August i6, 1906] 



NA TURE 



Ai CORDING to Ihc Hhclrical Review, the working of the 

 'liilric tramways on tlio overhead trolley system in the 

 ncij^hbourhood of Berlin, and of the electric haulage system 

 DM iho Tellow Canal, has interfered with the work of the 

 magnetic observatory at Totsdam, and in consequence the 

 Mi'leiirologiral Institute recently addressed a request to the 

 Mini-try for Home Affairs asking for sanction to establish 

 an auxiliary station for delicate magnetic registrations, 

 while at the same time ameliorating the protective regu- 

 lalions for the principal institute at Potsdam. The pro 

 liosal, it is stated, has now received the approval of th( 

 aiithoritics, and preparations have been made in regard li 

 ihe realisation of the scheme. It has been possible lo 

 secure a site eight miles lo the south of the Potsdam 

 Observatory, and on llir iiiiillirni b.uik of the Seddin Lake, 

 near Kunersdorf. I br' .xai i spot selected is in a wood, 

 .■md the cost of the building ,ind instruments is estimated 

 .It 2200I. In order that the work may be completed as 

 rapidly as possible, and without waiting for an estimate 

 to be Inserted in the next Budget statement, the Teltow 

 Canal Construction Hoard has advanced the necessary 

 funds unconditionally. 



TlIK Canadian Governmint is still further extending ibi' 

 organisation of Marconi stations which it has established 

 for communication with ships and from point to point 

 .-ilong the coast. One of the new stations is to be at 

 T'ather Point and one at .Seven Islands, in the Province of 

 Oiiebec. The station at Cape Race, in Newfoundland, is 

 Iving enlarged. When the two new stations are completed, 

 ihere will be a continuous Mai'coni system from Quebec 

 lo I,abr:tdor on the one side and to Cape R.ace on the 



OlbcT. 



I I is slated in S<i,-iu,- thai llie Indiana I'niversily has 

 had gr.interi lo it by ihe legislature of the -State the 

 nianagi-mcnt <if .1 tract of timber land of 182 acres, on 

 which are ihc openings to extensive caves and the richest 

 blind-fish localities known. The l"niversity is in search 

 of a graduate able and willing to conduct research work 

 DO cave animals for twelve months, beginning on 

 Spptemb'T t next. 



.\ I'KKi.iMiN.Miv report of Ihe archaological mission which 

 went lo Abyssinia last spring has been received by Ihe 

 Berlin Academy of -Sciences. The mission, the intention 

 of which was to explore the ruins of the ancient city of 

 Aksum, has made, it is stated, a plan of the site, collated 

 ■nscriptions already known, and copied others discovered 

 in Ihe course of its researches; it has also accumulated 

 information of great interest from an architectural as well 

 ,is from an ethnical point of view. 



.\n exhibition of india-rubber is to be held next month 

 in Ihe Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Cevlon, the 

 nbject being to encourage further the growth of rubber in 

 Ihe island. It is thought that both Ceylon and the Malay 

 States may soon become important sources of supply of 

 rubber. 



Tim fifth biennial congress of the International Com- 

 mittee on .Aeronautics will be held ,it Milan under the 

 presidency of .M. Palazzo in September next. 



The sixteenth meeting of the Italian Congress of Internal 

 .Medicine will take place in Rome in October next. The 

 subjects proposed for discussion are : — arterio-sclerosis ; 

 fevers resembling typhoid and Malta fever; and arthritism. 

 .\ report on the progress in diagnosis will be presented by 

 Prof. Ferrannini, of Naples, and one on advances in ihera- 

 peutics by Prof. Michelazzi, of Pisa. 

 NO. 1920 VOL. 74] 



-An International .Maritime ICxhibiiion, in celebration of 

 a century of steam navigation, is being organised under 

 the auspices of the League Maritime Fran<,-aise. It will be 

 opened in Bordeaux on May i next, and remain open until 

 the following November. A section will be devoted to 

 colonial products which are intimately connected with the 

 commerce of Bordeaux, and there will be pavilions devoted 

 to ocean geography, nautical automobilism, and aerial 

 navigation. Congresses, competitions, and lectures on 

 maritime affairs, science, art, industry, &c., arc being 

 arranged for. The exhibition will be divided into the 

 following groups: — marine history and fine arts; instruc- 

 tion; charts and instruments; navigation and commerce; 

 navy ; materials for construction ; motor machines and pro- 

 pellers ; fittings and apparalus ; automobile navigation and 

 boats of all types ; aeronautics ; port and harbour works ; 

 sea and river fishing; hygiene, salvage, and sports; ship's 

 provisions, food ; various industries : interior decoration of 

 passenger steamers and yachts; mariners' and passengers' 

 clothing, sporting attire; special furniture for passengers' 

 steamers and yachts, &c. ; travelling articles, &c. ; com- 

 mercial rel.alions of Bordeaux with Ihe colonies; social 

 economy ; and nork- of mulu.ality and cli.arity. 



Tin; fourteenth meeting of the International Congress of 

 Hygiene and Demography will be held in Berlin froin 

 September 23 to September 20 of next year. The congress 

 will be divided into eight sections, devoted to the follow- 

 ing subjects : — hygienic microbiology and parasilologv : 

 hygiene of nutrition and hygienic physiology ; hygiene of 

 childhood and school life; indu.strial hygiene: the preven- 

 tion of infectious diseases and the cure of patients suffer- 

 ing therefrom ; hygiene of the dwelling and Ihe community ; 

 hygiene of traffic; military, colonial, and marine hvgiene ; 

 and demography. The general secretary of the congress is 

 Dr. Nietner, o Kichhornstrasse, Berlin, W. 



-AccoRDi.xc, to the Pioneer Mail. Allahabad, the pro- 

 grammes of work of the various Indian .scientific depart- 

 ments for 1906-7 have been issued by the Board of Scientific 

 .\dvice. Our contemporary states that the principal 

 questions to be taken up by the director of the Imperial 

 Institute and reporter of economic products are the pro- 

 duce of Ficiis claslica and the developments of rubber 

 planting in India, tanning extracts from barks, the 

 improved preparation of agave fibre, and manganese ores. 

 The Meteorological Department will undertake the prepar- 

 ation of an atlas showing the normal monthly conditions 

 for the Indian Ocean, and the study of Ihe upper atmo- 

 sphere by kites and balloons, and of atmospheric eledricitv 

 and earthquakes. The Survey Department, it is proposed, 

 shall compile a paper summarising the geographical posi- 

 h'on of our knowledge of the Himalayas and Tibet. The 

 Botanical Survey will conduct economic investigations re- 

 garding Indian cottons and fibre-yielding plants. The 

 .Agricultural Department will investigate remedies for 

 injurious crop pests, and conduct investigations into the 

 improvement of cotton, wheat, tobacco, tea, indigo, and 

 jute. The Forest Department will examine tanning 

 extracts. 



Till! report of a subcommittee of the Board of Scientific 

 Advice on the consumption of mineral fertilisers in India 

 has been issued by the Government of India Revenue De- 

 partment. The director of the Geological .Survey having 

 reported on the possible consumption in India of sulphuric 

 acid, and the large supply of rich phosphate of lime on 

 Christmas Island, and the olTiciating inspector-general of 

 agriculture having directed attention to the scope for the 



