Oil. r, 1 8 74] 



NA TURE 



447 



Dr. Meyer entered upon his new duties on the first of last 

 month. 



A cORREsroNDENT with the Transit of Venus Expedition to 

 Honolulu, writing from Valparaiso, informs us of the safe arrival 

 thereof the party, after a paiticularly fine passage south; the 

 weather was not so favourable up the Chili coast. 



A LARGE and influential meeting of the professional and pri- 

 vate friends of the late Dr. Anstie was held on the 23rd 

 ultimo, at the house of Dr. George Johnson, in Savile 

 Row, for the purpose of taking steps to raise a fund to be 

 applied in perpetuation of Dr. Anstie's memory, and in recogni- 

 tion of his public and professional services. Dr. Burdon-Sanderson 

 moved, and Dr. Glover seconded, a resolution — "That, consi- 

 dering the labours of the late Dr. Anstie for the promotion of 

 science, and the circumstances of his untimely death, it is desir- 

 able that some permanent memorial of his cateer should be esta- 

 blished." In speaking to this resolution, it was pointed out that 

 Dr. Anstie'i widow and three young children were but slenderly 

 provided for, and hence that his only son would probably be 

 unable to obtain the complete education which his father, if his 

 life had been spared, had intended to secure for him. It was 

 felt that the proposed memorial might fittingly take the form of 

 a fund to be devoted to this object, and it was hoped that such 

 an application of money might net be unacceptable to his family, 

 and might be received by them as a fitting tribute to the estima- 

 tion in which Dr. Anstie was held. By subsequent resolutions, 

 a large committee was appointedjo carry out the objects of the 

 meeting, and Mr. J. S. Storr, of 26 King Street, Covent Garden, 

 was appointed treasurer, and Mr. Brudenell Carter and Dr. 

 Wharton llood were appointed joint honorary secretaries. An 

 executive committee was also nominated ; and an opinion was 

 expressed that the circumstances of Dr. Anstie's death, in the 

 discharge of his duty, as well as much of the work which he had 

 done during life to ameliorate the condition of the poor, were 

 sufficient to justify an appeal to the general public as well as to 

 his own profession. 



The Photographic Society invites scientific men who have 

 turned their attention to photography to furnish specimens for 

 tlitrir forthcoming exhibition. It is proposed to devo'.e a room to 

 tli>; purely scientific applications of the subject. 



We would again diaw the attention of secretaries of British 

 scientific societies to the proposed work referred to in a recent 

 number (Nature, voh x. p. 407) by M. Rauis, of the Belgian 

 Academy — a Dictionary of Learned Societies. He is of course 

 anxious to get full and trustworthy information, and we hope 

 that the numerous societies of this country will lend him every 

 assistance in carrying out his valuable scheme. 



The news of the death of M. Elie de Beaumont, in his 75ih 

 year, has thrown a gloom over the French Academy. We 

 believe that his position of perpetual secretary to the Academy 

 ■will be conferred on M. Bertrand, at present president of the 

 Academy of Sciences. The/aiiteiiilof M. Bertrand, who is a mem- 

 ber in the section of Geometry, would thus become vacant, and 

 would Ijc the object of a warm contest. Since the foundation of 

 the Academy of Sciences, the place of secretary has been per- 

 manent, while that of president has been annual. Among tlie 

 I predecessors of M. de Beaumont were Fontenelle, who died a 

 centenarian after having occupied his fautmil for sixty years, 

 Condorcet, Fourrier, Delambre, and Arago, whom De Beaumont 

 succeeded, the two together having held oflSce for more than half 

 a century. Since the deith of Flourens, M. Dumas has been 

 SLCietary for thePhysical Sciences. 



At the Aberdeen Cryptogamic show referred to in last week's 

 Naiure, p. 427, a '"mceting^of botanisls was held, when it 

 \\ao agreed to form a iicj'.tish Cryptogamic Society, wliich, by 



an annual exhibition held in the larger cities by rotation, aird by 

 other means, would endeavour lo promote a more general and 

 deeper knowledge of cryptogamic plants. It is intended to hold 

 the exhibition for next year at Perth. 



The first session of the Yorkshire College of Science, Leeds, 

 opens on the 26th inst. There are already four professorships — 

 Mathematics and Experimental Physics (Prof. Riicker), Chemistry 

 (Prof. Thorpe), Geology and Mining (Prof. Green), Textile 

 Fabrics (Prof. Walker). 



The expedition organised in June last by Captain Williams, of 

 Sunderland, in the steamship Diana, belonging to Mr. Lamont, 

 of Dundee, has returned to the latter port. The Novaya Zemlya 

 region was the scene of the Z'inwa'j' cruising ; the Gulf of Obi 

 was reached, and the conclusion come to that without difficulty a 

 vessel might make Behring Strait. Capt. Wiggins, who was in 

 command, endeavoured to assist the Austrian expedition, but 

 was compelled to give up the attempt. Curiously, however, the 

 Dinaa reached Hammerfest just an hour before the members of 

 the Austrian expedition. Some important corrections of the 

 geography of the region around the mouth of the Obi have 

 been made. 



The council of the Institution of Civil Engineers have issued 

 a list of subjects for premiums to be awarded during session 

 1874-75. Information with regard to the premiums, which are 

 valuable, is prefixed to the list, and we advise those interested 

 to apply to the secretary for information. 



The Council of the Institution of Naval Architects have had 

 under consideration the question of providing a good series of 

 contributions for their next session. They have accordingly pre- 

 pared a libt of subjects, which they desire to submit to the mem- 

 bers and associates of the Institution, and others interested in 

 shipbuilding, as questions on which they will be gkd to receive 

 commun'cations for the annual general meeting in March (17th 

 to 20th), 1875. Anyone wishing a list of the subjects should 

 apply to the Secretary, 20, John Street, Adtlphi. 



There are several reports to hand of recent earthquakes. 

 There was a violent shock at Randazza, Sicily, on Sept. 27, and 

 several houses were injured. Rumbling noises are audible from 

 Mount Etna — Intelligence publishedjat New York on Sept. 26 

 reports that the town of Antigua, in Guatemala, has been de- 

 stroyed by an earthquake. — Several shocks of eartliquake were 

 felt at Delhi on Aug. 31, at 5.25 A.M.— A shock was felt near 

 Sucklaspore, in the Madras Presidency, on the evening of the 

 I7lh Aug. The direction of the shock was from east to west, and 

 the duration seven seconds. 



A TERRIBLY destructive typhoon swept over Hong Kong 

 about 12 o'clock on the night of Sept. 23. Many vessels were 

 wrecked and the loss of life is estimated at 1,000, and the 

 damage done to property is immense. The typhoon reached 

 Macao, causing there also a fearful amount of damage. 



One of the Limuli at the Crys'al Palace Aquarium died last 

 week from the effects of the continued attacks made on it by 

 lobsters in the same tank. The other Limuli arc now in a 

 separate tank. 



The Swiss Society of Public Usefulness, says the Continental 

 Ilu-ald, which met at Friburg from the 21st to the 23rd inst. 

 inclusive, treated the subjects eng.aging its attention under two 

 heads, viz. , Publ ic Instruction and Industry. Under the first heatl 

 it discussed whether the professional teaching now given in the 

 Confederacy should be altered ; whether in (he secondary schools 

 for boys a larger share of scientific education ought not to be 

 given, combined with practical exemplification, manual labour, 

 and experience in industrial chemistry ; whether in the secondai) 

 and superior scho Is for girls sufficient attention ii paid to the 



