October 



D5 



I914] 



NATURE 



183 



A Central Bureau for Transmission of Astro- 

 nomical News. — At the present time astronomers have 

 no available organisation by which the news of impor- 

 tant astronomical discoveries can be quickly distri- 

 buted to the leading observatories of the world, nor 

 is there a bureau with which anyone making an im- 

 portant discovery can immediately communicate with 

 the knowledge that the news will at once be circulated 

 world wide. This condition of affairs is due to the 

 fact that the recognised Central Bureau is at Kiel, in 

 Germany, and that the state of war prevents the circu- 

 lation of any such news. No steps, so far as is 

 known, are being taken to remedy this defect, and 

 for this reason the attention of astronomers should 

 be directed to the necessity of some definite action to 

 correct this unsatisfactory state of affairs. There is 

 little doubt that if the Royal Astronomical Society of 

 Great Britain would undertake, even if only as a tem- 

 porary measure, the task of receiving and disseminat- 

 ing astronomical information, this act would meet 

 with the approval of astronomers all the world over. 

 Perhaps the council of this society might be persuaded 

 to consider this suggestion at their next meeting. In 

 the m_eantime a useful purpose might be served if 

 astronomers at home and abroad stated their views 

 on the subject so that proper steps can be taken for 

 the formation of a permanent astronomical bureau. 



The Sidereal Centre of the Universe. — That bril- 

 liant star, Canopus, or a Argus, more familiar to 

 those who live in southern latitudes, has been brought 

 into prominence bv the interesting communication 

 made to Knowledge in the August issue. In discuss- 

 ing the positions in space of the helium, or B stars, 

 which stars, whether faint or bright, are situated at 

 vast distances from us, and are free from preferential 

 motion or star streaming, Mr. O. R. Walkey is led to 

 conclude that peculiar interest becomes attached to the 

 star Canopus in that it occupies the approximate posi- 

 tion derived for the centre of the stellar system. In 

 the article in question he gives his reasons for conclud- 

 ing that the distance of this star is of the same order 

 as that indicated for this helium star centre, that 

 Canopus appears to be stationary with reference to 

 these helium stars, that its luminosity and mass are 

 in character with their suggested significance, that 

 the relative motions of the faint stars in the vicinity 

 of Canopus indicate an orbital motion confirming the 

 independently derived mass, and finally that the com- 

 ponent of the solar motion tangential to Canopus indi- 

 cates the existence of such a mass at the given dis- 

 tance. While the author makes it clearly understood 

 that the views set forth do not prove the central posi- 

 tion of Canopus, yet he shows that the evidence 

 brought forward from many points of view all point 

 consistently in the same direction. 



THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE 

 ADVANCEMEXT OF SCIENCE. 



T^HE report of the seventh meeting of the Italian 

 -^ Society for the Advancement of Science, which 

 was held in Siena in September, 1913, has been re- 

 cently issued; it contains a full account of the 

 meeting and of the papers read before the society. 

 The report contains pp. lviii+1091, and is a striking 

 testimony to the rapid development of the society, 

 which is now only in its seventh year of existence, 

 the first meeting having been held at Parma in 1907. 

 The work of the society is divided broadly into three 

 classes. Class A being devoted to the physical and 

 mathematical sciences, with five sections — astronomy 

 and mathematics ; physics and applied mechanics, in- 

 NO. 2346, VOL. 94] 



eluding electrotechnics ; chemistry ; mineralogy and 

 geology; and geography. Class B includes the bio- 

 logical sciences, and is divided into four sections, 

 dealing respectively with anatomy and zoology ; botany 

 and agriculture; physiology; pathology and hygiene. 

 Class C comprises the moral sciences, and is sub- 

 divided into eight sections — archaeology and the history 

 of art ; the history of science ; philology ; economic and 

 social sciences ; legal sciences ; philosophy ; history and 

 the historj' of religion. 



The meeting was opened by Prof. Pietro Rossi, the 

 rector of the University of Siena, the inaugural address 

 being delivered by Prof. Antonio Garbasso, who chose 

 i as his subject "The Principles of Mechanics." General 

 addresses were delivered by Prof, G. Pighini on 

 nervous energy and the chemico-physics of proto- 

 plasm; by Colonel E. Caviglia on the work executed 

 in Libya by the Institute of Military Geography; and 

 by Prof, A. Sclavo on the laws of hygiene. Prof. E. 

 Manasse gave an address on the mineral resources 

 of the Sienese territory, Prof. Valenti on the condi- 

 I tions and problems of the colony of Erythrea, Prof. 

 j F. Ferrara on the Mahometan law in the districts 

 I of Tripoli and Cyrene, and Prof. Rossi on the char- 

 I acter of Sienese art from medieval times to the renais- 

 sance. 



Among the sectional addresses the following may 

 be mentioned : — Prof. S. Lussana on the thermo- 

 dynamics of gases and liquids in reference to practical 

 applications ; Prof. A. Pochettino, fluorescence and 

 phosphorescence; Prof. C. Acqua, the liberation of 

 energy in the respiratory processes of plants ; Prof. R. 

 Pirotta, the alternation of generations in lower plants ; 

 Dr. M. Almagia, our present knowledge of malignant 

 tumours; Prof. E. Centanni, new studies of the 

 "formative stimulus"; Prof. E. Ficalbi, on F. C. 

 Marmocchi, a pre-Darwinian evolutionist, and his 

 views; Prof. C. Ulpiani, applications of thermo- 

 dynamics to biology; Prof. D. Barduzzi, the Galilean 

 method in the medical sciences ; Prof. B. Varisco, 

 science and the theory of science; Prof. R. Pettazzoni, 

 the origin of the idea of God ; Prof. C. Parvopassu ; 

 recent progress in the science and technics of con- 

 struction ; Prof. P. Gucci, the ideas of Galileo on the 

 divisibility of matter; Prof. E. Carusi, the relation 

 between Roman law and Mahometan law ; Prof. C. 

 De Stefani, recent American theories in geology. 



Of the numerous papers read before the different 

 sections and printed in full in the report it is possible 

 here only to give the titles of a few which possess 

 some general interest. In Class A, Prof. T. Levi 

 Civita read a paper on the Torricellian theorem ; Prof. 

 G. Testa on a modification of Atwood 's machine ; 

 Prof. M. Panetti on testing light motors at the aero- 

 nautical laboratory of the Turin Polytechnic ; Captain 

 G. Costanzi on aerodynamic and hydrodynamic tests 

 in connection with aeroplanes ; G. Ivaldi on the true 

 kinetic theory- of gases. Prof. M. Berti and Dr. S. 

 Ciocchetti, a new type of phototropic substances ; 

 Profs. L. Francesconi and N. Granata, the constitu- 

 tion of the cyclic ketones of oil of santolin. 



In Class B, Prof. R. Perotti, a general scheme for 

 the utilisation of town sewage ; Prof. R. Bargagli- 

 I Petrucci, the biological origin of the soil of Siena; 

 I Prof. G. Pollacci, on the bioreaction of tellurium and 

 ! its application to the study of physiology and vegetable 

 1 pathology ; Prof. B. Bocci, the cerebral nerve-cell and 

 I its specific work ; Prof. L. Sabbattani, colloidal carbon ; 

 ' Prof. A. Constantino, experiments on amino-acids; 

 ' Prof. F. Nassetti, comparative study of plant and 

 i animal tumours ; Prof. V. Sebastiani, influence of 

 j diet on tumours. 



' In Class C (moral sciences) only a few of the 

 ] numerous papers read can be referred to. Prof. E. 

 I Fornasari di Verce dealt with the relation between 



