626 



NATURE 



[October 24, 1895 



Mr. p. \\. Lawrence, whu^c- kmwk will be remembered by 

 some students of mineralogj-, but more widely in legal circles, 

 died a few days agn. We have also to record the death of 

 Prof. E. \V. Blake, until lately professor of physics in Brown 

 University : of Dr. E. F. Rogers, instructor in chemistry at 

 Har\-ard University ; of Prof. V. Rydbei^, the Swedish 

 archxologist : of Mr. H. \V. \". Stuart, who devoted much 

 attention lo the study of Egypt and its monuments ; of Father 

 Hirst, the author tif numerous contriliulions to arch.vology ; and 

 of Dr. F. M. Slapff. the geologist, while prosi^ecting for gold in 

 Ea t .-Kfrica. 



The sixth Congress of Medicine was opened at Rome on 

 Tuesday by Dr. liaccelii. Minister of Public Instruction. 



In addition to the jiapers, already notified in the usual way, 

 to be read at the ne.\t meeting of the London Physical Society 

 to-morrow, there will l)e read, if lime permits, a paper " On . 

 the Magnetic Field of any Cylindrical Coil. or Plane Circuit,'" 

 by Mr. W. H. Eveictt. 



The steamship U'indwani, which conveyed the meml>ers of 

 the Jaclcson-Harmsworth Polar expedition to Franz Josef I^nd, 

 arrived at (Jravesend on Tuesday It will be remembered that 

 the IViiidward left the Thames in July 1S94 ; she has brought 

 lack the records of the expedition from that dale up lo the 

 beginning of July of this year. Mr. Jackson and his parly 

 remain in Franz Josef Lind, anil the vessel will return there, 

 with stores, next June. 



A Fine Art, I.NHf.sTRiAi. a.m> Maritime E.miihition will 

 will be held in Cardiff in the spring and summer of 1896, under 

 the (Mtronage of Iler Majesty the (Jiieen. The general object 

 of the exhibition is to illustrate the most recent progress in the 

 sciences, arts, and manufactures, and not merely to be a ix)pular 

 show. The following is a list of the chief sections, and the 

 number of square feet allotted lo each : — Mining and mining 

 r.ppliances, 13,280 : machinery, electricity, and local and general 

 industries, 20,480 ; maritime, S400 : agriculture and horti- 

 culture, 7280 : health, 5400 ; fine arts, 9600. 



TlIK annual exhibition of the South London Entomological 

 and Natural Hi.slory Society was held on Thursday last, and 

 was much appreciated by the company who wenl lo see the 

 numerous interesting specimens arranged by the Committee. 

 The Society has for its object the popularising of the study of 

 natural history, and to promote this it holds bi-monthly meet- 

 ings, at which i)a|)crs are read, discussions take j)lace, observa- 

 tions arc communicated, and specimens shown and commented 

 on. In the .summertime field meetings are held for Ihc pur|5i)sc 

 of collecting and observing, and |)eriodical exhibitions are pro- 

 moted. The Society's rooms are at Hibernia Chamliers, London 

 Bridge, where a large library and typical collections arc kepi for 

 memlicrs' reference, as well as a lantern for demonstration pur- 

 (xwes. At present the numljcr of memlicrs is al>out two hundred. 

 The Secretary is Mr. .Stanley I\d«ards, Kidbrooke I^lge, 

 Blackheath, S.E. 



.Mr. I>. Pii>i;eon. I^-therhcad, sends us an account of acurious 

 etTecl ap|>arcntly produced by lightning in the early morning of 

 Septcmtx;r 7. In a collage on Cherklcy Courl estate, three or 

 four tumblers were left standing overnight, moulh upright, on a 

 «hi-lf affixc'l lo the wall of a small |>anlr)', and about twelve 

 from Ihc window, which was o|>cn. In the mnrning one 

 e tumblers was found lo have a crack completely round 

 It, M> that a ring of glass, having an uniform width of half an 

 inch, could Iw cleanly and easily detached. This hoop of glass 

 li Lt Ixen preserved (o Ik a witness to Ihe vagaries of electrical 

 illvhargc. There .seems little doulit that electricity had to do 

 with the formation of the crack, for large shrubs, just oul.si<le 



NO. 1356. VOL. 52] 



the open window near which the gla->e> stood, were imnul Uf 

 have been damaged by the lightning. It would be interesting 

 to know whether the glass was eminy 01 not, or whether it was 

 wet up lo the level of the crack. 



The Harveian Oralion was delivered on Friday last, at the- 

 Royal College of Physicians, by Dr. \V. S. Church, who took for 

 his subject " Harvey and the Rise of Physiology in England." 

 For 239 years, w iih but few intermissions, the College has met 

 in obedience to Harvey's direction to commemorate its bene- 

 factors, .^fler referring to the long list of these. Dr. Church 

 remarked that during the present year the College had receive<t 

 the magnitlcent endowment of £yooo to establish a triennial 

 prize for the furtherance of original research on the prevention 

 and cure of tuberculosis, the donor being Dr. Hermann \Vel>er. 

 who, in instituting the prize, joined the n.^me of the lale Dr. E. 

 A. Parkes with his own. After the delivery of the oration, the 

 Baly medal was presented by the President, Sir Russell 

 Reynolds, to Dr. W. H. Ca-skell, F.R.S., of Cambridge. Tlie 

 medal is awarded biennially lo some person who has distin- 

 guished himself in the science of physiology : it was founded in. 

 1866 by Dr. F. D. Dyster, " In .Memoriam Culielmi Baly, 

 M.D. ," and amongst the names of those who have since 

 received it are those of Claude Bernard, Carl Ludwig, Darwin. 

 Owen, Kitchen -Parker, and Brown-Sequard. 



In connection with ihe propositi lo change the name of the 

 Boulevard de \augirard to Boulevard Pasteur, the Paris corre- 

 spondent of the Chemist and Druggist points out that a Rue 

 Pasteur already exists, while twenty-one other streets of Paris- 

 have been named after chemists. Of these fourteen were ol 

 French nationality, and include Chevreul, Gay-Lussac, Lavoisiciv 

 Raspail, &c. Davy figures as the sole English chemist, and ihe 

 only other foreigner is the Swede Berzelius, The names of seveiv 

 lK)lanisls appear on street corners, amongst which are Dupetit, 

 Thouars, Jussieu and Linne. Nicholas Flamel. writer anil 

 alchemist, who flourished in the second half of the fourteentli 

 century, has the distinction of being the most remote name con- 

 nected with sciences after which the Parisians have called .i 

 street. Thirty-nine thoroughfares lake their names from doctors 

 and surgeons ; amongst these figure Jcnner and Vesale, the 

 Belgian anatomist, the only two foreign names. We commend 

 the French custom to English and munici|)al authorities at a loss- 

 for suitable street names. It may be thought a doubtful honour 

 to have one's name handed down to posterity in this manner, 

 but the custom serves to show that men of science are remembereil 

 in I-'rance in little as well a.s in great things. 



The following statistics, from the /.oologist, with reference to 

 the progeny of a female Manx Cat an<l an ordinary Tom Cat, are 

 interesting. The successive litters consisted of three on each, 

 occasion, and the distribution of tails is shown in the table : — 



The gr.idu.ll elimin.-ilion of the tailless condition characteristic 

 of Manx cats is singular, and well worth pulling on reconl. 



Very little detailed information exists .ts to the effecl of wiiul 

 and atmospheric pressure on the tiiles around the British Isles, 

 but it is to be hopeil that the Committee appointed at the recent 

 meeting of the British ,\ssociation will succeed in eliciling 

 suflicient trustworthy data lo enable some general law to be 

 deduced for the guidance of navigators. The Conimillee ccm- 

 sisls of Prof, \ernon llarcourl, I'lof. I'nwin, Mr. ('■. 1'. 



