4 
un 
for the assistant, Mr. White, had no other means. 
Mr. Tebbutt’s example hes, no doubt, done much to 
stimulate progress in the colony, and that his silent, 
steady work impressed his fellows is shown by the 
“fact that later he was offered the post of Government 
astronomer. This appointment was refused, and no 
doubt wisely, for by that time he had improved his 
equipment, acquiring first a 4}-in. Cooke, and after- 
wards an 8-in. refractor by Grubb, and could push 
his researches in the direction that best pleased himself. 
Tue Revue Philosophique for January announces the 
death, on December 9, of Prof. T. A. Ribot, the well- 
known psychologist and philosopher. Prof. Ribot was 
born at Guingamp in 1839, and during his long life did 
much, both by lecturing and writing, to further the 
study of psychology. In 1888 he was appointed pro- 
fessor of experimental psychology at the College of 
France. He made contributions to many psychological 
problems, but probably his monographs on some 
mental diseases, namely, ‘‘ Les Maladies de la mémoire, 
de la volonté and de la personnalité,’? have had the 
widest circulation of all his works. In his ‘‘ Essai sur 
les passions" and in ‘‘Problémes de _ psychologie 
affective ’’ he directed attention to the importance of 
the emotions in the life of the individual, and thus 
helped to modify the exaggerated belief of many 
writers in the dominance of the intellectual processes. 
His interest in English thought is shown by his work, 
“La Psychologie anglaise contemporaine,”’ and by his 
translation of Herbert Spencer’s ‘‘ Principles of Psycho- 
logy.’’ He also edited the Revue Philosophique from 
the beginning of that journal. 
Engineering for February 2 records the death of 
Mr. George Andrew Hobson, which occurred on 
January 25 in his sixty-third year. Mr. Hobson was 
for many years a partner with Sir Douglas Fox and 
Sir Francis Fox, and played an important part in 
the extensive work which the firm carried out, espe- 
cially in South Africa. Perhaps the best example of 
his work is the bridge spanning the Zambezi River 
near the Victoria Falls. The southern part of the 
constructional work involved in the completion of the 
Great Central Railway was carried out by his firm, 
and in this, as well as in connection with the tube 
railways of London, Mr. Hobson took an active 
share. He was a member of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers, and was awarded a gold medal for each 
of the two papers he contributed to the Transactions. 
It is of interest to note that his chief enjoyment was 
found in the depths of the country, alone with Nature, 
studying bird-life. His widow and daughter have the 
deep sympathy of a large circle of professional and 
social friends. 
Tue death is announced, in his fifty-first year, of 
Mr. Henry Gordon Stott, a former president of the 
American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Mr. Stott 
was a native of the Orkneys, and was educated at the 
Watson Collegiate School, Edinburgh, and the College 
of Arts and Sciences, Glasgow. After doing various 
professional work in England and Spain, he went to 
America in 1891 to.do construction work for the 
Buffalo Light and Power Co. Since 1901 he had 
been superintendent of the motive power of the New 
York street railways. He was the author of -many 
important papers on electrical engineering. 
THE new institute at Potsdam for research in 
genetics, connected with the Landwirthschaftliche 
Hochschule of Berlin, was opened in April, 10916. 
Prof. Erwin Baur is in residence as director, combining 
this duty with medical work under the German Admir- 
alty. 
NO. 2467, VoL. 98] 
2 NATURE 
~ 
\ Lei 
-[Fepruary 8, 1917 
Carr. AmunpsEN, the Norwegian explorer, who pro- 
poses to endeavour to reach the North Pole by aero- 
plane, is on his way to Norway from America to— 
complete ‘his plans. 
the first part of the journey is to be launched at 
Christiania next March, and Capt. Amundsen expects’ 
to start his scientific expedition about the summer of 
next year. He hopes eventually to come into touch 
with Robert A. Bartlett, another explorer, who is 
going via Bering Strait. 
At the annual meeting of the Royal Microscopical 
Society, held on January 17, the following officers 
were elected for the year 1917 :—President, E. Heron- — 
Allen; Vice-Presidents: J. E. Barnard, A, Earland, 
R. G. Hebb, F. Shiilington Scales; Treasurer, C. F. 
Hill; Secretaries: J. W. H. Eyre, D. J. Scourfield; 
Ordinary Members of Council: H. F. Angus, A. N. 
Disney, F. Martin Duncan, T. H. Hiscott, J. Milton 
Offord, R. Paulson, P. E. Radley, A. W. Sheppard, 
E. J. Sheppard, C. Singer, C. D. Soar, J. Wilson; 
Librarian, P. E. Radley; Curator of Instruments, 
C. Singer; Curator of Slides, E. J. Sheppard; Editor 
of Journal, R. G. Hebb. 
In connection with the Faraday Society there will. 
be a general discussion on ‘‘The Training and 
Work of the Chemical Engineer’? on Tuesday, 
March 6, at 8 p.m., in the rooms of the Chemical 
Society, Burlington House, W. Sir R. Hadfield, 
president of the society, will preside over the dis-’ 
cussion, which will be opened by Sir G. Beilby. The. 
following papers will be read :—‘‘The Training of the 
Chemical Student for Work in the Factory,’”’ by Prof. 
F. G. Donnan; ‘‘ The Training of the Works Chemist 
in Physies,’’? by C. R. Darling; and ‘“‘A Plea for the — 
Forgotten Factor in Chemical Training,” by W. R.. 
Cooper. ’ 
A spELL of cold weather has occurred over England 
during the last five weeks, and its principal charac 
teristic has been its persistence. The cold has 
rarely been severe, and the absence of warmth 
during the daytime has been much more marked than 
the degree of cold at night. No temperature so 
high as 50° has occurred in London since January 3, 
and between January 13 and February 5 the thermo- 
meter did not rise to 40°, whilst after January 19 it 
had only exceeded 35° on three days. The maximum, 
or day, temperature has not once risen to the average 
since January 5. January started with very warm 
weather, the mean iin London for the first three days” 
being 50:5°, which is in precise agreement with the 
record high temperatures for the corresponding three 
days of 1916 and 12° above the normal. The mean 
temperature of the recording station of the Meteoro-— 
logical Office at South Kensington for January was 
36:5°, which jis 1-9° below the mean at Greenwich 
during the last sixty years, taken for comparison, as 
the Kensington records are for too short a period. 
The mean maximum, or day, temperature was 39:1°, 
which is 38° below the Greenwich average, whilst the 
mean minimum, or night, temperature was 34°, the 
same as the average. There has been no mean maxi-_ 
mum for January so low since 1897, when it was 
38-7° at Greenwich, and in 1895 it was 37-7°: in both 
these years the mean night temperature for January 
was below the freezing-point, being 295° in 1895, 
which is 4-5° lower than the present year, although the 
mean day temperature in 1895 was only 1-4° lower. 
January is normally the coldest winter month, but in 
1916 it was the warmest winter month and February 
the coldest. January this winter had the mean day 
temperature 4° lower than December, but the night 
temperatures were the same. Snow has fallen with 
considerable frequency, and in places the fall has been. 
1 gee » 3 we 
areas 
The ship in which he will make — 
