156 



NATURE 



[June 14. 1900 



and the mounting in realgar (m = 2-5) makes the lines 

 stand out with a distinctness and brilliancy hitherto 

 unknown. 



The Royal Microscopical Society have, after careful 

 consideration and after full consultation with microscope 

 makers, drawn up a code of standard sizes for eye-pieces 

 and sub-stage fittings. It is to be hoped that this 

 important and useful step towards universality will be 

 generally adopted. Alfred N. Disney. 



T 



THE FORTHCOMING MEETING OF THE 

 BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



HE meeting of the British Association, which is to 

 be held in Bradford this year, promises to be an 

 unusually large and important one. Bradford being mid- 

 way between London and Edinburgh, serves as a common 

 meeting-ground for scientific men from the south of 

 England and from Scotland and Ireland, and it is within 

 easy reach of the Midland and Northern University 

 Colleges. Bradford and Leeds are so close together that 

 for such a purpose as this they are almost one city, 

 and the Bradford Committee, therefore, have the advan- 

 tage of the Yorkshire College being practically on the 

 spot. The last meeting of the British Association in 

 Bradford was held in 1873, but since that time the city 

 (which, by the way, was then only a town) has practically 

 been re-built, and has grown and developed in a manner 

 resembling the progress of an American rather than that 

 of an English town. 



It is, therefore, much better provided now with hotel 

 accommodation and with public buildings suitable for 

 reception and sectional rooms. It is probable that the 

 number of visitors will be far above the average ; already 

 some sixty or seventy Fellows of the Royal Society have 

 announced their intention of being present, and pro- 

 fessors and eminent lecturers from nearly every Univer- 

 sity in England, Scotland and Ireland have promised to 

 attend. The Church will be represented by the Bishop 

 of Ripon, the legal profession by the Master of the Rolls 

 and Lord McLaren, and the names of over a score of 

 members of both Houses of Parliament have been 

 sent in. 



The meeting will commence on Wednesday, Septem- 

 ber 5, when the new President, Prof. Sir Wm. Turner, 

 of Edinburgh, will deliver his address in St. George's 

 Hall. On the following evening the Mayor of Bradford 

 will give a conversazione in St. George's Hall, at which 

 it is hoped there will be exhibits illustrating the most 

 recent scientific work. On Friday evening the lecture 

 will be delivered in St. George's Hall by Prof. Gotch, 

 F.R.S., on "Animal Electricity." The lecture to artisans 

 on the Saturday will be given by Prof. Silvanus Thomp- 

 son, F.R.S., and it is expected that there will be an 

 audience in St. George's Hall of 4000 to 5000 working 

 men. On Monday afternoon the Mayor and Corporation 

 will give a garden-party in Lister Park, and in the 

 evening an address will be given by Prof. W. Stroud 

 on " Range-Finders." The Mayor and Corporation 

 will give another large conversazione on Tuesday 

 evening, and on the Wednesday evening a concert will 

 take place in St. George's Hall with the Permanent 

 Orchestra and the Festival Choral Society, under the 

 conductorship of Mr. Fredk. Cowan. There will also be 

 one or two eminent vocalists. 



During the week there will be a textile exhibition at 

 the Technical College, which will illustrate the various 

 processes of the local industries, and the machinery em- 

 ployed can be seen in motion. There will be a reception 

 at the College on Thursday afternoon, September 6, and 

 the smoking concert in honour of the President will also 

 be given at the Technical College, after Prof. Gotch's 

 lecture on Friday. 



NO. 1598, VOL. 62] 



Excursions to places of interest in the neighbourhood 

 will be made on Saturday, the 8th, and on Thursday, the 

 13th; among the places selected are Bolton Priory, 

 Ripon and Fountains Abbey, Malham, Clapham and 

 Ingleton, the Nidd Valley, Farnley Hall, Haworth, 

 Ilkley, Knaresboro' and Harrogate. 



It has become an established custom to publish locally 

 in the towns visited by the British Association a hand- 

 book contaiping a review of the objects of scientific 

 interest and of the social and industrial conditions which 

 prevail in the district. Many of these handbooks have 

 been excellent in their character, and have covered 

 ground altogether unexplored by the ordinary guide- 

 book. 



There is every prospect that the handbook published 

 in connection with the Bradford meeting of the Associa- 

 tion will be marked by the same width of view and 

 thoroughness of execution, and may prove of permanent 

 value. The work has been taken up with energy by the 

 Publications Committee, of which Mr. Harry Behrens is 

 chairman, and Mr. Mortimer Wheeler is honorary 

 secretary and editor. 



The book will be divided mainly into three sections. 

 The earlier will deal with the history of Bradford and 

 the development of the Bradford trade, under the following 

 sub-heads :—(i) Prehistoric archaeology, for which Mr. 

 Butler Wood, chief librarian of the Bradford Free 

 Libraries, is responsible : (2) the historical record of 

 Bradford through mediaeval times to the middle of the 

 i8th century, which has been undertaken by Mr. Harry 

 Speight ; and (3) the social life and development of 

 Bradford from the middle of the i8th century to the 

 present, which is in the hands of Mr. Halliwell Sutclifte, 

 the novelist. To this section there will be addenda on 

 the local dialect, the local folklore, and the local place- 

 names, including street-names, which will be written by 

 Mrs. Wm. Wright (of Oxford) and Mr. Butler Wood. 



The second section of the volume, of which Mr. John 

 Bacchus is sectional editor, will deal comprehensively 

 with the Bradford industries and institutions. The 

 following are sub-heads : — Introductory notice and 

 description of the staples employed in the Bradford 

 trade; description of the processes in combing, spin- 

 ning, weaving, dyeing and finishing ; merchanting in the 

 textile trade ; the iron trade and machinery-making ; the 

 stone trade and minor industries ; the Chamber of 

 Commerce and the Exchange. 



The third part of the book, which is under the sec- 

 tional editorship of Mr. J. E. Wilson, will deal with the 

 scientific material of the locality, the flora, fauna, geology, 

 meteorology, climate and public health. There will be 

 in addition a number of pages devoted to the topo- 

 graphy of the district, for which Mr. J. H. Hastings is 

 responsible. 



In addition to the handbook, the Publications Com- 

 mittee have in preparation a series of small guides to the 

 various places to which excursions are to be made. 

 These will be issued in the form of a small portfolio, and 

 each guide is being prepared on a scheme similar to 

 that of the handbook, local specialists being called upon 

 to describe the archa?ology, geology, botany and zoology 

 of the various districts. 



In regard to the accommodation of visitors, it is not 

 anticipated that, in spite of the large influx of strangers, 

 there will be any difficulty in finding comfortable quarters 

 for everybody. Bradford is well provided with hotels, the 

 two largest of which, the Midland and the Great Northern, 

 can put up a great number of guests. All the available 

 accommodation at the Royal Hotel has been secured by 

 the local committee in order to provide for the secretaries 

 of the different sections, who, of recent years, have been 

 in the habit of lodging together. A large amount of 

 private hospitality will be provided by the inhabitants of 

 Bradford, and the Hospitality Committee is also drawing 



