August 29, 1878] 



NATURE 



465 



the time to be used in the calculation is September 14, 

 7h. 58-im. This tune follows the epoch in the above 

 table by 2d. I3h. 36 •4m., and with the motions already 

 given, the value of ti corresponding to this interval is 

 found to be 225°'34, -with Avhich we enter the table and 

 find the angle of position 226", and the distance i6""4. A 

 direct calculation from Prof. Newcomb's tables of the 

 satellite for the reduced Greenwich time gives 226°'4 and 

 i6"-4. 



NOTES 



The Chemical Society have lately made tbe following gi-ants 

 from their Research Fund : — 50/. to Dr. Tilden, for an investi- 

 gation into the chemical nature of the terpenes ; 50/. to Mr. 

 •W. N. Hartley, for apparatus and materials required in carrying 

 on a research on the action of organic substances on the ultra- 

 violet rays ; 30/. to Dr. W. Ramsay, for determining the electric 

 conductivity and resistance of solutions of salts at different 

 temperatures ; 20/. to Mr. W. Jago, for the purchase of appara- 

 tus required for carrying on a research on the organic matter in 

 sea-water ; 10/. to Mr. W. A. Shenstone, for an examination of 

 certain reactions of brucine and strychnine. 



It is understood that Signor d'Albertis has parted with the 

 whole of the extensive zoological collections made during his two 

 last expeditions up the Fly River, New Guinea, to the Marquis G. 

 Doria, of Genoa, who will, no doubt, deposit them in the Museo 

 Civico of that city, of which he is the founder and principal 

 benefactor. These collections were first offered to the British 

 Museum. Signor d'Albertis is now making arrangements for the 

 publication in London of a narrative of his adventures in New 

 Guinea. 



We regret to hear that the valuable collection of Chinese 

 birds made by the late Mr. Robert Swinhoe, F.R.S., is still 

 undisposed of. It was offered, we are told, to the British 

 Museum, but, as too often happens in such cases, declined. It 

 would be greatly to be lamented if this collection, which con- 

 tains many types of species first described by Mr. Swinhoe, and 

 the originals of his numerous papers on Chinese ornithology, 

 should pass out of the country. It certainly ought to have been 

 acquired for the national collection, even if a little more than 

 what was considered its full value had had to be paid for it. 



We understand that the authors of the "Unseen Universe" 

 are at present engaged on a work intended to serve as a sequel 

 to that well-known volume. 



We are requested to state that Sir Joseph Whitworth having 

 expressed a desire that some important alterations should be 

 made in the conditions of his scholarships, the detailed rules for 

 carrying out his wishes are now under consideration. They will 

 be published as soon as 'possible ; but in order to prevent dis- 

 appointment this notice is given. No important changes will be 

 made in the conditions of the competitive examination in May, 

 1879. But the conditions of the tenure and of the amount of 

 the scholarships may be somewhat modified. 



The meeting of the French Association for the Advancement 

 of Science was inaugiurated in the large hall of the Sorbonne by 

 an address by M. Fremy on Soda and Steel in 1878. The 

 address was well received by a large audience, but it is gene- 

 rally regretted that the president did not take a subject of wider 

 bearing for his address. MM. Virchow and Haeckel were 

 present during the address. It is the first time that German 

 men of science have taken part in French public assemblies 

 in their private capacity. M. Gambetta was also present. 

 Commandant Perrier gave a sketch of the work done at the last 

 year's meeting of the Association. The number of members is 

 now 2,384, the income for 1877 was 58,000 francs, and its 

 capital 224,897 francs. The grants for 1877 amounted to 



13,850 francs. A part of the effect of this scientific assem- 

 bly is lost this year on account of the number at the Trocadero, 

 and the multitude of objects demanding the attention of Paris 

 visitors. The morning sittings of the Meteorological Section are 

 held at the Lycee St. Louis, and the evening meeting at the 

 Trocadero as a Congress of the Exhibition. One of the most 

 interesting addresses will no doubt be that delivered by Dr. 

 Janssen on celestial physics ; and he will also give the substance 

 of the papers read by him before the British Association. There 

 are two candidates for the presidentship of the meeting of 

 1880, M. Krantz, Director of the Exhibition, and Col. Laussedat, 

 of the Engineer service. Very probably the former will be 

 successsful. Several cities are competing for the honour of 

 receiving the Association in 1880, It seems probable that it 

 will cross the Mediterranean to Algiers ; M. Krantz . is spoken 

 of as the intended Governor-general of Algiers after the 

 close of the Exhibition, Next year's meeting will take place 

 at Montpellier under the presidency of M. Bardoux, the Minister 

 of .Public Instruction. On Sunday the Congress visited the Paris 

 Observatory and the Meteorological Observatory at MontsouriSi 



At the general meeting of the International Botanical and 

 Horticultural Congress held at the Trocadero, Paris, on the 

 1 6th inst., M. A. de CandoUe was elected president, A soirSe 

 or reception was held on the evening of the i6th, and the mem- 

 bers of the Congress went on the i8th to Sagrez, the residence 

 of M. A. de Lavallee, president of the organising committee, 

 by whom' they were most hospitably entertained. The collec- 

 tion of hardy woody plants at Sagrez is unique in completeness 

 in every sense. 



On Thursday last Mr, Cunliffe Owen was entertained at 

 luncheon by some of the leading U.S. exhibitors at the Paris 

 Exhibition, on board Capt. Boyton's yacht. Governor 

 M'Cormack, in proposing Mr. Owen's health, spoke very highly 

 of his executive abilities, and his courtesy towards the Americans, 

 and attributes much of the success of the exhibits of English- 

 speaking people to his energy, skill, tact, and good management. 



In the Times of August 13 an account is given of the working 

 of the Mallory propeller, a very ingenious mechanical device 

 for propelling and steering a ship in any direction by means 

 of one and the same apparatus, recently brought over to 

 England from America by its inventor. Col. William H. Mallory, 

 of the United States army. It consists of a vertically swivelled 

 screw propeller of peculiar construction, by the aid of which a 

 vessel can be moved sideways, turned rapidly on a curcle whose 

 diameter is the ship's length, and can be made to advance or 

 retire with equal rapidity. We cannot see any reason why this 

 propeller may not be very useful for small vessels and others 

 whose turning is more important than speed and sea-going 

 qualities. That it will ever replace the direct propeller seems 

 improbable, as there are three distinctly bad points about it : — 

 I, the gear, which entails a loss of at least ten per cent, of the 

 power ; 2, the engines working on to a vertical shaft ; 3, the 

 engines being over the counters, which would render the ship 

 very uneasy in a rough sea. Besides this, no vessel would go 

 to sea without a rudder to use in case her engines broke down. 

 On the other hand, the propeller presents many advantages for 

 harbour work, and for such things as rams and torpedo boats. 



We learn from Harpa^s Weekly that, for the purpose of prose- 

 cuting biological researches. Prof. A, Agassiz has lately com- 

 pleted a superb establishment near his residence at Newport, 

 wherein every device that experience could suggest has been 

 brought to bear for the convenience of investigators, A building 

 45 by 25 feet has been erected on the side of a bay making up 

 from the entrance to Newport Harbour, and provided with the 

 purest of sea-M'ater by means of a steam-pump, which keeps a 

 tank constantly filled. The tables are covered with a series of 



