6i4 



NATURE 



\ April 2S, 1 88 1 



will be made on the afternoon of Saturday, September 3, and on 

 Thursday, September 8. 



The honorary degree of LL.D. has been conferred on tlie 

 following gentlemen by the University of Glasgow : — F. M. 

 Balfour, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Dr. 

 Angus Smith, F.R.S., Government Inspector of Alkali Works : 

 Prof. Richard Owen, C.B., F.R.S., Superintendent of Natural 

 History Collections of the British Muteum ; Andrew Buchanan, 

 M.D., Emeritijs Professor of Physiology in the University of 

 Glasgow. 



The honorary degree of LL.D. has been conferred by the 

 University of Edinburgh on Prof. A. \V. Williamson, of Uni- 

 versity College, London. 



It is intended to celebrate in Edinburgh the centenary of the 

 birthday of Sir David Brewster, on December 9, by a public 

 dinner. 



The annual meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute will be 

 held in London on IVTay 4, 5, and 6. On May 4 the Bessemer 

 Medal for 18S1 will be presented to Mr. William Menelaus, and 

 the president-elect (Mr. Josiah T. Smith) will deliver his inau- 

 gural address. The following is the list of \ apers to be read : — 

 On the Results of Experiments relative to Corrosion in Iron and 

 Steel, by Mr. WiDiam Parker of Lloyd's Registry, London ; On 

 the Maiiufacture of Armour Plates, by Mr. Alexander Wilsc^n, 

 Sheffield ; On the Manufacture of Steel and Steel Plates in 

 Russia, by Mr. Sergius Kern, St. Petersburg ; On the Use of 

 Steel for Shipbuilding, by Mr. William Denny, Dumbarton ; 

 On some Physical Properties of Cast Iron, by Mr. Charles 

 Markham, Staveley ; On the Desulphurisation of Iron, by M. 

 RoIIet, St. Chaujond, France ; On Iron and Steel Permanent 

 Way, by Mr. R. Price Williams, London; On Hydraulic Ap- 

 pliances for the Bessemer Process, by Mr. Michael Scott, 

 London ; On the Manufacture of Bessemer Steel and Steel Rails 

 in America, by Capt. Jones, Edgar Thomson Steel Works, 

 Pittsburg, U.S.A. ; On Hydrogen and Carbonic Oxide in Iron 

 and Steel, by Mr. John Parry, Ebbw Vale ; On the Preservation 

 of Iron and Steel Surfaces, by Mr. George Bower, St. Neots ; 

 On a new method for the determination of Oxygen in Iron and 

 Steel, by Mr. Alex. E. Tucker, Rhymney. 



During the Summer Term of the City and Guilds of London 

 Institute, commencing May 2, 1881, Prof. Armstrong, Ph.D., 

 F.R.S., and Prof. Ayrton, A.M., Inst.C.E., will continue their 

 tutorial and laboratory courses of instruction in chemistry and 

 physics as applied to the arts and manufactures, at the Cowper 

 Street Schools, pending the present erection of the City and 

 Guilds of London Technical College, Finsbury, the founda- 

 tion stone of which will be laid by Prince Leopold on May 

 10. There are both day and evening classes at the institute, 

 with means for ample laboratory practice, at fees which place 

 the education within reach of all classes. We would specially 

 draw attention to the fact that these classes and the laboratory 

 practice are open, at an almost nominal fee, to female as well as 

 to male students. For every hour of lecture there are two hours 

 laboratory work included in this nominal fee. The day classes 

 would be of service to girls who have not the means to obtain a 

 Girton or a Newnham education, while the evening classes will 

 be of great use to those women who take more than a mechanical 

 interest in their daily work ; for from the course of instruction 

 and their own work in the laboratory they will gain such a 

 thorough knowledge of principles as should distinguish a skilled 

 workwoman from a mere machine. 



The Annual Report for the past year of the Jamaica Public Gar- 

 dens, by Mr. D. Morris, the new director, is one of great interest. 

 As the year has been the first under the new organisation, the 

 chief work has naturally been of a departmental character, but 



from the details given, it is evident that important advances have 

 been made in developing several industries which must have an 

 important intluence for good on the future of the island. From 

 the variation in altitude of the different gardens under Mr. 

 Morris's charge excellent opportunities are afforded for experi- 

 menting on various kinds of cultivation, and these he is evidently 

 prepared to lake full advantage of. Among the various cultures, 

 concerning which interesting information is contained in the 

 Report, are Cinchona, Liberian Coffee, Sugar Canes, Teak and 

 Mahogany, Pine-Apples, Jalap, Cacao, Tobacco, India-Rubber, 

 various spices. Oranges, Banana Fibre, &c. The best results 

 may be looked for from Mr. Morris's vigorous and intelligent 

 directorship. 



We have also a very satisfactory Report of work for the year 

 ending March 31, 1S80, from Mr. Duthie, superintendent of the 

 Government Botanical Gardens at Saharanpor and Mussooree. 

 As in Jamaica, experiments, some of them very successful, have 

 been carried on in the rearing of various useful plants, including 

 vegetable and medicinal plants. Much difficulty has been 

 experienced by Mr. Duthie in training Mallies for work in the 

 gardens, and he has 'some trials before him ere he is able to 

 turn out a staff of properly-trained natives. 



Mr. M. G. Mulhall sends us the] following curious note, 

 which we give without comment: — "Although Shakespeare is 

 supposed to have taken the idea of Hamlet from the Danish 

 historian Saxo-Grammaticus, there are such points of resemblance 

 w ith the Arabic chronicle of Nigiaristan, respecting Montasser, 

 tenth Caliph of Bagdad, that I venture to call yom- attention to 

 the same. The points of analogy are as follows: I. That 

 JMontasser is murdered by putting poison in his ear. 2. The 

 ghost scene, in which his father appears to him. 3. The dis- 

 playing of tapestry before the Caliph and his court, in which 

 the tapestry represents a tragedy identical with the late Caliph's 

 murder." 



The Daily Neias New York correspondent telegraphs that the 

 aldermen have passed, over the mayor's veto, the ordinance 

 giving the Edison Electric Lighting Company permission to lay 

 tubes in the streets. "The company will proceed immediately 

 to introduce its new electric lamps in the offices in the business 

 portion of the city around Wall Street. The construction of 

 the lamp is simple. It consists of a small bulbous glass globe, 

 four inches long, an inch and a half in diameter, with a carbon 

 loop which becomes incandescent when the electric current 

 passes through. Each lamp is of sixteen candle-power, with no 

 perceptible variation in intensity. The light is turned on or off 

 with a thumbscrew. Wires have already been put into forty 

 buildings. The company will compete with the gas companies 

 by charging the same rates. If the latter reduce, the Edison 

 Company will also reduce, and are prepared to go lower than the 

 gas companies can." 



At five o'clock on .Saturday morning a strong shock of earth- 

 quake was felt at Paola in the province of Calabria. On the 

 night of Apr'l 19 there was another severe shock of earthquake 

 at Chios. 



A NEW illustrated work on the Butterflies of Europe is, 

 we understand, in active preparation by Dr. Lang, F.L.S. Its 

 publication, in monthly parts, will be commenced very shortly 

 by Messrs. Lovell, Reeve, and Co. 



Mrs. Burton, the wife of the well-known Capt. R. Burton, 

 our Consul at Trieste, is evidently doing a good work in that city 

 in teaching the people kindness to animals. The lesson is 

 evidently much needed, and judging from Mrs. Burton's speech 

 at her last fete and distribution of prizes, her efforts are meeting 

 with decided success. Of course all this costs money ; possibly 

 some of our readers may be inclined to help by sending a con- 



