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ammonia salts in producing uric acid in birds, and the remarkable confirmation of this by Minkowski, who found, after extirpation of the liver, the uric acid of the bird's urine replaced by ammonia.

The subject most fully treated is that of the pigments, but here again the important works of Nencki and Sieber on hæmoglobin and its derivatives, find no mention. A work like the present is necessarily a compromise. It does not give so equable and well-judged an account of what it is important to know in physiology as might be expected from the reputation of the author and the size of the book; but it shows the judgment of an experienced teacher in endeavouring to make every subject perfectly intelligible and in leaving no branch of physiological science untouched. L. C. WOOLDRIDGE.

OUR BOOK SHELF.

The Mind of the Child. Part I. The Senses and the Will; Observations concerning the Mental Development of the Human Being in the First Year of Life. By W. Preyer, Professor of Physiology in Jena. Translated from the original German by H. W. Brown. "International Education Series." (New York: Appleton and Co. London: Whittaker and Co. 1888).

IT is with no small satisfaction that we notice the issue of this work in the English language. It has already remained much too long in the German and French tongues only; and it speaks ill for the enterprise of British publishers that now the name of Appleton appears upon the cover. For, although comparisons as a rule are invidious, in the present instance there can be no doubt that the work in question holds the first place in the literature of the subject with which it deals. And since the study of infant psychology was inaugurated by M. Taine and Mr. Darwin, it has become so popular a branch of scientific literature that an English translation of "Die Seele des Kindes" must be an assured success, even from a commercial point of view.

In the case of a book already so well known, it is needless to say much by way of analysis. We must remark, however, that the present volume comprises only Parts I. and II. of the original--the remainder being reserved for publication as a second volume. Hence the instalment of the translation now before us deals only with the senses and the will; the next instalment having to treat of the intellect, and all supplementary matter. As everyone who has read the original is aware, Prof. Preyer has devoted himself to his subject with an assiduity and a thoroughness which only an assured conviction of its importance could inspire. And, in the result, his patiently continuous observation, his skilled intelligence as a well-read psychologist, together with his high attainments as a professed physiologist, combine to render his work, not only as before remarked the most important, but also in many respects the most interesting, that has hitherto appeared upon the subject of psychogenesis, Therefore we recommend this work to all our English readers as the best that they can procure on "the mind of the child"-and this whether their interest in such a mind be scientific only or likewise parental.

G. J. R.

Arithmetical Exercises. By H. S. Hall, M.A., and S. R. Knight, B.A. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1888.) IN this book we have a collection of examples comprising about eighty progressive miscellaneous exercises and a set of fifty papers taken from such examinations as the London University, Oxford and Cambridge Local, Previous Cambridge, Army Preliminary, &c. The examp'es

are judiciously chosen, and great care seems to have been taken to make the work as progressive as possible. An appendix is added, consisting of two hundred graduated questions in logarithms and mensuration, preceded by a list of the numerical constants and formulæ used in the latter. The answers to the examples are all collected together at the end.

An Elementary Treatise on Mensuration. By E. T. Henchie (London: School Books Publishing Company, 1888.)

IN this work we have an excellent treatise for those who are about to begin the study of this subject. All reference to trigonometry has purposely been avoided, and the author has in the second chapter added the enunciations of Euclid's propositions which bear on the work, together with an explanation of each.

Plain rectilinear figures, curvilinear areas, the circle, surfaces and volumes of solids, are dealt with in turn, and each chapter is accompanied by a set of illustrative examples thoroughly worked out and explained, followed by a separate set to be worked out by the student. Land surveying forms the subject of the eighth chapter, in which are described the various instruments with the methods of using them. The figures throughout are very clear, and the shading used in those of the chapter on solids is excellent. The book concludes with a set of miscellaneous examples, making in all about 1260, together with the answers to the above.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he under take to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.]

Lamarckism versus Darwinism.

I HAD hoped that my previous letter might have closed this correspondence, but Mr. Poulton's reply suggests to me the propriety of making one additional remark. This is, that while writing the sentence in the Contemporary Review to which he has taken exception, it never occurred to me that anyone would gather from it that I intended to disparage the work of an eminent man, who happens to be also a personal friend. But, as this appears to be the impression conveyed to Mr. Poulton, I should not like to allow his statement of it to pass unnoticed. As a matter of fact, no one can appreciate more thoroughly than I do the extensive knowledge, the clearness of thought, and the great powers of original research which are now being so conspicuously displayed by Prof. Weismann.

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From the first it has been sufficiently obvious to me how the present misunderstanding arose; and if, instead of affirming that I was ignorant of Prof. Weismann's writings, Mr. Poulton had begun as he has ended, by asking me to explain" my remark with reference to them, of course I should at once have done so. However, as stated in my last letter, it is my intention at no very distant date to deal with the whole question of so-called "Lamarckism versus Darwinism"; and, therefore, my only object in this communication is to stop from going further the impression that I hold in light esteem the highly important achievements of Prof. Weismann.

Geanies, Ross-shire, September 8.

GEORGE J. ROMANES.

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In 1872, Mr. Gulick sent me his paper on "Diversity of Evolution under One Set of External Conditions," requesting me, if I thought fit, to communicate it to the Linnean Society. As the paper contained a body of very interesting facts observed by the author, I had no hesitation in recommending its acceptance by the Society, although I did not agree with the conclusions Mr. Gulick drew from his facts.

Last year Mr. Gulick sent me the manuscript of his present paper, informing me that it was the result of long-continued study of the subject, and asking me to forward it to the Linnean Society. I did so, writing to the Secretary that I had not read the paper through, and did not undertake the responsibility of recommending it for acceptance.

Having now read the paper in print, I find very little in it that I can agree with. I can discover in it no additional facts beyond those which were set before us in the former paper sixeen years ago, while there is an enormous body of theoretical statements, many of which seem to me erroneous, and a highly complex classification of the conditions under which the separation or isolation of individuals of a species takes place, with a new and cumbrous terminology, neither of which, ir my opinion, adds to our knowledge or comprehension of the matter at issue. As in almost every page of this long paper I find statements which seem to me to be either disputable or positively erroneous, any extended criticism of it is out of the question; but I wish to call attention to one or two points of vital importance. Mr. Gulick's alleged discovery is, "the law of cumulative divergence through cumulative segregation" (p. 212). He maintains that any initial variation, if isolated by any of the causes he has enumerated, but remaining under identically the same environment, will increase till it becomes in time a specific or even a generic divergence, and this without any action whatever of natural selection. Now if this is a fact it is a most important and fundamental fact, equal in its far-reaching significance to natural selection itself. I accordingly read the paper with continual expectation of finding some evidence of this momentous principle, but in vain. There is a most elaborate discussion and endless refined subdivisions of the varied modes in which the individuals constituting a species may be kept apart and prevented from intercrossing, but no attempt whatever to prove that the result of such complete or partial isolation is "cumulative divergence." The only passage which may perhaps be considered such an attempt at proof is that on p. 219, where he supposes an experiment to be made, and then gives us what he thinks "experienced breeders" will assure us would be the result. In this experiment, however, there is to be constant selection and reassortment of each brood, yet he asserts that "there is no selection in the sense in which natural selection is selection"; by which he appears to mean that the selection is by "separation" not by "extermination." This, however, seems to me to be a distinction without a difference.

Again, in the various illustrations of how "cumulative segregation" is brought about, natural selection must always come into play-as in the case of a change in digestive powers, and consequent adoption of a different food (p. 223), leading to partial isolation; and such cases are exactly what is contemplated by Darwin in his brief statement of the effects of "divergence of character" ("Origin," pp. 86-90), while the concurrence of "'isolation as a factor is fully recognized at pp. 81-83 of the same work (6th edition).

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It appears to me that throughout his paper Mr. Gulick omits the consideration of the inevitable agency of natural selection, arising from the fact of only a very small proportion of the offspring produced each year possibly surviving. Thus when, at p. 214, he states that "the fact of divergence in any case is not a sufficient ground for assuming that the diverging form has an advantage over the type from which it diverges," he omits from all consideration the fact that at each step of the divergence there was necessarily selection of the fit and the less fit to survive; and that if, as a fact, the two extremes have survived, and not the intermediate steps which led to one or both of thein, it is a proof that both had an advantage over the original less specialized form. Darwin explains this in his section on Extinction caused by Natural Selection" (p. 85). On the whole,

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I fail to see that Mr. Gulick has established any new principle,

either as a substitute for, or in addition to, natural selection as set forth by Darwin. Others, however, may think differently; and I shall be glad if any naturalists who bave studied Darwin's works will point out, definitely, in what way this paper extends our knowledge of the mode in which species have originated. ALFRED R. WALLACE.

The Death of Clausius.

I Do not know by what unfortunate accident it happened that I did not hear of the death of the great Clausius until after the meeting of the British Association. I write this in order to explain how I neglected to express the sorrow of the scientific world in Britain in the loss, and our sympathy with the scientific world in Germany. It is not the part of a young disciple like me to eulogize the giants of the passing generation, but I regret greatly that any appearance of want of appreciation of the labours of one of the most brilliant lights of the nineteenth century should attach to British science owing to my silence. GEO. FRAS. FITZGERALD.

Trinity College, Dublin, September 15.

The March Storms.

THE accounts of March storms in England which reach us lead me to think that it would be interesting to note the following. On March 13, barometers in Western Australia had fallen suddenly o 20 inch; the cyclone passed rapidly eastward along the south coast of Australia. On the 15th we had a heavy gale of wind at Sydney; the anemometer showed 55 miles an hour. Lake George was so disturbed that the observer was wind-bound in the small house which holds the recording machine for several days, and the tidal register at Sydney shows considerable disturbance like earthquake-waves during the 15th, 16th, and 17th. On the 15th the level of the Sydney transit instrument was found to have changed suddenly since the 14th, o'7, the western pier having fallen. A tidal wave reached New Guinea and New Britain on the 13th; at the latter place it is supposed to have risen 40 feet. H. C. RUSSELL.

Sydney Observatory, July 26.

INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGY.

THE

HE International Meteorological Committee held a meeting at Zürich, in the Polytechnikum, from the 3rd to the 5th of this month. All the members were present. The most important point on which action was taken was the subject of future meetings to be held instead of Meteorological Congresses organized by diplomatic means. The following was the resolution adopted :

"The Committee, in view of the circumstance that the assembling of an international meeting, of the same character as the Congresses of Vienna and Rome, presents great difficulties, considers that the commission it received at Rome is exhausted, and that it ought to dissolve itself.

At the same time, in order to continue the relations between the different meteorological organizations, which have been productive of such good results during a series of years, the Committee appoints a small bureau with the duty of using its best endeavours to bring about, at some convenient time, an international meeting of representatives of the different Meteorological Services.”

By a subsequent resolution the bureau was made to consist of the President and Secretary of the Committee (Prof. Wild and Mr. Scott).

Among other matters on which action was taken may be mentioned :--

Cloud Classification.—It was decided that the proposals of Messrs. Hildebrandsson and Abercromby were not ripe enough to be recommended for general adoption.

Meteorological Information from Travellers.-On the motion of Dr. Hann certain rules were laid down, to be recommended to all Geographical Societies, &c., as to the conditions which must be observed in order to render

published records of meteorological observations of any real service to meteorology. These relate to instruments and their corrections, exposure, methods of calculation, &c., &c.

The Committee finally dissolved itself.

ROBT. H. SCOTT. Meteorological Cffice, September 19.

IN

THE NORWEGIAN GREENLAND

EXPEDITION.

NFORMATION having been received by the sealer Jason of the Norwegian Expedition under Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, which is to attempt traversing Greenland from the east coast to the west coast, having left that vessel on July 17 in lat. 65° 2' N., and by this time is no doubt fairly on its way across the inland ice, some particulars of the plan and aim of this expedition, furnished by the leader himself, will doubtless prove of interest, and tend to correct various erroneous statements which have appeared.

When leaving the Jason, an ice-belt about ten miles in width separated the vessel from the mouth of the Sermilik Fjord, and the Expedition was seen to make good progress, either walking over the ice or rowing through it, and at 6 a.m. it was out of sight. It was Dr. Nansen's intention to land in this fjord, which is inhabited, and proceed to the bottom, where he would attempt to ascend to the inland ice plateau. The mountains around the fjord are very steep, and upwards of 6000 feet in height, but still this spot was recommended by the Danish explorer, Captain Holm, as the most suitable. It is agreed by all competent authorities that once on the inland ice plateau the rest of the journey will be comparatively easy, Dr. Nansen and his followers purposing to journey on the so-called Norwegian Ski across the smooth snowy surface of the inland ice. These adjuncts of locomotion are highly recommended by Baron Nordenskiöld in land journeys in the Arctic regions; and as a proof of their utility it may be mentioned that when on the inland ice in 1883, the two Lapps in his train were sent forward, and covered in fifty-seven hours twice as much ground as the rest of the expedition in twenty-seven days. Before, however, describing these means of locomotion on snow, a brief reference to the members of the Expedition should be made.

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The Expedition, for which there were thirty-five volunteers, including one Englishman, consists of Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, of the Bergen Museum, leader; Lieutenant in the Norwegian army, Herr O. C. Dietrichson; Herr Otto Sverdrup, an officer in the Norwegian mercantile marine; and Herr Kristian Kristiansen, a land-owner; with two Lapps, Samuel Bulto and Ole Ravna, the latter of whom was "on view" at the Exhibition in London in 1883. All the members are men in their best years, powerful, and accustomed to hardships of all kinds, and last, not least, experts in the craft of Skilöbning, or Norwegian mode of journeying on snow. This mode is entirely different from that practised in Canada under the name of snowshoeing," and therefore deserves special mention. The Ski, or snow runners," as they might more justly be called, are long strips of carefully selected pine-wood without a flaw, those used by Dr. Nansen being about 8 feet in length, 1 inch in thickness, and 4 inches in width. In the middle is a leather strap covered with sheep's wool for the foot, and a slight catch for the heel, whilst the edges are (in this particular case) protected by means of a steel band. The wood has been carefully seasoned and soaked in tar to prevent the penetration of moisture, whilst underneath the Ski are lined with reindeer skin, the hair of which gives the runner a better "grip" on the snow when going up hill. In front they are pointed and bent slightly upwards, so as to pass more easily over obstacles. A good pair of Ski will, when carefully prepared, have the elasticity almost of a Toledo blade, and jumps of 25 or 30 feet, when such may be necessary in the mountains, are frequently performed by good Ski men, without breaking their Ski. The most remarkable feats of agility are performed by experts on these means of locomotion; in fact, many a Norwegian is as much at home on his Ski as a Red Indian on his

horse. As to the progress made on Ski, it is simply astounding, a good runner on dry snow, and across a fair country, being capable of covering a hundred miles a day, and down hill the speed rivals that of the fastest express. Dr. Nansen and his party, who are all celebrated for their achievements in the Ski sport, carry with them nine pairs of these. For the conveyance of provisions he has with him five hand sledges of novel construction, being only half the weight of those generally carried in Arctic journeys. They are 9 feet long, and 2 feet wide, greatly curved at both ends, and shod with steel bands, whilst at the back is a steering-pole. The weight is 25 pounds. Dr. Nansen had occasion to test the quality of one of these sledges when travelling last winter alone across Norway on Ski, from Eidsfjord to Nummedal, a distance of about fifty miles. The adoption of this kind of sledge has been made at the instance of Baron Nordenskiöld, who, during his journey across the inland ice, found those then used too heavy. The Expedition is also provided with a tent, brown in colour, in order to afford a rest to the eye on the vast dazzling snow-fields, and it may be separated into five pieces, each forming a sail for the boats. Naturally it was absolutely necessary that the baggage of the Expedition should be as small as possible, consequently only what is absolutely required has been included, such as the usual scientific apparatus, a camera, cooking utensils, and provisions, the latter consisting chiefly of pemmican, meat cakes and biscuits, preserves, tea, chocolate, &c. Every article carried has been specially prepared, some in Christiania, and others in Copenhagen, London, and Paris. One article which previous Greenland Expeditions have been much in want of are Alpine ropes for use in climbing, and these have been specially made for Dr. Nansen in London.

Having reached the inland ice plateau, Dr. Nansen purposes travelling in a north-westerly direction, with Disco Bay on the west coast for his goal, as further south the land is intersected by deep fjords and mountains, which may cause difficulties in crossing. The distance from coast to coast is estimated at 425 miles, and allowing for a rate of progress of only fifteen miles a day, the whole journey should be accomplished in about thirty days. The leader considers it a great advantage to cross from east to west, and not vice versa as previously attempted, as in the former case provisions need only be carried for one journey, the west coast being well provided in this respect. The most serious obstacles expected by Dr. Nansen on the inland ice are crevices in the ice, which are formed by the water from the melting snow, and wet snow. The former he intends to attempt evading by sending the Lapps forward as scouts, and on the latter Canadian snow-shoes will be used, as in wet snow the Ski are of little use, the snow clogging to them and retarding progress. It is, however, expected that at this season the snow will be crisp and dry. It should also be mentioned that by crossing from east to west the Expedition will have the advantage of travelling continually down an incline, as the country slopes gradually down from a height of 6000 feet on the east coast to only a few hundred on the west coast, whilst the wind also nearly always blows from that quarter.

Dr. Nansen further anticipates that the curious lofty basalt rocks of Disco Island will be seen a good way inland, and serve as a landmark.

As regards the scientific aspects of the expedition, not too great results may be expected, although Dr. Nansen has especially qualified for his task, and visited Greenland some years ago; as with the means at his disposal, and in view of the mode of travelling, the number of members and the weight of the baggage had to be scrictly limited. However, the leader feels confident that it will contribute in some degree to solve the scientific problems facing us in that continent, which has always had such

fascination to the geographer, geologist, and botanist in particular, and may lead to the despatch of an Expedition on a larger scale and with a wider scientific scope.

It may be of interest here briefly to recall the attempts which have been made from time to time to cross the Greenland continent.

As is well known, Greenland has never been crossed by human being, although there is a tradition, confirmed by Holm and Garde, that a young girl from Pikiudelek, on the east coast, driven from home by cruelty, wandered on foot across the ice to the west coast. However, in modern times many attempts have been made, as, for instance, by Dalager (a Dane), Dr. John Rae, Messrs. Whymper and Brown, Messrs. Jensen, Kornerup, and Groth, and Nordenskiöld in 1870 and 1883. All of these attempts were failures, with the exception of that of Nordenskiöld in 1883 referred to, when he succeeded, in lat. 683 N., in reaching 75 miles inland, and his two Lapps 140 miles further, or 215 miles, i.e. a little more than half the width of the country. Finally, we have the scantily-known wandering, in June of last year, of Mr. Peary, an Amerian engineer, and Herr Maigaard, a Dane, who claim to have reached about 100 miles inland on the ice from Jakobshavn, and reached an elevation of about 7000 feet above the sea; but the weather was unfavourable. It is worthy of note that this elevation is far higher than that recorded by Nordenskiöld a little further south, viz. about 6000 feet.

It is impossible to close this résumé of Dr. Nansen's plans without referring to the much-disputed theory of there being, if not a fertile interior somewhere in Greenland, at all events land free from ice and snow, as advocated by Nordenskiöld, but which he failed to find. We have it however now, on the authority of Dr. Nansen, that in spite of this failure the famous Swedish explorer is still of opinion that such conditions may exist somewhere to the north or south of the track followed by himself. Dr. Nansen also supports this theory, which is, leaving the "Föhn" wind theory out of the question, based, firstly, on the circumstance that the reindeer herds on the west coast disappear from the coast in the summer, when it is surmised that they proceed to this interior "oasis," as it has been termed; and, secondly, on the discovery by Nordenskiöld of reindeer horn far in on the ice; thirdly, the theory is claimed to be supported by the fact of Nordenskiöld's two Lapps having in the middle of Greenland seen two ravens coming from the north to "have a look at them," and return in the same direction. Hence, it is maintained, some ice-free land must exist further north. But as to the wanderings of the reindeer, such take place every summer in Norway, when the animals repair to the glaciers in order to escape from their dread tormentors the gadfly and the heat. It is, however, curious that the Greenlanders themselves, as well as the Eskimo, according to Captain Holm, firmly believe in an ice-free and populated interior, the inhabitants of which are of enormous stature, fierce, and dangerous magicians, and it is this latter belief which is the cause of the natives refusing to act as guides or participate in explorations of the interior. The east coast natives by the way maintain, too, that Scoresby Sound in the extreme north (Holm, "East Coast Expedition, 1883-85") is a fjord separating Greenland from the rest of the Arctic regions; that once a Greenlander sailed through it from west to east, and that near its southern shores resides a warlike tribe of Greenlanders.

It was Dr. Nansen's intention to have attempted to land in the neighbourhood of Scoresby Sound, where no European has ever set foot, but it was impossible to get further north than Cape Dan on account of ice. It should be mentioned that the present expedition is in a great degree due to the munificence of Herr Augustus Gamél, of Copenhagen, who despatched Lieutenant Hovgaard's Arctic Expedition of 1880, and has received valuable

assistance from such Greenland explorers as Nordenskiöld, Rink, Holm, Ryder, and Marigaard, as well as the Royal Geographical Society.

If all goes well, it may return to Europe before the last vessel leaves Greenland at the end of September.

If successful, it cannot fail to throw some further light upon the interesting scientific problems of that mystic northern continent, and incite other explorers to follow in Dr. Nansen and his colleagues' footsteps.

THE CENTENARY OF THE CALCUTTA
BOTANIC GARDEN.

THE
HE Report of Dr. George King, the Superintendent
of the Botanic Garden of Calcutta, for the past year
gives a brief history of the work of that institution during
the century of its existence, which has just been com-
pleted. The suggestion for its foundation was made to
the Government in Calcutta in 1786 by Colonel Robert
Kyd, then Superintendent of the East India Company's
dockyard at Kidderpore. The adoption of the proposal
was urged upon the Board in London by the Governor-
General, and upon their sanctioning it a large piece of
land at Shalimar was chosen as the site, and Colonel Kyd
was elected the first Superintendent. He held the post
till his death in 1793. At the outset it was understood
that the Garden was to be made a source of information
for the Company's servants, and a place in which ex-
periments could be made on those exotics which were of
economic value. It was also intended to be a horticul-
tural and agricultural garden, which would assist in
introducing indigenous Indian products to new markets.
The earliest efforts of Colonel Kyd were directed to the
introduction of trees yielding nutmeg, cloves, and cinna-
mon, and to attempt to cultivate them. This, however,
was a failure, the climate being shown to be quite un-
suitable to them. The equatorial fruits, such as mango-
steen and bread-fruit were tried with a similar result, and
also the temperate fruits of Europe, and thus at an early
stage it was demonstrated that any such effort was quite
useless. Colonel Kyd introduced tea cultivation, and in
this he was highly successful, and it was owing to his
efforts that the tea-industry has become one of the most
important in India. On the death of Colonel Kyd, Dr.
William Roxburgh, the Company's Botanist in Madras,
was appointed to the post, and continued in it till 1814.
He was an ardent botanist, and was the first who attempted
to draw up a systematic account of the plants of India.
His Flora Indica contained descriptions of all the indi-
genous plants he had met, and also of the exotics in
cultivation at Calcutta. This book was not published
till 1832, and it was, till Sir Joseph Hooker commenced
his work on the "Flora of British India" in 1872, the only
book from which a good knowledge of Indian plants
could be acquired. Besides his "Flora Indica," Roxburgh
published "Plantæ Coromandalianæ," descriptions of
three hundred of the most representative plants on the
Coromandel Coast. Dr. Roxburgh, who left India on
account of failing health, was succeeded by Dr. Buchanan-
Hamilton, who collected a mass of information about
the fauna and flora of India, a portion of which he
published in his own name, but the greater part was
issued in Montgomery Martin's "History, Topography,
and Statistics of Eastern India." In 1817, Dr. Wallich
became Superintendent. Wallich was a most energetic
man, and during his term of office he made collections
in Kumaon, Nepal, Tenasserim, Singapore, Penang, and
other places. His collections of dried plants were taken
by him to London, and after their classification they were
distributed to the chief botanical institutions in Europe.
Dr. Wallich published three fine volumes, “Plantæ
Asiaticæ Rariores," illustrated with excellent figures. On
Dr. Wallich's retirement in 1846, Dr. Hugh Falconer, who

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is well known on account of his researches on the Sivalik fossil Mammalia, succeeded to the post. Thomson, the co-worker of Sir Joseph Hooker in the Dr. Thomas collection and distribution of an extensive East Indian Herbarium, was the next Superintendent. His successor, Dr. Thomas Anderson, died in 1870 from disease contracted when labouring to introduce the quinine-yielding Cinchonas into the Himalayas. This latter work-that is, the cultivation of the Cinchonas of the Andes-has been a great success. The Garden authorities, in connection with the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, made great and successful efforts to improve the quality of Indian cotton, and to push its sale and that of jute in the European markets. The united bodies also imported better kinds of sugar-cane from the West Indies, and thus improved the quality and the amount of the sugar-crop in India. The various Superintendents made from time to time experiments in the cultivation of plants and products of economic value, as, for instance, tapioca, india-rubber, sarsaparilla, aloes, cocoa, and many others. Many of the various kinds of exotics now grown in India have been introduced through the instrumentality of the Garden, and the authorities have shown to the inhabitants of India

the advantages of better systems of cultivation than they previously pursued.

[Sept. 20, 1883

During

Government Botanist of Perak, Father Scortechin. had been sent by Sir H. Low, came to the Garde November to study, so that he might arrange his co tions, but he died shortly after his arrival. year 8064 plants were received and 46,109 given of Dr. King concludes his Report by saying that 903 packets of seeds were received, and 2534 distrib acclimatized English potatoes have everywhere tun out badly the past season.

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THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

SECTION G.

MECHANICAL SCIENCE.

OPENING ADDRESS BY WILLIAM HENRY PREECE, F.RM.INST. C. E., &c., PRESIDENT OF THE SECTION. "CANST thou send lightnings, that they may go, unto thee, Here we are?" addressed to Job unknown centuries ago. were pregnant long swing in the pendulum of time. first recorded idea in history of the potentiality of electricty They express minister to the wants of mankind. From Job to Franklin's In the year 1864 the Garden was devastated by a terrible American philosopher brought down atmospheric electricity It was not until cyclone, and the few plants that escaped the general ruin his kite-string in 1747, and showed that we could lead it when were very much thinned by another cyclone which a few we willed, that we were able to answer the question address: years after burst over Calcutta. In fact, at the present to the ancient patriarch. Nearly another century elapsed ben moment there are in the Garden only a few trees, including been during this generation, and during the life of the Brits this mysterious power of Nature was fairly conquered. It the great banyan, which were there in 1867. When the Association, that electricity has been usefully employed; and shade of the trees was thus removed, the weed Imperata is because I have taken a subordinate position in inaugurating cylindrica spread rapidly over the whole Garden, and when Dr. King was appointed to be Superintendent of the developments of them the text of my address to this Section. nearly all of its practical applications, that I venture to make the Garden, in 1871, he found it in rather a sorry plight. By personal safety: they will not believe in mysteries, and the the assistance that the local authorities gave him he was People are singularly callous in matters affecting their out enabled to plant it afresh, to lay it out for landscape effect, to form ornamental ponds, and to build the Herbarium ridicule or condemn that which they do not understand. The Church itself set its face against Franklin's "impious" theories and conservatories. The most noticeable feature from and he was laughed to scorn by Europe's scientific sons; and a botanical stand-point is, of course, the Herbarium. On even now, though Commissions composed of the ablest men of Dr. Wallich dispersing in 1828 the splendid collection of France, and nearly every civilized nation, the public generally the land have sat and reported on Franklin's work in Englani, dried plants, the foundations of another were laid. Almost every botanical student in India has contributed to the remains not only ignorant of the use of lightning-conductors, present collection, and also many specimens have been certainly careless of their proper maintenance. I found in a but absolutely indifferent to their erection, and, if erected, sent from Europe. Of course it is above all an Indian Herbarium, but there are also good collections of plants stone, and in a neighbouring cathedral the conductor only a few church not very far from here the conducter leaded into a tombfrom Asia Minor, Persia, Japan, and South-Eastern Asia. In fact, in all but African and American plants it is a very inches in the ground, so that I could draw it out with my hand. representative collection. Although I called the attention of the proper authorities to the For the last fifty years there has been a constant exchange of specimens with Kew absolute danger of the state of affairs, they remained in the same condition for years. Gardens, and to Sir William Hooker, and Sir Joseph Hooker, and Mr. Thiselton Dyer, the Herbarium owes some of its choicest specimens. Exchanges have also been systematically made with the British Museum Herbarium, the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, the Imperial Gardens at Berlin and St. Petersburg, and with the institutions at Ceylon, Java, and Saharanpore, and many of the best-known botanists have been among the most active contributors.

During the past year the collection of dried plants has been largely increased, the most noteworthy additions being those collected by Dr. Aitchison with the Afghan Boundary Commission, and those by Dr. Giles during the Gilgit expedition, the latter having been sent from Kew. From Kew were also received many specimens of Singapore and Penang plants. Many plants from Central Asia were sent by the Director of the Imperial Garden at St. Petersburg, and a Natal collection was sent from Durban. Four hundred named species from Mexico, a large box of dried plants from New Guinea, a quantity of plants from Sikkim, trees from the Khasia Hills, specimens from the North-Western Himalayas, and from Southern India, were among the many collections presented to the Garden in the past year.

The

| nigh destroyed by lightning in 1764.
Wren's beautiful steeple in Fleet Street, St. Bride's, was well-
but so imperfectly that it was again struck.
A lightning-rod was fixed.
it was damaged because the conductor had been neglected, and
In July last (1887)
had lost its efficiency.

As long as points remain points, as long as conductors remain
conductors, as long as the rods make proper connection with the
earth, lightning protectors will protect: but if points are allowed
to be fused, or to corrode away; as long as bad joints or faulty
connections are allowed to remain; as long as bad earths, or no
earths exist, so long will protectors cease to protect, and they
will become absolute sources of danger. Lightning-conductors, if
Perly erected, duly maintained, and periodically inspected, are
maintained by the economical churchwarden, and never insp cte!
an absolute source of safety; but if erected by the village blacksmith,
steeple will convert the churchyard into a
at all, a loud report will some day be heard, and the beautiful
new geological

formation.

We have not yet acquired that mental confidence in the accuracy of the laws that guide our procedure in protecting buildings from the effects of atmospheric electrical discharges which characterizes most of the practical applications of electricity. Some of our cherished principles have only very experiments by rather fanciful speculation, and whose revolurecently received a rough shaking from the lips of Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R. S., who, however, has supported his brilliant tionary conclusions are scarcely the logical deduction from his

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