NA TURE 



[July 19, 1^594 



one of the work-tables is twenty-rive kronen. This in- 

 cludes the necessary reagents, the free use of all the 

 apparatus and the museum, also theuseof the boat, with 

 the men, for private explorations, and liberty to take part 

 in the weekly steamer excursions to the distant parts of 

 the fjords. 



The institution is open every day all the year round ; 

 the fjords are never quite frozen, and at the coldest 

 time the temperature is never more than a few degrees 

 from zero. 



The institution is under the supervision of Herren Dr. 

 A. Appellof, G. A. Hansen, and T. Brunchorst. It is 

 almost entirely supported by voluntary contributions. 

 A certain sum, however, is granted by the State, which 

 unfortunately is not sufficient to permit the institution to 

 have a resident zoologist ; but as the Norwegian Govern- 

 ment is always so liberal in matters of a scientific nature, 

 it is hoped that the required amount will soon be 

 granted. 



PROFESSOR DR. FISCHER. 



D Y the death of Prof. Dr. Fischer, which took place on 

 ■'-' May 17 last, the Konigliche Preussische Geo- 

 datische Institut and the Central-bureau der Inter- 

 nationalen Erdmessung lose a very ardent and devoted 

 chief who has done much, not only to keep up the high 

 standard of these institutions, but to bring them, if pas- 

 sible, to a higher grade of perfection. 



Born in the year 1S36, on December 10, at Deutsch- 

 Leippe, near Grottkau, in Schlesien, Amand Fischer 

 began his first studies at the Mathias-Gymnasium in 

 Breslau, occupying his attention, among other things, 

 with mathematics and science {Astr. Nach Bd. 135, 

 No 3235) ; he graduated in 1S66, the subject of his dis- 

 sertation being the Comet 111. of i860. In the following 

 year he entered in the Central-bureau der Mittcleuropiiis- 

 chen Gradmessung, and two years later in the Konigliche 

 Preussische Geodatische Institut, in which he commenced 

 his great activity, which he continued up to the end. 

 From July 1877 he conducted the sections relating to 

 Geodesy. 



Among the numerous valuable works brought before 

 the public will be remembered the " Rheinischc Dreiecks- 

 netz," in which were a great number of Fischer's mea- 

 surements, made at the majority of the stations em- 

 ployed. He found occasion also to busy himself with 

 lateral refraction, and he made an interesting contribution 

 on " Lothabweichungen in der Unigebung von Berlin " 

 (1889), which was valuable in the discussion regarding 

 the relation between Geodesy and Geology. 



At a somewhat earlier date, in an article that appc.ired 

 in the Astr. Nach. (Bd. 88), entitled " Die Gcstalt der 

 Erde und die Pendelmessungen,"he brought forward the 

 interesting deduction that the variation, which Ph. 

 Fischer had calculated from the measures of gravity, 

 could be traced back to geological causes, a deduction 

 which agrees very nearly with our present ideas. 



The publication of the " Berliner Basisnetzes" (1891) 

 absorbed a great amount of his activity, as he paid 

 special attention to this piece of work. In the measure- 

 ments made in the Strehlen, Berlin, and Bonn base-lines 

 operations, he took, finally in the capacity of director, 

 a prominent part. We have to thank him, also, for some 

 Important thermoelectrical researches on the expansion of 

 the rods used for base-line determinations. f^Astr. Nach. 

 Bd. 103.; He determined, also, the difference of longitude 

 between Wangcroog and Schillig by means of optical 

 iK, during the time of the operations on the trigono- 

 il survey of the North .Sea islands and the main- 

 i.i,, ., with the computation of which he busied himself. 



We are indebted to him for a great number of 

 astronomical observations made at several stations for 

 ihc trigonometrical work in which he was employed. 



NO. 1290. VOL. 50] 



In order to get some idea of his dexterity and care, 

 and more especially of his love for work and his self- 

 sacrifice, one must not only look at the literary side of 

 Fischer's activity, but at that in which his capacity as an 

 observer was a very prominent feature. 



Besides a host of numerous friends who mourn his loss, 

 he leaves behind a widow and three children. 



NOTES. 

 The subjectsifor 1S95 'o'' ^^ results of original research, upon 

 which the Royal Society of New South Wales ofter their 

 medal and £2f„ are as follows : — (i) On the Silver Ore Deposits 

 of New South Wales. (2) On the Physiological Action of the 

 Poison of any Australian Snake, Spider, or Tick. (3) On ihe 

 Chemistry of the Australian Gums and Resins. The com- 

 munications are to be sent in not later than May i, 1S95. The 

 subjects for 1896 are also announced as follows: — (i) On the 

 Origin of Multiple Hydatids in Man. (2) On the Occurriinceof 

 Precious Stones in New South Wales, with a description of the 

 deposits in which they are found. (3) On the liflect of the 

 Australian Climate on the Physical Development of the 

 Australian-born Population. The Society emphasise the con- 

 dition that the award will not be made for a mere compilation, 

 however meritorious it may be. 



The Council of the Royal Society of New South Walci havt- 

 awarded the prize given by the Hon. Ralph Abercrombie for 

 the best essay on " Southerly Bursters " on the east coast of 

 Austr.alia, to Mr. Henry \. Hunt, second miteorolo^ical assis- 

 tant in the observatory at Sydney. The essay cotuains the 

 results obtained from a study of all the bursters that visited 

 the east coast from 1863 to 1893, and is illustrated by weather 

 charts, cloud photOjjr-iphs, and diagrams showing the monthly 

 ;xnd hourly distribution of these windstorms, as well as diagrams 

 showing instrum ental conditions in typical cases. 



Manuscripts competing for the De Candolle Prize for 1895, 

 offered by the Geneva Physical and Natural History Society, for 

 the best unpublished monograph of a genus or family of plants, 

 must be sent in by January 15, 1S95. They may be written ia 

 Latin, French, German, English, or Italian. The value o( the 

 pri ze is 500 francs. 



LlviiRl'OOL is fortunate in having citizens who testify their 

 interest in the scientific welfare of the city by munificent gene- 

 rosity. We have previously noted the endowments, by the I^arl 

 of Derby and Mr. George Holt, of chairs in anatomy and patho- 

 logy at the University College, Liverpool. We now leain, from 

 'he lirilish Medical Joiiriml, that t he Kev. S. A. Thompson 

 Yates has presented the College with the sum of /■l5,ooo in 

 order to build physiological and pathological laboratories. 



The Danish Government has undertaken, during the years 

 1895 and 1896, a deep-sea exploration in the Greenland and 

 Icelandic waters. The expedition will be accompanied by a 

 botanist. 



O.sEof the Last acts of the late President Carnol, a few hours 

 before his assassination, was to confer on Ihe well-known 

 botanist Dr. Saint-Lager the dignity of Officer of Ptihlic 

 iDstructioD. 



Dr. V. SciiiFFNER has sent to the Botanical Institute of the 

 German University of Prag a very large collection of titled 

 plants and spirit-material from Western Java. He is intending 

 also to visit Eastern lava and Sumatra. 



The antiquities, ranging from prehistoric down to Roman 

 times, lately discovered by Prof Flinders Pctrie in the temple 

 of Koptos in Upper Egypt, will be exhibited to the public in 



