October 17, 1901 



NA TURE 



609 



Some specimen copies of the Boletim mensal of the Obser- 

 vatory of Rio de Janeiro have been forwarded to us by the 

 director. These bulletins contain useful meteorological 

 rt-siiiiii's collected from various sources in Brazil for a series of 

 years, and tables of the observations made several times daily 

 at the Observatory. There are also occasional climatological 

 sketches referring to other parts of the world. 



The September issue of The Scientific Roll (Bacteria) has 

 reached us, and contains a mass of references to books and papers 

 dealing with bacteriology. An editorial note states that although 

 the list is fuller than any other published, it still has many 

 omissions, and bacteriologists who find in it no mention of their 

 contributions are reminded that the remedy is in their own hands, 

 and are invited to send to the conductor the titles and other 

 particulars of the books and articles they have published, that 

 the same may be noted. 



That well-produced periodical the Reliquary and Ilbtstrated 

 Archaeologist always contains some articles of scientific interest, 

 and the issue for October is no exception to the rule. Mr. 

 John Ward, of the Cardiff Museum, describes the interesting 

 " Five Wells Tumulus" in Derbyshire, and another article of 

 note is that by Mr. W. J. Wintemberg, dealing with " Drills 

 and Drilling Methods of the Canadian Indians." Both papers 

 are suitably illustrated. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Tantalus Monkey {Cercopithecus tantalus) 

 from Africa, presented by Sergeant T. Golding ; a White- 

 throated Capuchin (Cebus hypoleuciis) from Central America, 

 presented by Mr. C. E. Engelbach ; a Kinkajou (Cenoleptes 

 caitdivolvuliis) from South America, presented by Mr. W. B. 

 Hall ; a Suricate {Suricata tetradcutyla) from South Africa, 

 presented by Mrs. Lester; two Indian Crows (Corviis 

 splendeiis) from India, presented by Mr. Boyek ; a Macaque 

 Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus) from India, a Parry's Kangaroo 

 (Macroptts parryi,')), four Musky Lorikeets {Glossopsittactts 

 concinnus]., a Turquoisine Parrakeet {Neophema pulchella) from 

 Australia, deposited ; a Gouldian Grass Finch (Pocphila 

 gotildiae), a Beautiful Grass Finch {Potphila mirahilis) from 

 Australia, purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 The Spectroscopic Binary ij Pegasi. — Observations of 

 this interesting spectroscopic binary, discovered by means of the 

 Mills spectrograph in August, 1898, have now e.xtended over 

 more than two complete periods, and Prof. Campbell has recently 

 issued the data obtained from the reduction of the measures. 

 Twenty-nine photographs, extending from 1896 August 27 to 

 1901 May 9, have been utihsed in the determination of the 

 orbit. 



Elements of Orbit, tj Pegasi. 

 K = I4'20 km. + o'i3 km. 

 e = 0154S + 0-0106. 



a = 5°-6o5 ± 3°7o8. 

 II = o'0O76Si rad. + O'oooo20 rad. 



= o'44009 + o°-ooii7. 

 T = 189S June 297 + 8-1 days. 



= 1901 September 257. 

 V, = + 4-31 km. + O'lo km. 

 U = 81S0 days + 2-2 days. 



asin/= 157,800,000, 



A light curve embodying the above is given, from which it is 

 found that the maximum velocity is -(-2070 km. per second, 

 and the minimum - 7.70 km. per second. 



The star has been carefully examined with the 36-inch 

 refractor, but no indication of the companion star is to be seen 

 (Lick Observatory Bulletin, No. 5). 



NO. 1668, VOL. 64] 



THE HAMBURG MEEThMG OF THE 

 GERMAN ASSOCIATION. 



'T'lIE seventy-third meeting of the Germ in Association of 

 ■'• Naturalists and Medical Men lately held at Hamburg was 

 an unusually successful gathering. It will be remembered 

 that it was the existence of this institution which suggested the 

 foundation of our British Association, the latter being only a few 

 years junior to the former. Though otherwise alike, the two 

 associations nevertheless differ in some important respects, 

 especially in the fact that the German body stdl unites with its 

 purely scientific work functions performed here by the British 

 Medical Association. .-Vnother notable difference lies in the 

 fact that presidential addresses, which form so important a 

 feature with u?, are not delivered at the (German congress. There 

 are, moreover, no popular lectures of any kind, and it is under- 

 stood that no one shall attend sectional meetings vvho is not 

 professionally interested in the matters discussed. A good 

 attendance of men of science is further promoted by the fact 

 that it is the custom of some of the learned societies of Germany 

 to hold their annual meetings in connection with this congress. 



The meetingjust concluded was formally opened on Monday, 

 September 22, in the great Concerthaus, under the presi- 

 dency of Prof. Richard Hertwig (Munich). On behalf of the 

 municipality of Hamburg, speeches of welcome were delivered 

 by Prof. V'oller, Dr. Ilartmann and Prof, von Neumayer, to 

 which the president responded. After these proceedings Prof. 

 Lecher (Prag) delivered an address on the discoveries of Hertz 

 and their subsequent developments, reminding the audience 

 that Hertz was a Hamburg man and that his work was most 

 appropriately taken for the first consideration of the congress. 

 A lecture from Prof. Hoffmeister was to have followed, but 

 illness prevented him from attending. Prof. Boveri (Wiirzburg) 

 then lectured on the problem of fertilisation, giving a lucid 

 account of the phenomena in a considerable nu mber of organisms, 

 and concluding with an emphatic pronouncement that fertilisa- 

 tion in its essence must not be regarded as the cause of the 

 development of the ovum, but rather as a means whereby certain 

 organisms are enabled to combine in one body the characters of 

 distinct individuals. 



The congress then broke up into sections, of which eleven 

 were devoted to the natural sciences and sixteen to medical sub- 

 jects, physiology being included with the latter. Prof, van 't 

 Hoff acted as president of the scientific, and Prof. Naunyn as 

 president of the medical groups respectively. The division of 

 the scientific subjects differs somewhat from that followed with 

 us, the sections being constituted thus : — Mathematics, Physics, 

 Applied .Mathematics, Chemistry, Applied Chemistry, Physical 

 Geography, Geography, Geology with Mineralogy, Botany, 

 Zoology, Anthropology. For the consideration of these sections 

 some hundreds of papers were provided. 



On Wednesday the congress met in a second general session 

 to hear a group of papers on recent developments of the atomic 

 theory, namely, Prof. Kaufmann (Gottingen), on the develop- 

 ment of the conception of electrons ; Prof. Geitel (Wolfenbilttel) 

 on the bearing of the theory of gas-ions on the phenomena of 

 atmospheric electricity; Prof. Paul (Tubingen), the significance 

 of the theory of ions in physiological chemistry ; Prof. His, 

 jun. (Leipzig), the significance of the theory of ions in clinical 

 medicine. On the following day the medical group combined 

 in a general meeting to receive an address from Prof. Ehrlich, of 

 Frankfurt-a-M., on the protective substances of the blood. 

 Prof. Gruber (Vienna), who was to have lectured on the same 

 subject, was unavoidably absent. On the same morning a joint 

 meeting of the scientific group assembled with Prof, van 't Hoff 

 in the chair. The first paper was by Prof. Ostwald (Leipzig) 

 on catalysis, giving an account of his hypothesis, or as he pre- 

 ferred to call it " prutothesis," regarding the mode of action of 

 catalysers, accompanied by some beautiful demonstrations. This 

 was followed by a group of papers relating to the present position 

 of the doctrine of organic descent. Prof, de Vries, of .\msterdam, 

 opened with a discourse on the action of mutations and mutation • 

 periods in the origin of species. He gave an account of his 

 lately published experiments with CEnothera Laniarckiana, 

 showing how this single species is annually splitting up into 

 some seven constant forms which he regards as distinct species. 

 He proceeded to suggest lines on which an attempt might be 

 made to compute the whole number of mutations which have 

 gone to the formation of an existing species. He was followed 

 by Prof. Koken (Tiibingen), on paleontology and the theory of 



