114 



NA TURE 



[June i, 1893 



skilled workmen the difticullies of mmipulalion were not such 

 as could not be got over, and that fairly uniform results would 

 follow reasonable care in working. 



The next business was the reading of Prof. Roberts- Austen's 

 paper on the recording pyrometer. It will be remembered that 

 at the annual meeting of two yta-s ago, I'rof. Roberts Austen 

 gave a description of the Le Chatelier pyrometer, and the appli- 

 cation of it, which he had introduced, by which it was adapted 

 for recording work in blast furnace practice. The object of the 

 present paper was to give some particulars of the most recent 

 form of this recording pyrometer, which Prof. Roberts-Austen 

 has devised. At the request of Mr. E. P. Martin, Managing 

 Director of the Dowlais Iron Works, Cardiff, an instrument was 

 made and put into operation as a means of recording temperature 

 of the blast in an iron smelting furnace. The spot of light from 

 the mirror of a galvonometer is thrown on sensitised paper, 

 the paper itself being traversed at a uniform speed. In this 

 way the record of temperature at all times is obtained. The 

 author gave an instance of the value of the instrument. The 

 blast to the furnace in question was supplied by a number of 

 hot blast stoves on the ordinary regenerative principle. When 

 the chequer work in a stove has been heated up sufficiently and 

 the blast is first turned on for supply of the furnace, the tempera- 

 ture of the blast is naturally at its maximum. As the blast cools 

 the chequer work, by abstracting heat from it, the temperature 

 gradually falls, and it continues to decrease until it is considered 

 desirable to reheat the stove, and then a new slove is switched 

 on. It will be seen therefore, that the temperature of the 

 blast in the main, common to two or more stoves, will 

 vary regularly, so that a curs'e on the diagram indicating 

 temperature, will consist of a number of more or less 

 steep inclinations ; in fact, very much representing the teeth of 

 a saw. That would be the normal inclination ; occasionally, 

 however, the gas valves leak, and then the .stove may be receiving 

 hot gases when it ought only to be passing air. The average 

 temperature when this leaky stove is in use will naturally be 

 higher than that due to another stove ; in fac', it will be heated 

 at the expense of the remaining number of the group. The 

 result is antagonistic to regular working which is so much 

 desired in blast furnace practice, and though the evil effect may 

 be neutralised by the heat absorbing property of the large mass 

 of material in the blast furnace — acting, as it were, as a fly- 

 wheel for heat — the state of irregularity, if carried to excess, 

 might be very harmful. It is also, of course, desirable that the 

 blast furnace operator should know at the earliest time when 

 his valves are going wrong ; in fact, the whole system upon 

 which the Cowper stove is based bears on the proper reversal of 

 the blast. Prof. Robert Austen's apparatus fulfils the required 

 conditions in supplving the knowledge required, and the in- 

 vention cannot fail to be one of the greatest service to the 

 metallurgist. 



A paper by Mr. John Head on puddling iron was next read 

 and was followed by a short discussion, alter which the meeting 

 concluded with the usual votes of thanks. 



ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 

 ANNIVERSARY MEETING. 



'T^HE anniversary meeting of the Royal Geographical Society 

 ^ held on Monday afternoon was, as we anticipated, excep- 

 tionally large and representative. The report of the council stated 

 that the membership of the Society on the 1st of May was 

 3691 (including 22 ladies), a net increase of 166 fellows since 

 May 1st, 1892, being the largest net addition to the membership 

 of the Society since 1875. The total net income for the 

 year was ;i'9.S,ooo, and the expendilure /"9012. In addition 

 to the services performed to the fellows and the public by 

 means of evening meetings, the use of the Map Room and 

 Library and the publication of the Geographical Journal, twenty 

 four intending travellers have received instruction in practical 

 astronomy and route-surveying from Mr. Coles, and instru- 

 ments have been lent to eleven travellers for use in all parts of 

 the world. 



In order lo express disapproval of the words we italicise in the 

 first paragraph of the report, which ran as follows : — 



Memhers/iif. — The question of electing Ladies as Ordinary 

 Fellows was considered by a Special General Meeting on 

 April 24th, when it was decided in the negative by a consider- 

 able majority. The Council regard this vote (unless hereafter 



NO. I 23 I, VOL. 48] 



rescinded by a General Meeting) as conclusive against any 

 further election of Ladies as Ordinary Fellows, withonl prejudice 

 to the status of those already elected. They consider that, under 

 the circumstances, all the legal expenses incurred in connection 

 with this important question may equitably be defrayed by the 

 Society, and they have accordingly provided for their being so 

 defrayed. 



Mr. Dibden, seconded by Colonel Montague, moved the 

 rejection of the report, but on a division being taken the 

 report was accepted by a large majority. The medals and 

 other awards for the year were then presented as follows : — 



The Founder's Medal, to Frederick Courtney Selous, in 

 recognition of his extensive explorations and surveys in British 

 South Africa. The Patron's Medal, to W. Woodville Rockhill, 

 for his travels and explorations in Western China, Kokonor, 

 Tsaidam and N.E. Tibet. The Murchison Grant lor 1893, to 

 Mr. R. W, Senior, who, for several years in succession, has 

 carried out a most laborious duty in the higher ranges of Kulu 

 and Lahaul, Punjab Himalayas, and the results achieved in 

 point of accuracy, expedition, and amount of work done, have 

 been exceptional in the face of great hardships and great physical 

 difficulties. The Gill Memorial, to Mr. Henry O. Forbes, for 

 his explorations and natural history observations in New 

 Guinea, the Malay Archipelago, and the Chatham Islands. The 

 Cuihbert Peek Grant, lo Mr. Charles Hose, for explorations 

 and natural history observations and coUeciions in Sarawak, 

 North Borneo. Six prizes of ;^5 each, and eight of books, given 

 by the Royal Geographical Society to Students in Training 

 Colleges for 1893, were presented to the successful candidates 

 who were introduced by Mr. Mackinder. 



A ballot was then taken for the election of officers and 

 council lor the ensuing year, and the list proposed by the 

 council was, as usual, adopted. The new president is Mr. 

 Clements R. Markham, F. R.S., and the vice-presidents are the 

 Hon. G. C. Brodrick, Sir Joseph Hooker, F.R.S., Sir John 

 Kirk, F.R.S., Dr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., General R. 

 Strachey, F.R.S., and Captain W. J. L. Wharton, F.R.S. 



Sir M. E. Grant Duff, the retiring president, then read the 

 anniversary address on the progress of geography, in which he 

 summarised the various activities of the Society. In the course 

 of this he said that during the four years in which he had 

 the honour to be ])resident, he had seen the number of 

 Fellows increase by three hundred and fifty-eight, and they 

 were now close upon three thousand seven hundred. Before 

 long the Society would have to take into the most serious 

 consideration the acquisition of a new domicile. 'Our 

 constantly increasing collections would of themselves, as I 

 have pointed out before, ere long drive us from our present 

 quarters, and we have, in addition, reason to believe that 

 even if we could extend our borders where we now are, on any- 

 thing like reasonable terms, which we cannot, certain changes in 

 the streets in this part of the town would ere long improve 

 us off the face of creation. Then, although the Uni- 

 versity of London has been most kind to us in lending us their 

 theatre, and although the character of our papers and of our 

 publications, as well as our position as the leading geographical 

 society of the world make us, I think, not unwoithy recipients 

 of the kindness of a university, whose operations extend over 

 the whole of the British Empire, we cannot look forward to 

 the present state of things continuing for an indefinite period. 

 A vote of the Senate might at any time put an end to it." 



An epitome of the year's exploration — which has been 

 sufficiently recorded in our "Geographical Notes" from week 

 to week — concluded the address, which was received with great 

 applause. On the motion of Lord Northbrook, seconded by 

 Sir John Lubbock, an enthusiastic vote of thanks was passed 

 to the retiring president, who briefly replied. 



At this stage a controversy regarding the question of the ad- 

 mission of women to the Society was started, and after some 

 spirited speaking, the leading opponents of the recent action of 

 the council stated that they were perfectly ])repared to concur 

 with the wishes of a majority of the Society as ascertained by 

 means of a plebiscite, or a special general meeting to be con- 

 vened at an early date. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCA TIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Oxford. — The number of entries for the Honour School of 

 Natural Science this year is 41, which compares favouritbly with 



