May 9, 1895] 



NA TURE 



IZ 



statics." Also of the following papers :— " Astatic Equilibrium 

 of any System of P'orccs, treated by (^laternions '' (Proc. 

 Loud. Math. Soc.) ; "The Absolute Sine Electrometer"' 

 [Nature, Electrkal Rcfiew, &c.) ; " Researches in Photo- 

 electricity" (Pro(. Phys. Soc. and Phil. Mai;.); "Impulsion 

 Cells" (Ehclruian, Proc. Phys. Soc): " Scleno-Aluminium 

 Cells and the IClectromotive Forces of Starlight " (Astronomy 

 and Astro-Physics); "The Magnetic Field of a Circular 

 Current " ; " The M;ignetic Field close to the Surface of a Wire 

 carrying a Current " (/'/;//. Mag. , Proc. Phys. Soc. ). 



Wii.i.iAJi Henry Power, 



Assistant Medical Officer, H.M. Local Government Board. 

 Author of Reports to the Local Clovernment Board relating to 

 the natural history of epidemic diseases and materially extending 

 the knowledge thereof, more especially [a) Demonstration in 

 1882 of the existence of Scarlatinal Disease in Cows, 

 explaining the previously obscure spread of Scarlatina in human 

 communities by means of Cow's Milk ; (h) Record of Cases 

 (afterwards followed by Dr. Klein) where Diphtheria had been 

 spread by the consumption of Cow's Milk ; (c) Discover)', in 

 1881, of the ability of Smallpox to extend atmospherically 

 (without other personal relation) from a hospital to houses in its 

 neighliourhnod. The subject was investigated by a Royal Com- 

 mission which recognised the facts ; they have been subjected 

 to further demonstration by Mr. Power during subsequent 

 years. 



Thomas Purdie, 



B.Sc, Ph.D., A.R.S.M., Professor of Chemistry in the Uni- 

 versity of St. Andrews. .Vuthor of the following : — "On the 

 Synthesis of a Lsoheptane" ; and " On the Action of Sodium 

 .-Ucoholates (m Fumaric Ethers" (Trans. Chcm. Soc, 1881): 

 "Action of Sodium .Alkyl Oxides on Ethereal Fumarates " 

 (ibid., 1885) ; "The .\ction of Metallic Alkylates on Mixtures 

 of Ethereal Salts with Alcohols" (ibid., 1887). Joint author 

 with W. Marshall, B.Sc, of : — " Action of Alcohols on 

 Ethereal Salts in presence of Small (Quantities of Sodic 

 .Ukylates" (Trans. Chcm. Soc, 1888) ; "The Addition of the 

 Elements of Alcohol to the FZthereal Salts of Unsaturated Acids " 

 (ibid., 1891). Joint author with J. Wallace Walker, >L.\., 

 of- — "Resolution of Lactic Acid into its Optically Active 

 Components " (j'i/rf., 1892); " Optically Active Ethoxysuccinic 

 Acid " (ibid., 1893). 



APRIL METEORS. 



COMPARATIVELY few meteors of the April shower 

 appear to have been seen this year in eonsequence 

 of the cloudy weather which prevailed. But if the 

 results are scanty they are interesting, for three fine 

 meteors were observed at more than one station, and 

 their real paths in the atmosphere have been computed. 



On April 14, 1 ih. 44m., a bright first mag. meteor was 

 seen by Prof. A. S. Herschel at .Slough, and by the writer 

 at Bristol. It moved rapidly in a ratlicr long path, and 

 left a bright streak. The radiant point is indicated at 

 316° -f- 31° near f Cygni, and the meteor fell from 87 to 71 

 miles over the English Channel. During its visible 

 career it traversed a course of 107 miles with a velocity 

 of about 49 miles per second. The radiant of this 

 meteor near f Cygni is almost identical with that 

 (314'' + 27") found for a 1-2 mag. meteor observed on 

 April 20, 1893, also by Prof Herschel and the writer. 



On April 19, loh. 59m., a fine meteor, variously esti- 

 mated as = 1st mag., 2 X V. , = 9, = ist mag., was ob- 

 served by Mr. Corder at Bridgwater, Mr. Blakeley, 

 Dcwsbury, Mr. Packer, Birmingham, and the writer at 

 Bristol, respectively. Its motion was luodcrately slow, 

 and it left a stre.ik. The direction of its flight shows it 

 to have been a Lyrid with a radiant at 269' -\- 30°. The 

 meteor descended from 91 to 43 miles over the North 

 Sea and Lincolnshire, and traversed a path of 97 miles 

 with a velocity of T^'i, miles per second. This object 

 appeared much brighter to the observers at Birmingham 

 and Dcwsbury than to those at Bridgwater and Bristol, 

 for the meteor was far more distant from the latter places, 



NO. 1332, VOL. 52] 



and its light much veiled in the mist lying over the stars 

 of Cygnus near the north-east horizon. 



On April 19, iih. 46m., another conspicuous meteor,, 

 moving very swiftly, and leaving a bright streak, was seen 

 in Hercules and Bootes by Mr. Corder at Bridg\vater, 

 and the writer at Bristol. Its radiant was in .Sagitta at 

 300' + 20^. The meteor fell from 77 to 71 miles over 

 Wiltshire and Somerset, and travelled along a path of 40 

 miles in less than one second of time. The radiant in 

 Sagitta furnishes a well-defined meteor shower at the 

 April epoch, and I first detected it in 1877. My 

 positions for the radiant are as follow : 



D, 92 ... 1877, April 16-19 

 D, no . . . 1885, April 18-20 

 D, 121 ... 18S7, .April 19-25 



29S -I- 25 6 meteors 

 299 -F 24 5 ,, 

 302 -H 23 4 ., 



The mean position is at 300^ + 24^ Mr. Corder saw 

 a shower in April-May 1876-9 from 300' + id' (7 

 meteors), which presents an excellent accordance. The 

 meteors of this stream are very swift, and commonly ger- 

 minate streaks; but the shower is not well displayecl until 

 the morning hours, the radiant being very low before 

 midnight. VV. F. DENNING. 



NOTES. 



The following fifteen candidates were selected on Thursday 

 last by the Council of the Royal Society, to be recommended for 

 election into the Society : — Mr. J. Wolfe Barry, Prof. A. G. 

 Bourne, Mr. G. H. Bryan, Mr. J. Eliot, Prof. J. R. Green, 

 Mr. E. H. Griffiths, Mr. C. T. Heycock, Prof. S. J. Hickson, 

 Major H. C. L. Holden, Mr. F. McCIean, Prof. W. MacEwen, 

 Dr. S. Martin, Prof. G. M. Minchin, Mr. W. H. Power, Prof. 

 T. Purdie. We give the qualifications of the candidates in 

 another part of this number. 



The memorial of the late Prof. J. C. .\dams, at Westminster 

 Abbey, will be unveiled this afternoon by the Duke of 

 Devonshire. 



We are glad to be able to report that Prof. Huxley has been 

 steadily improving in health during the past few days. 



Dr. p. DangearI) has been appointed Professor of Botany 

 to the Faculty of .Sciences at Poitiers. 



At a meeting of the Court of the Spectacle Makers' Company, 

 on Thursday last, Mr. W. H. M. Christie, the Astronomer 

 Royal, was presented with the honorary freedom of the Company, 

 in recognition of his services to astronomical science. 



The De Candolle prizes have been awarded by the Physical 

 and Natural Histor,- Society of Geneva to Dr. O. Warburg for 

 his monograph of the Myristicacecc, and to Dr. R. von Wettstein 

 for his monograph of the genus Euphrasia. 



During the past week, the deaths of several eminent men of 

 science have occurred. Surgeon-Major Carter, who was elected 

 a F-ellow of the Royal Society in 1859, and obtained the Royal 

 Medal in 1872. died on Saturday last, the 4th inst., at his 

 residence in Budleigh Salterton. We notice al-so the death of 

 Mr. .\. E. Durham, late Vice-President of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons of I';ngland, and the author of numerous works on 

 subjects connected with medicine and sui^cry. .Among the 

 announcements of deaths abroad, we regret to see the name of 

 Prof. K. Ludwig, Professor of Physiology in the University of 

 Leipzig, and Director of the Physiological Institute there. He 

 was sevenlyeight years of age. The death is alsti announced of 

 Prof. .Manuel I'inheiro Chag;is, tieneral Secretary of the Royal 

 Academy of Sciences at Lisbon. Prof. Chagas w.as l)om 

 November 13, 1842. 



