480 
NATURE 
(iuny 12, 19m 
We should have welcomed details of the meas- 
urements actually made on the different sections, 
for these are not given. The sections were of the 
length that could be measured in a day, and ap- 
parently between ten and twenty of them were 
comprised in the base, since they were from 1200 
to 2400 feet in length; three measurements were 
made with different tapes, but we see no mention 
of each section being measured in both directions. 
A comparative table, setting forth all the measure- 
ments for each section, the temperatures, tensions 
employed, time occupied, &c., as well as the 
character of the weather encountered, would have 
been of much interest, for at least on one day we 
are told that the wind made measurement impos- 
sible. -A plan of the base ‘site and a section of 
the line would also have been very useful to geo- 
desists, who will look forward with interest to 
further publications of this character by the 
Ordnance Survey. IBIS (Ga. We 
THE SHEFFIELD MEETING OF THE 
BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME OF SECTIONS. 
Ws staan Maen for the programmes of the 
various sections of the British Association 
at the meeting to be held in Dundee on September 
4-11 are now approaching completion. By the 
courtesy of the Recorders of the sections we are 
able to give a forecast of the main subjects to 
be brought forward for discussion. Judging 
from this provisional statement, the scientific 
proceedings of the meeting promise to be of wide 
interest. 
Section A (MaTHEMATICS AND Puysics).—The presi- 
dential address in Section A will be delivered at 
io o’clock on Thursday morning, September 5, by 
Prof. H. L. Callendar, F.R.S. The principal items 
arranged by the committee for subsequent days con- 
sist of three discussions. The first, to be held in con- 
junction with Section G (Engineering) is to be opened 
by Prof. J. A. Fleming, on the subject of the scientific 
theory and outstanding problems of wireless tele- 
graphy. In his opening remarks, Prof. Fleming in- 
tends to put forward a large number of questions 
which still require an answer, and to make sugges- 
tions of his own towards supplying a complete answer. 
It is expected that Prof. A. E. Kennelley, Prof. A. G. 
Webster, and Prof. A. Sommerfeld will be able to 
attend, together with a large number of British 
investigators, and it is hoped that the meeting will 
form an exceptional opportunity for physicists, mathe- 
maticians, and engineers interested in this question to 
expound their own and criticise each other’s views. 
The second discussion is on the atomic heat of solids, 
and is to be opened by Dr. F. A. Lindemann, of Ber- 
lin. Section B will collaborate in this discussion. 
There is probably no subject which combines in a 
greater degree speculation and experiment, and there 
is certainly none which can claim to be more the 
question of the present day, and it is intended that 
the discussion should familiarise English scientific 
men with the subject. The third is on series in 
spectra, with Prof. E. T. Whittaker as its opener. 
Dr. Whittaker is expected to deal with it chiefly from 
the dynamical point of view. Papers are coming in, 
but the programme is still incomplete. Those who 
desire to read papers are reminded of the new order 
No. 2228, vot. 89] 
* 
of the council that ‘‘no abstract shall appear in the 
annual report unless it is in print before the meeting,” 
and no abstract can be so printed unless received 
during this month. 
Section B (Cuemistry).—The proceedings of Sec- 
‘tion B should prove very attractive to followers of 
organic chemistry and its biological application. A 
sitting will be devoted to the carbohydrates and allied 
subjects, at which papers will be read by Prof. Irvine, 
Dr. A. Harden, Dr. S. Mills, and Dr. E. F. Arm- 
strong. These should provide a valuable account of 
the progress which is being made in this field. A 
second sitting will be occupied by a discussion of a 
more general nature on the migration of groups: 
Dr. A. McKenzie will open this with a summarised 
account of the Walden rearrangement, and a second 
paper will be read by Prof. K. J. P. Orton. At a joint 
meeting with the Botanical Section, fixed for Friday, 
September 6, several important papers are promised 
of interest to agriculturists and botanists, as well as 
to chemists. Dr. J. V. Eyre will deal with the 
enzymes of flax and the variations of the flax plant 
with locality, and it is expected that some discussion 
will ensue as to the possibility of reviving the growth 
of flax in the British Isles. Mr. A. Compton, of the 
Pasteur Institute, will give an account of some of the 
recent French work on plant enzymes; Prof. F. 
Keeble and Dr. E. F. Armstrong will deal with the 
biochemistry of flower pigmentation. Other papers 
on organic chemistry are promised from Dr. R. H. 
Plimmer, Prof. C. R. Marshall, and Dr. J. K. Wood. 
A joint meeting will be held with Section A, when, 
following the discussion on specific heats, papers will 
be read by Dr. A. Holt, Dr. C. H. Desch, Prof. H. 
Marshall, and Mr. A. J. Berry. 
Section C (GEoLoGy).—A large number of impor- 
tant papers has been promised for the meeting at 
Dundee, and these include several which will form 
the basis of discussions. Dr. Gordon, of the Geo- 
logical Department of Edinburgh University, will read 
a paper on the fossil flora of the Pettycur Limestone, 
Fife, and its bearing on botanical evolution, which 
will be followed by a discussion, in which several 
leading members of the Botanical Section have pro- 
mised to take part. A paper by Dr. J. S. Flett on 
the sequence of volcanic rocks in Scotland in relation 
to the Atlantic-Pacific classification of Suess, will also 
form the basis of a discussion, which, as several lead- 
ing petrologists are expected to be present, should 
prove of considerable interest. Papers dealing with 
the recent discoveries of fossil remains in the Chert 
and Green Schist Series of the Highland border, north 
of Stonehaven, and in the neighbourhood of Aber- 
foyle, will be read by Dr. Campbell and Dr. T. J. 
Jehu, and the latter will also give an address on the 
geology of the country round Dundee and St. 
Andrews. Dr. Peach and Dr. Horne will contribute 
a joint paper on the Archzean rocks of the Island of 
Lewis. In all about twenty-five papers have been 
promised up to the present time. Excursions will 
take place during the meeting, including a visit to 
the famous fossil fish locality at Dura Den, where 
the quarry has been specially reopened, and at the 
close of the meeting a joint excursion with the 
Geologists’ Association to Aberdeen and Arbroath has 
been arranged. 
Section D (ZooLtocy).—The president of the section 
is Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S. There will be 
| a joint discussion with Section K on the origin of life, 
opened by Prof. E. A. Minchin, and a joint discussion 
with Section IT on physological conditions in aquatic 
animals. Prof. A. Piitter (Bonn) will speak upon this 
subject. Among the papers to be brought before the 
| section are the following :—Life-history of a water 
| beetle, Balfour Browne; note on some results of the 
