518 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 378. 



The phenomena as a whole are closely analo- 

 gous to the suspension of clay in water and in 

 organic liquids, respectively. The particles 

 are smallest in water or in water vapor, while 

 they have grown to relatively enormous sizes 

 in case of the other liquids or vapors. 



Mr. Henry E. Koch, of the Biological De- 

 partment of the University of Cincinnati, has 

 recently made a discovery which places color- 

 photography upon a scientific basis. He has 

 found that certain aniline dyes with which a 

 sensitive plate or paper may be impregnated 

 are sensitive to the light which changes the 

 silver salts ; the aniline dye changes to the col- 

 or of the object which is being photographed. 

 The natural color thus reproduced in the plate 

 or film may be rendered permanent by a fixing 

 process, in the same way that the black and 

 white picture in the silver salt is rendered 

 permanent by the fixing bath. 



At the February meeting of the Council of 

 the American Institute of Electrical Engi- 

 neers, the following resolution, reported by the 

 Committee on Standardization, was unani- 

 mously accepted and adopted: 



Whereas, The metric system of weights and 

 measures offers very great advantages by its sim- 

 plicity, consistency and convenience in every-day 

 use, as well as in all engineering calculations and 

 computations, and 



Whereas, These advantages have already been 

 demonstrated by the universal adoption and en- 

 tirely successful use of the metric system in all 

 civilized countries except Great Britain and the 

 United States, and 



Whereas, All the electrical units in universal 

 use, such as the volt, ampere, ohm, watt, etc., are 

 metric units, and 



Whereas, Tlie industrial use of these electrical 

 units would be much facilitated by the general 

 adoption of the metric system. 



Resolved, That this committee unanimously 

 recommends the introduction of the metric system 

 into general use in the United States at as early a 

 date as possible without vmdue hardship to the 

 industrial interests involved. 



Resolved, That this committee favors such legis- 

 lation by Congress as shall secure the adoption of 

 the metric system by each department of the 

 National Government as speedily as may be con- 

 sistent with the public welfare. 



We learn from Nature that the ninth meet- 



ing of the Australasian Association for the 

 Advancement of Science was held at Hobart 

 on January 8-16, under the presidency of 

 Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S., the subject of 

 whose presidential address was 'Evolution and 

 its Teaching.' The presidents of the sections 

 and the subjects of their addresses were as 

 follows: Mr. R. W. Chapman (Astronomy, 

 Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics), 'Tidal 

 I'heory and its Application'; Professor A. M. 

 A. Mica-Smith (Chemistry and Mineralogy), 

 'The Study of the Chemistry of the Air, and 

 WHther it has Led'; Professor T. S. Hall 

 (Geology and Paleontology), 'The Possibility 

 of Detailed Correlation of Australian Forma- 

 tions with those of the Mother Hemisphere'; 

 Professor W. B. Benham (Biology), 'Earth- 

 worms and Paleo-geography'; Eev. Geo. Brown 

 (Geography), 'The Pacific, East and West'; 

 Mr. T. A. Coghlan (Economic and Social Sci- 

 ence and Statistics), 'The Statistical Ques- 

 tion'; Dr. W. E. Eoth (Ethnology and Anthi-o- 

 pology), 'On the Games, Sports and Amuse- 

 ments of the North Queensland Aboriginals'; 

 Sir T. Fitzgerald (Sanitary Science and Hy- 

 giene), 'The Nature of Diseases'; Professor 

 A. Wall (Mental Science and Education), 

 'Poetry as a Factor in Education'; Mr. P. 

 Oakden (Architecture and Engineering), no 

 title announced. Many papers were read in 

 each of the sections, and the titles in 

 the official program show that a large pro- 

 portion was of wide scientific interest. The 

 handbook prepared for the use of the members 

 contains a short historical sketch of Tasmania, 

 and essays on the natural history of the coun- 

 try. 



A LARGE number of members of the Eoyal 

 Society and others have addressed to King 

 Edward the following petition: 



That Whereas His Majesty King Charles II., 

 in order to prove that His Majesty did ' look 

 with favour upon all forms of Learning ' and par- 

 ticularly ' Philosophical Studies,' and in order that 

 such Learning and Studies should ' shine con- 

 spicuously ' among his People, did by Charters 

 granted in the 14th, 15th and 21st years of His 

 Eeign found the Koyal Society for the promotion 

 of such Learning and Studies. 



And Whereas the progress of Learning and 

 Philosophical Studies has been great, and scien- 

 tific methods of inquiry have been applied to many 



