Maech 7, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



399 



Nature states that an astronomical observa- 

 tory has been erected and equipped by the 

 Bengal Government at the Presidency Col- 

 lege, Calcutta, and veas recently opened. 

 The idea of providing means for the instruc- 

 tion of Indian youths in practical astronomy 

 was conceived about five years ago, when the 

 Maharaja of Tipperah presented to the Presi- 

 dency College an equatorial telescope by 

 Grubb, 4J-inch aperture. On Dr. J. C. Bose's 

 representation, the Government of Bengal 

 agreed to provide a building suitable for ob- 

 servations. But it was not done until after the 

 eclipse of January, 1898, when the profes- 

 sional and amateur astronomers who visited 

 India caused active interest to be taken in 

 building the observatory. From an article in 

 the Pioneer Mail it appears that the chief in- 

 strument of the observatory is a 7-inch equa- 

 torial by Sir Howard Grubb, with an elec- 

 trically controlled driving clock and with elec- 

 tric lights for all the graduated circles. The 

 telescope will generally be used for eye obser- 

 vations, but the object-glass may be adapted 

 to photography, and the mounting of the tele- 

 scope is of a strength that will admit of its 

 being used for spectroscopic examination of 

 the sun or the brighter stars. 



At a meeting of the members of the Royal 

 Institution on February 3 thanks were re- 

 turned to Sir Frederick Bramwell, for his do- 

 nation of £100, and to Mr. Frank McOlean, for 

 his donation of £50 to the fund for the promo- 

 tion of experimental research at low tempera- 

 tures. It was announced that the following 

 valuable relics of Michael Faraday, bequeathed 

 to the institution by the late Mr. Thomas J. 

 F. Deacon, had been received : Medals of silver 

 and bronze (numbering 20 in all), and includ- 

 ing the Fuller medal of 1828, two Copley 

 medals of 1832 and 1838, two Newton medals 

 of the Eoyal Society, 1833 and 1838, and the 

 Eumford medal of 1846; and two foreign 

 Orders, contained in a small mahogany box; 

 a book of portraits and autographs, including 

 orginal letters from the Prince of Wales and 

 Prince Alfred, Louis Napoleon, Humphry 

 Davy, Thomas Young, Humboldt, John Dal- 

 ton, Whewell, Mary Somerville and many 

 others; a daguerrotype of a consultation of 



Faraday with Professor Daniell; a drawing in 

 colors of the laboratory of the Royal Institu- 

 tion, and a manuscript book entitled 'A Class 

 Book for the Reception of Mental Exercises 

 instituted July, 1818,' containing contributions 

 by Faraday. 



The following sets of scientific books were 

 recently sold at auction in London: The 

 Alpine Journal, from the commencement in 

 1863 to November, 1901, £29 10s. ; M. C. Cooke, 

 'Illustrations of British Fungi,' and supple- 

 ment, 1881-91, with upwards of 700 colored 

 plates, £23; the Quarterly Journal of the 

 Geological Society of ■ London, from the com- 

 mencement in 1845 to August, 1901, £16; 

 Sowerby's 'British Botany,' 1863, etc., £33; 

 the publications of the Pateontographical So- 

 ciety, 1848-97, £17 15s. ; H. G. L. Reichenbach, 

 'Icones Florae Germanicse et Helvetia,' etc., 

 1850-99, 23 volumes with upwards of 2,000 

 colored plates, £63 10s. 



We learn from the London Times that under 

 the presidency of Dr. Morris, the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, the fourth West 

 Indian Agricultural Conference was held at 

 Barbados on January 4 and 6 last, there being 

 a large gathering of the representatives of 

 the botanical, chemical, and educational de- 

 partments, and of the chief agricultural socie- 

 ties in the West Indies. The proceedings were 

 opened by Sir Frederic Hodgson, the governor 

 of Barbados, in an address of welcome. In his 

 presidential address Dr. Morris passed in re- 

 view the various industries of the islands, 

 from sugar to bee-keeping and onion-growing. 

 With regard to the question of central fac- 

 tories he expressed the hope that in some of the 

 smaller sugar islands it had approached a stage 

 when the details may be submitted to the con- 

 sideration of the planting community. In 

 Barbados the opinion is not unanimous that 

 central factories would materially improve the 

 condition of all classes of the community. It 

 is only proposed to introduce factories grad- 

 ually, but so long as nothing is done it is diffi- 

 cult to look forward with any degree of com- 

 fort to the future of the sugar industry of the 

 island. Papers on various subjects were read 

 and discussed, sugar, naturally, taking the 



