Dec. 22, 1881] 
NATURE 
177 
although the section sat until nearly six o'clock they 
could not all be read. 
The first by the late Sir Antonio Brady on “ Prevention 
of Smoke in Fire Places’? was read by Gen. Alexander, 
one of the secretaries of this section. 
Mr. H. H. Collins followed on ‘‘ Home Sanitation and 
_ House Inspection,” the practical common sense of which 
was that every man and woman should be their own 
sanitary inspector. 
Mr. Burton, for Prof. Fleeming Jenkin, argued the im- 
portance of associations with an annual subscription, for 
sanitary inspection. 
Dr. Strong, of Croydon, supplied various hints on domes- 
tic sanitation, supporting earnestly a constant instead of an 
intermittent water supply. Mr. Bailey Denton treated 
on the subject of the domestic filtration of water, giving 
a description of the common filters in use, with special 
reference to those in the exhibition. Mrs. King created 
a great interest by an essay on “ Health in Relation to 
Clothing,” in which she proposed a radical change for the 
better in the clothing of women. Mr. Alderman Hallett, 
Mayor of Brighton, described an every-day process for 
the domestic softening of water from the chalk, and 
illustrated his paper by one or two simple and very neat 
experiments. 
Mr. Henry C. Stephens took up the subject of public 
elementary education in relation to public health, pre- 
senting an exceedingly thoughtful and practical communi- 
cation, in which it was urged that in the beginning of life 
the senses should be more carefully trained by easy 
exercise of observation, analysis of impression, and 
muscular training in connection with mental effort. 
The proceedings of the section were brought to a close 
by an address singularly felicitous in style and matter, 
by Major Robert Edis, F.S.A., on “Sanitation in 
Decoration.” 
General Meeting 
At the conclusion of the sectional sitting which, like all 
the others, had been held in the Dome, the President took 
the chair for the general meeting, at which the usual 
formal votes of thanks were moved, seconded, and carried, 
together with the following resolution of condolence and 
sympathy: ‘* That this meeting has heard with the deepest 
regret of the death of their much esteemed and dis- 
tinguished colleague, the late Sir Antonio Brady, and 
hereby requests the President of the Congress to convey 
to Lady Brady and her family the sincere condolence of 
the members in an event which to them and the public is 
so great a bereavement.” After the general meeting a 
large number of the Associates attended the “ Health 
Congress Dinner” in the Banqueting Room of the Royal 
Pavilion. 
Lecture to the Working Classes, by Brudenell Carter, 
PuRC 3S 
The proceedings of the Congress were brought to a fitting 
close on Saturday evening, Dec. 17, by the lecture delivered 
to the working classes, as well as to the Associates, by Mr. 
Brudenell Carter. The lecturer took for his topic “ Eye- 
sight,’ and for an hour and ten minutes held the large 
audience in closest attention. He first treated on the 
evolution of the eye as an optical instrument; next he 
described the structures of which the instrument is com- 
posed ; thirdly, he discussed the irregularities of structure, 
dealing specially with the two irregularities, short sight 
and colour-blindness ; lastly, he treated on the practical 
application of the knowledge of visual defects in its rela- 
tion to educational training. The bad practice of teaching 
children to read and write with their eyes close to the 
paper, by which the defect of short-sightedness is so ex- 
tensively produced, was strongly condemned, as well as 
the faults connected with bad light, bad paper, and 
irregular and imperfect printing. 
oe 
The Exhibition 
We should be remiss if {we did not add a few lines 
on the Exhibition, The managers of this department ~ 
struck out quite a new line in making it something more 
than sanitary. They called it a domestic, sanitary, and 
scientific exhibition, and this enabled them to introduce 
various things that add to the useful and the ornamental, 
as well as the healthful. All kinds of electrical apparatus 
that could serve in the house were shown. Various kinds 
of mechanical contrivances, and numerous objects for 
illustrating artistic improvements, such as painting of 
walls in corridors, halls, staircases, and rooms. Horo- 
logical instruments found a place, and a great number of 
instruments for recording time were under constant 
inspection. In addition, the bicyclists and tricyclists had 
their department, and were presented with a goodly show 
of these new machines for pleasurable and useful exer- 
cise. Ina word, all was so excellently classified, selected, 
and arranged that on the whole we never remember to 
have seen so good an exhibition. In the six visits we 
made to it we cannot express correctly which pleased us 
most, the place itself and its exhibits, or the extraordinary 
interest with which all the visitors, rich and poor alike, 
took in it. Everybody seemed to show an intelligent 
desire to collect all practical information that could be 
obtained ; and when from this task they pas_ed to the 
fine art Loan Collection which the authorities at South 
Kensington had the kindness and excellent taste to 
supply, the transition from the useful to the beautiful was 
indeed a pleasurable sight. 
The peculiar feature of the Brighton Health Congress 
was its character as an example. In numbers and im- 
portance of papers read and discussed it rivalled some of 
the organised congresses, which having the metropolis as 
their centre, proceed to different towns and make them 
for a short season their platform. There can be no 
doubt that there is some danger to what are called the 
peripatetic societies in this initiation. If the town of 
Brighton can call together twelve hundred members to a 
congress, secure papers for various important sections, 
command the services of efficient officers, issue a volume 
of Transactions, and get together a scientific exhibition 
that shall attract several thousands of visitors, what may 
not larger towns accomplish, such as Birmingham, Man- 
chester, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and 
Glasgow. These immense places cannot possibly be 
expected to remain uninfluenced by the example set 
by Brighton and the results of the example. If then 
each town takes to forming its own congresses, there will 
soon be little ground left for congresses on the visit. 
Towns will vie with towns in organising instead of 
receiving meetings organised for them to receive. For 
our part, however, we augur nothing but good from 
such a new departure and new development. The 
light of science and knowledge will only burn all the 
brighter in a place out of which it has been struck; and 
as every town must invite to its congresses the same 
workers as would go if they followed the peripatetics, the 
characters of the different meetings will be the same in 
effect and usefulness. 
ANCIENT TIDAL ACTION AND PLANES OF 
MARINE DENUDATION 
HERE is at least one question in ancient physical 
geology on which the speculations of Prof. R. S. 
Ball (NATURE, vol. xxv. pp. 79, 103) regarding the mag- 
nitude of Tidal Waves in times past seem to throw fresh 
light, namely, the origin of “planes of marine denuda- 
tion.” For those readers of NATURE who may not be 
familiar with this term, first proposed by Prof. Sir A. 
Ramsay, let me endeavour briefly to describe them. If 
we protract to a true scale the outlines of certain tracts of 
| the British Isles, of Europe, or of America, we shall find 
