from Oxford will be greatly regretted by very many friends both young and old, and he will leave behind him a place which it will be very hard adequately to fill. CAMBRIDGE.—In the combination room of Peterhouse on Wednesday of last week, Lord Kelvin unveiled a portrait of the late Prof. P. G. Tait, honorary fellow of the college, who was senior wrangler and first Smith’s prizeman in 1852. The portrait, which was subscribed for by the master and fellows of Peterhouse, was painted by Sir George Reid, president of the Royal Scottish Academy, and it will be hung in the hall of the college by the side of the portraits of Lord Kelvin and the late Dr. H. W. Cookson. The Zzmes reports Lord Kelvin to have said, in the course of his remarks, that he valued most highly the privilege of being allowed to ask the master and fellows of Peterhouse to accept for their college a portrait of Prof. Tait. He felt specially grateful for this privilege as a forty-years’ comrade, friend and working ally of Tait. The master of Pembroke (Sir George Stokes) spoke of Prof. Tait as an intimate friend, and said all who knew him must have been impressed with his great ingenuity and the versatility of his enius. e Mr. F. C. Kempson, Caius, has been appointed a demon- strator of anatomy. The following are the examiners for the natural sciences tripos :—Physics: Prof. L. R. Wilberforce, F.R.S., and T. C. Fitzpatrick ; chemistry: C. T. Heycock, F.R.S., and H. McLeod, F.R.S.; mineralogy: A. Hutchinson and G. F. Herbert Smith ; geology : H. Woods and Prof. T. T. Groom ; botany: Prof. Ward, F.R.S., and D. H. Scott, ‘F.R.S. ; zoology: J. S. Gardiner and Prof, Graham Kerr ; physiology : W. B. Hardy, F.R.S., and E. H. Starling, F.R.S.; anatomy : N. B. Harman and Dr. A. Keith. Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, University lecturer in experimental psychology, has been elected a fellow of St. John’s College. Mr, H. O. Jones, Jacksonian demonstrator of chemistry, has been elected a fellow of Clare College. University Junior Dr. R. H. Apers PLIMMER has been appointed Grocers’ Company research student at the Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicine. Str GEORGE KEKEWICH, who has been secretary to the Board of Education since 1890, has resigned his appointment and has been succeeded by Mr. R. L. Morant, NoveMBER 6, 1902 | NATURE to Gs Dr. H. S. ©arsLaw has been appointed professor of pure and applied mathematics in the University of Sydney. He was fourth wrangler (bracketed) in 1894, and is lecturer in mathematics in the University of Glasgow, and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. THE Vienna correspondent of the Zzyzes states that accord- ing to a communication from St. Petersburg, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture has just decided to found an agricultural high school for women. Students at the school will receive a general training as agriculturists, or will be permitted to restrict their attention to special branches of agriculture, such as dairy | or bred a black Metcecus.—Mr. farming, gardening, bee culture, poultry keeping and cattle | and sheep breeding. and will include practical occupation on a model farm in addition to study and laboratory work. Although the date on which the new institution will be opened has not yet been | | mens of this species, four dwarf females and many other | aberrant forms. | occurred constantly in one valley about two miles east from decided upon, 325 women who have had an intermediate educa- tion have announced their intention to follow the course. A RESEARCH scholarship of the annual value of 200/. for the study of the thymus and other ductless glands has recently been founded by Mr. J. Francis Mason, of Freeland Lodge, Wood- stock, Oxfordshire. The scholarship is tenable for two years, but the period may be extended to three years. The medical papers announce that on the recommendation of Prof. G. Sims Wood- head, of Cambridge, and Dr. T. F. S. Caverhill, of Edinburgh, Dr. Swale Vincent, lecturer on histology at the University College, Cardiff, has been appointed the first scholar. In addition to the foundation of the scholarship, Mr. Mason has made a donation of 200/. to the laboratory of the Edinburgh Royal College of Physicians to enable the medical superin- tendent, Dr. Noél Paton, to carry out a combined research on ductless glands. THE chief of the circulating department of the New York Public Library has recently undertaken an inquiry into the kind and amount of the reading of scientific subjects which takes place in connection with the eleven branches of the New York Library.. During May, 1901, the total home circulation of books from the eleven branch libraries was 131,700, and that of books of science 8553, or 6°5 per cent. The most popular subjects of science during the month concerned were, in order, zoology, mathematics, physics and botany, the least ‘popular of the ten sciences tabulated being paleontology, on which subject there were only twenty-four books in all the libraries put together, and of these only four were borrowed during the month. But a month is too short a time for the investigation, and little importance can be attached to the results. THE report of the Somerset County Education Committee for the year ending March 31 last shows that very few changes were made during this period in the system of technical edu- cation existing in the county of Somerset. The committee continues to encourage agricultural research. For instance, a grant of 100/. a year for three years has been made to the ‘Bath and West and Southern Counties’ Society in aid of a research by Mr. F. T. Lloyd into the causes of production of flavour in dairy produce, the Board of Agriculture contributing 200/. per annum and the Bath and West Society 150/. per ‘annum for the same purpose during the same period. A grant of 252. has also been made in aid of the expenses of experi- ments on the influence of the manuring of pastures on the growth of sheep fed thereon, to be carried out on Lord Ebrington’s estate on Exmoor. WE have received from Sir Philip Magnus the report, for the session I90I~2, on the work of the department of technology of the City and Guilds of London Institute. Among other matters described are the steps by which arrangements have been made for coordinating the technological work of the Institute with that of the Board of Education for England and Wales and of the Scotch Education Department. These arrangements are to be welcomed as helping to systematise technical instruc- tion and as tending to prevent the overlapping of effort which, in educational matters, has generally led to waste and ineffi- ciency. They mark another step towards the unification of different educational activities under a central board. The work of the department of technology of the Institute continues to grow steadily. During the session, the number of classes registered by the Institute increased from 2222 to 2320, and the number of students in attendance at these classes from 34,246 to 36,189. The total number of candidates for examination in Great Britain and Ireland was 16,580, showing an increase of 1023 on the number presented in rgor. NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | The course has been fixed for three years | | | country. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Entomological Society, October 15.—Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. —Mr. A. J. Chitty showed an entirely black specimen of AZefoecus parvadoxus as tending to dis- prove the mimicry suggested by him at the meeting on October 1. Dr. Chapman said that in his experience one out of every six specimens of this species was black. Mr. Donisthorpe stated that out of about one hundred specimens he had never caught E. P. Pickett exhibited a variety of the female of Argynnds aglaza, varieties of Satyrus janira, and a long series of Lycaena corydon taken near Folke- stone and Dover in August last, including four males of the last-named species, with the black band on the edge of the fore- wings much deeper than usual ; also twelve dwarf male speci- Mr. Goss said this dwarf form of Z. corydoz Dover, but he was unaware of its occurrence elsewhere in this He remarked that a dwarf form of Z. arzoz occurred everywhere where the type was found, both in Gloucestershire and Cornwall. Dr. Chapman and Mr. Sloper also remarked on | the dwarf form of Z. corydon.—Dr. Chapman exhibited speci- | mens of Votodonta (Hybocampa) dryinopa from (Queensland. It was remarkably similar in appearance, structure and habits to Hybocampa milhauser?. We stated that the pupa with a similar spine to that of H. z/kauserd does not cut out a regular oval lid from the cocoon like that species, but by a stabbing process pierces it with a number of holes, so that a piece is more easily pushed off. The cocoon being covered with bits of bark, stone, &c., a cutting process would be impossible, whereas the cocoon of H. mithausert was of pure gum-like silk. He pointed out that the larva much resembled that of HZ. mzZhauserz, but the hinder segments were more like those of Staurxopus fagi. He also exhibited living eggs, larvee and imagines of Ovina ty7stis, var. smaragdina, from Pino, Lago Maggiore. The beetles were taken on May 30, and had laid many eggs. Dr. Chapman said that the embryo, ready to hatch, might be seen within some of the eggs and its hatching spines observed.—Mr. Sloper ex- hibited a specimen of Lycaena hylas, caught at Dover on September 7.—Mr.. Martin Jacoby communicated a paper entitled ‘A Further Contribution to our Knowledge of African Phytophagous Coleoptera.”—Mr. Malcolm Burr read a com- munication from Hofrath Dr. Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl entitled ‘‘ Observations sur le nom générique Acrida.” MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, October 21.—Mr. Charles Bailey, president, in the chair.—Mr. C. E. Stromeyer exhibited specimens of boiler scale which both internally and externally resembled volcanoes, and he thought might with advantage be studied with the object of gaining a knowledge of volcanic eruptions.—The president read a paper on the adventi- tious vegetation of the sandhills of St. Anne’s-on-the-Sea, in which he remarked on four aliens found in that locality, viz. @vothera biennis, Linn., Stsymbrium pannonicum, Jacq., Ambrosia aw temistaefolia, Linn., and Vzcza villosa, Roth. Although the latter plant is distributed throughout Europe, this is probably the first record of its occurrence in Britain. Ambrosia artemisiaefolia is also a noteworthy addition, as it is a_rare casual in the few places in England where it has previously been found. Paris. Academy of Sciences, October 22.—M. Bouquet de la Grye’ in the chair.—Demonstration of the absolute irreducibility of the equation y= 6y? + x, by M. Paul Painlevé.—Synthesis of the alkaline hyposulphites and of the hyposulphites of the alka- line earths in an anhydrous condition, by M. Moissan. The hydrides of the alkalis and the alkaline earths when acted upon with sulphur dioxide under reduced pressure give pure hypo- sulphites, the hydrosulphites of Schutzenberger.. From the fact that hydrogen is given off in this reaction, it is shown that the formula given by Bernthsen, Na,S,O,, is correct, and that the original formula of Schutzenberger, in which these substances are represented as containing hydrogen, is not in accordance with fact.—The culture of wheat at the experimental field at Grignon in 1902, by MM. Dehérain and C, Dupont. Chiefly owing to the rains in the month of May, the yield of wheat in this experimental station has been exceptionally good. The 24 NATURE [NovEeMBEk 6, 1902 conclusion is drawn from this that where irrigation is possible in the spring without too great an expense, the results will be very advantageous to the farmer.—Some cases of integration of the equation to the brachistochrome, by M. Haton de la Goupillicre.—On cavitation in screw steamers, by M. J. A. Bormand. The name cavitation is given to the phenomenon met with when a screw is driven in water at speeds above a certain limiting value. A cavity is formed in the water inside which the screw revolves, and a further increase in the power driving the screw then results in no increase in the velocity of the boat. The alterations necessitated in the usual formulz for screw propulsion by this phenomenon are discussed in detail. — On the velocity of propagation of the X-rays, by M. T. Blondlot. By means of the action of the X-rays upon the dis- charge of a Hertzian exciter, it is shown that the duration of these rays is less than 5 x 10~ 1° sec., and that the velocity of the X-rays is of the same order as that of the Hertzian waves. —Remarks by M. le General Bassot on the volume of the Connaissance des Temps for 1905.—New_ observations on the volcanic eruptions at Martinique, by M. A. Lacroix. —Observations on the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons with the Brunner equatorial during the second quarter of 1902, by M. J. Guillaume. The results are summarised in three tables giving the number of spots, their distribution in latitude and the distribution of the faculze in latitude. —On the theory of algebraic functions, by M. Ludwig Schlesinger.—On Bessel’s equation with a second member, by ™M. A. S. Chessin.—On an example of correlative transformation in mechanics, by M Paul J. Suchar.—The precautions to be taken in the employment of silk fibres as torsion wires, by M. V. Crémieu.—Vision at a distance by electricity, by M. J. H. Coblyn.—The variation of the magnetic resistance of a bar submitted to traction, by M. Fraichet.—The electromotive force of a thermoelectric element, by M. Ponsot.—A method for the volumetric estimation of tannin and the analysis of wood and of tannin extracts, by M. Albert Thompson. The method is based upon the determination of the amount of oxygen ab- sorbed from an alkaline solution of hydrogen peroxide by the tannin.—On a new base derived from galactose, by M. E. Roux. By the reduction of the oxime obtained from galactose, a new base named galactamine is obtained, the preparation and chief properties of which are described. —On a new compound of the hexamethylene-tetramine group, by M. Marcel Descudé. —On a solid acid from the oil of E/aeococca vernicia, by M. L. Maquenne.—On musculamine, a base derived from muscles, by MM. A. Etard and A. Vila. The base described is the first example of a triamine base among biological products. —On the origin of the natural coloration of silk in the Lepidoptera, by MM. D. Levrat and A. Conte. These researches show the possibility of passing a substance such as a colouring matter through the digestive tube on to the silk, through the blood. —On the new genus Gyrinocheilus of the family Cyprinide, by M. Léon Vaillant.—Contribution to the study of the Anopheles of the Isthmus of Suez, by M. Cambouliu.—The physical con- ditions of tuberisation in plants, by M. Noel Bernard.—Ob- servations on the germination of the spores of Saccharomyces Ludwigit, by M. A. Guillermond.—On the pollen of plants belonging to the genus Asclepias, by M. Paul Dop.—New ex- periments in maritime aéronautics, by M. H. Hervé. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, NovemMsBer 6. LinNEAN Society, at 8.—Notes ona Natural History Journey to Chile : H. J. Elwes, F. RS. RONTGEN SociETY, at 8.30.—Address by the President, Mr. Herbert ackson. aeen Society, at 8.—Di-Indigotine : J. Moir.—Note on the Localisa- tion of Phosphates in the Sugar Cane: C. H. G. Sprankling.—The Specific Heats of Gases: H. Crompton.—On the Non-existence of the Gaseous Sulphide of Carbon described by Deninger: E. J. Russell and N. Smith.—Ihe Action of Nitric Acid on Bromophenolic Compounds : W. Robertson. —Hydroxyoxamides. Part II. : R. H. Pickard, C. Allen, W. A. Bowdler and W. Carter.—3 : 5-Dichlor-o- ;-xylene and 3 : 5-Dichlor- o-phthalic Acid: A. W. Crossley and H. R. Le Sueur.—Isometric Anhydrous Sulphates of the Form M’SO4,R’9SO4: .F. R. Mallet.— The Catalytic Racemisation of Amygdaline: J. W. Walker.—The Combination of Carbon Monoxide with Chlorine under the Influence of Light: G. Dyson and A. Harden.—The Constituents of Commercial Chrysarobin : H. A. D. Jowett and C. E. Potter. SATURDAY, Novemeer 8. Essex Frerp Crus (Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.30 p-m.—Results of the Fungus Foray on October 17 and 18: Dr. NO. 1723, VOL. 67 | M. C. Cooke.—Report of Delegate at British As ssociation Meeting, Belfast: W. Whitaker, F.R.S.—Lecture, ‘‘ Insect Life” : F. Enock. TUESDAY, NovEMBER tt. InsTiTUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electric Tramways: C. Hopkinson, B. Hopkinson and E. Talbot. ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—On the Classification and Arrange- ment of the Exhibits of an Anthropological Museum: W. H. Holmes.— On the Initiation Ceremonies of the Natives of the Papuan Gulf: Rey. J. H. Holmes. Rovat GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—World-shaking Earthquakes ; Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S. THURSDAY, November 13. MaTuHeEMATICAL SOCIETY, at 5:30.—Address on the Infinite and the Infinitesimal in Mathematical Analysis : Dr. E. W. Hobson.—Ueber den Satz der Gleichheit der Basiswinkel im gleichschenkligen Dreieck : Dr. D. Hilbert.—The Summation of a Certain Series : Prof. A. C. Dixon.— Expansion by Means of Lamé's Functions: Prof. A. C. Dixon.—Sets of Intervals : W. H. Young.—Note on’ Unclosed Sets of Points defined as the Limits of a Sequence of Closed Sets of Points : W. H. Young.—Wave Propagation in Two Dimensions: Prof. H. Lamb. —The Continuation of Certain Fundamental Powers Series : Prof. M. J. M: Hill.—A Geodesic on a Spheroid and an Associated Ellipse : L. Crawford. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8. FRIDAY, NoveMBER 14. Roya ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. CONTENTS. PAGE Linear Differential Equations. ByG.B.M..... I Scientific Psychology. By W.McD. .. 72ers The Modern Dynamo. ByM. 3s. so: +,:{ei ee Rear nea Our Book Shelt : “ Thirteenth Annual Report of the Local Government Board, 1900-1.”—Prof. R. T. Hewlett... 5 Robinson: ‘‘ The Flora of the East Riding of York- Shirerun =) © 5 Campbell : “A Revolution in the Science of Cosmo- lopiyicden ts s chken uO ): - - | «et O7) Cooperation in Observing Stellar Radial Velocities. . 67 The Markings of Venus... + + ++ +--+: 67 The Nernst Lamp. (///ustrated.) By Dr.C. C. Garrard 67 Natural Proportions in Architecture. (Lllustrated.) By Jaysnambidge | eo oo yee) > en Earthquakes and Earth Physics... ... +++ 69 The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow... 70 University and Educational Intelligence. . ... + 7° Societies and Academies .....-.-+-++-+2e++ 70 Diary of Societies ; . $05 29. = + ) &» R being the radius of the Earth (supposéd spherical), and the corresponding weight of the body will be w'=mg" on the supposition of the conservation of muss. The loss of weight is thus ARES (R+d)? J =u {1- (x48) *) 2240 pale (148) R’ neglecting second and higher powers of é. =w-w=wf 1 - As a particular example, take w=1 kilogm.,d=10cm. and R approx. =6357 x 10° cm. Then 5=0'00003 gm. [The term involving (2) would have the first significant as figure in the fifteenth place, and therefore we were justified in this case in neglecting it.] This small difference is, I believe, of the same order as those which Prof. Landolt found; but the ratio of the difference to the whole weight (z.e. 22: R) must have been much greater in his experiments. Although Prof. Landolt’s discrepancies may receive a perfectly different explanation, it is quite conceivable that a balance could be constructed which would detect such small differences. It is scarcely necessary to point out that, in the actual performance of the experiment, the scale-pan contain- ing the counterpoising weights must be at the same height during the two weighings. D. M. Y. SOMMERVILLE. St. Andrews, November 12. A Simple Experiment in Diffraction. M. G. Fousserau describes, in the Journal de Physique for October, a simple apparatus for viewing diffraction and inter- ference phenomena, a modified form of which I have experi- mented on with success. In the latter form, the source of light was obtained by placing a diaphragm on the stage of a micro- scope, on which sunlight was concentrated by means of the mirror and condenser, and the diffraction effects were produced by placing perforated pieces of tinfoil on the top of the micro- scope tube where the eye-piece is usually placed. On placing the eye close up to the tiny hole in the tinfoil, various diffraction patterns were seen. The difficulty of piercing a hole that is truly circular in tinfoil made it hard to obtain perfect rings, but the ‘* failures” were often very interesting. A rectangular aperture NovEMBER 27, 1902] NATURE 81 was easily got by cutting slits in two pieces of tinfoil with a razor and placing one over the other with the slits at right-angles, while for a triangular aperture three strips of tinfoil placed so as to leave just a tiny triangle open gave good results. G. H. Bryan. The Secular Bending of Marble. THE fluidity of marble under pressure, of which Dr. See mentions an instance in NATURE (p. 56), has, I believe, been well established by laboratory experiments. Another instance of secular bending, similar to that quoted by Dr. See, was to be seen in two alabaster slabs which formed the jambs of a door- way in the Alhambra. Owing to the pressure brought to bear on these by the settlement of the building, they had bulged out from the wall by as much (if I remember right) as 6 or 7 inches. The slabs were about 7 feet long and a foot wide, their thickness being, perhaps, a couple of inches. Whether they are to be seen there still, or not, I do not know. SPENCER PICKERING. Summer and Winter. CONCERNING the relation of summer and the following winter ceferred to on p. 63, a few facts from Greenwich records of the last sixty-one years may be acceptable. We find this :— Summer warm, winter severe, 9 cases. a2 ” ” mild, 19 ” [ cold = severe, I7 ,, ” oe) 2 mild, 12 ” (This leaves four cases with average values. ) It thus appears that warm summers have been distinctly more often followed by mild winters than by severe ones; but the difference in the other case, of cold summers, is less pronounced. In this representation, wet is left out of account, the mean tem- peratures of summer and winter being alone considered, and in relation to the averages. But we might limit our attention to summers that have been both cold and wet, as this last summer has been. (Cold summers have not always an excess of rain.) Of such there appears to have been nineteen. Now taking all those with a mean temperature under 60°'5 (the average mean temperature of summer below 61°'2), I find that nine were followed by severe winters and only three by mild winters; total, twelve. As the past summer comes in this group, the chances seem in favour of a severe winter. A. B. M. Personal. I pip not think it worth while to correct an error into which the reporters of the ephemeral Press fell in prefixing the words “his own” to the word ‘‘ work” in the account of my recent speech at Liverpool, where I had said that my new sphere afforded me a larger opportunity for work : simply. I do not know how best to correct it, or whether it is now possible, but I see it has been reproduced in your University Intelligence on p. 70, and an error incorporated in NATURE is of rather permanent character, and may be misleading to my friends. OLIVER LODGE. Birmingham, November 21. MATHEMATICS IN THE CAMBRIDGE LOCALS. N May 29 (vol. xvi. p. 117), we announced an important change in the geometry of the Ox/ord local examin- ations for 1903. Quoting from the notice which had just been issued, attention was directed to the important state- ment that “ Questions will be set so as to bring out as far as possible a knowledge of the principles of geometry, a smaller proportion than heretofore consisting of pro- positions as enunciated in Euclid. Any solution which shows an accurate method of geometrical reasoning will be accepted. No question will be set involving necessarily the use of angles greater than two right angles. Geo- metrical proofs of the theorems in Book ii. will not be insisted upon.” We have now received the schedules in geometry that have been adopted for the Caméridge NO. 1726, VOL. 67 | preliminary and junior local examinations in 1903. In these, we are glad to see that the Cambridge Syndicate has adopted to an even greater extent the reforms sug- gested by the recent British Association Committee. For the preliminary, junior and senior examinations :— “Any proof of a proposition will be accepted which appears to the examiners to form part of a logical order of treatment of the subject. In the proof of theorems and deductions from them, the use of hypothetical con- structions is permitted.” No schedule will be published for the senior examination. The importance of the schedules now published for the preliminary and junior examinations will be apparent when it is considered that they may be said to cover the work done by the boys and girls in all secondary schools up to the age of sixteen years, and the work of such older boys and girls as are not trying for marks of distinction. Their influence is great, and we heartily welcome the important change that they place much greater stress upon observation, measurement and experiment than on abstract reasoning. It is to be observed also that there is no mere pretence of accuracy :—‘“‘ Every candidate must be provided with a ruler graduated in inches and tenths of an_ inch, and in centimetres and millimetres, a small set square, a protractor, compasses furnished with a hard pencil point, and a hard pencil.” This mention of the hard pencil is business-like; as soon as boys understand that in their measurements of lines they must not make errors of even one-hundredth of an inch, their true scientific education begins. As for demonstra- tive geometry, a great number of Euclid’s propositions are left out altogether. Books ii. and iv. have com- pletely disappeared. Twenty-eight out of the forty-nine propositions of Book i. have to be studied for the pre- liminary and junior. Of the thirty-seven propositions of Book iii., only ten have to be studied for the preliminary and four more for the junior. Of the thirty-five proposi- tions of Book vi., only thirteen are required for the junior. The most important part of the geometry examination is called practical geometry, and there is every inducement to all teachers now to dwell largely on experimental geometry, as all good teachers have done for many years. We have reason to believe that in dealing with arithmetic, algebra and trigonometry, the syndicate will follow, as closely as it has done in geometry, the recommendations of the British Association Committee as drawn up by Prof. Forsyth. Should this be so, we are assured of a very great reform in the teaching of mathematics in all the secondary schools of England. This consummation will be further assured by recognition of the reform, which will surely come soon, on the part of the Civil Service Commissioners and all other examining bodies in the kingdom. We may say, then, that every average boy looking forward to a career in the Civil Service, in the Navy, in the Army, in any of the professions, will have had an incubus lifted from his life, and a much greater load will have been lifted from the spirits of his father and mother. Boys susceptible of being crammed for examinations will no longer have an unfair advantage over their far wiser and more sensible but reputedly stupid fellow competitors. There will, moreover, be a chance that boys from schools will be able to take better and fuller advantage of the instruction given in technical colleges. To the educationist, the reform, however far-reaching in its results, may appear small ; he may think that it should have been effected long ago. This view, however, does not in our opinion do justice to the services of the reformers. It leaves out of account the strength of the opposition. This reform needed that many men should work in an unhopeful, heart-breaking way for it for many years, and its importance is not diminished by its coming 82 NATURE [ NovEMBER 27, 1902 . at last quite suddenly, and as if miraculously, like the fall of the walls of Jericho. In criticism of the schedules, we may perhaps be allowed to say that personally we wish the syndicate had not followed Euclid so closely. All the practical geometry of the syllabus is mere illustration of Euclid. There are, for example, other angles than go° easily to be drawn ; arithmetical computation and experimental mensuration give new avenues to geometrical ideas, and the more avenues we can offer to pupils the better. Where the syllabus says “division of straight lines into a given number of equal parts,” there appears to us too much restraint. There is no reason why a line should not be divided into many parts in any proportions, and a most educational exercise it would be. And what is the use of hiding the fact that a “ preliminary ” candidate cannot be prevented from having a good working knowledge of Book vi., although it is wise enough to keep the demon- strations to a later stage? Any boy understands that maps may be drawn to different scales, and this is almost the whole of the sixth book of Euclid. As for construc- tion of tangents to a circle and “ construction of common tangents to two circles,’ we would let a student draw these without introducing any idea of difficulty and we would ask him, by dropping perpendiculars on tangents from centres, to find the real points of contact. As soon as a boy can draw a right-angled triangle, measuring the sides and using arithmetic to find sines, cosines and tangents, he ought to begin trigonometry. If he knows the mere definition of /a7 A, he ought at once, by merely exercising his common sense, to be able to draw the angle the tangent of which is given. A common-sense know- ledge of right-angled triangles is really a knowledge of solution of triangles in general. But until the artificial bulkheads between the various water-tight compartments of mathematics are swept away, we suppose that it will not be possible to give to very young schoolboys the power to solve trigonometrical problems. If the syndicate would condescend to study the elementary syllabuses of | Science Subjects I. and V,, of the Education Department, we think these courses of studies might become much easier and much more valuable. But is not ingratitude the meanest of sins? And may it not show wisdom in the syndicate that it avoids changes which may seem to be too sudden and too great? Besides, it is to be recollected that almost every candidate who has followed this course has also taken a course in experimental science, into which weighing and measuring, the uses of squared paper and logarithms, and the ideas of the calculus have entered in all sorts of common- sense ways. Even taken by themselves, the schedules mark a great step in our experiment of finding a method of teaching mathematics suitable for boys of the Anglo- Saxon race. ing the English school system of those pedagogic dogmas which have tied teachers and pupils hand and foot. Teachers and examiners will ask for more and more A beginning has been made in disenchant- | freedom as they find that it is altogether good. Hitherto, | the average English boy has believed himself to be stupid because he was unable to reason about things un- known to him ; hitherto, the average English teacher of mathematics has thought of himself as a dull, tired | usher because he has had no interest in teaching ; in future, pupils and teachers will feel with complacent pride that they have come to their inheritance as thinking, useful human beings. We look forward to very great results, and we are not going to give credit in particular to any one of the ten or twenty names that rise before us of the men who have helped to make this reform. Those who are dead had their reward in knowing that they helped towards a reform that was certain to come ; those who are alive have the reward of knowing that they were commissioned to keep alight the torches lit by their much-loved predecessors. NO. 1726, VOL. 67 | With the exception of the Society of Arts, no institution of the country has been so successful in initiating scientific reform as the British Association. A Com-- mittee was appointed in 1874 (the present writer is proud to think he was a member of it) for improving science teaching in schools, and another for improving mathe- matical teaching, and although the members of these Committees were mostly men of influence, their efforts. led to no important results for many years. But ten years afterwards, the report of a British Association Committee on the teaching of science acted on the scholastic world like the prince’s kiss in the story of the Sleeping Beauty, and in 1901 the British Association proceedings in the new Education Section acted in much the same magical way in relation to the teaching of mathematics. Many mathematical masters were feeling hopeless about reform, but without jealousy, with great enthusiasm, with the most wonderful forgetfulness of differences in small matters, they joined together to- assist the British Association Committee of Mathe- maticians. There can be no doubt that this evidence of a desire for reform among the schoolmasters had: a great effect upon the members of the Committee who were not in immediate touch with the schools. All the tact, patience and resourcefulness of a chairman» eminent for these qualities might have been unavailing in dealing with a Committee the members of which were all men of great individuality had it not been for the- schoolmasters’ memorial. Anyone who knows the history ~ of this reform must recognise its peculiarly English cha- racteristics—the conservative clinging to past methods because of the recognisable good in them, even among the most radical reformers ; the efforts of individuals in - low and high positions gradually making converts in spite of the seeming hopelessness of reform; the un- willingness of men in high positions to lend their names to the movement, the virtue of which they were aware of, . so long as they thought that only unrest and disturbance - could accompany it ; and their concerted action as soon as it was evident that a great reform was possible. And now, because it has occurred in the English way, we know that the reform is real, that it will have a fair ~ chance, that it will go on year after year for many a year to come. This is no case of a thin end of a wedge, for no force is really required. It would be bad policy to - make too great a change at once. Freedom has been given to teachers, a freedom much sighed for, a freedom . which will create enthusiasm. Those who are most determined to make the reform complete are most anxious to proceed cautiously and to smother in- temperate zeal. JOHN PERRY. THE THEORY OF THE GAS MANTLE. NUMBER of papers have been recently published 4+ % which deal, either directly or indirectly, with the cause of the high efficiency of the incandescent gas mantle.’ Space does not permit us to enter at all fully into the details of these papers, but it is of interest to consider some of the questions which they raise. The high luminosity of the mantle and its still more remarkable dependence on a particular composition have long been recognised as facts calling for some special explanation,and many have been the hypotheses advanced to account for them. The simplest of these is that which 1 “Zur Theorie des Auerlichtes,” by W. Nernst and E. Bose (PAystkad- tsche Zeitschrift, 1900, i. 280). a6 “Theory of the Incandescent Mantle,” by A. H. White, H. Russell and A. F. Traver (Journal Gas Lighting), \xxvii. p. 879, and Ixxix. p. 892). “Theory of the Incandescent Mantle,” by A. H. White and A. F. Traver (Journ. Soc. Chem. Industry, 1902, XXi. Pp. 1012). : “The Conditions Determinative of Chemical Change and of Electrical Conduction in Gases and on the Phenomena of Luminosity,” by Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S. (The Chemical News, May 23 and 30, 1998) ‘““ The History of the Invention of Incandescent Gas Lighting,” by Auer von Welsbach (The Chemical News, May 30, 1902, p. 254). | NovEMBER 27, 1902] NATUCORE 83 regards the mantle’s luminosity as an ordinary high temperature effect; as showing how the phenomena are accounted for by this explanation, we may quote the view put forward by Mr. J. Swinburne (/ourzal of the Inst. Elect. Eng., vol. xxvii. p. 161). Mr. Swinburne will have nothing to do with selective emissivity, but states that “all bodies” (presumably solid bodies) “at the same temperature give out light of the same colour.” The Bunsen flame, he argues, in which the mantle is immersed, is extremely hot, and the mantle’s luminosity is due to its very nearly attaining this temperature. A bad radiator (such as thoria) will reach the same temper- ature as the flame, but as it radiates so little energy will give but little light ; what light it does give, however, will be of high luminous efficiency. A good radiator (such as ceria) will radiate energy so fast that it will not attain anything like the flame’s temperature. It is, therefore, only necessary to add sufficient ceria to the thoria to increase the emissivity enough to get a good quantity of radiated energy, but not enough to lower the temperature unduly, in order to get a composition giving a brilliantly Juminous mantle. This explanation does not appear to us sufficient, especially when one con- siders that it is polished, and not white, bodies which are bad radiators, so that if it is legitimate to argue from their behaviour at low temperature, thoria would be expected to be but little inferior as a radiator to ceria or even carbon. Also there seems some reason to think that selective emission is more probably the rule than the exception (see, for example, the work of Nichols and Blaker, published in the Physical Review). Le Chatelier and also Nernst (Zoc. ci¢.), arrive at the same final result as Mr. Swinburne—namely, that the mantle is so bright because it more nearly approaches the temperature of the flame than any other body similarly placed—but by a different argument. The experiments which they made led them to conclude that the emissivity of the mantle is poorin the region of the red rays ; hence there is little energy lost in non-luminous radiations, and the mantle can in consequence come up to the high temper- ature of the flame, at which it begins to radiate well, especially in the region from the green to the violet. The selective emissivity of the mantle material has therefore a double effect; it increases the luminosity at a given (high) temperature, and it enables the mantle to attain a higher temperature than a black body, because the total loss of energy by radiation is diminished. Bunte, on the other hand, claims that the assumption of selective emissivity is unnecessary, and that the mantle is at a higher temperature than the flame (Berichfe Deut. Chem. Ges., 1898, i. 5). This view is supported by experiments he performed, in which different substances were raised to incandescence in pairs in the inside of an electrically heated tube ; noappreciable difference could be observed in the light given by carbon, thoria, ceria or the material of the mantles. It remains to be explained how the temperature of the mantle can be higher than that of the flame. This is due, he and Killing suggest, to the catalytic action of the ceria, which, by oscillating between a low and high state of oxidation, increases the rate of combustion at the mantle surface and so raises its temperature. The thoria is necessary, according to Killing, to give a large surface over which the ceria molecules are spread; and Bunte suggests that it also acts as an insulator between the ceria molecules, enabling them to maintain the high temperature that their catalytic action produces. Obviously, the simplest method of testing the accuracy of some of these different hypotheses is to measure the temperatures of mantles of different composition. An attempt to do this has been made quite recently by Messrs. White, Russell and Traver (doc. ci¢.). The temperatures were measured by means of small thermocouples, and (by making measurements with couples of different sizes NO. 1726, VOL. 67 | and so obtaining data for extrapolation) they claim to have arrived at a method giving with considerable certainty the temperatures of flame and mantle. Even if the accuracy of the absolute values thus obtained be impugned, the relative results are not so subject to the same objections. These experimenters find that the temperature of the mantles and flame is from 1500° C. to 1700° C. ; that the mantle is at a slightly lower temper- ature than the flame and at very nearly the same temperature whatever its composition ; and, especially, that a pure thoria mantle is at a slightly higher temper- ature than one of thoria and ceria. Some actual results illustrating these points may be quoted from their paper :— Composition of Mantle. Temperature of Temperature of Candle-power Mantle. i flame. Percent Cc. Agi Sn ry 100 thoria 1560" 1630" 38 *5 thori ° ° eae ed } 1520 1630 34°0 The mantles used are said to have been identical in every respect except in their chemical composition. The differences in temperature are not very great, but, such as they are, they do not harmonise with the theory of le Chatelier and Nernst, since they show the thoria mantle to be the hotter ; at the saine time, they support this theory as against that of Bunte by showing the mantle to be at a lower temperature than the flame. The results also support the views of Mr. Swinburne, which require that the order of the temperature should be the same as that observed. In some other experi- ments, the results were less conclusive, the illumination varying from 2°5 to 48 candles with practically no tem- perature difference. Mantles with a high percentage of ceria were not tested. The authors themselves conclude that the illumination is to a greater degree a specific function of the material than it is of the temperature, and that the particular thoria-ceria mixture is a solid solution capable of transforming the heat of the flame into light more economically than any other substance yet known. If this explanation is to be accepted, the mechanism: by which this transformation, is effected remains to be explained. In that part of the paper by Prof. H. E. Armstrong (doc. cét.) which deals with the question of luminosity, we find a suggestion as to what this mechanism is. Prof. Armstrong’s paper is of a comprehensive and far-reaching character, dealing with many things besides luminosity in general and that of the mantle in particular, but it is only its bearing on these questions that we can consider here. Prof. Armstrong thinks that “luminosity and line-spectra are the expressions—the visible signs— of the changes attending the formation of molecules from their atoms, or, speaking generally, ‘hat they are con- sequences of chemical changes.” Applying this to the Welsbach mantle, after referring to Bunte’s hypothesis, he says, “this undoubtedly must be the case; but | would go further, and regard ‘he chemical changes occurring at the surface as the direct seat, or origin as it were, of the luminosity. Probably a higher oxide is. alternately decomposed and reformed—in other words, the process is one of oscillatory or recurrent oxidation.” This process, then, gives direct birth to the luminous radiations and accounts for the high efficiency of incan- descent oxides generally, such as the lime and zirconia light and the Nernst glower. A somewhat similar con- clusion is arrived at by Dr. Auer von Welsbach (Joc. cz¢.), who considers that the ceria when in one or other state of oxidation can form a compound with the thoria = hence “if reduction takes place, there is also decomposi- tion, and if oxidation, there is recombination of these elements ; these reactions may go on several million times a second, and molecular shocks are produced: which give rise to luminous oscillations of the ether, and - 84 the body becomes incandescent.” Both Prof. Armstrong and Dr. Welsbach attribute the importance of the special composition of the mantle to this particular mixture forming a solid solution of a dilution favourable to the occurrence of the oscillatory changes. We have endeavoured to put forward a summary, of necessity brief, of some of the principal theories which have been advanced to account for the luminosity of the mantle. Although it is true that some of these theories, if regarded as individually sufficient to account for the phenomena, lead to conclusions mutually inconsistent, yet there is no reason why they should not all contain some part of the truth, unless the experiments of Messrs. White, Russell and Traver be considered as sufficiently conclusive against the idea of the mantle being hotter than the flame. Such a result does not preclude the possibility of catalytic action, for the additional energy thereby developed may be all dissipated in luminous radiations. It seems that the most satisfactory explan- ation that the present experimental data justify is that the high luminosity is due to a combination of the good radiating power, the high temperature and the selective emissivity ofthe mantle. The first accounts for the high W. F. Lanchester. WEDNESDAY, DEcEMBER 3. Society or Arts, at 8.—Some Aspects of ‘Photographic Development : Alfred Watkins. ENTOMOLOGICAL SociETy, at 8. Society oF Pustic ANALYsTSs, at 8. GEOLOGICAL SocigTY, at 8.—On some Suffolk Well-Sections : W. Whitaker, eR Sanne Cellular Magnesian Limestone of Durham: George Abbott. NO. 1726, VOL. 67] NAT INE | NovEMBER 27, 1902 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4. Rovat Socigery, at 4.30.—Probable papers :—(1) On the ‘‘ Blaze-Currents "” of the Incubated Hen's Egg ; On the ‘‘ Blaze-Currents”’ of the Crystalline Lens: Dr. A. D. Waller, F.R.S.—A Contribution to the Question of “*Blaze-Currents”: Dr. A. Durig.—On the Similarity of the Short Period Variation over Large Areas: Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer.—Isomeric Change in Benzene Derivatives. The Interchange of Halogen and Hydroxyl in Benzenediazonium Hydroxides : Dr. K. Orton.—On the Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet : J. H. Jeans. LINNEAN SocigEty, at 8.—New and rare Corals from Funafuti: G. C. Bourne.—On the Morphology of the Flowers and Fruits of the Xylosteum Section of Lonicera: E. A. Newell Arber.—Note on Carex Tolomie?, Boott: B. Clarke, F.R.S.—New and old Phalangidz from the Indian Peninsula: C. With. RONTGEN Society, at 8.30.—An Observation bearing upon the Thera- peutic Action of the Focus Tube: Dr. D. Walsh.— X-Rays in Ophthalmic Work: Stephen Mayou.—Mr. Isenthal will show the Nodon Electric Valve for converting Alternating into Continuous Current. Cuemicav Society, at §8.—The Absorption Spectra of Metallic Nitrates. Part II. : W. N. Hartley.—The Specific Heats of Liquids : H. Crompton. —(1) Studies in the Camphane Series. Part X. The Constitution of Enolic Benzoylcamphor ; (2) Note on the Isomeric Benzoyl Derivatives from Isonitrosocamphor: M. O. Forster.—The Constitution of the Products of Nitration of Meta-acetoluidide: J. B.* Cohen and H. D. Dakin. AERONAUTICAL Society, at 8.—Presidential Address. Recent Aéro- nautical Progress: Major B. F. S. Baden-Powell.—The Contributions of Balloon Investigations to Meteorology: Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S.— The Kite Equipment of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition : John Anderson. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Extra Meeting for the Inaugural Address by the President, Mr. J. Swinburne. #RIDA Y, DECEMBER 5. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Erection of Steel Bridges, Sheffield Extension of the London and North-Western Railway : A. Reynolds. CONTENTS. PAGE MedizvaliGeography 23)’ eee Soil and Sanitation. By Dr. A.C. Houston... . 75 Steel-Works Analysis ... eo Lectures on Celestial Mechanics, By H.C. P. .. 77 Our Book Shelf :— Richter: ‘‘ Lexikon der Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen.’ —Jr BoC... a ga We. a So Goldschmidt : ‘‘ Ueber Harmonie und Complication” 78 “© Opere Matematiche di Francesco Brioschi.’”’ Vol. ii. “©Opere Matematiche di Eugenio Beltrami.” Vol. i. 79 Dame and Brooks: ‘‘ Handbook of the Trees of New Bingland 23! : 5 3iaeo eae z AOS. tel atl, Rae 79 Palmer: ‘‘ Lake-Country Rambles” . . ithe Miele _ 6C. of Antitoxin Solution antilysin added as abscissze and the hemolytic powers of the resulting mixtures as ordinates (the amount of lysin being con- stant throughout), a curve of the form shown above results. This curve represents what is usually know as the oxi spectrum of Ehrlich. When we compare this phenomenon with the action of an acid on an alkali, we find that it does not resemble what occurs when an equivalent of hydrochloric acid is added to caustic soda, for in this case the alkalinity diminishes in direct propor- tion to the acid added, the last portion of acid having exactly the same neutralising effect as the first. Onthe other hand, it corresponds precisely with the phenomena observed when a base such as ammonia is treated with a weak acid, like boric acid. In fact, if ammonia be treated as alysin and boric acid as an antilysin, and heemolytic experiments be made in precisely the same way as with tetanus lysin and anti- lysin, the curves of hzemolytic power produced in the two cases are of precisely the same kind. Now the phenomena which occur when boric acid is added to ammonia and in similar cases have been carefully examined by physical chemists, and they are known to be due to the fact that, in a solution of this kind, the ammonium borate which we should expect to be formed is partially hydrolysed by the water into its components, so that the liquid contains ammonium borate, water, free ammonia (ammonium hydrate) and free boric acid. The case is sus- ceptible of mathematical treatment according to Guldberg and Waage’s law, and the equivalents of the substances and the co- efficient of dissociation can be calculated from the observations, 116 NATURE [| DECEMBER 4, 1902 Precisely the same can be done for the tetanus lysin and anti- lysin, and the natural conclusion is that these two changes are of the same kind, a reaction taking place in each case between two molecules and resulting in the formation of two molecules of the products. It does not in any way follow that the swdstances concerned are of the same chemical type, and in fact other considerations render this very improbable. In the particular experiment quoted, the amount of antilysin solution which was chemically equivalent to the lysin employed was 0'276 c.c. When this quantity of antilysin was added, however, the hzemolytic power remained equal to 36 per cent. of the original, whilst even after the addition ofseven times the equivalent, the power was still 1°8 per cent. of the original. These facts, nevertheless, do not indicate the presence of a series of lysins of different haemolytic powers and affinities for antilysin, any more than the precisely similar phenomena observed with ammonia and boric acid indicate the presence of a series of bases possessed of different haemolytic powers and affinities for boric acid. It is therefore unnecessary to suppose, as Ehrlich has done for diphtheria toxin, that proto-, deutero- and trito-toxins as well as toxones are present. All the phenomena-are explained by the presence of a single lysin, the compound of which with its antilysin is partially decomposed into its constituents by water. Recent experiments of Dreyer and Madsen show that these conclusions may fairly be extended to the constitution of diphtheria toxin. The deterioration of tetanus lysin is a subject of great interest in connection with the theory of toxins, and its study has also yielded interesting results, although it has not yet been pushed very far. The examination of an altered lysin by the method described above serves to indicate which of its constants—the equivalent or the coefficient of dissociation—has been altered. To take a single example, the hemolytic power of a solution of Jysin was found to have diminished to one-sixth in about five days. Examination showed that its equivalent had not altered, but that its coefficient of dissociation had increased by 50 per cent. As aresult of this increase, the hemolytic power of this lysin would be diminished tu a less extent than that of the original lysin by a given dose of antilysin. The effect of deterioration in this case can therefore be explained by supposing a slight change to have occurred in all the molecules of the lysin, ‘perhaps a transformation into a metameric compound, less toxic,” possessing an increased coefficient of dissociation and an undiminished combining power for antilysin. Ehrlich’s explan- ation, on the other hand, would be that five-sixths of the lysin had been converted into a non-hemolytic substance (toxoid) which had a greater affinity for the antilysin than lysin itself and was therefore ‘‘ neutralised” first. This explanation may be applicable in some cases, but, as will be seen, it is not necessarily required by the facts. A further point of interest is that lysin and antilysin unite slowly and at a rate which can be measured. The investigation of this reaction has been carried out toa certain degree, and its further examination will probably throw more light on the nature of the change which occurs. If the results of the authors are accepted, a great simplification of the present ideas as to the constitution of toxins will be necessary. A point which is of fundamental importance and appears to call for further examination is the mode of action of the lysin molecule in hemolysis. In other words, does hemolysis take place between the lysin-corpuscle and free lysin, as is the case with caustic soda, or does the lysin molecule which forms the combination bring about the haemolysis by means of another group contained in its molecule ? A. HARDEN. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. OxFORD.—An important change has recently been made in the regulations for Responsions. The change affects the examination in the Elements of Geometry. Instead of Euclid’s Elements Books i. and ii., with Euclid’s axioms and Euclid’s sequence of propositions, the subject will in future be defined as the subject-matter of certain specified portions of Euclid’s Elements Books i., ii., iii., and the papers will contain ele- mentary questions on this subject-matter and easy deductions from the specified propositions. The regulations state that any NO. 1727, VOL. 67 | method of proof will be accepted which shows clearness and accuracy in geometrical reasoning, and that algebraical proofs of certain propositions in Book ii. will be allowed. The change is to come into force in the Michaelmas term of 1904. The announcement made by the Board of Studies for Responsions, in the University Gazette for November 25, reads as follows :—‘‘ In the regulations as to the Elements of Geometry (Zxamination Statules, 1902, p. 18), the words ‘ Euclid’s Elements, Books i., ii. Euclid’s axioms will be required, and no proof of any proposi- tion will be admitted which assumes the proof of anything not proved in preceding propositions of Euclid,’ have been struck out, and the following words substituted: —‘ Elementary questions, including propositions enunciated by Euclid and easy deductions therefrom, will be set on the subject-matter contained in the following portions of Euclid’s Elements, viz., Booki., the whole, excluding propositions 7, 16, 17, 21; Book ii., the whole, ex- cluding proposition 8 ; Book ili., the whole, excluding proposi- tions 2, 4-10, 13, 23, 24, 26-29. Any method of proof will be accepted which shows clearness and accuracy in geometrical reasoning. So far as possible, candidates should aim at making the proof of any proposition complete in itself. In the case of propositions 1-7, 9, 10, of Book ii., algebraical proofs will be allowed.’ This change will come into force at the examin- ation of Michaelmas term, 1904.” Sir Oliver Lodge has been appointed the Romanes lecturer for next year. ON Wednesday evening, December 10, a paper on ‘‘ French Rural Education, and its Lessons for England,’ will be read by Mr. Cloudesley Brereton at the Society of Arts. THE clerk of the Privy Council has sent an official notice to the authorities at University College, Liverpool, fixing the hearing of the petition in regard to the proposed Liverpool University for Wednesday, December 17. THE annual meeting of the Association of Technical Insti- tutions will be held at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, on Tues- day, January 6, 1903. The president, Lord Avebury, will occupy the chair, and an address will be given by the president- elect, Sir John Wolfe Barry, K.C.B., F.R.S. Mr. J. S. Macpona.p has been appointed to succeed Prof. Myers-Ward in the chair of physiology at Sheffield University College. Mr. Macdonald, who is at present assistant lecturer in physiology at Liverpool University College, takes up his hew appointment in January next. Prof. Myers-Ward goes to Charing Cross Hospital as lecturer in physiology. THE Sritish Medical Journal announces that the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, New York, has arranged to purchase sixteen additional acres of land, and to erect new buildings, including the Hall of Physics, for which Mr. John D. Rockefeller gave a quarter of a million dollars, and a Hall of Arts and Humanilics, upon which a like amount is to be ex- pended. In connection with this University, it is of interest to notice that professors of the University who reach the age of seventy years will hereafter be retired with a pension. Their salary will be continued for one year, and they will thereafter receive 1500 dollars a year for four years, which time will doubtless be extended. They will act as special lecturers with such duties as may be assigned to them. WE regret to see that Sir Michael Foster has written to the chairman of his Parliamentary Committee to say he feels com- pelled to resign his seat as member of Parliament for the University of London. He hoped to be relieved of his duties in the House of Commons at the beginning of the present term, but now, at the request of his committee, has deferred hs actual resignation until the close of the present session. Among the names mentioned in connection with the vacancy thus caused are those of Sir Henry Roscoe, for some time vice-chancellor of the University, and Sir John Williams. WRITING to the Zzmes, Mr. A. C. Holzapfel points to the striking difference between English and German fees for scientific instruction. One of his sons studied chemfstry at Aachen, and the fees for lectures, laboratory work, breakages, &c., were between 6/. and 7/. yearly. Another son attended King’s College, London, for a course of work similar to that ee DECEMBER 4, 1902] his brother had had in Germany, and the fee was 47/. 13s. 9d. for a year. The explanation is given by the secretary of the London college, who pointed out ina letter to Mr. Holzapfel that “the continental colleges are endowed by the State, but in England they have to live on the fees of students for the most part, with a very small grant from the State in some cases and what they can raise voluntarily from the public.” But it is evident that while the highest form of instruction in science can be obtained at so small a cost, there will never be a lack of properly trained men to look after the manufactures of Germany. FULL particulars have now been published of the first annual conference of persons in the north of England concerned in primary, secondary, technical and other forms of higher educa- tion, which was announced in our issue for July 17. The con- ference will be divided into four sessions—two meetings on each of the days January 2 and 3, 1903—presided over respectively by Mr. M. E. Sadler, director of special inquiries to the Board of Education ; Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., Prof. Smithells, F.R.S., and Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. There will be a reception by the Lord Mayor of Manchester of members of the conference on January 2, in the Municipal School of Technology, Manchester, where the meetings will be held, after which various papers will be read. Miss S. A. Burstall, head mistress of the Manchester High School for Girls, will take up the subject of the curriculum in different types of schools. Dr. Kimmins, at the afternoon meeting of the first day, deals with the coordination and delimitation of science teaching in various grades of schools. The methods of teach- ing experimental science in its early stages will be discussed on the morning of January 3, Mr. W. French, principal of the Storey Institute, Lancaster, taking up physics, and Mr. R. L. Taylor, of the Central School, Manchester, considering chemis- try. At the last meeting, Mr. H. W. T. Wager will introduce the subject of methods of nature-study. Great care has been taken to encourage discussion at each meeting; the names of well-known teachers are included in the programme as having promised to contribute to the debates. In connection with the conference, there will be an exhibition of apparatus, prepara- tions and diagrams, such as teachers themselves have prepared or which pupils have made, to illustrate methods of nature-study and the teaching of experimental science. A class-room, fitted up as a model of what it is desired should be provided for the teaching of physics and chemistry in their early stages, will form part of the exhibition. The admission to the conference will be free, by ticket, to be obtained from the honorary secre- taries, Dr. H. Lloyd Snape, Director of Education to the Lancashire County Council, and Mr. J. H. Reynolds, Director of Technical Instruction for the city of Manchester and principal of the Manchester Municipal Technical School, which is the office of the conference. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, vol. iii. No. 4 (October).—G. A. Miller, on the groups of order 7” which contain operators of order #”~*. It appears that if >2 and > 5, there are two and only two such groups not containing either an invariant cyclic subgroup of order ~”~* or else an abelian subgroup of type (72-2, 1). These two groups are conformal respectively with the abelian groups of type (7 — 2, 2) and of type (7z—2, 1, 1).—C. A. Scott, (1) on the circuits of plane curves ; (2) on the real inflexions of plane curves.—J. Hadamard, on the theory of plane elastic plates.—E. J. Wilczynski, covariants of systems of differential equations, and applications to the theory of ruled surfaces. The system considered is +2) 9'+fy92/+9n97+912=0 and another similar equation with 2’ for y’. All covariants can be expressed in terms of three, together with invariants.—A. S. Gale, on the rank, order and class of algebraic minimum curves. —H. F. Blichfeldt, on the determination of the distance between two points in space of 7 dimensions. Without assuming the continuity and independence of the coordinates, but assum- ing that distance-relations exist, a series of axioms is laid down and possible forms deduced for the analytical expression for the distance between two points.—H. Maschke, on superosculating quadric surfaces. —E. H. Moore, a definition of abstract groups. -—A. Emch, algebraic transformations of a complex variable realised by linkages. NO. 1727, VOL. 67] NATURE 117 American Journal of Mathematics, vol. xxiv. No. 4 (October). —M. Bocher, on systems of linear differential equations of the first order. This contains proofs of some existence-theorems by a method of successive approximation.—T. M. Putnam, on the quaternary linear homogeneous group and the ternary linear fractional group. The determinant being unity, and the group being symbolised by substitutions, the canonical forms of the generators fall into eleven principal types, with various sub- divisions. The periods of the substitutions are considered, and different commutative subgroups investigated.—A. N. White- head, on cardinal numbers. The results of this paper are all expressed in Peano’s symbolism, on which there is an introduc- tory section.—G. A. Miller, on a method of constructing all the groups of order #” (# being any prime).—II. F. Stecker, non-Euclidean properties of plane cubics and of their first and second polars. This is a continuation of a former paper in vol. xxii, of the same journal. Annals of Mathematics (2) vol. iv. No. 1. (October).—G. A. Bliss, on the geodesic lines on the anchor-ring. The author obtains explicit formulz, involving elliptic functions, which define a doubly infinite family of geodesics. He also shows that, according to Mangoldt’s classification, the points on the inner equator are of the first kind and all others of the second kind. Good illustrative diagrams are given.—H. F. Blickfeldt, proof of a theorem concerning isosceles triangles.—L. E. Dick- son, an elementary exposition of Frobenius’s theory of group- characters and group-determinants. —E. V. Huntington, on Mr. Ransom’s mechanical construction of conics. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 2 LONDON. Chemical Society, November 19.—Dr. J. Emerson Reynolds. V.P.R.S., president, in the chair.—The ‘‘ dynamic isomerism ’’~ of thiourea and ammonium thiocyanate. When the ammonium salt is heated, there is formed a definite compound of this with 25 percent. of thiourea formed ‘rom it; further, melting-point curves of mixtures of these two substances show that other molecular combinations occur.—Isomeric partially racemic salts containing quinquevalent nitrogen ; part 8, resolution of the hydrindamine camphor sulphonates, by Dr. F. S. Kipping. The author has confirmed the theory proposed by him in 1899 to account for the existence of these salts by the resolution of the partially racemic salt into four isomerides.—The oxime of mes- oxamide and some allied compounds, by M. A. Whiteley. A description of the disubstituted derivatives of mesoxamide, all of which possess the characteristic properties of furnishing yellow alkali salts and purple ferrous compounds.—Interaction of ketones and aldehydes with acid chlorides, by F. H. Lees. When methyl 7-nonylketone is acted upon by benzoyl chloride, there is formed 8-benzoxyundecylene ; this reaction has been extended to other ketones, and a series of benzoxyolefines so produced.—The synthesis of aa-dimethylglutaric acid, hydroxy- aa-dimethylglutaric acid, and of the czs- and ¢vans-modifications of aa-dimethylglutaconic acid, by Dr. W. H. Perkin and A. E, Smith.—A reaction of some phenolic colouring matters, by- A. G. Perkin and C. R. Wilson. Potassium derivatives of a number of naturally occurring colouring matters have been pre- pared by interaction with potassium acetate.—Note on mixtures of constant boiling point, by Dr. S. Young. The composition of the mixture of carbon tetrachloride and methyl alcohol having the minimum boiling point is shown to contain 80 per cent. of the former.—The vapour pressures and boiling points of mixed liquids, part 2, by Dr. S. Young and E. C. Fortey. Part 3, by Dr. S. Young. An investigation of the formula proposed by the authors expressing the relation between the vapour pressure of the mixture and those of its constituents. Note on the condensation points of the thorium and radium emana- tions, by E. Rutherford and F. Soddy. When the emanations from thorium and radium compounds are passed through a copper spiral immersed in liquid air, they are condensed and retained in the copper tube and are volatilised when the tem- perature is raised to — 125° in the case of thorium emanation and to —130° in the case of radium.—Note on the action of barium hydroxide on dimethylvioluric acid, by M. A. Whiteley. The principal product of this action is isonitrosomalondimethyl- amide.—The determination of strychnine and brucine in nux vomica, by E. Dowzard. The brucine is determined by colori- metric estimation of the tint produced by the solution of the alkaloidal residue in nitric acid. 118 NALORE [ DecEMBER 4, 1902 Entomological Society,sNovember 5.—The Rev. Canon Fowler, president, in the chair.—Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., exhibited, on behalf of Mrs. Mary de la Béche Nicholl, a collection of butterflies made by her in February, March and April in Southern Algeria; also a_ collection of butterflies afterwards made by her in the Picos de Europa in Spain; the latter collection comprised about 85 species and was made in 25 days. Mr. Elwes remarked that these collections contained several interesting species of Erebia, Lyczna and other genera, and included three species from Algeria not at present represented in the British Museum collection.—Dr. Chapman exhibited, and made remarks on, two butterflies taken last July at Bejar, in West Central Spain, both notable as being very decidedly larger than any forms of the same species recorded from any other locality. He stated that one of them belonged to a form of Zycaena argus (the LZ. acgon of the British list). They were taken about one-and-a-half miles east or south-east of Bejar on July 9 and following days.— Mr. R. South exhibited four specimens of a large form of Cupido minima (Lycaena minima) from Cumberland, sent to the Natural History Museum by Mr. Mousley, of Buxton. He also exhibited, on behalf of Mr. J. H. Fowler, of Ringwood, a series of Lithosta deplana, Esp., from the New Forest, showing interesting variations in both sexes, but especially in the females. It was stated that Mr. Eustace Bankes had recently recorded somewhat similar aberrations of the species from the Isle of Purbeck.—Mr. Hamilton Druce exhibited a specimen of Limenitis populz, L., caught whilst being chased by a small bird in July, 1901, near Riga, Russia; also a specimen of Sesamia nonagrioides, Lefeb., bred from a larva found feeding in the interior of a banana.—Mr. J. H. Carpenter exhibited a gynandromorphous specimen of Lycaena.zcarus, having the coloration of the male on the left side and that of the female on the right side, captured on Ranmore Common, Surrey, in June Jast ; also several aberrations of this species from Ranmore Common and the Isle of Wight. He also showed specimens ot Vanessa anttopa, bred from German larve, including a remark- able aberration in which the usual blue spots on the upper wings were entirely absent.—Mr. H. St. J. Donisthorpe exhibited a foreign specimen of Quedius suturalis, lent him by Mr. Keys, of Plymouth, and a British specimen taken by himself at Gravesend in 1891; also for comparison a specimen of Quedius obliteratus taken at Plymouth. He said that most of the specimens of, so- called, Quedzus suturalzs in British collections were really Q. obliteratus.—Mr. Pickett exhibited a remarkable series of Angerona prunaria, the result of four years’ inter-breeding between dark males from Raindean Wood, near Folkestone, and light-coloured females from Epping Forest ; also unicolorous light orange-yellow males, light yellow females, dark orange males sprinkled with black, and other unusual aberrations. — Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., exhibited a series of lantern slides prepared from negatives taken by his assistant, Mr.A. H. Hamm, of the Hope Department, and Mr. Alfred Robinson, of the Oxford University Museum. The slides represented a series of the larvee and imagines of British moths photographed under natural conditions. —Prof. Poulton also showed a representation of the pupa of Lzmenztis populé prepared from Portschinski’s figure and description, and explained the highly ingenious hypothesis by which the appearances are accounted for by the Russian naturalist.—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse communicated a paper by Mr. L. R. Crawshay entitled ‘‘On the Life-History of Drilus flavescens, Rossi.” Zoological Society, November 18.—Prof. G. B. Howes, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., exhibited two photographs of the heads of stags of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) bred in New Zealand, lent to him for exhibition by Mr. Lewis Karslake. Dr. Woodward read an extract from a letter from Mr. D. Russell, hon. sec. to the Otago Acclimatisation Society, giving an account of the success- ful naturalisation of the red deer in New Zealand. Two stags and six hinds had been turned out in 1868, and their offspring now numbered between 4000 and 5000 individuals. The carcases of some of these deer weighed from 500 to 600lb.— Mr. J. L. Bonhote exhibited some hybrid ducks which he had bred during the past summer, and pointed out in what manner the crosses partook of their parent forms. Three of the specimens exhibited were crosses between three species, viz. the Indian spot-billed duck, the wild duck and the pintail, both the parents being themselves hybrids, thus proving, with regard to the species enumerated, that the hybrids were perfectly NO. 1727, VOL. 67] fertile zyzter se.—Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S., exhibited and made remarks upon a stuffed male and the skull of a female of the East-African representative of the Bongo antelope, recently described by him as Boocercus eurxyceros 7saacz, which had been obtained by Mr. F. W. Isaac in the Mau Forest and presented by him to the national collection.—Mr. Thomas also exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Lydekker, the mounted skin of an adult male of the Peking deer (Cervus [Psedaxis] hortulorum), recently presented by the president and the Duchess of Bedford to the British Museum. Mr. Lydekker believed that an adult specimen of this fine stag had not hitherto been figured. The specimen was in full summer dress. —Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S., gave an account of excavations for the discovery of early Pliocene mammalian remains which he had recently made near Concud, in the province of Teruel, Spain. The bones had proved to be very abundant in a bed of freshwater marl, but they were in a much more fragmentary condition than those found at Pikermi, in Greece. He had discovered evidence of Hipparion, Rhinoceros, Mastodon, and of several small antelopes, and exhibited some jaws of the first of these genera.—Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., exhibited the stuffed skin of an Indian elephant still-born in the Society’s menagerie in August last, and made some remarks thereon.—A communication was read from Mr. R. Lydekker, F.R.S., containing a description of the Cabul race of the markhor (Capra falconeri megaceros).—Dr. Forsyth Major read a paper on the specimens of the okapi that had recently arrived in Brussels from the Congo Free State. The author stated that these specimens, whilst presenting the same specific characters as the specimens formerly received by the Congo State authorities, showed conclusively that the male was alone provided with horns, and that the mode of their development was the same as in the giraffe. The okapi seemed to be a more generalised member of the Giraffidee than the giraffe, sharing not a few features of alliance with the Upper Miocene Palzotragus (Samotherium). In several characters, it was intermediate between the giraffe and the fossil forms ; but, apart from these, some features were pointed out in which it appeared to be even more primitive than its fossil relatives, These last characters went some way to support the assumption that Africa was the original home of the Giraffide.—A communication was read from Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., containing an account of a second collection of fishes made by Dr. W. J. Ansorge in the Niger Delta. Thespecies—fifty-six in number—were enumerated, four of them being described as new.—A communication from Dr. A. Giinther, F.R.S., contained a final account of the fishes collected by the late Mr. R. B. N. Walker, on the Gold Coast. Several new species belonging to the families Chromidz, Siluride and Cyprinidz were described. Anthropological Institute, November 25.—Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., in the chair.—Dr. C. S. Myers read a paper on anthropometric investigations among the native troops of the Egyptian Army. The investigations were confined to the privates and non-commissioned officers of the Egyptian Army. By permission of the Sirdar, 1005 men in the Egyptian battalion quartered at Cairo and 189 men in the Soudanese battalions at Khartoum and Omdurman were examined. Photographs were obtained of 176 Egyptians and thirty-one Soudanese soldiers bare to the waist; two photographs, one full-face, the other profile, were taken of each individual. In both Egypt and Soudan, the subjects measured had been drawn from a very wide area, extending as far westward as Bornu and Bart, and south- wards as faras Uganda. It now remained to determine whether definite differences of type exist among the Egyptians from various regions of the Nile valley and among the tribes of the Soudan ; also whether the Coptic (pre-Mohammedan) people noticeably differ from the general Moslem population of Egypt. Before publishing the results of this inquiry, the permission of the Sirdar has to be obtained. The material collected will supply the necessary data to permit of the preparation of a report on the physical efficiency of the Egyptian Army.—The Hon., John Abercromby read a paper on the oldest Bronze-age ceramic typein Britain; its close analogies on the Rhine ; its probable origin in Central Europe. The oldest type of pottery in Britain is the ‘‘drinking cup,” for which it is proposed to substitute the shorter term ‘‘ beaker.” Fifty-three of Thurman’s three types were shown. Twenty-five interments were described in which the beaker was accompanied by ancient objects ; three with large flint daggers, three with buttons with the V-shaped perforation below and five with stone wrist-guards, all of which objects belong to the later Neolithic, period on the con- DECEMBER 4, 1902 | tinent. None of the objects found with the remaining fourteen interments are of later date than the thin, flat, broad knife- dagger. As no other ceramic type in Britain can show such a pedigree, it is clear that the beaker is the oldest, though before it died out several other types of fictilia came into use. Royal Meteorological Society, November 19.—Mr. W. H. Dines, president, in the chair.—Mr. F. Campbell Bayard read a paper on English climatology, 1881-1900, which was a discussion of the climatological data printed in the Meteorological Record from the forty stations of the Royal Meteorological Society, which have been continuous for the whole of the twenty years. The elements dealt with by the author are :—(I) temperature at 9 a.m.; (2) mean minimum temperature; (3) mean maximum temperature; (4) relative humidity ; (5) amount of cloud; (6) rainfall ; and (7) number of rainy days. The results form a valuable contribution to the climatology of the British Isles.—A paper by Mr. C. V. Bellamy, on the rainfall of Dominica, was also read. This was in continuation of a former paper on the subject, and dealt with all the available rainfall data for the Island of Dominica. From this it appears that the mean annual rainfall of the island is 110 inches. In the neighbouring island of Montserrat, a re- markably heavy rainfall occurred during the night of November 28-29, 1896, when as much as 20°13 inches fell in the space of six or eight hours. CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, November 10.—Dr. Baker, presi- dent, in the chair.—Notes on a vibration magnetometer, and on the ball-ended magnets of Robison, by Mr. G. F. C. Searle. The comparison of the horizontal components of magnetic fields by the method of vibrations presents no difficulty when each field is so nearly uniform that a vibrating magnet several centi- metres in length may be used. But when the fields are far from being uniform, the magnet must be quite short. The magnet must in any case be slender, for unless its length be at least ten times its diameter, the magnetic moment varies appre- ciably when the field varies, even for fields comparable with that of the earth. A simple magnet 1°5 cm. in length and 9°15 cm. in diameter is in many ways practically inefficient. In the vibration magnetometer exhibited to the Society, the magnet is 1°5 cm. in length and o*15 cm. in diameter. The time of vibration is increased from 1°4 to 6°3 seconds by attaching the magnet to a pointed plumb-bob the mass of which is about fifty times greater than that of the magnet. The bobalso carries an aluminium pointer to magnify the motion; this enables the time of vibration to be very exactly determined. Ball-ended magnets were devised by Prof. John Robison, of Edinburgh, about 1770; the author was led, independently, to the same design.—On cavitation in liquids, and its occurrence in lubrica- tion, by Mr. S. Skinner. If water is run into the space between two lenses, arranged so as to show Newton’s rings, and if one of the lenses is rolled on the other, a crescent-shaped cavity is developed when the velocity of rolling exceeds a certain critical value. The cavity fills as soon as the rolling ceases. With more viscous liquids, such as lubricating oils or glycerine, the formation of the cavity is more marked. With colourless liquids, the production of the cavity is observed by taking advantage of total internal reflection or by using sodium light and observing the Newtonian rings formed in the cavity. With deeply coloured liquids, the effect may be observed by transmitted light. Instantaneous photographs have been obtained of the effects with lenses rolling on planes, lenses sliding on planes and in some other cases. The effects are shown to agree with Osborne Reynolds’s theory of the viscous origin of friction when copiously lubricated surfaces move over one another (PAz/. Trans, A, 1886). That the maximum negative pressure occurs at some distance from the point of nearest approach is confirmed by these observations, and it appears that the layer of lubricant which separates the surfaces at the point of nearest approach is thinner than the wave-length of sodium light. Cavities of the same character probably occur in all sufficiently lubricated bearings. — On the coral reefs of Pemba Island and British East Africa, by Mr. C. Crossland. The paper shows that the island of Pemba, though very similar in structure to that of Zanzibar, is of separate origin to the mainland, whereas the latter island is a part of the mainland barrier system. The fringing reef of the east coast of Pemba represents an early stage in the formation of that of Zanzibar, while a barrier reef, also a result of erosion, not of growth, encloses large bays on the west coast which are com- NO. 1727, VOL. 67] NATURE 119 parable to the lagoon of the Bermuda atoll. The mainland of East Africa is bordered by both fringing and barrier reefs, both of which are formed entirely of dead rock, in which physical agencies have in some cases produced miniature atolls. Wherever growing coral occurs in the East African region, it is seen that the physical conditions (e.g. the absence of big waves) are not such as to allow the formation of typical reefs. Finally, some observations on the conditions favourable to coral growth were given, which conditions are present round an oceanic atoll to a much greater degree than near a continental area,—On the theory of aggregates, by Mr. A. N. Whitehead. PARIS. Academy of Sciences, November 24.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair.—The velocity of light and the solar parallax, by M. Perrotin. An account of experiments at the Observatory of Nice on the velocity of light. Fizeau’s method was used, the total distance traversed by the light being 92 kilometres. As the emission telescope, the 72 cm. objective of the Observatory was utilised, with a 38 cm. objective as collimator. The mean result of 1109 observations was 299,860 kilometres per second ina vacuum. By combining this with the observations on the planet Eros, from which a value of 8”*805 was deduced for the solar parallax, the coefficient of annual aberration was found to be 20"°465, the exact number adopted by the International Astronomical Conference of 1896 at the instance of MM. Loewy and Newcomb.—On the origin and geographical dispersion of Lagomys corsicanus, by M. Ch. Depéret.—Report on the work accomplished by the Brazilian Commission, under the direction of M. Cruls, on the exploration of the principal sources of the Javary, and for the determination of the geographical co- ordinates of several points in this region at points common to Peru, Brazil and Bolivia, by M. Loewy.—Observations of the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons with the Brunner 16 cm. equatorial during the third quarter of 1902, by M. J. Guillaume. Tables are given showing the number of spots, their distribution in latitude and the distribution of the faculze in latitude.—On monodrome functions with an isolated essential singular point, by M. Edmond Maillet.—On an extension of the notion of periodicity, by M. E. Esclangon.—On an automatic carburettor for explosion motors, by M. A. Krebs. A theoretical investiga- tion as to the manner in which the area of the orifice air should vary with the pressure of the air and the height of the petrol in the reservoir. Following the indications thus obtained, an apparatus has been constructed in which these conditions are fulfilled, and it has been found that the velocity of the motor can be varied suddenly between very wide limits, an absolutely constant gas mixture being obtained. —On the construction of electrodiapasons with long variable periods, by M. E. Mercadier.—On the ionisation of a salt flame, by M. Georges Moreau. The ionisation of the salt flame was found to decrease according to an exponential function of the distance between the electrodes, and the conclusion is drawn that the unipolar conductivity of a saline vapour is analogous to that of a mass of hydrogen surrounding an incandescent carbon filament, or that of a gaseous mass in contact with a metal illuminated by ultra-violet radiations. —Some observations on uranous oxide, by M. Cichsner de Coninck. Uranyl brom- ide, ignited in a current of air, loses its bromine, thus differing from the behaviour of the corresponding chloride. —On the combinations of the complex cyanides with fatty amines, by M. P. Chrétien. A study of the salts obtained by the action of hydroferrocyanic acid upon the primary iso- amylamines.—A method for the estimation of glycerol in wine, by M. A. Trillat. The method is based upon the solvent powers of pure acetic ether for glycerol. The glycerol extracted is much purer than that obtained by the usual alcohol-ether method.— On the structure of the muscles of Axomia ephippium, by M. Jobert.—On some new or slightly known forms of Rhabditis, by M. Aug. Michel.—The theory of phytons in Gymnosperms, by M. G. Chauveaud.—On the mode of vegetation and reproduction of Amylomyces Rouxii, the fungus of Chinese yeast, by M. J. Turquet.—The actual production of native sulphur in the subsoil of the Place de la République, in Paris, by M. Stanisla, Meunier. In the course of the excavations for a railway tunnels native crystallised sulphur has been found in a black clay. Reasons are given for supposing that this deposit has been formed during the last two centuries. —On the general theory of the action of some diastases, by M. Victor Henri. Two hypo- theses are examined ; supposing that a portion of the ferment 120 combines with a part of the body undergoing hydrolysis, another part combining witha portion of the products of hydrolysis. It may be supposed either that it is the non-combined part of the ferment which acts upon the bodies to be split up, or, on the other hand, that the unstable compound formed is itself decom- posed, regenerating a part of the ferment. It is remarkable that both these hypotheses lead to the same law. Experiments are given showing the action of invertin upon saccharose alone and mixed with invert sugar, and of emulsin upon salicin. New SoutrH WALES. Royal Society, October 8.—Prof. Warren, president, in the chair.—Occurrence of the mineral gadolinite at Cooglegong, Pilbarra District, West Australia, by Mr. Bernard F. Davis. — Pot experiments to determine the limits of endurance of different farm crops for certain injurious substances, part i. (wheat), by Mr. F. B. Guthrie and Mr. R. Helms. The authors describe experiments to test the effect upon the growth of the wheat-plant of certain substances occasionally found in the soil and in manures, and known when present in excessive quantities to act as plant poisons. The following table summarises the principal results obtained. Lffect upon germination and subsequent growth of wheat of different percentages of injurious substance in the soil. Germination Germination Growth affected. Growth affected. prevented. prevented. NaCl 0°05 0°20 0°05 to O'15 (recovered) 0°20 NCO; | 0°30 0'5 toro o'10 0"40 NH,CNS 0005 o'ol oherey 0.005 NaClOgabove 0°01 = 005 oloro} 0'003 As,O. 0'05 o'50 005 o'1o DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4. Roya. SociEry, at 4.30.—(1) On the “ Blaze-Currents” of the Incubated Hen’s Egg ; (2) On the “‘ Blaze-Currents” of the Crystalline Lens: Dr. A. D. Waller, F.R.S.—A Contribution to the Question of ‘‘Blaze- Currents”: Dr. A. Durig.—On the Similarity of the Short Period Pressure Variation over Large Areas: Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer.—Isomeric Change in Benzene Derivatives. The Interchange of Halogen and Hydroxylin Benzenediazonium Hydroxides : Dr. K. J. P. Orton.—On the Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet: J. H. Jeans. LINNEAN Society, at 8.—New and rare Corals from Funafuti: G. C. Bourne.—On the Morphology of the Flowers and Fruits of the Xylosteum Section of Lonicera: E. A. Newell Arber.—Note on Carex Tolomici, Boott : B. Clarke, F.R.S.—New and old Phalangide from the Indian Peninsula: C, With. RONTGEN Society, at 8.30,—An Observation bearing upon the Thera- peutic Action of the Focus Tube; Dr. D. Walsh.—X-Rays in Ophthalmic Work: Stephen Mayou.—Mr. Isenthal will show the Nodon Electric Valve for converting Alternating into Continuous Current. CuemicaL Society, at 8.—The Absorption Spectra of Metallic Nitrates. Part Il. : W. N. Hartley.—The Specific Heats of Liquids : H. Crompton. —(1) Studies in the Camphane Series. Part X. The Constitution of Enolic Benzoylcamphor ; (2) Note on the Isomeric Benzoyl! Derivatives from Isonitrosocamphor: M. O. Forster.—The Constitution of the Products of Nitration of Meta-acetoluidide: J. B. Cohen and H. D. akin. AERONAUTICAL Society, at 8.—Presidential Address. Recent Aéro- nautical Progress: Major B. F. S. Baden-Powell.—The Contributions of Balloon Investigations to Meteorology: Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S.— The Kite Equipment of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition : John Anderson. INsTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEFRS, at 8.—Extra Meeting for the Inaugural Address by the President, Mr. J. Swinburne. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Erection of Steel Bridges, Sheffield Extension of the London and North-Western Railway: A. Reynolds. GroLoGists' AssociaTIoNn, at 8.—On the Formation of Chert: Miss Catherine A. Raisin. Illustrated by Lantern Slides.—A List of the Fish Remains from the Middle Bagshot Beds of the London Basin: A. K. Coomaraswamy. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6. Essex Fretp Crus (Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.30.—The Non-Marine Mollusca of the River Lea Alluvium at Wathamstow: A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward.—Demonstration of the Lumiére Process of Colour Photography and its applications to Natural History Work: Edward R. Turner. MONDAY, DeEcEMBER 8. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Future of Coal Gas and Allied Illuminants : Prof. V. B. Lewes. Rovar GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—ThreeYears’ Exploring Work in Central Asia: Dr. Sven Hedin. NO. 1727, VOL. 67 | NATURE [DECEMBER 4, 1902 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9. INSTITUTION oF Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—Diseussion High-Speed Electrical Generating Plant : T. H. Minshall. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10. Society oF Arts, at 8.—French Rural Education and its Lessons for England : Cloudesley Brereton. of paper om THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11. Roya Society, at 4.30.—Probable papers :—On Certain Properties of the Alloys of the Gold-Silver Series: The late Sir William Roberts- Austen, F.R.S., and Dr. T. K. Rose.—Abnormal Changes in some Lines in the Spectrum of Lithium: H. Ramage.—An Error in the Estimation of the Specific Gravity of the Blood by Hammerschlag’s Method, when Employed in Connection with Hydrometers: Dr. A. G. Levy.—Quater- nions and Projective Geometry : Prof. C. J. Joly. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Photcmetry of Electric Lamps: Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. SocieTy oF ARTS, at 4.30.—Domestic Life in Persia: Miss Ella C. Sykes. lise OF ACTUARIES, at 5.30.—Lecture on Statistics (Measurement of Groups): A. L. Bowley. MATHEMATICAL SociETy, at 5.30.—Application of Matrix Notation to the Solution of Linear Differential Equations: Dr. H. F Baker-—The Expression of the Double Zeta and Gamma Functions in Terms of Elliptic Functions: G. H. Hardy. —Sets of Intervals. Part II, Overlapping Intervals : W. H. Young.—Series connected with the Enumeration of Partitions: Rey. F. H. Jackson.—The Abstract Group simply Isomorphic with the Group of Linear Fractional Transformations in a Galois Field. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12. Roya ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. CONTENTS. Dr. Nansen’s Oceanography of the North Polar Basin @ByyH.-R: M.. 2... os) eieel tel Shi Oo PAGE Animal Histology oo om lhe Gre BAS Math eS Philosophy and Science. By A. E. Taylor .... 99 The Parallel Running of Alternators. By C.C.G. to1 Our Book Shelf :— Ostwald and Luther: ‘‘ Hand- und Hiilfsbuch zur Ausfiihrung physiko-chemischer Messungen.”— 5G Wi 10} : ‘ ae c Sein 10% Pigott: ‘‘London Birds and other Sketches.”— 1s 12h, SO eS oo OM Simo co a 3 Oe Shelley2¥=“How to Buya/Camera?) =) 0) ieee Ikin: ‘* Recent Advances in Science.”"—M. S.. . . 102 Dymond: ‘‘ Agricultural Industry and Education in Hungary” . : AS CGN homo. 8 Wows 102 Morel: ‘‘ Le Ciment Armé et ses Applications ” 102 Letters to the Editor :— Becquerel Rays and Radio-activity—Lord Kelvin, GICWAOR EHR. S..\ i. ci teyiacies Dee =| LO The Conservation of Mass.—Prof. C. V. Boys, OSS 1 Ce MP ia nsg cco elo ise! HOS Germs in Space.—-Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S.; Profsitheo:, D: A. Cockerellizas shame BLOF The Leonid and Bielid Meteor-showers of November, 1902.—Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S. . . . 103 Vitality and Low Temperature.—W., J. Calder 104 The BritishvAicademy 4). ~' . Viethen ee oO) Another Hodgkins Gold Medal Awarded. (///zs- att Aad oo) eI ates ice agcrmol ee 2S: Sir William Roberts-Austen, K.C.B., F.R.S. By Dr Te eaennonpes ERS: 2 ec eee) nee Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society . 107 Nas. Go). DAoC: 4S) se denmoeo te ae Our Astronomical Column :— Observations of the Perseid Shower . 2.5; 3: 5 EEA New Variable Star, 16, 1902, Delphini . ..... II4 Evolutionjof Aerography <5. 0) 3 2 2 © © = a) uedd A Simplified Form of Foucault’s Pendulum. . . . . 114 Physical Chemistry Applied to Toxins and Anti- toxins. (J//lustrated.) Dr. A. Harden ...... I14 University and Educational Intelligence ..... I16 Scientific/Serialsi 7... |: < .tdwepeeine <) -) - SaeLLGT Societies andvAcademies < sineu-tiemaes ones 117 Diary of Societiesy crit = |. sree mran meant? rolaieuaiae 120 NATURE ea THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1902. COOPERATION AMONG INSTRUMENT MAKERS. LIndustrie Francaise des Instruments de Préctsion. Catalogue publie par le Syndicat des Constructeurs en Instruments d’Optique et de Précision. Microscopes and Microscopical Accessories. Carl Zeiss, Jena; Physical Apparatus, Max Kohl, Chemnitz ; Physikalische Apparate, Ferdinand Ernecke. HE German catalogue of scientific apparatus at the Paris Exhibition has been frequently mentioned in the pages of NATURE, and its value to students of physics has been noted. The first work under review in the present article is a consequence of its publication. It is a catalogue of French apparatus of great interest in itself and of real value to the man of science in that it enables him to obtain inform- ation in a small compass as to instruments of French construction. The arrangement differs in some respects from that of the German catalogue, on which it is avowedly based. The object of the latter was to give a complete view of German trade and manufacture ; hence the catalogue was arranged in subjects, the apparatus in each subject being grouped under the makers’ names; the French catalogue is arranged alphabetically under the makers’ names. An index “ Table des Specialités” enables the reader to find out readily which of the numerous firms in the catalogue make any special class of apparatus and to refer to the descriptions of their products. For most purposes, the German plan seems more convenient. For a man wishing to buy a spectroscope, it is simpler to have all the spectroscopes grouped together ; the plan, however, does not serve to call marked attention to the whole output of any one large firm, and it is natural for a society of instrument makers to arrange their joint cata- logue according to the French pattern. It is not easy in a review to give a full account of the catalogue ; it covers some 270 quarto pages, it is clearly printed and well illustrated. The long list of names it contains reminds us what science owes to the skill and workmanship of French mechanicians ; it is impossible to turn over the pages without recognising names which are honourably known wherever science has penetrated, and apparatus which has aided and rendered possible some of its greatest discoveries. One name we miss, that of R. Kénig, now no longer with us, who will live, through his acoustical apparatus, as a genius of con- struction. The introduction by Cornu, which must have been one of his last pieces of work, adds to the value of the book. M. Cornu gives an interesting history of the de- velopment of scientific instruments in France, and of the close alliance between the man of science and the in- strument maker from early times up to the present day, and then, noting how instruments of precision have become part of one’s daily life, draws attention to the necessity for continued close connection between science and the commercial side of an industry if that industry is to flourish. NO. 1728, VoL. 67] The example of Germany has lessons for France as well as for us in England, and mechanical tools intro- duced in America have become a necessity in French workshops no less than in English. The French in- strument-making industry feared for a moment a dangerous rivalry and the diminution of its own trade through the advance of new comers proclaiming them- selves so fully equipped. The catalogue is in part the outcome of this; it helps to show, as M. Cornu claims, that the French industry has nothing to fear from its foreign rivals. ‘To complete its successful preparation for the struggle, itis only necessary to adopt, in addition to what it has done, the powerful weapons of association and discipline —a discipline voluntarily accepted in view of general in- terests ; then an intelligent union will lead all efforts to converge towards one common end instead of wasting them in those barren struggles which the thirst after immediate interests provokes in short-sighted minds.” We in England have no Association of Instrument Makers and no catalogue of instruments of precision. The Optical Society, it is true, is doing its best to strengthen the position of opticians, but it is far from covering the whole field. Does not the fact that our French colleagues have fol- lowed the example set by Germany give us food for reflection, and lead us to inquire whether association and discipline might not be helpful to us also? And this query is pressed home by three recent cata- logues of scientific apparatus which have been issued by German firms; the first in English, the second in English, French and German, the third in German. Messrs. Zeiss’s list deals with their microscopes, and is. most complete. As usual with their lists, it is fully illus- trated, while the information about the instruments is. given in a convenient form. Details as to the lenses. are tabulated, and it is easy to select the particular combination of object-glass and eyepiece most suitable for any desired end. The set of apochromatic objectives is very complete ; lenses of 2 and 3 mm. focus and 1°4 numerical aperture are on the market ; these, it is stated, are made of permanent glass. The list is an object lesson of the results technical art and skill can produce when resting on a basis of sound scientific investigation. Messrs. Max Kohl, whose agents in this country are Messrs. Isenthal and Co., have issued a catalogue of nearly 700 pages. They supply almost everything required for teaching purposes in a physical laboratory- Their goods are well known, and the list affords striking evidence of the progress of science in education, in Germany atany rate, if not here. Much of the apparatus is extremely well arranged for the purpose for which it is designed, and the list is one which is sure to be of value in every physical laboratory. Messrs. Ernecke’s catalogue contains an.account of their goods, with illustrations of a high class. Though smaller than that of Max Kohl, it commands attention by the wide range covered and the general excellence of the get up. Lists such as the above must prove of advantage to German trade in all countries of the world and be powerful aids in international competition. Their convenience is obvious. Wein England specialise more ; we go to one firm for resistance boxes, to another for G 22 Ses telescopes, and have nothing exactly corresponding to a vast emporium such as that of Max Kohl. Allthe more reason, therefore, for the association and discipline urged on his French colleagues and co-workers by Cornu. Ri LG: AMERICAN FOOD American Food and Game Fishes: of all the Species found in America North of the Equator, with Keys for Ready Identification, Life Histories and Methods of Capture. By David Starr jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. Pp. 1 + 573; illustrated with coloured plates and text drawings, and with photographs from life. (London: Hutchinson and Co., 1902.) RS. JORDAN AND EVERMANN, who have re- cently enriched science by the publication, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, of a great work in four volumes describing in detail the 3300 species of fishes distinguished by them in North and Central America, reviewed not long ago in the columns of NATURE, have now prepared another book, intended to AND GAME FISHES. a Popular Account “furnish that which well-informed men and women, and those who desire to become well informed, might wish to know of the food and game fishes which inhabit American waters.’ This book, teeming with interest from the full accounts, presented in a charming manner, of the habits, dis- tribution and uses of the more important forms from the point of view of the angler, has been lavishly got up in America. The coloured pictures, as well as the photographs taken from life with marvellous success by Mr. A. Radclyffe Dugmore, could not be surpassed in excellence, and the numerous “process-blocks” which have already appeared in various American publications will, thanks to the perfect accuracy with which the fishes have been delineated, greatly facilitate identifications. Authors and publishers are to be congratulated on the production of such a book, which will undoubtedly have the effect of enlisting a more scientific interest in fishes | on the part of many who have hitherto looked upon | them as mere objects of sport or curiosity, and to whom the use of the more technical treatises on the subject would be distasteful. In deference to such readers, the systematic aspect has been reduced to, the narrowest limits that appear compatible with the proper recognition of the numerous genera and species dealt with. It is to be hoped that not a few whose interest is sure to be awakened by a perusal of this charming book will later turn to the more technical work by the same authors, and improve their knowledge through a study of the re- lationships existing between the various families of fishes, which are here merely defined without any allusion to the higher groups into which they fall. American taxonomists have always shown a particular predilection for reducing all divisions of the system to the narrowest possible limits. This tendency is carried to the extreme by Messrs. Jordan and Evermann, who inform us in the introduction that not only the lampreys and hags are to be excluded from the class Pisces, ‘but also the sharks and rays, the lung-fishes and NO. 1728, VOL. 67] NATURE [| DECEMBER II, 1902 Polypterus, which they regard as only fish-like creatures, fishes in the broad sense of the term, but not “‘ true fishes,” and are therefore excluded from the work. Ganoids, on the other hand, are still maintained among fishes proper, In conformity with this method of excessive multiplication of systematic divisions of all grades, the various forms of Salmonidz which are usually regarded as subspecies, such as the land-locked salmon and the varieties of Salmo clarkit, gairdneri and fontinalis, are all dealt with as distinct species—twenty-six species instead of the four admitted by the same authors in their previous work. True, a few pages before, the authors pertinently remark that “The non-migratory species (subgenus Trutta) occur in both continents, are extremely closely related and difficult to distinguish, if, indeed, all be not necessarily regarded as forms of a single exceedingly unstable and variable species. The excessive variations in colour and form have given rise to a host of nominal species. European writers have described numerous hybrids among the various species of Salmo, real or nominal, found in their waters. We have thus far failed to find | the slightest evidence of any hybridism among American | Salmonidz in a state of nature. | intermediate individuals certainly occur, but such are Bot : | fishes” Puzzling aberrant or necessarily hybrids.” Bearing in mind the authors’ tendency to excessive multiplication of species and higher divisions, it is not a little surprising to read in the introduction that the “true of the whole world are estimated at only 12,000 species, arranged in about 200 families. A careful com- putation which has recently been made by the reviewer, applying somewhat different canons of classification, has resulted in numbers that are not very different, viz. 11,200 for the species and 160 for the families. The number of species in the American authors’ estimate is even far below that given in the article “Ichthyology” in the supplementary volumes of the “Encyclopzedia Britannica,” viz. 17,000. The usefulness of the work is enhanced by special chapters on the external characters of fishes from the descriptive point of view, on fly-fishing (by Mr. E. J. Keyser), a glossary of technical terms, and an artificial key to the families of American food and game fishes. The copy received for review bears the mark of a London publishing firm. But the identical book was issued in May last by Messrs. Doubleday, Page and Co., at New York. G.AS SB? HUMAN ANATOMY. Text-Book of Anatomy. Edited by D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S. Pp. xxix + 1309 ; 824 wood engravings from original drawings. (Edinburgh: Pentland, 1902.) T the present time the human anatomist tries to sit as comfortably as he may on the two stools of science and practice. It must be admitted that few do it with success. While his posture evokes the indulgent smile of the man of science, the professed zoologist. and morphologist, the man of practice, the surgeon and physician, regards it as altogether unprofitable and im- practicable. To reconcile the views of these two con- tending factions, to make the theory of anatomy assist in its practical application to the sick and the facts of DECEMBER I1, 1902] NATURE 123 anatomy illumine the laws of mammalian morphology, is the first and chief difficulty of anyone who now or afterwards undertakes the preparation of a text-book on human anatomy. No living anatomist is likely to be more successful in overcoming this difficulty than Prof. D. J. Cunningham, who is deservedly held in the highest esteem by the surgeon and physician, as well as by the man of science. While admitting that Prof. Cunningham has been more successful than any one of his prede- cessors, one rises from the study of this work with the feeling that, in spite of rapid improvement, it will take decades of progress to make the theory of anatomy fit its facts as a glove does the hand. Not a single decade has passed during the last two centuries without someone proclaiming from the house- tops that at last the whole field of human anatomy is ex- plored and finished, and yet the annual output of new research has continually increased. The manner in which this work is produced is evidence of the rapid growth of the subject. It is no longer possible for one man to be intimately acquainted with the more recent work or to supply first-hand information in each of the many departments into which human anatomy has been subdivided, and hence the necessity for a collective effort. Works of reference like the English Quain, the French Poirier, the German Bardeleben, necessarily demand the combined services of specialists, but here, even ina work designed to meet the needs of candidates for a pass degree, the same necessity has been felt. The editor has been fortunate in the selection of his collaborators. To Prof. Young, of Owens College, and Prof. Robinson, of King’s College, London, have been assigned the sections on embryology and the vascular system; to Prof. Thomson, of Oxford, that on osteology; to Prof. Paterson, of Liverpool, the muscular and nerve systems ; to Dr. Hepburn, of Edinburgh University, the section on joints ; to Prof. Howden, of Durham University, the section on the organs of special sense; to Prof. Birmingham, of Dublin, the organs of digestion; to ‘Prof. Dixon, of Cardiff, the urinogenital system ; to Dr. Stiles, the section on surgical anatomy ; while the editor himself undertook the central nervous system. It may be said at once that each contributor has given, not only the best that is known, but has also made original con- tributions to his particular section. Some of the sections, such as those on the nervous system, the alimentary system and embryology, gave their authors a greater opportunity than did others, and these opportunities have not in any single case been allowed to slip by. There is a unity in the work which may be explained by the fact that all the contributors, with one exception, are pupils of the veteran leader of the Edinburgh anatomists, Sir William Turner, to whom the book is most worthily dedicated. This work has all the merits and also all the defects of the Edinburgh school. ‘There are the fuil and lucid descriptions of the important things, but there is also an over-strenuous endeavour to be thorough by the introduction of masses of unimportant or irrelevant detail. Turn, for instance, to the descrip- tion of the spermatozoon, and it will be found that the medical student is expected to master more than fifty details concerning its structure; or turn to the de- scriptions of a bone, a muscle or an artery, and the NO. 1728, VOL. 67] same crowding of detail will be found. A student who thoroughly prepares himself from this work will present himself to his examiners loaded with more than 60,000 anatomical facts, 75 per cent. of which will appeal to his memory more than to his intelligence, and only a small percentage of which will be of use to him in the practice of his profession. It isa primary defect of the Edinburgh school that, owing to its detachment from the hospitals, it has come to regard the study of anatomy as an end in itself instead of being only the scaffold- ing on which a student has to lay his knowledge of physiology. On the combined basis of anatomy and physiology he has subsequently to build his knowledge of pathology, surgery and medicine, and all the efforts of the anatomist and physiologist must be bent so as to reach this end. The student, when he comes to build out his mental picture of the circulation, respiration and locomotion of the human body, will find that this work will afford scarcely a better anatomical scaffolding than older and less complete works. One feels that Prof. Cunningham has let slip an oppor- tunity that occurs to a man only once in a century. With such a powerful syndicate of anatomists behind him he could have disregarded the prejudices of examiners, relegated thousands of useless anatomical details to the limbo of oblivion and made his subject once again live. That he has not done so. shows that the principle on which present systems of anatomy are designed meets with his deliberate approval, and it is on those broad lines that most thinking men will join issue with him. During his study of this work the reviewer has laid it side by side with Bell’s “Anatomy,” another triumph of the Edinburgh school, but of a century ago. The opinion has been forced on him that the design of the older book is the better of the two. All through Bell’s pages, in spite of some crude theories, inaccurate facts and passing personalities, anatomy is made to coquet with physiology and morphology, and all three are invariably made to serve as handmaidens to the surgeon and physician. The ideal treatise of human anatomy will be produced by the man who accepts the principles of the anatomists of the beginning of last century and applies them to the facts at the disposal of anatomists at the beginning of the present one. The illustrations of this work are all well designed and artistically finished, but the poorness of its binding and its narrow margins, which give it a general appearance of meanness, are out of keeping with the high standard of its contents and the artistic demands of the present day medical student. A. KEITH. DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS FOR BEGINNERS. Differential Calculus for Beginners. By Alfred Lodge, M.A., with an Introduction by Sir Oliver J. Lodge, D.Sc., F.R.S., LL.D., Principal of the University of Birmingham. Pp. xxv + 278. (London: George Bell and Sons, 1902.) Price 4s. 6d. ROF. ALFRED LODGE is so well known among mathematicians as an authority on the teaching of geometry and kindred subjects that the addition of his brother’s name to the title-page may appear superfluous. 124 NATURE [| DECEMBER II, 1902 The introduction by the latter contains a brief statement of the uses and purposes, not only of the differential calculus, but also of the integral calculus and of differential equa- tions. The present volume, however, deals exclusively with the differential calculus, and that only so far as it refers to functions of one and two variables. A notable and important exception to this limitation, however, occurs in the chapter on successive differentiation, where the notion of D*y naturally leads to that of D~”y, in other words, the zth integral of y. Here, however, the nota- tion D~” is alone used, the familiar “ F-hole of a violin” being conspicuous by its absence. Probably the latter symbol might advantageously be eliminated from our mathematical notation altogether, were it not for the important difference between differentiation and integra- tion introduced by the appearance of the inevitable “constant of integration” which leads to the further notion of “definite integrals.” . The amount of attention given to graphs will be wel- comed by the great majority of teachers, and chapter vi., which deals with the application of graphic methods to the approximate solution of equations, is an important feature which ought certainly to occur at some stage or other of anordinary mathematical curriculum, and may probably be inserted here quite as well as elsewhere. The feature which is most calculated to arouse criticism is the adoption of the methad of differentials as the basis of the whole work. The author states that he has found this method most useful and helpful to the student of physics and mechanics, but it has the great disadvantage of throwing into the background something which is very important, namely, the notion of a limit. In examin- ations there has recently been atendency on the part of candidates, when asked to find from first principles the differential coefficient of sin x, to send up the following answer :— d (sin x) sin (x + dx) — sinx sin x + dx cos x—sin x dx iT ax = ax dx Cos x = = —1COS a ax Even this might be excused if the candidates showed an intelligent appreciation of the meaning of what they were writing down, but as soon as they are asked to differentiate 2*, log sin x, or anything which is not in the book, they exhibit hopeless ignorance, thereby proving conclusively that the stock differentiations have been merely written down by rote. There is no doubt a tendency on the part of another class of writer to rush to the opposite extreme by making the student read long discussions on continuity before introducing him to the notation of the calculus. But cannot a happy mean be found by introducing the notions implied in the relation dy = /'(x)dx immediately after the principal algebraic and transcendental functions have been differentiated by means of the method of limits ? Apart from this matter of opinion the book appears to be excellent. We are glad to see the author does not relegate Taylors and Maclaurin’s theorems to the end of the book. In a logical treatment, that might possibly be their proper position, but the postponement would prevent many readers from acquiring an intimate familiarity of what are probably the most important theorems in the whole of the calculus. G. H. B. NO, 1728, VOL. 67 | GALL-INSECTS. Monographie des Cynipides d’ Europe et ad Algérie. By PAbbé J. J. Kieffer. Vol. I. Ibalynz et Cynipinz. With 27 plates. Pp. vii + 687. (Paris: Hermann, 1897-1901.) Price fr. 4o. i ee present work is a portion of the great series of monographs commenced by the late E. André, under the title of ““Spécies des Hymenoptéres d’Europe et d’Algérie,” by himself, his brother and other specialists, among whom are the Rev. T. A. Marshall and the Abbé Kieffer. The character of the work is well known to all hymenopterists, and in this regard we need only say that another volume will complete the Cynipidee, including the parasitic subfamilies Allotriinee, Eucoiline and Figitine, and will also include the families Evaniida, Stephanide and Trigonalide, and full systematic and © synonymic catalogues and indices to both volumes, the first volume containing only an index of families and genera, and a table of contents. In addition to the systematic portion of the work, the structure, metamorphoses, broods, galls, parasites, biology, bibliography, classification, geographical distribution, &c., of the Cynipidze are discussed at considerable length ; and the author mentions in his preface that though, when he undertook this work in 1896, few or no Cynipidce were known from any of the more southern countries of Europe or from Algeria, he has now obtained, through the kindness of various contributors whom he mentions, considerable information on these countries, though much of it reached him too late for the first volume and wilh have to be deferred to the supplement in vol. ii. Notwithstanding the insignificant appearance of the Cynipidze, on which the Abbé remarks, they are of ex- treme scientific interest on account of the alternations which the various broods present of winged and wingless,,. and sexual and sexless, individuals at different times of the year, in which respect they have much resemblance to the Aphidz, though the Cynipide, unlike the latter, are seldom or never to be regarded as destructive insects, one reason for which may be that the Cynipidz (or at least certain species) are liable to the attacks of an in- ordinate number of small parasitic Hymenoptera, chiefly belonging to the Chalcididze, so that an entomologist may breed a great variety of Hymenoptera from (say) a large quantity of galls of Cynzps xollari, without obtaining a single specimen of the original species which formed the galls. Although the insects themselves are inconspicuous, their galls are conspicuous enough, and some of the large fleshy eastern galls on oaks, such as the Apple of Sodom,, resemble brightly-coloured fruit; while the moss-like galls, such as the bedeguar on the wild rose, are likewise very pretty objects. One peculiarity of these insects is that a considerable number of the species are attached either to oaks or roses, though some few are met with on other trees. They are also among the few insects which yield products of great value to the human race, the most im- portant of which, of course, is ink; but various galls have: been, or are still, used for illumination, for tanning, in. medicine, for chemical purposes, and in the case of a few species, even for food. ; Though some of our earlier hymenopterists, such as. DECEMBER 18, 1902] Haliday and Walker, paid some attention to Cynipide, others, such as Stephens and Smith, almost entirely neglected them; and it was not until Mr. P. Cameron pub- lished vols. iii. and iv. of his ‘‘ Monograph of the British Phytophagous Hymenoptera” that we had a satisfactory account of our British species. On the continent, more had been done by Mayr, Adler and others, and now the Abbé Kieffer has furnished us with a full account of the European and Algerian species of these interesting but still somewhat neglected insects; and although every monograph or catalogue always helps to make itself in- complete by stimulating the activity of all observers who are sufficiently interested in the subject to take up or to continue the study, yet the book may reasonably be ex- pected to hold its place as the leading authority on the subject for many years to come. W. F. K. OUR BOOK SHELF. Chemisches Praktikum. 1 Teil. Analytische Ubungen. By Dr. A. Wolfrum. Pp. xviii+562. (Leipzig : ‘W. Engelmann, 1902.) Price Ios. net. THE object of the author is to present a course of practical instruction in analytical chemistry on a technical basis, It is intended that the student shall be confronted throughout his course of work with the technical application of the principles and methods which he makes use of in the laboratory. The author hopes by this means to improve the training of the student whose aims are directed towards chemical work in the arts and manufactures. The subject-matter is divided into three sections, under the headings qualitative, quantitative and_ technical analysis. In the first section, the ordinary reactions of the metals and acids are given, ionic nomenclature being employed. The rare metals are dismissed by a consider- ation of thorium and cerium, these alone in the author’s opinion being of sufficient technical importance to merit discussion. The qualitative analysis of organic substances is then treated, the reactions for the most important organic radicals being given. The section concludes with a long list of important organic compounds for which the special tests are given, as well as directions for ascertaining the presence of the most frequently occurring impurities. In the section on quantitative analysis, the order of treatment is, gravimetric estimation of the metals and acids, elementary analysis of organic compounds, volumetric analysis and estimation of the most important atomic groups of organic compounds. Twenty pages are devoted to the methods of determining molecular weights of organic compounds and fifteen to gas analysis, but, singularly enough, not a single diagram is appended to illustrate the special apparatus used in operations with gases. Under technical analysis, which forms the subject of the last 200 pages, is discussed the analysis of water, fuels, ores and metallurgical products, products of the chemical manufacturing industries, artificial mineral colouring matters, artificial manures, lime, cement, clay, raw materials and products of the sugar industry, ethereal oils, aniline colours and products used in the manufacture of these colours. The book, ‘as will be seen, contains a wealth of material. It is doubtful, however, whether such a work could be placed with good results in the hands of the average student of chemistry. The amount of material accumulated by the author within such a small compass is so great that the efficiency of the book as a working NO. 1728, VOL. 67] NATURE 125, guide for the student must necessarily suffer. All experienced teachers are aware that a book which the average student is to use in his daily work in the labora- tory must contain full working details, and the ‘‘ Chem- isches Praktikum” does not. As a reference book, however, it will without doubt be found very useful in the laboratory, and for such a purpose can be warmly recommended. , The Coal-fields .of Scotland. By Robert W. Dron. Pp. vi + 368. (London: Blackie and Son, Ltd.) Price I55. net. NUMEROUS descriptions have been published of the Scottish coal-fields from the time of Ball, Milne and Landale to our own day. Most of these, however, have been scattered through the volumes of scientific journals or published in official reports which, as a rule, have been badly printed, expensive, and insufficiently made known to the public. By far the most important contributions to the subject are those to be found in the maps and memoirs of the Geological Survey. These publications contain a storehouse of information ; they were the first, and | are still the most detailed and complete, review of the whole geological structure of the coal-nelds. The maps present a graphic picture of the disposition of the coal- seams and the extent to which they have been dislocated and folded. The memoirs furnish a large amount of information which could not be embodied in the maps, and both taken together form the basis on which all subsequent descriptions must rest. The progress of development has led to the opening of some new fields and to the exhaustion of others, since the appearance of the Survey publications, but we understand that arrange- ments have been made for an official re-examination of the coal-fields and the preparation of new editions of the maps. The work of the Survey will thus be brought up to date, and will maintain the high position which it has always held. Without these official maps and memoirs, Mr. Dron could not have produced the volume which he has just published. He acknowledges, in his preface, in a general way that he has freely utilised ‘all available sources of information, including the publications of the Geological Survey.” It would have been well, however, had he made more specific acknowledgment of his obligations. No one who is not familiar with the subject would suspect from his chapters how deep his indebtedness is all through the book. The occasional allusions to the Survey work seem strangely inadequate in comparison with the fulness of his references to private individuals | of whose assistance he has availed himself. The maps, for instance, with which he embellishes his book are reduced (not very satisfactorily) from those of the Geo- logical Survey, but there is no reference to the source from which they are derived. The volume, though it has no originality, supplies a convenient summary of what» is at present known regarding the coal-fields of Scotland, , and may be useful as a popular handbook of the subject. | A Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old-Fashioned Names af British Birds. By C. H. Hett. (London : H. Sotheran and Co., 1902.) To the last edition of his “ Bird Notes,” the author appended a glossary of synonyms of the British species. The present little volume is an amplification of that glossary, and appears to be as nearly complete as possible. The work commences with a classified list of the British species (in which we notice that the author is a conservative in the matter of nomenclature), and then follows the glossary. It should enable amateur ornitho- logists residing in country districts to identify all the local birds without difficulty. Rela Pp. vi + 114. Price Is. 126 NALOURE [ DECEMBER I1, 1902 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | Suggested Nature of the Phenomena of the Eruption of Mont Pelée on July 9. Observed by the Royal Society Commission. ALTHOUGH Dr. Anderson and Dr. Flett were able, at the largely attended meeting of the Royal Society on November 20, to add little to what they had published in their preliminary report three months ago, beyond exhibiting the very full and excellent series of photographs of the affected regions of the Soufriére and Mont Pelée eruptions, they succeeded in exciting renewed interest in the problem of the nature of that eruption of Mont Pelee on the evening of July 9, which they had the exceptionally good fortune to witness under most favourable conditions. of this particular outburst give it an unsurpassed value as a con- tribution to the scientific history of volcanoes, and the Royal Society has therefore the greatest reason to congratulate itself upon the success—a success almost beyond the most sanguine expectation—of its commission to Drs. Anderson and Flett to visit the scene of these eruptions. We can now hardly hope [that any fuller knowledge of the nature of an eruption of the kind witnessed by these geologists will be forthcoming through future observations. What is now to be done in order to clear up what remains obscure is experi- mental work in the laboratory. To me it seems that only one point requires investigation before we shall have a definite con- ception and understanding of the phenomenon at the base of such outbursts as those in the West Indies, as well as that of the Bandaisan eruption, or rather explosion, in Japan, closely similar to them in its essential features. From the text of the published report, modified a little in the accounts given at the meeting, we know that, after spas- modic bursts of steam, dust, and stones, and discharges of torrents of water and mud, the climax of the eruption came as the welling-up in the crater and overflow, like that of a liquid, of red-hot dust, which descended the mountain side, at first The photographs and perfect description | relatively slowly, but with ever-increasing velocity, like an | avalanche of snow. This avalanche of incandescent sand was accompanied by a dense cloud, black as night, which soon con- cealed it from view and swelled out in convolutions with terrible energy until it reached perhaps one mile high and two broad, After this, it ceased to enlarge and gradually lost its dense black- ness through ash settling down and leaving nothing visible but white steam. There was, therefore, (1) a flow of incandescent sand down to the sea, mainly by gravitation, but with a velocity apparently surpassing that of a torrent of water; and (2) the expanding | motion of the superincumbent, black cloud, together with its rapid motion along the course of the stream of sand, from which it never lifted. Just after the overflow of sand from the crater, there must have been an enormous outrush of steam and, per- haps, other gases, and this will have had some effect in driving the cloud through the air; but the progressive formation and the appearance of the cloud forbid the belief that this effect could have been considerable. That the cloud enlarged upwards rather than laterally was due to its consisting of heated steam, for although the dust which it carried with it will have impeded the velocity of its expansion, it will not have lessened its extent. There can be only one conclusion drawn as to the cause of the free motion and rapid rush of the torrent of sand and of the swelling, convoluting cloud, and that is the continuous evolution of water vapour from every particle of the moving hot sand. Pos- sibly some other gas may also have escaped, but if so only in relatively small quantity, as otherwise the water vapour would not so easily have condensed and become visible. Violent friction between the issuing steam and the solid particles may sufficiently account for the extensive electric discharges. The continuous escape of this water from the particles of the hot sand, at such a high temperature, even though in small quantity, would surround every particle with a compressed atmosphere of steam sufficient to keep it apart from all others, and thus pro- duce a quasi-liquid mass which, on account of the density of NO. 1728, VOL. 67] | Brownian movements of particles in liquids. the sand, would gravitate strongly and at the same time would, by virtue of the interstitial compressed steam preventing all rubbing together of solid particles, give the mass its marvellous mobility. That this would be so is easily borne out by facts familiar to the chemist and physicist. One of these was, indeed, brought up by Sir William Ramsay in the discussion — which followed upon the reading of the papers, namely, the behaviour of precipitated silica when heated, which, however, he attributed to a movement of particles in gases similar to that of When any fine dust or powder, which is non-coherent whether cold or hot, gives off sufficiently fast a gas or vapour when heated, it will, when smartly heated, swell up and become mobile, sometimes almost as mobile as liquid ether, keep a horizontal surface when its containing-vessel is tilted, and admit of being poured like a liquid into another vessel. Because of its frequent presence in the work of inorganic chemical analysis, precipitated silica is, | perhaps, the most widely known example of this behaviour. In ordinary circumstances, the silica acts in this wayalmost wholly in consequence of its continuing to liberate up to even a blowpipe heat the water always present in some form of combination — with it. Probably, too, it and all such light powders owe for | a moment part of the movement of their particles from each other merely to the rapid expansion of the air in the interstices of the powder when the containing vessel is quickly heated, but the escape of hygroscopic or other moisture is obviously the principal cause. When the silica is kept steadily heated, it loses most of its mobility. Other hygroscopic or vapour-con- densing powders behave similarly ; very finely divided charcoal powder is generally a good example ; magnesia alba is another, which gives out both carbonic acid and water. Light bodies are naturally best fitted for the observance of this phenomenon, butrmanganese binoxide when evolving oxygen shows it, and even platinum black will throw up dust and en- large. Indeed, it isa common phenomenon fora slightly coherent powder suddenly heated in a platinum crucible to float in motion as a moulded mass in an atmosphere of gas generated from itself by the hot walls of the crucible. Not inapposite instances of the power of escaping vapour to hold up bodies ts that familiar phenomenon of liquid water or alcohol assuming the spheroidal state, that is, rolling about on a hot plate without touching it, being couched on a bed of its own continuously evolved vapour. Where experiment is now wanted is to find out what andesitic minerals will, under great pressure, combine chemically or physically, but intimately, with water at a red out heat and then retain it sufficiently when the pressure is released for an appreciable though short time to elapse before the regeneration of the steam is ended. A modification of the explanation here given suggests itself which would do away with the necessity for the existence of such combinations of water with rock materials. It is that as the incandescent sand flowed over the soil, it generated the steam from the damp earth or hydrated rocks beneath it in such quantity as to buoy up the sand from the soil and separate its particles. In accordance with this view would be the observ- ation that the hot sand visibly (that is, without obscuring cloud) poured over the lip of the crater and then as it flowed down obscured itself in cloud. On the other hand, the escape of gas or vapour caused by cooling is not an unknown phenomenon, while against this view is the difficulty to explain when holding it the production of the sand within the crater. Drs. Anderson and Flett speak of the dust as lava blown to pieces by the expansion of the gases it contains. I would suggest that the pro- duction of the sand just in that way is inconceivable ; for if the lava had been molten, it would have been scattered in drops and vesicles in all directions, and only if solid would it have become dust, while in either case it would not have remained as a mass of sand, but have been scattered to the winds. The pro- duction of sand or dust, if it really was produced in the crater, will have been a disintegration of rock masses by the pressure diffused through them of the condensed water, with which they were impregnated and perhaps combined, a disintegration leading up to the falling to dust of the masses while they were still under sufficient pressure to prevent scattering. The strong escape of steam from the sand would, of course, carry up much of the dust with it and thus constitute the black cloud, while its cauliflower-like expansions were apparently only anexaggerated form of what is to be seen over a seething cauldron or a stream of boiling water. EDWARD DIVERS, November 22. 7 rs ‘ ihe ee Supplement to NATURE, December 11, 1902 | DECEMBER IT, 1902] NATURE 127 The Paradox of the Piano Player. WHEN a number of notes in different parts of the keyboard | of a pianoforte are struck by means of levers actuated by a "common pneumatic pressure, it appears to be the universally prevailing belief that the only variations possible are those in which the whole chord is made to sound louder or softer by increasing or decreasing the pressure. It is commonly regarded as an impossibility to vary the ve/a/zve intensities of the sounds produced by the various notes so as to make, ¢.., the bass parts sound louder and the treble softer, or vce versa. On the other hand, dynamical considerations suggest that the intensities of the sounds excited in the different strings of the piano depend, not only on the total pressure applied to the mechanism, but also on the way in which this pressure is made to vary during at least part of the interval from the instant at which the key is first touched to the instant at which the hammer leaves the strings. A short, sharp impulse suddenly cut off should produce its greatest effect on the notes of higher pitch, while a heavy, sustained or increasing pressure should make its effect most marked on the lower notes of the instrument. During the last few months, I have given considerable attention to the practical applicatisn of this theory, and the effects which I find it possible to produce, provided that the accentuation is performed at exactly the right instant of time, are most remarkable. The treble or bass parts may be made to stand out in so conspicuous a way as to make it difficult to believe that different notes of the chords are not struck by different human fingers. The matter opens up a wide field of discussion, and suggests considerable possibilities in the way of quantitative laboratory measurements. For the present, it may be sufficient to suggest that those of your readers who possess the new musical instruments of the twentieth century suitable for the purpose should, if they have not already done so, perform the experiment for themselves ; they will soon be rewarded by being able to enjoy their music in a way they have never enjoyed it previously. G. H. Bryan. Cost of Scientific Education in Germany and England. I NOTICE, in the issue of NATURE of December 4, that you quote Mr. Holzapfel’s letter to the 7¢es on the cost of scientific education in Germany and England. Although, unfortunately, there can be no dispute as to the great difference between the fees charged in’ Germany and in England, I think it right that the fees of King’s College should be correctly stated. The sum quoted by Mr. Holzapfel represents the charge made for chemistry and physics ; for chemistry only it was 342. 18s. for the year. I have no knowledge of the amount of instruction which the other son obtained for 7/7. at Aachen. WALTER SMITH, Secretary. King’s College, London, W.C., December 9. THE REPRODUCTION OF COLOURS BY PHOTOGRAPHY. gee secs which photography has rendered to science are now well recognised, and its value for purposes both of observation and record is well known and admitted. It is probably not so well known that methods now exist by which not only the form, but the colour, of natural objects can be represented with approximate fidelity. We are fortunate in being able to illustrate this fact by a plate giving some excellent reproductions of birds’ eggs, produced under the superintendence of Mr. H.E. Dresser, entirely by photographic methods, and without the intervention of an artist. There is no need to dwell on the value of such work. For many scientific purposes it is as important to record colour as shape, and if this can be done in a trustworthy manner, a new and useful power is placed at the disposal of the teacher of science and of the writer of scientific books. The difficulty about the three-colour process of photography is that it is extremely difficult to make certain that the colours are reproduced with sufficient accuracy for scientific work. Accuracy enough for pictorial purposes is easily attained, but NO. 1728, VOL. 67] absolute truth to ndture is quite another thing. The reasons for this are various. The photographic gradation of light intensities, in the case of both white light and of its various components, is generally different from the visual gradation, and even if accuracy is ensured ina nar- row range of tones, it is hardly possible to make certain of its being secured in wider ranges. Another difficultyis that pigments have to be employed, and such pigments can never, of course, give pure colours. The consequence of this is that in the production of the picture it is necessary to vary the intensity of the different colouring agents employed until a satisfactory result is obtained. There is thus considerable room for judgment and dexterity, and the final result is not automatic, but depends on the artistic skill of the person who produces the picture. The whole process is, it must be admitted, of the character of a makeshift, but at the same time, when carefully employed it is a makeshift of considerable practical use, Mr. Dresser, in the article printed below, deals only with the representation of natural objects for purposes of book illustration. An equally valuable application of the process is for the production of lantern slides for purposes of demonstration, and, as many of our readers are well aware, the process is beginning to be largely used for such purposes. A lantern slide colourec by hand is at best but a poor thing, and though a few very skilful operators—such as Mr. Cyril Davenport, of the British Museum—have by a combination of microscopic sight and great deftness of manipulation succeeded in producing some remarkable results, even these will hardly stand the large amount of magnification required by the lantern. Now a slide made by the three-colour process will stand as much enlarging as any ordinary photographic slide, and will give a reasonably close approximation to the natural colours of the subject. The process is applicable to any specimen which can be photographed. Excellent reproductions of microscopic objects have thus been produced ; botanical specimens, birds, beetles and butterflies have all been rendered with great beauty and with really close accuracy to nature. Those who were present at Prof. Poulton’s lectures at the Royal Institution last session had the opportunity of admiring the exquisitely coloured pictures he showed of insects, all produced by the process, which, first practi- cally demonstrated by Mr. F. E. Ives, has since been further developed by Mr. Sanger Shepherd and others in this country. Although, as said above, absolute accuracy is very difficult, or even impossible, to ensure —certainly not by automatic means—it is not too much to say that any photographer ought, after a very little practice, to be able to produce useful and serviceable illustrations for lecture purposes if he is content with something which, though not perhaps the best possible, is infinitely su- perior to anything which can be produced by painting an ordinary monochrome lantern slide. Mr. Dresser in his remarks places, perhaps, needless stress on the difficulties of the process, and we are not quite disposed to agree with him as to its unsuitability for many purposes which he mentions. Although the exposures he gives may have been necessary by reason of the conditions under which his pictures were produced —namely, the photographing of the objects life size through a ruled screen and by the use of daylight at a time of the year when the light is not very good—it is a very different matter when it is required to produce illustrations for the lantern. In an ordinary studio, the exposure may take from, say, three minutes to a quarter of an hour through the red screen, which of course takes the longest time, while for out-of-door views in bright sunshine, with a moderate aperture of the lens, it is a matter of seconds only. 128 NATURE [ DeceMBER T1, 1902 i. cnn [pin Sibir =<. As a supplement to Mr. Dresser’s account of the work | he has carried on, we have added a summary of the account of the process given by Sir Henry Trueman Wood at the Royal Society’s conversazione last May, when the rationale of the process was demonstrated. THE THREE-COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS. To produce a photograph in colour direct from nature has for many years past been the dream and cherished aim of many photographers, but, so far as I can ascertain, these efforts have not met with success. By a happy combination, however, of the camera and the printing press, the so-called three-colour process has been so far perfected as to have become a commercial success, and, though still, perhaps, in its infancy, bids fair to becomea serious rival to chromolithography, not only on account of its accuracy, but also because of its cheapness. Moreover, in the case of a larger number of copies being required, the total cost is considerably below that of chromolithography. Upwards of twenty years ago, when the publication of my “Birds of Europe” was drawing to a close, I com- menced to collect materials for a companion work on the eggs of European birds. When, however, it arrived at a question of illustrations, I found that I could not get plates sufficiently well and cheaply executed by any then known process. Besides which I could find no artist who could reproduce eggs in water-colour satisfactorily, and indeed, at the present time, I know of only one, a Danish artist, who can paint eggs with sufficient accuracy, and he is at present engaged on the illustrations for the British Museum “ Catalogue of Eggs.” Nor can he copy all sorts of eggs correctly, for in some species the markings are so minute and varied that no artist could exactly reproduce them. In 1900, however, I saw a plate of fruit, photographed directly from the object, without the intervention of an artist, and reproduced by the three-colour process, which gave me the idea that it would be specially suited for the reproduction of natural history objects, and I at once commenced a series of experiments to test it with the assistance of Mr. I. D. Geddes, manager to Messrs. André and Sleigh, Ltd., of Bushey, Herts, and to his active cooperation I am indebted: for the success that has crowned my endeavours. To pro- duce the coloured picture three negatives are made from the objects on specially sensitised plates, which are exposed through “light filters” placed behind the lens. These filters separate out the colours of the objects into what are known as the primary colours—approximately red, blue and green. The negatives so obtained are then employed in the usual manner for the production of half-tone blocks—that is to say, each of the three pictures representing the separated red, blue and green images are etched as type blocks on copper for printing in the ordinary press, and it must be noted that the pictures as engraved on the copper blocks are made up of very fine dots. The plates are printed in the colour complementary to that of the filter through which each was taken, 7c. the red-filter picture in blue, the green in red and the blue in yellow. The printing of the plates is effected on three presses, one for each colour ; the yellow image is first printed, then the red over the yellow printing, and, lastly, the blue over the red and yellow, and in each case the colour is allowed to dry before the next colour is printed. The registration of one colour over the other must be accurate, otherwise a blurring of the whole pic- ture occurs. The colours used for printing are mixed each to a standard tint, which is only departed from in very exceptional cases. The length of exposure for the process varies very much according to the conditions. As carried out for me by Messrs. André and Sleigh, in which the pictures were No. 1728, VOL. 67] taken with a light-filter,a prism and a ruled screen inter- posed, the exposures were very long, the blue, approxi- mately, ten to fifteen minutes, the green thirty to forty minutes, and the red nearly two hours. This process is eminently adapted for the copying of paint- ings, but the sole aim of the experiments made has been with a view to reproduce natural history objects, and more especially eggs, without the intervention of an artist. Mammals cannot be photographed from living exam- ples, as the exposure required is too long, and can only be done from paintings, for the reproductions are so — very accurate that if photographed from stuffed speci- mens it is painfully apparent that they were stuffed. The same may be said with regard to birds, but when photographed from well-stuffed skins every character is most accurately reproduced, and such plates are con- sequently of extreme scientific value. Some fishes and crustaceans retain their colours for some time after death, whereas others fade almost immediately ; the former of these can in most cases be reproduced from the specimens direct, but as regards the latter it will be necessary to employ an artist. Shells of all kinds are specially adapted for this pro- cess, as colour-photography brings out even the bright iridescent colourings so characteristic of some species. Flowers and plants, however, present serious difficul- ties, owing also to the long exposure required. Cut flowers wil] nove and fade, and growing plants are sure also to move within three hours and thus spoil the pic- tures. Butterflies, moths and other insects can be photo- graphed from the specimens direct if these are perfect, but they are often slightly damaged in catching, or in drying they become somewhat distorted, and any slight imperfection cannot be hidden, but is most faithfully re- produced ; hence it is generally advisable to photograph from water-colour drawings of these objects. Birds’ eggs have chiefly occupied my _ attention, and with these I have been most successful, so much so that I purpose now to bring out my work on eggs, illustrated by this process from the eggs direct, without the intervention of an artist. At first I found a difficulty with the shadows, and tried the effect of a dark background; but as this took from the characteristic colours of some species, I had to revert to a pale back- ground, and by degrees have overcome the difficulties, as will be seen from the plate accompanying the present article. The eggs figured on this plate are as follows :-— Figs. I, 2, 3, eggs of the Lesser Kestrel, alco cenchris ; Figs. 4, 5,eggs of the Honey Buzzard, Pernzs apivorus ; Fig. 6, egg of the Levant Sparrowhawk, Astur brevipes + Fig. 7, egg of the Shikra Sparrowhawk, Astur badius ; Figs. 8, 9, 10, eggs of the Blackwinged Kite, E/anus coeruleus. All these specimens have been selected to show the greatest variation in these eggs, and also to test the process. H. E. DRESSER. PRINCIPLES OF THREE-COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY.! The reproduction of the camera picture in its natural colours is still an unsolved problem, for Lippmann’s results can hardly be said to have passed the experi- mental stage. They still lack practical application. All that can be done by photographic means is to select and combine colours, so as to produce an approximately correct reproduction of the colours of any natural object. The colour itself must be provided by the use of dyes, stains or pigments. The principal application of the three-colour process 1 Subject-matter of a demonstration given at the conversazione of the Royal Society on May 14 by Sir H. Trueman'Wooa.'':, ‘ a) ’ ay : —— $0 rr DECEMBER II, 1902] NATORE 129 is for the production of printed illustrations, but for pur- poses of demonstration its application to thé production of pictures for exhibition by the lantern is much more convenient. By the use of a triple lantern the light from a single source can be divided up into three beams. If in the path of the beams we place screens of coloured glass of colours corresponding with the three primary colour sensations—red, green and blue—we have, of course, a disc of each colour projected on the lantern screen. If by moving the lantern lenses the three discs are caused to overlap, the colours will be mixed and combined. Where all three colours overlap there will be a white patch. Where only two overlap there will be a patch caused by the combination of those two colours, and this of necessity will be complementary to the third. We have therefore on the screen a coloured pattern showing white, the three primaries and their three com- plementary colours. If in front of each lens of the lantern we introduce a simple pattern cut out of black paper, we shall, when the three images are separated on the lantern sheet, get three coloured reproductions of the three patterns. If they are of a suitable shape and suitably arranged we can combine these into a variegated pattern on the screen. We may take, for instance, such a simple pattern as a half-circle ; then if we arrange the three half-circles in such a way that they do not coincide when projected together on the lantern sheet, but combine and overlap so as to form one complete circle, this circle will be divided into six sectors, three of which will show the primary colours and the other three their complemen- tazies. This simple experiment shows that it is possible to get a coloured picture by means of a black and white pattern and the three coloured glasses. [n it, however, only the complementary colours are shown, because equal amounts of the primaries are combined. To get other tints, varying amounts of one or more of the component colours have to be used. Experimentally this is easily done by introducing in front of one of the lenses of the lantern an optical wedge—a sheet of glass coated with a neutral-tinted film, graduated from trans- parency at one end to opacity at the other. By cutting out, say, more or less of the red, we get a series of browns, greyish blues, &c.; by diminishing the green we get salmon colour, yellow ochre, &c. By this means it is evident that any desired tint which the human eye can appreciate can readily be produced. Now a picture is only a complicated coloured pattern, and if we can analyse a picture and resolve its colours into the three components, arranged in their proper shapes, the combination of these three components will reproduce the picture as regards both shape and colour. Such analysis is possible by photography. A photo- graph taken through a red screen gives us the red com- ponent, and by using blue and green screens the blue and green components can be obtained. It is to be remembered that these photographs are merely mono- chrome photographs. They are simply ordinary photo- graphs taken by a portion of the light of the spectrum, instead of by the whole of it. Making positive prints from negatives thus produced and projecting them on the screen, they show like ordinary lantern slides, except that each picture looks rather incomplete. In the red- light picture blue objects are but faintly reproduced. In the blue-light picture the red objects appear but feebly. When the coloured glass screens are interposed in front of the monochrome positives we get three pictures coloured red, green and blue respectively, and a com- bination of these on the sheet shows the original object in all its varied colours.1 1 The ingenious photochromoscope of Mr. Ives works or precisely similar principles, except that the three coloured pictures are combined in the eye of the observer, instead of on the lantern screen. NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | The use of the triple lantern, however, is not very con- venient, and there are certain drawbacks to its employ- ment, though it suggests a possible means for the produc- tion of kinematograph pictures in colour. Thisis not yet possible, but it is conceivable that photographic films might be made capable of taking instantaneous pictures through the coloured screens, and that mechanism of suffi- cient accuracy could be constructed to register a series of three such pictures on a screen, so that they might be shown in the way animated photographs are now shown. For practical purposes it is more convenient if we can have our coloured pictures in the form of an ordinary slide, which can be shown in the ordinary single lantern. Now it is quite obvious that with a single lantern we cannot use three coloured screens, one in front of the other. In the triple lantern we are mixing coloured lights, adding colour to colour. The superposition of one screen upon another in a single lantern merely means that only those rays will pass which can get through both screens, and the three screens together in the lantern would, of course, obstruct all the light, and the result would be nothing but darkness, With the triple lantern we are using a method of addition ; with a single lantern we must use a method of subtraction or absorption. The end can, however, be attained by the use of a film of bichromated gelatin, coated ona celluloid support. The film is printed and washed in the usual manner of carbon printing. The resulting relief in colourless gelatin is then stained the complementary colour to that by which the negative was taken. The need for em- ploying the complementary colour is not difficult to understand. The bright parts of the red-screen positive represent bright red light. The dark parts represent the absence of red light, red shadows. When the film is stained, the transparent parts take little or no stain, the denser and thicker parts take the stain in proportion to their thickness. They should therefore be stained the opposite to red, the comple- mentary to red (it is convenient to think of it as ‘‘minus red”), or blue-green. So the green-screen print must be stained “minus green,” or pink, and the blue-screen print must be stained “ minus blue,” or yellow. If we now take the three films and put the blue film in the lantern, we get a blue picture on the sheet. Putting in front of this the yellow film, our picture becomes partly blue, partly yellow and partly green, and we have some accession of detail. Adding again to this the pink film, we get at once all the different colours of the original object, and the picture is recognised as a practi- cally correct reproduction of the original. If the three films, instead of being mounted in such a way that they can be shown in the lantern, are stripped from their supports and superposed one above the other on a sheet of white paper, we get a coloured picture suitable for use as a book illustration. This process is quite practical, but it is by no means easy, and, of course, it is useless for the production of large numbers. For commercial purposes no process can be of much service which is not applicable to the printing-press. Now it must be familiar to most people that a printing-block can be produced from any photographic negative. The methods by which this is effected are well known, and they are in constant use, the great bulk of the black and white illustrations in magazines and newspapers being now produced by them. It is, therefore, not difficult to see that if from.each of our negatives we make a printing-block and use the three blocks to .print—the blue-screen block in yellow ink, the green-screen block in red ink and the red-screen block in blue ink—we are merely varying the process by substituting films of printing-ink for films of stained gelatin. This is, indeed, in barest outline the method by which the very numerous coloured illustrations made by the three-colour process are all produced. 130 2 NALTORE | DECEMBER rh. 1902 FIRE-WALKING IN FIJI. N connection with the Coronation festivities at Suva, there was to have been a fire-walking ceremony, but, owing to the illness of the King, the Government of sk Ge lap Fiji decided that nothing could take place ; however, a large party of excursionists from New Zealand managed unofficially to obtain an exhibition of the fire-walking. The following notes have been abstracted mainly from an account by Mr. Walter Burke, in the Christchurch Weekly Press (July 16, 1902) and from a condensed report in the Zvening Star of a paper read before the Otago Insti- tute by Dr. Robert Fulton, which some time next year will be published in the Transactions. The ceremony was performed on the island of M’Benga, near Suva, by mem- bers of the Nga Negalita tribe, all of whom are credited with being specially gifted in the way of heat-resistance. In the centre of a space cleared in a coconut grove was a circular pit, about 20 feet in diameter and 2 feet in depth, the earth from the centre being piled round the periphery. Poles were placed radiating from the centre, dry palm fronds were placed on these and fire- wood stacked above. Finally, large stones were heaped on the top until the whole pile was several feet in height. The fire was lit about forty-eight hours before the ceremony took place, and it was kept fed with fresh supplies of wood. Eventually the whole mass glowed with a white heat; it was not comfortable to stand within a few feet of it, and also it was dangerous, as large splinters of stone flew far and wide. As the hour for the exhibition ap- proached, the natives brought green 1 The interesting illustrations which accompany this article have been reproduced from the Auckland Weekly News and the Christchurch Weekly Press, in which several other pictures of a similar remark- able character are given. As several months would elapse before permission to use these illustrations could be obtained from | New Zealand, we have taken the liberty to reproduce two from the periodicals mentioned. It would be a pity to delay bringing pictures of such scientific interest before readers of NATURE.—[ED.] NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | Fic. 1.—The Natives walking on the heated stones. (From the Auckland Weekly News.) Fic. 2.—On the burning leaves. the hot stones. great masses of smoke. (From the Christchurch Weekly Press.) | ‘ . | saplings about 20 feet in length, armfuls of green _ branches, and masses of green vines of great length and considerable thickness. is from Mr. | Burke’s account :— The following “The fire is now sinking, and occa- sionally a large stone drops through. There is little smoke and the stones fairly glow. Now the workers close in. The smaller vines are fastened in loops at the ends of the long saplings. A loop is dropped over the end of a log not yet burnt out, and with loud chants the log is drawn out. This is repeated till no logs are left. The ends of the saplings continually burst into flames as they touch the stones. At last there seems to be nothing left in the pit but stones, some of which are shivered to pieces by the great heat. The large hawser-like vine now comes into use. This is thrown across the pit to one side, and with the sap- lings the men force it down into the glowing stones. Now dozens of willing hands pull at the ends, and the stones are turned over and over and flattened out. Many stones that were at the bottom are now on top, and wzce versa. This is done until the stones present a fairly even surface, but critical men, | still unsatisfied, probe amongst the stones with the sap- lings and turn the smoothed side uppermost. While they are doing this, the green saplings blaze vigorously. ~ AS [a et = Immediately after the fire-walking, green leaves were thrown on The fire-walkers then leaped back on to the leaves, which burned and gave off In this illustration, the men can be seen dimly through the smoke. ““ Now all is ready for the grand finale. The workers | step back. One of the men who is to walk comes out for the examination by Drs. Smith and Fulton, of DECEMBER I1, 1902] Dunedin, who are unable to discover anything out of the ordinary. The chief asks for silence and a hush falls on the scene. The assembled natives break into loud cries, and along a track in the jungle-like growth can be seen a party of ten Fijians fantastically dressed. “Without hesitation or haste, they step on to the stones and walk round the pit, taking some ten to fifteen seconds to complete the circuit. They step off quickly, and in a moment great masses of green leaves are thrown on to the centre. The fire-walkers rush back and press down the leaves with their feet and hands. The steam rising from the leaves envelops them in a cloud. Baskets of native food are passed in, and more | green leaves are heaped over until a mound is made.” Dr. Fulton states that the man Dr. Smith and he examined before the fire-walking was of fine physique, with a pulse a little over 90 and the hands and feet cooler than the rest of the body. The feet were perfectly clean and odourless, and no preparation could be de- tected on them. The soles were yellowish-white, per- fectly smooth and pliable, and like soft kid. The man wore a suzlu (petticoat) of dry hibiscus bark and canna leaves, with small anklets of dry bracken. Each man as he walked kept hiseyes onthe stones. One man was ex- amined afterwards ; his pulse was about 120 ; the soles of the feet seemed cool, if not cold, but on running the hand up the leg,a most pronounced difference in temperature was observable ; on the calf, it was like that of a manina high fever. None of his vegetable clothing was scorched, not even the dry bracken anklets, and the short, black, crisp hairs on the legs were not singed. Dr. Fulton went to the edge of the pit immediately after the cere- mony and stirred up some of the stones with his foot. He stood for a second on one or two and found that they did not brown his boots, though evidently they were too hot to handle. He asked a native to get him one of the stones, and the man coolly walked up and began to move about the heated stones with his bare feet. This was not one of the “ fire-walking” men, but one of those who had -come from Suva. He raked out a piece of stone from the heap, but it was too hot to hold in the hand. The explanation Dr. Fulton offers is as follows. The arrangements for heating were peculiar; if what was required was merely a surface of red-hot stones to walk upon, it would be easier to lay flat stones in the pit and to maintain a huge fire on them. The stones took forty- eight hours to get to their “proper” condition, and the subsequent cooking of the food took two days instead of an hour or so. Thestones also were found to cool very slowly. The same stones are never used twice. They are gradually heated until split by the expansion of the contained water, and are then carefully arranged fractured side upwards. The stone that was examined was an augite-andesite of ordinary type. Prof. Park, of the Otago School of Mines, found that, taking the thermal conductivity of copper as equal to 1000, that of andesite is 6°67, that is, it is a very feeble conductor of heat. In testing the radiation, iron being the standard at 100, andesite is 48. Thus the fractured, or inside, surface of the stone, owing to its slow conductivity, does not receive nearly the amount of heat one would expect, and, owing to the slow radiation of heat, the foot is not burnt when coming into contact with the stone for a second or less ; as a matter of fact, the sole of the foot was at no time in contact with a hot stone for more than half a second. The foot is naturally cold or artificially cooled ; it is a well-known fact that one can bear with cold feet for a long time (up to a minute in some in- stances) heat from a fire which would be insupportable for five seconds at ordinary foot temperature. A good deal has been written at various times on walking on heated stones or glowing embers. It will be in the knowledge of our readers that there was pub- lished in NATURE of August 22, 1901, an article on NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | NATURE Ist Tahitian fire-walking, by Prof. S. P. Langley, in which a somewhat similar explanation was given. It is satis- factory to find that these investigations by scientific men agree, on the whole, with one another in principle. and that a rational explanation is forthcoming for a sensational performance which unskilled white observers usually regard as mysterious or even as miraculous. The walking on glowing embers, which is well known in parts of India, as recently described in the Budletin of the Madras Government Museum (vol. iv. 1901, p. 55)> probably has another solution. The fire-walking cere- monies in India, Japan and elsewhere require to be care- fully studied by trained observers. A. C.H. THE PRESENT STATE OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. je is now eighteen months since we last attempted in these columns to take a general survey of the development of wireless telegraphy. In the history of a science which has enlisted the services of so many skilled experimentalists, each of whom has made rapid progress along his own lines, eighteen months is a comparatively long period ; asa result, we are compelled to-day to regard the subject from a very different point of view. At that time, there were practically only two systems—Mr. Mar- coni’s and Prof. Slaby’s—which had advanced to such a degree of perfection that they deserved special considera- tion. To-day, it would hardly be too much to say that in every civilised nation there are one or more inventors with a carefully worked-out and tested system ready for general use. Particulars of these different systems have been published from time to time and have been duly referred to in NATURE; unfortunately, the information published is not, as a rule, of the kind that one most desires to obtain ; too often it is obviously “inspired,” and consists for the most part of insufficiently supported claims to successful syntonisation, or to record making in the way of long-distance transmission or rapid signalling, information which is very acceptable to the daily papers, which forget one day what they have published the day before, but of little use to those who are seriously inter_ ested in the subject. So far as can be judged, the various systems differ chiefly in matters of detail, the design of circuits and the special construction and arrangement of apparatus > improvements depending on the introduction of a principle fundamentally new are few and far between. We do not wish to underrate the value of these detailed improvements ; they are, as we well know, often the talis- mans converting failure into success, but their interest is mainly for the specialist It is not our intention, therefore, to enter into a detailed examination of the different systems ; to do so would only involve us in a mass of technicalities from which the reader would probably “come out by that same door where in he went.” Those who wish for this information must be referred to the technical Press or to the files in the Patent Office, where they will probably find, as, for example, in the two hundred odd claims in Mr. Fessenden’s patents, all the particulars they desire. We propose rather to treat the subject on a broader basis, and to endeavour to form an estimate of how far wireless telegraphy in its present state has fulfilled the expectations that have been raised in the past or justifies hopes that may now be entertained for a future of wide utility. The first question that one feels inclined to ask is, At what end are all these inventors aiming? Is it to devise a system of wireless telegraphy to compete with the ordin- ary telegraphic methods, or is it for what seems to us the more useful purpose of creating a means of communication where nonenow exists, especially between ship and ship and ship and shore? It would seem that in some instances, as, 1321 NATURE [ DECEMBER IT, 1902) for example, that of the Marconi Company, the former pur- pose is almost as much in viewas the latter. In the former case, there can be no question but that absolute syntonis- ation is necessary ; in the latter, it is less important and even in some respects undesirable, but, on the other hand, it is essential that the different systems should work together so that any ship should be able to signal to any station. It would be a great misfortune if this principle is lost sight of in the rivalry between competing methods and if we thereby lose what seems to be in reality the greatest benefit wireless telegraphy can confer, the increase of the safety and convenience of travelling by sea. This is, we think, the most urgent problem that wireless telegraphy presents to-day, and we trust that it will find a really satis- factory solution at the coming Berlin Conference. The attempts which have been made at syntonisation are, indeed, far from encouraging. It is true that almost every inventor claims that he has solved the problem, but all the experiments that have been quoted are open to criticism. It is important to recognise what a successful solution really means ; it is not sufficient to demonstrate, as has been done many times, that two messages can be transmitted or received at the same time by the same installation without interference ; that, in short, duplex- ing is possible: this is a great step, no doubt, but to solve the problem it is necessary that the tuned transmitter shall affect no other receivers than those syntonised with it, and that the tuned receiver shall respond only to the proper waves ; this, it will be seen, is a requirement much harder to satisfy. As an example, showing how far existing practice is from satisfying these conditions, we may quote the case of the recent long-distance work done by the MarconiCompany. Mr. Marconi, it will be remembered, has several times claimed to have solved the problem of syntonisation, and, confident of having done so, issued a challenge last February to Sir W. Preece or Sir O. Lodge to intercept any of his messages, offering to put a station, in the neighbourhood of his Poldhu station, at their service. This challenge has been answered in a conclusive manner during the past month by Mr. Nevil Maskelyne, who showed that the installation which he was working at Portcurnow had been receiving the messages sent to the Carlo Alberto on her recent cruise from England to Italy (see the Electrician, vol. 1., pp. 22. and 105). It is clear, therefore, that, with no special preparation on either side, it is possible to tap the signals that are being sent by the Marconi Company over long distances, and in face of this the claims to a real solution of the syntonis- ation problem fall to the ground... We doubt whether any other system would stand the same test. But if on this side the outlook is somewhat dispiriting, in other directions matters are more encouraging. This year has witnessed the remarkable achievements by the Marconi Company in long-distance work. It has been shown that it is possible to signal across the Atlantic, a distance of more than 2000 miles over water ; and in the cruise of the Carlo Alderto signals were transmitted a distance of 750 miles over land and water. To cover these’ great distances, the power used at the transmitting station has to be correspondingly great ; in consequence, the signalling was only from Poldhu to the ship and not in the reverse direction. The importance of these experi- ments, however, lies rather in the conclusive demonstra- tion of. the fact that it is only a question of providing sufficient power to signal over any distance, however great, and therefore no fears need be entertained of the utility of the wireless telegraph being limited by consider- ations of distance. No other experimenter has attained such success in long-distance work as Mr. Marconi, but no other experimenter has used such large power for transmission. Unfortunately, sufficient particulars are not ayailable to enable a comparison to be made between the distances attained with different systems using the same, amount of power; this is a point on which the NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | : publication of trustworthy data would be of the highest | value. An interesting phenomenon brought out by Mr. Marconi’s long-distance work is the effect produced by | daylight on transmission. It is found that the signals carry much further during the night (7.2. night at the transmitting station), the result being due, it is suggested _ to the discharging effect of sunlight on the aérial wire (see NATURE, vol. Ixvi. p. 385). With reference to long-distance work, the interesting experiments of M. Guarini with an automatic repeater may be quoted. This inventor designed an apparatus which should pick upa message received from one station, A, and pass it on to a second station, B, which was out of the range of the signals transmitted direct from A. The principle of this apparatus will be understood from the accompanying diagram (Fig. 1), in which, for the sake of clearness, only the essential circuits are shown. The aérial wire A at the repeating station is connected through the contact 1 of the relay R, and through the primary of a transformer T to earth ; it is also connected through the spark gap Sto earth. The coherer is con- nected in series with the secondary of T and a condenser. When a signal is received, the resistance of the coherer is broken down, and the battery B, sends a current through it and the relay R,, thus closing at the contact 3 the Fic. t.—Diagram of Circuits in Guarini’s Repeater. circuit of the relay R,. The contact arm of R, swings over to 2, thus disconnecting the aérial from the receiving circuit and closing the primary of the induction coil T,, thereby causing a spark to pass across the gap, which means that the signal is sent out again from the aérial a. The coherer being tapped back, the various circuits are opened, and the arm of k, returns to its original position and so is ready to receive the next signal. Experiments were carried out between Antwerp and Brussels (42 km.), the repeating station being at Malines, about half-way between the two; the results were promising, though the repeater did not prove absolutely trustworthy. We may now turn from the consideration of the results achieved to the apparatus that has been used. In the transmitting apparatus, attention has been chiefly devoted to devising means of generating oscillations of definite wave-length. None of these call for special comment. In some cases, for obtaining the spark, alternating-current generators have been employed in connection with step- up transformers instead of induction coils. This is the case in the de Forest system, which, it may be remarked, claims the record for speed of forty-eight words per minute; - the alternator generates, at 500 volts, 60 cycles, and this 1s stepped up to 25,000 volts for sparking ; the signals are formed by interrupting the primary circuit of the trans- former by means of a specially designed key. The diffi- culty of breaking a large current in this way is consider- } | DECEMBER IT, 1902] NATORE 133 able, and has obviously proved a stumbling-block to the Marconi Company, as it forms the subject-matter of two or three patents taken out by Prof. Fleming and the Company. Some of the methods described therein are exceedingly ingenious, but, unfortunately, space does not allow us to describe them here, especially as their bearing on wireless telegraphy is only indirect. With the exception of the magnetic detector devised by Mr. Marconi and tested during the cruise of the Carlo Alberto, practically all the different systems make use of the coherer principle for receiving. Theactual type of coherer used differs considerably in the several cases. For long-distance work, it has generally been found most suitable to use a coherer which requires no tapping back, but spontaneously returns to its normal condition, this being connected in parallel with a telephone. One ofthe chief advantages of this arrangement lies in the fact that the energy required to give audible signals in the tele- phone is much less than that needed to work a relay. There are several different coherers working on this principle—the principle really of the microphone ; in the system deyised by M. Popoff, carbon granules form the loose contacts, the resistance, which is normally high, being broken down by the received waves and the coherer then restoring itself to its original condition ; the change Fic. 2.—Castelli Coherer and Connections. in the current through the coherer causes a click in the telephone., In the de Forest system, an electrolytic “anticoherer” is used ; this has a paste, composed of a viscous material, loose conducting particles and an electrolyte, between suitable electrodes. In the normal condition, the conducting particles bridge the gap and give the receiver a low resistance ; electrolysis is set up by the received oscillations and the consequent polarisation greatly increases the resistance. Of the _coherers of this type, the greatest interest attaches to _ the case of the two other coherers just described. the Castelli coherer. This, invented by a semaphorist in the Italian navy, was used by Mr. Marconi in his first Transatlantic experiments. Its construction is shown in Fig. 2. Two iron or carbon electrodes, € C, fit into the tube T and are connected bya single drop of mercury Hg. The connections shown are, of course, the same in When electrical oscillations reach the tube, the mercury coheres _ to the electrodes, but returns at once to its normal con- _ dition when. the stimulus ceases. The magnetic detector _ to which we have made reference above was described by Mr. Marconi in a paper read before the Royal Society last June. Fig. 3 shows the principle of its construction. consists of a core of thin iron wires, 1, over which are wound two coils of fine copper wire, C, and c,. The outer Core, C;, is connected to a telephone receiver and the inner, ¢; to the aérial and earth or to the secondary of a trans- former the primary of which is connected to the aérial NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | It and earth. The iron core is magnetised by a permanent magnet, M, at one end, which is rotated by clockwork so as to produce a continual slow change in the magnetis- ation, which, however, owing to the hysteresis, lags behind the magnetising force. When oscillatory currents pass through the inner coil, there is a sudden decrease in the hysteresis, due apparently to the molecules being released from restraint; a corresponding sudden vari- ation in the magnetisation of the iron results, and this induces a current in the outer winding connected to the telephone. , Such, in brief, are the more important advances that have been made in the practice of wireless telegraphy during the past year. In addition, much work has been done on the purely scientific side of the subject, the action of the coherer in particular having been submitted to somewhat rigorous examination, work which has already produced results which may prove both of great physical and great practical value. It may fairly be said that we know now, with a considerable degree of certainty, some of the more useful services which wire- less telegraphy may be relied upon to perform. Already its commercial application is considerable ; many ships, in the navies of this and other countries and in the merchant services, are equipped with wireless telegraphic apparatus which has, we believe, fully justified its instal- Fic. 3.—Diagram of Marconi's Detector. lation. It is inthis direction that we look with the most confidence for a steady increase in its application, and we would rather hear of a few more ships being thus equipped than of another “S” being transmitted across the Atlantic. MAURICE SOLOMON. NOTES. THE Paris correspondent of the 7zmzes announces the death of M. Dehérain, professor of vegetable physiology in the Museum of Natural History, and of M. [fautefeuille, mineralogist at the Faculty of Sciences. Both were members of the Paris Academy of Sciences. The death is also announced of M. Alexandre Bertrand, one of the original founders of the fine museum of St. Germain, of which he had been curator since 1862. He was also professor at the Ecole de Louvre of national archeology, and his fame as an archeologist was world-wide. THE great dam on the Nile at Assuan is to be inaugurated by the Duke and Duchéss of Connaught as we go to press with this number. Sir Benjamin Baker, K.C.M.G., has been appointed to be a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, in recognition ° of his services in connection with the construction of the Nile reservoir. Other honours conferred in connection with the * work are:—To be G.C.M.G., Sir William Edmund Garstin, K.C.M.G.,, Under-Secretary of State for Public Works in Egypt. Tobe K.C.M.G., Major R, H. Brown, R.E., C.M.G., i 134 NATURE [ DECEMBER 11, 1902 and Mr. W. Willcocks, C.M.G., of the Egyptian Irrigation Department. To be C.M.G., Mr. A. L. Webb, Mr. K. E. Verschoyle, Mr. M. Fitzmaurice and Mr. G. H. Stephens. THE suggestion that the British Association shovld meet in South Africa in 1905 was mentioned in these columns some time ago. The following statement with reference to the meeting has now been published in the daily papers :—Reuter’s Agency is informed that the suggestion that the British Association should hold its annual meeting for 1895 in South Africa emanated from the new South African Association of Science, of which Sir D. Gill, Astronomer Royal for the Cape, is president. Before the last meeting of the British Association at Belfast, invitations were sent from the municipalities of Cape Town, Kimberley, Bulawayo and other centres in South Africa, and it is understood that these have been accepted, and that the session of 1905 will be held in South Africa. Scientific papers will be read at various centres in the South African Colonies, and visits will be paid to various places of interest. A sum of 7000/. has been collected in South Africa for the entertainment of the Association. While in Rhodesia, the ‘men of science will be the guests of the Chartered Company, who will place the railways at their dis- posal and, among other things, take them by special train to the Zambesi, where they will stay at the new hotel to be erected near Victoria Falls. Probably the guests will leave England ina special steamer. AT the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Mon- day, Dr. Sven Hedin described to a large audience the results of his explorations in Central Asia during the three years 1899 1902. Before the reading of the paper, it was announced that Dr. Sven Hedin had been awarded the Victorian medal of the Society for geographical survey. The scientifte records and other material obtained during the expedition are of great value, and include some interesting evidence of secular move- ments in the region of Lop-nor. The surface of the lake of Kara-koshun was found to be about seven-and-a-half feet below the northern shore of the ancient lake of Lop-nor. The lake of Kara-koshun is gradually disappearing in the place where Prjevalsky found it, and slowly creeping northwards towards its ancient bed, where Dr. Hedin believes it will be found at no great distance of time. The lake is getting choked with mud and drift-sand and decaying vegetable matter ; while, on the other hand, the northern part of the desiccated desert is being eroded and furrowed by the winds, and is thus growing deeper and deeper every year. As the lake moves, so do the vege- tation and the various animals of the desert. They, as well as the fisher-folk, with their reed huts, follow after to the new shores, while the old lake gradually dries up. There are reasons for believing that in the far-off future the same pheno- mena will recur again, but in the reverse order, though the natural laws which will effect the reversal will remain pre- cisely the same. Whenever that occurs it will be possible to determine the length of time required for these periodic changes. Dr. Hedin pointed out, however, that it is already known that in the year 265 A.D. the lake of Lop- nor lay in the northern part of the desert. Lop-nor is, as it were, the oscillating pendulum of the Tarim River, and each oscillation probably extends overa space of a thousand years or more. THE following men of science have been elected honorary members of the Cambridge Philosophical Society :—Profs. Bayley Balfour, A. H. Becquerel, E. Fischer, Richard Heymons, J. H. van ’t Hoff, M. Jordan, H. F. Osborn, W. K. yon Kontgen, Corrado Segre and Hugo de Vries. Tue Antarctic relief ship Morning, carrying provisions for the Dzscovery, now in Antarctic regions, sailed from Wellington, New Zealand, on December 6. NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | THE Zzmes correspondent at St. Thomas, in a message dated December 6, reports that Mont Pelée has been dangerously active during the past week. There has been a heavy fall of ashes, and vessels were advised not to approach the coast. AN ascent of the Soufricre while still in a state of activity was made, on October 28, by Mr. J. P. Quinton, of the Botanic Station of Sierra Leone. Mr. Quinton and his party were the first to try the ascent since the eruption of October 15-16. Some of the ridges they had to cross were not more than six inches wide, with a fall of a thousand feet on either hand. The ascent took two and a half hours stiff climbing. Mr. Quinton found that the new crater had unwarrantably been held responsible for the mischief of October 15; only the old crater was doing anything. This was discharging volumes of steam and water, and was throwing stones and ashes to a height of 3oft. or more, But no lava at all seems to have been ejected. The steam comes up through a fissure in the south wall of the crater, hangs along in a depression close in under the south- eastern wall, and, finally gaining the summit, is blown over to the west, making it look as though it were coming from the new pit. The old crater is very much wider than it used to be and more funnel-like. Red-hot stones and ashes are piled up on all sides—in some places over the rims. All through the night and the following morning while the party was on the mountain, rumbling sounds were constantly emitted, with clouds of steam and showers of ashes. A Times correspondent describes the recent eruptions in Guatemala as communicated to him by a resident in the republic. On October 24, at about 5 p.m., a violent eruption took place in the ravine which divides the volcano of Santa Maria from that of the Siete Orejas. At 5 a.m. on October 25, subdued noises were heard, emanating apparently from the direction of Quezaltenango. Later on the detonations grew louder. At 6 p.m, the eruption reached its climax. For about an hour the detonations had ceased, when, by a terrific out- burst, the whole of the capital was thrown into a panic and everybody rushed out into the streets. This cannonade lasted for ten minutes, during which time the strongest built houses shook violently. At intervals the detonations continued through the night and in a less degree afterwards. The explosions were heard in the south of Nicaragua, and a telegram was received from San Salvador stating that the inhabitants had rushed into: the streets in terror on hearing the noise. (Quezaltenango was thirty-six hours in total darkness, during which time a heavy rain of ashes and sand had been falling. The manager of the Sabinas Estate, which lies just above the scene of the eruption, says that at about 5 o’clock on October 24 they were alarmed by a series of earthquakes of a throbbing nature, which appeared to come from below them. Almost simultaneously, a cloud of steam was seen to issue from the ravine already mentioned, about a league away. Soon ashes and sand, accompanied by small stones, commenced falling, and two hours later the odour of sulphur and gases was so great that he could hold out no - longer, and he left on foot for Retalhuleu, a distance of some thirty miles. Reports from the other planters confirm the fear that the whole of the Costa Cuca, probably the richest coffee zone in the country, is totally ruined. Amonc the lectures to be delivered at the Royal Institution before Easter, we notice the following :—Prof. H. S. Hele- — Shaw, six lectures (adapted to young people) on locomotion, on the earth; through the water; in the air (experimentally illus- trated) ; Prof. Allan Macfadyen, six lectures on the physiology — of digestion; Sir William Abney, three lectures on recent ad- vances in photographic science ; Sir Robert Ball, three lectures on great problems in astronomy; Mr. A. J. Evans, three lectures on pre-Phcenician writing in Crete and its bearings on | DECEMBER II, 1902] NATURE SiS the history of the alphabet ; Sir Clements Markham, three lectures on Arctic and Antarctic exploration; Mr. G. R. M. Murray, three lectures on the flora of the open ocean ; and six lectures by Lord Rayleigh. The Friday evening meetings will begin on January 16, when a discourse will be delivered by Prof. Dewar on low temperature investigations ; succeeding dis- courses will probably be given by Dr, Tempest Anderson, Prof. W.E. Dalby, Prof. S. Delépine, Principal E. H. Griffiths, Dr. A. Liebmann, Prof. J. G. McKendrick, Prof. Karl Pearson, Prof. E, A. Schafer, Prof. W. A. Herdman and Lord Rayleigh. AFTER the formal acceptance, by the British Government, of the invitation to take part in the Universal Exhibition which is to be opened at St. Louis on May I, 1904, it was decided to prepare and distribute an illustrated descriptive pamphlet for the guidance of intending exhibitors and visitors from the United Kingdom. position, gives estimates of the men and the historic events to be commemorated, provides a comprehensive review of the various exhibits, and explains the relations which foreign countries, the Government of the United States and the States of the Union bear to it. About twenty-five foreign countries, including Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, have decided to take part in the Exhibition, France has already made a preliminary appropriation of 650,000 francs, and it is believed this will be at least doubled next year. Germany’s exhibit is expected to be even finer than that at the last Paris Exhibition. Japan has made an initial grant of 800,000 yen (about 80,000/7.). The British Government is to be asked, a Times correspondent says, to enlarge the scope of its acceptance, which is limited thus far to the assurance that complete exhibits will be made in art and education, and facilities afforded to industries. On Monday, at the Society of Arts, Sir George Birdwood, K.C.1.E., was given evidence of the regard in which he is held by many leaders of thought, for he was presented with a testimonial in the form of some handsome silver plate and a purse of money. In making the presentation on behalf of the ' committee and subscribers, Sir Owen Tudor Burne alluded to | the fact of Sir George Birdwood’s having entered the East India Company’s service forty-eight years ago. Being afterwards stationed at Bombay, he became one of its leading citizens, founding, among other beneficial works, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Victoria Gardens, besides greatly enlarging the local branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and throwing open its membership to public-spirited and learned Hindus, Mohammedans and Parsees ; he was mainly instrumental in raising the neces- sary funds for the building and endowment of the Bombay University, and was also the author of various writings on Indian art and botany and Indian local and Imperial questions. THE bending of two alabaster slabs in the Alhambra palace at Grenada was mentioned by Mr. Spencer Pickering (p. 81) in * connection with a letter by Dr. See (p. 56) on the bending of a marble slab under its own weight. Dr. Bleekrode, writing from The Hague with reference to the Alhambra slabs, remarks that they are nearly 3 metres long, and are 23 centimetres wide and 5 centimetres thick. The curvature begins at a distance of about 1 metre above the floor and the radius is nearly 9 metres. The pressure is estimated to be equal to about 1600 kilogrammes, Dr. Bleekrode points out that the Alhambra was built at the end of the thirteenth century and began to deteriorate nearly two hundred years ago. He suggests that possibly if the masonry causing the pressure were removed, the slabs would become flat again, in which case the bending would have to be regarded merely as an eftéct of elasticity. NO. 1728, VOL. 67] The booklet sets forth the plan of the Ex- | Dr. T. A. JAcGAR, JuNR., of Haivard University, in a letter to Sc#ence, directs attenticn to a peculiar sequerce fol- lowed by the great eruptions of Mont Pelée this year. Since May 5, eruptions of the first magnitude have occurred at in- tervals of increasing length, as will be noticed from the following dates of violent disturbances of the volcano ;—May 5—May &, three days; May 8-May 20, twelve days; May 20-June 6, seventeen days; June 6-July 9, thirty-three days; July 9— August 30, fifty-two days. The progressive increase of the interval between the eruptions does not follow any simple arithmetical law, but from a graphic representation of the facts a curve is obtained which suggests that the interval after August 30 has a length of 112 days. If that is the case, a great eruption of Mont Pelée might be expected to occur about December 20. DuRING the past week, this country has experienced abnor- mally cold weather, and sharp frosts have occurred at night, while the day temperatures have on several occasions only risen slightly above the freezing point. North-easterly and easterly winds have for the most part prevailed, and at times they have blown with considerable strength; snow has fallen in many places, and in the south of England the ground remained covered for some days. The cold spell has been caused by the extension of the European area of high barometric pressure over our Islands, and this has brought this country under the influence of the severe weather which has prevailed on the continent. On the night of December 6-7, the thermometer at Greenwich fell to 24°°5 in the screen and to 18°’7 on the grass, but still lower temperatures have been recorded in parts of England and Scotland. The anticyclone over northern Europe has apparently become fairly well established, and with its con- tinuance the weather is likely to remain cold. WE have received from Dr. Hergesell, president of the Inter- national Aéronautical Committee, a preliminary report upon the scientific balloon ascents made on the first Thursday in each of the months July, August and September last. The ascents, which were made by manned and unmanned balloons and kites, were joinedin by Austria, France, Germany, Hungary and Russia on the continent, by England (Mr. Alexander), Scotland (Mr. Dines), and Blue Hill Observatory, in the United States. Readings at altitudes near or exceeding 10,000 metres were obtained in the following cases :—Berlin (July), —52°°5 C. at 15,690m., ground temperature 9°°4. Strassburg (August), — 41°°7 at 10,160 m., temperature at starting 18°°4, and about half an hour later (5h. a.m.), —53°"1 at 11,900m., ground 16°°2. Berlin, — 68° at 18,500m., ground 13°°5. Bath, —47°'2 at 9305m., tem- perature at starting (Sh. a.m.) 15°°6; the greatest height reached was I1,350m. Strassburg (September), —54°°7 at 12,200m., ground 17°*7. Pavlovsk, —49°'7 at I1,100m., temperature at starting 13°. The ascents were made under the following baro- metric conditions:—In July, high pressure existed over the western part of Europe ; in August and September, areas of low barometric pressure were prevalent. WE have received from Dr. Robert Bell, acting director of the Geological Survey of Canada, the western sheet of the geological map of the Dominion, on a scale of fifty miles to an inch. It is very clearly printed in colours, and will be of much service as an index map to the structure of the country. In an article on the composite gneisses in Boylagh, West Donegal (Proceedings Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxiv., 1902), Prof. G. A. J. Cole argues that we have the intermingling and incorporation of two dissimilar masses of stratified and igneous material, and that the gneisses have resulted from the complex metamorphism to which the masses have been subjected. 136 NATURE | DECEMBER IT, 1902 Mr. R. T. HILt (Journal of the Franklin, Institute, August October) gives a graphic account of the Beaumont oil-field, a district within the area of the coast, prairie of the Texas, Louisiana and Mexican region. The oil.was discovered in 1901 by a drill-hole through 1100 feet of clay and quicksand. A year later there were 136 wells, now there are 214, and more are being drilled. During the first year, 54 million gallons of oil were obtained, and five or six times this amount is estimated as the product for 1902. The prairie land extends for nearly 400 miles along the Gulf of Mexico and from ten to fifty miles inland. The strata at a depth probably comprise bituminous Eocene clays, and they are overlaid by later Tertiary and Pleisto- cene sands and clays, nearly 3000 feet in thickness, which contain the oil; and these, again, are covered by prairie deposits of sea- mud and sand. A drill-hole has been carried to a depth of 3050 feet without touching the Eocene. In some localities, hot water has been struck below the oil, and the oil’ itself is some- times hot. Gas has been encountered in some of the bore- holes. It is remarked that the water becomes not only hotter but more saline with increasing depth, thereby raising its capacity for the collection and flotation of oil, which is pre- served in the porous strata overlying the Eocene clays and is sealed up by the superincumbent muddy sediments. Pror. O. ComEs, of Portici, Naples, has prepared a series of chronological charts which furnish data concerning the intro- duction, cultivation and general spread of tobacco for all important countries throughout the world. WITH the present contribution (No, 13), Sir George King has brought the ‘‘ Material for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula” to the end of the Calyciflore. The genus Begonia furnishes 19 species, of which 14 are new to science ; most of these were collected in Perak, several at altitudes varying from 3000 to 7000 feet. Two new species of Mastixia are also described. As in the case of the Thalamiflorze and Disciflore, a complete list of Calycifloral species has been published separately. THE possibilities of pitcher plants as a trap for catching the American cockroach, A/atla americana, are pointed out in the October Szzlletin of the Trinidad Botanical Department. Planted amongst orchids, they may materially help the cultivator to keep this pest in check, and are more especially suitable since they require similar conditions of heat and moisture. A note on the ‘‘ Nitrogen Content of Flowers’? emphasises the manurial value of those of the Immortelle, and Nicaragua shade plants which are sown amongst cacao plants. A’ new fruit obtained from the Bocas Islands and provisionally determined by the Kew authorities as Anxamomis esculenta, judging from its flavour and aroma, seems likely to furnish good table fruit. THERE is a strong physiological tendency displayed in the Bulletin of the College of Agriculture connected with Tokyo University. Several papers by Mr. K. Aso deal with the action of certain poisonous substances when supplied as food to seedlings. Salts of manganese, even in weak solutions, have an injurious effect, but if the solution is diluted to contain about 0°002 per cent. of the salt, then the result is stimulating. Similar stimulating effects were obtained with very dilute solutions of other poisonous salts. The same author contributes a suggestive paper on the oxidising enzymes in plants. Mr. M. Toyonaga, on the animal side, obtains results which are in keeping with Prof. O. Loew's hypothesis that the amount of calcium varies with the size of the nucleus. WE have received a copy of vol. v. No. 1 of the Bulletin of the College of Agriculture at Tokio, which, among other con- tents, includes a memoir on the embryology of silkworms, by Mr. K. Toyama. : NO. 1728, VOL. 67] In the November issue of the Amerzcan Naturalist, Prof. B. Dean continues the discussion of the origin of vertebrate limbs—this time from the point of view of the flotation and balancing of the body in the sharks. It is concluded that the pectoral, and not the pelvic, fins have shifted their position with the advance of development, in accordance with the exigencies of the physiological factors referred to, and it is urged that this affords strong evidence in favour of the lateral fold theory. WE have to chronicle the appearance of a new biological serial, Broteria, issued by the College of St. Fiel, Lisbon, and named in honour of the celebrated Lusitanian botanist, Dr. F. d’Avellar Brotero, who died in 1887. Although the new journal will embrace biological subjects of any kind, its special object is the fauna and flora of the district immediately surrounding the College of St. Fiel. In addition to a number of papers not’ specially connected with the area in question, the present issue contains one on the Lepidoptera of St. Fiel. THE Manchester Museum has issued asecond edition, revised and enlarged by Dr. Hickson, of Prof. Milnes Marshall’s admirable descriptive catalogue of the series of embryological . models in the collection. Since the appearance of the first edition, the development of the torpedo has been added to the. series. Number 9 of Wo/es from the Manchester Museum is devoted to observations on the nomenclature and identification . of the British cephalopods, by Mr. W. E. Hoyle, reprinted from the Journal of Conchology. The author shows that the substitu- tion of the name Polypus for the familiar Octopus, although , much to be regretted, is inevitable, unless priority in nomencla-, ture is to be altogether discarded. “Tue Solution of the Eel Question” is the title of a highly interesting paper, by Dr. C. H. Eigenmann, published in vol. xxiii. of the Zransactions of the American Microscopical Society. After a summary of the investigations and discoveries of Grassi: and Colandruccio in Italy in regard to the developmental history of the European eel, the author records the discovery of the larva (‘‘ Leptocephalus”’) of the American eel—a species which differs from its Old-World relative, both in the adult and im- mature condition, by the smaller number of vertebra. In August, 1900, Dr. Eigenmann had the opportunity of examining some eels’ eggs from the surface of the Gulf Stream—the first taken elsewhere than in Italy—which there is every reason for regarding as those of the conger-eel. To the larval form of the American eel, the author—somewhat unnecessarily,in our opinion —applies the name Leftocephalus grassit. In discussing the question whether eels ever breed in fresh water, the author states that while there is nothing inherently impossible in this, yet no decisive evidence of its occurrence has been hitherto recorded. No eels’ eggs have at present been taken in fresh water, and the. statement that eels found in land-locked basins must, of necessity breed there is by no means conclusive. WE have received a copy of The Scientific Roll and Magazine of Systematised Noles (Bacteria, vol. i. No. 6), conducted by Mr. Alexander Ramsay. It contains a few notes on various bacteriological subjects culled from various authors, andan essay on specific descriptions. In its issue for November 29, the Zavcet publishes as a supplement an exhaustive account of the manufacture and nature | of Cognac brandy. A number of analyses are given showing how brandy differs from other spirits and indicating how the - genuine may be distinguished from the spurious. The. former , is the product of distillation and maturation of a grape wine, the. latter is derived from potato or grain spirit. The subject is of . considerable importance from a medicinal point of view. , DECEMBER I1, 1902] NATURE 137 Tue Public Health Department of the City of London directs attention (Report of the Medical Officer of Health, No. 52) to the filthy and dangerous habit of indiscriminate spitting, the chief source, probably, of tuberculous infection. Many cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and in Europe have made the habit a penal offence, and the Corporations of Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow and the County Council of Glamorgan have bye-laws prohibiting it in public places. The Medical Officer for the City suggests that similar powers should be obtained by the Corporation of London for dealing with it. NEw editions have been published of ‘‘ Paleontology, Invertebrate,” by Mr. Henry Woods (Cambridge University Press) and ‘‘ Maps, their Uses and Construction,” by Mr. G. James Morrison (Edward Stanford). The former is the third edition and Mr. Morrison’s book is a second edition, which has been revised and enlarged. THE twenty-fourth annual volume of the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, published under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, contains, like all its predecessors, an abundance of valuable information on anthropological, bio- logical and geological subjects. It is impossible in this place to refer to each of the separate contributions. Messrs. Jordan and Snyder review many classes of the fishes of Japan, separate papers being given to the discobolous, gobioid, gymnodont, hypostomide, lophobranchiate, labroid, salmonoid and _trach- inoid fishes. Messrs. Wirt Robinson and M. W. Lyon .provide an annotated list of mammals collected in the vicinity of La Guaira, Venezuela, while Dr. Leonhard Stejneger deals with the batrachians and reptiles of the same locality. In another paper, the last named author describes a new bullfrog from Florida and the Gulf Coast. Mr. D. White gives an account of two new species of algze of the genus Buthotrephis, from the Upper Silurian of Indiana. The fossil fresh-water shells of the Colorado desert form the subject of a paper by Dr. R. Stearns. The humming-birds of Ecuador and Colombia are catalogued by Mr. H. C. Oberholser. Illustrations and descriptions of new, unfigured or imperfectly known shells, chiefly American, in the U.S. National Museum are given by Mr. W. H. Dall. The larks of the genus Otocoris are de- scribed in detail by Mr. H. C. Oberholser. Many of the papers are accompanied by numerous admirable illustrations, those connected with Mr. Oberholser’s paper being especially good. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Patas Monkey (Cercopzethecus patas) from West Africa, presented by Mr. E. Chaplin ; a Virginian Eagle Owl (ubo vérginianus), a Mexican Eared Owl (Aso mexicanus) from Argentina, presented by Miss Irene Thornton ; a Graceful Ground Dove (Geofelia cuneata) from Australia, presented by Miss Cooper; a Glass Snake (Ofhdosaurus apus) European, presented by Mr. C. H. Rawlins ; a Derbian Wallaby (Jacropus derbianus) from Australia, deposited ; four Black-necked Swans (Cygnus nigricollts) from Antarctic America, received in exchange. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. New Comer 1902 @ (GIAcoBINI).—A telegram from Kiel, dated December 3, announces that the fourth new comet of this year was discovered by M. Giacobini at Nice on De- cember 2d. 12h. Its position at 1oh. om. (Nice M.T.) was R.A. =7h.17m.°6, Dec. = 1° 58’ S., anditis moving in a north- westerly direction. A second telegram, dated December a, ‘says that the comet was observed by Herr Graff at Hamburg on December 3d. 11h.*5, and its position for 15h. om. (Ham- ‘burg M.T.) was R.A. =7h. 17m.°4, Dec.=1° 51'S. The daily movement in declination is +3’, and the projected path of the ‘comet passes near to the*border line between the constellations *Gemini and Orion. | NC. 1728, VOL. 67] THE VARIABILITY OF a ORIONIS.—From an examination of his observations of the comparative magnitudes of Betelgeux and 8 Orionis which he has made during this year, Herr J. Plassman has confirmed the recent variation of magnitude in the former star, and he considers that the peculiarities of the variations merit further and continuous attention on the part of variable-star observers (Astronomdsche Nachrichten, No. 3830). ACTIVITY OF THE LUNAR CRATER LINNE.—In Circular No. 67 of the Harvard College Observatory, Prof. E. C. Pickering gives the micrometric measures of the bright spot surrounding Linné which were made at Harvard by Prof. W. H. Pickering, using the 15-inch equatorial, before and after the passage of the earth’s shadow in the eclipse of October 16. These measures show that the bright spot has materially increased in size since similar measures were made in 1898 and 1899, and, further, that the change in size during the passage of the umbra was surprisingly great, so great that Prof. W. H. Pickering found it necessary to reassure himself that the object he was measuring was indeed Linné. This increase of size amounted to 2’'75, instead of 0” 14 obtained by the same observer during the eclipse of 1899 (Popular Astronomy, vol. vill. p. 58). Prof. E. C. Pickering attributes the change in the normal size to increased activity on the part of the crater, and the large increase of diameter during the eclipse to the fact that, owing to this increased activity, there was on this occasion more moisture around the crater to condense. The increase in normal size was confirmed by measures made on October 20, when the spot had begun to shrink owing to the increased amount of evaporation in the fierce sunlight, for the value obtained then (4’’61) was sensibly larger than that obtained (341) during a similar phase in 1898, REDETERMINATIONS OF THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT AND THE SOLAR PARALLAX.—A communication from M. Per- rotin to No. 21 of the Comptes vendus describes the experi- ments which have been made recently, at the Observatory of Nice, to redetermine with greater accuracy the velocity of light, using the toothed-wheel method of Fizeau under improved con- ditions. In previous experiments, the beam of light was made to travel a distance of 12km. (7°452 miles) and back, but in the recent experiments it was reflected from a mirror placed at a distance of 46km. (287566 miles) from the source, an objective of 0°76m, diameter being used at the plane of emission and one of 0°38m. diameter as the collimator. As a result of 1109 observations, the final value obtained for the velocity was 299,880km. (about 186,225°5 miles) per second, and the probable error is less than 50km. per second. In addition, M. Perrotin also gives the final value obtained for the solar parallax, from observations of the planet Eros, made at Nice, as 8’’"805+0"-o11, and from this deduces a value of 20”°465 for the ‘‘ constant of aberration,” thus confirming the value adopted by the International Astronomical Conference of 1896. THE ‘‘ANNUAIRE ASTRONOMIQUE.”—This year-book of astronomy for 1903, compiled by M. Camille Flammarion and published at the low price of 1‘50 francs, is one of the most complete and useful books of its kind. It gives practically all the data required by the amateur astronomer or meteorologist, amongst which may be mentioned thesolar, lunar and planetary elements for the year, the various phenomena such as eclipses, occultations, meteors, comets, &c., tables of the positions, dis- tances and proper motions of the brighter stars, particulars of double stars, many useful meteorological tables, and a valuable résumé of the more important astronomical and meteorological events of 1902, the whole being freely illustrated by interesting photographs and curves. METEOROLOGY AT GREAT ALTITUDES. AN International Aéronautical Congress was held at Berlin, ' May 20 to 24, 1902, on the occasion of the third meeting of the International Committee for Scientific Aéronautics, ap- pointed by the Paris: Meteorological Conference of 1896. Of this committee there were present the president, Prof. Hergesell, of Strasburg, Prof. Assmann and Mr. Berson, of Berlin, General 1 Abridged from a Report contributed by Mr. A. Lawrence Rotch to the U.S. Monthly Weather Review for July. 138 NATOKE [DECEMBER I1, 1902 Rykatchef and Colonel Kowanko, of St. Petersburg, Prof. Cailletet and M. Teisserenc de Bort, of Paris, and the writer, who is the American member. There were also present at the Congress, by special invitation, about one hundred military and civil aéronauts and representatives of meteorological institutions, the writer representing the United States Weather Bureau by request of its chief. The opening of the Congress in the great hall of the Reichstag building was a brilliant event. Prince Frederick Henry of Prussia appeared for the Emperor of Germany. Both the Imperial and the Prussian Governments were represented, and the chief European nations, except France, sent the com- manders or officers of their military balloon corps. Alter the usual formal greetings, the representative of the Prussian Minister of Instruction spoke as follows :— “The Royal Government is much impressed with the im- portance and necessity of an exchange of ideas between the savants of all nations in matters concerning meteorology and terrestrial magnetism, since international cooperation in these branches of science is the indispensable forerunner of progress. This was indeed recognised as early as 1780, by the founding on German soil of the ‘ Societas meteorologica Palatina,’ which undertook the task of beginning systematic weather observations in Europe, with the hope of extending them to other parts of the world. On account of the existing state of affairs, its efforts were of short duration and for a long time savants were allowed to labour independently, but with the foundation of magnetic investigations by Gauss and Weber, the sagacious idea of organisation acquired new life and pressed for realisation, espe- cially through the development of navigation, which has the greatest interest in the accurate observation of weather pheno- mena on the ocean. The Antarctic discaveries of James Ross, and the successful efforts of American navigators to shorten ocean voyages,-gave a new impulse, and so there arose the proposition of organising a meteorological service at the first congress of the maritime nations held at Brussels in 1854, although it was not until 1873, during the Vienna Exposition, that the first meteorological congress convened there laid the foundation of an international weather service. The inter- national committee, appointed at that time, met at first annually, but later at intervals cf two or three years. With its increasing activity, the necessity of dividing the work manifested itself, and thus special commissions were formed, of which one meets here to-day and whose third gathering will probably be as fruitful as its preceding meetings. Ina field where there is only interest in research, may the bonds uniting the representatives of cultured nations ever become closer !” In the name of the Prussian Meteorological Institute, its director, Dr. von Bezold, remarked that early investigators perceived the importance of aéronautics for meteorological researches. ‘* When Charles, the inventor of the hydrogen balloon, made his first ascension in 1783, he took with him a barometer and a thermometer, as did the American aéronaut (Jeffries), who ascended from London during the next year, It was not until very lately that Germany took part in this work, or about the year 1880, but then, with an instrument markedly superior, namely, Assmann’saspiration-psychrometer, and through the munificence of the German Emperor, she was enabled to carry out the work on a large scale. For the second time, the repre- sentatives of scientific acronautics now meet on German soil and thereby recognise the importance of our efforts. But much indeed has been done for this new research by M. Teisserenc de Bort at Trappes, near Paris, through the perfection of the éa//on-sonde, ihe unmanned balloon carrying self-recording instruments, and by Mr. Rotch, of Blue Hill, through his application of kites. Both methods are so good that by their use-a great impetus has been given to meteorological research, whereby it is easily under- stood that there should be uniform rules for their employment. Looking backward, it may be said that the international meetings for the organisation of meteorological research, in 1854 at Buussels, in 1873 at Vienna and in 1879 at Rome, are landmarks in the progress of the science, and that when, in September, 1896, the International Committee for Scientifiz Aéronautics’ was appointed, the plan had been so well considered and the technical necessity was so evident that there was entire unanimity in the deliberations and resolutions. The originator of the idea of the unmanned balloon was the late Gaston Tissandier, who en- thusiastically explained the scheme to the speaker in 1886, although nearly ten years elapsed before its realisation. This work will be fruitful, for wind and clouds have no political NO, 1728, VOL. 67 | boundaries and the sun belongs to us all. Consequently, we are all striving, for various reasons, toward the same goal, and the motto wzrzbus unztis will be, as ever, the decisive measure of the result.” Prof. Cailletet, of Paris, responded for the foreigners present, and then Prof. Hergesell, after thanking the preceding speakers, said, in the course of his remarks :— ““Everywhere—in Paris, Strasburg, Munich, St. Petersburg and Berlin—aéronautical experiments for the scientific explora- tion of the atmosphere had taken place, and since a general wish was expressed to unite the separate efforts in a common cause, a favourable time to do this seemed to be in the autumn of 1896 at the conference in Paris of the directors of the meteor- ological institutes. France, the cradle of aéronautics, was the chosen ground, because there, independently of the German and Russian experiments, a most promising method of investiga- tion had been developed that had already produced good results; for the French experimenters, Colonel Charles Renard and Messrs. Hermite and Besancon, all members of our Com- mission, had simultaneously put into execution the plan of exploring the highest strata of the atmosphere with free balloons carrying only self-recording instruments. Not the least service of our Commission has been to render the method of unmanned balloons comparable with the exact measurements in manned balloons as they are made in Berlin. During our first meeting, in April, 1898, at Strasburg, the difficult problem of obtaining a uniform instrumental equipment was solved in a general way. Since then, our manned balloons, here and abroad, carry the aspiration-psychrometer, which Dr. Assmann, in cooperation with the late Captain von Sigsfeld, has devised, and the unmanned balloons are provided with the normal registration apparatus which the indefatigable Teisserenc de Bort has con- structed so skilfully. The registration balloon from that time has been the most powerful tool in dynamical meteorology and has furnished astounding data for the cold atmospheric strata up to a height of 20 kilometres, which are confirmed to a height exceeding 10 kilometres by the ascensions of the brave Berlin aéronauts, Berson and Siiring, who have ascended so far in these regions. Since November, 1900, on the first Thursday of every month, simultaneous ascensions have occurred in Paris, Strasburg, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg and Mos- cow, and on May 5, 1902, the 213th registration balloon of the International Commission was sent up. The observations have proved that the temperature does not steadily decrease upward, but that strata exist which often possess great differences of temperature. This stratification is one of the most important objects of the present investigation. And the future? System- atic meteorological research is at present carried on over only a small portion of the globe. Even in Europe, in the north there is lacking Scandinavia, and in the south Italy and Spain; bat the presence of representatives of these countries at our meeting gives the hope of speedy cooperation. A plan for a meteor- ological cruise of a steamer to fly kites will also be discussed, for the meteorological exploration of the Tropics must be extended, and the participation of England in our endeavours gives us hope that India may be claimed as a region for investigation. er aspera ad astva—that may be setting our goal too high, but, per aspera ad altas et ignotas vegiones, up tothe regions which hide the great secret where the weather comes from—that we certainly should fix as our goal.”’ At the second meeting, General Rykatchef, director of the Central Physical Observatory at St. Petersburg, spoke on the preliminary results attained with kites, éa//ons-sondes and manned balloons during the past five years in Russia. Scientific aéronautics in Russia date only from 1899, with the exception of some years of preparatory work. Still, there have been a large number of ascensions; 13 of the 60 kite-flights were above 3000 metres, while the 4allons-sondes reached 14,200 metres. The inclement climate of Russia occasions many unusual difficulties, for instance, the kite wire on the reel becomes thickly coated with frost, rendering the unwinding difficult, or both wire and kites in the air are so thickly - incrusted with frost work (five millimetres or more) that the kites often fall to the ground. Kites were used chiefly at the stations in Pavlovsk and St. Petersburg, and thereby special details were obtained in the lower strata of the diurnal and annual influence on the vertical decrease of temperature up to 3000 metres. It was found that in summer and during the daytime the decrease of temperature with increasing height proceeds more rapidly, and, on the contrary, that in winter DECEMBER II, 1902] and during the night hours there are large inversions of temperature. In anticyclones, large inversions occur in the lower strata and a rapid decrease of temperature in the higher strata. General Rykatchef exhibited an anemometer, constructed by his assistant, Mr. Kusnetzof, for the registration of wind pressure during kite flights. The instrument has bridled Robinson cups which act like a dynamometer and record the gusts of wind on a revolving drum. In closing, the speaker announced that the Czar had given a considerable sum of money for the con- tinuation of this investigation of the different strata of the atmo- sphere in Russia by means of balloons and kites. M. Teisserenc de Bort, of Paris, presented the results of his observations of the decrease of temperature in the high atmo- sphere, as obtained from the ascensions of 258 éal/ons-sondes, which had reached or exceeded 11,000 metres, the total number of ascensions being 540, all of which were made at night to avoid the effect of insolation. The concordant and remarkable result is that, in the layer between 8000 and gooo metres, the decrease of temperature becomes slower, ceasing entirely at 11,000 metres, while above that height a warming may set in, with fluctu- ations of 1° to 3° centigrade, making the temperature here on the average nearly constant. In the summer, this isothermal layer apears to lie somewhat higher, or between 13,000 and 14,000 metres. It is lower during the prevalence of a depres- sion, but 4000 metres higher during a high pressure. so that the zone exceeds the height of the cirrus clouds. The lowest temperatures, occurring in a high pressure, were —67° and —72°, but in March the exceptionally low temperature of —75 centigrade was observed. Whether the absolute mini- mum of temperature has been reached here requires further proof, and as to the cause of this striking phenomenon there are only conjectures. Have we at these great heights aérial conditions working on a grand scale, where the cyclonic whirls of the lower atmosphere do not penetrate and the currents flow uninterruptedly ? Prof. Assmann said that the observations of the Berlin Aéronautical Observatory, although obtained by a somewhat different method, !ed to the same conclusion as that which had been reached at Trappes. Above 10,000 metres, the temperature oscillates and does not appear to decrease, although beyond the variable stratum, at 17,000 metres, and recently as high as 19,500 metres, the temperature was again found to decrease, so that the possibility of an absolute minimum of temperature is by no means excluded. The Berlin observations were executed with specially constructed balloons of Para rubber, which entirely avoided in the daytime the influence of solar radiation on the instrument, which was enclosed in double polished tubes. Prof. Palazzo, Director of the Central Meteorological Office at Rome, announced that Italy would now participate in the international scientific exploration of the atmosphere. Through the aid of the Minister of Agriculture, three stations for kites are proposed ; one on Mount Cimone (2165 metres), another on Etna (2942 metres) and a third outside of Rome, near the Fort of Monte Mario. The Minister of War has ordered that the ascensions by officers of the balloon corps shall take place on the days of the international ascents. Information was given about the observatory for the study of the physics of the atmo- sphere, now in construction on Monte Rosa at a height of 4560 metres, which is expected to be completed next summer. In connection with this communication, there was a discussion con- cerning the interest of scientific aéronautics in physiological investigations, which will form an important part of the work of the high-work observatory mentioned. Prof. Assmann, Director of the Aéronautical Observatory of the Prussian Meteorological Institute, described his regis- tration balloon of caoutchouc or Para rubber, which was one of the novelties of the meeting. The ordinary da//on-sonde, made of silk or paper and open at the bottom, has the great disadvantage that, when it approaches equilibrium in the upper strata of the atmosphere, its velocity of ascent decreases and the effect of insolation on the thermograph becomes greater, without it being possible to determine afterwards the place where the solar disturbance began during the ascent or where it disappeared during the descent ; in fact, it is only in certain cases that we can distinguish between the insolation influence and the curious thermal anomalies that have been described by Teisserenc de Bort and Hergesell. The use of a closed balloon made of elastic material has this advantage, that in proportion as the enclosed gas expands, the ascensional force is increased, so that the balloon rises faster with augmenting NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | NATURE 139 height until it bursts, and then falls to the ground with dimin- ishing velocity, because checked by a parachute. The meteor- ograph of Prof. Assmann has no clock movement, the time being unimportant ; but a disc is turned by the metallic thermometer while the barometer draws a pen horizontally across the disc, and so the spiral curve indicates heights and corresponding tem- peratures. Theapparatus exhibited weighed but 380 grams, and with the protecting basket 500 grams. Since ink would freeze at great elevations, the trace is made by a pen containing a solu- tion of saltpetre, which writes on the disc coated with Jamp- black, treated with a solution of ‘‘ tonsol.” The chemical reac- tion gives a red trace that cannot be obliterated by handling or by immersion in water. The time required for an ascent to 15,000 metres is about one hour and for the descent two hours, so that the balloons do not travel very far and are usually re- covered within three days. The diameter of the envelope at the start is I or 2 metres only, and it does not require to be completely filled with hydrogen to exert the necessary initial lift of 2 or 3 kilograms. Dr. Valentin, of Vienna, spoke on the sluggishness of ther- mographs in registration balloons. Prof. Hergesell believed that it was better to employ the most sensitive and accurate thermometers rather than to try to determine the corrections for sluggishness. He exhibited such an instrument, as did M. Teisserenc de Bort. The French instrument has the Bourdon tube insulated by a block of hard rubber, which prevents the injurious conduction of heat. Comparisons between an instru- ment insulated in this way and one not insulated gave differ- ences which increased with the height of the balloon and at 12,000 to 14,000 metres reached 6°, an amount that justified the insulation. At the third meeting, the subject of kites and kite stations was opened with a paper by the writer on the exploration of the atmosphere over the ocean. The use of the kite on land is limited to favourable circumstances, since the wind must have a velocity of at least 5 or 6 metres per second to raise the kites and cannot exceed a certain maximum strength without endan- gering the wire by an excessive pull. At sea, however, the motion of a steamer at a velocity of 10 or 12 knots will almost always produce a suitable kite wind, if it does not already exist. In order to demonstrate this, in August, 1901, the writer crossed the North Atlantic on a steamer and found five out of eight days suitable for flying kites. Only on one day was the relative wind too light and on two days too strong, but the wind would always have been favourable had it been pos- sible to alter the course of the vessel. These successful results led the writer to propose a meteorological kite expedition to the trade wind and equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean, where almost nothing is known of the upper currents. To. defray part of the expense, application has been made to the Carnegie Institution fora grant of 10,000 dollars, but it was con- sidered that the recommendation of the present Congress might aid in. securing favourable action. Applause showed the approval of the meeting, which was voiced by Drs. von Bezold and Hergesell. The former, especially, pointed out the im- portance and the pressing need of meteorological observations over the ocean, where, in consequence of other methods of warming and cooling the air, very different conditions must exist than prevail over the land, and our ignorance of them is no longer to be tolerated. Prof. Koppen, of Hamburg, ex- pressed himself in a similar manner, and made the interesting announcement that, according to the programme of the Scan- dinavian Hydrographic Congress to explore the Balticand North seas in the interest of the fisheries, four cruises a year were proposed on which meteorologists would be given an opportunity to study the atmosphere above these seas. Prof. Wagner, of the University of Gottingen, said that the Gditingen Society of Sciences had, at the request of the Aéronautical Committee, furnished the geophysical expedition which was sent to Samoa about a year ago under the leadership of Dr. Tetens with kites and instruments, in order to obtain meteor- ological observations above that island and on the return voyage over the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Hergesell mentioned that on the Lake of Constance meteorological kite flights were to be under- taken, Count von Zeppelin furnishing the vessel and the meteor- ological service of Alsace-Lorraine the apparatus. General Rykatchef promised, on the part of the Russian Government, that similar observations would be executed over the northern portion of the Baltic as well as over the Black Sea. On the motion of Dr. Hergesell, the plan of Mr. Rotch for a meteorological 140 kite-expedition in the South Atlantic was fully approved, and the hope was expressed that, with the aid of Government funds, the project might be realised in the near future. Mr. Berson remarked that it was of the greatest importance that the British as well as the Dutch Governments should encourage meteor- ological observations in the monsoon region, and Major Trollope, speaking for Great Britain, said that he would endeavour to have this done. M. Teisserenc de Bort showed a diagram of the results ob- tained from continuous soundings of the atmosphere, or those made as frequently as possible at his observatory at Trappes, viz., on thirty-six days in January and February, 1901, when kites and registration balloons (4ad/ons-sondes) were sent almost daily into the higher atmosphere to an extreme height of 12,000 metres. The plotted results throw doubt on the assumption that the barometric depressions bring higher temperatures and the barometric maxima lower temperatures, and give an in- teresting demonstration of the diversity and complexity of the atmospheric phenomena of which it is the aim of international aéronautics to ascertain the laws. The fourth meeting was principally occupied with the sub- ject of high ascents, and an apparatus for breathing oxygen at great altitudes was shown by Prof. Cailletet. ; Dr. Siiring spoke on the ascension which he had made with Mr. Berson on July 31, 1901, to the height of 10,800 metres, the greatest height yet reached by man. He insisted upon the importance of such high ascents to control the observ- ations otherwise obtained and to make those that require direct vision. Especially are the strata from 5000 to 10,000 metres not yet adequately explored, and for weather changes they are of great importance, as is indicated by the scarcity of clouds near 4000 metres and above 6000 metres. Lieutenant von Lucanus, in the name of the German Ornitho- logical Society, asked a¢ronauts to observe the various heights at which birds are found. It is now supposed that the height above the ground at which birds fly does not generally exceed 400 metres, and only occasionally reaches 2000 metres, the zone usually remaining below the lower clouds. Still, much uncertainty prevails concerning the tracks of birds, and espe- cially the heights of flights, and information is greatly desired. The fifth session was mostly devoted to a discussion of observations of atmospheric electricity and terrestrial mag- netism in balloons. Prof. Hergesell explained that electrical measurements are of such vital interest that the academies of Berlin, Munich, Gottingen, Leipzig and Vienna were to have been represented at this meeting by Profs. von Bezold, Ebert, Wagner, Wiener and Exner. The latter, who is the Nestor of this branch of physics, was prevénted from attending, but Prof. Elster, of Wolfenbiittel, was present among the experts. Prof. Ebert, of Munich, said that constituents containing electrical charges had been found recently in the air through their physical properties. These carriers of electricity are called ‘‘ions,” or, more correctly, ‘‘ electrons.” At the earth’s surface, their presence may be shown by the dissipation apparatus of Elster and Geitel, and the smallest quantity of electricity may be recorded by means of an elec- trometer. The speaker had adapted this apparatus for use in balloons, and, by employing an aspirator, a fixed quantity of air could be drawn over the dissipating body and absolute measurements made of the amount of free electricity contained in a cubic metre of air. It is of importance in geophysics to know how the capacity of the air for positive and negative electrons varies with altitude, and therefore the speaker had made such determinations, finding near the earth many more positive than negative electrons, but whether this is a result of the negatively charged earth is uncertain. In the high strata, the inequality tends to disappear, but considerations that throw doubt on the balloon observations relate partly to the electrical discharges produced by the ultra-violet light rays and partly to the indeterminate moment of aspiration in a rising or falling balloon. Prof. Ebert considered the cooperation of aéronauts valuable, and cited as a result of the investigation in the Alps that in the foehn wind an excess of positive electrons is found, and this disturbance of the elec- trical equilibrium perhaps may cause the foehn sickness. Prof. Elster described two experiments that proved the ex- istence of the electrons, one being the radiation of Becquerel rays after two hours from an insolated and stretched copper wire charged with 2000 volts. It was agreed by both experts that the cleaner and clearer the air the more electrons it contains. NO. 1728, VOL. 67] NATURE [ DreceMBER II, 1902 Before closing the Congress, the resolutions proposed, after undergoing certain modifications, were adopted by the com- « mittee in executive session, the Congress itself being only a con- sulting and advisory body. Besides the resolutions mentioned | already, it was determined that the international ascents of bal- loons and kites during the next year should take place, as has — been the case this year, on the first Thursday of every month, and that at least one of the Ja//oms-sondes liberated at any station should be sent up one hour before sunrise in order that its | records may not be affected by solar radiation, and also that the balloon may be seen when it falls to earth in the early morning. The Richard thermograph, with Teisserenc de Bort’s insulating device, should be vsed, and the Hergesell instrument having a tube of German silver, instead of the Bourbon tube filled with alcohol, was also recommended on account of its sen- sitiveness and durability. Ascensions at other hours and with different apparatus are discretionary. The president, Prof. Hergesell, in summing up the results of the Congress, which he regarded as eminently satisfactory, laid special importance on the meteorological kite flights that were proposed over seas, lakes and mountains, and hoped that the British Government, by similar work in India, would help in the investigation of the great Asiatic monsoon region. A grant of money was requested from the German Government to enable the Prussian Meteor- ological Institute to cooperate with the writer in his proposed investigation of the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean. It was announced that in order to facilitate international re- searches in scientific aéronautics, the formation of an organis- ation, sustained by the various European nations, would be attempted. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. OxFoRD.—AN election will be held at Brasenose College in March, 1903, to an ordinary fellowship, of the value of 200/, a year, tenable for seven years, after an examination in the subjects recognised in the Honour School of Animal Physiology. Weight will be attached to work exhibiting research in some subject of © physiological study. The electors to Dr. Lee’s readership in chemistry will appoint a reader in January, 1903, and they invite candi- dates to submit their names and qualifications before January I. The reader must lecture in two at least of the three University terms, and, in addition to the duties performed for the Univer- sity, he may be required, as an official student of Christ Church, to take part in the educational work of the house by giving lectures or other instruction in chemistry and directing the work of the chemical laboratory. Convocation has granted 200/. to the Wykeham professor of physics to defray the expenses of fittings for his laboratory. CAMBRIDGE.—The reader in geography and the lecturers in ethnology and geology have arranged for a series of lectures and practical courses to serve as a training for persons wishing to undertake exploration or desirous of contributing to our knowledge of foreign countries. The series will be held during the Lent term, and will include history of geographical dis- covery, principles of physical geography, map-making and » map-reading, and geography of Europe, by Mr. Oldham; anthropogeography, practical ethnology, by Prof. Haddon ; geomorphology and geology, by Mr. Marr; plane-table and photographic surveying, by Mr. Garwood; and elementary astronomical surveying, by Mr. Hinks. The courses will be open to members of the University and others. The fee for all is 32. 3s. Further particulars may be obtained from Prof. Haddon, Museum of Archeology, Cambridge. A syndicate has been appointed to considerjwhat changes, if any, are desirable in the regulations that affect the mathematical portions of the pass examinations of the University, in particular of the previous examination. The members of the syndicate are :—The Vice-Chancellor, Mr. C. Smith, Prof. Forsyth, Dr. Hobson, Mr. W. L. Mollison, Mr. C. A. E. Pollock, Mr. W. Welsh, Prof. G. B. Mathews, Mr. S. Barnard, Mr, W. M. Coates, Mr. E. T. Whittaker and Mr. A. W. Siddons. It is probable that the syndicate will recommend changes analogous to those which have been introduced in connection with the University local examinations, especially as regards the dominance of Euclid. DecEeMBER I1, 1902] NATORE IAI THE council of University College, Liverpool, has appointed Major Ronald Ross, C.B., F.R.S., to the Sir Alfred Jones chair of tropical medicine and parasitology, recently founded with the aid of special subscriptions to the University fund. AT a meeting of the general committee of the Principal Viriamu Jones memorial fund, recently heldat University College, Cardiff, it was decided to raise a fund of 1ooo/. to erect astatue to the memory of the late principal. To carry,out this object and to raise the necessary funds, an executive committee was appointed. Av a meeting of business men of Manchester and district held on Monday, the Lord Mayor being in the chair, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :—‘‘ That the increasing competition and keenness of modern business life and its greater complexity call for a more thorough mental training of persons aspiring to be heads and managers of commercial and industrial establishments, and that this meeting heartily approves of the further development of the higher education bearing on commercial life now provided in the Owens College by the establishment of a Faculty of Commerce on the-lines of the draft scheme now submitted.” THE prizes and certificates were presented to successful students of the Northampton Institute, Clerkenwell, on the evening of December 3, by the Lord Chancellor. The principal, Dr. Walmesley, reported a marked improvement during 1901 over the previous year in the number of medals and exhibitions gained in open competition by his students. Before the present- ation of prizes, the Lord Chancellor said, in the course of a short address, that suitable technical education would enable the commerce of this country to achieve again the reputation which in some aspects had been diminished in modern times. In this matter, foreigners had been assisted by their Governments and had been provided with educational establishments at the ex- pense of their countries. Tue fifth annual London conference of science teachers will be held on January 9 and 10, 1903, at the South-Western Poly- technic, Chelsea. At the first meeting, the chair will be taken by Mr. Henry Ward, chairman of the London Technical Education Board, and addresses will be delivered by Mr. Usherwood, on the experimental teaching of geometry, and by Mr. Frank Castle, on the teaching of workshop mathematics. Sir William Anson will preside at the second meeting, and addresses on the teaching of geometry will be given by Messrs. S. O. Andrews, W. D. Eggar and A. W. Siddons. Prof. Farmer, F.R.S., will be the chairman at the third meeting, when experimental plant physiology and the rational teaching of botany will be the subjects taken up by Mr. H. B. Lacey and Miss Lilian Clarke respectively. Prof. Callendar, F.R.S., will take the chair at the last meeting, when an address will be given by Mr. Newth on experimental illustration in the teaching of chemistry, and one by Mr. Busbridge on making lantern slides. Free admission to the conference will be granted to as many teachers as the room will accommodate, and application for tickets should be made to Dr. Kimmins, Dame Armstrong House, Harrow-on-the-Hill, or to Mr. C. A. Buckmaster, 16 Heathfield Road, Mill Hill Park. WE announced last week that the name of Sir John Williams, Bart., had been mentioned in connection with the vacancy cansed by Sir Michael Foster’s resignation of his seat in Parlia- ment as member for London University. Since then we have received a circular containing the invitation sent by a com- ‘mittee of graduates to Sir John Williams to become a candidate for the vacant seat, and the reply in which he accepts it. After referring to the new conditions of work of the reorganised Uni- versity of London, Sir John remarks in his reply to the chair- man of his committee, Sir J. F. Rotton :—“‘ For the further development of the teaching side of the University and the realisation of our expectations with respect to its work, the creation of schools of original research is necessary. The gifts of generous donors do not and will not suffice to meet the expenses which they will entail, and I am of opinion that such schools form fitting objects of support from the State. Such establishments are a necessity for the growth of that scientific learning which is essential for the progress of trade and the » prosperity of the country, as well as for the education of the community. Questions of public health—the prevention of - epidemics, :the securing of efficient vaccination, the housing of NO. 1728, VOL. 67] the people, the supply’ of unpolluted water, the disposal of refuse—engage the attention of Parliament from time to time ; questions in the discussion of which the knowledge of those who have been trained in the laws cf health and disease, and their application in practice, will prove of great value. To such I would give my earnest attention.” Sir Philip Magnus has been asked by an influential body of graduates representing educational institutions to become a candidate for the seat, and has accepted the invitation. Both Sir John Williams and Sir Philip Magnus would give general support to the present Government as Unionists. Tuer following announcements of gifts to higher education in the United States have been made in Sczence since the beginning of September :—Mrs. Phoebe Hearst’s gifts for archeology and anthropology at the University of California amounted to 111,000 dollars during the last academic year. The University of Pennsylvania has received 100,000 dollars from Dr. E. W. and Clarence H. Clark for a chair in Assyri- ology, to which Dr. Hilprecht has been appointed. Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Herter, of New York City, have given 25,000 dollars to Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Howard A. Kelly has given 10,000 dollars for an extension of the gynzecoiogical ward of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Mr. John D. Rockefeller has offered to give 500,000 dollars to Teachers’ College, Columbia University, on condition that the sum of 440,000 dollars be collected from other sources—1go,000 dollars to pay the outstanding debts and 250,000 dollars for further endowment. The college has received from Mr. and Mrs. B. Everett Macy 175,800 dollars for the increase of the endowment funds and 98,709 dollars for the completion of the Horace Mann School. Princeton University receives 140,000 dollars under the will of the late Mrs. Susan Dod Brown. The bequest to the Princeton Theological Seminary made by Miss Mary Winthrop, of New York, amounted to 1,400,000 dollars. Yale University receives about 171,000 dollars as the residuary legatee of the estate of Mr. E. W. Southworth. The Ohio Wesleyan University receives 150,000 dollars under the will of the late Mr. Francis B. Loomis, of Cincinnati; and Vassar College receives 10,000 dollars by the will of the late Mr. Adolph Sutro, of San Francisco. Clark University will receive the sum of 1,577,000 dollars from the estate of the late Jonas G. Clark. This is in addition to the 500,000 dollars already paid on account of the collegiate department. These gifts and promises cover a period of three months and only include those known to have been made, yet they amount to nearly five million dollars, that is, about one million pounds. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Physical Society, November 28.—Prof. S. P. Thompson, president, in the chair.—Prof. Perry read a paper on a slide-rule for powers of numbers. Soon after the reading of Mr. Lan- chester’s paper in 1895—the radial cursor: a new addition to the slide-rule—Prof. Perry made slides to assist in computing mi”, where mz and z are any numbers. He then came to the conclusion that no great accuracy was obtainable ; but on trying the method again, he has recently found that it is very con- venient and sufficiently accurate for gas- and steam-engine work. These computations can be made with a table of values of log (log 7) used in conjunction with an ordinary table of logarithms. In the rule exhibited, the D line is replaced by a scale such that the distance from the mark Io to the mark 7 represents log (log ) to the same scale of measurement as that to which the distance from 1 to z on the C scale represents log ». The values of 7 range from 2 to 1000, and those of 7 from I to 10 or from I to “1 used backwards. The author showed how, with a one operation, the rule could be used to find the value of m, 1 m*, and the logarithm of any number to any base. If the answer on scale D is less than 2 or greater than 2000, or if the exponent # is negative, indirect methods involving two operations are necessary. Prof. Perry has replaced the ordinary D line by the log log scale, because in his opinion this line is the one least used by workers with the slide-rule. The use of the log log scale was described by Roget in 1814, and the | author’s object in bringing the matter forward lies in the fact that 142 Dr. Roget’s paper seems to be almost unknown, and it is only in these modern days that the computations for which he in- vented the rule have to be frequently made.—Prof. H. L. Callendar exhibited a lecture experiment for the determination of the mechanical equivalent of heat. The experiment was carried out with a modified form of the apparatus exhibited and described by Prof. Callendar at the meeting of the Physical Society held on June 20. Geological Society, November 19.—Prof. Charles Lap- worth, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The Semna Cutaract or Rapid of the Nile, a study in river-erosion, by Dr. John Ball. Inscriptions placed on the rocks at Semna, between the second and third cataracts, under the twelfth and thirteenth dynasties, serve as a means of gauging the local changes due to river- erosion during a period of about 4200 years. Horner, in 1850, came to the conclusion that ‘‘the only hypothesis which could meet the requirements of the facts observed would be either the wearing away of a reef or barrier at the place in question— a process requiring too long a period—or the existence at some distant period of a dam or barrier, formed perhaps by a landslip of the banks, at some narrow gorge in the river's track below Semna.’’ The author is in favour of the former explanation. Rapid erosion with the formation of pot-holes is observed to be now taking place, and the author calculates that if 200 cubic metres (approximately 500 tons) of rock per year has been removed from the barrier, the lowering of it would amount to 2 millimetres a year, or in 4200 ‘years 7°9 metres, the depth of the present river below the lowest group of inscriptions dating from the time of Amenemhat IJI. The yearly discharge -of the Nile past Semna is nearly 100,000 million tons of water, and the author considers that the removal of .500 tons of rock under existing conditions in a year is not only not impossible, but highly probable, as all this erosion only amounts to 5 milli- grams of rock per ton of silt-laden water. This erosion is com- pared with the classic instance of the River Simeto in Sicily. At Assuan and Silsilla, the river has suffered considerable lower- ing within geologically recent times, probably brought about by the removal of long pre-existent hard barriers. The sluices of the new dam at Assuan may in the future give a quantitative determination of silt-erosion in granite, and it would appear to be not difficult to ascertain at Semna the rate of pot-holing. The formation of new pot-holes 14 feet deep, in an artificial channel in rock in Sweden, has been observed to take place in eight or nine years, and the author hopes in future to attempt some measurements of this kind at Semna.—Geological aotes on the North-West Provinces (Himalayan) of India, by Mr. Francis J. Stephens. The country examined extends ina north-westerly direction across the line of strike, from the borders of Nepal and South-eastern Kumaon to north of the Alakmunda River in the vicinity of Badrinath and the Marra Pass. The summary of the author’s observations leads him to “*suppose that there are at least three distinct limestone or cal- careous series in Kumaon and Garhwal, and that schists and quartzites, with several isolated patches of granitic rock, form a large part of the remaining formations.” —Tin and tourma- line, by Mr. Donald A. MacAlister. The author gives a possible explanation of the reactions by which tin oxide could be separated from solution in magmas containing alkaline borates. Mineralogical Society, November 18.—Dr. Hugo Miiller, ¥.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr, F. E. Lamplough con- tributed a note on proustite crystals, on some of which an unusual trigonal pyramid {733} is the dominant form, and on others the pyramid {944} These forms are associated with r{1oo}, e{O1l}, v{20T}, a{1o1}, and in one case with {fi.7.7.'. —Prof. W. J. Lewis described crystals of mispickel and iron pyrites from the Binnenthal, and crystals of quartz and sphene from the Ofenhorn.—Mr. R. H. Solly gave an account of various minerals from the Lengenbach, Binnenthal. These included large crystals of baumhauerite differing in habit from those previously described by him and exhibiting several new forms, an unique crystal of binnite weighing more than 8 grams, and fine specimens of dufrenoysite partially covered by minute crystals of seligmannite. On the latter, ten new forms were observed, and from measurements made on twelve brilliant crystals the axial ratios were determined to be a:6:c=0'92332:1:0°87338. The presence of copper was detected and the streak was chocolate- brown. Mr. Solly also discussed the crystallography of a pre- sumably new mineral from the Lengenbach, five minute but brilliant crystals of which were found on a crystal of rathite. In NO. 1728, VOL. 67] NATURE [DECEMBER I1, 1902 these crystals, no plane or axis of symmetry could be determined, and each crystal was grown in a different position.—Mr. G. F. Herbert Smith exhibited a special form of protractor, and described the method of using it for plotting poles on a sphere in gnomonic projection and for determining the angles between poles and between zones graphically from the diagram.—Mr. G. T. Prior discussed the connection between the molecular volumes and chemical composition of some crystallographically similar minerals. He pointed out the chemical relationships (similarity in form of the chemical molecule with approximately the same number of atoms) of the members of the hamlinite-beudantite- jarosite group of rhombohedral minerals and showed that the molecular volumes exhibited an approach to equality. In the case of several sets of crystallographically:similar minerals, it was found that when the chemical formule were made similar in form by taking suitable multiples of the simplest formulz, then the molecular volumes calculated for these new formulze were ap- proximately equal. On this principle, from the crystallographic similarity of rutile to zircon, of anatase to calomel and of brookite to tantalite and wolfram, the following formulz for the three forms of titanic acid were deduced, viz. rutile (Ti,O,), anatase (Ti,O,), brookite (Ti;O,,).—Mr. Prior also contributed a note on phonolitic rocks from St. Helena and Ascension. These were compared with similar rocks from the Great Rift Valley and from Abyssinia, and the striking uniformity of the volcanic rocks of the African continent was pointed out. It was suggested that this was only a part of a wider generalisation according to which the volcanic eruptions of the great Atlantic volcanic chain (including its two transverse European branches and the minor chain down the east side of Africa) are charac- terised by the association of basalts and alkali-rich phonolitic rocks, whereas andesites are the prevailing lavas of the two great Pacific chains.—Mr. L. J. Spencer described the crystalline form of carbides and silicides of iron and manganese, crystals of which had been placed at his disposal by Mr. J. E. Stead. He showed that crystals of the metallurgical products, spiegeleisen, ferro- manganese and silico-ferro-manganese, of which the general chemical formula is (Fe,Mn),(C,Si), are of two kinds—(1) rhombic with a prism-angle of 674° ; (2) anorthic with a prism- angle of about 60°. Linnean Society, November 20.—Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr. R. Morton Middleton, gave an account of the dissertation by Linnzeus on Szren dacertina, annotated by the author, which he had found in a dealer’s pos- session and since then had been presented to the Society by the treasurer.—Mr. W. C. Worsdell showed a series of anomalous virescent flowers of Helentum autummnale, six strong plants in the garden at Friar Park, Henley, the residence of the treasurer, being thus affected.—Mr, H. E. H. Smedley ex- hibited large wax models of the fossil seeds of Stephanospermum akentozdes and Lagenostoma, the latter occurring in the Lower Coal-measures of Lancashire ; he also showed a model of a recent Cycad for comparison.—Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, F.R.S:, V.P., having taken the chair, the president reminded the Society that exactly a year ago he had the honour of giving an account of some observations upon the action of the enzyme contained in the secretion of Nepenthes. That enzyme, he then explained, not only possesses the property of peptonising the higher proteids (e.g. fibrin), but is also proteolytic, decomposing the proteid molecule into non-proteid nitrogenous substances such as leucin and tryptophane. The proof of this is afforded by the fact that liquids containing proteids that have undergone digestion give the tryptophane reaction; that is, a pink or violet colour on the addition of chlorine-water. Since that time, many other plants have been investigated with the object of ascertaining, (1) whether or not a digestive enzyme were present, and (2) of determining the nature of its action. In almost all cases, the presence of a proteolytic enzyme has been demonstrated. The experiments definitely establish the fact that an enzyme which actively proteolyses the simpler forms of proteid is present in all parts of the plant-body. But the question as to the precise nature of this enzyme still remains to be answered. Where proteolysis is accompanied by peptonisation, it may be inferred that the enzyme is allied to the trypsin of the animal body. Where no peptonisation, but only proteolysis, can be detected, it seems probable that the enzyme is allied to the erepsin recently discovered by Cohnheim in the small intestine. _ Possibly more than one enzyme may be active in certain cases. The conclusions arrived at depend entirely upon the trust to be placed upon the tryptophane reaction as evidence of proteolysis. From what is DECEMBER I1, 1902] NATURE 143 known as to its chemical composition and as to the conditions of its formation in digestion, there can be no doubt that trypto- phane is a product of the disruption of the proteid molecule. The point that had more particularly to be determined was whether the substance giving the colour-reaction with chlorine in these experiments is really tryptophane. The isolation of tryptophane is a difficult process, and was not attempted. The chemical identity of the substance is, however, established by the fact that its chlorine compound was found to give the same absorption spectrum as does that of tryptophane, namely, a band in the green on the yellow side of the thallium line. —Mr. A. G. Tansley gave an account of the relation of histogenesis to tissue morphology, dealing with a few points bearing on the relation of histogenesis at the apex of the stem in the Pteridophyta to the morphology of the tissue regions in the adult stem.—Mr. L. A. Beodle followed with a paper entitled ‘‘Stelar Structure of Schizzea and other Ferns.” DUBLIN. Royal Irish Academy, November 10.—Prof. R. Atkinson, president, in the chair.—Sir Robert Ball, F.R.S., communi- cated a paper on the reflection of screws andiallied questions. Let there be any system of straight lines and take any arbitrary plane S. Let P bea point on one of the straight lines, and let fall a perpendicular PT upon the plane S. Produce PT to P’ so that P’T=PT. Then the point P’ is the reflection of P. If we repeat this process for every point of the original system of straight lines, we obtain the reflected figure. The fundamental theorem is as follows :—The reflection of two reciprocal screws also forms a reciprocal pair provided the signs of the pitches of both screws be changed. From this we deduce the following theorems : (1) The reflections of a set of coreciprocal screws also form a set of coreciprocals ; (2) the reflection of an x-system of screws is also an z-system.—Dr. R. F. Scharff read a paper on the Atlantis problem. After dwelling upon the historical aspects concerning the former existence of a continent beyond the Strait of Gibraltar known to the ancients as ‘‘ Atlantis,” Dr. Scharff referred to the attempts which had been made to solve this problem from a faunistic point of view. He disagreed with Dr. Wallace in his opinion that the fauna of the Atlantic Islands had been derived from occasional means of dispersal, and contended that the origin of their fauna was mainly due to former land-connections with Portugal and Morocco. The paper also dealt with the wider question of the existence of a land-connection between the Old World and the New in the same latitudes, the author maintaining that such a land-bridge chad persisted until Miocene times.—Prof. C. J. Joly read a note on the multi-linear quaternion function in relation to pro- jective geometry. When a quaternion is interpreted as a point- symbol, the equation =/y represents the general homographic transformation in space from one set of points g to another set ?, f being a linear quaternion function. Also if /’ is the conju- gate of 7, the equations S¢(f+/’)g=0, Sg( f=7')g’ =0, represent the general quadric surface and the general linear complex. Starting from these results, which were communicated to the Academy last year, the author proposes to consider the bilinear function /(#g). The equation =/(e7) represents a homographic transformation when ¢ is regarded as a constant quaternion, and by varying e, a four-system of homographic transformations -is obtained the properties of which may be easily studied. The equation /=/(77) represents the general quadratic transform- ation. From a bilinear function /(Zg), five other fundamental functions may be obtained ; the first and second conjugates, viz. the conjugates with respect to f and to g ; the promutate f(g), and its first and second conjugates. The equation Sg/(g7)=0 represents the general cubic surface, and associated with this surface are systems of linear complexes Sef(f7)=Se/(7f), just as the limear complex and the quadric are connected with a single function. . The trilinear function /(fg7) leads to similar results. In particular, if @ and 4 are two constant quaternions, the equation =/(a, 4, g) represents the complete group of linear transformations, any particular transformation being determined by suitable values of a and 4. PARIS. Academy of Sciences, December 1.—M. Bouquet de la (Grye in the chair.—On the temperature of inflammation and on the combustion in oxygen of the three varieties of carbon, by M. Henri Moissan. The temperature at which carbon enters into active combustion with oxygen differs with the variety of NO. 1728, VOL. 67] carbon, being higher as the carbon is more polymerised. Diamond becomes incandescent in oxygen between 800° and 875° C., graphite between 650° and 700° C., amorphous carbon between 300° and 500° C., but in each case the visible combus- tion is preceded by a stage during which the carbon is oxidised, this action taking place with a velocity which decreases the lower the temperature. Amorphous carbon is slowly oxidised in either moist or dry oxygen at a temperature as low as 100° C. —Experimental researches on adrenaline, by MM. Ch. Bouchard and Henri Claude. Experiments carried out with rabbits showed that the injection of 0°5 milligram of adrenaline per kilogram of body weight, and in one case as little as 0°2 milli- gram, was rapidly fatal. The animals survived a dose of o'r mgr. per kilogram, and it was found possible, by gradually increasing the amount injected, to diminish the susceptibility to the toxic effects of the adrenaline.—The heart in its normal state and during pregnancy, by MM. Ch. Bouchard and Balthazard. The orthogonal projection of the heart was traced by the aid of the X-rays and a fluorescent screen in forty-nine subjects, and a preliminary table of the results is given.—Obser- vations regarding physiological injections, by M. Yves Delage. The injection of colouring matters such as ammonium carminate and indigo carmine for localising with precision the excretory functions is regarded as being likely to lead to fallacious con- clusions. The colouring matters used are not normal excretion products, and because in certain animals some of these sub- stances are eliminated by the normal organs of secretion, it does not follow that this is always the case. The line of argument strictly followed out would even lead to the conclusion that the nervous system is excretory because it fixes methylene blue.— On the Laplace-Abel integral, by M. G. Mittag-Leffler.—On the conditions necessary for the stability of equilibrium of a viscous system, by M. P. Duhem.—The tracing of pressure curves, by M. E. Vallier.—M. Deslandres was elected a member in the section of astronomy in the place of the late M. Faye.—On some consequences of certain developments in series analogous with trigonometric expansions, by M. W. Stekloff.—On some congruences with several unknowns, by M. R. Levavasseur.— On a generalisation in continued fractions, by M. Auric.—On uniform transcendentals, defined by differential equations of the second order, by M. R. Liouville. —A method of evaluating temperatures in the thermodynamic centigrade scale, by M. Ponsot. The method suggested by M. Pellat requires the simultaneous measurement of three magnitudes, the electro- motive force of a thermoelement, the Peltier effect at one of the junctions and the temperature of this junction in an ordinary thermometric scale. The method suggested by the author is simpler as the latter determination is dispensed with.—The acceleration of gravity on the mean parallel, by M. J. Collet.—On the composition of gaseous hydrates, by M. de Forcrand. By the application of the thermodynamical method indicated in previous papers by, the author, the probable formulze of the hydrates of various gases are calculated ; in nearly all cases, the hydrate has six molecules of water.— The transformation of pyrophosphoric acid into orthophosphoric acid, by M. H. Giran. By cooling syrupy pyrophosphoric acid down to — 10°C. for three months, the acid was obtained in the crystal- lised form, and this was used for new thermochemical determin- ations.—Manganese aluminate, by M. Em. Dufau. By heating a mixture of alumina and oxide of manganese in the electric furnace, an aluminate identical with that previously described by Ebelmen is obtained, which on analysis proved to have the composition Al,O,Mn. It formed clear yellow transparent octahedral crystals, and although stable under conditions of ordinary temperature, is readily oxidised when heated in con- tact with air.—On the estimation of manganese, by M. H. Baubigny. An account of the precautions required for the estimation of manganese in acid solution by means of ammonium persulphate.—The action of bromine and chlorine on the mono- nitro-veratrols, by M. H. Cousin. In this paper, the constitutional formule of a certain number of trisubstituted derivatives of pyrocatechol and its methyl esters are determined, and two new nitro-derivatives are described.—On the reduction of acetol, by M. Andre Kling. The action of several reducing agents upon acetol was studied under various conditions, and the results lead the author to conclude that the constitution usually assigned to this compound is not correct, and that its constitution is better CH,C(OH):CH, a explained by the formula —The action of 144 fatty amines upon the dibenzoate of ethylene, by M. Marcel Descudé.—The action of halogen esters upon ammonim thio- sulphocarbamate, by M. Marcel Delépine.—On the ichthyological fauna of the fresh waters of Borneo, by M. Léon Vaillant.—On the fishes of the Chondrostome group in the fresh waters of France, by M. Louis Roule.—The morphologicaland anatomical variations presented by the gizzard in some Coleoptera, by M. L. Bordas.— On the polychzetal annelids in fresh water, by M. Ch. Gravier. Excretion in the Cirripedes, by M. L. Bruntz.—The application of a character of ethological order to the natural classification, by M. L. Matruchot.—The distribution of sphzrulins in vegetable families, by M. Lovis Petit.—The present state of the volcano of Martinique, by M. Lacroix.—On the evolution of the spermatid in the Motonecta glauca, by MM. J. Pantel and R. de Sinety.—On the presence of paranucleolar acid corpuscles in the cells of Locus niger and Locus coerulens, by M. G. Marinesco.— The ratio of the weight of the liver to the total weight of the animal, by M. E. Maurel. Adult animals have less liver per kilogram weight than young animals of the same species. In the same species of animal, when differences of volume corre- spond to different varieties, as in the dog, the quantity of liver per kilogram of animal is higher as the animal is smaller. This proportion also varies with the nature of the food.—On the variations of phosphorus in animal tissue, by M. A. L. Percival. — Physiological researches on the effects of cervical sympathi- cectomy, by MM. Moussu and Charrin.—Muscular hemoglo- binuria, by MM. Jean Camusand P. Pagniez.—On the formation of the azz/zcorfs in the serum of vaccinated animals, by MM. A. Calmette and E. Breton. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11. Royat Society, at 4.30.—On Certain Properties of the Alloys of the Gold-Silver Series: The late Sir William Roberts-Austen, F.R.S., and Dr. T. K. Rose.—The Spectrum of y Cygni: Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and F. E. Baxandall. =n Changes in some Lines in the Spectrum of Lithium: H. Ramage.—Quaternions and _ Projective Geometry: Prof. C. J. Joly.—An Error in the Kstimation of the Specific Gravity of the Blood by Hammerschlag’s Method, when Employed in Connection with Hydrometers: Dr. A. G. Levy. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Photometry of Electric Lamps: Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. SociETyY OF ARTS, at 4.30.—Domestic Life in Persia: Miss Ella C. Sykes. INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5.30.—Lecture on Statistics (Measurement of Groups): A. L. Bowley. MaTHEMATICAL SociETy, at 5.30.—(1) The Integration of Linear Differential Equations; (2) The Determination of the Finite Equations of a Continuous _Group: Dr. H. F. Baker.—The Expression of the Double Zeta and Gamma Functions in Terms of Elliptic Functions : G. H. Hardy —Sets of Intervals. Part II., Overlapping Intervals: W. H. Young.—Series connected with the Enumeration of Partitions: Rev. F. H. Jackson.—The Abstract Group simply Isomorphic with the Group of Linear Fractional Transformations in a Galois Field : Prof. L. E. Dickson.—The Continuation of the Series for arc sin x: Prof. M. J. M. Hill.—The Functions associated with the Parabolic Cylinder i in Harmonic Analysis: E, T. Whittaker. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, Rovat ASTRONOMICAL Society, at 5.—Ephemeris for Physical Observ- ations of Jupiter, 1903-1904: A. C. D. Crommelin.—Cape Double Star Results, r902: RK. T, A. Innes.—On Jacobi’s Method of Facilitating the Numerical Solution of Equations arising in the Theory of Secular Persurbations : H. C. Plummer.—Note on Binding Together Réseaux and Plates : J. A. Hardcastle.—Promised paper :—Distmibution of Stars as derived from a Discussion of the Bonn, Schénfeld and Cape Photographic Durchmusterungs: F, A. Bellamy. PuysicaL Society, at 5.—A Portable Capillary Electrometer: S. W. J. Smith.—On Astigmatic Aberration: R. J. Sowter.—Experiments on Shadows in an Astigmatic Beam: The President.—Vapour-Density Determinations: Sir W. Ramsay, F.R.S., and Dr. B. B. Steele.—A Lecture Experiment on Gaseous Diffusion: Prof. L. R. Wilberforce. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—1he Bearing of Outbreaks ot Food Poisoning upon the Etiology of Summer Diarrhcea;: Prof. Sheridan Delépine. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15. Society or Arts, at 8.—The Future of Coal Gasand Allied Iluminants : Prof. Vivian B. Lewes. Royat GEOGRAPHICAL SociETy, at 8.30.—Explorations in North-west Mexico : Carl Lumholtz. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16. Royat STATISTICAL SOCIETY, at 5.—English Railway Statistics: Acworth. InsTITUTION OF CiIvIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Rupnarayan Bridge, Bengal-Nagpur Railway: S. Martin-Leake. NO. 1728, VOL. 67 | W.M. NATURE [ DEcEMBER TIT, 1902 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17. CuEmicat Society, at <.30.—A Reagent fcr the Identification of Cartamide * ane of certain other Nitrogen Compounds: H. J. H. Fenton.—The Rate of Decompesition of Diazo-Ccmpounds. Part 11., Diazo-Compounds ‘of the Naphtlalene Series : J. C. Cain and F. Nicoll —(1) The State of Carbon Dioxide in Aquecus Solution; (2) Qualitative Separation of Arsenic, Antimony and Tin: J. Walker.—The Hydrates and Solubility of Barium Acetate: J. Walker and W. A. Fyffe.—The y B-Dimethyl- glutaric Acids, and the Sey aration of Cis-and Trans- Fcrms of Substituted Glutaric Acid: J. F. Thorpe ard W. J. Young. ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 7.30.—The Climate of Cyprus: C. V. Bellamy.—The Eclipse Cyclone of 1c00.: H. He)m Clayton. GEoLoGicaL Society, at 8.—Note on the Magnetite-Mines near Cogne: Prof. T. G. Benney, F.R.S.—The Elk (Aldces machiis) in the Thames Valley : E. T. Newton, F.R.S.— Observations on the ‘liree Marble, with Notes on Others frem Iona: A. K. Coomaraswamy. Royat MicroscoricaL SociEty, at 8.—}The Genus Diaschiza: F. R. Dixon-Nuttall and Rev. R. Freeman.—A New Arrangement for Taking Photomicrographs in Colours: E. R. Turner. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The South Russian Iron Industry: Archikald P. Head. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Notes on Copepoda frem the Faeroe Channel: Thos. Scott. —Amphipoda ofthe Southern Cross Antarctic Eee > Alfred O. Walker.—The Deep-Sea Isoped Axnurus branchiatus, Bedd. Dr. H. J. Hansen. INsTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes of Recent Electrical Designs : W. B. Esson. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electricity Supply from Double Current-Generators : P R. Wray. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Recent Practice in the Design. Construction and Operation of Raw Cane Sugar Factories in the Hawaiian Islands: J. N. S. Williams. CONTENTS. PAGE Cooperation among Instrument Makers. By MGs eo) ci oie ve wnat he Wa weele> Seite) tents ene American Food and Game Fishes. ByG. A.B. . 122 Human Anatomy. By Dr. A. Keith. ....... 122 Differential Calculus for Beginners. By G. H. B,. 123 Gall-Insects, By W. FivKe (00). 2) or mets eat eee Our Book Shelf :— Wolfrum : ‘‘ Chemisches Praktikum.”—H. M.D. . 125 Dron: ‘‘ The Coal-Fields of Scotland” ..... . 125 Hett: ‘‘A Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old- Fashioned Names of British Birds.”—R. L. . . 125 Letters to the Editor :— Suggested Nature of the Phenomena of the Eruption of Mont Pelée on July 9. Observed by the Royal sper Commission. — Dr. Edward Pie RES ENis, 2) =, oh 126 The Pradox of the ane Player. nee G. i. Bryan, F.R.S. . ° o| Sen ey Cost of Scientific Raueseaes in Germany ane Englandé WralteriSmith . 05 2 2) eee The Reproduction of Glow: ia Photography. (With Coloured Supplement.) te E, Dresser and Sir H. Trueman Wood... 2) am Fire-Walking in Fiji. (Iilustrated.) By A. c. HL “enl3@ The Present State of Wireless Telegraphy. (J///us- trated.) By Maurice Solomon . Zee!) s) (RS Delt 5 ns OOO OnE CrceOloeswmo oo Las Our Astronomical Column :— New Comet 1902 d(Giacobini). . ....+..« 137° The Variability of a Orionis’ . 2 . 2). ieweenean Activity of the Lunar Crater Linné . . . ....- 137 Redeterminations of the Velocity of Light and the Solar Parallax .: 5 (le ips wns) ©) 0 6 (eae The ‘‘ Annuaire Aseonaune tee SEGRE CS Meteorology at Great Altitudes. By A. Lawrence RlotchyPeyis = 5. 1's Talore) Me etev tet ta w=t 5 a haa University and Educational Intelligence ..... 140 Societies and Academies .......,.....+- I4% DiaryjofiSocieties . ciate ce 6 te fen « i0) mw to ole NATO Tae THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1902. PROF. GIGLIOLL?S COLLECTION ILLUS- TRATING THE STONE AGE. Materiali per lo Studio della “ Eta della Pietra” dai tempi preistorict all epoca attuale. Origine e sviluppo della mia collezione. By Enrico Hillyer Giglioli. Pp. 248. (Florence: S. Landi, 1901.) HE publication of a detailed description of the private collection formed by Prof. Enrico Giglioli is a welcome and important event, and one to which students of archzeology and ethnology have long looked forward. Even to those who have not enjoyed the privilege of visiting Prof. Giglioli at home and seeing his treasures, it has been known by many indications that a scientific collection of no ordinary calibre was being brought together by the energetic professor. The actual wealth of material accumulated, as revealed by the present publication, is, however, somewhat startling, and one can but admire the perseverance and success with which he has pursued his hobby. One must refer to his studies and investigations in the fields of archzeology and ethnology as a Zoddy, since Prof. Giglioli is a zoologist by profession, his official time being occupied in his pro- fessorial duties and his work as director of the important Zoological Museum in Florence. His private collection and the studies connected with it are the results of his leisure time labours, and one may readily infer that he has never indulged in that doubtful luxury “an idle moment.” “Chi vive lavorando non ha mai tempo ab- bastanza,” he laments, but he has utilised his available time to the utmost, by methodically devoting his day- time to zoology and his evenings to his collection. In the formation of his very extensive collection, he has kept always in view the definite object with which in 1883 he commenced to collect. His primary aim has been throughout to elucidate so far as possible the “ Age of Stone” by means of comparative study ; and to this end it has been his endeavour to secure as complete a collection as possible of objects illustrating, not only the life and arts of prehistoric Stone-age man in all countries, but also the conditions of culture of recent savage and barbaric races, whose developmental progress has from various causes been arrested or retarded, and who, there- fore, may be regarded as survivals from various early stages in the general development of the human race. The bringing together of archzological and ethnological material into close association for purposes of scientific study, to the end that the specimens in the one class may serve to elucidate those in the other, has now long been recognised as of the greatest scientific value. Colonel Lane Fox and Mr. Blackmore were early pioneers in this field of inquiry, and the lessons which they taught still hold good and are increasingly appreciated. Prof. Giglioli’s publication is primarily a descriptive guide to his private collection, drawn up methodically under geographical headings and subheadings. The work is, however, morethan a mere detailed catalogue, as its scientific value is enhanced by a running commentary of considerable interest to the archzological and ethnological student. While approving the general form and scope of NO. 1729, VOL. 67] 145 the work, one cannot but note one serious defect, tending greatly to reduce the utility of this otherwise valuable guide. There is no index to contents. A work of this nature should certainly be furnished with a good index ; it should, in fact, be doubly indexed, on the one hand under geographical, and on the other under subject head- ings. The labour of producing the index would be well repaid by the appreciation with which this important feature would be received, and we may still hope that the author will issue an index in full which may be bound up with the work. There are several very fair illustra- tions in the text. It would be impossible within the limits of a short notice to give an idea of the richness of this collection. Many of the rarer objects are represented by good series, as, for instance, the New Zealand hez “ki, of which there are ten of nephrite, one, perhaps unique, of diorite, and others of bone. There are no fewer than 177 ¢o&z or stone adzes from the same region. Witness also the remarkable series of hafted stone axes from South America and the thirty-two ceremonial adzes with elaborately carved handles from Mangaia. Among the less rare forms, the numbers run high, and there are no less than 325 stone adzes and chisels from the New Guinea region. Both the art of war and the arts and industries of peace are well illustrated. Many of the un- common localities which are included in the very com- prehensive list of carefully localised specimens are but very rarely represented in even the more important museums, a fact which would of itself place this collection in the front rank. In his descriptions, Prof. Giglioli has given brief notes upon the races and tribes dealt with their geographical position, &c. Wherever possible, he has given the native names of the objects, and details as to manufacture and other points of interest are touched upon, rendering the work (especially if indexed) a valuable book of reference to ethnologists and collectors. One may readily endorse the hopes expressed by the maker of this remarkable collection that it may eventually find a permanent home in a public museum and be pre- served in its entirety. It would be almost a crime to allow the dispersal of a collection so complete and so systematically and laboriously brought together. EXPLOSION MOTORS. Les Moteurs a Explosion. By G. Moreau. Pp. xii + 444. (Paris: Libraire Polytechnique, Ch. Béranger, 1900.) Théorie des Moteurs & Gas. (Paris: Ch. Béranger, 1902.) HE extraordinary developments which have attended the application of explosion engines to motor vehicles, and the rapidity with which the constructors of these light and powerful engines have carried their de- signs well within measure of practical perfection, forms one of the most noteworthy achievements of modern engineering. The time has, however, arrived when practice must be tempered with a sound knowledge of theory, in order that further advances along the existing lines of construction may be achieved. With this object in view, M. Moreau has compiled two H By G. -Moreau.. Pp. 224. 146 volumes in which the theory of explosion motors and the nature of the combustibles used therein are detailed in a thoroughly clear and systematic manner. The two volumes cover to a certain extent identical ground, but in the earlier work the subject is treated in its widest sense and the mechanical features of the motor vehicle as a whole are freely investigated ; while in the later work the author confines himself exclusively’ to the engine, and here brings the theory of the subject well into line with the latest developments in practice, at the same time indicating the directions in which further improvements may be arrived at. In the earlier work, the opening chapter is devoted to purely theoretical considerations of motors operating with perfect gases, and the laws regulating the behaviour of such gases under varying conditions of pressure and temperature. The imperfections of the gases actually available in practice are then considered, and the working conditions of the various cycles which may be employed are investigated. A chapter is devoted to the question of the specific heats of gases under various conditions, the question of the rate of the explosion relative to piston velocity, and the losses in actual engines due to throttling at the inlet and exhaust, to the cooling of the cylinder walls and to heat rejected on exhaust ; representative diagrams are given and the total losses discussed. Three chapters are then devoted to questions connected with the mechanical design of engines and motor vehicles, such points as the movements of the piston, connecting rod and crank-pin, valve movements, frictional losses and the strength of materials being fully discussed. All the chief organs of the transmission gear and special items such as axles, wheels, brakes, pneumatic tyres, carburettors and ignition apparatus are dealt with in detail, the author carrying his investigations in this portion of the work far beyond the limits indicated by its title. The nature and properties of the various com- bustibles which are available for explosion motors are next fully considered, the author remarking with much truth on the extraordinary ignorance amongst constructors on this particular branch of the subject. The work con- cludes with a comparison of trials of motors and auto- mobiles, and considerations relative to the most suitable cycle to employ, the author advocating a six-stroke cycle —namely, admission, compression, expansion, recompres- sion, explosion, exhaust—the advantages gained being a better mixture, re-heating of the charge after it has en- tered the cylinder, and abstraction of heat from the walls, which would diminish the loss to the cooling water. In the more recent volume, which is based on a series of lectures delivered before the Automobile Club of France, the functions of every type of explosion engine which may be employed on a motor vehicle are in- vestigated in a systematic manner. All the most im- portant points in the design of engines, such as the volume of the compression chamber relative to the total cylinder volume, the influence of the walls, of the periods of admission and exhaust, and of the propagation of the explosion are carefully considered. The concluding chapter, which forms nearly one-third of the volume, is devoted to the nature of the combustibles which may be employed, to the best conditions for the NO. 1729, VOL. 67| NAT CHE. [DECEMBER 18, 1902 running of an engine and to investigations of the inertia of the reciprocating parts. The subject in both volumes is handled in the clearest possible manner, and although higher mathematics is freely employed in every investigation, each step is so carefully traced that the author may be followed to his conclusions by all who possess a practical knowledge of the subject of explosion engines. C. R. D’ESTERRE. MARIGNAC AND HIS WORK. Guures completes de Jean-Charles Galtssard de Marignac. By E. Ador. Tome i., 1840-1860. Pp. lv + 7or. (Geneve: Eggimann, n.d.) HIS edition of the works of Marignac is prefaced by a biographical sketch by his son-in-law, Prof. Ador. From this sketch, we learn that Marignac, a native of Geneva, came of a scientific stock; at the house of his uncle, Le Royer, he early made the acquaintance of distinguished men, of whom there has been no lack in his native town. Prévost, De Candolle and Dumas were frequent guests in Le Royer’s pharmacy, and from them young Marignac imbibed that single-hearted devo- tion to science which so strongly characterised him. He began his career, not as a chemist, but as an engineer ; he was a pupil of the Ecole Polytechnique, and later of the Ecole des Mines, at Paris. His talents had so strongly impressed the French authorities, however, that long after he had ceased to be connected with France and had accepted his chair at Geneva, the French Government expressly granted to him the right to keep the title “Ingénieur des Mines,” in spite of his having ceased to be a French subject. In 1840, when twenty-three years of age, he came under the magnetic attraction of Liebig and passed a semester at Giessen; and it bears high testimony to Marignac’s genius to find that after that short probation he was offered, and accepted, the much-coveted post of chemist to the porcelain factory at Sévres. He occupied the position only six months, and on receiving a call to fill the chair of chemistry in the Academy of Geneva (for the University had not at that time been created), he at once accepted, finding his life work in an academic career. As professor there, he lived and died, although in 1878 he withdrew from active teaching. Never robust, he succumbed gradually to an insidious disease, and he died in 1894, after a long and tedious illness, borne with the utmost fortitude. His lectures were models of method and clearness—indeed, these were the charac- teristic features of all his work—and his modesty, patience and perfect conscientiousness gained for him the esteem of the whole scientific world, testified by the numerous honours which fell to his lot. His only researches in the domain of organic chemistry, no doubt suggested while in Liebig’s laboratory, dealt with phthalic acid and the action of nitric acid on naphthalene. It was at Geneva that he began the series of investigations on atomic weights which have rendered his name famous. The inducement was to test Prout’s law; and the ratio between the atomic weights of chlorine, potassium and silver first occupied his attention. His attempts to prepare pure material for experiment DeEcEMBER 18, 1902] led him to undertake numerous subsidiary investigations, some dealing with isomorphism, some with the diffusion and specific heats of salt-solutions. His researches on the double salts of fluorine and potassium with silicon, titanium, tungsten, zirconium, niobium and tantalum, and on the rare earths were all part of his scheme to ascertain the true relations between the atomic weights of the elements. During the forty-five years of his scientific activity, he determined the equivalents of no fewer than twenty-eight elements. Besides these labours, he added to our knowledge of ozone and conducted experiments with Foucault’s pendulum. M. Ador’s sketch of Marignac gives an interesting summary of this work, adding also a sketch of the part which he took in developing the modern aspect of chemistry, in adopting the now familiar means of cle- ducing atomic weights from the equivalents determined by analysis. The present volume is the first of a series of reprints of Marignac’s original papers, most of which were pub- lished in the “Archives de la Société d’Histoire Natur- elle de Genéve.” The typography and arrangement leave nothing to be desired, and M. Ador has conferred a benefit on his fellow-workers by the labour of love which he has so successfully carried out, and has paid the best possible tribute to the revered memory of his old master. W. R. A MANUAL OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. An Introduction to Physical Geography. By Grove Karl Gilbert and Albert Perry Brigham. Pp. xvi + 380. (London: Hirschfeld Brothers, Ltd., 1902.) Price 5s. net. T might reasonably have been supposed that there was no field in the United States for a new concise manual on physical geography. Yet the cooperation of one of the most original observers of geological phe- nomena with the practical teacher of geology in Colgate University has given us a book that we should be very sorry to lay aside. It has, like many of its rivals, been brought unmodified into the English market, where it will appeal to teachers rather than to junior scholars. It would be, indeed, no more suited, with its wealth of American illustration, to European classes than Huxley’s description of the Thames Valley would be to dwellers on the Mississippior the Hudson. But in the continent of North America this little book should take a foremost place. The abundant photographic illustrations are ex- cellent and well chosen. They are not reduced, as in some small text-books, to blurred patches which suggest no natural landscape. The process-blocks seem to us to vary slightly in grain, whereby some of the smaller ones have been brought to a rare degree of delicacy ; the sand- ripples on the dunes in Fig. 83 will serve as an example. To name two other suggestive pictures, the contrast of delta and cliff in Fig. 37, and the geognostic details of the “creeping” rock-surface in Fig. 59, are especially well presented. The style of the text forces the meaning of the illus- trations on the reader. The same firmness appears in Mr. Gilbert’s “Geology of the Henry Mountains” and “Lake Bonneville,” but the effect is there modified by a NO. 1729, VOL. 67] Nil TL Oi 147 far more classical terminology. Whether or no joint authorship is responsible for the diction in the present book, the result may be commended as a consistent work of art. These short, direct, eminently English sentences are not easy to write, but are delightful to read and are perfect for their purpose. The current system of importing American books in- tact under the name of a London publisher leaves us, even in this case, with such spellings as ‘“‘oxid” and “sulfur,” and such antique words as “sled.” While Prof. Brigham writes “ bowlder,” the joint authors, however, give us our own form, “boulder.” “Glen” and “dale” may be, as stated on p. 28, “somewhat poetic” in America, where “sulch” is common, but they are fortunately familiar to every hillman in our islands. Yet these are trifles in a book that appeals to us as much by its style as by its subject. The authors conceive geography (p. 13) as a compre- hensive knowledge of the earth, and their book as a first book of science, similar, we take it, to Huxley’s ‘‘ Physio- graphy.” They attract attention to the features seen in any walk across the country, and correlate these with the striking phenomena of high mountain regions, volcanoes, and so forth. On p. 209 the recent eruptions in Mar- tinique are judiciously introduced. There is little experimental method in the book; the rain-gauge, for instance, is mentioned, without any state- ment of how a reading can be made in actual practice ; the chemical characters of limestone are given, without a hint of how the material may be interestingly dealt with by the pupil. The teacher will, however, supplement the book in these matters, and its clearness of description cannot fail to give him new conceptions. What can be better, for instance, than the remark (p. 279) that “ the ocean may be likened to a film of liquid clinging to the outside of a spoon” ? We should like to quote some of the more vivid passages, such as the contrast between life in the Alps and in the Rocky Mountains on pp. 191-2. We do not agree with the authors in their discussion of passes in the Pyrenees and Alps, or as to “the somber skies of Germany” (p. 195), when Baden and Bavaria are referred to ; but we should probably be far more at fault were we to illustrate—or, as the authors say, “illuminate” —a European text-book by remarks on Georgia or Colorado. GRENVILLE A. J. COLE. A PICTORIAL The Modern Arithmetic. ARITHMETIC. Primary and Elementary Grades. By Archibald Murray, A.B. (Harvard). Woodward Series. Pp. 308. (St. Louis, U.S.A.: Woodward and Tiernan Printing Co.) HIS is a book for the use of a teacher of very young pupils. It is divided into three parts. Part i. (82 pages) is concerned with “number exercises,” and consists of thirty-eight lessons, each one of which we may suppose to occupy the child for one day. Each of these lessons consists of a series of questions or direc- tions given to the pupil, such as “hold up seven fingers,” “find, by using splints, the half of ten units,” &c. A marked feature of this part of the book is the beautiful series of coloured pictures of roses, apples, grapes, straw- berries, oranges,-finches, redbirds and other interesting 148 NATURE [| DECEMBER 18, 1902 objects which it contains, while the interest and curiosity of the young pupil are further secured by a good drawing of a spider and his web, as well as by an excellent picture of a pair of boots. This part of the book deals, then, as the author says, solely with ideas of comparison, measurement and count- ing. The extent to which we get in part i. may be inferred from the last two questions or problems in it :— “A book cost 3 dimes, a pencil 3 cents, and a blank book 3 nickels. How many cents did all three cost? Count from I to 30; from 5 to 100 by fives. Count as high as you can by hundreds.” Part i. treats of the elementary operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division—and the meaning of fractions (halves, thirds, quarters, &c.) is gradually un- folded during these operations. The pictorial method is continued in this part, but the pictures are of the geo- metrical kinds that we get by cutting out and folding paper, so that the measurement of simple areas and the nature of an angle are explained to the little learner. Thus, one of the things here learnt by folding is that the sum of the angles of every triangle is two right angles. Near the end of this part, the nature of a decimal is explained, and the extent to which the pupil has pro- gressed may be seen by the following, taken from the last lesson in part 11. :— “At the rate of 56 miles per hour, how far will a train travel in 5°6 hours? A bookseller paid $9? for books. How many did he buy if each cost $3 ?” Part ii. treats of “elementary operations classified,” that is, the operations of part ii. are treated more in detail and the philosophy of the subject is expounded. Near the end, the nature of ratio and proportion is ex- plained, instruments, such as a two-foot rule, being employed. Among the terminal problems in this part are the following :— “Express 9 cu. yd. as a decimal of a cord” (from which we conclude that the author does not antici- pate an early introduction of a thorough-going metric system into America); “what is the sum of 3, 3, 2 and 4? The rate of taxation of a city is 13%. What tax must a citizen pay whose property is assessed at $4500?” There are no answers supplied to any of the questions (except in two or three instances) throughout the book ; it is, as we have said, a guide to the teacher ; the young pupils for whose instruction it is intended are not yet students, Of course, the American coinage, with which the ques- tions deal, would require alterations to render the book suitable to English use; but there is no doubt that the author has very skilfully conceived the nature of an effective process of teaching young children, and we think that the exact following of his course and method would prove to be productive of excellent results. OUR BOOK SHELF. The Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency. By W. A. Talbot, F.L.S. Second Edition. Pp. xxv + 385. (Bombay, 1902.) WHEN Sir Joseph Hooker’s “ Flora of British India,” now completed, was undertaken, one of its main objects was stated to be to furnish a basis on which local floras could be constructed. India is so vast, its climatic features are NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | so varied, the economic requirements of its several provinces so diverse, that a general work like that of Hooker needs to be supplemented by local floras in which the special requirements of particular districts can be fulfilled. There is gratifying evidence to show that these requirements are in course of being supplied. There is, for instance, the “Forest Flora of the North-West,” by Sir Dietrich Brandis ; Sir George King is engaged on the ‘Flora of the Malay Peninsula” ; the “ Flora of Ceylon” was completed by the late Dr. Trimen ; and General Collett’s book on the »lants of the Simla district has just been published. We might cite many similar works from the pens of Prain, Clarke, Duthie, Watt, Kurz and others, but enough has been said to show that Sir Joseph Hooker’s aim is in. process of fulfilment, and that the splendid botanical heritage handed down to us by Roxburgh, Wallich, Wight, Griffith and others is in no danger of being squandered, but is being utilised and extended by the labours of the present race of botanists. When we briny to mind the fact that instruction in botany, at any rate in systematic botany, no longer forms part of the curriculum in the education of medical students, and that complaints have been made as to the Jack of interest felt in the subject by the majority of forest officers, this evidence of substantial progress may at least be adduced as a set-off. The work before us is another instance of the same kind. In form it is inodelled upon Hooker’s “ Flora,” in substance it contains a “fairly correct” list of the indigenous ligneous vegetation of the Presidency, together with additional matter relating to distribution, bark, woods and economic products, along with a large number of vernacular names. ° The book is in its second edition, and hopes are thrown out that the “next edition” will expand into a handy Bombay forest flora. Actual use in the field or forest, or even in the herbarium, is needed to enable the reviewer to form a complete estimate of the value of such a work. It must suffice to say that the author’s method is good, and that it bears the impress of care and accuracy in its production. La Géologie générale. Py Stanislas Meunier, Professeur de Géologie au Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle. Pp. vi+336; 42 woodcuts. (Paris: Alcan, 1903) Price 6 francs. IN this volume, Prof. Stanislas Meunier undertakes, for the International Scientific Library, a presentation of those branches of geological science not already dealt with in his “Experimental Geology” and his ‘*Com- parative Geology,” published in the same series. In the introduction to the book, the author defines the ideas which have successively dominated geological theory during the nineteenth century as (1) the cataclysmal views of Cuvier; (2) the uniformitarianism of Lyell ; (3) the “actualism” of Constant Prévost ; and (4) the “ activism,” which he regards as the distinctive feature of modern geological thought. In conformity with this latter point of view, the author then proceeds to discuss the three great causes of change in the earth’s crust, namely, the central heat of the globe, the effects of pressure and the influence of the sun’s heat. Pursuing this deductive, rather than induc- tive, mode of treating his subject, the questions next considered are the flexible earth’s crust, volcanoes, the action of subterranean and superficial waters, the sea, glaciers, the atmosphere, and vital action. In dealing with each of these subjects, the originality of the author is everywhere manifest, the examples and illustrations chosen being, for the most part, new, and often of a very striking character. an : In the second part of the work, which is entitled “Comparative Physiology of Successive Geological Epochs,” the effect of the several agencies enumerated DECEMBER 18, 1902 | NATURE 149 during past geological p2riods is traced, and here we have to notice the same freedom from the stereotyped methods and matter of text-books of geology which we have remarked upon in the earlier portions of the work. Subjects like the cause of the formation of concretionary structures in rocks are treated at considerable length and with much skill, though, it must be confessed, with considerable inequality. On the other hand, many important questions which do not happen to have been made the subject of special research by the author are treated in a superficial manner or altogether passed over, there being little obvious connection between the space devoted to various divisions of the subject and their relative importance. As a work designed to attract the attention of a general reader and to stimulate the thought of more advanced students, the work is excellent. But it is rather as a supplement to other books on the subject than as an independent treatise that its value is most apparent, for it is wanting in many of those features which are neces- sary in a work which is designed to givea presentation of the present state of geological knowledge. It is unfortunate that the book is not provided with an index. The Students Handbook to the University and Colleges of Cambridge. First Edition, Corrected to June 30, 1902. Pp. 468. (Cambridge: University Press, 1902.) Price 3s. net. In this volume, the editor has brought together in a con- cise form all the more interesting facts and methods of procedure which every student should desire to know as he proceeds to the University of Cambridge as an under- graduate. There are twenty-three chapters in all, and each is devoted to special items. After a short and condensed account of the history of each college, with a list of the officials at present in residence, the reader is made acquainted with the con- ditions of admission to any particular college, the period of residence, discipline, and an excellent survey of the average expenditure necessary. The next four chapters are devoted to the details of the conditions and value of the entrance scholarships, exhibitions and sizarships,and the various University and college scholarships and prizes, concluding with a general account of the objects for which the several institutions of the University are utilised. The handbook then gives useful information on the work of teaching as divided between the University and the different colleges, and then proceeds to bring together all the necessary information for those who are about to qualify for the previous, ordinary B.A. degree, and honours examinations. After two brief chapters on advanced study and research and examinations for medical students, detailed information is given on the subjects of the B.A. and superior degrees, diplomas and fellowships, followed by useful chapters for candidates for Holy Orders, for the Civil Service and Army, and for teachers. The final chapters show the facilities for the education of women in the University, an account of the more im- portant outside examinations conducted by the Univer- sity, concluding with a description of the object and work of the scholastic agency and the Appointments Board. Bacteriological Technique and Special Bacteriology. By Thomas Bowhill, F.R.C.V.S. Second Edition. Pp. xvi + 324. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1902.) Price 215. net. As might have been anticipated, a second edition of Prof. Bowhill’s book has been rendered necessary by the rapid sale of the first edition. The book is divided into seven parts, as follows :— Part 1., principles of bacteriological technique ; part ii., the preparation of nutrient media; part iii, special NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | bacteriology ; part iv., the Hyphomycetes ; part v., the Blastomycetes ; part vi.,the Protozoa ; part vii., diseases due to undetermined infective agents. The illustrations number 136 and they are all of the highest class. In particular, the photomicrographs, executed by the author and reproduced by the collotype process, are admirable. The author has the advantage of being, not only a bac- teriologist of high repute, but also an acknowledged veterinary expert. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the diseases of microbial origin, which affect the lower animals as well as human beings, are dealt with in a conspicuously able fashion. The descriptions of swine fever, swine plague, swine erysipelas, pleuro-pneumonia, contagiosa bovis, broncho- pneumonia bovis, grouse disease, diphtheria and glanders are excellent. The author has added much new matter to the text, and the book is thoroughly up to date. Part vii., dealing with diseases due to infective agents of undetermined character, is a specially useful article. As regards rinderpest, the author gives a graphic account of the methods adopted during the recent out- break of the disease in South Africa. The methods were as follows :—(1) Koch’s original bile method ; (2) glycerin- ated bile method (Edington); (3) serum method of Turner and Kolle ; (4) defibrinated blood method. Lucid descriptions are given of the best way of preparing the serum, bile and defibrinated blood. The methods of examining air, water, soil, unsound meat and ice cream are insufficiently discussed, and the bacteriological examination of sewage is apparently not considered at all. In conclusion, it may be said that no student in veterinary, medical and sanitary science should be with- out a copy of this excellent manual. That the book will enhance the enviable reputation of the author is beyond question. Practical Electricity. By J. Hope Belcher. Pp. xi + 165. (London: Allman and Son, Ltd., 1902.) Price 2s. 6d. THIS book is intended to be an elementary manual for a laboratory course in practical electricity. It contains instructions for carrying out a number of experiments designed to illustrate the principles of magnetism and electricity. The course is largely modelled on that given by Prof. Ayrton at the City and Guilds Institute. The experiments are well chosen, and the description and instructions seem to us adequate. The student is shown how to tabulate and set out his results, and some useful hints are given to teachers of elementary science as to the conduct of a laboratory class. We notice in one of the experiments the old fallacy of “proving” Ohm’s law by a method in which P.D.’s are measured with an electromagnetic voltmeter ; it is remarkable how hard this fallacy is to kill. Apart from this and a few minor blemishes, Mr. Belcher’s book is a useful little manual. M. S. Acht Vortrige tiber phystkalische Chemie. Von J. H- van ’t Hoff. Pp. 81. (Braunschweig: Vieweg und Sohn, 1902.) Price 2 Mk. 50 Pf. PRor. VAN ’f Horr delivered these lectures in June, TQOI, on the invitation of the University of Chicago. As they were intended for a mixed audience, they have a more or less popular character, but in places they would be difficult for anyone lacking special knowledge to follow, without the personal influence of the lecturer. Two lectures each are devoted to the influence exerted by physical chemistry on pure chemistry, technical che- mistry, physiology and geology. The treatment is neces- sarily meagre, but many interesting subjects are touched upon, and to students of science these lectures must prove stimulating and suggestive to a degree. 150 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. } Secular Changes of Climate. FoR some time past it has been generally believed that the climate of Central Asia was once less arid than at present, but we now know, as Dr. Sven Hedin explained to the Royal Geo- graphical Society on December § (p. 134), that important changes have taken place since the Christian era began. He found in the Lob Nor region forests with the trees long dead, traces of a road, ruined villages, coins, manuscripts and other relics which proved the northern shore of the old salt lake (now dry) to have been cultivated and occupied, down to about sixteen centuries ago, by a fairly civilised people. This, I think, implies a rainfall, less inappreciable than the present one, during the earlier centuries of that era, and the change, as he found dead forests, cannot be attributed (as in parts of southern Europe and Syria) to reckless destruction by the hand of man. But, besides this, Sir Norman and Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer have recently proved (in a communication to the Royal Society) a very remarkable correspondence to exist between the distribu- tion of the periodic rains in India, Mauritius and elsewhere and the amount of solar activity, and they have, within the last few days, drawn the attention of the same Society to the fact that zones of abnormally high and low mean barometric pressure exist on opposite sides of the earth and oscillate from the one position to the other in accordance with the periodic small variations of solar activity. Dr. Sven Hedin’s discovery ap- parently indicates a change secular rather than periodic, but may not both operate independently, as in the case of changes due to variations of eccentricity in the earth’s orbit and to pre- cession of the axis of rotation? The authors of those papers admit the existence of disturbing causes, some of which may be local, but not necessarily all. Is it, then, possible that these discoveries may afford a clue to the solution of two great geo- logical puzzles—the abnormal temperatures of the Pleistocene and of early Tertiary times? In regard to the former, many now believe that the climate of North Central Europe when the loess was deposited more nearly resembled that of the Caspian steppes, and all maintain that in the Glacial epoch the mean temperature of the whole continent was much _ below what it is now. How much this was, at the time of greatest cold, is not easily estimated, but a few years ago I attempted a rough approximation, This will be found in a volume of the Contemporary Science Series called ‘‘Ice Work” (part iii. chap. i.), and the results (for Europe) are as follows :—Supposing the British Isles to be at their present level (in order to avoid the controversy as to the origin of Boulder-clays and Glacial gravels), the mean tempera- ture of these islands at the present Ordnance Datum would have to be lowered by about 20° F. The same would probably hold good of Scandinavia—at any rate, that would suffice to make either conntry much more closely resemble a corresponding part of Greenland. In the more central parts of Europe, the problem is rather easier, for here we are undoubtedly dealing with “land-ice.” A fall of 18° in the mean temperature would suffice for the Alps; perhaps rather less, 15° or 16°, for the Pyrenees, the Sierras Guadarrama and Nevada, possibly also for the breccia-producing age on the Rock of Gibraltar. A re- duction of 18° at most, and more probably about 16° or 15°, would bring back small glaciers to Auvergne, the Schwarzwald, Vosges, Apennines, Corsican mountains, the Caucasus and even the Atlas. I may add that a reduction of 15° appears sufficient to form a great ice-sheet in North America, and that in the southern hemisphere and at Mount Kenya in Africa distinctly smaller change suffices. All these estimates assume the present levels maintained ; they may be corrected at the rate of 1° for each 300 feet of elevation or depression. But geologists too often forget that the anomaly of early Tertiary heat is not less difficult to explain than that of Pleistocene cold, for in later Eocene ages the mean temperature of southern England can hardly have been less than 20° above that which it now enjoys. The explanations which have been offered for the Glacial epoch —a different arrangement of sea and land, variations in eccen- tricity, precessional movements (none of which, in my opinion, are more than partially successful)—cannot be applied to the NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | NATURE [| DECEMBER 18, 1902 latter case, so that we seem compelled to seek for some other cause. Variations in solar heat have been already suggested, but hitherto this hypothesis has seemed too much a Deus ex machiné. But as Dr. Sven Hedin’s discoveries show that im- portant alterations in climate have been in progress during the last fifteen or sixteen centuries, and Sir Norman Lockyer’s re- searches indicate that comparatively small changes in solar activity produce rather important meteorological effects upon the earth, geologists qualified for the investigation may find it not unprofitable to follow up the clue. T. G. BONNEY. The Government Grant for Scientific Research, Now that the annual advertisement of the Government grant is once more appearing, I should like to call attention to the long interval that elapses between the date appointed for the reception of applications for, and that of making known the distribution of, the grants. The former is fixed for January 31, the latter is some time in May, a period of more than three months. This seems to me to detract somewhat from the value of the grants, for, in certain instances at least, the con-_ ditions may have quite altered in so long a time and the possibility of making a particular research have passed away. King’s College, December 8. R. T. HEWLETT. The Unconscious Mind. IN a recent review (November 20) of my book on the ‘‘ Force of Mind,” ‘‘W. McD.” remarks, ‘‘The book is vitiated throughout by the insistence upon the part supposed to be played by the unconscious mind,” But a closer attention to the argument would have revealed the fact that, while no stickler for a word and still less an advocate for two minds, the author is compelled to give some name for mental processes unaccompanied by consciousness. The position of the man who denies any mental processes at all, as distinguished from mechanical, is logical ; but the position of the man who distinguishes mental processes (that is, processes which a machine cannot conduct apart from mind) from mechan- ical, and at the same time will only recognise as mental those accompanied by consciousness, is illogical. The self-same mental process at one time may be conducted in consciousness and at another outside it, and he is therefore on the horns of this painful dilemma. He must either at one time call the process mental and at the other mechanical or ‘‘ nervous,” or he must extend the word ‘‘consciousness” so as to include the unconscious. To a psychologist, the consequences of such a theory are deplorable and are described in scathing terms by Prof. James ! when he depicts the present state of this conserv- ative science ; while with a medical man it compels him logically to regard cases of neuromimesis as malingering or fraud because he sees the disease has mental characteristics, and yet cannot, according to the old psychological shibboleth, recognise as mind the unconscious psychic agent. I may say in conclusion that the need for this extension of mind has been felt by none more keenly than by the very psychologists who have refused it. The student of this subject has only to turn to Prof. C. T, Ladd’s ‘* Philosophy of Mind,” p. 395, and compare it with p. 393 ; or to Prof. Sully’s ‘‘ Illusions,” pp. 266 and 335, to see the existence of unconscious mental actions both asserted and denied in the same book, These passages and others will all be found in my work? on the subject. A. T. SCHOFIELD. 6 Harley Street, W., December 15. ' Dr. SCHOFIELD objects to my strictures on his extensive application of ‘‘the unconscious” as an explanatory principle that solves (for him) all problems of the relations of body and spirit. And he persists in confusing the question of the validity of ‘‘the unconscious” with the question of the propriety of so extending the use of the terms ‘‘ mind ” and “‘mental” as tomake them applicable to brain activities that do not involve affections of consciousness. This extended use of the words I myself, following Dr. Bastian, have urged and adopted, but to do this is not to commit oneself to the hypothesis of ‘* the unconscious mind.” Dr. Schofield’s use of this phrase implies the assump- tion of a factor in mental life that is neither neural process nor conscious process, but an utterly unknown, unknowable and mysterious third agent, more or less intervening between the two 1 Prof. W. James, “‘ Psychology,” p. 468. 2 Dr. Schofield, ‘‘ The Unconscious Mind,” 2nd edition. (Hodder and Stoughton.) DECEMBER 18, 1902] NATURE I51 known processes. This I hold to be a radically vicious hypo- thesis, not merely because it is unverifiable (for, in spite of the dictum of J. S. Mill, that appears to be an insuffizient ground for condemnation), but (1) because it invokes an agency of an absolutely unknown order, (2) because it is not necessary and does not help us to give a consistent description of the facts, (3) chiefly because it serves merely as a cloak disguising our ignorance and must tend to make those who adopt it content to remain ignorant. Dr. Schofield’s position seems to be based solely on the following argument :— The human organism exhibits activities that cannot be shown to be accompanied by corresponding states or processes of consciousness, but which nevertheless display so great a complexity and nicety of adjustment of means to ends that we cannot suppose them to be carried out by the agency of neural processes only; therefore we must assume an agent that plays a part similar to that which we assign to consciousness, but differing from it merely in not being consciousness. But when many of our leading thinkers accept the view so clearly enunciated by Huxley in his essay on ‘‘ Animal Automatism,” the view, namely, that all human activities are carried out by the agency of neural processes without the causal intervention of any other factor, consciousness being an epiphenomenon merely, why should Dr. Schofield believe himself competent to draw a line at any particular degree of complexity of behaviour, saying ‘So much can the unaided neural processes accomplish, but no more.” W. McD. THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL. fel 1879, Dr. Lightfoot, speaking at a prize-giving in Liverpool, described as seen in a dream its future University College. The speech had no small influence in securing the foundation of the College, and twenty- three years have done much to realise the dream. The progress of University College has been most striking ; it started in 1881 with seven professorships and three lectureships. Now there are twenty-one professor- ships each endowed with the sum of 10,000/. and one temporarily endowed. The total number of professors, lecturers and assistants is seventy-two, and the value of the endowment about 226,000/. Practically all of this has been given by citizens of Liverpool, much insingle sums of 10,000/., for the founders, inspired by Mr. Rathbone, were wise men, and realised that they were providing for a large need and must do it on a large scale. The value of the College site and buildings already erected is about 280,000/., while 50,000/. from the fund recently raised is to be spent immediately in further buildings. For scholarships, prizes, the maintenance of laboratories and of the Day Training College, about 60,000/. has been invested; a capital sum of more than 600,000/., contributed in twenty-three years by Liverpool benefactors for the advancement of learning and for the education of their townsfolk. Besides this, large sums are given voluntarily each year for annual expenditure. The city shows its interest in a practical manner by the grant it makes towards certain of the technical classes, while the fees received from students last year reached 13,000/. These results, though they may seem small compared with some of those achieved through individual generosity in America, are splendid. The Bishop’s dream is nearly realised. Now the men who have done this come forward and say that it is necessary for the future success of their work that the union which exists between the three colleges of the Victoria University should be dissolved, and that Liverpool should have its own University. Can anyone gainsay their right to speak or urge that they are not the best judges of their case? They speak with no uncertain voice. The Edu- cation Bill transfers to the City Council the control of education in the city, and the Council is of opinion that a University of Liverpool is necessary as the key- stone of the arch it intends to build; it has already NO. 1729, VOL. 67] received power to raise a rate for university education if a Charter is granted to University College,and it intends to do it. It is inconceivable that that Charter should be re- fused, that the Government, which has indicated its wise desire to leave freedom wherever possible for the develop- ment of education according to local needs, should refuse the request of one of the greatest of the local authorities of the country, the Corporation of Liverpool, to complete its work by establishing a ‘‘ great university for a great city.” These were the words used by Mr. R. B. Haldane at a city dinner in Liverpool some four years since ; it was clear from their reception then that the ideal he put forward appealed strongly to the representative gathering which he addressed, and in the joint petition of the City and University College for a Charter which is now before the Privy Council we have the outcome of his words. The case is one which carries conviction as it is read. The grant, it is urged, would greatly stimulate the de- velopment and increase the influence of University College and other institutions for the promotion of higher education in the city; it would bring higher education into closer connection with the professional and commercial life of the city; it would provide a true university education for many who cannot leave home to obtain it—the promoters urge with success the distinction between education in a university college, a part of a federal university, and that in a university—it would stimulate research by multiplying in the proper places the centres at which this can be carried on, and, having regard to the inadequate provision of the higher forms of education in England relatively to foreign nations, would be for the benefit of the nation as a whole. Each of these claims is substantiated by solid facts. The success of the movement will mean the dissolution of the Victoria University in its present form. To this, Owens College, the predominant partner in the federal University, has given a ready consent ; the two great cities of south-west Lancashire are at one in the belief that each may well be the centre of an in- dependent university, and the case for Owens College is in many ways stronger than that for Liverpool. York- shire College, on the other hand, wishes to retain the present system. The financial position of Yorkshire College is much weaker than that of her sister colleges ; Mr. Lupton at Leeds in January last said, when speaking of the number of its students, “It will compare favour- ably and creditably with the other two colleges of the University, but in its material assets it is ludicrously wanting. In the capital of the College, the assets are between 250,000/. and 300,000/., but the money has been spent on buildings, apparatus, &c. Of invested capital, we have not quite 39,000/., the income of which goes to the annual expenditure of the College.” At present, then, Yorkshire College is less fitted than the others to become a university, hence in part its dislike at being left alone. But Yorkshiremen are quite able, as was stated by the Principal of the College and the Bishop of Ripon at the same meeting, to create a university of their own if the need for it arises, and it will be found in Leeds no less than in Liverpool that a great university is a great power for good and for advancement. To Liverpool and Manchester, the failure of the petition would be disastrous ; it would curb enthusiasm, it would check the flow of benefactions for education, it would discourage men whose whole heart is in the great work they have set themselves to do, to build in each of these two cities a university which they feel is needed for the highest training of men and women in whose hands the future rests ; it would compel two responsible bodies who have each decided that it can best perform its allotted duties separately to endeavour to struggle on in a union which they feel is hopeless. All this is clear to anyone reading the case presented, | 50 clear that of the issue there can surely be no doubt. NATURE | DECEMBER 18, 1902 THE MINNESOTA SEASIDE STATION. MONG newer American establishments for the study of marine biology, the Minnesota Seaside Station has awakened considerable interest. It is upon British soil, being situated about sixty miles north-west of no other place upon the entire Alaskan, British Colum- | bian or Californian coast is known to be so favourable for naturalistic study and research as that where the Minnesota Seaside Station has been built. The thing of most importance about a seaside station is the sea. Minnesota, occupying a mid-continental position, might send its students with equal ease to the Atlantic or to the Pacific. Fic. 1.—Buildings of Minnesota Seaside Station as seen across Station Cove. laboratory building is not shown, but scands immediately to the right of the smaller building. The buildings face nearly south. Victoria, British Columbia, just at the entrance of the | Straits of Fuca. The site was chosen after a careful reconnaissance of the Pacific coast, both Canadian and American, and presents some remarkable advantages. So far as accessibility is concerned, it may be reached from Seattle, Port Townsend or Vic- toria, and commands, not only the outer waters of the ocean, but the region of Puget Sound as well. The physiographic features of the shore in the vicinity of Port Renfrew, Vancouver Island, the nearest har- bour to the Station, are extraordinarily favourable for the development of its special and characteristic work. The country rock is a tilted slate, cut by dykes of diabase and overlaid by mill- stone grit and sandstone. The bold promontory, just north of the Station, is of sandstone covered with glacial drift. The very broad shelving shore of sandstone is dotted with a great number of pot holes, worn by glacial boulders and ironstone concretions from the country rock. These pot holes vary in size and depth from little shallow saucers a few inches across to huge wells and cisterns many yards in diameter and often twenty feet or more in depth. Hun- dreds of such pools between tide marks serve as natural aquaria. Each has its characteristic distribution of plants and animals. For this reason, the Station shore is astonishingly rich in types of oceanic fauna and flora. Within a couple of miles, the formations change, and NO. 1729, VOL. 67] priapus. the left. It seemed, however, that a rallying point upon the Pacific would be the more inspiring. The eastern shore is already somewhat hackneyed and over civilised, so that the distractions of village life, golf, yachting and society may, in some circumstances, inter- fere with the free and genuineactivi- ties of a station. It is undeniable that, when a laboratory by the sea’ has acquired the appurtenances and refinements of a highly organised in- stitution, something is lost on the side of Nature to counterbalance the gain in comfort and conventionality, The Minnesota Seaside Station, two thou- sand miles distant from the labora- tories of the University of Minneapolis, behind the great plains and mountain ranges, sixty miles from any consider- able settlement, free from the influence of morning newspapers, daily mails and inquiring tourists, has for its para- mount source of interest and principal spring of enthusiasm the sea, and the sea alone. From its site, three miles south of the harbour of Port Renfrew, visited four times a month by a little coasting steamer belonging to the Pacific Navi- gation Co., the Seaside Station looks out directly towards Cape Flattery. To the right roll the swells of the open Pacific. To the left, across the blue straits, rise, peak upon peak, the Olympics with their glistening glaciers, untrodden summits and eternal snows. There are few more beautiful spots in The large Fic. 2.—Group of students holding an extended specimen of the Giant Kelp, Neveocystis The holdfas. is seen hanging down on the right and the leaves are held upon northern latitudes. One feels the magic of the mountains, the forest and the sea, and not to be a naturalist in such an environment is scarcely possible. During its first season, there were twenty-nine in at- tendance at the Station. In 1902, the number rose to DECEMBER 18, 1902] NA PORE mY 3 i) thirty-eight. Most of the party met at Minneapolis and journeyed to the coast in chartered cars which were cut off for several days in the mountains both going and returning. This enabled those who wished to climb some of the peaks in the vicinity of Banff, Laggan and Glacier. The whole region along the Canadian Pacific Railway from Banff to Mission abounds in problems for alpinists, and there is no better climbing in Europe or North America than that near Laggan, where Mounts Temple, Victoria, Hector, Hungabee and Lefroy, among the rest, are a perpetual challenge to the venturesome. At the Minnesota Seaside Station, three buildings have been erected. One, a large log boarding house some thirty by sixty feet upon the ground and two storeys in height, serves as a camp. A smaller one-storey log house is used as a laboratory for zoology, and a two-storey frame building, twenty-four by forty feet in dimen- sions, is occupied by elementary and advanced students of botany. Lecture courses last year were conducted for the most part out of doors—either in the forest or upon the rocks by the sea. Indoor talks in connection with Fic. 3.—Kelp-covered rock at low tide showing specimens of Alaria, Egregia and Halosaccion in characteristic attitudes. microscopic study of fresh material or around the fire- place in the large living room after dinner were also .features of the work. Several papers, both of a scientific and popular nature, .and based upon observations or research at the Minne- sota Seaside Station, have already been published. Some Phyllospadix scouderi appears in the foreground. of these have appeared in “ Minnesota Botanical Studies” | and others in “ Postelsia,” the year-book of the Station, the volume of which for 1901 has recently come from the press. ; Many useful phases of marine biological work have not yet been, and perhaps never will be, developed at Port Renfrew. There is an absence of dredging apparatus. No pumps, conduits or artificial aquaria have been installed, nor are the buildings supplied with electricity or gas. A serviceable steam launch is still one of the dreams of the future. Unlike most other marine stations, the one on the Straits of Fuca has never received any gratuities whatever from Government, institution, society | or individual, but has been built and modestly equipped entirely through the cooperation of those who have | NO, 1729, VOL. 67] | the United States. enrolled themselves among its members. It is, in fact, organised somewhat like a club, and while unable to compete with the older stations in expenditure, neverthe- less derives a certain advantage from its community of interest and independence. For the use of the illustrations which accompany this article, we are indebted to the Popular Science Monthly. MR. CARNEGIE’S ST. ANDREWS ADDRESS. NV R. CARNEGIE’S rectorial address at St. Andrews + is an interesting study in the psychology of the typical business man of modern times, as well as a memoir on the conditions of great business, which people must read for the sake of the shrewd and acute remarks themselves, such as no statesman or economic student can afford to overlook. The address is written exclusively from the point of view of a great industrial chief who has availed himself to the full of the conditions of busi- ness in the most favoured and wealthy community which the world has yet seen—that of the United States. He has observed and seized the great opportunity for the concentration and development of in- dustry on a large scale which the United States has afforded. A large area of complete internal free trade, and an active, vigorous and rapidly growing population throughout this area, have. given the United States manufacturer for many years an unrivalled opportunity for colossal arrangements, involving the cheapen- ing of cost by means of subdivision of labour and the institution of mechan- ical and automatic processes wherever hand labour could be superseded. This opportunity, properly used, has been the occasion of Mr. Carnegie’s gigantic fortune, and it is accordingly natural that he should speak of all business as conforming to this type, so that a community like the United States supplies the model for great manufacturing business in future. The cheapness of production once estab- lished, it is assumed, will enable the United States to be the most success- ful competitors internationally, and Britain accordingly will take a_se- cond place in future, if not a third place, with Germany second, Naturally also, Mr. Carnegie regards the protectionist policy of the United States as having contributed to this result and given the United States manufacturer the monopoly of his large home market. Nor is it surprising to find the ordinary American idea about the economic effect of military armaments put forward by Mr. Carnegie as explaining the backward state of Europe compared with The ideas come from his environ- ment and history, and the result of their combination with Mr. Carnegie’s own shrewd observations is the present most instructive address. The interest, however, is mainly psychological. Econ- omically, there is nothing really new and true. Adam Smith explained long ago the economic gain of the sub- division of labour, the condition of manufacturing on a large scale, while the practical value of manufacturing on a large scale and for the largest possible market was exemplified first of all, not by the American, but by the Lancashire manufacturer, who had the home market of ee | 1 A yectorial address delivered to the students in the University of St. Andrews, October 22, by Andrew Carnegie. (T. and A. Constable, 1902.) 154 NATURE [ DECEMBER 18, 1902, the British Empire at his command as well as the general market of the less civilised nations of the earth. Where the United States has gone ahead has been in the special business of iron and steel, a development required by the more special conditions of industry in the United States, and not in every business requiring large markets. Pace Mr. Carnegie, also, it does not appear that the pro- tectionist policy of the United States has favoured the development of great manufacturing. In iron and steel especially, the advance was favoured by naturally high prices attending the great demand for iron and steel, which was always producing a shortage in the old countries of Europe, especially Great Britain, such as we now witness in the United States itself. This recurring shortage, apart from the United States tariff, must in- fallibly have developed naturally the iron and steel industry of the United States, though Mr. Carnegie and others might have realised smaller fortunes than they have done in the process. As to Europe being over- weighted in any way by military armaments, there is an obvious want of connection between the effect and the alleged cause. Extravagant expenditure is, of course, one reason why one community or individual should ac- cumulate wealth at a lower rate than another community or individual, but extravagant expenditure on military objects has precisely the same effect, and no other, as any other kind of extravagance. Overbuilding, excessive outlay on dress or carriages, outlay on churches or theatres, are, or may be, forms of expenditure in which nations or individuals may indulge to their hurt as well as in armies and navies. Nor can the American com- munity throw stones at any other community in this matter, as extravagance is one of the American’s special vices, and there is one conspicuous case of this ex- travagance in the remarkable pension list which has grown up since the Civil War, and affects them eco- nomically much as a great debt or great expenditure on army and navy would affect them. Besides, when analysed, however great the outlay may be, the main- tenance of armies and navies does not add to the cost of production in other industries in any country. The expense of these “luxuries,” let us call them, is a deduc- tion from the earnings of the community, so that there is, Pro tanto, less to spend on other things ; but the cost of producing these other things is not concerned. While making these observations on Mr. Carnegie’s theories, we cannot but agree with his view that the primacy of Great Britain as an economic unit is passing to the United States. The economic force of the United States is obviously the greatest single force of that kind ; and the preponderance of the United States is increasing. This is no new idea. Mr. Gladstone and many others long ago pointed out how modern industrial forces were tending. People should weigh well, however, what Mr. Carnegie has to say in his own department as to the approaching exhaustion of the iron ores of Great Britain, a matter of common knowledge to those interested. Great industrial changes must follow this impending change. More interesting and surprising even is Mr. Carnegie’s anticipation as to the exhaustion of the United States supplies themselves. ‘Even the United States,” he says, “has a proved supply of first class ore only for sixty to seventy years, and a reserve of inferior grades which may keep her supplied for thirty years longer, say for a century in all, unless the rate of consumption be greatly increased. The enormous extent of territory in the republic over which ore can hopefully be looked for encourages the belief that new deposits are sure to be found.” Germany, it is added, has the most enduring supply, although its ore is not nearly so rich as the American. All this points to great economic changes even more far reaching than what is implied by the exhaustion of iron ore in Great Britain only. With many other observations, there must also be ND: 172, VOL. 57 | agreement, especially as to the importance of home markets, the diminishing importance of foreign trade and the like. There is, in truth, no distinction in essence between home and foreign markets. The proper dis- tinction is between near, less near and distant markets which are all in their nature the same, the availability and accessibility in each case varying with every variety of goods and every variation in the conditions of trans- portation. Other things being equal, there is, of course, more exchange between near than between distant markets, and there are many goods and services where the exchanges are necessarily local. The one weak point in the address is really what is said about the effect of European armaments, upon which comment has already been made. It may be ad- mitted that, so far as there is insecurity and fear of invasion, Europe is politically less advantageously placed than the United States, and European business is, pro tanto, checked. But in itself, military expenditure is no worse than any other expenditure, and so far Europe is not handicapped in the race. We should like to throw out also for the consideration of Mr. Carnegie and other Americans whether they are not living in a fool’s paradise so far as their supposed safety from invasion is con- cerned. If the United States fleet were to be defeated by a European Power, say by Germany, and circum- stances were otherwise favourable, the territory of the States would not be safe from invasion. Descents upon the coast such as England was able to make in the War of Independence and in the war of 1812 might be repeated, and even a more serious invasion attempted. The American boast of their freedom from European militarism is one which it is not quite wise or safe to make. ReaGs THE JUBILEE OF LORD LISTER. (@ye December 9, 1852, just fifty years ago, Joseph, now Lord, Lister passed his examination and was admitted a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, thereby becoming a member of the medical profession. The jubilee of such an event abroad would have been made the occasion of a congratulatory address and of the compilation of a notable “ Festschrift” to the honour of the great master of antiseptic surgery. Here we do things differently, and it has been reserved for the British Medical Journal to issue a Lister Jubilee number, in which eminent men of various nationalities give their appreciation of Lister’s life-work. Von Bergmann, of Berlin, contributes some remarks upon the use of iodoform gauze in operations upon the cavities of the body; Lucas-Championniére, of Paris, writes on Listerian’ methods of the present and of the future ; and Oscar Bloch, of Copenhagen, upon the anti- septic system in Denmark ; while von Mikulicz-Radecki, of Breslau, gives a contribution upon the treatment of fractured patella. Among the British contributors, Ogston, of Aberdeen, and Hector Cameron, of Glasgow, discuss the influence of Listerism upon military surgery and upon the evolution of modern surgery respectively, Watson Cheyne, of London, discusses Listerism and the development of operative surgery, while Annandale, of Edinburgh, writes pleasantly of early days, and Chiene, also of the Scotch capital, gives an account of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from 1869 to 1877—that is to say, during the time Lister held the chair of clinical surgery there. It is a notable number devoted to a notable man. : Although it is as the founder of antiseptic surgery that Lister’s name will descend to posterity, his other achieve- ments must not be forgotten. Into surgery he introduced many valuable methods of operative procedure and also the. use of the catgut ligature, and his contributions to the DEcEMBER 18, 1902] NATURE Dee) pathology of inflammation, the nature and mechanism of blood coagulation and the bacteriology of fermentation would alone entitle him to a place among the “ Scientific Worthies.” A characteristic trait of a great personality must have struck all those who had the privilege of work- ing under Lister ; this was his intense regard for the welfare of his patients. The writer well remembers Lord Lister’s distress at some mishap which befell a patient, unforeseen at the time, but which, in the light of after events, might have been preventable. Lord Listers great experience has been called into requisition at least twice in recent years to aid the deliberations of those in whose hands the health of His | Majesty the King has been entrusted, once when he was | Prince of Wales and secondly in his recent severe illness. Lastly, as chairman of the King’s Hospital Fund, he | still continues his benefits to humanity. His various con- tributions to science and the honours bestowed upon him have already been detailed in NATURE, but it may be | mentioned that this year he has been the recipient of the | Copley medal of the Royal Society and of the Order of Merit. R. T. HEWLETT. NOTES. THE First Lord of the Treasury has appointed a committee to inquire and report as to the administration by the Meteorological Council of the existing Parliamentary grant, and as to whether any changes in its apportionment are desirable in the interests of meteorological science, and to make any further recommendations which may occur to them, with a view to in- creasing the utility of that grant. The committee will consist of :— the Right Hon. Sir Herbert E. Maxwell, Bart., M.P., (chair- man), Mr. J. Dewar, M.P., Sir W. de W. Abney, K.C.B., F.R.S., Sir F. Hopwood, K.C.B., Board of Trade, Sir T. H. Elliott, K.C.B., Board of Agriculture, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., Mr. T. L. Heath, Treasury, and Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S. Mr. G. L. Barstow, of the Treasury, will act as secret ary to the committee. ANNOUNCEMENT has now been made of the Nobel prize awards this year. Theawards include the following for science :— | Claudet. Medicine, Major Ronald Ross, School of Tropical Medicine, | Liverpool; chemistry, Prof. Emil Fischer, Berlin; physics, divided between Prof. Lorenz, Leyden, and Prof. Zeeman, Amsterdam. Dr. Borpas, assistant-director of the Paris Municipal Laboratory, has been awarded the Lacaze prize for his inves- tigations in connection with typhoid fever. The prize is worth 400/, Dr. T. K. Rose has been appointed chemist and assayer in ACCORDING to the Paris correspondent of the Z%mes, Prof, | Lacroix, the head of the French Scientific Mission at Martinique, has reported that owing to the undermining of the point of the cone formed in the crater of Mont Pelée, masses of material have rolled down in the direction of White River, completely choking it. The ashes which filled the lower valley at a distance of six kilometres from the crater had still a temperature of more than 100° C. a week after they had been projected from the volcano. WE regret to have to announce the death of Dr. Antonio d@Achiardi, of Pisa, in his sixty-fourth year. Dr. d’Achiardi was born and educated at Pisa, and had occupied the chair of mineralogy and geology in the University there since the year 1876. He was the author of treatises on both mineralogy and petrology, and published numerous memoirs, many of them rela- tive to the mineralogy of Tuscany. Prof. d’Achiardi was an honorary member of the Mineralogical Society of this country. Tue following announcements of deaths, from yesterday’s Times, will be read with regret by many men of science :—Prof. Millardet, professor of botany, first at Nancy and afterwards at Bordeaux, where his researches checked the ravages of the phyl- loxera.—Privy Councillor von Kupffer, professor of anatomy at the University of Munich.—Major Walter Reed, one of the fore- most bacteriologists and pathologists of the United States. During the Spanish war he was a member of the board to investigate typhoid fever in the army. Later, he made several trips to - Cuba and was on duty in Havana studying the diseases of the island as a member of the board to investigate the causes of yellow fever. As the result of investigations, the conclusion was arrived at that yellow fever is conveyed by a certain variety of mosquito, which, by its bite, introduces the disease into the blood of non-immunes. Sanitary measures for the destruction of the insect and for the screening of infected persons were at once put into effect in Havana, with the result that for more than a year no case of yellow fever has been developed there. THE thirtieth annual dinner of the old students of the Royal School of Mines will be held on Tuesday, February 3, 1903, at the Hotel Cecil. The chair will be taken by Mr. A. C. Tickets can be obtained from Mr. D. A. Louis, 77 Shirland Gardens, London, W. Tue fifth International Congress of Applied Chemistry will be opened in Berlin on May 31, 1903. Prof. Clemens Winkler will be honorary president, and Prof. Otto N. Witt, the president of the German committee, will occupy the chair. Dr. H. T. Bottinger is now actively engaged in securing the cooperation of British men of science. There will be twelve | sections in all, at which every branch of pure and applied the Royal Mint, in succession to the late Sir W. C. Roberts- | Austen, K.C.B., F.R.S. Dr. SveN .HEDIN delivered an address before the Royal ‘Scottish Geographical Society at Edinburgh on Tuesday. Sir John Murray, who presided, announced that the council had awarded .Dr. Hedin the Livingstone memorial gold medal for the distinguished services which he had rendered to science by his explorations in Central Asia. ‘WE regret to see in the 4thenacum the announcement of the’ professor of chemistry at death of Prof. J. Wislicenus, ‘Leipzig University. .. COLONEL Sir T..H. HotpicuH has been appointed Knight’ ‘Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for “services in connection with the Chile-Argentine Boundary Tribunal... E NO. 1729, -VOL. 6; | chemistry will be discussed. THE annual meeting of the Geographical Association will be | held on Friday, January 9, 1903, at 3.30 p.m., in the College of Preceptors, Bloomsbury Square, London, W.C. The presi- dent, Mr. Douglas W. Freshfield, will be in the chair, and will give an address. There will also be an address on the Austral- asian Commonwealth, by Sir John A. Cockburn, K.C.M.G., and an exhibition of maps, views and diagrams by lantern pro- jections,'illustrative of the Ordnance Survey maps, by Mr. A. W. Andrews. THE success of the general meeting of the American Philo- sophical Society, held last April, established most satisfactorily the claim that the interests of useful knowledge in the United States may be greatly promoted by holding an annual general meeting of the Society. -It was therefore decided to hold a second meeting, and in accordance with this resolution the meet- ing will take place on April 2 and 3, 1903. -A strong and ry 156 NATURE [December 18, 1902 representative committee was appointed to make the necessary arrangements, the chairman being Prof. George F. Barker, and secretary Mr. I. Minis Hays. THE commission appointed a year ago by the legislature of New Yerk. to investigate and report upon the advisability of the State establishing an electrical laboratory will probably report, says the 4v/ectrical World, in favour of establishing such an institution, which will also serve as a standardisation bureau. Itis reported that the commission has learned that the amount of capital in New York State directly interested in the development and use of electricity is 1,680,590,290 dollars, made up of 217,974,695 dollars, representing the capitalisation of the companies engaged in the manufacture of electrical apparatus, and 1,462,615,595 dollars, the capitalisation of the companies involving the use of electricity. A PETITION to be presented to the council of the Chemical Society is now being circulated among Fellows of that body for signature, in which it is suggested that the council should take the opportunity afforded by the approaching resignation of the senior secretary, Prof. W. R. Dunstan, of limiting the period during which this office may be held, and so afford to the younger Fellows of the Society “‘an opportunity of gaining experience in this honourable official position.” It is pointed out that such a limitation is already in force at the Royal Society. A MEETING of the Imperial Vaccination League was held on Friday last, under the presidency of the Duke of Northumber- land. The report was read by Mrs. Garrett Anderson, and it stated that the League would supply literature on the subject of vaccination for distribution, and that a body of lecturers would be organised to give addresses on the subject of smallpox and the protection which vaccination affords. In proposing the adoption of the report, the chairman referred to the extremely small fear of complications arising from vaccination now that calf lymph is used, The Bishop of Stepney, in seconding, remarked that educational work by the League was necessary in order to counteract the influence of societies opposed to vaccination. Sir Michael Foster, in moving the election of the executive committee, stated that an important point to consider was whether the sanitary authorities were the right ones to administer the Acts relating to the health of the people. Ar the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, held at Hull on December 10, Mr. W. Denison Roebuck was presented with a handsome testimonial in recognition of his past services as secretary of the Union and editor of the Matwralist. The presentation took the form of a beautifully illuminated ad- dress, in book form, and a clock and bronzes. References were made by many speakers to the ability with which Mr. Roebuck had worked in the interests of the Union. The presidential address was afterwards delivered by Mr. P. F. Kendall, his sub- ject being ‘‘ Problems in the Distribution of Animals and Plants.’’ The new secretary is Mr. T. Sheppard, of the Municipal Museum, Hull, and the Wa/uralis¢ will in future be edited by Mr. Sheppard and Mr. T. W. Woodhead, of Hud- dersfield. The president for 1903 is Mr. Roebuck, and Mr. J. I. Howarth is the treasurer. THE Zoological Society of New York has acquired the Aquarium, which stands in Battery Park, New York City. It has been transferred to the Society by the City upon terms which provide for the entire control and management of the Aquarium by the Society and for an adequate maintenance of it by the City. The Society has appointed Mr. Charles H. Townshend, late of the United States Fish Commission, as director of the Aquarium. With him will be associated an NO. 1729, VOL. 67] advisory committee of experts, and the Aquarium will be managed by the Society in the same manner as the Zoological Park. Dr. J. W. B. GuNnNING, Director of the Pretoria Museum and Zoological Gardens, sends us a long list of the additions to the menagerie of that institution which have been made during recent months. Amongst them is the celebrated lioness “Beauty,” commonly called ‘‘Kruger’s Lion,’ which was originally presented by the late Mr. Rhodes to the Pretoria Gardens in 1899 and returned to the donor by Mr. Kruger’s orders. Mr. Rhodes then gave it to the Zoological Society of London, in whose gardens it remained for two years. At the special request of the authorities at Pretoria, the lioness was sent back there in July last, Mr. Rhodes’s executors having signified their approval of this being done. By the death of Mr. Henry Stopes, the science of prehistoric archeology has lost an enthusiastic student and an indefatigable collector. By profession Mr. Stopes was an engineer, and he more particularly interested himself in Paleolithic implements viewed from the standpoint of a practical mechanic. He amassed an enormous collection of Paleolithic implements of all sorts, rightly judging that long series were all important in scientific study. He held that more could usually be learned from a rude or from an imperfect or unfinished implement than from the typical finished product, and thus he eagerly collected the ‘* wasters” and the ruder and unfinished forms. In a short paper published in the /owrna/ of the Anthropological Institute (vol. xxix., 1899, p. 302), he announced the discovery of Neritina fluviatilis, with a Pleistocene fauna and worked flints in high terrace gravels of the Thames valley, and in the follow- ing volume of the same /owsva/ (p. 299) he published a paper on ‘‘ Unclassified Worked Flints,” illustrated by numerous specimens. THE following candidates have been nominated for the Fellowship of the Reale Accademia dei Lincei :—As correspond- ing Fellows, Profs. Beccari, Donati, Lustig, Parona, Pascal and Venturi; as foreign Fellows, Profs. Lorentz, Thalén, de Vries, Wiesner and Zeuthen. The Academy has been singularly unfortunate in its loss during the summer recess of the four ordinary Fellows General Annibale Ferrero, Prof. Adolfo Targioni-Tozzetti, Prof. Alfonso Cossa and Prof. Riccardo Felici, one corresponding Fellow, Prof. Magnaghi, and, on the list of foreign Fellows, Profs. Faye and Virchow. General Annibale Ferrero took a prominent part from the outset in the work of the International Geodetic Association. He held office in 1872 as head of the geodetic division of the Italian Military Topographical Institution, in 1893 as director of the Military Geographical Institution, from 1873-83 as secretary, and from 1883 as president, of the Royal Geodetic Commission for Italy, from 1891 to 1897 as vice-president of the Permanent Commis- sion of the International Geodetic Association, and from 1897 until his death as president of the Association itself. Prof. Adolfo Targioni-Tozzetti started his career as a botanist, but in 1866 was elected to the chair of comparative anatomy and invertebrate zoology at Florence. In 1875, he was appointed director of the newly-formed Department of Agricultural Entomology at Florence. His most important writings are on entomological subjects, and include papers on the luminous organs of the Italian ‘‘lucciole,” the classifica- tion of the Orthoptera and the vine diseases oidium and phylloxera. Alfonso Cossa was first assistant lecturer at Pavia in materia medica and botany; he subsequently held an appointment there as professor of chemistry and director of the Technical Institution; from 1866 to 1871 he was’ principal of a new technical institution at Udine, and then at Turin he held various posts, culminating in 1882 in a chair of chemistry DECEMBER 18, 1902] NATURE 157 in the Engineering School of Valentino. His writings deal with agricultural chemistry, mineralogy and electro-chemistry, and his name has been perpetuated in the mineral Cossaite. Mr. E. Ernest Lowe, curator of the Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery, sends a description and sketch of a portion of a mammalian tooth found by Mr. F. Leslie Sara, of Yelverton, in a cave in the Mendip Hills, Somersetshire. Mr. Lowe has identified the object, the greatest length of which is nearly six inches, as the terminal portion of one of the lower canine teeth of Azppopotamus amphibius. ‘‘The grinding surface of the tooth,” he remarks, ‘‘is closely striated, and in the centre the strize are so close and deep as to form a distinct groove, whereas all the recent hippopotamus teeth I have been able to examine have a sooth grinding surface. At the point of the tooth, the enamel is chipped as if from a blow. At first sight, the specimen appears to have been cut from the complete tooth with a modern saw, but I am assured it is exactly as found. The cut end was exposed on the surface of the clayey ground.” Mr. Lowe suggests that the tooth is a prehistoric flint- flaker or axe-head of a unique character, but an authority to whom we have submitted the matter informs us that /fossz/ hippopotamus tusks exhibit a structure exactly similar to that described by our correspondent. . It is due to disintegration of the ivory along the lines of growth. In the Journal of the Society of Arts for December 5, there sa paper by Mr. Alfred Watkins on some aspects of photo- graphic development, setting forth the methods of work that have become associated with the author's name. A few observations recorded appear to be new, as, for example, that an increase of iodide in a rapid emulsion may increase the multiplying factor for development, and that a little iodide of potassium in the developer causes the image to appear almost as quickly at the back of the plate as at the front. The tendency appears to b2 to find new circumstances that interfere with the most usual course of events in development, and from the discussion that followed the paper we gather that at least some authorities still regard Mr. Watkins’s generalisations as of ‘rather too sweeping a character. Dr. G. HELLMANN has recently published the sixth of his ‘useful discussions of the rainfall of the Prussian States, prepared at the request of the German Meteorological Office. The part now in question refers to the Provinces of Schleswig-Holstein -and Hanover; the annual distribution of rainfall is clearly delineated, as before, on a coloured map showing the amounts for each 50 millimetres from 450 to 1400, and upwards, with an inset exhibiting the interesting values for the district of the Hartz Mountains. Particular attention is given to the greatest falls in one day, and shorter intervals, as being of considerable utility te engineers and others. The variations in the annual amounts at the same localities are, as usual, very considerable, and depend upon laws of which little is known at present, the rainfall of a wet year being occasionally double the amount of that in a dry year. WE have received vol. xi. of Deutsche tiberseetsche meteorolo- gische Beobachtusgen, published by the Deutsche Seewarte, containing the meteorological observations made in German ‘East Africa, collected and discussed by Dr. H. Maurer. The observations were made ait thirty-three stations ; some of them date back as far as 1894, and some have been published in other places. Although the series is not complete and the “observations are acknowledged to be not all of the same quality, they give, in the main features, a useful representation of the climate of a large district hitherto but little knowa. In bringing _the data together in one volume, by very carefully collating NO. 1729, VOL. 67] them on the most approved plan and by giving full particulars of the stations and instruments, the Seewarte has rendered a great service to meteorological science. Mr. FREDERIC J. CHESHIRE describes, in the /ow7na/ of the Quekett Microscopical Club, a simple form of reflecting polariser. It consists of a single glass reflecting surface fixed at a constant angle of 334 with the axis of the microscope in the position commonly occupied by the mirror, and capable of rotation about that axis without varying the inclination. The author points out the advantage of the increased field as compared with that obtained with a moderate sized Nicol’s prism. Tue November issue of the /owrna/ of the Franklin Insti- tute contains an interesting paper on the conversion of amor- phous carbon to graphite, by Mr. F. J. FitzGerald, chemist to the Acheson Graphite Company. The paper is largely historical, the experiments of Despretz, Berthelot, Moissan and others being described in some detiil. Suorr y after the great Indian earthquake of June 12, 1897, a duplex pendulum seismograph was erected at Shillong, a town lying just within the epicentral area of the earthquake. The records of this instrument from August, 1897, to the end of 1gor have recently been examined by Mr. R. D. Oldham in order to ascertain if any traces of tidal influence were to be detected in the occurrence of shocks in what at that time was an extremely unstable portion of the earth’s crust. Mr. Oldham arrives at the following conclusions, which, however, he regards as provisional and requiring verification from a more extended series of observations. There is, in the first place, a large variation in the diurnal distribution of earthquakes, maxima of frequency occurring between 10 and ri p.m. and between 6 and 7 a.m. Superimposed on this large but unexplained variation in frequency, there is a smaller variation, which has the appearance of being due to the tidal stresses set up by the attraction of the sun. Also, if this smaller variation is really due to tidal stresses, then the horizontal stress is much more efficieat than the vertical stress, and the effect is less due to the amount of the stress than to the rate and range ofits variation. A RECONNAISSANCE-SURVEY of Jebel Garra and the oasis of Kurkur, which lie to the west of Assuan and the first cataract on the Nile, has been made by Dr. John Ball (Survey Depart- ment, Public Works Ministry, Cairo, 1902). Jebel Garra (540 metres above sea-level) is a huge, flat-topped hill capped by Eocene limestone, which stands on the margin of the plateau and scarps of Upper Cretaceous strata bordering the Kurkur Oasis. These overlook the low, undulating country formed of Nubian sandstone which occupies the intervening desert, where much blown sand occurs. The Kurkur Oasis is formed by the confluence of several wadies or drainage-channels, which have no outlet, and it contains two wells. There is little hope of the oasis being able to maintain more than a few human beings, and at present there are no residents. The water occurs at an altitude of 330 metres, and it appears to be derived rather from local rain water, which drains through the Cretaceous white lime- stone, than from any more permanent underground supply. AN analysis by Mr. Radcliffe Hall of the volcanic dust which fell at Barbadoes on October 16 agrees in a general way with Dr. Pollard’s analysis of the dust of May 7 (see NATURE, June 5). The material analysed by Mr. Hall contained rather more alumina and alkalis than that analysed by Dr. Pollard, and less magnesia; facts which point to the conclusion that felspar and possibly also glass are more abundant in the October than in the May dust. 738 NATURE A JOINT commission appointed by the Royal Society and the London School of Tropical Medicine has been investigating the African sleeping sickness. This disease, endemic in the Congo basin, has recently been spreading eastwards with great rapidity, causing a terrible mortality. Of the commissioners, Dr, Christie anl Dr. Low (Craggs research student of the London School of Tropical Medicine) are returning home, but Dr. Castellani is remaining to complete his investigations. The latter has isolated a streptococcus waich seems to bz th2 specific cause of the disease. The vé/e of the Filaria perstans as the causative agent has been disproved by the commission. A NUMBER of cases of serious anemia having occurred in the Dilcoath mine, Cornwall, an inquiry was instituted by the Home Office into the cause of the affection. Dr. Haldane, with whom was afterwards associated Dr. Boycott, made the interesting discovery that the condition was one of ankylostomiasis, which is due to the presence of an intestinal parasite, the Azhy/o- stomum duodenale. This disease is almost confined to tropical countries, though it was met with among the navvies employed in the piercing of the St. Gothard tunnel. Doubtless, in the present instance, some of the miners who had been working abroad contracted the disease and brought the infection home with them. In the December number of the Evtomologzst, Mr. E. Bagwell-Purefoy gives further information with regard to the successful introduction of the brimstone butterfly into Tipperary, which was accomplished in 1894, after its feeding-plants had been planted a few years previously in the county. This butterfly —the Gonepteryx rhamni of some authors and the Colas rhamni of others—is found at Killarney and has been reported from Wicklow, but is not a native of any other part of Ireland. In 1896, the colony of Tipperary was found to be in a flourishing condition, and in 191 and the present year had still further multiplied. During the past summer, Mr. Purefoy has attempted to introduce the handsome Mediterranean brimstone G. (or C.) cleopatra into the same district—an experiment which will be watched with interest. in the September issue of the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, Miss A. M. Fields records the results of experiments made with a view of ascertaining the cause of the hostility to one another displayed by different colonies of ants of the same species, and likewise the influence of light of different colours on these insects. The chief cause of the hostility of one colony to another appears to be a difference of odour accompanied by a difference in the age of the individuals composing the two colonies. As regards colours, it is inferred that ants are able to distinguish some of these, but may have no preference for one more than another. Also that these insects gradually. lose their natural dislike of light by exposure to its influence. THE remarkable differences in the life-history of different colonies of an American land-planarian (Planaria maculata) form the subject of a paper by Mr. W. C. Curtis in a recent issue (vol. xxx. Ng. 7) of the Proceedings of the Boston (U.S. A.) Natural History Society. In certain localities, the creature ap- parently reproduces its kind exclusively by fission, while in others sexual reproduction occurs. There are yet other districts in which both modes take place. It is suggested that the asexual may replace the sexual mode of reproduction in the | same individuals, but to confirm or disprove this, an extended ‘period of observation is essential. THE third volume of Mr. W. S. Taggart’s '‘Cotton Spinning”, (Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) has reached a second edition. The first two volumes deal with the preparing processes in cotton spinning, while this part takes up the subject of spinning and the preparation of yarns. made to the new edition so as to bring the book up to date. NO. 1729, VOL. 67] [DecemBER 18, 1902 In the Christmas number of Photlography, Messrs. Iliffe and Sons, Ltd., have presented us with an excellent and inexpen+ sive publication, printed on good paper aud studded with numerous fine illustrations by various processes, This number has set itself the task of reviewing and displaying the most choice samples that have been shown to the public-at the’ two great exhibitions held at the New and Dudley Galleries this year. A short but interesting monograph accompanies each illustration, drawing the reader’s attention to the chief points. The publishers seem to have spared no pains to make the pro~ duction, asa whole, high class in every respect, and the book will be found useful and valuable as illustrating types of subjects and treatments which are utilised and cultivated at the present time. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Ring-tailed Coati (aswa rufa) from South America, presented by Mr. E. Bieber ; a Banded Ichneumon (Crossarchus fastalus) from Mozambique, presented by Mr- F. D. Samuel; a Raven (Corvus corax) British, presented by Mrs. Rose Haig Thomas; a Douglass’s Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi) from the Rocky Mountains, presented by Mr. C. W. H. Doubler ; a Hog Deer (Cervus porcinus) born in the Gardens. ey ERRATUM.—In letter on p. out” read ‘* red.”’ 126, col. 2, l. .45; ‘for ‘fred OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. CoMET 1902 6 (GIACOBINI).—Further observations of this comet have been communicated to the . Va +2 43°3 «.. 0°3049 r3 31 7 318 +3 451 ... 0°2999 1°4 Brightness at time of discovery = I. An observation was made on December tod. 13h. 37m. ‘0 at Ileidelberg by M. Courvoisier, and gave the following position for the comet :—108° 47’ 12”,— o° 48’ 15”, and this gives a correction to Fayet’s ephemeris of —2s. and +0'6 (Kiel Circular, No. 55). “* COMPANION TO ‘THE OBSERVATORY,’ 1903.” —This annual collection of elements and ephemerides, just published, contains its usual excellent list of tables and information in regard to the astronomical phenomena which will take place during the coming year. The information concerning the various meteor showers and double stars is supplied by Messrs. Denning and Maw respect- ively, and M. Loewy has again contributed advance proofs from which the variable-star ephemerides have been compiled. The latter show a considerable increase in number this year. JUPITER AND AIS GREAT RED SPOT. TT HouGH Jupiter has been unfavourably placed for European observers during the present year, his surface markings have been: extremely interesting, of great variety and in plentiful numbers. The English climate, even at its best, can scarcely be said to suit astronomical work in an eminent degree, but its characteristics in 1902 have proved unusually bad, in fact, atmospheric conditions have combined with the low position of the planet to render observations difficult, and they have generally had to be pursued with definition of very inferior quality. The seeing has been recorded as ‘‘ very good” on six nights only out of seventy-five, and in 1901 the result was equally disappointing, for the image was really sharp and satis- factory on five nights only out of seventy-one; but in 1901 the planet was about 5° lower (Dec. 23° S.) than in 1902 (Dec. 18° S.), and though the difference is not great, it ought to have operated strongly in favour of the present year had other circumstances been equal. The most noteworthy incident in connection with recent studies of Jupiter is to be found in a very pronounced acceler- ation of motion in the great red spot. This first made itself evident in 1901, but it has been intensified during the past summer. For about twenty-three years, uninterruptedly, this singular marking had exhibited a constantly increasing retard- ation, which caused its rotation period to lengthen from about gh. 55m. 34s. to nearly gh. 55m. 42s. But in rgo1 it declined to gh. 55m. 41s., and during the present year the rate has been about 9h. 55m. 394s. And this increase of velocity has been contemporary with the outbreak of a large, irregular or multiple marking of a dusky hue, in the same latitude of the planet. This new object, apparently first seen in May, 1901, has shown arotation period of gh. 55m. 18s., which corresponds with that of the south temperate current. It seems a probable conjecture that the presence of the marking just referred to may have forced the red spot along at a more rapid rate than that which it NO. 1729, VOL. 67] exhibited in previous years. In June, July and August of the present year, the red spot was almost surrounded by the material of the new marking, and the quicker motion of the latter may well have accelerated the movement of the former. But no certain conclusion can be arrived at, though the facts are signifi- cantand suggestive. Possibly the phenomena alluded to may have been practically coincident in date, but devoid of any physical relationship. And in this connection it will be useful to remember that the red spot has always been situated in a stream flowing along with much greater celerity than the rate of its own motion. In September, the material of the new marking had passed to the preceding (W.) side of the red spot, and hence it was expected that the accelerated motion of the latter would cease, but the differences in motion have been comparatively slight, so that errors of observation make it unsafe to form definite con- clusions. It will be advisable when the planet disappears from the evening sky in January next to collect all the transit times of the red spot recorded during the present apparition, as it may then be possible to determine with accuracy the extent of the acceleration and the variation in its rate, if any, during the summer and autumn. If a large number of observations are forthcoming, it will be desirable to group them into monthly or bi-monthly periods and ascertain the mean longitude of the spot for each of these, when the rate of its drift will be seen and the errors of individual transits practically obliterated. At Bristol, the following estimated transits have been obtained with a 10-inch reflector and a power of 312 :— Date. G.M.T. Longitude. 1902. h. m. 5 April 28 16 14 45°9 May 20 14 23 44°7 June 20 od ac 14 56 44°8 27. Ae ie 15 37 42°2 July 2 Bas ae 14 49 45'1 I cls 13 54 43°9 abe (2) 15 33 44°5 Aug. 8 10 8 40°2 »» «12 13 29 41°7 » 15 10 57 42°5 EON Le Io 3 41°7 3 25 97 39°6 sept. r 9 50 380 3) 13 9 48 40°3 » 18 8 563 40°5 azo 79 37°9 Oct 3 618 37°9 ” 89) Tas) 40°2 » 15 6 13 371 » 22 Hades 371 Nov. 8 6 8 36°9 » 18 4 31% 39°4 » = 23 3 30 36°1 yee} 9:20) 39°71 During the present year, a number of white and dark spots have been visible on the north side of the north equatorial belt, and the mean rotation period of these has been about ten seconds less than that shown by the red spot. A new belthas lately formed on the northern side of the spots alluded to. The equatorial current of the planet has been moving, as nearly as possible, at the same rate as during 1901, for the mean rotation of twenty-four spots is about 9h. 50m. 29s. There has been an abundance of slow-moving N.:and N.N. temperate markings, but these have seldom been well seen owing to the confused definition. W. F. DENNING. SOME LIMITS IN HEAVY ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. [It is customary for .a presidential address to be a review of the development of the science with which the Institution is particularly concerned. Such a review is especially bene- ficial in the case of such a rapidly growing industry as electrical engineering, as the outlook changes considerably during a year. Instead of a review. of the past, a dream of the future may take the form. of,aspresidential address. This form has great 1 Abridged from the inaugural address by the president of the Institu- tion of Electrical Engineers, Mr. James Swinburne. 160 attractions for me for several reasons. In the first place, this kind of prophecy is easy and pleasant. I might draw a rosy picture of a future when everything conceivable is done elec- trically. We shall have electrical energy developed direct from carbon at the coal-pits. Not only all our lighting, but all our domestic heating will be done electrically. There will be no smoke in our cities or in what will correspond to them, Most of the dirt of our houses will have vanished. Large and crowded towns will have disappeared, because the telegraph will have given way to its wireless rival, and that will have given way to the wireless telephone with no exchanges and no subscriptions. There will thus be no need for people to go and see one another to transact business. Even when matters must be written to preserve a record, no office will be necessary. You will dictate by wireless telephony to your shorthand clerk at his distant house. Perhaps we shall all learn shorthand instead of our present cumbersome system of writing, and all books and letters will be in one language, written and printed phonetically at speaking speed or faster. The horse will have gone, leaving clean and odourless streets, with smooth surfaces on which people will travel in rapid electric automobiles. The railways with very rapid long-distance service will be entirely electric. It is very easy to prophesy in this sort of way, not only ina general way, but in considerable detail ; and it is an amusement that brings much credit to the prophet. If any of his prophecies seem unlikely to come true, he merely has to say, ‘‘ Wait a little!’ While if anything like what he foretells comes into existence, say twenty years hence, all he has to do is to refer back to an address to claim that he has foretold it, and the future inventor will have half his credit taken from him and given to the prophet. If the prophecies are sufficiently vague, there is certain to be some sort of fulfilment of some of them sooner or later, and it is always well to have a good many past publications of this sort in stock waiting for future develop- ment. Great though the temptation is, I will resist it, and try to look into the future from quite a different point of view. We have been going ahead so very fast lately—even our acceler- ation itself increasing—that we may be a little apt to have vague views of what we can and what we cannot do elec- trically. It may be well, therefore, to try to look over some of the branches of our great and diverse industry, and see what obstacles are now opposing us and what are likely to oppose us shortly, and whether the obstacles are insuperable or not. This sort of prophecy is much more difficult than the other, for there can be no credit twenty years hence in having said something could not be done, even if it has not, while if it has been accomplished the position is still more difficult. Negative prophecy is thus unattractive. But the discussion of NAA Tas, our limits may not only have a beneficial effect in making us | modest, but it may bea much greater benefit if, by focussing our attention on a limit of any development, we find either that the obstacle is theoretically insurmountable, in which case we must go round it, or that it has to be scaled in a particular way. There are clearly at least two kinds of obstacles. For in- stance, it is obviously impossible to get more than 746 watts out of a dynamo taking one horse-power to drive it. But the limit of possible speed onan electric railway belongs to quite a different category. I will therefore discuss various branches of electrical technology, to see what u.ay prevent or is preventing further advance. Twenty years ago, this Institution was chiefly concerned with the development of the telegraph. We can get but few telegraph papers now. This is not because telegraphy is dead ; it is because most of its problems are solved, so there is little to | discuss. The fact that there is little to discuss in telegraphy is the proof of its vitality. It has passed out of the childhood of technical difficulties into the manhood of commercial develop- ment. Ten years ago, we were in the thick of the evolution of the dynamo and the transformer. Now there is little but detail to discuss about electrical generating machinery. This is because heavy electrical machinery has got through its difficult infancy and is now a trade, which is the highest compliment that can | be paid to it. But we electrical engineers have also developed through our difficult training into being the scientific branch of the engineering profession. Our exactness of calculation and measurement has leavened the steam engineers andthe other manufacturers with whom we have to work in concert. No one man can be a complete electrical engineer ; but each of us ought to know one subject well and a large number of NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | | time four times a day would be of no use. [| DrcEMBER 18, 1902 allied subjects fairly well. As a basis of technical knowledge, which I am alone dealing with to-night, we must have a fairly all-round knowledge of ‘‘ theoretical” physics and chemistry. Physics is merely unapplied engineering. Science is split—un- fortunately, the split is very difficult to heal—into two parts, generally wrongly called the theory and the practice ; or pure and applied science. This fissure is not so deep in our branch of engineering, but it is there. name, is knowledge of Nature utilised by man. Engineering is science, and science is engineering. You can cut off a part and call it unapplied science. This is what is generally known as theory or pure science. It is not purer than any other science, and the’term theory is misapplied. To be an engineer you must know both branches. There is nothing superior about knowledge which is not yet applied. It is mere raw material ; it may be useful when worked up, and it is valuable before it is worked up, but only because it may be worked up. The so-called practical man who works at applications without understanding the generalised principles is ignorant. He only understands a part of science. The so-called scientific man who only under- stands what is called pure science is just as ignorant. Each understands part of his subject only. We as electrical engineers ought especially to heal the split between the halves of science; a split which is much deeper in other branches of engineering, such as chemical and purely mechanical. We ought to unite knowledge of both branches of science in one individual as much as possible. Tides. The tides are often referred to as a possible source of energy even to this day ; and it is urged that in places where the tide rises abnormally, for instance in the estuary of the Severn, it would pay to make a dam with turbines. The sort of argument is that if you have an area of, say, 1000 square metres and a | total rise of 15 metres, you have 15,000 cubic metres.of water, and as this runs in twice and out twice a day, you have 15,000 cubic metres of water, falling the equivalent of 60 metres a day, or approximately 100 kilowatts. This statement contains many fallacies. In the first place, in order to get the full advantage of the difference of level, the water must be let in and out at high and low tide only. Even then the equivalent or average head during discharge or charge is only 74 metres. But a system which gave an enormous power for a very short The plant would be expensive and the result of no value. With a single tank it is impossible to get a continuous output. If the tide is coming in and you get power by letting the tide fill the’ tank, the power will decrease to zero as the tide begins to fall and comes to the same level as the water in the tank. It is therefore neces- sary to have more than one tank. To make the plant practical, you want fairly constant pressure available on the turbines, though you may waste head by sluices or valves. It is often said that a Norwegian fiord or a Scotch loch could be easily dammed and utilised, but it would be impossible to find three lochs all opening out together. The need for more than one reservoir does not seem to have been recognised. In addition, the demand for electrical energy on Scotch lochs or Norwegian | fiords is rather minute. Water Power. Some years ago, there was a great deal of excitement about the development of water powers. The possibility of ‘* harness- ing Niagara” and utilising waterfalls all over the world was hailed as a great triumph over Nature, and the idea was that power could be got for nothing, and industries would all migrate from coal districts to the neighbourhood of water powers. The daily Press and the magazines took the matter up, and there is something in the idea of saving some of the colossal waste of natural energy that appealed especially to the half-scientific or unpractical reader. At the time of the excitement, it was pointed out, largely in vain, that water power did not cost nothing, because the development of a fall demanded a good deal of capital, on which interest and depreciation had to be paid. But further than this, Ricardo’s theory of rent is applicable to water powers as well as to arable land. If steam power costs a farthing a unit, and if water power at the same place can be pro- duced for half a farthing, after paying working expenses and inter- est, the owner of the water power will claim the odd half farthing as rent, or will just allow the water power enough to encourage the production of a new thing. As a rule, however, a water Science, to be worthy of the. DeceMBER 18, 1902] NATURE 161 power is not where it is wanted industrially. In the nature of things, water powers are generally in hilly countries, and are seldom near the sea. The result is that a water power as a rule cannot command the same price as steam or gas, because it is not where it is wanted. The idea in starting many of the water-power stations also was that works which needed power would come and settle near. Asa matter of fact, the cost of power is a much smaller item in most industries than is generally supposed, and it does not pay to start a works in an otherwise not perfectly suitable locality simply for the sake of the cheap water power. In such industries as engine building, flour mill- ing, spinning and weaving, and so on, the chance of reducing the expense for power is not enough to overcome other con- siderations. It may be said that in electro-metallurgical pro- cesses the whole cost is practically the electrical energy, and so carbides, aluminium, electrolytic soda and chlorate of potash will be made at water powers. Even this, however, is mis- leading, Carbides and aluminium are generally made at water- falls, and chlorate nearly always is. Electrolytic soda and bleach are made at water powers, but are also made extensively by steam-driven plant. Against the cheaper power, we have to put extra carriage for materials and for coal, which is often needed in addition, and extra carriage for finished products, and very often extra cost of labour, as labour is often dear and bad in water-power districts. It may thus easily pay to use much more expensive power if the other conditions are more favour- able. Steam power, for instance, will cost three or three-and-a- half times as much, and yet it pays to make electrolytic caustic and bleach in England where the other conditions are all favour- able. It is not, therefore, the want of water power that has kept the electrolytic industry back in thiscountry. For a water power to be really valuable, it should be near a source of material, on the sea, and should havea great head of water, so that the capital cost of development is small. Such a water power is very valuable—to the landlord. A blast furnace is more valuable than a water power. There are plenty in England. But the owners, who have been wasting the gas up to now, will not give it away; they will want rent, so that it will only just pay to use this gas rather than make it. The electrical industry thus does not gain, but the iron- masters do, Carbon Cells. For many years, ‘‘ electrical energy direct from coal” has been the dream of the electro-chemist. That is to say, he has dreamed of an electrolytic cell in which the consumed electrode is carbon, The best way to realise the difficulties of this problem is to consider it solved and see what it means. The carbon must be in contact with an electrolyte, and that electro- lyte must either be in contact with a second electrolyte which wets the other electrode or must itself be in contact with that electrode. This second electrode must almost certainly be metal, as there are no other non-metallic conductors available. Such compoundsas the hydrides, nitride, oxides, chloride, bromide, or the sulphide, or silicide, of carbon are not salts in the electrolytic sense. Carbon forms part of the electro- positive radicle in the organic radicles and part of the electro-negative radicle in the cyanogen compounds, but it isnevera radicle byitself. To sum up the matter shortly in the light of modern theory, carbon never forms ions, and has therefore no solution pressure, and can therefore give no electromotive force. At ordinary or moderate temperatures, carbon is practically inert. Oxidising agents will attack some forms slightly, and sulphuric acid will attack it. In this latter case, the formation of water and its combination with the acid is the determining factor. At high temperatures, oxygen, sulphur, silicon, and to some extent nitrogen, and many of the metals combine with carbon, but there is no dissociable salt of carbon formed. The carbon cell thus seems impossible. Such schemes as Mr. Reed's, ingenious as itis, is not a solution of the problem. It would be simpler to reduce zinc oxide with the carbon and then put it in a zinc cell. It is hardly necessary to discuss thermopiles or thermo- magnetic engines as possible economical producers of electric power. Steam. Engines. The primary question in all heat motors is, What temperature range is available? In the case of a steam engine, there is enormous waste of mutivity—to use a variation of Lord Kelvin’s convenient term—in boiler flues. We burn carbon and hydrogen, capable even with air of giving a temperature of some 1500 C., NO. 1729, VOL. 67| | the gas engine. and the heat is degraded down to some 200° C, That is to say, instead of getting the heat with a mutivity of about 0°825, we degrade it down to, say, 0°35, a clear loss of 0°45 out of 0°8, or 56 per cent. This degradation is apart from the efficiency ; the efficiency is concerned with the loss of heat up the chimney. The higher limit in large modern reciprocating engines may be taken, roughly, at 600° A. (327 C. or 620° F). Above this, there is difficulty in lubrication and to some extent weakening of the material. The pressure corresponding to this temperature for saturated steam is out of the question, and the pressure may be taken at, say, 12°5 megadynes per square centimetre or 124 atmospheres, or 200 Ib. per square inch, and steam leaving the boiler superheated to 600° A. does not get at the cylinder lubrication at that temperature. Our limits in the steam engine are thus pretty clearly defined. The pressure is the essential factor. Superheating is not much good in the way of getting higher mutivity in the boiler, nor is it very important in getting much more energy into the steam. The turbine is under the same limit as regards pressure ; in fact, high pressures are perhaps even more difficult to use, and superheating does not, as already explained, seriously increase the mutivity of the heat taken in by the boiler. One of the chief disadvantages of steam engines for stations with small load-factors is the difficulty of storing energy so as to get uniform boiler load. Batteries are no longer used for this, and the difficulty reduces the value of steam in comparison with Mr. Druitt Halpin has proposed, and used, ‘*thermal storage.” Lagged vessels are filled with water raised to the temperature of the working steam. This arrange- ment, however, is not isothermic ; that is to say, toget out the energy the temperature must fall. What is wanted is a reser- voir containing something which undergoes a physical or chemical isothermal change. For instance, a substance that fuses at the right temperature and has a high latent heat of fusion, or a substance which, like sulphur, changes allotropically with considerable change of internal energy, at a suitable tem- perature. Unfortunately, there is no substance within the range of practical engineering. Moreover, the storage is on the wrong. side of the engine. To store heat with a mutivity of only some 0°35 is not so promising as to store some higher form of energy. The secondary battery thus begins with an apparent advantage. The difficulty of storage is another drawback to the steam engine, and gives the gas engine a further advantage. The Gas Engine. There is no other comprehensive name that covers the type of engine worked by gas and oil. The combustion need not be internal, and perhaps. will not be internal in the future, but in a sense all are worked by gases. We have inthe gas engine a machine which, from a thermo- dynamical point of view, ought to be exceedingly good ; but the difficulties in building, especially very large engines to utilise the high possible mutivity and saving by having the heat produced where used, reduce the efficiency of the gas engine enormously- In spite of that, the large gas engine seems likely to oust the steam engine for large powers during the next few years. The best way to get a high efficiency out of 2 gas engine would probably be to make it compound, exhausting at a temperature suitable for raising steam. The steam engine would then ex- haust at a temperature suitable for raising SO, vapour. . But the chances are that Dowson, Mond or other producer gas will be available at such low prices that the extra steam and dioxide engines would not pay for attendance, interest and de- preciation. With very cheap gas, the first thing is to make big engines, the next to make them so that they never break down, and the last thing to-make them efficient. The .gas engine may be, comparatively speaking, in the state Watt left the steam engine, but it will doubtless make very rapid advances, as it is in the hands of very competent and highly educated en- gineers. Dynamos. As regards efficiency, we have reached the practical limit already, for further reduction in dynamo losses would make no appreciable difference in the total efficiency of a station. In fact, we, are rather following continental practice in having slow-running machines with many poles, even for direct cur- rents, and efficiencies are perhaps lower for large machines than in the best English practice of a few yearsago. This is also true as regards output from a given size. We are not likely to make much advance in dynamos now, as we are limited on 162 NATORE: [| DecEMBER 18, 1902! one hand by the hysteresis loss in iron, which prevents our using higher inductions in armatures, and low permeability, which limits our field and armature tooth inductions. It does not seem likely that we shall now find iron much better in either respect. Nor are we likely to find a better available conductor than pure copper. As insulator we have mica. It looks, therefore, as if we were within sight of our limits indynamo and motor designs. Secondary Batteries, The secondary battery in central station work has been used as a store to equalise the load, and to reduce the running plant at the times of heavy load. Owing to the high full-load station pressure with feeder systems, the station battery is generally for use at light loads only. But the secondary battery has for a long time been on the border of success for traction work, both on tramways and on the road, and a further improvement in batteries may be expected to produce very great changes in im- portant branches of engineering. The first question asked is, Why do we stick to lead? The answer is that the case is very special and other things will not do. We are practically limited to lead, at any rate in acid cells. Take first the plate that oxidises on discharge. It should not dissolve in the electrolyte, as if it does the deposition and solu- tion will be uneven, and the plate will grow trees and come to grief. This puts zinc out of court, unless some electrolyte is used which gives some insoluble salt of zinc, which does not attack zinc on open circuit, and gives a good electromotive force with it. Iron is out of court for the same reason; there is no suitable electrolyte. The strong organic acids such as tri- chloracetic or oxalic are apt to have their positive radicles split up by electrolysis, even if a strongly positive metal can be found with an insoluble salt. Lead is thus the only metal practi- cally available in an acid electrolyte. Silver in hydrochloric acid would give no pressure, and the acid would be decomposed at the anode. On the other plate we need’an insoluble de- polariser, else a two-fluid cell must be used, involving a porous diaphragm, diffusion and impracticability. Not only must the depolariser be insoluble, but it must be converted into an in- soluble body on discharge. The coating must be a conductor in one state or the other, or there will be no proper contact. In the lead cell, there is always enough peroxide and metallic lead in the coatings to secure electrical contact though the discharge product is an insulator. The depolarising coating must be con- nected to a conducting plate which is not attacked by local action. Lead and silver are the only available metals, and sulphuric, and perhaps phosphoric, the only acids, for the nitrate of lead is soluble and hydrochloric acid is decomposed by lead peroxide. Lead is protected by ils coating of sulphate, or per- oxide as the case may be. It thus seems as if we were limited almost absolutely to lead and sulphuric acid. It is wonderful that we have the lead cell at all. We owe it to the chance ob- servation of Planté. The theory was not understood for a long time. For many years it was thought that the pressure was due to the PbO, and Pb changing into PbO. The acid was merely put in to make the electrolyte conduct, and sulphuric acid was used because people used it in gas voltameters, and they never thought that it ought to be as strong as practicable to give the pressure and output. The formation of lead sulphate was regarded as a difficulty to be overcome. In the lead cell we want lightness, large capacity, cheapness, rapid discharge, efficiency and mechanical strength, and dura- bility. These qualities are mostly antagonistic. Large capacity means rapid deterioration. Mechanical strength means weight. It is thus no use testing a cell for capacity without testing the efficiency and durability too, and so on. Published battery reports are often misleading, because they omit essential information. x Cables. The conductor itself can hardly be improved, but there is great room for improvement in the insulation. It is largely the insulation of the cables that limits our pressures, and therefore our distances of transmission. For 1000 kilowatt cables, the cost is about a minimum for 8000 volts; above that, the cost of insulation increases faster than the cost of copper falls. It is exceedingly unlikely we have reached the limit in insulation. There is no branch of electrical engineering so important as cable making. Cables form a large portion of the capital outlay in large systems. Yet there is no branch of the industry which is run on less scientific lines. The days of secret mixtures known only to the workman who makes them may be passing NO. 1729, VOL. 67] away ; but even now the whole art of cable-making is a question: of trial and error, with a good deal of the last component. Engineers do not know now whether rubber is better than paper, nor can they tell what any particular make of cable will be like after ten years’ use. Light. Our chief work, until lately, has been producing light. Here the inefficiency and waste is prodigious, and though it is mostly unavoidable, there is still great room for improvement. We take great care over our stations, watching every penny from the coal shovel or mechanical stoker to the station meter. We quarrel over 1 per cent. in the generators. When we get to the mains we care less, and once we have got to the consumers’ meters we care nothing at all. Practically all light is wanted for use by the human eye. The human eye is exceedingly sensitive; it is calculated to see a distant star when receiving 10-8 ergs per second, so that one watt would enable, say, five thousand billion people to see stars with both eyes, but it would have to be used economically. In reading a book, the eye would need much more than this ; and then, as the book radiates light in half of all directions, only a little is used by the eye, so even if all the light from a source were concentrated on a book, there is enormous waste by useless radiation from the book. But the source of light does not illu- minate only the book ; the book probably subtendsa small solid angle, so we have another source of waste. The eyes reading a book in a fairly good light want something of the order of two ergs per second, so thata watt would only work the optic nerves of, say, the inhabitants of London. But the book, say 200 square centimetres, would need about 3000 ergs a second to illuminate it. A candle, which gives a light of 47, radiates about 0°2 watt, or five candles a watt; that is to say, at an efficiency of unity, we would get five candle-power or 20 units of light per watt. The efficiency of a glow-lamp is only about 0°25 candle-power per watt, or 0°05, so there is room for im: provement. The first thing, naturally, is to see what limits there are in the way of increased efficiency. The obvious goal is direct production of ‘‘light without heat,” by which is meant producing only the rays of wave-lengths which affect the eye. There is no thermodynamical reason why electrical energy should not be converted directly into radiation of any wave- length without loss; I do not know if there is any molecular impossibility, but apparently our limits are practical—that is to say, it may be done, but we have not yet hit on the way of doing it. The vacuum tube appears to be a means of converting electric power direct into radiation. The Cooper-Hewitt lamp, for instance, gives an efficiency of about three candles per watt, or something like 0°6. All these figures as to light are a little vague. Unfortunately, the light is of a very bad colour. It is very actinic, but the wave-lengths are too small. One method is to degrade the light by making it act on silk dyed with matters which lower the radiation to a redder colour by fluorescence. The Arc Light. The arc has been very fully studied in some directions and not in others. Most makers of arc lamps seem to devote their whole attention to the mechanism, and look upon the arc merely as a hot gap that has to be preserved by suitable apparatus. Many lamp makers, on the other hand, have records of exhaustive experiments on the relations of the pressure, current and light with different carbons; but they are very seldom published. On the other hand, an enormous amount of laborious experiment on such points as these is available, and on the back electromotive force of the arc. The physics’ of the arc, an exceedingly difficult branch of study, has not received much systematic attention yet. The crater of an arc is, no doubt, heated to the point of volatilisation of carbon at the pressure of the air. If other gases get at the crater, the vaporis- ation temperature would be less. (There is a small increase of pressure which I suggest is due to the electromagnetic effect of a current localised in a conducting fluid. This may be neglected.) The crater may be rough, as carbon, though it softens, does not melt before volatilising, and it may be merely speckled with points at its volatilising temperature, so that its brightness is not uniform. But there are so many anomalies about the arc that one cannot say anything definite with safety. For instance, if the temperature is limited by the vaporisation of carbon, what must be the specific heat of vaporisation: of carbon? Where does the vapour go, and what happens to it in an enclosed lamp? In condensing into smoke, it should give light of the 5 DerceMBER 18, 1902] same colour as the crater. If it has an enormous specific heat, it ought to raise the other pole to crater temperature where it condenses. If it isa light gas, a large portion of its specific heat \of vaporisation may go to external work. Most of the upper carbon is burnt away by external air ; ifa pencil to match the crater is volatilised, it does not account for much power. If, the vapour is very light, there must be large volumes from the upper carbon. Then what conducts? Carbon vapour alone, or mixed with a little monoxide or nitrogen, is a very good con- ductor at these temperatures. Does that go to show that carbon vapour dissociates like iodine or chlorine, &c.? The whole question of the physics of the arc deserves far more careful study than it has yet received, but the work is surrounded with diffi- culties and is really a branch of the theory of the passage of electricity through gases, a matter of the greatest scientific importance, somewhat out of our way as practical electrical engineers, But as engineers in the broader sense, we are as much interested in questions of recondite physics as of costs of generation. To sum up as to the are light, we do not seem to have reached our limit as to light from pure heating, because we lose a lot of light into the opposite carbon. Many attempts have been made to expose the crater freely. But, far more important than this, I would urge that the arc is not necessarily a hot body radiator only, but that it may also convert electrical power directly into light in the space between the electrodes, and this gives a chance of rising more nearly to our theoretical limit of about five candles per watt. The Incandescent Lanip. This simple hot carbon wire in a bulb involves the most extraordinary physical complexities. A great many curious things go on inside the simple-looking globe. A good account of what is known—especially since he took the subject in hand —has been written by Dr. Fleming, and the scientific manufac- ture of this interesting article has been fully described by Mr. Ram. The incandescent lamp is a simple hot body radiator, and the limit of efficiency depends chiefly on the temperature of the carbon. As we are limited by the size of mains, we can only use pressures of 100 volts or 200 volts, and this limits us to carbon or something of still higher specific resistance. The sensitiveness of the carbon lamp to pressure in its turn limits the practical variation of pressure of supply, and thus costs us very heavily in mains. If we had incandescent lamps which did not mind 20 per cent. pressure variation, we would have saved millions in mains in this country alone. The idea of making lamps of carbides has become very fashionable lately. People have put oxides into carbon for the last twenty years. The old idea is to get hold of an oxide that radiates more light at a given temperature than it ought to, which is itself a fallacy, while the idea of oxide in contact with carbon is chemically absurd. There is no oxide irreducible by hot carbon. The carbides are not by any means all refractory. Some are, though, but there are immense difficulties in making carbide lamps. To make a fine filament material of an infusible material, which can be made only at electric furnace tempera- tures and is generally decomposed by moist air, is not an easy task. It is easy to think you have made a carbide lamp by incorporating an oxide in the filament material, but the resulting filament is generally mostly, if not wholly, carbon. What happens to the metal in the circumstances is rather a mystery. There is, however, a chance of enlarging our limits in incandescent lamps of the ordinary kind, but it seems strange that the melting points of all known materials should suddenly reach a higher limit. Assuming the Stefan-Boltzmann law for ordinary light radiations, the fact that the efficiencies of refractory bodies all reach limits of the same order shows that the most refractory bodies melt at about the same temperature, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3000° A. Whatever the inter-molecular forces may be that bind the particles to make solids, the vibration forces due to temperature seem to overcome the greatest at about 3000°. Instead of an ordinary conductor, Nernst uses an electrolyte which stands a higher temperature. The conduction is electro- lytic, as can easily be shown, but there are many curious pheno- mena, many of them so far unexplained, in the Nernst lamp. The efficiency of the Nernst lamp is about 0°6 candle per watt. It was at one time supposed to owe its efficiency to selective emission, but there is no reason to doubt that it is a pure temperature radiation. NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | NATORE 163 Electric Heating. The limit of electric heating is clearly purely financial. To convert heat into other energy with a very small efficiency and to send it out by expensive cables and then to degrade the energy down to heat again is obviously much dearer than burning coal or gas direct. But in many domestic cases, the convenience is so great that the limit is not so low as might be thought, and electric heating for cooking and other domestic uses may develop considerably. The electric arc and incan- descent lamps are essentially cases of electric heating. By far the most important use of electric heating is the furnace. Here the temperature available is only limited by the volatilisation of the electrodes, and this enables us to get temperatures other- wise unavailable, so that we can get chemical actions which are impossible at lower temperatures, either because they are endo- thermic or because the materials do not come into chemical contact at ordinary ‘temperatures. It is impossible to say what our limits are in the electrical furnace. Probably the tempera- ture is limited 'by the volatilising of carbon. The products are not limited to endothermic compounds ; the furnace is useful for the reduction of metals and phosphorus, and for melting glass and, it is hoped, silica for optical and laboratory purposes, and perhaps for cooking utensils and evaporating pans and crucibles in chemical engineering and metallurgy. Railways. It is almost absurd to begin to consider the limits of the use of electrical transmission on railways at this date. The future of electric railways, electric tramways and automobiles is rather a matter of vague conjecture and picturesque prophecy. Tubes are multiplying rapidly, and railways are putting down electric transmission on suburban lines in Europe and the States. On short lines with many stops, we have to contend with inefficiency at starting. On long lines, there is difficulty of transmission or cost of transformation and difficulties of collection. We are limited by the want of either a variable speed simple alternate- current motor or a simple variable speed-gear capable of trans- mitting a very large torque and packing into an engine. A recently developed scheme is the use of low-frequency alter- nating currents with laminated series-wound motors. This solves the difficulty, but at the expense of large idle current, induced pressure in short-circuited armature coils, large expen- sive and inefficient transformers, and the ordinary disadvantages of the series-motor on constant pressure. This plan is well worth serious study. | The collection of large currents at great speeds has long loomed as a limit. The published accounts of experiments at Zossen would lead us to suppose there is no trouble on this score. Still, it is a difficulty many engineers fear. In electric tramways, there is no limit in sight. The power can be sent over any distance desired, and there seems to be no limit to the people who want to travel on electrical trams. The question of electrolysis is rather that of a limit to the dura- tion of pipe companies’ property. It is a very difficult question. Though the threatened effects of electrolysis have no doubt been exaggerated, it is at best a question of degree, and the ingenuity of engineers is continually reducing the chance of damage. It has recently been urged that frequent reversals of polarity of the system reduce the electrolysis very considerably. Electrolysis, This is a branch of industry in which it is very difficult to tell our limits. In electrolytic copper-refining, our limit is that of the copper wanted. Our electrolytic industries suffer mostly from the limits of intelligence of the investing public. It is assumed that we cannot do electrolysis in England because we have no water power. This is only an excuse for inactivity. As already explained, we can do just as well without water power. A blast furnace is much more valuable than a waterfall of similar power, because it is near coal and in an industrial district. Moreover, as already explained, the cost of electrical energy is a small portion of that of most electrolytic products. At first, electrolysis was to be applied to copper-refining. Then to caustic soda, The output of electrolytic caustic is really rather limited by the demand for bleach. What is urgently wanted is some other way of storing and carrying chlorine. Steel bottles and compression plant are an unsatisfactory solu- tion. Whatare the limits in the way of electrolysing fused salt They are all incidental limits, The containing vessel is 164 Sodium vapour attacks all silicates. Sodium distils near the temperature of fused salt. If not volatilised, it forms a conducting bridge from the kathode. It attacks iron, though slowly. Hot porcelain and earthenware conduct electrolytically —as, by the way, the maker of electric frying-pans knows—hot chlorine attacks metals, even when dry, and hot carbon cannot be exposed to the air. In addition, sodium and perhaps chlorine are soluble in hot salt, and traces of sulphate in the salt act as carriers. I could a tale unfold if I read out laboratory notes of sodium experiments on a fairly large scale. The difficulties are all incidental, though, and I have little doubt electrolytic sodium at a few pounds per ton will be in the market soon, and will affect profoundly many chemical and metallurgical industries. In metallurgy, electrolytic solution processes are in use or on trial for the more valuable metals, such as copper and nickel. The reaction between chlorine and metallic sulphides at high temperatures brings the whole domain of sulphide ores under our sway. Thus a sulphide, say galena, is treated with chlorine, which gives off the sulphur as sulphur, which is condensed and sold, making chloride of lead. The silver is extracted by stir- ring with a little lead, and the fused salt is then electrolysed, yielding pure desilverised lead and chlorine. The process is thus self-contained, yielding sulphur, lead and silver. It is specially applicable to mixed refractory ores which are now nearly valueless and very plentiful, and contain much metal con- tent, such as the mixed lead-zinc sulphides of America or Australia. These reactions have been proved on the large or ton scale, and there is no technical difficulty. Unfortunately, mine people are somewhat ignorant of electrical matters, and it is exceedingly difficult to get them to understand or appreciate a process like this, capable though it may be of paying good dividends on very large capitals indeed. Our limit in electrolysis in this country is almost entirely human inertia. Commercial and financial people do not under- stand it, and fight shy of it. But our technical people are nearly as bad. The pure physicist, as a rule, takes no interest in electrolysis or physical chemistry, and thinks it belongs to the chemical classroom on the other side of the passage. The chemist thinks it is higher mathematics and will have none of it, the mathematician thinks it may be an exercise in differential equations ; but they are all agreed that it is a sort of continental fungus which flourishes with no roots, and that it is beneath the attention of a scientific man to know enough about it to give a reason for the broad statement that it is all nonsense. difficulty. DUTY-FREE ALCOHOL FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES. "TEACHERS of organic chemistry have often expressed the opinion that alcohol used for purposes of education and research should be relieved of the heavy duty levied upon it. Two years ago, attention was directed to the need for action in the matter, and at the Glasgow meeting of the British Associa- tion in 1901, a committee was appointed, with instructions to approach the Board of Inland Revenue, with the object of endeavouring to secure the removal of this tax upon scientific work. As the result, the following regulations have been issued iby the Board and published in the daily Press :— Regulations for the Use of Duty-free Spirit at Universities, Colleges, &c. (1) An application must be made by the governing body or their representatives, stating the situation of the particular university, college, or public institution for research or teaching, the number of the laboratories therein, the purpose or purposes to which the spirits are to be applied, the bulk qnantity likely | | historical geography of Europe, Mr. Dickson will lecture on to be required in the course of a year, and, if it amounts to fifty gallons or upwards, the name or names of one or more sureties, ora guarantee society to join in a bond that the spirits will be used solely for the purpose requested and at the place specified. (2) The spirits received at any one institution must only be used in the laboratories of that institution, and must not be distributed for use in the laboratories of any other institution, or used for any other purpose than those authorised. (3) Only plain British spirits or unsweetened foreign spirits of not less strength than 50 degrees over proof (z.e. containing not less than 80 per cent. by weight of absolute alcohol) may be received duty free, and the differential duty must be paid on the foreign spirits. NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | NALORE | [ DECEMBER 18, 1902 (4) The spirits must be received under bond either from a distillery or from an Excise or Customs general warehouse and (except with special permission) in quantities of not less than nine bulk gallons ata time. They will be obtainable only on presentation of a requisition signed by the proper supervisor. (5) On the arrival of the spirits at the institution, the proper Revenue officer should be informed, and the vessels, casks or packages containing them are not to be opened until he has taken an account of the spirits. (6) The stock of spirits in each institution must be kept under lock in a special compartment under the control of a professor or some responsible officer of the university, college or institution. (7) The spirits received by the responsible officer of the in- stitution may be distributed by him undiluted to any of the laboratories on the same premises. (8) No distribution of spirits may be made from the receiv- ing laboratory to other laboratories which are not within the same premises. (9) A stock book must be provided and kept at the receiving laboratory in which is to be entered on the debit side an account of the bulk and proof gallons of spirits received with the date of receipt, and on the credit side an account of the bulk and proof gallons distributed to other laboratories. A stock book must also be kept at each other laboratory, in which must be entered on the day of receipt an account of the bulk and proof gallons of spirits received from the receiving laboratory. These books must be open at all times to the inspection of the Revenue officer, and he will be at liberty to make any ex- tract from them which he may consider necessary. (10) The quantity of spirits in stock at any one time must not exceed half the estimated quantity required ina year where that quantity amounts to twenty gallons or upwards. (11) Any contravention of the regulations may involve the withdrawal of the Board’s authority to use duty-free spirits. (12) It must be understood that the Board of Inland Revenue reserve to themselves full discretion to withhold permission for the use of duty-free spirit in any case in which the circum- stances may not seem to them to be such as to warrant the grant of it. J. B. MEERs, Secretary. Inland Revenue, Somerset House, W.C., November 17. Nore.—‘‘ Proof Spirit”’ is defined by law to be such spirit as at the temperature of 51° Fahrenheit shall weigh {ths of an equal measure of distilled water. Taking water at 51° Fahrenheit as unity, the specific gravity of ‘proof spirit” at 51° Fahrenheit is 0°92308. When such spirit is raised to the more usual temperature of 60° Fahren- heit, the specific gravity is 0°91984. To calculate the quantity of spirits at proof ina given quan- tity of spirit over or under proof strength :—Multiply the quantity of spirit by the number of degrees of strength of the spirit, and divide the product by 100. The number of degrees of strength of any spirit is 100 f/ws the number of degrees over- proof, or m2zus the number of degrees underproof. EXAMPLE :—19°8 gallons of spirits at 64°5 overproof 100 + 64°5 = 164°5 proof strength. 164°5 x 19°S + 100 = 32°57! taken as 32°5 gallons at proof. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Oxrorp.—In connection with the School of Geography, Mr. Mackinder will lecture weekly during Hilary term on the surveying and mapping and on the climatic regions of the globe ; he will also give, in conjunction with Mr. Darbishire, practical instruction in military topography ; Mr. Herbertson will lecture on the British Isles, the regional geography of continental Europe, and on types of land forms, mountains and coasts ; Dr. Grundy will lecture on the historical topography of Greece, and Mr. Beazley on the period of the great discoveries, 1480- 1650. Sir WiLL1aM COLLins has accepted the invitation to stand as the Liberal candidate for London University at the ensuing Parliamentary by-election. DECEMBER 18, 1902] NAIL WE learn from Science that at a r-cent meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, a grant of eight hundred dollars was made from the income of the J. Lawrence Smith bequest to Dr. O. C. Farrington, of the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, to enable him to conduct certain investigations upon American meteorites. Jusr as in this country there are gratifying signs that teachers in secondary schools are making earnest efforts to acquaint themselves with scientific methods of teaching the subjects of the school curriculum, so in France there is a movement in the same direction. We learn from the Revue générale des Sciences that M. Liard, vice-rectur of the Académie de Paris, is organis- ing conferences of teachers in secondary schools at which the chief inspectors will explain to French schoolmasters the objects it is desired they shall have in view in their teaching. The first conference was confined to teachers of modern languages and the second was devoted to a consideration of the teaching of physical and natural science. ANOTHER instance of the large scale on which provision is made for every grade of education in America is afforded by the post- graduate medical school that has recently been incorpora‘ed in the city of Washington. There are to be, we learn from the Lancet, 104 professorships established, as follows :—Six of preventive medicine, two of medical zoology, one of protective inoculation, serum-therapy and biochemistry, two of sanilary chemistry, eight of bacteriology, seven of pathology, fourteen of internal medicine and therapeutics, one of surgical anatomy, fourteen of surgery, six of military medicine and surgery, two of orthopeedic surgery, nine of gynzecology, six of obstetrics, three of tropical diseases, four of diseases of children, two of mental and nervous diseases and electrotherapeutics, two of diseases of the stomach, eight of diseases of the eye, eight of diseases of the nose, throat and ear, four of special diseases and four of diseases of the skin. THE examination of the calendars of different University Colleges soon convinces the student of education that every class of society in the city where the college is located must come under its influence. In the case of the University College of Nottingham, for example, we find from the new calendar that for the twenty-second session of the college there are, in addition to lectures for preparing to graduate in the various university faculties, classes for artisans engaged in the engineering, build- ing, and lace and hosiery trades. Students of the same college may be studying subjects so far removed as Greek and plumb- ing, Anglo-Saxon and pattern-making. While one student is training to become a schoolmaster and is attending lectures on psychology and pedagogics, another hopes to develop into. an electrical engineer, and spends his time at electrical measure- ments in the physical laboratory. In such an institution, it should be impossible for a student to obtain other than a broad, catholic way of regarding the various branches of human knowledge. Ir is a pertinent question whether we as a nation are incapable of looking ahead or whether we are too apathetic to provide for future contingencies. On all sides, warning voices proclaim the deficiencies in our educational system, lack of enterprise and antiquated methods. Prof. Bower availed himself of the oppor- tunity afforded when he was delivering his inaugural address before the North British branch of the Pharmaceutical Society to point out how one practical side of botany, the study of vegetable economics, is ignored in this country at the present time. What is required is a well-equipped staff, including specialists in botany, physics, chemistry and physiology, to pro- vide training for students, to institute research and furnish expert advice. Neither at Kew, which, as Prof. Bayley Balfour later expressed it, acts as the clearing-house for the Empire, nor elsewhere is such a staff to be found. The study of vegetable economics might, in Prof. Bower’s opinion, be advantageously pursued in commercial centres such as Glasgow, Liverpool and Belfast, and he has laid before the authorities of his University the desirability of appointing a special lecturer in this subject. On December 3, a conference on ‘‘ Nature-study ” was held with special reference to the development of the work of Stepney Borough Museum with the schools. Mr. J. H. Wylie presided over the meeting, which was held in the Art Gallery, and Canon Barnett, in welcoming the audience, brought forward a suggestion that the winter garden of the People’s Palace should be made into a Nature-study centre. Mr. A. D. Hall gave a NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | 2) ORE 16 general address and offered no explanation of the meaning of Nature-siudy, saying that as most of his audience were teachers that difficulty was removed. He urged that living things should be studied, not collections of dead things in boxes, and suggested the growing of food plants in East-end schools. Bean seedlings, he said, could be measured by the children, who could then make curves illustrating the growth on squared paper. His only allusion to the Museum was in connection with a supposed annual outing of the children, and he suggested that the journey then undertaken might be illustrated in the institu- tion. Prof. Farmer alluded to the help as regards material to be obtained from the Chelsea Physic Garden. The Rev. Claude Hinscliff stated that the object of the conference had been lost sight of, and showed the necessily of opening the eyes of the East-ender by means of the Museum to what he might see when he did go into the country. Mr. F.C. Mills, the chairman of the Museum committee, expressed his pleasure as regards the interest taken in the conference, in spite of the fact that its purpose had been unfulfilled. The Schoul Board inspector for the district alluded to work such as that suggested by Mr. Hall and of an elementary biological nature having been carried on for years at the schools in which he was interested. Mr. Wilfred Mark Webb urged the teachers not to introduce formal and systematic lessons, and Miss Kate Hall, the curator of the Museum, who had organised the conference, spoke of her intentions and requirements. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, November 27.—‘‘ Descending Intrinsic~ Spinal Tracts in the Mammalian Cord.” By C. S. Sherring- ton, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., and E. E. Laslett, M.D. Vict. Experiments inquiring into the existence of spinal paths con- necting the activity of segments situate nearer the head with. segments lying further from the head. The method adopted may be termed the method of ‘‘ szc-, cessive degeneration.” It consists in producing two or more successive degenerations with allowance of a considerable interval of time between them. In the piece of cord to be examined, a first degeneration is allowed time enough to remove all the tracts descending from sources other than those the immediate object of inquiry. When the time is complete, the cord is left, as it were, like a cleaned slate, on which once more anew degeneration can be written without fear of confusion. with a previous one. The cord is then ready for receiving the lesion which shall cause degeneration of the particular tracts. the existence of which is suspected. After a period suitable for the full development of the new degeneration, the cord is treated histologically by the Marchi method, and the microscopical examination proceeded to. Results. The spinal segments examined as sources of aborally-running fibre-systems have been posterior cervical, anterior thoracic, mid thoracic, posterior thoracic and anterior lumbar. From all these regions, the experiments demonstrate that copious aborally-running fibre-systems spring. Speaking generally, of the fibres composing the aborally~ running systems springing from the grey matter of the spinal segments examined, there may be distinguished two sets. For physiological description, it is in some ways con+ venient to regard the length of the spinal cord as divisible into regions ; thus, a biachial for the fore limb, a thoracic for the trunk, a crural for the hind limb, a pelvic for pelvic organs, a caudal for the tail, and so on. A reflex initiated wed an afferent path of one such spinal region may evoke its peripheral effect by efferent paths of a spinal region other than that to which the original entrant path belongs. Such a reflex has in a former paper by one of us * been termed a “‘ long ” spinal reflex, in contradistinction to reflexes the centripetal and centrifugal paths of which both belong to one and the same spinal region. The latter reflex it was proposed to term “‘short.”? Analo- gously, in the aborally-running fibre-systems of the spinal seg- ments examined, by our experiments fibres of two categories are found, one a set passing beyond the limits of the spinal region in which they arise, the other not passing beyond those 1 C. S_ Sherrington, ‘‘ Croonian Lecture,” P/i2. Trans., 1897+ 2 [bid. 166 NADROLE | DECEMBER 18, 1902 limits. The former we would term ‘‘long 'spinal,” the latter ‘short spinal” fibres. In each of these main categories, there can be distinguished fibres of various intermediate length. Again, the fibres of each of the above two categories may be classified into two sets or tracts, according to their topography relatively to the cross-section of the cord. Fibres of both of the above categories are situate both in the lateral columns and in the ventral columns of the cord. It is useful, at least for descriptive purposes, to indicate this by terminology. We thus recognise in the aborally-running intrinsic spinal fibre systems the following sets or tracts :—(a) Ventral shart fibres, (B) Ventral long fibres, (y) lateral short fibres, (8) lateral long fibres. It must be added that the distinction into lateral and ventral is somewhat artificial, as there exists often, especially in the case of the ‘‘short” fibres, no distinct gap between the ventral and lateral fields of distribution of the fibres in the transverse area of the cord. The paper concludes with an analysis of evidence as to decussation of the long and short fibres. December 11.—‘“‘ Quaternions and Projective Geometry.” By Prof. Charles J. Joly, F.T.C.D., Royal Astronomer of Ireland. Communicated by Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S. The object of this paper is to include projective geometry within the scope cf quaternions. Chemical Society, December 4.—Dr. W. H. Perkin, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—The specific heats of liquids, by Mr. H. Crompton. When heat is applied to an unassociated liquid, there is an increase in molecular kinetic energy, internal work is done within each molecule, intermolecular attraction is diminished and a small amount of external work is done. The first two factors together make up the specific heat at constant volume. The evaluation of the diminution of intermolecular attraction is made by the author on the assumption that the total attraction is equal to the difference between the latent heat of vaporisation and the heat evolved when the vapour is compressed to the volume it would occupy as a liquid but without undergoing this change of state. Assuming that this attraction is zero at the critical point and increases regularly with decrease of temper- ature, its change with temperature is given by the expression (L—RT log V/z)/(T;—T), where L is the latent heat, T, and T the absolute critical temperature and absolute:temperature respec- tively, V andwthe volumes of the vapour and liquid respectively. Neglecting the fourth factor, viz., the external work done, the author shows that the molecular heats of various liquids for which the foregoing data are available agree fairly well with those calculated by this method.—The constitution of enolic benzoylcamphor, by Dr. M. O. Forster. It is shown that this substance is probably phenylhydroxymethylenecamphor from a consideration of the derivatives and decomposition pro- ducts obtained from it.—Isomeric benzoyl derivatives from iso- nitrosocamphor, by Dr. M. O. Forster. Two isomerides have been obtained ; one crystallises in yellow prisms and melts at 105°; the other is colourless, melts at 136° and does not give isonitrosocamphor on _ hydrolysis.—Action of phosphorus haloids on dihydroresorcins, by Drs. Crossley and Le Sueur.— The absorption spectra of metallic nitrates, ii., by Prof. Hartley. The positions of the characteristic absorption bands depend upon the molecular weights of the saltsinsolution. The characters of the spectra observed are equally well explained by the assumption that partial ionic or paréza/ hydrolytic dissoci- ation occurs on solution.—The constitution of the products of nitration of vz-acetoluidide, by Dr. J. B. Cohen and H. D. Dakin.—The action of metallic thiocyanates upon carbonyl chloride, by Dr. A. E. Dixon. A description of the substituted thiocarbimides obtained. Entomological Society, November 19.—The Rev. Canon Fowler, president, in the chair.—Dr. Sharp, F.R.S., exhibited the egg-cases made by a beetle of the genus Aspidomorpha (4. puncticosta), and stated that they had been sent to him by Mr. F. Muir, of Durban, Natal, where the beetle and the egg-cases are common.—Dr. Norman H. Joy exhibited a well-marked aberration of a female Zycaena zcarus striped black on the underside in the place of the usual ocellations; a gynandro- morphous specimen of the same species ; an aberration of a male Lycaena bellargus, similarly striped om the underside; a specimen of Zveres argéades taken in 1885 at Bournemouth ; and specimens of Afatura irts from the neighbourhood of Reading, taken from what appeared to be the throne of the NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | ruling ‘* Emperor” of the wood. Whenever another iris came by, the one on the ‘‘throne”’ attacked it, and after a fight, in which one would eventually pursue the other out of sight, the victor returned to the perch. Ifthis was captured, the next vfs coming along would take possession, and soon.—Mr. Claude Morley exhibited a specimen of Déastictus vulneratus, Sturm., new to Great Britain, and a rare blue form of JZiralora vitellinae from Tuddenham Fen.—Mr. G. C. Champion exhibited specimens of Wanophyges durteuri, Lucas, a beetle from Central Spain, with drawings of the larva, pupa and perfect insect.—Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., stated that Mr. A. H. Church, of Jesus College, Oxford, had observed the larvae of a species of Cucullia (probably C. werbasez), feed- ing upon Auddlera globosa which was growing against a wall in the Oxford Botanical Gardens. It is possible that the eggs were laid upon the Buddleia because of the very rough general resemblance in certain respects between its leaves and those of Verbascum. Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., mentioned the case of Mamestra persicariae, at Lewisham, choosing Anemone japonrca. He had offered them fern and elder (which is reputed a favourite food), but the larvae refused everything except the original anemone. Mr. Goss said that larvee of Choerocampa elpenor, taken at Weybridge from a species of American balsam, alter- wards refused willow herb, the usual food-plant of the species. Prof. Poulton read a communication from Mr. G. F. Leigh relating to the enemies of Lepidoptera in Natal. The very common grey South African rat seems to be particularly fond of almost any pupze, and will gnaw through thick wooden boxes to get at them. They affect especially Choerocampa eson and C. zerzz, Even more remarkable than their keenness in hunting pupz is the way in which they capture moths on the wing when feeding. Whilst flying at dusk,a rat would leap from the roof right on to their food-plant, and more often than not the moth selected for attack was captured. Bats are also very destructive of South African insect-life. Ray Society, December 11.—Council Meeting.—Mr. John Hopkinson, treasurer, in the chair.—A vote of condolence with the widow and family of the late secretary of the Society, the Rev. Dr. Wiltshire, was passed, and in his place Mr. Hopkinson was elected secretary. The question of the appointment of treasurer was not finally decided. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, December 2.—Mr. Charles Bailey, president, in the chair.—Mr. C. L. Barnes showed a number of experiments depending on Hawksbee’s law, viz., that the pressure on the walls of a tube containing a fluid is less when the fluid is in motion than when it is at rest. Several of these are well known, e.g., the apparent attraction which results when a current of air, radial or other, passes between two parallel discs, and the suspension of a ball on a jet of air or water. Other illustrations of the principle are that it is impossible to blow a celluloid ball, or even an inflated toy balloon, out of a funnel held in the ordinary upright position, though, if the funnel be reversed, the ball or balloon can be supported without difficulty. Also, if a couple of celluloid balls are placed on a kind of railway made by fastening two rods to one another, they cannot be separated by blowing between them. The experiment of forcing a celluloid ball out of a tall glass cylinder by blowing downwards upon it was also per- formed, as were also several others of a similar character.—Mr. Frank Southern exhibited and described a Japanese magic mirror, and Dr. C. H. Lees showed a small piece of apparatus used in the determination of the thermal conductivities of solids over wide ranges of temperature. It consists in principle of a differential hydrogen thermometer, one bulb of which is heated by an electric current either ina flat strip of metal wound round it or passing through the material of the bulb itself. DUBLIN. Royal Dublin Society, November 18.—Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S., in the chair.—Prof. T. Johnson read a paper on Phellomyces sclerotiophorus, Frank, a fungus of un- known affinities which causes a form of scab in potato-tubers and, in extreme cases, a dry rot. The author first observed the fungus in several potato varieties, grown in the west and other parts of Ireland, in the autumn of 1901.—Phellomyces causes the formation of discoloured patches in the skin of the DEGEMBER 18, 1902, tuber, in the midst of which are generally present the minute sclerotia, O°1 mm. in diameter, just recognisable, in washed tubers, with the naked eye. In mild attacks, the fungus simply makes the tuber unsightly ; in more severe cases, it strips off layer after layer of the protecting skin of the tuber, and may ultimately penetrate through the skin into the flesh of the tuber, killing the protoplasm, sending the mycelial hyphz between and through the cells, and boring into the starch grains. Both in appearance and action, Phellomyces is readily distinguishable from Rhizoctonia, an extremely common cause of scab and rot in potatoes. Phellomyces can pass from seed tubers to the resulting crop, and is communicable from infected ground to healthy tubers grown in it. The author found soaking the diseased tubers in o’8 per cent. solution of formalin for 1} hours destroyed the fungus, untreated diseased tubers giving, under otherwise similar conditions, a diseased crop. Three varieties imported from France, planted in Connemara, gave crops showing Sclerotinta sclerotiorum and Phellonyces sclerotiophorus, both unknown in France on the potato up to the present time. Frank first saw the fungus, in various parts of Germany, in 1894, and again in succeeding years. The author said he had nothing to add to the account given by Frank of its very imperfectly known life-history.—Mr. Leonard Murphy read a paper on a new method of determining the amount of liquid in distant and inaccessible tanks, &c.—Mr. G. H. Carpenter exhibited lantern slides of insects (Collembola) taken in Mitchelstown and Dunmore caves in the south of [reland, pointing out that while some of the species seemed to be confined to such localities and to represent special modifica- tions for life in caves, others were identical with insects found in the upper world with a discontinuous range, and must be regarded as the survivors of very old races. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, November 3.—The Hon. Lord M’Laren, vice-president, in the chair.—The chairman in his opening remarks made special reference to the publication of the Ben Nevis observations, the first volume of which had just beea issued. Half the expense of these publications, which would fill three volumes of the 7yansactions, was being borne by the Royal Society of London. Another matter of special interest was the systematic bathymetrical survey of the Scottish lakes which had been organised by Sir John Murray and Mr. Laurence Pullar. During the seven months beginning March last, they had surveyed 153: lochs and taken nearly 24,000 soundings. The greatest depth observed was in Loch Morar, 1009 feet, which exceeds by several hundred feet the depth recorded in any other lake in the British Islands. In addition to the routine work of taking soundings and determining heights, observations of temperature and of ‘‘seiches” and collections of plankton and bottom deposits were made by the staff. The results were now being prepared for publication in Edin- burgh, and preliminary papers dealing with the work would from time to time be laid before the Society.—Sir William Turner communicated a paper entitled ‘‘ Contributions to the Craniology of the People of Scotland.” The material had been collecting for many years in his hand, and in this first paper he gave the detailed results of the measurement of nearly 20) skulls obtained from all parts of Scotland. Of these, 28 percent. were dolichocephalic, 20 per cent. brachycephalic, and 52 per cent. belonged to the intermediate group. As regards their distribu- tion, the brachycephalic type was characteristic of Fife, the Lothians, the eastern counties between the Tay and the Moray Firth, and Shetland ; whilst the dolichocephalic type was most prevalent in Renfrewshire, Wigtonshire, Caithness and the Highlands. A very marked percentage of the brachycephalic skulls had distinct frontal sutures, a very unusual feature in adult skulls. This indicated growth in breadth during adult life. ‘The skulls were capacious and somewhat above the average for western Europe. As regards the facial characters, the orbits were wide and circular and the noses long and narrow. The discussion of the ethnographical bearing of the facts was reserved for a second. paper.—In a paper on the electrical conductivities and relative densities of certain samples of sea-water, Mr. J. J. Manley described some novelties of method in the accurate measurement of these quantities. The #esults wefe ‘negative, there being no discoverable relation between-the conductivities and densities —Two papers by Dr. NO. 1729, VOL. 67 | NATURE 167 Thomas Muir on generating functions of certain determinants were also presented. om November 17.—The Rev. Prof. Duns in the chair,—Dr. W. G. Aitchison Robertson read a paper on the local distribu- tion of cancer in Scotland. In.collecting his material, he had visiled many of the larger institutions and infirmaries throughout Scotland, and from careful inspection of the registers had, as far as possible, allocated the various cases to their proper counties. In this respect, he believed that his statistics were more accurate than those derived directly from the reports of the Registrar- General, for it was quite evident that many of the cases re- corded as having occurred in the larger towns really belonged to neighbouring or even remote country districts. His cor- rections made important changes in the chart of distribution. Thus, when corrected for the presence of strangers, the cancer mortality for the city of Edinburgh fell from 5°15 per cent. (as it appeared to be from the Registrar-General’s returns) to 4°13 per cent., which is practically the normal for the whole of Scotland. On the other hand, by the same correction the cancer mortality for the county of Edinburgh increased to nearly 5 per cent. On the whole, the mainland rural districts and smaller towns had a higher cancer mortality than the large towns and cities. In the county of Nairn, the mortality was 9°73 per cent. In the outer Hebrides, the mortality was dis- tinctly below the normal for Scotland. The statistics showed many curious features, and it was utterly impossible to connect the distribution with climatic or geologic conditions, or with race or food supply. That the towns were healthier than the rural districts seemed to dispose of several of the ordinary theories as to the undoubted increase of the disease within the last half-century. This could be regarded as only a first effort to get at information regarding local distribution of cancer, and Dr. Robertson urged upon the medical profession in Scot- land the importance of a combined investigation of the causal relations of this dread disease.—Mr. J. Ross communicated a short note on the trisection of an angle, and a paper by Dr. Thomas Muir on pure periodic continued fractions was also read. Paris. Academy of Sciences, December 8.—M. Bouquet de la Grye in the chair.—The president announced to the Academy the death of two members, M. Dehérain, member of the section of Rural Economy, and M. Hautefeuille, member of the section of Mineralogy.—On the transformation of the diamond into black carbon during its oxidation, and on the isomeric changes of simple bodies during decompositions and combinations, by M. Berthelot. Some remarks on work recently published by M. Moissan.—On the irreducibility of the equation y” = 6y2 + x, by M. Paul Painlevé.—On the quantity of free hydrogen in the air and the density of atmospheric nitrogen, by M. Armand Gautier, Four years.ago, the author published work proving the existence of free hydrogen and methane in the air, and estimated their quantity. The proportion of hydrogen then found has been questioned by Lord Rayleigh, and M. A. Leduc has recently adduced other evidence in confirmation of Lord Rayleigh’s objections. It is shown that the exact concordance between the percentage of oxygen by weight found by M. Leduc and the value calculated from the densities of the gases is acci- dental, and that the results are quite consistent with the presence of the amounts of hydrogen and methane found by the author. —On the development ot the Peripatidze of South Africa, by M. L. Bouvier.—On some Hzemogregarians of Ophidians, by M. A. Laveran.—The internal action of copper sulphate in the resistance of the potato to Phylophthora infestans, by M. Emile Laurent. The experiments described led to the conclusion that potato tubers should be immunised against this fungus by dipping them fora certain time ina solution of copper sulphate, but on actual trial it was found that potatoes so treated and then purposely infected with the Phytophthora were attacked as vigorously by the parasite as the untreated tubers.— Observations of the new comet Giacobini (@ 1902), made at the Ob- servatory of Paris, by MM. G. Bigourdan, G. Fayet and P. Salst. On December 6, the comet was a nebulosity of magnitude 13:2, diffuse, vaguely rounded and of 30” diameter.— Provisional elements of the Giacobini comet, by M. G. Fayet.— On the properties of the plane from the point of yiew of the ‘Analysis situs, by M. Combebiac.—-On a summatory form in, the theory of functions of two variables, by M. Martin Krause.— t 168 NATURE [ DECEMBER 18, 1902 On a dark chamber for three-colour photography, by M. Prieur. The problem to be solved was to devise a mechanism which, on closing the shutter, would remove the exposed plate and at the same time replace it by the succeeding plate, placing the latter accurately in the focus of the objective. This problem has been satisfactorily solved. — On _ bipolar _ electrodes with a soluble anode, by MM. André Brochet and C. L, Barillet. In an electrolytic cell containing a solution of copper sulphate, the interposition of an insulated copper plate gives results very similar to tHose previously described with a platinum plate. phenomenon in any given case.—On thallic chloride, by M. V. Thomas. The chloride TICI;, 4H,O can be dehydrated in a vacuum without any loss of chlorine. The properties of the anhydrous chloride are given.—On Gmelin’s violet manganese metaphosphate, by M. Ph. Barbier.— Addition derivatives from cyclohexene, by M. L. Brunel.—On a dichlorhydrate and dibromhydrate of cadinene and on a dextrorotatory regenerated cadinene, by M. Emilien Grimal.—On the essence of vetiver, by MM. P. Genvresse and G. Langlois. This essence contains a sesquiterpene, a sesquiterpene alcohol, and an ester to which the odour is due.—On the excretion and variation of the kidney in carnivorous fowls of the second generation, by M. Frédéric Houssay.—The formation of chlorophyll in rarefied air and in rarefied oxygen, by M. Jean Friedel. sixth of the atmospheric pressure, the leaves of Phaseolus are almost entirely etiolated ; in oxygen at the same pressure, the leaves are coloured as in ordinary air. It would thus appear that the relative pressure of the oxygen is the predominating factor, the total pressure having nosensible influence.—On some new fossil infusoria, by M. B. Renault.—On the immunisation of the lettuce against the fungus Bremia Lactucae, by M. E. Marchal. By treatment with solutions of copper sulphate of certain strength, it was found possible to prevent the growth of the parasite from interfering with the growth of the plant. The narrow margin, however, between the immunising dose of copper sulphate and that capable of acting injuriously on the lettuce plant renders the practical application of these results difficult.—Some mineralogical observations made on the products from the burning of St. Pierre, Martinique, by M. A. Lacroix.—On the Paleozoic earths of Oued Saoura and Gourara, by M. E. F. Gautier.— On economic appreciation and improvements due to cultiva- tion, by M. E. Rabaté.—On the application of chemical manures to the cultivation of the vine in the calcareous earths of Charentes, by MM _ J. M. Guillon and G. Gouirand.—On some exotic Graminaceze employed in food, by M. Balland.—On some brilliant red sunsets observed at Athens during the months of October and November, 1902, by M. D. Eginitis. New SoutTu WALES. Linnean Society, October 29.—Mr. J. H. Maiden, pre- sident, in the chair.—On two remarkable Sporocysts occurring in Mytilus latus, on the coast of New Zealand, by Prof. W. ‘A. Haswell, F.R.S.—(1) On Eucalyptus polyanthemos, Schauer ; (2) on &. dzcolor, A. Cunn, by Mr. J. H. Maiden. The author quotes the original descriptions of the species, cites their synonyms, discusses their affinities and gives an account of their range.—Contributions to a knowledge of the Australian flora, part iv., by Mr. R. T. Baker. A number of new localities for species are recorded, thus extending their known geographical range.—Notes on the botany of the interior of New South Wales, part vii., by Mr. R. H. Cambage. The conspicuous vegetation of the country between Forbes and Bathurst is described.—On the mammalian and reptilian vomerine bones, by Dr. R. Broom. The author shows that in the early stages of development the nasal capsules of the lizard and marsupial are essentially similar in structure and that in both a well-developed paraseptal cartilage runs by the base of the septum from the nasal floor cartilage in front to the hinder part of the capsule. He also shows that the so-called “‘vomer”’ in the lizard develops in connection with this car- tilage ; and as the dumbbell-shaped bone in’ Ornithorhynchus and the median bone of Miniopterus also’ develop as splints to the paraseptal cartilages (specialised as cartilages of Jacobson), he concludes that these mammalian bones are homologous with the so-called ‘‘vomers” of the lizard and are therefore really prevomers. NO. 1729, VOL. 67] It was not found possible to predict the | In air expanded to one- | | DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18. Linnean Society, at 8.—Notes on Copepoda frcm the Faeroe Channel: Thos. Scott.—Amphipoda of the Souther Cross Antarctic Expedition 5 Alfred O. Walker.—The Deep-Sea Isoped Avurus lranchiatus, Bedd. : Dr. H. J. Hansen. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes of Recent Electrical Designs : W. B. Esson. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19. INSTITUTION OF Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electricity Supply from Double Current-Generators : P R. Wray. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Recent Practice im the Design, Construction and Operation of Raw Cane Sugar Factories in the Hawaiian Islands: J. N.S. Williams. TUESDAY, DEcEMBER 23. INSTITUTION oF Civ1L ENGINEERS, at 8.—/’afer ‘to be further dis- cussed :—The Rupnarayan Bridge, Bengal-Nagpur Railway: S. Martin- Leake.—Pafer to be read :—Electric Automobiles: H. F. Joel. CONTENTS. PAGE Prof. Giglioli’s Collection ‘Illustrating the Stone SCM Re 2! fs. 24s, ic: Ue toe ae ere 145 Explosion Motors. By C. R. D’Esterre . 145 Marignac and his Work. By W. R. Pao ce Le A Manual of Physical Geography, By Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole 147 A Pictorial Arithmetic 147 Our Book Shelf :— Talbot : ‘*The Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency” . 148 Meunier: ‘‘ La Géologie générale”. . . . .... 148 “*The Student’s Handbook to the University and Colleges of Cambridge” (2 (3, opens tan ee Bowhill: ‘‘ Bacteriological Technique and Special Bacteriology” «3, jac 1) 2 ts eae 149 Belcher : ‘‘ Practical Electricity."—M. S..... . 149 Van ’t Hoff: ‘‘ Acht Vortrage iiber physikalische Chemie ” oo cst ah ene? ele eu olgacois Keates em LE Ca Letters to the Editor :— Secular Changes of Climate.—Prof, T. G. Bonney, F.R.S. . Peron ree eo cho oto WAS The Government Grant for Scientific Research.— Prof R; T. Hewlett, “293 2) eseke-0 eee The Unconscious Mind.—Dr. A. T. Schofield; W. iY () 05h i eames Scoeher rn. 3 AAO The University of Liverpool soneiroptaa is Cidoaee 15! The Minnesota Seaside Station. (J//ustrated.). . . 152 Mr. Carnegie’s St. Andrews Address. By R. G. 153 The Jubilee of Lord Lister. By Prof. R. T. Hewlett : Meh 154 Notes eee ce Lio" stash cme nere ahaa eal 155 Our Astronomical Column :— Comet 1902 4(Giacobini) ...... 158 New Wariable'Stars . 26.2) «2 5 ee ice 158 Herschel’s Nebulous Regions of the Heavens . 158 News Minor Planets. ce -1 eo ci siecneein) fel) enema 158 Elements and Ephemeris of Comet 1902 d@ . 159 “© Companion to ‘ The Observatory,’ 1903” ... . 159 Jupiter and his Great Red Spot. By W. F. Den- NIN geen PERENE S yee ko cic moe tmomO oo LINE Some Limits in Heavy Electrical Engineering. By JamesiSwinburne) 2735 =e > 159 Duty-Free Alcohol for Scientific Purposes 164 University and Educational Intelligence ..... 164 Societies and Academies... ... 5+ - ++ + 105 168 Diary of Societies NATLOTE 169 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1902. AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN ITALY. Chimica Agraria, Campestre e Silvano. Di Italo Giglioli. Pp. xviii + 877; with 31 figures in the text. (Naples : Marghieri, 1902.) “pas book, the work of the well-known professor of agricultural chemistry in the College at Portici, was originally projected as a treatise on agricultural chemistry, to be followed by other volumes dealing with fermentation and animal chemistry. Written, as the author tells us, with many interruptions, between 1884 and the current year, it remains but a fragment of the original scheme, for it deals only with the relations of the plant to water and to solar light and heat—questions, indeed, of fundamental importance to the agriculture of a semi-arid country like Italy. With nearly 900 pages devoted to so small a section of the subject, it will easily be imagined how vast is the scale upon which the work was planned, and this arouses a question which struck us repeatedly during the perusal of the book. Given a treatise on a technical branch of science, like agricultural chemistry, how far should the author deem it his duty to enter into a complete discussion of whatever branch of the pure science he may require to use for the explanation of some technical problem? For example, we have in the book before us some ten pages, 628-638, given up to an acconnt of the nature of exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions. Now, though it is impossible to understand the problems presented by carbon assimilation under the action of light without possessing the conception of the transfer of energy accompanying a reaction and the reversibility of the change, we hold that the reader of a book like the present will have either reached already the required knowledge of pure chemistry or else must be introduced to the new idea in a much less academic fashion. In the main, a book of this type is written for the expert and should stick very close to its text, taking something more than the elements of the pure sciences for granted. But it is precisely in this direction that Prof. Giglioli’s weakness lies, with the result that the book is cumbered and inordinately expanded with irrelevant matter, interesting enough, but not really bearing upon the point. For example, all kinds of light waves and ethereal radiations doubtless possess some action upon the living plant, but as these effects are still practically unknown, it is surely superfluous to devote fifty pages to a purely text-book account of phosphorescence and kindred phenomena, including the incandescent properties ‘of the rare earths in the Auer lamp, Crookes’s tubes, radiant matter and kathode rays ; nor, again, in another section, can we see the appropriateness of a discussion of the skin vision of animals or of Prof. Poulton’s experiments on the influence of coloured lights upon the larva of Pieris. This is the most unsatisfactory portion of the book, and we cannot help feeling that, in his desire to be exhaustive, Prof. Giglioli has discharged upon us pell- mell all the references he has accumulated, without con- sidering how far they have yet been made to bear upon NO. 1730, VOL. 67] his subject. It is true that the man of science who wants to go beneath the surface of things must carry in his mind all sorts of cognate facts and investigations, in the hope that some day they may supply a missing link in his own work, but he should not present the public with this raw material. The earlier sections of the book, dealing with the rela- tions of the plant to water, are less academic, and con- tain many interesting references to the author's own experiences of agriculture under the hot suns and small precipitation of Italy. He discusses at some length the development of the root, and refers to this cause the increased power of resisting drought which certain manures, particularly nitrate of soda, give to the crop. In this section, Prof. Giglioli draws freely on the results of the Rothamsted experiments, particularly on Lawes and Gilbert’s paper upon the drought of. 1870 and its effect upon the variously manured grass plots. This question of the action of manures upon root development is worthy of more study than it has hitherto received, for it seems to afford a clue to the explanation of the greater ease with which a plant manured with nitrate of soda will in some cases obtain its other mineral food from the soil, as compared with one receiving the same amount of nitrogen in the form of ammonium salts. The earlier chapters of the book have not been brought so closely up to date as the later pages ; in the account | of the amount of water transpired by plants, we have Lawes and Gilbert’s figures, but not the later work of Hellriegel, Wollny, and King of Wisconsin, and again, in the discussion of the value of tillage in conserving soil moisture, no mention is made of the valuable obser- vations which have been accumulated in America on this point. The reader who is interested in the effect of climate upon crop production will find that Prof. Gigholi deals repeatedly with this most intricate problem. The alteration by climate of English varieties of wheat introduced into Italy is discussed on pp. 187 and 379, a subject of interest at the present time, when efforts are being made to get into English wheats something of the “strong” character of those imported from more arid countries, and again, on p. 189, we have a correlation of the hay crops grown at Rothamsted under various systems of manuring with the rainfall of the months of April, May and June. On p. 100, we have a reference to Frank’s discovery of mycorhiza, but we have no account of the weighty generalisations contained in the later papers of Frank and of Stahl, which have shown how interesting and widespread a variant of the general course of nutrition is presented by plants with mycorhiza. The special value of the book lies in its, enthusiasm and breadth of view; we feel we are dealing, not only witha specialist, but also with one who possesses a many-sided knowledge and experience. To an Englishman, it is pleasant to see how references to English work abound ; particularly it is clear that Prof. Giglioli has kept himself familiar with the experiments at Rothamsted, where so much of the pioneer work in agricultural science has_ beendone. Prof. Giglioli contrasts Italy unfavourably in the matter of agricultural experiments, but will the English work play so large a part in any treatise of a foreign professor fifty years hence? Rothamsted stands where I 170 NATURE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 it did, the monument of two great men’s work, but un- connected with any organisation, either official or educa- tional; other countries have been only too anxious to foster and develop any living starting point they could find. ASD ie A HIMALAVAN LOCAL FLORA. Flora Simlensis: a Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Simla and the Neighbourhood. By the late Colonel Sir H. Collett, K.C.B., F.L.S. Pp. Ixviti + 652. (Calcutta and Simla: Thacker, Spink and Co.; London : W. Thacker and Co., 1902.) HEN, in 1897, Sir Joseph Hooker wrote his preface to the final volume of the “Flora of British India,” he gave it as one of the chief uses of his great work that it would “facilitate the compilation of local [Indian floras.” We believe that since that book began to issue, the handbook before us is the first general local flora that has been prepared for India, though various floras for forest purposes only have already appeared. Other general floras, for what are wider areas, are in course of preparation for Bengal, Bombay and the Upper Gangetic Plain; but although these floras will apply to whole provinces, or at any rate to areas as large as provinces, they will, none of them, cover so wide a vertical range, for the late Sir H. Collett’s handbook practically treats of plants growing at all altitudes, from the Himalayan valleys only a little raised above sea-level to elevations of 12,000 and even of 16,000 feet. The area taken up is not one of exact geo- graphical limits, but, as the author has said :— “T have assigned no strictly defined limits to the ‘Flora,’ believing that this would answer the require- ments of students better than if I were to confine it, for instance, to the territorial limits of the Simla Munici- pality or any other arbitrarily fixed boundaries.” It seems, however, to include every plant which a Simla botanist is likely to meet with in his rambles, and we feel sure that the book will be much appreciated, though we cannot avoid a feeling of great regret that its author has not lived to enjoy the pleasure he looked for- ward to of knowing that he had done something to help those who are already students of his favourite science, and perhaps to induce more of those Indian officers who want a pursuit to occupy their leisure time, to follow in his footsteps and study the plants of the forests, glens and slopes of the Simla mountains. It has not been an uncommon thing at Simla to hear the wish expressed that someone would publish a handbook of a not too difficult scientific character, giving the names and descriptions of the chief plants ; and, as the author has explained in his preface, it was with the desire of supply- ing this want that he commenced his work. A careful examination of the book shows that his efforts have been successful. The descriptions are concise and couched in the simplest language ; the analyses lead easily to the genus and species required ; while the excellent pen and ink drawings prepared by Miss M. Smith, of Kew, will be .a great additional help to those who consult the work. These drawings have been judiciously selected, to illus- trate, not only the chief genera and species, but also the most common and conspicuous plants to be met with in Simla and its neighbourhood. NO. 1730, VOL. 67] In addition to the characters of thenaturalorders, genera and species, and to analyses and an account of the geo- graphical distribution of the plants, many useful notes are given which are sure to be of interest. Asa sample may be cited the brief account of the method of fertilisation of Roscoea, a genus of gingers with purple flowers, where the mechanism by which the anthers are caused to shed their pollen on the backs of the insects which visit them is shown tobe similar to that of the quite different genus — Salvia in Labiate. The derivations of the generic names have been duly explained, and wherever it has — seemed of interest, reference has been made to such books as Darwin’s “ Origin of Species,” Fritz Miiller’s “Fertilisation of Flowers” and Kerners “ Natural History of Plants.” It is clear that Sir Henry Collett took the greatest pains to make his book as useful as possible, and it is well that the pioneer of Indian local floras will be such an excellent model for future work of the kind. To the author, as every page of his book shows, his work must indeed have been a labour of love. It will be useful to residents and visitors, not only in Simla, but in the other hill resorts in the Punjab, while even in the more easterly ones—Chakrata, Mussooree, Naini- TAl—where the flora is richer, the book will be of con- siderable help to those interested in plants. am Besides Sir H. Collett’s own preface, the descriptive portion of the work is preceded by an “In Memoriam” notice of the author by Sir W. T. Thiselton- Dyer, K.C.M.G., _ F.R.S., the Director of Kew, and by an “ Introduction ” by Mr. W. B. Hemsley, F.R.S., the curator of the herbarium at _ the Royal Gardens. In his notice, Sir W. T. Thiselton- Dyer gives a brief account of the life of the author, who, — during a long and distinguished career as a soldier, — studied science, and especially botany, in his leisure moments, and after his retirement in 1893 commenced — the present work, which he only just lived to complete. a , = “No one who has ever come to work among us at Kew — has more completely won the affectionate regard of everyone with whom he has come in contact.” 4 In his “Introduction,” Mr. Hemsley gives a brief account of the geography of Simla, of its vegetation and : of the chief botanists whose collections have been utilised 4 in the preparation of the handbook. Some idea of the H extent of the flora of the small Himalayan area to which it refers is obtainable from the fact that the handbook — describes no less than 1326 species belonging to 639 genera and 113 natural orders. We may conclude this brief account of a noteworthy botanical handbook with the following extract from the address of the president at the anniversary meeting of — the Linnean Society on May 24 last :-— a “In Sir Henry Collett we lose an accomplished — botanist who was also a gallant soldier and a capable — administrator, a combination of qualities that seems to be — peculiarly British. It would not be easy to estimate how much this Society, and other kindred societies, owe to the public services, and more particularly the Indian, for — the invaluable recruits whom we continually draw from — their ranks.” We can hope that the “ Flora Simlensis ” will prove as enduring a memorial of its author as the record of his — achievements, military and administrative, is likely to be in the history of the Indian Empire. J.2SeGs i , , | 5 Sir William finishes his notice by saying :— q j DECEMBER 25, 1902 | NAT OF ay OSTWALD'S INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. The Principles of Inorganic Chemistry. Ostwald. Translated by Alexander XxVll + 785. Price 18s. net. IEWS differ regarding the best method of present- ing the facts and beginner. Prof. Ostwald takes the view that “‘if the present-day chemistry makes greater demands on the power of rational thinking, it also renders the purely memory work of mastering the subject considerably more easy for the student. The growth of the scientific interpretation and elucidation of the separate facts of chemistry facilitates in the highest degree the impres- sion of them on the mind and their application, and at the same time affords an incomparably greater intellectual enjoyment than the study of the older, essentially de- scriptive, chemistry could offer.” Acting on this opinion, Ostwald has introduced physical theories, applicable to chemical facts, “in his stride,” as it were. Beginning with some simple metaphysical statements, he develops the fundamental laws of classification and treats of homo- geneous substances, mixtures and solutions; he next proceeds to consider the law of the conservation of weight and mass, and of work and energy, treating incidentally of the units in which these magnitudes are measured. The next chapter is devoted to “com- bustion,” the existence of oxygen and the constancy of proportions ; and the next to a rapid survey of the elements and their properties. The subsequent treat- ment is, in a restricted sense, systematic ; the remaining chapters treat of oxygen, ozone, hydrogen, water, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine and hydrochloric acid, oxides of chlorine; bromine, iodine and _ fluorine, sulphur and its compounds, and, in short, the elements generally termed non-metals and their compounds ; the metals and their salts complete the list. But the discursive nature of treating the subject may Findlay. (London: Macmillan and Co., Pp. Ltd.) be gauged by the amount of space—g2 pages—devoted | to the consideration of oxygen, hydrogen and water. Under the heading ‘‘ Oxygen,” not merely are the pre- paration and properties of the element considered, but also velocity of combustion, the influence of temperature on that rate, Boyle’s and Gay-Lussac’s laws, the temper- ature scales, degrees of freedom of a gas, the construc- tion of curves, the liquefaction of gases, the solubility of gases, and ozone ; the condition of allotropy is also shortly discussed. Under “ Hydrogen” come methods of drying gases, molecular weights (here termed “ molar” weights), the compressibility of gases at high pressures, diffusion, the law of partial pressures, the law of effusion of gases _and spectrum analysis ; also, 2 profos of the combustion of hydrogen, the law of mass action, chemical equilibrium and the influence of solid substances thereon; and lastly, catalysis, introduced by the catalytic action of platinum in causing combination between oxygen and hydrogen. Under the heading “ Water,” we find the law of continuity, graphic interpolation, coefficient of ex- pansion, degrees of freedom of liquids, supercooling, heats of fusion, heat-units, vapour-pressures, heats of vaporisation, supercooled vapours, phases of water, ice and steam, and the triple point ; next water as a solvent, NO, 1730, VOL. 67 | and the relations between lowering of freezing point and By. wilhelen | depression of vapour pressure caused by salts ; volume relation of gases, “combining” weights, symbols and formulz, equations, and the atomic and molecular | hypotheses. Now Prof. Ostwald’s style is excellent, and full ; : | justice is done to it by Dr. Findlay’s translation; hence theories of chemistry to a | the book is most readable and interesting ; the theoretical disquisitions are most clearly stated and arranged in an orderly manner, each point being taken up when its turn has come, but the reviewer doubts whether a beginner would gain much from a perusal of the book. For a teacher who is already familiar with the facts of chemistry, innumerable hints are to be found, almost on every page. But after all, the young chemical student has to familiarise himself with the facts of chemistry, and gilding the pill, even with fine gold, is apt to interfere with its assimilation. For a man of advanced years, even though he be no chemist, who can appreciate the logical arrangement of the book, much enjoyment may be obtained from it ; but from long experience of the powers of mind of junior students, the reviewer doubts whether more than two or three specially gifted individuals out of a large class would retain much in their memories. Just as in learning a language it is absolutely necessary to acquire the common verbs, prepositions and adverbs by heart, and to have at least some idea of the syntax before analytically parsing the sentences, attending to every subtlety, so with chemistry. A large number of facts and their experimental demonstration must become familiar, and it is then time to build up laws on these facts. However, as stated at the outset, there are many methods of presenting such facts; and if the young student has energy to follow two or three methods of presentment, he will be a gainer. It appears to the reviewer that it would be better to reserve this method of considering the subject until a year, or perhaps more, has been spent in the more usual course of study. The effect of reading such a book at that stage is sure to be most stimulating, and will enable the reader, not only to revise his knowledge, but to enrich it by many necessary additions. It is unnecessary to mention that the work is entirely up to date, and that the translator, as an old pupil and friend of the author, has completely entered into the spirit of the matter ; he has left no trace of its German origin in the excellent English of which he is a master. W. R. A NEW THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE. On an Inversion of Ideas as to the Structure of the Universe. By Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S. Pp. 44. (Cambridge: University Press, 1902.) Price Is. 6d. net. “| pape is a short description of a new theory of the universe which formed the subject of the Rede lecture last June. All such theories must satisfy two conditions. The structure must be dynamically possible, and the results deduced by dynamical reasoning from the 172 NATUORE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 theory must correspond qualitatively and quantitatively to the phenomena of Nature. The analytical difficulties may be too great to deduce all the phenomena, but if any be contrary to experience, the theory, at least in its exact form, must go. It is only by inventing, discussing , comparing and remodelling as many theories as possible that we can hope to arrive at any knowledge of the con- stitution of matter or of the ether. This new and very original attempt is therefore to be welcomed. Asa rule, authors of such theories are satisfied to show how many facts their theory explains, and how probable, therefore, it is that their theory corresponds to reality. Not so, however, Prof. Osborne Reynolds. He claims to have shown that ‘‘the research has revealed the prime cause of the physical properties of matter,” and that “there is one, and only one, conceivable purely mechanical system capable of accounting for the physical evidence as we know it in the universe.” That a theory coming from Prof. Reynolds will fulfil the first of our conditions goes without saying. But that it should be possible to give a proof that it zs the representation of the actual structure of ether and matter is too astonishing to be received without scepticism. We await the publication of the full research. It is not possible to criticise a complete theory on a short statement of its results—a statement which by its very nature must leave much vague and much unsaid. Sufficient idea, however, is given to cause us to look forward to the complete work, which is, we understand, to be published by the Pitt Press shortly. In brief, the zether is composed of equal rigid spherical grains (diam. = 1°7 X 10~ times the wave-length of violet light) arranged in regular and closest order, and under great pressure. When strained, such a medium must ex- pand—or show “‘dilatancy.” The actions of the medium depend on this dilatancy. Matter is a defect of mitter —a small deficiency of grains or a “negative inequality,” causing, so to say, a certain looseness in the gearing of the grains where the deficiency exists and a consequent stress in the medium outside. These inequalities are permanent, and are propagated through the medium without a transference of the grains themselves. Matter is, in fact, a strain which is propagated through the medium —an idea which has occurred to others, notably Dr. Larmor in his electron theory, and to the late Mr. C. V. Burton, at the Ipswich m2eting of the British Association in 1895. These strains attract one another according to the Newtonian law, may cohere but not coalesce. “ Positive inequalities” (due to excess of grains), on the contrary, repel one another and so are dispersed. Electricity apparently consists of double inequalities, excess in one place and defect in another. The statement here appears rather vague, and it is diffi- cult to understand the difference between electricity and two inequalities, one positive and one negative. The attraction is, however, enormously greater than that of gravitation. Apparently the theory gives no explanation of the fact that electricity never shows itself apart from matter, nor is any explanation offered of the electro- dynamic action of one current on a conductor bearing another. A true theory must do this, and it is the crux of every theory yet produced. NO. 1730, VOL. 67] In this granular medium, transverse and longitudinal waves are propagated. It would take 56 million years to reduce the energy of the transverse to one-eighth, while it would take only four one-millionths of a second to reduce that of the normal by the same amount, thus, the author says, ‘“‘ accounting for the absence of normal waves.” This, however, is only a proof that such waves do not last. It is necessary to show that on reflection of light they are not formed, otherwise they will diminish the intensity of the reflected ray. Many difficulties and objections suggest themselves during perusal which will doubtless be answered in the full paper. If Prof. Reynolds does in this what he promises in the vészé, he will go down to posterity with a greater fame than Newton. If, however, he does not succeed in convincing us that he has solved the problem of the mechanism of the physical universe, he may yet be congratulated on giving us what is evidently a beautiful, illuminative and extremely suggestive theory. He has opened to us, in any case, a new field of knowledge as well as helped to stimulate that scientific imagina- tion which we are told it is our bounden duty to cultivate. W. M. H. OUR BOOK SHELF. Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Parad of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. By H. E. Durham. Pp. 79. (London: Published for the Uni- versity Press of Liverpool by Longmans, Green and Co., 1902.) Price 75. 6d. THIs is the seventh memoir published by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and it is printed and got up in the same excellent style as its predecessors. It embodies the results of the Para expedition of Messrs. Durham and Myers, and is written by the former, Dr. Myers having, as is well known, fallen a victim to the disease he was investigating, a circumstance which lends a melancholy interest to the report. When the expedition left this country, the remarkable and conclusive work of the United States Army Commission in Cuba under Major Reed in proving the conveyance of yellow fever by gnats was not known, but this problem, with many others awaiting solution as regards the disease, was present in the minds of the observers, as is seen in the preliminary report, which is here reprinted from the British Medical Journal. In the course of their work, they became acquainted with the results of the Americans, and a number of observations are chronicled in the report with regard to the gnat (Sfegomyta fasctata) incriminated in Cuba. It was bred in captivity and studied in its native haunts, and much useful information gathered as to its habits—the most striking being its essentially urban habitat, and its custom of biting by day and not at night. With regard to the actual microbe which is the cause of yellow fever, no sufficient proof is as yet forthcoming, but the observations of the expedition agree with those of Agramonte and others in absolving Sanarelli’s Bacz/lus icteroides from any share in its etiology. Attention is, however, already called in the interim report, an abstract of which is here reprinted, to a small, fine bacillus which the English observers found with considerable constancy in the intestines and in the viscera generally in fatal cases, and to which they were inclined, with due reserve, to ascribe a causal significance. It had previously been observed by Sternberg and others, but not with the constancy here recorded. A valuable series of observ- ations on the condition of the lymphatic glands in yellow ee DECEMBER 25, 1902 | NATURE fever and another series on the occurrence of peculiar proteid substances in the urine must also be noted. Together with these positive results, there is necessarily included a mass of detail concerning results which proved negative. The writer has, further, added to his account of the experimental work performed a quantity of some- what miscellaneous facts gathered in Para and elsewhere on the subject of yellow fever and malaria, with a general account of the sanitary condition of the town. But when it is remembered that the work of the expedition was in great part crippled by the illness of both and the death of one of its members, we can but congratulate the survivor on the work which was accomplished, regretting that opportunities were not forthcoming for carrying it to a further stage of completeness. Yellow fever is a disease which has long been a puzzle to sanitary science, but appears at the present day to be on the verge of ex- planation. An immense step in advance has been made by the discovery of its transference by the gnat; the complete solution of the problem must be attained by further investigations on the lines of those embodied in this report, and carried out by skilled and unbiased investigators such as those sent out by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Eyes Within. By Walter Earle, M.A. Pp. 155. don: George Allen, 1902.) Price 5s. THIs little volume of poems contains some good references to Nature and herhandiwork. We are led to realise the ever-changing condition of the earth’s surface, and pheno- mena of many kinds are dealt with. Thus :— (Lon- “© See where upon a world-old mountain face Some mighty glacier has left its trace, A few faint scratches, all that marks to-day Time’s agonies along his primal way.” Allusions are also made to the great variety of changes always going on around us, and to the disturbing elements raging ceaselessly in the interior of the earth :— **Shrill crash of breaker plunging in the cave, The soughing wind, waves grinding on the shore, Weird wail and scream of bird, set evermore In fuller diapason stern and grave.” “* Crack, rent and crush of overwhelming rock, Steam bursting into flood of liquid blaze, A world vibrating with each thunder-shock, Suns setting in a pall of wreckage-haze. All through the book we are struck with the delicate and subtle way with which common and every-day occurrences are referred to. Birds, flowers, insects, all have their due. The author shows the true poetical spirit in many of his descriptions, and reveals to us the joy of possessing an eye which goes beyond the owéside of the objects around it. Handbook of Instructions for Collectors. Pp. v+137; illustrated. (London: Printed for the Trustees of the British Museum, 1902.) WITH the view of obtaining the aid of naval and military officers, explorers, missionaries and others whose duty or inclination takes them to foreign lands in adding to the collections of the Natural History Branch of the British Museum, the Trustees have issued this excellent little handbook. It consists ofa series of pamphlets describing the methods of collecting and preserving the various groups of animals, as well as plants, fossils and minerals. The different sections into which the book is divided have been written by members of the staff of the Museum, each of whom is a specialist in his own particular branch, and although the manner of treatment varies somewhat, each section is admirably adapted to its special subject, illustrations being introduced when necessary. The INO 17 30}, VOL. 67 | section on mammal collecting is divided into two parts, one dealing with the larger and the other with the smaller forms, a feature of the former being the inclusion of a list of species specially wanted by the Museum. Birds and the lower vertebrates follow next, after which come the various invertebrate groups, the work closing with chapters on plant and mineral collecting. The book is of a size convenient to be carried in the pocket, and has the corners rounded off the better to withstand constant use. en Las The First Principles of Ratio and Proportion and their Application to Geometry. By H.W. Croome Smith, B.A. Pp. iv+ 32. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) Price Is. THE strict theory of geometrical. proportion is difficult, and, with few exceptions, elementary students are quite unable to understand it. Opinions differ as to the com- promise that is best suited for school teaching, and sug- gestions on this topic deserve careful consideration. Mr. Smith bases his method on the variation of two geometrical quantities ; it is supposed that they vanish together and that any given increment of the one is associated with a fixed increment in the other ; or, as he puts it, “ when two variables change in such a way that equal changes in the one are accompanied alwys by equal changes in the other.” A theory of proportion which starts from this idea is necessarily imperfect, and ignores the most troublesome part of the subject ; but it will probably serve very well as a provisional com- promise. At any rate, Mr. Smith’s book deserves a trial. Year-book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of Great Britain and Ireland. Pp. viii + 295. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 7s. 6d. THE nineteenth annual issue of this handy book of refer- ence does not deal with a single calendar year, but with an actual working year of the great majority of the learned societies. Consequently, there are here brought together the papers read before the chief scientific societies throughout the United Kingdom from October, 1901, to June, 1902. The list of societies included in the new volume seems fairly complete, but we notice that the Geographical Association is not mentioned. Paperson Etherification and on the Constitution of Salts. By Alexander W. Williamson, LL.D., F.R.S. (1850- 1856.) Alembic Club Reprints, No. 16. Pp. 62. (Edinburgh: Published by the Alembic Club. Edin- burgh agent, William F. Clay. London agents, Simp- kin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price Is. 6d. net. THE Alembic Club is doing valuable work by reprinting the accounts of classical researches in science in the words of the experimenters themselves. We are glad to know these reprints are increasing in popularity among teachers of science in schools where the “research” method of obtaining knowledge is encouraged. It is a matter for gratification, too, that this collection of papers, which have appeared in the publications of various scientific societies, has been printed during the author’s lifetime. Dove Dale Revisited: with Other Holiday Sketches. By the Amateur Angler. Pp. xiv + 130. (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 2s. 6d. net. THE amateur angler writes pleasantly of a beautiful country for which he has great affection. The volume is the seventh and concluding one of a series, and will encourage its readers to take an intelligent interest in animate and inanimate nature. The illustrations ‘are numerous and exceptionally good. ‘ 174 NATURE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejectea manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | Volcanic Dust Phenomena. THE phenomena connected with the volcanic dust are under- going distinct changes. In common with observers in the south of England, I noted the fresh appearance of the dust phenomena in the end of June, especially on June 26, but they were not very striking until August 1. At first the most decidedly volcanic feature was the great corona round the sun, known in the case of the Krakatoa effects as ‘‘ Bishop’s Ring.” Whether this name should be applied to the corona this year is doubtful, as its radius has been fully double that of the Krakatoa corona, having until recently averaged about 70°, measured from the sun to the middle of the reddest part. Yesterday and this morning, however, it averaged only about 40°, and its reddest part was a yellowish-brown rather than a red. The colour of the corona this year has always been much less decidedly pink than was the case with Bishop’s ring ; indeed, it has sometimes been an absence of blueness in that part of the sky rather than any positive redness. The pink glows after sunset were very strong in the end of June, but stronger still in November, and on November 1, 17 | and 18 there was also a faint second glow, a phenomenon I had not previously seen since the Krakatoa sunsets. It was not until October 30 that the colouring became very magnificent, and it reached its height about November 1, when the chief feature was an intense fiery orange sky near the west horizon. This was of an unmistakably volcanic character, different from anything that has appeared here since the Krakatoa sunsets, though not equal to those in splendour. Since that maximum, the colouring has been gradually lessening. Yester- day and to-day it was remarkably weak, the chief feature being the dust-wisps, which were more conspicuous than I have previously seen them during this apparition ; indeed, I should have at first taken them for clouds had I not previously seen them in feebler form. They were plainest a little after sunrise and before sunset, when they were very bright and of a steely white. The above descriptions apply to Sunderland; but in visits to Torquay from November 6 to 10 and to Dundee about December 1, the sky effects were not very different, only at Torquay I did not see the fiery orange. Sunderland, December 16. TOW: P.S.—December 22. BACKHOUSE. The fiery orange has reappeared. The Methods of Investigating the North Sea Fisheries, Many of the readers of NaTURE are interested in the inter- national scheme of scientific investigation of the North Sea; but some at least are not convinced that the methods which are being employed are capable of yielding results of value as regards the condition of our fisheries. The essential part of the scheme formulated at the conference at Christiania, at which the British delegates were Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff, Prof. D’Arcy Thomson, Mr. Garstang and Dr. Mill, is that each nation should fit out one or two specially equipped steamers, which should work along definite lines, and by means of which investigations as to the state of the fisheries, as well as hydrographical and biological investigations, should be conducted. The British Government agreed to participate in the prosecution of this scheme But it has been repeatedly pointed out that, if conclusions as to the fisheries are to be drawn from the work of these steamers, two assumptions have to be made. (1) That the take per steamer or per capturing unit is a measure of the abundance of fish, and 4 (2) That samples taken from small areas are representative of adjacent districts. Both these assumptions have been severely criticised, and we had hoped that before now Mr. Garstang would have fulfilled the promise made by him in his letter to the 7vmes of April 14 of this year ; when he said, in reply to certain criticisms made NO. 1730, VOL. 67] by others and myself, that he ‘‘ could see no reason for antici- pating the reply which in due course and in the proper place will be made to the real authors of the criticism he (¢.¢. the present writer) adopts.” It will be remembered, (1) that the criticism referred to is that made by the Inspectors of Fisheries in their Report for 1900 upon the method of estimating variations in the density or abundance of fish by variations in the take per capturing unit, which was employed by Mr. Garstang in his ‘‘ Impoverish- ment of the Sea.” (2) That that criticism was published at least eighteen months ago, and that it is still unanswered by Mr. Garstang. It was expected that at the meeting of the British Asso- ciation at Belfast he would have taken the opportunity of meeting these criticisms. But he does not seem to have done so, For in reply to a letter asking him if he could refer me to any published refutation of these criticisms, he writes under date December 8, 1902, ‘I am unable to refer you to any published replies by me to the ‘ criticism’ you quote, other than the 7zes reports of the Belfast meeting of the British Association and the Grimsby Conference of the National Sea Fisheries Pro- tection Association (September 30 and October 1).” The summaries of his communication at Belfast in the 7zmes of September 13 and that in the 7%mes of October 1 of his remarks at Grimsby give no indication that he dealt with the criticism, a criticism which, if it is valid, renders the results of the investigations recorded in his ‘‘Impoverishment of the Sea” of no value, and—what is of greater importance—throws grave doubts on the results to be expected from the inter- national investigations at present in progress. The publication of the Report of the Departmental Com- mittee on Ichthyological Research, which has just been pre- sented to Parliament, must be looked forward to with interest, since the Committee must necessarily have given some expression of opinion upon the questions touched upon in this letter. D. NoEL Paron. 22 Lynedoch Place, Edinburgh, December 14. Carved and Perforated Antlers. In Nature for November 20, p. 55, there is a reference to the probable use of the carved and sometimes perforated antlers, by some called ‘batons de commandement.” By Mr,.A. W. Franks and others, in the ‘‘ Reliquize Aquitanicz,” the simpler forms are recognised as the ‘‘Pogamagan” (strike) of the North American Indian (pp. 40, 50, 189, 200, and pp. 30, 102, 159 and 180, of description of the plates iii. and iv., xv. and xvi., xxx. and xxxi.). It seems to me important to mention that in Westminster Abbey a Pogamagan is sculptured as being held in the right hand of a North American warrior on Colonel Townshend’s mural tombstone (dated near the end of the eighteenth century), on the south side of the nave. December 13. T. RUPERT JONES. St. Elmo’s Fire during Snow Storm. [Mr. W. N. SHAW, secretary to the Meteorological Council, has kindly forwarded to us the following letter received at the Meteorological Office. —Ep1Tor. ] Ir may be interesting to your Society to know that we find in a report received from our local committee at Margate relative to the launch of one of our lifeboats there, viz. Z/zza Harriet, on December 3 and 4, that it is stated that about 2a.m. a bright light was observed on the top of each of the lifeboat’s masts, also one on the lee foreyard, which remained quite three- quarters of an hour and lit up all the wire pennants, making them perfectly clear. The lights in question appeared to be of the size of a small lantern. At the time it was blowing very hard and a heavy sea was running, and during the whole time it snowed so hard that it was impossible to see a yard in front of the boat. These lights continued until nearly 4 a.m, and finally disappeared on the snow lifting. It could not possibly have been a reflection from any light on the lifeboat, as they had none showing. It seems to us that this was probablya case of St. Elmo’s fire, occasionally seen in a highly electrified state of atmosphere. CHARLES DIBDIN, Secretary. Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Adelphi, London, W.C., December 12. DECEMBER 25, 1902] THE FARTHEST SOUTH: is with a feeling of disappointment that one learns | ® I that the name of Tierra del Fuego does not carry in it the tradition of the volcanic fires which, though once seen by man, are now nearly all extinct ; but we are told that the name was given by Magellan because | of the immense number of fires lighted by the native | Indians to keep themselves warm or cook their food, or give notice of the approach of strange craft. All the descriptions of the country connect it in climate with Chili, the land of snow, as its native name implies, and | give greater prominence to its glaciers and icebergs than to its one still active volcano. Fitzgerald has given a fuller account of the exploration of the same region as that traversed by Sir Martin Con- way, and the aspects of Nature which struck both these | travellers we may regard as characteristic of the region. NATURE V75 Sir Martin Conway’s diary, in its description of de- | tails, gives a freshness and local colouring to the story ; even his constant references to the weather, by which, in such cases, the best-laid plans are often thwarted, do, in spite of Mark Twain’s grumble, help the reader to realise the nature of the enterprise. Perhaps this remark would apply less strongly to his introduction of unexplained Spanish or native words with which his readers could not be expected to be familiar. We certainly do feel that we are reading about a foreign country when we come suddenly upon alameda, alfalfa, arriero, or pejerey, peon and posado. They have their effect, like “that blessed word Mesopotamia”; but we lose } the thread of the story if we do not know whether our traveller has arrived at a wayside inn or a position of equilibrium at the bottom of a crevasse. Darwin, in the “ Voyage of the Beagle,” has described the features of this interesting ‘region more especially from the scientific Fic. 1.—Nieves Penitentes in Process of Formation. . Many of the accidents and incidents, often very untoward, which befell them both may be expected as inevitable accompaniments of exploration at great elevations, while others may be provided against when the traveller has realised what is before him and taken due precautions. Both watched the purple shadows creeping over the ocean, the gorgeous colours of the rocks and the deep blue of the ice. Both tell us of the rapidly rising torrent which carried off mule and man, of the glissade of the ponies down the steep talus of crumbling stone, of the struggle and recovery of the mule on the slippery rocks, of the frost-bitten guide, the mountain-sickness and other discomforts arising from impaired circulation and the want of constant supplies of warm and nourishing food, | of the difficulties of the dense forest and spongy ground ; and this similarity of experience and consensus of opinion warns the future traveller who may try those heights what to look out for and what to prepare for. 1“ Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego.” By Sir M. Conway. Pp. xii + 252. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., rg02.) "Price r2s. 6d. net. NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | (From Conway’s ‘‘ Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego."’) point of view; Sir Martin Conway often helps us greatly to realise the general effect by pointing out that it is like some- thing neareri home which his readers would probably have seen. It is an interesting region. The double range of the Andes carved into every variety of peak and valley is submerged at its southern end so that the deeper hollows have been invaded by the sea, which fills a long trough parallel to the coast-line and many a transverse channel. He compares it to the Norwegian and Alaskan inland steamboat routes (p. 141). The submerged mountains are at- tacked by air and ocean with almost ceaseless fury, and we learn that it is | not always safe to assume, when we see the tops of a group of mountains all touching an approximately uni- | form level, that we have there the wreck of a sea-plain or, as some would call it, a plane of marine denudation or base level of erosion, out of which the separating valleys have been carved after its upheaval, for here we have an example of a mountain region being submerged and the heights during any stationary period being planed off to a uniform level, the valleys having existed previous to the submergence. The mountains around still rise so high that their snows feed glaciers which descend to sea-level. Before the submergence, their greater ice-flows crept further out on to the lowlands and left traces of ancient glaciation far beyond its present limit. How recent some of the great geographical and climatal | changes of the southern end of the Andes are, we may learn from a comparison of what the glaciers of Sar- | miento were like when Darwin visited the straits and the same glaciers as seen by Sir Martin Conway. In 176 NATORE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 Darwin’s time, they actually ended in the water, now they are cut off from the channel by belts of densely wooded moraine. The former greater extension of the ice is also shown by the way in which “the graceful ice- rounded foundation rocks of this and all the othe mountains around slope up to the cliff and jagged arrétes above” (p. 199), and proofs of oscillations of level are seen in the raised beaches and iceberg-carried boulders near Otway Water (p. 219). Aconcagua (pp. 71, 72) towers into the sky, the grandest peak of the southern Andes. It appears to be built up of approximately horizontal beds of volcanic rock of different texture, hardness and friability, which are carved into steps like those which gave their name to the “trap” rocks of Sweden. The steps are better pre- served towards the right- and left-hand sides of the slope than in the middle, where the downward drift of débris and the fall of avalanches are most common. The edges of the steps are there com- pletely worn away and buried. The flow of débris down the face is such that the fragments tend to become rounded or subangular, like peb- bles in a brook by their friction against one another. When he was descending the mountain, the stones at one point (about 20,500 feet up) poured away be- neath his feet and disclosed the sub- jacent rock, which he perceived to be ground quite smooth by the passage of the débris over it. Sir Martin gave some time to the examination of those curious remnants of great slipped or drifted masses of snow, the wmeves penitentes, so ca'led because they stand like devotees enve- | ultimately run into one another, leaving rough pyramids of snow standing up between them, until at last the ground is reached ; the spires are entirely separated from one another and are seen standing about on the stony floor like separate sugar cones. There is also a mountain called Penitentes (p. 108), from the weathered-out columnar structure of the rocks which form its summit, not unlike what we sometimes see in our strongly jointed Mountain Limestone or Mill- stone Grit. Many other curious questions arise out of an examin- ation of such an area; for instance, the great uncon- formity (p. 105); the inosculating valleys (pp. 127, 131) ; the landslips and rock creep, or rivers of mud and stone, similar to those described by Heim in Switzerland ; the moraines modified by blown sand (pp. 55, 56). So little has been done towards the exploration of those strangely varied and, for most people, inaccessible loped in shroud-like robes doing penance. They require peculiar conditions for their full development, and therefore, although somewhat similar pillar-like remnants of melting snow may sometimes be seen even in this country, they are not common anywhere in the Old World and only over limited areas in South America. They are cut out of avalanche snow which has been subjected to pressures roughly perpendicular to the direction of its fall, and thus hardened into approximately vertical strata of different densities. The wind has nothing to do with their origin, but they are carved out by the melting action of direct solar radiation. They are roughly elliptical and somewhat bent over to the north, the major axis of the elliptic sections being oriented east and west. On searching. for femitentes in different stages of development, he found that a thick bed of well- compacted snow, when exposed to the action of the sun, soon becomes pitted over with little saucer-like de- pressions, and the deeper these become, the less power has the sun’s rays upon their sides and the more upon the bottoms of the depressions. The hollows enlarging NO. 1730, VOL. 67]| Fic. 2.—Nieves Penitentes ; the last stage. (From Conway's ‘‘ Aconcagua and Tierra del Fuego.’’) regions that we gladly welcome Sir Martin Conway’s diary of his adventurous journey through southern Chili and Tierra del Fuega, and of his difficult climb and almost equally dangerous descent of Aconcagua and Sarmiento. T. McK. H. SECONDARY AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. N OW that the Education Act has become law, one of the first duties of the newly constituted local authorities will be to determine what are the educational needs of their districts and how far these needs are met by existing institutions ; they will then be able to decide in what directions increased educational facilities are | needed and how they can most efficiently provide what | is wanted. It is in the domain of secondary education that such a survey as is foreshadowed above is likely to form most DECEMBER 25, 1902] NATURE V77 frequently the basis for a demand for a revision of the cur- ricula of some of the schools in the district. Thus, in many of the administrative counties, we still have too many schools which devote a large amount of time to the study of classics, not because most of their pupils are best fitted for life by such study, but mainly because the school prepares each year a boy or two for Oxford or Cambridge. Wise county councils will probably decide to limit the number of classical schools within their counties, sending, by means of scholarships, the best boys capable and de- sirous of receiving a good classical education to one or more selected schools in the district. The remaining county grammar schools will, it may be hoped, be modernised and adapted to the needs of the bulk of the pupils attending them. In many, a strong agricultural side should be developed; in some, a good modern education should be given. It will be asked, ‘““What is here meant by a good modern education?” In the opinion of the writer, this should include English—taught much more thoroughly than is usually the case in grammar schools, where classics absorb the lion’s share of the pupil’s time—and mathematics, based on practical measurements and in- cluding a knowledge of geometry gained by methods more suitable for boys and girls than those set forth in Euclid’s elements. German, taught by colloquial methods, should be a compulsory subject because the study of its gram- matical peculiarities forms a mental training as useful as can be given through the medium of Latin or Greek, and because it is becoming increasingly difficult for one who does not know this language to follow the latest develop- ments in either industry or commerce. French should also be taught where possible, but in cases where only one language can be learned, it should be German. Drawing would naturally form part of the course, and some suitable form of manual training, such as modelling or woodwork, should be introduced. Above all, it is to be.hoped that local authorities will discourage the pseudo-classical schools which have sprung up in the last two decades owing to the desire of some ancient grammar schools to meet the demand for the teaching of modern subjects while still devoting some portion of the school time to Latin. The result is—what might be expected—that neither Latin nor modern sub- jects are mastered ; the pupil has a smattering of too many things. Although a diminution in the amount of classical teaching is here advocated, it must not be supposed that the value of sound classical training is underestimated ; where a pupil’s time suffices for this as well as for the subjects he needs to enable him to earn his living, it is well that he should study Latin and, if possible, Greek. But in cases where the school] life of a boy or girl is necessarily limited, it is much better that his or her mind should be trained through the medium of subjects likely to be of greater service in after life ; above all, it is very doubtful whether a child obtains any substantial benefit from a classical training so imperfect that he remains unable to appreciate, or even to read easily, classical literature. In the towns, the matter will be more complicated. Many local authorities will have to determine how best to deal with the higher grade board schools, where they exist. In each town, the problem will be different ; where the towns are badly provided with secondary schools, it may be wise to convert the higher grade board {schools into secondary schools, but, in such cases, they should not be allowed to strangle existing efficient secondary schools by providing education of the same kind as these schools offer, practically free of charge. If the circumstances of the town make it desirable that secondary education of a certain type should be offered free, then all the schools of this type should be placed in a position to offer the same terms to their pupils, so that such competition as exists NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | will depend only on the relative efficiency of the teaching in the schools. On the cther hand, in some towns the higher grade board schools have been competing need- lessly with secondary schools in their neighbourhood. In such towns, the higher grade board schools can be converted into higher elementary schools, giving a train- ing for the large number of boys and girls who must leave school at a comparatively early maximum age, say fourteen or fifteen. Indeed, as recent Parliamentary re- turns show, there are, in most higher grade schools, very few boys or girls above fifteen, except backward ones. The curricula of these schools should be materially altered ; they are at present far too ambitious, having regard to the average age at which their pupils leave, and should be amended so as to include only that amount of work which can be satisfactorily covered, and the comparatively few pupils for whom the present curricula are devised should be transferred, by means of scholarships, to secondary schools. One of the most fertile causes of the comparative inefficiency of some of the secondary schools in this country is the large number of examinations for which they find it necessary to prepare their students. Thus we have, not only the examinations of the Board of Education, but also the local examinations of the various universities, special examinations for the Army, the Navy, the Civil Service, different county and other scholarships, &c. It would be an enormous gain if, in place of all these various examinations, we had one State examin- ation, on the results of which there would be issued a certificate, guaranteeing a good general education and recognised as qualifying for admission to the universities, the Civil Service, the Army, the Navy, &c. Unfortunately, enormous vested interests are opposed to such a plan, as the present system of indefinite multiplication of examin- ations finds employment for a large number of examiners and is stamped with approval by the action of the older universities, which have in recent years extended their system of local examinations so as to include quite young children ; e¢.g., the maximum age for admission to a so- called “honours” class in the preliminary local examin- ation of the University of Cambridge is fourteen ! Assuming that a suitable basis for technical educa- tion has been made by the provision of an adequate number of secondary schools, it will then be necessary to consider what technical institutions are needed in the district.. This will, of course, depend largely on the nature of the industries which exist in particular neigh- bourhoods. In many administrative counties, the only technical institution needed will be an agricultural col- lege, and for some counties a share in an agricultural college would suffice. In other administrative counties, provision must be made for proper technical instruction in such subjects as coal mining, metallurgy, fisheries, &c. But, as arule, the county will find much of what it wants in the large technical colleges already existing in the great cities within, or adjacent to, the geographical borders of the county. In many of the smaller county boroughs, there are already technical schools providing evening classes for artisans ; in the remainder, such evening classes might not infrequently be provided in connection with the modern secondary school of the place. In large cities, which are great centres of population, a first-class tech- nical institution will be needed, providing not only even- ing classes but more especially instruction for adult day students on a par with that given in Germany and the United States. This can only be done effectively by con- centrating in one institution for each district either all the higher technical education or, at least, the highest part of such education in a certain number of branches of technology and commerce. For it is only in institutions with numerous pupils that it is economically justifiable to provide the expensive equipment needed for such work and the large number of highly paid specialist teachers who ought to be employed therein. At present there is no technical institution in the United Kingdom which is staffed on a scale even approximately equal to that of such foreign institutions as the Charlotten- burg Technical High School, Berlin, and the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. In these magnificent technical high schools, in place of two or three professors, ¢.g., of engineering, we find a very large number of highly qualified men, each dealing with some special branch of engineering knowledge, and this can be economically done because of the very large number of engineering students gathered together in one institution. In this country, at present our comparatively few adult engineering day students are scattered among a relatively large number of institutions ; as a result, such far-reach- ing subjects as electrical engineering have to be en- trusted to a single professor. Indeed, there are some technical colleges in which there is only one professor of engineering, and electrical engineering is in charge of a poorly paid assistant lecturer. To remedy this, coordination of work is necessary, not merely within the great towns, but even between neigh- bouring educational authorities, which are not infrequently jealous of one another and pursue their work regardless of what is going on around them. Hence we have cases of towns within easy reach of one another where tech- nical institutions have been established, each of which tries to do the highest possible work in all the subjects which it undertakes. The result is a small number of students in each subject in each town and a staff of teachers proportionate, it is true, to the number of | students, but inadequate for the purposes of advanced technical education. It would be well, therefore, if power were given to the Board of Education to select a limited number of central institutions where alone higher technical education in the day-time should be given. Liberal financial aid willbe needed to place such in- stitutions on a satisfactory basis, and as they will be national rather than local institutions, a large part of the money for their support should be provided from the imperial exchequer ; the remainder should be contributed by the various local authorities in the districts which they serve. Another important matter which must be determined is the relation of institutions providing the highest kind of technical training to the universities or university colleges inthe same district. The best solution of this problem in such acaseas, ¢.7. Manchester would be for the technical institution to absorb all the higher technical work of the city and for the university college to devote itself to the faculties of theology, literature, philosophy, medicine, law, pure science, music, &c. Where local universities are established, the technical institution would become the faculty of technology and commerce; it should not be subjected to the academic contro! of the university, which might tend to destroy its usefulness for industrial and commercial purposes. The great technical institutions of Germany and America exist side by side with important universities ; they are, however, independent of these, and it is partly to this fact that they owe their usefulness in promoting the industrial progress of the German and American nations. An important problem for the new local educational authorities will be the training of ‘teachers of trade subjects. It is easy to find men with a good knowledge of their respective trades, or persons who can teach well, with a superficial knowledge of an industry, but the combination of these qualifications is comparatively rare. It is not easy to see how this can be speedily remedied, but an improvement might be produced by arranging a higher scale of remuneration for teachers of trade sub- jects who had passed examinations giving evidence of NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | NATURE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 their power to explain in simple language matters con- nected with their own industry. More than this it is probably impossible to demand at present. As regards the more highly qualified teachers needed for adult day classes in technical institutions, one of the greatest difficulties is how best to keep such men in touch with their respective industries. If the teachers whole time is not required for the work of the institution, he can remain in contact with the industry by doing consulting work and by research. Unfortunately, in such cases there is often a tendency for him to regard his teaching work as the least important part of his occupation ; in fact, onehas known cases where the principal value of such a teacher to his students has been the fact that his name was well known in the industry and his recommendation consequently a valuable one, though his actual teaching work was of a merely nominal character. The cure for this would be tomake the pay which the teacher receives. for teaching by far the largest part of his income; such an arrangement would, however, mean a considerable in- crease in the salaries of teachers of technical subjects, but, in the opinion of the writer, it would be justifiable, as it would make it possible for some of the best men to continue teachers ; at present, such men are attracted to the industries by the incomparably larger financial prizes which they offer. J. WERTHEIMER. PREVENTION OF RABIES. LETTER headed “ Mr. Hanbury admits the failure of the muzzle” has been addressed to us by a member of the executive committee of the National Canine Defence League, which letter, as might be ex- pected, urges in so many words on behalf of the canine species the total abolition of the muzzling order at all times and under all conditions. The writer of the letter vindicates for himself, as might also be expected, a superior knowledge concerning rabies, its nature and its mode of spread ; he, as a matter of course, is one “ who understands dogs” and considers ‘“‘that the muzzle was from the first condemned as useless cruelty.” According to this authority, the Board of Agriculture, including, we presume, its veterinary department, ‘itself ignorant of dogs and their diseases, has persistently refused to be advised and guided by those who do possess the requisite knowledge” (szc ’). To be serious, it is no new thing that there never is any lack of amateurs who, notwithstanding the obvious want of special knowledge required to form an opinion, are in their own estimation quite capable of judging of the merits or demerits of a question that can be only dealt with adequately by the specialist possessed of the requisite knowledge. Rabies is an infectious disease, directly communicated by the bite of a rabid animal, in the vast majority of cases a rabid dog. In the interest of the animals them- selves—all domestic animals are susceptible to the disease—and above all in the interest of human beings, the disease should be, and as a matter of fact has been, controlled, checked and prevented from spreading by the thorough, not half-hearted, carrying out of the muzzling order: that is, the slaughter of ownerless and stray dogs—the most dangerous because the most frequent means of contagion—and by the muzzling, not merely the pretence of muzzling, of all dogs, so as to include also those that may and sometimes do harbour the contagium before the actual disease has fully declared itself in them. Such is the practice, the only rational practice, which is followed, and successfully followed, in other countries at times when rabies makes its appear- ance. The private opinion of Mr. Hanbury or any other politician on this subject, and the complaint that—owing, most probably, to the loose and half-hearted manner of DECEMBER 25, 1902 | administering the muzzling order—rabies has not been stamped out in Wales, does not touch the real merits of the question. ; Mr. Long, the former President of the Buard of Agri- culture, who has proved himself thoroughly well instructed in the whole question of rabies, has with laudable firmness resisted the outcry and the repeated assaults of the uninstructed sentimentalists, and as a result was able to demonstrate that by the strict carrying out of the muzzling order rabies in England was checked and was almost reduced to extinction, though at first it was so prevalent as to be really alarming. It seems hopeless to discuss this or any other dog-question with people who, in the face of all expert opinion as regards prevention of rabies, and particularly against the opinion of sensible owners of dogs, can write that “the muzzling order and the muzzle are a gross and wanton cruelty to animals.” But even if it were not an exaggeration, as we are persuaded it is, that the owners of dogs in general object to the muzzling order and consider it a cruelty to animals, what about the human species? Human beings who are not members of the executive committee | of the National Canine Defence League regard the muzzling order as an important safeguard. duties of the State is to protect the health and lives of its citizens. Hydrophobia of man is one of the most terrible diseases, and the slaughter of stray dogs and the muzzling of all dogs in places where rabies is rife has been proved to be at present the best and only means to prevent the spread of the disease to man. Besides, it should be the interest of owners of valuable animals to insist on the retention and strict carrying out of a measure which to a very Jarge extent insures against the spread of rabies and consequent loss—seemingly of indifference to the members of the Canine Defence League. RECENT WORK OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Tp ene Report referred to below! shows that the Geo- logical Survey continues with activity and success its investigation of the geology of these islands. It bears witness to a large amount of steady and useful routine work, which may not make much show, but which will | contribute to our knowledge of the detailed structure of | these islands and in some instances will have direct economic usefulness. Among the more interesting scien- tific results of the year’s work, the progress of the re-ex- amination of Cornwall has brought to light evidence of a younger granite than the main mass of that rock, showing that the granitic intrusions form a somewhat more com- plex series than had been supposed. The clue, however, | to the detailed structure of the so-called “killas ” and the ‘boundaries between the true Devonian and older rocks still eludes the keen eyes with which the surveyors are searching for it. If we could hope that the appoint- ment of a mining geologist would do anything towards reviving the decayed mining industry of the region, we | NATURE One of the | 179 invaded and altered a portion of the Lower Old Red Sandstone series of Lorne. The importance of this new fact lies in its relation to the history of the metamorphism and igneous protrusions of the Scottish Highlands, for it shows that some of the granitic masses, like those of Galloway and Leinster, are certainly post-Silurian in age. Another notable “find” is that of the zone of Pecten asper in the island of Scalpay and of Upper Cretaceous rocks in the sound of Soay. In Ireland, the energies of the Survey are now con- | centrated on the Drift, with the view of preparing accurate maps of the superficial deposits of the country. But under Mr. Lamplugh’s direction, the geological interest of the glacial geology is not likely to be lost sight of. | One of the features of the work in the Dublin district was the finding of evidence which seems to support the view that the eskers represent water-channels which existed under the ice-sheet. A new arrangement has been made in this Summary. Its materials are grouped by districts instead of, as formerly, by formations. The change will no doubt save trouble in the preparation of the volume, but it gives a great deal more to the. geologist who wishes to ascertain | what additions to our knowledge the Survey has been able to make in any particular part of the geological record. Another change is the omission of the Director’s name from the book. It surely cannot have been the wish of those who wield the new brooms at South Kensington to sweep Mr. Teall’s name clean out of his Report. PROF. P. P. DEHERAIN. EHERAIN (b. 1830, d. 1902), who in 1887 succeeded ‘~ to Boussingault’s place in the Académie des Sciences, was, for the last twenty-two years of his life, professor of vegetable physiology as applied to agriculture at the Muséum in Paris. His early work was chiefly agricul- tural, and included researches on calcium phosphate, on the salts of potassium, &c. ; he was author of a “ Cours de Chimie agricole,” and it should not be forgotten that he founded the Annales agronomiques. In the region of pure physiology, he was author of a number of memoirs, of which those written in collaboration with Maquenne, Moissan and others are perhaps especially well known. He worked at gaseous interchange, including the absorp- tion of oxygen by succulents and by oily seeds, also at | the assimilation of CO,, being especially interested in | the action of the different parts of the spectrum on this process. His researches extended to other subjects, such as transpiration, the assimilation of free nitrogen and denitrification. A sympathetic appreciation of his personal character and of his career as a teacher is given by his former pupil, Maquenne, in Za Nazure of December 13,to which we acknowledge our indebtedness. Although Déherain’s name is not associated with any great discovery, he deserves the place he won for himself in the annals of plant-physiology and the honour due to one who dies in harness. Bee: should still more rejoice in this increase to the strength | of the staff. Another of the problems which for years past has baffled the officers of the Survey is that of the Old Red Sandstone of South Wales. They are still un- able to draw any satisfactory line between the lower and upper divisions of the system. before the western coast is reached, we can hardly hope that it will be discovered in any part of this region. Some interesting discoveries were made during the year in Scotland. Foremost among these is the finding of proof that the granite of south-west Argyllshire has w “Summary of Progress of the Geological Survey of the Kingdom and Museum of Practical Geology for 1901.” NO. 1730, VOL. 67] If the key is not found | United | TRANSATLANTIC WIRELESS TELEGRAPAHY. | | R. MARCONI’S latest success is a wonderful achievement. Messages have been exchanged in | both directions across the Atlantic, between his two new | Stations at Glace Bay, Cape Breton, and Poldhu, Corn- | wall. Transatlantic wireless telegraphy has thus been | successfully established ; and the persistent effort which | has enabled this result to be accomplished merits the fullest recognition. The messages which we print from the Zzmes represent the inauguration of a system of 180 | communication which is not only of the highest scientific | interest, but also of practical importance. The following messages and particulars referring to them appeared in the Zimes of December 22 and December 23 :— Ottawa, December 21. The first message to be sent across the Atlantic Ocean by wireless telegraphy was despatched to-day to King Edward by Lord Minto. Notice of its. successful transmission was received to-night by the Governor in the following message :— “Glace Bay, Cape Breton. “‘T have the honour to inform your Excellency that your message to his Majesty has now been transmitted by me from Cape Breton to Cornwall by wireless telegraphy, and has been forwarded to its destination. —G. MARCONI.” Lord Minto replied as follows :— “*T am delighted at your message, which I have just received. My warmest congratulations on your spendid success.” December 22. King Edward has replied to Lord Minto’s telegram sent to His Majesty by Signor Marconi’s apparatus, as follows :— ‘‘T am much interested by the wireless message which you have sent me, and am delighted at the success of Signor Marconi’s great invention, which brings Great Britain and Canada into still closer connection. —EDWARD.” On Monday, the 7Zzmes published the’ following message from its correspondent at Glace Bay :— ‘‘Being present at its transmission in Signor Marconi’s Canadian station, I have the honour to send through the 77zmes the inventor’s first wireless Transatlantic message of greeting to England and Italy.” The following message, also transmitted by wireless telegraphy, was published on Tuesday :— The Government of Canada, through the Z%mes, desires to congratulate the British people on the accomplishment by Marconi of the greatest feat which modern science has yet achieved. «CARTWRIGHT, Acting Premier, ‘© Ottawa, December 21.” NOTES. THE King of Denmark has conferred upon Lord Lister the honour of Knighthood of the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog. M. DARBOUXN, permanent secretary of the Paris Academy of Sciences, has been appointed a member of the Bureau des Longitudes in succession to the late Prof. Cornu. Mr. C. A. ANGOT, of the Bureau central météorologique de France, and Prof. W. L. Moore, of the United States Weather Bureau, have been elected honorary members of the Royal Meteorological Society. THE council of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society has awarded the Wilde gold medal for 1903 to Prof. F. W. Clarke, of the United States Geological Survey, anda Dalton medal to Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S. In view of the fact that next year will mark the centenary of the discovery by Dalton of the atomic theory, Prof. Clarke (whose writings on the atomic weights are well known) has also been invited and has consented to deliver the Wilde lecture for 1903. The presentation of the medals and the delivery of the lecture will probably take place in May, 1903. Ar the general meeting of the Zoological Society of London on December 18, it was announced that Mr. William Lutley Sclater had been selected by the council out of twenty-two ap- plicants for the vacant post of secretary. Mr. Sclater is now director of the South African Museum, Cape Town, and has previously held appointments as science master at Eton and as assistant director of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. He is a NO. 1730, VOL. 67] NA TLORE [| DECEMBER 25, 1902 well-known authority on the mammals and _ birds of India and Africa, and on other zoological subjects, and is at present edit- ing a series of volumes on the fauna of South Africa, of which four have already been published. WE regret to record the death, on December 13, of Dr. John Young, late professor of natural history in Glasgow University since 1866. THE death is announced of Prof. Zaayer, professor of anatomy in the University of Leyden. The death is also announced of Prof. Leonard Landois, professor of physiology at the University of Greifswald (Pomerania). Mr. T. Brice PHILLIPS, of Uckfield, has been awarded the prize of fifty pounds, together with a silver medal, offered by the council of the Society of Arts for his essay on ‘‘ Existing Laws, By-laws and Regulations Relating to Protection from Fire, with Criticisms and Suggestions.” Prizes of ten pounds with a bronze medal have also been awarded to Mr. George H, Paul and to Dr. W. C. Henderson. Ir is announced in Sczence that the Section of Geology and Geography of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which will meet at Washington on December 27, has arranged to devote a session of the meeting to the discussion of the recent eruptions of Mont Pelée and La Soufriére by Messrs. Russell, ill, Heilprin, Jaggar, Curtis and Hovey, who visited the islands of Martinique and St. Vincent a few months ago. THE Coats family have given 10,0007. between them to the cancer research scheme, 5000/. being from Sir Thomas Coats and family, and 5000/. from Mr. Archibald Coats and his two brothers. The 7zes states that a few more such contri- butions would bring the fund up to the required amount, and would enable the investigations to be carried through on the comprehensive lines indicatedjin the scheme which was form- ulated and is being directed by the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. A REUTER message states that at 9.30 a.m. on December 16, Andijan, in the province of Fergana, Russian Central Asia, was totally destroyed by an earthquake. about 50,000 inhabitants. According to a rough estimate, 16,000 Andijan is a town of © houses have been destroyed and 2500 persons killed as a result ( of the earthquake. Subterranean rumblings and tremblings of the earth continue. At New Marghelan, the capital of Fergana province, the shock lasted nearly three minutes. The direction was from north-east to south-west. A TELEGRAM to the Paris Petit Journal, dated December 17, states that for several days past Mount Vesuvius has been throwing out rock masses, vapour and dust. WE learn from the Zimes that news has been received at Stockholm that the Swedish Antarctic exploration ship Azd- arctic left Tierra del Fuego at the beginning of November on its second summer expedition. It was expected that the expe- dition, after some cartographic work and natural historical research in the northern and western portions of the Dirck Gerritz Archipelago, would arrive about December 10 at the winter quarters in Snow Hill Land, where Dr. Nordenskjold would resume the leadership of the entire expedition. The Antarctic will probably return to Port Stanley (Falkland Is- lands) at the end of February or the beginning of March. In the House of Commons on December 16, the President of the Board of Trade was asked whether he was aware that three dangerous varieties of colour-blindness escaped detection by the Board of Trade test, whilst many normal-sighted persons were rejected by it. In reply, Mr. Gerald Balfour said the present DECEMBER 25, 1902] NATURE 1 (o/e) =) system was adopted on the recommendation of a committee appointed by the council of the Royal Society, and that the Board of Trade in doubtful cases had the assistance of the gentleman who acted as secretary to the committee. The President of the Board of Trade said he did not think there was any necessity for a small departmental committee to reconsider the test in the light of recent discoveries, as had been suggested. Mr. Francis WATTS, Government Analyst and Agricultural Chemist for the Leeward Islands, sends us from Antigua the following particulars of recent high tides received from cor- respondents in various neighbouring islands, and possibly con- nected with changes due to the late volcanic disturbances :— Barbuda, During the month of October and early in November, the tide was abnormally high, the rise being from 18 inches to 2 feet above the ordinary. Oldinhabitants do not remember a like rise, except perhaps ina severe gale such as a hurricane, and then only for a short time.—Oliver Nugent. Vevzs. Tides unusually high for eight or nine days, commencing about November 1.—R. B. Roden. Dominica. Tides unusually high for few weeks ending November 12, the level being con- stantly at about high-water mark. No determination had been made whether this was caused by high tides or change of level.— W. H. Porter. Zovtola. Tides much higher than usual—a fact generally commented upon and noticed while bathing. No exact observations made, but the difference could safely be put down as afoot in depth.— Dr. Cookman. Referring to these records, Mr. Watts remarks, ‘‘Of course, it may turn out that there has simply been an abnormally high tide throughout the Leeward Islands, but so far the tide does not seem to have returned to its normal height. Observations will be continued and submitted from time to time. It will not be a very easy matter to determine if there have been slight changes of level, particularly in places where the shore is very steep, as it is in many of the islands of volcanic origin.” AN aéronautical problem of some interest, and of far less difficulty than the problem of artificial flight, is the performance of journeys across the sea in a balloon. In Za Nature for November 15, Lieut.-Colonel G. Espitalier gives an illustrated account of M. Henri Herve’s balloon, the M/édztervancen No. 2, and the methods adopted for directing it at sea. In order to prevent the balloon from being depressed by a shower of rain, its top part terminates ina cone. Instead of trailing a single guide rope, M. Hervé proposes a system of ‘‘ triangulation,” consisting of a trailer floating at the end of a long rope behind the balloon, and a balance weight hanging in the water by a nearly vertical and shorter rope, the resistance of the latter body being necessarily smaller than that of the former. The sea itself furnishes an inexhaustible supply of ballast, and this can be drawn up into a cylindrical reservoir suspended above the balance weight, a suction hose being used for filling the reservoir when required. This ‘‘ compensator ” is fixed near the surface © of the water. M. Hervé employs two deviators for diverting his balloon by the action of the water, one, which he calls a ‘‘ minimum deviator,” for angles of about 30°, and the other, the ‘* maximum deviator,” for angles which are alleged to reach as much as 70° or 80. M. Hervé first experimented in this direction on the North Sea in 1886, and last year he transferred the seat of his operations to the Mediterranean. IN a message from Buenos Ayres, a correspondent of the Times states that Mr. Reginald Rankin made the ascent of Aconcagua alone on December 14, having been deserted by his native guide. Being caught by a snowstorm, Mr. Rankin spent the night in the open at 22,000 feet, and on December 15 walked and rode continuously to Puente del Inca, a journey of 124 hours, with frostbitten hands and feet. His toes have had to be amputated, but his fingers will probably be saved. NO. 1730, VOL. 67] UnviL recently, a rule has been in force in the Lahore Veterinary College prohibiting fos¢-ortem examinations of cows or pigs or any other ‘‘sacred or prohibited animals.” We learn from the Péoreex Maz/ that the principal has sub- jected the carcass of a bull to examination for educational purposes and has declared that in future the thing will be done as a matter of course. The Bengali Press is indignant and prophesies the most dire results to British rule if the practice is continued, butit is difficult tosee how veterinary surgeons can be trained satisfactorily without practical dissection of the kind to which objection is taken. In our correspondence columns of December 4 (p. 103), under the title ‘‘Germs in Space,” the suggestion was made that the dust which reaches the earth from space may contain living as well as dead matter. Mr. John Munro writes to say that in the ‘‘ Bijou ” biography of Lord Kelvin, published some time ago, the same view is expressed in the following passage. The passage runs (p. 81) :—‘*Nay, it seems rather a crude hypothesis, for the seeds of life may be floating like meteorites in space and ready to sow the crust of a new and virgin planet.” Dr. H. HERGESELL, President of the International Aéro- nautical Committee, states that the results hitherto obtained from the monthly balloon ascents have justified in every way the continuation of the experiments, and that it is proposed to continue them during the year 1903. During the current year, about 110 registering balloons and 52 manned balloons have been sent up. In addition, kites have been regularly employed in Europe and Boston, U.S. ; on two occasions, they were also flown from steamers on the Lake of Constance. The complete results for the year 1901 will be published shortly, and those for 1902 are also in the press. SEVERAL interesting articles of a semi-scientific nature appear in the Christmas number of the Gardener’s Magazine, notably the description by Mr. J. Yeld of a climbing tour through the south-western Alps, and a historical account of the gardens at Hampton Court by Mr. G. Gordon, A calendar for the new year is included in the issue. AN investigation into the causes of larch and spruce fir canker, by Mr. George Massee, forms the subject of a publica- tion by the Board of Agriculture. The fungus which generally attacks the larch is Dasyscypha calycina, and an allied species, Dasyscypha resinaria, is mainly the source of trouble in spruce canker; but these species are not easily distinguishable except to the expert. These two forms are not confined to the larch and spruce, but they may attack certain pines and firs, while other species also are destructive to coniferous trees. Mr. *Massee confirms Hartwig’s conclusions that they are wound | parasites and finds that aphides are frequently the cause of trouble, although late frosts, which induce rupture of the bark and consequently extrusion of sap, are also a source of danger. ‘Seedlings and young trees may be protected by spraying, but in the case of older trees the disease cannot be eradicated. A uisToryY of systematic botany prior to Linnzus is given by Dr. B. Schorler in the Sz/zumgsberichte of the ‘‘ Isis” Society of Dresden. To Aristotle is attributed the commencement of the study of botany as a branch of science; Theophrastus observed about 450 plants, Dioscorides about 800. According to Dr. Schorler, the earliest herbariums now extant are those of Aldrovandi in Bologna, Girault in Paris, Caesalpini in Florence, Hernandez in Escurial (Spain), Rauwolff in Leiden, Harder in Ulm, Ratzenberger in Cassel, Caspar Bauhin in Basle and von Burser in Upsala. IN a series of articles upon the dissociation of inatter, which have been published in some of the recent issues of the Revue Scientifique, M. Gustave le Bon gives an interesting account, partly historical and partly descriptive, of the experiments 182 performed by himself and others on radio-activity, and of the thecries which have been based upon them. The final con- clusion at which he arrives is that kathode rays, X-rays and all the various phenomena of radio-activity appear to be particular aspects of a new form of energy which is as common in nature as electricity or heat, and the closer study of which may reveal to us a connecting link between matter and energy. WE have received a copy of vol. xvi. of the /ouwrna/ of the College of Science of the Imperial University of Tokyo, which contains a number of interesting contributions on electrical subjects. The first of these, from the pen of Mr. Y. Homma, discusses some of the observa'ions on atmospheric electricity made at the Central Meteorological Observatory of Japan, dealing more especially with the effects of wind, fog, rain and snow on the atmospheric potential. The remaining papers, six in number, are contributed by Prof. Nagaoka, Mr. K. Honda and others, and all deal with magnetostriction and other allied phenomena in ferromagnetic substances. Thos interested in the subject may be referred to thes? papers as containing the records of much valuable experimental work. REFERRING in these columns a few weeks ago to the manu- facture of apparatus from vitreous silica, the hope was expressed that our manufacturers at home were not going to be left behind in the application of this art. We have since learnt that Messrs. Baird and Tatlock have been manufacturing silica vessels by Mr. Shenstone’s process for the past eighteen months and are prepared to make a variety of apparatus to specification. Tue Paris correspondent of the 7%mes states that an auto- mobile system is to be tried on the lines of the Paris-Lyons- Marseilles Railway. The trial trip is to be made by three cars next June from Paris to Dijon, and it is hoped to cover the 300 kilometres in a little more than three hours, or at an average rate of about sixty miles an hour. Each car is to be of the same size as an ordinary corridor carriage and capable of seating forty passengers ; the petroleum engineis at the front of the car. The cars are to be built by Messrs. Gardner and Serpollet and will have the same weight asa corridor carriage. At present it is only intended to try the system for passenger traffic, but if it is successful it will doubtless be widely extended. It is also announced that a similar system is to be tried on the North- Eastern Railway between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool, where there is keen competition between the railway and the tramway. These cars are to carry a petrol engine driving a dynamo which will generate electric current for the actual driving motors. A BRIEF description of the laboratories recently fitted up for electrochemical analysis at the Chemical Institute at Nancy is given by M. Arth, director of the Institute, in ?Acéacrage £lectrique for December 13. There are two rooms, one of which serves asa balance and appiratus room, the other contain- ing the working benches. The laboratory proper is fitted up with two double tables each capable of accommodating eight students and a single table having room for two more. Each student has at his disposal two sets of leads, which can be con- nected to a supply of suitable voltage, a rheostat, and terminals by means of which an ammeter and voltmeter can be put in circuit. There isone ammeter and voltmeter provided between the four students working at the same side of the table, so that they have to make their measurements in turn, but these are so conrected that the measurements can be made without interrupt- ing the circuit. Extra terminals are, however, provided, by means of which additional apparatus can be connected in circuit. The circuits are purposely so arranged that the operations are not made too automatic, but the student has to understand what he NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | NATURE [| DECEMBER 25, 1902 is doing each time he makes a connection ora measurement. A full set of platinum electrodes, dishes, &c., completes the equip- ment. THE river terraces in New England form the subject of an essay by Prof. W. M. Davis (Budletix Museum Comp. Zool., Harvard College, vol. xxxviii.). He discusses the formation of terraces in valleys occupied by drift, and urges the importance of studying them in plan as well as in section. He points out that they may be accounted for, firstly, by the behaviour of a meandering and swinging stream, slowly degrading the valley deposits; and, secondly, by the control exerted here and there over the lateral swinging of the stream through the opening up of previously buried rock-ledges. The effects of up- lift on the formation of terraces and rock-platforms are duly considered. A MEMOIR on the geology of Lower Strathspey, by Mr. L W. Hinxman and Mr. J. S Grant Wilson, has been issued by the Geological Survey. The region described, which is in the counties of Elgin and Banff, is formed mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks with a considerable area of Old Red Sandstone. The metamorphic rocks include granulitic schistose rocks of the Central Highland or Muine schist type, and various quartzites, schists and limestones with associated igneous rocks, grouped as the Banffshire series. Ty this series the fuliated granites belong, while of later date is the great granite mass of Ben Rinnes and the Convals, which forms the dominant feature of the district. The petrograpky is dealt with by Dr. Flett. Two divisions of Old Red Sandstone are noted, the Middle or Orcadian and the Upper, and between these there is uncon- formity, as the Upper Old Red Sandstone rests on the basal conglomerates of the Orcadian series and extends on to the crystalline schists. Dr. Traquair contributes an interesting note on the general distribution of fishes in the Old Red Sandstone, observing that there are ‘‘ three distinct fish-faunze,” while Mr. Kidston, in a note on the fossil plants, remarks that they also show a clearly defined threefold division of this formation, Glacial drifts extend over much of the ground, with the exception of the higher hill tops, and they present many features of interest. A SUPPLEMENTARY list of lantern slides, recently issued by Messrs. Newton and Co., contains particulars of many slides of scientific interest. Among the subjects of slides suitable for science lectures or lessons are British reptiles and other animals, photographed from life by Mr. D. English; butterflies and moths; trees and ‘plants; photographs of ripples on mercury and water, by Dr. J. H. Vincent ; sound waves, by Prof. R. W. Wood; and photomicrographs by Dr. Spitta to illustrate the morphology of the malarial parasite. In the November number of the Fela Naturalists Quar- terly, Dr. G. Leighton reopens the question of adders swallowing their young. Although he is unable to cite any definite instance of the occurrence of the phenomenon, he shows that some of the objections which have been urged againstit are based on a misinterpretation of anatomical facts, and demon- strates that there is nothing inherently impossible in its taking place. As the gullet of an adder is perfectly capable of contain- ing the body of a field-mouse, and as frogs are known to live for a considerable time after being swallowed by snakes, there is no reason why young adders should not be swallowed by their parent without being killed. The question remains, however, to be proved by positive evidence. ‘‘ Of the possibility of the phenomenon,” writes the author, ‘‘we have not the slightest doubt, of the probability of it we have considerable doubt.” WE have received from the publisher, Herr G. Fischer, of Jena, an interesting pamphlet by Prof. Max Weber, of Amster- dam, entitled “The Indo-Australian Archipelago and the DECEMBER 25, 1902| History of its Fauna.” In a previous essay, the author has adduced evidence to show that Celebes should be referred to the Oriental rather than to the Australasian region, the Moluccan Channel, and not the Macassar Strait, forming the division between the two areas. In the present communication, he endorses the opinion that marsupials and monotremes reached Australasia from Asia. According to the .author’s view, in pre-Tertiary—very likely Cretaceous—times Australia was united by land with Asia. A Euro-Asiatic fauna inhabited this land, from which during the Eocene a southern portion was cut off by partial submergence, this southern portion being the modern Australia and New Guinea, the home of monotremes, marsupials and ancient forms of other groups, such as casso- waries and birds-of-paradise, while widely distributed specialised types are wanting. Northwards extended a coral-sea, in the islands of which dwelt primitive rodents, insectivores and other ancient groups, with perhaps cuscuses. During the Miocene, great changes of level took place in the Archipelago, which attained its present form in the Pleistocene. Celebes was insu- lated early, Java late. Intermittent land-connections took place, which allowed of periodical immigrations of Asiatic forms from one side and of Australian types from the other. The question is left undecided whether the cuscuses of the Austro- Malay islands are remnants of the primitive Euro-Asiatic fauna or later immigrants from Australia. The suggestion is also made that the Australian and Philippine rodents are relicts of the original pre-Tertiary fauna, although it is admitted that the specialisation of Hydromys is against this. The author fails to see any evidence in favour of a former connection of Australasia with either South America or Antarctica. THE Rev. George Grenfell, of the Baptist Missionary Society, has constructed a map of the Congo River between Leopoldville and Stanley Falls from running surveys made during 1884-89 in the steamers Peace and Goodwz//. The map is in ten sections, twoon asheet, and the five sheets are published in a convenient case by the Royal Geographical Society. A reprint of Mr. Grenfell’s article, ‘‘ The Upper Congo as a Waterway,” which was printed in the Geographical Journal for November, 1902, accompanies the map and serves the purpose of explana- tory notes. Tue ‘‘Englishwoman’s Year Book and Directory, 1903,” shows in a most convincing manner the ever-increasing part that women are taking in the work of the world. The editor has again obtained able assistance in the pre- paration of many of the sections, those dealing with science, medicine and education being typical instances. The original work in science done by women workers, a list of colleges where women may study, the names of women holding college appointments, and a list of scientific societies of which women may be members, are some of the subjects included in the science section. THE issue for 1903 of the well-known annual biographical dictionary, ‘‘ Who’s Who,”’ is considerably larger than previous editions, though all the preliminary tables which have appeared in former years have been removed, except that enumerating the members of the Royal family and the obituary for the year ending September 30, 1902. As usual, prominence is given to the biographies of men who have distinguished themselves in various branches of science, whether pure or applied, and the information is generally trustworthy as well as interesting. The annual is one of the few which can justly be termed indis- pensable books of reference. A TRANSLATION, by Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S., and Miss Alice Everett, of Dr. H. Hovestadt’s ‘‘Jena Glass and its Scientific and Industrial Applications,” which was reviewed in NATURE 183 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., at 155. net. With a view to make the book as clear as possible to English readers, the translators have given the spirit rather than the letter of the original, and they have, in cases where it seemed desirable, added brief explanations, which are always distinguished from the text. Some few matters of subordinate interest have been condensed. The details of an important application of science to industry will, by the aid of this translation, now be accessible to British students and opticians unfamiliar with the German language. THE permanent seismological commission appointed two years ago by the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Peters- burg has recently issued its first report, a quarto volume of more than two hundred pages. Most of the papers are written in Russian, and only one of these is accompanied by a summary in French. Several communications deal with the foundation of the International Association of Seismology at Strassburg in 1901; in others, Prof. Lewitski describes experiments with simple seismoscopes and with seismographs the movements of which are registered mechanically. The president of the commission considers the theory of the horizontal pendulum and Mr. B. Galitzin that of other seismographs, the latter erroneously attributing Darwin’s bifilar pendulum to Davison. General Pomerantzeff contributes an examination of the seismogram traced at Strassburg on June 24, 1901, and concludes that it is extremely difficult to explain the oscillations of horizontal pendulums during earthquakes either by tilts of the ground or by horizontal displacements alone, although they might be produced by a combination of such movements. A SPECIAL report on the mineral waters of Kansas has been made by Mr. E. H. S. Bailey, with the assistance of Messrs. E. B. Knerr, Crane and McFarland, for the University Geo- -logical Survey of Kansas, which is conducted under the authority of the Board of Regents of the University of Kansas. The volume runs to 343 pp. and is divided into two parts ; the former provides a discussion of the subject of mineral waters in general, while the latter arranges and classifies those of Kansas and supplies full analyses of a great number of samples of them. Many illustrations and one or two maps add to the value and interest of the report. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. CoMEY 1902 d.—Herr M. Ebell has calculated the following elements for this comet from observations made on December 3 (Konigsberg), December 5 (Hamburg, two observations) and December 7 (Heidelberg) :— T = 1903 April 19°441 Berlin M.T. o= 51 312) Q = TI2 54°91 yi Ae eae 1992 log g = 0717344 The ephemeris which accompanies these elements estimates that the brightness of the comet on December 31 will be 274, its brightness on December 2 being taken as unity. THE ALGOL VaRIABLE R.V. (13, 1902) Lyr&®.—In Cr- cular No. 66 of the Harvard College Observatory, Prof. Pickering gives the results of an examination of some of the Draper memorial photographs in regard to the new Algol vari- able, R.V. Lyrz, recently discovered by Mr. Stanley Williams. From a photograph taken July 11d. 1$h. om., 1893, a correction of +4h. or — 2h. to Mr. Williams’s ephemeris is obtained, but which of these values is the right one Prof. Pickering has not yet been able to determine. PRopeR MOTION AND PARALLAX OF Nova PrrseEI.—In the Astronomische Nachrichten (No. 3834), Herr Asten Bergstrand details the observations he has made in order to determine the proper motion and the parallax of Nova Persei. Using the astrographic refractors of the Upsala Observatory, our issue for December 20, 1900, has been published by Messrs. ; Herr Bergstrand has obtained eighteen negatives of the Nova NO. 1730, VOL. 67] 184 MALT ORE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 - region, and from ninety-five measurements of these negatives he has obtained the following values for the relative yearly motion of the Nova in regard to the comparison stars here given :— Relative yearly motion of Nova. Comparison Star. SS In R.A. In Decl. a (B.D. + 43730) +006 +005 6 (B.D. + 43°732) —0'07 +0°07 ¢ (B.D. + 43°748) 0°00 +0°'07 ad (B.D. + 43°751) +0°1O +002 Herr Bergstrand has obtained +0”'033 as the final value for the absolute parallax of the Nova. STAR WITH PROBABLE LARGE PROPER MOorion.—In making observations of Comet 1902 0, M. J. Pidoux, of Geneva, has found the position of the star B.D. —1°°3359, relative to the position of the star B.D, — 1°'3360, to be Aa=-—os.‘03 and Ad=I0' 33’"6. In the catalogue for 1855, these values are given as — 2s.°4 and — 12’'I respectively, thus showing—if the observations of M. Pidoux are confirmed —that the star has a large proper motion (Astrononische Nachrichten, No. 3834). REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT ASTRONOMER FOR NATAL, 1901.—This report deals with all the meteorological data col- lected during 1901 at the Government Observatory at Durban and at the thirty subsidiary meteorological stations which are scattered throughout the colony. The equipment of the observatory has undergone no change during the year. The table giving the yearly rainfall shows that the amount of rain which fell at Durban during 1901 was considerably above the average, being more than double the quantity recorded during 1900. ToraL ECLIPSE OF THE Moon, APRIL 22, 1902.—Several series of observations of this eclipse are recorded in this month’s Bulletin de la Société Astronomigue de France, and an excellent coloured plate, showing the appearance of the moon at various phases of the eclipse as seen by Dr. W. van der Gracht, of Graz (Styria), accompanies the observations made by him. THE GREAT IRRIGATION DAM AT ASSUAN. ‘THE country of Egypt consisted principally in its natural state of level, arid plains with a few patches of vegetation on the higher parts. Its agricultural prosperity depends entirely on the irrigation derived from the River Nile. It is many thousands of years ago that the first attempt was made to regulate this river and make it serviceable to mankind. In the time of Menes, the west side of the river was embanked, and the water led by a system of canals and embankments to the land lying between the river and the Libyan mountains. When the river was in flood, openings were cut in the banks and the country converted into a series of lakes, the land being enriched and rendered fertile by the warp brought down in suspension by the turbid water of the river. When the floods subsided, the water drained off and the openings made in the banks were again filled up. This system remained in existence until after the English occupation, when regulating sluices took the place of the more primitive method of cutting and making good the banks, A great depression on the Libyan side of the river was also, in the time of the Pharaohs, converted into a vast regulating basin known as Lake Meeris which was reckoned one of the wonders of the world. Afterwards the right side of the river was also embanked, and the channel enlarged and regulated. To Joseph of scripture fame belongs the merit of having made one of the principal canals used for irrigating the land, and after the lapse of 40co years the Bahr Usuf, or Joseph’s waterway, is still doing useful work. For records of further works of importance, it is necessary to skip over a very long period to the time of Mehemet Ali, about the year 1833, who, under the advice of French engineers, caused to be constructed the great barrage above Cairo across the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile, and, by thus holding up the water when plentiful, a very large area of land is NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | irrigated and rendered highly fertile during the dry period. When the difficulty and cost of obtaining the stone necessary for this great work was pointed out to the Egyptian ruler, it is said he at once gave orders for the destruction of so many of the pyramics as would provide the necessary material, and these monuments were only preserved by the engineers assuring the Khedive that the cost of this would be greater than transporting the stone from other places. Until the English occupation, this barrage was more or less a failure, as, owing to defective foundations, the water could not be held up sufficiently high to make the irrigation effective as it otherwise would be. When the English Irrigation Department obtained control over the works, this defect was with great skill and difficulty remedied. It has long been recognised by the English irrigation engineers that the present system of irrigation very imperfectly makes use of the fertile properties of the Nile floods. The most perfectly irrigated lands command a rent equal to 5/. an acre ; imperfectly irrigated land is not worth more than 1/, an acre, while one-third of Egypt, or about two million acres, is yet’ undeveloped. It is estimated that the rental value of Egypt may be increased six millions a year by an effective system of irri- gation. The great bulk of the land is dealt with by the original plan of basin irrigation, where the water is carried on to the land during the Nile floods and after remaining there for about six weeks is drained off. The more effective and profitable plan is where perennial irrigation is carried on, that is, where water can be supplied, not only in times of flood, but in summer and dry seasons. ‘To effect this it becomes necessary to store up the water in floods in impounding reservoirs and let it out as required in the dry season. The great dam at Assuan, which was opened with much cere- mony in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and the Khedive at the beginning of December, has been con- structed for this purpose. This dam, erected across the Nile, will hold up the water for a distance of 147 miles. For several years, the staff of the English Irrigation Depart- ment was engaged in surveying the country in order to arrive at the best site for the intended reservoir, and finally it was decided that the first cataract at Assuan offered the most eligible conditions for this purpose. A scheme designed by Mr. Wilcocks, the chief of the Engineering Department, was approved, This scheme was opposed because the Temple of Philze would be submerged, and ultimately, in deference to the objections of archeologists and the foreign members of the Inter- national Commission who had to be consulted, a compromise was arrived at and the height of the dam was reduced, allowing the temple to stand out above the level of the water. The dam has, however, been so designed that at any future time the additional height can be added to it so as to take full advantage of the natural reservoir capacity. When this is done, ten millions of rental will be added to the resources of the country at a cost of about a quarter of a million a money. The great dam \is a Cyclopzean work. It is a mile and a quarter long, constructed of solid granite and cement, and is founded on the natural bed of granite over which the river runs. The height is S2 feet, and when full it will have a head of 65 feet of water against it. The base is 80 feet and the top 24 feet wide. It is pierced by 140 lower openings 234 feet high by 6 feet wide, and 40 upper openings. These openings are pro- vided by doors so hung and balanced that they can be lifted and lowered with very little labour. Through these openings, the Nile water will flow in floods and the scour will carry with it the sediment that may have settled when the water is still. As the flood waters decrease, the doors will be closed and the water impounded and only allowed to escape in such quantities as will be required for irrigation during the summer months. For the navigation, a canal a mile long has been cut through the rocks with a width of 50 feet, and a lock constructed having a descent of 69 feet in four drops. For the further regulation of the water, another dam has been constructed across the Nile 330 miles lower down, above the entrance to the Ibrahimeh Canal at Assiout, to control the irriga- tion below this point. Here also a lock has been made of sufficient size to allow the largest steamers using the Nile to pass through. When this scheme of irrigation was ripe for commencement, a question arose as to how the large sum of money required for its execution were to bé raised. The International Com- mission charged with the finances of Egypt refused to allow a charge to be made on the public debt, and without this per- DECEMBER 25, 1902] mission the resources of Egypt were not equal to finding the money. In these circumstances, English enterprise came to the rescue. Sir Ernest Cassel, backed by a financial syndicate, undertook to find the money and Sir John Aird contracted to carry out the work. The capital fund is to be repaid by instal- ments of 166,000/. extending over thirty years, and it is antici- pated that the irrigation will produce a revenue of 400,000/. a year. Sir Benjamin Baker has been the consulting engineer, and the work was carried out under the direction of Mr. Fitzmaurice, lately appointed engineer of the London County Council. The dam has thus been entirely carried out by English enterprise and English capital. THE VELOCITY OF PROPAGATION OF X-RAYS. M R. BLONDLOT has recently made an experimental * determination of the velocity of propagation of X-rays, as a result of which he finds that they travel with the same velocity as light. The full account of the work is published in the Comptes rendus for October 27 and November 3 and 10 (vol. exxxv. pp. 666, 721 and 763), and a translation of the first two papers is given in the Zlectrictan for November 21. As the subject is one of great importance, the following brief abstract of the methods used and the results obtained may be of interest to the readers of NATURE. a ¥ The method is based on a principle similar to that of Romer’s method of determining the velocity of light. The arrangement of the apparatus is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. B and 3’ B’ Fic. 1.—Diagram of M. Blondlot’s apparatus. represent the terminals of the secondary of an induction coil which are connected to the poles a, A’ of a Hertz radiator and to the electrodes E, E’ of an X-ray tube. Beneath the Hertz radiator is placed a resonator consisting of a copper wire folded into the shape of a triangle pp’c. The spark gap, c, of this resonator is so placed that it receives the X-rays from the focus tube, but is protected from all other radiation by screens of black paper and an aluminium plate. The oscillator Aa’ consists of two brass cylinders arranged horizontally in a bottle of vaseline oil. By suitably altering the length of the spark gap, the oscil- lator and the focus tube can be made to work simyltaneously. The action is then as follows:—At each current of break, the potential between E and £’ rises sufficiently for the X-ray tube to respond. As the potential continues to rise, a spark passes in the oscillator, and this, withdrawing energy from the focus tube, extinguishes it. By careful adjustment, the spark potential of the exciter can be made only slightly greater than the potential necessary to work the tube, in which case the tube will be extinguished very soon after the beginning of the oscillatory discharge, at the end of a time less than a quarter of the period of the radiator. The electric force at the resonator gap only reaches its maximum after a time equal to half the period of the oscillator ; hence if the X-ray tube is close to the gap, the X- rays having been extinguished prior to this, there can be no action of the tube on the secondary spark. This conclusion is verified by interposing a sheet of lead between tube and gap, when it is found that the spark is not affected. Now let the focus tube be kept in the same position and the wires AE and 4’k’ be lengthened each by the same amount. This has the effect of delaying the extinction of the tube by the time required for the Hertzian waves to traverse this extra length of wire, and consequently the disappearance of the X-rays at the spark gap C is delayed by the same amount. The X-rays can, therefore, act upon the spark, and that they do so is shown by the fact that the interposition of a lead sheet now makes the spark less bright. If, onthe other hand, the wires AE and A’p/ are kept of constant length and the tube moved farther away from the gap, then the X-rays will experience a retardation equal to the time they take to travel from the tube to the gap. NO. 1730, VOL. 67] NATURE 185 The effect of moving the tube farther off should, therefore, be the sameas that of lengthening the wires, and this is again con- firmed by experiment ; the spark grows brighter as the tube is moved away, but ifa lead sheet be interposed, the brightness is unaffected by moving the tube. Fora certain distance between tube and gap, the X-rays will have at the gap their full intensity during the whole of the time the potential at the gap has an appreciable value ; at this point their effect isa maximum, for increasing the distance diminishes their intensity without in- creasing the time during which they and the electric force act together at the gap. This position of maximum can be found by experiment. Let v and v’ be the rates of propagation in centimetres per second of the Hertzian waves and the X-rays respectively, and after determining the position of the tube giving the maximum spark when the connecting wires AE. and A’k’ are of given length, let these wires be lengthened by acm. The cessation of X-rays at the gap is thus retarded by a/v seconds. In order to re-establish the coincidence of the times and to find the new maximum, thetube must be moved nearer to the gap by a length 8 cm., such that 8/v’ = a/v. The experiment gives 8/a, and therefore v’/v. The following table gives the results of a series of experiments, the first column giving the values of a, the second and third columns the values of 8 as determined by M. Blondlot himself and his assistant, M. Virtz, respectively, and the fourth column the mean of these two values. Each of the numbers in columns 2 and 3 is the mean of five deter- minations. B a | | } Blondlot. Virtz. Mean. =F | — 5°9 — 6°5 = ye 9 10'5 8-9 97 12°5 12 | 12.6 E23 15 I5'1 | 14°5 14°8 25 25°3 24°5 24°9 3° 31 1 sor 30°5 40 S955) 39°6 39°4 25 | 24°6 232 23°9 1 The mean result of all the experiments in this and other series gives the value 0°97 for the ratio v’/v. A variation of the method was also tried in which the ends of the resonator were separated by 0°3 cm., and two wires soldered to them and connected to a micrometer spark gap. These wires were bent back on themselves so as to bring the new gap into the same position as the old one. The Hertz waves have to traverse these wires before producing the spark, and if each wire is lengthened by a cm., the spark is retarded by a/v seconds. To obtainthe new maximum, the tube must be moved away from the gap by a distance 6 cm. such that d/v’ = a/v. A number of very concordant experiments by this method gave a mean value 0°93 for the ratio v’/v. The final result of all the experiments, therefore, leads to the conclusion that the velocity of propagation of X-rays ts equal to that of Hertzian waves or of light through the air. M. Blondlot concludes his papers by pointing out that this conclusion is in harmony either with the hypothesis that X-rays are radiations of very short wave-length or with that of E. Wiechert and Sir George Stokes, that they are electromagnetic impulses produced by the impact between the molecules or electrons in the kathode stream and the antikathode. The fact brought out by these experiments that the X-rays cease simultaneously with the current traversing the Crookes’ tube, also supports the latter hypothesis. MAURICE SOLOMON. RECENT DIETARY STUDIES. THE character of the daily menu is influenced by various considerations, but it will be universally conceded that the idiosyncrasies of the palate play the predominant part, and to sug- gest to the ordinary housekeeper that scientific principles should be allowed a voice in the determination of our diet would be simply to court ridicule, for of all departments of the household the kitchen is probably the most conservative in its customs and the most dominated by habit and tradition. It will not be 186 NATURE [DECEMBER 25, 1902 the fault of our Transatlantic cousins, however, if the reign of ignorance and indifference in this department of domestic life be permitted to continue, for the United States Board of Agricul- ture has recently published a series of bulletins or reports on the dietetic value of food stuffs of various kinds, embodying also the results of dietary studies on individuals carried out in all parts of the country. These studies have not been confined to a particular class of persons, but have been undertaken in connection with the well- to-do as wellas with the very poor, and embrace people engaged in hard physical work as well as those whose occupation is more sedentary in character ; in fact, the common labourer and the average professional man are both represented in the types selected. _ OF particular interest are the studies recorded of the dietary habits of the Chinese, for tradition assigns to this race the highest attainment in the art.of producing from a given area the maximum amount of food material. This success is due firstly to a much more ‘‘intense” cultivation of the land than is customary in the western hemisphere, and secondly to the utilisation of a great variety of food plants, many of which are quite foreign to our culinary arts, but the employment of which enables the Chinaman to exploit every kind. of soil and climate and compel it to yield up its quota of food material. Thus a European visiting the Chinese market of San Francisco would have some difficulty in realising that the wares displayed were for culinary purposes, for amongst other garden plants he sees costly lily roots which he has been in the habit of importing at a high price with which to adorn his conservatories, here offered for sale as an attractive addition to the diner’s menu. Many varieties of lily bulbs are eaten both by the Japanese and Chinese, but that principally on offer in the San Francisco Chinese market is the Z. drownzz. They are regarded as a delicacy and an especially desirable food for invalids, and are usually eaten but slightly cooked and with the addition of sugar. Chemical analysis shows the albuminoids present to be distinctly greater than in potatoes, but the most important constituent of the bulbs is starch, which is present in sufficient amount to endow them with a high nutritive value asa foodstuff. But not only are the bulbs of lilies eaten ; the dried flowers of the lovely day lily, Bemerocall’s fulva, so sought after by all lovers of gardens on account of its rich colour and wealth of blossom, are largely used and highly prized by the Chineseas a flavouring ingredient. This article is sold under the name of ‘‘ Kam cham t’soi” or the ‘‘ gold-needle vegetable,” and it has been found to possess a not inconsiderable nutritive value, besides being an attractive condiment. Space does not permit of a reference to all the numerous and, to our ideas, strange articles which a Chinaman draws upon for dietetic purposes, but some mention must be made of the plant which both tradition.and art have from time immemorial endowed with such a full measure of religious and classical associations. To those of us who associate the Melusbiem spectosum of the botanist with the ‘t mild-eyed, melancholy lotus eater,” of the poet ‘* whose voice was thin as voices from the grave,” whilst ** deep asleep he seemed yet all awake,” the extensive economic use to which the lotus plant is put comes as a surprise. Whilst sought after on account of its surpassing beauty and grown in some parts in great vases placed at the doors of the houses, its more material applications are both numerous and varied. Thus we read, in a report published by Jules Grisard in 1896, that the stamens are used in China as an astringent remedy and also for the toilet; the petioles and peduncles furnish a viscous sap employed in India as a remedy for vomiting and diarrhoea ; the fibro-vascular bundles of the petioles are made into lamp wicks, and the carpophore furnish a popular remedy for blood spitting. The seeds are eaten either raw, boiled or roasted, much as we use chestnuts, but the dark green germ is very bitter and is removed before use, and has given rise to the Chinese saying “bitter as the plumule of the lotus seed.” A kind of bread is made of the seeds in Egypt, whilst they are also used as a remedy for indigestion, &c. Starch is extracted from the roots which is highly prized for its reputed strengthening properties ; but this does not by any means exhaust all the virtues attributed to this wonderful plant. The Chinese materia medica, however, is said to present too many incongruities to permit of implicit reliance being placed upon the numerous medicinal properties asso- ciated with it, but the roots are on sale in considerable quantities, Mr. Blasdale informs us in his report, throughout the winter and early spring months in the Chinese market of San Francisco. NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | It is popularly supposed that the Chinese live almost entirely upon rice and that their diet is limited in amount, the apostles of vegetarianism not infrequently quoting the Chinaman as an example of how large an amount of hard work can be accom- plished on a vegetarian diet. Studies, however, made in the Chinese quarter of San Francisco’ do not support this theory, but show that whilst much more varied than that of an American ot European, the Chinese diet is neither scanty in amount nor inferior in nutritive quality, whilst it is decidedly more varied and far cheaper than that of the former. Thus, in the dietary study of a Chinese dentist’s family living in comfortable circumstances and fairly typical of the average Chinese professional man, it was found that whilst the total amount of nutrient actually consumed per man per day agreed very closely with that suggested, as the result of inquiry, asa standard for a man engaged upon light muscular work, viz. 112 grams protein and 3150 calories of energy, the cost per man per day in the case of the Chinaman’s family was about 50 per cent. less than that which experience has shown to be the average expenditure in the family of a professional man of the same position in the United States. On inquiring more closely into the nature of the diet of this Chinese family, we find that as regards the source of animal pro- tein pork took the first place, supplying nearly one-third of the total ; fish comes next, followed by chicken, and last on the list is beef. The main vegetable food was rice, but considerable quantities of bread and other cereal products were also used, and a large amount of cheap green vegetables, the greater part of the latter being Chinese varieties. Amongst the unfamiliar articles of food recorded were dried crabs, dried shrimps, dried radishes, taro root, bean sprouts, bean cheese, dried fungus, lily petals, algee, bamboo shoots and the leprosy gourd. Tea and coffee were used as beverages, and the daily expenditure per head for these was O'5 cent. Dietary studies of Chinese engaged upon hard physical labour such as prevails on a Chinese truck farm or vegetable garden, again, showed that the diet adopted furnished very nearly the amount of animal protein and calories of energy commonly accepted as the standard of that required by a man in active work, #.e. 150 grams protein and 4500 calories. In this case also the diet was very varied, and we find included among the peculiarly Chinese articles of food water-lily roots, dried lily flowers, water chestnuts, bean cheese, dried fungus, &c. The cost per head per day was 19°7 cents, and Prof. Jaffa, who furnishes the report on these Chinese diet studies, says that as regards the Chinaman’s capability for work there is no question; “©few Americans could walk as he does for hours at a stretch, often up and down hill, burdened with a load of from 300 to 400 pounds in the baskets which he carries suspended by ropes to a pole balanced across one shoulder, whilst in adverse cir- cumstances, such as long hours, great heat or exposure to cold and dampness, a Chinaman can not only do more work, but can stand the strain better than a strong white man.” Let us now turn to some of the dietary studies made in New York city amongst the poorer classes and reported by Messrs. Atwater and Woods. The district selected is described as ‘‘ one of the worst congested and typical of the portions of the city known as slums,” whilst the families selected for dietary study were chosen as representative of the population of the district. The diet of no less than twenty-one different families over a period of ten days was carefully recorded, and the results obtained are of much economic importance, showing that in many cases unwise expenditure is fully as responsible for distress — as a too limited income. As an instance of this the case of a mechanic’s family in very poor circumstances may be cited. This family had received a great deal of help from the Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor, and yet it was found that the expenditure on food was nearly twice that per head in the family of a well-to-do professional man, hardly anything being left over from the wages earned for fuel, lights, clothing and the many other requirements of a family. The food consumed furnished at least 25 grams of protein and 600 calories of energy per head in excess of that required by a man at moderate work. Whilst the amount of food purchased could have been reduced 25 to 30 per cent., a more judicious selection of the same and more skill in its preparation would have enabled a 1 From inquiries it was ascertained that the system of diet adopted by the Chinese’in San Francisco differs but little from that of the Chinese in their own country. DECEMBER 25, 1902] NATURE 187 large proportion of the money spent on food to have been expended on other things. What applies to this family applies equally to many of the other families in which dietary studies were carried out, and over and over again we find it stated that more food was pur- chased than was necessary for efficient nourishment. To each dietary study is appended criticisms of and suggestions for changes and improvement in the diet pursued, and these con- stitute a valuable addition to the report and form, indeed, an eloquent argument that our school curriculum should provide for the education of children in the elementary principles of diet in relation, not only to the economy of the body, but also to that of the family purse. The selection of food stuffs on rational or scientific principles does not, perhaps, sound appetising, but the numerous investiga- tions on the nutritive value attaching to substances which have been carried out in America and elsewhere cannot be overlooked, and it is, perhaps, not unreasonable to believe that current notions on diet may become modified in the future, more especially in those cases where on economical grounds reform is so urgently needed. These studies are, therefore, of social as well as scientific importance, and acquire particular significance for the poor at times when taxes shall tell heavily upon their resources. In conclusion, brief reference may be made to the elaborate experiments which have been carried out on the different degrees of waste entailed in the different methods adopted for the cooking of food of various kinds. Amongst the names associated with investigations on the loss of nutrients in the cooking of meat, we find that of Thudicum in this country, Vogel and Konig in Germany, whilst in America the most recent contributions to this subject have been made by Grindley, in conjunction with Messrs. McCormack and Porter. As regards the loss in weight which takes place, various investi- gators agree in stating it to be from one-fifth to one-third, whether the meat be boiled or roasted. Where beef, for example, is cooked in water, from 3 to 20 per cent. of the total solids is found in the resulting broth, the degree of loss in constituents appearing, toa certain extent, to depend upon the size of the piece of meat employed, the smaller the dimension it is reduced to the greater being the loss ; whilst the duration of time of cooking must also be taken into consideration, the more prolonged it is the greater, again, being the loss entailed. The practical lesson to be learnt from the investigations which have so far been made appears to be that the most economical method of cooking meat is to broil it in a frying-pan, for in this manner the least loss of nutrients occurs. In the case of vegetables, the losses entailed by cooking appear to be even greater than those recorded for meat. Thus as regards carrots, in boiling them nearly one-half of the mineral matters present are lost, together with about 4o per cent. of the total nitrogen and about 26 per cent. of the sugar present. These percentages of loss or waste may be considerably reduced if the carrot is boiled whole instead of being first cut, as is customary, into small pieces. In this manner the loss in sugar, for example, instead of being 26 per cent., is reduced to very nearly half that amount, and similar economies may be effected in regard to the other constituents of the carrot. In boiling cabbages the loss is very considerable, from 35 to 40 per cent. of the total nitrogenous matter present being left in the water, which, as everyone knows, is consigned to the kitchen sink as rapidly as possible. The Scotch recipe for making broth, which involves the addition of uncooked cabbage to the stock- pot, besides being justly renowned for the excellent results it produces, has also, therefore, distinct advantages from an economic point of view. As regards potatoes, we cannot do better than follow the custom of cooking them which prevails in the Emerald Isle. The Irish method of boiling potatoes in their skins is not only the most palatable, but also the most economical way of using them, for when potatoes are peeled and then boiled there is a very considerable loss, not only of organic nutrients, but also of the mineral salts present. The above brief review may help to emphasise the economic importance quite apart from the scientific interest attaching to such investigations, for by indicating, not only the best means of utilising the existing sources of food supply, but also for ex- tending their range, such researches may conceivably contribute not a little to the prosperity of a country as a whole, whilst they can undoubtedly promote the well being and to acertain extent, therefore, the happiness of the individual. G. C, FRANKLAND, ‘ NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | MAGNETIC OBSERVATIUNS IN BADEN. AN account of a minute magnetic survey of a small district in Baden, adjacent to the Rhine, where there is considerable local magnetic disturbance, has been received from the author. ! Observations of horizontal force were made at nearly 400 stations, and observations of declination and inclination were made at about 140 0f them. The object seems to have been to observe at a large number of stations with moderate accuracy in a short time. In fact, most of the data recorded in the tables on pp. 6-26 seem to have been obtained in the two months August and September of 1898. Horizontal force was observed only to the nearest ooo C.G.S., and declination and inclination usually only to the nearest o°1. Within the narrow region dealt with—some 150 square kilometres—declination was observed to vary between 3 °7 W. and 20°'8 W., inclination between 56°'6 and 72°'o0, and horizontal force between 0°173 and 0°227 C.G.S. Ina district so disturbed, it would have been of doubtful advantage to have employed superior instruments, giving a higher order of accuracy than that actually aimed at. The results are embodied in four charts, which give respectively the lines of equal horizontal force, the isoclinals, the isogonals, and particulars of the horizontal and vertical components of the disturbing force system. The chief conclusions appear on p. 39. The most interesting of them is that the basaltic rocks—using dasa/ééc ina general sense—which form the chief hills in the district, behave mostly like vertical magnets with their north poles uppermost. Their magnetisation is thus offoszte to what it would be if induced under the action of the earth’s own field. The phenomena thus differ in a remarkable way from those observed by Riicker and Thorpe in the United Kingdom. A second somewhat interesting deduction from the observations is that there is an extension of underground basaltic masses beneath part of the level country adjacent to the Rhine near Breisach, where local disturbances would not have been anticipated from the superficial appearance of the country. The author also gives the results obtained from taking a line integral of the horizontal magnetic force round the whole district and round four subdivisions. With the exception of one of the smaller subdivisions, the departure of the line integrals from zero is very small. This may be regarded as evidence of the accuracy of the observations, if we assume that the magnetic forces are derivable froma potential, which can hardly fail to be the case so far as concerns the field answering to the local disturbances. C. C. THE ORIGIN OF THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE.* HE author said that he had shown (Academy, January, 1891, p- 91) that not only, as had been long observed, did the Homeric Greeks drive the horse before they rode him, but that the same was true of all ancient peoples—Egyptians, Canaanites, Assyrians, Aryans of Rig-Veda, Umbrians, Celts—and that the explanation of this was given by Herodotus (v. 9), who, in speaking of the Sigynne, the only tribe north of the Danube, whose name he knew, said that they had small horses, with large flat noses and very long hair, which, though not able to carry a man, were excellent under chariots: ‘‘ wherefore they used chariots.” Dio Cassius likewise says that the Britons used chariots in war, because their horses were ‘‘ small though active.” The description of the horses of the Sigynnz: tallies exactly with the abundant remains of the primitive horse of Europe, eaten in great quantities and delineated on antlers by the men of the Stone Age. He was asmall animal about 10 hands high with a big head. Even after domestication he remained very small, as witness bits of bronze and horn found in Swiss lake dwellings, the shoes found at Silchester, and in camps on the Roman Wall, &c. Authorities are agreed that from this primitive horse has been developed the cart horses of the continent and these islands, whilst our blood horses have come from an eastern stock of slight build and smart appearance. Our problem is to ascertain the original habitat of this superior horse. He has not come from upper Asia, as the Mongolian pony is taken as the type of the coarse, thickset horse from which sprang the cart horse. The Mongolian pony probably 1“ Erdmagnetische Untersuchungen im Kaiserstuhl.” Von Dr. G. Meyer. Mit 4 Karten. (Separatabdruck aus den Berichten der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Freiburg i. B. Bd. xii., rg02.) *Abstract of paper read before the Cambridge Philosophical Society on November 24, by Prof. Ridgeway. 188 NATURE [DECEMBER 25, 1902 represents the Scythian horses, which continued to be of a small size down to Strabo’s time, and they were derived either from he tarpan or Prezevalsky’s horse. The Mongolian pony, though surefooted and enduring, is slow of pace. Neither China, Siam nor Burmah have any indigenous horse answering to the blood horse. India could never breed horses, says Marco Polo, in whose time India was supplied either with Mongolian ponies from Yunnan or with Arabs from south Persia, Aden and other Arabian ports. These Arabs fetched enormous prices, equivalent to 2co/. It has hitherto been universally held that Arabia is the original home of the blood horse. This is a_ baseless assumption. Jn the Old Testament, the Arabs are never mentioned as riding anything but camels and asses. Though the author of Job knew of the war horse, yet Job did not own a single horse, his equine possessions consisting of 500 she asses. Herodotus (vii. 87) enumerates the nations (including the Libyans) that supplied cavalry to Xerxes’ host, but the Arabs only furnish a camel corps. Agatharchides (cited by Strabo) describes the Arabs as camel keepers. : Finally, Strabo (flor. A.D. 1) expressly states that neither the peoples of Arabia Felix nor those of Arabia Petrzea bred horses. Naturally, then, Scaurus after defeating the Arab king Aretas put on his coins Aretas leading his camel. It is clear, then, that down to the Christian era the Arabs bred no horses. It is therefore clear that though the Persian kings in the fifth century B.C. bred the largest and best horses in Asia, these were not of an Arab strain. These horses were kept largely in Armenia, and are described by Strabo as similar to the: Parthian horses, and as differing from the horses bred in Greece and the other kinds of horses known in the Roman empire. There can be little doubt that they were the same horses as Marco Polo found in great numbers in Armenia (1270 A.p.) known as Turquans, the Turcoman ponies well known in Persia to-day. The Persian horses cannot, then, have been the ancestors of the thoroughbred, though it is quite possible that their superiority was due to their having a cross of thoroughbred blood, for already by 900 B.C. Solomon imported horses from Egypt (1 Kings x.), and “so for all the kings of Syria and for all the kings of the Hittites” Egypt could not breed horses, neither could she have got them from the Arabs, who bred none even 1000 years later. But she could and did get them from the Libyans, who from the dawn of history are masters of the most famous horses. Cyrene sent the best horses to the games of Greece (Pindar, Pyth. iv., &c.). It is noteworthy that it was in the same century as the founding of Cyrene that the four-horse chariot and the racehorse were added to the Olympic events. The Phcenician settlers at Carthage found the Libyans using these beautiful horses, and when they struck coins placed a horse or a horse- head on them as the badge of Libya, and used a similar type on their coins struck in Sicily, whither, doubtless, they carried the Libyan breed. This accounts for the extraordinary fame of the horses of Etna and Syracuse and the famous steeds of Tarentum. It is now clear that the Arabs never owned a good horse until they had become masters of North Africa and the Barbary horses, from whom are sprung our own racing stock through Lord Godolphin’s Barb. North Africa, therefore, and not Arabia or any other part of Asia is the original home of the thoroughbred. Now, though the pedigree of the cart-horse type can be traced to the coarse, thickset little horses of Europe and Asia, the wild ancestor of the Barb is yet to seek, for Africa has no wild horse, such as tarpan or Prezevalsky’s, though she has an ass and four zebras, including the quagga, now extinct. Can the Barb be sprung wholly or in part from a zebra? Arab foals at birth constantly have zebra markings, sometimes retained when full grown, as by Prof. Ewart’s Arab filly Fatima. Strabo, too, notices that the horses of the Libyan Garamantes have longer hoofs than any other horses. Prof. Ewart’s.hybrids from Burchell’s zebra and various mares show the markings, not of a Burchell’s zebra, but of a Somaliland zebra, from which it has been inferred that the remote ancestor of both Eywzs caballus and Burchell’s zebra was striped like the Somaliland and mountain zebra. But is it necessary to go back so far? May not the Somaliland zebra stripes in the hybrid be due to the circumstance that the dam in each case had a certain amount of Barb blood inher, which was derived from either the Somaliland zebra or a closely allied species? He (Prof. Ridgeway) had crossed a Muscovy drake with a common white duck, derived from the common wild duck, with the result that all the offspring are coloured, and their colouring resembles that of the mallard. NO. 1720, VOL. 67] No one would say that the hybrids show a reversion to a remote common ancestor of both mallard and Muscovy, for it is obvious that the colouring is simply that of the white duck’s immediate ancestors. Authorities like Captain Hayes have pointed out the great similarity in form between Burchell’s and the Somaliland zebra to a well-bred horse, 7.c. a horse that has Barb blood in him. He therefore suggested that the Barbary horse, from which he had shown all the fine horses of the world have sprung, was derived either from the zebra of north-east Africa or, as 1s more likely, from some very closely allied species, now extinct, which, like Prezevalsky’s horse, may have had castors on its hind legs like Zgzzs caballus. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Mr. A. S. GREEN has been appointed professor of dyeing at Yorkshire College, in succession to the late Prof. Hummel. THE University of California is about, says Scéence, to erect a physiological laboratory at a cost of 25,000 dollars. It will be under the charge of Dr. Jacques Loeb. THE royal assent was given to the Education Act, 1902, on Thursday last. The Act comes into operation, except as expressly provided, on March 26, 1903, or such other day, not being more than eighteen months later, as the Board of Education may appoint. The Act does not extend to Scotland or Ireland, or for the present to London. BEDFORD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, London, and the Sanitary Institute have in conjunction arranged a conference on the subject of hygiene for schools, to be held at the College on January 21, 1903. Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., Dr. Gow, Mr. Michael Sadler, Prof. Adams and others are expected to speak. Further particulars and cards of admission can be obtained either from the Sanitary Institute or from Bedford College. THE special committee appointed to consider the needs of South Africa in regard to teclinical education, with special reference to the Transvaal, have, says the Chemzst and Druggist, submitted a lengthy report, and state they are convinced that there isa great demand, especially in Jchannesburg, for technical education. This demand can best be met, in their opinion, by establishing an institution providing the highest kind of training in arts and sciences. They recommend that all students, before admission to the institution, pass an examination of a standard equal to the matriculation of the Cape University. Complete courses should be provided in the new institution, the committee think, in mining, mechanical and electrical engineering, metal- lurgy and chemical engineering, civil and sanitary engineering, and architecture. In his paper on French rural education, read before th® Society of Arts on December 10, Mr. Cloudesley Brereton explained the part taken by the primary and secondary schools in the agricultural education of the nation. In France, in some communes, one person in every four is a land proprietor, and the aim in the primary schools has been to give the pupil some grasp of the sprinciples underlying the science of agriculture. The teacher is not so much supposed to follow implicitly the departmental programme, but rather to choose those portions which best suit his own particular district. There is still doubt in the minds of French educational authorities whether the scientific or the agricultural side of the instruction should predominate in the instruction given in primary schools, The teachers in these schools are themselves trained by professors of agriculture in the training colleges, and though the course of instruction is a good one, -it might with advantage be more practical. In the secondary schools of France, agricultural education has an insignificant place, but the work done in this direction by means of lectures and evening classes carried on in connection with old boys’ clubs and other organisations is very great. AN important article, by Mr. W. M. Webb, on the progress and interpretation of ‘‘ nature-knowledge,” especially in relation to the experience gained at the Nature-Study Exhibition held last August in London, appears in the October issue of the Record of Technical and Secondary Education. After referring é DECEMBER 25, 1902] to the importance of nature-study as a factor in the new educa- tion, the author insists on its value as a means of cultivating the powers of observation and at the same time warns his readers that it is not to be considered as in any way identical with elementary science. Various definitions and limitations of the subject are then given, after which attention is directed to its aims and objects. Among these, stress is laid on its power of interesting pupils—especially those to whom the ordinary school- curriculum is peculiarly distasteful—and thus rendering educa- tion a pleasure rather than a toil. It is also urged that nature- study promises to be the form of education best adapted to develop the pupils into good citizens capable of making their way in the world and, above all, of relying on their own judg- ment. Healthful it certainly is, and the love of nature it en- genders may, it is suggested, tend to check the exodus of the population from the country to the towns. The difficulty of securing the right class of teachers claims a considerable share of attention, and some amount of discussion is devoted to the question as to the extent to which books should be used. Col- lecting, again, is a phase of the subject which requires very careful treatment in order to prevent the pupils from degenerat- ing into mere curiosity-hunters. The author is, however, of opinion that both books and collections have their place in the scheme. The relative values of outdoor and indoor work are then discussed, in the course of which much importance is attached to the ‘‘seasonal method” of study. Before the final summary, the article winds up with observations on teachers of all grades and classes, and the best method of training them, followed by a reference to the objections against, and the diffi- culties connected with, ‘‘ nature-study.”” SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, November 27.—‘‘ The Inter-relationship of Variola and Vaccinia.” By S. Monckton Copeman, M.A., M.D. Cantab., F.R.C.P. Communicated by Lord Lister, F.R.S. The term ‘‘variole vaccine” employed by Jenner, as a synonym for cow-pox, has been generally accepted as affording evidence that, in so naming this disease ‘‘small-pox of the cow,” he was desirous of placing on record his belief that cow- pox or vaccinia was intimately related to human small-pox, if indeed it were not directly derived from it. But the difficulty experienced by the writer and numerous other investigators in attempts to transmit small-pox to bovines, whether cows or calves, has not infrequently been cited as a reason for regarding Jenner’s theory with distrust. It is well known, however, that a great deal, at any rate, of the small-pox which was prevalent at the time that Jenner lived and wrote was of that comparatively mild variety which, under the name of inoculated small-pox, was intentionally produced in healthy subjects, with the object of thereby conferring protec- Ben against subsequent attack by the disease in virulent ‘orm. So mild indeed, at times, were the results of inoculations in the hands of such operators as Adams and the brothers Sutton, that, as we learn from contemporary records, in many instances but little obvious efféct was observed, with the exception of the local vesicle arising at the site of insertion of the small-pox virus. The majority of persons thus inoculated are not likely, therefore, to have been incapacitated, as the result of the opera- tion, to a much greater extent than are those who undergo efficient vaccination at the present day, and, doubtless, they would be, for the most part, capable of following their ordinary avocations during the progress of the induced disorder. _ Not only were the effects following on inoculation compara- tively mild, but the disease in this form was intentionally carried into many country districts which otherwise might not have become invaded by small-pox. In the light of these facts, it would appear not improbable that it was from the zxocu/ated form of small-pox rather than from the ordinary variety of the malady that much, at any rate, of the cow-pox injthe pre-vaccination era was derived. Suppos- ing this to have been the case, it is not difficult to understand how that the cracks, so often found on the udders of cows, might become infected by a milker with fingers contaminated by contact with the inoculation sore upon his arm, In default of inoculated small-pox in the human subject, use was made of the monkey, which, as the writer had shown in NO. 1730, VOL. 67] NATURE 189 a previous communication to the Royal Society, is readily susceptible to the disease. The necessary small-pox material has been obtained during the course of recent outbreaks of small-pox at Middlesbrough, Glasgow and London. The results of the experiments may be briefly summarised as follows :—In each of the separate series, the human small-pox lymph or-pulp was first inoculated directly on calves, and in every instance, so far as could be observed, with altogether negative results. But with monkeys, success was as invariably obtained, and when, after one or more passages through this animal, the contents of the local inoculation vesicles were em- ployed for insertion on the calf, an effect was now produced which, after two or three removes in that animal, was indis- tinguishable from typical vaccinia. Moreover, from the con- terits of vesicles raised in this manner on the calf, a number of children have been vaccinated, some of whom were afterwards kept under observation for a considerable period. Every such vaccination ‘‘took”’ normally, and in no case was any bad result subsequently observed. The experimental results obtained all tend, then, to confirm the view that the vaccinia of Jenner’s time was derived, in all probability, from a comparatively mild form of small-pox. Of even more importance is the fact that the work has afforded conclusive evidence of the essential identity of the virus of small-pox and cow-pox or vaccinia. December 4.—‘‘On the Vibrations and Stability of a Gravitating Planet” By J. H. Jeans, B.A., Isaac Newton Student and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Com- municated by Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S. The first part of the paper deals with the vibrations and stability of a gravitating elastic sphere. The matter is not necessarily homogeneous, but is arranged in spherical layers. It is pointed out that, in the classical investigation of the displace- ments produced in a gravitating sphere by given surface-forces, the most important of the gravitational terms is omitted. The effect of this omission is to necessitate a correction, and this may entirely invalidate the solution when we are dealing with spheres of the size of the earth or other planets. In fact, it appears that for a gravitating solid of the kind we are discussing the spherical configuration may be one of zzzstable eqguzlébrzum, the instability being brought about by these gravitational terms. The vibration through which instability first enters is one in which the displacement at every point is proportional to a harmonic of the Jirst order. In a former paper, ‘‘The Stability of a Spherical Nebula” (Phil. Trans., A, vol. cxcix., p. 1), the suggestion was put forward that the instability of a nebula, sun or planet, which, upon the nebular hypothesis, is supposed ultimately to result in the ejection of a satellite, may be largely brought about by a gravitational tendency to instability of the kind described. We take, for the moment, an extreme hypothesis, and imagine that this agency is the preponderating agency and that the rotational tendency to instability may be disregarded in comparison. Except for the changes which have occurred since the con- solidation of the planets, the solar system supplies material for testing the consequences of this hypothesis. When a number of planets of varying masses have thrown off satellites, we find (upon our present extreme hypothesis) that the masses ought to be proportional to the sgzaves of the radii. It is found that this law is approximately obeyed in the solar system. It is further found that the absolute values of the masses and radii are approximately such as would be expected. It is interesting to compare two extreme hypotheses, the first referring the phenomena of planetary evolution solely to rotational, the second solely to gravitational, instability. Given the approximate values of the density and elasticity of a planet, and the fact that this planet has thrown off a satellite, then the former hypothesis leads to a certain inference as to the angular momentum of the system, the latter to an inference as to the radius of the primary. The former leads to no inference at all as to the size of planets which are to be expected—they are as likely to be of the size of billiard balls as of the size of the planets of our system—while the latter leads to no inference as to the angular momentum of the system, but presupposes it to be small. The contention of the present paper is that the inferences which are drawn from the former hypothesis are not borne out by observation on the planets of our system, while those which are drawn from the latter are borne out as closely as could be expected. The true hypothesis must of necessity lie somewhere between the two extremes which are being 190 NATURE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 compared, but the evidence seems to show that it is much nearer to the latter (gravitational) than to the former (rotational). We next consider a number of questions connected with the figure of the earth, It seems to be almost certain that the present elastic constants of the earth are such that a state of spherical symmetry would be one of stable equilibrium. On the other hand, if we look backwards through the history of our planet, we probably come to a time when the rigidity was so small that the stable configuration of equilibrium would be unsymmetrical. At this time the earth would be pear-shaped, and the transition to the present approximately spherical form would take place through a series of ruptures. It is suggested that the earth, in spite of this series of ruptures, still retains traces of a pear-shaped configuration, Such a configuration would possess a single axis of symmetry, and this, it is suggested, is an axis which meets the earth’s surface somewhere in the neighbourhood of England (or possibly some hundreds of miles to the south-west of England). Starting from England, we find that England is at the centre of a hemisphere which is practically all land; this would be the blunt end of our pear. Bounding the hemisphere we have a great circle, of which England is the pole, and it is over this circle that earthquakes and volcanoes are of most frequent occurrence. Now, if we suppose our pear contracting toa spherical shape, we notice that it would probably be in the neighbourhood of its equator that the changes in curvature and the relative displacements would be greatest, and | hence we should expect to find earthquakes and volcanoes in greatest numbers near to this circle. Passing still further from England, we come to a great region of deep seas—the Pacific, South Atlantic and Indian oceans; these may mark the place where the ‘‘ waist” of the pear occurred. Lastly, we come, almost at the antipodes of England, to the Australian continent. This may mark the remains of the stalk-end of the pear. Physical Society, December 12.—Mr. S. Lupton, vice- president, in the chair.—Mr. S. W. J. Smith exhibited and de- scribed a portable capillary electrometer. This instrument is a modification of the form of capillary electrometer which consists of two wide tubes joined by a cylindrical capillary tube which may be horizontal or inclined. ‘lhe apparatus contains mercury and sulphuric acid of about maximum conductivity suitably dis- tributed in the tubes. A spring key is commonly used with the instrument, but the author has devised a key consisting of a U-tube closed at one end, communicating at the other with a pneumatic pressure ball and containing mercury in the bend. By squeezing the ball, the same change of contacts can be pro- duced as by pressing the lever of an ordinary spring key. Using this key and a microscope magnifying 50 diameters, a potential difference of 1/10,000th volt can be detected without difficulty. The instrument, used as a surface-tension galvanometer, is more conyenient than an ordinary galvanometer with a magnetic system because there is no suspension, no lamp and scale, and practically no levelling.—A paper on astigmatic aberration was read by Mr. R. J. Sowter. This paper affords a simple ex- planation of some of the shadow phenomena observed by Prof. S. P. Thompson in his experimental researches on the aber- ration of lenses, namely, in those experiments injwhich the aber- ration is wholly or in part astigmatic.—Prof. L. R. Wilberforce exhibited apparatus for a lecture experiment on gaseous diffusion. In Graham’s experiments on diffusion through porous septa, the gas experimented upon was contained ina vessel inverted over water, and the pressure was kept approximately atmospheric by applying a counterpoise to the vessel. This adjustment, how- ever, is imperfect owing to the weight of the water displaced by the material of the vessel. Prof. Wilberforce showed that, by suspending the vessel from one arm of a balance rendered suitably unstable by a weight above the central knife-edge, a compensating effect could be introduced and the pressure kept sensibly constant for a considerable range of motion of the vessel. He pointed out that this device could also be utilised for the measurement of pressure. —A paper on vapour-density determmations, by Sir W. Ramsay and Dr. Steele, was read by Sir W. Ramsay. This paper gives a detailed account of some accurate experiments on the densities of vapours over a large range of pressure carried out by a modification of Gay-Lussac’s method, This method has the advantage that while densities are being determined, compressibilities can, “within certain limits, be simultaneously estimated with the same sample of material. From results of experiments, it appears that the densities of certain compounds calculated for zero pressure NO. 1730, VOL. 67] are not proportional to their molecular weights deduced from the atomic weights of the elements which they contain. This conclusion involves one, or it may be several, of a series of assumptions enumerated in the paper. These assumptions are fully investigated and discussed, and the authors suggest that it may be possible that the atomic weights of the elements depend on the proportion in which they are present in the compounds which contain them. Royal Astronomical Society, December 12.—Dr, J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr. Innes presented a paper on some developments in terms of the mean anomaly and also the results of measures of double stars made at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, in 1902. He made some remarks on the excellence of the McClean telescope, with which the measures were made, and the great convenience of the rising floor of the observatory.— Mr. Hardcastle read a note on binding together réseaux and plates. In measuring some photographs of the moon, on which no réseau bad been impressed, the réseau plate and photograph were bound together film to film, but in the course of measure- ment a slight shifting occurred, which it was difficult to prevent. —Mr. Bellamy read a note on preserving negatives. Some developed star negatives which had been placed in envelopes and stacked on shelves were found after a time to have received on the film a faint image of the inscription that had been written on the envelopes. Mr. Knobel remarked that this was certainly not due to the effect described by Prof. Russell, as the writing was only visible on the film by reflected light.—The Astronomer Royal exhibited and described a new measuring machine which had been made by Troughton and Simms for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and was intended for the measurement of photographs of Eros.—A paper by Mr. Robinson, of the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, was read, on the photographic and visual magnitude of a Orionis. Between March 9, 1901, and October 22, 1902, the photo- graphic magnitude of this star had slightly increased, and since the latter date there appeared a gradual decline in brightness ; both the increase and decrease were confirmed by the visual estimations. —Photographs of the spectra of Jupiter, Saturn and other planets, taken by Mr. Percival Lowell at Flagstaff, Ari- zona, were shown on the screen.—Mr. Hinks exhibited photo- graphs of Mr. Ritchey’s series of drawings from the negatives of the nebula surrounding Nova Persei taken at the Yerkes Ob- servatory. Mr. Hinks showed by the aid of diagrams how the apparent motion of the nebula might be explained upon the hypothesis of Prof. Kapteyn, that successive portions of the nebula were illuminated by the star and that there was no real motion of the nebula itself. Mathematical Society, December 11.—Prof. Lamb, president, in the chair.—The following papers were com- municated :—Prof. L. E. Dickson, (1) The abstract group simply isomorphic with the group of linear fractional transformations in a Galois field ; (2) Generational relations of an abstract simple group of order 4080. The first: paper deals with the abstract group of order 4 #"(7”" — 1), which is simply isomorphic with the group of all linear fractional transformations on one variable, with coefficients belonging to the Galois field [~”], and with de- terminants equal to unity. It is shown that when z= 1, the group may be generated by two operations which are subject to generational relations, and these relations are determined. When 2 has other values, the generating operations are more numerous, but the generational relations are again determined. The validity of the theorems depends in general on the solution of a problem in the theory of numbers, which can be treated readily in any particular case, In the first paper, # is supposed to be greater than 2; the second paper deals withthe case # = 2. —Dr. H. F. Baker, (1) On the calculation of the finite equations of a continuous group; (2) On the integration of linear differential equations; (3) On some cases of matrices with linear invariant factors. In the second paper, use is made of the matrix notation for the systematic study of linear differential equations. This study leads to two inde- pendent problems. One problem consists in the determination of all irreducible types of multiplication tables of sets of matrices of the same order, a problem akin to that of the enumeration of types of discontinuous groups. The other problem consists in the investigation of the properties of a class of functions which arise by repeated integrations from simpler functions. The serial solutions which are obtained converge for all finite values of the DECEMBER 25, 1902] NATURE IgI independent variable in a suitably chosen ‘‘star-region,” and their character near the corners of the region is determined. The work is applied to elucidate the connection between the form of the system of linear equations and the form of the linear substitutions, by which the monodromy group of the system is generated. The results are exemplified by the study of par- ticular equations of the hypergeometric type.—Prof. M. J. M. Hill, The continuation of the power series for arc sin x.—Mr. E. T. Whittaker, The functions associated with the parabolic cylinder in harmonic analysis.—Mr. H. M. Macdonald, Some applications of Fourier’s theorem. The expression of an arbitrary function by means of Fourier’s theorem is thrown into the form of a double integral, the path of integration with respect to one variable being part of the axis of real numbers, and the path with respect to the other variable going to co in the two senses of the axis of imaginary numbers. The theorem is generalised by altering the latter path of integration, and the generalised form is applied to the evaluation of certain integrals involving Bessel functions. Nuinerous properties of these functions are deduced.—Rev. F. H. Jackson, Series connected with the enumeration of partitions.—Mr. W. H. Young, Sets of intervals, part ii., overlapping intervals. In the present paper, some of the methods and results of a previous paper by the same author are applied to the case of overlapping intervals on the straight line. In this way, direct proofs are obtained of a theorem in the theory of aggregates due to Heine and Borel, and of its so-called counterpart. Certain restrictions in the usual enunciation of these theorems are shown to be un- necessary. —Mr. G. H. Hardy, On the expression of the double Zeta and Gamma functions in terms of elliptic functions. The logarithms of the functions studied by Barnes (Phi/. Trans. Roy. Soc., Ser. A, vol. cxcvi., 1901) are expressed by means of definite integrals involving the Weierstrassian elliptic and Zeta functions.—Mr. J. H. Grace, Perpetuants (second paper). Royal Microscopical Society, November 19.—Dr. Hy. Woodward, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., gave a demonstration on the microscope in fossil botany. After giving a brief history of the subject from 1833 to the present lime, he proceeded to describe its principal features, aided by lantern slides projected on the screen. There were also under microscopes in the room nearly 30 slides of sections of Calamites, Calamostachys, Sphenophyllum, Lepidodendron, Bothrodendron, Lepidostrobus, Spencerites, Lepidocarpon, Lyginodendron, &c., many of these having been photographed for the series of lantern slides.—Dr. Edmund J. Spitta then described a new apparatus for obtaining monochromatic light with an ordinary mixed jet. A diagram of the apparatus was shown on the screen and also three photographs of Aphipleura pellucida ; the first, taken with white light, gave faint indications of markings, the second, taken with a Gifford’s fluid screen, showed the appearance of striz, and the third, with blue mono- chromatic light, obtained by means of Dr. Spitta’s new apparatus, showed the diatom clearly resolved into dots. The principal feature in the apparatus was the mounting of a Thorp diffraction film upon a corrective prism which Mr. Thorp had contrived. The diffraction film thus mounted can be used with the ordinary optical bench, giving light in a direct line from the burner to the microscope. The apparatus was exhibited in operation in an adjoining room.—Dr. P. E. Shaw sent a paper on an electrical method of taking microscope measure- ments. Royal Meteorological Society, December 17.—Mr. W. H. Dines, president, in the chair.—A paper by Mr. C. V. Bellamy, on the climate of Cyprus, was read by the secretary. The mean temperature for the year at the capital city, Nicosia, is 67°'2, the extreme highest temperature being 108° and the extreme lowest 28°. The annual rainfall is about 14 inches, which falls mostly in the winter months. The author also gave particulars as to the meteorological conditions at Troddos, the sanitarium and summer resort of Cyprus, which is situated in the mountains at an altitude of more than 5000 feet above sea-level. —A paper by Mr. H. H. Clayton, of the Blue Hill Observatory, U.S., on the eclipse cyclone of 1900, was also read by the secretary. The author in a former paper discussed the meteor- ological observations made along the path of the total solar eclipse in the United States on May 28, 1900, and stated that he found that a cyclone followed in the wake of the eclipse— though the changes were very minute and feeble—the fall of NO. 1730, VOL. 67] temperature developing a cold-air cyclone in an astonishingly short time with all the peculiar circulation of wind and distribu- tion of pressure which constitute such a cyclone. This theory was not readily accepted by meteorologists, and Prof. Bigelow, who has discussed all the observations received by the U.S. Weather Bureau, thinks that they scarcely confirm Mr. Clayton’s conclusions. The author now examines Prof. Bigelow’s dis- cussion and points out that the observations really confirm his own statements. Zoological Society, December 2.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S., gave an account (illustrated by lantern slides) of his recent expedition to southern Mexico. He described the Valley of Mexico, and discussed the question of the axolotls and their metamorphosis. He also gave an account of his ascent of the Volcano of Orizaba, and of the two types of terra caliente met with on the Atlantic and Pacific slopes, and pointed out the various phases of animal life met with in these different localities. —Dr. Einar Lonnberg contributed a series of notes, illustrated by photographs, of the variations observed in the elk in Sweden, more especially as regards the form of the antlers. These the author classed in three groups—‘‘ palmate,” ‘‘ intermediate ” and ‘‘cervine.” The last were comparable to the type lately described as Alces bedfordiae. These differences, in the author’s opinion, were not attributable either to age or to degeneration, neither did they seem to indicate racial distinction. —A com- munication was read from Mr. R. Lydekker, F.R.S., calling attention to a photograph of a skull and antlers of a reindeer obtained by Mr. H. J. Pearson in Novaia Zemlia. On account of the palmation of the antlers differing markedly from that of the known races of the reindeer, Mr, Lydekker was of opinion that the specimens belonged to a new race, which he accordingly named Rangifer tarandus pearsonz.—Mr. H. R. Hogg read a paper on the Australian spiders of the subfamily Sparassinz. It contained descriptions of twenty-five new species and a list of those previously known.—A communication from Mr. W. F. Lanchester contained an account of the crustaceans of the groups Anomura, Cirripedia and Isopoda (marine forms) col- lected during the ‘‘Skeat Expedition’’ to the Malay Peninsula in 1899-1900.—A communication from Mr. F. F. Laidlaw con- tained an account of the dragon-flies of the subfamily Czena- grionine collected during the ‘“‘Skeat Expedition” to the Malay Peninsula.—Mr. R. I. Pocock described a new species of marine spider, discovered by Mr. Cyril Crossland in Zanzibar, under the name JDes?s crossland?.—Mr. Pocock also read a paper containing descriptions of twenty new species of harvest- spiders of the order Opiliones from the southern continents. Two of these formed the types of the new genera Sorensenella and Lomanella. Linnean Society, December 4.—Mr. Wm. Carruthers, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Rev. John Gerard exhibited specimens of a Polygala from Grassington, in the West Riding of Yorkshire; the plant has been named P. amarel/a, Crantz. He also showed a monstrous form of Geum rivale, Linn., from between Long Preston and Settle; the terminal flower was apparently normal, but about one inch and a half below the calyx there appeared a whorl of about twenty peta oid members, on extremely long ‘‘ claws,” and surrounded by a series of leaf-like bracts.—Mr. R. Morton Middleton showed an extremely well-developed fasciated stem of asparagus.— Dv. George Henderson called attention to a passage in the Georgics of Vergil (i. 73 segg.), in which the poet, after recommending a system of fallowing, proposes as an alternative means of restoring the fertility of the soil that before taking a second grain crop the soil should be refertilised by planting it with a leguminous crop. The Romans believed that these plants actually enriched the soil, especially if the roots were plentiful. It is remarkable that recent discoveries regarding the nitrification of the soil by the roots of Leguminosz should have been foreshadowed so long ago,—The first paper was one by Dr. Gilbert C. Bourne, on some new and rare corals from Funafuti, based on material dredged off Tutanga at a depth of 200 fathoms. The only oculinid coral was Lophohelia tenuzs, Moseley, previously only obtained at a depth of 375 fathoms ; the present specimen is figured to correct the figure given in the Challenger report. Seven turbinolid corals were obtained, two being new to science, and figured from photographs; one, a species of Trochocyathus, having several fossil congeners. —Mr. E. A. Newell Arber gave a digest of his paper on the morphology of the flowers and fruits of the 192 NATURE [ DECEMBER 25, 1902 XNylosteum section of Lonicera.—Mr. C. B. Clarke read a paper, Note on Carex Tolmzez, Boott. The species was founded upon a specimen from the Columbia River, to which the author had subsequently added three other plants. The author has redescribed the original specimen, and has described two of the supposed component forms as new species. —A paper by Herr C. With, of Copenhagen, was briefly characterised by Prof. G. B. Howes, F.R.S., on the Indian Phalangidz contained in the Indian Museum, at Calcutta. The collection was put into Herr With’s hands to compare with the types of Thorell’s species. With regard to the distribution of forms, the author remarks that the Indian peninsula and adjacent islands seem characterised by the presence of the subfamily Gagrellinz. Paris. Academy of Sciences, December 15.—M. Bouquet de la Grye in the chair.—On the presence of argon, oxide of carbon and hydrocarbons in the gas from the fumaroles of Mont Pelée at Martinique, by M. Henri Moissan. The gas, which was collected by M. Lacroix, emerged at a temperature of about 400°C. Besides those gases which have been already mentioned as present in other volcanic eruptions, a considerable quantity of combustible gas was found, together with about 0°7 per cent. of argon. The percentage of carbon monoxide (1°6 per cent.) would render the gas very toxic, and it is possible that many of the deaths during the eruptions may have been due to this cause. —On the stability of equilibrium and the variables without inertia, by M. P. Duhem.—Experiments on the duration of the germ- inating power of seeds preserved in a vacuum, by M. Emile Laurent. Samples of seeds of various species of plants were kept in the dark ina vacuum, side by side with duplicate samples in air, and these were tested after intervals of two-and-a-half years, five years and seven-and-a-half years. Fatty seeds appear to keep better in a vacuum than in air, but no general rule could be deduced from the other seeds, the results being variable. — Remarks by M, le Général Bassot on the Annuaire of the Bureau des Longitudes for 1902.—Perturbations independent of the eccentricity, by M. Jean Mascart.—Observations of the Giacobini comet (1902 @) made at the Observatory of Besancon, by M. P. Chofardet. The comet appears as a small nebula of the twelfth magnitude, and has an apparent diameter of about 45’.—Qn the integration of a partial differential equation of the second order of the hyperbolic type, with more than two inde- pendent variables, by M. R. d’Adhémar.—A method for the electrical separation of the metallic part of a mineral from its gangue, by M. D. Negreano.—On aluminium fluoride, by M. E. Baud. The, preparation of pure aluminium fluoride, AloFlg.7H,O, is described, and its thermochemical data de- termined —The action of boron chloride upon gaseous am- monia, by M. Joannis.—As previous researches on the reaction between ammonia and boron chloride have given contradictory results, the reaction has been reinvestigated, especial attention being given to the temperature of the reaction, which was kept at about — 70° C. Ammonium chloride and boron amide appear to be the only products ; at 440° C., the latter compound is partly decomposed, the compound Bo,(NH), being produced.—On a violet ammonio-manganese phosphate, by M. Ph. Barbier.— The separation of the alkalis from peroxide of manganese, by M. H Baubigny. The alkali salts carried down by precipitated peroxide of manganese, which cannot be completely removed by washing with boiling water, can be eliminated by a preliminary washing with aconcentrated solution of ammonium nitrate. —The diffusion of arsenic in nature, by M. }. Garrigou. The arsenic is obtained in the state of sulphide, which is then submitted to Bunsen’s flame reaction, in which a film is produced on porce- lain. It is claimed that quantities of arsenic of the order of 0'00001 milligram can be ‘detected and approximately estimated. Remarks by M. Armand Gautier on the preceding paper. In working with such minute quantities of arsenic as those mentioned by M. Garrigou, the extreme difficulty of allowing for the arsenic derived from the glass and reagents is pointed out.—On #-benz- ene-azobenzoic acid and its derivatives, by MM. P. Freundler and de Laborderie.—On oxybenzylphosphinic acid, by M. C. Marie. — On a new method of chlorination of aromatic hydrocarbons, by MM. Seyewetz and Biot. The reagent used in the chlorination is the double compound of ammonium chloride and lead tetra- chloride. By its aid, chlorine derivatives of benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene and anthracene were readily obtained.—A ccelomic gregarian in Coleoptera, by M. L. F. Blanchard. —On the evolution of the acrosome in the spermatid of Notanecta, NO. 1730, VOL. 67 | by MM. J. Pantel and R. de Sinéty.—Teleomitosis in Amoeba Gletchenu, by M. P. A, Dangeard.—On photosynthesis outside the organism, by M. Luigi Macchiati. Some facts in confirm- ation of the statement by M. Jean Friedel on the production of chlorophyll assimilation outside the plant. These researches prove that the principal agent in chlorophyll assimilation in the green plant, and also in the photosynthesis outside the living organism, is an enzyme and that the chlorophyll pigment appears to act as a chemical sensitiser.—The ripening of seeds and the appearance of the germinating power, by M. P.. Maze. —On the 76/e of vortices in wind erosion, by M. Jean Brunhes. —On the ocean current near the Landes coast, by M. L. A. Fabre.—On the origin of the transversal break of the Kosva(North Ural), by M. Louis Duparc.—The rapids in the river Kosva are due to an old synclinal more or less orthogonal to the direction of the folds. —On the deposits of phosphate of lime in the Belemnites chalk, by M. N. de Mercey.—The influence of catalytic agents upon the working of the organism : spermine, cerebrine and chloradrenal, by M. Alexandre de Poehl.—The diseases of organic demineralisation: plasmatic anzmia, by M. Albert Robin. CONTENTS. PAGE Agricultural Science in Italy. By A. D. H. 169 A Himalayan Local Flora. ByJ.S.G... 170 Ostwald’s Inorganic Chemistry. ByW.F... . 171 A New Theory of the Universe. By W. M. H. . 171 Our Book Shelf :— Durham: ‘‘ Report of the Yellow Fever Expedition to Para of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine . Be ANG oa Ded nano wore 172 Earle; ‘‘ Eyes Within” . . 173 “Handbook of Instructions for Collectors.” —R. L. 173 Smith: ‘‘ The First Principles of Ratio and Propor- tion and their Application to Geometry”. . 173 ‘*Vear-book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of Great Britain and Ireland” 173 Williamson : *‘ Papers on Etherification and ‘on the Constitution of Salts”. . 173 Amateur Angler: ‘‘ Dove Dale Revisited : with Other Holiday Sketches” . aRehe ore tae see 173, | Letters to the Editor :— Volcanic Dust Phenomena.—T. W. Backhouse 174 The Methods of Investigating the North Sea Fisheries. Dr. D. Noél Paton . . 174 Carved and Perforated Antlers. ‘_Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S. : 174 St. Elmo’s Fire during ‘Snow Storm,—Charles Dibdin . d 174 The Farthest South. (gages. eRe T, McK. H. 175 Secondary and Technical Education. te Prof. J. Wertheimer S ais es igel Se) Ce Prevention of Rabies . Ae 178 Recent Work of the Geolopieal Survey. : 179 Prof. P. P. Déherain. ByF. D. : 179 Transatlantic Wireless Teleerapiey ‘ 179 Notes aie 180 Our Astronomical Column: _ Comet 1902 @ 3 183 The Algol Variable R.V. (13, 1902) Lyre 183 Proper Motion and Parallax of Nova Persei 183 Star with Probable Large Proper Motion 184 Report of the Government Astronomer for Natal, TOO 4 bh a 184 Total Eclipse of the Moon, ‘April 22, "1902 j 184 The Great Irrigation Dam at Assuan «| Soe een LOd: The Velocity of Propagation of X-Rays. (With Diagram.) By Maurice Solomon 4 185 Recent Dietary Studies. By Mis. Percy Frank. land ay. ; 185 Magnetic Observations! in eases ‘By C. c. Rete Slst/ The Origin of the Thoroughbred Horse. me Prof. Ridgewaytwey n> - tame fae aiee ns 187 University and Educational Intelligence a Rte 188 Societies and Academies . 5 189 NATURE 193 THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1903. THE UNIVERSITY IN THE MODERN STATE. “A MON the many documents prepared by Principal Sir Oliver Lodge in relation to the development of the University of Birmingham, there are more than one of which the interest is by no means merely local. Of these, the pamphlet entitled “ Survey of the Sciences,” which forms an appendix toa paper on University De- velopment, is of especial importance at the present time, for we are glad to know that the belief that the weak- ness of our universities must lead to national weakness in several directions is growing with a rapidly accelerating pace. It may be long in this slow-moving country before the influence of Brain-power on history is recognised as fully as the influence of Sea-power has been, thanks to Captain Mahan, but undoubtedly it will be bad for our future if much more time is lost. While Sir Oliver Lodge has been investigating the “needs” of Birmingham, similar inquiries have been made elsewhere, and we have received from the Clarendon Press a statement of the “needs” of Oxford. Weare glad to see that the Zzwzes, in a sympathetic article, goes to the root of the matter in stating that “if the pocket of the millionaire is closed, the pocket of the nation must be opened.” Our eleven universities are competing with 134 State and privately endowed in the United States and twenty-two State endowed in Germany. English private endowment is much less than ro per cent. of the American endowment, and the German State gives to one university more than the British Government allows to all the universities and university colleges in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales put together. These are the conditions which regulate the production of brain- power in the United States, Germany and Britain re- spectively, so far as Universities are concerned, con- ditions which Sir Oliver Lodge proposes to face as manfully as he may. His paper on the “Survey of the Sciences” runs as follows :— In a recent pamphlet I considered the question of the relation of the University of Birmingham to its central and suburban sites, with a view of determining what recommendation should be made to the Council concerning the Departments which ought to migrate and the Departments which ought to remain. I was able to arrive at some judgment on the matter except in connection with the Faculty of Science, and there the problem became so complicated that it was necessary to make a survey of the sciences in order to get the material on which to form an opinion. This survey is now printed, not only as an appendix to the former paper, but because it is hoped that it may be useful for other purposes ; especially I hope that it may be of interest to those who are able to help financially in the forth- coming great educational development of the future, enabling them to realise the immensity of the area which we attempt to cover, and the largeness of the sum which could be properly invested in suitable buildings and equipment and in endowment of staff. Our position is such that if some man of power thought fit to exercise it by entrusting us with a sum of five millions for University development, it could be well and _ properly employed ;1 nor could such an investment fail to exercise an extraordinary influence on the progress of the country. Hitherto the ideas of this country in education and scientific research have been conceived on a wholly inadequate scale, 1 See ‘‘ Concluding explanation.” NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | and without proper appreciation of the vast extent of territory over which a modern University is called upon to preside. Let us, therefore, now run over the pure sciences, and trace the collateral branches and practical applications with which they are most allied ; taking them in alphabetical order, and enumerating only those sciences with which we ourselves at present in some degree attempt to deal. ANATOMY :—is clearly so closely allied to professional medi- cine as practically to have drifted out of general culture ; though it is to be remembered that it is in touch with Fine Art on the one side—and a course of lectures on Artistic Anatomy is annually given by our Professor or our Lecturer at the School of Art—and on another side it is in touch with the sciences of ANTHROPOLOGY and Ethnology. At the present time the course of lectures and practical instruction in the subject of Anthropology, laid down in the Calendar as an optional subject for Degrees in Science, is under the charge of the Professor of Anatomy, who has made a study of this subject and of Ethnology, particularly from the side of Prehistoric Archzeology, and on two occasions has given courses of lectures on these subjects, though at the present time the plant possessed for their teaching is not large. He possesses a collection of lantern slides of an ethnological character, also a private collection of stone and metal implements, and the Summers-Freer collection is now displayed in his department ; with it will shortly be ex- hibited—as a loan from the Geological Department to which it belongs—the Seton-Carr collection of early Egyptian stone im- plements ; and there is, besides, a small collection of Palzo- lithic and Neolithic implements in the Geological Museum. A case of similar implements is in the City Museum, and there are a number of ethnological objects, some of considerable interest, in the Aston Hall Museum, which might, perhaps, become available some day for the purposes of the University. On the practical side of colonial development modern Ethnology is a subject not altogether to be lost sight of. ARCHEOLOGY :—A study of the past from relics and monu- ments and excavated sites: skilled interpretation of which enables us to reconstruct the life of ancient times. Our present Lecturer in Greek has made a special study of Greek Archeology. BoTany :—Studied with us partly for its own sake as a department of Natural History, allied to Horticulture and Gardening generally, and also from the point of view of Vegetable Physiology. This science is the foundation of much of Agriculture, of Forestry, of Materia Medica, of Timber and Plant diseases, the Fermentation industries, and of many human diseases. It is allied on its morphological side with Palzeonto- logy. On its Physiological side it is largely dependent on Physics and Chemistry. At the present time it is not now taught as a separate subject in the medical curriculum at Birmingham, but admittedly only because the course is so crowded that something had to give way. CHEMISTRY :—This gigantic science branches out in every direction. Almost every manufacture is more or less directly concerned with it, and as a pure science it is a most important branch of Natural Philosophy in alliance with Physics. In many places there is a Professor of its Inorganic and another of its Organic division: in Germany it is still further greatly subdivided, even from the point of view of the pure science. Flourishing departments of the new and growing science of Physical Chemistry exist at Leipzig and at other German and American Universities, in furtherance of pioneer work begun at Amsterdam and Stockholm. As to the applications of Chemistry, they are almost too numerous to mention, and every one of them demands the full lime and special knowledge of an expert. At present we have only attempted Brewing and Metallurgy. A training in elementary chemistry, both inorganic and organic, is universally recognised as an essential ingredient in the training of a medical student. And recently Chemistry has allied itself, on the fermentation side, with a branch of Biology, through the discoveries of the great chemist Pasteur—a subject in which our present Professor and his wife are eminent. Economic SCIENCE :—is a branch of Sociology or the theory of Politics, of which we have recognised the commanding im- portance, on one of its many sides, by arranging that there shall be hereafter constituted a Faculty of Commerce. In the hands of our present Professor there is no fear lest either the term Ue ses 194 Economics or the term Commerce shall be interpreted too narrowly: the two will be welded to some extent into one, and gradually it is to be hoped that the treatment of these sub- jects of national moment can be established on a sound and ‘broad educational basis. EDUCATION or Pzedagogy.—The science of Education is coming to the front of practical politics in a most impressive manner just now. All that we attempt in this direction at present is the Training of a limited number of Primary Teachers, both men and women: a department which constitutes a success- ful and promising beginning of a mosi important work. But some part of the barrier between primary and secondary educa- tion is shortly to be broken down, and the Government is wisely going to insist on a training for Secondary Teachers also. It is important to remember that, for this work, teaching must be provided in all departments of ordinary know- ledge, and by no means in the Arts subjects alone; though those no doubt constitute the backbone of the course. Also that methods of teaching the substance of Science (including Mathematics) and Modern Languages, in schools, are less developed and systematised than are the disciplinary methods for drilling in Ancient Languages, Euclid and Algebra. A Professorship is necessary if we are to enter into effective rela- tions with and duly to influence secondary schools. - ENGINEERING.—This science is, even more than chemistry, overweighted with its own applications; so that there is a tendency to regard it solely as an applied science. But it has a large and most important pure-science aspect, too; and on this side may be considered to consist of Applied Mechanics and Physics; meaning by that, such subjects as Thermo- dynamics, Elasticity, Strength of Materials, Theory of Mechanism, and much else; not to mention the enormous sub- ject of Electrotechnics—the foundation of Electrical and Tele- -graphic Engineering; in fact, the ground to be covered is so large that but few Physicists are competent to treat the whole science adequately from an engineering point of view, and soa good deal falls to the province of the Professor of Engineering. At the same time a thorough knowledge of the groundwork of the pure Science of Physics and Mechanics is essential to the training of every engineer who aspires to rise to the higher ranks of his profession. We have only to run over the aspects of Civil Engineering | in its limited customary sense--Bridges and Tunnels, Reservoirs, Canals and Railways; and then to remember Marine Engineer- ing and Military Engineering—to recognise that the whole sub- ject is obviously gigantic. It alone could cover the whole site and employ a dozen professors. GEOLOGY.—The great science of the earth’s crust claims to deal with the constitution and history of. the earth as a whole. It is in touch on the one hand with Astronomy—a science which at present we do not here attempt—with GEOGRAPHY, a science which has many aspects, both on the side of nature and on the side of the distribution of man, which are dealt with to a con- siderable extent by our present Professor of Geology—with MINERALOGY, which he also treats—with PAL-ZONTOLOGY, the Botany and Zoology of the ancient world, in parts of which he is a world-known authority—-with Physics and with Chemistry, more especially perhaps with Physics, for many of the problems are the physics of the earth’s crust. All this on the pure science side. On the side of Applied Science it is in obviously close con- nection with Mining, with Civil Engineering, with Water Supply and with Agriculture. HisToRy :—the science of humanity in the past, is closely allied with Sociology and Economics; it is often treated in a more literary manner than most sciences, and hence is some- times taken for a time.by a Professor of Literature ; but never satisfactorily so. The whole range of ancient and modern history, of events and institutions and of constitutions, is large enough to demand the attention of several specialists, if the ground is to be adequately covered. On its practical side it has close relation with Law and with Commerce. MATHEMATICS :—the science of number and form, in its elementary stage, is an essential ingredient in all education, and hence is partly associated with the Faculty of Arts. In its higher stages it is essential to the Engineer, and is. becoming necessary to the Chemist; and for these purposes.a more immediately practical course, proceeding more quickly over the rudimentary portions, is desired. In still higher stages it is NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | NATURE, [JANUARY I, 1903 essential to the Physicist, the Astronomer, and the Natural Philosopher generally. And in its highest stages it constitutes © a pure science of unexampled beauty and perfection. The so-called Applied Mathematics, or Theoretical Mechanics, is closely allied with, and, indeed, trenches upon the mathe- matical side of Physics; and there is ample room for two or more professors of the different branches of Mathematics. Some day this statement will become practical politics. MEDICINE ;—is the only science which at present is adequately treated in England. A five years’ course is devoted to its acquisition; and it is subdivided into a proper number of constituent parts, each dealt with by a special Lecturer. Besides the three great sciences Anatomy, Physiology, Path- ology, with which last at present the developing new science of Bacteriology is associated, there are the great practical Arts of Medicine and Surgery, together with the several branches called respectively Hygiene, Therapeutics, Materia Medica, Midwifery, Gynecology, Forensic Medicine, Toxicology, Men- tal Diseases (the Pathological side of Psychology), Ophthal- mology, each with a special Professor. Besides these we might have a Lecturer on Diseases of Children, another on the Ear and Throat ; and we have seven Lecturers in Dentistry, a branch in which we give special degrees. There is also Pharmacy, including the training of Pharmaceutical Druggists, a branch of work we have not yet undertaken, but for which there is some demand. Medicine therefore is a model according to which all the great sciences should be subdivided and conquered ; and to some extent it is coming to be so in Germany. This country is ignorant of Science: and the administrative and commercial classes are not yet awake to its value. PATHOLOGY, —This vitally important science used to consist wholly, and still consists largely, of post mortem operations and the study of fresh morbid specimens, with the object of throwing light upon the processes of disease ; so that an essential ap- pendage to the subject is its museum of morbid preparations ; which indeed subserves also many practical branches of Medicine and Surgery. A good Pathological Afuseum is one of the most valuable assets of a Medical School, and has been found to be a powerful factor in attracting students, as well as in maintaining the interest of medical practitioners, to whom it may be a consider- able aid in difficult cases. Nowadays the science has been illuminated and almost revolutionised by the discoveries of BACTERIOLOGY ; and it bids fair to achieve for humanity the greatest service which on the terrestrial plane can be accomplished, viz., the earlier and surer recognition, the intelligent treatment, and ultimate removal, of many forms of disease. ; The science is allied to Physiology, to Chemistry, to Zoology, and to Botany, and it is the root principle of Medicine and Surgery. Its researches seem likely to open up the tropics to white habitation, thereby greatly enlarging the effective extent of the earth’s surface; and, if it progresses as it has recently been doing, it is to be expected that the average duration of human life everywhere may be largely and efficiently prolonged. PuHysioLoGy.—This splendid science deals largely with the functions of the human body in health—indeed with organic or vital functions generally, save that those of the lower animals and of plants are generally relegated to the special sciences of Zoology and Botany. It is the Physics and Engineering and Chemistry of live machines. It is closely connected with Anatomy, which concerns itself with the discovery and enumer- ation of the structures themselves ; and on the practical side it manifestly is closely related to Medicine. For a due under- standing of the functions of the heart, the liver, the muscles, the lungs, the viscera, the nerves, the brain, the kidney, the stomach, the glands, the eye, the ear, and the other organs of the body, is essential to their proper treatment, whether by hygienic precautions or by remedial drugs; just as an exact anatomical knowledge of their position is the foundation of surgery. The microscopic branch of Anatomy, called HisToLoey, the science of the minute structure of the tissues, is generally at present dealt with by the Physiologist, doubtless because these parts are intimately concerned with the business of secretion and with vital functions generally. . It has recently been customary to equip the Physiologist with a quantity of elaborate Physical instruments, chiefly for a special JANUARY I, 1903] NATURE 105 study of the phenomena of nerves—in which of late years many discoveries have been made. The electrical concomitan's of nervous action have been found very helpful in elucidating the processes and determining their true relations, even if they do not turn out to be themselves an essential part of the process ; and accordingly the science demands extensive and expensive equipment. From the side of the brain and nervous system it is related to | the analysis of mental functions in Psychology. Puysics.—Of the science of Physics I dare hardly trust myself to speak: suffice it to say that it is the chief part of Natural Philosophy, the science which covers everything except the treatment of life and mind, and it underlies every other science. It seeks to explain the phenomena of Chemistry and of Physiology, so far as can be done without trenching on the domain of Biology. It is closely allied to ASTRONOMY, it measures sizes and distances, and the chemical constituents of the heavenly bodies. It is concerned with all exact measure- ments, with weighings and gaugings and surveyings, all geodetic operations, and a great part of Navigation. It includes Meteorology, which is the physics of the atmosphere ; it deals with Heat and Light, and Sound, including the theory of Music, with Magnetism and Electricity, with waves and vortices, with the flow of fluids, with the elasticity of solids, with the theory of gases ; and it is the foundation of Engineering. On its practical side it has blossomed in every direction : | witness the pump, the barometer, the telescope, the microscope, the photographic camera, the steam engine, the telegraph, the electric motor, the electric light, the X-rays; less obviously in a multitude of other directions. On its theoretical side it is the most advanced and extensive of the whole of the family of sciences ; and a much larger staff is necessary if we are to occupy its territory in even a moderately respectable manner. In the department of exact measurement and mathematical electrical theory our present Professor of Physics has made for himself a world-wide reputation ; and the limits of discovery in a science like this are controlled more by the lack of time and of material equipment than by almost anything else. PHILOLOGY :—thé scientific treatment of language: a com- prehensive subject which ranges from a competent understand- ing of the derivation of words to an interpretation of Hiero- glyphics and of Cuneiform inscriptions, to Palaeography—or the study of Ancient Manuscripts. It is thus allied on one side to History, Sociology and Folklore, on another side to Ethnology and Archeology. It welds languages into families, and traces their relationships, and on its practical side is a necessary element in the thorough study of any modern language. It isa subject in various departments of which our Professor of Classics | and Lecturer in Latin are experts. PsyCHOLOGY :—may be regarded as the highest of all the | biological sciences, being the theory of mind and of mental Operations in general; in another aspect it constitutes the fundamental substratum of knowledge, being the study of the processes by which we recognise the external world, and all the facts dealt with by other sciences: it is a study which on its practical side is closely allied with Education, which so far as it is scientifically based must rest upon it. In recent times ex- perimental methods have been applied to the simpler mental operations, thus giving to the subject increasing definiteness and precision ; and a large extension of knowledge is being fore- shadowed in this direction by the labours of a few, as yet hardly recognised, pioneers. Moral and Political Philosophy.—On the theoretic side Psychology lies at the base of any sound treatment of the phenomena of will and conduct, the relation of the individual to his social and political environment, the meaning and bearing upon human life of legal and State organisation. The treat- ment of these subjects has attracted the best minds at the highest stages of social development, both in ancient and modern times, from Plato and Aristotle to John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick. Logic and Metaphysics.—On still another side Psychology is an introduction to Logic, the science which seeks to analyse the processes followed by the reason alike in ordinary affairs and in the more familiar kinds of scientific investigation, and while offering a practical discipline in logical method and the conduct of the understanding leads in turn to METAPHYSICS or General Philosophy ; which may be defined as the examin- ation of the relation of the forms under which we know the NO. 1731, VOL. 67] | | world around us—matter, motion, life, intelligence, art, science, religion—to one another, to reality in general, and (under the name THEOLOGY) to the Divine Mind. ZooLocy :—The study of animal life, from the lowest amoeba to the highest mammal. On the practical side Zoologists are sent out by the Colonial Office to Ceylon to renovate the Oyster and Pearl Fishery there ; by County Councils to study and improve the conditions of the sea-fishing industry round our coasts. The science has an important bearing on many of the operations of farmers, beekeepers, pigeon fanciers and veterinary surgeons; and in the United States a knowledge-of many zoological facts, relating to sheep and cattle, as well as to blight, the Colorado beetle, potato-bug, and such like pests, is disseminated among farmers by a series of pamphlets issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. Zoologists are beginning to take their part also with the botanists and patho- logists in the extermination of malarial and tropical disease, in which a knowledge of the life-history of the mosquito and such like insects is so important ; and already it is coming to be more than suspected, especially in the light of South African enteric experience, that flies and other household insects are specifically dangerous, too. A knowledge of Elementary Zoology, or at least of Com- parative Anatomy and Physiology, is insisted on in every medical school. The science of Zoology is sometimes sneered at as having to do with grubs, and butterflies, and snails ; and so it has ; but, though it has made no adequate beginning as yet, the greatest | of problems lies before it—or before it and Physiology together —in the future, viz. the elaboration of a theory of the nature of life and death. CONCLUDING EXPLANATION. In venturing to name earlier in this pamphlet (see p. 193) such a sum as five millions, I have had in view certain consider- ations which it may be well to set forth. First it has been found that the Carnegie donation to Scottish Universities is insufficient to attain its objects, and already it appears likely that it may have to be doubled. Next it is well known, and indeed painfully familiar to all who have to do with administration, that every new department started, and every new building erected, means an increase of current expenditure and a drain upon resources. Expenditure is called for on behalf of rates, portering and cleaning, heating and lighting, maintenance, depreciation and supersession of equipment, and materials for experiments and processes. There are also annual grants to be made to the Library, to the various Laboratories and Museums, and to departmental Libraries. Then there is a large disbursement for salaries of demonstrators and curators and assistants and technical instructors. All these expenses come out of revenue, and are probably best provided for by the income derived from fees, and from the contemporary support of County and other bodies so as to preserve dependence on the interest of the living generation. But it is highly desirable to keep fees low—not by any means to abolish them, but to keep them low—so as to bring higher education within reach of all who are able to make use of it: a number which, with the im- provement of schools, will probably be rapidly increasing. Hence it is probable that the above-mentioned items of annual expenditure will absorb the whole of the ordinary annual in- come and leave nothing for the payment of the chief Professors and Lecturers. Everywhere it has been found essential that chairs shall be endowed, so as to put them on a permanent and substantial basis; moreover, it is vitally important to be able to attract the best men, wherever they are to be found. At the present time it is not usually possible to compete with other places for the best men unless we can offer a sum comparable to 1000/, a year, and in some subjects more. An invested million will therefore on the average relieve the annual income of the stipends for 30 principal chairs. There must be a large number of Lectureships, or subsidiary and supplemental chairs, and 60 of these at 500/. each could be provided with the second million. The buildings already in progress on the new site are to cost more than a quarter of a million, and the remainder of what has been sketched out and actually contemplated will cost the other three-quarters. Another half million at least will be needed to equip them properly. 196 The older or central site will also need considerable enlarge- ment, and fresh buildings should rise there. Half a million may be set aside for ultimate building and equipment on and near the Mason College site. Four out of the five millions are thus accounted for ; the fifth is intended for a real attempt at scientific research in all departments. A fund by which men could be sent to any part of the world: to study tropical diseases, or fisheries, or mining possibilities—to investigate either nascent indus- tries or injured industries of any kind ; a fund which could equip research laboratories at home, and could defray the ex- pense of researches undertaken on a large or engineering scale, so as to bring in rapidly some practical results. At present there are men who perceive how many things could be reformed or improved, whether in purification of the atmosphere, or in novel modes of locomotion, or in many other ways; but they lack the means to demonstrate their plans or to try experiments. Manufacturers and Municipalities sometimes try experiment on a very extensive scale indeed—a really commercial scale—and in case of failure the resulting experience is over-dear. The endowment would not allow experiments on such a scale as that ; considering the variety of subject, the amount available for each would permit of no extravagance. Some of the ex- periments undertaken would undoubtedly fail, yet the success of a few would far more than compensate for the failure of many, and the activity could not but conduce to progress. The fund would have to provide, not only the necessary appliances and assistance, but it would endow fellowships for post graduate study, and would attract workers from many parts of the world, and certainly from the Colonies. One Principal could not possibly supervise all the multifarious activities which we have thus supposed may some day be called into being. There would have to be a Research Principal (whatever he might be called), to organise and superintend the scientific and post graduate study; a Technical Director, in touch with all the technical departments; and an Educational or General Head, to supervise the general scheme of the College in all its various avenues to a degree, and to take a lead in whatever conduced to general culture. If the scheme is lavish it represents lavishness in the right place. It is the kind of lavishness for which the nation is waiting—one of the few kinds of which hitherto it has been afraid. ‘“* There is that scattereth but yet increaseth : There is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” These lines refer not to individual wealth alone, but to National wealth also. We have failed to make the most hitherto of the brains and energy of our more able and specially-gifted youth, but have cramped them by the necessity of earning a living: a process wholesome enough for the in- dividual, and right for 999 out of every thousand, but for the remaining one far less repaying to the Commonwealth than the special service which he could render, if set free and encouraged by suitable surroundings for a few years of research, fol- lowing on a thorough educational preparation. these would justify their selection: nine-tenths of them even might do only moderately well ; but the discoveries of the select tenth would be of incalculable value. The world has been wasteful of its genius hitherto. It thinks too facilely that people exceptionally endowed will struggle to the front somehow. A few do, but a number do not ; the conditions are not favourable ; and the struggle for existence, though doubtless a stimulating training for the hardier and sturdy virtues, is not the right atmosphere for the delicate plant called genius. Different kinds of treatment are suited to different characters, and the hot- house plant will not thrive in bracing arctic air. From the Trust Deed with which Mr. Carnegie has endowed a research Institution at Washington with ten million dollars, I extract the following altogether admirable statement of “aims? :— “*1.—To promote original research ; paying great attention thereto, as one of the most important of all departments. “*2.—To discover the exceptional man in every department of study, whenever and wherever found, inside or outside of schools ; and to enable him to make the work for which he seems specially designed his life work. ‘*6.—To ensure the prompt publication and distribution of the results of scientific investigation ; a field considered highly important. NO. 1731, VOL. 67] NATURE Not all of | [JANUARY I, 1903 - .. “The chief purpose of the founder being to secure if possible for the United States of America leadership in the domain of discovery, and the utilisation of new forces for the benefit of man.” MUTUAL AID, Mutual Aid, a Factor of Evolution. By P. Kropotkin. Pp. xix + 348. (London: Heinemann, 1902.) Pes book is undeniably readable throughout, The author has a creed which he preaches with all the fervour of genuine conviction. He is anxious to make converts, but his zeal never leads him to forget fairness and courtesy. Those who disagree with him may learn much by studying the book. The line of argument is, briefly, as follows. In the case of animals, there is very little evidence of any struggle for existence among members of the same species, though plants, beyond all doubt, jostle their own kin out of existence. Animals are, as a rule, banded together for mutual protection, and those that have the best organisation for mutual defence are those that thrive best. Such species are represented by large, often by countless, flocks. Those that are least sociable, such as the great carnivores, are far less vigorous, to judge by their small numbers, and barely hold their own. The term “struggle for existence” should not, therefore, be used in a literal sense, as if there were an unceasing in- ternecine war between the members of the same species, a limited amount of food available and no individual able to dispel the cravings of hunger except by robbing his own kin and reducing them to starvation. So far from this, we | see mutual aid almost everywhere. There is a struggle for existence, but only in a wide, a metaphorical, sense. There is at normal times plenty of food, and there is, therefore, no need for fighting among the members of a species. Rats are a painful exception, and the cries of distress that come from cellars tell of their fights and their cruelty. Turning to men, we find that mutual aid is, or at any rate has been in the past, even more general than among animals. Among savages, mutual aid is the chief factor in evolution. The individual is never isolated, but is one of a clan. Among barbarians, we find the same tendency to sociability and cooperation, but historians, by dwelling exclusively on wars, have misrepresented the facts. When the clan broke up, men formed village communities. So unwilling were they to fight that they got soldiers to protect them, and in many cases became the slaves of their protectors. The risk of this led to the growth of the medieval town ; it was a union of several village communities for defence against marauders. Within the larger community of the town were smaller associations, the guilds. In these medizeval towns, the arts flourished to an extraordinary degree. Sometimes leagues of free cities were formed, and held their own against all enemies. But in time these little homes of freedom disappeared. The big centralised State arose and crushed out those smaller communities that existed for mutual help. Within the State has sprung up an individualistic civilisation, but even now there is an enormous amount of mutual help. There are | benefit societies, cooperative associations, trades’ unions. JANuaRY I, 1903] NATURE 197 Moreover, the poor have the habit of constantly helping one another in all their troubles. In every line of the book you see the eagerness of the writer to make the lives of men happier. So zealous is he that he attributes to the lower animals a benevolence | similar to his own. But has he correctly represented the struggle for existence? It is true that he partly succeeds in making good his first contention, that there is not much evidence of a fratricidal struggle between members of the same species. Still, there is a great deal more than he would have us imagine. offenders. Can we be sure that the same spirit does not show itself among other animals when a crisis comes ? And crises, though Prince Kropotkin does not allow it, | are all-important from the point of view of natural selection. Do not cattle in time of drought trample each other to death in their efforts to get what water remains in a pool here and there? Do they not, even in normal times, prod with their horns and bully a weakly member of the herd? Mr. W. H. Hudson, a most unwilling witness, testifies to this. Even maternal affection is strictly subordinated to the needs of the species. I have recently heard of a well-authenticated instance of a kid | which was being gored to death by its mother because it | was weakly, and it was only saved by being removed from her. Pigeons are very affectionate towards their young, but as soon as the young are able to fend for | themselves, the affection comes suddenly to an end, and is often succeeded by a strong tendency to tease and worry. Prince Kropotkin tells of crabs that worked hard and long to put one of their kind, that had got over- | turned, right side uppermost. This is indeed a remark- able phenomenon, hard to parallel even among animals a great deal higher than crabs. Swans will drive their young away from their pond. Eagles will not tolerate | rivals within a certain radius of their nest. Besides this, there is sexual selection, which often takes the form of selection by battle. I have read Prince Kropotkin’s book from cover to cover, and find no mention of the habit, so common among males, of fighting for supremacy. In the index there is no reference to it. Yet sexual selection is an important form of natural selection : its total omission is extraordinary. Prince Kropotkin certainly succeeds in showing that mutual aid is very frequent among members of the same species. Probably Darwin underrated the amount. But it is because they have formidable enemies that they assist one another. In fact, the struggle for existence is all the keener because they are formed into troops or armies. Mutual aid cannot “eliminate competition” (p. 74). True, it dignifies and ennobles it, but it makes it more intense. Whatever vigour any species possesses results from competition. If civilised men are stronger than barbarians, it isnot because they suffer less from competition. The civilised races have gained their Strength in the stress of the struggle for existence, and they retain much of it because there is still a struggle against cold, want and disease. The struggle against physical conditions is the only one that Prince Kropotkin recognises as normal and natural. As for lions and tigers, he deprecates their existence ; in his eyes, they have no NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | Rats, he owns, are sad | | 7atson Wétre. Yet they may claim the credit of having developed the habit of mutual aid among the ruminants. What need for mutual defence if there are no enemies? , Birds of prey in the same way have fostered cooperation among the members of the species on which they make their raids. | As to the comparatively small numbers of the car- nivorous animals, we need not attribute this, as our author does, to their want of cooperation. It is a ques- tion of food supply. Plants are more abundant than animals because they live on inorganic food, and that is plentiful. All animals require protoplasm that has been prepared for them by vegetables. This introduces a limit- ation of the food supply. The flesh-eaters must have it | still further prepared by the vegetable feeders. Were there yet another class of animals that could subsist only on the flesh of carnivores, they would be still fewer in number than the class on which they preyed. Prince Kropotkin seems unaware of the influence of one species upon another. The keen eye of the falcon and his splendid swoop have necessitated counter developments in the species among which he seeks for his victims. Mere physical conditions, seldom changing, would never have brought about the evolution of the noblest forms of life. This could only be achieved through the inter- | action of competing species. The advance of one—the gain of keener sight, of greater speed or greater courage —has necessitated a corresponding advance in others. Prince Kropotkin’s failure to grasp this prevents him from understanding the growth of civilisation. His creed does not allow him to understand that the clan, the village community, the medizval city, all derived their vitality from the fact that they had enemies to contend against. War necessitates loyalty and cooperation, as | our author, at least in one passage, owns, and yet he will not allow that it has played any good part in evolution. The passive friendliness of all law-abiding citizens to- wards one another and the efficiency of the police prevent cooperation from being what it once was. It is only the largest cooperative association, the State, that can evoke enthusiastic loyalty and devotion, and this is, obviously, because nations have not yet done with war. If the law | did not prevent active hostilities between trading asso- | Clations, we should soon see institutions similar to the medizval cities arising. Moreover, our philanthropic principles hinder us from bringing that pressure to bear upon the idle and corrupt which was essential to the successful working of the old guilds. Prince Kropotkin tells us that “‘the craft organisation required, of course, a close supervision of the craftsmen by the guild.” An |} idle member might be ejected, and his fate would, probably, be far worse than that of the modern idler who tramps from workhouse to workhouse. It is not in benevolence we fail so much as in the sternness that is wanted for the proper treatment of the dregs of society. There are many persons whom society can only help by compelling them to help themselves. And such drastic measures Prince Kropotkin does not seem to recommend. He would abolish individualism. But how would he make the loafers, who will not work for themselves, bestir themselves on behalf of an association ? F. Wee 198 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA. The Forests of Upper India and their Inhibitants, By Thomas W. Webber. Pp. xvi + 344; with 2 maps. (London : Edward Arnold, 1902.) Price 12s. 6d. net. HE title of this interesting book is somewhat mis- leading. In the first place, the author deals with only a fraction of the forests of Upper India, namely those of the districts of Kumaon (with a visit to Thibet), Gorakhpur (with a dash into Nepal), Jansi, Bundelkund, and the northern part of the Central Provinces. Inthe second place, he gives far more in- formation regarding the inhabitants, whether men or animals, than of the forests themselves. Indeed, the in- formation regarding the latter is very sketchy and not up-to-date. What the author does say in this respect refers to a state of things existing some thirty-five to forty years ago, and we have now far more complete accounts than those contained in this volume. Nor is the information in this respect always veryaccurate. On p. 38, for instance, he gives the area of the Kumaon hill forests as 15,000 square miles, while the whole dis- trict in which they are situated is given as 150 miles long and 100 broad, which also comes to 15,000 square miles. At p. 184, on the other hand, the area of forests surveyed in Kumaon is said to amount to 1074 square miles. Again, at p. 41, it is stated that the silver fir grows on the northern slopes at an elevation of 12,000 feet, whereas that is practically the upper limit, the tree being usually found between 8009 and 12,099 feet. On p. 194, the author says that Sal is found in the Mysore hills and Tenasserim. This may have been believed fifty years ago, but it has long since been found that the southern tree is not Sal, but another Dipterocarp. Of Deodar, the most important tree of the Himalayas, we hear very little. The information given of the forests serves, as a matter of fact, only as a frame, into which the author places the description of his travels, s‘tar, or sport, and enumeration of animals which he has met. This account will, we feel sure, interest many readers. The author despises ordinary shooting as now practised in these islands, but he loved stalking interesting animals, especially big game, in many of the out-of-the-way places which he visited between the years 1861 and 1871. He also gives an animated account of various wild or un- civilised tribes and their manners and customs. One of the most interesting parts of the book is, no doubt, that in which he tells us that, just inside Thibet, he came across the descendants of the famous Huns, which over- ran the greater part of Europe some 1500 years ago. Whether his surmise is cormect or not, we shall not risk to say, but from the description which he gives of the present-day Huns, it is clear that these must have greatly degenerated since the sojourn of their ancestors in Europe. The author’s account of the animal life in the districts which he visited is very full and is told in an attractive manner. At the same time, we think that literary license and colouring have been employed in a somewhat excessive manner. It is quite wonderful to read of all the different kinds and numbers of quadrupeds and birds which our author has seen and, in many instances, shot. NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | NATORE [JANUARY I, 1903 ! We cannot do better than give an extract from the chapter | headed “The Bori Forest” (pp. 299-303) :— “The glory of the village was an immense banian-tree, standing alone and covering half an acre of level ground. ... This great fig tree is in itself a whole aviary, affording both shade and figs, and insects and grubs, and safety from numerous enemies of the hawk tribe. There is the golden oriole (Oriolus kundoo), which makes a melodious whistle very like the ring of glass, short, single, and descending two octaves... Many little squirrels . . . came skipping and cocking high bottle-brush ringtails. . . . Among the thick, shiny leaves there is a sparkle of canary-yellow and bright scarlet ; this is the female and male minivet or cardinal bird. There are many kinds of woodpeckers, which tap on the stems and screech. A dark-greenish bird sits in the shade—the koel. He makes the grove resound with his frantic cry, ‘I’ve lost my shirt.’ ... The air is full of swifts and swallows, darting ever after insects. . . . At no time or place is there an interval in the wheeling of long-winged kites high overhead... . Towards evening . . .a little owl says ‘Piu!’ from the recesses of the many air-roots which hang overhead. Then a hundred green paraquets screech all together. . . . There are flocks of the common large green paraquet, the smaller rose-collared ofa, and many kinds of plum-headed paraquets, and slaty-headed and red-breasted parrots of all sizes. . . various owls . the purring also of the goatsucker. . . . Stag-beetles droneas they swing by, and cockchafers and the cicadas in the trees keep up a creaking which seems always in the air, and there is never silence.” Who would not like to see such a banian-tree and to sit under it and watch the variety of life here depicted by the author? Men with a more practical turn of mind would perhaps fasten on another very short passage in this chapter (pp. 309-310), where it is said :-— “The complete exclusion of jungle fires, which had been successfully carried out for some years previously, certainly showed its effect, as fine saplings, grown from seed, of teak and other sorts were plentiful through the forest.” The author dismisses the subject with these few words, and yet this operation was of immense importance, as the protection from fire of the Bori Forest in the Central Provinces was the first thoroughly successful experiment of the kind, continued over some forty years. It was the beginning of a system of successful fire pro- tection now carried on in all Indian provinces, a system which gives protection to some 30,000 square miles of the more valuable Indian forests. One of the greatest achievements of the Indian Forest Department is the suc- cess with which such extensive areas of valuable forests are now protected from the devastation formerly wrought in them by the annual forest fires. started the idea, so much is certain, that the officer who was the first to be thoroughly successful in this great work is Colonel Pearson, at that time Conservator of Forests in the Central Provinces. In the appendix, the author gives us his ideas of “the scientific management of forests,” and he winds up by reading a lecture to the Government on the neglect which forestry has met within these islands. The author draws attention to the serious consequences which are likely to arise if something substantial is not done at once in augmenting the wooded area of Great Britain and . There are notes of - Whoever may have . ie January 1, 1903] NATURE 199 Ireland, as well as in introducing some rational system of management into the forests of the colonies. Let us hope that his words will fall on fruitful ground. In conclusion, we cannot omit expressing our admira- tion ‘for the cheerful way in which the author went through most fatiguing journeys and the healthy tone of his remarks on the love of nature. We feel sure that the attractive way in which the book is written will secure for it many readers. Pp. xiv + Ltd., 1gor.) THE ASCENT OF MIND. Mind in Evolution. By L. T. Hobhouse. 415. (London: Macmillan and Co., Price tos. net. i this able and thoughtful work, Mr. L. T. Hobhouse distinguishes five stages of correlation in the ascent of mind, from the first glimmerings of consciousness in some lowly organism of primeval times to the systematic thought of the man of science or the philosopher and the intuitive insight of the poet or artist. The first of these, placed in a category by itself, is the pre-intelligent stage, wherein there is an indirect correlation of experience, re- action and welfare before intelligence (which is defined as the capacity of the individual to learn from experience) comes into play. The behaviour of the organism is, at this stage, the outcome of inherited structure, and if any variation of structure secures a more suitable response, that is, one better adapted to preserve the organism or its offspring, such a structure would tend to be “selected,” since the individual in which it occurred would have an advantage in the struggle for existence. In this way, inborn tendencies to a given method of response may be correlated with the past experiences of the race. It will be noticed that the word ‘‘experience” is here used inanon-psychological sense. Instinctive reactions are the culminating products of this stage of pre-intelligent development. Above and beyond this comes the com- prehensive category, the second of the two which Mr. Hobhouse distinguishes, wherein the correlation is based on individual (psychological) experience. This category comprises four stages ; first, that of the unconscious re- adjustment, where the pleasure or pain consequent upon instinctive or random response to stimuli modifies sub- sequent reactions in a manner determined by the nature of the feeling ; secondly, that of concrete experience and the practical judgment. Here behaviour becomes purposive, and the appearance at this stage of actions definitely directed to, and determined by, the ends which they serve, is regarded by Mr. Hobhouse as perhaps the most critical moment in the evolution of mind. In pur- posive action, so far as it is purposive, there is no fixed habit, but the response to the surroundings is determined by the effect which it will have in the particular case ; that is to say, by the relation between act and conse- quence. Hence the organism at this stage does not re- spond uniformly to similar surroundings, but takes into account anything that, though outside the range of im- mediate perception, is relevant to the object to be attained. Within this stage are reached the limits of animal intelligence. The connection between the perceived relation and the Owl get, VOL, 67 | action based on it remains, however, unanalysed. The steps by which this bond of connection is analysed out as a distinct content of thought lead us to the third stage, that of conceptual thinking and will, and of the correla- tion it involves, language, both as cause and effect, is the central feature. In scope, the correlation that is now made possible is immeasurably widened. In the concep- tions of this stage, thought first finds itself possessed of contents set free from the line of practical interests and also from strict conformity to the perceptual order. In this way a “world of ideas” is formed, going beyond as well as behind experience,and the conceptions which people this world form ideal schemes to which grouped experiences may be referred. Conduct is adjusted to meet the requirements of self or others as persons, of society as an abiding structure, or of morality as a system of universal rules. In fine, the correlation is now between the focussed results of connected bodies of experience and broad purposes of life or general standards of con- duct. The fourth and last stage—that of rational system— arises when the formation of a coherent, self-supporting, exact and exhaustive body of knowledge begins to be an explicit object of mental effort. The stage would be complete when such a system should embrace the con- ditions and possibilities of evolution, and should reach a complete synthesis of reality as a whole. Such, stated for the most part in his own words, is a summary of the successive steps which Mr. Hobhouse traces inthe ascent of mind. His work is characterised by breadth of view, logical development and fertility of illustration. It isan earnest attempt to grapple honestly and fairly with difficult problems in a spirit of serious in- vestigation. Personally, I amof opinion that Mr. Hob- house’s psychological stages one and two—those of un- conscious readjustment and of concrete experience—are much more closely related than is concrete experience to conceptual thinking, which again shades off into that of ; rational system. Dr. Stout’s broader division into per- ceptual and ideational phases of mental development seems preferable. Within these might fall Mr. Hobhouse’s subdivisions. The generic differences between the broader categories are not difficult to trace; but the specific differentiation of the subgroups is a less easy matter and one which leaves room for more difference of opinion. d A noteworthy feature of Mr. Hobhouse’s work is the careful record of observations conducted under experi- mental conditions on cats, dogs, a rhesus, a chimpanzee, a seal and an elephant. His method seems preferable to that of Dr. Thorndike, since the conditions are less cramping to the intelligence ; and though his interpreta- tion is in some cases open to criticism, his honesty of purpose is unquestionable. If, making due allowance for differences in the usage of technical terms, for diversities of outlook, ina word, for the personal equation, we com- pare his results—for example in the study of monkeys— with those of Dr. Thorndike and of Mr. Kinnaman, we cannot but be struck by the large measure of agreement that may be found in views which, to some readers of their works (and perhaps still more to the writers them- selves), may seem divergent. C. LLoyp MORGAN. 200 NATOKRE [JANUARY I, 1903 SCOTTISH GEOLOGY. The Geology of Eastern Fife. By Sir Archibald Geikie, D.C.L., F.R.S. Memoirs of the Geological Survey, Scotland. Pp. xv + 421; with map, 12 plates and 71 figures in the text. (Glasgow, 1902.) Price 8s. if is not given to every author of a Geological Survey memoir to write an interesting as well as instructive volume. Too little attention has been paid to style and composition, while the necessity for recording many and often dry facts has had a tendency to obscure the phil- osophy of the subject in many of the official publications. When, however, as in the present instance, the inform- ation is conveyed in a pleasant style and in well-chosen language, we feel that the science is placed on a higher level and that the task has been performed in no per- functory spirit, but with the desire to make art a com- panion of science. Sir Archibald Geikie has occupied much of his leisure time since he retired from the Geological Survey in writing a memoir on the geology of eastern Fife, which may be regarded as a sequel tohis ‘‘ Geology of Central and Western Fife and Kinross,” published two years ago. He conducts us now eastwards into a region per- haps fuller of geologic interest. Composed mainly of Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous rocks, it is diversified by the occurrence of contemporaneous erup- tive rocks in both systems and by the further evidence of later igneous action, probably for the most part of Permian age, in numerous volcanic vents—necks or chimneys—- filled with tuff or agglomerate, and in sills and dykes of dolerite and basalt. As the author points out, there is hardly any other region in Britain where lessons in practical geology could be better taught. On the coast, the rocks have been dissected and washed clean and bare by the tides, and they afford illustrations of stratifi- cation, jointing, curvature, intrusion and other charac- teristic structures of the earth’s crust. Fossils in great variety are found in many of the strata. The Old Red Sandstone of Dura Den is a classic locality, one of the chief repositories of the fishes such as_ Bothriolepis, Phyllolepis and Holoptychius. In the Carboniferous rocks, there are banks of corals and crinoids in the marine limestones, shales with ostracods and bone-beds with fish- remains in the estuarine strata, and plant remains with erect and prostrate tree-trunks in the more distinctly terrestrial deposits. A general list of all the fossils has been drawn up by Mr. B. N. Peach, who acknowledges the help received from several specialists. Workable coal has locally been found in the Calciferous Sandstone Series, but the chief development of this mineral is in the Carboniferous Limestone Series and in the Coal-measures, Full particulars of these strata are given. The author’s attention is naturally attracted to the erup- tive rocks, and more especially to those which have in- vaded the Carboniferous strata. The sills forma remark- able group ranging from a few inches to masses more than 100 feet thick that form prominent ranges of hills. They are nearly all dolerites. The distinctive feature in the geology of eastern Fife is, however, the series of volcanic necks, of which about eighty have been observed ; and, as the author remarks, NO. 1731, VOL. 67] “they furnish an unrivalled body of material for the study of phenomena in the structure of volcanoes which are inaccessible at the active vents of to-day.” They “mark the sites of former volcanic orifices by which egress was obtained to the surface for highly heated vapours, gases and other materials from the interior of the earth.” Notes on the petrography of the igneous rocks are con- tributed by Dr. J. S. Flett and Mr. H. J. Seymour. Many other topics of interest are dealt with by the author, such as the glaciation, as evidenced by the ice- worn rock surfaces, the Boulder-clay and the Kames. The raised beaches and submerged forests likewise claim at- tention, and there is an instructive chapter on the latest geological changes in which the famous Links of St. Andrews and other places are duly described. The work is illustrated by a clearly printed geological index map and numerous excellent pictorial views and sections. ELEMENTARY MENSURATION. Elementary Plane and Solid Mensuration, for use in Schools, Colleges and Technical Classes. By R. W. Edwards, M.A. Pp. xxx + 304. (London: Edward Arnold, 1902.) Price 3s. 6d. HIS book begins with an explanation of the nature and use of logarithms, followed by that portion of trigonometry which deals with a single angle and the application thereto of logarithmic calculation. Then comes a short chapter on calculations relating to paral- lelograms, and this is followed by one on triangles, wherein there is such further development of trigonometry as is required for the solution of triangles from the usual data. After this, rectilinear figures are treated of in the order of simplicity—trapeziums, regular polygons, &c. We have then a very useful little chapter on similar figures of various kinds, illustrated by a considerable number of numerical examples, followed by one on irregular rectilinear figures in general. Next follow calculations relating to the circle, illustrated by nearly ninety examples. Modern demands for the employment of squared paper and graphic representation are satisfied by a short chapter on graphs, and this leads to an ex- position and application of Simpson’s rule. After this comes the treatment of solids in the order of simplicity, and all the well-known rules are proved and illustrated by numerous examples. No rule is given without the proof, the author saying in his preface that “students of elementary mensuration are frequently obliged to be content with a mere statement of the rules employed and with working out examples on these rules.” This was, no doubt, true of treatises written thirty or forty years ago, but it has ceased to bea true criticism of recent works. The mensuration of solids concludes with a long chapter on the sphere which will be a help to the student in his study of spherical trigonometry. It will thus be seen that this book contains all that is necessary for the ordinary work of the surveyor and the engineer, and that, as regards the amount of knowledge JaNuarY f, 1903] of logarithms, algebra and trigonometry required as a preliminary, the work is self-contained. The author says in the preface that he would “like to have added chapters on surfaces of revolution, centroids and radii of gyration” —subjects which are usually con- fined to treatises on the integral calculus. It is high time, however, to take them out of the exclusive control of the severe exponents of pure mathematics and to bring them more into contact with practical needs by means of arithmetic. More especially is this true with regard to what are called “moments of inertia”—a term so wide of the thing intended to be signified that it isa perpetual stumbling-block to perception in the mind of the average student. What can be the meaning of the “moment of inertia” of a mere avea about an axis? Is not the notion of a mean sguare of distance, whether of a material body or of a mere area, from an axis something the nature of which is more readily grasped and firmly retained than the ordinary term square of the radius of gyration? the mean square of distance is what is universally called the “radius of gyration.” No doubt, the expression sounds strange at first to the student, but the strangeness rapidly wears off; and the notion of a mean square, whether of distances or of velocities, is one which so often occurs in various branches of physics that benefit to the student would result if a “radius of gyration” were presented to him in this way. The notion is one which preeminently lends itself to arithmetical illustration and treatment ; it is found, for example, to work admir- ably with certain engineering students, and we conimend it to the consideration of Mr. Edwards when he prepares the second edition of his useful work. OUR BOOK SHELF. Traité encyclopédique de Photographie. ment. By Charles Fabre. Pp. 423. Villars, 1902.) Price to francs. THIS supplement constitutes the seventh volume of Prof. Fabre’s work, and covers the period from the date of the second supplement, 1897, to May of the present year. On turning over its pages, one cannot but be struck by the very large amount of space devoted to apparatus. More than 230 pages are so utilised, while negative making has but 54, direct printing methods 41, and photo-mechanical methods 11. It is needless to add that while lenses, cameras, shutters, &c., are dealt with in full detail, the progress of photography itself is inadequately treated. Some important matters, concerning which one would naturally turn to such a work as this, are omitted, and others are only referred to. This tendency to neglect photography for the sake of photographic apparatus is more or less general in the larger treatises on the subject ; perhaps, therefore, this kind of manual best meets the general demand. But it is difficult to understand why the photographic student should desire a full technical description of every variety of objective and be satisfied with little more thana popular summary of work done in the science itself. We know of no treatise that gives any approach to a complete survey of the science of photography. And seeing that the present position of the science is so largely due to work done during the last ten, or at most about twenty, years, the need for a comprehensive treatise written from our present standpoint is obvious. ; The character of Prof. Fabre’s work is too well known NO. 1731, VOL. 67] Third supple- (Paris : Gauthier- NATURE The STUAVE root of 201 and appreciated to call for detailed reference in connection with a supplement. The author might perhaps have been a little more up to date in some respects. He might, for example, have stated that the Royal Photographic Society has at last withdrawn its unit of //4 for lens apertures and recognised that the natural unit is //1. On the other hand, he could not have recorded the similar step taken by the International Congress of Paris, as their accept- ance of the natural unit was not announced until after the first part of the supplement was published. The table at p. 43, showing the various series of empirical numbers that have been used for indicating apertures, is therefore now almost wholly a matter of history. By E. Walter Astronomy Without a Telescope. (London: Avxzow- Maunder, F.R.A.S. Pp. xii + 272. ledge Office, 1902.) Price 5s. net. By collecting these papers on “ Constellation Studies,” “The Zodiacal Light,” and other subjects for the amateur astronomer, Mr. Maunder has directed attention to many interesting observations which can be made without instrumental aid. The book is divided into three. sections, (1) constella- tion studies, (2) astronomical exercises without a tele- scope, and (3) astronomical observations without a telescope ; and it is illustrated by 44 charts and photo- graphs, and 12 excellent star maps. The object of the book is to encourage naked-eye observations, and this is kept in mind throughout, though for some parts of the subject an ordinary field-glass is allowed. In “Constellation Studies,” the reader is introduced to the constellations and their units, an intimate know- ledge of which the author counts a s¢we gua non in the prosecution of the exercises and observations mentioned in sections ij. and iii. This instruction is given in a readable and interesting form, and seems to deal with all the objects which are of interest to a naked-eye astronomer. With the aid of frequent quotations from Aratus and some of the ancient rhymesters, the historical and mythological allusions to constellation and _ star names are explained in an instructive manner. In sections ii. and iii, the observer is given assistance for the scéentific observation of some ten different astro- nomical phenomena. For instance, in the chapter on “ Meteors,” a list of questions is given which observations of the meteor should answer, and, further, the un- necessary, but usual, complicated remarks are indicated. In the chapter on “Aurore,” also, there are hints on what to look for and what to note; whilst such sug- gestions as an apparent connection between the apex of the “Zodiacal Light” and the Pleiades will encourage amateur astronomers to make patient and persistent observation. The chapter on ‘‘ New Stars” indicates another field of possible usefulness. With the exception of the introduction of ‘‘ Columbia ” for “ Columba” on map 12, the book seems to be free from typographical errors, but we would express a regret that the names of the letters of the Greek alphabet, when used to designate a star, were not printed in a different type from that used for the proper names of the stars, because, despite the explanation of the alphabet given as an appendix, this is likely, at first, to form a stumbling-block to readers who are not familiar with the names of the Greek characters. Aids to the Analysis and Assay of Ores, Metals, Fuels, By J. J. Morgan, F.1.C., F.C.S. Pp. vi +105. Students’ Aids Series. (London: Bailliére, Tindall and Cox, 1902.) Price 2s. 6d. THIS little book is intended for the use of students and others to whom the more expensive standard works on analysis and assaying are inaccessible. It is entirely devoted to quantitative estimations, and some two hundred methods are concisely described. It contain &c. 202 NATURE [JANUARY I, 1903 the assay of the ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, zinc, iron, manganese and chromium, and the estimation of the impurities usually met with in these metals. There are also sections devoted to the analysis of fluxes, re- fractory materials, slags, fuels, &c., and of white alloys, iron alloys and copper alloys. This enumeration is enough to show that an enormous amount of ground is covered, and in such a small book there is, of course, no room to explain the principles on which the directions are based. The directions themselves, however, are clear and generally accurate. Among the mistakes and omissions which have been noticed, the neglect to re- oxidise the lead reduced by the filter-paper in the ignition of lead sulphate and an erroneous method of calculating the gold contained in ores may be mentioned. The modern method of adding zinc acetate instead of soda and acetic acid in the iodide copper assay is not men- tioned, and electrolytic methods generally are ignored. The book should be useful to students in polytechnics and other evening schools. First Stage Mathematics. Edited by W. Briggs. vii+186. (London: Clive, 1902.) THIs volume of “ The Organised Science Series” deals with the geometry and algebra required for Stage i. Mathematics in the South Kensington examinations. In section i., the text of Euclid i. is strictly followed, with occasional notes and explanations. Useful sum- maries of the propositions are given, also several sets of easy exercises and a number of miscellaneous riders. A few additional propositions are proved, and hints are given on writing out proofs. In section ii. (algebra), in one or two places the reasoning does not appear quite satisfactory. For example, on the sign of a product, on p. 21 :—‘* Suppose +2x—3 or -2x+3. Evidently the product will not be the same in either of these cases as in +2x +3. Therefore we assume that +2x —3=—6 and —2x +3 =-—6. Therefore, when one term has a plus sign and the other term has a minus sign the product is minus. Again, suppose —2x —3. This is different from the last two cases, and we assume that —2 x —3=+6. There- fore, when two terms with minus signs are multiplied together the product is plus. From these results we can infer the rule of signs.” A statement of this kind almost inevitably tends to fog the mind of a student. The use of the word sz (as on p. 52) in any other than its exact algebraic meaning, in a text-book for beginners, is objectionable. There are numerous easy exercises in algebra, also arithmetical questions from previous papers. The book is well printed, and the figures in the geometry are clearly drawn. Pp. Preparatory Lessons in Chemistry. By Henry W. Hill. Pp. v+122. (London : Allman and Son, Ltd.) Price ts. THE order of treatment in this little book represents the method of teaching chemistry more common twenty years ago than now. Before being set to examine for himself easy familiar chemical changes in a scientific manner, the beginner is expected by the author to be able to understand such subjects as atoms and mole- cules, formulee and equations, and similar matters much more suitable for students at a later stage of work. Several better books for beginners in chemistry are avail- able. My Dog Frizzie and Others. wood. Pp. 44. Institution). By Lady Alicia Black- (London : Operative Jewish Converts’ Price 4d. THESE are simple, interesting stories concerning the habits and character of a pet dog. The tales may en- courage children to study animals intelligently. NO. 1731, VOL. 67] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. ] Sound Waves and Electromagnetics. The Pan-potential. THE photographs taken some years ago by Prof. Boys of flying bullets showed the existence of a mass of air pushed along in front of the bullet. Is there anything analogous to this in the electromagnetics of an electron? Suppose, for example, that an electron is jerked away from an atom so strongly that its speed exceeds that of light. Then it will slow down by reason of the resisting force to which I have shown it is subjected. So long as its speed is greater than that of light, it is accompanied in its motion by a conical wave. The question is whether there is any disturbance ahead of the electron, close to it, asin the case of a bullet moving through the air. It isa question of fact, not of theory. When Maxwell’s theory shows that there is no disturbance in front of the electron, that is only because it is virtually assumed to be so at the beginning, by the assumption that the ether continues fixed when the electron traverses it. Apart from this detail, the analogy between the conical sound wave and the conical electromagnetic wave is interesting in connection with C. A. Bjerknes’s theory of pulsations in a liquid, as developed by V. Bjerknes in his ‘* Vorlesungen iiber hydrodynamische Fernkrafte mach C. A. Bjerknes’ Theorie.” The liquid is incompressible, and is set into a pulsating state by pulsating sources, and the result shows remarkable analo- gies with electric and magnetic phenomena when they are static, Now if the liquid is compressible, the results must be ap- proximately the same provided the pulsations are not too quick. Butif very rapid. and the compressibility be sufficient to lower the speed of propagation sufficiently, new phenomena will become visible with pulsating sources, like sound waves, and the question is how far they are analogous to electro- magnetic phenomena ? Here, for example, is an interesting case. density of the source, such that (if g=d/d,v¢)), (v?-@)V= —f (1) is the characteristic of the velocity potential V, so defined that —vVV is the velocity. Then / signifies the amount of fluid (unit density) generated per unit volume per second and diverging outward. Then, for a point source of strength Q, the V it produces is va" = Ué=7/2), Anis 4rr Let f be the (2) at distance » This is equivalent to Rayleigh’s account of Helmholtz’s spherical waves from a centre (‘‘Theory of Sound,” vol. ii.), except in the interpretation of f or Q, which I do not altogether understand in that work, Q isa fluctuating function of the time in the above in the acoustic application, though, of course, fluctuation is not necessary in the ideal theory. Now if the source Q moves through the air with velocity u, the potential becomes ve (3) 4mr\1 — (2/7) cos 6} if @ is the angle at © between r and u at the proper moment. This equation therefore expresses the theory of a very small pulsating source moved through the air, and is so far very like that of an electric charge Q (which does not pulsate) moved through the ether. The analogy does not continue in details, when, for example, we compare velocity with electric displace- ment. The electromagnetic theory is more involved. When z exceeds v, equation (3) is no longer the complete solution. If # is less than v, there is just one and only one position of Q at a given moment where it is, so to speak, in communication with P, the point where V is reckoned. But when #>v, there may be just one point, or two, or there may be any number. Thus, if the source © starts at moment ¢=0 from a certain point, and then moves steadily in a straight line, the wave front is conical, with a spherical cap, or spherical, with a conical spike, Q being at the apex. If P is JANUARY I, 1903 | NATURE 203 inside the sphere, there is only one position for Q. But if P is inside the cone, there are two. The value of V at P is the same So the real for both, given by (3) reckoned positive always. V at P is double as much, _If the speed varies, the values of z will usually be not the same in the two positions, so the two partial V’s must be separately reckoned. But the speed and path may vary in such a way that there are more than two positions of Q which are the centres of waves which all arrive at P at the same moment. When there are any number of electrons moving about in given paths, the following will give a broad idea of the nature of the problem. To find V at a fixed point P at the moment ¢. Let at that moment a spherical surface expand from P at speed 2, not forward in time, but backward. In expanding from radius © to”, it will cross the electrons one after another. Take note of the times of passage, 4, 4, &c. (less than ¢), of the charges and their velocities. Then = Q y SRG — (a/v) cos 6}” (4) where R,=7(¢—¢,), and 6, is the angle at Q,, between R,, and u,,. Similarly as regards the vector potential. When z is allowed to exceed 2, the effect is to increase the number of crossings of electrons. An electron crossed twice counts as two electrons. The value of zy is {1 — (z/v) cos 6,+—}. velocity of Qn at the moment ¢,. Its apparent’ velocity, as viewed from P at the moment /, is u,/, or —R,. It has no necessary resemblance to the real velocity, and may be positive or negative. The dot here signifies differentiation to ¢ at P. Talking of potentials, Iam tempted to add a few words about their King, the Pan-potential. In equation (1) above, let be not d@/d(vt), but any sort of complex time differentiator, for example, if =d/d?, The vector.u, is the real P=(kt+cp)(e tu), which is the special form for electromagnetic waves in a con” ductor. Then (2) is still the solution for a point source, and in general v=3° "Spans (5) 4nr is the pan-potential due to the distributed source # It is not the complete solution, because ¢?” has not been counted; but that is not wanted when there is no barrier to reflect. For instance, if © is zmpressed electric current, in a con- ductor, the characteristic of H, magnetic force, is (v?-9?)H= - curl Cc. (6) It follows by the above that H=pancurl c, (7) that is, the magnetic force is the pan-potential of the curl of the impressed current. The operations pan and curl are inter- changeable, so H=curl pan C, (8) Dp H= curl A, if A= panc. (Similarly vy pan = pan v, and diy pan = pan div.) I worked out this problem for a fixed point source of im- pressed current some time ago (‘‘ Elec. Pa.,” vol. ii. p. 432) without reference to the pan-potential. The operational solu- tion there given, equation (258), represents either (7) or (8). The algebrisation was also done. There is no advantage in using the A function in this particular case ; itis, infact, more difficult to find A first and then derive H than to obtain H without A. Simi- larly as regards BE, the electric force. The second circuital law derives it from the H equation, so that it is not required to introduce # to supplement A. If the point-source is in motion, the pan-potential requires Dopplerisation as well as the ordinary potential. But this does Not require explicit representation for continuously distributed sources. For example, the electromagnetic circuital equations curl (H —h)=u div cE+(£+<)E, (9) curl (e-E)=w div uw +(g+,)H, (10) where u, w, e, h are functions of position and time, have the solutions E-e=panX, H-h-=pan Y. (11) To prove this, and determine the nature of & and Y, it suffices to: put the characteristics of E—e and H —h in the form NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | (1), g? having the more general later meaning. Now (9) and (10) lead to (7? —Vv?)(B —e) = ~vp — curl @-(¢+u)C, (12) (7?=Vv°)(H —h)= —vo+ curl C—(£+<¢f)G, (13) where p=div(E-e), o= div(H-h), (14) C=u div cE+(s+). 6. 4h. 33m. Transit (ingress) of Jupiter’s Satellite III. (Ganymede). 10. 8h. 41m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 12. 19h. 20m. to 19h. 37m. Moon occults A Geminorum (mag. 3°6). E 13. 5h. 30m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 14. 8h. 14m. to gh. 8m. Moon occults @ Cancri (mag. 4°3). 15. Illuminated portion of the disc of Venus =o'982, of Mars =o’g10. 17. 12h. Mercury at greatest elongation, 18° 45’ East. 20. 2th. Saturn in conjunction with the sun. 30. 10h. Venus in conjunction with Jupiter. 0° 44’ South. 3e. 10h. 22m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). Venus, Macnetic StorMs AND Sun Spors.—In an article com- municated to No. 4, vol. xvi. of the Astrophysical Journal, Father Cortie, S.J., discusses the probable connection between terrestrial magnetic disturbances and solar activity. Instead of dealing with mean values over an extensive period, he has compared the times of occurrence of specific isolated phenomena which have occurred during the three years 1899— 1901, inclusive, and from this comparison has arrived at the con- clusion that the relation is certainly not simply one of cause and effect, but rather the relation of two effects springing from a common cause. For example, in support of this conclusion, the writer analyses the occurrences of the first six months of the past year as follows. The only spot of any size to cross the sun’s disc during this period was the one observed between March 5 and 13, yet this was unaccompanied by any striking magnetic disturb- ance. From March 13 to May 19, the visible disc was com- pletely free from spots, and the faculae observed were faint and unimportant, yet a comparatively vigorous magnetic disturbance took place on April to. Father Cortie concludes from his detailed analysis of the last sun-spot minimum that ‘‘ It may be possible that sun spots are one of the instrumental causes of magnetic storms, though not the only one, but it is more likely that the two phenomena are correlated as two connected, though®sometimes independent, effects of a common cause.” OBSERVATIONS OF THE PERSEIDS, AUGUST IO AND II, 1902.—In No. 100 of Popular Astronomy, Mr. Charles P. Olivier gives the results of the observations of this shower which were made at the Leander McCormick Observatory of the University of Virginia. On August 10, during a watch which lasted from gh. 26m. to 16h. 8m., 44 Perseids and 28 other meteors were seen, whilst on August 11 (13h. 38m. to 16h. 8m.) 76 Perseids and 26 other meteors were recorded. The maximum display occurred during the period 13h. 59m. to 14h. 59m. on August 11, 30 Perseids and 11 other meteors being recorded during that hour. _The colour of the brighter Perseids was generally orange, and the radiant points for the two dates were a = 39°‘5, 6= +567, and 4=46°'8, 5= + 56°°7 respectively. The latter radiant was very accurately determined from an ap- NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | parently stationary meteor which appeared directly over the sixth- magnitude star D.M. + 56°-798. The paths of about one-half of the meteors observed were plotted on two charts, reproductions of which accompany Mr. Olivier’s article. THE Moscow OBsERVATORY.—Vol. iv. of the second series of the ‘‘Annales de l’Observatoire Astronomique de Moscou,” published under the editorship of Prof. W. Ceraski, gives all the details and results of the observations made at that observatory since the last similar publication was issued: During this interval, important work has been done in re- furnishing the observatory and providing it with new instru- ments, in order that it may pursue its researches on modern lines. A new Henry-Repsold refractor, having two fifteen-inch objectives, has been added to the equipment of the observatory, and one of smaller dimensions is now in course of construction. The meridian circle, which has been in use since 1855, is at present being reconstructed to suit modern requirements. The results published include the following :— Meridian circle observations, by M. B_ Modestow ; calculations of occultations by the moon, observations of the Leonid showers of 1897-8-9, and observations of Mars (illustrated by drawings) during 1896 and 1897, by M. S. Blakjo; observations of occultations, by MM. Sternberg, Modestow and Blakjo; and a photometric study (illustrated by two charts) of Coma Berenices, together with a description of the useful work performed with:a binocular of 15 mm. aperture, by M. Ceraski. ELECTROCHEMICAL NOTES: THE literature of electrochemistry and electrometallurgy is rapidly increasing in volume and importance, and busy people find an increasing difficulty in keeping themselves well informed as regards the more recent developments in these new branches of scienceand industry. The value of periodic subject- indexes of current literature on this subject is therefore very great, and all interested in these new sciences will hail with pleasure the appearance of a monthly sheet entitled A/e&¢vo- chemische Technik, which contains an alphabetical subject-index of all recent articles dealing with applied electrochemistry, electrometallurgy and electrotyping. This sheet is edited and published by Dr. F. Peters, of Berlin, and the first issue is dated October, 1902. It contains references to 107 recent articles on the subjects covered by the index, and French, German, English and American papers and journals have been searched in compiling this index. In some cases, short abstracts have been given of the articles indexed. Our issue of May 22 contained a note upon the electric resistance furnaces patented and manufactured by Heraeus, of Hanau, Germany, and the use of such furnaces for melting- point determinations. These furnaces have latterly been re- duced in cost and improved in efficiency by the substitution of platinum foil only 0007 mm. in thickness for the wire originally used, and a recent issue of the Zezts. f. Elektrochemie contains some notes by Dr. Haagn—the chemist to the Hanau firm, upon the use of the tube form of the improved furnace for laboratory determinations. The most important of these for the chemist is the application of the Heraeus furnace to organic elementary analysis, and, according to Dr. Haagn, this application has been attended with success. We suppose that, when used for this purpose, the platinum spiral encircling the glass combustion tube is cut up into several sections, each with its own current connections, so that successive portions of the tube can be heated as desired. The great advantage of such a furnace, from the chemist’s point of view, will be the reduction of the heat losses by radiation and by the escaping gases, since these in the usual form of gas-combustion furnace are very great, and in summer time render organic analysis a most trying and tedious operation. Other proposed applications of the Heraeus tube furnaces are for the direct estimation of carbon in steels, and for the deter- mination of ash in coal and coke. The maximum temperature attainable with these furnaces is 1700° C., and this limit is due to the inability to produce tubes, which will retain their form at this or higher temperatures. The use of the electric current for heating glass furnaces does not seem a very promising application of electric power to those acquainted with the high degree of efficiency obtained in the modern regenerative gas furnace now generally employed in the glass-making industry. According to a recent issue of the Zez¢- 212 NATURE [JANUARY I, 1903 schrift fiir Elektrochemite, however, this method of heating glass furnaces has not only been the subject of practical experiments in Germany, but two glass works are now in operation, working upon this principle. Two Cologne engineers, MM. Becker and Volker, are the patentees of the more valuable and practical electric furnaces of this type, and after numerous laboratory experiments they have been able to achieve the realisation of their ideas upon an industrial scale. The first ‘‘ Electric Glass Factory ” was built at Plettenberg on the Lenne, where a power station of 2000 E.H.P. was available for the supply of the requisite electric energy. The results first obtained here were not very satisfactory from the economic point of view, but improve- ments were introduced in the process which are considered to render it a commercial success, where cheap power is available. A new company has therefore been floated, the ‘* Aktiengesell- schaft f. Elektrokeramic,” and a second electric glass works has been built at Deutsch-Matrei, where electric power can be obtained at a cost of 5 pfg. per E.H.P. hour at the terminals of the furnaces. This works was to commence manufacturing operations in the summer of this year, and further details of the results obtained will be awaited with interest. Messrs. Foerster and Miiller, who have devoted much time to the elucidation of the chemistry of the electrolytic chlorate cell, contribute to the Zeztschrift f. Elektrochemte of August 28 and September 4 details of an extended labora- | tory investigation relating to the changes which occur when hypochlorite solutions are electrolysed under various conditions. Sodium hydrate, sodium hypochlorite and sodium chloride solutions were used as electrolytes in their experiments, and the results show that chlorate was formed at the anode both by primary and secondary reactions under the conditions obtaining during their tests. The primary formation of chlorate is re- presented by the following equation :— ClO’ + 20 = Cl0,. This reaction, however, demands the presence of ClO’ ions with anodic free oxygen and an E.M.F. at the anode above r‘r volts. It occurs under normal conditions only to a slight extent. Secondary chlorate formation occurs at the anode, not only in solutions containing free hypochlorous acid, but also in neutral and alkaline solutions, and may be represented by the following equation :— 6C1O + 3H,O = 2HCIO, + 4HCl + 30. The formation of chlorate by this secondary reaction is, how- ever, most active when the conditions admit of the existence of free hypochlorous acid in the electrolyte, ze. when the electrolyte is maintained in an acid condition during the electrolysis. In this connection, it is interesting to note that a recent French patent in the name of Lederlin, relates to an improvement in the usual electrolytic chlorate procedure, the improvement being the continuous addition of dilute hydrochloric acid to the electrolyte in the cell. The use of ozonised air for the purification of drinking water is again attracting considerable attention. Some years ago, experimental trials were carried out at Paris and other places with processes of this character, but the trials appear to have been unsuccessful (probably on economic grounds), and for two or three years little has been heard of ozone in connection with the water supply of large towns. During the present year, the East London Water Company has, however, been carrying out trials at Lea Bridge with an ozone process of purification, and according to one of our electrical contemporaries, these trials have been fairly successful. Prof. van ’t Hoff also gave details at this year’s meeting of the German Electrochemical Society of experi- mental trials recently made with the Vosmaer-Lebret process in Holland, and his paper is fully reported in a recent issue of the Zeitschrift f. Elektrochemie. ‘\he Vosmaer-Lebret form of ozoniser differs from most of those previously invented in the absence of glassas a dielectric. The silent discharges which pro- duce the ozone in the air passing through the apparatus take place between the walls of the metallic tubes which form its essential feature. An E.M.F. of 10,000 volts with one pole earthed is used, and no artificial cooling is employed. The chemical and bacteriological examination of the water before and after treatment with the ozonised air showed that the reduction in organic matter and in the number of colonies was equal to the best yet obtained by any other process, and Prof, van ’t Hoff | is of opinion that the Vosmaer-Lebret process may solve the problem of a pure-water supply for large towns and cities, NO. 1731, VOL. 67] | departure and as such merits special recognition. Experimental trials of the process are shortly to be carried out in Rotterdam, in connection with the town water-works. The electrolytic separation of antimony from polysulphide solutions of sodium and the metal is a difficult operation, for, owing to the separation of sulphur at the anode and its re-solu- tion in the electrolyte, the metal deposited at the kathode has a strong tendency to enter again into solution. Izart and Thomas have recently been investigating this phenomenon, and have found that the difficulty can be overcome by using a diaphragm type of cell. Some details of their experiments are given in the Zezts. f. Elektrochemée of September 11. The solution of polysulphide is placed in the kathode compartment, and a solution of sodium hydrate is used in the anode compartment of the cell. The conductivity of the electrolyte can be increased by the addition of ammonium salts. On pass- ing an electric current through such a cell, sulphur separates at the anode, but dissolves in the sodium hydrate solution with liberation of oxygen. At the kathode, antimony is deposited, and there would appear to be no limit to the thickness of the deposit which can be obtained under these conditions. The process isabout to be tried upon an industrial scale at Cassagnac, in France, and the results obtained will be awaited with interest. Up to the present time, the only electrolytic process for the separation of antimony which has been worked upon a large scale is that of Siemens and Halske, but no details of the plant at Banya, in Ilungary, have been published, and it is possible that the results have been less satisfactory than the | patentees hoped. A NEW JOURNAL FOR GENERAL. PHYSIOLOGY} THE multiplication of journals devoted to particular aspects of the various branches of a science, although indicating the vigorous growth of the last decade, is not without.its dis- advantages ; it tends to accentuate those subdivisions of the subject which specialisation must of necessity bring about. In this respect it is refreshing to realise that the particular periodical now under review aims rather at the consolidation than at the further separation of the different aspects of physio- logical knowledge. In this and in other respects it is a new This will be apparent to anyone who reads the excellent introduction with which the editor, Prof. Verworn, has prefaced the first number of the new venture and which, apart from its delightful literary style, is well worth perusal since it is more comprehensive than the majority of such utterances ; it forms, indeed, in itselfa noteworthy and suggestive contribution to contemporary physiological literature. Of the many different points which are dealt with in this editorial, only those can be referred to here which have a direct bearing upon the scope and conduct of the Zeitschrift fiir allgemeine Physiologie. The phrase ‘‘ General Physiology” has been made familiar through Prof. Verworn’s masterly treatise upon the subject, but as this very treatise appears to have given rise to some misconceptions as to the mean- ing of the terms, the editor now defines the position with more precision. General physiology is regarded by Prof. Verworn to be the science which deals with the objective phenomena of living things in so far as they are common to all or to large groups ot organisms. It is noteworthy that the qualification indicated by the word ‘‘ objective” has been introduced ; the reason for this introduction appears to be the desire of the editor to make it clear that in his opinion physical and chemical changes are the only data which can be properly considered to constitute the subject-matter of physiology. His affirmation of this view is particularly salutary at the present time owing to the confusion which exists as to the relation of physiology to psychology, and the modern tendency to blur our sharpness of view in regard to the former subject by reviving the vitalistic views of the past. Prof. Verworn regards with disfavour the intrusion of such idealistic conceptions as have been made familiar by the exponents of ‘‘ neovitalism,” and accordingly he limits the subject-matter of general physiology. He also advocates a more exact phraseology in connection with physiological pro- cesses which have been hitherto described by a terminology belonging to psychology. The use of such terms is undoubtedly 1 Zeitschrift fiir allgemeine Physiologie. WHerausgegeben von Dr. Max Verworn. Erster Band, Erstes Heft. Pp. 128+ 28. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1902.) Preis Mk. 24. January I, 1903 | extremely misleading ; it is difficult, for instance, to dissociate those physiological processes which are generally described as “voluntary” from having a physiological connection with *¢ volition,’ and yet with volition as such physiology itself can have no dealings, In the opinion of the writer of the present review, Prof. Verworn is to be congratulated upon the firm attitude which he has taken and upon his timely attempt to demarcate the scientific frontier of his subject. In the editorial preface reference is also made to a mis- conception which appears to be rather widespread, and is fundamental as regards clear definition of the subject ; this is the tendency to regard general physiology as identical with what has been called comparative physiology. The latter phrase is un- doubtedly a wholesome protest against the restriction as to experimental material which pervades a large section of physio- logical work, and which causes generalisations to be drawn from phenomena observed only in a few vertebrates—the frog, the rabbit, cat, dog and monkey. But comparative physiology as the appropriate vzs-d-vzs for the extensive science of comparative anatomy cannot at present be said to exist at all; on the other NATURE hand, there is a considerable and rapidly accumulating mass of | material for general physiology in the sense in which this phrase is used by Prof. Verworn. It is true that both studies postulate investigations carried out upon an extensive range of living material ; there is, however, a very real distinction between them related to the end for which the study is undertaken. If this is directed so as to ascertain the phenomena exhibited bya particular animal as such, then it fitly forms part of comparative physiology ; but if it is undertaken with the object of throwing | light upon analogous phenomena existing throughout widespread groups of organisms, then it can be more appropriately described as pertaining to general physiology. In this latter case the object | of study is selected because it exhibits some particular physio- | logical process in an especially striking way or under especially modified conditions. The distinction will no doubt break down as our knowledge widens and a real comparative physiology comes into being, but at present it appears to be both sound and useful. In illustration of such practical utility the writer of this article draws attention to investigations upon the phenomena exhibited by the electrical organs of fishes ; these have been undertaken by physiologists in order to throw light upon the electrical changes present in such excitable tissues as muscles, nerves, &c. ; it isa mere incident that they also con- tribute towards ovr knowledge of the life-history of particular forms of fish. In this connection it is desirable to explain that the editor is particularly careful to guard against giving the im- pression that he attaches particular value to the study of the simplest forms of life; these are extremely suitable objects of study for particular purposes, but he rightly ridicules the notion of there being any special virtue in a ‘* Protistenphysiologie.” It will be clear from the above review that a very wide scope is given to the possible subject-matter of the new journal ; it includes a wealth of material if only in investigations upon all the excitable tissues both animal and vegetable. The editor’s hope is to bring together, by means of the Zeztschr2/t, widely scattered researches upon most diverse objects, which will, however, all be linked through their authors’ aims and points of view ; the whole assemblage will thus have a direct bearing in regard to those large problems of the existence of which every physiologist is aware. In order to encourage the advance of physiology along these lines, Prof. Verworn announces his intention of giving the new journal an international character, partly by publishing at the end of each number reviews of such researches appearing in various existing periodicals as come within the scope of the subject, but mainly by undertaking to print communications in any one of the languages made official at the Physiological Congress held last year in Turin, There are at present very few journals in which physiological communications, whether German, French, English or Italian, can appear ; a physiological Zeitschetft of this cosmopolitan character will prove to be a real boon, and will, if successful, bring into touch workers of dif- ferent nationalities in a way which must be most beneficial for the advance of their science. Space will not permit any extended reference to the researches contained in the first number of the new journal ; it may, how- ever, be said that as regards importance and varied interest they are excellent, and that Prof. Verworn is to be congratulated upon the subject-matter of his first volume. The communications include the following original publications :—‘* Zur Kenntnis der NO. 1731, VOL. 67 | 213 Narkose,” Hans Winterstein ; ‘‘ Neue Versuche zur Physiologie der Befruchtung,” E. von Dungern; ‘* Ueber die Reaktion des Blutserums der Wirbeltiere und die Reaktion der lebendigen Substanz im allgemeinen,” H. Friedenthal ; ‘‘ Inanitionsers- cheinungen der Zelle,” H. Wallengren. There is, further, an article by Prof. Boruttau upon the older and the more modern conceptions as to the causation of nerve conduction, and reviews of various contributions to contemporary physiological and biological literature by a number of competent reviewers. The journal is well printed, and such plates as are present in this first volume are quite satisfactory. It is to be hoped that English contributions to general physiology may appear in some of the succeeding numbers ; in the meantime, Prof. Verworn has the hearty good wishes of many English physiologists for the success of his undertaking. HG INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WEATHER-SHOOTING. IF anyone wishes to learn the history of the subject of the effect of gun firing on weather, he cannot do better than con- sult a most interesting and complete history, which has recently appeared as a publication of the Central Anstalt for Meteor- ology and Earth’s Magnetism (year 1902, vol. xxxix., Vienna). The above-mentioned history is only one of several valuable articles contributed to this volume, all of which are connected with the same subject. In fact, the publication is an account of the international conference for experts on weather-shooting which took place in July lastat Graz, It may be news to many people to learn that already three international and one Italian congresses have been held, and that anyone who was interested in the subject could have attended. The congress in question was summoned to give, if possible, definite answers to two definite questions, namely, (1) Is weather-shooting effective or not? (2) If no final judgment can be given, what should be done in future and how should one proceed? In order to prepare those interested and about to attend the conference, three monographs were published and dis- tributed a fortnight beforehand, bringing together the whole history of the subject up to that time; the methods, appa- ratus and arrangements of modern weather-shooting; and lastly, the criteria for judging the effect of weather-shooting and the application of the same to the numerous “‘ effects ” and ‘‘ non- effects” as reported in previous congresses and publications. Each of these are printed in the present volume and are valuable contributions to the subject. It would take too long to enter deeply into the details of the numerous meetings and discussions at the conference itself, It is of interest to state, however, that the distinguished director of the Vienna Central Anstalt of Meteorology and Earth’s Magnetism, Herr Hoefrath Prof. Dr. Pernter, was general reporter to the congress, and that at the end of the volume he sums up the conclusions of the conference. The first result, as he states, was that the effect of weather-shooting, based on expert evidence, appears not only—as the over- whelming majority of the opinions of experts showed—as doubtful, but as most doubtful and, indeed, improbable when all circumstances and different weights of opinions are con- sidered. The second main result, restricting ourselves only to two, was that the firing should not as yet be given up, but con- tinued until it be proved that it has not the desired effect. It may be mentioned in conclusion that this publication is a model of what such a report should be, and those who have taken part in it are to be congratulated on the successful result of their labours. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Oxrorp.—A statement of the needs of the University has been circulated by the Vice-Chancellor among members of con- gregation. Applied mechanics is one of the subjects for which an additional professorship is asked. Better endowment is asked for the professorship of human anatomy, the readership in pathology, the Sibthorpian professorship of rural economy (now suspended), the chairs of geology, zoology, physics and experimental philosophy, and the curatorship of the Pitt-Rivers 214 Museum. A large extension of the system of readerships and lectureships is asked for in natural science, archeology and other subjects. The necessity of instituting and maintaining a laboratory for experimental research in the field of psychology is urged by several professors. The urgent needs of the Uni- versity Museum, the Botanic Garden, the University Observa- tory and other departments of science at the present time in- volve a capital expenditure of about 30,0007. and an annual expenditure of 3050/. OAMBRIDGE.—Mr. L, Doncaster and Mr. V. J. Woolley, of King’s College, have been awarded Walsingham medals for their researches in biology. Mr. Doncaster wrote on hybridis- ation, Mr. Woolley on the effect upon a nerve of strong interrupted induced currents. Twenty-three entrance scholarships and exhibitions in natural science have been awarded at the recent examinations held by ten colleges. For classics fifty-one awards were made, for mathematics thirty-seven, and for modern languages six. Dr. CHARLES PorTER, of the Public Health Hospital, Leith, has been appointed demonstrator in bacteriology at University College, Sheffield. Dr. G. S. PARKIN summarises in the Zzmes the results of inquiry made at Oxford on behalf of the trustees of the Rhodes scholarship scheme to ascertain the conditions on which scholars will be admitted to the University and also the willing- ness of the individual colleges to receive the men selected. Almost all the colleges have already expressed their willingness to receive a certain number of the scholars annually. The minimum standard of admission to be kept in view by the trustees in making their selections is the ability to pass Respon- sions. Dr. Parkin adds :—‘‘As much weighty evidence has been placed before the trustees to show that in parts of the United States, andin many: of the colonies, it was felt that the bequest would be made more useful and effective if scholars were accepted for post-graduate and research work, as well as for merely under-graduate standing, the colleges were asked to state their preference in this particular. The replies were varied—some colleges inclining distinctly towards men _ pre- pared for advanced study, if within moderate age limits— while some are ready to take in scholars of both classes.” SCIENTIFIC SERIAL. Journal of Botany, December.—The article on a new Senecio hybrid, by Mr. Burbidge and Mr. Colgan, refers to a form found at Sorrento, Ireland, which is intermediate in character between the common ragwort, Seveczo Jacobaea, and an introduced species, Sevecto cineraria. Besides the illustrations, which do not furnish very definite proof, the authors bring for- ward more convincing evidence in favour of their view.—The notes published by Mr. Spencer Moore refer to Salvia Russellii, two species of Barleria and a recently founded species of Am- phoranthus.—Mr. C. E, Salmon records the finding of A/¢haea hirsuta near Reigate and discusses the possibility of the plant being a native or an alien.—Mr. Wheldon and Mr. A. Wilson give the localities of some mosses and hepatics which have been discovered in west Lancashire since their previous list, published in 1901.—A list of Shropshire Sphagna is compiled by Mr. W. P. Wamilton.—The revised catalogue of British Marine Algze, with localities, compiled by Mr. Batters, is concluded in this number. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. : Royal Society, December 11, 1g02.—Abnormal Changes in some Lines in the Spectrum of Lithium. By Hugh Ramage, B.A., St. John’s College, Cambridge. Communicated by Prof. G. D. Liveing, F.RS. 3 Be The author has found that the wave-lengths of the lines belonging to the principal and the second subordinate series in the oxyhydrogen flame spectrum of lithium agree closely with NO. 1731, VOL. 67] NATURE [JANUARY 1, 1903 those given by Kayser and Runge for the lines in the arc spectrum, but, excepting the orange line, there are considerable differences between the lines of the first subordinate series. Beginning with the orange line and proceeding to the others in order, the differences found were 0°07, 0°70, 0°49, 0°39 and 0°28 unit, the wave-lengths of the flame lines being the greater. In view of these differences, the author examined the arc spectrum in an arc struck in air and in another enclosed in a magnesia brick ; the spectra of different parts of the outer flame and of the inner core of the are were studied. He also examined the spark spectra with and without a Leyden jar in the secondary circuit. The conclusions are that the lines in the principal series appear to broaden and reverse normally. The lines in the second subordinate series do not reverse, but they broaden towards the less refrangible end of the spectrum and become diffuse on that side. The first line in the first subordinate series, A 6103°84, broadens and reverses almost normally. The other lines in that series broaden more rapidly on the more refrangible side than on the other. The inner core of intense arcs, and the parts near the negative poles of weak arcs and sparks, give a broad reversed line with its centre about A 4602’4, whilst the part near the positive poles in weak arcs, and the flame of the arc, give a sharp bright line, A 4603'07, coincident with the lines in the spectra of the oxyhydrogen flame and uncondensed spark, The wave-lengths hitherto recorded for these diffuse lines would appear to be those of abnormal lines; the true lines are the sharp bright ones which occur, without complication, in the spectrum of lithium in the oxyhydrogen flame. Entomological Soeiety, December 3, 1902.—Canon Fowler, president, in the chair.—Mr. H. W. Andrews exhibited a male specimen of Zhertoplectes lucidus, from Chattenden, July, 1902. Colonel Yerbury took several females of this species at Nethy Bridge, N.B., in 1900, but there appears to be no record of the capture of the male. He also ex- hibited a male Platychirus sticticus and a female AZicrodon vius from Eltham and Shoreham (Kent) respectively ; and three small dark examples of Syrphus balteatus, taken near Brockenhurst, where the form was not uncommon, in October, 1902.—Mr. M. Burr exhibited two species of Phyllium from Ceylon, sent by Mr. Green, P. bioculatum, Gray (=erurifolium Hann., and scy¢he Gray), which produces the flanged ova and is the commoner of the two, and /. athanysus, Westw., a scarce species with the less ornate ovum.—Mr. A. J. Chitty exhibited a box of insects, taken, between September 22 and October 7 last, from a decayed fence chiefly constructed of birch. The exhibit comprised about a hundred species, of which seventy- nine or eighty were Coleoptera. Four species of beetles mimicked the surroundings of lichen-covered bark, and one, Acalles tribatus, resembled buds. —Mr. R. Adkin exhibited a hybrid Selenza bilunaria x S. tetralunaria, together with spring and summer examples of both species for comparison. The hybrid presented some of the markings of each of its parents, the crescentic blotch at the apex of the fore-wings and the band on the hind-wings closely following /e¢ra/unarza, but | no trace of the dark spot usually so distinct on each of the wings of that species, especially in the summer emergence, was visible, while the ‘‘second line” of the fore-wings closely followed é2z/unarza. In colour it more nearly resembled that of the summer brood of /e¢valunarza. Geological Society, December 3,1902.—Prof. C. Lapworth, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—On some well-sections in Suffolk, by Mr. William Whitaker, F.R.S. Notes of thirty-one new wells have accumulated since 1895, some of them giving results which could not have been expected. A trial-boring for the Woodbridge Waterworks Company gave a depth of 133} feet down to Eocene beds, and a thickness of Crag about double of any before observed in the neighbourhood. The author is not satisfied with any of the explanations which have been sug- gested. Two borings at Lowestoft show that Crag extends to a depth of 240 feet in one case and more than 200 feet in another, confirming estimates of Mr. Harmer and Mr. Clement Reid. In one of these, Chalk was reached at 475 feet. Three other wells inthe neighbourhood confirm the great depth of the newer Tertiary strata. Sections are also given from the following places :—Boulge, Hitcham Street, Ipswich (corroborating the evidence for a deep channel filled with Drift given by the section at St. Peter’s Quay, New Mill), Shotley, Stansfield and Bretten- ham Park. The last shows the greatest thickness of Driftrecorded ; in the county, namely, 312 feet.—The cellular magnesian JANUARY 1, 1903 | NATURE 215 limestone of Durham, by Mr, George Abbott. Tne Permian Limestone covers about 1} square miles near Sunderland ; it alternates with beds of marl containing concretionary limestone- balls, and attains a thickness of 65 feet or so. The cellular limestones frequently contain more than 97 per cent: of calcium carbonate. Magnesium carbonate occupies the interspaces or “cells” of this limestone, and also the spaces between the balls. The patterns met with in it can be arranged into two chief classes, conveniently termed honeycomb and coralloid, each with two varieties; both classes have begun with either parallel or divergent systems of rods. The second stage is the development of nodes at regular distances on neighbouring rods, and these in the third stage, by lateral growth, become bands, | Finally, inthe fourth stage the interspaces become filled up. The upper beds are usually the most nearly solid. In the coralloid class, the nodes and bands are smaller and more numerous than in the honeycomb-class. In both classes, tubes are frequently formed. The rods have generally grown down- wards, but upward and lateral growth is common. Anthropological Institute, December 9, 1902.—Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., in the chair.—Mr. C. Lumholtz, of the American Museum of Natural History, read a paper on the symbolism in art of the Huichol Indians of Mexico.— Messrs. Nelson Annandale and H. C, Robinson read a paper on some results of an expedition to the Malay Peninsula. The paper described the districts which were visited by the authors, the investigations undertaken and the material obtained. I. The civilised tribes are as follow :—(1) Malays and Siamese of the district between Singora and Jambu. Physical differences between the two are slight or absent ; there is evidence of an admixture of aboriginal blood, though the aborigines are now practically extinct in the district. Two distinct physical types are to be recognised, but neither can be associated with one people or the other. Mohammedanand Buddhist customs were noted. The amusements, opium-smoking, diseases and modes of burial were described. (2) The South Perak Malays are distinct from the people of Patani, their standards of civilisation more occidental, but their race is non-persistent, being swamped by immigration. (3) In Seéangor there is no long-established Malay population. (4) The Samsams of Ti ang are identical with or nearly related to the Malays of Upper Perak, but certain physical differences from the Malays of South Perak were noted, and-their language, religion and weapons were described. II. The savage ¢rébes are the following :—(5) Sevzangs. Their distribution, social status, piysical characters and mode of life were described. (6) Sakazs. heir distribution and relationship to Semangs were noted, and their mode of life, external relations and burial customs. (7) Orang Laut Kappir of Trang. Their possible relationships were discussed, with their dialect, religion and customs. CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, November 24, 1902.—Dr. Baker, president, in the chair.—The origin of the thoroughbred horse, by Prof. Ridgeway (see p. 187). —Note on the resolution of com- pound characters by cross-breeding, by Mr. W. Bateson. In this note, the case of resolution of character recorded by de Vries (‘‘ Mutationstheorie,” Lief. iv. p. 196) is discussed. A red Antir- rhinum crossed witha white gave hybrids which on self-fertilisation gave four forms in numbers suggesting the ratio 9 : 3: 3:1. These results are treated by de Vries as phenomena of ‘di- hybridisation,” but in the present communication it is pvinted out that the facts so far do not preclude an apparently simpler account.—Notes on rearing the later stages of echinoid larvee, by Mr, L. Doncaster. The difficulties which workers at echinoid development have met with in rearing the larvz were pointed out, and the methods used by MacBride and others were described. At Naples in the spring and summer of 1902, it was found possible to rear larvee of Strongylocentrotus Jividus, Echinus microtuberculatus and their hybrids beyond the meta- morphosis without using either a plunger or specially large jars. The larvee were kept in four litre jars, and supplied about five times a week with fresh sea-water taken several kilometres from the coast.. The larvze usually developed healthily and metamor- phosed about thirty days after the fertilisation of the eggs. Other Species, such as Sphaerechinus granularés, however, could not be induced to develop by’these means. The hybrid urchins lived for only a few days after the metamorphosis, but those of Strongylo- NO; D731, VOL, 67 | _centrotus were kept in some cases fora month, but did not change /greatly during that time. ‘the two species mentioned resembled one another very closely. — The later larvee and young urchins of (1) On the Galois theory of differential equations ; (2) On the structure of continuous groups, by the president. —Note on spon- taneous ionisation in air at different temperatures and pressures, by Mr. J. Patterson. The object of the experiment was to find, if possible, the cause of the so-called spontaneous ionisation in air. To measure the spontaneous ionisation at different temperatures, the air was contained in an insulated iron cylinder containing ‘about thirteen litres, and the rate of leak was measured between the walls of the vessel and an insulated electrode. This elec- trode was connected to one pair of quadrants of a very delicate electrometer and the rate of leak observed. The experiments showed that from the temperature of the room (20° C.) to about 500° C. the current through the gas was constant, the air in the cylinder being at atmospheric pressure throughout the investi- gation. To measure the ionisation at different pressures, the same cylinder and electrode were used. The joints were made air-tight with sealing-wax and the air filtered through glass wool. The results showed that down to a pressure of about 4 atmos. the current through the gas was independent of the pressure and that for pressure below 90 mm. of mercury the ionisation was proportional to the pressure. Using the value 6x107!" for e, the charge on an ion, the number of ions produced per c.c. per sec. was about 30. The results of the experiments indicate that the ‘‘ spontaneous ionisation ” is really due to easily absorbed radiation from the walls of the vessel. — Note on the behaviour of a potassium amalgam kathode in a vacuum tube, by Mr. T. Lyman. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, December 16, 1902. —Mr. Charles Bailey, president, in the chair.—Mr. Frank Southern and Dr. Charles H. Lees exhibited some Japanese magic mirrors.—Mr. R, W. Ellison exhibited a series of eggs of the common guillemot (Ura ¢roz/e), showing great variety in coloration and design of markings, eggs of various shades of green, blue, yellow, brown and red being prominent.—Mr. C. E, Stromeyer read a paper on the graphic computation of lenses, in which he described a simple method of computing oblique rays of light which do not cross the optic axis of a lens system.—Mr. A. Adamson read a paper ona simple form of vernier microscope. The apparatus is specially devised to suit the elementary student in a physical laboratory who is familiar with the use of the vernier and who wishes to calibrate or determine the bore of a glass tube by measuring the length of a mercury thread within it. PaRIs. Academy of Sciences, December 22, 1902.—M. Bouquet de la Grye in the chair.—The president delivered his annual address.—The prizes offered for the year 1902 were awarded as follows :—In geometry, the subject proposed for the Grand Prize was to improve in an important point the application of the theory of continuous groups to the theory of partial differ- ential equations, the memoir crowned being that of M. Ernest Vessiot, M. Jean le Roux receiving a very honourable mention ; the Bordin Prize is not awarded, M. de Tannenberg receiving an honourable mention for perfecting the theory of surfaces applicable to the paraboloid of revolution; the Francceur Prize is awarded to M. Emile Lemoine for the whole of his works on geometry, and the Poncelet Prize to M. Maurice d@Ocagne for his works on nomography. In mechanics, the Extraordinary Prize of 6000 francs is divided between M, Romazotti_ and M. Driencourt, M. Hartmann receiving a Montyon Prize, for his experiments on the production of the lines of slipping on the surface of elastic bodies due to their deformation, and M. Renard the Plumey Prize, for the whole of his works. In astronomy, the Pierre Guzman Prize is not awarded, the Lalande Prize falling to M. Trépied, the Valz Prize to, M.. Hartivig, the Damoiseau Prize to M..Gaillot, for his study of the theory of the motion of Saturn, the Janssen gold medal to M. le Comte Aymar de la Baume-Pluvinel, an encouragement and a Janssen medal being accorded to M. Jean Binot. . In geography and navigation, the Binoux Prize is divided between MM. Claude, Marcel Monnier and Delpeuch. In physics, the Hébert Prize is awarded to M. C. F. Guilbert, for his work 216 entitled ‘‘ Les générateurs d’électricité 4 ’ Exposition de 1900.” In statistics, the Montyon Prize is divided equally between M. F. Bordas, for a statistical study of the mortality in infants due to gastro-enteritis, and M. H. Duchaussoy, for a memoir on the meteorological observations of Victor and Camille Chandon de Montdidier, exceptionally honourable mentions being ac- corded to M. Liétard, for his work on the population of the Vosges, M. Paul Dislére, for his memoir on colonisation, and M. Peyroux, for a study of the causes of the depopulation of Elbeuf, mentions being accorded to M. R. Leroy, for a contribution to the study of alcoholism in Normandy, M. L. Mayet, for memoirs on the distribution of goitre in France and statistics of alcoholism, and to MM. Passerat and Trousseau. In chemistry, M. Rosenstiehl receives the Jecker Prize, for the whole of his works, especially those bearing on organic chemistry. In mineralogy and geology, M. de Grossouvre receives the Fontannes Prize, for his work in the field of paleontology. In physical geography, the Gay Prize is awarded to M. Berthaut, for his historical studies on the cartography of France. In botany, Mr. Roland Thaxter receives the Desmazicres Prize, for his studies on the parasitic fungi of American insects, and M. Vuillemin the Montagne Prize, for his memoirs on the morphology and biology of fungi. In anatomy and zoology, the Savigny and Vaillant Prizes are not awarded, the Thore Prize falling to M. R. de Sinéty. In medi- cine and surgery, Montyon Prizes are accorded to M. J. Dejerine, for his memoir on the semiology of the nervous system, to M. G. H. Roger, for his work on infectious diseases, and to M. P. Ravaut, for a memoir on the cytodiagnosis of pleurisy, MM. Commenge, Comby and Guillemonat receiving mentions, and MM. E. Bodin, V. Griffon, E. Fournier, C. Guerin and Cassaét citations. The Barbier Prize is divided between M. Grimbert, for his work in chemical biology, bacteriology and hygiene, and M. Le Dentri, for a clinical Statistical study of cancer of the breast. M. Ed. Imbeaux receives the arrears of the Bréant Prize, M. G. Loisel the Godard Prize, for his notes and memoirs relating to the histogenesis and physiology of the male sexual elements in birds, M. Pierre Lereboullet the Bellion Prize, for his work on cirrhosis of the liver, M. A. Clerc the Mege Prize, for a study of some soluble ferments in blood serum, and M. Triaire the Baron Larrey Prize, for his biography of D. Larrey, a very honourable mention being accorded to M. Romary, the Lallemand Prize being divided between Mlle. Pompilian and M. Hauser. In physiology, the Montyon Prize in experimental physiology is not awarded, M. Pierre Bonnier receiving the Philipeaux Prize, for memoirs on orientation and sense of altitude, M. Paul Marchal the Serres Prize, for his researches on the development of the parasitic Hymenoptera, M. J. Tissot the Pourat Prize, for a comparative study of the mechanism of respiration in mammals, and M. H. Blondel de Joigny the Martin-Damourette Prize, for his work on the pathogeny and prophylaxis of myopia. Of the General Prizes, the Lavoisier medal is awarded to M. Stanislas Cannizzaro. In accordance with the decision of the Academy to award a certain number of Berthelot medals to those obtaining prizes in the sections of chemistry and physics, MM. Rosenstiehl, Minet, Clerc, Imbeaux, Bordas, Dislére, Peyroux, Grimbert, Grignard, Fosse and Marquis, and Mme. Curie receive Berthelot medals. The Montyon Prize (un- healthy trades) is awarded to M. Claude Boucher, for a report on the methods for the mechanical manufacture of bottles, the Wilde Prize to M. Schulof, for his work on comets and shooting stars, the Tchihatchef Prize to Dr. Sven Hedin, for his scientific explorations in Central Asia, the Delalande-Guérineau Prize to M. Gonnessiat, for his work in connection with the geodetic expedition to the equator, the Jérome Ponti Prize to M. André Tournouér, for his explorations in Patagonia, the Houllevigue Prize to M. Teisserenc de Bort, for his researches on the state of the atmosphere at high alti- tudes, the Gegner Prize to Mme. Curie, for her work on radio- active bodies, and the Trémont Prize to M. Frémont, the Saintour Prize being divided between M. Riquier, for his work on the integration of partial differential equations, and M. Adolphe Minet, for his researches on the electrolytic production of aluminium, "and the Cahours Prize between MM. Fosse, Grignard and Marquis. The prize founded by Mme. la Marquise de Laplace is given to M. Aubrun, that founded by M. Félix Rivot being divided between MM. Aubrun, Niewen- glowski, Barrillon and Bénézit. 1731, VOL. 67 | NATURE [ JANUARY I, 1903 DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, January 1. RONTGEN Society, at 8.30.—X-Ray Work in Private Practice: Dr. G. M. Lowe. MONDAY, January 5. Victoria INSTITUTE, at 4.30. Rovat GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, at 4.30.—Landscapes in the Volcanic Districts of France : Dr. A. J. Herbertson. Society oF CuemicaL InpustTRY, at 8.—Note on the Fiderestence of Naphthalic Anhydride: Dr. J. T. Hewitt.—The Saponification of Fats and Oils by means of Dilute Acids: Dr. J. Lewkowitsch. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7. GEoLoGIcat Society, at 8.—On the Discovery of an Ossiferous Cavern of Pliocene Age at Doveholes (Buxton), Derbyshire: Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S. THURSDAY, January 8. MATHEMATICAL SociETY, at 5.30.—A Method of representing Imaginary Points by Real Points in a Plane: Prof. A. Lodge.—On the Mathematical Expression of the Principle of Huygens: Dr. J. Larmor. —Generationat Relations for the Abstract Group simply Isomorphic with the Linear Fractional Group in the Galois Field [2"]: Prof. L. E. D ickson.—Series connected with the Enumeration of Partitions (second paper) : Rev. F. H. Jackson.—On the Jacobian of Two Binary Quantics considered Geometrically : Prof. W. S. Burnside. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes of Recent Electrical Design : W. B. Esson.—Notes on the Manufacture of Large Dynamos and Alternators: E. K. Scott. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9. Roya ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. i GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION, at 3.30 —The Australian Commonwealth : Sir John A. Cockburn. TUESDAY, JANUARY 13- INSTITUTION OF Civi1L ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electric Autom obiles : Joel. H. F. FRIDAY, January 16. INSTITUTION OF CIvIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Measurement of Water: Prof. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S. CONTENTS. PAGE The University in the Modern State ..... 193 MutualvAid> By F..Wi-Ho 292 0 a een 196 The Forests of UpperIndia . 198 The Ascent of Mind. ae Prof. fC. Lioyd Morgan, ByRosiece. 5-0 6 as 199 Scottish Geology . PRIN 6, AiG Sadan 6 a 200 Elementary Mensuration......... 200 Our Book Shelf :— Fabre: ‘‘ Traité encyclopédique de Photographie ” 201 Maunder : ‘‘ Astronomy Without a Telescope”. 201 Morgan: ‘‘ Aids to the Ales and ee of Ores, Metals, Fuels, &c.” ..... 201 “* First Stage Mathematics ” Arno 6 pond 20H Hill: ‘* Preparatory Lessons in Chemistry” poh to, 282 Blackwood : ‘‘ My Dog Frizzie‘and Others” . . . . 202 Letters to the Editor :— Sound Waves and Electromagnetics. The Pan- Potential— Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S. . . 202 Recent Dust Storms in Australia. - Will. A. Dixon; ; H. Stuart Dove. . Bet 203 A Sickle Leonid.—G. McKenzie Knight cases ; 204 The Babylonian and Rca Legends of the Creation. (///ustrated.) : - 204 A Pot of Basil. (JZ/lustrated.) By A. E. ‘Shipley . 205 Transatlantic Wireless Telegraphy. By Maurice Solomon . . pao 28s A Sub-tropical Solar Physies Observatory . seh LY Notes ‘ eu itep, (6° cakes cote, 9) ae ZOLT) Our Astronomical Column :— ; a Astronomical Occurrences in January ...... 211 Magnetic Storms and Sun Spots ays 3 211 Observations of the Perseids, August 10 and 11, 1902 211 ThesMoscow. Observatory ear anise oye) beacon 211 Electrochemical Notes . . PRP CMC A New Journal for General ‘Physiology. By F. G. 212 International Conference on Weather-Shooting . 213 University and Educational Intelligence ..... 213 Scientific Serial Sc Vash se wetin ctl) tte, 2) eine uate ene Mca e Societies and Academies... ..........4. 214 Diary ofiSocieties’ 5.) yecmeinel en -0 e) ponte NAPORE 207 THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1903. FIRE PREVENTION. Facts on Fire Prevention. Edited by Edwin O. Sachs. ,.2Vols. Vol. i., pp. xxvi.i + 219; vol. il., pp. vi + 226. (London : Batsford, 1902.) "T°HERE is so mutch solid matter in these works and such an amount of detail beyond the scope of an ordinary review that at first sight it seems difficult to summarise the whole; but an effort may be made to bring out the essential points sufficiently to indicate the general purport of the important subject dealt with in the 445 pages and the numerous illustrations contained in the two volumes under notice. The principle adopted by the British Fire Prevention Committee is to give actual results of a number of practical investigations into materials and systems of construction, without commenting on or recommending any individual material or method, leaving entirely to those interested in buildings to judge for themselves as to how far such materials or methods accord with their individual requirements or specific works. Of this principle as here enunciated almost in the Com- mittee’s own words, entire approval may be accorded ; but when they go on to add that the adoption of remedies for existing defects can only be attained by the aid of legislation, meaning, of course, additional legislation, a totally new subject comes under consideration, on which it is necessary to join issue. A careful study of the existing building laws, at least in London, goes to show that what is wanted is not so much new legislation as the faithful, firm, honourable and scrupulous execution of the present laws. In short, it comes to this. The laws have been care- fully thought out and, though not perfect, are quite sufficiently clear to justify responsible public bodies in carrying them out with strictness ; but the responsible bodies are timid, not to say cowardly or worse, and the result is that everyone who choosés to fly in the face of the legal ordinances obtains some sympathetic approval from the general public and, what is much more un- fortunate, occasional’ specific support from certain members of the public body charged with the duty of carrying out the orders of the legislature. One of the most extraordinary and discreditable characteristics of our time is that every public body from the highest to the lowest now seems to contain a few members whose boast it is to oppose in every possible way the known intentions of the legislature, even in the special matters which the legislature has delegated to their charge. This may seem to be a digression from the subject, but a brief explanation may be offered. In America, the building laws are absolutely perfect. Even the Code Napoléon, the most complete of all, and, in fact, the model of all, was not more perfect, if there can be degrees in perfection, and yet in America, with an expenditure on fire appliances unparalleled else- where, the losses by fire are so heavy as to bring fire- Mom732) VOL, 67 | insurance companies almost to despair and outlying communities occasionally to ruin. It is not too much to hope that the time is coming when we can look with confidence and satisfaction to the honourable and rigid execution of our existing laws—in short, to the honesty and courage of those responsible for carrying out the duties which they have undertaken. This is a point on which it is necessary to express a disagreement from the views of the British Fire Preven- tion Committee. The Committee says that the Building Act of the Metropolis requires material revision and that oppor- tunity should be taken to restrict change of purpose in buildings from that for which they were originally con- structed ; but to a thoughtful and experienced reader of the existing laws, it would appear that all such subjects have been sufficiently dealt with, and that it only requires honest and straightforward action on the part of the executive to carry out the undoubted intentions of the legislature. This seems to be the great difficulty, the only real difficulty, at the present time, but it is very serious. Consideration for interested individuals appears to be greater than consideration for communities, and all the weaker members of public bodies seem to lean towards concessions and immunities, although their position and sworn acceptance of duty to carry out existing laws admit of no mitigation or modification. : If ever there are found men in this country, as it may be assumed there will be in time, determined to carry out faithfully and rigidly the laws under which they are embodied, a great change will be observed ; until then we must wait and hope, but we do hope with confidence. The practical methods of testing building materials and modes of construction adopted by this Committee are most complete, and the results are ‘consequently trustworthy. In “Facts on Fire Prevention,” it is stated that for the reduction of loss by fire two remedies are to be found— one, better building construction, the other, more efficient methods of extinguishing fires—and with the latter the present work is stated “to have nothing to do on this occasion,” a wise limitation on the part of those con- | cerned, as it is highly improbable, indeed almost im- possible, that they can have had experience in the difficult business of extinguishing conflagrations. The following tests are selected from the very large number detailed in the books :— “A Floor of Solid Wood Beams. “ Object of Test. “To record the effect of a smouldering fire of twenty minutes’ duration at a temperature not exceeding 500° F., followed by a fierce fire of one hour gradually increasing to a temperature of 2000°F., followed suddenly by the application of a stream of water for five minutes and the consequent rapid cooling. “The area of the floor was 100 or Io X Io superficial feet, and it was loaded with 2olbs. to the square foot. “ Summary of Effect. “The under surface of the wood beams was charred to an average depth of two inches, but beyond this no damage was done.” L 218 This was a very instructive test, and another making a comparison between doors of different material and construction gives some important results :— “A Wood Door covered with Tinned Steel Plates. “ An Iron-framed and Panelled Door. “ Object of Test. “To record the effect of a fierce fire of one hour gradually increasing to a temperature of 2000° F., followed suddenly by the application for five minutes of a stream of water and consequent rapid cooling. “The door-openings were approximately 3ft. gin. by 7ft. 3in., and the doors hung to open inwards—that is towards the fire. “Summary of Effect. “The wood door covered with tinned steel plates re- mained in position, but was much buckled and bulged, and the upper part gradually inclined inwards to a con- siderable extent, permitting the passage of flame. The first spurt of flame over the top of the door was seen after five minutes. “The iron-framed and panelled door remained in position, but became red hot, buckled and warped con- siderably together with its rebated frame. The upper corner on the lock side gradually inclined inwards to a considerable extent, permitting the passage of flame. The first spurt of flame was seen after twenty minutes.” The two volumes under consideration contain the following numbers of tests, all of the same elaborate kind as the two selected for quotation, and with excellent illustrations showing the construction of the objects tested and the appearance presented after the tests :— Floors 11, ceilings 2, partitions 11, materials 1, doors 23, glazing 8, fire-curtains 3, making in all 59. The Fire Prevention Committee intimates that “In order to ensure the steady continuation and development of its investigations, it is absolutely neces- sary that it should receive every possible support from public authorities, learned societies, the professions interested, and above all from that great community of industrial firms primarily affected by fire.” It may be hoped that this kind of support will in some manner be afforded, but it has to be remembered that the kind of bodies appealed to can never be expected to move quickly and that some interference on their part would be inevitable; so that on the whole it may be doubted whether it would have been possible for the Committee within the space of five years, which it gives as the period of its existence, to provide the large amount of information contained in these volumes, if it had been hampered with the collaboration of any external influence. The volumes under consideration contain much valuable and trustworthy information on a subject quite unknown to the general public and only imperfectly known to many so-called experts, of whom some have taken up one branch, some another, but very few have mastered the details of all. In conclusion, it may be stated that the volumes entitled “Facts on Fire Prevention” should prove of great assistance to all who have to deal with the pre- servation of life and property from fire. EMERITUS. NO: 1732; VOL. 67] NATURE [January 8, 1903 TWO BOOKS ON IMMERSED SHIPS. Aérial Navigation: a Practical Handbook on the Con- struction of Dirigtble Balloons, Aérostats, Aéroplanes and Aéromotors. By Frederick Walker, C.E. Pp. xvi +151. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1902.) Price 7s. 6d. net. Submarine Warfare, Past, Present and Future. By Herbert C. Fyfe. With an Introduction by Admiral the Hon. Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle, G.C.B., C.M.G., and a Chapter on the Probable Future of Submarine Boat Construction by Sir Edward J. Reed, M.P. Pp. xxviii + 332. (London: Grant Richards, 1902.) Price 7s. 6d. net. HE problems dealt with in these two books have a certain similarity in that in each case the ship, or to use a more general term, the machine or contrivance, has to navigate wholely immersed in the medium for which it is designed, and this similarity is not disturbed by the condition that the submersible may have also to navigate on the upper surface of the sea, for the balloon, and especially the flying machine, equally has to start and to finish at the lower surface of the atmosphere. There is also a similarity in the two books. The price of each is the same, to wit 7s. 6d. Here the similarity ends. It would be difficult to find accidentally thrown together two works which might have so much in common, but which make so violent a contrast. The aérial book is disappointing, to say the least. A large part is taken up with descriptions and illustrations of the schemes of the hopeless crank. These are described as seriously as the few attempts which have been made by engineers and others on sounder lines, and the reader is left without guidance as to how much is worthy of sober consideration. An appearance of precision is imparted by the introduction of a large number of formulze and of tables calculated from them the accuracy of which it does not seem necessary to examine. It is a little remarkable that with such an extended title the author should not have thought the names of Lilienthal and of Pilcher worth mentioning. The dreariness of this, practical handbook is slightly relieved by some diagrams of the machine of Santos Dumont and by quite a nice frontispiece showing the rounding of the Eiffel Tower. In his “Submarine Warfare,” Mr. Fyfe has in effect collected and produced a series of essays, partly histori- cal, partly mechanical and partly of more general interest, on the submarine from different points of view. This is not a text-book in any sense of the term, but a work which anyone of wide interests will read with pleasure. It is not necessary to begin at the beginning and read ~ solidly through lest anything should be lost which would make subsequent chapters unintelligible. The reader may pick and choose first whichever chapter most takes his fancy. The illustrations are numerous and excellent. There has been considerable doubt in this country whether the submarine will be found a valuable weapon in war, 7.e. valuable to those who use it, or whether when the time comes to put it to serious trial it will be found more dangerous to the crew than to the ships which it is _ attacking. It is certain that until very recently this was » January 8, 1993] NATORE 219 a very general opinion here, even though we knew that in France especially the development of the submarine and submersible was being very seriously pursued, and that the trials excited the enthusiasm of the public. Now, however, that we know that our Government is quietly making its own experiments with submersibles built in this country, and that we have an introduction and a chapter in the book under review written by men of such repute as Sir Edmund Fremantle and Sir Edward Reed, in which the writers show that they are fully alive to the progress and to the great possibilities as well as to the present limitations of this new weapon, we can no longer affect to despise the armed and diving boat, but must at least prove, using the best skill we possess, what is possible both in the way of offence by and of defence against so terrible a weapon. Sir Edward Reed, after referring to the difference in density of the two media water and air, goes on as follows :— “But it is in the face of this initial and enormous difficulty that the aéronauts of to-day have apparently persuaded themselves that they can successfully float their balloon-ship in mid-air and propel it, not only against the rapid tides of the air in which it floats, but also drive it at a good additional speed. When men are to be found capable of committing their fortunes, and even their lives, to navigation of this kind, it is not sur- prising to find that the far easier problem of navigating the seas beneath the surface has won the attention and the effort of enterprising men. They certainly have chosen, if the humbler, also the more promising and practical field of operation. I doubt not that they have likewise chosen the more fruitful field.” Passing over a long but interesting chapter on the morality of submarine warfare, we come to one on the mechanism of the submarine which perhaps more than any deals with the numerous scientific problems that arise. One of the troubles of the immersed ship which is not felt on the surface is the terrible effect of a small change in the position of the centre of gravity. For instance :— _ “The Nordenfelt boats were certainly not successful in discharging torpedoes, for as a general rule they as nearly as possible stood up vertically on their tails and proceeded to plunge to the bottom stern first on these occasions.” By allowing the torpedo tube to fill with water immedi- ately after the discharge, this difficulty is reduced, but it is almost wholly removed by the invention of Mr. Drzewiecki, who has contrived a clamp to hold a torpedo securely outside the boat, by which it can be turned in any direction from the inside and then be liberated by the pressure of the moving water. As the torpedo has a density nearly that of water, its liberation does not affect the stability of the ship. It has been tried with success at Cherbourg. Even though the mechanical problems are perfectly solved of the different stabilities, of propulsion, of air maintenance, of torpedo discharge and of rising and of plunging, but not below the fatal depth, there remains the horrible fact that under water a ship is blind. When at the surface or awash, the bearings of the enemy may be taken from the cupola, and after plunging, the com- pass or the gyroscope alone remain to give the sense of direction ; but a compass is not at its best in such a NO. 1732, VOL. 67] position. Various optical tubes and telescopic periscopes are used to get some sort of view when the ship is not far from the surface, but to what extent successfully it is difficult to discover. At any rate, it is satisfactory to know that in this country the problem has been attacked by so able an optical engineer as Sir Howard Grubb. One of the most disturbing chapters is that on the antidote to submarines. Information as to what has been done quietly in this country as elsewhere is, of course, difficult to obtain, but even though a charge of high explosion fired in the water may damage or destroy a submarine that is near enough, it is impossible to feel that there is any reasonably sure method of defence against this insidious weapon, always on the supposition, of course, that the mechanical and optical problems referred to are solved in even a fairly satisfactory way. C2 VB: WOLLEYS COLLECTION OF BIRDS EGGS. Ootheca Wolleyana. An Illustrated Catalogue of the Collection of Birds’ Eggs formed by the late John Wolley, jun., M.A., F.Z.S. Edited from the Original Notes by Alfred Newton. Part ii., Picariae—Passeres. (London: R. H. Porter, 1902.) O European oologists, the name of John Wolley is both well known and held in great esteem, for not only was he one of our soundest and best ornith- ologists, especially in the field, but also was one of the first egg collectors who fully realised the extreme im- portance of securing the identification of the parent bird, of carefully, and if possible indelibly, marking each egg when taken, so as to avoid all risk of error, and of procuring and noting down the fullest possible information respecting each clutch, as well as of collect- ing a series of specimens to show all the variety of colour, size and shape to which eggs of the same species are subject. Collectors will therefore gladly welcome the present part, which completes the first volume of the “ Ootheca Wolleyana.” The first part was published so far back as 1864, but the present part, completing the volume, has been retarded from various causes, though this somewhat long delay cannot be regretted when one realises, froma perusal of the work, how carefully the editor has brought the work up to date. Wolley commenced the study of natural history at a very early age, and after occupying himself with botany, entomology and the habits of animals generally, he gradually began to pay special attention to oology, until after a trip to Spain in 1845 and a visit to Morocco, where he discovered M. Favier, who afterwards became so well known to ornithologists, he devoted himself chiefly to that branch of science. After his return to England, he several times visited Scotland in order to study birds in the field, especially the rarer species at their breeding places. In 1850, he made an excursion to the Faroes, which had never before been visited by any English naturalist, communicating an account of the ornithology to the British Association. In 1853, he began the work with which his name will always be associated, the investigation of the ornithology of Lapland, of which no 220 connected account had been published for nearly a century. Guided by geographical considerations, he fixed his headquarters on the banks of the great Muonio River, nearly half-way between the head of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Arctic Ocean, at a little Swedish farm opposite to the Finnish village of Muonioniska, and at once began to explore the country in every direction. These explorations he carried on personally for five summers and three winters, extending them to the Norwegian provinces of Nordland and Finmark, as well as to the western portion of Russian Lapland, not omitting the great lake Enara, which he found to be singularly destitute of bird-life. In all this work, he was greatly aided by a young lad, Ludwig Knoblock, with whom he fortunately fell in immediately on his arrival in the country, and finding him to possess a strong taste for observing natural objects, generally intelligent and, above all, truthful, he took him into his service and by training made him the valuable assistant he proved to be. To his perseverance, naturalists owe the solution, in 1856, of the mystery which had hitherto surrounded the nidification of the Waxwing (Ampelzs garrulus), sought for as it had been by many travellers and in many countries. Wolley himself was never so fortunate as to see this bird, but the success which rewarded his exer- tions to obtain the eggs of many until then unknown or little known species can best be realised by those who are well acquainted with the last edition of Hewitson’s work on the “ Eggs of British Birds,” in which so many of the rarities were figured. Wolley took copious notes re- specting the various eggs obtained by him or his collectors, which have been most carefully reproduced in the present work, and will be of the greatest interest and use to both cabinet and field naturalists. In 1858, Wolley, who for years had been carefully studying what was known of the history of the Great Auk (Alca impennis), undertook a voyage to Iceland, in company with Prof. Newton, for the purpose of making further investigations. It was assumed that this species was extinct, though no one knew that such was the case or how it had become so. Much information respecting its latter years were obtained, and it was ascertained that the last two living examples were procured at Eldey, on the south-west coast of Iceland, in 1844. The year following this expedition, Wolley’s health began to decline, and his death occurred in 1859 at the early age of thirty-six. His valuable egg collection passed into the possession of Prof. Newton, who retaining in his service some of Wolley’s collectors, has added considerably to it, hence many species are included inthe present catalogue which were unknown to Wolley. Amongst the additional notes from the pen of the editor may be especially noticed those on the nidifica- tion of the Nutcracker. Four coloured plates of ninety- seven specimens of eggs are given, which, though ex- cellent reproductions of the various eggs and well illus- trating the variation in shape, colour and markings, were, as stated in the introduction, executed some time ago. Four lithographic plates of landscapes also accompany the work, two of which are scenes in Lapland, the third being a view of Eldey, the last home of the Great Auk or NO. 1732, VOL. 67 | NATURE [January 8, 1903 Garefowl, and the fourth a view of the Alkenhorn in Spitsbergen. Last, but not least, is an excellent memoir of Wolley, with avery good portrait of him and one of his head assistant, Ludwig Matthias Knoblock, the perusal of which will give infinite pleasure to many an oologist. THE WANDERINGS OF A NATURALIST JN SOUTH AMERICA. ; The Great Mountains and Forests of South America. By Paul Fountain. Pp. 298. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1902.) Price tos. 6d. net. T was only a few months ago that we reviewed a book by the same author on “The Great Deserts and Forests of North America.” We learn from the introduction to the present volume that it was originally intended to form a second part of that work, but, on the advice of the publishers, it was “amplified” to make a separate book. Unfortunately, the process of expansion does not appear to have been very happily carried out. In several cases, statements are repeated almost in the same words, and the volume is eked out by a quantity of miscellaneous matter that has little relation to the rest of the book. But the love of nature and the keen observ- ation of animal life that procured so warm a welcome for Mr. Fountain’s description of the deserts of the United States are not wanting when the scene is changed to the great forests of the south. It was in 1884 that the author left behind him the region with which he has made us familiar and set out on his travels in the southern continent. It is a mis- fortune that he has allowed so long a time to elapse before giving his experiences to the world. It was in- evitable that after the passage of nearly twenty years regrettable inaccuracies should find their way into his pages, and these seriously diminish the value of the book. Taking Obydos on the Amazon as his base, he ascended the Rio Trombetas and subsequently the Rio Purus and several of its tributaries in a boat he had purchased in Para, transferring himself to a bark canoe of his own manufacture when the water was too shallow for the larger vessel. After his return to Obydos, we lose sight of him for a time and then find him making his way through the forest of the upper Xingu valley to Diamantino in Matto Grosso, where he again passes out of view to reappear sporadically in Guiana, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chili, and finally take leave of us at Rio de Janeiro. The author is at his best in the description of his excursions up the smaller tributaries of the Purus in the twilight of the overarching trees. [It was there, especially, that he was able to make a close acquaintance with the “jungle folk” of the Amazonian plain, of whom those who travel by only the more frequented ways know but little. His long experience as hunter and collector stood him in good stead, and the variety of the forms of life that he met with will seem marvellous to many who have passed over much of the same ground. He does not pretend, however, to scientific accuracy in the determination of sp2cies of animi's; it is in the January 8, 1903] NATURE 221 careful watching of the details of their lives in their natural surroundings that the value of his work consists. Mr. Fountain arrives at times at strange conclusions, especially with regard to the adaptation of form and colour to purposes of concealment. ‘* All my experience,” he says (p. 78), “tends to show that coloration is at best but a partial protection. It is none whatever to the human eye, and most naturalists incline to the opinion that animals are quicker sighted than men. An inexperienced person may be deceived, the practised hunter never, unless as the result of his carelessness.” ‘“‘ Nature’s idea is to create a pleasing and curious variety to gratify the eye of man, nothing more” (p. 135). But his own pages rebuke him. Weare told (pp. 124-5) that ant-bears and sloths “look,even when you are close to them, so much like a bundle of the dried herbage that they often escape the eye of the hunter and would be sure to do that of the novice.” In another place (p. 137), we read that the ant-bear has a habit of turning its large, bushy tail “ over its back in such a manner that when the animal is squatting on the ground, it is completely hid under it and looks like a tuft of dead grass.” And again (p. 165), “both the two-toed and three-toed sloth . . . so much resemble a cluster of dead, dried-up twigs in the trees that they are not easily discovered except by experienced eyes.” About six days’ journey north of Pernatingas, near Diamantino in Matto Grosso, some caves were discovered which would seem to deserve careful examination. The author found the “entire carcass” of an animal in a mass of stalagmite. He attempted to get it out, but it broke in pieces. It was, he states, a species of guanaco of much larger size than any now living. This is, we believe, the first time that the remains of an animal of the llama group have been reported from Matto Grosso, or, indeed, from Brazil. There were also bones that seemed “to have belonged to gigantic jaguars and deer, and many small animals and bats.” He conjeciures that another animal was “of the rhinoceros kind, but if so it was of a hornless species. The bones of tapirs were here in great mass, but of species half as big again as the living kind.” We can scarcely expect the discovery of a South American rhinoceros to be verified, but the list forms an appetising menu for an osteologist. The author’s geology must not be taken too seriously, as a reference to an “extensive formation” of ‘‘ fused quartz” is sufficient to demonstrate ; but it is interesting to note that in a valley in Ecuador he met with ‘‘a mass of pure native iron half embedded in the ground ”—ap- parently a meteorite. It weighed five or six hundred- weight and was “in no way oxidised by exposure to the weather.” He found a similar mass “on a plain of moderate elevation, as nearly as it is possible to conjecture in the very centre of the southern continent”—a rather vague locality. Students of the early history of the South American races will be interested in Mr. Fountain’s description of a NO. 1732, VOL. 67] group of huts formed of large slabs of stone on the shore of a lake near the upper Purus. They are not used by the tribes now inhabiting the country, and were, he believes, constructed by a civilised or semi-civilised people since exterminated. The illustrations appear to have been drawn to the author’s descriptions. Though picturesque and creditable to the artist’s imagination, they cannot, of course, claim to have any value as accurate representations of natural objects. J Wek: OUR BOOK SHELF. European Fungus-Flora, Agaricaceae. By G. Massee, F.L.S. Pp. vi+ 274. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1902.) THIS is a condensed synopsis of the mushrooms and toadstools of this and other European countries, and will be of considerable use to expert collectors of these interesting but difficult plants. The author, in his preface, remarks on the false im- | pression as to the significance of the term “species” which is obtained by studying the fungi of one country only, and he points out that “the Continental species can be sandwiched in between British species.” This statement is well borne out by the contents of the book, in which the European species at present unknown as British are thus packed in between our native forms, and distinctly marked off by square brackets. The method is excellent, and the work, as a whole, well done ; but, useful as the book must be to the expert in the field, we are doubtful whether these short definitions of all known species do not increase difficulties for every- one but the expert. Granted that such a work was wanted, we are strongly convinced that an even greater need at present exists for a well-written and accurate account of the relatively few common types or illustrative species, arranged so as to give clearly the principal characteristics of the genera and subdivisions, and familiarise the student with the commoner species, the species being so chosen that the student shall not have to attempt the— to him often impossible—task of discriminating between closely allied and critical forms until he has familiarised himself with the common types. If Stropharia siccipes, Karst.,is intermediate between S. semiglobata, Batsch.,and S. stercoraria, Fr., the student is driven to wonder why the three forms are kept as separate species as here defined, and many similar puzzles will arise in the minds of those who find the “species” of Agarics resting on such characters as these short and pithy paragraphs convey. These puzzles will increase as the varieties of such species as P/uteus cervinus, Schaeff., and Agaricus campestris, L., are com- pared with species of the genera Hypholoma, Lac- tarius, Cortinarius, &c. Excellent as the definitions are, moreover, there are points which require improvement—e.g. the genus Lepiota is said to have “ Ring present, volva absent” on p- 2; but on turning to p. 7, we read under Lepiota, “Ring free, distinct from the volva.” Such ambiguities are trivial to experts, but they are serious difficulties to others, and they could be avoided. Some questions of termination arise on pp. 206 (bottom) and 227—ting the attention of geologists to the farm of Brit Koppje, situ ted about three miles west of Vredefort Road Station, filty miles north of Kroonstad, in the Orange River Colony. Here, on a koppje, the surface of the rock is so very conspicuously smoothed and rounded that its appearance can hardly, I think, be attributed to the action of any agent other than ice. The general resemblance to photographs of the glaciated rocks at Prieska in Cape Colony recently shown me by Mr. A. W. Rogers, of the Cape Colony Geological Commission, is very great (see a paper read before the South African Philosophical peasy by Messrs. Rogers and Schwartz on November 29, 1899). ' The bedding planes of the rock are perpendicular and the strike is nearly from north to south. So far as I can recollect (although I was unable to take any accurate observations on this point), they are cut across by the slope of the rounded surfaces, which run rather in a north-easterly to south-westerly direction. The locality can be very easily visited from Vredefort Road Station. G. E. H. BarretT-HAMILTon. Kilmanock House, Arthurstown, Ireland, December 22, 1902. Risley’s ‘‘ Tribes of Bengal.” Tlavine had occasion to make use of Mr. Il. H. Risley’s valuable anthropometric data of the tribes and castes of Bengal, som: of the ‘*means” for the cephalic breadth, minimum frontal breadth and maximum bizygomatic breadth were inci- dentally recalculated. This was done whenever the tabulated value for the mean seemed a highly improbable one, and as some serious differences between our means and those given by Mr. Risley were found, it was thought well to point this out for ‘the benefit of those who may be basing their arguments on these data without recalculation. Thus, in vol. i., for the Murmi tribe of the Darjiling Hills, for the mean minimum frontal breadth Mr. Risley gives 113°5, where we find 107°2 ; for the maximum bizygomatic breadth Mr. Risley’s value is 145°9, ours is 13874. In vol. ii., Kachi caste of N.W. Provinces and Oudh, for the maximum bizygomatic breadth Mr. Risley’s value is 120°8, oursis 130°0. Pathan caste of Panjab, for the minimum frontal NO. 1732, VOL. 67] breadth Mr. Risley’s value is 117°7, ours is 1103. These are very serious differences. As it was important to determine how far these discrepancies reflected on the general accuracy of the work, the means for six tribes taken at random were recalculated. I will merely give a list of the figures for the means :— Risley. Recalculation. 1325 132°57 143°2 143°25 102°6 10260 132'5 132°59 ~ 138°6 138°69 9777 97°73 There is substantial agreement, except in the decimal figure. S. M. Jacos. Biometric Laboratory, University College, London, December 21, 1902. Local Floras of India. Tue writer of the notice of ‘‘ The Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay Presidency,” by W. A. Talbot (NATURE, December 18, 1902, p. 148), refers to the need of local floras to supplement Sir Joseph Hooker’s ‘* Flora of British India,” and names several works of this nature, though not always correctly, which have already appeared. Perhaps I may be permitted to add a few facts on this subject. Inthe first place, it should be known that Sir Dietrich Brandis’s «Forest Flora of the North-West and Central India”? is not, in any sense, an outcome of the ‘‘ Flora of British India,” as it was published before the first volume of the latter work. Further, the late Dr. Trimen’s ‘‘ Handbook of the Flora of Ceylon” was not completed by himself, the last two volumes having been prepared by Sir Joseph Hooker. Among the local floras not mentioned by the writer of the notice in question is Dr. T. Cooke’s excellent ‘‘ Flora of the Bombay Presidency” (see Nature, vol. Ixv., 1901, p. 88), of which two parts have been issued, containing the natural orders Ranunculacez to Le- guminose. Two other important works of the same class ave nearly completed, namely, ‘‘ The Flora of Bengal” and ‘‘ The Flora of the Gangetic Plain.” The former is by Major D. Prain, the Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden and Director of the Botanical Survey of India, and the latter by Mr. J. F. Duthie, Director of the Botanical Department, Northern India. I am not sure that I have given the exact titles these two books will bear. Then there is the modest but useful ‘*Forest Flora of the School Circle, N.W.P.,” by Upendranath Kanjilal. More ambitious among the works supplementary to the ‘‘Flora of British India ” are the “Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta,” commenced by Sir George King and continued by Major Prain. Upwards of 1600 quarto plates illustrative of the flora of India have appeared in this publication, including 450 orchids. Finally, there is the second edition of Gamble’s ‘* Manual of Indian Timbers,” which contains a vast deal more information than the title would imply. W. BottinG HEMSLEY. Herbarium, Kew. IT was not necessary for our purpose to cite all the works dealing with the Indian flora that were published during the quarter of a century that elapsed between the issue of the first (1872) and of the last volume of Sir Joseph Hooker's ‘f Flora of British India” (1897). In the preface to vol. vii. of that work, the “Forest Flora of the North-West and Central India,” by Dr., now Sir, Dietrich Brandis, is mentioned among the works ‘that have appeared during the publication of the ‘Flora of British India,’ ” and the date assigned is 1874. The first part of Sir Joseph Hooker's ** Flora” was issued in May, 1872, the second in January, 1874, the third in February, 1875; it is in this latter section, at p. 527, that we find the first citations from Dr. Brandis. Other publications of Mr. C. B. Clarke, the late Mr. Kurz and Colonel Beddome are alluded to in Sir Joseph Hooker’s preface, in addition to those cited in Mr. Hemsley’s note. The second edition of Mr. Gamble’s ‘‘ Manual of Indian Timbers” has only reached us quite recently, and, as we believe, since our previous note was written. THE REVIEWER. 224 NATURE [JANuARY 8, 1903 THE SIMILARITY OF THE SHORT-PERIOD BAROMETRIC PRESSURE VARIATIONS JEN an earlier number of this Journal (vol. Ixvi. p. 248, July 10, 1902), an account was given of the great OVER LARGE AREAS. similarity of curves representing many solar and meteoro- PRESSURE porn -serv) u #00 a BomBay. *© (INDIA) 297000. PACSSURE [ara-seer) to CORDOBA (-Amamicay > ~ Fic. 1.—In this and all the subsequent figuces, the continuous and broken represent the epochs of sunspot maxima and minima respectivel logical phenomena,' and it was suggested that their close accordance indicated, not only the intimate relation between solar and meteorological changes, but the im- portance of the short-period (three to four years) vari- ations common to them all. The variations of solar activity, as indicated by the greater months in which the pressures are above and those in which they are below the normal, the normal being the mean pressure for the whole period under investigation in each locality. Thus, for instance, to take the cases of Bombay and Cordoba, the former has its high-pressure months from April to September and the latter from September to March. It happens, therefore, in dealing with large areas, that during the same period of time (that is generally, but not invariably, six months) the pressure is above the normal in some places and below the normal in others. In interpreting the curves, therefore, it should be borne in mind that in the one case in which high-pressure months are con- sidered, the crests of the curves denote times of increased pressure, or an excess above the normal conditions, while in the other, where the low-pressure months only are employed, the crests represent the times at which the pressure is not so low as usual. Dealing first with the region about India, the accom- panying curves (Fig. 2) illustrate the variations of pres- sure which have been analysed. In this set of curves, about the same months are in question, so that the pressure vertical lines y- or less number of spots or prominences or by ae: as wes aie ap the changes of latitude of the former, were ; ! suggested to have such an action on the ggunences H i ! atmospheric pressure on the earth’s surface on SUN : j : that when one place recorded an excess, (mccuini) : i another, nearly antipodal as regards position, Pressure = : H showed a deficiency of pressure. Thus the fm-er % : ‘ regions specially referred to were those of — towrrnms ae i : India and that about Cordoba, in South La 100 i America. et ee H This reversal of conditions, extreme high GREE I pressure in one place and low pressure in fase «| H another at the same moment of time, inde- PA earns H pendent of the yearly or seasonal change, a atone ' fact which has since been corroborated by an- PRESS! H other investigator, as will be seen further on, uw= cy BP : can be well seen by examining two pressure “BATAVIA re ‘ curves such as those of Bombay and Cordoba WAVA) : (Fig. 1); in each case, the mean pressure for 5 H the same months has been used. PRESSURE | i = (rr -oct) 0 ' In the paper already referred to, it was taspanms. «0 H further pointed out that just as the pressure AURIS. = ' variations of Bombay were typical of the re : whole of India, so were those of Oxford pressure. és : (England) or Valencia (Ireland) for western fra-serr] ; Europe. We re a i With these facts in view, it was important, PERTH FA i therefore, to investigate the extent of regions Gwaust’) © : having similar pressure variations, and in the» SURE \ first instance to restrict the inquiry to those ~sert] 1 areas surrounding India and Cordoba. The CaS = results of sucha barometric survey were com- qubTRALinyp | municated to the Royal Society last October,” ; and it is the purpose of the present article to cd ' state the results which have been obtained. pape ‘ It may, however, first be mentioned that the SYONEY. : sue AUSTRALIA) ' monthly means of the pressure variations for ‘ H each station were divided, as in the previous eon Ans hase I8900 19000 article, into two periods, namely, those 1 **On Some Phenomena which Suggest a Short Period of Solar and Meteorological Changes,”’ by Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William J. S. Lockyer, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.A.S. (Roy. Soc. Proc., vol. Ixx. p. ). [Received June 14, read June 19, 1502.] * “On the Similarity of the Short-Period Pressure Variation over Large Areas,” by Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William je Se Lockyer, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.A.S. (Roy. Soc. Proc., vol. Ixxi.). [Received October 18, read December 4, 1902.] NO. 1732, VOL. 67] Fic. 2. variations refer to the low-pressure (summer) months in the northern hemisphere and to the high-pressure (winter) months in the southern hemisphere. Commencing with Indian pressures (as represented by Bombay), the area was gradually extended to Ceylon January 8, 1903] (Colombo), Java (Batavia), Mauritius, and finally to Australia (Perth, Adelaide and Sydney). The striking similarity between these curves shows that over the whole of this area, which includes both north and south latitudes, the same kind of variations is in action, and that therefore the whole region is inti- mately connected meteorologically. Attention was next paid to extending the region around Cordoba, which station, as has been previously pointed out, exhibits pressure variations similar to, but the inverse of, those of India. As Cordoba represents an area south of the equator, and the neighbouring stations exhibit similar pressure variations, a portion of the United States of America was taken as typifying an area with north latitude and in about the same longitude, and a commencement was made along the lowest available parallel of latitude. This was rendered possible by the kind- ness of Prof. Bigelow, who forwarded proof sheets of a new reduction of United States pressures which he had just com- pleted. PROMIMERCES Treating these pressures in the same fe ee way as those for the Indian region, several cereale stations which had the best record were chosen. A graphical representation of the variations of four of these stations (Mobile, Alabama; Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida ; San Diego, California) is given in Fig. 3, and for the sake of comparison the pressure of Cordoba, with the zzverted curves representing the Bombay pressure 19-860 67° PRESSURE 50 focr- AA] g90 Hick PRMTTAS go, Ran 7 20" ULE PRESSURE = T°? and solar prominence variation. This Wra-ser] | series of curves refers in all cases to the "Un ios, variations of the means of the high-pres- Grnewen sure (winter) months (October to March in most cases). At Cordoba, which has pressvnc 2°? a southern latitude, the high-pressure bor"). months extend from April to September. MOBILE The result of the comparison shows that USN) Aes in this region of the world we have also a PRESSURE large area the pressure variations over U's which are very similar to one another. JACKSONYILE™ Although the general agreement be- “es*"" tween the two main sets of curves is most PRESSURE S10] striking, there are minor differences which "°’"™9 = probably will eventually help to deter- — Pensacoua, mine those cases in which the prominence effects on pressure are masked by some special conditions. jee ees Eo " i [nev arm] From these collected series of facts it — sc mems will be seen that, as regards similar short- an OSs? as period pressure variations, the two regions about India and Cordoba have been con- siderably extended, and extended on both sides of the equator in each case. 18600 NATURE 225 similar to those of Cordoba with a negative sign, and those which are more like Cordoba than India with a negative query sign (—?), then it is found that, so far as barometric observations which have as yet been examined are concerned, the earth’s surface may be divided _ approximately into two main regions, one positive the other negative, separated from one another by areas the pressure variations of which may, according to the above es be described as positive and negative queries Cean It is fortunate that while this reduction and collation of barometric facts has been pursued in this country, another investigator has been working on similar lines in the United States, making it possible to compare results. In fact, Prof. Bigelow’s research,! which was received some time after the above-mentioned was communicated to the Royal Society, has led him to very nearly 1870-0 18600 18900 19000 j 1 : : ee 13300 18900 1900-0 Fic. 3. With these two large areas indicating similar barometric | the same conclusions as those stated in the present variations from year to year, but one showing an excess while the other displayed a deficiency, new questions were at once raised. It required, however, a far more general barometric survey over other areas before such questions could be answered, but so suggestive were the facts observed that, as was stated in the paper, such an inquiry was at once undertaken and is still in progress. It may, however, here be mentioned that already many other localities have been examined. The Indian area has been extended, for instance, to Aden and Egypt, the former of which places is practically a counterpart of India as regards these barometric variations, while the latter approximates to it. If, on the one hand, we denote land areas the barometric variations of which are very like those of India with a positive sign, and those with a positive query sign (+?) which are more like India than Cordoba; and, on the other, pressures NO. 1732, VOL. 67 | article, if some minor differences be excluded. One of these differences arises from the fact that he has formed the mean of barometric observations made over an area including north-east China, Japan, north India, central India, south India, Batavia and Mauritius, while there seems evidence to show that the whole of India, Batavia and Mauritius behave differently from Siberia, northern China and Japan. This, however, he somewhat concedes later in his article as he points out that “in Siberia and Russia the synchronism begins to break a little...” Another difference will be referred to a little further on. Apart, however, from these, Prof. Bigelow finds that “the same pressure variations, in fact, prevail over very 1 Monthly Weather Review, vol. xxx. No. 7, p. 347, ‘‘Studies on the Statics and Kinematics of the Atmosphere in the United States, No. vii., A Contribution to Cosmical Meteorology ” by Prof. Frank H. Bigelow (dated August 12, 1902). 226 large districts of the earth though varying from one region to another.” He says further :-— ‘If we compare the successive pressure groups with the prominence curve, it will be seen that India and south-eastern Asia are in very close synchronous agree- ment. This synchronism extends also to New South Wales, the Indian Ocean and even to South Africa. In Siberia and Russia, the synchronism begins to break a little and seems to be transferred somewhat towards the right, although this may be due in part to defective data. In Europe and in the United States, while the same curve is developed as to the number of the maxima and minima, the synchronism becomes more irregular. In South America, on the other hand, the synchronism is resumed very distinctly, but the evdéire curve is reversed as re- ferred to India and the Eastern Hemisphere. Thus we perceive that around the Indian Ocean the synchronism is clearly developed ; it weakens in Europe and North America, and it becomes a distinct reversal in South America .. ” From the above, it will be seen that Prof. Bigelow also demonstrates the existence of large areas which are in excess and in defect of pressure simultaneously, while others are not in such close synchronism, It may here be mentioned that he treats North America as a whole and gives a curve showing the short period variation of pressure. It is of interest, however, to note, as has been shown earlier in this article, that the southern 1870-0 1880-0 1900-0 +50 PRESSURE VARIATIONS POSITIVE ang NEGATIVE SUMMATIONS IGELOW. [8 ow] bs 6 PRESSURE BOMBAY [apr-ser] * 2970 (870°0 1880-0 1890-0 1800-0 Bic. 4 part of the United States, as represented by stations shown in Fig. 3, is in very close agreement with Cordoba, while it is the more northern parts and Canada where the synchronism more apparently begins to break. At the conclusion of his paper, Prof. Bigelow makes a summation of all those areas which give positive and negative values respectively for the pressure variations, and the curves of these are reproduced here (Fig. 4) with a slight change to make the scale homogeneous with others reproduced in this article. The Bombay pressure curve has also been added, and a smooth curve is drawn through the points instead of connecting them with straight lines as in Fig, 2. The parallelism of the two upper curves indicates, as Prof. Bigelow points out, that “the values do not cancel each other,” and that as “the curves match fairly well with the prominence curve, . . . I take it to mean that some external force ts at work to raise and lower the total atmospheric pressure by a small amount from year to year.” The two investigations are in agreement as regards the following three main points. First, the close connection between solar activity and barometric pressure ; second, the great extent of areas over which very similar pressure variations exist ; and, third and last, the presence of two large areas the pressure variations over which are the reciprocal of each other. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] NAT ORE [January 8, 1903 It is interesting to remark that, from the comparisons of the pressure variations over the different areas, the authors of both these investigations were led to con- sider whether these suggestive features were connected with the idea of a periodical see-saw of pressure extend- ing over a few years between these two nearly antipodal areas, or whether we were in presence of a barometric wave travelling round the earth. There seems little doubt that when more facts are collected these reciprocal pressure variations will in time play an important part in forecasting the general features of seasons and thus supply meteorologists with another means of helping them in their difficult task. The value that must in future be placed on observations of the sun which inform us of his state of activity or quiescence, since these pressure variations are apparently so closely connected with them, cannot any longer be laid on one side, but must be recognised as of a high order of importance. WILLIAM J. S. LOCKYER. EDUCATION IN GERMANY AND ENGLAND. Men people in this country, eminent men of science and literature, leading men in commerce and in- dustry, and politicians who place efficiency before party shibboleths, have for many years felt apprehensive as to the condition of our national system of education. Fora long time, they have been speaking and writing upon the subject and endeavyouring—by pointing to advancements and achievements of other nations who have put their educational house in order—to stir up the nation at large to realise the enormous interests whichare at stake. For many years, the warnings fell upon deaf ears and the. advocates of reform were either looked upon as bores or cranks. To-day all this is changed, and it is almost un- fashionable not at least to talk about education ; this does not, however, necessarily imply a knowledge of the subject. Were it not for its terrible prolixity, those who really desire to know the ins and outs of the German educa- tional system could not do better than carefully study vol. ix. of “Special Reports on Educational Subjects,” dealing with Germany, which is issued by the Board of Education. A mere glance at this report shows that, although the present system of education in Germany has been of such incalculable value to the Empire, yet those interested in education in that country—and their name is legion—are questioning whether their system is after all so good as it might be. There are many in Germany who think that some of our freedom from restraint would give a breadth of idea and a broadness of horizon which is not obtained by their methods of abstract reasoning and rigid exactness. The report embraces primary, secondary and technical education. The first 200 pages consist of dissertations by different writers upon different aspects or phases of education. The first of these is by Mr. M. E. Sadler, who has compiled the report, upon “The Unrest in Secondary Education in Germany and Elsewhere.” This also includes a comparison between English and German methods. Mr. Sadler admits at once that we have an in- sufficiency of good secondary day schools and that education at our public schools is not what it should be. Further, our technical training is defective, and, owing to our comparative neglect of national education for many years past, “‘asa nation we are much less intelligently” interested than the Germans in methods of instruction.” It is true that German and French methods are now very much advocated in this country, but the great difficulty is that those who desire us indiscriminately to imitate and introduce curricula and methods from other nations seem totally unable to realise that if we wish for an exact copy, we must at the same time reproduce the social and economic conditions of these other countries. January 8, 1903 | NATUORE to i} N The old idea in England was, teach a boy to be manly, teach him not to be a sneak and a coward, and at the same time give him a smattering of education, then let him be placed in the Army or Navy or business and, come what may, character will carry him through. There is no doubt about it that our public-school life, with its traditions and the esprit de corps which it engenders, has had much to do with moulding character, and in past generations, when other nations were settling their internecine troubles and it was simply a question of staking out claims for posterity, this style of education was satisfactory enough. But Germany and other nations, as soon as they had settled their internal struggles, proceeded at once to build up a system of national education which has had far-reaching effects upon many of their most important industries. Not only has German education had such enormous influence upon their own industries, owing to the introduction of scientific methods, but it has likewise been felt in this country, because our manufacturers and traders, not having been taught to believe in scientific training, have stuck to old-time methods, with the disastrous result that in many branches of industry we are unable to compete with the scientific German. In Prussia, all the secondary schools are upon the same lines. The Prussian knows the meaning of a secondary school; it would puzzle an Englishman to define one. The standard is practically the same in all the Prussian secondary schools; here we have no standard at all. English masters as a rule are devoted to their schools, German masters to educa- tion. An English boy loves his school; a German boy has not the same feeling of esprit de corps, but looks upon his school as an establishment for obtaining know- ledge. We lay stress on character, the Germans on knowledge. There are good points in each. The ten- dency in our schools to make the school standard one of proficiency in sport, and to make fun of earnestness and to chaff those who desire to obtain knowledge, is not good. That objectionable expression “don’t talk shop,” which is often hurled at the head of those who, through a sincere interest in their business or profession, wish to exchange ideas with others, is the outcome of this characteristic. On the other hand, the Germans would undoubtedly gain if they had more freedom from restraint and were not so bound down by hard and fast rules and regulations. Other nations have realised that an education which was sufficient fifty years ago is antiquated and of little value in the present day, when science and learning have made such enormous strides. In matters of educational reform, or of accepting new views or theories, we have, aS a nation, always shown a _ conservative spirit. When learning was only advancing slowly and new theories were propounded which had very little found- ation of fact to rest upon, doubtless a conservative and cautious policy led in the long run to greater solidarity and was better than being too hasty in taking up new ideas solely because they were new, but which would almost immediately require to be discarded for some newer theory. But now, since the growth of knowledge, resting, as it does, ona broad foundation of experimental fact, is so rapid, it is absolutely essential that we should alter our methods in order to keep abreast of the times. Fifty years ago, a boy might spend the bulk of his time upon the study of classics and yet be fitted to take his place in business or commerce. To-day, classics alone are of little use. Here it should be pointed out that in Germany the study of classics is not neglected ; in- deed, considerable stress is ]aid upon that study. Science is, as a rule, not taught until the boys have at least obtained a thorough general grounding in classics, and there are those in Germany who would make the classical education more thorough than it is at present. The following instance illustrates how thorough, in NO. 1732, VOL. 67] general, the study of Latin in Germany must be. An Englishman, a friend of the writers, went to study in Bavaria and had no knowledge of the German language. A nephew of his landlady, a boy of about fifteen, was studying at a public secondary school, and although the Englishman was unable to make his landlady understand his wants, he was able by means of Latin to converse with her nephew and so have his wants attended to. In a Prussian secondary school, a master has to know a great deal more of the subject which he has to teach than an English master ina similar position. In England, erudition is considered of far less importance than activity of mind and body and success in sport. We often say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”; we seem to forget the converse, that much play and little or no work unfits the boy for the struggle in after life. On p- 215 of the report, we find the following quotation from the remarks of a Frenchman :—‘‘A boy at an English public school has qualities which a French schoolboy does not possess, but those qualities are moral and not intellectual. In English education there is a very weak point—and that is zys¢ruction.” An educational system in which the weak point is instruction surely requires overhauling. The object in our schools should be to teach that the most lasting form of pleasure is to be found in work well done. R.L. Stevenson once said, “I know what pleasure is, for I have done good work.” It has been stated that one of the reasons why the Americans are so successful in the present day and seem to be carrying all before them is that “they find their pleasure in their business.” Centralisation is the backbone of the German and French educational systems. Here we have found that centralisation spells ved fafe, and now with the swing of the pendulum the cry is for decentralisation. Wholesale decentralisation will probably spell chaos. It is essential that we should have a satisfactory primary education, to be followed up by an efficient and carefully planned scheme of secondary education, but it is very doubtful whether the carrying out of even the finest imaginable system of education could be left entirely to the local authorities or to the teachers themselves. It would not be satisfactory to bind down teachers to a hard and fast interpretation of any code or system. Scope must be left for individuality, not, however, for eccentricity. There is one thing the report makes abundantly clear, and that is that we have much to learn from the Germans ; there are many things we might adapt, but very little that we could copy. There is a tremendous outcry in this country for specialisation, and many advocate early specialisation. Early specialisation is not at all believed in on the continent. In the continental university or polytechnic, specialisation is not allowed until a scholar is able to show that he has a thorough general education. We ought to have some equivalent to the German “ Abiturienten,” or leaving examination. Unless such an examination has been successfully passed, the student cannot enter a university or polytechnic and take his degree or diploma. Further, in obtaining situations in business houses, preference is invariably given to those who have successfully passed this examination ; indeed, many business houses will not take men into their employ- ment who have not passed this satisfactorily. Sixty-five pages of the report are devoted to the “Measurement of Mental Fatigue.’ We. find that the systematic study of mental fatigue has been taken up in a spirit of earnest, scientific inquiry; and it is worthy of note that post-mortem examinations have shown “‘that those parts of the brain which serve the purpose of systematic thought, commonly known as the reasoning powers, are the last to mature.” ‘The ques- tion of what constitutes mental fatigue must always be one of great difficulty. If the laws of hygiene are obeyed 228 NATURE [January 8, 1903 and the subject is sufficiently clothed and fed, he will probably be able to accomplish a very much larger amount of mental work, without being over-strained, than would be the case if these conditions were neglected. ‘ In Germany, the question of dealing with over brain work is probably more pressing than it 1s in this country, because the brain is often over-exercised, while there 1s an insufficiency of physical exercise. In England, I am afraid, it is more often a question of physical fatigue than one of mental strain with which we are faced. But of course, when the teaching system is “ unintelligent ”— that is, one of cyam—the poor brain must get terribly wearied. Mr. Sadler has compiled the report with great care, and the portions which he has himself written are marked by a refreshing breadth of view not always to be found in Government reports. It is probable, however, that the object would be better attained if these reports were more condensed. F. MOLLWO PERKIN. TIDAL! CURRENTS. IN THE GUEF-OF ST. LAWRENCE. jae many years past, the Canadian Government has been prosecuting an accurate survey of the com- plicated tides and tidal currents of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Tidal Department, under the able directorship of Mr. W. Bell Dawson, has already done much excellent work in this field, although, doubtless, much yet remains to be discovered. In the tidal report for the present year, Mr. Dawson will describe the results of a careful analysis of the remarkable tidal currents which are met with in Northumberland Strait south of Prince Edward’s Island. At most places, the times of the changes of tidal currents bear a more or less constant relauonship to the times of high and low water, but in this channel the changes are found to be largely governed by the moon’s declination. As Mr. Dawson remarks:—‘‘ This is very confusing to the mariner, as the turn of the current in relation to the tide is out of accord with the moon’s phases, and has thus no fixed relation to the spring and neap tides. The greatest apparent irregularity is when the moon’s de- clination is at its maximum ; and this occurs sometimes at the spring tides and sometimes at the neaps. The ordinary navigator takes refuge in the conclusion that the currents are chiefly influenced by the wind.” Diurnal tides are ruled by the declination of the moon, and it would seem that there must be at this place a large diurnal inequality which manifests itself more by current than by variations of height. Those who are interested in this subject will do well to refer to Mr. Dawson’s forthcoming report. (EA VBIS 10). JOHANNES WISLICENUS. Ape generation that laid the foundation of organic chemistry has almost become a thing of the past, and at the close of last year one of the few remaining links was broken by the death of Wislicenus. Not long since, the University of Leipzig was mourning the loss, at a venerable age, of a distinguished physicist ; to-day the chair which was made famous by that “ wahre Bearbeiter” Kolbe is vacant, and a name which will ever be illustrious in the history of spacial chemistry has been added to the classical traditions of this great seat of learning. The news has come not as a sudden shock, for of late years the health of the venerable Geheimrath has been visibly declining, and waning strength and feeble gait warned his many friends that his working days would soon be over; none the less poignant, however, is the NO: 17 32);5V0L. 677] grief felt by all who have had the privilege of sharing his friendship or coming under the influence of his impressive and genial personality. Johannes Wislicenus was born on June 24, 1835, at Klein-Eichsted, in the Prussian province of Saxony ; when he was five years old, his father, a pastor, was transferred to Halle a. Salle, and there the boy received his first impressions of school life. At the “ Frankesche Stiftung,” a school which has since become celebrated, he remained until the age of eighteen, and at Easter, 1853, having passed his Maturitatsexamen, he entered the University of Halle with the intention of devoting himself to the study of natural science. His project was, how- ever, soon frustrated. The political horizon was still clouded over, and in consequence of certain intrigues, his father, in the autumn of the same year, was com- pelled to fly the country ; he found a home for himself and his family, as did so many refugees of that time, in the United States. In the following year, Johannes was appointed assistant to Prof. Horsford at Harvard Uni- versity, Mass., and in 1855 became lecturer at the Mechanics’ Institute, New York, with a laboratory at his disposal. : It was thus that he acquired that command of English which was such a source of wonder to his foreign students in later years. In 1856, he was able to return to Europe, and resumed his interrupted studies at the University of Zurich, where he ‘‘promovierte” in 1860 and was appointed Privat- docent at the Polytechnic. In 1861, he became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the ‘‘Kantonale Industrieschule.” — Four years later, he received the honour of a chair at the University of Zurich, and in 1871 was elected by the ‘Bundesrath” as director of the Polytechnic in that town. Inthe following year, he was chosen to succeed Ad. Strecker at Wiirzburg. There he remained until 1885, and it was during this time that he carried on his classical researches on the constitution of acetoacetic ether and so established his reputation on a firm basis. The year 1884 witnessed the death of Kolbe and the call of Wislicenus to Leipzig, where he remained until the end. As was pointed out by a writer recently in this Journal, “there is a curious irony in the thought that his first work there should have been directed towards the extension of the theory of Van ’t Hoff, whom Kolbe had regarded with such contempt.” Of his scientific work, space will only permit the barest outline. His researches were confined almost exclusively to the domain of organic chemistry, most of them appear- ing in Liebiv’s Annalen der Chemie. The constitution of lactic acid, on which he worked from 1863 to 1872, establishing the identity of structure for the two different substances fermentation- and para-lactic acids, first brought him into prominence among chemical workers and impelled him to seek an explanation of the meta- merism in the spacial relations of the atoms within the molecule. His interest in acetoacetic ether, to which reference has already been made, resulted in a detailed investigation of its reactions and of its value as a synthetic agent ; these have gone far to stimulate the study of this most interesting compound, and are of importance, if for no other reason, for the light they throw on the still open question of its constitution. It was in Leipzig, however, that he achieved his great work. In 1887 appeared his famous memoir, “ Uber die raiimliche Anordnung der Atome in organischen Mole- kulen,” to account for the phenomena of “ geometrical isomerism.” According to his hypothesis, which was an extension of that formulated independently by Le Bel and Van ’t Hoff in 1874, “the centre of gravity of a carbon atom was regarded as situated in the centre of a tetrahedron, and its four affinities at the four corners.” When two atoms were linked together, Van ’t Hoff, and January 8, 1903] NATURE 229 after him Wislicenus, assumed that both were capable of rotating in opposite directions about a common axis ; this possibility ceased, however, with a double or treble linking of the carbon atoms. Wislicenus further called into play the action of certain “specially directed forces the affinity-energies” which “determine the relative positions of the atoms to one another in the molecule.” The Aznalen of these years contain a large number of papers worked out in the Leipzig laboratories under his direction, in which the reactions of maleic and fumaric acids, the tolane dichlorides and dibromides, mesaconic and citraconic acids, the crotonic acids, the a-chloropropyl- enes, &c., were carefully investigated, and the facts shown to be in agreement with those demanded by theory. The hypothesis naturally evoked much criticism ; Wislicenus’s controversy with Fittig (Zzedig’s Annalen, 1892, cclxxii. 1-99) is still fresh in the minds of chemists, and it must be admitted that Michael has obtained results which it has not yet been found possible to reconcile with the theory. But when all is said, there can be little doubt that up to the present it remains the simplest and most comprehensive explanation adduced. Even if the theory should ever be disproved, Wislicenus’s memoir will always hold a place among the classics of the science as a model of careful reasoning and literary skill, and as an epitome of one of the most laborious researches of that period. Now, however, is not the time, nor is this the place, to dwell in any detail on his scientific papers ; the above indication of the direction which his research took must suffice ; it would be presumptuous to attempt to estimate the value of his work; enough that, among the great names in the history of chemical science, Wislicenus will | stand with Bunsen and Kekulé and. Victor Meyer and | such names as made the nineteenth century what it was. We do not wish to enter into a paneyyric of his character ; such things belong rather to the columns of a daily paper and to the exaggerated estimates of medio- crities ; but a word as to his human aspect—and he wasa man of wide sympathies—will not be out of place. In politics, he was an ardent admirer of Bismarck, and had little tolerance for the social democrats of latter days ; not that charitableness was lacking in his disposition, for many were the kindly acts that he performed. He was fond of children, and when his own family had grown up and he was left alone with his daughter, the cheerful presence of a little niece helped to relieve the gloom that the tragedy of his domestic life had cast over the later years. To music he was almost insensible, and Wagner was tohimnothing more thanaconfusionof sounds. Hewas present at the first performance of “ Siegfried,” but left in the middle of the second act with aviolent headache. Liter- ature was his one refuge in the intervals of work, and when troubled with insomnia, from which he suffered much, he would pass the hours in his well-stocked library. It is related that at one of his weekly dinner parties, to which all his research students were invited in turn, a youth of an inquiring turn of mind, desirous of probing the extent of the professor’s knowledge, read up an almost forgotten author and tackled him on the subject when the cigars were produced ; great was the student’s chagrin on dis- covering that it was one of his teacher’s favourite authors and at having to sit through an impromptu half-hour’s lecture on the author’s peculiarities of style. This youth never carried his investigations any further. With his students, Wislicenus was always popular, and though they christened him at one time the “‘ Schmier-Director,” from the number of tarry residues that the arbeits were producing, that did not detract from the affection and esteem in which he was held. In his daily round of the research labor- atories, he was ever ready with words of sympathy and encouragement that went far to allay the soreness and disappointment of repeated failures ; his kindly sugges- tions have stimulated many to greater efforts. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] In 1898, the Royal Society. awarded him the Davy medal, and his death makes a vacancy in its list of foreign members. The loss will be felt not in Germany alone, for his students came from all parts of the world, and while men of science will remember him as one of the founders of stereochemistry, his disciples will look back on him as one of the “influences” of their lives, as a man of broad sympathies and great powers, as an example to emulate and as a memory to inspire. NOTES. AMONG the names included in the long list of ‘‘ Durbar Honours ” published on New Year’s Day, we notice the follow- ing :—Dr. George Watt, C.I.E., officer in charge of the Economic and Art Section of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, has had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him. Dr. W. R. Hooper, C.S.I., President of the Medical Board at the India Office, and Sir Colin Campbell Scott Moncrieff, K.C.M.G., President of the Indian Irrigation Commission, have been made Knight Commanders of the Star of India. Colonel St. George C. Gore, Surveyor-General of India, has been made a Companion of the same order. Dr. B. Franklin, Director-General Indian Medical Service, and Mr. John Eliot, F.R.S., Meteorological Reporter to the Government of India | and Director-General of Indian Observatories, have been pro- moted to the rank of Knight Commanders of the Order of the Indian Empire. Major A. W. Alcock, F.R.S., Superintendent of the Indian Museum, and Prof. J. C. Bose, Presidency College, Calcutta, have been made Companions of the same order. Major David Semple, Director of the Pasteur Institute, Kasauli, has been awarded the Kaisar-I-Hind Medal for Public Service in India. A GERMAN newspaper records the following exemplary. incident, apropos of a recent act of the Kaiser, in appealing to his people for support in a good work. Dr. Dohrn, of Naples, having appealed with little result to the German Minister of Education for financial aid in the extension of his world-famed biological station, sought an interview with the Kaiser. Re- marking sympathetically that he could not provide all that Dr. Dohrn desired from his private purse, the Kaiser furnished him with a donation form, headed by himself and a contribution of | tooo/., commanding that it should be circulated among the leaders in Berlin society, for return to the Kaiser in person. The result was that within a few days the magnificent sum of 15,000/. was subscribed. Mr. HERBERT KyNASTON has been appointed by the Colonial Office director of the Geological Survey of the Transvaal. M. EpMOND PERRIER has been appointed to the chair of comparative anatomy at the Paris Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, and M. Pierre Marcellin Boule to the chair of paleontology at the same institution. A MESSAGE from the Z%es correspondent at Ottawa states that the promoters of the Canadian Marconi Company hope by the end of next summer to have a complete system cf wireless telegraphy in operation throughout Canada, extending from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Pacific Coast. Mr. Marconi was entertained at a banquet at Sydney on December 30 by the citizens of Cape Breton Island. Reuter reports that in responding to the toast of his health, Mr. Mar- coni said that when his system of wireless telegraphy was further developed, it would be possible for ships in distress to ‘ signal passing ships. The cable companies, when they began, charged pounds per word ; they were now down to shillings, - 230 NATURE [January 8, 1903 and his starting at ten cents might soon lead to a charge of one cent per word and thus bind England and her colonies more closely together. THE Daily Maz states that Sir Ernest Cassel has offered to give 40,000/. towards the study and investigation of ophthalmia in Egypt. Tue death is announced of M. Pierre Laffitte, who, since 1893, has filled the chair at the College de France for the exposition of the general history of science. AN anti-tuberculosis union for Austria has been formed, with Count Liitzow as president. The Vienna correspondent of the Times reports that nearly 5000/. has already been received in subscriptions, and the Government has promised the fullest support in combating the disease. THE death is announced of Prof. Dr. Max Schede, professor of surgery at the University of Bonn, to which post he was appointed in 1895. During the time that Prof. Schede was organiser of the surgical section of Hamburg Hospital, he made it his aim to develop the system of antiseptics introduced into surgery by Lord Lister. Mr. Orro HILGER, whose death we announced last week, was born at Darmstadt on January 20, 1850, where fe passed his apprentic2ship under his father, who was the master of the mint. At eighteen years of age, he went with his brother, the late Mr. Adam Hilger, to Paris, where they started a workshop, doing much good work for the observatory. At the outbreak of the Franco-German war in 1870, being Germans they had to leave Paris and came to London. In a few years, they were able to start a small business as scientific instrument makers, and the name of Hilger soon became well known in the scientific world. In 1888, Mr. Otto Hilger was appointed by Lord Blythswood to take charge of his private laboratory, where he was until 1897, when the death of his brother compelled him to return to London to carry on the business, though this neces- sitated leaving partially completed a dividing engine for ruling diffraction gratings which he had been constructing under Lord Blythswood. During recent years, the demand for a high degree of accuracy in scientific instruments has greatly increased, and many men of science will regret the death of a maker who was able to appreciate the necessity for refinements in workmanship. On Tuesday, January 13, Prof. Macfadyen will deliver the first ofa course of six lectures at the Royal Institution on ‘‘ The Physiology of Digestion.” On Thursday, January 15, Mr. A. J. Evans will begin a course of three lectures on ‘‘ Pre- Phoenician Writing in Crete, and its Bearings on the History of the Alphabet.” The Friday evening discourse on January 16 will be delivered by Prof. Dewar, on ‘‘ Low Temperature In- vestigations.” On January 23, Dr. Tempest Anderson will lecture on ‘‘ Recent Volcanic Eruptions,” and on January 30 Prof. W. E. Dalby will lecture on ‘‘ Vibration Problems in Engineering Science.” ACCORDING toa Reuter message from San Francisco, advices from Corinto (Nicaragua), dated December 15, state that the volcano Santiago, near Granada, was then in active eruption. At night the sky was lit up by the volcano, and great havoc had been wrought. Momotombo, on Lake Managua, was also discharging clouds, and the volcano Izalco, in San Salvador, was in more active eruption, clouds and lava issuing from the crater at short intervals. At night a brilliant spectacle was presented, the lava pouring down the side of the mountain looking like a stream of fire. A telegram from Valparaiso States that it is reported that five volcanoesin the province of Llarquihue are active. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] THE Moscow correspondent of the S/andard states that a well-marked record of the recent earthquake at Andijan was obtained by the seismological instruments at the observatory there. The time recorded was II a.m., that is, about 8.30 a.m, Greenwich time. Andijan is the second largest town in the ‘‘ Territory” of Fergana, and had not less than fifty thousand inhabitants at the time of the earthquake. DuRING the past ten months, the Odessa correspondent of the Standard points out, Transcaucasia and Transcaspia have been visited by several severe earthquakes, In February last, Schemakha, on the Caspian side of the Caucasus, was laid in ruins bya series of violent earthquakes and volcanic disturb- ances, in which upwards of three thousand people perished. In July, a similar calamity desolated several districts in Kashgar, involving the loss of some six thousand lives. Those events have now been followed by the destructive series of earthquakes in the districts of Novi-Marghelan and Andijan. According to the latest reports, the loss of life is equally as appalling as that at Kashgar. A few days previous to the dreadful event in | Andijan, a series of slight earthquake shocks was felt at Schemakha, the site of the disaster in February last. Pror. Roserr Kocu and two assistants, Surgeon Dr. Kleine, of the Prussian Headquarters Staff, and Dr. Neufeld, of the Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases, are on their way to investigate cattle plague in Rhodesia. To the Berlin cor- respondent of the Daz/y A/at/, Prof. Koch has remarked :—‘* I contemplate my mission with more or less misgiving, because the Rhodesian plague is of an absolutely mystifying character. Such symptoms as I have so far examined indicate that the disease is wholly different from any species of rinderpest that has ever come under medical observation, What is peculiarly baffling is that the Rhodesian plague dates only from the late war. The cattle imported from Egypt, Australia and South America, which it was supposed would prove immune, have fallen early victims to its ravages, which threaten to denude the entire colony of live stock. While in South Africa, I shall not neglect the opportunity of continuing my tuberculosis experi- ments with the view of adducing still more positive evidence of my theory of the non-communicability of bovine tuberculosis to human beings, which I, of course,'adhere to resolutely.” CapTain Boyp ALEXANDER has just returned to England, after a short visit to the west coast of Africa, where he has been collecting birds and mammals on the islands of St. Thomas and Fernando Po, in the Bight of Biafra. Captain Alexander has obtained altogether nearly 400 specimens, and is expecting more from a collector that he left in Fernando Po. The results of his work as regards birds will probably be published in the Zéis. Mr. J. S. Bupcert, Balfour student of the University of Cambridge, has returned to England from Lake Albert (where he has been engaged in studying the development of the Polypterine fishes) by the Nile route, and will give an account of his expe- dition at the scientific meeting of the Zoological Society on January 20. Not having been altogether successful in Uganda, Mr. Budgett will probably make another visit to the Upper Gambia, where he has better prospects of obtaining the required information, in the course of the present year. Mr. W. G. Doccetr writes from Entebbe (November 5, 1902) that he was then preparing to start for the southern frontier of Uganda, to take up his post as naturalist to the Anglo-German Boundary Commission under Major Delmé Radcliffe. The expedition will start from the shores of Lake Victoria at 1° S.L., and will define the boundary between — Uganda and German East Africa as far west as the Semliki January 8, 1903] NATURE River. Inthe Semliki Forest, Mr. Doggett hopes to be able to obtain fresh specimens of the new African mammal (Okapza Johnstoni), which are much required at South Kensington. THE Institution of Electrical Engineers has issued the pre- liminary programme of the visit to Italy to be made this spring. It is proposed to leave London on April 2, and the first tech- nical visit will be to the Valtellina Railway and power-house on April 4. At Como also the tomb of Volta can be visited the next day. On April 6, the party will leave for Milan, travelling vid the Milan-Varese Electric Railway and visiting the works of Messrs. Tosi, at Legnano, in passing. On April 7, the Paderno power-house will be inspected. On April 8, visits will be made to various places of technical interest in Milan, including the Technical High School, and on the next day to the power- houses at Vizzola and Tornavento. The party will break up on Thursday, April 9, or on the Friday morning (Good Friday). AMONG the many papers of interest in the December number of th: Geographical Journal may be specially mentioned Dr. Stein's account of his explorations in Chinese Turkestan, and the readers of NATURE will not fail to note the importance of his discovery of inscribed wooden tablets on the Niya River site. Here, in a small decayed building, he found more than 200 documents on wood of all shapes and sizes. Besides tablets with the Indian Kharoshthi writing, he unearthed several narrow pieces of wood bearing Chinese characters, and many of the former were still protected by the strings with which they were originally tied and bore clay seals. On the seals, we have figures of Pallas Athene, with shield and zgis, Eros and Athene Promachos, and these prove beyond all doubt the influence which classical Western art has exercised even in distant Khotan. Many of the documents bear dates which are mentioned in con- nection with the names of rulers, and the texts, which seem to be written in an early form of Indian Prakrit, cannot fail to throw great light on the early, unknown history of the district wherein they have been found. It is important that the materials which Dec. Stein has secured should be worked thoroughly, for they may contain informition concerning the frequent com- munication which must have existed between the East and the West during the early centuries of the Christian era. THE unfortunate fatal accident which occurred at the Fulham Public Baths on December 23 serves to show how dangerous an electric shock may be when the conditions are such that really good contact is made. In this case, two bathers were killed by standing up in their baths and putting their hands on a metal rail running along the top of the partition between the baths; on top of this rail ran the iron pipes containing the electric- supply leads, It seems that there was leakage, possibly in a faulty lampholder, to these pipes, which were insufficiently “earthed.” The bathers therefore completed the earth through their bodies to the bath itself, and thus received a shock which, in spite of the fact that the pressure could only have been something like 170 volts, had fatal results on account of the very good contacts which existed. The circumstances of the case are altogether exceptional, and there is absolutely no need for users of electric light to take any alarm. The moral to be drawn is that in an installation of this kind, where it is pos- s ble for people to make direct contact between their damp skin and parts of the installation, more care should be taken in de- sign and supervision to prevent any possibility of contact with any live metal. THE outbreaks of typhoid fever at Winchester and at South- ampton again direct attention to the possibility of the typhoid infection being spread through the agency of shell fish, in these instances through oysters. Dr. Nash, in a report on an out- NO. 1732, VOL. 67| 231 break of typhoid fever at Southend-on-Sea, finds that the inci- dence of the disease was thirty-six times as great among shell-fish consumers as among those who do not eat shell-fish, and ex- presses the opinion that if the eating of shell-fish were abandoned in Southend, the incidence of typhoid fever would lessen by fully one-half. In the Southend outbreak, cockles were mainly responsible for the spread of the infection. A LARGE portion of the contents of the January number of Climate is devoted to a consideration of the possibility of stamping out malaria. Major Ronald Ross discusses the pre- valence of malaria at Ismailia, and comes to the conclusion that if the mosquitoes in the district were even partially eradicated, as might easily be done, ‘malaria would almost disappear. Sir William MacGregor describes the Italian campaign against malaria, and draws attention to the prophylactic use of quinine, the protection of dwellings with wire gauze, the cultivation of the soil and the drainage of swamps as means of diminishing the prevalence of malaria. AT an international maritime congress recently held at Copenhagen, M. Willaume-Jantzen, subdirector of the Danish Meteorological Institute, contributed an interesting paper on the climate of the coast of Iceland, based on eighteen to twenty-two years’ observations at four representative stations— Vestmannee (south), Stykkisholm (west), Grimsey (north) and Papey (east). Generally speaking, the lowest mean barometric pressure in the north Atlantic lies to the south-west of Iceland, and to the north-east of the island there is another area of mean low pressure, but a little higher than that on the south-west. These two areas determine the prevalent: winds on the east coast, which blow with nearly equal persistency from north-east and from north-west. But from its position with regard to the advance of barometric depressions from west to east in the Atlantic, the pressure in Iceland is subject to sudden and great variations, causing frequent storms, the average annual number of days of storm on the east coast being seventy-five. Generally speaking, the summer climate on the coast is fresh and the winter mild, but the latter may be very severe ‘with northerly winds and the approach of polar ice. In some localities, fog is very prevalent ; at Berufiord, near Papey, it occurs on 212 days, but at Stykkisholm on nine days only. Rainfall is heavy on the south and light on the north; at Vestmanno2 there are 225 days on which rain falls on a yearly average. THE volume containing the meteorological observations and results for the United States Naval Observatory, Washington, under the direction of Prof. J. R. Eastman, for the year 1901, has been recently received. As in former years, it contains the details of all the observations which are made every three hours during each day. ‘These include the corrected readings of the barometer, and of the wet and dry bulb thermometers, the symbols indicating the character of the clouds, the estimated amount of cloudiness, wind direction and velocity, together with the daily means. The six tables which follow record the results, such as the maximum and minimum temperatures for each month, daily and monthly means of the corrected barometric readings, &c. The volume contains also the meteorological observations made at the same hours at the new naval observa- tory with a view to determine the difference of the thermometric conditions at the two localities, in order that future records at the new observatory can be properly compared with the records at the old observatory, which extend from 1845 to 1892 in- clusive. WE have received from the editors of the Photogram a new edition of a set of cards which are intended for the pocket-book of the photographer. These cards, 5 x 3 inches in size, contain a great amount of very useful information, some of which the 232 NATORE | JANUARY 8, 1903 practical photographer is sure to find serviceable either in his studio or out in the field. Thus we have a brief guide for correct exposure for various kinds of plates and light, tables of enlargement and reduction for telescopic lenses, how to find south without a compass in order to fix the time of best light- ing, the metric and British systems of weights and measures and their connection one with the other, photographic temperatures and a comparison of different thermometer scales, &c. These cards, eight in number, can be obtained from the office of the Photogram by forwarding one penny stamp, and they are valu- able and useful for the money. Tue theory of the dimensions of units in the electrostatic and electromagnetic systems has on various occasions been criticised. A short note dealing critically with dimensions of physical units in general is given by Dr. Ladislaus Gorczyriski in the Physikalische Zeitschrift, iv. 5. In thermodynamics, the author points out that the dimensions of temperature should not be omitted from the expressions for the dimensions of such quantities as thermal conductivity, specific heat and entropy, and he introduces the dimensions of K and x into the electrical systems. Herr Gorczyriski supports the position assumed by Schreber and disagrees with» certain views expressed by Hesehus. In particular, he considers that the assumption of a ” relation of the form v = ./e/d connecting the ‘‘v” of electro- magnetism with elasticity and density is unjustifiable. The general conclusion is that the conventional treatment of dimen- sions of units is unsatisfactory, and that it is not at present possible satisfactorily to express the dimensions of all physical units in terms of those of the three fundamental unis of length, time and mass alone. It is certainly safer to introduce too many fundamental units the dimensions of which are treated as independent of one another than to cut down the number by regarding the measure of any physical quality as a dimensionless number. THE first report on a chemical and physical study of the soils of Kent and Surrey has been issued by the South-eastern Agri- cultural College, at Wye, by Mr. A. D. Hall and Mr. F. J. Plymen (1902). The object is eventually to accumulate such a series of analyses of the soils, chemical and mechanical, as will enable the College, when given the situation of any field, to indicate in a general way the kind of manures wanted for each particular crop. The two counties are not much covered with drift deposits, and these are depicted on the one-inch Geological Survey map, but the pressing need of a geological map on the six-inch scale is pointed out. The present report deals only with the soils resting upon the London Clay, Chalk and Gault. B; procuring samples of soils from each geological formation in a number of localities, a good general knowledge of them has been obtained. Particulars of these, with methods of analyses, are given. With regard to the Gault soils, it is remarked that the most profitable use to make of them ‘‘is to keep them or lay them down as permanent pasture.” On both London Clay and Chalk there is considerable variety of soil, and recommend- ations are made on the cultivation of different areas. A SECOND edition of Dr. A. J. Ewart’s ‘ First Stage Botany” has been published by Mr. W. B. Clive. Several additions and alterations have been made. THE second volume of Prof. Wundt’s ‘‘Grundziige der physiologischen Psychologie” has been received from Mr. W. Engelmann, Leipzig. The first volume was noticed a short time ago (November 6, 1902, p. 2), and an estimate of the value of this great work can be obtained from that review. After the work has been completed, a notice of the new volumes will appear. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] THE three essays which were successful in the recent com- petition for the erection of a sanatorium for tuberculosis, initiated by His Majesty the King, are reprinted in full in the current number of the Zavcet, with reproductions of the plans of the buildings. The essays are valuable epitomes of modern knowledge of the cause, prevention and cure of tuberculosis. WE have received from Messrs. Isenthal and Co. their latest catalogue and price list of apparatus for radiography and general electro-medical work. The list isa very complete one and shows that the firm is in a position to supply all the apparatus needed in this class of work, from single pieces of the simplest type to full sets made up into suitable cabinets. We note also that the firm arranges for courses of lessons in the use of the apparatus for those who desire it. Tue ‘Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes” for 1903 has been published by M. Gauthier-Villars, Paris. This compact little volume contains, as usual, a mass of information indispen- sable both to the man of science and to the engineer. Among the contents of the volume may be specially mentioned the contribution by M. R. Radau, on shooting stars and comets, and that by M. J. Janssen, on science and poetry. The discourses delivered at the funerals of MM. Cornu and Faye are also included in this year’s issue of the annual. THREE new volumes of the first annual issue of the Inter- national Catalogue of Scientific Literature have been received, and are similar in character to those already described. The subjects of the volumes are physics (part i.), meteorology (including terrestrial magnetism) and mechanics. The second part of the catalogue of physical papers will shortly be published and will complete the volume on physics. Thetwo volumes on meteorology and mechanics are each complete in themselves, and the portions of the scientific literature of 1901 not included in them will form a part of the second annual issue of the Cata- logue. Mr. W. ENGELMANN, Leipzig, has issued two new volumes in Ostwald’s series of scientificclassics. As is well known, each volume in this series contains one or more papers which have influenced the progress of science, selected from the works of investigators of various nationalities and translated into German when written in other languages. One of the volumes recently published contains series xiv. and xv. of Faraday’s experi- mental investigations in electricity, translated from the Phzlo- sophical Transactions of 1838 and edited by Dr. A. J. von Oettingen ; the other volume (No. 132) contains a translation of two papers by Andrews, on the continuity of the gaseous and liquid states of matter, from the PA. Trans. of 1869 and 1876, edited by Dr. Arthur von Oettingen and? Prof. K. Tsuruta. WE have before us the forty-second yearly issue of the Brétésh Journal of Photography, edited by Mr. Thomas Bedding (Henry Greenwood and Co., Strand), and a glance at this bulky volume, which contains nearly 1600 pages, of which about 600 are text matter, is sufficient to indicate its vigorous and healthy con- dition. The book is arranged on similar lines to those of its predecessors, and will be found a mine of interesting, practical and useful information on photographic topics. Among some of the contents may be mentioned a very complete list of the officers of photographic societies in the United Kingdom, America and on the continent, a large collection of photographic formulz and recipes in both the English and metric systems, chapters on photomicrography with bibliography by the editor, a summary of the recent novelties in apparatus, &c., since the publication of the last almanac, practical notes and suggestions of the year, and an epitome of the year’s progress, in which is given a résumé of the more important discoveries and improvements. Scattered January 8, 1903] among the text are some excellent reproductions illustrating the behaviour of different lenses and speeds of shutters, and the frontispiece is a contact print on Barnet platino mat bromide paper. The low price of the volume (one shilling) and the useful nature of the contents should render it indispensable to every photographer. In the current number of the Comfles rendus is a note by Prof. Henri Moissan on a new method of preparing the silicon analogue of ethane, Si,H,. This substance was originally obtained by the author, in conjunction with Dr. Smiles, by the partial condensation at — 200°C. of an impure silicon hydride prepared by the action of hydrochloric acid upon a silicide of magnesium of undefined composition. Attempts to prepare the same compound from the lithium silicide, Li,Si,, by the action of dry hydrogen chloride or a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid were unsuccessful, hydrogen being the only gaseous product. It has now been found that by the gradual addition of lithium silicide to concentrated aqueous hydrochloricacid, thesilico-ethane is readily formed in abundance and can be separated by means of cooling to the temperature of liquid air. THE same number contains an account, by M. F. Bodroux, of another application of the organo-magnesium compounds to organic synthesis. It has been found that if a magnesium alkyl chloride or bromide, prepared in the usual way by the action of magnesium upon an ethereal solution of the alkyl bromide or chloride, is treated with iodine, the alkyl iodide is produced in nearly quantitative yield, together with magnesium iodochloride or bromide. Propyl bromide and isoamyl] chloride treated in this way have furnished about 80 per cent. of the theoretical quantities of the corresponding iodides. The reaction is equally applicable to aromatic derivatives, and will simplify greatly the preparation of many monoiodo-derivatives of benzene. THE much-discussed question of the chemical character of bleaching powder is revived in a recent number of the Zeitschrift fiir anorgantsche Chemie, which contains a long paper on the subject by Herr Winteler, of Darmstadt. The investigation appears to have arisen from a difficulty which was experienced in making good bleaching powder from electrolytic chlorine, owing to the gas containing considerable quantities of carbon dioxide. The chief conclusions reached by Herr Winteler are as follows. Dry chlorine does not act on dry calcium hydroxide, but in the presence of moisture chlorine water is first formed. This contains hypochlorous and hydro- chloric acids, which then act upon the calcium hydroxide. The action involves complicated equilibria, which depend on the temperature, the amount of water present, the rate at which the chorine is passed, &c. Bleaching powder possesses no definite formula, but is a mixture of bodies resulting from the balanced reactions just referred to. It contains basic calcium chloride and basic hypochlorite as normal components, and may contain chloride and hypochlorite as well as hydroxide and the free acids. The decomposition of bleaching powder into chloride and oxygen takes place when there is an excess of hydroxyl ions ; on the other hand, an excess of hydrogen ions leads to a decomposition into chlorate and chloride. Working upon this theory of the character of bleaching powder, Herr Winteler shows how it is possible to prepare a good product even when using unpurified chlorine containing 6 per cent. of carbon dioxide. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Fennec Fox (Canis cerdo) from North Africa, presented by Dixon Bey ; two Common Marmosets (Hapale jacchus) from South-east Brazil, presented by Mr. J. B. Joel; two Egyptian Jerboas (Difus aegyptéus) from North NO. 1732, VOL. 67] NATLOGRE 558) Africa, presented by Miss Chesterman; two Eastern One- wattled Cassowaries (Casuarius aurantiacus) from New Guinea ; a Blossom-headed Parrakeet (Pu/aeornis cyanocephalus) from India ; a Gangetic Trionyx (Z7réonyx gangeticus) from India, deposited. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. CoMET 1902 d@.—From observations made at Hamburg on December 3 and 11, and at Paris on December 22, Herr Ebell has calculated the following elements and ephemeris for this comet :— T = 1903 March 23°544 Berlin M.T. o= 5 43 326 Q=I1I7 29 51°2? 1903'0 z= 43 54 17°44 log g = 0°443876 Ephemeris 12h. M.T. Berlin. 1903 a 6 log 4 __ Brightness. h. m. ss, ney; Jan. oO 73210 +3 47°73 0'2925 1°4 4 Ti ORIG) +4 541 0'2880 14 Sp ees 8 057/28 +6 46 0'2847 5 D2 Or ydn27, +7 18:2 0°2825 I°5 LOW e-3 kO 5 Tash. +8 34°4 ... 0°2816 I's 20 6 48 47 +9 526 ... 0'2818 1°5 Unit brightness at time of discovery. On December 22d. 10h. 44m.°3 Paris M.T., the comet was observed in the following position by M. Bigourdan at Paris :— a (apparent) = 7h. 9m. 7s.°4, 5 (apparent) = + 1° 32’ 55”. M. Fayet has found that this comet has the greatest peri- helion distance recorded for any comet since that of 1729. OBSERVATIONS OF VARIABLE STARS.—In No. 3837 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, M. M. Luizet, of the Lyons Obser- vatory, publishes his observations of five variable stars and gives his results for each star in a tabular form. The result of 285 observations of Algol, made between November 18, 1897, and March 12, 1902, indicates a possible slight negative correction to the elements published by Mr. Chandler in No. 509 of the Astronomical Journal. One hundred and fifty-seven comparisons of the irregular variable e« Aurigze indicate great irregularities in the brightness of this star, which on December 10, 1901, was actually one or two degrees fainter than y Persei. One hundred and fourteen comparisons of W Orionis were made between October 26, 1898, and March 19, 1902, and these show that both the duration of the period and the magni- tudes at maxima and minima vary greatly. The following elements show the closest agreement to the observations :— Maximum 1899 February 22) Minimum 1899 March 10 f + 324-32 E., but there are several observations which are not reconcilable to this period. Observations of T Monocerotis and ¢ Geminorum have also been made, and tables of their maxima and minima are given by M. Luizet. THE SPECTRUM OF ¢ AURIGH.—From the investigation and measurement of spectrograms obtained during 1901 and 1902 by Prof. Hartmann and Dr. Eberhard, Prof. H. C. Vogel has found that e Aurigze is a spectroscopic binary which has a very long period. The spectrograms referred to show that the hydrogen lines in the violet region, beyond H and K, stand out with excep- tional prominence in this star, and a close investigation as to the cause has led to the conclusion that the spectra of two stars—one of the a Cygni type, the other lying between the limits of Types I. and II. (a Persei, ~ Cygni)—are present, the one being exactly superimposed on the other. OBSERVATIONS . WITH A_ BINOCULAR TELESCOPE.—In Popular Astronomy, No. 100, Mr. D. W. Edgecomb de- scribes the performances of the 64-inch binocular telescope, made by Messrs. Alvan Clark and Sons. In describing the features of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn as seen with the binocular, the writer states that the objects 234 NATURE [January 8, 1903 present more detail, are brighter, and appear larger than when seen through an ordinary single telescope of the same aperture. In addition to this, the ‘‘seeing” is much steadier, and the stereoscopic effect obtained greatly enhances the beauty of the objects observed. Such objects as Clark’s companion to yy Lyree, the companion to 7 Orionis and the Mitchell companion to Rigel have all been steadily observed, and it is generally considered neces- sary to use an instrument of 7 or 8 inches aperture in order to see the last-named object. The prisms used in this instrument are 2 inches long and 15; inches thick, the rays from the objectives traversing 5} inches of glass before reaching the eyepieces. RECENT AMERICAN BOTANY. NV R. M. L. FERNALD! has published a very interesting = review of the birches belonging to the groups Betula aija and B. nana. These trees and shrubs inhabit the northern regions of both hemispheres, and Mr. Fernald recognises in America seven species and seven varieties, of which six species and five varieties are common to the Old World. Thus, contrary to the opinion of some recent authors, the American white birches are mostly non-endemic, though exhibiting numerous apparently distinct forms. Not only is this true, but the admitted species intergrade all along the line. ‘‘It is quite possible to trace by a series of specimens a direct connection between the dwarf Betu/a nana or B. glandulosa and the tall B. alba. . . . But since it is obviously impracticable to regard all these forms as one species, it seems wiser to recognise the more marked centres of variation as species which are admitted to pass by exceptional tendencies. to other forms ordinarily distinguished by marked characteristics” (p. 189). This, of course, brings up the question of the definition of species. The present writer has been accustomed to use the accompanying diagram in teaching biology. The line aa represents a species which is slightly dimorphic, as is indicated by the two promin- ences. The line 4 6 represents a strongly dimorphic species, connected (at 4’) by very few intermediates. The line c c represents a case in which the intermediates have died out, and there is a complete break (at ¢’) resulting in the formation of two species. It is now to be pointed out that this break must be spacial or geographical, and not merely morphological, otherwise the two sexes of the same species would often have to be regarded as distinct species. Such a break need not be geographical in the ordinary sense, but when the two species inhabit what is nomin- ally the same locality, they are found to be differently related to their environment, or related to different closely adjacent environments. Furthermore, they must breed true, and not ordinarily interbreed one with another. This sounds simple enough, but the application of these principles is not so simple. In the diagram, the case of 4 6 is obviously more like that of ¢ ¢c than it is like that of @ a. The difference between a slight break and a slight connection is infinitesimally small, yet after all it is a real difference—some- thing existing in Nature, and not subject to individual opinion. If this criterion is admitted, because of its capability of exact definition, then the whole series of birches discussed by Mr. Fernald must apparently be regarded as one species ! Another sort of case is offered by the plants of the Galapagos Islands, recently reviewed in a-,most valuable memoir by Dr. B. L. Robinson.? Euphorbia viminea, J. D. Hooker, has eight distinct forms confined to as many islands (one only being found on two). These plants are readily distinguishable, but their characters are such as would be ordinarily of no value for distinguishing species in the genus, Oncontinental areas, similar species of Euphorbia are polymorphic, with innumerable similar variations connected by every sort of intermediate. Conse- quently, Dr. Robinson does not treat the Galapagos plants as | separate species, or (with one exception) even as varieties, but as *‘forms.” _ Now, according to the above definition of species, these plants are perfectly good species, for the breaks in con- linuity, slight as they are, appear to be absolute. There is, perhaps, one way of escaping from this conclusion. Distinct species should not promiscuously interbreed ; there should be some sort of ‘‘ physiological” barrier. It is known, in the case of the ostensibly distinct species of Lavatera from the 1 Amer. Journ. Science, xiv., September, 1902. 3 etre 2 Proc. Amer. Acad., October, 1992 (vol. xxxvili.). NO. 1732, VOL. 67] islands off the coast of California, that this barrier does not exist. Perhaps, if the different Galapagos Islands’ forms of Euphorbia viminea were grown together, they would completely fuse and give a single promiscuously varying type like those of the continents. But, after all, the question is what they actually do, not what they might do, under hypothetical conditions. The answer to this question must be that they remain distinct. It seems to the present writer that the only precise criterion of species must be a spacial one, just as the only reason for species is that of function, or the relation between the nature of the creature and the place it occupies. But, admitting this on philosophical grounds, we are forced to recognise species of every degree of distinctness, just as the geographer recognises islands separated by every sort of distance from the mainland. It is easier, no doubt, to accept instead the morphological criterion, and this is actually what we have to do in taxonomic work,! for lack of evidence of the other kind ; but this leaves the whole matter to be decided by individual opinions, with results known too well. : It is probable, if not certain, that variable plants on continental areas produce many ‘‘temporary species.” That is to say, local colonies become more or less differentiated and remain so until swamped by invasions of the parent form or some other variety. Whether we recognise these ‘‘ temporary species’ depends, in practice, upon the degree of difference exhibited. Not rarely, the distinctions are constant and marked over a certain area, but the very same distinctions elsewhere occur as individual variations in the midst of the parent species. I have recorded such cases in the genera Spheralcea and Cleome. At the close of his work on the Galapagos flora, Dr. Robinson presents a most lucid and philosophical discussion of the whole subject; it is so full of fact and thought that a brief summary could not do it justice. In particular, attention must be called Ce a a a e! Fic. 1. to his statement of the reasons why the local insular varieties persist in spite of the occasional infusion of new blood. ; Mr. Carl Purdy’s revision of the genus Calochortus® is another work of great interest. These beautiful ‘‘ butterfly lilies ” are extremely abundant in the Pacific region of North America, and are almost indefinitely variable. The variations are of all sorts, sometimes ‘‘constitutional”’ rather than morphological. Says | Mr. Purdy, ‘In cultivation it has frequently been found that a very slight variability in strains is accompanied by a marked constitutional difference. In two beds of Cadlochortus venustus, planted in the same soil and separated only by a thin board, it would puzzle a botanist to state wherein the plants vary. They come from widely separated localities, and the difference is one more easily detected by the eye than conveyed by words. In one bed, two-thirds of the leaves are already destroyed by mildew (Botrytis), while in the other, not one leaf is injured ; and such is the case whenever and wherever the two are planted” (p. 108). Mr. Purdy points out that in some localities the plants are very uniform, while in others they are extremely variable, with hundreds of distinguishable phases. It is probable that the phenomenon of ‘temporary species” is | common in this genus, and the union of such morphologically, but not physiologically, distinct types is the cause of much variability. At the same time, there are species which always remain distinct, never producing fertile hybrids. That Mr. Purdy has tested so many of the forms for such ‘‘ physiological barriers” gives his work especial value andimportance. It does 1 De Vries has assumed that, because botanists so distinguish species (admittedly of necessity), therefore the morphological criterion is the genuine | one. ‘hus species have no better foundation in Nature than genera, which ' are wholly based on reasons of convenience. 2 Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 3rd series, Botany, vol. ii. No. 4 (1901). — January 8, 1903] ~ not appear that mere isolation suffices to produce even distinct varieties of Calochortus. For instance, C. ca¢z/inae, Watson, is found on Catalina and other islands, and also on the mainland ; but instead of running into numerous insular races, it ‘fis one of the least variable ” of all, and no variety has been distinguished by name. On p. 141, Mr. Purdy admits that his Cad/ochortus venustus, var. eldorado, ‘*‘ var. nov.,’’ is the same as C. venustus (Purdy, 1895) to a quite different variety of the coast range. This surely cannot be permitted ; the former must stand as purpurascens, while the latter may be called var. Caro/’. T. D. A. CocKERELL. EARTHQUAKE OBSERVATIONS IN GALIC/A, THE ninth number in the new series of the publications of the Austrian Academy of Sciences relates to earthquakes observed during the year 1901 in Lemberg. The first feature which one observes in this publication, the author of which is Dr. W. Laska, is that he describes each earthquake according to the phases it exhibits, the various phases being distinguished from each other by differences in their periods. Twenty years ago, earthquakes were described as consisting of preliminary tremors, shocks and concluding vibrations, each of which had distinguishing periodic motions. Now we find first preliminary tremors of types 7,’ and /,", second preliminary tremors of types fs’, fo, fo’ and ,'"’, and on they go, commencing with /,’, with periods between 2°1 and 6°9 seconds, and ending with types where the periods have exceeded one minute. Inasmuch as these groups overlap, so that it is frequently difficult to assign a set of waves to their proper group, for our own part we are for the present content to divide the seismic spectrum into four parts—first and second preliminary tremors, large waves and concluding vibrations. In addition to these entries, Dr. Laska gives tables of tri- daily readings of two levels and of a thermometer. The most interesting portion of the work is, however, found in its intro- duction, where, amongst other matters, reference is made to the natural period of a pendulum as influencing the magnitude of its records and to rules which enable an observer to determine the distance of an origin from the inspection of a seismogram. One simple rule is to diminish the duration of the first pre- liminary tremors reckoned in minutes by unity and multiply the same by 1000. The result is an approximation to the distance of the origin expressed in kilometres. For example, if a seismogram shows that the preliminary tremors had a duration of 7°6 minutes, then the earthquake it represents originated at some place about 6600 kilometres distant. The mnemonic is certainly simple, but its application is con- fined to those records where preliminary tremors are well defined. These are comparatively few in number and the accuracy of the determination is dependent upon the measure- ment of intervals of time which are small. These objections apply to a second rule suggested by Dr. Laska, the value of which is apparently still further impaired by the introduction of two assumed constants determined by Dr. F. Omori. These constants are the velocities of the first and second preliminary tremors as determined from observations of ten earthquakes which originated near Japan and were recorded at Tokio and in Italy.1 To obtain these velocities, the arcual distance be- tween the Tokio isoseist and Italy is divided by the difference between the times of observation in Tokio and Italy. Had the distance between the origins and Italy been divided by the difference of times between the times of origin (which are easily calculable) and the times of arrival in Italy, then the constants given by Dr. Omori would have been reduced. A further reduction would be made on the assumption that the wave paths of the motion considered had approximated to chords. If the speed of the preliminary tremors between their origin to the Tokio isoseist had been the same as it was from that isoseist to Italy, then the above objections might be withdrawn, but this, according to Dr. Omori’s own showing, appears hardly to be the case.” : Although it is interesting to find the relationship between the duration of preliminary tremors and the distance they have travelled again brought to our notice, the well-known method 1 “Publications of the Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign Languages,” No. 5, pp. 71-80. (Tokio, 1901.) 2 Jour. Sc. Coll:, Tokio, vol. xi., p. 158. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] | | NATURE | and its accompanying gales which 4 23 5 of determining origins by the interval of time between the first motion of an earthquake and the subsequent arrival of the large waves is apparently one of more frequent and certain applica- tion,? J. MILNE. | PILOT, CHARTS OF THE METEOROLOGICAL purpurascens, Watson ; while he applies the name purpurascens | OFFICE. N addition to the usual information, the Meteorological Office pilot chart of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean for the month of January deals with some new features, necessitating the use of the back of the chart as well as the front. ‘There is an account of the destructive cyclone which visited our coasts on October 15-16 last, and also of the slow-moving disturbance wandered about the Tyrrhenian Sea from October 22-29. A summary is given of the charactéristics of the surface temperature of the Atlantic for each of the ten months from January to October last, the most striking feature being the evidence of a distinct tendency for the water‘in the immediate vicinity of western Europe to remain cooler than the normal during the first nine months, a fact which may be associated with the persistent low air temperature over the adjacent land during the spring and summer. On the Newloundland banks, there was a marked excess of warmth through the first six months, little or no ice being found in the locality. In October, an excess was shown on the eastern side of the ocean for the first time, and simultaneously the air temperature over the British Isles:passed above the average in all districts. With the object of discovering what connection, if any, there is between the movements of weather systems and the distribution of the temperature of the surface water, observations are being collected for obtaining the mean barometric pressure month by month over the region from 30° to 60° N., 0° to 70° W., and the tracks of the centres of storm areas. For October, the mean isobars are superimposed on the sea temperature results, while the storm tracks are given on a separate chart. To arrive at any definite conclusion as to cause and effect, it will require a long series of such charts—probably, too, for shorter periods than a calendar month, periods determined by the prevailing type of conditions, depending mainly on the positions and stability of the controlling anticyclones. Sum- maries are given of the ice reports from the whaling steamer Balaena, up Davis Strait, and the barque Lady Head, in Hudson Bay, last summer. Neither vessel passed any ice in the lower part of Davis Strait when heading for home in October. On July 1 last, the New Zealand Shipping Company's | s.s. Wazkato was disabled in 33° S., 6° E., and for twenty-six days she drifted helplessly about the south Atlantic, being finally taken in tow on July 27 in 28° S., 13° E., having in the interval travelled 812 miles, or at an average rate of more than thirty- one miles per day. The track of her,wanderings day by day, together with the direction and force of the wind, sup- plied by Captain Kiddle, is reproduced, with the addition of the normal current circulation of the region, which shows that the Wazkato followed closely the drift indicated by the Admiralty chart. STARVING A PARASITE. IN a recent paper read before the Royal Society,” Prof. Marshall Ward described the results of three series of experimental cultures of Brome-seedlings in sand, to which had been added various nutritive salts, or manurial mixtures, which were then infected with the parasite to see how the latter behaved on starved seedlings. Some of the seedlings received all the salts necessary for successful development, others none of such salts other than the root-hairs could extract from the sand itself and from the reserves in the endosperm, and others all necessary minerals except phosphorus, or potassium, or magnesium, or calcium, or nitrogen respectively. So far as the seedlings themselves are concerned, the effects of the mineral starvation were most evident in the small stature, 1 “Brit. Assoc. Reports,” 1900, p. 79; and ‘‘ Seismological Investiga- tion Report,” 1902. 2 “Experiments on the Effect of Mineral Starvation on the Parasitism of the Uredine Fungus, Puccinia dispersa, on Species of Bromus.”’ By Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S. Read before the Royal Society on November 27. 236 [ae a Eee narrow leaves, pale colour, Xc., the reduced root-system, and in nitrogen-starved and phosphorus-starved specimens, those lacking all salts. In no case, however treated. were the starved or manured seedlings rendered immune. All were successfully infected by normal uredospores adapted to the normal species, though in the phosphorus-free and in the nitrogen-free seedlings, and in those deprived of all salts, there were signs of retardation of the infection, and the resulting patches and pustules of fungus spores (uredospores) were fewer and smaller. As regards the fungus, apart from the reduced size of the mycelium, as expressed in the small pustules and retardation of development above referred to, even the reduced number of spores borne on the smallest pustules—e.g. on phosphorus- starved plants— showed no signs of morphological degeneration, or of diminished germinating capacity or virulence—7.e. capacity for infection. The positive results, therefore, are purely quantitative. A starved plant develops smaller pu-tules and fewer spores, simp'y because it can offer smaller quantities of food materials to the mycelium in its tissues ; these food-materials, however, are as good in quality as they are in the case of a normal or, highly manured plant. Not only so: the experiments also show that spores developed on starved seedlings can also infect seedlings avhich have been simz/ar/y star ved—lor instance, the few spores obtained from the very minute pustules of a phosphorus-starved seedling can infect another phosphorus-starved seedling just as readily as they can a normal plant, and so on through the series. Consequently, we must infer that predisposition and immunity on the part of the Brome, and impotence and virulence on the part of the Fungus, are alike independent of mere nutrition ; and since the author has shown in previous papers! that these properties are also independent of the anatomical structure of the host-plant, it must be concluded that the phenomena of adaptive parasitism depend on deep-seated peculiarities of the living pro- toplasm of the cells—possibly their capacity for forming enzymes, toxins and antitoxins, chemotactic bodies and the like, although such bodies have as yet resisted all efforts at extraction. The full paper is illustrated with photographs and tables. THE NORTH OF ENGLAND SCIENCE CONFERENCE. THE first annual conference of persons in the north of England concerned in primary, secondary, technical and other forms of higher education, was held at Manchester on January 2 and 3, and proved highly successful. The conference may be regarded as a natural outcome of similar meetings which have for some years past been held annually in London under the auspices of the London Technical Education Board. Many teachers and other educationists from the north of England have, year by year, attended the conferences in London and have become familiar with the benefits to be derived from a dis- cussion of educational methods. Believing that many teachers and others in the northern counties, anxious to reap the advan- tages springing from such meetings, were debarred from attendance by the expense of travelling, a number of prominent educationists in Lancashire and Yorkshire arranged this series of meetings in Manchester, and the phenomenally large attend- ance at all the discussions has fully justified their enterprise. More than three thousand persons accepted invitations to be present, and every meeting was characterised by the greatest enthusiasm. It had been intended to hold all the meetings at the Manchester “Municipal School of Technology, but the number of visitors to be accommodated necessitated the duplication of meetings, and a few days before the commencement of the conference arrangements were made for additional papers to be read in other places at the same time as those originally provided. In addition to the papers and discussions, the executive com- mittee provided exhibitions to illustrate methods of nature- study, the teaching of experimental science, school furniture and other forms of school equipment. Demonstrations on the teaching of light and magnetism were respectively given by Messrs. Adamson and Moore, of the Manchester Technical 1 Pyro. Cambridge Philcs. Soc., vol. xi. 1g02. pp. 307-223; and Annals of Botany, vol. Xvi. 1902, pp- 315. NU. 173 233 2, VOL. 67 | NATURE [January 8, 1903 School; and, in addition, the numerous excellent educational institutions in different parts of the city were thrown open for the inspection of visitors. A conversazione, held at the School of Technology on the evening of the first day of the conference, provided a good opportunity for teachers in different districts to become acquainted. The method of conducting the meetings deserves to be more widely imitated in educational conferences. Immediately after the reading of a paper, the discussion of the subject was opened by one or two speakers of wide experience, who had been previously selected for the purpose and had prepared their remarks, with the result that the discussion was much more helpful to teachers than is usually the case on similitr occasions. Moreover, as printed copies of the papers for discussion could be obtained immediately before the commencement of the meetings, subsequent speakers were able to contribute some- thing of value to the debate, and general remarks having little relation to the subject in hand were reduced to a minimum. Messrs. J. H. Reynolds and H. Lloyd Snape, the honorary secretaries, are to be congratulated upon the complete success of the conference. Half an hour before the commencement of the serious business of the conference, the visitors were welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, and his remarks were warmly endorsed by Dr. Maclure, Dean of Manchester, by Prof. Hopkinson, principal of Owens College, and by other prominent educational authorities of the district. School Curricula. Mr. M. E. Sadler presided at the first meeting of the con- ference, and in his introductory speech dealt with the aims of education. The purpose of all practical inquiry and experiment was, he said, to find the kind of training which would best equip the rising generation for their life as home-makers or wealth- makers, under the actual conditions of the modern world. The reform of the curricula of our schools would, he thought, involve certain practical changes in the conditions under which many English teachers at present worked. Little boys ought not to be prematurely specialised in classical erudition in order to win scholarships at the public schools. In no school should any pupil fail to gain insight into the meaning of scientific method and into the operation of physical laws. In any type of cur- riculum, drawing and other forms of expression by means of the hand should be given a permanent place and should be worked in, as far as possible, in connection with the other subjects of study. There was a need that scientific and experimental study of education should be actively carried on at the universities, with encouragement of similar investigation among teachers already at work in the schools. Miss Burstall, head mistress of the Manchester High School for Girls, then read a paper on the curriculum in different types of schools, in which she endeavoured to find general principles by which school curricula may be tested and, if necessary, amended. Three principles were deduced ; first, the gradual adjustment of the child to the spiritual possessions of the race ; second, that of training ; and third, the theorem that the order of subjects in school life is conditioned by the laws of development of the child. These principles, Miss Burstall contended, lead to a broad rather than a narrow curriculum. The compulsory subjects of the curriculum for all children could be divided into three groups—English, including literature, history and geo- graphy, the humanities; science, ze. arithmetic and nature- study for young children, mathematics and science later ; physical and manual training. Technical education should be reserved for the last year of school life, when the specialised study of mathematics and science required for engineering, or house- wifery and the domestic arts for girls, might be taken up. The subsequent discussion was very animated, and many teachers took part in it. Mr. King, high master of the Manchester Grammar School, contended that the subjects of education did not so much matter as the method in which they were taught. Prof. Armstrong, F.R.S., deprecated a statement of Miss Burstall’s that a child’s reasoning powers developed late. A paper by Mr. W. E. Hoyle, of the Manchester Museum, on the value of natural history collections for teaching purposes, was also read at Owens College during’ the first morning of the conference. January 8, 1903] Coordination of Science Teaching. Frof. Armstrong, F.R.S., took the chair at the afternoon meeting, when Dr. Kimmins read a piper on the coordination and delimitation of science teaching in various grades of schools. He maintained that the aim of rational methods of teaching science was not the acquisition of knowledge, but ra'her the training of the intelligence of the child and the de- velopment of certain mental qualities of the highest value. Useful knowledge had been and was still the curse of science teaching. He urged that the adoption of rational methods in science teaching simplified to a remarkable degree the relation and delimitations of such teaching, and instanced the co- ordination in workshop and laboratory instruction which has been so effectually secured in London schools. In the dis- cussion which followed, Dr. Forsyth emphasised the need of a s und general education for all students who intended later to enter technical colleges. During the afternoon, Canon Rawnsley read a paper at the Central Higher Grade School on the national import of co- education. Elementary Experimental Science. Prof. Smithells occupied the chair at the third meeting, when papers were read by Mr. French, on the teaching of experi- mental physics in its early stages, and by Mr. R. L Taylor, on the similar teaching of experimental chemistry. Mr. French described and approved the methods of teaching elementary physics advocated by the British Association committee and now very generally adopted in secondary schools. Mr. Taylor attacked, in a friendly way, the heuristic method of teaching chemistry as advocated by Prof. Armstrong, an admirable method which, he said, had become an undesirable system. A lively debate ensued, in which many speakers, following Mr. Taylor’s lead, appeared to strive to accentuate the abuses of the ‘‘research” method of teaching chemistry rather than to recognise its many advantages Prof. Armstrong, in replying to Mr. Taylor’s criticisms, said the question at issue was not merely a difference of opinion. There was a great principle at stake, and that principle was— Were they or were they not to train boys and girls at school to think for themselves, to reason for themselves, to do for them- selves, to be thoughtful, observant human beings throughout the time they were at school, whenever they left school, and ever afterwards? The majority of the subjects that were taught and had been taught up to the present day had been taught in an academic, didactic and unpractical way. Britain was what it was because of the individuality of Britishers. Our modern school system was sapping our individuality. It was with the object of avoiding that loss of character that he and others were bringing practical methods into vogue. Prof. Smithells, in a very able speech, summarised the dis- cussion, and traced many of the improvements in the teaching of science in England during the last ten years to the advocacy by Prof. Armstrong of rational methods of teaching, but at the same time pointed out there were extravagances in some of Prof. Armstrong’s utterances which were, perhaps, inseparable from the work of a pioneer, At the Central Higher Grade the heuristic method, Mr. school laboratories. School during the discussion on Lomas read a paper on fitting up The Teaching of Nature-Study. The concluding meeting of the conference was presided over by Prof. Miall, F.R.S. A paper was read by Mr. H. Wager on the methods of nature-study, in which he urged that nature- study in its widest aspects should be regarded as the study of ele- mentary natural science, and should include, in addition to the simple facts of botany, zoology and geology, so much of elementary physics and chemistry as was concerned with the study of air and water, the condensation of moisture, frost, snow, and other simple natural phenomena. The formal study of any branch of science was not implied in it, nor was it desir- able, in the earlier stages, at any rate, that they should be restricted to one branch of science only. The main objects in advocating the inclusion of nature-study in schools were (1) to arouse an interest in natural objects and phenomena, and (2) to develop to some extent the scientific method of dealing with simple problems, by the carelul observation and comparison of facts and drawing inferences from them. - Prof. Weiss afterwards suggested that some portion of public MON 17. 32.. VOL. 67 NATURE 215 ee parks should be made available for nature-study. He disagreed with Mr, Wager, who had deprecated the employment of dia- grams and museums, and said he could not but think that there were many objects from which lessons could usefully be learnt without having the living animal before them. They should first go to the living objects, but useful illustrations could be drawn from other countries, and where they had opportunities they should use them. During the concluding afternoon, Mr. W. C. Fletcher, of Liverpool Institute, read a paper on the teaching of geometry, in which he generally supported the recommendations of the British Association committee. The next conference will be held at Leeds. ats Sh UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. THE annual meeting of the Association of Science Masters in Public Schools will be held at the University of London on January 17. WE learn from the Zzmes that the Treasury has given its assent to the scheme by which Reading Corporation acquires the site and buildings of the University College at a cost of 50,0007, The college, in exchange, obtains a much larger site on the London Road, whereon it is intended to erect a handsome pile of college buildings. From a letter which Sir Michael Foster has addressed to Sir John Rotton, it appears that an election of a new member for the University of London may not be necessary. This news will be received with great satisfaction by most of the electors, for the University has in Sir Michael Foster a representative of the high intellectual standard demanded of an academic con- stituency. Since expressing the wish to resign his seat, the circumstances which suggested that course have, most for- tunately, changed, and he now desires to know whether the graduates wish him to remain their member or not. Canpipares for the Andrew Carnegie research scholarships to be awarded by the Iron and Steel Institute must send in their applications, on a special form, before the end of February to the Secretary of the Institute, 28 Victoria Street, S.W. The object of this scheme of scholarships is not to facilitate ordinary collegiate studies, but to enable students, who have passed through a college curriculum or have been trained in industrial establishments, to conduct researches in the metallurgy of iron and steel and allied subjects, with the view of aiding its advance or its application to industry. There is no restriction as to the place of research which may be selected, whether university, technical school or works, provided it be properly equipped for the prosecution of metallurgical! investigations. Last year the Andrew Carnegie gold medal was awarded to Dr Je AS Mathews, New York, and scholarships, each of the value of 100/., were awarded to O. Boudouard, Paris; W. Campbell, New York ; A. Campion, Coopers Hill; P. Longmuir, Man- chester ; E. Schott, Berlin; and F. H. Wigham, Wakefield. Pror. RoBerTson, the Canadian Commissioner of Agricul- ture and Dairying, recently made a visit of investigation and observation to a portion of the State of Ohio, where re- markable progress has been made in the improvement of rural schools by the plan known as that of consolidation. Instead of having a great number of small school districts, each with iis own little school, these districts are united in one, and a large central school meets the needs of the whole area. The children are conveyed to and from the central school by means of vans atthe expense of the rates. Prof. Robertson sums up some of the advantages afforded by the consolidation of rural schools and the free transportation of pupils. It results in the attend- ance of a larger number of the children in the locality, it brings about a more regular attendance of pupils of all grades of ad- vancement, it ensures teachers of higher qualifications and longer experience in rural schools, it creates conditions for a proper classification of pupils and provides the beneficial influences of fairly large classes of pupils of about equal advancement. It makes it convenient for boys and girlsin rural districts to obtain a high school education without leaving home, and leads to the | erection of better school buildings and more satisfactory equip- | ment. It makes it practicable for rural schools to teach nature- 238 NATURE [JaNuaRY 8, 1903 study, manual training and household science, and for advanced pupils to obtain instruction in agriculture, horticulture and allied subjects. It stimulates public interest in the schools and brings to the pupils of a township an institution in which all can have an equal interest and a worthy pride. Tue address given by Sir J. Wolfe Barry on Tuesday, as president of the Association of Technical Institutions, contained several instructive comparisons as to the position of technical education at home and abroad. For instance, he pointed out that while the matriculated students in German technical high schools number 15,442, the number in the whole of similar institutions and universities of Great Britain is only 3873. But it is not so much the number of students as the spirit in which scientific knowledge is regarded that is of importance to national progress. What is wanted, Sir J. Wolfe Barry remarked, is, first, that the highest intellects among us for research as applied to the arts should be rendered available, and secondly, the best pos- sible directing minds should be discovered and utilised in our manufactures. In other words, the man of science should be encouraged to help in the development of industries. Efforts should be made to ensure that industrial leaders are well equipped with scientific knowledge and the principles of tech- nology, and in our schools less timé should be given to dead languages and more to the efficient study of science, applied mathematics and other subjects demanded by modern life. Finally, everyone should endeavour, each in his own sphere of influence, to direct, without any exaggeration, but with pro- found conviction, the atrention of our commercial classes to the fact that technical education of the best and most thorough kind is an urgent and crying necessity if we are to maintain a lead- ing position among the nations of the world. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, December 11, 1902.—‘‘An Error in the Estimation of the Specific Gravity of the Blood by Hammer- schlag’s Method, when employed in connection with Hydro- meters.” By A. G. Levy, M.D. (London). Communicated by Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S. Hammerschlag’s method may be briefly described as the adjustment of the specific gravity of a mixture of chloroform and benzol by small successive additions of either constituent until it corresponds to the specific gravity of the blood, the test of the attainment of this condition being that a small drop of the blood, when immersed in the mixture, shall remain suspended without any very obvious tendency to rise or sink. The specific gravity of the mixture is then estimated by means of a hydrometer. This method is known to be liable to an error of varying magnitude. The investigation into the source of this error resolved itself into a series of observations upon the effect of the low value of the surface tension of the above mixture upon the readings of hydrometers immersed therein. The surface tension of the mixture may be taken as 2°75 mg. per mm., and that of clean tap water as 7°3 mg. The readings of four different hydrometers when immersed in a mixture of the specific gravity 1’000 are appended :— No. of hydrometer. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Reading of scale in il chloroform — benzol mixture of specific gravity = 1°000 No. 4. | I ‘002 1 003 T*°0095 I‘OIo The author found, however, that the ca/cu/ated errors exceeded in each instance those odserved, and the results are contrasted in the following table :— Hydrometer. Observed error. Calculated error. I 0°002 0°0035 2 0°003 0°0056 3 0'095 00123 4 (oho) fe} 0'0146 The difterence was accounted for satisfactorily by an innate error demonstrated to exist in each hydrometer, evidently due to the standardisation of the instrument in unclean (2.e. greasy) water, which possesses a lower surface tension than 7°3 mg. This appears to be a common fault in hydrometers. NO. 1732, VOL. 67] Chemical Society, December 17, 1902.—Prof. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—A reagent for the identification of carbamide and of certain other nitrogen compounds, by Mr. H. J. H. Fenton. Among the derivatives of methyl-furfural previously described by the author is one which may be either methyl-furil or the isomeric ketone-aldehyde ; this in presence of a trace of acetyl chloride gives with carbamide and monoalkyl carbamides a brilliant blue colour.—The rate of decomposition of diazo-com- pounds, part ii., diazo-compounds of the naphthalene series, by Messrs. Cain and Nicoll. The reaction is monomolecular, but after a time is not strictly so owing to the formation of azo- colours.—State of carbon dioxide in aqueous solution, by Prof. J. Walker. It is shown that obedience to Ostwald’s dilution law in the case of solutions of carbonic acid gas and similar substances affords no evidence as to the amount of real carbonic acid present in solution.—(Qualitative separation of arsenic, antimony and tin, by Prof. J. Walker. The mixed sulphides are dis- solved in soda solution and oxidised with sodium peroxide ; from the solution, stannic oxide is precipitated by boiling with am- monium chloride, whilst arsenic and antimony can be separated in the usual manner.—The hydrates and solubility of barium acetate, by Prof. Walkerand Mr, W. A. Fyffe. The solubility curve consists of three portions, all convex to the axes and repre- senting the solubilities of a trihydrate, monohydrate and anhy- drous salt respectively.—crs- and ¢vazs-88 Dimethylglutaric acid, and the separation of the c/s and ¢rans forms ot substituted glutaric*acids, by Messrs. J. F. Thorpe and W. J. Young. —Constitution of metallic cyanides, by J. E. Marsh. Metallic cyanides, with the exception of those ot silver and mercury, are oxidised by permanganate to cyanates, whence the author con- cludes that in general these cyanides have the isonitrile structure, the exceptions being nitriles.—Auto-reduction of mercury and silver cyanides, by Messrs. Marsh and Struthers.—Note on the action of acids on cellulose, by Miss M. Gostling. The black residue formed when cellulose is heated with strong haloid acids closely resembles the artificial humus obtained by the action of dilute acids on sugars.—Nitrotartaric acid and some of its esters, by Prof. P. F. Frankland, Mr. H. L. Heathcote and Miss Hartle.—The nitration of diethylmonobenzoyl and mono-f toluyl tartrates, by Prof. P. F. Frankland and Messrs. Heathcote and Green. A preliminary description of these derivatives of tartaric acid. —Interchange of halogen for hydroxyl in chloro- and bromo-naphthalenediazonium hydroxides, by Dr. Orton.—Purpurogallin, by Messrs. A. G. Perkin and A. B. Stcven. A description of acyl and alkyl derivatives is given and the products of decomposition by potassium hydroxide are found to be two ketonic substances of the formula C,,H,O;. —Note on the destructive distillation of ethyl gallate, by Mr. A. G. Perkin. In addition to pyrogallol and ethyl alcohol, there is formed 7 per cent. of rufigallic acid ; the latter is alsy produced by the distillation of gallic acid itself.—A series of double chromates, by Mr. S. H. C. Briggs. A double salt of the composition (NH,),Ni(CrO4)o,6H,O and a second of the com- position (NH,),Ni(CrO,).,2N H have been obtained, as well as the corresponding salts of copper, zinc and cadmium, by the action of ammonia on the appropriate dichromates. Linnean Society, December 18, 1902.—Prof. Sydney H. Vines, F.R.S., president, in the chair. —Notes on some Copepoda from the Farde Channel, by Mr. Thomas Scott. Waterlogged and partly decayed pieces of wood are frequently brought up in the dredge, and these fragments harbour Entomostraca. In this manner, some of the rare forms, commented on in this paper, were obtained. Three new species and a new variety of another previously characterised species were described. —The Amphi- poda of the Southern Cross Antarctic expedition, with remarks on bipolarity, by Mr. A. O. Walker. The collection was made between Cape Adare in April, 1899, and Franklin Island in February, 1900, the larger part after the death of the zoologist of the expedition (Mr. N. Hanson) by Mr. Anton Fougner, partly by dredging. The species obtained have a striking resemblance to forms found in Arctic seas, though only one species has been deemed identical, Ampelisca macrocephala, Lilljeb. The author does not put forward any.theory of his own to account for the similarity of forms in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, with their absence from the intervening tropical seas, but he adduces many instances of it, especially the distribution of the genus Orchomenopsis, Sars, which is widely spread in waters of low temperature. One new genus, Oradarea, is described with a single species, from Cape Adare. January 8, 1903] NALURE 239 —The deep-sea isopod, Anuropus branchiatus, Bedd., and some remarks on Bathynomus giganteus, A. M.-Edw., by Dr. H. J. Hansen. The aberrant genus Anuropus was described by Beddard in the report of the Chadlenger, vol. xvii., from a single specimen brought up from 1070 fathoms off the coast of New Guinea. The author has recently examined this specimen during a visit to the British Museum, and supple- ments the original description in several important particulars. Royal Microscopical Society, December 17, 1902. —Dr. Hy. Woodward, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr, Rousselet + exhibited an apparatus designed by Mr. H. Bausch for drawing objects natural size. It was described in the Society’s Journal in 1900, but had not been previously exhibited.—The Rev. R. Freeman read a paper by Mr. F. R. Dixon-Nuttall and himself on the genus Diaschiza which was illustrated by drawings shown on the screen by means of the epidiascope. The authors alluded to the confusion in which this genus of rotifers had remained to the present time and pointed out the errors into which Gosse had fallen. They described the characters of those species which they considered should be included in the genus and also described a new species.—Mr. E. R. Turner gave a description of Lumiére’s process of taking photomicrographs in colours, EDINBURGH. Royal Society, December 1, 1902.—Lord Kelvin, president, in the chair.—Prof. Cossar Ewart read a paper on the callosities of the horse, in which from a study of their occurrence in the foe-us he concluded that the wrist callosity corresponded to the supplementary pad in the foreleg of the dog, and that the hock callosity corresponded to a pad which occurred in the banded ant-eater. There was no evidence of the callosities being rem- nants of glandular organs. The evidence was rather in favour of Beddard’s recent suggestion that they were remnants of tactile organs such as occur in marsupials, lemurs, and the ungulate hyrax.—Prof. Ewartalso read a paper on a new horse from the Western Islands, Agus Caballus Celticus. This newly recognised variety was a pony which took in the west the same place which the Arab took in the east. It agreed with asses and zebras in having no callosities on the hind legs, and it resembled the Przevalsky horse of Central Asia in having short hairs on the upper part of the tail just asin mules. It was yellow dun in colour, had black fetlocks, small head, small ears, prominent eyes, and had stripes and dorsal band, and fragments of stripes on legs, shoulder and face. In many characteristics, it differed decidedly from the Przevalsky horse, and nothing like it was to be found in the east, the recognised home of the Arab. It was found in Iceland, Faeroe, Barra and other small islands of the outer Hebrides, also in Connemara. From the drawings of Paleolithic man and from the bones found in caves, we are able to distinguish two kinds of horses, a large and a small size, and it was suggested that the Celtic pony represented the small-sized horse known to Palzeolithic man. The evidence disproved the once prevalent view that all the various breeds of European horses were descended from the one domesticated stock which originated in the east. Dr. Munro thought that Prof. Ewart’s paper was of great anthropological importance as furnishing additional evidence as to the continuity of man and his domesti- cated animals from Palolithic times, and so giving the coup de grace to a fetish which had existed for many years in this country, that Paleolithic man had died out and all his civilisation become extinct before the appearance of Neolithic man. PARIS. Academy of Sciences, December 29, 1902.—M. Bouquet de Ja Grye in the chair.—M. Mascart was elected a vice-president for the year 1903.—On the presence of argon in the gases from the Bordeu spring at Luchon, and on the presence of free sulphur in the sulphurous water from the cave and its vapours, by M. Henri Moissan. An analysis of the gases from this spring, carefully collected in the absence of air, showed the presence of 2°56 per cent. of argon, 1°22 per cent. of methane, the remainder of the gas consisting of nitrogen. The water and the vapour from it contained free sulphur.—On a new pre- paration of the silicon hydride, Si,H,, by M. Henri Moissan {see p. 233).—Experimental cultures in the Mediterranean region : modifications in the anatomical structure, by M. Gaston Bonnier. Experimental cultures of the same species of plant were made in the same soil at Fontainebleau and at La Garde, NO. 1732, VOL. 67] near Toulon, and a minute account of the anatomical differences observed is given.—On the conditions necessary that a fluid should be in stable equilibrium, by M. P. Duhem.—On the velocity with which the different varieties of X-rays are propa- gated in air and in different media, by M. R. Blondlot. X- rays of varying penetrative power were examined, and the velocities determined in air, paraffin wax, beechwood, vaseline oil and essence of turpentine, and it was found that within the limits of experimental error the velocity of the different varieties of X-rays was the same in all the media, being equal to that of light in air.—On the germinating power of seeds exposed to sunlight, by M. Emile Laurent. Sunlight exerts an injurious influence upon the seeds or dried fruits of the higher plants, the first effect being a delay in the germination and then the death of the embryos. In general, moderately bulky seeds are less sensitive to the effects of sunlight than smaller ones, especially if the latter have dark coatings.—Notice on M. Millardet, by M. Bornet.—Anomalies of the earth’s magnetic field on the Puy de Dome, by MM. b. Brunhes and David. Report by M. Bouquet de la Grye.—New ob- servations on the volcanic eruptions at Martinique, extracts from letters addressed by M, Lacroix to MM. Darboux and Michel Levy.—Observations of the comet d (1902) made at the Observatory of Algiers with the 31°8 cm. equatorial, by MM. Rambaud and Sy. Observations of magnitude, apparent positions of the comet and of comparison stars.— Observations of the Perseids, Leonids and Bielids made at Athens in 1902, by M. D. Eginitis. The Perseids were observed under favourable conditions between August 8 and 13; they were less numerous than in the five preceding years. The conditions for the observation of the Leonids and Bielids were not so favourable. —On entire functions, by M. Hadamard.— Remark relating to my note on the approximate representation of functions, by Ms: W. Stekloff. A correction of an error ina previous note.—On the fundamental formula of Dirichlet re- lating to the determination of the number of classes of definite binary quadratic forms, by M. Mathias Lerch.—An application of the theory of residues to the analytical prolongation of Taylor’s series, by M. Ernst Lindelof.—On a plane represent- ation of space and its application to graphical statics, by M. B. Mayor.—Study of the magnetofriction of the anode bundle, by M. H. Pellat. In previous papers, the author has described a series of phenomena which are produced when a kathode or anode flux is submitted to the action of an intense magnetic fieldand which are inexplicable by the laws of electromagnetism. The assumption of the existence of an anisotropic friction affecting the particles in motion, very great in the sense perpen- dicular to the lines of force of the magnetic field and much less in the direction of the lines of force, serves to explain the observed phenomena perfectly, and the name magnetofriction is proposed as a general name for this phenomenon. Experi- ments are described in which the effect of varying the pressure and nature of the gas is shown.—On the emana'ion from phosphorus, by M. Eugene Bloch. It has been known for some time that air placed in the neighbourhood of a stick of phosphorus becomes a conductor of electricity. The study of this phenomenon having led to contradictory explanations in the hands of Barus, G. C. Schmidt and Harms, further experi- ments have been carried out by the author, who concludes that the conductivity of dry air which has passed over phosphorus is due to ions of very feeble mobility which serve as nuclei of condensation for water vapour, even non-satuated, The question of the exact chem cal mechanism by which these ions are produced, whether their formation is due to the pro- duction of a definite chemical compound such as ozone or an oxide of phosphorus, or to a simple modification of the oxygen, requires further study,—On the Tall effect and the mobility of the ions of a saline vapour, by M. Georges Moureau.—On a new electric accumulator, by M. D. Tommasi. A descrip'ion of the method of constructing the lead plates of an accumulator. The capacity obtained is 17°7 ampere-hours per kilogram of plates.—On the spectra of flames, by M. C. de Watteville. The method of M. Gouy is applied to the study of flame spectra in the ultra-violet. The results given tend to show that temperature is the only factor which influences the constitution of spectra.—On the proportion of hydrogen in atmospheric air, by M. Anatole Leduc. A reply to the criticisms of M. A. Gautier, the author maintaining the accuracy of his original conclusions.—The thermal study of metaphosphoric acid, by M. H. Giran.—On some sources of mineral gases, by 240 An analysis of the gas arising from mineral springs in the region of the Pyrenees. All the gases examined contained argon in amounts varying from 0’9 to 1°8 percent. Only one of the five samples examined could be shown to contain helium.—On cryolites, by M. E. Baud. A thermochemical paper,-On a new method for the volumetric estimation of hydroxylamine, by M. M. L. J. Simon, Hydroxylamine oxalate can be titrated with potassium perman- ganate in neutral solution ina perfectly definite manner, and an exact method for the titration of any salt of hydroxylamine can be based upon this fact. On the method of manufacture of arms of the bronze period, by M. F. Osmond. By the application of the methods of micrographic analysis to specimens of ancient bronze implements, it has been found possible to trace differences in the mode of manufacture, and it is regarded as possible that a methodical study on these lines may lead to the classification of bronze implements with regard to time, — On the composition and constitution of the hydrates of sulphuretted hydrogen, by M. de Forcrand. The method of study is based upon the measurement of the dissociation pressures.—On the dibromide of metho-ethenylbenzene, by M. M. Tiffeneau-—On the syn- thesis of an aromatic hydrocarbon derived from camphor, by M.C, Chabrié. A study of the interaction of benzene and monochlorocamphor in the presence of aluminium chloride.— On a method for transforming monochloro- and monobromo- derivatives of hydrocarbons into monoiodo derivatives, by M. F. Bodroux (see p. 233).—On the decomposition of some di- and tri-basic organic acids, by MM. (ichsner de Coninek and Raynaud. Malonic, succinic, tartaric, malic and citric acids were heated with glycol, glycerol and with sulphuric acid, and the decomposition products noted. —On the nature of the nitrogen compounds which exist in the soil at different heights, by M. C. Andre.— Normal hermaphrodism | in fishes, by M. Louis Roule.— Organic variations in carnivorous ‘owls of the second generation, by M. Frédéric Houssay.—On the origin of the Nelenkirn and the nuclear movements in the spermatid of Notonecta glauca, by MM, J. Pantel and R. de Sinéty.—On the otocysts of polychsetal annelids, by M. Pierre Fauvel.—On the nuclear emissions observed in the Protozoa, by MM, A. Conte andC. Vaney. The conclusion is drawn that the nu- cleus takes part directly in the formation of zymogen grains, and consequently it isof high importance in the phenomena of diges- tion, both intracellular and extracellular.— The organisation of Trepomonas ae by M. P. A. Dangeard.— On intermediary wood, by M. Paul Vuillemin. —The influence of formaldehyde upon the vegetation of some fresh-water Algae, by M. Raoul Bouilhac. § [n presence of light, certain moulds can grow in solutions containing small quantities of formaldehyde, and can utilise the latter as food. —On the vegetation of Lake Pavin, by M. C, Bruyant.—On a conidian form of the fungus of black rot, by M. C. Delacroix.—On some connections between the genesis of metalliferous layers and general geology, by M. L. de Launay.—On the age of the old volcanic formations of Martin- ique, by M. L, Giraud.——On the discovery of a new granitic massif in the valley of the Arve, between Servoz and Les Houches, by MM. FE. Haug and P. Corbin. Cryogenin in fevers, by M, Carriere, Cryogenin (metabenzaminosemicarb- azide) has a marked effect in lowering the body temperature, especially in the case of fevers, and appears to be free from toxic properties. Its antithermic action is variable, but is especially strong in tuberculous subjects. M. Ch, Moureu. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, January 8. MATHEMATICAL Sociery, at 5.30.—A Method of representing Imaginary Points by Real Points in a Plane: Prof. A. Lodge.—On the Mathematical Expression of the Principle of Huygens: Dr, J. Larmor, —Generational slations for the Abstract Group simply Isomorphic with the Linear ractional Group in the Galois Field [2]: Prof. L. &. Dickson.- = connected with the Enumeration of Partitions (second paper) : Rev. re Jackson.—On the Jacobian of Two Binary Quantics Skier Geometrically : Prof. W. S, Burnside. —On the Resolution of some Skew Invariants of Binary Quantics into their Factors in Terms of their Roots : . W.S. Burnside, InNsriTuTION OF KLecTRICAL EnGinerrRs, at 8.—Notes of Recent Electrical Design: W. B. Esson.—Notes on the Manufacture of Large Dynamos and Alternators : I, K. Scott. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9. Rovar Asrronomicar Socirry, at 5.—Preliminary Note on the Possible Lxistence of two Independent Stellar Systems ; &. A Bellamy and H. H. New Double Stars detected with the 17}-inch Reflector in the VOL. 67 | ‘Turner, NO. 1732, NATURE [January 8, 1903 Year 1902: Rev. T. E. anit. —The Sun's Stellar Magnitude, and the Parallax of Binary Stars: J. E. Gore. GrOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION, ‘at 3-30 —The Australian Comméniwenlthe - Sir John A. Cockburn, MONDAY, January 12. Rovat GroGRarPHicaL Society, at 8.30.—Recent Volcanic Eruptions in the West Indies : Dr, Tempest Anderson, TUESDAY, JANUARY 13. Rovat Institution, at 5.—Physiology of Digestion: fadyen. INsTITUTION OF CiviIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electric Automobiles : Joel. Prof. A. Mac- H.F. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14. Society or Arts, at 8.—Industrial Trusts: Prof. W. THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 Rovat Instirurson, at 5 —Pre-Phoenician Writing in Crete and its Bearings on the History of the Alphabet: Dr. A. J. Evans, F.R,S. FRIDAY, JANUARY 16. Institution or Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Measurement of Water : Prof. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S. Rovau InstriruTrion, at 9.—Low Dewar, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF Smart. Prof. Temperature Investigations : MrcnANicaL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Cutting Angles of ‘Tools for Metal Work, as Affecting Speed and Feed: H. F. Donaldson. CONTENTS. PAGE Fire Prevention. By Emeritus. . 217 By iC, VisBiees Two Books on Immersed Ships. 218 Wolley’s Collection of Birds’ Eggs ; 219 The Wanderings of a Naturalist in South America. By J. W.E.. 220 Our Book Shelf :— Massee: ‘‘ European Fungus-Flora, Agaricacece 221 Porter : a eae Introduction to Physiology.”— E. H. Rho. Bag Efi 222 Groth : othe Potash ‘Salts ; “their Production, and Application to Agriculture, Industry and Horti- culture.”,—R. W. .. . Petes 222 Ikin and Lyster : ‘‘ Advs anced Hygiene” on FS eg ome ae Smith: ‘ Material of Machines”? 4. 1.. 1 «tsetse 222 Letters to the Editor :— Traces of Past Glacial Action in the Orange River’ Colony, South Africa.—G, E. H. Barrett- Hamilton r +, 225 Risley’s ‘‘ Tribes of Bengal. —S; M. Jacob. vay 223 Local Floras of India, —W., Boyne. Hemsley, FRUS: ; The Reviewer. .. . 223 The Similarity of the Short- reno Barometer Pressure Variations over Large Areas. (With Diagrams.) By Dr. William J. S. Lockyer. . 224 Education in Germany and England. By Dr, F. Mollwo Perkin .. . ‘ Pe A eS Tidal Currents in the Gulf at St. Lawrence, By GRAD ee ea Cu Johannes Wislicenus 228 Notes Cie of Gor oe Achay Sra 3 ct) Our Astronomical Golanint — Comet 1903 @ . . Lose eel 5 CR Observations of Variable Stars Care vit Frac’ 25 The Spectrum of « Aurige . . . +e pT eR Observations with a Binocular Telescope . + 1233) Recent American Botany. (/V2th Diao By Prof, TD; A, Cockerell . 4) 3 Aboteris tc fe 227)! Earthquake Observations in Galicia. By Prof. J. Milneniierens:) 6 0 n> > oon 235 Pilot Charts of the Meteorslagicall Office 235 Starving a Parasite . : 0 Leas The North of England Science ‘Conference, By Aw TeiStigear es : ; Te 236 University and Educational Intelligence 3) leach vane Re Societies and Academies . . . 238 240 Diaryfofi SOGienies a0 ees At rm EAP ic) NA TURE 24% THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1903. THE HOLY SHROUD OF TURIN. Le Linceul du Christ; Etude scientifique. By Paul Vignon, Dr. @ Sci. Nat. Pp. 207 and 9 photo- gravures. (Paris: Masson et Cie, 1902.) The Shroud of Christ. By Paul Vignon, D.Sc. (Fr.). Translated from the French. Pp. 170; 9 photogravures and collotype plates and 38 illustrations. (West- minster ; Archibald-Constable and Co., Ltd., 1902). Price 125. 6d. net. HETHER the relic described, figured and dis- cussed in this handsomely got up volume is the veritable shroud which enwrapped the body of Christ is a question which need not be seriously considered in the columns of a scientific publication. Dr. Vignon seems to have convinced himself that the relic is genuine, and his object in publishing this work is (presumably) to con- vince his readers, or at any rate to place before them the evidence on which his conclusions are based. So far as the antiquarian evidence goes, it will suffice to remind readers of NATURE that during the recent controversy— which appears to have been the last of a series of con- troversies concerning the authenticity of the relic in question—Father Herbert Thurston, S.J., communicated a letter to the 7zmes of April 28, from which we make a few extracts :— ‘“*The Abbé Ulysse Chevalier claims to have proved to demonstration that the linen winding-sheet exhibited at Turin is a spurious relic manufactured in the fourteenth century, and, as the writer believes, with fraudulent intent.” “We are not, of course, in any way bound to believe that those responsible for the subsequent veneration of this alleged relic have been guilty of conscious fraud. It may even in the first instance have been fabricated with- out intent to deceive. . . . Just as inthe case of so many facsimiles of the Holy Vails, what was in the first instance a mere copy for devotional purposes has come in time to figure as an original, the wish, no doubt, being father to the thought, but probably without any deliberate in- sincerity.” Thus, out of the seven chapters composing this work, there are but two which come within our province, viz., chapter vi., in which the author deals with the scientific evidence, and chapter vii. more particularly, in which he puts forward an explanation of the image which is to be seen on the shroud. The antiquarian lore of the pre- ceding chapters has no particular interest for us, and we may add, further, that the question whether the shroud is the real article or whether it was ‘‘ faked” in the four- teenth century is a point which in no way affects the discussion of Dr. Vignon’s scientific evidence, because the explanation with which we have to deal is equally miraculous whether the image is some twenty centuries old or whether it is only six hundred years old. It will be necessary, in order that our readers may judge the issue raised by Dr. Vignon’s étude | scien- lifique, to give a brief description of the relic, facsimile reproductions of which are given in photogravure plates showing respectively the full-length image and the head only on an enlarged scale. The impression, according to the description and figure, is that of a human body un- NO. 1733, VOL. 67 | draped, with hands crossed, with a long face terminating in a beard, with hair over the lips and long hair lying along each side of the face; in brief, the face of Christ as made familiar by the great masters of the old Italian school, This description, of course, applies only to the front aspect. ‘The back view is such as would be pre- sented by the same body if seen from behind or if it pro- duced an impression on the linen while lying on its back, the front aspect being produced (on the assumption that it isan impression) by drawing the same shroud lengthways. over the face of the prostrate body. The shroud would evidently in these circumstances (again assuming that the body impressed its image) show the two figures, front and back view, on being opened out, the figures. being joined head to head, and this is declared to be the state of affairs visible on the holy shroud. The image is said to be formed of reddish-brown shades and what is of fundamental importance to the author’s theory —the lights and shades are reversed, 7.c. the impression corresponds toa photographic negative. In consequence, the true aspect of the features only appears when the image is reversed by being photographed, and this is well shown in the plates referred to, from which the reader will be enabled to compare the image with its photographic reverse. There are many other marks on the shroud which are caused by rents, stains, burns, pieces clipped out, &c., all of which naturally appear in the photographs. We fail to see the importance of the over- elaborated details of description with which the author treats of these marks, unless it be to establish his claim for the authenticity of the relic from the antiquarian point of view. With this we have nothing to do here ; scientifically, these marks appear to us to have no value whatever. It remains to be pointed out that the author, so far as can be gathered from his writings, has never seen this relic himself, but has relied upon the descriptions of others, upon a water-colour copy made in 1898 and upon photographs taken by M. Pia, by M. Fino and others in the same year when the shroud was allowed to be on view for eight days. We suppose that Dr. Vignon is satisfied that the image, as it appears on the shroud, is really a negative impression and that the photographic plates have not been tampered with, although we confess that for an ¢/ude scientifique we should have expected some more substantial and first-hand verification of these funda- mental statements. We will, however, let all this pass and meet the author half-way, and admit that there is a negative image of a human figure on the linen, and this brings us to the core of the subject, which is embodied in the query:—Apart from the question of age, how was this image produced ? Now according to the author’s descriptions, which, we may repeat, are given in ridiculously minute detail, there are visible on the head and on the body itself certain marks which we are asked to believe to repre- sent blood stains, lacerations and wounds, and we are even given an illustration of the particular kind of “flagrum” with metal buttons which the Romans used. In fact, the description as given by the New Testament writers is, if we are to accept the author’s statements, so faithfully and so minutely verified by the figure on the shroud that the ordinary reader who is not thirsting for M 242 WATURE [JANUARY 15, 1903 new “ evidences,” but who is simply anxious to know the actual facts of the casé, will probably come to the con- clusion that Dr. Vignon is either the victim of credulity or that he has overdone his evidence to such an extent as to have damaged his own reputation as an expert scientific witness. The plates certainly do not tally with the details of the markings as described in the text ; but here again it may be that there is much lost by the heliographic reproduction and that the author is describing the original photographic plate, which he is promoted to the rank of lieutenant on gaining the same qualifying watch- keeping certificate as at present. All those who have passed their examinations exceptionally well will, as now, receive accelerated promotion. Then comes a selection by the Admiralty of those among them who are to be trained as specialists in gunnery, torpedo work or navigation ; these will go to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich for special courses. We presume that this “selection” for training as specialists represents a promotion for those so selected. After five years’ seniority in the rank of lieutenant, all officers will have to pass an examination for promotion to the rank of commander in certain technical subjects. JANUARY 29, 1903] NATURE 291 These are :— Court-martial procedure, International law, Knowledge of British and foreign warships, guns, torpedoes, «c., Naval history, Signals, Strategy, Tactics and battle formation. This examination as it exists at present in the scheme is to be undergone alike by those who are engaged in the specialised scientific duties in the ship, with all their responsibilities, and those—under existing practice a much larger number—who have under the scheme no specialised scientific duties. Nowit is obvious that these latter will be under much better conditions for preparing for an examination, and that the former will have no opportunity of letting their specialised duties tell in the examination, so that the effect of it will be to favour the promotion of those who were not selected to perform specialised duties. The Engineer Branch. On this differentiation, the engineer officers, sub- lieutenants about the age of nineteen, instead of going to sea for two years like the executive officers, will go to the college at Keyham for a professional course, the exact duration of which will be subsequently determined. At the expiration of this course, a proportion will be selected to go to Greenwich for a further course, while the remainder gotosea. They will then, if found quali- fied, all be promoted to be lieutenants under the same conditions as the executives. The nature and duration of the special course at Greenwich will be very carefully determined, and an opportunity will be afforded to those officers selected for it to make themselves acquainted with the latest developments of engineering science, not only at Greenwich, but at the great civil engineering establishments and institutions which are to be found in the country. The engineers are now to be put on an equality with the executive officers, the ranks and uniform being as- similated, but with a difference, for while the executive officers specially trained for navigation (N), gunnery (G) and torpedo (T) lose these letters when promoted to be captains, the engineers are to retain the special (E) to the rank of Rear-Admiral (E), and as a solatium for not being allowed to command a ship are to receive higher pay and are promised “high appointments.” Whether this arrangement will be carried out when the time comes, some twenty years hence, the future will show. In all the discussions on the complexity of the machinery of the modern man-of-war, the as great or greater com- plexity of the old sailing three-decker seems to have been entirely lost sight of. The Royal Marines. With regard to the sub-lieutenants drafted to the Royal Marines, we read as follows :— “ After his final examination as sub-lieutenant along with the future executive and engineer officer, the young Royal Marine officer will receive his special military training during the next two years partly at the college at Greenwich and partly at the headquarters of divisions or the depot ; the training of all these officers will be NO. 1735, VOL. 67] extended so as to correspond more closely to the training now received by the young officers of the Royal Marine Artillery ; and after this two years’ training, the young Marine officer will receive the rank and pay of lieutenant of marines so as to put him financially on an equality with the executive sub-lieutenant. As in the case of the executive lieutenants, specially good officers will qualify as gunnery and torpedo lieutenants, provided that they have kept watch at sea for one year, have passed the test examination for qualifying for gunnery and torpedo lieutenants, and have been specially selected and recom- mended. . . . The future Royal Marine officer will thus become available for keeping watch at sea and for general executive duties on board ship up to and including the rank of captain of marines.” Such is a short abstract of a scheme which we believe will be of the utmost value to the Naval Service. Educationally and scientifically, it has so much to recom- mend it that its authors, and chief among them, Lord Rosebery tells us we must hold Sir John Fisher, are to. be warmly congratulated. Only one conclusion can be drawn from the scheme as. a whole; many of the anticipated difficulties will have vanished before it comes into full operation some ten years hence, and the effect of the practical work in pure science now to be generally introduced for the first time, and the opportunities the officers will have of becoming acquainted and being responsible for every class of duty, both scientific and administrative, will weld them into a homogeneous body each member of which should have had his brain-power so thoroughly developed that the greatest scientific skill will generally be combined with the highest powers of organisation. At present, it would seem, the very opposite is the case, for otherwise the present Admiralty system of promotions cannot be defended. Nor is the difference in the treatment of the various branches limited to the promotions. Certain lieutenants are at present selected for certain specially scientific duties ; this leaves a large residuum not so selected. Special allowances are given to the navigating, gunnery and torpedo lieutenants in a ship, but the first lieutenant, who may be taken as the repre- sentative of the large body of non-specialists, not only gets a smaller allowance, but has to spend money in eking out the Admiralty’s meagre supply of paint. The allowance paid to the navigating officer is the highest, and it might be assumed, therefore, that his duties are considered important ; but what happens to him? We are informed that of 187 commanders pro- moted captains between June, 1592, and June, 1902, only 16, that is I in 11, have specially studied navigation and all that navigation means, and had the real handling of battleships in tactical exercises. Further, that these 16 have been promoted so late that none of them, in ordinary circumstances, can become admirals on the active list. Recent sad experiences both with flag-ships and smaller craft—1oo ‘“‘accidents” to torpedo boats and t.b.d.’s in two years—have taught us that the best admiral and the best commander even of a torpedo boat will be he who knows most about what ships can do in various circumstances and how to make them do it. The most instructed navigator will always be the safest tactician. Leading a great fleet into action and drilling men in the 2) 292 duties performed in a single ship are vastly different affairs. The present system, however, as we have seen, bars the promotion of a navigating officer to the higher ranks. So that all the admirals, the future leaders of our battle fleets, eventually to be selected from among the 187 captains to whom we have referred, will be the least instructed and least practised in navigation and all that | navigation means in the way of handling ships. Weare told that information with regard to the promo- | tion of gunnery and torpedo officers is much more difficult to obtain, but this is of little importance, as their functions are necessarily limited to single ships and can have no bearing on tactics or the leading of fleets into | action. To the plain man, this result seems curious. Other reasons than that we have suggested have been given, but whatever the reason may be—we are not concerned either to attack or defend the Admiralty—we may hope that under the new system the apparent paradox will disappear, and it seems a pity to wait until then. There is one part of the scheme of instruction which calls for criticism in a scientific journal. We read of special schools of gunnery, engineering and torpedo work, but no school of navigation is referred to. It is a question whether an officer who has been generally trained and has been six years at sea will derive any benefit from going toa land college to learn navigation. What is really wanted to complete the scheme on true scientific lines is a navigation school afloat at this period of the officers career where each member of the batch could take charge, under proper supervision of course, not only in tideways and strong currents, among traffic and in entering and leaving harbours, but in the open Atlantic. This condition might be utilised by sending Marconi ethergrams, which would not only enable the Meteor- ological Office vastly to improve its service, but would give the young officers an interest in meteorology, a science which is still important to those who go to sea, though we find no reference to itin the memorandum. Another important point that would be gained by this method of procedure would be to teach the officer that the roll of his ship will depend to some extent upon its presentation to the sea running at the time, so that there will be courses on which the fighting platform can be made more stable than on others. With homogeneous fleets, this may replace the “getting to windward ” of old days preparatory to a naval engagement. A PSYCHOLOGIST ON EVOLUTION. Development and Evolution; including Psychophysical | Evolution, Evolution by Orthoplasy, and the Theory of Genetic Modes. By James Mark Baldwin, Ph.D. Princeton, Hon. D.Sc. Oxon., LL.D. Glasgow, Stuart Professor in Princeton University. Pp. xvi + 392. (New York: The Macmillan Company; London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price tos. 6d. net. HE theory of evolutionary method to which the name of ‘Organic Selection” has been generally applied was independently originated by Profs. Baldwin, Osborn and Lloyd Morgan. It has been accepted in its main NO. 1735, VOL. 67] NATORE [JANUARY 29, 1903 features by many leading biologists, who see in it a probable interpretation of numerous facts which have hitherto been felt as difficulties in the way of the Dar- winian explanation of evolutionary processes. It has even been considered to afford a prospect of reconciliation between the Neo-Lamarckians and the impugners of the hereditary transmission ot acquired characters, though there can be no doubt that for the former party its adoption would mean nothing less than the surrender ot the central citadel of their position. Inthe present volume, Prof. Baldwin has not only given a detailed account of the theory in all its bearings, but has also brought together in the form of appendices the original statements of the same principle by Osborn and Lloyd Morgan, besides valuable comments by other authorities, including Prof. Poulton, Prof. Conn and Mr. Headley. The reader of “ Development and Evolu- tion” is thus furnished with ample material for forming a | judgment on the significance of the views summed up under the general headings of “Organic Selection” and “ Orthoplasy.” The relation of these views to the theories that may be roughly grouped as “preformist” on the one hand and “Tamarckian” on the other is stated by Prof. Baldwin with admirable clearness as follows :— “If we give up altogether the principle of modification by use and disuse, and the possibility of new adjustments in a creature’s lifetime, we must go back to the strictest preformism. But to say that such new adjustments in- fluence phylogeneti€ evolution only in case they are in- herited is to go over to the theory of Lamarckism. Now the position is that these individual adjustments are real (versus preformism), that they are not inherited (versus Lamarckism), and yet that they influence evolution. These adjustments keep certain creatures alive, so put a premium on the variations which they represent, so ‘determine’ the direction of variation and give the phylum time to perfect as congenital the same functions which were thus at first only private accommodations. Thus the same result may have come about in many cases as if the Lamarckian view of heredity were true. The general principle, therefore, ‘hat new adjustments effected by the individual may set the direction of evolution without the inheritance of acquired characters is what was considered new and was called organic selection.” (Italics Prof. Baldwin’s.) In claiming elsewhere that the “broader principle of organic selection from certain points of view is new,” the author is careful to allow that it was not only in some degree foreshadowed by Darwin, but that in the special instance of ‘social heredity” (better called ‘‘ social trans- mission”) its importance has been emphasised by Wallace and other writers. “Of course, to us all,” as Prof. Baldwin says,‘ ‘ newness’ is nothing compared with ‘ true- ness’” ; nevertheless, the credit undoubtedly belongs to him of having independently discerned the real signifi- cance in evolution of individual adjustments, and of having‘been perhaps the first to put the relation between ontogeny and phylogeny, and between organic and social evolution, on a basis that should be satisfactory at once to the biologist and the philosopher. It must not be forgotten that Prof. Baldwin is primarily a psychologist, andsis apt to consider evolutionary ques- tions largely from the psychological standpoint. In expounding his idea of the “psychophysical unit ” ; in his JANUARY 29, 1903] NATURE 293 revision (to our mind abundantly justified) of Herbert Spencer and Bain’s theory of “overproduced move- ments” in mental ontogeny ; and especially, perhaps, in the tracing of his own theory of knowledge to its out- come in the doctrine of “genetic modes,” he often uses a notation which to biologists as such may seem somewhat unfamiliar. No one, however, who is at the pains to follow him through his chains of argument, often intricate, but with few exceptions consistent and intelligible, will be inclined to deny the great service he has done in submit- ting the problem of organic development to philosophical analysis. It will be satisfactory to those biologists who still re- gard Darwin and Wallace as the true founders of a rational theory of evolution that the author, in demon- strating the inadequacy and improbability of use- inheritance, and in rightly laying stress on the importance of individual adjustment and of social transmission, does most explicitly assert the dominance of natural selection. “The value of accommodation,” he allows, “is implicit in the theory of natural selection,’ and in more than one place (as in chapter xii., with its comprehensive table of the various kinds of “selection’’) he expresses his con- currence with Prof. Poulton’s statements to the same effect. Thereis thus no room to doubt of his attitude towards the general question ; but it is somewhat sur- prising, and, we think, regrettable, that in the case of the “highest and most specialised form of accommodation,” viz., the intelligence, Prof. Baldwin speaks of the re- sulting ‘emancipation from the operation of natural selection and from dependence upon variations” in a way that seems open to misconstruction. There can be no such emancipation inthelong run. Maturam expelles furci, tamen usgue recurret. Whatever allowance we make for individual adjustment to environment, whether it be intelligent or not, there will be no reason to say that “‘the struggle for existence is in some degree done away with” unless we limit our outlook to variations other than variations in plasticity. It is true that the struggle is transferred “in some degree” to the sphere of the latter, but the “ direct action of natural selection” is not thereby evaded. All individuals but a few (comparatively) are still eliminated in virtue of the same failure of correspondence with the environment ; only this failure is, or may be, in the indi- vidual’s power of accommodation, not in his invariable or fixed endowment. If, on the other hand, we were to hold, as Prof. Osborn seems to do, that this plasticity is an inherent power or function of protoplasm undirected and uncontrolled by natural selection, we should, of course, find ample reason for Prof. Baldwin’s expres- sions. But he makes it elsewhere perfectly clear that he differs on this point from Prof. Osborn, and we there- fore think that he would do well on a future occasion to avoid the appearance of putting plasticity, in its relation to selection, on a footing distinct from that of other qualities. It would be hard to show that any character- istic property of protoplasm did not take its share in the “fundamental endowment of life” and was not “ part of its final mystery.” Where, then, is the justification for claiming an exemption for one property which is not claimed for all ? We should have much more to say, did space permit, NO. 1735, VOL. 67] in commendation of this excellent and stimulating book. Many of the points raised are enticing subjects for dis- cussion, but those features that call for adverse criticism are few in number and of little importance. The plan of the work, several chapters of which have already appeared under other conditions, necessarily involves a certain want of system and concentration ; nor must the reader expect to find allthat deals with one part of the subject gathered into one place. On the other hand, the author is enabled to enforce his arguments by repetition, and,as a sentence in his preface reminds us, “to the psychologist, at least, repetition has its pedagogical justification.” F. A. D. A HISTORY OF AERONAUTICS. Travels in Space. By E. Seton Valentine and F. L. Tomlinson. With an Introduction by Sir Hiram S. Maxim. Pp. 328; with about sixty illustrations. (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1902.) ie appears to be a growing practice in this country to publish books with a preface by some man of dis- tinction, whose name figures prominently on the cover. It is a pity that publishers cannot agree to discountenance this practice. Either a book is worth reading without the recommendation or it is not worth reading even with it. Not but what the introduction in this case is worth reading. The task which Messrs. Valentine and Tomlinson have had before them has been no easy one. They have no doubt derived considerable help from the French “Histoire des Ballons” and other books of a similar character, but even with that help they must have had to wade through a large mass of literature and then to sum up the principal points in a very short compass, all of which takes much time. The authors are greatly to be congratulated on the success with which they have com- pleted their undertaking. The designs of Leonardo da Vinci, the fantastic project of Lourenco, the abortive attempts at flight by Besnier and De Bacqueville, the balloon ascents of Montgolfier, Pilatre de Rozier, Blanchard, Nadar, the impossible air-ships of Pétin and De Landelle, the actual glides of Lilienthal, Pilcher, Chanute, Santos Dumont rounding the Eiffel Tower, the Pax disaster, all these give a very inadequate idea of the large number of designs, projects, ascents, descents, successes, failures and fatalities described in these pages. There are few people so well versed in the history of aérial navigation that they would not learn something new and interesting on reading the present volume. The authors confine themselves to the task of chronicling and describing, and do not indulge in lengthy speculations as to the future of the flight-problem. Seeing how uncertain that future is, they have acted wisely. At the same time, Sir Hiram Maxim points out that the book may have a useful purpose in the near future in preventing others from repeating experiments that have previously been tried and failed. The list of aéronauts who have met their death as the result of their aérial experiences since 1783 should be a warning to future experimenters or would-be experimenters. Theo- retical considerations, numerical calculations and mathe- matical formule lie outside the scope of this book. 294 NATURE [JANUARY 29, 1903 A reviewer usually likes to point out omissions, but the only one as yet noticed is that of the very recent experiences of Wilbur Wright and his brother. And evidently there are two accounts of Degen’s attempts, of which the more improbable one is here given. According to the other, his machine would not rise until he attached it to a balloon. The illustrations are excellent, but it may be as well to warn the reader that when he sees a picture of an aéronaut sailing over houses, trees, mountains, rivers and even pyramids in an extraordinary looking machine, it is not to be supposed that the journey depicted was ever performed, or even that the machine was necessarily constructed in the forms shown. Readers of the “Histoire des Ballons” will remember the fantastic figures of flying men in that book and will not be sur- prised to find a few of the types reproduced here, but now that experiments have been successfully made in directed navigation through the air, it would be well if some indication could be given on illustrations in future books showing at a glance whether the flight which they depict is a real flight or a mere flight of the imagination. G. H. BRYAN. TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM. United States Magnetic Declination Tables and Tsogonic Charts for 1902. By L. A. Bauer. Pp. 405. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.) flees activity of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Department in carrying out a magnetic survey of the States and outlying territories has long been a subject of interest to magneticians, and in this book we have the first complete information on the results of that survey up to January 1, 1902, as regards the one element magnetic declination. Tables, giving every observation made, occupy 142 pages, including positions, date of observation, values observed and values reduced to 1902, followed by the name of the observer or authority. The succeeding 138 pages are devoted to descriptions of the magnetic stations occupied by the Survey between 1881 and July, 1902. The accompanying chart of “‘ Lines of Equal Magnetic Declination” is based on the results plotted at about 5000 points, embodying all the latest declination data of known value. The lines are true isogonals, drawn with considerable sinuosities, representing the results of actual observation and showing disturbances from normal values, but as these latter have not yet been calculated, the amount of disturbance and the centres of disturbance have not been ascertained. The chart for Alaska gives normal lines of the magnetic declination calculated from all available observations, there being too few of the latter from which to draw true isogonals. A welcome addition to the tables and charts will be found in the opening chapter under the heading “Principal Facts relating to the Earth’s Magnetism,” showing our present state of knowledge of terrestrial magnetism and the vast field open to future observers and students of that branch of science. NO. 1735, VOL. 67] In this chapter, the evolution of the compass is treated boldly and agreeably with the evidence of the best authorities, and one rather looks for the date and the name of the first person who applied that very important addition to the mariner’s compass—its suspension in gimbal rings. It is clear that the use of this suspension was implied by Pedro de Medina in his “Arte de Navigacion” of 1545, and was accurately described as part of a compass by Martin Cortés in his “Arte de Navigacion” of 1556, but they leave the inventor’s name in obscurity. Turning to the subject of Gilbert’s work, “De Mag- nete,” the author remarks on the “intolerance and lack of appreciation of the work of his predecessors” shown by Gilbert. When, however, one reads the account given by the latter of the mass of ignorance and superstition he had to battle with and relinquish to “the moths and worms ”—such as the medicinal properties of the lode- stone and its uses as a detector of immoralityand many other ‘‘ vanities” —we can hardly wonder at their beget- ting a spirit of intolerance in him. Even ‘the Onyon and Garlick myth” which he so denounced was revived in 1885 by an inventor who proposed the use of the juice of the common Dutch red onion as a magnetic screen. Possibly some readers of the present work will think the author has not quite done full justice to Gilbert. On p. 60, the authority of the late Prof. Eschenhagen is given for the statement that the effects of earthquakes on the magnetic needle are ‘“‘entirely mechanical.” As the more recent investigations of Prof. Milne point to an opposite conclusion, there is evidently room for further inquiry as to how far the disturbances observed are due to magnetic causes or not. In the article on magnetic observatories, some useful details are given of the structure of the magnetic observ- atory at Cheltenham, Maryland, where, although it is built entirely above ground, the diurnal change of tem- perature has been reduced to a few tenths of a degree, and further reduction is looked for. In conclusion, it may be remarked that some of the illustrations are taken from rare prints, and their repro- duction cannot fail to be of great interest to many who may not have the means of seeing the originals. Pleased as the investigator may be with the valuable results con- tained in this book, he will look forward with enhanced interest to a similar publication relating to the magnetic inclination and force, both of which have been so exten- sively observed in the United States. OUR BOOK SHELF. Letters on Reasoning. By J. M. Robertson. +248. ~(London: Watts and Co., 1902.) THIS book is in the form of letters addressed to the author’s children, and is lucidly and fluently written. Mr. Robertson’s counsels upon the duty and importance of clear thought and scrupulous candour in reasoning are excellent, and it is to be hoped the children to whom the letters are addressed will profit by them. It isa pity Mr. Robertson does not always follow his own good advice. In the constant polemic against theism, to which he recurs in chapter after chapter, he often un- consciously misrepresents the case against which he is Pp, xxvili JANUARY 29, 1903 | arguing, and his own reasoning is not unfrequently vicious. Thusit is hardly fair to the advocates even of the crudest form of the “ design” hypothesis to meet Paley’s argument about the traveller who finds the watch in the desert with the retort that the argument assumes the desert at least to be “undesigned.” All that is as- sumed is that the desert, whether “designed” or not, does not, like the watch, exhibit design of a specific kind recognisable by the traveller. And Mr. Robertson’s own chief argument against theistic design, that an infinite series, such as the “ totality of events,” cannot have any specific predicates beyond the one predicate of ‘“in- finity,” is surely very doubtful. If I can make predications about the infinite series of the natural numbers (such as, é.g., that every member of it has a next term, that every member is commensurable with every other), why not of the infinite series of “events?” Similarly, the argu- ment used in discussing psychological determinism, that no one predicate, such as, ¢.g., “free,” can be applied to all volitions, since they are an infinite series belonging to no wider species, is really fallacious. For in psychology the very need of a precise definition of a volition compels us to distinguish volitions from other psychical states, such as impulses, cravings, resolutions, and volitions thus come to be an infinite series, no doubt, but an infinite series of which the law of formation is known. NATURE 295 and instructions are not as much things of the past as the solid-tyred ordinary ? Mr. Philip has, however, done much to improve Watt’s book, especially in the chapters which he has added. Chapters il. and ill. of the second part, dealing with the cost of electrolytic copper refining and with the many important details of that industry, are particularly to be commended. Taken altogether, this new edition is, like the older ones, a good and valuable book, and our only cause of complaint against Mr. Philip is that he has somewhat missed the opportunity of bringing it properly up to date. M. S. The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School. By Alexander Smith, B.Sc., Ph.D., and Edwin H. Hall, Ph.D. Pp. xiii + 377. (London: Longmans, Green and Co.,1902) Price 6s. net. | THIs book, which belongs to the American Teachers Series, is well worthy of the attention of those who are engaged in the teaching of chemistry and physics, whether in schools or universities. It contains an able and temperate discussion of nearly every important | question of method that arises in connection with the The infinity of such a series in no way excludes specific | Mr. Robertson presumably thinks ?is a series of which we do not know the formative law. But this is just what he has to prove against the theist. He is not entitled to assume the point at issue as if it were a self-evident axiom of thought. It is much to be regretted that the author allows him- self to exhibit a zeal which too often degenerates into partisan rancour against his “religious” opponents. A man is not necessarily either dishonest or stupid because he holds opinions on these subjects other than those of Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Robertson does not strengthen his case by writing as if he were so. ASE als predication about it. that the “totality of events ’ Electio-plating and Electro-re ning. A. Philip. Pp. xxiv + 680. (London: wood and Co., 1902.) Price 12s. 6d. net. THE late Alexander Watt’s book on teio-denositen was well known as a standard work on the subject, but for some time it has been out of date both in subject- matter and in method of treatment. Mr. Arnold Philip, in editing and largely rewriting a new edition, has per- formed a service which was much required, but it is to be regretted that he has not been sufficiently thorough in his work of revision. Perhaps this is due to a desire on his part to retain as far as possible the form of the original book, but there can be little question but that by entirely recasting it and putting the vast amount of useful information it contains in a form more suited to modern ideas and developments he would have been performing a more valuable service. It is, for example, rather out of date to give instructions for carrying out different operations in terms of Wollaston, Smee, Daniell or other batteries. We hope that the number of electro-platers using such sources of electricity is at the present day small, but even if it is considerable it is eminently desirable that a book such as this should make use of scientific units. To take one other example, we were surprised to find that the section devoted to nickel- ing bicycles described the operations to be performed in taking to pieces an old-fashioned “ordinary” and en- tirely disregarded the existence of the modern safety or pneumatic tyres. Such a fault as this, possibly not of much importance in itself, has the grave defect of de- stroying the reader’s confidence in the rest of the work ; how is the student to feel sure that the numerous recipes NO. 1735, VOL. 67] By A. Watt and Crosby Lock- teaching of chemistry and physics, and it has the great merit of being neither wordy nor pedantic. It willbe a surprise to many English teachers to see how thoroughly this subject is being handled in America. Itis, unfortunately, not possible in the limits set to this notice to give illustrations of the treatment of the subject by the two American professors. If the book is read in this country as it deserves to be, it will tend to induce a more philosophical attitude towards the extremely difficult and important question of teaching physical science in the earlier stages. A. SMITHELLS. By C. O. Waterhouse. Edited by Index Zoologitus. (London: Zoological D. Sharp. Pp. xii + 421. Society, 1902.) For the last twenty years, the “ Zoological Record ” has contained an appendix of the new generic and subgeneric names recorded annually in its pages. These lists have been combined, with the addition of such names of earlier date as were omitted from Dr. Scudder’s “ No- menclator Zoologicus,” published in 1882, and the result is the present volume, which includes the period from 1880 to 1900. The value of such a compilation to work- ing zoologists cannot be overestimated, and the author and editor, as well as those gentlemen by whom they were assisted, by the completion of their laborious task have earned a debt of gratitude beyond the power of thanks to repay. The present volume includes about 40,000 names, of which some 6000 belong to the period before 1800; an idea may therefore be formed of the enormous rate at which new names are growing. Many of these, like those in earlier lists, are, of course, syno- nyms, but the editor is of opinion that some 80,000 generic and subgeneric names are actually used in zoology. A glance at almost any page in the volume before us will show that much still remains to be done in purging the list on account of the same name being used for two or more groups, but this did not come within the province of the compilers. How near the list approaches completeness must depend to a great degree on the thoroughness, or other-. wise, with which the various contributors to the “ Zoo- logical Record” have done their work. Personally, the writer feels responsible for at least one omission—the genus Dinocynops, proposed by Ameghino in 1898—and probably he is not the only offender. Such omissions detract, however, in no way from the careful and pains- taking manner in which the compilers have executed their task, and we can but repeat our sense of the obligation under which they have placed all working naturalists. Roles 296 NATURE [ JANUARY 29, 1903 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by hts correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] Genius and the Struggle for Existence. WILL you allow me to supplement the excellent reply of Sir Oliver Lodge to your correspondent Mr. G. W. Bulman by a few remarks dealing more specifically with that gentleman’s difficulty, which is one very widely felt, but is, I believe, founded on a misconception ? The words ‘‘useful” and ‘‘advantage” have two distinct meanings, the one referring to material the other to intellectual and moral results ; and it is in the former sense only that they can be properly used in relation to natural selection or survival of the fittest. In that relation, physical results only are of value—those that tend to the preservation of life on occasions of stress and danger. In deciding whether any quality, physical or mental, is of va/we in this sense, Lloyd Morgan’s admirable test should be applied—“‘ Is it of survival-value?” If not, then it is of useful in the struggle for existence either to the in-_ dividual or the race, unless it happens to be combined with other qualities which are, in an exceptional degree, of survival value. Now genius in all its varying manifestations is a quality which has hardly any relation to survival except an adverse one, and only in exceptional cases is of any materza/ advantage to the race. The genius of the poet, of the writer, of the artist, even of the inventor, only occasionally benefits the race in its material struggle with other races, while it very rarely gives long life and an ample progeny to the possessor. Its wse to him is solely the enjoyment of the exercise of his faculty of creating. Too frequently it is of no material use whatever to him, and he dies in poverty and neglect. The two races that have exhibited the highest manifestations of genius were the ancient Greeks and the Jews. But this genius did not advantage their respective races in the struggle for existence. Both of them became permanently subject races, and that they have survived at all is not due to their genius, but to their excep- tionally fine physical qualities, their courage and their endurance. Asa matter of fact, the law of the survival of the fittest has almost entirely ceased to apply to civilised man, and the more civilised he is the less it applies. I {have already shown (in the chapter on ‘‘ Human Selection” in my ‘‘ Studies”), how, under a higher civilisation and a truer social system, it will be superseded by another law, which may be termed ‘‘ the perpetu- ation of the fittest,” and which will operate as automatically and as beneficially in improving the human race as natural selection bas acted in improving the lower animals. At present, as Darwin himself fully recognised, it is not the best or the highest that survive, but a comparatively low type morally and intellectually, though in relation to our present very imperfect civilisation they may be held to be the fittest. It is, however, fitness to ‘‘ succeed in life,” as it is termed, not necessarily to survive ; and this is indicated by the comparatively short lives of millionaires and of the inhabitants of cities, who are continu- ally replaced by the sons of the less successful but more virile inhabitants of the rural districts. ALFRED R. WALLACE. The Holy Shroud. Pror. MELDOLA’s notice from a truly scientific standpoint of Dr. Vignon’s book, entitled ‘‘ The Shroud of Christ,” is not less interesting than valuable, but I think two difficulties which hardly fell within the scope of his article may also be raised. ‘One struck me at once in examining the facsimile of the photo- graphic negative plate of the Holy Shroud (facing p. 17). The body had been lying, of course, face upwards. I presume that if a corpse were thus placed on a stone slab, within a very few hours of death, the nates would be slightly flattened by pres- sure, but their normal roundness—as in a nude standing figure— caught my eye at once when examining the plate. But a still more serious difficulty awaits Dr. Vignon. The shroud in shape has a general resemblance to an elongated bath-towel; on one half, smoothed out, the body was laid, and the other was neatly doubled over the head and brought down so as completely to cover the feet. This mode NO. 1735, VOL. 67] of burial, so far as I know, was not usual among the Jews at that date (the corpse being more or less wrapped up, as described in the raising of Lazarus). But passing over this point, for Dr. Vignon pleads that the arrangement was a temporary one (though, by the ,way, it would make the pre- servative myrrh and aloes much less effective), we find the authors of the four Gospels all use language which excludes any such arrangement of the so-called shroud. Matthew and Luke both write évervActev aitd ev owSdvc; Mark in a nearly identical sentence substitutes the verb éeveiAncev. But both these words mean to wrap or to roll up, not to lay a sheet over (and under). John, in a rather more minute description, says, €dnoav avtd év dBoviois meTa TOY apwudTwy, adding ‘as is the custom of the Jews in burial.” He also mentions bandages or body-cloths a second time, and a napkin bound about the head—which would have interfered with the photographic process. Dr. Vignon endeavours to elude the plain meaning of these passages, but, as it seems to me, he can only prove the genuineness of the shroud by rejecting the four principal witnesses to the facts of which it is supposed to be a record, a process which has a suspicious resemblance to sawing off the branch on which you are sitting. T. G. BONNEY. The Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at Naples. IN a recent issue of NATURE (vol. Ixvii. p. 181), there is an account of a paper by Prof. B. Schorler on a history of sys- tematic botany prior to Linnzeus. In the list given of the most ancient existing herbaria, no mention is made of that of Fer- rante Imperato, which is among the oldest extant. This ancient herbarium, the remains of which are preserved in the National Library of Naples, is also overlooked in the interesting paper, now in course of publication, in the Magyar Botanthkat Lapok (Budapest, 1902), by Alfoldi Flatt Karoly, ‘‘Zur Ges- chichte der Herbare.” An incidental notice of the herbarium of Ferrante Imperato was published by me in NATURE (vol. Ixiii., November, 1900) in an article on Domenico Cirillo and the chemical action of light, in connection with vegetable irritability. Ferrante Imperato, a Neapolitan s¢zplécista, born in 1550, lived in Naples, where he diedin 1625. In those days, museums of natural history began to be formed in Italy, the most famous being those of Aldovrandi in Bologna, the museum of Visa, where Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603) taught, and the museum of Ferrante Imperato in Naples. In Ferrante’s book, ‘‘ Dell’ Historia Naturale, Libri XX VIII.,” edited by his son, Fran- cesco Imperato, in 1599, is given a picture of the museum at Naples. This museum, as the author says, contained ‘* Natural plants artificially preserved, attached to the pages of special books, and besides, terrestrial, aquatic and flying animals : moreover, gems, marbles and divers stones, earths, minerals and metals, and preserved seeds and rare leaves, and extracts of divers earths and plants.” At the end of the sixteenth century, a Genoese nobleman, Giovanni Vincenzo Pinelli, formed in Naples a_ botanical garden or ‘‘Orto dei Semplici,” in which many rare plants were collected under the care of Bartolomeo Maranta, of Venosa (who died in 1570), Ferrante Imperato and Fabio Colonna (1567-1650), an active correspondence and exchange of materials being kept up with other collectors. As Imperato puts it in his book, ‘‘human sciences grow by communion among men ; this do I say and confess because our studies and the matters of which we write have developed by the help of friends who have concurred in procuring for us things from divers parts of the world, or have been companions and _fellow-labourers.” Besides G. V. Pinelli, the chief helper in collecting foreign objects, and Maranta and Fabio Colonna, who lived in Naples, Imperato records among his correspondents Pietro Andrea Mattioli, of Siena (1500-1577), Melchiorre Guilandini, of Padua (1520-1589), Jacopo Cortuso, also of Padua (1513-1603), Ulisse Aldovrandi, of Bologna (1522-1605), Carlo Clusio, Kaspar Bauhin, of Bale (1560-1624), and Colantonio Stelliola, ‘Professor of Recondite Sciences, to whom I have communi- cated the greater part of the discoveries made by me.” One does not understand why some authors attribute the work of Imperato to this Stelliola. The herbarium was perhaps the more important part of this Neapolitan museum, being contained in eighty volumes. The museum of Imperato got dispersed during the great plague of Naples in 1656, and only nine out of the eighty volumes of the JANUARY 29, 1903] NATURE 297 herbarium were saved, passing into the hands of Nicola Cirillo (1671-1734), a physician and botanist who possessed a private botanical garden and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, for which Society he collected data on the climate of Naples, and wrote a treatise on the application of cold in the treatment of fevers. Remaining in the Cirillo family, the herbarium was finally bequeathed to the celebrated botanist Domenico Cirillo, who preserved these volumes as the most precious treasure in his collections. In 1783, Martin Vahl, a friend of Linnzeus, saw Imperato’s herbarium in Cirillo’s house, and it is said that he fell on his knees in reverence before the ancient relic. In 1799, when the royalist mob sacked Cirillo’s house and Cirillo himself was hanged, all his collections were dispersed, including the herbarium of Imperato. Of the nine volumes only one was saved, and finally came into the hands of Camillo Minieri-Riccio, who in 1863 published a short account of this botanical relic (C. Minieri-Riccio: ‘‘ Breve notizia dell’ Erbario di Ferrante Imperato,” Rendiconté dell Accademia Pontaniana, xi., 1863). Minierisays that Imperato’s name is written in the volume. The collections of Minieri-Riccio were finally sold to the National Library at Naples, where the volume of Imperato’s herbarium may now be seen. The volume, of 268 pages, is bound in parchment and is labelled ‘‘ Collectio Plantarum Naturalium.”’ It contains 440 plants, glued to the paper, each with one or more names. There is an alphabetical index, probably written by Imperato himself. The authorities in the Naples library do not seem aware of the importance of the relic they possess, for the herbarium is kept as an ordinary book and the plants are exposed to inevitable damage and decay. Several of the specimens have already been eaten up by insects. ITALO GIGLIOLI. R. Stazione Agraria Sperimentale, Rome, January 8. A Curious Projectile Force. Tam able to corroborate B.A. Oxon.’s letter (p. 247). In my case, the screw stopper of the bottle (inverted) rested at an angle against some books ona table. When the pressure of the gas was sufficient to force out the stopper, the bottle sprang three or four feet into the air and fell some distance off on the floor of the room. NorMAN LOCKYER. The Principle of Least Action. WHETHER good mathematicians, when they die, go to Cam- bridge, I do not know. But it is well known that a large number of men go there when they are young for the purpose of being converted into senior wranglers and Smith’s prizemen. Now at Cambridge, or somewhere else, there is a golden or brazen idol called the Principle of Least Action. Its exact locality is kept secret, but numerous copies have been made and distributed amongst the mathematical tutors and lecturers at Cambridge, who make the young men fall down and worship the idol. Ihave nothing to say against the Principle. But I think a great deal may be said against the practice of the Principle. Truly, I have never practised it myself (except with pots and pans), but I have had many opportunities of seeing how the practice is done. It is usually employed by dynamicians to investigate the properties of mediums transmitting waves, the elastic solid for example, or generalisations or modifications of the same. It is used to find equations of motion from energetic data. I observe that this is done, not by investigating the actual motion, but by investigating departures from it. Now it is very unnatural to vary the time integral of the excess of the total kinetic over the total potential energy to obtain the equations of the real motion. Then again, it requires an in- tegration over all space, and a transformation of the integral belore what is wanted is reached. This, too, is very unnatural (though defensible if it were labour-saving), for the equation of motion at a given place in an elastic medium depends only upon its structure there, and is quite independent of the rest of the medium, which may be varied anyhow. Lastly, I observe that the process is complicated and obscure, so much so as to easily lead to error. Why, then, is the P. of L. A. employed? Is not Newton’s dynamics good enough? Or do not the Least-Actionists know that Newton’s dynamics, viz. his admirable Force = Connter- NO. 1735, VOL. 67] Lagrange’s Equations. force and the connected Activity Principle, can. be directly applied to construct the equations of motion in such cases as above referred to, without any of the hocus focus of departing from the real motion, or the time integration, or integration over all space, and with avoidance of much of the complicated work. It would seem not, for the claim is made for the P. of L. A. that it is a commanding general process, whereas the principle of energy is insufficient to determine the motion. This is wrong. But the P. of L. A. may perhaps be particularly suitable in special cases. It is against its misuse that I write. Practical ways of working will naturally depend upon the data given. We may, for example, build up an equation of motion by hard thinking about the structure. This way is followed by Kelvin, and is good, if the data are sufficient and not too complicated. Or we may, in an elastic medium, assume a general form for the stress and investigate its special properties. Of course, the force is derivable from the stress. But the data of the Least-Actionists are expressions for the kinetic and potential energy, and the P. of L. A. is applied to them. But the Principle of Activity, as understood by Newton, furnishes the answer on the spot. To illustrate this simply, let it be only small motions of a medium like Green’s or the same generalised that are in question. Then the equation of activity is BS: div. q@P=U+T; (1) that is, the rate of increase of the stored energy is the conver- gence of the flux of energy, which is —qP, if q is the velocity and P the stress operator, such that Pi=P, =iP,, +§Pyo+kP)y (2) is the stress onthe i plane. Here qP is the conjugate of Pq. By carrying out the divergence operation, (1) splits into two, thus ‘i Gq=U. (3) Here F is a real vector, being the force, whilst @ is a vector force operator. Both have the same structure, viz. Py, but in F the differentiators in y act on P, whereas in @ they are free and act on q, if they act at all. Now when U is given, U becomes known. It contains q as an operand. Knock it out; then @ is known; and therefore F ; and therefore the equation of motion is known, viz. Fq=T, a F ma) where 7 is the density, or the same generalised eolotropically, or in various other ways which will be readily understood by electricians who are acquainted with resistance operators. Of course, P becomes known also. So the form of U specifies the stress, the translational force and the force operator of the potential energy. To turn G to F is the same as turning ax ax If, for example, the displacement is D, the potential energy is a quadratic function of the nine differentiants dD,/dx, &c., of the components. Calling these 7,, 7., &c. ; 1U dU 1) ee Pa eee Liar ar > ie) (4) by the homogeneous property. Therefore, since *,,=ag,/dy= ida/dy, w= qu,@ qauU,d@ Gy ak | ary ay -)a=Ga; (5) therefore, writing P,, for dU/d~., WAP ity - COs = ——— + = + : a 5 Oo 6 ¥ i( ax ay az ) (6) dP, dP, dP, = AEA ee ; 7 ax ay dz (7) It is clear that the differentiants in (4) (which involve the large number 45 of coefficients of elasticity in the general case of eolotropy) are the nine components of the conjugate of the stress operator. Of course, vector analysis, dealing with the natural vectors concerned, is the most suitable working agent, but the same work may be done without it by taking the terms involving 9,, 72, 73 Separately. Another expression for U is U=4GD, which shows how to find F from U directly. 298 NATURE [JANUARY 29, 1903 Another claim made for the P. of L. A. is that it leads to Lagrange’s equations of motion. That is not remarkable, see- ing that both are founded upon Newtonian ideas. I suppose Lagrange’s equations can be made to lead to the P. of L. A. But the practical way of proving Lagrange’s form is to derive it immediately from Newton’s Principle of Activity. Thus, when there are 7 independent coordinates x, with velocities 7, the kinetic energy T is a homogeneous quadratic function of the z's, with coefficients which are functions of the x's. This makes phd aT 2T=7," — + a% ; 8 ‘do, dy (8) therefore Sn CACAID aT. 2h=— U V+ at avy : avy, ‘1 (9) But also by the structure of T, aed dle = u+ ON aor 10 ax, "1 avy, ; ( ) So, by subtraction of (10) from (9) ddv at = = Bip atte te ee Il (Gi a, er (4) and therefore, by Newton, the force on x, is the coefficient of v,, and similarly for the rest. Some people who had worshipped the idol did not altogether see that the above contained the really essential part of the establishment of Lagrange’s form, and that the use of the activity principle to establish the equation of motion is proper, instead of vice versd. To all such the advice can be given, Go back to Newton. There is nothing in the P. of L. A., or the P. of L. Curvature either, to compare with Newton for com- prehensive intelligibility and straight correspondence with dynamics as seen in Nature. It must, however, be said that Newton’s third law is sometimes astonishingly misconceived and misapplied, perhaps because it is badly taught. OLIVER HEAVISIDE. ax, Leonids of 1902, and Quadrantids of 1903. Couns and full moonlight seem to have impeded observ- ations of the Leonids to a considerable extent in November, 1902. The night of November 14 was fine here, but as there seemed little probability of a display on that date—as is fully con- firmed by the negative results of other observers—no extended watch was maintained. The night of November 15 turned out very unfavourable. It seemed unusually bright here about 6h. 30m. on the morning of November 16. No observations were possible in the circumstances. Even if the sky had been clear, very probably nothing unusual in the way of a meteor display would have been visible, owing to the presence of the full moon, then shining with almost maximum brilliancy. M. D. Eginitis, with three assistants, observing at Athens during the night of November 15, did not see more meteors—in fact, they counted one less—than on that of November 14, 1901, on which night the American maximum took place. Both those nights were clear, but possibly the observations may not have been equully extensive. The maximum of 1902 probably took place in America, but in the absence of reports of clear observ- ations at a few stations on the other side of the Atlantic, it is difficult to gauge with certainty the character of the display. ‘The Quadrantid meteors, on the other hand, were well seen here, considering the broken character of the weather. Antici- pating thit the display of 1903 would occur early on the night of January 3 —the maximum had been determined as due at 8h. 55m. —a watch was begun at 8h. 45m., and during the next hour or so some very fine meteors were observed. The following are the times of their appearance, and their approximate flights : — d- jh. Jan.3 8 m. 53, from 2° west of Gemini to Orion, = Ist magni- tude. » 3 856, ,, 1° east of the ‘*Guards” to Pole Star, = I-2 magnitude. »» 3 920, ,, between Castor and Pollux to Orion, = Ist magnitude. >» 3 9 47, ,, between the ‘‘Guards” half-way to Pole Star, = 2nd magnitude. » 3 9 59%, 4, 20° west of ‘‘Guards” to 10° higher up, = rich streak. Fi 3 10 0, ,, 20° west of ‘* Guards” to Cassiopeia, = Capella. 20, 1732/5, VOL 67] ; on “Incomplete Observations.” Shortly after 10 o’clock, clouds came up from the horizon and by toh. 15m. the whole north-eastern sky up to Gemini was covered. At roh. 35m., that part of the sky had again cleared, and, between roh. gom. and toh. 55m., eight meteors, varying from about rst to 2nd magnitudes, were observed. They were all long-pathed, but generally not so much so as the early part of the display, nor did they seem to move in beaten tracks, as it were, like the first meteors. The direction of their flight resembled, on the whole, that of the former, but one of them (= Sirius) shot downwards for about 30° in a direction parallel to the tail stars of Ursa Major. It started from a point about 20° east of that constellation. The latter part of the display between 10h. gom. and toh. 55m. was the richest I have ever observed. I observed no meteors, except one or two between 9 and 10 o’clock, that could not be traced. They began to_ come so rapidly at 1oh. g4om. that when making a note of the course of one, another would put in an appearance, and so pre- vent the completion of the first observation, their paths not being near any well-known stars. An interval of quiescence for a few minutes would then follow, when the phenomenon would be again repeated as before. At 11 o'clock, the sky became again clouded and a heavy shower of rain terminated open-air observation. Between 12h. and 12h. 20m., two more were seen through a window, of about the 3rd magnitude, one on either side of the tail stars of Ursa Major; then clouds once more intervened. Joun R. Henry. Dublin. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. Ap 22 fifty-second annual meeting of the American Association was held at Washington, December 29 to January 3, and was in many respects the most suc- cessful meeting ever held in the fifty odd years of the existence of the Association. As pointed out in the article in NATURE of July 24, 1902, in the account of the Pittsburg meeting of last June, this is practically the first time in which the Association has met during the winter since the close of the Civil War, and in this meet- ing culminated the prolonged efforts of a special com- mittee of the Association, of which Dr. Charles Sedgwick Minot was chairman, to bring about an agreement among the scientific and other learned societies and the leading universities and other institutions of learning in the United States to set apart the week in which the first of January falls as a “ Convocation Week,” and in this week to bring together at one place as many as possible of the scientific societies. This culmination of the efforts of Dr. Minot’s committee was eminently satis- factory. The meeting was a great success, and the institution of Convocation Week has apparently been established under the most favourable auspices. Dr. Ira Remsen, president of Johns Hopkins University, presided over the Washington meeting, and the retiring president, the noted astronomer, Prof. Asaph Hall, U.S.N., delivered his address on the opening night of the session. His subject was “The Science of Astronomy,” and it was published in full in our last week’s issue. The local arrangements for the meeting were complete, and the President of the United States acted as honorary president of the local committee, the active chairman being Dr. C. D. Walcott, Director U.S. Geological Survey, and the local secretary Dr. Marcus Benjamin, U.S. National Museum. The addresses of the vice-presidents of the different sections were given in the afternoon of Monday, December 29, as follows :— Prof. G. W. Hough before the Section of Mathe- matics and Astronomy, on “ The Physical Constitution of the Planet Jupiter.” Prof. Franklin before -the Section of Physics, on “Limitations of Quantitative Physics.” Prof. Weber before the Section of Chemistry, Prof. Culin before the JANUARY 29, 1903] NAT OGRE . 299 Section of Anthropology, on ‘‘ New World Contributions to Old World Culture.” Prof. Welch before the Section of Physiology and Experimental Medicine. Prof. J. J. Flather before the Section of Mechanical Science and Engineering, on “‘ Modern Tendencies in the Utilisation of Power.” Prof. C. C. Nutting before the Section of Zoology, on “Some of the Perplexities of a Systematist.” Prof. D. H. Campbell before the Section of Botany, on “The Origin of Terrestrial Plants.” Prof. Wright before the Section of Social and Economic Science, on “ The Psychology of the Labour Question.” Many important scientific bodies met in affiliation with the Association. Among these were:—The American Anthropological Association, the American Chemical Society, the American Folk-lore Society, the American Microscopical Society, the American Morphological Society, the American Philosophical Association, the American Physical Society, the American Physiological Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Society of Naturalists, the Association of American Anatomists, the Association of Economic Entomologists, the Astronomical and _ Astrophysical Society of America, the Botanical Society of America, the Botanists of the Central and Western States, the Geological Society of America, the National Geographic Society, the Naturalists of the Central States, the Society of American Bacteriologists, the Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology, the Society for the Pro- motion of Agricultural Science, the Zoologists of the Central and Western States. The approximate register of scientific men and women in attendance at this series of meetings was fifteen hundred, of whom about one thousand registered for the American Association. The week was thus a very crowded one, the days being occupied with the meetings of the sections and the affiliated societies, and the general functions being as follows :— On Monday evening, the annual address of the retiring president, Prof. Hall. Monday afternoon, the addresses of the retiring vice-presidents. On Tuesday evening, the address of the retiring president of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Remsen, and the public lecture of the American Society of Naturalists, delivered by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, on the subject “ Protective and Directive Coloration of Animals, with especial Reference to Birds and Mammals.” On the same evening, the Botanical Society of Washington gave a reception to visiting botanists. On Wednesday afternoon, the annual dis- cussion of the American Society of Naturalists was held ; the subject was ‘‘How can Endowments be Used most Effectively for Scientific Research?” On the same afternoon, a public lecture, complimentary to the citizens of Washington, was given by Prof. I. C. Russell, of the University of Michigan, on “The Volcanoes of the West Indies.” On Wednesday evening, the annual dinners of the American Society of Naturalists and the Geological Society of America, and the annual smoker of the American Chemical Society, were held. On Thursday evening, the secretary of the Smith- sonian Institution, Prof. Langley, held a reception in the National Museum. On Friday afternoon, a lecture, complimentary to the citizens of Washington, was given by John Hays Ham- mond, on “ Rhodesia, the Site of the Mines of King Solomon.” Friday evening, the local committee, with the trustees of the Corcoran Art Gallery, gave a reception to the visiting members of the Association and the affiliated societies at the Art Gallery. On Saturday morning, Président Roosevelt received all visiting members at the White House. Several important changes in the constitution of the Association went into effect at this meeting, all tending toward the improvement of the stability of the council and the sectional committees. Hereafter, the sectional NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | committees will hold office for five years ; the secretaries of sections will also hold office for five years, and the council will elect annually three members at large to serve forthree years. National scientific societies adopt- ing permanent affiliation with the Association are now represented upon the council of the Association, and this body probably at the present time includes a larger number of the active leading scientific men of America than any other organisation, not excepting the National Academy of Sciences. Many notable papers were presented during the session, and the character of the proceedings, as will appear from the published reports in the journal Scéence, the organ of the Association, will undoubtedly show a very general improvement over the papers of previous meetings. The general committee decided upon St. Louis as the next place of meeting, the time to be during Convocation Week of 1903-4, and recommended to the next general committee that Philadelphia be the following place of meeting during the Convocation Week of 1904-5. The officers elected for the St. Louis meeting are as follows : — President, Carroll D. Wright, Washington. Vice-presidents :—Section A, Mathematics and As- tronomy, O. H. Tittmann, Washington ; B, Physics, E. H. Hall, Harvard University ; C, Chemistry, W. D. Bancroft, Cornell University; D, Mechanical Science and Engineering, C. M. Woodward, Washington Uni- versity ; E, Geology and Geography, I. C. Russell, University of Michigan; F, Zoology, E. L. Mark, Har- vard University ; G, Botany, T. H. Macbride, University of Iowa; H, Anthropology, M. H. Saville, American Museum of Natural History; I, Social and Economic Science, S. E. Baldwin, New Haven; K, Physiology and Experimental Medicine, H. P. Bowditch, Harvard University. General Secretary, C. H. Wardell Stiles, U.S. Revenue Marine Hospital and Public Health Service. Secretary of the Council, Charles S. Howe, School. Secretaries of the Sections :—Section A, Mathematics and Astronomy, L. G. Weld, University of Iowa; B, Physics, D. C. Miller, Case School ; C, Chemistry, A. H. Gill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ; D, Mechan- ical Science and Engineering (no election) ; E, Geology, G. B. Shattuck, Baltimore; F, Zoology, C. Judson Herrick, Denison University ; G, Botany, F. E. Lloyd, Teachers’ College, Columbia University; H, Anthro- pology, RK. B. Dixon, Harvard University ; I, Social and Economic Science, J. F. Crowell, Washington; K, Physiology and Experimental Medicine, F. S. Lee, Columbia University. The treasurer, Prof. R. S. Woodward, of Columbia University, and the permanent secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, remain unchanged. Case BUBONIC PLAGUE AT HOME AND ABROAD. JIN VOLUME of reports and papers on bubonic plague has recently been issued by the Local Government Board,! in continuation of the series originally com- menced by the late Mr. Netten. Radcliffe and since carried on by Dr. Bruce Low. In the preceding volume, Dr. Bruce Low carried the history of the distribution of plague throughout the world to the middle of 1898, while the present report comprises the period from the middle of 1898 to the middle of 1901. Dr. Low follows the occurrence and progress of bubonic plague chronologically and topographically by 1 ‘Reports and Papers on Bubonic Plague.” By Dr. R. Bruce Low. With an Introduction by the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board. Pp. xi + 446. (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1902.) Price 4s. 1@. 300 NATURE [JANUARY 29, 1903 the aid of a host of official documents, and partly from | country from landing or discharging cargo unless pre- numerous other publications. To procure, sift, digest and arrange this enormous mass of polyglot literature is a task as complex as it is difficult, and, looking through the present volume, the reader will agree that Dr. Low | has done a difficult piece of work in an exhaustive manner. The usefulness of such a work to the sani- tarians of the world must be obvious. Dr. Low, in a clear and systematic and at the same time objective manner, describes the progress and general character of | plague as it appeared in and as it affected the various countries during the period stated (middle of 1898— middle of 1901); to this are added the official regulations | and procedures in use in the different countries in dealing with plague. As might be expected, the first place is given to England, Wales and Scotland ; there being no case of | plague recorded in Ireland, Dr. Low passes on to other European countries in which cases of plague have occurred, and then takes his readers into Turkey, the Levant, Arabia, South and Central At iea, India, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, and finally America. As to the cases of plague that had been imported into England and Wales, it is satisfactory to learn from Dr. Low’s account that the vigilance of, and procedures adopted by, our port sanitary officers were on the whole unremitting and thoroughly efficient ; that whenever the case required it, the Local Government Board by its medical inspectors promptly and energeti- cally assisted’the port sanitary and local authorities in devising and carrying out the necessary protective and prophylactic measures. As a matter of fact, practically all the cases of plague that reached our shores were promptly intercepted and dealt with, and no further spread of the disease occurred. Of no mean interest and importance are the facts collected by Dr. Low as to the relation of plague in the rat to plague in the human subject, and we cannot do better than quote here the concise summary on the subject by the Medical Officer of the Local Government | Board (p. x). “The records to which Dr. Low has had access, though they go to confirm belief that as regards plague man and the rat are reciprocally infective, fail completely in affording sufficient data for determining the degree to which man is in danger through the rat. So far as plague ashore is concerned, it would appear that in particular localities man and the rat suffered from plague coincidently ; that in other localities man suffered before the rat ; and that in others again the rat suffered antece- dently to man. Further, it would appear that when in a particular district the one (man or the rat) has suffered plague antecedently to the other, the interval between invasion of the first and of the second species has been often a long one—extending sometimes over weeks and months. prevail largely among men without rats becoming con- spicuously affected ; and conversely that the disease may cause large mortality among rats of a locality while neglecting to attack its human inhabitants. As regards plague on shipboard, very similar facts were forthcoming. The disease does not, under conditions of sea transit, appear to be at all readily conveyed from the rat to man or from man to the rat. On the one hand, ships plague- invaded for several weeks in the persons of crew or passengers have come into port with the rats on board them seemingly altogether exempt from disease ; and on the other hand, ships infected with plague-smitten rats have, after voyages of considerable duration, arrived at their destinations wholly free from plague as regards crew and passengers.” There is, then, no cause for the extreme views which some alarmists have put forward, z.c. those who would wish us to prevent any ship coming from an infected NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | Finally, it would appear that plague may | viously all rats on board were destroyed, even in cases where no disease occurred amongst the crew or pas- sengers. Such a procedure would, in the face of Dr. Low’s array of facts, be quite unnecessary, and would inflict on shipping in general hardships which experience has shown would be scarcely justified even in the case of ships which on their voyage had actually been infected with plague. (From the detailed account by Dr. Tidswell of the characters, origin and progress of the plague in Sydney,? it appears that the outbreak in man was preceded by great mortality amongst rats from plague, and, further, that the progress of the epidemic amongst human beings in different parts of the town was consistent with the dissemination of the contagion by rats.) There is one further important point to be noted in the account by Dr. Low, and that is the comparatively simple and comprehensive manner in which plague-stricken or plague-suspected vessels arriving on our shores are dealt with, and the complete success which so far has attended the procedures both as to passengers and crew and cargo. These procedures contrast in a most favourable way with some of the doings in similar circumstances of the authorities in some other countries, in which countries machinery is put in action the chief object of which appears to be the most vexatious treatment of harmless passengers (v7de s.s. Viger, Marseilles, p. 117). The description of the epidemic of plague in Oporto: in 1899 is very instructive reading, and throws into strong relief the broad fact, observed also in Glasgow (1900), in Alexandria, Bombay, the Cape and other places, how difficult, nay, impossible, it is to trace in these epidemics the origin of the outbreaks, the manner. and channels in which the contagium had found entrance, and the lapse of considerable and most valuable periods before the disease as such is actually recognised. In these respects, England and Wales have so far been most fortunate in the Local Government Board having everywhere, in our seaports as well as inland, the atten- tion of Medical Officers of Health early, and especially, directed to the danger of importation and to the best means to lessen it and to deal with any case should such occur. It is a fact that, in a good many instances, Medical Officers of Health have with laudable prompti- tude carefully taken account even of cases which from their clinical and epidemiological characters were not considered as cases of plague, but because they bore in one respect or another a resemblance to plague were notified and subjected to further examination. As was to be expected, these cases were proved not to have been cases of bubonic plague. On the other hand, the necessity for noting all such cases lies in this, that there are atypical cases of real plague which in clinical respects have only a distant resemblance to that disease ; such atypical cases of plague could, under less strict supervision, easily escape detection and be the starting point for dissemination of the disease. a A point of extreme interest to western countries is the comparison between the epidemics in the oriental, from | which the present pandemic of plague started (1894), and the occidental countries into which it was imported and disseminated. The result of this comparison is highly gratifying, since it shows the very much lesser virulence of the disease in the occidental than in the oriental countries. The Medical Officer thus summarises these important facts (p. vill) :— é “There can be no question at all as to plague having very especially affected certain Oriental populations ; | outside the Asiatic continent, the disease has manifested small ability to become seriously epidemic. For instance, in India, plague, while year after year producing a heavy 1‘*Some Practical Aspects of the Plague at Sydney,” by Dr. Frank Tidswell ( Journal of the Sanitary Institute, vol. xxi. part iv.’. JANUARY 29, 1903 | NATURE 301 J rate of mortality, has at the same time proved exception- ally virulent, as shown by a high ratio of deaths to attacks ; and this notwithstanding strenuous efforts on the part of well equipped sanitary bodies to obtain and to maintain control of the disease; whereas in many other countries in various quarters of the world, not a | few of them greatly inferior to India as regards adminis- trative preparedness to resist imported disease, plague has failed, when introduced, to cause any but insignificant mortality, has not tended to recur from year to year, and has proved infinitely less virulent case for case than in better ordered India.” A detailed account of the regulations, orders, &c., employed in all the affected countries, with ten carefully arranged coloured maps, form a valuable addition. E. KLEIN. THE ARCHIVES OF PHONOGRAPHIC RECORDS. ole HE Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna has re- cently appointed a commission to inquire into the possibilities of the application of the phonograph to scientific purposes. It would appearthat this instrument has as yet been used mainly as a means of domestic recreation or as an adjunct to the penny showman, but it is quite clear that the instrument provides a means of pre- serving actual spoken specimens of languages, especially of those which are ina state of gradual development and growth orina condition of decay. Moreover, by bringing the spoken speech or dialect of distant lands and out-of- the-way districts to those to whom they would be other- wise inaccessible, a most valuable means of scientific research is made available. Recognising the latent pos- sibilities of the phonograph in this direction, the Vienna Academy appointed the above-mentioned commission, the special task of which was the establishment, if possible, of central archives where phonographic records could be kept, duplicated and made accessible to the general scientific’world. The commission has recently issued its second report, dated July 11, 1902, in which the position of affairs at that date is recorded. The preliminary work undertaken was chiefly mechan- ical in nature and was concerned in the production of a standard instrument (Archiv-phonograph), and in working out the method of preservation and duplication of the records. It is, of course, self-evident that the wax record is unsuitable for preservation, and in order that this may be most conveniently copied in metal, the Archiv- phonograph has a flat wax plate instead of a cylindrical one. Theinstrument is shown in Fig. 1. The “cast” wax plate is fixed on the round metal plate (24), which is caused to revolve round its centre by means of the gear shown, the driving force being a wound-up spring con- tained in the bottom case. The speed of rotation can be adjusted by means of the screw (32) and is indicated by a pointer in (33). The Edison recorder is contained in (7) and is caused to travel radially over the plate (24) so that the record is in the form of a spiral on the same; the distance between each line is} mm. _ It can be seen that the instrument is of very solid construction, and as such would be of more likely use for the laboratory than for purposes requiring its transport from place to place. The wax recommended is that used by Edison, and a plate is capable of taking a speech of two minutes’ duration. The metallic negative is prepared as follows. The wax is removed from the instrument and peppered and brushed all over with very fine graphite, the current connection being made by a ring of copper wire stuck into the middle of the plate. Alcohol is then poured over the graphited plate, and it is at once placed in the. electrolytic bath and copper deposited thereon. .The so- NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | formed negative is sprung from the wax, cleaned and polished, and flashed over with a very thin layer of nickel in a nickel bath. These metal “ phonotypes” are used as patterns for casting the “Archiv” plates in wax which are used in the phonograph for the reproduction of the acoustic record. The metal negatives are, of course, durable and are kept, and as many “ Archiv” plates can be cast off them from time to time as may be desired. In order to put the ideas underlying the appointment of the commission to practical test, three scientific ex- peditions recently sent out by the Vienna Academy were | each provided with an Archiv-phonograph, and the re- ports furnished by the leaders of these expeditions are given. The expeditions were two philological ones to Kroatia and Slavonia and Lesbos respectively, and a geological one to Brazil. It is evident from the reports that the, it is true, interesting and valuable records ob- tained were only got by dint of much trouble and perse- verance, as the apparatus for such purposes is most unsuitable, the whole outfit weighing, as it does, 120 kilogrammes. Such an apparatus may be compared to a photographic artist’s studio camera, while what is required is something more of the nature of a hand camera. It was found impossible to remove the phono- graph any distance from the railway, so that very Fic. 1. interesting records of dialects, &c., which could otherwise have been obtained were not possible to be got. However, there is no reason why, with proper design, an instrument may not be worked out which will fulfil the practical and mechanical conditions required ; the main thing to be settled by the present experiments was if the records obtained and preserved are of real scientific value. The records brought back were, therefore, treated in the above-delineated manner, and the “‘ Archiv” plates ob- tained submitted to the leaders of the expeditions and to other authorities, who reported that they gave, as a rule, a good reproduction of the original speech and words, from which it may be concluded that the method adopted is a success and capable of much use in the future. Of course, certain limitations, such as the dif- ferentiation of similar consonants, &c., have to be recog- nised, and whether the phonograph is capable of such improvement that it will get over these remains to be seen; at any rate, if the establishment of the phono- graphic archives is a success, it is likely that our de- scendants one or two thousand years hence will not find themselves in the same predicament as to our present pronunciation as we are as to that of our Latin and Greek, not to mention other dead languages, and that besides this advantage to our posterity, valuable service to science of the present day will result. GuGIG: 302 PROF. LADISLAV CELAKOVSKY. A FTER a long and painful illness, due to a serious : internal malady of many years’ standing, Prof. Celakovsky, the well-known and brilliant botanist, passed away at Prague on November 24, at the age of sixty- seven. It was with the morphological department of botanical science that Celakovsky chiefly identified himself. His papers dealing with evolutionary problems appear to date from the year 1868 with the memoir “On the General Evolution of the Vegetable Kingdom.” The theses “On the Different Forms and the Meaning of the Alter- nation of Generations in Plants” (1874) and “On the Threefold Alternation of Generations in the Vegetable Kingdom” (1877) appear to us to afford so adequate a solution of this great subject as to cause wonder that botanists should still vex their minds by discussion of it. Two treatises which must long keep his memory green, while helping to establish the supremacy of his genius, are those on “ The Law of Reduction in Flowers” (1894) and on “The Evolution of the Flower,” in two parts (1896 and 1900); at the latter end of the second part, an interesting discussion and, in our view, a probable solution of the of late much-debated phenomenon of “double-fertilisation” in Angiosperms is introduced. These works of our author are, we fear, far too little known or appreciated., To many botanists, Celakovsky will be best known by his voluminous writings, published in many and various periodicals, on the morphological nature of the ovule, a subject which occupied his attention from 1874 onwards and which his surpassing talent completely illuminated. Both in this and other difficult cases, he relied almost entirely on teratological evidence for the final solution of the problem. It is this position, well brought out in his memoir in Lo/os of 1874, “On the Relationship between the Different Methods of Morphological Research,” which caused so much opposition to him from fellow- workers in the same fields. : During the latter part of his career, Celakovsky per- formed the enormous service of what we consider to be the complete unravelling and elucidation of the nature of the female flower in Coniferze, a subject hitherto utterly obscure and bristling with difficulties, but now, to our mind, entirely solved once forall. The author’s views are contained chiefly in “ Die Gymnospermen” (1890) and “Nachtrag zu meiner Schrift uber die Gymnospermen ” (1897). Another important field of botanical research yielded scope for the display of his great powers, viz., that con- nected with the building-up of the stem and its members. Three of the principal papers treating of this subject are “On Terminal Members” (1876), ““On Cases of Branching Underlying the Phytostatic Law” (Pring- sheim’s Jahrbiicher, vol. xxxii.) and “ The Segmentation of the Stem” (1go1). The latter is an elaboration and wide expansion of the bare principles laid down long ago by Gaudichaud, and revolutionises all modern concep- tions of the subject. Many memoirs have, of necessity, been left un- noticed in this brief sketch; suffice to add that what appears to have been the last paper published by him, at least in German, was that on “ The Cortication of the S*em by Leaf-bases,” which appeared in 1902. W.C. W. NOTES. WE published last week the wireless telegram sent by Presi- dent Roosevelt to the King and also His Majesty’s reply thereto. This latter message was not sent by wireless telegraphy, the reason being that at the time it was dispatched the nearest tele- graph office to Poldhu was closed, and so it was impossible to NO. 1735, VOL. 67] NATURE [JANUARY 29, 1903 get the message to Poldhu, though its transmission from there to America could have been easily effected. The 7imes of Monday deals with this difficulty in a leader, and points out that the Post Office as a public institution ought immediately to afford the facilities of connection between Mullion and Poldhu ~ for which the Marconi Company asks. It is only a matter of erecting acouple of miles of telegraph line and providing for a continuous service, and this should certainly be done without any delay. The Post Office is said to be “ considering the matter,” but in the interests of the public and in fairness to the Marconi Company, the ‘‘ consideration” ought to be cut short and the necessary connection made atonce. As the Zzmes rightly says, any questions of the ultimate trustworthiness and utility of the wireless system or of our telegraphic relations with the cable companies or other States have nothing to do with the Post Office, at any rate at the presenttime. All they are asked to do is to provide facilities for telegraphing to a customer likely to make large use of them. It is sincerely to be hoped that the Post Office will realise that it owes it asa duty to the public to remove immediately this purely artificial hindrance to the development of what may possibly be a great commercial enterprise. Such action would. be impossible in any other country. AN influential committee has been formed in Rome to take measures to honour the memory of Father A. Secchi, S.J., the distinguished astronomer and meteorologist, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, which occurred on February 26, 1878. The president of the committee, Father G. Lais, S.J., vice-director of the Vatican Observatory (ad- dress, Via Torre Argentina, 76, Rome), will be glad to add the names of scientific men and institutions to the list of those interested in this celebration, Father Secchi was for many years director of the observatory of the Collegio Romano, now occupied by the Italian Central Meteorological Office, and his well-known meteorograph was erected there in 1858. It was in connection with this observatory that almost all Secchi’s work was done in solar and terrestrial physics. He published several volumes of the AZemorze dell’ Osservatorio del Collegio Romano, 1852-1863, and began, in the year 1862, the Bolletino meteorologico, of which seventeen volumes appeared, and contained many valuable discussions by himself and others. The Italian Spectroscopic Society owes its foundation to his energy. He was the author of numerous papers and also of books on the sun, the stars and the unity of physical forces. Pror. E. B..Poutron, F.R.S., has been elected president of the Entomological Society for the session 1903-1904. Prof. Poulton has nominated as vice-presidents the Rev. Dr. Fowler, Prof. Meldola, F.R.S., and Dr. D. Sharp, F.R.S. Ava general meeting of the Linnean Society on January 15, it was resolved to take the necessary steps to obtain a supple- mentary charter embodying certain alterations in the constitu- tion of the Society. A motion was carried in favour of adding the words ‘‘ without distinction of sex” to the existing para- graph of the charter referring to the admission of fellows, so that when the supplementary charter has been obtained, women will be eligible for election into the Society. ON Saturday, January 24, a cone 800 feet in height is re- ported to have been blown off Mont Pelée by a volcanic eruption. A TELEGRAM, through Reuter’s Agency, received at New York from Kingstown, St. Vincent, states that an eruption of the Soufriére occurred at noon on January 22. A whirling, incandescent cloud was seen to shoot from the volcano clear into the sky, followed by a black cloud, which rapidly ascended to a great height and was visible throughout the island. Sand fell at Chateau Belair. JANUARY 29, 1903] Tue Central News Agency states that the severest earth- quake shock experienced at Charleston since the disaster of 1886 visited this city during the night of January 23. , Anumber of other cities in South Carolina and Georgia were similarly affected. REFERENCE has already been made to the proposal to form a society of persons interested in electrochemistry. We are glad now to announce that, as the result of the support and encouragement received in response to the circulars recently issued, it has been resolved to hold a general meeting of the supporters of the movement to inaugurate the work of the society and elect a president andcouncil. The meeting will be held at the rooms of the Faraday Club, St. Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster, on Wednesday, February 4, at 5 p.m. Dr. J. W. Swan, F.R.S., has consented to be nominated as president, and the following have accepted nomination as vice-presidents :— Prof. A. Crum-Brown, F.R.S., Sir Oliver T. Lodge, F.R.S., Dr. Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., Mr. Alexander Siemens and Mr. J. Swinburne. THE twenty-first congress and exhibition of the Sanitary Institute will be held at Bradford, commencing on July 7. As the work of the Photographic Record Association is attract- ing much attention, it is of interest to note that at the meet- ing of the Essex Field Club on Saturday. next, Mr. A. E. Briscoe will bring forward « propoxal for a photographic and pictorial survey of Essex, to be carried on in connection with the county Museum of Natural History. Anyone wishing to attend should apply to the secretaries, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Tue Eleventh International Congress of Hygiene and Demo- graphy will be held in Brussels on September 2-8 under the patronage of IIi.M. the King of the Belgians. The secretary- general of the congress is Prof. F. Putzeys. All inform- ation and programmes can be obtained from Dr. Paul F. Moline, 42 Walton Street, Chelsea, S.W., the hon. secretary of the British committee. A REUTER message from St. Petersburg states that two members of Baron Toll’s polar expedition, Lieutenant Matissen, commander of the yacht Zar7a, and Lieutenant Kolchak, have just arrived in S+. Petersburg with nine men of the Zarza’s crew, after an absence of two and a half years. Ir is announced that Dr. Jean Charcot will leave in mid-May for a tour of Arctic exploration in a yacht built in cast steel, and fitted up and manned at his own expense. Dr. Charcot, the Dazly News Paris correspondent says, is paying great attention to the laboratory fittings and apparatus. His scientific staff will include a zoologist, an expert in oceanography, a bacteriologist, a geologist and a botanist. Provisions for eighteen months will be taken on board, though the expedition is to last but six months. REFERRING to the recent death of Joseph Chavanne, the Austrian geographer and meteorologist, the d/henaewm states that in 1875 he was at work at Vienna in the Imperial Meteor- ological Institute, and in the same year became editor of the Austrian AZitterlungen der Geozraphischen Gesellschaft. In 1854, he was commissioned by-the Brussels Geographical Insti- tute to undertake a topographical survey of the district between the Congo and the Kuilu-Niadi on one side, and between the mouth of the Congo and the Equator station on the other side. We learn from Za Nature that M. H. Poincaré has been promoted to be Commander of the Legion d’Honneur. M. Mascart succeeds M. Berthelot, who has resigned, as the representative of the Collége de France on the Superior Counci] of Public Instruction. M. Gautier has been elected president of the Bureau des Longitudes; M. Lippmann is the new vice- president and M. Radau the new secretary. NO. 1735, VOL. 67] NATORE 303 In addition to the sums which the German Government pro- poses to allocate for the prevention of typhoid fever and the collection of sickness and mortality statistics, the Imperial budget for the coming year provides, we learn from the Brétish Medical Journal, a sum of 3250/. for the carrying out of experimental researches directed to the further elucidation of the relation between human tuberculosis and the Per/szché of cattle. The problem of protective inoculation of cattle against tuberculosis falls within the scope of these researches. On Thursday next, February 5, at 5 o’clock, Sir Clements Markham will deliver the first of a course of three lectures at the Royal Institution on ‘‘ Arctic and Antarctic Exploration.” Mr. G. R. M. Murray being unable, owing to illness, to deliver his course of lectures beginning on Thursday, February 26, Prof. L. C. Miall will instead deliver three lectures on ‘‘ Insect Contrivances.”” The Friday evening discourse on February 6 will be delivered by the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, on ““George Romney and his Works’; on February 13 by Prof. S. Delépine, on ‘* Health Dangers in Food”; and on February 20 by Principal E. H. Griffiths, on the ‘* Measurement of Energy.” AT a meeting of the Vienna Academy of Sciences on Decem- ber 11, 1902, Dr. J. Hann presented an important paper on the daily rotation of the mean wind direction and on a semi-diurnal oscillation of the atmosphere on mountain peaks of two to four The author has deduced from anemometrical records the wind components according to the four rectangular directions and has calculated the daily range by means of trigonometrical series. The differences of the hourly values from the daily means obtained in this way exhibit the daily variation both of direction and force, freed from the prevalent wind direction and depending only on the influence of the sun. He has shown in this way that the wind daily rotates regularly with the sun, being easterly in the morning, southerly at noon, westerly and north-westerly in the afternoon and northerly at night. The author has next investigated the daily changes of the wind components and has exhibited their harmonic constituents. The most important result is that in all four components, especially the north and south, a large semi-diurnal period exists, which equals or even exceeds that of the whole-day period in magnitude. The regularity of the phase periods and the magnitude of the semi- diurnal period make it appear probable that this regular daily oscillation of the atmosphere at a height of two to four kilo- metres is connected with the regular daily oscillation of the barometer. The daily range of mean wind force was also found to follow the same rule on the mountain peaks as on the earth’s surface, at all directions attaining its maximum force at nearly the same time, the maximum, however, occurring at nighttime instead of soon after noon. kilometres above sea level. WE have received vol. vi. of the Pudblicazioni della Specola Vaticana (Roma: Tipografia Vaticana, 1902). The first 326 pages are devoted to the meteorological observations made during the years 1895-1901. The observations are printed in full detail, the values for each hour of observation for barometer, aspect of sky, direction and velocity of wind, thermometers, vapour tension, relative humidity, evaporation, &c., being given. Then follow another set of meteorological observations made daily at 9 o’clock during the year 1901. The velocity of the wind and description of the sky are next given for three observ- ations every day during the year 1895. At the end of the volume is given a series of plates, which illustrates graphically the vari- ations of the principal meteorological elements from day to day during each year. More than one hundred pages contain details of the observations of meteors made during the months of 304 NATURE [JANUARY 29, 1903 August and November for the years 1896-1901. From a statis- tical point of view, the volume will prove useful, but it seems a pity that observations should be kept so long before they are published. THE paper on electric automobiles read by Mr. H. F. Joel before the Institution of Civil Engineers on January 13 is one of great interest. The desirability of the automobile replacing horse traction from a sanitary point of view is probably admitted by everyone, and certainly the electric car would afford the best solution. Mr. Joel is of opinion that there is a great future before the electric automobile, which has already proved itself capable of running 100 miles on one charge and of performing much longer tours. This shows that even the storage battery of to-day is sufficiently good to give very satisfactory results ; the author in his paper goes carefully into the results of the battery tests made by the Automobile Club of France, and into the question of the ratio of weight of vehicle to weight of battery. Many valuable curves showing the relations between ton-mileage, total weight, useful load, &c., are given, and the paper is, on the whole, a valuable contribution on the subject. A SERIES of papers by Dr. Quirino Majorana in the Aéé det Lincei of last summer are devoted to the phenomena of magnetic double refraction and the so-called ‘‘ bimagnetic rotation ” of the plane of polarisation. The phenomena were observed by fixing a column of liquid 7 cm. long between the poles of a Weiss electromagnet, the solutions best suited for the purpose being chloride of iron and still better ‘‘ dialysed iron.” The bi-refraction is proportional to the thickness of the liquid column, which is normal to the lines of force and also to the degree of concentration of the solution. For different colours, it varies inversely as the square of the wave-length. Experi- ments conducted with the view of ascertaining the rapidity with which the phenomena are produced tend to show that, like rotatory polarisation and Kerr’s phenomenon, it takes place instantaneously. Dr. Majorana’s phenomenon of ‘‘ bimagnetic rotation,” which has already been noticed in these columns, is discussed in conjunction with Voigt’s highly probable explan- ation that it owes its origin to the unequal absorption of the light-components polarised along and perpendicular to the lines of force. It is obvious that in a ray polarised on entrance ina direction making an angle of, say, 45° with the lines of force, the effect of such an unequal absorption would be to deflect the plane of polarisation towards the direction in which the absorp- tion is least. The phenomenon is observed in certain impure solutions of ferric chloride ; it is approximately proportional to the thickness of the liquid traversed, at any rate when the deviation is small. As the intensity of the field increases, the deviation at first increases rapidly and then tends to a constant limit. From theoretical grounds, it follows that if the planes of polarisation on incidence and emergence make angles a and B with the lines of force, the ratio of tan @ to tan & is constant, and hence sin (a~—§8) is proportional to sin (a+ 8), so that the deviation (a—8), being small, is proportional to sin(a+8), and hence is a maximum when the angles are nearly 45°, agreeing with the results of experiment. TuHE U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued two reports, one by Dr. W. O. Atwater and Dr. F. G. Benedict, on the metabolism of matter and energy in the human body, and the other by Prof. Charles E. Wait, drawn up under the immediate supervision of Prof. Atwater, dealing with the effect of muscular work on the metabolism of nitrogen and the digestibility of food. These reports form a part of the nutrition investigations for which a special committee has. been appointed by the Department. The first report deals with thirteen experiments, forming part of a series which are in progress at Middletown, Conn., and which have for their ultimate object the study of the NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | laws of nutrition. The Atwater-Rosa respiration calorimeter used in the experiments is shown to be a satisfactory instrument of precision, and the conclusions, besides affording information as to the demands of the body for nutriment, and the effect of muscular work on digestion and metabolism, afford evidence little short of definite demonstration that the principle of con- — servation of energy holds good in living organisms. THE first part of an illustrated paper, by Dr. H. von Buttel- Reepen, on the phylogenetic relationship of bees’ nests, and the biology of solitary and social bees, appears in the Bzologisches Centralblatt for January. WE have received a copy of the Zvazsactions of the York- shire Naturalists’ Union for 1900, containing reports on the Lepidoptera and also on the botany and meteorology of the county. IN part i. of the third volume of Azzzadls of the South African Museum, Dr. W. F. Purcell describes new genera and species of the arachnoid family Solpugidze and also certain typical Arachnida. THE Zoologist for January contains an account, by Mr. W. F. Raunsley, of a South American quaker-parrot (AZyzopsitiacus monachus)—said to be the only nest-building species of its tribe —building in the open in the New Forest, near Lyndhurst. The nest, which was of large size, was constructed in the angle of the roof of ahouse. It is not the first time that birds of this species have nested in the open. WE have received two fasciculi 0. the Proceedings or the U.S. Museum (Nos. 1311 and 1312). In the former, Mr. J. E. Benedict describes as new one genus and forty-six species of the crustacean family Galatheidee, with a list of all the known marine representatives of the group. In the latter, Mr. W. H. Dall gives a synopsis of the molluscan family Veneridze, with a list of the existing North American species, among which many are new, THE Fishing Gazette or January 17 relates a curious incident which occurred at the fish-breeding establishment at Helms. bach, Germany, on July 3, 1899. In one of the buildings were some tanks containing a number of live trout about to be dispatched to Berlin. During a thunderstorm, a heavy flash of lightning appeared to strike the building, and on examination it was found that all the fish in the tank next an open window were dead. Although the wire-netting covering the tank was not damaged and the fish themselves showed no special signs of having been struck, there seems every probability that the deaths of the latter were caused by the lightning. A similar experience was recorded in Germany in 1901, and some years ago, after a severe thunderstorm, a number of large trout were found dead in a pool in our own Lea. THE Quarterly Review for January contains three articles connected with biological science. In the first, Mr. Lydekker discusses the origin of the present and past vertebrate faunas of South America, devoting special attention to the fossil mammals and birds of the pampean formation of the Argentine and the Santa Cruz beds of Patagonia. Itisshown that at the epoch of the deposition of the latter, South America was insulated and inhabited mainly by a fauna of edentates, peculiar ungulates, rodents, monkeys, marsupials and giant birds. A subsequent connection with North America permitted the immigration of northern types, while, conversely, a certain number of southern forms effected an entrance into North America. As to the origin of the primitive South American fauna, there is sull much uncertainty and speculation, but it is considered probable that a contingent was furnished from Africa by means of a land- bridge. Some remarkable evidence is cited in regard to the JANuARY 29, 1903] possible survival of one of the ground-sloths to modern times. The article is illustrated by figures of the remains of some of the extinct forms. In the second article—‘‘ A Conspectus of Science ”—Sir Michael Foster tells the history of the founding of the ‘‘ Inter- national Catalogue of Scientific Literature,” three parts of the first volume of which had been issued at the date of going to press. The immense value of the Royal Society’s ‘‘ Catalogue of Scientific Papers ” is fully acknowledged ; but the absence of a ‘‘subject-index” and the omissicn of all literature other than periodical render this publication—even if it could be continued—inadequate to present requirements. Finally, a brief reference is made to the portions of the ‘‘ International Catalogue” for 1901 already published, and the hope is expressed that when the staff has got into full swing, the annual volumes will be produced in a shorter space of time. THE third article in the January number of the Quarterly contains a review of a dozen works, for the most part on sport and travel, but including President Roosevelt’s volume on deer in the ‘* American Sportsman’s Library.”” The latter work, together with Mr. J. G. Millais’s volume on wild-fowl shooting in Scotland, has been already noticed in NATURE. The list also includes Prince Demidoff’s two volumes on big-game shooting in the Caucasus and the Altai and Mongolia, Mr. Powell-Cotton’s account of his recent Abyssinian expedition and Mr. W. P. Church’s ‘‘Chinese Turkestan with Caravan and Rifle.” The reviewer directs special attention to three features connected with modern sport—the comparative ease with which regions long thought practically inaccessible can be reached, the destruction of game all over the world and the means which should be taken for its preservation, and the advantage of rifles firing small projectiles at great velocity over weapons of larger calibre. THE evolution of the northern part of the lowlands of south- eastern Missouri, by Prof. C. F. Marbut (‘‘ University of Missouri Studies,” vol. i. No. 3, 1902), forms the subject of an essay on river development. The author endeavours to show how the Mississippi has abandoned two valleys and now occupies a third. It has, in his opinion, been twice captured by the smaller Ohio river. REFERRING to our report of Prof. J. B. Farmer’s remarks at the Chelsea conference (NATURE, January 15, p. 260), in which mention is made of the conditions under which larch grows, Mr. Hawie Brown gives some particulars of his own experience in the cultivation of this kind of tree. He says, ‘‘the best and healthiest and oldest Scottish larch grows on hill-slopes facing the north, where there is not a great depth of soil, but often a thin soil resting on a shaly bed.” Prof. Farmer has kindly supplemented our brief reference to his instance of the frequent lack of conscious and common-sense appreciation of the relations existing between cause and effect in the cultivation of crops which has led to the planting of a tree like larch in localities and under conditions obviously unsuitable for it. He adds, ‘‘of course the larch is a mountain tree, and the whole point of the illustration lies in the fact that in this particular instance the shallow soil overlyinz the rock was of a ‘sour’ and poor character, as indicated by the indigenous weed vegetation. It is generally accepted that the larch is a tree making consider- able demands on the soil, both as regards fertility and depth— or, at least, of openness.” OBSERVATIONS on fluctuations in the level and in the alkaline character of the ground water have been made by Mr. W. P. Headden at the Agricultural Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado (Bulletin 72, Agricultural College of Colorado, August, 1902). The total salts held in solutionin the well waters were NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | NATURE 305 less than in the water in the soil. As the water-plane falls, it leaves much saline matter in the soil, but the total solids in the ground water varied greatly in the different wells and also from time to time in each well. Reference is made to the salts that occur at different depths in the soil, to the abundant formation of nitric acid in the upper layers and to the effects of irrigation. AN ecological memoir possessing more than ordinary merit is the report on a botanical survey of the Dismal Swamp region, compiled by Mr. T. H. Kearney and published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The interest lies, not only in the nature of the associated formations, but is also due to the descriptions accompanied by very admirable and well-chosen illustrations. The region surveyed lies between Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound, and is marked bya series of inlets extending into or towards the inundated swamp area. A peculiar feature of these marshy inlets is the Baccharis- Hibiscus formation on the inner edge. Here Baccharts halimifolia is conspicuous with a snow-white pappus, and colour is added by Hibiscus moscheutos and Kosteletzkya virginica, another mal- vaceous plant. From the coast, a series of dunes leads up to Fig. r.—Incursion of the sand on inland vegetation near Cape Henry, Virginia. the forest. A remarkable plant found on the outer dunes is the aromatic composite Zva zbricata. The dunes are encroaching upon the inland vegetation, though not so rapidly as might be expected. Where the dunes are exposed, there the sand is piled up in hillocks, higher even than the neighbouring forest. The illustration which is reproduced shows how the banked-up sand, with a steep inner slope which may approach an angle of 45°, is pouring down on the trees growing in the swampy ground, the desert as it is called, while on the slope some old cypress trees still bearing a few leaves are gradually being overwhelmed in the drift. On the western side is situated Lake Drummond, a small patch in the extensive swamp, where the water has varied from 6 to 15 feet. A weird appearance more especially near the shore is presented by the stumps of old cypress trees, and still more fantastic are the aérating processes, the knees of the bald cypress, Zaxodium distichum, and the arching roots of the same plant and of the black gum Wyssa biflora. THE Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological Society for the session 1901-1902 (vol. ix. part ii., 1902) contain an interesting 306 IAL CTE [JANUARY 29, 1903 address, by Mr. Charles C, Moore, on the volume composition of rocks. He deals with the porosity of various rocks and observes that in many cases the appearance of the specimen does not give the slightest clue to its actual porosity. Comparisons are made between various rocks of similar chemical or mineralogical composition. The effect of pressure in the fault- ing of a sandstone has been used to calculate the amount of displacement. The structural changes that would occur from the conversion of a bed of limonite into hzematite are pointed out. The subject is one of considerable practical importance. Among other papers isone by Prof Bonney, on fragmental rocks as records of the past. Mr. Hucu J. L. BEADNELL has given an account of the Cretaceous region of Abu Roash, near the pyramids of Giza (Geological Survey Department, Egypt, 1902). The area lies near the edge of the Libyan Desert, some distance west of Cairo, and it is composed of an isolated massif of Cretaceous rocks in the midst of an unconformable and overlapping tract of Eocene strata. These structural relations have not hitherto been determined. Owing to the highly disturbed nature of the beds, due, as the author explains, to pre-Eocene folding and faulting, it has been a difficult matter to work out the complete succession in the Cretaceous rocks; but this hasnow been done, and Cenomanian, Turonian, Senonian and Danian subdivisions have been determined. Particulars of these and their fossils are given, together with illustrative sections and excellent photographic views of scenery, and there are brief descriptions of the Eocene and newer deposits. The author observes that the effects of the action of wind-borne sand in the denudation of rocks are perhaps more beautifully displayed at Abu Roash than in most other localities in the western desert—a fact due in great measure to the abundance of hard cherty and crystalline limestones, which so well exhibit the effects, Illustrations of these are given. A THIRD edition of ‘‘Modern Microscopy,” by Mr. M. I. Cross and Mr. Martin J. Cole, has been published by Messrs. Bailli¢re, Tindall and Cox. The book has been com- pletely revised, and now contains, in addition to the two parts into which the last edition was divided, a third section on the choice and use of microtomes, prepared by Mr. G. West. Messrs. Warts AND Co. have issued, for the Rationalist Press Association, Ltd., a sixpenny edition, in paper covers, of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s ‘‘ Education: Intellectual, Moral and Physical.” These essays are all well known to teachers throughout the world, and it is to be hoped that this cheap re- issue will serve to encourage parents everywhere to become familiar with sound principles of education. Tue “ Handbook of the Federated Malay States” (Stanford, 2s. 6d), compiled by Mr. H. Conway Belfield, British Resident of Selangor, contains trustworthy information brought together at the request of the Government for the use of persons interested in the Malay States. Direct guidance is offered to different classes who propose to emigrate to this part of the world. The handbook is well illustrated and plentifully sup- plied with maps and statistics. A copy of the thirty-third of the thirty-six parts of ‘* Living London,” being issued by Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd., under the editorship of Mr. G. R. Sims, has been received. It con- tains a section, by Mr. John Munro, on scientific London, pro- fusely illustrated by pictures showing audiences at the Royal Institution, the Royal Geographical Society and the Society of Arts. A full-page illustration depicts the ladies’ night at the Royal Society. Aw almanac for 1903, compiled at the offices of the Survey Department of the Public Works Ministry and published at Cairo, has been received. Much of the miscellaneous inform - NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | ation contained in the almanac will be of use to persons in this country personally interested in Egyptian affairs, for example, the conversion tables giving the Egyptian equivalents of English and French money, measures of length and weight. The facts provided deal with every department of administrative activity in the country. THE eighteenth issue of ‘‘ Hazell’s Annual,” that for 1903, has reached us. It is well described by its subtitle as a cyclopzedic record of men and topics of the day. Its abundance of inform- ation is arranged alphabetically and includes, amongst other matters of interest to men of science, summaries of the work accomplished during 1902 in the chief branches of natural knowledge. Particulars are also given concerning the impor- tant scientific societies and of the scientific institutions of a national character, such as the Royal Observatory, the National Physical Laboratory and Kew Observatory. Pror. Ltoyp MorGan, F.R.S., contributes to the current number of the Zzéernational Quarterly an article on the begin- nings of mind. He discusses in the first place the questions, Is mind a product of evolution ? second, Is mind a factor in the evolutionary process, and if so, under what limiting con- ditions? Towards the conclusion of his essay, Prof. Morgan says :—‘‘ From the physiological point of view, the conditions of the beginnings of mind would seem to be the differentiation of a control system with conscious concomitants. From the stand- point of behaviour, conscious accommodation through. control as the result of individual experience. And what from the psychological point of view? . . . One may surmise that there is, in some dim form of expectation, at least the germ of that looking before and after to which consciousness eventually attains with more and more clearness.” Another article in the same magazine deals with ethnology and the science of religion, and Prof. C. Lombroso endeavours to explain why criminals of genius have no type. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include an American Grass Snake (Contia vernalis) from Mexico, presented by Miss Green; two Smooth-headed Capuchins (Cedzs szonachzzs) from South-east Brazil,two Derbian Wallabys (AZacropus derbianus), three Brush Turkeys (7a/egal/e Jathami) from Australia, a Blue-fronted Amazon (Chrysotis oestiva), a Common Boa (Boa constrictor) from South America, deposited ; nine Regent Birds (Serécels me/inus) from Australia, purchased.” OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN FEBRUARY :— Feb. 2. 7h. 11m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 6. 9h. 45m. to roh. 3om. Moon occults 6 Tauri (mag. 4°7). : 9. 3h. 56m. to 4h. 49m. Moon occults A Geminorum (mag. 3°6). g. 1th. 21m. to 12h. 25m. Moon occults 68 Gemin- orum (mag. 5°0). II. 16h. 47m. to 17h.’ 45m. (mag. 4°5). II. Ceres in opposition to the sun (Ceres mag. 7°4). Moon occults v Leonis 14. Venus. Illuminated portion of disc =0'951, of Mars = 0'942. 15. Ith. om. Mars in conjunction with Moon (Mars BmozeN.))s 19. 4h. om. Jupiter in conjunction with the sun. 19. 12h. 5m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 22. 8h. 54m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 22. Perrine’s comet (1902 4) 24° E. of Sirius. 25. 5h. 43m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). : 27. ith. om. Mercvry at greatest elongation (26° 58’ W.). 27. Perrine’s comet (1902 4) 34° N. of Sirius. 28. Giacobini’s comet (1902 @) 24° S.S.W. of e Geminorum (mag. 32). JANUARY 29, 1903] NATURE Comer 1902 d (GIACOBINI).—A daily ephemeris of this comet is given by M. G. Fayet in No. 3840 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. The following is an extract therefrom :— 12h. MT. Paris. Date a Ct) log ». log A. Bright- h m. s ness. Jan. 29 ... 6 43 16 +12 53'2 074524 0'2871 1 48 Heb: 2). ..sOndlte D5 +14 12'7 04513 © 2911 1°46 Bois (Olu ORCORSS +15 31:2 04502 0:2061 1°43 Pie LO. ORS ons +16 483 04493 o-3019 1°40 PLA MONG ZANT 7 eur TOu355) WlO4d84.5 103085 1°36 Pots Sy. GMgON4.y +19 164 0°4476 0°3158 1°32 eis «22>. LOMBOL SS: +20 26:7 04469 . 0°3237 1°28 Pape 20) = ORSO 55. E2Ueghes. SOrMAO3 O) 3321 m2 Mar. 2... 6 37 44 +22 39:0 04458 0°3408 119 [o) Brightness at time of discovery =1° CoMEY 1903 @ (GIACOBINI).—The following ephemeris has been calculated by Herr M. Ebell and Prof. H. Kreutz (A7e/ Circular, No. 57). Ephemeris for 12h. M.T. Berlin. a. 6 Date. log. a Brightness npexneniss Pia Aneesh ees ul (57 +5 24°9 0°2043 1°9 Bebe) 4) s:2Bu i725, +6 356 0*1909 24 8... 23 23 17 syd BS 01753 30 D2) .ezguzougG eeee) HO. 03c0 0'1573 38 Brightness at time of discovery=1'o. SEARCH-EPHEMERI® FOR THE CoMET TEMPEL;-SWIFT.— In No. 3840 of the Asti onomische Nachrichten, M. J. Bossett gives a daily ephemeris for the search of this comet from which the following is an abstract :— 12h. MT. Paris. Date a 6 log » log a hsm) ss: Be oo Jan. 29 0 8 43 + 5 17'4 0062 O'I4I Bebe. Tl) 3) 1020127 + 6 25:4 Site RON2OISLG +710 5 0064 0142 @ Toor © Zo) C) +8177 8 O45.89) =. =F 9) e2t0 0067 07144 II Te OMU4o wes. 8 et LOmn7RO 13 Ley Sp2Ti ie +10 50°7. ... 0°072 0'148 A BriGHT METEOR.—Mr. C._ J. Lacy, writing to the Zvmes from Fleet, Hants, says that on January 25, at 7-57 p-m., he observed a very bright meteor. ‘*[t first attracted my attention near the zenith, and must have come within our range a few degrees to the south of Capella, which star, being directly in its path, was possibly even occulted. 1t sailed slowly and majest- ically ina N.N.W. direction, passing about two degrees north of Cassiopea and finally disappearing near the star Alderamin in Cepheus.” The head was remarkably brilliant and the tail was about ten or eleven degrees in length. : THE PLANET Mars.—In the January Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, M. E. Touchet gives some details respecting the coming opposition of Mars, and directs special attention to the fact that between February 27 and August 20 of this year, observers will have the opportunity of observing the phenomena attending the Martian summer in the northern hemisphere. The disappearance of the snow-cap will be the main feature, and is easily seen with small instruments. Two excellent coloured drawings of this planet, as observed with the 93-inch equatorial at Juvisy by MM. Flammarion and Antoniadi during the last opposition, accompany the article. REPORT OF THE HARVARD COLLEGE OBSERVATORY.—The fifty-seventh annual report of this observatory deals with the work done during the year which ended on September 30, 1902. A recent anonymous gift of twenty thousand dollars has enabled the authorities to erect a new fireproof wing in which to store the immense library of negatives which they now possess, and also to contract with Messrs. Alvan Clark and Sons for a new 2-foot reflector, which will be used, first at Cambridge (Mass.) and then at Arequipa, for obtaining photographs of faint objects in all parts of the sky. Seventeen thousand photometric light comparisons, observed with the East equatorial, 66,932 settings of the r2-inch meridian photometer and 10,784 measures with the smaller meridian photometer have been made during the year by Profs. Wendell, E. C. Pickering and Bailey respectively. The ‘‘ Henry Draper Memorial” photographs now show the NO. 1735, VOL. 67] 307 spectrum of every star in the sky which is permanently greater than the ninth or tenth magnitude, besides many more which are fainter. Prof. Bailey has been to Arequipa, taking the meridian photometer with him, in order to obtain measures of comparison stars for the observation of Eros at its next Opposition, when it will be too far south for the European and United States observatories to observe it. The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, carried on at the expense and under the direction of Mr. Rotch, has made several special series of observations during 1902, amongst which the determination of the meteorologicil conditions of the upper atmosphere by means of kites has been very successful. It is now proposed to explore the atmosphere above the tropics and the equator by this means. The time service is now working under anew system, devised by Mr. Gerrish, in which an electric light, which acts as the signal, is made to pulsate in response to the signals from the standard clock A RECORD OF THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 1808. THs interesting report ' has been considerably delayed for the reason given in the preface that the director, Prof. Naegamvala, has been engaged in securing solar and stellar Spectra which might assist in discussing the chromosphere spectrum, which he considers was first adequately secured at this eclipse. The report gives the usual details as to the selection of a site, ultimately fixed at Jeur, and gives a full description of the instru- ments used and of the work of the observers. It is liberally furnished with maps and photographs, and we must express our admiration of the excellent manner in which these records have been reproduced. The report itself is interesting reading and appeals to a larger audience than professional astronomers ; any intelligent reader casually taking it up will find much to attract his attention. The pictures of the corona are particularly fine; maps showing the alterations in its shape at maximum and minimum sun-spot periods, compile! {rom various sources, are appended and may be useful for handy reference. The spectrum of the lower chromosphere appears to have been the part of the subject which had the most attraction for Prof. Naegamvala, and he has devoted a large part of the report to this question. Some authorities regard it asa mere reversal of the Fraunhofer spectrum, while others, Sir Norman Lockyer in particular, consider that the reversals take place, not in one thin layer, but at various levels of the solar atmosphere. So far as this point is concerned, Prof. Naegamvala comes to the conclusion that there ‘‘ can be no question that Lockyer has fully established his contention.” With regard to the true explanation of the chromospheric lines in relation to the Fraunhofer spectrum generally, he considers the question to be still sab judice. The very important point of the intensities of the lines of the chromospheric spectrum as compared with those of the Fraunhofer spectrum has, however, not been included in the discussion. It is unfortunate that, as Prof. Naegamvala states, the six-inch prismatic camera with which the so-called ‘‘ flash” spectrum was taken was somewhat out of focus, owing to the brief time at the observer’s disposal for its adjustment, and from the reproduction of the plate the arcs are apparently not sufficiently sharp for accurate measurement. For this purpose, they are distinctly inferior to the spectrum obtained by Mr. Shackleton at Novaya Zemlya in 1896, which, from a remark in the preface, Prof. Naegamvala thinks he has improved on. On this point, we are afraid we cannot agree with him. The wave-length of the celebrated ‘‘green line” is found by the Poona measurements to be A 5301°195, which is rather less than that found by other observers. Although we do not think that the many questions connected with eclipses are advanced beyond the point reached by other observers and whose reports were published long ago, we can heartily congratulate Prof. Naegamvala and his eclipse observers on haying produced so interesting and readable a volume. Inla 1Pc 1 Report‘ on the total solar eclipse of January, 1898, by Kavaoji Dadabhai Naegamvala, director of the Observatory at Poona. (Bombay : Govern- ment Central Press.) 308 NAT ORE [JANUARY 29, 1903 | CHARACTERISTICS OF RECENT VOLCANIC | ERUPTIONS. | | HERE is a remarkable similarity between the islands of | St. Vincent and Martinique. Both are roughly oval in | form, with the long axis almost north and south. The north- | west portion of each is occupied by a volcano, the Soufricre and | Mont Pelée, which have many points in common. Both | volcanoes show a single or practically single vent, and a remarkable absence of parasitic cones and a scarcity of dykes. In both a transverse valley exists to the south of the volcanoes, and the main discharge of ejecta during the recent eruptions, which have often been nearly synchronous, has been into this depression, and especially into its westerly portion. In both islands, the recent eruptions have been characterised by paroxysmal discharges of incandescent ashes, with comparatively — few larger fragments and a complete absence of lava. There are, however, a few points of difference. The eruptions of St. Vincent have been altogether on a much larger scale than those in Martinique. The area devastated was considerably larger, the amount of ashes ejected probably ten times as great, and if the loss of life was not so large, this is accounted for by the absence of a populous city at the foot of the mountain. While both volcanoes show practically a single vent, this is much more marked by the case of St. Vincent, where, excepting | the new crater, which is practically part of the old or main one, there is not a single parasitic cone. We saw no fumaroles, no | hot springs, or any trace of radial cracks and fissures. On Mont Pelée, it is true, the main activity is confined to a restricted area about the summit of the mountain, and the top of the great fissure which extends or extended from this down in the direction of the Riviere Blanche ; and there are no parasitic cones comparable, for instance, to those which are so numerous on Etna; but there are many fumaroles, which Prof. Lacroix and his colleagues speak of as emitting gases hot enough to melt lead and even copper wire. A telegraph cable has been three times broken at about the same place, and the broken ends on one occasion, at any rate, showed marks of fusion. There are also several hot springs. Judging from these and other indica- tions, it is most probable that radial cracks entered deeply through the substance of the mountain, and penetrated even the submarine portion of its cone. The local distribution of erupted material in Martinique is accounted for by the great fissure at the top of the valley of the Riviere Blanche, which communicated with the main pipe of the volcano, and out of which the eruptions took place. This fissure, which was mentioned as existing in the eruption of 1851, pointed almost directly towards St. Pierre, and as the erupted material flowed out almost like a fluid, it was directed straight down on the doomed city. The lowest portion of the lip of the crater of the Soufriere was much broader and more even, so the incandescent avalanche which descended from it was spread much more widely. The latest accounts from Prof. Lacroix indicate that the recent small eruption of Mont Pelée has filled up the highest parts of the fissure and formed a cone, the foot of which covers up the former crater ring. In any further eruption, therefore, | the avalanche of incandescent sand will not be confined to the | district of the Riviere Blanche, but may descend on any side of the mountain. The accompanying photograph of Mont Pel¢e in eruption was obtained from a ten-ton sloop in a sea way and is therefore not quite sharp. Attention was directed to the eruption by a peculiar black cloud which appeared over the volcano and then rolled down the side of the mountain to the sea. The cloud was formed of surging, rolling, expanding masses, in shape much like those of the previous cauliflowers, but quite black, and full of lightning-flashes and scintillations, while small flashes constantly struck from its lower surface on to the sea. The upper slopes of the mountain cleared somewhat, and some big red-hot stones were thrown out; then the triangular crack became red, and out of it poured a surging mass of incandescent material, reminding us of nothing so much as a big snow- avalanche in the Alps, but at a vastly different temperature. It was perfectly well defined, did not at all tend to rise like the previous cauliflowers, but flowed rapidly down the valley in the side of the mountain which had clearly been the track of pre- vious eruptions, until in certainly less than two minutes it reached 1 Froma discourse delivered by Dr. Tempest Anderson at the Royal Institution on January 23. | rapidity than before. | the cloud and the sea on which it rested. NO. 1735, VOL. 67 | the sea, and was there lost to view behind the remains of the first black cloud, with which it appeared to coalesce. There and on the slopes of the mountain were doubtless deposited the greater part of the incandescent ash, waile the steam and gases, with a certain portion of still entangled stones and ash, came forward in our direction as a black cloud, but with much greater The cloud got nearer and nearer ; it was. well defined, black and opaque, formed of surging masses of the cauliflower type, each lobe rolling forward, but not all with one uniform rotation ; bright scintillations appeared, some in the cloud itself and some like little flashes of light vertically between This was clearly the phenomena described by the survivors in the St. Vincent erup- tion as ‘‘ fire on the sea,” occurring in the black cloud which overwhelmed the windward side of that island. We examined them carefully, and are quite clear that they were electric dis- charges. The scintillations in the body of the cloud became less numerous and more defined, and gradually took the form of vivid flashes of forked lightning darting from one part of the cloud to another. When the cloud had got within perhaps hal. a mile ora mile of us—for it is difficult to estimate distances at sea and ina bad light—we could see small material falling out of it in sheets and festoons into the sea, while the onward motion seemed to be chiefly confined to the upper part, which then came over our heads and spread out in advance and around us, but left a layer of clear air in our immediate neighbourhood. It was ablaze all the time with electric discharges. Fic. 1.—Photograph of an eruption of Mont Pelée. As soon as it got overhead, stones began to fall on deck, some as bigas a walnut, and we were relieved to find that they had parted with their heat and were quite cold. Then came small ashes and some little rain. The cloud was also noticed at Fort de France. It was described as like those in the previous erup- tions, but was the only one in which electric scintillations had been noticed. Two unbiased observers, who had seen it and that of May, declared this was the larger of the two. As to the mechanism of the hot blast and the source of the power which propelled it, both Dr. Flett and I are convinced of the inadequacy of previous explanations, such as electricity, vortices, or explosions in passages pointing laterally and down- wards, or explosions confined and directed down by the weight of the airabove. Such passages into the mountain, which, to be effective, would require to be closed above, do not exist in the case of the Soufriére, and we are not aware that they have been observed in Mont Pelée ; and as tothe weight of the air, this did not prevent the explosions in the pipe of the Soufricre from projecting sand and ashes right through the whole thick- ness of the trade-winds until they were caught by the anti-trade current above and carried to Barbados. cloud, as we saw it emerge from Mont Pelée, seemed to balance | itself at the top of the mountain, start slowly to descend and gather speed in its course, and the second incandescent dis- Moreover, the black | JANUARY 29, 1903] charge followed the same rule. We believe that the motive power for the descent was gravity, asin the case of any ordinary avalanche. The accepted mechanism of a volcanic eruption is that a molten magma rises in the volcano chimney. It consists of fusible silicates and other more or less refractory minerals, some- times already partly crystallised, and the whole highly charged with water and gases, which are kept ina liquid state by the immense pressure to which they are subjected. When the mass rises nearer the surface and the pressure is diminished, the water and gases expand into vapour and blow a certain portion of the heavier and less fusible materials to powder, or, short of this, form pumice stone, which is really solidified froth, and they are violently discharged from the crater. When the greater part of the steam and gases have been discharged, the lava, still rising, gets vent either, over the lip of the crater or often through a lateral fissure, and flows quietly down the side of the mountain. It is quite recognised that these phenomena may occur in various relative proportions. We believe that in these Pelean eruptions, the lava which rises in the chimney is charged with steam and gases, which explode as usual, but some of the explosions happen to have only just sufficient force to blow the mass to atoms and lift the greater part of it over the lip of the crater without distributing the whole widely in the air. The mixture of solid particles and incandescent gas behaves like a heavy liquid, and before the solid particles have time to subside, the whole rolls down the side of the mountain under the influence of gravity, and consequently gathers speed and momentum as it goes. The heavy solid particles are gradually deposited, and the remaining steam and gases, thus relieved of their burden, are free to ascend, The effect of avalanches in compressing the air before them and setting up a powerful blast, the effects of which extend beyond the area covered by the fallen material, has long been recognised. A group of large trees was overthrown by the blast of the great avalanche from the Attels on the Gemmi pass in 1895; all lay prostrate in directions radiating away from the place where the avalanche came down. THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S MEETING. THE monthly meeting of the Zoological Society of London, at their house in Hanover Square, held on January 22, was well attended, it being expected that some account of the operations of the committee of reorganisation recently appointed by the council, on the occasion of the change in the secretary- ship, would be given. The chair was taken by His Grace the Duke of Bedford, K.G., the president, at 4 p.m., and the few secretary, Mr. W. L. Sclater (lately director of the South African Museum, Cape Town), was present for the first time. After the election of new fellows and other routine business, the report of the council was read by the secretary. It stated that thirty additions had been made to the Society’s menagerie ‘during the month of December last, amongst which was a very fine pair of the one-wattled cassowary (Caswarius uniappendt- culatus), deposited by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, M.P. The report also stated that the total income of the Society in 1902 had been 29,0772., being, in spite of the bad weather that had prevailed during the summer, only 273/. less than the receipts of the previous year, and being the sixth largest annual income ever received by the Society. The report of the reorganisation committee was then read to the meeting by Sir Harry Johnston, K.C.B., the hon. secretary of the com- mittee. It was divided into numerous heads relating to every branch of the Society’s affairs, and containing recommendations thereon. Many of these were of a technical character, but important changes were advised under the heads of the gardens and menagerie, the prosectorium, the staff at Hanover Square and the secretaryship. The charge of the Society’s gardens and menagerie was proposed to be entrusted to a member of the council, Mr. W. E. de Winton. Mr. de Winton would thus, for the present, take the place of Mr. Clarence Bartlett, who has retired on account of bad health on a pension. This appointment being for a year only would give time for the selection of a new superintendent, who must possess special qualifications such as were not easily to be found. Various buildings, such as the giraffe house, the small mammals’ house and the bears’ dens, were pointed out as specially requiring reconstruction, and there should be a new NO. 1735, VOL. 67] NATURE 309 seals’ pond and better accommodation for the polar bears. Alterations were also recommended at the monkey and antelope houses and in other buildings. A foreman keeper should be appointed to make periodical tours of inspection in the gardens during the day, and the keepers should be forbidden to accept gratuities, to trade in living animals or to keep them without the sanction of the authorities. The prosectorium should be carried on by the present officer in charge (Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S.), but on lines to be laid down by a scientific committee, so that the work should have a more definite object. The prosector should also have a veterinary assistant, who would help in the fost #zortems and look after the health of the animals in the menagerie. The salary of the new secretary would begin at 6007, a year, and his work would be under the supervision of various committees, of all of which the president would be an ex officio member. These committees were to be directly responsible to the council. The garden-guide, which the council had formerly granted to the secretary as part of his emolument, had now reverted to the Society, and would be improved and carried on for their benefit. After the report had been read, the recommendations based upon it and adopted by the council were read from the chair by the president, and it was agreed that they should be printed and sent to the fellows. Notice of a motion was then given by Mr. A. G. Ross that copies of the testimonials tendered to the council by Mr. W. L. Sclater, the newly elected secretary, and by Dr. Chalmers Mitchell (one of the unsuccessful candidates) should be printed and sent to all the fellows. This motion was ordered to be discussed at the next general meeting on February 19. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Av Bedford College on Thursday, February 5, a lecture on ‘¢ Blectricity and Matter” will be given by Sir Oliver Lodge. THE first two scholarships at Oxford granted under the terms of Mr. Rhodes’s will have just been awarded by the Government of Rhodesia to two students of the Jesuit College in Bulawayo. Tue award of valuable scholarships by private institutions deserves encouragement. We are glad, therefore, to notice that as a result of the recent scholarship examinations, the board of control of the Electrical Standardising, Testing and Training Institution has made the following awards:—To W. H. C. Prideaux, of Shrewsbury School, a Faraday scholarship, value eighty guineas, tenable for two years; to N. S. Smith, of Wellingborough School, an exhibition, value thirty guineas, tenable for two years; to W. d’Arcy Madden, of Haileybury College, and to Frederick Smith, of Aldenham College, special prizes of ten guineas each. Ir is understood that the Carnegie Trust will shortly take active steps to encourage post-graduate research. The present idea is that with the assistance of the Trust, students, after graduating, will be enabled to prosecute thoroughly their par- ticular branches of study. Mr. Carnegie is reported not to consider suitable the post-graduate organisation of Oxford and Cambridge. His scheme will provide no substantial livings. The amount of fellowships, while ample for adequate study, will not be so large as to induce the possessors to cling to them for a livelihood, and, moreover, the fellows will be selected and not ascertained by competition. The fellowships will be directed mainly into the channels of scientific research. Graduates desiring to become fellows will be required to state the class of research they wish to pursue. Tue annual meeting of the Mathematical Association was held on January 24, Prof. A. Lodge in the chair. The report of the committee appointed by the Association to consider the subject of the teaching of elementary mathematics, to which reference has already been made in these columns, was referred to in the council’s report for the past year. Prof. Forsyth was elected president for the forthcoming year, and Mr. A. W. Siddons submitted the report of the committee on the teaching of elementary mathematics, which, he said, had been criticised as very conservative. The most immediate need was that the preparatory schools should move in the matter, and they should get the head-masters of such schools to adopt a more modern treatment of mathematics. It would not be done in the public schools unless the boys were taught from the beginning. 310 Ina short discussion which followed, Prof. Forsyth said it was desirable that they should not hurry changes. It did not he with the public schools or the preparatory schools to make changes. There was a vast body of teachers in the small schools, but the great difficulty was to get at such teachers and induce them to adopt new methods. The report was adopted. AMONG the many interesting papers read at the conference of the Froebel Society and the Child-Study Association on Saturday was one by Dr. W. B. Drummond, of Edinburgh, who dwelt upon the preparation for child-study as a piece of proper scientific investigation carried on according to modern methods. He laid down that a course of training in biology, that is to say, in the practical study of plants and animals, was the first essential to success. His reason was that the obser- vations made on children are in reality part of biology. Next a course of psychology should follow, and then one in methods of education, for many of these have been based upon an intimate acquaintance with the ways and needs of children. He pointed out how advantage was taken of the peculiarities of the child mind in the Bible, and instanced the setting up of the twelve stones from Jordan so that when they had aroused the curiosity of the children, and this had been satisfied, the monu- ment would always be a reminder to them of the crossing of Jordan as on dry land. The educational results of many celebra- tions, customs and games which we are ourselves familiar with were touched upon, though it was pointed out that these were not always intentional at the beginning. The danger was pointed out of asking children ill-considered questions which might excite their imagination in a way detrimental to them, or which by sug- gesting an answer or confusing the young persons might defeat the object of the experiment. During the course of the paper, the characteristics of primeval man were touched upon, as indeed they had been previously during the conference, and in the conciuding discussion, Mr. Lewis Paton, head-master of University College School, expressed the opinion that much light could be thrown upon the ways of boys by a study of savages. Another and possibly more serious point was that he found by the time his pupils had reached the age of nine and came to him, their characters were formed or more often deformed, and this is a very strong argument for the advance- ment of child-study. AN article by Sir William Ramsay, in the January number of East and West, deals with the recent Report of the Indian Universities Commission, and contains several suggestions which ought to be read by all who are interested in the aims and character of university education. The commissioners had not the courage of their convictions, for after forming an accurate conception of the function of a university, they refused to act upon it and accepted old ideals as offering the path of least resistance for the universities of India to follow. As regards the government of the universities, Sir William Ramsay shows that the commissioners could have found abundant precedent for a recommendation that a small number of persons, not exceeding ten, should have been given control of the funds of the university, leaving to the teachers—that is, heads of departments—the entire management of academical affairs. The large number of colleges—many of them really secondary schools —in so-called affiliation with Indian universities presents a diffi- culty, but the suggestion is put forward that it could be overcome by making the B.A. and B.Sc. degrees, or the former only, equivalent toa leaving examination for secondary schools. Students who wished to pursue their studies would do so at the univer- sities. There would thus be a separation of the college from the university, as in the United States, where numerous colleges give the degrees of A.B. and S.B., and the students afterwards proceed to such places of post-graduate study as the Johns Hopkins University or the university side of Harvard. Some American universities have both college and university sides, but the students in the latter are those proceeding to higher degrees. As to the objection. that unless external examiners are called in the examination for degrees by colleges could not be contemplated, Sir William Ramsay urges that the teacher ought to be trusted to gauge the capacity of his students, though it would be advisable for him to act in conjunction with an external examiner for all the colleges to secure uniformity of standard. Finally, he remarks :—‘‘ The true prosperity and success of colleges and of universities in training men for their later careers, and in creating and disseminating knowledge, depend on the observance of two fundamental maxims :—First, NO 1735, VOL. 67] NATURE [ JANUARY 29, 1903 choose for professors men who have made some reputation and are engaged in active prosecution of research ; second, give such men a wide liberty in dealing with their subjects and with their students. Where these maxims have been acted on, university education has been a conspicuous success, and the creation and progress of knowledge have been maintained. May India see fit to adopt and practise these maxims.” SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. American Journal of Science, January.—The morphogenesis of Platystrophia. A study of the evolution of a Palzozoic brachiopod, by E. R. Cumings.—On ruling concave gratings, by W. Rollins. It has been shown that the Rowland concave gratings give false spectral lines so sharp and clear that there is probability and some evidence that they have been mistaken for real lines. The cause of this is examined, and suggestions are made for a new design of ruling machine in which these defects are overcome. The machine has not yet been constructed, — The variations of potential along a wire transmitting electric waves, by C. A. Chant.—Rickardite, a new mineral, by W. E. Ford. The mineral occurs in the Good Hope mine at Vulcan, Colorado, and consists of a nearly pure copper telluride, Cu,Te,.—On the occurrence of free phosphorus in the Saline Township meteorite, by Oliver C. Farrington. The phosphorus was noticed on drilling a hole into the meteorite for the purpose of breaking off a piece, and was proved to exist in the free state by its smell, luminosity, action on silver nitrate and con- version into ammonium phosphomolybdate. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Sociely (2), ix., No. 3 (December, 1902).—W. B. Fite, commutator subgroups of groups whose orders are powers of primes. —L. I. Hewes, note on irregular determinants. —G. O, James, on the projections of the absolute accelerations in relative motion. —E. P. Eisenhart, on infinitesimal deformation of the skew helicoid.—S. Epoteen, on integrability by quadratures. —E. B. Wilson, account of the Abel centenary.—Reviews : English and French translations of Hilbert’s ‘‘Grundlagen der Geometrie ” (E. R. Iedrick) 5 Dickson's ‘‘ Linear Groups” (G. A. Miller) ; Buckirgham’s “ Thermodynamics” (E. H. Hall).—No. 4 (January, 1903).— F. Cajori, on series whose product is absolutely convergent.— | L. E. Dickson, on the abstract simple groups of orders 504 and | 660.—C. M. Mason, account of the Carlsbad meeting of the Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Anthropological Institute, January 13.—Dr. AL 1G Haddon, F.R.S , in the chair.—Dr. C. S. Myers read a paper on the future of anthropometry. He suggested that the work in which anthropometry had hitherto been concerned, viz. the determination of the average metric differences between the various peoples of the world, must ultimately yield before improved methods and new problems. The feequency -distribu- tion of any one character in a series of individuals must be studied with greater accuracy. The mean of the deviations of individuals from the mean of the whole series and the form of the binomial frequency-curve require to be determined both for relatively pure and mixed peoples. Frequency-curves will almost invariably show more than one point of maximal frequency. But before the usual inference 1s drawn that these several peaks represent heterogeneous elements in the series, care must be taken that the irregularities of distribution are not the result of examining an insufficient number of individuals. The future will see the precise investigation of the degree of correlation of various characters, the mode of inheritance of characters, the fertility and characters of cross-breds, and the effect of migration and evolution on mankind. Mr. Francis Galton, Prof. Karl Pearson and others have already made a start. Anthropometry has first to look for aid to the infant science of biometry, which can employ experimental and there- fore simpler conditions. The whole study of natural history | is passing from the descriptive to the quantitative aspect. In | this, physical anthropology must join. JANUARY 29, 1903 | Royal Meteorological Society, January 21.—Mr. W. IH. Dines, president, in the chair.—The President delivered an address on the method of kite-flying from a steam vessel and meteorological observations obtained thereby off the west coast of Scotland. In the spring of 1901, the Royal Meteorological Society appointed a committee for the purpose of making an investigation as to the temperature and moisture of the upper air, and the British Association, at the Glasgow meeting, also appointed a committee to cooperate in the work. At the request of the joint committee, Mr. Dines undertook to carry on the inquiry during the summer of 1902, and in this address he gave an interesting account of all that he had done. After describing the apparatus, which included kites (of a modified Blue Hill pattern), eight miles of wire in one piece, winding-in apparatus, steam engine and meteorograph, he proceeded to give an account of his work and observations at a fixed station, and also from a steam tug, in the neighbourhood of Crinan off the west coast of Scotland. A considerable amount of inform- ation concerning meteorological phenomena was obtained, seventy- one observations of temperature at an average height of 4140 feet and thirty-eight charts from the self-recording instruments with an average of more than 6000 feet having been secured. The greatest height attained was 15,000 feet, by means of four kites on the wire. The temperature gradient over the sea was considerably less than its average value over the land, being about 1° for every 300 feet of height. The upper currents were found to differ in direction from those below much less than was expected. Asa general rule, the humidity increased up to a level of about a mile and then decreased. Mr. Dines illus- trated his address with a number of interesting lantern slides. — Captain D, Wilson- Barker was elected president for the ensuing year. Entomological Society, Annual Meeting, January 21.—The Rev. Canon Fowler, president, in the chair.—Canon Fowler, the retiring president, in the first part of his address dealt chiefly with the many facts that have been recently brought forward with re- gard to cryptic coloration and mimicry, more especially as affect- ing the order Coleoptera ; the facts are indisputable, but the hypotheses founded upon them are, perhaps, sometimes pressed tov far. In the second part, the question of the origin of the Coleoptera was discussed ; there is no satisfactory evidence of the appearance of the order in the Paleozoic period, but the leading families are found in the Lias, as completely differen- lated as at the present time; in fact, many of the genera and even the species are almost identical with those now living ; the Coleoptera, that is to say, have altered but little from the time at which they existed side by side with the gigantic extinct saurians and the pterodactyles ; the whole question of the origin and history of the insects generally is of the first importance in the history of evolution. PaRIS. Academy of Sciences, January 19.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair.—Notice on the work of the late M. Sirodot, by M. Bornet. —Researches on the chinchona alkaloids, by MM. Berthelot and Gaudechon. A thermochemical paper, giving the heats of combustion and formation of quinine and quinidine, together with the heats of solution of several salts of these alkaloids. Attention was paid to the influence of the physical condition of the quinine, the value obtained with quinine which had been recently precipitated being slightly different from that given by quinine which had been precipitated for some days. The isomer quinidine proved to have the same function, the same heats of formation and of neutralisation.—On some formulze of kinematics useful in the general theory of elasticity, by M. P. Duhem.—The coloured drawings on the walls of the cave of La Mouthe, forming true decorative panels, by M. Emi Riviere, The antiquity of the numerous drawings and paintings on the walls of this cave has been verified by the anthropologists of the Congress of the French Association for the Advancement of Science. The drawings have been identi- fied as certainly dating from the Quaternary epoch. They are contemporary with the Zarandus rangifer, Ursus spelaeus and Hyaena spelaea, The extreme freshness of some of the drawings threw some doubt on their authenticity, but it has been shown that these are covered with the same clay as the others. A detailed account of the drawings uncovered up to the present is given, and the work is being continued.—On a colouring matter from the figures in the cave of La Mouthe, by M. Henri NO. 1735, VOL. 67] NATURE 311 Moissan. The black colouring matter, freed from particles of silica and chalk, proved to consist entirely of an oxide of manganese, It is'similar to that discovered by MM. Capitan and Breuil in the cave of Font de Gaume.—On_ the reducibility of differential equations, by M. R. Liouville,— On the universal functions of the plane and surfaces of Riemann, by M. A. Korn.—On the surfaces which correspond with parallelism of the tangent planes and conservation of areas, by M. C. Guichard.—The proof of a rotating electromagnetic field produced by a helicoidal modification of stratifications in a tube of rarefied air, by M. Th. Tommasina. The facts described correspond with the view of the anodic origin of these phenomena and the part played by reflection in the anode modification. It is pointed out that if the charges are trans mitted along the helicoidal bundle, this should behave as a solenoid carrying a current. In this case, the bundle which would be the deviable bundle should turn under the action of the other part of the current which passes along the non- deviable bundle, precisely like a movable solenoid turning round a fixed linear current.—On the so-called electrolytic re- duction of potassium chlorate, by M. André Brochet. A criticism of a paper by Bancroft and Burrows. The author is in general agreement with the experimental part of this work, but arrives at quite different conclusions regarding the true explanation of the phenomenon. The reduction he regards as being produced by a secondary and purely chemical reaction, and hence concludes that the reduction is not electrolytic properly so called.—On a mode of formation of phenols, by M. F. Bodroux. Phenyl-magnesium bromide and the cor- responding derivative s of other aromatic hydrocarbons are slowly acted upon by dry air, and from the product of this re- action, alter acidifying with hydrochloric acid, phenols can be extracted. Working in this way, phenol has been obtained from bromobenzene, and ortho- and para-bromotoluene have been transformed into the corresponding cresols. From mono- bromaniscl, the monomethylether and hydroquinone were obtained, parabromophenetol behaving similarly. The yields are small, varying from 5 to 10 percent. of the theoretical. —On ethyl dinitroacetate, by MM. L. Bouveault and A. Wahl. This compound has been obtained by the action of ordinary fuming nitric acid upon the acid ethyl ester of malonic acid. carbon dioxide being given off. The physical and chemical properties of the nitro-compound are given, and the preparation of the ammonium salt described.—The influence of the nature of the external medium on the state of hydration of the plant, by MM. Eug. Charabot and A.Hebert. The effect of the addition of a salt of a mineral acid to the soil is to accelerate the diminution of the proportion of water in the plant. The nitrates have the most powerful effect in causing the loss of water, then follow sulphates, chlorides and finally sodium phosphate.—Observations on the theory of cell division, by M. P. A. Dangeard. The primitive laws of cell division are found to be modified by the appearance of a membrane or an inextensible envelope; the laws of Hertwig and Pflueger only give expression to this modification interposed in the cel- lular structure in the course of development.—The existence of the lower Cretacean in Argolide, Greece, by M L. Cayeux.— On the presence of a kinase in some Basidiomycetes, by MM. C. Delezenne and H. Mouton, The powdered fungus is extracted with saline water (0°8 per cent.) in presence of toluol, and the liquid filtered either through paper ora Berkefeld filter, the extract from Amanita muscaria giving the best results. This extract, which is inactive towards albumen, when mixed with a pancreatic juice also inactive by itself, is capable of rapidly digesting albu- men. The effectsare produced by a soluble ferment analogous to enterokinase. —The influence of the stereochemical configuration of glucosides on the activity of the hydrolytic diastases, by M. Henri Pottevin. An examination of some apparent excep- tions to the law of Fischer.—Acetaldehyde in the ageing and alterations of wine, by M. A. Trillat. Acetaldehyde appears to play an important part in the various modifications under- gone by wine. The ageing corresponds to a normal oxidation of the alcohol of the wine, resulting in the formation of aldehydes, their transformation into acetals and esters. Under the influence of certain diseases, 1he proportion of aldehydes increases according to the conditions, these aldehydes may either form an insoluble compound with the colouring matter or may be resinified by the action of the mineral salts of the wine. —The comparative bactericidal power of the electric arc between poles of ordinary carbon or of carbon containing iron, 312 by MM. Alfred Chatin and S, Nicolau. The arc withiron has always a greater bactericidal power than the arc between ordinary carbon poles, the effect being most marked with the ‘staphylococcus aureus and least with the anthrax bacillus, but even in the latter a the ratio of the times required for sterilisation was as 5:1 in favour of the poles containing iron.— Researches on the a: power of Ksopo or Tanghin de Menabe, by M. Lucien Camus.—The origin of pearls in Mytilus gallo-provincialis, by M. Raphaél Dubois. New SoutH WALEs. Royal Society, November 5, 1902.— Prof. Warren, president, in the chair.—New South Wales Meteorites, by Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S. Barratta Meteorites, Nos. 2and 3. The first meteorite from this locality was examined by the author in 1872; the later ones were received in 1889. No. 2 weighed 313 Ib. and No. 3 48 lb. ; they both very closely resemble the first one found in appearance, specific gravity, &c. No. 2 has, on analysis, been found to resemble No. 1 also in chemical composition ; it is essentially a mixture of enstatite, olivine, &c., with about 6 per cent. of nickeliferous iron. No. 3 has not yet been analysed. Gilgoin Meteorites, Nos. t and 2. The weight of No. 1 was 674 lb. and its sp. gr. 3°857. They are both much fissured and weathered. No 2 weighed 74 lb. and has a sp. gr. of 3°757. No. 1 has been found on analysis to resemble the Barratta meteorites, but to contain more lime and alumina, and less iron and magnesia and about 14 per cent. of nickeliferous i iron. No. 2 has not yet been analysed. Boogaldt (Bugoldi) Meteorite. An account of this meteorite was given by Mr. R. T. Baker about two years ago; it has since been analysed; the principal constituents are iron 91°135, nickel 8-636, cobalt 0°065 and phosphorus 0'17.—Forests considered in their relation to rainfall and the conservation of moisture, by Mr. J. H. Maiden. A descriptive statement of the relation between forests and water supply. Some uses of forests are, (a) to temper floods ; (4) to conserve springs and to aid in the more even distribution of terrestrial waters ; (c) to prevent evaporation of water ; (@) to give shelter to stock, crops, &c. ; (¢) the leaves of forest trees, &c., afford manure and mulch. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, January 209. Rovat Society, at 4.30.—The Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism: Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer-—The Bending of Electric Waves rounda Conducting Obstacle : H. M. Macdonald, F. R. S.—On Skew Refraction through a “Lens : 3 and on the Hollow Pencil given by an Annulus of a very Obliquely Placed Lens: Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S.—On the Decline of the Injury Current in Mammalian Nerve, and its Modification by Changes of Temperature: Miss S. C. M. Sowton and J. S. Macdonald. Roya. InsTiTuTION, at 5.—Pre-Phoenician Writing in Crete and its Bearings on the History of the Alphabet: Dr. A. J. Evans. FRIDAY, January 30. RovAL INsTITUTION, at 9.—Vibration Problems in Engineering Science: Prof. W. E. Dalby. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Design of the Electrical Equipment of a Light Railway: J. R.MacIntosh. SATURDAY, JANUARY 31. Essex Fiectp Crus (Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.30.—Proposals for a Photographic and Pictorial Survey of Essex : A. E. Briscoe. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Society or ArTs, at 8.—Paper Manufacture: Julius Hiibner. Victoria INSTITUTE, at 4-30.—On the Unseen Life of our World, and of Living Growth ; Design, Human and Divine: Prof. Lionel S. Beale, F.R.S. Society oF CHEmIcAL InpusTRY, at 8.—Statistics of British and German Chemical Trades for 1901, with Suggestions for Improving the Official Tables: F. Evershed.—The Standardisation of Analytical Methods: H. Droop Richmond. TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 3- Rovat INSTITUTION, at 5.—The Physiology of Digestion : Macfadyen. Society oF Arts, at. 8.—Technical Education in Connection with the Book-Producing Trades: Douglas Cockerell. MINERALOGICAL “SociETY, at 8.—(1) On a Meteoric Stone seen to fall on August 22, 1902, at Caratash, Smyrna; (2) Note on the History of the Mass of Meteoric Iron found in the Neighbourhood of Caperr, Patagonia: L. Fletcher, F.R.S.—On the Crystalline Forms of Carbides and Silicides of Iron and Manganese: L. J. Spencer.—The Refractive Indices of Pyromorphite: H. L. Bowman.—Note on Quartz Crystals from De Aar: T. V. Barker. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Dzscussion of papers on The Nile Reservoir, Assuan: M. Fitzmaurice, C.M.G.—Sluices and Lock- Gates of the Nile Keservoir, Assuan: F. W. S. Stokes. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—On the Hair-slope of four Typical Animals : Dr. W. Kidd.—A Prodromus of the Snakes hitherto recorded from China, Japan and the Loochoo Islands: Capt. F. Wall.—On the Variation of the NO. 1735, VOL. 67] Prof. Allan NATORE [JANUARY 29, 1903 Elk: H. J. Elwes, F.R.S.—Note on the Wild Sheep of the Kopet Dagh : R. Lydekker, F.R.S. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4. Society oF Evectro-Cuemists AND Metatturcists (Faraday Club, St. Ermin's Hotel, Westminster), at 5.—General Meeting to inaugurate the work of the Society and elect a President and Council. Society oF Arts, at 8.—Methods of Mosaic Construction: W. L. H. Hamilton. Society or Pustic ANALysTS, at 8.—Annual General Meeting.—At 8.30. —The Determination of Glycerine in crude Glycerines: Dr. Julius Lewkowitsch.—(1) A Plea for the more Extended Consideration of Physics- in Analytical Methods; (2) Note on the Determination of Casein precipitated by Rennet: H. Droop Richmond. ENTomoLocicat Society, at 8.—An Account of a Collection of Rhopalo- cera made on the Anambara Creek in Nigeria, West Africa: Percy I. Lathy; On the Hypsid Genus Deilemera, Hiibner: Colonel C. Swinhoe. GEoLocicaL Society, at 8.—(1) The Granite and Greisen of Cligga Head (West Cornwall) ; (2) Notes on the Geology of Patagonia: J. B. Scrivenor. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Pvrobable Pafers:—The Brain of the Archeoceti: Prof. Elliot Smith.—On the Negative Variation in the Nerves of Warm-Blooded Animals: Dr. N. H. Alcock-—Primitive Knot and Early Gastrulation Cavity coexisting with Independent Primitive Streak in Ornithorhynchus: Prof. J. T. Wilson and J. P. Hill. Roya INsTITUTION, at 5.—Arctic and Antarctic Exploration: Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B. CuemicaL Society, at 8.—(1) A New Vapour-Density Apparatus (2) A New Principle for the Construction of a Pyrometer: J. S. Lumsden. LinNEAN Society, at 8.—Stephanospermum, Brongniart, a Genus of Fossil Gymnospermous Seeds: Prof. F. W. Oliver RONTGEN SOCIETY, at 8.30.—Discussion on Some Points suggested by the Presidential Address of November, 1g02, opened by J. H. Gardiner. INsfITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Adjourned Dis- cussion on the Metric System. CONTENTS. PAGE Science andthe Navy .... 289 A Psychologist on Evolution. By E. A. D: 292 A History of Aéronautics. a Prof. G. H. Diyin BaReS waa: er 0 293 Terrestrial Magnetism 5 Ce haces cM 204 Our Book Shelf: Robertson: ‘‘ [etters on Reasoning.”—A, E. T.. . 294 Watt and Philip: ‘‘ Electro-plating and Electro-re- ita hol ytd OS EI ll oeii) oo) boc . 295 Smith and Hall: “‘ The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics in the Secondary School.” — Prof. A, Smithells, F.R.S. .. Bn 5 of 2BE Waterhouse : ‘‘ Index Zoologicus.’ ZR: Tas Jigs 295 Letters to the Editor :— Genius and the Struggle for Existence.—Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, F.R.S. . 296 The Holy Shroud.—Prof. T. G. ‘Bonney, F.R.S. 296 The Herbarium of Ferrante Imperato at Naples. — Prof. Italo Giglioli. . . 2096 A Curious Projectile Force. —Sir Norman Lock- ver. c.B:, ERS) ye . oie Se2O7 The Principle of Least Action. Lagrange’ s ; Equations. Oliver Heaviside, F.R.S... . 207 Leonids of 1902, and (Quadrantids of 1903. —John R. Henry we : 298 - American Association for the Advancement of Sciencess 298 Bubonic Plague at Home and Abroad. | By Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S. . 299 The Archives of Phonographic “Records. * (Mus- trated;) By ©. C.G.. . sige ene nS Sal Prof. Dadisley Celakovsky. By W. ole ARNE 302 Notes. (J//ustrated.) .. . BeUMCOa cco 6. fOr Our Astronomical Column :— Astronomical Occurrences in February. . . . . . . 306 Cometsroo2i@ (Giacobini)i.) «yee eee 307 Comet 19¢3 @(Giacobini) . . Q 307 Search-Ephemeris for the Comet Tempel;- -Swift . 307 AE BrightiMeteor, «5... sipeaies cers) icine aitaenoe The Planet Mars. . . » Eero om Report of the Harvard College Observatory Abe 307 A Record of the Total Solar Eclipse of 1898. By Je ie 307 Characteristics of Recent " Volcanic Eruptions. (lilustrated.) By Dr. Tempest Anderson... .. 308 The Zoological Society’s Meeting ....... . 309 University and Educational Intelligence .. . - 309 ScientificiSertals) , <2". ./eie) 2) ene te) Se ee Societiesrand’Academies 5) — = i) FoRSS32 cient mene f - 343 The Principle of Least Action.—A. B. Basset, The Horny Membrane of Weoheléa porcellana.— Prof. Sydney J. Hickson, F.R.S. ... ; Genius and the Struggle for Existence.—G. W. Butler; F. W. Headley . 2) rsh ae ‘ Remarkable Meteorological Phenomena in Australia. let, IGS FG oe The author’s verification of the known form of the wave-fronts near the open end of a wire, namely confocal paraboloids with focus at that end, also comes from the reversed motion as above. It appears that this result holds whatever be the distribution of the radiation over the infinite sphere, the magnetic force around the end being of the form Atan}@. The author adverts to the transverse wave-fronts travelling along the wire towards the end and finally bending round near the end into paraboloids as it is approached ; the wave-front may be considered as detained on the wire because the magnetic force is cyclic around the wire and could not be cyclic if the front escaped into freespace. In fact, the value of the magnetic force above given obviously satisfies this necessary condition, its circulation 277sin 6.A tan}@ being equal to 47Av along the wire and equal to zero along its prolongation ; the current in the wire near the end is thus Av. We have, therefore, only to show that the characteristic equation of a magnetic field disposed in circles around the wire is satisfied ; and this is so, for by the Amperean relation it leads to a longitudinal component Z of electric force proportional to ~1, which is of the right form, being near the end practically e“"/y, which satisfies the equation V?Z+«°Z=o, The transverse component of the electric force s similarly found to be proportional to —7~!tan}@ thus the resultant force is in the direction bisecting the angle between 7 and the direction of the wire produced, and is therefore tangential to parabolic wave-fronts as above stated, being wholly transverse close to the wire. There is some temptation to imagine the wings of the parabolic part as advancing towards each other and forming a narrow neck which is finally nipped through, the main part of the front then going off as a plane sheet of radiation, while the other part retreats back into the wire and gives rise to a reflected wave, some- what in the manner described by Hertz (‘‘ Electric Waves,” p. 144) for the case of an oscillating doublet.? For free oscillations on a wire with two ends, the radiation is, however, sideways. The circumstance that the general features of some of the author’s conclusions can be traced by simple reason- ing, as he himself indicates, does not, of course, detract from their value or novelty ; it rather tends to confirm the validity of the powerful mathematical analysis to the results of which they are a first approximation, and should stimulate similar inquiry as regards the other part of his results. That this type of analysis is yet destined to point the way into the heart of other important problems in mathematical physics there can be no doubt; now that spherical and ellipsoidal forms have received such — 1 Mr. Macdonald informs me that this view is supported by the graph of his second approximation in § 77. FEBRUARY 19, 1903] NATURE abundant attention, it is much to have a method that can deal. in. comparative simplicity with edges and prisms and cones. The evidence is closing in more and more rigorously that the medium which transmits electrical and radiant effects must either completely accompany matter in bulk in its movements or else be entirely independent of such movements. If we adopt the latter hypothesis, to which theoretical considerations strongly point, and we still consider the zether to be something possessing translatory inertia, the nature of its kinetic energy will be entirely at our disposal as regards interpretation. The author’s order of exposition, in the theoretical ! chapters of this book, first develops the equations for | the free ther, in terms of a vector potential ; these are naturally purely vibrational; then the disturbance of electricity, which is really the exciting source of the phenomena, is introduced by adding the electric flux —4m(uz, v, w) to the expression c~* An, G, H), which by these equations of propagation is equated to v2(F, G, H). In other words, the elements of current are each of them introduced as a simple intrinsic pole of the vector potential, which in other respects obeys the purely vibrational equations for the zther of empty space. These equations, as solved by the Poisson analysis suitable for such cases, represent disturbances travelling out from the poles in the known manner of simple compact propagation, at any rate in all caseswhere the phenomena are periodic. The electric flux thus introduced is here named the convection current, pre- sumably because it is afterwards going to be considered as arising solely from the motion of electric charges or ions ; in the analysis of Appendix C it is the motion of a volume density. The significant remark now follows that “the assumption is implicitly involved that Maxwell’s zthereal displacement current is independent of the motion of the ether, if there is such a motion.” Does this mean that it belongs to the ther, but yet is disconnected from it so that it is left behind if the wether moves on? One is tempted to amend the last phrase and make it read, “therefore there is no such motion.” However this may be, practically it comes to the same thing; in the next chapter, the zthereal part of the total current is taken not to depend on the motion of the zther, but the convection current does depend on the motion of the matter. This leads, as is known, to Fresnel’s formula for velocity of optical propagation in moving material media, and to the law of astronomical aberration of light; and the author’s dictum, above quoted, has already fostulated that it is not to affect the phenomena whether the zether moves or not. The reluctance shown by the author to considering the zether as stationary in space is based mainly, it appears, on the ground that a field of magnetic force must be con- cerned -with motion in the ether, so that if that medium were otherwise at rest, waves of radiation would be convected by a magnetic field. This is known not to be the case to any recognisable extent ; and it is here ex- NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | plained that the magnetic motions are only a part of the disturbance, there being other latent motions in the zther which may exactly compensate. But, on the other hand, the objection is not essential ; for magnetic energy may not be energy of simple translation, while if it is so, the velocity need not be of detectable magnitude provided the inertia is sufficiently great. And in the latter case these other latent motions would surely be themselves magnetic. This consideration points to retaining the most precise and directly presentable scheme, until it is | definitely proved to be too narrow. In the body of the book, the mathematical analysis is developed from the foundation of the circuital laws of Ampére and Faraday, as translated into simple analytical form, and rendered self-consistent by the introduction of displacement currents, originally by Maxwell. In Appendix C, these relations are fitted into a purely dynamical frame. They are derived from potential and kinetic energy functions aif [[(r%s c® Zo) 3 7 T=3| fa Ce GE +H )dx dy de, w=3 | [ixr+ Ve Zhdx ay des but the other Maxwellian expression, more like ordinary kinetic energy, pee iu 2 2 2). m =i (a2 + B2 + +2)dx dy de, is considered to be unwarranted. This must mean that the kinetic energy is distributed in the medium according to the first form of integral, and that the second, though it gives the right total amount throughout all space, does not express its correct distribution in space. This is a question as to matter of fact. Not to press the point that the element of energy given by it is not essentially positive, the first specification might be thought to imply that (F, G, H) can be expressed in terms of the local conditions alone ; but the only formula for this vector that is given is a volume integral depending on the state of the whole electric field. One result of the change is, of course, that the Poynting vector for the flux of energy must be modified, so that near the vibrator the paths of rays would be altered ; when the waves become plane it does not matter. If we turn to the mathematically analogous (but physically different) hydrodynamic theory by way of illus- tration, the kinetic energy of a fluid containing vortex lines can be expressed in terms of the vorticity by a cognate integral involving the vortex distribution alone, and the behaviour of the vortexes might be deduced from it, abstraction being made altogether of the fluid in which they exist. So the phenomena of the electric currents would be developed with abstraction altogether of the zether in which they subsist ; except that, unfortunately, when the field is not steady, all the ether has to be filled with fictitious athereal current which is not electric flux at all, ov else all effects of true electric flux have to be considered as propagated in time. This is, in fact, the course of the actual historical development of the theoretical electrodynamics of ordinary steady 364 NATURE [ FERRUARY 19, 1903 selectric currents in the hands of Ampére and his successors; no mention need be made of the ether until electric radiation begins to play a sensible part, either in the establishment of the field or in the draining off of its energy, or until motion of the electric charges is contemplated. In the latter case, it would appear that we have either to take the ether to be at rest or to say with our author that it behaves as if it were so. The analogy has here been drawn (which Mr. Mac- donald doubtless would not allow) between the analysis of the interactions of electric currents in an zether which is intangible and that of vortical smoke-rings in an -atmosphere which is invisible. In each case, one would try to avoid assuming unnecessary properties of the medium. And it is only fair to admit that the properties -of electric currents have actually been discovered in this way, while without discussing the fluid we should hardly ‘nave made much progress with the more fugitive ~vortexes. The process of arriving at wider and wider points of view by successive stages of generalisation from an initial hypothesis is a familiar and fruitful one in theoretical physics; though in these latter times the logical and philosophical merits of the converse process of discarding from our knowledge all colorable images or analogies, in favour of bare mathematical expression of the relations of the unknown quantities which are symbols for entities on which we do not wish to dogmatise at all—of which we, in fact, know intrinsically no more than we do about the most common objects around us—has also been -amply enforced. Yet in successful instances of this latter procedure, the retort seems open that the hypothesis or analogy has not been dispensed with until it has effectively disclosed of what type the said relations were to be. It very likely arises from want of familiarity with Mr. Macdonald’s point of view that a doubt suggests itself as to whether we have not herea case, if not of kicking away the ladder before the passenger has arrived at the top, at any rate of removing the supporting framework before the ties and struts of the permanent structure have become entirely consolidated. Much in these remarks has assumed a critical form, because after pointing out the excellences that can be -enjoyed by consulting the work itself, it would appear that a reviewer could do best service by discussing the matters that are not so clear. Other more detailed topics might be specified which require further consideration. For instance, students of the modern subject of the relation of radiation to temperature would perhaps be puzzled by § 82, which professes to give a new proof of the Stefan-Boltzmann law; the transformation of linear scale of the system ether A/us matter, there employed, is a very tempting one, but, unfortunately, the free periods do not seem to correspond. It may be put forward as a reasonable generalisation, subject to only a few striking exceptions, that a book which can be acclaimed as free of discrepancies or obscurities is also to a large extent free of new contributions to knowledge. In the present case, the obvious advances are so important that close attention to the work throughout its whole range cannot safely be neglected. J. LARMOR. NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | A STUDY IN ALPINE GEOLOGY. Das Sonnwendgebirge im Unterinnthal. Ein Typus Alpinen Gebirgsbaues. By Dr Franz Wahner. First part. Pp. xii + 350; with 06 illustrations in the text, 19 plates and map. (Leipzig and Vienna: F. Deuticke, 1903.) Price 35 marks. F all the labour that has been expended on the -* fascinating problems of Alpine geology, none, perhaps, has been more fortunate in the manner of its presentation than the work under consideration. A lucid style, fine large type and a wealth of illustration contribute to the enjoyment of an interesting thesis. The weight and bulk of the volume, however, con- stitute a drawback. The limited area dealt with by the author comprises the Haiderjoch, Rosan and the Sonnwendjoch; and the formations range from the Triassic Werfen beds to the Upper Jurassic Aptychenkalk; but it is with the rocks about the middle of this series that he is mainly concerned. These are classified in the follow- ing, descending, order :—Hornsteinkalk (upper Jura), Hornstein-Breccie, Radiolariengesteine, Rother Lias- kalk [Weisser Rifflsalk, Ober-rhatischer Mergelkalk, Weisser Riffkalk (lower part)], Kdssen beds. It will be recognised at once that this is an abbre- viation of Pilcher’s sequence. The main mass of the Weisser Riffkalk, which has all the characters of a true coral reef, has presented a difficulty to the author from the fact that he has found, in the lower parts, undoubted Rhzetic fossils, and in other parts, which he considers are higher portions of the same group, Lias fossils have been discovered. ‘““We are so accustomed to regard the term ‘ Oberer Dachsteinkalk ’ as applied to a Rheetic rock that it does not seem wise to use it for a group which is in part Rheetic, in part Liassic.’’ He therefore proposes ‘‘ Weisser Riffkalk ’ as a local term, suggestive of the salient character of the group. Before presenting the results of his own researches, Dr. Wahner devotes the first 78 pages to the discussion of the geological literature of the Sonnwend district. Commencing with Uttinger in 1819, he passes in re- view practically all that has been written on the subject up to 1900 (in the preface he comments on Ampferrer’s paper of 1902). On each paper he makes a few brief explanatory or critical remarks. To Dr. Diener, however, he allots some fifteen pages, occu- pied almost wholly in destructive criticism—‘ a heap of errors,’’ he says in one place; and he is so irritated by what he regards as Diener’s incorrect observations and loose writing that he waxes ironical: ‘‘ I regret I cannot give any figure of this interesting spot,’’ says Diener, which causes the author to remark, — “The reader endeavours to keep calm; perhaps D. had no time to make a sketch—but, on second thoughts, a better view is, that what Diener desires (will) to see, nobody can draw”? (p. 40). With much of the painstaking work of Pilcher, the author is in agreement, but he considers the FEBRUARY 19, 1903] NATURE 3 305 estimate of the number and thickness of the Lias and Jura deposits to be too great. In spite of Pilcher’s care in selecting a traverse apparently free from complications, Wahner contends that thrusting and over-folding have produced a repetition of the beds. In the chapter on stratigraphy, each member is dealt with in order. Incidentally, several points of interest are raised, such as the discovery in the Weisser Riffkalk of a true Coralline, to which the name Cheilosporites Tirolensis (Wahner) is assigned on account of its affinities with the modern Cheilo- sporum; there is also a doubtful Hydrozoan which more nearly resembles the Palaeozoic Stromatoporoids than the Upper Jurassic Ellipsachinias and Spheractinias, but is none the less morphologically nearest to the Triassic Spongiomorphidz. Calcareous alge, hydrozoa and corals contribute to the up- building of the reefs, but Dr. Wahner finds the last- named organisms predominating. The greatest interest attaches to the ‘‘ Radiolarien- gesteine’’ and the ‘‘ Hornstein-Breccie.’’ Dr: Wahner, in common with his predecessors, had been ‘accustomed to regard the structure of this area as being far simpler than he now finds it. He de- monstrates a large amount of thrusting and folding (“‘ Aufwolbung ’’), the greater part of the movement having acted about the Hornstein-Breccie, the rocks above being comparatively little influenced. On all sides there are signs of pressure—brecciation, suture structure—and the term ‘* Druckbreccien’’ is sug- gested as an expansion of Brégger’s ‘‘ Breccias in situ ’’ for this widespread occurrence. The Hornstein- Breccie is proved to be a true ‘ dislocation-breccia,”’ and to contain blocks both of older and younger rocks. ‘In his anxiety to leave no doubt as to the tectonic origin of this breccia, the author appears to have somewhat laboured certain points that seemed to tell in his favour; for instance, he insists on the abyssal character of the over- and under-lying rocks because of the abundance of Radiolaria in them, especially the occurrence of a few Nassellarian forms—an argu- ment that is not very safe, nor, in view of the other good evidence, is it very necessary. Again, the state- ment that the cloudy centres of some calcite crystals in the more or less marmorised limestones represent the finest powder of the crushed rock may be quite correct; but the same thing may be observed in semi- crystalline limestones of various ages, which have suffered no such considerable crushing, though it is true that the crystals more often exclude the im- purities during their growth. The author and his supporters, the Gesellschaft gz. forderung deutscher Wissenschaft, Kunst, uw. Literatur in Boéhmen, may be congratulated on the production of an excellent piece of work. The con- tinuation will be looked for with interest; it is to be hoped that Dr. Wa4hner, in addition to the half- promised geological map, will also furnish a series of photomicrographs of the numerous rock-sections he has examined. Je Atv aEts NO. 1738, VOL. 67] | SHERBURN’S INDEX ANIMALIUM. Index Animalium sive Index nominum quae ab A.D. MDCCLVIII generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, Soctetatibus Eruditorum adjuvantibus, a Carolo Davies Sherborn confectus. Sectio prima, a kalendis- Januariis MDCCLVIII usgue ad finem Decembris MDCCC,. Cantabrigiae. E. typographico Academico MDCCCCI. 1 vol. Pp. lix + 1195. (Cambridge : University Press, 1902.) Price 255. net. ARWIN was so convinced of the pressing want of a dictionary of the names of plants that he devoted by his will a considerable sum of money to be employed in compiling such a work. This gigantic task, which was completed in 1895 by Mr. B. Daydon Jackson, and published by the University of Oxford under the title of “Index Kewensis,” has been of enormous utility to working botanists. It was obvious that our zoologists. would not be content without a similar convenience in their branch of natural science, and in 1890, accordingly, Mr. C. Davies Sherborn commenced his labours on the present work. His scheme for its preparation was set out in a letter published in this journal (NATURE, vol. xlii. p. 54, May 15, 1890) and in “La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes,” and suggestions for the improve- ment of the plan were at the same time invited from many working naturalists. After these had been studied, the scope of the proposed “Index Animalium” was finally defined as follows :— (1) To provide a complete list of all the generic and specific names that have been applied to animals since January 1, 1758, when Linnzeus inaugurated the binomial system. (2) To give, as far as possible, an exact date for every quotation of a name. (3) To give a reference to every’ name sufficiently exact to be intelligible to the specialist and the layman, so that they may know where to look for it. Mr. Sherborn commenced regular work on July 1, 1890 After two years, an unfortynate breakdown in health, which interrupted more than once his assiduous labours, caused him to lose altogether three years, so that the actual time spent on the preparation of the present volume has been about eight years. In 1892, the importance of the work was brought to the knowledge of the British Association, and a committee was appointed to assist its progress. The late Sir William Flower was its chairman, and Dr. Sclater, Dr. Henry Woodward and Mr. W. L. Sclater were other members. The committee has been reappointed every year, Dr. Woodward succeeding Sir W. Flower as chair- man, and Dr. F. A. Bather becoming secretary when Mr. W. L. Sclater went abroad. The British Association has consistently supported the finances of the com- mittee, and valuable contributions have been received from the Zoological Society of London and from the Government-grant fund of the Royal Society. Great assistance to the work has also been furnished by the permission of the authorities of the Natural History Museum to find storage and cabinets for the MS. of the work in the library at South Kensington, where the author has carried on most of his labours. In 1897, in pursuance of a suggestion made by Dr. 366 NAG ORE [FEBRUARY Ig, 1903 Sclater, it was determined by the committee that in view of the long time that must elapse before the com- pletion of the whole work, it should be divided into three portions—the first to contain names given from the beginning of 1758 to the end of 1800, the second those given from 1801 to 1850 inclusive, and the third those published in the latter half of the last century, We have now, therefore, before us the first o these three portions, from 1758 to 1800 inclusive. It is contained in one volume of 1195 closely printed pages, with about fifty-eight names in each page. As the Clarendon Press had published the “ Index Kewensis,” it was supposed that the University of Oxford would gladly undertake the present work, and the first offer of it was made to Oxford. It was found, how- ever, that such stringent terms were required there as could not be acceded to, and the sister University,.being more liberally disposed, has thus obtained he honour of introducing to science the ‘‘ Index Zoologicus.” OUR BOOK SHELF. Vergleichende chemtsche Phystologie der niederen Tiere. By Dr. Otto von Firth, Privatdocent and Assistant in the Chemico-physiological Institute of the University of Strassburg. Pp. xiv + 670. (Jena : Gustav Fischer, 1902.) Price 16 marks. Dr. OTTO vy. FURTH has shown himself one of the ablest of the younger workers in the subject of chemical physiology, and he is already well known for his admir- able researches on the subject of muscle-plasma and the chemistry of the suprarenal capsules. He has also contributed to physiological journals several inter- esting papers on the chemistry of invertebrates, which he has investigated during a stay at the zoological station at Naples. During his residence there, he appears to have inhaled with the sea breezes the proper invertebrate atmosphere for the carrying into execution of the present ambitious volume. Although the book is entitled the “Chemical. Physiology of the Lower Animals,” it relates mainly to the invertebrates, and at the end ofeach chapter is a brief summary. contrasting these with the Vertebrata. Vertebrate physiology is fairly fully treated in all text-books of human physiology, and so the book meets what was a distinct want. Max Verworn, it is true, in his “ General Physiology” approaches the subject by the study of the cell and of simple organisms, but the ground covered by v. Fiirth’s book is quite distinct from this. The general scope of the book may be indicated by a brief enumeration of the subjects treated. After a few general chapters on the chemistry of the compounds met with in the animal kingdom and on the chemical compo- sition of protoplasm, the first main heading is the blood, and this fluid in echinoderms, worms, molluscs, crus- taceans, insects and tunicates is described. Breathing, nutrition and excretion are then treated under similar headings. Then the various animal poisons, and special secretions like mucin, the ink of cephalopods, silk, wax, &c., are described. The skeletal tissues, the pigments and the muscular tissues form the subjects of the next chapters, and at the end is an account of the genital secretions, under which, z/er a/ia,a description of Loeb’s experiments on artificial parthenogenesis i is given. It may be a matter of surprise to many well-informed physiologists what a large mass of material existed in relation to what has been regarded as the comparatively neglected subject of invertebrate physiology, and what nteresting reading it makes when collected into an organic whole. Another general reflection will be what NO. 1738, VOL. 67] a vast field for research 1s still open to fill up the gaps in our knowledge. The diligence the author has evinced in writing his book is beyond all praise. His lists of bibliographical references will prove most useful to future students of this branch of science. Unlike many of his countrymen, he has consulted, not only those papers which are written in his own language, but he has been cosmopolitan in his reading. _ His aim, as just stated, has been an ambitious one, and we congratulate him most heartily on a decided success. et Chimie. Lecons élémentaires Thermodynamique a@ Vusage des Chimistes. Par P. Duhem. Pp. ix +496. (Paris: A. Hermann, 1902.) Price 12s. Tue second law of thermodynamics has had a curious history. It originated out of attempts to estimate the motive power of fire, it subsequently led to the notion of the thermodynamical potential, this in turn gave birth to the phase rule, and now it is in the domain of chemistry that the law obtains its most fertile applications. Prof. Duhem has already pub- lished a treatise in four volumes on thermodynamic chemistry, which has been reviewed in these columns (‘ Traité élémentaire de Mécanique chimique fondée sur le Thermodynamique.’’ Paris, 1897-99), but a de- mand has arisen among chemists for a more elemen- tary treatise, assuming but little knowledge of mathe- matics. As the author points out, the philosopher, the mathematician, the physicist and the chemist—he might have added the engineer—require separate treatises on thermodynamics. Prof. Duhem confines himself to “‘ three-day methods,’’ that is, to methods formerly included in the syllabus of the first three days of the Cambridge Tripos—or, in other words, he uses neither calculus nor coordinate geometry, unless graphical repre- sentations are regarded as implying coordinate geo- metry. After an elementary introduction to the properties of the thermodynamic potential, he con- siders the phase rule, the: properties of invariant, univariant, bivariant and multivariant systems, the displacement,of the equilibrium state for variations of temperature and pressure, the properties of perfect gases, and the dynamics of false equilibria and ex- plosions. The work appears to afford an excellent account of the large field of chemical investigation first started by Gibbs, Moutier and others which has led to such important results in the hands of van der Waals, Bakhuis Roozboom, van ’t Hoff, Sainte Claire Deville, and a large army of still more recent workers, GR: Das Problem der geschlechtsbestimmenden Ursachen. By Dr. M. von Lenhossék, Professor of Anatomy in the University of Budapest. Pp. 99; 2 figs. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1903, published 1902.) Pricé 2 marks. PROF. M. VON LENHOSSEK gives us an admirably clear and scientific deliverance on the much-discussed problem of the factors which determine the sex of offspring. He takes account of most of the data and most of the theories, and comes to the conclusion that the deter- mination is in the hands of the maternal parent and that the decision is given prior to fertilisation. He does not seem even to allow—what seems to us almost proved by the experiments of Yung and others—that the original bias may be altered in early stages of develop- ment. We adhere to the eclectic position that the de- termination of sex depends upon numerous variable factors, operative before, in and after fertilisation. The author’s references to the literature on the subject are so numerous that we may point out the omission of any recognition of Starkweather, Hensen, Geddes. and Thomson, Henneberg, Beard and Van Lint. J. A. T. FEBRUARY 19, 1903] NATUCORE 36 “I The Schoolmaster’s Yearbook for 1903. A Reference Book of Secondary Education in England and Wales. Pp. lix + 351 + Part II. (unpaged) + 107. (London : Swan Sonnenschein and Co., Ltd.). Price 5s. net. THIS is the first annual issue of what is likely to prove a useful work of reference for schoolmasters. It is divided into three parts, the first of which supplies general information concerning: educational administra- live authorities, educational associations, courses of training for teachers in secondary schools, and many similar subjects. The second part constitutes a directory of schoolmasters and others engaged in secondary education, while the third includes a number of miscel- laneous articles and reviews. The first two sections will be useful to all who are interested in education, and if the editor adopts next year a larger number of ab- breviations and gives only the important particulars about governing bodies and educational associations, he will increase considerably the value of the publication. The third part seems out of place ; the articles it includes are more suitable for an educational periodical than an annual of this kind. The second part is an excellent first step towards the compilation of a register of teachers. The Globe Geography Readers. By Vincent T. Murché. Introductory. Pp. 119. Price 1s. Junior. Pp. vi + 194. Price 1s. 4d. (London: Macmillan and Co,, Ltd., 1902.) Tue plan of these books is sensible, and there is abundant evidence throughout that the author is intimately acquainted with the needs and limitations of young children. The information to be gained from the lessons is based upon observations and ex- periments of a kind which children can perform for themselves, and the conversational style will prove attractive to young readers. No lesson is over- burdened with facts, and the author has been success- ful in proceeding always from the known to the un- known. We suspect that fathers of the kind intro- duced in these books, and uncles with sound geographical knowledge and a keen desire to instruct their nephews on every possible occasion, are rare in real life. It is a pity, too, that Mr. Murché refers to volcanoes as ‘‘ mountains that blaze and smoke,”’ and says that ‘‘ flames and smoke burst out from the crater.” The coloured plate of a volcano during an eruption shows a large number of volcanic bombs, though these products of an eruption are really very rare. The abundant illustrations add much to the value of what should prove to be two widely used books. The Nature Student’s Note Book. Part i. Nature Notes and Diary. By the Rev. Canon Steward, M.A. (Oxon.) Part ii. Tables for Classification of Plants, Animals and Insects in Full Detail. By Alice E. Mitchell. Pp. 152. (Westminster: Archi- bald Constable and Co., Ltd.) THE teacher already possessed of a good working knowledge of biology and other branches of science included in nature-study will find Canon Steward’s monthly notes useful as a reminder of which plants and animals are available for study at different times of the year; but the book is scarcely likely to be of much assistance to a non-scientific teacher who wishes to become a student of nature, with a view to’ introduce his pupils to the same study. It is questionable, too, if the introduction of gardening instructions into the notes will serve any good educa- tional purpose. Miss Mitchell’s tables are a little too technical for nature-study, and some of her definitions are not strictly accurate. NO. 1738, VOL. 67]- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents, Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice zs taken of anonymous communications. | The late Sir G. G. Stokes. Tue eulogy of Stokes by Lord Kelvin contributed to your columns in terms so appropriately simple, a eulogy so sincere, as we all know, and more authoritative than could be pronounced by anyone else in the world, furnishes an incident that must impress the minds of all true lovers of science. It is not my purpose to intrude where I have no business, but-I do feel most keenly the strong call there is to English men of science to see that the hidden work of Stokes does not remain any longer concealed. There is not the least doubt that his greatness and true worth escaped the observation of contemporaries outside the circle of real scientific workers, and there has been one conspicuous occasion quite recently when the order of his merit has been signally ignored. About ten years ago the attention of Stokes was attracted to some work in which I was engaged, and this started a correspondence. I had no previous personal acquaintance with him, and I am sure he had no previous scientific acquaintance with me, but notwithstanding this he imme- diately placed the vast powers of his mind at my disposal, and assisted me with encouragement and advice that from my best friend would have been liberal in amount, whilst in value they could have been equalled from no other source. The abundance, lucidity and punctuality of his correspond- ence were amazing. I have had as many as three letters from him in one day, and on a particular occasion a tele- gram in addition, to say that he feared he had expressed himself in one of the letters with too much confidence. I was naturally not a little proud of this connection with a great man, but if my pride had tended to assume the form of vanity, that would have been frustrated by the discovery I was ever afterwards making of the apparently endless number of scientific workers who have received from Stokes the same unstinted help. I wish, therefore, to express the hope that in any memoir of Stokes that is published there should be some attempt to gather the unostentatious testimony that would be so cheerfully given by those who are so much beholden to the great and good man who has passed from among us. It seems to me to be at the least a duty to scientific history to help our posterity to see clearly that the order of Stokes’s merit as a man and a philosopher was that of Faraday and Newton. CHEMICUS. The Holy Shroud of Turin. In your issue of February 5, Mr. Worthington G. Smith says ‘‘ the painter was so incompetent to deceive that he made the two head-tops touch.’’ There is some mistake here. M. Vignon’s reproductions of Signor Pia’s photo- graphs show quite a large space—nearly equal to the heignt of the head—between the two head-tops. From Mr. Smith’s diagram I infer that he has mistaken one of the water- stain outlines for the head-top of the back view figure. If so, I do not wonder at his thinking the painter ‘‘ incompe- tent.”’ The hypothesis of a painted positive turned negative, to which most of your correspondents seem to incline, presents one difficulty which I have not as yet seen noticed. No one would paint a shaded positive by way of simulating a sup- posed soiling of the shroud by the presence of the body within it ; the intention must have been to make a picture— to represent a miraculous impression, perhaps, but still a pictorial one, else why a positive? Then, such a picture would naturally be shaded for a more or less side light, so that the originally light and now dark portions would be more or less on one side of the various limbs and features, instead of in their centres as they actually show on the shroud. R. E. Froupe. Gosport, February 8. 368 NATURE [FEBRUARY 19, 1903 The Principle of Activity and Lagrange's Equations, Rotation of a Rigid Body. THERE are some people who understand by Newton’s second law of motion nothing more than the three equations of motion for a body which can be treated as a particle, viz., =X, Xc. (or rather the equivalent equations for impulsive forces). Such people, however, would probably not seriously object to any dynamical truth whatsoever, from the conservation of energy to the principle of varying action, being read into this law, if only he who does so would explain clearly his own in- terpretation of Newton’s statement. I, for one, am a little ‘curious to have stated fully the principle which justifies Mr. Heaviside in his letter in your issue of January 29 in deducing’ from the solitary equation =( @ aT aT = (2 oe at de, ak, that ‘dy Newton, the force on «x, is the coefficient of 2.” Itisa sufficient indication either of an incorrect premiss or of bad logic, however obscure an argument may be, if the con- clusion be wrong ; one does not readily see from Mr. Heaviside’s letter how he could object to his method being applied directly to the motion of a rigid body with one point fixed, in which ase, as is well known, taking i; 2T=Aa,* + Bu? + Cw,” it leads to a wrong expression for the external couple round the axis of x, viz, Aw, instead of the correct one, Aw, —(B-C)w.w,. : : W. McF. Orr. Royal College of Science, Dublin, February 2. PROF. ORR’s opening remarks perhaps indicate that the want of appreciation of Newton’s dynamics is even greater than I supposed. My authority for Newton is that stiff but thorough- going work, Thomson and Tait. On comparison, I find that Prof. Orr’s ‘*some people” seem to overlook the vitally im- portant third law, without which there could be no dynamics resembling the reality, and also the remarkable associated scholium ‘*Si zstimatur. . .,” enunciating. the principlé of activity, which is of such universal and convenient application, both by practicians and by some theorists. In my short outline of the beginning of the theory of Lagrange’s equations, my argument ** by Newton” referred to the activity principle: _ The example of failure given by Prof.-Orr is remarkable in more than one way. If the three coordinates specified the configuration, then the equations of motion would come out in ‘the way indicated. It is clear, therefore, from the failure that in the concrete example of a rotating rigid body, the coor- dinates employed, which are the time-integrals of the angular velocities about three moving axes, are not proper Lagrangian coordinates within the meaning of the Act. If we use coor- dinates which do fix the configuration (Thomson and Tait, § 319), there is no failure. But it is quite easy to avoid the usual complicated trigono- metrical work, and obtain the proper equations of motion by allowing for the motion of the axes. Thus, if a is the angular velocity, the angular momentum is aT, da, and the torque is its time differentiant, that is, -. +. =Aa,i+ Bayj + Cask, F=Adi+ Baoj + Cajk + Aa, + Ba, + Ca, ce at “at at t Here i, j, k are unit vectors specifying the directions of the principal’axes. They only vary by the rotation, so di/d/= Vai, -&c., and this makes F=Aaj(jas — kay) + Bay(ka, — iag) + Cay(iag—ja,)+ Adit... =f{Aa — a,a,(B—C)}+5{...$4uf.. ot. This exhibits Euler’s three well-known equations of motion round the three principal moving axes. _In general, T=}aMa, where M is a vectorial matrix (or linear vector operator), fixed in the body. Then the momentum is Ma, and the torque is F=Ma+Ma=Ma+(VaM)a. This allows M to be specified with respect to any axes fixed in the rotating’ body. Of course, the principal axes are the Dest. I may refer to my ‘‘ Elec. Pa.,” vol. ii., P- 547, footnote, for NO. 1738, VOL. 67] | details of a similar calculation relating to the torque (and activity thereof) produced in an eolotropic dielectric under electric stress. The following concisely exhibits the necessity of allowing for variation of M, and how it is done in the general case of x independent variables:—Let T=}vMv=}pv. Then v is a *“vector” or complex of # velocities, and p=Mv is the corresponding momentum, whilst M is a symmetrical matrix. By differentiation to ¢, T=v(Mv+4Mv)=Fv (Hamilton), or : T=v(p-3Mv)=Fv (Lagrange). Here F is the force on the system, in the same sense as v is the velocity of the system. For M substitute v(@M/dx), to come to the usual forms by breaking up into 2 components. But the above are more general, because M may vary inde- pendently of x. Activity should be the leading idea. OLIVER HEAVISIDE. Insects and Petal-less Flowers. I was much interested by Mr. Bulman’s account of Prof. Plateau’s experiments in the matter of insects’ visits to petal- less flowers in the issue of Nature for February 5 (p. 319), wherein it is stated that Prof, Plateau contends that insects ““are not attracted by the brilliant colours of the blossoms, but rather by the perception in some other way—probably by scent—that there is honey or pollen.” It has not been my good fortune to read Prof, Plateau’s own account of the experiments which led him to the above . conclusion, but it certainly appears to me, from your corre- spondent’s summary, that he is generalising from an observ- ation which has only a strictly limited application. We are told that in the case of thirty poppies artificially deprived of their petals, as compared with seventy intact poppies, the average visits were as 45 is to 24, the most striking case instanced being that of the Dipterous insect Melanostoma mellina, the visits of which were as 4 is to o. The experiment and its result does not, to my mind, in the least tend to bear out the theory it is advanced to support, though your correspondent gives the method his approval.’ I do not wish to doubt the possibility of smell playing a part in attracting insects, but I certainly cannot see that the artificial removal of the coloured petals proves that colour has no influence. We are fond of attributing great intelli- gence and power of perception to the bee, and yet in this case the insect is not even given credit for being able to re- cognise what are known to it, from possibly long experience, as the essential parts of the flower! Because we buy well advertised goods, and still continue to buy them when their proved virtue renders advertisement a thing of the past, is it proof that the advertisement played no part in determin- ing our choice? The answer is obvious. The greater number of insects visiting the poppies shorn of their petals might easily be accounted for, especially in the case of the Diptera, by the presence of some attractive substance in the sap exuded from the cut tissues, and prob- ably by the resulting greater -accessibility. Te , As a contrast to this experiment I would mention that of Lord Avebury, which loses none of its significance through ~ being described in a popular magazine (the London, Christ- mas number). Quantities of honey were taken and laid on glass slips, and a marked bee was trained to come to a certain spot for it. The honey was supplied on slips of six different colours—blue, red, yellow, orange, green and white —and on one plain slip. Lord Avebury so.arranged matters that the bee was persuaded to visit each and every slip before returning to the hive, the method being as follows :-— Seven slips in a row on lawn; the bee arrives and alights _ on (say) blue; it is allowed to remain for a few seconds and then driven off, the blue slip being withdrawn; it then goes to (say) white; after a few seconds at white the bee is again driven off, and goes to (say) yellow, the white slip being also withdrawn; after having visited all the slips in this way, and being at last deprived of every one, the bee goes back to the hive. During the bee’s absence the glasses.are replaced, but in different order, and on the insect’s return it is again noted which slip receives first attention. Out of a hundred such complete rounds Lord Avebury FEBRUARY I9, 1903 | NATURE 369, found his bee went to the blue glass first thirty-one times, and last only four times, while the plain glass came in for first notice only five times, and last twenty-four times. The other colours occupied intermediate positions in the bee’s favour. Here we have a case of which the bee could not possibly have had previous experience, and where every precaution was taken to avoid any undue advantage of position, &c., being given to any particular colour, with a result going far to prove that all other conditions being alike, colour does play an important part in deciding an insect’s choice. I would suggest that the correct method of settling the question would be to cut away, not the petals, but the stamens, &c. Then if insects continued to visit flowers so mutilated we should have grounds for thinking that petals exercise some attraction, or vice versd. E. Ernest Lowe. Municipal Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth, February 9. Science and the Education Act of 1902. IN two letters to you last year, I drew the attention of scientific men and of others interested in the welfare of our country and empire to the inferior position which scientific studies continue to hold in the education of the youth of this country (see Nature, vol. Ixvi. pp. 350, 459). One hoped that the Education Act of 1902 would do something to remedy present defects. That hope, it is to be feared, is in a poor way of being realised, so far as any inference can be drawn from the com- position of the “ Education Committee” recently appointed by the Council of a county so near to the metropolis as Hertford- shire. The whole thing is little better than a jumble, the sort of thing one would expect from the manipulation of a county- directory in a solicitor’s office. So little did the County Council appear from the newspaper report to realise the gravity of the task before them that they adopted ez é/oc and without criticism the list prepared for them by the Clerk of the Peace, whose first-hand knowledge of education can only be at the best extremely limited. The commiitee-list bristles with names of county respectability, including a noble earl, a few M.P.’s, a fair sprinkling of J.P.’s, and among the C.C.’s elected very few appear to have taken a degree at any university, while one solitary name appears as a representative of science in that of Sir John Evans, F.R.S., who might have been a little more vigilant in this matter. Outside the Council, we find the name of the Dean of St. Albans, a scholarly, clear-sighted, large-minded man, an acquisi- tion to any committee; then the names of the two classical head-masters of Haileybury and Berkhampstead, men of the type referred to in my previous letters (swfva), who cannot be expected to appreciate the importance of scientific education, but whose position in the educational world will give adventi- tious value to their opinions among the rank and file of the educational ignoramuses. In a list of some twenty-one, one solitary name, that of the young head-master of a not very important school in this neighbourhood, appears as a repre- sentative of science. It does not appear that a single repre- sentative of the Army or Navy or a single graduate in science or medicine finds a place on the committee; and such men resident in the county as my neighbour the principal of the Diocesan Training College (who is zealously engaged in attempting to train elementary teachers on scientific lines), or the official secretary of University College, or myself (with a record of more than a quarter of a century of public-school and scientific. work) seem to have been the last people to be thought of. In the light of the above facts, can it be unfair to say that the cause of progressive education in the county of Herts has drifted? And if this can happen in a county so near London, what is likely to happen in the more remote counties, where provincial ideas prevail more strongly? Is it not time that the leading scientific societies, led by the Royal Society or by the British Association, should draw up a memorandum impressing upon the county and borough councils of the country the serious call made to them by the Education Act to do their best to strengthen the sinews of the intellectual war, which (zolexs volens) this country must be prepared to carry on? Had there been a single man of light and leading in the Cabinet, such instructions might have been included in the Act NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | or its preamble as to render such action unnecessary. But so» beclouded were the minds of our legislators in the long, dreary strife of bigotry and partisanship of last autumn that they seem to have lost sight of higher intellectual issues altogether. Let us hope that in the great provincial centres such an important point as the due representation of scientific education on the- educational committees will not be lost sight of. A. IRVING. Hockerill, Bishop’s Stortford, February 6. RADIO-ACTIVITY OF ORDINARY MATERIALS. e is now well recognised that the air in any ordinary vessel possesses the power of conducting elec-- tricity, although to a very slight extent. It has been usual to refer to the effect as the ‘‘ spontaneous ionisa- tion’ of the air. This name suggests that the con- ductivity is in some way an essential property of the air, just as the electrical conductivity of metals is in- separably connected with the nature of those bodies. Mr. C. T. R. Wilson, however, has found (Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. Ixix. p. 277) that, when other gases are substi- tuted for air, the relative ionisations are in nearly the same ratio as those which I observed for the same gases. under the action of Becquerel radiation (Phil. Trvans., 1g01, p- 507). Further, Mr. J. Patterson (Proc, Camb. Phil. Soc., vol. xii. p. 44) has found that, when a large: vessel is used, the amount of ionisation is not propor- tional to the pressure, but tends towards a limit, when further increase of pressure no longer affects it. This is exactly the behaviour that might be expected if the effect was due to a feeble radio-activity of the walls of the vessel, the radiation being easily absorbed by the air. I have recently carried out a series of experiments with a view to decide whether the nature of the walls of the vessel had any influence on the rate of discharge of a charged body inside it. The various materials were made into cylinders, 13 cm. long and 34 cm. in diameter. A central wire, charged, and connected with an electroscope, formed the leaking system. The electroscope was exhausted, so as to avoid any leakage through the air in it, and, before each experiment, the insulation, which was of lead-glass tube, dried by the exhaustion of the vessel in presence of phosphoric anhydride, was tested. No leak- age could be detected. On admitting dried air, a small leakage immediately set in, and its amount could be measured by timing the movement of the gold leaf over the scale division of a microscope with micrometer eye- piece focussed upon the leaf. The leakage in scale divisions per hour, with various. materials surrounding the charged wire, is given below :— Tin foil Apo oe Ditto, another sample... ees Glass coated with phosphoric acid Silver, chemically deposited on glass ... ZANG) \.:). ves 5a oe te Lead “ca “ig Ase Copper (clean) ee Bee y As WUD HORN NH HRN NON mS) Ditto, thoroughly oxidised é a oe, Te Platinum (various samples) (ce 2°052:95, 310 Aluminium eee of : 4 It appears, then, that there are very marked dif-— ferences in the rate of the leak, when different materials constitute the walls of the vessel. There can therefore be little doubt that the greater part—if not the whole— of the observed ionisation of air is not spontaneous at all, but due to Becquerel rays from the vessel. It is, I think, interesting to find that the phenomena of radio-activity, which have generally been regarded’ as rare and exceptional, are really everywhere present. The rate of leak with various pieces of tin foil from the same stock was always the same, as nearly as the experiments could show—that is, to within about 6 per 37° NAP ORES (FEBRUARY Ig, 1903 cent. But, as may be seen in the table, a piece from another stock gave a different amount of leakage. The same holds good for platinum, one specimen tried being twice as active as another. It was found that ignition did not affect the radio-activity of a given specimen of platinum. : In order to compare the activity of the substances mentioned above with that of uranium, a small crystal of uranium nitrate, measuring 12x4 mm., was cemented to the inside of one of the cylinders; the rate of leak due to it was found to be thirteen times that due to the most active cylinder of platinum. The area‘of the uranium was ‘only 1/240th part that of the platinum, so that its activity for an equal area would be no less than 3000 times greater. It is possible that the radio- activity of ordinary materials may be due to traces of the more activé substances. This would explain the varying activities of different samples of the same metal. Only an infinitesimal proportion of radium would be required. Radium is 100,000 times more: active than uranium, and uranium 3000 times more active than the most active common material that I have experimented with. So that one part of radium in three hundred million would suffice to account for the observed effects. R. J. Srrurr. OYSTERS AND. TYPHOID. FEVER. i lintes recent outbreaks of typhoid fever at Winchester and at Southampton have again directed public attention to the risk of typhoid infection due to the laying down of edible forms of shell-fish in sewage- polluted waters. So long ago asi 1895,'in a report made by Dr. Bulstrode to the Local Government Board, it was pointed out that few of the oyster layings, fattening beds or storage ponds round the English and Welsh coasts could be regarded as free from possible sewage contam- ination. In consequence of this report, the Local Government Board in 1899 introduced a Bill providing that the various county and borough councils should ascertain from time to time the sanitary conditions of the oyster layings and empowering these bodies to take action if sewage pollution were proved. This Bill, which dealt only with oysters, after having been read a second time, was withdrawn. Apparently nothing has since been done, matters have been allowed to drift, and in conse- quence several outbreaks of disease have occurred, with loss of valuable lives, and an important industry . is threatened with temporary ruin. In 1901, the medical officer of health for Westminster reported on certain cases of typhoid fever seemingly due to contaminated cockles, from some of which a bacillus, having all the characters of the typhoid bacillus, was isolated at the Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Nash, the medical officer of health for Southend- on-Sea, reported upon the incidence of typhoid fever in that borough during rgo1, and found that in no less than twenty-one out of thirty-seven cases of the disease there was a history of the eating of shell-fish (generally oysters and cockles) within a month of the onset of the disease, z.e. within the incubation period. From a report by Dr. Allan, medical officer of health for the City of West- minster, mussels also seem to be implicated. Attacks of illness, attributable to the eating of shell- fish, in the Borough of Wandsworth and the City of Westminster having been brought to the notice of the Corporation of the City of London, the last-named body has taken action. The responsibility of the City Cor- poration in this matter is great, for not only are the majority of the cockles and many of the oysters impli- cated exposed for sale in the City, but the former shell- fish is mostly obtained and relaid within the City’s NO. 1738, VOL. 67] jurisdiction. The City Corporation has therefore caused a number of samples to be bacterioscopically examined by Dr. Klein, and his reports show that a larger or smaller proportion of the samples examined from every. district-shows evidence of sewage contamination, and from certain cockles the typhoid bacillus has actually been isolated. The question «then arose as: to dealing with an’ obviously infected and dangerous source of food supply. Under the Public Health (London) Act 1891, it is pos- sible to ‘obtain a justice’s order to destroy such un- wholesome food, but the necessary examination to establish the fact involves a lapse of several days, and before the results of such examination could be known, the whole quantity of the sample implicated would have been consumed. In..the circumstances, the © facts were reported to the Worshipful Company of Fish- mongers, which has extensive-powers over the fishing industry throughout the country, and the Company’s inspectors are now efgaged ina survey of the various sites of the shell-fish fisheries and are taking steps to stop the sale of contaminated molluscs. It might have been thought that sea-water would be | prejudicial to the typhoid bacillus, but such does not appear to be the case. The experiments of Dr: Klein and of Prof. Boyce have shown that although the organism does not multiply, it retains its vitality in sea- water for at least-three or four weeks. . In the infected oyster it lives for two.to three weeks or more, and even when washed in pure running sea-water, the infective properties may be retained for several days. As regards cockles, these are ‘‘cooked” before con- sumption, and thorough cooking would be fatal to the typhoid bacillus. But it seems that the “cooking” of cockles is a very perfunctory process, and consists in simply plunging nets filled with the molluscs into boiling water, so that many might (and obviously do) escape the full action of the heat; actual boiling renders them tough and uneatable. Legislative enactments and periodical inspections are obviously necessary to protect the public from the risk of infection from sewage contaminated shell-fish, and should be welcomed by the merchants and_ their employés whose livelihood depends upon this important industry. So far back as 1894, the value of the oysters alone landed by English dredgers in that year amounted to 84,2712. R. T. HEWLETT. MR. MARCONI AND THE POST OFFICE. HE fact that the message from the King to Presi- dent Roosevelt, in reply to the latter’s wireless telegram of greeting, had to be sent to America by cable occasioned at the time much comment and corre- spondence in the daily papers on the attitude of the Post Office towards Mr, Marconi; the subject cropped up again last week on the return of Mr. Marconi to this country after his successful expedition to America. There is some little difficulty in ascertaining the real state of the case, as two or three different explanations have been put forward in the papers, but the truth of the matter seems to be precisely what we stated in our notes columns four weeks ago. In an interview with a representative of the Daily Express, Mr. Marconi made the following statements :— ““We asked the Post Office authorities whether they would allow us to connect our station at Poldhu by wire with Mullion—at our own expense, mind you—but they re- fused absolutely and entirely.’’ ‘“ The message (that from the King) was not received at our offices until after Mullion Post Office had closed for the night, and one cannot very well keep a King’s message FEBRUARY‘19, 1903] NATURE 3/! lying about for twelve hours. I think it would have been much more- discourteous to the King to have kept his message waiting for a day than it was to send it by cable.” It seems, therefore, that the King, having sent his reply to the London office of the Wireless Telegraph Company, the company could not send it on to Poldhu for transmission to America on account of the fact that it was impossible at night to wire from London to Poldhu : they were compelled, in consequence, to send the message by cable, the cable companies possessing the advantage of a direct connection between the Post Office lines and the shore ends of their cables. It is a similar connection for which the Marconi Company asks and offers to pay, but which the Post Office de- clines to grant, In these circumstances it is not surprising that Mr. Marconi’s feelings towards the Post Office are rather bitter, and that he proposes to make no further addi- tions to the Poldhu Station until the authorities have decided what they intend to do. He now proposes to go to Italy .and build a huge station there, probably at Rome, partly, no doubt, because, as he says, ‘‘ Abroad I can get everything I want. Here in England I can get nothing.’’ This is a little sweep- ing, for all England has not been so backward in sup- porting Mr. Marconi’s enterprise as the officials of the | Post Office, The attitude of the Post Office, however, certainly seems inexcusable, and we do not see by what reasonable arguments it can be supported. It has been urged that, until Mr. Marconi has been able to convince a jury of Government officials and independent experts that his system is capable of satisfying stringent tests of trustworthiness for a definite period under definite conditions, the Post Office is fully justified in withhold- ing its recognition and support. This argument seems to us unsound. If the Post Office is not satisfied that Transatlantic wireless telegraphy is trustworthy, let it, by all means, send its own messages by cable; but is this any reason why the man in the street—or the King—who wishes to benefit by any advantages in tariff or otherwise, which the Marconi Company may offer, and who is willing to run the risk of his message getting lost on the way, or read by Mr. Maskelyne at Porthcurnow, should be denied the necessary facilities ? Or is it any reason why the more enlightened Govern- ments of Canada and the United States should be penalised by having their messages delayed, as we sup- pose must now occur if they arrive by night ? It seems to us that the correct thing for the Post Office to do is to grant the Wireless Telegraph Co. the facilities for which it asks without delay, lest the Post Office be accused, with some justice, of blocking the progress of an enterprise of great promise. Whether Transatlantic wireless telegraphy will prove of commer- cial value or not time will show; the shareholders may be relied upon to put an end to it soon enough if it neither pays nor gives prospect of paying. Should it, as some sanguine people think, prove better than the submarine cable, and ultimately supplant it, the cable companies will have to suffer that the world at large may gain; it will not be the first time in history that the old order has given place to the new. But none of these questions, commercial or technical, seems to us to be the concern of the Post Office, which should only desire to facilitate a new means of communication in which, rightly or wrongly, a large portion of the general public have considerable confidence. In the meantime, the development of wireless tele- graphy progresses rapidly in other directions, and especially in the direction in which we have always maintained it would be most serviceable, namely, in increasing the safety and relieving the monotony of travelling by sea. Reports are continually appearing n the papers of ships communicating with one another, NO; 1738, VOL. 67 | or with the shore, for some time prior to their arrival. Reuter’s Agency has been experimenting in trans- mitting news to ships, and last week the Minneapolis, thirty-six hours before its arrival, was put in possession of all the latest news,. much to the satisfaction of the passengers. Reuter’s Agency, it is said, looks forward to the time when it will be able to maintain a daily news service right across the Atlantic. The day. is possibly not far distant when it will be possible for all ships to keep in’ constant communication with. land, and if this result is attained, wireless telegraphy will have scored a great and lasting success; but, to derive the greatest benefit from such an achievement in this, as in the Transatlantic service, the Post. Office must cooperate and not oppose progress. We trust someone will ask Mr. Balfour if it is the intention of the Govern- ment to bar all scientific progress. Maurice SOLOMON. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW EDUCATION COMMITTEES: ARIOUS applications have been made to the Board of Education for suggestions with respect to the constitution of education committees under the new Education Act, and the framing of schemes for the purpose. With a view to assist councils who have not as yet framed schemes for themselves and desire assistance, the Board of Education issued on February 12 a memorandum making suggestions as to the main matters which should be provided for by the scheme. The Act itself lays it down that every scheme shall provide for the appointment by the council of at least a majority of the committee, and the persons so appointed shall be persons who are members -of: the council, unless, in the case of a county, the council shall otherwise determine; for the appointment by the council, on the nomination or recommendation, where it appears desirable, of other bodies (including associ- ations of voluntary schools), or persons of experience in education, and of persons acquainted with the needs of the various kinds of schools in the area for which the council acts; for the inclusion of women, as well as men, among the members of the committee; and for the appointment, if desirable, of members of school boards existing at the time of the passing of the Edu- cation Act as members of the first committee. The memorandum referred to contains a model scheme, which goes a long way towards elucidating what, in the opinion of the Board of Education, is to be understood exactly by the words ‘ nomination or recommendation ’’ in the Act, This part of the model scheme reads as follows :— Nominated members, one nominated by each of the follow- ing bodies, e.g. :— The council of the University of ; Recommended members, one recommended by each of the following bodies, e.g. :— The Chamber of Commerce of i The Agricultural Society of ; The Association of 5 The Governing Body of the 6 An electing body consisting of Members appointed after consultation with :— The It is of great importance that the Board of Educa- tion appears to contemplate that the right of nomin- ation will belong to universities alone, while other associations and institutions can merely recommend persons for appointment by the council. Moreover, the memorandum refers to the representation of the in- terests of University education, and as we believe this is the first time in which the work of Universities has been mentioned as coming within the sphere of the Act, it is important to direct particular attention to this point. 372 NATCORE [ FEBRUARY 19, 1903 The reference to University education occurs in the part of the memorandum which interprets what is meant by the words ‘‘ persons of experience in education and of persons acquainted with the needs of the various kinds of schools.’? The interests which are always to be represented either among the members appointed from the council or among members appointed from outside the council are thus enumerated :—University educa- tion; the secondary education of boys and girls in its higher and lower grades; technical instruction and commercial and industrial education, having special regard to the industries of a particular district; the training of teachers; and elementary education in council schools and in voluntary schools. The Board of Education evidently does not intend that the councils concerned with the appointment of education committees shall be allowed to lose sight of the needs of higher and secondary education. It is earnestly to be desired that men of science in all parts of.the country will be willing to become members of these education committees, so that councils every- where may be kept informed as to what must be done if, as a nation, we are to make up the leeway in our educational affairs as compared with those of, say, Germany and the United States. NOTES. Tue Bakerian lecture of, the Royal Society on Thursday next, February 26, will be delivered by Mr. C. T. Heycock, F.R.S., and Mr. F. H. Neville, F.R.S., on ‘‘ Solid Solution and Chemical Transformation in the Bronzes.’’ WE regret to see the announcement that Mr. F. C. Pen- rose, F.R.S., died on Sunday last at the age of eighty-five. From an obituary notice in the Times we learn that Mr. Pen- rose was born at Bracebridge, near Lincoln, and, after four years at Bedford Grammar School, entered the foundation at Winchester College. At Cambridge he was a senior optime in the Mathematical Tripos in 1842, and for three years thereafter he held the appointment of Travelling Bachelor to the University. In 1851 he brought out, for the Society of Dilettanti, a work entitled ‘‘ The Principles of Athenian Architecture,’’ of which a second edition has been published. In the following year he was appointed Surveyor of the Fabric of St. Paul’s Cathedral, a post which he held until 1897. He published in 1869 ‘‘ A Method of Predicting Occultations of Stars and Solar Eclipses by Graphical Construction,’’ of which a new edition was issued last year; and during 1893 he contributed to the Trans- actions of the Royal Society a paper on the astronomical significance of the orientation of Greek temples, which was followed by a supplement on the same subject in 1897. His last work was an endeavour to determine the age of Stone- henge by utilising the orientation theory combined with accurate measurement of the direction of the axis of the building. It is rarely that the scientific and artistic tempera- ments are found so closely united in one man. His death is a loss both to science and art, which will be widely felt. At the Cambridge Philosophical Society on February 2, the president, Dr. Baker, proposed from the chair, ‘‘ That the Cambridge Philosophical Society desires to express its sense of the great loss sustained by the University and the Society in the death of Sir George Gabriel Stokes, to whom the Society was bound by so many ties of obligation and reverence.’’? This was seconded by Prof. Thomson, and carried unanimously. The Society then adjourned, as a mark of respect to Stokes’s memory. At a conference of botanists of Vienna held on December 9, 1902, the organising committee was elected for the Inter- NO. 1738, VOL. 67] national Botanical Conference which is to be held at Vienna in 1905. The officers of the committee are as follows :— Honorary presidents: Dr. Guillaume de Hartel, Minister of Public Instruction; Dr. Charles de Giovanelli, Minister uf Agriculture; Prof. Edouard Suess. Presidents: Prof. Richard de Wettstein and Prof. Jules Wiesner. Vice-presi- dents: Prof. Edouard Hackel and Prof. Hans Molisch. General secretary: Dr. Alexander Zahlbruckner. Secre- taries: Dr. Charles Linsbauer and Dr. Frédéric Vierhapper. Treasurer : Dr. Léopolde de Portheim., All communications concerning the congress should be addressed to the general secretary, Dr. A. Zahlbruckner, Vienne, I., Burgring 7. Tue biennial Hunterian Oration was delivered on the afternoon of February 14 by Sir Henry Howse, president of the Royal College of Science, in the theatre of the college. He devoted the greater part of his oration to interesting biographical incidents concerning John Hunter, who was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1767, and appointed surgeon-extraordinary to the King in 1776. The collection of the objects in his museum was Hunter’s chief interest through many years of his life, and at his death there were 14,000 specimens in the museum, on which Hunter ‘spent_ z0,o00l. A banquet took place in the evening in the library” of the college, at which the honorary fellowship of the college was conferred on Lord Roberts, who, in his reply, referred to the outbreaks of enteric fever at Bloemfontein and Kroonstad during the late war, and expressed his admir- ation for the way in which the medical officers managed to meet all emergencies with a minimum of appliances. Tue Rumford Committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has made the following grants in aid of investigations in light and heat :—250 dollars to Dr. Ralph S. Minor, of Little Falls, N. Y., for a research on the dis- persion and absorption of substances for ultra-violet radi- ation; 100 dollars to Dr. Sidney D. Townley, of Berkeley, Cal., for the construction of a stellar photometer of a type devised by Prof. E. C. Pickering and already in use in the study of the light of variable stars; 200 dollars to Prof. Edwin B. Frost, for the construction of a special lens for use in connection with the stellar spectrograph of the Yerkes Observatory to aid in the study of the radial velocities of faint stars; 250 dollars to Profs. E. F. Nichols and G..F. Hull, of Dartmouth College, for their research on the re- lative motion of the earth and the ether; 300 dollars to Prof. G. E. Hale, of the Yerkes Observatory, for the pur- chase of a Rowland concave grating to be used in the photo- graphic study of the spectra of the brightest stars. At a meeting of the Royal Commission for the Exhibitiom of 1851, held on February 10, the Prince of Wales was unanimously elected president of the Commission in suc- cession to His Majesty the King, who had held that position since the year 1870. In taking the chair, the Prince of Wales remarked :—‘‘ The history of the Commission seems a somewhat curious one. Originally appointed merely to carry out the great Exhibition of 1851, it was afterwards charged with the duty of disposing of the sum of 18o,oo00l., the profit resulting from that Exhibition, a task which, in ordinary circumstances, might have been speedily com- pleted.. But the happy investment of the bulk of the money in the Kensington Gore estate gave the Commission a per- manent character. The acquisition of the estate and its subsequent great increase in value has enabled the Com- missioners to afford considerably more help in the promotion of science and the arts than could have been anticipated from the sum of money originally at their disposal. With- out going into detail, the Commissioners are aware that FEBRUARY 19, 1903 | their body, by granting sites for public institutions (in most cases gratuitously, in others on very liberal terms), by grants of money in aid of those institutions, and by scientific and educational scholarships administered by the Commission, have already carried out to a very large extent the trust ot their charter.”’ Pror. H. G. Sretry, F.R.S., has been elected a foreign correspondent of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. Pror. FREDERICK W. PurTNaM, curator of the Peabody Museum, has been awarded the Lucy Wharton Drexel medal of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for his work in American archeology. ; WE learn from Science that Dr. W. A. Cannon has been appointed resident investigator of the Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution. Mr. Frederick V. Coville and Dr. D. T. MacDougal, of the advisory board of the laboratory, started on January 24 on a tour of in- spection of the region west of the Pecos River, in Texas, along the Mexican boundary, for the purpose of fixing upon a site for the laboratory. On Tuesday next; February 24, Sir William Abney will deliver the first of a course of three lectures at the Royal Institution on “‘ Recent Advances in Photographic Science.”’ On February 26 Prof. L. C. Miall begins a course of three lectures on ‘‘ Insect Contrivances,’’ and on Saturday, Feb- ruary 28, Lord Rayleigh delivers the first of six lectures on ‘“‘ Light ; its Origin and Nature.’’ The Friday evening dis- course on February 27 will be delivered by Mr. A. Liebmann on ‘‘ Perfumes; Natural and Artificial’’; on March 6 by Prof. J. G. McKendrick, on ‘‘ Studies in Experimental Phonetics ’?; and on March 13 by Prof. Karl Pearson, on ‘* Character Reading from External Signs.” Tue Carnegie Institution has made a grant of four thousand dollars to the Yerkes Observatory, to be expended under the direction of Prof. George E. Hale, for certain re- searches in astronomy and astrophysics. These will com- prise :—(1) A photographic investigation of stellar paral- laxes ; (2) investigations in stellar photometry ; (3) a detailed study of several hundred photographs of the sun, taken with the spectroheliograph at the Kenwood Observatory in the years 1891--1896; (4) certain investigations in solar and stellar spectroscopy, to be undertaken by Prof. Hale as soon as the new horizontal reflecting telescope, recently injured by fire, has been completed. Tue funeral of the late Mr. James Glaisher, F.R.S., at Shirley, near Croydon, on February 11, was attended by a representative gathering of scientific men, as well as by many personal friends. Major MacMahon represented the Royal Society, and, on behalf of other societies and insti- tutions, there were present, among others, Mr. F. W. Dyson, chief assistant of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich ; Sir Charles Wilson, chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; Mr. W. Ellis, late of the Royal Observatory; Mr. W. Marriott, assistant secre- tary of the Royal Meteorological Society; Mr. Baldwin Latham and Mr. A. H. Baynes. Among the floral tributes were wreaths from Mr. W. N. Shaw, Secretary to the Meteorological Council; the Palestine Exploration Fund, the Aéronautical Society of Great Britain and the Aéro- nautical Society of Germany. Tue Etoile Belge states that an international exhibition will be opened at Liége in April, 1905. The exhibition, NATURE 373 and has been promised the support of the Belgian Govern- ment. In their twelfth annual report, the committee of the Society for the Protection of Birds is able to announce a decided advance in the object for which it is striving. The Wild Birds Protection Act of 1902 has considerably aided the Society’s efforts by making it lawful to confiscate the booty of offenders. The committee also notes with appro- bation the action of the Government of India in prohibiting the exportation of native birds’ skins, except for natural his- tory purposes. It cannot, of course, be hoped, observes the committee, that the action of a single Government will at once prevent ladies from wearing plumes in their hats, but it is nevertheless a step in the right direction. South America now appears to be one of the worst offenders in regard to bird-destruction, and it is, unfortunately, a region where there is, at present at all events, but little hope of repressive legislation being introduced. While noticing that in this country the Church has done little or nothing to aid the crusade, the report announces with satisfaction that the periodical Press has all along been on the side of the move- ment. ‘‘ The fact of this great unfailing support, and the steady growth of this Society, inspires a hope that even- tually the object which the first founders of the Society set before them thirteen years ago—namely, the suppression of this destructive fashion and trade—may be attained.” A PARAGRAPH appeared a short time ago in the Times recording some of the ornithological results of Mr. B. Alexander’s recent expedition to Fernando Po. Mr. Alex- ander reached the island last December, and proceeded to explore the highlands of its northern portion, ascending Clarence Peak, which was found to be wooded to a height of between 10,000 and 11,000 feet. The novelties included in his bird-collection were described by himself at a meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club held on January 21, and are briefly described in Bulletin No. 44 of that body. The collection comprises nearly 400 specimens, referable to some sixty-eight species, of which no less than thirty-three are described as new. Nor is this all, for two of the species are assigned to new genera, under the names of Urolais and Poliolais. It is remarkable that the majority of the Fer- nando Po birds display little affinity to those of the adjacent West African lowlands, but are more nearly related to East African mountain types from Kilimanjaro and Mount Elgon. In addition to its peculiar birds, Fernando Po appears to possess a fauna and flora of great abundance and interest, the number of species of ferns at high altitudes being especially noticeable. Tur Geneva correspondent of the Daily Mail states that Count Zeppelin has just completed an automobile-launch which possesses the peculiarity of having its propellers in the air. According to the inventor, the launch will be of the greatest use in tropical lakes and rivers encumbered with aquatic plants, which, obstructing the screw, render an ordinary steam launch useless. The launch is extremely light, has a draught of only ten inches, and it skims the water at a rate varying from fourteen to sixteen miles an hour. WE have received the first part of the new volume (vol. iii.) of the Journal of Hygiene, which contains several im- portant papers. Dr. Jordan discusses the kinds of bacteria and their variation in river water. Dr. Longcope gives a study of the bacteriolytic action of human blood in disease, and Dr. Walker surveys the various factors in bacteriolytic which will include a scientific section, is due to private | action, from which he deduces the fact that the complement initiative, but it has received the patronage of King Leopold, | or addiment is a product of disintegration of leucocytes. NO. 1738, VOL. 67] 374 NATURE [FEBRUARY I9, 1903 A new drug laboratory has, says the British Medical Journal, recently been established in the Chemical Bureau at Washington, with the object of investigating adulter- ations, testing drugs and establishing uniformity in the standard of medical substances for future State and national legislation. The American Pharmaceutical Association has passed resolutions approving of the new bureau. Tue Glamorgan Sea Fisheries Committee, having decided to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations re- specting the pollution of Mumbles oysters, deputed Prof. Herdman to make the necessary investigations, and his re- port has now been published. Samples of the oysters and of the water were subjected to careful bacteriological investi- gation by Dr. Griffith, under Prof. Herdman’s direction, and the final conclusion arrived at was that the shore, the water and the oysters all gave evidence of being polluted with sewage. Of the oysters, some were much more polluted than others. Ar the meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers on February 10, Mr. David Carnegie read a paper on the manufacture and efficiency of armour-piercing projectiles. The modern projectile is, he pointed out, composed of steel containing carbon, associated with one or more of the follow- ing metals :—nickel, manganese and molyb- denum. Typical proportions per cent. of elements other than in shells which are air-hardened are :—carbon 0°80, silicon o°2, sulphur o'04, phosphorus 0'04, manganese o'12, nickel 2°00 and chromium 2°00. In_ present-day methods of hardening, three mediums are used, viz. water, oil and air, and the choice of the method used is determined by the composition of the material to be hardened. Carbon steels are generally hardened in water, or partly in water and partly in oil; nickel steels in water, in oil, or in air under pressure; and steels having self-hardening properties by simply heating and allowing to cool in air. chromium, iron THE passage in Mr. Swinburne’s presidential address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in which he criti- cised the prevailing notions of the meaning and definition of the term “‘ entropy ’’ has given rise to an animated corre- spondence on the subject in the columns of the electrical and engineering papers, particularly in those of the Electrician. No apology is needed for directing the attention of readers of Nature to a controversy in which such distinguished men as Lord Kelvin, Sir Oliver Lodge, Prof. Poincaré and Prof. Planck have taken part, as well as the original disputants —Mr. Swinburne and Prof. Perry. The discussion does not seem to be ended yet, but we trust that when it is concluded Mr. Swinburne will not allow it to remain scattered in the columns of various journals, but will, as he himself has led us to hope, collect and republish the letters and articles. The collected statements of the views of so many authorities would be of great assistance to all students trying to grasp the full import of the second law of thermodynamics. THE paper on high temperature electrochemistry read by Messrs. R. S. Hutton and J. E. Petavel before the Man- chester Section of the Institution of Electrical Engineers last November contains a most interesting and suggestive account of electric furnace work. The paper is divided into two parts, the first of which deals with the equipment of an experimental electrometallurgical laboratory. A de- scription of the apparatus available at Owens College is given; the authors are certainly to be congratulated on having the opportunity of working. in a laboratory so well equipped as this. Amongst other special apparatus may be noted a furnace capable of working with currents up to NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | 1000 amperes under pressures up to 200 atmospheres. This furnace, which has been provided out of funds from the Government Grant Committee of the Royal Society, is in- tended to be used for research on the effect of gaseous pressure on high temperature chemical reactions. The second part of the paper consists of notes on technical pro- cesses, and in it the authors direct attention to the more important features of the various electric furnace processes in commercial operation at the present time. Mopern tendencies in the utilisation of power formed the subject of the address given by Prof. J. J. Flather to the Engineering and Mechanical Science Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the first part of the address the question ‘of the distribution of power in workshops is cansidered, and the author deals. at some length with. the relative merits of electricity, com- pressed air and hydraulic pressure under various conditions. In the latter part: of the paper Prof. Flather deals with some of the. larger questions of power generation and trans- He points out that. the competition between oil, gas and steam engines, and steam turbines is likely to lead to the further development and perfecting of each for the purposes for which it is specially suitable. The paper con- tains some interesting data showing what has already been accomplished in the way of generating power by large gas engines and steam turbines. mission. Tuer November issue of the Proceedings of the Phila- delphia Academy contains an important paper, by Mr. W. H. Dall, on the American representatives of the bivalve group, Carditacez. In the February number of the Irish Naturalist Prof. G. Wilson gives additional information with regard to the proposed marine laboratory for Ulster, to. which allusion was made in the January issue of that journal. All con- cerned are agreed as to the need of such an institution, especially in connection with the Irish sea-fisheries, and the one difficulty in the way is the acquisition of the neces- sary funds. A NOTABLE addition to the British (Natural History) Museum is a fine specimen—skin and skeleton—of the great Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros wunicornis), presented by H.H. the Maharajah of Kuch-Behar. The mounted skin is placed for the present in the entrance hall. Our German contemporary, Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, contains an illustrated article, by Dr. M. von Linden, on Eimer’s theory of the evolution of colour- markings in animals. On this theory, it will be remem- bered, longitudinal striping is regarded as the first stage; from this spots are developed by a breaking-up process, and these again may coalesce to form yertical stripes. Some weeks ago we noticed an article, by Prof. C. H. Eigenmann, on the development of American eels, in which attention was called to the practice of giving separate specific names to the larval ‘‘ leptocephali.’’ We have just received two papers on the life-history of American eels, issued in 1gor by the U.S. Fish and Fishery Commission, one by Mr. Eigenmann and the other by Messrs. Eigenmann and Kennedy. In the second of these it is confessed that the practice of naming leptocephali is an anachronism, although it is considered permissible in cases where the adult form cannot be identified. Dr. Camitto Bosco contributes to the Atti dei Lincei, xi. 12, a study of the cranium of a beaver of the Quaternary. period, found in the gravels of Maspino, near Arezzo, and FEBRUARY 19, 1903] now in the palzontological museum at Florence. This skull was referred by Forsyth Major and Ritimeyer to Castor fiber. It is much more closely related to the Euro- pean than to the Canadian beaver, particularly in the shape of the nasal parts, the zygomatic arches, the breadth of the frontal and nasal regions, and the pari- etal crests; it differs, however, from both forms in the palate, which is much broader behind than before, the incisors, which are broader, and the molars, which decrease rapidly in size from the first to the last, and on the surface of which the folds of enamel are slightly sinuous. At the same time, the fact that the nasal bones have retained the same form and breadth during the geological intervals which have elapsed from the time of the Maspino beaver and the Pliocene specimen of Valdarno Superiore affords an argument in favour of the specific separation of Castor fiber, L., from C. canadensis, Kuhl. ’ M. L. HouttevicueE describes in the Journal de Physique for January some interesting results obtained by depositing thin films of metal on glass and other surfaces by kathodic tays in a bell glass receiver. With deposits of palladium the moisture of the breath was sufficient to break up the film, and the same was to a less degree the case with platinum. In the case of copper, crystals of oxide com- menced to form at the edges, and soon extended inwards, but the process was arrested before reaching the middle part, which was the thinnest portion of the pellicule. An attempt was made, extending over seven days, to obtain a carbon film, but the only deposit obtained was probably due to the copper of the support. The electric resistance of a film of bismuth obtained by projection was found to be in- sensible to a magnetic field. On the other hand, trans- parent laminz of iron, placed normally to the field of a Ruhmkorff coil, afforded a ready illustration of magneto- optic rotation. In connection with this work, M. Ed. van Aubel calls attention to the investigations of Wright, Kundt, Patterson and J. J. Thomson. ““ FACTORISATION of large numbers”’ is the subject of a paper read by Mr. F. J. Vaes, of Rotterdam, to the Amster- dam Academy of Sciences last year. The method which forms the starting-point of Mr. Vaes’s paper consists in the expression of the given number as the difference of two squares. Taking, say, the number 513667, the next greater square is 717°, and he writes 513667=717°—422. Then he increases the first and second terms of the difference in succession by 2.717+1, 2.717+3 .. +, that is, 1435, 1437, 1439 . . .; the results are thus 718?—1857, 719°—3294..-.- and when the second term is a perfect square, the factorisa- tion will be completed. However, the work may be shortened by observing that a perfect square cannot end in 2, 3, 7 or 8, and further, the author gives a table of all the groups of four figures in which a square can end, by which further abbreviation appears possible. It is obvious that the process stops when the original number 2n+1 is ex- pressed in the form (n+1)*—n’, and if a square has not been obtained previously, the number will be known to be prime. REFERRING to Dr. E. H. Barton’s letter, published in our last issue, describing a simple sensitive flame, Prof. W. F. Barrett, F.R.S., directs attention to a lecture delivered by him before the Royal Dublin Society on January 3, 1868, in which he thinks he used such a flame to demonstrate the reflection and tefraction of sound. Tue short nature-studiés written by Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S., and published under the title ‘‘ The History of Aquatic Insects ’ by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., in vo. 1738, VOL. 67] NATURE 375 1895, have been issued in a cheaper form at 3s. 6d, Advan- tage has been taken of ‘the reissue to make a few emenda- tions and additions. .In’its new form the book will doubt- less secure a wide popularity in the classes for nature-study which are being: instituted in many.parts of the country, Messrs. GEORGE BELL AND Sons’ have published separ- ately, at 2s, net, under the title ‘‘ Webster’s Pictorial Dictionary,’’ the three thousand or more illustrations in “ Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language,”’ The pictures have been classified ‘and arranged! according to, subjects. As was, perhaps, to have been ex- pected, a very large proportion of the figures illustrate scientific subjects,. and, exceptional prominence seems to have been given to botanical and zoological ‘terms. A sECOND edition of ‘‘ An Elementary Course of Infini- tesimal Calculus,’? by Prof: Horace Lamb, F.R.S., has been issued by the Cambridge University Press. The book was first published in 1897, and a review of it appeared in Nature for July 28, 1898. In the new edition the book has been carefully révised, and several errors have been cor- rected, principally in the examples, A few paragraphs in the latter portion of the book, relating to infinite series, ‘have been aniplified. Tue seventh volume of The South-eastern Naturalist, be- ing the Transactions of the South-eastern Union of Scientific Societies for 1902, has been received. Amongst other, interesting contents, the volume contains the presidential address, by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., on leprosy in the Middle Ages, and the following papers :—Miss A. L. Smith, on mycorhiza, the root-fungus; Mr. E. R. Harrison, on eolithic flint implements; Prof. G. S. Boulger, on the: preservation of our indigenous flora; Mr. E, A. Martin, on the protection of plants; Mr. Sibert Saunders, on the marine aquarium, without circulation or change of water; and Mr. W. Whitaker, F.R.S., on Kentish wells and deep borings in the neighbourhood of Canterbury. The report of this union of scientific societies, with which the publication begins, is of a highly satisfactory character, and the record of the work accomplished, or now being done, by members of the affiliated societies shows a very creditable activity on the part of the union. Tue International Oxy-Generator Syndicate, Ltd., has submitted to us for examination a simple and convenient form of apparatus for the manufacture of oxygen, known as the ‘‘‘ Ever Ready’ Portable Automatic Oxygen Gener- ator.’’ The apparatus consists of a steel tube used as a retort, a spirit lamp for heating the retort, a purifying tank for washing and cooling the gas, an automatic travelling stage, a collapsible gas holder for storing the gas, and all the necessary connections. The whole of the parts pack easily into a case of moderate size, and there are no com- plications to get out of order or to puzzle the novice. The oxygen is obtained in the usual manner by heating a mixture of potassium chlorate and manganese dioxide, As a means of avoiding the difficulties of procuring cylinders of com- pressed oxygen in out-of-the-way places, this generator should prove very useful. In the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. xxxviii. No. 5, T. W. Richards has published a simple method of gas-analysis which requires only the simplest apparatus and yet is capable of yielding results accurate enough for many ordinary purposes. The actual measurement consists in a determination of the pressure, the volume of the gas being kept constant. As an elementary exercise for students, the use 376 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 19, 1903 of such a simple apparatus possesses many advantages over the ordinary gas apparatus employed in practice. Tue epidiascope, a new optical lantern, which we have examined at the London branch of Mr. Carl Zeiss, of Jena, is primarily intended for the projection on the screen of opaque bodies, such as insects, coins, fossils, diagrams, &c., in their natural colours. It is equally serviceable for pro- jection of transparent objects, e.g. lantern slides, and micro- scopic preparations can likewise be shown with considerable magnification. The source of light is an arc-lamp of 30 or 50 amperes, at the focus of a parabolic reflector; the light is either thrown upon, or transmitted through, the object by a system of condensers and mirrors. The images are brilliant and well-defined. In its primary capacity the lantern gives remarkably interesting results, the images, for instance, of butterflies or coins being most realistic in appearance, owing, no doubt, to the fact that the shadows of the objects viewed are reproduced just as in nature. Dark heat rays are trapped by a water tank, so that delicate biological specimens, and. even living organisms, may be depicted on the screen. A notable feature of the instrument is its convenience in manipulation, the change from opaque to transparent bodies taking but a few seconds. The object chamber is large, and objects are laid( on a horizontal table without clamping. Manuscripts and pictures so large as 83 inches square can be shown, hence the instrument should be useful, not only to men of science, but for class lectures and educational purposes. WE have received the Proceedings of the University of Durham Philosophical Society, vol. ii. part ii. Amongst other papers is an interesting communication by Prof. P. P. Bedson on the gases enclosed in coal. The gases enclosed in the various samples of coal or coal dust were obtained by heating weighed quantities of these in tubes connected toa Sprengel pump and heated usually to 100° C. by means of boiling water. In addition to marsh gas, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen, evidence has been obtained of the occurrence of the higher hydrocarbons ethane and propane. These latter are not evolved so readily at 100° C. # vaczo as marsh gas, and a partial separ- ation of the hydrocarbons can be effected on the basis of this property. Another point of interest in the paper is the experi- mentally established fact that coal, after removal from the mine, not only gives off some of its ‘enclosed gases,” but takes up the gases of the atmosphere and the oxygen more readily than the nitrogen. Tne annual report for 1901 of the Smithsonian Institu- tion at Washington has reached us. Although many details of interest are described in Prof. Langley’s report, most | readers will turn with the greatest pleasure to the valuable appendix of nearly 600 pages. This appendix is a summary of the most interesting scientific work of the preceding year, presented in a form which will appeal, not to men of science alone, but to the intelligent general reader. It con- tains fifty articles by men of science of many nationalities, most of them profusely and excellently illustrated. The first article gives a short sketch of the history and work of the Smithsonian Institution, and this is followed by one by Mr. Abbot on some recent astronomical events. Prof. Riicker’s presidential address to the British Association at Glasgow is reprinted, as well as a number of Royal Institution lec- tures. Among these are that of Prof. Poynting on recent studies in gravitation, Prof. Dewar’s on solid hydrogen, Mr. Marconi’s on wireless telegraphy and Dr. Glazebrook’s on the aims of the National Physical Laboratory. Numerous other interesting contributions include that by Lord Kelvin on ether and gravitational matter through infinite space, NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | one by Prof. J. J. Thomson on bodies smaller than atoms, and several by Prof. S. P. Langley—that which appeared first in NaTuRE, on ‘‘ The Fire Walk Ceremony in Tahiti,’’ is one of them; while another shows the comparative effici- ency as flying machines of various large birds and artificial aévodromes. There are also papers on the utilisation of the sun’s energy, the Bogoslof volcanoes of Alaska, forest destruction, irrigation, pictures by prehistoric cave-dwellers in France, and one on the National Zoological Park at Washington by Mr. Seton Thompson. Several beautiful coloured plates add to the attractiveness of the volume. Tue additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Coquerel’s Mouse Lemurs (Chiro- galeus coquereli) from Madagascar, a Mohr Gazelle (Gazella mohr) from North Africa, two Gould’s Monitors (Varanus gouldi), six Bearded Lizards (Amphibolurus bar- batus) from Australia, a Tamandua Anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla) from South America, deposited; a Common Stoat (Mustela eryminea), European, purchased. CorrecTion.—In line nine from the end of Mr. G. W. Butler’s letter in Nature of February 12 (p. 344), omit the word of. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. OBSERVATIONS OF COMET 1903 a.—M. P. Chofardet, of the Besancon Observatory, records in the Comptes rendus for January 26 that on January 21 the apparent diameter of this comet was 1’‘5 and its magnitude was about 10-11; a small eccentric condensation towards the south was also observed. On January 24 the condensation was central, and a smalh stellar nucleus was seen. DETERMINATIONS OF STELLAR RADIAL VELOCITIES.— As a supplement to a previous note on the determinations of the radial velocities of the planets made at Meudon, M. Des- landres contributes to No. 4 (1903) of the Comptes rendus the results of the determinations of the radial velocities of @ Aquilz, @ Perseiand y Persei, and he also describes the spectro- graph with which they were determined, together with the sources of error to which the determinations are subject. In the case of @ Aquilz (a white ‘star of Pickering’s class viia.), where the hydrogen lines are broad and the metallic lines fine, the magnesium line A 4481 was used. The results show a considerable variation in the velocity, and a mean period of about seventeen days with a shorter period of three days superimposed ; the star is a spectroscopic binary. The star » Persei has bright hydrogen lines which show central reversals, and the fine dark reversals have been used in determining the velocity, which is variable. In w Persei, the hydrogen lines are bright and superimposed on very broad dark lines, and each shows several dark reversals some distance apart, exactly similar in appearance to those seen in Nova Persei and other temporary stars. For the comparison spectrum in each case, a spark from poles containing iron and titanium was used. THe CoLouR OF THE EcLipsED Moon.—In a description of the phenomena observed during the Junar eclipse of October 16, 1902 (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 3845), Prof. E. E. Barnard comments on the various colours assumed by the eclipsed moon at different eclipses. He says that the appear- ance of the lunar surface during the last eclipse was by far the darkest he has yet observed, being of a dull coppery red colour, whilst that of June 11, 1881, was a beautiful bright cherry red, and suggests that this variation is probably due to the differences existing in the terrestrial atmospheric conditions during the various eclipses. ; Prof. Barnard further remarks that the dark coloration is not evenly distributed during an eclipse, for in the present case he observed a dark smear running {rom east to west across the eclipsed moon, and he suggests that this phenomenon was probably due to scme local disturbance in our atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. { FEsRUARY 19, 1903 | SOLAR ‘_PROMINENCES AND TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM, INCE the year 1871 the Italian astronomer, Prof. Tacchini, has been daily making spectroscopic observ- ations of the sun, noting the number, size and position of the prominences visible on the solar limb. A preliminary study of this very valuable homogeneous series ot data rendered it possible to demonstrate that the variation of the frequency of occurrence of these phenomena followed a very general law, the number waxing and waning at intervals of about eleven years, and synchronising with the variation of the number of spots on the sun’s disc. This result was pointed out some time ago in the pages of this Journal (vol. Ixvi. p. 248), 10300 and it was there further stated that there were in addition subsidiary maxima and 5 : 750 minima superimposed on the main eleven- 9. oo og ve. year curve nee This preliminary study dealt with the prominences visible on the sun’s limb in toto, and did not consider their frequency in any particular part of it. 500 Pay . *- BO* A subsequent analysis indicated, however, °°" °° 45, that by taking the solar limb to pieces, so . wee 5 to speak, and dealing with the individual parts of it, very interesting results might accrue. This work has recently been com- 49-60 pleted, and it was found that the frequency ny tat 2 of prominences varied according to the par- ¢ ticular solar latitude examined, and that the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism . . . 501 were very closely connected with these vari- 20*- +0" ations. N. Lat 7% In a recent communication to the Royal & Society’ the comparison of these two classes of phenomena, as mentioned above, has been made in some detail, and the present article gives a brief account of the con- clusions derived from the inquiry. For the reduction of the prominence ob- PONE are servations the limb of the sun was divided zi ne ee Ainto parts ten degrees in length, corre- 250 sponding with ten-degree zones of solar ne Jatitude north and south, and each zone fq was examined and discussed by itself. — 99+- 4c E Further, the observations for every three .,., “ months were, in the first instance, grouped Deen together, and the percentage frequency for ° each of these periods was determined in- dividually. 5 In this way a set of eighteen curves, nine ‘0° -60° a for each hemisphere, was made, showing %LAT © the variation from year to year of the per- os centage frequency of prominence activity in each ten-degree zone. 500 In the curves accompanying the present ©0°- 60° of article (Fig. 1) the above-mentioned set, °4™ ; except those for 80°--g0° north and south, was grouped in pairs, thus representing the percentage frequency of prominences in ~ see 80°-90°.,, each hemisphere for zones of 20° of lati- = tude, 09--209, 209--409, &c., since it was ~ ats found that this reduction could be made without losing any of the characteristic variations. An examination of these curves shows that they differ very considerably one from the other as we proceed from _ the equatorial to the polar zones. Generally speaking, the curves representing the variations for each, of the zones, 0°--20° north and south, conform with the sun-spot curve; that is, the maxima and minima occur at about the epochs of sun-spot maxima and minima. Those for the two zones 20°--40°, in both hemispheres, conform also in the main to the general sun-spot curve, but in addition they display sub- sidiary maxima or changes of curvature superimposed on the main curve. : ; N. and S. ___ 1" The Relation between Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism.” - By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and William J. S. Lockyer, V.A., Ph.D., F.R.A.S. (Received January 14, read January 29, 1903.) NO. 1738, VOL. 67] NATORE 1600 377 The curves for the two zones, 40°--60° north and south, have, on the other hand, hardly any likeness to the sun-spot curve, but are made up of a series of prominent maxima representing special outbursts of prominence activity. Passing to the curves corresponding to the next zones, 1.é. 60°--80° north and south, these indicate two prominent out- bursts lasting for a short period, showing that this region of the sun is, as a rule, practically free from prominence activity ; in the remaining zones, 80°--g0° north and south, the variation is small, and is a faint echo of the condition of affairs in the neighbouring zone 60°--80°. The data regarding the magnetic phenomena which were employed were those brought together by Mr. William (3700 12300 4 1620°0 ieoGn 7390 1S700 IBROO ho00 Fic. 1.—Curves showing the percentage frequency of solar prominences for each 20° zone u (The continuous and broken vertical lines indicate the epochs of sun-spot maxima and minima respectively.) Ellis, who very kindly brought the whole of them up to date for the purposes of the present inquiry. Two classes of magnetic phenomena were dealt with, namely, the variations from year to year of the diurnal range of the declination and horizontal force, and magnetic dis- turbances. As regards the former, Mr. Ellis has shown that the curves indicating these variations are very similar to that of the general sun-spot curve ; in fact, the curves were found to be almost identical in all their smaller irregularities. The second class of phenomena, namely, the magnetic: disturb- ances, which are more irregular in occurrence, has been classified by Mr. Ellis into five groups, and tabulated by him NATURE [FEBRUARY 19. 1903 378 under five separate subheads. In this investigation only that class described as ‘‘ great’? has been used, since this group represented the largest disturbances. Mr. Ellis, as already has been pointed out, has indicated the close resemblance between the sun-spot curve and that representing the variation of the magnetic elements; and 18600 18700 18800 18900 7500 SUNSPOTS. *”°° MEAN DAILY bee AREA 1000 WHOLE HEM. 500 1200 1000 SUNSPOTS. mo MCAN DAILY &% AREA 400 G.HEM Py 00 to! SUNSPOTS. mean paur 5 AREA N.HEM = 400 ° 72. PROMINENCES. o*-200 NARS LATS 96 (FAcCHIN:) MCAN DAILY RANGE OF MAGNETIC © DECLINATION. , (ELLs) ¢ 18600 16700 Fic. 2.—Comparison of curves representing variations of magnetic declination, solar 18900 prominences (0’-20° N. and S.), and sun-spot areas. lines as in Fig. 1.) it has also been shown that the curves representing the per- centage frequency of prominences near the solar equator conform in the main to the general sun-spot curve. (Continuous and broken vertical Leaving the variation of the diurnal range of the magnetic elements and turning our attention to the magnetic disturb- ances, it will be seen that if a comparison of the curve repre- senting the number of days of the ‘‘ great ’’ disturbances be made with those representing prominence frequency (Fig. 1); the former is as unlike the curves representing the promin- ence frequency about the solar equator as it is like those near the poles; in fact, the polar prominence outbursts and great mag- netic disturbances occur almost simul- taneously. The peculiar form and general similarity of the curves can be best seen from the accompanying illustration (Fig. 3). In the figuce comparison is) made between the epochs of the crossing of the known and unknown lines observed in sun-spot spectra, the percentage frequency of prominences about the solar poles and Ellis’s ‘‘ great ’” magnetic disturbances. Two. curves representative of promin- ence frequency are given, one to indicate the abrupt nature of the curves represent- ing the frequency in a zone near the pole 10 degrees in width (in this case 60°--70? north), and the second to illustrate polar action as a whole; this latter was obtained by making a summation of prominence frequency for the two zones 60°--90° north and south. The simultaneous occurrence of the maxima suggests that, when the promin- ence action takes place at the polar regions of the sun, one effect on the earth is that we experience our greatest magnetic dis- turbances. Mr. Ellis has previously stated that un- usual magnetic disturbance is frequent about epochs of sun-spot maximum. The present inquiry indicates that not only do these ‘‘ great ’’ disturbances occur at the same time as the polay prominences, but the spectroscopic observations of sun-spots show that they take place not only ‘‘ about ”” the times of spot maximum, as stated by Mr. Ellis, but when the sun-spot curve is approaching a maximum and at the dates of the widened line crossings, when the curve representing the ‘‘ unknown”? lines is on 1900:0 (9000 There is, therefore, an apparent connection between | the rise, and crosses the ‘‘ known ”’ line which is descend- phenomena occurring in the equatorial regions of the sun, | ing. At the other epoch of ‘‘ crossing,’’ i.e. when the the percentage frequency of prominences near the solar equator, sun-spots (which are 1B600 levee 18800 1800.0 19000 practically restricted to these zones), and the ordinary diurnal magnetic variation. To The accompanying set of curves (Fig. 2) GRossincs 5° illustrates the great similarity between or ” those showing the frequency of promin- ieee a ences in a zone about the equator (0°--20° 2 north and south) and the variations of the oe mean daily range of magnetic declination; — PROMINENCES. for the sake of comparison, three other Seo curves are added, showing the variation of (TACCHING) the mean daily area of the sun-spots for PROMINENCES. the whole, and the two hemispheres of the €0*-70° w sun separately.’ Arcee i 1 In referring to the curve representing the varia- tion of the mean daily areas of sun-spots, it may be St noted that this is obtained by combining the mean daily areas of both hemispheres of the sun. A closer analysis shows, however, that this variation is not the same for both hemispheres. Frim the year 1862, when such a division of the sun’s disc can be easily investigated, the northern hemisphere, about the time 8600 18700 18800 18900 19000 of the two last maxima, displayed double maxima : 4 “ ” So. ah i occurring in the years ahmed 1884, and in the years Fic. 3.—Comparison showing days of ‘‘ great” magnetic disturbance, polar prominences, , 1892 and 1895. Aboutthe time of the maximum of 1870 this duplicity is not so marked, although when compared with the curve for the southern hemisphere for this period, there is a slight indication of a subsidiary crest in 1872. In the case of the curve representing the mean spotted area for the southern hemisphere alone, at all the three epochs of maximum, the curves are single-crested and indicate sharply-defined maxima in the years 1870, 1883 and 1893. From the above it will be seen, therefore, that the actual epochs of sun- spot maxima, as determined from the northern and southern hemispheres respectively, are not the same, and in dealing with the curve representing NO. 1738, VOL. 67] and crossings of widened lines. (The continuous and broken vertical lines as in Fig. 1.) _ curve showing the ‘‘ known”? lines is on the rise and the 2 3 : : 5 ‘“unknown”’ is falling, there is practically no “ great magnetic disturbance recorded. this variation for the whole hemisphere, this fact should be borne in mind- It may further be noted that the epochs of minima may be practically considered the same for both hemispheres. : mq FEBRUARY 19, 1903 | NATURE This apparently close connection between solar promin- ences and magnetic storms perhaps explains why it is that the latter sometimes take place when there are no spots, or no very large spots on the solar surface. Thus, for instance, there may be prominences and magnetic storms when there are no spots; prominences may also sometimes b2 associated with large spots, and as the latter can be seen while the former cannot, the resulting magnetic storm is generally attributed to the spots. Further, the magnitude of magnetic storms appears to vary according to the particular position as to latitude of the prominence on the sun’s disc. The nearer the poles {either north or south) the prominence occurs, and these are the regions where no spots exist, the greater the mag- netic storm. In conclusion, it may be stated that the inquiry has shown that the variations of the general magnetic phenomena, as given by Ellis, synchronise with the occurrence of promin- ences about the solar equator, while his ‘* great ’? magnetic disturbances occur, in point of time, with the appearance of prominences in the polar regions of the sun. Prof. Bigelow has recently (U.S. Monthly Weather Review, July, 1902, p. 352) investigated the variations in the horizontal magnetic force, and finds that the curve representing these changes exhibits subsidiary maxima which synchronise with those recorded in the curve representing the mean variation of prominences for all latitudes. Thus, to use his own words, ‘“‘ the remarkable synchronism between the curves cannot escape recognition, except after the year 1894, when an extra minor crest is developed in the horizontal force.” ; Wittiiam J. S. Lockyer. LHE FORTRESS OF “THE MOLE. FoR the last three-quarters of a century, at any rate, natural history writers have been content to copy a diagrammatic figure of the breeding-hillock of the mole, without the least attempt to ascertain for themselves to what extent it is based on actual fact. The diagram in question was based on a fairly authentic account of the mole’s habits drawn up by de Vaux just a century ago, but was elabor- ated by G. St. Hilaire and further ‘* improved ”’ by Blasius. Recently, Mr. L. E. Adams, whose special study is the Mollusca, has examined a large series of mole-hillocks in Staffordshire and has found that in no case does the struc- ture of the one in which the nest is formed correspond with the current diagram of the so-called ‘‘ fortress.’’ His account, illustrated with numerous diagrams (two of which we are enabled to reproduce) is published in vol. xlvii., No. 4, of the Memoirs of the Manchester Literary and Philo- sophical Society. It shows that in certain other respects our ideas of the life-history of the mole require modification. With regard to the situation of the breeding-hillock, or fortress, as it still may be conveniently called, Mr. Adams finds that this is generally in the open field, although it may occasionally be placed in a hedge-bank, but only when there is a ditch alongside. Indeed, the proximity of water seems to be the main factor in determining the position of the structure. Now and then a fortress may be found under a tree, but it is considered by the author that such a position is probably accidental. According to the old idea, it was supposed that the runs with which it is permeated were made on a certain definite plan, allowing of free escape from the invasions of foes both above and below ground. This idea receives no support from the new observations, which tend to show that the more or less complicated galleries are purely incidental, and, with the exception of one ‘‘ bolt-hole,’’ have no refer- ence to premeditated escape. In place, indeed, of being ex- amples of a wonderful instinct of self-preservation on the part of their constructor, it appears that the galleries of the fortress are the natural, incidental and inevitable outcome of the work of excavating the nest-cavity and piling up the superincumbent mound. When the site for the fortress has been fixed, a circular ‘cavity is excavated for the reception of the nest at a depth of from two to six inches below the surface of the ground, except in the case of boggy soil or in situations liable to be flooded, when the nest is often made above the original | NO. 1738, VOL. 67] 379 ground-level. The easiest way to dispose of the excavated soil is to push it up to the surface, and for this purpose a tunnel is constructed, and in such a case the whole mound is made by this tunnel. ““ When this superincumbent earth,’’ writes the author, ““has reached an inconvenient height, another tunnel is made, sometimes from another part of the nest-cavity (Fig. 1, a, b), but more often sideways from the first upward tunnel. All this takes time, and the mole meanwhile makes fresh runs from the fortress, the seat of its labour, in various ce Fic. 1.—Plan of a simple mole fortress, from above. @, 6, excavation tunnels ; c, @, tunnels made for forming protecting heap ; N, nest. directions in sedrch of food. Much of the earth displaced in making these fresh runs falls-into the nest-cavity, and has to be disposed of in the same way as before, and also the. soil displaced in making the bolt-run and the down- shaft, when this latter occurs, Now the tunnel (or tunnels) leading upwards from the nest-cavity becomes larger and larger, winding round under the surface of the growing fortress. When this removal of earth becomes too fatiguing, on account of the length of the tunnel, the mole will often begin to make new tunnels from runs close to the end of the Fic. 2.—A complicated mole-fortress with eleyen exits: «) apex of the tunnels ; N, nest. fortress. Sometimes these new runs break into those lead- ing from the nest-cavity, but not very often; usually they lie above them.”’ It thus appears that the tunnels are for two distinct pur- poses. First, we have those formed for ejecting earth from the nest-cavity and-bolt-run, which are generally in the shape of a corkscrew ascending from the nest, and often with blind divergent terminations.- And, secondly, tunnels 380 NATURE | FEBRUARY 19, 1903 unconnected with the nest-cavity, but traversing the fortress from external runs, through which earth has been carried to heap over the nest. Fig. 2 shows a fortress of the most complicated type. Except when in marshy soil, nearly every fortress has the aforesaid bolt-run, which leads upwards from the bottom of the nest, and thus outwards, without connection with the other tunnels. More rarely a down-shaft, which may be nearly a yard in length, descends obliquely from the nest. The use of these down-shafts is not apparent. Presumably it is in them that the collections of paralysed worms, sup- posed to be stored up by the mole as food, have been found. Such collections of worms are, however, regarded by the author as accidental. The nest-cavity, which is about the size of a large cottage- loaf, and worn smooth by friction, contains a ball of grass or leaves, or a mixture of both, by which it is completely filled. In the case of the English species, at any rate, no fur from the mole’s body is used in lining the nest. Apparently a nest is never used for more than one season, but two or even three nests, generally one above the other, may be found in the same fortress, of which the newest is alone in use. In all cases it appears that the female makes a fortress and nest of her own in which to breed, this being usually less complex than that of her partner, and without a bolt-run. Whether previous to the breeding-time the female inhabits the same fortress as the male is doubtful, and it is not improbable that moles are polyandrous. It is now demonstrated that the female produces only a single litter annually. The young are usually born between the 1 middle of April and the latter part of June, after a gesta- tion of four weeks; the number in a litter varies from two to six, three or four being usual. ‘The number of teats in the female is eight, and not, as usually stated, six. THE VISIBILITY OF ULTRA-MICROSCOPIC PARTICLES? [N the course of an optical investigation of various shades of ruby glass, Messrs. Siedentopf and Zsigmondy de- vised a method of observing small particles of gold which closely approach molecular dimensions, and thus extending our range of molecular vision very considerably. The ruby glasses, examined by the best ordinary micro- scopes, appeared perfectly homogeneous. But the authors reasoned that if the gold particles embedded in the glass were at such distances apart that a microscope could resolve them, they could be made visible even though their size should be a small fraction of the wave-length of visible light. The only condition was that the product of the specific intensity into the surface of the luminous particles and the square of the sine of the effective angle of illumin- ation should be greater than the inferior limit of the sensi- tiveness of the human eye. The problem is thus reduced to that of the visibility of a fixed star. What is seen is, of course, a diffraction disc, and that is all we can hope to see, but the authors indicate a means of determining the true size and weight of the particles seen. It is essential that all disturbing side-lights should be avoided. The authors threw a beam of sunlight through a condenser on a slit 0.05 to 0.5 mm. wide, and an image of the slit was produced in the field of vision by a telescope lens and a collimator with a reduction of 36 diameters. The diffraction discs seen in the ruby glass had an average apparent diameter of 1 mm., while their real diameter, calculated from the quantity of gold present and the number of particles counted in unit volume, was 0.02 yu. on the average. This gives a magnification of 50,000 diameters. The utmost limit to which the magnification can be pushed by this method is about 150,000 diameters, or 6 wu. The average diameter of a molecule being 0.6 pu., it cannot be seen, even as a diffraction disc, unless its specific luminosity were ten times that of the solar molecules, or the sensitive- ness of the eye were greatly increased. The cumulative effects used in photography may be resorted to, but the authors do not mention that possibility. 1 Abstract of a paper by H. Siedentopf and R. Zsigmondy (Annalen der Physik, No. 1, 1903, pp. 1-39). NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Oxrorp.—A meeting of the teachers of natural science was held in the examination schools last Saturday to hear the views of a deputation of the Association of Public School Science Masters on the subject of entrance scholarship ex- aminations. It was agreed that two principal subjects should be offered in scholarship examinations, and a sug- gestion was made that the subjects should.be selected from physics, chemistry, botany, zoology and geology. The meeting was divided in opinion as to whether botany and zoology should form one group or two, With regard to the recommendation of the deputation that candidates not offer- ing chemistry and physics should be given an elementary paper in these subjects, the meeting was unanimous as to the desirability of this course, and further suggested the addition for those candidates of a practical examination in elementary chemistry and physics, which should not be con- fined to qualitative analysis, CampBRIDGE.—At a conference held on tebruary 7 between representatives of the Association of Public School Science Masters and the college tutors in natural science, the follow- ing recommendations in regard to the college examinations for entrance scholarships and exhibitions were provisionally agreed to:—(1) That the science part of the examination should consist of : (1) Papers and practical work in not more than six subjects, namely, (1) physics, (2) chemistry, (3) geology, (4) the natural history of plants, (5) zoology, (6) the elements of botany and zoology, it being understood that no candidate may tale the subject (6) if he take either of the subjects (4) or (5). Of these six subjects candidates must offer not. more than two. (2) Candidates who take subjects (3), (4), (5) or (6) should be required to take an elementary paper in physics and chemistry. (3) Candidates who take subject (1) should be required to take an elemen- tary paper in mathematics. The vacancy at Caius College, caused by the death of Dr- N. M. Ferrers, F.R.S., has been filled by the election of the Rev. E. S. Roberts, senior tutor to the mastership. The Gilbey lecturer in agriculture will give this term a course of lectures on small holdings and allotments in the Chemical Theatre, on Fridays, at 5. A report of the Committee of Privy Council in favour of the petitions of the Liverpool University College and Owens College, Manchester, for charters of incorporation as independent universities, was submitted to the King in Council on Monday and approved by him. The decision will be received with pleasure by all who are interested in the development of higher education in this country. It is essential that we should have more universities if we are to march with the times. Regional universities are not known in any civilised country, and only end in examin- ations and the destruction of real teaching and research. In the report published in Tuesday’s Times, the committee expresses the opinion that as the step involves issues of great moment, and as the effect of the multiplication of universities ought not to be lost sight of, the authorities of the Yorkshire College at Leeds should have the opportunity of submitting a draft charter incorporating a University in Yorkshire before the draft charters sought are finally settled, and that the institutions concerned should be invited to consider in greater detail not only the points on which — joint action is desirabie, but also the methods by which it can best be secured. The committee also considers that special rights of inspection should be reserved to the King as Visitor, and that careful provision should be made in the charters to secure an effective voice to external and in- dependent examiners in all examinations for degrees. Dr. D. J. Cunnincuam, F.R.S., professor of anatomy in Dublin University, has been unanimously elected to succeed Sir William Turner in the chair of anatomy at Edinburgh. REUTER reports that it has been decided to create a chair of commercial science, with a special faculty, in the Uni- versity of Zurich, which is the first on the continent to establish such a chair. — FEBRUARY 19, 1903] Tue Duke of Devonshire will lay the foundation stone of the new technical institute and public library for East- bourne on Saturday, April 25. The Duke has presented a site valued at 10,000l. Dr. Artuur Denby has resigned the chair of biology in the Canterbury College (Christchurch, New Zealand), in order to go to the Cape of Good Hope as professor of zoo- logy in the South African College, Cape Town, Cape Colony. As an instance of the thorough manner in which educa- tional problems are taken up in America, an announcement made by the Lahore correspondent of the Pioneer Mail is interesting. It appears that the University of Chicago has commissioned Mr. Alleyne Ireland to make a tour of the European dependencies in the East with a view to deliver a series of lectures on ‘‘ Management of Tropical Colonies.”’ He has already visited Hong Kong, Borneo, Singapore, and is now in India, though only as a tourist. He is devoting his attention for the present to European dependencies in Asia other than India. At the last monthly meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, the following resolution was adopted :—That, in connection with the appointment of teachers of chemistry under the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- tion, the council take steps to ascertain the requirements of the Department, with the view of having their certificates accepted as qualifying their licentiates for the appointments. This resolution may lead to a modification of the course of instruction in the Irish Pharmaceutical Society’s School of Chemistry which will make it possible for the licentiates of the school to qualify as teachers of chemistry in the Irish intermediate schools, REFERENCE to the Education Bill for London was made in the King’s speech delivered by His Majesty at the open- ing of the new Session of Parliament on Tuesday. The words used in the speech to the Commons were :—‘* Propo- sals will be submitted to you for completing the scheme of educational reform passed last Session by extending and adapting it to the metropolitan area.’’ It is believed that the central authority for education in this area will be the ‘County Council, but administrative details will be left in the hands of the borough councils to a greater extent than_ is the case with the local authorities under the extra-metro- politan Act of last year. THE current number of the Library summarises, in a con- venient tabular form, Mr. Carnegie’s gifts to libraries and other educational institutions down to November 30 of last year. From these tables it is seen that England and Wales have benefited to the extent of 376,100l., this amount in- cluding a donation of 50,0001. to the University of Birming- ham and one of 13,0001. to the Iron and Steel Institute. Ireland has received 100,600!. and Scotland 2,479,250]. The princely gift to Scotland includes the endowment fund of 2,000,000l. for Scottish universities, a sum of 100,000l. given to the Technical School at Galashiels, 38,o00l. to the Dun- fermline Technical School, and 50,0001. to Aberdeen Uni- versity. Canada has received 954,000 dollars, which re- presents the total sum given for the foundation of thirty-one public libraries. | Libraries and other educational institu- tions in the United States have reaped the advantage of Mr. Carnegie’s munificence to the enormous extent of 212,882,173 ‘dollars. The Fayette Upper University, lowa, has received 225,000 dollars; the Louisville Polytechnic Institute 125,000 dollars ; the Carnegie Laboratory of New York City 600,000 dollars; the Pennsylvania State College the Carnegie Institute at Pittsburg 7,250,000 dollars; the Polytechnic School of the same place, as an endowment, two million dollars; and the National University of Wash- ington ten million dollars. Cuba, too, has shared in the same lavish generosity, for Havana has received 250,000 dollars and Matanzas 2000 dollars. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, January 22.—‘‘Solar Eclipse of 1900 May 28. General Discussion of Spectroscopic Results.’’ By J. Evershed, F.R-A.S. : The spectra discussed in this paper were obtained near the southern limit of total eclipse, and include, therefore, NO. 1738, VOL. 67 | NATURE 100,000 dollars; | 281 . the chromospheric spectrum of the south polar region of the sun, as well as the same spectrum in mid-latitudes. The coincidence in position of the vast majority of the bright lines with the Fraunhofer dark lines is shown to be exact within the limits of the measures. But the relative intensities of the bright lines of any one element, although in general agreement with those of the corresponding dark lines, are not in all cases the same, and those lines which are exceptionally strong in the chromospheric spectrum are mostly lines which are enhanced in the spark spectrum of the element. All the more prominent enhanced lines of iron and tita- nium as determined by Sir Norman Lockyer are found to coincide with strong lines in the chromosphere, and these lines are found to be equally prominent in the south polar region and in mid-latitudes. The abnormal intensity of the enhanced spark lines in the flash spectrum is explained by assuming a continuous circulation of ihe solar gases in a radial direction, the highly heated ascending gases, emitting the enhanced lines, giving the predominant features to the chromospheric spec- trum, whilst the cooler, more diffused gases, slowly sub- siding, determine the character of the absorption spectrum. The entire chromosphere is supposed to consist of in- numerable small eruptions or jets, of a similar nature to the so-called metallic prominences, which latter are only the more pronounced manifestations of the same eruptive agencies. Evidence for this is found in the characteristic features of the chromosphere, and in the structure of many of the Fraunhofer lines, which show emission lines underlying the narrow absorption lines. These ill-defined bright lines in the normal solar spectrum are displaced towards the violet, indicating a strong uprush of the hotter gases, whilst the narrow dark lines would appear to indicate a slow and uniform descent of the absorbing gases. The finai conclusion is that the spectrum of the chromo- sphere represents the emission of both ascending and descending gases, and the Fraunhofer spectrum represents the absorption of the descending gases only. “Preliminary Note on the Relationships between Sun- sparse and Terrestrial Magnetism.’? By Dr. C. Chree, This deals with results of magnetic declination, inclination, horizontal and vertical force obtained at Kew Observatory (National Physical Laboratory) on magnetically quiet days from 1890 to 1900. The ranges of the diurnal inequalities are compared with the sun-spot frequencies as calculated by Wolfer. Between the diurnal range R of an element and the sun-spot frequency S, a linear relation R=a+déS.. . (1) is as- sumed, @ and 6 being taken as constants for any given month of the year, but as fluctuating from one month to another. The values of a and 4 have been calculated for each month of the year from the eleven years’ data by least squares. The pre- liminary note gives the mean values for ‘‘ winter,” ‘* equinox ” and ‘‘summer ’—including four months in each season—and the’ mean for the twelve months. The constants a, represent- ing the values of the range for zero sun-spot frequency, are smallest in winter and largest in summer. The constants 4 are in the case of the declination, inclination and horizontal force— where the sun-spot connection is more clearly marked than in the vertical force—-largest at the equinox, ‘The variation of 6 with the season appears closely the same for the three mag- netic elements specified. On the average of the three, the proportional values obtained for 4 are, winter 82, equinox 115, summer 103. Whilst 4, considered absolutely, appears largest at the equinoxes, the sun-spot influence (or rather correlation) is relatively much most important in winter. During the eleven years considered, Wolfer’s mean sun-spot frequency was 41°7 ; so that, according to (1), 1 + 41°74 + @ represents the ratio of the range answering to mean sun-spot frequency to the range answering to absence of sun-spots. The average values of 41°74 + a for the declination, inclination and horizontal force in winter, equinox and summer respectively were 0°57, 0°38 and 0°27. The means of the twelve-monthly absolute values found for 4 were, declination 0’'041, inclination 0’'013, hori- zontal force o’19y and vertical force 0'03y, where y represents I x 107° C.G.S. Reference is made to work by Balfour Stewart, Ellis, Wolfer, Rajna and Angot, and the legitimacy of the use of Wolfer’s table of sun-spot frequencies is considered. 382 January 29.—‘ On Skew Refraction through a Lens, and on the Hollow Pencil given by an Annulus of a very obliquely placed Lens.’’ By, Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S. The investigation: here. described was undertaken with the view of finding an explanation of the curious curves obtained by receiving on a screen, at certain distances, the hollow pencil which emerges from an annulus of a lens placed at a large obliquity (such as 30° or 45°) to the incident beam. The first requisite is a process for calculating the direction cosines of a ray after refraction at a given surface, when those of the incident ray and of the normal are given, along with the relative index of refraction; and the leading feature of the process here described is, the preliminary calculation of the direction cosines of the tangent to the refracting surface in the plane of refraction. The refracted ray (or unit length of it) is projected on this tangent and on the normal; and these two projections are themselves projected on the axes of coordinates, and added. This process differs in toto from that devised by Seidel and em- ployed by Steinheil. A simple case is chosen for testing the working of the process, ihe case of a narrow and thin-annulus of a plano- convex lens, with a parallel pencil incident at 45° on its plane face, the index being 1°5, and the sine of the inclin- ation of the normals to the axis o'1. The direction-cosines are found for the emergent rays at twelve equidistant points; and from these, by harmonic reduction, expressions are deduced for the direction-cosines of any emergent ray. From the equations of the rays in terms of the direction- cosines and starting-points, mumerous cross-sections are calculated and plotted. Each ray intersects two others, and the aggregate of these points of intersection constitutes the two focal lines. The secondary line is found to be nearly straight, and in- clined at about 17° to the original direction of the beam. The primary line is approximately a parabola, the chord joining its ends being about 14 the distance of the chord from the vertex. The vertex is next the lens, and is the intersection of the two rays which lie in the principal plane. The rays which intersect at its ends have starting-points 79° distant from one of these rays, and ror° from the other. Every cross-section shows a double point wherever it meets a focal line; and at the ends of the two focal lines these double points become cusps. The ends of the primary line have been located, and the rays which pass through them found as above, by means of the conditions for a stationary point, which must always hold at a cusp, Chemical Society, February 5.—Dr. E. Divers, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—The solubilities and transition points of lithium nitrate and its hydrates, by Dr, F. G. Donman and Mr. B. C. Burt. Lithium nitrate was found to yield two hydrates, LiNO,,3H,O and LiNO,,3H,O. Determinations of the solubility of these hydrates and of the anhydrous salt were made, and the various quadruple points thus located confirmed by thermometric and dilatometric measurements. —The synthesis of aa-diglutaric acid, by Drs. O. Silberrad and T. H. Easterfield.—Distillation of chlorine water, by Dr. A, Richardson. When chlorine water is distilled below 100° C. the distillate contains free chlorine; the resi- due left in the retort liberates iodine from potassium iodide, bleaches indigo solution immediately and gives the usual reactions obtained with hypochlorous acid. Distillation of chlorine water in a current of chlorine gas shows that the hydrochloric acid formed in the residue is equivalent to the hypochlorous acid found in the distillate, indicating that a portion of the chlorine reacts with the water thus, Cl,+ H,O=HCI+HCI1O. When chlorine water is heated in a flask provided with a reflux condenser no change in its com- position occurs.—A new vapour density apparatus, by Mr. J. S. Lumsden. This apparatus is based on the principle that the molecular weights of all substances in the state of gas, when occupying the same volume at the same temper- ature, exert the same pressure. From the pressure produced by vaporising a weighed quantity of a substance the mole- cular weight of which is required, the weight in milligrams which would produce the milligram molecular pressure is NO. 1738, VOL. 67] NATURE [ FEBRUARY 19, 1903 calculated and taken as the molecular weight.—A new form of pyrometer, by the same. A further application of the principle employed in the foregoing apparatus. A constant volume instrument, made of glass, porcelain or metal, is” used, in which a weighed quantity of a substance is vapor- ised and the pressure measured by a mercury gauge. The pressures produced by equal weights of substances are pro- portional to the absolute temperatures; therefore, if at two temperatures the pressures produced by equal weights are measured and one temperature is known, the second is determinate.—Tertiary butyl phenol, by Mr. E. W. Lewis. The non-formation of phenyl-ter-butyl ether when phenol in alcoholic solution is digested with ter-butyl chloride and alkali affords an instance of the difficulty attending the pre- paration of phenyl ethers containing a tertiary radical in place of the hydrogen atom of the phenolic hydroxyl. Mathematical Society, February 12.—Prof. H. Lamb, president, in the chair.—The following papers were com- municated :—Lieut.-Colonel Cunningham, On gic resi- duarity and reciprocity. The criterion for distinguishing the plus and minus signs in the congruence denoted, after Dirichlet, by (q/p), = +1, is the object of investigation- Reductions of the criterion to convenient forms are given and the properties of the symbol (q/p), are developed- Tables are appended giving the quadratic partitions (when possible) of all primes less than 500.—Mr. E. T. Dixon, Note on a point in a recent paper by Prof. D. Hilbert. It is pointed out that in the non-Pythagorean geometries devised by Hilbert, Helmholtz’s axiom of monodromy is not verified, inasmuch as it is possible, by rotation through four right angles, to bring the points of a line into positions which they do not occupy before the rotation. It is pointed out further that, in the same geometries, it is possible to pass from one point to another of a straight line without passing through all intermediate points and without leaving the line. The application of the name ‘‘ geometry ’’ to systems which admit such possibilities is criticised.—Mr. H. Hilton, Some properties of binodal quartics. Properties of bicircular quartics are deduced from those of spheroconics by stereo- graphic projection, and properties of binodal quartics are then deduced by plane projection.—Prof. A. W. Conways The field of force due to a moving electron. The electron is treated as a point singularity of the electromagnetic equa- tions, and formule to express the field of force about the electron, when moving with any velocity, are obtained- The amount of radiation from the electron is calculated.— Prof. W. Burnside, An arithmetical theorem connected with the roots of unity, and its application to group characteristics. Royal Microscopical Society, Annual Meeting, January 21.—The president, Dr. Hy. Woodward, F.R.S., in the chair. —A series of twenty-four photomicrographs in colour was exhibited by Mr. Albert Norman, who said the examples shown were an application of the Sanger Shepherd process to medical photomicrography. The examples shown comprised histological and pathological sections, malaria and tse-tse fly parasites, and various bacilli, including tetanus and typhoid showing the flagellaa—The, President delivered his annual address, its title being ‘‘Some Ideas on Life,’ based on the development of life as shown by fossil organisms found in geological strata. Mineralogical Society, February 3.—Prof. H. A. Miers, ~ vice-president, in the chair.—Mr. L. Fletcher gave an account of the fall of a meteoric stone on August 22, 1902, at Caratash, Smyrna, and also contributed a note on the history of the mass of meteoric iron found in the neighbour- hood of Caperr, Patagonia.—Mr. H. L. Bowman gave the results of determinations of the refractive indices of pyro- morphite and vanadinite by means of artificially ground prisms having an angle of about 30°. For red light the re- fractive indices of pyromorphite were w=2.139, €=2.124, and of vanadinite, 2.354, €=2.299.—Mr. T. V. Barker described quartz crystals of peculiar habit which were col- lected by Lieut. E. G. Spencer-Churchill near De Aar, South Africa. Two crystals were remarkable as exhibiting faces seldom observed on quartz, one face in the zone mz and another in the zone rz. ES ew FEBRUARY 19. 1903] NATURE 383 Geological Society, January 21.—Prof. Charles Lapworth, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The figure of the earth, by Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S. The almost precise correspon- dence of great terrestrial features with a circular form seems to be frequently overlooked. The Aleutian curve has its centre in latitude 6° N., longitude 177° W., that of the East Indies about 15° N. and 118° E., and round the latter centre are several concentric curves. The northern part of South America, the Alpine-Himalayan chain, the western shore of North America and a portion of Australia may be similarly reduced to geometric form. A great circle swept through the centres of the East Indian and Aleutian arcs runs symmetrically through the bordering seas of Asia as far as Alaska, borders the inland lakes of America, passes the Californian centre, extends through the middle of the Carib- bean Sea, runs parallel with the coast of the Antarctic Con- tinent, and returns to the East Indian centre without touch- ing Australia. This course is in remarkable correspondence with the general trend of the great zone of Pacific weakness. If the pole of this circle in the Libyan Desert is placed to- wards an observer in a globe, the African Continent appears as a great dome surrounded by seas and separated from the Pacific by an irregular belt of land. A second great circle defined by Lake Baikal, and with its centre at ‘* the morpho- logical centre of Asia’’ of Suess, and passing through the East Indian centre, may be regarded as the direction-circle for the Eurasian folding. These two centres intersect at an angle of 39°, and, on bisecting this angle, a mean directive circle is found, with its pole near the sources of the White Nile, 6° north of the Equator. The axis of terrestrial symmetry through this pole passes through the middle of Africa and of the Pacific Ocean. The smallest circle which will circumscribe Africa has its centre near this pole, and within it the symmetry of the fractured African dome is observable. Outside this comes a belt of seas, and outside that again the Pacific belt of continents, the Antarctic, South America, North America, Asia and Australia. Mr. Jeans has concluded on mathematical grounds that the “ pear-like shape of the earth ’’ might have been possessed by it at the time of its consolidation; and he has suggested that Aus- tralia may represent the “ stalked end’’ of the ‘‘ pear.” The author’s observations would lead him to place it in Africa, and to regard the Pacific as covering the ‘‘ broad end.’’—The sedimentary deposits of Southern Rhodesia, by A. J. C. Molyneux. The greater portion of the area of Southern Rhodesia lies on granite and gneiss, and on the - schists and slates that contain the auriferous veins worke in ancient times, and now being again opened up on an extensive scale. The remaining area is on sandstone and other sedimentary beds, with coal-deposits and regions of volcanic rocks. ‘To explain the deposition and order of these sediments several sections are given, one being along a line extending from the Zambesi River on the north, through Bulawayo and the central plateau, to the Limpopo River on the south, a distance of more than 4oo miles. Another sec- tion, with remarks thereon, is copied, by permission, from a report by Mr. C. J. Alford on the coal-bearing rocks of the Mafungibusi District. Three appendices are added ; one, on a new species of Acrolepis from the Sengwe Coalfield; a second, on some Lamellibranch Mollusca; and a third, on some fossil plants from Rhodesia. Zoological Society, February 3 —Mr. Howard Saunders, vice-president, in the chair.—Dr. Walter Kidd read a paper describing the arrangement of hair on four mammals, the otter, domestic dog, ox and horse, considered as typical from the point of view of hair-slope. ‘Ihe rising complexity of these phenomena in the four forms was shown to be closely related to their differing habits and environments, and a division was made of adaptive and non-adaptive modifica- tions of hair. It was maintained that the facts dealt with were closely connected with the problems of heredity.—A communication from Captain F. Wall, of the Indian Medical Service, contained an account of all the snakes hitherto re- corded from China, Japan and the Loo Choo Islands, together with notes on those obtained by himself during the time he was attached to the China Expeditionary Forces in 1900-1902.—Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., read a paper on the variation of the elk, in which it was pointed out that from the author’s personal experiences in Norway during six years’ hunting he could entirely confirm the observations NO, 1738, VOL. 67] of Dr. Lonnberg. Specimens showing variation in the antlers of the elk from Norway were exhibited——Mr. R. Lydekker gave a description of the wild sheep of the Kopet Dagh, the range of mountains forming the northern bound- ary of Persia; this race had been named Ovis arkal, in 1857, by Blasius. Mr. Lydekker considered that this anima formed a recognisable subspecies of the Urial, and proposed to call it Ovis vignei avrkal.—Staff-Surgeon P. W. Bassett- Smith, R.N., communicated a paper on three new parasitic Copepoda obtained by Mr. Cyril Crossland in East Africa.— A short paper was read by Colonel C. E. Stewart, C.S.I., in which he contended that the tiger was a recent intruder into the Peninsula of India. His reason for believing this was the absence of any Sanscrit word for tiger, and also the absence of any allusion to tigers among many of the older writers.—A communication was read from Prof. Sydney J. Hickson, F.R.S., containing a description of a new Hydro- zoan obtained by Mr. Cyril Crossland in Zanzibar, for which the name Ceratella minima was proposed.—Dr. G. Herbert Fowler presented an eighth contribution to our knowledge of the Plankton of the Faeroe Channel, which dealt mainly with the Ostracoda, Copepoda, Amphipoda and Schizopoda captured during a cruise of H.M.S. Research, and their horizontal and vertical distribution. Short diagnoses by Dr. Wolfenden of three new species of Copepoda were given. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 9.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair—On the gradual extinction of the motion at the back of an isolated wave, in an elastic medium having a resistance proportional either to the velocity or the displace- ment, by M. J. Boussinesq.—On the equations of motion and the supplementary relation in the midst of a vitreous medium, by M. P. Duhem.—Remarks by M. Alfred Picard on the first volume of his report on the Exhibition of 1900.—The President announced to the Academy the death of M. Lechartier, correspondant for the section of rural economy.—On entire functions of infinite order and differential equations, by M. Edm. Maiflet.—On functional operations, by M. Hadamard.—On a theorem analogous to that of Bobillier, in the case of the rolling of a surface on an applicable surface, by M. G. Koenigs.—Temporary and permanent changes in nickel steels, by M. Ch. E. Guillaume. The permanent changes undergone by a bar of nickel steel have been observed over a period of six years, and amounted to about 12 u. The amount of this change is too great for the alloy to be safely used for the construction of length standards of the first order, but serviceable secondary standards may be made, provided that comparisons with a primary standard are made at. in- tervals.—On the variation of the mean velocity of the wind in the vertical, by M. Axel Egneil. The quantity of air dis- placed in the wind is constant at all heights from 300 metres to 12,000 metres. From this follows the very simple law that the mean velocity of the wind is in inverse proportion to the density of the air.—On a magnetic apparatus serving as a detector for electric waves, by M. G. Tissot.—On the dis- appearance of the radio-activity induced by radium on solid bodies, by MM. P. Curie and J. Danne. After a certain period the intensity of the radiation follows an exponential law with the time, of the form I = I,e In general this law is independent of the nature of the radiating body, but for a few substances, of which celluloid is the best type, the activity decreases much more slowly, taking several days to fall to one-half.—On the displacement of the sulphuric acid of alkaline bisulphates by water, by M. Albert Colson. From a thermochemical study of the behaviour of solutions of sodium bisulphate the conclusion is drawn that this salt can react with water to give sulphuric acid and the neutral sulphate. An attempt will be made to utilise this reaction on the large scale-—On a new synthesis of orthodiazine, by M. R. Marquis. The diazine is obtained by the action of hydrazine hydrate upon maleic aldehyde. On the reduction of the diazine with sodium and alcohol, a small quantity of tetramethylene-diamine is produced, together with ammonia. —On the formation of azo-bodies. The reduction of ortho- nitrobenzyl alcohol, by M. P. Freundier.—The oxidation of the acetates of manganese and cobalt by chlorine, by M. H. Copaux. The acetates of cobalt and manganese 384 behave differently towards chlorine; in the first case a com- plicated chloroacetate of the oxide Co,O, is obtained, and in the second a manganese acetate derived from the sesqui- oxide.—Study of the action of selenyl chloride upon mannite, by MM. C. Chabrié and A. Bouchonnet.—The synthesis of anisic acid and paraethoxybenzoic acid, by M. F. Boudroux. Monobromo derivatives of phenols react readily with magnesium in the presence of anhydrous ether, and the magnesium compounds produced absorb carbon dioxide. The product of this reaction, treated with hydrochloric acid, gives the corresponding carboxylic acid. Acids have been obtained in this way from anisol and phenetol.—Studies in the pyrane series, by M. R. Fosse.—The migration of the methyl group under the action of hydriodic acid, by M. E. E. Blaise.—On a new orthocyclohexanediol and its derivatives, by M. Léon Brunel.—On two new glucotannoids, by M. Eugéne Gilson.—On the essence of Calamintha Nepeta or Marjolaine in the south of France, by MM. P. Genvresse and E. Chablay. The essence contains pinene, pulegone and a new ketone, calaminthone, the properties of which, together with those of its oxime and semicarbazone, are de- scribed. Nascent hydrogen transforms this ketone into menthol.—Morphogenesis in Salmacina Dysteri, by M. A. Malaquin.—On the presence of glucose in the cephalora- chidian fluid, by MM. L. Grimbert and V. Coulaud.—On the nutrition of Sterigmatocystis nigra, by M. Henri Coupin. Iron, silicon and zinc are not used for nutrition by Sterigmatocystis nigra, zinc even retarding the develop- ment. The mycelium is capable of furnishing the acidity necessary for the entire development.—On a disease of the branches of the fig, by M. A. Prunet.—On phthiriosis, a disease of the vine caused by Dactylopius Vitis and Bornetina Corium, by MM. L. Mangin and P. Viala. The disease is very prevalent in the vine in Palestine. The use of carbon bisulphide injected into the soil is recommended for com- bating the disease.—On a caoutchouc-bearing plant of the Lower Congo, by M. E. de Wildeman. The plant is a new species of Clitandra, resembling C. orientalis; it is named C, Arnoldiana.—On vegetative activity at the epoch of the Coal-measures, by M. B. Renault. From a study of the fossils in coal, it is concluded that the cellular tissues pos- sessed a greater activity of formation than at present, this activity being favoured by an appropriate vascular develop- ment.—On a special type of dunes on the borders of the Sahara, by M. B.-P.-G. Hochreutiner.—On the reduction of oligiste and magnetite by hydrocarbons, by M. L. de Launay.—An experimental contribution to the knowledge of life and muscular reactions, by MM. Ed. Toulouse and Cl. Vurpas.—On the lifting effect developed by the rota- tion of helices with vertical axes, by M. Henri Villard. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19. Royat Society, at 4.30.—On the Formation of Definite Figures by the Deposition of Dust: Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S.—Mathematical Con- tributions to the Theory of Evolution. On Homotyposis in Homologous but Differentiated Organs : Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S.—The Evapora- tion of Water in a Current of Air (Communicated by Prof E. H. Griffiths, F.R.S.): Dr. E. P. Perman.—On thé Determination of Specific Heats, especially at Low Temperatures: H. E. Schmitz. Roya INnsTiTuTion, at 5.—Arctic and Antarctic Exploration: Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B. LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Electric Pulsation in Dessodiunt cyrans: Prof. J. C. Bose.—Cerataphis Latantae, a remarkable Aphid: Alice L. Embleton.—Specialisation of Parasitism in the Erysiphacee: S. E. Salmon. FRIDAY, FExsRuARY 20. GEOLOGICAL SocIETY, at 3.—Annual General Meeting. Royat INsTITUTION, at 9.—The Measurement of Energy: Principal E. H. Griffiths. InstiTUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Hydraulic Experi- ments on a Plunger Pump: Prof. John Goodman.—Experiments on the Efficiency of Centrifugal Pumps: Thomas E, Stanton. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Society oF Arts, at 8.—Paper Manufacture: Julius Hiibner. RovaL GEOGRAPHICAL SociETy, at 8.30.—Further Explorations in the Canadian Rockies: Prof. Norman Collie, F R.S. INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5-—Further. Remarks on the Valuation of Endowment Assurances in Groups: George J. Lidstone. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24. Royat INsTiturTion, at5.—Recent Advances in Photographic. Science : Sir William Abney, K.C.B. NO. 1738, VOL. 67] NATURE [FrBRuaARY 19, 1903 ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—Exhibition of Bronze Bells an other Objects from Nigeria: C, Partridge, jun.—Stone Implements from Perak: R. Swan. SociETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HELLENIC STUDIES, at 5. InsTiITUTION OF Civi1L ENGINEERS, at 8.—Mechanical Handling of Material: G. F, Zimmer. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Geotocicat Society, at 8.—On the Occurrence of Dictyozamites in England, with Remarks on European and Eastern Floras : A C. Seward, F.R.S.—The Amounts of Nitrogen and Organic Carbon in some Clays and Marls: Dr. N. H. J. Miller. Society oF Arts, at 8.— Tonkin, Yunnan and Burma: F. W. Carey. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SocIETY, at 8.30 —Discussion on the Panama Canal and the Introduction of Yellow Fever into Asia, to be opened by Dr. Patrick Manson, F.R.S. University CoLtLeGE CHEMICAL AND Puysicat SociETY, at 8.30.—The Attainment and Measurement of Low Temperatures: Dr. M. W Travers. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, Roya Society, at 4.30.—Bakerian Lecture: Solid Solutions and Chemical I'ransformation in the Bronzes : C. T, Heycock, F.R.S., and F. H. Neville, F.R.S. Roya aINSMEECSION; at 5.—Insect Contrivances: Prof. L. C. Miall, SOCIETE OF ARTS, at 4.30.—Gleanings from the Indian Census: J. A. aines. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Nernst Lamp: J. Stéttner.—And, 7/ ¢ime permit, Distribution Losses in Electric Supply Systems: A. D. Constable and E. Fawssett.—A Study of the Phenomenon of Resonance in Electric Circuit by the Aid of Oscillo- grams: M. B. Field. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27. Rovac InstTiTuTION, at 9.—Perfumes: Natural and Artificial: Dr. A. Liebmann. InsTITUTION OF CIvIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Relative Advantages of Se 9 a Twin Screws, and Triple Screws, for Marine Propulsion : . Falk. SATURDAY, Fresruary 28. Roya Institution, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord Rayleigh. CONTENTS. PAGE Electric Radiation from Wires. By Dr. J. Larmor, FARGS iter: sd: 2) ag: 20-0 Sa ne A Study in Alpine Geology. By J. A. H.... . 364 Sherborn’s Index Animalium ......... . 365 Ou: Book Shelf :- Fiirth: ‘‘Vergleichende chemische Physiologie der niederen Tiere ” MRTG RES es Seok, fain Duhem: ‘‘Thermodynamique et Chimie. Lecons élémentaires 4 l’usage des Chimistes.”—G. H. B. | 366 Lenhossék : ‘‘Das Problem der geschlechtsbestim- menden Ursachen.”"—J. A. T...... 766 “The Schoolmaster’s Yearbook for 1903. A Reference Book of Secondary Education in England and Wales 2 .-2)2. 41.0: = Big) 0, )5)/ Murché: ‘* The Globe Geography Readers” . . . . 367 Steward and Mitchell: ‘‘ The Nature Student’s Note ; BeOS. a veeh 367 Letters to the Editor :— : The late Sir G. G. Stokes, —Chemicus . . ... . 367 The Holy Shroud of Turin.—R. E. Froude, F.R.S. 367 The Principle of Activity and Lagrange’s Equations. Rotation of a Rigid Body.—Prof. W. McF, Orr; Oliver He+viside, F.R.S... . + ee RsGs Insects and Petal-less Flowers.—E. Ernest Lowe . 368 Science and the Education Act of 1902.—Rev. Dr. A. Irving ; ae : # : . 369 Radio-Activity of Ordinary Materials. By Hon. RE eo tntittess. - rare eee Soo Sie Oysters and Typhoid Fever. By Prof. R. T. Hewlett 4 5 : Ao Bs Be fe eh Awe 370 Mr. Marconi and the Post Office. By Maurice Solomon c : 33 ace Aetter : « 370) The Constitution of the New Education Com- mittees . SIRE Gs\Grho. tho on eeneate 371 Notes 3) Ge See aA Pir Gm oY 625 oat: 0 372 Our Astronomical Column :— Observations of Comet 1903 a ... +... .. « 3970 Determinations of Stellar Radial Velocities. . . . . 376 The Colour of the Eclipsed Moon. . . .. .. . 376 Solar Prominences and Terrestrial Magnetism. - (With Dia.rams) By Dr, William J. S. Lockyer. 377 The Fortr, ss.of the Mole. By R. L, 2 od oleae The Visibility of Ultra-~-Microscopic Particles 380 University and Educational Intelugence . ... . 380 Societies and Academies . ......+. +... « gam Diary afiSocieties:: = jc lece «ay-veel een iaiieltcoen tolls) ae 384 NATURE 385 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1903. THE LIVING SUBSTANCE—A THEORY. Die Biogen-hypothese. By Prof. Max Verworn. Pp. iv+114. (Jena: Fischer, 1903.) Price 2.50 marks. HE author of the well-known work on “ Allgemeine Physiologie” is always interesting in his physio- logical writings, whether one admits the validity of his conclusions or not; and the volume before us, though highly speculative in its nature, cannot fail to attract attention, no less on account of the intrinsic importance of the subject than by reason of the lucidity with which a difficult topic is handled. The Biogen-hypothese is nothing less than an attempt to frame a working hypothesis that shall render intelli- gible the sodus operandi of a living organism and to explain in a comprehensive manner the general nature of the physical and chemical processes involved. Such an explanation, as the author himself insists, can only be regarded as a temporary expedient in the present con- dition of our knowledge, but the author of a theory or | hypothesis is amply justified in propounding it if he is enabled thereby to indicate definite lines of investigations, whatever the influence the results thereby obtained may exercise on the theory itself. The various hypotheses that have been put forward to account for the facts of metabolism are briefly discussed and the nature of the respiratory process is specially considered. It seems quite clear from the results of numerous investigators that whatever the nature of the sequence of chemical events, the carbohydrates are proximately the substances that are most intimately affected. These carbohydrates might be derived directly from the store of accumulated reserve products, or an analogous atom group might be split off from the more complex proteid-like bodies. On the whole, the latter seems the more probable view, and thus dissimilation and assimilation form a constantly oscillating series of phenomena that give rise to the processes described as metabolism. The biogen is regarded by Verworn as a real chemical or physical entity, consisting of various groups of atoms held together round a central benzene nucleus. Dis- similation, or katabolism, occurs when certain atoim- groups are split off from the biogen, and normally these represent carbohydrates or some similar bodies, a view which is by no means new and one that finds support, for example, in the behaviour of muscle when it is made todo work. Forit is well known that the excessive amount of carbon dioxide excreted in such circumstances is not accompanied by a correspondingly increased excretion of nitrogenous waste-products. On the contrary, the nitrogenous remainder of what Verworn terms the biogen regenerates itself by seizing upon the available sugars or other carbohydrates. A distinction is drawn between this “functional” dissimilation and the “destructive” dissimilation that follows on extreme starvation ; for in the latter case the nitrogen-containing remainder of the biogen undergoes further decomposition, and then the simpler groups thus produced no longer possess the NO. 1739, VOL. 67| | tissues. | the absence of oxygen is a case in point, and readmission faculty of regeneration at all and so are unable to reproduce the living substance once more. As to the cause of the lability of the biogen, Verworn strongly champions the view that it is the result of the incorporation of oxygen in the molecule, and that when irritability ceases, on arresting the supply of this gas, it is not due to the possible inhibitory action of the accumu- lating waste products, but that in the absence of oxygen the conditions of adequate lability are not provided. The arguments are largely based on the behaviour of frogs that have been poisoned by strychnine and in which an artificial circulation by means of salt solution is main- tained. This can be so arranged as to provide or with- hold oxygen from the tissues. In the latter case, stimulation ceases to excite contraction in the muscles, though on readmitting oxygen, tetanus is easily produced on the application of suitable stimuli. If a long interval of time is allowed to elapse during which no food is being conveyed to the tissues, starvation, and consequent reduction in the number of labile biogens, ensues. Hence stimuli gradually provoke weaker and weaker re- sponses. If once more the supply of oxygen is cut off, loss of excitability again supervenes, but this passes away again on readmission of oxygen. Verworn seems to conclude that because this return of excitability re- curs at once, both in the unstarved and starved tissue, the inhibition effect of the deprivation of oxygen cannot be ascribed to the accumulation of waste pro- ducts, since in the former case this should have been of much greater magnitude in correspondence with the much larger amount of waste substances, and, therefore, the vd/e of the oxygen must have been that of a labilising agent, directly producing the’ condition for explosive decomposition in the active biogens. But it is not shown whether the influence of waste products upon the hypo- thetical biogens may not bea proportionate one, in which case there would be perhaps no very obvious reason why any difference should be looked for in the two cases. Moreover, it is quite clear that the free oxygen does oxidise harmful waste products and reduce them to a form (e.g. carbon dioxide and water) in which they may be either innocuous or at least readily escape from the The accumulation of alcohol in plant tissues in of oxygen has the immediate result of increasing the out- put of carbon dioxide at the expense of the alcohol abnormally present in the tissues. The biogen hypothesis gives a plausible account of growth and the production of fresh living material by supposing that the molecule is capable of polymerisation and then of falling into simpler substances once more. But this view would seem further to imply that the more highly polymerised bodies do not differ essentially in their properties from the more simple ones. In endeavour- ing to locate the seat of the biogens in the cellular organ- isation, it is concluded that they exist in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus. The evidence for this is based on observations adduced to show that enucleated protoplasm can exhibit metabolic activity, and further, that the oxidative charges are more especially obvious in the cytoplasmic, rather than in the nuclear, constituents of the cell. But perhaps one may reasonably question the Ss 386 advisability of endeavouring to go so far. We are as yet far too ignorant of the nature of the relations existing between cytoplasm and nucleus to be able to draw any safe general conclusions respecting them. What we do know suffices to prove that, probably as the result of interchange of material, the relations are at least of a | very intimate nature. It is, of course, impossible within the limits of so short a notice to attempt to do anything like full justice to the skilful treatment that Prof. Verworn has brought to bear on his subject. It must suffice to repeat that it is thoroughly well worth reading, and whatever may be thought of the tenability of the hypothesis itself, one can hardly deny that it does fulfil the important condition of enabling one to link together in a suggestive manner a large number of very complicated phenomena. SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. The Lighthouse Work of Sir James Chance, Bart. Pp. x + 162. (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1902.) Price 5s. net. S| is optics of lighthouse lenses form a sufficiently fascinating subject, and its interest, apart from its practical importance, has attracted able men from Auguszin Fresnel down to John Hopkinson. Among these, James Timmims Chance deservedly holds a prominent place, and his biographer has earned our thanks by the account he has given in the pages under notice of Chance’s life and work. Sir James Chance, a son of Mr. William Chance, of Birmingham, one of the partners in the glass-making firm of Chance Bros. and Co., was born in 1814. After gaining honours in various subjects, including Hebrew, at University College, London, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1838 he graduated as seventh wrangler. Immediately after this he entered his father’s firm, of which he re- mained a partner for fifty years, being head of the firm for twenty-five. He was made a baronet by her late Majesty on the occasion of her last distribution of birthday honours. He died on January 6, 1902. In old days, parabolic reflectors were used for light- houses; the employment of lenses is due to Augustin Fresnel, who in 1819 erected the first dioptric system at the Tour de Cordouan; the system was extended by his brother Leonor and other distinguished men in France, and in Great Britain by the family of Stevenson, by Airy and by Faraday. With the two latter | Mr. Chance became intimately associated about the year 1859. His firm had manufactured lighthouse lenses for some years previously. Before this, the industry had been crushed out in England by Excise regulations; an Order in Council was required to permit of their manu- facture, and a duty amounting to some 300 per cent. | on the cost of the glass was enforced. In conse- quence, Messrs. Swinburne and Co., of South Shields, who for a few years had manufactured lenses, gave up the work in 1845. In 1850 Messrs. Chance took it up. They engaged a French expert, M. Tabouret, who had worked for Fresnel himself, and he exhibited in the Exhibition of 1851 an apparatus of the first NO. 1739, VOL. 67] NATURE [ FEBRUARY 26, 1903 order, made at Messrs. Chance’s Spon Lane works. | In the years that followed, the work prospered, the plant was increased and the optical part of a number of lighthouses was manufactured. the firm in 1853. In 1859 the work of the Commission to inquire into the condition of the lights, buoys and beacons of the United Kingdom began. Airy and Faraday had charge of the scientific side of the inquiry. Mr. Chance’s assistance was called in as a manufacturer of great experience, and it was soon found that in him the Commission had an adviser who could render services of the highest value. His mathematical training enabled him to understand and develop the theory of the subject, his practical experience showed him what was possible. He had already introduced improvements into the method of grinding the an- nular lenses which form the system, and its various components had reached a high degree of perfection. But, though this was so, the distribution of light effected by means of the lens system was, in many ~ cases, entirely wrong. At that time Messrs. Chance were not allowed even to tender for the frames to hold the lenses, although they had to make these in order to adjust the system in their workshop. They had no share in the erection or adjustment of — the light, which was done usually by contractors with little or no optical knowledge, and the result was failure: One of the most glaring instances was the Whitby light, of which Airy reported :—‘* The © dioptric part of the apparatus is beautiful. The glass is of the best quality. . . .’’ The adjustments, however, were all wrong. ‘“ My impression is,’’ he writes, ‘‘ that in the north lighthouse three-fourths of the light is absolutely thrown away, and in the south lighthouse nine-tenths of the light is absolutely thrown away. . When with a ruler I covered the part of the flame which merely gave light to the sky, it was absurd to see | how little was left for the useful part. . . . It | really gave me.a feeling of melancholy to see the © results of such exquisite workmanship entirely — annihilated by subsequent faults in the mounting and adjustment.”’ In the end, Mr. Chance was given a free hand. Airy again reports, at a later date, ““The said constructor ’’—Mr. Chance—* is willing to go heartily into the improvement of the Whitby light, therefore leave all others and rest on it.” And this wise advice was taken. A method of adjustment—it seems _ sufficiently obvious, and had been used previously—was sug- gested by Airy and employed in setting up the lenses. Each portion of the lens system is to be employed in forming an image of some part of the lamp flame on the distant horizon or on some part of the sea be-— tween the lighthouse and the horizon. Conversely, if the adjustment is correct, a real image of that part of - the horizon will be formed by the lens system on the corresponding part of the flame, and can be seen by an observer looking into the lens system from behind. Airy’s method consisted in adjusting the lenses in turn until the image of the horizon formed by each occupied its proper position with regard to the flame. M. Tabouret left FEBRUARY 26, 1903] It is clear that the adjustment will depend in part on the position of the lighthouse, especially on its height above sea-level, and that a system of lenses put together without any reference to this was bound to be wrong. The results were entirely satisfactory, and the Whitby light when reconstructed gave admirable re- sults. A good deal of correspondence followed with some members of the Commission as to the form of lamp and the best height for the principal focus of the system above the wick, and as time went on various other improvements were introduced ; but Mr. Chance’s position was now assured, and is evidenced by the | long list of splendid lights we owe to him. One of the improvements worked out in collabora- | tion with Mr. Thomas Stevenson is the dioptric mirror, whereby the rays which leave the lamp at the back are totally reflected by suitable curved prisms and issue in the direction in which the light is required to travel. The whole book, however, is most interesting, and forms a striking illustration of the application of science to industry. Mr. Chance realised the need of this, and his success was the consequence. His contributions to the mathematical side of the subject are summed up in two papers read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1867 and 1879. The first deals with lighthouses in general; its value as a reprint is, however, impaired by the omission of the careful figures by which it was illustrated; in the second, the question of the application of the electric light to lighthouses is considered. Electric light was employed at the South Foreland in 1872 and at the Lizard lighthouse in 1878. The apparatus in the latter case was designed by John Hopkinson, who on Mr. Chance’s retirement became scientific adviser to the firm. 1, Ae (Ere THE INFINITIES OF MATHEMATICS. Die Grundsitze und das Wesen des der Mathematik und Philosophie. Kurt Geissler. Pp. viii + 417. 1902.) Price 14 marks. |B ee serious inquiry leads, sooner or later, to metaphysics, and thus to antinomies which no merely logical process can reconcile. The pure mathe- matician is one of the first to reach this conclusion, because his methods are mainly logical, and the notions with which he deals are few and abstract. Why is it, then, that (as a rule) he regards the philosopher with a mixture of pity and disdain, and rarely takes part in any strictly metaphysical discussion? Each is vitally concerned with number, space and time; why do the conclusions of the one appeal so little to those of the other? Leaving the philosopher to answer for him- self, we may endeavour to construct the mathema- tician’s apology. It is mainly that, while he reaches the fundamental paradoxes as soon as the metaphysician, his attitude towards them is different. As it seems to him, the _ philosopher, after an imperfect analysis, tries to save NO. 1739, VOL. 67] Unendlichen in Von Dr. Phil. (Leipzig : Teubner, NATURE 387 the situation by a still more imperfect transcendental synthesis. To swamp all distinctions in the Absolute, while assuring us that the distinctions persist, is a childishly simple course, especially when adopted by someone who has a very vague conception of the distinc- tions which he proposes to abolish. Surely it is reason- able to examine our concepts as carefully as we can, to discover, if possible, which are simple and which are de- rived or composite. Until we do this, we have no right to say what are the ultimate logical inconsistencies, still less how we propose to reconcile them. The presupposi- tions of arithmetic and geometry have recently been analysed with great care, and definite results of primary importance have been obtained; the philo- sophical bearing of these conclusions is obvious, and henceforth no metaphysical theory that ignores them will be accepted by mathematicians. Difficulties re- main, of course; some have emerged which were previously unsuspected ; but at any rate the ground has been cleared of many merely sophistical paradoxes, and the real issues have been made clearer. Dr. Geissler’s book is rather pathetically disappoint- ing; he has evidently tried to master modern critical theories, but has failed in the attempt. The whole arrangement of the work is unsatisfactory, starting as it does with a vague spatial intuition, and constantly mixing up arithmetical difficulties with those of geo- metry. In the forefront of all discussions of mathe- matical infinity must be put the notion of the arithme- tical continuum; this, at any rate, is precise’ and definite. From it we get the concept of a continuous real variable, and thence can proceed to the differential and integral calculus treated by the method of limits. This involves the use of a fluent differential, but there are no serious logical difficulties. Dr. Geissler’s atti- tude is anything but precise, and not always consistent ; he appears to try to establish the existence of infini- tesimals of different orders as actual entities, and this partly by geometrical considerations. In this region of thought geometrical intuition is wholly untrust- worthy; and it is doubtful whether any satisfactory analytical theory can be constructed on the basis of what we may call fixed infinitesimals. It is certain, for instance, that in the arithmetical continuum there is no natural series of orders of infinitesimals. What is the precise nature of geometrical continuity, and how far it can be expressed by arithmetical means, is a very difficult question, upon which Dr. Geissler does not help to shed any light. One important point the author does emphasise, though sometimes with more zeal than discretion. The terms infinite and infinitesimal have no precise meaning except in relation to a context and to certain presuppositions. Thus, in projective geometry, the statement that all points at infinity lie in a plane is a convenient summary of a set of facts about parallels ; on the other hand, in the theory of algebraic functions, we assume that in the plane of the complex variable there is only a single point (not a line) at infinity. Each statement is true in its context, and out of its context it means nothing at all. If, with Dr. Geissler, we set off equal finite segments continually along a Euclidean straight line, we may assert the possibility of any 388 NA ROBE, [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 number of finite segments at infinity; to enumerate them we require transcendent integers, but there is nothing illogical in the conception, provided that we use it consistently. But we must not criticise one con- ception by the results of another with which it is radically incompatible. To show how weak the author’s logic is, it is suffi- cient to refer to his discussion of the old fallacy of Achilles.and the tortoise. Here it is established that an indefinite number of successive intervals of time can be found, for each of which the tortoise is ahead; and it is falsely concluded that the sum of these intervals of time tends to an indefinitely long period. Instead of pointing out this simple fact, Dr. Geissler argues that the division of the initial interval between Achilles and the tortoise is illegitimate! (‘‘ Man darf sich nicht einbilden, es liege schon im Wesen einer Strecke AB auf ihr in irgend einer Weise Strecken zu tragen.’’) In fact, his hankering for infinitesimals, in the sense of indivisibles, males all his treatment of limits and convergence quite unsatisfactory. It is a matter for real regret that Dr. Geissler has so completely failed to contribute anything of value to the discussion of his subject. The development of mathe- matics since the time of Kant has surely provided some new material for speculation; how long must we wait for a philosopher competent to deal with it? Even De Morgan failed to appreciate Rowan Hamilton’s con- ception of algebra as the science of pure time; the truth of this idea (except, perhaps, for group-theory) is becoming daily more evident. But while analysis is thus practically reduced to a subjective construction, there are elements in geometry which refuse to be so assimilated. Not all mathematicians are geometers, but those who are will sturdily maintain that, in some sense or other, there are geometrical data which are not expressible in terms of arithmetic. The present tendency towards critical analysis may, we hope, be succeeded by renewed interest in pure geometry. Then, perhaps, something more may be done towards dis- tinguishing its primary axioms. The analytical doctrine of the infinite has been sketched in a very interesting manner by Dr. Hobson ia his recent presidential address to the London Mathe- matical Society; this deserves to be widely read, be- cause it presents the main discoveries of Dedekind, Cantor, &c., in a form which does not assume any advanced mathematical knowledge on the part of the reader. G. B. M. PRACTICAL PHYSIOLOGY. Practical Physiology. By A. P. Beddard, J. S. Edkins, Leonard Hill, J. J. R. Macleod and M. S. ‘Pembrey.. Pp. xiv + 495 (London: Edward Arnold, 1902.) Price 15s. net. HE aim of the authors of this text-book has been to provide medical students with a course of physi- ology which shall not only give them sufficient mental training—practical Chinese or Greek would do this—but also ensure that this training shall be of substantial use NO. 1739) VOL. 67)| | subjected to a little revision in the next edition. in their after medical career. In some respects, this aim has been carried out in an admirable manner. Many of the articles are clearly written and well illustrated, and some of the sections—notably those on circulation, blood gases and physiological optics—contain valuable inform- ation not readily accessible to the student in any of the existing text-books. Other parts hardly maintain this high level, and the chapters on muscle and nerve in par- ticular are noticeably deficient, even allowing for the author’s expressions of dissent in the preface, and it is curious to see a text-book of 495 pages in which only two are devoted to the description of the galvanometer and capillary electrometer together, and where three lines contain the major part of the information on the electromotive phenomena of the heart ! The book is divided into four parts; the first two of these, comprising the more elementary exercises, are, on the whole, very good. The labour involved in preparing new illustrations and tracings must have | been considerable, and the authors are justly to be congratulated on the result of their exertions. In addition to the experimental exercises already noticed, the section on physiological chemistry merits favourable comment, and as a pleasing matter of detail, the draw- ings of crystals are particularly accurate. There are certain places, however, which might be While the authors reject Von Fleischl’s heemoglobinometer on the ground of inaccuracy, the directions given for the use of the Thoma-Zeiss hzeemocytometer will in practice lead all but the very careful student to far more serious errors of estimation. With a little skill, the method for the detection of albuminuria by heat could be carried out so as to show no trace of albumin even when it was present in considerable amount, as acid albuminate would readily be formed under the conditions recommended. “Ethylic acid,” on p. 180, is a pretty obvious misprint for “ethyl alcohol.” We think that the information on p. 72 is a little out of place, but perhaps this is a matter of opinion. The “advanced” portion of the text-book is hardly so well written as the “elementary,” though the articles on optics and on Haldane’s methods for determining oxygen capacity and mass of the blood could hardly be sur- passed. Here, moreover, is to be found the largest part of the “comedy of errors” which is inseparable from a first edition. Constantine was an Emperor who reigned at Constantinople; the alloy of manganese and iron used for thermoelectric work was not called after him. The — directions for preparing sarcolactic acid, on pp. 442-3, would be improved by the substitution of the word ‘‘nhosphoric” for “sulphuric,” and the method, on p. 426, for decomposing proteids contains more than one serious error, and should be re-written throughout. But besides these smaller matters, there is an authori- tative method adopted of disposing summarily of con- troversial points by ex cathedrdé utterances ; we think that a text-book writer might, in a fairly complete work such as this, at least mention the possibility of different views being held by other physiologists, absurd though this may seem to him. It is a pity that an index was not included in the book ; FEBRUARY 26, 1903] NATURE 389 the few pages that are dignified by the name are merely a mockery to anyone who is not one of the authors. However, even with these easily remedied defects, the book is a good and useful one which can be recom- mended tothe student as one to be added to his library. OUR BOOK SHELF. Studies in the Cartesian Philosophy. By Norman Smith, M.A. Pp. xiv +276. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Com- pany, 1902.) Price 5y. net. THE title of Mr. Smith’s book conveys an adequate idea of its scope. The author indicates the lines of his treat- ment thus :—‘“‘In Descartes’ system, as we have tried to show, there are three fundamental tenets, viz. the doctrine of representative perception, a very peculiar form of rationalism, and the conception of spirit as an active creative agency” (p. 115). The main portion of the book (pp. 1-115) is devoted to Descartes, with appendices on “ Arnauld’s denial of the doctrine of representative perception” and on Descartes’ views of perception, time and consciousness (pp. 115-136). The rest of the book deals with Cartesian principles in Spinoza, Leibniz and Locke, with Humie’s criticism and ‘the transition to Kant.” The author’s treatment is lucid throughout ; the main lines of criticism are stated clearly, and, on the whole, adequately. ‘This is especially true of the chapters on Descartes and Locke, where the author has allowed him- self to treat the subject at greater length. Asto Descartes, the author says, “his philosophy of nature I have reserved for further consideration, and in this present volume limit myself, as far as possible, to his meta- physics” (preface, p. vi). His reason for thus dividing the subject is that Descartes’ “metaphysical teaching is perverted by principles wholly at variance with his own positive scientific views” (preface, p.i.). This point is specially brought out in contrasting Descartes’ physical and metaphysical views of motion (pp. 70-71). With regard to the salient features of Descartes’ teaching, Mr. Smith considers that the cogifo ergo sum, so far from being “the really ultimate element in his system,” is “‘simply one consequence of the doctrine of representative perception which 1s itself a consequence of his dualistic starting point” (p.14). The importance of “method ” as ‘‘not merely an instrument for construct- ing knowledge” (p. 23) and the relation of method to Descartes’ view of intelligence is well brought out ; the same may be said of the author’s treatment of the de- ductive mathematical method and its fallacies. In “the proof of the existence of God,” Mr. Smith thinks “ Descartes’ scholasticism came to a height.” Herightly treats some of the Cartesian arguments as_ purely “ official” (p. 64). But we cannot say that he is alto- gether clear upon the relation of the system as a whole to God; it may be disputed whether Descartes ever meant by God “the all-comprehensive absolute reality.” Certainly we can recognise the universality of the criterion without identifying the system with its maker. The authors argument is scattered and somewhat divided between what Descartes really meant and what he really said, The discussion on Locke is an excellent chapter ; the treatment of ‘‘substance” and ‘the unknown” may be specially mentioned (v. p.195). The treatment of Spinoza and Leibniz, though suggestive, is too brief. As the value of this book lies not so much in its originality as in the accurate exposition of certain lines of thought which have dominated modern philosophy, the author should not have allowed the recent works on these philosophers to cramp his own treatment. The section on Berkeley NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | suggests the same criticism. Yet the many good quali- ties of the book should recommend it to all students of philosophy. It is adequately furnished with references and has a good index. (Grushisy Die progressive Reduktion der Variabilitat und thre Beziehungen zum Aussterben und zur Entstehung der Arten. By Daniel Rosa, Professor of Zoology in the University of Modena. Authorised Translation from the Italian by Dr. H. Bosshard. Pp. 106. (Jena : Gustav Fischer, 1903, published 1902.) Price 2.50 marks. Pror. D. ROSA begins his interesting essay by say- ing that cuttlefishes might envy the obscurity which multitudinous evolutionist-pamphlets—likened to ‘‘ink- squirts ””—-have given to the troubled waters surrounding the rock of the theory of descent; but this somewhat cynical outlook has happily not hindered him from pub- lishing (in 1899) the booklet before us or from having it translated into German by Dr. H. Bosshard. We have both versions of the essay, and, so far as we can judge, the translation is exceedingly well done. In his first chapter, Rosa pictures organic evolution as a long-drawn-out ‘‘substitution process,” in the course of which many groups; having reached their acme, give place to others springing from a lower level of the phylogenetic stem and retaining a capacity for abundant and far-reaching variation. As a group becomes more perfect, it tends to nirvana ; its variations are reduced in number, or, in any case, in range ; and the extinction of “Jost races” like Graptolites, Trilobites, Ammonoids, Pterodactyls, &c., is causally associated with a progres- sive reduction of variation. It has to be admitted, how- ever, that we do not really know much about the scope of variation in the last days of lost races. In the second chapter, Rosa inquires whether the pro- gressive reduction of specific variations is wholly due to natural selection or in part also to internal organismal conditions. He emphasises two points:—(1) that an organ which disappears in the course of evolution never reappears along that line of descent, that an organ which has become retrogressive never reacquires the capacity of progress ; and (2) that in many cases, there is a constancy or fixity in the numerical relations of parts, ¢.g. segments, limbs and digits, from which the type seems quite unable to free itself. These two sets of facts point to a progregBive reduction of variability, especially in types towards the ends of the phyletic branches. This theory is corroborated by detailed re- ference to the limitations which structural and functional differentiation seems to impose upon the variability of tissues and cells. Evolution is dominated by the “law of progressively reduced variability.” The third chapter is less of a unity, for the author has been impelled to speak briefly “de omni re scibili et de quibusdam aliis.” Rosa attaches little importance to individual fluctuations ; he relies upon general changes or mutations of the idioplasm occurring throughout the species. He has done useful service in indicating the tendency to reduction of variability in highly evolved types; his essay is very interesting and suggestive, pleasantly free from dogmatism or verbal polemics ; but we must wait for more detailed data, and admit that “ Thatsachen, nicht Ansichten, entscheiden.” Rett: J.-A Steel Ships: their Construction and Maintenanee. A Manual for Shipbuilders, Ship Superintendents, Students and Marine Engineers. By Thomas Watson. Pp. xiv + 290. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1901.) Price 18s. net. TuE title of this work led us to hope that a long-felt want had at length been supplied; but we regret to have to say that on reading it we were disappointed. Mr. Watson does not appear to have the scientific NATURE [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 knowledge or the range of practical experience re- quisite for the task he has undertaken. He attempts within the narrow limits of eight chapters running to 286 pages—of which one chapter of only sixteen pages is devoted to ‘‘ maintenance ’’—to deal with such great subjects as the manufacture of steel and iron; the quality, strength and tests of these materials; the classification of ships and the assignments of their loadlines; the various methods of ship construction ; the strength of ships and the stresses to which they are subjected at sea; the types of ships and the con- struction of typical vessels; the details of construction of ships and their fittings; and the maintenance of ships during their employment at sea. These are all most important subjects, and greatly need adequate treatment by someone who thoroughly understands them and can make them understood by others. Mr. Watson has certainly failed to do what is required. The various points are treated in this work chiefly with reference to cargo steamers built to Lloyd’s rules, and there is little in some of the chapters ex- cept what is contained in those rules. The “ laying off” of a vessel upon the mould loft floor, and the manner of giving out particulars of the forms of the various parts of the structure to the workmen, is described in two pages, in a general manner that conveys no really useful information. Similarly, the launching arrangements, and the calculations requisite for them, are only glanced at in a very brief and sketchy manner. The subject of bilge keels is dealt with in twenty lines, and the question of how to place these properly in position upon the ship is dismissed with the remark that they ‘‘ should be placed so as to give the least possible resistance to propulsion.” A student would like to have some guide to that position! In dealing with the subject of vibration of steamships, the author recommends, as a provision against it, the strengthening of parts of the structure in and near the engine-room; and he makes no re- ference to the most important precaution of all— which has been much studied of late by marine engineers—that of designing the engines so as to obtain as perfect a balance as possible of the recipro- cating parts. e The chapter upon ‘‘ Stress and Strength ’’ is very unsatisfactory, owing to an apparent want of scientific grasp of this difficult and intricate subject. We hope that the ‘‘ shipbuilders, ship superintendents, students and marine engineers ’’ for whom this work is said to be intended will soon be supplied with fuller and more exact information than is here presented to them. ; Elementi di Geografia Fisica, Fisica Terrestre e Meteor- ologia, ad uso delle Scuole Classiche, Tecniche, Nor- mali ed Agrarie. By ~ Prof. Francesco Porro. Pp. viii + 280. (Turin, Rome, &c.; G. B. Paravia & Co., 1902.) Pror. Porro dedicates his little book ‘‘a mio figlio Giannino,”’ a distinct novelty in school-book prefaces. The book itself devotes more space to the atmosphere, the oceans and glaciers than is usual in elementary works on physical geography. The features of the land are dealt with in much less detail, while the usual introduction on astronomical matters one ex- pects to find in an English school book of the kind, and the usual appendix on biological matters, are omitted altogether. The result is that it is possible, in a limited space, to give a very satisfactory outline of the departments which are selected for treatment. NO. 1739, VOL. 67] Prof. Porro writes as a lover of nature, with a subdued enthusiasm that should prove contagious. He has a good knowledge of the literature of his subject, makes his references accurate, and knows how to choose really instructive photographs and to construct helpful diagrams as illustrations. Fem vie LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. } Cambridge Mathematics. Pror. GREENHILL’S notice (p. 338) of the German transla- tion of my ‘‘ Calculus ’’ is pleasant enough reading. He says I follow the method of Squeers, ‘* Spell winder ! Now go and clean it.’’ He is nearly right, but in truth I act on the belief that the average English boy loves to learn by doing things first and thinking about them afterwards, and so my method is rather the reverse of that of Squeers. Again, ‘‘ the book, as a series of events connected by a slight thread of con- tinuous theory, suggests a mathematical Pickwick.’’ This is acute and severe and good humoured and kindly. I hope that Cambridge men, as they believe in Prof. Greenhill’s great knowledge and good sense, will also see his kindly feeling, and that they will not think me presumptuous in urging them to consider his advice seriously. It will be gathered that I do not myself think that my course of mathematics for engineers is more than a promising effort. I am very much alive: to its defects. But I know that the idea on which I have been working is a good one; I carefully developed that idea in opening the discussion at the Glasgow British Association meeting (published by Messrs. Mac- millan). It is an idea as well known as the commonest copy- book maxim, but it is as much ignored at our colleges and schools as the sixth and eighth Commandments were in Blackbeard’s ship. Anyone who studies how Prof. Forsyth has transformed my copy-book-maxim-ideas of elementary mathematics teaching so that they have become acceptable to all the schoolmasters of the country, and have in a few months been adopted by many examining bodies, must see that it is useless for anybody outside Cambridge to do more than say more and more strongly and persistently how much Cambridge is ignoring certain obvious truths; how Cam- bridge is neglecting its duty of leadership of this country in mathematics teaching. I have pointed out how the engineer needs mathematics in all his work ; how he needs the ideas of the infinitesimal calculus, and yet how mathematical symbols have been made hateful to him, his very desire for mathematical knowledge having in many cases been taken a devilish advantage of by self-sufficient dull pedants. How the engineer, clear- eyed and eager to use tools which he knows by trial will never fail him, and scornful of all method which he has by trial found to be mere pretence, has got to loathe mathe- matics and theory ;—is it not written in the pages of every engineering journal that is published? And yet we know that all engineering is built upon mathematics, that all great advances in engineering are made by those practical en- gineers who accidentally become able to compute, to use the more celestial weapon. When, as at the Royal College of Science, there is an endeavour made to construct a syllabus suitable for the mathematical instruction, not merely of the average, but also of the highest kind of engineer ‘and physicist, the necessity for making sacrifice and obeisance to outside standards well-nigh defeats our efforts. We ask Cambridge to help us towards that freedom” without which there can be no true education. Cambridge leads England in mathematics, and she is at present very far, not only from my ideal of leadership, but also from the ideal of Prof. Greenhill, who knows the state of the mathematical world many times better than I do. I ask Cambridge men, our best mathematicians, the men FEBRUARY 26, 1903 | without whom nothing can be done, the men whom we all admire so much that we almost forget their faults—I ask them to translate our poor ideas, our platitudes, our truisms, our copy-book maxims as to what ought to be done, into actual performance. The wonderful papers or books that they are now writing, can these make their names glorious for more than fifty or a hundred or a few hundreds of years? Is this fame to be weighed against the greater reward we offer? They have the chance of causing mathematics to be made a mental tool always ready for use by the engineer and physicist, the pioneers of thought and civilisation in this stage of the world’s history. We ask them to take a high view of the value of their opportunities ; really to lead the vanguard in the attack now at last being organised against the general-ignorance of our people. Let them think of all the university colleges and engineer- ing schools of the country, and consider how disgust at useless routine has led to general neglect of duty in teacher and taught. I know of a college where two senior wranglers in succession have taken charge of the education of the average student, and there has been no teaching of mathe- matics for many years. I know of another college where another senior wrangler does his best to maintain the old tradition that a man paid to teach ought to know nothing of teaching, ought to care nothing for teaching, and ought to feel insulted if the persons who pay him his salary happen to mention efficiency of teaching in his presence. I acknow- ledge that these professors are of the salt of the earth; they have done great service to science by their own work; they ought to be encouraged to do more and more of the work that they are specially fitted to perform, but I do say that it is a shame to sacrifice all their students because it happens that Cambridge has not enough endowment for such men. Fifty years ago it did not matter to us if 90 per cent. of the undergraduates at Cambridge made fun of mathematics. It matters to us now very much indeed that the most important weapon that any modern nation can have, the power to com- pute, should be jeered at by the very men, the engineers, who could make most use of it if they only knew how. This is my excuse for what seems a great presumption in criticising Cambridge and in asking that my ideas shall have a careful consideration. I want to see schemes drawn up for the education of all kinds of civil and military engineers. The courses of study must be made interesting and useful. I do not wish to find that a sailor who has worked out all Napier’s and Gauss’s analogies has never measured a dis- tance with a tape line on a terrestrial globe, or that he cannot do ‘‘ the day’s work,”’ as it is called, without using seven or six figure logarithms. It is surely an awful thing that many earnest men, because they have faith in us, should be induced to spend years in making ropes of sand. At the end of long academic courses an examiner finds the best students to be quite satisfied with sand-rope making, and mathematics will be as much detached from their professional work as the game of patience is detached from the daily avocation of the lady who plays it. As for the average men who hate the whole thing, they are better off ; I mean, of course, if they manage to pass their examinations, for they can look before and after, and need not pine for what they never had. The nation feels that its common sense has been outraged, and it is not merely elementaty education that is going into the melting-pot. Is Cambridge going to hold aloof from the little army of men who think that the melting and solidifying processes need to be guided? Has Cambridge no interest whatsoever in the nature of the possible crystal- lisation ? There is no great engineering school the mathematics of which ought not to be in charge of as fine a mathematician as a salary of 1500l. or 2000l. a year can tempt; is this man to be a Cambridge man? Let Cambridge make no mistake as to the issue now before us. We know she can do what we want if she likes to set herself to it, and we are willing to coax her, for we owe her much. We shall take care that her very highest ideals are not interfered with; if she makes mathematics popular, pleasant and useful to practical people, she will receive back again such great pupils in pure and applied mathematics as she does not dream of now. Joun Perry. NO. 1739, VOL. 67] | | | NATURE 391 Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials. In connection with Mr. Strutt’s article on this subject in this week’s Nature, I may mention that I have received for publication from Prof. McClennam and Mr. Burton, of the University of Toronto, the manuscript of a paper read before . the American Physical Society in December last, on the saturation current in cylinders of the same size but of different materials. The cylinders used were 25 cm. in diameter, and were made of zinc, tin and lead; the current in the lead cylinder was about twice that in the zinc, and about 50 per cent. greater than in the tin. The authors found that the current in the cylinders was considerably re- duced by immersing the cylinders in a large cistern full of water, indicating that part of the ionisation is due to very penetrating radiation which gets through the sides of the cylinder. I may take this opportunity of stating that I have found that lead apparently gives off an emanation similar to that emitted by radium, for if lead acetate or lead nitrate be dissolved in distilled water, and air very slowly bubbled through the solution, the air coming out has greater conductivity than if it had been bubbled through the dis- tilled water alone, and it retains this additional conductivity for many hours. We hope to investigate the effect of other metals in solutions and to determine whether or not it is due to the radio-active impurities in the salts. J. J. THomson. Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, February 21. Fall of Coloured Dust on February 22-23. I HAVE received this morning from two of the observers of the Royal Meteorological Society samples of red or muddy rain which fell on Sunday night or Monday morning. Mr. C. Grover, of the Rousdon Observatory, Devon, on Monday morning, February 23, found that the windward sides of the thermometer screens were conspicuously marked with a deposit of reddish or rusty coloured mud, so thick as to attract attention at once. There was the same appear- ance on the anemometer tower—the window ledges, the iron ladder and the white painted wooden shelf thirty feet above the ground being all marked with the same deposit. The rainfall was only o’o2 inch. Mr. J. W. Phillips, of Haverfordwest, says that rain fell between 6 and 9 a.m. on Monday, and that when the rain gauge was examined the water was found to have a sedi- ment of dust. The quantity of rain measured was 0°31 inch. Mr. Phillips says that the phenomenon has been noticed in other parts of the country. The deposit at Rousdon was apparently much thicker than at Haverfordwest. The fall must have extended over a wide area. Won. Marriott. Royal Meteorological Society, S.W., February 24. Chapman’s Zebra. In the course of some studies of the genus Equus, I obtained a number of measurements of the skulls of zebras and quaggas through the kindness of Mr. J. A. G. Rehn. The measure- ments were based on specimens contained in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Upon comparing these data, I found that the measurements for Agwus chapmanz did not approach most nearly those of Z. burchellz, of which chapmanz is supposed to bea variety. Roughly speaking, if the resem- blance to Jurchel/i were expressed by 4, that to 2. zebra would be expressed by 6, that to Z. grevyi by 3, and that to E. quagga by 1.! In particular, 2. zebra and chapman? had the zygomatic breadth and the breadth between the orbits above much less than in dzrche//i. The specimen of chapmani was said to be from Zanzibar. Part of the facts observed may be due to immaturity, and Mr. Oldfield Thomas warns me that the precise identification of . chapmanz is a matter of doubt ; but from what I have been able to learn, it seems not impossible that. 2. chapmanz, as represented by Prof. Ewart’s ‘*Matopo,”’ may be a valid species. As it is quite out of the question for me to settle this matter, I venture to commend it to such of your readers as have better opportunities. T. D. A. COCKERELL. East Las Vegas, N.M., U.S.A., January 23. 1 These figures are based, not on the absolute measurements, but on the measurements expressed in percentages of the total length of the skull. 392 AMERICAN MAGICAL CEREMONIES. p= Dwamish Indians of Cedar River, Washington Co., U.S.A., believe that when a man is seriously ill in the winter his spirit departs to the under-world, which is an exceedingly attractive place in cold weather. It is only at that season that the spirit of a sick man leaves the body for the nether world ; during the summer- time, the spirit travels from place to place on earth, and even when aman dies in the summer his spirit waits until the winter is well advanced before it retires under- ground. One of the favourite methods in the summer of compelling the spirit of a sick man to return to the body is by singing, but in the winter, the spirits of the officiating shamans have to journey to the under-world in order to bring back the recalcitrant spirit, and even they find it hard to tear themselves away from the pleasant home of the dead. The ceremony takes place in the dance-house. A rectangular space, measuring about Io feet by 20 feet, is marked off by vertical slabs. This is called the canoe, and inside are placed, in an upright position, small Fic. 1.—Painted slabs of wood for sides of spirit boat. painted human effigies ; these very materially assist the shamans to compel the spirit to return. The shamans, each of whom has a long pole, enter the canoe and begin by singing, which is accompanied by the beating of rattles and drums by the friends of the invalid ; at the same time, the shamans make paddling movements with the poles. This is kept up all night ; by noon of the next day, they are supposed to have entered the under- world, where the struggle for the possession of the spirit of the sick man begins and lasts for a day and a half. At the end of the fourth day, one of the shamans inti- mates to the friends of the sick man that they have been successful, and, as a matter of fact, in the instance specified the sick man mended speedily. Two of the painted boards that form the spirit boat are shown in the accompanying figure; the snout-like projection and a single eye, or a pair of eyes, are on all of them, but the decoration of the body of each board varies. In the first figure, a cetacean is drawn, and the shape of each board suggests that it is also a cetacean. Dr. G. A. Dorsey’s account of this ceremony is the first NO. 1739, VOL. 67] NATURE [ FEBRUARY 26, 1903 that has been published, and as it is now almost extinct, it is fortunate that he was able to record this vanishing magical rite. The paper from which this abstract was taken was published, along with other original articles and various notes of ethnographical interest, in vol. iii. of the Au/letin of the Free Museum of Science and Art of the University of Pennsylvania. Also to Dr. Dorsey, but in this case in collaboration with Mr. H. R. Voth, are we indebted for a very interest- ing and exceedingly well illustrated account of the Soyal ceremony of the Oraibi, one of the six Hopi villages in Arizona. On the first day of the ritual, feather standards are erected, cornmeal is spread over them, and a small pinch of the meal is thrown towards the rising sun. The performers smoke ceremonially during the whole day, and card and spin cotton. The second and third days are employed in a similar manner. On the fourth day, various sacred objects are exhibited and certain feathers are provided. These are tied on sticks to construct what are termed éahos; the édahos are prayed and smoked over, and holy water is obtained from a spring ; nine songs are sung at ceremonies which combine = . 2 | Fic. 2.—Case in the Field Columbian Museum illustrating the Soyal altar and the sun ritual. prayer with the offering of cornmeal. On the fifth and three following days, the people fast. A considerable part of the fifth day is spent in practising various £atc7ma dances. The Hawk priest’ screeches and performs most fatiguing dances. On the sixth day, the rite of offering cornmeal to the dawn is again performed ; there are no important ceremonies on this day, but many prepara- tions are made. All the men begin the seventh day by making prayer offerings (da/os) and objects composed of maize husks, to which feathers are fastened ; these are termed Azhikwisp7, or “something breathed upon.” On the following day, each performer takes his Azhzhwzsfz, holds it to the rising sun and says, “I breathe on this” ; he then runs to his house, where all breathe on it, and sothe Aihikwisfi are carried from house to house ; this ceremony is a charm for the protection against sick- ness of the respiratory organs. Later a shrine is decor- ated before which smoke is “planted,” and rain clouds are represented by six black semicircles ; a fertility cere- mony is performed before, and more particularly after, the fetching of water from a spring. Masks are worn FEBRUARY 26, 1903 | NATURE 223 on this day ; again there are bird dances, which keep on all through the night. Before daybreak on the following morning, the climax of the whole ceremony. is reached ; in front of the fire which burns before several altars, the Star priest twirls a sun symbol and is sprinkled with sacred water from a medicine bowl by the priest who represents the War-god; later in the day, the dafos, or prayer sticks, are deposited in various shrines around the villages. The four subsequent days are spent in rabbit hunting, and a big feast concludes the ritual. Dr. Dorsey and Mr. Voth have wisely published a detailed account of what takes place, but their descrip- tions would have been of greater value to students of comparative religion if more explanation had been given as to the significance of the various rites. It is obvious that the details described are full of symbolism, the meaning of some of which can be readily guessed, but we do not want to make guesses, we need to be told definitely what the natives themselves understand by their rites. This memoir appears in vol. ii. of the Ease ese ee mr] v Fic. 3-—Katcina dancing on a sand picture in front of the candidates for initiation into the Powamu fraternity. Anthropological Series of the publications or the Field Columbian Museum of Chicago. Following this is a memoir, by Mr. H. R. Voth, on the Oraibi Powamu ceremony. Mr. Voth has been for many years a missionary to the Hopi, and so has had exceptional facility for studying their customs, and it will be evident he has not wasted his opportunities. One of the items in the pretiminary ceremony is a prayer and ritual for the protection of plants and corn against destructive sandstorms. Later the uninitiated boys and girls have their hair cut. Characteristic features of the Powamu ceremony are the making of coloured sand pic- tures or mosaics and the dancing of masked men, katcinas (Fig. 3). An important part of the ceremony consists in the flogging of the boys and girls who are being initiated into the Powamu fraternity ; each child has a male and female sponsor, who for ever after are called his or her “father” or ‘‘mother” ; they are never relatives, nor can they be of the same clan as the actual NO. 1739, VOL. 67] father and mother of the child, but both must be of the same clan. Before the whipping of the children, an ancient migration saga is narrated. This careful study of a ceremony that is doomed to disappear is illustrated by a large number of well executed plates, which greatly enhance the value of the paper. The extensive collec- tions made by Mr. Voth are in the Field Columbian Museum, and under his direction there have been erected in the museum wonderful cases illustrating Hopi altars and sand pictures, and life-sized models of priests in the act of performing various ceremonies. Those who wish to study the secular and religious life of the Hopi Pueblo Indians must visit the museum in Chicago, for there they will find very extensive collec- tions well arranged and fully labelled. In all probability, these will be accessible to future students when, in the not far distant time, sacred objects and picturesque ritual will have passed away and become forgotten in their native pueblos. INS (CS 181 THE FATA MORGANA OF THE STRAITS OF MESSINA. UST as the Brocken is noted for its ‘“‘spectre,” so the Straits of Messina have long been known as pre- senting, under certain exceptional atmospheric conditions, a fine display of the appearances known as Fata Mor- gana. Onhis appointment in 1899 to the chair of physics at the Technical College of Reggio, Dr. Vittorio E. Boccara undertook a historical and critical study of the phenomena, and the results of his investigation are published in the Memorie of the Italian Spectroscopists’ Society, Xxxl., Io. Among the ancients, the name of Aristotle is men- tioned, but his references to the Fata Morgana are doubtful. Cornelius Agrippa spoke of reflections in the air of mountains,, animals and other objects ; Homer, Apollonius Polycletus, Damascius and Pliny also alluded to apparitions in the air, but their descriptions are not precise. Allusions to the Fata Morgana are also con- tained in the historical writings of Tommaso Fazzello (1550), Giuseppe Carnevale (1591) and Marc’ Antonio Politi (1617), but the first attempt at a description of the phenomena was given by Father Angelucci in a letter published in 1671 by Athanas Kircher, in which he described the appearances seen on the morning of Assumption Day (August 15), 1634. These effects Kircher attributed to reflection by crystals in the air, and stated that he had been able to reproduce them artificially before a large audience. In 1773, Father Antonio Minasi published a “ disser- tation on the phenomenon commonly called Fata Morgana,” in which he distinguished hree different forms, namely, marine morgana, aéria. morgana and iridescent morgana. Minasi illustrated his descriptions by a remarkably good drawing showing the three phases. In a treatise published at Naples in 1824, Captain Pietro Ribaud described the marine morgana of July, 1809, and gave a detailed account of the meteorological conditions necessary for its formation. In addition to calm, hot weather, we notice that Ribaud considered it necessary that the vapours exhaled under the heat of the sun from the heterogeneous substances, antimonious, vitreous, oleaginous, saline and other, contained in quan- tity in the shores and earths of Calabria and Sicily should not be carried away by the wind. Also the most favourable time for the morgana is about the turn of the tide. The first to explain the morgana by refraction was Prof. Salvatore Arcovito (1838), who, however, considered the phenomenon similar to parhelia. Cacopardi never saw the morgana himself, but followed the views of Minasi and Kircher. Regaldi saw the phenomenon on 394 NALORE [ FEBRUARY 26, 1903 July 20, 1848, and describes how parts of the coast suddenly appeared, standing, so to speak, in the middle of the channel. Coming to recent times, we have a description in the Zagara for 1871 by an anonymous writer. A white streak of mist passing across the Sicilian coast melted like a transparent veil, revealing arches, towers and colonnades floating on the sea, houses, and woods of many colours. Not less explicit is Prof. Filippo Capri, who described in thé Zagédra the Fata Morgana of June 20, 1874, which occurred between 8 andg a.m. The weather was so hot as to ruin the crop of bergamot fruit, and the pheno- menon, as on other occasions, was preceded by a white mist. Buildings were seen to become elongated, while the shores, with their villas and trees, became detached like islands and then disappeared. In answer to the invitation for an explanation, Dr. Diego Corsa repeated Minasi’s erroneous opinions, but this point of view was attacked by Prof. Canale, who, however, did not venture to formulate a theory of his own, having only seen the phenomenon once. Prof. Boccara speaks from personal knowledge of three displays of the Fata Morgana under its three different Fic. 1. Fic. 2 Fic. 1.—Aérial Morgana of June 27, 1900. Fic. 2 shows the white mist just before the commencement of the phenomenon. forms—namely, an aérial morgana on June 27, 1900, wit- nessed by himself, Captain Vincenzo Ponzi, of Chiaggia, and Prof. Enrico Puccini ; a marine morgana on July 2, 1901, also seen by Prof. Puccini; and a multiple morgana on March 26, 1902. The first is well shown by the author’s sketch in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 giving an idea of the white mist seen just before the occurrence of the phenomenon, and which disappeared when the occurrence took place. In it, the houses on the Italian coast at Gallico and the point of Catona are seen to be considerably elongated in a vertical direction, and, so to speak, projected on the Sicilian coast beyond, the straits appearing to be con- verted into a gulf. In the marine morgana of 1901, a cloud again formed just previously, and the appearance was presented of arches standing below the sea line in an upright position, their bases having no visible foun- dation. These arches corresponded to some railway arches above the cemetery of Messina, but were more brilliant and larger than the real arches. Of the third or multiple morgana, Prof. Boccara has given an illustration | in Fig. 3, which, however, represents simultaneously various phases of the phenomena which were in reality seen in succession. Thus the three houses at the left were not all visible at the same instant; when one appeared, the other disappeared. The white band with NO. 1739, VOL. 67] vertical dark stripes was attributed to the wall of the citadel at Messina, and it appeared to blot out the houses of the town. Prof. Boccara attributes all these phenomena to variations in atmospheric density, which produce refrac- tion effects. It may be suggested to the mathematician that consideration of the principle of least time for the path of a light ray affords an easier way of thinking of the conditions necessary for the phenomenon than is given by the sine law of refraction. The term Fata Morgana is used by the author exclusively in connection with apparitions in which the images are erect. When inversion takes place, so that the phenomena are due to reflection, the effect is a mirage, a phenomenon also seen not unfrequently on the Sicilian coast. The neighbourhood of Reggio is peculiarly adapted to the display of the Fata Morgana both by its topo- graphical peculiarities and by the meteorological con- ditions not unfrequently existing there These conditions are, a morning hour, hot weather, extreme clearness of the air, combined, however, with a thin veil of mist over the Sicilian coast, and a calm air or slight wind from the north, as conditions for the marine morgana. For the aérial morgana, the best time of day is from 10 a.m. to I p.m., witha stratum of light cloud on the coast of Sicily, sea calm or nearly so, a high temperature and Fic. 3.—Multiple Morgana of March 26, 1902. wind as before. A multiple morgana is, of course, of much rarer occurrence than the simple form, and the one seen in March, 1902, was less marked than one observed about twenty years previously by Prof. Scerbo and Signor Aloi, of which a sketch is reproduced in Dr. Boccara’s paper. Gi His B;: INDIAN RAINFALL. > VERYONE acquainted with the rainfall statistics — of India is familiar with the appendix to the third volume of the Indian Meteorological Memoirs, which was published in the year 1888, when Mr. H. T. Blanford was Meteorological Reporter to the Indian Government. This appendix contained the monthly and yearly rainfalls for each station which possessed a rain-gauge, and the period over which the observa- tions extended was in some cases, such as Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, very long, the last year in which the observations from all stations were included being that of 1886. Since that epoch many years have passed, and the time had evidently arrived for this volume to be brought up to date and the whole mass of useful rainfall data collected together under one cover. We are glad to say that this large piece of work has now been completed and published (1902), and forms the fourteenth volume of the Memoirs. FEBRUARY 26, 1903| Under the able editorship of the present Meteor- ological Reporter and Director-General of Indian Observatories, Sir John Eliot, this new volume con- tains all the available data up to, and including, the year 1900, and it is to this volume that inquirers of Indian rainfall statistics will now turn. Several minor changes will be found to have been made in the tables, such as zero (0) instead of (...) when no rain had fallen during a month, the authorised ortho- graphy, &c., but the most valuable addition is undoubtedly the insertion of two extra columns for each station giving the total rainfall for each mon- soon. India, as most people know, receives its rain mainly at two periods of the year, namely, during the summer months when the south-west monsoon is blowing, and during the winter months when the north-east monsoon is blowing. In any investigations on the variation of rainfall due to extra-terrestrial origins or involving atmospheric circulation, it is of the greatest importance to he able to treat the mon- soon rainfalls separately. Again, some stations are more favourably placed, geographically, to depend chiefly for their yearly rainfall on one or other of the monsoons, or both; thus Bombay’s rainfall is en- tirely due to the south-west monsoon, while the wind which gives Madras its rain is the north-east; further south, in southern India, several of the places are more fortunate, and secure their rains from each monsoon in turn, so that if one monsoon fails them, they still have a chance of obtaining their rain from the other. In dealing with such a large area of country as is | covered by the Indian Meteorological Department, it was found desirable to adopt a grouping of the months for each monsoon that would be general to the whole of India, with the least detriment to some individual areas. Thus the months finally settled upon were as follows :—N.E. monsoon, December to April; S.W. monsoon, May to November. The two columns, therefore, that are inserted for the first time in this volume show the total rainfall at stations during the five months ending April 30 of the year in question, and the total rainfall of the seven months ending November 30 of that year. The fact that this volume contains no less than 709 pages and weighs 5lb. 140z. in its paper cover, will give the reader some idea of the mass of rainfall statistics it contains and of the labour involved in bringing the information together. The volume should serve as an admirable model for other countries to adopt, and it would be to the advantage, not only of Great Britain and her Colonies, but also | of many foreign countries in various parts of the world, to coordinate their rainfall observations in a similar manner, so that such records, which are well worth making, are ready at the hand of any investiga- tor who at the time may be working up the subject. WitttaM J. S. Lockyer. THE AFFORESTATION OF THE BLACK COUNTRY. J N the spring of 1892, when marking trees for cutting in the Belgian Ardennes (Chateau de Mirwart), I noticed that a portion of the wood, alongside a meadow and a watercourse, had the irregular shape of spoil heaps. before iron-smelting had been carried on at the spot, and that the heaps consisted of old slag and other NO. 1739, VOL. 67] On inquiry, I found that some 200 years | NATORE 395 débris, such as may be expected under a rudimentary process of iron-smelting. ‘The heaps were stocked with oak and ash trees, some of them of considerable size and vaiue, others of smaller dimensions. I marked the large trees for sale, leaving all middle-sized and smaller trees. The latter girthed up to 4 feet at 5 feet from the ground, while the trees marked for cut- ting girthed 6 feet, and even more. I considered this a very interesting case, but as | did, at that time, not know the Black Country, it did not strike me to utilise my experience for the benefit of the English mining districts. Towards the end of the same year, Mr. W. R. Fisher visited me at Mirwart, and when he saw the above mentioned case, it struck him to apply it to the Black Country. He subsequently visited that locality and urged its afforestation on more than one occasion. The honour of having brought the subject prominently before the public belongs to Mr. Fisher. I have just read an account of a meeting at Bir- mingham, presided over by Sir Oliver Lodge, to in- augurate a society for promoting the afforestation of the Black Country. As the result of the meeting, a resolution was carried, a committee was formed, and Mr. Herbert Stone was elected hon. secretary of ‘t The Black Country Tree-planting Society.’’ The area in question is believed to be 14,000 acres, covered with spoil and ash heaps, on which now some grass grows; it is grazed over by sheep. Sir Oliver | Lodge, quite correctly, brought the probable finan- | cial results of afforestation into the foreground, while some of the other speakers referred to the im- portance of a sylvan environment for moral, hygienic, and esthetic considerations, leaving the financial as- pect to take care of itself. This I consider a mistake, because, with the best intentions, humanitarian con- siderations alone are not likely to achieve the object in view ; besides, they can very well be realised, along- side of good financial results. The area in question belongs, I understand, to a number of different proprietors, and this alone would probably be a great hindrance to bringing the under- taking to a successful issue. In my opinion, the ad- joining municipalities, such as Birmingham, Dudley, Bilston, Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Wednesbury, Old- bury, &e. , should put their heads together, devise a plan of acquiring the land in question, which cannot be of much value, and create a joint municipal forest estate, to be managed by one man. This manager might be made responsible to a joint committee, and under its orders carry out the afforestation of the area on a well-considered plan. In that case, esthetic con- siderations can receive full attention, while the woods should be so laid out, as to species, &c., that a reason- able return on the outlay may be expected. If the plan here sketched should prove to be im- practicable, it would be quite worth while for the State to acquire the land and plant it up. In any case, a well-considered plan of action as regards the manner of afforestation, the species to be planted, &c., is a sine qua non of ultimate success, and the drawing up of such a plan should be entrusted to an expert, who is fully conversant with the management, and more especially the financial management, of forest estates. I lay stress on this, because I see it stated that syca- more, ash, lime, beech and poplar should be planted. There w ill, no doubt, be many places where these trees can be introduced, but the bulk of the area should be stocked with fast-growing conifers, the thinnings of which will, at an early age, give large quantities of pit timber, and thus secure favourable financial results. W. ScHLICH. 396 NOTES. In several districts of the south of England and Wales, coloured dust or sand accompanied a fall of rain on Sunday last, February 22. At Etchingham (Sussex), twelve miles from the sea, particles of dust deposited by the raindrops were left on the trees. At Swansea and other places in South Wales the puddles left by the rain were reddish in colour. Mr. A. E. Brunsden, the piermaster at Swanage, Dorset, noticed that a thick fog which occurred with the rain on Sunday morning had a peculiar yellowish tinge. On Monday morning the ironwork on the pier was found to be covered with a fine, salmon-coloured dust. Some specimens of dust collected after the fall have been sent to us by Mrs. Neville Ward, and are being examined. In reply to a question referring to afforestation in Ireland, Mr. Wyndham remarked in the House of Commons on Tues- day ‘‘ Some of the recommendations in the report of the Committee on British Forestry are applicable, in principle, to Ireland. The Irish Department is at present conducting a special survey of existing woodlands and lands suitable for forestry operations. Such a survey is necessary to en- able the Department to consider the measures to be adopted to give effect to the recommendations of the report in question.”’ Dr. C. W. AnbDREwSsS, of the British Museum, has arrived in Cairo, and started for the Fayum Desert, where, in con- junction with the officers of the Egyptian Geological Survey, it is hoped that he may be able to add largely to the collec- tion of Eocene vertebrate remains from that district.- THE anniversary meeting of the Geological Society was held at Burlington House on Friday, February 20. The medals and funds, of which the awards have already been announced, (p. 250) were presented. The president delivered his anniversary address, which dealt with the relations of geology to its fellow-sciences. REUTER reports that the following telegram from Honolulu has been received at San Francisco :—‘‘ Mr. Schroeder, Governor of Guam, Ladrones Archipelago, is here on his way home. He reports the occurrence of a severe and pro- longed series of earthquakes, accompanied by loud rumb- lings, which have raised the level of the island by six inches.” At the annual general meeting of the Physical Society on February 13, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., was elected president for the ensuing year. Mr. H. M. Elder has found it necessary to resign the office of secretary, and Mr. W. R. Cooper has been appointed his successor. In the course of an address delivered upon taking the presidential chair, Dr. Glazebrook said that the Society should have a wider range of activity, and technical papers should not necessarily be Interest might also be aroused by arranging at times for set discussions. Attempts should be made to give advice and guidance to physicists in isolated positions about the country having time to carry out research. The address also dealt with the history of theoretical optics during the last sixty years, and the part taken by the late Sir George G. Stokes in its development. excluded. At the meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society on February 13, the Society’s gold medal was awarded to Prof. Hermann Struve, director of the Kénigsberg Observatory, for his work on the satellites of Saturn, published in 1898 in the publications of the Central Nicolas Observatory, Pulkowa. Prof. Turner delivered an address describing the long series of observations and the complex and laborious calculations by which Prof. Struve had determined the motions and masses of the satellites, the position of the equator of Saturn, the compression of the body of the planet, NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | NATURE [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 the mass of the ring, &c. The address concluded with a mention of the fact that half a century ago the gold medal’ had been awarded to Prof. Struve’s grandfather, and a quarter of a century ago to his father, who still lives, one of the Society’s oldest associates. At the conclusion of the address the chairman handed the medal to Count von Bern- storff, Councillor of the German Legation, for transmission to the medallist. THE annual general meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was held on February 20, when the annual report of the council was presented. The report points out that the completion of his sixth report to the alloys research committee has been delayed by the death of Sir William Roberts-Austen, but a large amount of his. experimental work, dealing with the tempering of steel, and also with alloys of the industrial metals, is available, and is now being dealt with by the committee. No further report will be made by the gas-engine research committee until the large experimental engine has been put to work at the Birmingham University. Prof. T. Hudson Beare has been occupied at the University of Edinburgh in perfecting the apparatus for testing the value of the steam-jacket. Prof. David S. Capper has now concluded his experiments at King’s College upon jacketed and unjacketed steam cylin- ders, and a report upon his comprehensive experiments is. almost completed. The question of the standardisation of flanges has received the attention of the council, and was dealt with at the April meeting in a paper by Mr. R. E. Atkinson. A considerable number of members and others. haye since sent in contributions bearing on the best forms to be adopted as standards. The engineering standards committee, the constitution of which was explained in the last annual report, has held frequent meetings during the year, and its recommendations relating to standard sizes for rolled sections will be published shortly. Mr. Hansury, Minister of Agriculture, addressing the Lancashire Farmers’ Association at Preston on February 21, said he understood that the Department of Fisheries was to: be added to the Board of Agriculture. Dr. Dempwotrr, who succeeded Prof. Koch as head of the German expedition for the investigation of malaria in German New Guinea, states, according to the Berlin corre- spondent of the Standard, that he has discovered an aquatic insect which destroys the Anopheles mosquito. He proposes to cultivate these insects by artificial means, and in this way hopes to exterminate the malaria mosquito. Tue French Chamber of Deputies has recently adopted a Bill intended to create a nickel coin in France. La Nature states that to prevent confusion with the silver france the new nickel coin of 25 centimes will weigh seven as against the five grammes of the franc; the edge of the nickel coin will not be fluted like the silver franc; the new coin will be half as thick again as the franc. At first 16 million pieces will be struck off, and this will require 112,000 kilograms of nickel. Tue ‘‘ Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley,’ by — his son, Mr. Leonard Huxley, first published by Messrs. — Macmillan and Co., Ltd., in 1900, and reviewed by Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., in Nature for June 13, * 1901, has been reissued in three volumes in the well-known — ‘* Eversley ’’ series at 12s. net. The opportunity afforded — by the publication of a second edition has been taken to correct various misprints, and to rectify a few errors and _ omissions in the first edition. In its cheaper form the book is sure to renew its popularity, and to reach a wider circle of Huxley’s admirers. FEBRUARY 26, 1903 | Tue Royal Academy of Sciences of Turin announces that one of the Vallauri prizes will be awarded by the Academy to the man of science, without distinction of nationality, who, from January 1, 1907, to December 31, 1910, shall have published the most important and most celebrated work in the domain of the physical sciences—these words being used in their broadest sense. The amount of the prize is 30,000 Italian pounds net. The prize will be awarded a year after the result has been announced. Works submitted to the Academy will not be returned, and manuscripts will not be considered. SPEAKING at Dorchester on Monday, at the opening of a new operating theatre, Sir Frederick Treves said that the ceremony that day represented a movement the magnitude of which it was not at first easy to appreciate. “Twenty-five years ago that part of surgery which dealt with operations was more or less discredited. It was singularly disappoint- ing and, he was sorry to say, singularly unsuccessful. The amount of work that was then done through operations was comparatively small. The great development that had taken place was all due to the introduction, by Lord Lister, of antiseptic surgery, which had rendered operative treatment possible. The result had been the saving of many thousands of lives annually, and the rescue of still more thousands from a state of hopeless illness. The performance of im- portant operative surgery was no longer limited to London and a few great cities ; operative surgery had spread all over the country, and now nearly every provincial hospital had its Own operating theatre. It was all part of a general movement which would result in bringing medical and surgical science to a higher level than had ever before been attained in this country. Tue Natal Mercury of January 9 last states that a meteorological institute has been established at Bloemfon- tein. Substations are being started in Harrismith, Kroon- stad, Heilbron, Bethlehem and Bethulie, and records from all points will be sent to Bloemfontein. Observations taken so far promise very interesting study, and show remarkable variations of conditions throughout the Orange River Colony, both as regards one part in relation to others, and in daily changes at some stations. Such systematic study of meteorological conditions as this will very soon be of prac- tical benefit to agriculture in this colony. A REvuTER message from St. Petersburg states that the Imperial Academy of Science has decided to dispatch an expedition to search for Baron Toll, who left Siberia in June last with a few companions to explore Bennett Island, and has not been heard of since. The search expedition, which will be headed by Lieutenant Koltchak, who was with Baron Toll before he left the Siberian coast, will proceed shortly to New Siberia and, if necessary, to Bennett Island, as there is reason to believe that the baron, seeing his road back to New Siberia cut off by the breaking up of the ice towards the middle of July last, remained in the island to pass the winter. Tue New York correspondent of the Daily Mail reports that the first detailed announcement of the plans of the Rockefeller Institute, founded by Mr. John D. Rockefeller with an endowment of 40,0001. two years ago, has been made public. Mr. Rockefeller added 200,000l. to the endowment last summer. It is expected that his contributions will ultimately reach a total of two and a half million pounds. Mr. Simon Flexner, of the University of Pennsylvania, has been chosen to take charge of the work, which will be centred in New York. A research laboratory will be opened in October. Then will follow a hospital, where special groups of patients will be treated in order to develop new NO. 1739, VOL. 67] NATURE | 397 methods of practice. The programme also includes the publication of a journal of experimental medicine and the creation of a popular hygienic museum. Several physicians have already been sent to Europe to make special researches. Tue Savage Club entertained Mr. Marconi on Saturday evening, February 21. Mr. Henniker Heaton, M.P., occupied the chair, and among the visitors were the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, the Earl of Malmesbury and Sir Charles Boxall. In responding to the toast of his health, Mr. Marconi said he demurred to the statement of the chairman that he had been neglected in England. Like the King of Italy, the King of England had been most kind to him, and for three weeks he, by desire of His Majesty, carried on experiments in His Majesty’s yacht Osborne which greatly advanced the development of wireless telegraphy. He then traced his work and the opposition he had met with, step by step, from the cable companies. The Canadian Govern- ment had given him substantial assistance and a grant of money to carry on his work. The Italian Government had just passed a Bill to erect the largest Marconi wireless tele- graph station in the world, to communicate with America. In conclusion, he made the announcement that he had just made an arrangement with a great daily newspaper in London to supply it with a wireless message every day from Canada. Tue Postmaster-General, in reply to a question on wire- less telegraphy put by Mr. H. Samuel last Thursday, stated that the effect of recent progress on the commercial and strategic interests of the country was receiving careful atten- tion, and that he was in communication with the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. on the subject of its relations with the Post Office. ‘‘ I am not at present in a position,’’ he added, ‘‘ to make any final statement on the subject, but I have no doubt it will be possible to secure for the public of this country the use of this method of communication when it is sufficiently developed for commercial purposes.’’ Con- trast with this the attitude of the Italian Government, which has just passed a Bill for establishing a powerful wireless telegraphic station in Rome, which was introduced by the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. The Senate passed a resolution expressing its great satisfaction »with the state- ment of the Minister, and conveying congratulations to Mr. Marconi. It is proposed to make this new station the largest yet built, and it is hoped by its means to establish communi- cation with Argentina and with all the existing long-distance stations. A NEw form of electric heating apparatus has been in- vented by Mr. E. G. Rivers, of H.M. Office of Works. The radiator is constructed of a layer of finely powdered retort carbon held between enamelled iron plates and kept in posi- tion by asbestos cardboard. ‘Three copper strips are led in, one at the centre and one at each end, and continuous current passed from the centre strip to the outer two. The current taken is about eight amperes at 200 volts, and with this a heating surface of 25 square feet can be maintained at an average temperature of 190° F. The manufacture of this radiator is, we understand, to be undertaken by the Electric and Ordnance Accessories Co., of Birmingham. Accorp1nG to last week’s Daily Mail, the sharp frost in New York produced some startling effects on the elevated electric railway. There had been rain before the frost, as a result of which the centre rail had become coated with ice, and this led to sparking on a large scale. The effect appears to have been somewhat extraordinary if we may judge from the account given by the Daily Mail’s corre- spondent, who writes as follows :—'‘ Dazzling flashes of flame shot high into the air, the reflection in the sky strongly 398 resembling the Aurora Borealis. Every train resembled a blazing comet, being followed by a long stream of flame and The whole line glistened with beautiful electrical discharges. Thousands of persons walked the streets watch- ing the strange spectacle.’’ This seems to open out fresh possibilities for electric railways in catering for the public. Tue preliminary account of the international balloon ascents of December 4, published by Dr. Hergesell, show that France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia and the United States (Blue Hill) took part in the experiments. Both manned and unmanned balloons and kites were used; the highest altitudes attained were :—Itteville (near Paris), 14,823 metres, lowest temperature —52°9 C., temperature on the ground —4°8; Strassburg, 16,500 metres, minimum temperature —65°2, on the ground —7°8; Berlin, 14,465 metres, temperature —35°, on the ground —11°'5, the lowest temperature was —46°7 at an altitude of 9670 metres; Pavlovsk, 17,700 metres, the lowest temperature was re- corded at 11,220 metres, —63°°5, on the ground —20°7; at Blue Hill the wind was not strong enough to raise the kite higher than 1100 metres; an inversion of temperature oceurred at the height of 1000 metres. The European ascents were made in an area of high barometric pressure. Symons’s Meteorological Magazine for February contains the first of a proposed series of articles on the Canadian climate, by Mr. R. F. Stupart, director of the Meteorological Service of Canada. These articles bid fair to be of consider- able interest, and will dispel the popular idea that Canada is an exceedingly cold country. Ordinary readers may not at first realise that a large portion of Ontario lies as far south as the south of France, that Toronto is further south than Florence, and that the southern point of Ontario is further south than Rome. Referring to Vancouver, the author points out that the rainfall along the exposed western coast exceeds 100 inches, but in the more eastern districts it is less than half that amount. ‘‘ The mean monthly and annual temperatures correspond very closely with those found in parts of England; the summers are quite as long, and severe frost scarcely ever occurs.’’ Crossing to the mainland, about 70 miles from Vancouver, the observations taken at an experimental farm give the mean temperature of January as 33°, and of July 64°; the lowest temperature on record is —13°, and the highest 97°. Further eastward the summers are warmer and the winters are colder, but bright, dry weather is the rule. In the prairie country the winters are at times very cold, but the air being dry, a temperature of —20° causes no inconvenience to ordinary daily avocations, and early in May the prairies are carpeted with flowers. Mr. L. H. Murpocn describes (Monthly Weather Review, October, 1902, vol. xxx. No. 10) some interesting facts re- lative to the variation of precipitation at Salt Lake City, the water-level of the Great Salt Lake and some rainfall records from other localities in the States. The curves which he gives in the paper show a good agreement between the variation of the rainfall and the level of the lake, which led him to deduce that from 1827 to 1864 there was a dry cycle, from 1865 to 1886 a wet cycle, and from 1887 to the present time another dry cycle. To investigate the universality of these dry and wet periods he examined several American stations of about the same latitude. He found that the country west of the Rocky Mountains had its wettest cycle from 1866 to 1887, while the middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys had their heaviest precipitation from 1840 to 1859; thus, while the central portion of the country was receiving abundant rainfall, the west of the Rocky Mountains ex- perienced ‘‘ the longest dry cycle of which we have any record.’’ At the present time, from San Francisco to NO. 1739, VOL. 67] sparks. NATURE [l- ERRUARY 26, 1903 Baltimore a dry cycle is in progress, and it is stated that “the past fifteen years have been the driest fifteen con- secutive years on record for all the stations named, except Sacramento, and the drought is equally well marked there, but the fifteen years from 1851 to 1865 were a trifle drier.’” Mr. Murdoch examined the sun-spot curve to see if he could trace any connection between these periods of wetness and dryness, but he found none, years of minimum spots being sometimes excessively wet and sometimes excessively dry, and the same for the years of maximum sun-spots. How long will the present dry cycle continue? he asks, and he points out that a correct answer to this question would be worth millions of dollars to the people of the United States. In No. 13 (1902) of the Annalen der Physik, Herr Hans Lehmann publishes a list of the wave-lengths of the iron spectrum between A 6811°30 and A 8690°98, which should prove a useful standard of reference for wave-lengths in this region. Referring to Sir William Abney’s conclusion. that there is an upper limit to the spectra of certain metals, which the latter photographed during his experiments on the ultra-red region, Herr Lehmann states that his own experiments tend to confirm this conclusion. ; Pror. J. TRowsRIDGE, who has been studying powerful electric dischiarges from condensers through hydrogen con- tained in silica-glass vacuum tubes, finds that by using this material for his tubes he can obtain and examine the most intense light yet studied in a laboratory (Electrical Review, November 22, 1902). His experiments show that to the eye the light of hydrogen appears to give a continuous spectrum, though photography reveals many bright and dark lines in the ultra-violet. Prof. Trowbridge considers that his results have an important bearing upon theories of the nature and constitution of stars and of the sun’s spectrum, and that they open a new field in spectrum analysis. Ar Brescia in September, 1902, the Seismological Society of Italy held its first congress. An account of the proceed- ings, which extended over five days, and were largely de- voted to seismometry, the Society publishes in its Bulletin, Nos. 4 and 5, vol. viii. One important discussion referred to the rate at which recording surfaces should be moved. Experience suggests that the speed to be adopted depends very largely upon the character of the earthquakes which are being studied. With earthquakes of local origin, waves with a period of 1/20 or 1/10 of a second may occur, whilst earthquakes of distant origin consist of waves which vary in period from 5 to 60 seconds. To obtain an open diagram of the former, the speed required for the recording surface should be so very much higher than for the latter that it would seem necessary to employ different types of apparatus for different types of earthquakes. Other discussions re- lated to the form of unfelt seismic waves, modifications of the Rossi-Forel scale, the probable value of continuous determinations of the value of g in the vicinity of volca- noes, the establishment of a magnetic observatory in Sestola, to seismic periodicities and to other subjects. Many instruments and diagrams were exhibited, and under its able president, Prof. Pietro Tacchini, the Society is to be congratulated on the encouragement it has given to seismic research. WE have received a paper by Father Algué, S.J., director of the Philippine Weather Bureau, on ground temperature observations at Manila. Underground temperatures have been regularly observed in Manila since the year 1895, with four thermometers placed 59°06 in., 29°53 in., 17°72 in. and. 13°78 in. below the surface of the ground, and more recently three more have been added at depths of 9°84 in., 19°68 in. FEBRUARY 26, 1903] and 39°38 in. Discussing the temperatures at 19°68 in. and 39°38 in. in detail, Father Algué finds that at the former depth the minimum of the year falls in December and the maximum in May; the minimum of the day occurs at 6 a.m., a secondary minimum at noon, and the maximum about 10 a.m. ‘The daily range varies from about 6° C. in April to about 3° C. in the coldest months of the year; temperature is nearly constant from midnight to 6 a.m. At a depth of 39°38 in. the minimum temperature usually falls in December and the maximum in May; a large oscil- lation takes place from about 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by a slight descent until 11 a.m.; from January to May temperature remains low to about 4 p.m., rises slightly until 5 p.m., and then remains steady all night until 6 a.m. Tue affective quality of auditory rhythm is the subject of a paper by Mr. Robert MacDougall in the Psychological Review for January, which deals more particularly with the external conditions of pleasurable or painful feeling in thythm. Mr. MacDougall considers that the qualities of a thythmical sequence which render it gay or restful are not attributable to secondary associations, but to the rhythm itself, and in particular to a relation of agreement between the rate of the rhythm and the prevailing mood of the observer. Variations in intensity of the rhythmical element are much less marked in their effect than variations of tempo. In regard to the proportion between the lengths of the various elements within the rhythm, it is found that those forms are the most pleasing in which the accentuated element is lengthened (as is commonly done in the recital of music or poetry), but a marked difference exists between trochaic and dactylic forms. In the former, equality of the two elements is the least pleasing form, while inverted types in which the unaccented element is lengthened have a peculiar character of their own which produces an agree- able sensation. In the dactylic form, the inversion of the intervals so as to give greater length to the unaccented element produces a more displeasing effect than absolute uniformity. The feeling of monotony when a rhythm is repeated is attributed to the tendency to differentiate be- tween successive groups, and to combine them into larger chythmical unities. The pleasure derived from pure rhythm is more marked in music than in poetry, where its continuity is continually interrupted by the stream of images aroused by the articulate sounds which support it. Mr. W. R. Ocirvie Grant, of the Natural History Museum, has started on a collecting expedition to the Azores. Such an excellent all-round collector ought to obtain many novelties. THE case of ‘“‘ recent additions’’ in the central hall of the British Natural History Museum contains an interest- ing series illustrative of burrowing animals. The exhibit at present includes a number of mammals, such as the common mole, star-nosed mole, golden moles, sand-moles, naked sand-rat, marsupial mole and duckbill, together with various burrowing snakes, beetles, molluscs, &c., as well as one species of bird. In Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift of February 8 Dr. von Linden concludes his paper on the markings of animals, making special reference to the effects of change of temperature on those of the Lepidoptera, and pointing out that by means of such variations what are practically new species may be artificially produced. In the course of the second part of his article on the nests of bees, published in the Biologisches Centralblatt of Feb- ruary 1, Dr. von Buttel-Reepen publishes a phylogenetic table of the Apidz, in which the honey-bees (Apinz) and NU. 1739, VOL. 67 | NATURE 399 the stingless bees (Meliponinw) are regarded as forming diverging branches the ancestral humble-bees (Bombinz). from In response to a suggestion of Prof. Bardeleben, to the effect that a fresh study of the anatomy of generalised types of the different groups of vertebrates could scarcely fail to lead to good results, Dr. H. H. Wilder undertook the de- tailed examination of the skeleton of the American spotted salamander (Necturus maculatus). The result of his work, with numerous illustrations, forms vol..v., No. 9, of the Memoirs of the Boston Natural History Society. In a note in vol. xxvi. of the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, Mr. M. W. Lyon records the interesting fact that the females of the American bats formerly known as Atalapha, but now generally termed Lasiurus, are furnished with two pairs of mamme, and generally produce from three to four young ones at a birth. A photograph of a female of the common North American L. borealis, with four young, is reproduced. Later on in the same volume Dr. L. Stejneger records the rediscovery of the Salamandra quadrimaculata of Holbrook, which inhabits Georgia and the Carolinas, and is entitled to rank as a dis- tinct species of the genus Desmognathus. Tue Irish Naturalist for February records the breeding of that essentially Arctic bird, the red-necked phalarope, in the west of Ireland. In a series of notes on the birds of the Outer Hebrides, published in the Annals of Scottish Natural History for 1902 and January, 1903, Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown adds the same species, together with the lesser tern, the pochard and the scaup-duck to the list of birds breeding in those islands. Mr. Brown mentions that although about 25,000 sea-birds of various kinds are annually killed by the islanders for food, yet this slaughter has no perceptible effect on the numbers of the feathered inhabitants of the islands. On the contrary, fulmar-petrels are steadily on the increase, and annually extending their breeding range. Tue Emu for January contains the presidential address of Colonel Legge read before the congress of the Austral- asian Ornithologists’ Union. Reference is made to the good work done by the members of the Union, and especially to the success which has attended their official journal, the Emu. It is hoped that before long means may be found of illustrating that periodical, when necessary, with coloured plates. One of the most important papers to which the president referred is Mr. Le Souéf’s note on the feathers of the emeu, in which it was pointed out that although the barring characteristic of the nestling plumage usually vanishes in the first year, yet that it occasionally reappears. Regret was expressed that the Tasmanian emeu, which prob- ably belonged to a distinct race, was allowed to be extermin- ated before its characteristics were described. An excellent plate of a little penguin, with young, on its nest, forms a feature of the January number. IN a paper on the Coleoptera of Colorado, published in vol. v., No. 3, of the Bulletin of the Iowa University, Mr. H. F. Wickham makes the following general remarks :-— “The phenomena of distribution in Colorado are of much interest. Within a radius of a few miles we may find assem- blages of species representing at least three distinct faune. The first, that of the great plains surrounding the moun- tains, is marked by a great development of wingless or imperfectly winged forms, probably largely invaders from the south, where we may suppose that the arid deserts first made their appearance, and where this characteristic feature is more in evidence among the beetles. Occasionally these forms leave their natural haunts and extend for long NATURE 400 distances up the river valleys. . . . As we enter the timbered country on the higher foot-hills and lower mountain sides, we encounter a fauna which, while not unmixed with species that have come up from the plains, shows a strong affinity to the life about our Great Lakes. Higher still—from about 8000 to 9000 feet—we meet with species of genera still more boreal in their habits. Above timber line the peaks sustain a few beetles which seem to be of Arctic origin, left probably by the retreating ice-sheets of the Glacial period.”’ In the January issue of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, Dr. Tims discusses the evolution of the cheek- teeth of mammals. In the development of the premolar series it is considered that the increase or suppression of the cusps of the cingulum has played a part. The molars appear to have attained complexity by the fusion of two or more simple teeth in the same line. The molars of a rabbit re- present a simple type, in which two cones, with their cingu- lum, have been fused. In most rodents two cones seem to be involved, although in the water-vole four may be united. The two outer cusps on the upper molar of a dog represent two elements united by fusion, and. the evolution of the molars of ruminants is believed to run on parallel lines. The author adopts the concrescence theory of dental evolution, so far as it relates to fusion in the molars of cones situated in the same line ; but is unable to find evidence of fusion out of this line, and cannot accept the view that cones of two dentitions are represented in the molars. Tue London Stereoscopic Company has sent us a list of cameras, lenses, optical lanterns and other apparatus con- nected with photography which are offered for sale at greatly reduced prices in order to make room for new articles. Opportunity is thus afforded for obtaining or supplementing a photographic outfit at much less than the usual cost. Tue February number of the Parents’ Review, the monthly organ of the Parents’ National Educational Union, contains two articles treating of two distinct branches of nature- study. The first, on ‘‘ The Boughs of the Branstock,’’ by Mr. W. G. Collingwood, deals with the pictorial representa- tion of trees in an artistic manner; the second, ‘‘ A Plain Account of a Kerry Potato-patch,’’ by Miss E. A. Magill, describes certain experiments designed to test what could be done by one individual with the least possible capital in the cultivation of a kitchen garden. In pursuing his researches on the emanations from radio- active bodies, M. Henri Becquerel has recognised that the rays given off by polonium are identical with the Kanal- strahlen of Goldstein. In the current number of the Comptes rendus, M. Becquerel classifies the various rays as follows :— Uranium emits only one kind of radiation, charged with negative electricity and possessing high penetrating power. The emanation from polonium is charged with positive electricity, and is very easily absorbed, whilst the emanation from thorium and radium contains both kinds of rays. Tue additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include an Agile Wallaby (Macropus agilis), a Brush Turkey (Talegalla lathami), a Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingi) from Australia, presented by Mr. H. W. Fawdon; a Two-spotted Paradoxure (Nandinia bino- tata) from West Africa, presented by Mr. C. W. Wilson; two Red-sided Tits (Parus varius), European, presented by Mr. Howard Williams; a Chimpanzee (Anthro popithecus troglodytes) from West Africa, three Coquerel’s Mouse Lemurs (Chirogaleus coquereli) from Madagascar, three Bearded Lizards (Amphibolurus barbatus), a Blue-tongued Lizard (Tiliqua scincoides) from Australia, two Black-headed Buntings (Emberiza melanocephala), European, deposited. NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | j abolished. [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE NorTH PoLar ReGion.—In the February number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, M. Flammarion gives an interesting description, em- bodying a catalogue of positions and several charts, of a series of photographs of the region surrounding the North Celestial Pole. The article describes the obtaining of the photographs and also shows how they indicate very clearly the movement of the pole among the surrounding stars during short intervals of time. Inthe catalogue, 356 stars, all within 2° of the dole, are arranged in the order of their North Polar distances on September 3, 1902, and their magnitudes, coordinates and numbers in the Redhill (Carrington’s 1857) catalogue of cir- cumpolar stars are also given. The charts show the movement of the pole among these stars during the period 1600 to 2200 A.D., and that Polaris, which is at present No. 129 in the catalogue, will attain its minimum N,P.D. in the year 2104. A DEVICE FOR OBTAINING Goop SEEING.—In a paper com- municated to the American Journal of Science for February, Prof. S. P. Langley describes a novel device which he has found efficient in producing steady images of the sun and stars when observed with the reflector of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and he believes that it will have the same effect when used with refractors. Generally the point aimed at in previous attempts to obtain ‘‘ good seeing ’’ has been to abolish all air currents in and about the telescope tube, but Prof. Langley has found by experiment that the definition is very little improved when this course is followed. After various experiments at different altitudes he arrived at the conclusion that it is the air within a few hundred yards, or even feet, of the tele- scope that has the greatest disturbing effect, and he en- deavoured to find some method of tranquillising this. The reflector he was using was fed by a coelostat, and he caused the reflected beam ‘to pass through a long three-walled tube which was covered by a canvas tent, so that the contained air was thoroughly well insulated from the variations of temperature and the draughts in the surrounding atmo- sphere. Very little relief was found as a result of this arrangement, so Prof. Langley tried an experiment of a somewhat paradoxical character, which he found to answer very well. He drew a strong current of air through the inner tube and introduced cross currents by several inlets at various points in the length, thereby thoroughly agitating and mixing the enclosed air. Taking some artificial double stars for his objects, he found that doubles which were blurred and inseparable under the former condition were plainly visible and sharply separated when the air was thus agitated. When the sun was observed under the new con- ditions it was found that the ‘‘ boiling ’’ on the limb, which is normally so annoying to the observer, was very nearly No quantitative results are yet ready for publica- tion, but Prof. Langley has no doubts as to the general advantages to be obtained from the application of his method. PRoPpER MOTION OF THE SUN COMPARED WITH STELLAR VELOCITIES.—In a paper communicated to Section A of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Profs. Frost and Adams, of Yerkes Observatory, give the results they have obtained, using the Bruce spectroscope, of the radial velocities of twenty stars having spectra of the Orion type. The table of radial velocities included in the paper shows that of all the stars considered, those between 3 hours and 7 hours R.A. have a positive motion, i.e. they are re- ceding, whilst those in the opposite region of the heavens, 16 hours to 20 hours R.A., have a negative motion, i.e. they are approaching. This difference is chiefly due to the velocity of the proper motion of the sun, and if the amount of this motion be subtracted from the values obtained, the remaining proper motions of the stars are very small, scarcely any of them having such great velocities as that of the sun. Discovery oF ANciENT ASTRONOMICAL REcorDs.—During Prof. Hilprecht’s excavations at Nippur, a library, which it is estimated contains 150,000 tablets, has been discovered. Many of the tablets refer to ancient astronomical records, and it is expected that when these are finally translated, some remarkable facts concerning the state of astronomical know- ledge during the period about 2300 B.c. will be disclosed. FEBRUARY 26, 1903] NATORE 401 ANIMAL THERMOSTAT) AN THERMOSTAT is an apparatus, or instrument, for auto- matically maintaining a constant temperature in a space, ora piece of solid or fluid matter with varying temperatures in the surrounding matter. Where and of what character is the thermostat by which the temperature of the human body is kept at about 98°"4 Fahrenheit ? It has long been known that the source of heat drawn upon by this thermostat is the combination of food with oxygen, when the surrounding temperature is below that of the body. The discovery worked out by Lavoisier, Laplace and Magnus still holds good, that the place of the combination is chiefly in tissues surrounding minute tubes through which blood circulates through all parts of the body, and not mainly in the place where the furnace is stoked by the introduction of food, in the shape of chyle, into the circulation, nor in the lungs where oxygen is absorbed into the blood. It is possible, however, that the controlling mechanism by which the temperature is kept to 98°°4 may be in the central parts, about, or in, the pumping station (the heart); but it may seem more probable that it is directly effective in the tissues or small blood-vessels in which the combination of oxygen with food takes place. But how does the thermostat act when the surrounding tem- perature is anything above 98°°4 and the atmosphere saturated with moisture so that perspiration could not evaporate from the surface? If the breath goes out at the temperature of the body and contains carbonic acid, what becomes of the heat of com- bustion of the carbon thus taken from the food? It seems as if a large surplus of heat must somehow be carried out by the breath: because heat is being conducted in from without across the skin all over the body; and the food and drink we may suppose to be at the surrounding temperature when taken into the body. Much is wanted in the way of experiment and observation to test the average temperature of healthy persons living in a thoroughly moist atmosphere at temperatures considerably above 98°-4; and to find how much, if at all, it is above 98°°4. Experiments might also, safely, I believe, be tried on healthy persons by keeping them for considerable times in baths at 106° Fahr. with surrounding atmosphere at the same tem- perature and thoroughly saturated with vapour of water. The temperature of the mouth (as ordinarily taken in medical practice) should be tested every two minutes or so. The tem- perature and quantity and moisture and carbonic acid of the breath should also be measured as accurately as possible. P.S,, December 5, 1902.—Since the communication of this note, my attention has been called to a most interesting paper by Dr. Adair Crawford in the Philosophical Transactions for 1871 (‘* Hutton’s Abridgments,” vol. xv. p. 147), “‘ Experiments on the Power that Animals, when placed in certain circumstances, possess of producing Cold.” Dr. Crawford’s title expresses perfectly the question to which I desired to call the attention of the British Association ; and, as contributions towards answer- ing it, he describes some very important discoveries by experi- ment in the following passage, which I quote from his paper :— “*The following experiments were made with a view to deter- mine with greater certainty the causes of the refrigeration in the above instances. To discover whether the cold produced by a living animal placed in air hotter than its body be not greater than what would be produced by an equal mass of inanimate matter, Dr. Crawford took a living and a dead frog, equally moist, and of nearly the same bulk, the former of which was at 67°, the latter at 68°, and laid them on flannel in air which had been raised to 106°. In the course of twenty-five minutes, the order of heating was as annexed. Min. Air Dead Frog Living Frog rae eta" calc OR avec, ves!) ORE pp LOZ! 2 ponies mi 2 OS) PREM ene LOO), “wach seas Bees oa ODEN A Tm LOO ws. se IS aes ye) Fike) PROS ee OS) .c5° ca, Mole SC ioe 1 By Lord Kelvin. Belfast, 1902. 2 Observations by Governor Ellis in 1758 ; teachings of Dr. Cullen prior to 1765; very daring and important experiments by Dr. Fordyce on himself in heated rooms, communicated to the Royal Society of London in 1774. 3 In the two following experiments, the thermometers were placed in contact with theskin of the animals under the axilla.—Oric. NO. 1739, VOL. 67] Read before Section A of the British Association, ‘‘The thermometer being introduced into the stomach, the internal heat of the animals was found to be the same with that at the surface. Hence it appears that the living frog acquired heat more slowly than the dead one. Its vital powers must therefore have been active in the generation of cold. “To determine whether the cold produced in this instance depended solely on the evaporation from the surface, increased by the energy of the vital principle, a living and dead frog were taken at 75° and were immersed in water at 98°, the living frog being placed in such a situation as not to interrupt respiration. ! Min. Dead Frog Living Frog Int 8 81 9 2 882 85 on go} 87 9 5 91% 89 9; OP. Rat eamcee git eto Nene. abe 89 Apres een leces esis gis Roel sever Sas 89 “These experiments prove that living frogs have the faculty of resisting heat, or producing cold, when immersed in warm water ; and the experiments of Dr. Fordyce prove that the human body has the same power in a moist as well as in a dry air; it is therefore highly probable that this power does not depend solely on evaporation. “Tt may not be improper here to observe that healthy frogs in an atmosphere above 70° keep themselves at a lower tem- perature than the external air, but are warmer internally than at the surface of their bodies ; for when the air was 77°, a frog was found to be 68°, the thermometer being placed in contact with the skin; but when the thermometer was introduced into the stomach, it rose to 705°. It may also be proper to mention that an animal of the same species placed in water at 61° was found to be nearly 614° at the surface, and internally it was 663°. These observations are meant to extend only to frogs living in air or water at the common temperature of the atmosphere in summer. They do not hold with respect to those animals when plunged suddenly into a warm medium, as in the preceding experiments. **To determine whether animals also have the power of producing cold when surrounded with water above the standard of their natural heat, a dog at 102° was immersed in water at 114°, the thermometer being closely applied to the skin under the axilla, and so much of his head being uncovered as to allow him a free respiration. ° ° In 5 minutes the dog was 108, water 112 » 6 » » 109, 5, 112 y) II >» » 108, ,, 112,the respiration having become very rapid. » 13 » » 108, ,, 112, the respiration being still more rapid. 9, 30 nA by 109, ,, I12, the animal then ina very languid state. ‘*Small quantities of blood being drawn from the femoral artery, and from a contiguous vein, the temperature did not seem to be much increased above the natural standard, and the sensible heat of the former appeared to be nearly the same with that of the latter. “*In this experiment a remarkable change was preduced in the appearance of the venous blood ; for it is well known that in the natural state the colour of the venous blood is a dark red, that of the arterial being light and florid ; but after the animal, in the experiment in question, had been immersed in warm water for half an hour, the venous blood assumed very nearly the hue of the arterial, and resembled it so much in appearance that it was difficult to distinguish between them. It is proper to observe that the animal which was the subject of this experi- ment had been previously weakened by losing a considerable quantity of blood a few days before. When the experiment was repeated with dogs which had not suffered a similar evacuation, the change in the colour of the venous blood was more gradual ; but in every instance in which the trial was made, and it was repeated six times, the alteration was so remarkable that the blood which was taken in the warm bath could readily be dis- tinguished from that which had been taken from the same vein 1 In the above experiment, the water, by the cold frogs and by the agitation which it suffered during their immersion, was reduced nearly to g1h’.— ORIG. 402 NAT OTE [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 before immersion by those who were unacquainted with the motives or circumstances of the experiment. ‘©To discover whether a similar change would be produced in the colour of the venous blood in hot air, a dog at 102° was placed in air at 134°. In ten minutes the temperature of the dog was 1044°, that of the air being 130°. In fifteen minutes the dog was 106°, the air 130°. A small quantity of blood was then taken from the jugular vein, the colour of which was sensibly altered, being much lighter than in the natural state. The effect produced by external heat on the colour of the venous blood seems to confirm the following opinion, which was first suggested by my worthy and ingenious friend, Mr. Wilson, of Glasgow. Admitting that the sensible heat of animals depends on the separation of absolute heat from the blood by means of its union with the phlogistic principle in the minute vessels, may there not be a certain temperature at which that fluid is no longer capable of combining with phlogiston, and at which it must of course cease to give off heat? It was partly witha view to investigate the truth of this opinion that Dr. Crawford was led to make the experiments recited above.” These views of Dr. Crawford and ‘‘ his worthy and ingenious friend, Mr. Wilson,! of Glasgow,” express, about as well as it was possible to express before the chemical discoveries of car- bonic acid and oxygen, the now well-known truth that oxygen carried along with, but not chemically combined with, food in the arteries, combines with the carried food in the capillaries or surrounding tissues in the outlying regions and yields carbonic acid to the returning venous blood, this carbonic acid giving the venous blood its darker colour, and being ultimately rejected from the blood and from the body through the lungs, and carried away in the breath. Crawford’s very important dis- covery that the venous blood of a dog which had been kept for some time ina hot-water bath at 112° Fahr. was almost undis- tinguishable from its arterial blood proves that it contained much less than the normal amount of carbonic acid, and that it may even have contained no carbonic acid at all. Chemical analysis of the breath in the circumstances would be most interesting ; and it is to be hoped that this chemical experiment will be tried, not only on dogs, but on men. Jt seems, indeed, with our present want of experimental knowledge of animal thermodynamics, and with such knowledge as we have of physical thermodynamics, that the breath of an animal kept for a considerable time in a hot-water bath above the natural temperature of its body may be found to contain no carbonic acid at all. But even this would not explain the geveration of cold which Dr. Crawford so clearly and pertinaciously pointed ovt. Very careful experimenting ought to be performed to ascertain whether or not there is ‘a surplus of oxygen in the breath ; more oxygen breathed out than taken in. If this is found to be the case, the avzal cold would be explained by deoxidation (unburning) of matter within the body. If this matter is wholly or partly water, free hydrogen might be found in the breath ; or the hydrogen of water left by oxygen might be disposed of in the body, in less highly oxygenated compounds than those existing when animal heat is wanted for keeping up the temperature of the body, or when the body is dynamically doing work. BACTERIAL TREATMENT OF CRUDE SEWAGE. “THE fourth report on the experimental treatment of crude sewage in settling tanks and coke-beds has just been made public by the London County Council.? The work under notice was commenced in April, 1898, at the Barking and Crossness outfall works, where the sewage of the County of London and of certain neighbouring districts is discharged into the lower Thames. The plan of experiment was suggested by the chemical adviser to the Council, and has been carried out under his direc- tion and supervision, with the cooperation of the chemists and superintendents at the outfalls. A very small fraction of the sewage only has been thus treated, but in quality it ha’ fairly 1 Who, no doubt, was Dr. Alex. Wilson, first professor of astronomy in the University of Glasgow (1760-1784) ; best known now for his ingenious views regarding sun-spots. * “Bacterial Treatment of Sewage.” Fourth Report by Dr. Clowes. Published for the County Council by P. S. King and Son, 2, Great Smith Street, Westminster.) NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | represented the immense volume which arrives continuously from the sewer system of the metropolitan area. The results which are summarised in the report may therefore be looked upon as representative, and the conclusions and recommenda- tions which have been founded upon them may be considered to be reasonably applicable to the entire metropolitan sewage discharge. The report gives a general résumé of the four years’ experimental work, which has now led to results of so satisfactory a nature that the tentative treatment has been dis- continued with the view of making a commencement of work on the large scale. ° The early experiments were carried out with crude sewage, which had only been screened from its grosser suspended matters. This was allowed to flow into tanks filled with frag- ments of hard coke of uniform size. As soon as this bed was filled to the surface of the coke, the sewage was allowed to remain at rest for two or three hours and was then drained off from below. After the coke had remained for about five hours with air in the interstices, a second quantity of sewage was allowed to flow in as before. This cycle of processes was repeated for many months, and in some later experiments for more than a year. The sewage was clarified by this treatment, but no purification from dissolved organic matter occurred in the early stages with a new bed. After the bed had been at work for about a week, however, it gradually began to effect a marked purification of the sewage from its dissolved putrescible matter. After two or three weeks, the contact of the sewage with the coke effected a removal of from 50 to 60 per cent. of the dissolved putrescible matter. This degree of purification was steadily maintained when the bed had been once ‘‘ matured,” and the effluent sewage was found to be non-putrescible even when it was maintained at:summer-heat (So° F.) in an incubator. Hence the oxidisable organic matter which remained in the effluent was not such as would lead to offence when the effluent was discharged into an ordinary watercourse. The treatment of the crude sewage, as judged by . chemical criteria, was therefore successful. Dr. Houston, however, stated that, bacteriologically considered, this effluent was not appreciably better than the clear untreated sewage. But this he considered to be unimportant in the case of an effluent which was discharged into the muddy and brackish lower river, the water from which could never be used for drinking purposes. A more serious difficulty, however, was soon encountered. It became necessary to ascertain what was the working sewage capacity of the coke-bed, in order to be able to state what area of land would be required to be laid down in coke-beds for the treatment of the whole of the London sewage. On gauging at frequent intervals the sewage capacity of a bed, it was found that the capacity decreased at a uniform and rapid rate, and that after use for about two years the bed would become practically choked and unable to receive its supply of sewage. An examination of the coke surfaces showed that a gelatinous growth had formed upon them; this proved to be bacterial in nature, and necessary for producing the purifying effect. It was found, however, that this growth was impregnated with a certain amount of grit, evidently road detritus, and that woody fibre from the wood pavements and chaff and straw fragments from the horse droppings in the streets were also present in some quantity. It appeared that the gelatinous bacterial growth was a normal and necessary result and was definite in amount, but that the other matters derived from the street traffic accumulated on the coke and reduced the sewage capacity of the bed at an almost uniform rate. Experiments on the preliminary sedimentation of the sewage were made by allowing it to flow through troughs and tanks on its way to the bed, and they proved that the gritty and cellulose matters could be almost completely separated from the sewage before it reached the coke-bed, and that this could be effected without allowing the comminuted fzecal matter to settle in any large degree. The matter thus separated by subsidence could be dried and in large part consumed in a destructor, the mineral portion being left as a useful clinker. The sedimented sewage was found to undergo satisfactory purification in the coke-bed without diminishing its sewage capacity. It was evident that coke-beds must not be allowed to receive mineral detritus from the wear and tear of the roads, and that the cellulose matters derived from the roads were equally objectionable since they were not removed by bacterial action in the coke-bed as FEBRUARY 26, 1903 | NATURE 403 rapidly as they were introduced by the sewage. But both the grit and the ceilulose matters could be separated by sedimentation ; and the cellulose matters might, according to modern research, be slowly resolved by the action of suitable bacteria, if such could be established. Accordingly, it was arranged that the crude sewage should undergo a preliminary settlement in a deep tank, where the sediment should remain undisturbed in the hope that bacterial resolution of the organic matters in the deposit might occur. ‘This settling or so-called ‘‘ septic” tank was found after a time to effect the resolution of the cellulose matters most satis- factorily, the necessary bacteria being evidently contained in the sewage. The amount of sediment which should have been found at the bottom of the tank was estimated by carefully gauging the volume of sewage which passed through the tank in the course of six months and determining the amount of suspended matter which the sewage contained. When the actual amount of sediment present in the tank at the end of this period was measured, it was found to correspond to about 50 per cent. of the total quantity introduced, and the sediment which remained consisted largely of the grit which had not been previously separated. It was therefore possible to dispose of the trouble- some cellulose matter by long-maintained bacterial action in the settling tank, and to prevent it from clogging the coke-beds. The final experimental stage consisted in passing the screened crude sewage through a settling tank, which was of such capacity that the sewage required five hours to pass through it and was so arranged that the sediment was undisturbed by the flow. The effluent from this tank was received successively in a series of coke-beds, in which it was treated in the way already described. After two hours’ contact with the coke, it issued as an inoffensive and non-putrescible effluent which readily main- tained the life of fish. The sediment in the settling tank was left entirely undisturbed. As soon as it had become permeated with its suitable bacteria, more than 50 per cent. of it was re- solved into gaseous and soluble substances, and it was certain that a preliminary sedimentation of the grit must have further increased this percentage. The sewage capacity of the coke-bed, on the other hand, was carefully gauged at intervals. It was found that the capacity diminished during the formation of the bacterial growth upon the coke surfaces, and that when this was complete the capacity of the bed was about 30 per cent. of the whole space which had been filled with coke and with sewage. No permanent alteration in capacity occurred during many months, although the capacity temporarily rose or fell by a few units per cent. from the average. It appeared, therefore, that the above method, of treatment was applicable to London sewage and that it might now be applied on the large scale. The experimental work was ac- cordingly suspended, and the conclusions arrived at were stated and recommendations were framed in the following words :— ” ** Conclusions arrived at by the Experimental Treatment. ““(1) That by suitable continuous undisturbed sedimentation the raw sewage is deprived of matter which would choke the coke-beds, and the sludge which settles ou iis reduced in amount by bacterial action to a very considerable extent. This reduction might undoubtedly be increased by the preliminary removal of road detritus. “‘(2) That the coke-beds, after they have developed their full purifying power by use, have an average sewage capacity of about 30 per cent. of the whole space which has been filled with coke. “<(3) That the sewage capacity of the coke-bed, when the bed is fed with settled sewage, fluctuates slightly, but undergoes no permanent reduction. The bed does not choke, and its purifying power undergoes steady improvement for some time. **(4) That coke of suitable quality does not disintegrate during use. ‘*(5) That the ‘ bacterial effluent’ of settled sewage from the coke-beds does not undergo offensive putrefaction at all even in summer heat, and can never become offensive. That this effluent satisfactorily supports the respiration of fish. **(6) That the use of chemicals is quite unnecessary under any circumstances when the above method of treatment is adopted. ** Recommendations founded on the above Concluszons, “‘Tt would appear desirable, therefore, without delay, to com- mence the-treatment of the London sewage by the above bacterial method. The construction of the necessary works will NO. 1739, VOL. 67] take time and will involve expenditure, but“unless it is taken in hand, all considerations tend to show that owing to the increased abstraction of water by the water companies, both at their existing intakes and at the newly constructed reservoirs for storm water at Staines, a large portion of the lower river will continuously deteriorate. This deterioration would arise from the increase in the amount of the discharge of sewage effluent and the decrease in the upper river flush. Possible trouble arising from these causes will be absolutely prevented by adopting, under proper conditions and on a large scale, the treatment which has been strikingly successful on the experi- mental scale. It must be remembered that the condition of the river cannot be improved by any suddenly adopted action. “If the treatment is introduced without delay and is gradually extended it may reasonably be expected that the increasing de- terioration in the lower river water will first be checked and will ultimately be prevented ; while the gradual development of the treatment will cause the expenditure to be spread over a period of years, and will prevent it from being unduly burden- some. ““Tt must be remembered that the present settling channels would serve, as at present, for settling purposes, but by the altered method -of working them they would also act as sludge destroyers. They should, however, undoubtedly be preceded by grit chambers. “Tt must be further borne in mind that the expense involved in the purchase and application of chemicals would be dispensed with.” Other conclusions, which were incidentally arrived at during the above experimental work, may be mentioned. The material used for filling the bacteria bed seems to exert no considerable influence on the purification obtained ; coke proved to be the most efficient, ragstone containing calcium carbonate was less efficient, but the difference in efficiency was not of serious amount. The depth of the coke-bed did not materially affect its efficiency between the limits tried, which ranged from four feet to twelve feet. In the interspaces of the coke, even in the deepest bed, a satisfactory proportion of oxygen was present in the air; the bed was able to aérate itself without mechanical aid. The amount of sewage dealt with satisfactorily by the system of intermittent filling of the coke-bed described above was greater than that which could be similarly purified by a continuous supply furnished by sprinkling or by other methods of dis- tribution. The report concludes with detailed information concerning the bacterial treatment of their sewage by the authorities in forty-eight of the principal centres of population in this country. This information has been supplied by the responsible officers from the centres concerned and has been brought up to date of April 30,1902. A consideration of this information in conjunction with that supplied concerning the London experimental work will probably be felt to justify the opinion ‘‘ that the process (of bacterial treatment of sewage) has been uniformly successful when the construction and use of the necessary plant has been reasonably and properly carried out,” and that the metropolis may now safely adopt this ‘‘natural” method of sewage disposal. FRANK CLOWES. SILICA GLASS. AN FEW weeks ago we described some of the excellent results obtained by Messrs. Heraeus, of Hanau, in their attempts to produce apparatus of “‘ silica glass,’’ and Prof. Dewar has added point to our remarks by exhibit- ing at the Royal Institution a “liquid air holder ’’ made of silica, which had been made to order and sent by return of post, almost, from Hanau to London a few days before. Similar apparatus could have been made in England, it is true, but it could not have been produced by any means so quickly as at Hanau. Now we receive from America an account of an animated discussion on the subject of “* silica glass ’’ which lately took place at a meeting of the Ameri- can Electrochemical Society at Niagara Falls on the occasion of the reading of a paper, by Mr. R. S. Hutton, of Manchester, on his method of casting silica tubes in the electric furnace, which shows that our American cousins 404 are as fully aware of the importance of this subject as our German competitors. Truly, as Prof. Dewar said the other evening, there will soon be another “‘ lost industry ’’ if our practical men do not wake up. Silica glass making as an industry no doubt is still in earliest infancy, but though so young, it already shows signs of growth. But, alas! whilst two years ago England was first in this matter and the rest of the world, almost, nowhere, already England is only second, and is standing still, whilst Germany is first, and is going forward. Everyone who has worked with silica, and knows its properties and how comparatively easy it is to work with, foresees that soon silica glass will replace ordinary glass in many of its most important applications, and yet though the foundations of the coming new industry were laid in this country, none of our manufacturers has been willing to take the small risks and trouble involved in an attempt to carry out in the workshop, and with electric furnaces, the new processes, or modifications of them, which have been worked out in the laboratories and placed at their dis- posal by the experimenters. It is true that owing to the initiative of one firm—Messrs. Baird and Tatlock—silica glass made by Mr. Shenstone’s oxyhydrogen flame—or laboratory—process has for some time been available in this country. But can it be supposed that this essentially labor- atory process is the last word of science, or of workshop practice, on this subject, or is likely to hold the field per- manently, except for work on the small scale. It is still fresh in our memories how the makers of optical glass waited until German manufacturers, aided by German men of science, had revolutionised and captured their in- dustry. Unless something is done at once by the combined action of our men of science and manufacturers, history will repeat itself in the case of this new material. SIR WILLIAM HOOKER’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. SIR JOSEPH HOOKER contributes to the January number of the Annals of Botany a sketch of the life and labours of his father, Sir William Jackson Hooker, accom- panied by a portrait. Sir William Hooker was born at Nor- wich on July 6, 1785, and in due course attended the Norwich Grammar School, but little is known of the progress he made there, though his son tells us that at home he devoted him- self to entomology, drawing, and reading books of travel and natural history. Early in life he became interested in ornithology. That his entomological pursuits were, when still in his teens, appreciated by the veteran Kirby is evidenced by the latter having, in 1805, dedicated to him and his brother a species of Apion. The first evidence of his having taken up botany is the fact that he was the dis- coverer .in Britain, in 1805, of Buxbaumia aphylla. His first published paper, entitled ‘‘ Musci Nepalenses,’’ was read before the Linnean Society in June, 1807. In 1809, following the suggestion of Sir Joseph Banks, Hooker visited Iceland, and in 1813 his ** Journal of a Tour in Iceland’? was pub- lished, though it had been privately circulated in 1811. In 1816 he produced the first part of a work entitled ‘‘ Plantze Cryptogamicae, quae in plaga orbis novi Aequinoctialis colligerunt Alext von Humboldt et Aimat Bonpland.” The first volume of ‘‘ Musci Exotici’’ appeared in 1818 and the second in 1820. Hooker was in 1820 appointed pro- fessor of botany at Glasgow University, and remained there until 1841, when he was appointed director of the Botanic Gardens at Kew. At Glasgow he met with the greatest success, and his herbarium and library before he had been there ten years were reckoned as amongst the richest private ones in Europe, and botanists of every nationality repeatedly visited them. The scientific works published during the Glasgow period were very numerous, and Sir J. D. Hooker gives a list of them in an appendix. The directorship at Kew Gardens was held by Sir William for twenty-four years, until his death on August 12, 1865. From 1855 he was assisted by his son, Sir Joseph Hooker, who was in that year appointed assistant director. Such are a few of the many incidents in an exceedingly busy life. Sir Joseph Hooker has conferred a favour upon men of science by bringing together, in convenient compass, the leading facts of an illustrious career. NO. 1739, VOL. 67] NATURE [ FEBRUARY 26, 1903 UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGe.—Dr. E. J. Routh, F.R.S., has been appointed a governor of Dulwich College, and Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., a governor of Derby School. The special board for moral science propose that, in view of the progress of the department of experimental psycho- logy under Dr. Rivers, an annual grant of sol. shall be made towards the expenses of the department, and a special grant of 5o0l. for apparatus. Mr. W. L. Mollison, Clare, has been appointed an elector to the Plumian professorship of astronomy; Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S., has been appointed an elector to the same professor- ship, and to the Isaac Newton studentship; Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., of Manchester, an elector to the Jacksonian professorship of natural philosophy; Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., of Oxford, an elector to the chair of mineralogy ; and Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., an elector to the Caven- dish professorship of experimental physics. It is announced in the Globe of February 21 that a com- mission has been appointed in Pretoria to inquire what steps can be taken for the creation of an institution to form part of a teaching university to provide the highest training in the arts and sciences connected with mining and other in- dustries. Two Pfeiffer scholarships in science, each of the annual value of 48/., and tenable for three years at Bedford College for Women, will be offered for competition in June, 1903. Two Deccan scholarships, offered by Mrs. Thomson, of Poona, Bombay, of the value of 50l. each per annum for three years, will also be awarded. Tue principal of the Northampton Institute, London, Dr. R. Mullineux Walmsley, is being sent on a three months’ tour to the United States and Canada for the purpose of investigating the present position of technical education in those countries and its bearings upon industrial production in the subjects covered by the technological work of the Insti- tute, but more especially in the engineering industries. A STATUTE enacting that persons who have passed the Abiturienten examination at a gymnasium in Germany, Austro-Hungary or Switzerland shall be exempt from Re- sponsions and from the examination in an additional subject at Responsions at the University of Oxford was presented to a congregation of the University on February 17. The preamble of sthe statute was approved by congregation on February 3, and as no amendment had been proposed, the statute was submitted and approved. Str Witiiam Apney, K.C.B., F.R.S., has accepted the post of adviser to the Board of Education in matters con- nected with science, upon his retirement from the post of principal assistant secretary to the South Kensington branch of the Board on April 1 next. It has been decided from that date to organise a division of the staff of the Board for matters connected with technology and higher education in science and art. The President has appointed Mr. Grant Ogilvie (at present the director of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art under the Scottish Education Depart- ment) to be a principal assistant secretary of the Board in charge of this division as from April 1 next. The Hon. W. N. Bruce, assistant secretary of the Board, is to be pro- moted on that date to be principal assistant secretary in charge of another division of the Board, which will be organised to deal with secondary schools. Tue council of the Association of Technical Institutions, after consultation with the London Members of Parliament, has adopted resolutions urging that it is of importance that an Education Bill for London should be passed into law during the present session; that there should be but one education authority for London for all grades of education, and such authority should be the London County Council, | acting through an education committee constituted by statute; that a majority of this committee should be appointed by and out of the Council, and be so chosen that there shall be at least one County Council member from the: City of London and from each metropolitan borough; and the committee should also include one person nominated by a le a FEBRUARY 26, 1903] the City Corporation, persons having experience in educa- tion and knowledge of local educational requirements, and persons to be appointed by the County Council on the nomin- ation of certain suggested educational bodies to be specified in the Bill, among which are the University of London; the City and Guilds of London Institute; the trustees of the City Parochial Foundation; the Association of Technical In- stitutions; the Society of Arts; the London Chamber of Commerce; and five educational associations; that it is undesirable that there should be any delegation by the authority to such borough committees of powers with regard to education other than elementary. Ar the third yearly meeting of the Court of Governors of the University of Birmingham, held on February 18, the principal, Sir Oliver Lodge, referring to the work of the past session, said the University was now recognised by the Board of Education as an inspecting agency for secondary schools in the midland district, and they wanted to in- augurate a new system of examination and inspection, as thereby they could do much good and could help the new education authority not only in the city, but in the neigh- bouring counties. No doubt some of those present were, or would be, connected with the education authorities in the surrounding districts, and he would say to them, ‘‘ do not start new training colleges of your own detached from places of learning.’’ At conferences which he had attended at Cambridge and Oxford, at which headmasters and educa- tional workers from all parts of England were present, the opinion was unanimously expressed that teachers should be trained along with men preparing for other professions; that they should rub shoulders with professors and teachers not only in their own subjects, but in all subjects. He should like all teachers to train themselves to some extent both in science and in art. At the British Association, which would meet in September in Lancashire, Sir Norman Lockyer intended to devote a great part of his address to the duty of the State, and of England generally, in under- taking on a totally new and enlarged scale this vital subject to the future of this country. The University ought to take its share in the reorganisation of secondary education. Some secondary authorities were jealous of having university re- presentatives upon them, but they did not want to be there to look after the interests of the university which they re- presented, but to act as experts, as advisers, not as con- trollers. If only they could get as professor of education a man of the right type, they might hope to train teachers and influence the youth of England by their means—to train them, he hoped, not in arts alone, nor in science alone, but in originality of thought and fertility of ideas generally. THE trustees of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland met on Monday to receive the annual report and the scheme of endowment of post-graduate study and research drawn up by the executive committee. The Times summary of the report is here abridged. The report stated that there was a natural desire on the part of the universities that under the head of teaching the committee should assign a portion of the annual grants to be used as income. In certain cases of extreme urgency such grants had been given, but they had been limited, both in regard to amount and to the time for which they were payable. It was considered in- advisable to commit the committee to permanent obligations in this direction. Further, the committee considered that in the long run its plan would prove the best for the univer- sities. The scheme adopted, besides making a contribution of r00,000l. to the buildings and permanent equipment, and of 20,0001. to libraries, would at the close of the period of five years have increased the resources for teaching in the four universities by permanent endowments amounting to 70,500l., while it would at the same time have made during those five years an addition of tgool. a year to the income of two of them. With regard to the endowment of post- graduate study and research, the committee decided that scholarships, fellowships, and grants might with advantage be instituted, but that for many reasons it was not desirable to allot definite sums, or offer separate endowments, to in- dividual universities and institutions. A common scheme had, therefore, been established, the administration of which would be retained in the committee’s own hands. It was held that in no other way could the full advantage of this NO. 1739, VOL. 67] NATURE 405 most important branch of the work of the Trust be adequately secured; and the committee regarded it as essential that those who were to profit by the opportunities offered for higher study and research should be the best the universities of Scotland could produce, and their work of the high character which alone was consistent with the intention of the founder. The nominations and applications under this scheme would be referred to an advisory board, consisting of the chairman, the four representatives of the universities and three other members of the Trust. There had been paid by the Trust for the summer session, 1902, the sum of 11,9761. 13s. on behalf of 1595 students, representing the fees of 4522 classes; and for the winter session, 1902-3, the sum of 28,2751. 5s. on behalf of 2867 students, represent- ing the fees of 8806 classes—in all, for the year to December 31, 1902, 40,2511, 18s. SCIENTIFIC SERIAL. Journal of Botany, February.—A third contribution of occasional notes on freshwater algae, which begins in this month’s number, is presented by Mr. W. West and Mr. G. S. West. It represents mainly new British forms which have come under observation during the past two years. Several Chantransia and Lemanea forms, originally described by the late Prof. Sirodot, have been obtained in rapid streams in Yorkshire, Cornwall and Westmorland. To the Phzo- phyceze are added Phaeococcus paludosus, and a new mono- typic genus Pheosphera. The more important additions to the Chlorophycez are Uronema confervicolum, Pseudo- chaete gracilis (a new genus), Roya cambrica and Debarya desmidioides. ‘The last-mentioned is regarded by the authors as constituting a connecting link between the Desmidiaceze and the Zygnemacez, since the filaments break up into in- dividual cells, and conjugation occurs only between a pair of such isolated cells.—Continuing his remarks on Calypto- pogon mnioides, Mr. E. S. Salmon separates this plant from Streptopogon on account of the papillose areolation and the form of the perichztial leaves, and from Barbula on account of the mitriform calyptra. A complete diagnosis, with an illustrative plate, is appended.—Two short lists of local plants are furnished, one referring to the Bournemouth dis- trict, by Mr. E. F. Linton, and the other giving new Bristol records, by Mr. J. W. White, in conjunction with Mr. C. Bucknall and Mr. D. Fry.—A series of ‘‘ Wayfaring Notes from the Transvaal’ is instituted by Dr. R. F. Rand, the first of which discusses botanical features to be observed in the neighbourhood of Johannesburg.—Mr. Garry con- tinues his notes on the drawings for *‘ English Botany.”’ SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LonpDon. Royal Society, February 12.—‘‘ On the Negative Variation in the Nerves of Warm-blooded Animals.’’ By Dr. N. H. Alcock. Communicated by Dr. A. D. Waller, F.R.S. The conclusions arrived at are :— (1) It is possible to examine isolated mammalian and avian nerves under the same conditions as frog’s nerves. (2) There is no essential difference between the nerves of frogs, mammals and birds as regards their negative vari- ation, excitability and reaction to anzsthetics. (3) There is a marked difference in the extinction point for heat. The negative variation in frog’s nerve is abolished at 40°--42° C., in rabbit’s nerve at 48°--49°, in pigeon’s nerve at 53°. (4) This extinction point corresponds closely with the first coagulation point of the body proteids, where these are known, and thus coagulation is probably the cause of the permanent loss of irritability of the nerve. (5) The point at which the nerves are paralysed by cold is — 3°5 in the frog, — 194 in the hedgehog, + 3°'8 in the rabbit and + 6° 9 in the pigeon. “* Studies in the Morphology of Spore-producing Members. No. V. General Comparison and Conclusion.’’ By Prof. F. O. Bower, F.R.S., Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. 406 Geological Society, February 4.—Prof. Charles | Lap- worth, F.R.S., president, in the chair—The granite and greisen of Cligga Head (West Cornwall), by Mr. J. B. Scrivenor. The small granite-mass between St. Agnes and Perranporth is a remnant of a larger mass which has been partly denuded and partly hidden by a fault; ‘bedding ’’ is well developed. The granite bordering the bedding-planes has been altered into greisen. Each greisen- band contains a quartz-vein, marking the original fissure along which metasomatism took place; the veins contain tourmaline, cassiterite, wolfram, mispickel and _ chalco- pyrite. Two main reactions appear to have taken place in the formation of the greisen: the felspars affording topaz, muscovite and secondary quartz; the biotite brown tourma- line, magnetite and secondary quartz. The greisen is an example of Prof. Vogt’s ‘* pneumatolytic’’ action in thoroughly acid rocks.—Notes on the geology of Patagonia, by Mr. J. B. Scrivenor. The sedimentary strata consist of Tertiary, Cretaceous and Jurassic formations, which, with the exception of the Jurassic, yield varied faunas, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Except in the north, where intrusions of an acid type have disturbed the sediments, the southerly dip is so gentle as only to be appreciable where sections can be followed for some distance. Mr. Hatcher considers that an unconformity separates the Magellanian and Guaranitic Series, also the Cretaceous and Jurassic. Very little is known of the igneous rocks. Apart from those of the Cordillera, there are vast plateaux of basalt and intrusions of quartz-porphyry. The specimens of igneous rocks col- lected from the moraines of the Cordillera comprise biotite- granite, hornblende-granite, quartz-mica-diorite, gabbro, hornblende-picrite, quartz-porphyry, rhyolite, obsidian, ophi- tic olivine-dolerites, olivine-basalts and acid tuffs. The basalt- flows cover an enormous area. They slope gently towards the Atlantic, and are cut off from the Cordillera by a longi- tudinal depression. All that can be said of their age is that they are older than the transverse depressions of the Cor- dillera, and older than the glaciation of the eastern slopes of that chain. The Téhuelche Pebble-Bed, which covers nearly the whole of Patagonia, has been ascribed to marine action by some authors, by others to glacial action. A third suggestion is the agency of big rivers. The drainage- system includes several eastward-flowing rivers and numerous lakes, some of which occupy transverse valleys cutting through the Cordillera.—On a fossiliferous band at the top of the Lower Greensand, near Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire), by Mr. G. W. Lamplugh and Mr. J. F. Walker. This paper describes a newly-discovered fossil- iferous band at the top of the Lower Greensand, overlain by the Gault, in the sand-pits at Shenley Hill, near Leighton Buzzard, in Bedfordshire. The fossils of this band present a different facies from that of any other previously-known fossiliferous horizon of the Lower Greensand, and show closer affinities with the fauna of the Upper Greensand than have hitherto been recognised in any deposit below the Gault. The fossiliferous bed is marked off from the under- lying unfossiliferous “* silver-sands,’’ but more from the overlying Gault. Stratigraphically it forms part of the Lower Greensand, and cannot be considered to belong to the Gault. The fossils constitute the newest Lower Cre- taceous fauna as yet recognised in England. Royal Meteorological Society, February 18.—Captain D. Wilson-Barker, president, in the chair.——Mr. E. Mawley presented his report on the phenological observations for 1902. In all parts of the British Isles, the phenological year ending November 30, 1902, was for the most part cold and sunless. Rain fell at unusually frequent intervals, so that, although the total quantity proved deficient, there at no time occurred any period of drought. Wild plants were everywhere behind their mean dates in coming into flower, but the departures from the average were, as a rule, slight, until about the middle of May. After that time, until the end of the flowering season, the dates of blossoming were later than in any other year since the present series of re- cords was instituted in 1891. The swallow, cuckoo and nightingale were a few days earlier than usual in making their appearance. The most remarkable feature as regards the weather and its effect on vegetation was the way in which it favoured the growth of all the farm crops, except potatoes and hops. For it is seldom in the same year that NO. 11730; VOU.167 | NATURE [ FERRUARY 26, 1903 the yields of wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, turnips, man- golds and grass are alike abundant, even in a single dis- trict, much less in all parts of the kingdom, as was the case in 1902. On the other hand all the fruit crops were more or less deficient, with the exception of strawberries, which yielded well, but were like most other fruits, lacking im flavour. CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, January 19.—Mr. Seward, vice- president, in the chair.—On the invariant factors of a deter- minant, by the president (Dr. Baker).—On the variation with wave-length of the double refraction in strained glass (second paper), by Mr. L. N. G. Filton.—On the alimentary canal of the mosquito, by Mr. A. E. Shipley. The paper dealt with the alimentary canal of Anopheles maculipennis, Meig., special attention being paid to the mechanism by which ‘biting ’’ is effected and by which the food is pumped up into the pharynx. Three food reservoirs were described. The alimentary canal, the salivary glands and the Mal- pighian tubules were described in detail—A second memoir on integral functions, by Mr. E. W. Barnes. In this paper the author continues certain researches on the asym- ptotic expansions of integral functions which were published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series A, vol. excix. pp. 411--500 (1902). Asymptotic ex- pansions are obtained for the standard functions of double sequence, and an attempt is made to classify Taylor’s series by means of the asymptotic expansion of the inverse of the mth root of the mth coefficient.—On the theory of shadows, by Mr. H. M. Macdonald. DUBLIN. Royal Dublin Society, January 20.—Prof. W. F. Barrett, F.R.S., in the chair.—Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S., gave a further account of his preliminary experiments on the conservation of mass which he had presented at the meeting of December 16, 1902.—A paper was read by Dr. W. E. Adeney on the ultra-violet spark spectrum of ruthenium. The first in- stalment of wave-length determinations in spark spectra from the large Rowland spectrometer in the Royal Uni- versity, Dublin, is given in this communication, repro- ductions of photographs from which have already been published in the Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, vol. vii., 1901. 1461 lines have been measured between the two extreme limits of wave-lengths 2263 and 4500. Kayser has given 1613 lines as occurring in the are spectrum between the same limits of wave-length. About 800 lines are common to both forms of the spectrum. Very few in either list are due to impurities. Exner and Haschek have measured 2250 lines between the same limits of wave-length; some 1330 of these occur in the author’s photographs. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, January 20 —Mr. Charles Bailey, president, in the chair.—Mr. Thomas Thorp gave an account of some researches he had made on the production of metallic surfaces having the properties of Japanese ‘‘ magic’’ mirrors. A passage was read from ‘“ Light, Visible and Invisible,’? by Prof. Silvanus Thomp- son, pp. 51--52, relative to the manufacture of these mirrors in Japan, from which it appears that scraping is resorted to previous to polishing, great pressure being used. ‘These re- searches were undertaken by Mr. Thorp with a view to determine whether the same “‘ magic ’”’ effect can be pro- duced by the ordinary methods of grinding and polishing. Replicas of a Japanese mirror capable of showing the ““ magic ’’ effect in a very slight degree were made in hard bronze (bell metal). One of these was ground and polished by the method used for glass, &c., considerable pressure being used in the polishing. decided improvement on the original. The result was a The second replica was now ground and polished in a similar manner, but — under conditions which prevented flexure during the pro- cesses. The result was a plane mirror, without the ““magic’’ properties. As straining the first mirror had been noticed to give enhanced effects, the plane mirror was now subjected to uniform pressure from the back, when the design was seen to start out in a very decided manner, being much brighter than the rest of the surface. On the mirror sey Raia FERRUARY 26, 1903] NATURE 407 being subjected to a partial vacuum, again from the back, portions of the design were seen to be darker than the surrounding surface, but bordered with a light fringe. It appears now to be thoroughly established that the cause of the ‘‘ magic’ effect in Japanese mirrors is due to the unequal resistance to flexure during the polishing process. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 16.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair.—The President announced to the Academy the death of Sir George Gabriel Stokes, foreign associate.— A law relating to the electromotive forces of batteries based on the reciprocal action of saline solutions and soluble electro- lytes, by M. Berthelot.—A direct and simple calculation of the velocity of propagation of a wave front in a medium having complicated equations of motion, by M. J. Boussinesq.—On the radiation of polonium and radium, by M. Henri Becquerel. In a previous paper the author has shown that the a-rays of Rutherford, which are probably identical with the Kanalstrahlen of Goldstein, are capable of a slight deviation in a strong magnetic field. The present paper is devoted to a proof of the existence of a correspond- ing property in the radiation from polonium. Owing to the very slight photographic action of the specimen of polonium under examination, the action had to be prolonged for twenty hours. ‘The same apparatus was-used for com- parative experiments with radium. ‘The two photographic proofs, the one with radium and the other with polonium, appeared to be superposable, thus proving the absolute identity under the conditions of the experiment of the a-radium rays and the polonium rays. In neither case was there any trace of dispersion analogous to that observed with the kathode rays.—On some new syntheses effected by means of molecules containing the methylene group associated with one or two negative radicles. The action of epichlorhydrin on the sodium derivatives of acetone-dicarboxylic esters, by MM. A. Haller and F. March. The sodium derivative of acetone-dicarboxylic acid condenses readily with epichlor- hydrin, giving a keto-lactone, the properties of which, with those of its semicarbazone, are described.—Approximate algebraic expressions for transcendental, logarithmic and exponential functions, by M. J. A. Normand. A series of formulz is developed permitting of the rapid calculation of the numerical value of logarithms. Numerous examples showing the degree of approximation are appended.—Re- marks by M. Considére on a memoir on the resistance of armed mortars.—M. René Benoit was elected a corre- spondant in the section of physics in succession to the late Prof. Rowland.—The eruption of Mont Pelée in January, 1903, by M. A. Lacroix.—Perturbations independent of the eccentricity, by M. Jean Mascart.—Researches on electro- lytic valves, by M. Albert Nodon. The term electrolytic valve is applied to an electrolytic cell for the conversion of an alternating current into a unidirectional current. Metals having a low atomic weight, such as magnesium or aluminium, are the best for this purpose, and a solution of ammonium phosphate forms the best electrolyte. The electrostatic capacity of these cells is considerable, about 1 farad per square centimetre of surface of aluminium, the thickness of the dielectric which forms the condenser being of the order 10~8, or of molecular order. Such a cell may be successfully applied to the rectification of telephone currents, and can be used for their measurement.—On the induced radio-activity produced by salts of actinium, by M. A. Debierme. It is known that the compounds of radium possess the property of rendering bodies placed in their vicinity temporarily radio-active. Actinium salts possess the same property, the effects produced presenting the same general characters as with radium. There are, however, differences distinguishing the action of the two elements.— The conditions of estimation of manganese in acid solution by persulphates, by M. H. Baubigny. A series of determin- ations is given, showing the effect of the nature of the acid, its quantity and the amount of persulphate used.—The heats of formation of some sulphur and nitrogen compounds, by M. Marcel Delépine.—The action of hydrogen upon silver sulphide in the presence of the sulphides of antimony and arsenic, by M. H. Pélabon.—The action of phosphoric acid upon erythritol, by M. P. Carré. Phosphoric acid acts NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | upon erythritol firstly as a dehydrating agent, and then forms a mono-ester of erythrane. A portion of the latter is converted into a di-ester.—The preparation of some com- binations of a-methyl-a-isopropyl-adipic acid, by M. C. Martine.—On the temperature of calefaction, and on its use in alcohol determinations, by M. Bordier. The term point of calefaction is applied to the temperature at which contact ensues between a hot plate and a drop of liquid in the spheroidal state. In the case of mixtures of alcohol and water this temperature is a function of the composition, and the use of this method is suggested as a means of determin- ing the amount of alcohol in solution. It has the advantage of requiring only a very small quantity of liquid.—On the pathogenic action of the rays emitted by radium on different tissues and organisms, by M. J. Danysz. The action is most intense on the skin, the action being relatively slight upon the underlying tissue and attached muscle. The nervous system is especially sensitive to the action of the rays. The larve of insects exposed to the rays were para- lysed in twenty-four hours and died two days later.—The mechanism of the action of secretin on the pancreatic secre- tion, by M. C. Fleig. The experiments given tend to show that secretin acts directly upon the pancreas, either acting directly upon the pancreatic cell or on the excito-secretory elements. Secretin, contrary to the views of Popielski, offers a good example of special chemical substances which, by their diffusion in the blood current, establish relations between certain determined organs.—The action of the fundamental vibrations of the vowels on the ear in a patho- logical state, by M. Marage.—On the implantation of dead bone in contact with living bone, by MM. V. Cornil and P. Coudray. Dead bone remains very nearly in the condition in which it was implanted, embedded in a fibrous capsule. It behaves almost like a foreign body, its resorption, even at the end of six months, being insignificant.—On Chataig- nier’s disease, caused by Mycelophagus Castaneae, by M. L. Mangin.—A new genus of Chytridiacee, by M. P. A. Dangeard.—Phenomena of transportation in the eastern Mediterranean, by M. L. Cayeux.—The absorption of ammonia by sea-water, by M. J. Thoulet. New Soutu WALEs. Royal Society, December 3, 1902.—Prof. Warren, presi- dent, in the chair.—On the occurrence of an important geological fault at Kurrajong Heights, Blue Mountains, by Prof. T. W. Edgeworth David, F.R.S. Traced in a southerly direction across the Grose Valley to Glenbrook Railway Station, the fault dies out, pass- ing into a gentle westerly fold, which does not appear to have been accompanied by shearing. To the east is the well-known steep easterly monocline. Traced northerly, the monocline crosses Grose Valley and forms the eastern slope of Kurrajong Heights. The monocline at the Kurrajong is bounded westwards by an abrupt fault, whereas at Glenbrook the line of disturbance takes the form of a gentle fold facing the west. The fault plane, though somewhat eroded, still forms a steep and very con- spicuous escarpment. The effect of this fault in displacing the Coal-measures on either side of it will obviously claim the serious attention of those who, in the future, have charge of coal mines in that portion of our coalfields.— Investigations in regard to the comparative strength and elasticity of Portland cement, mortar and concrete, when reinforced with steel rods and when not reinforced, by Prof. W. H. Warren. The paper describes experiments on various mortars and concrete in tension and compression, also when subjected to bending stresses. The extensions of the specimens subjected to direct tension when reinforced with steel rods were considerably less than occurred in similar specimens not reinforced ; the stress-strain diagrams plotted from the observations taken were all convex to the stress axis, but the curve was much flatter for the rein- forced specimens. The transverse tests consisted of experi- ments with beams reinforced on the tension side with steet rods, compared with similar beams not reinforced. In alt cases the reinforced beams were from 53 to 10 times stronger than the plain beam, and the deflections of the beams before fracture were enormously greater in the reinforced beams. —The fallacy of assuming that a wet year in England wiil be followed by a wet year in Australia, by H. C. Ruseeil, 408 NATURE [FEBRUARY 26, 1903 F.R.S. It is a widespread idea that if abundant rain falls in England there will be an abundant rainfall in Australia in the following year. By means of a diagram showing the rainfall in England and in Sydney for a number of years in succession, it is shown that, as a matter of fact, this seldom occurs.—On the presence of platinum and iridium metals in meteorites, by Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S. The author described the occurrence of gold in meteorites ; in certain cases, the gold is accompanied by one or more of the platinum and iridium metals. The Boogaldi meteorite contains both gold and one or more of the platinum metals; these metals do not appear to be uniformly diffused through the meteorite, for some parts apparently contain a much larger proportion than others. The amount of the platinum metals in the Boogaldi meteorite is comparatively large, being at the rate of several ounces per ton.—Is Eucalyptus variable? by Mr. J. H. Maiden. The author takes the following characters seriatim, and shows that they all vary :—Habit, bark, timber, exudations, petiole, leaf— (a) suckers, (b) cotyledon leaves, (c) venation, (d) young stems, (e) essential oil, (f) stomata—galls, inflorescence, anthers, pollen-grains, calyx, fruit. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26. Roya Society, at 4.30.—Bakerian Lecture: Solid Solution and Chemical L'ransformation in the Bronzes : C, T. Heycock, F.R.S., and F. H. Neville, F.R.S Roya. InsTITUTION, at 5.—Insect Contrivances : F.R.S. SocieTY oF ARTS, at 4.30.—Gleanings from the Indian Census: J. A. Baines. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Nernst Lamp: J. Stottner.—And, if time permit, Distribution Losses i in Electric Supply Systems: A. D. Constable and E. Fawssett.—A Study of the Pheno menon of Resonance in Electric Circuit by the Aid of Oscillo- grams: M. B. Field. FRIDAY, Fesruary 27. Roya INSTITUTION, at 9.—Perfumes: Natural and Artificial: Dr. A. Liebmann. Puysicat Society, at 5.—On the Measurement of Small Capacities and Inductances: Prof. Fleming and Mr. Clinton.—On the Interpretation of Milne Seismograms: Dr. Farr.—On the thickness of the Liquid Film formed by Condensation at the Surface of a Solid: Dr. Parks. INsTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Relative Advantages of Single Screws, Twin Screws, and Triple Screws, for Marine Propulsion : E. Falk. Prof. L. C. Miall, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28. Roya. INsTiTuTIon, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Rayleigh. Essex Fietp Ciup (Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), a 6.30.—The British Vespide and their Vespiaries: Edward Connold. Lord MONDAY, Marcu 2. Society oF Arts, at 8.—Hertzian Wave Telegraphy in Theory and Practice: Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. Society oF CHEMICAL INbDusTRY, at 8.—The Need of Duty-Free Alcohol for Industrial Purposes: Thomas Tyrer. TUESDAY, Makcu 3. Rovat INSTITUTION, at 5.—Recent Advances in Photographic Science: Sir William Abney, K.C.B. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Paper to be further discussed. —Mechanical Handling of Material: G. F. Zimmer.—Succeeding Papers. —Recent Irrigation in the Punjab: S. Preston.—The Irrigation Weir across the Bhadar River, Kathiawar: J. J. B. Benson. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—Observations and Experiments on Japanese Long-Tailed Fowls: Vs 1 Cunningham.—On the Land Operculate Mollusca collected during the ‘‘Skeat Expedition” to the Malay Peninsula: E. R. Sykes.—The Significance of the Callosities on the Limbs of the Equida : R. Lydekker. Society OF ARTS, at 4.30.—The Ugandaof To-day: Herbert Samuel. WEDNESDAY, Marcu 4. Socrety or Arts, at 8.—Education in Holland: J. C. Medd. ENTOMOLOGICAL SocIETY, at 8.—The Aculeate Hymenoptera of Barrack- pore, Bengal: G. A. James Rothney-—Notes on the Nests of Bees of the Genus Trigona: Charles Owen Waterhouse.—On the Aganiidz in the British Museum, with Descriptions of some New Species : Colonel C. Swinhoe. THURSDAY, Marcu 5. Rovat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers:—The Resistance of the Ions and the Mechanical Friction of the Solvent: Prof F. Kohlrausch, For. Mem. R.S.—The Electrical Conductivity of Solutions at the Freezing Point of Wa er: W. C. D. Whetham, F.R.S.—A Note on a Form of Magnetic Detector for Hertzian Waves ‘adapted for Quantitative NO. 1739, VOL. 67 | Work ; Prof, J. A. Fleming, F.R.S.—On the Laws governing Electric Discharges in Gases at Low Pressures: W. R. Carr.—The Differential Invariants of a Surface, and their Geometric Significance: Prof. A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S. Rovat InstiTuTION, at 5.—Insect Contrivances : Prof. L. C. Miall,F.R.S. Society oF Pusiic ANALYSTS, at 8. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.—The Mechanism of the Reduction of Potassium Bichromate by Sulphurous Acid : H. Bassett.—The Constitution of Pilo- carpine. Part I1V.: H_ A. D. Jowett.—Preparation and Properties of 1:4 (or 1:5)-Dimethyl Glyoxaline and x : 3-Dimethyl Pyrazole H. A.D. Jowett and C. E. Potter.—Some Analyses of “Reh,” or the Alkaline Salts in Indian Usar Land: E. G. Hill.— Experiments on the Synthesis of Camphoric Acid. Part III. Synthesis of Isolauronolic Acid : W. H- Perkin, Jun., and J. F. Thorpe.—Camphor-f-thiol: T. M. Lowry and G. C. Donington.—Isomeric Change of Dibenzanilide into Benzoylortho- amino- and Benzoylpara-amino- Benzophenone: F. D. Chattaway.—The Rate of Decomposition of Diazo-Compounds. Part III. The Tempera- ture Coefficient : J, C. Cain and F. Nicoll, LinneEAN Society, at 8.—On some Points in the Visceral Anatomy of the Characinidz: W. S. Rowntree.—On the Anatomy of the Pig-footed Bandicoot Chaerefus castanotis: F. G. Parsons.—Further Notes on Lemurs: Dr. Elliot Smith. RONTGEN SOCIETY, at 8.30.—Spark Phenomena: F. H. Glew. FRIDAY, Roya. INsTITUTION, at 9.—Studies in Experimental Phonetics ; Prof. J. G. McKendrick, F.R.S. Marcu 6, SATURDAY, Marcu 6. RoyvaL InstTirurion, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord Rayleigh. CONTENTS. PAGE The Living Substance—A Theory ........ 385 Science and Practice. By R. T. G. . Pear | =t0) The Infinities of Mathematics. uy G.B.M.. 387 PracticalyPhysiolory . = = sme) > ane een Our Book Shelf :— Smith: ‘Studies in the Cartesian Philosophy.”— (Ce Ry 2B og 389 Rosa: ‘‘ Die progressive Reduktion der Variabilitat und ihre Beziehungen zum Aussterben und zur Entstehung der Arten."—J. A. T. . ... 389 Watson: ‘Steel Ships: their Construction and Maintenance. A Manual for Shipbuilders, Ship Superintendents, Students and Marine Engineers” 389 Porro: ‘‘Elementi di Geografia Fisica, Fisica Terrestre e Meteorologia, ad uso delle Scuole Classiche, Tecniche, Normali et Agrarie.”— DS Sa) er icmeminlo laecue mou -qusitasc 6. Zea Letters to the Editor :— Cambridge Mathematics.—Prof. John Perry, BORIS Si) 390 Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials. —Prof. ub sie Thomson, F.R.S. . . 391 Fall of Coloured Dust on February 22- “23, —Wwm. Marriott . . + 391 Chapman’s Zebra. Sprof ‘1 1. HA Cockerell . > 301 American Magical Ceremonies. (J//lustvated.) By A. C. H. 5 392 The Fata Morgana of the Straits of Messina. ((iustrated.) By G. H. B. . . - 393 Indian Rainfall. By Dr. William J. ish Lockyer . 394 The Afforestation of the Black Country. By Prof. W. Schlich, F.R.S. Pala os 6 Buco, SCG; Notes ee oe ek See Our Astronomical Column :— Photographs of the North Polar Region ..... . A Device for Obtaining Good Seeing . . Proper Motion of the Sun Compared with Stellar Velocities . . Biba Discovery of Ancient Astronomical Records = bya Animal Thermostat. By Lord Kelvin, G.C.V. om Bacterial Treatment of Crude Sewage. By Prof. Brank) Clowesy:iak.s 2). eee: ll i eas eee Silica Glass . . 5 8 Sir William Hooker's Scientific Work... ... University and Educational Intelligence ..... ScientificiiSerialaeey. 0 )-gemcme) een moe Societies and Academies ........-..4- Diaryiof;S Ocieties wary yancias umes et i NATURE THURSDAY, MARCH s5, 1903. ELECTRICAL STIMULUS AND RESPONSE. Response in the Living and Non-Living. By Jagadis Chunder Bose, M.A. (Cantab.), D.Sc. (Lond.). Pp. xix + 199; with illustrations. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1902.) Price tos. 6d. IPe8 apparent aim of this book is to show that “living response in all its diverse manifestations is found to be only a repetition of responses seen in the inorganic” (p. 189). It is difficult to treat this conclu- sion seriously, and the difficulty is sensibly increased by the mental bewilderment which is experienced on reading such statements as the following :— “From a confusion of ‘dead’ things with inanimate matter it has been tacitly assumed that inorganic sub- stances, like dead animal tissues, must necessarily be irresponsive, or incapable of being excited by stimulus— an assumption which has been shown to be gratuitous ” (p. 181). The conclusion which we are compelled to draw from this quotation is that Prof. Bose doesnot regard dead things as inanimate matter, and if this be the case, it may seem superfluous to offer any extended criticism of those por- tions of the book which set forth the experimental grounds for such beliefs. It is, however, very desirable that discredit should not be thrown upon the use of fruitful methods. of investigation well known to physio- fogists in consequence of the fallacious character of the author’s conclusions ; moreover, the experiments upon which he rests his case are set forth in a somewhat con- vincing manner, and the book may with the aid of copious illustrations achieve some popularity. y The experimental facts brought forward comprise, (1) some limited aspects of the changes occurring in muscles, nerves and plants when subjected to particular modes of stimulation, and (2) some electrolytic effects occurring when moist conductors are brought into con- tact with metallic surfaces and the latter are caused to vibrate. It is on the strength of a superficial resem- blance between the electromotive changes observed in these two groups that the author makes his astounding generalisations. The phenomena of muscle and nerve brought forward are taken from various physiological works, and the particular response selected is that of the familiar excitatory electromotive change ; it is, however, very inadequately treated, as no reference is made to the classical researches of Du Bois-Reymond, Hermann, Bernstein, Hering, Burdon Sanderson and others. In consequence of the author’s limited survey of the subject, he has fallen into an error of quite an elementary nature in his description of the muscular response. He appears to think that the superficial resemblance between the change of form which muscle undergoes in contraction and the swing of a galvanometer needle when de- flected by the sum of the electrical currents present in tetanised muscle affords sufficient ground for the state- ment that “it is found that the electrical and mechanical records are practically identical ” (p. 12). This identity can NO. 1740, VOL. 67| 409 only refer to the time relations of the two classes of events, and it has been known for half a century that the elec- trical and mechanical responses do not run the same course. The results obtained by the physiological rheoscope, the repeating rheotome, the telephone and the capillary electrometer (all disregarded by the author) afford convincing proof that whereas the change of form during so-called tetanus is sustained by the fusion of the successive mechanical responses, the electrical disturb- ances are not so fused, but constitute a rhythmical series of distinct states. The time relations of the muscular twitch evoked ‘by a single stimulus reveal the reason for this want of parallelism, since the electrical response has both culminated and subsided before the mechanical one has been completed. The author having thus disregarded the most fundamental characters of muscular and nervous responses, z.¢. their time relations, it is clear that no sweeping generalisations involving these responses are justifiable. In treating the vegetable tissues, the author has selected as a typical response an electrical change which occurs in portions of plants which have been subjected to sudden mechanical strain (torsion, &c.). The displacement caused by the strain is associated with a difference of electrical potential in the part pri- marily affected as compared with other parts situated in more remote, and thus less disturbed, regions. These electrical alterations are of considerable interest, and attention has been drawn to their existence by Waller, who has pointed out their local character. The local character of the electromotive effect has its counter- part in animal tissues, but it is not characteristic of those particular animal responses which are selected by the author for the purpose of comparison, since these are propagated from the seat of stimulation along the proto- plasmic continuum of the muscle or the nerve fibres. Propagated effects of this type can be found in certain plant tissues—for instance, Dionazza—but the plant re- sponses described by Prof. Bose do not include these. It follows, therefore, that such comparisons as the author is able to make do not warrant the sweeping statement that “a complete parallelism may be held to have been established between plant response on the one hand and that of animal tissue on the other” (p. 80). Some curious chapters in the book deal with a novel “response in metals.” This was generally obtained by connecting a strip of metal (tin, platinum, &c.) with moist conductors, which in their turn were connected with a galvanometer through non-polarisable junctions ; the sudden jar of a blow was the so-called stimulus, and the alterations caused by the shatter in the polarisation interfaces appear to constitute the so-called electrical response. The observations are brought forward by Prof. Bose, not so much for any intrinsic physical interest they may possess, as for the purpose of showing how far they are susceptible of modification under conditions which, in his opinion, also modify the electromotive phenomena of living tissues and thus of serving as a support for his speculations. The language employed in their description is often of a singular character ; thus av 410 NAT ORE | MarcH 5, 1903 we are told that “tin is practically indefatigable” (p. 118), that ‘we may thus, by reducing or abolishing the excitability of one end by means of suitable chemical reagents (so- called method of injury) obtain response in metals” (p. 87), and many other phrases borrowed from physiologists occur plentifully in the text. The use of such terminology appears in itself to indicate the unconscious bias of the author towards the conclusion he has in view. In later chapters of the work, a series of apparent resemblances between the retinal currents described by physiologists and photoelectrolytic changes in sensitised | metal plates leads the author to the amazing assertion | Hoastjof the (electrical ed ei ee eats that “there is not a single phenomenon in the responses, normal and abnormal, of the retina which has not its material” (p. 169). After this, we are incapable of being further surprised, even by the confident prediction that “the parallelism will thus be found complete in every detail between the phenomena of response in the organic and inorganic” (p. 147). We are all aware that living processes, apart from the evidence of our own consciousness, can only reveal themselves as physical and chemical changes ; among these are the electromotive effects in living tissues which afford one aspect of those subtle and complex physico- chemical relationships comprised under the term metabolism. The play and nature of this metabolism constitute for most of us the fundamental mystery of life ; but to Prof. Bose the living response presents ‘‘no element of mystery” (p. 189). Metabolism, with its phases of assimilation and dissimilation, has for him no significance, and he characterises all correlations of electromotive change with metabolic process as arbi- trary and unnecessary assumptions (p. 126). Even the connection of fatigue in animal tissues with the dis- similation products of activity has, he says, long been seen to be an inadequate explanation. He admits that “the criterion by which vital response is differentiated is its abolition by the action of certain reagents ” (p. 188), yet he declares that metals can be “transformed from a responsive to an irresponsive condition by the action of similar poisonous reagents ”(p. 188). We are bewildered by this apparent inconsistency, and are thankful to reflect upon such statements as he does not make. Among these, the most consoling is that of the re-creation of a living tissue; it is clear that although the metallic combination may be turned backwards and forwards through responsive and irresponsive stages, there is no such retransformation of the living tissues when once these have become what Prof. Bose calls ‘‘dead things.” This should give him pause in his prediction that the reader will find that parallelism complete in every detail which, upon the strength of specious and _ partial resemblances, he claims to have established between the behaviour of materials living and non-living. Ge NO, 1740, VOL. 67 | THE LEAD ACCUMULATOR. Secondary Batteries: their Theory, Construction, and Use. By E. J. Wade. Pp. ix+492. (London: The Electrician Printing and Publishing Co., Ltd.) Price ros. 6d. net. M R. SWINBURNE in his presidential address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers remarked that it was wonderful that we had the lead cell at all, seeing that we owed it to a chance observation of Planté. On a perusal of Mr. Wade’s book it seems even more remarkable that the ‘‘ chance observation of Planté ’’ has been developed into so indispensable an adjunct of electrical engineering. It is usually the engineering can lay claim to being an exact science in the truest sense. He is able to base on a solid founda- tion of theory the design of a 4ooo H.P. alternator or , oO! | a sensitive millivoltmeter, and feel confident that the counterpart in the sensitive cell constructed of inorganic | result will be what he requires. He can work con- | tentedly with these things, because he feels that he knows to what their behaviour under different con- ditions is due. But with the accumulator it is different. Probably nine electrical engineers out of ten do not iknow what is the cause of the E.M.F. given by the combination lead / sulphuric acid / lead peroxide, but imagine that, like Topsy, “it just growed.’ Still less would they be able to give any plausible explanation of the frequently erratic behaviour of accumulators. This partly due to a narrow-minded contempt for chemistry, more or less inherent in the electrical en- gineer in his student days, and only regretted when the time for studying first principles is past. But the ignor- ance must be also partly ascribed to the unsatisfactory condition of the knowledge amongst experts in the subject. These circumstances make Mr. Wade’s book all the more welcome. The author has endeavoured to set forth all that is known concerning the storage battery, and great credit is due to him for the very thorough way in which he has carried out his task. After a brief introductory chapter, the author passes to the history of the lead cell; it is noteworthy that this chapter practic- ally resolves itself into a history of the development of the ‘‘ grid’? or other support for the active material, so slight is the alteration that has been made from the chemical side since the time of Planté and Faure. The tenth and final chapter, in which are described all the leading makes of cells, whether of English, continental is or American manufacture, is marked by the same characteristic. The seventh, eighth and ninth chapters deal with the manufacture, testing and use of lead cells, and these will be found very instructive, especially by those in-— terested in the commercial application of the storage — battery. In the eighth chapter the author has attempted to define the lines on which lead cells should be de- signed; the result is not very satisfactory, but the fault does not lie with Mr. Wade. Until theory has shown the way, design must necessarily be carried out on empirical lines, and reliance must be placed on in- tuitive perception of what is good and what bad. In chapter iii. Mr. Wade discusses storage cells till a se aaa ayy Marcu 5, 1903 | NATURE 411 other than lead, and though the attempts to find some satisfactory substitute for the lead cell have been many, the results have been in all cases disappointing ; it re- mains to be seen whether Mr. Edison’s iron / nickel- oxide combination will prove any more practical than its forerunners. As yet the trustworthy information con- cerning its behaviour and durability is too meagre for any prophecy as to its future to be made. We have left the contents of chapters iv. and v. to the last, as these contain what to many will doubtless prove the most interesting part of the book. In chapter iv., on the properties and behaviour of lead cells, the electrical phenomena which a complete theory of the chemical reactions must explain are described, and in chapter v. the author deals with the theories which have been advanced. The information as to the electrical | behaviour is full and comprehensive, and typical curves | of charge and discharge under various conditions are given. both in commercial and in experimental cells, and it is perhaps surprising that their theoretical explanation | _ y : = cE | upon the waters of the lake. has proved so difficult. Mr. Wade’s views were ex- pressed in his paper read before the Institution of Elec- trical Engineers three years ago, and they are here re- peated. The cycle of changes taking place on discharge, reversal and recharge is explained as being due to These points have been very thoroughly studied | thrown any light on the problems presented, and thermochemical calculations cannot be of great assist- ance either. We have dealt with Mr. Wade’s book at some length, but not at a greater length than its merits deserve. It only remains to give a word of praise to the illustrations, which, especially in the case of the pictures of different grids and supports, are very clearly executed, and considerably enhance the value of the book. MAuRICE SOLOMON. BIOLOGY OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA. Le Léman. Monographie limnologiqgue. Tome troisi¢me, premiére livraison. Par Prof. F. A. Forel. Pp. 411. (Lausanne: F. Rouge, 1902.) N this, the first portion of the third volume of his interesting work, Prof. Forel treats of the biology of the Lake of Geneva, and describes with his customary wealth of detail the various forms of life observed in and From a biological point of view, Prof. Forel divides the lake into three regions : (a) littoral, extending from the shore line down to a depth of fifteen metres ; (0) adyssal (profonde), com- | prising a layer of water about two metres in depth changes in a complex lead molecule on the one hand, | and a similarly complex lead-peroxide molecule on the other. Double sulphation results from the addition of (SO,) groups one by one (with corresponding removal of O, on the peroxide plate), but the process does not go on until the active material has the composition Pb,,(SO,),. (on the assumption of initial composition Pb,, and Pb,,O,, respectively) on both plates. When the active materials have the compositions Pb,,(SO,), and Pb,,O,(SO,), the plates are fully discharged. If the current be now kept flowing in the same direction reversal sets in with addition of O, at the negative, and its removal at the positive, and this goes on until Pb,,O,(SO,), and Pb,,(SO,), are formed; continuing the current still in the same direction O, is added and (SO,) removed at the (old) negative and (SO,) removed at the (old) positive, until finally Pb,,O,, and Pb,, are reformed, and the cell is fully charged, but with the plates reversed. This explanation, it is true, helps to explain some of the obscure points in the behaviour of lead and lead peroxide in the accumulator, but it is question- able whether the weight of evidence in its favour is sufficient to justify the assumptions necessary, even though these may be to some extent supported by collateral evidence of a purely chemical nature. The truth of the matter seems to be that at present we can- not go much beyond the double sulphation theory originally put forward in these columns by Gladstone and Tribe. Progress is barred, not so much by want of study of the lead cell as by want of knowledge of the general behaviour of lead compounds during electro- lysis, and even by ignorance of the reactions occurring on the electrolysis of sulphuric acid. In these cir- cumstances, we can look for little help from the dis- sociation theory, nor has it, as Mr. Wade remarks, NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | | littoral region and above the abyssal region. extending from the littoral region all over the bottom of the lake ; (c) felagic, the great mass of water beyond the The fauna and flora are classified in accordance with these three regions, and as the animals and plants exist in intimate biological relation, they form what Prof. Forel describes as “sociétés,” so that there is a “société” pertaining to each region. Descriptions and illustrations are given of the methods and apparatus employed in collecting the organisms in the different regions, and in the sorting out and separation of these organisms when obtained. The first half of the book is occupied chiefly with a full list of the organisms constituting the fauna and flora of the lake. Prof. Forel enumerates in all nearly one thousand species. Many of these, however, such as the bats and some of the birds, have no claim to be con- sidered natives, but, like /Yovz0 sapiens, who heads the list, resort to the lake in search of a living. On the other hand, there are many species peculiar to the lake, among which the most interesting are those adapted to live at considerable depths. The most remarkable of these abyssal forms are the blind Crustacea, Ase/dus Foreli and Niphargus Foreli, but most of the groups of animals occurring in the lake have representatives in the deep fauna. Among plants, the only peculiar abyssal form is a moss, 7hamnium Lemani, found at a depth of nearly 200 feet, yet brilliantly green. In some groups, the lake is very rich in species, while in others it is surprisingly poor. This may be partly due to some groups having been more thoroughly studied than others. Of the seven species of mammals noted, one, the beaver, is extinct, two, on Prof. Forel’s own showing, have not yet been recorded with certainty, while three are classed as “erratic” or adventitious, leaving only the otter as a regular inhabitant. There is a long list of An 2 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1903 birds, many of them mere visitors. Of the forty-two species of Entomostraca, only seven are recorded as pelagic, but a large number occur in the deep region. Of the twenty-six Rotifers recorded, the majority, fifteen, are pelagic. It is probable that further work in the littoral region would considerably extend the list. Many species of Rhizopods extend into the abyssal region, and several are peculiar to it. Among the Alga, the Diatoms are very numerous, comprising a greater number of species than any other group of organisms, while, on the other hand, the paucity of Desmids is remarkable. Only two species of Closterium represent the typical unicellular group ; the only species cited as pelagic is a Hyalotheca, while the genus Staurastrum, so generally present in the plankton of the lakes in this country, is not noted at all. It is somewhat surprising to find only two Hepatics and three Mosses in Prof. Forel’s lists and no Lichens what- ever. In dealing with the Mosses, the professor seems to make it a rule only to admit species which are per- manently submerged, a rule which, applied all round, would greatly curtail his lists. The second half of the book is devoted to the study in detail of the plant and animal associations of the various regions and to the discussion of many interesting problems offered by the life of the lake. these problems, concerning the origin of the various associations, the migrations of the plankton, &c., we cannot here enter, but several of the more interesting | points may briefly be noticed. Prof. Forel insists on the recent origin of the flora and fauna of the lake, in common with those of all regions which have undergone a glacial epoch. He remarks on the cosmopolitan character of the pelagic population. A remarkable fact is the occurrence of Chironomid larve and air-breathing Molluscs at great depths. Without any apparent modification of their structure, both these animals seem to be able to adapt themselves to the altered conditions found at the bottom in the deeper | parts of the lake when casually transported thither. When brought to the surface, the air-tubes and air-cavity are found to contain water. After exposure for some time in shallow water, they resume the normal mode of breathing. Prof. Forel further points out that those ‘Chironomid larvz which had become adapted to breathe water would thereby be prevented from rising to the surface to pass into the winged state. He asserts that as a matter of fact they never are observed to emerge from the water except in the littoral region, and dis- cusses the possibility of the insects breeding pedo- genetically, as is known to occur with some species, but considers it more probable that they are all casually introduced. Some notes are given of the occurrence of albino cygnets among the broods of swans on the lake. There is also a reproduction of an interesting old plate, dated 1581, from the Library of Geneva, giving sketches and notes of nineteen species of fishes frequenting the lake. Mention is made of a fungoid disease, attributed to Saprolegnia ferax, which attacked the pike in the lake in the years 1886 and 1887, destroying large numbers of all sizes. The work is valuable as a comprehensive summary of the biology of a large lake, and will be of much NO. 1740, VOL. 67] Into most of | service to those who are making similar studies of other lakes. The second and concluding part of the third volume of Prof. Forel’s monograph on the Lake of Geneva will, it is understood, deal with the pile-dwellings, fisheries and other relations of man to the lake. OUR BOOK SHELF. A Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles. Vol. ii. Part viii. By J. W. Taylor, F.L.S. Pp. 52; 5 pls. col., figs. in text. (Weeds Taylor Brothers, 1902.) WITH the present part, this work enters on its long- awaited second volume, containing the systematic portion. The-first volume was devoted to a sort of general introduction to the study of the Mollusca, with special reference to British forms, and left much to be desired ; but this second section should prove of great value, seeing that for many years past the author, ably seconded by Mr. W. D. Roebuck, has been patiently amassing a large amount of very valuable information concerning the distribution and variation of the British non-marine Mollusca. So extended, however, is the plan on which the work is projected that further co- operation is invited and will, we hope, be readily given. As compared with other works of its kind, the present one is noteworthy for the greater length at which the various details concerning each species are treated and for the introduction of new features of great importance. Anatomy receives its proper share of attention ; but too much space is bestowed, and mostly wasted, on varia- tions that are quite unimportant scientifically. In this section especially, more careful editing is required to remove the too obvious traces of mere compilation and to introduce a better sense of proportion between the different parts. The geographical distribution of the species is, how- ever, the strong feature of the work, and here an innova- tion of very great value is introduced, for, besides detailed records in the text, the range of each species in the British Isles is shown on a separate, coloured map, indicating (@) districts from which the author has actually seen specimens, (4) areas for which the species has been recorded by other observers, and (c) regions in which it probably occurs. To these we hope the author will add indication (say by dots) of districts formerly occupied by a species (e.g. Acanthinula lamellata) the range of which has become restricted in recent times. Distribution over neighbouring areas of the continent is shown on maps in the text. The inclusion of forms entirely fossil (e.g. Glandina from the Eocene) is another, welcome, new departure, and here, as in the geological histories, we believe, although it is not so stated, Mr. R. B. Newton rendered some assistance (cf. Journ. Conch., x. p. 74). The illustrations in the text are mostly good, but here and there is one unworthy of the rest (e.g. No. 52). Plate i., with coloured figures of ‘Testacella, is an ex- cellent example of tri-colour printing, but the artist must surely have had wooden models to draw from. One would have expected to have found a more modern classification adopted than that set forth on the opening page, but what was selected should have been correctly followed. The branch Euthyneura, which was established — by Spengler, and not by Lankester as stated, is not syno- nymous with the order Pulmonata, which is only one of its subdivisions. These and other minor blemishes, however, do not affect the value of the work in its entirety, and when completed the author will undoubtedly have made a most important contribution to the literature on the study of our British non-marine Mollusca. (BV), Marcu 5, 1903] Interest and Education. The Doctrine of Interest and its Concrete Application. By Prof. C. DeGarmo. Pp. xiii + 226. (New York: The Macmillan Com- pany, 1902.) Price 4s. 6d. net. THE masters in English secondary schools have in the past been a little impatient of philosophical treatises dealing with the principles underlying educational prac- tice ; they have been apt to recognise education as an art, though unwilling to give attention to writers anxious to formulate a science of education. While fond of in- sisting upon the value to the teacher of individuality and freedom of action, our schoolmasters have failed to understand that until they have discovered and can apply the principles of their art, they are mere empirics, each knowing only what he has learnt from personal experience. The greater attention given in America and Germany to the training of teachers has incidentally resulted in the growth of a body of able men devoted to the study of educational science. Prof. DeGarmo, of Cornell University, is one of these students of pedagogic problems, and the book before us, with its evidences of enthusiasm on every page, represents some of his recent work. Taking Schurman’s dictum as his text, that “interest is the greatest word in education,” he shows how interest arises among primitive men, what its object should be, how it can be made to assist in the delimitation of the curriculum, and what relation it has to methods of teaching. Prof. DeGarmo has no sym- pathy with those intellectual aristocrats who cherish archaic educational ideals and deny the badge of scholarship to all who do not accept their estimate of the value of Greek and Latin. He attaches as much importance to rational instruction in science as to the making of Latin verses—‘‘the student in the scientific, the technological or the commercial course is not inferior to his brother in the arts course. . . difference is not inferiority.” He quotes approvingly, too, Lord Kelvin, who has said, “‘the higher education has two purposes— first, to enable the student to earn a livelihood, and second, to make life worth living,” and this book should greatly assist teachers so to educate their pupils as to make both these requirements possible of attainment. INST ARS SE The Theory of Optics. By Paul Drude. Translated from the German by C. R. Mann and R. A. Millikan. Pp. xxi + 546. (London: Longmans and Co., 1902.) Price 15s. net. A very full account of the German edition of the above work appeared in these pages rather more than two years ago (October 18, 1900), under the title “A Modern Text-book of Optics.’’? To what was then said little need be added. Prof. Michelson, in his preface to the translation, expresses the facts when he writes, ‘‘ But no complete development of the electro- magnetic theory in all its bearings, and no compre- hensive discussion of the relation between the laws of radiation and the principles of thermodynamics have yet been attempted in any general text in English.”’ Prof. Drude’s boolx fills the gap, and we may well agree with Prof. Michelson in his opinion that by making the book accessible to English-reading students, the translators have done an important service. The translation has been well done; to the English reader the get-up of the book has an unfamiliar and not quite pleasing appearance, due to its American origin, and the illustrations of apparatus are not as good as we are accustomed to see in books of the class, but this does not really detract from the high merit of the work. An index, which was wanting in the German edition, has been added, but the references to original NO. 1740, VOL. 67] NATURE 413 papers, especially papers of historic interest, are sin- gularly incomplete. The book does not pretend to develop the subject from the historic standpoint, it is true, but still the omissions noted are very marked. In spite of these, the book is of very real value, and should be found on the shelves of every physical laboratory. Le Forze Idrauliche. By Ingegnere Torquato Perdoni. Pp. 205; with four plates. (Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1902.) IN a country like Italy, where coal has to be purchased from abroad, the utilisation of natural sources of available energy is an important problem. In this volume the author gives in tabular form a list of the principal water courses of the Italian mainland, and estimates, so far as information will permit, the amount of horse-power obtainable from these (a) under normal conditions (‘‘ magra ordinaria’’) and (b) during the dry seasons of the year (‘‘ minima magra’’), exceptional droughts being excluded. Be- tween these two limits, there is a large amount of energy available during the greater part of the year, which might be utilised if provision were made for supplying the deficiency during the dry months, and one method suggested is to apply this water power to electric traction on the railways, supplementing it in the summer by the use either of ordinary locomotives or steam engines at the generating stations. Of other sources of energy, the sea with its tides and waves is considered, and even glaciers are men- tioned in connection with the property that a cold body may act as a store, if not of energy (as the author implies), at any rate of availability. This distinction between energy and availability might with advantage be pointed out clearly in the intro- duction, which deals with ‘‘ the unity of concepts in modern physics,’’ but in which the part devoted to. matters thermodynamic is suggestive of Carnot’s caloric theory of the motive power of fire rather than of the second law as modified by Clausius. De Ether. By Dr. V. A. Julius. Pp. 56. De Erven F. Bohn, 1902.) L’Etere e la Materia ponderabile. By Ingegnere M. Barbera. Pp. viii+134. (Turin: Bertolero, 1902.) Tue first of these pamphlets consists of a discourse given to a vacation class of teachers in April, 1902, shortly before the death of the author. It was pub- lished at the request of many members of the class, and is as good a general historic account as could possibly be given in so short a space of our knowledge of the ether, considered with regard to optical phenomena, starting with the corpuscular theory of Newton, and tracing the various theories of Huyghens, Fresnel, Cauchy, Lord Kelvin, Maxwell, Fitzgerald, Larmor, Lorentz, and other writers. Signor Barbéra’s book is of a very different nature. In it he endeavours to account, without the use of mathematical formulze, for the whole of the phenomena of modern physics and physical chemistry, on the sup- position that the ether like matter consists of an aggre- gate of material particles, and that it differs from matter only in its very small density and very great elasticity. In the fifth paragraph he discusses the propagation of transverse waves on the hypothesis that the ether is a fluid. The motions which he describes in this connec- tion are, however, well known to readers of hydro- dynamical text-books as those produced by a sphere moving or oscillating in liquid. The bool is up-to-date so far as the inclusion of recently discovered physical phenomena is concerned, but no theories of the ether can be adequately discussed in a pamphlet of this size and character, however carefully written. (Haarlem : 414 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1903 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. | Sir Edward Fry on Natural Selection. I ask leave to make a few observations on Mr. Galton’s detter under the above heading which appeared in your issue of February 12. In my papers on the age of the inhabited world and the pace of organic change in the Monthly Magazine lor last December and January, I had a passage on the difficulty which appeared to me to exist in conceiving mimetism to have been produced by the gradual accumulation of minute points of likeness. On this Mr. Galton observes that ‘‘ two objects that are somewhat alike will be occasionally mis- taken for one another when the conditions under which they are viewed are unfavourable to distinction.’”’ If by “* somewhat alike’? Mr. Galton means have some point of likeness, however minute, then the proposition would refute my objection ; but it would, as I think, be manifestly untrue. If, on the other hand, by ** somewhat alike ’’ be meant a considerable likeness, then the proposition is manifestly true, but leaves unanswered the difficulty on which I have dwelt, viz. the difficulty of seeing how natural selection could have helped the organism to convert minute points of likeness in the midst of unlikeness into such a preponderance -of likeness as to produce deception. Mr. Galton has illustrated his point by the fact that ‘i ’”’ may often be mistaken by the beholder for ‘1,’’ “‘ k,’’ or ““h,’? But here he starts with an obvious and consider- able likeness, and the question is, how could that degree -of likeness be reached by natural selection ? Let us take two sheets of paper, the one a tabula vasa, the other covered with a thousand dots arranged ‘so as to produce a highly complicated pattern. let dots appear successively, but sporadically, on the white paper in places where there are dots on the other paper, until, in the end, the two papers are indistinguish- able. It seems to me to be obvious that for a long while no eye would mistake the one paper for the other; but that, as the process goes forward, a point will be reached where -an occasional mistake will occur under conditions unfavour- able to distinction. Now I agree that it is conceivable that from this point forward natural selection may operate, but -as to the whole interspace between the first minute change | that deceives no one to the point of first deception, it appears | to me plain that natural selection cannot operate at all, and that the theory of the accumulation of minute variations, therefore, fails to account for the facts of mimetism in insects and other organisms. If the two suggestions of sudden and great variation on the one hand, and of the slow accumulation of small vari- ations on the other be considered as the possible explanation -of the facts of mimetism, I cannot but think that the latter will be found far more probable than the former ; and there- fore, whilst willingly admitting the great weight to be attributed to the opinion of Mr. Galton on the subject, I remain unconvinced. _ But suppose that on this point I am wrong and Mr. Galton is right, does he not judge my argument with undue severity when he treats it as ‘‘ so faulty as to seriously compromise the value of the memoir as a whole ’’? My observations on mimetism are not the basis of my argument, which is a collection of facts which appear to show the existence of sudden and heritable variations. They are a part, and a separate part only, of an argument that the accumulation of minute variations will not account for some known facts attributed to it. The inculpated paragraph may be struck out of my paper, and all the rest will stand unaffected. Even if this error, if error it be, has compromised not a single passage only but the whole of my paper, I am glad to find that Mr. Galton is in sympathy with its general purport, and I thank him for the courteous language which accompanies his condemnation of my lapse. Epw. Fry. Failand, February 23. NO. 1740, VOL. 67] Then | | continual progress, I imagine, is the belief of everyone who The Assumed Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials. Witn reference to Mr. Strutt’s recent article and Prof, J. J. : Thomson’s letter on this subject, may I venture modestly to urge that it may be well to consider whether the condition set up in air to which attention is directed be not the out- come of the occurrence of a minute amount of chemical change of an ordinary character—whether it be not a sort of Russell effect on an infinitely minute scale, detected by an infinitely delicate test? That oxidative change is in has paid the slightest attention to the subject; and that leaf surfaces—if not waterfalls—are the certain seat of such — changes may be regarded as unquestionable. Those of us who require something more than an attitude of papal in- fallibility in proof of a scientific proposition would like to see the old love honourably retired before the new one is ~ accepted in society. Henry E. ARMSTRONG. The Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis. j an a recently published ‘‘ Text-book of Electrochemistry,” by Svante Arrhenius, and translated by Dr. McCrae, I find on p. 114 of the translation the following statements :— “Even when working with polarisable electrodes . . . the smallest fall of potential is sufficient to cause a current in the liquid. This fact was proved by Buff with currents so small that it was only after months that a cubic centimetre of explosive mixture was obtained. According to this the very smallest force is sufficient to split the molecules of the Grotthus chain . . . Faraday’s view is therefore incorrect. The radicles of the salt molecule cannot be held together by a force of finite value.” The ideas of current and electromotive force are here rather mixed, but obviously the passage refers to a very necessary part of the foundation of the dissociation theory of electrolysis, viz. that a minute E.M.F. can evolve in the | free state the ions of an electrolyte the heat of combin- ation of which is considerable. On referring to Buff’s papers (Lieb. Ann., IxXxxv. p. 1 and xciv. p. 1), I find no mention of an evolution in the manner described of any explosive mixture whatever; taking this to mean free oxygen and free hydrogen evolved simultaneously by an E.M.F. less than that of one Daniell’s cell. Indeed, towards the end of his second paper, Buff incidentally states that a single cell produces merely a polarisation which almost stops the current. Surely in the attempt to found a theory in opposition to that of Faraday some modicum of care should be taken to verify the sources of information. In ‘‘ Outlines of Electrochemistry,’ by Prof. Harry C. Jones (1901), we find at p. 15 the same kind of statement, that the dissociation theory accounts for, and is founded on, experimental evidence, showing that ‘‘a very weak current ’’? can decompose water and set free its constituents simultaneously. Here also the word ‘‘ current ’’ is used, though “‘ E.M.F.”’ is apparently meant. No reference is given, but the statement occurs in a dis- cussion of the well-known Clausius theory. In his de- — scription of this theory (Pogg. Ann., ci. p. 338), Clausius : certainly does not mention, and apparently did not believe, that any such phenomenon could occur. It would be interesting to know if anyone has ever ob- — served it. q At all events, the acceptance of the theory in question is — certainly not encouraged by an encounter with such serious — errors in the description of experiments put forward as its foundations. J. Brown. a Analysis of the ‘‘ Red Rain” of February 22. Some of your readers will probably be interested to know something of the nature of the muddy rain which fell here on Sunday, February 22. A sample of the downfall, caught in an open field between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, was brought to me to examine, and particulars of the partial analysis of the suspended matter which the water contained are subjoined. The large percentage of organic matter seems to me to be the most remarkable point in the analysis, and I regret not having had time to make a separate investi- gation of this. A rapid examination of the physical proper- } | Marcu 5, 1903] NATURE 415 ties of the sediment, or mud, which I made, seemed to indicate that the organic matter was condensed hydro- carbon gases, or condensed volcanic vapours (such as one might expect to be evolved unburnt in a very large volcanic outburst). The sediment seems to be terrestrial, as the large amount of organic matter, coupled with the small amount of iron found, prohibits the theory of a meteoric origin. The rain water contains 37°0 grains of suspended matter, or mud, to the gallon. The analysis of the suspended matter, dried at 100° C., is as follows :— Organic matter (loss on ignition) .... 36°4 per cent. Silhicet, Bsn es ak any 45°6 v Alumina and oxide of iron... 136 is Magnesia 2°4 - Unclassified 2°0 7 100°0 Pa Buckfastleigh, March 2. Row anv A. Earp. Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c. Ty your issue of January 29, Mr. Heaviside put forward a demonstration of Lagrange’s equations of motion which appears invalid. As neither his interpretation of Newton nor his argument based thereon was stated with sufficient clearness to enable a critic to locate the weak spot without running serious risk of misinterpreting him, it seemed better in the first instance to point out a well-known case in which precisely similar reason- ing would lead to Lagrange’s equations of motion where they are known to be untrue (the reason, and a proper remedy, being also generally known). This I did in your number of February 19 ; his reply, in the same number, is to the effect that he does not intend to uphold the truth of Lagrange’s equations in such acase. It is not, however, logically permissible for anyone to escape the inconvenient consequences of his own argument in such a fashion. Possibly Mr. Heaviside has not grasped my point. If the argument he puts forward on p. 298 is valid, I am unable to see any point at which the following can without inconsistency be alleged to fail :—‘‘In the case of a rigid body rotating rounda fixed point with angular velocities #, #s, 3; about its principal axes the kinetic energy T isa homogeneous quadratic function of the w’s, with coefficients which are constants. This makes (8) therefore « d (aT ata m5 (7) +9, (9) But also by the structure of T, aT, aT, aT do, "de, dws So, by subtraction of (10) from (9) ah aa, Sat ae) T= Z aE + @ ae + 7 ea Oot ) and therefore, by Newton, the torque about the first axis is the coefficient of w, z.e. Aw, and similarly for the rest.” There is no step in his demonstration which requires that the coordinates should be ‘‘ proper Lagrangian coordinates within the meaning of the Act”; in the proof usually given there is such a step. It is with great diffidence, lest I may do Mr. Heaviside injustice through misinterpreting him, that I now venture to express the conjecture that in his argument he may possibly have failed, as is sometimes done [by Maxwell, for instance, ‘‘ Treatise,” second edition, § 561, equations (5)], to distinguish between the displacements which a material system actually receives during its motion and displacements which are perfectly arbitrary subject only to the geometrical connections of the system, and have thus confounded the equation oe (See), Mmt s+ - =(F ones, V; NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | T=, (10) (11) which expresses that the rate at which work is done by the forcives is equal to the rate at which the system gains kinetic energy, with the very different one =(4 : oan et ci i dt dv, ax, in which 5x, &c., are arbitrary displacements as above, . When the latter equation is established, Lagrange’s equations follow at once, but Mr. Heaviside has made out no case for deducing: them from the former. In every case, as in the example L cited, the right-hand member of the former equation can be written in the form X54, + DyQy(X1s Vr» Dy Vay Vay Voy - » +) + in an infinite variety of ways, and accordingly it is sufficiently obvious that there is no warrant for stating that the force on x, is the coefficient of v, in any one such form more than in any other. Samples of expressions which might thus be wrongly obtained for the torque about the first axis in the instance alluded to are Aw,, Aw, —(B—C)aows, Ad, +(B-C)wow3, Ad, — (Bas* — Cw,3)/a). | For the simpler case of a particle moving in a plane, one could thus obtain, for example, the equations, X=m(X—- ky), Y=m(v+kx), where & is any quantity whatever. In short, the latter of the two equations compared above differs from the former in being equivalent to a set of indepen- dent equations equal in number to that of the coordinates of the system. Similar remarks apply, of course, to his treatment of the question of an elastic medium, p. 297. That the Principal of Energy, or of Activity, does not by itself afford a sufficient basis from which to formulate the funda- mental equations of dynamics in any form whatever is admitted almost universally ; from Mr. Heaviside’s letters it appears at least doubtful whether he is willing to agree with this general and well grounded opinion ; he has advanced no valid argument against it, however. W. McF. Orr. February 22. A FEW weeks ago vou published in a letter from Mr. Heaviside a proof of Lagrange’s equations of motion of a system of bodies. I must confess that I in common with others swallowed it, but I have now come to the conclusion. that the proof, though doubtless admirable as an example of the power of the ‘‘ Principle of Activity,’’ does not prove La- grange’s equations. In fact, if q be a coordinate, q the corresponding velocity, and Q the corresponding force, we have the result {ZO Ow 31 7a) a for any possible motion of the system. But we are not entitled to equate the quantities in the brackets to zero, for these are not independent of g. The “ proof’? is, in fact, merely Maxwell’s well-known but fallacious proof, simpli- fied by going direct instead of vid Hamilton. Cambridge, February 28, 29 fo) R. F. W. Genius and the Struggle for Existence. PERMIT me to point out that Dr. A. R. Wallace’s state- ment (p. 296), ‘‘ the comparatively short lives of million- aires,’’ is not supported by facts, at any rate by those for the last three years. The following has been obtained from the details con- cerning estates on which death duties were paid. Nine millionaires died during 1900, leaving in the aggregate 19 millions. The average age of these nine testators is seventy- four—the youngest was fifty-nine and the oldest ninety-one years. During 1901, we find that the deaths of eight millionaires are recorded, whose joint estates were valued at 103 millions. In this case too, we find that the average age is above the | allotted threescore years and ten, being seventy-two. The 416 youngest in this year was fifty-three, and the oldest—Baron Armstrong—was ninety. Last year—igo2—the same story is repeated. Five millionaires died in 1902, and their average age is seventy- eight. It is also worth remarking that if our inquiries are carried further, it will be noticed that longevity is a striking feature of those whose estates are valued at between 500,000]. and 1,000,000l. It seems to me that one might have expected this state of things to exist, if we consider how the wealthy—through their wealth—can secure the advantages of change of scene, change of climate, scientific progress, and last, but not least, the aid, skill and advice of our greatest doctors and surgeons. One would have liked to take up other points, but I fear I have already taken up too much of your valuable space. S. Irwin CROOKES. Secondary and Technical Schools, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, February 17. IN some respects it appears to me that the excellent re- marks of Sir Oliver Lodge and Mr. A. R. Wallace (NaTuRE, Ixvii. pp. 270, 296) leave this difficult subject in an unsatis- factory condition. All inquirers have perceived that great men are of two types, and it would conduce to clear thinking if we could accustom ourselves to classify them under different names. To define them exactly is impossible, for no man of great genius is without talent, and no man of great talent is with- ‘out some genius. The first class, to which I should prefer to restrict the name genius, may be described primarily as men of fine, delicate, sensitive, impressionable constitution, and strong, restless innate tendencies which appear early in life, as a rule, and take their own shape. These men work energeti- cally, often at high pressure, and in general die comparatively young, or at least do not often reach a robust old age. They, are fearless rather than circumspect, have the ability and courage to open out in new directions of thought and action, are creative, original, daring, and possess either an exquisite sensibility or a wonderful and tenacious faculty ot logical thought. They are, as it were, impelled from within, and are thus able to resist the almost overwhelming influence of social example, and the ties of relationship, exhibiting, for the most part, more independence than their times can tolerate or understand. They introduce most of the new ideas into the world, and touch nothing they do not trans- form. They are always men of strong practical feeling in their own special vocation, but scarcely ever practical in the sense of turning every opportunity to their own advan- tage. Indeed, the height to which they soar is largely due to their detachment from worldly interests and conventions, and their lack of regard for self, though this may be con- sistent, and is often found in conjunction, with excessive vanity and egotism. They take a sympathetic interest in human affairs, and are most commonly liberal in sentiment, but their actions are often narrow and sometimes inde- fensible. Frequently they are simple, direct, guileless, not so much unversed in as opposed to the diplomatic ways by which men succeed; but contact with the world is apt to spoil them, and their very logic leads them into extremes. Despite abundant energy, their powers of resistance are not great, and they most often reach high eminence in music, poetry, painting, philosophy and science, where activity lies somewhat remote from the tension and bustle of practical life. They are said to be inspired because of the enthu- siasm, and unconscious working, of their minds. The second class I would describe’ as men of talent. When preeminent they exhibit striking aptitude in learning and in imitation, and develop extraordinary powers of work. They are generally men of strong, vigorous build, firm mind and healthy body. They are, accordingly, marked by general sanity of ideas, preferring to think and act in conformity with prevailing conventions rather than to startle men with novel views. Except perhaps in their own particular sphere of activity, they are conservative in character. They possess a clear conception of the value of this world’s goods and graces, accumulate honours, and become, in general, more reputable than illustrious. They do the bulk of the world’s NAT CRE . | MARCH 5, 1903 improve existing institutions than to seek new methods or discover new paths. When they do achieve greatness it is more by virtue of immense knowledge and systematic ex- position, or of amazing industry and technique, than of original and independent views. What Galton says of English judges applies with all its force to men of talent in general: they ‘‘ are vigorous, shrewd, practical, helpful men; glorying in the rough-and-tumble of practical life, tough in constitution and strong in digestion, valuing what | money brings, aiming at position and influence, and desiring to found families.’ As described, these are of course ideal types, to which actual men more or less approximate. But they are well enough distinguished in nature for mutual antagonism. The man of talent is apt to laugh at the genius; and the genius too often sneers at the man of talent. The one is pushing, the other retiring ; the one looks for and obtains immediate reward, the other works for fame and posterity. Compared with the man of talent the genius is a rare . phenomenon. But this may be because so many geniuses are sacrificed before their activity has produced lasting re- sults, for the existing environment is not favourable to them. As typical of the genius I would name Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Raphael, Goethe, Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Descartes, Spinoza ; and of the great men of talent Aristotle, Velasquez, Virchow, Hegel, and, indeed, those numerous men who have attained eminence rather through enormous receptivity ~ and power than by acuteness and creative faculty. These types once fairly discriminated, it is not so difficult to determine their relation to the struggle for existence. Great men, in proportion as they approach the second type, are the more clearly useful in the immediate needs of life, and this, in plain language, is the only usefulness conserved by natural selection. Whoever supposes that natural selec- tion is a being with eyes directed towards the future has wholly misconceived it. Men of genius not only leave few, inferior, or no offspring, but too often find it difficult to live. And explain it how we will, the public opinion that neglects men of genius during their lives is natural selection. Genius never conquers except when the ideas and works to which it gives origin are taken up and put to practical use by men of the second type. If the ideas are beyond the men of talent, they are as much neglected as the geniuses, until such time as the world has made progress in its own slow way. There are many ideas now in printed books which are waiting for recognition by men of talent. Much of the work of genius has very little bearing on the struggle for existence. Music and painting, for example, except in so far as they are a source of profit to instrumentalists and collectors, and to teachers of these arts, do little more than give pleasure and consolation mostly to those who seek refuge from the struggle which, though concealed by many conventions, is real and searching enough beneath the sur- face of civilised life. The error lies in supposing that every- thing comes into existence by virtue of natural selection, when in fact natural selection is only a convenient expression { to sum up the action of causes which conduce to survival and — persistence. In nature there is great variety, and genius, — so far, is one of the varieties which often recur, but scarcely ever survive even for two generations. It is a rare and ' delicate thing, and the utmost we can hope for it is that endeavours may be made to collect and preserve it like some hot-house plant, in order that it may suggest combinations which men of talent may put to practical account. The position of the second type in the struggle for exist- ence is beyond doubt. The stability of a country and its place among the nations depend upon the number and ability of men of this stamp. They obtain rewards pre-_ cisely because of their usefulness. They found families by reason of their strength and virility, and their steadfastness, cheerfulness and conservatism of character are as much the — expression of their bodily make as the instability and origin-_ ality of the man of genius are the expression of his keen sensibility, and his daring suggestions a proof of bodily discomfort and profound dissatisfaction with the conditions — of life and knowledge. [ But we are only on the verge of these studies, which are hardly yet within the reach of scientific method, and we have hard mental work, and are more concerned to protect and | acquired very little insight into the collective action of P | y g NO. 1740, VOL. 67] in MarcH 5, 1903] NAT ORE 417 natural selection in preserving nations. Our gaze is too intently fixed on the individual struggle, and we are more ready to revert to old abstract notions of inner springs and guides, set for some noble and unknowable purpose, than to develop the one fruitful idea of progress by the natural and predictable interaction of parts. ARTHUR EBBELS. February 16. THE ORGANISATION OF FISHERY RESEARCH.? N August, 1901, a committee, since known as the Committee on Ichthyological Research, was ap- pointed by the Board of Trade in order ‘‘ to inquire and report as to the best means by which the State or local authorities can assist scientific research as ap- plied to problems affecting the fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland, and in particular whether the object in view would best be attained by the creation of one central body or department acting for England, Scot- land, and Ireland, or by means of separate departments or agencies in each of the three countries.’’ The report of this committee, together with the minutes of evidence laid before it, has now been published. The appointment of a committee of inquiry by Government is, I am afraid, generally regarded as having the effect of postponing, or even avoiding, any effective action on their part. In the present case, how- ever, we have the somewhat exceptional situation of real action being taken whilst the inquiry was still in progress, and that action in a direction which is, to some extent, at variance with the course eventually recommended by the committee. For whilst the Ichthyo- logical Committee were still engaged in hearing the evidence of experts of various degrees of authority, and’ by all the subtleties of cross-examination causing them to commit themselves—as is plainly indicated in the evidence of most of the witnesses—to statements which, after a little reflection and in more collected and rational moments they would rather have expressed differently, the Government decided to take part in the scheme of international investigations which was_ receiving somewhat rough treatment at the hands of the com- mittee, and persuaded Parliament to vote considerable sums of money for that purpose. The Government are to be congratulated upon having taken definite practical action, even though a minor result of that action has been to cause the report of their Ichthyo- logical Committee to be brought, as it were, with but enfeebled vitality into the world. The question referred to the committee was, never- theless, one of considerable importance, and_ their answer to it—if not of immediate moment—will pro- bably be not without influence in the future. Ina general way, the question how the State or local author- ities can best assist scientific research as applied to fisheries is quite simply answered by saying that they can do so by supplying the most capable and trust- worthy scientific men whose services they can obtain with the necessary funds to carry out such research. The only real difficulty is to find some scheme of or- ganisation which will ensure that the men employed are both naturally and by experience and training the best fitted for the work, that thorough, accurate and really scientific workers are distinguished from such as are ostentatious and superficial, and that those fail- ing to maintain their efficiency, or to carry out the work assigned to them, are speedily eliminated. Two other matters of importance are, however, in- volved in the terms of reference of the committee. In the first place, what should be the exact relations 1 Report of the Committee on Ichthyological Research. (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1902.) Price 4s. 12. NO. 1740, VOL. 67] ! existing between the men charged with carrying out scientific research and those whose duties are con- nected with fishery administration; and, in the second place, to what extent is it advantageous that the re- searches carried on in different parts of the United Kingdom should be placed under one central control. On the subject of the relations of the administrative and scientific departments, the committee express a quite clear and definite view. They are of opinion that the responsibility for and the control of the scien- tific investigations should be in the hands of the central administrative authority, and that the most im- portant of the researches should be directly carried out by this authority. In suggesting a new arrangement for England, they, however, propose the establishment of a central council, composed, ir approximately equal numbers, of administrative and scientific men, whose duty it should be to advise the administrative authority (Board of Trade) on all matters concerning scientific research. No provision is suggested by means of which this council could enforce its decisions. In my opinion, it is open to the gravest doubt whether such a direct control of scientific work by an administra- tive body is likely to lead to satisfactory results. The trustworthy information and assistance required by the administrative body are, I feel sure, much more likely to be obtained from a more independent scientific authority acting as advisers to the administrators, an authority the preponderating influence of which is in the hands of recognised men of science. Such an arrangement will ' render the selection of capable naturalists far more probable, and will ensure the naturalists being in a position to give that complete concentration of their whole energies upon the problem in hand which is so absolutely essential to successful scientific work. The claims of administration are immediate and pressing, and when they are combined with the claims of scien- tific research, experience has repeatedly shown that the latter are bound, sooner or later, to take a secondary place. Huxley’s experiences as an inspector of fisheries are a sufficient illustration of this point. The objection urged by the opponents of the view here advocated is that the method is less likely to lead to immediate practical results. Unfortunately, there is no short and easy road to results which are sound and scientific, and the adage ‘‘ More hurry, less speed ”’ is, I fear, more than usually applicable to work of this kind. On the second question—a question to which the at- tention of the committee was particularly directed— namely, to what extent there should be central control! of the investigations throughout the United Kingdom, the committee also make a definite recommendation. Recognising the fact that separate administrative authorities are already established in England, Scot- land, and Ireland, and in view of their opinion that the scientific investigations should be controlled by the administrative authority, the committee consider that the researches in the three portions of the kingdom are best kept separate. In order, however, to secure some measure of uniformity of action amongst the three bodies, they propose the establishment of a quarterly conference of experts representing the English, Scot- tish, and Irish departments. But there seems little likelihood that such a conference, which, as in the case of the English council, it is not proposed to endow either with authority to enforce its decisions or with any power of action of its own, would be an instrument of much effective value. The scheme is in part the result of a desire, with which I entirely sympathise, to ensure to the workers the maximum of freedom and individual initiative, combined with such centralisation as shall prevent undue or unnecessary waste of energy. But would not these objects be attained more effectually 418 NATORE [ MaARcH 5, 1903 and simply by the appointment of a single individual, in whom responsibility could be fixed, and under whose general direction the heads of the scientific departments in the three portions of the United Kingdom would act, a considerable measure of individual authority and ini- tiative being at the same time accorded to each? Whatever scheme may be adopted, it seems to me to be the duty of all naturalists to insist that the prepon- derating control of the investigations, as I have already urged, shall be in the hands of recognised men of science, for unless this is so there can be no guarantee that they will be carried out by scientific methods and with that accuracy and thoroughness without which no results of any permanent value can ever be ob- tained. E. J. ALLEN. MAGNETIC WORK IN NEW ZEALAND. HE “Report of the Department of Lands and Survey, New Zealand,” for 1901-2 contains an account of the new magnetic observatory erected in Christchurch, eae 7 Fic. 1.—Magnetograph House. New Zealand, and of the magnetic work to be carried on there under the direction of Dr. Coleridge Farr. The site of the observatory buildings in Hagley Park appears, from the illustrations in the Survey “Report,” to be one of considerable natural beauty. It would also seem to be very suitable from a magnetic stand- point, if we may judge from the prelim- inary survey carried out by Dr. Farr in the neighbourhood of Dunedin, In- vercargill, Nelson and Christchurch. Of all the districts examined, he found the vicinity of Christchurch the most free from local disturbances. The observatory consists of three se- parate buildings, externally of the Swiss chalet type. Photographs of two of these are here reproduced from the Survey “Report.” Fig. 1 shows the magnetograph house, or, to be strictly accurate, the superstructure above the underground cellar in which the mag- netographs are lodged. Fig. 2 shows the office buildings, which also serve to accommodate a seismograph. The third building, not shown here, serves for the taking of the absolute magnetic observa- tions. The magnetic equipment of the observatory consists of | observatory, that at Melbourne. a self-recording magnetograph by Adie and a unifilar Kew pattern, and examined, prior to their dispatch to New Zealand, at the National Physical Laboratory (Kew Observatory). In addition, Dr. Farr has temporarily the loan of a second unifilar and dip circle belonging to the Royal Society, intended primarily for survey work. Be- sides the magnetic instruments, the observatory possesses a Milne seismograph, a Kelvin water-dropper and two portable electrometers, for determinations of atmospheric electric potential, and a “dissipation apparatus” of the type invented by Elster and Geitel for determining the rate of loss of electric charges from an insulated body. After the arrival of the magnetograph in New Zealand, Dr. Farr had the clock modified so as to allow of rapid as well as slow rotation of the drum carrying the photo- graphic paper. This slight modification—which has been made independently by the directors of the Melbourne and Mauritius Observatories—admits of open time-scale traces being obtained as satisfactorily with the ordinary Kew pattern magnetograph as with the newer types by Eschenhagen and others. This modification has allowed Dr. Farr to participate fully in the international scheme of magnetic observations agreed on in connection with the present German and British Antarctic expeditions. In fact, during the call of the British vessel, the Dzscovery, at New Zealand, he arranged with Commander Scott an extension of the scheme of rapid registration, which it is hoped may increase its usefulness. The modification of | the clock presented Dr. Farr with an opportunity of an unexpected character, of which full use was made. | Zealously aided by his assistant, Mr. Skey—at what must have been considerable personal inconvenience—he succeeded in getting a practically continuous quick-run record for eighty hours during the occurrence of a suc- cession of earthquake shocks. Part of one of the mag- netic curves is reproduced in the “Report,” showing a | curious sinuous trace, and a complete comparison of the | corresponding records from the magnetograph and seis- | mograph may be expected to elicit valuable information as to the nature and cause of the movement of magnets at times of earthquake. The frequent repetition of such an opportunity is, perhaps, hardly to be desired, but there can be no doubt that in New Zealand, at least, the com- | bination of magnetic and seismological investigations is a happy one. Previous to the existence of the new institution, there was in the whole of Australasia only one magnetic nese _ = . 25 ON, Fic. 2.—Office and Seismograph Room. This fact and the : general scarcity of such observatories in the southern magnetometer and dip circle by Dover, all of the ordinary | hemisphere make the observatory at Christchurch of NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | Marcu 5, 1903] much more than local importance. It has already af- forded the magnetic staff of the Dzscovery a most valuable opportunity of comparing their instruments and practising their use in southern latitudes, of which they fully availed themselves, and when it comes to dealing with the magnetic data of the Antarctic expeditions, the Christchurch records should prove invaluable. The public spirit and the appreciation of scientific aims shown by the New Zealand Government in providing the necessary funds for erecting and maintaining the observ- atory is of happy augury. It shows that war is not the NATURE only department in which the colony is anxious to come | to the front. Though hardly referred to in the “ Report,” mention may also be made of the fact that, prior to the erection of the observatory, Dr. Farr took magnetic observations with the instruments lent by the Royal Society at about 150 stations scattered over New Zealand, about half in each of the two principal islands. This constitutes an 419 p. 130 of a sedge-warbler watching one of these usurpers which has expelled the rightful occupants of the nest ? Or what could be more appropriate to the author’s account of the Selborne ring-ousels than the illustration (herewith reproduced) of these birds feeding their young ?—an illustration actually taken in the Selborne country, which cost the Messrs. Kearton at least a week’s watching to obtain. At the risk of being considered hypercritical, we cannot, however, refrain from mentioning that the photograph of swallows on a telegraph-wire (p. 139) is somewhat of an anachronism in an eighteenth-century work. Again, on p. 35, a figure of harvest-mice and their nest would have been much better than the one of common mice; but perhaps to obtain the former was impossible even to a Kearton. We also think that a | photograph of a fallow-buck with fully developed antlers important contribution to the complete magnetic survey | of New Zealand, which Dr. Farr puts forward as part of the programme which he intends to prosecute as circum- stances allow. The objects which Dr. Farr has in view will meet with warm sympathy from all interested in the extension of our knowledge of terrestrial magnetism, and it is to be hoped that his efforts will meet with the con- tinued support necessary for their complete realisation. CHARLES CHREE. THE KEARTON SELBORNED? ILBERT WHITE'S famous natural history classic has already seen something over eighty editions, | and the appearance of yet another may be taken asa | sure indication that its popularity shows no signs of | waning. Indeed, in these days of “nature-teaching,” it is quite likely to become, if possible, more widely read | than ever, since there are few works in the English language better calculated to show the value of the in- telligent use of the eyes or better suited to aid in the cultivation of the powers of observation. If anything could increase the popularity of one of the most popular books in the world, it would be the addition of illustra- | tions of a modern type, faultless in execution and appro- priate in subject. To furnish such pictures, no living artists, we venture to say, are better qualified than the Messrs. Kearton. Their success in this particular in- stance speaks, as usual, for itself; and we shall perhaps | best serve the interests of both artists and publishers if | we ask those of our readers who may be disposed to doubt our words to judge for themselves. It should, however, be stated that this edition of White is a low-priced one, intended for the general | public, and in no sense an ¢éadztion de luxe. It is of small size and printed in small type, and most of the illustrations are therefore of necessity also on a rather microscopic scale. and the neighbouring country, such as that of old cottages on p. 88, this detracts but little, if at all, from their effectiveness ; but it must be confessed that some of the photographs of bird-life, such as the one of an osprey and its nest on p. 78, would have been improved had it been practicable to reproduce them on a some- what larger scale. In his introduction, the editor claims that the illustra- tions are in closer touch with the spirit of the author than any which have previously appeared, and this we can fully endorse. What, for instance, could better illustrate White’s observations on the young cuckoo and its foster-parents than the exquisite photograph on 1 ‘‘ The Natural History of Selborne.” By Gilbert White. by R. Kearton and illustrations by C. and R. Kearton. {London : Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 6s. 6d. NO. 1740, VOL. 67] With notes Pp. xvi + 204. In the case of views of the village | should have replaced the one on p. 27, in which these appendages are less than half-grown. In other respects, we have nothing but commendation to bestow on the illustrations, both as regards subject and execution. Although brief, Mr. R. Kearton’s notes are very much to the point, and give all the information required by ordinary readers in regard to modern emendations on White’s zoological determinations. We note, however, that the editor has not seen fit to follow modern views in ‘ Fic. 1.—Ring-ousels eeding their young. (Cassell and Co., Ltd.) From the Kearton ‘‘ Selborne regard to the nomenclature of bats. The book appears singularly free from misprints (although we notice an unfortunate one on p. xiv.) and is admirably got up. It would be an insult to say that it is calculated to add to the Kearton reputation, since this isan impossibility, and we can do no more than commend it to the attention of all in search of an attractive gift-book. Re RECENT CONFERENCES BETWEEN SCIENCE MASTERS AND EXAMINERS. ioe SNS the past year or so signs have not been wanting that the unfortunate separation between teaching and examining, which has so often been de- plored, is likely, before very long, to be either mended or ended. .And we think that both the representatives of the Universities and the subcommittee of the Public School Science Masters’ Association are to be con- gratulated on the new departures that were made at Cambridge on Saturday, February 7, and Oxford on Saturday, February 14, when they met at conferences summoned by the Vice-Chancellors of the respective Universities, to consider the question of entrance scholarships in the natural sciences given at the several 420 NAT OTE [Marcu 5, 1903 colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, from the point of view of the teaching of science in public schools. For, though the representatives of the Universities did not accept all the proposals brought forward, they did accept a large proportion of the chief of them, as, for example, the proposal to limit the number of chief science subjects offered by any candidate to two, and another requiring all candidates offering geology, or biological subjects to show an acquaintance with the elements of chemistry and physics, and thus a real beginning in the direction of greater cooperation was made. We do not, however, attach so much importance to the results attained by these first conferences as we do to the fact that the conferences were held at all. For we feel sure they will be followed by others, that the science masters will be imitated by the masters of other departments, and that whatever the imme- diate results may be, however great or however small, we might almost say however good or however bad, they will sooner or later—and we think sooner—do much to disentangle many knotty questions, and by generally improving the relations of those who teach and those who examine, do good work both for in- dividuals and for the State, to both of whom the advancement of education is admittedly of vital im- portance. We hope and believe, moreover, that now the representatives of the colleges at Oxford and Cam- bridge have led the way in thus conferring directly with the assistant masters, who, in the nature of things, must do most of the actual teaching in the schools, other public bodies concerned with education, such as the University of London and the Civil Service Commissioners, will not be backward in promoting similar conferences whenever there may seem to be a reasonable prospect that they may prove useful. Some examining bodies in the past have been too timid in the matter of reform, and have shown far too much fear of giving the schools a lead, forgetting that the evil of going too slowly may be even greater, at times, than that of going too fast. Conferences like those we are now recording should be immensely helpful to such conservative bodies by giving them the best possible opportunities of getting into touch with the actual educators. Hitherto, circumstances have tended far too much to make the teachers in schools look upon examiners solely as critics rather than as friends and colleagues. The recent action of the University of London in appointing schoolmasters to examine schoolboys, the proposed consultative committee to assist the War Office on educational questions, and these recent con- ferences at the old Universities, give good ground for hoping that this state of things is about to pass away, and that teachers and examiners will soon be pulling together more universally than they have done hitherto. NOTES. Dr. J. Larmor, secretary of the Royal Society and Fellow of St. John’s College, has been elected to the Lucasian professorship of mathematics at Cambridge, in succession to the late Sir George Stokes. AT a seismological congress held at Strasburg in April, 1901, statutes were proposed for an international seismo- togical association. The German Government now invites delegates from various countries to meet to discuss these propositions. We learn from Science that this meeting will take place at Berne in May. Tue British and African Company’s steamer Bornu, which arrived at Plymouth on February 27, experienced a heavy NO. 1740, VOL. 67] | sand-storm on February 19, in latitude 27° north, longitude 15° 30’ west, that is, a little south of the Canary Islands. A tremendous sea prevailed for several hours, and so dense ; was the sand that it was impossible to see either end of the © ship from the bridge. - Pror. Kocn has been elected a Foreign Associate of the Paris Academy of Sciences, in succession to the late Prof. Virchow. WE regret to see the announcement of the death of Prof. W. Harkness, astronomical director of the U.S. Naval Ob- servatory, and Rear-Admiral (retired) of the United States — Navy. Pror. E. MazeLLte has been appointed director of the Imperial Astronomical-Meteorological Observatory at Triest, Austria. THE twenty-first congress of the Sanitary Institute will be held this year in Bradford, commencing on July 7. The programme of arrangements made will be given in the supplement to the April Journal of the Institute. REUTER states that a telegram has been received in New York from Mr. Aymé, the United States Consul in Guade- loupe, stating that the French army engineers have estab- lished communication with Martinique by means of wireless telegraphy. Rerorts from Mexico state that the volcano Popocatapetl has been bought up by a group of American financiers for the sum of 1,000,000/. The idea is to utilise the valuable deposits of sulphur contained in the volcano, to get which it will be necessary to construct a railway to the summit. Dr. J. W. Grecory, F.R.S., professor of geology in the University of Melbourne, has met with an accident, necessi- tating an operation under chloroform. He was conducting scientific investigations in Tasmania at the time, and con- siderable anxiety has been felt concerning him. The latest news is, however, reassuring. TuHE President of the Local Government Board states that the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal is taking evidence and making investigations on the subject of danger- _ ous contamination of shell-fish by sewage, with a view of — ascertaining the measures necessary for obviating risk to — the public health from this cause. Mr. W. Bowman writes from Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A., with reference to the flexure of a white marble slab mentioned in Nature of November 20, 1902 (p. 56) and November 27, 1902 (p. 81). He says that many years ago he saw at Windsor, Nova Scotia, in the churchyard of the old parish church, a marble slab bowed in the middle, — exactly as described by our correspondents. 4 Mr. Henry Puiprs has given Lord Curzon another 10,0001. for the promotion of agricultural education or scientific research in India. Colonel Lockwood has been informed by the Secretary of State for India that, in view of the great benefits conferred on the European and the native community in India by the Pasteur Institute in the Punjab, the Viceroy proposes to apply half Mr. Phipps’s gift to the establishment of a similar institute in Southern India. — In the House of Commons on Tuesday the following re-_ solution was moved :—‘ That the constitution of the Board } of Trade has become obsolete, and this House is of opinion that a department presided over by a Minister of Commerce and Industry, having the status of a principal Secretary of — State, should be substituted for the present office, to which should be entrusted all matters more particularly appertain- ing to commerce and industry, and to that end that an MarcH 5, 1903] inquiry should be forthwith instituted with the view of re- arranging the duties and functions of existing departments.” After discussion, both the resolution and an amendment to it were withdrawn. CENTRAL NEws despatches from Mexico City report that an eruption of the Colima Volcano commenced on February 21. The disturbance continued practically incessantly until February 24, on which date, at 5.15 a.m., there occurred the most violent eruption known at Colima for many years. At 2.26 a.m. a severe earthquake shock was felt at the town of Tuxpan, near the volcano. Tue Carnegie Institution has made grants to several of the professors of Johns Hopkins University to assist original researches. Prof. Harmon N. Morse has received 300l. for an assistant in his researches upon the new method he has evolved for measurement of osmotic pressures; Prof. R. W. Wood 2oo0l. to maintain a research assistant; Dr. H. C. Jones 2001. for an assistant in his researches in physical chemistry; and Prof. J. J. Abel 2o0ol. for the apparatus necessary to his researches in physiological chemistry. Tue council of the Society of Arts, at the request of the executive committee of the International Fire Prevention Ex- hibition, to be held at Earl’s Court during the current year, has decided to offer the following prizes at the exhibition, out of the funds of the Fothergill Trust :—One gold medal, two silver medals and two bronze medals for the best chemical fire engines for town use shown at the exhibition; and similar medals for the most easily worked long ladders, to reach the sill of a window eighty feet above the level of the pavement, which shall also be capable of being rapidly trans- ported over roads not more than twenty-five feet wide. THE annual general meeting of the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland was held on March 2, when the council presented its report. The council has appointed Prof. J, Millar Thomson (the retiring president), Mr. G. T. Beilby and Dr. J. Lewkowitsch to represent the Institute at the International Congress of Applied Chemistry to be held at Berlin in June next. The council has, whenever occasion has arisen, urged upon authorities making appoint- ments under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, the import- ance of requiring applicants to produce evidence of adequate training in theoretical and practical chemistry, and of special experience in the analysis of food and drugs. On February 26 the Italian Minister of Marine and a number of naval experts witnessed some interesting experi- ments with Signor Siglio’s apparatus for giving warning of the approach of submarine craft and other vessels. The Central News correspondent at Naples says that the ap- proach of a large steamer was notified by the apparatus when the vessel was twenty kilometres distant. The approach of a small boat was signalled at a distance of twelve kilometres. REvuTER’s Agency is informed that a strong and unusually well-equipped expedition is on the point of being dispatched to South Africa by the Chartered Company, for the purpose of completing up to Lake Tanganyika the scientific survey of Rhodesia. The expedition will be absent about three years, and will sail from England in time to reach Cape Town at the beginning of April. The work now in con- templation has only been rendered possible by the comple- tion of the Cape to Cairo telegraph up to Tanganyika, which now enables the explorers to synchronise with the obsery- atory at Cape Town. The expedition will have far-reaching results in finally determining the exact geographical posi- NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | NATURE A421 tion of many important centres at present imperfectly laid down upon the maps. The work is under the direct super- vision of Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R.S., Astronomer Royal at the Cape. WitH the object of bringing to public notice the economic mineral products of Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland has arranged for the Irish minerals shown at the Cork International Exhibition of 1902 to be placed on view in London. These, together with a few additions, are now to be seen at the Imperial Institute, and the exhibition remains open, admission free, for three months from February 26. The most important materials are building stones of various kinds, mainly lime- stones and granites; and amongst the polished marbles and granites, excellently suited for ornamental purposes, there is considerable variety. Samples of clay and sand, and of pottery and glass manufactured from the same, are shown. Coals and iron-ores are of some importance, but the metal- liferous ores of lead, copper and zinc occupy only a small space. Other minerals include bauxite, gypsum, barytes, salt and diatomaceous earth; slates and paving materials are also well represented. According to the official mining statistics, the minerals annually raised in Ireland amount in value to only about 1/4ooth part of the total output of the United Kingdom; and it is sincerely to be hoped that this exhibition may have some effect towards developing the mineral resources of Ireland, even though these be not so extensive and varied as could be desired. Major-GENERAL C. J. B. Rippert, C.B., F.R.S., whose death is announced at the advanced age of eighty-six, was one of the pioneers in the cultivation and extension of work in terrestrial magnetism and meteorology. Concurrently with the arrangements made in 1838-1839 for an expedition to the Antarctic regions arose the question of the desirability of extending the contemplated magnetic researches in the southern hemisphere by the establishment of fixed observ- atories in certain of the British colonial possessions, which should also carry on meteorological inquiries. The stations mentioned were those of St. Helena, the Cape of Good Hope and Toronto. Lieutenant Riddell was selected as director of the Canada (Toronto) branch, subject to the instructions of the Ordnance Department and Major (after- wards General) Sabine, R.A. In 1841 the reduction work for the publication of vol. i. of the Toronto observ- ations was commenced by Sabine, who had the assistance of Riddell, and much commended the practical merits of the system inaugurated at Toronto. General Riddell was responsible for the ‘‘ Magnetical Instructions for the Use of Portable Instruments: Adapted for Magnetical Surveys and Portable Observatories, and for the Use of a Set of Small Instruments for a Fixed Magnetic Observatory,” which was printed at the expense of the Government and issued in 1844. He outlived all his associates in magnetic observational work. At the time of his death he enjoyed the unique distinction of being the senior Fellow of the Royal Society in respect of election. On February 25 Dr. M. W. Travers gave a lecture on the ““ Measurement of Low Temperatures ’’ before the Chemical and Physical Society of University College, London. In the experimental demonstrations a thermometer was used of the constant volume type described in the Phil. Trans. for 1902, in which the temperature is read directly on the mano- meter. In the course of the lecture the bulb of the instru- ment was immersed in liquid hydrogen when the thermo- meter indicated a temperature of 20°5 Abs. Solid hydrogen was prepared by boiling the liquid hydrogen under a pressure 422 NATURE [ Marcu 5, 1903 of about s centimetres by means of a Fleuss pump. To illus- trate the differences obtained in measuring the same temper- ature with thermometers filled with different gases, Dr. Travers concluded by giving his results for the boiling point of oxygen and hydrogen on the scale of various thermo- meters :-— Oxygen B.P. (He) 90°20, (H) 90°10, (N) 89°"5, (O) 89°0 Hydrogen B.P. (He) 20°41, (H) 20722. These results are in agreement with Prof. Callendar’s calcu- lations based on a consideration of the physical properties of hydrogen and helium, according to which the boiling point of hydrogen on the absolute scale should be 0°°1 lower than the boiling point as given by a hydrogen thermometer and 0° 1 higher than that given by a helium thermometer. Durinc the past week the British Islands have been visited by a succession of disastrous gales from the Atlantic, accompanied by tremendous seas. The most destructive storm was that of February 27, the centre of which advanced quickly from the south-westward, and was central over Scotland on the morning of that day. The barometer fell there for nearly twelve hours at the rate of more than a tenth of an inch an hour. It was during this gale that a railway train was capsized on the Leven viaduct, near Ulverston, and the havoc to telegraph wires was so great that the Meteorological Office was unable to issue any weather forecasts. At Southport during a squall the wind reached a velocity of ninety-two miles an hour, and at Green- wich, which was more than 300 miles from the centre of the disturbance, a pressure of 33 lb. to the square foot was registered in the early morning. Other disturbances have followed very quickly from the Atlantic, and a renewal of the gales, with heavy rains, has occurred over the entire kingdom. WE have received the German Meteorological Yearbook for 1gor, issued by the Deutsche Seewarte—the twenty-fourth volume of the new series of the publication—containing daily observations and results for a large number of stations and hourly readings at four normal stations. There is considerable advantage in the German system of publica- tion, which ensures uniformity in the meteorological volumes issued by various States. We are glad to see that the anemometrical values are expressed in terms of the revised and reduced factor, instead of that originally determined by Dr. Robinson, which assumes that the velocity of the wind moves with three times that of the anemometer cups. In an appendix Dr. H. K6nig discusses the sunshine records ob- tained from various stations. Tue Journal des Transports reports that the Governor- General of French West Africa has recently sent out a surveying party to trace out a new railway in Senegal, be- tween Thiés and Kayes. The line will be about 466 miles in length. Messrs. WorMs AnD Co., writing to the Times of Feb- ruary 26, give the translation of a letter which they have received from the French Under-Secretary of State for Posts and Telegraphs, in which it is stated that a fresh Franco- English Telephonic Convention has just been signed which will permit of telephonic communication between the two countries being extended to provincial towns. The existing convention only authorises communications between Paris and London, but as soon as the new convention has received the approval of the authorities in both countries, this limita- tion will be removed. This extension, we do not doubt, will be cordially welcomed by the public on both sides of the Channel. NO. 1740, VOL. 67] AccorpinG to the Westminster Gazette a conference on railway electrification is now being held, at which all the great railways are represented. The main object of the conference is to secure uniformity in electrical plant, so that the rolling stock of the various companies shall be able to travel indiscriminately over any of the lines. Such details as the distance between centre and side rails, design of motors and locomotives and so forth are being considered, and in addition many other points in relation to the electrifi- cation of steam railways. It seems that the railways are awakening to the necessity of immediate reform, especially in running their suburban lines. The object of the con- ference is very important, and one which we have empha- sised on several occasions in these columns. Sir Oxtver Lopce is well known to have been one of the pioneers in wireless telegraphic work, both on the theo- retical and practical side; to him belongs the credit of having been the first to suggest the use of tuned systems, and he devised, and published many years ago, methods by which syntony might be practically attained. In addition to this his work on the coherer is not likely to be forgotten. We are glad to learn, therefore, that he has been engaged, in conjunction with Dr. Muirhead, in perfecting his apparatus for both transmitting and receiving, and that the system has now reached a thoroughly practical form. The Eastern Extension Telegraph Co. is experimenting with the Lodge- Muirhead apparatus on its two new cable ships, the Restorer and the Patrol. Tue daily papers last week contained announcements of three new inventions of a revolutionary character in the field of wireless telegraphy. The first relates to an invention by Mr. P. C. Hewitt, the inventor of the vapour lamp recently described in these columns, who, it is stated, has devised a method of setting up powerful and continuous oscillations in the transmitting mast; no particulars are given. The other two are of a more sensational character, and relate to the transmission of power by ether waves. Prof. Braun, it is said, has declared that he sees no further difficulty in principle, and even no serious technical obstacle to the wireless transmission of power, and Mr. T. H. Williams is credited by the Westminster Gazette with having worked out a wireless method of running electric motor- cars which only requires further experiment and more capital to be made commercially practicable. Until more definite particulars are published as to these systems it will be necessary to suspend judgment upon them. No. 159 of the Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, which has just been issued, contains several in- teresting papers. These include Mr. Swinburne’s presi- dential address, Sir Oliver Lodge’s paper on electrons— which is considerably expanded from the spoken address— and Messrs. Hutton and Petavel’s paper on high temper- ature electrochemistry ; to these we have already referred in’ these columns. The greater part of the remaining space is filled by Prof. Fleming’s paper on the photometry of electric lamps and the discussion to which it gave rise. Prof. Fleming, in this paper, describes a new form of standard incandescent lamp made by enclosing an “‘ aged "’ filament in a large bulb, which he states answers very well as a working standard. The paper also deals with some of the many problems which photometry presents, and with the discussion, in which Mr. Harcourt, Dr. Glazebrook, Sir W. Abney, Mr. Trotter, Prof. Ayrton, M. Violle and Mr. J. Petavel took part amongst others, forms a most valuable contribution to the subject from both the theoretical and practical sides. era, ae ant) Jame oe Marcu 5, 1903] NATURE 423 Tur Meteorological Office pilot chart for March directs attention to the unusually cold water observed at various times during last December in mid-ocean, on the Transatlan- tic steamer routes, surface temperatures as low as 38° to 45° being recorded where the normal values are from 50° to 53°. On the western coasts of the British Isles, also, for about a week from December 5, when an easterly type of weather prevailed, the shore water was very cold, 36° to 38° being recorded even up the west of Ireland, and at Newquay, on the Cornish coast, the minimum was 41°. The general range of water temperature during the month was from 10° to 14° at the western stations, against from 4° to 7° at the east coast ones. At the beginning of February the first ice of the season was drifting down the east coast of New- foundland and blocking the harbour of St. John’s. A LENGTHY article on ‘‘ White Water ’’ in the March pilot chart of the Meteorological Office gives many interesting particulars relating to the phenomenon known to seamen as the milky sea, which seems to be more frequently observed in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean than elsewhere. Various observers describe the scene as “‘ ghastly,’’ ‘‘ awe- inspiring,’’ ‘‘ wild, weird and rather ancient marinerish,”’ &c., and Captain Carpenter, of the Challenger, states that when in the milky sea a ship seems to be passing through a sort of luminous fog in which all sense of distance is lost ; sea and sky seem to join, and there is almost as much danger of collision as in a true fog. Although the phe- nomenon is doubtless a form of phosphorescence, no adequate explanation of it has yet been arrived at. A REPORT on the fishes collected in the expedition of 1898 to Socotra and southern Arabia has been communicated to the Vienna Academy by Herr F. Steindachner. In addition to several rare species hitherto only known from the Atlantic Ocean, the collections contained six new forms. No. 80 of the Communications from the Leyden Physical Laboratory contains an account of Dr. L. H. Siertsema’s measurements of the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation of liquefied chloride under atmospheric pressure. For sodium light the value found is 001372, and the rota- tion dispersion is normal, differing little from that with gases and with water. UNDER the title ‘“‘ The Practice Curve,’’ Mr. J. H. Bair, j in a special supplement of the Psychological Review, de~ scribes experiments for investigating various aspects of association, such as the relation between the sensory and motor side of our mental life, the processes involved in the formation and modification of habit, and endeavours in general to find a satisfactory physiological and psychological explanation for the phenomena of association. A PAPER on the protective action of wire gauze against explosions has been communicated to the Vienna Academy of Sciences by Dr. H. Mache. The author considers the case where a homogeneous gas-mixture traverses the gauze with a velocity less than the rate of propagation of an ex- plosion. In this case the flame approaches the gauze, but comes to a standstill in front of it. This effect is attributed to the absorption of part of the heat of combustion by the wires, whereby the rate of propagation of the explosion is decreased. By means of certain assumptions, the author investigates a formula for the distance at which the flame stops short of the gauze. A USEFUL glossary of the minerals and mineral localities of Texas has been prepared by Dr. F. W. Simonds (Bulletin No. 5 of the University of Texas Mineral Survey). NO. 1740, VOL. 67] Such substances as lignite, pearls, pottery clay and petro- leum are included. In the Proceedings of the Cotteswold Club (vol. xiv. part ii., 1903) there is a detailed account of the Rheetic strata in north-west Gloucestershire, by Mr. L. Richardson, who adds many new particulars relating to well-known sections, and describes some fresh localities. There is also the address of the president, Mr. E. B. Wethered, who dis- cusses the origin of certain Paleozoic sandstones and lime- stones. Pror. W. W. Watts contributes an excellent account of the older rocks of Charnwood Forest, with a map showing the structure of the ground if the Trias and more recent deposits were stripped off (Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, vol. xvii., parts vii. and viii.). The structure is that of an anticline traversed by thrust-planes and drop faults. Attention is also directed to the terraced and smoothed surfaces of the granite under Keuper Marl at Mountsorrel. These features are attributed to wind erosion in Triassic times, and they are well depicted in a photo- graphic plate. ““ Tue Greatest Flying Creature ’’ is the title of an essay by Prof. S. P. Langley, and it is introductory to a paper on the pterodactyl Ornithostoma ingens by Mr. F. A. Lucas (Smithsonian Report for 1901, 1902). The questions dis- cussed are :— ‘* What has Nature herself done in the way of large flying machines, and are the birds which we see now the limit of her ability to construct them?’’ Prof. Langley gives particulars relating to various insects and birds, of the wing surface and its relation to the weight of the creature; and these show that the larger the insect or bird, the smaller is the relative supporting surface. He adds, ‘‘ The explanation may be very near at hand, but it is not to me evident.”’ Srenor Luici BRuGNATELLI describes (Rendiconti di Reale Istituto Lombardo di Sc. e. Lett., 2, xxxv. p. 869) a new mineral, ‘‘ artinite,’? from the Valle Lanterna, which is interesting chemically as a basic hydrated magnesium carbonate not before known, and interesting petrologically as a final decomposition product of a peridotite rock. Its chemical formula is MgCO,.Mg(OH),.3H,O. Its hardness is about 2°5, its specific gravity about 2°02, and its mean re- fractive index about 1°53. It is biaxial and optically nega- tive, but its crystallographic system could not be determined with certainty. It is probably monoclinic. Tue Cambridge University Press has published solutions of the examples in the ‘‘ Elements of Hydrostatics,’’ by Mr. S. L. Loney, who has prepared this ‘‘ Key ”’ to his book. A SELECTION of Dr. G. Stanley Hall’s papers on the psychology of children and its relation to pedagogics has been translated into German by Dr. J. Stimpfl, and published by Herr O. Bonde, Altenburg, under the title ‘“‘ Ausge- w4hlte Beitrage zur Kinderpsychologie und Padagogik.”’ Dr. Stimpfl contributes an introduction, in which he gives an appreciative account of Dr. Hall’s valuable studies of child psychology. Tue first volume of ‘‘ The Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes,’’ edited by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, has been completed by the issue of the fourth part from the Cambridge University Press. This part contains papers on the Cephalochorda collected by the expedition of 1899 and 1900, the birds, earthworks, the Maldive and Laccadive groups, with notes on other coral 424 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1903 formations in the Indian Ocean, marine crustaceans and the Lithothamnia. The first part of the second volume will be published next June. An index, prepared by Mr. Clement Reid, F.R.S., for De la Beche’s ** Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset,’’ has recently been published for the Geological Survey, and can be obtained from any agent for the sale of Ordnance Survey maps. The Report was published in 1839, unfortunately without an index. No less than 1500 copies were issued, and the memoir is now out of print. It has, however, become one of the classics of geology, and being a permanent work of reference, an index has been a great desideratum, which has now been supplied. Messrs. JOHN J. GRIFFIN AND Sons, Ltp., have sent for our inspection a simple mechanical device for obtaining rapidly any required set of numbers having the same ratio among themselves as any other given set of numbers. The instrument is known as the ‘‘ ratiometer,’’ and was designed by Mr. A. E. Munby. It is made of boxwood, and consists of two graduated rules, which can be set at any angle, which with one edge of a T-square form a right-angled triangle. By.means of a tongue and groove the base of the triangle slides along the stock of the T-square. The ratio- meter should prove of great assistance to examiners for the reduction of marks. It would be useful in laboratories, where it could be used for such operations as the conversion of centimetres to inches, or of scales of temperature, and in the office and workshop for converting one linear scale into another when no simple ratio exists between the two, or for finding the value of various quantities of goods. Tue international committee on atomic weights, organised in 1900, and composed of more than fifty representatives from chemical and other societies, has by vote designated a smaller body of three representatives to carry on the future work of the committee. The three elected members, Profs. Clarke, Thorpe and Seubert, have just issued their annual report and recommendations. It is pointed out that upon the question as to whether oxygen or hydrogen shall be taken as basis of the atomic weight numbers, opinion at the present time seems to be evenly divided. To force the adoption of either appears to be impossible, and experience must be the final arbiter. That standard which best serves to coordinate chemical and physical knowledge will ultim- ately be chosen, and the other will gradually fall into dis. use. Tables are appended to the report in which both standards of atomic weights are represented. In view of recent work, the committee has thought it necessary to make changes and recommendations in respect to the atomic weights of antimony, germanium, hydrogen, lanthanum, mercury, palladium, selenium, tin, uranium and zirconium. Radium appears for the first time in the table with an atomic weight =225. Up to the present time very few instances of chemical changes which exhibit periodicity have been observed. Very recently it was found by Ostwald that the velocity of solution of certain samples of chromium in acids does not change in a continuous manner as would be theoretically antici- pated, but that the rate of solution increases and decreases periodically. An apparently similar change has been found by Bredig and Weinmayr in the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by means of metallic mercury. An account of the authors’ experiments is given in the current number of the Zeitschrift fiir physikalische Chemie. In successive intervals of time the amounts of hydrogen per- oxide are alternately larger and smaller, and the alter- NO. 1740, VOL. 67] nation appears to be simultaneous with a change in the character of the mercury surface. Preliminary experiments indicate that the alternations of the catalytic activity of the mercury are intimately connected with alternations in its electrical condition. In the inactive condition the mer- cury is considerably more electro-positive than in the active condition. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN MARCH :— March 10. 4h. 59m. to 5h. 50m. Moon occults a Cancr? (mag. 4°3). 14. 11th. 4om. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 15. Venus. Illuminated portion of disc =0°904, of Mars = 0 901. 15. Venus. Apparent diameter = 11’°2, Mars = 13''8. 17. 8h. 29m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 18. 16b. Im. to17h. 25m. Moon occults x Ophiuchi (mag. 5’0). : 21. 7h. Sun enters Aries, Spring quarter commences. 25. Perihelion Passage of Giacobini’s comet (D 1900). 28. 14h. 5m. Annular eclipse of the sun, invisible at Greenwich. 28. 20h. Mars in opposition to the sun. 30. 20h. Venus in conjunction with the moon, Venus 2° 13 N. CoMET 1903 a.—M. Paul Briick, of the Besancon Observ- atory, publishes an ephemeris for this comet, from which the following is an abstract, in No. 3847 of the Astronomesche Nachrichten. Parts 12h. M.T. Date. ne app. 6 app. log >. log. a Brightness. me ih Ss ites Mar. 6 0 13 52 aptly faerie : i. OP PO s26 +18 39 9°6919 oO'OI4I 18‘1 LOMMORZZ E57, | -- Tosa:8 Pues lone yaks) +18 48°1 99602 u l4 Ogee? +18 48°5 » 16 035 3 ++18.27°9 9:625r O;9010" Jans From an observation by M. Chofardet on February 13, a correction of Aa=-—4s., Ad=—o''2 to this ephemeris was obtained, and the magnitude was recorded as about 9°0. The comet was observed at Lyons by MM. G. le Cadet and J. Guillaume on various dates between January 21 and 29, and they record it as ‘* a faint nebulosity without elonga- tion and without tail.” A new set of elements, published in the same journal by M. G. Fayet, gives the time of perihelion passage as March 187092 M.T. Paris. Comet 1902 b (PERRINE).—An ephemeris for this comet is published in No. 3847 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, by Herr Ebell, as a continuation of that which appeared in No. 3841 of the same journal. It indicates that the comet is rapidly becoming fainter, and an observation made at Strasburg on February 17 showed that, on that date, the magnitude was only about 1175. HeERSCHEL’s NEBULOUS REGIONS OF THE HEAVENS.—Com- menting on Dr. Isaac Roberts’s recently published results, which indicated that only four of the fifty-two nebulous regions described by Herschel in 1811 really contained nebu- losities, Prof. E. E. Barnard remarks that this question is likely to prove an important factor in future discussions as to the physical condition of the universe, and then proceeds to explain that the negative results obtained by Dr. Roberts may be due to insufficient exposure, and that it is highly improbable that Herschel should have been so palpably mis- taken in forty-eight cases out of his fifty-two regions. In support of his argument Prof. Barnard proceeds to describe several photographs, which he has obtained with a 1'5-inch magic lantern lens of 4’9 inches equivalent focus, which suggest that in one or two cases at least Dr. Roberts’s conclusions require further consideration. i One striking instance is illustrated by a reproduction showing a great curved nebulosity which embraces the Marcu 5, 1903] NATURE 425 greater part of the constellation Orion, and of which the brightest part corresponds, in position, with Herschel’s region No. 27. Of this region Dr. Roberts remarked ““ sky clear, stars very few in number, large areas void of stars, no nebulosity,’’ yet the photograph shows a distinct nebulosity in this region, and photographs obtained by two independent observers, with three different photographic telescopes, on several different occasions, confirm Herschel’s observations. Both Dr. Roberts’s results and Prof. Barnard’s comments thereon appear in No. 1, vol. xvii. of the Astrophysical Journal. A New Star CataLroGur.—Volume viii. of the Annalen of the Leyden Observatory, edited by Dr. H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, is a new catalogue of 10,239 stars situated in the zone 29° 50/ to 35° 10’ north latitude, and having magnitudes of 9°5 or brighter. The observations have been made and reduced at Leyden, in accordance with the programme of the Astronomischen Gesellschaft, during the years 1870-1876 and 1880-1898, by Messrs. W. Valentiner, E. F. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, E. Becker, J. H. Wilterdink and H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, and the observations of the former period have been already published in vols. iv. and v. of the Annalen. The catalogue gives the position for 1875, the magnitude, the precessional and secular variation in each coordinate, the epoch and the B.D. number (where there is one) for each star, and, in additional tables, these positions are com- pared with those given in the Bessel, Argelander, Struve and other: catalogues for the same objects. RECENT SCIENCE IN AUSTRIA. Chemistry. aN PERUSAL of the Sttzungsberichte of the Vienna Academy of Sciences indicates that a great deal of valuable chemical research work is being carried out by Austrian investigators. In the concluding section of vol. cx., J. Klimont gives an account of experiments on the composition of oleum cacao which indicate that this substance can no longer be regarded as a mixture of tristearin, tripalmitin and triolein, but that it is essentially a mixed glyceride containing the radicles of these three acids united to one and the same glycerin radicle. Other mixed glycerides containing oleic acid and fatty acids of smaller molecular weight are also present in the fat. The action of acetylene as kathodic depolarising agent in the electrolysis of acid and alkaline solutions has been investigated by Dr. Billitzer, who finds that this substance readily acts as depolariser with a kathode of platinum, and that the products of its action are ethylene and ethane. Within certain limits of potential, it is possible to obtain a quantitative yield of ethylene. If the potential is gradually increased, mixtures of ethylene and ethane are produced at the kathode, and later hydrogen also makes its appearance. In sulphuric acid solution and with a mercury kathode, small quantities of alcohol are also formed from the acetylene. The nature of that physiologically most important substance, chitin, has been further investigated by Drs. Frankel and Kelly. The view advanced by Schmiedeberg that chitin is an a-acetyl- acetoacetic acid compound of chitosamine of the formula C\sH3)N.0,. can no longer be regarded as correct in the light of this more recent work. This conception of the nature of chitin was largely based on the production of chitosamine and acetic acid by boiling with strong hydrochloric acid, but the authors’ experiments indicate that its constitution cannot possibly be of such a simple character. In vol. cxi., Dr. von Cordier describes a peculiar reaction exhibited by iron and steel. If iron containing carbon and nitrogen is treated with dilute acid and excess of ammonia added to the solution, a distinct odour of carbamine is observable. The author’s experiments indicate that the reaction is only obtained if both these elements are contained in the same sample of iron. A mixture of two samples, one containing carbon but no nitrogen, the other nitrogen but no carbon, does not evolve any isonitrile, Investigation of the small quantity of gas given off shows that it is ethylcarbamine. In a series of papers, Prof. Wegscheider discusses the ques- tion of the influence of constitution on the affinity constants of organic acids and gives the results of his experiments on the NO. 1740, VOL. 67] partial esterification of unsymmetrical di- and poly-basic acids. Special attention is devoted to the alteration produced in the affinity constant by the substitution of hydrogen by ester groups such as SO,CH;, CO,CH;, CO,C,H,; and by the carboxyl group. A considerable addition to our knowledge of this subject results from these investigations. The data obtained are utilised by the author to determine the configuration of the ester acids obtained by partial esterification of unsymmetrical polybasic acids. Two other papers by Dr. Billitzer treat of the acid character of acetylene and the formation of carbon ions in aqueous solu- tion. In the first of these, the solubility of acetylene in solutions of the alkalis has been studied. By suitable elimination of the physical action of the dissolved bases, it is shown that acetylene undoubtedly forms salts in the alkaline solutions and that it must be regarded as a very weak acid, its dissociation being about 1/4000th of that of carbonic acid. In the second paper, the presence of carbon ions in solutions of silver and copper acetylides is shown by electromotive measurements, and by slectrolysis of these solutions under suitable conditions a small deposit of carbon has been obtained on the anode. By two independent methods, the electrolytic dissociation of acetylene has thus been demonstrated. Physics. In mathematics, attention should be directed to F. Mertenz’s proof of Galois’ fundamental theorem of the groups of an equation the coefficients of which belong to a given range of rationality. A construction for the six normals from any point to a conicoid, based on the methods of synthetic geometry alone, is given by Prof. August Adler. In theoretical physics, perhaps the most extended mathe- matical investigations are those by Dr. Josef Griinwald dealing with the propagation of waves in uniaxal crystals when the initial disturbances are given. Dr. Griinwald finds for the vector potential a series of waves partly ‘‘ ordinary,” partly ‘© extraordinary ’’ and partly ‘‘intermediate’’ in character. A formula is discussed by G. Jaumann for the heat generated in the motion of a viscous liquid. The expression involves volume integrals of the squares of the curl, and divergence and a surface integral ; in the case of an incompressible liquid, this result agrees with the known formule in which the oniy volume integral is that involving the square of the curl. The difficult subject of astronomical aberration and its relation to the ether is discussed by Dr. Egon v. Oppolzer, and in molecular physics, Prof. O. Tumlirz’s paper on the ‘‘cohesion pressure ” terms in Van der Waals’s equation, H. Mache’s discussion of the relative magnitudes of molecules in a liquid and its vapour, and Dr. G. Jager’s investigation of the law of partition of energy between the liquid and the vapour may be noticed. In spectroscopy, Dr. Edward Haschek has been working at the relation between wave-length and quantitative composition, and while the conclusions are on the whole remarkably consistent, it appears that at present the method is unsuited generally for laboratory analysis. In collaboration with Prof. Exner, Dr. Haschek has drawn up a list of the spectral lines of europium, including 1193 spark and 527 arc lines. The element europium has also had its magnetic properties compared with gadolinium and samarium by Dr. Stefan Meyer, the preparations of Eu,O, having been obtained from Demarcay. The diathermanosity of water and certain solutions forms the subject of a paper by Otto Dechant, who finds that as the temperature increases the transparency for heat decreases ac- cording to a formula approximately linear. Alum solution is only 2 per cent. less diathermanous than water, but cobalt chloride is better, and its coefficient decreases more rapidly after 50° than between rr° and 50°. That the freezing points of aqueous solutions are lowered by pressure to a greater extent than that of water is the conclusion of A. Lampa. , In terrestrial physics, a long series of tables relating to rainfall and zyz¢er alia its supposed connection with sun-spots 1s drawn up by J. Hann, and Prof. B. W. Stankewitsch describes magnetic measurements made with a ‘* magnetic theodolite ” in Pamir during his travels in 1900. k The series of papers on atmospheric electricity includes a comparison of brush electrodes and flame electrodes by Dr. Victor Conrad and a description of a self-registering atmo- spheric electrometer by Dr. Hans Bensdorf. : Electric discharges form the subject of papers by J. Nabl, in 426 NATORE [| MarkcH 5, 1903 connection with the gases at the electrodes of the Wehnelt interrupter, and by Dr. Ernest Lecher, in connection with the effect of electrification of the field on the discharge. The electric conductivity of powders is treated by Franz Streinitz. Speaking generally, the physical papers show a considerable amount of steady, plodding work in the elaboration of existing theories and the tabulation of statistical results rather than any very striking innovations in the direction of new theories. Zoology. The systematic position of the armoured dinosaurs from the upper Cretaceous of the Gosau district, originally described, on the evidence of extremely imperfect material, under the names of Struthiosaurus, Cratezomus and Anoplosaurus, has recently occupied the attention of Herr F. B. Nopessa, jun. (S2¢zeg5- berichte, vol. cxi. p. 93, 1902). The author follows some previous observers in regarding the first and second of these presumed generic types as identical, as also in considering the third to be inseparable from the Huxleyan Acanthopholis. Consequently, the two genera Struthiosaurus and Acanthopholis have alone to be considered. The suggestion of the late Prof. Marsh that these European forms are members of the same family (Ceratopsidee) as the horned dinosaurs of the topmost Cretaceous of North America is discountenanced by Herr Nopessa. Rather, he thinks, they typify a family by themselves—the Acanthopholididae—in many respects intermediate between the comparatively generalised Stegosauridze and the highly specialised Ceratopside. From the? horned dinosaurs, the members of the intermediate family are readily distinguished by the absence of bony horn-cores on the skull and also of a frill-like neck-shield. They are further characterised by the non-fusion of the cervical vertebra, the relatively large fore-limbs and the long and powerful tail. As regards the large size of the fore-limb, they are connected with the Stegosauridze by the Wealden Polacanthus. whole, their organisation tends to confirm the view that among the armoured dinosaurs the early bipedal, or partially bipedal, forms are the more primitive, and the quadrupedal types (Ceratopside) the more specialised. In the samecommunication, Herr Nopessa describes achambered vertebra of one of the gigantic sauropodous dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Neuquen, Patagonia. The reptile to which this vertebra belonged is regarded as generically distinct from Titano- saurus and Argyrosaurus, both of which have been recorded by Mr. Lydekker from the formation in question, but no further attempt is made to determine its systematic position. The sauropodous dinosaurs are now known in the southern hemisphere from both Madagascar and Patagonia. Mollusca, both recent and fossil, have come in fora consider- able share of attention in the issues of the S#/zunesberichie recently tohand. Invol. cx. p. 315, Herr R. Hoernes describes new cerithia, belonging to the group typified by Clava bidentata, from the Tertiary of Oisnitz, in Central Styria, with remarks on the distribution of that group in the Mediterranean and Sarma- tian horizons. The paper is illustrated by a beautifully executed plate. In the succeeding volume (p. 5), Dr. C. Gorjanovic- Kramberger treats of the Tertiary cockles of the genus Limno- cardium in Croatia, more especially those pertaining to the sub- genus Budmania. Some doubt has been thrown on the right of the latter group to distinction, but, from the hinge and other characters, the author justifies its separation from the more typical form. Finally, in the same volume (p. 123), Dr. R. Sturany discusses our present knowledge of the land molluscs of Asia Minor, describing a few new forms. Botany, An interesting paper by Prof. Haberlandt gives an account of cultural experiments made with isolated plant cells. These were taken from the mesophyll tissue of the leaf of Lammdum purpureum, and when placed in culture solutions were kept living for several weeks. Considerable increase in size was observed in some cases, and an appreciable increase in the thickness of the walls occurred, especially where the walls were concave. In the solutions containing only inorganic salts, the chlorophyll corpuscles soon turned yellowish, but kept their g een colour when sugar was supplied. It would appear that the plastids pass on all the products of their assimilation and require to be constantly nourished, to prevent decomposition of the chlorophyll. With regard to the renewed growth of the cells when isolated, Prof. Haberlandt regards this as the continuation NO. 1740, VOL. 67] Taken as a | 0: growth which is ordinarily arrested in the leaf to suit the requirements of the organism. Two peculiar effects of light are described by Dr. H. Molisch. A flagellate, Chromophytor Rosanoffiz, shows a large chromatophore which takes up a position on the shaded side. If viewed from the direction in which light rays are impinging upon the organism, at certain angles the cells seem to sparkle. The effect is due to the light which is condensed by the cell on the chromatophore and thence reflected, and is similar to that described for the moss. Schistostega. The second paper refers to the light which is. emitted by the bacterium JALcrococcus phosphoreus obtained during the decomposition 0 meat. The light is sufficiently strong to produce heliotropic curvature in many seedlings, and a'so in the sporangiophores of Phycomyces. The poisonous effects so well known in the case of leaves ox: Primula obconica are further elucidated by the investigations of Dr. A. Nestler. Besides various cultivated forms of Prévzzla: obconica, three species, Primula sinensts, Primula Steboldit and Primula cortusordes, all belonging to the group szensis, were found to produce similar effects, giving rise to throbbing and inflammation. The source of irritation was traced to the secretions of glandular hairs. These readily crystallise out, and by sublimation were obtained pure. The writer recommends. the outward application of strong alcohol as a palliative. THE FUTURE OF COAL GAS.1 HEN, in the early years of last century, coal gas be- came a commercial reality, the one end and aim of the manufacturer was to produce his gas, and such details. as purity, illuminating and calorific value never troubled his mind. As time passed on, however, and competing companies vied with each other in their endeavours to secure customers, advantages had to be offered to coax consumers. from the enemy’s camp, and those who remember the battle of the two then existing City companies with another pro- posed rival in 1847--48--49, and the way in which the gas. consumers in the City were at that time pestered and pam- phleted by the supporters of the rival schemes, will realise that even in those days gas management was not a bed of roses. The outcome of the rivalry was the introduction in the early fifties of a standard of illuminating value, and a string of Parliamentary requirements which have ever since safeguarded the consumer and harried the gas manufacturer. In 1850 a Bill was passed which enacted that a consump- tion of 5 cubic feet of gas per hour should be equal to the light of twelve wax candles of the size known as sixes, the burner employed being a brass Argand burner with fifteen holes. In 1860 another Act changed the illuminating power to twelve sperm candles, which meant an increase of some 163 per cent. in the illuminating value of the gas, owing to the fact that the wax candles originally used were only equal in illuminating power to 10.3 sperm candles, as at present employed for testing purposes. In 1868 the illuminating power was again raised to fourteen candles, whilst, in 1876, the present sixteen-candle standard was reached. The amount of light emitted, however, by the gas was. still insufficient to satisfy the desires of the consumers, who, utterly ignoring the fact that the illumination to be derived from coal gas was quite as much dependent on the burners- employed as it was upon the standard illuminating value, vented their dissatisfaction at the light emitted by small flat-flame burners by clamouring for a higher quality of gas; and even thirty years ago the great aim of the gas- consuming public was to obtain the highest candle power that could be squeezed out of the gas company, in order that they might gain something like decent illumination from the flat-flame burners then almost exclusively used, and which. were, as a rule, so small as to destroy entirely the value of the gas. It was at this period that the anomaly became common of seeing a town supplied with gas of more than twenty-candle illuminating value swathed in semi-darkness,. whilst another, using the much-abused thirteen- or fourteen- candle gas, supplied at a good pressure and burnt in decent- sized burners, was well illuminated. It was at this time, also, that some of our most able chemists ranged themselves on the side of the votaries of 1 Abstract of Cantor lectures delivered at the Society of Arts by Prof. V. B. Lewes. Marcu 5, 1903 | NATURE 427 high illuminating power, and even such practically minded men as the late Sir Edward Frankland clamoured for the introduction of high illuminating power gas, such as is produced from cannel, in place of sixteen-candle coal gas, the general line of argument being well shown by portions of Sir Edward Frankland’s introduction to the section of his published researches dealing with applied chemistry, in which such paragraphs as the following occur :— “Coal gas is not suitable for use in dwelling houses by reason of its very low illuminating power—100 cubic feet of coal gas containing only 4 cubic feet of illuminating gas; the rest is mere rubbish, which heats and pollutes the air in which the gas is consumed. . . . It cannot be too widely known that coal gas, although it costs less per 1000 cubic feet, is, light for light, much dearer than cannel gas.’’ 1 Even now, when altered circumstances make a _ high- power gas an anything but desirable and economical supply, there are not wanting advocates who, undaunted, or perhaps ignorant of the practical side of the question, still try to bolster up the old idea. It was in the latter part of the ’eighties that the lot of the worried manager was made even harder by the rise in price taking place in cannel coal, on which, up to that time, he had entirely relied in admixture with ordinary gas coal to give those higher grades of illumination demanded by the fashion of the time, and which, although it ruined his ‘coke, yet proved an efficient and trustworthy servant. This increase in price became so serious that in 1889 the Gas Light and Coke Company commenced experiments which led to the introduction of carburetted water gas in place of cannel as an enricher, this process proving itself a most valuable addition to the manufacture of coal gas, and vapidly gaining favour and popularity, not only as giving an easy means of raising the candle power of poor coal gas, but also as a stand-by in case of any sudden calls upon the production power of the works. About this same period also,. another method of enrich- ment was introduced, which consisted of adding to gas which did not fulfil the Parliamentary requirements the vapours of such highly volatile hydrocarbons as petroleum spirit and benzol, which, on account of their high illumin- ating value, gave the necessary increase in the candle power iby the addition of an amount of vapour not likely afterwards ito recondense from the gas. Whilst these changes were taking place in gas manufac- ture, rivals which seemed to threaten its very existence had forced their way to the front, and with the electric light largely used by the rich, and petroleum reduced to a price at which even the poorest could afford its use as an illu- minant, the field of utility seemed to be rapidly disappearing from beneath the feet of the gas industry. However, when things were looking their blackest, there slowly struggled into prominence and commercial success a factor which at ‘once restored gas to its position of primary importance. It was in 1885 that the researches of Dr. Auer von Wels- bach culminated in the production of the incandescent mantle, which, frail and unsatisfactory in its earlier forms, was gradually so improved in composition and manufacture that by 1892 it became a brilliant commercial success, and placed in the hands of the gas industry a weapon which tendered its position unassailable in competition with electricity. Looked at from a common-sense point of view, the incan- descent mantle will be seen to be merely a method of enrich- ment. Instead of increasing the illuminating power of a flame by crowding into the gas more and more hydro- carbons, which during combustion are capable of separ- ating carbon particles, the incandescence of which would increase the amount of light emitted by the flame, and pro vata the amount of heating and vitiation, with the mantle you charge the flame with incombustible particles of far greater light emissivity than the carbon possesses, and they do their work without that increase in the temperature and fouling of the atmosphere inseparable from the other pro- ‘cesses. It is the introduction of the incandescent mantle and the improvements which are possible in its construction which really give the possibilities to the gas of the future. Taking the enriched gas as supplied during the ‘nineties, 1 Frankland’s ‘‘ Experimental Researches in Pure, Applied and Physical Chemistry,” 1877, p. 488. NO. 1740, VOL. 67] the light which can be obtained from it is entirely dependent upon the burner in which it is consumed. This may be stated as follows :— Light emitted per cubic foot of sixteen-candle gas consumed. Burner. Incandescent—high pressure a Kern aA ordinary 14 to 19 Regenerative ... oct Gok se: 7 to 10 Standard Argand _... ie a ere 3°20 Ordinary Argand : 2°90 Union jet flat flame No. 2°44 2°15 1°87 1°74 1°63 1°22 0°85 0°59 In considering the value given to the gas by these burners, it is seen that, according to the method by which it is burnt, the consumer may obtain anything from thirty-five candles down to less than one candle per cubic foot of gas. It must also be borne in mind that the burners employed in these tests were all good, well-made burners, giving the best duty that can be obtained from them, whilst an examination of burners used in consumers’ houses shows that in most cases any antiquated and corroded burner is considered good enough at which to burn the gas, and the very people who are loudest in their complaints as to the quality of the gas are those who most disregard the method of its consumption. England is far behind Germany in the use of incandescent lighting, and an inquiry made into the uses to which the coal gas supply of a large town was put gave the following result :— Candle units. 30 to 35 20 to 25 ” Or nwtuon ” Per cent, Incandescent lighting—private... 12°00 nD public ... 6°25 Cooking sc des are 22°65 Gas engines : tse as as 6°60 Used in other ways oe ane 604 52°50 100'00 So that 47.5 per cent. is used for purposes in which illumin- ating power is of no use and calorific effect is the one important factor. It is also seen that 18.25 per cent. of the total gas made is used for incandescent lighting, and this represents about 23 per cent. of the gas used for illuminating purposes, as against go per cent. used in this way in Germany. This 23 per cent. thus used gives for a consumption of five cubic feet not less than seventy candles, whilst the average light obtained by the combustion of the remaining 77 per cent. is 8.5 candles. It is quite clear that under such conditions as these the supply of gas of a high candle power is simply waste of money, and it is manifestly unfair that the consumer of average intelligence, who is willing to utilise the benefits given by the incandescent mantle, should have to pay for a quality of gas only rendered necessary by the inertia of those who decline to march with the times. Coal gas is daily being used more and more as a fuel, and although the slight diminution of calorific value which must of necessity accompany a lowered illuminating value is a slight drawback, yet in practice any desired temperature can be attained by a slightly larger consumption. Also a cheapening of the gas would induce many to adopt it as a fuel, this in turn tending to level up the load in production, and so to render more economies possible. Everything clearly points in one direction, and that is, that the future of coal gas is entirely dependent upon a plentiful supply of low-grade gas—low grade from the point of view that it should only have an illuminating value of ten to twelve candles, that its heating value shall be as high as can be practically attained and that its price shall be as low as is consistent with the interests of the consumers as well as of the shareholders in the gas industry. Already the stream has set in in this direction, and the 428 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1903 lowering of the Parliamentary standard of sixteen to four- teen candle power in the case of the South Metropolitan, Commercial and West Ham Companies will soon be followed by many companies now saddled with a higher standard than fourteen candles seeking relief. That relief cannot in fairnzss be refused, whilst experience of the benefits conferred by the reduction will soon lead to the further step that will place gas manufacture in this country on the same advanced footing that it has already gained in the most progressive cities in Germany. ‘ In making low-grade gas of this character, several pro- cesses may be employed, but probably the most economical is to utilise water gas as an aid to the distillation of the coal in the retorts, the proportion of water gas so used being kept down to a point at which the carbon monoxide in the finished gas shall not exceed 16 per cent. The cheapening in mantles which is now taking place, together with improvements in their manufacture which will give an increased length of life and light, promises a great extension in the use of gas for this purpose. Another direction in which the future of coal gas will benefit largely, by a cheapening in price owing to economies in manufacture and distribution, will be for use as a fuel. Already the ever-increasing demand made upon the metro- politan companies during the day marks the advance of the utilisation of coal gas for cooking, heating and power, so that whilst the increase in the amount of gas used at night is only rising by some 3 per cent. annually, the day con- sumption shows an increase of 16 per cent. Directly it becomes possible to reduce the price of gas to about 2s. a thousand, advance on these lines will become extremely rapid, and the gas companies are naturally doing every- thing in their power to foster this development. It is, however, necessary, in order further to popularise gas as a fuel, that everything that can be done should be done to remove any prejudices that exist against heating by gas. There are many excellent gas stoves on the market, well designed, and giving high heating duty for the gas con- sumed, but there are also many that, both in their per- formance and their effect upon the atmosphere, are radically bad. Now that the gas companies have so largely taken over the sale and pushing of gas-heating apparatus, it is a duty they owe to themselves and to their customers to take care that only stoves of scientific construction and good efficiency should be supplied. Many of the worst stoves are the most ornate, and for that reason find their way into many homes, as they, in the first place, appeal to the eye of the housewife, and afterwards to the nose and health of the household, the result being that a good customer is con- verted into an enemy of gaseous fuel. No gas fires should be sold or let on hire that do not do a large proportion of the heating by radiation, and a gas company that sells a flueless gas stove, save for hall or passage heating, should be prosecuted. A cubic foot of coal gas on its complete combustion yields 9.52 cubic foot of carbon dioxide and 1.30 cubic feet of water vapour, and if you do not mind breathing hot polluted air nighly charged with water vapour, and getting chilled with cold walls, a Bunsen burner stood on the floor is the most effective method of getting the whole of the heat of com- bustion into the air of the room, and no flueless stove can do more than this. In order to get something to sell, stoves are constructed in which some of the water is condensed, and the public are gravely informed that this removes all deleterious products. But it is impossible to get away from the fact that if healthful heating is to be obtained, it is the solid objects and walls of the room that must be heated, and not the air, and that although some of the heat is lost thereby, a flue to take off all products is an absolute essential. The gas companies have it in their power to govern the gas-stove trade, and unless they choose to take the initiative, it will retard the popularity of heating by gas to a most serious degree. With all stoves in which solid bodies like asbestos are heated by atmospheric burners, a trace of carbon monoxide is always produced, and if there is not a proper flue passing well into the chimney, a headache is added to the other discomforts. Improvements in gas motors and gas engines are steadily going on, and as soon as the price of coal gas can be re- NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | duced sufficiently to attract this class of custom, a wide field will be opened up for it. The development of large gas engines during the last few years gives promise of an entire revolution in our methods of procuring power, and it is highly probable that within a very few years the gas engine will make great inroads upon the generation of power by steam. Already gas engines up to 1500 horse-power have been constructed, whilst engines of more than double that power are under con- struction. In England, Messrs. Crossley Brothers and other well- known makers are producing a very large number of such engines for driving dynamos, whilst it is stated that on the Continent Messrs. Korting Brothers have made, or have under construction, thirty-two gas engines, with a total of 44,500 horse-power, averaging 1390 horse-power each engine, and the John Cockerill Company and several German com- panies follow not far behind. With such a development of gas for motor purposes, it is manifestly the policy of the gas companies to make a deter~ mined bid for so wide a field of output, and if they can supply a clean heating gas with 460 to 500 B.T.U.’s heat- ing power, it is clear that the convenience of doing away with separate generating plant would cause a large pro- portion of this business to fall to their share, if the price of the coal gas could be made to compete with a fuel gas, that is to say, if nearly the same number of thermal units could be obtained by its use at the same cost. Gas fittings should be entirely taken over by the gas companies, which should supply incandescent fittings and mantles and keep them in order at a small yearly rental ; and where swinging brackets and other causes demand flat- flame burners, the companies should fit nipples with broad slits regulated to burn at the lowest possible pressure. Everything at the present time points to the gas of the future being a twelve-candle-power: gas, with a calorific value of not less than 460 B.T.U.’s net and a selling price of not more than 2s. a thousand, the economies necessary to reach this iower price being brought about by making the gas in the holder at od. to 93d. a thousand and dis- tributing it at a considerably increased pressure, the pressure being regulated down to 14 inches at the entrance to the consumer’s meter. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripcGeE.—Mr. C. B. N. Cama, John’s College, has been elected to the Isaac Newton studentship in optics and physical astronomy. The Smith's prizemen are Mr. H. Knapman, Emmanuel, second wrangler 1901, and Mr. A. P. Thompson, Pembroke, fifth wrangler 1901. Mr. W. H. Jackson, Clare, bracketed third wrangler 1901, receives honourable mention. The following have been appointed as representatives of the University to the joint committee of the Royal Society for the purpose of securing an appropriate memorial of the late Sir G. G. Stokes :—The Chancellor, the Vice-Chan- cellor, Profs. Jebb, Forsyth, Darwin, Ball, Thomson and Mr. W. Burnside. Tne Sedgwick Memorial Museum syndicate, in an amended report, estimates that the cost to the University of the new building, over and above the amount contributed from the memorial fund, will be not less than 18,48ol. Ir is stated that Mr. David Davies, of Llandinam, grand- son of the late millionaire, has presented the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, with a sum of 20,000l. Tue New York correspondent of the Daily Mail announces, on the authority of the New York Journal, that Mr. Carnegie has arranged to present 200,000l. to Prince- ton University as a thank-offering for his recovery from his recent illness. Lorp AvesuRy will take the chair on March 17 at a conference on higher education at the Institution of Me- chanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, Westminster. Repre- sentatives of the county and county borough councils and a i a Saas = Marcu 5, 1903] NATURE 429 other educational bodies have been invited to attend the conference by the National Association for the Promotion of Technical and Secondary Education. Ix connection with the seventeenth annual Exhibition of Arts, Crafts and Industries, which will be opened on May 4 in the Town Hall, Hammersmith, by the Duchess of Argyll, a special ‘‘ nature-study’’ section has been organised by Mr. W. M. Webb. Prizes and certificates are offered to pupils in schools in Hammersmith for exhibits illustrating, among other subjects, rambles or visits to a park, nature- study diaries, pea plants grown in pots with descriptions of their growth, drawings of living plants or animals, the life-history of any animal (in the wide sense of the word) from personal observation, and nature-study photographs. THE committee of the Bombay University, appointed to consider the recommendations of the recent Universities Commission, has, we learn from the Pioneey Mail, come to the conclusion that both the Senate and the Syndicate work satisfactorily and need not be changed; second-grade collegés should not be disaffiliated; a limit of age and minimum fees should not be fixed, and the study of law should not be concentrated in a central college. Moreover, the Senate objects to interference from outside with the courses of study, and considers that the University should be allowed to control such matters in its own way. Tue Johnston Laboratory at University College, Liver- pool, built and equipped by Mr. William Johnston, of Brom- borough, will be opened by the President of the Local Government Board on May 9. ‘The laboratory will contain the following departments :—Bio-chemistry, under the direc- tion of Prof. Benjamin Moore; tropical medicine, directed by Prof. Ronald Ross, F.R.S.; experimental medicine and comparative pathology, directed by Dr. A. S. Griinbaum, who will also have charge of the cancer research, for which, as we have already announced, Mr. T. Sutton Timmis re- cently provided a gift of 10,0001. Mr. Johnston has also endowed the professorship of bio-chemistry and three fellow- ships in various branches of medical research. Str Owen Roserts distributed the prizes and certificates to the students of the South-Western Polytechnic on Feb- ruary 23. The report of the principal, Mr. Herbert Tomlin- son, F.R.S., was read, and showed the number of adult students in the institute to be rapidly increasing, so much so, indeed, that the volume of work as estimated by the student hours has in the last four years been doubled. During last session upwards of 600 students entered the day colleges for men and women, and nearly 1800 the evening classes. Two years ago large additions, costing 12,000l., were made to the buildings, but these proving insufficient, a still further sum of 13,000l., provided, like the former sum, by the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities and the London County Council, is now being expended in providing a large hall and further workshop and laboratory accommo- dation. The long list of successes of students shows that the number of certificates gained during last session was above 150 more than in the previous year, but, as was pointed out by the principal, the proper function of the institute is not merely to prepare students for examinations, but to fit them fo earn a living, and the institute owes a good deal of its popularity to the recognition of this by the management. Tue address on science workshops for schools and colleges delivered by Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., to the Royal Institute of British Architects last month is printed in full in the Journal of the Institute (vol. x. No. 6). Prof. Arm- strong illustrated his arguments by reference to the new buildings at Horsham for Christ’s Hospital School, of which he is a governor. The science buildings occupy practically one side of the quadrangle, and the floor area of the rooms they contain is 10,326 square feet, while that of the ordinary class rooms of the school only reaches 15,482 square feet. The four chief rooms in the science block are called science “‘ workshops,’’ and are distinguished by the names of Cavendish, Dalton, Davy and Faraday, and to each of these are attached certain subsidiary rooms. No lecture room is provided, since it is desired to discourage didactic teaching— a demonstration bench in the workshop amply provides for any such teaching as is necessary. No special balance room has been introduced, but instead a balance bench—a long NO. 1740, VOL. 67] narrow table covered by a glazed case for the protection of balances, and arranged at right angles to the working benches. A store or stock room is attached to each of the workshops. There are two kinds of working benches, those for ordinary work and those at which work involving the use of water may be done. The former have teak tops, and the latter are covered with lead. In the rooms on the upper floor, all sinks have been placed near to the walls, and the waste is carried down to the floor below in pipes fixed in chases in the walls. On the basement floor, cross channels have been avoided as much as possible. In three rooms an arrangement has been adopted which provides both a gas service and upright supports to which rings, &c., can be clamped. The space below the bench-top is fitted with two tiers of small cupboards; inside each cupboard is a small drawer. Each bench has four such cupboards, so that four pupils may occupy the place in succession, and each have a cupboard. Prof. Armstrong also gives invaluable hints as to the construction,of sinks, drains and ventilation hoods, and describes some special appliances which are in use at Christ’s Hospital School. The address concludes with a plea for the simplification of school workshops, and the re- commendations are well summed up in Prof. Armstrong’s own words, ‘‘ in designing science workshops the architect . . should have three S’s in mind—Sense, Simplicity and Space.”’ SCIENTIFIC SERIAL. American Journal of Science, February.—Good seeing, by S. P. Langley. A study of the conditions necessary to the formation of a tranquil image in a telescope (see p. 400). —Native arsenic from Montreal, by N. N. Evans. The native arsenic was found in a vein of nepheline syenite at the Corporation Quarry, near Montreal. On analysis it proved to contain 98°14 per cent. of arsenic, 1°65 per cent. of antimony, with traces of sulphur.—Electromotive force in plants, by A. B. Plowman. The experiments described show that the functional activities of a plant give rise to differences of electrical potential in its parts, the intensity and relative sign of these differences depending upon the physiological condition of the plant, as well as upon its electrical conductivity—The ionisation of water nuclei, by C. Barus.—The morphogenesis of Platystrophia. A study of the evolution of a Palzozoic Brachiopod, by E. R. Cumings.—Note on the condition of platinum in the nickel- copper ores from Sudbury, by C. W. Dickson. An account of the isolation of sperrylite, platinum arsenide, from chalco- pyrite.—Lecture experiment on surface tension and surface viscosity, by J. E. Burbank.—Mylagaulodon, a new rodent from Oregon, by W. J. Sinclair.—Studies in the Cyperacex, by T. Holm. On Carex fusca and Carex bipartita. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Physical Society, February 27.—Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—A paper by Prof. Fleming and Mr. Clinton, on the measurement of small capacities and inductances, was read by Prof. Fleming. The measure- ment of small capacities and inductances has become im- portant in connection with Hertzian wave wireless tele- graphy. The authors have designed a rotating commutator which renders the measurement of small capacities a matter as easy as the measurement of resistance on a Wheatstone bridge. The appliance is described in the paper, and the authors claim that they have worked out a thoroughly satis- factory form of rotating commutator, designed more from the point of view of an engineer than an electrical instrument maker. For use with the instrument a moving-coil differ- ential galvanometer has been designed. The authors have made a number of experiments upon the capacity of aérial wires, such as are used in Hertzian wave telegraphy, and have also investigated the laws governing the capacity of such wires when grouped together in certain ways and verified experimentally, as far as possible, the formule for the capacity of insulated wires in various positions in regard to the earth. The experiments are given at length in 430 NALERTE [ Marcu 5, 1903 the paper, and the results practically obtained are compared with those derived from theoretical considerations. In all cases the total measured capacity of m wires is less than n times the capacity of one wire.—Mr. A. Campbell exhibited the commutator used for condenser tests at the National Physical Laboratory. It is similar to that designed by Mr. Searle and used by him and Prof. J. J. Thomson in their determination of the value of ‘‘v.’? In this commutator the ebonite insulation does not fill the spaces between the segments, and is never touched by the brushes, thus giving satisfactory insulation. By its aid many measurements have been made of the B.A. air-condensers, the capacity of each of these being about o’o2 m.fd.—A paper on the thickness of the liquid film formed by condensation at the surface of a solid was read by Dr. G. J. Parks. It was known more than half a century ago that when a solid is placed in a gas or vapour there is a condensation of the latter on the surface of the solid, and in particular that glass has the power of condensing water-vapour at temperatures above the dew- point. - In order to determine the thickness of the liquid film, the author has exposed masses of cotton-silicate of known area to the action of water-vapour. The author has compared his results with those obtained by other experi- menters with different substances and under widely different conditions, and concludes that in all cases where condensa- tion of moisture takes place at a solid surface, and at temperatures not below the dew-point, the thickness of the surface-film varies from 10X10 ° to 8oX10 ®cms., accord- ing to the substances used and the conditions of temperature and pressure. Chemical Society, February 18.—Prof. J. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—The molecular arrangement of N-sub- stituted imino-ethers, by Dr. G. D. Lander. ‘The re- arrangement of the atomic grouping -.C(OR):N. into -CO.NR. may be effected catalytically or by heating; the author has applied these methods to the study of N-substi- tuted imino-ethers recently prepared by him.—The nature and probable mechanism of the replacement of metallic by organic radicles in tautomeric compounds, by Dr. G. D. Lander.—The chlorine derivatives of pyridine. Part viii. The interaction of 2: 3:4: 5-tetrachloropyridine with ethyl sodiomalonate, by Messrs. W. J. Sell and F. W. Dootson. —The biological method for resolving inactive acids into their optically active compounds, by Drs. A. McKenzie and A. Harden. The authors have investigated the action of pure cultures of Penicillium glaucum, Link; Sterigmato- cystis nigra, van Tieghem; Aspergillus griseus, Link, on various externally compensated acids. Their experiments show that these moulds attack one isomeride more readily than the other, and that the extent of the resolution depends solely on the difference of this rate of attack.—Colour changes observed in solutions of cobalt chloride, by Prof. W. N. Hartley, F.R.S. Spectroscopic examination of solutions of cobalt chloride shows that the compound formed when the solution is heated at 93°-100° is the dihydrate CoCl,,2H,O, whilst solution of the salt in hydrochloric acid appears to result in the production of a compound of the salt and acid; when zinc chloride is added to a solution of cobalt chloride the latter does not become blue on warm- ing; this, it is suggested, is due to the formation of a double chloride of the two metals. The author also points out that the hypothesis that hydrated salts can exist in concentrated solutions and undergo dissociation with rise of temperature is sufficient to account for all the phenomena observed, and the supposition made by Donnan and Bassett of the existence of a complex ion during the electrolysis of cobalt chloride is unnecessary.—The action of ammonia and organic bases on ethyl esters of olefinedicarboxylic and olefine-B -ketocarb- oxylic acids, by Dr. S. Ruhemann.—Derivatives of p-amino- acetophenone, by Dr. F. D. Chattaway. A description of a number of acyl derivatives of this amino-ketone. Entomological Society, February 4.—Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Dr. T. A. Chapman ex- hibited two male specimens of Orina tristis, var. smarag- dina, taken at Pino, Lago Maggiore, on May 30, 1902, still alive ; and living larvee of Crinopteryx familiella, second generation, bred from the egg at Reigate, of parents taken at Cannes in February, 1901.—The Rev. F. D. Morice NO. 1740, VOL. 67] exhibited, with drawings of the abnormal parts, a herm- aphrodite of Eucera longicornis, Linn. In a discussion on hermaphroditism, Dr. Sharp stated that Father Wasman had announced the discovery that in certain Dipterous para- sites of Termites the individual commences as a male and ends as a female—a phenomenon entirely new to entomology, though paralleled in some other groups- —Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., exhibited a living ex- ample of Chrysopa vulgaris, Schnd., to show the manner in which this species, which is ordinarily bright green, assumes a brownish colour, the abdomen being often marked with reddish spots in hybernating individuals——Mr. W. J. Lucas submitted specimens of a bug—Miris calcaratus— and the fruit of some grass, swept up near Byfleet. The similarity of form and colouring constituted a probable case of protective resemblance.—Major Neville Manders ex- hibited two specimens of an undescribed species of Atella from Ceylon, and remarked that it was a very local insect and only found in the Nitre Cave district, one of the locali- ties most remote from civilisation in the island. It was probably a well-marked local race of A. alcippe, but easily distinguished from any known species of the genus by the apex of the fore-wing being entirely black.—Mr. F. B. Jennings exhibited two females of Drymus pilipes, Fieb., a rare species of the family Lygzeidae, which were found among dead leaves on a hillside near Croydon in September, 1go1, and a black aberration of the ordinarily grass-green or yellowish Miris laevigatus, L.—Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., exhibited a collection of butterflies formed by Mr. David Hanbury on the Arctic coast of North America, in the region where the Parry expedition was lost. Two of them, including Colias boothii, had not been taken since they were first described by Curtis sixty years ago. ‘This species, in comparison with Colias hecla, Lef., is undoubtedly distinct in both sexes, but it is most remarkable that the male, in coloration and markings, appears to approximate more closely to the characters usual in the females of other mem- bers of the genus. The collection contained nothing new, but included the rare and curious Argynnis improba, Butler, hitherto taken only in Novaya Zembla; a remarkable aberration of A. chariclea, Schn., in which the black netting marks were resolved into smeared black lines; A. pales, for the first time from this region, precisely similar to the form taken’on the east of the Lena River in Siberia; and Coenonympha tiphon, closely resembling the form from Kamtschatka. He also showed a collection from north~ eastern Siberia at about the same latitude, 67°, as the pre- ceding exhibit. It included many species which occur in the western palzarctic regions, most remarkable of all, Neptis lucilla. Also Parnassius delius, which Mr. Elwes said was the first Parnassius he had seen from within the Arctic circle, and Colias viluiensis, Mén., an insect peculiar to Siberia, showing remarkable female aberrant forms.—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse gave an account of a nest of a bee, Trigona collina, recently received from Malacca. Speci- mens were exhibited, as were also males and a worker of the much smaller species, Trigona ruficornis, Smith, re- ceived at the same time from Singapore, and sent by Mr. H. N. Ridley.—Mr. W. J. Kaye exhibited two drawers con taining Danaine, Ithomiine and Heliconine species from British Guiana, all of similar coloration, and forming a Miillerian association with a black hind-wing.—The follow- ing papers were communicated :—On the Hypsid genus Deilemera, Hiibner, by Colonel Charles Swinhoe.—An account of a collection of Rhopalocera made in the Anam- bara Creek in Nigeria, West Africa, by Mr. P. J. Lathy.— Some notes on the habits of Nanophyes durieui, Lucas, as_ observed in Central Spain by Mr. G. C. Champion and Dr. T. A. Chapman, with a description of the larva and pupa by Dr. T. A. Chapman. Zoological Society, February 17.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair—A communication was read from Mr. F. Pickard-Cambridge containing de- scriptions of one new genus and eight new species of spiders. of the families Pisauridaee and Senoculide, the material for which was contained in the British Museum, and was, to a great extent, obtained by the author in the Lower Amazons.—A communication from Mr. Cyril Crossland contained descriptions of two new species of marine poly- chzete worms obtained on the shores of the Island of Zanzi- in in i, ig sca ait ~er +s” Marcu 5, 1903] NATURE 431 bar, in East Africa.—A communication was read from Dr. Robert Broom on the axis, atlas and proatlas of the higher Theriodonts. A description of these bones in the type speci- mens of Gomphognathus and Trirachodon, now preserved in the Grahamstown Museum, was given, and suggestions thrown out as to the relationship of these forms and Pro- colophon to the modern Sphenodon and crocodiles.—Mr. C. Tate Regan contributed a paper entitled “‘ A Revision of the Fishes of the Genus Triacanthus,’’ in which seven species were described, one of them, T. indicus, being new to science.—Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., read a paper on the geographical variations of the sand-viper (Vipera ammodytes), in which he distinguished a geographical race (var. meridionalis) from Greece, the Archipelago and Syria, from the typical form found in Austria-Hungary and Bosnia. —Mr. F. G. Parsons read an account, drawn up by Mr. George Candler, of the habits of the hoolock (Hylobates hoolock), as observed by him in the forests of Cachar, in north-east India. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, February 3.—Mr. Charles Bailey, president, in the chair.—Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S., exhibited and explained some models illustrating his mechanical theory of the structure of the universe, propounded in his paper on the submechanics of the universe, read before the Royal Societyw—Mr. C. E. Stromeyer read a paper on parallax determinations by photography, in which he dealt with the advantages photo- graphy offers for rapid and accurate surveys. The principle recommended was to superimpose the image of a photo- graphic negative taken at one position on the image of a photographic positive taken at another position, the parallax, or angle which separates two positions as seen from any of the objects in the photographs, being measured micro- metrically by shifting one, of the images until the object registers and disappears. It was suggested that the best results would be obtained by placing the two photographs in two lanterns and superimposing the images on a screen or into a microscope eyepiece, but the instrument shown was arranged to suit a single lantern, the negative and the positive being placed film to film.—Mr. W. B. Baron read a paper (communicated by Mr. Stromeyer) on the influence of hydrogen in fuel on the composition of the resulting flue gases. He showed that by making the gas analysis, usually undertaken in boiler trials, with little more than ordinary care, and applying various corrections thereto, the relation of hydrogen to other combustible in the fuel can be accu- rately found. DvuBLIN. Royal Dublin Society, February 17.—Pro.. J. Joly, F.R.S., in the chair.—Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., read a paper entitled ‘‘ How to Introduce Order in the Re- lations between British Weights and Measures.’’ The paper describes a proposal for legislation which the author sub- mitted two years ago to the Board of Trade. to get rid of the irrationality between the two methods of measurement, without its being necessary for Parliament to call upon the inhabitants of this country to make any change in their habits of thought, or the practice to which they are accustomed, until they themselves choose to do so. The main parts of the proposal are that an Act be passed making the yard exactly nine-tenths of the metre, the avoirdupois pound exactly nine-tenths of the metric pound or half kilo- gram, and the imperial gallon exactly nine-tenths of the metric gallon or half dekalitre. They at present differ from these amounts by small but very troublesome fractions.—Mr. David Houston communicated a paper on the value of bacteriological tests in judging the butter exhibited at agri- cultural shows. The author had submitted all the butter exhibits that had gained prizes at the Society’s winter show at Ball’s Bridge to a detailed bacteriological examination, and had also visited many of the contributing creameries with the object of checking laboratory results. The experi- ments, it was claimed, proved the fallacy of ordinary methods of judging the quality of butter, and demonstrated the utility of bacteriological tests, at least as an auxiliary to the usual method, in determining the real value of butter. —Mr. G. H. Carpenter read a paper on injurious insects NO. 1740, VOL. 67] Its aim is | | and other animals observed in Ireland during the year 1902. The most important records were the flour moth (Ephestia Kuehniella) in Belfast Mills, and a new species of Australian weevil (Syagrius intrudens, Waterh.) as a greenhouse pest in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. Mention was also made of the injury to various vegetable stems and roots by Enchytreid worms.—Dr. Henry H. Dixon presented two criticisms on the cohesion theory of the ascent of sap. In this paper Steinbrinck’s objection, based on the perme- ability of the walls of the conducting tubes to air, is shown to be invalid. Air passing through the wet walls must be in solution, and it has been shown by experiment that saturation of water by air does not appreciably lessen its tensile strength. Secondly, Copeland’s criticism, founded on experiments made with plaster of Paris, is shown to in- volve perpetual motion. The true explanation of Cope- land’s results is to be found in the continued absorption of plaster of Paris after setting, combined with its great re- sistance to the passage of water. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 23.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair.—The law of electromotive forces in saline solu- tions: the influence of temperature, by M. Berthelot.—On tuberculosis and diaphysis of the long bones of the limbs and its treatment, by M. Lannelongue. If the tubercu- lous abscess or tuberculome is not too large, a cure may be effected by a simple washing with an antiseptic liquid con- taining iodoform, creosote, ether and olive oil. In more severe cases the abscess must be opened, and the whole of the inside surface scraped with a cuvette. If due care is taken, the abscess is not liable to recur—The action of a polarised bundle of very refrangible radiations on very small electric sparks, by M. R. Blondiot. The action of the X-rays from a focus tube upon an electric spark has shown that these rays are polarised; it appeared to be of interest to see if a similar action could be traced in the case of a bundle of polarised light rays. The whole of the experi- ments described show that a bundle of polarised light rays produces a notable reinforcement of the spark when its plane of polarisation is normal to the spark, and does not act on it when its plane of polarisation is parallel to it; in other words, there is a plane of action of polarised light upon the small spark, and this plane is normal to the plane of polarisation.—Prof. Koch was elected a foreign associate in the place of the late Prof. Virchow.—On a particular class of triple orthogonal systems, by M. C. Guichard. On the resistance of perfect gases to the movement of solids, by M. L. Jacob.—A hydro-tachymeter for regulating hydraulic turbines, by M. L. Ribourt. The new form of governor, a description of which with drawings is given, has worked very satisfactorily in practice. In that form of turbine most difficult to regulate, small power with a low fall, the variations of velocity have been kept constant within 2 per cent., although the variations of resistance amounted to 30 per cent.—The variations in the modulus of elasticity in nickel steels, by M. C. E. Guillaume. The method em- ployed consisted in observing at different temperatures a chronometer furnished with a spiral of the alloy under ex- amination mounted on a brass balance. Alloys containing 26 per cent. and 45 per cent. of nickel possessed the smallest temperature coefficient—On the spontaneous reduction of the amount of carbon in steel, by M. G. Belloc. The sudden heating of a hard steel wire spiral in a vacuum gives a greyish metal, soft and incapable of being tempered. This effect appears to be intimately connected with the presence of occluded gases, since it is not produced if occluded gases are absent.—On the influence of certain modes of treatment on the microscopic structure of certain nickel steels, by M. Léon Quillet. Micrographic observations show the effects of tempering, annealing and hammering on nickel steels more clearly than mechanical tests, and in shorter time.—On the products of reduction of copper salts by hydroxylamine, by M. E. Péchard. An ammoniacal solution of copper sulphate is decolorised by sulphate of hydroxylamine, nitrogen and nitrous oxide being evolved. From an ammoniacal solution of copper acetate cuprous acetate can be readily obtained by hydroxylamine sulphate. —The action of urea upon pyruvic acid, by M. L. J. Simon. ; —On some phosphorus derivatives of benzophenone and 432 methyl-propyl-ketone, by M. C. Marie. The phosphorus compounds described were obtained by heating together ‘hypophosphorous acid and various ketones.—On the results obtained in the distillery by the application of yeasts acclima- 'tised to the volatile toxic principles present in the molasses from beetroot, by M. Henri Alliot. Satisfactory results have been obtained in practice by the use of acclimatised yeasts, the alcoholic fermentation taking place in a liquid not only containing substances detrimental to yeasts, but also contaminated with foreign bacteria.—Experimental researches on epithelial hyperplasia and on the transform- ation of epithelium into conjunctive tissue, by M. Ed. Retterer. The irritation which produces on the epidermis the loosening of the skin gives rise to evolutive pheno- mena which recall very nearly those of cartilage in the course of ossification. The cells proliferate and give rise to new cells, which are transformed into reticular and vascular conjunctive tissue.—The series of the genus Absidia, by M. Paul Vuillemin.—On the interpretation of the arrangement of the bundles in the petiole and leaf veins of the dicotyledons, by M. Coi.—Eruptions of the secondary period in the Island of Crete, by M. L. Cayeux. The eruptive rocks in Crete form a part of the strata which have been identified with the Upper Jurassic. The eruptive rocks have metamorphosed the upper strata in which they are in- cluded, and leave absolutely untouched the more recent strata.—The lower Devonian in the region of MKosva (Northern Ural), by MM. L. Duparc, L. Mrazec and F. Pearce.—On the faults at Poitou, between Parthenay, Niort and Poitiers, by M. Jules Welsch. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Marcu 5. Rovat SOcIETY, at 4.30.—The Resistance of the Ions and the Mechanical Friction of the Solvent: Prof. F. Kohlrausch, For. Mem. R.S.—The Electrical Conductivity of Solutions at the Freezing Point of Water: W. C. D. Whetham, F.R.S.—A Note on a Form of Magnetic Detector for Hertzian Waves adapted for Quantitative Work : Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S.—On the Laws Governing Electric Discharges in Gases at Low Pressures. Communicated by Prof. J. J. Thomson. F.R.S.: W. R. Carr.—The Differential Invariants of a Surface, and their Geometric Significance : Prof. A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S. Roya INnsTITUTION, at 5.—Insect Contrivances : Prof. L. C. Miall,F.R.S. Society oF Pusiic ANALYSTS, at 8. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.—The Mechanism of the Reduction of Potassium Bichromate by Sulphurous Acid : H. Bassett.—The Constitution of Pilo- carpine. Part IV.: H. A. D. Jowett.—Preparation and Properties of 1:4 (or r:5)-Dimethyl Glyoxaline and 1 : 3-Dimethyl Pyrazole: H. A. D. Jowett and C. E. Potter.—Some Analyses of ‘‘ Reh,” or the Alkaline Salts in Indian Usar Land: E. G. Hill.—Experiments on the Synthesis of Camphoric Acid. Part III. Synthesis of Isolauronolic Acid : W. H. Perkin, Jun., and J. F. Thorpe.—Camphor-8-thiol : T. M. Lowry and G. C. Donington.—Isomeric Change of Dibenzanilide into Benzoyl-o- amino- and Benzoyl-g-amino-benzophenone: F. D. Chattaway.—The Rate of Decomposition of Diazo-compounds. Part III. The Tempera- ture Coefficient: J.C. Cain.andF. Nicoll. LLINNEAN Society, at 8.—Onsome Points in the Visceral Anatomy of the Characinide : W. S. Rowntree.—On the Anatomy of the Pig-footed Bandicoot Chaervopus castanotis; F. G. Parsons.—Further Notes on Lemurs: Dr. Elliot Smith. RONTGEN SOCIETY, at 8.30.—Spark Phenomena: F. H. Glew. FRIDAY, Marcu 6. Roya. INstTiTuTION, at 9.—Studies in Experimental Phonetics ; Prof. J. G. McKendrick, F.R.S. Gro.ocists’ AssociaTIoNn, at 8.—The Pliocene Bone Bed of Concud, | Teruel, Spain: Dr. A Smith Woodward, F.R.S.—On the Zones of the Upper Chalk in Suffolk: A. J. Jukes-Browne. SATURDAY, Marcu 7. at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord MONDAY, Marcu 9 Society oF Arts, at 8.—Hertzian Wave Telegraphy in Theory and Practice: Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. RovaL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—A Buried Landscape in the English Midlands: Prof. W. W. Watts. TUESDAY, Marcu to. Roya INSTITUTION, at 5.—Recent Advances in Photographic Science : Sir William Abney, K.C.B. {nsTiTuTION OF CrviL_ ENGINEERS, at 8.—Recent Irrigation in the Punjab: S, Preston.—The Irrigation Weir across the Bhadar River, Kathiawar: J. J. B. Benson. WEDNESDAY, Marcu 11. Society oF Arts, at 8.—Existing Laws, By-Laws and Regulations relating to Protection from Fire, with Criticisms and Suggestions: T. Brice Phillips. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8.—Petrological Notes on Rocks from Southern Abyssinia collected by Dr. R. Koettlitz: Dr. Catherine A. Raisin.—The Overthrust Torridonian Rocks of the Isle of Rum and the Associated Gneisses: Alfred Harker, F.R-S. ~ THURSDAY, Marcu 12. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers:—On the Histology of Uredo dispersa, Erikks., and the** Mycoflasm” Hypothesis : Prof. Mar- shall Ward, F.R.S.—A Study of a Unicellular Green Alga, occurring in Polluted Water, with Especial Reference to its Nitrogenous Metabolism : NO. 1740, VOL. 67 | RoyaL INnsTITuTION, Rayleigh. NATURE [Marcu 5, 1903 Miss H. Chick.—A Comparative Study of the Grey and White Matter of the Motor Cell Groups and of the Spinal Accessory Nerve in the Spinal Cord of the Porpoise (Phocaena communis): Dr. VU. Hepburn and Dr. D. Waterston.—The Oestrous Cycle and the Formation of the Corpus Luteum in the Sheep: F. H. A. Marshall.—On the Culture of the Nitroso-bacterium: H. S. Fremlin.—Upon the Immunising Effects of the Intracellular Contents of the Typhoid Bacillus as Obtained by the Dis- integration of the Organism at the Temperature of Liquid Air: Dr. A. Macfadyen. Roya INsTiITUTION, at 5.—Insect Contrivances: Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Distribution Losses in Electric Supply Systems: A. D. Constable and E. Fawssett.—A Study of the Phenomenon of Resonance in Electric Circuits by the Aid of Oscillograms (abstract): M. B. Field. Society oF ARTS, at 4.30.—The Currency Policy of India: J. Barr Robertson. MATHEMATICAL SociETY, at 5.30.—On the Convergence of Certain Multiple Series: G. H. Hardy.—On the Representation of a Group of Finite Order as an Jrreducible Group of Linear Substitutions and the Direct Establishment of the Relations between the Group-Character- istics: Prof. W. Burnside.—Approximate Calculation of the Periods of Vibration of a Circular Plate: Prof. H. Lamb —Mathematical Notes: Dr. H. F. Baker. FRIDAY, Marcu 13. Rovat InsTiTUTION, at o.— Character Reading from External Signs; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S. Puysicat Society, at 5.—On the Interpretation of Milne Seismograms : Dr. Farr.—A Potentiometer for Thermocouple Measurements: Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt.—A Direct-Reading Potentiometer for Thermoelectric Work: Dr. J. A. Harker —The Measurement of Small Resistances: A. Campbell —A Resistance Comparator: Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt. Mavacotocicat Society. at 8.—Further Description of the Animal of Damayantia carinata, Collinge: Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen, F.R.S.—Note on the Generic Name Buliminus: B. B. Woodward.— Notes on Pleistocene Non-marine Mollusca from Portland Bill; and on Holocene Non-marine Mollusca from Wilts, Dorset Cambridgeshire and Folkestone: R. Ashington Bullen.—On the Occurrence ot Nevritina Grateloupiana, Fér., in the Pleistocene at Swanscomb: A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward. INSTITUTION OF CIvIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Reconstruction of Midland Railway Bridge No. 27, over the the River Trent: A. R. Langton. SA ’&URDAY, Marcu 14. Royat InsTiruTion, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord Rayleigh. CONTENTS. PAGK Electrical Stimulus and Response. By F.G. . 409 The Lead Accumulator. By Maurice Solomon . 410 Biology of the Lake of Geneva. 411 Our Book Shelf: Taylor: “‘ A Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles.” —(BV)*. Re 412 DeGarmo: ‘‘ Interest and Education.” —A. T. S. 413 Drudeiee lhe wheory, of (@pticsi2s sea sein enero Perdoni: ‘‘ Le Forze Idrauliche” . . Pee ool Julius: ‘‘De Ether”; Barbéra: ‘‘L’Etere e la Materia ponderabile” . . . . 413 Letters to the Editor :—— Sir Edward Fry on Natural Selection.—Sir Edw. Fry, F.R.S. RE eae cthcge itl 2. isl. Sha The Assumed Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials. — Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, F.R.S. ...... 414 The Dissociation Theory of Electrolysis.—J. Brown, FURS 6G) ous, ety edie. a vee . Sh aan Analysis of the ‘‘Red Rain’’ of February 22,— RowlandpaAsiMarp..05\.. =.) -. oy 6) Sages) emeDIER Proof of Lagrange’s Equations of Motion, &c.— Prof, W. McB Orr; R. R.A ee 03 et Sag Genius and the Struggle for Existence.—S. Irwin Crookes; Arthur Ebbels ... . fe é Seeds The Organisation of Fishery Research. By Dr. E. J. Allen Pek. > vel sikh Ce 417 Magnetic Work in New Zealand. (J///us/rated.) By Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S. 2 heer Caen 418 The Kearton Selborne. (///ustrated.) By R. L, - 419 Recent Conferences between Science Masters and Fixami pers ieee mere) meee ie 419 Notes sleet oe 4 ame 420 Our Astronomical Column :— Astronomical Occurrences in March. . . . . 424 Gometitoogia 2. 2. ce 6h ce eee 424 Comet 1902 4 (Perrine) BOO NOMI CEN orto cio; Herschel’s Nebulous Regions of the Heavens - 424 A New’StarjCatalogue’ .5 4.7... << ale) ap fo -e eees Recent) Scien ceanvAustriaue tenes Pee 7;) The Future of Coal Gas. By Prof. V. B. Lewes . 426 University and Educational Intelligence .... . 428 Scientific’ Serial) j4. cassis +s edie oaighienirs eee Societies and Academies ........ Pir Diary’of Societies) 404°. j5-2 3.) <1 cee ae a a le el TE i Ne em Ce NATURE THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1903. THE UNIVERSITY IN THE MODERN STATE. Il. HAT Germany thinks of the place of the uni- versity in a modern State can be readily gathered from the large and ever-increasing State endowments of the numerous universities in Prussia and the other con- stituent countries. The university activity of Prussia itself dates from the time after Jena, 1806, when the nation was, as Sir Rowland Blennerhassett has told us, a bleeding and lacerated mass, so impoverished and shattered that there seemed to be little future before it. King Frederick William III. and his councillors, among them Wilhelm von Humboldt, founded the University of Berlin, “to supply the loss of territory by intellectual effort.” Among the universal poverty, money was also found for the Uni- versities of Koenigsberg and Breslau, and Bonn was founded in 1818. Observatories and other scientific in- stitutions were not forgotten. As a result of this policy, carried on persistently and continuously by successive Ministers, aided by wise councillors, many of them the products of this policy, such a state of things was brought about that Palmerston, a typical English states- man, is stated by Matthew Arnold to have defined the Germany of his day as a country of “damned professors,” and so well have the damned professors done their work since that not long ago M. Ferdinand Lot, one of the most distinguished educationists of France, accorded to Germany “a supremacy in science comparable to the supremacy of England at sea.” The whole history of Prussia since then constitutes indeed a magnificent object lesson on the influence of brain-power on history. There can be no question that the Prussia of to-day, the leader of a united Germany, TABLE I.—Ovdinary State 433 with its armed strength both for peace and war and craving for a wider world dominion, is the direct out- come of the policy of “intellectual effort” inaugurated in 1806. The most remarkable thing about the German uni- versities in later years is the constant addition of new departments, added to enable them to meet and even to anticipate the demands made for laboratories in which each scientific subject, as it has been developed, can be taught on Liebig’s plan, that is by experiment, observ- ation and research. It is in such State-aided institutions as these that the members of the German Ministry and Parliament, and the leading industrials are trained, while in our case, in consequence of the lack of funds for new buildings at Oxford and Cambridge, and, until not many years ago, the lack of other high-teaching centres, our leaders have had to be content with curricula extant before Galileo. was born, the teaching being, perhaps, not so good and the desire to learn generally much less. No one will deny that the brain-power of a nation must, in the last resort, depend upon the higher mental training obtainable in that nation. It is well, therefore, to see how we stand in this matter. The following tables will show what the German Government is doing to provide brain-power in Germany. Those who know most about our British conditions will see how we are likely to fare in any competition with Germany in which brain-power comes in, if indeed there can be any important sphere of activity undertaken by either King, Lords or Commons in which brain-power | does zof come in. We owe the first table giving the facts relating to the ordinary State endowments of the twenty-two German universities to the kindness of Mr. Alexander Siemens, who was good enough to obtain through official sources an extract from the “‘ Preussische Statistik” containing an article by Dr. Petersilie. This deals with 1891-2, the last year dealt with by the statistical bureau. Endowment, Year 1891-2. Sources of Income. Expenditure. ‘ Ordinary Percentage of | Salaries of i Universities. Yotal In- - Bs Teaching Various Expenses arate: Foundation | State | Other Se a Personal Connected 1 ends Funds. | Sources. Hounda- State Todzing Expenses. Material: 1 : Funds. Funds. | Allowance). | | a. Prussian Universities. £ L en 8 £ L L 1. Berlin 123,839 16,782 | 107,057 = 14 86 44,504 23,769 55,565 2. Bonn 56,467 10,661 45,806 — 19 81 24,404 8,334 23,729 3- Breslau 48,203 35454 445749 = 7 93 | 21,845 7,927 18,430 4. Gottingen 57,303 36.487 20,877 — 64 36 24,601 10,248 22,512 5. Greifswald ... A 35,807 21,833 13,974 — 61 39-| 14,605 | 5,870 | 15,332 6. Halle a Be |i 625580) 29,590 33,284 — 47 53 | 20,791 | 9,015 33,973 7 boleh: ate 37,722 03594 (| 28; 188s |e 25 75; ils aa 5,682 18,618 8. Konigsberg ... 46,405 6,475 39,930 = 14 86 17.193 | 7374 21,836 9. Marburg eh: 38,872 8,743 30,129 _ 22 78 15,008 | 6,732 17,070 to. Munster Academy... | 12,312 202 8,110 — 34 66 5,000 | 1,737 2,574 11. Braunsberg Lyceum 2,040 1,046 994 _ 51 49 1,741 82 216 Prussian Universities | altogether 521,911 148,863 373,098 —- 33 67 206,223 | 86,770 228,955 1 Continued from p. 196. NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | U 434 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1903 TABLE I.—Continued. Sources of Income. | Expenditure. Waireniives | Odinga | Percentage of | Salaries of come of F pindlation State Other Sita aa Star ae vations: Pies IORI SL eIESt | Fees, &e. | Funds. BONLGES: oundes State eae Expenses. eT | Funds. Funds. | Allowance). Nr a | jae | 6. Other than Prussian | Oniversities. % | L b L L 4 fi a £ 1. Munich a bce 45,678 | 13,069 32,609 — 2 71 24,669 10,981 10,028 2. Wurzburg ... eel k305240 15,707 20,539 — 43 57 14,099 11,316 10,831 3. Erlangen... aes 31,722 6,813 24,909 — 21 79 | 59x 10,149 9,982 4. Leipzig Seis so |) GEney | 21,439 | 77,934 _ 22 78 27,162 43,917 28,293 5. Tubingen ... .. | 44,068 | 5,309 38,759 — 12 88 13,669 12,602 17,798 6, Hreiburg) ) 2: Cece 253054. 3,996 21,893 95 16 84 13,021 3,538 9,424 7. Heidelberg... ... | 34,949 | 987 33,895 67 3 97 ‘16,569 3,541 14,839 8. Giessen PA eee | eS 2s74004| 9,530 23,178 41 29 71 | 11,988 2,358 18,402 9. Rostock an See 16,614 | 113 16,290 211 2 98 7,722 795 8,097 Io. Jena... es se — _— = = — | a= _ — => It. Strassburg ... ue 49,750 3,917 45,575 257 8 92 | 26,300 3,611 19,838 Non-Prussian Uni- | = | | | versities altogether, | excluding Jena ... | 417,133 | 80,880 335,581 671 19 81 | 166,790 102,808 147,532 Prussian Universities | 521,911 | 148,863 373,098 _ 33 67 | 206,223 86,770 | 228,955 All the German | | Universities, ex- | | , | cluding Jena... | 939,044 229,743 708,679 671 26 74 | 371,013 189,578 376,487 | | | In the second table are given the ex/raordinary | and 1902-3, so far as it has been possible to expenses incurred in the same year, also obtained | obtain them from “Minerva,” in order that the con- from Dr. Petersilie’s article. There have been | siderable yearly increase in the endowments may be added the State endowments for the years 1900-1 | noted. TaBLe Il.—Showing Extraordinary Expenditure 1891-2, and Increase of Ordinary Endowment since then. Ordinary Extraordinary | Increase of Ordi- Fs Ordinar | Ordinar Universities. State Endowment, err ter State Bnd ow ent, State Bidaentl| "Ee pine LEE State in 1891-2. Meee 19023: (in thousands). a. Prussian Universities. pea wf a Jf | ve 1. Berlin si se aah | 107,057 61,714 130,743 142,155 35 2. Bonn... ae a eas | 45,806 9,690 51,982 56,091 II 3. Breslau aes ses ewe s- | 44,749 38,900 573435 57:435 13 4. Gottingen... ap Bag 60 20,877 6,260 27,403 30,414 | 10 5. Greifswald... bie 260 et 13,974 5,762 20,490 23,925 | 10 6. Halle... iat 453 at Asad 33,284 15,919 51,666 54,419 21 7. Kiel ... ae Th eee i 28,188 5,690 37,286 41,891 13 8. Konigsberg ... me “e aaoe| 39,930 12,350 47,069 50,936 II 9. Marburg tn ite fee wee | 30,129 2,660 36,255 38,931 | 8 10. Munster Academy ... se sca. | 8,110 300 | 14,364 18,242 10 j 11. Braunsberg Lyceum Se om 994 = 1,989 2,990 2 Prussian Universities ; totals seal 373,098 159,245 476,682 517,429 144 | 6. Other than Prussian Universities. | 1. Munich Bs % ae es 32,609 13,932 — -- | 2. Wurzburg... or 8 ee 20,539 375 _— — | 3. Erlangen... Fee Be ee 24,909 3,766 — — 4. Leipzig sf sak Ra - 77,934 = 101,989 104,388 2 5. Tubingen... 7 ss Bi 38,759 — 49,703 52,234 14 6. Freiburg ic ax ore bes 21,893 7,825 28,555 30,955 9 7. Heidelberg ... isk 22 A 33,895 14,771 393125 41,225 | 8 8. Giessen oa se aes 53 23,178 6,990 37,480 42,188 19 9. Rostock Pye sts ay ae 16,290 —- 17,812 | — | TO; Jienawys ae mb =o S00 | — | _— _ — | It. Strassburg... wa “4 eo 45,575 | 12,440 49,150 49,862 | 4 Non-Prussian Universities ; totals... 3355581 60,099 323,814 | 320,852 | NO. 1741, VOL. 67] _ Marcu 12, 1903 | NATURE a8) It will be seen that those responsible for the continued well-being of the German State are as busily employed in increasing the efficiency of their universities as they are in adding to their navy. In Britain, there is no concern shown by our Govern- ment and politicians in regard to the vea/ sources of national brain-power, towards which primary instruc- tion, now well endowed, is but the first step. Private endowment is still appealed to, though our present unfortunate position comes from the fact that since the necessary introduction of science into the curriculum of the higher teaching, private endowment in the past has not been, nor in the future will it be, able to supply a tithe of what is really wanted. The State, however, while it allows the universities to remain inefficient, as if it were a matter of indifference whether we fail in brain-competition with foreign countries or not, does really concede the principle of State aid. [ts present contribution to our universities and colleges amounts to 155,600/. a year; no capital sum, however, is taken for buildings. This sum is made up of grants to :— & (a) 4 universities in Scotland 72,000 3 5 », England... 14,800 I . », Wales 4,000 (4) 13 colleges in England 26,000 Bess », Wales 12,000 Bigeye », Lreland— Grants in aid... a ca: 4,800 Consolidated Fund ; for Salaries of Professors and Officers, and Allow- ances for Scholars and Prizes 21,000 25,500 1 college in Scotland 1,000 The above tables show that the total sum given by the British Government for the whole of the United Kingdom is less now than the State endowment of one of the twenty- two German universities was more than ten years ago. ASSYRIAN HISTORY. Annals of the Kings of Assyria: the Cuneiform Texts, with Translations, Transliterations, &c., from the original documents in the British Museum. Edited by E. A. Wallis Budge, M.A., Litt.D., Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, and L. W. King, M.A., F.S.A., Assistant in the Department of Egypt- ian and Assyrian Antiquities. Vol. i. Pp. Ixxv+ 391. (Printed by order of the Trustees, 1902.) Price 11. T is an interesting fact that practically all the materials which exist for the reconstruction of the ancient history of Mesopotamia are to be found within the walls of the British Museum. Neither at Paris, nor even at Constantinople, far less at Berlin, does there exist any collection of ancient Babylonian and Assyrian records which can for a moment be compared to that of the British Museum. The researches of British archeologists have resulted in the transfer to London of the whole of the royal library of the palace of King Ashurbanipal (668-626 B.c.) at Nineveh; here the thousands of inscribed clay tablets of which it was composed have found their permanent home. It is then to London that every student must turn if he wishes to | NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | learn the story of ancient Mesopotamia. Here are pre- served almost all the ancient monuments and records of those mighty monarchs of Assyria and Babylon, who lighten the background of the Biblical story with the splendour of their continual goings forth to war, and the rumour of whose glory makes so deep an im- pression on the history of Herodotus. The Trustees of the national Museum have now commenced to pub- lish a national and official edition of all the most im- portant of the Assyrian historical records preserved under their care. This edition will contain the original cuneiform texts, with their transliteration, a transla- tion, and extremely useful footnotes. and annotations below. As yet only the first volume has appeared; if we are to judge of those that will follow from the first we may indeed congratulate the Trustees on their important publication—one of the most important, in fact, of their publications for many years past. To say that Dr. Budge, the Keeper of the Assyrian collections, and his able assistant, Mr. L. W. King (already known as an Assyrian historian since he edited ‘‘ The Life and Letters of King Hammurabi of Babylon,’’ and incidentally demolished the legend that a mention of Chedorlaomer, Tidal, and Arioch had been found on Assyrian tablets), have done their work well is unneces- sary; one does not question the results arrived at by the first—almost the only—authorities on the subject. We can only wonder at the perspicacity of those pioneers of cuneiform research, Rawlinson, Hincks, Fox Talbot, George Smith (all Englishmen), and the rest, who made it possible for Dr. Budge and Mr. King to translate for us with such accuracy and verve the strange arrow-headed characters which march in pro- cession along the top of each page of their monumental publication. Verve the translations undoubtedly have, and this energy of expression exists also in the originals whenever a triumphant war is being described. It is in this respect that an Assyrian inscription differs greatly from an Egyptian; the Egyptian is a much calmer and quieter recital of events in poetical form, de- pending for much of its effect on artificial antitheses, alliterations, even on puns, and so losing energy and truth; the Assyrian is the paean of a dervish, nothing less. Let us hear Tiglath-pileser (1100 B.c.) dancing and singing his war-song over the bodies of his victims (p- 49) :— ° “With the fury of my valour a second time against the land of Kummukhi I marched. All their cities I conquered ; their spoil and their goods and their posses- sions I carried off; their cities I burned with fire, I laid waste, I destroyed. And the rest of their host, who in face of my terrible weapons were afraid and feared my mighty onslaught in battle, in order to save their lives, sought the strong heights of the mountains, a difficult region. To the heights of the lofty hills and to the tops of the steep mountains, where it was not possible for man to tread, after them I went up. War, and fighting, and battle they waged against me, but I defeated them, and the dead bodies of their warriors on the tops of the mountains like the Storm-god I cast down, and their blood in the valleys and on the high places of the mountains I caused to flow. Their spoil, their goods, and their possessions from the strong heights of the mountain I brought down. The land of Kummukhi in its length and breadth I conquered, and 436 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1903 I added it to the borders of my land. Tiglath-pileser, the mighty king, the snare of the disobedient, who overwhelmeth the resistance of the wicked! With the exalted might of Ashur my lord against the land of Kharia and the wide-spread troops of the Kurté, over lofty hills which no king had ever reached, Ashur, my lord, commanded that I should march. My chariots and my host I gathered together, and between the mountains of Idni and Aia, a difficult region, I took my way. Among high mountains which were sharp as the point of a dagger, and which were impassable for my chariots, the chariots I left idle, and the steep mountains I traversed on foot. The whole of the Kurté had assembled their wide-spread troops. . in the mountain - with them I fought and I defeated them ; the dead bodies of the warriors on the high places of the mountain I piled up in heaps, and the blood of their warriors in the valleys and on the heights of the mountains I caused to flow. The people of the land of Adaush feared the mighty advance of my battle- array, and they deserted their territory and to the tops of the lofty mountains like birds they fled. ; Their fighting men on the peaks of the mountain I piled up in heaps, with the blood of their warriors the mountain of Khirikha I dyed red like scarlet wool. Tiglath-pileser, the burning flame, the Terrible One, the storm of battle (am I)! ”’ (p. 72). Such is an Assyrian war-chronicle. Its fierce energy is no pretence. Nor can we wonder that this virile people were the masters of Western Asia in their time. This inscription dates to the dawn of their hegemony, when they were just beginning to strike the terror of them into the hearts of the kings of the earth. Most of the other inscriptions in this volume are of the same type. “The soldiers escaped,’’ says Ashur-nasir-pal (B.c. 885-560), ‘‘ and occupied a steep mountain; the moun- tain was exceeding steep, and after them I did not go. The peak of the mountain rose like the point of an iron dagger, and no bird of heaven that flieth reacheth thereto. Like the nest of a vulture within the moun- tain was set their stronghold, into which none of the kings my fathers had penetrated. In three days the warrior overcame the mountain ; his stout heart pressed on to battle; he climbed up on his feet, he cast down the mountain, he destroyed their nest, their host he shattered ’’ (pp. 270, 271). Always the same forcible and picturesque diction, which is well reproduced by the translator. But the Assyrian monarch was not only a destroyer ; he could build up as well as cast down. “The palaces, the royal dwellings,” ‘says Tig- lath-pileser (p. 88), ‘‘in the great cities of the pro- vinces of my land, which from the time of my fathers during the course of many years had been deserted, and had decayed, and had fallen into ruins, I have rebuilt and restored. The walls of the cities of my land which were in ruins I have strengthened. The engines for watering the fields throughout the whole of Assyria I have repaired, and stores of grain in greater quantities than those of my fathers I have increased and heaped up. ae Cedars and urkarinu-trees, and allakanish-trees, in the countries which I have conquered, such trees the like of which among the kings my fathers of old time none had ever planted, I took, and in the gardens of my land I have planted them. And rare garden-fruits, which were not found within my land,I took, and in the gardens of Assyria I have caused them to flourish. Chariots and teams of horses, that my land might be strong, more than formerly, I have increased and I have NO. 1741, VOL. 67] strengthened. Unto the land of Assyria I have added land and unto her peoples, peoples.’’ These extracts will serve to give some idea of the ex- tremely interesting character of these ‘‘ Annals of the Kings of Assyria.’’ The present volume contains in- scriptions dating from the early period to the reign of Ashur-nasir-pal (B.c 885-860). It is evident that many more volumes of the same size and scope as that which lies before us will have to be published before the editors come to the end of the rich material which lies ready to their hand. For Assyrian history covers another two centuries and a half, occupied by a continuous record of wars, conquests, city and palace building, &c., often containing information of the greatest possible use to the historian. Isolated matters of interest often crop up in the course of the narrative. Thus we read that Tiglath-pileser I., one of the first of Assyrian kings to reach the Mediterranean, went for a pleasure trip in a Phoenician ship from Arvad, and slew a mighty dolphin in the course of his sail. To the same king the contemporary monarch of Egypt, who must have been one of the im- mediate successors of Rameses III., of the twentieth dynasty, sent a crocodile as a present, and also a great pagutu, whatever that may have been; perhaps it was a hippopotamus. We may wonder what condition the unlucky animals were in by the time they reached Assyria! They were evidently regarded as very re- markable creatures, as we can see from the care with which their arrival is recorded. The sketch of Assyrian history which precedes the texts is extremely well written, and gives the reader a very good idea of the rise of the famous kingdom on the Tigris. : In conclusion, we must again congratulate the Trustees of the British Museum on their decision to undertake the publication of these important national treasures, and the editors, also, on the excellence of their work. TRUSTWORTHY REAGENTS. The Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity. By Dr. C. Krauch. Third Edition. Authorised translation by J. A. Williamson, F.C.S., and L. W. Dupré. Pp.. 350. (London: Maclaren and Sons, n.d.) Price 12S. 6d. net. AVEAT EMPTOR is a good maxim, if a somewhat hackneyed quotation. The principle it embodies need not be disregarded, even by the chemist. True, he is a protector of the purchasing public in certain cases where that public cannot take care of itself; but this does not absolve him from the necessity of keeping a watchful eye upon his own purchases. On the con- trary, the very fact that he may be called upon, for in- stance, to certify to the purity of other people’s food makes it all the more incumbent upon him to look well after the purity of his own reagents. It may happen—and it has happened—that through insuffi- cient attention to the quality of his chemicals, an analyst may introduce into some article the very im- purity which he is required to search for, or an in- vestigator in pure chemistry may be led to propound some brilliant theory which more circumspect working Marcu 12, 1903] presently renders untenable. As examples in point, one need only recall the testing of foodstuffs for arsenic, and the alleged conversion of this element into anti- mony. Wherefore, when the chemist buys his chemi- cals let him remember the legal tag above quoted, and not trust too implicitly to the manufacturer who sup- plies them. ° The book before us will help to minimise the labour involved in satisfying oneself on this matter. It deals with some hundreds of reagents used by the chemist, and with a few of those generally employed by the microscopist. As regards its plan, the substances are arranged in alphabetical order, beginning with “ acetic acid ’’ and ending with ‘“‘ zinc sulphate.’’ Under each heading are described, very briefly, a few of the more prominent characters ‘of the reagent, such as its formula, molecular weight, boiling point, specific gravity, or crystalline form. Then follow, as a rule, a number of “ tests for impurities,’’ in which are indi- cated the probable foreign substances to be met with in the article under examination, and the characteristic methods of detecting them. A paragraph or two deal- ing with the ‘‘ quantitative estimation ’’ of the reagent is added in those cases where the addition is applicable. Following this come notes upon “‘ uses ”’ or ‘‘ uses and storage,’’ in which mention is made of the purpose for which the reagent is generally required, and hints given as to how it should be kept—e.g. whether pro- tected from light, in a cool place, under oil, and so on, Finally the ‘‘ commercial varieties ’’ of the substance are shortly indicated. On account of the number of articles dealt with, the information afforded is necessarily for the most part very brief, and is always concisely put. Fairly full descriptions, however, are given in the case of some of the more important reagents: thus ten pages are devoted to alcohols, six to ether, and eight to hydro- chloric acid; whilst tables of the strengths correspond- ing to various values of specific gravity are appended to the sections dealing with such reagents as acetic acid, ammonia, alcohol, and the mineral acids. Refer- ences, and useful ones, are frequently given to litera- ture in which further information is to be found; and in place of the original German sources the trans- lators have very considerately indicated abstracts and papers to be found in English journals and text-books. All the ordinary reagents are described, and also a number of those less frequently used. As regards the inclusion of the latter, the present writer has tested the volume in respect of a few of the less common re- agents, such as the persulphates, iodeosin, and nitroso- 8-naphthol (which latter, by the way, can be re- commended for the separation of cobalt from nickel), and finds them duly mentioned except in the case of the persulphate. The book is hardly one which calls for much criti- . cism. The value of such a work consists in its bringing conveniently together the chief data pertaining to the various substances, so far as they are criteria of purity. If a good selection is made, and if the information is accurate, the book saves labour and fulfils its purpose. Judged by this standard the volume can be unre- servedly commended. C. Simmonps. NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NATURE 437 OUR BOOK SHELF. Text-book of Electrochemistry. By Svante Arrhenius. Translated by John McCrae. Pp. xi + 344. (London: Longmans and Co., 1902.) Price gs. 6d. net. Tuts work, by the chief founder of modern electro- chemical theory, is worthy of a hearty welcome in its English form. It is distinguished from other works on the same subject by being at once more thorough and more simple, the difference being specially apparent in the chapters dealing with potential and electromotive force. Too often the treatment of this branch of the subject leaves the impression (on the student of chemistry at least) that a simple and im- portant result is arrived at from no premisses in par- ticular by.some unconvincing mathematical hocus- pocus, wholly devoid of concrete meaning. Prof. Arrhenius is necessarily somewhat mathematical, but the physical significance of each step is so care- fully explained that no attentive student of physics or chemistry, with the most rudimentary knowledge of the calculus, can fail to gain a clear idea of the pro- cess of reasoning, and, if need be, to reproduce it with understanding. Whilst we have this very desirable treatment of theoretical matters, the practical side of the subject is no less satisfactorily dealt with. In small compass, an immense amount of well-selected and clearly-put information is conveyed; for example, in the two pages which are devoted to the electric arc, the essential features of the phenomenon are given with a precision and conciseness infrequent in physical text-books. The chapter on electroanalysis affords a similar instance of happy exposition. Throughout the book, and especially where matters of recent con- troversy are under discussion, there is manifested a temperateness of language and sobriety of judgment which cannot be too highly commended. The first two chapters of the volume give an account of fundamental physical and chemical con- ceptions, and of the older electrochemical theories. The next five chapters are chiefly concerned with osmotic pressure and the thermodynamical deductions from it, the general conditions of equilibrium, and the velocity of chemical actions. Chapters viii.-xii. are devoted to electrolytic dissociation and the deductions to be drawn from that theory. In chapters xiii.- xv., electromotive force is dealt with; and in the last two chapters are taken up the practical subjects of electroanalysis and the development of heat by the electric current. The present translation has been made from the German edition, which is a somewhat expanded form of the Swedish original. The English version is well done, and we have to thank Dr. McCrae in addition for an excellent index and a very useful appendix of references. ; A Manual of Indian Timbers. By T. S. Gamble, INMPAS GALE. ERS.) BLS, sep. xxiii) 7 S50,;milus= trated by photographs of wood sections. New (second) and revised edition. (London: Sampson Low, Mar- ston and Co., Ltd., 1902.) THE first edition of this important work appeared in 1881, giving the results of investigations made by Sir Dietrich Brandis and his assistants, Messrs. Gamble and Smythies. It was edited by Mr. Gamble, and it con- tained descriptions of 906 species of Indian timbers. The new edition has been entirely prepared by Mr. Gamble ; it deals with about 1450 species, including all, or nearly all, really important timber-woods. The total number of species of trees, shrubs and climbers found in India and Ceylon is estimated to amount to about 5000, 438 so that there is room for further extension should here- after a third edition become necessary. The book is a very storehouse of information, and this will be realised if we state that for every important, and most other, species the information extends to :— (1) Size and appearance of tree; whether evergreen or deciduous ; mode of branching. (2) Description of bark. (3) Description of wood, both sapwood and _ heart- wood, with its colour, hardness, grain, scent, the character of the annual rings, pores, medullary rays, &c. (4) Distribution, rate of growth, &c., of the trees. (5) Weight per cubic foot of timber; transverse strength. (6) Sylvicultural aspect of the species. (7) Insects injurious to the tree; and other points of interest. An admirable addition in this new edition are 96 photographs (enlarged 3} times) of timbers’; these were prepared at the forest branch of Coopers Hill College from a large collection of negatives, started by Mr. C. A. Barber, now Superintendent of Botanical Survey, South India, when instructor in botany at the college. Space is not available to enter upon a detailed account of the contents of this monumental book, but attention may be drawn to what, in our opinion, constitutes one or twoshortcomings. India has been divided intoeight regions for the purpose of indicating the main classes of forest growth, but, unfortunately, the author decided not to give a map showing these, because he thinks a map, to be of any real use, would have to be of a rather un- wieldy size and would be difficult to insert. With this view we disagree. Considering that India comprises an area of about 14 million square miles, a map indicating the above-mentioned eight regions would have been exceed- ingly useful. On this map, the exceedingly varying rain- fall, which practically governs the distribution of the forests, might have been shown in a summary manner, or it might have been given on a separate map. The size of these maps need not have been larger than that of a double page, and they could have been inserted with the greatest ease. Nor does the binding seem to us sufficiently strong in the case of a book of nearly 900 pages, which will be taken about in camp by those who are most in need of the information given in it. Apart from these minor matters, we may confidently say that the book is of immense importance in the economic development of the resources of the Indian forests, and it should be, as the old edition has been, the constant companion of every Indian forest officer, and of others who take an interest in the subject. We heartily congratulate the author on the successful completion of this new edition. Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht der biologischen Blatt- typen von ein und sechzig Siphonogamenfamilien. Von Prof. Dr. A. Hansgirg. Pp. xiv+486; mit 4o Abbild. im Text. (Leipzig: Gebr. Borntraeger, 1903.) Price ro marks. Pror. Hanscire has written a big book that may have its use as a work of reference, but it certainly cannot be described as possessing an interest com- mensurate with its bulk. Long periods often ex- tend over more than half a page, and are quite un- broken save for the commas delimiting the in- numerable subordinate clauses that serve to qualify or define the main idea. An effort is made to classify the various kinds of leaves into different biological groups, and then the various types of leaves met with in different natural orders are successively indicated. As an example of the method, the case of the cricoid leaf-form may be cited. The type is briefly described, and then follows a list of plants, extending over eight pages, that are grouped under it. NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NATURE | MarcH 12, 1903 In the concluding chapters a short summary of the main results is given, and their general bearing upon variation and evolution is briefly discussed. It is pointed out that closely related species often are found to possess very different kinds of leaves, and this fact is related to the combined interaction of the environment and the inherent constitution of the organism. The author seems to suggest that it may be possible to construct a sort of phylogeny of these adaptations, and so to refer them back to a primitive leaf-form. But it may be doubted whether such specu- lation can really advance matters very much. We know too little of the former climates and of the extent of adaptive variation these were able to evoke, and the more profitable line of inquiry would seem to be that which is directed towards an experimental treatment of plants at the present day. ‘This line of investigation has already proved itself to be fruitful, and there is reason to think that it is by no means as yet worked out. The Lepidoptera of the British Islands. A Descriptive Account of the Families, Genera, and Species In- digenous to Great Britain and Ireland, their Pre- paratory States, Habits, and Localities. By Charles G. Barrett, F.E.S. Vol. viii. Heterocera, Geome- trina. Pp. 431. (London: Lovell Reeve and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Tue eighth volume of Mr. Barrett’s great work on the British Lepidoptera deals with upwards of 120 species, referred to the families Acidaliidae and Laren- tida, the latter being extended to include the genus Eubolia and its allies, sometimes treated as a dis- tinct family. Consequently, this volume is devoted to the interesting groups of slender-bodied, broad- winged moths known as ‘‘ Waves,’ from their white or yellow wings, crossed by waved dark lines; and ‘“Carpets,’’ from their intricate and festooned patterns. The great genus Eupithecia, which includes the smaller and darker moths called ‘‘ Pugs ”’ by col- lectors, which belongs, like the ‘‘ Carpets,’’? to the Larentidz, stands over until the next volume. The scope of Mr. Barrett’s work is indicated by the title-page, and the workmanship, of which we have spoken fully in our notices of previous volumes, re- mains on the same level of uniform excellence. The present range of each species is given very fully, and this, though a subordinate point, is very useful, not at the present moment, but as supplying accurate data for a future comparison of the range of the same species in the British Islands at different periods. The works of Stephens, Stainton, Meyrick, Barrett, and of subsequent writers will enable this to be done with approximate accuracy whenever it seems desirable to make such a comparison, which will be more useful, perhaps, in the case of moths than butterflies, for the history of British butterflies, unfortunately, is one of increasing restriction of range and increasing rarity, ending, but too often, in utter extinction. Nevertheless, in the ‘‘ Additions and Cor- rections ”’ (p. 428), we read of the capture of a speci- men of Polyommatus Dorylas, Hiibn., near Dover, in 1902, a butterfly which, though figured as British by Lewin a century ago, has never been formally admitted into our lists, single specimens only being met with on the south coast of England, at intervals of many years. We should mention that there is a large-paper edition of this work, illustrated by good coloured plates of all the species in their various stages; but at the moment of writing this is not before us. Marcu 12, 1903] NATURE 439 The Design of Simple Roof Trusses in Wood and Steel. By M. A. Howe, C.E. Pp. viii + 129. (New York : John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1902.) Price 2.00 dollars. Tuts little book is intended to serve the purposes of students in mechanical and electrical engineering, who desire to have some knowledge of the methods of design adopted in civil engineering, and hence the examples chosen are two very simple forms of roof trusses. The first two chapters give a brief outline of the general principles on which are based the graphical determination of the stresses in the various parts of a roof truss; then follows a carefully written chapter on the strength of the various materials used in roof work in tension, compression, cross-bending and shear. The author then works out in complete detail the design of a 60-feet-span wooden roof truss, and of a 60-feet-span steel roof truss—one particularly good feature of this part of the book is the extreme care which has been shown in the explanation of the design of the various joints needed in such roof trusses. There are three well-drawn plates to illustrate these two roofs and a series of seventeen tables, including a most useful set giving moments of inertia, radii of gyration, &c., for various rolled sections commonly used in the struts of roof trusses. We can recommend the book as one likely to be of much use to both teacher and student in classes for the study of civil engineering design. Stereotomy. By A. W. French, C.E., and H. C. Ives, C.E. Pp. iv + 115. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1902.) Price tos. 6d. Tuis is another text-book for the student in civil engin- eering, and treats of masonry work, mainly in arches and domes. The two first chapters give a brief account of the various stones used for building purposes, and their physical characteristics, and of the tools used in quarry- ing and cutting the blocks into their finished forms. The third chapter treats of plane-sided structures, such as bridge piers and abutments, with several practical examples illustrated by plates. Chapter iv. deals with structures containing developable surfaces, and in- cludes a detailed treatment of the masonry arch; the geometry of the arch is explained, and the preparation of the working drawings for use by the stone mason, and also the methods employed in dressing the stones. The oblique or skew arch, difficult both in its geometry and in its constructional details, is worked out in a separate chapter, with several fine illustrative plates. As the twenty-two plates which illustrate the text are drawn from actual masonry structures, such as the Worcester City Hall, the Trenton railway bridge, &c., they will prove extremely useful to the student, more especially as there are few recent text-books which deal at all fully with this branch of the art of the civil engineer. Round the Horn before the Mast. By A. Basil Lub- bock. Pp. x + 375. (London: John Murray, 1902.) Price 8s. net. THESE experiences of a public school man, who at San Francisco turned himself into an ordinary seaman and “signed on for two pounds a month for a passage round the Horn, calling at Queenstown for orders, either for the British Isles or Continent,’’ will interest most boys. Probably few adult readers will get to the end of the volume, but Mr. Lubbock can congratu- late himself that most boys will read all he has written and pronounce it ‘‘ good.”’ NO. 1741, VOL. 67] LETTERS 70 THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] Radio-activity of Ordinary Materials. I sHouLp like to say a few words in answer to Prof. Armstrong’s letter, in which he suggests that the effects observed by Prof. McClennam and myself are not due to radio-activity, but to chemical changes at the surface of the substances experimented upon. In speaking of the radio- activity of ordinary materials, I mean that they show effects differing only in degree from those exhibited by uranium and radium. These effects, as observed experimentally, are as follows :— (1) There is a leakage of electricity from a charged body in the neighbourhood. _ This leakage is proportional to the E.M.F. for small E.M.F.’s, but for large ones independent of it. (2) The effect varies with the pressure of the air, being for small pressures proportional to the pressure, and for large pressures independent of it, when the E.M.F. is sufficient. (3) The rate of leak is the same for positive electricity as for negative. (4) The rate of leak does nct depend on the temperature. (5) When other gases are substituted for air, the leak is nearly proportional to the density of the gas, except in the case of hydrogen, which gives about one-eighth the effect that air does. In every one of these points there is exact agreement of behaviour between uranium and the ordinary materials. On the other hand, I am not aware that any difference has been brought to light, except as to the magnitude of the effects. Until such a difference should appear, I think we may fairly, and without dogmatism, apply the maxim that similar effects are due to similar causes. In other words, we may conclude that the other substances, like uranium, are radio-active. RN. Je STRUTT. A Case of Pseudo-mimicry. In Campbell Island, south of New Zealand, the breeze-fly (Helophilus campbellicus), one of the Syrphide, so closely resembles a blow-fly (Calliphora eudypti) that when, in rgor, I captured a specimen of the first, which is rare, I thought it was the blow-fly, which is common; and it was not until I was transferring my captures to boxes that I found out my mistake. C. eudypti has the abdomen metallic bronzy green, with a dark thorax, and black and tawny legs. H. campbellicus has also a metallic bronzy green abdomen, a dark thorax, and black and tawny legs. There is a difference in the stripes on the thorax, but they are obscure. In size the two insects are the same. Now in any other locality this resemblance could be put down to mimicry. The blow-fly is common and offensive. The breeze-fly is rare and feeds on flowers. Everything favours this explanation except that in Campbell Island there are no insect-eating birds and no lizards, and con- sequently mimicry would be useless. Evidently, in this case, the resemblance is only a coincidence and has no meaning. F. W. Hutton. Museum, Christchurch, N.Z., January. ACCIDENTAL resemblances between insects are to be ex- pected. The immense number of species and the necessary limitation in the variety of colours and patterns must lead to coincidences, as, I believe, was first pointed out by Mr. F. E. Beddard in his book on ‘‘ Animal Coloration.’’ The coincidences would, of course, be relatively more numerous when the patterns are simple. Accidental resemblances being independent of locality and of an origin based upon utility, it follows that a very small proportion of the total number of cases are to be expected to occur under conditions which are the characteristic concomitants of true mimetic | resemblance. 440 NATURE [MaRcH 12, 1903 With regard to Captain Hutton’s special instance, how- bardy and Tuscany, and also acted as chief engineer ever, there appear to be certain points which require con- sideration before accepting the conclusion that the resem- blance is merely a coincidence :—(1) The possible coexistence of the two species in other localities where the resemblance has a meaning; (2) the possible change of conditions in the struggle for life in the locality itself; (3) our possibly im- perfect knowledge of the struggle which is waged there now. Furthermore, a careful comparison between both forms and their respective allies—a comparison which takes account of geographical distribution as well as of superficial appearance—would certainly throw light upon the origin of their present appearance, and probably upon the mean- ing of the likeness which they bear to each other. When questions such as these have been answered so as to leave no doubt about the accidental nature of the resem- blance, it will be mecessary. to ascertain whether the “ offensive ’’ qualities of the blow-fly are any defence against insect-eating animals. If they are not, the resemblance would still lack an essential characteristic of true mimetic likeness. E. B. Poutton. Oxford, March 6. Area of Triangle in Terms of Sides. As the changes which are being introduced, in accord- ance with Prof. Perry’s suggestions, into geometrical teach- ing are giving a stimulus to the production of text-books of practical geometry and mensuration, the present is a good time to point out a more direct proof of the formula for the area of a triangle in terms of its sides than that usually given. From the centres of the inscribed and one escribed circle, drop perpendiculars on the sides or their productions. Also join these centres to the corners A, B, C. We have then, by similar triangles, See = whence 77q=(s—6)(s—c). ea The area of the triangle ABC is equal to vs, and also to ¥a(s—a); and therefore to ,/{r7,5(s —a)} that is to a/{s(s—a)(s-—b)(s—c)}. 11 Leopold Road, Ealing. J. D. Everett. LEONARDO DA VINCI AS A HYDRAULIC ENGINEER. | the December number of the Bulletin of the French Society for the Encouragement of National Industry! is an article by M.’M. A. Ronna- on Leonardo da Vinci, in his capacity of hydraulic en- gineer; with extracts from his works and several reproductions of sketches of the numerous mechanical contrivances he invented for saving labour, for measuring the discharge of water, for lock gates and other hydraulic appliances. Leonardo da Vinci, who was born in Italy in 1452, has generally been recognised as one of the most illustrious painters of the world, being classed as an artist with Raphael and Michael Angelo. His most celebrated work was the fresco representing the Last Supper, which was painted in his middle life. He was also the author of a treatise on painting, which was published in several different languages. His gifts as sculptor, musician and poet are less known; and it may be a surprise to many to be told that Leonardo da Vinci was by profession an engineer, engaged principally in designing and carrying out works for the construction of canals, the drain- age apd reclamation of marshes, and similar work in Italy; and in his later life in France, to which country he was invited by Francis I. to advise as to hydraulic works there. He held the appoint- ment of engineer and director of works in Lom- 1 Bulletin de la S. rciété a Encouragement pour Ulndustrie Nationale, December, 1902. (Paris: Published by the Society.) NO. 1741, VOL. 67] in the army of the Pope. In addition to his executive work, he thoroughly investigated the laws relating to _ the movement of water and hydraulics generally, and ‘anticipated many of the theories for which credit is a ny generally given to men of science who lived very many years later. He appears to have grasped a knowledge of the action of gravity more especially in its relation to the movement of liquids, and states his inability Fic. 2. to furnish to the human mind a scientific proof of its existence, as he considered that, in common with magnetism and other phenomena, it was one of the secrets of Nature. Hallam, in his introduction to the MARCH 12, 1903 | | “Literature of Europe,’’ referring to Leonardo, says the discoveries which made the names of Galileo, | Kepler, Castelli and others famous, the system of Coper- | nicus, the very theories of recent geologists, were | anticipated by da Vinci within the compass of a few pages, not perhaps in the most precise language, or in the most conclusive reasoning, but so as to strike in with something like the awe of preter- natural knowledge. Leonardo da Vinci in his writings deals with and explains the formation of rain drops, the capillary action of liquids, the equal pressure of water in closed vessels, anticipating the application of this principle as .carried out nearly three centuries later by Bramah in his hydraulic press. The theory of the motion .of waves in water is fully dealt with. The illustration he gives of a field of corm under the in- fluence of the wind when a wave motion traverses the field without the stalks moving, to show the action of the water in similar circumstances, has been often used since, and was adopted by Scott Russell in his report to the British Association on waves in 1836. Leonardo da Vinci appears to have devoted much attention to the use of mechanical appliances for saving labour in the excavation and removal of earth in the various canals that he was engaged in con- structing. He was the first engineer to adopt the use of weirs and locks for overcoming the varying levels of the country through which his canals were | carried. A sketch of a pair of lock-gates (Fig. 1), as used on the canal from Ticino to Milan, called the ““Naviglio Grande,’’ as given in his ‘‘ Codice Atlan- tico,’? is here reproduced. Gates of almost similar design, may still be seen on many of the older canals of this country, where locks were not made use of until 1566. As specimens of the sketches of mechanical contrivances given in his treatise, the illustration of machinery for raising heavy weights (Fig. 2) bears a strong resemblance to appliances to be found amongst contractors’ plant of the present day. The theories set out by Leonardo da Vinci, and his laws for regulating the flow of water in open channels as derived from his own practice and obser- vation, for ascertaining the velocity of discharge due to the balance of forces established between gravity and friction, as to the effect of the junction of two waterways, and the velocity of movement of water as affected by the form of the channel and the depth of the water, anticipated by fully a century the works of Gugliemini, of Paul Frisi and Castelli, to whom, generally, has been given the credit of first deter- mining the problems of hydrology. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. T was the fear of some of those most interested in the renaissance of the University of London that the good effects of the transfer from Burlington House to the Imperial Institute would not become apparent until many years had elapsed. As scientific research is more and more taking its proper place as the highest duty that a university can per- form, it is very gratifying to learn that the University of London has seized a favourable opportunity, and utilised its enlarged premises to this end. Even though this laudable endeavour must be at present | regarded in the light of a preliminary experiment not | yet included in any authorised programme, the physiological laboratory tentatively initiated by the | University. appears to be admirably adapted for the ' NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NATURE | from the national exchequer. 441 purposes to which it is applied, namely, for lectures on advanced physiology and for physiological research. But its chief value is as a concrete object-lesson of what the well-wishers of education in this country de- sire to see promoted by the University of London, and we are inclined to add, with bated breath, fed A municipal body may technical But it re- be expected to realise the importance of science, and to pay for its establishment. EFic. 1.—Room No. 17 (The Lecture Room). quires outlook towards a wider horizon to realise that apparently useless knowledge is in reality knowledge of which the reward is to be received by future generations. The habitation of this infant laboratory at present comprises the top floor of one side of the main building. A long corridor extends throughout its whole length, and the various rooms open from this right and left. The first, counting from the entrance, is the work- shop, where a 1 h.p. dynamo provides power for Fic. 2.—Room No. 19 (General Laboratory). the various tools used in constructing the smaller apparatus. required from time to time. Next is the lecture theatre, with seats for eighty students. Ar- | ranged for lectures in advanced physiology, this ac- _commodation has so far proved sufficient; the average _attendance has been about thirty, and as no attempt has been made to give merely popular demonstrations, and as only students are invited who already possess some knowledge of the subject, these numbers are very 442 encouraging. The rooms devoted to research are five in number. That next the lecture theatre, with furnaces and a fume chamber, is the chemical room, and contains in addition the apparatus used by the British Medical Chloroform. Committee in its deter- minations. No. 19, with two dark rooms attached, is the general laboratory. This is the largest room on the landing; the centre is used for general purposes and the far end is half-shaded, and serves for galvano- meters with the attendant apparatus. Two complete tables are furnished, one with a dark room for photo- graphy, and both are at present occupied. On the opposite side of the long corridor are rooms 20A, 20B, and 21. The two former are fitted up for experiments on the circulation. No. 21 is the private room of the lecturer in charge; it is also used for research in experimental psychology; another galvano- meter with resistances, &c., for the lecturer’s use stands at one side. Two small rooms are available here, either as dark rooms or for other purposes. The total laboratory accommodation for research is arranged for a maximum number of ten workers, it being considered that this was what might be reasonably expected, as quality is infinitely more im- portant in work of this kind than quantity. The pre- sent workers are seven in number. Several papers communicated to the Royal Society and other learned bodies testify to the activity of the place, and we shall expect, with some curiosity, a re- port on its first year of work. The University authorised the occupation of the laboratory in February last, and there does not appear to have been much time lost in getting to work. PROF, WILLIAM HARKNESS. Y the lamented death of Prof. Harkness, America loses one of the most devoted of her scientific workers, and the staff of the Washington Observatory one who has laboured strenuously to bring its reputa- tion to the high level it at present enjoys. It is true that his official connection with that institution has recently ceased, but his abiding interest in its future welfare did not end with his enforced retirement. In the few words of farewell in which he announced his approaching resignation, he still evidenced his interest in the Observatory he had served so long and so faith- fully, and in a spirit of true loyalty to practical astro- nomical science, he indicated the direction in which he considered the equipment deficient and the lines on which further, extension should proceed. In 1862 we first find his name mentioned as an assistant, working with the mural circle and prime vertical instrument at a time when Prof. Hubbard, whose name recalls another and-a different sphere of scientific activity, had the control of those instruments, and determined the direction in which they should be employed. In the following year Prof. Hubbard died, and the new assistant was elected to the professoriate, but remained in charge of the same apparatus. From this time onward, the history of Prof. Harkness is written in the Annals of the Observatory, and in its activity and its development he found ample occupa- tion, as in its increasing reputation and influence he found his reward. There is no need to go over in detail the various works in which he was engaged, whether as an accurate or painstaking observer, or as one singularly capable in the management and arrange- ment of large pieces of laborious, and perhaps un- interesting, work. Let his work on the reduction of the observations of Gilliss’ zones, or his perhaps un- thankful task in reducing the observations of the tran- NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NAT CRE [Marcu 12, 1903 sits of Venus in 1874 and 1882 spealx for his patience and energy. Just as little need we refer to his various determinations of differences of longitude, or of his par- ticipation in the observations of solar eclipses and their subsequent discussion; it is sufficient to say that no astronomical inquiry, that occasionally in the course of long years falls to the lot of an observatory assistant of the highest class, passed without his contribution to its success, or his suggestion for its improvement. Finally, we find him occupying the position of astro- nomical director of the Observatory and superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, a twofold task which must have taxed his activity, but it cannot be said that he was found wanting in either capacity. Perhaps he will be best remembered, as he is best known, by his work on the ‘‘ Solar Parallax and its Related Constants,’? though we should doubt if he would consider it as his best contribution to astro- nomical inquiry. In it he undertook the difficult, perhaps impossible, task, to assign a relative degree of accuracy to observations differing in character, in principle and in design, and to deduce from the multi- farious evidence a precise value of the solar parallax, in which each of the different processes contributes its just share to the final result. But the extent and com- pleteness of the inquiry constitute it a valuable his- torical record. His theoretical writings and his mechanical ethos each call for a word of remark. As evidence of the former, we may refer to his paper on the ‘‘ Colour Correction of Achromatic Telescopes,”’ and of the latter to the share he took in the transfer of the old observatory to its new site, to his remodelling of instruments, and, in particular, to his invention of the spherometer-calliper, which, we believe, was used with success in the testing of the instruments em- ployed in the transit of Venus expeditions. In him astronomy loses one who has spent himself without stint in her service, and his colleagues, to whom we offer our respectful sympathy, a sincere friend and an able director. W. EA Be NOTES. Tue council of the British Association has unanimously nominated the Right Hon. Arthur James Balfour, F.R.S., to the office of president for the Cambridge meeting in 1904. It has also been agreed to recommend to the Association the acceptance of the invitation to South Africa for the year 1905. Major P. A. MacManon, F.R.S., has been elected a member of the Athenzum Club under the rule which em- powers the annual election by the committee of nine persons ‘of distinguished eminence in science, literature, the arts, or for public services.”’ Tue death is announced of M. Gaston Paris, distinguished by his critical contributions to philological science. M. Gaston Paris was a member of the French Academy, and head of the Collége de France. Tue death is announced of Dr. Hénocque, | assistant director of the laboratory of biological physics in the Collége de France. Tue officers elected by the French Physical Society for the current year are as follows :—Vice-president, Prof. D’Arsonval; secretary, M. H. Abraham; _ vice-secretary, Prof. Jules Lemoine; treasurer, M. de la Touanne. The president (M. H. Poincaré) announces that the Society has received an anonymous donation of 2000 francs. A NEw series of the Journal des Savants commences with the present year. It will in future be under the control of Marcu 12, 1903] an editorial committee, consisting of a representative of the Académie Francaise; M. Léopold Delisle, repre- senting the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; M. Berthelot, representing the Académie des Sciences; M. Jules Guiffrey, representing the Académie des Beaux Arts; and M. R. Dareste, representing the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. M. Henri Dehérain is secretary of the committee. Mount Vesuvius is reported to be in a state of eruption and to be ejecting scoriz and incandescent masses which explode. Mr. T. H. Hortanp has been appointed director of the Geological Survey of India, in succession to Mr. C. L. Griesbach, who has retired. A SEVERE and prolonged earthquake is reported to have occurred in the island of Dominica on March 7. An earth- quake shock has also been felt at Aquila, sixty miles north- east of Rome. A Reuter’s despatch from Mexico announces another eruption of the volcano Colima on the morning of March 6, this being the most violent yet recorded. The eruption was accompanied by showers of ash, dense clouds darkened the sky, and there were deep subterranean roars. Shocks of earthquake were felt at intervals along the west coast. It is reported that ashes have fallen in great quantities at Uruapan, a hundred miles distant. A REvTER’S message reports that earthquake shocks were felt in the Saxon district of Vogtland and the Erzgebirge on March 5 and March 6. At Graslitz, some twenty miles to the west of Karlsbad, the inhabitants left their houses and passed the night in the streets. The tremors were felt as far as Plauen, Reichenbach and Zwickau, situated within a radius of twenty-five to thirty miles to the north of Gras- litz. At Unter-Sachsenberg, in the Zwickau district, the houses trembled for several seconds. Great excitement pre- vailed at Karlsbad and Asch, where shocks were also experienced, although they were of a less violent character. On March 4 Dr. M. W. Travers gave a lecture before the University College Chemical and Physical Society on ‘‘ The Attainment of Low Temperatures.’’ An account of the various methods of liquefying gases was given. The simplest case of all, where a gas such as sulphur dioxide can be liquefied by the: application of pressure alone, was first experimentally shown. Those cases in which intense cold as well as pressure is needed were next considered ; of the methods used in such cases the principle of adiabatic expansion as used by Olszewski to liquefy oxygen and hydrogen was explained and experimentally demonstrated. By this means, however, very little more than a mist of liquefied gas can be obtained. The regenerative cooling pro- cess first successfully applied by Hampson in England and Lindé in Germany was then described, and a brief account was given of its application to the liquefaction of hydrogen by the lecturer. Dr. Travers also described in detail his latest form of hydrogen liquefier, in which the regener- ative cooling is practically perfect, and the escaping hydrogen is only one or two degrees below the air tempera- ture. During the lecture the solidification of hydrogen was repeated, and a spectrum tube was filled with helium and neon by solidifying everything but helium and neon from a sample of air by means of liquid hydrogen. In December last several gentlemen engaged in various departments of scientific work in Newcastle-upon-Tyne met to consider the possibility of enabling local workers in science NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NATURE 443 to meet together in a less formal manner than is possible at the ordinary meetings of the various scientific and technical societies, and resolved to establish a club “‘ to serve as a social meeting place for men interested, pro- fessionally or otherwise, in scientific work.’’ Such a club | has now been established under the name of *‘ The Northern Scientific Club’; a club room has been engaged, and in- formal meetings are held every Saturday evening. At the first annual meeting the Hon. C. A. Parsons, F.R.S., was elected president, Mr. F. T. Marshall chairman of com- mittee, and Messrs. F. C. Garrett and T. Hanning hon. secretaries. Nothing but good can result from such a mingling of the professor and the works manager, and from the bringing into more friendly relationship men connected with different branches of science. The new club should become an important and useful institution in New- castle. Tue Agricultural Organisation Society has arranged a conference on agricultural cooperation to be held at Uni- versity College, Reading, on Saturday, March 21, under the presidency of the Lord Lieutenant of Berks, Mr. J. Herbert Benyon. A MEETING in commemoration of the tercentenary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth will be held at the Royal Geo- graphical Society on March 23. Addresses will be delivered by the president, Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., Mr. Edmund Gosse (Raleigh), Mr. Julian Corbett (Drake), Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S. (William Gilbert and terrestrial magnetism), and others. There will also be an Elizabethan exhibition of portraits, globes, maps, atlases, instruments, navigation books and various relics. -A REUTER message from Brisbane, dated March 1o, states that a disastrous storm has visited Townsville. The damage done by the storm is estimated at 200,000l. The town is practically wrecked. Tur Postmaster-General has appointed the following delegates to represent this country at the International Telegraph Conference to be held in London at the end of May :—Mr. J. C. Lamb, C.B., C.M.G., Mr. John Ardron, Mr. P. Benton, Mr. R. J. Mackay, and Mr. F. W. Home. Tue Post Office authorities have agreed to connect the Marconi wireless telegraph station at Poldhu, Cornwall, with the Post Office station at Falmouth. Though this will facilitate the transmission of ethergrams, it represents but a slight concession to the requirements of Mr. Marconi, inasmuch as the Marconi messages will, at Falmouth, have to take their turn with ordinary messages, which, in the case of commercial communications, might result in serious delay. The company has for some time past been urging the Department to grant it the same facilities which other cable companies enjoy—viz. that a cable may be handed in at any post office and transmitted by the Marconi system at an inclusive charge, and negotiations with this object are still proceeding. Tue use of wireless telegraphy for communication between lightships and lighthouses and the shore was referred to at the annual meeting of the Royal National Lifeboat Institu- tion on March 5 by Lord Charles Beresford. Mr. Gerald Balfour, M.P., in his remarks upon the matter, said it naturally took time to deal with the question of the adoption of wireless telegraphy, owing to the fact of private and other interests being involved, but he assured the meeting that the question was receiving the careful attention of the Board of Trade, and he hoped it would not be long before such communication as that suggested by Lord Charles Beresford would be effected. 444 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1903 SPEAKING at the Chambers of Commerce conference on March 5, Mr. Marconi said wireless telegraphy had now, he thought, reached a stage in which it could be satisfac- torily employed for communications between lightships, lighthouses and the shore. no lighthouse connected with the land by this system, but instances outside England where such communications have been established and have performed useful service can be quoted. In England the system was once tried between the East Goodwin lightship and the shore, and Mr. Marconi said he believed it was in the records of Trinity House that it worked satisfactorily. As to the cost, up to twenty or thirty miles, or even a greater distance, this would amount to from 3001. to gool. Cables, he pointed out, cost at least 2001. per mile. Tue New York Central Railway has, the Westminster Gazette announces, made arrangements with the American Deforrest Wireless Telegraph Company to instal its appa- ratus on the twenty-hour express from New York to Chicago. The installation is to be complete by April 1. It will be run for two months as an experiment, and if successful the plan will be permanently adopted. By the joint efforts of the Middlesex Field Club and the Selborne Society, a committee has been formed with the view of. organising a Home Counties Nature-Study Ex- hibition, to be held in London during the coming summer. AN international exhibition is to be held at Limoges from May to September this year. The exhibits will be com- prised under the heads of education, the liberal arts, general mechanics, electricity, civil engineering, agriculture, horti- culture, forestry, metallurgy, social economics, hygiene, special applications of medicated alcohol to motive abe lighting and warming, and other departments. On Tuesday next, March 17, Sir Robert Ball will com- mence a course of three lectures at the Royal Institution on “Great Problems in Astronomy.’’ The Friday evening discourse on March 20 will be delivered by Prof. E. A. Schafer, on the ** Paths of Volition ’’; on March 27 by Prof. Herdman, on the ‘‘ Pearl Fisheries of Ceylon’’; and on April 3 by Lord Rayleigh, on ‘‘ Drops and Surface Tension.”’ A LETTER received by Sir Alfred Jones, chairman of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, from Prince d’Aren- berg, president of the Suez Canal Company, informs him that the Campagnie du Canal de Suez is anxious to assist in the work that the Liverpool School is carrying on in West Africa, and has accordingly resolved to subscribe sol. ster- ling to the school. Tue officials of the Sanitary Department of the Egyptian Government, into whose hands the expenditure of the recent gift of 40,0001. entrusted to Lord Cromer and his successors in office by Sir Ernest Cassel for the relief of ophthalmia and eye diseases has virtually passed, have decided to em- ploy it in establishing a ‘‘ travelling dispensary ’’ in the form of a tent, to suffice for all purposes of operation and treatment, and to work solely in the provinces. In the House of Commons on March 4, in reply to a question as to the course the Government proposed to take on the expiration of the present Vaccination Act, and whether legislation would be proposed this Session to make revaccination generally compulsory, Mr. Balfour stated that it is proposed to renew the existing Act for this year, and to defer any further legislation on the subject to a future Session. NO. 1741, VOL. 67] In England at present there is Tue council of the Zoological Society of London has just sold to an American purchaser the Society’s African elephant * Jingo,’’ we believe on account of periodical outbreaks of temper, which rendered him dangerous and practically un- manageable. ‘‘ Jingo’’ was purchased by the Society in July, 1882, at which date he stood 4 feet 2 inches in height and weighed 788 Ib. He was then believed to be about three or four years old. At the time of his departure he was considered to be the largest elephant ever kept in cap- tivity. Ir is reported by Reuter that at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg a Russian committee is being created for historical, archeological, linguistic and ethno- graphic research in Central and East Asia. The regula- tions applying to the committee allow all men of science without distinction of nationality to take part in the labours of the committee. The president and delegates of the foreign committee of the International Association for Re- search in north-east Asia will have the right to attend the sittings of the Russian committee at St. Petersburg. Tue Viceroy has decided, it is announced in the Pioneer Mail, to devote the donation of 20,0001. from Mr. Henry Phipps to two objects, a laboratory for agricultural research, to be called the Phipps Laboratory, which will probably be situated at Dehra Dun, and the provision of a second institute in the south of India similar to that at Kasauli, which has already conferred such immense benefits upon Europeans and natives alike by saving them from hydro- phobia. The donation will be devoted to the requisite build- ings, while the site will in both cases be provided by Govern- ment, which will also in the first case contribute to and in the second undertake the cost of maintaining the institution. Tue Athenaeum announces the death of Ritter von Scherzer, the Austrian explorer, who from 1852 to 1855, in company with the naturalist Moritz Wagner, carried out extensive scientific exploration in Northern and Central America. In 1857 he was appointed chief scientific adviser to the famous expedition of the Novara, the results of which were published in the volumes of the “‘ Voyage of the Austrian Frigate Novara Round the World,’’ which has appeared in many editions since its first issue in 1861-2, and has been translated into English. Tue following countries took part in the international balloon ascents on the morning of January 9 :—France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Russia and the United States (Blue Hill). At Itteville, the new balloon station estab- lished by M. Teisserenc de Bort, twenty-five miles south of Paris, the lowest temperature, —65°°2 C., was at a height of 10,650 metres, temperature on the ground 5°°1; an in- version, 9°°2, occurred at 520 metres. At Strassburg a temperature of —63°1 was registered at 10,600 metres, temperature at starting 1°°5; inversion 9°°5 at 500 metres. At Berlin the minimum temperature was —50°°0 at 11,400 metres, temperature on the ground 5°'8, inversion 6°°3 at 537 metres. At Vienna the readings were: on the ground 1°'0, —10°0 at 4090 metres, —60°O at 10,230 metres. Ascents in manned balloons were made at Munich, Berlin, Vienna and Guadalajara. An area of high barometric pressure lay over the south-east of the Continent ; the ascents from Itteville and Strassburg appear to have been made under the influence of a depression lying to the westward. A BLuE-Boox has been issued containing the report of the Departmental Committee appointed to prepare a draft of the regulations to be made in pursuance of Section vii. of the Cremation Act, 1902. The objection which has Marcu 12, 1903] NATURE always been urged against cremation is that it might render the detection of crime impossible, as all evidence is neces- sarily destroyed by the process. To obviate this as far as possible, it is recommended that no cremation should be allowed to take place unless the cause of death can be definitely certified by the medical attendant, who is required to fill up an exhaustive certificate, which has to be submitted to, and must be approved by, a medical referee, unless an autopsy has been performed by an expert pathologist appointed for the purpose, or an inquest has been held. Tue applications of electricity in the treatment of disease are now being carefully studied, and almost every hospital has its X-ray department. Introduced originally for diag- nostic and localising purposes, R6ntgen rays have been found to possess properties which may in the future revolutionise the treatment of certain diseases. Carelessly applied, the rays may set up considerable inflammation of the skin exposed to their action, while lupus and malignant growths may be considerably benefited, or even be cured, by a number of exposures to these remarkable emanations. The rays seem to possess a selective action, destroying dis- eased tissues and bringing about reparative action, but leaving the healthy ones untouched. In cases of cancer hopeful results have been obtained; the treatment is pain- less, and it seems to relieve pain and to inhibit the progress of the disease. The mode of action of Rontgen rays is doubtful; by some it is supposed to be a bactericidal one, but more probably an inflammatory reaction is set up lead- ing to phagocytosis and leucocytosis, whereby the wandering ““ scavenger ’’ cells of the body accumulate, attack and de- stroy the morbid tissues. A PAMPHLET has been received urging the adoption of Mr. J. Jackson’s ‘‘ System of Upright Penmanship.’’ There can be no doubt that sloped writing necessitates a strained and asymmetrical posture, and has contributed to the production of countless cases of lateral curvature of the spine and of eye-strain, while upright writing is compatible with a natural and healthy posture. This fact alone constitutes a sufficient, and, indeed, urgent, reason for the teaching in all schools of upright in place of the old-fashioned sloped writing. But it seems that some of the advocates of upright writing claim as one of its principal advantages the fact that it can be easily executed with the left hand. They propose to form an association to promote the teaching of upright writing with both hands, believing that the child taught to write equally well with both hands will easily acquire left-handed skill in all other manipulations. This belief is probably well founded, but there are at present no sufficient grounds for the assumption that a child’s mental development will be aided by the training of his left equally with his right hand. The balance of probability seems to be against it. It is further proposed to teach children to write different matter simultaneously with the two hands, a feat which appears to have been accomplished in one or two instances. If this proposal should be carried into practice the results should be of great interest to psychologists, but the process may be prejudicial to the development of strong and sane personalities by the subjects of the experiment. Two “‘meters’’ for testing the penetrating power of Roéntgen ray tubes have been described by Dr. B. Walter in the Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Réntgenstrahlen. Pror. B. SRESNEWskKy sends us some interesting geo- metrical constructions for the curvature of an air current in the presence of a vortex or cyclone, published in the Bulletin of the St. Petersburg Academy. NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | 445 In the Transactions of the Scotch Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Mr. C. A. Matthey investigates the effect of the inertia of the connecting rod in communicating vibra- tion to an engine, and discusses the possibility of so balancing the engine as to remove the vibration entirely. In connection with an epidemic disease discovered among the eels of the ponds at Orbetello, a new bacillus has been discovered by Dr. F. Inghilleri, whose investigations are published in the Atti dei Lincei. The disease in question is known as the ‘‘ red plague,’’ and the author considers it undesirable that eels so attacked should be used for food. Tue second part of M. Lucien Poincaré’s annual review of progress in physics is contained in the Revue générale des Sciences for January 30. It deals with optics; magnetism and electricity; mechanics, including acoustics, elasticity and gravitation ; thermodynamics, including the phase law, and low-temperature researches. ! Pror. Lussana AND Dr. Carnazzi discuss in the Nuovo Cimento the effect of interposing a solid dielectric body. on the length of the electric spark-discharge in air, ana: in particular the remarkable fact that, by placing the body close to the anode, the length of the spark may be consider- ably increased. d Prors. LUMMER AND PRINGSHEIM propose in the Berichte of the German Physical Society a scale of temperature based on the theory of radiation which possesses many of the advantages of the absolute scale, but has the further advantage of being better adapted to the practical measure- ment of high temperatures. In connection with the calculation of the self-induction of a ring of rectangular section, Prof. Garbasso (Turin) has communicated to the Nuovo Cimento a demonstration that the assumption that the current is uniformly distributed across the section of the ring leads only to an error of the order of 5 per cent. Pror. AuGusto RiGcHi has communicated to the Bologna Academy (1902) some researches on the acoustical phenomena presented by the discharges of condensers. The sounds were obtained when the charge took place in a vacuum tube or through a flame, and the phenomena presented several points of difference from the effects observed by Duddell in the case of the electric are. From Signor Riccd’s report in the Atti dei Lincei, we gather that the work connected with the photographic survey of the heavens is making substantial progress at the Observatory of Catania. During the year 533 photographs have been taken, and 31,200 measurements of stars have been made on 170 plates. In addition, the catalogue of stars of reference has been continued, and a number of redeterminations have been made and referred to the year 1900. From a generalisation of Carnot’s cycle, Mr. Sanford A. Moss, writing in the Physical Review, gives a proof that in a gas engine where the working substance may be re- garded as a perfect gas, the efficiency is the same as for a Carnot engine, with the same range of compression temperatures. Some observations on the heat produced when powders are wetted have been published in the Att: of the Venetian Institution by Messrs. M. Bellati and L. Finazzi. The results, so far as they concern the influence of the size of the grains, differ from those of Linebarger. The authors further find that the quantities of heat produced by the addition of equal quantities of water decrease as more water is added. 446 Some observations on seiches and their relation to sea waves are given by Messrs. S. Nakamura, Y. Yoshida and H. Nagaoka in No. 15 of the Tokio Physico-mathematical Reports. Investigations were begun in 1gor on the seiches of Lakes Biwa and Hakone, and this year the instrument —a portable tide gauge described by Mr. Nakamura—was carried to the bay of Osaka. Mr. Nagaoka finds that seiches in lakes and the destructive sea waves observed on the coast of Japan are similar from the hydrodynamical point of view, and considers that the latter waves may be predicted, resulting in saving of life. It is proposed to publish an index volume of the three first series of the Journal de Physique, including an analytical subject-index and an index of authors’ names. The volume will be drawn up by MM. E. Bouty and B. Brunhes, with the collaboration of MM. Bénard, Carré, Couette, Lamotte, Marchis, Maurain, Roy and Sandoz. Pror. Ernest Lesau has published a short note on the manuscript of a course of lectures delivered at the Collége Royal by Prof. J. N. Delisle on the geometry of the celestial sphere. The manuscript, which he calls manuscript D, was obtained from a dealer in old books, and is a quarto volume of 460 pages, written neatly in the handwriting of a good copyist of the eighteenth century ; and from references to the prediction of a transit of Mercury, as well as the documents of the college, its date has been fixed as 1719. It has been presented to the library of the Paris Observatory. A VERY interesting essay on Mendel’s law of heredity, by Mr. W. E. Castle, appears in the January issue of the Proceedings of the American Academy. In Annotationes Zool. Japonensis, Mr. I. Ikeda records the occurrence in Japanese waters of an Australian species of the aberrant annelid-like genus Phoronis. Tue feature in the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine for March is the record of two additions to the British fauna. The first is Kermes quercus, a continental scale-insect, of which colonies were taken at Wimbledon and in Sherwood Forest; while the second is the beetle Gfdemera virescens, of which examples were obtained some years ago in Norfolk, although not at the time identified with the common con- tinental form. THE osteology and affinities of American Cretaceous and Eocene birds are discussed by Mr. F. A. Lucas in No. 1320 of the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum. Marsh's Hesperornis gracilis is assigned to the new genus Hargeria. To Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift of February 15 and 22 Herr J. Meisenheimer contributes an interesting article on the method of estimating the degree of variation occurring in the individuals of a species, and the bearing of the results thus obtained on zoology. Tue scientific Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Academy contains the report of an address, by Prof. E. van Beneden, on the reproduction of animals and the continuity of life. In another address M. Masius discourses on immunity to infection in man and the lower animals. Remarks on the Atlantis problem forms the title of a paper by Dr. R. F. Scharff in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. The author is of opinion that until the Miocene the Azores and Madeira were connected with Portugal, and that a land-bridge extended from Morocco vid the Canaries to South America. Further, it is urged that the Atlantic islands were again connected with Europe and Africa after man made his appearance. NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NATURE [Marcu 12, 1903 THE movements and reactions of fresh-water planarians, or flat-worms, form the subject of a long article by Dr. R. Pearl, of Michigan, in the February number of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. These move- ments are, in the main, what may be termed reflex; that is to say, they are dependent upon external impulses, and are not due to anything resembling volition. In another article Miss Sollas describes a new generic type of compound ascidian, from the Malay Peninsula, under the name of Hypurgon skeatt. In his notes on whaling and sealing during 1902, Mr. T. Southwell (Zoologist for February) records the capture of twelve Greenland whales by British vessels, most of which were full-grown individuals with ‘‘ bone”’ from 10 to 103 feet in length. Whalebone now fetches as much as 25001. per ton; the total value of the seals and whales taken by British vessels is estimated at 32,4201. In the same journal Mr, Frohawk adduces arguments to show that the common British bean-goose is Anser arvensis, and not, as generally supposed, A. segetum. Two papers—one on mammals, by Mr. Miller, and the other on birds, by Mr. Richmond—in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum are devoted to specimens col- lected by Dr. Abbott on the coast of Sumatra and certain adjacent islets. It is considered that every distinguishable form of mammal from these islets is entitled to rank as a species—a course of procedure that will render mammali- ology an almost impossible science. The most interesting mammal is a rat, referred by Mr. Miller to a new genus and species, under the name Lenothrix canus. Ir only it be adequately carried out, an excellent scheme is announced in the February number of the Field Naturalist’s Quarterly. This is a *‘ symposium ”’ in which the various members of the British fauna, commencing with the lowest, will be treated by different writers, mainly from the point of view of habits and adaptation to surround- The first of the series will commence in the next issue. It is perhaps not very hopeful to find, in the very next article, the marten called Martes sylvatica, which is certainly not its proper name. ings. In its report for 1902 the council of the Royal Zoo- logical Society of Ireland has to record a most successful year, the list of donations having been probably more numerous and more valuable than on any previous occasion, and including a fine giraffe from the Sudan. The expenses connected with the carriage of the latter animal, and the outlay on the ‘* Roberts’ house ’’ (which was opened during the year) have, however, seriously crippled the finances of the Society. Lion-breeding has, as usual, been successful, and attention is called to certain cubs of abnormal form which, it is thought, may be reversions to an extinct type. The report is illustrated with some excellent photographs. “c A THIRD edition of Mr. Andrew Pringle’s ‘‘ Practical Photo-Micrography ’’ has been published by Messrs. Iliffe and Sons, Ltd., at 3s. 6d. net. The work has been largely rewritten, and important advances in photographic science and method have been utilised in the new edition. Messrs. MacMILLan anp Co., Lrp., have published Mr. S. L. Loney’s ‘*‘ Arithmetic for Schools ’’ in two parts at 2s. 6d. each. The first part takes the subject as far as proportionate division, and includes contracted methods of multiplication and division; the second part completes the whole subject, concluding with upwards of five hundred miscellaneous examples. Makcu 12, 1903] NATURE 447 An exceptionally fine series of plates, reproduced from photographs, accompanies Dr. Tempest Anderson’s paper on the recent volcanic eruptions in the West Indies, con- tained in the March issue of the Geographical Journal. The plates, together with Dr. Anderson's descriptions, constitute a concise and graphic story of the characteristics of the eruptions of Mont Pelée and the Soufriére of St. Vincent. SEVERAL of the monthly magazines for March contain articles upon scientific subjects. Under the title ‘‘ What shall we be?’’ Mr. Gustave Michaud discusses in the Century the question as to what will be the distinguishing characteristics of the coming race in America, and Prof. F. H. Giddings comments on the conclusions arrived at. Major-General Sir C. W. Wilson, K.C.B., contributes to the Monthly Review an account of the excavation of a Levitical city—Gezer. Dr. A. R. Wallace, F.R.S., in the Fortnightly Review, considers man’s place in the universe as indicated by astronomy; and the general nature of his article may be gathered from a sentence near the end :— “‘ The three startling facts—that we are in the centre of a cluster of suns, and that that cluster is situated not only precisely in the plane of the Galaxy, but also centrally in that plane—can hardly now be looked upon as chance co- incidences without any significance in relation to the culmin- ating fact that the planet so situated has developed humanity.’’ Mr. W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S., writes in the Cornhill on the new chemistry, and Mr. Charles Richard- son attempts in the Westminster Review to answer the question: Is natural science self-contradictory ? TueE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Moustache Monkey (Cercopithecus cephus) from West Africa, a Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata) from South Africa, two Mexican Eared Owls (Asto mexicanus) from Mexico, two Westermann’s Cassowaries (Casuarius westermanni) from New Guinea, two King Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) from North America, deposited. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ELEMENTS AND SEARCH-EPHEMERIS FOR COMET 1896 V (Gtacosin1).—In No. 3848 of the Astronomische Nachrichten Herr M. Ebell gives the following set of elements and ephemeris for this comet :— Epoch 1896 October 5°5, M.T. Berlin. M=356 39 7°4 w®=140 31 yt) 2 =193 29 4 1900°0. 2— Tl 2 47-7, 1 = 533805 log a2=0°548416 T=1896 October 28°079 - P=6'647 years. Taking the period of 6647 years as correct, the next perihelion passage should take place on June 22 or 23, and for this time the ephemeris which accompanies the elements is calculated. Ephemeris 12h. M.T. Berlin. 1903. a. 6. log log. a Brightness. SPI: 3S. Pa 2 March 18 20 10 50 —10 32°9 0'2492 0°3313 0°63 3 26 2032 46 — 8 59°0 02381 03118 0°72 April 27, 22, 3 40 -— I 7°0 O°1975 0°2363 1°23 May 29 23 38 44 + 7 537 01697 0°1733 1°88 The ephemeris is extended to November 29, and it indi- cates that the maximum brightness (2°7) will occur on ‘August 25; NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | TRANSPARENCY OF Comet 1902 b.—In order to test the accuracy of the assertion that comets are perfectly trans- parent, Prof. O. C. Wendell, of Harvard College Observ- atory, made a series of observations, with the polarising photometer attached to the 15-inch equatorial, of the magni- tudes of two faint stars when the comet 1902 b was passing before one of them on October 14. On tabulating the results of the measurements, it was found that the mean difference of the magnitude interval of the two stars under normal conditions, and when the comet was passing before one of them, was only + om.‘02, thereby indicating that the absorption of light by the comet, if any, was insensible, and probably did not exceed one or two hundredths of a magnitude (Astronomische Nach- richten, No. 3848). Frsruary Metrors.—In No. 329 of the Observatory Mr. Denning describes a bright meteor which he observed at gh. 46m. on February 18, the apparent path being from 35°+44° to 19°+42°. Mr. Denning further remarks that this meteor appeared to come from a position near to the radiant point of a shower, the Aurigids, of which he has observed seven members, and of which the mean radiant point is about 75°+41°, and he suggests that this particular stream is worthy of further consideration by meteor observers in order to determine more accurately its radiant point and the time of its maximum. The duration of the shower is at present doubtful, but it certainly extends over the period February 7-23, and there is reason to believe that it is sustained during March and April. Proper Motions or Stars.—Vol. xvii. No. 1 (January) of the Astrophysical Journal contains a discussion, by Mr. Gavin J. Burns, of the proper motions of the 2641 stars given in Bossert’s catalogue, which was published in the Annales de l’ Observatoire de Paris in 1896. After analysing the data Mr. Burns comes to the follow- ing conclusions :—(1) The stars increase in number as they decrease in size; (2) the stars thin out as their distances from the solar system increase; and, lastly, it appears that double stars generally have large proper motions, as is shown by the following comparison :—The average proper motion of 778 stars (from the first to the fifth magnitudes) as given in Dunkin’s list is 0/15, whilst the average proper motion of 54 double stars (from first to seventh magnitudes) as obtained from Struve’s catalogue is 0/°37. OBSERVATIONS OF JUPITER’S Markincs.—In the February Bulletin de la Société Astronomique de France, Senor José Comas Sola publishes the observations of Jupiter’s mark- ings which he has made since a previous publication of results in the September Bulletin. These later observations fully confirm Senor Sola’s previous statement that the trails of dark spots are at a level below that of the Great Red Spot, and that they form a current which flows beneath, and independent of, that spot. This is plainly shown in the drawings which accompany the communication, for whereas in the drawing made on September 15 the trail of dark spots is seen adjacent to, and apparently emerging from behind, the Great Red Spot, on the later drawings it is seen that the distance between the two sets of phenomena is gradually increasing. The observations also indicate that the grey markings, which have been observed in the zone between the two dark bands in the southern temperate region, are in reality trails of dark material joining together the black spots which appear on the separate bands. Sotar PHENOMENA AND METEOROLOGY.—M. 1’Abbé Loisier, of Thoisy-la-Berchére (Gold Coast), has just completed a daily record of the solar and meteorological phenomena for the past eleven years. The record contains daily drawings of the spots and faculz on the sun’s disc, and the ordinary daily meteorological data. Recognising the intimate re- lations which have been shown to exist between these two sets of phenomena, M. Loisier now proposes to investigate carefully this accumulation of material with a view of obtaining evidence for, or against, the suggested inter- relations (Bulletin de la Société Astronomique de France, February). , 448 NATURE [ MARCH 12, 1903. THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE UNITED SWABS. THE twenty-first annual report of the United States Geological Survey is divided into seven parts. The first and sixth parts were received some time ago and were noticed in NATURE for December 26, 1901. Part II.—General Geology, Economic Geology, Alaska. There is an elaborate report on the geology of Rico Mountains in south-west Colorado, by Messrs. Whitman Cross and A. C. Spencer. The structure is that of a dome-like uplift of sedimentary and igneous rocks, out of which a compact group of peaks, rising above 12,000 feet, have been carved. The igneous rocks appear partly in the form of laccoliths, but the elevation is not in large degree due to the intruded masses. Devonian and Carboniferous rocks occur in the centre of the uplift, with faulted masses of Algonkian quartzites and schists. The great ‘‘ Red beds” of Colorado succeed; they are partly Permo-Carboniferous, but in the upper portion Triassic fossils have been found. Jura-Trias and Cretaceous rocks also occur, and igneous intrusions are found at various horizons throughout the series. Some notable landslides are described, and it is mentioned that, in recent geological times, the central mountain region suffered severe shocks, which shattered the rocks at the surface and to unknown depths. In consequence, landslides have occurred when other conditions were favourable. A study of the glacial sculpture of the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, by Mr. F. E. Matthes, leads to the consideration of cirques. It is maintained that they have not been due to scour, but-rather to a natural quarrying process, essentially the product of a ‘*bergschrund”’—a crevasse or line of crevasses—which opens at a point between the moving névé and the quiescent névé, and is practically the upper limit of glacial motion. The author deals also with the effects of the occupation of valleys by néve, and introduces the term 2zvation to indicate its action as distinct from glaciation. The Esmeralda formation in western Nevada, a freshwater- lake deposit, is described by Mr. H. W. Turner. It is of Middle Tertiary age, and contains fossil fishes and remains of ferns, fig, oak, willow, sumach, soap berry, and tree trunks 6 to 8 feet in diameter. It yields lignite, which may be of local value for stationary engines, house use, &c. The plants are described by Mr. F. H. Knowlton, and a new species of fossil fish, Lezcescus turner?, is named and figured by Mr. F. A. Lucas. The origin of mineral veins at Boulder Hot Springs in Nevada is discussed by Mr. W. H. Weed. The veins have no special economic value, yielding but small quantities of gold, silver, copper, &c., but they are regarded as true mineral veins and as due to deposition from hot water. The Boulder Hot Springs are probably deep seated and connected with rhyolitic intrusions which formed the latest manifestation of volcanic activity in the region. It is believed that the gold is derived from granite into which the rhyolitic rocks were intruded. The Eastern Choctaw coal-field is described by Messrs. J. A. Taff and G. I. Adams. It is of Upper Carboniferous age and forms part of the Indian territory, connecting the coal-fields of Arkansas with those of Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. It yields good bituminous coal. The Camden coal-field of south-western Arkansas is reported on by Mr. Taff. This is of Eocene age, and it yields a lignite which as a gas producer is said to be inferior only to the best cannel coals. Reconnaissances in Alaska are reported on separately by Messrs. A. H. Brooks, O. Rohn and F. C. Shrader. These reports will be serviceable to future travellers and prospectors, as, in addition to geological and mineralogical notes, there are observations on the climate, timber, game, natives, &c, A useful list and explanation of Alaskan geographical names is contributed by Mr. Marcus Baker. Part III.—General Geology, Ore and Phosphate Deposits, Philippines. Mr. W. H. Hobbs contributes a memoir on the Newark (Triassic) system of the Pomperaug valley, Connecticut. The greater portions of the clastic rocks are reddish-brown sand- stones and shales the constituents of which are mainly quartz, felspar and mica; they are, in fact, arkoses, composed of the débris of granite and gneiss. The associated igneous rocks are contemporaneous intrusions of lava, and attention is called to NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | the production of secondary enlargement of quartz grains in a shale-conglomerate at its contact with an overlying sheet of basalt. The geological structure of the area is considered in detail. Vertical or nearly vertical joint-planes have developed in great numbers within the area, and an attempt is made to determine the nature of the faults along the joints and the manner in which the area as a whole has been deformed through the depression of the orographic blocks which the joints have conditioned. Compression of the area in a nearly east-west direction is believed to have found relief in the pre- vailing dislocations. The drainage-system of the area is finally considered, and it is found that the streams have been directed in their courses to correspond with the direction of the pre- vailing fault-series. The work of ice is also briefly discussed. Mr. F. H. Knowlton reports on the silicified wood from the Newark formation. The laccoliths of the Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming are described by Mr. T. A. Jaggar, jun. It isshown that igneous intrusions of rhyolite and phonolite accompanied or immediately followed a great uplift in the area, This uplift arched the horizontal strata of the plains into an elongated dome, while schists beneath moved up irregularly on nearly vertical plains of schistosity. The igneous matter arose through the steeply inclined schists and spread out among the sedi- ments which lay unconformably across the older rocks. The intrusion is regarded rather as an effect than as a cause of the great uplift. Mr. Ernest Howe describes a number of ex- periments undertaken to imitate the processes involved in the formation of laccoliths. These prove that low viscosity favours wide lateral extension to form sills; high viscosity produces thick lenticular bodies. Moreover, the intrusive materia) thickens into domes where a resistant overlying stratum locally thins. A stratigraphical obstacle may also cause a sill to thicken into a laccolith. The iron-ore deposits of the Lake Superior region are further treated of by Mr. C. R. Van Hise. He points out that the region is the most important in the world for the pro- duction of the metal. In 1900, it yielded more iron than the maximum product of Great Britain. He, however, mentions that the exhaustion of the high-grade ores of Lake Superior within a few decades is little short of a certainty. He there- fore urges that the material in which the percentage of iron is below the present market demand and which must be handled during present operations should be stock piled. The iron- bearing formations are the Archzean, Lower and Upper Huronian. The ores originated from cherty iron-bearing carbonate, and to some extent the ore bodies are due to the oxidation of the iron carbonate in place; but they are mainly to be attributed to the secondary enrichment by downward percolating waters below crests or slopes, where such waters were converged by the pitching troughs in the strata. The Arkansas bauxite deposits are described by Mr. C. W- Hayes. At present, this mineral has been discovered in com- mercial quantities in only three areas in the United States. The Arkansas bauxite occurs in the Fourche Mountain district and in Bryant Township. At Bryant, it rests on kaolinised syenite and has a thickness of 10 or 15 feet, and in some places possibly 40 feet. While largely a chemical precipitate, it has some features of an ordinary detrital sediment. Some of it is pisolitic, while the whole is of this character in the Fourche Mountain district. The deposits are considered to have been due to the action of heated alkaline waters on the syenite, and to subse- quent superficial chemical reactions on the deposits left by the springs. The Tennessee white phosphate is also described by Mr. Hayes. Much of it appears to have been formed by deposition from solution in cavities of limestone. Mr. G. F. Becher’s report on the geology of the Philippine Islands has previously been noticed, a reprint in advance having been received. - Part 1V.—Hydrography. This volume contains an elaborate report on the progress of stream measurements for the year 1899, by Mr. F. UH. Newell. There is also a preliminary description of the geology and water resources of the southern half of the Black Hills and adjoining regions in South Dakota and Wyoming, by Mr. N. H. Darton. More precise and comprehensive knowledge of the artesian -waters in the Dakota sandstone and other widely distributed water-bearing rocks rendered necessary a detailed study of the area. Cambrian, Carboniferous, Jura-Trias, Cretaceous, Tertiary Marcu 12, 1903 | NATURE 449 and Pleistocene strata are described, with especial reference to underground and surface waters, soils and mineral resources. Cretaceous coal, also gypsum, petroleum, fuller’s earth in Tertiary strata, and other economic products are noted. A report on the High Plains and their utilisation is con- tributed by Mr. W. D. Johnson. This region lies on the borders of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas, and it corresponds approximately to what is sometimes called the Central Plains region. In the broad sense, it is a plain ; in reality, it is a surface of degradation with topographic diversity. There is practically no drainage, the local precipitation being absorbed. The question of utilisation must depend on wells. The author deals fully with the origin and capabilities of the area, but his report has been left incomplete. Part V.—Forest Reserves. This volume, with accompanying atlas, deals exhaustively with timber regions. Part VII.—7Zexas. This contains an account of the geography and geology of the Black and Grand Prairies, Texas, with detailed descriptions of the Cretaceous formations and special reference to artesian waters, by Mr. R. T. Hill. Pre-Cambrian schists, granites and crystalline limestones, and a series of Palzeozoic and Permo-Triassic rocks form the floor of this region, and above are Cretaceous formations which are by far the most important in area and economic value. Their texture and stratigraphic arrangement conduce to the trans- mission or retention of underground waters in extensive and prolific artesian well-systems. They yield the most valuable soil, building material, cement, and some oil-fields. These Cretaceous strata are therefore described in considerable detail, and numerous plates of fossils are given. Various superficial deposits are likewise described. We have received several series of Budletins of the United States Geological Survey. Series A. Economic Geology.—No. 180 is on the occurrence and distribution of corundum, by Mr. J. H. Pratt. The localities for corundum in the United States, with the exception of those in Montana, Colorado and California, are limited to the Appalachian region, and the mining has been confined to Georgia and North Carolina, and to the emery mines at Chester, Mass. The author includes, not only the ordinary translucent to opaque varieties of corundum, but also the sapphires and emery, which is a mechanical admixture of corundum, magnetite and hema- tite. He deals very fully with the uses and distribution of the minerals. No. 182 is a report on the economic geology of the Silverton (Quadrangle, Colorado, by Mr. F. L. Ransome. Gold, silver, copper and lead have been obtained, and it is probable that zinc ores may be worked. Fissures carrying variable amounts of ore occur in all the rocks of the area, from the Algonkian schists to the later monzonitic intrusions that cut the Tertiary volcanic series. By far the greater number are found in the volcanic cocks of the San Juan series (andesitic breccias) and of the Silverton series (massive andesite, rhyolitic and other breccias), both of Tertiary age. Detailed descriptions of the mines and of special areas are given, and the origin of the lodes is discussed. No. £84, on the oil and gas fields of the Western Interior and Northern Texas Coal-measures, and of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary of the Western Gulf Coast, is by Mr. G. I. Adams. The shales of the Coal-measures are very bituminous and give evidence of the presence of organic matter in great abundance at the time of their deposition. The burying of this material and its subsequent decomposition gave rise to the oil and gas. The reservoirs are usually sandstones which vary in porosity, while the shales serve to seal in the oil and gas. The oil which occurs in the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata is associated with sulphur, gypsum and rock salt. Mendeléeff’s theory, that petroleum is formed by the action of heated water on carbide of iron, is briefly discussed. Particulars are given of the production of oil and gas in different localities. No. 193, geological relations and distribution of platinum and associated metals, by Mr. J. F. Kemp. This gives a general account of these metals, and of their mode of occurrence and distribution. It is concluded that platinum is very sparsely distributed in its mother rock. It has been mostly derived from NO. 1741, VOL. 67] peridotites, and the chances of finding it in quantities sufficient lo mine are small. No. 178 (not included in the economic series) deals with the El Paso tin deposits in Texas. The ores comprise abundant cassiterite and wolframite in a quartz gangue, and the veins exhibit characters similar to those of Cornwall. Series E. Chemistry and Physics.—No. 186, on pyrite and marcasite, by Mr. H. N. Stokes. The author points out that much uncertainty exists in distinguishing these minerals by the usual methods. Specimens crystallising in the regular system are true pyrite, while those forming rhombic crystals are marcasite. Series F. Geography.—Comprises Nos. 181, 185 and 194, which deal with the results of primary triangulation, of spirit levelling and observations on the north-west boundary of Texas. Nos. 183, 187, 190 and 192 are gazetteers of Porto Rico, Alaska, Texas and Cuba. Series G. A@¢scedlaneous.—Comprises No. 188, bibliography of North American geology, &c., for 1892-1900, inclusive, and No. 189, index to the same. These will prove of great value for reference. With them we may include No. 179, a biblio- graphy and catalogue of the fossil vertebrata of North America, and No. 177, catalogue and index of the publications of the United States Geological Survey, 1880-1901. Monograph vol. xli. of the United States Geological Survey (1902) *contains an essay on the Glacial formations and drainage features of the Erie and Ohio basins, by Mr. Frank Leverett. He describes in some detail the drift deposits which extend over a large area southwards from those lake-basins to the vicinity of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. The soils, peat- beds and weathered zones which mark intermediate stages in the glaciation; the lakes which were formed in front of the retreating ice ; and, generally, the past and present systems ,of drainage are discussed and explained. A separate volume on the mineral resources of the United States for the year 1900, by Mr. David T. Day, is the seventeenth annual report on this subject issued by the United States Geo- logical Survey. It shows a continuation of the remarkable activity in the mineral industries of the country. While coal and iron are the most important products, copper, lead, gold and manganese ores show an increase, as do petroleum, natural gas, stone, clays and other materials. The production of quick- silver, antimony and nickel, of phosphate rock, bauxite and fuller’s earth has decreased. We have, further, received the fourth volume issued by the Maryland Geological Survey, a work, as usual, sumptuously printed and illustrated. Mr. Bailey Willis contributes an essay on the history of Maryland during Paleozoic time. He gives an account of the growth and wasting of several mountain systems, the expansion of great plains and their submergence, and of the folding and dislocation of the strata. He concludes with a brief account of the influence of the older history on the later geological changes. Other portions of this volume deal with the economic geology, the highways and tests of road-materials, and there is anim- portant report on the clays of Maryland, by Mr. Heinrich Ries, the leading clay expert in the country. He discusses the pro- perties of clay, chemical and physical, and shows how their bad qualities can be offset by the addition of proper ingredients. There is also a full account of the principal clay deposits of the State. A great variety of clays is found, but at present no fuller’s earth. The essay may be profitably studied by all interested in clay-deposits. ANTHROPOLOGY: ITS POSITION AND NEEDS. THE practical difficulty of drawing a dividing line be- tween the legitimate scope of anthropology and that of other studies is so great that we are often told there is no science of anthropology. This absence of definiteness adds a charm to the subject and is fertile in the production of new ideas, for it is at the fringe of a science that originality has its greatest scope. It is only by a synthesis of the various studies which are grouped together under the term anthropology that one can hope to gain a clear con- ception of what man is and what he has done. After giving 1 Abstract of an address to the Anthropological Institute by the retiring president, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., January 26. 450 NATURE [ MarcH 12, 1903 n brief classification of the subjects included under the general term of anthropology, Dr. Haddon said his reason for touching on the subject at all was to suggest a general survey in the hope that fellow-students may carefully con- sider the lines upon which future research may be under- taken with profit, as there are times and occasions when one branch of inquiry is more immediately desirable than another. A few remarks were made on certain aspects of anthropological research, and various lines for future in- vestigation were indicated. A claim was made that the ethnological material now being collected from all over the earth is an indispensable contribution to the science of history. It is a truism that history repeats itself, and historians were invited to consult the modern instances that are accumulating, as they will find many suggestions that will serve to throw light upon past events, which otherwise might remain obscure. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that new life has been given to classical studies by the introduction into the universities of original archzological investigations, comparative archeology, ethnology and folklore. Allusion was made to the recent signs of an interest in ethnological inquiry by various Governments of the British Empire. ‘‘ Is it too much to hope,’’ it was asked, ‘‘ that at last it is being recognised that a full knowledge of local conditions and a sympathetic treatment of native prejudices would materially lighten the burden of government by preventing many mis- understandings, and by securing greater efficiency would make for economy? ... We have not yet exhausted other methods of advancing anthropology, we have scarcely yet endeavoured to educate the masses or to interest individuals who have time or money at their disposal. Few people have any idea of the great wealth of human interest there is buried in the data in the journals of our societies, or locked up in the cases and drawers of our museums. It is this practically unexploited wealth of interest and inform- ation that we should endeavour to disseminate. The apathy of the public to our science probably is largely due to its students. ... 1 have indicated some of the lines upon which our Cinderella science is advancing, but before I finally vacate the honourable position to which you have called me, I must return once again to its most pressing need. ““ Students at home spend laborious hours in reading, tran- scribing or collating the records of travellers, and in en- deavouring to make them yield their secrets. The safety of the student usually depends upon the bulk of his material, but when one considers the sources of his information, one is sometimes appalled at the dangers he runs. The data that are available have been collected in varied circumstances by men of every degree of fitness and reliability. There are but two remedies for this state of affairs—trained observers and fresh investigations in the field. Fortunately, we are now in a position to.say that means do exist for the training of field-anthropologists. Those who have had practical experience in Oceania, or who followed the liter- ature of that region, will fully acknowledge the urgent need there is for immediate field-work. But the same press- ing necessity is manifest in every quarter. Nor is it a call that we can neglect with impunity and postpone until a more convenient season. Each year sees a decrease in the lore we might have garnered, and this diminution of opportunity is taking place with accelerating speed. Oh! if we could only agree to postpone all work which can wait, and spend the whole of our energies in a comprehensive and organised campaign to save for posterity that information which we alone can collect.”’ ELECTRICITY AND MATTER. ‘THE subject I have chosen is an enormous one, but it is one of exceptional interest at the present time. It is one of general interest as well as of scientific interest to students of physics. The fundamental properties of matter are now coming to be understood in a way in which they have never been understood before. What are these funda- mental properties? One is cohesion, another is gravitation, | A lecture delivered at Bedford College for Women, on February Fh by Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. Reported from shorthand notes. NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | and another is inertia. Concerning gravitation, we remain pretty much in the dark. It is an empirical fact that a body has weight, that two lumps of matter attract one another, with an extremely small force when we are dealing with ordinary pieces of matter, but extremely large when we are dealing with astronomical masses, such as planets or suns; but the cause of that gravitative attraction is not known, and at present appears to have little chance of be- coming known. Cohesion ten years ago was in the same predicament, but cohesion now seems to be on the eve of yielding up its secret. The most striking fundamental pro- perty of matter, however, that we are beginning to under- stand in some degree, is that of inertia. Inertia is a popular term, but it is not always clearly understood what is meant by it. Let me explain the meaning. It may be defined as the power of overshooting the mark, or the power of moving against force. It is by inertia ~ that a rifle bullet travels after it has left the gun. In the barrel it is urged by force; in the air the bullet goes on against an opposing force of friction because of its inertia—often in that case called the momentum. It is by reason of inertia that water runs uphill; we are sometimes told that water will not flow uphill, but that is a mistake. Heat will not flow uphill—heat will only flow from hot to cold; you cannot give it impetus and let it rush up of its own momentum, for heat has no momentum; it is not a substance, it only goes when it is pushed, and the instant you remove the force it stops. That is the case with heat, but that is not the case with any form of matter—it is not the case with anything possessing inertia. The water from a fountain rises because of the initial velocity imparted to it; for the same reason a cricket ball rises when it is thrown up; the propelling force has ceased, but the motion continues. It is the same with tides; for three hours the water is running uphill, for three hours it is running down- hill.- The head of the inflowing water is for three hours higher than the water behind it—the first three hours of the flow impart to the water its momentum, and the last three hours destroy that momentum gradually. The swinging pendulum is another. illustration. [Having illustrated this point by a liquid in a horseshoe tube, showing the return to the position of equilibrium after a series of oscillations, the lecturer continued.] Oscillations like that are known to occur in electricity when a Leyden jar is discharged; the electricity does not go simply from the more highly charged to the less highly charged and there stop, but it goes beyond, it overshoots the mark and charges up that which was nega- tive to positive, and then backwards and forwards, very like the oscillations in the tube. Hence it would appear as if electricity had a property resembling inertia. When I lectured here a quarter of a century ago I should have said that electricity had a property resembling inertia—I should have called it a mechanical analogue—an apparent inertia, simulating by inductive electromotive force the real inertia of matter. I should now go further than that, and should say that electricity has real inertia, just as real as matter; I should even go still further, and should say that in all probability there is no inertia but electric inertia; that the inertia of matter itself is to be explained electrically. In other words, what we are now arriving at gradually is az electric theory of matter. We are endeavouring to explain the properties of matter in terms and by means of what we know concerning electricity. Although it may sound paradoxical to people who have not studied physics, we know more about electricity than we do about matter. Its properties have been more clearly investigated and more clearly understood than the inertia of matter, which is not understood at all. We only know its behaviour :—If a body is subject to a positive force it gradually increases its speed; if it is subject to an obstruc- tive force it does not move in the direction of that force necessarily at once, but its motion begins to decrease, gradually stopping, and ultimately reverses its direction, if the force is continuous and if it is an active force. Many obstructive forces are only able to oppose motion like fric- tion. In the text-books a bad example of a body obeying the first law of motion is given in the throwing of a stone upon ice, or some smooth surface. That is a bad example, because a single obstructive force acts all the time. The best example to give of the first law of motion is a case MarcH 12, 1903] NATURE 451 where there is a pair of balanced forces, where a propelling force acts all the time, just sufficient to overcome friction ; e.g. a barge pulled by a horse, or a train drawn by a loco- motive. When such a thing starts, the force is greater than the resistance, and the speed accelerates ; when it stops, the resistance is greater than the propelling force; but when it is going on at a steady speed, i.e. for the major part of its journey, the force and the resistance precisely balance. The resultant force acting upon it is nothing. It is obeying the first law of motion. The barge moves, or the ship moves, or the train moves, simply and solely because of its own inertia. All the energy of an engine goes to generate heat and to overcome resistance. There is no propulsion in that ; when it is going at a steady pace the positive and negative forces balance; the body is subject to zero force and obeys the first law of motion. Now this property, a property analogous to inertia, belongs also to electricity ; it was called self-induction, and its laws have been made out for a long time, a law known as Lenz’s law, which says that any change in a current is such as to oppose the motion. If you have a current of certain strength any cause which increases that strength calls out an antagonistic force. The force called out is always antagonistic to any change in the current. When ‘a current is weakened, self-induction tends to make it persist in retaining its old strength. It is a property precisely analogous to inertia, and I now wish to suggest or maintain that it is a property which actually is inertia. It depends on a property which was first brought out mathematically by considering the case of acceleration of a charged body. In a sphere charged with electricity, as long as it is at rest, we have the phenomena of electrostatics; directly it is in motion we get the phenomena of current electricity. A charged sphere in motion is a current, and we have to realise that there is no other current but that; a current is surrounded by magnetic lines of force; and when a sphere or other body charged with electricity is put into movement, a set of concentric circles of magnetic force surrounds its path, giving rise to a magnetic field. That magnetic field may seem extremely weak, but it is the measure of the ‘current ; and whether weak or not, it is now believed to be the only kind of magnetic field which exists. We are coming to realise that there are three things—a charged body, a charged body in motion, and a charged body in accelerated motion; the first gives us electrostatics, the second gives us magnetism, and the third gives us two things, first the evidence of inertia, and secondly radiation. Inertia and radiation are not the same thing, but both are manifest throughout the accelerated period. Inertia no doubt exists all the time; and instead of radiation I will use the more general term of *‘ light ’’"—light being the best known form of radiation. I will put inertia in a class by itself, because, although it is only manifested when there is radiation, it exists all the time. It does not depend on the speed, it is constant, and may be taken to exist equally well when a body is at rest. J wamt you to realise that just as there is ‘no other electric field but that due to a charged. body, so there is no other current or magnetism except that due to a charged body in motion, and there is no other radiation except that due to an accelerated charge; further, that one kind of inertia is the inertia of the charge on a body, and that probably, but not yet certainly, there is no other inertia except electric inertia. With the time at our disposal it is impossible to give you all the steps leading to this conclusion, I can only give you a summary of the results. The idea of electric inertia as a reality and as due to a moving charge took shape and form in a magnificent paper by Prof. J. J. Thomson, of Cam- bridge, which appeared in the Philosophical Magazine in 1881, one of the most striking productions in the recent history of mathematical physics. It was a paper on the properties of a moving charged sphere,-and it showed that a charged body possesses inertia because it is charged. ‘It is important to remember that a body when it possesses a charge has, in addition to its ordinary mass, a sup- plementary mass, as it were, proportionate to the square of the charge, and inversely as the radius of the sphere on which it exists; or, as we may also put it, itis pro- portional to the quantity and to the potential. No great importance was attached to the statement at the time be- NO. 1741, VOL. 67] cause of the difficulty of detecting any increase of inertia due to the electric charge in the case of a sphere of appreci- able size. The extra inertia would be excessively small and impossible to detect if the sphere is of any perceptible size. Even if the sphere is reduced in size until it is a mere atom, and charged as highly as the atom can be charged, still the inertia due to the charge would only be an insignificant amount of the whole—not more than one hundred thousandth part of the whole. ‘That is to say, if you had one atom of matter charged with the maximum quantity which it can possess, and which you know in electrolysis or in chemistry, and if the inertia of the atom itself was one hundred thousand units, then when the charge was added it would be. one hundred thousand and one; no important difference and not experimentally to be detected. It depends, however, entirely how small the body is; the smaller the radius the bigger the inertia, due to the charge, will be. For a long time nobody thought of anything smaller than the atom, that was thought to be the limit, hence electric inertia seemed to be no more than a matter of mathematical .curiosity. But about the year 1870 Sir William Crookes called attention to the phenomena that went on in vacuum tubes, and considered that the kathode rays were matter in a “‘ fourth state,’’ neither solid, liquid, nor gaseous. Sir William Crookes was not believed, and was rather jeered at for speaking of matter in a fourth state. However, the subject was investigated by a great number of different people in this country and in Germany; and the result of these researches, in which Prof. Schuster and many others, and notably Prof. J. J. Thomson, engaged, has been to show that Sir William Crookes was perfectly right ; that the matter in the vacuum tube flying in these kathode rays is not solid, nor liquid, nor gaseous, does not consist of atoms as had been thought pro- pelled by the kathodes and flying through the tube and causing phosphorescence where they strike, or X-rays, as the case may be, but that they consist of something much smaller than the atom, fragments of matter, ultra-atomic corpuscles, minute things, very much smaller, very much lighter than atoms—things which appear to be the founda- tion stones of which atoms are composed. Thomson measured the mass of these particles and found that they were of less mass than the atom of hydrogen; whereas the atom of hydrogen had been the lightest body hitherto known. These small corpuscles were about the one-thousandth of an atom of hydrogen in mass, and he further made this important observation, that whether hydrogen or oxygen or carbonic acid or any other gas was in the tube, the particles into which these substances seemed to be broken up by electric action were identical and independent of the nature of the gas in the tube. That is to say, the things shot out by the kathode did not depend upon what gas was in the tube; they seemed to be fragments of the atoms of the gas, but they were the same fragments in each case. This at once suggested the hypothesis, not yet by any means completely verified, that all atoms of matter may be composed of these same corpuscles, or electrons as Dr. Johnstone Stoney had called them. Dr. Stoney had a habit of being in the van and of naming things before they had been discovered ; thus they were called electrons long before they were known to exist. separately—only the name belonged to the charge of an ion in electrolysis—a charge associated with matter ; but in a vacuum tube these same charges are detached from the atom and fly free, a thing previously unheard of. In liquid conduction the charge and the atom travel together, they are inseparably associated; at an electrode or solid conductor the electron or charge is handed on to the metal and goes along the wires by some other means, but while they are travelling they are definitely united or attached to atoms all the time, although passed from hand to hand; in a gas it is not so, for it is just as if charges had been knocked off, charges of electricity dis- sociated from the matter, disembodied charges or electric ghosts flying through the tube at a tremendous speed. It was not only possible to measure the mass of the particles, it was also possible to measure their speed, and their speed was found to be something comparable to that of light, about one-thirtieth or sometimes even one-tenth of the velocity of light. Anything moving with that prodigious speed of several thousand miles per second must have a great amount 452 —_— EEE of energy, and when stopped by a target naturally consider- able results are produced. Now for radiation of any kind there must be acceleration. The greater the acceleration the stronger the radiation. If you want violent radiation take a quickly moving charged body, and stop it dead ; which is just what you do in the pro- duction of X-rays, and what is done to some extent by minerals exposed to the kathode rays. These corpuscles have extremely small mass, and so their inertia is extremely small, but a body, no matter how small, moving with the speed of light, must have terrible energy; thus, by way of illustration, the energy of a gramme of matter (15 grains) travelling at the speed of light would be sufficient to lift the British Navy to the top of Ben Nevis. After the speed of these corpuscles that of bullets is rest in comparison. {Having shown by experiment a vacuum tube containing electrons in motion, the lecturer proceeded.] To show that these are charged particles in motion, it is only necessary to show that they have the properties of a current, that is, that they are amenable to magnetism—such as that of an ordinary steel magnet—and what you see going on in the tube is the nearest approach you have to seeing electricity. In that tube electricity is as isolated and as separated as we can ever hope to have it. All electrical phenomena seem to depend upon these elec- trons. In the case of gaseous conduction what we observe is the flying of the particles—the bullet method or electric particles in free flight. When we deal with liquid conduc- tion it is the slow travelling charges moving, but retarded or loaded with the atom of matter, having to convey the atom of matter with it; hence they travel very slowly, the atoms jostle and have to work their way through the rest of the material, and instead of going something like 1000 miles a second they go more like an inch an hour; it depends upon what gradient of potential is applied. That I call the bird-seed method, meaning that the charge is carried as a bird carries a seed, the bird and seed travelling together until they arrive at an electrode, when the electron is dropped. In the case of solid conductors or metals the atoms cannot move along as they do in the liquid, they can only vibrate a little, are fixed, rigid, crystallised into their places. So when the electrons travel it must be be- cause they are handed on from one to the next ; each receives one and passes it on, not necessarily the same one; and this may be called the fire-bucket method. A word more about radiation. If conduction is explicable in this way, how is radiation to be explained? Until quite recently radiation has been a puzzle. Atoms of matter vibrate; radiation is waves in the ether. Hence it used to be thought, and it did not seem puzzling at that time, that vibrating atoms of matter could generate waves in the ether just as a bell can generate waves in the air. The method by which light is generated was not clearly understood, but it was thought to be something analogous to the production of sound by a tuning fork or bell. But certain experiments made by me at Liverpool showed that matter and ether are disconnected from one another—that matter alone can- not generate these waves. It becomes necessary to assume that it is not matter which is vibrating so much as the charge on the matter—that radiation is caused not by the atom itself, but by the electron which it carries. It is during the accelerative period that radiation occurs. If the atom simply carries a charge along there is no radiation. There is nothing visible in the kathode rays as long as they are travelling with uniform speed and direction; it is when they are accelerated, started or stopped, or curved, that radiation occurs. The electron instead of simply vibrating might be revolving round the atom like a satellite; that would be centripetal acceleration, which is just as effective as longitudinal acceleration. But if radiation is due to an orbital motion of an electric charge, it ought to be amenable to a magnetic field ; every motion of an electron constitutes an electric current, and electric currents are amenable to a magnet. A source of light put between the poles of a magnet ought to show some difference. Faraday tried many experiments in this direc- tion and failed, because the appliances available in his day would not show it. Nowadays, with a Rowland grating, the spectrum is much better defined, and a few years ago NO. 1741, VOL. 67] NAT OLE [Marcu 12, 1903 Zeeman, of Amsterdam, was able to see the difference when light is magnetised. It often falls to men of genius to predict a great deal more than their generation can realise. A theory had been given by'sundry people, including Fitzgerald, Larmor, Lorentz, and others. Perhaps the theory has been given more completely by Lorentz than by anyone else. It was an interesting case of prophetic prediction. They predicted that the effect observed by Zeeman would follow if light were due to revolving electrons. Time only permits me to indicate the explanation. It comes near to astronomy, and, indeed, it had been worked out six years before by Dr. Johnstone Stoney on astronomical principles. He had fully worked out the perturbations, but had not suggested that they would be caused by a magnet. But Larmor and the others did. They perceived that on applying to an orbit or circular current a strong magnetic field, that orbit will tend to be deflected; the effect of a magnetic field in general is a deflecting force. But as the circulating elec- tron has inertia, the application of a deflecting force will not make it simply obey the force that is applied, but will make it move sideways, like any planetary orbit or a spinning top. A precessional motion is set up. Anything spinning that has inertia does not obey the force but moves at right angles. Thus the revolving electron will not, when the force is applied immediately, set itself normal to the field, but will go round the magnetic lines in a precessional motion; and that precessional motion will analyse the original lines of the spectrum into three. [Here the lecturer gave an illustrative experiment, and proceeding, pointed out that when the polarisation of the lines is examined, the vibrations are precisely as predicted.] It was further found that by the amount of separation of these lines a calculation could be made of what the magnitude of the electric charge was in relation to the inertia of the revolving portions of matter. It was thus found that the radiating particles have just the same inertia and just the same charge as the particles in the kathode rays. All the known phenomena connected with conduction and radiation are allied to these very small particles—the same inertia, the same electric charge, and the same kind of velocities, the mass being something like the thousandth part of a hydrogen atom. Passing over chemical affinity and cohesion, the lecturer proceeded to discuss other phenomena which are due to these small particles. These particles, in order to give rise to visible radiation, revolve with terrific velocity. The number of vibrations which constitute visible light is from 400 to 800 million million times per second; and although it is no great distance round an atom, yet these particles. have to go at very high speed; hence, naturally, some of them occasionally fly off. This will occur from various causes; they will fly off under the action of ultra-violet light, and so give rise to leakage of negative electricity. But there are certain substances which will emit these particles without any stimulus, and the first discovered was uranium. Although there may be aluminium or other screen between a piece of uranium and a photographic plate, something will penetrate through to the photographic plate. This constituted the discovery, by Becquerel, of the radio- activity of substances. In the researches of Dr. Russell various substances were found to possess this quality of giving out something on their own account. But the subject has gone ahead very far and fast. The most — important developments have been made by Monsieur and Madame Curie in France, discovering polonium and radium, which latter has the properties possessed by uranium in a most extraordinary degree. The rays given off by these substances are of extraordinary interest; they have mar- vellous penetrating powers and are very intense, more intense than the X-rays given by a Réntgen tube. Radium rays will not only penetrate a foot of aluminium or wood, but they will penetrate three-eighths of an inch of lead, and then be as strong as are the rays from uranium. The full mechanism of the giving off of this great amount of radia- tion has still to be further investigated. It is a kind of electric evaporation, an emission of particles; this seems clear. There are three kinds of radiation, (1) particles which are readily stopped by obstacles, absorbable rays; Marcu 12, 1903] NAT ORE 433 (2) the particles which penetrate obstacles with singularly penetrating power ; and (3) the ordinary X-rays. X-rays are waves in the ether, not light, something of that nature; the penetrating rays are electrons which are shot off. But the most interesting are the first rays, those which are easily stopped; for these turn out to be atoms of matter shot off with a speed comparable to that of light. It is the first time that matter has ever been known to have such - a speed as that. Rutherford, now of Montreal, has measured for the first time the speed of these readily stopped absorb- able particles, and also their mass. He shows that they are atoms of matter, and that they are moving with one-tenth of the velocity of light. 3 All hot bodies and all negatively charged bodies are now believed to be giving off these particles ; radio-activity is be- coming quite a common feature. Recently fallen rain drops are radio-active, leaves of plants and most things in sun- shine are radio-active ; the difficulty will be to find something which is not radio-active in some degree, and the commonest kind of radio-activity appears to be the detachment of an electron. Loose charges seem to fly off, apparently by centrifugal force or the jostling of the atoms. The size of electrons is known, on the hypothesis that the atom of matter is composed of them, i.e. on the hypo- thesis that the inertia of matter is electrical, or that it is electrically composed of the inertia of these charges. Evi- dence of this is accumulating, and there is reason to believe, not only on philosophical grounds, but in accordance with direct physical experiment, that electric inertia is the only inertia that exists. The size of an electron can then easily be determined. Regard the radius as unknown, the charge as known, the mass as known; then the size is at once calculable. The size of these electrons is about one hundred thousandth part of the diameter of an atom, otherwise they would not have sufficient inertia. They are the smallest bodies known. There was a time when the atom felt small; it is not big, it is true, but it is getting to feel ‘quite a large thing beside the electron. To illustrate the difference between an atom and an electron, imagine an electron to be the size of a full-stop as here printed, and an atom a church 160 feet long, 80 feet broad and 4o feet high—in an atom of hydrogen there are nearly 1000 electrons—imagine those thousand full-stops thrown into that church, and some idea will be obtained of the relative sizes of the electron and the atom. The electrons occupy the atom very effectively ; they are energetic and pushful, though not big. They occupy the atom in the sense that soldiers occupy a country, that is, they will not let anybody else in. The electrons, by the force they exert, will not let anything else in, they make the atom impenetrable; they also give the atom its other properties and enable it to act chemically. That chemical affinity is electrical force has been known for a long time; it was suspected by Sir Humphrey Davy. I believe if the atom has no extra or odd electron it has no chemical force; the atom may have molecular force, which is cohesion, and this point might be explained at greater length ; for in my ideas cohesion is turning out to be elec- trical too, though not in the sense of attraction between ordinary positive and negative electricity. The relation of the electron to the atom is a matter of the most intense interest. But it is not to be supposed that the electron is stationary in the atom. The electrons are re- volving round one another at tremendous speed, so that the atom is a region of intense activity. The electrons are not in the least crowded, although there are a thousand in the hydrogen atom, twenty or thirty thousand in the sodium atom and one hundred thousand in the mercury atom; for consider how far apart are they in proportion to their size. Just as far apart as planets in the solar system are in pro- portion to their size. The distance of the earth from the sun is to the size of the earth very much as the distance of electrons from each other is to their size in a mercury or platinum atom. The fact is, we come to an atomic astro- -nomy, and the atom is becoming like a solar system, or like nebulz or Saturn’s rings or something of that kind, com- posed of a number of small particles in a violent state of revolving motion and occupying very little of the whole space with their actual substance. They are so small that collisions are infrequent; so it is in the solar system and heavens generally, collisions do occur, but seldom, because NO. 1741, VOL. 67] of the excessively small sizes compared with the distances at which they are spaced out. Taking any family belonging to a sun, t.e. a solar system, it forms something like the same kind of collection as the electrons form in an atom. So when we get in an atom a sort of solar system we begin to question whether there is anything in absolute size at all. It is a question I cannot answer. It has been suggested that solar systems may be atoms of a still larger universe. These are questions that are too hard. But there appears to be no end to the infinity of the universe, and all that we can say is that the prob- ability is that it is infinite in an infinite number of ways. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CaMBRIDGE.—The subject for the Adams prize essay of 1905 is ‘‘ Wave Motion of Finite Amplitude and Unchanging Type, in Deep Water.’’ The prize is open to the competition of all who have at any time graduated_in the University. The value of the prize is about 225!. Further particulars ‘are given in the University Reporter for March tro. The new Lucasian professor will next term lecture on “The Theory of Gases and the Molecular Statistics of Energy.” Dr. Anningson and Prof. Woodhead will represent the University at the congress of the Royal Institute of Public Health to.be held in Liverpool next July. é Ir is reported through Reuter’s Agency that a sum of more than 200,0001. has been given to Barnard College, New York, to be used for the purchase of the land adjoining the buildings. The name of the donor is not given. A JUBILEE of the University of Heidelberg will be held next August in commemoration of the revival of the Uni- versity in 1803 by Charles Frederick of Baden. Though the fétes will be on a more modest scale than those which marked the celebration in 1886, an extensive programme is being arranged for the occasion. Tue London School of Tropical Medicine announces that the Craggs research prize of 5ol. will be awarded in October to a past or present.student of the school who, during the current year, has made the most valuable contribution to tropical medicine. Full information may be obtained from the medical tutor at the school, Royal Albert Docks, London. Tue senate of the Madras University has passed a resolu- tion, it is reported in the Pioneer Mail, disapproving of the recommendations of the Indian Universities Commission that the system of examinations by compartments should be abandoned. The Vice-Chancellor of the Bombay University at the recent annual.convocation advocated the establish- ment of a science school, and urged the raising of a fund of twenty: lakhs of rupees for the purpose.- Part of this money, he said, must come from the public and part ought to be provided from the funds for higher education in the Presidency. He thought the Government might be trusted to provide the remainder. Tue will of Dr. H. E. Schunck, F.R.S., who died on January 13, shows that he bequeathed to Owens College in trust for the foundation of a ‘“* Dr. Schunck’s Endowment for Promoting Chemical Research,’’ the contents of _his laboratory and the apparatus, appliances and instruments, to be administered by the principal and professors - of chemistry in Owens College and by two other trustees, to be nominated by the council, and by his son, Mr. C. A. Schunck, if he shall be willing to serve. The endowment is for the purpose, not only of research in chemical science, but also of geological, physiological and other sciences, and reports are to be annually presented to the council of the college. In the House of Commons on Monday Mr. Brodrick stated that many of the recommendations of the Military Education Committee are to be accepted. The new Director-General of Military Education and Training is to have an advisory board as suggested by the Committee. This body is to consist of the heads of Woolwich, Sandhurst, the Staff College, and the Ordnance College, of two representatives 454 NATURE [MarcH 12, 1903 of the Universities, a representative selected by the In- corporated Association of Headmasters, another selected by the Headmasters’ Conference, another by the Royal Society, and two members nominated by the Secretary of State. The settlement of the syllabus of examination will be left in their hands. There is to be one and the same examination for Woolwich and Sandhurst for the Army and for the Militia. For University candidates, whom Mr. Brod- rick is anxious to encourage, a scheme has been prepared which will enable them to enter the Army on equal terms with other candidates. A student will have to pass Moder- ations at Oxford or some equivalent examination at another University before he is twenty, and he will also have to do six weeks’ training with a Regular unit at Aldershot or else- where. He will then be given a provisional commission. Before he is twenty-two he will have to take honours at the University and to go through another six weeks’ train- ing. He will then receive a commission dating back two years. The Universities are to be asked to include in their honours examination two or three military subjects—e.g. military topography and military history. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, January 22.—‘‘ Characteristics of Electric Earth-current Disturbances and their Origin.’’ By J. E. Taylor. Communicated by Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. The paper deals with disturbing effects, produced by rapidly varying earth-currents, on a telephone receiver, connected in a short line of telegraph having both ends earthed in the sea. The sounds produced have certain well-marked characteristics. In these latitudes they are always stronger and of more frequent occurrence in summer than in winter. They are daily in evidence for a few hours at, or about, the time of sunset, i.e. whilst daylight is fading. In general they do not evidence themselves to any great extent during broad daylight, but are readily precipitated by a state of electrical tension in the atmosphere which may culminate in a thunderstorm, and rarely fail to herald the approach of a storm or gale. Particularly noticeable among the various types of dis- turbance enumerated, there are some which resemble the distant scream of a rocket rising in the air. These com- mence with a shrill whistle, and die away in a_ note of diminishing pitch. ‘They vary in intensity, but always have a similar duration of from two to four seconds, are freely heard at night, and only occasionally during the day. The sound is characteristic of an initial high velocity rapidly damped and dissipated. This type of disturbance is assumed to be produced by the passage of meteoric bodies in suffi- cient proximity to the circuit, which set up rapidly inter- mittent electrical discharges in the upper regions of the atmosphere, inducing electric currents in the sea which affect the circuit. That they are only occasionally heard during broad daylight is explained by the ionisation of the upper atmosphere by-solar radiations, possibly electronic, which interposes a conducting screen. A high state of electrical tension in the atmosphere nullifies or modifies the conductivity produced. At nightfall solar radiations cease to act, and conductivity disappears gradually. The night- fall disturbances are accounted for by aérial electric currents associated with the disappearance of ionic conductivity, the effects of these aérial currents becoming perceptible so soon as the conductivity becomes sufficiently small to act no longer as a screen. It is suggested that similar causes influence the diurnal variations of the earth’s magnetic field, and that the changes of ionisation of the atmosphere offer a reasonable explanation of the greater night-time efficiency in signalling recently observed by Mr. Marconi in experi- ments with Hertzian wireless telegraphy. ““Some Dielectric Properties of Solid Glycerine.’’ By Ernest Wilson, Professor of Electrical Engineering, King’s College, London. Communicated by Sir William Preece, KC. B:. Bakes: _ February 12.—‘‘ The Brain of the Archzoceti.’’ By Dr. ee Smith. Communicated by Prof. G. B. Howes, ?.R.S. ; NO. 1741, VOL. 67 | Aphid. ‘“ Primitive Knot and Early Gastrulation Cavity Co- existing with Independent Primitive Streak in Ornitho- rhynchus.’? By Prof. J. T. Wilson and Dr. J. P. Hill. Communicated by Prof. G. B. Howes, F.R.S. Linnean Society, February 19.—Prof S. H. Vines, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr. John Clayton, of Bradford, presented a set of thirty-two photographs to illustrate the celebrated Cowthorpe Oak, near Wetherby, Yorkshire. The author concludes that the age of the tree has been greatly over-estimated, his own belief being that 500 years is the extreme limit of its age, from sapling to its present decrepi- tude and decay.—Dr. George Henderson offered some re- marks on the possible uses of essential oils in the economy of plant-life. Adverting to the well-known fact that moisture in the air prevents radiation and consequent loss of heat, he suggested that emanations of essential oil from plants might possibly prevent damage by night frost during the period of flowering, basing his suggestion on Prof. Tyndall’s re- searches thirty-two years since, on the presence of infini- tesimal quantities of essential oil in the air. Tyndall found such presence increased the absorptive power of the air as regards heat-rays: taking dry air as 1, air saturated with moisture as 72, then traces of essential oil rank as follows :— Rosemary 74, cassia 109, spikenard 355 and aniseed 372- Dr. Henderson brought these remarks before the meeting as an interesting question for botanic investigation, since essential oils are usually regarded as mere waste products. —The Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, vice-president, having taken the chair, the first paper, on the electric pulsation accom- panying automatic movements in Desmodium gyrans, by Prof. J. C. Bose, was summarised by the president for the author. In this paper Prof. Bose gives the results of his investigation of the question as to whether or not spon- taneous movements are accompanied by an electric dis- turbance comparable to that resulting from external stimu- lation. Spontaneous movements are not uncommon in the higher plants, but for various reasons there are but few instances suitable for an investigation of this kind. The most striking case is that of Desmodium gyrans, the tele- graph-plant. The leaf of this plant is trifoliolate, consist- ing of two small lateral leaflets and a larger terminal leaflet. The lateral leaflets move up and down, like the arms of a semaphore—whence the popular name of the plant—the period of a complete up and down movement, in the plants observed, being about 3} minutes. Having placed one electrode on the petiolule of a leaflet and the other on the petiole of the leaf, both in connection with a galvanometer, Prof. Bose found that the spontaneous movement is associ- ated with an electrical disturbance of a peculiar kind. There is first a large principal wave of disturbance, followed by a smaller subsidiary wave, the period of the former being about 1 minute, that of the latter about 23 minutes. This disturbance is the expression of a ‘‘ current of action ”’ travelling in the plant from the excitable petiolule to the resting petiole—A paper by Miss A. L. Embleton, com- municated by Prof. G. B. Howes, was read by Mr. A. D. Michael for the author, on Cerataphis Lataniae, a peculiar This insect was observed in 1901 on various orchids in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. The author gives the detailed synonymy of the creature, which is well known to cultivators on the Continent, and proceeds to set out its life-history; in this country it exists in only one form, reproduced parthenogenetically, corresponding to an aleurodiform stage of a migratory Aphis. The author concludes by suggesting that it is one of the migratory Aphides which has been deprived of its usual series of meta- morphoses owing to an artificial mode of life——On special- isation of parasitism in the Erysiphacee, by Mr. E. S. Salmon. The author began by explaining the term “biologic form”? or ‘‘ species’? by instancing two fungi which were not distinguishable morphologically, acting in diverse fashion on the same host-plants. This phenomenon has been known in the Uredinez for some time, but its dis- covery in the Erysiphaceze was more recent. Royal Microscopical Society, February 18.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Dr. Arthur Rowe gave a demonstration on the photomicrography of opaque objects as applied to the delineation of the minute structure of chalk fossils. Dr. Rowe said the photomicro- Marcu 12, 1903] NATURE 455 graphy of opaque objects was not so easy as that of trans- parent objects, for though the broad principles seemed very simple, there were difficulties quite unknown to those who only photographed transparent objects. He used a long camera with powers from 6” up to 13”, and had found the incandescent gas light was the best light for the purpose. Success entirely hinged upon obtaining a good contrast of light and shade, and in addition to the difficulties in con- nection therewith, a great obstacle arose from the inequality of the surfaces of many objects, which rendered focusing troublesome. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, February 2.—Prof. James Geikie, F.R.S., in the chair.—The meeting was devoted to papers giving some of the preliminary results obtained last season during the bathymetrical survey of the Scottish fresh-water lakes under the direction of Sir John Murray, K.C.B., F.R.S.— Dr. T. N. Johnston gave an account of Loch Morar and the neighbouring lochs Beoraid and Nostarie, which drain into it, showing that Loch Morar, with a maximum depth of 1009 feet, is the deepest known British lake. There are seven European lakes known to be deeper, but only three of these exceed it in depth below sea-level. At the time of surveying, the surface of Loch Morar was found to be 30°5 feet above sea-level, and its mean depth is calculated at 284 feet. Loch Beoraid has a maximum depth of 159 feet, and its surface was found to be 170 feet above sea-level. Loch Nostarie, with a maximum depth of 35 feet, is a shallow loch lying in the drift at a height of 893 feet above sea- level.—Mr. T. R. H. Garrett read a paper on the temper- atures in Lochs Morar, Eilt and Dubh (Ailort). The depth of Eilt is 119 feet, and that of Dubh is 153 feet, whilst their heights above sea-level are 96 feet and 103 feet respectively. The temperature in the western portion of Eilt was higher at all depths than in the central, and higher in the central than in the eastern; this was attributed to the north-east winds of the previous week. The temperature in Loch Dubh on July 12, 1902, was 59°o at the surface and 43°'5 at the bottom, which is the greatest range observed on any one day in any Scottish loch during last year. This was attributed to the small area of the loch compared with its depth, and to its extremely small drainage area. He placed the limit of penetration of heat due to solar radiation in Loch Morar at 800 feet, and compared this limit with that of 300 to 450 feet in Lake Geneva as given by Forel.—Mr. James Murray read a paper on the pelagic life in the lochs, and gave a summary of the biological work done during the season. Most of the Entomostraca and Rotifera, and all the lower forms, were found to be very uniformly dis- tributed. In the Calanidz two species of Diaptomus, viz. D. Wierzyskii and D. laciniatus, were shown to be gener- ally distributed in the north. In the large and deep lochs such as Morar and Tay, only a few species of almost cos- mopolitan distribution constitute the fauna of the open water. In smaller lochs life is much more abundant. The total absence of Daphnia from Loch Morar and some other lochs might suggest an investigation into the composition of the water and other conditions of these lochs. In regard to the vertical migration of pelagic animals, it was found on one occasion in Loch Treig that the Copepoda were abundant at a depth of from 4o to go feet, but scarce nearer the surface. Some curiosities of distribution were given, such as the occurrence of great numbers of the empty cases of Clathrulina in several large lochs, although the animal was never found alive in any loch. Paris. Academy of Sciences, March 2.—M. Albert Gaudry in the chair.—The storm of March 2, 1903, by M. Mascart. Mention is made of the usefulness of the meteorological station at the Azores. The barometer stood at 7 p.m. at 775 mm. at Horta, in the Azores, whilst in the north of Ireland at the same time it was 725 mm., a gradient of 50 mm. between the two stations, an altogether exceptional value, and which fully explains the violence of the storm.—On the absorption of light (1) by a body naturally heterotropic and on which an intense magnetic field has impressed a strong rotatory power, and (2) by an isotropic body, which such a field renders both birefringent and asymmetric, by M. J. Boussinesq.—The preparation and properties of two NO. 1741, VOL. 67] tetra-alkyl-diamido-diphenylanthrones, by MM. A. Haller and A. Guyot. The tetramethyl-diamido-diphenylanthrone is obtained in good yield by the condensation of the chloride of anthraquinone with dimethyl-aniline in carbon bisulphide solution in presence of aluminium chloride. The corre- sponding ethyl compound is obtained in a similar manner, diethyl-aniline being substituted for the dimethyl-aniline. Both compounds react with dilute mineral acids to form colourless salts.—On the generalisation of the Laplace-Abel integral, by M. G. Mittag-Leffier.—The discovery of fishes in the Devonian layer of the Pas-du-Calais, by M. J. Gosselet. The fossils found were of the genus Pteraspis, which is very common in the Old Red Sandstone in England and Scotland, but which has not been previously found in the Ardennes or in the eastern prolongations.—Remarks by M. C. de Freycinet on the experimental teaching of geo- metry.—Observations on the comet 1902 b, made with the 35 cm. equatorial of the Observatory of Lyons, by MM. J. Guillaume and G. le Cadet. The comet had the aspect of a very feeble nebulosity, which sometimes appeared to show a faint condensation. It was at the limit of visibility with the magnification of 150 employed for the measure- ments.—Perturbations which do not depend on the elon- gation, by M. Jean Mascart.—On slipping in fluids: a cor- rection of a preceding note, by M. Hadamard.—Remarks on the liquidogenic theories of fluids, by M. E. Mathias. Of the two views of the phenomena at the critical point, the one regards the saturated state as univariant, the temperature determining the pressure as well as the density of the saturated fluid. This leaves certain facts unexplained, such as the anomalies between the densities of the liquid and saturated vapour in Natterer’s tubes, the disappearance of the meniscus below the critical temperature, and the possible heterogeneity of the fluid above the critical point. These phenomena are explained by the theory of De Heen. The author shows that these two theories are not necessarily incompatible-—New researches on electric convection, by MM. H. Pender and V. Cremieu. The authors, working independently, have previously arrived at contradictory re- sults on the magnetic effect of electric convection, and hence have decided to pursue the subject in collaboration. So far the experiments have given indecisive results, the effects being very irregular.—On the heat of combustion of phos- phorus and on the phosphoric anhydrides, by M. H. Giran. The heat of combustion of yellow phosphorus has been deter- mined by burning with compressed oxygen in the Mahler bomb, the results being about 3 per cent. higher than those currently accepted. From the heat of solution of the pent- oxide obtained, it would appear to consist of the amorphous variety. Metaphosphoric acid is the only product on solu- tion in water.—On some new acetylenic acids, by MM. Ch. Moureu and R. Delange. By acting upon acetylenes of the general formula R—C =C—H with sodium and then treating these with CO,, the authors have prepared a number of acetylene acids of the fatty series, the more important physical properties of which are given.—Contribution to the study of the thio-acids of the formula R—CO—SH, by MM. V. Auger and M. Billy. The only method allowing of the production of true thio-acids is that of Kékulé, the saponi- fication of esters with sodium hydrosulphide.—On para- ethyl-benzoic aldehyde, by M. H. Fournier. An unsuc- cessful attempt was made to prepare this aldehyde by the action of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide on ethyl- benzene in presence of aluminium chloride. It was obtained by Bouveault’s method by the action of ethoxalyl chloride upon ethyl-benzene in presence of aluminium chloride, heat- ing the resulting ester with aniline, and boiling the deri- vative obtained with dilute sulphuric acid.—A method for estimating glycerol in the blood, by M. Maurice Nicloux. After precipitating and separating the albuminoid matters of the blood, the glycerol is distilled in a vacuum at 100° C., and estimated by potassium bichromate and _ sulphuric acid. A series of test analyses is given, the mean error being about 5 per cent., or approximately that inherent in the bichromate method.—On the structure of the tracheal cell of the gad-fly, and on the origin of the ergastoplasmic formations, by MM. A. Conte and C. Vaney.—The mano- metric ear, by M. Pierre Bonnier. A criticism of the re- sults of experiments recently published by M. Marage.—The nervous ganglia of the posterior roots belonging to the system of the great sympathetic, by M. N. Alberto Barbieri. 456 NATURE [ Marcu 12, 1903 —The dinosaurs of Belgium, by M. Louis Dotto,—A bio- logical study of parasitism; Ustilago Maydis, by M. Julien Ray.—On the geology of the Montagne des Frangais (Madagascar), by M. Paul Lemoine.—On subterranean waters and the disappearance of springs, by M. E. A. Martel.—On geographical explorations carried out in the Tchad region, by M. Destenave. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Marcu 12. Rovat Society, at 4.30.—On the Histology of Uvredo disfersa, Erikks., and the ‘* Mycoplasm” Hypothesis: Prof. Marshall Ward, F.R.S.—The Statolith Theory of Geotropism: F. Darwin, F.R.S. —A Study of a Unicellular Green Alga, occurring in Polluted Water, with Especial Reference to its Nitrogenous Metabolism: Miss H. Chick.—A Comparative Study of the Grey and White Matter of the Motor Cell Groups and of the Spinal Accessory Nerve in the Spinal Cord of the Porpoise (Phocaena communis): Dr. 1». Hepburn and Dr. D. Waterston.—The Oestrous Cycle and the Formation of the Corpus Luteum in the Sheep: F. H. A. Marshall.—On the Culture of the Nitroso-bacterium: H. S. Fremlin.—Upon the Immunising Effects of the Intracellular Contents of the Typhoid Bacillus as Obtained by the Dis- integration of the Organism at the Temperature of Liquid Air: Dr. A. Macfadyen. Pee SSL at 5.—Insect Contrivances: Prof. L. C. Miall, R INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Distribution Losses in Electric Supply Systems: A. D. Constable and E. Fawssett.—A Study of the Phenomenon of Resonance in Electric Circuits by the Aid of Oscillograms (abstract): M. B. Field. Society oF ARTS, at 4.30.—The Currency Policy of India: J. Barr Robertson. MATHEMATICAL SocrETY, at 5.30.—On the Convergence of Certain Multiple Series: G. H. Hardy.—On the Representation of a Group of Finite Order as an Irreducible Group of Linear Substitutions and the Direct Establishment of the Relations between the Group-Character- istics: Prof. W. Burnside.—Approximate Calculation of the Periods of Vibration of a Circular Plate: Prof. H. Lamb —Mathematical Notes: Dr. H. F. Baker.—Note on a Point in Hilbert’s Grundlagen der Geo- metrie: E. T. Dixon.—On Surfaces which have Assigned Families of Curves as their Lines of Curvature: Prof. A. R. Forsyth —Extension of Two Theorems on Covariants : J. H. Grace.—On Certain Sequences for Determining the zth Root of a Rational Number: S. M. Jacob. FRIDAY, Marcu 13. RovaL INstTITUTION, at 9.—Character Reading from External Signs: Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S. Puysica Society, at 5.—On the Interpretation of Milne Seismograms : Dr. Farr.—A Potentiometer for Thermocouple Measurements: Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt.—A Direct-Reading Pétentiometer for Thermoelectric Work: Dr. J. A. Harker —The Measurement of Small Resistances : A. Campbell.—A Resistance Comparator: Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt. MacacococicaLt Society, at 8.—Further Description of the Animal of Damayantia carinata, Collinge: Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen, F.R.S.—Note on the Generic Name Buliminus: B. B. Woodward.— Notes on Pleistocene Non-marine Mollusca from Portland Bill; and on Holocene Non-marine Mollusca from Wilts, Dorset, Cambridgeshire and Folkestone: R. Ashington Bullen.—On the Occurrence of Neritina Grateloupiana, Fér., inthe Pleistocene at Swanscomb: A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Reconstruction of Midland Railway Bridge No. 27, over the River Trent: A. R. Langton. Roya ASTRONOMICAL SociETY, at 5.—On the Desirability of a Re- investigation of Problems growing out of the Mean Motion of the Moon: Prof. S Newcomb.—A Proposed Southern Belt of Latitude Stations: Prof. S. C. Chandler.—On three of Sir W. Herschel's Ob- served Nebulous Regions in Orion: Prof. Max Wolf.—On the Period and Light Curve of 7514 UY Cygni: A. Stanley Williams.—On the Nebula 4 2302 Cassiopeia# ; the Region surrounding Hf II. 457 Eridani and Hf III. 558 Aquarii: Dr. Isaac Roberts.—A Series of Photographs of Nebulez, &c., taken by Mr. Ritchey at the Yerkes Observatory will be Exhibited. SATURDAY, Marcu 14. Royav InsTiTuTion, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord Rayleigh. MONDAY, Marcu 16. Society oF Arts, at 8.—Hertzian Wave Telegraphy in Theory and Practice: Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. Society or CHEMICAL INDusTRY, at 8.—The Standardisation of Analytical Methods: H. Droop Richmond. —The Standardisation of Commercial Methods of Analysis, especially those applied to Brewing Materials : Arthur R. Ling. TUESDAY. Marcu 17. Hicks INSTITUTION, at 5.—Great Problems in Astronomy: Sir Robert all. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.—Observations and Experiments on Japanese Long-Tailed Fowls: J. T. Cunningham.—On some Nudibranchs from East Africa and Zanzibar. No. I1.: Sir Charles Eliot, K.C M.G.— Contributions tothe Osteology of Birds.. Part VI. Cuculiformes : W. P. Pycraft. Society oF ARTS, at 4.30.—Artistic Fans: Miss Hannah Falcke Rovat STATISTICAL SOCIETY, at 5.—Statistics of Italy: Bolton King. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Papers to be further dis- sed :—Recent Irrigation in the Punjab: S. Preston.—Lhe Irriga- tion Weir across the Bhadar River, Kathiawar: J. J. B. Benson.— Paper to be read, time permitting :—The Protection Works of the Katser- i-Hind Bridge over the River Sutlej, néar Ferozepur: Amyas orse. NO. 1741, VOL. 67] WEDNESDAY, Marcu 18. Royat Microscoricat Society, at 8.—The Helmholtz Theory of the Microscope: J. W. Gordon. Society or Arts, at 8.—New Aspects of Life Assurance: William Schooling. CHEMICAL SOCIETY, at 5.30.—(1) Essential Oil of Hops: (2) On a Com- pound of Dextrose with Hydroxide of Aluminium: A. C. Chapman.— Action of Phosphorus Haloidson Dihydroresorcins. Part II. Dihydro- resorcin: A. W. Crossley, and P. Haas.—On the Constitution of Cotarnine: J. J. Dobbie. A. Lauder and C. K. Tinkler.—Decomposition of Mercurous Nitrite by Heat : PC. Ray and J. N. Seh. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8. An Entomological Excursion to Bejar, Central Spain : G. C Champion.—On Lepidoptera from the White Nile collected by Mr. W. L. S. Loat, with further Notes on Seasonal Dimor- phism in Butterflies : Dr. Frederick A. Dixey.—Hymenoptera aculeata collected by the Rey. A. E. Eaton, in Madeira and Tenerife, in the Spring of 1902: E. Saunders, F_R.S. Royat METEOROLOGICAL Society, at 7.30.—The Passage of Sound through the Atmosphere: C. V. Boys, F.R.S. THURSDAY, Marcu 109. Rovat Society, at 4.30. .—Probable Papers:—On the Formation of Barrier Reefs and of the Different Types of Atolls: Prof. A. Agassiz, For. Mem. R.S.—On Central American Earthquakes, particularly the Earthquake of 1838: Admiral Sir John Dalrymple Hay, Bart, F.R.S.— On the Electrons of Radium: Sir William Crookes, F.R.S. LInNEAN Society, at 8.—On Poa /axa and Poa stricta, of our British Floras: G. Claridge Druce.—The Botany of the Ceylon Patanas. Part II. Anatomy of the Leaves: John Parkin and H. H. W. Pearson. FRIDAY, Marcu 20. Rovat INSTITUTION, at 9.—The Paths of Volition: Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SociETYy, at 8.30.—The Prevention of Diphtheria Out- breaks in Hospitals for Children: Dr. Louis Parkes. InsriTUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—A Premium System applied to Engineering Workshops : James Rowan. SATURDAY, Marcu 21. Royat InstiTuTIoN, at 3.—Light: Its Origin and Nature: Lord Rayleigh. CONTENTS. PAGE The University in the Modern State. II... 433 Assyrian? History 703 5 ie.) -bachee sc) ohio, eee | Trustworthy Reagents. ByC. Simmonds ... . 436 Our Book Shelf :— Arrhenius: ‘* Text-book of Blectrochem aa Ww. ip apeaeaaen Gamble: ‘A Manual of Indian Timbers”. . 437 Hansgirg : ‘‘ Phyllobiologie, nebst Ubersicht der bios logischen Blatt- ‘typen von ein und sechzig Siphono- gamenfamilien” . 438 Barrett : ‘‘ The Lepidoptera of the British Islands” 438 Howe: ‘The Design of Simple Roof Trusses in Wood and Steel”... : eo ots | Zls%9) French and Ives : « Stereotomy ” . ot AO) Lubbock : ‘Round the Horn before the Mast Poe cetste) Letters to the Editor :-— Radio-activity of ee Materials. —Hon. R. J. Strutte 72 439 A Case of Pseudo- mimicry. “Capt. F. W. ‘Hutton, F.R.S.; Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R:S.. .*: 439 Area of Triangle in Terms of Sides.—Prof, J. D. Everett, F:R:S.. . . 440 Leonardo da Vinci asa Hydraulic ‘Engineer. (Us trated.) 3 : 440 The Buyeicionieall Laboratory’ of the University of London. (///ustrated.). . . . . ale 441 Prof. William Harkness. By W. E. P. alo 442 Notes io Wes eer ae eae onee 5 i 442 Our Astronomical Goluma’ — Elements and Search- aor for Comet tie v (Giacobini) ci : 9 mee eey/ Transparency of Comet 1902 4 a ja 3. eh eS: le AA oe February Meteors . . LAO. eather 447 Proper Motions of Stars. . ac ARE iro ces 447 Observations of Jupiter’s Markings a, cjai te ab cop ta caeOeetITE Solar Phenomena and Meteorology ........ 447 The Geological Survey of the United Grated rt aS Anthropology: its Position and Needs. By Dr. AVC Haddon? RiRSSs. a) eee 449 Electricity and Matter. By Sir Oliver! Lodges SRaSs ere aaE Cae oe 8 2 YXo) University and Educational Intelligence oi een A 53 Societiesiand Academies: 5 (7) <) +.) quct..) atienes 454 Diary, of{Societies) 5) s icat)).- pale ae 456 NAT ORE THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1903. A DUTCH PRIME MINISTER ON ECONOMICS. Principles of Economics. By Dr. N. G. Pierson. Translated from the Dutch by A. A. Wotzel. Vol. i. Pp. xxx + 604. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price tos. net. R. PIERSON’S book in the original Dutch has become widely known in this country, in spite of the obstacle of language. So much was due to the author on account of his peculiar position as a banker and man of business, as well as a statesman, entitling him to a special hearing as an economist. But the intrinsic qualities of the book have also been such as to attract an appreciative audience. It is an account very largely at first hand of the writer’s own experiences | in applying economic principles to the daily practice of banking business, and later on to the problems of econo- mics which came before him as Prime Minister of his State. Weare glad, therefore, to see the present trans- lation into English, which is extremely well done, and will contribute greatly to extend Dr. Pierson’s ‘reputa- tion in this country, well known as he already is. Dr. Pierson informs us in his introduction that “economics may be described as the science which teaches us what rules mankind should observe in order to advance in material prosperity ’’; and this appears to be an excellent definition if the qualification be added to the word “‘ rules,’’ that they are to be general rules applicable to every description of industry and business, and not the special rules of each industry by itself. There are many rules, for instance, to be studied and applied by the farmer or banker, each in his own profession, in order to advance in material prosperity, which are no part of the more general economic rules that equally require study. The qualification should, also be added, perhaps, that the rules referred to are largely rules to be followed by public men in directing the action of the State where it comes in contact with business—in regulating taxation, monopolies, cur- rency, and any other matters that seem properly re- served for the action of the community as a whole in the conduct of common business. Nothing much, however, turns upon definitions of this kind. In eco- nomic books the important thing always is to be in contact with reality, and in this respect Dr. Pierson’s book is not lacking. Leading business men and poli- ticians are practically taught how to advance in material prosperity by observing the nature and conditions of exchanges. It is, in fact, thoroughly scientific. Dr. Pierson’s conclusion that the science is mainly deductive may also be accepted. There is often con- fusion in discussions as to the limits and functions of political economy between the phrases deductive and theoretical. Because it is so much deductive, political economy is often said, with reproach, to be a theoretical study only, and its professors are nicknamed theorists. But the deductions, nevertheless, may be from facts of a general kind, and are thus as legitimate as the pro- positions of the multiplication table. Dr. Pierson, ac- cordingly, is fully justified in his remark. It should NO. 1742, VOL. 67] ‘Street. 7 457 be understood, moreover, that as to large provinces of the study, especially the province of the money market, Dr. Pierson is mainly a describer, and not a theorist, or if, as sometimes happens, he appears to theorise and is not so much a describer, he theorises as Ricardo did— that is, by giving as a theory a description of what business men invariably do under the conditions stated. We would especially refer students to the closing chapter of the book on foreign exchanges as of singular excellence, containing, perhaps, the fullest exposition ever given of the various puzzles as to balance of trade, balance of payments, and balance of indebtedness, as well as those respecting high and low rates of discount, on which so many people make shipwreck. There has been no more complete exposition of the subject, and what Dr. Pierson has to say may well be compared with Mr. (now Lord) Goschen’s ‘‘ Theory of the Foreign Exchanges’? and Mr. Bagehot’s ‘‘ Lombard We are not quite sure we can agree with him throughout as to the regulation of currencies, a subject which we should have liked to see discussed from the point of view of no regulation at all, instead of from the Continental point of view, which accepts regulation as a matter of course; but this criticism in no way diminishes our sense of the value of the discussion itself. The chapters on the principal monetary systems and on banking in the principal countries are equally com- plete and interesting, especially when the student re- members that Dr. Pierson himself has had to deal with the business in his capacity as President of the Nether- lands Bank and Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The student will find it both interesting and amusing, we believe, that Dr. Pierson, after an elaborate descrip- tion of the fall in silver and the ineffectual attempts of bimetallic agitators in the United States and elsewhere to restore the ratio, goes on to describe with effect various practical reasons for believing that bimetallism is no longer a possibility, and then adds a regret that this should be the case, when the opinion had become very general among experts—he himself holding the same opinion—that bimetallism is really possible if only all nations would consent to try it at the same time! We cannot but think this expression of opinion the one symptom of imperfection in the book. The practical reasons against bimetallism—universal or otherwise— are, in fact, found to be based on the mathematical reasoning of Locke, who demonstrated that, as there could be no fixed price between gold and silver, there could be no coexistence of the two as standard money and no joint circulation of the two at any time at a fixed price. But this is a small blemish in a baok all but perfect in other respects, which ought to be in the hands of every economic student. Ro G; PURIFICATION AND DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE. Sewage Works Analyses. By Gilbert J. Fowler, M.Sc. (Vict.), F.I1.C. Pp. vit130. (Westminster: King and Son; New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1902.) HE thanks of all who are directly interested in the disposal and purification of sewage—a rapidly increasing number—are due to Mr. Fowler for his excellent little manual. In his preface he says :-— xX 458 NATURE [Marcu 19, 1903 “‘The following book has been written in response to several requests for an account of the methods of analysis in use in the laboratory of the Manchester Corporation Sewage Works. “Through the courtesy of Mr. F. Scudder, the author has been able to include descriptions of some of the more important processes employed in the laboratory of the Mersey and Irwell Joint Committee. ‘“TIn general it may be said that the Joint Com- mittee’s methods are designed for cases where samples from different works have to be critically examined, the Manchester methods for the analysis of a large number of samples of sewage and effluents of the same general character. ““The successful application of modern bacterial processes will necessitate careful chemical control. It is hoped, therefore, that the following book will prove of use to the increasing number of chemists who are interested in the scientific treatment of sewage. ““The methods here described are such as a con- siderable experience has shown to be capable of being rapidly executed, and of giving results of an accuracy amply sufficient for practical requirements.” The book opens with a very brief description of the general principles of sewage purification, divided under the two headings :—(a) mechanical or disposal processes ; (b) biological or purification processes, with regard to the second of which the author writes :— “The changes which take place in all these biological processes are much more complex than those which are effected by any of the mechanical or dis- posal methods in class (a), and chemical control is absolutely necessary if they are to be maintained in their greatest efficiency.” The few pages which are devoted to this section might, we think, be extended with advantage in a future edition. Even allowing for the fact that the work is one intended to deal with analytical methods, a somewhat fuller summary—so far as present know- ledge goes—of the changes which take place in septic tanks and bacterial filters, from the pen of one who has made a special study of those points, could not fail to be of direct benefit to the laboratory worker. Such a summary would almost certainly stimulate his interest in the methods with which the book subse- quently deals. After a short discussion on the gauging of sewage flow and upon methods of sampling, the latter a point on which it is difficult to lay too much stress, the author goes on (p. 11) to indicate what in his Opinion are the chief chemical data required to deter- mine the amount of impurity in sewage and effluent, the working out of these data being given later in the book. resented a report on questions connected with oceanic research at great depths. In a letter addressed to Sir Alfred Jones by the expedi- tion sent by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to investigate the newly-discovered parasite of human trypano- NO. 1747, VOL. 67] for NATURE [APRIL 23, 1903 somiasis, it is stated that a number of natives had been examined, but that the parasite had not been found in any. In two horses, however, a trypanosome was found, and it is stated that another horse had been infected with the human trypanosome. In a common species of horse fly that had fed on this last horse, numerous trypanosomes’ were found in the stomach. The letter was sent from McCarthy Island, 150 miles in the interior of Gambia. WE learn from the Times that Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., has now returned from his tour in India and Ceylon, in which countries he has been studying the ztiology of leprosy. Dr. Hutchinson has always held that leprosy is connected in some way with the eating of fish, and it was to test the truth of this hypothesis that he has made this tour, and, shortly before, one to South Africa. Dr. Hutchinson, as the result of his inquiries, believes that only in a very small minority of cases of leprosy can a fish diet be excluded. Its great prevalence is almost always in or near a fishing district. Dr. Hutchinson’s general con- clusion is that, as regards leprosy in India, there are no facts which controvert or render untenable the fish hypo- thesis, and that there are some which afford to it a support which he considers to be unassailable. News has been received at Berlin, from Australia, of the German Antarctic expedition under Dr. Erich von Dry- galski, which left for the South Polar regions in 1901. The steamer Stassfurt, of the German Australian Steamship Company, reached Sydney on April 17 with four members of the expedition, who were landed at Kerguelen Island from the expedition ship Gauss for the purpose of making a year’s magnetic and meteorological observations, which were necessary for the main expedition in order to confirm the observations taken further south. One of the observing party, Dr. Enzensperger, died of beri beri on the island on February 2, and Dr. Werth, geologist, who is among those landed from the Stassfurt, was also taken seriously ill. He is now better, but will be detained in hospital. The remain- ing three explorers are well. Dr. Hans Reuscu describes in Naturen for March the only known natural fountain in Norway, locally known as Bubbelen. It lies in a remote and little-known valley, Bognelvdal, 10 kilometres south of Sopnaes, at the head ot Langfjord, a branch of Altenfjord, Lapland, 70° N. 22° E. It is formed by a stream which itself is fed by the over- flow of a river, and has flowed underground through the limestone for three kilometres. The fountain rises from a basin six metres deep in a column of water which varies in size according to the season, and flows away as a stream, which even in dry weather is seven metres broad and two metres deep. Tue Naples Academy of Physical and Mathematical Sciences offers a prize of 1000 lire to the author of the best memoir on the theory of the invariants of the ternary biquadratic form, preferably in connection with the con- ditions for splitting into lower form. The papers may be written in Italian, Latin, or French, and must be sent in on or before June 30, 1904. In addition prizes are offered in connection with the legacy of Prof. Luigi Sementini, who in 1847 left a sum of 150 ducats per annum ‘“‘ to dis- tribute it as a prize for three memoirs on applied chemistry which they shall judge the best, or to award it as a prize to the author of one single memoir containing great utility, or finally to give it as a life pension to the author of a classical discovery useful to sick mankind.’’ Competitors for this prize are invited to send in their applications, accompanied by manuscript or printed papers, not later than December 31, 1903. APRIL 23, 1903] A note in the Times refers to a report by Mr. Neville- Rolfe, British Consul in Naples, in which he mentions the widespread interest now being taken in Italy in the question of reafforesting the country. In 1877 about four millions of acres were withdrawn from the operation of the old forest laws, as well as about one million acres in Sicily and Sardinia. The consequence was a reckless destruction of forests, and now it is generally admitted that the State must step in to save those that are left and to aid in replanting. The question now being discussed is what trees are to be used for the latter purpose. Tue increase of temperature referred to in our last issue, caused by the advance of a small cyclonic disturbance on Tuesday, April 14, was of short duration; by the morning of April 15 the centre of the disturbance had reached the Dutch coasts, and in its rear the winds had become northerly ; the day temperatures again became abnormally low. Severe frosts on the ground occurred at night, which, up to Tuesday last, have been continuous at Greenwich for ten days; the mean of the terrestrial radiation temperatures there for the week ending April 20 was 20°-8, being 10° lower than the mean for the corresponding period last year. On the morning of April 18 a temperature of 24° was registered at Newton Reigny and Dungeness. Such a low temperature had not been registered in the neighbourhood of the latter station, in April, in the values for thirty years published by the Meteorological Office. A VIOLENT snowstorm passed over Berlin on Sunday night, and the snow lay several inches deep in the streets on the following morning, April 20. The Berlin correspondent of the Times states that more than forty trees were blown down in the Thiergarten. The Royal Park at Potsdam has suffered very severely, and many valuable trees planted in the time of Frederick the Great have been uprooted. Telegraphic communication with Sweden and Russia was interrupted, and many of the inland wires to the eastward of Berlin have broken down. ‘The trains from the provinces of Posen, Silesia, and East and West Prussia arrived at Berlin many hours late on Monday, and on many sections of the railways in the eastern half of the Kingdom of Prussia traffic was completely interrupted. In Denmark the gale was even more severe. Trains could not proceed from Copenhagen in any direction, and telegraphic and telephonic communication was also interrupted. On Monday the Danish capital was, in fact, almost entirely cut off from communication with her immediate environs and with other countries. Snow reached a depth of four to six feet. 1wo local trains sent from Copenhagen with snow-ploughs only ceached from ten to twenty miles from the capital. A severe snowstorm swept over the whole province of Petrikovo, Russia, on April 21. WE have received the report of the Government Observ- atory, Bombay, for the year 1902; the director, Mr. N. A. F. Moos, is assisted by a native staff of ten members. The observatory is well equipped with self-recording instru- ments, and directs its attention chiefly to terrestrial mag- netism, meteorology, and seismology, and to some extent to astronomical observations. The work appears to have been carried out with great efficiency; the seismic observ- ations show distinct evidence of sudden increased activity during the year, and it is stated that the records promise to be of considerable value in connection with the relation which probably exists between earthquake phenomena and terrestrial magnetism. Special magnetic observations have NO 1747, VOL. 67| IEA FLEE au been made (at times every twenty seconds) in connection with the international programme decided on during the period of the English and German Antarctic expeditions. ALTHOUGH the surface wind was from the east, the dust cloud from the eruption of the Soufriére of St. Vincent at 6.30 a.m. on March 22 reached Bridgetown, Barbados, 100 miles to eastward, by 9 a.m., so that its rate of motion was not less than forty miles an hour after having attained an elevation of probably three miles at least above the Soufriére. Its altitude above Barbados was estimated at about 8000 feet, or double the height of the Soufriére. At several points the first fall of dust was observed at 11.15 a.m., it increased until 1.30 p.m., then diminished, and by 5 p.m. it had ceased. In the neighbourhood of Bridgetown the fall was at the rate of about 23 tons per acre; considerably less at Bathsheba, fourteen miles to the north-east; while at Codrington House, two miles north of the town, it amounted to 6.52 tons per acre. Taking 3 toms per acre as the average would give 300,000 tons for the whole island. The May dust was a very light grey, that of March very dark—almost black, Dr. Spencer describing the March dust cloud as of a deep Prussian blue colour. Tue Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies has now published the complete report and statistical information relating to the sugar-cane experiments in the Leeward Islands, Antigua and St. Kitts, in the season Part i., 55 foolscap pages, deals with experiments with an appendix on the 1901-02. with varieties of sugar-cane, chemical selection of sugar-cane. Part ii., 115 pages and six large diagrams, treats of manurial experiments. The general results have already been noticed in these columns. Tue London County Council has now issued the complete report upon the examination of the atmosphere of the Central London Railway, carried out by Dr. Clowes and Dr. Andrewes. A short statement of results submitted to the Council has already been described (p. 488). Generally, the amount of carbon dioxide was largest in the air of the carriages, but not, as might have been expected, in the smoking carriages. The highest proportion of carbon di- oxide found was 14-7 volumes and the smallest proportion 9-6 volumes in 10,000 volumes of air. The air in the passages leading to and from the stations was generally better than in the lifts—on one occasion as much as 15-2 volumes of carbon dioxide in 10,000 volumes of air were present in a lift; but of all the samples 22 per cent. con- tained less than twice as much, and 34 per cent. contained less than 23 times as much carbon dioxide as that found in outside air. Dr. Clowes suggests as a standard that air taken at any point on the railway should not contain more than 8 volumes of carbon dioxide in 10,000 of air. -The bacteriological examination of the air by Dr. Andrewes showed micro-organisms to be present in somewhat greater proportion than in the fresh outside air in the ratio of about 13 to 10, the number of organisms being proportional to the concentration of human traffic. The air of the rail- way does not in its bacterial content compare unfavourably with inhabited rooms generally, and no pathogenic germs were detected. In the April number of Climate Dr. Louis Sambon gives an admirable popular account of malaria, illustrated by a number of original drawings by Signor Terzi. Dr. Har- ford discusses the physical qualifications necessary for resi- dence or travel in the tropics, and there are other articles upon the “Spread of Yellow Fever,’’ ‘‘ Surgical Emer- gencies,’’ and “* Sanitary Reform in West Africa.”’ 992 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1903 A sEconp edition has appeared of the ‘* Meteorologia Dinamica,’’ by P. A. Rodrigues de Prada, director of the It is published in Madrid, and deals winds, cyclones, and air currents Vatican. Observatory. with atmospheric tides, generally. Messrs. Hoeptt, of Milan, have issued the second edition of Ingegnere G. Vacchelli’s book on ** Le Costruzioni in Calcestruzzo,”’ the first edition of which appeared in 1899. It is one of the Manueli Hoepli, and deals with the pro- perties of concrete, cement, and hydraulic lime, and their uses for building purposes. Special attention is given to the use of cements in the construction of bridges and sub- merged structures. In the Atti dei Lincei, xii., 6, Signor G. Guglielmo describes a method of determining the work-measure of the specific heat of water, which resembles the classical experi- ment of Joule in that the liquid is raised in temperature by agitation, but the liquid is contained in a closed vessel (the calorimeter of Fabre and Silbermann was used) having paddles or blades fixed projecting into the interior, and the agitation is effected by rotating the vessel alternately in one sense and then in the other. Some months ago the French Physical Society commenced the publication of a collection of elementary experiments in physics, and invited the cooperation of the members in describing experiments or details of apparatus which they had found useful, especially for teaching purposes. In a further circular the secretary, M. H. Abraham, states that the first part, dealing with geometry, mechanics, gravita- tion, hydrostatics and heat, is nearly complete, and the second part, dealing with acoustics, optics and electricity, is already in course of preparation. Tue French Physical Society held its annual exhibition of apparatus in Paris last week. The entrance hall and vestibule were lighted with ‘‘ heliophone’’ lamps of the French Incandescent Gas Company, the staircase and ground floor by the French Oxyhydrogen Company, and the entrance hall of the first floor by Nernst lamps. Con- ferences were held in the Physics Theatre of the Faculty | of Sciences on April 16, 17 and 18, at which the following papers were read :—On anomalous propagation of the form of vibrations in the neighbourhood of a focus, by M. G. Sagnac ; recent researches in radio-activity, by M. P. Curie; experiments on electric convection, by MM. Crémieu and Pender ; and further experiments on electric convection, by M. Vasilesco Karpen. Tue Bulletin de la Société d’Encouragement for February 2S contains two papers of interest in connection with the problem of aérial navigation. In the first of these M. Barbet describes the latest experiments by M. Canovetti, of Brescia, on the resistance of the air to moving bodies of various shapes. The method, which has already been described in previous papers, consists in attaching the body under observation to a small trolley (chariot) which descends under gravity, along a wire 380 metres long stretched from the top of the fortifications at Brescia to a point on the plain below, the difference of altitude being 70 metres. By comparing the times of descent with those observed when the resisting body was removed, an estimate was formed of the coefficient of resistance. From experiments with aéroplanes, M. Canovetti found that an aéroplane of 200 square metres, weighing 1ooo kilograms, moving at a speed of 16 metres per second, would require 100 horse- power to maintain it in the air, and that under these con- ditions the problem was impossible ; further, that more power | NO. 1747, VOL. 67 | was necessary for driving an aéroplane through the air than for propelling an automobile of equal weight on a road. By experiments on the resistance of two circular discs placed one behind the other, M. Canovetti has plotted the form of the cone of air entrained by a moving disc. In the second paper Commandant P. Renard discusses the conditions of safety of navigable balloons, and suggests to the Société d’Encouragement a list of seventeen questions which should be put to the inventor of every navigable balloon before offering him official support or assistance. These questions refer to the provision of an adequate secondary gas bag (ballonet), which can be inflated by a sufficiently powerful ventilator driven by an independent motor, the satisfaction of the conditions of longitudinal stability, the avoidance of rigid parts, especially in the neighbourhood of the balloon, the arrangement of the motor and the gas valves in such a way as to minimise the danger of the escaping gases accumulating where they could be set on fire by the motor, the refrigeration of the gases escaping from the motor, the provision of fire ex- tinguishing appliances, and last, but not least, the all- important question, ‘‘ Are you a good aéronaut, or do you intend to take one with you? ”’ To the March number of Petermann’s Mitteilungen Herr Arno Senfft contributes the first part of a paper on the ethnography of the island of Yap, in the Carolines. The botany of the Carolines has been treated by Prof. Volkens in his memoir on ‘‘ Die Vegetation der Karolinen,’’ and the geology by Dr. Kaiser in a paper published by the German Geological Society in 1902; Herr Senfft’s paper is an im- portant contribution towards the complete description of the group. In the Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde su Berlin, Dr. G. Wegener gives an account of the volcanic eruptions which occurred on Sawaii, in the Samoa islands, in the beginning of November last. There seems to be a good deal of evidence, geological and traditional, to show that volcanic disturbances occurred in the island within comparatively recent times, possibly about 200 years ago. The present activity is particularly interesting, because, after a long period of quiescence, the eruptions have recommenced without any violent display of energy. From the Smithsonian Institution we have received a copy of a paper by Mr. R. S. Bassler on the structure of the extinct bryozoan genus Homotrypa, with descriptions of new species. In a recent issue of the Proceedings of the Boston Natural History Society (vol. xxxi., No. 1), Mr. M. T. Thomson describes the larva of Naushonia crangonoides, a rare shrimp, at present known in the adult condition by one specimen from Naushon Island and a second from Rum Island, both in the neighbourhood of Wood’s Hole. In describing the best mode of rearing the curious larva of the annelid Polygordius, Prof. W. K. Brooks, in the Johns Hopkins University Circulars for March, comments on the circumstance that the adult has not hitherto been taken on the American coast. This he believes to be due to the lack of a sufficiently careful search. AccorpinG to Science of March 27, the American Morpho- logical Society and the zoologists of the central and western States have combined forces, under the title of the American Society of Zoologists, of which there is to be a western and an eastern branch. It is expected that the new body will meet once in three years, the meetings to be held alternately in the territories of the two branches. APRIL 23. 1903] In reference to an idea that beavers survived in Yorkshire until a very late period, Mr. T. Sheppard, in the Naturalist for April, explains that the item ‘‘ bever-heads ’’ occasion- ally met with in old parish accounts refers to the otter. He adds, however, that remains of the beaver have been found near* Beverley, as well as in other parts of the county. WE have received vol. ii., part xiv., and vol. iii., parts i. and ii., of the Annals of the South African Museum. In the first of these Mr. S. Thor, of Christiania, treats of the South African water-mites (Hydrachnidz), recording a number of new forms. In the second Dr. W. F. Purcell describes some new generic and specific types of Solpugide, and likewise gives an account of a collection of Arachnida recently made in one district of Cape Colony; while in the third Mr. Distant continues his notes on Rhynchota. At Tonybee Hall to-morrow, April 24, a course of five lectures on ‘‘ The How and the Why of Decoration ’’ will be commenced by Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S. The lectures will deal with the origins of designs, art and handicraft, art as a means of instruction, art and religion, and the decorative art of British New Guinea as an example of method. Messrs. MacMILLAN AND Co., Ltp., have added Kingsley’s “* Water-Babies ’’ to their Illustrated Pocket Classics. ihe illustrations of Linley Sambourne are included, and it would be difficult to imagine a more attractive edition of this instructive fairy tale. Tue drawings contained in the three volumes of Mr. W. S. Taggart’s ‘‘ Cotton Spinning ’’ have been published in a separate book, under the title ‘‘ Cotton Machinery Sketches,’’ by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., at 2s. 6d. The author believes that many teachers will find these drawings useful to accompany their lectures, even though they may not approve of text-books in general. Messrs. J. AND A. CuurcHILL have published a second edition of ‘‘ A Handbook of Physics and Chemistry,’’ by Messrs. H. E. Corbin and A. M. Stewart. The primary object of the book is to meet the requirements of the first examination of the Conjoint Examining Board of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, and the new matter which has been added should increase the book’s sphere of usefulness. AMATEUR photographers will be glad to know that Messrs. R. and J. Beck, Ltd., have issued a second edition of ““ Photographic Lenses; a Simple Treatise,’’ by Messrs. Conrad Beck and Herbert Andrews. The book is intended as a practical guide for the photographer to enable him to use his apparatus to better advantage; it does not profess to give complete scientific explanations of the laws under- lying the construction of photographic lenses. Tue additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Purple-faced Monkey (Semno- pithecus cephalopterus) from Ceylon, presented by Mr. T. Jenkins; a Bonnet Monkey (Macacus sinicus) from India, presented by Mr. C. A. Denison; a Long-tailed Weaver- bird (Chera progne) from South Africa, presented by Major R. W. P. Lodwick; a Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), European, presented by Mr. H. Munt; a Large Grieved Tortoise (Podocnemis expansa) from the Amazons, presented by Senhor Francisco Alves Vieira; four Gallot’s Lizards (Lacerta galloti) from Teneriffe, presented by the Hon. NATURE 593 (Microcebus smithi). from Madagascar, two Derbian Zonures (Zonurus giganteus), four Leopard Tortoises (Testudo pardalis) from South Africa, four Spanish Sala- manders (Chiroglossa lusitanica) from Spain, deposited ; a Shining Parrakeet (Pyrrhulopsis splendens) from the Fiji Islands, purchased. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Nova GeminoruM.—Further observations of the magni- tude, appearance, and spectrum of this Nova have been made, and the results communicated to No. 3861 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. Prof. Millosevich estimated the magnitude of the Nova on March 26d. gh. (M.T. Rome) as 7-3-7-5, and recorded the colour as ‘‘ yellow.’’ Dr. Halm, of Edinburgh, observed the spectrum with a small spectroscope attached to the 15-inch refractor on March 26, 27 and 28, and was convinced at first glance that the object was of the Nova type. On March 27 he found a faint continuous spectrum crossed by bright bands, those in the green and blue parts of the spectrum, including HB and Hy, being especially conspicuous. The red part of the spectrum was very faint, and, although a careful scrutiny was made, no trace of the C line of hydrogen could be seen, but on observing the spectrum again on March 28 a bright point was seen to occupy that position. Dr. Halm estimated the magnitude of the Nova as about 80, and re- corded the colour as a “‘ bluish purple.’’ Drs. Ristenpart and Guthnick, of Berlin-Friedenau, made several estimations of the Nova’s magnitude at 88h. (Central Europe M.T.) on March 29, and found for their general mean value 8.55m. Prof. Hartwig, of Bamberg, estimated that the Nova was o-3m. fainter on April 1 than it was on March 26, and Prof. Ceraski, of Moscow, estimated the magnitude as 8-3 at 10.30 p.m. on March 27. The latter observer could see no particular colour in the Nova, as it appeared white to him. SPECTRUM OF THE NEBULOSITY SURROUNDING NOvA PERSEI. —On account of the extraordinary changes of position and brightness in the nebula surrounding Nova Persei, Prof. Perrine, of Lick Observatory, thought it advisable to secure, if possible, a spectrum of the nebula, and for this purpose especially designed a spectroscope to be used with the Crossley reflector. The camera and collimator lenses were single quartz lenses of 13-inch aperture and 6 inches focal length; the prism also was quartz, and had a re- fracting angle of 50° 14’. A comparison spectrum of hydrogen was photographed on either side of the nebular spectrum. A total exposure of 34h. gm. was made on “‘ condensation D ”’ of the nebula on October 31, November 1, 2 and 4, and the resulting negative shows a very faint spectrum extend- ing from Hf to about A 360, its length being about o-11 inch. A second negative was obtained in order to demon- strate that the spectrum was not due to skylight, whilst a spectrum of skylight was obtained and proved to be quite different to the supposed nebula spectrum, so that it may be taken as proved that the spectrum obtained on the first negative is really due to the nebulosity. Fully three-fourths of the light in the spectrum is con- densed in the region extending from HB to Hy; above Hy the spectrum is very faint, and betweén A 380 and A 390 it is entirely absent. There appears to be a line almost coincident with Hé, and another at A 370, but they are so faint that it is impossible to certify their presence. It thus appears that the spectrum of the nebulosity cor- responds to that of the Nova during the first few days of the latter’s greatest magnitude in February, 1901. The positions of the two suspected lines at A gro and A 370 do not agree at all with the strongest lines in the latest spec- trum of the Nova, and there are no traces of the lines at A 387 and A 397 obtained by Campbell and Wright, nor of the very strong line at A 346 photographed by Mr. Stebbins (Lick Bulletin, No. 8). The spectrum of the nebulosity is certainly not the ordinary bright line spectrum of the nebulz, and if the latter is present at all, it is in conjunc- ‘ Rupert Drummond, R.N.; two Smith’s Dwarf Lemurs | tion with another spectrum, probably continuous, extending NO. 1747, VOL. 67] 594 from A 434 to A 487. A spectrum of the Nova obtained on February 17, 1903, does not agree with the spectrum of the nebulosity at all. Prof. Perrine arrives at the conclusion, from the evidence given by these spectrographs, that the results do not oppose the theory that the light of the nebulosity—as considered in that part of it called condensation D—is due to the reflec- tion of the light emitted by the Nova at the time of its greatest brightness, although, in face of the contradictory evidence already published, he does not consider his con- clusions strong enough to prove the reflection theory (Lick Observatory Bulletin, No. 33). STELLAR PARALLAX.' 7OR three years, from 1893 to 1896, Mr. A. S. Flint, of the Washburn Observatory, has devoted himself in- defatigably to the determination of stellar parallax, and his results, contained in the eleventh volume of that observ- atory’s publications, form a very handsome contribution to this class of inquiry. Not only are these results of great interest in themselves, but they offer a larger collection of new material than has ever been made on a single occasion. We have not only the observations of nearly a hundred stars, but all arranged and discussed on one uniform plan, a not unimportant factor in their bearing on the cosmical problem to which such results are applicable. The stars are scattered variously over the sky from the Pole to about 30° S. declination, and have been selected to include stars of considerable proper motion, a number of Prof. Burnham's double stars which show proper motion, and some twelve binary systems. The method of observation was that suggested and em- ployed by Prof. Kapteyn, namely, the chronographic regis- tration of the time at which the selected star and two others, one preceding and one following, crossed the wires of the meridian instrument. The total number of observ- ations, fairly evenly distributed between the morning and the evening, was 3659, all of which were made by Mr. Flint, while he is also responsible for the heavy work en- tailed in the discussion. Unfortunately, in this method of observation it is necessary to employ screens, varying in density, in front of the object glass, to reduce the light of the more brilliant star to approximately that of the stars of comparison. Experience has shown that very consider- able errors are liable to be introduced in the determination of difference of R.A. when this precaution is overlooked. The ultimate value of the work will depend much on the success with which the screens are applied, and this source of error is eliminated. In this place we cannot enter fully into the devices employed or the discussion applied to the results. We can only say that the author has not found it sufficient to trust to the mechanical devices alone, but has had to submit his parallaxes to a further discussion, in order to remove systematic errors, and we can very well understand that this section of the work will be most care- fully scrutinised by any astronomer who proposes to follow in the footsteps of Prof. Kapteyn or Mr. Flint. The result of this examination is to determine a correc- tion which the author has applied, and seeks to justify, depending on the difference of magnitude and the right ascension of the star. This correction can become so large that it might make one hesitate to apply the method in isolated instances, or wherever there is insufficient material to permit an independent inquiry. The correction which Mr. Flint applies to his parallax, or to the crude value re- sulting from the solution of the ordinary equations of con- dition, is 3DM. y; where 3DM. is the difference between the apparent magnitude of the parallax star and the mean magnitude of the two stars of comparison, and y is given by the expression y=+0".067+0"-101 cos. R.A. If, then, the reduced light of the parallax star differed by one magnitude from the mean of the other two, a correc- tion of o’-168 might result, and inasmuch as a difference of two magnitudes is not impossible, corrections of nearly 1 Publications of the Washburn Observatory of the University of Wis- consin, Vol. xi. “‘ Meridian Observations for Stellar Parallax.’’ First Series. By Albert S. Flint, Assistant Astronomer. Pp. 435. (Madison, Wis. : State Printer, 1902.) NO. 1747, VOL. 67 | NATURE [APRIL 23, 1903 four-tenths may be required, and in two instances 0”-36 is actually applied. This amount is a liftle startling, and though it would seem ungracious to suggest more work when so much has been attempted and carried to a suc- cessful issue, one cannot but wish that the author had made some complete sets of observations, without the use of a screen at all. Then, in the case of such a star as B Cassio- peiz with its comparison stars, the amount of the correc- tion would be some seven or eight-tenths of a second, a quantity which could not have escaped detection. To those who have not been engaged in similar inquiries it may seem strange that the error in R.A. arising from the observation of two stars of unequal magnitude is not constant, and therefore disappearing in the parallax. It may seem strange, too, that this puzzling discrepancy should vary with the time of year, for that is what the term depending on the right ascension practically means, but it must be sufficient here to refer to the volume itself, where the author has treated the matter in considerable detail, and given his figures in the clearest manner. W. E- P. RIDGWAY’S AMERICAN BIRDS.* M R. RIDGWAY is making good progress with his laborious task, the first part of this work (already noticed in these columns) having been issued in 1901. The remaining volumes (probably six in number) are in a for- ward state, and it is hoped may be published at the rate of two a year. The present bulky volume is devoted to four families of the Passeres, namely, the tanagers (Tanagridz), troupials (Icterida), honey-creepers (Coerebidz), and wood- warblers (Mniotiltidae). The author’s introductory remarks on the first of these groups afford a curious comment on the prevalent practice of dividing the Passeres into families. For the division between the tanagers and the finches (Fringillida) is stated to be an arbitrary one, and the former group, as now re- stricted, is confessedly more or less artificial. Indeed, it is suggested that the fruit-eating forms (Euphoniz) may eventually have to be separated as a distinct family group. The author has already relegated to the Fringillidze several of the genera included by Mr. Sclater among the Tanagridze, while others he assigns to the Mniotiltidz. Moreover, the possession of only nine primary quills being now regarded as an essential feature of the family, the aberrant genus Calyptophilus must obviously find a place elsewhere. Apart from the case of the last-mentioned genus, all this suggests that, however eonvenient the division into ‘‘ families’’ of such an unwieldy group as the Passeres may be for working purposes, such divisions possess little title to be regarded as important morphological units. In adopting the term “‘ troupials ’’ as the English equiva- lent of the family Icteride, the author is decidedly well advised, and it may be hoped that the practice will be adopted by future writers. In the definition of this family the author makes the general absence or slight develop- ment of the rictal bristles an important feature; but no reference to these structures is made in the main definitions of the tanagers and honey-creepers, in which they may or may not be developed. This, we think, is an omission, although we are fully aware of the importance of making definitions as concise as possible. The general plan of the “keys ’’ appears, as in the first volume, excellent, and the plates illustrative of the beak, wing, tail, and foot-struc- tures of the various groups described are equally satis- factory. Rae “ce A PERIODICAL OF PRECIOUS PLANTS. U NDER the title of Flora and Sylva, a new monthly periodical has appeared, edited by Mr. Robinson, and devoted to the illustration and description of ‘‘ precious ”’ plants, fitted for cultivation in these islands. It is beauti- fully printed in large type on good paper which allows of the woodcuts being properly printed. The illustration of the palmate bamboo on p. 3 is full of life, and forms a pleasing 1 “Birds of North and Middle America.” By R. Ridgway. Part ii- (Buil. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 50.) Pp. xx +834; 22 plates. (1902.) APRIL 23, 1903] contrast to many of the blotchy ‘‘ process ’’ illustrations now so common. ; The coloured illustrations are good of their kind, but it needs the patience of a Bauer to do justice to such exquisite flowers as those of the Calochortus, and in the present instance the artist evidently prefers effect to detail. Mr. Nicholson’s article on Magnolias is likely to be of permanent value, and Mr. Carl Purdy’s revision of the genus Calochortus will be useful to those who have not ready access to the more complete monograph in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. : ““Sylva’’ is represented by an article on the Corsican pine, concerning which so much has been written of late years. Alluding to the great variation which occurs among the pines, the author of the article says that the ‘‘ wild type of a forest tree is the best, and that sports are worth- less.’"’ This is a statement that appears to require some modification. In the first place, it is not easy to determine what is the wild type. If we take the Corsican tree as the type, are we to abandon as worthless the black Austrian, the Pyrenean, the Calabrian, the Pallasian, and the many other varieties of the Corsican pine? But perhaps the writer does not include these as ‘‘ sports.’’ At any rate, in their several ways they are as valuable as the form arbitrarily taken as the type. Flora and Sylva promises to be a very attractive and useful addition to garden literature. INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MENTAL AND THE MATERIAL ASPECTS OF THINGS. “THERE are certain ambiguous terms, to the undis- criminating use of which some misunderstandings are due. One of these is the term ‘‘ science,’’? which may be used either as synonymous with the unbiased and reverent pursuit of truth by patient and accurate methods in all de- partments of knowledge; or as representing the generally accepted notions of naturalists at any one epoch, together with such positive and negative tendencies and extensions into more speculative regions as may be favoured by them. The distinction between these two dissimilar things is hardly sufficiently accentuated by the use of a large or a small initial letter for the word. Another ambiguous word is “ faith,’ which may signify intellectual credence attached to some doctrine, in which case an emphatic and militant definite article is sometimes pre- fixed to it; or it may denote a moral, i.e. emotional and conative attitude to the universe in general, irrespective of intellectual cognisance of specific facts. A third is the term ‘‘ prayer,’’ which again may represent either a submissive and devotional passive attitude of the soul in presence of a higher power, or an active and ener- getic petition for certain benefits or privileges, and especially for aid and guidance in crises or emergencies. And lastly, many ambiguities, I venture to think, attach to the term ‘‘ God,’’ of which I will only mention three. First, it may signify the highest theoretical and practical conception of men at any given epoch on this planet ; a use of the term appropriate to the science of theology. Second, it may mean the Ultimate and Infinite and Absolute, con- cerning which no human predication is possible, and of which no even initially adequate conception can be made. Third, there are signs of its coming to be used in a limited sense by certain not unphilosophic persons—whether justifiably or not—to denote a Being, a ruler, an administrator, who ts striving to evolve order out of mental and moral chaos, and to bring gradually towards perfection a race such as 'S competent to inhabit the surface of planets; the manager, so to speak, of the process of evolution. A being infinite in comparison to ourselves, but still a being with potenti- alities ahead, and with the possibility of advance, con- ditioned therefore to some extent by what we are conscious of as ‘‘ time.” 5 All these ambiguous terms are liable to enter into oar _ 1 Read to the Synthetic Society in London on is supplementary tu a couple of articles on Same author, in the Hibbert Journal for Oct and it states, for the purpose of discussion those articles were based. ; NO. 1747, VOL. 67] February 20. The paper “Science and Faith,” by the ober, 1902, and January, 1903 5 the salient arguments on which NATURE 595 present discussion, which concerns, | take it, fundamentally the intercommunion and interaction between the divine and the human, chiefly in the regions of volition and of action on the physical world. The influence of the divine on the human has been variously conceived in different ages, and various forms of difficulty have been at different times felt and suggested; but always some sort of analogy between human action and divine action has had perforce to be drawn in order to make the latter in the least intelligible to our conception. The latest form of difficulty is peculiarly deep-seated, and is a natural outcome of an age of physical science. It consists in denying the possibility of guidance or of control, not only on the part of a Deity, but on the part of every one of his creatures. It consists in pressing the laws of physics to what seems their logical and ultimate conclusion, in applying the conservation of energy without ruth or hesitation, and so excluding, as it has seemed, the possibility of free-will action, of guidance, of the self-deter- mined action of mind or living things upon matter, altogether. The appearance of control has been considered illusory, and has been replaced by a doctrine of pure mechanism, enveloping living things as well as inorganic nature. And those who for any reason have felt disinclined or un- able to acquiesce in this exclusion of non-mechanical agencies, whether it be by reason of faith and instinct, or by reason of direct experience and sensation to the contrary, have thought it necessary of late years to seek to undermine the foundations of physics, and to show that its much- vaunted laws rest upon a hollow foundation, that their exactitude is illusory, that the conservation of energy, for instance, has been too rapid an induction, that there may be ways of eluding many physical laws and of avoiding sub- mission to their sovereign sway. By this sacrifice it has been thought that the eliminated guidance and control can philosophically be reintroduced. This, I gather, may have been the chief motive of an attack on physics led by an American, J. B. Stallo, in a little book called the ‘‘ Concepts of Physics,’? which has at various times attracted some attention. But the worst ot that book was that Stallo was not really familiar with the teachings of the great physicists; he appears to have col- lected his information from popular writings, where the doctrines were very imperfectly laid down; so that most of the book is occupied in demolishing constructions of straw, unrecognisable by professed physicists except as caricatures at which they also might be willing to heave an occasional missile. The armoury pressed into the service of Prof. James Ward’s attack is of weightier calibre, and his criticism cannot in general be ignored as based upon inadequate acquaintance with the principles under discussion; but still his Gifford lectures raise an antithesis or antagonism be- tween the fundamental laws of mechanics and the possi- bility of any intervention, whether human or divine. If this antagonism is substantial it is serious; for natural philosophers will not be willing to concede fundamental in- accuracy or uncertainty about their recognised and long- established laws of motion, nor will they be prepared to tolerate any the least departure from the law of the con- servation of energy. Hence, if guidance and control can be admitted into the scheme by no means short of refuting or modifying those laws, there may be every expectation that the attitude of scientific men will be perennially hostile to the idea of guidance or control, and so to the efficacy of prayer, and to many another practical outcome of religious belief. It becomes therefore an important question to con- sider whether it is true that life or mind is incompetent to disarrange or interfere with matter at all, except as an automatic part of the machine, or rather except as an orna- mental appendage or dependent accessory of its working parts. Now experience—the same kind of experience as gave us our scheme of mechanics—shows us that to all appearance live animals certainly can direct and control mechanical energies to bring about desired and preconceived results, e.g. the Forth Bridge. Undoubtedly our body is material and can act on other matter, and its energy is derived from food, like any other self-propelled and fuel-fed mechanism ; the question is whether our will or mind or life can direct our body’s energy along certain channels to attain desired 596 ends; or whether direction, as well as amount, of activity is wholly determined by mechanical causes. Answers that might be given are :— ‘ ‘ (a) That life is a form of energy, and achieves its results by imparting to matter energy that would not otherwise be in existence, in which case life is a part of the machine, and as truly mechanical as all the rest. I hold that this is false ; because the essence of energy is that it can transform itself into other forms, remaining constant in quantity, whereas life does not transmute itself into any form of energy, nor does death affect the sum of energy in any known way. (b) That life is something outside the scheme of mechanics, although it can nevertheless touch or direct material motion, subject always to the laws of energy and all other mechanical laws; supplementing them, but contra- dicting or traversing them no whit. This I hold to be true; but in order to admit its truth we must recognise that triggers can be pulled—force exerted, and energy directed—without any introduction of energy from without ; in other words, that the energy of operations automatically going on in any active region of the universe —any region where transformation and transference of energy are continuously occurring, whether life be present or not—that this energy can by means of life be guided along paths that it would not automatically have taken, and can be directed so as to produce effects that would not other- wise have occurred; and this without any break or sus- pension of the laws of dynamics. That is where I part company with Prof. James Ward in the second volume of ‘‘ Naturalism and Agnosticism,’ not- withstanding that I feel sure that Mr. A. J. Balfour agrees with him. Those who take his view must either throw overboard the possibility of interference or guidance or willed action alto- gether, which is one alternative, or must assume that the laws of physics are only approximate and incomplete, which is the other alternative—the alternative favoured by Prof. James Ward. I wish to argue that neither of these alter- natives is necessary, and that there is a third or middle course of proverbial safety. On a stagnant and inactive world life would be admittedly powerless ; it could only make dry bones stir in such a world if itself were a form of energy; I do not suppose for a moment that it could be incarnated on such a world; it is only potent where inorganic energy is in constant process of transfer and transformation. In other words, life can generate no trace of energy, 1 can only guide it. Guidance is a passive exertion of force without doing work; as a quiescent rail can guide a train to its destin- ation, provided an active engine propels it. If a stone is rolling over a cliff, it is all the same to “ energy ’’ whether it fall on point A or point B of the beach. But at A it shall merely dent the sand, whereas at B it shall strike a de- tonator and explode a mine. Scribbling on a piece of paper results in a certain distribution of fluid and production of a modicum of heat; so far as energy is concerned, it is the same whether we sign Andrew Carnegie or Alexander Coppersmith, yet the one effort may land us in twelve months’ imprisonment or may build a library, according to circumstances, while the other achieves no result at all. John Stuart Mill used to say that our sole power over Nature was to move things; but strictly speaking we can- not do even that; we can only arrange that things shall move each other, and can determine by suitably preconceived plans the kind and direction of the motion that shall ensue at a given time and place. Provided always that we in- clude in this category of ‘‘ things ”’ our undoubtedly material bodies, muscles and nerves. ; But here is just the puzzle; at what point does will and determination enter into the scheme? Contemplate a brain cell, whence originates a certain nerve-process whereby energy is liberated with some resultant effect ; what pulled the detent in that cell which started the impulse? No doubt some chemical process, combination or dissociation, something atomic, occurred; what made it occur just then and in that way ? I answer, the same sort of prearrangement that deter- mined whether the stone from the cliff should fall on point A or point B—the same sort of process that guided the pen to make legible and effective writing instead of illegible NO. 1747, VOL. 67] NATURE [APRIL 23, 1903 and ineffective scrawls—the same kind of process that deter- mines when and where a trigger shall be pulled so as to secure the anticipated slaughter of a bird. So far as energy is concerned, the explosion and the trigger-pulling are the same identical operations, whether the aim be exact or random. It is vitality which directs; it is physical energy which is directed and controlled both in time and space. I lay stress upon a study of the nature and mode of human action of the interfering or guiding kind, because from it we must be led if we are to form any intelligent conception of divine action. True, it might be possible to deny human agency or power and yet to admit the possibility of divine agency, though that would be a nebulous and at least in- conclusive procedure; but if we are once constrained to admit the existence and reality of human guidance and control, we cannot deny the possibility of such powers and action to any higher being, nor even to any totality of things of which we are a part. The point immediately at issue turns upon the distinction between ‘‘ force ’’’ and ‘‘ energy.’’ These terms have been so popularly confused that it may be difficult always to discriminate them, but in physics they are absolutely dis- criminated. A force in motion is a ‘‘ power,’’ it does work and transfers energy from one body to another. But a force at rest—a mere statical stress, like that exerted by a pillar or a watershed—does no work, and alters no energy ; yet the one sustains a roof which would otherwise fall, thereby screening a portion of ground from vegetation; while the other deflects a rain-drop into the Danube or the Rhine. It will be said some energy is needed to pull a hair- trigger, to open the throttle valve of an engine, to press the button which shall shatter a rock. Granted; but the work-concomitants of that energy are all familiar, and equally present whether it be so arranged as to produce any predetermined effect or not. The opening of the throttle valve, for instance, demands just the same exer- tion, and results in just the same imperceptible transform- ation of fully-accounted-for energy, whether it be used to start a train in accordance with a time-table and the guard’s whistle, or whether it be pushed over as by the wind at random. The shouting of an order to a troop demands vocal energy, and produces its due equivalent of sound; but the intelligibility of the order is something superadded, and its result may be to make not sound or heat alone, but history. Energy is needed to perform any physical operation, but the energy is independent of the determination or arrange- ment. Guidance and control are not forms of energy, and their superposition upon the scheme of physics perturbs physical and mechanical laws no whit, though it may pro- foundly affect the consequences resulting from those same laws. The whole effort of civilisation would be futile if we could not guide the powers of nature. The powers are there, else we should be helpless; but life and mind are outside those powers, and can direct them along an organised course. And this same life or mind, as we know it, is accessible to petition, to affection, to pity, to a multitude of non- physical influences; and hence, indirectly, the little plot of physical universe which is now our temporary home has become amenable to truly spiritual control. My contention, then, is that whereas life cannot generate energy, it can exert guiding force, using the term force in its accurate mechanical sense; not ‘ power ”’ or anything active, but purely passive, directing—perpendicular to the direction of motion; the same kind of force which can con- Strain a stone to revolve in a circle instead of in a straight line; a force like that of a groove or slot or channel or “ guide.” ‘ I do not see how this action of life can be resented, except by those who deny life to be anything at all. If it exists, if it is not mere illusion, it appears to me to be something the full significance of which lies in another scheme of things, but which touches and interacts with this material universe in a certain way, building its particles into notable configur- ations for a time—oak, eagle, man—and then evaporating whence it came. This language is vague and figurative undoubtedly, but, I contend, appropriately so, for we have not yet a theory of life—we have not even a theory of the APRIL 23, 1903 | NATURE 597 essential nature of gravitation; discoveries are waiting to be made in this region, and it is absurd to suppose that we ‘are already in possession of all the data. We can wait ; but meanwhile we need not pretend that because we do not understand it, therefore life is an impotent nonentity. I suggest that the philosophic attitude is to observe and recognise its effects, both what it can and what it cannot achieve, and realise that our theory of it is at present extremely partial and incomplete. Summary. The chief contentions are :— (1) That the fundamental laws of physics, complete and accurate as they are, in no way exclude guidance of events by the agency of life or mind or other unknown influence. (2) That common experience shows that living creatures do exert such guidance, and further, that they are amenable to non-material or spiritual influences from each other. The dualistic form of this language is a necessity of expression, and inevitable for practical purposes; it is not intended to imply any ultimate or philosophic dualism. The writer finds himself unable, with his present knowledge, to use language appropriate to unification, which he regards as an aim rather than as an achievement. OLivER J. Lopce. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. At a meeting of the Senate of Dublin University on April 18, the degree of doctor in science was conferred honoris causa on Sir William Abney, K.C.B. Ar the graduation ceremony of the University of Glasgow on Tuesday, the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred in absentia on Sir William Gairdner, emeritus professor of medicine in the University ; and the same degree was re- ceived by Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B. ; Dr. Thomas Oliver, professor of physiology in the University of Durham; and Mr. Philip Watts, Director of Naval Construction at the Admiralty. Ar a meeting of the governors of the North Wales Uni- versity College, held on April 15, it was announced that subscriptions amounting to more than 15,000l. towards providing additional buildings had been promised, among the subscribers being the King and the Prince of Wales. It was also stated that the Drapers’ Company had offered 6ool., payable in three annual instalments, towards the maintenance of an electrical engineering department. Tue Technical Education Board of the London County Council is offering for competition five senior county scholarships, together with several senior exhibitions. The scholarships are of the value of gol. a year, and are tenable, in ordinary circumstances, for three years at universities, university colleges, or technical institutes, whether at home or abroad. They are confined to persons who are resident within the administrative county of London, and whose parents are in receipt of an income of not more than 4ool. a year from all sources. The scholarships are open to candidates under twenty-two years of age on June 1, pre- ference being given to candidates who are under nineteen years of age. No examination is held for these scholarships and exhibitions, which are awarded on consideration of the past record and future promise of the candidates. Candi- dates who desire to apply for the scholarships and ex- hibitions can obtain application forms from the secretary | of the Technical Education Board, 116 St. Martin’s Lane, W.C. These forms must be returned not later than Monday, May 11. FoL.towine the suggestion of the executive committee of the Nature-Study Exhibition Association, contained in their official report, that the work of the Association would in future be carried out more satisfactorily by local organisa- tions, certain delegated members of the Middlesex Field Club and of the Selborne Society are arranging to hold this year in London a Home Counties Nature-Study Ex- hibition. Lord Avebury is the chairman of the committee, and already the list of patrons is very representative. The honorary secretary, Mr. W. M. Webb, will be glad to receive at 20 Hanover Square, W., donations towards the expenses of the exhibition. NO. 1747, VOL. 67] Tue governing body of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, has decided, in consequence of the recommend- ation of the recent report on British forestry, to remodel and largely develop the teaching of forestry at the college in connection with the estate management branch of the curriculum. It has been resolved to create a new chair, to be entitled the chair of estate management and forestry, and to appoint thereto a special professor or lecturer who shall be required to devote all his time to the duties of the chair, and who shall have had good experience, not only of the management of woods in this country, but also of the continental system of sylviculture followed in the State and Communal forests of France and Germany. Tue Berlin correspondent of the Times states that on October 1 the courses of instruction are to be begun at the new military technical college which is to be established in Berlin. Not more than fifty officers, who must be of such an age that they will not attain the rank of captain while seconded for these instructional courses, will, in the first instance, be summoned to the capital. They will have to show a sufficient knowledge of mathematics and physics, and must produce proofs of their general military efficiency. The full course will last three years, but officers will have to satisfy the authorities at the end of each year that it is desirable that they should continue their studies. In con- nection with the military subjects of the courses of instruc- tion, lectures will be given on mathematics, physics, mechanics, electricity, chemistry, metallurgy, and surveying. Tue Senate of the University of London has approved the following scheme of courses in advanced botany, ex- tending over the years 1903-6, drawn up by the Board of Studies in Botany. The general idea is that each course should deal with a definite branch of botanical knowledge or with the more general aspects of the science, and should extend to about ten lectures :—1903-1904—The plant in re- lation to the soil, Mr. A. D. Hall; the Lycopsida, Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S.; the metabolic processes of plants, Prof. J. Reynolds Green, F.R.S. 1904-1905—Botany and its pre- sent problems, Sir William Thiselton-Dyer, F.R.S.; tne Ascomycetes, with especial reference to the typical fructi- fications, Mr. V. H. Blackman; respiration, Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S.; the Tubiflore, Dr. A. B. Rendle. 1905- 1906—Gymnosperms, Prof. F. W. Oliver; the British flora in its ecological relations, Mr. A. G. Tansley ; Bryophytes, Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S. REPRESENTATIVES from the principal universities and colleges of New York State recently met at Columbia University to determine the basis upon which the award of the two Rhodes scholarships for New York State should be made. It was decided, says Science, to entrust the administration and award of the scholarships to a com- mittee of three, to be elected by the heads of the colleges for men. The committee will consist of President Butler, President Schurman, and Chancellor Day. The conference decided that the conditions regulating the award shall be as follows:—The candidates for the scholarships to be eligible shall have satisfactorily completed the work of at least two years in some college of liberal arts and sciences in the State. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the upper age limit shall be twenty-four years at the time of entering upon the scholarship at Oxford. To be eligible, the candidate shall be a citizen of the United States and unmarried. SCIENTIFIC SERIAL. Journal of Botany, April.—Two brief notes by Mr. G. West and Mr. J. Cryer refer to a Polygala identified as amarella, Crantz, which was collected on the Great Scar Limestone near Grassington.—For the East Riding of Yorkshire Mr. W. Ingham publishes a list of mosses and hepatics.—A new fossil fungus, a species of Cerco- sporites, is described and figured by Mr. E. S. Salmon. It was obtained from the ‘‘ disodile ’’ beds in Sicily.—Mr. S. Moore, in the identification of some plants, chiefly Com- posite, from the Transvaal, Griqualand West and British East Africa, has found several new species, for which descriptions are given.—Mr. E. S. Linton supplies a list of “* Kent Rubi,’’ and Mr. W. G. Smith has a note on a new species of Collybia. 598 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1903 SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonbon. Royal Society.—‘‘A New Form of Self-restoring Co- herer.’’ By Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. | Communicated verbally March 12, received in manuscript March 18. The essential part of the receiving instrument now always employed in the system of Hertzian telegraphy, which Dr. Muirhead and the author had brought out and always now employed, and which their assistant, Mr. E. E. Robinson, had helped to work out, might be described as a development of the mercury form of coherer described some years ago by Lord Rayleigh, and again in a modified fashion by Mr. Rollo Appleyard. In Lord Rayleigh’s form this consisted of a pool of mercury cut across with a paraffined knife, and the two half pools connected to a battery and key. As soon as the key was depressed so as to throw a few volts on to the intervening film of oil, the electrostatic pressure seemed to squeeze the oil out, and the pools of mercury became one. The pressure exerted by a few volts on a film of barely soap- bubble thickness is very considerable, and comparable to a ton per square inch. Needle points dipping in oil and mercury were tried as practical coherers, the points being pulled out electro- magnetically every time a signal arrived. Rotating forms of contact for automatic decoherence were also tried in various forms, and ultimately the method took the form of a rotating sharp-edged steel wheel, about half an inch in diameter, constantly touching a pool or column of mercury on which was a thin layer of oil. No effective contact occurs between the wheel and the mercury, not- withstanding the immersion, because of the film of oil; but the slightest difference of potential applied to the two, even less than one volt, is sufficient to break the film down and complete a circuit, which, however, the rotation of the wheel instantaneously breaks again. A spark is so sudden that for its purposes the wheel is for the instant virtually stationary, and yet the decohesion is so rapid that signals can be received in very rapid succession. The definiteness of the surfaces and of the intervening layer make the instrument remarkably trustworthy, and the thin- ness of the insulating film makes it very sensitive. In fact a single cell of a battery cannot be employed as a de- tector, because it is of too high a voltage for the film to stand. A fraction of a volt is employed, by a potentiometer device—usually something like one-tenth of a volt is adjusted to suit circumstances. the coherer direct on a low resistance recorder, and the record on the strip shows every character of the arriving pulses, and exhibits any defect in the signalling. Provided that every joint and contact, except the one intended to be filmed, is thoroughly good, the coherer in this form is so definite and satisfactory that it becomes safe to say that the only outstanding defects are those which occur at the send- ing end. The signals are picked up and recorded precisely as they are emitted, as has been tested by intercalating a siphon recorder in a much diluted tapping circuit at the sending end, so as to get a record with which to make comparison. The traces obtained at the two ends are identical to a surprising degree. The mercury level has an adjustment which is easily One precaution is to keep the rim of the wheel | made. and it | The battery acts through | clear of dust, which is done by a cork or leather pad pressed | lightly against it by a spring. The instrument is not at all sensitive to tremor, and re- quires no particular delicacy of adjustment. The wheel has to be positive, the mercury negative. A telephone in circuit, through a transformer or other- wise, affords an easy method of occasionally discriminating the signals by ear. The speed of the wheel gives another convenient adjustment to suit various circumstances. A simple laboratory form of the instrument, driven by a thread from Morse clockwork, can be placed in circuit with a simple form of potentiometer and a siphon recorder, and used for Hertz-wave investigation purposes. It is connected with the collecting areas through a transformer, the coils of the recorder being in that case shunted by means of a condenser, so as to allow the full effect of the impulse to be felt at the film without having to overcome anything of the nature of a choke coil or other obstruction, in cases where sensitiveness is desirable. NO. 1747, VOL. 67] | average being 48-5, of which 106 were severe. | paper deals with (1) the number of gales experienced on the Royal Astronomical Society, April 8.—Piof. H. H. Turner, president, in the chair.—Prof. Sampson gave an account of the Almucantar erected under his supervision at the Durham Observatory, and described the instrumental errors, and methods of adjustment of the instrument, and the observations made with it during 1902.—The Astro- nomer Royal exhibited photographs of the recent sun- spots, and curves showing the terrestrial magnetic disturb- ances which had accompanied the outbreak of solar activity. In the course of the discussion Prof. Turner showed a photo- graph of solar facula, &c., taken by Prof. G. E. Hale with the spectroheliograph at the Yerkes Observatory.—Mr- F. A. Bellamy read a paper on the new star in Gemini found by Prof. Turner from an examination of astro- graphic plates taken at the Oxford University Observatory. There was no trace of the star on plates taken February 21 and 28, but on March 16 it appeared as of the seventh magnitude. Prof. Pickering had since examined the plates taken at Harvard Observatory, and found an image of the star on a photograph of March 6, though there was no trace of it on earlier plates. On March 6 the Nova was of the fifth magnitude: it had therefore considerably diminished in brightness when found at Oxford, and appeared to be still slowly becoming fainter. The spectrum showed many bright lines.—Father Goetz gave an account of observations proposed to be made at a new observatory to be established in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, and of which he was about to take charge.—Prof. Michie Smith described the new observatory at Kodaikanal, in southern India, illustrated by photographs of the observatory and_ its surroundings, and gave a brief account of the observations | being made there. Entomological Society, April 1.—Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Mr. M. Jacoby exhibited specimens of Rhagiosoma madagascariensis, Heyd., from Madagascar, and Carpophagus Banksiae, McLeay, and Mecy- nodera coxalgica, Boisd., from Australia. In appearance they presented many characteristics not usually associated with Phytophagous Coleoptera.—Mr. C. P. Pickett exhibited specimens of Dilina tiliae bred from Essex pupa, showing the effects of forcing.—Mr. W. J. Lucas exhibited lantern slides of the specimen of Hemianax ephippiger, and of the Orthetrum species attacked by an Asilid fly, shown by Mr. R. McLachlan at the last meeting.—Dr. T. A. Chapman read contributions to the life-history of Orina (Chrysochloa) tristis, var. smaragdina.—Mr. F. Enock read a _ paper, illustrated with lantern slides, on the life-history of Cicindela campestris.—Sir George Hampson read a paper on Apoprogonia hesperioides, a remarkable new lepidop- terous insect from Zululand. He said that the genus must be referred to the Euschemonide, which is represented by the single species Euschemon rafflesiae, Westw., from Australia. In what quarter of the globe the family origin- ated it was impossible to say, but the appearance of the species in question suggested that it was a survival of the scattered remnant of the Antarctic fauna. It was, however, most remarkable that the genus should occur in Africa and Australia alone. Royal Meteorological Society, April 15.—Captain D- Wilson-Barker, president, in the chair.—Mr. F. J. Brodie read a paper on the prevalence of gales on the coasts of the British Islands during the thirty years 1871-1900, being a continuation of a paper on the same subject which he com- municated to the Society last year. The total number of gales dealt with during this period was 1455, the yearly The present west, north, south, and east coasts respectively, (2) the prevalence of gales at different times in the year, and (3) the mean direction from which gales blow on various parts of our coasts.—A paper on the duration of rainfall, by Mr. J. Baxendell, was read by the secretary. In this paper the author refers to various patterns of self-recording rain- gauges, and points out the defects inherent to them, and also states that it is hardly possible to determine from them the rate at which rain falls, especially in very small quanti- ties. From a Halliwell’s self-recording rain-gauge which had been in operation at Southport during 1902, the total duration of rainfall for the year was 6401 hours. The author showed that the hourly duration values give a@ APRIL 23, 903] INA THO PCE, 599 striking curve of diurnal variation, the early morning: maxi- mum being most pronounced; the afternoon one is also present, but is much less protracted and of far less ampli- tude than the former. Minima occur about mid-day and in the evening. The author concluded by giving an account of Halliwell’s float pattern self-recording rain-gauge. Mathematical Society, April 16.—Dr. E. W. Hobson, vice-president, in the chair.__Mr. C. S. Jackson exhibited the logo-logarithmic slide-rule constructed from a design prepared by Colonel Dunlop and himself, and gave an account of the history of the invention. In principle it goes back to the early part of the nineteenth century.—The following papers were communicated :—Prof. A. Lodge, Relations between points (in a plane) having conjugate complex coordinates. This is an addition to a paper read at the meeting in January, 1903.—Prof. A. E. H. Love, Note on exact solutions of the problem of the bending of an elastic plate under pressure. The method given by Michell in Proceedings, vol. xxxi., yields exact solutions of the problem, which can be determined completely when the plate is bent by uniform pressure applied to one face, or by pressure varying uniformly over the face, and the (clamped) edges are circular or elliptic. For any form of clamped edge the deflexions produced by such pressures are deter- mined by the same differential equations and boundary con- ditions as arise in the ordinary approximative theory. ‘Lhe principles on which the ordinary theory is founded are true to a certain order of approximation only. The small cor- rections which must be made do not affect much the calcu- lation of the strength of the plate to resist bending, but they account rationally for the existence of the shearing stresses and of the tension (analogous to that of a mem- brane) by which the pressure is balanced. Under uniform pressure the median plane of the plate is unstrained, but under varying pressure this surface undergoes a small ex- tension.—Mr. E. T. Whittaker, On those functions which are defined by definite integrals with not more than two singularities. Among the functions included in this class are the Bessel functions, the error-function, the logarithm- integral, the cosine-integral. A definite integral containing two numerical parameters is discussed, and it is shown how, by specialisation of the parameters, the above-men- tioned functions and many others can be obtained. The functions defined by the definite integral satisfy a linear differential equation of the second order which is a general- isation of Bessel’s equation; they possess Asymptotic ex- pansions, and are connected by recurrence-formulz and integral-formulz analogous to those which hold in the case of Bessel functions. Attention is drawn to new functions included in the class defined by the general definite integral. —Mr. H. MacColl, On the validity of certain formule. The paper contains a criticism of certain formule in the algebra of logic.—Mr. A. Young, On covariant types.— Mr. R. F. Gwyther, On the deduction of Schlomilch’s series from a Fourier series, and its development into a definite integral. The paper presents a demonstration of the con- nection of Schlémilch’s expansion of an arbitrary function in a series of Bessel functions of order zero with Fourier’s expansion of the same function in terms of cosines. Both expansions can be represented by the same surface integral, and the one is transformed into the other by change of the variables in the double integral.—Messrs. H. W. Richmond and T. Stuart, The inflexion-conic of a trinodal quartic curve. It is known that the six points of inflexion of a trinodal quartic curve lie on a conic. The paper contains two simple proofs of this theorem, and the equation of the conic is obtained explicitly in various systems of coordinates. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, February 16.—Lord M’Laren in the chair.— Dr. J. Beard communicated a paper on the embryology of tumours, in which, after a critical examination of the theories which had been brought forward, he gave a detailed description of his own views. The continuity of germ cells from generation to generation was now becoming generally accepted among embryologists. The fertilised egg did not, however, give rise directly to an embryo, but rather to a set of germ cells, every one of which had the power, with appropriate environment, of developing into an embryo. NO. 1747, VOL. 67 | The number of germ cells in a particular species was always some power of two; for example, eight in the frog, thirty-two in the lamprey, 128 in the dog-fish, &c. Of these one went to form the embryo, and the remainder migrated or wandered about in the embryonic body to furnish the foundation of the reproductive products.