320 Scientific Intelligence. 



Among special features of Part II there perhaps only needs to be 

 here mentioned the fact that two small leaves with a decidedly 

 dicotyledonous appearance are figured (Plate XI, figures 5 and 

 6) from the rocks of the Great Oolite of Stonesfield, as belonging 

 to the "convenient genus" JPhyllites. This Seward would have 

 restricted for the designation of Dicotyledonous leaves that can- 

 not with certainty be referred to a particular family. — In com- 

 menting on the extremely scanty occurrence of Jurassic dicotyls 

 Seward says, and the reviewer has similarly expressed himself, — 

 "There is, in short, no d priori improbability that Dicotyledons 

 existed ages before they attained to a position of importance, and 

 it is highly probable that this was the case." The fundamentally 

 important statement is also made that, u We cannot deduce any 

 evidence from such data as we possess in favor of the existence 

 of well-defined botanical provinces during the Rhsetic, Jurassic, 

 or Wealden periods." G. r. w. 



III. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. British Association. — The annual meeting of the British 

 Association for the Advancement of Science was held at Cam- 

 bridge during the week from the 17th to the 24th of August. 

 The inaugural address upon the subject* "Reflections suggested 

 by the new Theory of Matter " was delivered by the President, 

 the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour. The attendance at the meeting 

 was 2,789, which has only been exceeded on five occasions. The 

 meeting of next year is to be held at Cape Town, South Africa, 

 and Dr. George H. Darwin has been elected President. 



2. The Metric Fallacy ; by Frederick A. Halsey. The 

 Metric Failure in the Textile Industry ; by Samuel S. Dale. 

 Pp. 231. New York, 1904 (D. Van Nostrand Co.).— This is a 

 somewhat caustic arraignment of the metric system based upon a 

 paper presented to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

 in December, 1902. The authors claim that the actual introduc- 

 tion of the system, in countries where it is sanctioned by law, is 

 less complete than has been supposed, from the standpoint of its 

 practical application in the arts, and give reasons why they believe 

 its introduction in this country to be undesirable. 



Scientific workers believe strongly in the simplicity and value 

 of the metric units, but it is fair that the subject should also be 

 discussed from the standpoint of its practical application to the 

 useful arts. 



Obituary. 



Dr. Joseph D. Everett, for upwards of thirty years Profes- 

 sor of Natural Philosophy at Queen's College, Belfast, died on 

 August 9 at the age of seventy-three years. His excellent trans- 

 lation of Deschanel's Natural Philosophy has been long known 

 and highly valued by students of physics. His book on the 

 C. G. S. system of units, published when the selection of practi- 

 cal units in electricity was under discussion, was an important 

 contribution which has had a wide influence. He was also the 

 author of numerous papers, largely on theoretical subjects. 



* See Nature for August 18, also the same number and those immediately 

 following for the addresses by the Presidents of Sections. 



