Aug. 3, 1876] 



NATURE 



299 



the chain of the extinct craters of the Dome Mountains, which 

 run from south to north, having Puy-de-D6me in the centre. 



The livery of the Musician's Company, with the freedom of the 

 City of London, was appropriately conferred on Sir Henry 

 Cole, at the dinner on Tuesday. In presenting the honour, 

 the Master, Mr. William Chappell, F.S.A., traced Sir Henry's 

 career with deserved appreciation. Sir Henry was educated at 

 Christ's Hospital. His first public service was as assistant-keeper 

 of the Public Records, where he paved the way to the establish- 

 ment of the General Record Office. A second public service was 

 the energetic assistance rendered by him to the establishment of 

 penny postage. He gained one of the four prizes of 100/. offered 

 by the Treasury for suggestions to develop Sir Rowland Hill's 

 plan, and continued his aid to Sir Rowland until his object was 

 fully attained. He had himself accepted the office of Secretary 

 to the Mercantile Committee on Postage, and was thus instru- 

 mental in furthering the success of a measure which he had helped 

 to carry. Sir Henry's services to Art and Science in this country 

 are well known to every one . The exhibitions of art manufac- 

 tures which commenced about the year 1846, at the rooms of the 

 Society of Arts, were projected and organised by Sir Henry 

 Cole. These annual displays were designed to lead to national 

 exhibitions of arts and manufactures every fifth year. The first 

 of this series would have taken place in 1851, but the plan was 

 developed into the great exhibition of that year. Mr. Cole was 

 one of the executive committee of that famous and most success- 

 ful exhibition, and received the honosr of Companionship of the 

 Order of the Bath at its conclusion. In the following year he 

 was invited by the Government, through Earl Granville, to 

 improve the system of the schools of design, and he was thus 

 instrumental in establishing the Science and Art Department, of 

 which he was at first senior secretary, and afterwards inspector- 

 general. To the pecuniary success of the great exhibition in Hyde 

 Park, which sprang out of Sir Henry Cole s projection of one 

 of more limited character, we are, as we showed in a recent 

 article, mainly indebted for the prfsent magnificent estab- 

 lishments at South Kensington. In i860 Sir Henry was 

 appointed General Superintendent of the South Kensington 

 Museum, and also acted as Secretary of the Science and Art 

 Department, under the Committee of Council on Education. 

 In this capacity we know that he created, or was directly re- 

 sponsible for, the system of Science and Art Schools which by 

 general consent are acknowledged to have done so much good 

 already for the country. In 1873 he retired from office at South 

 Kensington, after fifty years of public service. Sir Henry's 

 services were acknowledged by her Majesty in conferring on him 

 the rank of Knight Commander of the Bath about two years 

 after his retirement. The last honour which has been conferred 

 upon him is most appropriate, as we have said, and assuredly 

 well deserved. 



On Tuesday a deputation from the British Medical Asso- 

 ciation waited on the Home Secretary for the purpose of laying 

 before him several resolutions recently passed unanimously 

 at a meeting of the medical profession in London. On be- 

 half of the deputaiion Dr. Hutchinson handed in the fol- 

 lowing resolutions : — 1st. Proposed by Dr. Andrew Clark 

 and seconded by Dr. Pavy, "That this meeting, although 

 fully recognising the improvements in the Bill of Lord Car- 

 narvon, is still strongly of opinion that should it become law 

 the progress of science would be most seriously hindered, and 

 the interests both of animals and man much prejudiced." 2nd. 

 Proposed by Dr. Barnes, and seconded by Dr. Wm. Adams — 

 " That this meeting would urge upon the promoters of the Bill 

 that legislation on this subject should be abandoned for the pre- 

 sent session." 3rd. Proposed by Dr. Stewart, and seconded by 

 Mr. Ernest Hart— "That in the event of its being thought 

 necessary for proposed legislation in the future, this meeting 



would suggest, as an alternative measure, first an Act for the 

 simple registration of persons licensed, and secondly by the Act 

 dealing with the whole subject of cruelty to animals." Mr. Cross 

 accepted the resolutions in question, and thanked the deputation 

 for the expression of their views. A long and technical discus- 

 sion on the various clauses of the Bill ensued between the Home 

 Secretary and the deputation. 



Early this year there was' organised at Boston, U.S., an 

 "Appalachian Mountain Club" for the advancement of the 

 interests of those who visit the mountains of New England and 

 adjacent regions, whether for the purpose of scientific research 

 or summer recreation. The Club will carry on a systematic 

 exploration of the mountains of New England and adjacent 

 regions, publishing its results from time to time, and will collect 

 books, maps, photographs, sketches, and all available informa- 

 tion of interest or advantage to frequenters of the mountains. 

 It will also encourage the opening of new paths, clearing of 

 summits from which views may be obtained, and other improve- 

 ments. _ At the same time the Club will encourage the study of 

 comparative geography in general, opening its meetings to con- 

 tributors on zoological and botanical geography, geology, topo- 

 graphy, hydrography, travel, and exploration. The Club is 

 divided into five sections or departments of work — Natural His- 

 tory, Topography, Art, Exploration, Improvement, each with 

 its superintending "Councillor;" Prof. Sterry Hunt is Coun- 

 cillor in Natural History, while the President of the new 

 Society is Prof. E. C. Pickering. The publications of the Club 

 will be very comprehensive and exhaustive ; under the title of 

 Appalachia, the first part of its journal lies before us. It is 

 mostly occupied with details connected with the formation of the 

 Club, but also contains some interesting papers already read at 

 the meetings. Among these we may mention a paper by Prof. 

 C. H. Hitchcock on the "Atlantic System of Mountains ; " 

 another by Mr. S. W. Holman on " Two New Forms of Moun- 

 tain Barometer," and a third on "A New Map of the White 

 Mountains," by Mr. J. B. Henck, besides the reports of the 

 Councillors for the spring of this year. Altogether great things 

 may be expected from this new club. The Secretary's address is 

 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass. 



The " Results of the Meteorological and IMagnetical Obser- 

 vations for 1875 " at Stonyhurst College Observatory, gives very 

 complete summaries of the monthly means and extremes, which 

 are made more valuable by being compared w ith the results ot 

 the past twenty-eight years. To these summaries is appended a 

 discussion on the hours of occurrence of the daily maxima and 

 minima of temperature. As regards the maxima, the mean for 

 the year is 2 p.m., the monthly extremes being mid-day in 

 December and 4 p. m. in June and July. On the other hand, 

 the minima show two maximum periods of occurrence, one from 

 4 to 5 A.M., and the other at midnight. The excessively fre- 

 quent occurrence of the lowest night temperature at midnight, 

 which is given at 747, whereas the largest number for any other 

 hour is 307 at 5 a.m., and the double period of the curve 

 (Plate I.), not being in accordance with the physics of the ques- 

 tion, suggest that a faulty method of discussion has been adopted. 

 Evidently, as regards both maxima and minima, each daily 

 period of twenty-four hours has been considered as beginning at 

 midnight, whereas each daily period for the minimum tempera- 

 tures should extend from mid-day to mid-day. Hence the un- 

 satisfactoriness of the discussion, the only remedy for which is 

 to begin the day, as regards the maximum temperatures, at mid- 

 night, thus including in each day the whole time the sun is above 

 the horizon ; and as regards the minimum temperatures, at mid- 

 day, so as to include in each day the whole time from sun-down 

 to sun-rise. 



We learn that the Circular of the Committee of the R. A.S. 

 requesting drawings of Jupiter to be made at southern observa- 



