No. 1070, Vol. 42] 



NA TURE 



17 



The Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Holl, Massa- 

 chusetts, will hold its third session during the approaching 

 summer. The Institution has been so successful that/ a library, 

 a lecture-room, and six private laboratories have lately been 

 added to it. 



The following are the arrangements for the science lectures 

 to be given at the Royal Victoria Hall during May :— May 6, 

 birth and death of mountains, W. W. Watts; May 13, 

 London water supply, Prof. Bonney ; May 20, how a 

 photograph is taken, Dr. J. A. Fleming. 



Dr. H. Ross has been appointed Lecturer on Botany at the 

 University of Palermo,' and Dr. G. B. De Toni Lecturer on 

 Botany at the University of Padua. 



Morot's Journal de Botanique for March i contains an 

 interesting biographical sketch of the late M. E. Cosson, 

 together with a bibliography of his numerous contributions to 

 botanical literature. 



At the last meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, the Rev. C. Wolley Dod gave an account 

 of several diseases of plants in his garden, and commented on 

 the difficulty of finding curative means, or of hearing of other 

 suggestions than burning. He first alluded to a species of smut 

 (Ustilago) on Pritmtla farinosa, which .appeared to be indi- 

 genous, as the plants were collected in Lancashire ; and although 

 it was grown with P. denticulata, the smut was confined to the 

 former species. ALcidium Jicariis had attacked his hellebores. 

 In this case, a drier soil was suggested as likely to prove effective 

 in ridding the plants of the fungus. The " Lily spot," due to 

 Polyactis catia, usually appearing late in summer, had been seen 

 in April upon tulips, and apparently the same species on daffo- 

 dils. It was suggested that a mixture of sulphate of copper and 

 quicklime would prove effective, as in the case of vines. Puc- 

 dnia Schrateri had occurred on daffodils from Portugal, and also 

 upon the common double sorts. 



At the meeting of the Society of Arts on April 23, Mr. W. 

 Whitaker read a paper on " Coal in the South-East of England." 

 Afterwards some remarks were offered by Mr. Topley, Prof. 

 Riicker, Prof. McKenny Hughes, Dr. Archibald Geikie, who 

 presided, and the author of the paper. Dr. Geikie said he 

 thought everyone present must share his feeling of surprise and 

 pleasure at finding that a number of geologists could come to- 

 gether and discuss a question like this with so little difference of 

 opinion, and it might be taken as strong evidence that on this 

 particular question there was nothing to fight about. He knew 

 of no recent instance where a true scientific induction had been 

 followed with such brilliant success as the one now brought 

 forward. It had been discussed more or less academically by 

 geologists for some sixty years, bit by bit evidence had accumu- 

 lated as they went further and further below the surface, and at 

 last it had been definitely proved that coal existed in the south-east 

 of England. An ordinary observer would have found it almost 

 impossible to imagine, when standing on a sunny day in the 

 south of Kent, that coal was to be found there hundreds of miles 

 from the great coal-fields, and it would be difficult to make such 

 a person understand why geologists should pitch upon such a spot 

 as a likely place for a colliery. Mr. Whitaker had gone over the 

 evidence, and everyone must have realized how the conclusion 

 had been arrived at, and how admirably the inference had been 

 proved by experiment. But, as Prof. Hughes had said, they were 

 very far from having reached a complete picture of the geography 

 of the rocks that underlie the Secondary rocks of the south-east 

 of England. They were groping their way by degrees, and in 

 the process coal had been discovered. He did not imagine there 

 could be any large continuous coal-field there ; it could only exist 

 in detached basins (even allowing fjr overthrusts), separated by 



uprises of older rocks. Further to the west they knew nothing 

 by actual borings, and in no other way could anything like a map 

 of the subterranean geology be obtained. It might be surmised 

 with some probability that, between Bristol and the areas where 

 borings had been made, there might be more extensive coal- 

 fields than were at all likely to be found in the extreme 

 south-east. They had heard of the wonderful plication of the 

 Carboniferous strata in the west of France, but it must be re- 

 membered that not only had the Coal Measures undergone these 

 movements, but the secondary rocks which overlay them had 

 also been crushed, folded, and pushed over each other in the 

 manner which any one might see on the south coast of Dorset- 

 shire ; and this process must have considerably thickened the 

 Secondary rocks, the consequence of which was that you might 

 bore through the same stratum sometimes a very long way. It 

 was absolutely necessary that, in the prosecution of this matter, 

 the practical man should go hand in hand with the man of 

 science, otherwise a great deal of time, money, and labour would 

 be wasted. 



The Norwegian Government has laid before the Storthing a 

 proposal to the effect that two-thirds of the cost of the Norwegian 

 Polar Expedition under the command of Dr. Frithjof Nansen 

 shall be defrayed by the State : the conditions being — that the 

 expenses do not exceed 200,000 kroner (about _^ 10,000) ; that if 

 the expedition proves successful the vessels and scientific instru- 

 ments used during the voyage shall become the property of 

 the State : and that the Christiania University shall receive 

 such specimens from the scientific collections as the senate shall 

 select. 



The Director of the Observatory at Tusa, in Sicily, noted two 

 short but severe shocks of earthquake at noon on April 15. No 

 damage was caused. 



A SHOCK of earthquake was felt at Lisbon on the morning of 

 April 28. 



M. E. Leyst, Superintendent of the Observatory of Pawlowsk, 

 near St. Petersburg, has contributed to vol. xiii. of the Repertoriutn 

 fiir Meteorologie an important investigation upon the influence 

 of the times of reading the maximum and minimum thermo- 

 meters upon the results deduced from them. 



The Administration Report of the Meteorological Depart- 

 ment of the Government of India for the year 1888-89 gives an 

 account of some important changes in the working of the service 

 since January I, 1889. The change of the hour of morning 

 observations from 10 a.m. to 8 a.m. has accelerated the publica- 

 tion of the Daily Weather Reports, and this result is much 

 appreciated in Calcutta and Bombay. A uniform system of 

 rainfall observations throughout India, and the telegraphing of 

 rainfall information to Simla, enable the Department to pre- 

 pare comprehensive rainfall charts and tabular statements for 

 each week during the monsoon season. A local Daily Weather 

 Report and Chart is now prepared at Bombay, in order to give 

 early information to the commercial community, in a form 

 similar to the Reports published at Calcutta. The Bombay 

 Chamber of Commerce has contributed liberally towards the 

 expenses of this service. The collection of information from 

 ships in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal is to be extended. 

 This is essential for the investigation of the causes of the origin 

 of storms ; and, if sufficient material be collected, charts will be 

 prepared for each day for two or three years. The charts 

 must necessarily appear about three months after date. The 

 work of observation with regard to storms is acknwledged to 

 have been hitherto very defective. A small payment will be 

 made in future for this service, and several valuable series of 

 observations during dust-storms, &c., have already been re- 

 ceived. The staff in India being insufficient to discuss the mass 



