June 4, 1903] 



NATURE 



[07 



/oi. This protest was, however, disregarded, with the 

 lesult that the Society now finds itself held responsible for 

 management which has really been left to the geographers. 

 The T)aily Mail has published several articles in which the 

 joint committee is severely handled, and the facts disclosed 

 as to the estimated and actual costs of the expedition are, 

 to say the least, such as will not encourage the public to 

 believe in the foresight and business capacity of men of 

 science. 



The condition of the German Antarctic Expedition which, 

 under the command of Dr. von Drygalski, left Germany in 

 August, 1901, is causing great anxiety, and hurried prepar- 

 ations are being made for the dispatch of a relief expedition 

 tliis summer. It will be remembered, a correspondent of 

 the Pall Mall remarks, that a station was erected on 

 Kerguelen Island in January, 1902, which was intended to 

 serve as a place of observation and as a base for the ex- 

 pedition ship Gauss, which was to penetrate much farther 

 south. Those who were at the station, however, suffered 

 terribly from the climate, and then were attacked by beri- 

 beri, which appears to be endemic in that part of the world. 

 This malady carried off the greater number of those who 

 were afflicted with it, among them being Dr. Enzensperger, 

 the meteorologist. The Gatiss sailed south, but as nothing 

 has been heard of her for a long time it is feared that she 

 is lost, and doubts have been expressed that any of her 

 present officers and crew will ever be heard of again. An 

 attempt is, however, to be made to find them. The matter 

 was discussed in the Reichstag a few days ago, and about 

 25,000/. was unanimously voted for a relief expedition. 

 Preparations for departure will not be begun until the 

 middle of next month — the latest time, according to scientific 

 opinion, that the Gauss could by any chance make her way 

 out of the vast fields of ice over which the terrible severity 

 of an Antarctic winter is now spreading. 



The fifth International Congress for Applied Chemistry 

 is being held in the Imperial Diet Building at Berlin, under 

 the presidency of Prof. Dr. Otto N. Witt. About 2200 

 members, accompanied by more than 300 ladies, are attend- 

 ing the Congress, at which the European States and several 

 other States are represented by official delegates. The 

 chief British societies, that is, in addition to the Chemical 

 Society, the Institute of Chemistry, the Society of Chemical 

 Industry, the Society of Public Analysts, the Federated 

 Institute of Brewing, the Royal Societies of London and 

 Edinburgh, the Iron and Steel Institute, the Royal Institu- 

 tion, the British Association and other bodies, nominated 

 delegates for the organising committee. The Congress will 

 deliberate in eleven sections and three subsections. The 

 German Electrochemical Societv, which last year adopted 

 the name of German Bunsen Society for Applied Physical 

 Chemistry, will also hold its annual meeting at Berlin 

 <Juring this week, and will take charge of the tenth electro- 

 chemical section. This section, however, will meet in the 

 Physical Institute of the University of Berlin. The con- 

 gress offices, so far at 31 March Str., Charlottenburg, will 

 be removed to the Imperial Diet Building (Reichstags- 

 Oebaiide) on June 2, and a post office has been opened in 

 tiis building for the convenience of members. There are 

 350 papers and reports to be read. The great electrical 

 works of Berlin and some other works will be thrown opep 

 to members, but no chemical works apparently. The city 

 of Berlin will entertain the Congress, and an excursion to 

 ihe Havel Lakes has been arranged for Sunday, June 7. 



The proceedings of the International Telegraph Con- 

 ference, at which nearly fifty different States are represented, 

 commenced last week, and will continue day by day during 



^'O- '753. ^'OL. 68] 



this month. The proceedings are private. Mr. J. C. Lamb, 

 the principal delegate of Great Britain, has been elected 

 president of the conference, and Messrs. J. Ardron and 

 P. Benton vice-presidents. This is the ninth conference 

 which has been held ; at the last the cable companies have 

 been represented as well as the various States. In addition 

 to the business of the conference, dinners and other enter- 

 tainments have been arranged in connection with it; a 

 dinner was given last week by the Submarine Telegraph 

 Companies at the Hotel Cecil, Sir J. Wolfe-Barry pre- 

 siding, and nearly 500 guests being present. The president 

 of the Institution of Electrical Engineers entertains the 

 delegates and the Institution at a concert at the Albert Hall 

 on June 11, and the conversazione of the Institution will 

 also be held during the sitting of the conference. 



Mr. Marconi is reported to have said on his return to 

 England last week that it will be another six weeks before 

 Transatlantic communication will be resumed. The precise 

 nature of the breakdown has not been published. The 

 American company proposes to extend greatly the system 

 in America by establishing new stations in New York and 

 on the great lakes. It is also stated that the report that 

 Mr. Marconi was suffering from nervous breakdown and 

 would have to take a prolonged rest is unfounded. 



The council of the Institution of Electrical Engineers has 

 received and accepted an invitation from the American 

 Institute of Electrical Engineers to visit the United States 

 in 1904. The McGill University, of Montreal, has invited 

 the two Institutions to hold a joint meeting in their build- 

 ing at this time. The invitations, both from the American 

 Institute and the McGill University, are couched in the 

 most cordial terms, and the council hopes that it may be 

 possible to arrange not only for a visit to the eastern States 

 of America and to the St. Louis Exhibition, but also for 

 the proposed joint meeting in Canada. 



The report of the council of the Institution of Electrical 

 Engineers, adopted at the annual general meeting held on 

 May 28, is a record of real scientific activity and progress. 

 The Institution is exerting the best of influences upon 

 electrical science, and its work and scope are rapidly ex- 

 tending. Mr. Robert Kaye Gray has been elected president 

 in succession to Mr. Swinburne. A new local section has 

 been formed with its centre at Leeds, embracing the whole 

 of Yorkshire with the exception of Middlesbrough and the 

 Cleveland district, which were already included in the area 

 of the Newcastle local section. The council has awarded 

 the following premiums for papers and communications : — 

 the Institution premium, value 25/., to Dr. J. A. Fleming, 

 F.R.S., for "Photometry of Electric Lamps"; the Paris 

 Electrical Exhibition premium, value 10/., to Mr. M. B. 

 Field, for "A Study of the Phenomenon of Resonance in 

 Electric Circuits by the Aid of Oscillograms"; two extra 

 premiums, value lol. each, one to Messrs. A. D. Constable 

 and E. Fawssett jointly, for " Distribution Losses in Electric 

 Supply Systems "; and the other to Dr. W. M. Thornton, 

 for "Experiments on Synchronous Converters"; an 

 original communication premium, value lol., to Messrs. A. 

 Russell and C. C. Paterson, for " Sparking in Switches." 

 Students' premiums have been awarded to Messrs. J. Griffin, 

 F. J. Hiss, E. Fisher, A. G. Ellis, and T. H. Vigor. 

 Salomons scholarships, value 50Z. each, have been awarded 

 to Mr. G. B. Dyke, of University College, London, and to 

 Mr. H. W. KefTord, of the Central Technical College. 

 The award of the David Hughes scholarship, value 50/., has 

 been made to Mr. W. H. Wilson, of King's College, 

 London. 



