34 



NATURE 



{Nov. lo, 1887 



Museum. From Lamu and Manda Island the additions to the 

 Museum collection are numerous, and supply many desiderata to 

 the series of bird-skins. 



The remains of the great naturalist, Audubon, lie in an 

 obscure and little-visited portion of Trinity Cemetery, New 

 York City, and his tomb is not marked by any distinguishing 

 monument. A movement has been started for the erection of a 

 suitable monument. At the first autumn meeting of the New 

 York Academy of Sciences a Committee was appointed to col- 

 lect funds and make all necessary arrangements. This Com- 

 mittee, of which Dr. Britten is Secretary and Treasurer, is now 

 ready to receive subscriptions, which will be properly acknow- 

 ledged. It is estimated that from 6000 to 10,000 dollars will be 

 required. While confident that this amount might be collected 

 in America, the Committee are anxious that interest should be 

 taken in the project by men of science in all departments in all 

 parts of the world. 



Mr. Edwin Lees, who died lately at Worcester at the age 

 of eighty-seven, had a considerable reputation as a naturalist. 

 Among his writings are "The Botany of the Malvern Hills," 

 " Pictures of Nature among the Malvern Hills and Vale of 

 Severn," "The Botany of Worcestershire," and "The Forest 

 and Chace of Malvern." He was one of the founders of the 

 Worcestershire Natural History Society, and of the Worcester- 

 shire Naturalists' Field Club. 



Mr, Thomas Bolton, of the Microscopists' and Naturalists' 

 Studio, Birmingham, died on Monday. He was in his fifty-seventh 

 year. About a year ago a Civil List pension of ;^50 per annum 

 was granted to Mr. Bolton in recognition of his services as a 

 naturalist and microscopist. The memorial setting forth his 

 claims, discoveries, and special circumstances was signed by Sir 

 J. W. Dawson and many other eminent men of science. 



A Conference on Technical Education, in which working 

 men took a prominent part, was held last Saturday evening at 

 the Finsbury Technical College. There was a large attendance 

 of students and others. Mr. James Rowlands, M.P., occupied 

 the chair, and Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson read an address on 

 "The Present Position of the Technical Instruction Question." 

 Prof. Thompson urged that the most essential of all the condi- 

 tions for the organization of an adequate system of technical 

 instruction is the creation of "a real Fiducation Department 

 under a real Minister of Education," 



At the annual meeting of the delegates of the Union of 

 Lancashire and Cheshire Institutes at Crewe on Monday, Lord 

 Derby delivered an excellent address on education. In the 

 course of his remarks he pointed out that the " Institutes of fifty 

 years ago for the most part failed because of the want of good 

 primary schools to feed them. "You have the schools now," 

 he continued, "and what we have to do is to provide the means 

 of carrying on the instruction of those who are willing to learn 

 after the time when they are clear of school, and free to follow 

 their own devices when the day's work is over." Speaking of 

 technical instruction. Lord Derby said :— " We are fighting for 

 the markets of the world ; we have held our own hitherto, but 

 the struggle is sharper than ever, and we cannot afford to throw 

 away any advantage which is possessed by other countries. It 

 may be that, as often happens, we shall find out that we have 

 overrated the benefit of technical teaching, that it can do less 

 for us than Jwe now expect ; but we are not the less bound 

 to try, and to deserve success, whether we get it or not." 



Some electric balloon signalling experiments were carried 

 on at Berchem, in the fortifications outside Antwerp on Wednes- 

 day evening, October 26. The system used was known as the | 

 Bruce system, and the inventor, Mr. Eric Stuart Bruce, himself 

 superintended the experiments at the invitation of the Belgian War 



Minister. The balloon used, which had just been purchased of Mr. 

 Bruce by the Belgian Government, was a small one, being only 

 15 feet in diameter. It had been designed for hydrogen, but 

 though it was filled with very dense coal-gas it lifted 500 feet of 

 electric cable besides its captive rope. This special cable was 

 an improvement on what was formerly used by Mr. Bruce, being 

 now lighter though of the same current capacity. The Bruce 

 key also, which gave great satisfaction, has been lately consider- 

 ably modified, and can carry any current, the contacts being of 

 carbon, which can easily be renewed on wearing away. The 

 Minister of War, General Pontus, General Wauwermans, In- 

 spector-General of Fortifications at Antwerp, and various other 

 distinguished officers were present, including special delegates 

 from Russia, Holland, &c., &c. The first telegram sent was : 

 "Porte d'Herenthals de Berchem. Voyez vous distinctement 

 signaux Bruce, repetez la depeche par telephone. (Signe) 

 General Wauwermans." This was distinctly read and telephoned 

 back. Also the second, sent by the Minister of War : "Envoyez 

 un bataillon au fart i. (Signe) Ministre Guerre Pontus." A third 

 telegram jent to the Caserne of Telegraphists was equally success- 

 ful. There were six lights in the balloon giving about twenty 

 candle-power each. The telephonic stations of Rehls were com- 

 paratively near, being only at a distance of from 4 to 5 kilometres ; 

 the object that night being to test at once the distinctness of the 

 signals, by placing the obseiving-stations on the existing te'e- 

 phonic circuits ; but the night was an ideal one for signalling, 

 and it is understood that the balloon was seen to an enormous 

 distance. A company was also on the look-out at the top of the 

 tower of Notre Dame, at Antwerp (4 kilometres), and they 

 distinctly read all the messages sent. 



Considerable uncertainty has, up to the present time, ex- 

 isted as to the number and composition of the compounds of 

 gold with sulphur. For years it was supposed that there were 

 three sulphides of gold — AuaS, Au^So, and Au.jSg ; but Schrotter 

 and Pruvoznik, in 1874, came to the conclusion that no sulphides 

 of gold were to be obtained in a pure state, thus leaving the 

 subject in greater darkness than ever. Happily, however, this 

 deplorable uncertainty has at length been completely dispelled 

 by Drs. Hoffmann and Kriiss, of Munich, who have aban- 

 doned the methods of Berzelius, Levol, and Schrotter andi 

 Pruvoznik, for more fruitful ones of their own. The lowest ;ul- 

 phide of gold, AuoS, was obtained by the addition of hydro- 

 chloric acid to a solution of the double cyanide of gold and 

 potassium saturated with sulphuretted hydrogen. The last traces 

 of admixed sulphur were removed by washing with sulphuretted 

 hydrogen solution, alcohol, e'.her, carbon disulphide, and finally 

 again with ether. After drying over phosphoric oxide, pure 

 AU2S was obtained as a dark-brown powder, yielding theoretical 

 numbers on analysis. When freshly precipitated it is remarkably 

 soluble in water, indicating a close relationship to the metals of 

 the alkalies, whose sulphides are also soluble in water, and thus 

 asserting its position in the first vertical series of the periodic 

 system. With polysulphides of the alkalies it forms greer* 

 sulpho-salts. It decomposes at 240^, leaving a residue of pure 

 gold, and, if warmed in a stream of oxygen, takes fire, forming 

 SO2, and again leaving its gold in the metallic state. In a second 

 communication in the current number of the Berichte, Hoffmann 

 and Kriiss describe how they have succeeded in preparing Au^S^- 

 A cold neutral solution of gold chloride was precipitated by 

 sulphuretted hydrogen until the supernatant liquid became 

 colourless. Admixed sulphur was removed from the precipitate 

 in a manner similar to that employed in case of AugS, an 1 

 finally pure AugSg isolated as a deep black substance, decom- 

 posed by heat similarly to AugS. It is distinguished from the 

 latter sulphide by being decomposed by caustic potash with 

 formation of potassium oxy- and sulpho-salts and separation of 

 a little metallic gold. Au^Ss of Berzelius was found not to 



