March i, 1906] 



NA TURE 



421 



a line of investigation so well worked out subsequently 

 in this country by Garrod and Forbes. In 1853 Cabanis 

 established the Journal fur Ornithologie, of which he re- 

 mained editor until succeeded in 1893 by his son-in-law. 

 Prof. Reichenow, and with that journal — the prototype of 

 the Ibis, and hence of several others— his name will be 

 ever associated. The " Museum Heineanum " is another 

 work by which he will be remembered ; but the above- 

 mentioned " Ornithologische Notizen " must be regarded 

 as by far his greatest performance, and, of course, they 

 excited no attention in this country for many years. 



Mr. Morten P. Porsild informs us that during the 

 summer of the present year a permanent station for the 

 study of Arctic science will be established on the south 

 coast of Disco Island, in Danish West Greenland. The 

 cost of the foundation is to be defrayed by a gift from 

 Mr. A. Hoick, of Copenhagen, and the Danish Govern- 

 ment has promised an annual grant of 600/. towards its 

 maintenance. A laboratory, equipped with appliances and 

 instruments, especially for biological researches, will be 

 attached to the station, and work-places will be furnished 

 for visiting naturalists, foreign as well as Danish. The 

 establishment of two such places is contemplated at present. 

 The visitors will be allowed free use of instruments, 

 travelling outfit, and library of the station ; lodging will 

 be free,- and a small fee only will be charged for board. 

 The first visitors will be received in 1907, and notices, in- 

 viting application, will be issued in due course. A library 

 of Arctic literature is to be founded at the station, and is 

 to be made as complete as possible. Mr. Porsild, the 

 leader of the station, whose address until May 1 next is 

 Copenhagen, S., Denmark, will be glad to receive present- 

 ation copies of works on Arctic and Antarctic subjects, 

 especially on Arctic biology, for addition to the library. 



Mr. Balfour proposed the toast " The School and 

 Union " at the annual dinner of the Students' Union of 

 the London School of Economics and Political Science held 

 on February 24. Answering the question. What is it we 

 mean by economics in its wider sense? Mr. Balfour spoke 

 of the scientific character of the study of economics, and 

 went on to sav : — " Science, if it means anything, means a 

 progressive knowledge, and I confess I detest the habit of 

 the unreasoning appeal to authority, especially when, as 

 is often the case, the authority is somewhat antiquated. 

 In science there is, or ought to be, no such thing as 

 authority whatever. A man of science builds, and gratefully 

 builds, on the foundations left by his predecessors ; but 

 they are but foundations. It is his business to raise tier 

 after tier the fabric of ever-progressive knowledge." Later 

 Mr. Balfour said he desired to see the school " inspired 

 with that detached and disinterested scientific spirit which 

 is, after all, the true origin of all progress in this world." 

 We note with pleasure this frank recognition of the value 

 of the scientific spirit in all branches of learning and in 

 «very department of enterprise by a great politician, and 

 we look forward to the time when every human activity in 

 this country will be governed by the methods of science 

 and imbued with its spirit. 



During the past few days the following reports of 

 seismic disturbances have appeared in the daily papers : — 

 February 21. — Shemakha (Government of Baku), Earth- 

 quake was felt at 12.10 a.m. Fort de France, Earthquake 

 shock was felt at 12.13 P- nl - St- Lucia, Severe earthquake 

 occurred at 8.30 p.m. Other shocks were afterwards felt 

 at frequent intervals. Mont Pelee, Martinique, is active. 

 At Fort de France many houses have been demolished by 

 NO. 1896, VOL. 73] 



earthquakes. La Soufriere, the St. Vincent volcano, is 

 more active than it has been since 1902. Buenaventura. 

 Colombia, Earthquake lasting seven minutes occurred at 

 10.35 a.m., the movement being from north to south. 

 After the earthquake there was a huge wave, which was 

 of no consequence at Buenaventura ; but according to 

 reports from the coast so far as 50 leagues to the south, 

 2000 persons were killed by falling houses or drowned by 

 the wave, whole families being lost. 



According to the Chemiker Zeitung, the General 

 Electrical Company, of Berlin, in conjunction, it is said, 

 with the firm of W. C. Heraeus, of Hanau, intends to 

 start a company for the production of mercury lamps made 

 out of quartz glass. 



On February 10 Prof, van 't Hoff gave a lecture on 

 thermochemistry before a large gathering of members and 

 guests of the Austrian Engineers' and Architects' Society 

 in Vienna. After a few preliminary remarks on the heat 

 of reaction and combination of chemical substances and 

 their calorimetric measurements, Prof, van 't Hoff dwelt 

 upon the heat of alcoholic fermentations, of thermite de- 

 composition and of various illuminants, pointing out the 

 great amount of heat developed in the decomposition of 

 acetylene and the pressure developed in explosions, and 

 finally discussed the relations between heat development 

 and chemical affinity, referring at length to Berthelot's 

 principle, which would find a measure of chemical affinity 

 j in the heat developed, but which Prof, van 't Hoff de- 

 clared untenable. The lecturer concluded with the remark 

 that this subject of thermochemistry was one in which a 

 more general application of modern chemistry was most 

 desirable ; he was, however, of the opinion that it was the 

 duty of the man of science to seek out new ways and to 

 find out new laws, but that here his duties ceased, whilst 

 the practical technical man must himself sort out that 

 which was necessary and usable. After the lecture the 

 leading chemists and physicists of Vienna entertained Prof, 

 van 't Hoff to a dinner given in his honour. 



As was mentioned in Nature of February 1 (p. 322), 

 the sixth International Congress of Applied Chemistry will 

 be held this year in Rome from April 25 to May 3. It 

 may be remembered that the first congress was held in 

 Brussels in 1894, the second in Paris in 1S96, the third 

 in Vienna in 1898, the fourth in Paris in 1900, and the 

 fifth in Berlin in 1903 ; a desire has been expressed that 

 the seventh meeting should be held in England. All com- 

 munications and applications for membership of the sixth 

 congress should be addressed to the Officio del Congresso, 

 Via Panisperna, 89, Rome. The subscription fee of 20 lire 

 is to be forwarded by P.O.O., made payable to Prof. 

 Giovanni Giorgis, the treasurer of the congress. Upon 

 application a pamphlet will be forwarded containing all 

 information requisite for applicants, together with the 

 regulations of the congress, a list of Italian and foreign 

 committees, a list of the sections, and the titles of papers 

 and communications that have been announced up to the 

 present. The English committee contains some thirty- 

 three names of representatives of fifteen leading scientific 

 societies connected with chemistry, including the Royal 

 Society, the Chemical Society, Society of Chemical Indus- 

 try, Society of Public Analysts, the Iron and Steel Insti- 

 tute, the Faraday Society, the Institute of Chemistry, &c. 

 In addition to the sectional meetings, which are to take 

 place on April 27, 28, and 29, and on May 1 and 2, 

 lectures of a general nature will be arranged (such lectures 

 by Profs. H. Moissan, Sir W. Ramsay, and O. N. Witt 



