4o6 



NATURE 



[August 24, 1893 



small outlying engine house with storage tanks. The laboratoty 

 owns a small sail-boat to assist in the work of collecting." 



Passing to Holland, we read — "Holland, in the summer of 

 1890, opened its zoological station in the Helder, a locality 

 which, for this purpose, had long been looked upon with the 

 greatest favour. There is here an old town at the mouth of the 

 Zuyder Zee, the naval stronghold of Holland, a station favour- 

 able for biological woik on account of the rapid running current 

 which renews ihe wafers of the Zee. The station was founded 

 by the suppoit of the Zoological Society of the Netherlands, 

 whose valuable work by the contributions of llubrecht, Hoek, 

 and Horst hns long been known in connection with the develop- 

 ment of the oyster industry of Holland. The work of the society 

 had formerly been carried on by means of a porlable zoological 

 station which the investigators caused to be transplanted to dif- 

 ferent points along the East Schelde, favourable on account of 

 their nearness to the supplies of spawning oysters. The present 

 station at the Helder is situated directly adjoining the great 

 Dyke, a small stone building of two storeys, surrounded by a 

 small park. In itself the laboratory is a model one — the rooms 

 are carefully finished and every arrangement has been made to 

 secure working conveniences. A large vestibule leads directly 

 into two laboratory looms, and by a hallway communicates 

 with the large, well-lighted library, and the rooms of the 

 director. The aquarium-room has, for convenience, been 

 placed in a small adjacent building. The director of this 

 station is Prof. Hoek, and the president of the soc'ety is 

 Prof. Hubrecht." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The Stanford University of California (the Times says) is 

 rapidly beccmirg the weahhiest institution of the kind in the 

 world. Yet there are several American Universities and 

 colleges which enjoy enormous wealth. For example, Columbia 

 University has an invested capital of ;^2,6oo,ooo; Harvard, 

 jf2,200,coo ; Yale, ;^2,oco,coo ; the California, ;^I, 400,030 ; 

 and the Johns Hopkins, ^6co,ooo. The endowment fund 

 of the Stanford University cannot at present be stated, 

 partly because the benefaction exists in the shape of pro- 

 perty which is rapidly ircreasing in value. But estimates 

 which appear to be well founded have been made at San 

 Francisco showing that at no distant date the University will 

 be worth ;^40,ooo, ceo, yielding an annualincomeof;^2, 200,000. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



WiedemantC s AnnaUfi der Physik mid Chcniie, No. 8 {1893). 

 — ^Polarisation of undiffracted infra-red radiation by metal wire 

 gratings, by H. E. J. G. du Bois and H. Rubens. Polarised 

 light passing without diffraction through silver wire gratings 

 experiences in general a rotation of its plane of polarisation. 

 The transmitting power of the gratings for light polarised in a 

 plane perpendicular to the length of the wires was found to be 

 greater than that for light polarised in a plane parallel to them. 

 The present, experiments were conducted with finer gratings 

 than before the smallest interval attained being O'ooi cm. aud 

 the measurements were taken in the infra-red region. The rn- 

 tensrty of radiation transmitted was measured by the bolometer. 

 It was found that as long as the wave length does not exceed a 

 certain value, the grating transmits a larger fraction of the 

 radiation when the electric vector is parallel to the wires; this 

 value appears to be independent of the width of interval, but 

 charadieristic of the metal ; for greater wave-lengths the trans- 

 mittance is greater when the magnetic vector lies in the direc- 

 tion of the wires. — The superior limit of wave-lengths which 

 may occur in the thermal radiation of solids ; a conclusion from 

 the second law of thermodynamics, by Willy Wien. Assuming 

 the second law, and the existence of none but Maxwell's pon- 

 deromotor forces in the pressure exerted by a gas, the author 

 shows that thermal radiation does not imply waves of all 

 lengths, but that the curve of energy, when traced along the 

 spectrum, falls continuously to infinitesimal values on the less 

 refrangible side, and practically disappears in the region of 

 Hertz's finite waves. — Electric oscillations of molecular struc- 

 tures, by H. Ebert. It is shown that the mechanism of 



NC. 1243, VOL. 48] 



luminescence may be fully explained by Maxwell's theory, re- 

 garding the luminous molecules as analogous to Hertz oscil- 

 latois of very small dimcn ions. — A photometer, by E. W. 

 Lehmann. This is. constructed on the principle of Joly's 

 photometer ; it consists of two totally reflecting prisms placed 

 side by side in a box. In each prism one of the adjoining fsoes 

 is ground, and the two ground faces are turned in opposite 

 directions so as to be illuminated by the two sources to he 

 compared. The plain faces are turned towards the observer, 

 with their edges touching. The observer looks at them throngh 

 a tube containing a telescope ; the box to which the lube ts 

 attached can be swung round through 180°, so as to exchange 

 the ground faces. The sensitiveness is such that forty successive 

 readings with amyl acetate burners at 120 cm. gave results ngt 

 differing by more than 0'4 per cent. 



Bulklin de t Academiede Belgiqtie, No. 6 (1893). — Wenotice 

 the following among the scientific papers : Megaraicros, ortbe 

 sensible effects of a proportional reduction of the dimensions 

 of the universe, by J. Delbceuf. According to Laplace, if the 

 dimensions of all the bodies in the universe, their mutual 

 distances and velocities were to increase or diminish in a 

 constant proportion, these bodies would describe the .same 

 curves as they do now. The appearances presented to observos 

 would be the same, and independent of the dimensions assumed. 

 Hence the only facts we are able to appreciate are ratios. In 

 opposition to this theorem, M. Delbceuf shows that if a 

 system consisting of the sun and the earth were to be diminished 

 in linear dimensions to one-half, all densities remainitg the 

 same at homologous points, and the orbital velocity of the 

 earth were reduced to one-half its value, there would be cer- 

 tain changes in the relations of an observer to his surroundings 

 which could not escape notice. The velocity of sound propa- 

 gation will t>e the same as before, but the distance traversed 

 during a certain number of vibrations will appear larger. If a 

 metric system were to be determined on the reduced planet in 

 a manner analogous to ours, the hectare will be a quarter, tie 

 litre one-eighth, and the kilogramme — owing to the reduction 

 of gravitation — one-sixteenth of the corresponding actosl 

 measures. Hence the work done in lifting a kilogramme 

 through one metre will be ^5 of an actual kilogramme-metre. 

 Muscular power, on the other hand, being proportional to Ihe 

 volume or mass uf niu-cle, will be only reduced to one-eighth, 

 and the observer will be able to lift four times the previoos 

 maximum weight. All work necess.iry f.jr life will procc;ed at 

 four times the usual rate, and hence life itself will be raoK 

 rapid. These considerations pursued by the author in.o the 

 regions of building, thermometry, animal heat, respiration and 

 cirrulatior, go to show that real space is different from geo- 

 BBCtric space, and that the dimensions of the universe are 

 absolute.— Note on the variations of temperatures of tcaos- 

 formation below and above the critical temperature, by P. de 

 H«en. The superior limit of pressure of superheated steam 

 before the passage into the liquid state is the simple prolonga- 

 tion of the curve expressing the variation of the tension e{ 

 saturated vapour. ^On the production of ammonia in the Boil 

 by microbes, by Emile Marchal. Nitrification takes place in 

 three principal stages, which may be described asammonisatian, 

 nitrosation, and nitratation, resulting in the production of 

 ammoaia, nitrites, and nitrates respectively from the orgajiic 

 nitrogen. Ammonisation takes place essentially under the 

 influence of microbes living in the upper layers of ihe soil. In 

 arable land, the action of bacteria is predominant. The 

 Bacillus mycoiJes, the most energetic of these, exerts a douUe 

 activity in the production of ammonia, being ammonisiog in 

 the presence of nitrogenous organic matter, denitrifying when 

 embedded in easily reducible substances such as nitrat'cs. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, June i.— "On the Flow in Electric Circoits 

 of Measurable Inductance and Capacity ; and on the Dissipa- 

 tion of Energy in such Circuits." By Alfred W. Porter, B.Sc, 

 Demonstrator of Physics in University College, Londtm. Com- 

 municated by Prof. G. Carey Foster, F.R. S. 



The arr.ingement of the apparatus in the experiments de-. 

 scribed was as follows : — 



L is a coil possessing self-inductance ; s, a condenser ; R, «n 



