342 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



2. British Association. — The sixty-second meeting of the 

 British Association was held at Edinburgh during the week com- 

 mencing August 3. Sir Archibald Geikie was the President of 

 the meeting. In his address he speaks of the large contributions 

 of Edinburgh geologists to geological science and dwells at 

 length upon the prominent influence of the views of Hutton. 

 Other Presidential addresses were by Professor Lapworth, of the 

 Geological Section, on some general facts in the earth's develop- 

 ment ; Professor James Geikie, President of the Geographical 

 Section, on the origin of coast lines ; Professor Schuster, of the 

 Physical Section, on the progress in Physical Science during the 

 past year; Professor Wm. Rutherford, of the section on Biology, 

 on the current theories regarding our sense of color. These and 

 other Presidential addresses and reports of papers will be found 

 in the numbers of Nature for the month of August and beyond. 



3. On the periodic variations in Glaciers. The following is 

 from a recent communication by Prof. Forel, published in Nature 

 of August 18. — The preparatory study which we have made 

 within the last few years has shown us that the periodicity of 

 glacial variations is much longer than was formerly believed to 

 be the case ; the popular dictum that the increase in the size of 

 glaciers recurs every seven years is certainly incorrect. We can- 

 not yet give definite figures, but probably the cycle of glacial 

 variation is as much as 35 to 50 years. The latter period alone 

 has been studied attentively ; if 1850 or 1855 be fixed upon as 

 the epoch of maximum of glaciers, they have been steadily 

 decreasing in past years, so that from 1870 to 1875 we were not 

 aware of a single one on the increase. In 1875 the Glacier des 

 Bossons du Mont Blanc gave the signal for a new period by 

 commencing to lengthen out; it was followed in 1878 and 1879 

 by the glaciers of Trient and Zigiorenove ; then successively by 

 some thirty glaciers in different valleys of Le Valais; but the phase 

 of increase is not yet general in Le Valais ; a number of large 

 glaciers, Ai*olla, Otemrua, Corbassiere, Le Gorner, Le Rhone, are 

 still decreasing or stationary. It is only of the Mont Blanc 

 group that the increase can be said to be general ; in Le Valais 

 it is in process of development, and we are still very far from the 

 maximum stage of glaciers. If, as is probable, the maximum 

 only arrives at the commencement of next century, the actual 

 period of glaciers will have lasted more than fifty years. 



4. .Florida, South Carolina and Canadian Phosphates y by 

 C. C. Hayes Millar. 224 pp. 8vo. 1892. New York (The 

 Scientific Publishing Co.). — As the preface states, this book is 

 addressed to those who are commercially interested in phosphates, 

 and treats of their mode of occurrence, methods and cost of pro- 

 duction, and commercial importance. It contains maps of the 

 phosphate regions of Florida and South Carolina, and will be 

 found a valuable work by those for whom it has been prepared. 



