August 31, 1905] 



NA TURE 



of the Old Testament with those of the Assyrian 

 monuments. Other astronomical works are:— "Die 

 astronomischen Angaben der assyrischen Keilin- 

 schriften " (Band xci., Kais. Akad. der Wissensch., 

 1885), " Un Annuaire astronomique babylonien utilise 

 par Ptolt^'mee {Joiirn. As., 1890), " Les Eclipses 

 mentionntes dans les Textes cun^iformes " (Zeitschr. 

 fiir Assyr., 1897), and many others of less import- 

 ance. One of his last works was a contribution to 

 chronology, entiled " L'Ann^e de Meton " {Rev. 

 des Etudes grecques, 1903). In his early days he 

 had been a g-reat champion of the genuineness of 

 cuneiform decipherment, when its opponents counted 

 among their ranks such great men as Renan and 

 many others. He was one of the historic four who, 

 at the invitation of the sceptics, produced a translation 

 of the cylinder of Tiglath-Pileser I., which was read 

 at a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society by the 

 president, and found to be substantially the same as 

 the translations of Rawlinson, Hincks, and Fox 

 Talbot, all of whom had bound themselves over not 

 to collabor.'ite or communicate with one another. 



NOTES. 



.\-\ the time of going to press, no message had been 

 received from Sir Norman Lockyer as to the eclipse observ- 

 ations at Pulma. The following telegram from the 

 Astronomer Royal had, however, reached the Royal 

 Society : — " Eclipse satisfactorily observed, but partially 

 cloudy. Photographs with all instruments." 



Prof. Ronald Ross informs us that the announcement 

 to the effect that he has proceeded to New Orleans with 

 Prof. Rubert Boyce, in connection with the outbreak of 

 yellow fever there, is without foundation. 



The sixteenth annual general meeting of the Institution 

 of Mining Engineers will be held at Manchester on 

 September 13-16. The following papers will be read, or 

 taken as read : — Leading features of the Lancashire coal- 

 field extended : J. Dickinson ; up-to-date electrical power 

 distribution : R. L. Gamlcn ; can explosions in coal-mines, 

 with their associated toxic fatalities, be prevented? B. H. 

 Thwaite ; earth in collieries, with special reference to the 

 recently issued departmental rules : S. F. Walker ; the 

 value of moUusca in Coal-measure stratigraphy : J. T. 

 Stobbs. 



The Local Government Board has issued a circular to 

 borough councils and other local authorities respecting 

 cerebro-spinal or " spotted " fever. This disease has 

 recently been somewhat prevalent in Central Europe and 

 in America, but the Board expresses the opinion that 

 there has been no increase of the disease in England. For 

 the guidance of local authorities the chief features of the 

 disease are detailed, and, should an outbreak occur, the 

 Board is prepared to advise the authority respecting it 

 and to sanction notification. 



During the past week the weather over the British 

 Islands has been very unsettled; on Thursday last, heavy 

 rain set in over many parts of Ireland, and continued 

 almost without interruption for about thirty-four hours. 

 The amounts measured during this period were 4- 17 inches 

 at Greystones, 4-33 inches at Dublin, 4-71 inches at Dun- 

 drum, and 5.09 inches at Bray, causing disastrous floods 

 in various parts of that country. At Little Bray, the 

 inmates of the lower-lying houses had to be rescued by 

 boats. Sharp thunderstorms occurred in London and other 

 parts on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, causing much 

 damage to property. .\i Leigh, in the neighbourhood of 

 NO. 1870, VOL. 72J 



Tonbridge, the trunk of an oak tree was torn in half, and 

 a man who was seeking shelter under it was killed. 

 During this period, rainfall has been considerable in all 

 parts of the British Islands; in the twenty-four hours 

 ending at 8h. a.m. on Tuesday, August 29, the amounts 

 at Oxford and Yarmouth exceeded an inch, and an inch 

 and a half was measured in the neighbourhood of London. 



The programme of the Iron and Steel Institute for the 

 meeting to be held at Sheffield on September 26-29 includes 

 the following list of papers :— Wear of steel rails on 

 bridges : T. Andrews, F.R.S. ; metallurgical department 

 of Sheflfield University: Prof. J. O. Arnold; thermal trans- 

 formation of carbon steels: Prof. J. O. Arnold and 

 A. McWilliam ; nature of troostite : Dr. Carl Benedicks ; 

 occurrence of copper, cobalt, and nickel in American pig- 

 irons : Prof. E. D. Campbell ; transformations of nickel 

 steels : L. Dumas ; on steel for motor-car construction, and 

 on vanadium steels: L. Guillet ; presence of greenish- 

 coloured markings in the fractured surface of test pieces : 

 Captain H. G. Howorth ; over-heated steel : A. W. 

 Richards and J. E. Stead, F.R.S. ; segregation in steel 

 ingots • B. Talbot ; manipulator for steel bars : D. Upton ; 

 influence of carbon on nickel and iron : G. B. Waterhouse. 



Attention is directed by the Engineering and Mining 

 Journal of New York to a new development in mining 

 which has not been generally noticed, namely, the work- 

 ing of alluvial tin deposits by dredging m the same 

 manner as that followed in the case of gold-bearing 

 gravel. In New South Wales the dredging for tin ore 

 has become an established practice. In 1904 there were 

 seven dredges in operation, which obtained 319 tons of 

 tin ore, valued at 26,000!. The successful development 

 of this' practice in New South Wales suggests that it 

 might possibly be applied with advantage in the Straits 

 Settlements and elsewhere. 



In a paper read before the Geological Society of 

 America. Mr. George P. Merrill described a large block 

 of massive serpentine traversed by veins of so-called 

 asbestos from Thetford, Canada, now exhibited at the 

 United States National Museum at Washington. In- 

 cidentally discussing the origin of the veins, he suggested 

 that the vein cavities are shrinkage cracks filled by a 

 process of crystallisation extending inward from either 

 wall, and compared the veins to the shrinkage cracks 

 formed in septarian nodules of clay ironstone, and their 

 filling with fibrous material to the crystallisation of fibrous 

 gypsum in limestone. 



An ordinance relating to lead works has just been 

 issued by the German Imperial Chancellor. The employ- 

 ment of women and lads in dust chambers and flues and 

 in the transport of the dust is prohibited. The workmen 

 employed at the furnaces may not work more than eight 

 hours a day. The same rule applies to the workmen 

 working inside cold furnaces or engaged in cleaning dust 

 chambers and flues containing wet dust. Workmen 

 engaged in cleaning dust chambers and flues containing 

 dry dust are not permitted to work more than four hours 

 a day inside such chambers and flues, and not more than 

 eight hours a day in all. Food must not be taken to the 

 working places. Working-suits, respirators, and gloves 

 must be worn. Smoking cigars and cigarettes during 

 work is forbidden. The rules will come into force on 

 January i, 1906. 



The most important paper in thi- Juno issue of the 

 Vrocccdings of the Philadelphia Academy is perhaps one 



