424 



jVA TURE 



[August 22, 1907 



rising fir falling in reference to a datum-line, the timc- 

 siale iK'inj,' indicated on the latter. Prof. Stcinmann, in 

 (ho paper above noticed, has emplojed similar curves for 

 various regions in the Alps. Dr. -Anipfercr holds that a 

 simiiarlty in the curves for two or more areas would 

 imply a general similarity in the foundation. This seems 

 to leave out of count Mr. Osmond Kisher's suggestion of 

 convection-currents in a liquid interior, which might pro- 

 duce considerable local differences in the curves ; but the 

 absence of all reference to previous workers, except a 

 passing one to .Schardt's and Lugeon's theory of over- 

 folding, makes it uncertain how far Dr. Ampfcrer wishes 

 to link himself with his predecessors. While admitting 

 (p. 620) that his criticism has been largely of a destructive 

 order, he feels hopeful that future research may make us 

 better acquainted with the " Untergrund." 



Dr. .Ampferer's paper was written in March, iqod, but 

 was not issued until December. Meanwhile, Mr. R. .\. 

 Daly had published a paper on abyssal igneous injection 

 as a causal condition and as an effect of mountain- 

 building (.4iHci(Va)i Joiirn. of Sci., vol. xxii., -September, 

 1906, p. iqs). Ampferer does not believe in geosynclinals 

 and subsequent lateral compression ; but it is precisely these 

 that Daly sets out to explain. He urges that the under- 

 lying molten magma, which he believes to be of basaltic 

 composition, is always ready to leap into any cracks that 

 arise in the plastic layer above it and in the " shell of 

 tension " in the lower portion of the crust. Cracks may 

 arise in the plastic layer by the effects of tidal torsion on 

 the crust, and in the shell of tension by the general con- 

 traction due to cooling. The igneous mass in the great 

 dykes thus produced, so long as it remains liquid, exercises 

 a hydrostatic pressure on its walls, and forces them further 

 apart. Here we have a cause that may close up other 

 cracks in the shell of tension, and the total lateral creep 

 " involves a strong downward pull exerted on the shell of 

 compression," i.e. that part of the crust above the level 

 of no strain. The resulting gcosynclinal area finally 

 becomes weakened, as sediments accumulate in it and its 

 underlying rocks are bent down into hotter regions ; and 

 then, in some way which is rather lightly dealt with, an 

 " orogenic collapse " takes place, and a mountain-chain 

 begins to rise. The increase in bulk of the crust by 

 magmatic injection, which was, by the by, well pointed 

 out by Mr. Osmond Fisher, is urged as an additional 

 cause of its crumpling, and the hydration of its minerals 

 gives similar assistance. The shearing apart of the shell 

 of compression and the shell of tension " during the 

 orogenic revolution releases the tensions still unrelieved 

 in the underlying shell," and allows of further abyssal 

 injection on a large scale. The location and elongation of 

 mountain-chains and geosynclinals are all (p. 216) related 

 to special zones of abyssal injections from the substratum. 

 Here we see Mr. Daly looking, like Dr. Ampferer, for 

 final causes in the " Untergrund," and with this point of 

 agreement we must for the moment rest content. 



Still more recently (March, 1907), Dr. L. Waagen pub- 

 lishes in the Vcrhandliiitgcii dcr k.k. geologischen lieichs- 

 anstalt a general review of the relations of ocean-basins 

 and mountain-chains. He finds the origin of folding in 

 the subsidence of continental masses, and the continued 

 sinking of the moving Hinterland of a chain may bring 

 this region below sea-level, and so promote an interchange 

 between continental and oceanic areas. Marine trans- 

 gressions (p. 121) are thus the natural accompaniments of 

 epochs of considerable mountain-building. 



G. A. J. C. 



THE SOUTH AFRICAN .A.SSOCI.iTION. 

 'T'HF-" report of the South African -Association for the 

 .•\dvancement of Science (Cape Town, 1907), a hand- 

 some volume of 6^o pages, affords striking evidence of 

 the large amount of attention that is being devoted to 

 scientific research in South .'\frica. The report includes 

 the presidential address delivered by Mr. T. Reunert at 

 Johannesburg in 1905, in w'hich year the usual sectional 

 meetings were not held, and minutes of the proceedings 

 of the fourth meeting of the association at Kimbcrlev in 

 iqofi. The address of the president, Mr. C'.. F. Williams, 

 who was unable lo .ai.nd llie Kimberlev meeting in 1906, 



NO. 1973, VOL. 76] 



contains an interesting historical sketch of the settlement of 

 the Cape, of the adventurous spirit of the Portuguese, of 

 the influence of the Dutch pioneers, and of the rush of 

 adventurers from almost every part of the world, who laid 

 the foundation of the mining industry of to-day. 



The president of Section A, Mr. j. R. Sutlon, gave a 

 valuable summary of our present knowledge of the' diurnal 

 variation of barometric pressure, which may be considered 

 as the fundamental problem in meteorology — the rise and 

 fall of the barometer twice a day, the precise cause of 

 which has never been satisfactorily explained. After re- 

 ferring to the efforts of Herschel, Dove, and others, the 

 author pointed out that Dr. Buchan made a material 

 advance in distinguishing between the weight and elasticity 

 of the air. Perhaps the most important contribution to 

 the subject is due lo Prof. J. Hann, who by classifying 

 and generalising the harmonic elements for a great number 

 of stations succeeded in establishing some noteworthy 

 results. Among the various papers read in this section, 

 some of which have been published elsewhere, we may 

 specially mention: — (i) Anticyclones and their influence on 

 South African weather, by Colonel H. K. Rawson. An 

 examination of the charts published by the London Meteor- 

 ological Office, and of other data, showed that the weather 

 in South ."Vfrica is under the direct influence of the move- 

 ments of two great anticyclonic systems lying to the west 

 and east. (2) The barometer in South .\frica, by Mr. 

 R. T. .\. Innes. The author states that the annual 

 variation of the barometer consists of a well-marked single 

 oscillation, pressure being greatest in winter and least in 

 summer. (3) Variability of temperature in South Africa, 

 by Mr. J. R. Sutton, as represented by three typical 

 stations, showing the mean diflerencc between the tempera- 

 tures of one day and the next. Prof. J. Milne contributed 

 a paper on the observation of earthquakes and other earth 

 movements, and Prof. R. A. Lehfeldt one on accelerations 

 of gravity at Johannesburg. 



At the various sectional meetings sixty papers were read, 

 which are published in full or in abstract, .\mong these, 

 noteworthy papers dealing with matters of local interest 

 are, in addition to those already mentioned : — Rev. H. A. 

 Junod, on the theory of witchcraft among South African 

 natives ; Rev. I'. Renter, on northern Transvaal ethnology ; 

 Mr. A. W. Rogers, on the glacial beds of the Griqua 

 Town series ; Mr. R. H. Rastall. on the petrography of 

 the Kimberley district; Mr. F. P. Mennell, on the 

 Somabula diamond field of Rhodesia; Mr. J. P. Johnson, 

 on the" Stone age of South Africa ; Mr. F. /\. Hurley and 

 Mr. C. D. H. I3rainc, on irrigation in South .Africa; Mr- 

 K. A. H. Hought, on native education in its higher 

 branches; and Mr. T. Lowden, on the place of manual 

 training in .Scuth .\frican education. 



Of the sectional presidential addresses, that by Mr. 

 Sidney J. Jennings, on wastes in mining, waste of thought, 

 waste of labour, and waste of material, should be men- 

 tioned. Nothing has proved so eflicacious for the pre- 

 vention of waste of thought as the free interchange of 

 ideas made possible by the numerous societies and associ- 

 ations. Centralised management can also be made to per- 

 form a valuable function in preventing thought-waste. In 

 preventing waste of labour, the fundamental difTiculties lie 

 in the untrained condition of the Kalir for manual labour, 

 and in the ineptitude of many white overseers for trans- 

 forming a semi-savage population into an industrial one. 

 The best prevention of waste of stores is the continued 

 thought of the management combined with the loyal and 

 interested cooperation of the men. 



.\n account of a discussion on university education in 

 South -Africa is contained in the report- 'I'he discussion 

 was opened by Prof. Lyster Jameson with a brief survey 

 of the past history and present position of university 

 education in South .\frica, followed by a summary of the 

 more obvious remedies for the present unsatisfactory state 

 of affairs. There is a single university, the University of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, an examining body pure and 

 simple. In addition to the University, several institution:; 

 calling themselves colleges have ari.sen. In the Transvaal 

 the only institution seriously doing university work is the 

 Transvaal L'nlversity College, which was founded as a 

 full faculty of mining and engineering, adding its arts 

 department at a later date. However great the dis- 



