May 27, 18S0] 



NATURE 



87 



Among the names mentioned for the honour of D.C. L. at the 

 approaching Oxford Enccenia is that of Prof. Sylvester. 



We regret to announce the death of Dr. Richard Biedermann, 

 editor of the Ceiitralblatt fiir Agricultur-Chcmit. He died at 

 Leipzig on May 10, at the early age of thirty-seven years. 



It is a fact worth noting that M. Chevreul, who is now in bis 

 oinety-fiftli year, has begun his course on Chemistry at the Paris 

 Museum of Naturalllistory, with as much;apparent zest and 

 energy as he did fifty years ago wlien he first entered on his 

 duties of that chair. The programme of his course, Les Mondcs 

 informs us, is beautifully and firmly written in his own hand. 

 Notwithstanding bis approach to the centenary, he still looks 

 young and fresh. 



A CORRESPONDENT, writing from Cherry Hill, Arnold, near 

 Nottingham, informs us that he brought home from the Geisberg, 

 in the autumn of 1S77, a few specimens of the Edelweis, which 

 lie planted amongst some rock-plants in his pleasure-grounds 

 situated on an eminence. It disappeared gi-adually altogether 

 until last spring, when it came out to perfection. Towards the 

 autumn he lost sight of it again, but a fortnight since signs of its 

 reappearance were so developed that no doubt exists of its full 

 growth, and in greater perfection than ever. 



The two first parts of a new botanical work by Dr. Dodel- 

 Port, of Zurich, have just been published by Herr Cresar Schmidt 

 of that city. The title of the work is " lUustrirtes Pflanzen- 

 leben," and it promises to become one of unusual interest. In 

 part I the lower fungi are described in a popular manner. The 

 author undertakes to popularise the results hitherto attained 

 in our knowledge of putrefaction- and contagion-fungi. He 

 •describes their forms, their size, and their manner of propaga, 

 tion ; introduces the reader to their mode of life, and points out 

 the danger arising to the human race from these minule organisms. 

 The description is accompanied by two excellent plates, in one of 

 which we recognise a reproduction on a small scale of a plate from 

 the same author's famous "Atlas der Botanik fur Iloch und 

 Mittelschulen." Another chapter treats of miasma and contagions, 

 -and gives a complete account of the present state of our know, 

 ledge of infection-fungi. Part 2 is devoted to carnivorous 

 plants, and is even more generally interesting perhaps than the 

 first. The work is profusely illustrated with the author's original 

 drawings. Altogether it is sure to form a very welcome and 

 valuable addition to botanical literature. 



The death is announced of Dr. J. G. Mulder, Professor of 

 Chemistry at Utrecht University. Dr. Mulder's name was well 

 known in the scientific world ; he died at the age of seventy- 

 seven years. 



The Iron and Steel Institute holds its autumn meeting this 

 year at Diisseldorf, by invitation of the German iron trade, on 

 August 25 and four following days. An extremely interesting 

 programme of excursions and meetings has been arranged. 



An interesting Report on the Meteorology of the Italian 

 Mountains has been presented by the Rev. Prof. F. Denza to 

 the International Congress of Alpine Clubs at Geneva. It 

 appears that observations are regularly made at 113 mountain 

 stations, the names, elevation, and geographical position of 

 which are given in the report. Some of these stations, from their 

 altitude and position, are of the greatest importance for the 

 study of meteorology in the higher regions of the atmosphere. 

 Three of them are specially worthy of notice, viz., Stelvio(2,543 

 metres), Valdobbia (2,548 metres), and Piccolo S. Bernardo. 

 All stations are provided with good instruments, and meteoro- 

 logical observations are taken at some stations every three hours 

 from 6 a.m. yntil 9 p.m. The results of the observations are 

 carefully printed and circulated by Prof. Denza. 



A General Meeting of the Mineralogical Society of Great 

 Britain and Ireland will be held at the Meteorological Office, 

 116, Victoria Street, London, S.W., on Tuesday evening, June 

 I. The chair will be taken by Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 

 vice-president, at 8 p.m. The following papers will be read : — 

 "JOn a New Face on Crj'stals of Stilbite, from Scotland and 

 Western Australia, " by the president ; " On a Portable Chemical 

 Cabinet for Quantitative Work," by A. E. Arnold (communicated 

 by J. H. Collins) ; "On Kaolinite and Kaolin," by J. H. CoUins. 

 Other communications intended to be read at this meeting should 

 be sent to J. H. Collins, Hon. Sec, care of Mr. R. H. Scott, at 

 the above address. 



The Society of Telegraph Engineers have done valuable 

 service to science by publishing the "Catalogue of Books and 

 Papers relating to Electricity, Magnetism, the Electric Telegraph, 

 &c., including the Ronalds Library," compiled by the late Sir 

 Francis Ronalds, F.R.S. Some idea of the extent and value of 

 this catalogue may be obtained from the fact that it occupies 

 560 pages. The work of editing has been carefully and 

 judiciously done by Mr. A. J. Frost, who has prepared a useful 

 memoir of Sir Francis Ronalds. The Catalogue contains 13,000 

 entries, though we regret that, by the conditions of the trust, the 

 Society wete not permitted to bring it up to date. They wiU, 

 however, we are glad to learn, at no distant date, publish a 

 supplement to the Catalogue, which will remedy this defect. 

 The two together will form an invaluable reference-book in the 

 subjects included in it. 



In reference to a note in Nature, vol. xxi. p. 525, taken 

 from the Journal of Applied Science, on the composition of the 

 well-known Vevey cigars, Messrs. Grant, Chambers and Co., ot 

 Fenchurch Street, send us a letter from Ormond and Co., of 

 Geneva, the manufacturers, in which they state that if such cigars 

 exist as we referred to, "it can only be with the object of 

 fraudulently taking advantage of the name of the goods we 

 make, which have enjoyed an increasing reputation for more 

 than thirty years past. The Vevey cigars manufactured by U5 

 are composed entirely of selected North and South American 

 tobaccos, without any mixture or adulteration whatever." 



A new scientific paper now appears at Leipzig every three 

 weeks. It is called Centraheilung fiir Optik tind Mechanik. 

 Dr. O. Schneider is the editor. The avowed object of the paper 

 is to report on the progress in the manufacture of scientific 

 instruments and apparatus, and in the scientific domain where 

 such instruments and apparatus are employed. 



A PROPOSAL has been set on foot for lighting the Sheldonian 

 Theatre, Oxford, and the Camera of the Radcliffe Library with 

 the electric light. In a circular addressed to the curators of the 

 Theatre and of the Bodleian Library and to the visitors of the 

 Ashmolean Museum by those interested in the question, it is 

 stated that it has long been regretted by many members of the 

 University that the Sheldonian Theatre is not available in the 

 evening for any purposes of public interest, however great, for 

 want of lighting. The neighbourhood of the Bodleian Library 

 has, however, been a bar to any proposal for lighting by means 

 of gas or any ordinary method. The care with %vhich the heat- 

 ing apparatus of the Theatre has been inclosed within a fire-proof 

 chamber is sufficient evidence' of the importance attached byjhe 

 curators of the Theatre to absolute security in this respect. Th« 

 development of the electric light has now rendered it possible to 

 illuminate public rooms by a process absolutely free from danger 

 of fire. It has been adopted largely in the reading-rooms of 

 our public libraries, and notably in the reading-room of the 

 British Museum. The security is absolute and unquestionable, 

 provided that the motive power is external to the building : the 

 boon to readers in such reading-rooms is enormous. After dis- 



