

i 
—Fuly 20, 1871] 
THE Pall Mail Gazette states that the Emperor Napoleon is 
about to visit Mr. R. S. Newall, whose magnificent refractor has 
already been described in these pages. 

Tue Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the 
_ Advancement of Science adjourned on Tuesday last till 
November. We are informed that the publication of some of 
_the evidence already taken may shortly be expected. 
THE first General Meeting of the approaching session of the 
British Association at Edinburgh will be held on Wednesday, 
August 2, at 8 p.M., when Prof. Huxley will resign the chair, 
and Prof. Sir William Thomson will assume the presidency, and 
deliver an address. On Thursday evening, August 3, at 8.30 
P.M., there will be a Discourse by Prof. Abel on some recent 
Investigations and Applications of Explosive Agents ; on Friday 
evening, August 4, at 8 p.M., a Soirée; on Monday evening, 
August 7, at 8.30 P,.M., a Discourse by Mr. E. B. Tylor on the 
Relation of Primitive to Modern Civilisation; on Tuesday 
evening, August 8, at 8 p.M., a Soirée; on Wednesday, August 
9, the concluding general meeting will be held at 2.30 p.m. 
WE are glad to notice the step recently taken by the Com- 
mittee of St. Mary’s Medical School, in establishing Scholarships 
in Natural Science, open to public competition. Through the 
very proper action of the Governors of the Hospital, the share of 
school fees formerly paid to the charity has been appropriated to 
the improvement of the school. By this means the Committee 
has been enabled not only to provide a tutor to assist the stu- 
dents in the practical portion of their work, but also to establish 
three Scholarships in Natural Science, each of the annual value 
of 40/., and tenable for three years. The first of these, and an 
annual exhibition of 20/., will be awarded by open competitive 
examination in September next. The tendency of these Scholar- 
ships will be to favour what we have so often advocated, the ac- 
quisition of a proper amount of scientific knowledge pre vious to 
entering upon a regular course of medical study, 
THE Lancet states that the Council of the College of Surgeons 
of England have withdrawn their opposition to that portion of 
the scheme of the College of Physicians which provides for the 
selection of examiners by a central Board composed of the repre- 
sentatives of the various licensing bodies and universities, and 
have agreed to give up the power of specially nominating 
examiners in special subjects. ‘Thus the main difficulty in coming 
to an agreement upon the question of a conjoint examination has 
_ been removed. The Apothecaries’ Hall will probably be left out 
_ in the cold. 
_ THE number of successful candidates at the recent Matricula- 
tion Examination at the University of London was 242, of whom 
only 30 passed in honours. This shows a larger proportion of 
failures than on any previous occasion, notwithstanding that the 
_ novel practice was introduced of optional questions, only a cer- 
tain proportion being expected to be answered in some of the 
papers. 
THE Anniversary meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club 
will be held on Friday the 28th inst., at $8 p,M., at University 
- College, Gower Street. 
Tue first number is issued of the ‘‘ Journal of the Anthro- 
pological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,” being the 
- first substantial result of the union of the two old societies, the 
Ethnological and the Anthropological Societies. We are glad 
to see this evidence of the concentration of power thus effected. 
THE Annual Meeting of the British Horological Institute was 
held on July 11, Mr. John Jones, vice-president, in the chair. 
The report of the Council for the past year was read by Mr. 
Henry Moore, resident secretary. One of the most interesting 
features of the report was the fact that the Baroness Burdett 
ye. ~~ 
NATURE 

229 
Coutts has, agreeably to that line of action for which she has 
been distinguished, volunteered a prize for the best essay on 
“The Balance Spring and its isochronal Adjustments.” The 
Astronomer Royal, Sir C. Wheatstone, and Mr. James F. Cole 
will be the judges, The attention of the Lord Mayor, the head 
of the guilds of the City of London, bodies entrusted with 
power specially to promote purposes similar to those aimed at 
by the Institute, has been attracted by the efforts of the Institute, 
and he has promised to distribute the prizes to the successful 
students in horological drawing. Lectures were delivered in the 
past half year by Mr. Perrell, Mr. Herrmann, Mr. Charles 
Frodsham, and Mr. John Jas. Hall. The following are the 
chief officers elected for the ensuing year ;—President: Mr, 
Edmund Beckett Denison, LL.D., QC. Vice-presidents : Mr, 
C.1. Klaftenberger, E. D. Johnson, and John Jones, Treasurer: 
S. Jackson. 
THE Government of Bavaria has been long engaged in the 
publication of a History of Science in Germany. The follow- 
ing volumes have already appeared :—Bluntschli’s History of 
Political Law ; Kobell’s of Mineralogy ; Fraas’s of Agriculture ; 
Peschel’s of Geography ; Lotze’s of A%sthetics; Benfey’s of 
Philology ; Raumer’s of German Philology ; Kopp’s of Chemistry ; 
and the following are in preparation :—Zeller’s of Philosophy ; 
Bursian’s of Classic Philology ; Bernhardi’s of Military Science ; 
Wegele’s of History ; Stintzing’s of Jurisprudence ; Karmarsch’s 
of Technology ; Gerhard’s of Mathematics ; Jolly’s of Physics ; 
Wolf's of Astronomy ; Ewald’s of Geology ; Hirsch’s of Medi- 
cine and Physiology ; Carus’s of Zoology. When may we look 
for anything of the kind from our enlightened Government ? 
WiTH the July number of the Journal of the Franklin 
Institute of Philadelphia, Dr. W. H. Wahl becomes sole 
editor. 
WE have received the Catalogue of the Iowa State 
University for 1870-71. The students are divided into law, 
medical, normal, and academical departments, the students 
in all the departments, except that of law, being of both 
sexes, and some of the instructors being also ladies. The 
full course of instruction in the academical department 
occupies five years; during the first three years nearly the 
same course of study is followed by all the students ; during the 
last two years the course is elective, either literary or scientific. 
The University is wholly sustained by endowments and state 
appropriations, the fees even for the medical classes being merely 
nominal. Good opportunity appears to be afforded for the 
practical study of natural and physical science, and the ‘‘ School 
Laboratory of {Physical Science,” edited by Dr. G, Hinrichs, 
the Professor of Physical Science, is published at the Univer- 
sity. 
Les Mondes prints a list of the new taxes imposed by the 
French Government on articles of consumption and commerce, 
AN additional excursion of the Geologists’ Association took 
place on the roth and rth inst. to Warwick and neighbour- 
hood. ‘The sections of the Lower Lias were examined, and the 
extensive quarries worked for material for hydraulic cement were 
visited. A special object of interest was the insect-beds 
occurring in the Lias at Wilmcote, near Stratford-on-Avon, 
WE learn from the Yournal de Mé/. de [ Ouest, and Bull. 
Génér. de Thér. that Dr. Weir Mitchell, from observations on 
the bite of the rattlesnake, and MM. Gicquain and Viaud Grand- 
Marais, from observations on that of the viper, have arrived at 
the conclusion that the application of carbolic acid immediately 
on the receipt of the injury prevents both local and general 
poisoning. The pure acid however, if applied in too great 
quantity, is liable to produce sloughing, and even dangerous 
symptoms ; hence it is best used in the proportion of two parts 
