September 22, 192 1] 



NATURE 



'15 



The British Association at Edinburgh. 



A Retrospect. 



FROM every point of view the visit of the 

 British Association to Edinburgh has been an 

 unqualified success. \\'ith the exception of the 

 last day of the meeting the weather was highly 

 favourable ; and even on that day the rain was 

 confined to the ea*rly forenoon hours. Every 



morning the reception room, the old Parliament 

 Hall, was crowded with members whose eager 

 happy looks showed that they were enjoying the 

 meetings to the full. The citizens of Edinburgh 

 gave themselves up to the spirit of scientific 

 gaiety, and the visitors heartily responded. Every 

 section had its own devoted band of disciples; 

 and what specially impressed those who remem- 

 bered the last Edinburgh meeting in 1892 was the 

 proportionately greater number of women mem- 

 bers. This, of course, added a brilliancy to the 

 gatherings, particularly when , two or more sec- 

 tions met for a common discussion. 



These common discussions formed indeed one 

 of the distinctive features of the Edinburgh meet- 

 ing : physicists and chemists together inquiring 

 into the structure of molecules; physicists, geo- 

 logists, and biologists comparing views on the age 

 of the earth ; chemists and physiologists solving 

 the mysteries of biochemistry ; botanists and geo- 

 logists discussing in lively fashion the oldest land 

 flora ; geographers and anthropologists striving 

 to discover the origin of the Scottish people ; geo- 

 logists and engineers trying to come to an agree- 

 ment on the Slid-Scotland canal ; and so on in 

 other cases. The popularity of these combined 

 discussions was demonstrated by the crowded 

 attendances which strained to the vers- utrnost 

 the accommodation provided by the largest class- 

 rooms of the university. 



Fortunately for the presidential address and the 

 various evening lectures and addresses splendid 

 accommodation was afforded by the Usher Hall, 

 which was completed just before the outbreak of 

 the war. Owing to his regrettable illness Sir 

 Edward Thorpe was unable to deliver his address 

 in person, and it was not until the last day but 

 one of the meeting that the members of the 

 Association were able to rejoice in the presence 

 of their president. The citizens of Edinburgh 

 took full advantage of the special lectures pre- 

 pared for them. Sir Oliver Lodge discoursed 

 with his well known ease and lucidity on " The 

 Principles of Wireless Telephony"; Prof. 

 Dendy delighted a large audience with a finely- 

 planned lecture on "The Stream of Life," and 

 Prof. Fleure gave a suggestive and highly 

 Interesting disquisition on countries as personali- 

 ties, in which special prominence was given to 

 Scotland. The two evening discourses given to 

 the members of the Association were both of 

 great local interest, one being a comparison 

 of the Forth and Quebec Bridges, by Prof. C. E. 

 Inglis, O.B.E., and the other on " Edinburgh and 

 Oceanography," by Prof. Herdman, C.B.E., 

 F.R.S. Both lectures were profusely illustrated 

 NO. 2708, VOL. 108] 



by lantern slides, and were greatly appreciated 

 by large audiences. 



The great reception given by the Lord Provost 

 was held, as usual, in the Royal Scottish Museum, 

 the large hall and galleries of which formed an 

 appropriate setting for this large and brilliant 

 gathering. Huge though the assembly was in 

 point of numbers, there w-as no uncomfortable 

 crowding. Endless streams of friendly groups 

 meandered through the treasures of art and science 

 in the various halls and along the great galleries 

 from which a bird's eye view could be obtained 

 of the ever shifting scene below. Music added to 

 the charm, provided the listener was not too near, 

 when conversation became almost impossible. It 

 is doubtful if there exists a finer place for a recep- 

 tion than a building of the nature of the Royal 

 Scottish Museum, where even the solitary wan- 

 derer can find interest in the varied contents of 

 the cases displayed to view. 



The excursions arranged by the local committee 

 were well patronised, the most popular perhaps 

 being that to Rosyth and Hopetoun House, where 

 the visitors were received and entertained by the 

 Marquess of Linlithgow, and the visit to 

 Dunfermline, on the invitation of the Carnegie 

 Trustees. The long excursions to the Scott coun- 

 try and to the Trossachs also attracted many 

 sightseers. L'nfortunately those who visited the- 

 West encountered heavy rains ; and one section 

 of the party was driven the wrong way, thereby 

 missing the stage at which lunch was provided, 

 and returning home hungry and miserable after 

 a twelve hours' fast. Particularly interesting also 

 were the small excursions arranged for Old Edin- 

 burgh, for Swanston, the early home of R. L. 

 Stevenson, and for other interesting places in the 

 immediate vicinity. The garden party given by 

 the local committee was, in a certain sense, an 

 excursion to the finely appointed Zoological Park, 

 This was on the Tuesday afternoon just as the 

 weather became somewhat threatening. For- 

 tunately the rain held oflf until the evening, and the 

 members thoroughly enjoyed their visit to a park 

 the natural beauties of which have been skilfully 

 adapted to the needs of all types of wild animals. 



The Senatus of the L^niversity of Edinburgh 

 took advantage of the presence of the British 

 Association to confer the honorary degree of 

 Doctor of Laws on nine of the eminent strangers 

 visiting the city. These were Sir Edward Thorpe, 

 the President of the Association ; Prof. Arrhenius, 

 Director of the Physico-Chemical Department of 

 the Xobel Institute, Stockholm ; Prof. Kaptevn, 

 of Groningen, the discoverer of the two star 

 streams; Prof. Krogh, the eminent physiologist 

 of Copenhagen and Xobel Laureate; Dr. Irving 

 Langmuir, Schenectady, New York, well known 

 for his electrical work and his investigations info 

 the structure of atoms ; Sir Oliver Lodge, pro- 

 bably the best known man of science in our midst ; 

 Sir \\'illiam Ridgeway, Professor of Archaeology 



