January 2, 1893.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



13 



the foundation of the Birmingham and Midland Institute, 

 Mr. Williams was appointed master of the industrial 

 department, a position in which he greatly developed his 

 powers of lecturing. Besides his work at the institute he 



time of his death he was at work at a book upon the brain, 

 which it is understood will shortly be published by Messrs. 

 Chatto and Windus. He leaves a widow and three sons. 



Tlie late Mr. W. Mattieu Wilmams, from a photograpli taken 

 sliortly before liis death. 



practised as a consultmg chemist and commenced wi'iting 

 science articles. 



During one of his summer holidays he visited Norway, 

 and walked through a considerable portion of the country, 

 then comparatively little known to English tourists. He 

 published the results of his experiences in 18.59, under the 

 title of " Through Norway with a Knapsack," a book which 

 was illustrated by the late Mr. John Steeple from sketches 

 made by Mr. Williams during his walk. It passed through 

 more than one edition. At a later period he again 

 described Norwegian travelling in a book entitled "Through 

 Norway with Ladies." 



In 1870 Mr. Williams published a volume of philosophical 

 speculations on the cause of the sun's heat, and other cos- 

 mical problems. The volume was issued imder the title 

 " The Fuel of the Sun," and was widely read. Mr. 

 Williams assumes the existence of a universal atmosphere, 

 and that the density of the atmospheres surrounding the 

 various planets depends upon the amount of the universal 

 atmosphere which the planets can, by reason of their 

 mass, condense about their surfaces. Though none of Mr. 

 Williams" speculations have been generally adopted by 

 astronomers, the book is very suggestive, and many able 

 writers have acknowledged their indebtedness to it. 



Mr. Williams was a lucid and most interesting lecturer 

 on the chemistry of common life. In the early volumes of 

 Knowledge he wrote an excellent series of articles under 

 the title " The Chemistry of Cookery," which were widely 

 quoted at the time, and were afterwards collected and 

 published as a small volume. He also wrote " Science in 

 Short Chapters," a " Simple Treatise on Heat," the 

 " History of the Manufacture of Iron and Steel," and an 

 excellent little book entitled " The Philosophy of Clothing." 

 He was a frequent contributor to the i ienthntdun Mmiddne 

 on scientific subjects, and was the author of a system of 

 shorthand entitled " Shorthand for Everybody." At the 



IL 1 1 1 c r 9 . 



— *-^-* — 



[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the opininna or 

 statements of correspondents.] 



To the Editor of Knowledge. 



Sir, — Having noticed in your last number some remarks 

 upon the so-called "horned toads" of Mexico, you will 

 perhaps allow me to mention my experience of their habits. 



While staying at San Diego, in Southern California, I 

 drove some miles inland, on the borders of Mexico, with 

 my son. On a sandy waste we saw numbers of these 

 toads, running with great rapidity, and burying them- 

 selves in the sand by means of a lateral wriggling 

 movement. We captured three, and placed them in the 

 empty basin of a fountain until we left for San Francisco, 

 en mute for England. They soon became very tame ; but 

 the largest (presumably a male) was so troublesome in 

 spirting out what looked like blood that we left him 

 behind. The other two we brought to England, where 

 they hved for several months. 



The blood appeared to come from small orifices directly 

 above and behind the eyes, and the discharge was so 

 forcible and profuse as to cover my son's naked fore-arm 

 quite up to the elbow. Great prostration followed, and 

 lasted for a day or two. 



The "horned toad" has the chameleon-like faculty of 

 rapidly changing his colour to that of the soil upon which 

 he may be placed. 



The two smaller animals never exhibited the "spirting." 



Yours fiithfnlly, 



Wilmer Road, Bradford, C. W. Grabham, M.D. (Lond.) 



December 6th, 1892. 



— ►-♦-< — 



To the Editor q/ Knowledge. 



Mackay, Queensland, 



October 1.5th, 1892. 

 Dear Sir,— In the September, 1892, number of Know- 

 ledge, in an article by R. Lydekkeron " The Oldest Fishes 

 and their Fms," the Ceratodus Forsteri of Queensland is 

 repeatedly called " Barramundfl." The aboriginal word 

 Barramund/ simply means large fish, and is indiscriminately 

 applied throughout Australia to whatever fish happens to 

 be the largest in that particular locality ; but the name 

 should be legitimately restricted to the Osteoiilossum 

 Leichardti, Leichardt ha^^ng been the first to describe this 

 fish by that name. I append tracings of (hteo<ihmwnL. 

 and CcnitodKs F., and beg to refer Mr. Lydekker to Saville 

 Kent's "Food-fishes of Queensland," 1889, which could 

 probably be obtained from the Queensland Agent-General 

 in London. Your obedient servant, 



J. EwEN Davidson. 



PERIODICAL COMEf DUE IN 1898. 

 To the Editor of Knowledge. 

 j^iR, — Only one of the known periodical comets is due to 

 return next year. This was discovered by Mr. Finlay, at 

 the Cape of Good Hope, on the 26th of September, 1886, 

 and passed its perihelion on the 22nd of November 

 following. As soon as the orbit was calculated by Dr. 

 Holetschek, it was noticed that the elements bore a striking 

 resemblance to those of the comet of De Vico, which, after 

 its discovery in 1844, was found to be moving in an elliptic 

 orbit, with a period of only about five and a half years, but 



