has done more than Fritz Schaudinn, whose premature death this summer has been lamented by the whole world of biologists. He not only made many discoveries of importance, he opened up new lines of investigation which are full of promise. His work has made it safe to prophesy that protozoology will surely develop into a department not less important than bacteriology. Doubtless influenced by his master, F. E. Schulze, Fritz Schaudinn began about ten years ago to study protozoa, and he soon attained the rank of a discoverer. His researches on multiple nuclear division, the central corpuscle of heliozoa, and the dimorphism of foraminifera (at the same time elucidated by Mr. J. J. Lister) were of much interest, but it was his working out (along with Siedlecki) of the lifehistory of Coccidia (1897) that first indicated his characteristic ability. During the last few years he published memoir after memoir on the life-histories of parasitic protozoa, such as Trypanosoma and Spirochete, and made excursions into the field of bacteriology, e.g. in the discovery of the spirillum of syphilis. He founded the Archiv für Protistenkunde, now in its seventh volume, and he had time to indulge in some purely zoological work, e.g. the study of Tardigrada. He was cut off in June last in the midst of his labours, at the early age of thirty-five-an irreparable loss to science. Nor does the sadness end here, for Schaudinn has left a widow and young family very inadequately provided for. As he has left the world his debtor, it is to be hoped that success will attend a proposed international memorial, in which many prominent biologists and physicians in this country have already interested themselves. Subscriptions should be sent to the treasurer, Mr. Adam Sedgwick, F.R.S., New Museums, Cambridge.

THE May issue of the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia contains a paper by Mr. J. A. G. Rehn on non-saltatorial orthopterous insects (inclusive of Mantida and Phasmidae) from British Guiana, in which several new species are named and described, and a second, by the same author, on five new species of Orthoptera from Tonkin.

THE whole of the second part of vol. lxxxiv. of the Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie is taken up by a paper of 155 pages on the terminal nerve apparatus in the mouth-parts of birds, and the general mode of nerve termination in vertebrates as a whole. The author, Dr. E. Botezat, concludes that the terminations of peripheral nerves conform to a common fundamental plan, and have a definite structure of their own, which is unlike that of the nerve terminations of the higher sensory organs.

THE habits and reactions of the American pond-snail Lymnaeus elodes (probably only a local phase of the European L. palustris) form the subject of No. 6 of Cold Spring Harbour Monographs, the author in this instance being Mr. H. E. Walter. Although the creature ordinarily breathes by coming at intervals to the surface and filling its lung-chamber with air, in exceptional circumstances it is able to breathe without rising to the surface at all, the lung-chamber being then filled with water. This secondary adaptation is, however, at once relinquished when the inducing circumstances disappear.

SCIENCE Bulletin No. 8 (vol. i.) of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences contains notes on birds from Trinidad, by Mr. G. K. Cherrie; descriptions of various North American moths and their larvæ, by Mr. H. G. Dyar; and a list of geometrid moths from Utah, Texas, and Arizona, with descriptions of new species, by Mr.

R. T. Pearsall. A number of star-fishes from the Pacific coast of North America are described as new by Mr. W. K. Fisher in vol. viii., pp. 111-139, of the Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences. A detailed monograph, with illustrations, is promised later.

THE contents of the September number of the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine include a continuation of the nomenclature of the Microlepidoptera by Lord Walsingham and Mr. J. H. Durrant, a further instalment of Dr. J. H. Wood's synopsis of the British flies of the genus Phora, and a paper by Mr. N. H. Joy on beetles infesting the nests of birds and mammals. Having taken the beetle Cholera colonoides, as well as other supposed rare species, in birds' nests last year, the author of the paper just mentioned came to the conclusion that if such stations were carefully searched the rarity of the beetles in question would prove a myth. Put to the test of experiment, the theory has turned out to be true, while the nests of the smaller mammals have proved an even more productive source of interesting Coleoptera.

THE fourth part of vol. xxxv. of Gegenbaur's Morphologisches Jahrbuch opens with a eulogy of the founder delivered by Prof. C. Seffner at the unveiling at HeidelA berg on May 12 of a bust of the great anatomist. photograph of the bust accompanies this brief résumé of Carl Gegenbaur's life and work. A large part of the rest of the issue is occupied by a long and elaborate description and discussion, by Mr. H. Braus, of Heidelberg, on the fore-limb and operculum of the larva of the frog Bombinator. Attention is directed to a certain correlation between the fore-limb and the operculum, more especially with regard to the perforation in the latter. Dr. Charlotte Müller discusses the development of the human thoracic cavity, while Messrs. G. Kolossoff and E. Paukul formulate a mathematical theory to explain the papillary ridges and grooves on the palm and sole of the human hand and foot.

DURING last year's visit of the British Association to South Africa, Mr. C. F. Rousselet occupied himself, so far as circumstances would permit, with collecting the rotiferous animalcules of the country. Despite very unfavourable conditions for collecting, the result of his labours has been enormously to increase the South African list, especially if Natal (where more work on the group had been done than elsewhere) be excluded. Mr. Rousselet's paper on this fauna is published, with illustrations, in the August number of the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. At the conclusion of his paper the author comments on the extraordinarily wide geographical distribution of many of these minute organisms. "The best explanation is that the Rotifera, in addition to thin-shelled summer eggs which hatch at once, produce resting eggs with thick tough shells capable of withstanding any amount of desiccation, and which may be wafted up with the dust of dried-up pools, and carried very long distances by the wind

and air-currents, and thus scattered over the whole surface of the earth, and then come to life and produce their kind."

AN account in Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift (July 8) of the Sigillarieæ, by Dr. W. Koehne, indicates how the impressions or casts, known as incrustations, of these fossil Lycopods are produced, and contrasts them with petrifactions in which cell structure is preserved.

FOR several years the application of electricity to agriculture has been increasing in Germany, where the owners of large farms have been brought to see the advantages

of this system. Some of the large electrical manufacturing firms have entered actively into the development and supply of machinery in this new field, and some striking illustrations are given by Mr. Franz Koester in the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxi., No. 5) showing views taken on farms where electricity is used exclusively for motive power.

IN the Revue de Métallurgie (vol. iii., No. 2), issued as a supplement to the Bulletin de la Société d'Encouragement, Mr. Guillery describes a new method of determining | the elastic limit of metals by recording the variations in the electric resistance of the test-piece as the load in the testing machine is increased. The method is not yet fully developed, but the results of a number of tests made by the author at Denain, and the simplicity of the apparatus used, render it worthy of careful consideration.

In the case of an engine using saturated steam, the PV diagram can be converted into the 0 equivalent either by a somewhat tedious calculative method or by Boulvin's graphic method. The latter necessitates the preliminary re-plotting of the diagrams to the pressure and volume scales before the graphic transference can be carried out. A modification of this method has been devised by Mr. W. J. Goudie, and is described in the Engineering Review (vol. xv., No. 2). A direct transference from the actual indicator diagrams is effected, and the saving in time and labour should render the method useful to engineers who make frequent use of the temperature-entropy chart.

THE September issue of the new bi-monthly journal Concrete contains admirably illustrated articles on the micro-structure of Portland cement by Dr. C. H. Desch, and on reinforced concrete at the Milan Exhibition by Mr. F. R. Farrow. This new addition to technical periodical literature should prove a valuable source of information to all workers in concrete and cement. The details of the new uses to which concrete and reinforced concrete are put are very remarkable. The use of reinforced concrete as a substitute for timber in exposed positions is rapidly increasing. Railway sleepers, telegraph posts, and fence posts are being tried, and efforts are being made to prove that reinforced concrete is an excellent substitute for brickwork where structures of great height are required.

We have received from the Geological Survey of Canada three reports of special economic interest. The report (No. 923) on the Chibougamau mining region in the northern part of the province of Quebec, by Mr. A. P. Low, records the discovery of an area of serpentine rocks containing asbestos of excellent quality, together with the finding of a large vein of gold-bearing quartz and numerous indications of copper ores. Mr. R. W. Brock submits a preliminary report (No. 939) on the Rossland mining district, British Columbia. A more complete report is in preparation. Mr. C. W. Willimott's monograph on the mineral pigments of Canada (No. 913) contains the results of an elaborate series of experiments with the various pigments that can be derived from minerals, ochres, and clays either in their crude state or by burning. They show that in almost every colour a paint of good body and permanent tone may be produced from Canadian material.

AN account of Sinhalese earthenware is given by Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy in vol. iv., part xiii., of Spolia Zeylanica. Elaborate types are not found, and no glaze is used; the sides of the pots are made on the wheel, which is turned by a boy; some hours or days later, putting a smooth stone inside, the potter fashions the lower part of the sides so as to form the bottom-a most unusual procedure. In addition to domestic and ritual pottery, the

author deals with roof-tiles, some of which, for use on the eaves, are decorated. Earthen vessels are also decorated with incised, stamped, or slip-painted designs, and the most effective of these styles is stamping, though some of the incised designs produce a very Greek-like effect. The paper is illustrated by three collotypes and numerous blocks in the text.

THE summary of the weather for the week ended September 8, issued by the Meteorological Office, shows that the highest shade temperature in the recent hot speli was 96°, at Bawtry, in the Midland counties, registered on September 2. The rains which occurred with the change to cooler weather were very heavy in places, although b по means general. In parts of London the fall on the night of September 4-5 amounted to an inch, and to 1-68 inches at Ventnor; while at Glencarron the measurement on September 5 was 1.98 inches, and at Fort William 1.87 inches. In most parts of England the weather has been exceptionally dry for nearly three weeks. At Spurn Head and Bath no rain has fallen since August 24, and at Shields none has fallen since August 26, while at many places, widely separated, the measurement since about August 25 amounts only to a few hundredths of an inch. The general type of weather which has characterised the summer is still continuing. Bright sunshine is unusually prevalent, with very dry conditions, but the temperature has fallen, although the days at present are still mostly warm. At Greenwich, the exposed thermometer on the grass registered 28° on the morning of September 11, and the ground in the suburbs of London was coated with hear frost.

We have received from the meteorological reporter to the Government of India a memorandum on the weather conditions during June and July, with an estimate of the monsoon rainfall during August and September, 1906. It is stated that the total rainfall of June and July was distributed with about the usual uniformity over the greater part of India; the only areas of large defect were Sind (52 per cent.), the Punjab (27 per cent.), and Bengal (21 per cent.). In both these months there was, on the average of the whole country, a defect of 3 per cent. in the rainfall. In forming a forecast for August and September, the conditions in various parts of the world are stated; of these, the most powerful factor is thought to be the pressure in the southern Indian Ocean. An illustration of this is given by a table containing all years since 1875 in which pressure at Mauritius in July differed from the normal by more than 0.024 inch, together with the rainfall of Bombay and bay currents in the ensuing August and September; it shows that there is a marked tendency for high pressure to be followed by deficient rainfall, and vice versa. At Mauritius, pressure this year was below the normal in June by 0-045 inch, and in July by o-020 inch, a fact which is, therefore, decidedly favourable; but so many factors come into play, e.g. temperature, the distribution of snowfall in the mountain regions north and west of India, and probably pressure over South America that Dr. Walker is unable to say more than that there appears, on the whole, to be no reason for anticipating either a large excess or a large defect in the rainfall of August or September.

THE Royal Society of Canada, which was founded by the Duke of Argyll in 1881, celebrated its semi-jubilee this summer. The president, Prof. Alexander Johnson, in his address at the annual meeting, described the conditions which led to the society's inception and the development c its activities. A large portion of the address was appro

priately devoted to considering the different conceptions which have been held with regard to matter, culminating in the theory of atomic disintegration, which had its birth in Montreal in 1902.

Ar the end of an interesting and instructive paper in a recent number of the Chemiker Zeitung (No. 61, p. 742) on the chemical composition of the eruptive products of volcanic actions, and more especially that of Vesuvius in April of this year, Prof. Julius Stoklasa, of Prague, directs attention to the meagre primitive equipment of the Royal Seismological Observatory situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Vesuvius, where on April 3 Prof. Matteucci observed the first subterranean signs of this year's eruption, and which Prof. Stoklasa visited in May last. In this article Prof. Stoklasa throws out the suggestion that the observatory should be re-modelled and made an international experimental station with geophysical and chemical laboratories, similar, in fact, to the International Biological Station at Naples, which is being provided with extensions to its physiological and chemical laboratories for the purpose of more thoroughly investigating marine fauna and flora.

IN 1903, from the occurrence of a number of lines common to the spectra of krypton and xenon, Dr. Baly inferred the existence of a new element present as an impurity in those gases. From a study of the spectra of different fractions of the most easily condensable portion of the inert gases of the atmosphere, Dr. Rudolf Schmidt now concludes in the Verhandlungen of the German Physical Society (vol. viii., No. 14) that xenon is not a true element, but a mixture, possibly of several gases. The ultra-violet spectrum between λ=3450 and λ=2800 of one fraction of the gas was found to contain only about forty lines, the greater part corresponding with those ascribed to xenon; several, however, were new. Within the same range Baly measured about 500 lines, and the difference in the two numbers might at first sight appear to be due to insufficient illumination in the one case. This view is contradicted, however, by the fact that some of the lines which appeared feeblest in Baly's spectra showed the greatest intensity in the case of this particular fraction, whilst all the brightest lines of "* xenon were missing. The only explanation appears to be that the gas hitherto called xenon is a more or less complex mixture.

THE Country Press, 19 Ball Street, Kensington, W., has added to its series of nature-study picture postcards twelve cards, which may be obtained for one shilling, depicting twenty-three species of British grasses. The popular and botanical names are given in each case, together with the time of flowering and a magnified representation of the fructification.

terms

THE Nagari-pracharina Sabha, of Benares, has published a 'Hindi Scientific Glossary," containing the employed in most of the sciences, except biology and geology. The glossary has been edited by Mr. Syam Sundar Das, honorary secretary of the Nagari-pracharina Sabha, with the cooperation and assistance of an editorial committee. The glossary is divided into seven parts, dealing respectively with terms of geography, astronomy, political economy, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and philosophy. Preference has been given to common and current Hindi terms. In the absence of appropriate Hindi equivalents, certain appropriate terms existing in some of the prevalent vernaculars have been used. When these have failed, the existing Sanskrit terms have been taken or the English terms employed.

OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. HOLMES'S COMET (1906). According to Prof. Wolf's telegram announcing its re-discovery, as published in No. 4118 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, the photographic magnitude of Holmes's comet on August 28 was 15.5. As the comet passed through perihelion on about March 14 it is not likely to become a brilliant object during the present apparition. The corrections to Dr. Zwiers's ephemeris are -6s. and -2'.

FINLAY'S COMET (1906d).-A continuation from M. L. Schulhof's ephemeris for Finlay's comet is given below:a (app.) h. in.

1906

Sept. 15

a

(app.) b. m. 6 40

8 (app.)

+19 19

1906 Sept. 23

The comet will pass about 1° south of September 20, and about 2° south of September 25.

8 (app.)

+ 20 3 20 II

+ 20 17

+ 20 22

Geminorum on

Geminorum on

Herr Ebell calculated two sets of elements, obtaining October 16, 1905, and May 14, 1906, as the respective times of perihelion passage, but, as seen from the residuals (observed-calculated), there is considerable uncertainty attaching to the calculated path.

Two other sets of elements, communicated by Prof. E. C. Pickering, give April 12, 1907, and December 7, 1906, respectively, as the time of perihelion, and the resultant ephemerides show the comet's brightness to be increasing at the present time. Observing at Hamburg on August 23, Dr. Graff found that the comet had a coma of o'.5 diameter, with a nucleus of magnitude 12.5, the magnitude of the whole being 11.5 (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4118).

THE PLANET MERCURY.-Continuing his articles in the Observatory (No. 374) on planets and planetary observations, Mr. Denning this month discusses the best times and methods of observing Mercury. Dealing with the legendary lament of Copernicus that he had never seen authenticity. The late Rev. S. J. Johnson saw Mercury this planet, Mr. Denning expresses his doubts as to its as an evening star about 150 times during the years 18581905, whilst Mr. Denning has seen it some 130 times since February, 1868, and suggests that, if looked for regularly, this elusive object may probably be seen about fifteen occasions per annum in the English climate. In the spring, Mercury should be looked for some days before the maximum elongation, but in the autumn apparitions some days after the elongation. cussing the observing conditions, Mr. Denning proceeds to describe the surface markings as seen-with great difficulty -on the telescopic image of Mercury since the time of Schröter.

ENGINEERING AT THE BRITISH
ASSOCIATION.

IN N his presidential address to the section, Dr. Ewing dealt with certain aspects of the inner structure of metals and the manner in which they yield under strain, and he made a notable departure from the usual custom of such addresses by illustrating his speculations by experiments and by models in order to demonstrate his ideas as to the processes of crystal building.

After the presidential address a paper was read by Major W. E. Edwards, R.A., on modern armour and its attack. The author first gave a very complete and useful history of the application of armour to ships and forts, and then explained in detail the elaborate and costly processes through which the material passes, from the casting of the steel ingot to the completion of the plate. The second part of the paper dealt with the attack of armour and the various ways in which a plate may yield, and the influence of the cap in reducing the resisting power of hard-faced plates. In the discussion Sir William White expressed the opinion that British armour-plate makers had introduced many of the more important improvements in the resisting power of armour-plates, and that eventually the 6-inch gun would be chiefly used for defence against torpedo craft.

The first paper on Friday, August 3, was on the removal of dust and smoke from chimney gases, by Messrs. S. H. Davies and F. G. Fryer. The paper dealt with an ingenious plant the authors have designed and fitted up at the cocoa works of Messrs. Rowntree and Co. for thoroughly washing the smoke, and for removing from it the whole of the grit and dust and practically all the sulphur acids. Members of the section had an opportunity later on of seeing this plant in operation; it certainly thoroughly effects the purposes for which it was installed, and it might certainly be adopted with advantage in many factories where a cheap and plentiful supply of water is available.

In the next paper, on standardisation in British engineering practice, Sir John Wolfe-Barry gave an account of the admirable work which has been carried out by the Engineering Standards Committee since its first institution in 1901 at the instance of Sir John Wolfe-Barry himself. There are now thirty-six subcommittees with 260 members dealing with some thirty different branches of the work. The work of the committee has been invaluable both to manufacturers and to engineers, and the publications of the committee are indispensable to all engineers.

Dr. Ewing has during recent years done much valuable research work on the crystalline structure of metals, both in a strained and in an unstrained state, and it was only natural that there should be several papers on this important branch of the subject of the strength of materials. Mr. W. Rosenhain dealt with the deformation and fracture of iron and steel, and his paper was illustrated by a number of beautiful lantern slides. The author of this paper has done such admirable work in the microscopic study of the crystalline structure of metals that everything he has to say on this subject is sure to be of value. In his latest researches he has by a most ingenious method been able to study the crystalline structure of the actual fracture itself in broken test-pieces. The second paper on this subject of the crystalline structure of metals was by Mr. J. E. Stead, and dealt with segregation in steel ingots and its effect in modifying the mechanical properties of steel. To all those concerned either with the manufacture or with the employment of steel in industrial operations this paper was most valuable, for the author

had brought together a large amount of informatia previously scattered in the pages of various publications. The microscopic study of the crystalline structure of different portions of steel ingots is rapidly changing the views of engineers in regard to many important problems in connection with the life of steel rails, and there is no question that the microscope now plays as important a part in the laboratory of the metallurgist as in that the biologist.

Dr. H. C. H. Carpenter next read his paper on struvtural changes in nickel wire at high temperatures, this research, carried out at the National Physical Laboratory, was intended to throw light on the fact that fundamental changes occur in the mechanical properties of nickel wire used as the heating coil of an electrically-heated porcelain tube-furnace. Here again the microscope was the chic instrument in the research, and the study of the crystalline structure of the wires showed, the author suggested, that wire intended for electrical heating should be as free from gases as possible. A paper by Mr. W. Taylor describing a magnetic indicator of temperature for hardening stei concluded the day's proceedings.

On Saturday, August 4, the section paid a visit of inspection to the Roundhills Reservoir of the Harrogate Corporation. The dam, a masonry one, will, when completed, be 125 feet in height above the river bed, and members of the section were fortunate enough to see the work when the more difficult operations of such an undertaking were just in their most interesting condition.

On Monday, August 6, the first paper read was by Prof. Hudson Beare, on the new engineering laboratories of the University of Edinburgh and their equipment; the author pointed out that he had made special provision in these new laboratories for experimental work of an advanced character on the strength of materials and on hydraulics. At the conclusion of the discussion of this paper Sir W. H. Preece read a communication on glow lamps up to date, and the grading of voltages, in which he strongly advocated that steps should be taken to secure uniformity of practice in regard to regulation of voltage in connection with the distribution of electrical energy, and also in regard to the grading of carbon filament glow lamps; in the latter part of the paper data were given to show how poor in quality were many of the lamps on the English market. In the discussion on this paper Colonel Crompton directed attention to the fact that only a comparatively small proportion of lamps was used in private houses in America, while in this country the proportion was large; he also pointed out that the demand for electric current for power and for heating was now becoming a very important factor in the working of central stations.

In a paper on the advent of single-phase electric traction, Mr. C. F. Jenkin directed attention to the rapid advance of electric traction on railways, and pointed out its advantages. He pointed out that the real advantage of electrification was that it would make the line pay better. Mr. Jenkin then dealt with the two alternative systems-alternating current transmission, continuou current distribution with low-tension third rail, and alternating current transmission with high-tension trolley wire: he was of opinion that the latter method had very great advantages, and he advocated also single-phase instead of three-phase currents.

The business of the section for this day concluded with a paper by Mr. A. J. Martin on a general supply of gas for light, heat, and power production. Mr. Martin pointed out that the main obstacle to the general use of gas for purposes other than lighting was its cost, and that the chief causes of this high cost were the standards of iliu ninating value to which gas has to conform and the high prices paid for coal. At the present day both natural gis and coal gas have been piped in America to great distances. (in the case of natural gas to 200 miles) with success and Mr. Martin was of opinion that it would be reetly feasible to generate gas cheaply at large works in the centre of our coalfields, and then to convey it under pressure to all our large cities for manufacturing and heal ing purposes.

The

In the course of the afternoon many members o section took part in an excursion to Middlesbrough to visit

the works of the Cargo Fleet Iron Co., Ltd. The whole of the plant at these works has been recently remodelled and fitted with the latest labour-saving devices and plant for recovery of by-products; the Talbot continuous steel process, which was introduced to the notice of English metallurgists only in 1900, has been adopted, and at the Cargo Fleet Works each of the three furnaces holds about 175 tons of molten steel.

On Tuesday, August 7, the section began its proceedings with a paper by Prof. W. E. Dalby on experiments illustrating the balancing of engines. The beautiful working models which Prof. Dalby has designed to illustrate the principles which underlie the problem of balancing various types of engines were shown in operation, and, as the president remarked during the discussion, it was a pity that the London County Council had not made use of the author's services in this field of engineering research before it began the design of a large generating station not half a mile away from Greenwich Observatory.

Mr. G. Stoney then read a paper on recent advances in steam turbines, land and marine. The figures given by the author showed how wonderful had been the advance since Mr. C. A. Parsons built his first turbo-dynamo of about 10 h.p. in 1884; at the present time 6000 kw. generators are in course of construction, while turbines of 10,000 kw. are proposed for the great power scheme To supply electric energy in bulk for London. The use of large turbine blowing engines in metallurgical work has also rapidly developed during the past three or four years, while for marine purposes the total horse-power of turbines, either completed or on order, now approaches 1,000,000. Mr. Stoney also described the vacuum augmenter,' device for increasing the vacuum in the condenser without increasing unduly the volume of the circulating water by the use of a steam jet placed in a contracted pipe between the condenser and the air pump, which compresses the air and vapour from the condenser and delivers it to the air pump through a small auxiliary condenser.

a

The next paper was by Mr. J. Smith, on an application of stream-line apparatus to the determination of the direction and approximate magnitude of the principal stresses in certain portions of the structure of ships; this valuable paper was, the president stated, one of the first fruits of the laboratory of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. The author showed that a strain diagram of the deck of a ship very closely approximated to the stream-line shown hy Prof. Hele-Shaw's well-known apparatus, in which a very thin film of water is compelled to flow between two sheets of glass.

In the afternoon the section had a joint meeting with the physical and educational sections, and a discussion on the teaching of mechanics was opened by a paper by Mr. C. E. Ashford, headmaster of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. In his paper Mr. Ashford pointed out that there was a serious danger that school science might become as academic as classics, and he directed attention to the absolute necessity of employing for laboratory experimental work, not toys, but apparatus such as screwjacks, Weston's blocks, &c., and also to the great need of experiments for showing the phenomena of kinetics; several new pieces of apparatus designed for this purpose by the staff at the college were described and illustrated.

Wednesday, August 8, the last day of the meeting, was an unusually busy one for the section; no fewer than six papers were dealt with. Prof. Ashcroft described, and showed in operation, the Central Technical College lecture table testing machine, an exceedingly ingenious and beautiful piece of apparatus; Prof. Ashcroft has adopted, with, however, considerable simplifications, the plan first devised by Prof. Kennedy, of using a "spring bar " measure the loads upon the specimen under test, and to give one of the two necessary motions to the recording apparatus, thus overcoming the difficulties unavoidable when an attempt is made to keep the steelyard of the Testing machine floating during the final drawing-down stage prior to fracture,

to

The next paper was one by Prof. J. B. Henderson, on recent advances in our knowledge of radiation phenomena and their bearing on the optical measurement of temperature. After discussing the four laws of radiation from an

ideal black body, the author dealt with pyrometers based on these laws, such as Féry's, and the optical thermometer of Holborn and Kurlbaum.

Mr. S. Cowper Coles read a paper on electropositive coatings for the protection of iron and steel from corrosion, and showed a number of beautiful examples of electrodeposition. In the discussion Colonel Crompton stated that the processes invented by the author had solved a very difficult problem in connection with the piston rods of steam engines using very high-pressure steam, for it was now possible to give these rods a very hard, incorrodible surface without any sacrifice of strength.

In a paper on suction-gas plants, Prof. Dalby dealt with the principles underlying the design of such plants, and then described a number of plants which were entered for the recent trials in connection with the Royal Agricultural Society's show at Derby, and the methods of starting such plants. In reply to the discussion, Prof. Dalby stated that a 15 h.p. engine would use about 0.7 lb. anthracite coal per B.H.P. during running, or, if allowance is made for lighting up and standing by, about 10 lb. per B.H.P. hour. Mr. W. A. Scoble, in a paper on the strength and behaviour of ductile materials under combined stress, described the results of a series of tests of steel bars with a distribution similar to that which occurs most frequently in practice, as obtained under combined bending and twisting; the experiments showed conclusively that the maximum principal stress and the maximum shear both varied through a wide range, the point used as a criterion of strength being the yield point.

The section concluded its business with the reading of a paper by Mr. D. Mackenzie, on waterproof roads as a solution of the dust problem. The various processes at present in use were described and their deficiencies pointed out. Tar alone was most unsatisfactory; at the end of twelve months it had entirely disappeared; the best material, he considered, was "tarmac,' made from blastfurnace slag broken when hot and immediately immersed in hot tar; only forge pig slag should be used for this

66

AMONG the growing points" mentioned by Prof.

M. E. Sadler in his address were the keenness of intelligent workmen to make the elementary schools better, the demand by adult workers for an education touched by imagination, humanity, and civic idealism, the encouragement of education by employers of labour, educational experiments carefully planned and systematically watched (e.g. in practical courses of study and corporal training in higher elementary schools for ages twelve to fifteen, and in the actual results of postponing the beginning of Latin until twelve years of age), and the need for continuation schools to check the drift into the physical and intellectual disorder of the unemployed. A full report

of Prof. Sadler's address appears in the School World for September.

The list of schools and other institutions to which visits had been arranged included the Yorkshire School for the Blind, the classes in domestic economy for employees at Messrs. Rowntree's Cocoa Works, the British Botanical Association, with its extensive arrangements for the supply of botanical material, and two hospitals for the insane, the latter typifying the help which the schools may expect to receive from all contributions to mental science.

Health at School and Physical Education are topics which seem amenable to scientific treatment, and as such were very properly placed in the forefront of the programme. Sir Edward Brabrook presented the report on the conditions of health essential to the carrying on of the work of instruction in schools. This report deals with hearing,