SC/HA'C/i-COSS//'. 



'53 



TiiK (IciUli is aniuninecil of l,;i(lv 1'ri.v.lwicli, \vli<i 

 lm<l imly recently |>iil>li-tlii'<l a coin|)rch<.'nsivc Imij;- 

 mpliy 111 her hiislaml. She clie<l al I'arkstonc on 

 August 26th, at the age nf 66. 



The Kev. Canon lieaehey, rector of Ililgay, All 

 Saints, Norfolk, died on August iijlh. lie was a 

 skilled electrician, and did much work in astronomy, 

 in an oliservalory lie had erected in his own garden. 



TllK Hirkljeck Institution opened its winter session 

 on Monday, Sc|)lemlier 25lh. More than 200 

 livening flashes nuvt weekly, in aliout 70 dilVerent 

 sulijects, inchuling liiology, physics, physiology and 

 other scientific subjects. Prospectus of this successful 

 college may lie olitained on addressing to Bream's 

 liuildings, London, l''..C. 



VVi'; regret to note the aiuiouncement of the death 

 at the age of 56, alter a long illness, of M. (laston 

 Tissandier, the well-known aeronaut, and the founder 

 of the excellently manage<l Krcnch Scientific journal, 

 " l.a Nature." 



Tllic new art studios, physical and biological labor- 

 atories and additional class rooms are now in use at 

 the Cityof London College, While Street, Moorfields. 

 London. Mr. David Savage, the Secretary, will 

 furnish particulars of classes and fees. 



Thk Civil Service authorities have done well to 

 extend the term of service for another two years from 

 this month, of I>i. Henry Woodward, I'. R.S. , keeper 

 of the Geological Department of the lirilish .Nluseum. 

 This is the sec<ind extension that has been accorded 

 to Dr. Woodward. 



Dr MoMi. whose munificence in endowing and 

 equipping a physical laboratory for the Royal Institu- 

 tion, has conferred an inestimable benefit on Scientific 

 research, has now pre.sented a complete chemical 

 laboratory to the X'icloria Technical Schools, al 

 Middlowich, Cheshire. 



Wic have received from Friedlander and -Sohn, of 

 Herlin, their extensive list of books for sale on Natural 

 History and the .\piilicd Sciences, which includes all 

 issued in 1S9S. The price of the complete catalogue 

 is four shillings. It is divided into sever.al .sections, 

 which have been compiled from catalogues in many 

 languages. The value is much increased by an index 

 of subjects and authors. 



We have received from .Mr. Arthur liennett a 

 reprint of his paper read before the N'orlolk and 

 Norwich Naturalists' Society on Sciuiio ftititUostis 

 and -S'. paliiflris in Uast .Anglia. lie says that he 

 cann<it find any tiace of S. pahiilosiis having been 

 founil in West SutVolk later than XS17, in Kast Norfolk 

 later than 1S66. In Cambridgeshire only a few speci- 

 mens have occurred since 1857. S.paliislns was first re- 

 corded in Kast Anglia in 1660, but since the early 

 part of this century it has rarely been found in Cam- 

 bridgeshire, though in varying i|uaniiiics in Hast and 

 West Sufl'olk and ICast and West Norfolk. 



SoMKTlMi-: ago we made an eflbrt to encourage the 

 more general application of photography in the study 

 of Natural History, but though we received a few 

 replies and photographs of plants growing in their 

 natural stations, the result was not encouraging. We 

 observe in the " I'hotograni '' for August, some illus- 

 trated notes on the best method of photographing 

 plants and flowers. The camera should neither look 

 up to, nor down upon, a plant, but the Incus should 

 be taken on a level with the object, even though this 

 may necessitate the photographer lying prone, and 

 craning or twisting his neck. .\ i|uiei day is also 

 necessary, as a wind however slight, is likely to spoil 

 the picture. .\n artificial background behind the 

 plant is advisable. A sheet of brown paper or a rug 



will answer the ptirpose, but care must Ix- taken that 

 there are not pny creitses. 



Arraxi;k.Mkxi.s arc being marie by the .\merican 

 Ciovernnient to send an official ilelegale lo the 

 .Malarial Comnu.ssion now in West Africa. This is 

 in response to an invitation from the management of 

 the Liverpool .School of Tropical Diseases. 



Dk. K. II. TK,\i.it'AlK, K U.S., will commence 

 on the second of this month, a course of twelve 

 lectures cm " Pleistocene Mammalia," at the Museum 

 of I'r.actical (leologj-, Jerniyn Street, London. They 

 will be continued on .Mondays, Wednesdays, anil 

 I'ridays at five o'clock in the afternoon, concluding 

 on the 27th of October, .\dmission will be free. 



Hv the sad .\lpine accident of .\ugust 30th, on the 

 Dent HIanche, a science teacher of much promise, 

 .Mr. G. Jones, lost his life. He was H.Sc. of the 

 Cniversity of London, and a first-class in honours in 

 Physics. Whilst studyin? he held schol.arships at the 

 I'insbury Technical College and Central Technical 

 College, South Kensington, and had lH.en Physics 

 Master at the City of L<indon School since i8g2. 



Ix a communication to "Nature,' Prince Krapotkin 

 suggests that the movements of sea-gulls along the 

 British sea coasts may indicate impending weather 

 changes. On -Vugust 26th, he noticed off Uroadstairs 

 several flocks of gulls flying along the coast towards 

 Dover. The wind was then blowing from north-east 

 as had been the case throughout the month. .Vn old 

 fisherm.in told the Prince that the gulls were going to 

 the south coast to meet a south-west wind, which was 

 sure to come : as indeed it did, the day following. 

 We have heard of this piece of weather lore on 

 former occasions, and it seems to be worth systematic 

 study. 



News has been received from the Polar regions of 

 I,ieut. Peary, who has completed the first season of 

 the four years he proposes to spend in the .\rctic. 

 He appears to have reached an altitude of fifty miles 

 north of the point gained by the Kram. Unfortu- 

 nately Lieut. Peary is said to have been severely frost- 

 bitten, and to have lost seven toes. Otherwise it is 

 probable he wciuld have travelled still further north. 

 -Neither his expedition nor the Danish one under 

 Lieutenant .-\mstrup, nor indeed any other Arctic 

 travellers have yet reported news of .Vndree and his 

 companions. 



The American Association fi.ir the advancement of 

 Science, held its Annual Congress from the 19th to 

 the 26th of August, at Columbus, Ohio. The 

 President for the year is Dr. Orton, of '.he Ohio State 

 University. Two hundre<l and seventy three papers 

 were submitted to the various sections, and upwards 

 of three hundreil and fifty members and associates 

 were present. Prof. Fred. Ward Putnam, the retiring 

 President, read an interesting address, largclx' devoted 

 to .Vmeiican anthropology. Next year, the meeting 

 will beat New \'ork, with Professor R. S. Woodward. 

 of Columbia University, as President. 



We have on previous occ;isions drawn attention to 

 the importance of skilled and properly instnicted 

 persons acting as vendors of spectacles. We are glad 

 to ob.serve that this feeling is spreading, and far more 

 attention is being paid to the scientific aspect of aids 

 to human sight. We have received a leaflet w ritten 

 by Mr. W.^T. Ovcrsiall, K.S.M.C. of the firm of 

 Messrs. Home tV Thornwaile, London, which con- 

 tains some useful information and instruction with 

 regard to the eyes. The writer especially refers to 

 the importance of watching the progress of the sight 

 in gr<iw ing children, w hen early attention may avoid 

 much future miserv. 



