38 
NATURE 
[May 14, 1885 
New Nenut&.—M. Stephan publishes positions and descrip- 
tions of 100 nebulz discovered at Marseilles in the years 1883- 
85, in addition to the large number previously detected at that 
observatory. Not the least notable characteristic of M. Stephan’s 
catalogues is the precision of the places given in them, He 
mentions that on October 1 and 2, 1882, neither the nebula 
Dreyer-Schultz 5085 nor # 12 were perceptible in the positions 
assigned to them by the discoverers. 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE 
WEEK, 1885, WAY 17-23 
(For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at 
Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here 
employed.) 
At Greenwich on May 17 
Sun rises, 4h. 7m. ; souths, rrh. 56m. ro‘Ss. ; sets, 19h. 46m. ; 
decl. on meridian, 19° 26’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 
1th. 29m. 
Moon (at First Quarter May 21, 6h.) rises, 6h. 59m. ; souths, 
14h. 53m. ; sets, 22h. 44m. ; decl. on meridian, 18° 7’ N. 
Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 
h. m. h. m. h. m. 5 hi 
Mercury ... 3 37 10,30 <<. | geese... eoeN. 
Venus 4 18 12 TO) -.. 2083, Ee MrONSSaN. 
WETS — ee eye Io 36 17 48 13 13 N. 
jipiters te Ol. LS ty I 30* 13 38 N. 
Saturn RAGS ee ES bE 2159) ..-8 V2 OE. 
* Indicates that the setting is that of the following day. 
Occultations of Stars by the Moon 
Corresponding 
angles from ver- 
May Star Mag. Disap. Reap. Peston ctetan 
inverted image 
k h. m. h. m. % o 
19 ... @ Cancri... 22/152... 23 15 \o-a) ASES59 
ses) Almere 
Zien 3407 «. Ole Ou2L 0.) OL GEah ee Taneoy6 
22... 35 nextantis ....6 °.. 20 48 ... 21 18 .. 269340 
t+ Is below horizon at Greenwich. 
Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites 
May h. m. | May h. m. 
17... 23 21 II. occ. disap. | 21 o 21 I. oce. disap. 
m9 ....20)28 JLT. jtr.iepr: 21 41 I. tr. ing. 
20 2% 33 Llloce. reap. | 22... © & dk treat: 
23 10 III. ecl. disap. | 22 22 I. ecl. reap. 
The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as 
are visible at Greenwich. 
May 21, 3h.—Jupiter in conjunction with and 4° 17! north of 
the Moon. 
THE IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE 
‘THE Iron and Steel Institute met on Wednesday, the 7th 
inst., when Dr. Percy gave the presidential address. 
After inviting the co-operation of the members in supplying him 
with materials for the new edition of his work on ‘Iron and 
Steel,” and referring to Mr. Lowthian Bell’s recent valuable work 
on the same subject, Dr. Percy drew attention to the existing uni- 
versal depression, due, in his opinion, to over-production. 
“‘Darwinianism prevails in the manufacturing world as it does 
in the natural world, however painful and unwelcome may be 
that truth—only the fittest will survive. The struggle may be 
severe and to many persons disastrous, but so long as supply 
exceeds demand, it is inevitable, and the result is not doubtful.” 
__ In the matter of technical education he regretted that a few of 
its professed friends should have indiscreetly attempted to imbue 
all our artisans with the notion that the one thing which at 
present they urgently need is technical education, and that it 
will be certain to benefit them all alike, whereas in some trades, 
such as that of the file-cutter, the marvellous skill which is alike 
the surprise and admiration of all is to be obtained only by the 
practice of his art. He referred with pleasure to the judicious 
and enlightened way in which Sir Bernhard Samuelson, M.P., 
had advocated technical education in its widest sense, and 
rejoiced over the liberality of the founders of the Owens College 
(now the Victoria University) in Manchester, the Mason College 
in Birmingham, and the Firth College in Sheffield, and of the 
Whitworth Scholarships, through whose aid scientific instruction 
is placed within the reach of the artisan class. 
The major portion of the address was devoted to the physical 
and chemical properties of iron and steel, and the learned 
President’s remarks brought out in strong relief the prevailing 
want of knowledge. How comes it, he inquires, that the force 
of cohesion should be increased by mechanical treatment, which, 
@ priori, might be supposed would tend in greater or less degree 
to produce disaggregation? Why is iron or steel wire increased 
in strength by wire-drawing? What is the cause of the physical 
| changes which some metals and ‘alloys have been observed to 
undergo spontaneously while at rest and under ordinary atmo- 
spheric conditions ? 
“*Tt is not many years since that we had to grope about to 
discover an analysis of iron ore or of pig iron, whereas now we 
are actually overwhelmed with such analyses. We are deluged 
with percentages of carbon, graphitic or combined, of silicon 
and manganese, of sulphur and phosphorus. We are bewildered 
by this vast accumulation of material. What is now wanted is 
the man to reduce it to law and order, to evolve from it 
principles for our sure guidance. But the problem is so intricate 
and complex that no common brain can solve it. What are the 
physical properties of “pure iron after fusion? What are the 
chemical and physical properties of compounds of pure iron and 
pure silicon in various proportions? What are the modes of 
existence of manganese, silicon, and phosphorus when present 
together in pig iron? What is the modus operandi of man- 
ganese in the manufacture of iron and steel? Why are animal 
matters or certain other substances rich in nitrogen, required in 
case-hardening iron? Is any nitrogen or any compound of it 
imparted to the case-hardened part of the iron? These and 
such like questions the metallurgist asks of the natural philo- 
sopher and chemist, and has failed hitherto to receive a reply.” 
Having concluded what may be called the technical part of 
his address, Dr. Percy treated the question of the extent to 
which the Government of a country should engage in manu- 
facture, and stated ‘‘that, if it could be shown that the people as 
a whole would be benefited by the Government’s engaging in 
manufacture, then the Government was bound to take that 
course.” Treating the various cases of armour-plates, steel for 
guns, and steel for ship-plates, he showed that in each case, 
owing to competition, co-operative management, and ‘other 
causes, private industry was always able to produce articles as 
good as and cheaper than the Government. 
The address was listened to with the greatest attention 
throughout, both on account of the inherent interest of the 
matter and the great oratorical skill employed in its delivery. 
The closing paragraphs are of such universal interest that we 
quote them verbatim :— 
‘Everything in this world, nay, there is reason to believe 
everything in the universe itself, is changing from moment to 
moment. There is, as I have stated in print long ago, nothing 
constant but change, however paradoxical that statement may 
appear. Every drop of rain that falls, for instance, exerts a 
levelling action on the hills and mountains, and carries down 
with it in its course to the ocean a minute yet sensible portion 
of earthy material. In the moral world the like incessant 
change is going on, and no one can predict what the final result 
ef that change will be. Our globe may, it seems to me, be fitly 
compared with the laboratory of the philosopher. The one, to 
our finite understandings, may appear the scene of social and 
political experiments, just as the other is the scene of chemical 
and physical experiments. But of this we may be sure, that in- 
variable and irresistible law guides all things, immaterial as well 
as material. When I reflect on the intricate social problems of 
the day, the solution of which excites dread in the minds of 
many, I fancy I see the social molecules, if I may use such an 
expression, actively at work in rearranging and adjusting them- 
selves to new conditions, and producing results as surprising as 
they are remarkable. The mysterious forces, whatever they 
may be, which regulate the movements of those molecules, are 
as certain in their operation as those which determine the course 
of the planets in their orbits. Both are equally uncontrollable 
by the agency of man, and politicians will in vain struggle 
against them. 
“‘There is a question that must often occur to us, namely, 
what will Great Britain be when our vast reservoir of material 
force, coal, is exhausted—a result which many members of the 
Iron and Steel Institute are doing their utmost to accelerate? 
The time must come when, in consequence of that exhaustion, 
Great Britain will cease to be a great manufacturing nation, unless 
some new source of force should be discovered, which there is 
