488 



NATURE 



{Sept. 2 2, 1 88 1 



taken at Ahton Moss, Bredbury, and Nouk Pit : the tempera- 

 tuie? i\ere as follows : — 



p. Depth. Temperature. 



Ashtoii Mo.-s 2790 8°5-3 



Bredbary Colliery 1020 620 



Nook Pit 1050 623 



The increments of temperature v\ ould be as follows :- 



Pla 



temperaturi 



of 



Ashton Moss 2790 363 



Bredbury Colliery 1020 13 



Nook Pit 1050 13-3 



This gave for each degree of increaie, Ashton Moss 76 '9 feet, 

 Bredbury 78'5, and Nook Pit, 79 feet. In Flintshire the ob.ser- 

 vations showed great irregularity last year, and the observations 

 taken this year increased the irregularity. The observations 

 were laken at a place in the lead mine at a depth of 56o feet ; at 

 this depth the temperature was 62°, 48° being assumed to be the 

 surface temperature which gave an increase of 14° iu 660 feet, or 

 1° in 47 feet. At the Radstock colliery observations were made 

 at three places. The Wells May Pit, 560 feet deep, the Ludlow 

 Pit, loco feet, and a third itation in the same pit 810 feet deep, 

 the surface temperature being a-sumed 50°, the rate of increase 

 was found to be II°'7 in 560 feet, and 13° for both Sio feet and 

 loco feet. 



Mr. W. M. Hicks read his report On Recent Progi-ess in 

 Hydrodynamics, which he related to the investigations under- 

 taken since 1846, the date of Prof. Stokes's well-known report. 



A Report of the Committee on Fundamental Invariants, by 

 Prof. Sylvester, was read. 



Report of Committee on Mathematical Tab'es, by James 

 Glaisher, F". R.S. — The author stated that the factor table for 

 the sixth million was now completed and slereotyi ed, and he 

 had the pleasure to exU'it to the section proofs of the w hole 

 of this million taken from tbe stereotyped plates. The factr.r 

 tables for the fourth and fifth millions had I een already pub- 

 lished, so that now the gap of three millions between the iai les 

 of Burckhardt (1S17) and tlio e of Dase (1S61) was completely 

 filled up. The introduction to the sixth njillion would shortly be 

 completed, when this volume would appear. 



Report on the Tertiary flora of the Basalt of the No'th of 

 Ireland, drawn up and illustrated by W. H. Bailey, GeoIoi;ical 

 Survey of Ireland. 



Mr. Sclater, in the absence of Mr. Thiselton Dyer, presented 

 the Report of the Committee appoin'ed for the Purpose of Investi- 

 gating the iVatural History of Timor lant. — In a letter addressed 

 to Sir Joseph Hooker, director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, 

 Mr. H. O. Forbes had written from Sumatra, offering, if some 

 assistance could be forwarded to him, to atttmpt an expedition 

 to Timor-lant, for the purpose of investigating its natural history 

 — "an ohjec," as Mr. Forbes state I, "the accomplishment of 

 which is de.^ired both by bo'anists and zjologits." An appli- 

 cation on Mr. Forbes's behalf vas accordingly made to the 

 British Association, and a sum of 50.'. was voted by the General 

 Committee at tbe Swansea Meeting to be placed at the disposal 

 of the Committee, to whom the conduct of the matter was in- 

 trusted. The action taken by the Association was communicated 

 to Mr. Forbes, and a letter was received in reply. This was the 

 most recent information which the Committee po.ssessed as to 

 his plan-. It was somev\hat doubtful whether, owing to insuf- 

 ficiency of funds, he was able to start. At any rate, the grant 

 made at .Swansea remoined iu the hands of the Committee. The 

 expedition was obviously attended with some difiiculty, if not 

 danger. Its success must be largely dependent on fortunate 

 accident. The Committee, however, thought that there was a 

 reasonable chance of the work bein^ done, and therefore recom- 

 mended their reappointment, and that a further sum of 100/. be 

 I'laced at their disposal. 



The Report of the Commillec on the Xatural History of Socotra 

 gave an account of the progre.-s made in working out Prof. 

 Bayley Balfour's collection-^, r.nd recommended its reappoititment 

 with a somewhat extended s] here, so as to embrace the adjoin- 

 ing highlands of Arabia and Somali Land. 



A Report by Mr. R. J. Ussher On Cans and Kitchen- Middens 

 at Cappagh, County W'aterford, de.-cribed an extensive series of 

 kitchen-middens \^hich had been excavated with the aid of the 



Association grant. One of these filled a cave of considerable 

 extent, the more ancient parts of which had not been yet ex- 

 plored. The excavated parts yielded large quantities of bones 

 and implements which did not furnish very striking result^. 



The Report of the Committee for the Investigation of the Influ- 

 ence of Bjdily Exercise on the Elimination ofNitroge}i,'pTtitrAtA 

 by l\Ir. North, detailed the delays in commencing the actual 

 investigation, owing to the necessary devising and construction of 

 instruments. It was hoped however that valuable results might 

 be obtained before the meeting at Southampton. 



The Report of the Committee on the Zoological Station at Naplts 

 was read by Mr. Percy Sladen. He stated that the laboratory 

 had added micro-spectroscopic .ind polariscopic apparatus, a new 

 Du Bois-Reymond's section apparatus, and a valuable scries of 

 chemico physiological apparatus ; and the breeding and aerating 

 api'aratus have been successfully worked. Two of the mono- 

 graph-; of the Fauna and Flora of the Gulf of Naples have been 

 published in the last year, viz., the Ctenophora by Dr. Carl 

 Chun, and the species of the genus Fierasftr by Dr. Carlo 

 Emery. The mon ^graphs on the Pantopoda, by Dr. Dohrn ; 

 the Corallines, by SolmsLaubach ; and on Balanoglo'sus, by 

 Dr. J. W. Spengel, are in a forv\ai'd slate. The Zoologische 

 yahrisbcriehte for 1880 is in the press, and will be issued in four 

 piarts. The novel method of investigating the ;ea-bottom by 

 means of diving apparatus has been successfully used in many 

 clear pirlions of the bed near Naples. Many details of im- 

 provement have been made, and many fissure-; and cavities may 

 be explored which are inaccessible to the trawl or the dredge, 

 aird sponges, hydroids, actinia;, bryozoa and planarian^-, nudi- 

 branch; and alga; may be obtained in situ. During the year 

 Mr. Allen Harker has studied at the British Association table, 

 chiefly on the circulation and respiration in the polych^tous 

 annelids; also Mr. F. G. Penro e, whi i ,vestigated the circula- 

 tion i.i Solen legumen. Mr. P. Geddcs desires to prosecute 

 special researches durin^r the coming year, and will be accom- 

 panied by an assistant. Thirty-four naturalists have worked at 

 the station during the year, many me-aioirs have been pul)lished, 

 large quantities of specimens have been sent to foreign museums 

 and naturalists, as well as micro copical preparations. 



Report of the Committee, consisting of Mr. James Ileywood, 

 F.R.S., Mr. Wihiam Shien, Mr. Stephen Bourne, Mr. Robert 

 Wilkinson, the Rez'. W. Delany, Mr. N. Story Maskelynt, M.P., 

 F.R.S., Dr. Silvanus P. Thompson, Miss Lyd'a E. Becker, Sir 

 John Lubbock, Bart., MP., F.R.S., Prof A. W. Williamson 

 F.R.S., Mrs. Augusta Webster, and Dr. /. H. Gladstone, 

 F.R.S. {Secretary), on the manner in which Rudimentary Science 

 should be taught, and hoia Examinitions should be hrld thtrAn, 

 in Elementary Schools. — Rudimentary icience is taught in public 

 elementary schools in the form of — I. Object lessons; II. Class 

 subjects under article 19, c. I, of the New Code ; III. Specific 

 subjects under Schedule IV. of the same Code ; IV. Science 

 subjects preparatory to entering classes in connec'ioir with science 

 scho Is. 



I. Object lessons are attempted in a large number of infant 

 schools, and in sotce instances are very effective in developing 

 the perceptive powers and intelligence of the children ; but in 

 other case-; they are too formal, and left too much to the junior 

 teacher-. In bjys' and girls' schools they frequently appear 

 upon the time table, especially where, as in the schools of the 

 London B_-a-d, they are looked upon ai a necessary part of the 

 instructi jn : but they are generally given in an unsystematic, 

 and often in an unsatifactory manner. 



II. The teaching of science as a class subject under the Code 

 only commenced la^t October, and thus no examinations have 

 yet been held under it. Nalu al history, physical geography, 

 natural philosophy, &c., are mentioned in article 19, c. i, and it 

 is stated that the instruction should be given "through reading 

 lesson=, illu trated, if necessary, by maps, diagrams, specimens, 

 &c."; but the teachers are limited to two mbjects, and the old 

 subjects, grammar, histi ry, geography, and needlework naturally 

 retain their place in the great majority of the schools. Suitalile 

 reading-books for these rudiinen'ary science subjects have 

 scarcely yet came into existence. 



ni. The specific :ubjects of the fourth schedule include 

 mechanics, animal physiology, physical geography, botany, ar.d 

 domestic economy, tut only two subjects may be tal en (or three 

 if the child has passed Standard VI.) ; and the schedule also 

 includes English literature, mathematics, Latin, French, and 

 German. Literature is a general favourite ; and domestic 



