372 



NATURE 



\Mar. 12, 1874 



Law in the faculty of Douai, has been suspended from his pro- 

 fessorial duties for one month, and has received notice that he 

 must either resign his position as professor or give up the editor- 

 ship of the Rl-viu Scientifiqitc. The reason for this vexatious 

 proceeding we have not learned ; but to outsiders it must seem a 

 wanton and mischievous exercise of authority, although the fear- 

 less way in which the Revue states scientific facts and conclusions 

 may have something to do with it. The Reuiic Seientifique holds 

 the first rank among French scientific journals, contains from 

 week to week the cream of scientific work both French and 

 foreign, and any interference with its efficiency would be a great 

 blow to the cause of Science in a country where a knowledge of 

 the methods and solid results of Science is much needed. If the 

 threat with which M. Alglave is menaced be carried out, 

 those who thus abuse their little brief authority will be 

 despised by the whole educated world. We read in the Prop-is 

 du Nord that M. Terrat has been appointed to take M. Alglave's 

 place, and that when the former entered the class-room the 

 students retired silently and in perfect order, leaving M. Terrat 

 to lecture to the walls of the amphitheatre and two members of 

 the Ceicle CatAolujiie who did not deem it prudent to join in the 

 protest of their class-fellows ; the students, we believe, have 

 presented to their professor a unanimous address of sympathy. 

 Let us hope that before the expiry of the month those who are 

 responsible for this treatment of M. Alglave will think better of 

 it, and restore the professor to the position he appears to have 

 filled so well, permitting him at the same time to retain charge 

 of the journal which is among the things that reflect the highest 

 credit on France. 



The Chimpanzee, which during the last two and three-quarter 

 years has been an endless source of instruction and amusement 

 to visitors at the Zoological Gardens, after an illness of two 

 months' duration, died on Friday list. The post-morten examina- 

 tion showed that the caus^ ofdeith was acjto tubercalosis of the 

 peritoniteum, almost exclusively confined to the serous membrane 

 covering the liver and spleen, the omentu-n and small in;es-.ine 

 being slightly affected. A large bronchial gland was on the 

 verge of suppuration, but the lungs were healthy. There were 

 no symptoms of hectic during life, and much subcutaneous and 

 omental fat were found after death. 



THEFrench Meteorological Society has resolved to hold anextra- 

 ordinary reunion during Easter-week, a time when a considerable 

 number of French and foreign meteorologists are in Paris. This 

 meeting has for its object to strengthen the relations which exist 

 between the Society and provincial observers, and to study in 

 common questions of general interest in meteorology. 



The Meteorological Office has resolved, in compliance vnth 

 the wish of the majority of subscribers to the lithographed sheets 

 of hourly readings from their observatories, which are about to 

 appear, to issue the sheets in monthly, not quarterly parts. 



In addition to the Bulletin Rlkeorologique du Nord, ai which 

 ■we lately announced the publication, we are glad to leam that 

 Capt. Hoffmeyer, the Director of the Meteorological Institute 

 of Denmark, has commenced the issue of a daily lithographed 

 chart, for his own country, Norway, Sweden, and North-west 

 Russia. lie has also published an explanation of the chart for 

 the use of subscribers. This chart is most valuable, as it supple- 

 ments our own daily weather charts and those of the Bulletin 

 International, for a district whence accurate information is sel- 

 dom obtainable by telegraph in Western Europe. 



In a recent number we intimated that the Perthshire Society 

 of Natural Science had interrogated the Parliamentary candi- 

 dates for the county and city of Perth as to their opinions on the 

 questions of State help to Science, a responsible Minister of 

 Education, and the promotion of Scientific Exploring expeditions. 



Answers — favourable, we are glad to say — were returned at the 

 time only by the two Conservative candidates, one of whom, Sir 

 W. Stirling Maxwell, is now M.P. for Perthshire. We are now 

 glad to give place to the somewhat tardy reply, addressed to the 

 secretary, of the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, Member for the City of 

 Perth :— " i, Pall Mall East, 18th Feb. 1874.— Dear Sir,— I 

 was surprised to find copied into a London paper from a Scotch 

 journal the questions put in your letter of the 29th January last, 

 with the statement that they had not been answered by me. The 

 fact of my being, as I believe I am, one of the patrons of the 

 Perthshire Society of Natural Science should have been, it 

 appears to me, a sufficient guarantee of my approval of ttie ob- 

 jects of your institution ; and my active co-operation with Capt. 

 Wells in his efforts during the last session of Parliament to ob- 

 tain the sanction of Government to a proposed grant for the 

 furtherance of Arctic exploration, further approves my apprecia- 

 tion of the objects yon advocate, in my willingness to support 

 State expenditure for well-devised schemes of scientific research 

 and educational purposes. — Yours truly, A. Kinnaird." 



H. N. Martin, B.A., Cantab, D.Sc. Lond., has been ap- 

 pointed Lecturer on Physiology at Christ's College, Cambridge. 

 Dr. Martin obtained an open schoUrship for Natural Science 

 at Christ's College, and graduated in the Natural Sciences Tripos, 

 obtaining the first place. Lately he has acted as assistant to 

 Dr. Michael Foster in the Physiological Laboratory of the Uni- 

 versity. A paper by Dr. Martin on the " Structure of the 

 Olfactory Mucous Membrane " appeared in the last number of 

 the Journal of Anatomy, and was reprinted in the Studies from 

 the Physiological Laboratory of the University, Cambridge, 

 edited by Dr. Michael Foster. 



There will be offered, at the Matriculation exhibition at Ne^f 

 College, Oxford, beginning on Wednesday, May 21, at 9 A.M., 

 two Exhibitions, tenable for three years, of tbe annual value of 

 50/. each. These Exhibitions are open to ah persons who have 

 not already been matriculated at another College. In the election 

 to one of the Exhibitions a preference will be igiven to pro- 

 ficiency in Natural Science, if there is any candidate of sufficient 

 merit in the judgment of the examiners. Furtner account of the 

 examination will be supplied on application to the Warden. 



The Science and Art Department has published a catalogue 

 of apparatus for teaching chemistry, containing 112 items, with 

 prices from which a deduction of 50 per cent, is given. We 

 should advise all our readers who are interested in the subject to 

 obtain the catalogue. The same Department has also formed a 

 collection of travelling apparatus for illustrating instruction in 

 Physical Geography, which will be lent, lor a short time to 

 teachers of the subject referred to. The apparatus consists of a 

 set of physical maps of the world and the various continents, by 

 Prof. Sydow, models of iMount Vesuvius, of Mont Blanc, and of 

 the Thames Valley. 



We regret to record the death of Dr. Forbes Winslow, which 

 took place at Brighton on the 3rd instant, at the .age of 63 

 years. 



We formerly announced the proposal for an international 

 memorial to Captain Maury, which is to take the shape of a 

 Lighthouse on the Rocos, to the importance of which Maury 

 called attention in his "Sailing Directions." We learn from 

 Ocean Htgh-oays that the President of the Board of Visitors of 

 the Virginian Military Institute addressed a letter to the Gover- 

 nor of Virj^inia on January 23, requesting him to lay the ques- 

 tion of the Maury memorial before the (ieneral Assembly for 

 such moral support as may fitly be given by the representatives 

 of a State which gave Maury to the world. A joint committee 

 of members of the Senate and House of Delegates has since 

 been appointed; and the hearty co-opiration of the Govtm- 



