378 



NA TURE 



\_AMgust 1 8, 1887 



former meeting ; and, as we have repea'edly noted, ample pre- 

 parations are being made for the hospitable reception of 

 visitors. The meeting will be rendered especially interesting 

 by the foreign men of science who will take part in the 

 proceedings. To the lists, already printed, of these distin- 

 guished visitors we may now add the names of the American 

 chemist Dr. Alfred Springer, and Dr. H. F. Weber, of Ziirich. 

 Dr. Sterry Hunt, F. R. S., of Montreal, has also expressed his 

 intention of being present. 



From an article in the Times of the iSth inst. we reprint the 

 following account of the work which is expected to be done 

 in most of the Sections : — 



"Coming down to the Sections, we find the Presidential 

 Chair of Section A (Mathematics and Physics) occupied by the 

 Astronomer- Royal of Ireland, Sir Robert S. Ball, who is not 

 only among the most eloquent of scientific orators, but one of 

 the two great recognized wits of the Association, the other being 

 a brother Irishman, Dr. Haughton. We may therefore expect 

 something unusual in the way of presidential address from Sir 

 Robert. The subject of the address will, we believe, be that 

 part of the science of theoretical mechanics known as ' The 

 Theory of Screws.' Its treatment will be peculiar and some- 

 what imaginary ; it will indeed be 'a dynamical parable,' and 

 contain a little more humour than is usually met with in such 

 addresses. The general proceedings of the Section are likely 

 to be of considerable interest. The report on the very import- 

 ant subject of electrolysis may possibly lead to a lengthy dis- 

 cussion, in which some of the more distinguished foreign visitors 

 may be expec'ed to take part. There may also be a di-cussion 

 on the report of the Committee on Electrical Standards. Sir 

 William Thomson will most likely exhibit his milliampere 

 balances and read a paper on their application. Some interest- 

 ing electrolytic results may be expected from Owens College, 

 and Mr. Haldane Gee will exhibit a comparison-magnetometer. 

 Electricity will ocupy a prominent place in the Section. Mr. 

 W. II. Preece will proba' ly read a couple of papers. More 

 results of Profs. Thorpe and Riicker's new magnetic survey may 

 be communicated. Prof. Hull will treat of the effect of 

 continents in altering sea-level. The Ben Nevis Observatory 

 will have another word to say on high-level meteorology, and 

 some papers on heat will come from the Glasgow University 

 laboratory. 



" The Geological Section will be presided over by that able 

 palaeontologist. Dr. Henry Woodward, of the British Museum. 

 Dr. Woodward, in his address, may be expected to touch on 

 some of the more important topics that have been recently 

 engaging the attention of geologists — the progress of the geo- 

 logical survey, the relations which exist between palaeontology 

 and biology, and recent special researches in various directions. 

 There will, we believe, be a discussion by a combined meeting 

 of this Section with the Section of Economic Science, on the 

 question of gold and silver, in which the geologists will mainly 

 deal with the subject of supply. Another important discussion 

 will be on the burning topic of the arrangement of museum col- 

 lections — whether palceontologists should arrange their finds to 

 suit themselves, or whether the fact of their extinction should be 

 ignored and these specimens be mixed up with their extant 

 fellows. 



"The Geographical Section will this year have the honour of 

 being presided over by the chief of the Metropolitan Police, Sir 

 Charles Warren, himself an experienced practical geographer. 

 He will probably in his address deal with one branch of the 

 leading geographical topic of the day — the uses of the study of 

 geography to the practical statesman. In this, the popular Sec- 

 tion of the Association, there will be not a few papers of popular 

 interest. The King of the Belgians is sending over two repre- 

 sentatives to speak on the Congo Free State, while Capt. 

 Coquilhat, an old Congo official, will read a paper on his own 

 account. Mr. A. Colquhoun, who is in England on short leave, 

 has promised a paper on Burmah and another on Formosa. Mr. 

 John Forrest, the Surveyer of Western Australia, will read a 

 paper on that colony. Mr. Steains, a young engineer just re- 

 turned from the Botocudo country in South America, will have 

 something racy to tell of an almost unknown people. Dr. L. Wolf, 

 of Leipzig, who has done so much imp. irtant' work on the southern 

 tributaries of the Congo, will give to the Section the results of 

 his journeys. One of the most important papers will be on the 

 new survey of Siam, on which Mr. M'Carthy, the official sur- 

 veyor, has been engaged for seven years, and the beautiful maps 

 of which he has brought home with him. Various aspects of 



geographical education will be brought forward by Mr. 

 H. T. Mackinnon, Mr. E. G. Ravensten, and others, 

 while the subject of Antarctic exploration may receive some 

 attention. 



" With Dr. Giffen as President' of Section F (Economic 

 Science) we may expect an address which will be worth listening 

 to by all interested in our national progress. The subject will 

 be ' The Recent Rate of Material Progress in England,' and 

 the lessons to be adduced will doubtless come home to all in 

 their suggestiveness, so far as holding our own with other nations 

 is concerned. The papers which are promised for the Economic 

 Section are likely to be of unusual interest. The bimetallist 

 movement has a very strong hold in Manchester, and it is ex- 

 pected that Prof. J. S. Nicholson, of Edinburgh, will be present 

 to advocate this cause. Very valua' le light will be thrown on 

 the subject by Mr. E. Atkinson, of Boston, who has been com- 

 missioned by the United States Government to inquire into 

 European feeling on this important issue. M. Walrus and Mr. 

 Dana Horton will also contribute papers on monetary matters. 

 The status and working of limited liability companies is another 

 subject of special interest in Lancashire ; this will be dealt with 

 by Mr. G. Auldjo Jamieson, of Edinburgh. There will also be 

 an important discussion on a topic which is attracting attention 

 all over the country — the depression in the value of land, and 

 the reasons which have brought it about. Dr. Arthur Ransom 

 will contribute an interesting statistical investigation on phthisis 

 areas in Manchester and Salford, Another day will be devoted 

 to a group of papers on subjects connected with foreign trade. 

 Mr. F. Hardcastle, M.P., will read on the classification of the 

 exports of cotton piece goods in Board of Trade returns ; Mr, 

 A. E. Bateman, of the Board of Trade, will have a paper on 

 the statistics of our foreign trade, and what they tell us ; Mr. 

 Marshall Stevens will write on freights ; and Mr. W. Westgarth 

 and Prof. Leone Levi will deal with Australian and American 

 protectionism. 



" The economists will also give a day to education, especially 

 in its technical aspects. With this Mr. W. Mather will deal, 

 while Sir Philip Magnus will read a paper on schools of com- 

 merce. An interesting paper on farthing dinners in elementary 

 schools will be contributed by Mr. Sargant, of Birmingham, 

 who has made careful and minute observations on the working 

 of the system. Two reports will also be presented to this 

 Section — on the monetary standard, and on the lists by which 

 wages are regulated in the cotton trade. The latter is an 

 elaborate document, and will in all probability give rise to much 

 interesting discussion. 



"From Prof. Osborne Reynolds, as President of the Section 

 of Mechanical Science, we are sure to have an address that will 

 be of as much interest to the student of pure science as to those 

 who deal only with its applications. As might be expected, the 

 Manchester Ship Canal is sure to receive considerable attention 

 in this Section, and we may expect a lively discussion on the 

 papers by Mr. W. Shelford on ' Improvements of Access to 

 the Mersey Docks,' Prof. O. Reynolds on ' The Tides in the 

 Mersey,' and Mr. E. Leader Williams on ' The Manchester 

 Ship Canal.' Another paper of the same class will be that by 

 Mr. T. A. Walker on the Severn Tunnel, which is likely to be of 

 special interest. Other papers likely to be of more than average 

 interest will be those of Mr. Gisbert Kapp on the maximum work 

 of dynamos, Mr. H. White on improved railway sleepers, Mr. 

 A. S. Biggart on the Forth Bridge works, Mr. Arthur Rigg on 

 a revolving engine, and Mr. Henry Davey on expansive working 

 in directing pumping-engijies. 



" Prof. Sayce, as President of the Anthropological Section, is 

 sure to give an address of real human interest. The science of 

 anthropology is young, but it embraces many lines of inquiry. 

 Prof. Sayce will very wisely confine himself to his own line — to 

 the study of language and the evidence we may derive- from it as 

 to the history and development of mankind. He may broach 

 some theories that will surprise orthodox anthropologists, and 

 will have a good deal to say upon the Celts. We believe Canon 

 Isaac Taylor is writing a paper on a subject kindred to that 

 discussed by Mr. Sayce, and is expected to occupy the whole of 

 Friday morning. Mr. Stuart Glennie will also contribute a 

 paper on the same subject, and Mr. Akin Karoly promises some 

 contributions to the remote history of mankind. Mr. Flinders 

 Petrie's collection of Egyptian squeezes and photographs willj 

 form the subject of a paper by the Rev. H. G. Tomkins. The 

 report of the Egyptian Photographs Committee, and that on the 

 North American Indians, will both be of consideraljle interest.' 



