NA TURE 



[September 28, 1893 



In the evening overa thousand members were entertained 

 by the local committee in the Theatre Royal, and wit- 

 nessed Mr. Wilson Barrett's company in the new play 

 Pharaoh. 



The concluding day, Thursday, was devoted to whole 

 day excursions to "The Dukeries ' (Sherwood Forest, 

 Welbeck, Clumber, Thoresby, &c.), the Midland Railway 

 Works at Derby, Chatsworth and Haddon, Charnwood 

 Forest, Dovedale, Castleton, Matlock and Miller's Dale. 

 The weather was all that could be desired, and the com- 

 plete organisation led to everything passing off punctually 

 and without a hitch. 



The generally expressed opinion of the departing guests 

 was that no meeting was comparable to the present one 

 for enjoyment except that at Montreal. The workers 

 seemed to be generally of opinion that in no direction 

 had the gathering been so useful as in the discussions 

 initiated in several of the sections, to which reference has 

 been made in recent numbers of Nature. Undoubtedly 

 one of the greatest advantages derived by the annual 

 gathering is the meeting of "researchers" from all parts 

 for the interchange of ideas, and the making and renewal 

 of acquaintance one with another. The impression ap- 

 parently made on all who have been concerned in the 

 meeting is that the British Association is by no means in 

 a declining condition. It is instinct with life, and those 

 of the inhabitants of Nottingham who have felt the vivify- 

 ing effect of being brought into contact with many of the 

 scientific pioneers of our time, will wish that the Associa- 

 tion, which has stimulated their scientific ardour by its 

 presence, may live to benefit other important centres for 

 many years to come. Fk.\NK Clowes. 



. NOTES. 



It is announced that the bust of the late Prof. John Marshall, 

 which has been subscribed for as a memorial to him, will be 

 handed over to the Council of University College on the 

 occasion of the introductory lecture, by Mr. Bilton Pollard, at 

 the opening of the session on Monday, October 2. 



M. Janssen, writing to M. Bischoffsheim from the summit 

 of Mount Blanc, on September 12, says that the Observatory 

 has been fixed in its place, and all that now remains is to fit up 

 the interior. It is hoped that observations will be commenced 

 this autumn. 



With much regret we record the death of Mr. Thomas 

 Hawksley, the well-known civil engineer, on Saturday, Sep- 

 tember 23. Mr. Hawksley had for some years been at the 

 head of that branch of his profession which deals with gas and 

 water supply. It is said that more than 150 waterworks were 

 constructed under his direction, besides a large number of im- 

 portant gasworks. He was born in 1 807, and elected a Fellow 

 of the Royal Society in 1878. In 1871 he was chosen as 

 President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and held that 

 office for two years. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers 

 elected him President in 1876-7, and he was the first President 

 of the Gas Institute. In .-iddition to these distinctions Mr. 

 Hawksley possessed a number of decorations conferred upon 

 him by various Sovereigns for services to science and to them- 

 selves. At the ripe old age of eighty-eight he passed away, 

 leaving behind him a name which will be honoured for many 

 years to come. 



The Right Hon. Lord Thring will, on Tuesday, October 3, 

 distribute the prizes to the successful studenis of the Medical 

 School of St. Thomas's Hospital, The distribution will take 

 place at three o'clock, in the Governors' Hall. 



NO. 1248, VOL. 48] 



At a meeting of the Committee of the Sunday Society, at the 

 Prince's Hall, on Tuesday, the date of Museum Sunday this 

 year was fixed for November 26, when, as in November last, 

 addresses are to be delivered in support of the Society's object, 

 viz. the opening of museums, art galleries, and libraries on 

 Sundays. 



Prof. H. A. Nicholson willcommence the Swiney Lecture* 

 on Geology on Monday, October 2, at the South Kensington 

 Museum. His subject is " The Bearings of Geology on the 

 Distribution of Animals and Plants." 



The Gilchrist trustees have granted the delivery of a course 

 of science lectures at the Great Assembly Hall, Mile End 

 Road, on alternate Thursdays, beginning this evening, when 

 I'rof. V. B. Lewes will discourse on "Our Atmosphere and its 

 Relation to Life." The other lecturers will be Sir Robert 

 Ball, Prof Fleming, Rev. Dr. Dallinger, Dr. R. D. Roberts, 

 and Dr. Andrew Wilson. The course will be in connection 

 with the Bethnal Green Free Library. 



A COURSE of twelve educational lectures on the principles of. 

 Commercial Geography applied to the British Empire will be 

 delivered by Dr. H. R. Mill, at the London Institution, on 

 Tuesday evenings, commencing on October 3. At the open- 

 ing lecture, which is free, the plan of the course will be 

 explained. Mr. H. J. Mackinder will follow Dr. Mill with %. 

 course on the relations between History and Geography. 



The following lectures will be delivered at the Royal 

 Victoria Hall, Waterloo Bridge Road, during October : — "'The 

 Life and Work of Sir Richard Owen," by A. Smith Wood- 

 ward; "A Total Eclipse of the Sun," by Prof. Thorpe; 

 "Electrical Fishes," by Dr. W. D. Halliburton; and "The 

 Compass in Iron Ships," by Prof. Keinold. 



The Dublin Water Committee has recently been cr.rrying 

 out experiments in rain-making. On the 20th inst. three 

 dozen distress signals and one dozen rockets were fired ir to the 

 air, and ten pounds of tonite were exploded on the ground. A 

 copious fall of rain occurred shortly afterwards, especially OB 

 that part of the watershed between the Djouce and the Sugar 

 Loaf Mountains. Whether the precipitation was directly 

 caused by the fireworks is, however, a matter of opinion. 



The weather in these islands has recently undergone consid" 

 erable change, owing principally to a deep depression whil^- 

 for several days lay between the Shetlands and Norway, causing' 

 northerly gales in Scotland, and snow in the northern fiartsof 

 the kingdom. Frosts have occurred at night over Scotland and 

 the central parts of England and Ireland, while in many places 

 the daily maxima have fallen below 50". Rainfall exceeding an 

 inch in the twenty-four hours has occurred at several stations in 

 Scotland, but in the midland and southern parts of England the 

 weather generally has continued very dry. From the com- 

 mencement of the year there is a deficiency in the amount of 

 rain in all districts, amounting to nearly seven inches in the 

 midland counties and south-west of England, and to more than 

 nine inches in the west of Scotland. 



The Rev. S. Chevalier, S.J., Director of the Zi-Ka-Wei 

 Observatory, has recently read a paper before the Shanghai 

 Meteorological Society [on the Bokhara typhoon whith 

 occurred in October, 1892. The typhoon originated on the ytl* 

 of October to the east of Luzon, and on the loth passed very 

 near to the south Cape of Formosa and, whilst crossing that 

 island, wrecked in one night the Norwegian steamer Nor- 

 mand and the Peninsular and Oriental steamship Bokhara. 

 Observations have been collected and collated for the whole 

 area which came under the influence of the storm, and diagrams 

 are given for selected stations to show the action of the 



