May 9, 1872J 



NATURE 



29 



Dainih,-, Staffordshire, William Fairbairn, Pendragon, 

 Odalisk, and Paolo Revcllo, some of which suffered 

 severely. 



At 5 A.M. on the isth, the Staffo7-dshiri; in about 

 18^ 30' .S. and 61° E., was thrown on her beam ends, and 

 in great danger of foundering. The Williain Fairbaini, 

 a line iron vessel of 1,293 tons, lost all hcrmasts and sails, 

 and had her decks almost completely swept. On the 

 13th, in 19° 2' S., and 64° 40' E., she had a strong gale 

 from S.E., whichnncreascd to a hurricane. About 7 I'.M. 

 her barometer was at 2S70, and early on the 14th the 

 wind shifted from S.E. to N.W. The Paolo Rcvcllo, on 

 the 14th, in iS^ 8' S. and 61° 54' E., was completely_ gut- 

 ted. The captain's papers and log-book, cabin furniture, 

 &c., together witii the chief officer and nine men, were 

 washed overboard. 



From the logs hitherto received it appears that the storm 

 was formed between the S.E. trade-winds, and the N.W. 

 monsoon from the 7th to the gth. On the loth the centre 

 was in 13° 10' S. and 78° 30' E.; on the 12th in 15^ 6'S., 

 and 7i''34'E.; on the 14th in 17° 15' S., and 63° 28' E.; 

 on the i6th in 20° 7' S., and 55^ 50' E. ; and on the 

 1 8th in 22^ 15' S. and 51' 50' E. During the first 

 six days it travelled on a W.S.W. course, and then curved 

 a little towards the south. It passed about 165 miles north 

 of Rodrigues at noon on the i4ih, about 65 miles north 

 of Mauritius early on the i6th, and N.N.W., &c., of 

 Reunion from noon on the i6th to neon on the 17th. Its 

 average rate of progi-ession was nine miles an hour, and 

 the area over which the wind blew from strong breezes to 

 hurricane violence was about 800 miles. 



The fact that in this, as in other storms, the wind at 

 Mauritius did not veer more than twelve points, seems to 

 be explained by the incurving of the air towards the 

 centre. 



On the evening of the 15th, or morning of the i6th, 

 seventeen vessels put to sea from the roadsteads of 

 Reunion, and their fate is not yet known. If they held 

 to the N.W., with the wind from S.E., they probably got 

 into the heart of the storm. 



Charles Meldrum 

 Mauritius, March 8 



P.S. — The aurora seen here on the night of the 4th to 

 5th February, was also seen at sea by several vessels. 

 Here are extracts from their logs : — 



Olive Draiich in 27° 47' S. and 59° 48' E. — " At 10 p.m. 

 the sky became very red and fiery — southern lights." 



Abbotsford in yP 9' S. and 56° 10' E. — " Dull atmo- 

 sphere. Aurora australis reflecting brightly in the south, 

 giving light over all the ship. Clouds tinged with deep 

 red." 



Elizabeth in 20' 33' S. and 78' 3'E.— "At 10 p.m. 

 Aurora australis unusually bright." 



Gladiatciir in 30'' 32' S. and 57° 28' E.— " At 8 p.m. a 

 red and yellow and strange looking sky. Midnight, sky 

 the same." 



Pendragoii in 13° 43' S. and 84° 13'E.— "At midnight 

 very suspicious-looking weather to the S., the sky being 

 quite red." 



William Fairbairn in 32° 57' S. and 60° 2' E. — ''At 

 10 P.M. looking ugly, and meteorological signs of a hurri- 

 cane. Midnight same, and up till 3 A.M. when it cleared 

 off." 



Caton in 31° 31' S. and 108° 10' E.—" Midnight, red 

 sky, like fire to E.S.E." 



Ohjitdcr in 38'26'S. and 31° 53' E.— "From 7.3010 

 iy.30P.M. the sky was illuminated with a very brilliant 

 Aurora australis." 



There is little doubt that the suspicious-looking weather 

 to the S., seen by the Pcndragon in about 14° S., was 

 the aurora. Captain McKenzie of the W. Fairbairn re- 

 ports that his standard compass was affected to the ex- 

 tent of •,' of a point, and his other compass to the extent 

 of two to three points. C. M. 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN GLASGOW 

 UNIVERSITY 



THE Physical Laboratory of Glasgow University, which 

 till c|uite lately was the only one in this country, dates 

 from the year 1852. It was with difficulty that room could 

 be found for a laboratory of any kind in the old building ; 

 but in the new building, of which this is the second year 

 of habitation, considerable space has been set apart for 

 Experimental Natural Philosophy. 



At present six rooms belong to the department, ex- 

 clusive of the Professor's private sitting-room and the 

 store-rooms, and on the completion of the tov.er, which 

 is not yet finished, additional rooms will be devoted to it, 

 The whole suite of rooms is arranged so as to be in di- 

 rect communication with those of the professors of mathe- 

 matics, engineering, and astronomy. 



The chief lecture-room is 42ft. long by 35ft. broad, its 

 side windows look nearly north and south, and over the 

 lecture table there is a glass-covered turret, or louvre, the 

 top of which is 40ft. from the floor. The windows of 

 the room are completely darkened with the greatest ease 

 by means of double curtains of blue baize, an inner and an 

 outer curtain for each window, and these can be unfurled 

 and furled at a moment's notice ; two baize screens, one 

 below the other, are drawn across the l^ase of the louvre. 

 The room is ventilated, as are all the rooms in the new Uni- 

 versity building, on Mr. Phipson's plan. Pure air is drawn 

 down a shaft in the tower by fanners, which are worked by 

 a small steam engine. The air is passed through a dry 

 chamber, containing hot water pipes, and is then driven 

 mixed with any cjuantity of fresh cold air that may be 

 reciuired, into the class-room. It enters at the top of the 

 room, and the used air is drawn oU' through passages 

 below the floor. 



Benches are arranged for about 150 students. They 

 are not on a level, but rise at an angle of 25", and beneath 

 them there is a large convenient space, with shelves for 

 50 or more cells of Daniell's battery, which I shall describe 

 immediately. 



Of the other five rooms one is an additional lecture and 

 experiment room, one is the general laboratory, one is the 

 principal apparatus room and museum, and the remaining 

 two are used for storing apparatus and for occasional 

 experimenting. The laboratory is on the ground floor, 

 and is below the lecture-room, which is on the second 

 story. It is a room 52.1ft. long by 34ft. broad. It has 

 six windows, three looking north and three looking south, 

 and these can be darkened like those in the lecture-room 

 by means of drop curtains of baize. Three quarters of 

 the floor is wood, the remainder concrete, covered with 

 Portland cement ; but in order to get perfectly steady 

 tables, piers of masonry, built on the foundation, rise 

 through the floor, and on them the feet of the tables rest. 

 The flooring does not touch the piers at all, and thus, 

 however much the floor may shake, the table remains 

 comparatively steady. This arrangement gives far greater 

 steadiness than a complete stone floor. Besides these 

 piers there are two somewhat larger stone constructions, 

 which are also unconnected with the flooring ; one of 

 these is intended for a large steady table ; and on the 

 other there is a massive stone erection (Fig.i), on which is 

 to hang a pendulum for a clock, or for experiments on the 

 force of gravity. It is intended that the point of suspen- 

 sion of the pendulum shall be perfectly free from vibration. 

 Some of the tables are ordinary working tables On 

 others, instruments such as the electrometer and electro- 

 dynamorneter are set. Below the table there are frames 

 for supporting 500 cells of a constant Daniell's battery, 

 which were in use in the old college, and a great part of 

 which are now re-charged. 



In one corner of the room there is a wooden enclosure, 

 which is fitted up as a small chemical bench. The or- 

 dinary reagents and apparatus for chemical testing are 

 thus at hand. 



