August i8. 1898J 



NATURE 



1>11 



The death is announced, at Oran, of a distinguished French 

 mining engineer. M. Pomel. He was professor of geology at 

 the Algiers Scientific School, director of that school from 1883 

 to 1888, and ex-president of the French Geological Society. 

 M. Pomel leaves a number of special works, among which may 

 be mentioned " Le Sahara" and " La Carte Geologique de la 

 Province d'Oran." 



The young male giraffe from Senegal, which was one of the 

 latest additions to the menagerie in the Zoological Society's 

 Gardens, has just died. This rare animal cost the large sum 

 of 900/. 



A Reuter telegram announces that the screw schooner 

 Godthaab sailed from Copenhagen on Wednesday morning for 

 Angmagsalik, in East Greenland, with an expedition under 

 First Naval Lieutenant Amdrup. The expedition, which has 

 been fitted out by a scientific institute at a cost of 150,000 

 kroner, is provisioned for two years. Its object is to explore 

 the east coast of Greenland between the 66th and 70th degree 

 north latitude, with Angmagsalik as its starting-point. 



During the latter part of the last, and the beginning of the 

 present week, some high shade temperatures have been recorded 

 over the southern and central parts of England. The weather 

 conditions have been generally anti-cyclonic, the barometer 

 standing at about 30*5 inches over the eastern half of the Baltic, 

 and exceeding 30 inches over the Continent and the south-east 

 of England, with very little differences in the readings over con- 

 siderable areas. On the 12th the shade temperatures at several 

 stations varied from 80° to 85°, and these readings have been 

 since reached or exceeded, 87° having been registered on several 

 days in the neighbourhood of London, while in the sun's rays the 

 thermometer has exceeded 140°. During the night of the 15th 

 and i6th a sharp thunderstorm occurred over the south-eastern 

 parts of England and in Yorkshire ; but the rainfall reported to 

 the Meteorological Office was nowhere heavy, the greatest 

 amount (o"4 inch) being registered in Yorkshire. 



A new genus, Limnocarpus, has been founded by Mr. 

 Clement Reid for the fruit of an aquatic plant, which occurs 

 throughout the Oligocene strata of the Hampshire Basin (Journ. 

 Linnean Soc, vol.- xxxiii.). The type-specimens of this plant, 

 which is allied to Potamogeton and Ruppia, were obtained from 

 the Lower Headon beds of Hordle cliff. 



The address delivered by M. Grimaux at the recent meeting 

 of the French Association for the Advancement of Science at 

 Nantes is printed in full in the Revue Scientifiqtie of August 6. 

 The subject of the address was " La Chimie des infiniments 

 petits " — the new chemistry which was founded by Pasteur, who 

 •demonstrated that a host of obscure reactions are due, directly 

 or indirectly, to micro-organisms. M. Grimaux indicated some 

 of the chief results obtained in this branch of scientific inquiry, 

 and pointed out the main features of the work of Pasteur and 

 of the host of disciples who are developing, extending, and 

 completing the work of the master. The meeting at which M. 

 Grimaux was to have delivered the address was unfortunately 

 marred by the expression of hostile public feeling against the 

 distinguished president of the Association, on account of the 

 position he had taken in a case which has lately caused much 

 commotion in France. At the opening ceremony of the 

 Association, M. Grimaux was unable to deliver his address, 

 so violent and noisy were the manifestations against him. 

 Finally, the address was delivered before members of the 

 Association in one of the local schools, to which the public 

 were not admitted. It is deeply to be regretted that a man of 

 NO 1503, VOL. 58] 



scientific distinction and high reputation should have received 

 such an unpleasant reception merely on account of his support 

 of M. Zola in the protest against the sentence on ex-Captain 

 Dreyfus. The words used by M. C. A. Laisant, the secretary 

 of the Association, in concluding his report upon the work and 

 progress of the year, should have been taken to heart by that 

 sectiop of the Nantes public which have brought discredit upon 

 the city by the recent manifestations; they are : — " Soit dans 

 I'etude de ces questions si importantes pour I'interet du pays 

 tout entier, soit dans les excursions qui charmeront les uns par 

 I'attrait de la nouveaute ou qui rappelleront 4 d'autres les 

 souvenirs de leur jeunesse, soit enfin dans vos travaux de 

 sections, consacres a la science pure, vous vous sentirez de plus 

 en plus attaches a notre ch^re Association, qui nous rapproche 

 tous dans un culte commun de la verite, et qui nous permet 

 d'oublier en passant les divisions et les discordes, trop 

 frequentes, helas ! parmi les hommes, en dehors du monde de la 

 science." 



A NUMBER of members of the French Association were the 

 recipients of honours during the year covered by the report 

 presented by the Secretary to the recent meeting at Nantes. 

 Among the nominations to professorships are :— M, Maquenne, 

 as professor at the Museum ; MM. Moussous and Deniges, as 

 professors at the Faculte de Bordeaux ; MM. Bordier, Broca, 

 Launois and Sambuc, as Fellows of the Faculty of Medicine ; 

 MM. Bourquelot, Perrier, Peyrot, Richer and Richet, as mem- 

 bers of the Academy of Medicine ; and M. Schlagdenhauffen, 

 as associe libre. In the Order of the Legion d'honneur the 

 dignity of Grand Officer was conferred upon MM. Dislere and 

 Himly, de I'lnstitut ; the grade of Commander upon Colonel 

 Renard ; the grade of Officer upon MM. Chavanon, Claude 

 Lafontaine, Dubar, Faisans, H. Filhol, Ch. Gauthiot, Dr. 

 Hayem, G. Payelle, Dr. Raymond, Georges Rolland, and Dr. 

 Zaepffel. Among the Chevaliers the Secretary mentions MM. 

 Arnavon, Dr. Barth, Blin, Arth, Boudin, Fernand Faure, A. 

 Gatine, Jules Grouvelle, Dr. Heydenreich, Lebois, Mace de 

 Lepinay, Dr. Alf. Marchand, E. A. Martel, A. Molteni, Pralon, 

 Dr. Jean Riviere, A. Taillefer, Dr. J. Teissier, and Aug. 

 Wallaert. Among the laur^ats de I'Academie des sciences, the 

 names are mentioned of Beauregard (prix Godard), Bourquelot 

 (prix Montagne), Andre Blondel (prix Plante), Durante and 

 Henri Meunier (prix Lallemand), Gaucher and Remy (prix 

 Montyon), Hebert (prix Cahours), P. Pruvot (prix Bordin), 

 Paul Sabatier (prix Lacaze), Joseph Vallot (grand prix des 

 sciences physiques), Gosselet (prix d'Ormoy). In the Academy 

 of Medicine prizes have been awarded to MM. Censier, Deniges, 

 Destot, Ducor, Grasset, Hallion, Lalesque. This list shows 

 that the Association numbers many active investigators among 

 its members. 



The publications of the Royal Alfred Observatory, Mauritius, 

 have been distributed somewhat irregularly, and most European 

 libraries have only incomplete sets. The announcement in 

 Syinons's Monthly Meteorological Magazine, that, for convenience 

 of distribution, all surplus copies have been sent to Mr. G. J, 

 Symons, F. R. S. , ought, therefore, to be widely known. A list of 

 the publications available is given in that magazine, and applica- 

 tions for any of them should be sent to Mr. Symons, 62 Camden 

 Square, London, N.\V., by October 15, when the remaining 

 copies will be allotted. 



The University of Upsala continues to issue a well-printed 

 and well-illustrated Bulletin of its Geological Institution. 

 In part 2 of its third volume the Bulletin deals with a variety 

 of topics relating to Swedish geology : with graptolites, corals, 

 and mammals ; with minerals and mineral veins, and with 

 subjects of chemical and structural geology. A paper by 



