September 24, 1903J 



NATURE 



515 



tlie gradual rise and fall of the river was almost regular, 

 day by day, the maximum flow occurring about q a.m., 

 and the minimum about 9 p.m., the difference between the 

 two amounting to nearly 10 per cent, of the total quantity 

 passing down the river at the time of minimum flow. 

 Various suggestions as to the cause of this phenomenon 

 have been made, but I am unable to give any satisfactory 

 explanation. It occurs in winter as well as in summer, 

 and may take place daily throughout the year, though it 

 cannot be observed except during dry periods. It may well 

 br' that a similar phenomenon occurs in other rivers, but 

 has escaped observation owing to the absence of recording 

 gauges. 



THE INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL 

 CONGRESS. 

 HTHE ninth gathering of the International Geological 

 ■*• Congress was held this year in Vienna. After a pre- 

 liminary series of excursions through different parts of 

 Austria-Hungary the members assembled in the rooms of the 

 University on Thursday, August 20, when the meeting was 

 inaugurated by the Archduke Rainer and the Minister of 

 Public Instruction. According to the programme prepared 

 by the committee of organisation, each alternate day was 

 to be devoted to the reading and discussion of papers on given 

 subjects of general interest, while the intervening days were 

 given up to excursions in the neighbourhood of the imperial 

 city. After the formal opening of the congress, the after- 

 noon of the first day was spent, under the presidency of Mr. 

 Emmons, of the United States Geological Survey, in receiv- 

 ing a miscellaneous group of communications, including a 

 paper on the Laccolites of the Aar-massif by Prof. Baltzer, 

 and an account of the recent volcanic eruptions of Martinique 

 and St. Vincent by Mr. E. O. Hovey, illustrated by an ex- 

 cellent series of photographic lantern slides. The next day 

 of discussion (August 22) was dedicated to the crystalline 

 schists, under the chairmanship of Prof. Zirkel in the morn- 

 ing and Prof. Loewinson-Lessing in the afternoon. Until 

 the various communications are in print and can be studied 

 and compared, it is hardly possible to say how far they have 

 advanced our knowledge of the subject. The speakers on 

 this and subsequently on the other selected subjects of dis- 

 cussion showed a prevailing tendency to dwell on the local 

 peculiarities of the regions most familiar to them, and rather 

 to lose sight of the general principles to which local observ- 

 ations should properly lead. The crystalline schists of Ger- 

 many, Austria, the Alps, Finland and North America were 

 all brought into review, so that a sufficiently wide basis was 

 provided for satisfactory generalisation. The third day 

 (August 24) for the reading of papers, under the presidency 

 of Sir Archibald Geikie in the forenoon and Prof. Heim in 

 the afternoon, was spent in listening to essays by various 

 geologists on the important phenomena embraced under the 

 general designation of " overthrusts." MM. Lugeon and 

 Haug described the structures displayed in the .\lps. Prof. 

 Uhlig those of the Carpathians, Mr. Bailey Willis those of 

 the United States. In an interesting discussion Prof. 

 Heim indicated that he surrendered the so-called " double- 

 fold " of the Glarnish, as originally advocated by him, and 

 now admitted that the structure implied a gigantic over- 

 thrust. Prof. Rothpletz, who has long maintained this 

 view, also took part in the debate, which at times became 

 lively from the energy of the speakers and the difficulty 

 which they found in confining their exuberance within the 

 limits of time prescribed by the council. Though the 

 doctrine of overthrusts was admitted, considerable diver- 

 gence of opinion appeared as to the true nature and origin 

 of the structure. 



Wednesday (August 26) was dedicated to a consideration 

 of the geology of the Balkan peninsula and the East, under 

 the presidency of Prof. Barrois in the forenoon and Prof. 

 Tschernyschew in the afternoon. An interesting and im- 

 portant series of papers was read, in which the present state 

 of our knowledge of these regions was detailed by those 

 geologists to whom the recent advance of that knowledge has 

 mainly been due. 



On Thursday (August 27) the morning was taken up in the 

 reception of miscellaneous communications in four different 



I 



NO. 1769, VOL. 68] 



rooms of the University. As this extensive building includes 

 a large number of rooms separated from each other by stair- 

 cases and passages, and as no adequate system of placards 

 was adopted to guide the members to these various meeting- 

 places, much time was lost in trying to find them, and 

 in some instances the search was abandoned in despair. The 

 afternoon was devoted first to the reception of the reports of 

 the various Commissions appointed by the congress at pre- 

 tIous meetings. A satisfactory statement was made by Prof. 

 Beyschlag as to the progress of the international geological 

 map of Europe. Sir Archibald Geikie gave in the report of 

 the Commission on lines of raised beach in the northern 

 hemisphere and also that of the Commission on international 

 cooperation in geological research. On his proposal it was 

 agreed to form a small committee for the purpose of collect- 

 ing information from different countries with a view to com- 

 bined effort in those branches of inquiry which are not purely 

 geological but require the services of other sciences. The 

 first number of the " Palasontologia Universalis " was laid 

 before the meeting by M. Oehlert, who was warmly con- 

 gratulated on the successful launching of this enterprise. 

 The report of the Commission on glaciers was presented by 

 M. Finsterwalder. The recommendation of the committee 

 appointed to consider the Spendiaroff prize was unanimously 

 adopted, that the prize should be awarded to Prof. Brogger, 

 of Christiania. The last oflicial act of the congress was to 

 choose the next place of meeting, which, by a majority, was 

 fixed to be Mexico. 



A very unpleasant impression was made on a number of 

 members of the congress by the action of the Vienna com- 

 mittee of organisation in regard to the next meeting place» 

 So far back as March last the general secretary wrote to Dr. 

 Bell, acting director of the Geological Survey of Canada, 

 asking whether an invitation could be sent from Canada to 

 hold the next meeting of congress there, and assuring him 

 that many Austrian geologists would be very pleased to visit 

 that country and would be happy to support the invitation 

 at the approaching Vienna meeting. No mention was made 

 in that letter, or in any subsequent communication, that 

 applications had been sent to any other country. Dr. Bell 

 replied in the same month of March that he cordially wel- 

 comed the proposal and would do all in his power to further 

 its acceptance. The Geological Survey and the Royal Society 

 of Canada warmly supported it, and eventually the Govern- 

 ment authorities took it up and Parliament actually voted 

 25,000 dollars towards the necessary expenses of the meet- 

 ing. Dr. Bell was commissioned to proceed to Vienna and 

 personally invite the congress to hold their next session in 

 Canada. On arriving in Vienna, however, he found that, 

 unknown to any one in Canada, the committee had also been 

 simultaneously in treaty with Mexico, and without writing 

 to know what was being done in Canada had inserted in the 

 official programme an invitation which had in response been 

 received from Mexico. He soon saw that though the com- 

 mittee could not bind the congress, they had practically de- 

 cided the question in favour of Mexico so far as their votes 

 and influence could go. The Canadian authorities naturally 

 feel indignant at such treatment, and it will e.xcite no sur- 

 prise if they are in no hurry to renew their invitation should 

 the visit to Mexico fail of accomplishment. 



Excursions have always formed a prominent part of the 

 work of the geological congress, and this year they have 

 been organised on a greater scale than ever before. Not 

 only was there a diversified series set on foot before the meet- 

 ing and another after it, but half the time of the congress 

 in Vienna was devoted to excursions in the neighbourhood. 

 Whether these miscellaneous parties contribute as much as 

 might be desired to the enlargement of the geological ex- 

 perience and knowledge of the congressists, they at least 

 have one excellent result inasmuch as they bring together 

 scientific friends who have seldom a chance of meeting each 

 other and, likewise, enable them to make the personal 

 acquaintance of men with whose writings they may have been 

 long familiar. Indeed, it may be asserted that the fostering 

 of such personal acquaintance is perhaps the most practically 

 valuable part of the work of the congress. For the en- 

 lightenment of the excursionists an admirable Livret Guide 

 to Austrian geology was drawn up by Dr. Teller. Of this 

 publication an account will be given in another issue of 

 Nature. 



