236 



NA TURE 



[July 6, 1905 



bodies for the location of the University College of South 

 Wales and Monmouthshire. In their memorial the cor- 

 poration of Cardiff promised that, in the event of Cardiff 

 being selected, they would make adequate provision for 

 the college. 



The address continued : — " How they recognised their 

 obligations is manifest by the noble site upon which we 

 now stand. Your Royal Highness, by your presence here 

 to-day, places the seal of your approval on the manner in 

 which the corporation has redeemed the pledge which I, 

 then as mayor, made in their name. We have had the 

 good fortune to secure the services of an architect whose 

 plans and designs have won the enthusiastic approval of 

 educational experts. By the contributions of the people of 

 South Wales and the splendid munificence of the 

 Worshipful Drapers' Company, we are now in a position 

 to build and maintain the arts, the administrative, and 

 the research departments of the college. Our treasurer, 

 to whom and to whose family we are so deeply indebted, 

 trusts that this ceremony will prove such a stimulus to the 

 patriotism of our people that the work now begun by 

 Your Royal Highness will not cease until the whole scheme 

 is completed." 



During the course of his reply, the Prince of Wales 

 remarked : — " As Chancellor of the University of Wales 

 I am delighted to take part in this important ceremony 

 and to lay the foundation-stone of the first block of what 

 is hoped will some day grow into a building beautiful and 

 dignified in design, complete and practical in its equip- 

 ments. I congratulate you and all here present to-day in 

 the proud fact that it is the liberality of the people of 

 South Wales and Monmouthshire that makes it now 

 possible to carry out a portion of the great scheme for the 

 establishment in Cardiff of buildings worthy of their 

 University College and worthy of the conception of its 

 founders. I further note with great satisfaction that one 

 of the largest of the London city companies has shown a 

 practical sympathy in this great undertaking, and that the 

 library buildings, one of the most important features in 

 any college, will be the gift of the Worshipful Company 

 of Drapers." 



.\fter referring to the fact that the site of the new 

 buildings was formerly a monastic centre of learning, 

 renowned at home and abroad. His Royal Highness con- 

 tinued : — " The new teaching and training differs in 

 character from that which in the past rendered her colleges 

 famous, for the Welsh people have determined that their 

 university education shall be compatible with the modern 

 wants of a new world. Its promoters and its authorities 

 have recognised that this university should not exist merely 

 for the purpose of the literary or the academic life, but 

 should place itself in touch with and try to serve every 

 form of intellectual activity, and to-day Cardiff is a con- 

 stituent of the university, for under the charter the town 

 council appoints two members of the university court, and 

 by a standing ordinance of the town council the mayor is 

 ex officio one of the members. So our university is by 

 its constitution interwoven more closely perhaps than any 

 other with the national life of the country; and this is 

 no mere sentiment on the part of the people of Cardiff, 

 for they have not only given this site for the college, but 

 also presented to the university itself another site in this 

 park and 6oooi. for the erection of its registry." 



The University College at Cardiff was founded in 1883 

 and incorporated in 1884, and is the largest of the three 

 colleges constituting the University of Wales. It began 

 with 150 students. In 1893 the number had increased to 

 347. and in 1903 to 647. Since its foundation the college 

 has been housed in temporary quarters which used to be 

 the premises of the Cardiff Infirmary. In 1895 the 

 Government promised a grant of ao.oooZ. on condition that 

 an equal amount was raised from private sources, and this 

 was done. Then the Drapers' Company offered lo.oool., 

 which has subsequently been increased to i5,oooJ. The 

 town gave the site, and altogether 132,000/. has been con- 

 tributed. The total cost of the new buildings is estimated 

 at 290,800!., so that about 159,000!. is still required. 



The conferring of degrees took place later in the day, 

 and among the recipients of honours was Sir John 

 Williams, upon whom the honorary D.Sc. was conferred. 

 NO. 1862, VOL. 721 



i T//£ LIEGE MIXING AND METALLURGICAL 

 I CONGRESS. 



AT the International Congress of Mining, Metallurgy, 



-^^^ Mechanics, and Applied Geology held at Li6ge on June 25 



I <o July i> of which a brief report was published in Nature 



I last week, numerous papers of great scientific interest were 



j read. 



In the geological section an important paper on the con- 

 tinuation of the Saarbriicken Coal-measures into the 

 territory of Lorraine and of France was submitted by Mr. 

 B. Schulz-Briesen (Diisseldorf). In recent years numerous 

 coal discoveries have been made in the Sa'arbriicken field 

 by the Prussian Government in an area that had been 

 untouched up to the end of the last century, the beds of 

 quicksand above the coal having proved aii obstacle. In 

 French Lorraine coal was discovered last year at a depth 

 of 650 metres. A map accompanying the author's paper 

 indicated the coal-bearing area that has been proved, and 

 showed the vast economic importance of the discovery. 

 The genesis of metalliferous deposits and of eruptive rocks 

 formed the subject of a paper by Mr. Paul F. Chalon 

 (Paris). He summed up the matter in the following 

 rules :— primary metalliferous deposits are not met with 

 in stratified rocks that are not traversed by eruptive or 

 igneous rocks ; rocks with a fragmental structure contain 

 more metalliferous deposits than compact rocks ; in ex- 

 tended areas traversed by eruptive rocks the deposits are 

 never regularly or irregularly distributed, but are con- 

 centrated at one or more centres ; metamorphic rocks 

 indicating the vicinity of eruptive rocks are favourable 

 for prospecting, particularly in mountainous districts. 

 The geological structure of the mining district of 

 Iglesias, in Sardinia, was described by Mr. G. Merlo. 

 The district is one of considerable economic importance, 

 there being 117 mines in operation, and the value of the 

 mineral output is more than 21 million francs annually. 

 The principal deposits are veins of galena and blende, aiid 

 contact deposits of galena and calamine. The Palseozoic 

 beds of the district are, in descending order, as follows : — 

 (i) .Monteponi sandstone; (2) Gonnesa schist of Silurian 

 ''ge ; (3) Cambrian sandstone ; (4) metalliferous limestone ; 

 (5) Malacalzetta slates. There are thus three horizons of 

 the Cambrian system. The mineral deposits of the banks 

 of the Meuse and of the east of the province of Li^ge were 

 described by Mr. G. Lespineux. He showed that these 

 calamine masses, like those of the Moresnet district, are 

 not the results of erosion of mineral veins, but were formed 

 in their present condition. The deposit of cinnabar at 

 Monte Amiatia, in Tuscany, was described by Mr. V. 

 Spirek. The deposits occur exclusively in serpentine, and 

 were divided by the author into four classes. 



In the metallurgical section the papers read were mostly 

 of a practical character. Mr. Hadfield gave a summary 

 of his researches on the effect of the temperature of liquid 

 air on the properties of steel. Mr. F. Jottrand described 

 a method of cutting metals by a jet of oxygen. The 

 oxyhydrogen blowpipe is directed against the portion to 

 be cut, and heats it to whiteness. The hydrogen is then 

 turned off, and a rapid current of pure oxygen cuts the 

 metal. In practice two blowpipes are used simultaneously, 

 one for heating and one for cutting. The double blowpipe 

 moves at a velocity of 20 centimetres per minute in cutting 

 a steel plate 15 mm. in thickness. The metal is cut almost 

 as cleanly as with a saw. The width of the slit is not 

 more than 2 mm. for plates 15 mm. thick, and is only 

 3 mm. for plates 100 mm. thick. In order to cut a plate 

 15 mm. thick there is required per metre cut 540 litres of 

 hydrogen and 540 litres of o.xygen, the operation lasting 

 five minutes. Tubes and curved sections can also be cut. 

 Mr. H. Hennebutte described the use of coal poor in 

 agglutinating materials for the manufacture of coke. Mr. 

 E. Bian gave an account of the methods of cleaning blast- 

 furnace gases. Mr. P. Delville read a paper on the 

 influence of titanium on iron and steel. The manufacture 

 of blast-furnace slag cement was dealt with by Prof. H. 

 Wedding and by Mr. C. de Schwarz. .Mr. P. Acker de- 

 scribed the new modifications of the open-hearth steel 

 process. Mr. R. M. Daelen discussed the methods of 

 obviating " piping " in steel ingots. Electric steel-making 

 processes were dealt with by Mr. G. Gin and by Mr. R. 



