l62 



NA TURE 



[June i8, 190S 



tinents, most of which have been previously described, 

 tliough one, an iron from Lampa, in Chile, is now 

 described for the first time. The paper is illustrated with 

 fifteen excellent plates of photographic reproductions ; 

 special attention may be directed to those representing the 

 large masses of meteoric iron mounted in the School of 

 INIines in the city of Mexico, which, though long known, 

 do not appear hitherto to have been figured. The two 

 masses of the Chupaderos iron, found at a distance of 

 about 800 feet apart, and known in Mexico since 1852, 

 evidently formed part of the same mass, the total weight 

 of which would have been about twenty-one tons. Par- 

 ticulars are also given respecting the fall of stones near 

 Modoc, in Kansas, on September 2, 1905 ; fifteen stones 

 with an aggregate weight of 35 lb. were found over an 

 area of seven by two miles, the several masses gradually 

 increasing in size from west to east, this being the direc- 

 tion in which the meteor fell. The same distribution of 

 lhe stones according to size is noted in the fall at 

 Weston, in Connecticut, in the year 1807. 



THJE SCIENCE COURT OF THE FRANCO- 

 BRITISH EXHIBITION. 



A LL international exhibitions have contributed in some 

 ■^ measure to the advancement of science. The 

 assembling before the public of a great array of machinery 

 has from time to time acted as a stimulus to inventions 

 in which science was applied to promote safety, comfort, 

 or luxury. The competition between manufacturers of 

 scientific apparatus, encouraged by medals and other 

 awards of excellence, doubtless r<?sulted in improved work- 

 manship and better design in the tools which the scientific 

 investigator or teacher has to eniplov. The sporadic dis- 

 play of original or merely antique instruments (i?.^. clocks) 

 did little more than hint at an evolution of scientific know- 

 ledge, and fell far short of exhibiting in any adequately 

 organised manner the actual progress of such evolution, 

 full as it was — and is — alike of human and philosophical 

 Interest. 



Happily, we need not discuss the causes w-hich 

 liitherto prevented the realisation of an exhibition dealing 

 •with all branches of research by scientific experiment ; 

 whether the managers of international exhibitions have 

 been deterred by lack of faith in the popularity of a section 

 devoted to purely scientific exploration of the boundaries 

 of knowledge, or by a too vivid realisation of the difficul- 

 ties attendant upon the formation of such a collection as 

 would worthily represent British achievements in the past 

 and activities in the present. There is no need to debate 

 the matter ; visitors to the Science Court of the Franco- 

 British Exhibition can see for themselves the fait accompli. 

 Thanks to the initiative of Sir Norman Lockyer, supported 

 ■by Sir \Mlliam Mather and the executive committee, and 

 hacked with equal heartiness and ability by members of 

 the British Science Guild, for the first time in the history 

 of international exhibitions there has been brought together 

 a collection of exhibits devoted' to the illustration of 

 methods and results of scientific research. 



As chairman of the Science Section, Sir Norman Lockyer 

 expressed regret that it has not been found possible to 

 organise a French section, and we shall all echo this 

 sentiment the more fully from seeing what an instructive 

 display is contributed by the limited area of Great Britain 

 and Ireland. By its very nature scientific investigation 

 subordinates national rivalry to national cooperation, and 

 anyone may point to the fact that no department could 

 Tiave attained its present state of efficiency had its progress 

 not been furthered by the genius of lhe savants of France. 



The catalogue, a closely printed volume of one hundred 

 and ninety pages, has a permanent value for purposes of 

 reference, and is sold for the moderate price of sixpence. 

 No individual critic can do justice to all the departments 

 represented, which are compendiously described as in- 

 cluding instruments and melhods used in and results 

 ■obtained from the exploration of (1) the land; (2) the 

 sea ; (3) the air ; (4) the heavens. Visitors will bo 

 impressed with the richness of the collection in apparatus 

 and documents of historic interest, and with the complete 

 subordination of the trading element. To indicate the 



character of this unique exhibition we give short notes on 

 a few of the interesting" features. 



Heat. — The .Manchester Municipal School of Technology 

 lend Joule's laboratory note-books and MS. of researches, 

 and his apparatus used for observing the heat-effects of 

 compression and rarefaction of air. Portraits of Joule 

 and some models of apparatus and reprints of papers are 

 also shown. The physical department of the Imperial 

 College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, 

 exhibits modern appliances used in recent calorimetric, 

 thermometric, and barometric determinations, including 

 sunshine receivers and recorders. One recorder shown 

 registers electrically to i part in 10,000 the variations 

 produced in a receiver distant a mile or more. With the 

 platinum grid thermometer for determining the tempera- 

 ture of the air is shown a record obtained during the solar 

 eclipse of ."August 30, 1905. The Cambridge Scientific 

 Instrument Company show Boys's radiomicrometer, a 

 Fery pyrometer, Callendar and Griffiths 's bridge, &c. 



It will be seen that we have, on the one hand, the 

 historic apparatus and documents, on the other, the 

 methods and means of up-to-date research. This is typical. 

 All the numerous sections into which the Science Court is 

 divided and subdivided show the same contrast of ancient 

 and modern research. As a consequence, the serious 

 student will everywhere find interesting material, and it 

 may well happen that he will learn more and get fresher 

 views of his subject from the earlv investigators. 



Magnetism and Electricity. — This is a strong depart- 

 ment, the evolution of telegraphy in all its branches being 

 particularly well illustrated. From the Wheatstone Labora- 

 tory of King's College, London, come the original 

 Daniell's batteries, the original resistance box, bridge and 

 chronograph of Wheatstone, while Sir William Preece and 

 H.M. Postmaster-General contribute numerous specimens 

 dating from 1837 to 1908 which present a miniature of 

 progress in the electric transmission of signals. Signor 

 Marconi sends thirty-three items, including some of the 

 apparatus used in Newfoundland for the first Transatlantic 

 reception in 1901. Much of the evolution of the Ayrton- 

 Perry instruments can be traced. The early and recent 

 forms of lamp contributed by Sir J. W. Swan are par- 

 ticularly interesting. It is hardly necessary to say that 

 Kelvin instruments find a place, as do the devices associated 

 with the recent researches of H. .\. Wilson, P. E. Shaw, 

 Duddell, and Fleming. Dr. Shelford Bidwell shows his 

 selenium cell, and attention will no doubt be attracted to 

 his model of apparatus for transmitting pictures by tele- 

 graph, also dating from 1881. 



Chemistry. — There is an excellent collection of prepara- 

 tions in connection with both physical and technical 

 chemistry. Recent research is represented by contributions 

 from the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory, the Imperial 

 College of Science, the University of Manchester, and many 

 institutions and investigators too numerous to mention. 

 Many will doubtless be interested in the apparatus used bv 

 Lord Rayleigh in the discovery of argon, and by Sir 

 William Ramsay in his researches on helium and the new 

 gases. The penetration of the physicist into the domain 

 of the chemist is nicely illustrated by the inclusion of Sir 

 Oliver Lodge's " ether machine " in the chemistry 

 division. Magnificent specimens of salts of the platinum 

 group were on view, lent by Messrs. Johnson, Matthey 

 and Co. But of all the items in this division we were 

 most attracted by (i) Black's original balance, dating from 

 1766 — the foundation-stone of modern chemistry ; (2) 

 original mauvein preparations made by the late Sir 

 William Perkin between 186S and 1872. Tlie general public 

 may be expected to be interested in the " oldest lucifer 

 matches," made by Walker, of Stockon-on-Tees, in 1827; 

 also in the " chemistry of a bottle of eau de Cologne," 

 contrasting natural and synthetic methods of production. 



Metallography. — Micro-sections of metals prepared in 

 1863-4 ''y *he late Dr. Sorby are shown ; the remainder 

 of the items illustrate modern developments of this branch 

 of science, to further which a special institution was 

 founded quite recently. 



Biology. — The members of the biology subcommittee 

 have secured an exhibit of profound interest from the 

 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, which has sent 

 specimens illustrating sleeping sickness, ngana, malaria. 



NO. 2016, VOL. 78] 



