350 



NATURE 



[Mar. 5, 1874 



Mr. William Dunvili.e has presented a valuable endow- 

 ment in trust for ever to the Queen's College, at Belfast. The 

 endowment consists of two studentships, one for the encourage- 

 ment of the mathematical and physical snd the other for that of 

 natural sciences. They are intended by the donor to enable dis- 

 tinguished students who attained graduation to pursue their 

 collegiate studies further. The studentships are tenable for two 

 years, and are of the value of 45/. for the first, and 100/. for the 

 second year. 



We hear from Cambridge, Massachusetts, that the chair of 

 Zoology held by Trofessor Agassiz during his lifetime is most 

 probably to be discontinued, and that the teaching he was accus- 

 tomed to give will, for some time at least, be carried on by Prof 

 McCrady and Prof. Shaler. Mr. Alexander Agassiz is to be 

 Curator of the Museum, which post being very onerous, pre- 

 vents him from accepting any professorial work. The new 

 Zoological School at Penikese is also to be under his chai-ge, 

 and we hope that that promising institution will be kept up 

 •with vigour notwithstanding the great loss it has sustained in the 

 death of its illustrious founder. 



We learn from the Lancet that a memorial to Agassiz is in 

 contemplation. At Boston a meeting for the purpose was 

 addressed by Profs. Rogei-s and Wendell Holmes, after which it 

 was resolved to make the Museum of Zoology at Cambridge — 

 the work of Aga=siz's best years — a memorial monument. For 

 this it was proposed to raise the sum of 300,000 dols. to com- 

 plete its endowment. 65,000 dols. were subscribed before the 

 proceedings closed. 



The first part of a new Russian work by M. Prijevalsky, en- 

 titled " Mongolia and the country of the Tanguts," may be 

 ex])ected before the end of the year. It will contain an account 

 of the author's travels in Central Asia, together with a descrip- 

 tion of the Zoological and Botanical results he has arrived at. 

 In all, 64 species of mammalia, and 292 species of birds were 

 obtained, including among the most remarkable of the former, 

 the Wild Yak, the Orongo Antelope and Oi'is folii ; of the latter 

 (7i'/.r nivicida and a new species of Plcrorhiiins. The bo- 

 tanical collection includes, according to the botanist Maczimovitch, 

 a great many new and rare specimens. In the mountains of 

 Kansu about 500 different plants were obtained, including the 

 seeds of the medicinal rhubarb. 



The Cambridge Syndicate appointed to organise courses of 

 lectures or classes with the necessary examinations in a limited 

 number of centres of population have received applications from 

 several jiilaces to supply teachers during the ensuing winter. 

 Among the subjects suggested for choice are Political Economy, 

 Mental and Moral Science, History, English Literature, Physio- 

 logy, Physical Geography, Geology, Astronom)', Mechanics, 

 various branches of Physical Science, and other subjects of a 

 kindred character to these. The remuneration offered varies 

 from 125/. to 260/. for the term of three rrronths, there being two 

 such terms to be provided for between October and May. The 

 pcif.'l.."' V chiefly from among young men and women of the 

 middle and working classes. The Syndicate request any gentle- 

 man willing to take part in such work to send his name and the 

 statement of subjects he would be willing to give instruction in 

 to Mr. Stuart, M.A., Trinity College, the secretary. 



The Council of the Senate of Cambridge University recom- 

 mend that a Demonstrator of Experimental Physics be appointed 

 at air annual stipend of 150/. The duties of such person shall 

 consist of assisting the Professor in giving class instruction and 

 making experiments. He is to be appointed by the Professor', 

 with the.consent of the Vice-Chancellor. A discussion of this 

 report takes place to-day. 



M. Ji Plateau has recently published, in two volumes, a 

 WorU entitled " Statiqua cxp^nmentRls ct th^oriqu« dtia 



liquides soumis aux seules forces moleculaires " (London : 

 Triibner). M. Plateau has eflected the realisation, on a large 

 scale, of a part of the figures of equilibrium, indefinite in num- 

 ber, which would affect liquids if gravity did not act upon them ; 

 he has thus furnished the experimental verification of a series of 

 results obtained by geometers in respect to surfaces whose mean 

 curvature is constant, such surfaces as those of figures of equili- 

 brium. " The work referred to contains an account of the author's 

 researches on the forms and phenomena presented by liquids in 

 the condition named, as well as the consequences which result 

 therefrom. The following are two examples of these conse- 

 quences : — I. The froth which is formed on champagne and 

 other liquids is evidently an assemblage of lamina^, which enclose 

 in their interstices small portions of gas. One might naturally 

 expect that in this assemblage all would be ruled by chance, but 

 it is nothing of the kind ; the small lamrnoe never unite but three 

 and three, and make with each other, at the small liquid edge 

 which unites them, equal angles of 120°. Moreover, the liquid 

 edges throughout unite four and four, and thus form between them, 

 at the point where they meet, equal angles, angles whose cosine is 

 — A. 2. The beautiful observations of Savart have taught us that 

 a vein of liquid pierced by a circular orifice is gradually converted, 

 during the passage of the liquid composing it, into a series of iso- 

 lated masses. The illustrious French physicist, to account for this 

 phenomenon, has tried to prove that the very act of flowing gives 

 rise, in the orifice, to pulsations which produce in the vein suc- 

 cessive protuberances, and this hypothesis has been adopted by 

 most of the students who have inquired into the matter. M. 

 Plateau shows that this ingenious notion is quite insufficient to 

 account for the facts, that the conversion into isolated masses is a 

 result of the molecular forces which are in action at the surface 

 of the vein, and that from this naturally result all the particulars 

 established by Savart. 



SciEN'CE seems likely to be treated royally in Sweden this 

 year. For the expenses of the Congress of Archa;ology and Pre- 

 historic Anthropology, which will be held at Stockholm from 

 Aug. 7th to i6th, the Government has asked from the Diet a 

 grant of 20,000 fr. ; a magnificent palace has been set apart for 

 the holding of the congress ; two grand fetes will be given by the 

 king and by the city ; and visitors will be carried by the railways 

 at half-fares. The programme includes papers and discussions 

 on the stone age, bi'onze age, and iron age, and on prehistoric 

 archaeology ; and excursions will be made to places of archaeological 

 interest and remains of prehistoric man in the neighbourhood. The 

 " Congres d'archeologie slave " will also be held at Kiew, from 

 Aug. 14 to Sept. 3. Altogether-, students of prehistoric man 

 will have a good time of it in North Europe this summer. 



The appointments to the Bureau des longitudes at Paris for 

 1S75 are — M. Puiseux as president, M. Faye as vice-president, 

 and M. Yvon-Villarceau as treasurer and secretary. 



The French Academy is publishing a large 4to volume of 

 300 pages, containing all the reports and maps relating to the next 

 Transit of \'enus. A copy has been presented to each member-, 

 and the book is to be had at M. Firmin Didot's, the publisher to 

 the French Institute. 



Some carpenters are at present engaged in building in tire Jardin 

 de Luxembourg at Paris a photographic studio, for the use of the 

 photographers who are to be sent out with the Transit expedi- 

 tion. The observations are soon to begin, and will be under the 

 direction of M. Fizeau, member of the French Institute ; but 

 tlrat gentleman will not leave Paris to follow the operations. 



The young King of Siam having come of age on October 

 10 list, great feasts were given to his subjects at Bangkok, 

 the chief town of his dominion. Amongst other attractions was 

 the ascent of a small mounted balloon, which had been con- 



etrueted in Putis and had arrived by tteAin a few dnya ptevioudyi 



