Marcu 12, 1914] 
money among themselves for the erection and main- 
tenance of the station, and, in addition, a substantial 
Government grant has been made, and the county 
councils have also contributed; the financial success 
of the scheme therefore seems assured. The problems 
to be investigated are of great technical importance 
and high scientific interest. A strong committee of 
management has been formed, one-half being prac- 
tical growers, and the other half men of science 
nominated by the committee of the Rothamsted Ex- 
perimental Station. The scientific side of the work 
will, therefore, be amply represented, and there is 
every prospect that a sound programme of work will 
be drawn up. 
Mr. G. Marconr delivered a lecture in Rome on 
March 3 before the King and Queen of Italy, members 
of the Italian Government, both Houses of Parliament, 
and the Diplomatic Corps. He described the progress 
which had been made in wireless telegraphy, and the 
difficulties which had been overcome since his previous 
lecture in Rome in 1903. His voyage to South 
America on board the Principessa Mefalda had illus- 
trated that communication in a north and south direc- 
tion was easier than communication in an east and 
west direction. Mr. Marconi described his new system 
for generating continuous waves, and its use in wire- 
less telephony. He then described the apparatus for 
producing waves, divided into regular groups, and 
dealt with the improvements effected in receivers, 
giving a practical demonstration of the reception of 
messages in the lecture hall from Poldhu, in Cornwall, 
and Tripoli. Mr. Marconi finally described the prac- 
tical applications of radio-telegraphy to all types of 
vessels, including submarines, as well as its uses in 
war and peace. He concluded with an acknowledg- 
ment of the help which he had received from the King 
and Queen of Ita‘y. 
AN appeal on behalf of the Alfred Russel Wallace 
Memorial Fund, signed by the executive officers, Prof. 
R. Meldola, Prof. E. B. Poulton, and Mr. James 
Marchant, was published in the issue of Nature for 
December 11 last (vol. xcii., p. 425). 
sum can be raised, the following memorials are pro- 
posed :—(1) A memorial medallion for Westminster 
Abbey, to which the Dean and Chapter have given 
their consent; (2) a portrait; (3) a copy of the portrait 
for presentation to the nation; and (4) a statue to be 
offered to the trustees of the British Museum for 
erection in the Natural History Museum. It is esti- 
mated that the complete scheme can be carried out 
for 11001. The subscriptions received or promised 
amount to 2001. The medallion for Westminster 
Abbey will, it is estimated, necessitate the expenditure 
of at least 300l., and the executive committee is 
anxious to complete this part of the work as soon as 
possible. The second part of the scheme, the portrait, 
will be proceeded with as soon as an additional sum 
of 3501. is subscribed. The most convenient course for 
intending subscribers to adopt is to send cheques 
made payable to the ‘‘ Alfred Russel Wallace Memorial 
Fund,’ to the manager, Union of London and Smith’s 
Bank, Holborn Circus, London, E.C. It is earnestly 
to be hoped that a sufficient response to the appeal will 
NOW 2305, VOL.' 93 | 
If a sufficient ~ 
NATURE 
o/ 
be speedily forthcoming to enable the executive officers 
to complete what will be worthy memorials of a great 
naturalist. 
THE report of the council of the Physical Society 
(adopted at the annual general meeting on February 
13) states that owing to the improved financial posi- 
tion it is felt that the society’s field of activity should 
be increased; careful consideration has, therefore, 
been given, during the past year, to the possibility 
of introducing new features, such as the issue, from 
time to time, of reports upon certain subjects of 
general interest. The first subject selected for the 
purpose is radiation. Mr. J. H. Jeans, F.R.S., has 
expressed his willingness to write the report upon this 
| subject, and to have it complete during the summer. 
An occasional or annual lecture by some eminent 
physicist will also be arranged. This series of lectures, 
the first of which wi!l be found summarised 
elsewhere in this issue, will be known as the Guthrie 
Lectures, in memory of the late Prof. F. Guthrie, 
through whose efforts the society was founded. A 
committee has been appointed by the council to con- 
sider questions in regard to nomenclature and symbols 
and allied matters, and consists of Prof. H. L. Cal- 
lendar, Mr. A. Campbell, Dr. C. Chree, Dr. W. 
Eccles, Prof. G. Carey Foster, Sir George Greenhill, 
Dr; A. Russell, “Prof. the: Hon.” Ri J Stuntt,” Prot: 
S. P. Thompson, and Prof. W. Watson, with Dr. 
Eccles as secretary and convener. At present the com- 
mittee is discussing electric and magnetic quantities ; 
but reports on mathematical and mechanical nomen- 
clature and symbols, so far as these concern physicists, 
and on heat are also projected. 
A summary of the weather for the past winter in the 
several districts of the United Kingdom, as shown 
by the results for the thirteen weeks ended February 
28, has been issued by the Meteorological Office. The 
mean temperature for the whole period was above the 
average over the whole of the British Isles, the excess 
being greatest in the English districts. The highest 
temperature in any district was 61° in the midland 
counties, and the lowest reading 5° in the east of 
Scotland. In the north-east of England the lowest 
winter temperature fell to 9°, and in all other districts 
it fell below 20°, except in the English Channel district, 
where the lowest reading was 25°. The summary 
shows the rainfall to be less than the average except 
in the north of Scotland and the north of Ireland; 
the greatest deficiency was 2-15 in. in the midland 
counties, where the total rainfall was only 67 per cent. 
of the average. In the north-east of England the 
rainfall was 70 per cent. of the average, in the east 
of England 75 per cent., and in the south-west of 
England 86 per cent. of the average. The greatest 
aggregate measurement for the winter was 19-16 in. 
in the north of Scotland, and the least measurement 
3:83 in. in the north-east of England. There was a 
deficiency in the number of rainy days in all the Eng- 
lish districts. The duration of bright sunshine was 
deficient over the entire kingdom, except in the south- 
east of England, where, however, the excess was very 
slight. 
