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THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

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THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. The business of this year's gathering of the associa- tion was formally opened at Nottingham on the 22nd of August by a meeting of the general committee; Professor Phillips in the chair. The proceedings were of a. routine character, and were not enlivened or in. terrupted by any discussion whatever. The usual re- ports were presented and adopted nem. cm. The report of the Kew committee quoted the con- clusions arrived at in the report of the recent royal commission on the operations of what may be termed the Government Weather Office; and they expressed their general concurrence in the proposals of the com- mission. While the collections of observations from the captains of ships is a function regarded as within the competence of the meteorological department of the Board of Trade, it is suggested that the digesting and tabulating of the observations would be better performed by a committee of the Royal Society or the British Association, and the Kew Observatory might be extended and made the meteorological centre to which all observations of value, by British observers, would be sent for discussion and reduction. On the presentation of the report of the Parliamen- tary Committee, Mr. James Heywood took the oppor- tunity of urging on its chairman (Lord Wrottesley) as a subject to which their attention might be directed, the recommendation made by a committee en scientific evidence in courts of Jaw. It is proposed to give the judge power to appoint an expert, who may sit by his side and advise him during the examination of scientific witnesses. The association, of which the present is the 36th I annual meeting, assembled at Nottingham for the first time this year. The real business of paper reading and discussing new views and discoveries and old bones of contention was on the 23rd fairly on, but to do justice to the many scenes and incidents of the various sections would require an ubiquity which the most active reporter could never hope to attain. Appended, how- 1 ever, are some of the more important proceedings:— Mapping of the Mocn. In Section A—" Mathematics and Physics"—the Mapping of the Mocn. In Section A—" Mathematics and Physics"—the '[ report of the Iiunar oB-i&e Mapping of the Moon was sread by Mr, Birt, who,"after alluding to the former report at Birmingham, proceeded to notice the work which had been done in the iotejA»»-—Jji ..—j- il»e first instance proposed to construct an outline map of the moon's surface, To inches in diameter, every I object entered on the register to be inserted in the map, and an outline map of that size was exhibited to the section at Birmingham; but in consequence of some remarks by the president on that occasion (Professor Phillips) it had been determined to construct an outline map of 100 inches in dia- meter, and Mr. Birt has now 30 superficial degrees of the moon's surface completed on that scale, and exhibited also an enlargement to the scale of 400 inches. In noticing the progress of this department the author laid stress upon the materials available, particularly well-determined positions of the first order and exist- ing photographs. Of the latter only one-that by Mr. Warren Delarue, in October, 1865, enlarged to 10 inches diameter—was accurately available, the time of its taking being so near that of mean iibration. In mapping on this scale Mr. Birt has commenced with the lower right quadrant of the visible moon.; but over this area there are only 23 points of the first order for triangulation, which have been inserted with the utmost care ana accuracy, tAle greatest error oemg oniy 8-lOjOOOth of the moon's semi-diameter. Amongst the forms issued by the committee last year was one (No. 2) for aiding in the formation of a catalogue or lanar objects by symbolising them so that by means of these signs each parallelogram of 5 degrees of lati- tude and five of longitude is distinguished by a special symbol. Every object discernible in the photograph of October 4 has been carefully measured and inserted in quadrant IV.; and still further, a drawing of the tints of the ground markings indicating the reflective power of the surface only was submitted to the meet- ing. This drawing permits of a useful comparison of the features of fuli moon with earlier or later phases. Among the results thus obtained by Mr. Birt we may note that two prominent rays of the familiar crater, Tycho, which are best seen at full moon, are found by their aspects under other phases to be ranges of high land, in some places much broken, and in other rising into rocky eminences. This illustrated another point of importance in the construction of these maps— namely, that many important pbjects are from the nature of the illumination, not distinguishable at full moon, and therefore can be only inserted in proper position on the maps by measuring on photographs taken at other phases or by personal observation. "Blue Mist" Supposed to Convey Cholera. Another paper. "On Electro-negative Foa', and more particularly the Dry Mist which occurred over London and its neighbourhood in Jane, 1861, and August, 1866, igave rise to some remarks by Mr Glaisher on the "blue mist," to which he has reeently drawn attention in connection with the late outbreak of cholera. He stated that when engaged in the investigation of the state of the atmosphere during the epidemic of 1854, when the blue mist was last recorded, he had found that where ozone existed freely in the air, and the test- papers were, changed brown there were healthy dis- tricts, and where the test papers were left unchanged in those districts the mortality was greatest. Although daring the past two years, in conseq^e^ce of the anti- cipations of the arrival of the epidemic, he had con- stantly watched for this peculiar mist, he had not seen it until very recently. He did not assign to it any connection with the actual development of cholera, indeed, where the "blue mist" was most intense ap- peared to be coincident with the most healthy, but there was a very remarkable coincidence in its appear- ance at the time of the late outbreak of disease, and certainly, as a mere physical phenomenon, it was well worthy of investigation. Ancient Britons. ] Mr. Jno. Crawford,F.R.S., contributed aninteresting paper on "Cassar's Account 0f Britain and its In- habitants in reference to Ethnology." Having ml- nutely described Csesar's account, and commented on it, he summed up the whole in the following words:- The conclusion to which we must, I think, cone, from the perusal of Csssar's account of such of the Britons as be saw, is that, although they were cer- tainly barbarians, they were very far from being savages. They were in possession of nearly all the domestic animals known to the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. They possessed tho art of mak- lag malleable iron, asd they mixed, smelted, and exported tin. They had a fixed money, altbough a I rnde one. In war they had an infantry, a cavalry, and chariots. There can be no doubt but that they possessed the art of manufacturing ppttery, and I thick it most probable that they had the art of weaving their wool into a coarse fabric and perhaps of dyeing those fabrics with woad. We may then safely pronounce our forefathers to have been a more advanced people than were the Mexicans and Peruvians when first seen by Europeons 1,600 after the time of Cassar. They encountered the first invaders of their country with far more courage and even military prowess than did the Mexicans the Spaniards, or did even the Hindus the Greeks and Macedonians of Alexander; but these last results were more an affair of race than of civilisa- tion. Such were the Britons Cseaar saw, and assuredly he saw no savages." An Ancient Jaw-bone. Mr. C. Carter Blake read a paper "On the Supposed Human Jaw from the Belgian Bone Cave." Mr. Blake was sent by the Anthropological Society of London to make an examination of this cave, which is in Namur, on the banks of the Lesse, in conjunction with M. Dapont, who had been commissioned by the Belgian Government to conduct moreextensiveinquiries on the same spot. This jaw, which is without ohin, and bears a remarkable resemblance to the ape species, was exhibited in the room, and excited a good deal of interest. It was found in undisturbed lehm, at 3t metres from the surface, along with a human ulna and a fragment of reindeer bone, which had apparently been bored by some sharp instrument. The paper led to some discussion, in the course of which the presi- dent expressed an opinion that the jaw was of great antiquity, and said it had many peculiarities which approximated to some of the ape species. The Study of Man. Q In Section D, department of Anthropology, Mr. M Alfred R. Wallace, the president, delivered a brief ad- s iress, congratulating the audience on being present at d ihe inauguration of a department devoted to the icience of man, remarking on the anomaly of this b loience not being separately represented at the British Association, although it occupied the attention )f two societies in the metropolis, and was of the lighest general interest, had now happily ceased. He ixplained that anthropology was a science which iontemplated man under all his varied aspeots- P 1,8 an animal, and as a moral and intellectual w )eing in his relations to the lower organisms, rE o his fellow-men, and to the universe. Anthro- w )ology sought to collect and systematise the facts and b ;he laws which had been brought to light by all those ?. tranches of study which directly or indirectly had nan for their object, but which had been pursued sepa- rately. They could, therefore, not afford to neglect i my facts relating to man, however trivial, unmeaning, ° jr distasteful some of them might appear. Custom, t superstition, or belief of savage or civilised life might ?uide us towards an explanation cf their origin in the common tendencies of the human mind. Each peculiarity of form, colour, or constitution might give as the clue to the affinities of an obscure race. The anthropologist must ever bear in mind that the object I af his study being man, nothing pertaining to the E 3haracteristics of man could be unworthy of kis j attention. 1 Sources of the Nile. 1 Sir Samuel W. Baker, who was loudly cheered on ? rising, delivered an address on the Abyssinian tribu- taries of the Nile. He commenced by stating that 1 from the earliest days the source of the Nile had been a mystery. The Emperor Nero sent two centurions, ] who penetrated to the marshes; on subsequent ex- ] ploration Cater got no further; and such was the state of information when he commenced his explora- tion. In the most ancient days a great desire was shown by the kings and priests of Egypt, and in later 1 days by Julius Caesar, to discover the sources of the Nile—a river which flowed_ through many hundreds of miles of parching deserts, and 1 which, though evaporated by_ the sun and gulped | down by the sand, still nourished Egypt, aud in- undated it. But explorers were invariably baffled; they could reach a certain point; but then they had to return, and there seemed to be some spell which sruarded the sources of the river. The wonderful in- ) sound of the noise the Arabs (by whom he was ac- I companied) rushed down to the river bed to 7 secure the heads of the hippopotami, but before they had time to secure them the men were nearly i up to their waist in deep water. By the following morning the river was almost bank full, and ? was from 20 to 30 feet deep, and about 500 yards wide. ? That fact weald exemplify better than any description which he could give. The extraordinary rainfall of Í Abyssinia poured down like a waterspout at the corn- J( mencement of the rainy season. That rainfall flooded all the rivers which were tributaries to the Nile, and c that sudden flood, pouring dawn the Nile, caused the ( inundation of Egypt. Alluding to his meeting Grant t and Speke at Gonorkoro, he said they were men of i whom England might well be proud. They had earned i a title, which he hoped would be undying, for they ( had done their best to keep up the reputation of Etig- land. Although unsupported by its Government, work- ing alone, and merely trusting to God, they had passed through that country, having left behind them a cha- racter which opened the way for him. He was satisfied withbavingdono his best, hewasconfident that he should not have succeeded so well as he had done if it had not been for the instruction of the map which was kindly given to him by Speke and Grant. He parted from them in the hope to meet again, and with a. promise that he would do his best, and in two years from that time he had succeeded, and had reached that great lake which some geographers would now hardly admit could be called the source of the Nile, because they considered a lake must be a reservoir for the affluents, which would 11 it urally be considered as the legal sources of thtl river. But when they spoke of "sources" they must be comparative, because every- thing connected with the Nile was on such a gigantic scale that they must call the least point the last point from which the great river issued a source," as they must also call the River Victoria, from which one grand branch of the Nile issued. He had carefully gone over Speke's ground, in order to verify his assertions, as Speke thought and said there might be some people in Eng- land who did not know much about the Thames and only a little about the Trent who would, nevertheless, sit down and contradict him about the Nile. He was happy to say that the public of England and France had now accepted as a fact that the Nile issued as the entire Nile from the Albert Lake; that it originated in the Victoria Nyanza as one branch. He had been very much gratified since his return with receptions, which he had never looked for, and that all the trials he had gone through had been appreciated not only by the public but by the Queen (cheers). He, however, could not but entertain a feeling of regret when he remembered that Speke, who led the way through Africa, had died without receiving any testimonial; but he felt sure that Speke's name would be proudly remembered by Englishmen when every title was forgotten. Sir Samuel resumed his seat amidst loud cheers. Sir R. Murchison moved a vote of thanks to Sir Samuel Baker and Lady Baker, eulogising the devotion of that lady in accompanying him in his travels. The vote was carried by acclamation. Dr. Beke read a paper on the possibility of diverting the waters of the Nile into the Red Sea. He quoted largely from the works of travellers to Abyssinia, and argued on the authority of their works that there were nataral facilities for diverting the Nile into the Red Sea. Sir Samuel Baker said he did not know if Dr. Beke spoke from personal experience. He certainly did. He believed, in an engineering point of view, anything was possible, but he denied that there were any natural facilities, and to divert the channel would be a. most gigantic undertaking. There were very clever persons in existence, no doubt; it had been said some of them could set the Thames on fire," and he believed that would be done long before the Nile and the Red Sea were joined (laughter). Dr. Beke said he did not speak from personal obser- vation, but from the maps and writings of those who had travelled in the country, and who went round the mountain between the Gash, a tributary of the Nile, and the Red Sea, whereas Sir Samuel Baker travelled over the mountain. Sir Samuel Baker: I will only say I went to the top of the mountain, and therefore could see farthest. I leave you to say who was right, the man at the top or the man at the bottom (laughter). Biology. On the sitting of the sections on Friday, the biologists at the People's Callege assembled attracted a larger meeting than could be contained within their room. The address of Professor Huxley, the pre- sident, was expested to be not only interesting in itself, but to give rise to some discussion on the ever- fresh Darwinian theory. Mr. Huxley pomtea out that through millions of ages there had been living things exhibiting the same properties as were exhibited now. It was true there had been in the long succession since then a vast difference of form, through which they could go back and back until they could reaoh no farther, and the thread was lost. still through all these differences of form, the kind of knowledge had remained the same. As biologists, they were con. cerned with nothing but the observation and classifica- tion of form; they were not concerned with eauees; they were not concerned with forces. Still these things were at the bottom of the question, because on examining a group the thought must occur to them, What is the cause of all thi- ? How is it that living matter came into existence at all ? Wnatever opinion, therefore, men might have as to the Darwinian theory, no thinking man could doubt that the name Ðf Darwin would go down as that of one who bad endeavoured to elucidate this great question (applause). As a neces- sary preliminary to the studies of zaology and botany, which were now classified under the name of bielogy, an acquaintance with unliving things, and with physics and chemistry, was essential; anduf, instead of the students in our schools being taught to know with exactness what other people thought long ago, they were taught something about what they had to deal with at present, a few narrow-minded people, of whom he confessed be was one, ventured to think the system of education would be more beneficial. In the discussion which ensued, Professors Humphry and Wallace, Dr. Bennett, and Sir John Lubbock took part, but no controversy arose. Life in Arabia. In the Geographical section there were not fewer than a thousand members to hear Mr. Palgrave a paper on Arabia. He commenced by observing that, whatever might be the ignorance of Europeans with regard to Arabia, the Arabian's knowledge of Earope was still more limited, the general belief in Damascus aeing that Europe was governed by seven kings, who ill lived in one city. Dividing the country into Northern, Central, and Southern Arabia, and sepa- ra.ting the people into smokers and non-smokers, Mr. Palgrave proceeded to give numerous amusing and curious anecdotes and descriptive sketches of his travels and adventures. Being in one town seized and sentenced to death, he contrived to escape at the time when all the inhabitants, and the guards as well, were at tha mosques at prayers, which, fortunately for the distinguished prisoner, were rather lengthy. He ran out through the gates of the town, which were left open, and was able to conceal himself behind some sandbanks until he could get to a place of greater safety. The penalty for non-attendance at prayers by any inhabitant was a process called purifying hia hide," the meaning of which might be easily imagined where there were palmsticks and skins ready to receive them (laughter). This was among the Waha. bees, where Mr. Palgrave, though not a medical man, found it convenient to practise as a doctor, and that with some success. Before leaviD^ a Datients alwavs paid him, either all they owed or as much m they had-a kind of honesty, said tbe speaker, not always found in Europe. He had houses, servants, and domestic felicity offered him by the king but as by marriage he would have been bound to remain in the country all his life, he was obliged to decline to accept two wives. In Central Arabia he rooe^five or Bix days, fifteen or sixteen hours a day, on awift camels, without finding a drop of water or a single blade of grass-a country which showed utter hopelessness of ever being reduced to the service of man for any purpose whatever..

INSURRECTION IN SIBERIA :…

-,--..., FEARFUL ACCIDENT…

AUTISTIC ROBBERY OF SILVER…

lTHE NURSE AND HER PATIENT.

EXECUTION AT MANCHESTER.

LANDLORDS, TENANTS, AND RATS.