North Atlantic is colder than usual, the centres of depressions pass almost directly over the British Isles and produce excessive cloudiness and rain. a The Builder for August 30 has an illustrated article on the reconstruction of the campanile of St. Mark's, in Venice. Preserving the old foundations as nucleus, a strong enclosure of Istrian stone has been constructed around them; the old foundations had a superficies of 222 square metres, and the present foundations cover 407 square metres, nearly double the surface. As the tower began to rise, a movable framework was employed; for the carrying up of the materials a Steigler elevator was used, which also lifted the bells into position. The bells weigh respectively 3625, 2556, 1087, 1366, and 1011 kilograms, and the angel 1300 kilograms. The tower itself from outside the ground to its summit weighs 8,900,000, and with its foundation included about 12,970,000 kilograms. The Loggetta of Sansovino has also been successfully restored. The loggia had been completely crushed by the campanile in its fall. All the fragments of sculpture were carefully collected before commencing the work of reconstruction; in the group of the Virgin and Child alone there were no fewer than 1600 separate pieces. The new campanile was opened on April 25 of this year. "THEORIES OF SOLUTIONS," by Svante Arrhenius, director of the Nobel Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, is being published this week by Mr. Frowde for the Yale University Press. The volume constitutes the eighth of the series of Silliman Memorial Lectures at Yale. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. DISCOVERY OF A COMET.-A telegram from the Kiel Centralstelle announces the discovery of a comet by Mr. Gale, of New South Wales, on September 9. The position at 7h. 24'8m. (Sydney M.T.) on that date was: R.A.=13h. 37m. is., decl. = 36° 31′ 2′′ South. THE MARKINGS OF JUPITER.-A valuable summary of the phenomena attending the various prominent markings on Jupiter is contributed by Mr. Denning to No. 452 of The Observatory. He first deals with the large dusky marking discovered by Major Molesworth, in the same latitude as the red spot, in February, 1901. This remarkable object, which can be seen well with a 3-in. refractor, has exhibited some extraordinary variations in length, having, for example, decreased from 115° in June, 1911, to 63° recently. It has also exerted a marked influence on the red spot, the motion of the latter being considerably accelerated at the conjunctions of the two features in 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, and 1910. For the period 1894-1910 the rate of rotation of the red spot was 9h. 55m. 40'63s., exactly that adopted for system ii., but then a rapid acceleration set in, and for the two succeeding years the period was 9h. 55m. 37'5s. This drifting westward was at the rate of about 22,000 miles per year, but recent observations indicate that it is temporarily suspended. and magnitude. Dr. H. E. Lau, from observations made between March 14 and May 18, finds secondary maxima on the light-curve on March 14, 23, and 31, April 18, and May 1. At first the period appeared to be about eight days and the amplitude ro magnitude, but later the period lengthened and the amplitude decidedly decreased. Most of the observations indicate that the magnitude became fairly stationary about the end of May, its value being about 80, but Prof. Eginitis records an apparent augmentation from 8'0 on June 4 to 7'4 on June 7. Prof. Newall states that spectroscopic observations by Messrs. Stratton and Brunt on August 13 showed the nebula line, 501μμ, to be much the strongest line in the visible spectrum; other lines observed were at λλ464 (?), 486 (HB), 496, 531 (?), and 575. The magnitude, difficult to estimate, was probably a little brighter than 9'0. Prof. Strömgren records the magnitude as 7'70, on the PD system, on August 24, while, in No. 452 of The Observatory, Mr. Harold Thomson gives it as 77 on August 20, on the scale employed by the Variable Star Section of the B.A.A. THE ORBIT OF PERSEI.-The star & Persei is one of those interesting binaries in which the radial velocity as determined from the H and K lines of calcium differs from that determined from the other lines. Its spectrum is of the Oe 5 B class, according to Miss Cannon, and shows lines of H, He, Ca, and Fe, but the H and He lines are generally too diffuse to give trustworthy results for the velocity. Using the H and K lines only, Mr. Cannon, of the Ottawa Observatory, has derived an orbit from his own measures and those made at the Yerkes Observatory, which he publishes in No. 3, vol. vi., of the Journal of the R.A.S., Canada. He finds the period to be 6.951 days, the range of velocity 157 km., and the velocity of the system 15.4 km. The diameter of the projected semi-major axis of the orbit is 751,800 km. An attempt was also made to determine the velocity from the broad lines, other than calcium, but nothing more definite can be said than that they show a much higher positive velocity than do the H and K lines. a at CATALOGUE OF STELLAR PARALLAXES.-No. 24 of the Publications of the Astronomical Laboratory Groningen contains a wealth of information concerning the parallaxes, probable intrinsic luminosities, &c., of 365 stars. The table has been made up from many sources, and relative weights are given to the different values. There are eleven stars with parallaxes greater than +0300", the five nearest, with their adopted parallaxes, being : Centauri (+0*759"). Sirius (+0376"), Piazzi, oh. 130 (+0*360"), Ceti (+0'334"), and Procyon (+0'324"). Ten stars have computed luminosities greater than one hundred times that of the sun, the five most luminous being: B Centauri (520), Regulus (423), Achernar (350), Capella (300), and Arcturus (230); the values in brackets are the computed luminosities, that of the sun being taken as unity. THE ORBITS OF COMETS.-In No. 4598 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, Prof. Strömgren points out, in reference to a recent note by Prof. W. Pickering on the fundamental form of cometary orbits, that Prof. Pickering has misconstrued the sense of his conclusions. The final contention of Prof. Strömgren's (not Prof. Kobold's, as was inadvertently stated in our previous note on August 15) was that if the effects of Newtonian gravitation be strictly taken into consideration it is probable that all the cometary orbits yet considered would prove to be elliptical. AMERICAN MINERAL STATISTICS.1 TH HE annual report of the production of minerals in the United States has been issued for 1910 by the United States Geological Survey in the form of two bulky volumes dealing with metallic and nonmetallic products respectively. Most of the statistical information had been already published in the special pamphlets issued from time to time by the Geological Survey, so that the present volumes contain no new facts, although they add a great quantity of important and interesting details, whilst the study of the subject is, of course, greatly facilitated by the collection and juxtaposition of all the various items. The total value of the mineral production is given as a little more than 2,000,000,000 dollars, an increase of 62 per cent. over that of 1909. This figure is quite comparable with the values of output of the United States for previous years, but is not comparable with those for other countries, because of a number of inexactitudes due to the method in which the returns are presented. As has more than once been pointed out, the grand total contains a number of reduplications, in spite of the statement in the report itself that "all unnecessary duplication has been excluded." The report directs attention to the fact that the value of the coke produced, practically 100,000,000 dollars, is excluded from the total, because "the quantity and value of the coal used in its manufacture are included in the statistics of coal production." It neglects the equally important fact that practically the whole of this coke is consumed in the production of metals, such as pig-iron, copper, and lead, and as the value of these metals is given, and not merely that of the ores from which they are extracted, the cost of the coke is really included in the value assigned to the metals. If the total value assigned to mineral products is to be correct, the value of all the fuel used for metallurgical purposes, and for burning clay products, lime, cement, &c., should be deducted from the grand total; this is by no means a trifling correction, for it would probably mean a diminution of the total by something like 10 per cent. Care has been taken in this report to include only metals produced from domestic ores as far as possible; this brings out the very interesting fact that the recovery of metals from residues, by-products, waste materials, &c., is assuming very important dimensions. Thus in 1910 the production of zinc, here called "primary spelter," direct from domestic ores amounted to 252,479 tons, and that of zinc from imported-chiefly Mexican-ores to 16,705 tons, whilst the quantity of so-called "secondary zinc recovered from waste and scrap materials of various kinds was no less than 68,723 tons, or about a quarter of the production of primary spelter. In the case of tin the figures are still more striking; the quantity of tin obtainable direct from ores is not stated, but appears to be of the order of some 40 tons, whilst the recovery of secondary tin from scrap of all kinds amounted to no less than 13,903 tons. It is calculated that the recovery of secondary tin throughout the world is only 27,000 tons, so that one-half of this production takes place in the United States. Seeing that the world's output of primary tin was about 115,920 tons in 1910, the recovery of tin from scrap is assuming very important dimensions. of Amongst the non-metallic minerals, coal is, course, by far the most important, the output for 1910 exceeding 500 millions of tons, this being the first time that this figure has been attained. The mineral 1 "Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year, 1910." Part .. Metals. Pp. 796+plate. Part ii., Non-metals. Pp. 1005+plates. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911.) output shows steady and progressive development in practically all directions, and these volumes afford conclusive evidence of the prominent position that the mineral riches of the United States hold amongst the sources of national wealth. It should, however, in all fairness be added that these two fine volumes of mineral statistics are not unworthy of the flourishing industries, the progress of which they chronicle. Is it too much to hope that we may have some day in this country a record of mineral statistics that might worthily sustain comparison for accuracy and completeness with that issued by the United States Geological Survey? H. L. INCOME OF AMERICAN COLLEGES OF UNIVERSITY RANK. THE second volume of the report of the United States Commissioner of Education for the year ended June 30, 1911, has now been received from Washington. It is chiefly devoted to statistical details concerning the development and present provision of educational facilities in institutions of all the grades included in the American system of education. Especially interesting are the facts which may be gathered respecting education of university rank. The total receipts of the universities in the United States are given as 18,934,410l., derived from a variety of sources, as shown in the following table :Total Receipts of Universities and Colleges for the year ended June 30, 1911. Tuition and other educational fees Board and other non-educational fees State or city for increase of plant £ 3,698,600 381,700 1,218,970 2,658,700 932,430 2,941,450 More detailed information is provided as to the benefactions given during the year under review, which exceeded four and a half millions sterling, or 4,592,620l. to be precise. We notice, for example, that the total is more by 845,200l. than was received during 1909-1910. Fifty universities and colleges each received gifts amounting to more than 20,000l., and, as the following table shows, seven universities and colleges were fortunate enough to benefit to the extent of 100,000l. or more. Universities and Colleges receiving 100,000l. or more in Benefactions during 1910-II. Columbia University Harvard College, Massachusetts New York University... Dartmouth College, New Hampshire Amherst College, Massachusetts £ 507,010 349,090 271,790 226,880 185,690 156,890 101,950 A separate chapter in the report deals with agricultural and mechanical colleges, but the Commissioner is careful to point out that some of them are also included under universities and colleges, so that overlapping occurs. The following table shows the total income of the agricultural and mechanical colleges for the year under consideration. Grants for experiment stations, farmers' institutes, and other means for DR. R. G. McKERRON has, with the approval of the King, been appointed professor of midwifery in the University of Aberdeen, in succession to Prof. W. Stephenson, who has resigned. THE foundation stone of a new college for the training of teachers at Dundee was laid on Thursday last by Lord Camperdown. The cost of the building will be 60,000l., and provision will be made for 400 students. PROF. J. LORRAIN SMITH, F.R.S. (at present professor of pathology and pathological anatomy in the University of Manchester) has been appointed to the chair of pathology in the University of Edinburgh, in succession to Prof. W. S. Greenfield, who is retiring from the position. THE sum of 5000l. has been given by the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mr. J. H. Benyon, towards the new buildings of University College, Reading. The donor has apportioned his gift between the new hall, the Letters Buildings, the Agricultural Buildings, and the new St. Patrick's Hall. THE Board of Agriculture has issued a scheme under which the University College of North Wales, Bangor, will undertake advisory work in forestry for the whole of Wales. Prof. F. Story, professor of forestry at the College, has been appointed to the position of advisory officer for all Wales under this scheme. Prof. Story will retain his professorship, but Mr. Thomson Thomson has been appointed assistant lecturer under him. THE Senate of the projected University of Western Australia recently advertised eight professorships, and the Agent-General for the State reports that the response has been of a character justifying the belief of good appointments being made. The Senate now invites applications for lectureships in veterinary science and mental and moral philosophy. It is stated that Crawley Park, near Perth, which contains spacious grounds, is likely to be selected as the site of the new institution. THE fourth international congress of physical education is to be held in Rome on October 24 to 27. Discussions are to take place on the organisation of physical education as a preparation for military service; a rational method of physical training in primary, middle, and secondary schools; the value of sports in physical education, and their physiological limitations; the physical education of woman in relation with her function in the family and in society; respiratory gymnastics and choral singing in schools; open-air schools; the physical exercises suitable for the prophylaxis of tuberculosis. THE following are the arrangements for the opening of the winter session of certain of the medical schools-That of St. Bartholomew's Hospital will be inaugurated on October 1 by an old students' dinner; at Charing Cross Hospital the prizes will be distributed on October 2 by the Bishop of Peterborough and Lady Mary Glyn; at St. George's Hospital the prizes will be distributed on October 1, and an address delivered by Mr. H. B. Grimsdale on "The present Duty of the Medical Citizen"; at Guy's Hospital there will be a conversazione on October 4 by the Pupils' Physical Society, the session commencing on October 1; at the London Hospital the Schorstein memorial lecture will be delivered on October 1 by Prof. T. W. Griffith; at the London School of Medicine for Women an address on "Common Sense" will be given on October 1 by Dr. Jane Walker; King's College Hospital will hold a dinner on October 1; at the Middlesex Hospital the prizes will be distributed on October 1 by Sir Charles Wyndham, and an address delivered by Dr. W. S. Lazarus-Barlow on "The Genius of the Infinitely Little"; at St. Mary's Hospital on October 1 the Lord Mayor of London will deliver an address and distribute the prizes; in connection with St. Thomas's Hospital there will be an old students' dinner on October 1; the Westminster Hospital School will have a dinner on October 3; a dinner, on October 2, will inaugurate the new session of the University College Hospital School; there will be a conversazione on October 1 in connection with the University of Birmingham; an address will be given on October 1 at the University of Manchester by Dr. H. D. Rolleston on "Universities and Medical Education," and at the University of Leeds an address will be delivered on October 1 by Sir Alfred Keogh, K.C.B. THE new session of the Sir John Cass Technical Institute, Aldgate, E.C., which is especially devoted to technical training in experimental science and in the artistic crafts, will commence on Monday, September 23. The instruction in experimental science provides systematic courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry for London University examinations, in addition to the courses on higher technological instruction, which form a special feature of the work of the institute. In connection with the latter, several new departures are being made for the coming session. The curriculum of the fermentation industries has been much developed, and now includes courses of instruction on brewing and malting, on bottling and cellar management, and power and mechanical plant in the brewery, on the microbiology of the fermentation industries, and on the chemistry and technology of hops, in addition to courses in chemistry and physics for those who have not sufficient previous knowledge of these subjects. In the department of physics and mathematics a special course of lectures and demonstrations will be given on colloids, which will deal with the methods employed in their investigation and their relation to technical problems; also a special course of lectures on the theory and applica. tion of mathematical statistics, in which the application of modern mathematical methods of dealing with statistical data in social, educational, economic, and physical problems will be discussed and opportunity given to students to investigate problems on their own account. In the metallurgy department, in addition to the ordinary courses of instruction in general metallurgy, several special courses of an advanced character are provided. The special courses on liquid, gaseous and solid fuel have also been extended, and in addition to a course of lectures, will include laboratory work on fuel analysis, and on technical gas analysis. It is also of interest to note that included amongst the language classes is a course on scientific and technical German. school examinations as well as tests of individual attainments. In the second place, the results of the examination will be modified by consideration of the school record of the pupil, and, again, the examination can only follow upon the completion of a specific programme of studies that has occupied a definite period of time, and in the last place the examinations for the certificates are closely associated with the thorough inspection of the schools. A specially constituted board of examiners, representing both the University and the Education Department, will determine the award of all certificates. In a few years there will be a large number of efficient high schools under the control of the Department of Public Instruction, and it is hoped that a leaving and intermediate examination will be carried on somewhat on the lines of that in Scotland. The alternative scheme, which was not adopted, was a system of inspection and examination by the University of Sydney. That is not, however, the true function of a university. Sydney has acted wisely in not undertaking it, though the University may assist, as it has done, to strengthen the State Education Department, and get it to organise secondary education as well as primary and technical. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. CALCUTTA. A LONG resolution embodying the oft-repeated education demands of the Trade Union Congress was adopted unanimously at a meeting of the congress at Newport (Mon.) on September 4. The main points are as follows:-(1) A national system of education under full public control, free from the primary school to the university; (2) The adequate maintenance of school children; (3) Scientific physical education with annual individual medical inspection, and records showing the physical development of each child; (4) that secondary and technical education be an essential part of every child's education, and secured by such a reform and extension of the scholarship system as will place a maintenance scholarship within the reach of every child, and thus make it possible for all children to be full-time day pupils up to the age of sixteen; (5) That the best intellectual and technical training be provided for the teachers of the children, that each educational district shall be required to train the number of pupil teachers demanded by local needs, and to establish training colleges, preferably in connection with universities or university colleges; (6) that the provision of educational buildings and facilities be obligatory upon the local authority, which shall always retain administrative control of the buildings and facilities so provided; (7) that the cost of education be met by grants from the Imperial Exchequer, and by the restoration of misappropriated educational endowments. The congress placed on record its emphatic disapproval of the refusal of Ministers of Education to grant the demand for a Royal Commis-suggested, gives a measure of the chemical activity sion to inquire into such endowments; and instructed the Parliamentary Committee once more to press for the appointment of such a Royal Commission, which shall inquire into :-(a) The finances of the universities and of the great public schools; and to issue a report containing a statement of the history and present value of those endowments which were originally intended for the poor; (b) the conditions of scholarships and other aids in universities and public schools; (c) the relations with lower education institutions; (d) the government of universities and public schools, and to bring forward recommendations showing how these institutions may be brought under full public control. SECONDARY education in New South Wales has now been organised completely, and Mr. Board, the director of education, in announcing at the beginning of July last a series of appointments to the high schools, described the character of the system which has now been inaugurated. We learn, from The Sydney Morning Herald, that Mr. Board claims for the New South Wales scheme of secondary education that it assigns a definite time for the studies of a secondary school, making four years the minimum which any student should spend on these studies. Another good point is the certificating system, which connects the secondary school with the primary school on one hand and the university on the other, and also leads definitely to certain well-marked types of career -for example, the technical or the commercial. Attached to the scheme of certificates is the system of examination. The examinations are, in the first place, Asiatic Society of Bengal, August 7.-R. K. Bhide : Two more new species of Gramineæ from Bombay. Two new species of grasses are described, (1) Chloris quinquesetica, collected by Mr. G. A. Gammie, and subsequently by the author, from Bassein, and (2) Sporobolus scabrifolius, collected by the author from Rannebennur.-Manindra Nath Banerjee: A measure of chemical affinity. The chemical activity of an element bears a simple relation to its density; if its atomic volume be divided by its density, the figure obtained, for which the name "specific extensity is of the element. For instance, platinum, which is a 66 ence was easy.-Rev. Fr. Nicholas Krick: Account of an expedition among the Abors in 1853. The recent expedition among the Abors gives renewed interest to Fr. Krick's visit to them in 1853. His "Relation d'un voyage au Thibet en 1852 et d'un voyage chez les Abors en 1853" (Paris, 1854) has become scarce; hence we are under obligations to Rev. Fr. A. Gille, S.J., for having translated that part which concerns the Abors. Fr. Krick's remarks on their manners and customs are as applicable to-day as they were nearly sixty years ago. BOOKS RECEIVED. Catalogue Général des Antiquités Egyptiennes du Musée du Caire. Nos. 61051-61100: The Royal Mummies. By Prof. G. Elliot Smith. Pp. vii+118+ 103 plates. (Le Caire: Imprimerie de l'Institut Français.) Eine physiologische Histologie des Menschen- und Saugetier-Körpers im Wort-Bild und Präparat. By Prof. F. Sigmund. Lief. i., Die Haut. Zweite verbesserte Auflage. Pp. 38. (Stuttgart.) 9.50 marks. Kreislaufvorgänge in der Erdgeschichte. By Prof. G. Linck. Pp. iii + 40. (Jena G. Fischer.) marks. 1.50 By A Critical Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus. J. H. Maiden. Vol. ii., part 5. (Sydney: W. A. Gullick.) 2s. 6d. Elementary Entomology. By E. D. Sanderson and Prof. C. F. Jackson. Pp. vii+372. (London: Ginn and Co.) 8s. 6d. A Text-Book of Botany. By Profs. E. Strasburger, H. Schenck, L. Jost, and G. Karsten. Fourth English Edition, revised with the tenth German edition, by Dr. W. H. Lang. Pp. xi+767. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 18. net. A Text-book of Pathology. By Drs. J. G. Adami and J. McCrae. Pp. x+759. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 25s. net. A Hand-list of the Lichens of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. By A. R. Horwood. Pp. 45. (London: Dulau and Co., Ltd.) 1s. net. The People's Books:-Practical Astronomy with the Unaided Eye. By H. Macpherson, jun. Pp. 94. Theosophy. By Annie Besant. Pp. 94. Rudolf Eucken a Philosophy of Life. By Dr. A. J. Jones. Pp. 94. Dietetics. By Dr. A. Bryce. Pp. 94. Aristotle. By Dr. A. E. Taylor. Pp. 91. Aviation its Principles, its Present and Future. By S. F. Walker. Pp. 96. The Evolution of Living Organisms. By E. S. Goodrich. Pp. 108. Embryology: the Beginnings of Life. By Dr. G. Leighton. Pp. 92. (London and Edinburgh: T. C. and E. C. Jack.) 6d. net each. Dactylography, or the Study of Finger-prints. H. Faulds. Pp. 127. 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From the Black Mountain to Waziristan. Being an account of the Border Countries and the more turbulent of the Tribes controlled by the North-west Frontier Province, and our Military Relations with them in the East. By Col. H. C. Wylly. Pp. xx+ 505+8 maps. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) Ios. 6d. net. A Preparatory Arithmetic. By C. Pendlebury. Pp. xiv + 185+ XXX. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) IS. 6d. Nature Photography. By S. C. Johnson. Pp. 115. (London: Hazell, Watson and Viney, Ltd.) IS. net. Contributions from the Jefferson Physical Laboratory of Harvard University for the Year 1911. Vol. ix. (Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.) Paleolithic Man and Terramara Settlements in Europe. By Dr. R. Munro. Pp. xxiii+507 +75 plates. (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd; London: Gurney and Jackson.) 16s. net. Practical Mathematics.-Prof. John Perry, F.R.S. 34 Wireless Telegraphy and Terrestrial Magnetism.-Dr. On the Structure of the Stromatoporoid Skeleton, and The Striation of Stones in Boulder Clay.-Prof. Boulder Clay in Essex.-J. Reid Moir. The Titanic.-Rev. Dr. A. Irving Studies of Aurora. (Illustrated.) By Dr. C. Chree, 36 37 37 41 43 333 49 56 60 60 60 60 60 бо 61 61 62 63 64 |