September 20, 1900] 



NATURE 



519 



be readily seen by comparing the thoroughly Aryan structure 

 of the few sentences of old Gaulish extant. 



Those are the races which have been inferred in the course 

 of these remarks, in which I have proceeded "on the principle 

 that each successive band of conquerors has its race, language 

 and institutions eventually more or less modified by contact 

 with the race, language and institutions of those whom it has 

 ■conquered. That looks simple enough when stated so, but the 

 result which we get proves complicate. In any case I have 

 endeavoured in this address to substitute for the rabble of 

 ■divinities and demons, of fairies and phantoms that disport 

 themselves at large in Celtic legend, a possible series of 

 peoples, to each of which should be ascribed its own proper 

 attrilnites. But that will only be possible if we can enlist the 

 kindly aid of the Muse of Archeology. 



THE INTERNATTONAL CONGRESS OF 

 APPLIED CHEMISTRY. 



'T^HIS congress was held in Paris during the last week of July, 

 ■^ M. Moissan being president and M. Berthelot honorary 

 president. The work was divided into ten sections : analytical 

 chemistry, chemical industry of inorganic products, metallurgy, 

 mines and explosives, chemical industry of organic products, the 

 sugar industry, chemical industry of fermentation, agricultural 

 chemistry, hygiene, food analysis, medical and pharmaceutical 

 chemistry, photography, and electrochemistry. More than 

 two hundred papers were read and discussed, and numerous 

 resolutions were passed, of which the following were the most 

 important. In view of the great inconvenience caused com- 

 cnercially by uncertainty in the atomic weights used by ana- 

 lytical chemists, the congress, hoping that the adoption of the 

 atomic weight of oxygen as a base (0=i6) would lead to a 

 :;reater certainty and to a simplification in the calculation of 

 • uomic weights, agreed to work in unison with the International 

 Commission on atomic weights. It further suggested the 

 necessity for an International Commission for fixing methods 

 and coefficients of analysis in commercial work. Committees 

 were also appointed to deal with questions of indicators in volu- 

 metric work, analysis of manures, potash estimation, and the use 

 if sulphurous acid in wine. In the second section the chief 

 questions dealt with were the determination of high tempera- 

 tures, construction of glass and porcelain furnaces, the manu- 

 facture of sulphuric acid, and of barium and hydrogen peroxides. 

 In the section of metallurgy, mines and explosives, papers 

 were read dealing with the sampling of minerals, the constitu- 

 tion of iron and steel, the use of the microscope in the study of 

 metals, utilisation of waste heat, and the estimation of sulphur, 

 manganese and phosphorus in metals. In the section dealing 

 with the industry of organic substances the most important dis- 

 cussion was on the use of alcohol for other than drinking pur- 

 poses, and a series of resolutions was passed stating that in the 

 opinion of the congress no duty should be charged upon alcohol 

 used in the preparation of pharmaceutical and chemical pro- 

 ducts. In the case of alcohol intended for use as fuel, the sub- 

 stances added should be of a character appropriate to its use, not 

 too costly, and not containing any non-volatile substance. Any 

 attempt to recover pure alcohol from methylated spirit should 

 be liable to severe penalties, and all makers of stills should be 

 compelled to give particulars to the excise authorities of stills 

 sold or repaired. In the other sections discussions were held on 

 the relation of the sugar industry to the State, the methods of 

 analysis of wines and spirits, the carbide industry, manufacture 

 of percarbonates, and numerous other papers of interest. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 It is officially announced that Mr. L. R. Wilberforce, demon- 

 strator in physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, and 

 University lecturer in physics, has been appointed to the Lyon 

 Jones chair of experimental physics at University College, 

 Liverpool, vacated by the removal of Dr. Oliver Lodge to the 

 University of Birmingham. 



The Admiralty has created an important new post in the 

 Dockyard staff, namely, that of electrical engineer, to rank next 

 to the four chief assistant engineers. To fill this post the 

 Admiralty has chosen Mr. Louis J. Steele, M.I.E.E., late chief 

 ■engineer of Messrs. Verity, and formerly assistant engineer 

 with Messrs. Johnson and Phillips. Mr. Steele received his 



NO. 16 J 2, VOL. 62] 



training at the Technical College, Finsbury, under Prof. 

 Silvanus Thompson and Prof. Perry, and carried off the certifi- 

 cate of the College in 1890. He will be attached to the 

 Dockyard staff at Portsmouth. 



Instruction in chemistry is well provided for at the Gold- 

 smiths' Institute, New Cross. During the session about to 

 commence, Mr. W. J. Pope will give courses of lectures on oils, 

 fats and waxes, organic chemistry with special reference to 

 recent work and current views, inorganic chemistry and stereo- 

 chemistry. In this last course of lectures, the principles which 

 form the foundation of stereochemistry will be discussed, 

 together with the methods which have led to the discovery of 

 stereoisomerism amongst compounds of carbon, nitrogen, tin 

 and sulphur. Particular attention will be paid to the bearing of 

 stereochemistry upon current chemical problems. Lectures in 

 chemistry will also be given by Mr. Stanley J. Peachey. 



During the past year the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 

 was conferred by twenty-two Universities in the United States 

 upon 233 candidates. The distribution of these degrees among 

 the various Universities, and the subjects taken, are dealt with 

 in an article in Science. It appears that 120 of the degrees were 

 granted to students of the humanities, and 113 for scientific 

 subjects. The tables show that the humanities are favoured at 

 Havard and Yale Universities, and the sciences at Johns 

 Hopkins, Columbia and Cornell Universities. Last year Johns 

 Hopkins gave more than its proportionate share of degrees in 

 chemistry, physics, zoology and physiology, Chicago in mathe- 

 matics, geology, sociology and education. Harvard in physics, 

 zoology and anthropology, Columbia, in astronomy, botany, 

 zoology and education. Vale in palaeontology and psychology, 

 Cornell in botany and psychology, and Clark in mathematics, 

 psychology and education. The six science subjects in which 

 most students presented theses are as follows : — Chemistry 

 26, physics 15, botany 12, mathematics 11, zoology 11, psych- 

 ology 9. 



Ever since the funds were provided for technical education 

 in this country, it has been insisted upon in these columns, and 

 by men of science generally, that such education could only be 

 profitably carried on by giving rational instruction in scientific 

 principles instead of attempting to teach actual processes and 

 trade methods, which are constantly in a state of flux on account 

 of new developments. The most gratifying characteristic or 

 educated opinion at the prtsent time is the acceptance of this 

 view ; and it is especially noteworthy in connection with the 

 substitution of nature study for agriculture in rural schools. In 

 an address recently delivered before the Cheshire College 01 

 Agriculture, Prof. Robert Wallace dwelt upon the relation 

 between the work of an agricultural school and actual farm 

 work, and showed himself in complete sympathy with the view 

 which has been expressed over and over again in these columns. 

 Here is the case in a few words :—" What a young farmer 

 should learn is not ordinary farm work, viz. to plough and 

 harrow a given area in the day. He can become an expert at 

 that kind of thing at home to greatest advantage, without cost 

 for instruction, and at the same lime prove a valuable aid to his 

 father. He requires to be taught just those things which are 

 not to be learned on an ordinary farm, to have explained to him 

 the meaning of processes which are founded on scientific prin- 

 ciples, and to become familiar with the common facts of those 

 sciences which bear upon agricultural practice." If this had 

 been borne in mind by Technical Instruction Committees in 

 rural districts from the time they came into existence, their 

 efforts would have received more encouragement from practical 

 men, and have been attended with better results, than have 

 been attained in many cases. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, vol. i. 

 ^o. 3.— Wave propagation over non-uniform electrical con- 

 ductors, by M. I. Pupin, is a paper read before the society m 

 December last. The main object of it is the solution of a pro- 

 blem which, looked at from a purely mathematical point Oj 

 view, can be stated as follows :— Find the integral of the partial 



' R:i7 = /^ , , and determine it so 

 at C OS' 



differential equation I^ta'^t 



as to satisfy k + 2 boundary conditions, where >6 + i is the 

 number of coils. The principal difficulty is to determine 



