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NA TURE 



[November 2S, 1901 



On Monday evening M. Santos Dumont was entertained at 

 dinner by the Atro Club of the United Kingdom. The chair 

 was taken by Major-General Lord Dundonald, and among 

 the company present were the Urazilian Minister, Lord Suffield, 

 Sir Norman Lockyer, Colonel Templer, director of military 

 ballooning, SirJ. Crichton Hrownc, Prof. I). S. Capper, Colonel 

 R. E. B. Crompton, R.E., Sir V. Kennett-Barrington, Prof. 

 John Perry, Dr. Boverton Redwood, the Hon. C. S. Rolls 

 and Mr. R. W. Wallace. In acknowledging the toast of his 

 health, M. Santos Dumont said that he hoped in a few months' 

 time to make some trials with a dirigible air-ship above 

 London. 



An illustration of the way in which a disease present in one 

 species or r.ice in a mild form may produce most severe effects 

 when introduced into a region inhabited by another race, has 

 been sent to us by Prof. T. D. .\. Cockerell. It appears from 

 trustworthy reports that the natives of western Alaska are 

 rapidly disappearing from the effects of an epidemic of measles. 

 Dr. Moore, assistant surgeon of the United States quarantine 

 service, states that at least one-third of the native population at 

 Cape Prince of Wales, Nome, Port Clarence, St. Michael, 

 Kuskokwim, Unalaska, Pribyloff Islands, Nunivak Island and 

 St. Lawrence Island, and those along the Yukon River, have 

 suffered from the effects of the epidemic, which at first was 

 thought to be smallpox, but upon investigation proved to be 

 measles. The epidemic originated at Holy Cross in north- 

 eastern Siberia, and from that point it was carried to places 

 visited by whalers, and the whalers carried the disease to Alaska. 

 Dr. Moore reports the condition of the natives as being most 

 pitiable. 



A PAPER on " Fairies, Apparitions, Visions and Hallucina- 

 tions " was read by Sir Lauder Brunton at a meeting of the 

 Medico-Psychological Association last week. At the outset, 

 attention was directed to the fact that there is considerable 

 variation in the acuteness of the senses of different people. 

 Thus some persons perceive blue flames in the fire in winter 

 and some persons hear the shrieks of bats, whilst others are 

 sensible of neither. In the same way there are people who feel 

 things which others do not feel. Apparitions are probably due 

 to abnormal conditions of the apparatus required for the recep- 

 tion of external impressions. The vessels inside the brain may 

 be capable of contraction, like those outside, and in that case 

 there would be anttmia of parts of the brain and consequently 

 affections of vision, hearing, smell and taste. Epilepsy is 

 connected in the minds of psychologists with migraine. In 

 many people migraine is preceded by a vision of zigzags, rather 

 like a procession. A troop of spirits in this form appears in 

 Dorc's illustrations to the " Inferno." It was .suggested as not 

 unlikely that both Dante and Dore suffered from headache of 

 this kind. Stories of fairies might partly be referred to visions 

 as well as to the aboriginal race mentioned by Prof. Rhys. 

 Speaking of Mahomed, Sir L.auder Brunton described his 

 visions, trembling fits and convulsions, and said it was curious 

 to speculate how different might have been the course of the 

 world's history if the prophet had been thoroughly dosed with 

 bromide of potassium. 



SiK William Preece, K.C.B., F.R.S., covered a wide 

 field in the address which he delivered on November 20 at the 

 opening of the new session of the Society of Arts. He sur- 

 veyed the mo.st prominent points of scientific progress during 

 the nineteenth century, and from the trend of advancement 

 suggested some developments of the immediate future. The 

 great scientific discoveries of the past century dealt with in the 

 address were (i) the principle of evolution; (2) the atomic 

 structure of matter : (3) the existence of the xther and the un- 

 dulatory theory of light ; (4) the principles of electromagnetic 

 NO. 1674, VOL. 65] 



induction and electrolysis ; (5) the principle of the conservation 

 of energy. Limitations of space prevent us from printing the 

 address in full, but the following are a few extracts from it. 

 The trend of research at the commencement of the twentieth 

 century is to prove that the basis of all matter is fundamentally 

 the same, and that the true atom has not yet been reached. — 

 The criterion of true advance in knowledge is the possession of 

 standards and of means of accurate measurement. We com- 

 mence the twentieth century remarkably well equipped with 

 both these requisites. The engineer has only to lake care of 

 his "Joules," or units of energy, and his machines will take 

 care of themselves. — The only excuse for disaster due to mag- 

 netic disturbance is ignorance. The stars are always with us 

 for guidance and comparison. Magnetic .science must be main- 

 tained by well-equipped laboratories, by continuous observa- 

 tions, by the distribution of reports and by up-to-date records 

 and corrections of charts. We seem to have learnt all we can 

 of magnetism, and we commence the twentieth century without 

 any indication of a new directing force. We have local mag- 

 netic disturbing elements to measure, and certain [dangers due 

 to storms, snow, rain and fog to remove. We want better 

 warning of approach to land, and better communication between 

 ship and ship and ship and shore. The twentieth century is 

 bound to see great developments in this direction. In conclu- 

 sion. Sir William Preece remarked: — "I hope that I have 

 succeeded in showing that progress in all branches of life is due 

 to certain motive causes working on the principle of evolution ; 

 that these causes are within the reach of our observation ; and 

 that they have only to be discovered, so that, by their en- 

 couragement, we may secure, during the coming century, 

 greater and further advances in civilisation and knowledge." 



Mr. Langdon, in his presidential address to the Institution 

 of Electrical Engineers on Thursday last, dealt with the appli- 

 cations of electricity in railway engineering. Although in so 

 doing he passed to a large extent over the same ground as he 

 covered in his paper on the supersession of the steam by the 

 electric locomotive in November 1900, he treated the subject 

 from a more general and less technical standpoint. Hitherto 

 electricity has played a small, but indispensable, part in the 

 working of steam railways, for telephone, telegraph and lighting 

 purposes ; but Mr. Langdon realises that the problem of the 

 conversion of our steam railroads is one pressing for immediate 

 attention. The magnitude of the railway interests is so enormous 

 that it is necessary to give the question the most careful con- 

 sideration, or disastrous results may accrue. The reckless 

 investment of capital in electric railways to compete with existing 

 lines is not likely, Mr. Langdon points out, to be profitable for 

 shareholders in either concern, and he seems to deprecate* 

 competition of the kind foreshadowed by the projected new 

 electric railway between Manchester and Liverpool. It is, 

 however, for the railway companies themselves to show that 

 they are on the alert and are prepared to meet the growing 

 demands of the country ; for if the necessary reform does not 

 come speedily from within, it is they, we think, who will be 

 likely to suffer disaster. Electrical engineers have before them 

 a work compared with which their past achievements are but 

 trifling ; in carrying it out let them by all means go carefully, 

 but do not let them consider that synonymous with going slowly. 



Among the notes in The Engineer (November 22) a re- 

 markable motor-car performance i.s recorded. M. Kournier, the 

 well-known French motorist, drove a 40-horse-power petrol car 

 one mile in 51 J seconds, approximately 70 miles per hour. 

 The tract was a straight and level piece of road known as the 

 Ocean Parkway, New ^■ork. 



A PAPER of much interest on the balancing of locomotives 

 ha_s jusit been read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 



