October 12, 1893] 



NA TURE 



569 



NCTES. 

 Sir Henry Gilbert s>iled for America at the end of last 

 week, to deliver the biennial Rothanistcd Agricultural Lectures. 

 There is an appropriateness in Sir Henry being the lecturer for 

 1893, the jubilee year of the Rothamsled wheat experiments. 

 He is, of course, bound in ihe first place for Chicago, where Sir 

 John Lawes and himself have a considerable exhibit. 



We are glad to learn that the fund which is being raised to pay 

 the expenses incurred by Dr. Budge, of the British Museum, in 

 the action recently decided against him, now amounts to about 

 /'930, so that there is every prospect of the whole amount being 

 shortly obtained. 



Lord Kelvin will open the new science buildings erected 

 at the Leys School, Cambridge, on Saturday, October 28. The 

 buildings include an extensive museum, three lecture theatres, 

 and laboratories for elementary and advanced chemistry, 

 biology, and physics. 



The Paris correspondent of the 7V7«« says that a collection 

 of Egyptian papyri, recently purchased by subscription for the 

 Geneva Public Library, is being examined by M. Jules Nicole. 

 Among the discoveries already made are included a didactic 

 elegy on the stars, and several scientific compositions. 



The Adelaide meeting of the Australasian Association for the 

 Advancement of Science commenced on September 25, when 

 Dr. Stirling, C.M.G., F.R.S., delivered a lecture on " Pre- 

 historic Man." Prof. Ralph Tate, the president- elect, delivered 

 the presidential address on the following day. The following are 

 the sections and the names of their presidents : — Astronomy, 

 maiheniatics, and physics, Mr. H. C. Russell, C.M.G., F.R.S. • 

 chemistry, Mr. C. N. Blake ; geology and mineralogy, Sir 

 James Hector, K.C.M.G., F.R.S. ; biology, Mr. C. W. de Vis ; 

 geography, Mr. A. C. Macdonald ; anlhrop >logy. Rev. S. Ella ; 

 economic science and agriculture, Mr. H. C. L. Anderson ; 

 engineering and architecture, Mr. J. R. Scott ; hygienic and 

 sanitary science, Mr. A. Mault ; mental science and education. 

 Prof. Henry Larvire. 



.\N International Exposition will be inaugurated in San 

 Francisco on January i, and will remain open until June 3, 

 1894. 



There is to be a "castle in the air " at the Internationa] 

 Exhibition to be held at Antwerp next year. An immense 

 balloon, built in six separate parts, on the principle of the water- 

 tight compartments in steamers, will be held captive by means 

 of ropes, and from it a castle-shaped structure, 33 yards long by 

 8 yards wide, will be suspended instead of a car. Entrance to 

 the ca?tle will be obtained by means of two lifts, a id the supply 

 of gas will be kept up by connecting a generator on the ground 

 with the balloon by means of a silk lube. 



The Congress of the Photographic Society of Great Britain 

 and Affiliated Societies was opened on Tuesday. In his presi- 

 dential address. Captain Abney reviewed the advances recently 

 made in photography, dwelling paiticularly upon the Lippmann 

 processes for obtaining photographs in natural colours. A 

 special lantern display will be held this eve:iing at thi Gallery 

 of the Society in Pall Mall. 



A TERRIBLE storm passed over the Gulf of Mexico on 

 Monday, October 2, and, in conjunction with a tidal wave, did 

 serious damage. Immense destruction was caused to the 

 plantations, crops, and villages near the shore, and a report 

 from New Oi leans states that 1 200 lives were lost in the portion 

 of Louisiana visited by the cyclone. Hundreds of small vessels 

 along the Gulf Coast were wrecked, and at Chandileur Island 

 NO. 1250, VOL. 48I 



the wind is reportedjto have had a velocity of 100 miles an hour. 

 All the buildings on the island, including the lighthouse, were 

 destroyed, several miles of the island being completely 

 wa>hed away. As the railway and telegraph service in the 

 region visited by the storm have been destroyed, details of 

 the path traversed and the damage done have not yet been 

 obtained. 



The Societi d' Encotiragiment four T Industrie Nationale has 

 made the following awards. The grand medal for agriculture 

 to i'rof. E. Lecou leux ; the prize of 3000 francs for perfecting 

 the ventilation of mines, to M. Murgues ; the prize of 2000 

 francs for a study of the coefficients required in a calculation of 

 the mechanical possibilities of an aerial machine has not been 

 awarded, but a sum of 500 francs has been assigned to Prof. 

 Le Dantee. The prize of 20CO francs for the inventor of new 

 metliodi of utilising petroleum, advantageously and without 

 danger, for industi ial and domestic purposes, has also not been 

 awarded, hut an encouragement in the shape of 1000 francs has 

 been given to Dr. Paquelin. M. Kayser has obtained the prize 

 (3000 francs) for a study of alcoholic ferments, and M. Girard 

 that of 2000 francs for the best experiments on cattle feeding. M. 

 Decaux has received the prize of looo franc? for a new photo- 

 graphic shutter. Gold medals have been awarded to MM. L. 

 Figuier, J. Fournier, M. Mustel, E. Petrousson, and G. 

 Tissandier (the Editor of La Nature). 



The Patent Laws of this country make no provision for an 

 official starch as regards the novelty of inventions, hence the 

 necessity for a perfect system of indexing of specifications of 

 psitents can readily be understood. In order to facilitate refer 

 cnce and enable intending patentees to satisfy themselves 

 whether their brain- creations are really novel or no', a 

 new series of illu-strated Abridgment Classes is being pub- 

 lished at the Patent Office. These abridgments have been 

 classified according to subject, and they refer to all the 

 specifications of patents applied for in the period 1877-83. 

 Everything depends, of course, upon the manner in which a 

 classification of this character is made, and we are glad to be 

 able to say that the Comptroller-General has grouped the 

 specifications in an excellent manner. He certainly deserves 

 the thanks of men of science for arranging philosophical instru- 

 ments in a class by themselves. The volume devoted to this 

 class includes over five hundred short illustrated descriptions of 

 inventions relating to optical, nautical, surveying, mathematical, 

 and meteorological instruments. It is intere-ting reading, 

 and should be useful to devisers of apparatus for any branch 

 of science. During the period covered by the summary, in- 

 ventors appear to have directed their attention principally to 

 perfecting and devising new forms of those instruments which 

 were already in existence. At any rate, very few new discoveries 

 are indicated by the inventions set forth, which may perhaps be 

 taken as evidence that the fundamental laws of nature have 

 now been fairly well recognised. Among the most ingenious 

 apparatus we may note the telemeters, or range-finders, by 

 means of which the distances of objects can be ascertained 

 directly from a single station, the importance of which from a 

 military or naval stand- point cannot be over-estimated. Other 

 surveying instruments, such as theodolites, levels, telescopes, 

 &c., are fully represented, as also are magnetic compasses, 

 ships' logs and sounding apparatus, sextants, and other nautical 

 instruments. In the field of meteorology we find barometers, 

 thermometer?, hygrometers, anemometers, wind vanes, sun- 

 shine recorders, &c., while among optical instruments occur 

 improvements in telescopes and microscopes, stereoscopes, 

 magic-lanterns, and spectacles, reading-glasses, lenses, and 

 reflectors. The volume also comprises mathematical drawing 

 instruments and tripod stands for various kinds of apparatus. 



