M/ 



1904.] 



KNOWLEDGE .t SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



49 



been weathered out of the chalk. — January 20, Annual Meeting 

 the President, Dr. Henry Woodward, F.K.S., in the chair. 

 The Curator, Mr. C. Kousselet, e.xhibited an old microscope 

 by Plossl, of Vienna, which had been sent on approval. It 

 has a folding tripod foot which carries a short column sur- 

 mounted by a compass joint for inclining the instrument. To 

 a hinged attachment of the compass jomt a triangular steel 

 bar is fixed. On this bar slides a bracket, having a curved 

 arm, to which the body of the microscope is secured. A 

 rack is sunk into the base or b.ack of the triangular bar for 

 the coarse adjustment, the pinion of which is contained in the 

 sliding bracket. The stage, which is also carried by the 

 triangular bar, has slow rectangular movements of very 

 hniited extent. There is also a micrometer movement, right 

 and left, for measuring objects, and a fine adjustment lor 

 focussing. There are six object glasses which can be used 

 separately or in various combinations of two or three glasses. 

 Among the apparatus is a lenticular prism for illuminating 

 opaque objects and two diaphragms for reducing the diameter 

 ot the reflecting surface of tne mirror. The ballot for officers 

 and Council for the ensuing year was then taken, and Dr. 

 Dukinfield H. Scott, F.K.S., was elected President. The other 

 business of the annual meeting having been disposed of. Dr. 

 Henry Woodward, the retiring President, proceeded to give 

 his annual address, taking as his subject " The Involution of 

 Vertebrate Animals in Time." His paper was illustrated by 

 diagrams, drawings, and slides, about So in number, shown 

 upon the screen. 



A Novel Electric Traction System. 



In No. 2 of the EUktrotechnischer Anzcigcr E. Leuggenhager 

 describes an electric railway traction system which is being 

 developed at the present luoinent by a Swiss " Studiengesells- 

 chaft," appointed for the purpose of finding out an electric 

 railway system suitable for that country, which, on account of 

 her dependency on the foreign coal market, evidently should 

 endeavour to utilize her wealth in hydraulic power. Speeds, 

 on the otuer hand, are limited there on account of the steep 

 gradients, small curves, and numerous stoppages. The system 

 in question uses steam locomotives hentai by electricity. Elec- 

 tric heating, as is well known, will work with the highest 

 possible ethciency, so that the total efficiency will mainly 

 depend on the output of the mechanical part of the locomo- 

 tive, being the steam-engine proper. Any coal steam loco- 

 motive could readily be converted into an " electrothermical' ' 

 locomotive by simply replacing the fire-box and boiling-tube 

 of the boiler by a number of parallel electric heating-walls 

 rumiing througnout the boiler and being co[nposed of two 

 copper or iron sheets. The author suggests using in this con- 

 nection the well-known Prometheus heating elements. The con- 

 sumption of current would depend on the consumption of steam. 

 Let the boiler be designed lor accommodating 4000 litres of 

 water, which are to be brought within 3 hours from 10' up to 

 about igo^ C, corresponding with a steam pressure of 50 kg. 

 per sq. cm. In the case of an efficiency only as high as 90 per 

 cent, the following data would be obtained : 4000 1. of water 

 would require, in order to be brought to the above tempera- 

 ture, 4000 X iSo = 720.000 kg. cal. ; i kg. cal. = 1275 eft. 

 watt, hours, therefore 720-000 kg. cal. = about goo eii. kw. 

 hours, or, distributing this amount over 3 hours = about 

 300 kw. A consumption of steam of 1000 kg. per hour would 

 accordingly require a supply of current of about 225 kw. As 

 regards the advantages inherent in theelectrothermic system, 

 the resistance of the steam accumulator against current shocks 

 should be mentioned. There is the further advantage of both 

 direct and alternating currents being practicable in this con- 

 nection, any desired combination being suitable. The mean 

 efficiency of electrothermic locomotives, being about the same 

 as that of an electromotive machine ot the same size, would 

 be about 5o to 70 per cent., whereas the total efficiency of a 

 railway system, on account of the more advantageous utiliza- 

 tion of tne load, would be higher for the former. Further- 

 more, the adoption of electrothermic service may take place 

 gradually, being much easier than that of electromotive 

 service, on account of the lower cost of the conversion and 

 the easiness with which the personnel may be trained for the 

 new service. A possible conversion of electrothermic into 



electromotive railway service would finally be readily made 

 should the electromotive service in future be so improved as 

 to become superior to the electrothermic system. — A.G. 



Geodetical Irvstrvirrvents. 



I'roiii Mr. James Hicks, of llatton Ganlen, we have rcceivcil a 

 calaloguc ol the new types oi liaiul surveying instriuncnts designed 

 and patented by Sir Howard (hubb. I-".K,S. 'iliese extremely 

 ingenious and tisclul instruments were designed by the inventor 

 primarily (or the use ol those wliose work in surveying required 

 simple, portable, and easily compreliensible instruments lor rapid 

 work, file principal advanl.ages common to all the instruments 

 .ire tlie film surface of the glass, which is of a kind capable both of 

 rellecting and transmittin.n a considerable portion of the light which 

 lulls on It ; and the adoption of the collimator system for parallel- 

 isiny ra\s. Hy the use ol the Keynolds-tjrubb film, light Irom two 

 diflerent directions can be directed into tile eye of the oliscrver 

 without recourse to the inconvenient old method which was known 

 ;is "dividing the pupil." The collimator system of parallelising 

 rays has also great atlvantages in convenience and simplicity of 

 observation. Among the instruments to which these methods 

 have been specially and advantageously applied are the small clino- 

 meter and prismatic compass and a level. Mr. llicks also com- 

 prises in liis catalogue of these new types ol hand surveying in- 

 struments, an optical square fitted lor use with the naked eye, an 

 attachment for a telescope, a graphonieter, and a pocket surveying 

 instrument. 



REVIEWS OF BOOKS. 



Who's Who, ys. Od. (A.&C. Black), grows stouter every year, 

 and now contains no fewer than 17,000 biographies. Its great 

 usefulness is so well recognised that it need not be dilated 

 upon. Some few of the biographies might, one would think, 

 be curtailed, especially as regards " recreations," one of which, 

 we note, reads " homely table games of cards, chess, Ijack- 

 gammon, halma, cribb,age, &.c." Otherwise, the succinct ac- 

 counts of the lives of every Englishman of any note are most 

 complete, and just what one requires. 



Who's Who Year Book, is., is a small book containing the 

 tables which were formerly incorporated in Who's Who, but 

 which have been deleted from time to time to make room for 

 the evcr-increasin.g number of biographies. These tables are 

 most useful for reference, including as they do not only .such 

 as are to be found in many other annuals, but also lists of 

 Koyal Academicians, Bishops, Newspapers and Magazines, 

 l^seudonyms and Pennames, Principal Schools (with number 

 of pupils and cost), I'ellows of the Koyal Society, Societies, 

 &.O., Chairs and Professorships, Heirs of Peers, iS;c. 



The Englishwoman's Year Book, 2s. 6d. (.'\. &. C. Black), " aims 

 at giving some idea of the extent of women's work and 

 interests, and some guidance to those who want to help their 

 fellow-creatures, whether as individuals they live lives of 

 which their own home is the centre, or take a wider view of 

 their opportunities and responsibilities,'' and has a wonderful 

 mass of useful information packed into its 350 pages. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



[I'he notice oj books in this column does not preclude the revieio of 

 them at a later date). 



Studies in Hcterogenesis, by H. Charlton Bastian, M.A., 

 .M.D.Lond., F.K.S. (Williams and Norgate, one vol.; price 

 31s. 6d.) .\ monumental work, illustrated with more than 

 eight hundred micro-photographs, and summing up the whole 

 number of instances of the apparent transformation of the 

 substances of parent matrices into new forms of lite. The 

 author examines the alternativ'C explanations of these pheno- 

 mena — (i) That the resulting forms of life are due to the 

 invasion and multiplication of parasites within what appear 

 to be parent organisms ; (2) that the resulting forms of life 

 are in reality heterogenetic products originating from the 

 very substance of the organisms from which they proceed — - 

 and gives his reasons for adopting, after prolonged and care- 

 ful study, the second of these theorems. 



