548 



NATURE 



[Aprils, 1880 



The Gardeners' Chronicle regrets to hear of the decease from 

 cholera of Adolf Biermann, the Curator of the Royal Botanic 

 Garden, Calcutta. 



On the 1st inst. the Geological Society of France celebrated 

 the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation. 



The annual meeting of the Paris Physical Society took place 

 on April 2 in the large hall of the Societe d'Encouragernent. It 

 was very well attended, the hall having leen lit by ten Werder- 

 mann lights, which worked with great regularity and gave a very 

 pure illumination. Very few new experiments were made. We 

 must notice, however, a new use of M. Trouve's polyscope. M. 

 Trouve placed his electrical polyscope in the stomach of a fish 

 swimming in nn aquarium, and without its seeming to suffer any 

 inconvenience, it radiated a light equal to one common candle. 



In various works on botany M. Alph. de Candolle has 

 remarked (Arch, des Sciences, March), there are enigmatical and 

 even unintelligible descriptions, which it would have been better 

 not to publish. And this is the case not only with incompetent 

 writers, but with those of the first rank. He gives a list 0' 

 spxies duUa, &c, from vols. xiv. to xvii. of the Prodromus 

 (published 1S56-1S73), referred to their authors (deceased), care 

 having been taken to attribute each enigma to its true origin. 

 Those volumes of the Prodromus contain 11,056 species classed 

 and described, and the enigmatical amount to 562, or about 5 

 per cent. It is noted that there are pretty large proportions of 

 enigmas (1) in certain authors who have written much, as Blume 

 (66), Miquel (59), Roxburgh (20), Kunth (19), Sprengel (17); 

 (2) in authors who have published only one or two volumes, or 

 even simple memoirs, such as Blanco (32), Opiz (28), Loureiro 

 (15), Don (14), Noronha (11), Griffith (u), Hamilton (11) . . . 

 Martens and Galeotti (4). (The extent of the writings must be 

 taken into account.) Three great naturalists who have written 

 much, viz., Linnxus, Lamarck, and Brown, stand together about 

 the middle of the list, with the numbers 7, 9, and 8 severally. 

 M. de Candolle refers further to a document by Endlicher, in 

 which that naturalist gives a list of enigmatical genera, amounting 

 to 109 out of the 6,895 genera known in 1S40, or about l\ per 

 cent. Analysis here shows that the incapable or mediocre 

 authors have given most enigmas. Pere Vellozo (29) is most 

 prominent in this respect, and a regret is expressed that he, with 

 some other culpable fires (Blanco, Loureiro, &c), did not con- 

 fine themselves to writing homilies. The troublesome result of 

 certain publications has now rendered botanists more prudent. 



The Belgian Academy of Sciences has announced the follow- 

 ing subjects of prize competition for 18S1 : — In mathematical 

 and physical sciences : 1. Extend, as much as possible, the 

 theories of points and straight lines of Steiner, Kirkman, Cay- 

 ley, Salmon, Hesse, Bauer, to properties which are, for superior 

 plain curves, for surfaces and for twisted curves, the analogues 

 of the theorems of Pascal and Brianchon. 2. Extend to eight 

 points of a curve of the third order the anharmonic property of 

 four points of a conic. 3 . New researches on the spectrum of 

 oxides, chlorides, and bromides of barium, calcium, and stron- 

 tium, whose absolute purity has first been proved by chemical 

 analysis. In natural sciences : I, New researches on the ger- 

 mination of seeds, especially on the assimilation of nutritive 

 deposits by the embryo. 2. New researches on development of 

 Trematoda, from the histogenic and organogenic point of view. 

 3. New stratigraphical, lithological, and paloeontological re- 

 searches fitted to determine the arrangement or order of succes- 

 sion of layers of the formation named Ardennais by Dumont, 

 and at present considered as Cambrian. The value of the medals 

 awarded will be 600 francs for each question. Memoirs (which 

 may be in French, Flemish, or Latin) are to be sent in, with 

 mottoes as usual, before August I, 1SS1. (A prize question on 

 torsion is reserved for the programme of 1882.) 



From the following extract from the Planter's Journal, quoted 

 in the Barbados Globe of March 8, it will be seen that science 

 has reached that remote colony : — " Those who are interested in 

 the agricultural prosperity of Barbados will have observed with 

 pleasure the increased attention that has of late been paid here 

 to the application of the methods and improvements of scientific 

 agriculture to the raising and reaping of our staple crop. The 

 planter is more and more fully realising the fact that, if he is to 

 hold his own in the face of the competition that is springing up 

 all around him in the field where his supremacy was once un- 

 questioned, he must persistently and patiently invoke the aid of 

 the processes and the discoveries which science offers to those 

 who seek her. Hence it is that we have now, under the pro- 

 visions of the Education Act, 1878, an Island Professor of 

 Chemistry and Agricultural Science ; that there is besides a 

 private analytical chemist resident amongst us ; and that the 

 Barbados Agricultural Society has appointed a Chemical 

 Committee, which has for some months been steadily engaged in 

 doing good, though unostentatious, work in obtaining analyses 

 of manures and similar matters. The result of these movements 

 is seen in the encouraging fact that the prudent planter, in 

 purchasing his foreign fertilisers, is more careful in inquiring 

 into their quality, and, as a necessary consequence, the agents 

 for the better class of manures are willing to meet his require- 

 ments by placing before him satisfactory analyses of the articles 

 which they offer for sale. There prevails therefore in the manure 

 market a better condition of things both for the buyer and for 

 the honest vendor — the former receiving more value for his 

 money, and the latter running less risk of being undersold by 

 the fraudulent maker of ' sophii.ticated ' manures." 



In consequence of the general election it has been considered 

 advisable to fix the date for the Conference on the Progress of 

 Public Health— which has been held annually by the Society of 

 Arts since 1S76 — somewhat later than was originally intended, 

 or than has been the case in former years. It will therefore be 

 held in the beginning of June. A programme of subjects for 

 discussion has been drawn up by the Executive Committee, and 

 will be submitted to the Conference. The following are the 

 subjects included: — I. The development of Local Government 

 administration, especially by the constitution of County Boards. 



2. The extension of the powers of the local authorities of urban and 

 rural sanitary districts. Amendments in the Public Health Act. 



3. Sanitary inspection and classification of dwellings. 4. Amend- 

 ments in the Rivers Pollution Prevention Act. 5. The advisa- 

 bility of strengthening the administrative organisation of the 

 Local Government Board. Local Government Board Adminis- 

 tration Areas. 6. Further suggestions by sanitary authorities. 

 The programme will also be issued to sanitary authorities 

 throughout the kingdom. It is not proposed to make any 

 attempt to procure papers which may be read and discussed ; 

 but the Committee state that they will be glad to receive any 

 communications containing fresh information or giving accounts 

 of progress made since the last Conference. Such communica- 

 tions, if approved by the Committee, will be printed and circu- 

 lated at the Conference, but it is probable that time will not 

 admit of any discussion being taken upon them. 



The Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, 

 having appointed a committee to collect evidence and report 

 the effect of the past severe winters -and cold summer on trees, 

 shrubs, and plants, will be glad of the co-operation of all horti- 

 culturists interested in the subject, whether members of the 

 Society or not. Forms are in preparation for filling up, and 

 may be had on application to the Secretary, South Kensington. 



We regret to hear that the University of St. Andrew's is in 

 such difficulties that it has been resolved to reduce the salaries of 

 the professors to a considerable extent for some years, unless her 



