224 
NATURE 
[APRIL 30, 1914 
clear throughout. The expected shower of meteors, 
however, failed to display itself in a prominent manner. 
There were a few bright Lyrids seen between April 19 
and April 22, but the return of this year must certainly 
be classed among the failures. A number of other 
streams showed themselves in the absence of the major 
shower, but meteors were rather scarce generally, with 
a great exception on one night, April 22, when they 
were quite abundant, though the Lyrid display was 
scarcely visible. On April 14 there was a remarkable 
dearth of meteors before midnight, though the firma- 
ment was splendidly clear. 
Mr. Denning has computed the real paths of several 
interesting meteors. recently observed at two 
stations :— 
Height Height Velocity Radiant 
1914: G.M.T. Mag. atfirst. atend. Path. persec. Point. 
April) he onl. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. : 
2) See Onmage 2m | OA. NAA Se 2 A 167 + 31 
ope gi40 |) 4— 2)  88.\ 64 ag) (35) 130971,01 
peeeulOn22 4 2 T FT. 155 be 213. 205 a0 77 
pie 44, Tk 73e 572 5200 129) Sia OF 
AO Than L457 Se O20 eA OMS ee 2O eG 4 © 
22 e etOws Tt 2 AG6r AA VO? 24 (238-2 
The chief radiant points have been :— 
ie) ° ° ie) 
142 +27 220+ 13 
UO}O ae 7/ 239+ O 
204+ 55 272 + 33 
209— 10 3124+ 61 
The Aquarid meteoric shower, supposed to be con- 
nected with Halley’s comet, is due to reappear on the 
mornings of May 1-6. The radiant point is at about 
On,,0 
337-2 - 
THE PRESSURE IN THE REVERSING LAYER OF THE SUN. 
—In an early number of a Bulletin of the Kodaikanal 
Observatory (No. 18) Mr. Evershed attempted to make 
a rough estimate of the pressure in the reversing layer 
of the sun based on the assumption that those lines 
which were most and least affected by pressure in the 
laboratory were similarly affected in the sun. In a 
more recent Bulletin (No. 36) he suggests a new 
interpretation of the general displacement of the lines 
in the solar spectrum towards the red. He shows 
that taking into consideration probable differences of 
level, the absolute and relative shifts can be quite 
easily explained as due to motion in the line of sight, 
and have very little relation to pressure shifts. While 
the quantities measured are exceedingly small, and, 
as he says, subject to considerable errors, yet he is so 
convinced that pressure is not the main factor in- 
volved that he publishes his results, even although all 
the work of measurement is not yet completed, and 
exact values cannot be submitted. Many interesting 
points are mentioned in the paper, one being that a 
small pressure effect is traceable in the relative posi- 
tions of the solar and arc lines, but that it is a minus 
effect, thus indicating a decidediy smaller pressure in 
the sun than in the are in air. With such a small 
pressure effect he finds the shifts closely related to the 
intensities of the lines, the strong lines showing 
larger shifts than the weax. He arrives also at the 
conclusion that in the higher levels of the sun there 
is a movement of descent which is retarded in the 
lower levels. 
THE NEW UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH. 
N the four days from Friday, April 17, to Monday, 
April 20, Zurich celebrated in a very interesting 
fashion the inauguration of the new University which 
for six years she has been engaged in building at a 
total cost of 5,600,000 francs (224,000l.). As is usual 
on such occasions, the guests were welcomed at a 
NO! 232206 VO 03) 
reception in their honour on the Friday evening. The 
Wetheakt of Saturday morning was held in the central] 
court of the new University, which is covered with a 
roof of tinted glass carried on light iron girders. 
Thither the University authorities and their guests 
marched two and two from the Kunsthalle, the pro- 
cession rendered picturesque by the robes of the foreign 
delegates, for the republican simplicity of Switzerland 
does not admit of academic dress. Many speeches were 
delivered, those of the local officials naturally dwelling 
upon the efforts required to complete the task. 
Amongst those of foreign delegates that of Dr. Macan, 
master of University College, Oxford, was distin- 
guished by its wit and humour, and by the obvious 
pleasure which it gave to the people of Ziirich where 
he had been a student thirty-nine years before. 
The speeches were followed by a cantata written by 
Prof. Alfred Frey, and set to music by the director of 
the Conservatorium, Dr. Hegar. Both words and 
music were well adapted to the occasion, most parts 
of the libretto attaining a high poetic level. A ban- 
quet lasting nearly four hours followed, and for those 
who wished for. more festivity still there was a 
students’ kommers in the evening. Sunday was no 
less full, with a special service in the Fraumunster- 
kirche, a luncheon given by the Guild of Smiths, a trip 
on the lake, and an admirable performance of Gluck’s 
‘“Orpheus,’”’ in the Stadt-Theater in the evening. 
Monday was the annual festival of the Sechselduten, 
where, as of old, the departure of winter was be- 
tokened by the burning of a huge puppet filled with 
fireworks at the end of a procession through the town 
which lasted the whole afternoon. This year the pro- 
cession was developed into a gorgeous pageant of the 
history of learning from its beginnings in Egypt and 
Babylon, through Greece and Rome, troubadours and 
goliards, monks and reformers, to the present day. 
In the evening the trade guilds had their separate ban- 
quets, to which visitors were invited. The entertain- 
ment was followed by visits from the younger members 
of one guild to each of the others in turn. As they 
came in with their band and banner, with lanterns 
hanging from long poles, and the emblems of their 
craft, while their leader exchanged loving-cups with 
the master of the guild visited, and the two made, 
and in turn listened to, speeches at one another’s 
expense, one felt that one had here a custom which 
had known no change since at least the fifteenth 
century. 
Nothing could exceed the hospitality and kindness 
with which the foreign visitors were welcomed. As a 
means of identification the guests were asked to wear 
in the buttonhole a stud with the colours of Zurich 
“(light blue and white), which proved a most useful 
‘“open sesame’’ everywhere. 
This is the third time that the University of Zurich 
has been furnished with buildings since its revival in 
1833. The intermediate edifice was built in 1864. For 
some time back the University has shared in the 
building occupied by the Polytechnic, but by 1907 it 
was felt that the difficulties of accommodation must 
be otherwise provided for. In 1908 architects were 
invited to compete, and ultimately the plan of the firm 
of Curjel and Moser, of St. Gallen and Karlsruhe, 
was adopted. The site on the Ztirichberg was not easy, 
because the slope is very considerable, and from parts 
of it various other institutions had to be removed. 
The buildings, which, of gray stone and many 
windowed, resembles many Germany university 
buildings, consists of two wings with a _ great 
tower between. The northern and lower wing 
is the biological institute, the southern is the 
University proper, in the sense that it contains the 
lecture-rooms, reading-rooms, seminars, libraries for 
