‘SEPTEMBER II, 1913] 
Ricco as chairman and Father Cortie as secretary. 
The chief recommendations subsequently made by 
the sub-committee were that the limiting height 
of prominences for general statistical purposes 
should be 30”, and that results should be ex- 
pressed as profile areas, the conventional “ promin- 
ence unit” being defined as the area covered by 
an arc of 1 degree along the sun’s limb and 
1 second of arc of the celestial sphere in height. It 
is hoped that by this means it may be possible to 
combine more successfully the records made at 
different observatories. 
I‘rom the report presented by the committee 
on the spectra of sun spots, it appears that spots 
observed during the recent minimum did not differ 
appreciably from those observed at maximum, so 
far as could be determined with instruments of 
moderate dispersion. It is, however, considered 
desirable that the systematic visual observations 
initiated by the committee should be continued at 
least until 1916, so as to include a complete cycle 
of eleven years, The organisation of photo- 
graphic investigations of spot spectra has been 
undertaken, and several observers have already 
agreed to cooperate in preparing a much-needed 
catalogue of lines affected in spots, and also in 
other investigations. 
An important outcome of the Mount Wilson 
meeting was the extension of the scope of the 
union so as to include astrophysics in general. 
The committee then appointed to consider the 
possibility of securing uniformity in the classifica- 
tion of stellar spectra has collected opinions from 
a great number of workers, and reports that a 
provisional preference for the Draper classification 
is nearly unanimous. At the same time, the 
general feeling is opposed to immediate committal 
to any system, and an effort will be made to 
secure the material necessary for the establishment 
of a classification that can’ be recommended for 
permanent and universal adoption. 
The formal proceedings were varied by ad- 
dresses and papers on subjects coming within the 
scope of the union, and by several interesting 
social gatherings. The receptions by the munici- 
palities of Bonn and Cologne, and by Prof. and 
Frau Kistner at the Bonn Observatory, will long 
remain a pleasant memory to those who were 
privileged to be present, as will also the excursion 
on the Rhine generously provided by Prof. 
Kayser. The success of the conference as a whole 
was largely due to the admirable arrangements 
made by Profs. Kayser and Pfliger. 
The next conference will be held at Rome in 
1916. A. Fow ter. 
THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BIRMINGHAM MEETING. 
“THE meeting, which began on September 10 
in Birmingham under the presidency of Sir 
_ Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., promises to be a large and 
important one. The number, both of local and of 
_ visiting members and associates, amounts at the 
time of writing to about 2600. 
Among the corresponding and foreign repre- 
NO. 2289, VOL. 92] 
NATURE 31 
sentatives are:—Sir H. Angst (Consul-General, 
Zurich); Prof. Svante Arrhenius (Stockholm) ; 
Prof. Bemmelen (Groningen); Prof. H. Braus 
(Heidelberg); Prof. Capitan (Paris); Prof. Chodat 
(Geneva); Madame Curie (Paris); Dr. Dollo 
(Brussels); Prof. Lorentz (Leiden); Prof. Reinke 
(Kiel); Prof. Keibel (Freiburg); Dr. Versluys 
(Giessen) ; Dr. Gregory (New York); Prof. Prings- 
heim (Breslau); Prof. Sorensen (Copenhagen) ; and 
Prof. R. W. Wood (Baltimore). It is hoped that 
others may be able to attend the meeting. 
A new procedure has been adopted this year 
with a view to reducing the pressure on the recep- 
tion room during the first day or two of the 
meeting. To each intending visitor a “Selection 
Circular” has been addressed, giving a list of the 
various functions (addresses, discourses, entertain- 
ments, and excursions), which have been ar- 
ranged, with a request that the functions selected 
should be indicated on the returned half of the 
circular. The response to this appeal has been 
very gratifying, as over fifteen hundred replies 
have already been received. Nevertheless, the 
work of the reception room officials has been very 
heavy. 
The usual business meetings were held on Wed- 
nesday last. At the general committee a deputa- 
tion from the Corporation and University of Man- 
chester invited the Association to visit that city 
in 1915. The representatives present were: the 
Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester, the Town 
Clerk, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Horace Lamb, 
PRS.) erot.. He By Dixon; F.R:S., and: Mr: 
Maxwell Garnett. In the evening the President 
delivered his long-expected address, the contents 
of which will now have become known. 
On Thursday evening (September 11) the Lord 
Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Birmingham are 
holding a reception in the Council House Build- 
ings, in which the new art gallery and natural 
history museum are lodged. Special loan collec- 
tions have been deposited in the museum during 
the association week. 
The University Degree Congregation takes 
place on the afternoon of September 11, and 
a fuller account will be given in our next 
issue. The list of graduands has been limited to 
a few distinguished men of science from abroad, 
representative mainly of the chief European 
nations. The following is the list of recipients of 
honorary degrees:—Madame Curie (Sorbonne. 
Paris), Prof. H. A. Lorentz (Leyden), Prof. Keibel 
(Freiburg), Prof. R. W. Wood (Baltimore), Prof. 
Svante Arrhenius (Stockholm). In the unavoid- 
able absence of the chancellor, Mr. Joseph Cham- 
berlain, Vice-Chancellor Barling conferred the 
honorary degree of LL.D. on the graduands, the 
ceremony in each case being prefaced by a pre- 
sentation and speech made by the principal (Sir 
Oliver Lodge). After the ceremony the various 
departments of the New University Buildings were 
visited. 
Entertainments and Excursions. 
With regard to the entertainments: at the 
garden party given by Messrs. Cadbury Brothers 
at Bourneville on Friday, September 12, there 
