March 15, 1894.] 



NA TURE 



471 



which it is cut by other lines of skeletons is fulfilled with all 

 details of g§ 14 and 1 5 applied to any oblique parallelepiped, we 

 find a tetrakaidfckahedion which we may call orthoid, because 

 it is an orlhic tetrakaidekahedron, altered by homogeneous 

 strain. Prof. Crum Brown has kindly made for me the beautiful 

 model of an orihoidal tetrakaidekahedron thus defined which 

 is placed before ihe Royal Society as an illustration of the 

 present communication. 



Fig. 10 IS a stereoscopic picture of an orlhic tetrakaideka- 

 hedron, made by soldering together ihiity-six pieces of wire, 



the practical teaching of my class conducted, and the physio- 

 logical work carried on." So that the interval between the 

 first and 500th meetings of the Science Club represents an 

 important epoch in the history of the Cambridge Science 

 School, and gives to the conversazione a special interest. 



Although the aggregate number of members in the club 

 during these twenty two years only slightly exceeds 150, it may 

 be observed that this number includes sixteen Fellows of the 

 Royal Society and eighteen Profes-ors holding Chairs in British 

 and colonial universities and colleges. In addition to these a 



each 4 in. long, with three ends of wire at each of twenty-four 

 corners. 



§ 17. I cannot in the present communication enter upon the 

 most general possible plane-faced partitional tetrakaidekahedron 

 or show its relation to orthic and orthoidal tetrakaidekahedrons. 

 I may merely say that the analogy in the homogeneous division 

 of a plane is this : — an equilateral and equiangular hexagon 

 (orthic) ; any other hexagon of three pairs of equal and parallel 

 sides whose paracentric diagonals trisect one another (orthoidal). 

 The angles of an orthoidal hexagon, other than equilateral, are 

 not 120'. The angles of the left-hand hexagon Fig. i (§ 7) are 

 120', and its paracentric diagonals do not trisect one another, as 

 the diagram clearly shows. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Cambridge. —The Cambridge University Natural Science 

 Club celebrated its 5ooih meeting by a conversazione in the 

 University Physiological Laboratory on March 12. This club 

 was an early outcome of the development of natural science in 

 the University, being founded on March 10, 1872. Its mem- 

 bers are drawn from the senior science students in the Uni- 

 versity. Among the original members (nine in number) may 

 be mentioned Dr. H. Newell-Martin, Prof. Liversidge (now at 

 Sydney), and the late Dr. P. H. Carpenter. At one of the 

 earliest meetings the late Prof. F. M, Balfour was elected. 

 Two years later saw Prof. S. H. Vines and the late Prof. 

 Milnes Marshall added to the li.-t of members. It is interesting 

 to note that the first volume of " Studies from the Physiological 

 Laboratory, Cambridge," published in 1873, contained con- 

 tributions from four of the original members of the club. At 

 that time this laboratory, which is now large enough to accom- 

 modate easily a large conversazione, consisted (in the words of 

 Prof. M. Foster) of " two rooms in which my lectures are given, 



NO. T272, VOL. 49] 



considerable number of university and college lecturers have 

 belonged to its membership during their student days, so that 

 the club may fairly claim to have borne its part in the scientific 

 teaching of the day. 



The conversazione of the club, held on Monday, was attended 

 by about 600 persons, including a considerable number of 

 eminent men of science, both British and Continental. The 

 Physiological Laboratory was gaily decorated for the occasion, 

 and many exhibits in the different branches were on view. 

 Prof. Ramon y Cajal kindly showed specimens illustrating the 

 histology of the central nervous system. The Botanical Depart- 

 ment included exhibits by Mr. F. Darwin, F. R. S., and Mr. W. 

 Gardiner, F. R.S. ; demonstrations in electricity were given by 

 Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.K.S. One large room was devoted to 

 the exhibition of scientific instruments and machines in motion,, 

 among which we might mention engineering apparatus, shown 

 by Prof. Ewing, and Callendar's new pyrometer, by the Cam- 

 bridge Scientific Instrument Company. Chemistry, geology, 

 physiology, and pathology were also well represented. The 

 Anatomical Museum was occupied by the Ethnological Depart- 

 ment, under the direction of Prof. MacAlister, Mr. Hickson, 

 Prof. A. C. Haddon, and Baron von Hugel. A great feature 

 of the evening was in the lecture theatre, where Dr. A. R. 

 Wallace, F.R.S., delivered a polemic on "Geographical Distri- 

 bution," while Prof. C. V. Boys, F. R.S., lectured on "The 

 Photography of Flying Bullets," and Mr. Martin Conway on his 

 recent travels in high altitudes among the Himalayas. 



Dr. Donald MacAlister, Fellow and Tutor of St. John's 

 College, has been appointed Linacre Reader of Physic, in suc- 

 cession to Dr. Bradbury, the new Downing Professor of 

 Medicine. Dr. MacAlister was Senior Wrangler and First 

 Smith's Prizeman in 1877. 



Prof. Foster has been appointed a delegate to represent the 

 University at the eleventh International Medical Congress to be 

 held this month in Rome. 



Dr. Anningson, Medical Officer of Health for Cambridgej, 



