592 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Dec. 7, 1 588. 



ANNOUNCEMENTS. 



Royal Institution. — The following are the lecture 

 arrangements before Easter: — Professor Dewar, six lectures 

 (adapted to a juvenile auditory) on Clouds and Cloudland ; 

 Professor G. J. Romanes, twelve lectures constituting the 

 second part of a course on Before and After Darwin (The 

 Evidences of Organic Evolution and the Theory of Natural 

 Selection) ; Professor J. W. Judd, four lectures on The Meta- 

 morphoses of Minerals ; Dr. Sidney Martin, four lectures on 

 the Poisonous Action of Albuminoid Bodies, including those 

 formed in Digestion ; Professor J. H. Middleton, four lectures 

 on Houses land their Decoration, from the Classical to the 

 Mediaeval Period ; Professor Ernst Pauer, four lectures onThe 

 Characters of the Great Composers and the Characteristics 

 of their Works (with illustrations on the pianoforte) ; and 

 eight lectures by the Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh on Experi- 

 mental Optics (Polarisation, the Wave Theory). The Friday 

 evening meetings will begin on January 25th, when a discourse 

 will be given by Professor G. H. Darwin ; succeeding dis- 

 courses will probably be given by Professor W. C. Mcintosh, 

 Sir William Thomson, Professor A. W. Rucker, Mr. Harold 

 Crichton Browne, Professor Oliver Lodge, Professor Archi- 

 bald Geikie, the Rev. Alfred Ainger, the Right Hon. Lord 

 Rayleigh, and other gentlemen. 



SELECTED BOOKS. 



Elementary Commercial Geography. A Sketch of the 

 Commodities and Countries of the World. By H. 

 R. Mill, F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Commercial Geo- 

 graphy in the Heriot Watt College, Edinburgh. 

 London : C. J. Clay and Sons. Price is. 



On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence 0/ Animals. With 

 Special Reference to Insects. By Sir John Lubbock, 

 Bart., M. P. With 100 illustrations. London: Kegan 

 Paul, Trench, and Co. Price 5s. 



DIARY FOR NEXT WEEK. 



Monday, Dec. 10.- 



Tuesday, Dec. II.- 



-Society 01 Engineers, 9, Victoiia Chambers, 

 Westminster, at 7.30 p.m. — Annual 

 General Meeting. 

 Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, Cantor 

 Lecture, at 8 p.m.— Light and Colour, by 

 Captain W. de W. Abney, C.B., F.R.S. 



-Institution of Civil Engineers, 25, George 

 Street, Westminster, at 8 p.m. — The In- 

 fluence of Chemical C opposition on the 

 Strength of Bessemer Steel Tires, by J. 

 Oliver Arnold, F.C.S. 



Wednesday, Dec. 12. — Society of Engineers, Guildhall Tavern, 

 Gresham Street, at 6 30 p.m. — Annual 

 Dinner. St. James's Hall, at 8.30 p.m. 

 — Lecture on Architecture, by Messrs. 

 G. A. T. Middleton and Cecil Orr. 

 Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, at 8 

 p.m. — Explosives, by Mr. W. H. DeeriDg, 

 F.CS. 



Thursday, Dec. 13.' — Society of Telegraph Engineers and Elec- 

 tricians, 25, Great George Street, West- 

 minster, at 8 p.m. — Anntial General 

 Meeting. 

 London Mathematical Society at 8 p.m. — 

 A Method of Transformation, -with the aid 

 of Congruences of a Particular Type, by 

 J. Brill. — The Eqitilibrhim of a Thin 

 Elastic Spherical Bowl, by A. E. H. Love. 

 Friday, Dec. 14. — Institution of Civil Engineers, 25, George 

 Street, Westminster. Students' Meeting, 

 at 7.30 p.m. — The lb-Knot Spanish Tor- 

 pedo Boat, Ariete, by Mr. Julian King- 

 Salter, Stud. Inst. CE. 



SALES. 



The Charge for Advertisements in this Column is Sixpence for the 

 first sixteen words, and Sixpence for every succeeding eight words. 



Advertisements for this Column should be received by first post on 

 Tuesday to insure insertion in the following number. 



List of Second-hand Lathes, Fret-saws, etc., two stamps.— Call 

 at 100, Houndsditch, London, or write to Britannia Company, 

 Colchester. Piize Medais. Makers to the British Government. 

 Cash on easy terms. 



Hat Bearer ; or Brace Perfector ; universal fit. Post free, six 

 stamps. — T. Rawson, Heaton Lane, Stockport. 



Fretwork.— Catalogue of every requisite, with 600 illustrations, 

 free for 6 stamps. — Harger Bros., Settle. 



Do your own Electro Plating and Gilding. System inex- 

 pensive. Particulars one stamp.— Perks, 47, Alexandra Road, 

 Richmond, Surrey. 



Watts' Gas Engines, all sizes, from ij bore, slide explodes 

 charge, simple. Lists, 3 stamps. — Below. 



Watts' Gas Engines, work without noise, are easily made up. 

 Castings supplied. List, 3 stamps. — Below. 



Dynamos for plating and lighting, experimental dynamos, 

 electro motors, separate parts, wire, punchings, etc. — Below. 



Dynamos, highest efficiency, castings or finished. List, 2 stamps. 

 — Williams, Watt, and Co., Belsbaw Street, Homerton, E. 



Mica or Talc cut for all purposes. Mica chimneys, Mica 

 covers, etc.— C Johnson, 87, New Oxford Street, W.C. 



Dynamos, improved gramme type, wrought cores, laminated 

 armatures, high efficiency, from six lights upwards. — H. Jones. 



New Lists, one stamp, forty dynamos to select from. — H. Jonis, 

 14, High Street, Lambeth, S.E. 



METEOROLOGICAL RETURNS 



for the ten weeks ending on Monday, Nov. 26th, 1888. Specially prepared for Scientific News from official report". 





Mean Temperature. 



Rainfall. 



Duration of Sunshine. 



Scotland, East 



45-8 degs. 



being 2'i degs. 



above average. 



7'oins. 



, being o"4 ins. 



below average. 



1 39 



brs., being 50 hrs 



below 



average 



England, N.E. 



17 1 ! 



n 



• > o-6 ,, 



i> 



II 



4'3 ii 



,. 22 „ 



n 



»i 



102 



n »i I* ;i 



i) 



ii 



England, East 



477 



f> 



n °'4 )i 



below 



11 



4'3.i 



11 21 „ 



d 



i» 



220 



it »» 7 n 



above 



11 



Midlands 



47'° 



»» 



• • 01 ,, 



11 



11 



5° .. 



t, 12 „ 





11 



l8l 





below 





England, South 



4°'S 



i» 



>• o-s „ 



above 



11 



66 „ 



11 0"4 „ 



n 



»» 



210 



11 it ° 11 



above 



11 



Scotland, West 



47'4 



11 



» 09 „ 



»i 



11 



10-5 „ 



>. oS „ 



n 



>> 



14.* 



»» »» 3® »» 



below 





England, N.W. 



48-1 



) 1 



■ 1 0-2 „ 



below 



11 



76., 



>, i"5 » 



>i 



»t 



166 



n it 5 i» 



»i 



11 



England, S.W. 



So-i 



j» 



» °'4 •• 



above 



11 



9'4.i 



., T4 » 



IS 



jj 



206 



»» it 7 11 



19 



11 



Ireland, North 



491 



n 



i. 1 "3 .. 



11 



II 



6-5 „ 



» l'9 » 



)> 



j» 



145 



11 11 j2 ,, 



ti 



11 



Ireland, South 



50 '0 



»i 



,. I'° » 



i) 



11 



7i .. 



,* i'6 „ 



n 



ij 



175 



ii 11 3° j j 



II 



11 



TheKingdom... 



48-2 



1 1 



>» o-6 ,, 



11 



II 



6-9 „ 



» I'5 n 



a 



ti 



175 



11 17 tt 



)) 



ii 



The above period is the first this year wherein for ten weeks the mean temperature of the kingdom has been above the normal. 

 The distribution of rainfall has become more than usually unequal. 



