Oct. 6, 1870] 
NATURE 
453 
At the tanyard with which Iam connected, we tan a large 
number yearly, including many cotton nets. Not only does it 
render them more durable, but in some cases, where wet nets 
have heated and become tender, their toughness has been 
restored by tanning. I cannot attempt to explain the chemical 
action which takes place, and, indeed, the still more important 
ones by which leather is produced are very imperfectly under- 
stood. Henry R. PROCTER 
North Shields, Sept. 26 
The Intended Engineering College 
IN my letter on the above subject, I alluded to Mr. Mason’s 
magnificent foundation of an educational institution in Birming- 
ham, and by a queer inadvertence wrote the Christian name 
“ Oliver” ; and shall be much obliged if you will insert this 
correction of my mistake. It is Mr. Yostah Mason, the well- 
known pen manufacturer and founder of the orphanage and 
almshouses at Erdington, who is so liberally and judiciously 
enriching the Midland metropolis 
W. MATTIEU WILLIAMS 
The Haze Accompanying Auroral Displays 
I pousT if the haze, seen before and during Aurora, has 
received sufficient attention. The beautiful displays which we in 
Canada have so frequently seen of late, have been well adapted to 
lead us to inquire into their cause ; and I think in making observa- 
tions, the beauty of the luninous portion has led us to overlook 
other things which are equally important. 
On the night of April 15, 1869, we hada grand exhibition 
of Auroraat Toronto. It spread itself all over the heavens, form- 
ing a glorious canopy, filling the south as well as the north. 
Previous to any auroral display, however, the atmosphere 
became thick and hazy ; I was viewing the setting moon through 
a telescope, and though there were no clouds, I found the defi- 
nition become extremely bad; I thouglit my breath must have 
got on the eye-piece, but soon found this was not the case, I 
then went outside, and on looking round, found the whole atmo- 
sphere full of haze. It had not the appearance of fog, but the 
whole air seemed thick and turbid, and shortly auroral columns 
commenced forming. This haze was visible for hours. Refer- 
ring to this feature, Prof. Kingston says (American Journal of 
Science, July 1869, p. 65) :—‘‘ Throughout the night, agenerally 
diffused luminosity prevailed, such as is commonly seen with a 
full moon and hazy sky. This was evidently not occasioned by 
the moon, which was scarcely four days old, and was low in 
the horizon, but was part of the aurora itself, the brilliancy of 
whose more active features it greatly impaired.’’ This haze is 
seldom seen spread in this way all around us; but it is usually 
seen as a bank in the north, and is surmounted by the auroral 
arch ; stars can be seen through it, but it greatly dims their lustre. 
Prof. Loomis says :—‘‘ The slaty appearance of the sky, which 
is a common feature of great auroral exhibitions, arises from the 
condensation of the vapour of the air, and this condensed vapour 
probably exists in the form of minute spiculz of ice or flakes of 
snow. Fine flakes of snow have been repeatedly observed to fall 
during the exhibition of auroras, and this snow on!y slightly im- 
pairs the transparency of the atmosphere without presenting the 
appearance of clouds. It produces a turbid appearance of the 
atmosphere, and causes th.t dark bank which in the United 
States rests on the northem horizon. This turbidness is more 
noticeable near the horizon than it is at great elevations, because 
near the horizon the line of vision traverses a greater extent of 
this hazy atmosphere. When the aurora covers the whole 
heavens, the entire atmosphere is filled with this haze, and a 
dark segment may be observed resting on the southern 
horizon.” 
Whilst approving of the professor’s description, I must dis- 
sent from his explanation of the cause. ‘This haziness is seen 
during our hot summer nights, as well as our cold ones; and I 
have seen it when snow-flakes would be out of the question in 
such a temperature, Many reasons leads me to regard this haze 
as cosmical, falling on our earth from without ; but at present, I 
will call attention to the appearance only, reserving my explana- 
tion for a future time. 
A. ELVINs 
NOTES 
Ir is with very great regret that we have to announce the 
death, at the age of fifty-two, of Dr. William Allen Miller, 
Professor of Chemistry in King’s College, London, and treasurer 
and vice-president of the Royal Society. Professor Miller's 
writings haye earned for him a position in the literature of che- 
mistry, from which he will be very greatly missed. 
WE understand that Professor Allman has resigned the Chair 
of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh. It has long 
been felt that the subjects of Geology and Mineralogy which 
have hitherto been taught from this Chair are of such vast and 
growing importance and extent, that they can no longer be 
properly included in it when a successor is appointed. It gives 
us the greatest pleasure to state that Sir Roderick Murchi- 
son, who has already done so much for the geology of his 
native country, has munificently come forward with the offer 
of 6,000/. towards the endowment of a separate Chair ot 
Geology and Mineralogy, on the unde-standing that on this, as on 
former occasions, the Government will supplement the private 
grant by an equalsum, Here then we have an admirable occasion 
for the Government to show itself alive to the importance of 
fostering the cultivation of those sciences on which especially 
the future welfare of the country must largely depend. 
THE new Faculty of Science in University College, London, 
was opened on Tuesday last, by an inaugural address by Prof, 
A. W. Williamson, F.R.S. The discourse was devoted to an 
exposition of the importance of scientific method, and of the 
value of ascientific training, as an introduction even to the life 
of an ordinary m-n of business. 
In addition to his discourse to the Social Science Congress at 
Newcastle, Dr. Lyon Playfair delivered, on Thursday evening 
last, the inaugural address on opening the session of the Birming- 
ham and Midland Institute. The subject of the lecture was 
announced as “ The Inosculation of the Arts and Sciences 3” and 
in its course the lecturer discussed the intimate union between 
science and labour. It is not science which creates labour or 
the industries flowing from it, On the contrary, science is the 
progeny of the industrial arts on the one side, and on the other 
of the experiences and perceptions which gradually attach them- 
selves to these arts, so that the evolution of science from the arts 
is the first circumstance of human progress, which, however, 
quickly receives development and impulse from the science thus 
eyolyed. Industrial labour, then, is one of the parents, and 
science the child ; but, as often happens in the world, the son 
becomes richer than the father, and raises his position. Apolo- 
gising for the apparently pedantic form of the word, Dr. Playfair 
said he proposed to treat of the ‘‘inosculation” of arts and 
sciences, their junction with open mouths, as when two arteries 
join and mingle their contents. It will be seen that science 
does not depend upon facts alone, but upon the increase of . 
mental conceptions which can be brought to bear upon them ; 
these conceptions increase as slowly as the common knowledge 
derived from experience—they both descend by inheritance 
from one generation to another, until science in its progress be- 
comes a prevision of new knowledge by light reflected from the 
accumulated common knowledge of the past. In the progress - 
of time common knowledge passes into scientific knowledge. 
The amazing changes which have tuken place since 1838 are 
due to our better conceptions of forces and their mutual re- 
Jations and conversions. Formerly heat, light, electricity, mag- 
netism, and chemical affinities, were thought to be separate and 
independent existences, not even related to each other. Now we 
know that forces are convertible and interchangeable. This 
knowledge has already given great stimulus to their application, 
and will do so more in the future. Further, we know that 
