6l2 



NA TURE 



[April 30, u 



ounce trov. This is equivalent to 205-.5 milligrams. 

 The carat is an extremely ancient weight, of uncertain 

 origin so far as its present value is concerned, but it 

 would appear to be in some way connected with the 

 old standard of fineness for silver in England, viz., 

 10 oz. 2 dwt. of fine silver to the pound troy, this ratio 

 of fineness being equivalent to the quotient of 64 

 grains by 24 carats. 



In conclusion, it is pleasing to note the moderate 

 tone and invariable accuracy of statement which 

 characteri.se this report of Dr. Guillaume on a subject 

 which is often discussed in print with considerable 

 warmth. 



ATOTES. 



A COMMITTEE has been apfwinted for the purpose of erect- 

 ing a monument to Marcelin Berthelot by means of an 

 international subscription. The president of the committee 

 is M. Loubet, who is to be assisted, we learn from the 

 Revue scieniifique, by MM. Gaston Boissier, L(5on 

 Bourgeois, Darboux, and Levasseur. Donations may be 

 sent to M. Ch. Goudchaux, 16 rue Miromesnil. . 



Prof. R. A. S. Redmayne, professor of mining in the 

 University of Birmingham, has been appointed an In- 

 spector of Mines, under the Coal Mines Regulation Acts, 

 1887 to 1905, the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Acts, 

 1872 and 1875, and the Quarries Act, 1894, under the title 

 of " Chief Inspector of Mines." 



The death is announced, in his seventy-first year, of 

 Prof. Leopold Schrotter von Kristelli, professor of internal 

 medicine in the University of Vienna, and distinguished 

 for his work in the science of laryngology. 



The management of the Municipal Exhibition, which 

 will be opened at the Agricultural Hall on May i, has 

 arranged for an installation of Rontgen-ray apparatus in 

 a special building in the hall, and for demonstrations, illus- 

 trating its use, to be carried out at certain hours each 

 day. 



We learn from the British Medical Joiinial that the 

 Riberi prize, of the value of 800/., which is given every 

 five years by the Royal Academy of Medicine of Turin, 

 has been awarded to Prof. Bartolomeo Gosio, director of 

 the Laboratories of Public Health of the Italian Ministry 

 of the Interior, for his studies on the bio-reaction of 

 arsenic, selenium, and tellurium. 



A Bill has been passed by the Virginia Legislature 

 establishing a Virginia State Geological Survey. Accord- 

 ing to Science, the bureau is to have its headquarters at 

 the University of Virginia, and the board is to be com- 

 posed of the Governor (ex officio), the president of the Uni- 

 versity, the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 

 and two citizens. .An annual appropriation of 2000?. is 

 provided 



An interesting exhibit of photographs, instruments, and 

 other astronomical objects is now on view at Cardiff 

 Museum. It was arranged by the Astronomical Society 

 of Wales, and was opened by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff 

 on April 23. Much interest is being taken in the exhibi- 

 tion, which will remain open for some weeks. The Cardiff 

 City Council is now taking a commendable interest in the 

 furtherance of popular astronomy, maintaining an observa- 

 tory at Penylan Hill, which houses a 12-inch reflector. 

 This observatory is also a meteorological station of the 

 second class. 



.\n appeal is being made for subscriptions to a fund 

 for the widow and daughters of the late Mr. Gerald 



NO. 2009, VOL. 77] 



.Massey, whose literary works on subjects relating to myth, 

 religion, and Egyptology are known to many readers and 

 widely admired. A donation of 200/. has been received 

 from the Royal Bounty Fund, and friends of the family 

 have felt that this sum might form the nucleus of a fund 

 which would yield a small income. Subscriptions will be 

 received by Mr. James Robertson, 5 Granby Terrace, Hill- 

 head, Glasgow, Scotland, who will render an account to 

 all senders. 



A CORRESPONDENT asks for information or references in 

 regard to the deviation of 1 ivers caused by the rotational 

 velocity of the earth. Prof. G. A. J. Cole has kindly sent 

 the following answer to the inquiry : — " The effect of the 

 earth's rotation on the courses of rivers is regarded by 

 many geographers as distinctly noticeable. The deflec- 

 tion is to the right in the northern hemisphere, the bank 

 being, it is said, typically excavated on this side, while a 

 shoal is left upon the other. In any series of meanders, 

 therefore, those directed to the right side should tend to 

 become more pronounced than those directed to the left. 

 The reverse effects should occur in the southern hemisphere, 

 the left bank being here eroded. Babinet and E. von Baer 

 developed this theory in 1859 and i860 respectively. The 

 matter is discussed by G. K. Gilbert, American Journal 

 of Science, vol. xxvii. (1884), pp. 427-32, and A. C. 

 Baines, ibid., vol. xxviii., pp. 434-6, and excellently and 

 fully by A. Pcnck, ' Morphologic der Erdoberflache ' 

 (1894), vol. i., pp. 351-60, with numerous references and 

 examples ; a sketch is also given by I. C. Russell, ' Rivers 

 of North America,' Progressive Science Series (1898), pp. 

 39-43. F. Wahnschaffe, who has to deal with the great 

 rivers moving in loose materials over the Prussian plain, 

 throws doubt, like some other writers, upon the efficacy 

 of the earth's rotation in producing a noticeable divergence 

 by erosion (' Die Ursachen der Oberflachengestaltung des 

 norddeutschen Flachlandes,' 1901, p. 188)." 



The general type of weather was very wintry and un- 

 settled during the past week, and at many places in the 

 northern portion of the kingdom a lower minimum 

 temperature has occurred than has been previously recorded 

 in .April for about forty years, the shade readings ranging 

 from 18° to 22°. Much snow has also fallen in all parts 

 of the country. The report of the weather issued by the 

 Meteorological Office for the week ending April 25 shows 

 exceptional conditions for the time of year. The mean 

 temperature had a deficit of 10° in the east of Scotland 

 and in the Midland counties, and of about 9° in many 

 other parts of the kingdom. The absolute minima were 

 generally registered on April 24 or 25. At Balmoral the 

 sheltered thermometer fell to 10° on .April 24, whilst on 

 the grass the reading was as low as 4°. On April 25 the 

 highest reading throughout the day was 35°, at Oxford, 

 and 34°, at Cullompton and Buxton. Nearly all the pre- 

 cipitation took the form of sleet or snow, and the fall was 

 exceptionally heavy in the east and south of England. At 

 Oxford the gauge yielded 1-66 inches for the twenty-four 

 hours ending 8 a.m. on Sunday, the depth of snow being 

 16 inches, whilst at Southampton the depth was 14 inches, 

 and at Marlborough 1 1 inches. .At Bournemouth the snow 

 which fell for twelve hours during Friday night yielded 

 i'i3 inches of water, equal to about 11 inches of snow. 

 The snowstorm on our south coast on Saturday, April 25, 

 has been characterised as a blizzard. 



We welcome the formation of the Research Defence 

 Society, the object of which is to make known the facts 

 as to experiments on animals in this country. The society 

 was formed in January last, and already numbers more 



