Septemukr 6, 1S94J 



NA TURE 



465 



i)f the efficacy of mere lecturing. A leclurer brought specimens 

 wi(h him, but with the departure of the lecturer the specimens 

 also departed. What was wanted was (Mr. Cole thought) a 

 permanent central museum continually sending forth loan col- 

 lections to the remoter districts, the collections being allowed to 

 remain a certain time after the lectures illustraled by them had 

 been given. He did not think County Councils should have the 

 entire control of museums, as that would greatly diminish the 

 interest taken in them by the naturalists and field clubi to 

 whom ihey usually owed their existence. But a grant from 

 Ihe County Council would give a permanence to a museum which 

 would immensely increase its efficiency in every way. 



After some discussion, in which Dr. Brett, .Sir Douglas 

 Galton, Mr. Gray, Sir John Evans, Mr. Gushing and Mr. 

 Whitaker took part, the following resolution was proposed by 

 Sir Douglas Galton, and seconded by Dr. Brett : — 



" That in the opinion of this Conference it is desirable that 

 local natural history societies, and those in charge of local 

 museums, should place themselves in communication with the 

 Technical Instruction Committee of the county or borough in 

 which they are placed, with the view of obtaining pecuniary 

 grants towards extending technical knowledge by means of lec- 

 tures or by demonstrations in museums." 



Mr. Coates stated that at Perth they were building a large 

 addition to their museum, and had obtained a grant from the 

 County Councd on condition that they provided speci,iiens suit- 

 able for agricultural teaching. 



Mr. Elworthy said that a difficulty felt by many had not been 

 touched upon. They needed the services of an expert who 

 would visit a museum and pronounce with authority, "this is 

 rubbish," in the case of worthless specimens. A secretary 

 would seldom venture to get rid of rubbish on his own 

 responsibility. 



Sir John Evans thought the opinion of the secretary should 

 be deemed sufficient. 



The Chairman then put the resolution to the meeting, and it 

 was unanimously adopted. On asking if any delegates had any 

 other remarks to make, 



Mr. Seward, of Cardiff, was anxious to know, if possible, 

 what things bought for a museum in order to make it more 

 useful and attractive to the poorer classes might be legally pur- 

 chased under the Act. 



Sir John livans said that it seemed to him that the last 

 resource m these cases was the Science and Art Department at 

 South Kensinijion. 



The Chaiiman thought the Conference could not possibly 

 attempt to decide the point raised by Mr. Seward. He felt 

 sure that all present were most grateful to Mr. Peek fjr having 

 opened this discussion on museums, which, he believed, would 

 lead to most useful results. 



Seco.n'd Co.\ference, August 14, 



The Corresponding Societies' Committee was represented 

 by Prof. K. Meldola (chairman). Dr. Garson, Mr. Hopkinson, 

 Sir Rawson Rawson, Mr. Symons, Rev. Canon Tristram, Mr. 

 Whitaker, ami Mr. T. \'. Holmes (secretary). 



The Chairman hoped that delegates would do their best to 

 further the resolution passed at their last meeting, with regard 

 to local museums. 



Sectio.n a. 



ATeteorolo^ical Photography. — .\Ir. Clayden stated that a suffi- 

 cient Collection of photographs had been received, except that 

 he would lie glad of photographs of lightning showing anything 

 abnormal. S imetimes he read of the remarkable elfects of a 

 whirlwind in some district when it was too late to obtain 

 photographs of its results. In such cases he would be glad if 

 the secretary of some local society could get photographs taken 

 at once, and send them to him before it was too late. In reply 

 to Sir Rawson Rawson, he said that he had seen the photo- 

 graphs of sti.rms and lightning exhibited by the Royal Society, 

 I and believed he had many of them. 



I Mr. Syuions remarked that much help could be given by local 



societies if they were to send reports in. 



liarthlrcmon. — Mr. Davison said that in the last report of 

 the tartlitrcmors Committee there wa; a description of a 

 bifilar pendulum invented by Mr. Horace Darwin. It had also 

 been described in Nature for July 12. It was especially 

 desiiable that instruments for registering earth-tremors should 

 bj: placed along the course of great lines of fault (dislocations 

 of the strata). 



NO. I 297, VOL. 50] 



Mr. Horace Darwin then explained the construction of 

 his bifilar pendulum for registering earth-tremors. It was 

 not, he said, affected by the rapid, complicated movements 

 which took place during an earthquike, nor by the slight 

 tremors caused by passing carts or trains. But extremely 

 slight movements of the kind which would make a factory 

 chimney lean to one side would be registered. 



Mr. Symons, as chairman of the Earth-tremors Committee, 

 explainel how the work of the Committee had grown, and in 

 what respect it needed additional help. .-V series of pulsations 

 which h.id been recorded by an instrument placed at the bottom 

 of one of the deepest mines in the district of Xewcastle-on- 

 Tyne had been traced to two causes — the gradual settlement of 

 the ground in consequence of the removal of the coal, and the 

 beating of the waves on the coast. They had since been look- 

 ing for traces of earthquake tremors. Mr. Davison on one 

 occasion watched his instrument for some time, as he found 

 pulsations were taking place. They turned out to have been 

 produced by the earthquake then going on in Greece. They 

 wanted information as 10 the changes going on in CDnnection 

 with the faults in geological strata, and, if possible, to get 

 records of the alterations in the earth's crust caused by tidal 

 waves. The work was then going on at Bi'mingham under 

 Mr. Davison, but they we e anxious to have instruments 

 established in other parts of the Kritish Isles. In answer to 

 Mr. Tidileman. Mr. Symons said that an instrument could be 

 placed on the floor of a cellar. .Mr. Horace Darwin had kindly 

 undertaken to explain i:s mechanism at the close of the 

 Conference. 



The Chairman hoped that some of the corresponding 

 societies would have something to report on this question next 

 year. 



Section B. 



Pollution of Air in Towns. — Dr. G. H. Bailey said that for 

 three or four years they had been engaged in .Manchester, in 

 connection with the Manchester Field Naturalists, in examining 

 the air of towns. Tne amount of pollution and the amount of 

 the death-rate varied together. They had almost perfected a 

 method for determining the amount of sulphur compounds in 

 the air, and one for measuring the amount of sunlight in towns. 

 Their work had been chronicled in dat Join nal ol the .Manchester 

 Field Naturalists for 1S93. 



Mr. Slater made a few remarks on the effects of smoke on 

 plants, and the Chairman added that cryptogams and lichens 

 were once common on trees in Eppinj Forest. London had 

 now approached too near for them to flourish. 



Sectio.v C. 



Mr. Whitaker (representing Section C) said that he would 

 first refer to coast-erosion. The final report on this subject 

 would be made, he hoped, next year. The subject would then 

 be handed over to the local societies, and those which had 

 coast borders could continue the work by recording changes on 

 six in maps. As regards the Committee on the Circulation of 

 Underground Waters, its final report would also be made next 

 year. In this case, also, the local societies could continue the 

 investigation. It had been suggested that the twenty reports 

 should have their contents arranged topographically, and that 

 if then published, as a volume of 250 to joo pages, many local 

 societies mi(>ht be glad to purchase it. 



Erratic Block!. — Mr. Murdoch regretted that the labours of 

 the Erratic Blocks Committee were confined to England and 

 Ireland. The work in Scotland ha 1 not been so nearly finished 

 as was commonly supposed. Mr. Gr.aysaid that in Ireland they 

 had issued their first Report on Erratic Blocks. 



Prof. J. F. Blake stated that he was engaged in examining the 

 microzoa of clays, especially of Jurassic clays, and would be glad 

 if members of the corresponding societies could send him 

 samples. He would gladly report to senders on the general 

 char.icter of these clays and their microzoa. He might t.ike 

 that opportunity of telling the delegates that unless he could 

 obtain more support for the Annals of British Geology he could 

 no longer alford to publish it. 



Mr. Whitaker hoped that Mr. Bl-ike's remarks would prevent 

 the cessation of that most useful work. 



Geological Photographs. — .Mr. Jeffs said that the committee 

 had received 1055 photographs, and had passed a resolution 

 recommending the Council of the British .Vssociation, whose 

 property the collection was, to deposit it in the Museum of 

 Practical Geology, Jermyn Street, London. 



