398 



NA TURE 



[August 25, 1904 



the Cavendish Laboratory, and the interest attaching 

 to it owing' to the great succession of Profs. Max- 

 well, Rayleigh, and J. J. Thomson. The school of 

 research built up by J. J. Thomson has done so 

 much in investigating, especially the new field opened 

 in physics in the last few years, that " the Caven- 

 dish "' has attracted physicists from all parts of the 

 world. In other branches of science also, in 

 chemistry, in physiology, in zoology, in engineering, 

 in anthropology, in fact, in almost all departments, 

 the new spirit of research, which has permeated 

 Cambridge, and the men who have done so much to 

 put Cambridge in the forefront of progress in 

 scientific discovery, has made this University a great 

 attraction to all those who have the advance of 

 science at heart. 



The large number of serious students attending all 

 the sectional meetings this year has been an encourag- 

 mg sign, showing that the increase in numbers has 

 not been due merely to the camp followers of science, 

 but to those who are really interested, and who wish 

 to make of the British Association more than an 

 annual week of excursions and garden parties. There 

 have been, of course, a large number of members 

 and associates who have not joined the Association 

 for any other purpose than a week of pleasant social 

 meeting, and in some ways it seems a pity that there 

 should be such a number who do not really add to 

 the usefulness of the meeting. 



This is not the place for any detailed account of 

 sectional meetings, full accounts of these will appear 

 in other columns of Nature. Here all that is 

 necessary is to give a short account of the general 

 meetings and lectures. With regard to the enter- 

 tainment of the Association there has been expressed 

 by visitors to Cambridge nothing but satisfaction. 

 The reception of the members of the Association by 

 the President in Trinity College was a most success- 

 ful meeting. Over 2000 members attended and were 

 received by Mr. Balfour in the hall. The grounds 

 and courts were illuminated. The President's address 

 was delivered in the Corn Exchange, which was 

 decorated for the occasion, and above 2000 members 

 were present. At Peterhouse about 600 of the 

 members were entertained by invitation of the Master 

 and Fellows. The grounds of the college were 

 illuminated, and a very pleasant evening was spent. 



On Friday evening a reception was held at the 

 invitation of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in 

 the combination room and hall of St. John's College. 

 Dr. Baker, the President of the Society, presided. 

 This reception, which was limited in number, and 

 for gentlemen, especialh' the foreign members of 

 the Association, was perhaps the most successful 

 meeting held. Smoking was freely indulged in, and 

 more was done in the way of promoting acquaintance 

 and friendship between members of the Association 

 than at any other time. Garden parties were held at 

 Emmanuel College, by invitation of the High Sheriff, 

 at Newnham and Girton Colleges, and at the Botanic 

 Gardens, by the invitation of the Lord Lieutenant of 

 Cambridgeshire and the Mayor of Cambridge. The 

 lectures by Mr. J. W. Clark, Prof. Darwin, and Prof. 

 Osborn were crowded, and Mr. Clark and Prof. 

 Darwin repeated theirs to afford the many members 

 who could not obtain tickets the opportunity of hear- 

 ing them. On Monday honorary degrees were con- 

 ferred in the Senate House upon representative 

 leaders in science, and the speeches delivered on that 

 occasion are printed elsewhere in this issue (p. 418). 



Acting upon the suggestion of the council of the 

 Association, several of the sections arranged discus- 

 sions upon subjects of wide scientific importance, and 

 NO. 18 17, VOL. 70] 



devoted afternoon meetings to lectures of a semi- 

 popular character. The discussions have in each case 

 elicited the expression of inspiring and authoritative 

 opinion, and when the subjects of the afternoon 

 lectures have been of a character which appealed to 

 members of the Association in general, and not only 

 to members of a section, the lectures have been 

 attended by large and appreciative audiences. This 

 year's experience shows unmistakably that when 

 sufficient care is taken in the selection of suita'ole 

 lecturers and subjects, the afternoon addresses are 

 most successful. For the benefit of members of the 

 Association who are not actively engaged in scientific 

 work, but are interested in the progress of natural 

 knowledge, it is to be hoped that these lectures will 

 be given a place in the programme of each section 

 in future meetings. 



In the physics sub-section of Section A, great 

 interest was shown in the discussion opened by Prof. 

 J. J. Thomson on radio-activity. Amongst other 

 papers perhaps the most interesting was that of 

 Prof. Rubens, on the optical properties of metals, in 

 which he showed that the theory of Maxwell led to 

 results for reflection from metallic surfaces, which 

 agreed within the limits of experimental error with 

 the actually observed results for infra red rays of 

 wave length about thirty times that of visible light. 

 This result was particularly interesting in the 

 university of Maxwell, as for many years the non- 

 agreement of the theoretical and observed results was 

 regarded as limiting the applicability of Maxwell's 

 theory to the range of steady currents and slow 

 oscillations. The discussion on /i-rays left those who 

 heard it with the conviction that the phenomena said 

 to be observed correspond to no objective physical 

 reality. In the section devoted to economics the 

 morning given to discussion of fiscal problems was of 

 general interest. The opinion of scientific economists, 

 as far as it was represented in the discussion, is dis- 

 tinctly in favour of free trade. The articles dealing 

 with the separate sections will describe the results of 

 the sectional meetings; the two mentioned have been 

 introduced because of their general interest; the 

 new theory of the constitution of matter being one 

 which has appealed to all men of science as well as 

 physicists, and the economic question being also one 

 of interest wider than Section F. With regard to 

 the new views of the constitution of matter, it seems 

 unnecessary to take quite so serious a view as was 

 expressed by the President of the Association. The 

 new view is in no way contrary to older theories of 

 the atomic and molecular theories of matter, but is 

 an extension and explanation of these, and in the 

 hands of Prof. J. J. Thomson, has made, at any 

 rate to physicists, a simplification and rational view 

 of tnese without introducing the question of physical 

 reality. 



One of the most interesting features of the meeting 

 has been the museums and laboratories, which have 

 been open for inspection during the Association week. 

 Special mention should be made of the zoological 

 exhibits, and the exhibit of teaching apparatus and 

 experiments by Mr. Searle, in the Cavendish Labora- 

 tory. Among the demonstrations we may mention, 

 as of special interest, that of Prof. R. W. Wood, of 

 Baltimore, of the anomalous dispersion of sodium 

 vapour; that of Messrs. Heycock and Neville, on 

 methods of investigating metallic alloys, and of Prof. 

 Schafer, on methods of artificial respiration. 



The report of the council which was presented to 

 the general committee on August 17 referred to the 

 organisation of the deputation which waited upon the 

 Prime Minister on July 15, to urge the importance 



