July 7, 1898] 



NATURE 



229 



"his lordship expresses his regret that he is unable, under 

 existing circumstances, to hold out any hope of Her Majesty's 

 Government embarking upon an undertaking of such magni- 

 tude." Moreover, it is stated in the reply that at the recent 

 conference of Premiers held at Melbourne in March last, it 

 was resolved that the Australasian Colonies should take no 

 joint action in the matter of Antarctic exploration. In these 

 circumstances, the Council of the Royal Geographical Society 

 liave decided to endeavour to obtain the funds for an expedition 

 o be sent out under the Society's auspices. They have 

 authorised the President to take steps to obtain subscriptions 

 to the amount of not less than 50,000/. , and the Society itself 

 will contribute 5000/. It is much to be regretted that the 

 Government has been unable to give practical support to the 

 enterprise, both in the interests of science and from the point 

 of view of our national credit, but it will be still more lament- 

 able if the expedition has to be abandoned altogether on account 

 of want of funds. The amount required to equip and despatch 

 the expedition is not excessive, and we trust it will soon be 

 raised, so that the Antarctic area may be efficiently surveyed 

 from many scientific aspects. 



The proposed removal of the Museum of Practical Geology 

 from Jermyn Street to South Kensington, recommended by the 

 Committee of the House of Commons on the Museums of the 

 Science and Art Department, has met with adverse criticism 

 from geologists and others. A circular inviting signatures to a 

 memorial to the President and Council of the Geological 

 Society, setting forth the reasons against the transference of 

 the Museum to South Kensington, was recently sent to all 

 Fellows of the Society resident in Great Britain and Ireland. 

 The memorial pointed out that the Museum at present occupies 

 a convenient central position, easy of access for engineers, 

 architects, and others who make use of its collections, in 

 proximity to most of the learned societies, and adjoining the 

 offices of the Geological Survey. The Council of the Geological 

 Society was therefore asked " to impress upon Her Majesty's 

 Government that the suggested discontinuance of occupation 

 and removal of the collections would seriously impede the pro- 

 gress of science, especially on its economic side." The memorial 

 has been signed by about five hundred Fellows of the Society 

 and was presented to the Council, a resolution passed at the 

 recent meeting of the South-Eastern Union of Scientific 

 Societies, and having the same object, being considered at the 

 same time. Though the Council did not see their way to comply 

 with the request of the memorial, they expressed the opinion 

 that the question of the removal required more consideration 

 than it appeared to have received. The memorial and the facts 

 of the case were then brought to the notice of Lord Salisbury, 

 who has promised to give attention to the whole question. 

 There the matter at present stands, but it is to be hoped 

 that no final decision will be arrived at until it has been 

 L^iven most careful consideration and more evidence taken with 

 reference to it than has yet been laid before the Select Com- 

 mittee, in whose report the removal of the collections is 

 suggested. 



It has already been announced that the Society of Arts' 

 Albert Medal for this year has been awarded to his Excellency 

 Dr. Robert Bunsen, the veteran professor of chemistry at the 

 University of Heidelberg. At the annual meeting of the 

 Society held on Wednesday of last week, the work of this 

 eminent investigator was referred to by the Council in the 

 following words :— Amongst the numerous and important 

 scientific discoveries which have rendered the name of Bunsen 

 famous wherever science is valued, perhaps the most striking 

 is the one in which he was associated with his distinguished 

 colleague. Prof. Kirchhoff, viz. spectrum analysis, a discovery 



NO. 1497, VOL. 58] 



which has shed a new and unexpected light on the composition 

 of terrestrial matter, and has enabled us to obtain a distinct 

 knowledge of the chemical composition of sun and stars. The 

 contributions which Bunsen has made in the application of 

 chemistry and physics to the arts and manufactures are of the 

 utmost value, and their importance may be measured by two 

 out of many instances. The Bunsen battery was, until the 

 introduction of the dynamo, the cheapest source of electricity ; 

 the Bunsen gas-burner, by which a non-luminous, smokeless, 

 but highly heated flame is obtained, is now not only indis- 

 pensable in all laboratory work, but is used for heating purposes 

 in thousands of houses and manufactories, and for illumination, 

 by the incandescent system, in millions of lamps. Beyond 

 these Bunsen's contributions to the sciences of chemistry and 

 physics have been of the highest importance ; but, perhaps, 

 the greatest benefit which he has conferred through a long life 

 devoted to the advancement of science, has been the influence 

 which he has exerted as a teacher. 



The Paris correspondent of the Chemist and Druggist makes 

 the following announcement: — "The gift of 2,000,000 francs 

 (80,000/.), made by Baroness Hirsch some time ago to the 

 Pasteur Institute, or rather about two-thirds of it, is to be 

 devoted to building and fitting up a large model biological insti- 

 tute in the rue Dutot, Paris, opposite the Pasteur Institute. 

 The interest of the balance of the money will be devoted to 

 working expenses, though additional money will be required 

 for the latter purpose. The ground on which the new building 

 is to be erected was left as a legacy to the Pasteur Institute by 

 another lady a few years ago. The plans for the Biological 

 Institute have been drawn up by the directors and professors of 

 the parent establishment with the aid of their architect. A 

 hospital will be attached to it, where patients attacked by 

 maladies to which Dr. Roux gives special attention will be 

 treated. M. Duclaux will be the director of the new institute, 

 in addition to that bearing Pasteur's name, while the labora- 

 tories of biological chemistry will be under the care of M. 

 Gabriel Bertrand. It is hoped to have the building ready by 

 1900, and most likely the lectures, &c., connected with biology 

 will in due course be transferred to the rue Dutot from the 

 Sorbonne." 



It has been agreed by the Executive Committee that ladies 

 attending the fourth International Congress of Zoology at 

 Cambridge in the company of a member may become Associates 

 on the payment of 105. This payment will entitle them to 

 attend the general and sectional meetings, and the receptions 

 held during the meeting of the Congress at Cambridge. 



The septic treatment of sewage, to which reference was made 

 in Nature of November 4, 1897, has so far received the sanction 

 of the Local Government Board, that they have authorised the 

 borrowing of the money required for extending the experimental 

 tanks at Exeter. The Board, however, do not yet seem to be 

 satisfied that this system is capable of producing a thoroughly 

 satisfactory effluent, as it has been required that the minimum 

 area of land usually allowed shall be provided for the completion 

 of the purification. From an article in The Engineer of June 

 17 it appears, however, that this system has been in successful 

 operation in this country for several years, and that for an 

 original outlay of 300/. and an annual cost of 50/. the sewage 

 from the town of Winsford, in the Salt District, containing 

 12,000 inhabitants, has been sufficiently purified to flow into 

 the river Weaver without causing any pollution. Under all the 

 existing systems that are in operation, one of the chief difficulties 

 is the disposal of the sludge which is left in the settling tanks, 

 but under the septic treatment this difficulty disappears. The 

 process at Winsford is simplicity itself. The works were con- 



