158 



NATURE 



[December 14, 1893 



slight decline of io~ or 15". The shape of the wings is 

 not flat but slightly curved. The experiments recorded 

 in his book, " Der Vogelflug," show that the curved form 

 has decided advantages both as regards the amount and 

 the direction of the resistance. The wing surface is 15 

 square metres. It is not safe to take a larger surface 

 before having learnt to manage a smaller one. He takes 

 a sharp run of four or five steps against the wind, jumps 

 into the air, and slides down over a distance of about 

 Jjo metres. By shifting his centre of gravity relatively 



Fig. 3. 



to the centre of resistance he can give the wing surface 

 any inclination, and thereby can, to a certain extent, 

 either slide down quicker, or slacken the movement, or 

 alter the direction. If the wind is not too strong, and the 

 surface of the apparatus not too large, I think there is 

 very little danger in this kind of practice. If it is taken 

 up by a great many people, improvements of the ap- 

 paratus are sure to follow, and the art of keeping one's 

 balance in the air will be developed. Perhaps this is the 

 road to flying. At any rate it must be fine sport. 



C. RUNGE. 



NOTES. 



The funeral of the late Prof. Tyndall took place on Saturday, 

 in the paiish churchyard at Haslemere. It was the desire of 

 Mrs. Tyndall that the assemblage upon that sad occasion should 

 not be large, so the mourners were chiefly Tyndall's close 

 friends. Among them were the following men of science : — 

 Prof. Huxley, Sir Joseph Hooker, Sir James Crichton Browne, 

 Lord Rayleigh (representing the Royal Institution), Sir John 

 Lubbock, Prof. Michael Foster (representing the Royal Society), 

 Prof. Riicker (representing the Royal College of Science), Prof. 

 Williamson, the Hon. Rollo Russell, Mr. Alex Siemens (repre- 

 senting Sir William Siemens), Dr. Buzzard, and Dr. Atkinson. 

 These mourners are eminent in many different branches of 

 science ; and it is hardly too much to say that their presence not 

 only marked the regard in which Tyndall is held in our best 

 scientific institutions, but also testified to thegrief of all students 

 of natural knowledge at the loss of one of the pioneers of the 

 scientific movement in England. 



A SPECIAL general meeting of the members of the Royal In- 

 stitution will be held on Friday, December 15, to pass a vote of 

 sympathy and condolence with Mrs. Tyndall oa the occasion of 

 NO. T259, VOL. 49] 



the death of Dr. Tyndall, who was Honorary Professor of 

 Philosophy of that Institution. 



The death is announced at Paris of the biologist Dr. 

 Chabry, knovvn for his work in experimental teratology. 



The Museum d'Histoire Naturelle lost its able con- 



chologist, M. Paul Fischer, on the 29th ult. He was 



born at Paris in 1835, and entered the palseontological 



laboratory of the Museum in 1861, remaining there until his 



death. The list of his contributions to the 



literature of science contains no less than 



three hundred titles, among which may be 



mentioned his " Histoire des Mollusques du 



Mexique," and' the "Manuel di Conchylio- 



logie," written in collaboration with M. 



Crosse. 



The friends of Dr. Julius Hann, of Vienna, 

 will be glad to learn that he has received from 

 the Emperor the rare decoration for science 

 and art {Ehrenzeichen fiir Wissenschaft und 

 Kunst). This corresponds to the Order 

 Pour leMeritein Prussia, but is bestowed very 

 charily, the total number of holders of it being 

 only about a dozen. The actual decoration 

 received by Dr. Hann had been set free by 

 the death of Prof. J. Stefan, the physicist. 



Prof. Riggenbach has been elected a 

 Correspondent of the Paris Academy, in the 

 place of the late Dr. CoUadon, 



Dr. J. Russell Reynolds, F.R.S., has 

 been elected President of the Royal Col- 

 lege of Physicians, in the place of the late Sir Andrew 

 Clark. 



The eleventh International Medical Congress will be held in 

 Rome, from March 29 to April 5, 1894. 



A Reuter's telegram from Berne announces that the Federal 

 Council has decided to introduce the time of Central Europe 

 into the Swiss postal telegraph, railway, and steamship ser- 

 vices on June i, 1894. 



A PRIZE of 3000 liras is offered by the R. Istiluto Veneto di 

 scienze lettere ed arti, for the most important innavation in 

 Venetian pisciculture. The research for which the prize will be 

 awarded may relate to the artificial hatching of the eggs of any 

 important species of marine fish, the introduction of new 

 species, improvements in methods of ostriculture, or the 

 production of better kinds of fish. 



For some time negotiations have been in progress for the pur- 

 chase of the Little Barrier Island, with a view to setting it apart 

 as a home for New Zealand fauna. We are glad to learn that 

 the island has now been obtained from its owner, and that there 

 is nDthing to prevent the scheme being carried into effect. 



The Kew Bulletin (Appendix i. 1894) contains a list of seeds 

 of hardy herbaceous plants and of trees and shrubs available for 

 exchange with colonial, Indian, and foreign Botanic Gardens, 

 as well as with regular correspondents of Kew. No application 

 for seeds can be entertained after the end of next March, except 

 from remote colonial possessions. 



The Director of the Botanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro has 

 prepared and issued a list of plants cultivated there, and oftered 

 in exchange. A descriptive catalogue will shortly be published 

 containing a description of each separate species in the Garden. 



