June 27, 1907] 



NATURE 



20' 



and much of the abihty which dislinj,'uished 

 his father and grandfather. As a mathematician, 

 physicist, and observer. Prof. Herschel was \aci\c 

 l>riiii-cps, and it was fortunate for meteoric astronomy 

 tliat he devoted himself to its practical and theoretical 

 investigation. Sir John and Sir William Herschel 

 had swept the heavens with lartje telescopes in quest 

 of nebulw, double stars, and other objects, but Prof. 

 Alexander Herschel appears to have preferred naked- 

 eye observation to instrumental work. For about half 

 a century he watched diligently for meteors, and 

 obtained numerous and valuable results, as past 

 \'olumes of the Monthly Notices of the Royal 

 .\>tronomical Society and X.ature fully attest. 



-Apart from his observational results Prof. Herschel 

 accomplished a large amount of important work in 

 the summation, reduction, and discussion of various 

 other observations. In conjunction with Mr. R. P. 

 Greg he formed several extensive catalogues of the 

 radiant points of shooting stars, and the most im- 

 portant of these were published in i86S, 1872, and 

 1874. One of his greatest successes, though it has 

 been little commented upon, was the prediction made 

 in tlie Monthly Notices, vol. xxxii., p. 355, of the great 

 Hielid shower of 1872 November 27. For many years 

 he compiled the annual reports of the luminous 

 meteor committee of the British Association, and 

 contributed, until iSSo, the yearly notes on meteoric 

 astronomy published in the anniversary number 

 (February) of the Monthlv Notices. 



Prof. Herschel was a voluminous writer, and all 

 those who enjoyed the pleasure of corresponding with 

 him will agree that his letters were just as interesting 

 as they were long. The writer of this notice will 

 always have reason to be grateful to him for kind 

 encouragement, advice, and instruction in the earlier 

 years of his obserxing career. It is not too much 

 to say that without the deep interest incited by 

 Prof. Herschel 's letters the meteoric observations 

 obtained at Bristol during the last thirty-five years may 

 never have been made. 



-As an observer of shooting stars Prof. Herschel was 

 remarkably accurate, .md he not only recorded their 

 apparent paths with fidelity, but accompanied his 

 results with descriptive details marvellous in their 

 fulness. He computed the real paths of a great many 

 fireballs and ordinary falling stars, and very ably dis- 

 cussed the often discordant observations which formed 

 the basis of these inquiries. 



The present writer has often been impressed at the 

 acumen and sound judgment he displayed in dealing 

 with difficult materials of this character. Meteoric 

 astronomv has indeed lost one of its ablest votaries in 

 Prof. Herschel, and it may truly be said that the 

 present high position of this branch of science is 

 due in no small measure to his prolonged and able 

 researches. W. F. Denning. 



NOTES. 

 A coRRESPONDi-NT recently directed our attention to a 

 sensational report that certain signals are regularly re- 

 ceived at one of the Marconi wireless telegraph stations, 

 and are believed to be communications from Mars or 

 another planet. As Mars will be in opposition on July 6, 

 and is well situated for observation in southern observ- 

 atories, the rumour will probably be extensively circulated 

 during the next few months. A copy of the report was 

 sent, therefore, to Mr. Marconi, who has favoured us with 

 the following reply : — " There is no truth whatever in the 

 statement which has been freely published for the last 

 yrar or two that mysterious signals have been received 

 al Cape Clear from probably some distant planet. 



NO. 1965, VOL. 76] 



There is, in the first place, no wireless telegraph station 

 at Cape Clear. The stray or vagrant electrical effects 

 which do manifest themselves from time to time at wire- 

 less telegraph stations are due to atmospheric discharges 

 or other natural causes. To attribute this phenomenon 

 to any such source as is contemplated in these newspapy 

 reports Is, so far, purely imaginative and idle speculation." 



We regret to have to record the death of the well-known 

 ironmaster, Mr. Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., at Wortley, 

 near Sheffield, on June 19. Mr. Andrews was born at 

 Sheffield in 1847, and succeeded his father as proprietor 

 of the Wortley Iron Works many years ago. He was the 

 author of numerous papers, chiefly on metallurgical sub- 

 jects, but his researches were of a varied nature, and 

 included such widely separated subjects as the composition 

 of river waters and the strength of railway axles. Of 

 late years his writings dealt chiefly with the micro- 

 structure of metals, carrying on work which originated in 

 .Shcflleld. He was awarded a Telford medal and premium 

 by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1884, and was 

 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1888. He was 

 also a gold medallist and Bessemer prizeman of the Society 

 of Engineers, London. 



Mr. a. W. Hill, fellow and dean of King's College, 

 Cambridge, and university lecturer in botany, has been 

 appointed assistant director of the Royal Gardens, Kew. 



Profs. Guido Castelnuovo, of Rome, George William 

 Hill, of New York, Caniille Jordan, of Paris, and Vito 

 Volterra, of Rome, have been elected honorary members 

 of the London Mathematical Society. 



A CHARTER of incorporation has been granted by the King 

 to the Society of Chemical Industry, which was founded in 

 1881 to promote the application of chemical science to arts 

 and manufactures. 



A committee has been appointed by the President of the 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to inquire into the 

 nature of distemper in dogs in Great Britain and the 

 methods of its infection, and to report whether any, and, 

 if so, what, preventive or remedial measures, exclusive 

 of ordinary medical treatment, can with advantage be 

 taken with respect to it. 



A CONFERENCE on the prevention of infant mortality and 

 the welfare of nursing mothers and suckling infants will 

 be held at the Town Hall, Pancras Road, N.W., on 

 July I, at 3.30 p.m., to inaugurate the opening of the 

 School for Mothers at 6 and 7 Chalton Street, Euston 

 Road, N.W., the centre of the St. Pancras Mothers' 

 and Infants' Society. The Mayor of St. Pancras will 

 welcome the conference, and Lord Robert Cecil will 

 preside. 



On Monday next, July i, at 2.30 (weather permitting), 

 there will be a display of scientific kites and other aero- 

 nautical experiments on Chobham Common, Sunningdale, 

 where the Aeronautical Society will hold the concluding 

 meeting of the present session. Kites will be displayed 

 by Mr. W. H. Dines, F.R.S., Mr. C. J. P. Cave, Mr. 

 S. H. R. Salmon, and Mr. R. M. Balston. Mr. Cave will 

 send up pilot balloons to determine the rate and direction 

 of the wind at different heights, and demonstrations of 

 the method will be given by means of a theodolite specially 

 made from designs by M. de Quervain. Mr. Cave will 

 also send up a balloii-soiide carrying self-recording instru- 

 ments complete, as used by him for the international 

 aeronautical ascents, which take place on fixed days 

 simultaneously throughout Europe. Mr. Jos^ Weiss will 

 perform experiments with model gliders. 



