40 



NATURE 



[May 14, 1903 



that last year the Canadian Government rhade a contribu- 

 tion of more than 16,000/. towards the cost of establishing 

 Transatlantic communication. The Canadian Government 

 is, however, still confident of the ultimate success of the 

 system. The delay in getting the Canadian station into 

 successful commercial operation is said to be due merely 

 to a breakdown of a mechanical nature. It seems as if 

 some other difficulties are also being encountered, as one 

 does not hear of any Transatlantic signalling from either 

 of the two American stations. 



The Great Western Railway, following the examples of 

 the London and South Western and North Eastern com- 

 panies, has decided to run automobile cars on some sections 

 of its line. This method of providing for a more frequent 

 service has been necessitated by the competition of electric 

 tramways, and affords further evidence in support of the 

 view that electric traction is likely to bring about in time 

 a complete revolution in our methods of locomotion. The 

 motor-cars to be used by the Great Western are to be steam 

 driven. A notable feature of the scheme is that provision 

 is to be made for frequent stoppages between the stations 

 to pick up passengers ; it is proposed that the cars should 

 stop at all the level crossings — of which there are four on 

 the section between Chalford and Stonehouse, where the 

 first experiment is to be made — and also, if it is feasible, 

 at any points at which foot-paths give access to the line. 

 It is hoped in this way to organise a successful competition 

 with the electric tramway which has been projected and 

 sanctioned parallel to this part of the line. The superiority 

 of electric traction for working of this kind is so well 

 known that one may reasonably expect the Great Western 

 Railway will find it advisable before long to get rid of the 

 steam motor-cars and provide for electrical working over 

 the section, which may pave the way, in the manner that 

 many have prophesied, for the ultimate complete conversion 

 from steam to electricity. 



The electrification of our steam-driven railways proceeds 

 apace ; the inauguration of the electrical working of the 

 Mersey Railway, which took place a few days ago, is 

 an event which will probably before long be paralleled by 

 many similar inaugurations all over the country. To the 

 Mersey Railway then belongs, we believe, the honour of 

 being the first steam railway in Great Britain to undergo 

 conversion. Special conditions have in this case hastened 

 the change ; the long tunnel under the river made a frequent 

 train service impossible without expensive outlay in ventil- 

 ation, which the company could not afford. Electrical work- 

 ing was therefore decided upon in 1900, and a contract made 

 with the British Westinghouse Co. to carry out the con- 

 version in July, 1901. In considerably less than two years the 

 work has been completed, in spite of the fact that it involved 

 relaying the whole of the five miles of permanent way, 

 together with putting down the two additional lines of rails 

 •^o serve as conductors (an insulated return being used) and 

 the erection of a power-house and plant, &c. The tunnel 

 has been cleaned and lighted throughout, and electric light- 

 ing installed at all the stations ; electricity has, in fact, 

 been adopted for almost every detail of the working. A 

 good deal of the work is naturally of American design, and 

 some of it of American construction. It is to be hoped that 

 as we hear more of other railways being converted, we 

 shall hear less of their using foreign machinery ; it is 

 probably inevitable that in the not very distant future our 

 whole railway system will be " electrified," but it is not 

 necessary that this word should be synonymous with 

 " Americanised." 



NO. 1750 VOL. 68] 



We regret to announce the death last week of Mr. 

 Clarence Bartlett, who only recently retired from the post 

 of superintendent of the Zoological Society's Gardens in 

 the Reg-ent's Park, which he had held since the death of 

 his father, whom he succeeded, in 1897. Mr. Clarence 

 Bartlett was the second son of Mr. A. D. Bartlett, and was, 

 we believe, brought up in the service of the Zoological 

 Society. During the early " sixties " he was appointed 

 assistant superintendent (and subsequently clerk of the 

 works) to the Gardens, and in 1866 he was dispatched by 

 the council to Surinam to bring home a young manati, 

 which died a few hours before the vessel arrived at South- 

 ampton. A more important mission fell to his lot in 1875, 

 when he was granted special leave by the council in order 

 to accompany, as zoological collector. His Majesty the 

 King (then Prince of Wales) to India. From this tour he 

 returned the following year, bringing home in first-rate 

 condition a large number of living mammals and birds, 

 which were housed in the Society's Gardens. Among these 

 was the elephant "Jung Pershad," which lived for many 

 years in the menagerie, and the mounted skin of which I's- 

 exhibited in the Natural History Museum, where, by the 

 way, it has just been transferred from the zoological to the 

 geological department, in order that it might stand side 

 by side with the skeletons of its extinct relations. Mr. 

 Bartlett appears never to have contributed anything to the 

 scientific publications of the Society. Soon after the resig- 

 nation of the secretary in the autumn of last year, ill-health 

 and other reasons rendered it advisable that Mr. Bartlett 

 should retire on a pension, but when he left his house in 

 the Gardens it was apparent to all that he had little prospect 

 of living to enjoy this reward of his services. 



The Parliamentary Report of the Meteorological Council 

 for th^ year igor-a has recently been issued in the same 

 form as in the previous year. Among the appendices we 

 find (i) correspondenpe with the London County Council 

 respecting an inquiry into the occurrence and distribution 

 of fogs in London ; the report of the inquiry has been 

 already published. (2) A comprehensive statement of pro- 

 visions for the supply of information to the public; and (3) 

 an interesting summary of conspicuous meteorological 

 occurrences (with two plates). An application was received 

 from the Royal Meteorological Society to assist in providing 

 means in carrying out experiments on the exploration of the 

 upper air by means of kites. In order to facilitate this 

 important investigation the Council agreed to provide the 

 instruments for the establishment of a base station. At 

 the request of the Registrar-General the Council has under- 

 taken the supply of meteorological tables for his weekly, 

 quarterly and annual reports which had been for many 

 years satisfactorily prepared by Mr. James Glaisher, at 

 great personal labour. A considerable number of returns 

 has been received through the Foreign Office from African 

 Protectorates, and the Council has under consideration the 

 publication of an annual summary of the observations from 

 these and other colonial stations ; the reduction and tabula- 

 tion of these important data will entail much additional 

 work and expense. In order to meet the constantly in- 

 creasing demands upon the public usefulness of the depart- 

 ment, both as regards land and ocean meteorology, some 

 revision of the organisation of the various branches has 

 been necessary, including the opening oif the office at 8 a.m. 

 for the service of meteorological telegraphy ; the Parlia- 

 mentary grant, however, remains at the same figure as 

 heretofore, 



Mi?.-THbMAS H. Means, of the U.S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, was recently Sent to Egypt by the U.S. Secretai^y 



