May 20, 1886] 
NATURE 
59 
of its compounds, from Prof. Winkler, of Freiberg, 
brought by Dr. Hugo Miller. These were :— 
(1) Metallic germanium ; (2) germanium monosulphide, GeS ; 
(3) germanium disulphide, GeS,; (4) crystallised germanium, 
obtained by the action of hydrogen on germanium sulphide. 
Germanium is claimed to be the ekasilicium predicted 
by Mendeléeff in his periodic law. 
Mendeléeft’s ekasilicium Germanium 
Sp. Gr. ... -.. + 55 5469 
Atom. weight ... 72 72°75 
PAT OMURVAliesce c--35, 0S 33 
Mr. G. J. Symons exhibited a small pocket thermo- 
meter as constructed by Immisch. This thermometer is 
actuated by a minute Bourdon tube. It is shaped likea 
watch, is water-tight, and nearly unbreakable. 
A terrestrial globe showing magnetic meridians for the 
epoch 1880, and general distribution of the secular change 
of the declination, made for the Hydrographic Depart- 
ment of the Admiralty, was exhibited by Staff-Com- 
mander Creak, R.N. The approximate positions of the 
foci of greatest secular change of the declination and 
vertical force—except for the Arctic and Antarctic zones 
—are also shown. A consideration of these foci shows the 
general angular motion of the north or marked end of a 
freely suspended needle as regards secular change. 
The fact that our space is nearly exhausted, although 
we have only referred to about one-half of the exhibits, 
well indicates the care taken to make the soz7ée a success. 
In conclusion we refer as briefly as possible to some of 
the remainder :— 
Jordan’s photographic sunshine-recorder, with specimens of 
observations, exhibited by Mr. J. B. Jordan, of the Mineral 
Statistics Branch, Home Office. 
Original geological map of the Orange Free State, and section 
of part of Cape Colony, by the late G. W. Stow (unpublished), 
exhibited by Prof. Rupert Jones, F.R.S. 
Specimens of daily synchronous charts of the North Atlantic 
for the period of thirteen months, from August 1882 to August 
1883 inclusive, now in the course of preparation by the Meteoro- 
logical Office, exhibited by the Meteorological Council. The 
specimens show the meteorology of the North Atlantic on three 
summer and on three winter days. 
New and interesting plants, exhibited by the Director of the 
Royal Gardens, Kew. 
Nolls’ apparatus for demonstrating secondary growth in thick- 
ness of stems ; Hopfe’s Collectiones Phytomicrotomicz, exhibited 
by Prof. Bayley Balfour, F.R.S. 
Collection of stone-headed arms, implements, &c., from New 
Guinea, exhibited by Mr. H. B. Brady, F.R.S. 
Diagrammatic sections showing the geological structure and 
physical features of parts of Arabia Petraea, and Palestine, 
exhibited by Prof. Edward Hull, F.R.S., Director of the Geo- 
logical Survey of Ireland: (1) from the sea-coast at Askalan by 
Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley at Jericho ; (2) from the table- ; 
land of Southern Judzea—across the Dead Sea to the Plains of 
Moab ; (3) from the Gulf of Suez, near Tor, by the Mountains 
of Sinai, to the Plateau of Badiet et Tih 
Apparatus for measuring the luminosity of leaves, invented 
and exhibited by Dr. Gorham, to show that the white light 
reflected from leaves can be measured in cev/s. of a circle by the 
novel use of a gray vig, and that by putting this luminosity in 
the form of an equation its equivalents in colour are discovered, 
which, when placed in sectors on a circular disk and rapidly 
ro'ated on a wheel, are seen to match the colour of the leaf from 
which the luminosity has been originally reflected. 
Specimens of miners’ electric lamp, invented and exhibited by 
Mr. Swan. 
Dr. Sohlberg’s celestial globe of glass; Dr. Schmidt’s tel- 
lurium ; cosmographic clocks for showing universal time ; con- 
toured map of the English Lake District, constructed by Mr. 
Jordan; enlarged original photographs taken by Mr. Joseph 
Thomson in his recent journey up the Niger ; replica of Frank- 
fort globe, of date 1520; two large diagrams—(1) Roraima, 
British Guiana, by Mr. Im Thurn, (2) a similar formation in the 
north of Brazil, by Mr. Wells; collection of minerals from 
summit of Mount Roraima, exhibited by the Royal Geographical 
Society. 
NOTES 
Ir is with much regret that we announce the death of Surgeon- 
Major T. Lewis, Medical Staff, Assistant Professor of Pathology 
in the Army Medical School at Netley. Within the last few 
weeks the Council of the Royal Society decided to recommend 
Dr. Lewis for their Fellowship, in recognition of the import- 
ance of his various contributions to science. Dr. Lewis had 
only just reached the forty-fifth year of his age at the time of his 
death. 
THE death is announced of Dr. E. Linnemann, Professor of 
Chemistry at Prague, which occurred on April 27. Among his 
papers a letter was found addressed to the Vienna Academy of 
Sciences containing a communication on anew chemical metallic 
element called austrium (Aus). This new element was prepared 
by the late Prof. Linnemann from orthite of arendal. The 
spectrum of austrium shows two violet lines ; the wave-lengths 
were found to be, for Aus a, A = 416°5, and for Aus B, A = 40370. 
According to a note made by Prof. F. Lippich, of Prague, who 
communicated Prof. Linnemann’s letter last week to the Vienna 
Academy, three not yet identified lines—A = 415°56, A=416'08, 
and A = 416°47—are shown in Angstrém’s atlas of the normal 
spectrum of the sun in the neighbourhood of the Aus a line ; 
the last of them might be supposed coincident with the Aus a 
line (A = 416°5). 
M. CHEVREUL, who on August 31 will be a centenarian, was 
on Monday afternoon presented by his colleagues of the 
Academy of Sciences with a bronze bust of himself, executed by 
Paul Dubois. Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, one of the senior 
members—his age being 73—made the presentation, and warmly 
complimented M. Chevreul on his long and distinguished career, 
which made France proud of him and of herself. M. Chevreul, 
who was much affected, made a brief acknowledgment of the 
honour done him. 
THE Swedish Academy of Sciences celebrated its centenary 
on April 5 last, having been founded by Gustavus III. on the 
eve of the French revolution. 
Tu paper to be read at the ordinary meeting of the Society 
of Arts on May 26 will be ‘‘The Purification of Water by 
Agitation with Iron, and Sand Filtration,” by William Ander- 
son, M.Inst.C.E. On Tuesday, May 25, a paper on ‘* Cyprus 
since the British Occupation,” will be read by G. Gordon Hake, 
before the Foreign and Colonial Section. In the Indian Section, 
Capt. Richard Carnac Temple’s paper on ‘‘ Every-day Life of 
Indian Women, as Revealed in their own Sayings,” will be 
read on May 21. 
WILLIAM LANDSBOROUGH, whose name is known in connec- 
tion with Australian exploration, died at Caloundra, near Bris- 
bane, on March 15. His father was a Scottish naturalist of 
note. Having gone to Australia, Landsborough in 1860 dis- 
covered the head of the Thompson River, and in the following 
year traced the Gregory and Herbert Rivers to their sources. 
He then undertook to lead the expedition in search of Burke 
and Wills, and traversed the continent from the Gulf of Car- 
pentaria to Melbourne. Subsequently he was appointed to a 
post in the public service of Queensland, and was voted 2000/. 
for his explorations in that colony. 
A TELEGRAM from Catania of May 18 states that Mount Etna 
had been in eruption since rr o’clock that morning. A very 
active dis-harge of vapour and cinders was proceeding from the 
western side of the central crater. 
WE are glad to learn of the formation of a Natural History 
Society at Yokohama. The marvel is that so long a time has 
been allowed to elapse before such a society was founded there 
or in Tokio, for probably there are no communities in the world 
in which the proportion of men of science is so high as here. 
But no doubt the local Asiatic Societies and the Seismological 
