420 



NA TURE 



[Slil'TEMliliK 30. 1909 



vacamics should be annoimccd in the DuUetin in a special 

 column devoted to the pui-|)ose ; (2) that in the case of 

 major positions, i.e. posts of 400/. a year upwards, if a 

 unlvcrsily should desire expert assistance in filling a post, 

 the council should elect a nominating coinniittee for the 

 purpose, the naincs of the members being published in 

 I lie Bulletin ; (3) in the case of minor jjositions, Prof. 

 WilczynsUi does not consider that much could be done 

 owing to the frequency of vacancies, but, at the same time, 

 an annual standing committee might be appointed. While 

 these suggestions only apply to America, and the report 

 of the conunitti>i', which is on somewh.-it dil'feront lines, is 

 to be published elsewhere, the idea suggests itself that 

 reform is none the less nei iled in (ireat Britain, and that 

 not for mathematical appointments alone. The present 

 system of sending in printed testimonials is not only a 

 heavy expense to the younger candidates, who can ill 

 .ifford the money, but in the case of older candidates it 

 involves a serious loss of lime that would otherwise be 

 .ivallable for research, and debars many from offering 

 themselves for appointments. 



Much interesting information as to the provision made 

 for instruction in science and technology in the great pro- 

 vincial centres of population cm be gleaned from the 

 c.ilendars and prospectuses issued at this time of the year 

 by the colleges and institutes which have grown up since 

 the .Technical Instruction .Acts came into force. .Among 

 such year-books received we notice those of .Armstrong 

 College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Belfast Municipal 

 Teelmic.al Institute, and the Bradford Technical College. 

 W'liil,' at each of thi'se \vi-ll-i'i|uippcil inslitutions the cl.aims 

 of pure science ;is the found.'ition tif all successfid industrial 

 practice are duly recognised, each rightly makes a special 

 effort to suit its classes in technology to the particular 

 manufacturing needs of the area in which it is situated. 

 It is possible only to give a few instances. At .Armstrong 

 College there are special courses for miners, .and promin- 

 ence is given to naval architecture. In ronmction with 

 the lattiM- work it is noteworthy that the B.Sc. degrei' of 

 the I'niversity of Durham, of which this is a constituent 

 college, is awarded in naval architecture. In the Belf.ist 

 institute day courses have been established to provide a 

 soimd training in mechanical and electrical engineering, 

 in the science and technology of the textile industries, and 

 in applied rhemistry. Similarly in Bradford, the depart- 

 ment of texlile industries <leals with every aspect of the 

 induslry, and dlplom.as, we observe, are awarded in pre- 

 |)aring, combing, and spinning, in weaving and designing, 

 and in chemistry and dyeing. 



Some months ago a committee was formed, with Dr. 

 IC. Berl, of Zurich, as secretary, which decided to present 

 10 Prof. Georg Lunge, in celebration of his seventieth 

 birthday and the jubilee of his doctorate, a gold 

 medal hearing his portrait, and to collect and hand over 

 10 him a sum of money — 40,000 francs have already been 

 <olleeted — to be disposed of at his discretion. The formal 

 |)resentation was made by Prof. Hosshard in the chief 

 chemical lecture theatre of the Ziirich Polytechnic on 

 Sunday, September 19, the theatre being crowded with 

 chemists from almost every European country. Following 

 this ceremony congratulatory letters and addresses were 

 delivered by the deleg.-Ues, Dr. I.andoU, speaking for the 

 Swiss .Society of Chemical Induslry, leading the way. lie 

 was followed by Dr. R. Schmidt, director of the famous 

 Elberfeld works, who represented the Verein deulscher 

 Chemiker, and by Geheimrat Bnnte, who brought an 

 address from the Karlsruhe Technical College. Dr. 

 Lepetit brought an .address from the Society chimica 

 It.aliana, and Dr. V. C. Garrett spoke for the New- 

 castle section of the Society of Chemical Industry, 

 the present-day representative of the Newcastle Chemical 

 Society, of which Dr. Lunge was one of the 

 founders. Chemists who have studied at Zurich are 

 naturally among Prof. Lunge's most devoted admirers, and 

 on behalf of those resident in Great Britain Dr. Richard 

 Sellgman presented an address signed by many of Lunge's 

 old students and English friends. Dr. R. Niitzll brought 

 congratulations from Austria, and llerr Bell spoke on 

 behalf of those who still have the good fortune to be 

 working at Zurich. In addition, there were numerous pre- 



NO. 2083, VOL. 8t] 



sentations from the various learned societies of Switzerland 

 and Germany, whilst several hundred congratulatory tele- 

 grams, including mii: from the .Society of Chemical Indus- 

 try, were received. In an admirable speech Prof. Lunge 

 thanked the many speakers and the socletli'S they -epre- 

 sented, and announced his intention of h.inding over the 

 money which h.i<l been collected to the polytechni . the 

 interest to be used at the discretion of the professors of 

 chemistry for the .assistance of young chemists who would 

 otherwise have dllVicidty in continuing their studies or 

 investigations for a suiliciently long period. 



SOCIETIKS AND ACADEMIES. 

 Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, September 20. — M. Bouchard in the 

 chair. Mulliple iniiiiochromatic Im.ages of thi' sun given 

 by ilie l.uge llni^ ol the spectrum; 11. Dcslandros and 

 L. d'Azambuja. .\ historical account of tlie study of the 

 different layers of the solar atmosphere by means of monO' 

 chromatic images of the dark lines. In the present paper 

 an account is given of new work, in which the successive 

 layers of iron, calcium, and hydrogen have been dis- 

 tinguished. The upper layers, the most interesting but 

 the most difllcult to Isolate, have been specially studied 

 the large spectroheliograph with three silts, built in 1907 

 having been of great service In this eonmrllon. — The 

 earthqu;d;e of June 11, 1909: Alfred AnKot. .A m,ap 

 given of the district affected, showing the zones of equa 

 disturbance. — The action of mineral waters on the stria 

 lion and form of Ihe valves of diatoms ; A. Lauby. — The 

 washing of cider .apples with ;m oxidising calcium s.alt,, 

 leading to a pure fermentation : Henri Alliot and Gilberi 

 Gimol. It has been shown that washing the apples with 

 a weak solution of calcium hypochlorite Is very 

 advant.igeous.- — Tlw preventive action of normal serum 

 from Ihe sheep on Trypanosoma duiloni : A. Thiroux. 



(".'dcui.'itlon of the depth of seismic hypocentres : Comas 



I 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Appreciations of Carl von Linne. Ky B. D. J. . . . 391 



IndiaRubber Manufacture. By C. S 391 



'Vector Analysis 392 



Retaining Walls and Road Bridges. By T. H, B. . 393 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



(lehrcUe : " Die Strahlen der positiven Elektrlziliit " 394 



Ohm : " Das Seelenleben der Tiere."— W. F. K. . 394 



Toulouse: "Comment Former un Esprit" .... 394 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Visibility of Ihdley's Comet. — W. F. Denning . . 395 

 The Presence of I hemoglobin in Invertebrate Blood. 



Geoffrey Smith 395 



Magnetic Storm of September 25 395 



Aviation, {/lliislra/at) By Prof. G. H. Bryan, 



F.R.S 397 



The Royal Observatory and Electric Tramways . . 399 



Peter Barr 400 



Notes 400 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Astronomical Occurrences in October ^^404 



Observations of 1 hiUcy's Comet, I909(' 404 



Another Larf;e .Sun-spot 405 



Observations of Mars 405 



Observations of Saturn 405 



The I'liture of Astronomy 405 



The Institute of Metals. By A. McWilliam . . . 405 

 The British Association at Winnipeg : — 



Section K. — Botany — Openint; Address by Lieut. - 

 Colonel David Prain, CLE., LL.D., F.R.S., 



President of the Section 406 



Suhsecllnii of R. -A(;iicullure— Opening Address by 

 Major P. G. Craigie, C.B., F.S.S., Chairman 



of the Sub-section. (Il'it/i Diaf;i\!iiis.) . . . . 411 



University and Educational Intelligence 419 



Societies and Academies 420 



