NOVEMBER 20, I913]| 
many parts beyond the Mediterranean district, and 
includes data from no fewer than twelve meteorological 
services. Many of the observations have been already 
published in widely scattered volumes; one of the 
merits of the present discussion is the bringing 
together of the separate data. The monthly, 
seasonal, and yearly distributions of the elements in 
question are shown in great detail; to obtain a 
satisfactory idea of these it will be necessary to refer 
to the original paper, which is accompanied by 
numerous tables and several coloured charts. One 
of the diagrams, however, consists of isopleths show- 
a ing the variation of the yearly range of the amount 
_ of cloud on both sides of a line from Little St. Bernard 
to Beni Suef (Egypt). 
alia, the peculiarities of the range at alpine stations, 
the rather cloudy condition of the Apennines, the 
_ decrease to the south-east, the small amount on the 
west of Greece, especially in summer, and the great 
differences in the Aigean Sea. A large part of this 
laborious work was prepared by the late Mr. F. 
 Zillmann at the instigation of Prof. Partsch. 
Tue October number of the Journal of the Institu- 
tion of Electrical Engineers is devoted almost exclu- 
sively to the subject of electric traction. At the joint 
meeting of the Institution and the Société Inter- 
nationale des Electriciens, held in Paris in May, the 
question of the electrification of existing railways was 
widely discussed, and it seems evident that the 
_ problem is no longer a technical one but is now purely 
financial. The difficulties of construction and main- 
tenance have been overcome, and direct-current and 
single and three-phase systems are all now in opera- 
tion. While each of these three systems claims to be 
more economical than steam traction, there does not 
appear to be any certainty as to which of them is 
best. On the whole the papers read and the discussion 
which followed them tended to favour the continuous 
system with much higher voltages—e.g. 2400—than 
are usual at present, but it was evidently felt even 
by the advocates of such a system that there were 
_ circumstances under which the other two systems 
might be used with advantage. 
AT a meeting of the Alchemical Society held on 
_ November 14, a paper was read by Mme. Isabelle de 
_ Steiger, entitled “The Hermetic Mystery,” the chair 
_ being occupied by the acting president, Mr. H. Stan- 
ley Redgrove. Mme. Isabelle de Steiger’s interpre- 
tation of the theories and aims of the ancient and 
_ medieval alchemists differs radically from that 
_ accepted by many students of the history of philosophy 
_ and science, her views in the main agreeing with those 
_ expressed in that well-known but exceedingly scarce 
_ work, “A Suggestive Enquiry into the Hermetic 
_ Mystery and Alchemy” According to the lecturer, 
the doctrines underlaying alchemy were the primitive 
doctrines at the heart of every ancient religion. 
Alchemy, she maintained, was not concerned with 
metals but with man, whom the alchemists en- 
_ deavoured spiritually to perfect through a process 
_ analogous to that said to have been discovered by 
a Mesmer. The alchemists, she said, formed a sort 
NO. 2299, VOL. 92] 
NATURE 
From this may be seen, inter ; 
age 
of free secret order, and their writings were crypto 
grammatic, being intended to be understood by one 
another only. They were couched in the language 
of chemistry to mislead the ignorant, this being neces- 
sary on account of the danger attendant upon any 
misuse of the processes with which they dealt. The 
full text of the lecture will be published in the 
November number of the society’s Journal. 
AN article by Mr. W. A. Caspari, entitled ‘‘ British 
Chemistry and British Manufactures,” is published in 
the November issue of The British Review. Mr. Cas- 
pari insists again upon the importance of the manu- 
facturers of this country learning to appreciate the 
value to their industries of the services of highly 
qualified men of science. In the application of chem- 
istry to industrial objects, Great Britain was the 
pioneer and undisputed leader during the earlier 
periods of the industrial revival. At present Ger- 
many stands easily supreme in all purely chemical 
manufactures, except possibly metallurgy and ‘‘ heavy 
chemicals’'; and the potency of German competition 
resides in clear-thinking German appreciation of 
applied science. My. Caspari asks: What is wrong? 
Too many of our manufacturers prefer to run their 
works with clerks, engineers, and “ practical’? men; 
in Germany, the chemical element in the personnel 
of the factory is strong, not only numerically, but 
also as regards rank. The British manufacturer’s 
mind seldom soars beyond the conception that a 
chemist is a person who analyses things. He too 
often fails to realise that the scientific man, far from 
being merely a useful background accessory like the 
works’ plumber, holds the key to the whole of his 
manufacture. Mr. Caspari makes some wise sugges- 
tions for the more suitable training of chemists in 
universities and colleges, and maintains that once the 
suitable type of chemist is produced and planted in 
our factories, our industrial system will evolve almost 
imperceptibly in the right direction, and our captains 
of industry with it. 
Messrs. H. F. Ancus anp Co., 83 Wigmore Street, 
London, W., have issued a catalogue of second-hand 
microscopes, objectives, and accessories, which they 
have for sale or hire. In addition to second-hand 
instruments, Messrs. Angus have in stock some forty 
or more different patterns in microscopes and an 
equal variety in accessory apparatus, which include 
specimens of English, American, Austrian, German, 
Italian, and Swedish manufacture. It should prove 
a great convenience to purchasers to be able easily 
to) compare instruments of varied character and range. 
Tue following books are announced, as in the press 
or in preparation, by the Cambridge University 
Press :—In the ‘‘ Cambridge Psychological Library’’: 
“Psychology,” Prof. J. Ward; ‘The Nervous 
System,” Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S.; “The 
Structure of the Nervous System and the Sense 
Organs,” Prof. G. Elliot Smith, F.R.S.; ‘ Pro- 
legomena to Psychology,” Prof. G. Dawes Hicks ; 
‘Psychology in Relation to Theory of Knowledge," 
Prof. G. F. Stout; ‘‘ Mental Measurement,” Dr. W. 
Brown; ‘‘The Psychology of Mental Differences," 
