March 20, 1890] 



NATURE 



469 



and telegrams of congratulation from various sources. Dr. 

 Glover, on behalf of German artificial dye-stuff manufacturers, 

 then presented a most admirable portrait of Prof Kekule 

 which had been painted by the celebrated painter Angeli ; this 

 is to be placed in the Berlin galleries. Prof. Kekule returned 

 thanks in an eloquent address. Subsequently a banquet was 

 held which was very numerously attended. 



Lord Rayleigh has been elected a correspondent of the 

 Paris Academy of Sciences in the department of physics. 



The discourse to be given by Lord Rayleigh at the Royal 

 Institution on Friday evening, March 28, will be on "Foam." 



Mr, H. Carrington Bolton, the eminent American 

 bibliographer, wishes to associate himself with those who 

 recommend the system of Russian transliteration, explained 

 lately in Nature (p. 397). His letter was not received in time 

 to permit of his name being included in the list of signatures. 



The visit of the Iron and Steel Institute to America is likely 

 to be remarkably successful. At a meeting held the other day 

 at New York, upon the invitation of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, a 

 committee was appointed to arrange a reception for the members. 

 The Philadelphia Correspondent of the Times says so many in- 

 vitations have been received from various parts of the country 

 that the belief is that the month given to the visit will be in- 

 sufficient. The members will meet in New York. There 

 will also be an international session at Pittsburg. 



A STATED meeting of the Royal Irish Academy was held in 

 Dublin on the 15th inst., at which the President and Council 

 for the ensuing year were elected. Prof. Sollas, F,R. S., read a 

 paper on the mica which occurs in well-formed crystals in the 

 famous geodes of the Mourne Mountain granite : it was described 

 as a lithium mica of the species Zinnwaldite. Most of the crystals 

 possessed an exquisitely defined zonal structure, and in a single 

 crystal a change in colour, density, composition, and in the 

 magnitude of the angle of the optic axes could be traced on 

 passing from the centre to the surface ; this gradual transition 

 from a more ferro-magnesian character near the centre to a more 

 alumino-alkaline one near the surface was compared to the 

 change from a more anorthite-like to a more albitic character, 

 which accompanies the growth of many zonal felspars. This 

 subject is also referred to in Prof. Sollas's paper on the granites 

 ofLeinster, which is to appear in the Academy's Transactions. 

 The Report of the Council, giving the details of work done 

 by the Academy during the past year, with notices of deceased 

 members— among these John Ball, F.R.S,, Sir Robert Kane, 

 F.R.S., and Robert McDonnell, F.R.S.,— was read and 

 adopted. Dr. E. Perceval Wright, Secretary to the Academy 

 was elected, in the place of the late Sir R. Kane, a visitor to 

 the Museum of Science and Art, Dublin, 



The Royal Society of Medical and Natural Sciences of 

 Brussels offers a gold medal of the value of 200 francs for the 

 best essay on the influence of temperature on. the progress, 

 duration, and frequency of karyokinesis in an example belonging 

 to the vegetable kingdom. The essay must be written in French, 

 and must be sent in before July i to Dr, Stienon, 5 Rue du 

 Luxembourg, Brussels, 



Mr. J. Wertheimer, head master of the Leeds School 

 of Science and Technology, has been elected to the head 

 mastership of the Merchant Venturers' School, Bristol, the 

 largest technical school in the West of England, 



Recognizing the difficulty experienced by Western natural- 

 ists in following the valuable scientific work now carried on 

 in Russia, a number of influ ential men of science of that country 



have arranged for the publication of a monthly review — the 

 Vyestnlk Estestvoziianiya. This will consist of original articles 

 and short reports, with French rSsumh, and an index, in French, 

 to Russian periodical scientific literature ; the subjects included 

 will be zoology, botany, physiology, geology, and microscopical 

 technology, with the allied sciences. As, with the exception of 

 Nlkitin's admirable geological bibliography, no adequate attempt 

 has been made to record Russian general scientific literature, 

 this review will supply a very general want. The facts that it is pub- 

 lished under the auspices of the St, Petersburg Society of Natural- 

 ists, and that the list of promised contributors includes most of the 

 leading Russian naturalists, are sufficient guarantee for its value. 

 The bibliographical index commences in the second number. 

 The first consists of eight original articles. W. Wagner treats of 

 the Infusoria of the body-cavity of Sipunculus and Phascolosoma ; 

 J, Wagner of some points in the development of Schizopods ; 

 Schlmkevlch of the alternation of generation in the Hydro- 

 medusae ; Borodin and Tanfll'ev contribute botanical articles, 

 the former discussing the nature and distribution of dulcite, and 

 the latter the causes of the extinction of Trapa nutans. Geology 

 is represented by an account of the Devonian rocks of Mughod- 

 zhares, a criticism of Levy's classification of the eruptive rocks 

 by Polyenov, and an interesting account of the formulae and 

 relations of the different chemical types of the eruptive rocks by 

 F, Levinson-LessTng. The subscription to the review, it may 

 be added, is 3 roubles 5o_kopecks, and the office of publication, 

 the Society of Naturalists, St, Petersburg University, 



The Vienna correspondent of the Standard telegraphed as 

 follows on Monday: — '*Dr, Eder, Professor of the Photogra- 

 phic Institute of Vienna, has announced that a photographer 

 named Verescz, living in Klausenburg, Transylvania, has suc- 

 ceeded in solving the problem of photographing in natural 

 colours. Up to the present, only the shades between deep red 

 and orange can be retained, and even these, if exposed to the 

 light, fade in from two to three days ; but the experiments are 

 being continued, with good prospects of complete success." 



Recently Lord Reay, the Governor of Bombay, laid the 

 foundation-stone at Poona of a Bacteriological Laboratory, which 

 is to be annexed to the College of Science in that town. Dr. 

 Cooke, the Principal of the College, to whose efforts the 

 establishment of the Laboratory is due, stated that it was 

 originally intended that the study of the diseases of the lower 

 animals in Poona should be directed to check the losses from 

 anthrax in cattle by the introduction into India of protective 

 inoculation. With this object two Bengal students at the 

 Cirencester Agricultural College underwent a course of study 

 at M. Pasteur's laboratory in Paris, One of these gentlemen 

 devoted his attention entirely to sericulture, the other studied 

 M, Pasteur's system of vaccination against anthrax. He re- 

 turned to India, and has since conducted some experiments on 

 cattle in Calcutta, Subsequently, Mr, Cooper, of the Veterinary 

 Service, was deputed to M. Pasteur's Institute for instruction in 

 the system of inoculation against anthrax. While in Paris, Mr. 

 Cooper submitted a report, and explained that for the work in 

 question a special laboratory would be required. At the same time 

 he advocated the adoption of artificial gas for the culture-stoves 

 and glass-blowing, and for the purpose of obtaining the high 

 temperature required for sterilizing vessels, instruments, &c. 

 Subsequent inquiry showed that anthrax is not the only con- 

 tagious disease of a fatal nature with which the Indian cattle- 

 owner has to contend. He has also to take into account rinderpest, 

 tuberculosis, pleuro-pneumonia, and, in a minor degree, foot and 

 mouth disease. It was, therefore, evident that if an institution 

 was established for the preparation of an anthrax vaccine its 

 value would be greatly enhanced if diseases other than anthrax 

 could receive attention. The main objects of the Poona 



