August 25, 1904J 



NA TURE 



397 



Atlantic, for which purpose it obtains observations of 

 wind, weather, barometer, and temperature of air and 

 sea from observers in the Mercantile Marine who are 

 willing to assist in the advancement of our knowledge 

 of the weather in this way, and a daily chart is pre- 

 pared giving a picture of the weather over the Atlantic 

 and for the adjacent continents of Europe and America 

 for S o'clock each morning. A study of these is helpful 

 to the furtherance of our better understanding of 

 meteorology and its complicated problems, but 

 necessarily these charts picture only what is past, 

 although they afford an explanation of success or 

 failure in forecasting, and often show why an un- 

 expected and altogether unlocked for change of 

 weather has occurred. These charts are prepared as 

 closelv as possible to date of occurrence. When the 

 Meteorological Office has the advantage of receiving 

 messages by the wireless telegraphy, both from out- 

 going and incoming .'Vtlantic liners, they will un- 

 mistakably possess a power which has long been known 

 to be wanting. The Daily Telegraph has taken the 

 Initiative, and it is to be hoped that the arrangements 

 which the Meteorological Ofifice has already been 

 endeavouring to make with Lloyd's for fuller inform- 

 ation will shortly meet with that success which it de- 

 serves, for the advancement of science and for the 

 public benefit. 



\\'ith the further development of Marconi's system 

 there seems every reason to hope that we in England 

 may be placed much on the same footing as Denmark, 

 for example, is now, in full possession of the know- 

 ledge of what is going on for several hundred miles 

 10 the westward of the base of operations, to the 

 immense gain of the forecaster for the country con- 

 cerned. Knowing what is going on over the .Atlantic 

 10 the westward of us would not only secure greater 

 accuracy of forecast, but the time limit could probably 

 be extended from twenty-four hours, as at present, to, 

 say, forty-eight hours at least. 



PROF. J. D. EVERETT, F.R.S. 

 ^PHE death of Prof. Everett has removed a familiar 

 -'■ figure from the ranks of English physicists. 

 The news of his death came as a shock to his many 

 friends and others acquainted with his great vitality 

 and his intellectual activity, which seemed to remain 

 cjuite unimpaired by advancing years. Some seven 

 \ears ago he retired from teaching work in Queen's 

 College, Belfast, where, for upwards of thirty years, 

 he had occupied the chair of natural philosophy. Since 

 that time he resided in London, where he took an active 

 part in the proceedings of scientific societies, specially 

 of the Physical Society, of which he was a vice- 

 president. 



Dr. Everett's name has been familiar to many gener- 

 .itions of students of physics through his admirable 

 translation of Deschanel's treatise, which has long 

 served as a standard text-book. Many editions of this 

 u ere called for ; and as each fresh edition was carefully 

 brought up to date by additions and alterations, the 

 buck became ultimately almost entirely a new work. 

 .\nother very important service to physical science was 

 rendered by the publication of Prof. Everett's book on 

 the C.G.S. system of units. This very useful com- 

 pendium made its first appearance at the time when 

 the question of fixing the practical electrical units was 

 being discussed, and proved of material service in that 

 connection. It gives not only clear and precise de- 

 finitions of fundamental quantities, but also numerical 

 data carefully selected and compiled. 



Dr. Everett's earliest original work consisted of an 

 experimental determination of the elastic constants of 



NO. 181 7, VOL. 70] 



certain solids. Subsequently he confined himself to 

 work on his text-books and to theoretical investi- 

 gations. His published papers, which appeared for 

 the most part in the Philosophical Magadne or in the 

 pages of this Journal, show by their subjects the wide 

 range of his interests. Thus recent papers treat of 

 the theory of combination tones, Hering's colour- 

 theory, dynamical illustrations of optics, the theory of 

 rent, the properties of certain linkages, and the mathe- 

 matics of bees' cells. His last paper, elucidating a 

 point in connection with Osborne Revnolds's theory of 

 the universe, appeared only a month or so ago. He 

 served for many years as recorder of the British 

 .Association Committee for Investigation of Under- 

 ground Temperatures, and did much valuable work in 

 drawing up the annual reports. ^ 



Dr. Everett's energy and ingenuity found outlets 

 also in directions not purely scientific. He was the 

 inventor of a system of shorthand which has found 

 manv adherents. He devised an extended form of 

 slide-rule, ingeniously arranged on sheets of card- 

 board. An early and enthusiastic votary of cycling, 

 he was much interested in cycle construction, and was 

 an active member of the Cyclists' Touring Club. A 

 man of great kindliness and geniality, he will be 

 missed in many circles. His pupils will remember 

 him always with gratitude and affection. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT CAMBRIDGE. 



THE meeting of the British Association at Cam- 

 bridge concluded yesterday. The meeting has 

 been in every way a success. In all the sectional 

 sessions large attendances were secured, and the 

 general and social meetings were all successfully 

 carried through and greatly appreciated. In regard 

 to numbers ot members, the Cambridge meeting was 

 the largest since the Liverpool meeting of 1896. At 

 this meeting there were 31S1 members and associates, 

 at the meeting just concluded at Cambridge the 

 number of members and associates was 2783. It is 

 interesting to compare the numbers of other large 

 meetings with the one just held. The largest number 

 of members and associates that have attended a 

 meeting was at Manchester in 1887, when the number 

 was 3838. -At Newcastle in 1863 there were 3335, at 

 Liverpool in 1870 there were 2878, and at Bath in 

 1864 the number was 2802. These meetings are the 

 only ones which have had a larger attendance than 

 that at Cambridge, and it is interesting to observe- 

 that in all these cases the meeting has been in a 

 large city where the number of resident members 

 and associates naturally would be very much larger 

 than in a comparatively small town such as Cam- 

 bridge. Compared with recent years the numbers- 

 show a large increase. Last year in Southport 1754 

 attended the Association, in Belfast the year before 

 there were 1620, and in Glasgow in igoi there were 

 1Q12. Comparing the meeting just concluded with 

 the three former meetings held in Cambridge we- 

 find a great increase in numbers. In 1833 there were- 

 goo members and associates, in 1845 there were 1079,. 

 and in 1862, 1161. 



The cause of the great popularity of the Cambridge- 

 meeting this 3'ear is undoubtedly to be found in the 

 great growth and expansion in scientific work at the- 

 University during the last twenty-five years. The 

 work done at Cambridge in the last quarter of the 

 nineteenth century in all branches of science has made 

 Cambridge a great centre of attraction for scientific 

 men the world over. .At this year's meeting there 

 were present 121 foreign members. Amongst these 

 there was a large number of physicists attracted by 



