276 



NA TURE 



[J 



\NUARY 20, 1898 



under certain conditions, the assayer's balance may some- 

 times oscillate and quickly chang^e its zero is understood. 

 Possibly these air currents may indirectly have led to the 

 abandonment of the Cavendish experiment at Cambridge, 

 and explain why a very well-constructed horizontal 

 pendulum is never quite at rest. 



One very important piece of knowledge for the seis- 

 mologist lies in the fact that these so-called tremors 

 ■can be stopped by using covering cases through which 

 air can circulate, but above all by working in a room 

 that is almost draughty with ventilation. Sometimes a 

 room will be found which it seems impossible to cure, 

 whilst in the adjoining one, for reasons not quite clear, 

 the same instrument will always remain at rest. 



It seems as if there existed in rooms which may be 

 fairly similar in appearance slight physical differences 

 •of the walls, the floors and ceilings, as, for example, 

 with regard to dampness ; so that in one room, in con- 

 sequence of differences of temperature, power of 

 ■desiccation and other properties between the different 

 boundaries, we may have a slow circulation of air estab- 

 lished which is inappreciable in an adjoining room. 

 Whether this is the true explanation of the seismic bogey 

 remains for more carefyl demonstration, but already the 

 writer has learned that with draughty surroundings an 

 instrument will remain at rest, whilst when this condition 

 is neglected, what is apparently a slow and steady cir- 

 culation of the atmosphere will cause motion. We yet 

 wish to know why these troublesome visitors appear with 

 such regularity at certain hours and seasons (see Fig. 9). 

 One result of what we have learned is that now hundreds 

 of feet of bromide paper have been saved from blacken- 

 ing, and unfelt earthquakes, which otherwise would have 

 been eclipsed, have been clearly recorded. 



In the above few notes all that is attempted is to give 

 a scanty outline of the more important branches of work 

 which at present attract the attention of the working 

 seismologist. Other investigations which it is desirable 

 to make relate to the irregular changes in level which 

 are completed in a few minutes or several days, and 

 above all those grander movements, the results of which 

 are e.xhibited on the surface of our earth in the formation 

 of continental domes and mountain ranges, together 

 with those activities hidden from our view, which have 

 been referred to as processes of secular flow and crush 

 — in all of which we see the parentage of the earthquake. 



J. Milne. 



THE CAMBRIDGE EXPEDITION TO TORRES 



STRAITS AND BORNEO. 

 "TOURING the preparation of a monograph on the 

 -L^ anthropology of the Torres Straits islanders, I 

 found the notes I had previously made were unsatisfac- 

 tory on so many points that I decided to go out again in 

 order to render them as complete as possible, though 

 probably a great deal is by this time irretrievably lost. 



A Committee of prominent members of the University 

 of Cambridge is co-operating with me, and part of the 

 cost of the expedition will be defrayed by a grant from the 

 Worts' Fund, which is administered bythe University- 



The expedition will be almost entirely anthropological 

 in character, but the land flora and fauna will not be 

 neglected, and certain geographical observations will also 

 be made. 



The other members of the expedition are Dr. W. 

 McDougall, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, 

 and of St. Thomas's Hospital, London ; Dr. C. S. Myers, 

 Caius College, Cambridge, and St. Bartholomew's 

 Hospital, London ; Mr. S. H. Ray, Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, 

 St. John's College, Cambridge, Lecturer on Experimental 

 Psychology at Cambridge and at University College, 

 London ; Dr. C. G. Seligmann, of St. Thomas's Hospital ; 

 and Mr. A. Wilkin, of King's College, Cambridge. 



NO. T473, VOL. 57] 



The work of the expedition will be distributed as 

 follows : — I shall be responsible for the observations on 

 the physical characters of the natives ; their language 

 and phonology will be studied by Mr. Ray. Mr. Ray, 

 who has a worldwide reputation as an authority on the 

 languages of Oceania generally, has already made a very 

 careful study of the languages of Torres Straits ("A 

 Study of the Languages of Torres Straits, with Vocabu- 

 laries and Grammatical Notes," Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. 

 (3), ii., 1893, P- 463; iv., 1897, p. 119). Drs. Rivers, 

 McDougall and Myers will initiate a new departure in 

 practical anthropology by studying comparative experi- 

 mental psychology in the field. They will test the senses 

 and sensibility of the natives a^. far as it will be possible 

 un.ier the local conditions, and make whatever observa- 

 tions they can on the mental processes of the natives. 

 Dr. Myers will also pay especial attention to native music, 

 and I shall continue my researches on the decorative art of 

 British New Guinea. 



The hygienic and medical aspects of anthropology will 

 be studied by the four qualified medical men. The 

 sociology of the natives, including such subjects as re- 

 lationships, ownership, land tenure, descent of property, 

 and the like, will be investigated by Mr. Wilkin. All the 

 old legends that can be collected will be recorded, and an 

 endeavour will be made to recover the old beliefs of the 

 people. Other departments of anthropology will also be 

 studied. Dr. Seligmann will act as naturalist to the 

 expedition ; one of his duties will be to identify all the 

 animals and plants which are utilised by the natives in 

 any way. 



Besides the ordinary instruments for anthropometry, 

 there will be a small, carefully selected, collection of 

 apparatus for experimental psychology. Two mechanical 

 phonographs will be taken to record the native songs, 

 music and languages. There will also be a complete 

 photographic equipment, including a cinematograph for 

 reproducing native dances, ceremonies, and certain 

 characteristic actions. 



The main object of the expedition is to continue and, 

 as far as practicable, complete the earlier observations 

 made in Torres Straits ; but, for the sake of comparison, 

 it is hoped that observations will be made on Australians, 

 Papuans, Melanesians and Polynesians, as opportunities 

 present themselves. After spending a few months in the 

 Straits a short visit will be paid to the mainland of 

 New Guinea, in order to trace the relationship of the 

 islanders. 



Some of the party will then have to return home ; 

 but the remainder have accepted a very generous and 

 enthusiastic invitation to visit Mr. C. Hose, the Chief 

 Magistrate of the Baram District of the Raj of Sarawak. 

 Mr. Hose, who is a Cambridge man (Jesus College), is a 

 keen naturalist and has a very wide knowledge of the 

 natives and their languages, and has a warm sympathy 

 for the people themselves ; consequently the expedition 

 will have exceptional facilities for seeing something of 

 the inland tribes of Borneo, and interesting comparisons 

 may be expected between the different races which the 

 expedition will have under observation. 



The expedition will start about March 2, and will 

 return early in the summer of 1899. 



Any suggestions as to lines of investigation or methods 

 of study will be gladly welcomed. If the curator of any 

 museum or collection desires information respecting 

 ethnographical objects from Torres Straits or British 

 New Guinea, and sends sketches or photographs of such 

 objects to me (Inisfail, Hills Road, Cambridge ; or 

 Thursday Island, Torres Straits, Queensland), I will 

 take the illustrations with me, and will endeavour to 

 obtain the required information at the spot where the 

 objects were obtained. I shall also be pleased vo make, 

 as far as I am able, any special inquiries that any 

 ethnologist may require. Alfred C. Haudon. 



