August i6, 1900] 



NA TURE 



7>1Z 



speed at which the band passes between the poles of that 

 electromagnet. But in order to obtain the amphfication 

 of the sound in this manner, it is apparent that the band 

 must be moved more quickly when used to repeat the 

 message than it was when used to record it, and thus 

 the increased loudness will be accompanied by an in- 

 creased quickness, and probably at a sacrifice of clear- 

 ness due to the alteration in pitch. For if the speed of 

 the band when used for recording be increased, the effect 

 will be merely to spread out the message along the wire, 

 as the intensity of the magnetisation set up in the wire 

 depends only on the strength of the currents transmitted 

 through the telephone, and this strength is determined 

 by the loudness and quickness with which the message 

 IS spoken at the transmitting end 



The invention of Herr Foulsen may be looked upon as 

 the invention of a magnetic phonograph, and must be 

 regarded as an extremely ingenious and beautiful attempt 

 at the solution of the problem of recording telephonic 

 messages. It possesses many advantages over the com- 

 bination of the telephone and the wax-cylinder phono- 

 graph, especially in the fact that the recording is effected 

 by the immaterial agency of magnetism, and not by the 

 mechanical agency of a style writing on wax, so that the 

 imperfections in the articulation due to mechanical 

 causes should be entirely absent. The method of in- 

 creasing the loudness by the use of a number of parallel 

 bands appears exceedingly simple, and offers a possible 

 means of making a telephonic relay, and thereby in- 

 creasing the limits of distance to which sound can be 

 transmitted ; it is a method which might be imitated 

 with the ordinary phonograph, by causing the message 

 recorded on the wax cylinder to be repeated to one or 

 more other cylinders, and finally making all repeat their 

 records simultaneously ; but in this case the practical 

 difficulties would be very much greater. That Herr 

 Poulsen's invention is still only in an experimental stage 

 may be gathered from the fact that though the instrument 

 itself is on view at Paris, it has been found too difficult 

 at the Exhibition to make the necessary adjustments to 

 exhibit it in operation publicly ; but we await with in- 

 terest its further development, for the introduction of a 

 trustworthy recording telephone would be a benefit to 

 the public, for which it is to be hoped they will not have 

 long to wait. 



NOTES. 



The French Minister of War has invited the Paris Academy 



of Sciences to advise as to the precautions to be adopted in 



^ selecting and planting trees in the neighbourhood of powder 



magazines, in order to secure the best protection from lightning. 



The Chancellor of the German Empire has issued an ordi- 

 nance to the effect that the Reaumur thermometer will not be 

 admitted to official control after January i, 1901. This will 

 lead to the exclusive use of the centigrade thermometer in 

 Germany. 



The International Congress of Physics, held in Paris last 

 week, appears to have been a complete success, more than a 

 thousand members, including leading physicists of many nation- 

 alities, having been obtained. Lord Kelvin received a grand 

 ovation at the opening meeting, and was nominated honorary 

 president of the Congress. 



M. OusTALET and M. Depousarques are the two candidates 

 who have been nominated by the Paris Academy of Sciences 

 for the chair of zoology in the Museum d'Histoire naturelle, 

 rendered vacant by the death of Prof. Milne- Edwards. The 

 appointment rests with the Minister of Public Instruction. 



The Athenaeum announces that Prof, Virchow has been 

 elected an honorary member of the Mathematical and Natural 

 NO. 1607, VOL. 62] 



Science Section of the Vienna Akademie der Wissenschaften, 

 while Prof. Klein, of Gottingen, has been appointed corre- 

 sponding member of the same section. 



The attention of persons interested in zoological gardens and 

 keeping captive animals should be directed to the passing of the 

 " Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to Wild Animals " (63 and 

 64 Vict., Ch 33), which has just become law. This Act extends 

 the provisions of the "Cruelty to Animals Acts 1849 and 

 1854" (which related to domestic animals only) to all birds, 

 fishes and reptiles not included in that Act. By Sect. 2 of 

 the new Act, " Any person shall be guilty of an offence who, 

 whilst an animal is in captivity or close confinement, or is 

 maimed, pinioned, or subjected to any appliance or contrivance 

 for the purpose of hindering or preventing its escape from such 

 captivity or confinement, shall, by wantonly or unreasonably 

 doing or omitting any act, cause or permit to be caused any 

 unnecessary suffering to such animal ; or cruelly abuse, infuriate, 

 tease, or terrify it, or permit it to be so treated." Any person 

 committing such an offence may be proceeded against under the 

 Summary Jurisdiction Acts, and on conviction is liable to be 

 imprisoned for three months or fined £«). 



A Reuter telegram from St, Petersburg states that the 

 Imperial Academy of Science has just received news from the 

 Russian expedition at Spitsbergen stating that in the month of 

 September last the members of the expedition in question had 

 erected, at Horn Sound, observatories for conducting meteoro- 

 logical, magnetic, astronomical and astrophysical researches. 

 On October 20 the sun disappeared for four months, and at the 

 end of October absolute and continuous night set in. The 

 members of the expedition applied themselves constantly to 

 scientific observations after November 17. On February 22 the 

 sun was seen again for the first time. On June 5 and 8 the first 

 boats arrived, ending the complete isolation of the expedition, 

 which had lasted for nine months. 



The" annual meeting of the French Association for the 

 Advancement of Science was recently held at Paris. General 

 Sebert, the president, delivered an address on the progress of 

 mechanical industries and the means of developing them. In 

 the course of his remarks he alluded to the value of technical 

 education and research as factors in national advances. " It 

 is noteworthy," he said, " that progress in mechanical industries 

 has always coincided with the development of technical educa- 

 tion in the countries in which the industries are carried on. 

 The most rapid progress takes place in the countries where in- 

 stitutions for experiment and research are most numerous. 

 Wherever research laboratories have been established to permit 

 the study of the best conditions of invention, there the most 

 marked advances first take place." The Association's grants 

 for scientific purposes, made at the recent meeting, amounted to 

 21,241 francs, or about 850/. 



Mr. a. R. Hunt, writing from Torquay with reference to 

 our note (p. 322) on the rumbling sounds heard at Bognor and 

 Torquay on July 18, says : " I happened to go into my garden 

 a few minutes after ten on the date named, and was at once 

 conscious of a very unusual pulsating rumble. My first idea 

 was earthquake, but the sound came steadily from one point, 

 roughly south-east; and at last died away into distinct taps." 

 The observation is interesting in showing how far the individual 

 reports can be heard (see p. 378). 



Mr. J. .Stirling, Government geologist of Victoria, New 

 South Wales, is at present in London as the mining representa- 

 tive of the Victorian Government, and during his stay here 

 proposes to address some of the scientific, professional and mining 



