294 
Worthington was particularly good. His delight- 
ful voice and masterly. style invariably held his 
audience up to the last moment. Occasionally he 
lectured to the convicts at Princetown, and twice 
the present writer helped him with experiments 
and lantern slides, the first lecture being on astro- 
nomy and the second on the dynamics of rotation. | 
On the first occasion it did not seem possible that 
an audience of 1000 convicts would be entertained 
with such a subject as astronomy. But Worth- 
ington was in his best form, and held their atten- 
tion from first to last. The second lecture was 
even more successful than the first, owing to the 
experiments. 
Worthington’s original work in physics is well 
known. He published papers on surface-tension, 
‘the stretching of liquids, the splash of a drop, and 
other subjects. All his work was marked by great 
experimental skill, especially that on the stretching 
of liquids and on splashes. He devoted a large 
amount of time to the latter subject. The appara- 
tus used was simple, but in his skilful hands the 
results obtained were accurate and beautiful. Of 
the many hundreds of experiments made, he only 
published those that brought out points in a con- 
nected chain of phenomena. 
He published several scientific works, the chief 
of which was on the “Dynamics of Rotation.” 
Marked by great lucidity of style, this book ably 
filled a place in the library of physics. He also 
wrote and had printed a number of pamphlets on 
wave motion, hydraulics, statical and current elec- 
tricity, and optics, for private circulation among 
his students. These were all most carefully pre- 
pared after much discussion with his assistants. 
Worthington, was a man of strong and decided 
character; having marked out a line of action, he 
stuck to it, and fought for it with all his might. 
In fact, he rather loved a fight, being a Lanca- 
shire man. His considered judgments were 
always sound, but he was impulsive at times. He 
ruled his department at Keyham on the principle 
that a headmaster should make his presence felt, 
and in that he succeeded; on the whole, he ruled 
with much wisdom, and undoubtedly the many 
officers who passed through his hands will recall 
his influence on them as entirely for their good. 
To his friends and those who understood him, 
Prof. Worthington’s death is a great loss. 
PROF. JOHN WRIGHTSON. 
HE death of Prof. John Wrightson, on Nov- 
ember 30, at seventy-six years of age, re- 
moves a well-known authority and writer from 
the agricultural world. As professor of agricul- 
ture (1864-79) at the Royal Agricultural College, 
Cirencester, he formed one of a small but eminent 
group of teachers, including Church and Fream, 
who have left a lasting mark on their subject. 
After his departure from Cirencester he founded 
Downton College, of which he was president until 
it closed in 1906 from inability to compete with 
State-aided institutions. | Many of his former 
pupils, both at Cirencester and Downton, have 
NO. 2459, VOL. 98] 
NATURE 
[DECEMBER 14, I9Ib _ 
culture. For some years rightson was pro-' 
fessor of agriculture and agricultural chemistry 
at the Royal College of Science» and chief ex-— 
aminer to the Science and Art Department in the 
“Principles of Agriculture.’ ees 
As a writer Wrightson was distinguished by his 
careful selection of matter and by lucidity of style. 
He and Principal Newsham recently compiled a 
“Text-book of Agriculture” which is extremely 
practical in nature and has been much appreciated 
by many educational institutions. For many 
years Prof. Wrightson was agricultural editor to 
the Times, and wrote the periodical reports on 
crops up to the time of his death. His intimate 
friends, and they are many, will feel the loss of 
his genial personality and old-fashioned courtesy. 
His intellectual powers remained unimpaired by 
age, and his unobtrusive generosity will be re- 
membered with gratitude by many. His name 
will always occupy an honoured place in the his- 
tory of British agriculture, especially as regards 
the educational developments of which the Royal 
Agricultural College, the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England, and the Board of Agriculture 
(when Sir Thomas Elliott was Secretary) have 
been pioneers. J. R. Ave: 
done much to promote the improvement of 5 
NOTES. 
Tue question of national laboratories of scientific 
research has been brought forward recently in France. 
In the Comptes rendus of. the Academy of Sciences 
for November 13 is a preliminary report by a.com- 
mittee composed of MM.. Jordan, Lippmann, Emile 
Picard, d’Arsonval, Haller, A. Lacroix, Tisserand, and 
Le Chatelier on this question. It is pointed out that 
all the great industrial nations possess national labora- 
tories of scientific research, systematically directed to- 
wards the study of technical problems. The National _ 
Physical Laboratory in England, the Bureau of 
Standards and the Carnegie Institution in the United 
States, the Physikalische Reichsanstalt and the insti- 
tutes founded by the Wilhelm Gesellschaft in Ger- 
many are given as examples. France has no corre- 
sponding institution, and after a full discussion of the © 
questions of control, staff, and work to be done, the 
following resolution was unanimously carried :—‘‘ The 
Academy of Sciences, convinced of the necessity of 
organising in France, in a systematic manner, certain 
scientific researches, expresses its wish that a National 
Physical. Laboratory should be started,. for the prose- 
cution of scientific researches useful to the progress , 
of industry. As in other countries, this laboratory 
would be placed under the control and direction of 
the Academy of Sciences.” On November 27 this 
question was further considered by the academy, and 
it was suggested that the general direction of the labora- 
tory should be entrusted to a council, one-half of the 
members to be nominated by the academy, one-quarter 
representatives of the State departments, and the re- 
maining quarter delegated by the principal industrial 
interests. Certain existing State laboratories might 
be affiliated to the National Laboratory. A consider- 
able grant for establishment and maintenance will 
be necessary: : ae 
A PROLONGED trial, which has lasted 145 days, the 
longest British trial with the exception of the Tich- 
borne case,’ and concluded with the longest speech on 
record in the British Bar, illustrates the inconvenience 
