460 



NA TURE 



[March 15, 1894 



Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R. S., has been elected President of 

 the Institute of Chemistry, in succession to Dr, \V. A. Tilden, 



r.R.s. 



Dr. F. Dahl has been appointed Professor of Zoology, and 

 \yr. F. Shiitt Professor of Botany, in Kiel University. 



Dk. K. Auwers, Privat-docent in Heidelberg University, 

 has been appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry. 



A collection of botanical specimens from the Pamirs, made 

 by Captain Vounghusband, has been added to the Herbarium 

 at the Saharanpur Government Botanical Gardens. 



The Pioneer A/a i/ says that direct telephonic communication 

 was established between Calcutta and Nagpoor, a distance of 750 

 miles, on February 18. Messages were successfully interchanged 

 between the two stations. 



It is said that negotiations are in progress between Dr. 

 Billings, on behalf of the United States Surgeon-General's 

 Office, and the family of the late Prof. August Hirsch, of 

 Berlin, for the purchase of the library left by the latter, which 

 consists of about io,coo volumes. 



Gales or strong winds have occurred with great persistency 

 over Dur Islands during the past week. On Saturday morning, 1 

 the loth instant, a storm centre lay off the north of Scotland, 

 and between that time and Sunday morning a very severe gale 

 was experienced in the north and west, while upwards of an 

 inch and two-tenths of rain fell at Stornoway. On Monday 

 afternoon another severe storm reached our south-west coasts, 

 and on the succeeding night passed in a norih-easterly direction 

 to the North Sea. This disturbance was also accompanied 

 with heavy rainfall at many places ; at Holyhead it amounted 

 to three quarters of an inch. The rainfall lately in Scotland 

 has been greatly above the average ; the excess in the north of 

 Scotland is 8 '6 inches since the beginning of the year. 



The report of the Berlin branch of the German Meteorolo- 

 gical Society for the year 1894 contains an investigation by its 

 President, Prof G. Hellmann, on the temperature in and outside 

 the town of Berlin. The influence of a large number of houses 

 on the temperature is very marked, and Dr. Hellmann has been 

 at great pains to secure trustworthy results ; the instruments are 

 carefully compared and exposed at several stations in properly 

 constructed screens, and are in charge of persons interested in 

 the work. The mean yearly temperature in the town is found to 

 be nearly 1° higher than in the suburbs, the greatest differenci 

 occurring in the warmer season (March to August), and the least 

 during winter. But in time of severe frost the difference has 

 amounted to as much as 14°. The greatest variation naturally 

 occurs in the evening, when the houses radiate the heat obtained 

 during the day-time ; in summer time this difference amounts to 

 2° or more, and on calm evenings may even amount to more 

 than 5' ; the temperature curve inside compared with that out- 

 side the town shows quite a different rate of fall. 



A PAPER on the Texan monsoons was recently read before 

 the Philosophical Society of Washington by Prof. M. W. Har- 

 rington. In order to ascertain the existence, locality, and 

 character of recurring winds, maps were constructed from the 

 tri-daily observations of the Weather Bureau, to exhibit the most 

 frequent winds for each month of the year, and these maps 

 showed a distinct seasonal change in wind direction in several 

 localities of the United States. The southerly winds, or summer 

 monsoons, in Texas first appear distinctly in March, and their 

 area is most extensive from May to October, when it occupies 

 about 500 miles in longitude and about lOOO miles in latitude, 

 extendmg to the Canadian boundary. The northerly winds or 

 winter monsoons first appear distinctly in December, and con- 

 i\0. 1272, VOL. 49] 



tinue until the end of February, occurring for the most part 

 under anticyclonic conditions to the north of Texas. They some- 

 times combine with the well-known "northers," causing a great 

 fall of temperature. These monsoon winds play a very impor- 

 tant part in the climate of Texas ; the southerly winds bring 

 coolness when it is most needed, while the northerly winds, 

 although not so favourable, are not less so than the prevalent 

 westerly winds to the northward of that State. 



That the luminosity of a candle can be calculated direct from 

 the dimensions of its flame, is the rather striking theorem of 

 Herr P. Glan, who gives the results of his measurements in the 

 current number of IViedemamis Aniialen, The volumes of the 

 bright portions of various candle flames were measured by taking 

 the length by means of a scale placed behind the flame, and the 

 breadth at various points by gauging it with calipers or com- 

 passes. These bright portions have approximately the shape of 

 cone-, each of these cones being penetrated from below by a 

 truncated cone, consisting of the dark central portion. The 

 difference between the volumes of the two cones gave the 

 volume of the brilliant portion. Stearine and paraffin candles of 

 various thicknesses, and provided with different wicks, were 

 compared by means of a rod photometer. It was soon found 

 that the height of the flame was not the only factor determining 

 the brightness. A stearine candle of 5*88 cm. circumference 

 had, on the other hand, a higher luminosity than another 

 6 "49 cm. in circumference. But a determination of the ratio of 

 the volume to the illuminating power showed that this ratio is 

 very nearly constant, the difference between the actual lumin- 

 osity and that calculated from its volume never exceeding 3 per 

 cent. In other words, equal volumes of the bright flame of any 

 two candles give out the same amount of light. 



At a recent meeting of the Societe Frar.9aise de Physique, 

 Dr. d'Arsonval exhibited a new form of electrical machine 

 which has been devised by M. Bonetti. The machine is a 

 modification of the ordinary Wimshurst pattern, the improve- 

 ments introduced by M. Bonetti consisting in the suppression 

 of the metallic sectors and the replacement of the single brushes 

 at the extremities of the transverse conductor by three at either 

 end. As a result of these changes, the output of the machine, 

 and the length of spark it is capable of giving, are both increased. 

 If two similar machines are taken, one having metallic sectors 

 and the other without, and the output is measured with a Lane's 

 jar, it is found that the machine without sectors gives an outjuit 

 from two to four times as great as the ordinary form. Another 

 advantage possessed by the new form of machine is that it is 

 not subject to a change in polarity while at work. Although 

 the machine is not self-exciting, it can be started by placing the 

 finger against the upper part of one of the rotating discs while 

 it is in movement. If it is desired to change the polarity of the 

 machine, it is only necessary to place the finger at the same part 

 of the opposite disc. 



In a second paper, on the polarisation upon a thin metal par- 

 tition in a voltameter {PhihiOphical Magazine, March 1894), 

 Mr. John Daniel discusses the passage of ions through a gold- 

 leaf partition, and also the minimum current-strength at which 

 the ions are deposited visibly upon the partition for various elec- 

 trolytes. In order to investigate the first point two similar volta- 

 meters with metallic partitions were set up at the same time, 

 and, without passing the current quantitative analyses of the 

 solution on the two sides of the partition, were made at stated 

 intervals ; then the current was passed, the voltameters being 

 in series, quantitative analyses being again made of the solution 

 on the kathode side, and the weight of copper deposited on the 

 kathode determined, and finally the circuit was broken and the 

 analyses again repeated. Curves plotted from these results show 



