a —_— 
“28 
. 
find much useful matter in this volume. The authors are 
thoroughly competent to deal with the legal aspect of the 
case, whilst their judicious comments show that they 
appreciate at least many of the technical difficulties 
necessarily presented by the subject. The contents deal 
_ with the various sections of the Electric Lighting Act, 
adding copious notes and comments, and references to 
legal precedents and decisions. Quotations are given 
_ from the evidence collected by the Select Committee on 
Electric Lighting, and from the Rules and Regulations 
recommended by the Society of Telegraph Engineers 
and Electricians concerning the prevention of fire-risks. 
One or two minor slips in the science are to be regretted, 
as for example where the authors state that a current of 
unit strength will decompose ‘09378 grammes of water 
per second. It is a pity, moreover, that they have de- 
parted from customary usage in speaking of the “strength” 
of a current as its “intensity.’’ That term has been and 
is still so much abused, that so long as it is liable to 
mislead its use should be avoided. One of the authors 
describes himself as ‘‘ Fellow of the Physical Society of 
London.” We were not aware that the Physical Society 
of London recognised any such grade amongst: its 
members. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, 
or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. 
No notice is taken of anonymous communications. 
[The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters 
as short as possible, The pressure on his space is so great 
that it ts impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even 
of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) 
Ben Nevis Observatory 
In NATURE, vol. xxvii. p. 399, there is among its notes of 
scientific intelligence, a paragraph mentioning that at a public 
meeting in Glasgow last week, called at the suggestion of Sir 
William Thomson and Mr. John Burns of Castle Wemyss, it 
was agreed to collect money for a permanent observatory on 
Ben Nevis. 
As NaTuRE has always kindly encouraged this project of the 
Scotch Meteorological Society, perhaps you will it me, as 
Chairman of the Society’s Council, to add a little to this brief 
notice. 
A requisition was presented to the Lord Provost of Gla-gow, 
which was signed, not only by the eminent physicist and the 
extensive ship-owner mentioned in your notice, but also by Dr. 
Grant of the Glasgow Observatory, ing that a meeting of 
the merchants and ship-owners should be called to aid the 
Society in raising the necessary funds. 
The Lord Provost in compliance called a meeting for the 
the 14th inst., which was well attended, and at which very able 
speeches were made, not only by the three requisitionists, but by 
the Lord Provost and by other influential citizens. The result 
of the meeting was a resolution expressing approval of the 
Society’s proposal, and appointing a Committee to obtain sub- 
scriptions in aid of it. 
It is expected that the amount of the fuads required will be 
obtained from a community so wealthy and so public-spirited as 
that of Glasgow. ut if we are mistaken in this, the Society’s 
Council intend to appeal to other communities also for help, 
being resolved to resort to every legitimate means of attaining 
an object allowed on all hands to be of national importance. 
The Council began with Glasgow, not only because it is the 
richest community in Scotland, but because the Scotch Meteoro- 
logical Society originated there. The late Sir John G. Forbes 
of Pitsligo, and I, being both of us interested in meteorology, 
applied to the British Association for the Advancement of 
Science, when it met in Glasgow in September, 1855, under the 
presidency of the Uuke of Argyll, to see whether it wonld 
approve of the formation of a Meteorological Society for Scot- 
land. The result of our application was the following resolution 
by the General Council :-— 
“* Resolved, that the British Association express their satisfac- 
tion at the proposed establishment of a Scotch Maetcorological 
oS Jr esi bas, “] 
NATURE 
a ee 
wociely, and their willingness to afford the Society any assistance 
which can be yielded by the establishment of the Association at 
Kew. : 
“* That a letter to this effect be addressed to the Meteorological 
Sociely by the General Secretary.” 
On the basis of this testimonial by so influential a body, © 
Sir John Forbes and I proceeded at once with the organisation 
of a Society, the Duke of Argyll being our first President, and 
assi-ting us greatly by his patronage. 
When the Society resolved on attempting the formidable under- 
taking of establishing an observatory on Ben Nevis, at a cost of 
at least 5000/., the first movement for funds was made among 
its own members and friends, the result of which was a promise 
of 1400/. provided the full sum of 5000/. was raised. 
to be enabled to fulfil this condition, the Society’s Council not 
unnaturally went first to the town where it originated, and 
which more than any other town would be :upposed to take an 
interest in the Society and its operations. 
There was this further reason : that the O'.servatory being in- 
tended to be on the west coast, its proximity to Glasgow would 
add to that interest, and the more so as, on account of the vast 
shipping and commerce of the Firth of Clyde, no district of 
Scotland could be so deeply concerned in obtaining additional 
data for storm warnings. ; 
‘The British A-:sociation, by way of encouraging the formation 
of the Meteorological Society, expressed in the resolution before 
quoted a willingness to afford to it assistance from its establish- 
ment at Kew. 
This promi-e, unfortanately, the Association was unable to 
fulfil. But this disap; ointment to our Society has now been so 
far compensated by a handsome donation of 100/. towards the 
Ben Nevis fund from Dr. Siemens, the present Pre-ident of the 
Association. 
The Scotch Meteorological Society is one out of many proofs 
of the usefulness of the British Association in encouraging re- 
searches in particular branches of science, and the recent recog- 
ition of the Society’s work in this Ben Nevis enterprise by so 
eminent 2 man as the present President of the Association iS 
very gratifying to the Council. Davip MILNE HomME 
Milne Graden, Coldstream, February 26 ; 
Indian Archegosaurus 
Tue skull and part of the vertebral column of a large 
labyrinthodont, allied to Archegosaurus, was obtained in 1864 
from the Bijori-group of the trias-jura of India, and presented 
to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It was soon after sent to 
England for determination. All traces of this. unique and 
important specimen, which should now belong to the Govern- 
ment of India, are now lost, and I write in the hope that some 
of your readers may be able to afford us a clue to its present 
position. The specimen can hardly have been mislaid, as it is 
some two feet in length. RICHARD LYDEKKER 
The Lodge, Harpenden, Herts, February 21 
The ‘“‘ Vampire Bat” 
KINDLY permit me to ask for a further explanation from 
Mr. Geo. ]. Romanes about the vampire bat, in regard to which 
he says in his criticism of ‘‘ Zoological Sketches” (Oswald) : 
**Mr. Bates says (I presume it is a clerical error giving Mr. Belt 
as the authority) the vampire, however, is the most harmless of all 
bats.” Yet he, Mr. Bates, would lead us to believe that a species 
of the same genus, Phyllostoma, is a blood-sucker, and had even _ 
attacked himself (see p. 91 of the fifth edition of his ‘‘ Naturalist 
on the Amazon”’). 
Is there a species of Phyllostoma that lives on fruits, the vam- 
pire, and another species of the same genus that Mr. Bates calls 
*€ the little grey blood-sucking Phyllostoma,” that may possibly 
attack human beings? 
The late Chas, Waterton seems to have had no doutt that 
the vampire attacks persons asleep, and gives an instance. 
The common name vampire may not be in South America 
confined to the species Phyllostoma spectrum. Mr. Romanes’ 
remarks would lead one to believe that he considered there was 
no species of bat that attacked human beings. 
THos. WORKMAN 
4, Bedford Street, Belfast, February 15 
Dr. RoMANEs, in criticising a book (‘‘ Zoological Sketches”), 
in NATURE, vol. xxvii. p. 333, says: “‘ The writer speaks of 
In order_ ‘a? 
