276 



NATURE 



[July 21, 1892 



that can be taken to this determination is that the scale 

 of the wedge photometer may not be accurately applicable. 

 But here we have the distinct assertion of the Astronomer 

 Royal, reiterated again by M. Trdpied, that the Pritchard 

 Argelander scales are in very satisfactory accord. This 

 circumstance is the more gratifying for two reasons. 

 First, because it is distinctly stipulated in resolution 19 

 (1889), "Chaque observateur devra s'attacher a obtenir 

 sur ses cliches destines au catalogue la grandeur 1 1 'o 

 d^terminde aussi exactement que possible au inoyen dc 

 rechelle d' Argelander." The maintenance, therefore, 

 of the scale of Argelander becomes of paramount import- 

 ance, and this one could scarcely hope to effect by means 

 of the gauze screens. The second satisfactory point is, 

 that Prof. Pritchard is endeavouring to secure uniformity 

 in the photographed stars by distributing among the 

 participating observatories small charts of particular 

 regions of the sky on which are inarked stars of the 9th 

 and nth magnitudes approximately. Naturally in the 

 determination of the magnitudes of the stars on these 

 charts, the scale of Argelander will be perpetuated, and 

 inasmuch as the testimony of several astronomers is 

 distinctly in favour of making use of these typical areas, 

 it seems very probable that Argelander magnitudes will 

 be prolonged in the catalogue work down to the faintest 

 stars impressed. 



NOTES. 

 The summer meeting of the Institution of Mechanical 

 Engineers will be held in Portsmouth, and will begin on Tues- 

 day, July 26. The following papers have been offered for 

 reading and discussion, not necessarily in the order here given : — 

 On shipbuilding in Portsmouth dockyard, by Mr. William H. 

 White, F. R. S. ; on the applications of electricity in the Royal 

 ■dockyards and navy, by Mr. Henry E. Deadman ; description 

 of the lifting and hauling appliances in Portsmouth dockyard, by 

 Mr. John T. Corner, R.N, ; description of the new Royal pier 

 at Southampton, by Mr. Jame-! I.emon ; description of the 

 Portsmouth sewage outfall works, by Sir Frederick Bramwell, 

 F. R.S., Past-President ; description of the new floating bridge 

 between Portsmouth and Gosport, by Mr. H. Graham Harris ; 

 description of the Southampton sewage precipitation works and 

 refuse destructor, by Mr. William B. G. Bennett ; description 

 of the experimental apparatus and shaping machine for ship 

 models at the Admiralty experiment works, Haslar, by Mr. R. 

 Edmund Froude ; description of the pumping engines and 

 water softening machinery at the Southampton water works, by 

 Mr. William Matthews. 



The half-yearly general meeting of the Scottish Meteoro- 

 logical Society was held at Edinburgh on Monday, July i8. The 

 council of the society submitted its report ; and Dr. Buchan 

 read a paper on variation in the annual rainfall in Scotland since 

 1800. 



The Museums Association held its annual meeting in 

 Manchester, at the Owens College, on July 5, 6, and 7, 

 under the presidency of Prof. Boyd Dawkins, whose address 

 we print elsewhere. Among those present at the meeting 

 were Dr. Ward, Principal of Owens College, Prof. Flower, 

 Prof. Miall, the Rev. Canon Hicks, Prof. Milnes Marshall, 

 the Rev. H. H. Higgins, and Prof. Weiss. Mr. J. Willis 

 Clark, the retiring president, was unfortunately prevented from' 

 attending. The following papers were read and discussed : 

 — On the arrangement of botanical museums, by Prof. F. E. 

 Weiss. — On the cultivation of special features in museums, by 

 the Rev. H. H. Higgins. — Local museums of art and history, 

 by the Rev. Canon Hicks. — On the Manchester Art Museum, 

 by Mr. T. C. Horsfall. — On the preparation of picture catalogues, 

 Vby Mr. Butler Wood. — On the colouring of the background of 

 NO. I I 86, VOL. 46] 



museum cases, by Mr. Edgar R. Waite. — On the best means of 

 preserving vegetable structures, and on a collection illustrating 

 the life-histories of the British Lepidoptera, by Mr. J. W. Carr. 

 — On the exclusion of dust, by Mr. T. Pridgin Teale ; and 

 library and museum legislation, by Mr. E. Howarth. Mr. Pacy 

 and Mr. Ogle, who had been deputed by the Libraries' Associa- 

 tion to attend the meeting, took part in the discussion of the 

 last paper. A Committee of the Museums' Association was 

 appointed to confer with the Libraries' Association on the 

 possibility of taking steps to improve library and museum legis- 

 lation. Most of the members of the Museums' Association who 

 took part in the discussion were of opinion that the restrictions 

 at present placed upon the action of Town Councils with regard 

 to libraries and museums were unnecessary and obsolete. The 

 meeting was a very successful one, thanks to the energy and 

 good management of Mr. W. E. Hoyle and Prof Milnes 

 Marshall. The reception accorded to the Association by the 

 authorities of the Owens College was of the most cordial nature, 

 and the Association is indebted to Dr. Ward and several of his 

 colleagues for much kindness. It was agreed to hold the next 

 annual meeting in London under the presidency of Prof. 

 Flower. 



Mr. William E. Plummer has been appointed by the 

 Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, director of the Liverpool 

 Observatory, in the room of Mr. J. Hartnup, deceased. Hitherto 

 this Observatory has done little more than regulate chronometers 

 required for the port of Liverpool, but we understand that the 

 Observatory will now be reorganized and made to play a more 

 active part in observational astronomy, and one worthier of the 

 equipment of the Observatory and the generous support the 

 board accord to it. 



Dr. W. H. Inge, Ph.D. (Wiirzburg), Demonstrator of 

 Chemistry in University College, Liverpool, has been appointed 

 Demonstrator of Physics and Chemistry in the Medical School 

 of St. Thomas's Hospital. 



Mr. a. H. Leahy, M.A., Fellow of Pembroke College, 

 Cambridge, has been elected to the Professorship of Mathe- 

 matics at Firth College, Sheffield. Mr. Leahy is a Mathe- 

 matical Lecturer and Junior Bursar of his College, and is the 

 author of several important papers on mathematical physics. 



Mr. R. Elliot Steel, Senior Science Master of the Brad- 

 ford Grammar School, has been appointed by the Technical 

 Instruction Committee of the Corporation of Plymouth to the 

 Head Mastership of the Science Department of their new 

 technical schools, Plymouth. 



The Master and Wardens of the Drapers' Company of the 

 City of London recently gave ;!^3000 towards the erection of the 

 new technical schools attached to the Nottingham University 

 College, and have now given a further sum of ;[^iooo towards 

 their equipment. 



"Cook's Tours" are well known all over the civilized 

 world, and vast numbers of Englishmen have been indebted to 

 them for some of the brightest and pleasantest experiences of 

 their lives. Everyone, therefore, was sorry to hear of the death 

 of Mr. Thomas Cook, the founder of the system. He died at 

 Leicester on Monday in his eighty-fourth year. Mr. Cook was 

 a man of immense energy, and may almost be said to have had 

 a touch of genius. At all events he had a very remarkable 

 faculty for organization, and did much to foster among the 

 British public a just appreciation of the advantages to be derived 

 from foreign travel. Last year the jubilee of his firm was 

 celebrated. 



The volcanic forces of Mount Etna have continued in a slate 

 of violent activity. On the afternoon of July 14 it was stated, 



