May 31, 1900] 



NATURE 



07 



I 



A MEETiNc; of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union will be held 

 at York on Whit-Monday for the investigation of the natural 

 history of Askham Bog, and for the geological investigation of 

 the morainic ridges of Askham and Bilbrough. Askham Bog 

 is one of the very few undrained spots left in the Vale of York ; 

 hence the naturalist values it much as the paleontologist values 

 one bone of an extinct animal, for from it he can draw such a 

 true and interesting picture of a stage in the development of the 

 district. 



A Fisheries Exhibition will beheld at Salzburg, Austria, on 

 September 2, and the eight following days. The exhibits are 

 divided into nine classes, and include sections for artificial 

 breeding apparatus, preserving methods, tackle, and the litera- 

 ture and statistics of fishing. 



The Times announces that the appointment of the com- 

 manding officer of the National Antarctic Expedition has been 

 made by the joini committee of the Royal and Royal Geo- 

 graphical Societies. The officer selected is Lieut. Robert F. 

 Scott, now torpedo-lieutenant of the Majestic. He has been 

 fifteen years in the Navy, has a record of service of the highest 

 class, and will shortly be promoted to commander. The head 

 of the scientific staff will be Dr. J. W. Gregory, recently 

 appointed professor of geology in the University of Melbourne. 

 Though he has only just entered upon his duties at Melbourne, 

 the authorities have granted him leave of absence to serve with 

 the Antarctic Expedition. He will come to England in October 

 to prepare for his new work. 



An exhibition of photographs, by Dr. P. H. Emerson, will be 

 open at the Royal Photographic Society, 66 Russell Square, 

 W.C., from May 30 until June 30. 



By the will of the late Prof. Piazzi Smyth, the executors are 

 instructed to repay to the Government Grant Committee of the 

 Royal Society all of the advances, estimated at 300/. , made by 

 the Society to Prof. Smyth for the purchase of scientific instru- 

 ments after he went to Ripon. The will bequeaths to the Royal 

 Society of Edinburgh the portrait of Prof. Smyth, by Faed, 

 R.S.A., and all his books of original drawings and journals, 

 and his boxes of glass photographs. The residuary estate 

 is to be in trust for certain legatees for life, and subject to their 

 ■life interest for the Royal Society of Edinburgh if agreeable to 

 iceceive the same as a trust, whereof the income is to be em- 

 ployed by that Society, first, in printing for a limited free distri- 

 "bution and a small sale to the public, at a cost of about 600/., the 

 spectroscopic MSS. offered by Prof. Smyth to the Government 

 in October 1857, and then to assist or promote every ten or 

 twenty years an exceptional expedition for the study of some 

 particular branch of astronomical spectroscopy in the purer air 

 of some mountain elevation of not less than 6ckx) feet above the 

 sea-level, as tried and found feasible by him in the first experi- 

 ment on the Peak of Teneriffe in 1856. If the residuary estate 

 is not accepted by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, it is to be 

 distributed amongst the pecuniary legatees. 



Last week the Royal Horticultural Society held its thirteenth 

 "Temple Show." In every respect, apart from the uncertainty 

 of the weather, the great annual exhibition more than fulfilled 

 the expectation of lovers of flowers and of horticulturists 

 generally. On the other hand, the botanist was greeted by 

 no species that was not already known. The student of evo- 

 lution might, nevertheless, have made the acquaintance of 

 many new artificial races, and hours might have been spent 

 in examining fresh garden "varieties," produced by hybridisa 

 tion and cross-breeding. Even when some striking variation 

 has been chanced upon, and "fixed" by careful selection, 

 judicious crossing may be resorted to, in order that further 

 " improvements " may be brought about. To take a case, 

 NO. 1596, VOL, 62] 



Messrs. Laing and Sons showed some begonias, in which the 

 development of a " crest " or tuft of small outgrowths from the 

 petals was very much marked. This appeared sporadically and 

 slightly at first in a plant with flowers of the same colour as 

 those of its parents, but since the establishment of the crested 

 race it has been crossed with others, and now crested petals 

 may be had of many tints. The cactus- flowered zonal pelargo- 

 nium may be mentioned on account of its vivid colouring and 

 numerous narrow petals. Its rearer, Mr. E. S. Towell, obtained 

 it from the seed of a "semi-double " Pelargonium, which he 

 crossed with pollen from many different flowers. Among these 

 was that of Lychnis chakedonica ; and Mr. Towell, though not 

 absolutely certain of the fact, considers that the last-named 

 species is the father of his " Fire Dragon." The particular tint 

 of scarlet shown by the petals, the time these persist, and their 

 divided appearance favour this view. 



The Sugar-Beet Committee of the Central Chamber of 

 Agriculture have completed arrangements for a limited number 

 of experiments in the growth of sugar-beet during the forth- 

 coming season, each experimental plot being at least one acre 

 in extent. In all, there will be about thirty-three different 

 experiments, of which twenty-five are situated in England, four 

 in Scotland, and four in Ireland. The English counties in 

 which one or more experiments will be made are Wilts, Hants, 

 Berks, Oxon, Beds, Kent, Suffolk, Hereford, Worcester, 

 Warwick and Lancaster. As previous experiments have, in 

 certain cases, demonstrated the value of sugar-beet for the 

 feeding of live stock (independently of its value for the manu- 

 facture of sugar), it has been decided to keep this point 

 specially in view in connection with the experiments of the 

 present year. 



An interesting feature of the Paris Exposition is the elevated 

 moving pavement. The line, which is described in the Scientific 

 American, forms a complete circuit, running along the side of 

 the Champ de Mars, the Quai d'Orsay, the Esplanade des 

 Invalides and the Avenue de la Motte-Picquet, the total length 

 of its course being 3500 metres. The platform is supported on 

 an elevated structure, to which access is given from a number 

 of stations situated within the Exposition grounds. The sub- 

 structure supports three platforms, one fixed and two movable, 

 these having a speed of eight and four kilometres per hour. 

 To enable the platform to pass around the curves, the different 

 sections are dovetailed into each other by large circular por- 

 tions, forming a kind of horizontal hinge. Each of the plat- 

 forms carries an I-beam running along under the centre ; these 

 rest upon a series of rollers placed at intervals, operated by 

 electric motors. Upon the shaft of the motor is mounted a 

 large roller for the high-speed platform and a roller of one-half 

 the diameter for the slow speed. The friction of the platform 

 is sufficient to cause its adhesion to the rollers. The platform 

 was put into operation on April 14, and has proved a great 

 success, as by its means an easy passage through the grounds 

 is afforded, as well as a series of interesting views. The tour 

 is made in twenty-six or fifty-two minutes. 



Particulars of the short electric line — about 5000 feet in 

 length— between Earl's Court and High Street, Kensington, 

 which has just been opened on the Metropolitan District Rail- 

 way, are given in the current number of the Electrician. The 

 engineers, Sir John Wolfe Barry and Sir W. H. Preece, were 

 required to equip this line electrically without any interference 

 with the permanent way, without any interference with the 

 running of the ordinary train service, and without allowing any 

 electric current to pass through the permanent way or the sub- 

 soil, lest such should interfere with the signalling arrangements 

 of the line. In accordance with these stringent regulations, it 

 became necessary to adopt an insulated system throughout, and 



