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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 408. 



ings are of littK- avail for this purpose ; but 

 thei'e are other and more informal ways 

 \vhieh it would not be difficult to devise. 



These are some of the topics which were 

 freely discussed at the informal gatherings 

 of the permanent members of the Associa- 

 tion, most of them men of distinction in 

 the scientific world. It must be admitted 

 that the chilly and rainy weather which 

 prevailed during most of the week may have 

 liad no inconsiderable effect upon the at- 

 tendance. It must be said, however, that 

 the hospitality of Belfast was thoroughly 

 Irish in its warmth : and. as has been 

 stated, the scientific work of the meeting 

 was quite up to the average, on the lines 

 on which that work is at present conducted. 

 In most of the sections one or two subjects 

 of considerable importance were brought 

 forward for consideration and discussion, 

 although, as we have said. Sections F and 

 L carried off the palm in this direction. 

 The attendance at the Educational Section 

 was always large ; the Anthropological Sec- 

 tion was often crowded; while the section 

 of geography, although unfortunately 

 located at a considerable distance from the 

 center, had no reason to complain of being 

 neglected. Although the proposal that tlie 

 meeting of 1905 slurald be held in Cape 

 Colony was mentioned at the general meet- 

 ing, the matter was not discussed. The 

 serious consideration of the proposal will 

 no dov;bt take place next year, when prob- 

 ably the invitation will be brought forward 

 formally. It is to be hoped that nothing 

 in the meantime will occur to place the 

 matter in abeyance. 



. We shall now give a brief resume of 

 what may be regarded as the most impor- 

 tant results of the meeting. The address 

 of the president. Professor Dewar, will be 

 of penuanent value as a history of the 

 efforts which, up to the present, have been 

 made to investigate the eft'eets of extreme 

 low temperatures upon gases. 



In a review of the work of Section A 

 (Mathematical and Physical Science), two 

 of the subjects dealt with stand out promi- 

 nently. Professor Schuster, chairman of 

 the department of astronomy and cosmical 

 physics, called attention to the great waste 

 of power which is taking place in sciences 

 like meteorology, where those working at 

 the subject are devoting their energies 

 almost exclusively to the collection of 

 observations. Those engaged in reducing 

 the observations, and in deducing from 

 them the physical laws which underlie 

 meteorological x">heiiomena, are few. As a 

 result, undigested figures are being accumu- 

 lated to an extent which threatens to crush 

 future generations. Professor Schuster 

 pointed out that observations taken without 

 a view to the sohition of some definite prob- 

 lem were of comparatively little value, and 

 pleaded that a larger proportion of the 

 time at present devoted to the collection of 

 observations should be given up to their dis- 

 c\ission. This, he thought, should be done 

 even at the expense of discontinuing 

 observations Avhich, like those of the mag- 

 netic elements at Kew, have been carried on 

 for many years without a break. In the 

 discussion of these suggestions that fol- 

 lowed. Dr. Shaw, head of the Meteorological 

 Office, pointed out that many of the pro- 

 posed changes could best be carried out bj' 

 the establishment in one or more of our 

 tuiiversities of professorships of meteor- 

 ology. Such a course would lead in a few 

 years to the existence of a body of trained 

 meteorologists capable of discussing, from 

 a physical point of view, the observations 

 taken by the organizations at present at 

 work. The other prominent question which 

 has been referred to was brought forward 

 by Lord Rayleigh, who asked. Does motion 

 through the ether cause double refraction 

 of light in transparent bodies? He re- 

 viewed the evidence which has led phys- 

 icists to conclude that the earth in its 



