APRIL 28, 1904| 
NATURE 
623 
of technical chemists was opened with a paper by Mr. 
J. B. F. Herreshoff. The paper insists that before deciding 
on the best methods of training technical chemists, it must 
be seen that they are sufficiently educated on the proper 
lines to enable them readily to become technical chemists 
of great value. To achieve the greatest success in such 
work a technical chemist should perfect his mathematics 
and become thoroughly familiar with physics as well as with 
mechanical engineering. After men have gone through a 
regular course in chemical engineering they should be 
trained before leaving college in a practical manner in the 
application of chemistry as well as in examples of engineer- 
ing problems. Later, the paper lays it down that to become 
a skilful investigator in a research chemical laboratory re- 
quires both a proper education at college as a chemical 
engineer, especially full in chemistry, and also a training 
at college in original thought as applied to practical investi- 
gation, and to working up and improving processes. 
Applied chemistry would be greatly benefited if colleges 
would come in closer touch with the manufacturer. A plan 
that has been in successful practice at Brown University 
for the last few years was then described. A separate com- 
mittee for each department of study is carefully selected 
from the old students. These committees visit the college 
once or more a year; they consult and exchange views with 
the heads of the departments. Each member reports his 
recommendations to the chairman of his committee, who 
incorporates the same in his report to the president of the 
college. In this way the college authorities are kept in 
close touch with modern technical requirements. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 
LonpDon. 
Zoological Society, April 19.—Dr. Henry Woodward, 
F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair—Mammals obtained 
by the late Mr. W. G. Doggett on the Anglo-German 
Boundary Commission: Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S., and 
Harold €chwann. Twenty-one species were enumerated, 
of which three were described as new.—Contributions to the 
anatomy of the Lacertilia, ii.: F. E. Beddard, BRS: 
The present part dealt with some points in the structure 
of the Teguexin (Tupinambis).—The Triassic reptile Teler- 
peton elginense, based on new material recently procured 
at Lossiemouth by Mr. William Taylor : G. A. Boulenger, 
F.R.S.—Descriptions of twenty-three new species of butter- 
flies belonging to the family Erycinidze, from tropical South 
America: Herbert Druce.—The theriodont mandible and 
its mode of articulation with the skull: Dr. Robert Broom. 
Royal Meteorological Society, April 20.—Captain D. 
Wilson-Barker, president, in the chair.—The variation of 
the population of India compared with the variation of 
rainfall in the decennium 1891-1901: W. L. Dallas. The 
author showed that during the four years 1891-5, the rain- 
fall was generally normal or heavy over nearly the whole 
country, and during the six years 1895-1901 the rainfall 
was greatly deficient. During the former, or “ wet”’ 
period, the rainfall was deficient over Upper Burma and 
Madras, was normal over the remainder of Burma, Assam, 
Bengal, and the west coast of the peninsula, and was ex- 
cessive elsewhere; while during the latter, or “‘ dry,”’ 
period, the rainfall was again deficient over Upper Burma, 
normal or excessive over the remainder of Burma, Assam, 
Bengal, the United Provinces, the North-west Frontier 
Province, and the south of Madras, and was deficient else- 
where, mostly so over Rajputana and neighbouring areas. 
The general census of India on March 1, 1901, showed the 
total population to be 293,475,477, which, excluding the 
territories not included in the 1891 census, was an increase 
of only 1-3 per cent. The population had thus failed to 
increase according to the normal rate during the decade. 
Part of this failure was, no doubt, due to epidemics. The 
author, however, shows that there is an unmistakable re- 
lationship between the variations of the population and the 
variations of rainfall during the dry years. The area within 
which the most serious decrease of population occurred 
coincides almost exactly with the area of greatest deficiency 
NO. 1800, VOL. 69] 
of rainfall.—The cause of autumn mists: Dr. J. B- “Cohen. 
‘the author describes experiments made by him on Coniston 
Lake some time ago. 
DuBuin. 
Royal Irish Academy, April 25.—Prof. Atkinson, presi- 
dent, in the chair.—The secretary read a paper by Dr. 
J. L. E. Dreyer containing the results of a survey of the 
great spiral nebula Messier 33 in the constellation 
Triangulum; 431 stars and nebulous points of conden- 
sation found on a photographic negative taken by Dr. 
Isaac Roberts were micrometrically measured, and their 
standard coordinates computed. 
Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, April 18.—M  Mascart in the 
chair.—On the horistic method of Gylden: H. Poincaré. 
In a work on the series employed in the theory of planets, 
Gylden has expounded two methods which he entitles 
horistic. The first of these has been shown to be open to 
grave objections, and in the present paper the second is 
examined, with the result that it is found to give not the 
general solution, but a particular solution, which the author 
calls a periodic solution. It differs numerically from the 
solution given by Gylden.—On the presence of argon in 
the gas from the fumerolles at Guadeloupe: H. Moissan. 
The gases were collected under conditions which precluded 
the possibility of any contamination by any atmospheric 
air, and proved on analysis to consist chiefly of carbon 
dioxide and nitrogen, together with small quantities of 
sulphuretted hydrogen, oxygen, and argon. This latter gas 
has been found in all samples of gases from fumerolles 
which have been analysed by the author up to the present. 
—The action of silicon upon water at a temperature near 
100° C.: H. Moissan and F. Siemens. By the prolonged 
action of water at about 95° C. upon silicon, either crystal- 
line or amorphous, a small quantity of hydrogen is evolved, 
and each particle of silicon is surrounded by a coating of 
hydrated silica. This effect was shown to be due to the 
minute amount of alkali dissolved from the glass, since 
it was stopped by the presence of a small quantity of acid, 
and no such effect could be observed in vessels of platinum 
or of fused silicax—On a new entire function: G. Mittag- 
Leffer.—Permanent modifications. On the properties of 
systems affected with both hysteresis and _ viscosity : 
P. Duhem.—The influence of lateral pressures on the 
resistance of solids to crushing: M. Considére. The 
crushing resistance of cement is increased by lateral pressure 
on the specimen. The curves given in the paper show that 
there is a linear relation between the crushing resistance 
and the external pressure on the sides of the test piece.— 
On certain ordinary differential equations of the second 
order: S. Bermstein.—On a series analogous to modular 
functions: M. Lereh.—On the theory of systems of 
differential equations : L. Schlesinger.—On the compensa- 
tion of interferences and the measurement of small thick- 
nesses: Georges Meslin. The retardation due to a thin 
isotropic plate is balanced by the retardation due to the 
rotatory polarisation of quartz. In this way a thickness 
of air of the order of o-or mm. is balanced by a piece of 
quartz several centimetres in thickness. The great 
sensitiveness of the method lends itself to the determin- 
ation of the optical properties of crystalline bodies which 
can only be obtained in the form of thin plates.—On the 
spectrum of zinc: Maurice Hamy. ‘The interference method 
has been recently subjected to criticism; the author has 
re-determined some of the wave-lengths of the principal 
rays of zinc, and shows that they are in absolute accord 
with the results of Perot and Fabry.—On some _ bodies. 
acting on the photographic plate: Edmond van Aubel. A 
description of experiments with resin giving - results 
analogous with those of Russell and Graetz on hydrogen 
peroxide and turpentine-—The action of the Hertziam 
oscillations on faintly luminous objects: C. Guttonm. The 
action of the Hertzian waves is similar to that of the n-rays. 
—On a system of damping: MM. Favé and Carpentier. 
A system of very fine wires or glass capillary tubes is 
arranged radially round the moving needle, the damping 
effect being produced by the viscosity of the air. The 
