Sept. 5, 1872] 



NATURE 



375 



with the nearness of the land, so that here the tempera- 

 ture of the sea rises with its depth, and the axis of warmth 

 of the Gulf Stream is moved away from the coast towards 

 the open sea. Taking the form of the Gulf Stream as that 

 of its surfaces having the same temperature— isothermal 

 surfaces — we can compare it with the shape of one of the 

 small boats called prams, which are broadest at the stern, 

 deeper in the centre than behind, and possessing a some- 

 vvh It rounded stem. The stern of this Gulf Stream pram 

 is formed by a vertical section from Iceland to Scotland ; 

 the longitudinal section forms the axis of warmth, running 

 along the coast of Norway. The side nearest the Polar 

 Ocean (the larboard side) is much more considerable than 

 the starboard side, which leans against the Norwegian 

 coast. In summer the starboard side is pushed quite 

 close to the Norwegian coast, and hangs strongly over, 

 while the larboard side is perpendicular, or only slightly 

 inclined outward ; the keel near Spitzbergen sitting deep 

 in the wa'er. In winter the starboard side is thirty (geog.) 

 miles broad, and has in the parts lying nearest to the 

 coast sides strongly inclining inward, while the strata in 

 the centre and those bordering on the Polar Ocean rise 

 nearly perpendicularly, the ke;l in the fore part raising 

 itself almost into the position of the stem, which ends in 

 the same point as that formed by the isotherms of the sur- 

 face at this season. Generally this aspect is only pre- 

 sented by the part of the sea which lies westward from 

 Norway and partly from Spitzbergen. 



The warm waters of the Novaja Semlja Sea are like a 

 wedge placed horizontally, with its base between Spitz- 

 bergen and Norway, and its horizontal sharp edge turned 

 towards the north and east. 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA 



■\^E are glad to notice the progress of Science in 

 ^ » Victoria as exhibited by the address of the Presi- 

 dent, Mr. EUery, on the occasion of the annual coiivc'r- 

 sdohvw held on July 8. We reprint the following extracts 

 from the Argus of the following day :— 



" We have now entered upon our fifteenth session, and 

 as you have done me the great honour to again choose 

 me as your President, it devolves on me, in accordance 

 with our rules, to address you on the past year's history 

 and progress of the Society ; and also to call your atten- 

 tion to some of the more noteworthy facts which mark 

 the last year's history of general scientific progress. First, 

 then, in reference to our own business, I regret to have 

 once more to inform you that, since the last publication 

 of the Transaciions of the Society, the funds have not 

 been in a sufficiently flourishing condition to enable the 

 council to resume the printing. For many years past the 

 only revenue of the Society has been that derived from 

 entrance fees and subscriptions of members. From this 

 not only the current expenses but the interest on money 

 borrowed for carrying out the alterations and additions to 

 our Ijuildings has to be paid ; and although our income 

 will amply meet these demands if the annual subscrip- 

 tions of members are regularly paid, there has hitherto 

 b?cn an insufficient sum left to print our Transactions 

 without other aid. The Government have been solicited 

 for help every year since 1S67, when the last aid was 

 gran'.ed to us by Parliament. The council hope, however, 

 that this year their request will be acceded to. I am happy 

 to state, moreover, that (many arrears of subscription's 

 having been received of late) the financial condition of 

 the Society is just now better than it has been for years. 

 It is intended, therefore, at all events to at once print the 

 'Transaciions, and the council trust that they may be able 

 henceforward to publish promptly and regularly the pro- 

 ceedings of our meetings, which they will be quite able to 

 do if the Parliament resumes its small annual grant-in- 

 aid. Our last anniversary meeting was held on A-'g-nt 



14, 1S71. Since that time the Society has held eight 

 ordinary meetings. On September 1 1 a valuable paper 

 ' On Ocean Waves and their Action on Floating Bodies, 

 was contributed by Mr. Deverill. Mr. Macgeorge also 

 read a paper, contributed by Mr. Home, of Adelaide, 'On 

 a Linear Method of Finding the Stability of Ships;' and 

 Mr. Pain, on 'Aboriginal Art and its Decadence in Austral- 

 asia, Polynesia, and Oceanica.' The meeting of October 

 9 was occupied with Mr. Macgeorge's account of ' Changes 

 in rj Argus,' and Mr. G. Foord's 'Aerometer for Measur- 

 ing Specific Gravities.' On November 13, our next meet- 

 ing, the Rev. W. Kelly and Mr. Bosisto contributed papers, 

 the former on ' On a Method of Combining Marsh's Test 

 for Arsenic with Reinche's, so as to secure very reliable 

 results ;' the latter ' On the Cultivation of Mentha piperita 

 in \''ictoria.' On November 22 it will be remembered the 

 Australian Eclipse Expedition started from Melbourne. 

 Our next meeting was a special one held on January 22, 

 and was devoted to matters connected with the Eclipse 

 Expedition, and to the approaching elections of council 

 and office-bearers, which took place on our next meeting, 

 on March 1 1. In April Mr. Harrison read a paper ' On 

 Patents and their Utilisation.' Air. Caldwell contributed 

 one on ' Meat-preserving,' and Mr. P. F. Foord ' On Bi- 

 angular Co-ordinates.' On May 13, Mr. F. Poolman read 

 a description of his ' Self-Acting Safety Regulator and 

 Coal Economiser for Steam Engines,' and Mr. A. K. 

 Smith exhibited and described 'An Improved Valve for 

 the Fire Plugs in Water Pipes,' the object being to pre- 

 vent the entry of sewage water into the pipes when the 

 pressure was off— a thing that might occur with the 

 ordinary fire-plug valves. At our last meeting, on June 

 10, Mr. Macgeorge contributed the 'Results of Observa- 

 tions on Sirius and its Companions' with the great Mel- 

 bourne telescope. Mr. White exhibited some new five- 

 figure card logarithms which he had arranged, and 

 Mr. Gibbons read a fe>v 'Notes on M. Berthelot's Ana- 

 lysis of the Cranbourne Meteorite.'" 



After alluding to the reports received from the Austra- 

 Expedition for observing the total eclipse of Dec. 12, with 

 which our readers are already acquainted, the President 

 continued :— 



'■ I have but little of more than ordinary interest to re- 

 cord of the past year's history of our several science or 

 art institutions. The Technological Museum attached to 

 the Public Library has made considerable progress ; not 

 only have the Commissioners established classes of che- 

 mistry, mineralogy, and practical mining, but have orga- 

 nised evening courses of lectures on popularised science 

 and art. These have always been so well attended that 

 it is to be regretted that a larger lecture-room than the 

 one which was built for class teaching has not been 

 erected. The earlier courses of these lectures have been 

 printed and circulated by the Commissioners. They ap- 

 pear to have attracted considerable attention in England 

 and on the Continent, especially those by Baron von 

 Mueller on Forest CuUure, and the purely technological 

 series of Mr. George Foord. Prof Negri, president of 

 the Royal Geographical Society of Italy, in referring to 

 Baron von Mueller's lecture, said he wished the Italian 

 Government would have it translated into Italian and 

 circulated throughout the country. A telegraph class for 

 ladies has also been established in connection with the 

 museum, at which pupils are instructed in the manipula- 

 tion and ordinary use of the Morse telegraph instruments. 

 It is intended, I believe, to hold periodic examinations of 

 the pupils, and to grant certificates to such as prove them- 

 selves to be competent. The most recent step in the 

 right direction the Commissioners have taken is the ap- 

 pointment of a gentleman of undoubted ability to conduct 

 classes in geometry and mathematics. The additions 

 that have been made from time to time to our national 

 gallery of pictures now form a most valuable and beauti- 

 ful co'.Ic;tio.n, and it seems well adapted to fulfil o.ie of its 



