September i6, 1897] 



NATURE 



471 



of the Linnean Society he contributed many papers on zoology 

 and botany, and described many gi-oups of sensory organs on 

 the surface of insects. In the same Transactions he also pub- 

 lished papers on original researches on the '* Lichens, Mosses, j 

 and Unicellular Algre" ; and papers on " Vol vox Globator, | 

 Amoeboid Vegetable Bodies," and " Gonidia of Lichens" were | 

 contributed by him to the Microscopical Journal. 



The meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, to be held at Sydney next January, promises j 

 to be an important one. A large number of papers have been j 

 promised to the different sections, among them being : " The | 

 Classification of Eucalypts," by J. G. Luckmann ; " A Statistical 

 Account of Australian Fungi," by D. M'Alpine ; " The Algae 

 .f Victoria," by H. T. Tisdell ; " Flowers of the Order Prote- 

 acece," by J. Shirley ; " Underground Fungi of Tasmania," by 

 R. Rodway ; " Australian Oceanography," by T. W. Fowler ; 

 " On the Formation and Structure of Coral Reefs," by J. J. 

 Wild ; " The Dialectic Changes of the Indo-Polynesians," by 

 the Rev. S. Ella; "The Oceanic Peoples," by E. Tregair ; 

 "The Ancient Geography of the Maoris," and "The Geo- 

 graphical Knowledge of the Polynesians," by S. Percy Smith ; 

 "Old Samoa "and " Australian Cave Paintings," by the Rev. 

 J. B. Stair; "Ancient Maori Rites and Customs," by Mr. 

 Elsdon Best ; ' ' The Teaching of Mechanical Drawing in State 

 Schools," by J. Plummer ; " The Characteristics of Australian 

 and other Diamonds," by E. W. Streeter ; " A Series of Micro- 

 photographs of Bacteria," by Dr. Frank Tidswell ; "The 

 Rationale of Miraculous Cures in Modern Days," by Dr. S. T. 

 Knaggs ; " Fact and Idea," by J. C. Brennan ; and " Scientific 

 Methods as applied to Modern Education," by Miss E. A. 

 Badham. 



The death is announced of Mr. John Darlington, a well- 

 known mining engineer, and author of a number of works on 

 mining and metallurgy. 



The sixteenth annual congress of the Sanitary Institute 

 opened at Leeds on Tuesday, and the President, Dr. Farquhar- 

 son, M.P., delivered an inaugural address. 



The eighth annual meeting of the Federated Institution of 

 Mining Engineers was held on Tuesday in Edinburgh, under 

 the presidency of Sir Lindsay Wood. 



The energetic Secretary of the Society for the Protection of 

 Birds has issued another letter of protest against the wanton 

 destruction of birds to supply ladies with wings and feathers 

 and stuffed skins for their bonnets. The Society is unceasing 

 in its efforts to open the eyes of the gentler sex to the cruelty 

 often practised in procuring plumes, and to the gradual exter- 

 mination of many beautiful and beneficial birds. We regret to 

 think, however, that such trifling matters do not disturb the 

 minds of the majority of women when they choose their 

 millinery. Present effect is to them the sole criterion of the 

 value of a bonnet, and how the effect is produced they 

 complacently leave others to inquire. 



Attention has already been called to the fact that the collation 

 of the enormous mass of evidence collected by the Indian 

 Geological Survey with regard to the great earthquake of June 12, 

 is now being carried on under the supervision of Mr. R, D. 

 Oldham. It is as yet too early for any final opinions to be 

 expressed, but some of the preliminary results are of interest 

 as showing the power of the shock. The area affected is stated 

 to be greater than that of the Lisbon earthquake. The earlier 

 reports as to the damage were exaggerated ; but it was neverthe- 

 less very serious, as can be readily believed, as the cylinder 

 seismometer at Shillong indicates that the shock consisted of an 

 oscillation of 7*4 inches at the rate of 60 times a minute. All 

 the masonry was accordingly simply shattered to pieces, rather 

 NO. 1455. VOL. 56] 



than overthrown. Mr. Oldham's conclusions as to any possible 

 connection between the earthquake and a continued uplift of the 

 Himalaya will be awaited with much interest. 



The systematic position of the Dictyotaceoe has been a fre- 

 quent subject of inquiry among algologists. The occurrence of 

 tetrasporangia and of non-motile male cells has even led some 

 to suggest an affinity with the Florideae. Crouan was, however, 

 of opinion that the so-called spermatia were motile ; but Thuret, 

 after a careful investigation, concluded that they were, like the 

 similar bodies in the Floridese, devoid of cilia, and incapable of 

 movement. Later Johnson thought he saw evidences of ciliary 

 movement in Dictyopteris, another genus of the same family. 

 Mr. J. Lloyd Williams has now clearly established by repeated 

 observations, carried on during this and last summer, that the 

 antherozoids of Dictyota and Taonia are actively motile like 

 those of Fucacere. It is evident that this is an observation of 

 great importance, and botanists will look forward to the publica- 

 tion of details. The work has been conducted in the Botanical 

 Laboratory of University College, Bangor, the situation of 

 which on the shore of the Menai Straits afforded excellent 

 facilities for the investigation. 



The wonderful expansion of mining enterprise in the West 

 Kootanie district of British Columbia during the past few years, 

 and the extent and richness of the deposits carrying silver and 

 gold there, are referred to by Dr. G. M. Dawson in the latest 

 Report (vol. viii., 1895) of the Geological Survey of Canada. 

 One of the most noteworthy points brought out by the field- 

 work of Mr. McConnell is the occurrence, lately ascertained, of 

 ores of exceptional richness in parts of the granite area, which 

 has hitherto been almost disregarded by the miners. In the 

 Rainy Lake and Thunder Bay districts of Western Ontario, 

 surveys have been made by Mr. Mclnnes in connection with 

 the development and definition of the auriferous quartz veins 

 and iron ores. The rocks characterising the country are 

 divisible, in a general way, into Laurentian and Huronian ; and 

 it is in the latter that minerals of value are found to occur. 

 Dr. Dawson states that some assays of quartz from the Manitou 

 and Seine River regions prove the existence of quartz-veins 

 exceptionally rich in gold, of which it only remains to determine 

 the extent and continuance in depth. A survey of the Nodda- 

 way River in Northern Quebec, by Dr. Bell, resulted in the 

 important geological discovery that a great area of the Huronian 

 system exists to the north of the main watershed. 



A SIMPLE experiment for determining the source of the rays 

 from a " focus " tube is described by Dean Molloy in the 

 Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society (vol. viii. 

 part V. 59). Dr. Molloy took a deal board measuring seven 

 inches by five, and into it drove fifteen slender nails in three 

 rows of five ; this was attached to the back of a fluorescent 

 screen mounted on a stand so contrived as to allow of the 

 apparatus being revolved in a circle about the focus tube, with 

 the screen always tangential to the circle. By noting the 

 directions of the shadows of the nails, the exact position of the 

 source of radiation could be determined. On adjusting the 

 focus tube so that the central nail pointed towards the platinum 

 plate in all positions of the screen, it was found that this nail 

 gave only a black spot for its shadow, the shadows of the other 

 nails radiating symmetrically from this spot as centre. It 

 followed that the source of radiation was in the line of the 

 central nail produced, and was thus shown to be at or about 

 the centre of the platinum plate. Dr. Molloy then proceeded 

 to determine the size of the area of radiation by means of a pin- 

 hole image, and found it to be an irregularly circular ill-defined 

 patch about a quarter of an inch in diameter, coinciding with 

 the patch which first begins to glow when the current is 

 turned on. 



