wind vanes are well known to the public. The information required may be found in any good text-book of meteorology, and the letter asking for it is characteristic of the general lack of knowledge with regard to meteorological matters. There are, of course, many recording anemographs which give wind direction, and our correspondent -hould apply to instrument makers, such as Messrs. Lander and Smith, of Canterbury, or Messrs. Negretti and Zambra, of Holborn Viaduct, E.C., for a price-list. Recording direction anemographs can be seen at work at many bserving stations, such as Greenwich, Kew, Oxford, Falmouth, Fleetwood, Holyhead, Manchester, Stonyhurst, and other places.

MANY men of science will be glad to learn that it is proposed to establish some permanent memorial of the late Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, not only of the man himself, but also of the movement with which his name is especially associated, the application, that is, of exact methods of statistical inquiry to the study of variation and kindred problems in zoology. It has been suggested that the memorial should consist of a portrait-medallion or bustin the museum at Oxford, a cast of which might be placed In University College, London, and of a prize to be awarded periodically to the author of the most valuable biometric publication of recent date. The committee will arrange that subscribers may eventually purchase a reproduction of the portrait. Contributions may be sent to Dr. G. C. Bourne, Savile House, Oxford; Dr. G. H. Fowler, 58 Bedford Gardens, W.; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., University College, W.C.; Mr. Adam Sedgwick, F.R.S., Trinity College, Cambridge; or to the Weldon Memorial Account, at the Old Bank, Oxford.

A ROYAL Commission has been appointed to consider certain questions affecting the erosion of the coasts of the United Kingdom. The commission is to inquire and report:-(a) As to the encroachment of the sea on various

parts of the coast of the United Kingdom and the damage which has been, or is likely to be, caused thereby, and what measures are desirable for the prevention of such damage. (b) Whether any further powers should be conferred upon local authorities and owners of property with a view to the adoption of effective and systematic schemes for the protection of the coast and the banks of tidal rivers. (c) Whether any alteration of the law is desirable as regards the management and control of the foreshore. (d) Whether further facilities should be given for the reclamation of tidal lands. Science is represented upon the commission by Dr. T. J. Jehu, lecturer in geology at the University of St. Andrews.

A LIST of Paraguay locusts (Acrididae), with descriptions of new species, by Mr. L. Bruner, forms the subject of No. 1461 of the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum.

WE have received copies of two papers, by Mr. H. H. Bloomer, on the anatomy of certain species of Solenidæ, reprinted from vol. xii. of the Journal of Malacology. We note that the familiar name Solen ensis is replaced by Ensis ensis.

THE articles in the June issue of the Zoologist are all devoted to birds, Mr. E. Selous discussing sexual selection, as exemplified by the breeding-habits of the ruff, while Mr. Wesché contributes notes on the habits of cagebirds, and Mr. G. W. Kerr continues his notes on the birds of the Staines district.

AN interesting report on the leading zoological gardens of Europe has been issued by the Egyptian Department of Public Works as the result of a mission undertaken last year by Captain Stanley Flower with the view of obtaining information and hints which might prove of use in the establishment under his charge at Giza. While avoiding invidious comparisons, the author has pointed out some features in connection with buildings where particular menageries excel their fellows, and has likewise published lists of some of the more notable animals which came under his observation.

SHIZOPOD crustaceans from the Atlantic slope, by Messrs. Holt and Tattersall, and fishes from the Atlantic slope, by Messrs. Holt and Byrne, form the subjects of the latest issues of Scientific Investigations, Fisheries, Ireland (1904, v., and 1905, ii.), both published this year. The former adds five species to the British list, of which one is new. Although, as the authors remark, the addition of new species of deep-sea fishes to the British fauna is a matter of no real importance, they are enabled to increase the list by no less than sixteen species, of which one is new, The most interesting among these is the salmonid Bathylagus atlanticus, previously known only by a single specimen taken off Patagonia by the Challenger.

Trudui St. Peterburghs. Obshch. (Trav. Soc. Imp. Nat. St. Pétersbourg) for March and April (vol. xxxvii., part i.) contains an illustrated account, by Mr. D. D. Pedaschenk, of a wonderful new pelagic colenterate from Java, for which the name Dogielia malayana is proposed. Measuring only from one to one and a half millimetres in length, the organism is remarkable for the possession of a complex system of paired branching outgrowths. It is considered to be a highly-specialised member of the Ctenophora. The other papers include notes on glaciation in the western Urals, on a case of artificial formation of sillimanite, and on regeneration in the polychate worm Spirographis spallanzanii.

In addition to an obituary notice, with portrait, of the late Dr. Max Kaeck, and a report on the museum and gardens for the past year, the contents of the Boletim do Museu Goeldi (Para) include a continuation of Dr. J. Huber's account of the Brazilian flora, a synopsis by the same author of the plants of the genus Hevea, a supplement by Mr. A. Ducke to his papers on the social wasps of Para, and a paper by Dr. E. Goeldi on the chelonians of Brazil. Exclusive of the marine forms, the author recognises twenty-one species of the latter as indigenous to the country, all but four of these belonging to the Pleurodira. Perhaps the most important part of this paper is an account of the habits of the great arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa) of the Amazon, from observations made by Major J. M. da Silva Coutinho in 1868.

WITH its second (June) number, of which we have received a copy, the Haslemere Museum Gazette has changed its title to the Museum Gazette. There are several excellent illustrations in this part, among them figures of the two common British snakes and a reproduction of a photograph of the historical department in the Haslemere Museum, and a number of short articles, dealing chiefly with natural history subjects from an educational point of view. Certain items in these will be read with some surprise by naturalists. We are told, for instance, p. 65, that " all the gnus are South African, and w

230

appear to bear the same relation to the buffaloes of that continent that the North American bison does to the American buffalo"; while on the preceding page we are informed that "the camels and llamas form transition species between horses and oxen (ruminants and solid ungulates)." Almost equally original pieces of information occur on other pages.

IN the Bulletin (May) of the Department of Agriculture, Jamaica, a new epiphytic fern, allied to the rare Polypodium Fawcettii and Polypodium dendricolum, is described by Mr. W. R. Maxon under the name of Polypodium nesioticum. Reference is made to a weevil attacking the camphor trees at Cinchona that has been identified as Hilipus elegans, a species abundant in Central America, whence it has been probably imported to Jamaica. The Bulletin also contains a note on the coagulation of Castilloa rubber, as well as an article recommending the plantation of Castilloa trees in Nicaragua in preference to Hevea.

THE investigation of the fungi that prey upon scaleinsects has its practical aspect, as already some of these fungi have been successfully employed in the United States as remedies against scale-pests. They are probably unimportant in temperate regions, but in the tropics they are widely spread, as may be gathered from an account contributed by Mr. J. Parkin to the Annals of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, vol. iii., part i., reviewing the subject generally and making special reference to Ceylon forms. All the fungi so far determined fall under the Ascomycetes, and most of them belong to the Hypocreales, the best-known genus being Nectria. Other genera are classed with the fungi imperfecti, although they are probably conidial stages of the Hypocreales.

IN accordance with the announcement that papers on systematic botany and monographs concerned with Philippine plants will be published as supplements to the Philippine Journal of Science, a supplement to the first volume contains a list of plants collected in that portion of the island of Luzon lying upon the north-west side of Manila Bay known as the Lamao forest reserve, where it is intended to investigate various forestry problems. The compilation has been prepared by Mr. E. D. Merrill, with assistance from specialists, from material recently obtained by different collectors. Out of the total of a thousand species of phanerogams, representing more than six hundred genera, 45 per cent. are classed as endemic and 54 per cent. as trees. Obviously there are few genera with many species, Ficus and Eugenia being two exceptions.

IN the Bulletin de la Société d'Encouragement (vol. cviii., No. 4) there is an illustrated description of a remarkable testing machine of 270 tons constructed for the University of Illinois. It is 11 metres high, and will test for compression pieces 7 metres long, and for tension pieces 6.6 metres long, provided that the elongation does not exceed 20 per cent. There are also dimensioned drawings of the 10,000 horse-power turbine at Snoqualmie Falls. It weighs about 86 tons, and has an efficiency of 84 per cent.

100-metre

little exploration has been carried out owing to difficulties of transport. In Boletin No. 33 Messrs. C. W. Sutton, J. J. Bravo, and J. I. Adams describe the geology of the province of Callao. An account is also given of the triangulation of the province. The base line of 2 kilometres at Playa Brava was measured with a steel band, and the angles were measured with an 8-inch theodolite reading to two seconds. In Boletin No. 34 Mr. H. C. Hurd submits a report on the possibility of increasing the quantity of water available for irrigation in the valley of the Chili, in the department of Arequipa.

THE current issue of the Records of the Geological Survey of India (vol. xxxiii., part iii.) is a number of more than ordinary interest. Mr. L. Leigh Fermor gives some notes on the petrology and manganese ore desposits of the Sausar Tahsil, Chhindwara district, Central Provinces, in which he puts on record petrological descriptions of certain types of rocks, chiefly of the metamorphic and crystalline series, and gives an account of the eleven occur in this area. manganese ore deposits known to Several of them are of economic importance. Six beautifully reproduced plates of rock photomicrographs accompany the paper. Mr. P. N. Datta describes the geology of parts of the valley of the Kanhan River, Central Provinces, and gives a geological map of the area. Mr. L. Leigh Fermor describes a specimen of manganite from the Sandur Hills, Madras Presidency, which is of special interest inasmuch as the occurrence of this ore in India has In the miscellaneous previously been recorded but twice.

notes the occurrence of gypsum in the Vindhyan series at Satna is recorded, and accounts are given of ores of antimony, copper, and lead from the Northern Shan States; of gems from the Tinnevelli district, Madras; and of cassiterite-granulite from the Hazaribagh district, Bengal. The great increase in the exports of manganese ore from India is also noted, brought about by failure in the Russian supplies following the internal disturbances. The manganese ore exported from India in 1905 amounted to | 281,735 tons, against 154,829 tons in 1904.

WE have received from Prof. J. A. Pollock and Mr. S. H. Barraclough, of the University of Sydney, a reprint of an interesting paper read by them before the Royal Society of New South Wales on a hollow lightning conductor crushed by the discharge. The tube, 1.8 cm. in outer diameter, made of copper o.1 cm. thick, was crushed in a symmetrical manner, showing the characteristic appearance of a tube which had collapsed under external pressure. The crushing appears to have been due to the electrodynamic action of the current. The material of the tube was probably plastic at the time of collapse. If so, the current is calculated to have been one of about 20,000 amperes; if not, the current would have been one of about 100,000 amperes.

Himmel und Erde for April contains an interesting article by W. Gallenkamp, of Munich, on the results of recent rainfall investigations. This paper does not deal with statistics in the usual manner, but refers to experiments by Lenard and Defant on the determination of the size of raindrops and on the velocity with which they fall. The size is determined by measuring the wet patch made on blotting paper, assuming that a drop of a given size will always produce a similar patch. The result arrived at is that the weights or volumes of the drops have a definite proportion to each other, e.g. if unity is taken as representing the smallest drops, the weights of the

other drops are found to be 2, 3, 4, 6, &c., times that weight. Generally speaking, the absolute size of the drops exhibits very small differences; the smallest weigh about et mg., and the weights of the others are multiples of that value, as explained above. In a lasting downpour the largest drups weigh about 1 mg. With respect to the velocity at which the drops fall, the rate is not at all proportional to the weight; those of 0-11 mg. to 1 mg, fall at the rate of 2-7 metres to 4-4 metres per second, while those of exceptional weight, say 65 mg., only fall at the rate of about 8 metres per second. These rates only hold good during calm air; in an ascending current of 2.7 metres per second the smallest drops would remain suspended. The latter part of the article deals with Mr. Wilson's experiments on the ionisation of the atmosphere as the probable prime cause of the formation of rain. A note on the size of raindrops will also be found in vol. xviii., p. 242, of the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Ax interesting contribution to the study of the nature of solution and of osmotic pressure is contained in a paper by Mr. C. S. Hudson in the Physical Review (vol. xxii., No. 3)The conception of Prof. Hulett that the low vapour-pressure of solutions indicates that these solutions are under a negative pressure is extended to explain the depression of the freezing point of water by the addition of a dissolved substance. It would appear at first sight that a negative pressure would occasion a rise in the freezing point, because an increase of pressure causes a lowering of the melting point of ice; but this reasoning is not correct, because the ice which freezes from a solution is under atmospheric pressure, not negative pressure, and only the solution may be regarded as being subjected to the negative pressure. By using Prof. Poynting's calculation of the change of freezing point caused by an increase in the pressure on the ice alone, it is shown that the molecular depression of the freezing point of water caused by the addition of a dissolved substance is exactly equal to that corresponding with a negative pressure exerted on the solvent, and equal in magnitude to the osmotic pressure. The osmotic pressure thus corresponds with a positive tension exerted on the liquid by the dissolved solid. A general thermodynamic investigation of the process of freezing is also contained in the paper.

A FOURTH edition of Mr. C. F. Townsend's " Chemistry for Photographers has been published by Messrs. Dawbarn and Ward, Ltd.

OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. SEARCH-EPHEMERIS FOR FINLAY'S COMET.-In No. 4100 of the Astronomische Nachrichten M. L. Schulhof publishes an approximate daily ephemeris for the coming apparition of Finlay's comet. The time of perihelion passage is taken as September 8, and the ephemeris covers the period June 18 to August 1; two contracted ephemerides are also given for T=September 4.0 and T = September 12.0. Owing to its expected close approach to the earth, the comet should be in an excellent position for observing later in the year.

The perturbations since the last apparition of this comet have not been taken into account in the present ephemeris, but a more accurate ephemeris is promised in an early publication. According to that now published, the comet is at present (July 5) apparently near to & Aquarii, which rises about 11 p.m., but by the end of the month it will have passed into Cetus, and will be about half-way between and Mira Ceti.

of

STEREOSCOPIC MEASUREMENT OF PROPER MOTIONS.-A dethe stereo-comparator method tailed description of determining the proper motions of stars is given by Prof. Max Wolf in No. 4101 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, where he also gives and describes the first results obtained by the method. A pair of photographs, arranged for the stereoscope, which accompany the paper show the effect of proper motion beautifully, for a star which has moved 19 seconds of arc in fourteen years appears to be considerably behind the general plane of the surrounding stars. With an especially constructed micrometer, the observer is able to determine the amount of the proper motion in right ascension and declination.

Prof. Wolf shows in a table the values measured and the results obtained for ten stars of about the tenth magnitude, and also for two other stars, Nos. 75 and 74 in Prof. Kobold's list. Comparing the meridian-observation results for the latter with the stereo-comparator values, he shows the trustworthiness of the new method thus:

This is very satisfactory, especially when one remembers that on the scale of Prof. Wolf's plates 1 second of arc is represented by only 0.004 mm.

RADIATIVE POWER OF THE SUN'S DISC.-In No. 4, vol. xxiii., of the Astrophysical Journal, Prof. Julius describes a new method for determining the radiative power of the different parts of the solar disc. Briefly, the method consists in recording the intensity of the solar radiation at definite intervals during the progress of a total solar eclipse. Then every increment (either positive or negative) of the intensity is solely due to the radiation coming from that strip of the disc through which the limb of the moon has appeared to move during the corresponding interval. As the geometrical form of each of the strips is easily determined, the amount of each of the concentric zones (into which the disc is previously divided) contained in any one strip may be found. The total radiation from each zone is This then determined by a suitable mathematical solution. method was tried at Burgos during the last eclipse, and, despite the unfavourable meteorological conditions, the results lead Prof. Julius to hope that under suitable conditions it may be found very satisfactory.

NEW FORMS OF ASTROGRAPHIC OBJECT GLASSES.-In No. 4100 of the Astronomische Nachrichten M. Emil Schaer describes a novel method of constructing a short-focus astrographic objective. Two lenses of the usual crown and dense flint glasses are employed; the crown is placed in front of the flint, and the back surface of the latter is silvered, so that the photographic plate has to be placed in front of the combination at the combined focal distance. M. Schaer has tried this method with two discs of 280 mm. (about 11 inches) aperture, made for him by M. Mantois, and, by suitably figuring the back surface of the flint before silvering it, has obtained an objective of 89 cm. focal length which is practically free from aberration effects, and has a large light-gathering power. To obviate unnecessary reflections, the two lenses were stuck together. Another innovation in the construction of objectives is announced in No. 597 of Science, where it is stated that a Hungarian chemist, after many years' experimental work, has succeeded in manufacturing perfectly satisfactory fluid lenses. The fluid is hermetically sealed between two hard glass surfaces, similar to watch crystals, the glass being chosen so that the combination is achromatic.

The inventor claims that an objective, equal in practice to any yet made, of 1.50 metres aperture can be made in a few weeks at a cost of 2000 or 3000 marks (i.e. about 150l.).

These lenses are already being manufactured, and are giving satisfactory results, in Austria, and patents are being taken out in other countries where they are soon to be introduced.

THE GREAT TYPHOON IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS IN SEPTEMBER, 1905.

An

THE Bulletin of the Manila Observatory for September, 1905, prepared under the direction of the Rev. J. Algué, S.J., affords a striking example of the way in which any abnormal features of the weather are completely masked in monthly, or even shorter, mean values. inspection of the latter would lead to the conclusion that the month of September was quite normal notwithstanding the occurrence of the terrible typhoon on September 25-26, which was probably the most violent of any yet experienced, not even excepting that of November 5, 1882, the worst previously on record. We gave a brief note of the storm soon after its occurrence, taken from newspaper reports, but the following further particulars from a discussion by the Rev. M. S. Mata, S.J., assistant director, may be of interest.

The disturbance appears to have originated in long. 142° E. and between lat. 11° and 12° N. on September 22, and its path over the Pacific was approximately from east to west; it reached the land on the evening of September 25, and swept across the archipelago in a south-easterly to north-westerly direction, reaching Hainan, in the China Sea, on the evening of September 28. The breadth of the storm was about 100 miles, the centre passing about

parative lull in the wind for three or four minutes, and then it blew more fiercely than ever, with a rapid chang of direction from north-by-west to west, and drove the ship ashore; in a few minutes the wind shifted to south, and by midnight the barometer had again risen to 29.61 inches. Immense damage was caused by sea and land, especially at the eastern stations. We reproduce an illustration of the destruction of the observatory at Legaspi (lat. 13° 9', long. 123° 45'); the sea, which had not risen so high for thirty years, rushed into the tow with extraordinary force, some parts being submerged to a depth of 2 feet to 5 feet. At many other places not a single building was left uninjured, and some of the large trees, which had withstood all previous storms, uprooted.

We're

THE NEW BUILDINGS OF ARMSTRONG COLLEGE, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE. THE new buildings of Armstrong College, to be opened by the King on Wednesday next, July 11, consist of the front wing of the college, together with the large public hall immediately behind the front. The imposing front block of buildings, about 100 yards in length, faces nearly west, and is on the border of the open space known as the

Castle Leazes. In the middle of the college front, rising to a height of 120 feet, is the handsome Sir Lowthian Bell tower. The chief entrance is at the base of the tower and gives access to a spacious vestbule which communicates with the north-east and south-west wings, the principal staircase, and the large public hall to be used for lectures meetings, and examinations.

The front wing consists of four floors. On the ground floor to the north of the entrance are the principal's room, the council room, the staff common room, and a large common room for men students. To the south of the entrance are the secretary's office, the college offic with strong room, and the electrical engineering department. This last consists of a lecture room, and a spacious laboratory with wide gallery on one side. On this gallery is the main electrical distribution board, to which leads are brought from every part of the building. There is a second laboratory of the same size in the basement beneath. Outside the college, on the basement level, is built a house for storage cells. Over the ground-floor corridor, in connection with this department, is a large photometric room fitted up with suitable appliances for carrying out tests in a complete manner. Access to this room is obtained from the gallery of the ground-flour laboratory.

twenty-four miles south of Manila; the average velocity of translation was 13.5 miles an hour. The first indication of its approach at Manila was on the morning of September 25, when the barometer registered a notable fall of pressure. On the previous day the readings were very high; an anticyclone so well defined had rarely been observed over the Philippines. On the morning of September 26 (at which time telegraphic communication to the south-eastward was already interrupted) the fall became alarming, and continued until 2h. p.m., at which time the minimum (29.21 inches) was reached, the mercury having fallen about 0.7 inch since 9h. p.m. of the previous evening; after a short pause the mercury rose again very rapidly. Between noon and 3h. p.m. the gusts of wind attained a rate of about 103 miles an hour. The rainfall in twenty-four hours amounted to 4 inches, of which 2-3 inches fell between 3h. and 5h. p.m., after the passage of the vortex, the wind changing from east-north-east to south-east, with rapidly rising barometer.

The s.s. Pathfinder was overtaken by the storm in San Bonifacio (lat. 12° 10' N., long. 125° 30' E.), and recorded some notable oscillations of the barometer; at 8h. a.m. on September 25 the reading was 29.78 inches, and the mercury fell rapidly until 7h. 37m. p.m., when the minimum of 27.17 inches was registered. There was a com

On the first floor is the library, with a photograph dark-room adjoining, which is used for lantern-slide and other photographic work. Accommodation is also provided on this floor for the mathematics, the naval architecture, the literature, and the education departments, with their several lecture and private rooms. On the second floor there is provision for the botanical department, consisting of an elementary laboratory, an advanced laboratory, a research laboratory, lecture and preparation rooms with dark-room, and the professor's private room. There are also on this floor lecture rooms for philosophy, modern history, classics, and modern languages, as well as private rooms for the several heads of departments in these sub jects. On the third floor is the zoological department. which contains a large room more than 70 feet long, on half of which, towards the front, is used as a zoological museum, and the other half as an elementary laborator and also advanced and research laboratories, lecture room.

and professor's private room. In addition, this department has the use of the flat roof over a portion of the floor below. This open space will be utilised for maceration and similar purposes. Associated with the zoological department is the marine laboratory which is about to be rected at Cullercoats, on the coast just north of Tynemouth (see p. 228).

The ventilation of the front wing is provided for by two electrically-driven fans in the tower, which exhaust from the rooms on the several floors. The heating is by means of steam on the new so-called atmospheric system, and the lighting is by 240-volt electric lamps, which can either be supplied from the college central station or from the town supply. Electric arc lanterns are provided in several of the lecture rooms.

The large public hall, in which the chief portion of the opening ceremony is to take place, will accommodate, with the gallery at the south-west end, an audience of about 800.

The foundation-stone of the new buildings was laid by Mr. T. G. Gibson, a member of council and the most generous supporter of the college, on May 2, 1904, and the

INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE

THE pursuit of science has always joined in sympathy men of different nationalities, and, even before the day of rapid letter-post and quick travelling, intercourse, especially by correspondence, exercised a considerable influence on scientific activity. Such intercourse was, however, of a personal and purely stimulating character, and only quite exceptionally was there any direct attempt to organise investigations which required a combination of workers in different localities. Within the last century, however, many problems became urgent which could not be solved without some international agreement, and special organisations came into life which have rendered a service the importance of which cannot be exaggerated.

At present we are confronted with a new difficulty. International combination has become so necessary, and organisations have in consequence increased to such an extent, that they begin to overlap, and there has been some danger of mutual interference. Fear has also been expressed that any attempt to advance knowledge by an organised combination of workers might discourage private

buildings have been erected to the designs and under the supervision of Mr. W. H. Knowles, of Newcastle.

The cost of the new buildings, together with the fittings, has been nearly 80,000l. The funds have been provided by public subscription, and since the buildings are intended as a memorial to the first Lord Armstrong, one of Newcastle's most distinguished citizens and benefactors, the name of the college was in 1904 changed from the Durham College of Science to Armstrong College in the University of Durham. The area of the grounds within which the college stands is between five and six acres. The present buildings occupy about two acres, and more than two acres, excluding roads, &c., are available for the extensions | that are being projected. The accompanying photograph shows the front of the college, which forms the west wing.

The number of day students attending the college last session was 539, and in addition about 1100 students attended the evening and special Saturday classes. The college forms an important part of the University of the North of England. The degrees of Durham in science and letters, and its diplomas in agriculture, engineering, and mining are open to students of the college. The Warden of the University (the Dean of Durham) is the president of Armstrong College, Sir Isambard Owen is the principal, and Mr. F. H. Pruen is the secretary.

efforts, and therefore do mischief rather than good. It must be acknowledged that this danger exists. The proper function of combination must be clearly separated from that of private enterprise, and some general regulating control is therefore called for. The time seems ripe for a general review of the situ

ation.

or to

We may distinguish between three types of international organisations. The first aims simply at collecting information, the second is intended to fix fundamental units initiate agreements on matters in which uniformity is desirable, while by the third type of organisation a more direct advance of knowledge is aimed at, and research is carried out according to a combined scheme. Generally, an international association does not entirely fall within any single one of these divisions, but it is useful to draw the distinction and classify the associations according to the main object which they are intended to serve.

The best example of an organisation formed for the purpose of collecting information is furnished by the great undertaking initiated by our Royal Society, and having for its object the systematic cataloguing of the scientific literature of the world, both according to subjects and authors. Twenty-nine countries (counting the four Australian colonies separately) are actively participating in this work by furnishing slips containing the entries which form the basis of the catalogue. A still larger number of countries assist by subscribing to the annual volumes.

The subjects included in the catalogue are classified according to seventeen branches of science as follows:A Mathematics G Mineralogy N Zoology B Mechanics H Geology

C Physics

D Chemistry
E Astronomy
F Meteorology

J Geography

O Ana omy
P Anthropology
Q Physiology
R Bacteriology

Subscribers may either obtain complete sets or any of the separate volumes. The relative popularity of the different subjects is illustrated by the following table, which gives in the different columns for each science the volumes approximately required by each country. The figures are, of course, subject to variations from year to year. The first column shows the number of complete sets subscribed 1 Discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, May 18, by Prof. Arthur Schuster, F. R.S.