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SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



SCIENCE GOSSIR 



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The botanical and conchological collection 

 formed by the late Miss Charlotte Yonge, the 

 well-known novelist, has been bequeathed by her 

 to St. Mary's College, Winchester. 



A catalogue of second-hand books upon 

 subjects relating to gardening, horticulture, and 

 forestry has been issued by John Wheldon & Co., 

 38 Great Queen Street, London, W.C. It appears 

 to contain a number of curious and interesting 

 works. 



We have to notice the death at the age of forty- 

 five of Professor J. Viriamu Jones, F.E.S., the 

 Principal and Professor of Physics in the University 

 College of South Wales and Monmouthshire. He 

 was selected as the first Principal of the University 

 College of South Wales, out of thirty applicants at 

 the early age of twenty-six. 



The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has 

 sent their fifth expedition to attempt the exter- 

 mination of the Anopheles mosquito on the West 

 African Coast. These mosquitoes disseminate 

 malaria, and Major Ronald Ross, accompanied by 

 Dr. Logan Taylor, has taken with him for the 

 purpose of extermination large quantities of 

 cement, petroleum, and creosote. The rainy 

 season, which is the most dangerous of the year, 

 has been chosen as the best to test the efficacy 

 of these operations. 



An t interesting experiment has been conducted 

 on behalf of the Canadian Government by Dr. 

 William Saunders, F.R.S. One hundred and fifty 

 miles out at sea from Halifax, N.S., in the course 

 of steamers to that city from England, lies Sable 

 Island, in the form of a slender crescent, twenty- 

 one miles in length, its highest point being little 

 over sea-level, and consequently most dangerous 

 to mariners. To render it more visible it has 

 been now planted with 81,000 trees and shrubs 

 under Dr. Saunders' direction. - 



At the last meeting for the session of the Royal 

 Meteorological Society a paper was read from 

 Mr. F. Napier Denison, of Victoria, British Columbia, 

 on the " Seismograph as a Sensitive Barometer." 

 It appears, from a study of the seismograph in 

 connection with atmospheric pressure, as recorded 

 by an aerograph, that the horizontal needle of the 

 former instrument indicates an apparent change 

 or distortion in the earth's surface caused by the 

 heavier local air-pressures. It has been found 

 that when an extensive storm area is approaching 

 from the westward the pendulum of the seismo- 

 graph swings steadily to the eastward, often 

 eighteen to twenty-four hours before the local 

 barometer begins to fall, completely masking any 

 diurnal fluctuations that might have existed as the 

 storm area approaches. In the event of it being 

 followed by an important high area, the pendulum 

 will begin to swing towards the westward before 

 it is possible to ascertain this area's position on 

 the current weather charts. 



We understand that the Royal College of Science, 

 South Kensington, will at the end of the present 

 year lose Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S. , as Professor 

 of Astronomical Physics. Sir Norman will, how- 

 ever, we hear, retain his position of Director of 

 Solar Physics at the South Kensington Observa- 

 tory. 



The Report of the Second International Con- 

 ference for the Exploration of the Sea, dated 

 Christiania, 1901, has recently been issued, and 

 contains minutes of each day's proceedings and the 

 resolutions of the Conference. A translation of 

 the former and the authorised English version of 

 the resolutions are given. 



We have received a reprint from the " Journal 

 of the British Archaeological Association" on 

 " Early Defensive Earthworks," by Mr. J. Chalkley 

 Gould. It consists of two papers read by the 

 author at the Congresses of the Association held 

 at Buxton in 1899 and at Leicester in 1900. Mr. 

 Gould has contributed some drawings and photo- 

 graphs which add greatly to his clear explanations 

 of these little generally known memorials of early 

 mankind in Britain. 



We have received a notice of the formation of 

 " The Conchological Exchange Club," together 

 with a copy of the rules. It is founded with the 

 object of supplying an organised medium by which 

 students of mollusca could find a ready means of 

 exchanging duplicate specimens and obtaining 

 particular species. During this year the club will 

 deal only with the British land, freshwater, and 

 marine mollusca. Particulars may be obtained 

 from Mr. Guy Breeden, Hon. Sec, 38 Station Road, 

 King's Norton, Birmingham. 



For Londoners and others who are considering a 

 holiday in the Highlands of Scotland, the General 

 Steam Navigation Company are now issuing com- 

 bined tickets from London and back, including the 

 steamer to Edinburgh and hotel expenses through- 

 .out. These tickets amount to about ten shillings 

 a day throughout the period from and back home, 

 all first-class accommodation. Bicycles are carried 

 free of charge. We should imagine these excur- 

 sions would be useful to naturalists who have not 

 yet become familiar with the beautiful scenery of 

 Scotland. 



Amateur photographers visiting London cannot 

 complain that they do not receive encouragement 

 from their metropolitan friends. There has been 

 issued a neatly produced card giving a list of 

 picturesque subjects, chiefly of historical and 

 popular interest, within a day's' journey. This card 

 also indicates the most suitable time of day and 

 the length of exposure to secure the best results 

 for each picture. The card may be obtained gratis 

 at the leading hotels or from the publishers, 

 Messrs. Sanders & Crowhurst, of 71 Shaftesbury 

 Avenue, W. 



We have received from Cairo the Report for 

 1900 of the Ghizeh Zoological Gardens. The 

 Director is Captain Stanley S. Flower, F.Z.S., who, 

 as our readers will probably remember, is a son of 

 the late Sir William Flower, of the British Museum. 

 The donations during the year seem to have been 

 very satisfactory. The total number of registered 

 additions to the menagerie was 371, of which 31 

 were bred in the gardens. An interesting point 

 in the report is a list of the wild birds observed 

 during the year living; at large in the gardens. 



