222 



NA TURE 



\yuly 7, 1887 



Upper Cloud Movements 'in the Equatorial Regions 

 of the Atlantic. 



I AM sorry that the observations of so good an observer as 

 Capt. D. W. Barker should not agree with my own, but I 

 certainly never confounded what he calls high low-level clouds 

 with the true high clouds. 



When clouds are being propagated in a different direction from 

 that in which they are being blown — as sometimes happens — it 

 is exceedingly difficult to ascertain the real direction ; but that 

 would not account for the discrepancy between our observations. 



My own researches were specially directed to the doldrums, 

 and the history of the Krakatab dust entirely confirms my obser- 

 vations ; but in some low latitudes — as in Cuba —the highest 

 clouds are usually from about south-west. This, however, does 

 not affect the doldrum districts. Ralph Abercromby. 



21 Chapel Street. 



Fish Dying. 



In a large pool in this county, welL stocked with fish, 

 especially trout and roach, a considerable number of the roach 

 have been found dead every day during the last week. They 

 are in fair condition, and sh )w no evidence of poison or of 

 parasitic disease. There is a certain amount of current through 

 the centre of the pool, but the ingress of water has been, of 

 course, much reduced by the drought. The pool, however, 

 covers many acres, and there are twenty feet of water in the 

 deepest parts. Can any of your readers suggest a cause for the 

 death of the roach, and a remedy ? No other species appears 

 to have suffered. F. T. MoTT. 



Birstal Hill, Leicester, July 4. 



THE DINNER TO PROFESSOR TYNDALL. 



'T'HE dinner to Prof. Tyndall, as we stated last week, 

 '■^ was going on at Willis's Rooms on Wednesday 

 evening as we went to press. It was attended by as large 

 and distinguished a company as ever assembled to do 

 honour to a man of science. The chair was taken by 

 Prof. Stokes, President of the Royal Society, who had 

 acted as Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Among 

 those who had consented to serve on the Committee were 

 the Marquis of Salisbtiry, the Duke of Devonshire, the 

 Duke of Argyll, the Right Hon. J. Inglis, the Earl of 

 Rosse, Earl Granville, Sir F. Abel, Prof. Adams, and 

 many others holding high positions in connexion with 

 scientific and learned Societies, and Mr. J. Norman 

 Lockyer and Mr. A. W. Riicker had acted as honorary 

 secretaries to the Committee. Among those who attended 

 the dinner were the Earl of Derby, Earl Bathurst, the 

 Earl of Lytton, Sir F. Leighton, Lord Rayleigh, Lord 

 Thurlow, Sir J. Lubbock, M.P., Sir W. Bowman, Sir F. 

 Bramwell, Sir I. Lowthian Bell, M.P., Sir J. Lister, Sir 

 H. Roscoe, M.P., Sir G. Richards, Lord A. Russell, Sir 



F. Pollock, Sir Lyon Playfair, M.P., Sir Prescott Hewett, 

 Prof. J. C. Adams, Colonel Donnelly, Sir J. Hooker, 

 Prof. Asa Gray, Prof Flower, Dr. A. Geikie, Dr. Hirst, 

 Mr. W. Crookes (President of the Chemical Society), Mr. 



G. B. Bruce (President of the Institution of Civil Engin- 

 eers), Mr. D. Adamson (President of the Iron and Steel 

 Institute), Dr. J. Evans (President of the Society of 

 Antiquaries), Prof B. Stewart (President of the Physical 

 Society), Prof. Judd (President of the Geological Society), 

 General Strachey (President of the Royal Geographical 

 Society), Sir J. Fayrer, Sir H. Wilde, Sir H. Doulton, 

 Sir J. Caird, Sir P. Magnus, the President of the Alpine 

 Club, Profs. Frankland, Debus, Tilden, Ray Lankester, 

 Liversedge, G. Darwin, Dewar, M. Foster, Carey Foster, 

 Odling, Gamgee, W. G. Adams, Clifton, Humphry, and 

 Dallinger, Messrs. Warren de la Rue, Gill, Kempe, J. 

 Hopkinson, H. Pollock, E. Wood, Brudenell Carter, 

 Romanes, Pengelly, Preece, Ellis, Vernon Harcourt, 

 R. H. Scott, and others. 



At the close of the dinner Mr. Norman Lockyer, at the 



request of the Chairman, read a list of absentees, from 



most of whom had been received letters expressing strong 



sympathy with the object of the banquet, and admiration 



of the career of Prof. Tyndall. Among the writers were 



the Marquis of Salisbury, Mr. Goschen, Mr. W. H 



Smith, Lord Cranbrook, the Marquis of Ripon, the Ear] 



of Rosse, Lord Monk Bretton, Profs. Max Miiller, J. R. 



Seeley, T. H. Huxley, Sir F. Abel, and about thirty others 



identified with science and literature. 



The first toast was " The Queen," and 



The Chairman in proposing it said that the recent 



celebration of the Jubilee diminished the necessity for 



saying many words in commendation of the toast. All 



hearts were affected by the Queen's letter, in which shf 



so touchingly acknowledged the manner in whicli she 



had been received. Those who were present at the 



scene in the Abbey were touched by the exhibition o: 



family devotion and affection which took place at the 



conclusion of the service, when the Royal Family salutec 



her who was at the same time Sovereign and mother, anc 



received from her the kiss of affection. And as on tha 



occasion the Royal Family was united with the Sovereign 



so on the present occasion, in drinking the health of He 



Majesty, they would mentally include the health of th( 



Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest of the Roya^ 



Family. 



The toast was drunk with all the honours. 



The Chairman in proposing the toast of the evening 



said : — My Lords and Gentlemen, — I now come to th( 



toast of the evening, " The Health of Dr. Tyndall," anc 



may he long enjoy the leisure which he has so wel 



earned. A social gathering like the present is not ai 



occasion on which it is desirable to enter into detail a 



to the scientific labours of a man, however eminent. Ye 



the circumstances of the present meeting seem to demanc 



that I should say a few words on some of Dr. Tyndall' 



researches. Some of his earliest scientific work related ti 



diamagnetism and magnecrystallic action, and in part o 



this he was associated with the well known German phy 



sicist Knoblauch. But I cannot dwell on these now. An( 



1 will even dismiss with this brief mention his researche 



on the properties of ice and his application of them to th 



theory of glaciers and the observations which he made i) 



common with his friend and colleague Prof. Huxle> 



whose necessary absence from among us to-night we s 



much regret. If I be not trespassing too much on th 



patience of those who listen to me, I would wish to say 



little more on that elaborate series of researches, formin; 



no less than six separate papers in the Philosophica 



Transactions, in which Dr. Tyndall investigated the rela 



tion of simple and compound gases and of vapours t 



radiant heat, especially radiant heat from sources at 



moderate temperature. According to his researche; 



while the main constituents of the earth's atmosphen 



nitrogen and oxygen, are practically diathermous, at leas 



with regard to radiations which can traverse rock-salt, a 



we know that by far the greater part of those that w 



have to deal with can, such is far from being the case wit 



other gases equally transparent with regard to light. Di 



Tyndall found that as a rule the more complex the com 



position of a gas the greater is its defect of diathermancy 



To confine ourselves to the two gases which occur in th 



atmosphere mixed with its main constituents — I allude ( 



course to carbonic acid and to water in the gaseous stat 



of vapour — he found that both, especially the latter, whic 



likewise is present in by far the larger quantity, are ver 



distinctly defective in diathermancy, and he conclude 



that the main part of the absorption of solar heat :, 



passing through the atmosphere, absorption as disti: 



guished from scattering, is due to the watery vapoi 



which it contains. From this result he drew importa 



inferences as to atmospheric temperature and climat 



logical conditions. Dr. Tyndall's researches on the rel 



tion of gases to radiant heat came naturally beforei 





