May 2 1, 1908J 



NA TURE 



69 



the case with women. Another important conclusion seems 

 fairly well established, that improvements in communica- 

 tion do not, as might naturally be expected, tend to 

 homogeneity of type ; on the contrary, owing to selection 

 centres or to some obscure influence of environment, all 

 improvements in transport apparently tend to make the 

 race more heterogeneous. 



The part of the country in which dark hair specially 

 prevails is the extreme west. " If," write the authors of 

 the memoir, " we assume for reasons given above that the 

 pigmentation of girls represents more nearly the pre-N'orse 

 inhabitants, this native type has crowded into the Isle of 

 Skye and the opposite coasts of the mainland. If the 

 Dalriadic .Scots, who invaded .Argyllshire in the fifth 

 century, were a dark race, and the invaders who settled 

 there were men only, that would account for the darkest 

 region in the boys' map being in Argyllshire. The 

 Hebrides have been so much affected by the Viking and 

 Norse invasions from Scandinavia which have passed round 

 the coast of Scotland that they have a much smaller per- 

 centage of dark type than the islands and mainland lying 

 further east. Xhe Isle of Lew'is has a higher percentage 

 of dark girls than bo^s, indicating the presence of a pre- 

 Norse dark native population. The south-west corner of 

 Scotland in both the boys' and girls' map is darker than 

 the average; and since, in historical times, the Picts in- 

 habited this region, this evidence points to the conclusion 

 that the Picts were a dark race." 



Such wide-reaching conclusions, in the present state of 

 our knowledge, are obviously premature, and too much 

 stress is laid upon pigmentation as a test of race. But 

 the results of this imperfect investigation are sufficiently 

 instructive to justify the demand for a national anthropo- 

 metrical survey, which was pressed on the late Prime 

 Minister by an influential deputation, the proceedings being 

 reported in the same number of the journal. 



ACOVSTIC OSCILLOGRAPHS. 



A N interesting addition to the phonograph or the gramo- 

 •^~*- phone has been designed and made by Mr. Bowron, 

 of 57 Edgware Road. It is well known that the action of 

 a gramophone depends on a spiral line cut in the record 

 disc. When this line is examined with a magnifying glass, 

 it is seen to consist of niunerous sm^dl osciIlator\' curves ; 

 as the disc rotates the needle that follows these curves 

 actuates a diaphragm, and thus the sounds are reproduced. 

 In other words, the curve cut on the disc is a graph of 

 the various sounds produced by the instrument. Several 

 years ago Prof. Ewing studied the analysis of vowel 

 sounds by examining the corresponding curves cut on a 

 phonograph record. Mr. Bowron has undertaken the task 

 of reproducing on a large scale the curves to be found on 

 a gramophone record : he has accomplished this by means 

 of a small mirror, which is mounted so that it oscillates 

 with the diaphragm of the instrument ; a beam of light is 

 reflected from this oscillating mirror and from another 

 mirror which rotates uniformly, with the result that a 

 luminous curve of about three feet amplitude can be thrown 

 on a white screen, and .so made visible to a large audience. 

 The variations in this luminous curve can be watched while 

 the corresponding sounds are heard ; thus the nature of 

 the oscillations produced in the course of a song or the 

 peformance of an orchestra can be most instructively 

 studied. 



It would, no doubt, be possible to obtain gramophone 

 records of the various vowel soimds, and to studv the 

 corresponding oscillations in a similar manner. In teaching 

 the elements of harmony, it would be interesting and 

 instructive to project on a screen curves showing the charac- 

 teristics of the various harmonious and dissonant intervals, 

 while the corresponding sounds are rendered audible ; and 

 this also could be done by the aid of Mr. Bowron 's inven- 

 tion. 



Of course, for the curves to correspond exactly to the 

 sounds, it is imperative that the oscillating mirror shall 

 have a very small period of vibration — a period much smaller 

 than that of any of the oscillations which it is necessary 

 to reproduce. Hence the mirror and the mechanism by 

 which it is actuated must be made as light as possible. 

 Some difficulty has been found in obtaining an oscillating 



NO. 2012. VOL. 78I 



mirror large enough to reflect sutTicient light to produce 

 curves visible to a large audience, and at the same time 

 light enough to have a period as small as is required ; but 

 the progress already made indicates that complete success 

 may ultimately be obtained. 



.Mr. Bowron has also adapted a Koenlg's manometric 

 flame to indicate the acoustic oscillations produced by a 

 gramophone ; were it not for the fact that the variations 

 In the shape of the flame must be interpreted before the 

 precise character of the oscillations can be known, this 

 method would be the preferable one. Mr. Bowron 's inven- 

 tions are certain to be appreciated, not only as an educa- 

 tional aid, but also as affording an interesting spectacular 

 display for public entertainments. E. E. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



.St. Andrews. — In order to remove misapprehensions 

 which have apparently arisen upon the subject, announce- 

 ment is made that the University Court — the patrons of 

 the Chandos chair of physiology in the United College, 

 -St. -Andrews, now vacant — has resolved that the appoint- 

 ment should be open, and that the person to be elected 

 should be the person deemed to be the best candidate, 

 whatever may have been his previous sphere of work. 

 The Court is not pledged to any one candidate, and the 

 election is not a foregone conclusion. 



Cambridge. — The election of a professor of biology will 

 take place on Monday, June 8. Candidates are requested 

 to communicate with the Vice-Chancellor on or before 

 Saturday, May 30. 



Mr. C. Shearer, of Trinity College, has been nominated 

 to use the University table at Naples for five months from 

 May I, 1908. 



The professor of botany gives notice that the botany 

 school will be open for practical work during the long 

 vacation. A practical course in elementary systematic 

 botany (flowering plants) will be given in the elementary 

 laboratory on Tuesdays and Saturdays at g a.m., beginning 

 Tuesdav, July 7. Fee, li. is. A series of botanical 

 excursions will be arranged. 



Prof. Larmor has been appointed a member of the 

 board of electors to the professorship of chemistry until 

 Februarv 20, 1910, in succession to Lord Rayleigh, who 

 has resigned his place on the board. 



The general board of studies, acting on a memorandum 

 received from the board of geographical studies, recom- 

 mends a re-construction in the staff engaged in teaching 

 gcographv in the University. It is proposed that the 

 readership of geography, which becomes vacant in the 

 Michaelmas term of this year, be suppressed, and to 

 establish in its place three lectureships in geography. One 

 of these lectureships will be on historic and econornic 

 geography, and will be in connection with the special 

 board for historv and arch.-cology. The second w-ill be in 

 regional and physical geography, and it is proposed to 

 connect this with the special board for biology and geology. 

 The third will be a lectureship of surveying and carto- 

 graphv In connection with the special board for mathe- 

 matics. The salary of each of the first two mentioned 

 lectureships will be 150/. per annum, and that of the last 

 50/. per annum. The last two named will be known as 

 the Roval Geographical Societv lectureships In their re- 

 spective' subjects. The council of the Royal Geographical 

 Society has offered to contribute 20oL a year for three 

 vears to the geographical education fund. This offer the 

 board recommends should be gratefully accepted. The 

 University will pay a like sum to the same fund. 



TriE second annual conference of the Association of 

 Teachers In Technical Institutions will be held in London 

 at Whitsuntide, on June 6. 8, q, and 10. The delegates 

 will meet on Saturdav, June 6. and in the evening there 

 will be a conversazione at St. Bride's Institute, E.C. On 

 Mond-iv, June 8, the president, Mr. C. Harrao, will deliver 

 an address, and there will be papers on : — (a) Group courses 

 and continuation schools ; Ih) homework and tutorial 

 riasses : (c) commercialism, the schools, and the decorat've 

 arts ; (d) modern education — the technical phase. On 



