304 



NA TURE 



[July 26, 1S94 



has been since 1S64 president of the Directors of the Bergen 

 Museum, and of Prof. Michele Lessona, President of the Royal 

 Academy of Science at Turin. 



The death is announced of Mr. Alfred Williams, who for 

 many years has been closely identified with the branch of his 

 profession relating to gas engineering. Mr. Williams was one 

 of the founders of the Society of Engineers, and has acted as its 

 honorary secretary and treasurer since its inauguration in 1S54. 



The Accademia dei Lincei at Rome held its annual meeting 

 on June 3, the President, Senator Brioschi, being in the chair. 

 The King of Italy always attends these meetings, and this year 

 the Queen accompanied him. The magnificent Palazzo Corsini, 

 which compares with the rooms of the Royal Society very much 

 as the consideration shown to men of science in Italy does with 

 the neglect of science by the powers that be in England, was 

 en file, and the sitting, already recorded at length in the Atti, 

 was a most interesting one. The President referred to the work 

 done by the Society, and the constant sympathy of the King 

 with its affairs ; and Prof. Ferraris, of the Turin Industrial 

 Museum, gave a discourse on the electric transmission of energy. 



We have often in these columns had to complain of the back- 

 wardness of the Government of this country to recognise the 

 value of men of science and the work in which they are en- 

 gaged, and a fresh instance of this slowness of vision is furnished 

 in a recent number of the Electrical Revir^u. It seems that of 

 the deputations sent last year to the International Congress at 

 Chicago, the delegates who represented France and Germany 

 had the whole of their expenses paid, and were rewarded 

 according to their several merits with decorations, honours, and 

 with courteous thanks. The representatives of Great Britain 

 alone have been ignored entirely : and, so far from their ser- 

 vices receiving remuneration or thanks, it is doubtful whether 

 her Majesty's Government even know the names of those who 

 looked after British interests and maintained the credit of 

 Britain *on this most important occasion. Vet they were 

 all men of the highest eminence, who sacrificed much 

 time and trouble to this thankless business. According to 

 our contemporary, among them was one whose labours have 

 been rewarded abroad with every kind of honour and acclaim, 

 whose work has wrought incalculable benefit, whoso inventions 

 are in constant universal use, who gave his greatest discovery 

 freely to the world — and who has never in his own country re- 

 ceived the smallest official recognition or distinction. Truly, a 

 prophet is not without honour save in his own country and 

 among bis own people. 



Some sensational paragraphs have appeared in evening 

 papers as to all hope of the Wellman arctic expedition being 

 abandoned ; but this is not the case. There is serious cause for 

 anxiety, but the probability that Mr. Wellman had left the 

 Ragnvald Jarl before she was lost, is at least as great as that 

 he was on board at the time. During the next month there will 

 be frequent communication with Spitzbergen, and the position 

 of Mr. Oycn on Danes Island will not be one of utter desolation. 

 Colonel Feilden writes to the 'J'ima from Lerwick on July 21, 

 correcting some of the extravagant rumours which had been 

 published, lie states that none of Mr. Wellman's party had 

 any previous experience of .\rctic work, and that the conduct 

 of the expedition, so far as known, showed ignorance of the 

 risks they would have to run. 



TilE American Museum of Natural History have commis- 

 sioned Prof. Rudolph Weber to organise an expedition to 

 Sumatra, for the purpose of scientific exploration and the col- 

 lection of ipccimens. Mr. Weber will leave New York on the 

 38th insl., and will study for a short time in Germany, thence 

 proceeding to Sumatra, where he will collect and equip a force 

 of natives for the expedition. 



NO. I 291. VOL. 50] 



With reference to the note in our last number, respecting th^ 

 Rev. S. A. Thompson Yates's gift to the University College 

 Liverpool, a correspondent writes; — "The Thompson Vau 

 Laboratories are to be exclusively devoted to physiology an 

 pathology; and since of no two subjects can it be said with 

 more truth that " aliud ex alio clarescet," it is to be hoped 

 that both will largely benefit by the fact of their being housed 

 in the same building. Many of the requirements are identical, 

 so that the proposed new laboratories, whilst providing the 

 separate accommodation for such teaching and research as the 

 study of the subjects requires, will be as far as practicable 

 dovetailed, so as to avoid the reduplication of costly special 

 rooms. It is hoped that such combined laboratories may prove 

 of value by bringing into intimate association pathological and 

 physiological scientific workers, and it is certain that a building 

 complete in itself, which provides for both departments, must 

 lend itself most advantageously to economical maintenanci 

 The building will be situated in the ample grounds of l!- 

 College, and will form a block to which, at some subsequent 

 date, the Medical faculty hopes to add further new buildings 

 for other departments of its Medical School.' 



By permission of the postal authorities, the wires between St. 

 Margaret's and the General Post Office, London, were, on Sunday 

 afternoon and evening last, used for the purpose of some experi- 

 ments with the teleautograph, the invention of Prof. Gray, of 

 New York ; the time for the cxpeiiments being selected owing 

 to the wires being compaiatively idle on Sundays. The ex- 

 periments took place between the General Post Office, London. 

 and Cable Hut, St. Margaret's Bay, through which the London 

 and Paris telephone passes. Special instruments were fixed up 

 at both ends, and as this was the first time that long distance 

 experiments in teleautography have taken place in this country, 

 they were watched with unusual interest. The results were 

 excellent, the messages transmitted being in every respect mo^t 

 successful, and the instruments working without the slighte^t 

 hitch over a distance of 83 miles. Messages were both sent 

 from and received at St. Margaret's Bay. The principle nf 

 the instrument is that it automatically records an exact /..• - 

 simile of the writing contained in messages. In the experi- 

 ments on Sunday the receiving pencil recorded with ease and 

 clearness different handwritings, giving thick and thin strokes, 

 dotting i's, and crossing t's very correctly. 



The current number of the British Medical Journal, in a 

 leader on "Cholera Prospects," laments the fact that "there 

 are halfahundred places in England where, if cholera were to 

 be introduced to-morrow, it would, unless at once detected, 

 spread, and not only so, but spread to the danger of communi- 

 ties around, and which, by reason of gathering grounds of their 

 water supply, or the like, are at the mercy of some rur.1l body 

 whose sole aim .is a body seems to be to cut down the rates at 

 the expense of the public health." The outlook, as far as this 

 country is concerned, is not of the brightest, and health bodies 

 would certainly do well to take to heart the advice of our con- 

 temporary, .ind bestir themselves betimes to the proper fulfilment 

 of the duties devolving upon them. 



Confirmation of the wisdom of the old adage, " There is 

 nothing new under the sun," is to be found in the I.aiicel for 1 

 July 21, which details from the " Newes " of 1665 a series of \ 

 precautions employed in combating the plague of London in 

 that year. "These include the appointment of parochial 

 examiners to investigate cases of sickness and to take measures 

 for their isolation if needful and the employment of watchmen [ 

 to ensure this result and of chirurgeons to certify the presence 

 of plague. Notification of this disease was the duty of house- | 

 holders ; every infected house was marked in the manner with 

 which we arc all familiar and underwent a quarantine of longer 



