274 



NA TURE 



[January 18, 1906 



succeeded to the chair of astronomy, and his lectures 

 and teaching- were necessarily more limited. 



Prof Jolv will be best remembered by his loyalty to 

 the memorv of Sir William Hamilton, of whose 

 " Manual of Quaternions " he prepared a new edition. 

 He endeavoured to promote the study of this branch 

 of mathematics in various ways, by his original 

 writings, in which he sought to bring projective 

 geometry within this special method of treatment, 

 and by the support he gave to the International 

 Association for Promoting the Study of Quaternions 

 and Allied Systems of Mathematics. We are also 

 indebted to him for the third edition of Preston's 

 "Theory of Light," while many papers in the 

 Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy testify to 

 his industry and power. 



Prof. Joly was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 

 in 1904; he acted as secretary to the Royal Irish 

 Academy from 1902, and was a member of many 

 learned societies. He was a delightful companion, 

 with a memory well stored with anecdotes of Hamil- 

 ton, of Airy, of Robinson, and many another worthy; 

 as a teacher he had the power of interesting his 

 class and awakening their energies, and all too soon 

 he is removed from a circle which he loved, and a 

 society that his abilities adorned. W. P. P. 



NOTES. 

 Sir Moinisiuart E. Grant-Duff, G.C.S.I., F.R.S., 

 who died in London on Thursday, January 11, at seventy- 

 six years of age, will long be remembered by his " Notes 

 from a Diary " — a series of fourteen volumes full of chatty 

 reminiscences extending from January, 1851, to January, 



'• Many distinguished men of science, both at home 



and abroad, were met by the author during this period of 

 fifty years, and in each of the volumes of his diary are 

 preserved interesting anecdotes and pithy remarks made by 

 his acquaintances in the scientific world. Sir Mountstuart 

 was fond of natural history, and particularly of botany, 

 to which he devoted much attention. The 117th volume 

 of the Botanical Magazine was dedicated to him by Sir 

 [oseph Hooker "as a slight acknowledgment of the valu- 

 able services which you rendered to botany and horticulture 

 when Under-Secretary of State, first for India and then 

 for the Colonies, and lately when Governor of the Madras 

 Presidency." He was president of the Royal Geographical 

 Society from 1889 to 1893, and a member of the Senate 

 of the University of London in 1891. By his spirit of 

 investigation and sympathetii interest in scientific work- 

 attributes not possessed by many statesmen— Sir Mount- 

 stuart secured the kindly feelings of all who are 1 >rned 



with the study of nature. 



\\ 1 regret to see the announcement that Dr. 11. J. P. 

 Sprengel, F.R.S., the inventor of the mercury air-pump 

 which bears his name, died on Sunday, at seventv-two 

 > eat ■ oi age 



A memorial to the late Dr. George Salmon, F.R.S., 

 Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, was unveiled on 

 Friday, January 5, in the nation, il cathedral of St. 

 Patrick's, with which Dr. Salmon was officials, as ociated 

 during the best years of his life. An account of the cere- 

 mom appeared in the Kensington Kxpn-ss of January 5, 

 from which we learn thai the memorial consists of two 

 windows in St. Peter's 1 hapel, the work ol Mr. ('. E. 

 Kempe, depicting scenes in the career ol St. Peter, and a 

 medallion oi Dr. Salmon, by Mr. A. Bruce-Joy, with a 

 Latin inscription of which the following is ,n translation : — 

 NO. 189O, VOL. J$] 



" That the name of George Salmon may abide in the 

 memory of mankind this monument has been erected by his 

 faithful friends and grateful pupils. Fellow of Trinity- 

 College, Dublin — afterwards Regius Professor of Divinity, 

 and finally Provost, he was for thirty-three years Chancellor 

 of this Cathedral Church. A mathematician both adroit 

 and powerful; he probed with keen insight the beginnings 

 of Christian history, and specially the origin of the New 

 Testament Books ; as teacher and councillor he was un- 

 wearied in the service of the Irish Church. Shrewd, 

 courteous, serious, kindly. He was born in iKie,, and died 

 in 1904. The fear of the Lord is the distinction of wisdom, 

 and before honour is humility." 



\ en 1 of 1000Z. has been received by the Royal Botanic 

 Society from a fellow of the society, Dr. Robert Barnes. 



The widow and children of the late Dr. von Siegle, of 

 Stuttgart, have presented 50,000 marks in memory of the 

 deceased to the chemical institute of the University of 

 Tubingen. 



Prof. Emu. Fischer has been elected president of the 

 German Chemical Society for this year. Prof. S. Gabriel, 

 Berlin, and Prof. W. Stadel, Darmstadt, have been 

 appointed vice-presidents in succession to Profs. O. N. 

 Witt and H. Can., who are retiring, whilst Drs. F. Melius 

 and .\. Bannon have undertaken the duties of the secretary- 

 ship in succession to Drs. C. Schotten and W. Will. The 

 post of librarian to the society, which hitherto has been 

 held by Prof. Gabriel, has yet to be filled by the president. 

 I In society's funds are estimated at 762,635 marks, whilst 

 the A. W. von Hofmann fund has nearly reached 45,000 

 marks. 



At Christiania on December 29, 1905, there gathered 

 together under the presidency of Mr. John Sebelien a 

 number of men interested in questions of agriculture and 

 scientific subjects to celebrate the acquisition of a national 

 independence in the past year. A fund was opened for 

 the purpose of fostering research in the subject of Nor- 

 wegian agriculture, to which fund all Norwegians, both 

 at home and abroad, are invited to subscribe. When the 

 sum of 15,000 kr. (833L) has been subscribed, it is pro- 

 posed to invite prize essays on particular questions, and to 

 reward Norwegian scientific work in certain branches of 

 learning; and later still it is intended financially to aid 

 research work in agricultural science directly. 



A Rl 1 11:1; message from Naples states that on January 10 

 three streams of lava were pouring down Vesuvius on the 

 side upon which is situated Cook's funicular railway. 

 The railway was seriously damaged, and the lava had 

 reached the lower station. At the same date Etna was 

 also active, a large amount of volcanic ash being ejected 

 from the principal crater. 



fin. Geological Society of London will this year make 

 the Following awards of medals and funds : — Wollaston 

 medal to Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S. ; Murchison medal 

 to Mr. C. T. Clough ; I. veil medal to Prof. F. D. Adams, 

 of Montreal; Prestwich medal to Mr. W. Whitaker, 

 F.R.S. ; Wollaston fund to Dr. F. L. Kitchin ; Murchison 

 fund to Mr. H. Lapworth ; I. yell fund to Mr. W. G. 

 Fearnsides and Mr. R. II. Solly; Barlow-Jameson fund to 

 Mr. II. C. Beasley. 



DURING this month and next an exhibition of studies 

 and effects obtained by current methods of colour photo- 

 graphy will be open at the office of the British Journal of 

 Photography, .'4 Wellington Street, Strand, W.C. The 



