May 19, 1881] 



NATURE 



69 



vessel containing dilute acid. When a current is pas-ed into 

 thii cell the minium on one plate is reduced to met illic lead 

 that on the other is oxidised to the state of peroxide. These 

 actions are reversed while the charged cell is dischargin;^ itself. 

 According to M. Reynier one of these cells made large enough 

 to weigh 75 kilograms may store up energy sufficient to furnish 

 afterwards one-horse power of work for an hour. 



A correspondent of the Titiies of Monday gave an in cresting 

 account of an experiment he n-itnessed in Paris of storing elec- 

 trical energy by the method adoited by M. Faure. 



"A Faure battery, or pile secondaire," he states, "was 

 charged with the electric fluid direct from the ordinary Grove 

 battery and in my presence. It may be more economically 

 done from a Gramme or Siemens machine. The receptacle 

 consisted of four Faure batteries, each about five inches dia- 

 meter and ten inches high, forming a cylindrical leaden vessel, 

 and containing alternate sheets of metallic lead and minium 

 wrapped in felt and rolled into a spiral wetted with acidulated 

 water, and the whole placed in a square wooden box measuring 

 about one cubic foot and weighing some seventy-five p luiids. 

 This wai protected by a loose wooden cover, through wiiich the 

 electrodes (in lead) protruded, and were flattened down for 

 convenienca of transport. This box of 'electric energy' was 

 handed to me by M. Fau'e at my request, with the utjject of 

 submitting it for examinati jn and measurement to our eaiuieiit 

 electrician. Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., at the University of 

 Glasgow. I had the box by me all through the journey from 

 Paris on Tuesday night (last week), including a live h lur^' delay 

 at Calais. I arrived at Charing Cross at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, 

 after running the gauntlet of customs and police authorities, who 

 suspiciously looked askance and seemed to doubt my stateaient 

 that my box only held ' condensed lightning,' and contained no 

 infernal machine or new explosive destined to illustrate some 

 diabolical socialistic tragedy. F"rom time to time on the journey 

 I tested the force of the discharge and found it to have well 

 maintained its energy. From London to Glasgow retjuired only 

 another ten hours, and finally, in about seventy-two h .ur^ from 

 the time of charging in Paris, I had the satisfaction of presenting 

 to Sir William Thomson M. Faure's rare offering of a ' liux of 

 electricity,' intact and potent, holding by measurement within 

 that small space of one cubic foot a power equivalent to 

 nearly one million of foot pounds ! This wonderful b -x is now 

 deposited in the laboratory of the Glasgow Univ. rsny, under 

 the vigilant eye of its director, and being submitted to a 

 serie5 of tests and measurements, the results of ome of 

 which made Su- William exclaim, 'Why, it's a little wiich.'" 

 With reference to this Sir Win. Thomson writes t > us under 

 date May 17: — "I had the marvellous box under trial for 

 seventy-two hours before I left Glasgow ye-terday, giving it 

 successive charges, and discharging to various decrees, lueasur- 

 ing approximately the whole quantity sent in during the char.;e, 

 and taken out in the discharge. Thus I shall be a le to calculate 

 the amount of energy spent, and the amount rec .vercd under 

 various conditions. Mr. J. T. Bottomley continues the tiiaK in 

 my absence. A considerable time must pass before I have results 

 to publish." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



Cambridge. — The report of the Botanic Garden Syndicate, 

 as it now stands, recommends the admission of member^ of the 

 Senate into the Garden on Sunday afternoons from three to six 

 during the present summer, and as an experiment only ; three 

 friends may be introduced at the same time, their names being 

 written in a book. Only one entrance is required 10 be opened, 

 and the curator or his deputy and one policema . arc to be 

 present. The number of signatures of residents in lavoui of 

 this change is very large. Frof. liabington ooject-, and so do 

 the heads of Queen's, Pembroke, and St. Catherme's C liege-. 

 Professors Cowell and Westcoti, and several resident clergymen. 



At Trinity College W. K. S <rley (second ye.tr) has i.een 

 elected to a Foundation scholarship for Moal .Science, and 

 D'Arcy Thompson (first yi-ar) to a Scholarship t.ir Natural 

 Science; E. D. Ritchie (Winchester) and W. K. Rans. m 

 (Cheltenhim) to Exhibitions of 40/. for Natural scieme. At 

 King's College S. F. Harmer has been awarded ih Vintner 

 Exhibition for Natural Science, and A. P. Laurie (Edinburgh 

 Academy) an Exhibition of 50/. for two years. 



Mr. Lea is lecturing, in Dr. Foster's advanced course, on the 

 Physiology of Vision. 



Mr. Hicks is taking an examination class in Elementary 

 Botany at Sidney College. 



Dr. Vines' c lurse of botany this term is one of Morphology, 

 chiefly cryptogamic, with practical work. 



The first M.B. Examination commences on June 13, the second 

 on June 7, the third on May 10; the M.C. Examination on 

 June 13. 



The open mathematical lectures this term are those of Mr. 

 Dale (Trinity) on Heat, and Mr. Taylor on Higher Plane 

 Curves, Mr. Besant (St. John's), on Sound and Vibrations, Mr. 

 Webb (Emmanuel) on the Potential and Green's Theorem, anti 

 Mr. Temperley on Finite Differences. 



The first part of the Natural Sciences Tripos begins on June 6. 



In the report of the last Local Examinations (December, 

 1880) it is stated that the juniors answered .satisfactorily in 

 Botany, while the descriptions of specimens by the seniors and 

 their answers in Vegeta' le Physiology were very weak. In 

 Zoology the seniors did better relatively than the juniors, but 

 practical work was largely deficient. In Geology the answ^ering 

 was bad, and the practical knowled ;e of specimens extremely 

 meagre. 



London. — At the presentation day last week at the University 

 of London, when the certificates of degrees and honours won by the 

 .successful students at the late examinations were distributed, three 

 ladies received certificate- of matriculation, and four degrees of 

 B.A. Earl Granville said that this year they had lost by death 

 Sir Philip E^erton, a man of great cultivation, who had always 

 shown the greatest interest in the work of the University. There 

 were other lo ses which they ngretted, but which carried some 

 consolation with them, as being highly to the credit of the 

 University — as, for instance, the departure of Dr. Greenfield, 

 who had for so long been identified with the Brown Institution, 

 to Edinburgh University. They were perhaps aware that in 

 1852 Mr. Brown had left a sum exceeding 20,000/. for the crea- 

 tion of an institution for the investigation and cure of disea.ses 

 peculiar to animals useful to man, the donor expressing a desire 

 that the University of London should appoint a committee of 

 their body or of medical men outside to scientifically carry out 

 his views. Ten years ago that institution was established, and 

 during that period few or no cases of interest to it had been dis- 

 cussed in which it had not taken a leading part. These investi- 

 gations had, he believed, been carried on in a manner which 

 promised the greatest possible advantage, not only with regard 

 to the diseases of animals, but also to those of man. During 

 the past year 3870 animals had been cured, and a.s an example 

 of the gre.it kindness with which the patients were treated he 

 would rclae the following anecdote: — A distinguished member 

 of the Senate was driving along the road in which the institution 

 was situated when suddenly his hack cab came to a dead stop. 

 He asked the driver whettier his animal was lame or ill, but the 

 driver answered, " No sir. I never can get him past this place 

 .since he had his corn cured here ; he likes it so much that he 

 always wants to stop." Results had shown that the University 

 was justified in extending the limits of its operations to the 

 Brown Institution. After careful consideration it had been 

 determind to extend the examinations into the science and art 

 of teactiing, for which purpose a scheme had been prepared, 

 which w. juld shortly be carried out. As a member of a Govern- 

 ment which adopted as its first principle economy of public 

 funds he was glad to he able to give an instance that this did not 

 always degenerate into niggardly .stinginess. Their application 

 to the Treasury for the establishment of a practical museum of 

 natural history 10 enable them satisfactorily to carry on examina- 

 tions on their own premises had been most liberally met, and he 

 hoped that in a very short time such a department would be 

 opened. 



The annual distribution of prizes to the successful students at 

 the Lond'in Sch.i.il of Medicine for Women took place on 

 Wedne>day last week. The report stated that up to the present 

 eighty-six pupils had been received, of whom forty-four are now 

 attending. Nine of these were studying for the University of 

 London, four were amateurs, and the remaining thirty-one were 

 training fi.r examina'ion by the College of Physicians in Ireland. 

 Altogther twenty-five ladies had now been declared qualified to 

 practise. The report of the treasurer, the Right Hon. James 

 Stan feld, M.P., stated that the expenditure had been 2018/., of 

 which one-half had been provided by the students' fees. The 

 subscriptions had been 626/. 17.!. dd., as against 723/. 15^. 6</. 



