Ixxvi. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



public. The accidents are said to be less numerous, but are 

 sufficiently so to class aviation still as a very hazardous 

 pursuit. Some advance has been made towards automatic 

 controls which keep the aeroplane stable and prevent the 

 upsetting effects of unexpected currents of air, bub there 

 appears still much to be desired. There seems to be much 

 difficulty in the satisfactory application of mathematics to 

 the science of aeroplane stability, and what has been accom- 

 plished in this respect has been chiefly the result of experi- 

 ment. A new record of height has been established, a French 

 aviator having reached an altitude of 20,300 feet. The 

 International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, 

 instituted in consequence of the loss of the Titanic, lays 

 special stress on three points namely, a service for the 

 observation of icebergs, wireless telegraphy on ships above a 

 certain size, and an adequate supply of lifeboats, with con- 

 venient means of launching them on either side of the ship. 

 Some interesting experiments made on the reciprocal attrac- 

 tion of two ships passing near to each other, show that this 

 constitutes a very appreciable source of danger, as the 

 tendency to collision is considerable, especially when the 

 speed is low. Great trouble has been experienced from the 

 ravages of the Teredo in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, 

 many kinds of wood having been tried without any success. 

 Now the remedy has been found in ferro -concrete, which is 

 unaffected by any boring animal. The largest turbo- 

 generator yet made has been built at Newcastle-on-Tyne for 

 Chicago, and gives excellent results. The President of the 

 Engineering Section of the British Association dealt chiefly 

 in his Address with the Electrification of Railways, which he 

 advocated, giving many details of cases in which it had been 

 adopted. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



The subject of Geography is a most comprehensive one ; 

 but, as a matter of fact, most of the items which 

 might be treated of under it fall more naturally into 





