March ii, i8S6] 



NATURE 



449 



The Stockpoit people have a pleasantly hearty way of testi- 

 fying their appreciation of the services of scientific men. A 

 series of popular science lectures has been given this winter 

 under the auspices of the local Society of Naturalists and the 

 directors of the Mechanics' Institution. The fourth of the series 

 was on " The Life of Pasteur," and on the conclusion of the 

 lecture it was proposed from the body of the hall that an 

 address of thanks should be sent to the illustrious Frenchman. 

 In accordance with the resolution an illuminated memorial has 

 been prepared for transmission to M. Pasteur. 



M. Chevreul has so far recovered that he has been able to 

 walk out in spite of the low temperature prevailing in Paris. 



Sir John Lubbock has been appointed Rede Lecturer to 

 the University of Cambridge for the ensuing year. 



M. CORNU, member of the Paris Academy of Sciences and 

 Professor in the Polytechnic School, has been appointed a 

 member of the Bureau des Longitudes. 



The Council of the St. Petersburg University has awarded 

 Prof. P. A. Tlienkoff's premium of 500 roubles to Prof. P. T. 

 Brounoff of the same University for his work on " The Laws of 

 the Movement of Cyclones and Anticyclones, especially in 

 Russia." For the next year's competition the same premium is 

 offered for the best work on the Compositce of European 

 Russia. 



The late Dr. Davidson had a world-wide reputation as one of 

 the most eminent of British palaeontologists, and freely gave his 

 life-long services for the advancement of science. He also ren- 

 dered, for a series of years, great and valuable services to 

 Brighton ; chief amongst which may be mentioned the arrange- 

 ment of the Brighton Free Museum in its present locale, tlie 

 presentation to it of a fine series of volcanic products, and of his 

 collection of rocks and fossils from the Paris Basin — one that is 

 unique of its kind and of very great value because it was obtained 

 whilst the fortifications of Paris were being constructed, an 

 exceptional circumstance not likely to recur ; in addition to 

 these the late Dr. Davidson acted as Chairman of the Museum 

 Committee for several years, and filled that office at the date of 

 his de.ath. Whilst holding this position his attention to and 

 care over the best interests of that institution were unremitting, 

 and he was always ready, at his own expense, to purchase speci- 

 mens for the public benefit, whenever he thought it desirable to 

 fill up gaps in any series in the museum, on behalf of which his 

 scientific influence was always freely exercised. It is felt that 

 such disinterested and valuable services should be permanently 

 commemorated in the museum in which Dr. Davidson laboured 

 so assiduously and which he loved so well. With this end in 

 view, the Mayor of Brighton, Mr. E. J. Reeves, on behalf of 

 the members of the Pavilion Committee of the Town Cotincil, 

 and of the Museum, Fine Arts, and Library Committees, invites 

 his fellow-townsmen and Dr. Davidson's personal and scientific 

 friends to contribute towards the raising of a fund to be devoted 

 to the placing in the museum of a memorial to the late Dr. 

 Davidson. 



The Royal Meteorological Society's Exhibition of Barometers 

 will be held at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 25, Great 

 George Street, Westminster, on Tuesday and Wednesday next. 

 The E.xhibition will be a most interesting one, as a large number 

 of various forms of barometer have been brought together, many 

 of them being of great value, and some being the only specimens 

 known to exist. At the meeting of the Society on Wednesday 

 evening, the President, Mr. \V. Ellis, will give an historical 

 account of the barometer. Any persons, not Fellows, wishing 

 to visit the Exhibition or to attend the meeting, can obtain 

 tickets on application to the Assistant Secretary, Mr. W. 

 Marriott, 30, Great George Street, S.W. 



Of the three colleges — Columbia, Harvard, and University 

 of Pennsylvania — that received the benefit of the Tyndall Fund, 

 Columbia has been the first to act, we learn from Science. Her 

 trustees have recently drawn up a series of regulations in regard 

 to the John Tyndall Fellowship. The Fellow, who is to be 

 appointed on the recommendation of the President and Pro- 

 fessors in tlie Scientific Department, must pursue a course of 

 study and research in experimental physics for the term of one 

 year, and he may be reappointed. The first incumbent of the 

 Fellowship is Michael Pupin, who graduated at Columbia in 

 1883 with honours, and has since his graduation been studying 

 mathematics and physics at Cambridge, England. 



M. GuERAULT, the well-known electrician and secretary of 

 the Lumiere Electiiquc, has died, at the age of forty, from con- 

 sumption. He was well known in England, where he stayed 

 during some years to learn engineering. 



A VERY interesting entomological conference took place 

 recently at Odessa ; it was organised by the Zemstvos of nearly 

 all the southern provinces of Russia. It appears from the 

 reports read by the respective representatives, that nearly all the 

 southern districts of Russia suffer more or less from different 

 obnoxious insects and other animals, but principally from the 

 Hessian fly and marmots. The latter are especially destructive to 

 the corn-fields, and the Zemstvos found themselves compelled to 

 encourage the extermination of the plague by offering a reward 

 of from one to three kopeks (one to three farthings) for each 

 animal killed. During the year 1885 alone the Zemstvo of 

 Kherson thus paid ovr 100,000 roubles, this sum corresponding 

 to 6,600,000 animals killed, while in 1883 over 2,000,000 of 

 these animals had been killed. 



Mr. Westwood Oliver, with the assistance of Messrs. 

 E. W. Maunder, F.R.A.S., W. F. Denning, F.R.A.S., T. E. 

 Espin, F.R.A.S., A. Cowper Ranyard, F.R.A.S., T. Gwyn 

 Elger, F.R.A.S., J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S., J. Rand Capron, 

 F.R.A.S., Howard Grubb, F.R.S., F.R.A.S., W. S. Franks, 

 F.R.A.S., T. W. Backhouse, F.R.A.S., and other well-known 

 observers, has in preparation a practical manual of " Astro- 

 nomical Work for Amateurs," the aim of which is to help the 

 possessors of limited instrumental means to turn their attention 

 to astronomical researches of real scientific utility, special atten- 

 tion being directed to the comparatively new fields of spectro- 

 scopy and celestial photography. The book will be published 

 by Messrs. Longmans and Co. Mr. Oliver invites suggestions 

 from practical workers, which may be sent to him at Loch- 

 winnoch, Scotland. 



We have received Parts I. and II. of "British Petrography, 

 a Description of the Ordinary Rocks of the British Isles," by 

 J. J. Harris Teall, F.G.S. The publishers are Watson Brothers 

 and Douglas, Birmingham. 



On March 15, 22, and 29, Prof. Bonney lectures at the 

 London Institution on the "Making of Mountains. " 



The Arago Laboratory created by M. de Lacaze-Duthiers in 

 France is attracting much attention on the Continent. This 

 laboratory serves as a counterpart to that formed at Roscoff, 

 and is performing an excellent work. It is constructed in such 

 a manner as to be capable of resisting excessive heat, which 

 always militates considerably against the operations carried on 

 at this and all similar laboratories. 



The artificial reproduction of the sole is being energetically 

 carried on in France, where a laboratory was established so 

 far back as 1881 by Dr. Joussett of Belleyme especially for this 

 purpose. Since that time the ova of the sole have been regu- 

 larly incubated with success, notwithstanding the numerous 

 difficulties attending the process. 



