British Association

Abstract

SUBJECTS FOR DISCUSSION AT THE CARDIFF MEETING. THE sectional programmes for the British Association meeting at Cardiff, August 24–28, are now taking shape, and some of the principal scientific subjects which will be discussed may be indicated. The Mathematical and Physical Section, under the presidency of Prof. A. S. Eddington, will be concerned with the Einstein theory, and will receive a paper on the shift of the Fraunhofer lines with reference to that theory. The Section will also discuss the examination of materials by X-rays, the origin of spectra, terrestrial magnetism, auroras, solar disturbance, and various phenomena of the upper atmosphere. The Geological Section will, as usual, pay attention to local geology, and will also, in joint session with the Sections of Zoology and Botany, discuss Mendelism and palæontology with reference to the Mendeliari interpretation of gradual changes, especially when new characters appear late in the individual life-cycle. The Zoological Section will also consider the need for the scientific investigation of the ocean and of fisheries—a subject in which not only the president of the Section (Prof. J. Stanley Gardiner), but also Dr. W. A. Herdman, president of the Association and professor of oceanography at Liverpool University, are leading authorities.