496 



NA TURE 



[September 13, 1006 



}iOTES. 



The jubilee of the coal-tar industry will be celebrated in 

 America next month, and Sir William Perkin, F.R.S., the 

 discoverer of " mauve," will leave England on September 22 

 for New York to receive a public tribute from Americans 

 for the services he has rendered to chemical industry and 

 science. At a public meeting held last May, the com- 

 mittee submitted the following programme : — (i) To invite 

 Sir (then Dr.) W. H. Perkin to be present at the American 

 celebration as the guest of the Americans, the date of the 

 event to be October 6 (subject to the approval of Sir William 

 Perkin), and to consist of a banquet and symposium on 

 the coal-tar industry ; (2) the presentation to Sir William 

 Perkin of a personal token ; (3) the foundation of a Perkin 

 medal, to be awarded annually to an American chemist 

 for distinguished work in applied chemistry ; (4) the estab- 

 lishment of a nucleus of a fund at the Chemists' Club in 

 New York City for a reference and circulating library 

 covering the entire field of theoretical and applied chem- 

 istry, which is to be in charge of a salaried librarian, and 

 to contain duplicate sets, one of them to be used for 

 circulation among American chemists. A sum of at least 

 50,000 dollars was estimated as necessary to place the 

 library on a permanent basis. It is also expected that a 

 substantial contribution will be made to the international 

 fund in London. The American committee includes the 

 names of about 150 of the leading scientific and public men 

 in the United States. 



We notice with deep regret the announcement that Prof. 

 Ludwig Boltzmann, professor of theoretical physics in the 

 University of Vienna, died by his own hand at Duino a 

 few days ago. 



On October i Sir George Watt, C.I.E., reporter on 

 economic products to the Indian Government, will deliver 

 the opening address of the session at the School of Phar- 

 macy of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, and 

 the president of the society will present the Pereira medal. 



A Reuter message from Tiflis reports that the township 

 of Kwareli, covering an area of five kilometres in the dis- 

 trict of Telafif (Caucasus), has been almost entirely 

 destroyed by an avalanche of mud, sand, and stones from 

 the neighbouring mountain-side. Disasters of this nature 

 are of frequent occurrence in the Caucasian valleys. 



A MEETING of the German Astronomical Society opened 

 yesterday morning at Jena, and will continue in session 

 until Saturday. In addition to scientific business, visits 

 will be paid to the optical works of Zeiss and to Schott's 

 glassworks. The meeting of the German Association of 

 Naturalists and Physicians will open at Stuttgart on 

 September 16, so that members of the Astronomical Society 

 who propose to attend it will be able to leave Jena in 

 time to do so. 



The Government of Cape Colony has placed a sum upon 

 the Supplementary Estimates toward the expenses incurred 

 in carrying out investigations upon defects in ostrich 

 feathers, under the direction of Prof. J. E. Duerden, of 

 Rhodes University College, Grahamstown. A letter upon 

 the subject appeared in Nature of May 17 (p. 55). 



The famous engineering firm of Friedrich Krupp, Ltd., 

 of Essen, is contemplating the erection of a technico- 

 physical laboratory at a probable cost of 2,500,000 marks. 



Prof. Max Toepler, the inventor of the mercury pump 

 bearing his name, and professor of physics at the Technical 

 High School, Dresden, celebrated his seventieth birthday 

 on September 7. 



NO. 1924, VOL. 74] 



The Berlin municipal laboratories for the analysis of 

 foodstuffs will be ready shortly. On the first floor will be 

 the chemical and microscopical sections, in a hall on the 

 ground floor there will be a collection room for tests and 

 samples, while above the chemical and microscopical 

 sections there will be rooms for bacteriology, electrolytic 

 work, the hydrology bureau, and the library, with reading 

 room. A special outbuilding will be used for animal 

 examinations. 



Prof. Wilhelm Hittorf will shortly celebrate his golden 

 " Universitats-Jubilaum " in Miinster. In 1848 he was a 

 privatdocent at the then Miinster Akademie ; from 1852-6, 

 extraordinary professor of physics and chemistry ; and from 

 1856-1875, ordinary professor of both subjects, but since 

 the latter date he has only retained the professorship of 

 physics. His professorial colleagues are presenting him 

 with a marble bust of himself, by Herr Ruller, of Miinster. 

 Prof. Hittorf has presented 25,000 marks to the science 

 faculty for the purpose of furthering scientific work. 



An international congress for the study of the Polar 

 regions was opened on September 7 at the Palais des 

 Academies, Brussels, under the presidency of M. Beernaert, 

 Ministre d'Etat. The Times correspondent states that 

 among those present were Dr. Nordenskjold, M. Arctowski, 

 M. de Gerlache, Captain Scott, and Prince Buonaparte. 

 Baron de Favereau, the Belgian Minister for Foreign 

 Affairs, welcomed the delegates. A draft scheme for the 

 formation of an international Polar commission was 

 adopted on Tuesday. The primary aims of the commission 

 are to bring about closer relations among Polar explorers, 

 to coordinate scientific observations, and to assist Polar 

 enterprise, without, however, organising expeditions on its 

 own account. It was resolved to submit this scheme to 

 the approval of the respective Governments. At the final 

 meeting M. Charcot announced his intention of organising 

 a fresh expedition to the South Pole, and Dr. Nordenskjold 

 expressed a hope that Belgians would cooperate with the 

 French in this undertaking. 



The committee- of the Quekett Microscopical Club has 

 arranged for a series of demonstrations at 20 Hanover 

 Square, W., on " The Practical Use of the Microscope and 

 its Accessories," to be given from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the 

 third Friday in each month during the ensuing session. 

 The first will be on November 16, when Mr. H. F. Angus 

 will deal with axial substage illumination, including the 

 use of the plane and concave mirrors, substage con- 

 densers, and methods of centring the illuminant and of 

 obtaining critical illumination. At other demonstrations, 

 the order of which is not yet finally settled, the following 

 subjects, among others, will be considered : — substage non- 

 axial illumination, including oblique and dark ground 

 illumination ; the use of the micropolariscope ; various 

 methods of illuminating opaque objects ; the testing and 

 comparison of objectives ; and the employment of micro- 

 meters and finders. These demonstrations will be in addi- 

 tion to the " Gossip " meetings of the club, which are 

 held on the first Friday, and to the ordinary meetings, held 

 also on the third Friday of the month at 8 p.m. Further 

 particulars may be obtained from the hon. sec, Mr. A. 

 Earland, 31 Denmark Street, Watford, Herts. 



It is well known that during the last few years the 

 study of protozoa has made remarkable advances. It has 

 been shown that numerous protozoa play an important r6le 

 in human and animal diseases, and the unravelling of their 

 life-histories has been attempted by many workers with 

 enthusiasm and success. Among these workers no one 



