July 5, 1900] 



NATURE 



229 



^by Mr. E. Goffe, on "The Construction of 'Long Cecil,' a 

 47-inch Rifled Breechloading Gun in Kimberley during the 

 Siege 1899-1900," have already been given by us), but from the 

 fact of a number of members of the American Society of 

 Mechanical Engineers being present. To these a most hearty 

 welcome was accorded. 



The thirty-second annual convention of the American Society 

 of Civil Engineers was opened on Monday last at the Institu- 

 tion of Civil Engineers. The proceedings were inaugurated 

 by an address of welcome from Sir Douglas Fox, the president 

 >>f the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the presidential 

 address was delivered and several discussions took place. 



The Audiffret prize, of the value of 15,000 francs, has been 

 awarded by the Academy, of Moral and Political Sciences of 

 Paris to Dr. Yersin for 'his discovery of the anti-bubonic 

 serum. The prize is awarded at regular intervals for the 

 "greatest devotion to scientific discovery." 



The Pharmaceutical Society announces that the Salters' 

 Company Research Fellowship is now vacant. The subject of 

 the Fellowship is chemistry considered especially in its relation 

 to pharmacology, that is, the application of the newest methods 

 of scientific chemistry to the elucidation of pharmacological 

 problems. The Fellowship is of the annual value of looA, and 

 is tenable in the Research Laboratory of the Pharmaceutical 

 Society for one year, but may be renewed under certain con- 

 ditions, and the holder is expected to devote his whole time to 

 original investigation. Candidates need not necessarily be 

 pharmaceutical chemists or members of the Society. The last 

 day for receiving applications is Saturday next. 



The Balbi-Valier prize, of the value of about 120/., has been 

 awarded by the Venetian Institute of Sciences to Prof. Grassi, 

 of Rome, for his work on the mosquito and its relation to 

 malaria. 



A PRIZE of the value of 1000 marks is offered by the Scientific 

 Society of Danzig, in connection with its 150th anniversary, for 

 a paper on the geology of North Germany. 



The German Society of Mechanical Engineers offers a 

 premium of 60/. and a gold medal to the designer of the best 

 system of high-speed electric railways for heavy traffic. 

 Designs must be submitted by, at latest, October 6 next. 



The Lavoisier Monument which is being erected on the 

 Place de la Madeleine, Paris, in close proximity to the house in 

 which the famous chemist lived for many years, will, according 

 to the Chemist and Druggist, be formally inaugurated on July 27 

 by the French Minister of Public Instruction. The statue has 

 been erected by international subscription under the auspices of 

 the Paris Academy of Sciences. The sculptor is M. Barrias, 

 and the monument will consist of a bronze statue of Lavoisier, 

 on a pedestal, bearing on two sides bas-reliefs showing Lavoisier 

 working in his laboratory with Mme. Lavoisier writing under 

 his dictation, and Lavoisier expounding the result of his experi- 

 ments at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences. The scenes 

 have been created from authentic documents. 



A monument has been erected to the memory of Dr. Jean 

 Hameau, the obscure general practitioner of the Gironde, who, 

 in 1S36, published a study on viruses, in which he partly antici- 

 pated the discoveries of Pasteur. The statue t^'as unveiled 

 recently at La Teste de Buch, where Hameau practised. 

 Addresses were delivered by Dr. Laude, the Mayor of Bordeaux 

 and President of the Medical Syndicates Union of France, Prof. 

 Lannelongue, of Bordeaux, and others. Hameau was born in 

 1779. and died in 1851. His claim to be considered a precursor 

 of Pasteur has been publicly acknowledged by Prof. Grancher, 

 NO. 1601, VOL. 62] 



and it is probable that had he been possessed of the laboratory 

 accommodation and means of investigation available at the 

 present day, the microbe theory of disease would have been 

 established fifty years sooner than it was. 



Prof. H. F. Osborn, of Columbia University and the 

 American Museum of Natural History, has, according to 

 Science, been invited to succeed the late Prof. Cope as verte- 

 brate palaeontologist of the Geological Survey of Canada. 



Mr. W. E. D. Scott, curator of the ornithological depart- 

 ment in Princeton, announces, says Science, that the British 

 Museum has presented to the University two thousand mounted 

 birds, specimens from India, Australia and the Malay Islands. 

 Some time ago the University presented the British Museum 

 with 250 sets of North American birds' eggs. 



It is announced that the repairs to the Arctic steamer 

 Windward have now been made, and the vessel was expected to 

 sail by about July i. The IVindivard will proceed directly, 

 with a call at Disko, to Etah, North Greenland, Lieut. 

 Peary's winter quarters, where instructions from him will 

 doubtless be found, or if not, will be awaited. The vessel 

 will take with her the maximum quantity of coal, ad- 

 ditional lumber, oil, sugar, arms, ammunitions, provisions, 

 scientific instruments and everything necessary for Lieut. Peary's 

 work, including two new whale-boats, specially built at New 

 Bedford, and thoroughly equipped in every detail. Upon the 

 arrival of the Windward at Etah, Lieut. Peary will assume 

 command, and further movements will be subjected to the 

 conditions of his work and to his instructions. No pas- 

 sengers will be taken on the Windward, the Danish Govern- 

 ment having qualified their permission to land at the Greenland 

 ports, with conditions that tourists should not be carried. If 

 Lieut. Peary has succeeded in carrying out his plans, that is 

 to say, if he has discovered the North Pole, he will, says the 

 Scientific Avierican, return with the ship. If not, the supplies 

 will be landed. It is possible that the Windward will bring 

 back the Robert Stein party, which was landed near Cape 

 Sabine by the Diana in August last. 



A BOTTLE has, it is reported, been found on the shore at 

 Roundstone, co. Galway, containing a printed card directing 

 the finder to forward the contents to Captain Ernest Andre, 

 Polar Expedition Company, Sweden, and stating that it was 

 thrown from Major Andre's balloon in the Arctic regions with 

 a view to testing the ocean currents. The bottle has been 

 forwarded to the Board of Trade. 



Sets of volumes on naval architecture, and on the history of 

 the British Navy, have been presented by the Institution of 

 Engineers and Shipbuilders of Scotland to Prof. Arnold, of the 

 Sheffield Technical School, as a token of appreciation of the 

 lecture delivered by Prof. Arnold on "The Internal Archi- 

 tecture of .Metals." 



A MEETING was held in the rooms of the Royal Meteorological 

 Society some time ago to consider the question of a memorial to 

 the late Mr. G. J. Symons, F. R.S., when it was resolved 

 unanimously that the memorial should take the form of a gold 

 medal, to be awarded from time to time by the Council of the 

 Royal Meteorological Society for distinguished work in connec- 

 tion with meteorological science, and an executive committee 

 was appointed to take the necessary steps for the raising of a 

 fund for the purpose. The committee now appeal to the 

 fellows and members of the societies with which Mr. Symons 

 was associated, to the rainfall observers, and to all who have in 

 any way benefited by his advice and assistance, to conlribute to 

 this memorial fund, which it is hoped may reach the sum of at 

 least 750/. Contributions should be paid to Mr. W. Marriott, 



