356 



NA TURE 



[Sept. 3, 1874 



longest surviving of them all. Neither he nor any of his 

 brothers were married ; one sister was, but she left no 

 children. He was born in 1793. Between 1803 and 1808 

 he was a pupil at the High School, Edinburgh, after 

 leaving which he entered the University of that city as a 

 medical student, attending the lectures of Drs. Monro, 

 Hope, Gregory, Duncan, and others. He took his doctor's 

 degree in 1S14, for five years after which he devoted his 

 time to travelling on the Continent, visiting Paris, Rome, 

 Florence, as well as Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, and 

 Austria. In 1822 he settled in Edinburgh, and from then 

 till 1828 contributed several zoological papers to different 

 Scotch scientific societies and journals, including one to 

 the Wernerian Natural History Society, in 1827, on the 

 circulation of fluids through the structure of sponges, in 

 which attention was first drawn to the function of the 

 ossicula and pores of those animals, and which led Mr. 

 Fleming to give the generic name Graiitia to one men^ber 

 of the family. 



In June 1827, whilst still in Edinburgh, Dr. Grant was 

 elected Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in 

 the new University of London, then being formed ; his 

 first lecture was not however delivered until October 1 828. 

 For the first few years after he settled in London he 

 communicated several papers on zoological subjects to the 

 Scientific Committee of the Zoological Society, some of 

 which, on points in the anatomy of Scpiola, Laligopsis, 

 and Bc'roc, read in 1 833, are to be found in the first 

 volume of their Transactions. From that time Dr. Grant 

 published no papers of importance. 



In 1836 Dr. Grant was elected a Fellow of the Royal 

 Society, and in 1837 he was appointed to the triennial 

 Fullcrian Professorship of Physiology at the Royal 

 Institution in Albemarle Street. 



At his classes, during one session, it is said that Dr. 

 Grant had only two attendants, these being Mr. Hallam, 

 the illustrious historian, and a young boy ; it was always 

 a matter of surprise to the other students of the college 

 how he managed to adapt his lectures to the mental 

 capacity of this trying audience. 



During the forty-six years that he held his professorship, 

 he never missed a single lecture. It was his determina- 

 tion, if he had lived, to resign his appointment during the 

 present year. 



In disposition Dr. Grant was very retiring and sechisive, 

 and a great reader. He travelled much and was an ex- 

 cellent linguist ; so fond of languages was he, that only 

 two years ago he attended lectures on Anglo-Saxon in 

 University College. By his will Dr. Grant leaves his 

 extensive library and all his private collection to Univer- 

 sity College, together with a sum of money to be employed 

 in maintaining and extending the zoological and zooto- 

 mical department of the library of the college. 



CONFERENCE FOR MARITIME 

 METEOROLOGY 



A GENERAL wish having of late been expressed 

 that the measures for the prosecution of Maritime 

 Meteorology, proposed at the International Conference at 

 Brussels in 1S53, should be reconsidered, now that the 

 experience of more than twenty years of the operation of 

 these measures has enabled meteorologists to form 

 opinions as to their utility, a conference is now being 

 held at the Meteorological Oflice, 116, Victoria-street, 

 consisting of the following gentlemen :— Austria— R. 

 Miiller, K. K. Hydrographic Ofiice, Pola. *Belgium— 

 Van Rysselberghe, Navigation School, Ostend. Bengal— 

 H. F. Blanford, Meteorological Office, Calcutta. China— 

 J. D. Campbell, Secretary Commissioners of Maritime 

 Customs. Denmark— Capt. N. Hoffmeyer, Meteorologi- 

 cal Institute, Copenhagen. France — C. Sainte-Claire 

 Deville, Inspector of Meteorological Stations ; A. Dela- 



marche. Ministry of Marine, Paris. Germany — W. H. von 

 Freeden, Deutsche Seewarte, Hamburg ; G. Neumayer, 

 Hydrographer, Berlin ; Capt. Stempel, Imperial Navy ; 

 H. A. Meyer, Commissioner for Investigating German 

 Seas, Kiel. Great Britain - -(Board of Trade), Capt. 

 Toynbee ; R. H. Scott, Director Meteorological Office, 

 Hon. Sec. ; *(Admiralty), Rear-Admiral NoUoth ; R. J. 

 Mann, M.D., President Meteorological Society. Holland 

 — Buys Ballot, Royal Meteorological Institute, Utrecht, 

 President ; Lieut. J. E. Cornelissen, R.N. Italy — Capt. 

 N. Canevaro, R.N. Norway — H. Mohn, Meteorological 

 Institute, Christiana. Portugal — J. C. de Brito Capello, Ob- 

 servatory, Lisbon. Russia — Capt. M. Rikatcheff, I.R.N., 

 Central Physical Observatory, St. Petersburg ; *A. 

 Movitz, Observatory, Tiflis. Spain — C. Pujazon, Maiine 

 Observatory, San Fernando ; Captain iVIontijo, S.N. 

 ♦Turkey — Admiral Hobart Pacha. The basis of discus- 

 sion will be the Report of the Brussels Conference above 

 referred to, with some other heads relating to instructions, 

 instruments, Sec. The Conference will be divided into 

 two sub-committees : — I. Instruments; 2. Observations. 

 A Report of the proceedings will be published by the 

 Meteorological Committee. A programme has already 

 appeared in Nature, vol. x. p. 152. 



DEEP-SEA SOUNDINGS IN THE PACIFIC 

 OCEAN 



"VX /E take the following extracts on this subject from a 



' ' report made to the United States Secretary of the 



Navy by Commander George E. Belknap, dated United 



States Steamer Tuscarora, Hakodadi, Japan, June 26 : — 



" I left Yokohama on the 8th inst., and at dawn the 

 next morning began the work of sounding homeward on 

 a great circle passing through the island of Tawaga, of 

 the Aleutian group, and towards Puget's .Sound. When 

 about 100 miles east by south from Kinghasan or Sendai 

 Bay, on the east coast of Japan, the lead sank to a depth 

 of 3,427 fathoms, showing a descent of 1,594 fathoms in 

 a run of 30 miles. The result seems extraordinary at so 

 short a distance from the land, but the next coast revealed 

 a depth still more astonishing, the sinker carrying the 

 wire down 4,643 fathoms without reaching the bottom. 



" On this occasion, when some 500 fathoms of wire had 

 run out, the sinker was suddenly swept under the ship's 

 bottom by the strong undercurrent, and all efforts to get 

 the wire clear and keep it from tending underneath were 

 unavailing, the difficulty being increased by a fresh 

 breeze and a moderately heavy sea. Finally, when 4,643 

 fathoms of wire had run out, and only 1 50 fathoms of wire 

 were left on the reel, it broke close to the surface, and 

 about five miles were lost. 



" The strain on the reel was very great, and notwith- 

 standing a weight of 1301b. on the pulley line, it took 

 three men to check and hold the drum, and the wonder 

 was that the wire had not parted sooner. This great 

 strain must have been due to the action of the strong 

 undercurrent upon the sinker, sweeping it with great 

 force from the ship, as since that cast we have sounded 

 repeatedly in depths of more than 4,000 fathoms, and had 

 no trouble in reaching the bottom. 



" The position of the cast, as shown by observation 

 was about 45 miles distant from the previous one, the 

 strong current having carried the ship beyond the position 

 where it was intended to sound 



" I determined to run back inshore and skirt the stream, 

 beginning a new great circle off Point Komoto, in latitude 

 40° north. I also concluded to increase the weight of the 

 sinker some 20 lb 



" It will be seen, by an inspection of the track chart of 

 sounding, that the moment the second line diverges from 

 the coast of Niphon and enters the edge of the Japan 



* Not present at the meeting on Aug. 31. 



