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NATURE 

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tod 
[ Oc¢. 12, 1871 

1 
explorations, &c., I fear this flattering description must have 
arisen from the writer not having a practical acquaintance with 
local societies. = 
In a society in the West of England, consisting of nearly 400 
members, I know of but one who does anything for the local 
museum, or for the advancement of geological science. The 
society’s principal results are archzeological ; geology and natural 
history are in the background. Another west country society is 
divided into innumerable sections, which have their excursions, 
and an occasional general excursion; but their results in the 
cause of science are as valuable as those of an ordinary picnic 
party. This description will, I fear, answer also very well for 
one with which I am acquainted in Sussex. In all these instances 
the local museums are such as might be expected from such 
apathy. 
In too many instances the science of the scientific societies 
begins and ends with the name. There may, perhaps, be one 
or two members who are active, but feel little encouragement to 
do much for the public good, or in the way of contributing to 
the local museum. Of course these societies are composed in a 
great measure of members who take no interest whatever in 
science, and who join them without any definite object ; but it is a 
pity that the public should be subjected to such adelusion. There 
are, of course, some few societies which are fortunately more 
active, and produce valuable results, but as yet I have seen no 
good local museum in connection with them, and that is a bad 
test of the practical nature of a society. I know of but one 
museum which at all answers the description of a local museum, 
and that is at Bath, which is due to the genius and energy 
of Mr. Charles Moore. But as long as members of local 
societies collect for themselves and, not for the public good, 
their museums must remain at a stand still. Few have any idea 
of the valuable collections which are made, or the labour spent 
on their formation, by individuals who are indifferent as to what 
eventually becomes of them. 
It is want of public spirit and self-complacency, which are 
the great hindrances to all progress. Itis to be regretted that 
the Geological Society of London does not set more of an 
example to the provincial societies ; it ought to exert an influence 
throughout the country, and take some interest in their progress. 
The state of the collections at Somerset House is certainly not 
an honour to any society. 
The co-operation of local societies, and having their results 
published for the benefit of all, mzgit have a great effect on the 
advancement of science. A general contribution for the purpose 
of a weekly issue of British Journals of Science (in various 
departments), which should be common to all, would be a step 
of great importance. I know of no remedy for this state of 
ignorance and apathy as to the valuable results of which they 
might be capable, but such a co-operation, combined with a 
certain amount of union with the scientific societies of London, 
which might have the effect of keeping the provincial societies 
up to the mark, This must also be accompanied by a unity of 
object, as well as of system in the management and arrangement 
of their museums. Eo'Gois: 
Newspaper Science 
In reply to the letter of ‘‘ Medicus” in last week’s NaTuRE, 
allow me again to state that the curious details as to Krupp’s gun 
manufactory, with which the public were enlightened in the 
Globe of September I1, appeared in that paper as a leading article, 
and not as a mere ‘‘note-paragraph,” as ‘* Medicus,” who 
“never writes articles,” evidently desires to be understood. Had 
they been in the form of the ordinary newspaper paragraph, 
containing accounts of some wonderful discovery in zoology, 
chemistry, or mineralogy, such as, for example, some late ones 
on ‘‘the appearance of a gigantic lizard in North Wales,” ‘‘the 
extraction of the fixed air from the pea sausage for use in the | 
army,” or the ‘‘ abundance of platinum at Bathgate, in Scotland,’ 
which I find copied into the 7imes of to-day, I should not have 
troubled the readers of NATURE with my letter of September 13. 
When, however, we find such ‘* blunders,” to use ‘* Medicus’s” 
own word, whilst he admits at the same time that they ‘‘had | 
passed the editorial eye,” palmed on the public on the authority 
which should be due to the leading article of a highly respectable 
and largely circulated newspaper, I think it is high time to pro- 
test against technical science being popularised in this style ; and 
@ propos to style, the peculiarly pleasant and what would vulgarly 
but expressively be called the ‘‘ chaffing”’ style of ‘‘ Medicus’s” 
communication to NATURE conveys to the reader the impression 


that its author is more at home in writing for penny newspapers 
than for scientific periodicals. 
In conclusion, the perusal of the letter of ‘‘ Medicus” will 
certainly remind metallurgists of the man who, when he felt his 
feet slipping under him in the water, brought himself altogether 
out of his depth by imprudent and convulsive struggles to extri- 
cate himself. The use of the French word ‘‘ crveuset” instead of the 
plain English ‘‘crucible,” suggests a French source of information, 
and not the original German ‘‘ Schmelztiegel ” of Krupp’s manu- 
factory at Essen; and when ‘‘ Medicus” corrects his text, and 
tells us it should read ‘‘the iron is alloyed in crucibles formed 
with certain clays and a preparation of plumbago”’(!) metallur- 
gists will still believe that it was steel not iron which is intro- 
duced into these crucibles, and doubt its being alloyed at all. but 
only melted in them ; and will, moreover, be of opinion that if 
**Medicus ” was at home in the subject on which he has been 
writing, he would have at once explained that when he unfortu- 
nately described the steam-hammer as ‘‘ of the force of 25,000 
kilometres” (in plain English, 15,532 miles), that the last word 
was simply a misprint for kilogrammes (so that the hammer was 
nearly 24? English tons), and not grasped at a straw in the shape 
of the far-fetched and in this instance equally misapplied term 
kilogrvammetre ! Davip Forses 
11, York Place, Portman Square, London, Oct. 9 
P.S.—If ‘‘ Medicus” desires correct information as to the 
steam-hammers, &c., at Krupp’s manufactory at Essen, he will 
find it in the recently-published official report of the Chamber of 
Commerce there, a short abstract of which is embodied in my 
fourth quarterly report (for 1871) to the Iron and Steel Institute, 
on the ‘‘Iron and Steel Industries in Foreign Countries.” 

The Cyclone in the West Indies 
I THINK others besides me would be glad of an article in your 
paper on the Cyclone of the 21st of August in the West Indies. 
The narrow limits of the hurricane are noteworthy. I hear from 
the West Indies that Nevis, between Antigua and St. Kitts, has 
escaped, being a little to leeward. Has Saba escaped likewise ? 
To windward Barbuda and Anguilla seem to have been also 
beyond the storm, as was also Virgin Gorda; the centre of the 
cyclone passing over St. Thomas (and, I presume, Tortola also) 
onits way to Porto Rico. 
I have exact details only from St. Thomas, which I could, I 
think, put at the service of any one writing on the matter ; but 
the principal fact in them is, that the main rush of wind, which 
did the damage, fell on the harbour from N.E. to N., destroying 
horribly all houses in the N.E. gully which slopes down to the 
harbour ; but so turned right and left by the high hills above the 
town, that it was impossible for one in the harbour to discern the 
actual direction of the maincurrent. This blast fell just before 
the central calm. 
I trust that we shall have from some ot your contributors 
somewhat which will throw more light on all hurricanes, from 
the lessons of this last. 
Excuse the interest which one who knows those seas and 
islands—when he passed through them, blazing in beauty and 
repose—must needs take in the details of such a tragedy. 
Eversley, Winchfield C, KINGSLEY 
On the Solution of a certain Geometrical Problem 
I REGRET that the work I referred to should have been so 
readily identifiable ; still more, that Mr. Todhunter should think 
I intended to imply ‘‘ signal geometrical weakness” on his part. 
I should imagine, on the contrary, that few living men surpass 

| Mr. Todhunter in geometrical strength; though I may have 
inferred from some passages in his works that that special part of 
his mathematical strength had not been so fully developed by 
practice as his power in mathematical analysis. 
It must be quite obvious to anyone who reads the whole of 
the appendix to Mr. Todhunter’s Euclid, that sooner or later the 
series of problems on circle-contact (¢.¢. to Prop. 16) would re- 
quire the introduction of the sixth-book method. This method 
is also very conveniently introduced in Prop. 7. But the omis- 
sion of all mention of the third-book method* would certainly 
| lead the student to infer that the sixth book must be employed. 
If it led me to infer that Mr. Todhunter happened not to know 
ecially as but three lines would be need=d to indicate the method, 
rom the given point A draw a perpendicular AgD to the bisector of 
b tween the given lines; produce A D to E so that D E is equal 
to AD; a circle described (by the preceding proposition) through D and E 
totouch either of the given lines will obviously touch the other also. 

