September 15, 1898] 



NATURE 



471 



rubbish talked by those who take part in this agitation. 

 Unfortunately this is not the case. As in every other 

 relation of life, the old saying holds good, "Throw 

 enough mud and some of it is sure to stick," and such as 

 does stick can only be got rid of by thorough washing 

 and efficient whitewashing. It is to this part of the work 

 that we now wish to call the attention of all thoughtful 

 men ; and we can not help thinking that their work will 

 be all the easier from the fact that the " compulsory " 

 clause has been eliminated from a " Bill " that has already 

 proved somewhat weak as an " Act," but which would 

 have been still weaker as a legislative measure had not 

 the amendment proposed in the House of Commons been 

 ultimately carried in the House of Lords. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



THE meeting which has just been brought to a con- 

 clusion in Bristol may fairly be regarded as a 

 highly successful one. The weather, though at first 

 somewhat oppressive, has been on the whole eminently 

 favourable for garden parties, conversazioni, and excur- 

 sions. The destruction of the Colston Hall by fire raised 

 difficulties at the last moment, but the emergency arrange- 

 ments of the local committee amply met the requirements 

 of the case. Although the seating accommodation of the 

 People's Palace is far inferior to that of the Colston 

 Hall, its acoustic properties are greatly superior. A 

 brilliant audience met to hear Sir William Crookes's 

 presidential address, and the members and associates 

 attended in large numbers to listen to the discourses of 

 Prof. Sollas and Mr. Jackson. Prof. Sollas's lecture on 

 Funafuti was clear, lucid, and well illustrated, while Mr. 

 Herbert Jackson's discourse on Phosphorescence, with his 

 admirable experiments, is universally regarded as a 

 brilliant success. The conversazione at Clifton] College 

 was well arranged and highly appreciated ; the exhibits 

 including a demonstration of the spectra of rare atmo- 

 spheric elements by Prof Ramsay and of wireless tele- 

 graphy, attracting large numbers, and the tastefully- 

 lighted Close forming a pleasant promenade in the open 

 air. The garden parties and the Saturday excursions 

 have also gone off well. The Mayor of Bath took special 

 trouble to make the excursion to Bath a pleasant one, and 

 invited many members to visit the city and environs, the 

 new excavations of the Roman Baths being especially 

 visited and explained. Members who look forward to the 

 meeting as a pleasant opportunity for social converse with 

 their scientific confreres and with people of standing in 

 the locality, have every reason to be well satisfied with 

 the arrangements which have been made in Bristol. The 

 old city has well maintained its tradition of hospitality. 

 Sir William Crookes, speaking on Saturday at the 

 banquet given by the Chamber of Commerce to distin- 

 guished visitors and guests, said that he had attended 

 many meetings of the British Association, but could re- 

 member no occasion when the welcome accorded was 

 more hospitable and enthusiastic, or the arrangements 

 more carefully planned. In fact, it was agreed by all the 

 members that the local arrangements have been a model 

 of what such arrangements should be. The local 

 hon. secretaries, Mr. Arthur Lee, J. P., and Dr. Bertram 

 Rogers, have been indefatigable in their e.xertions, and 

 have given nights as well as days to the work, hence 

 everything has progressed with perfect smoothness. 



The visit of four men-of-war has served to give an 

 added interest to the meeting in its social aspect. This 

 was a new feature, and was much appreciated both by 

 the visitors and the local members. The ships' com- 

 panies were not forgotten in the local arrangements, 

 several entertainments being arranged for them. The 

 officers of the Association provided for a lecture to be 

 given to them upon a suitable topic, but it had to be 



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cancelled, as the commander was unable, on account of 

 his early departure, to grant leave to the 350 officers and 

 men for whom arrangements had been made. 



The very successful smoking symposium and concert 

 given by the Scientific Societies of Bristol in the beautiful 

 hall of the Merchant Venturers' Society's Technical 

 College, assuredly gave no evidence of dulness. An 

 excellent and humorous programme, capital speeches by 

 the High Sheriff (Mr. Richardson Cross, the well-known 

 oculist). Dr. Ryan (Professor of Engineering in Univer- 

 sity College, Bristol) and the president of the meeting, 

 and the customary appurtenances of such a gathering, 

 put all who were present in excellent humour. 



We have alluded specially to the social aspects of the 

 meeting. But they in truth form a not unimportant part 

 of the work of the British Association. It is pleasant 

 even to serious students of science to meet in the flesh 

 those who have been hitherto met only on the printed 

 page, and to find them after all eminently human ; while 

 words of kindly encouragement from older to younger 

 workers are stimulating to renewed effort. Good work 

 has been done in the Sections ; but of this we hope to 

 furnish an outline later on. The conference on terres- 

 trial magnetism and atmospheric electricity, under the 

 presidency of Prof. Riicker, was extremely well attended. 

 Delegates from Germany, France, Holland, Italy, etc., 

 were present, and most important conclusions were 

 arrived at. 



Everyone agrees that the local representatives of 

 science have done all they could to stimulate interest in 

 the neighbourhood of Bristol and the scientific work which 

 is there being prosecuted, and it is, we hope, not invidious 

 to make special mention of the work done by the Masters 

 of Clifton College and the Professors at the Bristol Uni- 

 versity College to make the meeting successful. The 

 local secretaries and their staff have spared no efforts to 

 render the general arrangements efficient in themselves 

 and intelligible to the members. The numbers in attend- 

 ance approach 2500. The applications for tickets for the 

 longer excursions on Thursday have been so numerous 

 as to render their allotment a matter of difficulty ; and 

 the final four days' excursion to Devonshire will probably 

 be taken by the limiting number of 100 visitors. 



As to the work of the General Committee, the report 

 of the Council of the Association was read by Prof. 

 Schafer at the meeting of the Committee on September 

 7, and among the matters of scientific interest referred to 

 in it are the following : — 



The Council have elected the following men of science 

 who have attended meetings of the Association to be 

 corresponding members :— Prof C Barus, Brown Uni- 

 versity ; M. C. de Candolle, Geneva ; Dr. G. W. Hill, 

 West Nyack, N.Y. ; Prof Oskar Montelius, Stockholm ; 

 Prof. E. W. Morley, Cleveland, Ohio ; Prof C. Richet, 

 Paris ; Prof W. B. Scott, Princeton, N.J. The Council 

 were invited to nominate one or two members to give 

 evidence before the Committee appointed by the Govern- 

 ment to report on the desirability of establishing a 

 National Physical Laboratory, and at their request Prof 

 G. Carey Foster, F.R.S., and Prof W. E. Ayrton, F.R.S. 

 gave evidence before this Committee. A report hai 

 been presented to Parliament, and the Council trust that 

 the deliberations of the Committee will result in the 

 establishment of a National Laboratory. 



In regard to the resolutions referred to them for con- 

 sideration and action, if desirable, the Council report as 

 follows :— (i) That the Council appointed a committee to 

 consider the desirability of approaching the Government 

 with a view to the establishment in Britain of experi- 

 mental agricultural stations similar in character to those 

 which are producing such satisfactory results in Canada. 

 The committee having reported that much is already 

 being done in this direction by County Councils and 



