THE largest steel ingot ever made was cast at Manchester on February 1. It weighed no less than 120 tons, and was cast on the Whitworth system of fluid compression. The 120 tons of molten steel were subjected to a pressure of 12,000 tons in order to make the ingot homogeneous and sound throughout.

In order to lessen the smoke and soot nuisance in the town of Helsingfors, the municipal authorities have appointed an engineer, Mr. Ed. Cedercreutz, first to examine and test the boiler and furnace installations in the town, and then to propose suitable means for diminishing the above mentioned source of annoyance.

In honour of the late Prof. Edouard Grimaux, who by reason of his numerous chemical researches, and particularly his contributions on the atomic theory, has taken a high place among French men of science, it is proposed to erect some form of memorial in his native town of Rochefort-sur-Mer. Contributions to the memorial fund are to be addressed to the Mayor of Rochefort, M. E. Marianelli.

THE Society of German Portland Cement Manufacturers will hold its twenty-ninth general meeting in Berlin on February 16-17. On the agenda list are the following papers, amongst others :-Report from the society's laboratory, Dr. Framm, of Karlshorst; report of the sea-water commission, Dr. Eng. Rudolf Dyckerhoff, of Amöneburg; report of the committee for examining the change of volume and the time of binding of Portland cement, Dr. Müller, of Rüdersdorf; hydraulic binding appliances, Dr. Goslich, of Züllchow; rotating furnaces, Dr. Michaëlis, sen., of Berlin; the acidity of water and its removal, Mr. H. Wehner, of Kissingen.

ON January 28, at Stensjöholm, near Ryssby, in Sweden, the agricultural chemist Prof. Alexander Müller died in his seventy-eighth year. A native-born German, Müller received his early education in Chemnitz and Freiburg, and at the University of Leipzig. In 1851 he was appointed lecturer in chemistry at the Trade School in Chemnitz; from there, in 1856, he was appointed director of the agricultural experimental section of the Landbruks Academy in Stockholm, and consulting agricultural adviser for Sweden and Norway. In this capacity Müller displayed great ingenuity in conducting numerous practical experimental investigations for the welfare of Scandinavian agriculture. The earliest of his published researches dealt chiefly with dairy methods, hygienic questions, and the proper working of various soils. In later years he occupied himself mainly with questions relating to the cleansing of towns, and, indeed, published a number of papers on this subject.

By the death on January 13, at the early age of fortysix, of Prof. A. S. Popow, physical science in general, and Russian science in particular, has lost one of the pioneer band of physicists in the field of wireless telegraphy. After studying at the St. Petersburg University from 1877 to 1883, Prof. Popow was appointed first an assistant, and later professor of physics in the Mining School for Officers at Kronstadt, whilst he also delivered lectures at the

Technical High School for the Russian Marine from 1890 to 1901. His zeal for work was extraordinary; although he devoted himself strenuously to experimental work in different branches of electrotechnics, he also found time to at Nijni Novgorod, superintend the electrical station whither he betook himself each summer. His work in 1895 was particularly rich in results, for in the summer of that year he succeeded in signalling over long distances by means of electromagnetic waves, and also invented an apparatus for graphically indicating and recording storms, which in 1896 was introduced into the meteorological observatory of the St. Petersburg Forest Academy, whilst the Parisian firm of Dacretoit constructed a receiving station for wireless telegraphy according to Popow's plans, which have been taken as a model for the installation throughout the Russian Marine. In 1905 Popow was appointed professor of physics at the electrochemical institute in St. Petersburg, and on September 28, 1905, on the declaration of the academic freedom of Russian universities, he was elected director of the institute. Popow's intellectual gifts, his attachment to scientific research, and geniality of intercourse at all times, secured for him the warmest sympathy and respect from both colleagues and students.

In reply to the request made by Prof. S. P. Thompson in last week's NATURE (p. 340) for the dates of birth and death of William Nicol, the inventor of the Nicol prism, two correspondents state that Nicol was born about 1768 and died in 1851 at Edinburgh, where he was a teacher of physics. (See the "Century Cyclopedia of Names " published by the Times, p. 737.)

IT is announced by Science that there is a movement being started to present to the City of Philadelphia a statue of Dr. Joseph Leidy. Dr. Leidy, who was born in that city in 1823, and died there in 1891, added much to its scientific eminence, and as president of the Academy of Natural Sciences, professor of human and comparative anatomy and zoology in the University of Pennsylvania, and president of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, accomplished much for these institutions.

THE Cairo correspondent of the Times states that Mr. T. Barron, the geological surveyor to the Anglo-Sudan Administration, died on January 31 at El Koweit. While in the Survey Department of the Public Works Ministry in Cairo, Mr. Barron rendered excellent services in revising the geology of the country between Cairo and Suez. In 1904 Mr. Barron's services were lent to the Sudan Government, and part of the work with which he was then entrusted included the investigation of the lignite deposits of Tchelga, in north-west Abyssinia. He eventually joined the Sudan service.

DR. C. G. SELIGMANN, Hunterian professor for 1906, delivered the first of his three lectures on Monday in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons, and took as his subject the Physical Anthropology and Ethnology of British New Guinea." After directing attention to the general features of New Guinea, Dr. Seligmann proceeded to classify the natives of British New Guinea into four main stocks, Papuo-Melanesian in the south-east, Motuan around Port Moresby, Eastern Papuan in the hinterland or mountainous region, and West Papuan in the large The western area, much of which is still unknown. lecturer pointed out that there were linguistic and other resemblances between his Papuo-Melanesian stock and the island Melanesians, particularly those of the Solomon Islands. There is an area of brachycephaly on the west

of the Papuan Gulf for which it is very difficult to account; members of this stock seem to form part of the population south of the Fly River. The average stature rises in proceeding from the centre of the Gulf eastwards. There is no reason to suspect Australian influence, even in the Torres Straits Islands.-The lectures are open to the public; the second was given yesterday, and the concluding one will be delivered to-morrow (Friday) at five o'clock.

PROF. S. H. REYNOLDS, University College, Bristol, informs us that the rock fall at Cheddar on the night of Sunday, February 4, is not a matter of any very great moment, though much has been made of it in the papers. The point at which it took place is a quarry on the northern or dip slope side of the gorge, which here follows the strike of the rocks. The fallen rock detached itself from the quarry face along the bend of a master joint,

FIG. 1.-The recent rock-fall at Cheddar.

and estimates of its amount vary from 70,000 tons to 500,000 tons; but an experienced quarry owner has assured Prof. Reynolds that 20,000 tons is about the amount of the fall. Though this may seem a very large amount, the fall is entirely confined to the face of the quarry, and the general features and beauty of the gorge are absolutely unaffected by it.

In the annual report on British New Guinea for 1903, Sir F. Winter described a people on the Musa River, named Agaiambo; according to the newspaper reports of the period they are web-footed dwarfs; subsequent information went to show that they had been wiped out by a hostile tribe. The latest report, for 1904-5, shows that this latter item was incorrect, for ten members of the tribe have been measured by Captain Barton, and their photographs sent to Sydney. Unfortunately, much of the latest information is contradictory of the earlier report; the Agaiambo are stated to kneel in their canoes or sit on their heels, and to this circumstance their physical peculiarities are attributed; but Sir F. Winter says that they stand. Moreover, it is difficult to see how sitting on the heel could produce, as alleged, a protrusion of the heel. There is no evidence to show that the tribe is web-footed; they are not dwarfs; the man seen by Sir F. Winter stood as high as an ordinary native; what was peculiar about him was that the lower extremities were badly developed, so that his hips were 3 inches lower than those of the ordinary native. This feature seems to be borne out by the later

evidence. There is no reason at present to suppose that they are of different stock from their neighbours; they are said to speak the same language as the Barigi, with whom they barter produce.

IN a paper on library aids to mathematical research, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dr. Thomas Muir has touched upon a subject of ever-growing importance that has not yet received the systematic attention in this country which it needs. It deals with the requirements of the scientific investigator classed under the two general main categories of books and books about books. The paper is confined to the single subject of mathematics, with reference to Scotland in particular, but, as Dr. Muir remarks, "there can be no doubt, however, that other subjects are in as bad a plight, and that the whole question of library aid is worth serious and prompt attention from all scientific men." Commencing with "books about books," or summaries of existing literature, and excluding the "Bibliotheca Mathematica," which is different in scope, Dr. Muir finds that the mathematician is adequately provided for as regards past literature by Poggendorff's "Handwörterbuch " and the Royal Society catalogues, and as regards current literature by the "Jahrbuch über die Fortschritte," the Amsterdam" Revue semestrelle," and the "International Catalogue of Scientific Literature." But when it comes to the books themselves, the present state of affairs is eminently unsatisfactory. Confining his attention to the sixty-seven serials, mainly mathematical, included in the list published in the "International Catalogue, A" for 1903, Dr. Muir tabulates the state of affairs in the libraries of the University and Royal Society of Edinburgh and the University and Philosophical Society of Glasgow. He finds that only thirty-four of the sixty-seven periodicals are to be found in the combined libraries of southern Scotland, and many sets are incomplete, but that a considerable duplication exists in the libraries in question. Austrian mathematics is unrepresented. An annual expenditure of 100l. would suffice to purchase and preserve all the serials on the list, but even without any expenditure whatever the whole object could be attained by cooperation between the several libraries and gradual elimination of the cases of duplication. Dr. Muir considers that mathematical research at present can only be pursued in Scotland with difficulty and uncertainty, and that research in mathematical history is practically an impossibility. What Dr. Muir says regarding Scotland applies with still more force to libraries elsewhere. If he had extended his study, for example, to Wales, he would have found three separate libraries in the three university colleges each with only some 10l. or so per annum for purchase and binding of books and periodicals.

THE opening article in the January number of Himmel und Erde is devoted to the discussion of the question whether the attributes of organisms can be due to physical In concluding this article, the author, Dr. V. Franz, of Breslau, points out that, although a physical origin of life is highly probable, its demonstration is a matter of almost insuperable difficulty.

causes.

IN the January issue of the Museums Journal, Mr. J. Minto discusses the relation of provincial museums to national institutions. After pointing out that local museums cannot at the present day grow with the requisite rapidity and properly discharge their educational functions if dependent solely upon donations, the author expresses himself as follows:-" It will take years to do away with

the idea of museums still entertained by many members of committees, as store-houses of curiosities, and to understand that museums must form part of the educational machinery of the nation."

WE reproduce from an article on the Florida Keys, published in the National Geographic Magazine for February, an exceedingly interesting photograph of an alligator's nest, showing a large number of eggs, from some of which young alligators have been hatched. In common

FIG. 1.-An alligator's nest, with newly-hatched alligators, in Florida. From the National Geographic Magazine.

with the caimans of Central and South America, the Mississippi alligator lays a number of eggs amid brushwood, which are carefully covered over with débris, and guarded during the period of incubation by the parent. In due course the young alligators are hatched, and soon make their way to the water, the nest, at least in the case of some of the Brazilian caimans, being opened by the female parent in order to facilitate the escape of her progeny.

IN an instructive article entitled "Saving California's Fruit Crops," published in the Century Magazine for February, the author, Mr. W. S. Harwood, dwells on the important services Mr. Compere has rendered to fruitgrowers in America, and thus throughout the world, by his efforts to discover insects which will hold in check some of the most injurious insect fruit-pests. Mr. Compere's idea is that every injurious insect has an enemy in some part of the world, if only it can be found. He discovered, for instance, in Spain, a region where the codling-moth lives, but where the ravages of the worm to which its eggs give birth were slight. Investigation showed that this was due to an ichneumon-fly, by which the pest was kept in check. Naturally it was assumed that what held good for Spain would also be efficient in California, and a number of ichneumon-pupa were accordingly packed and dispatched to the States. When the flies hatched they at once set to work on the codlingmoth caterpillars, with the result that a swarm of young ichneumons has been produced, and it is hoped that in course of time the codling-moth pest may become a thing of the past. Another plan is to send a small tree of the species affected by a particular pest to the country where the enemy lives, whence it is returned to its native home provided with a stock of destroyers.

To the American Naturalist for January Lieut.-Colonel C. D. Durnford contributes an article (also published synchronously in this country in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History) on the flight of flying-fishes. In this it is maintained that the ordinary" aeroplane theory" of the flight of these fishes is based on an absolute mechanical

impossibility, and that the real explanation is to be found in an intensely rapid vibration of the wing-like pectoral fins a vibration which is revealed to the eye when the movement slows down as the fish touches the crest of a wave. In another article in the same journal Messrs. Dexler and Freund furnish some interesting information with regard to the mode of life of the dugong, noting also the various methods employed in the capture of these animals in Queensland. It is confirmed that dugongs do not voluntarily leave the water, while it is suggested that they seldom enter brackish, and are incapable of living in fresh water. Much interest attaches to the existence of a slimy coating for the protection of the eye, a similar coating also occurring in whales, although in the latter instance it is of an oily nature, in order to prevent its being too easily washed away by the sea-water.

IN Macmillan's Magazine for February, Mr. H. L. Puxley describes the unhygienic conditions which largely obtain in the production and distribution of milk, and suggests the precautions which should be taken to ensure a wholesome milk supply.

MESSRS. SANDERS AND CROWHURST, Shaftesbury Avenue, W., have submitted for our inspection a series of excellent lantern slides, and an album, entitled "Wild Birds at Home," of sixty beautiful reproductions of photographs taken with the "Birdland" camera, which has been made specially for natural history photography. A comparison of these life-like pictures-which are faithful representations of the actual environments of the birds depicted, untouched in any way by engravers-with the woodcuts which comparatively few years ago were the only illustrations available for works on natural history will demonstrate vividly the astonishing advances in pictorial illus

IN the Atti dei Lincei (series 5, vol. xiv., ii., 207) Prof. A. Righi describes a number of experiments which were made with the purpose of ascertaining the influence of the rays of radium on the resistance of certain solid and liquid dielectrics. A marked increase in the conductivity under the influence of the rays was observed in the case of liquid vaseline and olive oil, but with benzene, petroleum ether, and carbon bisulphide a much smaller effect was found. When solid colophony was subjected to the action of the rays, a change of conductivity could not be detected.

A WORK upon steam turbines, by Messrs. T. Stevens and H. M. Hobart, giving the most recent results in practice and having a concise account of the latest types, will be issued by Messrs. Whittaker and Co. in March.

MESSRS. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN AND CO., LTD., have now published the "Public Schools Year-book " for 1906, being the seventeenth issue of this important annual. Among other useful chapters which the volume contains, in addition to full particulars of 117 public schools, those dealing with engineering, medicine, agriculture, and horticulture as professions are of particular value to parents desiring occupations for their boys.

MR. FRANCIS HODGSON has published the third volume of the second series of the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. The volume runs to 482 pages, and includes papers read before the society during the period December 8, 1904, to November 9, 1905. As the papers read at meetings of the society are briefly described in our "Societies and Academies " columns, there is no necessity for a detailed statement of the contents of the volume, though it may be added that, in addition to the papers, the volume includes records of the proceedings at meetings and an obituary notice of the late Mr. Robert Tucker by Prof. M. J. M. Hill, F.R.S.

It will be noticed that the comet has rapidly decreased in brightness, and, as its magnitude when discovered was only about 10-0, has become a more difficult object. On February 18 it will set about 2 hours after sunset in the south-west.

COMET 1906а (BROOKS).-Several observations of comet 1906a are recorded in No. 4073 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, in which also appear a set of elements and an ephemeris calculated by Herr M. Ebell.

The magnitude of the comet on January 28-31 was about 10-0, and Prof. Hartwig, observing with the Bamberg heliometer on the latter date, recorded that the comet was round, had no tail, and had a central nucleus which appeared to be about one magnitude fainter than a 9.3 magnitude star.

The latter part of Herr Ebell's ephemeris is given below:

:

THE

CATALOGUE OF STARS WITHIN TWO DEGREES OF NORTH POLE.-Publication No. 2 of the Vassar College Observatory is devoted to a catalogue of 408 stars all of which are within 2° of the North Pole. The coordinates and magnitudes have been determined from eight plates taken by Prof. Donner, of the Helsingfors (Finland) Observatory, by Dr. Caroline E. Furness. A previous publication (No. 1) dealt similarly with the stars situated within 1° of the pole, and to this the present volume forms a sequel. The positions are given for 1888.0, and in cases where the star is common to both, references are given to the B.D.M. and Carrington catalogues. The present work is published by the Carnegie Institution, and forms No. 45 in the publications of that body.

THE FIRE NEAR MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY.-Writing to Popular Astronomy, No. 2, vol. xiv., Prof. Hale corrects the recent report concerning the forest fire on Mount Lowe, and states that, as the fire did not come within several miles of the Solar Observatory, the observers there were never in any fear that the buildings or instruments might be injured.

THE INCREASING PERIOD OF B LYRA.-In an article published in No. 367 of the Observatory, Dr. Alex. W. Roberts makes an interesting suggestion concerning the diminishing rate of increase in the period of B Lyræ.

Having discussed a number of previous observations, he has deduced a formula which gives the period of this variable at any date, the epoch being 1900-0. The suggested cause is that in B Lyræ we have a binary in which the component stars are slowly receding from each other under tidal forces, and if this is so it provides direct evidence in support of Prof. Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of planetary and stellar systems.

THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY.-Rear-Admiral Chester's report of the operations of the United States Naval Observatory for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, shows that the staff is again to be congratulated on the amount of work performed. Nearly 950 observations, including 218 of Saturn's satellites, were made with the equatorial, and 9179 observations were made with the meridian instruments; the latter included nearly 4000 observations of Gill's "zodiacal stars" and an equal number of standard stars.'

66

The A.G. Zone Catalogue of the stars between -13° 50' and 18° 10' is nearing completion; all the stars have been observed, and most of the observations have been reduced to 1900-0.

With the photoheliograph, photographs of the sun were obtained on 166 days, and showed spots and faculæ on the solar disc on 162 days. Whilst engaged upon this work, Mr. G. H. Peters made some valuable observations regarding the focal variation due to temperature. A new triple lens of 7 inches aperture and 65 feet focal length, giving a solar image of about inches diameter, has been procured, and was to be used for solar photography after its employment on the 1905 eclipse expedition to Spain.

The branch observatory at Tutuila, Samoa, was, on the date of the report, rapidly approaching completion.