Jan. 5, 1888] 



NATURE 



231 



but " their reign," a correspondent writes to us from Paris, " is 

 coming to an end, and notwithstanding their obstinate and 

 unintelliijent opposition, Darwinism is the creed of all the 

 younger French naturalists. The only trouble with regard to 

 the new professorship will be to put the right man in the right 

 place." 



Prof. Bonney's course of lectures on geology begins at 

 University College on Wednesday, January 11, and will be con- 

 tinued on the Thursdays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays following. 

 The course on economic geology begins on the following Friday, 

 and will be continued on that day in each week. 



A COURSE of about six lectures on "Photographic Chemis- 

 try" will shortly be delivered by Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., at 

 the Finsbury Technical College. The course will begin on 

 Wednesday, January 18, at 7.30 p.m., and be continued on 

 successive Wednesdays. The object of the lecturer will be to 

 develop the scientific principles upon which modern photography 

 is based, so as to enable professional and amateur photographers 

 to keep abreast of recent advancements in the subject. Those 

 who attend the lectures will have the opportunity, if they desire 

 it, of receiving practical laboratory instruction in the testing and 

 valuation of photographic chemicals. 



At the opening meeting of the session of the Society of 

 Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians, on Thursday, the I2th 

 instant, the new President, Mr. Edward Graves, will deliver his 

 inaugural address. 



In the abstracts of the Proceedings of the Chemical Society 

 (Jan. -Dec. i887).we find the following list of grants made from the 

 Research Fund of the Society during the year : — £,2^ to Prof. 

 E. II. Rennie, for the further study of the red colouring-matter 

 of Drosera luhitlakeri ; £2^ to Mr. Holland Crompton, for the 

 study of the action of nitric acid on copper-zinc and copper-tin 

 alloys with the object of determining whether the metals exist 

 in combination or admixed ; ;i^io to Mr. C. H. Boihamley, for 

 experiments on the use of dyes in photography, and especially 

 on the sensitizing action of the dye ; £2$ to Mr. W. P. Wynne, 

 for the determination of the nature of the products formed on 

 oxidizing nitric oxide by admixture with oxygen ; ;i^io to 

 Mr. A. Wynter Blyth, for the study of the constitution of 

 butter- fat. 



Meteorology is indebted to Dr. J. Hann for an exhaustive 

 discussion of the distribution of atmospheric pressure over 

 Central and Southern Europe, based upon the monthly and 

 yearly means at 205 stations, for the thirty years 1851-80. 

 Very few such discussions have been undertaken since the 

 appearance of Buchan's great work, about twenty years ago. 

 The author insists on the application of the correction for 

 gravity, which up to the present time has been generally neg- 

 lected. Only a few observations for France have been used 

 in this discussion, but a work of a similar nature is in hand for 

 that country by M. Angot. Charts are also drawn for each 

 month and for the year, showing the isobars for every "02 inch 

 at the sea-level, and also for four months aftd the year at the 

 level of 500 metres above the sea. The work forms Part 2, 

 vol. ii. of Dr. Penck's " Geographische Abhandlungen " 

 (Vienna, 1887). 



The Chief Signal Officer of the United States has issued a 

 circular, dated December 6, stating that as, in his belief, the 

 great value of simultaneous maps consists in showing the general 

 features of the weather of the northern hemisphere, he has 

 decided to reproduce daily a chart showing the general outlines 

 of the pressure and wind for certain selected stations, although 

 as before stated (Nature, Dec. 8, p. 137), he cannot guarantee 



their continuance for any great length of time. The charts have 

 commenced with October i, 1886, and are based on the obser- 

 vations taken at noon, Greenwich time ; the temperature obser- 

 vations are not represented, owing to the limited means available 

 for such work. 



The Central Physical Observatory of St. Petersburg has 

 issued a very useful table, showing for all its telegraphic 

 stations the normal temperatures for 7 a.m. for each month, 

 calculated from the number of years available for each place. 

 From these values the Observatory constructs diagrams showing 

 the annual march of the temperature, and from these carves the 

 normal temperature may be calculated very closely for each day 

 of the year. These data enable the Observatory to introduce 

 into its Daily Weather Reports the departure of the tempera- 

 ture day by day from its normal value. The normal tempera- 

 tures for foreign stations are to be similarly dealt with sub- 

 sequently. 



The Swedish Government has given notice that in the 

 beginning of the year 1888, a fog signal will be established 

 near Hallands Wadero lighthouse, on the eastern shore of the 

 northern approach to the Sound, Kattegat. The signal will be 

 a steam syren, which, during thick or foggy weather, will give 

 iiuo blasts every mintite, in the following manner ; a low note 

 of seven seconds duration, an interval of three seconds silence, 

 then a high note oi three seconds duration, followed by an interval 

 of forty-seven seconds silence. 



The Government Gazette of the Colony of Lagos of July 30 

 last contains monthly meteorological means for the year 1886. 

 The observations are made at the Colonial Hospital, lat. 6° 27' N., 

 long. 3° 26' E. 



On December 11, about 5.30 p.m., a brilliant meteor was seer* 

 in and around Christiania. It moved slowly in a south-easterly 

 direction, and disappeared behind a bank of clouds. Its light, 

 of a yellow-green colour, was very intense. The passage occupied 

 about five seconds. 



Earthquakes on December 16 and 17 are reported from 

 Prinpolje and Plewlje, in Bosnia. At Werny, in Turkistan, a 

 sliock occurred at midnight on December 16. A shock was 

 noticed at Geneva on December 19 between 5 and 6 p.m. A 

 telegram from Mexico states that a sharp shock occurred there 

 at half past 7 on January 2. 



A NUMBER of highly interesting experiments upon the be- 

 haviour of passive iron towards nitric acid when placed in a 

 powerful magnetic tield have recently been made by Messrs. 

 Nichols and Franklin {Anier, Journ. of Science, December 1887). 

 About 8 cubic centioietres of nitric acid, specific gravity i'368, 

 were poured upon a gramme of powderel iron conta ned in a 

 perfectly clean test-tube. This test-tube was immersed in water 

 contained in an outer glass vessel, and the temperature of the 

 contents of the tube could be accurately ascertained by means of 

 a thermometer suspended in it. The whole apparatus was then 

 carefully arranged between the poles of an electro-magnet 

 specially constructed to give a field as uniform as possible. 

 Before actuating the magnet it was found that the iron remained 

 perfectly passive in presence of the nitric acid until the tempera- 

 ture was raised to 89^, when the usual explosion consequent upon 

 loss of passivity occurred. But on repeating the experiment 

 when a powerful current was traversing the coils of the electro- 

 magnet, effervescence commenced at once, and at 51° the explosion 

 occurred in a most violent manner, projecting most of the liquid 

 out of the tube. The remainder of the liquid, however, remained 

 quiescent until the iron was touched with the thermometer-bulb, 

 when a second explosion occurred. In a third experiuient the 

 magnet was not actuated until the apparatus was heated to 60° ; 

 but the moment the current was allowed to pass [the explosion 



