NA TURE 



[December 8, 1892 



Mr. W. Mattieu Williams, who had a considerable 

 reputation as a metallurgist and a popular writer on scientific 

 subjects, died at his residence, near Willesden, on November 

 28. He was in his seventy-fourth year. Among his writings 

 ate his well-known books on "The Fuel of the Sun," 

 "Science in Short Chapters," and "Through Norway with a 

 Knapsack." 



We have to record the death of two distinguished Continental 

 cryptogamists, Dr. F. v. Thiimen, the well-known mycologist, 

 formerly Director of the Chemico-Physiological Experiment 

 Station at Klosternenberg ; and Dr. C. M. Gottsche, of Altona, 

 one of the authors of the Synopsis Hepaticartim, 'and one of the 

 leading authorities on Mosses and Hepaticse, in the eighty-fourth 

 year of his age. 



The Master and Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cam- 

 bridge, have elected as Honorary Fellows the following graduates 

 of the college: — Alexander Henry Green, F.R.'S., bracketed 

 sixth Wrangler, 1855, formerly a Fellow of the College, late 

 Professor of Mathematics, Yorkshire College of Science, now 

 Professor of Geology, Oxford ; Arthur Ransome, M.D., F.R.S., 

 First class Natural Sciences Tripos, 1856, Physician to the Man- 

 chester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat ; 

 and George John Romanes, F.R.S., Sir Robert Rede's lecturer, 

 1883, late Professor of Physiology in the Royal Institution of 

 Great Britain. 



An important conference on technical education was held at 

 Newcastle on Saturday. It was sumraoaed by the Technical 

 Education Committee of the Northumberland County Council. 

 Sir M. White Ridley, the Chairman of the Council, said that 

 the scheme of the Technical Education Committee, generally 

 speaking, had opened out two progressive educational roads from 

 the elementary day school onward — first, for day scholars, by 

 means of scholarships ; and secondly, for evening students by a 

 graduated system of classes. The work in progress under that 

 scheme had already been very extensive. As regarded agricul- 

 ture, there had been courses of lectures, on manuring land, 

 poultry-keeping, farm stock, fdairy work, &c. Educational 

 courses had been given in mining, mechanics, electricity, engi- 

 neering, shipbuilding, &c. As regarded the fishermen also, a 

 very successful method had been adopted of teaching the men a 

 few plain scientific facts with regard to coastal navigation, the 

 habits of fishes, and so on. After the delivery of the Chairman's 

 speech the Committee's scheme was carefully discussed. 



Prizes and certificates in connection with the City and Guilds 

 of London Institute will be presented on Monday, December 12, 

 at Merchant Taylors' Hall, Threadneedle-street, by Mr. William 

 Anderson, F.R.S The Lord Mayor will preside. 



At the General Monthly Meeting of the Royal Institution on 

 Monday, the special thanks of the members were returned to 

 Mr. Ludwig Mond for a donation to the fund for carrying on 

 investigations on liquid oxygen. 



Mr. Streeter held a reception on Saturday at 18 New 

 Bond Street for the first display of sapphires from the Montana 

 mines. At the same time an assortment of chrysoprase jewels 

 was exhibited, and also a black diamond, said to be the largest 

 yet discovered. Mr. Streeter also showed, among other things, 

 a collection of different specimens of pearl-bearing oyster shell, 

 and some curious formations of pearls in shell and loose, and in 

 a variety of natural colours. 



In the current number of the Geological Magizine it is noted 

 that Mr. Joseph E. Carne, Curator of the Mining and Geologi- 

 cal Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, who so ably assisted the 

 late Mr. C. S. Wilkinson during the Mining and Metallurgical 

 Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, in 1890, has been 

 appointed by the Minister of Mines to the post of Geological 

 NO. 1206. VOL. 47] 



Surveyor. Mr. Carne entered the service of the New South 

 Wales Government in 1879. 



Thk French Association for the Advancement of Science has 

 received from an anonymous donor the sum of 600 francs, to be 

 given in two prizes (of 400 and 200 francs), to the authors of 

 the tjest memoirs containing an investigation, according to local 

 documents, of the frequency of rabies, and the prophylactic 

 measures in operation in a department of France, la Seine 

 excepted, or in a region (two or three departments) of France or 

 of Algeria. The statistical figures must relate to ten years at 

 least, and comprise the results of 1892. Manuscripts to be sent 

 to the secretary in Paris before March 31, 1893. The following 

 points are noted for investigation : — The number of rabid 

 animals, of dogs, of persons bitten, and dead through rabies, 

 also of those vaccinated at the Pasteur Institute ; separate the 

 cases of rabies in large towns from those in the rest of ihe 

 department ; measures of sanitary police, their effect and diffi- 

 culty of application ; causes of more or less frequency of rabies, 

 and of vaccination ; measures taken in frontier departments, &c. 



Dr. B. Pasqu.\le has undertaken a study of the phenomena 

 and causes of the very destructive disease of the vine known as 

 " mal nero," his observations having been made chiefly in Sicily. 

 The disease makes its appearance in the form of black spots 

 and streaks on the leaves. Dr. Pasquale finds it to be always 

 accompanied by a Schizomycete, which he believes also to be 

 its cause, and which is parasitic, especially on the tissues rich in 

 protoplasm and in other plastic substances, such as the cambrium, 

 the medullary rays, the cortical parenchyma, and the soft bast of 

 the axile organs. 



The Botanical Gazette states that, in a report to the Cornell 

 University, Prof. L. H. Bailey firmly establishes the commercial 

 value of the electric light for certain winter crops, especially for 

 lettuce. Certain kinds of plants, which are injured by the direct 

 rays of the light, are not injured, but may even be benefited, 

 when the light passes through a clear glass globe or through a 

 glass roof. Auxanometiic records appear to show that the light 

 accelerates growth, bat does not change its normal periodicity. 

 This is in harmony with the observations of Prof. G. Bonnier, re- 

 corded in the Coniptes rendus, who finds that the electric light 

 promotes the formation of chlorophyll in all kinds of plants, 

 both woody and herbaceous. 



The third appendix, 1892, of the Kew Bulletin has been 

 issued. It consists of a list of the staffs of the Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, and of botanical departments and establishments at home 

 and in India and the colonies, in correspondence with Kew. 



M. Edouard Branly, Professor of Physics at the Ecole 

 Libre des hautes etudes, Paris, writes to us to complain that 

 experiments made by him are attributed to Mr. Dawson Turner 

 in our account of" Physics at the British Association" (Nature, 

 August 18, p. 384). We learn that in Mr. Turner's paper, and 

 in the condensed report furnished by him for publication, full 

 justice was done to Prof. Branly 's work. The reference to Prof. 

 Branly was unintentionally omitted when the report was being 

 cut down for Nature. 



Messrs. Macmillan & Co. will publish immediately a new 

 book by Professor Oliver Lodge, entitled "The Pioneers of 

 Science." In this volume, which will be fully illustrated with 

 portraits and diagrams, the author describes in popular language 

 the history and progress of Astronomy. His aim has been to 

 state scientific facts and laws as simply as possible, to present in 

 turn a living figure of each Pioneer, and to trace his influence 

 on the progress of thought. 



During the past week barometric depressions have reached 

 our western coasts with considerable frequency. As these dis- 



