Septemukr 11, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



323 



Oue of the most noteworthy features in 

 counectiou with the first Southport meet- 

 ing was the inaugural address of its presi- 

 dent, the late Professor Cayley. Professor 

 Cayley was one of the most profound 

 mathematicians that ever lived. He was 

 so absorbed in his subject that even on such 

 an occasion he could not wrench himself 

 outside its limits. It was a masterly dis- 

 course, dealing with exceedingly abstruse 

 problems in the highest mathematics, and 

 was probably not fully understood by a 

 score of those to whom it was audible. Sir 

 Norman Lockyer is, like his predecessor at 

 Southport, also a specialist, but a specialist 

 in more than one depai'tment. Plis career 

 as a scientific worker has been associated 

 for considerably more than half a century 

 with the speetroscopical observation of the 

 heavenly bodies and related subjects, with 

 brilliant results both in the way of actual 

 discoveries and of hj^iotheses. Sir Norman 

 Lockyer has for an equally long period 

 devoted his energies to what we may ven- 

 ture to call another speciality, the endow- 

 ment of research, which he has done much 

 to promote, and it is probably with one de- 

 partment of the latter subject that he will 

 deal in his presidential address at South- 

 port. He will insist, we believe, on the 

 paramount influence of science and scien- 

 tific research on national progress, and 

 will endeavor to show at some length how 

 largely our national salvation depends on 

 the adequate endowment of our univer- 

 sities. Sir Norman Lockyer 's address is 

 sure to be both emphatic and brilliant. 



So far as the ordinary work of the vari- 

 ous sections is concerned, to judge from the 

 particulai-s with which the sectional presi- 

 dents and recorders have kindly favored 

 us, it promises to be quite up to the aver- 

 age, both in quality and quantity. While, 

 08 a whole, it will be conducted on the 

 usual lines, and while much of it will ap- 



peal only to specialists, in certain of the 

 sections subjects of wide interest will be 

 discussed. 



The president of Section A (mathemat- 

 ical and physical science) will be Mr. C. V. 

 Boys, one of the most brilliant, original 

 and unconventional of our younger phys- 

 icists. No particulars are yet available 

 as to the subject of the address which he 

 proposes to deliver, but his discourse is 

 certain to be interesting and worthy of the 

 occasion. As the International Meteoro- 

 logical Congress, under the presidency of 

 Pi'ofessor Mascart of Paris, is meeting at 

 Southport at the same time as the British 

 Association, the department' of Section A 

 devoted to meteorology and astronomy 

 will this year be particularly strong in 

 meteorological papers. Contributions have 

 been promised by several of the distin- 

 guished foreign members of the congress, 

 including Hildebrandson, Paulsen and 

 Panta; and Dr. W. Lockyer will give an 

 account of his researches on simultaneous 

 solar and terresti-ial phenomena. The 

 physical portion of the section will be oc- 

 cupied mainly in discussing three questions 

 of importance at the present moment — 

 namelj', the nature of the emanations 

 from radio-active substances, the method of 

 dealing with non-reversible processes in the 

 general theory of heat and the use of 

 vectorial methods in physical work. Pro- 

 fessor Rutherford, of IMontreal, will open 

 the first with an account of the experi- 

 ments which have led him to the conclusion 

 that the emanations from radium are ma- 

 terial; ilr. Swinburne will open the sec- 

 ond and the third will be introduced by 

 Professor Henrici. It is hoped that it will 

 be possible at the meeting to come to 

 definite conclusions on these three ques- 

 tions. 



Professor W. Noel Hartley will preside 

 over Section B (chemistry). He proposes, 



