i8 



NA TURE 



[May 2, 1901 



man, but was content to work on, happy if his discoveries 

 contributed to the advancement of science. It is to the 

 labours of such men that the progress of the world, both 

 scientific and industrial, is due ; for the methods which 

 he introduced have led, not merely to a knowledge of the 

 structure of many compounds which would otherwise 

 have remained unknown, but have also had a profound 

 influence on chemical theory, and have led to many 

 discoveries of the utmost practical utility. He lived a 

 happy and contented life, and even in his death his desire 

 was satisfied ; for in his discourse at the grave of his 

 predecessor in the office of dean of the Faculty of Science 

 at Grenoble, Lory, he gave utterance to the words : — 

 " Puisque la mort est inevitable, ne vaut il pas mieu.\ 

 tomber ainsi tout entier, que de sentir la diminution lente 

 et progressive de ses forces et de son intelligence ? " 

 Raoult died, after a few days' illness, without pain. 



W. R. 



DR. A. HIRSCH. 



INFORMATION has reached us from the president of 

 the Council of State for the Republic and Canton of 

 Neuchatel of the death, at Neuchatel on April 18, of 

 Dr. Adolph Hirsch, aged 71, the director of the obser- 

 vatory at Neuchatel since its foundation in 1859. Dr. 

 Hirsch was also secretary to the International Committee 

 of Weights and Measures, established at Paris under the 

 Metric Convention of 1S75. 



Dr. Hirsch contributed largely to our knowledge 

 astronomy and meteorology, his earlier papers on the 

 former subject having appeared in Berlin and \'ienna, 

 and his later papers, particularly with reference to the 

 establishment and position of the new observatory in the 

 Neuchatel Bullelin. ('' Etablissement de I'Observatoire 

 a Neuchatel," Bui. v. 1859-1861 ; " Recherches sur 

 des Pendules Astronomiques," /?«/. v. 1859-1861 ; " De- 

 couverte de deu.\ nouvelles petites plani'tes," Bui. v. 

 1859-1861 ; "Relation des phenomcnes meteorologique 

 avec la marche, des instruments magnctiques," Bui. vi. ; 

 " Influence des taches du Soleil sur la temperature de la 

 Terre," 1877 ; Sur le passage de Venus,"- 1883, etc.). In 

 more recent years Dr. Hirsch has been closely identified 

 with the introduction of the metric system of weights and 

 measures as an international system. He was a member 

 of the original Commission International du Metre of 

 1872, of which the present eminent director of the 

 Imperial Observatory, Dr. \V. Foerster, and Dr. Von 

 Lang, of the University of Vienna, were also members. 

 On the establishment of the new International Committee 

 ofWeights and Measures in 1875, Dr. Hirsch became its 

 secretary, a position which he filled until his death. A 

 master in metrological science and a prince of secretaries, 

 his loss will be deeply deplored by all whose opportunity 

 it was to seek his valuable advice and to be guided by 

 his profound e.xperience. 



NOTES. 



The gentlemen's soiree of the Royal Society will be held 

 next Wednesday, May S. The ladies' conversazione will not be 

 held this year, in consequence of the death of Queen Victoria. 



The position of affairs at Coopers Hill College is most un- 

 satisfactory. We understand that the Members of Parliament 

 who are interested in the higher education of the country had 

 obtained permission to move the adjournment of the House in 

 order to discuss the latest report on the management of this 

 institution laid before Parliament by Lord George Hamilton, 

 but that some M.P. , presumably at the instigation of the India 

 Office, which shuns inquiry, has " blocked " this permission. This 

 proceeding, which, unfortunately, the rules of the House allows, 

 NO. 1644, VOL. 64] 



is but another instance of the diminishing power of the private 

 member and the increasing domination of the Government. 

 Lord George Hamilton stated last week that he had asked the 

 Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London to nominate 

 representatives on the Board of Visitors. When reconstituted 

 the Board is to appoint a committee to hold an inquiry into 

 the whole working of the College. This committee can do 

 nothing to lessen the gravity of the recent action of the Board 

 of Visitors in the matter of the dismissed teachers. They may, 

 however, be able to secure some sort of recognition of the 

 professoriate in the management and policy of the College, and 

 some diminution of the absolute power of one individual, which 

 has recently wrought such harm both at Coopers Hill in Eng- 

 land and at the Leland Stanford University in America. 



The reality of the connection between rats and plague is 

 prominently brought into notice by the issue of a circular by the 

 Local Government Board, instructing the sanitary authorities of 

 seaports to take precautions against the entrance of plague- 

 infected rats into this country. On the arrival in port of a 

 vessel upon which, during the voyage, plague or sickness sus- 

 pected to be plague has occurred, measures are to be taken to 

 secure the destruction of the rats on board the vessel, and to 

 prevent them from reaching the shore. In the case of vessels 

 that have come from places infected with plague, strict inquiry 

 is to be made on their arrival in port as to mortality or sickness 

 among rats during the voyage. In the event of rats on board 

 any ship being found to be infected with plague, all parts of the 

 vessel frequented by those animals are, so far as possible, to be 

 disinfected. The authorities ol seaport towns invaded by plague 

 are advised to endeavour to secure the destruction of the rats in 

 the town, not least those inhabiting the docks and quayside 

 warehouses. In connection with these instructions, it is worth 

 while to bear in mind that plague is not usually transmitted by 

 the bite of a diseased rat, but by fleas living on such rats. 

 Experiments have shown that a healthy rat will quickly contract 

 plague if caged with a diseased rat infested with fleas, but will 

 not do so if the diseased rat is free from fleas. Perfectly healthy 

 rats harbour very few fleas and are very expert in removing 

 them, but these insects are abundant on sick rats. After death, 

 as the body becomes cold, the fleas leave the rat, and if they 

 reach another rat or human being they may inoculate their new 

 host with the bacilli of plague. 



Prof. Brouardel, Dean of the Paris Faculty of Medicine, 

 has announced that at the end of his present term of office — 

 namely, in February 1902— he will not accept re-appointment. 



The Rev. James Chalmers, who is reported to have been 

 murdered in New Guinea, with the Rev. O. F. Tomkins and 

 twelve students, was known to many anthropologists, and made 

 some noteworthy contributions to our knowledge of the natives 

 of New Guinea, where he passed twenty-three years of his life. 

 His death has often been reported before now, and there is 

 always a possibility that rumours from New Guinea will prove 

 to be untrue ; but we fear that in this case the news will be 

 confirmed. 



The founders' medal of the Royal Geographical Society has 

 been awarded to the Duke of the Abruzzi for his expedition to 

 Mount St. Elias and for Arctic exploration. Dr. A. Donaldson 

 Smith has been awarded the patrons' medal for his African 

 expeditions and the important scientific observations made in 

 connection with them. Awards have also been made to Mr. 

 Louis Bernacchi and Captain Colbech for their aid in the 

 Soulhei-n Cross Antarctic expedition, and to Captain Cagni for 

 his journey to 86° i;^' N., on the Duke of the Abruzzi's 

 expedition. 



