70 



NA TURE 



[May 15, 1890 



A short discussion followed the reading of the paper. The 

 only important point brought forward, however, was a state- 

 ment by Mr. Hugh Bell that, at Clarence, they had been 

 carrying on a process almost identical with that described by 

 the author. Had he, the speaker, been aware that the plan was 

 in use elsewhere, and had he known a paper was to be read on 

 the subject, he would have come provided with certain figures 

 bearing on the matter. 



The meeting then broke up after the usual votes of thanks had 

 been duly passed. 



The autumn meeting of the Institute is this year to be held in 

 America. The meeting will be held in New York, and we hear 

 rumours of vast preparations that are being made by the 

 hospitable metallurgists and engineers of the United States to 

 welcome their British confreres. Members are left to make 

 their own way to New York, but upon landing they become the 

 guests of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. From 

 an outline programme we have seen, it would appear that the 

 only limit to the excursion will be the time at the disposal of 

 members, which, those who know American hospitality best will 

 agree, is sure to be exhausted long before the good- nature of their 

 hosts. 



We should have stated before that Mr. W. D. Allen, of 

 Sheffield, this year has been awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal. 

 Mr. Allen was associated with Sir Henry Bessemer in the 

 manufacture of Bessemer steel from the very first. Indeed, he 

 may be said to have been present at the birth of the invention, 

 and was fully acquainted w ith the whole process before a single 

 patent was taken out. 



A MONUMENT TO A FAMOUS JAPANESE 

 CARTOGRAPHER AND SURVEYOR. 

 'X'HE Japan Weekly Mail contains a report of the unveiling of 

 -*■ a monument in Tokio on December 14, 1889, to the memory 

 of Ino Chukei, a Japanese cartographer and surveyor of the early 

 ]iart of the present century. The ceremony was performed by 

 Prince Kitashirakawa, President of the Tokio Geographical 

 Society. The name of Ino Chukei was first made familiar to 

 the Western world by Dr. Naumann, the organizer, and for 

 many years the head of the Geological Survey Bureau of Japan. 

 More lately, Dr. Knott wrote two short biographies of Ino, the 

 one published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of 

 Japan (vol. xvi., 1888), and the other as an appendix to the 

 memoir on the recent Magnetic Survey of Japan, published in 

 the Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University (vol. 

 xi., 1888). Ino was by profession originally a brewer, and did 

 not begin his scientific life till he. was past fifty. The story of 

 the enthusiastic septuagenarian travelling over the length and 

 breadth of Japan with his quadrant, his azimuth circle, his com- 

 pass, and his clock is almost a romance. His latitude measure- 

 ments are still of importance to the cartographer, and his map of 

 Japan has formed the basis of every map since constructed. He 

 finished his grand survey in 18 18, after 17 years of travelling 

 and observing. And now, nearly seventy years after his death, 

 a lasting memorial has been raised at Shiba, in Tokio. The 

 ceremony of unveiling the monument began at 2 p.m. on 

 December 14, in the presence of a large company. Amongst 

 those present were Prince Kitashirakawa, Viscount Sano, 

 Viscount Enomoto, Admirals Akamatsu, Nakamuta, and 

 Yanagi, Mr. Hanabusa (Councillor), Mr. Aral, Director of the 

 Meteorological Office, Mr. Watanabe, President of the Imperial 

 University, many of the University Professor.--, and others. The 

 Chinese Representative, the German Minister, M. Dautremer, 

 of the French Legation, and Profs. Burton, Divers, and Knott, 

 may be named as the diplomatic and scientific representatives of 

 foreign nations. The Naval Band was in attendance, and filled 

 the intervals between the different parts of the celebration with 

 selections of music. Four Shinto priests first went through a 

 religious ceremony, which consisted chiefly of purificatory rites, 

 and an invocation to the spirit of Ino. Mr. Watanabe then read 

 a report, giving a history of the movement, which originated 

 seven years ago with the members of the Tokio Geographical 

 Society, and culminated in the ceremony of the day. The 

 original desire had been to put up the monument on the site of 

 the spot where Ino made the first observations in his grand 

 survey — that is, the point through which the zero meridian was 

 taken. This was at Shinagawa. But it had been found more 

 convenient to raise the memorial at Shiba, within sight of this 



first station. The monument, designed by Prof. Tatsuna, of the 

 Imperial University, and cast in bronze at the Kawaguchi 

 Foundry, had cost nearly 3800 dollars. The whole of the 

 expenses had amounted to about 4000 dollars, which had been 

 met by voluntary subscrip ions from the members of the Geo- 

 graphical Society and many others who desired to contribute 

 their mite. The monument, a graceful obelisk of a dull green 

 tint, was unveiled by Prince Kitashirakawa, a translation of 

 whose speech runs thus :— " What an achievement in carto- 

 graphy was that of learned Ino Chukei ! During the eras of 

 Kansei and Bunsei (1790 to 1820), when Japan, at peace 

 within her own borders, isolated from intercourse with the outer 

 world, divided into a number of mutually-secluded fitfs, and, 

 undisturbed by the cares of coast defence, was content with her 

 own littleness, Ino, his fiftieth year already passed, commenced 

 the study of geodesy, and, equipped with instruments of his own 

 manufacture, devoted eighteen years of toil and suffering to the 

 survey of the empire, bequeathing to posterity the memory of a 

 truly great work. From the point of view of strategical ad- 

 vantage, from, the point of view of the progress of civilization, 

 from a domestic as well as from a foreign point of view, Ino 

 undoubtedly was a credit to his country. His name is on the 

 lips of the whole nation. The Emperor himself has bestowed 

 posthumous rank on him and presents on his descendants. 

 Japanese and foreigners have contributed to erect to his memory 

 a monument of dimensions unparalleled in Japan. And it is a 

 privilege conferred on me in this enlightened era that, as Presi- 

 dent of the Tokio Geographical Society, I am permitted to 

 speak of his achievements and to unveil his monument. I 

 rejoice greatly to take part in this imposing ceremony, and I 

 am persuaded that the spirit of Ino in heaven will share the 

 satisfaction which his posterity must feel on such an occasion. 

 Reverentially, on behalf of this Society, I unveil the monument. 

 May the fame of the illustrious dead grow with the growth of 

 our country's civilization." 



After some minutes' interval. Viscount Sano advanced to the 

 foot of the steps that lead up to the pedestal, and introduced to 

 the audience the great-great-grandson of Ino, who b.owed and 

 expressed the gratitude of the family for the honour done to 

 their ancestor. Viscount Sano then gave a short biographical 

 sketch of Ino, and an account of his great labours, for which he 

 had earned the never-dying gratitude of his countrymen. This 

 ended the ceremony. Later on, in the roams of the Geo- 

 graphical Society, a select party assembled to inspect the rude 

 instruments with which Ino carried out his observations. The 

 obelisk is very graceful in form, and beautiful in its setting. As 

 already mentioned, the colour is pleasing, and the inscription is 

 artistic as only an ideographic inscription can be. The monu- 

 ment is 34 feet high, the obelisk itself being 27 feet. A flight 

 of steps ascends to a square platform of masonry in the centre 

 of which the pedestal rests. A railing, the bars of which are 

 curved and puckered up so as to represent sea and clouds 

 according to a common Japanese convention, runs round the 

 outer edge of the platform and down the sides of the steps, 

 allowing free ingress and egress to the pedestal and obelisk. 

 The obelisk faces nearly south, and in its back is a door by 

 which access can be gained to the interior. It is intended to 

 place inside the instruments already spoken of, which were used 

 in Ino's survey. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, May i.— "The Development of the Sym- 

 pathetic Nervous System in Mammals." By A. M. Paterson, 

 M.D. 



At the present time two opposite views exist among embryo- 

 logists regarding the development of the sympathetic system. 

 In both, the segmental formation of the sympathetic cord is 

 upheld. According to the view of Remak and others, it is 

 mesodermal, and formed in situ. According to the other view, 

 it is ectodermal. Balfour and Onodi, who have maintained the 

 Istter view, differ, however, as to the fundamental origin of the 

 sympathetic system— Balfour regarding each sympathetic gang- 

 lion as an offshoot from the spinal nerve, while Onodi considers 

 it as a direct proliferation from the spinal ganglion. 



Yox the present research, mammalianembryos were exclusively 

 employed. The stage in development was first considered in 



