DercEMBER 10, 1896] 
NATURE | 33 
five years, the Astronomical Journal again made its 
appearance under his editorship, and seems likely to 
have a long and prosperous career. 
Although Dr. Gould’s reputation as an astronomer 
will probably rest on the manner in which he carried to 
a successful issue long, and even wearisome, under- 
takings, involving continual repetitions of the same pro- 
cesses (witness the Cordova Zone Catalogue and the long 
series of longitude determinations), it must be admitted 
that he was keen to recognise the merits of new develop- 
ments. He must be regarded as one of the first, if not 
the first, to foresee the practical advantages of the appli- 
cation of photography to the accurate determination of 
star places. So far back as 1866, he had co-operated with 
Mr. Rutherfurd in photographing the Pleiades, and had 
deduced the positions of some fifty stars in this group, 
clearly demonstrating the smallness of the average error 
of measurement, and the possibility of using those mea- 
surements in cosmical inquiries. Later he measured the 
relative coordinates of the stars in the Preesepe cluster, 
and the plan of operations proposed for the conduct of 
the Cordova observatory orginally contemplated the 
employment of photographic apparatus. The disappoint- 
ment that Dr. Gould suffered on finding the object-glass 
broken on its arrival at Cordova is a matter of history, 
and his heroic attempts to repair the mischief show how 
fully he appreciated this line of investigation and his 
eagerness to promote it. W. E. P. 
NOTES. 
WE referred last week to a very unworthy insinuation, con- 
tained in a leading article in the Zzes, that Lord Rayleigh had 
retired from the Council of the Royal Society owing to a want 
of sympathy with, or a want of respect for, his colleagues. Lord 
Rayleigh has since sent the following letter to the Z7zmes. 
“*Sir,—In your issue of Tuesday, after some too flattering 
remarks regarding my tenure of office, you say that I have taken 
the unusual step of declining to sit on the Council, and that no 
one who knows the play of forces within the Society can doubt 
that my refusal is significant. There seems to be here a sugges- 
tion that my retirement is due to a difference with my colleagues 
—colleagues with whom I have- worked for eleven years in 
complete harmony, and for whom I retain the highest regard. 
Permit me to say that my retirement is significant only of a 
desire to escape engagements involving journeys to London, and 
of a possibly mistaken impression that the position of an ex- 
Secretary as an unofficial member of Council would be a little 
anomalous. “Tam, Sir, yours faithfully, 
“Dublin, Decemher 2.” “RAYLEIGH. 
THE Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory of the Royal Insti- 
tution, founded by Dr. Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., will be opened 
by the Prince of Wales on Tuesday afternoon, December 22. 
THE first instalment of the Austin Corbin herd of buffalo, 
twenty-five in number, has just been removed from the Corbin 
Estate, in New Hampshire, to Van Cortlandt Park in New York 
City. 
THE eleventh German Geographical Congress will be held at 
Jena on April 21, 22, and 23. The papers and discussions will 
principally refer to polar investigations, physical geography, 
biological geography, the topography and natural history of 
Thuringia, and the teaching of geography in schools. 
THE death is announced of Dr. Karl Sebastian Cornelius, the 
author of many works on physics and physical geography, and 
privat-docent, with the title of Professor, in the University of 
Halle. We also notice the death of the zoologist, Dr. Fritz 
Westhoff, of the Kénigl. Akademie at Miinster. 
NO. 1415, VOL. 55] 
Mr. P. F. Cook sailed for Ilamburg a few days ago in the 
interests of the American Colonisation Society and of the Smith- 
sonian Institution. He will remain a month at the Hague, 
studying myriapods and insects, and will then proceed to Siberia 
for a residence of several months, to conduct investigations of 
scientific and economic matters. 
THE Liverpool Chamber of Commerce has unanimously 
adopted a resolution in favour of the adoption of the metric 
system of weights and measures, and urging that at the earliest 
possible moment consistent with the public convenience a Bill 
should be brought in to make the system compulsory. 
Dr. BERNARD Dyer has been elected President of the Society 
of Public Analysts for the year 1897. The newly-nominated 
Hon. Secretaries are Mr. E. J. Bevan and Mr. Charles E. 
Cassal. 
WITH reference to our note of November 19 (p. 58), on the 
‘*Welby Prize,” we are requested to announce that, in con- 
sequence of unforeseen delays, it is found desirable to extend the 
time allowed to competitors till January 1, 1898, and that Prof. 
Emile Boirac, Paris, becomes the French member of the Com- 
mittee of Award. 
AFTER an absence of three years, the expedition under Lieut. 
Hourst has safely returned to Europe from the Niger. The party 
ascended the Senegal Riyer, and then carried the section of an 
aluminium boat overland to the upper part of the Niger. On 
reaching this river the pieces of the boat were put together, and 
two native boats purchased. In these the expedition sailed down 
the Niger to Timbuctoo, where a stay of ten months was made. 
The voyage from Timbuctoo to Lokoja, at the confluence of the 
Niger and Benue, seems to have been arduous, but from that 
point the expedition was towed by a launch belonging to the 
Royal Niger Company to the coast at Wari. How much fresh 
topographical information Lieut. Hourst’s party has obtained is 
not yet stated ; this will depend on the highest point reached on 
the Niger. Reuter’s message states that the expedition “‘ first 
met the river Niger at Kayes ” ; but that town is on the Senegal 
River. There can be no doubt, however, that much valuable 
scientific information was obtained, for the expedition travelled 
slowly, and was admirably equipped. One novelty was the use 
of a phonograph for reporting the native war songs. The ex- 
pedition kept peace with the natives throughout the journey, in 
which it differs greatly from some of those previously conducted 
by French explorers in that region. 
THE success which has attended the installation of a meteoro- 
logical observatory on the summit of Mont Blanc has (says the 
Daily Chrontcle) stimulated Italian men of science to crown 
Monte Rosa with a similar edifice. (Queen Margherita, herself 
an expert mountaineer, supports the project by a donation of 
160/., the Duke of the Abruzzi gives 200/., and the Italian Alpine 
Club, the Ministers in their private capacity, and the physical 
faculty of the University of Turin figure among its chief con- 
tributors. It is intended to utilise the hut on the Gniffetti peak, 
built three years ago asa shelter for climbers. Situated at a 
height of about 14,000 feet above sea-level, the observatory will, 
as regards elevation, rank fourth among the twenty-seven moun- 
tain observatories of the world, being surpassed in altitude only 
by those of Arequipa, Mont Blanc, and Pike’s Peak. 
In 1897, for the first time since the British Medical Associa- 
tion came into existence, the annual meeting will be held outside 
the British Isles. In order to induce as many members of the 
Association as possible to decide to go to Canada next year, the 
British Medical Journa/ prints an illustrated article in the cur- 
ren number, showing the extensive preparations already co - 
