November 14, 1895] 



NATURE 



35 



harbour works, special processes in agriculture, and other indus- 

 tries by which the wealth and comfort of South Africa is being 

 enhanced. It is intended to give the latest scientific news, and 

 the columns of the paper will be open to the discussion of scien- 

 tific matters. The Scientific African may thus do good service 

 in collecting and publishing observations on the natural history 

 of Africa, and we extend to it a hearty welcome. 



The death is announced of Dr. P, Bertkau, Professor of 

 Zoology in the University of Bonn ; and of Dr. Gustav Wilhelm, 

 Professor of Agriculture in the Technische Hochschule of 

 Gratz. 



We regret to see the report of the death of Dr. George M. 

 Dawson, C.M.G., P'.R.S., son of Sir William Dawson, and 

 Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. He did much 

 important and valuable work, more especially in geology and 

 ethnology, and passed many years in working out the geological 

 structure of Canada. 



The opening meeting of the new session of the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers was held on Tuesday, in the new premises of the 

 Institution, and Sir Benjamin Baker delivered his presidential 

 address. The Emperor of Germany was elected an honorary 

 member at the same meeting. This brings the number of honorary 

 members up to twenty, out of a total membership of 6730. 



A BRILLIANT display of aurora was observed in many parts 

 of the British Islands on Saturday night, the 9th inst., follow- 

 ing an exceptionally fine day during the recent unsettled and 

 xainy period. But this temporary improvement was succeeded 

 on Sunday by a barometrical disturbance of considerable intensity 

 which reached our western coasts from the Atlantic, causing 

 strong gales over the kingdom generally, and accompanied with 

 heavy rainfall in the northern and western districts. The 

 barometer fell as low as 28-05 inches in the Hebrides, and the 

 changes of pressure generally were very considerable. The 

 gale was characterised by heavy gusts, and these were at times 

 very violent in the south and west ; at Greenwich Observatory, a 

 pressure of 19 lbs. on the square foot was recorded at midnight on 

 the loth. 



The Quarterly Summary of the Weekly Weather Report for 

 July to September last, furnishes valuable means for the com- 

 parison of temperature, rainfall, &c., for the summer quarter 

 of the last thirty years, in the principal wheat-producing and 

 grazing districts of the British Islands. The tables show that 

 the highest mean temperature for the three months was 6i°7 in 

 the south of England, and the lowest 55°*4 in the north of Scot- 

 land ; the mean excess over the whole of the country was 1°. 

 During the last thirty years, the greatest mean excess was 2° '8 in 

 the year 1868, and the greatest deficiency 2" -5 in 1888 ; there have 

 •only been four years with an excess of temperature since 1881. 

 The mean rainfall for the whole of the British Islands during 

 the quarter was 9*1 inches, being a deficiency of o'3 inch on the 

 average of thirty years. The average fall during this long period 

 was largest in the west of Scotland, li-8 inches, and lowest in 

 the east of England, 7 '5 inches. 



The third International Congress of Psychology will be held 

 at Munich, August 4-7, 1896. The International Committee 

 of Organisation is constituted as follows :— President, Prof. Dr. 

 Stumpf; vice-president. Prof. Dr. Lipps; general secretary. Dr. 

 Frhr. von Schrenck-Notzing ; and twenty-five members, includ- 

 ing, as representatives of British Psychology, Prof. Bain, Prof. 

 Ferrier, Mr.F. W. H. Myers, Prof Schafer, Prof. Sidgwick, Prof, 

 Sully, and Dr. Ward. The Congress^will be opened on the 

 morning of August 4, 1896, in the great " Aula' of the Royal 

 University. All who desire to further the progress of ps3«:hology, 

 KG. 1359, VOL. 53] 



and to foster personal relations among the students of psychology 

 in different nations, are invited to take part in the meetings. The 

 following is the provisional programme of work :— Section I. 

 Psychophysiology. (a) Anatomy and Physiology of the brain 

 and of the sense-organs (somatic basis of psychical life). Develop- 

 ment of nerve-centres ; theory of localisation and of neurons, 

 paths of association and structure of the brain. Psychical 

 functions of the central parts ; reflexes, automatism, innervation, 

 specific energies. {(5) Psychophysics. Connection between physical 

 and psychical processes ; psychophysical' methods ; the law of 

 Fechner. Physiologj' of the senses (muscular and cutaneous sensi- 

 bility, audition, light-perception, audition coloree) ; psychical 

 effects of certain agents (medicines). Reaction times. Measure- 

 ment of vegetative reactions (inspiration, pulse, muscle-fatigue). 

 Section 11. Psychology of the normal individual. Scope, methods, 

 and resources of Psychology. Observation and experiment : 

 Psychology of sensations : Sensation and idea, memory and re- 

 production : Laws of association, fusion of ideas : Consciousness 

 and unconsciousness, attention, habit, expectation, exercise : 

 Perception of space (by sight, by touch, by the other senses) ; 

 consciousness of depth-dimension, optical illusions. Perception 

 of time. Theory of knowledge. Imagination. Theory of feeling. 

 Feeling and sensation. Sensuous, aesthetic, ethical and logical 

 feeling. Emotions. Laws of feeling : Theory of will. Feeling of 

 willing and voluntary action. Expressive movements. Facts of 

 ethics : Self-consciousness. Development of personality. Indi- 

 vidual differences. Hypnotism, theory of suggestion, normal 

 sleep, dreams : Psychical automatism : Suggestion in relation to 

 poedagogics and criminality ; pnedagogical psychology. Section 

 III. Psychopathology. Heredity in Psychopathology : Statistics : 

 Can acquired qualities be transferred by inheritance ? Psychical 

 relations (somatic and psychic heredity), phenomena of degener- 

 ation, psychopathic inferiority (insane temperament) : Genius 

 and degeneration ; moral and social importance of heredity 

 Psychology in relation to criminality and jurisprudence. 

 Functional nerve-disease (hysteria and epilepsy). Alternating 

 consciousness ; psychical infection ; the pathological side of 

 hypnotism ; pathological states of- sleep. Psychotherapy and 

 suggestive treatment. Cognate phenomena ; mental suggestion, 

 telepathy, transposition of senses ; international statistics of hal- 

 lucinations. Hallucinations and illusions ; imperative ideas, 

 aphasia and similar pathological phenomena. Section IV. 

 Comparative Psychology. Moral-statistics. The psychical life 

 of the child. The psychical functions of animals. Ethno- 

 graphical and anthropological psychology. Comparative psycho- 

 logy of languages ; graphology. Forms of application may be 

 obtained from the General Secretary, or from Prof. Sully, East 

 Heath Road, Hampstead, N.W. 



The new quarterly number of the Journal of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society (third series, No. 23) is largely occupied 

 with reports of the Society's country meeting, held this year 

 at Darlington. Among the novelties exhibited was a milk- 

 ing machine capable of milking ten cows simultaneously in 

 about twelve minutes. The ingenious part of the apjjaratus 

 appears to be the teat-cups, which are made of india-rubber of 

 varying thickness, so as to reproduce as nearly as possible the 

 kind of pressure exerted in the operation of hand-milking ; a 

 small steam-engine and a vacuum pump are the adjuncts. Papers 

 of scientific interest include one by Prof. Brown, late Director 

 of the Veterinary Department, on " Sheep-Scab in its Relation 

 to Sheep Husbandry," in which the acari of scab are described 

 and illustrated. Sir John Thorold explains the value, as food 

 for calves, of the meat meal which is a by-product in the making 

 of essence of beef. Mr. C. G. Roberts advocates the modi- 

 fication of threshing machines in such a way as to deal with the 

 ears only, thereby avoiding the great waste of power which has 

 been proved to occur when the entire straw is driven — and use- 



