228 Anniversary Meeting. [No'v. 30, 



Among the most interesting scientific events of the past year was 

 the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Faraday by 

 the two Faraday Lectures in the Eoyal Institution last June. In the 

 first of these, which was delivered by Lord Eayleigh, under the 

 presidency of the Prince of Wales, an old pupil of Faraday's and now 

 Vice-Patron of the Eoyal Institution, a general survey of Faraday's 

 work during his fifty-four years' connection with the Eoyal Institu- 

 tion was given. Naturally, a large part of the lecture was devoted to 

 magnetism and electricity and to electro-magnetic induction ; but it 

 contained also much that must have been surprising to the audience, 

 scarcely prepared to be told, as they were told by Lord Eayleigh, that 

 " Faraday's mind was essentially mathematical in its qualities," and 

 that, particularly in his acoustical work, he had made many very 

 acute observations of physical phenomena, of a kind to help in guiding 

 the mathematician to the solution of difficult and highly interesting 

 problems of mathematical dynamics, and in some cases actually to 

 give him the solution surprisingly different from what might have 

 been expected even by highly qualified mathematical investigators. 



The other Faraday Lecture, given by Professor Dewar, was a 

 splendid realisation of Faraday's anticipations regarding the liquefac- 

 tion of the "permanent gases," according to which no extreme of 

 pressure might be capable of liquefying hydrogen or oxygen at 

 ordinary temperature, while a very moderate pressure might suffice 

 to liquefy them if their temperatnres could be sufficiently lowered. 

 Professor Dewar actually showed liquid oxygen in a glass tumbler, 

 not boiling or in a state of commotion like a tumbler of soda-water, 

 but quietly and without any sensible motion keeping itself cool by its 

 own evaporation, while it rapidly formed a thick jacket of hoar-frost 

 on the outside of the vessel by condensation of watery vapour from the 

 surrounding atmosphere. The surprise and delight of the audience 

 reached a climax when liquid oxygen was poured from one open 

 vessel to another before their eyes. 



A matter of great importance in respect to the health of the com- 

 munity was submitted to the Eoyal Society by the London County 

 Council, in a letter of date May 1, 1891, asking for information and 

 suggesting investigation regarding the vitality of microscopic patho- 

 genic organisms in large bodies of water, such as rivers which are 

 sources of water-supply and which are exposed to contamination. 

 After some correspondence it was agreed, between the County Council 

 and the Council of the Eoyal Society, to enter upon an investigation, 

 the expense of which was to be defrayed partly by the London County 

 Council and partly by the Eoyal Society out of the Government Grant 

 for Scientific Eesearch. When we consider how much of disease 

 and death is due to contaminated water, we must feel that it is 

 scarcely possible to overestimate the vital importance of the pro- 



