May 29, 1879] 



NATURE 



III 



■with water flowing through them to keep them cool. There 

 would be no limit to the application of the electricity as a motive 

 power ; it might do all the work that could be done by steam- 

 engines of the most powerful description. It seemed to him 

 that legislation, in the interests of the nation and in the interests 

 of mankind, should remove as far as possible all obstacles such 

 as those arising from vested interests, and should encourage in- 

 ventors to the utmost. As to the use of electricity by means of 

 the Falls of Niagara, his idea was to drive dynamic engines by 

 water power in the neighbourhood of the Falls and then to have 

 conductors to transmit the force to the places where illumination 

 or the development of mechanical power was wanted. There 

 would be no danger of terrible effects being brought about acci- 

 dentally by the use of such a terrific power, because the currents 

 employed would be continuous and not alternating." This may 

 be called a fanatical view of the electric light. 



On Tuesday night the electric light was put to rather a novel 

 use, and one well calculated to test its practical and especially 

 artistic value. At the Horticultural Society's conversazione, 

 various forms of the light were adjusted so as to illuminate the 

 magnificent array of fruit and flowers of all kinds and colours, 

 with, we believe, complete success, the only drawback being the 

 wretched state of the weather. Still it was clearly shown how 

 admirably adapted this form of light is to any purpose in which 

 it is essential that colours should be shown almost au naturel. 



On Monday evening Mr. J. F. Bateman, president of the 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, received at a conversazione at the 

 South Kensington Museum a large assemblage of distinguished 

 representatives of science, literature, and art. The long gal- 

 leries of models of machinery and naval architecture were 

 thronged with eight or nine hundred visitors, and brilliantly 

 illuminated with electric lights, presenting a scene of excep- 

 tional brilliancy. The electric lights employed were of many 

 different systems, including the Jablochkoff candle, Siemens's 

 apparatus, that of the Electric Lighting Company, fitted with 

 Wilde's automatic carbon holders, Higgins's incandescent light, 

 and many others, displaying both covered and naked lights. 

 Many noteworthy models of machinery had been specially added 

 for the occasion by well-known engineers. Among these new 

 contributions, which attracted a constant succession of interested 

 groups of visitors, were in particular a working model of the 

 writing telegraph of Mr. Cowper, and Dr. W. H. Coffin's 

 modification of M. Trouve's minute electric lamp for surgical 

 use. These, however, were only two among the numberless 

 objects claiming attention in an exhibition full of interest and 

 instruction. 



As usual the Geologists' Association have arranged an excur- 

 sion for Whit Monday and Tuesday. This year it is to Bath, 

 under the direction of Messrs. Charles Moore and W. H. 

 Iluddleston. 



Mount Etna is in a state of eruption ; on the 26th an open- 

 ing occurred on the northern side, from which issued dense 

 volumes of smoke and flames. 



The administration of the scientific exhibition to be held at 

 Paris from July to November next, is desirous to establish a 

 special section of electricity if agreeable to intending exhibitors, 

 consequently all the electricians who have subscribed already 

 are requested to state their opinion. 



A Zoological Society of New South Wales has been 

 formed at Sydney ; one of its chief objects is the acclimatisation 

 of foreign animals. 



The Midland Union of Natural History Societies held its 

 second annual meeting at Leicester on Tuesday and Wednesday, 



May 20 and 21, under the presidency of Mr. Geo. Stevenson, 

 who delivered an address to the large body of members from all 

 parts of the Midland Counties, who met together in the Town 

 Hall, Leicester. He pointed out how the usefulness of the 

 Union might be best developed, and urged the members to 

 co-operate together in definite efforts to solve some of the many 

 problems of local and scientific interest. The first work of the 

 kind which some of the societies had already taken up was an 

 examination of the glacial drift deposits of the Midland districts, 

 a scheme for which had been published by Mr. W. J. Harrison, 

 F.G.S., one of the secretaries of the Union, in the Midland 

 Naturalist. In due time the results of these efforts would be 

 made public, and from what was already known of the labours 

 of the inquirers some valuable information will be published. 

 The Union now includes twenty-four societies, and there were 

 representatives present from most of them. The societies in the 

 Union (numbering nearly 3,000 members) are the following : — 

 Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, Bir- 

 mingham Philosophical Society, Birmingham and Midland 

 Institute Scientific Society, Birmingham School Natural History 

 Society, Burton-upon- Trent Natural History and Archaeological 

 Society, Caradoc Field Club, Cheltenham Natural Science 

 Society, Derbyshire Naturalists' Society, Dudley and Midland 

 Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club, Evesham 

 Field Naturalists' Club, Leicester Literary and Philosophical 

 Society, Northampton Naturalists' Society, Nottingham Literary 

 and Philosophical Society, Nottingham Naturalists' Society, 

 Rugby School Natural History Society, Oswestry and Welshpool 

 Naturalists' Field Club, Peterborough Natural History and 

 Scientific Society, Severn Valley Naturalists' Field Club, 

 Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Small 

 Heath Literary and Scientific Society, Stroud Natural History 

 Society, Tamworth Natural History, Geological, and Anti- 

 quarian Society, Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club. In the 

 evening of the first day a most successful conversazione and exhi- 

 bition of microscopes, scientific apparatus, experiments, &c., 

 was held in the Leicester Museum buildings. On Wednesday 

 about 200 members made an excursion to Charnwood Forest, 

 which was divided into two sections — one, geological, under the 

 guidance of Mr. W. J. Harrison, F.G.S., and the other 

 botanical, of which Mr. F. T. Mott, F.R.G.S., was the leader. 

 The annual meeting in 1880 was fixed to be held at Northampton 

 under the auspices of the Northampton Naturalists' Society ; 

 Mr. Edward W. Badger (Birmingham), and Mr. G. C. Druce 

 (Northampton) were elected hon. secretaries for the year ; and 

 Mr. H. E. Forrest (Birmingham) assistant hon. secretary. 



We are pleased to see that a Scientific and Historical Society 

 has been foi-med at Launceston, under the presidency of the 

 Rev. G. H. Hopkins. From the opening address of the presi- 

 dent it is evident that the Society has formed a correct idea of 

 what should be the work of a local society, and we trust that 

 the members will work energetically together to carry out the 

 programme thus sketched. The district covered by the Society 

 may be said to include North-east Cornwall and North-west 

 Devon between Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, with the seacoast 

 on the north. The sections are archaeology, botany, meteorology, 

 zoology, and geology, and in all departments the district ought 

 to yield rich fruits. The Society seems to have made a good 

 start, and we shall watch its progress with interest. We trust 

 it will enlist a large proportion of real workers. 



An interesting experiment was made on May 22 before M. 

 Tresca, the sub-director of the Paris Conservatoire des Arts et 

 Metiers. M. Chretien, an engineer of Paris, has constructed a 

 set of two locomotive ploughs worked by rope traction accord- 

 ing to the Fowler system. But instead of using steam power, 

 M. Chretien has employed the electric current generated by a 

 Gramme machine, and a stationary steam-engine. It has been 



