November ii, 1897] 



NA TURE 



II 



solution. The rays had bjen found to possess a dissociating, or, 

 more strictly, an ionising effect on the molecules of gases 

 through which they passed, with the result that electrified bodies 

 placed in an atmosphere thus affected were discharged. Further, 

 it was now generally admitted that the rays were not themselves 

 homogeneous — that they were of many kinds, differing in pene- 

 trative power, the quality of the mixture depending on the state 

 of the vacuum as well as on the form of the tube and the nature 

 of the emitting surface. The relations between the Rcintgen 

 and the kathode rays had been investigated, and important con- 

 tributions to our knowledge had been made by Mr. A. A. 

 Campbell Swinton, by M. Perrin, and by several Italian in- 

 vestigators. Many speculations had been put forward as to the 

 physical nature of the rays themselves. Crookes, Tesla, and 

 others held them to consist of flights of minute atoms or hyper- 

 atoms ; on the other hand, there was an hypothesis that they were 

 merely an extreme sort of ultra-violet light, consisting of trans- 

 verse waves of excessively minute wave length. Jaumann and, 

 apparently, Rontgen regarded them as due to longitudinal 

 vibrations, while Sir George Stokes had put forward the view 

 that they might be transverse waves, not in regular trains, but 

 consisting of innumerable solitary waves. Another wide 

 field of research was opened up by the discovery of other 

 analogous kinds of rays. That the salts of uranium, glow- 

 worms, fireflies, and sticks of phosphorus should be able 

 without any electrical stimulation to give out rays that 

 could produce photographic action through substances that were 

 opaque to every known kind of light was very suggestive, but 

 such rays were not Rontgen rays, and obeyed different laws. It 

 was clear, he concluded, that their little Society had an abundant 

 field. 



A SMALL marine laboratory was opened at Cullercoats on 

 the 2 1st ult. by Principal Gurney, of the Durham College of 

 Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. It will form a most useful ad- 

 junct to the biological department of the college, as well as a 

 centre for the investigations which have been, and are still 

 being carried on by the Northumberland Sea Fisheries Com- 

 mittee. The district ovves the laboratory to the public-spirited 

 generosity of John Dent, Esq., J P., the Vice-Chairman of the 

 Committee, who has already made excellent contributions to the 

 knowledge of the local condition of the in-shore waters by the 

 trawling excursions which have been carried on since 1892 — the 

 year after the three-mile restriction was adopted. The laboratory 

 was formally handed over to the Sea Fisheries Committee, to be 

 worked in conjunction with the Durham College of Science, 

 Mr. Meek being placed in charge of the scientific operations. 

 A large company assembled, representing the Sea Fisheries 

 Committee, the College of Science, the Natural History Society, 

 and the County Council. 



The inaugural meeting of the seventeenth session of the 

 Institution of Junior Engineers took place in London on Friday 

 last, when Sir Alexander Binnie, the retiring president, pre- 

 sented the Institution premium to Mr. W. R. Beckton for his 

 paper on " The Protection of Buildings from Fire," after which 

 an address, on " Some .Aspects of Railway Work," was delivered 

 by Mr. J, A. F. Aspinall, the newly-elected president. 



The twenty-fifth anniversary meeting of the American Public 

 Health Association was held at Philadelphia, October 26-29, 

 Dr. Henry B. Horlbeck, of Charleston, S.C., presiding. Dr. 

 Irving A. Watson, of Concord, N. H., who has for many years 

 acted as secretary, resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. C. O. 

 Probst, of Columbus, O. Among the subjects to which special 

 attention was given were tuberculosis, yellow fever, typhoid 

 fever, and purification of water supply. A sanitary exhibition 

 was held in connection with the meeting. 



NO. 1463. VOL. 57] 



The British Medical Journal understands that Dr. Wright, 

 the Professor of Pathology at Netley, has had an interview with 

 the Commander-in-Chief on the subject of immunising our troops 

 by vaccination against typhoid. Prof. Wright inoculated all the 

 last batch of candidates for the Indian Medical Service, as well 

 as himself and Surgeon- Major Semple. Lord Wolseley's views 

 on the desirability of affording the protection by vaccination 

 against typhoid to our troops are not yet announced. Any 

 measure that gives a fair chance of mitigating the ravages of 

 enteric among our young soldiers in India is worth a trial, 

 provided no immediate danger or risk is incurred thereby, and no 

 such danger attends the Inoculations made in the manner devised 

 by Prof. Wright. 



At a recent meeting of the New York Zoological Society, it 

 was reported by the executive committee that the plans for the 

 zoological park are practically complete, and that it is imperative 

 that the remainder of the first 20,000/. of the building fund 

 should be subscribed at once in order that the plans may be 

 submitted to the Park Bjard without delay. 



Mr. E. E. Howell, of Washington, according to Science, 

 has received from the U.S. Government Board of Control an 

 order to construct a relief map of the Yellowstone National 

 Park, for exhibition at the coming Exposition at Omaha. This 

 model, which will be 6 by 6 ^ feet in dimensions, will be based 

 upon the surveys made by the U.S. Geological Survey, and will 

 represent the geology as well as the topography of the park. 

 The scale will be one inch to the mile, and there will be no 

 vertical exaggeration. The map will, it is said, be very accurate 

 and complete, far surpassing the one made some years ago. 



It is stated that there will shortly be placed on the streets of 

 Paris a number of electric cabs, similar to those with which 

 Londoners are now so familiar. One of the largest Paris cab 

 companies is said to have ordered the construction of 100 of the 

 vehicles. 



The Guildford Natural History Society have decided to 

 present a petition to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, 

 praying that Walmer Forest may be reserved as a sanctuary for 

 wild birds, in which they, their nests, and eggs, may remain 

 unmolested throughout the year ; that it may not be let at 

 any time for game preserving, or for any purpose inimical to 

 bird life ; and that it may remain in perpetuity as a national 

 njemorial to the great outdoor naturalist — Gilbert White of 

 Selborne, whose observations were made in its neighbourhood. 



The Journal of the Society of Arts for the current week 

 publishes a list of the Society's lecture arrangements for the 

 session which is to open on the 17th instant, and from this we 

 extract the following information. Before Christmas a lecture 

 will be delivered by Prof. James Dwuglas, on " Progress 

 of Metallurgy and Metal Mining in America during the 

 last Half Century" ; and there will be one by Dr. S. Rideal, 

 on " The Purification of Sewage by Bacteria." Among the 

 papers that will be given after Christmas we notice the follow- 

 ing : — " The Projection of Luminous Objects in Space," by 

 Eric Bruce; ''Aeronautics," by Captain B. Baden-Powell; 

 " The Recent History of Papermaking," by Clayton Beadle ; 

 "The Preparation of Meat Extracts," by C. R. Valentine; 

 " Children's Sight," by R. Brudenell Carter. Courses of 

 Cantor Lectures are announced as follows: — " Gutta-Percha," 

 by Dr. E. F. A. Obach ; " The Thermo-Chemistry of the 

 Bessemer Process," by Prof. W. N. Hartley ; " India-Rubber," 

 by Dr. D. Morris; "Electric Traction," by Prof. Carus 

 Wilson. Two lectures, suitable for a juvenile audience, will be 

 delivered on January 5 and 12, by Prof. William Ramsay, on 

 "Fire." 



