262 



NATURE 



[January i i, 1900 



The dissertation for which Mr. M. N. Dickson has received 

 the B.Sc. research degree of Oxford University was " On the 

 circulation of the surface waters of the Atlantic north of 40° N. 

 lat." The work consisted primarily of a chemical and physical 

 examination of the surface waters of the North Atlantic during 

 the twenty-four successive months of the years 1896 and 1897. 

 For the purpose of the investigations special arrangements were 

 made for the continuous supply of samples by officers of ships 

 trading in the North Atlantic. The results were exhibited in 

 monthly charts showing the distribution of temperature and 

 salinity, and the changes during the period are fully discussed. 

 The existence of definite se^asonal changes in the circulation has 

 been established by the investigation. 



With a view to encourage the adoption of scientific methods 

 in the teaching of physical geography, the authorities of the 

 Cambridge Local Examinations have issued a syllabus of a 

 course of work which has several commendable characteristics. 

 In the first place, it is distinctly stated at the head of the 

 syllabus that " The object of the examination will be to ascer- 

 tain as far as possible to what extent the candidates' powers of 

 observation and reasoning have been cultivated." Even more 

 noteworthy than this remark is the schedule which accompanies 

 the syllabus and contains an outline of a course of practical 

 instruction designed "(i) to develop the power and habit of 

 observation; (2) to give the pupils clear and accurate concep- 

 tions of natural phenomena and their relations ; and (3) to enable 

 them to seek for the causes and rational explanations of the 

 phenomena which they observe. " Among the subjects in which 

 practical instruction is to be given are : the drawing of sections 

 from contour maps, the study of local land-forms, the use ot 

 meteorological instruments, the study of ocean current maps, 

 simple astronomical observations, the determination of time and 

 latitude, and the use of the terrestrial globe. It is to be hoped 

 that the efforts of the Cambridge authorities to encourage the 

 scientific study of the earth will meet wilh success. No sub- 

 ject stands in greater need of rational methods of instruction 

 than geography. 



The English Education Exhibition, which was opened by 

 H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at the Imperial Institute on Friday 

 last, contains the materials from which the English educa- 

 tional exhibits for the Paris Exhibition will be chosen. The 

 whole field of educational activity in this country is more or less 

 satisfactorily represented by these exhibits, though a walk 

 through the galleries shows the initiated observer how im- 

 possible it is to materialise certain factors of educational effort, 

 which though intangible are none the less real and powerful. 

 Every step in a career from the kindergarten to the university 

 can be followed by the inspection of the objects collected in the 

 different sections. It is satisfactory to be able to record that 

 the equipment necessary for proper instruction in science takes 

 a prominent place in the collections sent by nearly all the 

 elementary schools, most of the secondary schools, the technical 

 institutes, and the colleges of university rank. Hand and eye 

 training is evidently now almost universal, for one exhibit after 

 the other contains admirable examples of wood-work, metal- 

 work, clay-modelling, and miscellaneous occupations of a varied 

 l<ind having the same end in view. , We noticed with some satis- 

 faction an etching of Charles Darwin in the Shrewsbury School 

 exhibit ; even if he received little encouragement in science at 

 the scliool, it is quite clear the authorities are proud of him. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



Wiedemann s Annalen der Physik 7ind C/iemie,'No. I2i — 

 Magnetic deflection of kathode rays, by E. Wiechert. The 

 velocity of kathode rays is determined by deflecting them at two 

 different points of their path by currents of a Lecher wire 

 system slightly retarded with respect to each other. The 

 velocity comes out as about one-seventh of that of light, and 

 the mass transported with each electron is about 1/1300 part of 

 an oxygen atom. — Relation between electric conductivity and 

 pressure, by G. Tammann. Gaseous ionisation is reduced by 

 increase of pressure, while the ionisation of a solution is in- 

 creased. In incompletely dissociated solutions, an increase of 

 conductivity with pressure is observed. Thus, a deci-normal 

 solution of acetic acid is reduced in resistance to one-half its 

 original value by a pressure of 2500 atmospheres. — An experi- 

 mental and theoretical fallacy in electrical doctrine, by E. 

 Lecher. The author maintains that a magnetic line of force 



NO. T 576, VOL. 61] 



can in no sense be defined as a line along which a positive pole 

 would move, and that as a matter of fact a pole never moves along 

 a line of force. — Distribution of free electricity at the surface of a 

 Crookes' tube, by E. Riecke. The author uses a mixture of 

 red lead and sulphur to discover the free charges on the outer 

 surface. The fluorescent patch is marked by a wide ring of 

 sulphur, the interior of which is marked by irregular patches of 

 red lead, showing negative charges distributed irregularly, 

 probably owing to want of symmetry in the kathode. The re- 

 mainder of the tube is coated with sulphur, except the portion 

 behind the kathode, which is negative again. — Strains in 

 Rupert's drops, by K. Mack. Rupert's drops show black on 

 the screen in polarised light, but they can be made to show 

 their colours by immersing them in a trough containing a liquid 

 of the same refractive index, such as cedar oil or a mixture of 

 carbon bisulphide and ethyl ether. The colours resemble those 

 of peacock's feathers. — Magnetic deflection of Becquerel rays, 

 by F. Giesel. The deflection may be demonstrated by means 

 of a polonium preparation attached to a sensitive plate laid face 

 downwards across the poles of an electro-magnet. The deflected 

 rays on the negative show a curious hairy structure. — The photo- 

 graphy of current curves, by J. Zenneck. Instead of using a 

 sliding plate or a revolving mirror with the Braun kathode tube, 

 the author produces the current curve direct upon the screen in 

 the kathode tube. —He uses two deflecting magnets, one for 

 producing the oscillation due to the current under investigation, 

 and the other for imparting to the kathode beam a lateral 

 movement proportional to the time. 



Memoirs of the 'Noz'orosnan (Odessa) Society of Naturalists, 

 vol. xxii. Part 2.— The whole of this volume is given to the 

 results of the exploration of the liman (salt lake) of Kuyalnik, 

 situated near Odessa, which exploration was undertaken several 

 years ago by the Odessa University. Most of the volume is 

 occupied by a most exhaustive report, by A. Wassilieff, about 

 the astronomical, topographical and bathymetric work made 

 in connection with this liman. A large scale map (i : 16, 800) 

 of the lake and several vertical profiles accompany the re- 

 port, which will be a precious document for all subsequent 

 exploration.— The rest of the volume is taken up by a paper, by 

 L. Silberberger and M. Weinberg, on the bacteria found in the 

 mud of the liman. They originate partly from the surrounding 

 air and partly from the waters entering the lake, their compo- 

 sition varying with the seasons. The mud is not favourable 

 for the life of the bacteria, which add to the mud Ijy their 

 decay. 



In the Journal of Botany for December 1899, the most 

 important article is "by Dr. A. B. Rendle, Notes on Xyris, in 

 which several new species are described.— Messrs. J. A. 

 Wheldon and Albert Wilson conclude their paper on the mosses 

 of West Lancashire. In the number for January 1900 we find 

 papers on Sphagnum medium in Britain, by Mr. H. W. 

 Monington (with a plate).— Some Welsh hawkweeds, by the 

 Rev. Augustin Ley, in which one more is added to the long list 

 of British "species" of Hieracium.— On some species of 

 Cracca, by Messrs. Jas. Britten and E. Ci. Baker. 



Tn-E. Journal of the Roy^ I Microscopical Society for December 

 1899 contains a continuation of Mr. F. W. Millett's paper on 

 recent Foraminifera of the Malay. Archipelago, and the tisual 

 summary of current researches in zoology, botany and inicro- 

 scopy. In the latter section several valuible recent novelties in 

 microscopic construction are described. This number also 

 contains the list for 1899 of new terms introduced during the 

 year in zoological and botanical literature. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Royal Society, November 23, 1899.— "Note on the 

 Spectrum of Silicium." By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., 

 F.R.S. 



The recent observations show that the lines of silicium may 

 be "divided into three sets, no two of which behave alike under 

 varying electrical conditions. The wave-lengths of the lines 

 composing the different sets are : — 



3856-0 

 38627 I* 

 4128-1 p- 



4089-1 1 B 

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