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(which have been so fully investigated by Dr. Sidney Martin, and described by him in the Goulstonian Lectures) elabo- rated by it, it may be proved that the poisonous products of the micro-organisms lose in part these toxic properties. For Iinstance, guinea-pigs were inoculated with the filtered bouillon from cultures of the bacillus of diphtheria, and all died in less than three days; whilst if from 4 to 8 per cent. ofantipyrin were added, the animals lived from five to twenty-four days, thus showing that although the drug did notrender the inoculation harmless, yet its toxicity was con-siderably diminished.

FOREIGN UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.

Berlin.-Dr. Kohler, of the Friederich Wilhelm’s Insti-

tute, for many years assistant in Professor von Bardleben’sclinic, has been granted the title of Professor.Dorpat -Professor Heinrich Unverricht has been offered

charge of the new hospital at Magdeburg.Freiburg.-Dr. Gastav Killian, privat.docent in Laryngo-

logy and Otology, has been appointed Extraordinary Pro-fessor. Dr. Wesener, of the Policlinic, has also been

appointed Extraordinary Professor of Medicine.

DEATHS OF EMINENT FOREIGN MEDICAL MEN.

THE deaths of the following distinguished members ofthe medical profession abroad have been announced :-Dr. Karl Fromman, Extraordinary Professor of Histologyin the University of Jena, whose chief work was on theStructure of the Ear and of the Central Nervous System,at the age of sixty-one. He resided for a time in Englandsome thirty years ago.-Dr. H. Girard, privat.docent inPhysiology in the University of Geneva.

SIR RICHARD QUAiN was entertained at dinner last weekat theGarrickClub by a select company, including Mr. DavidPlunket, Mr. Irving, Mr. Toole, Sir Charles Russell, Mr.Edward Lawson, Mr. J. Hare, Mr. Beerbohm Tree, Mr.Comyns Carr, Mr. Pinero, Mr. A, Levy, Mr. Clement Scott,Mr. F. H. Maclean, and Mr. C. W. Mathews. Mr. Hare pre-sented him, as a souvenir of their sincere regard, with twoantique silver bowls engraved with the names of the donors.

PROFESSOR GEORGE HARE PHILIPSON, M.A., M.D.,D.C.L., F.R. C.P., has been elected the representative of theUniversity of Durham on the General Council of MedicalEducation and Registration of the United Kingdom.

PROFESSOR CLIFFORD ALLBUTT, the Regius Professor ofPhysic in Cambridge University, proposes to give his in-

augural lecture on Tuesday, May 10th, at noon, in the newAnatomical Theatre.

___

THE inquiry into the question of fresh legislation on thesubject of habitual drunkenness is, we understand, to be adepartmental one.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY CONVERSAZIONE.

IT is meet that the Society which represents scienceshould hold its firsb annual conversazione a few days afterthe opening of the Royal Academy in the adjoining roomsat Burlington House. Just as the one exhibition marksthe progress made in art during the past year, so may theannual conversazione of the Royal Society be taken toindicate the advances made in science. Lord Kelvinreceived a number of Fellows and distinguished visitors atthe conversazione held on Wednesday last, and the varietyof subjects exhibited must have afforded interest to all grades

of scientific workers. Electricity attracted, perhaps-as it.has done in previous years-the lion’s share of interest. Thevery remarkable phenomena exhibited by electric eurrents.of high potential and extreme frequency recently investi-gated and ably demonstrated by M. Tesla formed the sub.ject of Professor Crookes’ beautiful demonstration. ProfessorCrookes, who is well known for his admirable researches ona related subject, explained that in these experiments thedischarges from a battery of Leyden jars are sent throughthe primary wire of an oil induction coil. The wavelengthof the jar radiation is 300 metres, the frequency of alterna-tion is 1,000,000 a second, and the electro-motive force,about 100,000 volts. Stream and brush discharge, luminousconducting wires, phosphorescence of air, oxygen, yttria,sulphide of calcium, diamonds, rubies, &c., were amongstthe most noteworthy phenomena of the secondary poles.Odd as it may seem, the physiological action of thehigh frequency current is feeble, although the shock of theforce in its initial condition would probably kill instantly.An electric chronograph, designed for recording the velocityof projectiles and small periods of time in physiologicalresearch, was the ingenious invention of the Rev. F. J.Smith. Professor Oliver Lodge strikingly illustratedlightning effects and multiple flashes by the passage ofsparks in and to water. A spark to water spreads out onthe surface in a crow-foot pattern, showing apparentlythat the surface layer is a feeble dielectric. A sparkunder water is short and very violent, treating thewater as a dielectric and producing concussion. Vacuumtubes without electrodes was the subject of Dr. Bottomley’s.exhibit. These tubes show all the beautiful phenomena ofstratification, and also the phenomena accompanying the"sensitive state," though they have no electrodes. Theyshow also the phenomena of molecular bombardment. Th&lecture room apparatus exhibited by Prcf assor Thorpe, anddescribed recently in THE LANCET, is intended to demon-strate the general phenomena of a dust explosion, and more,particularly coal dust, in explanation of the causes ofcolliery explosions. Touching the same subject, ProfessorClowes showed an ordinary miner’s safety.lamp, with supple-mental hydrogen flame, for detecting and measuring minuteproportions of firedamp or inflammable gas or vapour inair. An ordinary oil or benzoline safety-lamp is fed withhydrogen by a tube passing through the oil reservoir, andconnected when necessary by a flexible tube with a light,steel bottle containing compressed hydrogen. The hydrogen’becomes kindled by the lamp flame, which is then extin-guished by drawing down the wick. The hydrogen flame isadjusted to a standard height, and the amount of inflam-mable gas or vapour is estimated by the dimensions andappearance of the "cap" which is seen over the flame. Per-centages of firedamp varying from 0’25 to 3 could thus bedetected and estimated, and the luminous flame of the.lamp alone, when sufficiently reduced, serves to detect per-centages above 3 Specimens were shown by ProfessorChurch illustrating the occurrence and propsrties of turacin,the red pigment (containing 7 per cent. of copper) discoveredby the exhibitor in the wing feathers of certain plantaineaters or touracos. Dr. MacMunn exhibited the spectra ofthis interesting pigment. It is remarkable for its spectrumwhich closely resembles that of oxy-haemoglobin. Its de-rivatives have recently been found to give spectra closelyresembling these of the derivatives of hemoglobin. Thedemonstration of Mr. Frederic E. Ives of Philadelphia oncomposite heliochromy, a process of colour photography, waslistened to with intense interest. The effects on the screenwere very beautiful and wonderfully realistic, so that it wasdifficult to imagine that one wag looking art a photographat all. A geranium in bloom, in an ordinary flower-pot, anda little girl in a coloured frock surrounded by trees in funleaf, were particularly striking subjects, all the colours beingportrayed with remarkable faithfulness. Professor Boysshowed his photographs of flying bullets. The photographof an aluminium bullet from a magazine rifle and smokelesspowder, projected at the enormous velocity of 3000 ft. persecond, was the centre of interest. Chemists have longstruggled to produce certain gems artificially and with par-tial success ; but it has been left to Mr. W. Saville Kent, aFellow of the Linnnæan Society, to induce and to accelerate.the formation of pearl. He exhibited a pearl artificially pro-duced through an operation performed by the exhibitor onthe living animal.Space prevents us giving more than passing mention to-

many other exhibits of equal interest. Such were, for