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SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Nov. 9, 1888. 



Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Session 

 1887-88. No. 126. 



In the Chairman's opening address we observe the 

 statement that the library of the Society is " the most 

 complete collection of its kind in the United Kingdom ; 

 more complete even than that of the Royal Society of 

 London." 



We observe with pleasure the creation of a Victoria 

 Jubilee Prize by Dr. Gunning. This prize is to be 

 awarded every three years for scientific research, either 

 done during the past three years, or to be conducted 

 during the three years ensuing. 



Referring to the defective state of the Edinburgh 

 Observatory, the speaker regretted that work similar to 

 that which is now being done for the southern heavens 

 at the Cape Observatory is at present not in hand either 

 at Edinburgh or London. 



Mr. Piazzi Smyth calls attention, with particular 

 reference to the service of the Edinburgh Observatory, 

 to the scanty remuneration awarded to scientific servants 

 of the British Government, in comparison with the 

 salaries allotted to mere " quill-drivers." In an adver- 

 tisement the salary of ^100 yearly is offered to a second 

 assistant astronomer at the Royal Observatory at Edin- 

 burgh — who, in addition, is to be chosen, not rebus gestis, 

 but by the absurd scheme of " open competition " — 

 whilst in another announcement appearing on the same 

 day, ^250 yearly, rising to ^600, is offered to each of 

 two junior clerks in the Colonial Office ! 



We find here the second part of " Researches on 

 Micro-Organisms, including ideas of a new Method for 

 their Destruction in Certain Cases of Contagious Disease," 

 by Dr. A. B. Griffiths, F.R.S.E. 



In this most valuable memoir, the author draws the 

 following conclusions, which seem legitimate inductions, 

 from the facts described. It has been proved beyond 

 doubt that microbes are the real cause (we add here, 

 " direct " or " indirect ") of certain contagious diseases. 

 In many cases these microbes are capable of being 

 destroyed by various germicides. Therefore, by further 

 investigation, we ought to find a germicidal remedy for 

 such terrible scourges to humanity as consumption and 

 syphilis. The vitality of Bacillus tuberculosis is consider- 

 able, and it is capable of being dried up in the atmo- 

 sphere for many weeks without its vitality being 

 impaired. It is even capable of being disseminated by 

 envelopes coming from phthisical patients. The electric 

 current destroys the vitality of certain microbes. The 

 soluble zymoses secreted by living microbes are capable 

 of being destroyed by germicidal agents. The germi- 

 cidial agents used for injection must not produce 

 poisonous actions upon the blood and tissues, yet they 

 must be powerful enough to destroy the vitality of the 

 microbes and their spores. 



Professor R. Wallace communicates a memoir on the 

 " Colour of the Skin of Men and (Lower) Animals in 

 India." 



The author notes that in India, cattle, sheep, pigs, 

 buffaloes, and horses, whatever the colour of their hair, 

 have black skins, and of this fact he seeks the explanation. 



New Fibre from the Stalk of the Cotton Plant. — 

 According to Science, the stalk of the cotton plant yields 

 a fibre fit for all the uses to which hemp is put. 



attract* 

 of ^apettf, fLecture*, ttu 



LIVERPOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION. 

 The opening meeting of the winter session of this Asso- 

 ciation was held at the Royal Institution on the 19th ult., 

 After the introductory business had been concluded, 

 Mr. F. P. Marrat exhibited a case of specimens from his 

 fine collection of agates, and described the various modes 

 of formation of these beautiful silicious minerals. 



Miss E. N. Wood next gave a resume of the botanical 

 work of the summer session, which had been fruitful in 

 the acquisition of several floral rarities by those members 

 who attended the various field meetings. 



The President (Mr. Osmund W. Jeffs) then delivered 

 the annual address, alluding in the first place to the 

 work already accomplished by the Association, and 

 indicating several directions in which its future vigour 

 and usefulness might be developed. The study oi 

 biology was referred to as possessing a wide range 

 amongst the natural philosophies. It was the raison 

 a'elre of the naturalist, and interested alike the student 

 of to-day and of the long past. There was scarcely a 

 spot which did not yield some vestige of the presence, 

 at some time or other, of that active principle called 

 " life," and a study of this science opened our minds to 

 some of the highest and most reverential ideas of which 

 the human intellect was capable. Anthropology, or the 

 natural history of the human species, also deserved care- 

 ful study, for the furtherance of which special facilities 

 existed in Liverpool, where the different racial types 

 from all quarters of the globe met together ; and closely 

 connected with this was archaeology — the science of 

 ancient things — a kind of via media between anthro- 

 pology and what was generally classed under the term 

 of " history." Both in connection with this subject and 

 with natural science much assistance could be obtained 

 by students from the admirable collections displayed in 

 the Free Public Museum. There was a growing feeling 

 that a museum should be something more than a store- 

 house of curiosities ; it should be a more direct means 

 of conveying knowledge. Viewed in this light, the 

 educational value of a museum became much enhanced, 

 a fact which doubtless had its share in inducing the local 

 authorities to open the Public Museum on Monday even- 

 ings. The remainder of the address dealt with the 

 geology of the Cheshire hills. The subject of the origin 

 of hills and mountains had lately received renewed 

 attention at the hands of geologists, with the result that 

 one more magnificent conception had been added to the 

 list of geological theories. The author of the new theory 

 was Mr. T. Mellard Reade, F.G.S. Discarding the old 

 hypothesis that mountain ranges were caused by con- 

 tractions of the crust following upon a shrinking nucleus 

 — a hypothesis which on mathematical grounds was 

 demonstrated to be insufficient — Mr. Reade urged local 

 expansions in those parts of the crust subject to a rise 

 of temperature through sedimentation. In the limits of 

 an address it was impossible to do justice to Mr. Reade's 

 theory, which was borne out by an exhaustive series of 

 original experiments, but it was suggested that a refer- 

 ence to the work itself would convince students of the 

 importance of the physical effects pointed out by the 

 author. Our local hills were rather the result of denuda- 

 tion acting upon little disturbed strata of the triassic 



