.582 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 200. 



this respect is apparent, whicli leaves little 

 ground for expecting a heterogeneity in 

 America. The broad-headed Alpine race 

 of Central Europe, seems to have been so 

 far excluded from the British Isles as to 

 leave a population quite uniform in its ce- 

 phalic proportions. A ' type' of head-form 

 certainly transmissible not only from one 

 population to its successor, but over seas as 

 well, seems to be indicated. 



William Z. Ripley. 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 



THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON 

 TERRESTRIAL 3IAGNETISM.* 



This was the second occasion the British 

 Association provided the means for a meet- 

 ing of the scientists engaged in the study 

 and development of our knowledge of ter- 

 restrial magnetism, the first magnetic con- 

 gress having been held at Cambridge as far 

 back as 1845. On the present occasion the 

 Conference was of an international charac- 

 ter, thanks to the cordial cooperation be- 

 tween the British Association and the In- 

 ternational Meteorological Association, with 

 which latter the Magnetic Conference for 

 the present remains aSiliated. It was at 

 the International Meteorological Confer- 

 ence, held at Paris in 1896, that a ' Per- 

 manent Committee for Magnetism and 

 Atmospheric Electricity ' was appointed ; 

 it consisted of eight members with power 

 to add to their number. The British Asso- 

 ciation allowed the Conference to organize 

 under its President, Professor A. W. 

 Eiicker, M. A., D.Sc, as a branch of Section 

 A (Mathematics and Physics), and under- 

 took the expense of sending out the neces- 

 sary notices to print the papers of the 

 Conference in the report, and with great 



]897, p. 148. Beddoe is best on this subject. Dr. West 

 is the only other American observer studying the 

 school children in Worcester, Mass. 



* Held at the Bristol Meeting of the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, September 

 7-14, 1898. 



liberality extended to the foreign delegates 

 of the Conference all the privileges of 

 foreign members of the Association. The 

 Bristol Conference, under its President, 

 Professor A. W. Riicker, was attended by 

 Dr. A. Schuster, of England, and the- fol- 

 lowing foreign members : 



Dr. M. Eschenhagen, of Potsdam. 



Professor S. Lemstrcim, of Helsingfors. 



Professor T. Liznar, of Vienna. 



Professor E. Masoart, of Paris. 



Ch. Moureaux, of Paris. 



Professor L. Palazzo, of Eome. 



Gen. M. Eykatchew, of St. Petersburg. 



Dr. A. Schmidt, of Gotha. 



C. A. Schott, of Washington. 



Besides these members various physicists 

 and magnetists were present and took part 

 in the deliberations. 



In view of the fact that the United States 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey has been largely 

 engaged in the investigation and study of 

 terrestrial magnetism in this country as 

 forming part of its regular duty, inasmuch 

 as the issue of its maritime charts demands 

 the fullest information procurable, the 

 Superintendent of the Survey proposed 

 sending a delegate to the Bristol Interna- 

 tional Meeting to take part in the Con- 

 ference. After approval by the Honorable 

 Secretary of the Treasury instructions were 

 issued by the Superintendent, Dr. H. S. 

 Pritchett, in which he remarks: "The 

 Conference having for its object the ad- 

 vancement of our knowledge in terrestrial 

 magnetism, through communications and in- 

 tercourse of those interested, you are ex- 

 pected to assist in these deliberations and 

 make such suggestions as seem most appro- 

 priate, with a view of increasing our knowl- 

 edge of the distribution of magnetism 

 over the whole globe and in particular for the 

 region covered by the United States." 



The meetings, of which there were ordi- 

 narily two a day, one public, the other for 

 consultation and discussion, were held at 

 the University College and in connection 



