July 20, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



119 



for the purchase of the land, but the Commis- 

 sioners may receive gifts and bequests. 



Secretary Herbert L. Bridgman, of the 

 Peary Arctic Club, left on July 12th, for Syd- 

 ney, C. B., to superintend the departure, of 

 the club steamer Windward for North Green- 

 land, and if advisable, to take charge of the 

 expedition. The Windward carries a full cargo 

 of American flour, oil and sugar. Dominion 

 coal and English pemmican, Maine lumber, 

 New Bedford whaleboats and Mauser rifles 

 from Santiago and will proceed as rapidly as ice 

 and other conditions will permit to Peary's 

 headquarters at Etah. The mail expected 

 from the Norwegian friends of the Fram-Sver- 

 drup expedition has not arrived, and the relief 

 promised for the Bobert Stein party lauded last 

 year, near Cape Sabine, has entirely failed to 

 materialize. The fate o^ Stein and his compan- 

 • ions depends upon the Windward. 



Two volumes of the evidence before The 

 British Indian Plague Commission have been is- 

 sued. They contain a largeamountof testimony 

 and numerous reports on preventive inocula- 

 tion, and other subjects, but the report of the 

 Commissioners has not yet been issued. 



A MEETING was held at Liverpool on June 

 25th under the auspices of the School of Trop- 

 ical Medicine at which the following resolutions 

 were adopted : 



1. That this meeting of the Liverpool School of 

 Tropical Medicine and others, having heard the views 

 of the experts of the School on the conditions for 

 Europeans of life in the tropics, are strongly of opin- 

 ion that steps should he immediately taken by Her 

 Majesty's Government to improve those conditions in 

 every possible direction by the segregation of Euro- 

 peans, improved sanitation, better water supply, 

 clearance of bush near towns, light railways to the 

 mountainous districts, and such other means as science 

 may direct. 2. That the Liverpool Chamber of Com- 

 merce be requested to co-operate with the School, and 

 to ask the Government to receive a joint deputation 

 on the subject. 



Addresses on the subject were made by Pro- 

 fessor Robert Boyce, Major Ronald Ross and 

 Professor Flexner. 



According to a cablegram to the daily papers, 

 the first authoritative report on Count Zeppelin's 

 airship was made on July 10th at a meeting of the 



society for the promotion of aerial navigation 

 by experts who either shared in or watched the 

 recent experiment. They declared that im- 

 provements in the steering apparatus were nec- 

 essary, the one at present used having been 

 thrown out of gear on one side of the balloon, 

 rendering its proper guidance and return to the 

 starting point impossible. The steering rods 

 running upward from the car were too weak 

 and became bent. The screw blades conse- 

 quently did not respond properly. The air 

 pressure motors failed, but it was difficult to 

 say whether this was caused by a defect or by 

 bad handling. The method of transmitting 

 power to the screws will need great improve- 

 ment to enable the airship to contend against 

 even a light wind. During the recent as- 

 cent the wind had a velocity of three 

 metres a second to a height of 100 metres, and 

 against this the vessel sailed well, but at a 

 height of from 150 to 200 metres the balloon 

 was evidently driven before the wind. It must 

 be remembered, however, that this was when 

 one of the rudders was out of gear. If the 

 speed of the screws cannot be increased the 

 blades must be enlarged. Another defect was 

 the continual escape of gas, necessitating con- 

 stant filling of the receptacle up to the moment 

 of starting. This defect alone will prevent 

 the achievement of the idea of remaining in 

 the air for eight consecutive days, as a single 

 filling costs 10,000 Marks. It is imperative for 

 financial as well as scientific reasons that this 

 defect be overcome. The king and queen of 

 Wurtemburg will visit Friedrichshaven on July 

 12th, when a second ascent will be tried in their 

 presence. On the result will depend whether 

 the vessel shall be improved on its original 

 lines or fundamental alterations be made. The 

 problem will certainly not be abandoned even 

 if there is another failure. Count Zeppelin is 

 far too enthusiastic to give up his attempts. 

 Moreover, large financial interests are at stake. 

 Already more than 1,000,000 Marks have been 

 spent on the machine and experiments, of 

 which amount Count Zeppelin furnished about 

 500,000 Marks. 



The annual general meeting of Marine Bio- 

 logical Association was held in the rooms of the 

 Royal Society on June 27th. Nature states that 



