:i6 



NA TURE 



[March 30, 1899 



i 



Company in trust for the encouragement of botany, is also a 

 memljer of the committee. 



The following are the lecture arrangements after Easter at 

 the Koyal Institution : — Prof. J. Cossar Kwart, three lectures on 

 tebras and zebra hybrids ; I'rof Silvanus P. Thompson, two 

 lectures on electric eddy-currents (the Tyndall Lectures) ; Prof. 

 W. J. Sollas, three lectures on geology ; Prof Dewar, three 

 lectures on the atmosphere : Mr. Lewis F. Day, three lectures 

 on embroidery ; Prof L. C. Miall, two lectures on water weeds; 

 Mr. Louis Dyer, three lectures on Machiavelll ; Mr. W. L. 

 Brown, two lectures on to Iceland in search of health ; Mr. 

 Edgar F. Jacques, three lectures on the music of India and the 

 East, and its influence on the music of Europe (with musical 

 illustrations). The Friday evening meetings will be resumed on 

 April 14, when a discourse will be delivered by Prof A. W. 

 Riicker on earth currents and electric traction. Succeeding 

 discourses will probably be given by Dr. F. W. Mott, Prof. C. 

 A. Carus Wilson, Dr. W. J. Russell, Prof. T. Preston, the 

 Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Bristol, Sir William Martin 

 Conway, Mr. H. G. Wells, and others. 



We are glad to be able to announce that with March i the 

 Administration of Telegraphs of Me.vico have commenced the 

 publication of daily weather charts, showing for 8h. a.m., 

 Washington time, the state of the barometer, thermometer, and 

 weather over that extensive countr)'. Stations have been estab- 

 lished in thirty-five localities, and these are augmented by a few 

 voluntary observers. The service is organised on the principle 

 of that of the Weather Bureau of Washington, and the system 

 has been established primarily to meet the requirements of the 

 Telegraph Administration, and, in the second place, to supply 

 the Mexican Meteorological Observatory with trustworthy 

 information. Weather forecasts are not yet issued, but no 

 doubt the meteorological authorities will be glad to make good 

 «se of the opportunities offered. The charts are published in 

 a new paper entitled liolelin Telegrd/ico. 



In the current number of the Jieviie Ginlrale des Sciences, 

 there is an interesting note on ceramic novelties, recording 

 results of experiments promoted by the Society for the En- 

 couragement of National Industry towards the solution of cer- 

 tain problems of pressing importance in the pottery industry. 

 Under the title of "Atelier de Glatigny, Etudes et Notes 

 No I, Imprimeries Cerfa \'ersailles," M. Glatigny, a practical 

 potter of repute, sets forth the lines of scientific and artistic 

 thought that have found expression in his work. There is no 

 attempt made to deduce general rules applicable to every 

 branch of the trade, but a faithful record of actual experiments 

 definitely and rigorously carried out. In a word, it is the 

 record of an attempt to replace empiricism by careful scientific 

 work, and as such it ought to be of especial service in this 

 country, where ruleof-thumb still holds absolute sway. The 

 chief points treated are : the influence of the atmosphere of the 

 kiln on the colours produced by well-known colouring oxides ; 

 the influence of different ingredients on the dilatibility of body 

 and glaze — a matter of the utmost importance to English 

 potters, as one of the chief faults of their wares, the crazing 

 of the glaze, is profoundly influenced by these factors ; and, 

 finally, the production of certain new pastes of the porcelain 

 and stoneware type by the addition of substances such as 

 powdered glass, oxide of zinc, magnesia, A:c., to the substances 

 commonly used for pottery pastes. One longs for the time 

 when English potters shall publish the results of their labours 

 in this way. 



A liEi'tiTA I'lON of representatives from the Decimal Associ- 

 ation, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and 

 trade unions, waited upon Mr. Ritchie on Wednesday, March 

 NO. 1535. VOL. 59] 



22, at the House of Commons to urge upon the Government 

 the compulsory adoption of the metric system of weights and 

 measures on January i, 1901. Several of the delegates described 

 the advantages which metric system possesses, reference being 

 made to the great waste of time involved in teaching our 

 complicated system of arithmetic, and the loss of trade resulting 

 from the use of a system not understood by other nations. 

 In reply, Mr. Ritchie expressed himself in agreement with the 

 arguments in favour of the metric system, but stated that his 

 own view, and that of his colleagues, was that chaos and con- 

 fusion would be created by the compulsory adoption of the 

 metric system in this country, and it would be practically im- 

 possible to carry out a compulsory law on the subject. They 

 had not only passed a law two years ago to make the metric 

 system legal, but they had also added to their Board of Trade 

 standards the standards for the metric system, and only seven- 

 teen of the whole of the local authorities in the country had 

 come to verify their standards. It would be much better, if the 

 chambers of commerce desired this system to be compulsory, 

 that they should endeavour to popularise the system by putting 

 it in practice. Certainly it would be an immense advantage to 

 our export trade, and now that our merchants and manufacturers 

 were alive to the disadvantages of the non-adoption of the new- 

 system they should do something in the way of adopting it. 

 He had been in communication with other Government depart- 

 ments with the view of having it adopted compulsorily, and it 

 was now under consideration. 



Dr. Martin Ficker, in a paper communicated to the 

 Zeilschrift fiir Hygiene, describes an elaborate series of invest- 

 igations he has made on some of the conditions affecting the 

 vitality of certain pathogenic bacteria, especially those of 

 cholera in artificial surroundings. To the student this paper is 

 of importance, inasmuch as it at once indicates the spirit in 

 which bacteriological research should be approached, and the 

 pitfalls which beset the path of the unwary at every turn. The 

 sense of dissatisfaction which surrounds a good deal of the 

 work done with bacteria is due to the discrepancy which occurs 

 in the results chronicled by different authors, and sometimes by 

 one and the same author in the same subject. These dis- 

 crepancies Dr. Ficker has sought to diminish in the future by 

 pointing out some at least of the sources of error in such work, 

 by calling attention to the importance of f.iclors which are only 

 too frequently overlooked. The memoir covers over seventy 

 pages, and it is impossible to deal here with the numerous minute 

 details which have been investigated by the author. Perhaps 

 the most novel and interesting of the questions discussed is the 

 influence exercised on b.acteria by glass of different kinds in the 

 vessels employed for their observation, a subject already dealt 

 with in other connections by various investigators. As regards 

 thedegreeof alkalinity imparted to water by glass of different 

 origin, very wide divergence has been observed ; and inasmuch 

 as some bacteria, and notably those of cholera, are favourably 

 affected by the alkalinity of their surroundings, this factor would 

 certainly appear to he of importance. Various samples of glass 

 were investigated in this connection, and marked dift'erences 

 were noted in the behaviour of cholera germs suspended in water 

 in vessels of so-called Jena and other glass. Dr. Ficker's paper 

 serves to emphasise once more how what superficially may 

 appear to be inconsiderable trifles in detail, may be of supreme 

 importance in determining the successful or otherwise manage- 

 ment of bacteria. 



The stability of motion of a bicycle is a problem of the 

 greatest interest, both practical and mathematical, which has 

 too long remained unattacked. We are glad to see that Mr. F. 

 J. W. Whipple, of Trinity College, Cambridge, has at last 

 investigated this problem, and has been successful in obtaining 



