NOTES. 66 On Friday last, March 17, the worlds of science and art combined to do honour to a man who has rendered to both services of the utmost value and of a nature that time cannot diminish-for so long as the human throat is capable of emitting musical sounds, and so long as throats are liable to disease, the great invention of Manuel Garcia will hold its place among vocalists and laryngologists. The celebration of Señor Garcia's centenary was held in the hall of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, Hanover Square, under the direction of Sir Felix Semon, chairman of the Garcia committee. Señor Garcia sat alone on a daïs, while in front of him were ranked the representatives of kings, governments, universities, scientific societies, and his old pupils who had gathered to do him honour. Sir Felix Semon announced that that morning the King had invited Señor Garcia to Buckingham Palace, and with his own hands invested him with the insignia of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, and had expressed a desire to be represented at the banquet in the evening by his Lord-in-Waiting, Lord Suffield. The Marquis de Villalobar then delivered a congratulatory message from the King of Spain, and added, In the name of His Majesty and your motherland, I invest you with the Royal Order of Alfonso XII. as a reward of your merits and the services you have rendered to mankind. I desire also to make public the sentiments of my beloved Sovereign and of his Government to King Edward VII. for the distinction he has conferred upon our compatriot, and the hearty gratefulness of Spain to all who have come here to-day to honour Don Manuel Garcia." Other tributes followed thick and fast during a crowded hour. Prof. Fränkel presented on behalf of the German Emperor the great gold medal of science. Sir Archibald Geikie, Mr. Francis Darwin, and Prof. Halliburton, representing the Royal Society, presented an address, recalling the fact that their Proceedings for March 22, 1855, contained the epoch-making paper in which Señor Garcia laid the foundations of the experimental study of the voice. The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, the University of Königsberg, the Victoria University, the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal College of Music sent distinguished representatives, who in rapid succession laid before the maestro illuminated addresses in rich profusion, until the table in front of him was heaped. We have not space to give the long list of public institutions and societies, laryngological and other, which brought tribute; but every quarter of the globe was represented, and during the proceedings a constant stream of telegrams poured in. After the addresses a portrait of Señor Garcia, painted by Mr. Sargent, R.A., and subscribed for by friends and admirers in all parts of the world, was unveiled and presented to him by Sir Felix Semon. The proceedings were concluded by a remarkably eloquent speech by Señor Garcia. In the evening Señor (now Don) Garcia was entertained at a banquet held in his honour at the Hotel Cecil. We learn from the Times that further papers have been published by the Government of India in respect to the late Mr. J. N. Tata's offer of an endowment in the shape of properties valued at 200,000l. for the creation of an institute of Indian research at Bangalore. Certain conditions in respect to Government assistance were attached to the offer, which was first made six years ago, and these have been the subject of prolonged discussion and correspondence between the Government, Mr. Tata during his lifetime, and his representatives. The papers now published show that the difficulties in the way of a settlement have been removed. Guarantees have been offered by the representatives of the donor to secure the full income estimated from the endowment properties, and the management of the latter is vested in a board the chairman of which is to be an officer selected by the Bombay Government. In addition to making a grant of 2 lakhs of rupees (16,6661.) towards the construction of the necessary buildings and provision of scientific apparatus, the Government will make an annual grant to the institute of half the local assets up to a limit of 1 lakhs of rupees, provided that the institute is conducted on lines approved generally by the Government. The scheme will provide for the reference of certain questions to the advisory committee of the Royal Society, or to such other scientific authority as may be appointed for the purpose. The Governor-General in Council disavows any desire to be intimately associated with the actual administration of the institute, or to claim a determining voice in the settlement of the lines of research to be followed or the methods of instruction to be employed. The Government will exercise no more than that degree of influence and control which is justified by the grant-inaid that has been promised. PROF. EMIL WARBURG, of Berlin, has been appointed president of the National Physical Laboratory at Charlottenburg, and his place in the university is to be taken by Prof. Paul Drude, of Giessen. THE magnificent collection of birds' eggs possessed by the British (Natural History) Museum has been largely augmented by the gift of the splendid series brought together by Mr. W. Radcliffe Saunders, of High Bank, Tonbridge. This collection comprises close on ten thousand specimens of the eggs of Palearctic species, together with one hundred and sixty-five nests. WE regret to record the death at the age of seventy-six of Mr. Jeremiah Slade, one of the founders of the Geologists' Association. Mr. Slade had for many years been a teacher of geology, mineralogy, zoology, and botany at the Working Men's College, the Birkbeck Institution, and the City of London College. He was an ardent microscopist and member of the Quekett Microscopical Club. THE anniversary dinner of the Chemical Society will be held on Wednesday, March 29. THE sixth International Congress of Applied Chemistry will be held at Rome next year, probably during the week following Easter. THE French Société d'Encouragement pour l'industrie nationale has awarded the Lavoisier medal to M. Héroult in recognition of his electrometallurgical researches. In recommending the award the committee refers to his work in connection with the manufacture of aluminium, and the preparation of steel in the electric furnace. OFFICIAL statistics show that the production of natural gas in the United States in 1903 was greater than in any previous year. The production had a value of 7,143,000l., or 16 per cent. more than that of 1902. Four States, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio, furnished together 94 per cent. of the supply of gas. The total volume of the gas at atmospheric pressure was 6757 million cubic metres, representing in heating value 12,129,468 tons of bituminous coal. REUTER'S Agency has received some details of an expedition which went to British New Guinea in September, 1903, and has lately returned to England. The expedition was organised by Major W. Cooke-Daniels, an American traveller, and it also included Dr. C. G. Seligmann, Dr. W. M. Strong, and Mr. A. H. Dunning. The objects were primarily ethnographical, but studies were also made in other branches of science, and a number of general pathological observations were made. A collection of photographs was secured by Mr. Dunning, and the travellers have brought back kinematograph pictures and a selection of phonographic records. A CORRESPONDENT writing to the Times from Florence directs attention to the fact that the famous Tower of Galileo, on the hill of Arcetri above Florence, is now practically destroyed. This historic thirteenth century building-known locally as the Torre del Gallo-has for some months past been concealed in scaffolding set up for the purpose of raising its castellated tower by a third of its former height, of placing in its walls new windows, of adding a loggia, and, in fine, of converting the world famous "Star Tower" into a pretentious modern erection. To the Anglo-Saxon race Galileo's Tower possessed a special interest, in that it was the scene of the classic meeting between Milton and Galileo. IN No. 1395 of the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, Mr. C. D. Walcott continues his account of American Cambrian brachiopods, describing several new genera and species. It is explained that these notes and their forerunners are published in the hope that they may be of service to students prior to the appearance of the full monograph promised on the subject. a WE have received the reports of the Wellington College and of the Felsted School science societies for 1904. The former, which is illustrated, contains summaries of number of lectures delivered before the society, among which one by Mr. H. W. Monckton on the geology of the London district deserves special mention. In the Felsted report attention is directed to the lack of keenness displayed by the members of the zoological section, who failed to take nature-study seriously. Although one prize was offered for an account of the birds of the district, and a second for the best collection of butterflies and moths, there were no competitors. In addition to the Bulletin on the fauna and flora of the plateau of Baraque-Michel, already noticed (from an author's copy) in NATURE of March 16 (p. 468), No. 12 of the Bulletin of the Belgian Royal Academy contains two biological articles of considerable interest. In the first of these, Miss J. Wery discusses the attractions offered to bees by flowers, and, as the result of direct experiments, arrives at the following conclusions. Brilliantly coloured flowers offer much greater attraction when entire than when the petals, &c., have been cut away; honey has no attractive power; artificial flowers are just as attractive as natural ones if both are under glass shades; flower perfume by itself offers but little attraction; while colour and form, apart from scent, are powerfully attractive; the mingling of the three factors, form, colour, and scent, constitutes the most powerful attraction of all. Finally, if the latter item be reckoned as 100, the attractive power exerted by form and colour will be 80 per cent., while the other factors (pollen, nectar, and scent) will only rank as 20 per cent. IN the second of the two articles from the Bulletin of the Belgian Academy referred to above, Prof. A. Lamcere discusses Darwin's theory of female sexual selection as the primary factor in the production of secondary sexual characters in the male, and comes to the conclusion that such an hypothesis offers an inadequate and untenable explanation of the phenomenon. In place of this, the author suggests that such features in the male are the equivalents of maternity in the female, that is to say, the products which in the female are required for generative purposes are superfluous in the male, and are accordingly employed for sexual ornament. If we mistake not, the same theory has been already promulgated by Captain Barrett-Hamil ton. WE have received copies of four articles from the third volume of " Marine Investigations in South Africa." In describing, in two of these, the polychatous annelids collected by Dr. Gilchrist, Prof. McIntosh directs attention to the community of type between South African and European marine annelids generally, many of the types from the two areas being specifically identical, while others, in a more or less modified form, extend eastwards into the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and westward to America. A nearly similar feature has been recorded in the case of crustaceans, and it thus seems that the distribution of invertebrates in these seas is governed by very different laws from those which obtain, for instance, in the case of the commoner food-fishes. The anatomy and variation of the Flabellum-like corals form the subject of the third article, in which Mr. J. S. Gardiner has found himself compelled to dissent from the classification of corals proposed by the late Prof. P. M. Duncan. In the fourth fasciculus Dr. Gilchrist continues his investigation into the development and life-history of South African fishes, describing and figuring a number of larvæ, some of which cannot at present be specifically identified. IN the Monthly Review for March, Mr. W. E. Hodgson discourses very pleasantly on certain problems connected with salmon-fishing. After pointing out the inaccuracy of the common opinion that the north of Scotland in spring is necessarily colder than the south of England, the author proceeds to discuss the reason why loch-fishing for salmon is carried on with a minnow instead of with a fly. One reason seems to be that salmon lie deeper in the water than trout, and will consequently, owing to the set of their eyes, see the approach of a boat at a greater distance. A minnow trolled behind a boat is probably, therefore, the best lure for Salmo salar; but whether the boatmen are right in giving a sinuous course to the boat is very questionable. In the first place a boat may be rowed right over a deep-lying salmon without being seen by the fish; secondly, there is considerable reason to believe that disturbed water is conducive to the salmon biting; and thirdly, it is not unlikely that the fish which takes the trailing lure has not been lying in the wake of the boat, but may have made a dash from the side. Mr. Hodgson, who is by no means convinced that salmon fast during their sojourn in fresh water, thinks they take the minnow for a wounded fish, and dash at it owing to the impulse which makes most animals attack a cripple. PART IV. of the third volume of Biometrika contains several memoirs of interest. Mr. Punnett contributes a careful study of variation in Spinax niger, showing, from an analysis of the characters of 263 adults and 304 embryos, that a well-marked sexual dimorphism exists in this shark, and that the variability of male embryos considerably exceeds that of male adults, this pointing to a more stringent selection in the case of the male. Homœosis rather than intercalation or excalation is held by the author to be the more feasible explanation of the various relative positions occupied by the structures examined this sup porting Gegenbaur's theory of the origin of limbs. The same material is thought by Mr. Punnett to favour the hypothesis of gametic purity-a view from which Prof. Pearson dissents for reasons given. Dr. Beddoe's craniometric formula, lately published in L'Anthropologie, is vigorously impugned by M. A. Lewenz and Prof. Karl Pearson, who produce in evidence the "auto-icon" of Jeremy Bentham preserved at University College. In another paper, Prof. Edmond Gain deals with variation in the flower and heterostylism in Pulmonaria officinalis. Local races are shown to present significant differences in the former respect. The miscellanea include interesting applications of a new method of determining correlation. WE have received a copy of the results of the meteorological observations made at the stations in connection with the Deutsche Seewarte (Hamburg) for the year 1903. The stations number sixty-nine, and include hourly readings at four first-order observatories. The tables are arranged as in previous years, and leave nothing to be desired either in thoroughness of discussion or in detailed explanation of the methods employed. Mid-European time was adopted in Germany in April, 1893, but the observations are recorded according to local time as before, with the exception of the occurrences in the remarks column, which are stated in Mid-European time. A table is given showing the difference of these times for each of the stations. THE last published Bulletin of the Philippine Weather Bureau (for August, 1904) contains, in addition to the usual useful summaries of meteorological and seismological observations at various stations, a valuable discussion of the cyclones which affected the archipelago, with a map show THE Bureau of Forestry of the United States Department of Agriculture has erected an extensive plant on the grounds of the St. Louis Exposition for carrying out a series of experiments under the direction of Drs. von Schrenk and Hatt on the value and methods of preserving timber. According to the general programme, which is outlined in the Press Bulletin, No. 62, the timber will be subjecteding their tracks. The director of the central observatory at Manila, the Rev. J. Algué, S.J., author of the valuable both to static and impact tests. Preliminary results indicate work, The Cyclones of the Far East, makes a special that steaming reduces the strength of the timber in prostudy of these interesting phenomena, and his discussion of portion to the pressure and duration of the process. their behaviour is most instructive. During the month in question five typical cyclones are dealt with. One of them (August 17-21) moved at the rate of thirty miles an hour; this storm was experienced by the U.S. Army transport Sherman, near Formosa, and an interesting account of it is given by the second officer of that vessel. UNDER the title "Place-constants for Aster prenanthoides," Mr. G. H. Shull has contributed to the Botanical Gazette (November, 1904) a biometric article based upon the number of bracts and florets which were counted on the inflorescences of this plant as collected in a specified area during the autumn of 1903. In general, the first head to bloom on any stem had the highest number of parts, and the last to bloom the lowest, but precocious flowering on the part of the weakest individuals produced a low mean at the beginning of the season, and the belated flowering of a few vigorous specimens caused a rise towards the end. A PRACTICAL and detailed comparison of the cost of production of sugar on a muscovado estate and in a central factory using the vacuum pan with triple effect, such as that given by the Hon. R. Bromley, administrator of St. Kitts, in vol. v., No. 3, of the West Indian Bulletin, should carry conviction to the planters of Barbados and other islands, who, trusting to the high saccharose yield of their canes, and the profit on molasses, have preferred to retain their simple process of manufacture. Apart from the advisability of manufacturing a product of the best quality, the figures show that the profit per ton of sugar prepared in a central factory is four times that obtained on a muscovado estate. THE Société Helvétique des Sciences naturelles celebrated, at its eighty-seventh congress at Winterthur, the fiftieth jubilee of the discovery of ancient pile dwellings, described by Dr. Ferdinand Keller. The report and appreciation of the work of Keller and others is written by M. F. A. Forel. The same authority lately directed attention (Gazette de Lausanne, January 19) to the discovery at Boiron, near Morges, by the Lake of Geneva, of a tomb or place of burial of the Bronze Age-the age of the old lake-city of Morges. Human bones, cinders and burnt earth, bronze trinkets, vases and other pottery were found, but of special interest was the discovery alongside the calcined human bones in the burial chamber, of legbones of a goat uninjured by fire, and evidently deposited with the flesh as an offering to the shades of the departed. M. Forel concludes from the evidence that a belief in the resurrection of the dead was held in the Bronze Age. 46 A SUMMARY of the present state of knowledge in regard to long range weather forecasts, by Prof. E. B. Garriott, has been published by the Weather Bureau of Washington. It is accompanied by a paper by Prof. C. M. Woodward on the planetary equinoxes. Prof. Garriott finds that at the present time practically no value is to be attached to weather predictions based on astronomical phenomena or observations of birds, animals or plants. At the same time, every attention is being given to the advancement of meteorology on such a basis as may lead to substantial improvements in weather forecasting. In his prefatory report Mr. Willis L. Moore remarks:-"It is to be regretted that so many newspapers not only give space to these harmful predictions, but actually pay for them. Forecasts of this description may properly be classed with advertisements of quack medicines-they are both harmful in the extreme." IN the February number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, M. J. Loisel presents his annual summary of the climatology of the past year. On one chart he shows the rainfall, the daily temperatures, the humidity, the barometric pressure, the insolation, the amount of cloud, and the declination and phase of the moon. Each of the atmospheric elements is then discussed in detail month by month. Among other outstanding features, one sees that the temperature during July, 1904, was abnormally elevated, whilst that of December was higher than that obtaining during November. The figures and the curve indicating the number of hours of sunshine are especially interesting, and show that in each of the months May, June, July and August there only occurred one day when the sun was completely obscured at Juvisy, whilst in July the number of hours of effective sunshine amounted to 72 per cent. of the theoretical number. A comparison of the solar radiation during 1903 and 1904 shows an increase of about 23,134 calories, or rather more than 16 per cent., in the latter year. MESSRS. HENRY SOTHERAN AND CO. have issued a new catalogue of second-hand books, containing works on mathematical, astronomical, physical, and chemical subjects. The works catalogued include the library of the late Prof. A. W. Williamson, F.R.S., and many important foreign works on the exact sciences published within the past twenty years. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. MORF than ten years ago Prof. Landolt described a series of experiments which were considered to throw doubt on the law of the conservation of mass in chemical action, and in 1901 Heydweiller concluded that a change in the total mass had been experimentally established in a number of cases. In a paper published by Antonino Lo Surdo in the Nuovo Cimento (1904, series 5, vol. viii.), the question is re-investigated. By excluding all possible sources of error, such, for instance, as a difference of temperature in the two arms of the balance, differences of volume of the vessels used, it is established that the change of mass due to the interaction between iron and basic copper sulphate, which by Heyd-During 1903 Mr. Lowell observed an apparent alternation weiller was considered to be about 0-2 milligram, in reality falls within the limits of the error of weighing, being certainly less than 0.02 milligram. In the experiments described, the sealed tubes in which the interaction took place were not removed from the balance during the whole of the series of weighings, and an ingenious mechanism was designed by which the tubes and weights were manipulated within the case. THE operations of the Smithsonian Institution during the year ending on June 30, 1904, and the work of the U.S. National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the International Exchanges, National Zoological Park, and the Astrophysical Observatory, are described in Dr. S. P. Langley's report which has just reached us. Among the matters mentioned is the removal of the remains of James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution, from the British cemetery at Genoa to America, at the beginning of last year. The report states that the remains rest temporarily in a room at the Smithsonian Institution containing a few personal relics of Smithson, awaiting their final disposal by the Regents. Dr. E. W. Scripture, of Yale University, has been awarded a grant from the Hodgkins fund for the construction of a "vowel organ." Dr. Scripture expects to be able to construct an organ which can sing the vowels, or a vowel register which, attached to a pipe organ, may be used effectively in church music. An exploration of some of the glaciers of British Columbia has been undertaken by Dr. W. H. Sherzer, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of gathering definite information regarding glacial phenomena, such as the nature and cause of the ice flow, the temperature of the ice at various depths, and its relation to air temperatures, the amount of surface melting, and the possible transference of material from the surface to lower portions. Reference is made in the report to the new building of the National Museum in course of erection in the Smithsonian Park. The floor area in the four stories of the new building will be about 9 acres. The accessions to the museum in the year covered by the report amount to 241,547 specimens, which bring the total number of objects in the collections up to nearly six millions. The work of the astrophysical observatory has been chiefly concerned with solar radiation, and its possible variability. The investigations point to the conclusion that the radiation supplied by the sun may perhaps fluctuate within intervals of a few months through ranges of nearly or quite 10 per cent., and that these fluctuations of solar radiation may cause changes of temperature of several degrees centigrade nearly simultaneously over the great continental areas of the world. The latest report issued by the Engineering Standards Committee deals with British standard specification for structural steel for marine boilers. Copies may be obtained from Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son at 2s. 6d. net. in the visibility of the Martian canals Thoth and Amenthes, which he suggested might be due to the artficial regulation of a deficient water supply for irrigation purposes (NATURE, vol. Ixix. p. 496). In a telegram, dated March 10, communicated to Prof. E. C. Pickering and published in No. 4003 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, Mr. Lowell announces that he has again observed a functional alternative visibility" of these two canals, both of which are double. DISCOVERY OF JUPITER'S SIXTH SATELLITE.-In No. 100 of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Profs. Perrine and Aitken describe the first observations of Jupiter's sixth satellite, and abstracts of their communications are published in No. 4002 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. Prof. Perrine states that several years ago it was proposed that the Crossley reflector, when reconstructed, should be employed in a search for additional satellites to the outer planets. In accordance with this programme, photographs of Jupiter were taken on December 3, 8, 9 and 10, 1904, and a comparison of them showed that the planet, which was slowly retrograding at the time, was apparently accompanied by an object of the fourteenth magnitude. Photographs taken on January 2, 3 and 4 showed that the newly discovered object was following Jupiter in such a manner as to suggest its dependence on that body. The greatest elongation (west) of the new satellite, about 50', seems to have been passed on December 25, and the inclination of its orbit to the ecliptic appears to be greater than those of the inner satellites. The direction of the satellite's motion, although apparently retrograde, cannot be determined until further observations have been made. On January 28, Prof. Aitken, using the 36-inch refractor under unfavourable atmospheric conditions, found the satellite quite easily, using the position predicted from the Crossley photographs, and, after a few minutes' ob servation, the identification was confirmed by the motion in right ascension. Following the object for nearly an hour, he found it to have an hourly motion in R.A. of about +20", and this agrees with the photographic result. A comparison with neighbouring faint stars showed that the satellite was about as bright as a star of the fourteenth magnitude. FORTHCOMING OPPOSITIONS OF MARS.-As during the oppositions of Mars in 1905, 1907, and 1909 the planet will become successively more favourable for observation, Mr. R. Buchanan has communicated to Popular Astronomy (No. 3, vol. xiii.) the following figures, showing the respective conditions for each opposition : The sun's distance from the earth is taken as the unit of the mean "distance from earth." In the oppositions of 1901 and 1903 the respective apparent brilliancies of the planet were 200 and 23.4. VARIABLE RADIAL VELOCITY OF SIRIUS.-In No. 70 of the Lick Observatory Bulletins, Prof. Campbell discusses the spectrographic observations of the bright component of Sirius made at Lick since 1896, thirty-one plates in all. Before treating the main subject, however, he discusses the difficulty experienced in binary star work through the employment of numerous different systems of nomenclature to define the orbital elements, and then propounds a new system which would be readily adaptable to all require- carrying large and small pressure plates with the necessary ments, visual or spectroscopic. The observations of Sirius have been made under varying conditions, instrumental and otherwise, and a better accordance in the individual results might be obtained by making the observations under uniform conditions. The resulting value, obtained from all the plates, gave the velocity of the system of Sirius as -7.36 km. per second. There is a marked progression among the individual values obtained for the velocity of the primary which is attributed to the effect of orbital motion. The sense of this progression indicates that the positive value of i (the inclination of the plane of the orbit) should be used. The above value, whilst disagreeing with others, agrees very well with the value obtained by Profs. Frost and Adams in 1901-2. The values of the radial velocities of the centre of the system and of the primary and secondary components are given in a table, with yearly intervals, for a whole revolution, i.e. from 1870.09 to 1918-09, the time of the apastron passage being 1918.5110. CONSTANT ERRORS IN MERIDIAN OBSERVATIONS.-In an address delivered to the astronomy section of the St. Louis International Congress of Sciences and Arts, Mr. J. G. Porter discussed the various sources of error to which meridian observations are peculiarly subject, and proposed various methods whereby the constant errors might be eliminated. Among other methods for eliminating the magnitude error which affects right ascension determinations, he recommends the one proposed by Prof. Turner wherein the transits would be registered on a regularly moving photographic plate, the reticule wires being replaced by spots of light projected on to the plate at regular intervals from a fixed source. Regarding declination observations, the error due to varying refraction is the most important, and Mr. Porter suggests that this might be eliminated by having a perfected system of fundamental stars well distributed over the sphere, from observations of which, on any evening, the deviation of the actual refraction from the assumed law might be determined and used to correct the observations. Another, more costly, method would be to have a number of observatories widely distributed in latitude, so that zenith observations, where refraction is non-effective, of more stars might be made. Mr. Porter considers the solution of this constant error difficulty in meridian observations to be one which is eminently suitable for international cooperation (Popular Astronomy, No. 3, vol. xiii.). THE NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY. ON Friday last the annual general meeting of the governing body of the National Physical Laboratory was held at that institution, when the report of work done in 1904 was received and the programme of work proposed for the forthcoming year approved. A number of guests were invited to meet the members of the general board and inspect the laboratory. Among those present were about thirty Members of Parliament, several colonial. agents-general, and a representative gathering of leading physicists and engineers. In the 45-page report submitted by the director, Dr. Glazebrook, are found particulars regarding the various researches and tests carried out during the past year, with special reference to the newer developments. The test work at Bushy for the year shows a marked growth, the total number of separate tests made having increased from 1330 in 1903 to 1906 in 1904, the increase being spread over almost all the different departments of the laboratory. These figures are distinct from the work of Kew Observatory, where in all more than 26,000 instruments were verified during the year. In the engineering department, Dr. Stanton has made considerable progress with the research on the distribution of wind pressure over large areas, which forms a continuation of the important work embodied in his paper read at the Institution of Civil Engineers last session. A steel tower fifty feet high has been erected in the grounds, gauges. From the general results of the observations made it would appear that the distribution of pressure on the windward side of a large plate in the open air falls off more rapidly from the centre to the sides than in the case of a small plate, but that the ratio of the pressures on the windward and leeward sides appears to be practically the same in both cases. The research on the specific heat of superheated steam by the continuous flow method has been continued by Mr. Jakeman, who has been mainly occupied in contending with certain experimental difficulties, such as the attainment of sufficiently high insulation between the various parts of the electrical superheater, especially at low superheats. Some preliminary figures have been obtained which do not appear to confirm the rapid rise in specific heat shown by the results of some recent observers. A testing machine for studying the effect of alternating stresses of varying periodicity on engineering materials has been constructed and was described in last month's Engineering by Dr. Stanton. It has already been used on a set of nickel-steel specimens, which are the basis of a research in the metallurgical department. A new building has been erected to house the new standard leading-screw machine, which is now at work. Several standard screws have been cut and measured for use in Government arsenals. Dr. Chree, at the observatory department, has been occupied with some important investigations on terrestrial magnetism, and the measurement and tabulation of some of the old Kew magnetic records. The men of science of the British Antarctic Expedition have, since their return in September last, had the opportunity of again comparing with recognised standards many of their instruments, and arrangements have been made for cooperation with them in the reduction of the mass of magnetic and meteorological data they brought home with them. In the physics department numerous researches have been in progress. We have only space for mention here of some of the more important. Dr. Harker, in the thermometry division, has been occupied with preliminary work on which it is hoped may ultimately be based some new direct electrical method of very high temperature measurement. With this object he has undertaken a study of the resistance and thermoelectric properties of solid electrolytic conductors such as are used in Nernst lamps. The existence at high temperatures of large thermoelectromotive forces between rods of the various earths made up as ordinary thermojunctions has been securely established by direct electrometric methods, and a new form of electric furnace has been designed capable of continued use at temperatures above 2000° C. By means of these furnaces and a number of thermojunctions of widely different properties, a careful re-determination of the melting point of platinum was made. More than sixty determinations concorded in giving a value which differs considerably from that now accepted. The results of this work are embodied in a paper just sent in to the Royal Society. The research on the specific heat of iron, which has been extended to temperatures above 1100° C., is complete, and will shortly be published. In the electrical standards department, Mr. Smith has been mainly occupied with work on the standard ampere balance designed by the late Prof. Viriamu Jones and Prof. Ayrton for the British Association committee on electrical standards. The weighing mechanism was constructed by Mr. Oertling, and the four marble cylinders carrying the coils have been successfully wound and insulated at the laboratory. On each cylinder are two double helices of bare copper wire. Though the air space between the consecutive turns is less than 0.006 inch, an insulation resistance over 30,000 megohms was finally secured for each of the coils. Many accessories have been constructed, and the outlook for a speedy determination of the absolute unit of current to at least one decimal place further than hitherto attained is very hopeful. In electrotechnics, Mr. Paterson has installed large cells for ammeter verification, and for alternate current measurements a specially constructed set of Mr. Addenbrooke's instruments, and a Kelvin voltmeter with circular scale of 2 metres radius. In photometry have been included in |
