August 30, 1906] 



NA TURE 



449 



appeared to take little active interest in minerals, and two 

 years later, in i860, the Allan-Greg collection was pur- 

 chased by the trustees of the British Museum. I-'or many 

 years afterwards he still devoted himself to the study of 

 meteorites, from both the astronomical and mineralogical 

 points of view, until paralysis of the legs rendered it diffi- 

 cult for him to move about. The " Manual " referred to 

 was published nearly half a century ago, and probably few 

 mineralogists will realise that one of the authors has died 

 so recently. 



The death of M. Alexandre Hcrzen, professor of physio- 

 logy in the University of Lausanne, and author of many 

 books dealing with physiology and allied subjects, is 

 announced in the Temps. 



Science announces the death of Prof. S. L. Penfield, 

 head of the department of mineralogy in the Shetlield 

 School of Yale University ; also of Mr. G. W. Lehmann, 

 chemist of the United States Government since 1878, and 

 chief chemist of the Baltimore Board of Health since 1896. 



The death is announced from Tangier of M. Georges 

 Salmon, leader of the French scientific mission to Morocco. 



A MOVEMENT has been set on foot in Germany to raise 

 a memorial fund for the benefit of the widow and children 

 of the late Dr. Schaudinn, and an English committee con- 

 sisting of Prof. Clifford Allbutt, F.R.S., Sir Michael 

 Foster. F.R.S., Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., Prof. 

 Ray Lankester, F.R.S., Sir Patrick Manson, F.R.S., Prof. 

 Osier, F.R.S., Mr. John Tweedy, and Prof. Sims Wood- 

 head has been formed to cooperate with the German pro- 

 moters of the scheme. Subscriptions may be paid to Mr. 

 .-^dam Sedgwick, F.R.S., treasurer of the fund, New 

 Museums, Cambridge, or direct to the Schaudinn Memorial 

 Fund at Messrs. Barclay and Co. 's Bank, Cambridge. 



A CONFERENCE of the International Geodetic Association 

 will be held in Budapest on September 20 next, when, 

 according to the 'Temps, the principal topics to be con- 

 siciered will be the accurate surveying of mountain chains 

 subject to earthquake, with a view to ascertaining whether 

 these chains are stable or whether they rise and sink, and 

 the taking of measures of gravity so as to throw light 

 upon the distribution of masses in the interior of the earth 

 and upon the rigidity of the earth's crust. The drawing 

 up of preliminary reports on these two questions has, says 

 our contemporary, been entrusted to M. Lallemand, director 

 of the general survey in France, and Sir George Darwin, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S. 



The King of the Belgians has shown his practical interest 

 in the study of sleeping sickness by offering a prize of 

 SoooL for the discovery of a remedy for the malady, and 

 by placing a credit of I2,oooi. in the Congo Estimates for 

 the purpose of prophylactic research ; he also recently re- 

 ceived representatives of the Liverpool School of Tropical 

 Medicine, and having heard their views as to the necessity 

 of preventing the further spread of the disease, asked the 

 school to submit to him a scheme of preventive measures. 

 The King bestowed the Order of Leopold upon Prof. 

 Ronald Ross, C.B., F.R.S. , Prof. Bovce, F.R.S., and 

 Dr. J. L. Todd. 



Further slight shocks of earthquake are reported from 

 \'alparaiso and Santiago ; slight shocks have also been felt 

 at Carcoar, twenty-five miles from Bathurst, New South 

 Wales. 



An earthquake shock is stated to have been felt at 

 5-55 '!■"■'■ on Monday last at Matlock and other parts of 

 NO. 1922, VOL. 74I 



Derbyshire. The shock, which was very slight, was 

 accompanied by a sound like distant thunder, and lasted 

 three or four seconds. 



The Wellman Polar Expedition has been abandoned for 

 the present, its leader having decided not to attempt the 

 voyage northward this year on account of defects in the 

 mechanical equipment of his airship. Mr. Wellman is to 

 return to Europe in the middle of next month, and will 

 leave a small party of men behind to guard the head- 

 quarters of the expedition. 



A Royal Commission has been appointed to inquire into 

 the lighthouse administration of the United Kingdom. The 

 terms of reference are : — " To inquire into the existing 

 system of management of the lights, buoys, and beacons 

 on the coast of the United Kingdom by the three general 

 lighthouse authorities, and as to the constitution and work- 

 ing of these authorities, and to report what changes, if 

 any, are desirable in the present arrangements." 



A Health, Electrical, and Gas Exhibition is to be held 

 at Portsmouth from November 5-27 next. 



The Latin-.\merican Medical Congress will be held at 

 Monte Video in January next. 



The fourth Portuguese Congress for the Prevention of 

 Tuberculosis will be held at Oporto from .Vpril 4-g of 

 next year. 



According to the Electrical Review, an international 

 competition has been organised by the Association des 

 Industriels de France for the invention of a primary cell 

 and a storage cell satisfying certain conditions. Both cells 

 are to develop the maximum power or contain the maxi- 

 mum energy possible per unit of weight and bulk, and 

 they must be free from risk of every description to the 

 users, easy of transport, installation, and maintenance. 

 The samples submitted must not weigh more than 20 kg. 

 Complete descriptions of the cells must be forwarded by 

 the competitors before the end of the present year to the 

 president of the association, 3 rue de Lut^ce, Paris, with 

 drawings, and the actual cells must reach the examiners 

 by April i, 1907. The prize money, amounting to 8000 

 francs, may be awarded as a lump sum or divided at the 

 discretion of the association. 



The Legislature of the Berne Canton has sanctioned the 

 project for the construction of a new trunk line — the 

 Lotschberg — with electricity as the motive power, which 

 will pass through the Bernese .Mps and connect at Brig 

 with the Simplon. The new line will be 56 kilometres in 

 length, of which 132 kilometres will be tunnel. It will 

 serve as the most direct means of communication between 

 northern Italy and the district lying to the north and north- 

 west of Switzerland, shorten the approach to the Simplon, 

 and compete with the Gothard tunnel railroad. The work, 

 which is to be begun at once, is estimated to require five 

 and a half years to complete. 



The Australian correspondent of the Lancet states that 

 the Federal Government has issued a proclamation prohibit- 

 ing the importation of the microbe of haemorrhagic 

 septicaemia, by which it was proposed to destroy the rabbit 

 pest, except upon the condition that the packages contain- 

 ing the microbes be handed unopened to the State bacterio- 

 logist of New South Wales, and retained by him unused 

 until the Minister gives permission to use them. Under the 

 Noxious Microbes .'\ct of igoo of New South Wales it will 

 also be necessary for the State Government to pass a 

 regulation sanctioning experiments before anything can be 



