Feb 28, 1884] 



NA TURE 



41. 



duced to the Academy the Bell telephone, the Hughes 

 microphone, and the Edison phonograph. He wa5 very 

 prominently connected with the Electrical Exhibition at 

 Paris in 1881. From 1S81 until his death he_held the 

 editorship of the journal entitled La Liimil-rc Electrigiic, 

 which was founded by him, and to which he was an un- 

 ceasing contributor. Whether he was a great scientific 

 genius may be doubted, and whether in some matters he 

 did not assume the attitude of partisan rather than that 

 of historian is also perhaps open to debate ; but none 

 can deny that he had by his diligence and talents won 

 himself a very important place in the ranks of science. 

 The ?(i/t- of scientific journalist may be Slid to have almost 

 been created by him, and he was always anxious to main- 

 tain the dignity of science and to advance the interests of 

 scientific workers. It would be difficult to fill up the void 

 left by his sudden decease. 



NOTES 



M. Fave read to the Academy of Sciences, on Monday, a 

 report drawn up by the Academical Committee appointed to 

 prepare for the election of the three French delegates to the 

 Meridian Congress of Washington. The Committee, whose 

 conclusions have been adopted by the Academy, declines to take 

 any final step, and will ask the Minister to appoi it a certain 

 number of delegates of several pnblic administrations in order to 

 deliberate in common with them and give final advice. 



The Committee appointed by the Academy of Sciences to 

 report on the proposal to sell the Paris Observatory grounds, has 

 held its first meeting. M. Wolff, Member of the Section of 

 Astronomy, read a note, which will be printed, opposing the 

 scheme. He said, inter alia, that the Government had con- 

 structed an Observatory at Meudon, which was almost complete, 

 and that he was certain that M. Janssen, the present director, 

 would lend his instruments and grounds to any astronomer 

 w i hing to execute special work which could not be executed in 

 the interior of Paris. M. Janssen, who was present, said that 

 he should be most happy to comply with any wish expressed by a 

 competent observer, the Observatory not being his private 

 property, Imt belonging to the Government. 



The Meteorological Observatory of Sentis, in the Canton of 

 Appenzell, Switzerland, at a height of 8091^ feet was established 

 in August 18S2, and the reg-jlar observations began with Sep- 

 tember I of that year. This observatory, which, from its posi- 

 tion and height, is par excellence the high-level meteorological 

 station of Switzerland, is maintained at an annual cost of 6ooo 

 francs, raised jointly by the four neighbouring cantons, the 

 learned societies, and the Alpine Club of S .vitzerland, and is 

 further subsidised by 1000 francs from the national grant for 

 meteorology. A brief resume ai the results of the first year has 

 been received. The eye-observations are made five times daily ; 

 the results at these hours, however, are only given in full as 

 regards the force of the wind. These are of sime interest, as 

 .showing that, so far as regards the observing-hours, viz. 7 and 

 10 a.m. and i, 4, and 9 p.m., the mean diurnal f^rce of the 

 wind, for each of the twelve months beginning with August 

 18S2, is least at I p.m. We look forward with no small interest 

 to a fuller report than the one mw before us of the diurnal 

 results for each month of the barometric, therinometric, hygro- 

 metric, and rain observations from this invaluable addition 

 recently made to the high-level stations of Europe. 



A cuRlot;s tidal phenomenon took place on the morning of the 

 2lst inst. on the west coast of Englmd. The following communica- 

 tion (dated Feb. 21) to the Secretary, Meteorological Office, from 

 Ellis Roberts, Trinily Buoy Keeper, Aberdovey, contains the lead- 

 ing circumstances connected with the occurrence :—" Afternoon 



of the 20th (civil time), it blew strong (6 to 7) from south- 

 southwest and southwest, increasing towards midnight to very 

 heavy gale (force in the squalls, 10 to II) with heavy rain. I 

 retired at II. Barometer at 29-31, falling. I cannot say when 

 it moderated, but at 6 a.m. the sky was beautifully clear, wdth 

 moderate breeze about west (force 3 to 4). The time of high 

 water for this bar, by the Liverpool almanacs, this morning tide 

 would be 2h. 3300., but from some observations that I have made 

 for eighteen months that I have been living here, the time of 

 high water in the river off the village would be about 3h. 5m. 

 to 3h. lom. I wish to make this remark on account of the 

 times the phenomenon took place. About 6.30, or near half 

 ebb, I noticed the barometer had risen to 29-34 or -35, with 

 beautiful, fine, clear sky ; moderate breeze (about 3) from west- 

 south-west, but the stream nearly slack when it ought to have 

 been running ebb about two knots ; very heavy sea on the bar. 

 At 6.50 the vessels were fairly swung to the flood, which 

 was running about I to li knot, and the water was fast 

 rising. At 8-15 water again nearly slack, with light breeze 

 (about 2) from south to south-south-east ; very fine, but clouds 

 beginning to form in the south-west and west. At 8.30 the 

 water was falling ; at 9, water falling very fast, ebb running 

 2\ to 3 knots ; at 10.45, water beginning to rise for the natural 

 tide. As there is no gauge for the rise and fall at this place, I 

 cannot give the correct rising and fanin;j, but I will give them 

 according to the best of my judgment. The afternoon tide of 

 the 20th \i-as noticed to be very low, much lower than could be 

 expected from the state of the wind and weather. But this morn- 

 ing's tide rose fully six feet above the ordinary level, or nearly 

 to the height of the tides at full and change, with the moon's 

 parallax 59' to 60' (this tide had fallen as usu.al, or rather more 

 rapidly, up to nearly half ebb). I cannot exactly say how much 

 the water had risen before I noticed it, but the unnatural tide 

 rose after I noticed it over 2 feet 6 inches ; and from 8. 30 to 

 10.15 't^^ same had fallen over 6 feet, although the wind had 

 shifted to the westward, with passing showers and hard squalls. 

 Barometer all the time very steady at 29-34 or '35. Now, 

 4 p.m., it is slack water, ships lying head to wind, but a lower 

 tide than any that I recollect in this river with the wind as strong 

 from the westward. I have heard it reported that there was 

 heavy thunder and lightning in the neighbourhood, but I neither 

 saw nor heard any." Similar occurrences are reported from the 

 Dee, near Chester, and from the Mersey. 



The Second Teyler Society of Haarlem offers a gold medal 

 of the value of 400 florins for a critical study of all that has been 

 said for and against spontaneous generation, especially during 

 the last twenty-five years. The competition is international, and 

 further details may be obtained by applying to "La Maison de 

 la Fondation du fea M. P. Teyler van der Hulst, Haarlem." 



We are asked to state that a society calling itself the "Society 

 of Arts, Letters, and Science," has no connection whatever with 

 the Society of Arts. 



The old Sorbonne and College Louis-le-Graud in P,aris will 

 soon be demolished, to be reconstructed on a larger aod more 

 magnificent scale. The same measure is to be applied to the 

 College de France. All this part of the Litin Quarter will be 

 quite remodeled, and will in a few years be unrecognisable. 



The Municipal Council of Paris has passed a resolution to 

 exhibit, in each of the twenty town halls of that city, the meteo- 

 rological notices issued every day by the French Office. 



Professor Milne of Japan has just made a new move in the 

 direction of investigating seismic phenomena. He has made 

 preparations for the establishment at Takashima, near Nagasaki, 

 of an underground or catachthonic observatory. The workings 

 in the coalmine at that place not only extend beneath the island 



