468 



NA TURE 



[March 14, 1895 



NOTES. 



TiiK Council of the Royal Society have fixed Wednesday, 

 May I, for the first Soiree of the Session. The Ladies' Con- 

 versazione will be held on some convenient day in June, 

 prbably the I2th. 



We understand that Sir Joseph Lister, Bart., the Foreign 

 Secretary of the Royal Society, will be nominated for the 

 presidency- of the Liverpool meeting of the British Association, 

 to be held in 1S96. 



Prof. W. C. U.nwin, F.R.S., will deliver the "John 

 Forrest " lecture this year, at the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers, on " The Development of the Experin1ent.1l Study 

 of Heat Motors." 



.\ SERIES of Cantor Lectures, on Commercial Fibres,willbe 

 commenced at the Society of .Vrts, John Street, Adelphi, on 

 Monday next, by Dr. D. Morris, C.M.G. The subsequent 

 lectures will be on March 25 and .^pril i. 



The 1S95 conference of the Camera Club will be held on 

 April 2 and 3, under the presiJency of Captain ;W. de W. 

 Abney. 



The death is announced of Sir Edward Bunbury, the author 

 of " History of Ancient Geography." Mr. Alfred Giles, whose 

 name is well known among engineers, has also recently died. 



At the meeting of the Royal Metcorologic.il Society, to be 

 held on Wednesday, the 20th instant, a lecture will be given by 

 Mr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., on "The Motion of Clouds con- 

 sidered with reference to their Mode of Formation." 



The Council of the Society of Arts invite members to for- 

 ward to the Secretary, on or before April 13, the names of such 

 persons as they may think worthy of the .Moert Medal for 1895. 

 The medal, which is given annually in recognition of "dis- 

 tinguished merit for promoting Arts, Manufactures, or Com- 

 merce," will be awarded in May. 



It is interesting to note, in connection with the subject of 

 Mr. Stromeyer's letter published last week, that Renter's cor- 

 respondent at San Francisco reports that vessels arriving there 

 announce the occurrence, on the 2nd insl. of an earthqu.ike in 

 the bed of the Pacific Ocean. The disturbance was accom- 

 panied by a loud roar, coming, apparently, from the sea, which 

 became covered with a mass of white foam, and subsequently 

 rose in numerous geyser-like columns. 



Mr. Hvde Cl-ARKE, the author of numerous works and 

 memoirs on philology and mythology, and a member of the 

 Council of the Anthropological Institute, died at the beginning 

 of this month, in his cighiieth year. So long ago as 1S36 he 

 planned, as engineer, and also surveyed, the Gl.isgow and 

 South- Western Railway, with the Morccambc Bay Embank- 

 ment. He was engaged a few years later in acoustic tele- 

 graphy, and was employed to report on the telegraph sysiem for 

 India. His writings cover a wide range of subjects, but he was 

 best known for his contributions to philology. 



Our attention has been drawn to a scheme, which owes its 

 initiation to Canon Tristram, and for which further sympathy 

 and support if needed. With the object of creating a more 

 general interest in the study of Natural History, an 1 to stimu- 

 late observation and research, it has been propose 1 to establish 

 a find for a medal or other prize to b: given annually by the 

 Natural History Society of Norlhumberland, Durham, and 

 Newcaslleupon-Tync, for the encouragement of ficl I work and 

 original observations in any branch of the suliject, whether 

 Botany, Geology, or Zoolo,{y. The prize will be offered for 

 the be*', essay evincing intelligent study of any of the common 



VO. 1324. VOL. 51] 



objects noticed in the fields or woods, on the moors, or by the 

 sea-shore, &c. ; competitors to bo residents in the counties of 

 Northumberland or Durham, or in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It 

 has been determined to associate the medal with the name of 

 the late Mr. John Hancock. The capital fund required to pro- 

 vide the med.-xl will not be less than j^20O, towards which 

 amount over ^T'oo ha'i already been given and promised. Sub- 

 scriptions towards the fund may be sent to Mr. .-V. H. Dickinson 

 or Mr. M. C. Potter, Hon. Secretaries of the Natural History 

 Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 



The intention of the Ottoman Government to establish a 

 geodynamic observatory at Constantinople has already been 

 noticed in these columns (p. iSo). The new institution forms 

 a section of the Imperial Observatory, and is under the direc- 

 tion of Dr. G. .\gamennone, who has just issued a valuable list 

 of earthquakes felt throughout the empire in 1S94. The chief 

 interest of this catalogue centres in the accounts of the great 

 earthquake of July 10, and the detailed record of its after- 

 shocks. In the Observatory registers there are also preserved 

 many seismic notices relating to previous years, which are to be 

 edited and published at the earliest opportunity. 



The seismic history of several districts in Italy has been 

 worked out with great care and thoroughness by Dr. Mario 

 Baraita. In his last paper (Rivista Geogr. Hal., Gennaio, 

 1S95), he treats of the earthquakes of Calabria Ultra. In this 

 province there are five well-marked seismic centres, or radiants. 

 From their position, and from the direction in which the epi- 

 centre is displaced, it is clear that they are closely connected 

 with the prominent faults which have helped to shape the pre- 

 sent surface features of the district. Dr. Baratta concludes that 

 (he earthquakes of 17S3 were produced by vihr.itions of these 

 faults, and that the shock of last November 16 was a repetition 

 of the terrible disturbance of February 5, 17S3, the areas most 

 strongly affected by them bjth being almost or quite identical. 



The Council of the Marine Biological Association has 

 authorised the expenditure during the present year of a con- 

 siderably larger sum for boat hire than has been spent in pre- 

 vious years. Naturalists who visit the laboratory during the 

 coming season ra.iy thus expect increased facilities in their 

 work, and ample supply of material for their researches. The 

 Council, moreover, has authorised the director to offer free 

 tables in the Plymouth Laboratory to naturalists who will be 

 willing to render assistance in the arrangement of the collec- 

 tions in the museum, and in the collecting operations at sea. 

 It is to be hoped that many will take advantage of the efforts 

 which are bcin^ made to extend the usefulness of the magni- 

 ficent laboratory at Plymouth. 



The Prince of Monaco has recently reported upon the first 

 scientific cruises of his yacht the Princesse .4Iice. The area 

 inves ijjated included the western basin of the Mediterranean, 

 the Straits of Gibr.aUar, and the Gulf of Gascony, along the 

 western oasts of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, down to a 

 depth of 4S98 metres. Fiflyeight soundings and forty-six 

 temperatures and samples of sea-water were taken in thew 

 locali ies. The trawlmgs made by the Pri>uesst Alice in the 

 western basin of the Mediterranean merely confirm the known 

 poverty of the fauna of the great depths of this part of the 

 Meiliterrancan ; the Atlantic operations of the ship in 1894 

 Were unfortunately impeded by prolonged and violent northerly 

 winds. 



Mr. J. Y. BucHANA.N, who has investigated the samples of 

 watrr taken by the Priiictste AlUt, finds that the density of the 

 Atlantic water is tl.e same along the whole south coast of Spain 

 as far as Cape Gala, owing to the existence here of a strong 

 surface curicnt sitting eastwards. From Cape Gata eastwards 



