November ii, 1920] 



NATURE 



351 



matique " (1736). He was a very active observer 

 at the Paris Observatory from 1666 to 1682, and 

 his observations, which were chiefly made with a 

 9-ft. quadrant, were finally printed in Le Mon- 

 nier's " Histoire Celeste" (1741). Though his 

 work was less showy than that of his colleague 



Cassini, Picard deserves an honourable place in> 

 the ranks of astronomers as one of the compara- 

 tively few observers with instruments of precision 

 in the period between Tycho Brahe and Flam- 

 steed, and as the pioneer in the application of the- 

 telescope to this work. 



Robin's Water-music. 

 By Prok. V\'. Garstang. 



SCARCE heard amid the choral throng 

 That gave the Spring its greeting, 

 Vou triumph, Robin, when your song 



Marks Summer's joys retreating; 

 Then, while the green leaves flame to gold, 



And rain drips o'er their embers, 

 Vou raise, above the sodden mould. 

 The song of all Septembers. 



Erratic, wistful, sweet and shrill, 

 The grave and gay you mingle, 

 As changeful as the trickling rill 

 That voices glade and dingle, — 

 Vxom high to low. 

 Now swift, now slow. 

 Like water o'er the pebbles, 

 Meandering here. 

 And darting there. 

 To sparkle in the trebles. 



Chir'ri-tew ! Ir'n-letv ! 

 Wis'-yoo, Wis'-yoo! 

 Wee' !—Swee' ! — Tew-ay> ! 

 Tew, tew', tew, Psee' ! 

 Chirri-wee' ! Tyo-to' ! 

 SclVis'sy-wissy, Wis'sy-wissy, Wee'! 



Until, in soft soliloquy. 



You enter realms mortt tender. 



Tu-it'ty, Choo-ee' f 



And drop, from heights of ecstasy, 

 A falling trail of splendour, — 



Brilliant gems no casket treasures, 

 Crystal tones no music measures, — 

 A glittering, flickering, tinkling streamlet, 

 Fragile as a dream. 



See, See', See, Tsee'. . . .' 

 Choo-it'ty, Tu-it'ty, Choo-it'ty 



Wee-chee' ! Wee-tsee' 

 Che-wir'rio-ir'rio-wir'rio-ir'rio-ee' ! 



As rockets soar 

 Aloft to fall in twinkling disarray, 



As fountains pour 

 To break adrift in showers of glistering spray 

 * * » 



Tit-W ! Tit -it-it -it' ! Tit'! Tit". 

 Yes, Robin, yes ! 1 must admit 

 (Tit-if -it-it' ! Tit-it' -it-it' .') 



My actions were suspicious, — 

 For no true gardener stops his spade 

 To hear a little bird's cascade 

 Of music, though delicious ! 

 But when, enraptured, down the scale 

 You dance by steps so slender, 



The Nightingale's Tyo-tyo'-tyo-tew' , 

 The Throstle's Tirra-lirra-loo , 

 Grow pale 

 Before your rich chromatic splendour ! 



Notes. 



The following is a list of those recommended by 

 the president and council of the Royal Society for 

 election to the council at the anniversay meeting on 

 November 30 -.—President : Prof. C. S. Sherrington. 

 Treasurer: Sir David Prain. Secretaries: Mr. VV. B. 

 Hardy and Mr. J. H. Jeans. Foreign Secretary: 

 Sir Arthur Schuster. Other Members of Council: 

 Mr. J. Barcroft, Sir William Bragg, Dr. A. W. 

 Crosslry, Prof. J. B. Farmer, Sir Walter Fletcher, 

 Prof. A. Fowler, Dr. A. C. Had<lon, Sir Robert 

 Hailfield, Sir Thomas Mcitli. Prof. J. Oraham Kerr, 

 Prof. H. l^mb, Sir William I., ishman. Dr. S. H. C. 

 Martin, Prof. J. W. Nicholson. .Mr. K. D. Oldham, 

 and Prof. W. P. Wynne. Prof. Sherrington, who is 

 to succeed .Sir Joseph Thomson ns president, is ihe 

 Waynflete professor of physiology in the University 

 of Oxford, and was formerly professor of physiology 

 in the University of Liverpool and Fullcrian jto- 

 fcssor of physiolftgy at the Royal Institution. He 

 was ♦•jorfpft F.R S. in 1893. and was awarded a 

 Nl). 2663, VOL. 106] 



Royal medal in 1905 for his roranh- .11 ili' nil 



nervous systern. 



Dr. E. H. Griffiths has been elected general 

 treasurer of the British .Association in succession tO' 

 the late Prof. John Perry. The council of the .Asso- 

 ciation has agreed to the formation of a separate Sec- 

 tion of Psychology, as recommended by the Sections 

 of Physiology and Educational Science at Cardiff, 

 and approved hv the general rommittec. Considera- 

 tion of the number and scope of the various Sections 

 is to be referred to a sneri.-il < onimiiiisv It has Wvn 

 decided to invite n.ilional ,\s>ociations for the 

 Advancement of .Sciiiue to send representatives to 

 annual meetings of the British .Association in future. 



TllK council of the British .Association has recently 

 had before it the suggestion niiide by Prof. Herdman 

 in his presidential nddress .^t Cardiff for n new Chal- 

 lenger expeditiim i< 1 tli'- exploration of the great 

 oceans of the i.;!..!..- wiih iiKKlern instruments .in<f 



