NA TURE 



[June 24, 1^97 



NOTES. 

 The jireHminary programme of the International Congress of 

 Mathematicians, to be held at Zurich on August 9-1 1, has just been 

 issued. The first general meeting of the congress will be held at 

 nine o'clock on the morning of Monday, August 9, in the Aula of 

 the Zurich Polytechnicum. M, Poincare will commence the pro- 

 ceedings with a paper on the relation between pure analysis and 

 mathematical physics. The next item on the programme is a 

 report of the committee on the. object and organisation of the 

 congress ; and this will be followed by a paper, by Prof. Dr. A. 

 Hurwitz, on a development of the general theory of analytical 

 functions. The afternoon and evening of Monday will be given to 

 a banquet, a river excursion, and a soiree. On Tuesday, August 

 10, the congress will meet at 8 a.m. in six different sections, 

 dealing respectively with papers on algebra and theory of 

 numbers, analysis and theory of functions, geometry, mechanics 

 and mathematical physics, astronomy and geodesy, history and 

 bibliography. On Wednesday, August 11, the second general 

 meeting will be held. The organisation of mathematical con- 

 gresses will then be discussed, and the date and place of the 

 next meeting will be decided upon. On the same day an 

 address will be given by Prof. F. Klein, on the question of 

 higher mathematical instruction, and one by Prof. G. Peano, of 

 Turin, on " Logica mathematica." It is requested that mathe- 

 maticians who propose to take part in the congress will com. 

 municate with Prof. Dr. A. Hurwitz, Falkengasse 15, Zurich, 

 before August i. A ladies' committee has been formed to look 

 after the comforts of lady visitors while the congress is in session. 



Particulars of the construction of the wonderful steam, 

 turbine-driven 'boat — the Ji/r/^/w«(Z— designed and built by the 

 Hon. C. A. Parsons, were given in Nature three weeks ago 

 (p. 116). We understand that the Ttirlnnia steamed to Cowes 

 last week, stopping at Harwich, without the smallest hitch. On 

 this long run without stop, the complete absence of vibration 

 was greatly appreciated by all on board ; from Harwich to 

 Cowes speeds of from sixteen to twenty-eight knots were main- 

 tained. The Ttirbinia will be at Cowes and in commission 

 during the review week, for the inspection of visitors and the 

 Press representatives. She is now capable of steaming between 

 thirty-four and thirty-five knots. 



The elevating floor of the Yerkes Observatory at Chicago fell 

 on May 29, just one week after the 40-inch lens had been placed 

 in position. The drop was from its highest elevation, a distance 

 of 45 feet. Fortunately the lens was uninjured, but repairs will 

 take up the entire summer, and will delay the use of the tele- 

 scope to that extent. 



Dr. S. a. Papavasiliou has sent us an intimation that he 

 has resigned the directorship of the Service geodynamique de 

 'Observatoire d'Athenes. 



Prof. L. L. Dyche, of the Kansas State University, has 

 reached San Francisco, en route for Alaska, to make arrange- 

 ments for an expedition to the Pole, beginning next season, 

 and planned to extend over three years or more. He will have 

 provisions for a five years' absence, making the start from the 

 northernmost whaling station. 



The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designated a Board, of 

 which Mr. B. Killen, of Oregon City, Ore., chairman of the 

 Board of Regents of the Oregon Agricultural College, and Mr. 

 Evans, of Washington, D.C., are members, to go to Alaska, to 

 nvestigate the needs of an agricultural experiment station in that 

 territory, and to secure data incident, to the establishment of 

 such an institution. 



The Cagnola prize of 2500 lire (ico/.)and a gold medal 

 having a value of 500 lire (20/,) was awarded to Prof. Dr. 

 NO. 1443. VOL. 56] 



Ferdinando Sordelli last year for a memoir entitled, " Studi 

 sulla Vegetazione di Lombardia durante i Tempi Geologici," 

 which has just been published as volume xiv. of the Atti della 

 fondazione scientifica Cagnola. 



Prok. Charles L. Bristol, of the New York University, 

 and three of his students, with Prof. Tarleton H. Bean, Super- 

 intendent of the Castle Garden Aquarium ; Dr. W. M. Rankin, 

 of Princeton, and Prof. Wm. H. Everett, of the New York 

 University, sailed from New York for Bermuda on June 3, as 

 a biological expedition. Besides collecting specimens, the party 

 will try to discover a suitable site for a permanent station for the 

 study of marine life. General Russell Sturgis has offered the 

 University a site on his estate at Hamilton. 



The Commercial Museums at Philadelphia, containing indus- 

 trial exhibits from all the nations of North and South America, 

 including over 75,000 samples of natural produce and industrial 

 products, was opened on June 2, by President McKinley, in the 

 presence of many of the ambassadors of the different American 

 countries, and of special delegates from others. The exhibition 

 is the largest and most complete in many respects that has ever 

 been held. An International Commercial Conference was held 

 in connection with the opening of the museums, under the presi- 

 dency of Dr. William Pepper, of Philadelphia. 



The United States Weather Bureau has been conducting ex- 

 periments with kites flown at distances of from one to two miles 

 above the earth, and now it is claimed that it is possible to fore- 

 cast the weather for a period sixteen hours longer than at present, 

 and more accurately. It is said that the fact has lieen established 

 that shifting of the wind occurs at the height of a mile above the 

 earth's surface from twelve to sixteen hours before the same 

 change of direction occurs on the surface. Researches by means 

 of high-flown kites and aeroplanes have now been prosecuted 

 so far as to warrant the expectation that within six months the 

 United States Weather Bureau will be able to construct a tele- 

 graphic synchronous chart based on conditions of the atmosphere 

 one mile above the earth. This chart will cover the region 

 between the Rockies and the AUeghanies at the outset. 



A botanical society has recently been established at Perth, 

 West Australia, and has been given the designation of the 

 Mueller Botanic Society, as a tribute to the memory of the late 

 Baron von Mueller, who spent the best part of his life in investi- 

 gating the plants and other products of Australia. Sir John 

 Forrest lias been elected president of the new Society ; Mr. 

 Wittenoom and Mr. Leake, vice-presidents ; and Mr. Skews, 

 secretary. 



Further reports of the earthquake in India, on June 12, 

 show that the disturbances were felt over a very extensive area. 

 Considerable damage was done to public and private buildings 

 at Calcutta, and many places in the provinces of Bengal and 

 Assam have suffered very severely. The complete breakdown 

 of telegraphs and other means of communication delayed the 

 reports from Assam regarding the effects of the earthquake in 

 that province. They are now, however, coming in, and present 

 a terrible state of affairs. Reuter reports that at Shillong the 

 shocks of earthquake were so severe and prolonged that every- 

 thing was levelled with the ground, and many people lost their 

 lives. Gauhati is in ruins. The roads are broken up into 

 chasms, and the railway has disappeared, but no lives were lost. 

 At Goalpara, on the Brahmaputra, the earthquake produced a 

 wave of water which destroyed the bazaar and all pakka build- 

 ings. The country is covered with fissures, from which mud 

 and sand are constantly spurting. At Dhubri all pakka build- 

 ings have been demolished. The river bank has subsided, the 

 country is flooded, and the crops are ruined. Both at Goalpara 

 and Dhubri there has been serious loss of life. Several place 



