14 



X. I TURE 



[November 2, 1905 



Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S., Dr. C. G. Knott; 

 treasurer, Mr. P. R. D. Maclagan ; curator of library and 

 museum, Dr. Alex. Buchan, F.R.S. ; councillors, Prof. 

 Andrew Gray, F.R.S., Dr. R. Kidston, F.R.S. , Dr. D. 

 Noel Paton, Prof. John Chiene, C.B., Prof. J. Graham 

 Kerr, Dr. W. Peddie, Dr. L. Dobbin, Prof. J. C. Ewart, 

 F.R.S., Dr. B. N. Peach, F.R.S., Dr. J. J. Dobbie, 

 F.R.S., Prof. G. A. Gibson, Prof. J. P. Kuenen. 



An International Fisheries Exhibition, to include every- 

 thing connected with the sea — either oceanographical or 

 sea fisheries business — will be held at Marseilles under 

 official control from April to October, 1906. The oceano- 

 graphical part of the exhibition will illustrate the work 

 of the principal biological societies, marine zoological 

 laboratories, and similar institutions. The investigations 

 of the Prince of Monaco will occupy a large room, and 

 France, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, 

 Sweden, America, Japan, and England will have separate 

 spaces allotted to them. The practical and industrial side 

 of fisheries in many parts of the world, as well as the 

 products of the sea, will be represented. Applications for 

 space will be received up to January 15, 1906, bj the 

 agents, Exposition de Marseille, 5 rue des Mathurins, 

 Paris, who will also supply any further information 

 required. 



Major-General Sir Charles Wilson, K.C.B., F.R.S., 

 died on October 25 at Tunbridge Wells in his seventieth 

 year. Trained as a soldier, his aptitude for work outside 

 the routine of regimental duty soon led to bis appoint- 

 ment in directions in which his scientific attainments could 

 be utilised. In 1858, when he was but twenty-two years 

 "I age, he was appointed secretary to the North American 

 Boundary Commission. From 1864-6 lie was engaged on 

 surveys 11I Jerusalem and Palestine, and for two years 

 after this with the Ordnance Survey of Scotland, when he 

 again left home to undertake the survey of Mount Sinai. 

 rhis piece of work was followed by seven years as the 

 director of the topographical department of the War 

 Office. From 1876 to 187S he was engaged on the 

 Ordnance Survey of Ireland, and from 18S6 to 1894 Sir 

 Charles Wilson was the director-general of the Ordnance 

 Surveys at headquarters. He was elected a Fellow of the 

 Royal Society in 1874, and was twice president of the 

 geographical section of the British Association, in 1S74 

 at Belfast and in 188S at Bath. He served as a vice-presi- 

 dent of the Royal Geographical Society from 1897-1902. 

 lie was the author of several works on those countries in 

 the east where his surveying work was done, in addition 

 to one ,,r two well known guide-books. It is interesting, 

 in view of the attention given in recent vears to the 

 claims of geography to be included in the subjects required 

 of army officers, to remember that Sir Charles Wilson, in 

 his British Association address in 1874, spoke of the 

 influence which the physical features of the earth's crust 

 have mi the course of military operations, and of the 

 consequent importance of the study of physical geography 

 to all thus, who have to plan or take part in a campaign. 



A MEMORIAL busl of the late Dr. Joule was unveiled on 

 Octobei 28 at Sale, near Manchester. The ceremony was 

 performed In Si,- William Bailey, president of the Man- 

 chestei Literary and Philosophical Society, who delivered 

 an address. In the course of his remarks, Sir William 

 Bailey said that Joule was born in New Bailey Street, 

 Salford, in the year 1S1N. lie studied under Dalton, who 

 advised Joule's father to send him, on the completion of 

 bis studies, to Sturgeon, the inventor of the soft iron 

 NO. 1879, VOL. 73] 



magnet. Under his instruction Joule became petent 



electrician, and the inventor of electric welding. Mr. 

 Denny Lane was at the British Association meeting at 

 Cork in 1843 when Joule read his first paper on the 

 " Mechanical Equivalent," and he assisted Dr. Joule to 

 drum up an unwilling audience of six people, of which 

 In was one. Sir William Bailey compared, in one part 

 of his address, the coal consumption from the year 1840 

 to the present day. In 1840 the Britannia, 740 horse- 

 power, Cunarder, used more than 4I lb. of coal, in 1862 

 the Scotia used 3J lb., in 1881 a steamboat used 2 lb., 

 and to-day the lowest consumption is 1 lb. per horse- 

 power per hour; much of this economy may fairly be 

 credited to knowledge of the mechanical equivalent. 

 There are about 13-500 British thermal units in a pound 

 of good coal, and if there is no loss in consuming it there 

 would be a power equal to five horses obtained from it ; 

 but engineers know that the best engines under the most 

 scientific conditions and skilful attention with boilers under 

 the most skilled superintendence only give a duty Of 

 1 horse-power for 1 lb. of coal. Joule invented electric 

 welding in 1855. With a battery of six Daniel cells he 

 succeeded in fusing steel wires and uniting steel, brass, 

 and platinum to iron. Again, his experiments proved that 

 it takes % lb. of zinc to fuse 1 lb. of iron. Some portion 

 of Joule's library and apparatus is at the Manchester 

 Technical School. 



The sixth annual Huxley lecture of the Anthropological 

 Institute was delivered on Tuesday, October 31, by Dr. 

 John Beddoe, F.R.S., ex-president of the institute ; the 

 chair was taken by Prof. Gowdand. The lecturer chose 

 as his subject " Colour and Race," and dealt mainly with 

 the problems of Central Europe and the British Isles. 

 Alter asserting the right of pigmentation to a high place 

 among somatological data, Dr. Beddoe traced the history 

 of the colour question, maintaining the correctness of his 

 own methods as against those of Virchow and others ; he 

 showed, incidentally, that the latter gave incorrect results 

 in certain areas. After adverting to the influence of heat, 

 humidity, and various kinds of disease in causing selection 

 of brunettes in certain localities, he passed on to explain 

 in detail pigmentation maps of Central Europe which he 

 had prepared ; fairness was shown to increase from south 

 to north, both in Europe and the British Isles, but it was 

 open to question whether in the latter case historical 

 rather than climatic grounds were not mainly operative. 

 On the map of Ireland the traces of invading races were 

 strongly marked ; but in England the Saxons had not 

 exterminated the preceding races, as was sometimes 

 imagined. In conclusion, the lecturer asserted the proba- 

 bility of a change in the direction of dark pigmentation in 

 this country, due to the predominant influence of the 

 proletariat. The Huxley memorial medal was then pre- 

 sented to the lecturer by the president, and suitably 

 acknowledged by the recipient. 



In an interesting article in the Times (October 28), some 

 of the current theories on the aetiology of the disease known 

 as " beri-beri " are reviewed. That of Dr. Hose, which 

 ascribes the disease to the consumption of mouldy rice, is 

 considered to accord with the facts better than any other. 

 It must, however, be admitted that in the opinion of those 

 best qualified to judge, this dietetic theory cannot be 

 maintained. At the same time, it would be well, in the 

 present state of our knowledge, to examine critically all 

 theories, and it is stated that experiments are being made 

 at Cambridge, under Prof. Sims Woodhead's direction, to 

 test the truth or otherwise of Dr. Hose's theory. 



