378 
NATURE 
f AuGUST 14, 1902 
al. over the world had derived from Pasteur’s discoveries. 
Never has the saying ‘‘ genius is patience” been so truly 
proved as in the case of his life. In concluding, M. Trouillot 
said: ‘Pasteur’s native place shows itself worthy of his 
memory and faithful to his teachings when it affirms its faith 
in the definite triumph of the ideas of peace, unity and justice.” 
The Dole statue of Pasteur is by the well-known sculptor M. 
Carlés, and was shown at the Paris Salon of the Artistes Fran- 
cais this spring. Mme, Pasteur and various members of her 
family attended the ceremony, and in the evening they were 
present at a banquet given in honour of the event. 
A REUTER telegram from New York reports that a severe 
earthquake shock was felt at Skagway on Sunday last, 
August Io. 
Lioyp’s agent at Havre states that the steamer Homer, on 
arrival at that port, reported that on July 20, in latitude 0° 30’ 
north, longitude 29° 36’ west, she spoke the German four- 
master Chris/zne. Whilst speaking this vessel she felt a severe 
earthquake shock. The compasses all oscillated violently. This 
Jasted about 40 seconds. The German vessel also signalled the 
same experience. 
ON October 30, tg01, a strong earthquake felt in the neigh- 
bourhood of Lake Garda and especially at Salo gave an inter- 
esting record on the photographic tromometer at the Collegio 
della Querce in Florence. From the two component traces 
Father Melzi has drawn a diagram representing the resultant 
movement of the ground during the first forty seconds. For 
twenty-one seconds the oscillations took place chiefly along a 
line directed E. 37° 34’ N. and W. 37° 34’ S. At the end. of 
this time the direction suddenly changed, through very nearly a 
right angle, to N. 54° 22’ W. and S, 54° 22’ E. The cause of 
the change is unknown, but, from the long interval that elapsed, 
it was clearly unconnected with the arrival of transverse 
vibrations. 
Dr. Hans Reuscu, director of the Geological Survey of 
Norway, has sent us a letter received by him from Dr. W. J. 
Branch, of Basse-Terre, St. Kitts, one of the Leeward Islands, 
containing an account of the effects observed there during the 
recent volcanic eruptions in Martinique and St. Vincent. The 
voleano Mount Misery, the highest point of the island, ex- 
nibited a few indications of sympathy with Mont Pelée and the 
Soufriére, but no remarkable effects were noticed at the time of 
the eruptions of these volcanoes. A fortnight after the destruc- 
tion of St. Pierre, however, a loud explosion was heard by 
labourers working on the side of Mount Misery ; flames seemed 
to leap out of the ground, and a strong wind swept by, over- 
turning two small houses. At the same time a heavy thunderstorm 
occurred, with vivid lightning flashes. Though the actions of 
Mont Pelée and the Soufricre are apparently in sympathy, Dr. 
Branch’s idea is ‘‘ that Mount Misery is more in league with the 
volcanoes of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Dominica and:St. Lucia. 
Their history in the past as well as in the present time seems to 
me to favour this idea.” 
Ir has long been known that unhygienic conditions favour 
the occurrence of the disease known as beri-beri, and it has 
been surmised that it isdependent upon defective food. Major 
Rost, I.M.S., claims to have discovered a bacillus in ferment- 
ing rice and rice-liquor which he believes to be the specific 
organism of this disease. It produces in fowls many of the 
symptoms resembling beri-beri in man. Moreover, fowls feed- 
ing upon fermenting rice develop similar symptoms. The 
disease is therefore ascribed to the use of fermenting rice and 
especially rice-liquor, to which beverage the coolies, who are 
the main sufferers, are much addicted. Children never, and 
women rarely, drink the rice-water liquor, and hence the in- 
NO. I71I, VOL. 66] 
frequency of the disease in these subjects. Interesting as 
Major Rost’s observations are, they do not throw much light 
on the remarkable outbreak of disease, believed to be beri-beri, 
at the Richmond Asylum, Dublin, some years ago, the cause of 
which has never been explained. (See Znd. Med. Gazette, July 
Igor and 1902). 
Aips to practical navigation, however small they may be, 
should always be welcome. In the “‘single-handed dividers” 
patented by Mr. F. Howard Collins and sold by Mr. J. D. 
Potter, an improvement has been made on the dividers ordin- 
arily in use for measuring distances on a chart. These new 
dividers are provided with two finger-holes, into which the thumb 
and forefinger can be inserted in a manner similar to that of using 
an ordinary pair of scissors, thus enabling the navigator to open 
and close them readily with one hand and giving a greater com- 
mand over the instrument. The joint, which is made a round 
ball, is also of a very good form for handling. This instrument 
is strongly made in German silver and is suitable for the ordinary 
service of a sea-going vessel. 
Pror. G. HELLMANN has published the fourteenth volume 
of his remarkable reproductions of notable old papers and 
charts relating to meteorology and terrestrial magnetism. The 
present work deals with meteorological optics during the years 
1000 to 1836, and is, as usual, accompanied by valuable biblio- 
graphical notes, the result of laborious researches which we 
think we may safely say have never been excelled and are 
possibly unequalled. Meteorological optics may be said to be a 
somewhat neglected branch of the science, and this renders the 
investigation the more welcome. The work contains four. 
important papers on the rainbow and allied phenomena, in- 
cluding the classical treatise of the late Sir G. B. Airy ‘*On 
the Intensity of Light in the Neighbourhood of a Caustic,” 
three papers on halo phenomena, with others on mirage, 
twilight, &c. For readers wishing to study the early history of 
the subject, the author gives references to the works of Kamtz, 
Clausius and the recent important contributions of Dr. Pernter. 
As one instance of Prof. Hellmann’s persistent researches, we 
may refer to the first of the papers now described, ‘‘ De 
Radialibus impressionibus” (1311), by Theodorich, a remark- 
able work on atmospheric phenomena, which was supposed to 
have been buried for 500 years and lost to science until it was 
published by Venturi, at Basle, in 1814; but Dr. Hellmann 
discovered that Theodorich’s theory was taught at the Erfurt 
University up to the beginning of the sixteenth century. At the 
present time only two copies of the original manuscript are 
known to exist, one at Basle and the other at Leipzig (the latter 
being not quite perfect). 
Tue Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies 
has just issued the following reports :—On the Botanic Station, 
Dominica, for the twenty months to the close of November, 
1900; and on the Agricultural School, for the year 1901. On 
the Experiment Stations at Montserrat, for the fourteen months 
to the close of March, 1901; and on the Botanic Station, 
Agricultural School and Land Settlement Scheme, St. Vincent, 
for the year 1901. The reports are generally of a favourable 
character, and show that much useful work was accomplished 
in the distribution of plants and seeds, in experimenting with 
new plants, &c., which may be introduced for profitable cultiva- 
tion, and so on. Details are given of the courses of practical 
instruction in the agricultural schools. The 1900 season in 
Dominica was a dry one, the rainfall of 57°75 inches being 
23°95 inches less than the average. In St. Vincent, 1901 was 
fairly wet, the rainfall of 125°69 inches being 12°43 inches above 
the average. It would considerably enhance the value of these 
West Indian reports if the Imperial Commissioner could arrange 
for each series issued to cover the same period throughout 
