June 8, 1893] 



NATURE 



131 



was finished was his constant aim; and his zeal was 

 generally equalled by his success. He undertook very 

 little from which he did not get some positive result, for 

 his method was to work tentatively, and to relinquish 

 the inquiry if it did not appear promising. In this way 

 he took up what he regarded as the greatest work of his 

 life, the determination of the parallax of stars of the 

 second magnitude. In this investigation he showed the 

 keenest interest, and much of the work was performed 

 not only under his directions, but actually by himself. 

 and the Royal Society, recognising the importance 

 of this work, and also Prof. Pritchard's earnest and pro- 

 tracted devotion to astronomy, awarded him the Royal 

 Medal last year. W. E. P. 



NOTES. 



The annual meeting of the Royal .Society for the election of 

 Fellows was held in their apartments at Burlington House on 

 Thursday last, when the following gentlemen were elected into 

 the Society : — Prof. William Burnside, Prof. Wyndham R. 

 DuDstan, William Ellis, Prof. J. Cossar Ewart, Prof. William 

 Tennant Gairdner, Ernest William Hobson, Sir Henry Hoyle 

 Howorth, Edwin Tulley Newton, Charles Scott Sherrington, 

 Edward C. Stirling, John Isaac Thornycroft, Prof. James 

 William H. Trail, Alfred Russel Wallace, Prof. Arthur Mason 

 Worthington, Prof. Sydney Young. 



Among Fellows of the Royal Society whose names appear in 

 the list of birthday honours are Dr. B. W. Richardson, F. K.S., 

 Capt. A. Noble, C.B., F.R.S., and Mr. Charles Todd, 

 C.M.G., F.R.S. Dr. Richardson, who has been knighted, is 

 well-known as a writer on hygienic and medical subjects, and 

 Capt. Noble, who is created a Knight Commander of the Bath, 

 is an authority on explosives. Mr. Todd has been promoted 

 to Knight Commander of the Order of St. .Michael and St. 

 George. In the announcement of the honour that has been 

 conferred upon him, he is described as Postmaster-General and 

 Superintendent of Telegraphs of the colony of South Australia. 

 It should be pointed out, however, that Mr. Todd is also the 

 Government Astronomer at Adelaide and that he has published 

 numerous contributions to meteorology and astronomy. It 

 almost appears as if Mr. Todd's standing as an astronomer and 

 man of science has been wilfully avoided, for we can hardly 

 think that the Colonial Office is in blissful ignorance of his 

 scientific work. The only scientific man in Government em- 

 ploy whose services have been recognised is Mr. David Morris, 

 the assistant director of the Botanic Gardens at Kew, who has 

 been made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. 

 George. 



The ladies' conversazione of the Royal Society was held last 

 night in the Society's apartments at Burlington House. 



The President of the Society of Antiquaries has issued invi- 

 tations for a conversazivne at Burlington House, on the 14th 

 instant. 



It is expected that, at the meeting of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society to-morrow evening, Prof. Thorpe and Mr. Alfred 

 Taylor will give an account of the expeditions to observe the 

 recent total solar eclipse. Prof. E. E. Barnard, of the Lick 

 Observatory, will also be present, and will address the meeting. 



The annual conversazione of the Society of Arts will take 

 place at the Imperial Institute, South Kensington, on Friday, 

 June 30, from 9 to 12 p.m. 



On June 26, 1793, died Gilbert White of Selborne, a man 

 who has done perhaps more than any other of his countrymen 

 to awaken a taste for natural history and encourage its pursuit. 

 A writer in the June number of The Zoologist gives a sketch of 

 the lile of this naturalist, and points out that now is the time to 

 erect some kind of monument to his memory. The sole 

 NO. 1232, VOL. 48] 



memorial which at present exists is a marble tablet on the 

 chancel wall of the church in which he officiated. This is not 

 as it should be. A marble bust was erected to Richard 

 JefTeries, in Winchester Cathedral, a few months after his death, 

 while Gilbert White, also a Hampshire man, has remained 

 unhonoured for a century. As to the claim of the author of the 

 " Natural History of Selborne," to a memorial there can be 

 no doubt, and it is to be hoped that a committee will be formed 

 to take the matter in hand, and carry it to a successful termina- 

 tion. Unfortunately no portrait of Gilbert White is in exist- 

 ence, so there is a difficulty in designing a monument with a 

 statue unless it be decided to allow the sculptor to carve the 

 features from his imagination. Under these circumstances, the 

 preferable plan would be to erect a monument emblematical of 

 the avocation of a naturalist, such, for example, as the monu- 

 ment to the natuialist, John James Audubon, which was 

 unveiled at New York on April 26 last. Whether the monu- 

 ment should be erected at the little village of Selborne, or in 

 the borough-town of Petersfield, ought soon to be decided. We 

 trust that when an appeal for funds is made, there will be a 

 hearty response to it. 



We regret to have to record the death of Dr. Carl Semper, 

 Professor of Zoology and Comparative .\natomy in the Uni- 

 versity of Wiirzburg, on May 29. 



It has been resolved by the Government of India that in the 

 future two-thirds of the officers of the Geological Survey shall 

 be primarily engaged in the explorations necessary for the com- 

 pletion of the geological map, and the remaining third on the 

 investigation of mineral fields. According to the Times, the 

 exploration in the latter case will be confined to such preliminary 

 examination as may be necessary to supply general information 

 regarding their character and extent to capitalists and promoters, 

 upon whom will rest the responsibility for more detailed pro- 

 specting. 



An International Electrical Congress will be held in connec- 

 tion with the Columbian Exposition, at Chicago, in .August. 

 There will be three sections, one dealing with pure theory, 

 another with theory and practice, and a third with practice only. 

 Papers are solicited upon electrical subjects, and should be sent 

 to Prof. T. C. Mendenhall, Washington, D.C.j not later than 

 August I. Electrical standards and units will be considered 

 by a body consisting of those specially designated as represen- 

 tative delegates from the various Governments. 



The second meeting of the International Maritime Congress 

 is to be held in the rooms of the Institution of Civil Engineers 

 next month. The chief object of the congress is the reading 

 and discussion of papers on matters relating to the promotion 

 and security of maritime traffic and commerce. After the- 

 meeting it is proposed to visit the docks along the Thames, and 

 some of the provincial seaports. 



The annual general meeting of the Institution of Civil En- 

 gineers was held on May 30. Before proceeding to the ordinary 

 business, II.R.H. the Duke of York was elected an honorary 

 member. The ballot for Council resulted in the election of Mr. 

 Alfred Giles as Pi;esident ; of Sir Robert Rawlinson, Sir B. 

 Baker, Sir Jas. N. Douglass, and Mr. J. W. Barry, as Vice- 

 Presidents ; and of Dr. W. Anderson, Mr. A. R. Binnie, Sir 

 Douglas Fox, Sir Chas. A. Hartley, Messrs. J. C. Hawkshaw, 

 C. Hawksley, Alex. B. W. Kennedy, Sir Bradford Leslie, Mr. 

 J. Mansergh, Sir Guilford Molesworth, Mr. W. H. Preece, Sir 

 E. J. Reed, Messrs. W. Shelford, F. W. Webb, and W. H. 

 White as other Members of Council. 



The weather during the latter part of last week continued 

 particularly dry over the greater part of these islands, owing to 

 an anticyclone which lay over the Atlantic embracing most part 



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