Sot Peat wanibedbieinuan el iy aseamee Lee oe = ' ‘ “ a dieee math fveegh ait ot tneaidaaiteaied ater ee ee eee ee F hs ie Seen 5 Pirentes MO HW > ine Se a Medotsmat nan ieiawee ‘ sanibel : Spina 403 i re rihanna “ Apahap: : Mp enediartrsi ae paeh-acrsenerintcenion hen mee ie PONENT hel ore See Ya! 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OA Set Belg ROOD, E Sette Dede pe af, wrists Pats ye: theta - yt orem oP gn Bt ero tn IT » ~ Pek. i ele Fe © 9, Me gh trier ages ed 1. cipidnceneniete maeiiaiins aiid aaeil cele ee eee eet a eet a fanny - a sin te ‘ete Petite Beoed = - hs-aheap-ap-tae a ke * Agen ar, >. : Reta Pa als Goera™, A --e ee 4 nanelietiale eS, line tego > teria ane viet paging, Pa ep ciapliudes 6 en Adie ane marae ee te Ble ey et Papel! “whee rt ee A eet me i Pre teat Stat haeerten \atp-l gana ihing deltnaglie tetas iete eee a ime ol ya Rietiad “re OTF FT tet a oe Pol rem ee POS Wr Ae Ta, * FP PRM COC A le te wh et LEM Be Lal otter o 8S elegy My yg nF OS De EP GD Lot Portege 8 Yt etn gh gs Ten Deen Pte hr teal SE Hs ey Aa gts Met om 5 Oe ae a 10D agen ae ee ee . ft - ee ne ee ee P bP ADR hI OB we f cop Yerrea nee 7 4 ss On teled s Oe we i | Se ~ wet en. ol te . . s/s . Pi A mts WHE Lede aN CE i f bsg I at VOLUME CIX JANUARY, 1922, to JUNE, 1922 -~AND CQ; LitmitTep 1d Nib yj, \ Ld ium Carbide and the Board of Trade, e w Observations on the Variability of the ¥ The Rat and its Repression, 744 _R. Planiol, An- Astronomical Chrono- ‘oxic Index of Illuminating Apparatus, at ratus, and of Explosion Motors, 631 . E.), The Helmholtz Theory of Hearing, The Properties and Molecular Structure of s, Parts 2 and 3, 762 E.), elected president of the New Zealand al Society, 52 The ianefacture of White Glass in a 793 eee Mechanism of Cold-wekle! and cvecice in Fropical Media: 611 ), awarded the Gold Medal of the Association, 317; elected honorary of the American Academy of Arts and eek Medicine in Rome: The Fitz- on the History of Medicine delivered ze of Physicians of London in 1909- st Historical Essays, 438 1e er of the Penny, 724 tin (A.), The Lignites of Cap-Bon, Tunis, 94 here did Terrestrial Life Begin ? 207 Sons, age The Seo gme of, I 51 Sculpture Ice, émoires out Pilectromagnétisme et ) co-operation with the De ent 1etism of the Carnegie Institution of ee. A new Plesiosaur from the Weald vick - Sagiia 361 R and Straw Crosses, 529 Saatencons Ignition of Peaty Soils, 17 n Electric Wave Detector, 397 he ag gem and Morphology of the 7 BY, and T. P. Hilditch, A Study of at Solid Surfaces, vii., 93 E.). The Indigo Situation in te > e of f Stone _— in sae Berth INDEX. NAME INDEX. Aspinall (Sir John), Some Post-War Problems of Transport “ James Forrest ”’ Lecture), 695 Aston (Dr. F. W.), Isotopes, 736 ; The Isotopes of Tin, 813 Atholstan (Lord), offer of a prize for the discovery ‘of a oe. for Cancer, 147; gift for research work in Cancer, nee (e), The Attack of Glucose and Levulose by the Pyocyanic Bacillus, 63 Auden (Dr. H. oe Sulphur and Sulphur Derivatives, 235 Aurousseau (M.), The Distribution of Population, 23 Babcock (E. E.), and J. L. Collins, 30 Babcock (W. H.), Legendary Islands of the Atlantic: A Study in Medieval. Geography, 803 Bacon (Prof. F.), The College-trained Engineer, 722 Bacot (A. 8 [death], 525; [obituary article], 618 Bahl (Dr. N.), Enteronephric Excretory Organs in ; cae. 529 Baillie (W. L.), Zulkowski’s Theory of the Relation between the Composition and Durability of Glass, 157 Baird and Tatlock, Ltd., Catalogue of Physiological Apparatus, 528 Bairstow (Prof, L.), Aeroplane Crashes: The “‘ Hole in the Air,” the Spin, 612 Baker (C.), A New Science Microscope, 562 Baker (F. C. S.), The Game-Birds of India, 2 vols., 606 Baker (G. F.), ift for the Endowment of the M etropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 789 Baker (Instr.-Comdr. T. Y.), Atmospheric Refraction, 8, 105, 550 Baldit (A.), Etudes élémentaires de météorologie pratique, Balfour (Sir Arthur), conferment of an Earldom upon, 526 Balfour (H.), Earth Smoking-Pipes, 691; Native Life in the Highlands of Assam, 539; The ‘Archer’s Bow in the Homeric Poems (Huxley Memorial Lecture), 91 ; presented with the Huxley Memorial Medal, 92 Balfour (Sir I. Bayley), retirement of, 526 Ball (Dr. J.), Atmospheric Refraction, 8, 444 Ball (W. W. Rouse), Offer to constitute a Trust Fund for - occasional Mathematical Lectures, 697 Ballard (Prof. C. W.), The Elements of Vegetable Histology, Balliol (The Master of), The relationship of History and Science, 56 Balls (Dr. W. L.), Apparatus for Determining the Standard Deviation Mechanically, 534; Further Observations on Cell-wall Structure as seen in Cotton Hairs, 499 ; The Advantages and Disadvantages of Team Work in Economic Biology, 534 ; and others, The Quantitative Analysis of Plant Growth, 189 Baly (Prof. E. C. C.), Photosynthesis, 344; Prof. Heilbron and Mr. Barker, re Synthesis of Formaldehyde and Carbohydrates, I Banerji (Prof. S. K.), the Depth of Earthquake Focus, 108 Banta (Dr. A. M.), Selection Experiments with Cladocera, 187 Balen. (Dr. E.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, Barker (Mt), T The Use of very Small Pitot Tubes for Measur- ing Wind Velocity, 698 iv Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Barker (W. H.), appointed Reader in Geography in Man- chester University, 155; Medieval Cartography, 803 Barlot (J.), and Mile. M. T. Brenet, The Determination of Fatty Acids by the Formation of Complex Com- pounds with Uranyl and Sodium, 127 __. Barnard (Prof. E. E.), The Naming of the Minor Planet No. 907, Barnardiana, 176 Barnjum (F. J. D.), Offer ofa Prize fora Practical Method of Combating and Suppressing the Spruce Bud Worm, 689 Barr and Stroud, Ltd., a New Internal-combustion Engine, 120 Barratt (S.), appointed Assistant Lecturer and Demon- strator in Chemistry in Leeds University, 697 Barrowcliff (M.), and F. H. Carr, Organic Medicinal Chemicals (Synthetic and Natural), 37 Bartlett (F. C.), appointed Reader in Experimental Psy- chology and Director of the Psychological Laboratory in Cambridge University, 828 Barton (E. C.), Snow Furrows and Ripples, 374 Baskerville (Dr. C.), [obituary], 315 Bateman (H.), The Numerical Solution of Integra] Equa- tions, 224 Bateson (Dr. W.), elected a Trustee of the British Museum, 655; Evolutionary Faith and Modern Doubts, 356, 553; and Miss Gairdner, and others, Gametic and Zygotic Sterility, 391 Bather (Dr. F. A.), Morphological Aberration, 640 du Baty (Capt. R. R.), New Surveys in Kerguelen, 319 Baudouin (M.), The Prehistoric Material Representation of the Pleiades with the Stars in a Rock Basin in Epesses (Vendée), 362 Bauer (E.), ‘‘La Théorie de Bohr, la constitution de l’atome et la classification périodique des éléments,” 591 Baxendell (J.), Meteorological Observations at Southport, Bayeux (R.), Maximum Respiration at very High Altitudes, 6 31 Bayliss (Prof. W. M.), British Scientific Instruments, 106; The Hormone Theory of Heredity, 35 Beale (Sir W. Phipson), [obituary article], 589; Bequests to the Royal Institution and the Mineralogical Society, 724 Beccari (the late Prof. O.), and Prof. J. Rock, The Geo- graphical Distribution of the Palm Pritchardia, 392 Beck (C.), Requirements to be met in Microscope Ilumina- tion, 657 Beck, Ltd. (R. and J.), Standard London Petrological Microscope, 58 Beckett (T. A.), and F. E. Robinson, Plane Geometry for Schools. Part I, 737 Becquerel (Prof. J.), La Principe de relativité et la théorie de la gravitation, 770 Behrend (B. A.), The Induction Motor and other Alternat- ing Current Motors. Second edition, 545 Beilby (Sir George), Aggregation and Flow of Solids: Being the Records of an Experimental Study of the Microstructure and Physical Properties of Solids in Various States of Aggregation, 1900-1921, 262 Belin (E.), The Telegraphic Transmission of Photographs, Drawings, or Manuscripts, 463, 687 Bell (W. B.), Damage done by Rodents in North America, Ke BF Belot 4E.), The Periodicity and the Movement of the Sunspots in Latitude explained by the Pulsation of the Nucleus, 226 Belz (M. H.), The Measurement of Magnetic Suscepti- bilities at High Frequencies, 398 Bemmelen (Dr. W. van), The Antitrades, 172 Bénard (Prof. H.), Improvement of Visibility of Distant Objects, 412 Benedicks (C.), The Homogeneous Electro-thermic Effect (Including the Thomson Effect as a Special Case), 608 Benedict (F. G.), M. F. Hendry, and M. L. Baker, The Basal Metabolism of Girls Twelve to Seventeen Years of Age, 158 Bengough (G. D.), The Corrosion and Protection of Condenser Tubes, 396 Benham (C. E.), Liquid Inclusions in Glass, 456 Benham (Dr. W. B.), Polycheta, 604 Benoit (J.), The Physiological Conditions Relating to the Periodic Nuptial Adornment in Birds, 463 Benoit (Dr. J. René), [obituary article], 820 Berger (E.), The Reduction of Oxides by Hydrogen, 799 Berman (Dr. T); The Glands Regulating Personality : A Study of the Glands of Internal Secretion in Relation to the Types of Human Nature, 670 Berry (Prof. R. A.), The Production and Utilisation of Whey, 25 Berthelot (A.), and Mme. St. Danysz-Michel, The Presence of Acetone-producing Micro-organisms in the Intestinal - Flora of Diabetes, 764 Bertrand (G.), M. Freundler, and Mlle. Ménager, The Variations in the Chemical Composition of Sea-water and the Evaluation of Salinity, 732 : Betts (Annie D.), Age Incidence of Influenza, 240; The Spiracular Muscles of Hymenoptera Aculeata, 813 Bevan (E.), Hellenism and Christianity, 409 Beveridge (Sir William), Cycles in the Yield of Crops, 261 ; Weather and Harvest Cycles, 627 Bews (Prof. J. W.), An Introduction to the Flora of Natal and Zululand, 510 Bidder (Dr. G. P.), Conditional Offer to the Stazione Zoologica at Naples for the sending of a Research Student, 697 : Biddulph-Smith (T.), Coke-oven and By-product Works Chemistry, Bigot (A.), Kaolins, Clays, Bauxites, etc., 731 Bilham (E. G.), A Problem in Economics, 341 Bilt (J. van der), The Stellar Magnitude of the Ringless ; Saturn, 352 Bishop (C. W.), The Tomb cf Confucius, 319 Bishopp and Laake, The Dispersion of Flies by Flight, 561 Bispham (J. W.), appointed Principal of the Borough Polytechnic Institute, 665 Black (F. A.), Ratios of Planetary Distances, 422 Blackmann (Dr. A. M.), Naturalistic Art in Egypt, 319 Blair (K. G.), Carpophilus ligneus, Murray, 726 Blaise (E. E.), and Mlle. Montagne, The Action of Thionyl Chloride on the a-acid Alcohols, 700 Blakely (W. F.), The Loranthacez of Australia. Part 1, 832 Blanc (Prof. M. le), translated from the fourth enlar. German edition by Dr. W. R. Whitney and Dr. J. W. Brown, A Text-book of Electro-chemistry, 100 ; Blandy (Lt.-Col. L. F.), The Use of Light as an Aid to Aerial Navigation, 286 : Blaringhem (L.), Abnormal Heredity of the Colour of the — Embryos of a Variety of Pea, Pisum sativum, Bledisloe (Lord), Wheat as the Basis of Britain’s Food- — supply in Time of War, 25 Boas (Dr. F.), Indian Fishing Tribes in Vancouver’s — Island, 423 Boelter (W.), The Rat Problem, 659 Bogitch (B.), The Expansions of some Refractory Materials — at High Temperatures, 29 Bohn (Prof. G.), La Forme et le mouvement : dynamique de la vie, 675 Bohr (Prof. N.), The Difference between Series Spectra of Isotopes, 745 Bolingbroke (L. G.), offer of the Strangers’ Hall, Norwich, etc., to the Corporation of Norwich, 84 Bolton (L.), An Introduction to the Theory of Relativity, | 5 “ Miiscna (L. C. W.), Phenological Observations, 373 ; The Theory of the South-west Monsoon, 109 Bond (Dr. C. J.), The Free-flowering of: the Hawthorn, 823 Bond (W. N.), Viscosity Determination by Means of Orifices and Short Tubes, 462 Bone (Prof. W. A.), A. R. Pearson, E. Sinkinson, and W. E. Stockings, Researches on the Chemistry of Coal. Part 2, 156 Bonnet (E.), The Action of Soluble Salts of Lead on Plants, 327 Bonney (Rev. Canon T. G.), Memories of a Long Life, 607 Booth (A. L.), The Microstructure of Coal from an Industrial Standpoint, 290 Boothby (Dr. W. M.), and Dr. Irene Sandiford, Laboratory Manual of the Technic of Basal Metabolic Rate Determinations, 514 $ Bordet (Prof. J.), elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy, 487 3 essai de Index ’ ; ye Periodical Phenomena in the Tempera- nections of certain Properties of the Metals, 613 r. L. A.), The Mouth-parts of the Shore Crab, us menas, 534 Problemi di filosofia botanica, 547 (Pxof.. R C.), The First European Civilisation, :) The J Ascent of Sap, 561 H.), Research Degrees and the ' ot Fostos 373; The Separation of the tituents of Sedimentary Rocks, 496 eed {obituary article], 212 B.), [death], 419; [obituary article], S), [obituary article], 653 Municipal Engineering, 135 C.), Tribal Name of the Ramnidez, 108 eA aaaed carried out on Mont Blanc, Vibrations of Vehicles, 251 > Climate of the Netherland Indies, 594 97 and A. V. Hill, The Velocity of the , [obituary ‘article], 557 sims of anatomy in Birming- “a appreciation of Natur, 350; nikov) and Russian Science in 1883, in Bohemia, 625; Transcription of a The Degeneration in Anthers of Effect of Long - continued of Grassland, 25 . Grysez, The Reactions of Defence and t voked by the Intradermic Injection either Living or Killed by Heat, 764 ey Machine and the Hammonds- nce of a iGicocide giving Rise to an Oil in the Stems and Roots of Sedum tele- 8; and Mlle. Marie Braecke, The Presence * akwenbine i in the Seeds of Melam- imental Researches on Vegetable Shatley's Ac Parts 15 and 16, 730 Aeronautical Engineering. m, 808; entary Pure Ma tics, r’ Commercial Arithmetic and Accounts, of otagg in Commerce and Industry, , 706; The Fourth Dimension, Principles of the Aeroplane, 296 ; ayia s collected in Mesopotamia by W. E. Evans, 398 Geology and the History of London, ), and Dr. G. Hevesy, The. Atomic y from Different Sources, eo rental Science. I. Bens , The Effects of Competition on. Brown (T. A.), awarded a Rayleigh prize at Cambridge University, 360 Brown (Dr. W.), and Prof. G. H. Thomson, The Essentials of Mental Measurement, 472 Brown (W. G.), The Faraday- -tube Theory of Electro- magnetism and other Notes, 225 Browne (Edith A.), Cocoa, 269 Browne (Prof. E. G.), Arabian Medicine: Being the FitzPatrick Lectures delivered at the College of oe (means in November 1919 and November 1920, 438 Browne (Rt. Rev. Dr. G. F.), On Some Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire, 265 Browning (Prof. C. H.), Synthetic Dyes as Antiseptics and Chemotherapeutic Agents, 750 Brownlee (Dr. J.), An Inquiry into the Population of the British Isles, 92; Use of Death-rates as a Measure of Hygienic Conditions, 389 Bruce-Low (Dr. R.), [obituary article], 721 Brues (Prof. C. T.), Insects and Human Welfare, 710 Bruijning (Dr. F. F.), The Sacred’ Herakleopolite Nome Tree, 756 Bryan (Prof. G. H.), Principles and Problems of Aero- nautics, 296 Bryce (Lord), [obituary article], 113 Buchner (Prof. P.), Tier und Pflanze in intrazellularer Symbiose, 538, 576 — Bull (A. J.), A Non-polarising Spectrophotometer, 430 Bull (L.), An Apparatus for the Rapid Dissociation of Images in Kinematography by the Electric Spark, 631 Buller (Prof, A. H. R.), The Shooting of the Spore-case of Pilobolus, 155 — Burkill (J. C.), righ nye the Allen scholarship in Cambridge University, 3 Burkitt (M. C.), *Brehistory : A Study of Early Cultures in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, 167; Col. W. Verner, 213 Burnet (E.), A New Method of Diagnosis of Mediterranean Fever, 259 Burns (Dr. D.), An Introduction to Biophysics, 704 Burt (Dr. C.), Cv Delinquency, 250 Burton (Prof. E. F.), The Physical Properties of se ser Solutions. Second edition, 39 Burton (W.), Early Chinese Pottery, 795 s Bush (Dr. H. J.), Electrical Precipitation in Industry, 388 Butcher (R. W.), and Dr. G. ¥ Druce, Till@a aquatica found at Adel, near Leeds, Butler (Prof. A. S), culanation ok the chair of Natural Philosophy in St. Andrews University, 828 Butler (G. W.), Age Incidence of Influenza, 342 Buxton (Earl), The Ways and Methods of the Modern Egg-collector, 623 Cadell (H. M.), The Geology of the Blackness District, 62 Cajori (Prof. ‘), Pricked Letters and Ultimate Ratios, 477 Callendar (Prof. H. L.), Abridged Callendar Steam Tables, Centigrade Units: Fahrenheit Units: Callendar Steam Diagram, Centigrade Units: Fahrenheit Units, Campbell (Prof. W. W.), elected President of the Inter- national Astronomical Union, 727 Capitan Spee Mr. Reid Moir’s Discoveries of “vorked lints, I Carleman (T)> and Prof. G. H. Hardy, Fourier’s Series and Analytic Functions, 290 Carlisle (Rosalind, Countess of), Bequest to Girton College, Cambridge, 53? Carpenter (Prof. G. H.), Insect Transformation, 673 Carpenter (T. M.), Tables, Factors, and Formulas fot Com- puting Respiratory Exchange and Biological Trans- formations of Energy, 475 Carr Se H. Wildon), The Subjectivity of Psychology, Caren (J. A.), elected to an Isaac Newton Studentship in Cambridge University, 360 Carruthers (D.), New Surveys in Arabia, 756 Carruthers (Dr. W.), [obituary article], 787 Carslaw (Prof. H. S.), Introduction to the Theory of vi Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Fourier’s Series and Integrals and the Mathematical Theory of the Conduction of Heat. Second edition. Vol. 1, Fourier’s Series and Integrals, 435 Cartailhac (Dr. E.), [obituary article], rid Carter (Sir George), [obituary article], 3 Carter Ne S.), elected to a Research Siddentahin at Naples, 828 Carter (H. G.), appointed Curator of the Herbarium, Cam- bridge University, 565 Carter (H. J.), en ge eg Coleoptera : Species. No. II., 832 Carus-Wilson (C.), The Weathering of Mortar, 478 Casanowicz (I. M.), Catalogue of Collection of Buddhist Art in the U.S. National Museum, 53 Cash (J.), and G. H. Wailes. Assisted by J. Hopkinson. The Seems Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa. Notes and New Vol. Cashinons. (N), Fermat’s Last Theorem: Proofs by Ele- ee Algebra. ‘Third edition, 39 Cassal (Col. C. E.), fobeenery | 83 Catalan .(M. A), Series and other Regularities in the Spectrum of Manganese, 461 eee (Prof. E. P.), and others, Heavy Muscular Work, Goitiery ee) M.), Le Parasitisme et la Symbiose, 643 Cave (C. J. P.), Elementary Meteorology, 440 Cave (F. E.), The Organisation of Knowledge, 716 Cawston (F. G.), The Differentiation of closely - allied Schistosomes, 599 Cecil (Lord Robert), Geography and Peace, 91 Chamberlain (J. F.), Geography: Physical, Economic, Regional, 102 econ ye C.), Study of Fundamental Problems of Geology, 594 Chaatbers ole R. W.), appointed Quain Professor of English Language and. Literature at University College, London, 728 ee - de), Exploitation du pétrole par puits et galeries, 443 Chamot (Prof E. M.), Elementary Chemical Microscopy. Second edition, 546 Champy (Prof.), and H. M. Carleton, The Shape of the Nucleus and the various Mechanical Causes, 22 Chandler (Miss M. E. J), The Geological History of the genus Stratiotes, 598 Chandler (Dr. S. E.), and others, The Brown Bast Disease of the Para Rubber-Tree, 357 Chapas (M.), The Solubility of the Isomeric Toluic Acids in the three Xylenes, 399 Chapin (Dr. H. E.), [obituary article], 558 Chapman (A. Chaston), The Profession of Chemistry, 322 Chapman (Prof. S.), Certain Integrals occurring in the Kinetic Theory of Gases, 258; and Miss E. Falshaw, The Lunar Atmospheric Tide at Aberdeen, 1869-1910, 599 Chapman (Dr. T. A.), [obituary article], 50 Chapple (H. J. B.), appointed Lecturer in Electrical En- gineering at the Bradford Technical College, 664 Chappuis (J.), and M. Hubert-Desprez, Electrolysis by Stray Currents, 29 Charcot (J. B.), The Temperatures at Different Depths in the Chasm of Cap Breton, 731 Charpy (G.), and L. Grenet, The Penetration of Tempering in Steel, 763 Charriou (A. ), The Lime carried down by Ferric Hydroxide ise 30 Chatelier (H. le), Manufacture of Soda with Ammonia, 566 Chatley (Prof. H.), A Text-book of Aeronautical Engineer- ing: The Problem of Flight. Third edition, 808; The Molecular Forces involved in Cohesion, 731 Chattock (Prof. A. P.), Globular Lightning Discharge, 106 Chaudron (G.), and G. Juge-Boirard, The Estimation of Sulphur in Iron Pyrites, 463 Chazy (J.), The Astronomical Verifications of the Theory of Relativity, 6 Cheplin (H. A.), ae a. F. Rettger, The Transformation of the Intestinal Flora, VI. Feeding Experiments on Man, 31 Chevenard (P.), The Expansion of Chromium and the Chrome-Nickel Alloys over a wide Temperature In- terval, 127 Chéveneau (C.), An Optical Method for the Determination of the Reciprocal Solubility of Slightly Miscible Liquids, 535 Chofardet (P.), Observations of Skjellerup’s Comet, 799 Chree (Dr. C.), British (‘‘ Terra Nova ’”’) Antarctic Ex- pedition, 1910-1913; 117; Photographic Studies of Heights of Aurora, 47; The 27-Day Period (Interval) in Terrestrial Magnet- ism, 698 Christie (Sit William) [death], 116 ; [obituary article], 145 Christmas (W. D.), Rainfall and Drainage at Rothamsted in 1921, 107 vhnstot (Lt.-Col.), The Leishmania donovani parasite of Kala-azar, 688 Church hor a A. G.), Safeguarding of Industries Act, 1921, Ciamician iP eof G.), [obituary article], 245 Clapp (C. H.), Mixed Products of Granitic Intrusion, 187 Clark (Dr. A. H.), Sea-lilies and Feather-stars, 531; The Echinoderms as Aberrant Arthropods, 640 Clark (J. E.), Flowering Dates of Trees along Main ae Railway Routes, 210 Clarke J. M.), Organic Dependence and Disease : Thar ‘Origin and Significance, 708 Claude (G.), Burst Tubes in the Claude Process, 219; The Claude Ammonia Process, 424 Clausius (R. J. E.), The Centenary of, 85 Clayton (Dr. G. C.), The Effect of the War on the heavy Chemical Industry, 24 Cleghorn (W. S. H.), re Study i in Charcoal, 599 Clerc (M.), Increasing the Sensitiveness of Photographic Plates, 726 Clerk (Sir Dugald), awatded the Albert Medal of the Royal ie of Arts, 823 Cobb (Dr. H. H.), Classification of Nematodes, 353 Cobb (Prof. J. W.), Carbon Monoxide in Gas, 355 Coblentz (Dr. W. W.), Effective Temperatures of Stars, 60 500 Cockerell (Prof. T. D. A.), A Fossil Buttercup, 42; Fossils in Burmese Amber, 713 ; Land Snails of the ‘Madeira Islands, 446; The Name of the Gid Parasite, 310 Cohen (Prof. J. B.), Prof. C. H. Browning, R. Gaunt, and R. Gulbransen, Relationships between Antiseptic Action and Chemical Constitution, 255 4 Colchester (G. V.), appointed Geologist on the Geological Survey of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, 216 Coleman (Prof. A. P.), Geology and the Nebular Theory, 775 ;. Labrador and New Quebec, 353 Colin (1), and Mile. A. Chaudun, The Law of Action of Sucrase, 194. Collenette (A.), [obituary article], 7 Colquhoun (Dr. D.), The Pitcairn ielanders, I50 Combes (R.), The Detection of the Pseudo-bases of An- i thocyanidines in Plant Tissues, 94; The Formation © of Anthocyanic Pigments, 194 Comey (Dr. A. M.), and.Prof. Dorothy A. Hahn, A Diction- ary of Chemical Solubilities. Inorganic. Second edition, 505 ; Conrad (Dr. W.), Trichocysts in Reckertia sagittifera,n.g., N.sp., 22598 Conrady (Prof. A. E.), A Study of the Balance, 289 Cooper (P. A.), Oscillation Circuits for the Determination — of Di-electric Constants at Radio Frequencies, 814 Corbett (Sir J. S.), History of the Great War, based on Official Documents: Naval Operations. Vol. 2, 135 Cornish (Dr. Vaughan), Snow Furrows and Ripples, 374 | Cortie (Father A. L.), Terrestrial Magnetic Disturbances and Sun-spots, 44 Coséns (C. R. G.), and Dr. H. Hartridge, The Resonance Hypothesis of Audition, 11 Costantin (J.), The Maltese Cross shown by Wood that has undergone Traumatisms, 799 Coster v7 ), The L series of the X-ray Spectrum, 258 Cotter (J. R.), Pythagoras’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern, 579 Cotterill (Prof. 4 H.), [death], 84 ; [obituary article], 11 5 Cotton aN D.), appointed _ Keeper of the Herbarium and Library, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 384 Cotton (C. W. E.), Handbook of Commercial Information for India, 809 -Terrestrial Magnetism, 508; © elected President of the Royal Meteorological Society, ee a. ee Index Vii ) A First Book of Chemistry for Students Technical Schools, 774 Technique des pétroles, 548 eg Barovariometers with Capillary Flow, |, The Chemistry of the Garden: A Primer eurs and Young Gardeners. Revised : ry elected President of the Manchester d Philosophical Society, 590 _ E.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Prof. ee L. Dake, and Prof. G. A. Muilen- ¢. The School ape (Matriculation ” sixth Impression (Second edition), 737 , Nerve ate 744 H. Drew, and J. C. Mottram, Blood- B), appointed Assistant Lecturer in echnolo gy), in Manchester = . $.), Man and his Past, 302 nC: , The New Physics, 39 Sex-Reversal in Frogs and Toads, 218 od pene 567 Dr. A. C. D.), International Astronomical 7; Th Centenary of the Royal Astronomical Treatment of Surra in Camels, 320 d Dr. J. W. French, Suggested Use of : Astronomical Mirrors, 185 olutionary Faith and Modern Doubts, . oo B. 1 Schonland, The Scattering Hormones and Heredity. A Discus- ion of Adaptations and the Evolu- ; Some Problems in Evolution, 41, ‘Adaptations, 775; The Hormone 343 “Early Iron-Age Village near Dr. W A), ‘Fauna of African Lakes, 28 C a Free Associate Member of the 183 ‘of the Red and Infra Red rays on scent Sulphides, 362 umnar Sirectute | in Sandstone Blocks, 763 : aay , 713; Neon Lamps, 343; The C “Band Spectrum of Helium, 326 as ), Shallow-water Foraminifera of the \ 'R } id others, The Relation of Tests for ciency of the Kidney, etc., 122 [i ecunatle article}, 315 Eaitiecan Fauna of Amen 282 Some Measurements of the Stresses e Surfaces of Glass by Ci with ’ Bec scope by Wind at Lian- iA Rainbow ‘Peculiarity, 716; The tivity: Lectures delivered under : of the University College, Johannesburg, AG éj' and Prof. A. E. Boycott, the Sun-fish, 578 Dyna mic ”’ Allotropy of Tellurium, 799 Dance (E. H.), The Channels of Education, 597 Daniel (L.), New Researches on Grafts of Helianthus, 63 Danjon (A.), A New Interference Method for Measuring the Apparent Diameter of Stars, 831 Darch (J.), The Lighting of Hospitals, 657 Darmois (E.), The Action of Acids on Ammonium Molybdo- malate, oor Two New Molybdo-malates of Am- monium, 2 Dasgupta (S. N. _ The Logic of the Vedanta, 362 Datta (S.), The Spectrum of Beryllium Fluoride, 326 Dauvillier (A.), Lines in the L X-ray Spectrum of Celtium, 781; The Complexity of the K-series of the Light Elements and its Theoretical Interpretation, 326 David (Sir T. Edgeworth), and Profs. Skeats and Richards, The Summit of Mount Kosciusko formerly covered by Glaciers, 51 Davies (Miss Ann Catherine), awarded the Grant from the Ellen Richards Research Prize Fund, 789; The Minimum Electron Energies associated with the Excitation of the Spectra’ of Helium, 156 Davison (Dr. C.), A Manual of Seismology, 3 68 Dean (Prof. H. R.), appointed Professor of Bacterinboey at University College Hospital Medical School, 360 ; resignation of the Proctor Chair of Pathology in Manchester University, 325 Debbarman (P. M.), An Artifice of Nectar-sipping Birds, 489 Decarriére (E.), The véle of Gaseous Impurities in the Catalytic Oxidation of Ammonia, 326, 535 Deeley (R. M.), A Curious Physiological Phenomenon, 44 Deetz (C. et and O. S. Adams, Elements of Map Pro- jection, 88 Defant (Prof. A.), Die Zirkulation der Atmosphiare in den gemassigten Breiten der Erde. Grundziige einer Theorie der Klimaschwankungen, 469 Deguide (C.), and P. Baud, A New Method for the In- dustrial Manufacture of Baryta for the Treatment of Sugar Molasses, 700 Dehorne (A.), The Formation of Myolytic Spindles and their Ele Soe in the Ccelom of Lipobranchus intermedius, 763 Delany (M. C.), The Historical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry, 410 Delépine (M.), The Auto-oxidation of Organic Sulphur Compounds, 763 Delf (E. Marion), and M. M. Michell, Studies in Macro- cystis pyrifera, 194 De Man (Dr. J. G.), Nouvelles Recherches sur les Néma- todes libres terricoles de la Hollande, 513 Dempster (A. J.), Positive-ray Analysis of Magnesium, 159 Dendy (Prof. A.), The Evolution of the Tetraxonid Sponge- spicule, 191 Denham (H. J.), Microscope Illumination and Fatigue, 78 ; Pilot Lamps in Laboratories, 683 Denning (W. F.), Conjunction of Mars with a Star, 186; Detonating Fireball in Sunshine, 249; Fireball observed in Sunshine, 217; Jupiter and his Markings, 591; Meteoric Shower of December 4—5, 1921, 121; Ob- servation of Comets, 613; The April Meteors, 1922, 560; The Meteors of Pons-Winnecke’s Comet, 824 ; The Planet Mercury, 623; The Shower of January Meteors, 55 Desch (Prof. C. H.), Measurements of Foam Cells in Soap and other Foams, 153; The Steel Industry of South Yorkshire, 691 Descour (L.). Translated by A. F. and Dr. B. H. Wedd, Pasteur and his Work, 805 Detlefsen (J. A.), Is Crossing Over a Function of Distance ? Detwiler (S. R.), Functional Regulations in Animals with Composite Spinal Cords, 31 Dévé (C.), The Noise caused by Aeroplanes, 631 Dewey (H.), Lead, Silver-lead, and Zinc Ores of Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset, 6: and C. C. A. Bromehead, The Geology of South London, 562 Dickson (Dr. H. N.), df spigiccr at article], 525 Dickson (Prof. L. E.), First Course in the Theory of Equations, 773 Dines ty. S.), Where did Terrestrial Life Begin ? 207 Dines H.), Observations on Radiation from the Sky, 54 Dingle (H.), elativity for All, 770 Vill Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Dixon (A. L.), appointed Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics in Oxford University, 394 Dixon (Prof. H. H.), and N. G. Ball, Transport of Organic Substances in Plants, 236 Dixon (Prof. W. E.), A Manual of Pharmneclogy- Fifth edition, 372 Dobell ( (C), ‘and F. W. O° Connor, The Intestinal Protozoa of Man, 98 Doberck (Dr. W.), The Orbit of Castor, 89 Doig (P.), Colours of Binary Stars, 824 Dolejsek (V.), On the N-Series in X-ray Spectra, 582; Ka lines of the Lighter Elements, 326 Donatien (A.), and R. Bosselut, Acute Contagious En- cephalitis of the Ox, 194 Donnan (Prof. F. G.), Auxiliary International Languages, 491; Inorganic Chemistry as a Science, 300 Doodson (Dr. A. T.), A Manual of Tides, 767; Harmonic Development of Tidal Theory, 283; The Accuracy of Tide-predicting Machines, 239, 479 Davies (Dr. A. M.), Research Degrees and the University of London, 238 Dowling (J. J.), and C. J. Haughey, Electrification of Phosphorus Smoke Nuclei, 562 Downes (H.), A Relic of Henry Lyte’s Library, 699 Dowson (V. H. W.), Date Cultivation in the ’Iraq, 250 Drever (Dr. J.), The Psychology = ‘sgpbdonts Life, 368 ; The Sear igss of Industry, 5 Dreyer (Dr. J.-L. E.),; The History "of the Royal Astro- nomical Society, 760 Druce (Dr. G. C.), elected a Corresponding Member of the Botanical Society of Czecho-Slovakia, 117 Druce (J. G. F.), Transcription of Russian Names, 777 Drummond (Dr. J. C.), Vitamins and their Relation to Public Health, 123 Duane (Dr. W.), awarded a John Scott Medal, etc., 558 Duke (Sir W.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 526 Duncan (J. C.), Changes in the Crab Nebula, 24 Dunlap (Prof. K.), Personal Beauty and Racial Better- ment, 339 Duparc (Prof. ) to Organise the Platinum Industry of Russia, apare (J: ); Phe Thermal Treatment of some Cast Irons, The Durand (Prof. W. F.), Hydraulics of Pipe Lines, 606 Durell (C. V.), A Concise Geometry, 574; and R. M. Wright, Elementary Algebra. Part 2, 574 Durell (Dr. F.), and E. E. Arnold, A First Book in Algebra ; A Second Book in Algebra; Plane and Solid Geo- metry, 737 2 Durrant (J. H.), The Species of Insects found in Grain, 119 Dupont (G.), The Composition of Aleppo Essence of Turpentine, 258 Dye (D. W.), Calculation of Standard of Mutual Induct- ance and Comparison of it with the Similar Laboratory Standard, 461 Dyson (Sir Frank), elected President of the Optical Society, 385; Sir William Christie, K.C.B., F.R.S., 145 Eastman (E. D.), Electronic Structures in Unsaturated Molecules, 629 Ebler (Prof. E.), [death], 246 veer’ (Prof. W. H.), Continuous Wave Wireless Tele- aphy, Part 1, 38 Eddington (Prof. A. S.), A Century of Astronomy, 815 ; elected an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 788 ; elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society, 217; Progress of Astronomy in the Past Hundred Years, 760 Eddy (Prof. H. T.), [obituary], 50 Edmondson (C. H.), The Edible Mollusca of the Oregon Coast, 530 Edridge-Green (Dr. F. W.), The proposed standard of Rejection of Seamen for Colour-blindness, 185 Edwards (C. A.), and A. J. Murphy, The Rate of Com- bination of Copper and Phosphorus at various Temperatures, 397 Edwards (F. W.), Oligocene Mosquitoes in the British Museum, with a summary of our Present Knowledge Concerning Fossil Culicidae, 598 Edwards (J.), A Treatise on the Integral Calculus, with Applications, Examples, and Problems. Vol. 1, 435 Edwards (W.N.), awarded a Travelling Scholarship of the Anglo-Swedish Society, 384 Effront (J.), The Hovey Properties of Amylases of ag different origins, Ehrenfest (Prof. Spectra of Isotopes, 74 5 ou Elford (P.) and S. Heaton, Practical School Gardening. Second edition, 514 Elliot (Dr. W. E.), and A. Crichton, Feeding and Metabolic Experiments on Pigs, 26 Ellis (C. D.), B-Ray Spectra and their meaning, Ps Interpretation of the B-ray and y-ray Spectra, 667 | Elmhirst (R.), Cyclic Conditions and Rejuvenation in Hydroids, 208 Elton (P. M.), Silk Weavers and their Output, 388 Elwell, (C. F.), Ltd., Catalogue of Apparatus tor Wireless Communication, 824 Emsley (H. H.), and E. F. Fincham, Diffraction Haloes in Normal and Glaucomatous Eyes, 566 Evans (Sir Arthur), The Bull Acrobats at Knossus, 387; The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilisation as illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. 1. Evans (Dr. C. A. Lovatt), appointed Professor of ey at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical The Neolithic and Early and Middle Minoan Ages, 466. ae 429 Evans (Dr. J. W.), Rosenbusch’s Petrology, 303 : Evans (E. V), Chemistry of Coke-oven and By - product Works, Evans (J. 1 y grant to, from the Worts Fund, 797 Evans (Miss Joan), awarded a Travelling Scholarship of the Anglo-Swedish Society, 384 Evans (U. R.), Passivity and Overpotential, 257 Ewart (Prof. J. Cossar), Nestling Feathers of the Mallard, 662; Report on Sheep-breeding Experiments, 594; The Evolution of Plumage, 779 Ewing (Sir J. Alfred), The Atomic Process in F erromag- ; netic Induction, 224; Theory of Magnetic ener ah 321 Fabre (J. H.), The Wonder Book of Science, 2 EP ; trans- lated by A. T. de Mattos, More Hunting Wasps, 270 Fabry (C.), and H. Buisson, Photography Sf the Ultra-— violet Solar Spectrum, 352 Faillebin (M.), A Mixed Organo-metallic Compound of Aluminium, 12 7 . Fairgrieve (M.), ‘Birthdays i in Relation to Intelligence, aa Fankhauser (Dr. F.), Troisiéme édition frangaise par Petitmermet. Guide Pratique de Gylviculenen) es Farber (Dr. E.), Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der Chesil 603 Farmer (E.), fadustaal Motion Study, 219; The Economy of Human Effort in Industry, 123; and R. S. Brooke, | Motion Study in Metal Polishing, 222 Farmer (Dr. R. C.), Industrial and Power Alcohol, 577 ; The Manufacture and Uses of Explosives, with Notes on their Characteristics and Testing, 270 Farnell (Dr. L. R.), and Mr. Fisher, Specialisation at Uni- versities, 759 Fawdry (R. C.), Co-ordinate Geometry (Plane and Solid) for Beginners, 574 Ferens (Rt. Hon. T. R.), Gift of Land for a Technical College at Hull, 395 Ferrier (M.), The Deviations of Light Rays passing in the N Beeo of a Star, 831 Ferry (Prof. E. S.), General Physics and its Application to Industry and Everyday Life, 641 Fessenden (Prof. R. A.), awarded a John Scott medal, etc. is 558 Payiand ( Dr. J.), “ La Cité des Termites,”’ 150 Fiedler (Prof. H. G.), and Prof. F. E. Sandbach, A First German Course for Science Students. 204 Fierz (Prof. H. E.), The Modern Dye Industry, 183 / P), tithe Difference between Series Second edition, . Index ix . G:), An Introduction to Projective ‘hird edition, 737; and H. T. Jessop, pti in Transparent Solids nd the Elastic Limit, 326 d R. Wigginton, A Practical Chemistry its Products, 678 d Winifred A. Mackenzie, The Correlation Rainfall, 598 new Bacteriolytic Element found in Tissues ons, 430 .), and J. G. Pearce, Research in Industry ; Economic Progress, 807 . A.), Fifty Years of Electricity: The an Electrical Engineer, 3; Some Pro- Long-distance Radio-telegraphy, 140, 179, ..), Cephalic Index and Sex, 715; Growth Ancient Tales from Many Lands: A Folk Stories, 269 e Osage Tribe of American Indians, 756 r Co-operation between Historians and S. M. Thomson, The Commercial of North America, 645 W.), [obituary], 84 “ Nurse-hound,”’ 55 thematics for Technical Students: 5 appointed Sir Ernest Cassel Lecturer in the London School of Economies, 728 Dig: inted Professor of Electrical As City and Guilds (Engineering) Synthesis of a Nitrogenous Principle of 30; and A. Hieulle, The Synthesis of cid by Oxidation, in Ammonio-silver yhols, Phenols, and Amines, 94; and A. endency of Formaldehyde to form cid by Oxidation in an Ammoniacal EG4T e vlane Geometry: Practical and diti, A. Navarro-Martin, and A. ntive Action in Syphilis of the £ Oxyaminophenylarsinie Acid D. Z. Sen, Bacteria associated with Cereals, 756 : C. N. H. Lock, The Aerodynamics of Principal of the Cambridge Uni- lege for Schoolmasters, 797 Periodicity in Reproduction, 237 Sun’s Rotation from Spectrohelio- ‘ing Dates of Trees, 310 : es on Inorganic Chemistry for First ‘Newton est la Loi Unique: théorie ivers, 739 oe F.), a Commemoration Fund in rersity, 125; Memorial of his work > Be Colloidal content of Soils, 225 s), Missionaries as Anthropologists, 593 ie System: Na,O-CO,-Na Cl-H,0O, the Bessemer Gold Medal of the | Institute, 590 ap} J. Weir), Columnar Structure in Sandstone fa Furnace, 274; Principles of Spectacle 772; The Barr and Stroud 100 ft. self-contained getinder, 15 : pir: # ayia Bryce, O.M., F.R.S., 113 K.), appointed successor to Prof. the Technische Hochschule, Karlsruhe, Iron and its Compounds (A Text-book in Racial Analysis, 389 ; Sex Develop-. of Inorganic Chemistry. Vol.9. Part 2), 505; Pro- tective Colloids—A Pretty Lecture Experiment, 341; _ The Chemistry of Combustion, 709 Fritch (Prof. F. E.), and Dr. E. J. Salisbury, Botany for Students of Medicine and Pharmacy, 773 Froidevaux (J.), The estimation of Ammoniacal Nitrogen in Nitrogenous Organic Material, 731 Fuller (H. C.), The Chemistry and Analysis of Drugs and Medicines, 509 Fyson (Prof. P. F.), The Flora of the Nilgiri and Pulney Hill-Tops. Vol. 3, 510 Gain (E.), The Ultra-maximum Temperature supported by the Embryos of Helianthus annuus, 631 Gale (R. C} and Capt. E. R. Macpherson, A Specimen of Wrought-iron Currency from the Kisi Country, Sierra Leone Protectorate, West Africa, 138 Galibourg (M.), The Utilisation of the Thermo-electric Force of Contact for the Identification of certain Steels, 362 Galibourg (J.), and P. Ryziger, A Method of Recognising Cultivated Japanese Pearls, 631 Gallenkamp and Co., Ltd., Catalogue of Electrical Resistance Furnaces, 455 ; Standard Apparatus for Determining the Viscosity and Flash Point, 793 Galloway (Dr. W.), Aeroplane Crashes: The ‘‘ Hole in the Air,” the “ Spin,’ 612 Galton (Sir Francis), The Centenary of the Birth of, 214 Gamble (Prof. F. W.), Studies in Symbiosis, 538, 576 Gardner (J. A.), and F. W. Fox, The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. Part 12, 126; Part 13, 730 Gardiner (Prof. J. Stanley), Fish Preservation, 71 Garner (H. V.), appointed to Explain to Farmers and others the Plots at Rothamsted, 248 Garrick (Miss Kate C.), Bequest to the University of Queensland, 729 Garwood (Prof. E.), and Miss E. Goodyear, The Lower Carboniferous Succession in the Settle District, etc., 73° Gaster (L.), Industrial Lighting, 354 Gatenby (Prof. J. B.), Cytoplasmic Inclusions of the Germ-cells, 529 Gates (Prof. R. R.), Some Problems in Evolution, 174 ; The Inheritance of Flower Size in Plants, 290 Geddes (A. E. M.), Weather and the Crop-yield in the North-east Counties of Scotland, 763 Geer (S. de), Population Maps, 390 General Electric Company, Research Staff of the, The Effect of Impurities on Recrystallisation and Grain 2 Growth, 396 Gentil (L.), The Age of the*Phosphates of Morocco, 94; The Climatology of Morocco, 226 Gerhards (K.), Der mathematische Kern der Auszenwelts-- hypothese, 691 Gessard (C.), Varieties of Pyocyanoid Bacilli, 763 Gheury de Bray (M. E. J.), Exponentials Made Easy, or the Story of “ Epsilon,” 574 Gifford (J. W.), Atmospheric Pressure and Refractive Indices, with a Corresponding Table of Indices of Optical Glass, 94 Gill (F.), elected President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 690 Gilligan (Dr. A.), elected Professor of Geology in Leeds University, 697 Gilmore (C. W.), New Dinosaur from New Mexico, 756 ; The Smallest Horned Dinosaur, 792 Gilson (G.), elected a Foreign Member of the Linnean Society, 655 Giuffrida-Ruggeri (Prof. V.), [obituary article], 183 Gladstone (Prof. L.), A Human Cranium dredged from the River Trent, 593 : Glazebrook (Sir Richard), Specific Heats of Air, Steam, and Carbon Dioxide, 461 : Gleditsch (Mlle. Ellen), and B. Samdahl, The Atomic Weight of Chlorine, 456 Gleichen (Dr. A.), Submarine Periscopes, 490 ey Gleichen (Major-Genl. Lord Edward), Transcription of Russian Names, 648 x : Index [ Nature, - August 12, 1922 Glew (F. aide Radium Synthesis of Carbon Compounds from Air, 714 Glover (J.), “Hlectrical Auscultation of Respiration at the Commencement of Tuberculosis, 363 Godden (W.), appointed Head of the Biochemical Depart- ment of the Rowett Institute for Research in Animal Nutrition, 697 Godchot (M.), and P. Brun, Some Derivatives of Suberone, 399; and P. Bédos, The Oxide of Cyclohexene and Ortho- methylcyclo-hexanol, 326 Goldsbrough (G. R.), The Cause of Encke’s Division in Saturn’s Ring, 533 Gomberg (M.), and C. L. Buchler, The Preparation of Benzl Ethers of Carbohydrates, 24 Gonner (Sir Edward), [obituary article], 314 Good (F. F.), Laboratory Projects in Physics: A Manual of Practical Experiments for Beginners, 641- Goodman (Prof. J.), resignation of the Chair of Civil and Mechanical Engineering in the University of Leeds, 429 Goodrich (Prof.), The Parasitisation of certain» Grain Beetles by Hymenoptera, 119 Gorceix (C.), The Formation of the “‘ Gouf de Cap-Breton,”’ 363 Gordon (Prof. W. T.), Discovery of Gold in Devonshire, 583 Gorgas (Major-Genl. W. C.), proposed Memorial to, 148 ; initiation of a Foundation Memorial to, 488 Goris (A.), and H. Deluard, The Influence of Solar Radia- “tion on the Culture of Belladonna and the Formation of Alkaloids in the Leaves, 158; and A. Liot, The Culture of the Pyocyanic Bacilius on Definite Artificial Media, 363 Gould (Sir Alfred Pearce), [death], 558 ; [obituary article], 589 Goursat (E.), The Problem of the Thrust of Earth, 631 Gouy (G.), The Surface Tension of Electrified Electrolytes, 29; The Tensions and Pressures of Maxwell in Mag- nets and Dielectrics, 362 Gow (C. C.), The Electro- -Metallurgy of Steel, 768 Gowland (Prof. W.), [death], 788 Grace (S. F.), Free Motion of a Sphere in a Rotating Liquid Parallel to the Axis of Rotation, 762 Graebe (Prof. C.), Geschichte der organischen Chemie, Erster Band, 806 Graham (Dr. H.), [obituary], 485 Gramont (A. de), and G. A. Hemsalech, The Evolution of the Spectrum of Magnesium under the Influence of Increasing Electrical Actions, 258 Grandmougim (E.), Diphenylsulphone, 158 Granqvist (Dr. G.), Wind Observations in Finnish Light- ships, 88 Grant (J.), Confectioners’ Raw Materials: Their Sources, Modes of Preparation, Chemical Composition, the Chief Impurities and Adulterations, their More Im- portant Uses, and Other Points of Interest, 269 Grant (Prof. K.), A Method of Exciting Vibrations in Plates, Membranes, etc., based on the Bernoulli Principle, 256; An ‘Efficient Sound- Producer, 692 Gray (Prof. A.), Absolute Measurements in Electricity and Magnetism. Second edition, 166; “‘G. B. M.”’, 712; On Immediate Solutions of some Dynamical Problems, 645 Gray (J.), gee: Mechanism of Ciliary Movement. and 2, Gray (Prof. = G.), and Capt. J. Gray, Solutions of the Problem of the Vertical on Moving Vehicles, with Special Reference to Aircraft: The Gray Gyroscopic Stabilisers, 398 Greaves (W. M. H.), renewal of an Isaac Newton Student- ship in Cambridge University, 360 Grebel (A.), A Comburimeter and a Controller for Gas, Grebel-Velter System, 763 Green (Prof. J. A.), [obituary article], 452 Greenhill (Sir G.), Immediate Solution of Dynamical Problems, 778; Units in Aeronautics, 74 page et (Dr. M.), The Scientific Value of Life Tables, Parts I Gee (Prof. J. W.), Iron Ores in Europe, 794; Where did Terrestrial Life Begin? 107, 310; with Ten Appendices by various Authors, The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa, 233; and C. J. Gregory, Proposed Expedition to Yunnan and Szechuan, 51 ; Forthcoming Expedition to S.W. China to be under the Auspices of the Sladen Trust, 281 Gregory (Sir Richard), elected President of the Decimal Association, 655; and Dr. Hagberg Wright, Scientific Literature for Russia, 208 Grenet (H.), and H. Drouin, A Bismuth Compound of the Aromatic Series and its Therapeutic Activity, 399 Grey (E.), Testimonial to, 655 Griffith. (Rev. J.), Pictish Stone Circles, 265 Griffiths (A.), and W. T. Heys, A New Apparatus’ for the Measurement of the Polarisation Capacity of Platinum Plates in Sulphuric Acid, 731 Griffiths (Dr. E.), Chemical and Physical Constants, 369 Grinnell (G. B.), When Buffalo Ran, 7 Gudger (Dr. E. W.), Rains of Fishes, 423 Guérin (P.), The Mucilage of the Urticacez, 327 Guild (J.), Angle Comparators of High Precision for the Coneeee of Prisms, 830; The Photometry of Optical Instruments, 431 Guillaume (C. E.), Recent Fundamental Determinations and Verifications of the Standard Metres, 62 Guillaume (J.), Observations of the Sun made at the Lyons Observatory, 29, 631; Observations of the Skjellerup Comet, 831 - Guillet (L.), and J. Cournot, The Variations of the Mechanical Properties of Metals and Alloys at Low Temperatures, 258 Guilliermond (A.), and G. Mangenot, The Significance of the Reticular Apparatus of Golgi, 463 Gunther (R. T.), Early British Hotantats and their Gardens, based on Unpublished Writings of Goodyer, Trade- scant, and others, 806 Guntz (A. A.), Phosphorescent Zinc Sulphide, 800 Gutbier (Prof. A.), appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Jena, 729 Guye (Prof. Ch.-Eug.), S. Ratnowsky and Ch. Lavanchy, Vérification expérimentale de la formule de Lorentz- Einstein, 406; and R. Riidy, A New Mode of Deter- mination of the Molecular Diameters by the Electro- magnetic Rotation of the Discharge in the Gases, 258 Guye (Prof. P. A.), [obituary article], 523 Haber (Prof. F.), Chemical Warfare, 40 Hackett (W. W.), Tests of Weldless ‘Steel Tubing, 188 Hackh (Prof. I. W. D.), Chemical Reactions and their — Equations : A Guide and Reference Book for Students - of Rar 678 Haddon (Dr. C.), appointed Acting Curator of the Comtaaaan Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, 92; Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, 786 oy (Sir Robert), The Corrosion of Ferrous Metals, Hadiill, (C. F. T.), [obituary], 147 Hagen (Rev. A Study of Obscure Nebulae, 455; The Definition of a Nova, 352 Haig (Lord), elected Chancellor of the University of Sst. Andrews, 155 Haler (P. J.), and A. H. Stuart, An Introduction to Physics for Technical Students, 641 Hall (E. H.), The Peltier Effect, 159 Haller (A.), and Mme. Ramart, The Dehydration of 2-methyl-2-phenyl-1-propanol and of 2-2-dimethyl-3- phenyl-1-propanol, 731 Halliburton (Prof. W. D.), The Teeth of the Nation, 350 Hambridge (J.), Dynamic Symmetry in Ancient Archi- tecture, 22 Hamel (G.), The Algz of Rockall, 194 Hammick (D, L1.), An Introduction to Organic Chemistry, 39 Hammond (J.), and E. T, Halnan, A Course of Practical Physiology for Agricultural Students, 443 Hamy (M.), A Property of Photographic Emulsions and the Registration of Stars during Total Eclipses of the Sun in View of the Verification of the Einstein Effect, 534; The Determination of the Diameter of Stars by _ the Interference Method, 599 Hankin (E. H.), An Experimental pete of Sone Plight 799 ———r“wes Index xi AH), Standards and Principles in Art, 256 . H. J.), Studies of Arthropoda, 456 ; 0), Forestry for Woodmen. Second edition, , and Miss M. L. V. Gayler, The Alloys of nium and Zinc, 397 ’s Plasticine, Ltd., ‘‘ Thymo-plas,’’ 559 vated A.), Biochemical Method, 291 ; graphs on Biochemistry, 741 i), ‘Gagmesemm Bombyliide and Cyrtide German GH ), Mathematical Analysis, 435 ‘Historical Notes upon Surface Energy and Short Range, 375; and Ida Doubleday, ee Segoe The Paraffin Series, 224 5 of and A. Hayes, The Separation of hlorine by Diffusion, 122; and R. ‘oduction to Textile Chemistry, 268 stive Hypereemia, 255 Inheritance of a Cheek-mole, 7 id E. W. Sinnott, The ~ jos He Anatomy and Variant Seedlings of Phaseolus vul- S), Primitive Society: The Beginnings on of Kinship, 825 Gen. ‘H.), and others, The Teaching of oemde in Schools, 57 -H.), The Helmholtz Theory of Hearing, The Radiant Spectrum, 445; The Resonance ry of Hearing, 76, 374; and R. A. Peters, Inter- nsion and Hydrogen Ion Concentration, 666 An Introduction to the Physics and Colloids. Fourth edition, 270 anderveken, owe of the Flowering of the Argentine Republic, 60 . (A.). Translated from the Third German edition yan, A Handbook on the Winning and . of Peat, 774 te of the Death of, 753 ae me Past oematie and the d Light: with Application to The Effect of Shallow Water on ent Excavations at Stonehenge, 781 ae tessor of Mining in Sheffield ‘Fossil Sea Cow from Florida, 825 R.), and N. A. Lougee, Lightning Arresters, awa eda John Scott Medal, etc., 558 ‘) and Major W. S. Tucker, Recoil | by the Hot-Wire Microphone, 126 elected President of the Mathematical (A History of Greek Mathematics, 2 he Preservation of Stone, 287 . W.), and Dr. Wu, Nuclear Division in ant w. Rudolfs, The Attack of Minerals .), An Attempt to Influence the Random a Particle Emission, 398; a- ~Particles as Ss Rainfall and Drainage in 1921, 207 ; on and Retention of Manurial Sub- Granitic Soils, 25 Absorption Spectrum of Benzine Vapour agape Magnitudes of the Benzine Sars of the 8 Canis Majoris Type, 422 ), The Freshwater Entomostraca of W rt 1, Cladocera, 832 aang in Organic Chemistry, 251 ‘and the Reckoning of Descent, 203 ;- Herdman (Sir W. A.), An Elusive Group of Marine Organisms, 130; Spolia Runiana—V., 396 Hering (Dr. C.), Phenomena produced by the Flow of Heavy Currents in Conductors, 119 Hérissey (H.), The Biochemical Synthesis of a-methyl-d- mannoside, 30 Hetherington (A. L.), The Early Ceramic Wares of China, 795 ibjeodk (C. T.), appointed Prime Warden of the Gold- smiths’ Company, 753 Heyn (Prof. E.), [death], 419 Hickson (Prof.), and others, The Teaching of Natural History in Schools, 628 Higgins (A. L.), The Transition Spiral and its Introduction to Railway Curves, 103 Highton (H. P.), Shooting-trips in Europe and Algeria: Being a Record of Sport in the aa Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Corsica, and Algeria, 336 re on D.), Celebration of the Sixtieth Birthday of, Hill (Be A. W.), appointment of, as Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 51 Hill (Prof. L.), D. H. Ash, and J. A. Campbell, The Heat- ing and Cooling of the Body by Local aera of Heat and Cold, 255; Dr. H. M. Vernon, and D. Ash, oe Kata-Thermometer—a Measure of Ventila. tion, tition dienpeon (Capt. M. W.), Among the Hill Folk of Algeria: Journeys among the Shawia of the Aurés Mountains, 336; Ethnographical Researches among the Berbers of the Aurés Mountains in South-East Algeria, 699 Hinch (J. de W.), Irish Eskers, 353; The Post-Glacial Climatic Optimum in Ireland, 353 Hinshelwood (C. N.), H. Hartley, and B. Topley, Influence of Temperature on Two Alternative Modes of Decom- position of Formic Acid, 157 : Hirsch (Dr. P.), Die eee von Mikroorganismen auf die Eiweisskérper, 741 Hirst (Major C. C.), The Genetics of Egg-Production in Poultry, 26 Hjort (Dr. J.), The Distribution of Fat-soluble Vitamins in Marine Animals and Plants, 666 ger (C. W.), The Fauna of East Africa and its Future, Ne a (Prof. E. W.), The Theory of Functions of a Real Variable and the Theory of Fourier’s Series. Second edition. Vol. 1, 435 Hoch (Dr. A.), Benign Stupors : depressive Reaction Type, 743 Hodgman (Prof. C. D.), assisted by Prof. M. F. Coolbaugh and C. E. Senseman, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. .A Ready-reference Pocket - book of Chemical and Physical-Data. Eighth edition, 369 Hodkin (F. W.), and Dr. W. E. S. Turner, The Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Limestone, Burnt Lime, and Slaked Lime as Constituents of Common Glass Batches containing Soda Ash and Saltcake. Part 2, 291 Hodson (Col. 7. C.), The Mound-builders of Dunstable, 21 Hoel (A.), Norwegian Explorations in Spitsbergen, 561 Hoernlé (Prof. R. F. A.), Some Byways of the Theory of Knowledge, 431 Hoffman (Dr. F. L.), Health in the Tropics, 792; The Organisation of Knowledge, 596 Hogarth (Dr.), Hejaz, 91 Hogben (L. T.), and a R. Winton, The Pigmentary Effector System, 4 Holden (H. F.), Sawacted to the Benn W. Lévy Student- ship in Biochemistry in Cambridge University, 92 Holland (Sir Thomas H.), appointed Rector of the Im- perial College of Science and Technology, 655; A Treatise on Petroleum, 403 Holleman (Prof. F.), Issued in English in Co-operation with H. Cooper. A Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry. Sixth English edition, 677 Hollis (Dr. W. A), [obituary], 558 Holmes (Sir Charles J.), Leonardo da Vinci as a Geologist, A Study of a New Manic- 499 Holmyard (E. J.), Arabic Chemistry, 778 | Holttum (R. E.), The Flora of Greenland, 396 Xil Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Holzwarth (Prof. J.), [obituary], 788 Homén (T.), East Carelia and Kola Lapmark. Described by Finnish Scientists and Philologists, 372 Hooker (R. H.), The Weather and the Crops in Eastern England, 1885-1921, 193 Hopkins (Prof. F. G.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 247 Hopkinson (Dr. Edward), [obituary article], 82 Horgan (S. H.), Photo-Engraving Primer: Concise In- structions for Apprentice Engravers or for those seeking Simple yet Practical Knowledge of Line and Half-tone Engraving, 547 Horne (Sir Robert), The Proposals of the Geddes Com- mittee on National Expenditure, 316 Hornor (H. A.), Spot and Arc Welding, 171 Horvath (Dr. C. Von), Raum und Zeit im Lichte der speziellen Relativitatstheorie. Versuch eines syn- thetischen Aufbaus der speziellen Relativitatstheorie, 7? Howard (Dr. L. O.), War against Insects, 79; The Ages of Presidents of the British and American Associations, 85 . Howe (Prof. H. M.), [obituary article], 721 Howell (E.), River Control in Mesopotamia, 215 Howell (G. C. L.), Ocean Research and the Great Fisheries, 201 Howell (J. P.), An Agricultural Atlas of Wales, 304 Houstoun (R. A.), A New Method of Investigating Colour- blindness, 225 Hoyt (F. C.), The Intensities of X-rays of the L-Series, III., 30 yas (Baron A. A. A. von), ee Conferment upon, of the Honorary Degree of Sc.D. by Cambridge University, 254 Hughes (W.), The Blue Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire, 683 Hull (A. W.), Crystal Structure of Common Elements, 490 Hull (T.), Oils, Fats, and Fuels, 774 Humphreys (Prof. W. J.), Cloud Forms, 657; Day and Night Distribution of Rainfall, 188 Hunter (Dr. J. de Graaff), Atmospheric Refraction, 549 Hunter (Col. W.), The Serbian Epidemics of Typhus and Relapsing Fever in 1915: Their Origin, Course, and Preventive Measures employed for their Arrest, 743 Hurst (Major), Origin of the Moss Rose, 190; and Miss M. S. G. Breeze, The Moss Rose, 283 Hutchinson (C. M.), Pébrine in Silkworms, 253 Hutton (J. H.), The Angami Nagas, with some Notes on Neighbouring Tribes, 539; The Sema Nagas, 769 Huxley (J. S.), and L. T. Hogben, Experiments on Am- phibian Metamorphosis and Pigment Responses in Relation to Internal Secretions, 193 Imison (C. S.), and W. Russell, Ammonia Oxidation, 388 Imms (Dr. A. D.), Metamorphoses of Insects, 673 Ingold (Dr. C. K.), awarded the Meldola Medal, 249; presented with the Meldola Medal, 322 Ingram (Dr.. T. A.), The New Hazell Annual and Almanack for the year 1922, 103 Iqbal (Sheikh Ucinemady. translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Dr. R. A. Nicholson, The Secrets of the Self (Asrar-I Khudi), 370 Iredale (T.), The Notion of Asymmetry, 779 Irvine (Principal), and others, Advanced Study and Research in Universities, 759 Irwin-Smith (Miss Vera), Nematodes of the Genus Physa- loptera, with Special Reference to those Parasitic in Reptiles, 95 ; Part II., 832 Isenthal and Co., Ltd., Catalogue of Regulating Resist- ances, 793 Iyengar (N. V.), Rainfall in Mysore, 218 Jackson (Miss Dorothy J.), The Genus Sitones and Leguminous Crops in Britain, 26 Jacob (C.), The Structure of Southern Tonkin, 326 Jaeger (Prof.), Method of Measuring the Surface Tension of Liquids, 153 James (R. W.), The Distribution of the Electrons in Atoms, 257 Jameson (Dr. H. Lyster), [obituary article], 314 Jarry-Desloges (M.), Planetary Observations at Sétif, 386 Jeans (Dr. J. H.), awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 84; The Origin of Binary Stars, si be 3 Dr. Van Maanen, Movements in Spiral Nebule, Jeffers (H. Ni), The Orbits of the Two Components of — Taylor’s Comet, 1916 I., 725 Jeffery (Dr. G. B), appointed Professor of Mathematics at King’s College, London,- 429; The Motion of Ellipsoidal Particles Immersed in a Viscous Fluid, etc., 326 Jeffreys (Dr. H.), The Theory of Probability, 132; and —— Evaporation from Large Expanses of Water, Jehu Brot, ), The Geology of Iona, 62 Jenkins (Dr. J. T.), A History of the Whale Fisheries : From the Basque Fisheries of the Tenth Century to the Hunting of the Finner Whale at the Present Date, 298 Jessop ( (Prof, C. M.), Elementary Analysis, 737 Job (A.), and R. Reich, The Systematic Extension of the Preparation of Organo- -metallic Compounds, 800 Johannsen (Prof. W.), Cephalic Index and Sex, 714 Johansen (F.), The Canadian Arctic Expedition of 191 3-1 8, 6 25 Johns (C.), The Surface of Freely Flowing Liquid Steel, 153 ia. (V. E.), Modern High-speed Influence Machines es, youu (W. E.), Logic. Parts 1 and 2, 506 Johnston (T. H.), and O. W. Tiegs, New Gyrodactyloid Trematodes from Australian Fishes, etc., 832 Johnstone - Wallace (D. B.), appointed Agricultural Organiser for Devonshire, 697 Jolibois (P.), and R. Bossuet, The Relations between the Different Oxides of Uranium, 258 Joly (Prof. J.), A New Method of finding the Discharge of Rivers, 398; A New Method of Gauging the Dis- charge of Rivers, 624; Haloes and Earth History: A New Radioactive Element, 517, 578; The Age of the Earth, 480; The Small Haloes of Ytterby, a ae Jones (D. C.), A First Course in Statistics, 473 Jones (Dr. E. Lloyd), reappointed. Demonstrator of Medicine in Cambridge University, 697 Jones (Sir Henry), [obituary article], 182 Jones (H. S.), Calculus for Beginners : Schools and Evening Classes, 574 Jones (J. E.), The Dynamics of Collision of Diatomic Molecules, 258; The Velocity Distribution Function and the Stresses in a Non-uniform Rarefied Monatomic Gas, 224 Jopson (N. B.), appointed University Reader in Com- pai Slavonic Philology at King’s College, ware 728 Jordan Ve [obituary article], 349 Joseph (J.), Applications of the Thermionic Valve, 522 Jouaust (R.), The Reception of Waves maintained by Modulation, 94 Joyce (T. A.), Culture of Ancient Peru, 187 Kamensky (M.), The Perturbations of Wolf’s Periodic Comet from 1884 to 1918, 725 Kanitz (Dr. A.), Temperatur und Lebensvorgange, 741 Kanthask (R.), edited by Dr. J. N. Goldsmith, Tables of i Indices. Vol. xi. Oils, Fats, and Waxes, Kapieyn (Prof. J. C.), [death], 822; and P. J. van Rhijn, The Distances of the Short- -period Cepheid Variables, ad (E.), The Shape assumed by a Deformable Body immersed in a Moving Fluid, 54 Karsner (Prof. H. T.), and Dr. E. E. Ecker, The Principles of Immunology, 7 oo (Dr R.), Studies in South American Anthropology, Kaye (br. G. W. C.), Radiology and Physics, 414 Keith (Sir Arthur), Endocrines in Excelsis, 670 ; India as a Centre of Anthropological Inquiry, 408 . A Text-book for _— 7) -_— Index Xili 1), The Correlation of Compound Formation, on, and Solubility in Solutions, 159 A. §.), elected President of the Malacological y of ondon, 249 . E. H.), The Speed of Light, 581 F er arian of Molecules of Benzenoid Altre), and Sir Edward Boyle, Science and Gmmping and Woodcraft : A Handbook for n Campers and for Travellers in the Wilder- ah edition, 368 A Treatise on Probability, 132 eas of Fruit Storage, 534 N. BD eg of ae gape in Storage, 462 ' d Dr. Lang, Silicified Plant Ww) Organisation for Visual Instruction, nents with the Tube Resistance the Effect of Potential Difference, 31 S.), A Proposed Laboratory Test of the Relativity, 582 The poe aay of Malaria, 647 A Popular Chemical Dictionary: A us Encyclopedia. Second edition, 338 eth 84; [obituary article], 114 ew Three-colour Printing Process, 24 tion. ial ig Concentration of a Solution in 535 M.), Dr. Iva L. Peters, and Dr. Phyllis le) _and Genetics: A Study of the é aad Psychological Foundation ae oases which crossed the Korean the Variations of its Polar Front, 257 = Be and Dr. Olive Swezy, A Parasitic Patho. a Capacities, 282 ; The Free- oflagellata, 130 Surface Tension and Narcosis, 226 - The Action of Histamine on the -of the Gastric Juice in Pigeons, 194 f. W.), Valenzkrafte und Réntgenspektren : 206 Hq. A. a CG. H. Pethybridge, A Phy faaenor 1 eee age esident of the International any ay Geophysics, 759; The Parabolic “a pointed Reader in Electrical Engineering r dge ‘University, 254; The Geometry of ing, 730 8 lternating Currents, 2 Parts, 710° > The Directive Tendency of Elongated dy ‘Photogra h of R.A uarii, 530 25, Dr. A A Smith. metals and A. Th ‘Carboniferous Rocks of the Deer Lake Newfoundland, 361 ‘Kidston, and aan, The Rhynie Chart Ls. ‘Spath, and W. A. Richardson, Shales- a Sequence in the Lower Lias of the Dorset arts, 157 z Je ae The Autonomic Nervous System. Mme. A. Lassieur, An Apparatus for the ), Nicotine and the Inhibitory Nerves of Langworthy (Mrs. C. D.), Migration Instinct in Birds, 756 Lankester (Sir E. Ray), Discoveries in Tropical Medicine, 549, 812; Intestinal Protozoa of Man, 98 Lapworth (Prof, A.), appointed Sir Samuel Hall Professor of Chemistry in the University of Manchester, 429 Larmor (Sir Joseph), Precursors of Wireless Telegraphy, 410 Eacnahette (M. de), Measurement of the Mean Penetrating Power of a Bundle of X-rays by a New Radio-chrono- metric Method, 399 Lascelles (B. P:), [obituary], 83 Lauder (Dr. A. \ gags at the British Association, 25 Laurie (Prof. A. P.), Pigments and Medium of the Old Masters, 421; Stone Preservation, 814 agharves (Prof. C. L. A.) [death], 722 ; [obituary article], 19 Lavington (F.), appointed Girdler’s oe oe Lecturer in Economics in Cambridge University, 728 Lawrence (R. D.), Enzyme Action and X-Rays, 320 Lawson (Dr. R. W.), A Proposed Laboratory Test of the Theory of Relativity, 613 ; Intelligence Statistics, 716 Layard (Miss N.), Prehistoric Cooking-places in Norfolk, 593 Lazennec (I.), Manuel de parfumerie, 774 Leaf (C. S.), Aurora Borealis of January 30, 176 Lebeau (P.), The Oxides of Uranium, 258 Lecarme (J.), Experiments relating to the Course of a Pendulum and a Chronometer, 831 Le Chatelier (Prof. H.), presented with a Commemorative Gold Medal, 247 Leche (Prof. J. W. E. G.), elected a Foreign Member of the Linnean Society, 655 Lee (A. B.), The Microtomist’s Vade-Mecum: A Hand- book of the Methods of Microscopic Anatomy. Eighth edition. Edited by Prof. J. B. Gatenby, and others, 72 Lees (Prof. C. H.), A Graphical Method of Treating Fresnel’s Formule for Reflection in Transparent Media, 362; The Thermal Stresses in Solid and in Hollow Circular Cylinders Concentrically Heated, 762 Lees (S.), appointed University Lecturer in Thermo- dynamics in Cambridge University, 728 Léger (M.), and A. Baury, The Shrew, Crocidura Stampfli, and the Plague in Senegal, 259 Leisenring (W. W.), The Organisation of Knowledge, 715 Lemay (P. ), and L. serra Some Oxydasic Properties of Thorium, x, 15 Lémeray (E. M. ), LEther actuel et ses précurseurs (simple récit), 770 Lemoine (G.), The importance of Scientific Research Work, 183 Lemoine (P.), and R. Abrard, The Existence of the Upper Cretaceous in the Central Cavity of the Channel from the Dredgings of the Pourquoi Pas ? 194 Lenard (Prof. P.), Uber Ather und Urather, 739 : Lenox-Conyngham (Sir Gerald), appointed Reader in Geodesy in Cambridge University, 797 Leonard (A. G. G.), and Miss A. M. Richardson, The Occurrence of Helium and Argon in the Boiling Well at St. Edmundsbury, Lucan, 831 Lesage (P.), The Determination of the Germinative Faculty other than by the Actual Germination of the Seeds, 535 Levaditi (C.), and A. N. Martin, The Preventive and Curative Action in Syphilis of the Acetyl Derivative of Oxyaminophenylarsinic acid (Sodium Salt), 567; and S. Nicolau, ~ Pure Cerebral Vaccine :- its Virul- ence for Man, 19 Levy (H.), The Sovaber of Radio-active Transformations as determined by Analysis of‘the Observations, 362 Lévy (P.) and others, The Theory of Probability, 90 Lewes (Prof. V. B.), Liquid and Gaseous Fuels and the Part they Play in Modern Power Production. Second edition revised and edited by J. B. C. Kershaw, 73 Lewis (Prof. J. V.), A Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. Third edition, Lewis (S. J.), The Uitra-violet Absorption Spectra and the Optical Rotation of the Proteins of the Blood Sera, 126 Liebisch (Prof. T.), [death], 315 Liévin (O.), The Kinetic Study of Alkaline Solutions of Iodine, 567 XiV Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Lindblad (B.), Determination of Luminosities by Spectro- photometry, 656 Line (J.), Parasitism of Nectvia cinnabarina, 462 Lipman (C. B.), and G. A. Linhart, A Critical Study of Fertilised Experiments, 30 Lipschiitz (A.), B. Ottow, C. Wagner, and J. Bormann, The Hypertrophy of the Interstitial Cells in the Testicle of the Guinea Pig under different Experi- mental Conditions, 255 Littlewood (T. H.), The Diffusion of Solutions, 225 ‘Livingston (Dr. B. E.), The American’ Association at Toronto, 285; and Dr. E. Shreve, The Distribution of Vegetation in the United States as related to Climatic Conditions, 371 Lockyer (Major W. J. S.), A Rainbow Peculiarity, 309 ; A Unique Long-period Variable Star, 530 Locquin (R.), and S. Wouseng, The Action of Acetylene on the Sodium Derivatives of Ketones, etc., 831 Lodge (Sir Oliver), Generalised Lines of Force, 74; The History of Zeeman’s Discovery, and its Reception in England, 66 Loeb (L. B.), The Attachment of Electrons to Neutral Molecules in. Air, 158 Loftfield (J. V. G.), Behaviour of Stomata, 387 Léhnis (Dr. F.), Life-cycles of Bacteria, 252 Loisel (P.), and R. Castelnau, The Radio-activity of the Waters from Mont-Dore, 30 Lones (T. E.), Mechanics and Engineering from the Time of Aristotle to that of Archimedes, 214 Longworth-Dames (M.), [obituary], 147 Loring (F. H.), Atomic Theories, 372 Lotsy (Dr. J. P.), Factors of Evolution, 190 © Louis (Father G.), [obituary], 84 Louis (Prof. H.), British Mineral Resources, 6 Low (A. R.), Units in Aeronautics, 12, 139 Low (J. W.), Variations in Organs of Aurelia, 320 Lowie (Dr. R. H.), Primitive Society, 203 Lowndes (A. G.), The Teaching of Natural History in Schools, 748 d Lowry (Prof. T. M.), and Dr. P. C. Austin, Optical Rotatory Dispersion (Bakerian Lecture), 447; and L. P. MacHatton, The Grading of Powders by Elutriation, 96 Sayer (Dr. J. P.), appointed to the Research Chair of Medical Psychology in Queensland University, 395 Lucanus (F. von), Die Ratzel des Vogelzuges. Ihre Lésung auf experimentellem Wege durch Aeronautik, Aviatik und Vogelberingung, 573 Lucas (A.), Forensic Chemistry, 470 Ludford (R. S.), Morphology and Physiology of the Nucleolus, 666 Ludlam (E. B), An Attempt to Separate the Isotopes of Chlorine, 398 Lumiére (A.), and H. Couturier, The Resistance of Females ‘during Pregnancy to Anaphylactic and Anaphylactoid Shock, 327; and J: Chevrotier, Antityphoid Vaccina- tion by Scarification, 632 Lumiére (L.), Capillary Movement, Diffusion, and Dis- placement, 667 Lunt (Dr. J.), Spectroscopic Study of Procyon’s Orbit, 455 Lyons (Col. H. G.), awarded the Symons Gold Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 117 Maanen (Dr. van), Internal Motions in the Spiral Nebula M81, 186; Movements in Spiral Nebule, 249; Parallaxes and Proper Motions, 318 Macalister (Prof. R. A. S.), A Text-book of European Archeology. Vol. 1, The Paleolithic Period, 605 MacCallum (Dr. G. A.), Parasitic Worms from Animals, 187 Macdonald (Dr. A. G.), Meteorology in Medicine, 354 MacDougall (Prof. F. H.), Thermodynamics and Chemistry, 100 Macfie (Dr. R. C.), Where did Terrestrial Life Begin ?, 107 Mach (E.), Die Prinzipien der physikalischen Optik. Historisch und erkenntnispsychologisch entwickelt, 706 Mackinder (Sir Halford), Problems of the Pacific, 91 MacMahon (Major P. A.), New’ Mathematical Pastimes, 200 ; Pythagoras’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern, 479 MacNair (Prof. P.), Introduction to the Study of Minerals and Guide to the Mineral Collections in Kelvingrove Museum. Second edition, 370 Mahen (J.), A Retarded Regeneration of Moss, 667 Mahnkopf (H.), Search Ephemeris. for Comet rgr6 II. (Taylor), 186 Maiden (J. H.), An Additional Blue-leaf Stringybark, 226 Maignon (F.), The Physiological and Therapeutic Pro-* perties of the Diastases of the Tissues, 363; The Utilisation of the Tissue Diastases for the Determina- — tion of the Organ, the Functional Insufficiency of which is the Cause of a Pathological State, 463 Mailhe (A.), A New Preparation of Amino-naphthenes, 326; The Catalytic Decomposition of Oleic-Acid, 567 Malfitano (G.), and M. Catoire, Amylocellulose considered as a Compound of Silicic Acid and Amylose, 66 Malinowski (Dr. B.), Melanesian Witchcraft, 827 ; Life and Marriage among Primitive Mankind, The i aoaigrn a and Economics of some Island en munities, 532 Mallik (Prof. DN. ), Optical Theories : Based on Lectures delivered before the Calcutta University. Second edition, 706 Mallock (A,), Definition, Resolving Power, and Accuracy, 678; Muscular Efficiency, 711; Test-plates for Microscopes and Microscopic Definition, 205, Mapeney (S.), Transport of Organic Substances i in Plants, 476 Manouélian (Y.), Histo-microbiological Researches on General Paralysis, 667 Manson (Sir Patrick), A Portrait of, unveiled at the London School of Tope Medicine, bi Ky Be tienen}, 485; [obituary article], 587 Maiey (J. J.), A Defect in the eee Pump: Its Causes and a Remedy, 225 Maquenne (L.), and R Cerighelli, The Influence of Lime on the Yield of Seeds during the Germinative Period, 763; and E. Demoussy, Plant Growth in Media poor in Oxygen, 831 Marage (M.), Acuteness of Hearing and Aptitude for Military Service, 158 Marchal (P.), The Metamorphosis of the Females and Hypermetamorphosis of the Males in the Coccidia of the Margarodes Group, 667 Marmer (H. A.), The Accuracy of Tide-predicting Machines, 136, 479 Marsden (E.), concerning review of ‘‘ Geography for Junior Classes,’’ 55 Marsh (J. K.), and Prof. A, W. Stewart, A iia desi Model of Atomic Constitution, 340 Marshall (J. F.), The Destruction of Mosquito Larve in Salt or Brackish Water, 746 Martin (B. K.), nominated for the pass: Visiting : Fellowship, 697 Martin (Dr. G.), Wits: Essential Oils and Fruit Essences used for Soaps and other Toilet Articles, 2 Martin-Zédé (M.), The Influence of Orientation on rls Success of the Transplantation of Trees, 94 Marvin (F. S.), An Epic of Science, 638; The Science of Ancien Greece, 169 Mascart (J.), Shsecvations of the Partial Eclipse of the Sun of March 28, 1922, 599 Mason (F. A.), Revival of Sporophores of Schizophyllum sonal 1 eee 474 Mather (S.), Gift to Western Reserve University, 317 | Mather (Prof T.), Impending Retirement of, from the Chair of Electrical Engineering in the City and Guilds (Engineering) College, 192 Mathews (Dr. G. B.), [death], 384; [obituary article], 450 Thea riea al te ites te i Matignon (C.), and M. Fréjacques, The Transformation of — Ammonia into Urea, 326 Matsumoto (T.), The Effect of Moisture Content upon the Expansion of Concrete, 320 Matthews (Mr.), The Distribution of Certain Elements of the British Flora, 190 Matthews (Sir William), [obituary article], 83 Maxwell (Sir Herbert), Avaucaria imbricata, 209; Nectar- sipping Birds, 612 Mayo-Robson (Sir Arthur), and Commdr. L. C. Bernacchi, — The British Science Guild, 728 McAdie (Prof. A.), Forecasting Annual Rainfalls, 139 » Index XV _A.), Multenions and Differential ~ ‘Parts 2 and 3, 2 J.), A Handbook on Cotton and Tobasee : in Nyasaland : A Guide to Prospective a FP), Hydrogen-ion Concentration of the ' “= Small Intestine, 30 eam peaenary). 246 i fo tuary article], 821 ( » Australian Fishes (2), 95 ; Lord Howe , appointed Demonstrator in Botany in iversity, 829 . C.), Antarctic Polycheta, 604; re- € nt of the Ray Society, 384 .), Gasoline from Oil Shale, 594 A.), Spsmghinaad of Air Bubbles in ds, 667 Poerons of the Somatic Nucleus in fpiwded. the Gray Prize in Logic and the pn Prize in St. Andrews University am and D. S. Ainslie, The Structure 1708 A of the Isotopes of Lithium, 698 Suga elected President of the American 4 eet sage Jenner Medal of the Royal tatty article], 557 estate Practice. Second edition, Pro: R),: a Commemoration Medal of, 49 L. Du Toit, the Johannesburg Sheet Survey of South Africa, 562 ecent se ts to our Knowledge of Coalfields, 5 ntenary of the iieeh of, 486 ce oe at Broken Hill, Rhodesia, ‘The Magnetic State of Arctic Basalts, Problems in the Variability of Blue Flame produced by Common 83; ands. pepe The Spectrum Paves Lecture), 4 death], 419 ; aatisry article], 451 tile Death in Infected Caterpillars, 158 Life. of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916, insteinienne de la Gravitation: Essai de 3 ie, 770 .), Organisation of Adult Education, 760 , New Methods of Arctic Exploration, 636 ; Greenland, 702 ; Sir Ernest Shackleton, cia and its Petroleum Industry, 624 — A.), and I. G. Barber, The Reflection and 4 spre University Lecturer in Astro- apes University, 197 awarded a re at Cam ey? University, 3 vod ie gpa a First iirse _ouvrage traduit de 1l’allemand, de Chambrier’s Exploitation du pétrole par puits et Galeries, 443; Helium in Natural Gas, 112; Imperial Institute: Monographs on Mineral Re- sources with Special Reference to the British Empire : Petroleum, 475; Nature and Origin of the Pliocene Deposits of the County of Cornwall, etc., 62 ; White- head’s Btnzol, 513 Milner (Lord), Classical and Scientific Studies, 33 Milroy (Dr. J. A.), and Prof. J. H. Milroy, Practical Physiological Chemistry. Third edition, 704 Mitchell (C. Ainsworth), Pencil Markings in the Bodleian Library, 516 Moir (Sir Ernest), offer of a Memorial Prize in the Engineer- ing Department of Cambridge hag 797 Moir (J. Reid), The Ice Age and Man, 529 Moldenhauer (Dr. W.), translated by Dr. L. Bradshaw, Laboratory Exercises in Applied Chemistry for Students in Technical Schools and Universities, 710 Molliard (Prof.), A New Acid Fermentation produced by Sterigmatocystis nigra, 567 ; Encyclopédie scientifique : Bibliothéque de Physiologie et de Pathologie végétales: Nutrition de la plante. Parts I., II., 769 Monaco = rince Albert of), elected a Foreign Member of the Zoological Society of London, 21 Monie (M. M.), A Photographic Survey of Soils, 25; 151 Monnet (P.), The Italian Earthquake of September 7, 1920, 326 Monval (P. M.), The Preparation of Ammonium Chloride, 631 Moore (A. E.), The Rat and its ree: 659 Moore (Prof. B.), Biochemistry: A Study of the Origin, Reactions, and Equilibria of Living Matter, 639; [death], 315; [obituary article], 348 Moore (H.), and S. Beckinsale, Season-cracking and its Prevention : Condenser Tubes, 3 Moore (H. F.), and J. B. Kommers, Endurance Limits of Metals, 219 Moore (Prof. H. L.), Cycles in the Yield of Crops, 261 Moore (Sir Norman), elected President of Honour of the International Congress of the History of Medicine, 21 mene? (L. J.), Three Lectures on Fermat’s Last Theorem, Mordey (W. M.), Alternating-current Mineral Separation, More soft (Prof. J. H.), assisted by A. Pinto and W. A. Curry, Principles of Radio-communication, 38 Morgan (Prof. T. H.), elected an Honorary Member of the: Royal Irish Academy, 487; conferment upon, of an Honorary Degree by Edinburgh University; Old and New Ideas about oat 797; The Mechanism of Heredity, 241, 275, 312, ; 830 Morris (E. H.), Chronology of the San Juan Area, 158 Morris (R. T.), Nut Growing, 337 Morshead (Major), Mount Everest Maps, 3 Mottram (Dr. J. C.), Structures and Habits matiiated with Courtship, 77 Moulton (Major J. C.), Malaysian Butterflies, 23 Moureu (Prof. C.), translated by W. T. K. Braunholtz, Fundamental Principles of Organic Chemistry, 505 ; and C. Dufraisse, Anti-oxidation, 320; and Lepape, The Estimation of Krypton and Xenon in Absolute Value by Spectrophotometry, 599 ae Seam M.), Land and Sea Breezes in the Gulf of Lions, Matis (Sir Berkeley G. A.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 526; endowment of a Gold Medal at Leeds University, 288 Ssanet. (M.), Lead in the Uranium Minerals of Madagascar, Muir tP), A New Genus of Australian Cixiide (Homo- ptera), 832 Muir (Sir thomas), conferment upon, by the Mae ee of Cape Town of the Honorary Degree of D.Sc., 394 Muirhead (Miss C. M. ee Dr. W: EF. S. Turner, Effect of Magnesia on the Durability of Glass, 157 Murray (Dr. J. A.), Cancer Research, 311 Murray (J. A.), gay Composition of Ensilage, 25 Murray (Miss M. A.), Knots in Ancient Egypt, 726; Recent Excavations in Malta, 27; The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology, 572 Muscio (Prof. B.), Vocational Selection, 222 Xvi Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Musgrave (H.), Bequest to Queen’s University, Belfast, 597, 798; bequest to the Royal Academical In- stitution, Belfast, 798 Musters (J. C. Chaworth), The Flora of Jan Mayen Island, 194 Muttelet (C. F.), A New Method for the Detection of Coco-fat in Butter, 194 . M‘Whae (J.), The Importance of White Settlement of the Heart of Australia, 559 Myers (Dr. C. S.), and others, The National Institute of Industrial Psychology, 459 Myers (J. G.), The Australian Apple Leafhopper, 95 Nakamura (S.), The Direction of the First Movement in an Earthquake, 593 Naumann (Prof. A.), [obituary], 485 : Negrettiand Zambra, A.Thermometer for Measuring Rock Temperatures, 562 Négris (P.), Atlantis and the Quaternary Regression, 94 Némec (A.), and F. Duchoti, A New Indicating Method of Evaluating the Vitality of Seeds by the Biochemical Method, 399 Nernst (Prof. W.), Das Weltgebaude im Lichte der Neueren Forschung, 766; Director of the Physikalisch- Technische Reichsanstalt, 487; 2¢ édition francaise, complément refondue d’aprés la roe édition allemande par Prof. A. Corvisy. Traité de chimie générale. premiére partie, 574 Nettleton (H. R.), A Special Apparatus for the Measure- ment at Various Temperatures of the Thomson Effect, 225 Neuburger (M. C.), Das Problem der Genesis des Actiniums, 80 9 Newman (F. H.), Active Hydrogen and Nitrogen, 749 Newsholme (Sir Arthur), Current Values in Preventive Medicine: Relation between Prevention and Treat- -ment, 487; Methods of Evaluating Public Health Activities, 487; Values in Preventive Medicine Historically considered : General and Specific Sanita- tion, 487 Newton (A.), The Position of Neptune’s Equator, 528 Newton and Wright, Ltd., Catalogue of the Snook Ap- paratus, 88; Deep Therapy Apparatus, Section 2b, 150 Nichols (E. L.), and D. T. Wilbur, Luminescence at High Temperatures, 31 as Nicholson (J. H.), awarded the Albert Kahn Travelling Fellowship, 823 , Nicholson (Prof. J. W.), Problems Relating to a Thin Plane Annulus, 224 Nicloux (M.), and G, Welter, The Gravimetric Quantitative Micro-analysis of Urea, 63 Nicoll (M.), appointed Lecturer in Psychotherapy in Birmingham University, 125 Nicolle (C.), and E. Conseil, Preventive Vaccination by the Digestive Tract in Man, 534 Noble (Sir W.), Science at the Post Office, 609 Nolan (J. J-), and J. Enright, The Electrification Produced by Breaking up Water, with Special Application to Simpson’s Theory of the Electricity of Thunderstorms, 462 Nopcsa (Baron F.), The Geological Importance of the Primitive Reptilian Fauna in the Upper Cretaceous of Hungary, 430 Nordmann (C.), Einstein and the Universe: A Popular Exposition of the Famous Theory. Translated by J. M‘Cabe, 770 Nordmann (C.), and Le Morvan, A Singular Phenomenon presented by the Star 6 of the Great Bear, 463; Observation of an Abnormal Star by the Hetero- chrome Photometer of the Paris Observatory, 127 North (J. L.), The Possible Successful Growth of Glycine soja, Sieb. and Zucc., as a Profitable Crop in Great Britain, 290 Norton (A. P.), A Star Atlas and Telescopic Hand-book (Epoch 1920) for Students and Amateurs, 269 Noiiy (P. Lecompte du), The Superficial Equilibrium of the Serum and of Some Colloidal Solutions, 599 Noyes (A.), The Torch-bearers, 638 Nuttall (Mrs. Zelia), Archeological Investigations in Mexico, 59 Obata (J.), Standard Cells of Low Voltage, 251 Ogilvie (A.), The Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, 822 Oldham (R. D.), The Cause and Characters of Earth- quakes, 361, 650, 685 Ormsby (Mrs.), Connections between Original Contours and Drainage of London and Westminster, 91 Orton (Dr. J. H.), The Blood-cells of the Oyster, 612 Osborn (Prof. H. F.), Hesperopithecus, the First Anthro- — poid Primate found in America, 750 oY Osborne (Dr. T. B.), awarded a John Scott Medal, etc., 558 ee Osburn (W. J.), Reports on Education by English, French, and German Observers, 829 oe Osgood (Prof. W. F.), Elementary Calculus, 574 ei Ostenfeld (Dr. C. H.), Apogamous Reproduction, 218 Ostwald (Prof. W.), Das System der Kriminologie, 86 Owen (E. A.), and Bertha Naylor, The Measurement of the Radium Content of Sealed Metal Tubes, 256 Owen (L.), The Phosphate Deposit of Ocean Island, 62 Owens (Dr. J. S.), Suspended Impurity in the Air, 289 Oxley (Dr. A. E.), Magnetism and Atomic Structure, IL. : 290 Pacotte (Dr. J.), La Physique théorique nouvelle, 739 Paget (Sir R. A. S.), Dr. J. F. Bottomley, 212; Nature of Vowel Sounds, 341 ; i [ae Painlevé (P.), The Classical and the Einstein Theory of Gravitation, 699 Painton (E. T.), Small Single-phase Transformers, 135 Palladin (Prof. V. I.), [obituary], 419 ee Palmer (A. H.), The Weather in Death Valley, California, Paiwer (he R.), A Short Course in Commercial Arithmetic and Accounts: The Use of Graphs in Commerce and Industry, 644 ae Palmer (W. G.), The Catalytic Activity of Copper. Part 3, 26 Pannett (Dr. C. A.), appointed Professor of Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, 429. Pantin (C. F. A.), Statistical Studies of Evolution, 273 Paris (E. T.), Doubly Resonated Hot-wire Microphones, 698 Park (Prof. J.), Western Southland, New Zealand, 657 ; and others, Geology in New Zealand, 624 ; Parry (E. J.), The Raw Materials of Perfumery: their Nature, Occurrence, and Employment, 305 Parsons (Sir Charles), Gift to the British Association, 590 Parsons (Prof. F. G.), Craniometry in the British Isles, 250 ; The Long Barrow Race and its Relationship to the Modern Inhabitants of London, 86 : Partington (Prof. J. R.), The Energy of Gaseous Molecules, 256; The Oxidation of Ammonia, 137 Pascal (P.), The Magneto-chemical Investigation of Con- stitution in Mineral Chemistry, 326 Pasteur (Louis), The Centenary of the Birth of, 486 Paton (H. J.), Plato’s Theory of eixacia, 224 Patterson (Dr. A. M.), A French-English Dictionary for Chemists, 73 Peake (H. J. E.), Bronze Swords and the Aryan Problem, 563; The Ice Age and Man, 529 _ Pear (Prof.), Mental Tests and Mentality, 657 __ Pearce (E. K.), Typical Flies: A Photographic Atlas ; Second Series, 677 : Pearson (S, O.), and H. St. G. Anson, Some Electrical Properties of Neon-filled Lamps, 730 Peddle (C. J.), The Manufacture of Optical Glass, 157 _ Peirce (F. T.), Electromagnetic Valency and the Radiation Hypothesis, 290 P Pélabon (H.), The Action of Selenium on Gold, 258; The Constitution of Selenium, 63 : Pell (C. E.), The Law of Births and Deaths: Being a Study of the Variation in the Degree of Animal Fertility under the Influence of the Environment, 267 Pellegrin (J.), A New Blind Fish from the Fresh Waters of Western Africa, 567 : ‘ : Penard (Dr. E.), Etudes sur les Infusoires d’eau douce, I Penfold (A. R.), The Essential Oil obtained of the Leaves of Doryphora sassafras, Endlicher, 226 vege Re Re ere te ee Ne Index XVil The Trend of Radio-development, 599 .), Bequest to the Fitzwilliam Museum, The Measurement of Pressure in the Atmos- the Sun, 599; The Variation in the Wave- h of the Telluric Lines, 194 ; The Resonance Theory of Hearing, 176 Differences of Altitude of the Stations of ridian Arc of the Equator, 362 oe panias on Scale-insects, 154 W. F.), Protein Therapy and Non-specific 727 I “ Awakening ” of Arable Earth, 631 rof. M.), Mécanismes communs aux phéno- . Its History, Structure, and nt, 203 Pneumatic Conveying, 135 , and J. A. Hewitt, The Action of ‘‘ Pep- od and Immunity thereto, 430 . H.), Changes on the Moon, 690 t for a New Medical Research Labora- 224 3 Tertiary Mollusca of Santo Domingo, 692 lomenon at the Solfatara of Pozzuoli, 59° elected a Foreign Member of the Swedish Sciences, 384; Physikalische Rundblicke. Reden und Aufsatze, 739 4 Friction Losses in Internal Combustion ), The Toxicity of Various Nitrophenols for S$ nigra, 127 Very Massive Star, 791 == “ae the Culture in vitro of the Vaccine ‘Minister of France, 84 Mile. J. Tritchkovitch, The Direct _ by the Sebaceous Glands, 800 The Mechanical Construction of the a Historical Point of View, 754 The Reduction of Ethyl Benzoate and r.Benzene Compounds by Sodium and iain ee ee 5: E -tension Switchgear, 7 ), es, 699; The Distribution of Activity Therapy under Different Conditions of The Distribution of Activity in .), The Vapour-pressure of Ternary ML. Duval, The Variation of the Osmotic the Blood of the Freshwater Teleostean the Influence of the Increased Salinity of ng Water, 800 sitism and Symbiosis, 643 ; Symbiotic -Phosphorescence, 814; The Food of lip-worm, 290; Patents and Chemical Pa), elected President of the Association ic Biologists, 317 ; presented with the Gold Linnean Society of London, 754 P.), and Dr. W. W. Payne, Epigastric . L.), Aspects of Plant Life, with Special ) the British Flora, 513 A Course of Practical mistry. Third edition, 305 . J. H.); The Toxic Action of Illuminating eee ‘ A Very 9 -R. H. A.), Analyses and Energy Values of. Priestley (Major R. E.), The Signal Service in the European _ War of 1914 to 1918 (France), 336 Pring (Dr. J. N.), The Electric Furnace, 99 Pringsheim (Dr. P.), Fluoreszenz und Phosphoreszenz im Lichte der neueren Atomtheorie, 739 Procopiu (M. St.), An Electro- and Magneto - optical Effect in Liquids holding Metallic Powders in Suspen- + sion, 700 , Procter (W. C.), Foundation of a Visiting Fellowship at Princeton University, 254 Pruvot (Mme. A.), A New and Remarkable Type of Gym- nosome (Loginiopsis), 463 Puchner (Prof. H.), Der Torf, 608 Punnett (Prof. R. C.), Animal Breeding, 57 Pye and Co., Catalogue of Scientific Apparatus, 421 Quincke (Dr. Fr.), appointed Professor of Technical orga at the Technische Hochschule, Hanover, 79 Radio Supplies, a Wireless Telephone Receiving Set, 819 Raison (C. A.), appointed Part-time Assistant in Anatomy in Birmingham University, 498 Ramamurty (S. V.), Space and A®ther, 75 Raman (Prof. C. le Anistropy of Molecules, 75; Diffrac- tion by Molecular Clusters and the Quantum Structure of Light; 444; Einstein’s Aberration Experiment, 477; Molecular Structure of Amorphous Solids, 138 ; Optical Observation of the Thermal Agitation of the Atoms in Crystals, 42; The Colours of Tempered Steel, 105; The Radiant Spectrum, 175 Ramanujam (S. M.), Self-Fertilisation in Mollusca, 593 Ramsay (the late Sir William), A Memorial Tablet of, to be placed in Westminster Abbey, 85 Ramsbottom (Mr.), ‘‘ Californian Bees,’’ 155 Ranvier (L.), [obituary article], 620 Rasmussen (K.), translated by A. and R. Kenney, Green- land by the Polar Sea: The Story of the Thule Ex- pedition from Melville Bay to Cape Morris Jesup, 702 Rathbun (Miss Mary J.), The Brachyuran Crabs collected ~ by the American Museum Congo Expedition, 87 Ravaz (L.), and G. Vergé, The Germination of the Spores of Vine Mildew, 30 Raven (Sir Vincent), The Electrification of Railways, 88 Rayleigh (Lord), A Photographic Spectrum of the Aurora of May 13-15, 1921; A Study of the Presence or Absence of Nitrogen Bands in the Auroral Spectrum, 698 ; A Study of the Glow of Phosphorous: Periodic Luminosity and Action of Inhibiting Substances, 93 ; The Aurora Line in the Spectrum of the Night Sky, 93 Raymond (Prof. P. C.), “The History of Corals and the ‘ Limeless Oceans,’ ’’ 657 Rayner (E. H.), J. W. T. Walsh, and H. Buckley, The Lighting of Public Buildings, 490 Reade (W. H. V.), A Criticism of Einstein and his Pro- blem, 770 Redway (J. W.), Handbook of Meteorology : A Manual for Co-operative Observers and Students, 440 Redwood (Sir Boverton), Petroleum. Fourth edition. In three volumes, 403 Reed (W. H.), Gift for a Site_of the University College of the South-West of England, 629 Reese (Dr. C. L.), The Benefits of Research to Corpora- tions, 124 5 Reeves (E. A.), Hints to Travellers. General. Tenth edition. 2 Vols., 268 Reeves (F.), The Cement Oilfield, Oklahoma, 489 Reg (O.), Edited and with an Introduction by W. Gamble, Byepaths of Colour Photography, 547 Reiche (F.) Die Quantentheorie: ihr Ursprung und ihre Entwicklung, 234 Reid (Mrs. Eleanor M.), Fossil Buttercups, 136; Hollow Curve as shown by Pliocene Floras, 256 Reid (Sir G. Archdall), Man, 579; Memory, 551; Mind, 515 ; Some Biological Problems, 307 ; Some Problems in Evolution, 104 Reid (Miss J. M.), appointed Demonstrator in Zoology in St. Andrews University, 829 Reid (W.), Discovery of Comet 1922a, 186 Scientific and The XVIill Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Rendle (Dr. A. B.), A Seedling of the Red Horse-Chestnut in which a new Terminal Bud had been developed, 534; Specimen of Wood of Ovites excelsa, R. Br. (family Proteacez), one of the Australian Silky Oaks, 194 Rennie (J), The Present Position of Bee-Disease Research ; Polyhedral Disease of Tipula Species, 396 Renouf (L. P. W.), appointed Professor of Zoology in University College, Cork, 254 Rey (J.), Range obtained by a Beacon Light of Great Power fitted with Metallic Reflectors, 226 Reynolds (Prof. S. H.), Guide to a Geological Relief Map of the Bristol District, 53 Rhodes (E. C.), On the Relationship of Condition of the Teeth in Children to Factors of Health and Home Environment, 409 Rhynehart (J. G.), The Life-History and Bionomics of the Flax Flea-Beetle (Longitarsus parvulus, Payk.), 398 ; 825 Richards (Prof. T. W.), and A. W. Rowe, Electrolytic Dissociation, 658 een (L.), The Illumination of the Eclipsed Moon, 318 Richardson (L. F.), The Speckled Wave Front of Light, 683; Thermo-Electric Instrument for Measuring Radiation from the Sky, 240 Richardson (N. M.), The Weathering of Mortar, 310 Richardson (W. A.), A Simplification of the Rosiwal Method of Micro-Analysis, 127; The Distribution of Oxides in Washington’s Collected Analyses of Igneous Rocks, 126 Richet (C.), E. Bachrach, and H. Cardot, Studies on the Lactic Fermentation, 566; The Tolerance of the Lactic Ferment to Poisons, 258 Richter (V. von), edited by Prof. R. Anschiitz and Dr. R. Meerwein. Translated by Dr. E. E. Fournier D’Albe. Organic Chemistry, or Chemistry of the Carbon Com- pounds. Vol. 2: Chemistry of the Carbocyclic Com- pounds, 709 Rideal (Dr. S.), and Dr. E. K. Rideal, Chemical Disin- fection and Sterilisation, 674 Ridewood (the late Dr. W. G.), The Skull in Foetal Speci- mens of Whales of the General Megaptera and Baleznoptera, 499 Riley (J.), The Age of Power: A First Book of Energy, its Sources, Transformations, and Uses, 269 Ritchie (Dr. eA; The Riddle of Bird Migration, 573 Rivers (Dr. W. H. R.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 247 ; The Unity of Anthropology, 323 ; [death], 753; [obituary article], 786 Riviére (G.), and G. Pichard, The Partial Sterilisation of the Soil, 327 Roaf (Dr. H. E.), Biological Chemistry, 704 ; The Acidity of Muscle during Maintained Contraction, 499 Roberts (Prof. J. B.), and Dr. J. A. Kelly, Treatise on Fractures in General, Industrial, and Military Prac- tice. Second edition, 304 Robertson (Prof. B.), Factors of Growth and Multiplica- tion, 187 Robertson (Prof. J. ae The Absorption of Fluorescing Sodium Vapour, 4 Robertson (Sir Rohers): >The Work and Scope of a Scientific Society, 420 Robertson (wW), The Message of Science, 9 Robinson (Prof. B. L.), elected a Foreign Member of the Linnean Society, 655 Robinson (J. J.), The Message of Science, 43 Robinson . (Prof. R.), appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry in Manchester University, 664; The Atomic Vibrations in the Molecules of Benzenoid Sub- stances, 476 Robson (G. C.), Self-Fertilisation in Mollusca, 12 Roderick (Dr.), re-appointed Demonstrator in Surgery in Cambridge University, 797 Roesler (M.), The Iron-Ore Resources of Europe, 794 Roget (S. R.), A First Book of Applied Electricity, 271 R6éhmann (Prof. F.), Uber kiinstliche Ernahrung und Vitamine, 741 Rohr (Prof. M. von), Die Brille als optisches Instrument. Dritte Auflage, 772 Rolleston (Sir Hibinkty), elected President of the Rént- gen Society, 824; elected President of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 526 Ronaldshay (Lord), elected President of the Royal Geo- graphical Society, 724 Rordame (A.), Observations of Venus, 592 Rose (Prof. H. J.), Animals on the Roof, 529 Rose-Innes (A.), Reform of the Calendar: Mean Value of the Year, 44 Rosenbusch (H.), petrographischwichtigen Mineralien. Halfte. Untersuchungsmethoden, Prof. E. A. Wiilfing. Lief. 1, 303 Rosengarten (G.), The Effect of Temperature on the Ab- sorption Spectra of Glasses, 529 Rosenhain (Dr. W. ), Some Cases of Failure in “ Aluminium — Band 1 Fiinfte Auflage, Alloys,”’ 397 Ross (Sir Ronald), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 526 Rothenstein (Prof. W.), Education and Industry, 223 Rougier (Prof. L.), La Matiére et l’énergie: ackene - Théorie de la Relativité et la Théorie des erga ve Nouvelle édition, 339; translated by Prof. M. Masius, Philosophy and the New Physics: An Essay on ayy: Relativity Theory and the Theory of Quanta, Roule (L), The Ontogenesis of the Scombriform Fishes belonging to the Family of the Luvarides, 732; The Periodic Changes of Habitat of the Comesba Tunny Fish, 30 Rowan (W.), Breeding Habits of the Merlin, 423 Rowell (H. S.), The Elliptic Logarithmic Spiral—A New Curve, 716; Units in Aeronautics, 44 Roy (Rai Bahadur Sarat Chandra), Principles and Methods of Physical Anthropology, 408 Rusher (E. A.), Statistics of industria! Morbidity in Great Britain, 21 | Rushton (W.), The Biology of Freshwater Fishes, 731 _ Russell (Dr. A.), elected President of the Physical Society of London, 217; The Design of Electric Power Stations, 570 ; The Induction Motor, 545 Russell (A.), A Discovery of Pitchblende at Kingswood Mine, Buckfastleigh, 126; and A. Hutchinson: Laurionite and Paralaurionite from Cornwall, 126 — Russell (B.), The Analysis of Mind, 513 ‘Russell (Dr. E. J.), Photo- -Synthesis i in Plants, 153 Russell (Prof. H. N.), A Criticism of Majorana’s Theory of Gravitation, 352; Deduction of Star-Distances from Proper Motions, 121; Eccentricity of Double-Star Orbits, 560 Russell (T. F.), The Constitution of Chromium Steels, 23 Russell Ww. T.), The Relationship between Rainfall and | ete as shown by the Correlation Coefficient, 598 Rutherford (Sir Ernest), Artificial Disintegration of the Elements, 418, 584, 601, 614; elected President of the Science Masters’ Association, 57; Identification . of a Missing Element, 781; to be President of the Liverpool Meeting of the British Association, 384 Ryland (H.S.), An Improved Subjective Test for Astigma- tism, 830; Motor Headlights without Glare, 793 Saccheri (G.), Euclides Vindicatus, Edited and Translated by G. B. Halsted, 232 Sadler (Sir Michael), and others, Residential Accommoda- tion for Students in Universities, 759 Saleeby (Dr. C. W.), The Action of Sunlight, 11, 274; ; The Advance of Heliotherapy, 663 Salet (P.), The Pressures of the f Genser of the Stars and the Sun, 158 Salmon (Prof. C. E.), Sagina filicaulis Jord., Cevastium subtetvandrum Murbeck, Arum italicum Mill, 431 Salter (M. de Carle S.), The Rainfall of the British Isles, 440 Sambon (Dr. L. W.), Discoveries in Tropical Medicine, 681 Sampson (Prof.), Wireless Time Signals, 422 Sanderson (F. W.), [obituary Rey a Sandmeyer (T.), [obituary article], 7 a (R.), retirement, from the. Meteatoomicnl Office, setune ‘B. B.), ‘The Depressor Nerve of the Rabbit, 255 Sarolea (Prof. C.), The Royal Academy of Belgium, 684 Mikroskopische Physiographie der. a Erstesiia & ™ Lndex xix G. O.), elected a foreign member of the Zoo- Society of London, 21 ), and L. Moinson, A case of Bronchial Moni- easy), The Tercentenary of the death of, 214 (R.), and C. Levaditi, The Use of Bismuth in the sy gg Syphilis, 127 Sharpey), Experimental Physiology, edition, 710 ; presentation to, 122 ; and others, pblogy, 122 A.), Observations of Skjellerup’s Comet, 799 W.), Fuel and Lubricating Oils for Diesel | gill wsky (P.), and P. Wehrlé, The Significance of in the Prediction of Weather, 226 nin ation of Star Magnitudes by a Ther- ase T*.); oe Latitude Changes, 560 and M.), Electrical Phenomena produced » 326 Translated by Dr. K. Wichmann, the Universe: A Popular Introduction s Titeory of Space and Time, 544 The Breeding-Places of the Eel, 193; y of the Gibraltar Region, 45 2 Z 4 a B ° ° ef 3 = 8 - sw $ G. A.), Some Terrestrial Experiments on -and Einstein’s Theory, 106 S:), Climates of the Past, 424 rt of Laboratory for the Cleaning, etc., 119 - nts of Practical Geometry: A Two * Day and Evening Technical Stu- .), Thermionic Tubes in Radio-Telegraphy , The Helmholtz Theory of Hearing, Ph.D., 780 ; The 7ooth Anniversary ersity of Padua, 752 . The Action of Sodium Sulphite on |, reappointed University lecturer in sics in Cambridge University, 728; of Angular Momentum; A Focal ermining the Elastic Constants B.), and J. Aboulenc, The Catalytic Hydro- Polyphenols in the Wet Way, 30; Preparation of the Cyclohexanetriols, H. Goodspeed, and R. E. Clausen, 1s certain Varieties of Nicotiana urassic Plants from Ceylon, 193 3 ul’s Cathedral, 315 Bud Mutations, 282 - The Teaching of Natural History in r, 386; and B. Lindblad, Spectro- 3 with Objective Prism Spectrograms, ; a; Cloud Forms, 301; Dr. Edward M.P., 82; Mont Blanc Meteorological 90; The Antitrades, 206; Turbulence ogical Agency, 469 _ pi oved Means and Methods of Education, {obituary article], 143 ; Memorial Shaw (P. E.), and N. Davy, The Effect of Temperature on Gravitative Attraction, 462 Shaxby (Dr.), An Instrument by which the Spectra are Formed in Reversed Order, 123 Shaxby (J. H.), A Curious Physiological Phenomenon, 77 Shearer (Prof. C.), The Heat Production and Oxidation Processes of the Echinoderm Egg during Fertilisation and Early Development, 193, 666 Sheehy (E. J.), The Influence of Feeding on Milk Fat, 398 Sheppard (T.), Papers Bearing upon the Zoology, Botany, and Prehistoric Archzology of the British Isles, 622 ; Tin Plague and Arctic Relics, 78, 209 Sherrington (Sir Charles), Some Points regarding Present- day Views of Reflex Action, 463 Siegbahn (M.), The Degree of Exactitude of Bragg’s Law for the X-rays, 535 Siegfried (Prof. M.), Uber partielle Eiweisshydrolyse, 741 Sieverts (Prof. A.), appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Frankfort-on-Main, 798 Silberstein (Dr. L.), appointed an Associate Editor of the Journal of the Optical Society of America, 724 Simpson (Dr. G. C.), elected a Member of the Atheneum Club, 420; The South-West Monsoon, 109 Simroth (Prof. H.), Die Pendulations-Theorie, Zweite Auflage, 809 Singer (Dr. C.), elected President of the International Congress of the History of Medicine, 21; Greek and Arab in Medicine, 438 Skinner (S.), Boyle’s Experiments on Capillarity, 518 Skjellerup (Mr.), A New Comet, 690 Slipher (V.M.), Spectral Evidence of a Persistent Aurora, 55; The Spectrum of the Corona in 1918, 656 Smith (Miss Annie Lorrain), Lichens; A Handbook of the British Lichens, 5 Smith (B.), Lead and Zinc Ores in the Carboniferous Rocks of North Wales, 6; H. Dewey and B. Smith, Lead and Zinc Ores in the Pre-Carboniferous Rocks of West Shropshire and North Wales, 2 parts, 546 Smith (C. J.), The Viscous Properties of (a) Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide, and (b) Nitrogen and Carbon Monoxide, 666 Smith (Lt.-Col. D. J.), elected President of the Institution - of Automobile Engineers, 216 Smith (D. P.), Experiments on the Electrical Conduction of a Hydrogen Alloy, 158 Smith (Eng.-Cdr. E. C.), The Centenary of Naval Engineer- ing, 59 Smith Ch E.), An Electromagnetic Method for the Measure- ment of the Horizontal Intensity of the Earth’s Magnetic Field, 533 Smith (Prof. G. Elliot), The Brain of Rhodesian Man, 355 ; and Prof. Hunter, The Piltdown Skull, 726 Smith (Prof. G. McP.), A Course of Instruction in Quantita- tive Chemical Analysis for Beginning Students: With Explanatory Notes, Questions, and Analytical Problems, Revised edition, 709 Smith, (Prof. J. W.), impending Resignation of the Chair of Systematic Surgery in Manchester University, 498 Smith (T.), A Projective Treatment of the Submarine Periscope, 431 ; Optical Resolvimg Power and Defini- tion, 745; The Changes in Aberrations when the Object and Stop are Moved, 830; The Classification of Optical Instruments, 830; The Optical Three- - apertures Problem, 157; The Position of Best Focus in the Presence of Spherical Aberration, 666; and J. S. Anderson, A Criticism of the Nodal Slide as an Aid in Testing Photographical Lenses, 430 ; and L. M. Gillman, Achromatism with one Glass, 830 Smith (W. B.), Elements of Natural Science, Part 1, 641 Smith (Dr. W. G.), Methods of Grassland Analyses, 25; and Dr. A. Lander, Results of a Soil Survey in the Lothians, 25 $55 Smith (W. W.), to succeed Sir I. Bayley Balfour, 526 Smithells (Prof. A.), A Searchlight on Solids, 262; The Blue Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire, 745 : : Smith-Rose (A. L.), The Electromagnetic Screening of a Triode Oscillator, 462 Smyth (L. B.), A variety of Pinite occurring at Bally- corus, Co. Dublin, 398 ! Snell (Sir J. F. C.), Power House Design, 570 4 XX Index Nature, August 12, 1922 grees “gies F.), Calcium Carbide and the Board of Trade, Solas ‘Prof. W. J.), Shell-Structure in Foraminifera, 424 Sommelet (M.), and J. Guioth, The Formic Hydrogenation of the Quaternary Salts of Hexamethylenetetramine, 463 Soather: (R.), Indian Marine Polycheta, 187 Southerns (L.), An Outline of Physics, 641 Southwell (R. V.), The Free Transverse Vibrations of a Uniform Circular Disc Clamped at its Centre; and on the Effects of Rotation, 289 Sauvageau (C.), and G. Denigés, The Efflorescences of Rhodymenia palmata, 535 Speak (D. J.), The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and Technical Education, 597 Spearman (C.), Correlation between Arrays in a Table of Correlations, 533 Spegazzini (C.), The Argentine Laboulbeniales, 61 Speight (R.), Changes of Climate in Australasia, 825 Spitaler (Prof. R.), Das Klima des Eiszeitalters, 512 Staley (R.), Town Gas Manufacture, 774 Stapf (Dr. O.), Retirement of, 384 Starling (Prof. E. H.), The Law of the Heart, 13 Start A acalg E.), Sea Dayak Fabrics and their Decoration, Stead (G.), and E. C. Stoner, Low Voltage Glows in Mercury Vapour, 397 Steavenson (Dr. W. H.), Recent Magnitudes of Nove, 455 Stebbing (Prof. E. G.), History of Indian Forestry, 189 ; The Importance of Scientific Research in Forestry and its Position in the Empire, 225 aiepue (Rev. T. R. R.), Tribal Name of the Raninide, 08 Bi sansa (V.), The Friendly Arctic ; Years in Polar Regions, 636 Steinriede (Dr. F.), Anleitung zur Bodenanalyse, Zweite Auflage, 643 Stenhouse (E.), Simple Lessons on the Weather for School Use and General Reading, 440 Step (E.), Animal Life of the British Isles: A Pocket Guide to the Mammals, Reptiles, and. Batrachians of Wayside and Woodland, 514; British Insect Life : A Popular greens to Entomology, 514 Stephens fs oe .), Walaeus and the Cacuineon of the The Story of Five mineralogischen Blood, Stephenson tbr. J.), Non-Specific Therapy, 717; The Morphology, Classification, and Zoogeography of> Indian Oligocheta, iv., v., vi., 256 Stephenson (Marjory), and Margaret Whetham, The Fat Metabolism of the Timothy Grass Bacillus, 126 Steward (G. C.), awarded a Smith’s Prize at ‘Cambridge University, 360 Stewart (Major F. H.), Parasitic Worms of Man and Methods of Suppressing them, 379 Stiasny (Dr. G.), Studien iiber Rhizostomeen mit beson- derer Beriicksichtigung der Fauna des Malaiischen Archipels nebst einer Revision des Systems, 513 St. John (Prof.), Observations of Venus, 592 Stoklasa (J.), The Influence of Selenium and of Radium on the Germination of Seeds, 632; The Influence of Selenium on Plant Evolution, Absence of Radioactivity, 732 Stone eg H.), Stonehenge : Concerning the Four Stations, 410 Stormer (Prof. C.), a np eeerapnc Studies of the Aurora, 47 ene (Dr. P. D.), and Dr. R. S. Clay, The Tuning of 591 Stradling ( (Re E.), appointed Head of the Department of =e so pes at the Bradford Technical College, Strachling C.), The Radioactivity of the Uranium Oxides, Sieamicee (Dr. E.), Textbook of Botany, Rewritten by Dr. H. Fitting, Dr. a Jost, Dr. H. Schenck, Dr. G. Karsten. Fifth English Edition Revised with the Fourteenth German Edition by Prof. W. H. Lang, 740 Strong (C. A.), The, Wisdom of the Beasts, 608 Stuart (C. M.), Presidential Address to the Incorporated Association of Head Masters, 61 Stumper (R.), New Observations on the Poison of Ants, 258 in the Presence or Sudeley (Lord), and Lord Hylton, The Educational Use of Museums, 688 Sumner (Dr. F. B), The Organism and Environment, 456 Sussmilch (C. A.), The Geology of the Gloucester District, N. , 226 Sutcliffe em "E), A Bright Fireball, 55 4 ee! (E.), Chemistry of Puip and Paper Making, Sutherland (J), The Past and Present Position of Forestry 4 in Great Britain, 189 ; Svedberg (Prof. T.), The Grain of the Photographic Plate, 221; The Interpretation of Light Sensitivity in Photography, 795 oe Sverdrup (H. V.), New Surveys on the Arctic Coast of Asia, 423 ; “The Chuchki Natives of North-Eastern | Siberia, 792 Swick (C. H,), Gravity Observations, 188 Swift and Son, ’‘Ltd., Catalogue of Petrological Microscopes, 658 Swinton (A. A. Campbell), David Hughes’ Electrical Experiments, 315, 485 ee hie, Le Nubi, Parte 1, Testo; Parte 2, Atlante, Taffin (ML), Annealing and the Mechanical Properties of Glass, 158; Annealing of Glass, 94 Tanret (G.), The Chemical Composition of Ergot of Diss and the Ergot of Oats, 535 Tata (the late Sir Ratan), Continuance of Benefaction to ag Ratan Tata Foundation of London University, Tattersall (Dr. W. M.), The Sound-Producing Mechanisms of Crustacea, 431 Taylor (E. G. R), A Sketch Map Geography: A Text- book of World and Regional Geography for the Middle and Upper School, 135 Taylor (E. W.), Effect of Changes of Surface Curvature at ne Focus of an Astronomical Object Glass, 566 Taylor (G. I.), Stability of a Viscous Liquid contained between two Rotating Cylinders, 533 Taylor (J. L. B.), The American Indians’ Knowledge of the Mastodon, 387 Taylor (W.), Cohesion, 10 Taylor (Dr. W.), and A. D. Husband, The Varying Rates — of Secretion of Milk on its Percentage Composition, 25 Taylor (Dr. W. W.), The Chemistry of Colloids and some Technical Applications. Second edition, 204 © Termier (P.), and L. Joleaud, The Suzette Layer : The Question of its Origin, 29 Terroine (E. F.), and R. Wurmser, The Energy Yield in the Growth of Aspergillus Niger, 831 Thirring (Prof. H.), Translated by R. A. p Russell, The Ideas of Einstein’s Theory: A Theory of Re- lativity in Simple Language, 544 Thomas (Major E. R.), Post- Certificate Science ie the Non-Specialist, 57 Sai Thomas (Prof. G.), The Development of Institutions under Irrigation; with Special Reference to Early Utah Conditions, 577 Thomas (H. H. ), Structure of some Angiospermous Fruits, 190; Some New and Rare Jurassic Plants from York- shire (V.), 290; and E. G. Radley, The So-called “ Avanturine”’ from India, with an Analysis of the ‘ Contained Mica, 126 Thomas (N. W. R The Week in West Africa, 124 Thomas (V.), aie Organometallic Compound of we! 326 , Thompson (A. H. ), appointed Reader in Medizval History in Leeds University, 697 Thompson (Prof. D’Arcy W.), Greek Mathematics, 330 Thompson (F. C.), and E. Whitehead, Some Mechanical | Properties of the Nickel-silvers, 397 Thompson (Prof. M‘Lean), The Floral Development of the Cannon-Ball Tree, 190; the Floral Structure of Napoleona imperialis, Beauv, 257 bape pe L.), The Teaching of History and Geo- Toone (T. Ww. ), The Taboo of Women among Gypsies, 319 3 Index XX ir Courtauld), The National Council for Mental e, 565, .), Dr. Frank Bottomley, 240 Prof. J. A.), Mountain and Moorland, 513; unts of Life: Being Six Lectures delivered at yal Institution, Christmas Holidays, 1920~ J. J.), elected President of the Institute of Address to the Institute of Physics, 723; itive Electricity and their Application to Analyses. Second edition, 671 , A History of Chemistry, 603 ; Chemical Pro Prof. P. A. Revised and enlarged edition, Revised and enlarged edition, 266 Deep Submarine Volcanic Eruptions, 632; ibution of the Chalk in Deep-Sea Sediments, eutral Lines of Submarine Coast Sedi- Henry), [obituary article], 452 im), Presidential Address to the Royal Institute, 53 Jensity, Refractivity, and Composition f Some Natural Glosses, 126 Mile. H. Van der Host, and H. K. Onnes, ints of Pure Organic Liquids as Ther- [he Citric Solubility of Manurial Phosphates, d Mr. McAfee, Proposed 50-Foot Reflector, LT: E.), Turbines. Third edition, 171 R.), The Educational Work of the Phila- omn ial Museum, 53 ‘The Preparation of Sodium Bicarbonate, “f ‘Wreyland. Second Series, 678 Hieroglyphs, 282 ; Mexican Arche- E. Sheppard, The Silver Bromide hic Emulsions, 304 saws of Kepler and the Relativist Orbits, Th Examination of Textiles by X- The Pleiades, 152 . J.), Alternating-Current Mineral Separa- H.), Biographical Address at the Cen- e Royal Astronomical Society, 761 — less Telegraphy and Telephony: An etrical Engineers and Others, 38 S.), elected President of the Society gy; The British Glass Industry : ment and Outlook, 590; The Methods of ing the Durability of Glass, 157 3 allentin’s Illustrations of the Flowering of the Falkland Islands, 370. .), Monoclinic Double Selenates of the ; Monoclinic Double Selenates of dex, 666 ; ), The New Stone Age in Northern he Pre-Devonian Basement Complex of tZ0€! gen, 257 ; G. The Atomic Numbers of Ytterbium, and Celtium, 781 ; The Atomic Numbers of um, Lutecium, and Celtium, 799 — and Prof. G. Urbain, The Extraction and lards for Temperatures below 0°C., 258 Purification of Scandium from Thorveitite of Mada- gascar, 799 Underhill (Prof. F. P.), A Manual of Selected Biochemical Methods as Applied to Urine, Blood, and Gastric Analysis, 645; and M. Ringer, Blood Concentration Changes in Influenza, 30 Van Cleef (E.), Rainfall Maps of Latin America, 424 Van Maanen (Dr. A.), Internal Motion in the Spiral Nebula Messier, 33, 158 Vallentin (Mrs. E. F.), with Descriptions by Mrs. E. M. Cotton, Illustrations of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Falkland Islands, 370 Varney (W. D.), The Drainage of the Vale of Pewsey, 23 Veil (Mlle. C.), The Relation between the Chlorine Index and the Nitrogen Content of Plant-Soil, 226 Veitch (R.), and W. Greenwood, The Food-Plants or Hosts of some Fijian Insects, 95 Venkataramaiah (Y.), Change of Colour of a Crystal of Sodium Thiosulphate by the Addition of Colloidal Gold or Platinum Solution, 590; Wendt and Lan- dauer, Active Hydrogen, 696 Venn (Dr. J.), and J. A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses : A Biographical List of all known Students, Graduates, and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1, From the Earliest Times to 1751. Vol. 1, 742 Veno (Sir William), Offer of a Prize for the Discovery of a Cure for Cancer, 147; Gift for Research Work in Cancer, 184 Verner (Col. W.), [obituary article], 213 Vernon (Dr. H. Mr Industrial Fatigue and Efficiency, 511 Vernon (W. S.), appointed Assistant Lecturer in Physics in Manchester University, 155 . Verworn (Prof. Max), [obituary article], 213 Vickers (Prof. K. H.), appointed Principal of University College, Southampton, 429 Vila (A.), The Influence of Heat and of some Solvents on the Viscosity of Horse Serum, 667 Villedieu (M. and Mme. G.), Contribution to the Study of -Anticryptogamic Copper Mixtures, 464 Villey (J.), Physique élémentaire et théories modernes. Premiére Partie, Molécules et Atomes: Etats d’équilibre et mouvements de la matiére, 739; The Adiabatic Liquefaction of Fluids, 62 Vines (T. H.), The Paleolithic Age in India, 387 Peas Visser (Dr. S. W.), Propagation of Earthquake Waves, 283 Vlies (L. E.), elected Chairman of the Chemical Section of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 69° Voigtlander (Dr. F.), [death], 654 Vredenburg (E.), Paleontology of the Burma Oilfields, 825 ; Tertiary Fossils of Burma, 594 Wade (C. F.), The Fireman’s Handbook and Guide to Fuel Economy, 204 Wahl (A.), G. Normand, and G. Vermeylen, The Mono- chlortoluenes, 599 Waidner (Dr. C. W.), [obituary], 654- Wailes (G. H.), Heliozoa (The British Freshwater Rhizo- poda and Heliozoa). Vol. 5, 441 Walcott (Dr. C. D.), The Limbs of Trilobites, 562 Walker (E. W. A.), Studies in Bacterial Variability, 126 Walker (Prof. M.), The Diagnosing of Troubles in Electrical - Machines, 674. Waller (Dr. A. D.), [death], 348 ; [obituary article], 418 Wallis (J. S.), The Carboniferous Limestone (Avonian) of Broadfield Down (Somerset), 193 Wallis (P.), and A. Wallis, Prices and Wages: An Investiga- tion of the Dynamic Forces in Social Economics, ror - Walsh (J. W. T.), and others, Motor Headlights, 694 Walter (L. H.), Directive Wireless Telegraphy : Direction and Position Finding, etc., 270 Walters, Jr. (F. M.), and R. Davis, Colour Sensitive Photo- graphic Plates, 529 : Walters (R. C. S.), Greek and Roman Engineering Instru- ments, 23 A Walton (Lt.-Col. H. J.), Entomology and Malaria, 334 Walton (J.), The Ecology of the Flora of Spitzbergen, 396 XXil [ndex . Nature, August 12, 1922 Waran (H. P.), A New Form of Direct-reading Barometer, 763; A New Form of High Vacuum Automatic Mercury Pump, 462; A New Form of Interfero- meter, 94 Warburg (Comdr. H. D.), Tides and Tidal Streams: A Manual compiled for the Use of Seamen, 767 Ward (Prof. R. de C.), United States Temperatures, 490 Wark (J. W.), Energy Charges Involved in Transmutation, 108 Warner (C. A.), Field-mapping for the Oil Geologist, 474 Waterhouse (G. A.), The Need for a Zoological Survey of Australia, 831; Breeding Experiments with the Satyrine Genus Tisiphone, 832 Waterhouse (W. L.), The Production in Australia of the ZEcidial Stage of Puccinia graminis, Pers., 226 Waters (H. H.), Astronomical Photography for Amateurs, 339 Waterston (Dr. J.), The Systematics of the Parasitic Hymenoptera, 119 .Watson (Dr. M.), with Contributions by P. S. Hunter and A. R. Wellington, The Prevention of Malaria in the Federated Malay States: A Record of Twenty Years’ Progress, 334 Wayland (E. J.), and Dr. A. M. Davies, The Miocene of Ceylon, 730 Webster (A. G.), Some New Methods in Interior Ballistics, 30 Wedderburn (Dr. E. M.), Seiches ; and the Effect of Wind and Atmospheric Pressure on Inland Lakes, 462 Wegener (Prof. A.), Die Enstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, 202; The Flotation of Continents, 757 Weimarn (Prof. P. P. von), appointed Research Associate of the Imperial Institute of Osaka, 622 | Weinstein (A.), Homologous Genes and Linear Linkage in Drosophila virilis, 30 Weiss (Prof.), Graft-Hybrids, 27 Weiss (H.), and P. Henry, The Influence of Temperature on the Velocity of Interpenetration of Solids, 226; The Influence of the Time Factor on the Interpenetration of Solids by Chemical Reaction, 831 Weitz (B. O.), Some Illustrative Types of Latin-American Rainfall, 424 Welch (M. B.), Occurrence, of Oil Ducts in certain Euca- lypts and Angophoras, 95 Wells (H. G.), The Importance of Science, 728 Wendell (Dr. G. V.), [obituary], 485 Wendt (Dr. G.), and C. E. Iron, Disintegration of Elements, 8 % 41 Wendt (Dr. G. L.), Active Hydrogen and Nitrogen, -749 Wertheimer (E.),. The Entero-hepatic circulation of the Bile Acids, 363 : Wesenberg-Lund (Dr. C.), The Biology of Danish Calicide, 325 Westermarck (Prof. E.), The History of Human Marriage. Fifth edition. 3 Vols., 502 Westgren (Dr.), and Mr. Phragmen, X-ray Crystallographic Investigations on Iron and Steel, 817 Westwood (A.), The Assay of Gold Bullion, 397 Wetmore (A.), Fossil Birds from Porto Rico, 792 Wey! (Prof.), Translated by H. L. Brose, Space—Time— Matter, 634 : Whatmough (J.), Rehtia, the Venetic Goddess of Healing, 154 Wheeler (Eng. Lt.-Commr. S. G.), Entropy as a Tangible Conception : An Elementary Treatise on the Physical Aspects of Heat, Entropy, and Thermal Inertia for Designers, Students, and Engineers, and particularly for Users of Steam and Steam Charts, 404 White (Dr. I. C.), and Mrs. White, gift to the University of West Virginia, 316 Whitehead (S. E.), Benzol: Its Recovery, Rectification, and Uses, 513 Whitlock (Dr. H. P.), A List of New Crystal Forms of Minerals, 793 Whyte (F.), appointed lecturer in Engineering in Uni- versity College, Dundee, 829 Widal (F.), P. Abrami, and J. Hutinel, Researches on the Proteopexic Insufficiency of the Liver in Dysenteric Hepatitis, 258 Wightman’s Secondary School Mathematical Tables. Edited by F. Sandon, 737 Wild (F.), The Quest expedition, 790; 622 Wildeman (E. de), Contribution a l’étude de la flore du Katangar, 548 Willets (Dr. D. G.), [obituary], 654 Williams (J. Lloyd), The Life-histories of Laminaria and Chorda, 699 =e. Williams (S.), A New Variable in Cygnus, 656 Willis (Dr. J. C.), and G. U. Yule, Some Statistics of Evolution and Geographical Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance, 177, 256, 274, 413 Wilson (Prof. E.), The Susceptibility of Feebly Magnetic Bodies as affected by Compression, 762 Wilson (Prof. G. M.), and Prof. K. J. Hoke, How to Measure, 472 Wirtz (C.), Radial Motions of Spirals and Clusters, 791 Wissler (Dr. C.), Man in the Pacific, 387; The American Indian’s Knowledge of the Mastodon, 387 Witherby (H. F.), Progress of Bird-marking in 1921, 527 Wollaston (Sir Arthur Naylor), [obituary], 246 Womersley (W. D.), The Energy in Air, Steam, and Carbon Dioxide from 1roo° C. to 2000° C., 93 Wood (H. E.), Reid’s Comet, 1922 (a), 422 Wood (H. O.), Seismological Stations of the World, 489 Wood (Prof. T. B.), and Prof. J. W. Capstick, The Progress of Metabolism after food in Swine, 730 1 = Woods (H.), T. W. Vaughan, and J. A. Cushman, Tertiary Fossils of Peru, 561 Woods (Miss), Nova Puppis 1902, 217 : ; Woodcock (Dr. H. M.), and Miss Olive Lodge, Parasitic Protozoa collected by the British (Tevrva Nova) Expedition, 530 Woodhead (Sir German Sims), [obituary article], 19 Woodhead (T. W.), Junior Botany, 773 Woodruff (L. L.), The present Status of the long-continued Pedigree culture of Paramecium aurelia at Yale University, 159 Woodward (Dr. A. Smith), A supposed Ancestral Man in North America, 750 ; elected President of the Linnean Society of London, 754 Woog (S.), Velocity of Extension of Thin Layers of Oil on the Surface of a Sheet of Water, 158 Woolley (J.), Sons and Co., Ltd., The Scientist’s Reference Book and Diary for 1922, 88 3 Woolley (the late H.), gift by executors for a lectureship in Pharmaceutics in Manchester University, 155 _ Wordie (J. M.), A Summer Visit to Jan Mayen Island, 15 ; Antarctic Geology, 218 ; Grant to, in aid-of an i- tion to Greenland, 697 th Wormall (A.), appointed demonstrator in Bio-chemistry in Leeds University, 254 2 : Wright (W. H,), on the Continuous Radiation found in some Celestial Spectra beyond the Limit of the Balmer Series of Hydrogen, 810 Wright (Dr. W. H.), Spectrum of a Cygni, 89 3 Wrinch (Dr. Dorothy), The Theory of Relativity in Relation to Scientific Method, 381 ; and others,. ' Recent Developments of Relativity Theory, 90 Wulff (A.), Bibliographia Agrogeologica: Essays of a Systematic Bibliography of Agro-Geology, 338 Yancey (H. F.), and T. Fraser, Sulphur in Illinois Coal- beds, 354 ‘ Young (R.), The Work of Timothy Hackworth, 350 _ Young (Prof. S.), The Vapour Pressures and Boiling Points of Non-miscible and Miscible Liquids and the Composition of the Vapours (distillates) from such .Heterogeneous- and Homogeneous Mixtures, 431-; with the collaboration of various authors, Distillation Principles and. Processes, 434 Younghusband (Sir F.), the Need for Intensive Geo- . graphical Examination of the Homeland, 753 Zaepftel (E.), The Mechanism of the Orientation of Leaves, 12 Zanetti, (Prof. C. V.), [death], 788 Zeeman (Dr. P.), Verhandeligen van, over Magneto- Optische Verschijnseleng, 66 Zimmern (A.), The ] Sensibility of Emulsions in Radiography, 326 Influence of Temperature on the CE Bee ee ST Index XXIll tals, 729; Conferment of Doctorates, 460 The Changes in, when the Object tid Stop d, T. Smith, 830 Agricultural pietarch at, 795 rements in Electricity and Magnetism, Gra Second edition, 166 The ction of, on the Sodium Derivatives of O nd the Preparation of the Dialkylethinyl- . Locquin and S. Wouseng, 831 th one Glass, T. Smith and L. OM. Gillman, des, Das Problem der, M. C. Neuburger, cal Laboratories, Co-ordination of the i Use of Light as an Aid to, Lt.-Col. eering: A Text-book of, The Problem H. Chatley. Third edition, 808 iples and Problems of, Prof. G. H. lesa R. Low, 12, 139; H. S. — Greenhill, 74 The “ Hole in the Air,” the “ Spin,” Prof. L. Bairstow, 612; The rot les of the, Dr. S. Brodetsky, 296 ise caused by, C. Dévé, 631 e Structure of, 233 ‘of, Dr. W. A. Cunnington, 28 of. Wales, An, J. P. Howell, 304; Institute of, First Election of of the, 249 Experiments at Ithaca, N.Y., t Aberystwyth, 795 at the British Association, Dr. A. Lauder, 25 ; Le : phia, Essay of a ee ie Agro-Geology, Dr. A. Wulff, 338 a i uids, Cataphoresis of, T. A. erence, The, 220 ; Minis plied Scientific Research of the, Carbon Dioxide, The Energy in, 000° C., W. D. Womersley, 93 ; Sus- 1 the, Dr. J. S. Owens, 289 Resources in, 8 ae man School (Matriculation ‘the Hill Folk, of, Journeys among the e urés “Mountains, M. W. Hilton- ‘Ltd. The Laboratory of, 1 51. from the Congo, Mara L. Pratt- Lamprey, 710. Mineral Separation, Prof. S. J. ts, G. C. Lamb, 2 Parts, 710 ; is of the Meridian Arc of the Equator, of, G. Perrier, 362 ~ ed Organo-metallic Compound of, M. 27; A Mixed Organo-metallic Compound ‘homas, 326; and Zinc, The Alloys of, D. |M. L. V. Gayler, 397; “ Alloys,” Failure in, Dr. W. Rosenhain, 397 f Research in, The Universities ed the Ms a : | the Royal Society of Arts, The, awarded Sixth impression teecond TITLE ANDEX., ‘University, Carnival on Behalf of the Locak American; Academy of Arts and Sciences, Prof. A. S. Eddington and Sir T. Clifford Allbutt elected Honorary Foreign Members of the, 788 ; Association at Toronto, The, Dr. B.-E. Livingston, 285 ; Presidential Address to the, Dr. L. O. Howard, 79; Colleges and Uni- versities, Facilities for Foreign Students in, 497; Museum of Natural History, A Study of the, Sf; Organic Chemicals, 162; Pitt Rivers Museum, An, aoe) Research Chemicals, List of, 151 ; Universities, octorates in Science conferred by, in 1920-21, 532 Amino-naphthenes, A New Preparation of, A. Mailhe, 326 Ammonia: into Urea, The Transformation of, C. Matignon and M. Fréjacques, 326; Oxidation, C. S. Imison and W. Russell, 388 ; The Oxidation of, Prof. J. R. ‘Partington, 137; ‘The Réle of Gaseous Impurities in ‘the Catalytic Oxidation of, E. Decarriére, 535 Ammoniacal Nitrogen in Nitrogenous Organic Material, Estimation of, J. Froidevaux, 731 Ammonium: Chloride, The Preparation of, P. M. Monval, 631; Molybdo-malate, The Action of Acids on, E. Darmois, 631; Two New Molybdo-malates of, E. Darmois, 226 Amorphous Solids, Molecular Structure of, Prof. C. V. Raman, 138 Amphibian Metamorphosis and Pigment Responses in relation to Internal Secretions, Experiments on, J. S. Huxley and L. T. Hogben, 193 Amundsen’s Arctic Expedition: The Missing Men of, 248; Plans for, 420 Amylases of Different Origins, The Distinctive Properties of, J. Effront, 94 Amylocellulose considered as a Compound of Silicic Acid and Amylose, G. Malfitano and M. Catoire, 667 Analysis, Elementary, Prof. C. M. Jessop, 737 Anaphylactic and Anaphylactoid Shock, The Resistance : of Females during Pregnancy to, A. Lumiére and H. Couturier, 327 Anaphylaxis and Anaphylatoxins, Dr. H. H. Dale and C. H. Kellaway, 430 Ancestral Man in North America, A Supposed, Dr. A. Smith Woodward, 750 Ancient Tales from Many Lands: A Collection of Folk Stories, R. N. Fleming, 269 Angami Nagas, The, with some Notes on Neighbouring Tribes, J. H. Hutton, 539 Angiospermous Fruits discovered in the Middle Jurassic Rocks of Yorkshire, Structure of some, H. H. Thomas, 190 Angle Comparators of High Precision for the Goniometry of Prisms, J. Guild, 830 Anglo-: Egyptian Sudan, Teaaibgical Survey of the, G. V. Colchester appointed a Geologist on the, 216; Swedish Society, Travelling Scholarships of the, awarded to Miss Joan Evans and W. N. Edwards, 384 Angular Momentum, The, Conservation of, G. F. C. Searle, 397 Animal: Breeding, Problems of, Prof. R. C. Punnett, 57 ; Life of the British Isles: A Pocket Guide to the Mammals, Reptiles, and Batrachians of Wayside and Woodland, E. Step, 514 Animals: on the Roof, Prof. H. J. Rose, 529; with Com- posite Spinal Cords, Functional Regulations in, S. R. Detwiler, 31 Annulus, Thin Plane, Problems relating to a, Prof. J. W. Nicholson, 224 Antarctic Geology, J. M. Wordie, 218 Anthocyanic Pigments, Formation of, R. Combes, 194 Anthocyanidines in Plant Tissues, The Detection of the Pseudo Bases of, R. Combes, 94 Anthrax Infection in Man, 119 Anthropology: Physical, Principles and Methods of, Rai Bahadur Sarat Chandra Roy, 408 ; The Unity of, Dr. W. H.R. Rivers, 323 Anti-Oxidation, C. Moureu and C. Dufraisse, 320 Antiquities: in the Neighbourhood of Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire, On Some, Rt. Rev. Dr. G. F. Browne, XXIV Index Nature, August 12, 1922 265; Laboratory for the Cleaning, etc., of, Report of a, Dr. A. Scott, 119 Antiseptic Action and Chemical Constitution, oe between, Prof. J. B. Cohen, Prof. C. H. Browning, R Gaunt, and R. Gulbransen, 255 Antitrades, The, Dr. W. van Bemmelen, 172 ; Shaw, 206 Antityphoid Vaccination by Scarification, A, Lumiére and J. Chevrotier, 632 Ants, The Poison of, New Observations on, R. Stumper, 258 Apogamous Reproduction, Dr. C. H. Ostenfeld, 218 Apparatus for determining the Standard Deviation Mechanically, Dr. W. L. Balls, 534 Apple Industry of North America, The Commercial, J. C. Folger and S. M. Thomson, 645 Apples in Storage, Diseases of, Mrs. M. N. Kidd, 462 Arabia, New Surveys in, D. Carruthers, 756 Arabian Medicine: Being the FitzPatrick Lectures de- livered at the College of vate gey in’ November t919 and November 1920, Prof. E. G. Browne, 438 Arabic Chemistry, E. J. Holmyard, 778 Araucaria imbricata, Raising of Plants from Seeds of, J. Anderson; W. J. Bean, 87; Sir Herbert Maxwell, Sir Napier 209 Archer’s Bow in the Homeric Poems, The, H. Balfour, 91 Archeology: European, Prof. R. A. S. Macalister, Vol. 1, The, Paleolithic Period, 605: in Mexico, 59 Arctic: Basalts, The Magnetic State of, P. L. Mercanton, 667; Coast of Asia, New Surveys on the, H. Sverdrup, 423 ; Expedition, Capt. R. Amundsen to co-operate with the Dept. of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in his, 280 ; Exploration, New Methods of, Dr. H. R. Mill, 636; Seas, Ice in the, in 1921, 489; The Friendly, The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions, V. Stefansson, 636 Argentine Republic, Botany of the, 60 Aristotelian Society, Proceedings of the. Vol. xx1,, 371 Arithmetic and Accounts, Commercial, A Short Course in, A. R. Palmer, 644 Arsenic, Colloidal Sulphide of, The Flocculation of, A. Boutaric and M. Vuillaume, 799 Art, Standards and Principles in, A. H. Hannay, 256 Arthropoda, Studies on, Dr. H. J. Hansen, 456 Aryan Problem, Bronze Swords and the, H. Peake, 563 Aspergillus Niger, The Energy Yield in the Growth of, E. F. Terroine and R. Wurmser, 831 Assam, Native Life in the Highlands of, H. Balfour, 539 Astigmatism, An Improved Subjective Test for, H. S. Ryland, 830 Astrographic Catalogue, The, 24; The Perth Section of the, 386 Astronomical : Chronography of Precision, An, H. Abraham and R. Planiol, 29; Photography for Amateurs, = H. Waters, 339; Union, International, Dr. A. C Crommelin ; Prof. W. W. Campbell elected preadcan New Series— 727 ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Comets : Comet Notes, 186; Reid’s Comet, 1922 (a), H. E. Wood, 422; New Comet, Skjellerup, 690; .Comets, Dr. Steavenson, and others, 725 Instruments : A Printing Chronograph, 217; Proposed 50-foot Reflector, Prof. Todd and Mr. McAfee, 592 Meteors : The Shower of January Meteors, W. F. Denning, 55 ; A Bright Fireball, G. E. Sutcliffe, 55; Meteoric Shower of December 4-5, 1921, W. F. Denning, 121 ; Fireball observed in Sunshine, W. F. Denning, 217; Detonating Fireballin Sunshine, W. F. Denning, 249 ; Meteoric Fireballs, 318 ; The Shower of Lyrids, 528 ; The April Meteors, W. F. Denning, 560; Large Fireball, 725; The Meteors of Pons-Winnecke’s Comet, W. F. Denning, 824 Observatories : The Einstein Tower, 24 Planets : Conjunction of Mars with a Star, W. F. Denning, 186 ; Saturn, W. F. Denning, 318 ; The Illumination of the Eclipsed Moon, L. Richardson, 318 ; The Stellar Mag- nitude of the ‘Ringless Saturn, J. van der Bilt, 352 ; Planetary Observations at Sétif, Jarry-Desloges, 386 ; The Approaching Opposition of Mars, 386; Ratios of Planetary Distances, F. A. Black, 422; The Position of Neptune’s Equator, A. Newton, 528 ; his Markings, W. F. Denning, 591 ; Observations of Venus, A. Rordame, Prof. St. John, 592; The Planet Mercury, W. F. Denning, 623 ; Changes on the Moon, Prof. W. H. Pickering, 690; Prof. Brown’s New Lunar Tables, 690 Stars : Changes in the Crab Nebula, J. C. Duncan, 24; Move- ments in Spiral Nebule, Dr. J. H. Jeans, 55; The Origin of Binary Stars, Dr. J. H. Jeans, 89; The Orbit of Castor, Dr. W. Doberck, 89; Spectrum of a Cygni, Dr. W. H. Wright, 89; Deduction of Star- distances from Proper Motions, Prof. H. N. Russell, t21.;. The Pleiades, R. Trumpler, 152; Internal Motions in the Spiral Nebula M 81, Dr. van Maanen, 186; Nova Puppis, 1902, Miss Woods, 217; Movements in Spiral Nebule, Dr. van Maanen, 249; Relation of Spectral Type to Magnitude, Dr. H. ‘Shapley and Miss Annie J, Cannon, 281 ; Comparison of Speed of Blue and Yellow Light, 318 ; Parallaxes and Proper Motions, Dr. van Maanen, 318; The Definition of a Nova, Rev. J. G. Hagen, 352; Stars of Class A in the Solar Cluster, Dr. H. Shapley and Miss Annie J.Cannon, 386; The Light-Curve of Nova Cygni, 1920, 386; Stars of the B Canis Majoris Type, F. Henroteau, 422 ; A Study of Obscure Nebule, Rev. J. G. Hagen, 455 ;- Recent Magnitudes of Nove, Dr. W. H. Steavenson, 455; Evening Stars, 488; The Distances of the Short: Period Cepheid Variables, Prof. J. C. Kapteyn and P. J. van Rhijn ; Dr. Shapley, 488 ; Determination of Star Magnitudes by a Thermopile, J. Sebi, acd Eccentricity of Double-Star Orbits, Prof. H. Russell, 560; Effective Temperatures of Stars, De W. W. Coblentz, 560; Progressive Latitude Changes, Prof. F. Schlesinger, 560 ; A New Variable in Cygnus, S. Williams, 656; The Search for New Stars, 824; Colours of Binary Stars, P. Doig, 824 Sun The Total Solar Eclipse of next September, 152; The Partial Solar Eclipse of March 28, 352 ; Photography of the Ultra-violet Solar Spectrum, C. Fabry and H. Buisson, 352; The Sun’s Rotation from Spectro- heliograms, 422; Total Eclipse of the Sun, 591; Solar Researches, 592; The Spectrum of the Corona in 1918, 656 ; : Miscellaneous : The Astrographic Catalogue, H. B. Curlewis, T. P. Bhaskaran, L. Herrero, 24; Spectral Evidence of a Persistent Aurora, V. M. Slipher, 55; Popular. Astronomy in Sweden, 121; A Criticism of Major- ana’s Theory of Gravitation, Prof. H. N. Russell, 352 ; The Perth Section of the Astrographic Catalogue, 386 ; Slides of Photographs taken at Yerkes Observatory, 386; Wireless Time-Signals, Prof. Sampson, 422 ; Spectroscopic Parallaxes with Objective Prism Spectrograms, Dr. H. Shapley and B. Lindblad, 422 ; Spectroscopic Study of Procyon’s Orbit, Dr. Lunt, 455; A Catalogue of Double Stars, 592; Advances in Astronomy, 623; Determination of Luminosities by Spectrophotometry, B. Lindblad, 656 Astronomy: A Century of, Prof. A. S. Eddington, 815 ; Advances in, 623; Populdr, in Sweden, 121 Asymmetry, The Notion of, T. Iredale, 779 Athenzum Club, Prof. F. re Hopkins and Dr. W. H. R. Rivers elected Members of the, 247; Drs. E. Barker, A. E. Cowley, and G. C. Simpson elected Members of the, 420; Sir F. W. Duke, Sir Berkeley G. A. Moyni- han, and Sir Ronald Ross elected Members of the, 526 Ather and Urather, Uber, Prof. P. Lenard, 739 Atlantis and the Quaternary Regression, P. Négris, 94 _ Atmosphare, Die Zirkulation der, in den gemassigten Jupiter and — SE Ae ES AK Do IG cli are i ae ee Index XXV Breiten der Erde. Grundziige einer Theorie der ‘Klimaschwankungen, Prof. A. Defant, 469 nospheric: Nitrogen, The Fixation of, Dr. J. Knox, 73; Pollution by Smoke, Discussion on, 153; Pressure and Refractive Indices, with a Corresponding Table of Indices of Optical Glass, J. W. Gifford, 94; Re- fraction, Dr. J. Ball, 8, 444; Instr.-Comdr. T. Y. aker, 8, 105, 550; Dr. J. de Graaff Hunter, 549 m : The Constitution of the, 383; The Structure of the, ‘N s on some Recent Theories, Dr. S. Miall, 710 Constitution, A Magnetic Model of, J. K. Marsh an of. A. W. Stewart, 340; Numbers of Neo- } um, Lutecium, and Celtium, The, G. Urbain, ysics, The Present State of, E. Bauer, 591 ; e, Magnetism and, II., Dr. A. E. Oxley, 290; and, 170; Theories, F. H. Loring, 372 rystals, tical Observation of the Thermal n of the, f. C. V. Raman, 42 Resonance Hypothesis of, C. R. G. Cosens H. Hartridge, 11 Variations in Organs of, J. W. Low, 320 Persistent, Spectral Evidence of, V. M. Slipher, Borealis of January 30, C. S. Leaf, 176; Heights Photographic Studies of, Prof. C. Stérmer; Dr. , 47; Line in the Spectrum of the Night Sky, ord Rayleigh, 93; of May 13-15, 1921, A aphic Spectrum of the, Lord Rayleigh, 698 ( m, A Study of the Presence or Absence of Bands in the, Lord Rayleigh, 698 1, Electrical, of Respiration at the Commence- nges of Climate in, R. Speight, 825 ; The cal Society of, Centenary of, 148. : Zoological Survey of, The Need for, G. A. e, 831; Coleoptera: Notes and New No. Il., H. J. Carter, 832; Importance of ttlement of the Heart of, J. M‘Whae, 559; acee of. Pt. I., W. F. Blakely, 832 vi ee Leafhopper, The, J. G. Myers, 95; Cixiide “age eae A New Genus of, F. ir, 832; Fishes, New Gyrodactyloid Trematodes H. Johnston and O. W. Tiegs, 832; Notes on, iptions of, A. R. McCulloch (2), 95 ; Meteor- om India, The So-called, with an e Contained Mica, H. H. Thomas and . : 26 ery and Invention, 293 The Isolation of the, 87 ed with Rice and other Cereals, G. J. Prof. T. M. Lowry 3 A Study of the, Prof. A. E. Conrady, 289 , Interior, Some New Methods in, A. G. Webster, oe 3 d, 176 Direct-reading, A New Form of, H. P. Waran, Ss : with Capillary Flow, Courtines and General Map of Europe, showing Bound- States according to Treaties, 1921, 204 New Method for the Industrial Manufacture of, he Treatment of Sugar Molasses, C. Deguide and aud, 700 . ] Metabolic Rate Determinations, Laboratory Manual 1e Technic of, Dr. W, M. Boothby and Dr. Irene and Cyrtide (Diptera), G. H. Hardy, Sandiford, 514; Metabolism of Girls between Twelve to Seventeen Years of Age, F. G. Benedict, M. F. Hendry, and M. L. Baker, 158 Beasts, The Wisdom of the, C. A, Strong, 608 Bed-bug, Discovery of a Parasite in the Salivary Glands of the, Mrs. Aidie, 20 Bee-disease Research, Present Position of, J. Rennie, 396 Bees, Examination of, for Acarine Disease, 528 Beet-sugar Industry, The British, 658 Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research, New Regulations for the, 565 Belfast, Queen’s University, Bequest to, by H. Musgrave, 597; and the Royal Academical Institution, Bequests to, by H. Musgrave, 798 Belgium, Royal Academy of: Establishment of the Prix Joseph Schepkens, 395; Establishment of a van Ertborn Prize in Geology, 565; Prof. C. Sarolea, 684 ; The r5o0th Anniversary of the, 722 Benzenoid Substances, Configurations of Molecules of, Dr. J. Kenner, 581; The Atomic Vibrations in the Molecules of, Prof. R. Robinson, 476 Benzine Vapour, The Absorption Spectrum of, and the Fundamental Magnitudes of the Benzine Molecule, V. Henri, 535 Benzl Ethers of Carbohydrates, Preparation of, M. Gom- berg and C. C. Buchler, 24 Benzol: Its Recovery, Rectification, and Uses, S. E. _ Whitehead, 513 ; Berber Surgery and Sport in the Aurés Mountains, 336_ Berbers of the Aurés Mountains in South-East Algeria, Ethnographical Researches Among the, Capt. M. W. Hilton-Simpson, 699 Beryllium Fluoride, Spectrum of, S. Datta, 326 Bessemer Gold Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute, The, awarded to C. Fremont, 590 Bile Acids, The Entero-hepatic Circulation of the, E. ‘Wertheimer, 363 Biochemical: Method, Prof. A. Harden, 291 ; Methods as Applied to Urine, Blood, and Gastric Analysis, A. Manual of Selected, Prof. F. P. Underhill, 645; Synthesis of a-methyl-d-mannoside, The, H. Hérissey, 30 Biochemistry: A study of the Origin, Reactions, and Equilibria of Living Matter, Prof. B. Moore, 639; German Monographs on, Prof. A. Harden, 741 Biological: Problems, Some, Sir G. Archdall Reid, 307 ; Terminology, 733 : Biologischen Arbeitsmethoden, Handbuch der, edited by Prof. E. Abderhalden. Abt. 5, Teil 7, Heft 1, Lief. 12, 171; Abt. 5, Methoden zum Studium der Funktionen der einzelnen Organe des tierischen Organismus. — (1) Teil 3, Heft 1, Entwicklungsmechanik. (2) Teil 3, Heft 2, Entwicklungsmechanik. Abt. 9, Methoden zur Erforschung der Leistungen des tierischen Orga- -nismus. (3) Teil 1, Heft 1, Lief. 34, Allgemeine Methoden, 135 ; Lief. 45, Abt. 5, Teil 7, Heft, 2, 305 Biophysics, An Introduction to, Dr. D. Burns, 704 Bird : -marking, Progress of, in 1921, H. F. Witherby, 527; Migration, The Riddle of, Dr. J. Ritchie, 573 Birds: Migration Instinct in, Mrs. C. D. Langworthy, 750; Nectar-sipping, P. M. Debbarman, 489; Sir Herbert Maxwell, 612; The Periodic Nuptial Adornment in, The Physiological Conditions Relating to, J. Benoit, 463; The Sense of Smell in, a Debated Question, 783; J. H. Gurney,784 : Birmingham University, Reports of the Council and the Principal; Prof. J. H. Muirhead to be proposed Emeritus Professor; M. Nicoll appointed Lecturer in Psychotherapy; The Prof. P. F. Frankland Fund ; Bequest by R. Peyton, 125; Post-graduate Lectures on Medical Aspects of Crime and Punishment ; A. Piney appointed Lecturer on Pathological Histology ; Grants in aid of Research; Appointment of Repre- sentatives for the Conference of Universities, 254; Gift from the James Watt Memorial Fund; appoint- ment of J. C. Brash to the Chair of Anatomy, 498 ‘|. Birth Control Movement, The, 755 Birthday Honours, The King’s, 573 oar Birthdays in Relation to Intelligence, M. Fairgrieve, 218 Births and Deaths: The Law of, being a Study of the Variation in the Degree of Animal Fertility under the Influence of the Environment, C. E. Pell, 267 XXVI1 I[ndex Nature, August 12, 1922 Bismuth: -compound of the Aromatic Series A and its Therapeutic Activity, H. Grenet and H. Drouin, 399; The Use of, in the Prophylaxy of Syphilis, R. Sazerac and C. Levaditi, 127 Blackness District, The Geology of the, H. M. Cadell, 62 Blind Fish, A New, from the Fresh Waters of Western Africa, J. Pellegrin, 567 Blood-platelets, W. Cramer, A. H. Drew, and J. C. Mott- ram, 666 Blue and Yellow Light, Comparison of Speed of, 318 Blue: Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire, The, W. Hughes and Prof. T. R. Merton, 683; Prof. A. Smithells, 745 Board of Education Summer Courses of Instruction, 665 Bodenanalyse, mineralogischen, Anleitung zur, Dr. F. Steinriede. Zweite Auflage, 643 Bohemia, Science in, Prof. B. Brauner, 625 Borough Polytechnic Institute, J. W. Bispham appointed Principal of the, 665 Botanists, Early British, and their Gardens, based on Unpublished Writings of Goodyer, Tradescant, and others, R. T. Gunther, 806 Botany:: at the British Association, 189; for Students of Medicine and Pharmacy, Prof. F. E. Fritch and Dr. E. J. Salisbury, 773; Junior, T. W. Woodhead, 773; National Institute of, Second Report of the, 185; of the Argentine Republic, 60; Strasburger’s Text-book of, rewrjtten by Dr. Fitting, Dr. L. Jost, Dr. H. Schenck, Dr. G. Karsten. Fifth English edition revised with the Fourteenth German edition, by Prof. W. H. Lang, 740 Bottomley, Dr. Frank, J. Thomson, 240 Bow, The, in Homeric Timés, H. Balfour, 91 Boyle’s Experiments on Capillarity, S. Skinner, 518 Bradford Technical College, R. E. Stradling appointed Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, H. J. B. Chapple, Lecturer in Electrical Engineering at the, 6 64 Bragg’s Law for the X-rays, The degree of Exactitude of, M. Siegbahn, 535 Brass, High-grade, Influence of Gases on, 755 B-ray: and y-ray Spectra, Interpretation of the, C. D. a 667; Spectra and their Meaning, C. D. Ellis, 2 9 B-rays, The Scattering of, Dr. J. A. Crowther and B. J. Schonland, 156 Bridge, Norman, Physics Laboratory of the Californian Institute of Technology, Opening of the, 559 Bristol; District, Geological Relief Map of the, Explanatory Guide to a, Prof. S. H. Reynolds, 53; University, Establishment of Colston Research Fellowships, 325 ; Coptributions for Colston Research Fellowships, 460 British: and American, Associations, Ages of Presidents of the, Dr. L. O. Howard, 85; Association, Acceptance by Sir Ernest Rutherford of the Nomination as President at Liverpool, 384; Agriculture at the, 25; Botany at the, 189; Chemistry at the, 153; Gift to the, Sir Charles Parsons, 590 ; Physiology at the, 122 ; Reprints of Communications made to the Edinburgh Meeting of the, 455; The Hull Meeting of the, 784 ; Beet-sugar Industry, The, 658; Cotton Industry Research Institute, The, 457; Dyestuffs Industry, 501; Flora, Distribution of Certain Elements of the, Matthews, 190 ; Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa, The, J. Cash and G. H. Wailes, assisted by J. Hopkinson. Vol. 5, Heliozoa, G. H. Wailes, 441; Insect Life: A Popular Introduction to Entomology, E, Step, 514; Isles, The Population of the, Dr. J. Brownlee, 92; Medical Association, Award of the Gold Medal of the, to Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, 317; The Glasgow Meeting of the, 351 ; Mineral Resources, Prof. H. Louis, 6; Museum, Dr. W. Bateson elected a Trustee of the, 655; Mycology, 154; Mycological Society, The, 250; Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association, Report of the, 383; Rainfall Organisation, Removal of the, 454; Research Association for the Woollen and Worsted Industries, Annual Report of the, for 1921, 564 ; Research Chemicals, 597 ; Science Guild, Annual Dinner of the, 728; and the Geddes Recommendations Respecting Education, 498; Sir | Arthur Mayo-Robson and Commander L. C. Ber- nacchi, 728; Scientific Instruments, 65; Prof. W. M. Bayliss, 106; Swallows, The Migration of, Dr. A. L. Thomson, 346; (‘‘ Terra Nova’’) Antarctic Expedi- tion, 1010-1913. Terrestrial Magnetism, Dr. C. Chree, 508 ; University Problems, 407 ; Water Power and its Administration, 161 a Broken Hill, Rhodesia, The Bone-cave at, F. P. Mennell, : 116 pid as ; Bronchial Moniliasis, A Case of, A. Sartory and L. Moinson, — 94 a Brown Bast Disease of the Para Rubber-tree, The, Dr. S. E. Chandler, 357 Buddhist Art, Catalogue of the Collection of, in the U.S. National Museum, J. M. Casanowicz, 53 Bud Mutations, A. D. Shamel, 282 Buffalo Ran, When, G. B. Grinnell, 7 Building Materials and Heat Insulators, 222 3 Burma: Oilfields, Paleontology of the, E. Vredenburg, 825; Tertiary Fossils of, E. Vredenburg, 594; Travel . Film of, 420 RAGES t Burmese Amber, Fossils in, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 713 i Buttercup, A Fossil, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 42 Rg ~ Calcium Carbide: and the Board of Trade, H. E. A., 230, 343; Prof. F. Soddy ; not to be subject to Import s Duty, 280 Calculating Balances, S. Millot, 599 nan Calculus: A First Course in the, Part 2, Trigonometric — and Logarithmic Functions of x, etc., Prof. W. P. 4 Milne and G. J. B. Westcott, 574; Elementary, Prof. W. F. Osgood, 574; for Beginners: A Text-book for Schools and Evening Classes, H. S. Jones, 574 Calendar: of Industrial Pioneers, 29, 61, 93, 125, 156,192, 223, 255, 289, 325, 361, 395, 429, 461, 499, 533, 506, 598, 630, 665, 698, 729, 762, 798, 829; Reformofthe, ~ Mean Value of the Year, A. Rose-Innes, 44; Its History, Structure, and Improvement, A. Philip, 203 Callendar: Steam Tables, Abridged, Centigrade Units ; Fahrenheit Units, Prof. H. L. Callendar, 171; Steam Diagram, Centigrade Units; Fahrenheit Units, 171 Californian Bees, Mr. Ramsbottom, 155 ; Cambridge: University, Dr. A. C. Haddon appointed Acting Curator of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology ; H. F. Holden re-elected to the Benn W. Levy Studentship in Biochemistry ; proposed Erection and Equipment of an Observation Building for Geodesy and Geodynamics ; Foundation of the Alan Bodey Prize, 92; The War List of, ste se 102; Report of a Special Syndicate on Possible Alterations: in the Regulations for the Mathematical and Natural Sciences Tripos, 155; Offer of a Studentship by Emmanuel College ; Grants from the Gordon-Wigan Fund; Annual Report of the General Board of ‘ Studies, 191; C. G. Lamb to be appointed Reader in» Electrical Engineering; Sir Gerald Lenox-Conyng- ham proposed Reader in Geodesy ; proposed Confer- ment of Honorary Degree of Sc.D. on Baron A, A. A. von Hiigel ; a visiting Fellowship at Princeton Univer- sity founded by W. C. Procter; the Royal Commis- sion for 1851 to establish Senior Studentships ; Offer from the Royal Agricultural Society of the Income of the Hills Bequest for an Investigation, 254 ; Proposed Conferment of Honorary Degrees, 288; Smith’s # Prizes awarded to E. A. Milne and G. C. Steward; a Rayleigh Prize awarded to T. A. Brown; J. A. Carroll elected to an Isaac Newton Studentship ; Renewal of a Studentship to W. M. H. Greaves, Regulations for M.Litt. and M.Sc. degrees, 360 ; J. C. Burkill awarded the Allen Scholarship ; Annual Report of the Appoint- a ments Board, 394; Foundation of a J. M. ds Studentship, 498; Bequest to Girton College by ‘ Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle, 532; Report of the Financial Board; H.G.Carterappointed Curatorofthe Herbarium, 565 ; Bequest to the Fitzwilliam Museum by S. G. Perceval ; Offer by W. W. Rouse Ball of Gift for Lectures on Mathematics; Offer by Dr. G. P. Bidder of Gift to the Stazione Zoologica at Naples; Dr. E. _ Lloyd Jones reappointed Demonstrator of Medicine ; 2, Esa Index XXVIi osed to appoint E. A. Milne University Lecturer Astrophysics; B. K. Martin nominated Princeton isiting Fellow ; Grant made to J. M. Wordie for an xpedition to Greenland, 697 ; Dr. Searle reappointed versity Lecturer in Experimental Physics; S. ; University Lecturer in Thermodynamics; F. gton Girdlers’ University Lecturer in Economics; — 2s - uP: 7 a” od aS Col, Sir Gerald Lenox-Conyngham appointed + in Geodesy ; W. Dawson reappointed Reader ; C. Fox reappointed Principal of the ; Endowment by Sir Ernest Moir of a rial Prize in the Engineering Department, 797 ; oderick reappointed Demonstrator in Surgery ; Milné appointed University Lecturer in Astro- ; Grant made to J. L. Evans; Approval of te giving power to confer Titles of Degrees upon : tudents of Recognised Institutions, 797 ; C. Bartlett appointed Reader in Experimental logy and Director of the Psychological Labor- _A. Cox appointed Gurney University Forestry; G. S. Carter elected to a Research ) at Naples, 828; Oxford and, Univer- of, Report of the Royal Commission, 428, 465 in, Treatment of, Capt. H. E. Cross, 320 Woodcraft: A Handbook for Vacation d for Travellers in the Wilderness, H. ew edition, 268 ed Co-operation of Universities to keep ctitioners in touch with Recent Develop- Viedicine, 155 Expedition of 1913-18, The, F. Johansen, rch, Dr. J. A. Murray, 311; Gift for, Mr. and ‘odman, 789; Offer of Prizes for the Dis- Cure for, by Lord Atholstan and Sir m Veno, 147, 184 ‘Tree,.The Floral Development of the, Prof. ‘hompson, 190 ~ ' Alumni, A Biographical List of all ts, Graduates, and Holders of Office at y of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times Venn and J. A. Venn. Part I., vol. emperatures at different depths in the Charcot, 731 sity of, Conferment of the Honorary upon Sir Thomas Muir, 394 _ Diffusion, and Displacement, L. Verhandelingen op Systematisch- Deel I., Afl. 1; Deel L., Afi. 2, t), The, F. S. Wallis, 193; Rocks of ‘District of Newfoundland, The, T. Dr. A. Smith Woodward, and A. Gas, Prof. J. W. Cobb, 355 Mouth Parts of, Dr. L. A. Borrodaile, tion for the Advancement of Teaching, 1ual Report of the, 531; Institution of ort of the President of the, 1921, 826 ; Award of Grants from the, 590; Trust, ientific Research, 797; United Kingdom rt of the, 395 ~ ieval, W. H. Barker, 803 Technical Institute, Annual Prize Distri- the, 223 it of, Dr. W. Doberck, 89 m ns at Solid Surfaces, A Study of, Dr. E. g and T. P. Hilditch, vii., 93 ; Hydro- the Polyphenols in the Wet Way, The, Senderens and J. Aboulenc, 30; Oxidation of The réle of Gaseous Impurities in the, E. 320551 i ected, Sterile Death in, S. Metalnikow, 158; S Of, 753. PAS: ae y Corpuscles, The Mass Formula of, 406 cial Position of the University Botanic Garden, . ge University Training College for School-_ ‘Limestone (Avonian) of Broadfield Celestial Spectra beyond the Limit of the Balmer Series of Hydrogen, On the Continuous Radiation found in some, W. H. Wright, 81o Cells, Standard, of Low Voltage, J. Obata, 251 Celluloses, Crude, Action of Mineral Acids on, G. Meunier, 32 Cement Oilfield, The, Oklahoma, F. Reeves, 489 Cephalic Index and Sex, Prof. W. Johannsen, 714; Miss R. M. Fleming, 715 Cepheid Variables, Short-period, The Distances of the, J. C. Kapteyn and P. J. van Rhijn, Dr. Shapley, 488 Ceramic Wares of China, The Early, A. L. Hetherington, 795 Cerebral Vaccine: A pure, its Virulence for Man, C. Levaditi and S. Nicolau, 194 Ceylon: The Development of, 394; The Miocene of, E. J. Wayland and Dr. A. M. Davies, 730 Chadwick Lectures, Three, Sir Arthur Newsholme, 487 Chalk in Deep-sea Sediments, The Distribution of the, J. Thoulet, 732 Charcoal, A Study in, W. S. H. Cleghorne, 599 Cheek-mole, Inheritance of a, G. W. Harris, 78 Chemical: Analysis, Quantitative, for Beginning Students, A Course of Instruction in, with Explanatory Notes, Questions, and Analytical Problems, Prof. G. McP. Smith. Revised edition, 709; and Physical Con- stants, Dr. E. Griffiths, 369; Dictionary: A Popular, A Compendious Encyclopedia, C. T. Kingzett. Second edition, 338; Disinfection and Sterilisation, Dr. S. Rideal and Dr. E. K. Rideal, 674; Industry, Heavy, effect of the War on the, Dr. G. C. Clayton, 24; Laboratories, the furnishing and equipment of, 120; Microscopy, Elementary, Prof. E. M. Charnot. Second edition, 546; Reactions and their Equations : A Guide and Reference Book for Students of Chemis- try, Prof. I. W. D. Hackh, 678; Society, Election of New Members of the Council of the, 488 ; Solubilities, Inorganic. Second edition, Dr. A. M. Comey and Prof. Dorothy A. Hahn, 505; Treatises, Some, 505 ; Warfare, Prof. F. Haber, Sir T. E. Thorpe, 40 Chemicals: American Organic, 162; British Fine, 701 ; British Research, 597; Organic Medicinal (Synthetic and Natural), M. Barrowcliff and F. H. Carr, 37 Chemie: Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der, Dr. E. Farber, 603; organischen, Geschichte der, Prof. C. Graebe. Erster Band, 806; anorganischen, Handbuch der, in vier Banden. Edited by Prof. R. Abegg and Dr. F. Auerbach. Vierter Band. Erste Abteilung, zweite Halfte. Die Elemente der sechsten Gruppe des periodischen Systems. Zweite HAalfte. Edited by Dr. F. Auerbach, 300 _Chemistry: A First Book of, for Students in Junior Technical Schools, Dr. A. Coulthard, 774; after the War, 100; A History of, Sir T. E. Thorpe, 603; and Physics, Handbook of, A Ready-Reference Pocket Book of Chemical and Physical Data, Prof. C. D. Hodgman, assisted by Prof. M. F. Coolbaugh and C. E. Senseman, 369; Applied, A Dictionary of, Sir Edward Thorpe, and others. Vol. 1. Revised and enlarged edition, 100; Vol. 2. Revised and enlarged edition, 266; Applied, Laboratory Exercises in, for Students in Technical Schools and Universities, Dr. W. Moldenhauer. Translated by Dr. L. Bradshaw, 710 ; Arabic, E. J. Holmyard, 778; at the British Associa- ‘tion, 153; Biological, Dr. H. E. Roaf, 704 ; Forensic, A. Lucas, 470; Inorganic, as a Science, Prof. Ole Donnan, 300; Inorganic, A Textbook of, Edited by Dr. J. N. Friend. Vol. 9. Part 2. Iron and its Compounds, Dr. J. N. Friend, 505; Inorganic, A Textbook of, Prof. A. F. Holleman. Issued in English in co-operation with H. C. Cooper. Sixth English edition, 677; Inorganic, Notes on, for First Year University Students, Prof. F. Francis, 707 ; Modern, 574 ; of Coal and its Products, The Practical, A. E. Findley and R. Wigginton, 678 ; of Coke-oven and By-product Works, E. V. Evans, 4; of the Garden: The, A Primer for Amateur and Young Gardeners, H. H. Cousins. Revised edition, 443; Organic, A Course of Practical, Dr. T. S. Price and Dr. D. F. Twiss. Third edition, 305; Organic, An Introduction to, D. Ll. Hammick, 39; Organic — XXVili Index aie ee ae Fundamental Principles of, Prof. C. Moureu. Trans- ] Colour; -blindness, a New Method of Investigating, Dr. R. lated by W. T. K. Braunholtz, 505 ; Organic, History of, 806; Organic, or Chemistry of the Carbon Com- pounds, V. von Richter. Edited by Prof. R. Anschiitz and Dr. R. Meerwein. Translated by Dr. E. E. Fournier d’Albe. Vol. 2: Chemistry of the Carbocyclic Compounds, 709; Practical Physio- logical, Dr. J. A.- Milroy and Prof. J. H. Milroy. Third edition, 704; Pure and Applied, International Conference of, 623; Textile, Introduction to, H. Harper, 268 ; The Profession of, A. Chaston Chapman, 322; The Solvay Institute of, 718 Chile, Southern, Volcanic Eruptions in, 488 Chimie générale, Traité de, Prof. W. Nernst. 2e édition frangaise, Prof. A. Corvisy. Premiére Partie, 574 Chlorine: Isotopes of, An Attempt to separate. the, E. B. Ludlam, 398; Separation of the, by Diffusion, W. D. Harkins and A. Hayes, 120; The Atomic Weight of, Mile. Ellen Gleditsch, and B. Samdahl, 456 Cholesterol in the Animal Organism, The Origin and Destiny of. Part 12. Fox, 126; Part 13, 730 Chromium: and the Chrome-nickel Alloys, The Pepagaion of, over a Wide Temperature Interval, P. Chevenard, 127; Steels, Constitution of, T..F. Russell, 23 Chronograph, A Printing, 217 Chuchki Natives of North-eastern Siberia, The, Sverdrup, 792 Ciliary Movement, The Mechanism of. . Gray, 193 Cinematograph Films, American, Exhibition of, 85 Circular Cylinders in a Viscous Fluid, Rotation of two, B. Jeffery, 326 Cirrus Clouds, The Significance of, in the Prediction of Weather. P. Schereschewsky and P. Wehrlé, 226 City and Guilds (Engineering) College, impending retire- ment of Prof. T. Mather, 192; Prof. C. L. Fortescue appointed Professor of Electrical Engineering in the, 664 Civil: Aviation Advisory Board, terms of reference of the, 316; Engineers, Institution of, Awards of the, 527; Service, New Regulations relating to the Examination for the Clerical Class of the, 254; The Call for Economy J. A. Gardner and Boy. lp Bama e Parts 1 and 2. in the, 349 Cladocera, Selection Experiments with, Dr. A. M. Banta, 187 Classics and Science, 33 Claude Process, Burst Tubes in the, G. Claude, 219, 424 Climates of the Past, Dr. C. Schuchert and others, 424 Cloud-forms, Sir Napier Shaw, 301; Prof. W. J. Humphreys, 657 Coal: Resources of South Africa, 564; Analysis of, Appointment of a Committee to advise upon the, 216; Seams, the Study and Classification of, 118; the Chemistry of, Researches on, Prof. W. A. Bone, A. R. Pearson, E. Sinkinson, and W. E. Stockings. Part 2, 156; The. Microstructure of, from an Industrial Standpoint, A. L. Booth, 290 Cobalt, The Absence of, in Cornetite from Katanga, Belgian Congo, Dr. A. Schoep, 127 Cocoa, Edith A. Browne, 269 Coco-fat in Butter, A New Method for the Detection of, C. F. Muttelet, 194 Coccidia of the Margarodes Group, The Metamorphosis ofthe Females and Hypermetamorphosis of the Males in the, P. Marchal, 667 youre W. Taylor, 10; The Molecular Forces involved n, Prof. H. Chatley, 731 Coke-oven and By-product: Works Chemistry, T. Biddulph mith Colloidal: Solutions, The Physical Properties of, Prof. E. F. Burton. Second edition, 39 ; Content of Soils, The, T. B. Franklin, 225 Colloids : Physics and Chemistry of, Report of Discussion on the, 150; Physics and Chemistry of, An Intro- duction to the, E. Hatschek. Fourth edition, 270 ; Protective: a pretty Lecture Experiment, Dr. J. N. Friend, 341; The Chemistry of, and Some Technical Applications, Dr. W. W. Taylor. Second edition, 204 Colonial Scientific Services, The Universities and, 365 Sampling and ; A. Houstoun, 225; The Proposed Standard of Rejec- tion of Seamen for, Dr. F. W. Edridge-Green, 185 ; Photography, Byepaths of, O. Reg. Edited and with an Introduction by W. Gamble, 547; Sensitive Photographic Plates, F. M. Walters, jun., and R. Davis, 529 Colston University Research Society, 696 Columnar Structure: in Sandstone Blocks, J. Currie, oat in Sandstone Walls of a Glass Furnace, Dr. J. W French, 274 Combustibles liquides et leurs a peuenrae Les, 577 Combustion, The Chemistry of, D N. Friend, 709 Comet: New, Mr. Skjellerup, Soir Notes, H. Mahnkopf, W. Reid, 186 Comets: M. Kamensky, H. M. Jeffers, 725; Observa- tion of, W. F. Denning, 613 Compression, the Susceptibility of Feebly Magnetic Bodies as Affected by, Prof. E. Wilson, 762 Concrete: Expansion of, The Effect of Moisture Content upon the, T. Matsumoto, 320; Mirrors for Astro- nomical Work, Suggested, F. J. W. Crowe and Dr. J. W. French, 18 5 Condenser Tubes, Season-cracking and its Prevention, H. Moore and S. Beckinsale, 397; the Corrosion and Protection of, G. D. Bengough, 396 Conductors, the Flow of Heavy Currents in, Dr. C. Hering, 119 Confectioners’ Raw Materials: Their Sources, Modes of Preparation, Chemical Composition, the Chief Im- purities and Adulterations, their more Important Uses, and other Points of Interest, 269 Confucius, The Tomb of, C. W. Bishop, 319 Connecticut, Geological Research and Education in, ST Continents, The Flotation of, Prof. Wegener ; du Toit, 757 Copper: and Phosphorus at Various Temperatures, Rate of Combination of, C. A. Edwards and A. J. ee 397; The Catalytic Activity of, -Part III. W Palmer, 326; Mixtures, Anticryptogamic, the Study of, M. and Mme. G. Villedieu, 464 Corals, The Origin of Existing, Prof. P. C. Raymond, 657 Cork, University College, L. P. W. Renouf elected Professor of Zoology in, 254 Corona in 1918, The Spectrum of the, Slipher, 656 Correlations, Correlation between Arrays in a Table of, C. Spearman, 533 CORRESPONDENCE. / Adaptations, Species and, J. T. Cunningham, 779 Aeronautics, Units in, A. R. Low, 12, 139; H.S. Rowell, 44; Sir George Greenhill, 74 Aeroplane Crashes: The ‘ Dr. W. Galloway ; Prof. L. Bairstow, 612 Ether, Space and, S. Vv. Ramamurty, 75 Ammonia, The Oxidation of, Prof. J. R. Partington, 137 Antitrades, The, Dr. W. van Bemmelen, 172 ; Sir mupiGe Shaw, 206 Arabic Chemistry, E. J. Holmyard, 778 Araucaria imbricata, Sir Herbert Maxwell, 209 Asymmetry, The.Notion of, T. Iredale, 779 Atmospheric Refraction, Dr. J. Bal, 8; 4iga-) oiastr. Comdr. T. Y. Baker, 8, 105, 550; Dr. J. de Graaff Hunter, 549 Atomic Constitution, A Magnetic Model of, J. K. Marsh and Prof. A. W. Stewart, 340 Atoms in Crystals, Optical Speers: of the Thermal Agitation of the, Prof. C. V. Raman, 4 Audition, The Resonance Hypothesis ‘of, C, R, G, Cosens and Dr. H. Hartridge, 11 Aurora Borealis of January 30, C. S. Leaf, 176 Barnardiana, the Minor Planet No. 907, The Naming of, Prof. E. E. Barnard, 176 Benzenoid Substances, Atomic Vibrations in the Male cules of, Prof: R. Robinson, 476; Configurations of Molecules of, Dr. J. Kenner, 581 Biological Problems, Some, Sir G. Archibald Reid, 307 Blue Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire, oe ‘Hole in the Air,” the “ Spin,” — Index Xxix W Hughes ; Prof; T. R. Merton, 683; Prof. A. Smithells, 745 om ley, ‘Dr. Frank, J. Thomson, 240 ‘le’s ents on Capillarity, S. Skinner, 518 Scientific Instruments, Prof. W. M. Bayiiss, 106 P - aaa Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 42 ; Mrs. E. mi ing, 715 Inheritance of a, G. W. Harris, 78 ¥ arfare, Prof. F. Haber ; Sir T. E. Thorpe, 40 try, Arabic, E. J. Holmyard, 778 _W. Taylor, 10 oe ep A Pretty Lecture Experiment, Dr. na tracture i in Sandstone Walls of a Glass Furnes, Smith, 745 Molecular Clusters and the Quantum Light, Prof. C. V. Raman, 444 , On Immediate Solutions of some, 645; Sir G. Greenhill, 778 ke Focus, The De ae of, Prof. S. K. Banerji, 108 sep Problem in, E. G. Bilham, 341 ation Experiment, Prof. C. V. Raman, 477 aumic Spiral, The, a New Curve, H. S. The Directive Tendency of, W. D. Problems in, J. T. Cunningham, 41, 173; ull Reid, 104; Prof. R. R. Gates, 174; nd, af Statistical Studies of, C. F. A, r. J. C. Willis and G. U. Yule, of * Feces, W. L, Fox, 310 ed Lines of, Sir Oliver Lodge, 74 aaa ent me. A. Cockerell, 713 bular ary: Prot. A. P. Cdikean, 775 Mama bi the Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 310 Discharge, Prof. A. P. Chattock, 106 Discovery of, Prof. W. T. Gordon, 583 Ejinstein’s Theory, Some Terrestrial n, Prof. G. A. Schott, 106 +t) 1 History : _A New Radioactive Element, sue of gee fe The Small, Prof. J. Ackermann, 649; Dr. H. Hactiies 649; > Theory of, Dr. H. Hartridge, 76, 374; rett, 176 Hormone Theory of, J. T. Cunningham, 343 igs cig om eG: L. Wendt ; a Reichs, The Spiracular Muscles of, Miss Betts, 813 atures, The Brittleness of, L. Hawkes, 240 idence of, Miss Annie D. Betts, 240 ; Be victice Dr. R. W. Lawson, 716 es Spectra of, oe a8 between, Prof. 7 mh of, W. eg Leisenring, 715; Cave; The Writer of the Article, 716 s of the Madeira Islands, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, & Langley Machine, The, and the Hammondsport Trials, G. Brewer, 305 ; The Writer of the Article, 307 Light, The Speckled Wave Front of, L. F. Richardson, 683 ; The Speed of, Dr. E. H. Kennard, 581 Lunar Periodicity i in Reproduction, H. M. Fox, 237 Malaria, The Conquest of, Col. W. G. King, 647 Man, Sir G. Archdall Reid, 579 Memory, Sir G. Archdall Reid, 551 Mercury: from Different Sources, The Atomic Weight of, Prof. J. N. Brénsted and Prof. G. Hevesy, 780 ; The Isotopes of, Prof. T. H. Laby and W. Mepham, 207 Metchnikoff (Méénikov) and Russian Science in 1883, Prof. B. Brauner, 478 Microscope Illumination and Fatigue, H. J. Denham, 78 Microscopes and Microscopic Definition, Test-plates for, A. Mallock, 205 Mind, Sir G. Archdall Reid, 515 Molecular Structure of Amorphous Solids, Raman, 138 Molecules, Anistropy of, Prof. C. V. Raman, 75 Mollusca, Self-fertilisation in, G. C. Robson, 12 Mortar, The Weathering of, N. M. Richardson, 310; C. Carus-Wilson, 478 Mosquito Larve, The Destruction of, in Salt or Brackish Water, J. F. Marshall, 746 Muscular Efficiency, A. Mallock, rots Cay; 711 . Natural History in ns, The Teaching of, E. W. Shann, 747; A. G. Lowndes, 748 Nectar-sipping Birds, Sir Herbert Maxwell, 612 Neon Lamps, W. E. Curtis, 343 Optical Resolving Power and Definition, T. Smith, 745 Organic Substances in Plants, Transport of, bape Vs ae Dixon and N. G. Ball, 236; S. Mangham, 4 Oscillation Circuits for the Determination of Di. electric Constants at Radio Frequencies, P. A. Cooper, 814 Oyster, The Blood-cells of the, Dr. J. H. Orton, 612 a-Particles as Detonators, G. H. Henderson, 749 Pencil Markings in the Bodleian Library, C. Ainsworth Mitchell, 516 Ph.D., The English, Prof. E. W. Scripture, 780 Phenological Observations, 1. C. W. Bonacina, 373 f Physiological Phenomenon, A Curious, R. M. Deeley, 44 ; J. H. Shaxby, 77 Pilot Lamps in Laboratories, H. J. Denham, 683 Plumage, The Evolution of, Prof. J. Cossar Ewart, 779; H. F. G.,; 778 omegy Letters and Ultimate Ratios, Prof. F. Cajori, ; Pe ticaicad? s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern, Major P. A. MacMahon, 479; J. R. Cotter, 579 Quanta, Half, W. E. Curtis, 713 Radiant Spectrum, The, Prof. C. V. Raman, 175; Dr. H. Hartridge, 445 Radiation from the Sky, Thermo-electric Instrument for Measuring, L. F. Richardson, 240 Radio-telegraphy, Long-distance, Some Problems of, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 209 Radium Synthesis: of Carbon Compounds from Air, F. H. Glew, 714 Rainbow Peculiarity, A, Major W. J. S. Lockyer, 309; Prof. J. P. Dalton, 716 Rainfall and Drainage: at Rothamsted in 1921, W. D. Christmas, 107; in 1921, Prof. J. Hendrick, 207 Rainfalls, Forecasting Annual, Prof. A. McAdie, 139 Raninide, Tribal Name of the, Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing ; Prof. G. C. Bourne, 108 Rat, The, and its Repression, Lord Aberconway, 744 Relativity, the Theory of, A Proposed Laboratory Test of, Dr. H. S. King, 582; Dr. R. W. Lawson, 613 Research Degrees and the University of London, Dr. A. M. Davies, 238; Prof. P. G. H. Boswell, 373 Russia, Scientific Literature for, Sir Richard Gregory and Dr. C. Hagberg Wright, 208 Russian Names, Transcription of, Prof. B. Brauner, 5 52; Major-Gen. Lord Edward Gleichen, 648 ; F. Druce, 777 Saecterie of Industries Act, 1921, Major A. G. Church, Sehisophyitum commune, Fr., Revival of Sporophores of, F. A. Mason, 272 Science : at the Post Office, Sir W. Noble, 609; The Writer XXX Index Nature, _- August 12, 1922 of the Article, 610; The Message of, W. Robertson, 9 ; J. J. Robinson, 43 Snow Furrows and Ripples, E. C. Barton; Dr. V. Cornish, 374 Sodium Vapour, Fluorescing, The Absorption of, Prof. J. K. Robertson, 43 Space and Aither, S. V. Ramamurty, 75 Species and Adaptations, J. T. Cunningham, 775 Spontaneous Ignition of Peaty Soils, E. A. Andrews, 77 Steel, Tempered, The Colours of, Prof. C. V. Raman, 105 Stonehenge: Concerning the Four Stations, E. H. Stone, 410 Stone Preservation, Dr. A. P. Laurie, 814 Sun-fish, The Buoyancy of the, Capt. G. C, C. Damant and Prof. A. E. Boycott, 578 Sunlight, The Action of, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, 11, 274 Symbiotic Bacteria and Phosphorescence, F. A. Potts, 814 Temperature Functions of certain Properties of the Metals, Periodical Phenomena in the, Dr. G. Borelius, 613 Terrestrial; Life Begin ? Where did, Dr. R. C, Macfie ; Prof. J. W. Gregory, 107, 310; J. S. Dines; Dr. F. J. Allen, Magnetic Disturbances and Sunspots, Father 4 Tide-predicting Machines, The Accuracy of, H. A. Marmer, 136, 479; The Writer of the Article, 137; Dr. A. T. Doodson, 239, 479 Tin: Plague and Arctic Relics, T. Sheppard, 78, 209;. The Isotopes of, Dr. F. W. Aston, 813 Transmutation, Energy Changes involved in, J. W. Wark, 108 Tropical Medicine, Discoveries in, Sir E. Ray Lankester, 549, 812; Lt.-Col. A. Alcock, 611; Dr. L. W. Sambon, 681 Visibility of Distant Objects, Improvement of, Prof. H. Bénard, 412 Vowel Sounds, Nature of, Sir R. A. S. Paget, 341 Walaeus and the Circulation of the Blood, Dr. Stephens, 552 Wireless Telegraphy, Precursors of, Sir Joseph Larmor, 410 : Wrought-iron Currency from the Kisi Country, Sierra Leone Protectorate, West Africa, A Specimen of, R. C. Gale and Capt. E. R. Macpherson, 138 X-Ray Spectra, On the N-Series in, V. DolejSek, 582 Ytterby, The Small Haloes of, Prof. J. Joly, 711 Ge: Corrosion of Ferrous Metals, the, Sir Robert Hadfield, 527 Cotton: Growing, Some Aspects of, 392; Hairs, Cell- wall Structure as seen in, Dr. W. L. Balls, 499; in the French Sudan, 218 ; Industry Research Institute, The British, 457 Courtship, Structures and Habits associated with, Dr. J. C. Mottram, 77 Crab Nebula, Changes in the, J. C. Duncan, 24 Crabs, Brachyuran, collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition, Miss Mary J. Rathbun, 87 Craniometry in the British Isles, Prof, F. G. Parsons, 250 - Crepis, Inter-specific Hybrids in, E. E. Babcock and J. L. Collins, 30 Crocidura Stampjlii, The Shrew, and the Plague in Senegal, M. Léger and A. Baury, 259 Croonian Lecture, The, Prof. T. H. Morgan, 830 : Crops, Cycles in the Yield of, Prof. H. L. Moore; Sir William Beveridge, 261 Crossing over a Function of Distance ? Is, J. A. Detlefsen, 30 Crustacea, The Sound-producing Mechanisms of, Dr. W. M. Tattersall, 431 Crystal: Forms of Minerals, New, A List of, Dr. H. P. Whitlock, 793; Structure of Common Elements, A. W. Hull, 490 Cupro-nickel, The Internal Mechanism of Cold-work and recrystallisation in, F. Adcock, 396 Cyclohexane and Ortho-methylcyclohexanol, The Oxide of, M. Godehot and P. Bédos, 326 Cyclohexanetriols, The Catalytic Preparation of the, J. B. Senderens and J. A. Coulenc, 399 Cyclone, A, which crossed the Korean Peninsula and the Vibrations of its Polar Front, T. Kobayasi, 257 a Cygni, Spectrum of, Dr. W. H. ‘Wright, 89 Cygnus, A New Variable in, S. Williams, 656 Cytoplasmic Inclusions of the Germ-cells, Prot. J. B. Gatenby, 529 Dairy Cattle and Milk Production, 360 Danish Culicide, Biology of, Dr. C. Wesenberg-Lund, 323 aie : Dark Ages : Date Cultivation in the Iraq, V. H. W. Dowson, 250 The, A Survival in Kentucky, 669 Pana). Death: -rates as a Measure of Hygienic Conditions, Use of, — z 4 : Dr. Brownlee, 389; Valley, California, the Weather at, A. H. Palmer, 757 DEATHS. Bacot (A.), 525, 618 Baskerville (Dr. C.), 315 Beale (Sir W. Phipson), 589 Benoit (Dr. J. René), 820 Bottomley (Dr. J. F.), 212 Bottomley (Prof. W. B.), 419, 524 Boulger (Prof. G. S.), 653. Brady (Prof. G. S.),.19 Branner (Prof. J. C.), 557 Bruce-Low (Dr. R.), 721 Bryce (Lord), 113 uae Carter (Sir George), 314 df Cassal (Col. C. E.), 83 Chapin (Dr. H. E.), 558 Chapman (Dr. T. A.), 50 Christie (Sir William), 116, 145 Ciamician (Prof. G.), 245 Cotterill (Prof. J. H.), 84, 115 Cussons (George), 315 Dickson (Dr. H. N.), 525 Ebler (Prof. E.), 246 Eddy (Prof. H. T.), 50 Foord-Kelcey (Prof. W.), 84 eee Giuffrida-Ruggeri (Prof. V.), 183 Gonner (Sir Edward), 314 Gould (Sir Alfred Pearce), 558, 589 Graham (Dr. H.), 485 Green (Prof. J. A.), 452 Guye (Prof. P. A.), 523 hae Hadrill (C. F. T.), 147 : Heyn (Prof. E.), 419 ate Hollis (Dr. W. A.), 558 Hopkinson (Dr. E.), 82 Howe (Prof. H. M.), 721 Jameson (Dr. H. Lyster), 314 _ Jones (Sir Henry), 182 Jordan (C.), 349 Kapteyn (Prof. J. C.), 822 Kempe (Sir Alfred Bray), 558, 588 Kirk (Sir John), 84, 114 Lais (Father G.), 84 Lascelles (B. P.), 83 Laveran (Prof. C. L. F.), 722, 819 Liebisch (Prof. T.), 315. Longworth-Dames (M.), 147 Manson (Sir Patrick), 485, 587 Mathews (Dr. G. B.), 384, 450 Matthews (Sir William), 83 McClure (Sir John), 246 McConnel (J. W.), 821 McWilliam (Dr. A.), 557 Merz (Dr. J. T.), 419, 451 Moore (Prof. B.), 315, 348 “ Naumann (Prof. A.), 485 Palladin (Prof. V. 1.), 419 Ranvier (L.), 620 Rivers (Dr. W. H. R.), 753 Sanderson (F. W.), 822 Sandmeyer (T.), 720 Shackleton (Sir Ernest), 143 Thuillier (Col. Sir Henry), 452 Verner (Col. W.), 2173 Verworn (Prof. Max), 213 Voigtlander (Dr. F.), 654 NE i ial i a ee a he ats ae Ro Ty vA wesc XXXi ner (Dr. C. W.), 654 Prot. A. D.), 348, 418 . V.), 485. . D. G.), 654 | (Sir Arthur Naylor), 246 1 (Sir German Sims), 19 655 Resolving Power, and Accuracy, A. Mallock, of 2-methyl-2-phenyl-1-propanol and of hyl-3-phenyl-1 “propanol, A. Haller and Xe » 731 Nerve of the Rabbit, The, B. B. Sarkar, 255 , A New, “ Pina tol,’’ Dr. E. Konig, 658 Reiches, 40 Blatter der Karte des, 1 : 100,000 fiir Unterrichtszwecke, Zweite Auflage, 548 und, The, 433 New ‘Radioactive Mineral, A. Schoep, 399 Intestinal Flora of, Presence of Acetone- Mi ms in the, A. Berthelot and St. Danysz- Michel, 764 the Tissues, the Physiological and Therapeutic BS ies ot the, F. Maignon, 363 ear Dynamics of Collision of, J. E. ; ie Clusters and the Quantum e of Light, Prof. C. V. Raman, 444; Haloes al and Glaucomatous Eyes, H. H. Emsley 566 etd The Free-living, Prof. C. A. [ Olive Swezy, 130 st Horned, C. W. Gilmore, 792 e, E. Grandmougin, 158 oon Awards for, 293 and Processes, Sir Sydney Young, oration of various authors, 434 + Ornament, A, 792 Universities and University Colleges om, 288 Endlicher, The Essential Oil obtained of, A. R. Penfold, 226 iBecentricity of, Prof. H. N. Russell, tory, The, Cullercoats, 353 - act Genes and Linear Linkage 2 ; The, C. E. P. Brooks and J. Glasspoole, ; The Analysis of, 509 Modern, Prof. H. E. Fierz, 153 as Antiseptics and Chemotherapeutic H. Browning, 750 British, 501 try in Ancient Architecture, Further . Hambridge, 22 S, On Immediate Solutions of some, 3 ; Sir G. Greenhill, 778 ‘esearches on the Proteopexic In- - of = Liver in, F. Widal, P. Abrami, and l, 25 ase ne “f Grcksing ” of, A. Petit, 631; oly H. Balfour, 691; The Age of the, ins a as Thrust of, The Problem of the, " ee who, 594; Magnetic Field, An Electro- Method for the Measurement of the Hori- ‘tensity of the, F. E. Smith, 533 : ; bhe Chemistry and Analysis of, Earthquake: Focus, The Depth of, Prof. S. K. Banerji, 108; of January 31, 184; The Direction of the First Movement in an, S. Nakamura, 593; Waves, Propagation of, Dr. S. W. Visser, 283 Earthquakes : The Cause and Character ot, R. D. Oldham, 361, 650, 685; The Study of, 368 Earthworms, Enteronephric Excretory Organs in, Dr, K. N. Bahl, 529 East : Africa, The Fauna of, and its Future, C. W. Hobley, 256; Carelia and Kola Lapmark. Described by Finnish Scientists and Philologists, T. Homén, 372. Eastman Organic Chemicals, Price-list of the, 690 Echinoderm Egg during Fertilisation, The Oxidation Processes of the, Prof. C. Shearer, 193; and Early Development, The Heat Production and Oxidation Processes of the, Prof. C. Shearer, 666 Echinoderms as Aberrant Arthropods, The, A. H. Clark, 640 Economic Biologists, Association of, Election of Officers and Council of the, 317; Biology, Team Work in, Advantages and Disadvantages of, Dr. W. L. Balls, 534 Economics, A Problem in, E. G. Bilham, 341 Edinburgh University, Conferment of an honorary degree upon Prof. T. H. Morgan, 797 Education: and Industry, Prof. W. Rothenstein, 223; and the Nation, 1; Bearing of Improved Means and Methods of, Dr. P. Sharp, 288; Estimates, The, 537; in England, France, and Germany, Reports on, W. J. Osburn, 829; Research and, in the Geddes Report, 197; The Channels of, E. H. Dance, 597 Eel, The Breeding-places of the, Dr. J. Schmidt, 193 Egg-collector, the Modern, The Ways and Methods of, Earl Buxton, 623; -production in Poultry, The Genetics of, Major C. C. Hirst, 26 Egypt: Knots in Ancient, Miss M. A. Murray, 726; Naturalistic Artin, Dr. A. M. Blackmann, 319 Einstein: and his Problem, A Criticism of, W. H. V. Reade, 770; and the Universe: A Popular Exposi- ‘tion of the Famous Theory, C. Nordmann. Trans- lated by J. M‘Cabe, 770; The Ideas of, A Theory of Relativity in Simple Language, Prof. J. H. Thirring. Translated by R. A. B. Russell, 544; Tower, The, 24 Einstein’s: Aberration Experiment, Prof. C. V. Raman, 477; Theory, Gravitation and, Some Terrestrial Experiments on, Prof. G. A. Schott, 106. Ejinsteinsche Gravitationstheorie : Die, Versuch einer allgemein verstandlichen Darstellung der Theorie, Prof. G. Mie, 544 Eiszeitalters, Das Klima des, Prof. R. Spitaler, 512 Eiweisshydrolyse, Uber partielle, Prof. M. Siegfried, 741 Eiweisskérper, Die Einwirkung von Mikroorganismen auf die, Dr. P. Hirsch, 741 Electric : Furnace, The, Dr. J. N. Pring, 99 ; Furnaces, 99 ; - Power Stations, The Design of, Dr. A. Russell, 570 ; Traction on Railways, Sir Vincent Raven, 88 Electrical: Diagnosis, 674; Engineers, Institution of, . Jubilee of the, 284; Election of Officers and Council of the, 690 ; Awards of the, 755; Machines, The Diagnosing of Troubles in, Prof. M. Walker, 674 ; Measurements, 166 ; Phenomena produced by Metallic Deposits, C. and M. Schlumberger, 326; Precipitation in Industry, Dr. H. J. Bush, 388 ;: Resistance Furnaces, Gallenkamp and Co.’s catalogue of, 455; Science, Fifty Years of, 3; Workshop, My, F. T. Addyman, 372 Electrician’s Pocket-book for 1922, The Practical. Edited y H. T. Crewe, 269 Electricity : Applied, A First Book of, S. R. Roget, 271 ; Fifty Years of, The Memories of an Electrical Engineer, Prof, J . A. Fleming, 3 Bisotiiseation of Phosphorus Smoke Nuclei, J. J. Dowling and C. J. Haughey, 562; produced by Breaking, with special application to Simpson’s Theory of the Electricity of Thunderstorms, J. J. Nolan and J. Enright, 462 Electrified Electrolytes, Surface Tension of, G. Gony, 29 Electro-: Chemistry, A Textbook of, Prof. M. le Blanc. Translated from the fourth enlarged German edition by Drs. W. R. Whitney and J. W. Brown, 100; XXXli I serdec Nature, August 12, 19022 Thermic Effect, The Homogeneous (including the Thomson Effect as a special case), C. Benedicks, 608 Electrolytic Dissociation, Prof. T. W. Richards and A. W. Rowe, 658 Electromagnetic Valency and the Radiation Hypothesis, F. T. Peirce, 290 Electromagnétisme et l’Electrodynamique, Mémoires sur, André-Marie Ampére, 677 Electronic Structures in Unsaturated Molecules, E. D. Eastman, 629 Electrons: Attachment of, to Neutral Molecules in Air, L. B. Loeb, 158; from Metal Surfaces, Reflection and Re-emission of, R. A. Millikan and J. G. Barber, 158; in Atoms, The Distribution of the, R. W. James, 257 Element, a Missing, Identification of, Sir Ernest Ruther- ford ; A. Dauvillier; Prof. G. Urbain, 781 Elements: and Isotopes, 736; Artificial Disintegration of the, Sir Ernest Rutherford, 584, 601, 614; Dis- integrationfof, Dr. G. Wendt and. E, E, Iron ; Sit Ernest Rutherford, 418 Ellipsoidal Particles immersed in a Viscous Fluid, Motion of, G. B. Jeffery, 326 Elliptic Logarithmic Spiral, The, a New Curve, H. S. Rowell, 716 Elongated Bodies, Lambert, 271 Encephalitis of the Ox, Acute Contagious, A. Donatien and R. Bosselut, 194 Encke’s Division in Saturn’s Ring, The Cause of, G. R. Goldsbrough, 533 Endocrines in Excelsis, Sir Arthur Keith, 670 Engine Lubrication, E. L. Bass, 216 Engineer, The College- -trained, Prof. F. Bacon, 422 Engineering, Municipal, H. P. Boulnois, 135 England and Wales, Physical Map of, 1: 1,000,000, 548 English, The Function of, in Scientific Education, 229 Ensilage, The Composition of, J. A. Murray, 25 Entomology and Malaria, Lt.-Col. W. J. Walton, 334 Entropy as a Tangible Conception: An Elementary Treatise on the Physical Aspects of Heat, Entropy, and Thermal Inertia for Designers, Students, and Engineers, and particularly for users of steam and steam charts, Eng. Lt.-Com. S. G. Wheeler, 404 Enzyme Action and X-rays, R. D. Lawrence, 320 Epigastric Pain, Drs. E. P. Poulton and W. W. Payne, 123 Equations, Theory of, First Course in the, Prof. L. E. Dickson, 773 Ergot of Diss and the Ergot of Oats, The Chemical Com- position of, G. Tanret, 535 Ernahrung und Vitamine, Uber kiinstliche, R6éhmann, 741 Ethyl Benzoate, The Reduction of, and of some other Benzene Compounds by Sodium and Absolute Alcohol, H. de Pommereau, 463 Eucalypts and Angophoras, Occurrence of Oil Sucks in certain, M. B. Welch, 95 ““ Euclides Vindicatus,’’ Girolamo Saccheri’s. translated by G. B. Halsted, 232 Europe: and Algeria: Shooting Trips in, Being a Record of Sport in the Alps, Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Corsica, and Algeria, H. P. Highton, 336; Iron Ore in, Prof. J. W. Gregory, 794; The Iron-ore Resources of, M. Roesler, 794 : European: Archeology, Prof. R. A. S. Macalister. Vol. 1. The Paleolithic Period, 605; Civilisation, The First, Prof. R. C. Bosanquet, 466 Evaporation from Large Expanses of Water, Dr. H. Jeffreys, 354 Everest, Mount, Expedition, The, 184, 317, 590, 789, 822; Maps, Major Morshead, 319 Evolution: Factors of, Dr. J. P. Lotsy, 190; Some Problems in, J. T. Cunningham, 41, 173; Sir G. Archdall Reid, 104;* Prof: ‘R.° R.:Gates,; 174 3S. C. Harland, 175; and Geographical Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance, Some Statistics of, Dr. J. C. Willis and G. U. Yule, 177, 256; Statistical Studies of, C. F. A. Pantin, 273; Dr. J. C. Willis and G. U. Yule, 274, 413 The Directive Tendency of, W. D. ProL oi": Edited and Evolutionary Faith and Modern Doubts, Dr. W. Bateson, 356, 553; C. R. Crowther, 777 Explosives: The Manufacture of, 541; with Notes on their Characteristics and Testing, Dr. R. C. Farmer, 270; Supply, Technical Records of, 1915-1918, Nos. 1-4, 541 ey Made Easy, or the story of « Epsilon,” E. J. Gheury de Bray, 574 Falkland Islands, Illustrations of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the, Mrs. E. F. Vallentin, with descrip- tions by Mrs. E. M. Cotton, 370 Falmouth, Meteorology at, 692 Faraday: Medal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, ~ The, 755; Tube or, of Electromagnetism, The, and other Notes, W. G. Brown, 225 Fat-soluble Vitamins in Marine peste! and Plants, The Distribution of, Dr. J. Hjort, 666 Fats, The Direct Fixation of, by the Sebaceous Glands, ‘A. Policard and Mlle. ne Tritchkovitch, 800 Fatty Acids, The Determination of, by the Formation of Complex Compounds with Uranyl and Sodium, J. Barlot and Mile. M. T. Brenet, 127 Fauna of African Lakes, Dr. W. A. Cunnington, 28 Fermat’s Last Theorem: Proofs by Elementary Algebra, M. Cashmore. Third edition, 39 ; Three Lectures on, L; J. Mordell, 4 Ferns, The Past ‘and Present Distribution of certain, A Study in Contrasts, Prof. A. C. Seward, 830 Ferromagnetic Induction: Models of, Sir J. "Alfred Ewing, © 321 ; The Atomic Process in, Sir J. Alfred Ewing, 224 Fertiliser Experiments, A Critical Study of, C. B. — and G. A. Linhart, 30 Fertility, A New View of, 267 Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Report of ae 150; New Collecting Expeditions of the, 349 Fight against Disease, The, January, 385 Fijian Insects, The Food-plants of Hosts of some, Ri- Veitch and W. Greenwood, 95 Films, Thin, The Properties and Molecular Structure of, Pts. II. and III., N. K. Adam, 762. Filosofia Botanica, Problemi di, A. Borzi, 547 Fireball: A Bright, G. E. Sutcliffe, 553 Detonating, in Sunshine, W. F. Denning, 249 ; Large, 725; Observed in Sunshine, W. F. Denning, 217 Fireman’s Handbook, The, and Guide to Fuel Economy, C. F. Wade, 204 Fish : Canning in England, 71; Stanley Gardiner, 71 Fishery Investigations, The International, 390 Fishes: Freshwater, the Biology of, W. Rushton, 731; Rains of, Dr. E. W. Gudger, 423 Fishing Industry, The, and Scientific Research; 201 Flax Beetle, The Life-history and Bionomics of the, G. Rhynehart, 398, 825 Flies; The Dispersion of, by Flight, Bishopp and Laake, 561; Typical, A Photographic Atlas, E. K. Pearce. Second series, 677 Flight, Soaring, An Experimental Investigation of, E. H. Hankin, 799 Flints, Worked, Mr. Capitan, 185 Florida, New Fossil Sea Cow from, O. P. Hay, 825 : Flower Size in Plants, The Inheritance of, Teoh ReeR: Reid Moir’s Discoveries of, Prof. Gates, 290 Flowering Dates of Trees along Main British Railway Routes, J. E. Clark, 210; W. L. Fox, 310 Fluids, The. Adiabatic Liquefaction of 4: Villey Fluoreszenz und Phosphoreszenz im ‘Lichte as ed ea Atomtheorie, Prof. P. Pringsheim, 739 Foam Cells in Soap and other Foams, Measurements of, Prof. C. H. Desch, 153 Focus, The Position of Best, in the Presence of Spherical Aberration, T. Smith, 666 Foods, Analyses and Energy Values of, Dr. R. H. A. Plimmer, 608 Foot-and- mouth Disease, Appointment of a Departmental Committee to inquire into the Recent Outbreak of, 454 Foraminifera: Shallow Water, of the Tortugas Region, Dr. J. A. Cushman, 708 ; Shell Structure in, Prof. W. J. Sollas, 424 ,:! wad t Preservation, Prof. J. ee Nature, ] ; August 12, 1922 Index XXXill Force, Generalised Lines of, Sir Oliver Lodge, 74 try: at Oxford, Report of the eee for, 385; Woodmen, C. O. Hanson. Second edition, 547; portance of Scientific Research in, and its Position nthe Empire, Prof. E. P. Stebbing, 225; Indian, f. Stebbing, 189; in Great Britain, Position of, utherland, 189; in Sweden, 353; in relation to m-flow and Erosion, 417 vyde: and Carbohydrates, The Synthesis of, . Baly and Heilbron and Mr. Barker, 153; The ency of, to form Hydrocyanic Acid by Oxidation an Ammoniacal Silver Solution, R. Fosse and A. ULC, 631 > “a, et le Mouvement: essai de dynamique de la _ G. Bohn, 675 nic Acid, Decomposition of, The Influence of Tempera- ture on Two Alternative Modes of, C. N. Hinshelwood, a4 Hartley, and B. Topley, 157 S mes, Lecture, Sir John Aspinall, 695 tercups, Mrs. Eleanor M. Reid, 136; Man, 624 Series: and Analytic Functions, T. Carleman . G. H. Hardy, 290; and Integrals and the tical Theory of the Conduction of Heat, tion to the Theory of, Prof. H. S, Carslaw. edition, vol. 1, «‘ Fourier’s Series and Integrals,” ats ata ension Simply Explained, The, Dr. S. Brodetsky, in General, Industrial, and Military Practice, atise on, Prof. J. B. Roberts and Dr. J. A. Kelly. md edition, 304 -on-Main, University of, Prof. A. Sieverts ted Professor of Chemistry at the, 798 Prof. P. F., the Memorial of, 148 iorial Lectures, 825 Mic of a Sphere in a Rotating Liquid Parallel to Axis of Rotation, S. F. Grace, 762 ‘s yy, Mme. Curie elected a Free Associate the, 183; mis , Dr. A. M. Patterson, 73 Ciliate Infusoria and Heliozoa, 441 ; Teleos- shes, The Variation of the Osmotic Pressure of the, under the Influence of the In- of the Surrounding Water, P. Portier ie for Reflection in Transparent Media, Method of treating, Prof. C. H. Lees, 362 Internal Combustion Motors, Study of 3° blems of, F. Kidd, 534 Gaseous, and the Part they play in Production, Prof. V. B. Lewes. edition. Revised and edited by J. B. C. Real Variable, The Theory of, and the ‘Fourier’s Series, Prof. E. W. Hobson. edition, vol. 1, 435 : Electric, Dr. J. N. Pring, 99 9 ae Industry, A. Millar, ee tory, for National Eugenics: Eugenics y Memoirs, VII., 409 dia, The, F.and S, Baker. Vol. 1, Second cond ion, 514 _ burimeter and a Controller for, Grebel-Velter A. Grebel, 763; Carbon Monoxide in, W. Cobb, 355; Cylinders Research, 460 ; Manufacture: A Practical Introductory nt of the Equipment and Processes of an ‘Gas Works, for Students, Junior Gas ers, and others connected with Gas. Works, ey, 774; Warfare, Science and, Col. C. H. 661 -English Dictionary for Gaseous: Fuel, The Supply of, 199; Molecules, The Energy of, Prof. J. R. Partington, 256 Gasoline from Oil Shale, Prof. R. H. McKee, 594 Gasworks Practice, Modern, A. Meade. Second edition, 199 “ G. B. M.,” Prof. A. Gray, 712 Geddes Committee on National Expenditure, Some of the Proposals of the, 316 ; Research and Education in the, 197 Geodesy and Geophysics, The International Union of, 758 ; Ch. Lallemand re-elected President, 759 Geodetic Data, Some Geologic Conclusions from, W. Bowie, 158 Geographical: Association, Annual Meeting of the, gr; Examination of the Homeland, the Need for, Sir F. Younghusband, 753; Outlooks, 91 Geography: A Sketch-map, a Text-book of World and Regional Geography for the Middle and Uppet School, E. G. R. Taylor, 135; and Peace, 91; Physical, Economic, Regional, J. F. Chamberlain, 102 Geological Society: Awards, 51; Election of Officers and Council of the, 317 ; Geologist, Recollections of a, 607 Geology: and the Nebular Theory, Prof. A. P.Coleman, 775 ; for Townsmen, 562; Fundamental Problems of, Study of, Prof. T. C. Chamberlin, 594; of the Gloucester District, N.S.W., C. A. Sussmilch, 226 Geometrical Optics, The Future of, 151 Geometry: A Concise, C. V. Durell, 574; Co-ordinate (Plane and Solid), for Beginners, R. C. Fawdry, 574; Plane and Solid, Dr. F. Durell and E. E. Arnold, 737 ; Plane, for Schools, T. A. Beckett and F. E. Robinson, Part 1, 737; Plane, Practical and Theoretical, Pari Passu, V. Le Neve Foster, 737; Practical, Elements of, a Two Years’ Course for Day and Evening Technical Students, P. W. Scott, 574; Projective, An Introduction to, Prof. L. N. G. Filon. Third edition, 737 German: Course, A First, for Science Students, Profs. H. G. Fiedler and F. E. Sandbach. Second edition, 204 ; Periodical Publications, Certain, Exempt from the German Reparations (Recovery) Act, 247 Gid Parasite, The Name of the, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 310 Giza Zoological Gardens, The, 54 Glacial Climates, 512 Glands regulating Personality, The: A Study of the Glands of Internal Secretion in Relation to the Types of Human Nature, Dr. L. Berman, 670 Glasgow University, Appeal for Funds for the Social Side of, 192 Glass, Annealing and the Mechanical Properties of, M. Taffin, 158; Elastic Constants of, Determining the, G. F. C. Searle, 397 ; Liquid Inclusions in, C. E. Ben- ~ ham, 456; Optical, The Manufacture of, C. J. Peddle, 157; Some Measurements of the Stresses produced at the Surfaces of, by Grinding with Loose Abrasives, A. J. Dalladay, 431; The Annealing of, M. Taffin, 94; The Durability of, Effect of Magnesia on, C. M. M. Muirhead and Dr. W.E.S. Turner, 157; The Durability of, Methods of Determining, Dr. W. E. S. Turner, 157 ; White, the Manufacture of, in a Tank Furnace, F. W. Adams, 763; Batches, Common, containing Soda Ash and Saltcake, The Relative Advantages and Dis- advantages of Limestone, Burnt Lime, and Slaked Lime~as Constituents of, F. W. Hodkin and Dr, W. E. S. Turner, 291; Industry: The British, its Development and Outlook, Dr. W. E. S. Turner, 590 ; Research Association, Second Annual Report of the, 454; Technology, Society of, Dr. W. E. S. Turner elected President of the, 590 Glasses: Absorption Spectra of, The Effect or Temperature on the, G. Rosengarten, 529 ; Some Natural, Density, _ Refractivity, and Composition Relations of, C. E. Tilley, 126 Globular Lightning Discharge, Prof. A. P. Chattock, 106 Glucose and Levulose, The Attack of, by the Pyocyanic Bacillus, E. Aubel, 63 Glycine Soja, Sieb., and Zucc., The Possible Successful Growth of, as a Profitable Crop in Great Britain, J. L. North, 290 XXXIV Lndex , Nature, August 12, 1922 Gold: Bullion, The Assay of, Devonshire, Discovery of, Prof. W. T. Gordon, 583 Goldsmiths’ Company, Prime Warden of the, C. T. Heycock appointed, 753 Golgi, Reticular Apparatus of, The Signification of the, A, Guilliermond and G, Mangenot, 463 Gorgas Foundation Memorial, Initiation of the, 488 ““ Gouf de Cap-Breton,’’ The Formation of: the, C. Gorceix, 363 Government Scientific Services, 569 Graft-Hybrids, Prof. Weiss, 27 Grain Pests (War) Committee, Report of the, 119 Granitic Intrusion, Mixed Products of, C. H. Clapp, aS Graphs in Commerce and Industry, The Use of, A. Palmer, 644 Gravitation: and Finstein’s Theory, Some Terrestrial Experiments on, Prof. G. A. Schott, 106 ; La Théorie einsteinienne de la, essai de vulgarisation de la théorie, Prof. J. Mie, Ouvrage traduit de Pallemand, 770; The Classical and the Einstein Theory of, P. Painlevé, 699 Geprenave Attraction, The Effect of Temperature on, P. E. Shaw and N. Davy, 462 .~ Gravity Observations, C. H. Swick, 188 Sia Gyroscopic Stabilisers, The, Prof. J. G. Gray and Capt. J. Gray, 398 Greece: Ancient, The Science of, F. S. Marvin, 169; The Legacy of, edited by R. W. Livingstone, 169 Greek: and Arab in Medicine, Dr. C. Singer, 438; and Latin Papyri, Exhibition of, at the British Museum, 280, 350; Roman Engineering Instruments, R. C. S. Walters, 23; Mathematics, A History of, Sir Thomas Heath. 2 Vols., 330; Prof. D’Arcy W. Thompson, 330; Medicine in Rome: The FitzPatrick Lectures on the History of Medicine, delivered at the Royal College of Physicians of London in rgog-10, with other Historical Essays, Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, 438 Greenland: by the Polar Sea: The Story of the Thule Expedition from Melville Bay to Cape Morris Jesup, K. Rasmussen. Translated by A. and R. Kenney, 702; Northernmost, Dr. H. R. Mill, 702; The Flora of, R.E. Holttum, 306 ; Western, Geological Notes on, Prof. A. C. Seward, 830 Gresham’s School, Holt, Annual Report of the Natural History Society of, 22 Growth: and Multiplication, Factors of, Prof. B. Robertson, 187; and Sex-factors of Racial Character, Miss R. M. Fleming, 388 Guinea-pig, The Hypertrophy of the Interstitial Cells in the Testicle of the, under Different Experimental Conditions, A. Lipschiitz, B. Ottow, C. Wagner, and F, Bormann, 255 Gymnosome (Loginiopsis), a New and Remarkable Type of, Mme. A. Pruvot, 463 ee The Taboo of Women among, T. W. Thompson, ene ete Society, Revival of the, 148 Hackworth, Timothy, The Work of, R. Young, 350 Haloes and Earth-History: A New Radioactive Element, Prof. J. Joly, 516, 578 Hanover Technische Hochschule, Dr. Fr. Quincke ap- pointed Professor of Technical Chemistry at the, 798 Harvard Observatory Telescope, The, 117 Hawthorn, The Free Flowering of the, Dr. C. J. Bond, 823 Hazell Annual, The New, and Almanack for the Year 1922, Dr. T. A. Ingram, 103 Head Masters, Incorporated Association of, General Meeting of the, 61 Hearing : Acuteness of, and Aptitude for Military Service, M. Marage, 158; The Resonance Theory of, Dr. H. Hartridge, 76 ; Dr. W. Perrett, 176 Heart, The Law of the, Prof. E. H. Starling, 13 Heating and Cooling of the Body oo Local Application of Heat and Cold, Prof. L. Hill, D. A, Ash, and J. A. Campbell, 255 Hejaz, Dr. Hogarth, 91 Helianthus ; New Researches on Grafts of, L. Daniel, 63 ; annuus, The Ultra-maximum Temperature supported by the ‘Embryos of, P. Garrigou-Lagrange, 631 Annual A. Westwood, 397; in | Heliotherapy, The Advance of, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, 663 ° Helium: and Argon in the Boiling Well at St. Harticadsl bury, Lucan, A. G. G. Leonard and Miss A. M. Richardson, 831 ; Band Spectrum of, Structure of the, W.E. Curtis, 326; in Natural Gas, H.B. Milner, 112; the Spectra of, ‘The Minimum Electron Energies associated with the Excitation of, Ann C. Davies, 156 Hellenism and Christianity, E. Bevan, 409 Helmholtz : Hermann v., Schriften zur Erkenntnistheorie, herausgegeben und ‘erlautert von P. Hertz und M. Schlick, 409; Theory of Hearing, The, Dr. E. W. Scripture, 518 ; ridge, 649 Herakleopolite Nome Tree, The Sacred, Dr. F. F. Bruij- ning, 756 Heredity : Old and New Ideas about, Prof. T. H. Morgan, 797; The Mechanism of, Prof. T. H. Morgan, 241, — 275, 312, 830; The Hormone aged of, Prof. W. Bayliss, 35 ; + T. Cunningham, 343 Hesperopithecus, The First Antheopae: Primate found in America, Prof. H. F. Osborn, 750 Hexamethylenetetramine, The Formic Hydrogenation of the Quaternary Salts of, M. Sommelet and J. Guioth, 463 High Tension Switchgear, H. E. Poole, 7 Histamine, The Action of, on the Secretion of the Gastric Juice in Pigeons, W. Koskowski, 194 Historians — Geographers, the Co- -operation of, Dr. Fleure, a and Ceberioha: The Teaching of, R. L. Thompson, Holiday Courses in England and Wales, 630 ae Hollow Curve, The, as shown by Pliocene Floras, Mrs. E. M. Reid, 256 ; Holz-Konservierung, Handbuch der, edited by E. Troschel, Hoole Lecture, The, Prof. A. C. Sa 830 Hookworm, A New Treatment for, 688 Hormones and Heredity: A Discussion of the Evolution of Adaptations and the Evolution of Species, J. T. Cunningham, 33 Horse Serum, the Viscosity of, The Influence of Heat and of some Solvents on, A. Vila, 667 Hughes’s Original Microphones and other Instruments of Historic Interest, Recovery of, A. A. Campbell Swinton, 485 Hull, Gift to, for a Technical College, by Rt. Hon. T. R.- Ferens, 395 Human: Cranium dredged from the River Trent, A, Prof. L. Gladstone, 593; Economy of, E. Farmer, 123; Marriage, The of, Prof. Wastage, Economic Aspects of, 676 Huxley: Memorial Lecture of the Royal Anthro er Institute, The, H. Balfour, 91 ; Memorial Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, The, _ presented ~ to H. Balfour, 92 Hydraulics of Pipe Lines, Prof. W. F. Durand, 606 ‘ Hydrocyanic Acid, The Synthesis of, by Oxidation, in Ammonio-silver Solution, of Alcohols, _Phenols, and Amines, R. Fosse and A. Hieulle, 94 Hydrogen: Active, Y. Venkataramaiah, 696; Alloy, the Electrical Conduction of a, D. P. Smith, 158; and Nitrogen, Active, Dr. G. L. Wendt; Dr. F._H. Newman, 749 ; Halides, The Viscosities of, H. Harle, 94; -ion Concentration of the Contents of the Small - Intestine, J. F. McClendon, 30; Ions, Apparatus for the Determination of the Concentration of a Solution in, A. Kling and Mme. A. Lassieur, 158; The Spectrum of, Prof. T. R. Merton and S. Barratt, 430 Hydrographic Bureau, The International, Capt. Spicer- Simson, 724 Hydroids, Cyclic Conditions and Rejuvenation in, R. Elmhirst, 208 : Hygiene, School of, Appointment of a Committee upon the Site and Planning of the, 384 Hygrometry, Discussion on, at the Physical Society, 6 45 Hymenoptera aculeata, The Spiracular Muscles of, Annie D. Betts, 813 Hyperemia, Active, D. T. Harris, 255 A. S. E. Ackermann; Dr. H. Hart-_ Effort in Industry, "The E. Westermarck, Fifth edition, 3 vols., 502 ; r pee Waius'e, ] August 12, 1922 Index XXXV bees, January 385 Age and Man, The, H. J. E. Peake and J. Reid Moir, 29 } Establishment of an Institute for the Study of 383; at Low Temperatures, The Brittleness of, L. 194; The Crystal , Sir William Bias 256 ti 4 aides Society, Report of the, 790; Work of the, 248; Gas, The Toxic Action of, on lants, Prof. J. H. Priestley, 731 -Kinematography, An Apparatus for the Rapid ition of, by the Electric Spark, L. Bull, 631 , The Principles of, Prof. H. T. Karsner and Aspects of Comparative Medicine, 633 ; College ce and Technology, Sir Thomas H. Holland ted Rector of the, 655; Institute, The, 403; phs on Mineral Resources with Special mce to the British Empire: Petroleum, 475 ; ch Institute of Osaka, Prof. P. P. von Weimarn nted Research Associate of the, 622 s Plantarum Phanerogamarum, Supple- ntum, 472 e in, 594; as a Centre of Anthropological 1 Arthur Keith, 408 ; Commercial Informa- Handbook of, C. W. E. Cotton, 809 ; Hydro- ric Survey of, vol. 3, W. Meares, 531; Iron in, 191; Jute and Silk i in, 170; Meteoro- tment of the Government of, Report of Paleolithic Age in, T. H. Vines, 387 ‘Tribes in Vancouver's Island, Dr. F. Boas, ager Birds, 606; Marine Polychaeta, R. he Ps Vas of in India, The, Prof. H. E. Armstrong, 790 ; The, and other Alternating Current B. A Behrend. Second'edition, 545; Dr. A. 7 ent, Scientific Research and, 124; of. B. Muscio, E. Farmer, and R. S. Brooke, and Efficiency, Dr. H. M. Vernon, 511; Board, - Annual ort rt of the, 351; Lighting, L. 3545 "Morbidit Boe Great Britain, Statistics of, usher, 21 ; on Study, E. Farmer, 219; Calendar of, oS 61, 93, 125, 156, 192, 223, Sy Bet 395, 429, 461, 499, 533, 506, 598, 762, 798, 829; Psychology, E Journal of the, 184; Dr. C. 5S. 1 others, 4593 > Research, Functions of, 807 ; of Economic Progress, A. P. M. Fleming 807 logy of, Dr. J. Drever, phe Modern High-speed, V. Hididonice of, Annie D. Betts; The Writer iz 240 | G. W. Butler, 342; Blood tration Changes in, F. P. Underhill and M. xT, 30; Pehle, The, 129; The Spread of, 52 ; The, 118, 148 a aged ‘Etudes sur les, Dr. E. Penard, 441 he, 675 ‘Britain, ‘Additions to the, 726; Pairing, ‘y of, 8s G. Lamb, 730 ; Transformation, E. Johnson, 673 uman Welfare, Prof. C. T. Brues, 710 ; ; , O7ae War r. L. O. Howard, 79 ulus, A Treatise on the, with Ap Bo agree , and Problems, J. Edwards, vol. 1, 435; , The Numerical Solution of, H. Bateman, Statistics, Dr. R. W. Lawson, 716 Tension and Hydrogen Ion Concentration, eee ene ane Ht A. Peters, 666 : re ew Form of, H. P. Waran, 94 bustion Engine, Barr and Stroud’ $, 120 2 Pikchvcacrnical Union, Dr. A.C. D. Crommelin ; Prof. W. W. Campbell elected President, 727 ; Investigations, The, 390; Geophysics, The, 759 5 President, 759 Intestinal : Flora, The ‘Transforthation of the, with Special Reference to the Implantation of Bacillus aci dophilus, II., Feeding Experiments on Man, H. A. Chaplin and L. ay Rettger, 31; Protozoa of Man, The, C. Dobell and F. W. O'Connor ; Sir E. Ray Lankester, 98 Intradermic Injection of. Micro-organisms, Reactions of Defence and Immunity provoked by the, Either Living or Killed by Heat, N. Breton and V. Grysez, Fishery Union of Geodesy and ‘Ch. Lallemand re-elected 764 Invention, Discovery and, Awards for, 293 Iodine, The Kinetic Study of Alkaline Solutions of, O. Liévin, 567 Iona, The Geology of, Prof. Jehu, 62 Irish Eskers, J. de W. Hinch, 353 Iron: -Age Village near Devizes, An Early, Mrs. Cunnington, ' 593; and Steel, Crystal Structure of, X-ray Studies on the, Dr. Westgren and Mr. Phragmen, 817; Ore in Europe, Prof. J. W. Gregory, 794; Resources of Europe, The, M. Roesler, 794; Production in India, Ig! Irons, Cast, The Thermal Treatment of some, J. Durand, 535 ihg ay The Development of Institutions under, with ial Reference to Early Utah Conditions, Prof. G. seal 577 Island Communities, The Sociology and Economics of some, Dr. Malinowski, 532 Isotopes: Dr. F. W. Aston, 736; Elements and, 736; H. H. Poole, 699; The Difference between Series Spectra of, Prof. P. Ehrenfest, 745; Prof. N. Bohr, 740 Italian Earthquake of September 7, 1920, The, P. Monnet, 326 Japan, Mathematics in, 287 ellies, The Rigidity of, F. Michaud, 763 ena University, Prof. A. Gutbier appointed Professor of Chemistry at, 729 Jenner Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine, The, awarded to Dr. J. C. McVail, 823 Johannesburg, Geological Map of, C. T. Mellor and A. L. Du Toit, 562 Johns Hopkins ey saad School of Hygiene and Public Health, The, 486 upiter and his Markings, W. F. Denning, 591 urassic Plants: from Ceylon, Prof. A. C. Seward and R. E. Holttum, 193 ; from Yorkshire, Some New and Rare, (V), H. H. Thomas, 290 Jute and Silk, Reports on, Indian Trade Inquiry, 170 Juvenile Delinquency, Dr. C. Burt, 250 K Series of the Light Elements, The Complexity of the, and its Theoretical Interpretation, A. Dauvillier, 326 Kahn, Albert, Travelling Fellowship, The, awarded to J. H. Nicholson, 823 Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zur Férderung der Wissen- schaften zu Ihrem zehnjahrigen adeno dargebracht von ihren Instituten, Festschrift der, Ka Lines of the Lighter Elements, The; V. Dotesek 326 Kaolins, Clays, Bauxites, etc., A. Bigot, 731 Karlsruhe Technische Hochschule, Prof. K. Freudenberg appointed Successor to Prof. Pfeiffer at the, 729 Kasolite, a New Radio-active Mineral, A. Schoep, 63 Katangar, Flore du, contribution 4 l’étude de la, E. de Wildeman, 548 Kata-thermometer, The, a Measure of Ventilation, Prof. L , Dr. H. M. Vernon, and D. H. Ash, 126 Kauri Pine, Preservation of the, 282 Kentucky, The House of Representatives of, and the Teaching of Evolution in Schools, 669 Kepler, The Laws of, and the Relativist Orbits, J. Trousset, Kerguelen, New Surveys in, Capt. R. R. du Batz, 319 Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens: Impending Retirement of Sir David Prain; appointment of Dr. A. W. Hill as XXXVI Didles Nature, August 12, 1922 | Director, 51; retirement of Dr. O. Stapf; appoint- ment of A. D. Cotton as Keeper of the Herbarium and Library, 384 Kidney, The Efficiency of the, Prof. A. R. Cushny and others, 122 ; : Kinetic Theory of Gases, Certain Integrals occurring in the, Prof. S. Chapman, 258 - Kinship, The Evolution of, Dr. E. S. Hartland, 825 Knossus, The Bull Acrobats at, Sir Arthur Evans, 387 Knowledge: Some Byways of the Theory of, Prof. R. F. A. Hoernlé, 431 ; The Organisation of, Dr. F. I.. Hoffman, 596; W. W. Leisenring, 715 ; F. E. Cave; The Writer of the Article, 716 Kontinente und Ozeane, Die Enstehung der, Prof. A. Wegener, 202 Kosciusko, Mount, The Sumimit of, formerly covered by Glaciers, Sir T. Edgeworth David, and Profs: Skeats and Richards, 51 _ Koster Caves, South Africa, Mummified Animals in the, H. S. Harger, 621 ‘“ Kriminologie,’’ “‘ Das System der,’’ Prof. W. Ostwald, 86 Krypton and Xenon, The Estimation of, in Absolute Value, by Spectrophotometry, C. Moureu and A. Lepape, 599 Labrador and New Quebec, Prof. A. P. Coleman, 353 Lachaise, The Pére, Cemetery in Paris, 116 Lactic: Ferment to Poisons, The Tolerance of the, C. Richet, E. Bachrach, and H. Cardot, 258; Fer- mentation, Studies on the, C. Richet, E. Bachrach, and H. Cardot, 566 Levoglucosane, The Polymerisation of, A. Pictet and J. H. Ross, 667 La Matiére et l’Energie : Selon la Théorie de la Relativité et la Théorie des Quanta, Prof. L. Rougier. Nouvelle édition, 339 Laminaria and Chorda, The Life-histories of, C. Lloyd ‘ Williams, 699 Land and Sea Breezes in the Gulf of Lions, Prof. M. Moye, 489 Langley Aeroplane, The, and the Hammondsport Trials, 7; G. Brewer, 305; The Writer of the Articles, 307 Languages, Auxiliary International, Prof. F. G. Donnan, 491 Latitude Changes, Progressive, Prof. F. Schlesinger, 560 Latvia, English Books for, 92 Laurionite and Paralaurionite from Cornwall, A. Russell and A. Hutchinson, 126 Lead: Silver-lead, and Zinc Ores of Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset, H. Dewey, 6; Soluble Salts of, The Action of, on Plants, E. Bonnet, 327; and Zinc Ores in the Carboniferous Rocks of North Wales, B. Smith, 6 Leaves, The Mechanism of the Orientation of, E. Zaepftel, 127 Leeds University: A. Wormall appointed Demonstrator in Bio-chemistry in, 254; Endowment by Sir Berkeley Moynihan of a Gold Medal, 288 ; Impending Resigna- tion of Prof. J. Goodman, 429; Forthcoming Confer- ment of Honorary Degrees, 597; Election of Dr. A. Gilligan to the Chair of Geology; S. Barratt appointed Assistant Lecturer and Demonstrator in Chemistry ; . H. Thompson appointed Reader in Medieval History, 697 Legendary Islands of the Atlantic: A Study in Medieval Geography, W. H. Babcock, 803 Leishmania donovani parasite of Kala-azar, The, Lt.-Col. Christophers, 688 Leonardo da Vinci as a Geologist, Sir Charles J. Holmes, 499 L’Ether actuel et ses précurseurs (simple récit), E. M. Lémeray, 770 Leucotermes lucifugus, Rossi, the Social Habits of, Dr. J. Feytaud, 150 Lhota Nagas of Assam, The, J. P. Mills, 393 Lichens; A Handbook of the British Lichens, Annie Lorrain Smith, 5 Life: The Haunts of, Being Six Lectures delivered at the Royal Institution, Christmas Holidays, 1920-1921, Prof. J. A. Thomson, 710 Life Tables, The Scientific Value of, Dr. M. Greenwood, 691 Light: as an Aid to Aerial Navigation, The Use of, Lt.- Col. L. F. Blandy, 286 ;, Requirements in Hospitals, J. Darch and others, 657; Sensitivity in Photo- graphy, The Interpretation of, Prof. T. Svedberg, 795 ; The Biological Action of, Appointment of a Com- mittee upon, 248; The Speed of, Dr. E. H. Kennard, 581 Lighting of Public Buildings, The, E. H. Rayner, J. W. T.. Walsh, and H. Buckley, 490 Lightning Arresters, J. L. R. Hayden, 54 Lignites of Cap-Bon (Tunis), The, A. Allemand-Martin, 94 Lime carried down by Ferric Hydroxide Precipitates, The, A. Charriou, 30 Linnean Society, Prof. L. Cuénot, G. Gilson, Prof. J. W. E, G. Leche, and Dr. B. L. Robinson elected Foreign Members of the, 655; Gold Medal of the, presented to Prof. E. B. Poulton ; Election of Officers and Council of the, 754 Lipobranchus intermedius, Formation of myolytic spindles and their Phagocytosis in the ccelom of, A. Dehorne, 763 Liquids: holding Metallic Powders in Suspension, An Electro- and Magneto-optical Effect in, M. St. Procopiu, 700; Measuring the Surface Tension of, Prof. Jaeger, 153; Slightly Miscible, An Optical Method for the Determination of the Reciprocal Solubility of, C. Chéveneau, 535 : Lister, Lord, The Ward in the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, of, 184 Lithium, Isotopes of, The Structure of the line \=6708 A of the, Prof. J. C. McLennan and D. S. Ainslie, 699 Liverpool University, Conferment of Honorary Degrees, I Livia Organism, The Laboratory of the, Dr. M. O. Forster, 153 Livingstone College, Report of, 385 London: and Westminster, Original Contours and Drainage of, and their present Configuration, Mrs. Ormsby, 91 ; Geology and the History of, C. E. N. Bromehead, 324 ; South, Geology of, H. Dewey and C. C. A. Bromehead, 562; University, Continuance of Benefaction to the Ratan Tata Foundation ; Conferment of Doctorates, 155; Research Degrees and, Dr. A. M. Davies, 238 ; Conferment of Doctorates, 254; Prof. H. R. Dean appointed Professor of Bacteriology at University College Hospital Medical School, 360; Dr. C. A. Pannett appointed Professor of Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, Dr. C. A. Lovatt Evans Professor of Physiology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, Dr. G. B. Jeffery Professor of Mathe- matics at King’s College; Cutlers’ Scholarships ; award of Doctorates, 429; Conferment of Doctorates, 460, 532, 761; Report for 1921-22, 629; Dr. R. W. Chambers appointed Quain Professor of English Language and Literature at University College, N. B. University Reader in Comparative Slavonic Philology ; at King’s College, R. B. Forrester Sir Ernest Cassel Lecturer in Commerce at the London School of Economics, 728 ; Scheme of Industrial Training, 798 Long Barrow Race, The, and its Relationship to the Modern Inhabitants of London, Prof. F. G. Parsons, 86 Lord Howe Island, Story of, A. R. McCulloch, 22 Lorentz-Einstein, Vérification expérimentale de la formule de, Prof. Ch.-Eug. Guye en collaboration successive avec S. Ratnowsky et Ch. Lavanchy, 406 ; Lower Carboniferous Succession in the Settle District, etc., Prof. E. Garwood and Miss E. Goodyear, 730 Lubrication: Boundary, The Paraffin Series, W. B. Hardy and Ida Doubleday, 224 ; Luminescence at High Temperatures, E. L. Nichols and D. T. Wilbur, 31 Luminosities, Determination of, by Spectrophotometry, Lindblad, 656 Lunar: Atmospheric Tide at Aberdeen, The, 1869-1919, Prof.S. Chapman and Miss E. Falshaw, 599; Period- icity in Reproduction, H. M. Fox, 237; Tables, New, Prof. Brown, 690 E Lyrids, The Shower of, 528 Lyte’s Library, A Relic of Henry, H. Downes, 699 é Babu cca i iy Aad 3 7a si, it Nt dc ee er. ee “ty Watebe, 2 eee 12, 1922 Index XXXVI ell, 194 Lead in the Uranium Minerals of, M. Muguet, : in Organic Chemistry, H. Hepworth, 251 ; itive-ray Analysis of, A. J. Dempster, 159 + Induction, Ewing’s Theory of, 321 ; Suscepti- oo at ae Frequencies, The Measurement of, M. Iz, 3 etism ae. A tdakis Structure, II., Dr. A. E. Oxley, 290 : -chemical Investigation of Constitution in Mineral hemistry, P. Pascal, 326; -optische Verschijnselen, erhandeligen van Dr. P. Zeeman over, 66 stone Museum, Donations to the, 216 a’s Theory of Gravitation, A Criticism of, Prof. logical Society of London, Election of Officers and incil of the, 249 in the Federated Malay States: The Prevention “Record of Twenty Years’ Progress, Dr. M. ‘atson, with Contributions a P:/S; _Hunter and A. Wellingto ant Be cavetionst in, Miss M. A. Murray, 27 e Sng ge by Wood that has undergone Trau- tantin, Hh Wissler, 387 Manchester : Literary and Philosophical Society, Election : of Officers and Council of the, 590; L. E. Vlies elected _ Chairman of the Chemical Section of the, 690; Uni- versity » monation from the Executors of the late H. ey, A; tments in, 155; Resignation of Prot. . R. Dean of the Beckton Chair of Pathology, ae Prof. A. Lapworth appointed Sir Samuel Hall fessor of mtey of ths" 429 ; Institution of a Fellow- Group, Monoclinic Double Selediiies of the, -H. Tutton, 461; Spectrum of, Series and egularities in the, M. A. Catalan, 461 al: Phosphates, The Citric Solubility of, Dr. Tocher, ; Substances, The Absorption and Retention of, Granite Soils, Prof. Hendrick, 25 ‘in; segaetand, Effect of Long - continued, Dr. red Es any Balers in San Francisco Bay, 426; Invertebrates, -H. Edmondson and others, 530; Mollustan Fauna = eens, W. H. Dall, 282; Organisms, An Elusive _ Group of, , Sir W. A. Herdman, 130 : Conjunction of, with a Star, W. F. Denning, 186 ; The Deaatan por Opposition of, 386; The Rotation goes Pind Viscount Lascelles, The Marriage of, r The American Indians’ Knowledge of the, J. . Tar ylor, Dr. C. Wissler, 387 ti : Analysis, Prof. G. H. Hardy, 435; Associa- ‘Annual. Meeting of the, Sir T. L. Heath elected ident, 85; Pastimes, New, Major P. A. MacMahon, ; Recreations, 200 ; Tables, Wightman’s Second- School, edited by F. Sandon, 737 ematics : and Public Opinion, 520; Elementary, Text- books of, e743 ; for Technical Students: Junior Course, S. N. Forrest, 574; in Japan, 287; Pure, _ Elementary, Dr. S. Brodetsky, 737 ud Arctic Expedition, The, 789 , The Tensions and Pressures of, in Magnets and dlectrics, G. Gouy, 362 I Hieroglyphs, A. M. Poster 282 Mayen Island, Jan, A Summer Visit to, J. M. Wordie, 15 ; The Flora of, J. L. C. Musters, 194 , How to, Profs. G. M. Wilson and K. J. Hoke, 472 > So pees Merman and Instruments, Physical, A Journal for, 182 Mécanismes communs aux phénonémes disparates, Prof. M. Petrovitch, 739 Mechanical Engineers, Institution of, Awards of the, 351 ; Work of the Research Committees of the, 351 Mechanics and Engineering from the Time of Aristotle to that of Archimedes, T. E. Lones, 214 Medicinal Chemicals, 37 Medicine : Comparative, Imperial Aspects of, 633; History of, the Third International Congress of the, Election of Officers of, 21 Mediterranean Fever, A New Method of Diagnosis of, E. Burnet, 259 Megalithic Monuments of Malta, The, 27 Melanesian Witchcraft, Dr. B. Malinowski, 827 Melbourne University Bill, The, 329 peor Medal, The, 49; awarded to Dr. C. K. Ingold, Melting Points of Pure Organic Liquids as Thermometric Standards for Temperatures below 0° C., The, J npg area Mille. H. Van der Horst and H. K. Onnes, 25 Memories of a Long Life, Rev. Canon T. G. Bonney, 607 Memory, Sir G. Archdall Reid, 551 Mendel, The Centenary of the Birth of, 486 Mental: Hygiene, A National Council for, Sir Courtauld Thomson, 565; Inauguration of a, Sir Courtauld Thomson elected President, 621 ; Measurement, The Essentials of, Dr. W. Brown and Prof. G. H. Thomson, 472; Tests and Mentality, Prof. Pear, 657 Mercury : from Different Sources, The Atomic Weight of, Prof. J. N. Brénsted and Dr. G. Hevesy, 780; Iso- topes of, Separation of, Prof. W. D. Harkins and R. S. Mulliken, 388 ; Pump, A New Form of High Vacuum Automatic, H. P. Waran, 462; The Isotopes of, Prof. T. H. Laby and W. Mepham, 206; Vapour, Low Voltage Glows in, G. Stead and E. C. Stoner, 397 Mercury, The Planet, W. F. Denning, 623 Merlin, Breeding Habits of the, W. Rowan, 423 Mesopotamia, River Control in, E. Howell, 215 Messier, 33, Internal Motion with Spiral Nebula, A. Van Maanen, 158 Metallurgy, Industrial, Periodicals of Interest on, 724 Metals: and Alloys at Low Temperatures, The Variations of the Mechanical Properties of, L. Guillet and J. Cournot, 258; Endurance Limits of, H. F. Moore and J. B. Kommers, 219; Institute of, The Journal of the, No. 2, 1921, vol. xxvi. Edited by G. Shaw Scott, 64 ; Metchnikoff : (Méénikov), and Russian Science in 1883, Prof. B. Brauner, 478; Elie, Life of, 1845-1916, Olga Metchnikoff, 163 Meteoric Fireballs, 318 ; Shower of December 4-5, 1921, W. F. Denning, 121 Meteorological: Observations, Mont Blanc, Sir Napier Shaw, 190; -Office—Air Ministry: British Rainfall, Ig20, 102 Météorologie pratique, Baldit, 440 Meteorology : Elementary, C. J. P. Cave, 440 ; Handbook of, A Manual for Co-operative Observers and Students, J. W. Redway, 440; in Medicine, Dr. A, G. Mac- donald, 354; in the Netherland Indies, 594 Meteors, The April, 1922, W. F. Denning, 560; The Shower of January, W. F. Denning, 55 Metres, Standard, Recent Fundamental Determinations and Verifications of the, C. E. Guillaume, 62 Metric Gallon, suggested, 117 Mexican Archeology, A. M. Tozzer, 624 Mexico, Archzological Investigations in, Nuttall, 59 Microphones, Doubly Resonated Hot-wire, E. T. Paris, 698 Microscope : New Science, C. Baker, 562 ; Beck’ s Standard London Petrological, 58; Illumination and Fatigue, H. J. Denham, 78; Objectives, 320; The, Its Design, Construction, and Applications. A Sym- osium and General Discussion by many Authorities. Rdited by F. S. Spiers, 370; The Mechanical Con- struction of the, from a Historical Point of View, Prof. A. Pollard, 754 Etudes élémentaires de, A. Mrs. Zelia XXXVIii Index Supeee te Microscopes: and Microscopic Definition, Test-plates for, | Mummified Animals in the Koster Caves, South Africa, A. Mallock, 205; Petrological, Catalogue of, James Swift and Son, Ltd., 658 Microtomist’s Vade Mecum: The, A Handbook of the Methods of Microscopic Anatomy, A. B. Lee. Eighth edition. Edited by Prof. J. B. Gatenby and others, 72 Mikroskopische Physiographie der petrographischwich- tigen Mineralien. H. Rosenbusch. Band 1. Erste Halfte. A Welling “Lact 4k Fiinfte Auflage. Prof. E. A. Wiilfing. Lief, ‘1., Milk: Fat, The Influence of Fecdiae on: E. J. Sheehy, 398 ; Production, Dairy Cattle and, 360; Secretion of, The Varying Rates of, on its Percentage Composition, Dr. W. Taylor and A. D. Husband, 25 Mind: Sir G. Archdall Reid, 515; The Analysis of, B. Russell, 513 Mineral : Industry of the British Empire, The, 754; Re- sources of Great Britain, Special Reports on. the, vol. xxiii. ; Lead and Zinc Ores in the Pre-Carbonifer- ous Rocks of West Shropshire and North ‘Wales. Part 1, West Shropshire, B. Smith; Part 2, North Wales, H. Dewey and B. Smith, 546; Separation, Alternating-current, Prof. S. J. Truscott, 556 Mineralogical Society, Bequest to, by Sir W. Phipson Beale, 724 Mineralogy, Determinative, A Manual of, Prof. J. V. Lewis, Third edition, 772 Minerals : Introduction to the Study of, and Guide to the Mineral Collections in Kelvingrove Museum, Prof. P. MacNair. Second edition, 370; The Attack of, by Bacteria, A pepe cies and W. Rudolfs, 800 Miners’ Lamps, 25 Mining and Motalerey. The Institution of, and Technical Education, S. J. Speak, 597 Minos: The Palace of, A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilisation as illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos, Sir Arthur Evans. Vol. 1, The Neolithic and Early and Middle Minoan Ages, 466 Miscellanea Physica, 739 Missionaries as Anthropologists, Sir James Frazer, 593 ‘Molecular Diameters, A New Mode of Determination of the, by the Electromagnetic Rotation of the Dis- charge in the Gases, C. E. Guye and R. Riidy, 258 Molecule, A Special Type of Rigid, The Kinetic Theory of, F. B. Pidduck, 224 Molecules, Anisotropy of, Prof. C. V. Raman, 75 Mollusca, Self-fertilisation in, G. C. Robson, 12; Ramanujam, 593 Monatomic Gas, Non-uniform Rarefied, The Velocity Dis- tribution Function and the Stresses in a, J. E. Jones, =: M. 224 Monochlortoluenes, The, A. Wahl, G. Normand, and G. Vermeylen, 599 Monsoon, The South-West, Dr. G. C. Simpson, 109; L. C. W. Bonacina, 109 Mont Blanc: Meteorological Observations, Sir Napier Shaw, 190 ; Observations carried out on, A. Boutaric, 226 Moon: Changes in the, Prof. W. H. Pickering, 690 ; Eclipsed, Illumination of the, L. Richardson, 318. Morocco, The Climatology of, L. Gentil, 226 Morphological Aberration, Dr. F. A. Bather, 640 Mortality Tables, 389 Mortar, The Weathering of, N. M. Richardson, 310; C. Carus-Wilson, 478 Mosquito: Investigation, 792; Larve, The Destruction of, in Salt or Brackish Water, J. F. Marshall, 746 Mosquitoes, Biology of, and the Disappearance of Malaria in Denmark, 323 Moss: A Retarded Regeneration of, J. Maheu, 667; Rose, The Origin of the, Major Hurst, 190; Major Hurst and Miss M. S. G. Breeze, 283 Motor: Car Practice, Modern, edited by W. H. Berry, 371; Headlights, J. W. T. Walsh and others, 694 ; without Glare, H. S. Ryland, 793 Mould Growths on Cold Store Meat, F. T. Brooks and C. G. Hansford, 462 Mound-builders of Dunstable, The, Col. T. C. Hodson, 21 Mountain and Moorland, Prof. J. A. Thomson, 513 Multenions and Differential Invariants, Pts. ii. and iii., Prof. A. McAulay, 290 H. S. Harger, 621 Muscle, The Acidity of, during Maintained Contraction, Dr. H. E. Roaf, 499 Muscular: Efficiency, A. Mallock, 711 ; E. P. Cathcart and others, 122 Museum Specimens, Effect of Light on, Sir Sidney Harmer, Work, Heavy, Prof. 757 : Museums: Provincial, The Needs of, 118; The State and, 216; The Educational Use of, Lord Sudeley and Lord Hylton, 688 Mutual Inductance, Calculation of a Standard of, and Comparison of it with the Similar Laboratory Stand- ard, D. W. Dye, 461 Mycology, British, 154 Myre collected in Mesopotamia and N.-W. Persia by W. E. Evans, H. W. Brolemann, 398 Napoleona imperialis, Beauv., The Floral Structure of, M‘Lean Thompson, 257 Natal and Zululand, Flora of, An Introduction to the, of. J. W. Bews, 510 Nation, Education and the, 1 National: Expenditure, Committee on, Third Report of - 279; Galleries and Museums, Protest Proposed Charges for Admission to the, 722; Institute of Industrial Psychology, The, Dr. C. S. Myers and others, 459 Natural History: in Schools, The Teaching of, Prof. Hickson and others, 628; E. W. Shann, 747; A. G. Lowndes, 748; Museum ‘Staff Association, Scientific Reunion of the, 316 5 Nature, An Appreciation of, Prof. B. Sauna: 350 Naval Engineering, The Centenary of, Eng. ~Cdr. E. Ae Smith, 596 Navy, Education and Scientific Services in the, Expendi- ture on, 384 Nebulae, Ghacnee, A Study of, Rev. J. G. Hagen, 455 Nebular Theory, Geology and the, Prof. A. P. Coleman, 5 Nectatapping Birds : An Artifice of, P. M. Debbarman, 489; Sir Herbert Maxwell, 612 Nematodes, Classification of, Dr. H. H. Cobb, 353 Neon: -filled ee Some Electrical Properties of, S. O. Pearson and H. H. G. Anson, 730; Curtis, 343 Neptune’s Equator, The Position of, A. Newton, 528° Nerve Exhaustion, Sir Maurice Craig, 744 Netherland Indies, The Climate of the, Dr. C. Braak, 594 New: Mexico, New Dinosaur from, C. W. Gilmore, 756 ; South Wales, The Freshwater Entomostraca of, Pt I., Cladocera, Marguerite Henry, 832 ; Year Honours, 20; York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Endowment of the, by G. F. Baker, 789; Zealand Astronomical Society, Election of Officers of the, 52; Geology in Prof. J. Park and others, 624 ; Geology of Western Southland, Prof. J. Park, 657 Newton, La Loi de, est la loi unique: de l’univers, M. Franck, 739 Nickel-silvers, Some Mechanical Properties of the, F. C. Thompson and E. Whitehead, 397 Nicotiana Tabacum, Results of crossing Certain Varieties of, W. A. Satchell, T. H. Goodspeed, and R. E. Clausen, 159 Nicotine and the Inhibitory Nerves of the Heart, W. Koskowski, 631 Nilgiri and Pulney su He; The Flora of the, Prof, PF. Fyson. Vol. 3, Nitrogenous Paacs "of Plants, The Synthesis of a, R. Fosse, 30 théorie mécanique Nodal Slide, A Criticism of the, as an Aid in testing Photographic Lenses, T. Smith and J. S. Anderson, 30 Non Paciaess Geometry, The Pioneer of, 232 Non-specific Therapy, Dr. J. Stephenson, 717 Nottingham, University College, New Buildings of, 827 Nova: Cygni, 1920, The Light Curve of, 386; Puppis, eer Miss Woods, 217; The Definition of a, Rey, JG? Hagen, 352 Nove, Recent Magnitudes of, Dr. W. H. Steavenson, 455 Lamps, W. E. ——ew Picea. |) Mieige 6S ea Nature, J ‘sgn. 1922] XX XIX Nubi, Le, L. Taffara. Parte I., II., 301 olus, Morphology and Physidlogy. of the, R. S. dford, 666 ‘ucleus, Shape of the, and the Mechanical Causes, Prof. “Champy and H. M. Carleton, 22 irse-hound,”’ The Term, E. Ford, 55 i rowing, R. T. Morris, 337 d:; A Handbook on Cotton and Tobacco Cultiva- in, A Guide to Prospective Settlers, J. S. J. 337 d, The Phosphate Deposit of, L. Owen, 62; “and the Great Fisheries, G. C. L. Howell, of the Gibraltar Region, Dr. Johs. Schmidt, , A Modified, 629 neering and Finance, No. 1, 350; Firing for and Steam Boilers, E. C. Bowden- Smith, 204 ; t, Field Mapping for the, C. A. Warner, 4743 urface of a Sheet of Water, Velocity of Ex- yf Thin Layers of, P. Woog, 158; Shale asa pomemmme 594 and Fuels, T. Hull, 774 ions lige in the British Museum, J. ‘he Variations of Critical, with the Tem- and the Wave-length of the Incident Light, Division i in, Prof. R. W. Hegner and Dr. ents, The Classification of, T. Smith, 830; metry of, J. Guild, 431; Resolving Power rition, T. Smith, 745; Rotatory Dispersion, Lowry and Dr. P. C. Austin (Bakerian '; Society, Election of Officers of the, 385 ; é urnal of the, Dr. L. Silberstein appointed iate Editor of the, 724; Theories, Dr. S. cy, 706 ; Theories, Based on Lectures delivered r ‘Calcutta University, Prof. D. N. Mallik. ag 706 ; Compiled by Dr. T. J. I’A. Bromwich, n, Die Prinzipien der, historisch und entwickelt, E. Mach, 706 e Brille als, Prof. M. von Rohr, Three -apertures Problem, ot a Transformations undergone by, ni , and Disease: Their Origin and ce, Dr. J. M. Clarke, 708; Sulphur Com- The Auto-oxidation of, M. Delépine, 763; ‘gaan Annual Publication of Satisfactory the Preparation of Organic Chemicals, d Environment, Dr. F. B. Sumner, 456 ompounds, An Attempt at the System- on of the Preparation of, A. Job and R. Br. (family Proteacez), One of the ‘Silky Oaks, Specimens of Wood of, Dr. A. of ee Indians, The, F. la Flesche, 756 mbridge and the Royal Commission, 465; the suntine Commission, 428; University, ixon appointed Professor of Pure Mathe- 394; The Romanes Lecture to be delivered A. Ss. Eddington ; Rejection of Preamble of oe to discontinue the Delegacy of the Univer- im, 155; Press, Some Account of the, 1468— 51 2 hashington ’s ‘Collected Analyses of. Igneous s, The Distribution of, W. A. Richardson, 126; Reduction of, by Hydrogen, E. Berger, 799 — Apparatus for Measuring, Prof. A. : Blood- cells of the, Dr. J. H. Orton, 612 held, The Catalytic Decomposition of, A. Mailhe, 507 Pacific, Problems of the, Sir Halford Mackinder, gr Padua, University of, The Seventh Centenary of the, 486; The 7ooth Anniversary of the, Prof. E. W. Scripture, 752 Palzontological Research, Records of, 561 Palm Pritchardia, The Geographical Distribution of the, the late Prof. O. Beccari and Prof. J. Rock, 392 Palms, The Development and Morphology of the Leaves of, Agnes Arber, 499 Para Rubber- tree, The Brown Bast Disease of the, Dr. SE. Chandler, 357 Parabolic Wage, The, C. Lallemand, 566 Parallaxes and Proper Motions, Dr. Van Maanen, 318 Paralysis, General, Histo-microbiological Researches on, Ms Manouélian, 667 Paramecium aurelia at Yale University, Present Status of the Long-continued Pedigree Culture of, L. L. Woodruff, 159 Parasitic: Amceba with Pathogenic Capacities, A, Prof. C. A. Kofoid and Dr. Olive Swezy, 282 ; Worms from Animals, Dr. G. A. MacCallum, 187; of Man and Methods of suppressing them, Major F. H. Stewart, 379 Parasitism and Symbiosis, F. A. Potts, 643 Parasitisme, Le, et la symbiose, Prof. M. Caullery, 643 Parfumerie, Manuel de, I. Lazennec, 774 Particle Emission, Random Direction of a, An Attempt to influence the, G. H. Henderson, 398 a-Particles as Detonators, G. H. Henderson, 749 Passivity and Overpotential, U. R. Evans, 257 Pasteur: and his Work, L. Descour. Translated by A. F. and Dr. B. H. Wedd, 805; the Centenary of the Birth of, 486 Pasteur’s Scientific Career, 805 Patents and Chemical Research, H. E. Potts, 338 Pathological and Bacteriological Laboratories, The Associa- tion of Assistants i re ieee *« Patternscope,”’ The, 7 Pearls, Cultivated canals A Method of recognising, J. Galibourg and F. Ryziger, 631 Peat, the Winning and the Utilisation of, A Handbook on, A. Hausding. Translated from the third German _ edition by Prof. H. Ryan, 774 Peaty Soils, Spontaneous fewitcn: of, E. A. Andrews, 77 Pébrine in Silkworms, C. M. Hutchinson, 253 Peltier Effect, The, E. H. Hall, 159 Pencil Markings in the Bodleian Library, C. Ainsworth Mitchell, 516 Pendulations-Theorie, Die, Prof. H. Simroth, 809 Pendulum and a Chronometer, Experiments relating to the Course of a, J. Lecarme, 831 Penny, The Power of the, H. Allcock, 724 Peoples of All Nations, Edited by J. A. Hammerton. No. T, 475 “e Peptone,” The Action of, on Blood and Immunity thereto, J. W. Pickering ‘and J. A. Hewitt, 430 Perfumery : ‘he Raw Materials of, Their Nature, Occur- rence, and Employment, E. J. Parry, 305 Perfumes, Essential Oils and Fruit Essences used for Soap and other Toilet Articles, Dr. G. Martin, 271 Personal Beauty and Racial Betterment, Prof. K. Dunlop, 39 Peta: Ancient, Culture of, T. A. Joyce, 187; Carboni- ferous Plants from, Prof. A. C. Seward, 598 ; ths Fossils of, H. Woods, T. W. Vaughan, and J. Cushman, 561 Pétrole, Exploitation du, par puits et galeries, P. de Chambrier, 443 Pétroles, Technique des, R. Courau, 548 Petroleum: Sir Boverton Redwood. Fourth edition. In three volumes, 403; A Treatise on, Sir T. H. Holland, 403; Commission, ‘The International, Prof. -J.*S..S: Brame, 497; Divining in France, Dr. H. Moineau and M Regis, 247; Geology, Field Methods in, Dr. G. H. Cox, Prof. C. L. Dake, and Prof. G. A. Muilen- burg, 474; Imperial Institute : Monographs on Mineral Resources, with special reference to the British Empire, 475; in a Well at Darcy, near Dalkeith, 654; Industry, The. Edited by A. E Dunstan, 774; Resources of California, 188 Petrological Microscope, A, 58 xl Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Pewsey, Vale of, Drainage of the, W. D. Varney, 23 Pharmacology, A Manual of, Prof. W. E. Dixon. edition, 372 Phaseolus vulgaris, The Vascular Anatomy of Normal and Variant Seedlings of, J. A. Harris and E. W. Sinnott, 159 Ph.D., The English, Prof. E. W. Scripture, 780 Phenol, The Ultra-violet Absorption of, in Different Solvents, F. W. Klingstedt, 535 Phenological Observations, L. C. W. Bonacina, 373 Philadelphia Commercial Museum, Educational Work of the, C. R. Toothaker, 53 Philosophy: and the New Physics: An Essay on the Relativity Theory and the Theory of Quanta, Prof. L. Rougier. Translated by Prof. M. Masius, 339; Congress of, in Paris, 90 Phosphates of Morocco, The Age of the, L. Gentil, 94 Phosphorus, A Study of the Glow of, Lord Rayleigh, 93 Photo-engraving Primer: Concise Instructions for Ap- prentice Engravers or for those seeking Simple yet Practical Knowledge of Line and Half-tone Engrav- ing, S. H. Hoogan, 547 Photographic: Emulsions, A Property of, and the Registra- tion of Stars during Total Eclipses of the Sunin View of the Verification of the Einstein Effect, M. Hamy, 534; The Silver Bromide Grain of, A. P. H. Trivelli and S. E. Sheppard, 304; Plate, The, 794; The Grain of the, Prof. T. Svedberg, 221; Plates, Increasing the Sensitiveness of, M. Clerc, 726; Studies of Heights of Aurora, Prof. C. Stérmer, Dr. C. Chree, 47 Photographs, Telegraphic Transmission of, E. Belin, 686 Photography, The Right Way in, 385 Photosynthesis: Prof. E. C. €. Baly, 344; Dr. E. J. Russell, 153 Physaloptera, Nematodes of the Genus, with special reference to those Parasitic in Reptiles, Vera Irwin- Smith, 95; Part 2, Vera Irwin-Smith, 832 Physical: Apparatus, A Notable Exhibition of, 56; Society of London, Election of Officers and Council of the, 217 Physico-Chemical Problems relating to the Soil: A General Discussion held by the Faraday Society, 808 Physics : An Outline of, L. Southerns, 641 ; for Students, 641; for Technical Students, An Introduction to, ine j. Haler and A. H. Stuart, 641; General, and its Application to Industry and Everyday Life, Prof. E. S. Ferry, 641; Institute of, Election of Officers and Board of the, Sir J. J. Thomson President, 723 ; Report of the, 655 ; Laboratory Projects in, A Manual of Practical Experiments for Beginners, F. F. Good, 641; Radiology and, Dr. G. W. C. Kaye, 414; The New, Dr. A. C. Crehore, 39; The Teaching of, 433 Fifth in Plants, Physikalisch-technische Reichsanstalt, Prof. W. Nernst, director of the, 487 Physikalische Rundblicke. Gesammelte Reden und Aufsatze, Prof. M. Planck, 739 Physiological Phenomenon, A Curious, R. M. Deeley, 44 ; J. H. Shaxby, 77 © Physiology: Sir E. Sharpey Schafer, 122; at the British Association, 122; Experimental, Sir E. Sharpey Schafer. Third edition, 710; Modern Tendencies in, 704; Practical, A’ Course of, for Agricultural Students, J. Hammond and R. T. Halnan, 443 Physique élémentaire et théories modernes, J. Premiére Partie, Molécules et Atomes, 739 Physique, La, théorique nouvelle, Dr. J. Pacotte, 739 Phytophthora parasitic on Apples, Apri Lafferty and G. H. Pethybridge, 831 Pianos, The Bicsiris of “Dr. Ps Do Strachan >) 2Dr. 2k, 'S, Clay, 591 Pickett- icnsos Research Laboratory, Gift for. the : Establishment of the, F. N. Pickett, 789 Pictish Stone Circles, Rev. J. Griffith, 265 Pigmentary Effector System, The, L. T. Hogben and F. R. Winton, 499 Pigments and Mediums of the Old Masters, Prof. A. P. Laurie, 421 Pigs, a ee and Metabolic Experiments with, Dr. Elliot and A. Crichton, 26 Pilobolus, The Shooting of the Spore-case of, Prof. A. H. R. Buller, 155 Villey. Pilot Lamps in Laboratories, H. J. Denham, 683 Piltdown Skull, The, Prof. Elliot Smith and Prof. Hunter, 726 Pinite, A Variety of, occurring at sees eb ies Co. Dublin, L. B. Smyth, 398 Pisum sativum, Abnormal Heredity of the Colour of the Embryos of a Variety of Pea, L. Blaringhem, 567 aes yee Anthropological Data relating to the, D. Colquhoun, 150 Pitehbleade at Kingswood Mine, Buckfastleigh, A Dis- covery of, A. Russell, 126 Pitot Tubes, Very Small, for measuring Wind Velocity, The Use of, M. Barker, 698 Planetary : Distances, Ratios of, F. A. Black, gag5 Observations at Sétif, M. Jarry-Desloges, 386 Plant : Evolution, The Influence of Selenium on, in the Presence or Absence of Radioactivity, J. Stoklasa, 732; Growing, Physiology of the, 769; Growth in Media poor in Oxygen, L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy, 831; The Quantitative Analysis of,Dr. L. Balls, 189; Life, Aspects of, with special reference to the British Flora, Prof. R. L. Praeger, 513; Soil, The Relation between the Chlorine Index and the Nitrogen Content of, Mlle. C. Veil, 226 Plants and Animals, Some Statistics of Evolution and Geographical Distribution in, and their Significance, Dr. J. C. Willis and G. U. Yule, 177; Organic Sub- stances in, Transport of, S. Mangham, 476; Trans- port of Organic Substances in, Prof. H. H. Dixon and N. G. Ball, 236 Platinum Plates in Sulphuric Acid, Polarisation Capacity of, A New Apparatus for the Measurement of the, A. Griffiths and W. T. Heys, 731 Plato’s Theory of eixacia, H. J. eo 224 Pleiades, The, R. Trumpler, 15 Plesiosaur, a New, from ae * Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex), Dr. C..W. Andrews, 361 Pliocene Deposits of the County of Cornwall and their Bearing on the Pliocene Geography of the South-west of England, The Nature and Ones of ‘the; EB. Milner, 62 Plumage : Importation of, (No. 2) Order, 1922, Additions to the Schedule under the, 789 ; of Birds, Prohibition of the Importation of, 216; The Evolution of, 662 ; Prot. J.Ce eewart; JA. FG. 770 Pneumatic Conveying, ES: Phillips, 135 Poison he in Warfare, The Proposal to prohibit the Use of, Poland, Scintia in, 278 Polycheeta, Dr. W. B. Benham, 604 ; W. C. M'‘Intosh, 604 Polyhedral Disease of Tipula Species, J. Rennie, 396 Polynesian Origin and Migration, An Expedition for the Study of, 86 Pons-Winnecke’s Comet, Meteors of, W. F. Denning, 824 Population: Maps, S. de Geer, 390; Distribution of, M. Aurousseau, 23 Porcelain Kiln, An Experimental Oil-fired, 385 Porto Rico, The Bird Remains from the Caves of, A. Whetmore, 792 Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society, Revival of the, 216 Positive Rays, 671 Antarctic, Prof. Post-glacial Climatic Optimum in Ireland, The, J. de W.- Hinch, 353 Post Office, Science at the, 4oI; The Writer of the Article, 610 Potash in Marl and Greensand, 218 Potato, Anthers of, The Degeneration in, Miss M. S. G. Breeze, 26 Pottery, Early Chinese, W. Burton, 705 Poultry Research, The Revised Scheme for, of the Ministry of Agriculture, 689 Powders, The Properties of, Prof. Lowry and L. P. MacHatton, and others, 496 Power: House Design, Sir J. F. C. Snell, 570; The Age of, A First Book of Energy, its Sources, Transforma- tions, and Uses, J. Riley, 269 Prehistoric : Cooking-places in Norfolk, Miss N. Layard, 593; Man, The Art of, 167; Material Representation of the Pleiades with ten Stars in a Rock Basin in Sir W. Noble, 609 ; - Nature, A Study of Early Cultures in Europe and th Eatediterranean Basin, M..C. Burkitt, 167 and Wages: An Investigation of the Dynamic Letters and Ultimate Ratios, Prof. F. Cajori, 477 ive Society : Dr. R. H. Lowie, 203 ; The Beginnings ‘of the Family and the Reckoning of Descent, Dr. Be Hartland, 203 A Treatise on, J. M. Keynes, 132; The y of, P. Lévy, and others, 90; Dr. H. Jeffreys, “a Orbit, Spectroscopic Study of, Dr. J. Lunt, 455 herapy and Nonspecific Resistance, Dr. W. F. El Austsial, Science of, 511; of Everyday Dr. J. Drever, 368; The Subjectivity of, Wildon Carr, 368 graminis, Pers., production in Australia of the c niatane of, W. L. Waterhouse, 226 d ie ae Making, Chemistry of, E. Sutermeister, om Man, Velocity of the, J. C. Bramwell and ; Bacillus, the culture of ori on definite artificial ., A. Goris and A. Liot, 363 Bacilli, Varieties of, C. Gessard, 763 is’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern, Major ‘ = 479; J. R. Cotter, 579 ow. E. Curtis, 713 ie: a8 ihr Ursprung und ihre Entwicklung, ona The, 2 College, London, “A ipeal for Funds, 697. - niversity : Dr. J. P. Lowson appointed Re- Professor of Medical Psychology in, 395; ot saga Kate C. Garrick, 729 — ae the ins of, 279 5 ac eis Growth and Sex Factors of, Miss R. M. 3 am The, Prof. C. V. Raman, 175; Dr. H. » 445 m the Sky: Observations on, W. H. Dines, 54. electric Instrument for Measuring, L. a formations as determined by ape Observations, The Number of, H. Levy, 362; ‘the Waters from Mont Dore, The, P. R. Castelnau, 30; -communication, Prin- Prof. J. H. Morecroft, assisted by A. Pinto Curry, 38; -development, The Trend of, nrose, 599 ; Frequencies, Oscillation Circuits “sort emeyaa on of Di-electric Constants at, P. 814; Receiving Equipment, The Manu- 688 ; -telegraphy, Directive, and Naviga- ‘Long-distance, Some Problems of, Dr. J. A. , 140, 179, 209 ; Some New Text- books on, 38 and Physics, Dr. 'G. W.C. Kaye, 414 Ampoules for Therapeutic Use, The Standardisa- , 252; Content of Sealed Metal Tubes, Measure- the, E. A. Owen and Bertha Naylor, 256; 88; Synthesis of Carbon Compounds from H. Glew, 714; Therapy, The Distribution of in, H. H. Poole, 831; under Different Con- s of Screening, The Distribution of Activity in, Poole, 225 | Peculiarity, A, Major W. J. S. Lockyer, 309 ; J % Dalton, 716 d Drainage at Rothamsted in 1921, W. D. mas, 107; in 1921, Prof. Hendrick, and Temperature, The Relationship between, own by the Correlation Coefficient, W. T. ll, 598; British, 1920, 102 ; Day and Night Dis- bution of, Ww. - Humphreys, 188 ; in Latin America, ‘Tan C . O. Weitz, 424; in Mysore, N. V. orces in Social Economics, P. Wallis and A. Wallis, | August 12, Mei) Index xli Epesses (Vendée), The, M. Baudouin, 362; Western Iyengar, 218; of the British Isles, “The is OM de Carts eeeroPe, 302 S. Salter, 440 ; Shortage in 1921, 22; Weekly, The Correlation of, R. A. Fisher and Winifred A. Mac ke nzie, 598 Rainialls, Annual, Forecasting, Prof. A. McAdie, 139 Ramsay Memorial Fellowships, The, 565 Range: -finder, The Barr and Stroud 1o00-ft. Self-contained Base, Dr. J. W. French, 157; obtained by a Beacon Light of Great Power fitted with Metallic Reflectors, J. Rey, 226 Raninide, Tribal Name of the, Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing ; Prof. G. C. Bourne, 108 Rat: The, and its Repression, A. E. Moore, 659; Lord Aberconway, 744; Problem, The, W. Boelter, 659 Rayleigh Memorial, The Balance of the, granted to se agg a Library Fund at the Cavendish Laboratory, II Ray Society, Election of Officers of the, 384 Rays of Positive Electricity and their Application to Chemical Analyses, Sir J. J. Thomson. Second edition, 671 Reading, University College, Agricultural Training at, 697 Rechertia sagittifera, n.g., n.sp., Trichocysts in, Dr. W. Conrad, 22 Recoil Curves as shown by the Hot-wire Microphone, Lt.-Col. C. B. Heald and Major W. S. Tucker, 126 Recrystallisation and Grain Growth, The Effect of Im- purities on, Research Staff of the General Electric Company (London), 396 Red and Infra-red Rays, The Action of the, on Phos- phorescent Sulphides, M. Curie, 362 Reflector, Proposed 50-foot, Prof. Todd and Mr. McAfee, 592 Reflex Action, Some Points regarding Present- -day Views of, Sir Charles Sherrington, 463 Refractive : Index, The Absolute Stress- vatitioa of, The Determination of, F. Twyman and J. Perry, 666; Indices, Tables of, vol. xi. Oils, Fats and Waxes. Compiled by R. Kanthack. Edited by Dr. J. N. Goldsmith, 371 Refractory Materials at High Temperatures, Expansions of Some, B. Bogitch, 29 Refrigeration, “* Power’s ’’ Practical, 271 Regulating Resistances, Catalogue of, Isenthal and Co., Ltd., 793 Rehtia, the Venetic Goddess of Healing, J. il airs T54 Reid’s Comet, 1922 (a), H. E. Wood, 4 Relativitatstheorie, Raum und Zeit im Tr ichte der speziellen, Dr. C. Von Horvath, 770 Relativité, Le Principe de, et la Théorie de la Gravitation, Prof. J. Becquerel, 770 Relativity : An Introduction to the Theory of, L. Bolton, 544; and Gravitation, edited by J. M. Bird, 544; and the Universe: A Popular Introduction into Einstein’s Theory of Space and Time, Dr. H. Schmidt. Translated by Dr. K. Wichmann, 544; for All, H. ‘Dingle, 770; More Books on, E: Cunningham, 770 ; Popular Expositions of, 544; The Astronomical Verifications of the Theory of, J. Chazy, 699; The General Theory of, 634 ; The Rudiments of, Lectures delivered under the Auspices of the University College, Johannesburg, Scientific Society, Prof. J. P. Dalton, 544; Theory, Recent Developments of, Dr. Dorothy Wrinch, and others, 90 ; The Theory of, A Proposed Laboratory Test of, Dr. H. S. King, 582; Dr. R. W. Lawson, 613 ; The Theory of,in Relation to Scientific Method,: Dr. Dorothy Wninch, 381 Reproduction, Lunar Periodicity in, H. M. Fox, 237 Reptiles and Batrachians exhibited in the Department of Zoology of the British Museum (Natural History), Guide to the. Third edition, 744 Research: and Education in the Geddes Report, 197; Degrees and the University of London, Dr. A. M. Davies, 238 ; Prof. P. G. H. Boswell, 373 ; in America, The Universities and the Publication of the Results of, 664; The Benefits of, to Corporations, Dr. C. L. Reese, 124 Réseau Mondiale, 1914, 150 Respiration, Maximum, at very high Altitudes, R. Bayeux, 631 xlii Index Nature, “LAugust 12, 1922 Respiratory Exchange and biological Transformation of Energy, Tables, Factors and Formulas for Computing, T. M. Carpenter, 475 REVIEWS AND OUR BOOKSHELF Agriculture, Forestry, and Horticulture : Cousins (H. A.), The Chemistry of the Garden: A Primer for Amateurs and Young Gardeners. Revised Edition, 443 Elford (P.), and S. 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N.), Ancient Tales pad Many Lands: A Collection of Folk Stories, 269 Hartland (Dr. E.S.), Primitive Society : The Beginnings of the Family and the Reckoning of Descent, 203 Hutton (J. H.), The Angami Nagas, with some Notes on Neighbouring Tribes, 539 Lowie (Dr. R. H.), Primitive Society, 203 Macalister (Prof. R. A. S.), A Text-Book of European Archeology. Vol. I., The Paleolithic Period, 605 Murray (M. A.), The ehriiicaeres in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology, 5 Peoples of all Nations, hdited by J. A. Hammerton. -No. I, 475 Pratt-Chadwick (M. L.), and L. Lamprey, The Alo Man : Stories from the Congo, 710 Roy (Rai Bahadur Saiae Chandra), Principles and Methods of Physical Anthropology, 408 Tyler (Prof. J. M.), The New Stone Age in Northern Europe, 302 Westermarck (Prof. E.), The History of Human Marriage. Fitth Edition. Three volumes, 502 Biology : Baker (F. C. S.), The Game-Birds of India. Vol. 1. Second edition ; Vol. 2, 606 Ballard (Prof. C. W.), The Elements of Vegetable Histology, ie Benham (Dr. W. B.), Polychzeta (Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-14. Scientific Reports: —Zoology and Botany. Vol. 6, Part 3), 604 Bews (Prof. W.), An Introduction to the Flora of Natal and Zululand, 510 Biologischen Arbeitsmethoden, Handbuch der. Edited by Prof. Emil Abderhalden. Abt. 5, Methoden zum Studium der Funktionen der einzelnen Organe des tierischen Organismus. (1) Teil 3, Heft 1, Eon lungsmechanik ; (2) Teil 3, Heft 2, Entwicklungs- mechanik. Abt. 9, Methoden zur Erforschung._ Leistungen des tierischen Organismus. (3) T Heft 1, Lieferung 34, Allgemeine Methoden, or 3 Abt. 5, Methoden zum Studium der Funktionen der ‘einzelnen Organe des tierischen Organismus. Heft 1, Lieferung 12, Sinnesorgane, 171 ; - Heft 2, Sinnesorgane, 305 Bohn (Prof, G.), La Forme et le mouvement: essai de dynamique de la vie, 675 Borzi (A.), Problemi di filosofia botanica, 547 Brues (Prof. C. T.), Insects and Human Welfare, 710 Buchner (Prof. P.), Tier und Pflanze in intrazellularer Symbiose, 538; 576 Capita Zoologica. Verhandelingen op systematisch- zoologisch Gebied. Deel 1, Aflevering 1 und 2, 513 Carpenter (Prof. G. H.), Insect Transformation, 673 Cash (J.) and G. H. Wailes, assisted by J. Hoy kinson, The British Freshwater Rhizopoda any eliozoa. Vol. 5. Heliozoa, by G. H. Wailes, 4 Caullery (Prof. M.), Le Parasitisme et sy symibaeadl 643 es be H.), The Echinoderms as aberrant Arthropods, ciate (Dr. J. M.), Organic Rg and Disease : Their Origin and Significance, 708 Cunningham (J. T.), Hormones and Heredity: A Discussion of the Evolution of Adaptations and the Evolution of Species, 35 Cushman (Dr. J. A.), Shallow-water Foraminifera of the Tortugas Region, 708 Descour (L.), Translated by A. F. and Dr. B. H. Wedd, Pasteur and his Work, 805 Fabre (J. H.), Translated by A. T. de Mattos, More Hunting Wasps, 270; The Wonder Book of Science, 270 Fisheries—England and Wales. and Fisheries. Fishery Investigations: Series 1, Freshwater Fisheries and Miscellaneous. Vol. 2, No. 1, The Methods of Fish Canning in England, 71 Fritch (Prof. F. E.) and Dr. E. J. Salisbury, Botany for Students of Medicine and Pharmacy, 773 Fyson (Prof. P. F.), The Flora of the Nilgiri and Pulney Hill-Tops. Vol 3, 510 Gunther (R. T.), Early British Botanists and their Gardens, based on unpublished writings of Goodyer, Tradescant, and Others, 806 Howell (G. C. L.), Ocean Research and the Great Fisheries, 201 Jenkins (Dr. J. T.), A History of the Whale Fisheries : From the Basque Fisheries of the Tenth Century to the Hunting of the Finner Whale at the Present Date, 8 29 Knight (Dr. M. M.), Dr. Iva L. Peters, and Dr. Phyllis Blanchard, Taboo and Genetics: A Study of the Biological, Sociological, and Psychological Founda- tion of the Family, 235 Kofoid (Prof. C. A.), and Olive Swezy, The Free-living unarmored Dinoflagellata, 130 Lee (A. B.), Eighth edition. Edited by Prof. { B. Fo tenkae and others. The Microtomist’s ade Mecum: A Handbook of the Methods of Microscopic Anatomy, 72 Livingston (B..E.), and E. Shreve, The Distribution of Vegetation in the United States as related to Climatic Conditions, 371 Lucanus (F. von.), Die Ratzel des Vogelzuges. Ihre Series ‘C= “ es een Soto bi ee ee J ae ye ei ; pit fe: 2 wich sys Ministry of Agriculture Index xiii (E. K.), Typical Flies: A Photographic Atlas. es, 677 , The Law of Births and Deaths: Being a Study of the Variation in the Degree of Animal ty under the Influence of the Environment, 267 . E.), Etudes sur les infusoires d’eau douce, a paid of. R. L.), Aspects of Plant Life, with special > to the British Flora, 513 . d Batrachians exhibited in the Department gy of the British Museum (Natural History), Road, London, S.W.7, Guide to the. Third = id 44 i (Brok, ), Die Pendulations-Theorie. Zweite Lorrain), Lichens: A Handbook of the s text y- Rewritten by Fitting, Dr. L. Jost, Dr. H. Schenck, Dr. G. ._ Fifth Engli German edition by Prof. W. H. Lang, 740 J. A.), Mountain and Moorland, 513; Aa Life: Being Six Lectures delivered yal Institution, Christmas Holidays, 1920- E. F.), with descriptions by Mrs. E. M. ations of the Flowering Plants and Falkland Islands, 370 . de), Contribution a l’étude de la ar, 548 , Junior Botany, 773 ta .), and Dr. Fr. Auerbach, Handbuch der en Chemie in vier Banden. Vierter Band. zweite Halfte. Die Elemente der des periodischen Systems. Zweite by Dr. Fr. Auerbach, 300 isotopes, 736 = ulphur and Sulphur Derivatives, \d F. H. Carr, Organic Medicinal ls (Synthetic and Natural), 37 : uith (T.), Coke-oven and By-product Works . Translated by Drs. W. R. Whitney , A Text-book of Electro-chemistry, -F.), The Physical Properties of . Second edition, 39 .), Elementary Chemical Microscopy. tae |. Second edition, Enlarged and A. M. Comey and Prof. Dorothy A. y of Chemical Solubilities. In- 4 A First Book of Chemistry for nior Technical Schools, 774 ply, Technical Records of, 1915-1918. Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der C.), The Manufacture and Uses of th Notes on their Characteristics and , and R. Wigginton, The Practical Coal and its Products, 678 us F.), Notes on Inorganic Chemistry for University Students, 707 'N.), Iron and its Compounds, 505; The Combustion, 709 Graebe (Prof. C.), Geschichte der organischen Chemie. Erster Band, 806 Grant (J.), Confectioners’ Raw Materials: Their Sources, Modes of Preparation, Chemical Composi- tion, the Chief Impurities and Adulterations, their more Important Uses, and other Points of Interest, 269 Hackh (Prof. I. W. D.), Chemical Reactions and their Equations : A Guide and Reference Book for Students of Chemistry, 678 Hammick (D.LL), An Introduction to Organic Chemistry, 39 Harper (H.), Introduction to Textile Chemistry, 268 Hatschek (E.), An Introduction to the Physics and Chemistry of Colloids. Fourth edition, 270 Hausding (A.), A Handbook on the Winning and the Utilisation of Peat. Translated from the Third German edition by Prof. H. Ryan, 774 Hirsch (Dr. P.), Die Einwirkung von Mikroorganismen auf die Eiweisskérper, 741 Hodgman (Prof. C. D.), assisted by Prof. M. F. Cool- baugh and C, E. Senseman, Hand-book of Chemistry and Physics. A Ready-reference Pocket - book of Chemical and Physical Data. Eighth edition, 369 Holleman (Prof. A. F.), A Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry. Issued in English in co-operation with H. C. Cooper. Sixth English edition, 677 Hull (T.), Oils, Fats, and Fuels, 774 Inorganic Chemistry, A Text-book of. Edited by Dr. .N. Friend. Vol. 9, Part 2, Iron and its Compounds, r. J. N. Friend, 505 Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zur Férderung der Wissen- schaften zu ihrem zehnjahrigen Jubilaum dargebracht von ihren Instituten, Festschrift der, 69 Kanitz (Dr. A.), Temperatur und Lebensvorgange, 741 Kanthack (R.). Edited by Dr. J. N. Goldsmith, Tables of Refractive Indices. Vol. 11, Oils, Fats and Waxes, 371 Kingzett (C. T.), A Popular Chemical Dictionary : A Compendious Encyclopedia. Second Edition, 338 Knox (Dr. J.), The Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen, 73 Lazennec (I.), Manuel de parfumerie, 774 Lewes (Prof. V. B.). 2nd edition, Revised and edited by J. B. C. Kershaw. Liquid and Gaseous Fuels and the Part they play in Modern Power Production, 73 Lucas (A.), Forensic Chemistry, 470 MacDougall (Prof. F. H.), Thermodynamics and _Chemistry, 100 Martin (Dr. G.), Perfumes, Essential Oils, and Fruit Essences used for Soap and other Toilet Articles, 271 Meade (A.), Modern Gasworks Practice, 199 Miall (Dr. S.), The Structure of the Atom: Notes on some Recent Theories, 710 Milroy (Dr. J. A.), and Prof. J. H. Milroy, Practical _ Physiological Chemistry. Third edition, 704 Moldenhauer (Dr. W.). Translated by Dr. L. Bradshaw, Laboratory Exercises in Applied Chemistry for Students in Technical Schools and Universities, 710 Moore (Prof. B.), Biochemistry : A study of the Origin, Reactions, and Equilibria of Living Matter, 639 -~Moureu (Prof. C.). Translated from the Sixth French edition by W. T. K. Braunholtz, Fundamental Principles of Organic Chemistry, 505 Nernst (Prof. W.). 2° édition francaise, complétement refondue d’aprés la roe édition allemande par Prof. A. Corvisy. Traité de chimie générale. Premiére Partie: Propriétés générales des corps, atome et molécule, 574 Neuburger (M. C.), Das Problem der Genesis des Actiniums, 809 : Organic Syntheses: An Annual Publication of Satis- factory Methods for the Preparation of Organic Chemicals. Vol. I., 443 : Parry (E. J.), The Raw Materials of Perfumery: Their Nature, Occurrence, and Employment, 305_ Patterson (Dr. A. M.), A French-English Dictionary for Chemists, 73 Petroleum Industry, The: A Brief Survey of the Technology of Petroleum based upon a Course of Lectures given by members of the Institution of xliv Index [ Nature, August 12, 1922 Petroleum Technologists on the occasion of the Petroleum Exhibition, Crystal Palace, 1920. Edited by A. E. Dunstan, 774 Potts (H. E.), Patents and Chemical Research, 338 Price (Dr. T. S.), and Dr. D.,F. Twiss, A: Course: of Practical Organic Chemistry. ‘Third edition, 305 Richter (V. von). Edited by Prof. R. Anschiitz and Dr. R. Meerwein. Translated by Dr. E. E. Fournier d’Albe, Organic Chemistry, or Chemistry of the Carbon Compounds. Vol. 2, Chemistry of the Carbocyclic Compounds, 709 Rideal (Dr. S.), and Dr. E. K. Rideal, Chemical Disin- fection and Sterilisation, 674 Roaf (Dr. H. E.), Biological Chemistry, 704 Réhmann (Prof. F.), Uber kiinstliche Ernaéhrung und Vitamine, 741 Schenker (W.), Fuel and Lubricating Oils for Diesel Engines, 270 Siegfried (Prof: M.), Uber partielle Wiwelsshoss lyse, 741 Smith (Prof. G. McP.), A Course of Instruction in Quantitative Chemical Analysis for Beginning Students: With Explanatory Notes, Questions, and Analytical Problems. Revised edition, 709° Solvent Recovery (Technical Records ‘of Explosives Supply, 1915-1918. No. 8), 645 Staley (R.), Town Gas amidase A Practical Introductory Treatment of the Equipment and Processes of an Average Gas Works, for Students, Junior Gas Engineers, and others connected with Gas Works, 774 ius os (E.), Chemistry of Pulp and Paper Making, Wacsee (Dr. W. W.), The Chemistry of Colloids and some Technical Applications. Second edition, 204 Thorpe (Sir Edward), assisted by eminent contributors, A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. Revised edition, vol. 1, 100; vol. 2, 266 Trivelli (A. P. A.), and S. E. Sheppard, The Silver Bromide Grain of Photographic Emulsions, 304 Underhill (Prof. F. P.), A Manual of Selected Biochemical Methods as applied to Urine, Blood, and Gastric Analysis, 645 : Whitehead (S. Pe Benzol : and Uses, Young (Prof. ve ), with the collaboration of various authors, Distillation Principles and Processes, 434 Its Recovery, Rectification, Engineering : Addyman (F. a3, My Electrical Workshop, 372 Behrend (B. A.), The Induction Motor and other Alternating Current Motors. Second edition, 545 Boulnois (H. P.), Municipal Engineering, 135 Bowden-Smith (E. C.), Oil Firing for Kitchen Ranges and Steam Boilers, 204 Callendar (Prof. H. L.), Abridged Callendar Steam Tables, Centigrade Units ; Abridged Callendar Steam Tables, Fahrenheit Units ; Callendar Steam Diagram, Centigrade Units; Callendar Steam Diagram, Fahren- heit Units, 171 Chatley (Prof. H.), A Text-book of Aeronautical Engin- eering: The Problem of Flight. Third edition, 808 Durand (Prof. W. F.), Hydraulics of Pipe Lines, 606 Electrician’s Pocket-book for 1922, The Practical. Twenty-fourth Annual Issue. Edited by H. T. Crewe, 269 Higgins (A. L.), The Transition Spiral and its Intro- duction to Railway Curves, 103 Hornor (H. A.), Spot and Arc Welding, 171 Johnson (V. E.), Modern High-speed Influence Machines, 103 Lamb (G. C.), Alternating Currents. 2 Parts, 710 Motor Car Practice, Modern. Edited by W. H. Berry, 371 Painton (E. T.), Small Single-phase Transformers, 135 Phillips & G.), Pneumatic Conveying, 135 ’ Poole (H. E,), High Tension Switchgear, 7 “ Power’s’”’ Practical Refrigeration. Compiled by the Editorial Staff of Power, 271 ~ Priestley (Major R. E.), The Signal Service in the European War of 1914 to 1918 (France), 336 Riley (J.), The Age of Power: A First Book of Energy, its Sources, Transformations, and Uses, 269 Roget (S. R.), A First Book of Applied Electricity, 271 Royal Engineers in rs European War1g914-19, The Work ofthe. 4 vols., 336 Snell (Sir J. F.C.), Power House Design. Second edition, 379 Tompkins (A. E.), Turbines. Third edition, 171 Wade (C. F.), The Fireman’s Handbook and Guide to Fuel Economy, 204 Walker (Prof. M.), The Diagnosing of Troubles in Electrical Machines, 674 Walter (L. H.), Directive Wireless Telegraphy: Direction and Bocca Finding, etc., 270 Geography and Travel : Babeock (W. H.), Legendary Islands of the Atlantic ; A Study in Medieval Geography, 803 Bartholomew’s General Map of Europe, showing Boundaries of States according to Treaties, 1921, 204 Behrmann (Dr. W.), 40 Blatter der Karte des Deutschen Reiches lige) Fra sibs fiir Unterrichtszwecke. Zweite Auflage, 5 Chamberlain (J. Fr). ‘cea Phyniae Economic, Regional, 102 Cotton (C. W. E.), Hand-book of Commercial Informa- tion for India, 809 Delany (M. C.), The Pistorical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry, 410 Highton (H. P.), Shooting-trips in Europe and Algeria : Being a Record of Sport in the Alps, kyeree. Norway, Sweden, Corsica, and Algeria, 336 Hilton-Simpson (M. W.), Among the Hill Folk of Algeria : Journeys among the Shawia of the Aurés Mountains, 336 Hints to Travellers. Scientific and General. Tenth edition, Revised and Corrected by E. A. Reeves. 2 vols., 268 Homén (T.), East Carelia and Kola Lapmark. Described by Finnish Scientists and Philologists, 372 Kephart (H.), Camping and Woodcraft: A Hand- book for Vacation Campers and for Travellers in the Wilderness. New edition, 268 Physical Map of England and Wales, 1:1,000,000, 548 Rasmussen (K.). Translated by A. and R. Kenney, Greenland by the Polar Sea: The Story of the Thul e Bedi from Melville Bay to Cape Morris Jesup, 702 Stefansson (V.), The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions, 636 Swiss Travel Almanac. Summer Season, 1922, 809 Taylor (E. G. R.), A Sketch-map Geography : A Text- book of World and Regional Geography for the Middle and Upper School, 135 x Geology and Mineralogy : Fi mee! (Rev. Canon T. G.), Memories of a Long sate, Cox E oe G. H.), Prof. C. L. Dake, and Prof. G. A. Muilenburg, Field Methods in Petroleum Geology, 474 Dewey (H.), Lead, Silver lead, and Zinc Ores of Cornwall, Devon, and Somerse t, 6 Gregory (Prof. J. W.), The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa, 233 Imperial Institute : Monographs on Mineral Resources, with Special Reference to the British Empire: Petroleum. Prepared jointly with H. M. Petroleum Department with the co-operation of Dr. H. B. Cronshaw, 475 Lead and Zinc Ores in the Pre-Carboniferous Rocks of West Shropshire and North Wales. Shropshire, B. Smith; Part 2, North Wales, H. Dewey and B. Smith, 546 Lewis (Prof. J. V.); A Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. Third edition, 772 MacNair (Prof. P.), Introduction to the Study of Minerals and Guide to the Mineral Collections in Seay? Museum. Second edition, 370 Part 1, West Index xlv feck. ‘(HL.), i pomegaer ed Physiographie der graphisch - wichtigen Mineralien. Band f. . Untersuchungsmethoden. Fiinfte Prof. E. A. Wiilfing. Lief. 1, 303 aN R.), Das Klima tee Eiszeitalters, 512 Dr. F.), Anleitung zur mineralogischen eee Zweite Auflage, 643 ndré-Marie), Mémoires sur e et l’électrodynamique, 677 A.), and F. E, Robinson, Pane Geometry _ Part 1, 737 Le Principe de relativité et la ela gravitation, 770 George), Aggregation and Flow of Solids: Records of an Experimental Study of the ture and Physical Properties of Solids in ites of Aggregation, 1900-1921, 262 .), The Homogeneous Electro-Thermic l cluding the Thomson Effect as a Special l’électro- Introduction to the Theory of Relativity, . 8), The Mechanical Principles of the T. J. TA,), Examples in Optics, 235 Experimental Science. : , O41 An Introduction to Biophysics, 704 and Integrals and the Mathematical the Conduction of Heat. Second edition. c Fe Series and Integrals, 435 ee parila oe 1 Impression (second edition), 737 , The New Physics, 39 e7 P.), The Rudiments of Relativity : d under the Auspices of the Univer- ohannesburg, Scientific soceee 544 Manual of Seismology, 36 -), First Course in the Rory of vity for All, 770 Concise Geometry, 574; and R. M. ary Algebra. Part 2, 574 _E. E. Arnold, A First Book in Plane and reatise on the Integral Calculus, “a Exam les, and Problems. Vol. 1, ite Geometry (Plane and Solid é ae Sy pagg and its Application "Everyday Life, 641 : ¥. G.), An Introduction to Projective . Third edition, 737 O a tone Years of Electricity: The Engineer, 3 ), Mathematics for Technical Students : 4 , Plane Geometry : Practical and + 737 sion af ta Explained, The, 474 3, ‘La Loi de Newton - la loi unique: Pane de l’univers, 7 4 1, Physics. . §.), Introduction to the Theory of | ea Te if ed Milne (Prof. W. P.), and G. Good (F. F.), Laboratory Projects in Physics : of Practical Experiments for Beginners, 641 Graefe (A.), and T. Saemisch, fortgefiihrt von C. Hess, Dritte Auflage. Handbuch der gesamten Augen- heilkunde. Die Brille als optisches Instrument, Prof. M. von Rohr, Dritte Auflage, 772 Gray (Prof. A.), Absolute Siccenirenicnts in Electricity and Magnetism. Second edition, 166 Guye (Prof. C. E.), S. Ratnowsky, and C. Lavanchy, Vérification expérimentale de la formule de Lorentz- Einstein, 406 Haler (P. yh, and A. H. Stuart, An Introduction to Physics for Technical Students, 641 Heath (Sir Thomas), A History of Greek Mathematics, 2 vols., 330 Helmholtz (Hermann v. ), Schriften zur Erkenntnistheorie, Herausgegeben von P. Hertz and M. Schlick, 409 Hobson (Prof. E. W.), The Theory of Functions of a Real Variable and the Theory of Fourier’s Series. Second edition. Vol. 1, 435 Horvath (Dr. C. von), Raum und Zeit im Lichte der speziellen Relativitatstheorie. Versuch eines syn- thetischen Aufbaus der speziellen Relativitatstheorie, A Manual 77° Jessop (Prof. C. M.), Elementary Analysis, 737 Jones (D. C.), A First Course in Statistics, 473 Jones (H. S.), Calculus for Beginners: A ‘Text-book for Schools and Evening Classes, 574 Keynes (J. M.), A Treatise on Probability, 132 Kossel (Prof. W.), Valenzkrafte und Réntgenspektren. Zwei Aufsatze iiber das Elektronengebiude des Atoms, 170 Lémeray {E. M.), L’Ether actuel et ses précurseurs (simple récit), 770 Lenard (Prof. P.), Uber Ather und Urather, 739 Loring (F. H.), Atomic Theories, 372 Mach (E.), Die Prinzipien der physikalischen Optik. Historisch und erkenntnispsychologisch entwickelt, 706 - MacMahon (Major P. A.), New Mathematical Pastimes, 200 Mallik (Prof. D. N.), Optical Theories: Based on Lectures delivered before the Calcutta University. Second edition, 706 Mie (Prof. G.), Die einsteinsche Gravitationstheorie : Versuch einer allgemein verstandlichen Darstellung der Theorie, 544; La Théorie einsteinienne de la gravitation: essai de vulgarisation de la théorie, J. B. Westcott, A First Course in the Calculus. Part 2, Trigonometric and Logarithmic Functions of x, etc., 574 Mordell (L. J.), Three Lectures on Fermat’s Last Theorem, 4 Morecroft (Prof. J J. H.), assisted by A. Pinto and W. A. Curry, Principies of Radio-Communication, 38 Nordmann (C.), translated by J. M‘Cabe, Einstein and the oe A Popular Exposition. of the Famous Theory Norton fh By, A Star Atlas and Telescopic Handbook (Epoch rg for Students and Amateurs, 269 Osgood (Prof. W. F.), Elementary Calculus, 574 Pacotte (Dr. J.), La Physi que théorique nouvelle, 739 Palmer (A. R.), A Short Course in Commercial Arith- metic and Accounts ; The Use of Graphs in Commerce and Industry, 644 Petrovitch (Prof. M.), Mécanismes communs aux phénoménes disparates, 739 Philip (A.), The Calendar: Its History, Structure, and Improvement, 203 Planck (Prof. Max), Di yaikalisahe Rundblicke. melte Reden und Aufsatze, 739 Pringsheim (Dr. P.), Fluoreszenz und Phosphoreszenz im Lichte der neueren Atomtheorie, 739 Reade (W. H. V.), A Criticism of Einstein and his Problem, 770 Reiche (F.), Die Quantentheorie : ihre Entwicklung, 234 Relativity and Gravitation. Edited by J. M. Bird, 544 . Rohr (Prof. M. von), Die Brille als optisches Instrument, 772 Gesam- ihr Ursprung und xlvi Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Rougier (Prof. L.), La Matiére et l’énergie selon la théorie de la relativité et la théorie des quanta. Nouvelle édition, 339; translated by Prof. M. Masius, Philosophy and the New Physics: An Essay on the Relativity Theory and the Theory of Quanta, 339 Saccheri’s (Girolamo), “‘ Euclides Vindicatus,’’ Edited and translated by G. B. Halsted, 232 Schmidt (Dr. H.), translated by Dr. K. Wichmann, Relativity and the Universe: A Popular Introduction into Einstein’s Theory of Space and Time, 544 Scott (P. W.), Elements of Practical Geometry: A Two Years’ Course for Day and Evening Technical Students, 574 Scott-Taggart (J.), Thermionic Tubes in Radio-Tele- graphy and Telephony, 38 Smith (W. B.), Elements of Natural Science. .Part 1, 641 Southerns (L.), An Outline of Physics, 641 Stars, ‘‘ Intermediate,’’ Catalogue of 1068, - situated between 51° and 65° South Declination for the Equinox 1900: From Observations made at the Sydney Observatory, N.S.W., Australia, during the years 1918-1919, under the direction of Prof. W. E. Cooke, 743 ‘ Telescope Objectives, The Adjustment and Testing of. Third edition, 338 Thirring (Prof. J. H.), translated by R. A. B. Russell. The Ideas of Einstein’s Theory: A Theory of Rela- tivity in Simple Language, 544 Thomson (Sir J. J.), Rays of Positive Electricity and their Application to Chemical Analyses. Second edition, 671 Turner (L. B.), Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony : An Outline for Electrical Engineers and Others, 38 Villey (J.), Physique élémentaire et théories modernes. Premiére partie, 739 Warburg (Comdr. H. D.), Tides and Tidal Streams: A Manual compiled for the Use of Seamen, 767 Waters (H. H.), Astronomical Photography for Amateurs, 339 Wegener (Prof. A.), Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane. Die Wissenschaft: Sammlung von Einzel- darstellungen aus den Gebieten der Naturwissen- schaft und der Technik. Herausgegeben von Prof. E. Wiedemann. Band 66. Zweite ganzlich umgearbeitete Auflage, 202 Weyl (Prof. H.), translated by H. L. Brose, Space—Time —Matter, 634 Wheeler (Eng. Lt.-Commr. S. G.), Entropy as a Tangible Conception: An Elementary Treatise on the Physical Aspects of Heat, Entropy, and Thermal Inertia for Designers, Students and Engineers, and particularly for Users of Steam and Steam Charts, 404 Wightman’s Secondary School Mathematical Tables. Edited by F Sandon, 737 Zeeman (Dr. P.), Verhandeligen van, over Magneto- Optische Verschijnselen, 66 Medical Science : Allbutt (Sir T. Clifford), Greek Medicine in Rome: The FitzPatrick Lectures on the History of Medicine de- livered at the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1909-10, with other Historical Essays, 438 Berman (Dr. L.), The Glands regulating Personality : A Study of the Glands of Internal Secretion in Relation to the Types of Human Nature, 670 Boothby (Dr. W. M.), and Dr. Irene Sandiford, Labora- tory Manual of the Technic of Basal Metabolic Rate Determinations, 514 : Browne (Prof. E. G.), Arabian Medicine: Being the Fitz- Patrick Lectures delivered at the College of Physicians in November 1919 and November 1920, 438 Craig (Sir Maurice), Nerve Exhaustion, 744 Dixon (Prof. W. E.), A Manual of Pharmacology. Fifth edition, 372 Dobell (C.), and F. W. O’Connor, The Intestinal Pro- tozoa of Man, 98 Fuller (H. C.), The Chemistry and Analysis of Drugs and Medicines, 509 Hoch (Dr. A.), Benign Stupors: A Study of a New Manic-Depressive Reaction Type, 743 Hunter (Col. W.), The Serbian Epidemics of Typhus and Relapsing Fever in 1915: Their Origin, Course, and Preventive Measures employed for their Arrest, 743 Karsner (Prof. H. T.), and Dr. E. E. Ecker, The Prin- ciples of Immunology, 7 Langley (Prof. J. N.), The Autonomic Nervous System, ~ : Part:1- TIS, ‘Metchnikoff (Olga), Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-_ I9I6, 163 Petersen (Dr. W. F.), Protein Therapy and Non-specific Resistance, 717 Rhodes (E. C.), On the Relationship of Condition of the Teeth in Children to Factors of Health and Home Environment, 409 Roberts (Prof. J. B.), and Dr. J. A. Kelly, Treatise on Fractures in General, Industrial and Military Prac- tice. Second edition, 304 Schafer (Sir E. Sharpey), Experimental Physiology. Third edition, 710 Watson (Dr. M.), and others, The Prevention of Malaria in the Federated Malay States: A Record of Twenty Years’ Progress. Second edition, 334 Metallurgy : Gow (C. C.), The Electro-Metallurgy of Steel, 768 Metals, Institute of, Journal of the, No. 2, 1921. Vol. 26, edited by G. Shaw Scott, 644 Pring (Dr. J. N.), The Electric Furnace, 99 Meteorology : ~ Baldit (A.), Etudes élémentaires de météorologie pratique, 440 British Rainfall, 1920: The Sixtieth Annual Volume of the British Rainfall Organisation, 102 Defant (Prof. A.), Die Zirkulation der Atmosphare in den gemassigten Breiten der Erde. Grundziige einer Theorie der Klimaschwankungen, 469 ; Redway (J. W.), Handbook of Meteorology: A Manual for Co-operative Observers and Students, 440 Salter (M. de Carle S.), The Rainfall of the British Isles, oO . Geithouse (E.), Simple Lessons on the Weather for School Use and General Reading, 440 z Taffara (L.), Le Nubi. Parte 1, Testo; Parte 2, Atlante, 301 Miscellaneous : Brown (Dr. W.), and Prof. G. H. Thomson, The Essen- tials of Mental Measurement, 472 — Carpenter (T. M.), Tables, Factors, and Formulas for Computing Respiratory Exchange and Biological: Transformations of Energy, 475 Catalogue of Scientific Papers. Fourth Series (1884— 1900). Compiled by the Royal Society of London. Vol. 17, 133 Chambrier (P. de), Exploitation du pétrole par puits et Galeries, 443 Corbett (Sir J. S.), History of the Great War, based on Official Documents. Naval Operations. Vol. 2, 135 Fiedler (Prof. H. G.), and Prof. F. E. Sandbach, A First German Course for Science Students. Second edition, 204 Fleming (A. P. M.), and J. G. Pearce, Research in In- dustry : The Basis of Economic Progress, 807 Greece, The Legacy of, Edited by R. W. Livingstone, 169 Grinnell (G. B.), When Buffalo Ran, 7 Indian Science Congress: Handbook for the Use of Members attending the Ninth Meeting to be held at Madras from the Thirtieth of January to the Fourth of February 1922, 304 Ingram (Dr. T. A.), The New Hazell Annual and Al- manack for the Year 1922, 103 Microscope, The: Its Design, Construction and Applica-. tions. many Authorities. Edited by F. S. Spiers, 370 FE Ia Oe a A Symposium and General Discussion by — ‘OS a5 ee Se Cee eas Fa een ey | - i Nature, ugust 12, 1292 Index xl vii ernst (Prof. W.), Das Weltgebaude im- Lichte der neueren Forschung, 766 s (A.), The Torch-bearers, 638 514, x (Dr. R. H. A.), Analyses and Energy Values of s, 608 ), Small Talk at Wreyland. Second Series, 678 sities of the Empire, Second Congress of the, 1: Report of Proceedings. Edited by Dr. A. 7 J) and J. A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses. ‘rom the Earliest Times to 1751. Vol. 1, utts, 742 (Dr. H. M.), Industrial Fatigue and Efficiency, s (P. and A.), Prices and Wages : An Investigation mamic Forces in Social Economics, ror f the University of Cambridge, The, 1914-18, Industry, 676 —- . G. M.), and Prof. K. J. Hoke, How to 472 ‘ ‘of the Universities of the Empire, 1922, The. by W. H. Dawson, 677 ° fae Fae wie ellenism and Christianity, 409 , The Psychology of Everyday Life, 368 ; ry of Industry, 511 .), Personal Beauty and Racial Better- Muhammad), Translated from the n, with Introduction and Notes by olson, The Secrets of the Self (Asrar-I Logic, 2 Parts, 506 1e Analysis of Mind, 513 Wisdom of the Beasts, 608 lications, Les, 577 » 548 ndustrial and Power Alcohol, 577 .), The Early Ceramic Wares of Handbuch der, Edited by E. Photo-Engraving Primer: Concise pprentice Engravers or for those yet practical knowledge of Line and , The Brain of, Prof. G. Elliot Smith, 355 The Efflorescences of, C. Sauvageau "The j s, The, Drs. Lang and Kidston, and Research Prize, The, Grant awarded to therine Davies, 789 The, and Geology of East Africa, Prof. J. ry (with ten Appendices by various authors), xe of: A New Method of Finding the, Prof. 398; A New Method of Gauging, Prof. J. , of; G. Hamel, 194 : America, Damage done by the, W. B. y, Election of Officers and Council of the, ford University Press, Some Account of the, 1468— Rosenbusch’s Petrology, Dr. J. W. Evans, 303 Rosiwal Method of Micro-analysis, A Simplification of the, W. A. Richardson, 127 Rothamsted Experimental Station: Annual Meeting, 828; Gift by Lady Ludlow to the Library, 420; ’ Garner appointed to explain the Plots of the, 248 | Royal: Academy, The, 586; Winter Exhibition, The, 60; Academy of Belgium, Arrangements for 150th Anni- versary of the Foundation of the, 654, Prof. C. Sarolea, 684; Anthropological Institute, Presidential Address of Sir Everard im Thurn, 53; Astronomical Society, Ap- proaching Centenary of the, 215 ; Election of Officers and Council of the, 217; The Centenary of the, 622; Prof. Eddington, and others, 760; The Gold Medal of the, awarded to Dr. J. H. Jeans, 84; Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Work of the, 754; College of Physicians of London, Sir Humphry Rolleston elected President of the, 526; Engineers, The Work of the, in the European War, 1914-19, 4 vols., 336; Geographical Society, Awards of the, 384; Election of Officers and Council of the, Lord Ronaldshay, President, 724; Institution, Bequest to, by Sir W. Phipson Beale, 724; Irish Academy, Election of Prot. T. H. Morgan and Prof. J. Bordet as Honorary Members of the, 487; Meteorological Society, Dr. Chree elected President of the, 117; Election of Officers and Council of the, 217; Observatory, Greenwich, The Report of the Astronomer Royal, 796 ; Society Catalogue, The, 133; Conversazione, 693 ; Selected Candidates for Election into the, 279; of Arts, Purchase of the House of the, 117; of Edinburgh, Election of Fellows, 384 Rush and Straw Crosses, Miss E. Andrews, 529 Russia: Scientific Literature for, Sir R. A. Gregory and Dr. C. H. Wright, 208; Platinum Industry of, Prof. Duparc to organise the, 755 Russian: Academy of Sciences, Invitation to the Paris Academy of Sciences to attend the Celebration of the Bicentenary of the, 116; Names, Transcription of, Prof. B. Brauner, 552; Maj.-Gen. Lord Edward Gleichen, 648; J. G. F. Druce, 777 Saccharose and Aucubine in the Seeds of Melampyrum arvense, Presence of, M. Bridel and Mlle. Marie Braecke, 30 Safeguarding of Industries Act: Judgment as to Certain Articles in connexion with the, 453; Major A. G. Church, 583 ; Complaints of Improper Inclusions and Exclusions under the, 262 Safflower-seed Oil, 250 Sagina filicaulis Jord. ; Cerastium subtetrandrum Murbeck ; Arum italicum Mill. C. E. Salmon, 431 St. Andrews University: Lord Haig elected Chancellor of, 155; (United College), N. McLeish awarded the Gray Prize in Logic and the Tyndall Bruce Logic Prize, 254; resignation of Prof. A. S. Butler, 828; F. Whyte lg lecturer in Engineering in University College, Dundee; M. McGibbon appointed Demon- strator in Botany; Miss -J. M. Reid appointed Demonstrator in Zoology, 829 : Salaries of Heads of Departments in Pure and Applied Science in Technical Institutions, 192 San Juan Area, Chronology of the, E. H. Morris, 158 Sand- and Mud-binding Plants, 726 * Sap, The Ascent of, Sir J. C. Bose, 561 Saturn, 318; the Ringless, The Stellar Magnitude of, J. van der Bilt, 352 Scale-insects, Fungi Parasitic on, Mr. Petch, 154 Scandium from Thorveitite of Madagascar, The Extraction and Purification of, P. Urbain and G. Urbain, 799 Schistosomes, The Differentiation of Closely-allied, F. G. Cawston, 599 : Schizophyllum commune, Fr., Revival of Sporophores of, F. A. Mason, 272 Science Abstracts, 559 Science: An Epic of, F. S. Marvin, 638 ; Gas Warfare, Col. C. H. Foulkes, 661 ; and Industry, Sir Alfred Keogh and Sir Edward Boyle, 728; at the Post Office, gor ; Sir W. Noble, 609; The Writer of the Article, 610 ; Classics and, 33; Experimental, 1, Physics, S. E. . xl vili Index Nature, August 12, 1922 Brown. Section 5, Light, 641; H. G. Wells, 728; in Bohemia, Prof. B. Brauner, 625 ; in Poland, 278; in Preparatory Schools, Suggestions for the Teaching of, 28; in Secondary Schools, The Master of Balliol, and others, 56; Masters’ Associa- tion, Annual General Meeting of the, 56; Natural, Elements of, W. B. Smith, Part 1, 641; Research in, Importance of, G. Lemoine, 183; The Influence of, 801 ; The Message of, W. Robertson, 9; J. J. Robin- son, 43; The Wonder Book of, J. H. Fabre, 270 Scientific: Instruments, British, 65; Education, The Function of English in, 229; Literature for Russia, Sir R. A. Gregory and Dr. C. H. Wright, 208 ; Papers, Catalogue of, Fourth Series (1884-1900). Vol. 17, 133; Research and Industrial Development,~ 124 ; Services, Government, 569; Society, the Work and Scope of a, Sir Robert Robertson, 420; Workers, National Union of, Report of the Executive ‘Committee of the, 621 Scientist’s Reference Book and Diary for 1922, J. Woolley, Sons & Co., Ltd., 88 Scombriform Fishes, ‘The Ontogenesis of the, belonging to the Family of the Luvarides, L. Roule, 732 Scott, PE oo Medals, Certificates and Premiums awarded to r. W. Duane, ‘Prof. R. A. Fessenden, E. Haynes, and De T. B. Osborne, 558 Sea Dayak Fabrics and their Decoration, Laura E. Start, 291 Sea-water, Variations in the Chemical Composition of, and the Evaluation of Salinity, G. Bertrand, M. Freundler, and Mlle. Ménager, 732 Importance of, Sedum telephium, Presence of a Glucoside giving rise to an ’ Essential Oil in the Stems and Roots of, M. Bridel, 158 Seeds: Influence of Lime on the Yield of, during the - Germinative Period; L. Maquenne and R. Cerighelli, 763; The Determination of the Germinative Faculty other than by the Actual Germination of the, P. Lesage, 535; the Germination of, The Influence of Selenium and of Radium on, J. Stoklasa, 632; the Vitality of, A New Indicating Method for Evaluating, by the Biochemical Method, A. Nemeé and F. Duchon, 399 Seiches, and the Effect of Wind and Atmospheric Pressure on Inland Lakes, 462 Seismological : Notes, No. 1, 454; Stations of the World, A List of, 351; H. O. Wood, 489 Seismology : A Manual of, Dr. C. Davison, 368 ; appoint- ment of an Advisory Committee in, by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 486 Selenium, The Action of, on Gold, oe Pélabon, 258; Constitution of, H. Pélabon, Self, The Secrets of the (Asrar-I Khuai), Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal. Translated from the Original Persian with Introduction and Notes by Dr. R. A. Nicholson, 370 Sema Nagas: Life among the, 769; The, J. H. Hutton, 769 Sensitiser, New, for Green Light, Dr. W. H. Mills and Sir William Pope, 825 Serbian Epidemics of Typhus and Relapsing Fever in 1915, The, Their Origin, Course, and Preventive Measures employed for their Arrest, Col. W. Hunter, The 743 Serum, The Superficial Equilibrium of the, and of some Colloidal Solutions, P. Lecompte der Noiiy, 599 Sex: Development, Miss R. M. Fleming, 691 ; Reversal in - = Frogs and Toads, F. A. E. Crew, 218 - Sexual Lifé.and Marriage among Primitive Mankind, Dr. B. Malinowski, 502 Shackleton, the late Sir Ernest, Funeral of, 247 Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, the, F. Wild, 622 Shales-with-Beef, a Sequence in the Lower Trias of the Dorset Coast, 3 parts, W. D. Lang, L. F. Spath, and W. A. Richardson, 157 Shape Assumed by a Deformable Body immersed in a Moving Fluid, E. Karrer, 54 Sheep-breeding: and Ancestry, 5953 Experiments, Report on, Prof. J. Cossar Ewart, 595 Sheffield University, Appointments in, 223 Shell, Spinning, The Aerodynamics of a, R. H. Fowler and CoN. He Lock 224 Sidmouth, a Prehistoric Village Site at, 823 Silicified Plant Remains, Drs. Kidston and W. H. Lang, 251 Silk Weavers and their Output, P. M. Elton, 388 Silkworms, Pébrine in, C. M. Hutchinson, 253 Sitones injurious to Leguminous Crops in Britain, Miss Dorothy J. Jackson, 26 Skjellerup’s Tout: Observations of, P. Chofardet; A. Schaumasse, 799; J. Guillaume, 831 Smell, The Sense of, in Birds : J. H. Gurney, 784 Smithenian Institution, Annual Report of the, for 1919, 559 Snails, Land, of the Madeira Islands, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 446 Soom Apparatus, Catalogue of the, Newton & Wright, ., 88 Snow Furrows and Ripples, E. C. Barton; Dr. Vaughan Cornish, 374 Society, The Earliest Forms of, 203 Soda with Ammonia, The Manufacture of, H. le Chatelier, 566 Soddite, a New Radioactive Mineral, A. Schoep, 631 Sodium : Bicarbonate, The Preparation of, E. Toperescu, 567; Sulphite, Action of, on Nitrobenzene, Seyewetz and Vignat, 226; Vapour, Fluorescing, The Absorp- tion of, Prof. J. K. Robertson, 43 Survey i in the Lothians, A, Drs. W. G. Smith and A. Lauder, 25; The Partial Sterilisation oF the, G. Riviére and G. Pichard, 327 Soils, a Photographic Survey of, M. M. Monie, 25, TSEs. Solar: Eclipse, The Partial, of March 28, 352; The Total, of next September, 152; Jadiation, Influence of, on the Culture of Belladonna and the formation of Alkaloids in the Leaves, A. Goris and H. Deluard, 258; : Researches, 592 Solfatara oe Pozzuoli near Naples, A Phenomenon at the, J. Place, 559 Solids: A "Seatehlight on, Prof. A. Smithells, 262; Ag- Soil: gregation and Flow of, being the Records of an. Experimental Study of the Micro-Structure and Physical Properties of Solids in Various States of Aggregation, 1900-1921, Sir George Beilby, 262; Influence of Temperature on the Velocity of Inter- penetration of, H. Weiss and P. Henry, 226; the Interpenetration of, by Chemical Reaction, The Influence of the Time Factor on, H. Weiss and P. Henry, 831 Solutions : Correlation of Compound Formation, Ionisa- tion, and Solubility in, J. Kendall, 159; The Diffusion of, T. H. Littlewood, 225 Solvay Institute of Chemistry, The, 718 Solvent Recovery, 645 ats Somatic Nucleus in Development, Behaviour of the, Prof. McLean, 190 Somersetshire, The Dialect of, 691 Sonometer, An Optical, F. Twyman, 666 Sound Producer, An Efficient, Prof. K. Grant, 692 South: African and Indian F loras, 510; ‘African Coalfields, Recent Additions to our Knowledge of the, Dr. E. T. Mellor, 564; Railway, the Electrification of Part of the, 149; American Anthropology, Studies in, Dr. R. Karsten, 119; Tropics, Climate and Health in the, Dr. F. L. Hoffman, 792; Australia, Opening of a Lock and Weir at Blanchetown, 487; -eastern Union of Scientific Societies, the 27th Annual Congress of the, 623; -west of England, University College of the, Gift of the Site of the, W. H. Reed, 629 Southampton, University on Prof. K. appointed Principal of, 429 Southport, Meteorological Observations at, J. Baxendell, 88 Space and A*ther, S. V. Ramamurty, 75 ; -~Time—Matter, Prof. H. Weyl. Translated by H. L. Brose, 634 Species and Adaptations, J. T. Cunningham, 775 Specific Heats of Air, Steam, and Carbon Dioxide, “Sir Richard Glazebrook, 401 Speckled Wave Front of Light, The, L. F. Richardson, 683 Spectacle Design, Principles of, Dr. J. W. French, 772 Spectra, Variability of, Problems “in the, rote work; Merton, 519 Spectral Type, Relation of, to Magnitude, Dr. H. Shapley and Miss Annie J. Cannon, 281 Spectroscopic Parallaxes with Objective Prism Spectro- — grams, Dr. H. Shapley and B. Lindblad, es A Debated Question, 783 ; a H. Vickers Index xlix ctrophotometer, A Non-polarising, A. J. Bull, 430 tum: Lines, A New Series of, F. S. Brackett, 209; _ of Magnesium, Evolution of the, under the Influence of ‘Increasing Electrical Actions, A. de Gramont and G. A. Hemsalech, 258 Society, The, 486 ral: Nebula M 81, Internal Motions in the, Dr. van -Maanen, 186; Nebulz, Movements in, Dr. J. H. Jeans, 55; Movements in, Dr. van Maanen, 249 x of, G. W. Tyrrell, 257; Norwegian Explorations in, el, 561 ; The Ecology of the Flora of, J. Walton, s, Prof. A. Dendy, 191 ize for a Method of Com- | Suppressing the, F. J. D. Barnjum, 689 ap, A Defect in the: its Causes and a Remedy, ley, 225 a). for Students and Amateurs, A. P. .; Distances, Deduction of, from Proper Prof. H. N. Russell, 121; Long-period A Unique, Major W. J. S. Lockyer, 530; s, Determination of, by a Thermopile, J. ; 0 of the Great Bear, A Singular Pheno- ted by the, C. Nordmann and M. Le The Deviations of Light Rays passing shbourhood of a, M. Ferrier, 831 Colours of, P. Doig, 824; Binary, The J . H. Jeans, 89; Catalogue of 1068 situated between 51° and 65° South the Equinox 1900, 743; Double, A 592; Effective Temperatures of, Dr. ntz, 560; Evening, 488; New, The 4; of Class A in the Solar Cluster, Dr. and Miss Annie J. Cannon, 386; of the 8 hes F. Henroteau, 422 ; the Apparent New Interference Method for Measur- A 831; The Determination of the of, by the Interference Method, M. Hamy, 1 tg the Atmospheres of the, and malet, 155 Mineral, Dimorphous with Dewindite, A. London, an Institute of/ Offer of the foundation, for, 280 Lr t Course in, D. C. Jones, 473 South Yorkshire, The, Prof. C. H. ; Manufacture, Electrothermic Processes »d, The Colours of, Prof. C. V. Raman, in, The Penetration of, G. Charpy 3; The Electro-metallurgy of, C. C. igva : A New Acid Fermentation pro- Molliard, 567; The Toxicity of various A. P. Laurie, 814 1c g the Four Stations, E. H. Stone, t Excavations at, Col. W. Hawley, 781 orwich, etc., Offer of, to the Norwich ) 5 Sbar G. Bolingbroke, 84 ‘ext-book of Botany. Rewritten by Dr. H. r. L. Jost, Dr. H. Schenck, Dr. G. Karsten. lish edition Revised with the Fourteenth ition by Prof. W. H. Lang, 740 | lon Geological History of the Genus, Miss M. handler, 59 rand Erosion, Forests in Relation to, 417 ct of, on the Heat Conductivity of Metals, Dr. an, 793; Optical Effect in Transparent Solids strained beyond the Elastic Limit, Prof. L. N. P. Filon and H. T. Jessop, 326 Stringybark, An Additional Blue-leaf, J. H. Maiden, 226 Stupors, Benign, A Study of a New Manic-depressive Reaction Type, Dr. A. Hoch, 743 Suberone, Some Derivatives of, M. Godchot and P. Brun, 399 Submarine, Coast Sediments, The Neutral Lines of, J. Thoulet, 399; Periscope, A Projective Treatment of the, T. Smith, 431 ; Periscopes, Dr. A. Gleichen, 490 ; Volcanic Eruptions, Deep, J. Thoulet, 632 Sucrase, The Law of Action of, H. Colin and Mlle. A. Chaudun, 194 Sulphur and Sulphur Derivatives, Dr. H. A. Auden, 235 ; in Illinois Coal beds, H. F. Yancey and T. Fraser, 354 ; in Iron Pyrites, The Estimation of, G. Chaudron and G. Juge-Boirard, 463 Summer Time: Act, Effect of the, on the Health of School Children, 656; Bill, 214, 384 Sun: Observations of the, made at the Lyons Observatory, J. Guillaume, 29, 631; Observations, the Partial Eclipse of the, on March 28, 1922, J. Mascart, 599 ; The Atmosphere of the, Measurement of Pressure in, A. Perot, 599; Total Eclipse of the, 591; Variability of the, New Observations on the, C. G. Abbot, 30 Sun-fish, The Buoyancy of the, Capt. G. C. C. Damant and Prof. A. E. Boycott, 578 Sunlight : The Action of, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, 11, 274 Sun’s Rotation, The, from Spectroheliograms, Prof. P. Fox, 422 Sun-spots in Latitude, The Periodicity and the Movement of the, explained by the Pulsation of the Nucleus, E. Belot, 226 Surface Curvature at the Focus of an Astronomical Object Glass, The Effect of Changes of, E. W. Taylor, 566; Energy and Forces of Short Range, Historical Notes a W. B. Hardy, 375; Tension and Narcosis, W. opaczewski, 226 Surveying for Oil Geologists, 474 Suzette Layer, Our Knowledge of the, P. Termier and L. Joleaud, 29 Swallows, British, The Migration of, Dr. A. L. Thomson, 346 Swedish Academy of Sciences, Prof. M. Planck elected a Foreign Member of the, 384 Swine, Progress of Metabolism after Food in, Prof. T;- 5. Wood and Dr. J. W. Capstick, 730 Swiss Travel Almanac, 809 Sydney Harbour, Proposed Cantilever Bridge across, 120 Sylviculture, Guide pratique de, Dr. F. Frankhauser. _ Troisiéme édition frangaise par M. Petitnermet, 7 Symbiose, intrazellularer, Tier und Pflanze in, Prof. P. Buchner, 538, 576 Symbiosis, Studies in, Prof. F. W. Gamble, 538, 576 Symbiotic Bacteria and Phosphorescence, F. A. Potts, 814 Symons Gold Medal, The, presented to Col. H. G. Lyons, It Synthetic Dyes as Antiseptics and Chemotherapeutic Agents, Prof. C. H. Browning, 750 Syphilis: The Preventive and Curative Action in, of the Acetyl Derivative of Oxyaminophenylarsinic Acid (Sodium Salt), C. Levaditi and A. Navarro-Martin, 567; The Preventive Action in, of the Acetyl Derivative of Oxyaminophenylarsinic Acid (Sodium Salt), L. Fournier, C. Levaditi, A. Navarro-Martin and A. Schwartz, 800 System: The, Na,O—CO,—NaCl—H,09, F. A. Freeth, 461 Taboo and Genetics: A Study of the Biological, Socio- logical, and Psychological Foundation of the Family, Drs. M. M. Knight, Iva L. Peters, and Phyllis Blan- chard, 235 ‘%; Teeth: in Children, On the Relationship of Condition of the, to Factors of Health and Home Environment, E. C. Rhodes, 409; of the Nation, The, Prof. W. D. Halliburton, 356 ; Telegraphic Transmission of Photographs, Drawings, and Manuscripts, E. Belin, 463, 686 Telephony, Wireless, Universal, 719 ; Telescope Objectives, The Adjustment and Testing of, Third edition, 338 l Lndex Nature, August 12, 1922 Telluric Lines, Variation in the Wave-length of the, A. Perot, 194 Tellurium, The ‘“‘ Dynamic ’”’ Allotropy of, A. Damiens, 799 Temperatur und Lebensvorgange, Dr. A. Kanitz, 741 Temperature: Functions of Certain Properties of the Metals, Periodical Phenomena in the, Dr. G. Borelius, 613; of 1921, The, 52; Rainfall, and Sunshine in the United Kingdom for the Winter Season, 420 Ternary Mixtures, The Vapour-pressure of, Prof. A. W. Porter, 257 Terrestrial: Life Begin? Where did, Dr. A. C. Macfie, J. W. Gregory, 107, 310; J.S. Dines, Dr. F. J. Allen, 207; Magnetic Disturbances and Sun-spots, Father A. L. Cortie, 44; Magnetism in the Antarctic, at The 27-day Period (Interval) in, Dr. C. Chree, Tertiery Mollusca of Santo Domingo, Dr. H. A. Pilsbry, 692 Textile Research Fellowships, 766 Therapeutic Serums and the Sero-diagnosis of Syphilis, The International Standardisation of, 20 Therapy: Deep, Apparatus, Section 2b, Newton and Wright, Ltd., 150; Non-Specific, Dr. J. Stephenson, 717 Thermal Stresses in Solid and in Hollow Circular Cylinders Concentrically Heated, The, Prof. C. H. Lees, 762 Thermionic: Tubes in Radio-telegraphy and Telephony, J. Scott-Taggart, 38; Valve, Applications of the, J. Joseph, 522 Thermodynamics and Chemistry, Prof. F. H. MacDougall, Ae) Taine elect Force of Contact for the Identification of Certain Steels, The Utilisation of, M. Galibourg, 362 Thermometers for Measuring Rock Temperatures, Negretti and Zambra, 562 Thionyl Chloride, The Action of, on the A-acid Alcohols, E. E. Blaire and Mlle. Montagne, 700 Thomson Effect, Measurement at Various Temperatures of the, A Special Apparatus for the, H. R. Nettleton, 225 Thorium-X ; Some Oxydasic Properties of, P. Lernay and L. Jaloustre, 158 Thorpe’s Dictionary, 266 Three-colour iy Process, A New, Major Klein, 24 “ Thymo-plas,” Tidal Theory, fiarditeae Development of, Dr. Doodson, 283 Tide-predicting Machines, The Accuracy of, H. A. Marmer, 136, 479, The Writer of the Article, 137; Dr. A. T. Doodson, 239, 479 Tides: A Manual of, Dr. A. T. Doodson, 767; and Tidal Streams: A Manual compiled for the Use of Seamen, Comdr. H. D. Warburg, 767 Tillga aquatica found at Adel, near Leeds, R. W. Butcher and Dr. G. C. Druce, 5 Timothy Grass Bacillus, Studies in the Fat Metabolism of the, Marjory Stephenson and Margaret Whetham, 6 inka 12 Tin: Plague and Arctic Relics, T. Sheppard, 78, 209 ; The Isotopes of, Dr. F. W. Aston, 813 eto ae Satyrine Germs, Breeding Experiments with, G. A. Waterhouse, 832 Tissue ee The Utilisation of the, for the Deter- mination of the Organ, the Functional Insufficiency of which is the Cause of a Pathological State, F. Maignon, 463 Tolgarrick Radium Mine, The, to be re-opened, 147 Tonkin, Southern, The Structure of, C. Jacob, 326 Torch-bearers, The, A. Noyes, 638 Toredo, the Shipworm, The Food of, F. A. Potts, 290 Torf, Der, Prof. H. Puchner, 608 Toxic Index of Illuminating Apparatus, of Heating Apparatus, and of Explosion Motors, The, K. Abrest, 631 ; Transformers, Small Single Phase, E. T. Painton, 135 Transition Spiral, The, and its Introduction to Railway Curves, A. L. Higgins, 103 Transmutation, Energy Changes involved in, I. W. Wark, 108 Transport, Some Post-War Problems of, Sir John Aspinall, 695 Travel and Exploration, 268 Travellers, Hints to, Scientific and General. Tenth edition, E. A.. Reeves, 2 Vols., 268 Trees, Transplantation of, Influence of Orientation on the Success of the, M. Martin-Zédé, 94 Trilobites, The Limbs of, Dr. C. D. Walcott, 562 Triode Oscillator, - The Electromagnetic Screening of a, R. L. Smith- ‘Rose, 462 Tropical Medicine, Discoveries in, Sir E. Ray Lankester, © 349 812; Lt.-Col. A. Alcock, 611 ; Dr. L. W. Sambon, 681 Tube Resistance Furnace, Experiments with the, on the Effect of Potential Difference, A. S. King, 31 Tunny Fish, The Periodic Changes of Habitat of the Common, L. Roule, 30 Turbines, A. E. Tompkins. Third edition, 171 Turbulence as a Meteorological Agency, Sir Napier Shaw, 40 9 Turpeltine, Aleppo Essence of, The Compo of, G. Dupont, 258 Ultra-violet: Absorption Spectra, The, and the Optical Rotation of the Proteins of the Blood Sera, S. J. Lewis, 126; Solar Spectrum, Photography of the, C; Fabry and H. Buisson, 352 United Btates’ Research Laboratories in Industrial Estab- lishments of the, 349; State Laws relating to Public Education in the, 829 ; Temperatures, Prof. R. de C. Ward, 490 ; The Graduate Schools of Universities of the, 665 ; University Education in the, 425 Universities: Annual Conference of, 759; of Great Britain and Ireland, Conference of Representatives of id 664; of Oxford and Cambridge: Report of the Royal Commission, 428 ; of the Empire, Second Con- gress of the, 1921: Report of Proceedings. Edited by Dr. A. Hill, 407; The Year-book of the, 1922, Edited by W. H. Dawson, 677; The, and Colonial Scientific Services, 365 _ University : Bulletin, No. 1, 325; College, London, Annual Education, Sir Wilmot. Report for 1920-21, 565; Herringham, 28 ; in the U.S.A., 425; Pensions, 531 Upper: Cretaceous, Existence of the, in the Central Cavity of the Channel from the Dredgings of the Pas ?, P. Lemoine and R. Abrard, 194; Cretaceous of Hungary, The Geological Importance of the Primitive Reptilian Fauna in the, Baron F. Nopesa, Uriim: Oxides, The Radio-activity of the, C. Strachling, 63; The Oxides of, P. Lebeau, 258 Urea, The Gravimetric Quantitative Micro - - analysis of, M. Nicloux and G. Welter, 63 Urticaceze, The Mucilage of the, P. Guérin, 3e7 Vaccination, Preventive, by the Digestive Tract in ‘Man, C. Nicolle and E. Conseil, 534 Vaccine Virus, Study of the Culture im vitro of the, H. Plotz, 732 Valency and Atomic Structure, 170 : Valenzkrafte und Roéntgenspektren: Zwei Aufsatze iiber das Elektronengebaude des Atomes, Prof. W. Kossel, 170 Valager Pressures and Boiling-points of Non-miscible and Miscible Liquids and the Composition of the Vapours _(Distillates) from such Heterogeneous and Homo- geneous Mixtures, The, Prof. S. Young, 431 Vedanta, The Logic of the, S. N. Dasgupta, 362 | Vegetable: Assimilation and Respiration, Experimental Researches on, Pts. XV. and XVI., G. E. Briggs, 730 ;. Histology, The Elements of, Prof. Cc. W. Ballard, 773 Végétales: Bibliothéque de physiologie et de Po thologie, nutrition de la plante, I., II., Prof. Molliar Vegetation in the United States, The Distribution th as related to Climatic Conditions, Prof. B. E. Livingston and Dr. E. Shreve, 371 Venus, Observations of, A. Rordame ; Prof. St. John, 592 Vibrations: in Plates, Membranes, etc., A Method of Excit- ing, based on the Bernoulli Principle, K. Grant, 256 ; of Vehicles, A. Boyer-Guillon, 251 ; a ee ee ey, ee pe The Free Trans- verse, of a Uniform Circular Disc a, at its — Index li 2 ew, 10 and G. Vergé, 30 osity : an once’, ve Apparatus, A. Gallenkamp and Co., Ltd., 793; Determination by Means of Orifices 1d Short Tubes, W. N. Bond, 462 Liquid, Stability of a, contained between two ting Cylinders, G. I. Taylor, 533; Properties of ioxide and Nitrous Oxide, and (5) Nitro- Carbon Monoxide, An Experimental Com- f the, C. J. Smith, 666 ant Objects, Prof. H. Bénard, 412 m, Organisation for, Dr. C. W. Kimmins, tl @ ir Relation to Public Health, Dr. J <& meses. Die Ratzel des, ihre Lésung auf experi- 1 ze durch Aeronautik, Aviatik und F. von Lucanus, 573 ure of, Sir R. A. S. Paget, 341 Circulation of the Blood, Dr. G. A. Museum of, Annual Report of the, 53 1e Great, based on Official Documents. the Historical Section of the Com- il Defence: Naval Operations, Sir oF 2, 135; The, and the Royal ting, More, J. H. Fabre. Translated by Mattos, 270 ae and Docks, Dr. Brysson Cunning- Electric, E. V. Appleton, 397; Resist- odulation, The Reception of, R. 3; Exceptionally Hot, 723 ; Eastern England, 1885-1921, R. H. A. Hornor, 171 . Tests of, W. W. Hackett, 188 _Lichte der neueren Forschung, N.W. Thomas, 124; Virginia, organtown, Gift to, by Dr. I. C. e, 316; Yorkshire Metallurgical ty, Gift to, by S. Mather, 317 Tenth Century to the Hunting of the the Present Time, Dr. J. T. Jenkins, cimens of, the late Dr. W. G e Germination of the Spores of, L. Ravaz ha Se ; Pipes, 606; Power, British, and its n, 161; Power Resources of India, The Historical Geography of the, y es, Sir William Beveridge, 627; _ 1e North-east Counties of Scot- | “Simple Lessons on the, for School: Reading, E. Stenhouse, 440; The, Boge da: Se | Y¥tterby, The Small Haloes of, Prof. J. Joly, 711 History of the, from the Basque | a Megaptera and Balenoptera, The Whaling, The History of, 298 What the Public Wants: A Study of the American Museum of Natural History, 81 Wheat: A Monograph on, 366; as the’ Basis of Britain’s Food Supply in Time of War, Lord: Bledisloe, 25 Plant, The, A Monograph, Prof. J. Percival, 366 ; Prices and Rainfall in Western Europe, 627; Rusts near Cambridge, Occurrence of, K. C. Mehta, 462 Whey, Production and Utilisation of, Prof, R. A. Berry, 25 Wind: at Llandudno, The Effect Produced by, W. Dalli- more, 290; Observations in Finnish Lightships, Dr. G. Granqvist, 88 ~ Wireless: Apparatus for Tristan da Cunha, 655; Com- munication Apparatus, Catalogue of, C. F. Elwell, Ltd., 824; Telegraphy and Telephony: An Outline for Electrical Engineers and others, L. B. Turner, 38 ; - Commission, Report of the, 149; Directive, Direction and Position Finding, etc., L. H. Walter, 270; Con- tinuous Wave, Prof. W. H. Eccles, Part i 30% Precursors of, Sir Joseph Larmor, 410 ; Telephone Receiving Sets, 819; Universal, 719; Time-Signals, _ Prof. Sampson, 422 Witch: -craft in Western Europe, 572; -cult in Western _ Europe: A Study in Anthropology, M. A. Murray, 2 T ipaaeaniens Wood, Trueman, Lecture, The, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 140, 179 Woollen and Worsted Research, 564 World: The External, K. Gerhards, 691 ; The Genesis of the, 765 Wreyland, Small Talk at, C. Torr, Second Series, 678 Wright, Wilbur, Memorial Lecture, The, A. Ogilvie, 822 Wrought-iron Currency, A Specimen of, from the Kisi Country, Sierra Leone Protectorate, West Africa, R. C. Gale and Capt. E. R. Macpherson, 138 X-Ray: Spectra, on the N-Series in, V. Dolejiek, 582; Spectrum, The L-series of the, D. Coster, 2 58; Studies -. on the Crystal Structure of Iron and Steel, Dr. L “oo West d Mr. Ph , 817; Work, “ Saf Shallow Water on, T. H. Havelock, | Be tee at : a ee “e oe First ” in, Watson and Sons, 791 _ X-Rays: Examination of Textiles by, Truesdale and Hayes, _ 283; Measurement of the Mean Penetrating Power of a Bundle of, by a New Radio-Chromometric Method, M. de Laroquette, 399; of the L-series, 3, __ The Intensities of, F. C. Hoyt, 30 Xylenes, Three, Solubility of Isomeric Toluic Acids in the, _ M. Chapas, 399 E Yerkes Observatory, Slides of Photographs taken at, 386 York Philosophical Society, Appeal for Funds, 689 Yorkshire Philosophical Society, Centenary of the, 53 Yunnan and Western Szechuan, Impending Expedition to, 202 | _ by Prof. J. W. Gregory and C. J. Gregory, 51 Institution of, to be formed, 1 473 | ; ; Zeeman’s Discovery, The History of, and its Reception in England, Sir Oliver Lodge, 66 : ‘Zinc: and Cancer, P. Cristol, 567; Sulphide, Phosphorescent, _ A. A. Guntz, 800 : é Zoological Society of London: Additions to the Menagerie of the, 248, 421, 622; Annual Report of the, for 1921, 689; Monthly Report of the, 148; Prince Albert of Monaco and Prof. G. O. Sars elected Foreign Members _ of the, 21 Zoology, Botany, and Prehistoric Archeology of the British Isles, Papers bearing upon the, T. Sheppard, 622 = Zulkowski’s Theory of the Relation between the Composi- tion and Durability of Glass, An Examination and Extension of, W. L. Baillie, 157 PRR Ro - ee Ae > a ‘ poe E #4 1 re A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.”—Worpsworth. THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 10922. Editorial and Publishing Offices: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be } addressed to the Publishers. ~ Editorial communications to the Editor. "Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. Education and the Nation. O\N Sunday, November 27, Mr. Fisher, Presi- dent of the Board of Education, speaking in Whitefield’s Mission, London, on ‘‘ Our -Schools,’’ said : _ ** Education is a great unifying influence, not only between classes, but also between nations. The estranging influences between man and man are not rooted in the externals of situation or wealth, but are founded in differences of intellectual acquisi- tion and of intellectual and moral outlook. There still persists the delusion that the education of the poor must be different, not only in amount, but also in quality, from the education which is at the service of the more affluent members of the nation. But the poor, even more than the rich, stand in need of the best possible education, since they lack the home advantages of the wealthy. Indeed, in the crowded areas of the cities the school plays an even greater part than the home in the formation of the national mind. The elementary school may not give all the NO. 2723, VOL. 109] results we are entitled to expect, though there has been great progress made in the last generation through the development of a spirit of humanism in the schools. It will not become fruitful in result until something is done to provide education for the vital period of adolescence.’’ This was the spirit that animated Mr. Fisher in ‘the drafting of the measure which culminated in the Education Act of 1918, and served to mark the public appreciation of the benefits of education and the great progress made since the Education Act of 1902. Mr. Fisher stated that day continuation schools were provided for in the Education Act of 1918, but, owing to financial circumstances, at the present time they could not develop the system adequately. He added that the children of the nation needed more schools, more books, and better teachers, and if the nation was in earnest they would assuredly get them in time. Yet the Board of Education has continually thwarted the progressive efforts of the more enterprising local authorities in the provision of new schools; it hampers the provision of Central Schools in London even where such provision can be made by the reorganisation of existing elementary schools, and it checks the development of schools where physically defective children can receive remedial treatment. There has arisen—and it is an extremely hopeful sign of the public interest in the value of education —a strong demand for the advantages of higher education, and thousands of children in all parts of the country are eager for admission to secondary schools ; but the Board offers no encouragement to that end; in fact, it has sanctioned the raising of the fees in such schools, thereby preventing the poorer children from taking advantage of them, and 2 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 the same policy is being pursued with respect to the much-needed nursery schools for children under five. Day continuation classes during two years, as pro- vided for by the Act, for young people who have left the elementary school at fourteen in order to enter into employment, are, except in the London area, practically a dead letter, the Board refusing its sanction to the fixing of the appointed day. The Committee of business men appointed. by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with Sir Eric Geddes as chairman, to consider the national expenditure with a view to drastic economies in the various spending departments has presented its Report to the Cabinet, but its full details have not been made public. It is rumoured that there is a proposed reduction in the total estimates for the year 1922-23 of 195,000,000/., of which the education estimates are responsible for 16,000,000/. As showing the spirit in which this question has been approached, Lord Inchcape, one of the influential members of this Committee, and the chairman of the P. and O., said, at a recent meeting of the shareholders of his company, that ‘‘ education is an excellent thing in its way, but there are limitations to its economic useful- ness.’’ Lord Haldane, at a meeting held at London University on December 17, arranged by the London Head Teachers’ Association, dealt effectively with Lord Inchcape’s observations, and showed how much the progress of the nation in every department of industrial life and even in his own particular busi- ness of shipping has been due to education. He said : ‘“‘ Lord Incheape could not sail a single steamer but for the education of the great inventors and men of science which made it possible, nor would his staff know how to handle the instruments but for the training they have received from their teachers. Modern business cannot stand _ still, neither can education. Other nations realise the value of education, and will get ahead of us if we do not ; if we neglect it, hard times will come, when we shall be driven belatedly to reverse the policy threatened to-day in order to recover our resources and progress, which will have failed. us through our misunderstanding of the true meaning of economy.’ In this respect the decision of the Treasury to reduce the grant to the universities from 1,500,000/. to 1,200,000/. will seriously hamper these institu- tions in their endeavour to get and to retain com- petent teachers, and will impede scientific research on which a further advance in knowledge and espe- cially industry, alike in the spheres of manufac- NO. 2723, VOL. 109] tures and of agriculture, so largely depends. The joint meeting of the general council of the Trade Union Congress and the Labour Party Executive, held in London on December 14, views this policy with profound disapproval, which can do virtually nothing, it says, ‘‘to relieve the national finances, but which will be a serious blow to higher educa- E tion.’’ An important manifesto has recently been issued by the Teachers’ Registration Council, entitled ‘‘ Education and National Life,’’ for presentation — to his Majesty’s Ministers and in the expectation that it will be signed by many eminent men and women. It refers to the national danger which attends any attempt to reduce expenditure on educa- tion, and urges that the recent extension of the franchise has made it the more necessary to open all possible avenues of knowledge and enlighten- ment as preventives of error and half-truths in politics, economics, and social relationships. A complete and generous system of education will fortify the State against civil unrest and strife, while serving to widen the vision and enrich the lives of individuals. We were led in the tragic ordeal of the war to perceive the faults of our previous educational system and to frame the new proposals ‘embodied in the Education Act of 1918. But that measure is not really in operation, and the newly awakened desire of working people for further knowledge is left unsatisfied. The signatories recog- nise the need for a-careful survey of our national — resources and for thrift in all public and private expenditure, but hold that thrift should be exercised with discrimination and not so as to curtail educational opportunity. They conclude with the desire to see our country take its place in the’ van of civilised and enlightened communities and regard public expenditure on education as a wise investment which will bring ‘to this and succeeding generations the rich rewards of civic greatness and private contentment. It is to be hoped that this weighty manifesto from an influential body of well-wishers to educa- tion may receive speedy and favourable considera- tion at the hands of the Government, in order that the provisions of the Education Act of 1918 may eee < be put into practical operation without further delay, yeq and also that the full grant of 1,500,000/. be re- stored to the universities so as to encourage research in all departments of knowledge and give them the opportunity of fully developing their resources in the vital and permanent best interests of the | nation. Fs ne ae OO a / IM, NOS Ree cd 5, 1922] NATURE 3 "Fifty Years of Electrical Science. Years of Electricity: The Memories of an trical Engineer. By Prof. J. A. Fleming. (London: The Wireless Press, ng us his memories of the past fifty years, . Fleming has compiled a noteworthy The book makes no claim,’’ he writes, systematic treatise on iii teieity or elec- peeling, but is simply intended as an » place before the intelligent general Gait comprehensive view of the chief of applied electricity during the last ee ’ The intention is carried out with ness of style and the lucidity of expres- have long learned to expect from the e may be assured that, as he hopes, assist junior engineering students in a preliminary acquaintance with the out- subject they will study in greater detail Pietgnstic moment of a piece of mag- _ Electrical progress lends itself in a way to treatment of this kind, but if ble to do for other branches of science g has achieved for his the gain would 2on, who in 1825 constructed the enet, to Einstein, whose work is 1 one of the later chapters of the book, ice fifty years, but the work of the the period, though fundamental, is age in an introductory chapter. ade by Cooke, Wheatstone, , culminating in the Hughes printing for which the first U.S. patent was n 1855; the laying of the first Atlantic 1857-58, which survived for only two ; the work of William Thomson, Lord vin, based on his Royal Society paper of 1855 The Theory of the Electric Telegraph,” lead- the mirror galvanometer (1858) and the recorder (1867) after the successful laying 866 cable. telegraphy in. England was at first entirely by private enterprise, and in , when the business was taken over by the . 2723, VOL. 109 | , = various companies owned altogether some 16,000 miles of lines. Up to this time, the date at which Prof. Fleming’s memories start and his detailed history begins, electrical engineering had been almost entirely concerned with tele- graph work. The Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians—afterwards to become the Insti- tution of Electrical Engineers—-was in 1870 the only electro-technical society in England. But the seeds of a greater development had been planted. Electro-magnetic induction was discovered by Faraday in 1831. From that followed the early magneto machines of Saxton (1833) and Clarke (1835); the Siemens armature was devised in 1856, the Gramme ring by Paci- notti in 1860. Wilde, in 1850, had used electro- magnets instead of permanent magnets for the field-coils of a machine, and this was followed, in 1867, by the invention of the dynamo; the machine became self-exciting. The account of these fifty years occupies some fifty pages of Prof. Fleming’s book; for the next fifty the remaining 300 pages barely suffice. In six chapters details are given of the advance in all directions. Telegraphs and telephones, from Hughes’s first printing instrument and Graham Bell’s early telephone to the modern multiplex type machines and the automatic telephone ex- change, are all described. Then we _ have dynamos, alternators, transformers, and motors, from 1870 to 1920, from the first Gramme and Siemens machines of some few kilowatts to the giants of the present day. Another chapter treats of electric lamps and lighting; yet another of supply stations, storage batteries, and railways; while fifty pages are devoted to electric theory and measurements, from Kelvin and the work of the first British Association Committee on Elec- trical Units in 1861-62 to Maxwell and theories of the ether, the discoveries of J. J. Thomson and Rutherford, and the influence of Ein- stein on modern physics. The final chapter deals with wireless telegraphy. Commencing with the theoretical work of Maxwell and Hertz, it passes in review the experiments of Hertz, Lodge, and Admiral Jackson, concluding with those of Marconi and his associates. An account is given of the valve detector devised by the author in 1904, and of the improvement due to Dr. Lee de Forest, by which it became the triode valve and amplifier for wireless waves. This very brief résumé will indicate the scope and extent of the work. The limitations of space prevent any detailed account, and indeed no such account is necessary beyond the statement that all important developments in electrotechnics of the last fifty years are described with the well- 4 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 known skill of the author, who has added to our libraries a most useful and interesting work. Both he and the Wireless Press, which has pro- duced the book, may be cordially congratulated on the result of their labours. Fermat’s Last Theorem. Three Lectures on Fermat’s Last Theorem. By L. J. Mordell. Pp. vii+31. (Cambridge : At the University Press, 1921.) 4s. net. HE “‘ last theorem of Fermat’’ states that if X,Y, 8, p denote positive integers, the equa- tion x? + y?=2? is impossible if p exceeds 2: thus no cube can be the sum of two cubes, and so on. If the theorem is true when 9 is 4, or an odd prime, it is true for all other integral values of p. For three centuries this theorem has baffled the efforts of all who have attacked it, although it has attracted the attention of all first-rate arith- meticians, and a great number of amateurs. For P=3, 4, 5, 7 comparatively simple proofs have been discovered; but so far none of these has led to a complete generalisation. The first great advance in the theory was made by Kummer, in connection with his researches on cyclotomic integers. He showed that if the theorem is false for any particular odd prime p, then p must not be a factor of the numerator of any one of the first 4(p—3) numbers of Bernoulli. This very recondite test rules out all values of Pp below 100 except 37, 59, 67. By additional criteria Kummer was able to prove the theorem for these exceptional primes, and hence for all values of p from 3 to 100 inclusive. Not many years ago (1907) a prize of 100,000 marks was set aside for the first who succeeded in giving a complete proof or disproof of the theorem. Quite recently, new criteria, indepen- dent of Kummer’s, have been discovered, which have to be satisfied by odd primes p for which the theorem is false, and the simplest of these is the condition 2?-1=1 (mod. p), discovered by Wilferich in 1909. Other tests of a more or less similar kind have been accumulated, and the net result is that any value of p for which the theorem is false must exceed 7ooo. Gauss’s tables of quadratic forms warn us not to draw any con- clusions from this result; in fact if N is any assigned integer, however large, a proof that the theorem is true unless p>N gives us no infor- mation about the truth or falsity of the theorem in general. Mr. Mordell’s lectures give a clear and interest- ing account of the history and present state of this subject. Lecture I. gives a statement of the NO. 2723, VOL. 109| theorem, and a summary of the work done by Kummer’s predecessors; Lecture II. is on Kummer’s researches, and more recent investiga- tions of similar type; and Lecture III. gives an © account of various results obtained by Libri, Sophie Germain, and others. Full references are given to the original papers, so that a reader within reach of a good reference library can make himself acquainted with details of all that has been done hitherto. A perplexing circumstance, often alluded to, is the fact that, in a private note, Fermat distinctly asserted that he had proved the theorem. Now Fermat was never convicted of a false assertion, and only once of a wrong conjecture; on the other | hand it is extremely improbable that Fermat’s proof, if he had one, was in any way analogous to the work of Kummer and his successors. It is not, perhaps, unreasonable to hope that a proof may be found, some day, derived from Diophan- tine analysis proper, combined with a process of induction, and possibly with some application of analytical geometry, or theory of equations, or both. problem without knowledge of modern analysis, might throw a quite new and unexpected light upon it. Mr. Mordell’s pamphlet ought to do much to stimulate our rising mathematicians, and we hope that it will have a large circulation. Gy ecae, Chemistry of Coke-oven and By-product Works. Coke-oven and By-product Works Chemistry. By T. Biddulph-Smith. Pp. x+180+7 plates. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 21s. ‘HE author states in the preface that his object in compiling this book is to furnish a concise manual covering, so far as space will allow, the general work required for the chemical control of coke-oven and by-product works. As regards the variety of subjects treated, he has doubtless achieved his object, but it is to be re- gretted that the apparent exigencies of space have caused the manual to become so concise in certain sections as to detract appreciably from the value of the work as a whole. The most valuable section of the manual is that relating to the coal-tar naphthas. There is no doubt that the author has taken considerable pains to collect together the work of some of our best analytical chemists on methods of evaluating the constituents of coal-tar naphthas—work which A really gifted youth, approaching the | NATURE : ed out during the war period when the e examination of these products was a ter of such great importance. Although most 1e methods dealt with have already been de- either in technical journals or in the pro- of technical societies, chemists will wel- e accumulation of this information within of one volume. Moreover, the admir- 1 of “The Constituents of Coal-tar Properties,” compiled by Dr. Spielman, revised form as an appendix, and the this information may prove useful to ven chemist by. saving reference t of the book is disappointing. In de- aalytical methods the author has obvi- mpted to do more than supply indica- e method recommended by him, but has furnish sufficient detailed information to service to the works chemist. pter dealing with the fractions of coal- ‘than the naphtha fraction is meagre, eakness of this section accentuates the chemists have not yet given adequate ) the analytical methods required in the of the heavier fractions of coal-tar, 4 less important than the naphtha dis- is in this section of the book that a sche. appears which would have se older and well-established chemists d to teach us our subject, and who, these times of efficiency systems and g devices, paid due reverence to in- which accurate measurements might The recommendation refers to the on of crude tar acids, the instructions ol the liquid, “stirring continually with Bmettomicter graduated in tenths of t accorded i in other sections of the ; sadlysie of gases, calorimetry, and 1ation of chemical products made and the recovery works is all too brief. is of coal-gas, which is acknowledged intricate as to require considerable ex- before trustworthy results can be ex- dealt with in a few pages, whilst the : ~ procedure recommended is archaic. ation of naphthalene is carried out by a which would be quite unpractical, if small s of ammonia were present in the gas, mention is made of this fact. the manual contains the usual collection and conversion factors in the second ‘so useful to reader, author, and pub- E. V. Evans. 2723, VOL. 109] Lichens. (1) Lichens. By A. L. Smith. (Cambridge Botanical Handbooks.) Pp. xxviii+ 464. (Cam- bridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 55s. net. (2) A Handbook of the British Lichens. By Annie Lorrain Smith. Pp. vii+158. (London: The British Museum (Natural History), 1921.) 6s. 6d. (1) OR many years botanists have been with- out a guide to the large mass of facts that have been added year by year to our know- ledge of lichens. Miss A. Lorrain Smith has therefore done a good work in compiling a very ° comprehensive handbook on this group of plants. The growth of our manufacturing and even our garden cities proves fatal to all except a few . insignificant lichens. They are driven away to those far-off parts of the country where the air is still fresh and pure. This circumstance very possibly, but the absence of any comprehensive handbook on, and guide to, the lichens certainly, is a reason why so little interest is taken in this group. Yet, ecologically, it is one of the most interesting groups. Lichens grow on the out- skirts of vegetation, as pioneers of the plant world, preparing the way for moss, fern and flowering plant. They are most intimately in touch with the substratum in its virgin condition. Few ecolo- gists, however, properly consider lichens. Ana~- tomically, the lichen thallus very directly reflects the nature of the substratum. A great deal, how~ ever, still remains to be done in this direction. The elaborate and careful work of the late Abbé Hue has, unfortunately, not brought much morphological order into our knowledge of lichen structure. The whole question of the dependence of one organism, whether animal or plant, on another,. or even others, again whether animal or plant, is every day becoming of greater interest. The views of various lichenologists on this matter are placed before us by Miss Lorrain Smith, but the simple word symbiosis is the term most favoured. It does not define the relationship between alga and fungus in too great a detail. Terms like helotism (due, by the way, to Warming and not to Nienburg), parasitism, consortium, endosapro- phytism, and others, may cover certain individual cases, but the relationship of alga to fungus cer- tainly varies in different species, or possibly even in different individuals of one species growing under different conditions. There is no doubt that on the whole the lichen-fungus fully controls growth and reproduction of the gonidial alga, B 6 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 though within certain limits both take place freely. Lindau, however, has described how in certain hypophloeodic lichens the alga actually forges ahead of the fungus. The various branches of the subject have been very fully dealt with by Miss Lorrain Smith, but we think that not sufficient reference has been made to Exsiccata, which have played such an important part in lichenological nomenclature. We also consider that the book as a whole is not well illustrated. Many of the line drawings are quite inadequate as illustrations in a handbook of this standard. The half-tone figure on p. 117 appears to us to be Cladonia uncialis rather than Cladonia furcata, whilst Fig. 135 on p. 416 does not recall to us Parmelia omphalodes, which it pur- ports to represent. Apart from these blemishes, which we consider rather serious, the handbook is a storehouse of valuable information, and Miss Lorrain Smith deserves the thanks of all lichen- ologists and botanists for the care and thorough- ness with which she has completed her task. Some readers might possibly object that they are left too much to draw general conclusions for themselves. The price of the book, unfortunately, is prohibi- tive except for public and college libraries. (2) We are sure that Miss Lorrain Smith’s “Handbook of the British Lichens ” will answer its purpose very well and help both botanist and collector to name their specimens, instead of being compelled to depend for this on foreign books. The book, however, is only a key to the “Mono- graph of the British Lichens,” by Miss Lorrain Smith, the price of which, again, is well-nigh pro- hibitive. We may express the hope that this little book will help to create renewed interest in a group of plants the study of which was at one time keenly followed in this country. OR ee i. ¥..D. British Mineral Resources. Memoirs of the Geological Survey. Special Re- ports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain. Vol. 19, Lead and Zinc Ores in the Carbon- iferous Rocks of North Wales. By Bernard Smith. Pp. iv+162+ 3 plates. 31921. 55. 6d. net. Vol. 21, Lead, Silver-lead, and Zinc Ores of Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset. By Henry Dewey... Ep. iV +72... 3G9L. 5 25/564. net. (Southampton: Ordnance Survey Office; Lon- don: E. Stanford, Ltd.) HE two volumes under notice form an im- portant contribution to our knowledge of British mineral deposits, and afford satisfactory evidence that Dr. Flett is continuing energetically NO. 2723, VOL. 109] the valuable series of reports inaugurated by his predecessor at the Geological Survey. The scheme of both volumes is identical and is upon the lines with which previous reports had already familiar-_ ised us, but the economic importance of the de- posits discussed therein differs very widely. The lead and zinc veins of North Wales have not only been highly productive in the past, but also may well take rank in the future among the leading British lead-producing mines, whilst those of the south-west of England present little more than academic interest. Needless to say, none: of the mines discussed in either volume is at work just now; in fact, in the whole of Great Britain there is not a single lead or zinc mine capable of working save at a loss at the present time, probably a result of Government interference in the control of industries. a In North Wales such well-known mines as the Halkyn mines and others in the Holywell-Halkyn area, the Minera mines and other adjoining mines in Denbighshire are fully described, together with numerous less important mining properties. It is abundantly clear that in all these cases the great difficulty to be overcome is the enormous influx of water, which has rendered the economic working of these mines practically impossible. An interesting account is given of the various deep adit drainage schemes by which it is proposed to unwater some of the more important mining areas down to a considerably greater depth than has hitherto been reached. Although he does not specifically say so, it would appear that Mr.. Bernard Smith entertains no doubt of the ore holding down to the greatest depth that would thus be rendered available. Incidentally he shows that the 35,o00l. which the Government advanced for unwatering the Halkyn area have been wasted and have never yielded any return whatever. It can only be hoped that some satisfactory scheme for unwatering this area may be devised and carried into execution, though it is difficult to see how this can be done until British lead-mining reaches a sounder economic position than that with which it is faced to-day. As regards the lead mines in Cornwall, Devon, and the Mendip Hills, it can only be said that there is practically no likelihood at all of any serious revival of the lead-mining industry in these parts, and it is fortunate that the task of collect- ing information as to the past history of these mines has been undertaken before it is too late. Mr. Dewey has done a useful piece of work in carefully compiling an account of these mines, which will be especially interesting to the student — of mineral deposition. (or January 5, 1922] NATURE : Our Bookshelf. Pratique de Sylviculture. Par Dr. F. Fank- ser. Troisi¢me ¢dition francaise par M. utmermet. Pp. 348. (Lausanne, Genéve, et is: Payot et Cie, 1921.) FankHauser’ Ss elementary text-book on is used in Switzerland for the instruction ltural students and working foresters ; has great merits is evidenced by its ap- in five German and three French edi- he work is remarkable for its clear style, it illustrations, and admirable choice of atter. The introduction, concerned with of forests, explains their importance in industries, in regulating water supply, in ing erosion of the soil, etc., in a country witzerland, where there is so much of what thor calls “absolute forest soil,” or land not be put under any other form of culti- The forests of Switzerland cover, in fact, 000 acres, about 23 per cent. of the total f the country, and are credited with a pro- of about 42 cubic feet of timber per acre rst part of the book—forest botany—after ‘lementary notes on morphology and physio- sals separately with each forest tree, giving ical characters, distribution, reproduction, _sylvicultural features, enemies, diseases, and other products. Only one foreign conifer ed, Pinus strobus, and it is evident that s, like Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and larch, so much favoured in England for -at present, are not valued in Switzerland next part of the book, concerned art of sylviculture, is an excellent sum- of the different kinds of forests and how created, maintained, and cared for. Much is paid to practical subjects, like choice, , testing, and sowing of seeds of forest nursery treatment, artificial plantations, regeneration, and thinnings. chapters deal with utilisation, a subject includes felling and transport of timber, and perties and uses of wood, and with the m of forests from wind’ frost, fire, insects, fungi etc. The conclusion of ¢ is devoted to the simple engineering and _ problems ‘that are handled daily by in Switzerland. rinciples of Immunology. By Prof. H. T. sner and Dr. E. E. Ecker. Pp. xvii +309 plates. (London: J. B. Lippincott Com- 1g2t.) 215. net. searches of Pasteur on immunisation fowl cholera, swine erysipelas, anthrax, rabies, and the discovery by Behring and 0 of the antitoxic properties of the blood constituted the beginnings of the science nunology, which since 1890 has grown to ible dimensions and in every direction has ted itself into the domains of practical NO. 2723, VOL. 109] diagnosis and therapeutics. It is no longer within the capacity of one or even two individuals to deal authoritatively with the subject, although this was attempted, and with a fair measure of success, a year or two ago by such a master as Jules Bordet. Naturally many text-books exist on immunity, and the- present work of Karsner and Ecker must be ranked as one of the more successful among these. The authors have handled a goodly part of the periodical literature, and have applied to their reading and study a critical acumen which is con- spicuous by its absence in most books of this class. Their knowledge is of a most modern kind, and they have thrown over allegiance to the Ehrlich “side chain’’ hypothesis which dominated im- munology for so many years. Naturally in a work of its size Karsner and Ecker’s book is highly condensed, and is, in fact, restricted to fundamental principles. They state that it is primarily designed for medical students and busy practitioners. As a text-book for students work- ing for the higher examinations it can be cordially recommended, and it may possibly be read with profit by the more intellectual types of practi- tioners who have previously prepared themselves for the intricacies of the subject by the perusal of some more elementary work on the subject. We notice a number of misprints, especially in - the names of several of the authorities cited, and it may be said that some of the few illustrations are crude. Otherwise it may be recommended as an accurate guide to those who wish to study the subject with oo in the periodical literature of the day. W. B. When Buffalo Ran. By G. B. Grinnell. Pp. 114 +8 plates. (New Haven: Yale University _ Press; London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1920.) 10s. 6d. net. THE supposed autobiography of a Red Indian boy of some seventy years ago, when the veteran author was himself a small boy. The tribe is not mentioned, doubtless with intention; but Mr. Grinnell probably had in his mind the Cheyenne, which he knows so well. Anyhow, the book is not for ethnologists, but for boys, and the one on whom we have tried it pronounces it ‘‘topping.’’ Written in the simplest English, without affectation, the story brings out all the noblest features of the tribal life that has passed away. There is abundance of sympathy, but no sentimentality. High Tension Switchgear. By H. E. Poole. (Pitman’s Technical Primers.) Pp. ix +118. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. In this brief introduction to a large subject, the author contents himself with a summary of the principal features of present practice in the design of oil-break switches for the voltages in common use in this country. A few notes on isolating links, surge arresters, high-tension fuses, and testing pressures have also been inserted. 8° NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922. Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 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. ] Atmospheric Refraction. THE correspondence on _ terrestrial refraction from Mr. Mallock and Dr. de Graaff Hunter in NATURE of June g, p. 456, and August 11, p. 745, raises a paradox which I think must have puzzled many readers of Nature besides myself. Mr. Mallock is, of course, quite correct in stating that the diminu- tion of density of the air observable under ordinary conditions is practically linear for moderate increases of height above the earth’s surface, and that, con- sequently, the refractive index of the air may for -moderate increases of altitude be taken as diminishing linearly at such a rate that it would reach vacuum value at the height H ot the homogeneous atmosphere. Dr. Hunter is equally correct in pointing out that Mr. Mallock’s reasoning, based on the above-men- tioned observational fact, leads to a value of k, the coefficient of terrestrial refraction, which is almost exactly twice as great as that found by. observation under ordinary conditions. Dr. Hunter does not, however, point out what I think is the reaf* fallacy in ‘Mr. Mallock’s argument. The difficulty is not to be got over by any considera- tion of temperature-gradient in the air, although it is well known that variations in the temperature-gradient constitute the chief cause of variations in terrestrial refraction. The only way in which temperature- gradient could affect Mr. Mallock’s result would be by its requiring a change in the value (4-32 sea-miles) which he adopts for the height H of the homogeneous atmosphere. Whether we calculate H for air at a uniform temperature, as is usually done, or on the assumption of a diminution of temperature with in- crease of height at the rate ordinarily observable (say 1° C. for each 200 metres), we obtain a value of H which is nearly the same as that used by Mr. Mallock in his argument. May I suggest that the solution of the riddle is to be found in Mr. Mallock’s supposition of a ‘plane vertical wave-surface starting from P,’? whereas the rays of light from a terrestrial point must give rise to an approximately spherical wave-surface? In the diagram (Fig. 1), which represents a vertical section through the homogeneous atmosphere with the curvature of the earth neglected for simplicity, a plane wave-surface HPO would change its position to BAC in the time ¢, where HB and OC axe proportional to the velocities of light at H and O. But in that time rays from a point P would reach points D and E, such that PD-—PA=3(PB—PA) and PA—PE=i(PA—PC), be- cause the average velocity along PD would be the mean of the velocities at P and H, and, similarly, the average velocity along PC would be the mean of the velocities at P and O. It is easy to see that this gives a radius of refractional curvature exactly twice as great as that found by Mr. Mallock, and consequently leads to a value for the coefficient of terrestrial refrac- tion which is in agreement with observation and with the tables ordinarily employed by navigators for the dip and distance of the sea horizon. ~ ; It may be worth while to mention here a very likely source of confusion in comparing the values of the coefficient of terrestrial refraction k found by different observers under different conditions, and especially by observers in different countries. There are two definitions of k in use by surveyors, one of NO. 2723, VOL. 109] ‘air-temperature in which makes its numerical value double that given An assistant of mine who read Dr. Hunter’s letter was greatly surprised at his statement that k=0-133 ‘tis not a value ordinarily met with in _ practice,’’ because in Egypt we ordinarily use k=0-13, and our trigonometric levels derived from observations _ made in the afternoon hours when refraction is at its _ minimum and steadiest value are found to agree sur- by the other. prisingly well over great distances with those found by spirit-levelling. experience is that we follow the Continental practice in defining k as the ratio of the curvature of the refracted ray to the curvature of the earth, while Dr. Hunter and most English writers define it as half this quantity. It does not seem to be very generally known that a rational formula for calculating the coefficient of terrestrial refraction at any point where the baro- metric pressure, air-temperature, and temperature- gradient are known was advanced by Jordan so long ago as 1876. This formula, which is given, together with an account of the theory on which it rests, in Jordan’s ‘‘ Handbuch der Vermessungskunde,’’ Band 2, is B I =O” oF SFR ae EDIE SSIES Pe 760 (1-+¢t)? (1 — 29°36), where k is the coefficient of terrestrial refraction, defined as being the ratio of the curvature of the ray to that of the earth, B the barometric pressure y DB in mm., a the coefficient St of expansion of air at Pp = constant pressure, ¢t om ; e- grees C., and n the tem- perature - gradient in degrees C. per metre of height. Jordan’s theory is prob- ably not quite complete, in that it omits any: con- sideration of variations in the humidity of the air; but it does take ac- count of variations of | pressure, temperature, and temperature- gradient, and these are probably the principal factors affecting the yalue: Gk, The Fic. 1. ‘ resulting formula is |. very simple and easy of application, and, so far as I have been able to test it in the Egyptian deserts, I have found it to give results which are in good agree- ment with those of observation. It appears also to accord very satisfactorily with Indian experience; for when applied in the two examples given by Dr. Hunter in his letter, one at sea-level and the other — at an altitude of 19,000 ft., it yields (allowing for the difference in the definition of k) résults identical with those which were found by Dr. Hunter to agree well with numerous observations. Joun Batt. Survey of Egypt, Cairo, December 14. ; , In Nature of June 9, p. 456, a letter appeared from Mr. A. Mallock giving a proof that the path of a nearly horizontal ray through the earth’s atmosphere is a circle of about 14,900 miles’ radius, and later (August 11, p. 745) Dr. é Indian Survey, wrote controverting Mr. ck” statement, and asserting in effect that the radius of The explanation of the apparent a discrepancy between Dr. Hunter’s statement and our — de Graaff Hunter, of the Mallock’s. RY 5, 1922] NATURE lg as deduced from measured values of the . of refraction is distinctly higher, being and a half times the earth’s radius, or about stters contain an inadequate presentation of of atmospheric refraction in that they assume path of the ray is circular. A very much estigation is necessary in order to account ince of the visible horizon or its depression 2 horizontal. with the assumption that the atmosphere equilibrium, leading to the differential =—gpdh, and with the pressure-density- law p=CpT, a further assumption must pre a complete solution can be arrived essure, density, and temperature in sht. A simple assumption to make is niform temperature-gradient expressed as For the isothermal conditions a=o; atic, a corresponds to a drop of 1° C. per ase in height. The integration of the equ eer Sabie does not exceed ft., to p=p,.—gp,h and p/p,=1— —a)h. Dale and Gladstone’s law p is Aa obtain without difficulty | N=Ny.—0:00029(gp,/P,—a)h. is not difficult to show that with a ray early horizontal the radius of curvature o is y the approximate equation Rae 1/7=0-00029(gp,/p,— a). ion will give any value we like for o pro- assume a suitable temperature-gradient. If =o (the isothermal state) we get substan- _Mallock’s figure. If we take the adiabatic radius is about 20,000 miles. If we take temperature of 1° C. per 200 ft., Dr. de ter’s value results. A gradient of 1° C. sives a flat ray and an atmosphere of y. To obtain greater curvatures than s figure the temperature-gradient must to take this formula and expect it to be even very narrow levels when close to of the sea. The temperature-gradients in ft. (the average height of the bridge of > the sea) are very frequently greater c the gradients mentioned above, and show ns in that space. In such case the path bi a visible object more than a mile away like circular, but may have variations in of or 400 per cent. I am aware value of the coefficient of refraction men- Dr. de Graaff Hunter is used in books of bles in computing the dip and distance of on, but I am aware also that actual nts of the dip at sea show that tabulated frequently in error, sometimes even of the _ Measurements made by Blish off the fornia showed that a zero dip is quite 1 the Red Sea the sea horizon is often ve the true horizontal. ssi; the path of the ray of light from the © the observer’s eye when the dip is zero. touches the earth’s surface at the horizon es a concentric sphere of perhaps 30 ft. lius at a point only six or eight miles > radius of curvature of the ray must be _ the earth’s radius at, the horizon and the observer—a maximum at the first point imum at the second. Neither Mr. Mallock’s Dr. de Graaff Hunter’s can deal even ately with a ray-path of this nature, and I 2723, VOL. 109] think it may be asserted without question that to take adequate account of the path of rays of light through the lower levels of the atmosphere demands consideration, not only of the curvature of the ray- path, but also of the first and second differentials of the curvature. Tuos. Y. Baker. Admiralty Research Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, December 22. The Message of Science. Two great questions are raised in the abridgment given in Nature of December 22 of the notable ad- dress delivered by Sir Richard Gregory during the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association. They are :_(1) How can an interest in, and respect for, science in all its branches, with their essential unity, be developed locally? (2) How can the work of the British Association be so broadened and improved as to ensure that it will yield—to use the words of Sir Richard Gregory—‘‘a statement of ideals and of ser- vice, of the strength of knowledge and of responsibility for its use ’’? Local scientific societies consist of three types :— (1) Sectional bodies interested in general engineering problems or in the technical details of certain sciences applied to the chief industries of the district. .(2) Natural history societies or field clubs. (3) Literary and philosophical societies which provide in a few large towns a good library and series of winter lectures, With regard to the first type little need be said. They fulfil their specialised functions fairly well, but their work would be greatly improved, and made gradually more attractive, if it were possible to secure an outlook on the broad field of science. Sir Richard Gregory said in the course of his address in Edin- burgh: ‘Whatever Labour may declare officially, it is scarcely too much to say that artisans in general show less active interest in scientific knowledge now than they did fifty years ago.’’ This statement is true, not of artisans only, but of all classes. The demand has been made on science: ‘‘Make us rich and comfortable.’? Science, in a large measure, has responded. But with wealth and comfort has come a lessening of respect for knowledge, The highest things that science can give—an ardour for truth, the power to rise above sordid interests, the desire to become co-workers in an infinite process by which soul is drawn from matter—have been set aside, and we have been landed in a back-wash. I do not think any revolutionary changes are neces- sary locally in order to bring back the enthusiasm which linked science a generation ago to human liberty and human justice. Sir Richard Gregory speaks of a federation of local societies “to proclaim the message of knowledge from .the housetops,”’ It may be necessary, first of all, for these societies to find out what the real message of knowledge is, but they need not wait for perfect vision; much can be done while they are only groping. What is wanted, above all things, is such an infusion of earnestness as will arrest the displacing power of the mere lantern lecture. The lantern has been a good servant, but it is threatening to become a bad master. At present the great trouble of the secretary of a literary and philosophical society is to make his organisation pay its way. The chief thing for which the organisation stands is often sacrificed in the attempt to secure popular support. This attitude must be abandoned even if abandonment leads into the wilderness. .The message of science will come back from there .with renewed constraining power, There are thousands waiting for the message. What Io NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 stands in their way is the lack of faith and of courage on the part of the present directing agencies. | is evidently a force enveloping their masses, and not~ Probably the most practical suggestion of immediate value that has been made is that the various scientific societies in any town should arrange meetings for study and discussion—the discussion» which seeks agreements and does not emphasise differences—and that the underlying, but not obtrusive, object of the meetings should be the progressive connecting of science with individual and corporate conduct. The second question has many factors in common with the first. The British Association has suffered from the mental reaction which set in a quarter of a century ago. It is a much smaller factor in the thought and life of the age than it was a generation ago. I think the first helpful change desirable is the recognition of a new principle in the selection of a president and in the making of his annual address. Above all things, the president should stand for the unifying of the sciences, and his address should make some definite contribution to that unity, even when it is built largely on the recent achievements of one section of knowledge. It is only through a conception, becoming ever clearer, of this unity that science can become the ‘chief formative factor of modern life.’? The yearly appeal of a president may do much, but more would be achieved if a day were set apart for the study or discussion of the thoughts and facts he has com- municated—a study or discussion, I say again, which should emphasise agreements and not differences. Progress in this direction might receive a healthy impetus from the universities. They, too, have lost a considerable amount of influence. They are not, at home or abroad, leading humanity. The note of real universality is departing from them. Here again the first practical improvement will come from the manifestation of greater care in the selection of the principals of the attached colleges. They ought to be’ something more than skilled administrators. too, have a great unifying function. This unifying work might be facilitated if there were periodical meetings of the various professors and lecturers for the study of unifying problems. That does not, I admit, promise to help them immediately to overcome the financial difficulties which are now laming them to a terrible extent and driving them to seek greater support from an overburdened State. But if the universities, encouraged by a steadily in- creasing enthusiasm for science locally and centrally, were themselves to become again great inspirers of thought, they would soon cease to be troubled by the lack of pence. W. Rosertson. Middlesbrough, December 29. They, Cohesion. Tue theory of cohesion put forward by Dr. Herbert Chatley in Nature of August 18 is logically based on those of other investigators, and, consequently, does not involve any new element. In all these theories cohesion is made to depend on centrally directed forces which follow either the inverse square law of gravitation or electrical attraction, or that of some other inverse power higher than the second. Dr. Chatley says: ‘‘It is difficult to conceive of one force having all these properties, but perfectly simple to imagine an attraction and repulsion combined that will do so, provided that the attraction decreases more slowly with separation than the repulsion.” He takes the ground that the force of cohesion as stated by him is related to those following the inverse square law, and that the question of the relation between them is of great importance. nit Now it is a matter of common observation that two NO. 2723, VOL. 109] free liquid spheres on coming into contact with each- other always coalesce. The force which causes this — a force attracting them. ‘This enveloping property of ~ . surface tension was noticed by Maxwell and others;* — but the theory which makes it depend on molecular attraction renders it impossible to conceive of such a> force as enveloping molecular masses. th) ae The present writer has adduced (Phil. Mag., June, — 1921) very strong, if not conclusive, evidence that the same force which causes liquid spheres to coalesce — also causes the free molecules of a gas to coalesce or — cohere. It cannot, therefore, be explained by mole- cular attraction. The alternative is that it is an elemental force acting, not in lines, but over areas. As such it is a universal property of the surface of both liquid and solid mass extending to molecular dimensions. k Fortunately, however, there is very definite and easily verifiable evidence that cohesion, and adhesion also, is due to a surface force, whatever its nature may be, as can be seen from the following simple experiments which will be published later in fuller detail. : Spheres of mercury, ranging from oo5 mm. to I°5 mm. in diameter, were hung from a drop of water — wetting a glass surface above. Each one fitted into — an inverted hemispherical cavity in the water, with a well-defined angle in the contact circle where the water surface joined the mercury surface. With a specially adapted microscope the diameter of the — sphere, the width of the contact circle, and the angle between its water arm and the vertical were measured. From these measurements, W, the weight of the mercury sphere, and T, the vertical component of the pull of the water surface on the mercury, were calculated for a large number of spheres. e re- sults showed that for small spheres T greatly ex- — ceeded W, but tended to become equal to W when the spheres were at the point of falling off. The, ratio T/W decreased gradually from about 6 to 1, thus showing that the surface force of the water pulling on the mercury in the periphery of the contact area was more than sufficient, except in the limit, to support the weight. 1 Similarly, mercury spheres, with diameters from 0-05 mm. to 2-25 mm., were suspended from a hori- zontal glass surface. They were attached to the glass either directly or by suspending them from water as before and allowing the water to evaporate. The mercury surface was joined to the glass surface in the periphery of a wide circular contact area. and formed a definite angle with the glass surface. Measurements were made as before, and W and T (for mercury) were calculated. The results showed that, as the spheres increased throughout the range, the ratio of T/W de- creased from the surprisingly large number of more than 6000 to about 2. Had T, however, been calculated from o=270 instead of o=547, the decrease would have been from about 3000 to 1 as before, and hence 270 may be regarded as an approximate value of the surface tension of glass. The increasing values of T/W for the smaller particles would account for the persistence with which molecules of a gas condense on- a glass surface. =a et Further, small particles of any insoluble solid be- come attached to any surface above by the evapora- — tion of a connecting water drop; or, if the particles — be clean and small, they become attached to any clean surface by simple contact with it. This is amply con- firmed by extended observations. Shei! pens fo Now there is no reason to think that the force of cohesion is not of the same nature in the case of two _ solids as it is in the cases of a liquid and a solid and © UARY 5, 1922] NATURE liquids. Moreover, as it has been shown that molecules of a gas cohere (coalesce) from cause, it is justifiable to conclude that in all down to molecular dimensions cohesion is surface force pulling in the periphery of the area perpendicularly to that area. It may ed also that these results furnish no of the so-called molecular attraction. lation this force binding two molecules of Is_205x10-* dynes; of mercury, dynes. These agree with Dr. Chatley’s that (molecular) cohesion is of the order es. Again, in the case of two molecules 1 this manner the enveloping force can have not greater than two molecular diameters, irger molecular masses the range may be as three or four molecular diameters. it thus condition for the range of action. In com- with their gravitational attraction this force 0 water molecules together is of the order as great. It is of the same order as the attraction of two oppositely ionised mole- before they come into contact. It causes on the interior molecular mass of the same e intrinsic pressure of the liquid. It does len, that one force can be conceived as having roperties of cohesion. nception of this force as a cause of molecular _ appears to be, in fact, fundamental. It oo a of surface tension; it explains, as , both cohesion and adhesion, and it factorily (Phil. Mag., ibid.) for the latent nsation. But besides all this there is le coincidence that the force itself is performs its function, in the precise area mass that the phenomena of reflection of light take place and electrons have nt. These considerations give point to ’s concluding words: “It would appear ete solution of the macroscopic properties also solve the question of the inner ie molecules and atoms.”’ ges Witson Tayror. of Toronto, tory, University la, November 15. Resonance Hypothesis of Audition. evidence in favour of the resonance audition has been found recently. long-distance telephony has shown ed notes travel more rapidly than do h. pitch, owing to the impedance of the cuits. Mixed tones must, therefore, arrive relationships between the high and low different from those with which they this, even such complex sounds as those man speech are found to suffer but t change in quality and distinctness ission. And this statement appears to ually to wireless telephony, where similar phase must occur. - cts suggest that the ear responds to tones pendently of their relative phases, and there- true harmonic analysis must take place in of Corti. A survey of the different types nic analysers used in physics, for tide pro- d the like, shows that such harmonic invariably performed by a series of some ‘resonator. Presumably, therefore, since the carry out harmonic analysis, it also must resonators. ‘ Peers te the premises more thoroughly the following ent was carried out :— _ 0. 2723, VOL. 109| Two electrically driven tuning-forks, emitting pure tones, were connected to separate battery and switch circuits, and were mounted on separate tables, so that while they vibrated independently their tones entered the ear of the observer simultaneously. They were tuned so that their tones had rates of vibration in the ratio of 1 and 3, this ratio being chosen because of all pairs of tones these give the largest changes in the form of the sound wave-curve as the relative phases of the tones are changed. Thus with one phase relationship the sound wave-curve has a single sharp, well-marked peak, whereas with another phase relationship two peaks are found, having a trough between them. If, then, the ear is affected at all by the form of the sound wave-curve, these two tones, combined in different relative phases, should show it. The experiment was performed by causing the higher-toned fork to sound continuously, the lower- toned one being turned on and off at irregular inter- vals, so that the relative phases should be chance ones. No difference whatever in the quality of the sound could, however, be detected by the observer. The response of the ear appeared to be quite inde- pendent of the relative phases of the tones, and, there- fore, we must conclude that the ear effects a true harmonic analysis by means of resonators. If the above experiment is repeated with two sources of tones that are not free from overtones it is found that the ear does readily detect differences in the quality of the sound as the relative phases of the tones are altered. For example, if Helm- holtz’s syren is used with, say, 18 holes operating in the lower wind chest, and 6 holes in the upper, then there are found to be 18 regularly spaced positions where the lower tone predominates, and 18 inter- mediate positions in which the upper tone pre- dominates. These effects are produced by the summation and interference between the upper tone and the second harmonic overtone of the lower tone. When holes of both wind chests are exposed simultaneously, summa- tion occurs, and the upper tone predominates, whereas when the holes of one chest alternate with those of the other, interference occurs which weakens the upper tone, so that the lower tone predominates. Many years ago there was considerable controversy as to whether the ear could, or could not, detect difference of phase. The above experiments suggest that pure tone free from harmonics may have been used by one school, and impure tones containing har- monics by the other, because in this way their differ- ence in opinion could be readily explained. C. R. G. Cosens. H. Hartripce. King’s College, Cambridge. The Action of Sunlight. In Nature of December 15 Sir Oliver Lodge is good enough to refer me to some experiments on the anti- septic action of sunlight which he carried out long ago in association with the late Prof. Marshall Ward. I have not yet been able to see the memoir to which Sir Oliver Lodge refers, but I believe that I am already well acquainted with it, and have been able to quote its essential findings on many occasions in connection with the demand for the abolition of the coal-smoke curse—thanks to an admirable account of Marshall Ward’s methods and results, referred to the year 1892, in Sir James Crichton-Browne’s “ Light and Sanitation,’’ an address delivered in Manchester in 1902 (Sherratt and Hughes, 27 St. Ann Street, Manchester). Particularly I value the last para- graph, in which Sir Oliver. Lodge praises the anti- LZ NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 septic and innocent quality of the sunlight just as we . get it after filtration by the ‘‘ unpolluted atmosphere,.”’ But after seeing the clinical action of sunlight .at Leysin under Dr. Rollier and at the Treloar Hospital under Sir Henry Gauvain, and reading the papers of Sonne (Acta Medica Scandinavica, vol. 54, fasc. 4, “The Mode of Action of the Universal Light Bath,” from the Laboratory of the Finsen Medical Light Institute, Copenhagen) mentioned in my previous letter, am absolutely certain, as anyone else would be, that there is more in the curative action of sunlight than its bactericidal effect. In a_ recent lecture before the Physiological Society of University College, entitled ‘‘The Physiology and Therapeutics of Sunlight: Facts and Questions,” I cited instances and showed photographs of many cases where the value of sunlight could not have depended upon its antiseptic power. Sonne’s view is that sunlight warms the blood without appreciably raising the general body-temperature, that this produces the valuable, without the injurious, effects of fever, and that this action is obtainable by the proper use of sunlight, and by that alone. The practical importance of this fascinating physio- logical problem is apparent to me after recent visits to certain sanatoria, otherwise admirable, where I have been told that I should see the sunlight em- ployed, and have found, for instance, that open air and diffused daylight, the latter reaching the face and possibly the hands, were regarded as the equivalent of Rollier’s treatment; or that the children were scrupulously put under awnings or sent toschool in an adjacent wood whenever the sun shone. The pitiful statistics. of these places, compared with those of Rollier and Gauvain, point the moral. Since first drafting this letter I have seen, thanks to Prof. Leonard Hill, new records of work done by Prof. A. F. Hess in New York, showing the cure of experimental rickets in animals fed and continuing to be fed on a diet which invariably produces rickets— when they were placed in sunlight for a few hours daily. No mere antiseptic action is here in question. With rare exceptions, we do not yet know what heliotherapy consists of in this country; no one yet knows its action, nor even the pure physiology of sunlight. Meanwhile, we are carefully depriving many patients of their one chance of life, and quacks and others are using all manner of artificial lights in therapeutics as if they were equivalent to, or better than, the sunlight, which, according to Sonne’s experiments—nicely consorting from another point of view with those of Sir Oliver Lodge—is incomparable. The Smoke Abatement Committee has now pub- lished its admirable Final Report, and reiterates now my plea for an inquiry such as Carrel, I am told, is about to undertake at the Rockefeller Institute in New York, but which no one, not even Prof. Leonard Hill, our great student of the air and temperature relations of the body, is yet making here inte the action. of sun- light. I believe that the restoration of sunlight to our urban populations, mostly darkened in slums and smoke, is the next great task of hygiene in this country... C. W. Saeesy.. Royal Institution, January 2. Units in Aeronautics. A LARGE number of equations in aerodynamics appear in the form R=kpSV’*, where R, p, S, V are the reaction, density of the atmosphere, surface, and relative wind velocity. Since both R and pSV? have the dimensions of force, k is clearly a numerical coefficient unchanged NO. 2723, VOL. 109] fertilisation in Agriolimax agrestis. by transformation from one self-consistent system of dynamical units to another, e.g. from foot, pound, — second, poundal to centimetre, gram, second, dyne.” In transforming to an inconsistent system, k will in general be altered, but the inconsistencies may cancel each other in particular cases so far as to leave — k unaltered. For example, if a gravitational unit of” force is introduced g times the consistent unit, then — we may write R=kpSV*/g pounds weight in the a q British system, or grams weight in the c¢.g.s. system. And while the numerical values of both R- and g vary inversely as each other, the value of k is not affected if the system is otherwise consistent. Prof. Bairstow (‘Applied Aerodynamics,” p. 119) maintains that the gravitational unit of force is the natural one, and to get rid of the local value of g that mars the consistency of his dynamical equations he introduces a new unit of mass, the “slug” of (local) g pounds mass, the use of which he restricts to the measurement of atmospheric density. Then putting p'=p/g he can write R=kp’SV* in the same form externally as before, and read off the value of R in pounds weight instead of in poundals, all without showing g explicitly. es In this way, in his opinion, “it appears that the divergence of language (sic) between science and engineering would disappear.”’ a 4 Nag ee But if_we apply this method of measuring the 4 ¥ - - *4 a , density of the atmosphere to the estimation of the lift of an aerostat we get, putting m=density of — hydrogen/density of air, (1—m) p’x volume=R weight (=gR pounds weight=g*R poundals!). ee Altogether it seems more satisfactory to teac engineers the physical meaning of Newton’s laws of motion than to invent units which evade them, just as_ it has proved better to teach them the elementary nota- tion of the infinitesimal calculus than to devise ‘calculus-dodging ’’ demonstrations. A. R. Low. London, December 8. as Self-fertilisation in Mollusca. i) slugs 24 1 As the question of self-fertilisation in the more highly organised invertebrates is of considerable im- portance from the genetic point of view, I would like — to direct the attention of readers of Nature to a pub- lication (Acta Soc. pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, vol. 40, No. 2, 1915), a copy of which I have just received from the author, Dr. A. Luther. It constitutes an. important addition to the evidence for the occurrence of self-fertilisation in mollusca, as Dr. Luther states. that he succeeded in rearing two generations by self- I have recently pointed out (Proc. Malac. Soc., vol. 14, 1921) the value of Kiinkel’s work on Arion in this respect; but at the time Dr. Luther’s results were not known to me, as the publication was not available and had not. figured in the ‘Zoological Record.’’ - Should these important observations be finally confirmed and. the technique improved so as to produce more than two generations, a very valuable contribution to genetic study will be achieved. Dr. Luther’s work, however, emphasises the necessity for conducting a study of environmental conditiéns in order to secure improved viability. eee I may point out, perhaps, that though quite a number of cases of self-fertilisation have been recorded - in Pulmonata by Lang, Holzfuss, and others, the subject is by no means fully explored either with regard to the: distribution of the phenomenon among Pulmonata or the circumstances in which it occurs, ; G. C. Rogson. British Museum (Natural History), ‘4 Bee i Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7, December 23. Big ANUARY 5, 1922 | NATURE 13 The Law of the Heart.! By Pror. E. H. Sraruine, C.M.G., F.R.S. discovery by Harvey of the circulation of | which adapts the activity of the muscles of the bod e blood, and of the part played by the heart | to the requirements of shee environment, and that thie ing on this circulation, is one of the few heart being a muscle would be stimulated to con- discoveries which have ‘become common | tract more strongly at the same time as the nervous _ We have to think of the body as a | system calls into activity the voluntary muscles of of mechanisms or machines, each one of | the body. There is no doubt that ‘the heart is doing some form of work for one common | under the control of the central nervous system, so the preservation of the body. For this that its action can be altered, increased, or dimin- oxidation of the food taken in at intervals | ished by the brain in accordance with the needs of - day provides the energy ; thus each part | the economy, but in the heart we find also a won- ‘must be supplied not only with food | derful power of adaptation to the varying require- mm the alimentary canal, but also with | ments of the organism which is quite independent gen taken in with the air we breathe into | of the central nervous system. _ Like any other machine, each body This can be shown quite easily either in the cold-- produces, as a result of this consumption | blooded or warm-blooded animal. The heart of the , waste gases and other waste products | frog and tortoise can be cut out and will continue to be carried to the lungs or to the beating for hours or even days. It has long been there cleared out of the body. It is | known that the heart of the mammal would beat son that the existence of the higher for some minutes after being cut out of the body, ands a common fluid, the blood, which _ but if we take pains to ensure that the muscles con- od, oxygen Or carbonic acid, and | stituting the walls of the heart continue to receive in continual circulation between all their supply of oxygenated blood, the mammalian the body, so that the alimentary canal, | heart can be made to beat for eight to twelve hours es for the maintenance of all after the death of the animal from which it is taken. ngs can supply oxygen to these | In order to investigate this properly we want to re the carbonic acid which is produced | make-such a preparation that we can control at will ptheir activity. all the conditions which may affect the action of the ! mechanical circulation would be of heart—viz. the amount of blood flowing into the 2 to the body, since the activities of all heart from the big veins, the resistance which the within wide limits. Thus, during heart has to overcome when it drives the blood out . the activity of the muscles may ' jnto the arteries, and the temperature at which the ase old or more, and this increase heart contracts. We’ must be able to measure at saa ding augmentation in their call | any time the output of the heart, the arterial pres- nd in the quantity of waste products, | sure it maintains, its changes in volume during con- arb acid, that they produce. Since | traction, the pressure in all its cavities during con- sd by the blood, it follows that | traction, the amount of blood flowing through the functioning of the muscles these blood yessels of its walls, and its chemical ex- ood supply which is ten ‘times changes, as measured by the amount of oxygen vity than during rest if their which it takes up and the amount of carbonic acid brought to an end by a species — which it produces. It is these chemical changes fore, in any violent exercise IN- | which give the energy for the work of the heart. number of the muscles of the ; on must be increased in force The Heart-Lung Preparation. and the heart, which is the pump All these procedures and controls can be carried circulation, must under these con- | out in the heart-lung preparation. In this prepara- en to ten times as much work as | tion the pulmonary circulation from right ventricle is. to left auricle is left intact, and by means of arti- . . ae : ficial respiration the lungs are blown up rhythmic- Seem eenerssms of Adapratson. _. | ally so that the blood in its course may take up : “mechanism of these adaptations? | oxygen and get rid of carbonic acid.. The whole the heart is able to carry on a circula- | systemic circulation is replaced by rubber tubes.. A vary from a passage of 3 litres of | giass tube is tied into the largest branch of the y up. to 30 litres of blood per | aorta, all the other branches being tied, so that the figures representing the extreme limits | blood driven out by the left ventricle can escape ich the output of the heart-pump may | only by the glass tube. From the glass tube a ing to the condition of the body)? It | rubber tube passes toa thin rubber tube container thought that we are dealing here simply | within a wide glass tube. This thin rubber, tube influence of the central nervous system, | can be compressed to any desired extent by pumping delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, May 20, 1921. air at. a known. pressure- into. the glass tube r 2723, VOL. 109] folie Nee ae ag 14 NATURE [| JANUARY 53 1922 surrounding it. We can thus vary at pleasure the ‘resistance which has to be overcome by the left ventricle, and, by maintaining a normal pressure in the beginning of the aorta, ensure a proper supply of oxygenated blood through the coronary arteries to.the muscular tissue of the ventricles. It is this fact which makes it possible for the warm- ‘blooded heart to continue to beat for eight to ‘twelve hours after removal from the body. On the other side of the artificial resistance the blood ‘is led through a spiral immersed in warm water to keep the blood at body temperature, and then passes into a reservoir from which a wide rubber tube leads to a glass tube placed in the big vein opening into the right auricle. By means of a screw clip on this tube the inflow of blood may be regulated to any ‘desired extent, and can be kept constant while other conditions are varied. Thus in this preparation the three chief factors, temperature, the inflow of blood, and the resistance to the outflow of blood, can be varied separately and at the will of the operator. record the pressure of the fluid, and by means of a side tube placed just. beyond the artificial resist- ance we can allow the blood to flow off into a graduated cylinder, and thus measure the time taken by the left ventricle to expel 50 or 100 c.c. of blood, thus measuring the average output of the organ. An Experiment Described. A typical experiment may be divided into six stages. Records of one experiment show that in the first stage the heart was beating at a normal rate ' (72 per minute), the blood pressure varied from 1oo mm. Hg, and the output of the heart was 240 c.c. of blood per minute. In the second stage the resistance to the flow of blood through the tubes was increased to such an extent that the pres- sure rose to 160-180 mm. Hg. The heart con- tinued to beat, and for a time put out just as much blood as it did at the lower pressure. In the third stage the artificial resistance was suddenly reduced to zero, the arterial pressure fell to about 20 mm. Hg, but the heart beat regularly and the outflow of blood was unaltered because the inflow of blood had not been altered. In the fourth stage the inflow of blood was raised suddenly to 600 c.c. per minute. The heart became bigger, but the regularity of its contractions remained unaltered, and it drove for- ward all the blood that it received. The same thing happened in the fifth: stage, in which the artificial resistance was raised simultane- ously with the venous inflow. The reason for these phenomena is that within certain limits the heart isolated from the body can respond to all the de- mands made upon it; it can overcome a higher resistance, and it can pump out more fluid. In the sixth stage the inflow of blood was further increased to 1200 c.c. per minute, and the artificial resistance was increased until the blood pressure rose to 200 mm. Hg. This was too much for the heart, which began to beat irregularly and dilate widely. It would have failed altogether if the pressure sur- NO. 2723, VOL. 109] Any of the heart cavities or any part of | the circuit can be connected to manometers so as to. rounding the thin rubber tube had not then been released to allow the artificial pressure to drop ‘to a level at which the left ventricle could empty itself. If during this experiment the amount of oxygen taken up by the blood had been measured, and also — the amount of carbonic acid given off by this fluid — in passing through the lungs, an increase in both — these amounts would have been found during the stage at which greater demands were being made on the heart. That is to say, the greater the work done by the heart, the greater the chemical: changes to supply energy. A motor-car may be running steadily with an even beat of its engines along a level road ; when it comes to a hill it will slow up and finally stop unless the chauffeur: increases the chemical changes and the energy of each explosion within the cylinder by opening the throttle and letting in more mixture of petrol and air. In the case of the heart there is no chauffeur, but there is some automatic regulation by which the heart in- creases its chemical changes, and therefore the energy of each beat, in exact proportion to the work which is demanded of it. automatic regulation which concerns us now. The Nature of tke Automatic Regulation of the Heart. By a careful observation of the changes in the heart in the experiment described aboye we may arrive at some clue to the nature of the pressure, but more accurate methods are necessary if we are to be certain of the correctness of our guess. We must, under these varying conditions, measure : (1) the pressure in the heart cavities produced at each contraction ; (2) the volume of the heart cavi- ties—z.e. the length of the muscle fibres of their walls. The first we measured in the experiment described by connecting the interior of each cavity in turn with a quickly acting manometer, the excur- sions of which are registered by an optical method so as to avoid the instrumental vibrations of a lever. The curve of pressure obtained under two condi- tions—7.e. low and high artificial resistance—could then be plotted. It must be remembered that the heart was sending on in each case all the blood that it received, though the work necessary under the high pressure was two or three times as great as that necessary to send on the blood at the low pressure. To measure the volume of the heart the ventricles are enclosed in an instrument known as a cardiometer. This communicates with a piston recorder so that the change of the volume of the ventricles at each beat can be registered on a moving surface. The question we have to decide is: How does the heart know when it is relaxed that at the next con- — traction it will have to exert more force than it did — when the arterial resistance to be | over- previously, w come was lower? If we measure the pressure in. the ventricles in the manner just described we find that during the period of relaxation of the ven- tricles the pressure in its cavities is approximately zero, whether the artificial pressure which it has to overcome at its next beat is 50 OF 150 mm. ae ae It is the nature of this » January 5, 1922] 4s. | NATURE 15 vart which determines the strength of its contrac- Mm at its next beat. When, however, we come to asure the volume of the heart, we find that in isolated heart this is directly proportioned to work which the heart has to accomplish. Thus 2 find that the larger the heart—i.e. the more it dilated during diastole—the greater is the pres- ! hy will get up at the succeeding contraction ei: y put this in another form, as is shown inuing our experiment over several hours, find that the worse the condition of the ‘muscle, the more it must dilate in order to n adequate pressure. Other things remain- we thus see that the volume of the heart diastole is a measure of its physiological and we are not surprised that a failing eans a dilated heart. Of course there is a this power of adaptation. As the heart it is working at an ever-increasing me- disadvantage, and a point will finally ich this disadvantage more than counter- peo logical effect of dilatation. The ilates widely and fails to empty its ‘Dilatation of the heart means elongation muscular fibres composing its walls, so that ay put the law of the heart another way and it the longer its muscle fibres the greater is developed at each contraction. But in this wonderful power of adaptation pos- the heart becomes part of the general f all muscular tissues, since the same to the fibres composing our voluntary we obtain any more precise and conception of what-is-involved in this between length of fibre and strength of Microscopic examination of the fibres, the heart or of voluntary muscle, shows ; are composed of innumerable fibrils, so ally the muscle is made up of structures an enormous extension of longitudinal The more the muscle is stretched, the be the extent of these surfaces. A large ot, therefore, the tension on the walls of the | | amount of evidence, based on the electrical and , Chemical changes occurring in muscle as a result of excitation, points to the contraction as being essentially a surface phenomenon—a molecular change over the whole of the longitudinal surface which may result in a polarisation or depolarisation of the surface and an increase of surface tension, so that the muscle is a surface tension machine in which there is on excitation a direct conversion of chemical into surface energy. The greater the surface the greater will be the number of molecules involved, so that increased length of musele must increase at the same time the total chemical changes and the total tension produced by the summation of the surface tension of each fibril. It is only by such a change of molecular dimen- sions that we can explain the rapidity of events in a muscle (the insect wing muscle can contract and relax 300 times per second), or the high efficiency of the machine, an efficiency which A. V. Hill has shown may amount to roo per cent. for each isolated contraction, and over a length of time to 50 per cent. As directly measured in the heart- lung preparation, we find a mechanical efficiency of about 25-30 per cent. Conclusion. It is impossible here to enter into the applications of this law of the heart, but so far it has not failed in accounting for the behaviour of this organ under all manner of conditions, either in health or disease. It is important to remember, however, that we are dealing here with the isolated heart. In the natural body the mechanisms which we have studied are fenced round, protected and aided by the complex activity of the central nervous system, which is always acting on the heart, balancing its activity against that of the blood vessels, and co-ordinating it with the events which are occurring in every other part of the body. All these factors must be taken into account when we are endeayouring to form a conception of the total behaviour of this organ under the varying activities of the intact animal. .N MAYEN ISLAND lies in 71° N. latitude, 8-99 W. longitude, and is approximately 300 es north of Iceland, 200 east of Greenland, and and north-west respectively of Tromsé and 7 “* Hudson’s Tutches ”’ ; the name, never- which it is now known commemorates a 2 can scarcely be regarded as trustworthy. ; voyage, on the other hand, is well supported mea. 2723, VOL. 109] on te —the leading hunting ports in Norway. It — ibly discovered in 1607 by Henry Hudson an, Jan Jacobsz May, who visited the | 1614. The evidence for the earlier visit by _ A Summer Visit to Jan Mayen Island. By J. M. Worpte. by documentary evidence. Immediately following its discovery, Jan Mayen became frequented almost every year by rival Dutch and British whalers. As a whaling and sealing centre, however, the island was markedly inferior to Spitsbergen. Its import- ance was, nevertheless, far from small, and the British Government is said to have made a grant of it to the Corporation of Hull in 1618. The number of whalers frequenting the island, however, dropped off. very considerably about 1635, the imme- diate cause being probably a series of bad _ ice years. * / tua: fa 16 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 Scoresby was the first to give a scientific account of the island. His narrative was based on a visit in 1817, when he was ashore for a short while and climbed one of the smaller extinct craters. Berna and. Vogt in 1861, Mohn in 1877, and Rabot in 1892 also. published descriptions. The :only expedi- tion last century which remained any length of time on the island, however, was that. of the Austrian International Circumpolar. Station in 1882-83. During a fourteen months’ stay under Wohlgemuth’s leadership the party made full magnetic and meteor- ological-records. ‘Their map, which we found very useful and accurate, was the work of von Bobrik. Curiously enough, the natural history was very”) slightly studied. station for meteorological purposes either last year or this. A satisfactory arrangement was made, and our expedition secured passages in Engineer Ekerold’s two ships Polarfront (24 tons) and. /sfug- — len (54 tons). On the Norwegian side the affair was now pushed with greater vigour than ever, and after innumerable difficulties Ekerold finally was able to — carry his: plans-into execution. eet At Bergen we were met by Prof. Mercanton, of — Lausanne, who had long wished to climb the moun- tain, and it was arranged that on reaching the island he should transfer from the Norwegian party to ours. We were now strongly represented in the various branches of ‘science. Musters himself undertook botanical collections, Bristowe and Leth- * f i * GREENLAND SEA > “> oo c s . JAN MAYEN IT . From an Austrian Government Survey fe, 1882-35: .* ai aed Ga Youngs Foreland . Lat.21°10'0-N. Long. 7956.08 ‘approx’ ° 5 10 Sea Miles 98: Fic. 1.—Reproduced, by permission of the Hy drographer, from an inset on British Admiralty Chart No. 2751. Last summer’s expedition was originated by J. L. Chaworth-Musters at the beginning. of last year ; the objects were partly to climb Beerenberg, a moun- tain more than 8000 ft. high, and often stated to be a still active volcano, partly to complete the Austrian survey of the island by investigating more minutely its geology and natural history. Musters originally . intended to charter a hunting sloop from ‘Aalesund. This, however, proved unnecessary ‘through the establishment of friendly relations with a Norwegian engineer, who, under the auspices of the Norwegian ; __Government, was hoping | to establish a’ wireless NO. 2723, VOL. 091 =) ea ‘ Onee commenced hi bridge the natural history, and Mercanton’s know- ledge of glaciology and mountaineering made him a valuable recruit. The party4of six was completed by Richmond Brown as ‘‘ campman,’’ and myself as geologist. Four of us were members of Cam- bridge University. . sat After a somewhat rough passage the island was reached on August 7. It was much too late to think of studying the nesting habits of the birds. Tt was almost too late. to find the plants still in flower. Musters, therefore, accompanied by Bristowe, at. s collecting. The lateness of the Sediish eenaasen A teabens sweeten etbantcecant ANUARY 5, 1922 | NATURE 17 also made it advisable immediately to attack fierto unclimbed Beerenberg.- ‘To make the t direct from sea-level seemed hardly practic- and an advance camp was, therefore, estab- led at 2700 ft. on the highest of the al moraines. Unfortunately, Brown was not enough to go farther, and the size of the party thus reduced, to three. Starting on August 11 ut 11 a.m., for there had been some rain during night, we: ‘trudged for some hours up a gently and but little-crevassed ice-slope to a nuna- a height of 5600 ft. The real climb now _ Mereanton went first, Lethbridge second, 1 self as last man. _w gschrund not far below the ridge, and after 1 delay. it was safely negotiated. A stiff climb p a steep snow-wall then brought us to the ridge, we suddenly found ourselves standing on the a great crater. This was an unexpected and development. The crater was about half-a- 1 edge one of the later eruptions had burst ae a gateway of which the nates aye as the Weyprecht Glacier. To scent by following a snow-aréte to the meas not long of accomplishment, and sr Opportunity of appreciating Mer- faineering skill. That the summit, rime as it is, has solid rock not far ; scoriaceous lava was collected shea on the summit occupied ) ee ., therefore, before we com- 1, but a brisk pace was kept up, y a een Ties dake which the Beerenberg eruptions had been apa feature is the gentle ice-slope ex- ng from 5600 ft. down to the camp at Viewed from a distance, it has all the 1ce of an ‘‘ ice-cap ’’ ; it reminded one very - the Hardanger Jokul, for instance. At e I was inclined to regard it as a new type of nt or as an “‘ ice-cap ’’ caused by higher pre- t intermediate levels. It may be so, but, other hand, since returning I have noticed fesuyius and Mount Erebus, and it can, therefore, jlained on other grounds. Aneroid observa- were taken at regular intervals during the These give Beerenberg a height of 8090 ft. Austrian figure arrived at by theodolite observa- was 8350 ft. It is not usual to prefer aneroid- NO. 2723, VOL. 109] - ‘Two- thousand feet of snow- and ice- work brought us finally to | lava, quite the most interesting and. similar gentle slope characterises both Mount — . These are exclusively lava craters. ‘odolite-determined heights;-but as the-Austrian j latest, however,.is.an ash cone—Egg Bluff ; it has triangle was a very bad one I think there may be some justification in this case for adoptimg a lower figure than that generaily accepted. Whilst the” mountaim was being~ climbed, Musters and Bristowe had _ been ‘working at lower. levels. After hurried preliminary col- -lections round the base camp they transferred their quarters to a, small tent eight miles farther down the coast. From this point the southerly parts were within reach. Musters records a most interesting visit to Seven Hollander Bay, interesting not only historically, but also botanically in respect of the more luxuriant yegetation in that quarter. When Musters finally left the island he was able to tabulate forty-three species of flowering plants, of which five had not previously been re- corded there ; in addition, the lower orders have still to be worked out and his ecological observations put together. The collections have an added interest just now, as they arrived at the Cambridge Botany School simultaneously with collections made last summer by Prof. Seward in West Greenland, and by Mr. Walton in Spitsbergen. Bristowe’s insects are taking longer to name; meantime he has dis- covered that the spiders are forms met with in the Scottish Highlands; of the flies, etc., only one is native to Britain; the rest are not yet identified. Seventy per cent. of his specimens are new records for the island. The successful climb on Beerenberg had revealed a- good deal about the geology and glaciology. | We realised, however, that on that mountain we were dealing with comparatively recent events in the ~island’s history, and the older chapters, if any, had to be discovered. Lethbridge and the present writer in due course relieved Musters and Bristowe at the tent at the‘south end. . From here we ranged over the more distant and inaccé§sible parts. Apart from the distances which had to be covered, it was arduous travelling both along the coast and on the scree- covered mountain slopes. As the survey. was not absolutely exhaustive, additional data may still come to light; meantime the geological record is somewhat as follows: The oldest rocks aré coarsé and fine augite tuffs ; they are generally covered and hidden by later lavas, but are occasionally seen form- ing rugged and picturesque cliffs along the coast. The earliest lavas were biotite-trachyte ; rocks of this composition are nowhere found at craters still well! preserved, but always as old hill features. The other and later distinctive lava type is an olivine- augite-basalt rich in alkalis. This rock is found at all the recent craters and also at many older, half- obliterated centres of eruption. A rock of much the same composition, but varying in details, has a wide- spread occurrence in the form of sills. The south end of the island consists of the older volcanoes ; Beerenberg, at the north end, however, must be one of the latest, and’ round its foot there are ‘many - subsidiary cones—e.g. Palffy and Vogt craters, which must also be of comparatively recent’ date. One of the, very 18 a further interest because on the summit there are a few short irregular cracks from which hot steam still issues. Under certain atmospheric conditions these cracks ‘‘ smoke ’' quite obviously and _ this phenomenon was possibly the ‘‘ eruption ’’ reported by Scoresby in 1818. Scoresby’s account is unfor- tunately written with considerable hesitation. ‘© Smoke ’’ on Egg Bluff scarcely satisfies his descrip- tion, however. It seems more probable that an ash eruption actually took place at the foot of the western side of Vogt (Scoresby’s Esk) crater, pos- sibly in the same spot where the only other authentic eruption, that of 1732, was observed by the whaler, J. J. Laab. Beerenberg itself has never been observed in activity. There is no evidence of when the first eruptions took place; they may even be post-glacial. [W.S. Bristowe Fic. 2.—Beerenberg from the south. J koto} As regards glaciology, Prof. Mercanton has sup- plied me with a brief summary. Glaciers are con- fined to Beerenberg. Four elemerts are distin- guished : (a) the glacier which issues from Beeren- berg crater; (2) a “‘collerette glaciaire,’’ continu- ous in its middle portion, covering the north and north-east parts of the mountain ; (c) an independent system on the eastern flanks; (d) a great ‘‘ coller- ette ’’ covering the flanks from north round through west and south to east-south-east. (Part of the latter has already been referred to as the ice-cap feature.) The examination of these different elements. shows decreasing glaciation, but whether recent or ancient has not yet been discovered. ‘The rate of movement recorded shows the same order of ‘things “as on NO. 2723, VOL. 109] ° NATORE | JANUARY 5, 1922 similar decreasing glaciers in Switzerland. More exact figures, however, will be available when the ground is re-visited. By the beginning of September it was obvious that the work was now practically complete. Winter weather had already set in, but we were told that we might still make a fair passage. We left the island in Polarfront on September 3. Isfuglen, however, was remaining another fourteen days in order to bring home the men working at the erection of the wireless station. This they soon completed, and the first message had already reached Norway when we made the coastal waters on Sep- tember 9. Engineer Ekerold has therefore put up a weather station in a spot where it will be of real value—in the ‘‘ blind corner ’’ whence no weather warnings had previously been available. He did so Photo) [W. S. Bristowe Fic. 3.—Mountains at south end of Jan Mayen, under the most. difficult and unsuitable conditions. The work involved the unloading of delicate machines from small boats on an unprotected surf- ridden coast, the overcoming of the difficulties of transport to the site selected, and finally the raising of the masts in adverse wind conditions, and fixing them in frozen ground. Ekerold is now send- ing daily weather reports to Norway. With the assistance of these it is hoped that it will be possible to forecast the arrival of. the northerly and north- westerly gales which come down so suddenly all along the Scandinavian coast, and thus to warn the Norwegian coastal shipping, which has suffered so heavily in the past from the. BneEperte gales from that. ‘blind corner. NATURE 19 Sir German Sims WoopHEAD, K.B.E. ‘Sims Woodhead, protessor of pathology ‘the University of Cambridge, which occurred ddenly on December 29. At the commencement ame a colonel in the R.A.M.C. (T.), and -was ome time head of a camp in , /ipperary. He atone involved perpetual Eevclline and dis- fort, the strain of which no doubt conduced the signs of serious over-work from which of te he suffered. In 1919 he was created K.B.E recognition of his valuable war work. Born in 1855, Woodhead was educated at Hud- rsfield College, whence he entered the medical rig of the University of Edinburgh, pees ahdying. in Berlin and Vienna. In 1887 he was ppointed superintendent of the research laboratories ‘Royal. College of Physicians, Edinburgh, re- z this - post in 1890 on his appointment as of to his. initiative and energy . that. the ‘school buildings were erected, memorial -museum to. Sir George tivities. were ‘manifold and untir- strong: supporter of the temperance d'was president of both the British prance - Association and. the British ‘He was an hon. LL.D. of pe coe poy fellow of the Henry ‘itute, dep _member. of the if al work in his own special department would been greater. oodhead published in 1883 ‘‘ Practical Patho- y,’’ which reached a fourth edition in 1910; in iy “* Pathological Mycology ’”’ (with Hare); and in 1891, “ Bacteria and their Products.” He was _ founder of, and for many years conducted, the ‘Journal of "Pathology and Bacteriology. In 1894 he published with Dr. Cartwright Wood an_ in- estigation on the efficiency of domestic water filters, and during the war devised a method for the chlor- ination. of drinking water. While director of the conjoint laboratories he published a report on diphtheria for the Metropolitan Asylums Board, and devoted much attention to the standardisation of NO. 2723, VOL. 109] _ scop scopical It can hoe be | Py doubted oie. had he attempted less, his output of | } war Prof. Woodhead was mobilised and | professor of natural history. Obituary. diphtheria antitoxin. Tuberculosis was also a supject to which Woodhead devoted much attention. He drew up a report to the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis in 1895, and was a member of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis of 1902. Just betore the war he devised an apparatus for the con- tinuous record of the temperature of animals, and published the results of investigations obtained by it. Of late the subject of colonies for the tuber- culous occupied much of his time, and he was joint author of ‘‘ Settlements for the ‘Tuberculous.’ Woodhead was of a genial and kindly disposition, and he will be greatly missed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. R. 6 eis: Pror. G. S. Brapy, F.R.S. Pror. GEORGE STEWARDSON Brapy was born in Gateshead on April 18, 1832. His father, Henry Brady, was a surgeon, and he himself was trained for the same career. He was a student of the University of Durham College of Medicine, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and practised in Sunderland from 1857 to 1906. During the greater part of this period Prof. Brady was also professor of natural history in the University of Durham College of Science, now Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon- Tyne. He began his duties as professor in 1875, and on his retirement in 1906 was elected honorary In 1906 he went to live in Sheffield, and died there on December 25 last. Both Prof. Brady and his brother, H. 8; Brady, were early interested in natural history, and it is worth remarking that during the time Prof. Brady was studying medicine Tuffen West was an appren- tice to his fathér. All three’ afterwards attained distinction, Tuffen West as a naturalist artist, H. B- Brady as an eminent authority on Foramini- fera, and Prof. Brady for his work on Cougs, especially on Entomostraca. : -Prof.. Brady became a member of. the ‘Tyneside Maturalists’ Field Club in 1849, not long after its inception as a branch of the Natural History Society. He was president in 1871 and again in 1892-93, and he contributed many papers to the Transactions of the Natural History Society. His early papers dealt with alge and other plant groups, but it was not long before he determined to devote himself to Crustacea and especially to Copepoda and Ostracoda. This work was his hobby, and he devoted his spare time to gathering and to examin- ing his own collections and collections sent to him. The results have been published in a long series of papers, and these brought him into intimate rela- tionship with other workers in the same field here and abroad. But he advanced into a place of promin- ence when he described the Challenger collections of Copepoda and Ostracoda. His reputation. was further enhanced .when his work on the free and semi-parasitic Copepoda of the British Islands was published by the Ray Society. With the late 20 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 Canon Norman he published a monograph of the Ostracoda of the North Atlantic and North-western Europe, and also a catalogue of the Crustacea of Northumberland and Durham. Prof. Brady’s scientific work was done at home. Although he restricted his publications mainly to the results of his examination of Entomostraca from collections made in this and other countries— notably Australia and South Africa—his character- istically neat preparations show that he had interests in all groups which came into the field of his micro- scope. He was a pioneer in marine dredging, and | took an active part in the Northumberland excur- sions of the early ’sixties, and in the : ‘nineties he was as keen as before. It was a pleasure to know Prof. Bady, te. bes it his friend, to watch him work and hear him talk — on men and things, on politics and related subjects, and those who had not this privilege will find from his addresses to the Tyneside Naturalists’ Club that he gave a critical and well-thought-out considera- tion to the important questions which arose during . his long life and that he had decided opinions and was fearless in expressing them. A. M. Notes. WE are particularly glad to see the names of Prof. C. S. Sherrington and Prof. W. A. Herdman in the list of New Year honours. Prof. Sherrington, who has been appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (G.B.E.), is the president of the Royal Society, and is to be president of the British Association for the meeting to be held in Hull in September next; and Prof. Herdman, who has received the honour of knighthood, vacated the presi- dential chair at the Edinburgh meeting last year. The two leading British scientific organisations are thus most appropriately represented in the honours list. hoods: Prof. G. E. Cory, -professor of chemistry, Rhodes University College, Grahamstown; Dr. G. S. Buchanan, Senior Medical Officer Ministry of Health ; and Dr. J. H. Parsons, F.R.S. K.C.I.E.: Sir John Biles, professor of naval architecture, University of Glasgow. §C.M.G.: Dr. R. T. Paton, Director- General of Public Health and President of the Board of Health, New South Wales. Tuis week we begin the publication of a Calendar of Industrial Pioneers, which is intended to supple- ment the Calendar of Scientific Pioneers which ap- peared in our columns last year. It is not necessary here to point out the close association that exists between scientific discovery and industrial progress. The two are inseparable. Problems of communication, transport, mining, agriculture, and manufacture depend for their solution on the co-operation of the laboratory and the works. We believe, therefore, that our readers will welcome the series of biographical notes which will recall the great engineers, inventors, manufacturers, and captains of industry who, by the application of the discoveries of the pioneers of science, have extended existing industries, created new ones, or in some other way contributed to the advancement of civilisation. A CONFERENCE which commenced on December 12 last was held by permission of the Government at the Ministry of Health, at which delegates from the Health Committee of the League of Nations dis- cussed the international standardisation of thera- peutic serums and the sero-diagnosis of syphilis. Prof.. Madsen, of Denmark, presided, and Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, * Switzerland, Great Britain, and the British Ministry NO. 2723, VOL. 109] Other honours included in the list are :—Knight-. _ of Health, the War Office, and the Medical Research Council were represented, and the business was con- ducted by sub-committees. As regards diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, it was considered both possible and desirable that international units should be fixed for — these serums, and a scheme of work to establish them was drawn up. As regards anti-meningococcic, anti- pneumococcic, and anti-dysentery serums, various criticisms were made of the present technique for standardising these, and a scheme of new investiga- tions to obtain more uniformity was adopted. As regards the sero-diagnosis of syphilis, a scheme for comparing the results obtained by the Wassermann reaction with those of other methods was drawn up. An. official luncheon was given hy the Government to the delegates and guests, at which Sir Alfred Mond presided. . It is understood that the conference will meet again in six months’ time, probably at the Pasteur Institute, Paris, to report progress and to make further recommendations. © Tue Times of December 24 published « a telegram: from Delhi announcing that Mrs. Aidie, who is the widow of the late Lt.-Col. Aidie, I.M.S., has dis- covered a parasite in the salivary glands of the bed- bug, which is probably a stage of the Leishmania Donovani parasite of kala-azar. If this important dis- covery is confirmed it will furnish the final proof of — the truth of the theory of Sir Leonard Rogers | that the common bed-bug is the carrier of the infection. The human stage of the parasite was first described by Sir William Leishman in 1903, and was found in- dependently by Lt.-Col. Donovan, I.M.S., while in 1904 Rogers cultivated the organism in vitro and discovered the flagellate stage of the parasite. In the following year he recorded experiments showing that sterility and a neutral or slightly acid medium, such as he. found in the stomach. of bed-bugs, were most suitable for this development, while the plan — he had advised as early as 1897, of moving healthy coolies out of- infected into new lines only a few hundred yards away, had proved so successful in eradicating the disease from tea estates that the: in- fecting agent was not-likely to be a: flying one, and he pointed out that infection through the ‘ubiquitous — bed-bug would explain all the known facts. Major » Patton, I.M.S.; in Madras next obtained the develop- ment of the flagellate meee of the, parasite in | the ANUARY 5, 1922] = NATURE 21 its of bed-bugs, and certain forms believed to be -flagellate stage have since been described by ll, Knowles, and others, but the ultimate pment and exact mode of infection have hitherto all workers. Mrs. Aidie has worked for a long vat the Pasteur Institute in Shillong with Major wles, I.M.S., so there is every reason to hope that ecent announcement will soon be confirmed. ‘hethe ‘it will help much in dealing with the disease yen to doubt, for long ago Dr. Dodds Price carried rs’s suggestion to try to destroy bed-bugs ted coolie huts in Assam, but without much while such very good results in dealing with by the tartar emetic ‘reatment are now ined in Assam that a vigorous campaign lines may be expected practically to stamp ase within a few years. have been elected officers of the third Jongress of the History of Medicine to don on July 17-22 next :—President of Norman Moore, Bart. President: Dr. . Vice-Presidents: Sir D’Arcy Power its of the first two congresses, Dr. of Antwerp, and Drs. Jeanselme and of Paris. Treasurer: Mr. W. G. Spencer. ‘ecret ry: Dr. J. D. Rolleston. nia, were elected foreign members of Society of London at its monthly meet- er 21. The secretary reported that 1t additions to the society’s menagerie , 104 by presentation, 66 deposited, in exchange, 44 by purchase, and 2 by birth. included four lions born in India, presented Sahib of Nawanagar. The number of ie gardens during November was nearly ‘meeting of the British Medical Associa- in the University buildings at Glas- 8 next. The first three days of the taken up by the annual representative in the evening of July 25 the new presi- ir William Macewen, will deliver his presi- address. The remaining three days of the ye devoted to scientific and clinical work. “sessions and clinical and laboratory demon- for the afternoons. The scientific proceed- ting will be distributed among nineteen dealing with a particular branch of 2 evening of July 28 a popular lecture d by Prof. J. Graham Kerr. next ordinary scientific meeting of the Soci ty, to be held on January 10, at 8 p.m., Arthur Smithells will give an account of Lang- theory of atomic structure, and will exhibit -“ Artificial Disintegration of Elements,’’ to before the Chemical Society on Thursday, D . 2723, VOL. 109] | ALBERT OF Monaco and Prof. G. O. discussions are being arranged for the 1 connection with Sir Ernest Rutherford’s g, at 8 p.m., it has been decided that visitors will be admitted by: ticket only. Fellows of the society will not need tickets for themselves, but those desiring to bring visitors should apply for tickets to the Assistant Secretary, Chemical Society, Burling- ton House, W.1, not. later than January 28. No fellow will be allowed more than two tickets. The lecture will be delivered in the lecture hall of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, S.W.1. . An exhibition of industrial heating apparatus, to be held in April of this year, is being organised by the Office Central de Chauffe Rationnelle, Paris, under the patronage of the Société d’Encouragement a 1’In- dustrie Nationale and the Société des Ingénieurs Civils de France. The exhibition will comprise apparatus and material connected: with ‘‘la conservation et la ré- cupération ”’ of heat, and it will be divided into two sections, one including refractory materials, in- sulators, etc., and the other apparatus and_ plant, such as economisers, heat-recovery plants, etc. Every facility will be given for experimental demonstrations of exhibits. Further information may be obtained from M. L’Ingénieur Directeur de 1’Office Central de Chauffe Rationnelle, 5 Rue Michel-Ange, Paris, XVI. We are informed that the ditector will be glad to receive applications to exhibit from British manu- facturers. ee ‘Ar a meeting of the Royal Statistical Society on December 20, Mr. E. A. Rusher read a paper deal- ing with the statistics of industrial morbidity in Great — Britain. From a review of investigations on this sub- ject for the past one hundred. years, he concludes that (1) age has the greatest influence upon the rate of sickness, and next to this, occupation ; (2) occupation has more influence than has either locality or density of population, but the influence of the latter cannot generally be statistically dissociated from that due to occupation ; (3) there are no trustworthy statistics in this country of morbidity among female lives; (4) no statistics exist of the sickness experienced by the com- munity at large corresponding to those for mortality published by the Registrar-General. Mr. Rusher advocated a systematic attempt to investigate the data now available through the operations of approved societies under the National Insurance Acts in order to obtain some measure of occupational incidence of sickness analysed into classes of disease. Co.. T. C. Hopson writes in amplification of our condensed report of his remarks in the discussion which took place at the Royal Anthropological Institute on Prof. Elliot Smith’s paper on ‘‘The Mound-Builders of Dunstable” (see Nature of December 15 last, p. 512) to point out in reference to the distinct forms of disposal of the dead associated with the mounds, - viz. (1) burial of a woman and child in a flexed posi- tion and (2) cremation, that in India many living races have two—in one case four—different modes of dis- posing of the dead, varying according to (a) cause of death and (b) social status of the dead. Col. Hodson also points out that one of the elemental features of Jhum cultivation in Assam is the use of logs of burnt. 22 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 trees as retaining walls to hold up the soil and keep in the moisture, and that Mr. Mills’s reference to ignorance of the proper ceremonial as a reason alleged for not adopting terrace cultivation throws an interest- ing light upon the possibilities of the negative aspect of the evidence with regard to this method of cul- tivation. In an elaborate paper published in the Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (third series, vol. 28, No. 3, October, 1921) Mr. Jay Hambridge supplies ‘‘ Further Evidence for Dynamic Symmetry in Ancient Architecture.’? The paper, gives a careful series of measurements of the Parthenon and other Greek temples which are of permanent value. The writer remarks: ‘‘The temple at Aegina is older than the Parthenon, older than the Zeus building at Olympia ; therefore the finding of a persistent dynamic theme in the structure which is simply a variation of the themes at Bassz, Olympia, and Athens suggests that symmetry schemes had some sort of ritual signi- ficance. And this is borne out by the record from India. About the time of the erection of the Greek temples of the best period, if not somewhat earlier, there existed in India specific rules for sacrificial altar construction. These have survived as the Sulvasutra, or ‘rules of the cord,’ better, ‘rules of the rope.’ Some authorities date the Sulvasutra about 800 B.c., others place it at 600, 500, 400, and even 200 B.c. The exact date is immaterial, as the point of importance for us is that these rules describe in detail the con- struction of the root rectangles which constitute the base of classic Greek proportion.’’ Tue year which has just closed will long be re- membered for its shortage of rainfall over the British Isles, as well as in many other parts of Europe. At Greenwich Observatory, where records are available for more than a hundred years, there is no previous year since 1815 with so small an amount of rain. In 1921, the total measurement for the twelve months was 12-50 in., which compared with the average 2441 in. for the hundred years from 1816-1915 is only 51 per cent. of the normal, and compared with the normal for thirty-five years, 1881-1915, in use by the Meteorological Office, viz. 23-50 in., is 53 per cent. of the normal. Compared with the one hundred years’ normal, the rainfall in each month was less than the average, but compared with the normal for thirty- five years, January and September had slightly more rain than the average. The month with least rain- fall was February, with 0-12 in., followed by July with o-15 in. In the previous 106 years the year of least rainfall was 1864 with 16-38 in., and this is followed by 1847 with 17-61 in., and 1858 with 17-70 in. The rainfall for the eleven months to the end of November was 68 per cent. of the average in England and Wales, 94 per cent. in Scotland, and 86 per cent. in Jreland. At Tenterden, as representa- tive of Kent, the rainfall for the eleven months to the end of November was 49 per cent. of the average; at Arundel, as representative of Sussex, 53 per cent., and at Oxford 59 per cent. Notwithstanding the wild NO. 2723, VOL. 109] and unsettled character of the weather at the close of the year droughty conditions continued in the south and south-east of England. Tue annual report of the Gresham’s School, Holt, Natural History Society for 1921 includes a useful list | of the flowering plants found in the neighbourhood of Holt, Norfolk, the work of the botanical section, and a preliminary list of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the same district, compiled by the entomological section. In the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science (vol. 65, part 4), Prof. Champy and Mr. H. M. Carle- ton discuss the shape of the nucleus and the various mechanical causes, such as surface tension and the pressure of cytoplasmic inclusions, by which it is determined. They come to the conclusion that the amitotic division which occurs in certain highly specialised nuclei results from the attainment by the nucleus of a degree of differentiation that is incom- patible with mitosis. : = To the few known cases of flagellate protozoa with. trichocysts another has been added by the observations of Dr. W. Conrad, who has found trichocysts in. Reckertia sagitlifera, n.g., n.sp., a colourless Chloro-. moradine found in an aquarium in the Botanic Garden in Brussels (Bull. Acad. Roy. de Belgique, Classe des Sciences, 1920, No. 11). The organism is about 50 microns in length, and has two flagella, one directed anteriorly and thé other posteriorly. In addition to swimming by means of the flagella, the organism can creep by means of blunt pseudopodia, about six in number, which serve also for the capture of food, such as bacteria, flagellates, and algal zoospores. A layer of slender, rod-like trichocysts in the ectoplasm gives this region a fine and regular striation. Trichocysts — are not present in the pseudopodia. Close to the in- sertion of the flagella are two lateral contractile vacuoles which contract alternately and discharge their _ contents into a median apical vacuole. Food vacuoles, similar in their reaction to neutral red to those of Paramecium, are present in the endoplasm. The — nucleus is of the vesicular type, and divides by karyokinesis; cell division is, as usual in fag longitudinal. Tur story of Lord Howe Island as told by Mr. Allan R. McCulloch in the Australian Museum Maga- zine (vol. 1, No. 2) is a sad one for the naturalist. Situated three hundred miles to the east of Australia, it was uninhabited by man when discovered in 1788, and, having no indigenous mammals or reptiles, was the home of a vast and interesting bird population which, ignorant of the murderous ways of man, knew not how to protect itself from his ravages. One species, Notornis alba, unable to fly, quickly became extinct, and, except for one skin in the Vienna Museum and a few stray notes in journals, nothing is known of this interesting bird. The island is a dependency of New South Wales, and in 1879 was declared a reserve in the hope that what then re- mained of its fauna would be preserved. Success seemed to have rewarded this excellent measure, | -Janvary 5; 1922] NATURE 23 _but unfortunately rats were accidentally introduced into island, and the birds’ paradise of two years ago en reduced to a veritable wilderness beyond all f recovery. Mr. McCulloch’s account of this ‘is accompanied by excellent photographs and esting description of the natural history of the , with valuable notes on some of the more g birds—magpies, woodhens, and mutton- the Journal of the Federated Malay States ms (vol. 10, part 3, June 1921), Major J. C. publishes the first of a series of articles on butterflies, designed to supplement or cor- information of this ~~ given in Seitz’s cessarily predominant, and SAbes it as , 10° N., and 10° S., and long. 95° E. | thus era the Malay ee s prominent type than the generic and and of retaining the author’s name ution are given, accompanied by the discrimination of species, sub- We may specially note the dis- by the author between “ sub-species ”” —the former as geographical races in- ite areas, and the latter as well-defined together over a wide range of country. “question of the drainage of the Vale district now so well known to the on, is dealt with by Mr. W. D. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Associa- s Luts 1921. The vale seems to have 1 originally along the Pewsey anti- s rocks, which provided a line of river flowing eastward from the Cots- growth of tha Severn valley, when the the district, which flows through tengthy and most instructive article in the Review for October last on the distribu- opuicbicn Mr. M? Aurousseau directs attention > fact that three kinds of maps which at present it exist are much wanted and could be compiled - geographical survey of countries. ‘NO. 2723, VOL. 109] ‘ledge of chromium steels. The earth- material map would show the following features: Areas of deep drift soils, areas of residual soils, hydro- graphical information, fuel deposits, and the location and nature of metallic ores and other economic deposits. The power map should show the distribu- tion of the different power resources—wood, wind, water, coal, oil, etc. Finally, the lowlands map would be a topographical map so coloured that the lowlands, even when of small areas as in the case of inter- montane deposits, would stand out prominently. Mr. Aurousseau also points out that in taking stock of the world’s resources we require to know the expan- sion ratio of every land—that is to say, the ratio of the extent to which a given area is occupied to the extent to which it may be occupied. He sketches the nature of the geographical survey required in order that this ratio may be obtained. ; An interesting paper on Greek and Roman engineer- ing instruments, read before the Newcomen Society on December 15 last by Mr. R. C. Skyring Walters, illustrates the uses of historical research applied to science. Such research, the product of co-operation between classical scholars and men of science, was also exemplified at a joint meeting of the Textile Institute with the Manchester and District Branch of the Classical Association and Literary and Philo- sophical Society last November, and it cannot fail to be of great usefulness. In his paper Mr. Walters quotes the description by Vitruvius of the use of the dioptra, chorabates, and water levels in surveying by the Greeks and Romans up to about too a.p., and he gives sectional drawings showing reconstructions of these instruments, of which no complete example remains. The groma, an arrangement of two crossed arms at right angles with suspended plumb lines at the ends, used for setting out straight lines and lines at right angles, is also shown. In the case of the dioptra the advanced stage of development in con- structive detail which was reached at the time of Hero of Alexandria, is remarkable. The conclusion is that there are many striking points of similarity, not only in the instruments, but also in the methods employed 2000 years ago, with those of the present day. “We have received an advance copy of a Carnegie Research Memoir published by the Iron and Steel Institute on the constitution of chromium steels by Mr. T. F. Russell. During recent years industrial applications of iron-carbon-chromium alloys have in- creased, and a paper on this subject, therefore, is welcome. It must be confessed, however, that the present one does not do much to advance our know- The author has confined himself to an examination of a very restricted area of the iron-carbon-chromium ternary system, in which the carbon does not.exceed 1 per cent., while the limit of chromium is 12 per cent. It would have been better if he had taken into consideration in the first instance the equilibrium conditions observed in the binary systems iron-carbon, chromium-carbon, and iron-chromium. Without this a scientific interpretation 24 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 . of the effects observed in the ternary system is impossible. It follows, therefore, that many of the data obtained are as yet purely empirical. dustry is stated to. be obsolete, and many of the by- products formerly obtained by it have now to be pre- pared by other methods. One of the main products, __ caustic soda, is:now made either from ammonia-soda carbonate or by electrolysis. The two chief electro- — ry lytic processes operated in this country are the mer- cury process, by the Castner-Kellner Co., and the Gibbs diaphragm process, by the United Alkali Co. In the manufacture of chlorine the Weldon and — We learn from the Times of December 27 that Major Klein is at work on'a three-colour printing process in which the chief innovation is in the taking of the colour records. Instead of the usual light- filters attached to the camera he illuminates the object with light of the desired colour obtained. by the well- known method of cutting off with opaque screens the light not wanted in a spectrum produced by suitable spectroscopic apparatus. It seems that he proposes to try the effect of reducing the width of the utilised portions of the spectrum so as to get a nearer ap- proach to monochromatic light, and also the division of the spectrum into more than three parts for four or five, etc., colour processes. In the December issue of the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry Dr. G. C ‘Clayton contributes an interesting summary of the effect of the war on the heavy chemical industry. The Leblanc soda in- Deacon processes have been displaced by the elec- trolytic methods. Electrolytic chlorine is produced by the Castner-Kellner, Gibbs, and Hargreaves cells, and is often liquefied. Chlorates are now made only by electrolysis of chlorides. ; M. Gomperc and C. C. Buchler describe in the August number of the Journal of the American Chemical Society the preparation of benzyl ethers of carbohydrates. Glucose, sucrose, dextrin, starch, and cellulose are readily benzylated, and some of the pro- ducts may be of technical importance from their col- loidal and plastic characters. pe Our Astronomical Column. THE EINSTEIN ToweErR.—-The Observatory for December contains an illustrated article on this tower, which has just been erected in the grounds of the Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory. It contains a vertical telescope of 50 cm. aperture and 14} metres aperture, fed by a ccelostat. There are two spectro- graphs, one with a plane-grating of 12} cm. aperture, the other with two large prisms giving a dispersion of two angstroms to 1 mm. ‘The instrument will be chiefly employed to investigate the presence or absence of the Einstein shift, but it is available for general astrophysical work. It is in charge of Dr. E. Freundlich, under the general control of Prof. Einstein, who has now an appointment at Potsdam. Dr. Freundlich hopes to observe next year’s eclipse from Christmas Island, with A. Kohlschiitter and Dr. Voite. CHANGES IN THE Crap Nepura.—One of the very useful researches to which the great American tele- scopes have been applied is the study of changes in the nebulz, by comparison of photographs taken at in- tervals of a few years. The changes have been in many cases unexpectedly large, and. imply either rela- tive nearness to the solar system or very high internal velocities. Mr. Lampland had already reported some changes in the Crab Nebula deduced from seventeen photo- graphs: taken with the Lowell 4o-inch reflector during a period of eight years. Mr. John C, Duncan gives in Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., June, .1921, the results of a comparison of two photographs taken with the 60-inch reflector at Mount Wilson at an interval of eleven and a half years (1909 and 1921). Twelve condensations were selected near the outer contour of the nebula, at tolerably equal intervals. Thirteen comparison stars were chosen, one near the centre of the nebula, the others fairly near. the selected condensations. The results may be summed up thus : (1) the motions of the condensations are on the average. quite three times as great as those of the stars; (2) while the star-motions are at random as NO. 2723, VOL. 109] regards direction, those of the condensations are systematically outward from the centre, being greatest at the ends of the long axis of the nebula, where they amount to 2” in eleven and a half years, implying a — linear speed of 25 km./sec. at an assumed distance of one hundred light-years. There is some (not very cer- tain) evidence of a counter-clockwise rotation of the nebula. The mean motion of all the nebular conden- sations in eleven and a half years is +o-10” in R.A., + 0-435” in Decl., referred to the mean of the stars. Tue AsTROGRAPHIC CaTALOGUE.—The publication of this great work was considerably in arrear even before the war, which, naturally, did not tend to improve the situation. It is satisfactory to note that volumes are — now appearing in rapid succession. Ne Mr. H. B. Curlewis, director of Perth Observatory, ~ West Australia, has catalogued the whole of zone —35°, the numbers of stars in each quadrant being 6879, 24,753, 22,139, 19,277. The paucity in the first quadrant is explained by its proximity to the South Galactic Pole. The magnitudes are given by letters, A denoting 8-5, B 9-0, and so on; the scale used is that of Chapman and Melotte, and differs from that used in earlier Perth volumes. — Mr. T. P. Bhaskaran has produced vol. 4 of the Hyderabad section, which catalogues the whole of zone —20°, the number of stars being 79,590. This volume completes the zone originally allotted to Hyderabad, about half the plates of which had been taken and measured before the death of Mr. Pocock in 1918. | The work has been completed on the lines laid down by him. Standard co-ordinates of all stars contained _ in the Algiers Astr. Gesells. Catalogue are given at the — January 5, 1922] NATURE, — 25 'S was to be expected in an important agricultural district such as Edinburgh, the meetings of the ural Section created a good deal of interest, ere well attended throughout the whole of the noted. Dr. E. J. Russell, of Rothamsted, de- opular address to farmers on ‘‘ Science and ction ’’ on the day betore the formal work There was a large attendance was that the presidential address, instead of read at the opening meeting, was circulated 'the members. At the meeting on Monday, sr 12, the president, Mr. C. S. Orwin, gave ct of his address, which was followed by a ion. number of papers offered to the committee was embarrassingly large; they were grouped, so | possible, according to subject. On the opening dealt mostly with soil problems. Dr. Wini- Brenchley spoke on “The Effect of Long- Manuring of Grassland,’’ and described the experiments which had been carried out at on permanent meadow-land for a period ears—long enough to allow a true esti- made of the effect of the different fertilisers 1 the influences of season. The effects of manuring, one-sided manuring, no manure, were considered in detail. Dr. W. G. ed ‘“*Methods of Gra.sland Analyses,’’ the results obtained from plots laid Various grass mixtures in 1914. The plots annually, and figures were given show- position of the plots now as compared G. Smith and Dr. A. Lauder gave the ‘soil survey which had been carried out ians. More than 100 square miles have ed and the vegetation recorded on 6-in. s. Definite relations have been estab- the types of vegetation and the pro- he holdings, and simple methods of im- @rass were described. Dr. Lauder directed to the relation between the amount of ‘ganic m ‘and the lime requirement of the soil— a connection which had been noticed by other workers. M. Monie gave an account of a photographic soils which he had carried out in the west His paper was illustrated with an excel- ss of lantern-slides, and the method he pro- while of limited use by itself, should have a “place in soil-survey work. . Hendrick dealt with ‘“‘The Absorption and 1 of Manurial Substances by Granitic Soils.”’ soils are free from carbonate of lime, have a ly acid reaction, and a high lime requirement. nding these conditions, it was found that, very heavy dressings, ammonia was almost fixed and an equivalent quantity of nitrates in ‘the drainage. The phosphate was _also ely retained. The potash was less firmly held, the later periods of the experiment the reten- ‘H. J. Page and Mr. H. G. Thornton con- ited an important paper on ‘‘The Rapid Fluctua- ‘in Bacterial Numbers and Nitrate Content of 1d Soil and their Interrelation.” — On Friday the papers dealt largely with dairying NO. 2723, VOL. 109] Agriculture at the British Association. problems. Prof. R. A. Berry dealt with the important commercial question of ‘The Production and Utilisa- tion of Whey.’’ He showed that on a moderate esti- mate the amount of whey produced annually is worth 337,000, He emphasised the great loss involved under the present methods of disposal, where large quantities are allowed to run to waste, and discussed the possibility of new methods of utilisation. In addi- tion to pig-feeding, the possibility of preparing milk- sugar and whey powders was considered. Prof. R. H. Leitch described the recent work he had carried out with starters in cheese-making, as well. as experiments in the manufacture of rennet, methods of standardising rennet extracts, and some new developments in butter-making. Dr. W. Taylor and Mr. A. D. Husband contributed a note on ‘‘ The Varying Rates of Secretion of Milk on its Percentage | Composition.’? They come to the conclusion that the interrelationship of volume and composition may be summarised thus :—The percentages of protein, fat, and ash vary inversely, and the percentage of lactose varies directly as the daily volume of milk secreted. Two papers were contributed by Dr. Tocher, one dealing with ‘The Statistical Analyses of Scottish Milk Records,’? and another dealing with ‘The Methods of Determining the Significant Differences of Yield of Milk.’ Prof. Hendrick described ‘‘A New Scheme for the Determination of Unexhausted Manurial Values,’ and dealt in particular with the question of cumulative fertility. Dr. Tocher gave the results of experiments on “The Citric Solubility of Manurial Phosphates,”’ and concludes that citric solubility is a worthless test from the agricultural point of view. The only prac- tical tests are:—(1) The total phosphatic content, (2) the degree of fineness of grinding, and (3) freedom from substances of an injurious character to plants. Mr. J. Alan Murray described some recent experi- mental work which he had carried out on ‘‘ The Com- position of Ensilage.’’ Mr. Murray dealt with the loss involved in the making of ensilage, and considered that it was a fallacy that farmers can save money by dispensing with root crops and substituting ensilage in the rations of farm animals. He considered that it was not possible to reduce the allowance of concentrated food by substituting ensilage for roots. In the discus- sion which followed some exception was taken to Mr. Murray’s estimates as to the cost of producing ensilage. The meeting on Monday was devoted to economic questions, and began with the discussion on the presi- dent’s address, to which reference has already been made. Lord Bledisloe followed with a paper on ““Wheat as the Basis of Britain’s Food-Supply in Time of War.’? He pointed out the advantages of potatoes, supplemented by pig-meat, over wheat. Great Britain is self-contained in its potato require- ments and an exporter, while under normal conditions she imports four-fifths of her wheat requirements from abroad. The normal production of wheat is pre- ponderantly in the eastern counties of Great Britain (ten counties out of eighty-six provide more than half the total output), while potatoes are grown in every part of the kingdom. any farmers are wholly un- familiar with wheat production, and have neither the implements nor the buildings necessary for its produc- tion and storage, but every farmer, gardener, and allotment-holder knows how to grow potatoes, Then again, the wheat crop may be wholly lost for human ° requirements through bad weather or incendiarism. Potatoes, though subject to disease (which can be mini- mised by spraying), are less vulnerable, as the. edible tuber is beneath the ground. Potatoes provide an 26 NATURE [January 5, 1922 immense quantity of starchy food, far exceeding wheat in output per acre, and the crop can be obtained in shorter time and harvested at different periods of spring, summer, and autumn. Potatoes are, however, relatively deficient in fat and protein, but these can be supplied, by way of supplement, by pig-meat. The production of pigs in war-time should, therefore, be encouraged, and not discouraged as during the late war; their capacity for rapid reproduction, large families, high percentage of fat-yield, and great variety of food products render them invaluable meat-pro- viders in a national emergency. Grazing varieties deserve special encouragement. Another reason for the encouragement of potato-growing lies in the large areas of permanent and temporary pasture, valuable storehouses of accumulated fertility, which. can be utilised in time of war when fertilisers are bound to be scarce; no crop thrives better in newly-turned pasture than potatoes. Potato-flour is also useful, for it can be converted into wholesome and palatable bread, scones, and cakes, while surplus or unsuitable potatoes can be utilised both as stock food and as the source of motor spirit, commercial starch, etc. The home production of breadstuffs in the form of potatoes will reduce to a minimum the costs and risks of marine transport, and their production in every part of the kingdom for local needs will largely reduce the strain on internal transport. In the discussion which followed some doubt was expressed as to whether it would be wise to rely so’ exclusively on one crop as a source of food, especially in view of the danger of the total failure of the crop by disease. ; Sir Henry Rew communicated a paper on “ Agricul- tural Statistics: Their Collection and Use ’’ (Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture, vol. 28, p. 636, 1921); Mr. A. W. Ashby dealt with ‘‘Standards of Produc- tion in Agriculture,’?’ and Mr. Pryse Howell with ‘**Economic Surveys of Agriculture in Wales.’’ On Tuesday the papers contributed dealt mostly with nutrition problems. Dr. W. E. Elliot and Mr. Arthur Crichton contributed a paper describing a series of feeding and metabolic experiments which had been conducted on pigs with the object of determining the cause of a disease variously known as ‘“rheu- matism,’’ ‘“‘cramp,’”’ or ‘‘rick>ts.’’ They conclude from the results of their experiments that the condi- tion is produced in animals deprived of access to earth or other mixtures of minerals, and fed only on grains and certain other concentrates commonly used in pig- feeding. The inorganic constituents in these feeding- stuffs do not correspond with the requirements of the growing pig, for there is a marked deficiency of calcium and an excess of acid radicles. If the mineral matter of a ration composed of these feeding-stuffs be adjusted to the reauirements of the animal by a mixture of salts compounded to correct the deficiences the disease does not occur. The addition of fat soluble A or of waiter soluble C to a ration that pro- duces the condition does not prevent the onset of the symptoms. Mr. John Golding exhibited photographs of a litter of pigs from a sow which was fed on a diet deficient in vitamins; they all suffered from serious malformation of the hindquarters. In the dis- cussion which followed exception was taken to the conclusions arrived at by Dr. Elliot and Mr. Crichton, and it was considered by some speakers that it had not been proved that the disease in question was solely due to a deficiency in mineral matter in the ration. Dr. J. B. Orr then gave an account of *‘ The Applica- tion of an Indirect Method of Calorimetry to the Ruminant,’’ and described the apparatus as adapted for experiments with goats. © Major €. C. Hirst gave NO. 2723, VOL. 109] a paper -on ‘‘ The Genetics of Egg-production in Poultry.’? Major Hirst described the results of five years’ experi- mental breeding on Mendelian lines, and showed | that the first year’s egg-production of a hen depends on the combined action of at least seven main genetic | factors. The economic significance of the results was ~ discussed in detail, and the effects of the old: methods — of grading by winter and annual records were pointed — out. The new system of grading production has a double value to the practical breeder, because the descriptive somatic gradings, being based on the genetic factors concerned, give a line also to the breeding value of the bird, for the extreme grades — The adoption of this grading © tend to breed true. system for laying competitions would lead to rapid progress in poultry-breeding, and be of educational ~ value to poultry-keepers in general, for the winning birds would breed winners with more frequency than they do now. Miss Dorothy J. Jackson described an investigation which she had carried out in the genus Sitones with the object of investigating which species were in- jurious to leguminous crops in Britain; the life- history of these species has also been determined. No satisfactory method of control is at present known. In the case of the species which breed on clover control would be extremely difficult on account of their prolonged period of egg-laying, but this difficulty would not apply to the species which breed upon peas and beans. Laboratory experiments on infection with the various fungus spores of Botrytis bassiana art ar “4 i ‘4 (Balsamo), Montagne, have proved successful, death~ | invariably occurring in from nine to thirteenth days. In a paper by Miss M. S. G. Breeze ‘‘ The Degenera- tion in Anthers of Potato’’ was discussed. Two definite types of degeneration have been observed (1) Where the pollen-grains are formed, but degenerate at various -stages of development, and (2) in which the pollen mother-cells are apparently normal, but no reduction division takes place. The question of the inheritance of degenerate condition of anthers was also discussed. : In addition to the formal meetings a visit was paid to the Station for Research in Animal Breeding, where a demonstration on the wools of primitive breeds of | sheep was given by Dr. F. A. E. Crew. Dr. R. Stewart MacDougall had an interesting exhibit of in- sects injurious to stock, while in the library of the Agri- cultural Department there was an exhibition of early works dealing with agriculture and kindred subjects. On the Friday afternoon the new Plant-Breeding Station at East Craigs, Corstorphine} was inspected. The party was received by Dr. C. M. Douglas, of Auchlochan, chairman of the committee, and Mr. Drummond described the work of the station. After- wards the farm of Mr. John Cowper at Gogar Mains was visited. ; On the Saturday a whole-day excursion took place to typical farms in East Lothian. The concluding visits were to the well-known farms of East Barns and Barnevhill, where the party was received by Sir Harry and Lady Hope. : If a word of criticism may of papers seriously tried to confine themselves to the time allotted to them in the programme or made a real endeavour to prepare an abstract of their work suitable for presentation to the meeting. In this bel the amount of time availabie for discussion was mu too short. The number of papers accepted was prob- ably rather large, but much time would have been saved had some of the readers appreciated the fact be indulged in, attention - might be directed to the fact that few of the readers that the time at their disposal’ was necessarily very ee ~ A. Lav limited. ~ ° LAUDER. January 5, 1922] NATURE 27 meeting of the Royal Anthropological Institute d on November 15 last Miss M. A. Murray account of her recent excavations in Malta. avations were carried out with the consent and help of Prof. Zammit. Three sites were ex- _all three being in the south-east of the island. st excavation was of a mound called Santa near the village of Hal Far; this proved to be egalithic site re-used later, and yielded no result. nd excavation was at Santa Maria tal , about half a mile away. Here the remains ouble edifice, locally supposed to be two ‘were found. But various _ indications, - others a torba floor, suggest that the build- pre-Christian, and the form and position of i ae stones show that it was originally a ‘structure. The supposed dedication of the ilding to Santa Maria and Santa Katerina ate that the shrine was dedicated to two and may therefore throw some light on deities of Malta. The name of St. Mary versal to be any guide, but as St. Katherine the place of a goddess of beacons and light- 'S, we may have here a sanctuary of that The position of the shrine lends itself to ture, as it stands on high ground in a with a tiny creek, now unused, but suffi- ‘ge for the small fishing-boats of Neolithic name Tal Bakkari is probably connected bic Fagr, ‘dawn, daybreak ’’; the name the goddess) of the davbreak ” would pro for a shrine built on a hill, from which ; a due eastward across the Bay of Marsa ‘is clearly visible. The first rays of the rising ly on the shrine. excavation was at Borg en Nadur, close < e’s Bav. A group of megaliths have iS well chown feature of the site; this Gast of two dolmenic structures and a which now appears to be a_ semi-circular apses at Tarxien and the other Maltese 1 the short time that could be devoted to ion it was possible only to prove that the ng extended over a wide area, and may possibly uuble temple like those already known. Behind and on a level with its highest field, terraced up to its present height in lal way by a wall of stones. The-axis of the ” runs directly into this field, and it is very that | the whole building remains intact the soil, as was the case at Tarxien. ns in the field in which the uncovered apse The Megalithic Monuments of Malta. than a hundred feet northward from the apse, and a broken bzetyl was found in situ. Time did not permit of more than a cursory examination of this portion of the site, and it is still uncertain how far or in what way this building is connected with the apse. South-eastward from the apse is another dol- menic structure built into the wall of the field, and adjoining it in the field behind is an apse filled in and covered with stones, but retaining the charac- teristic semi-circular form. Excavations on the site will be continued next year. In the course of the discussion which followed the paper Sir Arthur Evans said that, taking the mega- lithic monuments in Malta as a whole, it was clear that they belonged to a western Mediterranean pro- vince which included Sardinia, the Balearics, and possibly the African side. In the Bronze age the evidence was clear; the implements fitted on to the Spanish group. In Spain are found small segmented beads of faience which were a stage in similar forms found in Scotland and parts of England, and began in Egypt with the XVIIIth Dynasty, and appeared in Crete at about the same time. Possibly they were diffused by the Cretans. Although the segmented beads had not been found in Malta, an imitation, asso- ciated with them in Spain, had been found there, and it was probable that the segmented beads would also be found. The Neolithic ornament showed a regular progression, starting from Hagia Kim, but it ap- peared at so advanced a stage that it could not have originated there, and was, possibly, to be derived from Egypt. A vase from Kamares showed strong affini- ties with a vase from the Neolithic. chambers of Malta. The deduction was that the later stage of this culture in Malta came down to about 1600 B.c. Mr. Peake referred to the rapid development which had taken place in our knowledge of the prehistory of Malta. In 1013 nothing was known of the Bronze age, but the knowledge of an independent tyne of . pottery had now been developed. The evidence pointed to 1800 B.c. as a possible date for Hal Tarxien. The culture was identical with that found all over the megalithic area. The pottery, for instance, - was common to Taranto, Spain, Brittany, Guernsey, Arran, Scandinavia, and also Algiers. The only locality outside the megalithic area in which it occurred was Sicily, where, however, a double spiral stone occurred, similar to one from Hal Tarxien, showing that it belonged to the same order. In connection with his suggestion that this culture came from the East, it was interesting to note that Prof. Zammit had also suggested a _ con- ed a megalithic building extending more | nection between Malta and the Persian Gulf. ONG & the ee in procedure which marked the Edinburgh meeting of the British Associa- s the prominence given to a botanic lecture med at a scientific, but non-academic, account Weiss of ‘Graft-Hybrids.”” Grafting had n a horticultural practice from very ancient times, ‘was said to date from that of the Phoenicians, S certainly practised by the Romans, who be- that the stock exercised considerable influence ne scion question of the production of hybrids by graft- - came to the notice of scientific observers in with the Bizzaria orange, raised in Flor- _ NO. 2723, VOL. 109] n 1664, and described in the second volume of | Graft-Hybrids s. the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. In this case an orange grafted on a lemon stock bore a large variety of fruits, some re- sembling oranges, some lemons, while others were intermediate in shape and colour. The most curious combination appeared to consist of an orange shell with lemon pulp. This latter feature was significant in relation to the ‘graft-hybrids’’ afterwards ob- tained, probably the best known and most frequently discussed of which is Cytisus Adami, obtained in Paris in 1825 by grafting a small purple-flowered Cytisus purpureus on an ordinary yellow laburnum. The graft did not succeed, but from a small bud arising close to the place of insertion a branch was produced. inter- 28 NATURE [JANUARY 5, 1922 | mediate in character between scion and stock. The graft-hybrid is generally sterile, and therefore is usually kept going by grafting. On the rare occa- sions when seed is set it produces normal yellow laburnum. In the account given by McFarlane in the Trans- actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for 1892 the suggestion was made that the distribution of characters is such that the. graft-hybrid consists apparently of a core of laburnum wrapped in a skin of Cytisus. This supposition has been confirmed in the more recent production of graft-hybrids by graft- ing common nightshade on the stem.of a tomato and, vice versa. .In all cases the stock would appear to furnish the core and the scion the epidermal tissues of the ‘‘hybrid.”’ This simple explanation, however, does not appear to cover fully the. graft-hybrids. between medlar and hawthorn obtained by Prof. Daniel, in one case of which, at-.any rate, tissues were present which differed from those of either parent. In general, therefore, graft-hybrids represent shoots produced adventitiously near the point of grafting and containing representation of the tissues of both plants, in many cases, e.g. Cytisus Adami, so arranged that the external tissues resembled those of the scion and the internal. those of the stock. There were, how- ever, instances—e.g. quince and pear—in which an intimate mixture.of the characters of stock. and scion appeared in the graft-hybrid which may. have been accompanied by vegetative union of the cells, but no clear. case. of this cytological process had yet been established... _ : The whole phenomenon of graft-hybrids requires further investigation, particularly in relation to cases in which the ‘‘hybrid ’’ is said to occur on the scion far removed from the point of grafting, which may turn out to be instances of bud variation, possibly with reversion. Fauna of ‘AGican Lakes. ry: W. A. CUNNINGTON, leader of the third Tanganyika Expedition (1904-5), has contributed to the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (December, 1920), a comparative study of the fauna of the African lakes—Tanganyika, Victoria Nyanza, Nyasa, Albert Nyanza, Edward Nyanza, and Kivu, with special reference to the first-named. The results of recent investigation, admirably summarised in this memoir, lend no support to the view put forward in 1898 by Mr. J. E. S. Moore, leader of the first and second expeditions, that Tanganyika represents an old Jurassic sea, and that its fauna is of relict nature. Of the six lakes, Tanganyika has by far the most re- markable fauna—of its 402 species 293 are endemic, and 57 of its 168 genera are peculiar to its waters; of the 146 species of fishes 121 are endemic, and a notable feature is the high degree of specialisation of the Cichlidz, the lake presenting the richest known assemblage of this family. There is a large molluscan fauna, and of the species of gastropods more than two-thirds—the halolimnic forms (Moore)—exhibit a marine-like appearance, and these are, without ex- ception, endemic. Noteworthy is the absence of Cladocera, and the relative scarcity of rotifers, which may be correlated with the salinity of the water, and especially with the excess of magnesium salts. Dr. Cunnington points out that geological investigation indicates that the extensive beds of sandstone and conglomerate which occur in the lake regions were probably formed under fresh-water and terrestrial conditions, that the trough in which Tanganyika lies NO. 2723, VOL. 109] was apparently not formed until middle tertiary times, and that the lake had no outlet until recent geological — times. Experts have not accepted Moore’s comparison — of shells from the lake with marine fossil shells of Jurassic age, or his views as to the primitive natt of the halolimnic gastropods. The endemic species — in the fauna of Tanganyika are now held to be specialised rather than primitive.. The conclusion — reached is that Tanganyika owes its remarkable fauna — to a long period of isolation, sufficiently extensive for — the inhabitants of the lake to assume the characters — of species and even genera distinct from those of the — neighbouring parts of the continent. 6 pee i University and Educational Intelligence. In connection with the Conference of Educational Associations which is being held at University Col- — lege, Gower Street, W.C.1, the annual general meet- ing of the Education Guild of Great Britain and Ireland took place on December 30. The president of. the guild, Sir Wilmot Herringham, delivered the presi- dential address, taking university education as his topic. He commented on the lack of interest in uni-. versity education shown by the majority of people, and emphasised the value of the inclusion of natural. sciences in a general education as a training in induc- tive reasoning. There is. also material gain by the training of a number of skilled practitioners in. chemistry, physics, engineering, medicine, etc., but the most important function of the university is dis-_ covery. Taking examples from medical science. only, gas gangrene, surgical shock, and the effects of poison gas were mentioned as specific problems arising during the wat in which investigations were undertaken with. success in university laboratories. Another interesting. fact mentioned was that between 1838 and 1851 out — of every million people born in Great Britain 500,000 died before the age of forty-five years; in 1881 that. age had risen to forty-eight ; and -by 1891 it was fifty- | two years—an increase in -average: life due, at any rate in part, to research and discovery accomplished by men of science working in the laboratories of our. universities. eae Beal 3 Accorpine to the December issue of the School Science Review, the representatives of the Science’ Masters’ Association met the Joint Standing Com- mittee of the Headmasters’ Conference and Associa~ tion of Preparatory Schools in June last and made certain suggestions for the teaching of science in pre- paratory schools. As a result it was recommended that (1) in the Common Entrance Examination the scope of the geography paper be widened, that some ~ of the questions in the mathematical paper should test a boy’s knowledge of practical mathematics, and that in the composition paper candidates should have an op- portunity of showing a knowledge of natural science ; (2) candidates for scholarships should be given an op- portunity of answering questions on natural science in a viva voce examination as well as in the general paper ; and (3) at least one, and if possible two, periods a week should be devoted in preparatory schools to science. The council of the Association of Preparatory Schools was at first unwilling to adopt any of these proposals, but after they had been approved by the _ Headmasters’ Conference the council of the Associa-— tion of Preparatory Schools agreed to them by 12 votes | to 3. When this decision is carried into effect boys in preparatory schools will have an opportunity of — gaining some knowledge of science at an age when all natural phenomena are of absorbing interest to them—a_ privilege boys in secondary schools have _— enjoyed for some time. bones ; * a JANUARY 5, 1922] - Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. y 1, 1890. Horatio Allen died.—A pioneer American locomotive engineers, Allen visited Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1828, and wards conveyed to the United States the loco- » “The Stourbridge Lion.’? In 1871-73 he as president of the American Society of. Civil January 2, 1875. Eber Brock Ward died.—In 1864 ard erected an experimental steel plant at Wyandotte, ichigan, where the first Bessemer steel made in the United States was produced. He was among the arliest to erect a works laboratory and to employ orks chemist. He also did important work in ection with water and rail transport. 3, 1795. Josiah Wedgwood died.— The friend of Watt, Erasmus Darwin, and Priestley, and a fellow of the Royal Society, Wedgwood by his ex- yeriments added several new species of pottery ware ‘English manufacture and turned the current of tation of the finer earthenwares into that of tation. “He was the most successful and al potter the world has ever seen.”’ _ Sanuary 5, 1887. Sir Francis Bolton died.—The in- itor of a system of signalling for the Army and vy, Bolton was widely known for his electrical , and he took a prominent part in founding the y of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, now Institution of Electrical Engineers. January 6, 1911. Sir John Aird died. For sixty Aird was engaged on important engineering hemes, his crowning work being the famous Assuan dam on the Nile built for the Egyptian Government ahem The dam is 2200 yards long, it has uice-gates, and contains more than 1,000,000 _ January 6, 1886. Alhémar Jean Claude Barré de aint Venant died.—Engaged for many years on prac- l work as an ingénieur des ponts et chaussées, nt Venant was an eminent elastician, contributing ich to the study of the strength of structures. January 8, 1861. Samuel Clegg died.—A pupil of Iton, Clegg while an apprentice at Birmingham nessed Murdoch’s experiments on gas lighting i himself became one of the pioneers of the gas January 8, 1825. Eli Whitney died—Holding a pre- linent place among the early inventors of America, itney, though originally a blacksmith, graduated at Yale, and while a private tutor in 1793 produced cotton gin. This enabled one man to clean a ousand pounds of cotton a day instead of five or -pounds. In twelve years the export of cotton rose n 189,000 Ib. to 4,000,000 Ib. per annum. 9, 1843. ##William Hedley died.—With thick, Stephenson, Blenkinsop, and Hackworth, Hedley was one of the pioneers of the locomotive. 1813 at Wylam Colliery, near Newcastle, he built _“ Puffing Billy,” the first practical and efficient omotive ever constructed. This engine is now in the Science Museum at South Kensington. : _ January 9, 1862, Samuel Colt died.—In 1835, at the age of twenty, Colt patented his repeating pistol or revolver, for the manufacture of which he built factory where automatic and semi-automatic chinery was used. ; anuary 11, 1877. Alfred Smee died.—Surgeon to Bank of England, Smee was best known for bis ‘ork on electricity. The Smee battery was devised y him, and he did pioneering work in electric metal- lurgy, including the art of electrotyping. E..: €i;S __NO. 2723, VOL. 109] ; x uJ S Z Fags : ae a NATURE 2y Societies and Academies. Paris. Academy of Sciences, December ig, 1921.—M. Georges Lemoine in the chair.—The president announced the death of M. Henry Parenty, correspondant for the section of mechanics.—E. Borel: The theory of games of chance and integral equations with symmetrical nucleus.—P. Termier and L, Joleaud: Summary of our knowledge of the Suzette layer (exact age, con- stitution, and extent): the question of its origin. This layer came from the Alps in the Aquitanian period, and is exclusively formed of Triassic elements. —C. Richet: The psychological unity of time.—G. Gouy; The surface tension of electrified electrolytes. In a recent communication M. Félix Michaud has proved that the surface tension of an electrolyte is not changed by the electrification of the surface, and hence raises an objection to the ionic hypothesis, since the ions, by accumulating at the electrified surface, should modify the capillary forces. The author states that it is not the,ionic theory that is at fault, but the view that the charge is constituted by the ions accu- mulated at the surface. The latter hypothesis is in- admissible, since a small charge does not diminish the osmotic pressure in the interior of the electrolyte nor the total number of ions per unit of volume.—G. Friedel and L. Royer: Mixtures of anisotropic liquids and the identity of the stratified liquids of Grandjean with liquids of the azoxyphenetol type.—R. Lagrange : The absolute differential calculus.—J. Wolff : The series Ak A. Denjoy : Quasi-analytical functions with 2— ay real variable.—E. Delassus: Closed articulated chains. —H. Abraham and R. Planiol: An _ astronomical chronograph of precision. An auxiliary electrical clock, controlled by an astronomical clock, beats tenths and twentieths of a second, and these are marked on a smoked strip by a recording galvano- meter; the same instrument records the observed — times on the same strip, and an accuracy of o-o1 sec. (or greater if required) is readily attained by a direct reading without a micrometer.—J. P. Lagrula: The principle and scheme of a recording chronograph with geometrical synchronisation.—J. Guillaume: Observa- tions of the sun made at the Lyons Observatory during the third quarter of 1921. Ninety days’ ob- servations are summarised in three tables, showing the number of spots, their distribution in latitude, and the distribution of the faculz in latitude.—E. Esclangon: The relativity of time.—J. Le Roux: Interference and reflection in a mobile system.—J. Chappuis and M. Hubert-Desprez : Electrolysis by stray currents. Two metal plates forming the electrodes were placed in sawdust or earth moistened with an elec- trolyte contained in a wooden box. The course of the corrosion was followed continuously by X-ray photo- graphs.—M. Taffin: The measurement of double re- fraction in tempered glass.—M. Siegbahn: New measurements of. precision in the X-ray spectrum. A description of an improved instrument of a_ type described in 1918, capable of measuring a wave-length with an accuracy of o-oo02 per cent.—A. Sellerio: Analogies and differences between the total galvano- magnetic effect and its correlative thermomagnetic effect.—J. Duclaux: The mechanism of continuous- light radiation.—B. Bogitch : The expansions of some refractory materials at high temperatures. Refractory bricks. of silica, bauxite, clay, chromite, and magnesia and their expansions were studied up to 1500° C, Bauxite bricks had the lowest coefficient of ex- pansion. Silica gave an irregular curve and lost” 30 NATURE 4 [JANUARY 5, 1922 its strength at about 600° C. The highest expansions were shown by magnesia and chromite bricks, and hence these are suitable only for furnaces in continuous work.—A, Charriou; The lime carried down by ferric hydroxide precipitates. To reduce the amount of lime adsorbed by precipitated ferric hydroxide to a mini- mum the calcium chloride solution should be very dilute and the ammonia added only just sufficient to precipitate the iron.—M. Grandmougin: The halogen derivatives of indigo.—J. B, Senderens and J. Aboulenc : The catalytic hydrogenation of the polyphenols in the wet way. Hydroquinone, resorcinol, pyrocatechol, pyrogallol, and phloroglucinol can be reduced in the presence of nickel by hydrogen under pressure (30 to 50 atmospheres) at temperatures between 115° C. and 145° C. At higher temperatures secondary reactions take place; thus resorcinol at 120° C. gives resorcite (1 : 3-cyclohexanediol), but at 180? C. some cyclo- hexanol is produced.—M. Lespieau: Derivatives of erythritol-acetylene, CH.(OH)-CH(OH)-C =C-CH(OH)-CH,(OH). —R. Fosse: The synthesis of a nitrogenous principle of plants, hydrocyanic acid, by the oxidation of am- monia and carbohydrates, glycerol, or formaldehyde. Potassium (or calcium) permanganate, in presence of silver nitrate, with ammonia and various organic bodies, gives cyanides as one of the oxidation products, —C. Jacob and M. Removille: A fall of meteorites in Cochin China.—P, Viennot ; The southern edge of the north Pyrenean Flysch, between the valleys of Aspe ~ and Saison.—J. Yung: The Hercynian tectonic of the Vosges.—P. Corbin: New observations on the eastern border of the mountains of Lans.—Mlle. J. Pfender ; The presence of pebbles not of local origin at Alon (Var).—E. de Martonne: Erosion platforms of the metalliferous mountains of Banat.—Mlle. Yvonne Boisse de Black: Researches on the Mindelian alluvium in the high valley of Cére and on the plateau -of Lacapelle-Barrez (Cantal).—P. Loisel and R. Castelnau: The radio-activity of the waters from Mont-Dore. Determinations of the radio-activity of the water from twelve hot springs are given; the gases from eight springs have also been examined. The gases contain a higher proportion of radium emanation than the waters, and this proportion varies with the spring and with the date of collection.—A. Boutaric: The nocturnal radiation at Mont Blanc.— G. Arnaud: The affinities of the Erysiphe and the Paradiopside.—L. Blaringhem: Heredity and physio- logical characters in the hybrids of barley.—G. André : The transformations undergone by oranges on keep- ing. The ripening of oranges by keeping is due to a reduction of acidity, the loss of sugars being rela- tively small. These changes cannot be wholly due to oxidation, since they are produced in a vacuum. Diastatic action is suggested as possible.—P. Dangeard: The evolution of the aleurone grains in castor-oil seed during germination.—M. Bridel and Mile. Marie Braecke: The presence of saccharose and aucubine in the seeds of Melampyrum arvense. Full details are given of the method of extracting sac- charose and the glucoside aucubine from the seeds. Rhinanthine, extracted by Ludwig from the seeds of Rhinanthus Crista-Galli, was also stated by Ludwig and Miiller to be present in the seeds of Melampyrum arvense. The identity of rhinanthine with aucubine has not yet been proved.—H. Heérissey: The bio- chemical synthesis of a-methyl-d-mannoside. By the action of the ferment present in germinated lucerne seeds upon d-mannose in dilute methyl alcohol solu- tion, a-methyl-d-mannoside is formed. Details of method of isolation and proofs of identity are given. —A. Demolon: The sulphur-oxidising power of soils. NO. 2723, VOL. 109] —L. Mercier: The larva of Limnophora aestuum, a marine Diptera.—A. Michel; The interpretation of the profound histological differentiation of the dorsal elytra and cirrus of the Aphroditian Annelids.—J. L. Lichtenstein; ‘The determination of egg deposition in Habrocytus cionicida.—L, Roule: The periodic changes of habitat of the common tunny. fish (Oreynus thynnus) and their connection with the changes of a medium. The migrations of the tunny fish are deter- mined by the temperature and salinity.—L. Léger and E,. Hesse: Microsporidia with spherical spores.—Li Ravaz and G. Vergé: The germination of the spores of vine mildew. Lime solutions are carbonated too rapidly on exposure to air to exert any toxic action on the mildew spores. Copper-lime mixtures fesist the action of rain and dew and preserve their toxic power.—R. Legroux and J. Jimenez: The factor of growth Bourguignon and A. Radovici: Chronaxy of the sensi- tive rachidian nerves of the upper limb in man.—E. Nicolas and P. Rinjard: against bovine plague. WasuIncton, D.C. National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings, vol. 6, No. 11 (November, 1920).—A. Weinstein: Homologous genes and linear linkage in Drosophila virilis. and detailed study with numerous bibliographic refer- ences, not lending itself to recapitulation.—F. C. Hoyt: The intensities of X-rays of the L-series, III. Critical potentials of the platinum and tungsten lines. | A continuation of an earlier work to the classification of some lines that were doubtful.—E. B. Stouffer ; Semi-variants of a general system of linear homo- geneous differential equations.—A. G. Webster: Some new methods in interior ballistics. A résumé of ex- tended experiments on the principal problem of in- terior ballistics, namely, to determine the position and velocity of the shot, and the mean temperature and pressure of the gases in the gun. analytical methods are used.—C. B. Bridges: The mutant crossveinless in Drosophila melanogaster. —J. A. Detlefsen: Is crossing over a function of dis- tance ? i many students of genetics, and believes that linkage is not a function of distance, between the two genes may remain fairly constant, and that the crossing over depends upon hereditary J factors.—E. E. Babcock and L. Collins: Inter- specific hybrids in Crepis. The behaviour of the seven-chromosome Crepis hybrid leads to the belief that there is not such a direct relationship between the two parent species as has been suggested.—C. G. Abbot: New observations on the variability of the sun. A discussion of an extended set of observations from July, 1919, to March, 1920, revealing a wide fluctuation in the sun’s radiation.—L. P. Eisenhart : The permanent gravitational field in the Einstein theory.—G. A. Linhart: A simplified method for the statistical interpretation of experimental data.—C. B. Lipman and G. A. Linhart: A critical study of fer- tiliser experiments. From a statistical study of fer- tiliser experiments the authors conclude that no fer- tiliser experiment as ordinarily conducted is possessed of sufficient practical value to justify the large amount of money, time, and energy involved. ae No. 12 (December, 1920).—H. Shapley : Preliminary report on pterergates in Pogomyrmex Californicus.— J. F. McClendon: Hydrogen-ion concentration of the contents of the small intestine. Criticism of the general erroneous impression that the intestinal con- tents are alkaline.—F. P. Underhill and M. Ringer: Blood concentration changes in_ influenza. Both in cultures of Leishmania Donovani.—G. The vaccination of cattle. A long - Graphical and | The author differs from the conclusion of | that the distance SES ag. « UARY 5, 1922] NATURE 31 blance between influenza and war-gas poisoning, marked increase in the concentration of the E. L. Nichols and D. T. Wilbur ; Luminescence temperatures. Announcing the discovery of sence at temperatures which are, roughly g, above the beginnings of a visible red heat. Detwiler: Functional regulations in animals sem spinal cords. The evidence jndicates e factor which is involved in the over-produc- motor cells is the stimulus afforded by the with the central neurones.—A. S. King: ts with the tube resistance furnace on the tential difference. The conclusion is that ation of the intestinal flora, with special the implantation of Bacillus acidophilus, experiments on man. Attempts to im- llus bulgaricus failed, as in the feeding ; on rats. It appears that Bacillus acido- possesses several advantages over ordinary acillus bulgaricus milk.—Kilauea Volcano ‘A report by the committee of the Academy of Sciences at the request of the Agriculture with reference to desirability | of the observatory being assumed by the al Publications Received. ocument No. 39: State of New York. Thirty-second of the New York State College of hevioniture and of the Agricultural Experiment Station Direction of Cornell University, Ithaca, New 2 Pp. civ+1074+30+8+57 plates. Thirty-third Transmitted to the Legislature, January 15, ca: Cornell University.) © Agricultural Experiment Station. Memoir Study of Farm Layout. By W. T.° Myers. 35: Some Effects of Potassium Salts on Soils. ‘ -606. Memoir 36: Resistance of the Roots to Low Temperature. By D. B. Carrick. emoir 37: A Modified Babcock Method for Deter- Butter. By N. W. Hepburn. Pp. 663-690. (Ithaca: ha ae ies Commerce: U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. ‘Special Publication No. 60: A Study of Map Pro- 1. By 0. S. Adams. 5 cents. Serial No. 121, No. 62: Triangulation in Rhode Island. By cents. Serial No. 143, Special Publication No. 67: ts Connected with Geodesy and Cartography. 20 cents. Serial No. 146, Special Publication Map Projection, with Applications to Map ction. By C. H. Deetz and 8. Adams. | No. 150, Special Publication No. 69: Modern suring the Intensity of Gravity. By C. H. Swick. 8. r 0. sults of Observations made mast and Geodetic Survey Magnetic Observatory, rizona. By D. L. Hazard. 20 cents. (Washing- + Printing Office.) the Interior: United States Geological Survey. Paper 449: Ground Water in the Meriden Area, _@,. A. Waring. Ground Water in the ley Area, Connecticut. 468: Records of Water n_ Southern Carolina. By F. C. Ebert. (Washing- r 721: Geology and Petroleum North-Western Kern County, California. By W. A. 10 cents. Bulletin 715-M: Permiam Salt Deposits of the tral United States. By N. H. Darton. (Washington: Vol. 72, No. 8: A Review By H. Winge. Translated (Publication 2650.) Pp. ii+97. Vol. 72. oderms as Aberrant Arthropods. Bv A. H. (Washington: Smithsonian Department of Mines: Mines Branch. The Preparation, tion, and Combustion of Powdered Coal. By J. Blizard. plates. (Ottawa: Department of Public Printing and er) ) | YO. 2723, VOL. 109] logically and pathologically there is a marked ! _ Tide Tables for the Eastern Coasts of Canada for the Year 1922, including the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Atlantic Coast, the Bay of Fundy, Northumberland and Cabot Straits, and In- formation on Currents. Issued by the Tidal Current Survey in the Department of the Naval Service of the Dominion of Canada. (Twenty-sixth Year of Issue.) Pp. 68. (Ottawa: Department of Publie Printing and Stationery.) . Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association. The Improvement of Plants through Bud Selection. By A. D, Shamel. Pp. iv+28+41 plates. (Honolulu.) : Madras Agricultural Department. Year Book, 1920-21. Pp. vi+123. (Madras: Director of Agriculture.) 10 annas. Office scientifique et technique des Péches Maritimes. Notes et Mémoires No. 8: Rapport sur la campagne de Péche de 1l’Orvet dans les Eaux tunisiennes. Par Prof. G. Pruvot. Pp. 12+1 map. 3 francs. Notes et Mémoires No. 9: Recherches sur le Régime des Eaux Atlantiques, au large des Cétes de France et sur la Biologie du Thon Blanc ou Germon (Observations faites pendant la seconde croisiére de la Tanche, Aofit et Septembre, 1921). Par Ed. Je Danois. Pp. 16+6 plates. 4 francs. (Paris: Ed. Blondel la Rougery.) Department of the Interior: United States Geological Survey. Professional Paper 121: Helium-bearing Natural Gas. By G. 8. Rogers. Pp. 1 (Washington: Government. Printing Office.) Departement van Landbouw, Lijverheid en Handel. “’S Lands Plantentium.”’ (Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg.) Treubia : Receuil de Travaux Zoologiques, Hydrobiologiques et Oceano- graphiques. Vol. 1, Livraison 4. Pp. 139-300+plates 8-12. (Buitenzorg.) 4 francs. . The Botanical Society and Exchange Club of the British Isles. (Vol. 6, Part 1.) Report for 1920. By the Secretary, G. C. Druce. Pp. 207. (Oxford: The Secretary, Yardley Lodge.) 10s. Fourteenth Annual Report (1920-21) presented by the Council to the Court of Governors at a Meeting held in Cardiff on October 28, 1921. Pp. 35. (Cardiff: The Museum.) Canada. Department of Mines: Mines Branch. Bulletin No. 33: Gas Producer Trials with Alberta Coals. By J. Blizard and E. 8, Malloch. (Supplementing Report No. 331.) Pp. 40. (Ottawa: Department of Public Printing and Stationery.) Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Building Re- search Board. Special Report No. 2: Experiments on Floors. An Extract from the Report of the Building Materials Research Com- mittee. Pp. 21. 1s. 3d. net. Special Report No. 3: The Stability of Thin Walls. An Extract from the Report of the Building Materials Research Committee. Pp. 13. 6d. net. Fuel Research Board. Fuel for Motor Transport. Second Memorandum by the Fuel Research Board. Pp. iv+16. 6d. net. (London: H.M. Stationery Office.) Mines Department: No. 4: Record of Research on the Passage of Flame through Perforated Plates and through Tubes of Small Diameter. Pp. 19. 9d. net. Memorandum No. 5: Record of Research on: the Passage of the Flame of an Explosion from within Miners’ Lamps fitted with Chimneys. Pp. 13. 6d. net. (London: H.M. Stationery Office.) Department of Commerce. Scientific Papers of the Bureau of Standards. No. 421: Wave Lengths longer than 5500A in the Are Spectra of Yttrium, Lanthanum, and Cerium, and the Preparation of Pure and Rare Earth Elements. By ©. C. Kiess and others. Pp. 315-352. (Washington: Government Printing Office.) 5 cents. Union of South Africa. Denartment of Mines and Industries = Geological Survey. Sheet 52: Johannesburg. (Pretoria: Geo- logical Survey.) ; Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Vol. 36, Section A, No. 1: On Polygons to Generate Diagrams of Max. Stress or Girders due to Locomotives and Dead Loads, together with an Extension of Rankine’s Conjugate Load Areas to the Design of Masonry Arches. By T. Alexander and J. T. Jackson. Pp. ii+30. (Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co.; London: Williams and Nor- gate.) Is. : Proceedings of the Geologists’ Vol. 38, Part Tf. Pp. 80+4 plates. (London: E. Stanford, Ltd.) 5s. net. : Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa. Bulletin No. 117: Experi- ments with Castor Seed conducted at Sabour. By ©. S. Tavlor. Pp. ii+10. 3 annas. No. 119: The Agricultvral Development of Baluchistan. By A. Howard and G. L. C. Howard. Pp. iv+27. 6 annas. No. 122: Pusa 12 and Pusa 4 in the Central Circle of the United Provinces. Bv B. ©. Burt and others. Pp. iv+34. 11 annas. No. 194: Safflower Oil. By A. Howard and J. 8. Remington. Pp. ii+14. 4 annas. (Calcutta: Government Print- ing Office.) Miners’ Lamps Committee. M emorandum Association, Diary of Societies. THURSDAY, Janvary 5. GroeraeHican Assocration (at Birkbeck College), at 11.45 a.m.— R. L. Thompson and others: Discussion: Geography and His- tory in Schools. ASSOCIATION OF ASSISTANT MAsTeERS IN SeconpARY Scaoors (at London Day Training College), at 2.30.—Prof. T. P. Nunn: The Purposes of Education. j i GroGRapHica, Association (at Birkbeck College), at 2.30.—Sir Hal- ford J. Mackinder: Problems of the Pacific. Rovat Insrrtvrton, at 3.—Prof. J. A. Fleming: and Wireless Telephony: Electric Oscillations. GroararHican Associatrion (at Birkbeck College), at 4—E. N. Fallaize: The Anthropological Institute and the Services it van render to Geographical Students. Electric Waves 32 | NATURE [JANUARY 5, s CENTRAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE CARE OF THE MENTALLY DEFECTIVE (at University College), at 5.—Dr. G@. A. Auden: The Possibility of Co-operation between the School Medical Officer and the Teacher in the Training of Subnormal and Mentally Defective Children. Lonpon Heap Tracners’ Association (at University College), at §.30.—D. J. Collar and T. G. Tibbey: Intelligence Tests in Schools. Roya, AERONAUTICAL Socrety (at Royal Society. of Arts), at 5.30.— Wing-Cmdr. W. D. Beatty: Specialised Aircraft GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION (at Birkbeck College), at 5.45.—Lord Robert Cecil: Presidential Address. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Dr. 8S. P. Smith: Single and Three-phase Commutator Motors with Shunt and Series Characteristics. PursrcaL Socrery AND OpTicat Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 8.—A. A. Campbell Swinton: The Johnsen-Rahbek Electrostatic Telephone and its Predecessors. Royat Socrery or Mepicrne. (Obstetrics and Gynecology Section), at 8.—B. Whitehouse: Salpingotomy versus Salpingectomy in the Treatment of Tubal Gestation—J. B. Hunter: Short His- tory and Post-mortem Notes of an Interesting Oase of Diffuse Carcinoma following Cancer of Cervix.—A. W. Bourne: Hyper- thyroidism in Functional Menorrhagia. FRIDAY, Janvary 6. GEOGRAPHICAL AssocraTIon (at King’s College), at 10.20 a.m.—Dr. Fleure; The Co-operation of Historians and Geographers. GrograpHicaL Association (at Birkbeck College), at 3,—Miss i Winchester: Some Climate Problems of Modern Palestine.—At 4 —Dr. Hogarth: The Hedjaz. Roya GrograpHicaL Society (Christmas Lectures to Young People) (at Aolian Hall), at 3.30.—Sir Francis Younghusband: Pictures from Mount Everest. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Joint Meeting with the Society of Chemical Industry), at 6—G. M. Gill: The Co-opera- tion of the Engineer and Chemist in the Control of Plants and Processes. JuNIon INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—A. E. Bingham: Stone and Marble-working Machinery. SATURDAY, Janvary 7. CoLtteGeE OF PrecePToRS, at 11.30 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: Psycho- analysis and its Value and Limitations from the Standpoint of the Practical Teacher. Rorat Institutios, at 3.—Prof. J. A. Fleming: Electric Waves and Wireless Telephony: Electric Waves. Girsert Waite FertowsHie (at 6 Queen Square, W.C.1), at 3.- E. Kay Robinson: British Wild Life. MONDAY, Janvary 9. ARISTOTELIAN Soctery (at 21 Gower Street, W.C.1), at 8.—Dr. FQ Schiller, C. Joad, and Prof. R. F. A. Hoernlé: Discussion: Mr. Russell’s “‘ Analysis of Mind.’’ Roya Institute or British ARcHITEcTs, at 8. Surverors’. INstituTION, at 8.—W. R. Davidge : Greater London. Rorat GroeraPpHicat Society (at Aolian Hall), at 8.30.—Sir Philip Brocklehurst: Across Wadai. TUESDAY, Janvary 10. Royat Institution or Great Britain, at 3.—Prof. J. A. Fleming: Electric Waves and Wireless Telephony: Wireless Telephony. Mrineratoeicat Society (at Geological Society), at 5.30.—C. E. Tilley: Density, Refractivity, and Composition Relations of Some Natural Glasses—A. Russell: Laurionite and Para- laurionite from Cornwall.—W. A. Richardson: A Simplification of the Rosewal Method of Micro-analysis. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, at 6.—A. W. Rendell: Control of Trains in Relation to Increased Weight and Aa combined with Reduced Headway.—Sir Henry Fowler and H. N. Gresley: Trials in Oonnection with the Application of the Vacuum- brake for Long Freight Trains. Royat PHoroerapHic Society oF GREAT Britain (Technical Meet- ing), at 7.—Dr. B. T. J. Glover and others: Discussion: Should the Manufacturers Supply Figures indicating the Contrast Grading of Gas-light and Bromide Papers?—A. F. Kitching: Demonstration of Some Effects with Ultra-violet Light.—The General Electric Co., Ltd.: Developments Rendered Possible in Projection Work by the Introduction of the Osram Gas-filled Projector Type Lam QvEKETT MICROSCOPICAL ‘Oxvs, at 7.30—Dr. ©. Turney: Mosquito Investigation. Réntaen Socrety (at Institution of Electrical Engineers), at 8.15. res a A. O. Rankine: The Structure and Dimensions of Mole- cules. Rorat ANTHROPOLOGICAL INstITUTE, at 8.15.—J. Whatmough: Rehtia, the Venetic Goddess of Healine. Royat Soctrry or Meprctnr (Psychiatry Section), at 8.30.—Dr. R. G@. Rows: The Application of Modern Methods in the Treat- ment of Psychoses. WEDNESDAY, Janvary 11. Royat Socrery or Arts (Mann Juvenile Lecture), at 3—Dr. W. R. Ormandy: Clay: What it is, where it comes from, and what can be done with it. INSTITUTION OF CIviIL ENGINEERS (Students’ Monkhouse : transmission. INsTITuTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS (at Institution of Mechani- cal Engineers), at 8—Dr. F. W. Lanchester and R. H. Pearsall: An Investigation of Certain Aspects. of the Two-stroke Engine for Automobile Vehicles. NO. 2723, VOL. 109] Problems of Meeting), at 6.—E. W. The Economic Aspects of Various Methods of Power- THURSDAY, JANUARY 12. Royat AgRONAUTICAL SocreTy (Juvenile Lecture) (at Royal. wee | of Arts), at 3—Major D. 0. H. Hume: Boats that Fly. Lonpon MarHEMATICAL Copenre (at Royal Astronomical Boctety),, at 5, gear —F. Gill : Audion.—F. Gill: OpricaL Socrery vat Toperial College of Science and bie at 7.30.—Dr. CO. J. Peddle: The Manufacture of Optical Glass.— Dr. J. W. French: The Barr and Stroud 100 ft. Self-contained Base Rangefinder._T. Smith: The Optical Three Apertures Problem. Institute of Merats (London Section) (at Sir John Cass Technical Institute), at 8—Col. N. Belaiew: The Inner Structure of the Crystalline Grain. ; Harveran Socrety (Annual General Meeting) (at 11 Chandos Street, — W.1), at 8.15.—Dr. G. de Bec Turtle: Some Points on Spasm in — the Alimentary Tract (Presidential Address). FRIDAY, Janvary 13. Royat Astronomican Soctety, at 5.—J. 8. ine dy Jupiter in 1915 and 1916: Rotation Period in Different Latitudes, ne Observations at the National Observatory, gti aa Forbes: Solar Motion from 1922 Radial Velocities. —Major W. as Lockyer: The Use of a Graduated Wedge in Stellar irlageifice: tion and Parallax Work. CONTENTS. Education and the Nation ren a Fifty Years of Electrical Science . .-..-+. - xo Fermat’s Last Theorem. By G. B.M. . . Chemistry of Coke-oven and oe Works. By E.V. Evans... . 25 eee ere Lichens, By O. V. D. . ‘ British Mineral’ Resources. By Prof. H. “Deuta:. ; Our Bookshelf. Letters to the Editor:— Atmospheric Refraction. SOW (With Diagram.) — Dr. John Ball; Instr.-Comdr, Thos. » e a Re APPAR ae ey The Message of Scienée. a Robertson Sees SO Cohesion.—Wilson Taylor. . _ 10 - The Resonance Hypothesis of Audition. —€. 'R. G. Cosens and Dr, H. Hartridge : pee er Wy The Action of Sunlight.--Dr, C. W. Saleeby ees CON Units in Aeronautics. —A. R. Low . «.. +++ + 12) Self-fertilisation in Mollusca.—G. C. Robson... 12 The Law of the Heart. By Prof. E. H. Starling, CMG ERB ec es 13 A Summer Visit to Jan Mayen "Yeland. " (ttustrated.) By J. M. Wordie .,..... . + 5. )epeeeees) Obituary :— Sir German Sims Woodhead, K.B.E. By | ) ete Oy: Amerie oe ps eaten Ke 54 Prof. G. 8, Brady, F.R.S, By A. ‘Wi Ss 39 EOIN RI ee hile Aviat et » i ceeheeae Se gO Our Astronomical Column ; — The Einstein Tower =... 's, s/s) Changes in the Crab Nebula... . 1. ++ ++ ++ 24 The Astrographic Catalogue... ...- ++ ++ + 24. Agriculture at the British Association. By Dro A. Laudetigo 3.2 .>- » Ree eee The Megalithic Monuments of Malta A ac ee aa A Graft-Hybrids.. . MEME ry I hg Fauna of African Lakes ; wn ood ve eee mie University and Educational Intelligence .. .- . 28 Calendar ofIndustrial Pioneers ......+.+.+.+ + 29 Societies and Academies Pape erate eT) Official Publications Received ......+.+% + 3F Diary of Societies ... -.-+-+ ++-+++++ 3! NATURE 33 ; THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters.should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. Classics and Science. a ORD MILNER, in his presidential address i to the Classical Association on January 6, _ made a notable declaration of the unity of educa- tional purpose of classical and scientific studies. ‘He pointed out that to the mind which had received real enlightenment there could be no antagonism between these two great branches of human know- ledge. ‘‘ All modern science had its roots in the classics, and, on the other hand, no man imbued with the spirit of the great classical writers could be lacking in respect for science or fail to recognise its _ + supreme importance to the progress of mankind.”’ _ Lord Milner went on to say :— _ ___**I wonder what Plato and Aristotle, could they _ feappear among men to-day, would say to an educa- tion that was purely linguistic,.even if the literature with which it occupied itself was the best ever known. Looking with wondering eyes on the achieve- ‘ments of science which had transformed the world ‘since their day and given to man command over _ physical forces such as they had never dreamed of, ___would they not be seized with an intense desire to probe these marvels to the bottom, to know all about their causes, the methods and the steps by which such great results had been attained? And _ what would they think of a man who, living in the _ midst of these achievements, took no interest in them except in so far as they affected his personal con- venience and well-being, enabling him to satisfy his ‘wants cheaply, to travel with rapidity and comfort, _ to communicate in a few minutes with the uttermost ‘ends of the globe, to escape suffering, avert disease, and even postpone the advent of death, and who never felt impelled to go more deeply into the matter and to learn something of the inner nature of the NO. 2724, VOL. 109] mysterious forces the discovery of which was so rapidly transforming the life of men upon this earth? Any Greek philosopher revisiting the world to-day would condemn such a man as a misfit—a creature unsuited to its environment.’’ With this conception of the close relationship be- tween classical learning and scientific discovery most scientific workers will be in cordial agreement. The common enemies of both are ignorance, sordid com- mercialism, and general public indifference to intel- lectual light, whether it comes from the past or the present. There was a time when this was not so clearly recognised as it is to-day, and when classical scholars placed followers of experimental science among the barbarians. Tradition, method, social distinctions and professional prospects were then all on the side of the classics of Greece and Rome, and the most capable pupils were directed to the study of them and discouraged from devoting attention to modern scientific studies. It was claimed that instruction in classical languages was particularly valuable in developing accuracy, training reasoning powers, improving the memory, and cultivating all the faculties necessary to make the best use of life in any field. Psychologists have, however, de- stroyed the educational concept upon which this claim is based, and it is no longer believed that the exercise of the mind on one kind of material im- proves the faculty to deal with other kinds. No subject can therefore be put forward as affording unique general training in mental faculties or powers. We are glad that Lord Milner did not base his plea. for classical studies upon the grounds of the mental discipline secured through concentration upon the letter, but dealt rather with the spirit manifested in the literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome and its guidance for life to-day. Whatever may have been the true source of Greek thought and discussion, whether intuitive or acquired, our own intellectual culture is unquestionably of Greek origin. While Latin was first taught as a medium of expres- sion, and for use in-the needs of life, Greek was studied for the knowledge to be gained through it. We do not hesitate to pay tribute to the brilliant genius of Ionian philosophy, the careful work of Hippocrates and his school, and the richness of the Alexandrian epoch. In the teaching of the Ionian school it is possible to find; as: Prof. Gomperz has pointed out, two of the corner-stones' of modern chemistry—the existence of elements and the con- ception of a single fundamental or primordial matter as the source of material diversity. Advanced views relating to the shapes and motions of bodies in the solar system were held at a very early date in Greek 34 NATURE [ JANUARY 12, 1922 history (though they were afterwards superseded by childish ideas), and the first phase of the history of thought upon organic evolution began with early Greek philosophers in the seventh century before the opening of our era, while its effects on Christian theology and Arabic philosophy were felt for more than.two thousand years. Acquaintance with these and other achievements of Greek genius should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated man, and the science student can find even more to ’ admire in that wonderful age than can the purely literary scholar. While, however, we hold the philosophers of Greek antiquity in highest honour, it must be con- fessed that the whole of Greek natural knowledge has little bearing upon the principles, methods, and practice of modern science. Scarcely a scientific work of to-day contains a reference to contributions to the subject by Greek philosophers,. and their guesses or observations may be said to be disregarded by scientific discoverers generally. While the mathe- matician esteems the achievement of Euclid and the investigations of Archimedes, and the physician finds much to admire in the works attributed to Hippo- crates, the chemist and experimental biologist are disposed to regard Greek speculation on their respec- tive subjects as fruitless. Indeed, from the point of view of practical chemistry, it would be more reasonable to study Arabic literature than Greek. The . creative genius of the early Greeks is undoubted, but its results are negligible in comparison with the work of modern science. The value of acquaintance with Greek learning is not in the material knowledge itself, but in the spirit which created it. The Greeks possessed to a high degree the spirit of scientific curiosity and the desire to find a natural explanation for the origin and exist- ence of things which is the ground motive of progress in science. The aim of Greek thought was the unifi- cation of disconnected knowledge. This laid the foundation of synthetic science, but carried with it the tendency to reduce natural phenomena to a rigid geometrical or logical system. It is possible that the modern science student would be all the better if given a trend in the same direction, as experimental inquiry alone is apt to be narrow and must be special- ised. Even neglecting this philosophical aspect of science, the early Greeks manifestéd supremely the characteristics of true apostles of science. Passion- ate regard for truth, disinterested research, imagina- tion, acute reasoning, and creative intelligence were the essence of the Greek spirit, and they are elements of the unalterable germ-plasm which transmits the scientific temper throughout the ages. NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Because inspiration and constructive thought are necessary to the student of natural knowledge, the writings of Greek philosophers cannot be neglected by him with-. out detriment to his intellectual equipment. It is the human side of Greek thought and action that the science student should know, and the scien- — tific facts themselves. are ancillary to it as a means of training. Science as studied in most schools is, a spiritless performance and has not that contact with human nature required to make it appeal to most pupils. Attention to the history of great scien- tific discoveries may perhaps tend to counteract the conception of science as a mere repository of facts and a vocational study. Greek philosophy can use- fully take an important place in such a course, but consideration must be given to the most appropriate stage at which to introduce it. It is now generally agreed that there should be no specialisation of studies below the age of about sixteen years, so that up to this stage all students should have formed the same foundations of a general education, in- cluding both the literary and the scientific elements. If the preliminary training thus received in classies enabled an average pupil to read original Greek texts by sixteen years of age, the value of this attainment to the student who then proposes to devote himself mainly to science cannot be doubted. As, however, such proficiency is rare, it would appear that the case for the teaching of Greek or Latin holds chiefly for those who propose to con- tinue the study to an advanced stage, and that for students who propose to specialise in other directions — preliminary instruction which is necessarily trun- cated serves no very useful purpose. | A subject of study should be considered as an instrument of service—mentally, morally, and materially—as a working part of the machinery of life. If the preliminary training in classics cannot reach this stage of attainment for science students, then obviously it would be better to absorb the spirit of Greece through translations than to spend time at what must prove a vain study so far as reading original’ texts with intelligence is concerned. No student who proposes to devote himself to science could hope to render Aristotle into English in the style of the translation now being published by the Clarendon Press under the editorship of Mr. W. D. Ross, or of Sir Arthur Hort’s translation of the _‘*Enquiry into Plants’? from the Greek of Theo- phrastus published in the Loeb Classical Library, to mention two instances only. Whatever may be urged as to the value of the study of the classics — to science students must refer chiefly to the sub- stance of the best works in these languages, and that can be gained from translations. | January 12, 1922] NATURE 35 Acquaintance with the Greek spirit through such means is much needed in science teaching when the is reached at which a student can appreciate systematising aspects of science. Early interest science comes through wonder and delight in the asic beauty and charm of natural phenomena, ind is followed by interest in the use of the forces of Nature by man. With adolescence comes the wer of appreciating systems of theoretical com- eteness and unity, and it is then that attention usefully be turned to the thoughts of Greek osophers. Young pupils are very rarely im- ed by unifying principles and philosophical ulations whether placed before them in Greek their own language. Their work in science is almost necessarily limited to acquaintance with eptual phenomena, and conceptual ideas make : appeal to them. Similarly in historical studies riking episodes and dramatic events are more ily intelligible to immature minds than the con- ‘stitutional or other causes which produce them. ‘Probably a grammatical generalisation is more readily understood than a principle derived from ratory measurements, and on that account pupils 10 have been trained to apply scientific method language may be better prepared to take up the idy of science seriously than one in whose mind sre is nothing but loose ends. Whether Greek and tin are essentially the most suitable languages promoting this sense of law and order, as well facility in the art of expression, is a matter of inion. There may on these grounds be a value preliminary training in classics to students who opose to devote themselves mainly to scientific Sursuits, but there is so much in Greek science and philosophy that cannot be understood without acquaintance with natural knowledge that an even onger plea can be made for training in science those who intend to give their chief attention classical studies. : 1 cing _.. The Hormone Theory of Heredity. Hormones and Heredity: A Discussion of the Evolution of Adaptations and the Evolution of Species. By Dr. J. T. Cunningham. Pp. xx+ 246+3 plates. (London: Constable and Co., _. Ltd., 1921.) 248. ‘, JT would be no exaggeration to say that holes 1 could be picked in any theory of heredity as _ yet put forward. The problem is one of great diffi- culty and complexity, and when we think of the ii enormous number of qualities or ‘‘ factors ’’ con- __yeyed in the minute space of an ovum, or still more NO. 2724, VOL. 109] 4 ina single sperm-cell, it seems at first sight im- ce possible to believe that all these qualities are ‘‘ re- presented,’’ rather than that the presence of certain of them, which might be called ‘‘ key-factors,”’ imply the development of numerous others. But, however this may be, the thought suggests itself that perhaps the knowledge we possess of the nature of protoplasmic structure and function is not yet sufficiently advanced to warrant the statement of any theory professing to be adequate. We are, indeed, in some doubt even with respect to certain fundamental facts. As will have been clear to readers of the correspondence in these columns, in which Sir Archdall Reid and others have taken part, the actual meaning of many of the terms used is in dispute. It may be of use to attempt to express in a few words the main question at issue without using language of uncertain connotation. Suppose, then, that an organism is exposed to a new set of external conditions. Some forces or influences acting upon it are changed, and the effects produced in the organism, which we call its ‘‘ reactions,’’ are not the same as before. ‘These reactions are, of course, conditioned by the nature of the organism itself, and may or may not be of such a kind as to be of benefit to it in adjustment to the new state of affairs. If they are so, they are sometimes called ‘‘ adapta- tions.’? But this term is apt to suggest to certain minds a species of directing agency, and is best avoided. In any case, the length of life of such an organism will be dependent on its response to the changed conditions. Those organisms with the longer life naturally leave more offspring, which will be more like their parents than like the off- spring of parents which have responded less favour- ably to the change in environment. The first-men- tioned offspring will, therefore, respond to this changed environment in the same way as did their parents, and probably some of them, owing to the random shuffling of the material of the germ-cells, more favourably. It will be seen that we are not justified in speak- ing of such a case as one of “ inheritance of acquired characters.’’ If the response in question were continued in the offspring after the altered environment had returned to its original or some other. state, an alteration in the ‘‘germ-plasm ’’ might be supposed to have been produced. But some difficulty arises here in respect of cases in which it appears that a change may be persistent for a few generations and that then reversion to the original mode may occur. Are such cases to be regarded as changes brought about in the germ- plasm? We note how difficult investigation is made by the length of time needed for the tests. Many researches are in progress at the present time, and a0 o. NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 we may look for much light from them. ‘The con- viction seems to be growing that at all events a slow and gradual change in the germ-plasm may be pro- duced by altered conditions, although the main lines of heredity may be determined by ancestral nature. Many obscure facts have to be taken into account, and it is no wonder that the author of the book before us finds it an easy task to show how unsatis- factory are the various theories of heredity and variation that have been suggested. He therefore puts forward a new one, which appears to have taken its present form on account of the renewed attention attracted to the effect of the chemical pro- ducts of one organ on the activity of another—on account of the discovery of the mechanism of pan- creatic secretion by Starling and the present re- viewer in 1902. The hypothesis that every tissue of the body gives off its own specific chemical pro- duct, and that this product has its effect to a greater or less degree on all other tissues, was put forward by Brown-Séquard and d’Arsonval as early as 1869, but was thrown somewhat into discredit by the un- critical use of it by the former. Dr. Cunningham gives the credit of the first suggestion to Claude Bernard in 1855, but we regret to have been unable to find the statement referred to. It would be of much interest to have the exact reference. The hormone theory of heredity may best be given in the words of its propounder : ‘‘ We have within the gonads numerous gametocytes whose chromo- somes contain factors corresponding to the different parts of the soma, and these factors or determinants may be stimulated by waste products circulating in the blood and derived from the parts of the soma corresponding to them’’ (that is, to the determin- ants). Thus the effect of chemical products on any particular organ or tissue in the soma is to be sup- posed to be exercised in the same way on the “‘ de- terminant ’’ in the germ-cell which afterwards gives rise to such organ in the progeny. For example, the exostosis on the frontal bone of stags, formed as a result of repeated butting, would give off products, not necessarily different in kind from those of bone in general, but in. increased amount, and thus stimulate the corresponding factors in the germ-cells. While it would perhaps be rash to deny the possi- bility of a process of this kind, the objection might naturally be made that when applied to the in- heritance of bodily structures in general, or of changes in cheat it argues sO enormous a variety of ‘‘ hormones ’’ as to seem almost incredible. Not | only so, but the chemical product of each organ and tissue must act on the germ-plasm in a way which leads to the formation of a tissue like that by which the hormone was formed. In view of the differ- ence between the structure and activity of the germ- NO. 2724, VOL. 109 | plasm and those of the various constituents of the — soma, are we justified in supposing that a particular chemical compound will affect both in the same way — or even in a similar way? Moreover, waste products — would be expected rather to have a retarding than | a stimulating influence on similar reactions. But it — might be held that the hormones in question are not — q waste products in the ordinary sense, and that the precise name is immaterial. ; The possibility cannot be denied that, ever inaccessible to nervous action the germ-plasm may be, it must be affected by chemical agents in the blood. Indeed, Stockard’s experiments, to mention a single instance only, show that this is so with alcohol. But in such cases the effect is of a more — or less generalised nature on the progeny, and ~ the existence of tissue products of the kind © demanded by Dr. Cunningham’s theory is not yet demonstrated. As Prof. Swale Vincent has pointed out, it is remarkable how few ‘‘ internal secretions ”’ have actually been shown to exist as chemical in- dividuals. Although it may savour too much of mysticism, it is open to question whether the original . form of Dr. Cunningham’s theory, in which “‘ in- fluences ’’ were spoken of, might not be the more cautious and wiser one as yet. The loss of differ- entiation in the growth of tissues im vitro, except in the proximity of another tissue, no doubt indi- cates some kind of influence by one tissue on another. But the fact that this influence disappears | when the new cells wander away into the culture fluid is difficult to reconcile with a chemical product. Notwithstanding this objection, the theory must be given the credit of introducing functional or physiological considerations into the problem, as does the somewhat similar one of Delage. Most theories seem to be content with the purely struc- tural view of rows of determinants in chromosomes and the shifting about of these. The difficulty in those theories which limit the transmission of heredi- tary characters to the chromosomes is that these exist as distinct entities only at the time of karyo- kinesis, while even the nucleus itself is but a part of the cell in functional relation with the whole. Whether the chromosome view is necessarily in- volved in Mendelian interpretations is subject to doubt, however significant the experimental facts may seem. Bateson appears to be unconvinced, and states that the results of such experiments have not _ solved the problem of adaptation, while Brachet has obtained evidence that the ovum, when fertilised after removal of the nucleus, can transmit charatters of the female parent. en Dr. Cunningham appears to be justified in his complaint that, although his theory was published in 1908, later writers have put forward similar _ JANuARY 12, 1922] oN NATURE 37 ews without reference to his work. In the book us: he includes: a detailed account of his ex- nts on the origin of somatic sex-characters, es these as the main support of his theory. t admit that explanation on other lines is rdinarily difficult. The discussion of the the scrotum on pp. 147 and 148 is of much although, no doubt, objection may be taken view of its origin as a kind of traumatic forbids detailed reference to the many other importance brought forward, such as the between specific and adaptive characters, of new dominants, the presence of useless t , continuous and discontinuous variations, oon. Loeb’s “‘ tropism ’’ theories are adversely The facts and views put forward cannot red by investigators of the problems of and the book as a whole requires careful It is of particular value in bringing ‘theory which was previously known to re degree, and, although modifications ss need to be made, the various facts contained in the book must not be Cn r10n. Cunningham’s theory has the un- Lor eneecting new forms of experi- Ww. M. BAYLISs. edicinal Chemicals (Synthetic and _ By M. Barrowcliff and F. H. Carr. | Chemistry.) Pp. xiii+331. (Lon- Bailliére, Tindall, and Cox, 1921.) & this book Messrs. Barrowcliff and had i in mind the production of a critical um of methods for the manufacture of medicinal chemicals, which would be use- chers and to those occupied in research in the industry itself. The idea was to attention to those published processes cer capable of industrial application and efore of first importance when improve- are under consideration. y be said at once that for the ends in view ime leaves little to be desired. The 1ation given is well selected and reasonably YO. 2724, VOL. 109] a complete, though it clearly does not exhaust the authors’ knowledge of the subject: the descrip- tions are clear and easy to follow. Considerations of space are no doubt respons- ible for the brevity exhibited in some cases; thus, under pilocarpine there is no reference to the alka- loids which accompany it in jaborandj, though any attempt to make pilocarpine is sure, sooner or later, to bring the operator into contact with iso- pilocarpine. The authors have every excuse for not embarking on a critical résumé of the tangled chemistry of digitalis by way of introduction to their description of the manufacture of the various products which appear in commerce as active principles of this drug; nevertheless, there can be no question that such a résumé would have been useful. It should be added, however, that the authors have only themselves to thank if their readers prove exacting in such matters, because in most cases they have provided excellent sum- maries of the kind indicated, which serve to emphasise the few cases in which they are lacking. The subjects dealt with are grouped for the most part according to therapeutical applications—e.g. anesthetics, narcotics, analgesics—though this arrangement is departed from when it is more convenient to group together a series of related substances such as the naturally occurring alka- loids and organo-metallic compounds. As already indicated, little that is essential has been omitted, but it might have been a good plan to refer quite briefly at the end of each section to any particu- larly promising drugs suggested by recent investigations. Thus, under local anesthetics, mention might have been made of benzyl alcohol and certain of its homologues and derivatives, since these are already coming into use, at any rate in the United States, as a result of the work of Macht and his collaborators. A drug which is not referred to, but is of special interest at the present time, is santonin, for the plant from which it is made grows in Soviet Russia, and there also is the only factory producing the drug. The plant is, however, now being grown experimentally in the United States, and a possible new source of supply has been found in India. Santonin is one of the best-known anthelmintics, a group of drugs which merits more attention than has been given to it by British chemists. The British Empire probably possesses among its coloured populations in the tropics more victims of hookworm, to mention only one of this group of parasites, than any other country, with the possible exception of China, and, like China, it is largely dependent on public-spirited citizens Cc [JANUARY 12, 1922 in the United States for the distribution of suit- able anthelmintics and the conduct of anti- hookworm campaigns within its _ borders. Processes for the preparation of these drugs are well-known, and the authors would be rendering a further service to their colleagues if they would add a section on anthelmintics when a new edition of their book is called for. The volume is well produced, and contains a number of useful diagrams of plant and a good index. The proof-reading has been -carefully done, and printers’ errors are commendably few. iA Some New Text-books on Radio- telegraphy. (1) Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony: An Out- line for Electrical Engineers and Others. By L. B. Turner. Pp. xii+195+24 plates. (Cam- bridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 20s. net. (2) Thermionic Tubes in Radio-Telegraphy and Telephony. By John Scott-Taggart. Pp. xxiii+ 424. (London: The Wireless Press, Ltd., n.d.) 255. (3) Continuous Wave Wireless Telegraphy. By Prof. W. H. Eccles. Part 1. Pp. vii+4o7. (London: The Wireless Press, Ltd., n.d.) 25s. be ay 133 (4) Principles of Radio-Communication. J. H. Morecroft, W. A. Curry. Pp. x+935. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., ig2s.) ie. net. (1) T is a pleasure to come across a techni book, like that by Mr. Turner, which has the literary qualities of clearness, life, and continuity. In too many scientific text-books the manner is as cold as the matter is dead and _ already dissected; the parts are evident, but the whole is left to the constructive imagination of the reader. A book may be crammed with exact information, and yet be so unreadable as to have little value from the point of view of education. Even quite a_ slight historical framework adds By Prof. human interest and may guide the student along the course of thought which resulted in discovery, and a text-book in which such a framework exists is therefore much more educative than one which merely states the physical facts, however accu- rately. Unfortunately for the average student a.sound knowledge of the mathematics of motion is ,re- quired in the study of the production of high- frequency currents on account of the large number NO. 2724, VOL. 109] assisted by A. Pinto and— | of variables involved, especially when the con- verter is a thermionic valve or an arc. Again, unfortunately, this branch of mathematics is known, in spite of Newton, by the entirely un- illuminating and indeed repellent name of “the differential calculus.” ‘Calculation by differ- . ences” does not suggest motion any more than “bits of iron” would suggest a locomotive, and it is doubtful if the would-be engineer realises that in avoiding this unpleasantly named subject as much as possible he is debarring himself from the most interesting and useful branch of mathe- matics. Could not mathematical teachers make the learning of the laws of motion more interest- ing than the study of geometry in the same ratio as a kinema is more attractive than a photograph ? In the books under. review mathematics are freely used except in (2) Mr. Scott-Taggart’s “Thermionic Tubes,” which is quite an encyclo- pedia of types and circuits, but does not enter deeply into exact theory, although the graphical explanations are very useful. Mr. Turner has the happy knack of working his equations so natur- ally into the text that the deductions which he makes from them are almost self-evident, and — although his book contains only 190 pages, there is but little that could be added with advantage to the outline which he has set himself to give. An interesting personal opinion is given on p. 11, where he says he can derive no satis- faction from the usual semi-Hertzian diagram of | Wave radiation over a conducting surface; but why should Dr. Howe’s model, in which an in- verted conducting cone with its apex at the trans- mitter is substituted for the upper atmosphere, be any simpler? It merely evades the question of where the lines go in space, and neglects the fact that aircraft experiments indicate that their direc-_ tions are probably such as are shown in the Hertzian diagram. The expression of the opinion, however, shows the perfect honesty with which Mr. Turner treats his readers. The other books are different in scope ae style. (3) Dr. Eccles’s is a first volume only and is devoted to the theory of electromagnetic induc- tion and conduction on metallic circuits and vacuum tubes; both branches of the subject are treated clearly and in great detail, and a sound basis is laid for a thorough understanding of the technical applications which will presumably form the greater part of his second volume. (4) Few, if any, books on radio-telegraphy have covered so many details of the subject as Prof. Morecroft’s “Principles of _Radio-Communica- tion,” and there is little connected with the func- tions of radio-gear which he does not touch upon. January 12, 1922] NATURE © 39 A good deal of original matter is incorporated in he book, and, as the author Says in his preface, nuch on which further experiment may be based. : descriptions of instruments and the theories ir actions are clear, but though the text is, € whole, quite simply written, the mass of ial is somewhat overwhelming, and one help feeling that this is due, at least in the space given to certain sections being t of proportion to their importance. It is a pity at the appearance of the book is marred by the ry careless printing of the many half-tone blocks ich it is illustrated. s rather remarkable that actual radio-tele- ic transmission from station to station is dis- in these text-books in a very few pages ; , their subject is rather radio-telegraphic in- nts than radio-telegraphy. Atmospherics ir elimination, the laws of the trans- n of power, the causes of distortion of wave and the relative telegraphic efficiencies of methods, are the most important problems dio-telegraphy to-day, and their solution is npar bly more urgent than that of any ques- urely instrumental theory. Our Bookshelf. Sere By Dr. A. C. Crehore. i+air. (San Francisco: /ournal of Elec- 1920.) 2 dollars. ION may be raised against the title of this on the grounds that it has been used before, at it seems to imply an exaggerated sense of portance of the views therein expressed. The dimensions of electric and magnetic quan- first discussed, and the author, rightly we nphasises the importance of retaining the nductive capacity, &, and the permeability, equations. He supposes that & may be «1 as the reciprocal of a velocity, and ’s relation then automatically determines p antity of the same kind. This gives a single of units for all quantities in terms of length, and time, electric and magnetic charges ap- uring as quantities of the same dimensions. Dr. és next step is far more questionable—he s that the dimensions of mass are those of ocity. We cannot attach much importance to rst of the ‘‘ two equally forceful reasons ’’ he es in support of this assumption. His new sion for Planck’s constant may be the result nerely of a numerical coincidence. His second eason is based on the gravitational equation which developed, but this equation has been criti- : and must be considered as still sub judice. $ a literary production the book cannot be com- ed, and the habit of stating results ‘‘ in ad- of the narrative ’’ tempts one to suggest that uld be read backwards. NO. 2724, VoL. 109] Fermat’s Last Theorem: Proofs by Elementary Algebra. By M. Cashmore. Third edition. Pp. 67. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. THE first attempt to prove Fermat’s last theorem contained in this edition repeats a fallacy to which attention has already been directed in NaTurE, Oct. 30, 1919. On pp. 18, 21, ‘quantities ’’ t and u are defined, and it is assumed that these quantities are integers, which is not generally the case. In the second attempt there is a fallacy, pp. 34-35, relating to the divisibility of numbers. The pamphlet ends with a version of Barlow’s attempt to prove the last theorem, taken from the 1811 edition of his ‘‘ Theory of Numbers.’’ Barlow’s attempted proof contains a well-known fallacy, which need not be pointed out here. In view of the considerable erroneous literature concerning Fermat’s last theorem it may not be out of place to direct attention to two valuable additions to the correct literature which have appeared since the last edition of Mr. Cashmore’s book was reviewed in Nature. They are: (1) Mr. L. J. Mordell’s ‘‘ Three Lectures on Fermat’s Last Theorem,’’ and. (2) a chapter in vol. 2 of Prof. L. E. Dickson’s ‘‘ History of the Theory of Numbers.’’ W.-K... B: The Physical Properties of Colloidal Solutions. By Prof. E. F. Burton. Second edition. (Monographs on Physics.) Pp. viii+ 221. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1921.) 12s. 6d. net. THE second edition of this work conforms in general to the plan of the first, i.e. it gives an account of the properties of suspensoid sols from the point of view of the physicist. The Brownian movement and the electrical phenomena accord- ingly claim the largest share, while the optical properties of small particles are also treated with unusual fulness. The rather difficult investiga- tions dealing with these matters are summarised with great skill and lucidity. Apart from some omissions—among which the X-ray analysis of colloidal particles, Pauli’s work on the effect of. radiation, and Ostwald’s on the protection of Congo-rubin sols must be mentioned—all import- ant advances made since 1914 have been em- bodied in the present edition. This applies specially to the gradual breaking down of all ‘“ valency rules’? in electrolyte coagulation. The book is excellently produced, and will be welcome to all serious students of the subject. An Introduction to Organic Chemistry. By D. LI. Hammick. Pp. viii+258. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 6s. Mr.. Hammicx’s book provides an introduction to organic chemistry suitable for junior students, and not differing in any notable way from numerous other books of similar standard. Experiments are described. 40 NATURE ' [JANUARY 12, °1922 Letters to the Editor. (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 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. ] Ghemical Warfare. Sir Epwarp Tuorpr, in his review of Victor Lefebure’s book, ‘‘The Riddle of the Rhine,’’ in NaturE of November 10, p. 331, Quotes a passage which deals with my own work during the: initial stages of the war, and that of the Kaiser Wilhelm- Institut fiir Physikalische Chemie, of which I am the principal. The intention is to make the world believe that the materials for gas warfare were pre- pared by the German military authorities and chemical industry for the intended war, and that experiments with this end were carried out in my institution, if not previous to the war, at least from August, 1914, onwards. It is always dangerous to attempt to form a correct estimate of the intentions of others from the traces of events they have left behind them. But the greatest errors must necessarily arise if an outsider tries to deduce from his own impressions the inten- tions of men whose ways of thinking he does not know and cannot understand. Perhaps there might have been some ground for suspicion if Germany could have foreseen the trench warfare, and if we could have imagined that the German troops could ever be held up for weeks and months before the enemy’s wire entanglements. But previous to the war, and up to the Battle of the Marne, everyone in Germany imagined that the course of the war would be a succession of rapid marches and great pitched battles, and what use would gas have been to a field army in such a war of move- ments? I think I may safely say that during the course of the war I became acquainted with every man of any importance in the army, in industry, and in science, who had anything to do with chemistry as applied to military offensive and defensive opera- tions, and that I am well informed regarding the development and the course of chemical warfare. Yet among all these men I have never met one who, previous to the war or during the first two months of its course, had conceived the idea of pro- viding the field army with gas, or had made experi- ments or preparations for such a purpose. We had actually first to read in the French, Italian, and English Press—as, for instance, in the Pall Mall Gazette of September 17, 1914—of the terrible things that were in preparation for us before we began to make similar preparations in view of the commence- ment of the war of position. As regards my own institution and its work during the first months of the war, that intelligent person who, according to the passage in Lefebure quoted by Sir Edward Thorpe, observed my activities in my institute from behind a wall, lacked the gift of inter- preting correctly what he saw and heard. Visitors in grey Headquarters motors did indeed come to my institution in August, 1914, though not to see me upon the subject of chemical means of warfare, but be- cause Headquarters were very anxious to know how motor spirit could be made proof against the cold of a Russian winter without the addition of toluol. The question of gas as means of warfare did not begin to engage our attention until the first three months of war had passed. NO. 2724, VOL. 109] In war men think otherwise than they do in peace, and many a German during the stress of war may have adopted the English maxim, ‘‘ My country, right. or wrong,’’ but that German science and industry before the war made preparations with deliberate in-— tent for gas warfare against other nations is an assertion that, in the interest of the necessary inter-— dependence of the nations in the realms of science and industry, must not be allowed to go uncontra- dicted in so serious and respected a journal as NATURE. . Haaser. Kaiser Wilhelm-Institut, Berlin-Dahlem, December 17. Herr GEHEIMRAT Haper takes exception to the quotation 1 made from Major Lefebure’s “ Riddle of the Rhine,’’ in the course of my notice of that book, on the ground that it implies that the German military authorities were prepared to ignore their undertaking, under the Hague Convention, to abstain from the use of asphyxiating or deleterious gases in war, if not for some time before, at least at its outbreak in the summer of 1914. I have, of course, no precise know- ledge of the intentions of the German military authori- ties, but it was not unreasonable to surmise that these authorities, who deliberately intended to violate the treaty with Belgium, would not hesitate—as, indeed, the sequel showed—to disregard their promise under the Hague Convention if and when it suited their purpose to do so. As regards their intentions, Field-Marshal Lord French, in his dispatch after the first German gas attack, with which Prof. Haber was concerned, wrote : “The brain-power and thought which has evidently been at work before this unworthy method of making war reached the pitch of efficiency which has been demonstrated in its practice shows that the Germans must have harboured these designs for a long time.”’ ‘It is an arresting thought,’’ says Major Lefebure, “that even as early as 1887 Prof. Baeyer, the re- nowned organic chemist of Munich, in his lectures to advanced students, included a reference to the mili- tary value of these compounds ’’—i.e, to substances intended to produce temporary blindness. Prof. Haber, it will be observed, does not explicitly deny the accuracy of the statements made by the ‘‘neutral,’? as quoted by Major Lefebure. Indeed, the account is too definite and specific to be set aside by irrelevancies. It is probably true that ‘‘ everyone in Germany imagined that the course of the war would be a succession of rapid marches and great pitched battles.’”? Some people on this side of the Channel were of a different opinion. But even the vain imaginings of ‘‘everyone in Germany ’’ were not neces- sarily inconsistent with the use of poison gas. It was used on the Eastern front by the Germans when there was little or no question of trench warfare or wire entanglements. Prof. Haber states that he never met a single person who previous to the war or during the first two months of its course had conceived the idea of providing the army with gas. ‘‘The question of gas as a means of warfare did not begin to engage our attention until the first three months of war had passed.”’ The first gas attack was launched in April, 1915, so that on Geheimrat Haber’s own showing this method of conducting war was engaging attention at least six months before it was used. After all, the essential point is that it was used, and first used, by the Germans, and in flagrant contravention of a solemn promise given to the world; at what precise , Lo ee eS —s JANUARY 12, 1922] Period they decided to be false to their obligation is a : ter of secondary moment. implication that the Allies were contemplating ie Of poison gas as early as September, 1914, is Oriously at variance with truth that it scarcely jeeds serious refutation. If Geheimrat Haber could ly have been present when Lord Kitchener made $nified protest in the House of Lords, or have a personal witness of the wave of indignation sgust which swept over the country at the Ger- breach of the rules of war, he would not have his statement. We were made aware of the s that were being spread through the German but no credence was attached to them in this $ German Empire, even to the last, had le Press’ as in the days of the Tron Chan- The author of the Ems telegram was an n the art of circulating false rumours and isleading statements, and there were those who ight to better even his example during the fateful id I, for the Germans, disastrous years of the war. Even now Germany does not know half the truth. T agree with Prof. Haber that in war-time men are y think otherwise than they do in peace, and loubtless, particularly true of his countrv- eir ethical standard, apparently, varies with re _ conditions—which seems a sufficient reason ' they should abstain from war. Those who use 0 gas are not “bonnie fechters.’’ menace of the continued use of poison gas in is a disgrace to civilised humanity. That really rests with Germany. If she would for the future to be true to her obligation Hague Convention other nations would - follow her example. were reluctantly compelled to follow it in nee of her action at the Battle of Vores. 1 far more promptlv follow her lead if she ther intention to discontinue the practice the world a sufficient assurance of good Haber could render no greater service to n and humanity than to use ‘his great and pre-eminent position as a man of inducing his fellow-countrymen to remove stigma upon their Kultur. eet T. E. Tuorre. Some Problems in Evolution. AM quite as averse from ‘“ wasting time in endless tile controversy’? as Prof. Goodrich, but I - help thinking that so long as he and Sir Reid refuse to admit what seem to most obviously true statements their arguments answered. Prof. Goodrich states in NATURE 2x 22 last that there is no contradiction $ proposition that characters, whether new , may be inherited provided they are pos- both parents, and my reply that a character nherited when it is apparent only in one or in neither. If we omit what is common 1 of these propositions it follows that in Prof. ch’s opinion there is no difference between 1 parents ” on one hand and ‘one or neither nt ’’ on the other. Goodrich complains that I do not distinguish the variation and the resulting character, presidential address. he maintained that the variation ’’ should mean the extent or degree ence between individuals, not a new character emblage of characters, such as a colour or spot but y’s wing, but a difference which can be ‘s NO. 2724, VOL. 109] NATURE 41 measured or estimated. ‘We shall then find,’’ he writes, ‘that a variation is either due to some change in the complex of germinal factors or to some change in the complex of effective environmental stimuli.” Here Prof. Goodrich and I are in complete agreement. Where, then, is any difference of opinion or room for controversy? The difficulty reappears in the next paragraph of Prof. Goodrich’s letter, in which he states that he agrees with Sir Archdall Reid that there are two kinds of variation but only one kind of character. Although I have honestly tried to do so, I fail to see any meaning in this statement. After all, words and terms are seldom completely satisfactory expres- sions of what we mean; they obtain their meaning by actual or implied reference to facts of observation. I have lately been in the habit of using the term ‘character’? more frequently than the term “ varia- tion,’? because the latter is often ambiguous, but I know of no such difference of meaning between the two terms as is assumed by Prof. Goodrich and Sir Archdall Reid. How can we define characters satis- factorily except by comparison—that is, as differences between one individual, or one type, and another? For example, the rose comb is a character of certain fowls as compared with the single comb. What do we gain by asserting that the difference between the rose comb and the single is a variation, but the peculiarity of the rose comb ‘is a character? The only questions of importance are the origin and the heredity of the rose comb. We understand one another when we say that the rose comb is inherited. It is quite superfluous to insist, as Sir Archdall Reid does, that characters are not transmitted, but only predispositions. No one supposes at the present day that the fowl’s egg or spermatozoon has a rose comb, but we know that there may be something, whether we call it deter- minant, factor, or gene, in egg or sperm which causes the rose comb to develop in the resulting organism. And yet Sir Archdall Reid argues as though it were a remarkable discovery that characters are not present as such in the fertilised ovum from which an organism develops—an idea that has been obsolete since the Middle Ages. Therefore, he asserts, there is only one kind of character, but there are two kinds of variation. The hoof of a new-born foal has developed without any external mechanical stimulus; when I practise rowing for some time I develop epidermic corns on the palms of my hands. According to Sir Archdall Reid, these are characters of the same kind, equally innate, acquired, and inherited. Yet he has himself insisted on the distinction between charac- ters developed under the ‘‘ stimulus of nutrition ’’ and those developed under the “stimulus of use,’’ the same distinction, with his own peculiar misuse of the word stimulus, which is generally recognised by biologists. Avoiding altogether the use of the terms “varia- tion’ and ‘“‘character,’? we may congratulate our- selves that there is agreement on the proposition that a difference of form or structure may be due either to a difference of germinal factors or to a difference in effective environmental stimuli. And then we can get on with the investigation of the problem of the relation to evolution of these structural differences. But, as I have endeavoured to show elsewhere, among those characters which are more or less com- pletely hereditary there are two kinds, in a_ vast number of cases definitely distinguishable : the adap- tive characters on one hand and the non-adaptive on the other. The adaptive characters exhibit a definite relation to habits. and external conditions, and, as a rule, they exhibit recapitulation in development. The 42 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 non-adaptive characters show no relation to differ- ences of habit or environment, and, as a rule, develop directly without recapitulation. I have instanced the adaptive characters of Pleuronectide (flat-fishes) on one hand and their specific and generic characters on the other. The adaptive characters of flat-fishes exhibit one of the most remarkable cases of meta- morphosis and recapitulation in the whole field of zoology, while the various peculiarities of the scales, as examples among specific and generic characters, show neither recapitulation nor any relation to habits and conditions of life. Thus, instead of agreeing that there is only one kind of character, I find it necessary to distinguish three kinds, one due to the -effect of an external stimulus on the individual, and not ap- parently inherited, and two kinds which are _here- ditary. J. T. CunNnINGHAM. Chiswick, December 31. Optical Observation of the Thermal Agitation of the Atoms in Grystals. ACCORDING to the theory of specific heats developed by Debye, Nernst, and others, the thermal energy of a solid is made up of the energy of elastic vibrations in its material, the frequencies of such vibrations ranging from very small values up to a maximum limit determined by the ultimate molecular or atomic struc- ture. On this view it is clear that at ordinary tem- peratures the density of a solid, and therefore also its refractive index if it be of transparent material, would vary arbitrarily from point to point about its mean value. In other words, a transparent crystal cannot be regarded as optically. homogeneous even with refer- ence to the comparatively long waves which constitute ordinary light. It follows that a certain proportion of the energy of a beam of light traversing the medium would be deviated laterally and appear as scattered light, the intensity of such scattering being a measure of the thermal agitation within the crystal. That some such effect must occur has already been pointed out by Sir Joseph Larmor (Phil. Mag., vol. 37, P- 163, 1919), but no theoretical discussion of its magnitude appears so far to have been put forward. It has occurred to the present writer that the effect to be expected may be found in the following way :—If the principles of statistical mechanics and the eauipartition of energy were applicable in the case of solids, precisely the same considerations which determine the molecular scatter- ing of light in fluid media would enter here as well, and the scattering coefficient would be given by the Einstein-Smoluchowski formula m RTB 18° NA‘ where B is the compressibility of the solid, u is its refractive index, is the wave-length of the light, and R, T, N are the constants of the kinetic theory. It is known, however, that the heat-content of solids at the ordinary temperature is much less than that indicated by the equipartition principle, the deficiency being most marked for substances, such as diamond, having a high ‘characteristic temperature.’? The scattering coefficient given by the preceding formula must there. fore be diminished in the ratio which the actual heat- content at the temperature of observation bears to the heat-content indicated by the equipartition principle. This correction-factor mav be found from the experi- mental data for the snecific heats at low temperatures given by Nernst, Lindemann, and others. Calculations made in the way indicated above show that transparent quartz should scatter light 93 times as strongly as dust-free air at normal.temperature and pressure. A scattering of approximately this magni- NO. 2724, VOL. 109] + (uo? — 1)%(p8+2)%, tude in clear quartz was detected photographically by R. J. Strutt (now Lord Rayleigh) (Proc. Roy. Soe.,.. vol. 95, p- 495, 1919), but was ascribed by him to inclusions which he assumed.were present in the crystal. It is clear from what has been said above that the effect-observed by him was actually due to the thermal agitation of the atoms in the crystal. The present. writer has succeeded in demonstrating the scattering of light in clear quartz by direct visual observation. For this purpose a block of the erystal with smooth polished faces is immersed in a tank of clean distilled water to minimise surface-reflections. and a converging lens is used to bring a beam of sunlight to a focus within the crystal. The blue track of the beam within the crystal may then be readily observed, and its intensity can be judged by com- parison with the scattering of the beam in saturated ether vapour. The writer has had the pleasure of exhibiting the phenomenon to Sir W. J. Pope and other distinguished callers at his laboratory. Transparent rock-salt which has a low characteristic temperature and shows a marked ‘‘ Debye-effect ’’ in experiments on X-ray reflection exhibits a very strong scattering of ordinary light. The increase of the scat- . tering with rise of temperature may readily be ob- served with it. ) - -C..V; Raman. 210 Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, November 19. ; A Fossil Buttercup. WHEN we examine a catalogue of fossil plants, such as that for North America recently published by — Knowlton, we are struck by the enormous number of recorded species, and readily receive the impression that the flora of former ages is quite well known. It is only when we make a more critical investigation that we perceive the great gap in our present know- ledge. We do, perhaps, know a fair proportion of the trees and deciduous-leafed shrubs of a number of geological periods, but when we look for the herbaceous flora the limitations of our knowledge at once appear. Thus the Ranunculacez, an extensive family in the present North American flora, do not furnish a single definitely recorded fossil in the same area. Dawson in 1875 vaguely referred to a Thalic- trum, without specific name, supposedly from the. Eocene, but it is not to be taken seriously. Schenk thought the fossil genus Dewalquea presented a cer- tain analogy with Helleborus, but it is now referred to quite another family. - It is,-of course, impossible to suppose that the Ranun- culaceee were absent from North America during Tertiary times; they simply must have escaped preservation or ob- servation.. To those who would see in the geological record a proof that herbaceous plants did not exist in the past, or were extremely rare, we can only reply that the record as it stands proves too much. To meq: accept it at its face-value pos-p. | _acnenes of J tulates the impossible. The ‘culus forissantensis. general proposition that _ the herbaceous flora is, on the whole, more recent than the woody may be valid, and has much to recommend it. With regard to the Tertiary Ranunculacez of North America, we can fortunately rescue them from utter oblivion. Several vears ago I fcund some slabs of Miocene shale at Florissant, Colorado, plentifully ‘be- sprinkled with small dark fossil seeds. The exact locality is the railroad cut just east of the town. q JANUARY 12, 1922] These seeds were not studied at the time, but they are Ow seen to agree excellently with those of Ranun- . They are, properly speaking, achenes, about mm. long and 1 mm. broad, with a fairly long ately curved beak. The general form approaches of R. pennsylvanicus, but the achene is less _ The fossil may be known as R. florissantensis . Ranunculus has a single seed in the achene. : been definitely determined for R. acris at least there is only one ovule. Our fossils, however, ie. Th show two, after the manner. of sti ey were evidently small and dry at rity, as in Ranunculus, and the most mature pecatain only one seed, dark and clearly outlined. would be worth while to investigate the immature : ne ‘of numerous species of Ranunculus to deter- whether any start with two ovules, one aborting, have determined to be the case in Malvastrum. has described a very similar Ranunculus seed nm ) from the Miocene of Oeningen in Baden. T. D. A. Cockerett. rersity of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, December 8. ~~=3nes Absorption of Fluorescing Sodium Vapour. G to Bohr’s theory concerning the origin of tral lines, electrons in the atoms of sodium vapour the influence of exciting D radiation are dis- d a oot their normal 1-5 S orbit to the 2p orbits. the return of the electrons to their normal ‘so-called “‘resonance ’’ radiation, first ob- vy Wood (Phil. Mag., November, ve and s in Physical Optics,” part 2, p. 166), is as fluorescent light. It has been suggested, re, by more than one observer (Foote and ers, Phys. Rev., vol. 15, part 4, p. 323, and Phil. vol. 40, p. 80, 1920) that Rocprecing sodium vapour b lines of the first and second subordinate 2— ms and 2p,,-md. ‘To test this point I have CORD Fic... use of the experimental arrangement outlined vy. While a negative result was obtained, it : worth while to record the trial, along with one two suggestions for a more rigid test which I am able to make at present. _ marrow beam of light from a Nernst lamp sed the tube AB, some 25 cm. long, into which e sodium had been distilled in high vacuum (Fig. 1). ‘means of a lens the light was focussed on the slit f a Hilger constant-deviation spectroscope. Directly below the sodium tube was a sodium-potassium alloy _*lamp’’ CD, a slight modification of the type re- NO, 2724, VOL. 109] NATURE =: 43 cently described by Neuman (Proc. Phys. Soc. London, vol. 33; part 2, February 15, 1921). Both tubes were enclosed in an electric oven, by means of which they could easily be. heated to 300° C. or higher. For two reasons it seemed to the writer that this lamp should be most suitable. In the first place, resonance can best be excited by very narrow spectral sources, and it had been shown that the light from the lamp con- sisted almost entirely of D lines of narrow width. Again, it could be operated at temperatures at which resonance is obtained in sodium vapour, so that it was possible to place the two tubes side by side in the same oven. At temperatures ranging from 200° C. to 300° C.., therefore, observations were made to see if there was any difference in the absorption spectrum when the exciting lamp was ‘‘on ’”’ and “‘off.’’ The D absorp- tion lines were easily visible, but not the slightest difference could be detected in the two cases. It is possible, however, that with an improved arrange- ment the absorption looked for might oceur. The lines of the subordinate series most likely to be ab- sorbed are the first membets, which, however, are in the infra-red region and could not be observed visually. A much better test, therefore, would consist in photographing with dicyanine-stained plates in the hope of observing absorption of the doublet A 8195 and \ 8184. Again, the intensity of the exciting light may not have been great enough to put a sufficiently large number of atoms in the desired state. This difficulty would be lessened by the use of two or three lamps, or possibly by adapting for use with sodium some such arrangement as was used by Fiicht- bauer (Phys. Zeit., vol. 21, November 1 and 15, 1920) for observing resonance in mercury vapour. Finally, a longer absorption tube obviously would be more desirable. With improvements such as are suggested a much more rigid test could be made. . Joun K. Ropertson. Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, December 17. The Message of Science. Mr. W. Rosertson’s letter in Nature of January 5 is very timely. May I invite him and those his letter has interested or impressed to put into Practice, in Middlesbrough or any other town, the ‘most prac- tical suggestion of immediate value ’’ he describes, with one important addition. Some of us have recently been striving to get his suggestion, thus widened and clinched, made operative in other British centres of population on behalf of the British Science Guild, the objective of which comprehends the exact duty Mr. Robertson acclaims and the methods of which in a new campaign have been dictated by a lively sense of provincial and metropolitan needs in the harnessing of science to important public tasks. Our methods begin just where those of so many other people leave off. We ask local scientific societies and organisations and all who desire to make their special scientific equipment of use to their times to establish touch at once with the important local organisations and groups in which business men, administrators, and the occupational classes gather, and with them to consider ‘“‘the progressive connecting of science with individual and corporate conduct.”’ not in general, nor on another continent, but in their own towns (where facts can be known and methods tested), and in any of the problems on which much public time and public money have in- evitably to be svent. That suffices for a beginning. Many are feeling to-dav that science should become, and can become, the ‘‘ chief formative factor of modern 44 NATURE _ [JANUARY 12, 1922 life.” It will not become anything of the sort of its own volition, as scientific workers are not usually interested in broad problems outside their own par- ticular fields, and those who have to be forced into the work are best out of it. Functioning best begins with a real task, however difficult, before the particular community, preferably the first task which involves large sums of money, large expenditure of time and of energy, and con- siderable risk to human life. These tasks exist in bewildering profusion. The knowledge, without which thev cannot even be stated correctly, exists also, and the prize of efficient performance cannot be won apart from its application. With human contact and the common sense of an adaptable race, tasks and know- ledge can approximate each to each, and the first step in the unity of purpose which science can best bring to national life may be taken to-day in any city’ of the country. J. J. Ropinson , (Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the British Science Guild). 6 John Street, Adelphi, London, WG; January 9. Terrestrial Magnetic Disturbances and Sun-spots. May I add a few remarks on Mr. Evershed’s in- teresting letter on this topic (NaTuRE, December 29, 566), and supplementary also to my former letter (NaturE, October 27, p. 272). The protracted mag- netic storm of May 12-21, 1921, after a lull on May 18, resumed an active phase on May 19-21. In my former letter I traced a sequence of magnetic disturbances, in connection with that of May 21, which extended to October 5. I may now add that the sequence has persisted. until December 24, that is for 217 days, embracing eight synodical rotations of the sun, with a mean period of 27:13 days. The corre- sponding mean sidereal period would be 25-25 days, or 14:26° per day. This is Carrington’s rotation period for latitudes 10° to 15°, and agrees closely with the sidereal period found by Mr. Evershed for the main series of disturbances from March 22 to September 209, 1921. With regard to the series ot disturbances from January 1 to November 21, 1920, which was also recorded at this observatory, Mr. Evershed deduces the equivalent solar period as 25:22 days, which is Carrington’s value for spats about latitude +10°. He remarks: ‘‘The slight difference of period compared with that obtained from the 1921 series does not make the evidence for these sequences less con- vincing.’”? To my mind, in this particular case at least, it makes the evidence more convincing, because the mean latitude of the sun-spot group observed from December, 1920, to May, 1921, was about —6°, and, in fact, in the January appearance extended from o° to —12° in latitude. In the case of the 1921 group, May 9-17, the mean, heliographic latitude was +0-8°, but it extended north of the equator at least 5° in latitude, sufficiently in accord with a synodical rota- tion period of 27-13 days. A. L. Corts. Stonyhurst College Observatory, January 2. Reform of the Calendar: Mean Value of the Year. I ske there is to be a meeting at Rome in 1922 to consider questions concerning the calendar. I should like to direct attention to the fact, apparently little known-——-I, at least, have never seen it in any book— that if we make the year equal to 365 218/900 days we get a very good approximation, and one which’ can be applied by omitting leap-years at certain com- plete centuries, something like what is being done under the present Gregorian rule. If we say that ‘‘a NO. 2724, VOL. 109| century-year shall be a leap-year only if it gives a remainder of 2 or 7 when divided by 9,’’ we have a rule which is much more approximate than the Gre- gorian rule, and one which has been followed de facto since 1582 (year of the Gregorian reform). The new rule would not differ in its application from th Gregorian rule before the year 2400. The Gregorian year, 365 97/400 days, differs from the true tropical year by 26 seconds; if the above modified rule were introduced the difference would be reduced to 2 seconds. The ‘‘Encyclopedia Britannica’? in the article ‘Calendar ’’ mentions the value 365 31/128, which, no doubt, is very approximate (difference from true year 1 second), but depends on the awkward eycle of 128 years; and, besides, its application would mean a new break in the way of introducing, or rather sup- pressing, leap-years. ARTHUR Rosk-INNES. | Yokohama, November 27. : Units in Aeronautics. PreasE allow me to protest against Mr. A. R. Low’s attack in Nature of January 5, p. 12, on the ‘slug,’? which was not introduced by Prof. Bairstow, but probably by Prof. Fleeming Jenkin about thirty years ago. The slug does not lead to any evasion of Newton’s laws any more than the poundal which was introduced by Prof. James Thomson. All such terms are useful so long as they are precisely defined and correctly understood; in recent years a distin- guished German mathematician has been striving © to introduce Prof. Thomson’s “radian ’’ in place of ‘‘ Rinheitskreisbogenlange.”’ The contempt common amongst chemists and physicists towards so-called ‘engineers’ units”’ is. without justification. The chemist or physicist derives his unit of force from a definition of mass and ac- celeration, whereas the engineer derives his unit of mass from a definition of force and acceleration. The engineer’s reason is that his problems come to him in terms of forces, and he wants his solution in the same units. Engineers on the Continent use the kilogram as the unit of force, and derive a metric slug in terms of the metre and second. , The ideologist is fond of so-called ‘absolute ’” units, but the physical meaning of Newton’s or other laws is often made more clear when units are chosen conveniently. An ordinary man cannot realise a force of a dvne, though an insect might collapse under it; and while an astronomer measures distances in light- - years, the peasant uses hours of walking and the spectroscopist ». It is unlikely that the British or foreign working-man will ever ask for his beer in cubic centimetres: the unit is inconveniently small. Chiswick, January 9. H. S. Rowe tt. A Gurious Physiological Phenomenon. Tue phenomenon to which attention is directed by Mr. F. C. Dannatt in Nature of December 22, p. 529, is an exceedingly interesting one, and may be the explanation of what occurs in ‘table turning ’’ and ‘hat turning.’? Many have, no doubt, seen the hat, upon which many fingers are resting, move in a very peculiar manner, and it is difficult to believe that those who are engaged in the exhibition are not telling the truth when they declare that they are not aware that they are the cause of the movements. An essen- tial element of the game is that the weight of the arms should be carried by the muscles, and it is interesting to learn that such strained conditions lead to involuntary muscular movements. ; See ca _ R. M. Deerey. Tintagil, Kew Gardens Road, Kew, Surrey, December 24. _ JANvaRY 12, 1922] NATURE 45 ry area between the Atlantic and the Medi- n—i.e. in the Bay of Cadiz, the Straits of , and the Western Mediterranean as far as “We had worked there before, in 1908-10, : first month spent at sea by the Dana Expedi-_ | Oceanography of the Gibraltar Region. By Dr. Jous. ScHmipt. terranean as a surface current. Deeper down, the Straits of Gibraltar are filled with salter water, which, coming from the Mediterranean, moves westward over the comparatively shallow threshold, in places only 400 metres down, formed here by the sea floor, which falls away steeply both to the east and west. On reaching the western edge of this ledge, the Mediterranean water pours down, like a veritable sub- StS eee ee ee METRES -0 a+ = BE em mais w= 339 (figures i in italics) and isotherms. Jacobsen, i S077 ad We ‘were, therefore, not un- | with local conditions, and it was very C “compare the new investigations with expedition was particularly fortunate during this month, to enjoy the co- i, Nielsen, who, from his par- | ao -1R0- == =F . 5 es pel marine waterfall, towards the depths of the Atlantic Ocean (Fig. 1). It does not, however, reach the bottom; being warmer, and therefore lighter, than the bottom water of the Atlantic, it ~-=-130--=-f 130 ee itions were car- ssrs. J. Olsen and 2 Fi ey Pike, last-named to the expedition. pow rs . tigations—British, ™ . “Norwegian—have in features (but no transfusion of water place between the mn and the Atlantic. striking difference diterranean and Atlantic water is in the Owing to the great evaporation, the water ie iia tie is of ne salinity than the ae t ra -5. The less:saline Atlantic water through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Medi- NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Fic. 2.—Hydrographical section through the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean as shown ~ by the Dana’s stations — 1120, and 1121, about 36'S, a7": 37°5,_ 38°0, an The section shows that th the inflowing Atlantic water (salinity less than 36’5 per mille) 5 follows the coast of Africa. ober 1, 1921. The isohalines for mille salinity are shown. ‘The depths are given in id 38°3 per of Mediterranean water into the Atlantic. Fig. 2 gives a picture of the inflow of Atlantic water into the Mediterranean, based on the investigations of the Dana Expedition in the waters between Oran, Algeria, and the south coast of Spain. The figure represents a vertical section of the upper 400 metres of sea through our three stations 1119, 1120, and 46 NATURE [ JANUARY I2, 1922 1121, showing the depths and the course of the isohalines. It will be seen that unmixed Atlantic water, of a salinity less than 36-5 per mille, flows in along the north coast of Africa. Midway (Station 1120) we find a slight, and farther north, off the coast of Spain (Station 1121), a somewhat more pronounced, admixture of Mediterranean water. From this it must be concluded that the velocity of the east-going current is at its highest close in to the African shore, and lowest off the coast of Spain, which is also in accordance with fact. The section® further~ shows‘ that ‘the -inflow.of Atlantic water is a comparatively superficial phenomenon, almost pure Mediterranean water being found at a relatively slight depth. For nearly a week at the beginning of October the Dana remained at Gibraltar in order to study the inflow of Atlantic water and the accompanying migration of pelagic organisms through the Straits. On several occasions continuous investigations were §.10.21. 9.10.21. Depria ~* ¢ 3am. 6 9 gom: AM. se ao 12ma, Bem. 6 9 . 3.-—Straits of Gibraltar: St. periodical shifting of the level at which salinities of 37° temperature of 14°C. are found during the period of observation. in metres. made, as, for instance, from 9 p.m. on October 8 to 6 a.m. on October 10, when series of water samples, with observations of temperature, were taken every three hours; in the intervals between hydrographical observations fishing with pelagic nets was carried out at various depths. All these investigations were made at the same spot, about the middle of the Straits, with Tarifa, in Spain, to the west-north-west. The investigations showed that both physical and biological conditions varied greatly in the course of the twenty-four hours. Temperature and salinity, for instance, did not’ remain constant at a given depth throughout that time. Fig. 3 shows how water of 14° C. and 37-4 per mille salinity—characteristic values for temperature and salinity of mixed Atlantic and Mediterranean water—changes its level within the twenty-four hours. It will at once be noticed that the changes are periodical, and a closer investiga- tion of the times indicated places it beyond doubt NO. 2724, VOL. 109] t 1138, lat. 35° 59° N., long. 5° 30° W. Continual observations at the same spot from g p.m. October 8 to 6 a.m. October 10, showing and 38’0 per mille and a ‘The depths are given that we have here to deal with a tidal phenomenon, albeit the magnitude of the alteration in level would appear to be also dependent upon other factors, such as the direction and force of the wind. 2 A comparison of the contents of the pelagic nets. throughout the night at our station. off Tarifa — proved highly interesting, but raised questions. which I soon perceived were to be solved only by a far longer stay at this point than the Dana could afford. I will take one example. A net drawn horizontally at about 150 metres’ depth on October 8 for two hours from 10.15 p.m. brought up about 80 litres of matter, consisting almost exclusively of a siphonophore (Diphyes). Towards morning Diphyes had disappeared, the contents of the net from 150 metres’ depth then consisting chiefly of Salpz and a schizopodous crustacean. The same phenomenon was repeated next night : first scarcely anything but Diphyes, and later on almost exclusively Salpz. Our hauls thus showed that the depth at which Diphyes and. Salpz are found is subject to : alteration, but the-question then arises whether such alteration is due to active movement of the organisms in question, or to @ 10:10.21. j2mn, 3am 6 to the change in level of the water layers effected by the action of the tides. A comparison of the pelagic fauna on both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar was likewise of much interest. As the main result it may be stated that several species were common to both areas, while others were found -only west of Gibraltar. Among the latter may be quoted, of fishes: Avgyropele- cus Olfersi, Vinciguerria Sanzot, Myctophum laternatum, and M. Valdivia, with various murenoid larvee (Leptocephalus branchi pinnati, L. L. lanceolatoides, etc.). I may mention the larve of the common freshwater eel (Leptocephalus brevirostris), which pass through the Straits of Gibraltar in enormous numbers. This phenomenon was one of particular interest to the expedition, and I hope to be able to say more about this to readers of Nature later on. Here again we are faced with new problems. Why, for instance, should certain pelagic species stop just outside the Straits of Gibraltar, and others, which out here may be taken in the same haul with the former, not be found in the Medi- terranean? Are they killed entering the Mediterranean by the natural con- ditions prevailing there, or are they able in some way, despite their pelagic habit, to maintain their position—possibly by means of vertical migrations ? Various features would seem to suggest that it is not sufficient to regard the problem solely from the point of view of direction of current as found by latissimus, immediately on purely passive shifting answering — 4 — = Synapho- — In contrast to these — JANUARY 12, 1922] NATURE 47 = use of a current meter, but that other factors Straits of Gibraltar and adjacent waters would 9 come into play. Otherwise it would be diffi- | have for general—physical and biological—ocean- lt, for instance, to understand how certain pelagic ography. When, at the commencement of October, scies of fish (Myctophum glaciale and M. 1 was obliged to leave this area in order to take up fleini, Stomias boa, etc.) can at all seasons occur | the other tasks allotted to the Dana Expedition, it far greater quantities—have a maximum of | was with the conviction that the expedition would y—in the Alboran Sea (the westernmost part in all probability have been able to do more for 1¢ Mediterranean, between Spain and Morocco) — the cause of oceanography in general by keeping either west or east of there, despite the fact — station at Gibraltar during the ten months we have ‘the surface layers are in constant move- . for work, than by cruising about the ocean. Being towards the east. This is actually the case, so convinced, I venture to hope that British as first shown by A. V. Taning and Vilh. Ege naturalists may soon take up this important task, the basis of material from the Thor expeditions. which Great Britain, with Gibraltar as a base, has Dana Expedition has proved the same thing. | unique opportunities for dealing with. A research paratively few specimens occur west of Gib- _ vessel stationed at Gibraltar would take but half an r and east of Oran, but in the Alboran Sea _ hour to arrive on the scene of operations, the meet- _ great quantities of all three species were ing-place of two deep seas. The saving in time d, so that the contents of a single net might | and coal, and the unparalleled opportunities of , for instance, more than 1500 specimens, espe- __ utilising all favourable weather conditions — for ly Myctophum glaciale. oceanographical work, are self-evident. Tn conclusion I cannot refrain from emphasising (On board the Dana, at San Vicente, Cape Verde extreme importance an intensive study of the | Tslands, November 1, 1921.) | Photographic Studies of Heights of Aurora. By Dr. C. Cures, F.R.S. two publications referred to below,! by | of each selected auroral point (i.e. the angle sub- prot Carl Stérmer, of Christiania, merit the | tended at the point by the 27.5-km. base), its astro- of all interested in the physics of the | nomical co-ordinates (altitude and azimuth), and osphere. As is generally known, Prof. Stérmer | several calculated data, including the height of ered a Satisfactory method of measuring the | the point above the ground, and the distance from nd position of aurora by means of photo- | Bossekop of the point itself and of the correspond- taken simultaneously at the two ends of | ing point on the earth’s surface vertically under it. ng base. The photographs include two or | The vertical heights vary from 87 to 323 km., stars, the exact positions of which in space | the horizontal distances from Bossekop from 5 to certainable, the precise time of taking the | 780 km. Some of the more notable auroras care gr: phs being known. The difference between | discussed in considerable detail. The 336 pairs of positions of the aurora relative to the stars in photographs appear in plates 1 to 28, each plate see photographs enables the necessary cal- | containing twelve B. (Bossekop) and the corre- ns to be made. sponding twelve K. (Korsnes) photographs. To first memoir gives a very full account of | each pair of photographs there answers a diagram raphs taken in the spring of 1913 at two showing the stars used in the calculations, the n stations, Bossekop (B.) and Store | positions of the auroral points, usually distin- (K.), 27-5 km. apart, near latitude 70° N. | guished by numerals, and dashed lines to represent ae the results have been already discussed in | the parallaxes. ; of papers enumerated on p. 7, which have We reproduce two pairs of B. and K. photo- sd in different publications, especially | graphs. One (Fig. 1) represents an auroral strial Magnetism and _ Electricity, the | curtain in which twenty-one points were measured. ophysical Journal, and the Paris Comptes | The nearest point (towards the apparent tops of ndus. But the present memoir, besides sum- | the photographs) was at a horizontal distance of ising these, contains much new matter. In | 99 km. from Bossekop, the most remote point Ss. 1 and 2, pp. 8-37, there is a description | (near the lower left-hand corner) at a distance of apparatus and equipment and of the methods | 265 km. The heights measured varied from go observation. This is intended to be sup- | to 130 km. Fig. 2 represents a band having the entary to descriptions already given, but de- | right-hand edge exceedingly sharp and luminous. es various improvements and simplifications. | The twelve points measured are shown in the key - 3, Pp. 38-156, is a complete journal in | diagram (Fig. 3). Their heights varied only from iological order of all the 336 pairs of photo- | 102 to 108 km. The horizontal distances, from hs discussed. Besides the date and hour and | Bossekop of points 1 and 12 were respectively 61 e of exposure, values are given of the parallax and 178 km., and their parallaxes were 13-1° and Carl Stérmer: ‘Rapport sur une expédition d’aurores boréales & 7: a The stars used were a, B, and @ Aurige. : = Saha Korsnes pendant le printemps de Vannée 1913." Geofysiske | C > and C, represent the positions relative to the , vol. 1, No. 5. Pp. 269+104 plates. (Kristiania, tg2t-) 1 D4 smples de ra pelea g des altitudes de soo kilométres | stars of the centres of the plates for Bossekop and (Kristiania, 1921.) ationer, vol. 2, No.2 Pp. 5s+2 | 1 Geenes. The other details as to the stars refer NO. 2724, VOL. 109] 48 The arrow-heads to the Bossekop photograph. radiating from each star show the directions of the star’s declination (8) and altitude (h) circles and “f the auroral parallax (p). The numerals 39, 43, K. B. Fic. 1.—Auroral curtain photographed at Korsnes and Bossekop. 46 represent degrees. of altitude. The azimuths of the stars, 180°—89:5°, etc., are also shown. The dotted lines represent the parallaxes in magnitude and direction. B. K. Fic. 2.—Auroral band photographed at Bossekop and Korsnes. The 336 key diagrams occupy plates 33 to 87. Finally, there are charts numbered 1 to 32, in- cluded in plates 90 to 104, which show the geo- graphical positions of the points on the earth NO. 2724, VOL. 109] NATURE | JANUARY 12, 1922 vertically under all the auroral points dealt with. The observational data are thus presented in an extremely systematic fashion. Chap. 4, pp. 157-212, includes a mathematical investigation of the variation in the inclination of the trajectory of an electrified corpuscle to the direction of mag- netic force, the magnetic field having a potential. In the applications the earth’s field is supposed to be given with sufficient accuracy by the first-order Gaussian terms. The corpuscle is supposed to have emanated from the sun, and its course is considered after it has come to within 500 km. of the earth’s surface. The inclination of the tra- jectory to the magnetic lines of force tends to increase as the corpuscle approaches the earth. If the angle attains to go° the corpuscile retreats. The energy may be absorbed while the corpuscle is approaching or while it is retreating, or some may remain after the retreat has carried the cor- puscle outside the atmosphere. What happens is Fic. 3.—Measurements of points on Fig. 2. shown to be largely dependent on the constitution of the atmosphere. The author assumes that throughout the troposphere, the upper limit of which is put at 10-5 km., air is constituted exactly as at the earth’s surface. But higher up in the stratosphere the several constituents, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, neon, helium, krypton, xenon, and hydrogen, behave independently. The author essentially follows Mr, Jeans, rejecting Wegener’s hypothetical gas geocoronium. According to his calculations, p. 173, helium is the most important gas between heights of 110 and 200 km., hydro- gen preponderating at greater, and nitrogen at lower, levels.. These are practically the only gases that count when we consider how far down an auroral ray can come in the atmosphere. Separate calculations are made of the absorption of cathode and B-rays on one hand, and of a-rays on the JANUARY 12, 1922] other. A number of special cases are worked out for both positive and negative rays, and the lumin- " osity at different heights is considered. Chap. 5, pp- 213-222, comparing theory with observation, gives a brief analysis of the observed heights and contains some historical matter. The ‘a@-ray theory of aurora is credited to Prof. WVegard, who has now, however, abandoned it. The author’s own conclusions seem, on the whole, in general accord with those now held by Vegard. He considers that the luminosity phenomena of aurora cannot be explained on the a-ray hypo- thesis except for what he calls ‘plaques pulsa- ‘toires.”” The most likely sources. of all other ‘auroras, he thinks, are cathode rays. | On pp. 221-22 is an interesting statement of ' what Prof. Stérmer takes to be the auroral prob- lems now calling for attention. The observational problems include height measurements in the Arctic and Antarctic, and the investigation of the ' auroral spectrum at different levels. The first theo- _ retical problem remaining is to take account of the ' mutual electro-magnetic actions of the corpuscular ‘currents, as well as of the action of the magnetic fields of the earth and sun. “On pourra alors... étudier jusqu’a quel point les objections de Shuster (Schuster) relatives a des faisceaux cathodiques dans l’espace sont bien fondées ou non.’’ A second theoretical problem is to apply the knowledge we may gain of the auroral corpuscles to the study of solar physics. The second paper by Prof. Stérmer relates to auroral measurements made during a great mag- netic storm on March 22~—23, 1920. Use was made on that occasion of seven stations giving bases VATURE 49 varying in length from 26 to 250 km. Of the heights measured, six exceeded km., one being 607 km. The plates attached to the paper are enlarged negatives of the photographs ob- tained. The photogfaph reproduced here (Fig. 4) 500 Fic. 4.—Aurora during the magnetic storm of March 22-23, 1920. is a positive, which we owe to the kindness of Prof. Stérmer. The demonstration of the exist- ence of a sensible atmosphere at heights exceeding 500 km. is a notable event. << . UES al agit MELDOLA was a man of remark- able versatility, eminent to an unusual degree in several sciences—chemistry, biology, entymology, astronomy—and of -un- bounded energy. How broad his sympathies and _interestse were, and how distinguished his services, should be suffici- ently apparent from the fact that he was elected to the presidential chairs of the Essex Field Club; the Ento- mological Society, the Chem- ical Society, the Society of Dyers and Colorists, the Society of Chemical In- dustry, and the Institute of Chemistry. Apart from the distinctions connected with his scientific pursuits, Mel- dola was held in high honour among his own people as president of the Maccabzans, a society in London con- sisting mainly of Jewish professional men devoted to the promotion of the interests of the Jewish race. NO. 2724, VOL. 109] The Meldola Medal. | That society has instituted a medal in order to perpetuate his memory, and has arranged with the council of +the Institute of Chemistry that the DSc,LUD FRS: (> BORN 1849 DIEDI1915 The Meldola Medal. 50 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 Meldola medal be presented annually for the most meritorious chemical work of the year ending on the last day of December preceding the award. The award is not to be restricted to any particular branch, but the administrators, who are the council of the institute and a member of the Maccabzeans appointed by their committee, will have primary regard to work done in analytical chemistry. The award, however, is restricted to British subjects of not more than thirty years of age at the time of the completion of the work—a condition seldom, if ever, attaching to awards of this kind. «It is in- tended to afford encouragement to young investi- gators and to imply recognition of high merit— which is more frequently accorded in later life to those who have long achieved distinction. | The medal, which is in bronze and is here illustrated, has been designed and executed by Mr. Frank Bowcher. The council of the Institute of Chemistry hopes _ that the first award may be made at the annual general meeting of the institute on March 1 next. Chemists are invited at any time prior to Friday, — January 20, to direct attention to published work — of distinctive character, preferably in analytical — ‘chemistry, carried out during 1921. Such com- munications should be headed ‘‘ Meldola Medal,” and should be addressed to the registrar of the institute, 30 Russell Square, W.C.1. . a Meldola died on November 16, 1915, and many will remember that in 1917, by subscription among his friends, two portraits of him, by Mr. §. J. Solomon, R.A., were presented to the Royal Society and the Institute of Chemistry. The medal affords an additional fitting tribute to one of the most notable men of science of our time. Obituary. Dr T. A Cuapman, F.R.S. R. THOMAS ALGERNON CHAPMAN died at Reigate on December 17 last after a long period of failing health, in the eightieth year of his age. His father, Dr. Thomas ‘Chapman, of Glasgow, was in _ his _ day an entomologist of high repute, and the life- long devotion ot the son to the study of insects commenced at an early age. After graduating in medicine (with honours) and surgery at Glasgow and Edinburgh, Dr. Chapman was for a time resident physician and surgeon to the Glasgow Royal In- firmary, and in 1866 he received an appointment to the Joint Counties Asylum at Abergavenny. He afterwards became Medical Superintendent to the County and City Asylum of Hereford, and during his tenure of this office, from which he retired in 1895, he contributed several important papers to the Journal of Mental Science. A keen and successful collector, and a delightful companion in the field, Dr. Chapman was, in addi- tion, one of the most philosophical of naturalists and the most accurate and painstaking of observers. His long series of entomological memoirs—the Royal Society’s Catalogue and the ‘‘ Zoological Record ”’ enumerate more than 250 separate papers published by him from 1868 onwards in the current magazines and the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London—regarded as a whole, takes rank among the most important contributions to the science of entomology by a single individual in recent years. Some of his early papers deal with the life-histories of certain wood-feeding Coleoptera of great economic importance and interest, but the great bulk of Dr. Chapman’s work relates to the Lepidoptera, chiefly from the bionomic and taxonomic aspect. Of late years he devoted considerable attention to the biology of sawflies, and the last paper from his pen on this subject appears in the Lxtomologists’ Monthly Magazine for January. Among the most important of Dr. Chapman’s memoirs are those on the value:of pupal characters in the classification of the Lepidoptera ; on the life- NO. 2724, VOL. 109| history of the Micropterygidse, and the true rela- tions of these singular insects, for which he recently proposed a new order, the Zeugloptera; and the life-histories, in some cases’ previously unknown, of many species of British and European Lycsnide or ‘‘ blue ’’ butterflies, and the association of their — larvae with ants and other insects, the material for these researches being acquired in many visits to the Alps and other parts of the Continent in his later years. larval and pupal life of Nomiades arion, for so many years an entomological enigma, is in large measure due to his acumen and patient obseryation. Dr. Chapman became a fellow of the Entomo- logical Society of London in 1891, served repeatedly on the council, and was vice-president of the society on no fewer than four occasions ; but, to the great regret of his colleagues; he could never be in- duced to assume the office of president, which was long open to his acceptance. He joined the Zoological Society in 1898, and in 1918 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. His genial and engaging personality will be greatly missed by his wide circle of friends and fellow-workers, and very few men were more highly and deservedly esteemed in life or are more deeply regretted in death. J. J. W.. Ir is announced in Science that Pror. HENRY TurRNER Eppy, professor emeritus of mathematics and mechanics in the University of Minnesota and dean emeritus of the graduate school, died on December 18. last at the age of seventy-seven years. Prof. Eddy was professor of mathematics, astro- nomy, and civil engineering in the University of Cincinnati for sixteen years, and went to the University of Minnesota in 1894 as professor of engineering and mechanics. fessor of mathematics and mechanics. He served both as secretary and vice-president of the American - Later he became’ pro- The solution of the mystery of the | Association for the Advancement of Science, and. was also a member of several other learned societies in America. . JANUARY 12, 1922] NATURE 51 nd sense of relief the intimation that the repre- tatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and United States, assembled at the Washington Con- mee, have agreed to the American proposal to bit the use of poison gas in warfar@ As Mr. . Balfour pointed out, in announcing the adher- of Great Britain, Mr. Root’s resolution was, in _a re-affirmation, of international law as it d prior to 1915, when it was deliberately violated Berdiany. He was conscious, as was M. Sarraut, representative of France, that the exercise of hn in banning the use of an abhorrent method arfare was, under present conditions, scarcely cable, and that whilst the agreement would re to bind the Five Powers, it would not relieve ions from the peenanity of preparing themselves ees thus reached by the Washington. Con- nce is as satisfactory as could be expected. It n fact, all that was practicable, and it will be wel- . all the Powers comprising the League of The issue now rests with Germany. But Sir Davip Prain will shortly retire on account of age from the post of Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which he has held since 1905, and the Lord of the Treasury has appointed as his suc- - Dr. A. W. Hill, who has been Assistant stor of the gardens for the last fourteen years, was previously ‘fellow’ and ‘déan’ of King’s Col- lege, Cambridge, and University lecturer in botany. Sh Dovid: Prain was born in 1857, and entered the dian Medical Service in 1884, when he was almost at ‘once seconded for service in the Botanic Garden - Sibpur, Calcutta, as curator of the herbarium, in 1898 succeeding the late Sir George King as super- te During this period his activities included 7 duties of professor of botany in the Calcutta Medical College, Director of the Botanical Survey of India, a trustee of the India Museum, and fellow of the Calcutta University. Upon the retirement of Sir William Thiselton-Dyer in 1905 from the directorship of ‘the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Sir David ‘ain was appointed his successor, and he has worthily maintained the high traditions of his post, the highest and most important of its kind in the British Empire. He has also been president of the - Linnean Society of London (1916-19) and treasurer of the Royal | Society since 1919, besides serving on "numerous boards and committees of biological asso- a ciations, where his well-balanced judgment and large Be experience have made him welcome. On entering on ig his duties at Kew he found them so exacting that his ; favourite botanic studies have been curtailed; with his coming release from official labours he will, no doubt, -be able to devote himself to original work once more. Dr. Arthur Hill, who succeeds to the NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Notes. office of Director, has travelled in South America and tropical Africa; he has also been largely responsible for the laying-out of British cemeteries in France and Italy. An expedition, consisting of Prof. J. W. Gregory, of Glasgow University, and his son, Mr. Christopher J. Gregory, which has for its primary object the in- vestigation of some features in the mountain struc- -ture of north-western Yunnan and western Szechuan, expects to leave for Burma at the end of March. The area is one of special geological and biological interest. It includes some mountains of which the height varies, according to the available information, from 20,000 to 25,000 ft.; and as these mountains occur in line with the Himalaya and the mountains south of Assam, it has been suggested that they represent a prolongation of the Himalaya and are continuous through China with the main mountain lines of north-eastern Asia. This view is opposed to the interpretation by von Richthofen that the moun- tains of this part of China belong to a pre-Himalayan system which they cross almost at right angles, and that the continuation of the Himalayan folds bends back through western Burma and is continued by the mountains on the southern edge of the Eastern Archi- pelago. It is hoped to obtain evidence for the solu- tion of this problem, and also in reference to the remarkable parallelism of the three great rivers which discharge from south-eastern Tibet. The area is of biological interest in connection with the geographical distribution of the fauna and flora of south-eastern Asia. Some zoological and botanical collections will -be made which it is hoped will be worked out in the British Museum of Natural History and in the India Museum, Calcutta. The expedition will travel via Rangoon, and hopes to start from Bhamo, near the north-western frontier of Burma, at the beginning of May. Tue council of the Geological Society has this year made the following awards :—Wollaston medal, Dr. A. Harker; Murchison medal, Dr. J. W. Evans; Lyell medal, Dr. C. Davison ; Wollaston fund, Dr. L. J. Wills; Murchison fund, Mr. H. Bolton; Lyell fund, Mr. A. Macconochie and Mr. D. Tait. BEGINNING on January 26, we have arranged to issue a monthly supplement giving the titles of new books on science and technology published at home and abroad. Publishers have been invited to send us the titles of such additions to their catalogues, and it is hoped to make the lists an index to the chief scientific works issued. Any assistance which may be offered in order to make our lists complete will be welcomed. An Exchange telegram published in the Daily Mail on Monday announced that after a visit to Mount Kosciusko, the highest in Australia, Sir T. Edgeworth David and Profs. Skeats and Richards have con- firmed the discovery in 1893 that the summit of that mountain was formerly covered by glaciers, The and | 52. NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 new observations show that the glaciation was con- temporary with the extinct giant wombat and other giant marsupials, which there is much evidence to show lived in south-eastern Australia when moister climatic conditions prevailed. The date of this glaciation is estimated by Sir Edgeworth David and his colleagues, according to the report, as 100,000 years ago, Ar a meeting of the provisional council of the New Zealand Astronomical Society, held at the Hector Observatory, Wellington, on November 15 last, the fol- lowing officers were elected :—President: Dr. Cink. Adams. Vice-Presidents: Hon. Sir Francis Bell, Prof. E. Marsden, Mr. T. Allison, and Dr. C. Munro ‘Hector. Secretary: Prof. D. M. Y. Sommerville. Treasurer: Mr. C. G. G. Berry. Editor: Mr. A. C. Gifford. Council: Mr. J. C. Begg, Hon. Mr. Justice Chapman, Prof. C. Coleridge Farr, Mr. E. G. Hogg, Capt. G. S. Hooper, and Mr. J. T. Ward. Unpver a provision of the Sundry Civil Act of March 4, 1921, Government Departments of the U.S.A. were required to suspend publication of all periodicals except those approved by Congress by December 1, 1921. A resolution empowering the Con- gressional Joint Committee on Printing to authorise the continuance or discontinuance of these periodicals, among them the Journal of Agricultural Research, passed the Senate, but did not come to a vote in the House before the adjournment of the last session of Congress. The Journal of Agricultural Research has, therefore, been suspended until its continuance is’ authorised by Congress. On Tuesday next, January 17, at 3 o’clock, Dr. _F. H. A. Marshall begins a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on ‘‘ Physiology as Applied to Agriculture ”?; on Thursday, January 19, Mr. Seton Gordon gives the first of two lectures on ‘‘ Mountain Birds of Scotland ’’ and ‘‘ Sea-birds and Seals ’’; and on Saturday, January 21, Dr. Charles Macpherson, organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral, commences a course of two lectures, with musical illustration, on ‘‘The Evolution of Organ Music.’’ The Friday evening discourse on January 20 will be delivered by Sir James Dewar on ‘‘Soap Films and Molecular Forces,’’ and on January 27 by Viscount Burnham on “ Jour- nalism.”’ Tue Echo de Paris is to be congratulated on the success of the subscription it raised to enable the octogenarian physicist Edouard Branly to continue his experimental work. Like many scientific men, Branly never sought commercial profits out of his discoveries, but the French public was unaware of the straits to which he had been reduced. It is now announced that the Branly Fund exceeds 200,000 francs (about 40oo0l.). Branly was the first to point out in 1890 that the electric resistance of a mass of metallic powder changed enormously when an electric spark took place in its neighbourhood. The resistance generally diminishes, but in a few cases—for instance, with peroxide of lead—it increases when the spark ensues. NO. 2724, VOL. 109] This was the principle of the earliest form of coherer which in the early days gave such an impetus to radio. telegraphy. ‘ Tue first meeting of the Society of rege Engineers was held on February 28, 1872, and the council of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (originally the Society of Telegraph Engineers) is arranging? to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the meeting. On February 21 at 4 p.m., and on February 22 at 8.30 p.m., Prof. J. A. Fleming will deliver a popular lecture (to which admission is by ticket) on ‘‘ Michael Faraday and the Foundations of Electrical Engineering.’’ The annual dinner of the institution will be held on February 21, at 7 p.m., at the Hotel Cecil, and in the afternoon and evening of February 23 several members of the institution’ and others closely connected with the early development of electrical engineering will give short discourses on their reminiscences and experiences during the early history of the electricity supply industry. The speakers will deal both with matters of scientific and technical interest, and also with the effect of legisla- tive action on the progress of the industry. ; INFLUENZA seems to be asserting itself with suffi- cient intensity to call for caution, especially on the part of the individual attacked, although at present the epidemic has not become sufficiently violent to cause alarm. The Registrar-General’s weekly returns show that for the ninety-six great towns of England and Wales, including London, the deaths from in- fluenza in the last six weeks have increased from 80 to 418, and in London alone the deaths from this cause have increased from 26 to 151. Fifty-nine per cent. of the deaths in London have occurred at ages above forty-five, whilst between twenty and forty-five | and below years of age the deaths are 27 per cent., twenty years of age only 14 per cent. The age- incidence of death in the present epidemic differs from that in the severe epidemic of 1918-19, which for the most part attacked the able-bodied; the present attack has reverted to the incidence shown by the earlier epidemics after 1890. In the six weeks the deaths : doubled, whilst deaths from bronchitis have remained fairly steady. With the abnormally mild weather in December the disease increased, which was a common feature with earlier epidemics, and it is to | be hoped that the drop in temperature experienced in the early days of 1922 will lessen the severity of the attack. TEMPERATURE in the past year was almost as ab- normal as the rainfall, month at Greenwich with the mean _ temperature below the average, whether compared with the normal for sixty-five years, 1841-1905, or with the normal for thirty-five years, 1881-1915, used by the Meteorological Office. The temperatures are given in Fahrenheit, and are chiefly from civil-day observations at Greenwich. The warmest month was July, with a mean of 68-5°, which is 48° above the average for sixty-five years, but both in January and October the excess of tem- perature was rather more than 7°. {te oes! OS niles Ainge re ss ioe from pneumonia have nearly | and November was the only: In November the ~ 1 7 January 12, 1922] NATURE 53 eney was 3-4°, but in December the excess was The mean temperature for the year was 52-8°, is 2-7° in excess of the yearly normal; this is ghest mean annual temperature on record since the next highest being 52-0° in 1868 and 1orr. the mean of the maximum, or highest day , Was 816°; there have been only -s since 1841 with a higher mean maxi- uly, 81-8° in 1859 and 82-0° in 1868. In “the mean maximum was 50-0°, and January, ith a mean maximum 50°4°, is the only v with so high a mean maximum since 1841. n minimum in January is the highest on “mean for October, 57-6°, has never pre- i ae at Greenwich, and the high tem- the commencement of the month were For the British Isles generally the erature for each month from January to ed September, and October was above gkbept tor August, in North-West England, was in agreement with the average. The of temperature for all districts in the S, except the North of Scotland and the el, for the fen months, January to 26°; in January the excess was 5:2°, in October 6-9°. States. National Museum (Proc., vol. ed a descriptive catalogue of its col- art, compiled by Mr. I. M. Casano- lection. is large, but it does not seem yo objects valuable for their antiquity auty, the best ae a ig aie bronze in worship. Mr. Casanowicz has esting introduction on Buddhism and . The pamphlet deserves the atten- e a are interested in the ek ri aaa the presidential address de- 3 Lslheaigin im Thurn, which gives an ; 1 sketch of the relations between sods aa oversd The state of savagery in tives were found does not imply fierceness : 1 ies uncontrolled in so far as they had ed to what we call ‘‘ civilisation,” but eloped for themselves a certain degree—in ay aly a very high degree—of culture. The is up his conclusions thus: “The Islanders Europeans first went among them, not a _ a fierce race, but were highly cultured, ed, people, but entirely uncivilised ; were at first puzzled what to make of the ‘em quasi-civilised, people who went among nd they only became repellent when they bitually injured by their visitors.’’ Ss educational work of the Commercial Museum f Philadelphia, as decribed by its curator, Mr. C. R. =Eg NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Toothaker, in Bulletin No. 13 (1920) of the United States Bureau of Education, is partly for business men and partly for the rising generation. Aid is given to the former by the foreign trade bureau of the museum, which publishes two journals, one of them in separate Spanish and English editions. Schools are provided for by official guidance to a study of the exhibits, daily lectures to visiting classes on subjects chosen by the school-teachers, lectures to teachers and others, loan lectures with lantern-slides sent to schools outside Philadelphia, and school collections given, not lent, to the schools of Pennsylvania. Full details of these last are given in this well-illustrated pamphlet. Tue recently published annual report of the York- shire Philosophical Society for 1920 reminds us that with 1922 the society reaches its centenary. It sprang from the suggestion that a museum should be founded to receive the bones just discovered in the Kirkdale Cave. Famous men have been connected with the society. It was the parent of the British Association in 1831 and of the Museums Association in 1888, while in local archeology it has done, and is doing, admirable work. Under the present keeper of the museum, Dr. Collinge, the zoological collections are being put in good order, and Mr. J. Hetherton has lately placed a wood of considerable area at the dis- posal of the society for use as a bird sanctuary. The geological collections contain many valuable fossils, and the report concludes with ‘‘ Notes on the Later Tertiary Invertebrata ”’ of these islands by the veteran Mr. Alfred Bell; most of the species are in the society’s: museum. Tue last annual report of the National Museum of Wales records some advance in completing the western section of the new building. The reserve galleries and basement are now occupied, and the keepers of art, botany, and zoology, with their staffs, are installed in their new quarters, while the depart- ment of geology has temporary accommodation. These departments are, however, hindered by lack of museum furniture, for which the available funds are insufficient. [he museum worthily acts up to its title of ‘‘ National,’’ co-operating with all relevant bodies in the Principality, with mine-owners, quarry-owners, and industrial firms, and in particular with the faunistic survey of the County of Glamorgan and the local education authorities. A number of accessions of local interest, as well as many others, are recorded by all the departments. It is not in man to command financial support, but Dr. Hoyle and his able staff undoubtedly deserve it. Tue geological model of the Bristol district which has recently been placed in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery depicts the relief and the geological out- crops of the district on a horizontal scale of 3 in. to 1 mile and a vertical scale of 1 in. to 500 ft. An explanatory guide to this relief map has been prepared by Prof. S. H. Reynolds. The pamphlet includes a description of the present land surface and a sketch of the geological history designed to explain the 54 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 origin of the chief physical features. A short account of the distribution of the geological formations is also given, and this is followed by a_ section which describes the roads and railways of the district in their relation to the surface relief. The pamphlet should prove indispensable to those students and teachers of geography and geology who have access to the model. From the ‘‘ Report on the Zoological Service for the Year 1920 ”’ we learn that the Giza Zoological Gardens have been restored to their pre-war condition of cleanliness. The number of visitors during that year was greater than in any previous year. A special feature of these gardens is the thousands of birds in a state of complete liberty which frequent the grounds, and we are glad to note that the numbers of cattle egrets, little egrets, and hoopoes which have nested there are increasing. The new building of the Giza Zoological Museum was opened in 1920. Lack of space and insufficiency of staff, however, will prevent the development of a general natural history museum, The insect collections have already been transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and the marine inverte- brates to the Sultana Hydrobiological Institute. The Zoological Service of Egypt is doing a useful work in the preservation of the natural fauna of the country both by protecting game and nesting birds and by con- trolling beasts of prey. Special success has attended its efforts to protect birds from the birdlimers, to preserve the breeding colonies of the cattle egrets, and to keep down the number of jackals. AN interesting addition to the flowering plants of the British flora is announced in the November issue of the Naturalist. Mr. R. W. Butcher found Tillaea aquatica at Adel, near Leeds, in September, where it was the dominant plant growing in abundance on the drying-up mud on the margin of a pool. Dr. G. C. Druce has examined the plant, and agrees that it is probably a true native species or one brought there by purely natural means. The typical plant is known from Germany, and a sub-species also occurs in France and Italy. Tue December issue of the Journal of the Franklin Institute contains a paper by Mr. Enoch Karrer, of the Nela Research Laboratories, Cleveland, Ohio, on the shape assumed by a deformable body immersed in a moving fluid. The author’s attention was directed to the subject by the behaviour of a drop of mercury just above a constriction in a vertical glass tube up which a current of gas was flowing. As the speed of the gas was increased the drop was raised above the constriction and assumed a slightly egg- shaped form with its larger end downwards. With increase of speed it elongated, keeping its larger end downwards, and finally a small drop detached itself from its upper.end. From these observations the author concludes that a deformable body in a moving fluid assumes a stream-line shape. He supports his conclusion by figures of snow drifts and snow bosses from Cornish’s ‘‘ Waves of Sand and Snow,”’ of egg- shaped boulders. with their long axes in the direction of the wind and their big ends up-wind, and by the NO. 2724, VOL. 109] shapes of moths, birds, and fishes. By analogy with ‘“ geotropism ’’—the adjustment of organisms under gravity—the author proposes to name this new prin- ciple ‘‘rheotropism.”? — THE Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry has recently issued as No. 18 of the Geophysical Memoirs a memoir by Mr. W. H. Dines on observations on radiation from the sky and an attempt to determine the atmospheric constant of radiation. The measure- ments were made at Benson during 1920. The sky was divided into, six zones of 15° width, and the radiation was taken at the altitudes corresponding to the. mean altitude of the zones. The final form of instrument used was a thermopile of copper-eureka junctions designed by L. F. Richardson. The observa- tions were made at, or a little after, sunset, and are classified under ‘‘clear sky,’’ ‘overcast sky,”? and ‘very clouded sky.’? By suitable methods the amount of radiation received from each zone on a _ hori- zontal surface at ground-level is calculated, and the final results show that the average daily supply of heat from the atmosphere throughout the year falling on one square centimetre in the South of England on clear days is 506 gram calories. For fully clouded skies the value is about 7oo, with a general mean for all days of about 600. For a mean tem- perature of 50° F. the outward radiation from the earth is 711 gram calories, so that the net or effective radiation for a clear sky is rather more than 200 gram calories. This is 25 per cent. less than the values usually given, which, however, have been mostly obtained at much greater altitudes than Benson (186 ft. above sea-level). THE commercial transmission of power conveyed electrically by overhead wires has made the study of lightning arresters of great importance. In places where thunderstorms are violent, such as in certain parts of South Africa or where the lines have to traverse mountainous regions, the use of efficient lightning arresters is a necessity. In this connection the papers published in the General Electric Review for November and December last by J. L. R. Hayden and N. A. Lougee are of value. The object of lightning arresters is to afford protection against sudden rushes of electricity at high potential in the lines due to atmospheric disturbances. To get similar electric surges in the laboratory they build up a battery of glass-plate condensers which by means of the kenotron (a two-electrode thermionic valve for rectifying currents of high voltage) can be charged by an alternating-current transformer to 30,000 volts; 200 of these condensers are used, which can be con- nected in parallel or in two groups of 100 in parallel or in four groups of 50 in parallel. When they are all in parallel the capacity is 1-6 microfarads, and at 30 kilovolts the energy stored is 720 joules. With the arrangements they used they got a maximum discharge of 9500 amperes at 120,000 volts, the dis- charge frequency being 126,000. Three types of lightning arrester were examined: (1) the horn type with resistance in series, (2) the electrolytic type, and (3) the multigap type. Their results prove that the x > ‘January 12, 1922] we fa NATURE 55 istance in the horn type was very detrimental, that electrolytic type was very efficient, but that its ense limited its use, and that the multigap type as an efficient and cheap type of lightning arrester. ESSRS. LONGMANS AND Co. have in the press arn Practice in Heat Engines,’’ by T. Petrie, is intended to form a companion to the late ey’s “Theory of Heat Engines.’’ It deals subject of power from heat engines as a ol , and attempts to show how far theory may be pli d to the design of modern types. The book is ded into three sections, steam boilers, steam prime avers, and internal-combustion engines, each section ing a descriptive chapter on the latest types sectional -illustrations which, in many cases, imate to working drawings. Another book an- by the same publishers is a translation, by . Thomas, of Prof. A. Smits’s ‘The Theory WE} ip Epwarps, 83 High Street, Marylebone, has just issued a Hand-list (No. 422) of Bio- , Autobiographies, Diaries, Journals, Corre- spondence, etc., of Famous Men and Women. ? Many men of science are represented in the catalogue. Mr. E. Marspen, one of the authors of ‘‘ Geography for Junior Classes,’’ of which a short notice appeared in NAturE of December 22 last, writes to point out that the phrase “lines and belts of equal heat,’? which the reviewer remarked “is bad anywhere,’’ occurs also in Geikie’s “‘Elementary Lessons in Physical Geography ”’ and in the revised edition of Huxley’s ‘Physiography.’* The use of the phrase in other books does not, however, alter the reviewer’s objection to it. - In an article entitled ‘Fisheries Biology” in Nature of December 29, p. 585, it is stated that ‘the spur-dog and nurse-hound are viviparous.’’ Mr. E. Ford writes to inform us that the term “nurse- hound ”’ is applied at Plymouth to Scyliorhinus stel- laris, which is not viviparous. We understand from the writer of our article that confusion has arisen from the fact that the name ‘“‘nurse-hound ” is also used by fishermen in his district to refer to Mustelus vulgaris, which is viviparous. SHow display of these objects was observed on t following January 3. Mr. W. F. Denning as follows :—At Bristol the early part of the was clear, and between 5.40 and 6.50 p.m. os eran at the rate of thirty per hour. wind, and sleet ‘then interrupted watching mut g p.m., when the atmosphere again and the remainder of the night was splendidly le for observation. The shower, however, numbers strikingly, for in the two or preceding midnight the hourly rate of was only twelve, and there was a further as the night progressed. The radiant point as at 232°+53°. Large meteors were frequent, and a number of them have been recorded at several ms. Miss A. Grace Cook witnessed the event Stowmarket and saw a considerable number of ; on the two nights January 2 and 3. She istered a fair proportion of large ones, and found intensity occurred in the early part of . The radiant was at 231°+53°. T EvIDENCE OF A PersisTENT AuRORA.— No. 76 (vol. 3, No. 1) of the Lowell Ob- ry, contains an interesting account by Mr. V. M. ipher of his successful attempts to show that the irora is always present in the night sky. Working on the fact that the spectrum of the aurora consists of certain emissions, of which one in the yellow- | is so intense relatively as to contain a con- = portion of the total auroral light, he finds ible to record this line with an exposure of few hours, even if there be moonlight. The in- ment he employs is a spectrograph with a 66 ree flint glass prism, and a Dallmeyer lens of f/1-9 9, the photographic plates being of the Cramer isochromatic brand. This spectrograph was usually mplv pointed to the sky, but in some cases a small tive was placed in front of it. Ali the exposures made showed the characteristic auroral line, thus ng the existence of auroral illumination, per- NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Our Astronomical Column. ER OF January Meteors.—A_rather| sistent or permanent at least over the period covered by his series of plates, which commenced in the year 1915. The two plates which accompany his paper show the auroral line clearly on both moonlight and moonless nights. MOVEMENTS IN Spirat Nesuta.—Dr. Jeans ex- hibited at the November meeting of the Royal Astro- nomical Society some slides sent by Dr. Van Maanen, showing movements in the spirals M ror and M 33. He demonstrated that the only tenable motions that would conserve the equiangular spiral forms were compounded of pure rotation and motion along the arms. The latter type greatly predominates in these nebulz, and the indicated times of revolution round the nucleus are 85,000 years and 160,000 years re- spectively. Since only two whorls of nebulosity can be traced, implying a duration of a third of a million vears, it was conjectured that the outer whorls may have become invisible, just as the puffs of steam from a locomotive soon dissipate. By the combination of observed shifts with line-of-sight velocities, a distance of 2000 parsecs was deduced for M 33. This would be fatal to the island-universe hypothesis, since it would place the object well within the confines of the galaxy. There have been fairly regular oscillations of opinion on the hypothests, the prevailing view at the Roval Astronomical Society’s meeting being hos- tile to it. A Bricut Firesatt.—Mr. G. E. Sutcliffe writes from Shahpur, Ahmedabad, India, that on Novem- ber 22 last, at about 6 a.m., when gazing towards the Southern Cross, he saw a large fireball emerging from the horizon. The object appeared to be ap- proaching him and to move more slowly than ordinary shooting stars. It became intensely brilliant. Its motion was directed nearly from south to north, and it passed a little to the east of his zenith. During the early part of its track the fireball was globular in shape, and it had a distinct tail like a comet. 56 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 A Notable Exhibition ‘THE Physical Society of London and the Optical Society held their twelfth exhibition of elec- trical, optical, and other apparatus at the Imperial College of Science on January 4 and 5. As in past years, the exhibition rooms were crowded with ap- paratus and visitors; the latter were so numerous that the exhibition became a continuous one instead of closing between 6 and 7 p.m, each day. The display of scientific apparatus was probably the finest ever seen in this country, and the quality and finish of the instruments left little to be desired. - There were many instruments of novel design, but attention can be directed to a few only. A quite novel exhibit was an optical sonometer by the firm of Hilger, Ltd. This is. designed to record the pressure variations caused by sound-waves, and should prove’ invaluable to workers in acoustics. The most novel feature is the diaphragm, which is a film having a thickness of a fraction of a wave-length of light, and is silvered or gilded on one side by a cathode process. The sound-wave under examination is received by a horn, and causes the diaphragm, and ultimately a beam of light, to vibrate. An intense point image is produced, and a photographic record can be obtained on a rotating film. The vowel sounds and all kinds of acoustic disturbances may thus be analysed. In another arrangement, which is excel- lently adapted for demonstration purposes, a rotating band with white lines on a dark ground is illuminated by a line image from the diaphragm. By adjustment of the speed of rotation stationary wave effects are obtained. The episcope, shown by Newton and Co., is a marked improvement on forms previously seen, and should come into more general use for the projection on screens of opaque objects. The present instru- ment is of beautiful design, and with its two 2000- candle-power lamps very bright pictures of opaque objects may be projected on a screen 5 metres or more away. In large teaching institutions this instru- ment could be put to many uses. The Marconi Co. exhibited its new automatic alarm which responds to the wireless call of a ship in distress. In the present form of instrument the distress call must consist of three dashes, each of four seconds’ duration, the dashes being separated by one-second intervals. By means of an amplifying circuit, plungers working in dash-pots are caused to respond to the four-second impulses, and after a series of three such impulses a warning signal occurs. four seconds, subject to a tolerance of about half a second, the circuit necessary to operate the alarm is not completed. The demonstrations given were accompanied by artificial atmospherics and con- tinuous wireless reception, and were remarkably successful. Creed and Co. again showed. their system of high- speed automatic printing of wireless’ messages, but at an increased speed of reception. Signals from Chelmsford were regularly received, the Morse code perforations in a paper strip being transposed into Roman characters by. an automatic printer. The speed ranges from 50 to 200 words per minute. If the impulses last for more or less than. of Physical Apparatus. While the writer was present a message was received from the Marconi Co. conveying its wishes for the suecess of the exhibition. peared to be a very insignificant affair, and many visitors marvelled ai the present efficiency of triode- valve amplifiers. oy A novel weather foreteller, the design of which is due to Mr. Kitchen, was shown by Negretti and Zambra. The instrument is based on meteorological data extending over many years. The forecast for twelve hours appears in a small window in the instru- ment after the barometer and wind-scales have been set to correspond to the conditions existing at the time. It would be of interest to have a record over six months of “ predictions ’? and ‘‘ happenings.’’ Tucker’s hot-wire resonator microphone was shown by H. W. Sullivan. The microphone consists of a heated wire in the neck of a resonator and is insensi- tive to all but the particular sound frequency which it is desired to receive. The hot wire is cooled by the oscillating air-currents at the resonant frequency, and the change in the resistance of the wire is caused to operate an amplifier. eee, 3 The Cambridge and Paul Instrument Co. exhibited a novel temperature regulator, in which the current from a thermo-couple in a furnace passes through a millivoltmeter, at the end of the pointer of which is a light thermo-couple in series with a moving coil The receiving Herial ap- relay. When the furnace is at the temperature which _ it is desired to maintain, the light thermo-couple is brought, by the movement of the pointer, into close juxtaposition to a small heated body. A current is thus generated which operates the relay and_ in- directly controls the current in the furnace. The instrument exhibited controlled a small electric fur- nace at about 700° C. within about 5° C. The Edison Swan Co.* showed a_ 10,000-candle- power pointolite lamp of ingenious construction; many visitors remarked on the skill required to seal leads into glass for the passage of a current of 40 am- peres. The firm of Ilford, Ltd., showed a new and im- proved colourless filter which completely cuts off ultra- violet rays. It is claimed to be much superior to the usual zsculin filter, and is known as ‘‘Q”’ (acetamino- quinoline). The Davison microtelescope, while not new, attracted considerable attention, and users of the microscope admired a new 25-watt mercury vapour lamp made by Chas. Baker. Shotter’s integrator for water-flow meters was shown by H. Tinsley; it repre- sents a new application of the Wheatstone bridge. Among precise measuring instruments the Campbell fundamental standard of mutual inductance (shown by R. W. Paul) must be mentioned, and also the ‘“Talymin,’? by Taylor, Taylor and Hobson, which determines within small limits of error the outside diameters of small manufactured parts. An experimental lecture on ‘“ The Johnsen-Rahbek. Electrostatic Telephone and its Predecessors’’ was given on both days by Mr. A. A. Campbell Swinton. Another lecture on ‘‘Radium: Its Application in Peace and War’ was delivered by Mr. F. Harrison Glew, and a third lecture on ‘‘The Employment of Coarse Wire Gratings in Astronomy ”’ was given by Sir Frank W. Dvson. These lectures were attended by large audiences, and were highly appreciated. Science in Secondary Schools HE twenty-second annual general meeting of the Science Masters’ Association, which was held last week at the Imperial College of Science, was presided over by the Master of Balliol. His address on the subject of the relationship of history and NO. 2724, VOL. 109] science will long be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to hear it for the genial humour and. literary grace with which he defined the position and importance of these complementary branches of learning. 4 JANUARY 12, 1922] NATURE 57 Tt » association has been growing steadily in size d influence, and in recent years more than one im- ortant development in scientific education has taken ; Origin in the deliberations of its assemblies. Unless mistaken, we may expect to see, as a result meeting, a serious endeavour to introduce the ental principles of physical chemistry in the stages of science teaching. Brig.-Gen. H. made this suggestion both in the interests ectual economy and of clear thinking. It ; time, he said, that they tried to simplify for ‘pupils the memorising of the ever-growing mass n chemical facts by showing them at the how these are co-ordinated; thus would pure work be reduced, being replaced by reasoning was well within the powers of the students. . C. Philip, who, in common with other s, strongly supported this view, emphasised “00 tance of introducing the physico-chemical to the ordinary chemistry courses in prefer- t at the start. physical chemistry as a separate expensive apparatus nor extraordinary mathe- It was further explained that ability on the part of the pupils is necessary § of such instruction. It is rare to ‘a big gathering such unanimity of opinion ange of this sort in traditional teaching is sray possible. In all probability more of it. ig the course of the meetings, which extended . days, there were several other discussions, of the following general impressions were ob- :—First, as regards the teaching of dynamics; | still, with rare exceptions, in a chaotic condi- ‘in our schools. The subject is often left in the of mathematical masters, and divorced from g of science. In any case, the presentation nics is usually far too formal, with the result t makes little appeal to beginners. raphy seems to be in a better way. Some was made at the meeting to define, perhaps _ the activities of the specialist teacher of geo- _ But it was fairly generally agreed that he good, and that science has much to gain thing to lose by the growing importance which attached to the modern geographer’s methods. ajor E. R. Thomas, in opening a discussion on certificate science for the non-specialist, spoke of portance of emphasising the cultural value of ; . For this class of student especially it is to bring into prominence the historical, bio- -and philosophical aspects of the subject. id of teaching is now being widely adopted, is already being reflected in the work of those specialising in science. For many years the iation has done its utmost to save the youth of country from the materialistic tendencies which follow from the study of natural science if it is ‘ conceived and inadequately expounded. discussions will be fully reported in the next of the School Science Review, which Mr. | \ G. H. J. Adlam will continue to edit. During the coming year Sir Ernest Rutherford will be the presi- dent of the association, of which Major V. S. Bryant (St. Piran’s School, Maidenhead) and Major C. E. Sladden (Eton College) are the secretaries. The annual meeting of the Association of Science Teachers was held at University College, London, on January 3 last. At a business meeting in the morning the following resolution was unanimously passed :— “That this meeting of the Association of Science Teachers deeply regrets the action of the University of Cambridge, in that, alone among British universi- ties, it continues to exclude women from member- ship. The association believes that such exclusion must bé prejudicial to the higher education of women in general, and especially in natural science, for the study of which Cambridge can offer exceptional advantages.”’ A very useful discussion on practical examinations in science, initiated by a resolution concerning general elementary science asa subject in the General School ‘Examination of the University of London, was made more valuable by the presence of Mr. Lea, represent- ing the University. The general sense of the meeting was in favour of the retention, or even extension, of practical tests in science aS a part of the First Examination. In the afternoon Dr. Winifred Brenchley, of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, lectured on ‘‘ The Effects of Competition on Plant-life.’’ She pointed out that competition is prevalent both above and below ground. In the soil the deficiency of any con- stituent of plant-food may become a limiting factor in the growth of the plant, and the elements which act most frequently in this way are nitrogen and phos- phorus, and to a less extent potassium. Tests on this point are made by pot-cultures, in which the com- position of the soil can be controlled. By such tests it can be shown that with scanty nourishment one plant will increase as much in dry weight as a number of plants crowded into the same amount of soil. Above ground the limiting factor is light, leaf mosaics and other leaf arrangements being an adapta- tion to this condition. The effect of light is not always obvious, as crowded plants are taller than ‘spaced ’’? ones, but a comparison of dry weights shows that the ‘‘ spaced ’’ plant increases 50 per cent. more than the crowded one. Plants are adapted to live in communities on a limited amount of soil by varying root depth, e.g. during the drought of last summer bird’s foot trefoil flourished exceedingly because it had deep roots. Cultivated plants cannot exist at all in competition with weeds. Investigations undertaken at Rotham- sted have shown the extraordinary vitality of weed- seeds, and work is now proceeding on a survey of weeds of various districts. In this matter Dr. Brenchley seeks to enlist the help ot schools in various parts of the country, and will be glad to send details as to the data required to anyone who can help in | this way. interesting series of articles on research in animal breeding appeared in the April-July s of the Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture. the first two papers the author, Prof. R. C. ‘unnett, traces the results of crossing red with black 1 polled with horned cattle, and in this way illus- ates the Mendelian principles underlying all breed- ‘methods. Mendelism not only enables the der to understand why red calves sometimes NO. 2724, VOL. 109] “eponek Problems of Animal Breeding. appear even in the most highly pedigreed Aberdeen, Angus, or Holstein cattle, but it also supplies the knowledge which can be used to prevent their ever appearing again. The factors with which breeders are concerned are rarely as simple as in the black- red case of cattle, where the possibilities form a simple alternative pair, and in both cases one of the characters is completely dominant to the other, black being dominant to red and polied to horned. A more 58 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 complex example is given by crossing black polled with red horned cattle, which in the first generation yields all black polled animals, but in the second generation a very mixed progeny. arises. If the factors for the black-red and the polled-horned pairs are transmitted in the same manner, but indepen- dently of one another, then the second generation will consist of four classes: black-polled, black-horned, red-polled, and red-horned in the ratio of 9:3:3:1. This ratio has not been verified on a comprehensive scale for the cattle cross, but it has been worked out in all details in several cases for smaller animals. That horned-blacks: and polled-reds appear in the second filial generation means that there has been a “break up’’ of the parental types, and the new classes arise through re-combination of the two pairs of factors in. which the original parents differed. Many of the characters of animals owe their mani- festation to the presence of one or other definite factor transmitted according to a definite scheme. If these factors are not divisible under normal conditions they must be transmitted through the germ-cells as - definite entities producing their full effect in each suc- cessive generation. Therefore, if these factors are relatively permanent, arid follow a fixed scheme of distribution in heredity, it is obvious that the characters of living things can be brought under accurate control by the breeder. This factorial theory of heredity has been tested and proved to hold: good in a large number of cases, and the problem now engaging the attention of research workers at Cam- bridge is to find whether it can be applied to those cases where at first sight there appears no suggestion of clear-cut alternative pairs of characters. _ The last two papers of the series under notice deal with some of the experiments carried out on. these lines. One of the most extensive analyses was designed to investigate the inheritance of weight in poultry. Two standard breeds were chosen; for the larger bird the Gold-pencilled Hamburgh, and for the smaller one the Silver Sebright Bantam, the latter being, roughly, three-fifths of the weight of the former. The first-cross birds were intermediate in size, but in the second generation there was a Very wide variation. The majority of birds were between the weights of the original parental birds, but a few were larger than the Hamburgh, while a few were smaller than the Sebright. Nilsson-Ehle, working on wheat and oats, was the first’to give an explana- tion of such cases, and the closeness with which the theory fitted his results left little doubt of its being a true interpretation. Essentially, his theory is that a similar effect may be brought about by more than one factor, though such factors are independently transmitted. Accordingly, if there are several similar factors, A, B, C, D, etc., which influence the weight of poultry, then a bird possessing none of these factors will be the smallest type. When it contains A, it will be rather larger; when it contains A and B, it will be larger. again, and so on until the largest bird , is reached which contains the full collection of the weight factors. This theory was found to cover all the observed — facts, and although it is not suggested that weight is — dependent solely upon such factors, yet it seems probable that: even such complicated characters can be interpreted in terms of definite factors. other hand, very different results were obtained in experiments on rabbits, where the large Flemish was — crossed with the small Polish rabbit. In this case the F, generation contained no animals at all approaching the size of the original Flemish, and no explanation of this can at present be offered. Further experi- ments on rabbits were concerned with the inheritance of coat patterns, and the analysis of the continuous series from self-colour to almost white provided an interpretation in terms of the factorial theory. Another interesting series of analyses dealt with the peculiar form of inheritance known as sex-linked heredity. This can be illustrated by the Hamburgh- Sebright cross used for the weight experiments. The Hamburgh was a gold-pencilled and the Sebright a silver, and the experimental work showed that silver and gold form an alternative pair, silver being a simple dominant to gold, but in the hen the trans- mission of the factor for silver is sex-linked. The — silver hen is never pure for the silver factor; half. of her eggs are ‘‘silver ’’ and half are ‘‘ gold’’; more- over, she transmits the silver factors to her male- producing eggs and the gold to her female-producing eggs. A large number of birds have been bred from the mating of silver hen and gold cockerel, but there has not been one exception to the rule that the cockerels all come silver and the pullets all gold. This sex-linked type of inheritance is found in several other characters in poultry, and it may prove of economic importance, for by making use of suitable crosses the breeder of poultry for egg-production can be sure of rearing nothing but pullets through the earlier, and more costly, stages. . Further experiments dealt with the inheritance by cocks of hennv feathering, while others were con- cerned with the characters of egg-colour and broodi- ness in poultry. These had to be curtailed con- siderably owing to war conditions, although some interesting results were obtained. Although all these analyses may prove to be of economic value, vet it must be remembered that the “main object of the work at Cambridge is the elucidation of the princivles that underlie the pheno- mena of heredity,’’ and when these have been re- vealed the application can be left to those who will derive profit from it. A Petrological Microscope. E have received for examination from Messrs, R. and J. Beck an example of their ‘ Standard London Petrological Microscope,’’ which they have recently designed for the use of students. It embodies some of the recommendations of a committee of the British Science Guild, which carefully considered the subject (Journal of the British Science Guild, November, 1916, pp. 28-30). The microscope, which is strongly built and stands firmly, has the following distinctive features : The analyser is a form of the Abbe prism, devised NO. 2724, VOL. 109] ' be seen, but it is scarcely noticeable, by Mr. E. M. Nelson. It is placed immediately be- low the upper lens of the ocular, and slides laterally in. and out of position. This arrangement,. while it ‘does not appreciably contract the field, has the ad- vantage that it allows a quartz wedge to be inserted between the nicols in the focus of the ocular, with _ the result that the colour bands are sharply defined, as is also the dark band indicating the position of compensation. It is stated that in certain circum- stances a faint second image of the cross wires can and causes On the _ ee ol toe JANUARY 12, 1922] NATURE 59 inconvenience. The analyser can be rotated about ‘axis of the microscope, and is provided with clicks the positions of crossed and parallel nicols. M arrangement by which it can be rotated altern- 'y through small equal angles in opposite direc- position of extinction of a mineral has been _ “ directions-image,’’ is obtained, not by and’’ lens in the tube, e ’’ lens over the ocular. as it enables the optical effects of a small showing the but by »hragm, with a hole of suitable dimensions, in 2 object to be studied, and then putting the tens into position. The diaphragm is so ed that it allows of the insertion of so plate or quartz wedge immediately 1 of the analyser and the Bertrand lens. This less labour in construction, and therefore less may be added that the upper lens of the ocular is h quartz wedge, the cross wires, or the perfora- OF twin lamella to be isolated by first placing | able, so as to admit of its being exactly focussed _ There | is, from the position of crossed nicols, thus afford- | an accurate means of determining whether the | tion in the diaphragm, and there is also an adjust- ment of the Becke lens for the purpose of focussing the interference figures. The polariser is conveniently placed in a swing-out below the stage. It has a slot immediately below it for the insertion of a diaphragm with a small cir- cular or linear aperture for comparing the refractive indices of adjoining minerals by the Becke method, | and other purposes. interference | insertion of a. lacing a | This is decidedly pre- | of the ocular, so as to hide every thing ex- | hese arrangements render it unnecessary to cut | the tube of the microscope to allow of the intro- — When it is required to insert the condenser it is slid up into a cylindrical fitting in the stage. This is not very convenient, but we are informed that the firm is arranging to substitute a swing-out attachment, which it is believed will prove in every way satisfactory. An interesting feature is the Sloan objective changer, which takes only two or three seconds to operate. Each objective is attached to a collar by means of two screws. When these are once correctly adjusted, the objective will always be found to be correctly centred immediately on insertion. Among the accessories is a quartz wedge cemented to a gypsum plate, and graduated in intervals of fitty micromillimetres of relative retardation. This should render unnecessary the quarter-wave mica and Klein’s plate, which are, however, still 1etained in the list of accessories. It may be suggested that the fine adjustment should be provided with a milled head graduated to five microns on its circumference, even if it were only approximately accurate. T a meeting of the Royal Anthropological Insti- tute on November 22 Mrs. Zelia Nuttall gave | account of recent archzological investigations in ‘Mexico. As an introduction to her report Mrs. Nuttall referred briefly to the fact that after a period of ie pe of some centuries the great volcano Popo- apetl had again become active in 1920, and that ‘aneivity- still continued. _ During the last decade evidence that great. volcanic had taken place at long intervals has ‘been forthcoming. Two distinct types of figurines besngeriae, found in conditions which indicate that the topography of the valley has _ been and its inhabitants destroyed by great antedating the arrival of the Nahuas or Aztecs. : = OF: these figurines” the first, provisionally distin- hed as the sub-gravel type, was brought to Mrs. Nuttall’s notice in 1909, when specimens were E cllered: for sale by Indians, and she herself discovered an example in situ under'a gravel bed at Atzaca- They were delicately fashioned of fine clay, with slender bodies, long faces, smooth-hanging hair, “some wearing chaplets. All presented a worn and olished surface. In the Valley of Mexico the gravel s extend under the lava flow at the base of the q “extinct voleano Ajusco. _ Under the lava bed, to which Dr. Tempest Ander- son assigns an age of at least 20,000 years, Mrs. Nuttall in 1908, and afterwards Sefior Gamio, head of, the Department of Archeology of Mexico, have a second type of figurine, to which the E name “sub-lava type’? has been given. This type _is characterised by turbans and cans, evidently of fine” stuffs or fur, and decorated with circular orna- “ments of stone or shell. They indicate that the southern part of the valley was inhabited by a race totally distinct from that of the ‘‘sub-gravel type” and the Aztec. The distribution of the clay figurines NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Archeology in Mexico. is now under investigation. They have been traced as far as Guatemala. Mrs. Nuttall also described the results of recent excavations at Teotihuacan, during which a small pyramid was opened up and reconstructed by Sejfior Gamio. A tunnel pierced at the height of 35 ft. to the centre of the pyramid revealed that it had been | formed of mud filled with innumerable fragments of pottery vessels which had prevented the mud from cracking when it baked in the sun. A remarkable discovery was that of the remains of the ancient pyramid temple with a wonderful sculptured frieze which had been partly destroyed and then concealed by another terraced pyramid temple built in front. The sculptured serpents’ heads and the masks of the water-god Tlaloc are of a form hitherto unknown. Associated with them are sculptured shells, principally the conch shell and the pecten or pearl shell. Not only is it remarkable that sea-shells should be repre- sented in sculpture in the heart of the continent, but the association of the water-god with the ocean is ‘entirely new. In the discussion which followed Mrs. Nuttall’s paper, Mr. Maudslay expressed the hope that it might be possible before long, by the elaboration of a system of stratification, to date Mexican antiauities. As Mexico appeared to have been untouched by outside influence, the study of its antiquities afforded: evidence of the highest value, for the studv of the development of the human mind acting by itself. Mr. T. A. Tovce emphasised the importance of the evidence relating to the figurines, and pointed out that the British Museum had acquired a figurine of similar technique from Ecuador. Prof. Elliot Smith expressed the ovinion that, ¢ontrary to what had been stated bv Mr. Maudslavy, Mexican antiquities showed clear evi- dence of influence from outside. and in particular from Asia. Mrs. Nuttall’s work showed that this culture must have crossed the Pacific. 60 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 The. Treasury Grant to Universities. E have already referred on several occasions to the proposed reduction, from 1,500,000l, to 1,200,000l., in the Treasury grant-in-aid of university education for the coming financial year 1922-23. A memorandum, in which the dangers of reducing the grants and the rightful claims of the universities are ably stated, signed by the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Birmingham, Durham, Leeds, Liver- pool, Manchester, and Sheffield, has been forwarded to the Prime Minister. The document has also re- ceived the approbation of the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge London, Bristol, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Wales. As we have re- peatedly pointed out, the universities are the chief centres of research; they advance science and, to regard the matter fin the purely commercial side, they have unquestionably added millions to the national wealth by the way in which they have en- riched industry and commerce. In return for their great services, and in order to continue to be able to give such service, they are asking the Government to assist in maintaining their relatively modest financial resources. Encouraged by the hope that funds raised locally would be met by a corresponding increase in Treasury grants, great efforts have been made and every form of self-help employed ; severe economy has been practised in structural expenditure and in the maintenance and equipment of laboratories; students’ — fees have been increased so that one-third of the total — income of the universities of the North is derived from — this source; private benefactors have given 1,1 5,000l, in response to urgent appeals; and local authorities — have increased their grants to these universities from — 74,2681. in 1913-14 to 135,8681. In spite of this effort and the proportion of the Treasury grant allocated to the universities of the North of England, heavy losses were sustained in the working of the last academic year. It is therefore considered that with a curtailment of the existing grant the efficiency of the universities will be seriously impaired. In other countries, with which Britain must come into competition, efforts are being made to increase the resources of the universities. It is only necessary in this connection to recall the case of McGill University of Montreal, which has recently received sums amounting to seven million dollars in gifts from private benefactors and subsidies from public funds. The universities are admittedly of prime national importance, and when their resources, ex- ploited to the uttermost, are insufficient for the main- tenance of efficiency and vigour, it becomes a national duty to provide the necessary additional funds. — The Royal Academy HE exhibition which opened this week of works by recently deceased members of the Royal Academy affords an opportunity of comparing the pic- tures which have been exhibited at different dates during the past fifty years with those of the present time as shown year by year at the summer exhibi- tions. Even a rapid tour round the galleries shows that, so far as landscapes and Nature studies are concerned, the past can well bear comparison with the present, the number of unsatisfactory repre- sentations of Nature in the present exhibition being remarkably few. This does not prove that such pictures were not exhibited fifty years ago; it may indicate only that the Selection Committee in making choice has avoided pictures of that type. It may, on the other hand, indicate that “recently deceased members ’’ were less addicted to post-impressionism and similar phases of art than those still living. Thirty-six artists are represented in the exhibition. Of those who excelled in landscapes Sir Ernest Waterlow must be mentioned. He is represented by eighteen works of almost uniform excellence. Alfred Parsons’s landscapes are equally pleasing, particularly No. 233, ‘‘ River Scene,’’ first exhibited in 1878. His garden pictures are not quite so successful, the flowers not presenting in all cases an entirely natural appear- Winter Exhibition. ance. Napier Hemy, whose sea paintings are so well known, is represented by séveral of these works, and also by views of the Thames in London, of which No. 80, ‘‘ The Riverside, Chelsea *’ (1873), derives an added historical interest as showing a wooden bridge over the Thames in the foreground, the familiar square tower of Chelsea old parish church being seen , behind. Much more ancient history is shown in “The | Catapult” (No. 208), a stout wooden apparatus manipulated by Roman soldiers in the siege of a walled city. The construction looks strangely modern. Peter Graham’s works show much more variety than was to be found in his recent paintings. One of the earliest shown, ‘‘A Spate in the Highlands & (No. 105), exhibited in 1866, is typical of his modern work with hill-mist in a Scotch glen, but without cattle. Then in 1873 came a Highland farm scene, and in 1896 and 1898 two really excellent pictures of sea and rocks (Nos. 191 and 216). It is a great pity that a subject in which the artist showed such skill should have been entirely discarded later in favour of the mountain scenes, successful as these were. It would not be fitting to close this note without favour- able mention of Briton Riviere’s numerous scenes from animal life, some of which are very striking. | Botany of the Argentine Republic. HE Anales (vol. 29, 1917) of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires, recently received, a bulky volume of 700 pages, is devoted to the botany of the Argentine Republic. The earlier por- tion of the book contains the first part of a catalogue of the flowering plants, with the preparation of which Messrs. Hauman and Vanderveken have been occupied since the foundation of the botanical section of the museum in 1914. The catalogue consists of a list of all the species recorded for thé area, under their families, which are arranged according to Engler’s NO..2724, VOL. .109]| system. The entries in each family have been revised by the latest monograph dealing with the family in question. Under each species references are given to the publications on the authority of which the species is included. A systematic enumeration of the results of botanical explorations in this large area of temperate and sub-tropical South America has been much needed, and it is to be hoped that the authors | will carry it to completion. A communication by Mr. Hauman on the orchids of the Argentine gives some indication of the work which remains to be Li via done. : “ | January 12, 1922] NATURE 61 _Two main groups are represented, a sub-Antarctic '(Patagonian-Andine) and a sub-tropical, the latter being the more important. The present work has eased by 50 per cent. the number of genera and ties belonging to the sub-tropical group. Mr. man also supplies a number of floristic notes, ch conclude the series of memoirs he has already lished on the Monocotyledons of the Argentine, which he has added some seventy species to the about one-third of which are new. The volume des with a revision by Mr. Carlos Spegazzini ‘of the Argentine Laboulbeniales, that remarkable ‘group of minute fungi which live parasitically on nsects. e enumeration includes 213 species, each of which is carefully figured; a large proportion are ribed for the first time. The volume is a very ortant contribution to our knowledge of the botany temperate South America. University and Educational Intelligence. Dr. A. Smith Woopwarp will give a lecture on 1 man, with special reference to the Rhodesian ull, on Tuesday, January 24, at 5.30 p.m. at University College, London. Tickets for the lecture, at 5s. and 2s. 6d., can be obtained from the Secretary of the college. The proceeds will be devoted to the St. Christopher’s Working Boys’ Club in Fitzroy uare, which is largely worked by students and et embers of the staff of University College. The ‘ir will be taken at the lecture by the Right Hon. Earl of Plymouth, who is president of the club. _ THE second term at University College, London, begins on Tuesday next, January 17. The following are some of the public lectures to be given during the term :—‘‘Industrial Unrest,”” by Mr. B. Seebohm _Kowntree; “The Bridges of London,’’ by Mr. A. T. ~Walmisley ; “The Preservation of Ancient Buildings,” hed Mr. A. R. Powys; “The Evolution of Man ” (four _lectur: ), by Prof. G. Elliot Smith; ‘“‘The University of London: Its History, Present Resources, and Future Possibilities,” by the provost, Sir Gregory Foster ; and two lectures by Sir George Aston on Some Principles of Amphibious Warfare’? and War History and its Application.” A copy of the . Lh ace plane may be hae by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the Secretary, University Col- lege, London, W.C.1. : y _. THE annual general meeting of the Incorporated Association of Head Masters was opened on January 4 at the Guildhall, and the new president, Mr. C. M. ) Stuart, delivered his inaugural address. Mr. Stuart ) stated that the two most revolutionary changes in |) education—the introduction of the schemes for 25 per ‘cent. of free scholars and advanced courses—were instituted without consultation with secondary school representatives. In consequence, the original schemes had already required several modifications. The whole scholarship system needed reform based upon the study of the capacities of boys. In making awards it was of no use to go below the first 10 per cent., for this meant rewarding mediocrity, and it Was by no means certain that the best from among he mediocrity were selected.. The following resolu- tion was carried unanimously by the meeting :— “That this meeting, while recognising the need for sconomy in every department, is of opinion that the recently awakened public interest in education demands | that no hindrance of any kind shall be placed in the way of educational progress.’ "NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. January 13, 1890. Daniel Adamson died.—A pioneer in the use of Bessemer steel for boilers, in the ap- plication of hydraulic power for riveting, and in the use of high-pressure steam, Adamson in 1861 built one of the earliest triple expansion engines. He became the head of the Penistone Ironworks, served as president of the Iron and Steel Institute, and was one of the chief promoters of the Manchester Ship Canal. January 14, 1908. John Macfarlane Gray died.— When manager of a works at Liverpool Gray in 1866 constructed for the s.s. Great Eastern the first suc- cessful steam steering engine, thus enabling one man to do what had previously required as many as one hundred. He was well known for his writings on thermo-dynamics and his advocacy of the application of scientific principles to engine construction. January 14, Johan Georg Repsold died.— The founder of the famous firm of instrument makers, Repsold was born in 1771, and was long connected with the Hamburg Fire Brigade. He introduced im- provements in meridian circles and supplied many instruments to the large observatories. January 15, 1900. Thomas Egleston died.—After graduating at Yale, Egleston studied for some years at the Ecole des Mines in Paris, and in 1863 initiated the plan for the School of Mines of Columbia Uni- versity, New York, where he held the chair of mineralogy and metallurgy for thirty-three years. January 17, 1909. Francis Elgar died.—Trained in Portsmouth Dockyard, Elgar became one of the first fellows of the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at South Kensington. He was assistant to Reed, Adviser to the Japanese Govern- ment, John Elder professor of naval architecture at Glasgow, Director of Dockyards, and head of the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company. January 17, 1833. Friedrich Kénig died.—At the age of thirty-two, in 1806 Kénig removed from Leipzig to London, and in 1811 with Andreas Friedrich Bauer (1783-1860) patented the printing machine in which the paper was pressed against the type by a revolving cylinder. On November 28, 1814, the Times was first printed on one of Kénig’s machines driven by a steam engine, ‘‘a memorable day in the annals of typography.” January 18, 1861. John Heathcoat died.—A journey- man frame-smith, Heathcoat at Loughborough in 1808-9 brought out his lace-making machines. The first square yard of plain net sold for 5].; the price in 1890 was 5d., while the annual value of the trade had grown to 4,000,000l1. Heathcoat’s factory at Loughborough was destroyed by the Luddites in 1816 and he removed to Tiverton. January 18, 1865. James Beaumont Neilson died.— While in charge of the Glasgow Gasworks, where he introduced clay retorts and the use of sulphate of iron as a purifier, Neilson experimented on the air- supply for blast-furnaces, and in 1828 patented the ‘hot blast,’? which enormously increased the pro- duction of iron and made available the black band ironstone discovered by David Mushet. It has been said Neilson did for iron manufacture what Arkwright did for the cotton industry. January 18, 1873. Pierre Charities Francois, Dupin, died.—A student of the’ Ecole Polytechnique, Dupin first gained distinction by his papers on naval architecture and engineering. He made a profound study of the industries of Great Britain and was one of the first in France to raise statistics to the rank of a science. E. C. S. Baron . 62 NATURE [JANUARY 12, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Geological Society, December 21, 1921.—Mr. R. D. Oldham, president, in the chair.—H. B. Milner: The nature and origin of the Pliocene deposits of the County of Cornwall and their bearing on the Pliocene geography of the south-west of England. Tertiary deposits of Cornwall at St. Agnes, St. Erth, Lelant Downs, Polcrebo, and St. Keverne have. been provi- sionally assigned to the Pliocene period; except those of St. Erth, all are unfossiliferous. The average com- position of the St. Agnes, St. Erth, and St. Keverne deposits is substantially the same. On this basis correlation of the deposits is effected by (a) the fre- quency of occurrence of individual species, (b) their persistence or distribution, and (c) the constancy of crystallographical, physical, and optical properties of grains of the same mineral, wherever met. The source of the material is essentially local. The gradual “swamping ’’ of sediment-bearing rivers by the ad- vancing Pliocene sea from the south-west is correlated with certain physical features apparent, especially the “400-ft. plateau.”-—-L. Owen: The phosphate deposit of Ocean Island. Ocean Island, in the Western Pacific Ocean, consists of a mass of terraced and dolomitised coral-limestone which rises to a height of -300 ft. above low water, spring tide. Its surface is almost completely covered by a capping of calcium phosphate of exceptional purity which can be divided into three varieties: (a) Amorphous calcium phos- phate, formed of the insoluble residue of the original guano; (b) detrital coral-limestone, converted into calcium phosphate by solutions leached from the guano; and (c) phosphatised coral in situ. The per- centage of tricalcium phosphate at any point varies in a remarkably regular manner, according to the posi- tion of the point on the island, suggesting that (a) the original guano was deposited on the coral base during a slow negative movement of the strand-line, and (b) subsequent to the formation of phosphate the island was tilted at about a third of a degree south- south-eastwards. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, December 5, 1921.—Prof. J. W. Gregory, vice-president, in the chair.—Prof. Jehu: Observations on the geology of Iona. The Archzean complex of the western and greater part of Iona con- sists mainly of orthogneisses of dominant acid and | hornblendic types, although pyroxene-hornblende gneiss and garnetiferous pyroxene granulites also occur. Paragneisses of various kinds are found at isolated localities as lenticular masses in the ortho- gneisses. On the south coast the forsterite-tremolite marble (Iona marble) is associated with hornfelsed green rocks, some of which are altered sediments and some altered igneous rocks. The paragneisses are younger than, and unconformable to, the ortho- gneisses, and represent remnants of pre-Torridonian rocks which became infolded with the orthogneisses. A massive white pegmatite forms a prominent feature in the landscape from the marble quarry on the. south coast to near the centre of the island. A belt of Torridonian beds lying unconformably on the Archzean forms the eastern margin of the island, and consists of.a lower group of epidotic conglomerates and grits and an upper group of finer grits, slates, shales, and banded flags. The Torridonian series of Iona may be correlated with the lower parts of the Diabaig group of that series in Skye and other districts. In post- Torridonian time the Archzean and Torridonian rocks have been subjected to isoclinal folding, the Archzean NO. 2724, VOL. 109] series being dragged more or less into approximate parallelism with the Torridonian. Along the line of junction there has been considerable crushing, but no actual thrust. The Torridonian rocks show dynamic metamorphism, and the later intrusion — of the Ross of Mull granite has resulted in a later thermal metamorphism. This _ granite forms three small islets close to the south-east ‘shore, and probably underlies the southern half of Iona. A series of genetically connected minor intru- sions occur, and, with the granite, belong probably to the Caledonian phase of igneous activity—H. M. Cadell; The geology of the Blackness district. Recent borings for oil-shale and coal in the Blackness district south of the Firth of Forth have not disclosed much mineral wealth, but have provided a complete vertical section of the Oil-Shale series in that region, indi- cating a notable attenuation of the whole shale section towards the north and west. To the west of Black- ness no workable oil-shale was found above the Burdiehouse Limestone, although the positions of the seams were recognisable. The borings were continued westward up to the Bo’ness coal-seams of the Car- boniferous Limestone series through ground that had never been previously explored. Six distinct beds of limestone had been found varying much in thickness from place to place. The No. 5 limestone measuring from the top downwards appeared from its fauna to be the equivalent of the Blackhall Limestone of the West of Scotland. The old volcano of Binns Hill to the south of Blackness belonged to the volcanic horizon situated near the top of the oil-shale section | between the Two Feet Coal and the overlying Raeburn Shale seam. There had been much boring and mining for shale under the east end of the hill, and the evi- dence showed that within a few hundred yards of the thick ash on the hill there was no ash under the Raeburn Shale where it was to be expected. Binns Hill had been a very small volcano, one of a group that emitted showers of ash after the formation of the Houston and Two Feet Coal seams over a district extending southward about seven miles. Under the whole district and below the Burdiehouse Limestone there was a large intrusive basalt sill, and Binns Hill and other small local ash-necks seem to have acted as geological safety-valves by which imprisoned gases escaped and blew up part of the fluid eruptive rock in the form of fine dust and ashes. Paris. : Academy of Sciences, December 27, 1921.—M. Georges Lemoine in the chair.—The president announced the death of Prof. Schwarz, correspondant for the sec- tion of geometry.—E. Borel: Quasi-analytical func- tions with real variables.—W. Kilian: A problem of the tectonic of the sub-Alpine chains of Dauphiné.— C. E. Guillaume: Recent fundamental determinations and verifications of the standard metres. Slight elongations in the lengths of the working standard metres of the International Bureau have been proved. ' The cause of the change is not clear, but is possibly due to the effects of cleaning. Recent determinations ' of the coefficients of expansion of the bars have proved a small error in the opposite direction, and at the present time these errors compensate each other at about 15° C.—M. Gevrey: The determination of the integrals of partial differential equations, order 2p, and m variables, admitting a multiple family of characteristics of order ».—G. Bertrand: Fredholm’s equation and static masses of the first kind.—M. d’Azambuja: A mode of graphical representation of the filaments of the upper layer of the solar chromo- sphere.—J. Villey : The adiabatic liquefaction of fluids. _ January 12, 1922] NATURE 63 recent communication M. Bruhat has deduced thermodynamical reasoning that the heat of risation of a liquid at the absolute zero tends to ting value, not zero, and also that an adiabatic ansion sufficiently extended should always result é faction. These conclusions have been objected by M. Ariés. The author now shows that on the sis of the kinetic theory M. Bruhat’s results are ble.—L. de Broglie: The theory of the absorp- of the X-rays by matter and the principle of yondence.—A. Dauvillier: Contribution to the idy of the structure of the elements of intermediate omic weight.—E. Carvallo: The problem of rela- fity in dielectrics.—R. Boulouch: The problem of iromatism.—H. Pélabon: The constitution of lenium. Different-specimens of grey selenium are farded as mixtures in variable proportions of two difications, a and 8, the a modification having a resistance, the 8 a low resistance. The change the specific resistance with temperature shows that ie a changes into the 8 modification with absorp- m of heat. It is the a-selenium which is sensitive » light.—C. Staehling: The radio-activity of the ‘anium oxides. The changes in the radio-activity of green oxides of uranium are attributed to the slow ption of moisture; the black, strongly ignited has a constant radio-activity, and is not ydrated on standing.—P. Woog: Relations between 101 ar properties and the capacity of fixing iodine certain hydrocarbons.—M. Samec and V. Ssajevit : he composition of agar.—A. Schoep: Kasolite, a -radio-active mineral. The mineral was found Kasolo, Belgian Congo, and occurs along with and chalcolite. It contains lead and uranium, analysis gives the composition as F 3PbO-3U0,°3Si0,°4H,O. . Hubert: New researches on the storm squalls in ern Africa.—A. Petit: The cytology of two bac- sria.—L. Daniel: New researches on grafts of elianthus. An account of further experiments of rafting sunflowers on Jerusalem artichokes, with pecial reference to the weights of the tubers.—L. mberger: Contribution to the cytological study of le sporangium in ferns.—M. Boel: The automatic idaptation of the angle of attack of flight in living nsects. Study on the mechanism of natural flight.— f. Nicloux and G. Welter: The gravimetric quantita- ve micro-analysis of urea. Application to the estima- ion of urea in 1 c.c. of blood. The urea is precipi- ated as xanthylurea, and weighed on a Kuhlmann alance to o-oo1 milligram.—E. Aubel: The attack of lucose and levulose by the pyocyanic bacillus. zlucos gave formic and acetic acids, with some ethyl cohol. Levulose gave the same products, together vith lactic acid.—E. Chatton and A. Lwoff: A new amily of Acinetians, Sphenophryida, adapted to the ‘fanchia of the acephalous molluscs.—P. Courmont, Rochaix, and F. Laupin: The rhythm of the dis- ince of ammonia in the course of the purifica- on of sewage by activated sludge.—A. Lumiére : The echanism of the accidents caused by the injection the serum of epileptics.—_L. Blum: The anti- gistic action of calcium salts. Official Publications Received. Oras” eg et technique des Péches Maritimes. Notes et moires No. 10: Le Gontrole Sanitaire de 1l’Ostréiculture. Par - G. Borne, F. Diénert, et G. Hinard. No. 11: Le Conseil Inter- i pour l’Exploration de la Mer. Compte rendu Sommaire ds ee ie & Copenhague, Juillet, 1921. (Paris: Ed. londel pugery. ; —. Tivnois : Engineering Experiment Station. Bulletin 124: | Investigation of ‘the Fatigue of Metals. By Prof. NO. 2724, VOL. 109] re ya H. F. Moore and J. B, Kommers. of Illinois.) 95 cents. Report on the Administration of the Meteorological Department rg the Government of India in 1920-21. Pp. 14+1 chart. (Simla.) annas. Department of Fisheries, Bengal and Bihar and Orissa. Bulletin No. 17: Statistics of Fish Imported into Calcutta for the Year ending 3lst March, 1921. Pp. ii+13. (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Book Depét.) 8 annas. Department of Agriculture, Madras. Bulletin No. 80: The Entomologist’s Crop Pest Calendar for the Madras Presidency. By T. V. Ramakrishna Ayyar. Pp. 4+4 plates. (Madras: Director of Agriculture.) 2 annas. The Marine Biological Station at Port Erin (Isle of Man). Being the Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the.former Liverpool Marine Biology Committee, now the Oceanography Department of the University of Liverpool. (Read before the Liverpool Biological Society, November 11, 1921). Drawn up by Prof. J. Johnstone. Pp. 36. (Liverpool: University Press.) Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Vol. 6. Ad- ditional Plate Number. Addition to Numbers 29-30 (January, 1917). Plates 1-37. 2s. net. Vol. 13, No. 62. Pp. 67-100+plates 170-179. ls. 6d. net. (Edinburgh: H.M. Stationery Office.) Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Vol. 53, part 1 (No. 3): Geological Observations in the South Shetlands, the Palmer Archipelago. and Graham Island, Antarctica. By D. Fer- guson. Pp. 29-56+plates 1-4. 68. 6d. Vol. 53, part 1 (No. 4): A Contribution to the Petrography of the South Shetland Islands, the Palmer Archipelago, and the Danco Land Coast, Graham Land, Antarctica. By G. W. Tyrrell. Pp. 57-80.—Vol. 53, part 1 (No. 5): On the Innes Wilson Collection of Rocks and Minerals from the South Shetland Islands and Trinity Island. By Dr. H. H. Thomas. Pp. 81-90. 1s. 6d. (Edinburgh: R. Grant & Son; London: Williams & Norgate.) Pp. 185. (Urbana: University Diary of Societies. THURSDAY, Janvany 12. Royan AERONAUTICAL Society (Juvenile Lecture) (at Royal Society of Arts), at 3—Major D. CO. H. Hume: Boats that Fly. Lonpon MarHematicaL Society (at Royal Astronomical Society), at 5.—J. E. Campbell: Einstein’s Theory of Gravitation as an Hypothesis in Differential Geometry (II)—Miss G. D. Sadd: Rational Plane Ourves.—Fritz Lettenmeyer: Neuer Beweis des allgemeinen Kroneckerschen Approximationssatzes.—T. OCarle- man: A Theorem Concerning Fourier’s Series.——T. Stuart: Parametric Solutions of Certuin Diophantine Equations.—W. P. Milne: Apolarity and the Weddle Surface. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Exhibition of Oine- matograph Films.—P. Torchio, with explanatory notes by Dr. O. C. Garrard: Investigations and Tests on High-tension Switch- gear.—F. Gill: Telephone Inventors of To-day.—F. Gill: The Audion.—F Gill: Electricity in the Home. Om AND Cotour Cuemists’ Association (at Food Reform Club, 2 Furnival Street, E.C.), at 7.30—A. H. Keable: Super Centri- fugal Force and its Application to the Clarification of Varnish and Dehydration of Oil. Opricat Soctery (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30.—Dr. ©. J. Peddle: The Manufacture of Optical Glass.— Dr. J. W. French: The Barr and Stroud 100 ft. Self-contained Base Rangefinder—T. Smith: The Optical Three Apertures Problem. Institute OF Merats (London Section) (at Sir John Cass Technical Institute), at 8—Col. N. Belaiew: The Inner Structure of the Crystalline Grain. Harvetan Socrery (Annual General Meeting) (at 11 Chandos Street. W.1), at 8.15.—Dr. G. de Bec Turtle: Some Points on Spasm in the Alimentary Tract (Presidential Address). . Royat Socrery oF Meprictne (Neurology Section), at 8.30.—Sir Frederick Mott and Dr. Uno: Changes in the Brain in Oases of Surgical Shock. ; Soctety or ANTIQuvARIES, at 8.30. FRIDAY, Janvary 13. Royat Astronomican Society, at 5—J. S. Paraskévopoulos: Jupiter in 1915 and 1916: Rotation Period in Different Latitudes, from Observations at the National Observatory, Athens.—Prof. G@ Forbes: Solar Motion from 1922 Radial Velocities.—Major W. J. 8. Lockyer: The Use of a Graduated Wedge in Stellar Classifica- tion and Parallax Work. Royat Socrety or Mepicrne (Clinical Section , at 5. , Junior INstirUTION OF ENGINEERS, at ae. C. .West: Arti- ficinl Tee. Roya. Society or Meprctns (Ophthalmology Section), at 8.30.— M. L. Hepburn: Experience Gained from 150 Trephine Opera- tions for Glaucoma.—H. Neame: Epibulbar Leucoma with Intra- ocular Involvement. , : MONDAY, Janvarr 16 Royat GrocrapHtca, Socrery (at Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore), at 5.—O. J. 8. Crawford: The Archwology of the Ord- nance Survey Maps. q Rorat Cottece or Surgeons or EnGtanp, at 5,—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture. Socrery or Onemica, Inpustry (London Section) (at Chemical Society), at 8.—E. H. Richards and G. C. Sawyer: Further Experiments with Activated Sludge.. Arrstorenian Society (at University of London Club, 21 Gower Street), at 8—H. J. Paton: Plato’s Theory of cixagia, ut 64 NATURE [January 12, 1922 TUESDAY, January 17. Roya, HorricurrurnaL Society, at 1. Royat Institution or Great Brivarn, at 3.—Dr. F. shall: Physiology as Applied to Agriculture (1). : Eveenics Epvcation Society (ut Royal Society), at 5.—Sir Frederick Mott: The Neuroses and Psychoses in Relation to Conscription and Eugenics. Royat Socrery or Mepicine (General Meeting), H. A. Mar- at 5. Rorat Statistica, Soorery (at Royal Society of Arts), at, 5.15.— H. W. Macrosty: Some Current Financial Problems. Royan PuHorocrarHic Society or Grear Brivarn, at 7.—H. YV. Lawley: Automatic Methods of Kinematograph Film Processing. Royan ANtHROPoLoGicAL Institut, at 8.15.—Dr. H. 8S. Stannus: Arts and Orafts from Nyassaland. Royat Society or Mepicine (Pathology Section), at 8.30.—Sir G. Lenthal Cheatle: Multicentric Origin in a Case of Rodent Ulcer of the Trunk.—J. B. Buxton: Grass-disease and Botulismus,— Dr. A. B. Rosher and Dr. H. A. Fielden: -Agglutinins for Bacilli of the Salmonella Group in Sera obtained from the General Population —Dr. W. W. C. Topley: The Effeet of Dis- persal during the Early Stages of a Mouse-epidemic. WEDNESDAY, Janvary 18. ‘Roya, COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture. RoyaL Society or MEDICINE (History of Medicine Section), at 5.— Dr. ». P. Wilson: The Plague in Shakespeare’s London. GROLOGICAL Society or Lonpon, at 5.30.—Prof. A. C. Seward and R. E. Holtum: Jurassic Plants from Ceylon.—F. S. Wallis: The Carboniferous Limestone (Avonian) of Broadfield Down (Somerset) Roya MerroronogicaL Socirery, at 7.30.—Annual General Meeting. —R. H. Hooker: The Weather and the Crops in Eastern England, 1885-1921. ‘ENTOMOLOGICAL Society or LonpDoN, at 8. —Annual Meeting RoyaL PHoToGRaPHIC Society oF GREAT BRITAIN, at 8 W. Stone- man: Faces, Famous, Fair, and Funny. ; Roya Microscopican Society, at 8.—Prof. J. Eyre: Microscopy and Oyster Culture (Presidential Address). Rorat Sociery or Arts, at 8.—J. S. Huxley: Recent Advances in the Determination of Sex in Animals. Socinty ror Constructive Birth CONTROL AND RACIAL PROGRESS (at Essex Hall, Essex Street), at 8.30.—Earl Russell and others: Discussion: Divorce and Birth Control. THURSDAY, January 19. RoyaL INstiruTion or Great Britain, at 3.—S. Gordon: Birds of Scotland. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—Prof. L. Hill, H. M. Vernon, and D. H. Ash: The Kata-Thermometer as a Measure of Ventilation.—Lt.-Col. OC. B. Heald and Major W. S. Tucker: Recoil Curves as Shown by the Hot Wire Microphone.— E. W. A. Walker: Studies in Bacterial Variability: The Occur- rence and Development of Dys-agglutinable, Eu-agglutinable, and Hyper-agglutinable Forms of Certain Bacteria.—Marjory Stephenson and Margaret Whetham: Studies in the Fat Meta- ae of the Timothy Grass Bacillus—J. A. Gardner and W. Fox: The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Auial Organism. Part 12: The Excretion of Sterols in Man. —Dr. S. J. Lewis: The Ultra-violet Absorption Spectra and » the Optical Rotation of the Proteins of the Blood Sera. LINNEAN Society or Lonpon, at 5.—Dr. E. Marion Delf: Studies in Macrocystis pyrifera, the Giant Alga of the Southern Tem- perate Zone.—J. L. Musters: The’ Flora of Jan Mayen Island. Royat Socrery oF Mepicine (Dermatology Section), at 5. INSTITUTION OF MINING aND MeEtatiurGy (at Geological Society), at 5.30—J. F. Allan: A Typical Example of Magmatic In- jection—W. E. Whitehead: Steep. Sights in Underground Surveys. Rorat AERONAUTICAL SocrETy (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— Brig.-Gen. R. K. Bagnall-Wild: Aeroplane Installation. InsTiITuTIoN OF ELectricaL ENGINEERS (Joint Meeting with Institu- tion of Heating and Ventilating Engineers), at 6.—Discussion : The Utilisation of Waste Heat from- Electrical Generating Stations, with the following Introductory Papers: C. I. Haden: Utilisation of Exhaust Steam from Electric Generating Stations, and Coal Economy.—F. H. Whysall: The Utilisation of Waste Heat from Electrical Generating Stations. CHemicaL Soctery, at 8.—Prof. A. Smithells: Langmuir Atom, with Explanations. FRIDAY, January 20. Royal COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture. Royat Socrety OF MEDICINE (Otology Section), at 5.—A. Tweedie: Short Account of the Research Work being conducted in Utrechi on the Saccular, Utricular, and Allied Reflexes (continued). INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—H. S. Denny and ah . 8S. Knibbs: Some Observations on ‘a Producer-gas Power ant. Roya Socrety or Mepictne (Electro-therapeutics Section), at 8.30.— Dr. Zimmern, Dr. Agnes Savill, Dr. Sloan-Chesser, Dr. A. Robinson, Dr. W. J. Turrell, and others: therapy in Gynecology. RoyaL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Sir James Dewar: Soap Films and Molecular Forces. SATURDAY, Janvary 21. Royat Institution or GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Dr. C. Meseren The Evolution of Organ Music (1). NO. 2724, VOL. 109] Mountain Models of the Lewis- Discussion : Electro- - PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture — in @ series.) a THURSDAY, January 12. St. Joun’s Hospiran ror DISEASES OF THE SKIN, at 6.—Dr. W. Sg he ; Electrical Treatments—Diathermy, ete. (Chesterneld_ ecture). THURSDAY, Janvary 19. Krne’s Cortrer, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reintoweds Conaeee (Dae St..JoHn’s Hospira, ror DIskAskes OF THE SKIN, —Dr. W. eat Diseases of the Skin Appendages (Ohesteraald Lee- ure). : FRIDAY, Janvary 20. MeTeoROLoGicaL Orrice, SovutH KeEnstneron, at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology © of the Globe (1). Kine’s Coitecr, at 5.—Prof. R. Robinson: Mifare and Con-— jugation in Organic Chemistry from the Standpoint of the Theories of Partial Valency and of Latent Polarity of Atoms (1). — Krine’s Cortrcr, at 5.30.—Rev. Dr. F. A. P. Aveling: Matter, Mind, and Man. ; SATURDAY, January 21. j University Coitece, at 10.30 a.m.—A. Chaston Chapman : Yeast : What it is, and what it does (Lecture for Teachers). Lonpon Day TRAINING CoLLEGE, at. 11 a.m.—Prof. J. SAPS: The School Class (1). CONTENTS. PAGE Classics and Science . i i W's 38 The Hormone Theory of “Heredity. By Pret. - f W. M. Bayliss, F.R.S. ... eee SSE Medicinal Chemicals. By T. A. H. | cess 378 Some New Text-books on Radio-telegraphy ets 3m Our Bookshelf i oe Je Seles, k i ae eee 39 Letters to the Editor :— ? Chemical Warfare.—Prof. F. Haber; Sir T. E. : Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S. pases 40. Some Problems in Evolution. —Dr. cf al We Cunningham 41. Optical Observation of the Thermal Agitation of the 3 Atoms in Crystals. —Prof. C. V. Raman . 42 A Fossil aa yee i TDA. | Cockerell . 42 The Absorption | of Fluorescing Sodium. Vapour. (Zllustrated. )—Prof. John K. Kobertson .... 43 The Message of Science.—J. J. Robinson . ... 43 Terrestrial — Magnetic Disturbances and Sun-spots.— Father A. L. Cortie, S.J. . 44 Reform of the Calendar: Mean Value of ‘the Vear. —_— Arthur Rose-Innes PBT eases >| a pa maee. «| Units in Aeronautics. —H. 'S. Rowell. acces 44 A Curious sn op Phenomenon. — R. . M. : Deeley. . 7 44 Oceanography of the Gibraltar Region. (With Diagrams.) By Dr. Johs. Schmidt .. . 45 Photographic Studies of Heights of " Aurora. -(Illutrated.) By Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S, ..... . 47 The Meldola Medal. (li/ustrated) ......+.+.-+ 49 Obituary :— Dr: CDs A; rae ser F.R.S. Bc k Jee Ss 50 Notes . Pe ah een 2S Our Astronomical Column: — | The Shower of January Meteors ..... «+++ 55 Spectral Evidence of a Persistent Aurora 2 aweg 55 Movements in Spiral Nebule . . ... .- - + ++. 55 A Bright Fireball . . nee dea A Notable Exhibition of ‘Physical Apparatus Ben SO Science in Secondary Schools. .... ...+.- 56 Problems of Animal Breeding. ... .....-+ 57 A Petrological Microscope .....-++-++++- 58 Archeology in Mexico Seu ot 3s ate ea grees Shc em The Treasury Grant to Universities ..- Ger. = 6G The Royal Academy Winter Exhibition. By Ss. D. Soy Se Sass. woleme of the Argentine Republic. Yea Nie etre es University and Educational Intelligence .. | Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . Societies and Academies Fa A sey ipa Official. Publications Received ........-. Diary of Societies ... ..-.: VATURE 65 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 10922. Editorial and Publishing Offices : _. MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., : 2 ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. a Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. British Scientific Instruments. © teas exhibition of British scientific instruments i held under the auspices of the Physical ‘Society and the Optical Society at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, of which a ¥ description was given in our columns last week, is x a timely reminder of the importance of scientific instruments in the national economy. Modern civil- isation is based, and must be increasingly depen- dent, on the extension of scientific knowledge and its applications to industry ; and in these develop- _ ments scientific instruments are an essential and predominant factor. Rae OF the part played by scientific instruments in the advancement of scientific knowledge there is no need to speak. The laboratories of the universi- =z ties and kindred institutions where scientific re- _ Search is prosecuted would be disabled were they __ without scientific instruments of the highest trust- ae Worthiness and precision. The variety and extent of _ the industrial purposes served by scientific instru- i ments are so great that there is probably no im- _ portant industry in the country which is not depend- _ ent on scientific instruments of one kind or another _ for the performance of its productive functions. _ Moreover, the field of application of scientific in- _ Struments is constantly widening; the uses of the _ microscope in the textile and steel industries, of the _ polarimeter in the sugar and essential oil industries, _ of the pyrometer in the metallurgical industry, and oe X-rays in the iron and steel industries, are but _ a few of the many examples that could be cited to illustrate the invasion of scientific instruments into NO. 2725, VOL. 109] fields of industry in which they were at one time unknown. That the industries gain in sureness and “accuracy and in a deeper and wider knowledge of the fundamental scientific principles involved is obvious. And the process continues and must con- tinue. To-morrow new instruments will be devised and new uses found for old instruments. Moreover, as was stated in the leading article published in Nature of February 10, 1921, the scientific instrument industry, springing directly from the loins of science, and progressing as scien- tific knowledge widens, is one of the most highly skilled industries we have. Its expansion means a definite increase in the numbers of academic and technical scientific workers and of the most highly skilled artisans; and the national wealth, in any comprehensive conception of the term, must be en- larged by the increase of the numbers of such educated and skilled classes. For these and other reasons a flourishing and efficient scientific instrument industry is vital to the nation, whether in peace or war. And, although it is obvious that the users of scientific instruments, whether in the industrial or academic domain, must not be prejudiced or hampered by being unable to obtain the best instruments, from whatever source, it would be a disaster of the first magnitude if British scientific instruments should not be produced equal to the best that the world has to offer. If in some classes British scientific instruments fall somewhat below the standard of foreign instru- ments, in others they are unquestionably superior: It would be invidious to particularise minutely, but the following statement by the manager of a British firm of optical instrument makers, writing in the Morning Post of October 1 last, may be given in illustration :— ‘* In connection with the manufacture of optical instruments for research, a search has been made throughout the premier journals of the world devoted to physical science for the years 1910 to 1914. In each of them, in the Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society and in the Philosophical Magazine (Great Britain); in the Physical Review and the Astrophysical Journal (United States); in the Comptes rendus (France) ; and in the Amnalen der Physik (Germany), there were without exception more references to instru- ments made by my firm here in London than to those of any other makers whatsoever. In the case of the Annalen der Physik there were 50 per cent. more references to my firm than to any other, the firm mentioned next in order of frequency being a well-known German one.’’ Facts like these are not so widely known, even among British scientific workers, as they should be. 66 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 A statement—originally, it may be, true in sub- stance—is made that a certain type of foreign in- strument is superior to any other; the statement grows to a legend and lives long after changes and developments have rendered it false or, at least, misleading ; and the British instrument has to over- come much inertia of prejudice and fashion before it can secure the recognition which its merits de- serve. It would be well if the leading scientific users of instruments would review from time to time their judgments of the quality and performance of instruments, so that improvements in British instru- ments may receive early recognition and the British manufacturer not be prejudiced by a belated prefer- ence for foreign instruments. The present condition of the British scientific in- strument industry is gravely compromised by the abnormal state of the international rates of ex- change. Whatever legislative measures may be employed to help the industry over a difficult period, there can be no doubt that the most potent means of promoting the production of British scientific instruments equal to the best that the world can offer—a matter in which manufacturers and users are alike concerned—lies and must lie in an inten- sive and extensive application of scientific research to the fundamental scientific problems and the current technique of the industry. Other countries, notably Germany and America, we may be sure, will not neglect this. The leading British scien- tific instrument manufacturers have recognised the primary and paramount importance of scientific re- search. The British Scientific Instrument Research Association was founded in 1918, and its third annual report, which was reviewed in Nature of November 17 last, gave ample evidence of the value to the industry of such an institution. It is true that, as is stated in the fifth annual report of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, ‘‘ research cannot be ex- pected to produce results at short and regular in- tervals ’’ ; but the Association has already produced results of immediate practical application and of economic benefit to the industry without losing sight of the fundamental researches, necessarily slower in coming to fruition, on which the progress of the industry must be based.. Nor should it be over- looked that the co-operative research of the Asso- ciation not only does not supersede, but stimulates and assists, the research work of individual firms which are members of the Association. ' Moreover, where the Association, in view of its duty to the pressing needs of the industry, is unable to explore all the by-paths of pure scientific research NO. 2725, VOL. 109| relevant but more remote investigations. that are opened out, arrangements have been made for extra-mural researches in the universities or kindred institutions for the prosecution of these It must be remembered, too, that the Association, as the scientific centre of the industry, provides a needed liaison between the manufacturers and users of scientific instruments in this. country, so that, on one hand, the manufacturers may be more fully informed of the needs of the users, and, on the ‘other, the users may better appreciate the limita- tions imposed on manufacturers by the nature of materials and industrial conditions. If the manufacturers will follow with patience and persistence the path of scientific research on which they have already made significant progress, there is every reason .to hope that British scientific instruments generally will see as many now are, supreme. The History of Zeeman’s ‘Discoeaee and its Reception in England. Verhandeligen van Dr. P. Zeeman over Magneto-. - Optische Verschijnselen. Pp. xv+ 341. (Leiden: Eduard Ijdo, 1921.) a3, WENTY-FIVE years ago Dr. Zeeman, working at Leyden in the laboratory of Prof. Kamerlingh Onnes, achieved the epoch-making dis- covery which is now so abundantly familiar to physicists. pointed professor of physics at Amsterdam. Almost simultaneously he was ap- celebrate these events a volume of his collected — papers, bearing on this branch of magneto-optics, - has been published, under distinguished editorship, with a portrait and a few editorial notes and minor corrections. This is the volume under review. to Prof. Zeeman from his friends and colleagues, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the announcement of his discovery to the Amster- — dam Academy of Sciences on October 31 and November 28, 1896. Dutch, dated October, 1921, which is signed by H. A. Lorentz, H. Kamerlingh Onnes, I. M. Graftdijk, J. J. Hallo, and H. R. Woltjer. — In commending this volume I would say that no — one need be deterred from attending to it by reason of ignorance of the Dutch language: for our Dutch friends, with their well-known consideration, are polyglot in their publications, and there is plenty of English as well as French and German in the book. The volume being mainly one of hiaaiest aad : permanent interest, it seems fitting to receive it with acclaim and to supplement it by an account It is a tribute It has an introduction in > 4 SS Se ee January 19, 1922] VATURE 67 of the reception and speedy appreciation of the very in England. For in a quarter of a cen- a new generation of physicists has arisen, many em so intently occupied with their own admir- investigations that perhaps the origin of much present knowledge of Nature is liable to be g Especially may they fail to realise the tions of the great theorists, which enabled ittle seed-fact to fit immediately into its cranny quickly to develop magnificent blossoms. Sto” its reception here, the beginning was € ‘ly modest, and may be narrated thus: December 24, 1896, there appeared in E, vol. 55, p..192, the usual report of a f other communications to that society the : sentence occurs :— . e. Pursuing a hint given by Faraday, experiments were tried. The principle was light of the electric arc, being sent heated tube containing sodium vapour, 1 by a Rowland’s grating. The tube is between the poles of an_ electro-magnet. ‘he acted on by the magnet, a slight broadening the two sodium lines is seen, tending to show sd vibrations are produced in the atoms action of magnetism; (b) by Dr. J. Ver- n capillary ascent,’’ etc. sentence, included in a long paragraph, was first announcement in England ; but it inconspicuous that it could scarcely have much attention, had not Sir Joseph this year’s Copley medallist, been on the for an effect of this kind. He had previ- d that such a result was necessary a fact which is demonstrated by, things, the following passage repro- _ 203 of his book, ‘‘ #ther and ~4 ae ee * absorption line say of sodium vapour in field will thus be more or less widened, in position also slightly shifted but only er order of small quantities: and the il apply to each line in the emission spec- r had indeed gone on to calculate the of displacement or broadening to be ex- , and had found the effect too small to be ed; for, like everyone else at that time, he dered that the radiating body must be an atom part of an atom with an e/m=t1o%. So directly eman got an effect, and found that the e /m was y of the order 107, Larmor perceived that, not e whole atom, but the charge only—the electron NO. 2725, VOL. 109] part of the ion, or an electron itself—was a free radiator, and wrote to me suggesting that I should examine and confirm the result. In a week I had done so, with such appliances as were to hand; though not without sufficient difficulty to make me realise the naturalness of Faraday’s failure to see anything—he being wholly unguided by theory— and to admire the skill of Zeeman in detecting the effect. Prof. Zeeman must soon afterwards have com- municated his observations to the Physical Society of Berlin; for in Nature, vol. 55, p- 347, is a translation of a short paper by him, dated from Amsterdam and thanking Prof. K. Onnes for his interest in the work. The first official notice in England occurs in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for February 11, 1897, when a note by me entitled ‘‘ The Influence of a Magnetic Field on Radiation Frequency ’’ was received and read on the same day. It gives an account of my repetition of Zeeman’s experiment and directs attention to Prof. Lorentz’s theory of it, together with his brilliant prediction about polarisa- tion of the modified lines, and its experimental verification (see Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 60, p. 513). It is followed, on p. 514, by a theoretical note by Sir Joseph Larmor, in which he emphasises the ‘« electron’? aspect of the matter, and its reciprocal relation to Faraday’s first magneto-optic effect. He also directs attention to previous memoirs by Helm- holtz in 1893, and by Lorentz in 1892 and 1895, especially the former; and he cites p. 813 of his own splendid Memoir in Phil. Trans., A, 1894. I also communicated a much longer article to the Electrician for February 26, 1897, vol. 38, p. 568, under the heading, ‘‘ The Latest Discovery in Physics’: an article which I should like to reproduce. here, for I venture to say that portions of it are worthy of reference by anyone interested in scientific history. The freedom with which we all spoke of electrons and their motions in those days rather surprises me, seeing that the unit charge was not isolated and clinched until 1899. But, of course, the theoretical work of Dr. Johnstone Stoney and others had long preceded this date. There was no excuse for not fully understanding the main perturbations of spectrum lines when once the idea of electrons revolving like satellites in ‘regular orbits, obedient to astronomical laws, had been grasped ; for Dr. Johnstone Stoney’s remark- able paper, entitled ‘‘ On the Cause of Double Lines and of Equidistant Satellites in the Spectra of Gases,’’ was in my possession. (It will be found in the Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society for 1891, vol. 4, Series II., pp. 563-608.) But the difficulty was that at that date we all— 68 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 except perhaps Larmor and Lorentz—thought of an electron as of something atfached to an atom, making it an ion, in accordance with Faraday’s | electrolytic ideas; and the notion of a free satellite electron, inside the boundary of an atom, was of later growth. - In fact, it was a development largely brought about by Zeeman’s discovery. Parenthetically I may remark that there is some risk of Dr. Stoney’s contributions to science being overlooked, partly because the Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society are not so readily accessible as some other publications, and partly because he expressed himself in terms and ways not always in accordance with ordinary custom. Let me put on record here, therefore, that, at that early date, 1891, he examined dynamically the problem of satellite electrons perturbed from a simple orbit by unknown forces. He deals with elliptic, apsidal, and precessional motions, with periodic changes in each, and clearly depicts the double and treble and quadruple lines which would result. He is not dealing with perturbations excited by some definite outside physical cause, such as a mag- netic field applied to the source, but with the normal series of lines observed by spectroscopists—Balmer, Kayser and Runge, etc.; and the inference he draws is that many of the known groups can be accounted for on the analogy of astronomical per- turbations. The problem he set himself is thus worded (p. 569) :— _ “*We shall accordingly, for the present, regard certain points in the molecules of the gas as acting dynamically on an ether capable of receiving and transmitting only transverse vibrations, and we have to inquire what motions of these points within the molecules would impart to the medium the oscilla- tions which correspond to the observed lines in the spectrum.”’ ; To return: from this digression. Whether on account of my article in the Electrician, or because ZI had written direct to Prof. Zeeman (probably for the latter reason), he sent me the MS. of a finished paper of his, giving the. experimenta! details and also his version of Lorentz’s theory developed on equations like those of the Foucault pendulum; and this paper I at once communicated to the Phil. Mag. for March, 1897 (vol. 43, p. 226), adding a brief footnote to say that I had verified the author’s results so far as related to. emission spectra and their polarisation. reproduced as the first in the volume of Zeeman’s collected papers just issued, and it is printed in four languages—Dutch, English, French, and German ; but the English and other versions contain an appendix, not in the original Dutch, giving an account of the attempts made long ago by F araday, and likewise a theoretical anticipation by Prof. Tait NO. 2725, VOL. 109] This memoir is now. in 1875 (an anticipation based on Kelyin’s general theory of magneto-optic rotation), together with a the record of a contemporary failure experimentally et This appendix also’re- moves from competition some apparently similar — ‘but not identical observations made by a M. Fievez. a It is of interest to find that in this remarkable and fundamental paper by Prof. Zeeman the pos- = to detect any such effect. sible effect of solar magnetism on the sun’s radia- tion is indicated as a subject for inquiry—a develop- ment afterwards so brilliantly followed up by Prof. Hale. i, Roeasi In May, 1897, I communicated another note. to the Royal Society (Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. 61, p. 413), in which details of the appearance of the lines are given, and the curious complexity of some of them; also, which surprised me, a difference between the behaviour of the components of the pair of sodium lines. ‘The red cadmium line was also examined, and other spark spectra. al of this paper is reported in Nature, vol. 56, p. 237. And in the same month (on May 19) I ex- hibited the effect at the Royal Society soirée, as appears from the following entry in the Year-book for 1897, p. 119 :— ‘« Demonstration of Zeeman’s Discovery of the Broadening of Spectrum Lines by the Action of a Magnetic Field on the Source of Light. Exhibited by Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. A ‘* Sodium lines produced by an oxyhydrogen flame between the poles of a powerful magnet are exam- ined by means of a Rowland concave grating (the one with which Mr. George Higgs photographed the solar spectrum), and can be seen to broaden when- ever the magnet is excited. A nicol or other analyser shows that the light of changed refrangi- bility is polarised, as it would be if the source of radiation consisted of revolving electrified particles whose motion is accelerated or retarded by magnetic. lines of force through the plane of motion. ; “ Recent Observations.—By reason of reversals, the usual appearance of each sodium line is as if | a were doubled ; the magnetic field makes it appear triple, or even quadruple. A nicol properly oriented — removes the magnetic effect. D, shows it more sharply than Dg. ntru n middle, after the fashion of Newton's rings. It may seem from this that the observation of doublet# and triplets, as indicated by the theory, was made by me; but that I disclaim, as appears — in the volume under review, p. 101, since, though I saw something like the real effect, I did not — i apprehend it clearly as a pure precessional effect (akin to that which Dr. _Sto had worked out long ago), and was inclined to suppose that the magnetic acceleration and es retardation of frequency, acting on a random — collection of molecules, would be likely to — The substance The new lines intrude into the | Johnstone Stoney JANUARY 19, 1922] NATURE 69 2 a confused broadening (see the Electrician February 26, 1897, vol. 38, top of )- I was still too much influenced by the lic orbits.1_ The real effect, as perceived in ¢ by Lorentz and realised clearly by Zeeman, Much sharper and more beautiful than that, eo of a more complex or mixed effect necessary ; the simple Lorentz theory served, ‘cited in that same article of mine in the z (except that I made a slip and gave a Bis sesturbed frequency which I correct second following issue, p. 643 of the same 3 ‘Some remarks on ¢/m, interesting from point of view, will also be found issue, and an extremely short formulation , thus : ‘‘ Magnetised change of centri- 4 as nerde, whence dw=eH/2m.”’ ae the record of a temporary slip about of the effect, made by Zeeman himself, first announced that the radiating particle itive charge). same time, a pure doubling or a tripling, > of a truly circular or elliptic orbit per- apsidal or a precessional motion, is not 3 for, though this is the standard of fads line in the spectrum is liable to have es of its own, depending on the nature of ¢ orbit which is magnetically perturbed ; there is found, not indeed mere broaden- quadrupling, © sextupling, and other of effect, such as are now well known, but 3s surprised me when first I saw their 2 he Phil - Mag. for December, 1897, is an theoretical paper by Sir Joseph Larmor, veory of Magnetic Influence on Spectra, diation from Moying Tons. ”” Towards fc - radiative power, as proportional to wag and square of acceleration. Non- modern device of quanta. this same volte ot the Phil. Mag. (vol. 44, g the real publication of the occurrence = doublets and triplets in the magnetic and they are followed in this book by another tz ear generally, it cannot be unknown, but it seems to be looked, that every regularity tends to evade the equipartition ‘y difficulty : "for Maxwell’ $s proof requires the motions to be not ge » but also completely random. "NO. 2725, VOL. 109] of random atomic motions, instead of precise. one giving metrical results obtained photographic- ally. Photographic records of the effect were, indeed, tried for by other experimenters, though without success (see NATURE, vol. 56, p. 420). In Nature, vol. 57, Pp. 173, however, Thomas Preston reports complete success, in Dublin, with a fine grating be- longing to the Royal University of Ireland, mounted in. accordance with Rowland’s geometrical-slide design. But on p. 192 of the same volume a meet- ing-report shows that Zeeman had exhibited speci- mens of similar photographs at the Amsterdam Academy a month earlier; and he was now able to apply. the photographic method to the obtaining of more exact measurements, as mentioned in the PAzl. Mag. for February, 1898, p. 197. See also Preston, p- 325 of the same volume (vol. 45), by whom a plate showing the various appearances with great distinctness is submitted. .A few pages further on (p- 348) is a communication, which still further em- phasises complexities and individual peculiarities. in the magnetised lines, by Prof. Michelson, who here begins to apply to them his remarkably powerful ‘* visibility ’’ test, which was first elaborated in the Phil. Mag. for September, 1892 (vol. 34, p. 280), as a sequel to his earlier more theoretical paper in April, 1891, and is now employed with such skill and brilliant success at Passadena to measure the dia- meter of stars. In further papers by Zeeman the spectrum. of iron is specially examined, and a lack of sym- metry detected in some of its lines. And presently the resolving power of the Michelson echelon is pressed into the service for the further examination of details, with results which are described and expounded through the remaining 200 pages of this interesting memorial volume. The extreme importance of Zeeman’s great dis- covery, and the admirable way in which he worked it out with the inspiring theoretical assistance of Prof. H. A: Lorentz—so that theory and experi- ment went hand in hand, as it is to be wished they did more often—may be allowed to. justify and excuse this somewhat personal welcome of | its twenty-fifth ap ectanty by an English physicist. Ottver LopceE. The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Festschrift der Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zur Férderung der Wissenschaften gu Ihrem gehn- jahrigen Jubilium Dargebracht von ihren In- stituten, Pp. iv+ 282. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1921.) 100 marks. HE Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zur Férderung der Wissenschaften owes its origin to the action of certain leading industrialists D Eee Ss NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 connected with the principal chemical establish- ments of Germany who were concerned as to the future of science, and more particularly of physical science, in that country. In their opinion the German university system no longer sufficed to meet modern requirements in regard to research in abstract science, and they suggested to the All Highest the creation of an institution which should be wholly and exclusively devoted to research, and should be staffed by men of proved capacity to undertake its successful prosecution. They so far succeeded in impressing the Emperor with their, views that he in his turn suggested to his memorialists, and to others who sympathised with them, that they should themselves find the money needed to endow and equip the contemplated in- stitution, and, by way of showing his practical interest in the project, he further indicated what amounts the several industrial concerns, or their representatives, might be expected to contribute. The society was duly inaugurated with all the pomp and ceremony which usually characterised any function or enterprise with which William II. desired that his name should be specially asso- ciated, and the occasion was further made memor- able by the address which the late Prof. Emil Fischer then delivered. The institution thus Dahlem has now been in existence for ten years, and it has been thought expedient by those con- nected with its working to celebrate its ‘“zehn- jahrigen Jubilaum ” by the publication of a “ Fest- schrift.” By us a jubilee is usually understood to mean the celebration of a period extending over fifty years, corresponding to the Grand Sabbatical -Year of the Jews, although there has grown up a certain laxity in the use of the term which is frequently held to denote a season or occasion of public festivity, which may or may not recur at stated periods. What were the precise reasons in the minds of those responsible for the manage- ment of the institution which led them to direct public attention to it at this particular time can only be surmised, for there is nothing by way of preface or introduction to the “Festschrift” to inform us. The celebration of a jubilee after so short an interval as ten years, during half of which time the work of the society was seriously disturbed and hindered by the war, has, when we have regard to the unsettled condition of Germany, somewhat the appearance of a political move. It will not be forgotten that it was at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute ‘‘for the Promotion of Science ’’ that Geheimrat Haber made his experi- ments on poison gas, prior to the Battle of {Es NO. 2725, VOL. 109 | established at Berlin- which initiated a mode of warfare which is to the everlasting discredit of the Germans. We are not aware that thé present Government has shown itself inimical to the interests of science; unlike Coffinhal, it has never pronounced ‘“‘La République n’a pas besoin de savants.” On the contrary, Germany realises that she owes too much to science during the last half-century, and especially during the critical years of the war, for her to be unmindful of its benefits. Whatever form of government she may ultimately adopt, she — | is too much beholden to science to neglect its claims, and there is no reason to believe that these claims will be less adequately met by a republic than by a monarchy. At the same time, it cannot be doubted that the impoverishment of the country will react disastrously upon the position and prospects of all institutions which, like the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, are dependent upon public funds or private munificence. Although we are prepared to welcome every sign of renewed scientific activity in Germany, it cannot be said with strict regard to truth that this “Festschrift” is in any sense epoch-making. There is certainly nothing jubilant about it. It is divided into two main portions, one of which, con- sisting of thirty-three short papers extending in all over 243 pages, deals with natural science; the other, consisting of four papers, is concerned with the science of history, and is comprised — within eighteen pages. Of the natural science papers the greater number relate to relatively small points of bio-chemistry ; the others are about equally divided between subjects of pure and applied chemistry and physical chemistry. Among — the contributors are Abderhalden, “ Zur Kenntniss von organischen Nahrungsstoffen mit spezifischer Wirkung”’; Armbruster, ‘‘Tiere als Tierziichter— Eine Erklarung ihres Sozialismus”; Einstein, “Eine einfache Anwendung des Newtonschen Gravitationgesetzes auf die Kugelférmigen Stern- haufen”; Haber, ‘‘ Uber Wissenschaft und Wirt- schaft ”; Carl Neuberg (who edits the volume), “Uber den Zusammenhang der Garungserschein- ungen in der Natur”; Prandtl, ‘“‘ Neuere Einsich- ten in die Gesetze des Luftwiderstandes ”; and — Stock, ‘‘Die Chemie des Leichtfliichtigen. of Many of the papers are short ‘historical summaries of the present state of knowledge on the particular point dealt with. Some of them, in — fact, read as if they were amplified excerpts from _ university courses of lectures. Others are simply réchauffés of work which has been published in detail elsewhere. The papers on the science of history comprise one by von Harnack on son Die Apokalyptischen UF TS ee = ae ase = deal with the Frankfort Congress of 1863, and ith episodes in 1870 at Ems, and at Sedan. The tes of the conversation with the French Ambas- or Benedetti at the former place (July 13 and 1870), and with Napoleon III. at the latter ce (September 2, 1870), are of historical rest, and are among the few papers of per- nent value contained in the book. he price of the brochure, which is issued in er covers, is stated to be 100: marks, which, onsidering the present value of German currency, ; not excessive, however significant of Germany’s cial straits. The book is admirably printed - on excellent paper, and is suitably illustrated. It _ does credit, in fact, to the eminent firm by which is published. The war and its consequences ave evidently had no detrimental effect on the . rmany. Fish Preservation. a Bieeenes England and Wales. Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Fishery Investiga- tions: Series 1, Freshwater Fisheries and Mis- cellaneous. Vol. 2, No. 1, The Methods of Fish Canning in England. Pp. 25. (London: __H.M. Stationery Office, 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. ef HE development of methods of preserving fish was a matter of national importance during the war, and the present account is ounded on investigations started in that period. _ The fish used for canning are mostly surface- _ feeding and living fish, such as sprats (or _ bristling), sardines (or pilchards), tunny and __ bonito, herring and mackerel, the only other fish of any importance being the salmon caught in % America on its migration to fresh water for breed- ing. Of British fish there is a great excess of herring in the normal fisheries, and, given suitable shing gear, large quantities of sprats can also be obtained on all coasts. Mackerel are at times abundant, but there is little certainty of heavy catches year by year pi ilchards are local to Corn- all, and the immature forms (sardines), so ex- tensively tinned in France, Spain, and Portugal, are not caught in quantity. There was one ‘British sprat cannery before the war, but herrings were put up at the great herring ports in oil or ith tomato, the product being in some cases excellent. Excess sprats were generally used for manure, while herrings were salt-pickled and barrelled for export, the price being two or three | NO. 2725, VOL. 109] _JaNuaRY 19, 1922] NATURE 71 CF § Reiter,” and—curious association—two_ short | for a penny. The latter is an ‘unspeakable ” pro- ytices relating to the Emperor William I. These | duct, which has never found favour in this country, and fresh methods of preservation are urgently requisite for the utilisation of herrings as a cheap form of food. The markets, too, of Central and East Europe, which took most of this product, are disorganised, and it is doubtful whether they can ever be recreated, as there would seem to be a real improvement in Continen- tal taste, brought about by the temporarily improved food conditions of the war. The success of different kinds of fish as canned products depends largely on the fat which lies under the skin and between the muscles. Salmon— is canned or frozen in air (dry frozen) on the Pacific coast almost immediately when caught, certainly before rigor mortis has set in; the same is, to some degree, true also of the Norwegian sprats (bristling), of which there are about eighty factories in operation. The difficulty in Great Britain is that no port has a herring or sprat season extending through more than three or four months, and a factory with modern appliances and trained packers cannot be run profitably for such a short season. The fish required at other times must be brought in by rail, and this doubles the cost, while the actual fish has passed through its rigor and is deteriorating. It would seem neces- sary to get the fish as fresh as possible and to discover some method of preservation in bulk for subsequent packing, the process being one which would in no wise alter its composition or flavour. Experiments with brine freezing and subsequent cold storage are described, but difficulty was ex- perienced in the caking of sprats into masses and the salting, due both to the small size of the fish and to an excessive cold-store temperature ‘‘ just under 30° F.’’ Both these difficulties might per- haps be got rid of, but the total cost of the actual freezing, storage, transport, etc., would probably average 3d. per lb., which only a first-rate product could bear. Unfortunately, British sprats, as at present caught, are shown to be by no means such a product, being indeed much inferior to the Nor- wegian. According to the tables, they varied in fat from 5 to 23 per cent., protein being 15 to 20 per cent., ash about 1:5 per cent., the rest being water, which, with fat, roughly forms 80:5 per cent. The problem is to catch sprats of the right composition for pickling. The English fish is winter and spring caught, while the Nor- wegian fishery is in summer and autumn. The reproductive cycle has doubtless something to do with the quality, but little is as yet known of the life-history of the English fish. The difference lies probably, not in the fat contents, but in other 72 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1022 qualities, the winter fish being of inferior taste and texture. Clearly we must either continue to pack-a second-rate product, or discover where our sprats go to in summer, invent methods of catch- ing them, and finally adopt more “‘ fastidious ”’ methods of handling, all of which Dr. Johnstone clearly considers could be accomplished by further research. In contradistinction to the sprat our summer herring is said to be second to none. After canning the flavour of the fish improves notably, the raw taste disappearing, the bones softening, and the flesh breaking easily ; this is what is called ‘‘ maturation,’’ and the time required is from six months to as many years to give the best product. No suggestions or experi- ments to ascertain the cause of this proved satis- factory. It would not seem to be autolysis, for storage at a temperature of 37° C. did: not hasten the process. Bacterial change is considered more likely, as spores can withstand a temperature of 150° C. if present in oil. Catalysis, however, cannot be ruled out, as the tin of the container is always to some degree dissolved. The whole question of ‘‘ maturation ’’ in respect to all canned foods is, as Dr. Johnstone says, ‘‘ of huge prac- tical importance—and of remarkable obscurity.’’ It is certain that no commercial product can be stored for from three to six years and then sold cheaply. The whole report is Meee in that the investigations were never made on a _ sufficient scale.to be economically of value, and were pre- maturely closed down. It seems doubtful whether they can profitably be restarted until basal investigations, such as on the nitrogenous composition of the protein of fish in respect to phases of reproductive activity and to the forma- tion of fat, are completed. On freezing and maturation the Food Investigation Board,! in the midst of other investigations, had been conduct- ing researches for three years, but it is quite Clear that there is plenty of room for less “‘ directed ’’ researches. Either the Fishery Boards should take up the whole problem, directly or through the Food Investigation Board, and vigorously prosecute it—even employing bounties if necessary—with a determination to create a new industry of value to an island nation, or drop it altogether. The Scottish Fishery Board made the export of salt. herrings—in 1913 8,795,232 cwts. of value 5,331,042l.—a valuable British industry, by pursuing a consistent, steady policy through several decades. In the twentieth century Government officials seem to have little of (HLM. Stationery Office.) rs. NO. 2725, VOL. 109] - lL See Report for 1920. the imagination required or to be afraid of the fluctuations of political affairs. They need not be, for surely these developments are national — and not political, and such as “the man in the street ’—and in the Commons—requires. J. STANLEY GARDINER. Our Bookshelf. The Microtomist’s Vade-Mecum: A Handbook oy the Methods of Microscopic Anatomy. By A. B. Lee. Eighth edition. Edited by Prof. J. B. Gatenby, with the collaboration of Prof. W. M. Bayliss and others. Pp. x+594. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1921.) 28s. net. THE new edition of this well-known work of refer- ence has been completely revised by Prof. Gatenby, who has had the assistance of. experts in various branches of microscopical technique, and the result is a volume which is practical, critical, and thoroughly up-to-date. Prof. W. M. Bayliss has rewritten the chapter on staining, and his concise account of the nature of staining and of differentiation gives a clear conception of the physico-chemical facts on which these processes are based. Dr. C. Da Fano has been responsible for the five chapters on neurological technique, which form 100 pages of the book and contain many suggestions drawn from his extensive experience. Dr. A. Drew has rewritten the section on Pro- tozoa, which, in addition to the methods for fixa- tion, staining, etc., gives an account of cultural methods for amcebe; Dr. W. Cramer contributes a dozen pages on the micro-technique of fatty sub- stances, including a useful summary of the aréthods to be employed in a complete histo- chemical investigation of fatty cell-inclusions; and Mr. J. T. Carter has revised the account of methods for the study of teeth and bone. The remainder of the work has been in Prof. Gatenby’s hands, and the sections on fixation, chromatin, nucleoli, mitochondria, and the Golgi apparatus are especially noteworthy and helpful in sugges- tions; mention should also be made of the short account of methods of tissue culture in vitro, which, in the hands of Ross Harrison and his successors, have given such remarkable results. The last chapter has been written for the beginner and gives clear directions for carrying through the preparation of a whole mount of a Daphnia, for making sections of muscle or other tissue of a vertebrate, and for reas a tadpole for serial sections. iS 110.499 Two recent methods for staining bacteria have been introduced to help those who may be doubt- | ful whether certain bodies in tissue are or are not bacteria. might perhaps consider whether he could include in the next edition the methods for the study of Having gone so far, the editor - spirochetes which zoologists nowadays frequently — find it necessary to examine. Under Annelids a reference to the preparation and mounting: of : cheetee would also be a useful addition. | January 19, 1922] 73 NATURE he editor and his collaborators are to be nly congratulated on the production of this ghly sound and practical guide, useful alike dents and to research workers. ench-English Dictionary for Chemists. By _ Austin M. Patterson. Pp. xvii+ 384. ' York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; on: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) esent volume is a companion work to the “German-English Dictionary for s,”’ and is likely to meet with an equally € reception. A practical test, working original papers in organic chemistry, chemistry, and technical (engineering) proved the usefulness of the dictionary ; le Engineering side were a few deficien- _ Chemistry has several other sciences ‘rs, and this is recognised practically usion of some biological and botanical The addition of technical words from Ss, geology, and engineering, with v from physics, botany, biology, and would widen the scope of the book with- essarily increasing its bulk. It is stated oduction that ‘‘ words of the same or ame spelling in the two languages are 1 when the meaning is exactly the same inglish.’’ This appears to the reviewer as et; the space might be better utilised in the mn just indicated. Thus, taking a page ; random, out of seventy-eight words ve identical spellings and meanings; of nder, twenty-one are practically the the obvious translation is the correct _uniforme, unimoléculaire, uranyle, der Holzkonservierung. Edited by Ernst ere IED... X14 540. (Berlin: Julius 1916.) In Germany, 18 marks; in 54 marks. authors, comprising engineers, architects, s, and professors, have produced this com- text-book, which contains the result of investigations until 1916, on the preserva- wood. The book is clearly written and ited. It contains references to most of ure that has been published on the subject, h as well as in German, and frequently sses processes and materials used in England, the United States, etc. > matter is arranged as follows: After an uctory chapter on the structure, function, and of wood and its tissues, part 1 deals with struction of wood by fungi, animals, and agents. Dry-rot caused by Merulius, Lenz- and other fungi, and the numerous injuries insects and marine borers, are treated at able length. The second part discusses the | that are actually employed in preserving _ These are very numerous, and most atten- paid to the processes involving impregna- th antiseptics, applied with or without. pres- NO. 2725, VOL. 109] am é - sure. ‘The materials and machinery used are de- scribed in detail. The history’ of the subject is illustrated by a list of all the substances that have been tried from 1700 to 1876, with the name of the inventor and mode of application in each case. The third part is concerned with the care of wood put to use under various conditions, as in the open air, under water, inside houses, étc. The influence of moisture and the action of chemical preservatives on the strength and durability of timber are briefly treated, most reliance being placed on Janka’s experiments at Mariabrunn. The fourth part is very practical, containing special articles by engineers on the problems connected with the maintenance and preservation of the wood used in mines, railways, telegraphs, docks, bridges, ships, houses, street-paving, etc. An appendix, pp. 498-540, gives a list, classified under forty headings, of the most important patents in con- nection with the preservation of wood that have been taken out in all civilised countries. Liquid and Gaseous Fuels and the Part they Play in Modern Power Production By ° Prof. Vivian B. Lewes. Second edition. Revised and edited by John B. C. Kershaw. (The “ West- minster ’’ Series.) Pp. xiv+ 353. (London: Con- stable and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 12s. 6d. net. In his revision of Prof. Lewes’s work on liquid and gaseous fuels, Mr. Kershaw has adopted the plan, dictated in part, no doubt, by the need for economy, of inserting new matter in the form of footnotes collected at the end of each chapter. Thus when Prof. Lewes ventures upon a definition of an atom, we are referred to a footnote some ~ five pages further on for more modern views on the subject ; this becomes irritating. Substantial addi- tions have been made to the first edition, which was reviewed in Nature of December 5, 1907, p. 98, in the form of information relating to the manufacture and use of power alcohol, and in the appendices, which contain accounts of fuel oil burners, and ver- tical continuous retorts for gas manufacture, as well as extracts of recent statistics of oil fuel burning. The Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen. By Dr. Joseph = Knox. (Chemical Monographs.) Second edition. Pp. viit+124. (London: Gurney and Jackson, 1921.) 4s. net. In the revision of his useful little monograph Dr. Knox has added brief accounts of the Haber pro- cess and of ammonia oxidation. The statement in the preface that “comparatively little work of im- portance on the theoretical side has appeared since the first edition of this book was published ’”’ is scarcely justified, and the fact that, of the 169 references to the literature which are given, onlv about fifteen are of dates later than 1913 is not what one might expect. The account of the Serpek process, for example, is quite out of date, and no reference to Serpek’s later publication is given. The book will no doubt prove as useful to students as the first edition, and is a readable introduction tc a most important subject. 74 NATURE [JANUARY I9, 1922 Letters to the Editor. (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspend with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Generalised Lines of Force. Let me direct attention to a notable paper by Prof. E. T. Whittaker, in the Proceedings of the. Royal Society of Edinburgh for November last. It has often been discussed whether electric or magnetic lines of force were the more fundamental, and which might be regarded as the ‘“‘cause ’’ of the other; a discussion rather like the old controversy as to the direction of vibration in a polarised beam of light. Maxwell’s theory satisfied the disputants by making both directions equally important. In this paper Whittaker extends Faraday’s theory of lines of force to electromagnetic activities in general, expressing the complex facts by aid of the space-time continuum of Minkowski, whereby any form of kinematics can be expressed as a sort of four- dimensional statics. The solenoids of Faraday are shown to be special cases of a more general kind of surfaces, called calamoids, which reduce to ordinary electric lines of force when the field is purely electro- static, while they reduce to ordinary magnetic lines of force when the field is purely magnetic; so that the Faraday electric and magnetic lines are not two dis- tinct and (as it were) rival things, but two limiting cases of the same thing. The essential solenoidal con- dition—strength inversely as cross-section—is_ re- tained if, instead of electric or magnetic force separately, the contra-variant ./(E*—H’*) is employed, and if the cross-section is that of a calamoid. Ordinary equipotential surfaces, whether electric or magnetic, are seen to be special cases of an “ electro- potential’ or ‘‘magneto-potential ”’ [? ether-poten- tial] surface, which reduces to one or other of them whenever the field becomes static. These electro- potential surfaces, in general, exist in the four-dimen- sional world of space-time; but when the field is static each surface is wholly contained within three- dimensional space, and is an ordinary equipotential surface. The property of the Faraday lines of force, that they are everywhere perpendicular to the equi- potential surfaces, is shown to be a case of the more general theorem that the calamoids are everywhere ‘“half-orthogonal”’ to the electropotential surfaces; (half-orthogonality being the four-dimensional ana- logue of three-dimensional perpendicularity). In electrostatics, the total strength of all the Fara- day tubes which issue from a closed surface contain- ing no electric charge is zero; similarly, in general radiation-fields, the total strength of all the calamoids which cross a closed surface is zero. This theorem provides an intuitive geometrical integration of the Maxwell-Lorentz equations of the electromagnetic field. There are also elaborated generalised “divergence ”? and ‘‘curl’’ theorems, with a certain kind of abso- luteness about them, since they are independent of the motion of any observer. : For much fuller and more trustworthy information Prof. Whittaker’s paper must be referred to. He said something about it in Section A at the recent meeting of the British Association in Edinburgh, but I, for one, did not understand his meaning then, in the rush of Sectional procedure. The object of the present summary is merely to direct early attention to a paper which cannot be long overlooked. December 28. O.iver Lopce. NO. 2725, VOL. 109] Units in Aeronautics. | Write the usual formula in aeronautics, , aid Bll ON NS 2 in the Hospitalier notation, and the practical airman recognises that the resistance R, lb, over a surface S, ft’, is at the rate 23-7 lb/ft? at a normal velocity of 100 f/s; and so on for any other velocity V, on the law of the square. The airman pays no heed to any units except his foot and pound, and he has no use for any of the elaborate explanations of Mr. A. R. Low. The factor 23-7 will be the result of experiment in the air-channel, reduced for air of standard conditions of barometer and thermometer on the ground. But the air density is never measuréd in any of these experiments, and it is doubtful if the measure- ment has ever been carried out in any aeronautical laboratory. In the early history of the Royal Society ‘‘ weighing the air’’ was a favourite research. Charles II. bet Buckingham fifty guineas to one he would demonstrate the compression of air in his hollow walking-cane ; but the other story of the fish in a bucket of water cannot be traced further back than Whateley, who is supposed to have invented it, The air density arises in the formula of the treatise on aerodynamics on the idea that the formula is the expression of Newton’s assumption that the resistance _ is due to the impact of inelastic air particles, as if air could be treated as a cloud of dust; and then at an air density w, lb/ft*, or better for calculation in thermo-aerodynamics, at a_ specific volume the reciprocal C=1/w, ft*/lb, Newton’s formula becomes 2 : « RL fee es lb 'ft?; or R 2 wh, Pans 3 S B°%- gC S 2g In this treatment the Equation of Continuity is ignored; the air particles should stop dead and fall down in a heap at the foot of the aeroplane, to b swept up as dust. | Thus the mysterious factor 0-00237 of the treatise. on aerodynamics is the equivalent of w/g, and with =32-2, f/s’, this makes w=0-0763, lb/ft*, C=13-1, | ft*/Ib, so that this standard air bulks 13 cubic feet to the pound, in round numbers. t Another way of expressing the law is to write it in the equivalent form R_(v\ Bie (Yala S (i) ae so that H is the velocity at which normal resistance is 1 lb per square foot; then on the figures above H=20-5 f/s, and this may be replaced by 20 in round numbers for practical calculation, making a 3 Flying over the ocean the velocity would be ex- pressed in knots, K, and with'r2 knots the equivalent of 20 f/s the formula is rim © S 20 12 simple numbers easily remembered. In. all these calculations Perry’s dictum must be respected: ‘that the accuracy of a formula is only, the accuracy of its most inaccurate part. nee he Here the index 2 of the velocity, adopted for simplicity of calculation, is the part most subject to. doubt, and then at this rate of the quadratic law the above numbers, 23:7, 24, and 25, are all equally thought—and with the conceit to imagine they will $ current in the whole cosmos. But the rigour imed for them is beginning to crack and show Ws under the merciless scrutiny of .the new rela- Mr. Low is here coming to the rescue of the un- appy examinee, at the mercy of the whim of the ‘aminer’s text-book, and of the rigour demanded the language employed there, ignored by the practical airman. Divergence of language is never to disappear, as it seems, between science and engineering. The _ engineer refuses to budge when he finds he can arrive at a correct result in practice, and he ignores the _ rigour prescribed in the examiner’s text-book as some- thing to be thrown at the head of the examinee in s conquéte des diplémes. staple Inn, January 9. G. GREENHILL. Pek Space and Ether. HE relation of space and zther has been a subject controversy. Three-dimensional absolute space has en regarded, before Einstein, as filled with a sub- _ stantial ether. It is unnecessary to conceive the four- dimensional space-time of the relativists as so filled. If space-time is empty, is space also empty? It seems to me that the crux of the difficulty is a _ wrong assumption that space-time is four-dimensio.al. Space-time is neither four-dimensional nor three- dimensional, but is two-dimensional. The orthodox alysis of the objective world down to the three amental entities of matter, space, and time has incomplete. That which we call space also in- ss time. That which we call matter also involves th space and time. Thus what we call matter, Space, and time should further be analysed as matter- “space-time, space-time, and time where matter, space, and time with their new signification are fundamental tities. It is in this new sense that I shall use them ther is the synthesis of space-times. It is matter- e-time. A synthesis is a petrified motion. We not perceive the motion of zxther because it is trified. The motion in a space-time is independent motion from space-time to space-time along the string that is wether. The so-called velocity of zther is not a change of space, but a change of matter. bec led hyper-zether—filling an absolute four-dimen- s -Relatiyely, to matter, zther is abso- lute. Relatively to mind, hyper-zther is absolute. The real is neither relative nor absolute, but is rela- vy absolute. = Einstein found that space-time was four-dimensional and that the universe was four-dimensional, and * efore argued that space-time was the universe. Therein lies his fallacv. His space-time is the two- dimensional section of a four-dimensional universe. There are two factors in evolution: persistence of _ identity and change of structure. As space-time is two-dimensional, its identity persists in the evolution from a three- to a four-dimensional universe. And NO. 2725, VOL. 109] NATURE a5 as the world character changes, the internal structure of space-time changes. Einsteinian relativity is an anarchy. It.marks a. process of revolution, but does not. attain a new position of stability. Logic is not absolute, but is relative. The laws of logic of an absolute three-dimensional world are not the same as those of an absolute four-dimensional world. Tostudy an absolute four-dimensional world we need a new logic, a new arithmetic, a new geometry, a new mechanics, and also a new science dealing not only with time as arithmetic does, not only with space as geo- metry does, not only with matter as mechanics does, but also with mind. On the recognition that time, space, matter, and mind contribute each a dimension to the universe I have been able to base an analytical geometry of the universe. Space, in the sense of the arena of the three-dimen- sional universe, is matter-space-time, and may be re- garded as filled with zther. The Euclido-Newtonian space-time and the Einsteinian space-time are non- material. But the latter is a stage of travail for the evolution of the former into a space-time with a new internal structure. The claim of the relativists to have demolished Euclid and Newton argues a want of the sense of historic perspective. Man does not progress by demolishing, but by building on, his past. S. V. Ramamurty. Trinity College, Cambridge, January 5. Anisotropy of Molecules. Direct evidence that the molecules of gases are not spherically symmetrical and are anisotropic in their properties is furnished by the recent experiments of Lord Rayleigh, who has shown that the light scattered by molecules is, in general, not completely polarised when observed in a direction transverse to the pencil of light traversing the gas. The method used by Rayleigh, and by those who have repeated the experi-. ments establishing this effect is a photographic one, the track of the primary beam of light as viewed through a suitably oriented prism of Iceland spar being re- corded on a plate with long exposures. In view of the great interest of the phenomenon, it occurred to the present writér that it would be worth while to attempt direct visual observation and measurement of its magnitude. The chief obstacle is, of course, the extreme feebleness of the unpolarised part of the transversely scattered light. This has, however, been successfully overcome. By using the strongest pos- sible illumination (sunlight), securing a perfectly black background, and very carefully screening the eye from extraneous light, it has been found possible to detect with dust-free air at atmospheric pressure the non- extinction of the track as seen through a nicol at any orientation. With carbon dioxide the effect is quite conspicuous, and visual determinations of its magnitude have been successfully made by Mr. K. R. Ramanathan working in the present writer’s laboratory. A very interesting question arises whether it is pos- sible to establish the same effect by observations on the polarisation of skylight. As is well known, there is a marked defect in the polarisation of skylight in a direction removed go° from the sun, which is, however, in the main, due to dust and condensed water-vapour in the atmosphere and the diffuse light- ing up of the sky by self-illumination and by reflection from the earth’s surface. It occurred to me that the elimination of the effects due to these disturbing factors does not present insuperable difficulties. The reflecting power of landscape (about 0-08 when covered by vegetation) is known, and its effect is therefore calculable. Dust and low-lying mists may be prac- 76 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 tically eliminated by making the observations on a bright, clear day at a high-level station, and. the self- illumination of the sky under the same conditions is very small in respect of wave-lengths near the extreme red end of the spectrum. The residual effect of self- illumination in these circumstances may be computed with sufficient accuracy by ‘the method used by L. V. King (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, vol. 212, 1913), the uncertainties due to the neglect of the curvature of the earth and other simplifying assumptions in the calculation being then of little importance. In order to obtain material for testing these ideas I made observations on the forenoon of December 4 last from the summit of Mount Dodabetta, in the Nilgiris (8750 ft. above sea-level), the sky at the time appearing beautifully clear, free from cirrus clouds, and almost completely black when seen through a deep red filter. The weaker component of polarisation was found to have 13 per cent. of the intensity of the stronger component. Diffuse illumination of the sky is capable of explaining only a part of this, a weaker component of about 8 per cent. intensity being indi- cated by the calculations. The residual 5 per cent. must therefore be ascribed to molecular anisotropy, and this is in agreement with the laboratory deter- minations of Rayleigh. Observations on the molecular scattering of light in liquids made by the writer also show an imperfect polarisation attributable to anisotropy. Experiments in the same direction on the atomic scattering of light in crystals are being made, and an attempt is also in progress. to discover the existence of an effect indicated by Sir J. J. Thomson’s theory (Phil. Mag., October, 1920), namely, the dependence of the results on the frequency of the scattered radiation. C. V. Raman. 210 Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, December ro. The Resonance Theory of Hearing. May I reply to Dr, Perrett’s. letter (Naturz, Decem- ber 29 last), in which he makes the objection to the resonance hypothesis that it does not explain how we perceive when there are two tones of the same pitch sounding simultaneously ? It seems to me that Dr. Perrett has made two slight errors :— (1) There must be, he writes, one result, unique and without alternative, when the tracing of the combined wave-form of any two notes of the same frequency is submitted to Fourier analysis. But surely this cannot be true; for example, if in one case the two tones are 256 vibrations per sec. from an oboe and a flute simultaneously sounded, the relative amplitudes of the overtones found by Fourier analysis would be quite different from those found for the same tone sounded simultaneously on a_ violin and a cornet. Not only would the amplitudes of the overtones differ in the two cases relatively to. the fundamentals, but they would differ also relatively. to one another. (2) Dr. Perrett proceeds: ‘‘If the ear acts as a kind of practical Fourier’s theorem, it can perceive only one fundamental tone. But we invariably judge of the pitch of a note by its fundamental tone. If, then, we hear at the same time two notes of pitch n, the ear must be able to perceive also at the same time two fundamental tones of fre- quency n—that is to say, it must be able to perform an analysis which is not in accordance with Fourier’s theorem.”’ _ Surely Dr. Perrett has omitted in the above reason- ing to take into account the existence of beats, overtones, and phases. If these did not exist, and if NO. 2725, VOL. 109] the ear could still, tell whether one or more than one instrument were contributing to a tone, then the reson- ance theory would have met with a serious difficulty. But overtones do exist, and they are known to differ. for. different instruments, also. for one instrument in different circumstances, ‘e.g. the human voiee a when sounding various vowels. The resonance theory, in that it explains the perception of overtones, even when their intensity compared with the fundamental is small, also explains how we can tell whether two different instruments are contributing to a tone or one only. But there are other clues; for besides’ that given by overtones, which in accordance with the resonance hypothesis the ear might make use of, viz: (a) if there were beats, due to the two instruments not being exactly in tune, the observer might infer that two were sounding, and not one; (b) if the sound waves from one instrument reached the observer’s right ear a little earlier (or later) than they reached his left, whereas those from the other instrument had different time relationships, he might infer that there were two sources of sound, from the observation that the two sources did not occupy the same position relative to his own plane of symmetry; and (c) if the sounds from the two instruments did not begin and end together the observer might get information from this also. All these possible methods of observa- tion are compatible with the resonance theory, and therefore it is quite unnecessary to assume that the ear must be able to perform an analysis which is not _ It seems to ~ me; therefore, that. Dr. Perrett’s objection must fail in accordance with Fourier’s theorem. on all the above grounds. May I take this. opportunity of describing a fresh piece of evidence in favour of the resonance tl Helmholtz showed, from physical considerations, that the coefficient of ‘‘sharpness of tuning ’’ should be inversely proportional to the “‘ persistence ’”’ coefficient in the case of resonators responding to tones of | different pitch. This relationship does not postulate any special form of resonator, but appears to be a general rule equally as applicable to an electrical oscillating circuit as to a stretched string. it could be shown that the ear obeys this rule, it would be presumably very strong evidence indeed for the existence of resonators in the cochlea. The following table, calculated from observations by Mayer (pub- lished in. Amer. Journ. Sci., January, 1894), shows that the necessary evidence exists :— mt B 4 id . No. of vibrations BxC Per cent. differ- performed during Tuning ence of tone a subliminal silent factor required to stop interval multiplied by Mean tonein disonance (persist persist vibs. per sec. (tuning factor) factor) factor, 128 12-70 1-7, 22-6 256 10-00 2:06 20:6 320 9°45 2:19 20:8 384 9:07 2:18 ‘19:8. 512 8-45 2°37: 20:0 640 8-15 2°54 207 760 7-82 “ aeGet 2000 = rod, 722. ol ergo aby Since multiplying tuning factor by persistence factor — gives values nearly constant for different resonators (the average error is less than 3 per cent.), as shown in the last column in the above table, the tuning coefficient | must be very nearly inversely proportional to the per- sistence coefficient. That is, the ear behaves quantita- tively as it ought to do if it contained resonators. I find a correction is necessary in my letter to Nature of January 5. should read ‘‘ tide prediction.’’ H. HArtriper. King’s College, Cambridge. : at If, then, — St Rl eR “Tide production ’’ on line 20 __ JANUARY 19, 1922] NATURE 77 a _ A Curious Physiological Phenomenon. In Prof. Graham Brown’s comments in Nature of December 22 last on the letter with the above title, he points out that “the peculiarity of the present “movement is that it is in the same direction as the sinal one.” In this it resembles the sensory pheno- a of positive optical after-images. Now these are odically repeated after fairly strong stimulation, it seemed worth while to look for such repetition the present case. This is easily found, merely by ‘easing the time during which the hand is pressed inst the wall up to about a minute until the whole arm feels'tired. The rise and fall described occurs as usual; after a brief pause the arm again rises some- what less vigorously, and a third much weaker rise y follow. This succession of movements does not ays occur. In fact, in my own case even the first occasionally fails for no apparent reason. hhave found these repeated movements in the ea nulus can store up “strain ’’ energy of appropriate id, which after a brief interval is discharged by filling its patticular motor or sensory function. urther accumulation and discharge might follow, nething after the fashion of the successive residual sharges and discharges of a Leyden jar. If this be so, positive visual after-images may have imilar origin. As is well known, the intensity of asations only increases by equal increments when ef iting stimuli increase by equal ratios; thus _ strong stimuli fail, so to speak, to produce their full ; there is inhibition and perhaps a storing of rain’’ energy. Afterwards liberated, may this rise in the sensory case to after-images, or with ; a to these involuntary muscular may ‘be added that the phenomenon can be pro- d in the leg ‘by standing on one foot and press- ‘the outer side of the other against a wall, then wing the leg to fall to the vertical with the foot clear of the ground; after a short pause the leg _fises laterally again. Or if the lower leg is drawn back so that its calf (or Achilles tendon) presses up- wards and backwards against the edge of a heavy chair, and is then allowed to fall, the knee involun- flexes again after a very brief interval. In this ase there is (with me, at any rate) a strong tendency r the pressure against the chair to cause acute ‘amp in the biceps muscle of the thigh. ‘Soe J. H. Suaxsy. Viriamu Jones Physical Laboratory, University ' , Cardiff, ‘December 30. . " ‘Hts “Structures and Habits Associated with Courtship. . Jutian Huxtey’s letter in Nature of Decem- ‘29 last upon the ‘habits of courtship brings to notice some of the recently ascertained facts. From these he ‘concludes that the conspicuous colours, pat- rns, and forms made use of in these displays and ‘teremonies resemble copulatory organs in being sub- -servient to efficiency in securing union of the gametes, and that, therefore, the problem of ‘their evolutionary origin is much simplified and similar to adaptive aracters in general. _ However, the argument that because they are thus NO, 2725, VOL. 109] used they are therefore adaptations for the purpose of producing sexual excitement is not justified. It may well be that each animal for display makes use of a bright coloration or conspicuous structure of which the evolutionary origin is governed by some other factor. The dog uses its hind limb to scratch its back, but who would say that back-scratching con- trols its evolutionary origin? The fact that polygamy is especially associated with brilliant males, whilst in polyandry females are usually the more highly coloured sex, clearly shows that some other factor governs the evolutionary origin of these secondary sexual differences. few other antagonistic facts may be mentioned. In birds it is the rule for the sexes to be similar when they both take part in the rearing of the young, as in the partridge; whereas when the male takes no part, as in ducks, secondary sexual differences are common. In_ relatively unpalatable animals the sexes are usually similar, whereas it is in palatable animals that the greatest secondary sexual differences are to be found. Butterflies and birds especially exhibit this distribution. In predatory animals it is the rule for the sexes to be alike. Instances of differences in coloration between young and adults exactly similar to the secondary sexual differences are widely distributed in birds. Further special difficulties arise in the case of insects, in view of their low visual acuity and poor colour perception which probably precludes the female from ever seeing the colour and pattern of the male. Further, the study of their courtship shows that scent and motion (which tends to conceal colour and pattern) are the means chiefly used to promote sexual excitement, It is generally agreed that destructive: criticigm should be accompanied by some alternative explana- tion, but columns for correspondence do not permit of lengthy expositions. I would, however, offer the ex- planation that the distribution of secondary sexual colorations is related to the vision of preyer and preyed-upon and the necessity especially to protect the female even at the expense of the male. This thesis is fully expanded in J. C. Mottram’s ‘Controlled Natural Selection ’’ (Longmans, Green and Co., 1914). . C. Mottram. Radium Institute, Riding House Street, London, W Spontaneous Ignition of Peaty Soils. ‘T OBSERVE in Nature of August 25 last (p. 811), which has ‘just reached me, a letter by Mr. E. A. Martin entitled ‘‘ The Generation of Heath Fires,” in which ‘the spontaneous ignition of peaty soils brought about by exposure to the direct rays of the sun is mentioned. It may be of interest to'remark that in ‘this part of the world such examples of ignition of peaty soils are quite common when the soils, in addition to being exposed ‘to the heat of the sun, are brought into a condition of extreme drought. In certain parts of Cachar and Sylhet, where the conformation of the land is that of a series of rounded hilloeks with intervening depressions, the depressions are filled with peaty deposits, often of considerable depth, known locally as “bheels.’’ These bheels have been formed in the usual manner by the con- tinued growth of vegetation in a place where water accumulates, and in the ordinary course of events are always waterlogged. “8 NATURE [ JANUARY 19, 1922 Many of the bheels have been brought into cul- tivation and planted with tea, and one of the greatest problems in connection with the cultivation of these areas has been the removal of the enormous amount of water which accumulates in such places during the rainy season, for, in addition to the fact that more than roo in. of rain may fall on the area in the course of five months, much of the drainage-water from the surrounding hillocks finds its way into the bheels. To this end it. has been a common practice to dig an exceedingly wide and deep drain along the lowest part of the bheel, which is generally near the centre, and to drain into this from the edges. In this way the excess water is got rid of in the rainy season, but there has been an attendant disadvantage, in that the bheels are often dried out completely during the dry season. This occurs to such an extent that the crop-yielding period is often unduly shortened, and in many places it is a common practice to block up the mouths of the drains at the end of the rains to pre- vent excessive drying-out and prolong the period of ield. : Further, during the dry period the bushes are pruned and the land hoed clean, and the area thus loses its protective covering of foliage and weeds. In such circumstances, in which the dried-out area is fully exposed to the sun’s rays, spontaneous com- bustion in the soil is of common occurrence, and the soil becomes uncomfortably hot to walk on even in heavy boots. Many acres of tea have been killed out in this way, but no ignition of the bushes occurs above ground, and it is questionable if jungle fires “ever originate in this way, for it is only in the exceptional circumstances outlined above that the phenomenon has been found to occur. E. A. ANDREWS. Indian Tea Association, “Tocklai Experimental Station, Cinnamara, Assam, December 14. Microscope Illumination and Fatigue. Mr. BarNarp’s letter in Nature of December 29. last, p. 566, is unusually dogmatic as a contribution to a scientific discussion. As the title of this corre- spondence indicates, the original letter was written, not so much to direct attention to a particular method as to a general principle, with the intention of increasing the comfort of workers who have to work long hours at the microscope. It appears that Mr. Barnard has arrived at the same principle indepen- dently, but in a case of this nature there is no excuse for withholding from publication a matter which affects the well-being of a large number of workers. Mr. Barnard condemns the method employed, but perhaps without having given the system described an unprejudiced trial. The ultimate test of any method lies in actual practice. Before publication the resistance-controlled illumination was tested out com- pletely within the limits stated, imposed by the use of light-filters and the nature of the work of this labora- tory. Since Mr. Barnard brought up the question of the shift of the dominant radiation—which was irrelevant at the time—further tests have been made with the unscreened light (which is never used for critical work here), and it was found that there was no perceptible loss of resolution or colour differentiation with the lowering of the current. The shift of the dominant is thus not a cause for alarm. A further test showed that. to produce equivalent results with neutral filters some eight or ten screens would have to be made, and even then the optimum for every small variation of staining or thickness of section could not be obtained. Such an outfit, with the large NO. 2725, VOL. 109] amount of experiment and adjustment necessary to get the screens even approximately right, would be quite out of reach of most workers, and could not be conveniently standardised. Further troubles enter with small alterations in the light source due to age and variation: of voltage, the general illumination of the laboratory, and, not least, the personal equation. . J. Dennam. Shirley Institute, Didsbury, January 4. Tin Plague and Arctic Relics. REFERRING to the letter on tin plague in Nature of December 15 last, it may be of interest to record that in the Museum of Fisheries and Shipping at Hull, among a number of Arctic and Antarctic relics, we have two tins, each about 6 in. in diameter, provided with a thin iron handle on the top soldered on to assist in carrying. These tins, according to the ‘Guide to the Museum of the Hull Literary and Philosophical Society,’’? published in 1860, and con- firmed by that society’s minutes, were picked up, | among other relics and stores left by Capt. Parry, on Fury Beach in 1825. They were found by Capt. (afterwards Sir John) Ross in 1831, who brought them away with him. Capt. Ross was picked up at sea in a boat by Capt. Humphreys, of the Isabella, a whaler of Hull, in 1833, and these relics, among others, were in the boat with him. They were brought to Hull and given to the Literary and Philosophical Society. handed to the Hull Corporation. About ten years ago I was curious to know the contents of these two tins, and had them opened; one was found to be full of corned beef in excellent colour and condition, and the other contained pea- soup. Both seemed to be quite fresh, and my attendant sampled them and stated that they were quite good and sweet. He still lives. The soup and the meat are now exhibited in glass jars, and are still | in good condition. My object, in mentioning these facts is to show that after being left in the Arctic between 1825-31, and then taken charge of for another two years by Capt. Ross, which means that they were more or less subject to Arctic conditions for eight years, and then having been in Hull for eighty years, the metal does not seem to have deteriorated in any way and it had had no effect upon the contents. Possibly this may be due to the fact that the tins were painted with a thick coat of yellow and green paint respec- tively, which may have prevented any “‘plague.”’ If this is the cause, the circumstances may be of value ~ on future expeditions of this character. ; The Museum, Hull. T. SHEPPARD. ¢ Inheritance of a Cheek-Mole. Peruaps the following case of the inheritance of a mole on the cheek for three generations may be interesting. Records do mot .go back any further, but, as the representativenofethe :present generation is nineteen, it may be possible to see whether it is continued. The grandfather had a peculiar mole right in the middle of his left cheek. Of his children, two daughters both showed it in almost the same position. The sons did not, but one daughter of one son now has it. There are two boys and two girls. in family, but it has appeared only on one girl. . . W. Harris... The Royal Automobile Club, London, S.W.1, December 25. Eventually this society’s collection was — January 19, 1922] JUNT KORZYBSKI, in his recent remark- able book, ‘‘ The Manhood of Humanity,”’ 3 a new definition of man, departing from the biological concept, on one hand, and from ythological-biological-philosophical idea on er, and concludes that humanity is set apart other things that exist on this globe by its inding faculty, power, or capacity. This is way of saying that man preserves the history race and should be able to profit by a know- of the past in order to improve the future. indeed, this téme-binding capacity which is ‘incipal asset of humanity, and this alone make the human species the dominant type he vertebrate series. But, biologically speaking, e is another class of animals which, without ping the zime-binding faculty, has carried the lution of instinct to an extreme, and has in its come to be the dominant type of another great the Articulates, or the Arthropods. As puts it, 1 occupies the highest point in the vertebrate for he breaks the chain of instincts and assures complete expansion of his intelligence. The hold the same dominating position in the es where they are the crowning point of ke the Echinoderms and the Molluscs, which retained their hard coverings or shells, and herefore progressed more slowly—for, as tys, “‘ The animal which is shut up in a a coat of mail is condemned to an exist- half sleep ’’—Vertebrates, culminating in ave acquired the bodily structure which, 1 man by the equally acquired intelligence, bled him to accomplish the marvels which in our daily existence. Moreover, the Articu- ve in the course of the ages been modified perfected in their structure and in their biology their many appendages have become perfect ols adapted in the most complete way to the needs » species, until their power of existing and of Itiplying enormously under the most extra- ary variety of conditions, of subsisting success- y upon an extraordinary variety of food, has ome so perfected and their instincts have become developed that the culminating type, the insects, ‘become the most powerful rival of the culmin- ‘ing vertebrate type, man. ow this is not xéedgnised to the full by people eral—it is not realised bv the biologists them- We appreciate the fact that agriculture rs enormously, since insects need our farm pro- ts and-compel us to share with them. We are beginning to appreciate that directly and in- Abridged from the presidential address to the American Association for Advancement of Science delivered on December 27, 1921, at Toronto. / NO. 2725, VOL. tog] NATURE War Against Insects.! By Dr. L. O. Howarp. directly insects cause a tremendous loss of human life through the diseases that they carry. But apart from these two generalisations we do not realise that insects are working against us in a host of ways, sometimes obviously, more often in unseen ways, and that an enormous fight is on our hands. It is difficult to understand the long-time compara- tive indifference of the human species to the insect danger, but even during the active lifetime of the speaker there has come a change. Good men, men of sound laboratory training, have found themselves able in increasing numbers, through college and Government support, to devote themselves to the study of insect life with the main end in view of controlling those forms inimical to humanity, and to-day the man in the street realises neither the number of trained men and institutions engaged in this work nor the breadth and importance of their results, not only in the practical affairs of life, but also in the broad field of biological research. The Governments of the different countries are support- ing this work in a manner that would have been con- sidered incredible even five and twenty years ago, ‘and this is especially true of the United States and Canada, and scarcely less so of France, Italy, Japan, South Africa, and, at least until four years ago, Russia. It may be worth while here, however, to point out that certain European countries are combining their studies of agricultural entomology and crop diseases under the term phytopathological studies, or an Epiphyte Service (Service des Epiphyties), as in France, and this is undesirable, since it obscures’ to a certain extent the great issue of insect warfare and divides the great field of economic entomology in a most unfortunate way. Let us hope that the movement will not grow. Let the entomologists co- operate with the pathologists, both plant and animal, wherever there is something to be gained by such co-operation, but let us keep the respective fields entirely clear. The war against insects has, in fact, become a world-wide movement which is rapidly making an impression in many ways. Take the United States, for example, where investigations in this field are, for the time being, receiving generous Government support. Every State has its corps of expert workers and investigators. The Federal Govern- ment employs a. force of four hundred trained men and equips and supports more than eighty field laboratories scattered over the whole country at espe- cially advantageous centres for especial investiga- tions. Also there are teachers in the colleges and universities, especially the colleges of agriculture, who are training workers in insect biology and morphology and in applied entomology both agri- cultural and medical. 8o NATURE. [JANUARY 19, 1922 All this means that we are beginning to realise that insects are our most important rivals in Nature, and that we are beginning to develop our defence. While it is true that we are beginning this. development, it is equally true. that we are only at the start. go deeply into insect physiology and minute anatomy ; we must study and secure a most perfect knowledge of all of the infinite varieties of in- dividual development from the germ cell to the adult form; we must study all of the aspects of insect behaviour and their responses to all sorts of stimuli—their tropisms of all kinds ; we must study the tremendous complex of natural control, involv- ing as it does a ‘consideration of meteorology, climatology, botany, plant physiology, and all the operations of animal and vegetable parasitism as they affect the Insecta. big fundamentals. All this will involve the labours of an army of | patient investigators and will occupy very many years—possibly all time to come. in many of its manifestations is a pressing and immediate one. ‘That is why we are using a chem- ical means of warfare, by spraying our crops with chemical compounds and fumigating our citrus. orchards and mills and warehouses with. other chemical compounds, and are developing me- chanical means both for utilising these chem- ical means. and for independent action. ‘There is much -room for investigation here. We have only a few simple and _ effective insect- icides. Among the inorganic compounds we have the arsenates, the lime and sulphur sprays, and recently the fluorides have been coming in. Of the organic substances we. use such plant material as the poisons. of hellebore and larkspur, pyrethrum and nicotine; and the cyanides and the. petroleum emulsions are also very extensively used. No really — synthetic organic substances have come into use. Here is a great field for future work. Some of the after happenings of the war have. been the use of the. army flame-throwers against the swarms. of locusts in the South of France, the experimental use against insects of certain of the war gases, and the use of the aeroplane in reconnaissance in the course of the pink bollworm work along the Rio. Grande, in the location, of beetle-damaged timber in the forests of the North-west, and even in. the insect- icidal. dusting of dense tree growth in Ohio.. The chemists and the entomologists, working co-opera- tively, have many valuable discoveries yet to make, and they will surely. come. All this sort of work goes for immediate relief. Our studies of natural control follow next. It is fortunately true that there are thousands upon thou- sands of species of insects which live at the expense of those that are. inimical to. man and destroy them in vast numbers; in fact, as a distinguished physicist, in discussing this topic with me, recently said: ‘‘ If they would quit fighting among them- selves they would overwhelm the whole vertebrate NO. 2725, VOL. 109| Looking at it in a broad way, we must | We must go down to great | But the problem | ‘small size is one of the great _—is one of the great factors of their success in — ? series.’ This is, in fact, one of the most important elements in natural control, and is being studied in its many phases by a small but earnest group of workers. So far, while we have done some striking things in our efforts: at biological control, by importing from one country into another the natural enemies of an injurious species which had itself been ‘acci- dentally introduced, and while we have in some 4q cases secured relief by variations in farm practice or in farm management based upon an intimate knowledge of the biology of certain crop pests, we are only touching the border of the possibilities of natural control. For an understanding of these possibilities we must await the prosecution of long studies. Let us summarise. Few people realise the critical situation which exists at the present time. Men and nations have always struggled among themselves. War has seemed to be a. necessity growing out of the ambition of the human race. It is too much, perhaps, to hope that the lesson which the world learned in the years 1914 to 1918 will be strong enough to prevent the recurrence of inter- national war; but, at all events, there is a war, not among human beings, but between all humanity and certain forces that are arrayed against it. the dominant type on this terrestrial body; he has overcome most opposing animate forces ; he has sub- dued or turned to his own use nearly all kinds of living creatures. There still remain, however, the bacteria and protozoa that carry disease and the enormous forces of injurious insects which attack him from every point and constitute to-day his greatest rivals in the control of Nature. They threaten his life daily ; they shorten his food sup- plies, both in his crops while they are growing, and in such supplies after they are harvested and stored, in his meat animals, in his comfort, in his clothing, in his. habitations, and in countless other ways. In many ways they are better fitted for existence on this earth than he is. They constitute a much older geological type, and it is a type which had persisted for countless years before he made his appearance, and this persistence has been due to characteristics which he does not possess and cannot acquire— rapidity of multiplication, power of concealment, a defensive armour, and many other factors. With all this in view it will be necessary for the human species to bring the great group of insects under control, and ‘to do this will demand the services of skilled biologists—thousands of them. We have ignored the insect group to a certain extent on account of the small size of its members, but their elements of danger existence and multiplication. ra ies Let all the departments of biology in our universities and colleges consider this plain state- ment of the situation, and let them begin a con- certed movement to train the men who are needed in this defensive and offensive campaign. ~ Man is ——ereeeeeeeeeeee _ endowment and subscriptions. _ JANUARY 19, 1922] NATURE 81 What the Public Wants. A StrupDY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL History. HE American Museum of Natural History prob- - ably stands at the head of those museums which set out to interest and attract the general public. In so doing it obeys the clauses of its Acts ‘of Incorporation, but it obeys.also the more impera- tive law of its continued life: to live, a museum, like everything else, must progress ; to progress, it meeds sustenance. The American Museum, being neither a Government museum, nor a State museum, nor a municipal museum, has to rely upon private The annual appro- priation of the city is confined at the Natural History Museum, but we have not formulated the conception of man ‘in relation to his whole environment of to-day. Temporary exhibi- tions are useful as keeping a museum alive and attracting fresh sections of the public. Dr. Lucas, the director, does not favour the expenditure of curatorial energy on these, but when they are in- stalled by outside bodies, as the wireless telephone display or the posters teaching kindness to animals, it is only space that he grudges. activity in the exhibition During 1920 all this galleries attracted to the maintenance of the building, and is inadequate even for that purpose. To in- stal its exhibits, to send out its expeditions, to pay its staff, and to prosecute those scientific researches for which it is cele- brated, the museum must arouse private individuals to that degree of enthusiasm at which they will part with their dollars. The mechanism is the enrolment of such individuals as members of various grades, and so successful is it that no less than 5556 members are now enrolled. Of the numerous ways in which the museum appeals to this great public, and to the far greater public as yet only on the road to membership, we can mention here a bare selec- tion. The most obvious, and the most characteristically a museum method, is the pre- paration of popular exhibits. The example set by our own Natural History Museum has here been left far behind. The present report furnishes two illustrations, which we are permitted to reproduce. Fig. 1 shows part of a group of the northern elephant seal, from a colony recently discovered on the island of Guadalupe. A small portion of the new Bryozoa group, which represents two square inches of sea-bottom magnified twenty- five diameters, is depicted on two-thirds that. scale in Fig. 2. Groups of this latter kind, based on prolonged studies, and carried out with extreme technical skill, are among the most instructive, as well as the most fascinating, novel- ties. Then there are the larger series, such as the exhibit of the natural history of (modern civilised) man, projected by the Department of Public Health. We in England have done something in this direction, as witness the exhibits of food, of human parasites, and the biology of water-works NO. 2725, VOL. 109] Fic. 1.—California sea-elephant group. By thecourtesy of the American Museun. of Natural History, ew York. 937,265 visits (exclusive of attendance on_lec- tures), which compares favourably with the corre- sponding totals of 851,483 at the British Museum (Bloomsbury), and 527,701 at the British Museum (Natural History). This number, however, does not represent half the people reached by the popularising and educa- tional work of the American Museum. Forty-eight societies haye been welcome to hold meetings, ex- hibits, or lectures in the meeting-rooms of the museum during the year. Lectures have been given to school children and adults by a special depart- ment of public education co-operating with the City Board of Education. This increases the number of visits by 100,750. This department also carries its lectures to the schools themselves, lends lantern- slides by myriads, and circulates 887 special col- 82 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 lections among schools and libraries. ‘The number of pupils reached by this outside work cannot be less than a million. To this direct appeal of the museum specimens the publications are supplementary. Confining our attention to those of educational character, we find, as elsewhere, guides, handbooks, and leaflets, for Fic. 2.—Bryozoa group: detail. By the courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. use primarily in the museum. But reaching far beyond its walls is the well-known Journal of the museum, now issued as a bi-monthly under the title Natural History. A copy of this is received by every member, and additional subscriptions amount to 1,570 dollars. The circulation may therefore be taken as well over 6000. Besides its own publica- " money. tions, the American Museum avails itself of the newspaper Press, and by the steady contribution of interesting paragraphs obtains valuable advertise- ment. We have by no means finished with the ways in which the American Museum increases its member- ship and otherwise raises its funds. There is, for example, the luxuriously furnished members’ room ‘“near the elevator’’ (Natural History Museum, please note !), and there is the exchange of member- ship privileges with other museums. But enough has been said to show that all the energy is spent on lines that are productive, and that fact explains how it can be done. In the larger cities of our own country circumstances are not the same. There are limited appropriations for definite purposes, and the governing body, whether municipal or bureau- cratio, is not going to take risks with the taxpayers’ Possibly some of our museum officials re- joice that they do not have to spend their time beat- ing the big drum, and prefer to devote most of their energy and the services of their museums to the advancement of learning rather than to its vulgarisation. Research, they say quite rightly, must come first. None the less, there are features in the educational work of the American Museum which could and should be imitated by more of our Government museums. With them, as with the | private corporation of the American Museum, the question reduces itself to on of business. Addi- tional officers must be appointed in charge of these activities, and these officers must be paid. But the public is ready to pay for what it wants, and the case of the guide-lecturers has shown that the Government will respond to intelligently directed and strongly enforced public opinion Obituary. Dr. Epwarp Hopkinson, M.P. iG Wins news of the death of Edward Hopkinson will be received with acute regret by a very wide circle of friends in all branches of science and engineering. Since the General Election of 1918, when Dr. Hopkinson became Member for the Clay- ton division of Manchester as a Unionist, he was the victim of repeated attacks of influenza, for want of a better name, and was little seen in London; gradually failing, he died on Sunday, January 15, at the age of sixty-two years. Dr. Hopkinson was the fourth among five sons in a Manchester family, peculiarly united and bril- liant, belonging to an aristocracy of industry. His father, John Hopkinson, sometime Mayor of Man- chester, was of the firm of Wren and Hopkinson, mechanical engineers, who constructed the machinery for grinding the glass for Chance’s lighthouses, a successful demonstration of science and higher in- dustry. His mother, always the true focus of the family, was a Dewhurst of Skipton. The Wills’s of Bristol were relatives. The eldest brother, John, the great electrician, whose work was cut short by his untimely death in the Alps, is nobly com- NO. 2725, VOL. 109] \ memorated in Cambridge; he started on his work as Senior Wrangler. The next brother, Sir Alfred Hopkinson, K.C., of Lincoln College, Oxford, formerly a Member of Parliament for a division of Manchester and for the Cricklade division of Wiltshire, who is still active, had a distinguished legal career, was principal of Owens College, and first vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester. The third son, Charles, a consulting engineer, who died recently, was the trusted counsellor of the whole family. Albert, the youngest brother, of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, became a successful medical practitioner in Manchester, and is now back again in Cambridge as a teacher of anatomy. Of the next generation, Bertram, the lamented head of the Engineering School at Cambridge, lost his life in a flying accident in 1918, and Austin, a successful manufacturer and M.P., is a very vigor- ous controversialist in social questions. These different distinctions merely represent prominences of characteristics which all shared. Edward Hopkinson was born in Manchester, and, after completing the course at Owens College, joined Emmanuel College, Cambridge, as scholar, JaNuaRY 19, 1922] NATURE 83 is ninth Wrangler in 1881, and D.Sc. of ondon n the same year. He became a fellow of Em- el in 1833. He began his fellowship by in- ng electric light in the hall and chapel for the ntenary of the college in the following year, thus anticipated by a few weeks the installation n Lord Kelvin introduced into Peterhouse. He first with Siemens Brothers, and was resident rician for the Portrush and Bushmills Railway e Bessbrook and Newry Railway. He after- joined the firm of Mather and Platt when began electrical work, and ultimately became airman of the company. He carried out the ve for the City and South London Railway, and engaged upon industrial work of that kind he d his brother John in a paper on dynamo- machines in the Transactions of the Royal ty, a paper which speedily became classical. safter he was engaged in electrical and engi- ng work which brought him into contact with e€ active electrical and engineering experts of ou During the war he was engaged in on the Indian Industrial Commission. He peeent of the Institution of Mechanical ers In 1919, but not well enough to deliver sidential periress which he wrote for that ricity Fahd: machinery were not Dr. -Hopkinson’s only interest ; like other members of is family, he was deeply “and sanely interested in ial questions, and his latest writings are to be d in letters to the Zimes and Morning Post financial matters. Like all the rest of his family, he was a keen Alpine climber and member of Alpine Club, and, like so many climbers, was ikably genial host and an ever-welcome guest. ved in an atmosphere of business, science, and n sense, to which access was easy on account family associations ; but he contributed his full share to its maintenance, and the loss of knowledg e and experience is a grave misfortune. : se brother Charles married sisters, the ers of John Campbell, of Whiteabbey, near _ His wife survives him. They have one formerly an officer in the Army, who is now ed to 1", sobcayaiatal at Cambridge, and a Napier SHAW. a Wiu1aMm Mattuews, K.C.M.G. : te civil engineering profession has lost an inent personality by the decease of Sir William Matthews, who died on January 8 at the : of seventy-eight. From the obscurity of a little : town he rose in the practice of his pro- fession to become the trusted consultant of Govern- ment authorities on the most important harbour undertakings in the Empire. His name will long associated with the annals of harbour construc- tion, and substantial breakwaters in various parts of the world remain as a testimony to his engineer- ing skill. The firm of Coode, Matthews, Fitz- ‘maurice, and Wilson, of which he was until lately the senior surviving partner, have acted as technical advisers to the Admiralty, the Board of Trade, and NO. 2725, VOL. 109] the Cyowls agents to the Woleiiies: At P bats they were chief engineers for the National Harbour at Dover ; abroad they have been consulting engineers for similar undertakings at Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Colombo, Singapore, and Hong-Kong. They are also consultants to several Colonial Governments, the Mersey Conservancy, the Humber Conservancy, and the Tyne Commissioners. Sir William Matthews was ‘a native of Penzance, where he was born in March, 1844. He served part of his apprenticeship in an engineering works at Hayle, a few miles away. Afterwards he entered the office of his father, who practised as a civil engineer in’ Penzance. There in 1864 he came under the notice of the late Sir John Coode, who had been called in to advise the Cor- poration of Penzance. The young assistant was employed to make a survey of the harbour, and acquitted himself so creditably that Sir John took him into his office in London, and vaio man in 1892 into partnership. - The value of Sir William Matthews’s services to the Government gained him the C.M.G. in 1901, and the K.C.M.G. in 1906. In 1907 he was elected president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He became a member of the International Commission on the Suez Canal in 1908, and during the later portion of his career served on a number of com- mittees of public and scientific utility. Cot. CHARLES Epwarp Cassa, who died ‘on December 22 last, in his sixty-fourth year, was public analyst for the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea, the Royal Borough of Kensington, the Parts of Holland and Kesteven (Lincs), and Chip- ping Wycombe (Bucks), and joint public analyst for the City of Westminster. He was educated at University College School, and received his pro- fessional training at University College, London, where he was demonstrator in the department of hygiene and public health from 1879 to 1888. He was a fluent and forcible speaker, and, having quali- fied, by examination, for the fellowship of the In- stitute of Chemistry, he took a prominent part in the discussions relating to the interests of his pro- fession, particularly those of public analysts and official agricultural analysts. Col. Cassal served on the council for six periods of three years each, and as a censor for one year. He frequently accompanied deputations from the institute to Government departments. For fifteen years he was editor of the British Food Journal, to which, as well as to other journals, he contributed many articles on the chemistry of food and drugs, on water supplies, and on sewage treatment and disposal. WE regret to have to record the death of Mr. B. P. LaAscettes, who was a science master at Harrow from 1885 to 1901. His great success as a teacher rested on his unbounded interest in every- thing which appealed to him. It was not enough for him to know about dyes; he made them and coloured his own ties to his fancy! That was in the early days of the synthetic industry. Such 84 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 interest is contagious, and so he firmly established the Harrow Scientific Society, as he had helped to found the Junior Scientific Society at Oxford. Though a chemist by training—he was a fellow of the Chemical Society—his activities were at least as wide as those of the British Association, of which he was a keen supporter. His knowledge of paleontology and of archeology was deep. Few indeed were the branches of learning along which he could not guide a young inquirer, so he ful- filled perfectly the offices of librarian and curator of the school museum. ‘The municipal life of his adopted town and county owe much to Mr. Lascelles, whose many friends will ever remember his genial personality with gratitude. Pror. 'W. Foorp-Ketcey, professor of mathe- matics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, since 1903, died on January 3 at the age of sixty- seven. He was a scholar of Exeter College, ©xford, and: obtained a First Class in the Final Mathematical School in 1877. He joined the Royal Military Academy as instructor in mathematics in 1878; later he was called to the Bar, and for a time combined legal work with teaching, but eventually gave up the former. Altogether, Prof. Foord-Keleey was at the Academy for forty-three and a half years, and nearly all serving gunner and sapper officers knew him. He was a man of great ability with brain, hand, and eye, being a first-rate practical mechanic. He had a wide knowledge of mechanism, and retained his interest in the teach- ing of mechanics to the last. He was due to retire in the summer of this year, and in him the Royal Military Academy has lost a great personality. ‘FatHer GrusepPE Lats, S.J., whose death in Rome was recently announced, was born in Rome in 1845. He was the author of a very long series of papers dealing with meteorology, both medieval and modern, solar eclipses, comets and meteors, and astronomical photography. He published some little- known meteorological records of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He took a deep interest in the astrographic chart, and published researches on the best methods of measuring and developing the plates. As vice-director of the Vatican Observatory since 1903 he has had a large share in taking the plates of the zone allotted to that observatory. He was also interested in the question of calendar re- form, publishing papers on this subject in 1892 and 1901. Father Lais was for many years vice- secretary of the Accademia dei Nuovi Lincei, Rome. WE regret to announce the death on January 15, in his.ninetieth year, of Sir Joun Kirk, G.C.M.G., K:C.B., F.R.S., chief officer and naturalist of Livingstone’s expedition to the Zambezi in 1858-63, during which he made large collections and many observations of great scientific value. He was the author of numerous contributions to the botany, - goology, and geography of Eastern tropical Africa. WE ‘regret to see the announcement of the death on January 8, at eighty-six years of age, of PRor. J. H. Correrttt, F.R.S., formerly professor of applied mechanics, Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Notes. Tue gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society has been awarded to Dr. J. ‘H. Jeans for his con- tributions to theories of cosmogony. M. Raymonp Porncarf, who has succeeded M. Briand as Prime Minister of France, held that office in the’years 1911-13, and was President of the French Republic in 1913-20. ‘He is a brother of M.- Lucien Poincaré, the distinguished official head of the Uni- versity of Paris, who died nearly two years ago, and a cousin of the great mathematician and philosopher, Prof. Henri Poincaré, who died in r91z. In 1914 M. Poincaré was elected Lord Rector of the Univer- sity of Glasgow, and in November, 1919, he delivered an inspiring address on Franco-Scottish unity to an assembly of four thousand students and other members and friends of the University. Tue Strangers’ Hall, Norwich, an interesting old city merchant’s ‘house, with groined undercroft, fifteenth-century banqueting -hall, and other panelled rooms of later date, has been offered by its owner, Mr. Leonard G. Bolingbroke, to the Corporation of Norwich for the purpose of an English Folk and Historical Museum, in conjunction with the Norwich Castle Museum. Mr. Bolingbroke has also offered NO. 2725, VOL. 109] his collection of old domestic appliances and other ‘bygones ” illustrative of the various phases of a middle-class Englishman’s home during the last four or five centuries, which will find a fitting environment in the various rooms of the house. While the aim of the museum will be historical rather than scientific, there will be found many exhibits of interest to students of the early history and development of such subjects as the production of light and fire, domestic cookery, and other kindred objects. Tue annual meeting of the Institute of Metals will be held in London on March 8-9, when ten important papers are to be presented for discussion. The annual May lecture will be delivered on May 3 by Sir ‘Ernest Rutherford on ‘‘The Relation of the Elements.’? The autumn meeting will be held at Swansea ‘on September 20-22. A large gathering is expected in this important metallurgical centre, and the Mayor and-corporation have extended a very hearty invitation to members of the institute. Last year. the membership of the institute increased from 1298 to r4to—a record year’s growth. Such an increase, ~ occuring during a year of great trade depression, © indicates that makers and users of non-ferrous metals and alloys are on the alert to take advantage of the _ JANUARY 19, 1922] NATURE 85 scientific information obtainable through association the institute that exists to foster their interests. ‘is largely through the adoption of more scientific nods of manufacture that the British manufacturer able successfully to meet- foreign competition, it is just here that invaluable service is being d by our scientific institutions. officers of the Ramsay Memorial Fund an- » that the Dean and Chapter of Westminster consented that a tablet containing a medallion it of Sir William Ramsay should be placed in ninster Abbey in the place immediately below occupied by the Hooker tablet. The tablet is executed by Mr. Charles Hartwell, A.R.A. It ticipated that the unveiling will take place in be: next. An announcement will be made on subject in due course. At the request of the say Memorial Committee a commemorative | of the late Sir William Ramsay has been uted by the distinguished French sculptor, M. Bottée. The medals will be struck shortly in when it is known approximately how many Rudolf. Julius We cdssiees Clausius, the distin- ed mathematical physicist and the predecessor of ine chair of natural pages at Bonn. o Taasors going to Benin he held appointments Royal Artillery School, Berlin, Ziirich Poly- , and Wiirzburg University. “Recognised as one founders of the science of thermo-dynamics, it his memoir to the Berlin Academy of Sciences so that he re-stated Carnot’s principle in its cor- a3 spaces To him is also due the conception of _ His chief work, * Die Mechanische Warme- ssl of the Copley medal, while the Institution of x hacoumelnay made him an honorary member. He 4 _ was called to Bonn in 1869, served as Rector of the 2 during oie and died there on August ‘IN ae presidential address to the American Asso- ee hegail for the Advancement of Science, delivered in n last at Toronto, Dr. L. O. Howard made some ‘interesting | remarks on the ages of presidents 5 of the British and American Associations. The Sooke age of the presidents of the British Associa- Guay during the period 1895-1920 was sixty-one years _ and eleven months, and of those of the American Asso- - ciation sixty-one years and five months. The youngest president of the British Association during that period was fifty-three years of age, and Sir A. W. Rucker (1901), Sir J. J. Thomson (1909), and Prof. W. Bateson F _ (914) were each fifty-three years of age when serving NO. 2725, VOL. 109] as president. The oldest was Prof. T. G. Bonney (1910), whose address was delivered at the age of seventy-seven. The youngest of the American presi- dents were Minot and Richards, whose addresses were delivered at the age of fifty; and the oldest was Eliot, whose Philadelphia address was delivered when he was seventy-nine years of age. ‘‘We may safely assume,’’ remarks Dr. Howard, “that the usefulness of the man past middle age is granted, and that, while he may not have the illuminative bursts of inventive or speculative genius which come to the younger man, he is better able to make the broad generalisations based upon accumulated experience— in other words, to prepare an appropriate presidential address as president of the British or the American Association for the Advancement of Science.’’ Ar the Institution of Electrical Engineers on January 12 there was an interesting exhibition. of instructive American cinematograph films. The first film, which was. exhibited by Dr. Garrard, showed tests of high-tension switchgear. The experiments with switches: were made with currents of the order of 100,000 amperes, the object being to find out how the apparatus withstood the enormous mechanical stresses set up by these very large currents. The films were first shown at the ordinary speed; they were then shown at a_ reduced speed, so that the various effects produced could be followed. The tests made on current and potential trans- formers showed clearly the types which withstood the stresses best. In some cases switching on the power produced effects similar to those produced by a high-explosive bomb. A noteworthy educational film called ‘The Audion ’’ was® also exhibited. It ex- plained very clearly the operations which are believed to take place between the transmitter and the receiver in radio-telegraphy. The electrons are shown in active motion round the filament of a thermionic tube, and the artist shows by means of them the valve action of the tube. Similarly, the amplifying action of the grid is explained by the motions of the electrons. The currents in the antenna and.the waves leaving it were also shown in motion, the whole producing a very lively representation of what takes place. The films were made by the Western Electric Co. of America for the instruction of their employees. Another film showed the building up of a telephone, all the various parts of it slowly and deliberately getting into their proper places apparently by their own agency. THE annual meeting of the Mathematical Associa- tion was held on January 2-3, and Sir T. L. Heath was elected president as successor to the, Rev. Canon J. M. Wilson. Papers were read by Sir George Greenhill on ‘‘ Mathematics and Artillery : Before and After the War: A Review of the Outlook: Then and Now,” and on “The Structure of the Atom ’’ by Dr. J. W. Nicholson. Prof. C. Godfrey delivered an address on the importance of the introduction of vectors in the work of the secondary school—a subject on which several writers in the Mathematical Gazette 86 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 have written strongly of late. Miss F. A. Yeldham’s paper on “The Dalton Plan and the Teaching of Mathematics ’’ aroused considerable interest; an animated discussion followed, with many inquiries as to the details of her experiences of the plan as at work in the Streatham schools. Prof. G. H. Hardy gave a most interesting address on the life and work of that Indian genius, the late Srinivasa Ramanujan, which was full of personal recollections. He set forth with consummate skill the nature of Ramanujan’s re- searches, his successes, and his failures. He alsomade an eloquent appeal for a wide extension of educa- tion in India, assuring his audience that with such opportunities for the great peninsula as we enjoy here in the West there would soon be an Indian school of mathematics at least equal to anything that can be shown in Europe or America. Incidentally he con- demned the folly of those who have decried the Ger- mans as lacking in originality. The next paper was by Mr. A. Dakin, who pleaded with much effect that pure and applied mathematics should be taught and developed pari passu in boys’ secondary schools. The meeting was brought to a close with a discussion opened by the Rev. E. M. Radford on the best ways of keeping teachers of mathematics in touch with modern developments and methods—a most important problem, and one for which a solution must be found in the near future. In an interesting paper contributed to the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (vol. 51, part 1) Prof. F. G. Parsons arrives at conclusions, which may be quoted in his own words, in connection with the Long Barrow race, and its relationship to the modern ‘inhabitants of , London. He believes that ‘the shave of the skull is the result of vital or physio- logical forces, some of which we grasp feebly, and others which we do not understand at all as yet, act- ing on it for a very long time; but that shape, once established, is very permanent, and most of its characteristics remain for thousands of years after the race bearing them has changed its habitat. Even when the race has been practically bred out by com- peting races, better adapted to the changed conditions, all the old characters reappear from time to time, sometimes singly, but occasionally all together.’? For example, the skull of Jonathan Wild reproduces all the characters of the Long Barrow race. ‘“ Finally, I must admit that the skull of the modern twentieth- century Londoner has changed from that of the eighteenth, but it is in the direction of increased breadth and shortness, and the change is due, I be- lieve, to admixture with the Central European or Alpine race, which in the last two centuries has been pouring into this country in ever-increasing quan- tities.’’ As stated in Nature of December 30, 1920 (vol. 106, p- 583), the first Pan-Pacific Scientific Conference resolved that fuller knowledge of the history and culture of the Polynesian race was essential to the solution of the ethnographic problems of the Pacific. The Report of the Director of the Bishop Museum, NO. 2725, VOL. 109 | logy, classification to criminological studies, he arrives at | population. Honolulu, for 1920, just received, informs us that Mr. Bayard Dominick, of New York, is financing an expedition for the study of Polynesian origin and — This is organised by the Bishop Museum in conjunction with authorities from countries bordering During 1920-21 parties have been migration. on the Pacific. stationed on the Marquesas, Austral, Tongan, and Hawaian Islands to establish standards of physical form, material culture, traditions, and language of the Polynesians. staff is making observations in selected localities along the route Honolulu, Wake, Marshall, Eastern Caro- lines, Gilbert, Ellice, Samoa, Tonga, Friendly, Cook, and Society Islands, returning to Honolulu via Ton- gareva, Malden, Christmas, and Fanning Islands. The Bishop Museum acts as permanent representative of the first conference. Its director, Prof. H. E. ' Gregory, is chairman of a committee to arrange for — future conferences, and associated with him. are E. C. Andrews (Australia), C. M. Fraser (Canada), F. Omori (Japan), Charles Chilton (New Zealand), and T. Way- land Vaughan (United States). Tue latest issue of the Archiv fiir Kriminologie (Bd. 72, Heft 3-4) contains an important article by Prof. W. Ostwald, of Leipzig, entitled ‘‘Das System der Kriminologie,”” in which he attempts a classifica- tion of the subject-matter of criminology. He starts from a classification of science as a whole under three main headings: (1) Mathetics, subdivided into logic, mathematics, geometry, and kinematics; (2) energetics, subdivided into mechanics, physics, and chemistry; and (3) biotics, subdivided into physio- psychology, and sociology. Applying this a schedule in which criminology in the more restricted sense falls under sociology, while the contributions of sciences auxiliary to criminology proper, such as ‘criminal anthropology and criminal psychology, fall under the earlier and more general headings. Prof. Ostwald gives an example of the working of his scheme as applied to a large number of titles taken from criminological literature. As an attempt to introduce some sort of order on a logical basis in a subject with a wide scope and a vast literature, this classification will be welcome to students. Its ter- minology, however, if only for the sake of clearness, needs revision and amplification. As it stands at present the titles of the divisions of the schedule are not sufficiently indicative of their content to be of much practical utility as guides. In addition to Prof. Ostwald’s paper, this issue of the Archiv contains a number of interesting contributions by prominent criminologists, among the more noteworthy being a During 1921-22 a boat with a scientific’ oa long account by J. P. L. Hulst, of Leyden, of a : number of cases of necrophilia, an examination by Prof. Allfeld and Prof. von Beling of a proposal put forward by Dr. R. Hind] for the treatment of habitual — criminals, and a valuable note by Mr. Arthur Mac- donald, of Washington, on the possibility of using police records, particularly records for identification / purposes, for the anthropological study of the NATURE 87 e have received the Report of the Beeieiological State Board of Agriculture, U.S.A., for 1920. work has been done on the keeping Gualities of s, the decomposition of peat, silage production, s infectious abortion, various fermentations, soil food. For the isolation of the Bacillus abortus, causative organism of infectious abortion, a liver medium is recommended with an addition of 0,000 gentian violet. The medium should have gen-ion concentration of between 6-6 and the cultivation should be conducted in a chamber, in which 10 per cent. of the air is by carbon dioxide. account of the brachyuran crabs collected by srican Museum Congo Expedition has been ad recently by Miss Mary J. Rathbun (Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 43, pp. 379-474, 30 plates). ee contains about 3000 specimens belonging e species, and the large series has enabled r 40 define many of the previously known ‘with greater accuracy. Three of the four of Callinectes known to occur on the West coast are well represented in the collection, and of their systematic characters are given. The states that the collection of land crabs (Cardi- teen 120 specimens, serves to demonstrate Bisco, and the American species, Cardi- nhumi, are constant. The river crabs of the efficacy of their measures, and in this won their co-operation, as well as financial ort from the individual States of North America. work now comprises thoroughly organised aggres- campaigns in sixteen of the Western States. The chief methods of control are poisoning by nine and organised drives, and the methods of ention include the erection of rodent-proof fencing e introduction of rat-proof devices into buildings for storage purposes. Mr. Bell’s account gives vivid idea of the menace which these rodents are ie food supplies of North America, and the valu- results obtained by organised effort on a compre- nsive scale for their control and eradication, The lace is equally serious in this country, and the NO. 2725, VOL. 109| measures adopted in America deserve the serious con- sideration of the Government and local authorities here. WE have received an interesting letter from Mr. J. Anderson, of Sewerby, near Bridlington, stating that one of a fine group of the Chilean tree, Araucaria imbricata, at Sewerby House had produced a large number of seeds from which healthy young plants have been raised; he asks if this is an unusual occurrence. Mr. W. J. Bean, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, informs us that this is not a rare occurrence, and for many years past trees in various parts of the country have borne fertile seeds. He remembers so long ago as 1906 seeing self-sown young plants at Castle Kennedy, in Wigtownshire, growing beneath the trees from which the seeds had fallen. Similar self-sown seedlings may be seen at Strathfieldsaye, the seat of the Duke of Wellington; and other places where fertile seeds have been developed are Beauport, Tortworth, Castlehill, in North Devon, and Bicton, in South Devon. Mr. Anderson also states that some twenty-five or thirty years ago one of the trees ‘bled to death ” from a scar caused by the breaking away of a branch. This also has been known to happen before. A case is known where a tree died from a running wound made at its base by the scythe of a workman mowing the grass. Mr. Anderson, how- ever, records an interesting fact that we do not remember to have seen noted before: when the roots of the dead tree were being removed the workmen dug up large quantities of resin which had set into hard, amber-like masses. The seeds are eaten by the Araucanos and other Indian tribes in Chile. Mr. H. J. Elwes, who visited the native forests of this tree in 1901-2, states that he has eaten them both roasted and boiled and found them very palatable, with a nutty flavour somewhat like that of almonds. DEVELOPMENT of the petroleum resources in Alaska has been, as we might have expected from the nature of the country, an extremely slow and somewhat costly matter; the comparative inaccessibility of the oil-bearing territory and the rigorous climatic condi- tions have combined to retard progress to the point of questioning the justification of a continuance of opera- tions. The first well was brought in at Katalla in 1g01, and was followed by a short-lived oil boom, afterwards depressed by the wonderful results of Cali- fornian development; since that year forty wells have been drilled in Alaska, thirty-one in the Katalla field and the remainder in other prospects, including the Iniskin Bay and Cold Bay districts; Yakataga, on the Pacific seaboard, and Smith Bay, on the Arctic coast, are mentioned as further areas where indica- tions are good. The total production to date amounts to some 56,000 barrels of crude oi! which has been refined and used locally; the oil is of paraffin base, of specific gravity varying from 41° to 45° (Baumé), high in petrol, and with no sulphur content; it is obtained from Tertiary beds the structure of which is at present doubtful. Geological exploration is a matter of great difficulty, and the results set forth in the preliminary report on the country (U.S. Geol. 88 NATURE [JANUARY I9, 1922 Surv., Bull. 719) can only be regarded as tentative. It is doubtful whether Alaska will ever take rank as an important producing country, but oil will probably be obtained in sufficient quantity to meet local require- ments. Soutuport CorporaTION has issued its annual report of meteorological observations for the year 1920, the results and discussions being carried out by Mr. Joseph Baxendell, meteorologist to the corpora- tion. The report is circulated by the Air Ministry through the Meteorological Office and by the Cor- poration of Southport, as was done with the results for the year 1919. For many years these reports have stood out as specimens to show what can be done by corporations in England when there is a desire to aid in the advance of meteorology. The observations for 1920 are admirably treated, but there is rather less dis- cussion of the observations than in some recent years, possibly due to the real lack of sufficient scientific assistants; it is stated in the report that a research computer is greatly needed. Research is going on to establish the trustworthiness of a five-year periodicity for wind direction, temperature, and rain in north- west England, and observations are contributed to the Meteorological Office for the daily, weekly, and monthly weather reports. The mean temperature of the complete year was. 49:2° F., or 1° above the forty- five years’ average. The total duration of sunshine in 1920 was 1277 hours, or 279 hours less than a twenty years’ local average, and the smallest annual value yet recorded at Southport. North-westerly winds were deficient throughout the year, the deficiency amount- ing to little less than double the largest previous annual deficiency from that direction. The dominant feature of the year was the exceptional prevalence of winds from the southern half of the compass. The total rainfall for the year was 34-08 in., which is 124 in. above the normal.’ Observations of diurnal variation of wind direction and velocity, air tempéra- ture, and sunshine ‘are of especial interest; as are also the observations of atmospheric pollution. Winp observations in various Finnish lightships taken between t1ar4 and 1920 (Strém- och Vind- observationer vid Fyrskeppen) have been published by Dr. G. Granavist in Havsforsknings Institutets, Skrift No. 10, 1921. The observations are from fourteen lightships in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland and one in Lake Ladoga. Most of them ceased late in 1914 and throughout the years 1915 to 1918, but the series is fairly complete in rata and 1020. The data, which were taken three times daily, are given in detail, SEVERAL useful pamphlets on map projections have been issued by the Department of Commerce of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. A study of map projection in general (Special Publication No. 60) treats in a few pages with numerous illustrations of the fundamental ideas underlying the subject. Times of January 16. Dr. i figures of the census of the British Isles of 1911 and has estimated from them the number of persons of any given age less than twenty-five years at present living in the British Isles and the numbers which may be expected in coming years if the conditions of hygiene represented by the 1910-12 life-table prevail. Taking the age for compulsory education, 5-6 years, the estimated number of children of that age in 1921 is 682,000; in 1922 it is 645,000; in 1923, 568,000; in 1924, 573,000; in 1925, 642,000; and in 1926, 772,000. _ Put into words, the estimates mean that there will be © a decrease in the numbers of children of this age until 1923 and afterwards a rapid increase. Taking the next group, children of 7-12 years of age, the numbers living in 1921 are estimated as 2 per cent. less than those living in 1911, while the estimated population for 1921 between the ages of 12 and 20 years is about 7 per cent. in excess of that of 1911. — In no case has account been taken of the effects of the war, emigration, etc., on that part of the popula- tion falling within the above groups, but it is con- sidered that no error greater than 1 per cent, is intro- duced on this account. details of the 1921 census of Great Britain are pub- lished to see to what extent they are in accord with Dr. Brownlee’s figures. a : books for Latvia. The announcement of the shipment | to Riga of several thousands of books (forming the — first instalment of the New Year gift of 50,000 volumes which the Lord Mayor hopes, with the further help of — It will be interesting when the , | : ae JaNuaRY 19, 1922] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. y 19, 1891. Robert Forester Mushet died.—Jhe of the discoverer of. the black-band ironstone, *t made experiments on spiegeleisen—iron and fanese—which proved of great value in the ypment of the Bessemer process of steel-making. investigated alloys of iron with titanium, n, and chromium, and about 1870 introduced of the self-hardening steels. lary 20, 1901. Zenobe Théophile Gramme died. A carpenter, Gramme went to Paris, where at he worked under Ruhmkorff. His fame as rician is due to his re-invention in 1870 of the tature dynamo first devised by Pacinotti. A it to him stands in the Conservatoire des s et Métiers in Paris. 21, 1901. Elisha Gray died.—A distinguished er of electrical appliances, Gray took out upwards y patents, and was connected with the Western Co. of Chicago. On February 14, 1876, he for a patent for a telephone only a few hours Bell had deposited his specification. 22, 1831. John Blenkinsop died.—One of the of the locomotive, Blenkinsop was an agent collieries. He took out a patent in 1811, and at Leeds constructed an engine with a pinion $ into a fixed rack. One of his engines was George Stephenson. ry 22, 1887. Sir Joseph Whitworth died.— Among greatest mechanical engineers of the nineteenth tury, Whitworth worked with Maudslay, zapfiel, and Clement, and in 1833 set up as a tool- -at Manchester. He improved machine-tools, ted measuring machines, introduced standard and in the ’fifties brought out his valuable f screw-threads. He also made experiments ery and developed the process of compressing ed steel under hydraulic pressure. The Whitworth arships and exhibitions were founded by him in January 22, 1918. Sir John Wolfe Wolfe-Barry died.— acknowledged leader in the world of civil engineer- Wolfe-Barry was prominently associated with the sport problems of London. Among his notable was the Tower Bridge, completed in 1894. He president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in d he initiated the Engineering Standards lanuary 23, 1805. Claude Chappe died.—The inventor the semaphore signalling apparatus, Chappe was ( | 1763. The statue of him in the Boulevard ! ermain in Paris depicts him explaining his ivention to the Legislative Assembly in 1792. One f the first messages by semaphore was sent from the of the Louvre. iry 23, 1896. Ferdinand Schichau died.—A native Ibing, where he opened a small shop in 1837, hau built Germany’s first steam dredger, engined f the earliest German steam men-of-war, and * a famous constructor of locomotives and tor- “January 25, 1917. George Andrew Hobson died.—As tner with the late Sir Douglas Fox, Hobson was esponsible for many pioneering construction works jin America and South Africa, his most remarkable | rork being the railway bridge over the Zambezi River tt the Victoria Falls, the central span of which is 90 ft. long with a rise of 90 ft. He also worked out he plans for generating electricity at the Victoria for the gold-mines of the Rand. EC. S; NO. 2725, VOL. 109] NATURE 93 Societies and Academies. Lonpon. Royal Society, December 8, 1921.—Sir CC. S. Sherrington, president, in the chair.—Lord Rayleigh : A. study of the glow of phosphorus: Periodic luminosity and action of inhibiting substances. The intermittent or periodic luminosity observed when the last traces of oxygen are being removed from air by means of phosphorus, or when air is allowed slowly to leak into an exhausted vessel containing phos- phorus, requires the presence of water-vapour. Moderate drying (e.g. by sulphuric acid) makes the glow perfectly steady. Water-vapour has therefore the power of inhibiting the combination of phosphorus- vapour and oxygen within certain limits. When the composition of the mixture becomes favourable beyond those limits, a wave of combustion is propagated. Other substances are known to inhibit the glow of phosphorus, and exhibit the above phenomena in a more striking form than water. Camphor, ammonia, and pear-oil are among the most effective. The pro- pagation of these waves of combustion cannot be attributed to the rise of temperature of one layer igniting the next layer, for the rise of temperature is too small. An alternative theory of the propagation is proposed, which assumes that it depends on the provision of nuclei, as in the propagation of crystal- lisation through a super-cooled liquid. On this basis a theory of the action of the inhibitors or ‘negative catalysts ’”? is developed.—Lord Rayleigh: The aurora line in the spectrum of the night sky. The spectrum of the night sky at Terling (near London) has been photographed systematically. The aurora line at wave-length 5578 A.U. is recotded on about two nights out of three. Its intensity on ordinary nights is not obviously related either to the amount of mag- netic disturbance or to the transit of spots over the sun’s central meridian. The intensity in the neigh- bourhood of Newcastle is notably less than near London, thus the effect appears to increase towards the south. It appears, therefore, to be due to some different cause from the Polar aurora. The aurora line does not coincide with krypton, and experiments to determine its origin gave negative results.—E. F. Armstrong and T. P. Hilditch; A study of catalytic actions at solid surfaces. VII.: The influence of pressure on the rate of hydrogenation of liquids in presence of nickel. The comparative rates of ab- sorption of hydrogen at different pressures by a variety of unsaturated compounds in presence of nickel have been studied; the relation between the hydrogen pres- sure and the rate of hydrogenation is dependent on the type of organic compound examined.- Simple ethylenic compounds are hydrogenated at rates almost proportional to the absolute pressure of the hydrogen. At very low concentrations of catalyst the increase in rate of hydrogenation becomes less than proportional to the increase in pressure. If the unsaturated com- pound contains another group which has affinity towards nickel, but is not open to hydrogenation, in- crease in hydrogen pressure causes an increase in the rate of hydrogen absorption. These results are in harmony with the authors’ theorv that catalytic hydro- genation is primarily conditioned by an association of the ethylenic linkage with the catalyst, the latter being also associated with hydrogen.—W. D. Womersley : The energy in air, steam, and carbon dioxide from 100° C. to 2000° C. Hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixed with either air or oxvgen were exploded in a Hopkinson recording calorimeter for explosions. ' Curves showing the energy in the various gases and 04 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 the mean volumetric heats from 100° C. to 2000° C. are given. The values are, where comparable, about 7} per cent. higher than those of Holborn and Henning. The difficulty in estimating the heat liberated in a closed-vessel explosion is due probably to a spontaneous time reaction between the com- bustible gas and oxygen when the two are mixed, in which. about 10 per cent, of the gas is consumed. The combustion of carbon monoxide is considerably slower than that of hydrogen. This makes the esti- mation of the heat liberated in the carbon monoxide experiments very uncertain.—J. W. Gifford: Atmo- spheric pressure and refractive indices, with a corre- sponding table of indices of optical glass. The modulus of rigidity for glass precludes its being sensibly affected by pressure, and therefore any pres- sure effect must be due to air alone. —Two measurements of refractive index of the same wave-length, at dif- ferent temperatures, are made, and by means of a new formula the refraction temperature-coefficient at standard pressure for 1° C, is determined. Using this as a final correction, indices for other wave-lengths at standard pressure and observed temperature may be brought to standard pressure and temperature (15° C.).—H. P. Waran: A new form of interfero- meter. A thin layer of transparent liquid floating over mercury is employed as a parallel plate interfero- meter—a substitute for Lummer and Ghercke’s glass plate. Viscous castor-oil was successfully used, but its poor transparency stood in the way of securing high resolving power. The disturbing influence of the tremors of the ground was overcome by mounting the trough on a float suspended from the ceiling in a tank of water carried on a massive brick pillar with deep-laid foundations.—H. Harle: The viscosities of the hydrogen halides. An experimental determination of the coefficients of viscosity of the gaseous hydrogen halides was undertaken with the view of affording a check upon the theoretical investigation by A. O. Rankine on the diameters of unsymmetrical mole- cules. The method of continuous transpiration through a capillary tube was employed, using the known data for air. The gases were liquefied, and, by con- trolling the ‘evaporation, established their own steady pressure while transpiring through the tube. The volumes of gas passing in a given time were found by absorbing in water and titrating with standard alkali solutions. Values of » were obtained at two tempera- tures, round about 15° C. and 100° C., and from them Sutherland’s constant of temperature variation is calculated for each of the gases. Paris. Academy of Sciences, January 3.—M. E. Bertin in the chair.—J. Effrent: The distinctive properties of amylases of different origins. Specimens of amylase of different origins can be distinguished by the ratio between their liquefying power and sugar formed, by the optimum temperature when acted upon by diastase, and by their resistance to temperatures of 70°, 95°, and 100° C.,—P. Montel: Quasi-normal families.—M. Auric: The generalisation of continued fractions.—MM. Gossot and Liouville: The principles of interior ballistics—G. Sagnac: Newtonian in- variants of matter: and of radiant energy and the mechanical ether of variable waves.—H. Chaumat ; The ballistic galvanometer.—R. Jouaust: The recep- tion of waves maintained by modulation. In wire- less telegraphy the detectors utilised at the receiving end give a very low yield. In the modification sug- gested the intensity of the current circulating normally in the receiving apparatus is modulated periodically with a given frequency. A current audible in a tele- phone is thus obtained the amplitude of which is half NO. 2725, VOL. 109] The coccidia of marsh birds. that circulating in the receiving apparatus. The method has been applied practically. in transmission — ——S we between Lyons and Paris, and proved to give in- — creased sensibility.—M. Taffin: The annealing of © glass. apply rigorously to glass. the experiments of Adams and Williamson, and pro- poses two modifications of their formula. The experi- — mental results are compared with the three formule. —R. Fosse and A. Hieulle: The synthesis of hydro- cyanic acid by oxidation, in ammonio-silver solution, — of alcohols, phenols, and amines. In presence of ammonia and silver nitrate, hydrocyanic acid is one of the products of oxidation of various alcohols, phenols, and amines by permanganate. Quantitative figures are given for forty compounds, methylamine giving the highest proportion.—L. of the phosphates of Morocco. A study of the fossils in the phosphate deposits of Morocco leads to the conclusion that they are mainly Cretaceous.—P. Viennot : The abnormal contact of the north Pyrenean The formula given by Kundt in 1881 has been recently shown by Adams and Williamson not to — The author has extended Gentil; The age © Flysch at the north of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.—P. — Négris: Atlantis and the quaternary regression. A summary of facts proving a lowering of the level of the Atlantic by the subsidence of the sea-floor, and a discussion of the bearing of these facts on the legends of the submerged continent Atlantis. The facts cited include the form of the submarine floor of the Hudson River, the markings on the Island of Siphnos (Greece) up to a level of 700 metres, and the levels of the wood débris deposited by the Gulf Stream on Iceland.— A. Allemand-Martin : The lignites of Cap-Bon (Tunis). These lignites are comprised between the leveis con-— taining Turritella fimbriata, Cerithium lignitarum, and that of Ostrea crassissima; they are nearer the Tortonian period than the Helvetian.—L. Moret: The presence of limestones containing Alveolina, probably — of Auversian age, at the base of the Nummulitic of © the Arache plateau (Massif de Plati, Haute-Savoie).— — J. Savornin: The watershed of the Oum er Rebia | (Morocco) and the general hydrography of the Moroccan middle Atlas.—P. Lesage: Study of saline — plants during the period in which anomalies are pro- — duced.—R. Combes : bases of anthocyanidines in. plant tissues. The detection of the pseudo-— The «| results obtained by Noack on the extraction of the © pseudo-bases of anthocyanidines from plant tissues - are shown to be untrustworthy; the colour reactions obtained were probably due to the presence of phloba- — tannins.—M. Martin-Zédé : tion on the success of the transplantation of trees. The influence of orienta- — In trees transplanted without reference to their — original orientation the loss in the following winter was 50 per cent., but taking care that the sides of the trees facing north were transplanted with the same — orientation the loss was reduced to about 7 per cent.— M. and Mme. A. Chauchard; The measurement of the excitability of a secretory nerve: tympanic chord and the sub-maxillary gland.—R. Stumper; poison of ants, and in particular formic acid. A proof ae: 3 that no other volatile acid than’ formic acid is present — in ant poison.—A. Lécaillon: The~ characters of a hybrid issuing from the union of Cairina moschata and Chenalopes aegypticus.—R. Courrier: The in- dependence of the seminal gland and the secondary Experimental study.— — sexual characters in’ fishes. R. Hovasse : The regulation of the number of chromo- somes in the parthenogenetic embryos of the reddish- brown frog. Its mechanism.—L. Léger and E. Hesse : The genus Jarrina.— A, Sartory and L. Moinson: A _case- of . bronchial moniliasis. The -fungus Monilia: Pinoyi was isolated. from the sputum of a patient suspected of tuberculosis.— _ [ ANUARY 19, 1922] =. NATURE 95 Rousselot and A. Marie: A peculiarity of audition n of syphilis.—A. Zimmern and E. Salles: The fraphic study of the colour change of barium cyanide in the Villard effect. SYDNEY. nm Society of New South Wales, November 30, fr. G. A. Waterhouse, president, in the chair. th and W. Greenwood: The food-plants or some ot eg insects. A guide to the economic gy of the Fiji Islands. The nature of the the economic status of the insect, and the of its food-plant or host are indicated.—J. G. The Australian apple leafhopper (T'yphlocyba Frogg.). This species has been introduced Zealand, where it does considerable damage foliage of apple and hawthorn, signs of its being rusty spots and patches on both sides and old leaves.—Vera Irwin-Smith : Notes on s of the genus Physaloptera, with special se to those parasitic in reptiles. A list of the parasitic in each group is followed by a review found in reptiles, with special reference to stribution in Australia. All known reptilian the genus, with the species parasitic in each, } given.—A. R. McCulloch: Notes on, and deécrip- as of, Australian fishes (2). Most of the fishes dis- . were hitherto imperfectly known.—M. B. Ich: The occurrence of oil ducts in certain Euca- s and Angophoras. Ducts occur in the medulla of stems and leaves of certain Eucalypts of the ze class and of Angophora lanceolata. They oil similar to that in the leaf oil glands— not directly connected therewith—and function reservoirs. The ducts indicate a primitive _and show a close phylogenetic affinity ucalypts and Angophoras. “he E 1 Union of Scientific Workers. September, 1921. Pp. 36. Botanic 0 tani Gardens, Kew. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Informa- 3 Bt cag 2 Rta ac ' Bee gion of Miscel- ‘formation: Af -1922. Pp. 28. - net. (London: oa Peek Survey of India. Vol. 40, Part 3: the ot ee ee abs Reig Province. By oe. +xxii+plates 70-88. y; London: Indian Trade Ge Annual Report for (London: 25 Victoria ientific Papers of the Bureau of of the Modulation Tube in Radio lephone- ngton. mniversity of Illinois Bulletin. University of | 8 etin. nginee ing Experiment Statio z ur Soa sf Sipe : a oem and T. Fraser. ot ana: eering Experimen tation; London: 1 and Hall, Ltd.) a n of the National Research Council. Vol. 2, Part 7, No. 15: of Seismologic Stations of the World. Compiled by H. 0. Pp. 397-538. (Washington: National Research Council.) ‘Zealand. Department of Mines: Geological Survey Branch. No. 23 (new series): Geology and Mineral Resources of eet et J. Park. Pp. vi+88+8 plates+2 maps. Diary of Societies. S THURSDAY, Janvary 19. Institution or Great Britain, at 3.—S. Gordon: Mountain ds of Scotland. : Soctety, at 4.30.—Prof. L. Hill, H. M. Vernon, and D. H. The Kata-Thermometer as a Measure of Ventilation.— ol. ©. B. Heald and Maj. W. 8S. Tucker: Recoil Curves NO. 2725, VOL. 109] us Shown by the Hot-wire Microphone—E. W. A. Walker: The Occurrence and Development of Dys-agglutinable, Eu- agglutinable, and Hyper-agglutinable Forms of Certain Bacteria. —Marjory Stephenson and Margaret Whetham: Studies in the Fat Metabolism of the Timothy Grass Bacillus.—J. A. Gardner and F. W. Fox: The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. Part 12: The Excretion of Sterols in Man. —Dr. S. J. Lewis: The Ultra-violet Absorption Spectra and the Optical Rotation of the Proteins of the Blood Sera. LINNEAN Socrety or Lonpon, at 5.—Dr. E. Marion Delf: Studies in Macrocystis pyrifera, the Giant Alga of the Southern Tem- pee Zone.—J. L. ©. Musters: The Flora of Jan Mayen sland. Roya Soctrery or Mepicine (Dermatology Section), at 5. INSTITUTION OF MINING AND Metatiurey (at Geological Societv), at 5.30.—J. F. Allan: A Typical Example of Magmatic In- jection —W. E. Whitehead: Steep Sights in Underground Surveys. Royat Arronavricat Socrety (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— Brig.-Gen. R. K. Bagnall-Wild: Aeroplane Installation. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Joint Meeting with Institu- tion of Heating and Ventilating Engineers), at 6.—Discussion: The Utilisation of Waste Heat from Electrical Generating Stations, with the following Introductory Papers: C. I. Haden: Utilisation of Exhaust Steam from Electric Generating Stations, and Coal Economy.—F. H. Whysall: The Utilisation of Waste Heat from Electrical Generating Stations. Cuemicat Soctety, at 8.—Prof. A. Smithells: Models of the Lewis- Langmuir Atom, with Explanations. Royat Socrety or Tropica, MEDICINE AND HyGirene (at 11 Chandos Street, W.1), at 8.15.—Dr. E. J. Butler: Some Relations be- tween Vegetable and Human Pathology. FRIDAY, Janvary 20. Institute or Transport (at Royal Society of Arts) (Graduates’ and Students’ Lecture), at 5.—G. T. Hedge: The Operation of an Important Railway Goods Terminal. Royrat AsTrRoNomicaL Society, at 5.—Geophysical Discussion on Isostasy: Capt. Alessio, Col. Sir G. P. Lenox-Conyngham, Prof. Plumbach, and others. Col. H. G@. Lyons in the chair. Royat CoLmteGe OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture: The Mongolian Face and its Modifica- tions. Roya, Socrery or Mepictne (Otology Section), at 5.—A. Tweedie: Short Account of the Research Work being conducted in Utrecht on the Saccular, Utricular, and Allied Reflexes (continued). INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—H. S. Denny and N. V. S. Knibbs: Some Observations on a Producer-gas Power Plant. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (London Students’ Section), at 7.—L. T. Hinton: Some Applications of the Thermionic Valve to Telephony. GroLogists’ ASsocIATION (at University College), Hassledine: Olassifications of the Pleistocene Age. ; Jcvnior INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Lecturette: Geology in its Relation to Engineering. : g Rorat Soctery or MEpIcINE (Electro-therapeutics Section), at 8,30.— Dr. Zimmern, Dr. Agnes Savill, Dr. Sloan-Chesser, Dr. C. A. Robinson. Dr. W. J. Turrell, and others: Discussion: Electro- therapy in Gynecology. Royrat InstiruTrion or Great Britain, at 9.—Sir James Dewar: Soap Films and Molecular Forces. SATURDAY, Janvany 21. British Mycoroercat Socrery (in Botany Lecture Theatre, Univer- sity College), at 11 a.m—Dr. W. Brown: The Germination and Growth of Fungi at Various Temperatures and in Various Atmospheres.—Miss D. M. Cayley: Die Back of Stone Fruits due to Diaporthe. Perniciosa and the Behaviour of Monospore Cultures in Artificial Media—W. B. Crow: The Morpholory and Affinities of Leuconostoc Mesenteroides.—Dr. H. Wormald: Notes on Orown-gall.—Dr. ©. Rayner: Obligate Symbiosis in Calluna.—W. J. Dowson: Michaelmas Daisy Wilt. Roya, INsTiTuTIoN oF GREAT BRITATN, at 3.—Dr. C. Macpherson: The Evolution of Organ Music (1). MONDAY, Janvary 23. PuystotocicaL Society (at King’s College).—Annual Meeting. Vicroria Instirute (at Central Buildings, Westminster), at 4.30.— . T. Klein: The Invisible is the Real, the Visible is only its Shadow. . Royat CoLteGe oF SuRGEONS oF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture: The European Face and its Chief Varia- tions in Type. : INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7.— R. J. Mitehell and others: Discussion: Electric Vehicles: Present and Future. : INstTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Graduates’ Meeting), at 7.—F. A. Best: Airships. Rorat InstituTe or British ArcuHitects, at 8.—Prof. W. Rothen- stein: Architectural Draughtsmanship. Royat Soctety or Arts, at 8.—C. Ainsworth Mitchell: Inks (Cantor Lectures) (1). Mrptcat Socrery or Lonpon, at 8.30.—Dr. F. J. Poynton and Dr. J. W. MeNee: A Case resembling Leukemia, but presenting unusual Clinical and Pathological Features.—T. H. Kellock: A Method of Treating Abscesses—Dr. W. Broadbent: Observa- tions on Heart Disease. Rorat Groegrapnican Socrery (at olian Hall), at 830—C. J. Edmonds: Luristan. at 7.30.—S. General? 96 NATURE [JANUARY 19, 1922 TUESDAY, JanvdAry 24. Royat InstirvrTion or Great Britarn, at 3.—Dr. F. H. A. Mar- shall: Physiology as Applied to Agriculture (2). Newcomen Society (at Caxton Hall), at 5.—Dr. T. E. Jones: Mechanics of Engineering from the Time of Aristotle to that of Archimedes. Royat Society or Mepicine (Medicine Section), at _5.30.—Dr. C. Boulton, Sir Cuthbert Wallace, Dr. Ryffel, and Dr. A. E. Bar- clay: Discussion: The Diagnosis of Gastric Ulcer. INSTITUTION OF CIvin. ENGINEERS, at 6.—A. W. Rendell: Control of Trains, in Relation to Increased Weight and Speed Com- bined with Reduced Headway.—Sir Henry Fowler and H. Gresley: Trials in Connection with the Application of the Vacuum- -brake for Long Freight Trains. Women’s ENGINEERING Socrery (at 26 George Street, W.1), at 6.15. —Miss Gwynne Howell: Domestic Engineering. Royat PHoroerarHic Soctery or Great Britarn, at 7.—O. M. Thomas: The Plate and the Photographer. INstTituTeE OF INDUSTRIAL ADMINISTRATION (at London School of Economics), at 8.—J. M. Fells: Industrial Economics in Rela- tion to the Bearing on National Welfare of the Ascertainment of Cost, with discussion by Sir Lynden Macassey, Sir James Martin, and others. Royat ANrTHRopoLoGicaL Institute, at 8,15.—Anniversary Meeting. WEDNESDAY, Janvary 25. Roya CoLteGe OF SuRGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture: The Study of Certain Aberrant Types: Bushmen, Eskimo, Lapp, and Ainu. InstitvTeE OF COxemiIstry (London and _ South-Eastern Counties Section) (at 30 Russell Square, W.C.1), at 6 —Exhibition of Apparatus other than Glassware. INSTITUTION OF Cryin ENnGrineERS (Students’ Meeting), at 6.—E. W. Monkhouse: The Economic Aspects of Various Methods of Power- transmission. Royan Socrety or Arts, at 8—H. M. Edmunds: Photo-sculpture. Royat Soctrry or Mepicrne, at 9.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith : The Rhodesian Skull. THURSDAY, Janvany 26. Royat Institution oF GREAT Britarn, at 3.—S. Gordon: Sea Birds _and Seals. Royat Sociery, at 4.30—Probable Papers——W. B. Hardy and Ida Doubleday: Boundary Lubrication: The Paraffin Series.—Prof. W. A. Bone, A. R. Pearson, E. Sinkinson, and W. E. Stockings: Researches on the Chemistry of Coal. Part 2: .The Resinic Constituents and Coking Propensities of Coals.—Dr. J. “ Crowther and B. J. Schonland: The Scattering of f-rays.— Ann ©. Davies: The Minimum Electron Energies associated with the Excitation of the Spectra of Helium.—C. N. Hinshelwood, H. Hartley, and B. Topley: The Infiuence of Temperature on Two Alternative Modes of Decomposition of Formic Acid.— Prof.-C. V. Raman: The Molecular Scattering of Light in Water and the Colour of the Sea. Concrete InstituTr, at 7.30.—E. B. Moullin: Concrete, and the Percolation of Water through Them. Royat Microscopican Socrety (Metallurgical Section), at 7.30.— H. Wrighton: Demonstration of Polishing Metal Specimens. Royat Socrety or Mepicine (Urology Section), at 8.30 FRIDAY, January 27. ASSOCIATION OF Economic BronoGists (in Botanical Theatre, Imperial College of Science and Technology), Prof. E. P. Stebbing and others: Discussion: of Scientific Research in Forestry and_ its Empire. Royat Soctery or Arts (Indian Section), at 4.30.—A. L. Howard: The Timbers of India and Burma Puystcat Socrrty or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5. Royat CouieGe or os RGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lee+ture: The Facial Characteristics of the Races native to India. : JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, and the Boiler-house. Royat INnstrrvTron oF Great Britany, at 9.—Viscount Burnham: Journalism. Capillary Canals in Lecture at 2.30.— The Importance Position in the at 8.—L. M. Jockel: Tuels - SATURDAY, Janvary 28. Essex Firrp Cxiup (in Physical Lecture Theatre, West Ham Municipal College), at 3.—C. Nicholson: The Rosy-Marbled Moth (Frastria venustula) in Britain (with special reference to Essex). rah Morris: Some. Neolithic Sites in the Valley of the Essex am, Royat Institution oF GRxEAT- BRITAIN, at 3. —Dr. C. Macpherson : The Evolution of Organ Music (2). PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in @ series.) THURSDAY, January 19. Krye’s Coitrer, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced yp (1). St. JOHN’s Hospitat FOR DISEASKS OF THE SKIN, at 6.—Dr. W. roid Diseases of the Skin Appendages (Chesterfield. “Lee- ure). FRIDAY, Janvany 20. METEOROLOGICAL Orricr, SovurH KENSINGTON, at 3.--Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (1). MIppLFsEx Hospitan Mepican ScHoor, at 3.—Sir James Kingston Fowler: Diagnosis (Emeritus Lecture). NO, 2725, VOL. 109] ' Kine’s. Cortece, at 5.—Prof. -R. Robinson: Orientation and Con? jugation in Organic Chemistry from the Standpoint of .the © Theories of Partial Valency and of Latent Polarity of Atoms (1), i Ktne’s Coxriece,. at’ 5.30.—Rev. Dr. F. A. P. eee Matter =o Mind, and Man. SATURDAY, JANUARY 21. University Oottece, at 10.30. a.m.—A. Chaston Chapman: ‘Seated ry What it is, and what it does (Lecture for. Teachers). Lonpon Day Traintna Cotiecr, at 11 a:m.—Prof. J. Adams : h School Class (1). _ abou Glee te, MONDAY, Janvary 23. eee ie Kine’s Cortrer, at 5.30. —Prof. co. L. Fortescue: Wireless steal ting Valves (1). ; TUESD AY, January 24. AME Krve’s Cortecer, at 5.30.—F. H. Rolt: Accurate Monwasieamiees in’ : _ Mechanical Engineering : The Use and Testing of Gauges (1). WEDNESDAY, Janvary 25. Horniman Mvsevm (Forest Hill), at 6—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (1). THURSDAY, January 26. if University Coiiecn, at 5.15.—B. S. Rowntree: Industrial Dosen Kine’s Cotteae, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete ight i St. JOHN’s HospitaL FoR DISEASES OF THE Skin, at 6.—Dr. W. K. Sibley : Alopecia and its Treatment (Chesterfield Lecture). FRIDAY, January 27. 2 MerroncLoarcat: Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier — Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (2). Tavistock CLintc ror FuncrionaL Nerve Cases (at the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: *The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (1). SATURDAY, January 28. ' Lonpon Day TRAINING Cotear, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. ‘cea The — School Class (2). (Forest Hill), Horntman Museum at 3.30.—F. Balfour-Browne : The Life and Habits of Mason Bees. Saat CONTENTS. PAGE British Scientific Instruments... (65 The History of Zeeman’s Discovery, and its Recep- tion in England. By Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. . 66 The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. 69 Fish Preservation. i Prof. J. Stanley Gardiner, F.R.S. . sie Mit g EI on a ele Our Bookshelf tts OME Ga er Co eee Letters to the Editor :— i Generalised Lines of Force.—Sir Oliver Lodge, | FURS as Ase 2 aa Units in Aeronautics.—Sir G. Greenhill, rie 74, Space and Ather.—S. V. Ramamurty ...... 75 Anisotropy of Molecules.—Prof. C, V. Raman... 75 The Resonance Theory of Hearing._-Dr. H. Hart- ridge . 76. A Curious Physiological Phenoménon. wedi H, Shaxby Structures and Habits Associated with Courtship: Dr. J. C. Mottrem Spontaneous Ignition of Peaty Soils. —E. A. Andrews Microscope Illumination and Falignes -- sos Denham. . Soersy Tin Plague and Arctic Relics. fen Sheppard . Peale Inheritance of a Cheek-Mole.—G. W. Harris .- . War Against Insects. By Dr. L. O. Howard. What the Public Wants: A Study of the American Museum of Natural History. (///ustrated) . Obituary :— ; aye Dr. Edward Hopkinson, M.P. By Sir Napier Shaw, F.R.S. Pata bee Pee Sir William Matthews, K,C, M. -G.. Fp ee Notes rekes Our Astronomical Column :— ; The Origin of Binary Stars . .. 1. + 1 1s The Orbit of Castor: ©2502: .5 es, ae eee ee Spectrum ofa Cygni. co Va ae Congas of Philosophy in ‘Paris £3, bp ee Geographical . Outlooks rrr on The Bow in Homeric Times . WAR We el 5103 University and Educational Intelligence Sn ay Calendar of Industrial Pioneers .......4.4.--. Societies and Academies ....... cium Official Publications Received .......... Diary: of Societies = . ..: :2. .s.. author's own experiments, resulting a type considerably more efficient than -known Wimshurst machine. He claims / a source of high potential supply, high-speed influence machine designed on right limes should be as efficient as an ion coil with all its accessories, and that, ly on account: of the continuity of its: supply he higher voltage available, it should give results for Réntgen-ray work, particularly tubes for high penetration. Other fields in 1 he suggests that such machines may prove 1. include applications to wireless telegraphy, ture, eleetro-therapeutics, ignition, and evooning. of materials. Ithough we find here and there a little looseness expression and vagueness in quantitative state there is evidence of clear thinking in the con- on.of.a consistent theory of the action of these es from the mass of incomplete explanation 5 covers the universities, which is. diffused. among the piarti literature on the subject. There is also .some thoroughly prac- tical information as to the construction of these machines. The Transition. Spiral.and.its Introduction to Rail- way Curves. By A, L. Higgins. Pp. viii+ 111. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 6s. net. Tue, early part of this book is devoted to a dis- cussion on the principles underlying transition curves. The objects of a transition curve on a railway are 'to provide a gradual increase in curva- ture from zero at the point of contact of the curve and the straight part of the line of rails to a. curvature equal to that of the central circular portion. of the curve, and also to provide for a corresponding increase in .the superelevation. Special attention is given to the clothoid (or Glover’s spiral) A=m./¢, and the mathematical work required to elucidate this curve is carefully and clearly explained. The conditions which govern the lengths. of transition curves are ade- quately discussed. The engineer may ‘be called upon to insert transition curves in existing lines of railway and also in new lines, and for either purpose he will find the explanations of the pro- cedure given in this book of great service. The latter half of the book is entirely taken) up with field exercises fully worked out, which include not only the ordinary problems, but also problems in compound curves and reverse curves. This part is especially valuable, and cannot fail to be of use to railway engineers. We can recommend this book with confidence both to students of euCyay: ing and to railway engineers. The New Hazell Annual and Almanack for the Year 1922. ‘By Dr. T. A. Ingram. Thirty- seventh year of issue. Pp. xlvi+585.. (London: Henry Frowde, Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., 1922.) 5s. net. Tue new volume of Hazell’s Annual will receive a cordial welcome from .all who have occasion to make use of reference books. It is: smaller by about two hundred and thirty pages than the volume issued last year, the sections dealing specifically with the Overseas Dominions and with foreign countries having been omitted, but the omission has enabled the publishers to make a handsome reduc- tion in the:price. We.also miss several of the in- teresting: surveys of the progress in particular sub- jects during the previous year which have hitherto been included. Other features of past volumes, such as the calendars, astronomical and meteor- ological data for the current year, and a compilation of the particulars of societies and institutions, which includes, ‘most of the better-known British and foreign learned societies, have been retained. A large amount of educational information which colleges, and secondary | schools in the British Isles has also been gathered together, The volume is a. yaluable book of refer- ence on matters of genera] interest. ; E* 104 NATURE [ JANUARY 26, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspend with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Some Problems in Evolution. Since I am not, in the ordinary meaning, a bio- logist, I have sometimes difficulty in understanding biological language. - Doubtless, also, I am often ignorant of recent developments in knowledge .and thought. But certain problems of disease and educa- tion interest me, and I cannot get on with them unless some points, essentially biological, are cleared up. In the hope of enlightenment I wrote to NaTurRE. Immediately the discussion became acrimonious : least, I became acrimonious. I was told, in effect, that I had no business in the august deliberations of biologists. It is not in human nature, or my variety of it, to accept that pontifical attitude. However, there seems now some prospect of the desired lucidity, and I shall be very ready to accept it with an humble and a contrite heart. I fear, however, that Dr. Cunningham’s letter in Nature of January 12 does not greatly help. He writes :—‘‘Sir Archdall Reid argues, as though it were a remarkable discovery, that characters are not present as such in the fertilised ovum from which an | organism develops.’’ But is that quite fair? I argued only that if, as all biologists are aware, no characters as such are present in the germ, then it must follow that, in the case of any and every character, nothing but germinal potentiality (pre- disposition, diathesis, capacity, ability) to produce (in response to fitting nurture) can be_ transmitted; whence it follows further that all characters are alike as regards innateness, acquiredness, and inheritability ; whence, again, it follows that if we classify characters with respect to these qualities, there is, as Prof. Goodrich says, only one kind of character. On the other hand, as all biologists know (I protest I do not claim this as a new discovery), there are two kinds of variations: (a) those which result from germinal, and (b) those which result from nurtural, differences. Of course, we can classify characters in all sorts of ways, useful and useless—according to colour, | weight, size, shape, obviousness of recapitulation, frequency of reproduction, and so on. In a classifica- tion which physiologists have found useful, characters are ranked according to the influences which cause them to develop. This tabulation has the merit of forcing the inquirer to bear in mind the plain truth that frequency of reproduction depends (except when germinal variations occur) altogether on the frequency with which fitting nurtures are experienced, and not at all on the frequency of inheritance. For example, under this scheme of classification the inquirer bears in mind ‘that rose comb and single comb in poultry are not more inheritable than corns on oarsmen’s hands, but that they are more frequently reproduced only because the proper nurture is more frequently experienced. With respect to inheritance, his mind is fixed on the nature of the individual (the germ- plasm); with respect to reproduction, on the nurture received. Moreover, the student is compelled to realise that when he transfers the distinguishing terms “‘innate,” ‘‘acquired,”’ and ‘“‘inheritable ” from likenesses and differences between individuals to the characters in which those likenesses and differences are revealed, he has shifted his ground. thing to compare ‘separate individuals, NO. 2726, VOL. 109] It is one at . and quite | another thing to compare characters which may occur in the same individual. The old terms may still be applicable; but that is the question which has been raised. It will be gathered that they do not seem applicable to me, and that their constant — and (to me) inexplicable transference is one of the causes of my puzzlement. It may be noted also that Darwin, in all that remains vermanent of his work, used these terms in relation to variations, while Lamarck and Weismann applied them especially to characters. I may be mistaken, but I believe that I am right when I say that no one (including Darwin) has ever doubted the all-sufficiency of natural selection unless he has, in his thinking, transferred the terms ‘“‘innate,’”? ‘‘acquired,’’ and ‘‘inheritable’? from variations to characters, or has confused inheritance with reproduction. es Again, we may employ our words with unusua meanings and reason on that basis. Thus “inherit ”’ may be used in the sense of ‘‘reproduce,’? when, of course, the ‘‘intensity of inheritance ’’ of combs is infinitely greater than that of corns. But now we are asking for trouble and in sight of confusion. We are in danger of using as counters in thought and discussion, not realities in nature, but mere werds. Our inquiries, notwithstanding our language, relate not to the natures of individuals, but to their nurtures. Does or. does not the impure dominant inherit the recessive trait which it does not reproduce? Does the pure extracted recessive which is unlike its parent inherit nothing? When a pigeon or a fowl belonging to a fancy breed reproduces the wild ances- tral coloration, from whom does it inherit? From an exceedingly remote ancestor? . It passes my non- biological comprehension to understand how an indi- vidual can inherit except through, and therefore — from, his parent. In practice the difficulty is sur- mounted by using ‘inherit ’? with the usual, or with the unusual, meaning as exigencies of argument dic- tate. For example, Dr. Cunningham employs the word with the ordinary meaning when he declares “‘a character may be inherited when it is apparent only in one parent or in neither,’’ and with the unusual meaning when he insists that combs are more inherit- able than corns. Consider the Lamarckian dictum: ‘‘ Acquired as well as innate characters are inheritable ’’; and the neo-Darwinian : ‘‘ Innate, but not acquired, characters are inheritable.’”? What do “innate ”’ and ‘‘ acquired ”’ mean here? No one can tell. Definitions are im- possible, for none can be framed which cover the whole of common and accepted usage. What does ‘inherit’? mean? When applied to “innate” characters it may have, as already indicated, ordinary meaning, or it may mean “reproduce.”’ If a cock reproduced a comb under the same conditions as those in which its parent produced it (in response to similar nurture) all biologists would regard the comb as inherited—and rightly, for reproduction under the same conditions implies inheritance, though inheritance does not necessarily imply repro- duction. The case “acquired ’’ characters. If a ¢hild reproduced an is different with respect to — oarsman’s corn under the same -conditions as the — parent produced it, few biologists would regard the corn as inherited. It would be regarded as inherited only if the child developed it under conditions in © which the parent did not and could not have developed it. .The word now means ‘‘vary,’’ i.e. non-inherit, for non-inheritance is variation. an acquired character is not inherited when it is in- herited, and is inherited when, it is not inherited— i.e. a single word in a single sentence has two con-— It seems, then, that NATURE Re meanings. Biologists say they understand one Other, and therefore I suppose they do; but I wish, pity, they would enlighten me. Why do arckidans and neo-Datwinians say “inherit” n they mean “vary ’’?? Why do Mendelians and metricians say “inherit ’? when they mean “ repro- e’? Meanwhile, I cannot help suspecting that ing is wrong. Consider what has happened— ck’s theory and half a century of stasis; n’s brilliant lucidity and twenty years of pro- with biology in its splendour, a great intel- force; Weismann’s effort, and nearly half a of controversy, with interest in the subject to some (not all) zoologists and botanists, and these few’a majority resentful of trespassers. propose in two or three letters to adopt the physio- classification when dealing with three or four gical subjects. Biologists, I hope, will be tolerant ards one who uses this classification because, nittedly, he does not understand the difficult uage they speak. ~G. ARCHDALL Rep. Victoria Road South, Southsea, January 16. Atmospheric Refraction. , is surely wrong in suggesting in Nature ary 5, p. 8, that the difference between Mr. figure for the radius of curvature of a nearly il ray and that given by Dr. de Graaff Hunter ited for by any consideration of the curvature _wave-front. If such were the case, then an er looking towards the sea horizon would see a of light in different_directions for different initial tures of the wave-front. Suppose an observer the bridge of a ship were looking at a search- placed at sea-level at the extreme limit of visi- _ The rays of the searchlight beam would be ‘waves, those coming from the barrel of the it spherical. Does Dr. Ball wish us to infer in such circumstances the visible beam would ar to the observer to issue from a point above the tor ?—for that is what his suggestion leads to. . my mind, a great deal of the confusion between tion figures given by different authorities lies in attempt to connect refraction with variations era before they have properly considered ject from the point of view of variations in re index. If we assume that, over the sea at ey the refractive index stratification is one a} ical and concentric with the earth, then general equation of any ray of light is _ pn=constant, n is the refractive index and p the perpendicular the tangent to the ray from the earth’s centre erman, “Geometrical Optics,” p. 305, or Heath, netrical Optics,’’ p. 329). is the distance of any point upon the ray from he earth’s centre, h the height of the point above the arth 'y cali and R the earth’s radius, then od: ae »w m must be some function of the height=f(h)= R), and hence the “p, r”’ equation of the ray is tte g sea eel bf(r+)R) =constant=C. radius of curvature of the ray is thus « Es oar 7 n Lmift- RP df . ; arial a dr PAS sah iad Cl dh F $ we are dealing with a ray which is nearly hori- NO. 2726, VOL. 109] zontal, variations in r and n* cannot have large effects upon «. . The variations in r might amount to 1 part in 200,000, if the ray never gets above too ft. above the surface of the sea; the refractive index, which at the sea-level is 100029, could scarcely be reduced below 100027 in the same height, so that variations in n? could not exceed 4 parts in 100,000. It follows that the curvature of such rays is essentially proportional to the refractive index gradient. Since by Dale and Gladstone’s law n—1 is proportional to p, the density, the curvature of the ray-path becomes immediately proportional to the density-gradient. If we attempt to translate density-gradient into temperature-gradient, I see no means of doing so other than by making the assumption that the atmosphere is statically in equilibrium, in which case the formule given in my letter in Nature of January 5 result immediately. But I have the gravest doubts of the legitimacy of such an assumption for the lower levels of the air. A steady motion leading to a dynamical relationship between pressure, density, and temperature is much more likely, but is, from the mathematician’s point of view, a hopeless thing to try to set down owing to the impossibility of dealing with all the factors of the problem, such as rate of radiation of heat-energy from the earth or sea, rate of thermal conduction in the air, nature of the upward air-currents, and so on. If however, we leave all such considerations aside and deal only with the established connections between curvature of the ray-path and the density-gradient, then we can only admit uniform curvature if we are prepared to admit that the density of the air in its lower levels is a linear function of the height. To such an admission I take the strongest exception. It is quite insufficient to account for a refraction of the visible sea horizon above the true horizontal—a pheno- menon which, as every seaman knows, is by no means uncommon. T. Y. Baker. Admiralty Research Laboratory, Teddington, ~ Middlesex, January 7. The Colours of Tempered Steel. Se Tue well-known and characteristic tints that appear on the surface of a tarnishable metal, when it is heated in contact with air have been usually regarded as interference colours due to the formation of a thin film of oxide on the surface of the metal. The correctness of this explanation has, however, recently been questioned (A. Mallock, Proc. Roy. Soc., 1918), and rightly so, as a continuous film om a strongly reflected surface cannot on_ optical prin- ciples be expected to exhibit such vivid colours as those observed. I have recently made some observations which shed a new light on this subject. It is found that the missing colours complementary to the.tints seen by reflected light appear as light scattered or diffracted from the surface of the metal... In other words, if a plate of blue-tempered steel be held in a beam of light and viewed in such a direction that the regularly reflected light does not reach the eye, the metal shows a straw-yellow colour, and not the usual blue. It will be understood that the scattered light, being dis- tributed over a large solid angle, appears much feebler than the regularly reflected colour, and in order to observe the effect satisfactorily the metal should have a smoothly polished surface before being heated up. Scratches and other irregularities show the ordinary colour of the film, and not the complenieney tint. The most attractive effects are those, exhibited by a , heated copper plate, both on account of the vividness 106 NATURE [January 26, 1922 of the colours and on account of the ease with which ? the surface can be given a satisfactory polish. It is clear from the observations mentioned above that the colours under discussion are in the nature of diffraction effects arising from a film which is not continuous, but has a close-grained structure. In- teresting effects are observed when the surface of the illuminated plate is viewed through a nicol, the colour. and intensity of the scattered, as well as of the regularly reflected, beams varying as the nicol is rotated about its axis. The most striking effect is obtained when the direction of observation is nearly parallel to the surface of the plate. The scattered light in this case is nearly completely polarised, and the colour. of the regularly reflected light. changes nearly to its complementary when the nicol is turned through 90°. The phenomena strongly recall to mind the observations of R. W. Wood on the colours of a frilled .collodion film on a silvered surface, which have been discussed’ by the late Lord Rayleigh (Phil. Mag., November, 1917), and it seems probable: that the explanation of the phenomena will ultimately be found to be somewhat similar in the two cases.° C. V. RaMAN. 210 Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, India, October, 11. Mr. Mavrockx has shown that the colour of the oxide film is an intrinsic property of the material of which it is composed andthe material retains this pro- perty as it is gradually ground’! down from its original thickness to the vanishing point. Sir ‘George Beilby’s observations have confirmed this, and have further shown that the film isan aggregate in open formation - through which oxygen molecules can penetrate to the metallic surface. For each temperature above the tempering range the thickness of the film is deter- mined by the porosity of the aggregate to the oxygen molecules at that temperature. Direct experi- mental observations have shown the part played by time of heating at any given temperature. For example, at 275° C. a deep purple was reached in ten minutes, and this changed to blue from the margin inwards during a further period of twenty minutes. It was thus shown that the watchspring- ' blue, which could immediately be:produced by a tem- perature of 300°°C., could also'be produced by ‘heating at 275° for thirty minutes. Sir George Beilby’s view is that the intrimsic colours: of the films which are produced at different temperatures result from changes in molecular aggregation in relatively open forma- tion of a similar nature to those which have been shown to occur in thin metal films, e.g. gold: This is referred to in his recently published volume :en- titled ‘Aggregation and Flow of Solids,’ sections. 3 and 10.—Ep. NaTurRE. Some Terrestrial Experiments on Gravitation and Einstein’s Theory. THE. object. of this letter is to direct the attention of writers on Einstein’s theory of gravitation to some recent experiments on the terrestrial aspects of gravita- tion which seem to have been overlooked, although they appear to be of great importance for the purpose of forming a just estimate of the correctness of Ein- stein’s theory. - The. first. investigation referred to is that of Dr. P. E. Shaw on the effect. of temperature on gravita- tive force (Phil. Trans., 1916, A, vol. 216, pp. 349-92). On p.. 390 Dr. Shaw. writes :—‘‘When a large mass attracts a small one, the gravitative force between them increases by about 1/500 as the temperature of NO. 2726, VOL. 109] the large mass rises from, say, 15° C. to 215° C,”? The only cause capable of producing this effect on the relativity theory seems to me to be the absorption of heat by the large mass (lead), amounting to 6 calories, or 25X10° ergs per gram, and resulting in a frace tional increase of inertial mass of about 28x 10-™._ We require 7000 million times this amount in order to aecount for Dr. Shaw’s result on the hypothesis of the proportionality of the gravivative and inertial masses, which is one of the basal assumptions of — Einstein’s ‘theory. wt Another investigation is that of Majorana on the absorption of the gravitational flux (Phil. i vol. 6, No. 39, pp. 488-504,. 1920), in which he finds, inter. alia, that a lead ball weighed in wacuo loses 77% 10-*° of its weight when it is surrounded sym- metrically by 104 kg: of mercury: If the gravitational flux be assumed to be absorbed by the mercury ac- cording to an exponential law of density and’ thick- ness, the quenching constant, or factor of ab ion, is found to be 6:73 x 10—* per unit»density and length. A possible interpretation iis that the gravitational mass of a homogeneous sphere at an outside point is only a fraction of its inertial mass; according to Majorana, it is about one-third for the sun. If this. interpreta- tion be legitimate, the results of Majorana, like those of Shaw, lead to the conclusion that the gravitational and inertial masses \are not proportional to one another in all circumstances. G. A. Scnorr. — University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, January 5. z British Scientific Instruments. _ In ‘the timely and encouraging leader in NATURE of January 19, with which my experience is in entire agreement, there is a point of some importance to which :reference is omitted. This is the practical question of cost. I would ask permission to draw a moral for application at the present time. Without expressing any opinion as to whether this cost could be reduced, by improved methods of manufacture, I would direct attention to the fact that in the im- poverished state of the finances of universities and similar bodies it is impossible adequately to equip their laboratories with costly apparatus.. The moral is this: The most effective way in which Government intervention can assist Briti. makers of scientific apparatus is to inerease the grants to universities and to research in . al. It is impossible for individual workers to purchase expen- sive British instruments out of their own incomes, and until the resources of the laboratories in which they work are sufficiently “increased it is an unjustifiable and foolish restriction to prevent their obtaining from abroad .apparatus. often admittedly inferior, but capable of good use. How many laboratories can afford to obtain Hilger optical apparatus or the Cambridge string galvanometer? It is further to be remembered — that as scienee advances the instrumental equipment for continued pushing forward tends to become more elaborate, sensitive, and accurate, and necessarily of greater cost oe” SIT Mass). 2 University "College, London. 5 oe Globular Lightning Discharge. 3 Tue following is an account of what appears to have been a genuine case of globular electrical dis- charge observed by the sisters of one of my colleagues, the Misses Pitman, at Eastbourne on August 17 last. Authentic instances of this: phenomenon are rare, and as the conditions which accompanied this particular jf ed > hay # 4 JaNuARY 26, 1922] NATURE 107 were observed with some care it seems desirable it the case on record. The two ladies were sitting at table about 8 p.m., wit 1 the window open. It was raining heavily at the me, and there was no wind. Stormy clouds were b ut, but it was not unusually hot. Thunder and ning at the same time were afterwards reported rom London—a distance of, say, 50 miles—but there 6 no thunderstorm at Eastbourne. There had been ‘rain during the few preceding days. As one of the lies took up a knife to cut bread the ball of light ito the table, travelling a distance of about 9 in. an average | t of about 3.in. from the table, it moving to the latter. When the ball touched the tablecloth it “went out -sound,’’ leaving no mark or trace of . Until it touched the cloth there was no and the whole thing was over in such a “‘ flash time” that it was impossible to say how fast the ill travelled: There seems to have been an impres- 1 that the ball came from the direction of the open ow, but it was only under dependable observa- during its 9-in. path from the bread-knife to the > the appearance of the ball itself, it was the size of a pea, the light encircling it being ‘size of a golf ball. The light was white ’ bright, like electricity.” ‘Too dazzling A. P. \CHatrock. Where did Terrestrial Life Begin? long time now the idea has prevailed that n in the sea or in the mud of the seashore, interesting articles have been written to a tion of sea-creatures and water- to the land, but there are some difficulties way of this theory which do not seem to have oticed, and on broad general grounds it is, lore probable that life began on mountain- me possible on the ,earth only after it had sertain point, and surely that point was th sooner on hilltops than in the sea -seasho It must be remembered that the ‘first formed would have a temperature of n 100° C., since the condensation of volcanic tt have taken place under a massive atmo- f carbon dioxide. This heavy atmosphere not only raise the boiling point of the sea, but greatly retard its cooling, which would in any a very slow process, since the sea-bed would -and the sea deep, and a bad conductor. Would e mountain-tops have become cool and habitable | before the temperature of the sea fell to and became a fit abode of life? Further, it t certain that the first life was green chloro- rying cells which would require sunlight, and it would pierce the heavy and cloudy atmosphere and carbon dioxide, and would reach the hill- ¢ before it ‘reached sea-level. - these reasons it seems that life, is more likely ave made its first appearance on the mountain- > ea the Polar regions than in sea-mud or sea- : » .. 4. .JRonacp Camppety .Macrie. ‘Macrir’s suggestion that life originated on the atain summits is new, and entitled to careful con- ation. If the early earth, when its atmosphere den with carbon dioxide and steam, had been ss, then the mountain summits would have NO. 2726, VOL. 109] en to.flash past the knife (without touching it) stood like islands above a sea of hot mist, and they would have been the only situations possible for the development of life; but as any wind would have at times submerged the mountain summits beneath the lower’ atmosphere, they would have been subject to violent fluctuations in temperature and moisture which would have been unfavourable to primitive life. It may be doubted’ whether life could have appeared on the earth until later, when the temperature and the atmosphere were more similar to those which have existed throughout all the time of which there are contemporary geological records:as to climate and geographical conditions. In the discussion on this question in a chapter of “The Making of ‘the Earth” I laid stress on an equable environment as. an essential condition for the development of 'Protobion, ‘the»most ‘primitive form of life. If that view be sound; then life was not likely to have developed until a considerably later stage on the earth than that at which the:conditions stated by Dr. Macfie would have ‘held. His letter involves the issue whether the first: life-was-semi-aquatie or terres- trial. On his assumption that it is “‘almost certain ”’ that the first life consisted of cells containing :chloro- phyll it would certainly have begun on land. But such an organism would be more complex, and, there- fore, probably later in development than. some simple form of amoeboid,or mycetozoon, to which strong sun- light would ‘have been: less beneficial, and for which the unchanging environment on the muddy shores of a primeval lagoon would appear to be a, more suit- able medium than a mountain summit. J. W. Grecory. Rainfall and Drainage at Rothamsted in 1921. In view of warnings that are being issued by various water companies that waste of water should be avoided, the rain and drainage figures of the Rothamsted ‘Experimental Station for 1921 are of con- siderable interest and significance. The drainage gauges were built in Barnfield in 1870 by Lawes and Gilbert, and contain undisturbed soil which is kept bare; each gauge measures 1/tooo.acre. The soil is a rather heavy loam: with a reddish subsoil over chalk. ; Rainfall Percolation. Through Through Through ‘tJrooo'acre’ 20inches 4oinches 60 inches gauge. of soil. of soil. of soil. A Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. For year 1921 16:093 5766 = 5-984. 5479 Average for 50. years ... 28692 14834 15-482 14-659 The significance of these figures is that not merely is the rainfall and drainage the lowest. since the records started, ‘but that whereas in a normal year about so percent. of the rainfall evaporates, during the past twelve months as much as 63 to 65 per cent. evaporated. This is partly accounted for by the excess of sunshine, which at this station amounted to 159 hours above the average, or about 26 minutes a - The number of days on which rain fell (oor in. or more) during the past twelve months is r19; this compares with an average for sixty-eight years of 174. It is interesting to recall the fact that the year 1902, which hitherto gave the lowest percolation figures, was followed by the wettest year on our records, when the heavy rain-showers gave a drainage of 24 in. W. D. CuHrisTMas. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, : January 16. 108 NATURE: [January 26; 1922 Tribal Name of the Raninide. In the report of the Linnean Society’s meeting on December 15 last the abstract of an elaborate and highly important essay by Prof. G. C. Bourne on “The Raninide: A Study in Carcinology ’’ contains a proposal to place the family ‘tin a separate tribe, Gymnopleura.”’ It would seem, however, that the name for such a tribe. has been anticipated by. Latreille, who, under date 1831, in his ‘‘Cours d’Entomologie,’’ p. 368, institutes the tribe Notopterygia expressly for the genus Ranina. Attention has been directed to this in the comparatively recent year 1908 in the Annals of the South African Museum, vol. 6, p. 17. The same page explains that the specific name in Ranina dentata is founded on a mistake, and the ‘preceding page; while giving a wrong date to the Mantissa of Fabricius, will by its synonymy justify the substitu- tion of Ranina raninus, Linn., in preference .alike to R. scabra and R. dentata, Tuomas R. R. STEBBING. Tunbridge Wells, December 22. ac I am far from a scientific library and unable to’ verify Mr. Stebbing’s reference to Latreille’s classifica- tion of the Rariinidz, but have not the least doubt that the reference is correct. There is no reference to Latreille’s tribe Notopterygia either in Milne Edward’s ‘‘ Histoire Naturelle des. Crustacés ”’ or. in de Haan’s ‘‘Crustacea’’ in Siebold’s ‘Fauna Japonica,’? and as I was concerned rather with the correction of existing schemes’ of classification than with the work of éarlier authors, Latreille’s ‘‘ Cours d’Entomologie”’ escaped: my attention. Had I read it I should have’suggested the restoration of Latreille’s tribe, giving to it the new definition set forth in my memoir commuinicated to the Linnean Society, and it seems that my proper course will be to withdraw the name “Gymnopleura’’ and substitute that of ‘‘Notopterygia, Latreille,”’ in an addendum to the printed paper.” t Ro ta G.-C. Bourne, ° Twyning Manor, Tewkesbury, ‘December 30. The Depth of Earthquake Focus. In the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series A; vol. 222, pp. 45-56 (1921), Mr. G. W. Walker, relying on certain observations of the emergence-angle of P waves-at Pulkovo, makes the somewhat startling suggestion that the depth of focus is of the order one-fifth Of the earth’s radius, or about 1250 km. This is a much-larger estimate of depth than that hitherto. suggested, viz. of order less than 100 km. Mr. Walker’s estimate of depth is a consequence of accepting the Pulkovo numbers as correct. It appears that the values of the apparent angle of emergence calculated-.from Zéppritz’s curve do not agree with its-value directly measured at Pul- kovo. This discrepancy is so marked that either the time-curve.or the Pulkovo.values must be seriously in error, and Mr. Walker proceeds on the assumption that within the limits of possible error in the time- curve we can modify it so as to agree with the direct measure of the apparent angle of emergence. _ It appeared to me that in a matter so important independent proofs would be desirable, and an attempt has been made to obtain an estimate of depth from the following considerations :—For a very deep focus, the long-wave phase in the seismogram or the “main strock ’’ identified with the arrival of Rayleigh’s two- dimensional surface-waves would be of diminished importance compared to the P and S phases which are due to the three-dimensional longitudinal and transverse waves travelling by brachistochronic paths from focus to station, in view of the fact that the NO. 2726, VOL. 109] ' yi surface-waves are originated by the shocks in the epicentral region... These shocks in their turn are due to the arrival of the longitudinal and transverse waves from focus to the epicentral region, and these waves, varying as they do as the inverse powers of the dis- tance, make the shock in that region of lesser and — lesser intensity the greater the depth of the focus. calculate the effects of various focal depths on the rela- a tive importance of the different phases in the seismo- | gram by an extension of the procedure adopted by Lamb in determining the propagation of tremors on the “surface of an elastic solid (Phil. Trans., A, vol. 203, 1904). hitherto accepted estimate of depth of focus is much nearer the truth than Mr. Walker’s estimate. The detailed calculations will be published in due course. S. K. Banerji. University College of Science, Calcutta, December 22. Energy Changes Involved in Transmutation. In some recent discussions concerning the possibility of the transmutability of large amounts of one element into others—and particularly that of lead into gold— '.no mention has been made .of the energy changes involved. Studies in radio-activity and the work of Sir Ernest Rutherford have shown that whenever an — element breaks up a relatively enormous quantity of energy is liberated. a (elie Should it ever become possible to control the break- ing up of elements, the advantages to be gained will lie in ‘two main directions. First, the manufacture of elements now scarce from those more plentiful will be of the utmost value to industry. Secondly, the fact that intra-atomic energy will then be available should provide a satisfactory solution to the problems raised by the world’s dwindling sources of power. But if the energy available in this way is ever extensively used, all the heavier elements will be destroyed and gradually replaced by lighter; at the same time their available energy will be lost. So it appears possible that after countless ages the earth may become a mass of light elements, possibly in the condition of a nebula. \ It has been assumed above that it would be possible to control the decomposition of elements so that only a limited amount of energy was liberated at atime. It is of some interest to contemplate what will happen should this evolution of energy get out of hand. _ Let us suppose that someone has succeeded in starting the rapid decomposition of a block of a heavy element by the use of some accelerating influence. If the energy liberated during the action can escape faster than it is set free, no violent action is to be expected; but if, on the other hand, it is liberated faster than it can escape, an action of explosive violence may occur. The accumulation of energy will certainly increase the rate of decomposition of sur- rounding atoms, which in their turn will add still more energy, and the change will go on with ever- increasing velocity until the whole block of the element, is destroyed. Should the surrounding elements be un- able to stand up against the enormous quantity of. free energy at their surfaces, it seems that nothing could save the earth from complete destruction. Thus inadvertently the world might be reduced by some nebulous mass. “43 Vincent Square, S.W.1. enterprising chemist or physicist to a white-hot — Wi, 1, W. Wark. | tionship between the, principal phases in the seismo- i; gram is maintained. ,It has been found possible to ~ ; \ aul Cay Consequently, the depth to be chosen for the focus — must be of such a magnitude that the observed rela- | The investigation suggests that the 4 JANUARY 26, 1922] the widest sense the term “monsoon” in . matology is applicable to those seasonal Wdifications, or subversions, of the planetary lation which are established by the differences erature due to the irregular distribution of id water, especially as seen in such regions Eastern and Southern Asia, where a definite ental outflow of air in NATURE The Theory of the South-West Monsoon. By L. C. W. Bonacina. to present meteorologists with the most effective analysis that has yet appeared. He shows the futility of trying to explain the monsoon in terms of a single cause, and the necessity of seeing in the phenomenon the final result of a number of _ interacting factors. Before stating Dr. Simpson’s theory, it may be and inflow in summer, the surface circula- [n relation to India the expres- on ‘‘ south-west monsoon ”’ is nowadays quite a commonplace, it it cannot be said that the eory of ‘the phenomenon has therto been properly elaborated. text-books commonly de- the monsoon as a kind of uified sea-breeze action, an ination of a complex pheno- m which can stand only as first approximation. It must ye emphasised, indeed, that the uth-west monsoon of India is ot in the main a special local ect of the heated condition of it all, but is part of a circulation of air with to a system of low baro- pressure originating prim- the heated condition of _ Asiatic continent as a It is when one abandons ely qualitative conception monsoonal circulation and the latter in the form actually takes as a wind- of particular direction, and structure that the lism is realised to be much complex than is suggested above simple statement. just” as one cannot under- the many puzzling peculiar- es of the small-scale diurnal breeze effect familiar round Se e English coast in summer- -without referring to the ; per aeiprient wind ich it is often so one cannot properly deal with the ge-scale seasonal sea-breeze effect in monsoon sountries otherwise than as an item in a wider ystem of circulation. This outlook is the key to le problem, and has enabled Dr, G. C. Simpson? 1 “Th ‘South-West Monsoon. Lecture delivered to the Royal feteorological Society, March 16, 1921, and published in the Society's na for July, 1921. : , NO. 2726, VOL. 109] n nothing more important | a coastal modification in direction and Indian year. These are: (1) a cool, dry season, Fic. 1.— Average wind and pressure distribution around India in May. Pressure in inches. well to review the main. seasonal divisions of the November to February, definitely dominated by the north-east monsoon, which really belongs to the north-east trade system as regulated at this season by high barometric pressure in Central Asia; (2) a hot, dry season, March to May, characterised by light .air-currents. gradually changing round from north-east to south-west, IIo NATURE | JANUARY 26, 1922 culminating. in. unstable-conditions productive of violent thunderstorms; (3), a:,wet season, June to September, dominated by the south-west mon- soon, a powerful current bringing heavy rainfall everywhere in India except the north-west corner and those parts situated on the lee side of ‘the mountain ranges; (4). a short transition period embracing the month of October, during which the south-west monsoon is retreating with belated rains on the Madras coast. Now, in order to strike at. the root of the vy May is 88-7° F., with a large part of the northern central iregion more than 90°, whereas in July the mean is only 83-59, with the area more than go° relegated to the Thar Desert in the north-west. Clearly, in all the more northern portions of India which lie away from the nearly non-seasonal equatorial regimen -controlling the climate of Ceylon and the extreme south of the peninsula, the temperature ought to continue rising until July, and the fact that after’ May it.appreciably declines is evidently the result of the cutting off of sunshine by the dense» of cloud and rain rolled in by the south - west monsoon. Why, then, does not the ‘south-west monsoon burst in May? Be- cause in that month the summer low-pressure system to the north- west of India is mot in a suffi+ ciently advanced stage:of develop- ment. It is not Antil June that this low-pressure area and, contemporaneously, the high- pressure area in the SoutltsEnten Ocean become pronounced enough to induce the south-east the rotation of the earth into the current which feeds the south- west monsoon. The:difference is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, which show the average distribution of wind and pressure over a area surrounding India in May and July. The difference betweem the two maps will be brought out more fully in relation to the mon- there be noted what is exhibited with much greater distinctness im maps” of wind and pressure for India alone, that in both months, but more conspicuously in May, the isobars, with corresponding deflection of the wind arrows, bend southward: in crossing the Indian land-mass—away, that is to say, from the centre of low pressure in the north—signifying that there actually is some in- Fic. 2,—Average wind and pressure distribution around India in July. prevalent misconception that the south-west mon- soon current is due essentially to the heated surface of India itself, Dr. Simpson points to the outstanding seasonal’ anomaly in the climate of India. The anomaly in question is the fact that the hottest month of the year in India as a whole is‘not July, but May, coming, that is to say, just before the high solstice, instead. of just after, as in England and most countries. The mean day and night temperature for the whole of India in NO. 2726, VOL. 109] draught due to India itself, though it is only a superposed secondary feature, giving the iso- Pressure in inches. bars their precise trend—a local modification of the general Asiatic circulation. Now to explain the great meteorological char- acteristic of the south-west monsoon, viz. the | The diagram Fig. 3 was devised | heavy rainfall. by Dr. Simpson to represent the chief alignments of mountains in and around. India (thick-lettered lines), and. the chief air-stream lines of the saurtt 2 See Dr. Simpson’s original paper, and Sir John Eliot’s-‘‘ Climatologica} _ Atlas of India.” _ trade wind to cross ‘the equator, _ thereby to become deflected) by na Se TINS es a soon rainfall. Meanwhile, let "_ January 26,1922] NATURE aio LEI West monsoon current (numbered arrows). It | shadow” of the mountains, but the desert region should. be studied in relation to F ig. 4, showing | in the north-west of India is nearly rainless for a Behe s .- complexity of | reasons— partly because the trend of the neighbouring moun- tains is not such as to force upward the compara- tively small amount of air which flows into this corner of the country; partly because, with the initial conditions thus un- favourable to cloud pro- duction, what little air does arrive there from the sea is heated up so that its relative humidity is lowered and the. tendency to. drought consequently increased; and partly be- cause over this. part of India the upper-air cur- rent from ‘the north-west, ‘as revealed by direct kite observations, is warm and dry, a condition most unfavourable ‘to condensa- —Chief h alignm ents of mountains, and air-stream lines of south-west monsoon, in and around India. tion of ashaobeghe a ae tem 55 (After G.’'C. Simpson.) surface air that may be ea 5 ” . caused to rise. In the yean rainfall over ‘the same area in July, the | burning-hot Thar Desert ‘a number of interacting “monsoon month. The disposition of the | factors thus conspire to maintain intense drought n ranges is such as - effectively to entrap in ad of box the humid r into ‘the Indian : by south-west mon- , with the consequence ‘the air is mechanically d to ascend with copious $2 Hion of moisture as a sooling by adiabatic ex- n. Where the ranges +t the air-currents at right , as in the case of the m Ghats, KL, or the Hills, HI, enormous falls c 1n ly favourable - 2 e precipitation that the erage iat ‘rainfall is as rh as 424 in., nearly all of [. ich falls during the monsoon riod. In the Gangetic Plains s heavy rainfall is largely due the convergence of .air- ms Ill., IV., V., and viL., ted by the Himalayan wall, Syeeete Oe a A RR D, at the base of which the Vilnius dane MMM NNG ALIA OA) OE Lédiaiim Jody.” oreed ascent of air causes | mother specially wet submontane strip of country. during what in India generally is the rainy season. The dry areas in July are mostly in the “rain- The reason why the mountains provoke so enor- NO. 2726, VOL. 109] aed Ii2 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 mous a rainfall out of the monsoon current of July, and scarcely any out of the indefinite sea- winds of May, is shown by Dr. Simpson to be twofold—the July winds are both markedly. stronger and damper. At Bombay, for example, the mean wind velocity is 7-4 miles per hour-in May and 14-2°in July, and the relative humidity 74 and 86 per cent. respectively. Consequently, when a wind from the Arabian Sea mounts the Western Ghats, condensation will for two reasons proceed more actively in July than-in May. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the pressure- gradient over India is steeper'in July than in May, which means stronger winds, and that the power- ful monsoon current of *the former month is supplied from the south-east trade wind, with the result that the air which reaches India, after traversing some 2000 miles of /sea, is necessarily very humid. In May, on the contrary, the light winds on the west coast blow somewhat north of west and conflict with the south-east trade wind over the equatorial part of the Indian Ocean, where rain falls instead of in India. Realising how illusory charts of mean monthly meteorological conditions.may be as representing: actual conditions on any particular day, Dr. Simpson is able to show that the circulation in the Indian area rarely differs essentially from the mean, and that breaks in the monsoon are asso- ciated with temporary reversions to the conditions typical of May, when clear skies and fierce sunshine are broken only by violent local thunderstorms. One cannot but support his conclusion that without the mountains the general rainfall of India would be lighter, if more evenly distributed. Those who argue that in any case the southern portion of the peninsula, below about 18° N., would experience the full effect of the annual northward swing of the equatorial rain-belt forget that the steady equatorial rains depend upon the convergence of air-streams from the northern and southern trade systems, and that where, as on the Benadir coast (Italian Somaliland), such a con- vergence is prevented by the monsoon regimen itself, there is found the anomaly of a nearly rainless strip of coast within 10° N. of the equator... A problem which should engage atten- tion as facilities for travel and research in this part of the world increase is the precise effect of the Himalayas and the high plateau of Tibet upon the strength of the south-west. monsoon. The effect of a broad, cold tableland 10,000 ft. high is more likely to be negative than positive—that is, to weaken rather than to strengthen the monsoon. The late Prof. Herbertson, whose insight into climatological questions was not perhaps ade-. quately appreciated by meteorologists, used re- peatedly to discountenance exaggerated notions concerning the “flue-like”’ action of Central Asia often entertained by, those who rely too much on ~ ( In any _case, there would be a general inflow of air to- isothermal maps reduced to sea-level. wards Asia in summer, as is so well exemplified in China; but the real controlling centre of the powerful south-west monsoon of India is situated near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and it is this “‘cycloni¢” centre which guides the air- currents across India to the base of the Hima- layas, which they must perforce mount, and thence on to the highlands of Tibet. To summarise, the primary condition of the south-west monsoon is a centre of low barometric pressure situated to the ‘north-west of India, due to the heated state of this region in summer, and to a certain extent of the Asiatic land-mass as a whole. The special local effect of India itself is quite subsidiary, merely serving to give the isobars and air-currents across the peninsula their final trend. In May the local heating of India, then at its maximum, does not suffice to bring about mon- soonal conditions, but the general Asiatic heating in July does, for reasons discussed. A heavy rain- fall accompanies the monsoon because it is both a humid and a powerful current, and is met more “or less at right angles by various high mountain ~ ranges. ~ og Finally, it is advisable to refer to certain general — principles in connection with the theory of the monsoonal circulation, the importance of which is ; Whilst it is a duly emphasised by Dr. Simpson. conspicuous fact that, broadly speaking, the con- tinents command high pressure in winter and low in summer, and the oceans vice versa, the more de- tailed relationship between pressure and tempera- — ture is exceedingly complex, and the precise loca- | tion of a centre of high or low pressure depends © upon many other factors, such as the rotation of | the earth and the configuration of the land. In — other words, the atmosphere being a unity of interdependent parts, it is largely a matter of com- promise, as between region and region, what type © of circulation shall prevail here and what there. To take but an instance. summer with intense insolation and active evap- oration to a meteorologist who conceives of this region as isolated from other regions, and forgets — that the Mediterranean circulation has to adapt itself to the great monsoon system of-Asia, as well as to the conditions in other parts of the — world. Helium in Natural Gas. By H. B. Miner. oe researches of H. P. Cady and D. F, McFarland in 1905 on some natural gas from Kansas led to the interesting discovery of the presence of ‘helium “in that gas, a fact of which NO. 2726, VOL. 109] : advantage was taken afterwards by the United States military authorities during the later stages of the war. Nothing is more per- — plexing than the drought-producing wind and © pressure regimen of the Mediterranean basin in © In 1915 the natural gas resources of this country were investigated for a similar purpose © Po on en JANUARY 26, 1922] ei on = om NATURE IT3 ader the direction ofthe late Sir William Ramsay, d those of Canada were also examined, but in : _ both cases the efforts were unsuccessful. The dangers - attending hydrogen-filled aircraft were obvious from _ the fate ‘of many of the German Zeppelins, so that : ' coeegenitd of extracting sufficient quantities of bustible gas such as helium. (admirably ed in every way to the peculiar requirements of er-than-air machines) was too'important to be the United States the help of certain com- cial firms, employing the Linde ‘and Claude pro- sses of gas liquefaction for the treatment of air, solicited, and in 1918 two plants were in opera- -at Fort Worth, Texas, ultimately giving an age production of 5000 cb. ft. of gas per day, Iding on purification up to 93 per cent. of helium. though the effect of the armistice was to check military requirements, the development of com- mercial aviation keeps this use of helium very much in the foreground, and in view of this and also of e far-reaching scientific problems involved the nited States Geological Survey has just published, from the pen of G. Sherburne Rogers, a most valu- able monograph on ‘‘ Helium-bearing Natural Gas nis (Professional Paper 121, 1921). _ The chief region from which commercial supplies of helium are obtained is that of the Mid-Continent North Texas and the other in North Oklahoma and South Kansas; gas in both these areas yielded up ) 0-5 per cent. of helium, in some cases the amount eing as much as 2 per cent. One would naturally si expect helium-rich gas to show a high nitrogen con- at with consequent low calorific value; generally spoctesant this is found to be so, though in one instance a gas with 14 per cent. of nitrogen yielded aa cent. of helium. On the other hand, a h content is not necessarily a criterion of a high helium yield, and Rogers cites several ex- amples of this. The nitrogen—helium ratio in natural gas in thirteen samples quoted ranges from 114 to 5 the conclusion to be drawn from this, and also rom a ‘careful study of several other available s, is that a low (N,He) ratio implies a low jeu helium-bearing gas in America is ained from comparatively shallow depths in the Pennsylvanian beds, and it. is interesting to note that gas > sie from younger beds, such as the _ oilfields, more especially from two areas, one in Cretaceous or Tertiary of Texas and Louisiana, is low in helium content. Bearing in mind Czaké’s contention that the radid-activity of a gas is an index ‘of its helium content, and. also Holmes’s work on radio-activity as a méasurement of geological time, it is thus not difficult to appreciate the reason of the low helium content of Kuropean natural gas, derived for the most part from Tertiary strata, Evidence is not forthcoming as. to the radio-activity . of the gas from the Pennsylvanian beds, but McLennan’s researches in Ontario (NATURE, vol. 70, p- 151, 1904) demonstrated the tendency of de- creased radio-activity with increased depth, and this may reasonably be correlated with the marked decrease in helium yield with increase in depth from which the gas is obtained in the present case. The origin of the helium in the gas affords a wide ground for speculation, though in the present state of our knowledge it would be very unsafe to dog- matise. Rogers discusses this at some length, but of the several possible theories he favours two, more particularly the first—that the helium is gene rated from uranium or thorium deposits disseminated through the beds proximate to the natural gas horizons, or that it is primordial and comes from abyssal sources. His arguments in favour of the former theory are very sound, though, as he admits, it assumes the occurrence of radio-active deposits of which we have no knowledge, more particularly in the upper palzozoic rocks of the Mid-Continent region, or in some of the buried: igneous masses occurring as subterranean uplifts. It is interesting to note that in the case of the three principal occurrences of natural gas in this country, at Calvert, Buckinghamshire, at Middles- brough, Durham, and at Heathfield, Sussex, the nitrogen contents were 19-5 per cent., 16-8 per cent., and o-g per cent. respectively ; in the first case the source of the gas is doubtful, but it is presumably from pre-Liassic beds; in the second case it is obtained from the Magnesian Limestone, and at Heathfield it is unquestionably derived from the Kimmeridge Clay. If the nitrogen evaluation is any indication of helium-bearing gas, as it would seem to be in the United States, it is extremely unlikely that helium occurs in those gases in amount greater than o-5 per cent. (if as much as that) at Calvert and Middlesbrough, while at Heathfield it is prob- ably absent altogether. , Lorp Bryce, O.M., F.R.S. iy ha can be but seldom, owhien-a man’s life has been __ 4 prolonged to well over eighty years, that his death is generally felt as a serious public loss. Lord _ Bryce’s sudden, if-happy, death on January 22, in his eighty- fourth year, is a shock which will be felt - equally here-and-in the United States, where. only _ last summer he had been engaged both by lecturing and in social intercourse in spreading a better under- standing of the problems of Great Britain and NO. 2726, VOL. 109] na iw BP ar. Br. Bi * 1 4 veo ‘s pe Obituary. Europe. Years ago, by his great work on ‘‘ The American Commonwealth,’’ and at a later date by his tact and manifold activities while our Ambassa- dor at Washington (he was reputed to have visited every State in the Union), Lord Bryce had made himself a living link between the two peoples. In the United States he was not only trusted by states- men and appreciated by the leading men in thought and literature, but he was also an idol of the crowd. When he came into a popular assembly the proceed- 114 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 ings were apt to be interrupted and the whole audi- ence would stand up and give three cheers for “‘ good old Bryce.’’ Among themselves the Americans to the last habitually called him ‘‘ our Mr. Bryce.’ American, citizens of all classes believed in his thorough goodwill towards their country, and he thus achieved what seemed almost. the impossible in inducing them to bear kindly with. criticism they - felt to be both honest and friendly. For if Lord Bryce knew no better form of government. than democracy, he was, as his recent work has shown, keenly alive to its imperfections and crudities both in the States and in Australia. Politics, historical-and literary studies, and travel were the main occupation: of Lord Bryce’s life. His career. in the two former branches of activity has been fully dealt with in the general Press. Here we may more appropriately confine ourselves to the last. ‘Lord Bryce, without being in any strict sense aman of science, though he was elected a fellow. of the Royal Society, under the special rule, in 1893, | took ‘the keenest interest in several branches of | natural science. His father had been a. geologist, and he himself was apt to'record the geological fea-. In botany | he was an:eager student, with a keen eye for rari-_ ties. In_his'walks near his home at Ashdown Forest he would frequently ‘stop to:recognise some relatively — tare growth, and so long’ago as 1859 he wrote a. tures of the countries he passed through. manual on “‘ The Flora of the Island of Arran.’’ When ‘he visited Pekin ‘the attachés at the British ‘Legation, who were prepared to give information.on Chinese politics, were dismayed to find themselves called on to answer ‘questions as 'to the local flora. In:his ‘‘ Impressions:of South Africa”? he discusses at ‘some length ‘the vegetation of the country, and records that he brought home ‘fifty-four plant speci-_ mens, eleven of which were>pronounced at Kew to be new to»science. Wherever he went he was as keenly interested sin the natural aspects and features of the country visited as in its inhabitants and their poli- tics, and he deliglited to trace the interaction between the two. His descriptive talent was exceptional, and was aided by the almost unique opportunities for comparison given him by the extent of his travels, Take at hazard this vivid-sketch of Lake Titicaca :— ‘““ The blue of Titicaca is peculiar, ‘not deep and dark, as that of the tropical ocean, nor opaque, like the blue-green of Lake Leman, nor like ‘that warm purple of the Aigean which Homer compares ito dark red wine, but a clear, cold, crystalline blue, even as is that of the cold sky vaulted over it. Even in this blazing sunlight it had that sort of chilly glitter one sees in the crevasses of a glacier; and the wavelets sparkled like diamonds,” The shortest way to indicate the extent of Lord Bryce’s ‘travels might possibly be to give a list of the regions he ‘had mo? visited. During the three years (1899-1901) when he was president of ‘the Alpine Club it was noted that whatever distant range might be under discussion the -tbiquitous chairman was sure ‘to begin his. remarks ‘with, ‘When I was out there.’’ TI ‘believe: ‘ The: Mountains of the NO. 2726, VOL. 109] Moon’’ was one of the few places where the author of the paper had the advantage of him. hE Of these many years’ wanderings and holidays in a busy life (continued until last spring by a trip to Morocco) the public have had the results in three solid works. Of these, the first, ‘‘ Transcaucasia and Ararat ’’ (1877) was in the main not a moun- taineering record, but a. study of the Caucasian — isthmus and its peoples, as seen by.a passing visitor. But the account of an ascent of Mount Ararat, in which Lord Bryce reached the top without his com- panions, fixed public attention and had some singu- lar consequences. In a rash moment he. wrote fa piece of wood he picked up near the top, a relic of a previous Russian ascent, that he was not able to state it might not be gopherwood. When in the United States he had frequent applications from out-of-the- way local.museums for the smallest fragment. of this invaluable relic of Noah’s Ark ! Leer Lord Bryce’s two solid volumes on South Africa and South, America are, apart from their political importance, admirable pictures of the regions de- scribed: In their pages he unites the power of observation which makes a good traveller with that of generalisation which is called for in a geographer. And he carries his readers on from one topic to an- other by a lively style which reflects the quickness and versatility of the author’s mind. Lord Bryce was engaged at the time of his death in a collection of “* Memories of Travel,” which we trust will be found in a state sufficiently advanced to admit of publication. It must be added that if Lord Bryce had one hobby, or taste, stronger than another, it was for mountains and mountain climbing. He habitually found time to attend the meetings of the Alpine Club, and to take a share in its discussions. He followed the doings of its members with the keenest | interest. The chief ornament of a study which was usually a chaos of proofs, letters, and presentation volumes, was a photograph of the most beautiful of : snowpeaks, the Himalayan Siniolchum. ; ; Dovuctias W. FRESHFIELD. Sir Joun Kirk, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., BAL nF By the death of Sir John Kirk at the advanced age of ninety, the world has lost the last survivor of the heroic pioneers of African exploration, the founder of the British position in Eastern Equa- torial Africa, and a botanist whose contributions to African natural history were of first-rate importance. Sir John Kirk was born in the Manse of Barry, near Arbroath, in 1832. He entered Edinburgh University at the age of fifteen, and obtained the degree of M.D. in 1854. Turkey with the Volunteer Medical Corps in connec- tion with the Crimean War and served in a hospital on the Dardanelles. In 1857 he was recommende by ‘‘Woody Fibre ”’ Balfour as physician and natural- ist to Livingstone’s second expedition, in which he served from 1858 until he was invalided home in 1863. On that expedition, which was the least successful of Livingstone’s three, Kirk gained a higher reputation than any other of its members. | 3 His unfailing good humour, tact, and great gift of In 1855 he went to January 26, 1922| NATURE 115 ipa thy must have been invaluable, and in spite ternal dissensions in that expedition, Living- afterwards wrote that he had never had. any snce with Kirk. Livingstone has borne warm ny to Kirk’s untiring zeal, energy, and ge. He collected 4000 species of plants, in dition to zoological specimens, making care- udies of the economic products. In gratitude help Livingstone named the western wall of Walley along the Shire River and Lake the Kirk Range. k returned to East Africa in 1866 as physician Consulate at Zanzibar. He was fortunately m entrusted with political work, and became Vice- jsul in 1867 and Consul in 1873. In 1870 Said ash succeeded to the Sultanate, and the | impression of his character is summed up ipling’s ‘‘ from Said Barghash in a tan- ? but he was never in that condition with - Both men had a keen sense of humour, and irk soon gained an immense influence over Said Barghé who was a loyal friend. When the Sultan was visiting this country in 1875 he reatened to return at once. because he felt that « had been treated rudely by the Duke of Cam- . In 1873 the combined influence of Sir re’s mission. and of Sir John Kirk secured ion of the slave trade in the Dominion of Sir Frederick Lugard_has testified to the - with which Kirk ensured the enforcement edict by the Slave Court at Zanzibar, while on the missionaries taking no illegal pre- steps in reference to domestic slavery. In ‘Sultan offered a British syndicate a lease ion on the mainland ; but the British would not accept the offer, and it was t Germany had secured the southern e territories that a concession of the rest d, and the British East Africa Com- d to administer them. Kirk was one.of ers and original directors to whom the harter of that company was awarded. Its failure was one of his most bitter dis- ents. The company was incorporated in , and Sir John Kirk thenceforward lived in and. He served for many years as foreign ary of the Geographical Society, which gave its Patron’s Medal in 1882. He was elected ow of the Royal Society in 1887; he was also C.L. of Oxford and Sc.D. of Cambridge. «’s_scientific work was mainly botanical. He most indefatigable collector ; he described: some -new plants, and wrote many articles for the Bulletin and other scientific journals, His col- ctions have greatly enriched the Kew Herbarium, 1d haa been described as amongst the mest impor- : materials for its ‘** Flora.of Tropical. Africa.’’ ‘main interest was in. economic botany. He lished at his own expense at Mbweni, near fibar, an experimental plantation, of which the ts were of the highest value, and introduced y trees and plants,..and some of the extensive eucalyptus plantations in East Africa came from ‘seeds raised from his trees. He wrote reports on NO. 2726, VOL. 109] olive culture and on fibrés; Gné of the valuable l6¢al _ supplies of which comes from Sansevierta Kirkii. Kirk founded the East African trade in wild rubber, the best.of which came from Landolphia Kirkii, and his name is also commemorated in many other important East African ;plants.. He intro- duced through’ Kew a: considerable series of new plants. to British gardens. After his return to this country he was regarded, until: blindness lessened his usefulness, as one of the most trustworthy referees from the Foreign Office on African questions. In 1889-90 he was a pleni- potentiary to the Brussels Conference, and for his services there was made K.C.B. His K.C.M.G. was awarded in 1882, and his G.C.M.G. in 1886. He was. Vice-Chairman of the Uganda Railway Committee, and was sent to Nigeria to inquire into the famous case of sacrificial cannibalism when forty prisoners were eaten at Akassa. The beautiful little antelope, ‘‘ Kirk’s Gazelle ’” (Madoqua Kirkii), will help to preserve his memory among settlers in the lands he secured to the Empire. To the explorers of that area Kirk was a friend who will always be remembered with most sincere affection and respect. Pror. J. H. Correritt, F.R.S. On January 8 Prof. James Henry Cotterill died at Parkstone, near Bournemouth. Prof. Cotterill] was the youngest son of the Rev. Joseph Cotterill, of Blakeney, Norfolk. Educated:at Brighton College, he was afterwards apprenticed im the works of Sir William Fairbairn, at Manchester. Later he went to St. John’s College, Cambridge, and took a fair place in the mathematical tripos. In 1866 he became lecturer and in 1870 vice-principal at the. Royal Sehool of. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at South Kensington. In 1873 the school was. moved to Greenwich, and became part of the Royal Naval College, in. which Prof. Cotterill was professor of applied mathematics until his re- tirement in 1897. He was elected hon. vice-presi- dent of the Institution of Naval Architects:in 1905. In 1806 a commission had recorded the opinion that the highest officers then responsible for the design and ‘construction of vessels of the Royal Navy were sadly ignorant of the theory of naval. archi- tecture, and, in fact, in the early nineteenth century the’ best ships in' the Navy were those captured. or copied’ from the French. Im 1811 the first Admiralty School of Naval Architecture was opened at Ports- mouth for training expert advisers, under Dr. Inman. It lasted twenty years, but trained only forty students, some of whom, like Isaac Watts, chief constructor, attained distinction. In 1848 a second ‘school. was- opened at Portsmouth, under the principalship of the Rev. Dr. Woolley, and entry from:the doekyard schools was made dependent on merit. It lasted only five years. Mr. E. J. Reed (chief constructor) and Mr. Barnaby (chief naval architect) were among its students on whom devolved the responsibility of the transition to ironclad con- struction. Chiefly at the instance of the Institution of Naval Architects, the third Admiralty school was 116 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 established at South Kensington, and this con- tinues its good work as part of the Royal Naval College. This institution had the great advantage that the Admiralty students from the dockyard schools were well prepared for advanced instruction. It has, through the distinguished careers of many of its students, exercised an important influence on the shipbuilding industry in this country, and on the de- velopment of the great Navy which commanded the seas in the late war. The organisation of the theo- retical part of the instruction was mainly due to the ability, industry, and originality of Prof. Cotterill. An account of the courses of study is given in the later editions of his ‘‘ Applied Mechanics.” The school was open to private students, and some of these ‘obtained important seneeaeee in private ship- yards and in the constructive departments of foreign navies. Prof. Cotterill’s earliest papers were on least — action, on the theory of. propellers, and on the reaction of an elastic fluid escaping from an orifice.. In 1878 he published a treatise on ‘‘ The Steam Engine considered as a ‘Thermodynamic Machine ’’; and, in 1884, a treatise on ‘‘ Applied — Mechanics.” Both these have passed through several editions, are still in use, and have much influenced : the teaching of the “subjects in engineering ‘Schaols ‘in this country and in America. yt We record with much regret the death on January 22, at seventy-six years of age, of Sir William Chiictic, KCB By R. S., Astronomer- Royal from 1881 to 1910. . Notes, Ina letter to the Times. of January 23 Mr. F. P. Mennell recalls his description of the bone-cave at Broken Hill, Rhodesia, published in the Geological Magazine in 1907, and adds some further details in reference to the recent discovery of Homo rhodesiensis in a deeper extension of the cave. He emphasises the fact that all the stone and bone implements found with this extinct cave man are such as are used to-day by the Bushmen and Hottentots in outlying places, while all the mammalian bones, evidently broken for food, belong either to living species or to species closely allied to those still existing in the neighbourhood. The Rhodesian man is therefore probably not,so old as the primitive types of man who wielded the Paleolithic implement in western Europe. We may add that Mr. -Mennell’s original paper was referred to in Nature of November 17 last by Dr. Smith Woodward, who also expressed the opinion that Rhodesian man would prove to be of comparatively recent date. It was resolved by the General Committee of Sub- scribers to the Rayleigh Memorial, after arranging for the erection of the tablet in Westminster Abbey, which was unveiled recently, ‘‘that the executive committee be empowered to use the balance for the establishment of a library fund at the Cavendish Laboratory.’’ The amount subscribed to the memorial fund was 1575l., and after defraying all expenses connected with the tablet the balance was 6871. 15s. 8d. In accordance with the resolution of the general committee, Sir Richard Glazebrook and Sir Arthur Schuster, . secre- taries of the fund, have now sent a cheque for this amount to the Vice-Chancellor of the University. of Cambridge. The committee desires that of this sum 6001. should be treated as capital, the interest upon which is to be at the disposal of the Cavendish pro- fessor annually for the purposes of the library; the balance of the capital, namely, 87l. 15s. 8d., may be drawn upon at once in order to bring the library up to date. It is suggested that a book-plate should be prepared connecting the books purchased out of the fund with Lord Rayleigh. ’ / NO. 2726, VOL. 109] | U74l. THE Pére Lachaise cemetery in Paris, which has during the last few days witnessed several acts of homage to the memory of the great dramatist Moliére, — contains a large number of tombs and monuments of remarkable interest. Among these are many to the — men of science of last century. The cemetery was laid out in 1804, and the monument to Moliére was one of the first erected in it. Walking round the paths familiar names of statesmen. poets, musicians, writers, soldiers, and painters catch the eye at every turn. Science is represented by the mathematicians Poinsot, Monge, Hachette, and Charles; the astro- nomers Arago and Delambre; and the chemists Dulong, Gay Lussac, Chaptal, Boussingault, and Raspail. Comte, Cuvier, Bichat, Claude Bernard, and Geoffrey St. Hilaire are also commemorated. Quite close together will be found the tombs of Madame Lavoisier who made such an unhappy alliance with Rumford, and Madame Blanchard, the | intrepid aeronaut who perished in 1819. Other — pioneers in the conquest of the air whose names are perpetuated in the cemetery are Robertson, Charles, Croce-Spinelli, Gaston, and. Tissandier. From the Daily Telegraph we learn that the Paris Academy of Sciences has received an invitation, through Prof. Kriloff, a specialist in naval construc- tion, to send representatives to Moscow to the cele- bration of the bicentenary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, to be held in 1925. Prof. Kriloff, in his speech, expressed the hope that science would throw solid bridges over the chasms made by war, and that — the relations of all the peoples would be re-estab- lished with the same cordiality as before. The in- itiation of the Russian Imperial Academy of ‘Sciences was due to Peter the Great, though its actual inaugu- ration was carried out by his widow, Catherine A reef was she who invited the great mathematician, Leonhard Euler, to her capital, but her death occurred on. the day Euler set foot on Russian soil. Joined by Daniel Bernoulli and’ the astronomer Delisle, Euler continued to work at Petrograd until — ‘His surroundings, however, were not always Pe esl eee eee . JANuaRY 26, 1922] NATURE It7 congenial, and afterwards: when a princess at the urt in Berlin asked him why he spoke so little, he plied: ““Madame, parce que je viens d’un pays i quand’ on parle on est perdu.’’ Euler continued send memoirs to the Academy, and in 1766 he rte the invitation of Catherine II. to return to ad, and he died there in September, 1783. some c6f ‘his’ sons entered the Russian service, while is son-in-law, Nicolas von Fuss, became permanent Tr to the Academy. : of ‘the largest telescopes in the world, hitherto l, is likely to be brought into service shortly, 1g to an announcement made at a recent of the American Astronomical Society. It -in.. reflector constructed by the late Dr. A. A. on about thirty years ago and bought by the _ Harvard Observatory in 1902. It is exceeded in size b in telescopes only, both of them on the Pacific Et too-in. reflector at Mount Wilson, in Cali- la, and the 72-in. reflector, the property of the nion Government, at Victoria, in British a. A second reflector at Mount Wilson is of — size as that at Harvard. The Harvard nent was purchased for visual and photographic measurements, but when set up and tested was nd unsatisfactory for that purpose. It was there- e abandoned, and has ever since been stored away the observatory grounds. Meanwhile, the science ‘ophysics has provided an increasingly large of problems, in which the light and heat from rather than the size of a photographic image, things measured. It is for such problems as t- ae considered useless because it would not pro- _images—is now to be employed. inual general meeting of the Royal Society on. June 30, 1920, it was announced that ‘society succeeded in purchasing the free- house in John Street, Adelphi, it would to find new quarters after March, 1922. was referred to again in the annual meet- June 29 last, and the sum of 50,0001. was men- as the cost of buying and renovating the y. An appeal for subscriptions was_ therefore order to obtain funds to secure permanent : of the historic house built for the society brothers Adam about 1775. So far, two lists s s have been issued in the society’s from which it appears that the sum of has already been raised. Of this total no - 30,0001. is due to the generosity of one benefactor. Other noteworthy subscrip- re 2,5001. from Sir Charles A. Parsons, and ol. each from Lord Bearsted, Sir Dugald Clerk, Earl of Iveagh, Lord Leverhulme, and Mr. A. A. ell ‘Swinton. The sum already subscribed ulc “ey sufficient to secure the continuity of tenure ee John Street house, which has been the scene society’s labours for the past 147 years, but i ; to be hoped that further contributions. will be rthcoming, so that the whole of the purchase-money - be available, and also means for making de- NO. 2726, VOL. 109] that the Harvard telescope, with its 5-ft. mirror. sirable alterations in the meeting-room and other parts of the building. Ar the annual general meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society on January 18 the Symons gold medal, which is awarded biennially for distin- guished work in connection with meteorological science, was presented to Col, H. G. Lyons. Dr. Charles Chree was elected president of the society for the year 1922. Dr. G. Craripce Druce has recently been elected a corresponding member of the Botanical Society of Czecho-Slovakia “ Aye his inestimable services to botanical science.’’ The diploma is signed by the president of the sci Prof. Karel Domin, professor of systematic botany in the University of Prague. On Tuesday next, January 31, Prof. H. H. Turner begins a course of three lectures at the Royal Institu- tion on ‘Variable Stars,’ and on Thursday, February 2, Sir Napier Shaw delivers the first of two lectures on ‘“Droughts and Floods.’’ The Friday evening discourse on February 3 will be delivered by Sir Francis Younghusband on ‘‘ The Mount Everest Expedition,’? and on February to by Dr. Halliburton on “The Teeth of the Nation.” Tue Civil Service Commissioners announce that an open competitive examination for not fewer than fifteen situations as assistant engineer in the Engineer-in-Chief’s Department of the General Post Office will be held in London, Edinburgh, and Man- chester in April next, commencing on April 20. The limits of age are twenty and twenty-five, with certain extensions. Regulations and forms of application will be sent in response to requests by letter addressed to the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, Burling- ton Gardens, London, W.1. HavineG regard to the confusion which now exists, especially in overseas trade, due to the difference between the American gallon and the Imperial gallon, the Decimal Association urges that it is desirable for an agreement to be reached between the Governments of Great Britain and the United States to the effect that as an alternative to either of the above gallons being adopted by both countries as a common stan- dard, each of them should forthwith adopt the litre, which could be described as the “‘metric gallon.”’ It is obvious that uniformity of practice in a matter of this kind is most desirable, and the adoption of. the metric gallon would not only standardise practice between Great Britain and America, but also with practically all other countries engaged in international trade. A portrait of Sir Patrick Manson was unveiled by Sir James Michelli at. the London School of Tropical Medicine on January 20. The portrait was subscribed for by a large number of past and present students and other friends at home and abroad. The painting was entrusted to Mr. E. Webster, and is a most pleasing likeness. It hangs in the vestibule of the school, where it will be seen by the large number. of students attending the classes. Reproductions of the 118 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 portrait will be made by Mr. Malcolm Osborne, and south-east of England, 54 per cent. in the English ‘ will soon be ready for distribution. In recognition of Sir Patrick Manson’s services as a clinician, money has also been subscribed for a medal, which will be awarded annually to those who distinguish them- selves. in clinical work. The medal will ‘bear a por- trait of Sir Patrick Manson by Mr. John Pinches. THE programme for the Air Conference to be held at the Guildhall on February 7-8 has now been issued. During the morning of the first day of the meeting papers will be read by Lord Gorell on civil aviation, and Lt.-Col. W. A. Bristow on aerial transport of to-day and to-morrow. Papers on re- search work from the points of view of designers, constructors, and users by Major F. M. Green, on the progress of research by Brig.-Gen. R. K. Bagnall- Wild, and on airships by Major G. H. Scott will occupy the afternoon session. The whole of the second day of ‘the meeting: will be devoted to general discussions. In the morning Capt. F. E. Guest will preside, and civil ‘aviation papers read during the previous morning will be dealt with; in the after- noon the chair will be taken by Lord Weir of East- wood, and the ‘technical :papers of ‘the previous after- noon will be discussed. INFLUENZA had materially increased in -severity, according to the Registrar-General’s return for the week ending January 14. Deaths due to ‘the epidemic numbered 1240 for the ninety-six great towns of England and Wales, an increase of 433 on the preceding week, In London the deaths were 551 for the week, an increase of 197 on ‘the preceding week. During the great epi- demic of 1918-19 the déaths from influenza in London amounted to 2458 in the week ending November 2 and to 2433 in the week ending November 9, but with the exception of the 1918-19 epidemic the death- tate is now higher than in any other epidemic of influenza since 1890, the nearest approach occurring in: the epidemic of 1892, when for the week ending January 23 the deaths in London numbered 506. During the week ending January 14 the deaths between the ages of sixty-five and seventy-five were 21 per cent. of the total. Deaths from pneumonia and bronchitis have also considerably increased. A summary of weather results for 1921 is given in the Weekly Weather Report of the Meteorological Office for the closing week of December, showing the mean and aggregate values for the several dis- tricts of the British Isles. There was a general deficiency of rain, the only districts with an excess being the north and west of Scotland, these districts having ‘respectively 1ro6 and 104 per cent. of the average fall.. In the east of Scotland the rainfall for the year was 87 per cent.-of the average, and in the north of Ireland 89 per cent., whilst in the north- west of England it..was 86 per cent. In the north- east of England the ‘rainfall was 73 per cent. of the average, and in the Midland Counties 69 per ‘cent. The rainfall was only 48 per cent. of the average in the east of England, followed by 50 per cent. in the NO. 2726, VOL. 109| Channel district, and 60 per cent. in the south-west of England. The district having the largest amount of rain during the year was the north of Scotland with 54:34 in., while in. the east of. England, the: total — measurement was 13-45 in., and in the south-east of England 13-84 .in. The mean temperature for the year was above the normal in all districts; the greatest excess was 2-7° F. in the English ‘Channel i district and 2:5° F. in the north-east and east of Eng- land and the Midland Counties. The duration of | bright sunshine was in excess of the average in all districts over Great Britain; the greatest excess was o-7 hour per day, amounting to 250 hours for the year in the east of England and 06 hour per day in the Midland Counties and the south-east of England. : ‘Tue problem of the conservation of the coal re- sources of Great Britain involves the study and classi- fication of the coal seams which are at present being worked or developed, and also of seams above or below ground which are being left unworked or are thrown aside. On its directly practical side this. work must deal primarily with the suitability of each particular coal for those purposes for which ‘its indi- vidual qualities. render it most appropriate, and the Fuel Research Board believes that the most effective way of achieving this end is by the co-operation in local committees of colliery owners, managers, and consumers with the representatives of the Fuel Re- search Board and the ‘Geological: Survey. ‘By this combination local knowledge and experience, as well as the initiative of those most deeply interested in the practical aspects of the survey, will be ‘secured. Thus from the outset the survey will assume a prac- tical character. The selected seams will be submitted to physical and chemical examination by the local experts, and as a result of this examination a further selection will be made of those which appear to justify experiments on a practical scale to test their suit- ability for particular uses or methods of treatment. This experimental work will be carried out either at H.M. Fuel Research Station or at other works, as may be found most convenient. A start has already been made in the Lancashire and Cheshire district, where the local research association has. been recog- nised by the Fuel Research Board as its representative body for the purpose of dealing with the physical and. chemical survey of the coal seams. in this area. The chairman of the new committee is Mr. R. Burrows, and the director of research Mr. F. S. Sinnatt. — A LEADING article in the Museums Journal’ for December suggests as a remedy for the alleged over-_ crowding of the national museums that their re- — dundant specimens should ‘be transferred fo the pro- — vincial museums, and asks for a Commission to con- sider the limits of our national museums and how far it is possible for them to assist the provincial and ‘“Colonial’”’ museums. In the January issue Mr. Williamson, of the Derby Museum, while admitting past help, would welcome gifts or long loans on a — \ more systematic plan and with more reference to local January 26,. 1922] NATURE [ry cinta: Dr. F. A. Bather, while in agreement with the eemeeel, maintains that.such transference is the ‘from carrying it out fully by inadequacy of staff. He a points out that the interests of scientific students ‘demand the accumulation of large collections in as v + centres: ‘as possible, and that the bulk of such material is not really redundant. Sir Frederick "Kenyon in his presidential address. to the Museums sg in July last expressed a wish to meet the eec font eons museums’ if they would make . Rapnart Karsten, lecturer in the University elsingfors, Finland, has made an important con- 1 to anthropology in the first part of his in South American Anthropology.” He ls more particularly with personal ornamentation, monial mutilation, and kindred customs. The $e man’s love for self-decoration has been dis- cussed by many anthropologists. Darwin believed _ that the object of these decorations was to make man beautiful, and especially attractive to the other sex; W. Joest, while admitting that body-painting has = practical value in protecting the body from insects, heat, or cold, admits. that the principal motive, be- sides inspiring enemies with fear in battle, is sexual desire, a view generally accepted by Westermarck in q his. “History of Human Marriage. ” Dr. Karsten believes that the part which magic has played in originating primitive customs has, up to recent times, been much underrated, owing to our defective know- ledge of the psychology of savage man. This side of the subject is. pursued in this monograph, which, q though. Principally devoted to South America, dis- cusses the question from other points of. view, and, with its careful citation of authorities, deserves the attention of anthropologists. _ Nattonat laboratories for the cleaning, restoration, : and: preservation of. antiquities have for some years _ existed-at Berlin, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. Well- known books on the subject have been published by Dr. Rathgen (ed. 2, 1914) and Dr. Rosenberg (1917), _ the latter dealing with iron and bronze objects only. 5: In our own country there was no laboratory for the 3 “purpose. until 1920, when Dr. Alexander Scott was _ induced by the Department of Scientific and Indus- 4 trial Research to direct the work of a small laboratory d temporarily equipped at the British Museum (Blooms- q bury). So far as the English language was concerned, _ G. A. and H..A. Auden’s translation of Rathgen’s first 4 edition (1905), a chapter in Prof. Flinders Petrie’s _ “Methods and Aims in Archeology ” (1904), and.a few articles in the Museums Journal, notably a well-illus- _ trated one by Dr. Rathgen (1913), were about all the a museum curator had to guide him. Now the Depart- | - ment. just mentioned has issued a first report by Dr. _ Scott (Bulletin No. 5s, 1921, 2s.). It deals with prints, q enamels, silver, lead, iron, copper and copper alloys, and rock-paintings. Dr. Scott has attacked the ei de novo, and has evolved some new and 4 ious methods. Their success is illustrated by _ some photographs ‘before ’’ and “‘after.’’ NO. 2726, VOL. 109] yrof the British Museum, which is only prevented | tabulated, showing the species found in each. A VERY complete. summary on the subject of anthrax infection:in man appears in the Bulletin Mensuel for November last of the Office International d’Hygiéne Publique, Paris (t. 13, No. 11, 1921, pp. 1135-1239). Anthrax infection in man is most commonly seen as a.cutaneous manifestion, the characteristic malignant pustule;, which is caused by local inoculation. In- ternal anthrax also occurs in the lungs, intestine, and brain, and is caused by inhaling or swallowing the spores of the anthrax bacillus. Internal anthrax is always fatal, but the malignant pustule is fairly amen- able to treatment, if taken in time; by anthrax serum or by-excision. The disease is always transmitted from :an. affected animal, living or dead, or from the commercial. products derived from an affected.animal, such as. skins and hides, goat, camel, or horse hair, and wool. Between 1915 and 1920 a number of cases of human anthrax due to shaving-brushes has been reported in England (49), United States (40), Holland, Italy, and Egypt, the brushes having been made with infected hair. In Holland few cases of human anthrax occur, less than a’dozen per annum. The same is the case in Norway, in spite of the frequent occurrence of the disease in domestic animals, though among these the frequency of the disease is diminishing, from 686 animals affected in 1906 to 33 in 1920. Tue last report.of the Grain Pests.(War) Committee established ‘by the Royal. Society has. now. made its appearance. It required the conflagration of a Euro- pean war and the threat of starvation to Britain to stir us to investigate some of the problems connected with the destruction of grain by insects. Though the committee set up by the Royal Society was purely a war one, it seems a pity that it should cease to act just when the fringe of ‘the subject has been touched. Could the Royal Society not be induced to continue the investigations? The present report (No. 9) con- tains a short note by Prof. Goodrich on the parasitisa- tion of certain grain beetles by Hymenoptera. It is shown that these parasites are not likely to prove of value as a means of controlling the beetles, as the chalcids are themselves kept in check by carnivorous acarids. The second part is by Dr. J. Waterston, who deals with the systematics of the parasitic Hymen- optera. These parasites are, like their hosts, cosmo- politan, and many of the species previously described were certain to fall as synonyms. This comprehensive and beautifully illustrated paper should prove the basis of future work. The last report is that by Mr. J. H. Durrant on the species of insects found in grain; hundreds of samples of grain were examined from different parts of the world. These are: all We note that several species of beetles are new to our lists of grain pests. Altogether, much useful informa- tion is contained in the report. In the November. issue of the Journal of the Franklin Institute Dr. Carl Hering brings together some of the phenomena produced by the flow of heavy currents in conductors which have heen observed in recent times, and points out that in’ 120 NATURE [January 26, 1922 many cases they violate’somie of the laws of electro- magnetism as stated in curtent text-books. He there- fore pleads for a restatement of these laws in such form that there shall be no apparent exceptions to them. In the first instance, he points out that it is not sufficient for the production of electromotive force by magnetic induction that lines of magnetic force shall cut through .a circuit, but that the lines must cut through a conductor. Further, he contends that the. existence of the ‘‘pinch’’ effect, contracting the section of a conductor carrying current, ‘of the “stretch ’? effect, lengthening the conductor, and of what he has named the “corner ’’ effect, when a conductor changes its direction, render it advisable to modify the dictum that the forces on a conductor “can never have a resultant in the direction of the axis.”’ Tue firm of Messrs. Barr and Stroud, which grew out of the remarkable inventive work of the partners, was from 1888 until 1918 mainly occupied with the manufacture of range-finders and other instruments relating to the gunnery requirements of many different countries. They have since turned their attention also to the small type .of internal- combustion engine used on motor-cycles, and, as a consequence, have now put on the market an engine of 349 c.c. capacity’ working on the four- stroke cycle and having a sleeve-valve and air-cooling. The engine is made under the well-known Burt and McCollum patents and has several attractive features. The absence of all external valve mechanism makes for cleanliness and greatly lessens engine noise. It is a light engine, since its weight to horse-power ratio is; it appears, but 7 Ib. per h.p. when giving the maximum power of 7 h,p. The sleeve has a double motion, both horizontal and vertical, so combined that any point in it moves in an elliptical orbit. It has five curiously shaped ports, two for inlet, two for exhaust,.and one for the double purpose, serving each in turn. The general design is very attractive, and the claim for a special degree of ease in dismantling and adjusting appears to be substantiated by an examination of the details of the design. ‘Tests on the road have shown a satisfactory degree of fuel economy. Durinc the past forty years many proposals have been considered by the authorities in New South Wales for providing suitable means of communication across Sydney Harbour to accommodate the growth and development of Sydney.. Tenders and designs have now been invited for the construction and erection of . a_cantilever bridge. Some particulars of this project are given in an illustrated article in Engineering for December 30 last. The bridge will carry four lines of railway, a main roadway 35 ft. wide, a motor road- way 18 ft. wide, and a footway 15 ft. wide. The total length, including the approach spans, will be 3816 ft.; the headway required for shipping will be 170 ft. at high water for the central 600 ft. of the bridge. The bridge is to consist of steel cantilevers with shore and harbour arms each 500 ft. long and a central suspended span.of 600 ft. The clear span from centre to centre of the main piers will be NO. 2726, VOL. 109] 1600 ft. For the information of tenderers a number of ‘interesting tables is given, showing the range of — temperatures and intensities of prevailing winds and 3 the extreme velocities and pressures recorded during © 4 the severest storms in Sydney. Full particulars are also given regarding the loads to be employed jn estimating and the stresses to be used. The specifica- — tion has been prepared by the chief engineer, Mr. i J. J. C. Bradfield. ft Tue council of the Chemical Society has issued a4 pamphlet of eleven pages dealing with the furnishing : and equipment (so far as fixed fittings are concerned) f of chemical laboratories as the result of a conference, of various bodies interested called by the society eighteen months ago at, we believe, the suggestion of the Royal Institute of British Architects, though this is not mentioned. The object in view was to ascer- — tain whether, in view of the high prices of labour and materials, economies could be effected in. laboratory fittings. A small committee of the society was ap- — pointed and decided to investigate present practice, and the report gives information collected from various institutions.. Though necessarily but a slight con- tribution to a very large subject, the report contains a uséful epitome of the methods in use for forming and treating bench-tops, reagent shelves, fume cupboards, at sinks, and waste channels, while notes on ventilation, supply services and floor and wall surfaces are added. Finally, a short bibliography is given on the subject of laboratories, upon which, however, there is very little literature. Laboratory fittings are always costly, and at the present time, when so much educational work is held up owing to lack of funds for its material development, any information which will enable those | responsible for designing laboratory fittings to cheapen and simplify requirements is bound to be of service. As regards the use of wood particularly, it seems much to be desired that experiments be undertaken in order to ascertain whether many of the cheaper soft woods cannot, by impregnation or other suitable treatment, be made to serve in place of imported hard woods. Tue August issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society contains an account of the separa- — tion of the isotopes of chlorine by diffusion, contri- buted by W. D. Harkins and A. Hayes. The work was begun in 1915, and has been carried out in the chemical laboratories of the University of Chicago. A preliminary account of the separation of a heavier fraction from hydrogen chloride by diffusion through the stems of tobacco-pipes was given in Nature of April 22, 1920, p. 230. Calculations by Rayleigh’s formula show that to produce an increase of 0-2 in the atomic weight would require the diffusion of 130 tons of hydrogen chloride gas. The relative amounts of the different isotopes are as important as the atomic weight differences, and it is shown that, contrary to what has been supposed, it is easier to produce a small increase in the atomic weight of chlorine than to produce the same increase in the atomic weight of neon. The diffusion was carried out through. clay pipe-stems or tubes at atmospheric pressure. Low | pieeearee would be more methane: The increase January 26, 1922| NATURE 12! ir atomic weight achhied } in different experiments O from slightly less than to considerably more than Ne part in a thousand. A considerable amount of isotopic acid has been produced. These experi- s seem to confirm beyond doubt the existence of e iso otopes of chlorine first announced by Dr. Aston t he basis of positive-ray analysis. The latter nod d gives, in addition, the atomic weights .of the SRS. BENN Bros., Ltp., announce for publica- | March a work which should be of interest and © many readers, viz. “‘The Early Ceramic of China,” by A. L. Hetherington, in which IL be described the main characteristics of the oduc of the Chinese factories before 1368. The e publishers also promise a new series entitled The Chemical Engineering Library,’’ the first nine mes of which will be The General Principles of cal Engineering Design; The Layout of Chemical Works, H. Griffiths; Materials of Construc- tion: I., Non-Metals, H. Griffiths; Materials of Con- struction: II., Metals, H. Griffiths; Mechanical Handling, A. Reid; Weighing and Measuring Chemical Products, Malan and Robinson; Flow of Liquid Chemicals in Pipes, N. Swindin; Chemical Works Pumping, N. Swindin; and Factory Wastes as Fuels, A. Reid. Messrs. H. K. Lewis anp Co., Ltp., 136 Gower Street, London, have just issued an up-to-date list of ‘College Text-books and Works of Reference in Science and Technology.” ‘The titles are arranged under authors’ names, and are classified under eighteen subjects, some of which, such as chemistry, engineering, etc., are again divided. The subjects are arranged alphabetically, whilst a contents-list on the first pages makes reference to any subject quick and easy. The list will be*sent post free to any address on application. DUCTION OF STAR-DISTANCES FROM PROPER ons.—TIhe proper motions are almost our sole es in estimating the distances of the more remote = . Hence any method that affords a check on the esult is of value. Prof. H. N. Russell points out oes Sk ageaa Journal for September last that e can estimate the distance either (1) by correlating / motion away from the solar apex with the sun’s velocity, or. (2) by correlating the cross-motion with e lin t velocity. As a test he has divided stars. of _B, to B,, the radial velocities of 1 were foun by Campbell, into eighteen groups, lean position of each group being nearly the ; ete finds for the general mean parallax from (1) and 0-0058" from (2). One reason for the smaller value from method (2) is that of the stars may be undetected spectroscopic naries, in which case the adopted line-of-sight velo- city is pr bly too great. The probable . error of sie ethoa is o-oo10", of (2) 0-0014". In general, ; 1) gives the best results for objects of small erage velocity like the B stars, while (2) is better oeg movers like the planetary nebula. The close connection between period and absolute nitude in the Cepheid variables was originally jedticed from results obtained by method (1), and later considerable confirmation from a study of variables i in the globular clusters, . which appear to Fe naialy Cepheids. EORIC SHOWER OF DECEMBER 4-5, 1921.—Mr. . Denning writes that he has received a com- | = an, stating that an abundant display of meteors olny there on the morning of December 5. on A hai ag between 4.15 and 5.10 G.S.T. ee eet ee GEM. T-), nouye saw wy or sixty meteors, and recorded > path s of forty-six pt among which forty-four diated from about 156°+37° near 8 Leonis Minoris. rar ged nearly from 2-0 to 4:5. On the next morning Mr. Inouye watched 1 5 minutes, no meteors belonging to the same radiant were by Mr, s. Renda calculated the following elements from NO. 2726, VOL. 109] cation from the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, : » meteors were rather rapid, and the magnitudes © _are the subject of a useful note. ‘of the bright-limb phases of these phenomena will ‘serve to test the conjecture that there may be a ‘sensible atmosphere on the moon’s sunlit face. Our Astronomical Column. the above radiant point, assuming the orbit to be parabolic ; Q=252-1°, w=232-6°, i= 133:3°, g=o-79g1. No comet is identified with these elements. Mr. Denning adds that this shower in Leo Minor was well observed at Bristol on November 25-28, 1876, when he observed 26 meteors from the point 155°+36°. The observation was reported in NATURE of December 21, 1876, p. 158. The shower was also seen by him on December 2, 5, 7, and 10, 1885, when the radiant point was redetermined at 152°+ 40°. The display witnessed at Tokyo on the night fol- lowing December 4 last could pat i have been well observed in England, for when the maximum occurred at 7.35 pm. G.M.T. the radiant point was close to the north-north-east horizon, whereas at Tokyo it was situated only a few degrees east of the zenith, and splendidly placed for the abundant distribution of its meteors. PopuLaR ASTRONOMY IN SWEDEN.—The Stockholm periodical Populdr Astronomisk Tidskrift continues to produce articles of much interest and practical value. Hafte 3 and 4, 1921, contain a useful illustrated article by Edv. Jaderin on the graphical prediction of eclipses and occultations. The methods are easy to follow and capable of an accuracy that is amply sufficient. O. A. Akesson discusses the periodicity and motion of sun-spots. The daily amounts of rotation for dif- ferent latitudes are plotted for the two periods 1886-97 and 1898-1909. The values for the second period show a diminution of nearly 1 per cent. compared with the former. H. v. Zeipel contributes a study of the cluster M 37, near @ Autigz. He finds the colour- indices by comparison of photographic with photo-visual magnitudes, and deduces a distance of 1500 parsecs. There is also an illustrated article on the Babelsberg Observatory and its new. refractor (aperture 65 cm.) and reflector (aperture 120 cm.), both made by Zeiss. The approaching series of occultations of Aldebaran Accurate observations 122 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 7 Physiology at the British Association, ic aaa Pe outstanding features of this most successful | meeting at Edinburgh were the large number of discussions and the giving of an officia! semi-popular lecture. Before the beginning of the latter a very, ’ pleasant interlude was. furnished .by Prof. Halliburton announcing a presentation to Sir Edward Sharpey Schafer’ on his seventieth birthday by his former students and co-workers. The address of the president of the section was followed by a debate. Sir E. Sharpey Schafer dis- cussed three points in connection with physiology, namely, the position of histology, physiology as a pure science, and physiology in relation to clinical medicine. He stated that anatomy is not a dead subject -without histology, as it can be developed along the lines of morphology and embryology, but that histology is essential. for the proper understanding of physiology. He further pointed out that, although it can be called microscopic anatomy, histology has developed as a branch of physiology. The study of physiology as a pure science is necessary, because it is in the pursuit of knowledge that discoveries are made. It is not always known what practical applications may arise for new knowledge, but by confining one’s. attention to purely practical applications the reserve of know- ledge to be applied will become exhausted. The ‘application of physiology to clinical medicine should come by the clinical teacher having held. a. position in the physiological laboratory. The physiologist has sufficient work to accomplish in his laboratory without attempting to become a clinician. By the proper training of clinical teachers in physiology it is hoped that invaluable applications will arise in medical practice. A number of other speakers took part, all of whom enforced the views of Sir Walter Fletcher that. physio- logy must be studied as a pure science in a university ; that the physiologist should study the organism as a whole, so that histology, chemistry, and physics all may be applied. to explain the behaviour of living organisms; and that it is only by a combination of all these that one can appreciate to what extent the chemical and physical processes may. be regulated in the living cells. Prof. A. R. Cushny opened a discussion on the relation of tests for studying the efficiency of the kidney to the views as to the function of the kidney. Various. tests. have been used to test the functional activity of the kidneys without a proper consideration of the: conditions of its activity. The excretable sub- stanees. must be: distinguished from. the non-excretable. The threshold substances are those which are excreted when their concentration rises above a certain thres- hold, and the no+threshold substances: are those’ which are completely excreted, i.e, they are of no further use to the organism. Of the various substances used, water, chlorides, and urea:are-not satisfactory, as they are not completely excreted. By comparing the amount of urea and sulphate in blood and urine it has. been found that sulphate is concentrated twice as much as urea, so that the functional activity as judged by the sulphate excretion would be twice as great as. when judged by the urea excretion. Sul- phate, phosphate,. and creatinine were concentrated’ to equal’ degrees; therefore, the concentration of any of these in’ plasma and in urine might be measured as a test for functional’ activity. Prof..J. Meakins. commenced by agreeing that urea is not a toxic substance. ‘He quoted cases where chronic incomplete obstruction of the ureter gave rise NO. 2726, VOL. 109| toa large volume of dilute urine. If temporary tee moval of the obstruction causes the kidney function a become normal, this‘is an indication for surgical in ference; but if the excretion does. not become: normal, surgical interference is contra-indicated.. _ Sometimes. one finds that a no-threshold substance (e.g, creatinin in atinine) : is being retained. Retention of urea by itself is not — important, because along with this retention one may — find such: conditions as an excessive excretion, ofphos- — phates or a retention of chlorides, which are. Mes noe | responsible for the symptoms. The kidne: not function as a whole under abnormal pan and if one adheres too rigidly to one criterion of functional or a abnormalities may be overlooked. Dr. Jj. S. Haldane expressed the view that hidides nermal conditions the kidney regulates. the diffusion pressure of water, but that under some - abnormal conditions. the level set. by the kidney is not that required by the tissues. Prof. P. T. Herring showed some slides of the skate’s kidney, which demonstrated the direct excre- tion of substances into the kidney tubule. He stated - that normally the kidney has a constant function, but in disease the function is variable, being influenced by other organs. A study of the comparative structure of the kidney in various animals may help to show how various: parts of the kidney tubule: function 5. part may be absorptive and part excretive. Prof. A. Krogh (Copenhagen) pointed out that the concentration of urea is the same thr t the - tissues, but that it may be present in different concen- trations in the various secretions.. | Prof. T. H. Milroy re-emphasised the uniformity in concentration of urea in: blood and muscle. He added that an increase in concentration of urea in the blood is followed by a latent period before the extra urea is eliminated: The concentration in blood’ and muscle. falls slowly to the former level. Dr. C, L. Evans thought that local circulatory changes in different parts of the kidney might affect the excretion’ of different substances: by different parts of the tubule. The circulatory changes in arterio- sclerosis is a case in point. Dr. E. P. Poulton stated that in the arterio-sclerotic kidney there is a marked difference between the two parts of the kidney and slight urea retention. In azotoic nephritis urea excretion is damaged, but the chlorides are not retained. Sir James Mackenzie desired that more attention should be paid to the interrelation of kidneys and other excretory organs, such as the skin and bowels. Prof, E. P. Cathcart opened a discussion on “Heavy Muscular Work.’? Heavy muscular work requires a co-ordination of the muscular, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems. In carrying out heavy work rest periods are important, but the data. gear the number and duration of them are not aa 90 factory. Overwork sis prevented by two ors of safety, namely, fatigue, which is slow in onset and may be produced by any degree of work, and collapse, which is:sudden.in onset, probably due. to heart failure, and. not to lack of oxygen-supply to muscles. The former is hastened. by monotony, such as'in marching, — and the latter oecurs sooner if the work involves a static or maintained element. The effects of training © and of diet are important in determining the power to. carry on work. All movements are mixed, but some recent experiments: may be quoted as. indicating a division into three varieties of work, namely, posi+ tive, such as lifting. a weight ; negative, such as - Chaat beta | January 26, 1922] NATURE 123 lowering a weight; and static, such as maintaining a weight. The first two correspond to isotonic condi- ons of contraction, and the last to isometric con- 1. As a measurement of the expenditure of in these forms of work a subject was given the of lifting a weight on his hand, lowering the weight and holding it steady both in the prone upine positions, the rate of movement being con- : a a metronome :— : ey Calories per sche) sq. m. per hour -ositive 150'9 femtive’ =... 124°5 sitive and negative ; 180°5 ovements without weight 60:1 Static OL ‘ 94:6 spite of the apparent severity of static work in g fatigue the metabolism is not excessive, atigue may be due to interference with the f. A. VY. Hill showed curves founded on the heat ction of isolated frog’s muscles, indicating that tenance of a contraction is expensive, requiring times as much energy expenditure. He also gave obtained by moving a flywheel at different s of speed. The rapid rates of movement waste gy because the change of form of muscle requires ; to be done in overcoming the viscosity of 2, whilst slower rate of movement allows a . § os Sein of energy to appear as external work. It is important to find out the most efficient relation between the work to be done and the rate at which it should be carried out. _ Prof. H. Briggs described the physical endurance tests used during the war. He showed curves relating the variation of energy expended with the work done. A normal load is one which can be continued in- definitely. It was found that well-trained men get OC e work, whilst a man in poor condition is by breathing oxygen with smaller loads. Stamina is the ability to maintain work. It appears hat habitual hard work may maintain a man’s nina to greater ages than is found in sedentary |. S. Haldane quoted experiments on the cir- tory side of work. These experiments were made man, the lungs being used as an aerotonometer. increasing severity of work the blood-flow in- es exponentially, whilst the percentage of oxygen turation of the blood rises logarithmically, and heart-beat remains almost uniform. 1 NS Acapnia ses circulation-rate, and is thus unfavourable to q Prof. A. V. Hill reported some results on pulse ‘conduction in relation to blood-pressure, using the re emoeraph. The pulse conduction can be a by _3°s0/V/per cent. Nicrenss of arterial volume per mm. Hg increase in pressure. ‘measuring systolic and diastolic pressures and the tate of pulse conduction it is possible to estimate ‘the imcrease in volume of the arterial reservoir at e Crh heart-beat. »_ Prof, A. D. Waller described the simplified method tor the estimation of physiological cost of work done under various industrial conditions. He suggested NO. 2726, VOL. 109] | his published work. As Prof. Briggs pointe ce from breathing oxygen only when doing . that, instead of the various arbitrary terms such as / P sedentary, light, medium, and heavy work, one should use the energy expenditures of 100, 200, 300, and 400 kilogram metres respectively. Prof. A. Krogh laid emphasis on the effect of diet on the respiratory quotient and on efficiency. For short experiments a diet containing plenty of carbo- hydrate is better for maintained exertion. He criticised Prof. Waller’s technique, but said that it was probably satisfactory for the investigation of energy expenditure under working conditions in in- dustry. Prof. Waller’s methods were criticised by several others. Some criticisms were on technical points, such as the accuracy of dry meters, tempera- ture and pressure measurements or the size of bag used in collecting the expired air, and some were on the results, namely, the low carbon dioxide output in out, there may be greater sources of error neglected by- both sets of workers than those due to the errors of analysis. The discussion terminated by a paper on ‘The Economy of Human Effort in Industry” by Mr. E. Farmer. The aim of his study was to find more rapid methods of carrying out industrial processes. One must see the effect on output without the stimulus of special pay. The principles to be used in devising new methods are to encourage smooth movements with- out marked change in direction and to avoid the inter- vention of discrimination. He gave examples of in- creased output in packing chocolates and in metal polishing. Further points requiring study are : What is monotony, what is the influence of noise, and what is the influence of vibration on the workers? A few individual papers were given. Prof. A. Krogh described a simple apparatus, con- sisting of a volume recorder containing soda lime, for measuring oxygen consumption. The soda lime ab- sorbs all carbon dioxide and the volume decrease as recorded on a kymograph gives a measure of the oxygen absorption. Dr. J. C. Drummond gave an interesting account of some recent work in connection with vitamins and their relation to public health. Green plants and fruits are the main source of vitamins. Dairy pro- ducts are good in furnishing the vitamins provided that the cows have been fed on green food containing them. The plankton in the sea by the presence of green plants is a source of vitamins which we obtain in fish and fish-oils. It is important that in- dustrial populations should obtain a proper supply of vitamins, because a relative deficiency in them may cause ill-health without the appearance of such diseases as scurvy or beri-beri. Dr. F. W. Edridge-Green reported experiments on mixing white light with spectral colours. He was followed by Dr. Shaxby, who described a useful instru- ment consisting of a grating spectroscope with two collimators by which the spectra are formed in re- versed order. By a shutter in the eye-piece it is possible to compare monochromatic patches in re- versed order. Dr. R. J. S. McDowall read a paper on ‘ The In- dependence of the Pu'monary Circulation as shown by the Action of Pituitary Extract.’? Tracings were shown in which the pulmonary pressure was seen to vary independently of the systemic circulation. Dr. E. P. Poulton and Dr. W. W. Payne read a paper on ‘“Epigastric Pain.” They consider that epigastric pain is not necessarily referred pain, but that it may be due to spasmodic contractions of the cesophagus, stomach, or duodenum. A number of demonstrations were given, and one 124 NATURE | JANUARY 26, 1922 afternoon’ was spent seeing some of these at the Clinical - Laboratory, Royal Infirmary. Amongst these demonstrations were Dr. R. K. S. Lim, demon- stration of the mucoid cells of the stomach; Dr. E. P. Poulton and Dr. W. W. Payne, peristalsis of the human cesophagus; Mr. McClure, psychogalvanic reflex; and Prof. J. Meakins, respiration with de-— creased volume per respiration, with and without — oxygen, and effect of resistance to breathing on — respiration at rest and whilst working. an The Week in a a meeting of the Royal Anthropological Insti- tute held on December 13 Mr. Northcote W. Thomas read a paper on ‘‘The Week in West Africa.’? He said there were in West Africa.a number of sub-divisions of the lunar month, such as 16-day periods, 10-day periods, and the like, the origin of which was either in the market or in some religious belief. There were, in addition, a number of shorter units, comparable to our week, of more» uncertain crigin; they ranged in length from two to eight days. They were very rarely sub-divisions of the month, and there was reason, where’ the week is synchronised with the month, to suspect foreign influence. Generally speaking, the month in West Africa was of small importance and played no part in economic or religious life; it was reckoned from the day on which the new moon was first seen, but the native can only very rarely say of how many days it consists. There was no less uncertainty as to the length of the year; few, if any, tribes had any exact knowledge of its length. The calendar was sometimes adjusted by the recognition of two years of different length, as in Benin, where the female year seems to have been about 340 days in length. The week has been traced to a religious origin. Webster has regarded the ‘‘rest day’ as its germ, but the rest day is an institution of agricultural West Africa people, and there are many such peoples in Africa — who have no week. . On the other hand, the dis- — tribution of the market is practically conterminous — with that of the week, and it is probable that the © calendar first came into existence as a means of indicating the market day. We have, however, little or no evidence to show why the different units were chosen. A certain number of day-names are derived | from names of deities, notably on the Gold Coast, but, generally speaking, the kind of work done on a given day or the market attended is the decisive factor, and consequently they are used only in a small area. To this there is one striking exception ; the Ibo day-names, used also in a different order in Benin City, are found everywhere from the Niger to the Cross River, but we are ignorant of their meaning. The four-day week of the Lower Niger, which appears to be independent of the week of the Congo, seems to occupy the largest area; but we know too little of the distribution of the five- and six-day weeks, especially in French territory, to make any very definite assertion. There is good reason to suppose that a non-Mohammedan seven-day week was known; some of these weeks are clearly expanded from an earlier four-day week, but they have native, not Arabic, names. Scientific Research and N a lecture on ‘‘ The Benefits of Research to Cor- porations ’”? (No. 18, R, and C. Series of Nat. Res. Council; U.S.A., 1921) Dr. Charles L. Reese, chemical director. of the de Pont de Nemours Explo- sives Co., U.S.A., gives examples of the advantages which accrue when a large industrial concern is equipped with a staff capable of applying scientific knowledge to the improvement of materials and pro- cesses, _ Before the war this important company had already systematised its procedure by developing a system of records and costing, and had completed a number of investigations which had been the means of saving money, resulting, for example, in methods for shorten- ing the time of separation of nitroglycerine from its acids, increasing its yield, preventing its freezing in dynamites, and for nittating cellulose by the use of the mechanical dipper. Studies from the company’s laboratories on the nitration of toluene and of the characteristics of nitrocellulose propellants became of great importance when war broke out, as did also a process for the recovery of a considerable proportion of the alcohol used in gelatinising the propellant, this leading to a direct saving in corn—estimated at ten million bushels—which thus’ escaped being fermented. During the war enormous extensions were made ‘by the company .for the production of nitrocellulose powder, trinitrotoluene, picric acid, amatol, and tetryl, and in this connection it is stated that the staff of the chemical and, mechanical research departments of the firm was increased in number from 212 to 987, with an expenditure on experiment and research of NO. 2726, VOL. 109] Industrial ‘Developm ent. 3,360,000 dollars for four years of the war, the output of military explosives being seven million tons. Since the war the company ha§ transferred its. research organisation with success to the production of dyes, and is spending, and is prepared to spend, many millions of dollars on research to meet German competition, but protection is considered to be essential at present to the existence of the industry. (oe The address is interesting as giving an idea of the scope and the methods of a large chemical concern in utilising the services of scientific men for the investigation of new processes and the conservation of materials. A custom obtains with the company of recompensing inventors by means of a bonus in the form of the company’s stock, in some cases sufficient to make them independent, Little mention is made, however, of research on the theory of explosives, on which doubtless much w: has been done by the staff. A few remarks may be made as to some subject-matter of the claims. Thus, while the mechanical dipper was undoubtedly an advance for obtaining output on the old pot- process of making nitrocellulose, the Thomson displacement process as used in this country | and in France also greatly reduces handlin of the material and eliminates fuming off, which | appears still to occur occasionally with the mechanical dipper. Much is made of the ‘‘ work found necessary to develop satisfactory methods for loading that very successful high explosive developed in England known as amatol, a mixture of trinitrotoluene and ammonium nitrate,’ but it is understood that an enormous ~ JANUARY 26, 1922] NATURE 125 _ number of shell was filled with amatol by the methods supplied from this country. Again, tetryl, trinitro- phenylmethylnitroamine, not -“ tetranitro-dimethyl- aniline,”’ as stated, was not used exclusively in Ger- any before the war, but was made here also on the anufacturing scale. The address, however, is of interest as showing a actical appreciation of the need for the application scientific method in the development of old, and acquisition of new, industries. : liversity and Educational Intelligence. BrrmincHam.—The reports of the Council and of Principal to be presented to the Court of Gover- 's at the annual meeting on February g have been ed. The Principal appeals for more liberal provi- sion of both undergraduate and post-graduate scholar- Ships, and lays stress upon the difficulties which financial stringency imposes on the advancement of esearch. He reminds the Governors that ‘the war revealed the obvious, but often forgotten, truth that trained minds cannot be improvised, and that success in international competition will go to the nation which, by laborious and patient organisation, pro- vides, through its universities, disciplined workers.” sg ‘The extension of the University library is reported with satisfaction as a step in the direction of a more complete provision of that vital need of research _ workers. ; The overcrowding of the Mason College buildings is regarded as a grave menace to the con- tinued expansion of the departments of medicine, biology, arts, and education. The obvious remedy is to transfer the biological departments to new build- ings at Edgbaston, but as this would involve great ex- penditure of money the alternative of restricting entries to all the = Sables at present housed in Mason College may have to be faced in the near future. . __ The Principal appeals especially for more support from the districts surrounding the city, which send a large proportion of the students at present in the University, reminding them that ‘‘we cannot have it both ways: unrestricted admission of all the fully qualified and the withholding of a substantial con- tribution towards the financial cost of a university education.” __- Reference is made to the problem of adult educa- tion and the way in which the University is trying to do its share of this important work. “All who _keep closely in touch with the main currents of educa- tional opinion are impressed with the increasing in- sistence of the demand as well as with the com- plexity of the task involved in an ‘educated demo- ¢racy.” It would be disastrous if the handling of the problem became political; the provincial universities by Sympathy and wise statesmanship, perhaps more than any other organisations, can avert this danger.”’ __ The Court of Governors is to be asked to confer _ the title of emeritus professor on Prof. J. H. Muirhead. ___The assistance of the Birmingham Chamber of ‘Commerce in completing the fund for a chair of Italian (which was started by Mr. Arthur Serena’s gift of ig .) is gratefully acknowledged by the Council. : le appointment of Mr. Maurice Nicoll to the lec- tureship in psychotherapy, endowed by Sir Charles ‘Hyde, is reported. __ In commemoration of the work of Prof. P. F. _ Frankland, a fund has been subscribed for providing a Frankland medal and a prize of books to be given _ annually to the best student in practical chemistry. __A bequest of 20001. under the will of the late Richard Peyton becomes available, by the death of his widow, “for the advancement of music.” NO. 2726, VOL. 109] Rs 3 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. January 26, 1891. Nicolas August Otto died.— Originally a commercial traveller, Otto began work on the gas engine in 1854. In 1867.with Langen he brought out the Langen and Otto atmospheric engine, and in 1876 he introduced the engine working on the Otto cycle, which proved to be the turning point in the history of gas motors. January 27, 1848. Josiah Christopher Gamble died.— A pioneer among alkali manufacturers, Gamble was born in Ireland in 1776. He graduated at Glasgow University and became a Presbyterian minister. After a few years he abandoned the Church, started small works .at Dublin for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, bleaching powder, and alum, and in 1828 with Muspratt founded the first chemical works at St. Helens. January 27, 1885. Edward Davy died.—A contem- porary of Wheatstone and Cooke, Davy invented an electric telegraph, experimented with a mile of wire in Regent’s Park, and in 1837 at Exeter Hall ex- hibited his needle telegraph. In 1839 he sailed for Australia, where he became medical officer of health and Mayor of Malmesbury. January 28, 1829. Thomas Tredgold died.—Known for his valuable writings on carpentry, the strength of materials, and the steam engine. Tredgold began life in the North of England as a journeyman carpenter. He studied mathematics, chemistry, and architecture, contributed to the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica ’’ and the Philosophical Magazine, and made original inves- tigations. He died in London at the age of forty, worn out by his labours. January 28, 1864. Benoit Paule Emile Clapeyron died. —From the Ecole Polytechnique Clapeyron entered the mining service, taught in the School of Public Works at St. Petersburg, and on his return to France took part in the construction of some of the earliest French railways. He wrote on the mechanical theory of heat, and it was through his work that Kelvin was led to the study of Carnot’s famous memoir. Clapeyron in 1858 succeeded Cauchy as a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. January 29, 1882. Alexander Lyman Holley died.—A graduate of the Brown University, Providence, Holley engaged in practical engineering, and in 1860 pub- lished an important work on American and European railway practice. He afterwards became a great iron- master. The inscription on his monument in Wash- ington Square, New York, states that he was “ fore- most among those whose genius and energy estab- lished in America and improved throughout the world the manufacture of Bessemer steel.’’ February 1, 1885. Stanislas Charles Henri Laurent Dupuy de Lome died.—In 1848-52 Dupuy de Léme built the Napoléon, the first steam line of battleship. About five vears later he converted the finest two-decker in the French Navy, also called the Napvléon, into the Gloire, the first fully armoured sea-going ship ever seen. She was 256 ft. long, of goo h.p., carried thirty-six guns, and was protected by 5 in. of iron and 26 in. of timber. Dupuy de Léme was for some years Chief Constructor of the French Navy. February 1, 1885. Sidney Gilchrist Thomas died.—A clerk in a London police court, Thomas studied chemistry and in 1870 attacked the problem of the de- phosphorisation of pig-iron in the Bessemer con- verter. By 1875 he had solved the problem, and with the assistance of his cousin, Percv Gilchrist, and others, the commercial triumph of his important dis- covery was assured. His grave is in the Passy Cemetery in Paris. Ei. S 126 NATURE [JANUARY 26, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, January 19.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair.—L. Hill, H. M. Vernon, and D. H. Ash: The kata-thermometer—a measure of ventilation. The kata-thermometer is used in ven- tilation inquiries to estimate (1) the cooling, (2) the evaporative power of the air on a surface at body- temperature, and (3) as an anemometer to indicate the velocity of air-currents. Certain discrepancies having arisen, the ‘“‘kata’’. formule have been re- investigated, using the large wind-channels at the National Physical Laboratory, and for low velocities the method of moving the ‘‘kata’’ through the air in a whirling arm, taking count of the effect of ‘“‘ swirl.’’—Lt.-Col. C. B. Heald and Major W. S. Tucker: Recoil curves as shown by the hot-wire microphone. The hot-wire microphone has been em- ploved to measure body recoil as the result of heart action, and the records measure quantities propor- tional to the kinetic energy imparted to the body by motions of the blood. .Thus slow-moving displace- ments, such as those of breathing, are not recorded. The apparatus can be standardised, giving the same responses from day to day for the same body recoils, and the kinetic energy of the body can be expressed in C.G.S. units. The results are consistent with physio- logical data.—E. W. A. Walker: Studies in bacterial variability : The occurrence and development of dys-, eu-, and hyper-agglutinable forms of certain bacteria. In the enteric and dysenteric groups of bacteria dys- and hyper-agglutinable forms occur. Both may be ob- tained from one eu-agglutinable strain of a bacillus. In agglutination tests a highly dys-agglutinable bacillus may fail to agglutinate with a serum that agglutinates the culture from which it was derived up to 1 in 1000. It may also fail to absorb from the serum the agglu- tinins specific to that culture. Noteworthy differences in behaviour thus exist between different individuals of a single culture. These facts may help to throw light on the problem of seriological strains.—Marjory Stephenson and Margaret Whetham: Studies in the fat metabolism of the timothy grass bacillus. During the growth of the timothy grass bacillus on a medium of inorganic salts, including ammonia as the sole source of nitrogen, glucose, and sodium acetate, the formation of protein, nitrogen, and fat was followed and correlated with the disappearance of glucose and acetate. No intermediate decomposition products of glucose were found. The growth of the organism on possible intermediate products of the breakdown of glucose was then studied. The growth on lactic acid was very similar to that on glucose alone. Growth on acetic acid was negligible. Growth on acetic and lactic acid showed that lactic acid enabled the organism to utilise the acetic acid. The acetic acid utilised in the presence of lactic acid or glucose served to increase the proportion of lipoid material formed, and not to increase the general growth of the organism. Growth on propionic and butyric acids was like that on lactic acid.—J. A. Gardner and F. W. Fox: The origin and destiny of cholesterol in the animal organism. Pt. 12: The excretion of sterols in man. Measurements of the intake and out- put of sterols in twenty-six cases on known diet show that in every case, except one, there was an excess of output over intake. The average daily negative balance was 0-3 gram, but individual balances were very variable. A considerable portion of the chole- sterol of the food and of the bile is re-absorbed in the intestine along with the bile salts, but this process appears to be limited by the reduction of cholesterol NO. 2726, VOL. 109] | to bi-hydrocholesterol in the intestine, a process especially characteristic of the adult human subject. The excess of output of cholesterol over intake leads — to the conclusion that there is some organ in the body capable of synthesising cholesterol. The intake of un- — saponifiable matter not precipitable by digitonin is — much larger than the output.—S. J. Lewis: The ultra- — violet absorption spectra and the optical rotation of — the proteins of the blood sera. The absorption curve — of pseudo-globulin is constant and the same for both — the horse and human varieties. The curve for eu- — globulin differs considerably from that for pseudo- globulin in extinction coefficients, but not in general — form. The absorption curves for the horse and human varieties of albumin are similar, except for a constant ratio in their magnitudes, and this difference may be due to the association of an aggregate possessing little or no selective absorptive power, e.g. an aliphatic amino-acid or a polypeptide, with the principal aggregate. The close similarity in form of all the curves when corrected to a common amplitude, and the fact that the amplitudes are nearly all simple multiples of a common factor, point to similarity of constitution amongst these proteins and to a variable “concentration ’’ of the active group. Processes for the separation and purification of the proteins have been elaborated. Mineralogical Society, January 10o.—Mr. A. Hutchin- son, president, in the chair.—C. E, Tilley: Density, refractivity, and composition relations of some natural glasses. The glasses investigated fall into two groups, (a) tektite glasses and (b) volcanic glasses. The characteristics of the former confirm their divergence from volcanic glasses, and support the theory of their meteoritic origin. The specific refractivities of five analysed glasses are compared with the values cal- culated from the specific refractivities of their com- ponent oxides, and a notable correspondence is re- vealed. The influence of contained water on the specific refractivity is discussed and some figures, bearing on the volume-change accompanying the pas- sage from the vitreous to the crystalline state are given.—H. H. Thomas and E. G. Radley: The so- called ‘‘avanturine ’’ from India, with an analysis of | the contained mica. The stone is a quartz-schist, and owes its colour to plates of green fuchsite arranged parallel to the planes of foliation. The mica contains 1-77 per cent. Cr,O, and a little vanadium; its optical characters are described. The probable source of the stone is discussed and the deterioration of the stone by heat and other causes is explained.—A. Russell and A. Hutchinson: Laurionite and paralaurionite from Cornwall. Laurionite associated with phosgenite and anglesite in a cavity in limonite is described in a speci- men obtained from the collection of John Hawkins, of Trewithin, Cornwall. The locality is probably Wheal Rose, Sithney. Paralaurionite occurs with phosgenite in a very similar specimen in the collection of the late H. J. Brooke, said to come from Wheal Con- fidence, Newquay.—A. Russell: A discovery of pitch- blende at Kingswood Mine, Buckfastleigh, North Devon. Pitchblende, occurring in a north and south lode associated with chloanthite, and native bismuth is described. The discovery shows promise of being of some economic importance.—W. A. Richardson: — The distribution of oxides in Washington’s collected analyses of igneous rocks. Frequency curves are given for all the oxides, and show considerable differences — from those previously published. The silica curve is the most interesting, and shows two maxima, one at 52 per cent. and the other at 72 per cent. SiO,. The frequency curve for SiO, can be matched by a com- bination of two normal curves or error with origins - JANUARY 26, 1922] NATURE 127 on the 52 and 72 per cent. lines.—W. A. Richardson : _A simplification of the Rosiwal method of micro- ‘analysis. A method by which, using a drawing ap- atus, the lengths of component minerals of a rock can be projected on to separate strips of paper and directly summed is described.—Dr. A. Schoep: The absence of cobalt in cornetite from Katanga, Belgian Songo. Microchemical tests made on carefully selected srystals from the original locality (Star of the Congo Mine) prove that cobalt is present only in associated black spots of heterogenite. The mineral is thus a hydrated phosphate of copper, agreeing completely with that recently described from Northern Rhodesia. ae Paris. cademy of Sciences, January 9.—M. Emile Bertin 1 the chair.—C. Lallemand: The genesis and present State of the science of the abacus.—T. Varopoulos: A elass of increasing functions.—P. Humbert: The pro- duct of Laplace relative to certain hypercylinders.— G, Dumas: A normal table relating to unilateral sur- faces.—A. Denjoy: Functions defined by series of ‘rational fractions.—B. Gambier: Surfaces and varie- ties of translation of Sophus Lie.—C. Nordmann and ‘M. Le Morvan: Observation of an abnormal star by the heterochrome photometer of the Paris Observa- tory. e star 13 Cepheus presents some singular anomalies. It belongs to the spectral type A (hydrogen stars), but has a yellow coloration. The ‘colour photometer shows that the light intensity is distributed in the spectrum in such a manner that the more refrangible rays are proportionally less ‘intense than in any of the stars hitherto studied, not only of this type, but also of types F and G. It is possible that the atmosphere surrounding this star possesses exceptional absorbing power.—E. de Mar- tonne: The massif of Poiana Ruska and the cor- relation of the erosion cycles of the southern Car- -pathians.—E. Carvallo: The principle of relativity in dielectrics.—P. Chevenard : The expansion of chromium and the chrome-nickel alloys over a wide temperature interval. A differential dilatometer was employed in which the standard bar was a nichrome (with to per cent. of chromium), the law of expan- sion of which had been carefully determined by direct methods. A diagram is given of the results on com- mercially pure chromium (98:3 per cent.) and five -chrome-nickel alloys. The diagram gives the co- efficients of expansions as functions of the tempera- ture over the range 0° C. to goo® C.—M. Faillebin : A mixed organo-metallic compound of aluminium. Aluminium and methylene iodide in dry ether in the presence of a little iodine react in two ways, the prin- ‘cipal reaction giving CH,-AllI and AIlI,, the subsidiary reaction All, and ethylene.—J. Barlot and Mlle. M. T. Brenet : The determination of fatty acids by the forma- tion of complex compounds with uranyl and sodium. Streng’s reagent (acid solution of uranyl nitrate) is known to give a precipitate of a double salt with sodium acetate. Similar precipitates are obtained with the sodium salts of higher fatty acids, but only if the acid contains an even number of consecutive carbon atoms. Thus formates, propionates, isobutyrate, and normal valerates give no precipitate, but the reaction ‘is obtained with acetic, normal butyric, fermentative Yaleric and normal caproic acids.—Y. Milon and L. Dangeard: A Redonian formation (Upper Miocene) forming ravines with the Eocene clays to the south of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) containing iron minerals.-— ‘E. Zaepfiel: The mechanism of the orientation of leaves. The movements of the leaf are connected with the distribution of water, and this distribution is in- fluenced by the mobile starch.—C, Douin : The gameto- _ phyte of the Marchantia.—L. Plantefol: The toxicity NO. 2726, VOL. 109] of various nitrophenols for Sterigmatocystis nigra. Experiments were carried out with three isomeric nitrophenols, dinitrophenol, and trinitrophenol. All these proved more toxic to the mould than phenol itself. The three mononitrophenols differed in toxicity, the para-compounds being the most toxic. The di- nitrophenol had the greatest effect in inhibiting the growth of the mould of any of the substances tried; it is nearly 300 times more toxic than phenol.—E. Chatton: Polymorphism and maturation of the spores of Syndinium.—R. Sazerac and C. Levaditi: The use of bismuth in the prophylaxy of syphilis. Sodium potassium tartarobismuthate, administered in intra- muscular injection, acts preventively against syphilitic infection, and the same salt applied locally in the form of salve acts preventively even after infection. The conclusions were arrived at after experiments on rabbits. Diary of Societies. THURSDAY, Janvary 26. Royat INsTirvuT1oN oF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—S. Gordon: Sea Birds and Seals. Royat Socirty, at 4.30—W. B. Hardy and Ida Doubleday: Boundary Lubrication: The Paraffin Series.—Prof. W. A. Bone, A. R. Pearson, E. Sinkinson, and W. E. Stockings: Researches on the Chemistry of Coal. Part 2: The Resinic Constituents and Coking Propensities of Ooals—Dr. J. A. Crowther and B. J. Schonland: The Scattering of -rays.— Ann ©. Davies: The Minimum Electron Energies associated with the Excitation of the Spectra of Helium.—C. N: Hinshelwood, H. Hartley, and B. Topley: The Influence of Temperature on Two Alternative Modes of Decomposition of Formic Acid.— Prof. C. V. Raman: The Molecular Scattering of Light in Water and the Colour of the Sea. Roya AgronavuticaL Society (Students’ Meeting) (at Royal Society of Arts), at 7—C. Daniel: Practical Points in Fuselage Con- struction. INSTITUTION OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS (London) (at Caxton Hall), at 7.15.—OC. J. Allen: The Influence of Design on Express Loco- motive Performance. Concrete Institute, at 7.30.—E. B. Moullin: Capillary Canals in Concrete, and the Percolation of Water through Them. Royat Mricroscorican Society (Metallurgical Section), at 7.30.— H. Wrighton: Demonstration of Polishing Metal Specimens. Royat Socrery or Mepictne (Urology Section), at 8.30. Society or ANTIQUARIES, at 8.30. FRIDAY, JanvaRry 27. ASSOCIATION OF Economic BuioLocists (in Botanical Lecture. Theatre, Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 2.30.— Prof. E. P. Stebbing and others: Discussion: The Importance of Scientific Research in Forestry and its Position in the Empire. Roya Society or Arts (Indian Section), at .4.30.—A. L. Howard: The Timbers of India and Burma. ; PuysicaL Society or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science andi Technology), at 5.—T. H. Littlewood: The Diffusion of Solutions. —H. R. Nettleton: A Special Apparatus for the Measurement at Various Temperatures of the Thomson Effect in Metals.—J. J. Leper i A Defect in the Sprengel Pump: its Cause and the Remedy. Roya Gonibes OF SURGEONS oF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Hunterian Lecture: The Facial Characteristics of the Races. native to India. 2 : Roya Society or Mepicine (Study of Disease in Children Section), 5 at 5. Junror InstiTuTIoN or ENGINEERS, at 8.—L M. Jockel: Tuels- and the Boiler-house. se Royat Society or Mepictne (Epidemiology and State Medicine Sec- tion), at 8—Dr. S. M. Copeman, Dr. R. A. O’Brien, Dr. A. J;. Eagleton, and A. T. Glenny: Experiences with the Schick Test, and Active Immunisation against Diphtheria. - Royat Institution oF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Viscount Burnham: Journalism SATURDAY, January 28. j Essex Fienp Crus (in Physical Lecture Theatre, West Ham Municipal College), at 3.—O. Nicholson: The Rosy-Marbled Moth (Erastria venustula) in Britain (with special reference to Essex). orris: Some Neolithic Sites in the Valley of the Essex am. Royat Instiruttion or Great Britarn, at 3.—Dr. C. Macpherson: The Evolution of Organ Music (2). MONDAY, Janvary 30. Institute or Actvuartes, at 5.—G. King: A Short Method of Con- structing Select Mortality Tables: Further Developments. Royat Socrery or Arts, at 8.—C. Ainsworth Mitchell: Inks (Cantor Lectures) (2). , Mepican Socrery or LOonpoy, at 9.—Sir Leonard Rogers: Ameebic- Liver Abscess: Its Pathology, Prevention, and Cure (Lettsomiam Lectures) (1). TUESDAY, Janvary 31. Royan Horricurtturat. Socrery, at 1. Royrat Institvtron or Great Britatn, at 3.—Prof. H. H. Turner: Variable Stars (1); Short Period Variables. ~ 128 NATURE [January 26, 1922 ~ RoyaL PHotoGrRapHic Socrery OF Great Britain, at 7.—H. H. Wrench: Our Old Village Churches and their Story. ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING Socirry (Joint meeting with the Royal ' Aeronautical Society) (at Royal Society of Arts), at 8.—Lt,-Col. L. F. Blandy and others: Discussion: The Use of Light as ‘an Aid to Aerial Navigation. WEDNESDAY, Fersrvary 1. GroLocicaL Society or Lonpon, Some Notes on -the New 6-inch Geological Survey of London and the Influence of the Geology on the History of the Area. Royat Sociery or Mepicrne (Surgery Section), at 5.30.—Major H. D. Gillies: Demonstration of Plastic Surgery. INSTITUTION OF ELectRIcAL ENGINEERS (Wireless Section), at 6.— Major J. Erskine-Murray: (a) The Determination of the Decre- ment of a Distant Sending Station; (b) Some New Methods of Radio-Navigation. ENTOMOLOGICAL Socrgery, or LONDON, at 8. Royrat Socrery or Ars, at 8.—A. Wilcock: Surface Printing by Rollers in the Cotton Industries: A Comparison with other Pro- cesses of Printing Patterns for Cretonnes, Dress Materials, Wallpapers, ete. Society or Pvstic ANALYSTS AND OTHER ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS (at Chemical Society), at 8.—J. L. Lizius and N. Evers: Studies in the Titration of Acids and Bases.—Dr. J. C. Drummond and A. F. Watson: The Sulphuric Acid Reaction for Liver Oils and its Significance—W. Dickson and W. C. Easterbrook: The Quan- titative Separation of Nitrobody Mixtures from Nitro-glycerine. THURSDAY, Fesrvary 2. Roya Instirctron or Great. Britarn, at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: Droughts and Floods (1). , Royat Soctery, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—C. Shearer: The Oxida- tion Processes of the Echinoderm Egg during Fertilisation.— J. Schmidt: The Breeding Places of the EKel.—J. Gray: The Mechanism of Ciliary Movement.—J.. Gray: The Mechanism of Ciliary Movement. II. The Effect of Ions on the Cell Mem- brane.—J. S. Huxley and L. T: Hogben: Experiments on Am- Phibian Metamorphosis and Pigment Responses in Relation to : Internal Secretions. . . LINNEAN Socrety or Lonpon, at 5.—F. Johanssen: The Canadian _ Arctic Expedition.—Dr. J. ©. Willis and U. Yule: Some Statis- ties of Evolution and Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance—Mrs. E. M. Reid: Note on Fossil Floras. Roya Soctery oF MepIctIne (Medicine.Section), at 5.—Discussion on the Treatment of Gastric Ulcer. Speakers: Sir William Hale- White, Sir William Willeox, Sir Berkeley Moynihan, and Mr. Sherren. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—L. J. Romero and J. B. Palmer: The Interconnection of A.C. Power Stations. Unemicat Society, at 8.—E. J. Hartung: The Action of Light on Silver ‘Bromide:—C. K. Ingold: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part. I. Intra-nuclear .Tautomerism.—C. K. Ingold: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part II. Synthetic Formation of the Bridged Modification of the Nucleus —O. K. Ingold and H. A. Piggott: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part III. The Suppression of Intra-nuclear Change. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 3. Royat Socrery or Mepictne (Larvngologv Section), at 4.45. Royat Astronomican Soctery, at 5.—Geophysical Discussion on the Depth of Origin of Earthquakes. Prof. Love in chair. Speakers: Prof. Turner, Prof. Lamb, R. D. Oldham, Dr. H.. Jeffreys, Prof. Knott. Dr. ©. Davison, and Major Taylor. Royat Coney or SurRGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. K. M. Walker: The Nature and Cause of Old Age Enlargement of the Prostate (Hunterian Lecture). Eveentcs Epucation Society (at Royal Society), at 8—Prof. H. J. Fleure: Some Social Bearings of Race Study. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS. at 8.—Maior W. Gregson: Utilisation of Waste Heat from Internal Combustion Engines. Roya Socrery or Mepictne (Anesthetics Section), at 8.30.—Dis- cussion on the Uses and Limitations of NoO and Oo Anesthesia. Speakers: Dr. A. L. Flemming and others. Roya InstiruT1on or Great BRITAIN, at 9.—Sir Francis Young- husband: The Mount Everest Expedition. PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture ' in @ series.) THURSDAY, Janvary 26. University Coiiecr, at 5.15.—B. 8S. Rowntree: Industrial Unrest. Kine@’s Cottece, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (2). GresHam Comiece, at 6.—A. R. Hinks: Astronomy in Daily Use (3). St. Joun’s Hospitat ror DIsEASEs oF THE SKIN, at 6.—Dr. W. K. Sibley: Alopecia and its Treatment. (Chesterfield Lecture). FRIDAY, January 27. a ae oe ee ag 2g Kensington); at 3.—Sir Napier aw: e ructure o e Atmosphere and the Me of the Globe (2). : pe Pe: Krne’s Cortree, at 5.30.—Dr. H. W. Williams: The Peoples of the Caucasus (2); at 6.—Prof. G. Young: Brazil. TAVISTOCK CLINIC FoR FUNCTIONAL NERVE Cases (at the Mary Ward. Settlement, Tavistock Place), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller : _ The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (1). GresHaM Cortece, at 6.—A. R. Hinks: Astronomy in Daily Use (4). SATURDAY, Janvary 28. Lonpon Day TRAINING CouteGE, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (2). Horniman Mvsevm (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—F. Balfour-Browne: The Life and Habits of Mason Bees. . MONDAY, Janvary - 30. University Corece, at 5.—A. the River Thames at London. Kine’s Oonnee, at 5.30.—Dr. J. Steppat: Recent Developments in NO. 2726, VOL. 109] T. Walmisley: The Bridges over at 5.30.—C. E. N. Bromehead:” ad Recent Scientific and Technical Books (Supplement, p. iii) German Education and Student Life.—Prof; L. L. Fortescue: Wireless Transmitting Valves (2). WEDNESDAY, Frsrvary 1. Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 6—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (2). ‘ > THURSDAY, Frsrvary 2. Kine@’s Corneer, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (3).- St. JoHn’s Hosprrat FoR DISEASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square W.C,2),, at 6.—Dr. J, L. Bunch: Drug Eruptions (Chesterfield 4 Lecture). : ‘| Orvic Epvcarron Leacur (at Leplay House, 65 Belgrave Road, — S.W.1), at 8.15.—Miss Barbara Low: Psycho-analysis in relation to Civics. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 3. Mernororoarcat Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology i of the Globe (3). eae University Coiiecr, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (1). ipa es Kine’s Cortrcr, at 5.30.—Rev.. Dr. F. A. P. Aveling: Matter, Mind, and Man.—Dr. H. W. Williams: The Peoples of the Ward Caucasus (3). Tavistock OLINIc ror Functronat Nerve Cases (at the Mar Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.0.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Orichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (2). SATURDAY, Frsrvary 4. . Sarrers’ Hatt (St. Swithin’s Lane, E.C.4), at 10.30 a.m.—Dr. M. O. Forster: The Relation between Pure and Applied Chemistry. Lonpon Day TRAINING CoLLeGE, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (3). HornIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—E. Lovett: The Folk-lore of Natural History. : CONTENTS PAGE The Langley Aeroplane and the Hammondsport Trials ee eee A) ke a Intestinal Protozoa of Man. By Sir E, Ray Lan- ‘késter, K.C.B.; F:R.S. 0 2°...) Electric Furnaces. By J. L. H. . . oe a aD Chemistry after the War. By T. M. L. .... . 100 Prices’and Wages. By G. U. Y. |.) 3555 Shag) Our Bookshelf F : eee Letters to the Editor :— Some Problems in Evolution.—Sir G. Archdall Reid) -K.B.B. os as oe Atmospheric Refraction.—Instr.-Comdr, “T. Y. Baker, R.N. JS be tas ahah Cee eran 2); The Colours of Tempered Steel. — Prof. C, V. Raman 200 (565 eo ee 105 Some Terrestrial Experiments on Gravitation and Einstein’s Theory.—Prof. G. A. Schott .... 106 British Scientific Instruments.—Prof. W. M, Bay- | lise, F.RAS. 0g bcc ce 2 0 oe oes ee Globular Lightning Discharge.—Prof. A. P, Chat- tock. PF Res.) 8. amare js eee 298 Where did Terrestrial Life Begin?—Dr. Ronald Campbell Macfie; Prof, J. W. Gregory, F.R.S. 107 Rainfall and Drainage at Rothamsted in 1921.— W.OD.Christmas.... ome 6 cee ‘Tribal Name of the Raninide.—Rev. Thomas ~ R. R. Stebbing, F.R.S.; Prof. G. C. Bourne, © BOR ea toa) 0 6 ele The Depth of Earthquake Focus.—Prof. S. K. Banerji we hile QUEL IS ele a a Energy Changes Involved in Transmutation,—I, W. Wark Bae Ree rE ey a The Theory of the South-West Monsoon. (//us- trated.) By L. C. W. Bonacina of hee pans One Oe Helium in Natural Gas. By H. B. Milmer ... 112 Obituary :— a Lord Bryce, O.M., F.R.S. By Dr. Douglas W, Fresbfield ..... s.. 4.33 Sir John Kirk, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., F.R.S, .. 114 Prof, J. H. Cotterill, F.R.S. 2c pu ee RRR see 2) y'G: cis cy% Re We kamens mess re LY Our Astronomical Column :— Deduction of Star-distances from Proper Motions . . 121 Meteoric Shower of December 4-5, 1921. . ... . I21 Popular Astronomv in Sweden . . erie vitae Er ait Physiology at the British Association . ..... 122 The, Week in West Africa’. 6s -9 a e Scientific Research and Industrial Development . 124 University and Educational Intelligence .. . . 125 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers .........%. . 125 Societies and Academies ....... A es Diarv of Societies 27 ee NATURE 129 _ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices: MACMILLAN & CoO., LTD., _ ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. _ Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. The Influenza Problem. JHE widespread recrudescence of influenza in id this country, although on a less fatal scale and of a less virulent type than in the experience of 1918—19, is an unpleasant reminder of our present helplessness in respect of this disease. Many volumes have been written about it. The old Local Government Board issued two reports by Dr. I Franklin Parsons, which summarised all we then knew of the epidemic of 1890, and did much to xpand our knowledge ; and we have now before us n even more portly tome of nearly 600 pages upon ; : subject, issued by the new Ministry of Health. This report contains valuable historic material, an 2 mirable clinical study of the disease, and sugges- 2 speculations on the statistical aspects of the roblem presented by it. These forcibly impress us vith the imperfections of statistics dealing with alto- sether imperfect material. But we cannot be said to dave greater knowledge of the disease, from the point view of preventive medicine, than when Dr. 3 ns’s reports were issued. ‘This is no reflection the ‘Ministry of Health; for in every civilised per. investigators have similarly drawn a blank so “as guidance for the prevention of the disease is mcerned. ; pWe know certain elementary facts which, if they ald be universally applied in practice, would pre- ent influenza from spreading ; for the disease is ifectious, and it is practicable to lessen the public tunities of infection by avoiding unnecessary mblies of people. But how can we avoid infec- in social and business life, in view of the early NO. 2727, VOL. 109] infectivity of the disease, the failure to recognise mild attacks, and the short incubation period, which multiplies centres of infection at a very rapid rate? We commonly fail to prevent the spread of ordinary catarrhs ; and this is an index of our incapa- city or inertia in relation to the more serious disease. The mere enumeration of matters concerned with influenza on which we are still ignorant is an almost tedious task. Let us attempt it partially. We know that at uncertain intervals influenza marches, or rather flies, through the world, without any known reason. ‘The epidemics in this country of 1803, 1833, 1837-8, and of 1889-92, are well known, but many occurred in previous centuries, and some have even asserted that the sweating sick- ness was a type of influenza. We know that when influenza becomes epidemic it tends to recur in secondary and tertiary waves, as in our recent ex- perience. The present outbreak is the fourth since 1918. Dr. Brownlee has given interesting evidence pointing to an appearance of law in the intervals after which recurrences occur ; and we may hope to hear more from him on this point, not only as regards this country but also for other countries, as to whether this law holds good internationally. Knowledge of the natural history of these out- breaks may be expected eventually to give some clue to prevention, though this is not yet visible. But it is not known why influenza takes on a world- wide march at irregular intervals. We may assume that endemic influenzal infection of low viru- lence and infectivity, for some unknown reason, changes’ its biological characters, and that one or both of these characteristics may become en- hanced; but why? Attempts to associate pan- demics with special meteorological conditions have had little or no success; and we are little further advanced than when Sydenham appealed to the ‘‘ epidemic constitution ’’ of certain years. As an alternative to the acquirement of enhanced biological properties by the contagion of influenza may be cited the evidence of importation of infection and the rapid spread of the disease from country: to country ; but this merely puts the practical diffi- culty further back. Why this exceptional spread from country to country, and w hy does not influenza prevail, like measles, every second year in a given urban community ? Further light would be more easily obtainable if we were certain that the Pfeiffer bacillus is the true causal agent of influenza ; it is not dispossessed from this position, but the evidence of bacteriologists in recent outbreaks has not strengthened its position ; and although bacteriologists have isolated, the 130 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 2, 1922 bacillus from secretions of influenzal patients and grown it in separate culture, they have failed in the crucial test of inoculation in animals to reproduce influenza. This brings us to our next difficulty. In the absence of a certain bacteriological test, a further obstacle is that there is no characteristic symptom in influenza, like the rash in scarlet fever, or the throat membrane in diphtheria. On the contrary, what is supposed to be influenza assumes several types. At present cases with gastric symptoms are common, with few or no respiratory complications in a proportion of cases. But are we certain that these two types are the same disease? There is much evidence that commonly there is mixed infection ; and in the great epidemic of 1918-19, which destroyed more of mankind than the great war, ' much of the mortality was due to secondary (or primary) invasion of hemolytic streptococci. On such an apparently simple point as the im- munity conferred by a single attack the evidence is discrepant. Although it did appear that many of those attacked in the summer epidemic of 1918 escaped attack in the terrible epidemic of the follow- ing winter, the evidence is not satisfactory. It appears clear that if immunity is conferred by an attack, the immunity is of short duration; and this brings out the further point that inoculation of a vaccine prepared from the Pfeiffer bacillus and the associated coccal organisms cannot be expected to do much good, except perhaps in diminishing the seriousness of pulmonary complications. Nor have we any plausible explanation of the remarkable change in the age incidence of deaths from influenza. In the epidemic of 1889-92 some 60 to 70 per cent. of all the recorded deaths from influenza occurred among patients more than 55 years old; in the recent epidemic, fatal cases at these ages formed only some 12 per cent. of the total, while about 70 per cent. of the total deaths were of patients less than 35 years old. ~Does this imply that we have recently been concerned with a different infection, or what is the explanation ? It is noteworthy that coincidently with epidemic influenza, certain other diseases, like cerebro-spinal meningitis and encephalitis lethargica, have pre- vailed to an exceptional extent. This has been e ~lained by Dr. Hamer and others as implying that Ww are, in fact, in the grip of a single infection assuming multiform manifestations. But the asso- ciation was not evident in the 1889-92 epidemic; and it is equally open to us to assume—and there are good grounds for maintaining—that all these diseases, each specific in character, are favoured by NO. 2727, VOL. 109] the same ‘‘ epidemic constitution ’’—or what is con- cealed under this designation—and that they are not identical diseases. The preceding incomplete review of the chief off the unknown factors in influenza must necessarily be somewhat depressing. It is well, therefore, to look for a moment at other diseases which, like influenza, at irregular intervals and for unknown reasons, assume world-wide movements, invading mankind in. Among these cholera, plague, and — many countries. smallpox may be specially mentioned. Yet each of these is entirely controllable, and, so far as a large part of the world is concerned, has been controlled. Cholera is now kept within bounds and almost non-— existent in every country with elementary sanitation. Plague is controllable to the extent to which infec- ‘ ® t n # d fi tion by rats and their fleas is stopped: a practicable — programme. additional protection of vaccination, and against a population protected by this measure waves of small- pox infection break for ever impotently. The last- In smallpox there is the important — named illustration is significant from the point of — view of influenza. received by the respiratory tract. vaccination affords protection, against the other results of inoculation have been more than dubious. The world is waiting for further light. general to be prevented? This is the unconquered region of preventive medicine. It will doubtless be occupied eventually, but after how much delay and on what plan it would be rash to hazard a prophecy. An Elusive Group of Marine Organisms. ; The Free-living Unarmored Dinoflagellata. By C. A. Kofoid and Olive Swezy. (Memoirs of the University of California, Vol. 5.) Pp. viii+ 562412 plates. (Berkeley, California: versity of California Press, 1921.) HE University of California at Berkeley, Cal., supported no deubt by large revenues from the State, sets a noble example in publishing valuable contributions to knowledge. In addition to about thirty octavo series in zoology, physi- ology, and other sciences, the University Press issues large quarto Memoirs, of which the fifth volume is Kofoid and Swezy’s ‘‘ Dinoflagellata,’’ a very notable work of 570 pages and twelve © It is the result of observations — made by Prof. Kofoid and his pupils over a series . coloured plates. of years from 1901 onwards at the marine labora- tories of the University of California and the more Both infections are usually — Against one ~ How is influenza and how are respiratory infections in , Uni- - recently established Scripps Institution for Bio- _ FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE 131 Research at La Jolla—both by work at off the coast of Southern California and by igation of the beach sands. he Dinoflagellata form an exceedingly impor- source of the food supply of the sea both in and in the total mass produced. As ie producers of carbohydrates, proteids, ats they hold high rank amongst microscopic e€ organisms, and in abundance they are only to the diatoms in the plankton, while and on occasions they may far outnumber These local massive developments are the universal cause of the discoloured seas and yhenomena of luminescence. The present graph deals with the least-known and most e members of the group, the naked or oured forms. : great difficulty in their investigation is the e delicacy of these organisms and their ten- to undergo cytolysis in even a few moments’ to light under the microscope. They nfortunately most sensitive to the action of re-agents, and almost instantaneous distor- n and disruption prevent the preservation of nent preparations. The investigator is e limited to rapid and immediate observa- the freshly captured living and usually very organisms. It is only on a coast such as ‘Southern California, where pure oceanic with a rich pelagic fauna is brought within miles of a laboratory equipped like the Tnstitution, that work such as that of Prof? could be carried on. A specially devised the finest silk is towed for a very short time epth of 80 metres, the catch transferred to a ely large volume of water, rushed ashore in -motor-boat (30 miles an hour), and divided once for the microscopes of half-a-dozen nt observers, a surprising number of new remarkable forms in exceptionally fine con- being revealed. Ordinary methods of plank- collection and preservation yield no traces of extremely delicate organisms. This is an ent example of new and refined methods at such as can be adopted only in connection a biological station, which are giving new ihirs of great scientific interest. It must not pposed, however, that all these Dino- ates are confined to oceanic water. Some neritic, and species of Amphidinium, for ex- , have been found in vast numbers on damp sand at several localities in England, Cali- ia, and elsewhere. any of these new unarmoured Dinoflagellates brilliantly coloured, as’ the beautiful plates adantly show, and some are wonderfully NO. 2727, VOL. 109] organised and specialised for such minute proto- zoa. Some possess, amongst other ‘‘organelles,’’ a complicated ocellus or ‘‘ eye,’’ with lens, pig- ment mass, and sensory core, as well as a large mobile tentacle, and groups of mnematocysts resembling those of Ccelenterata. The whole group and its subdivisions and the numerous genera, sub-genera, and species are discussed most fully from every point of view—general morphology and relations, minute structure, physiology, history, and distribution. In their nutrition the majority of marine unarmoured Dinoflagellates are holozoic, and even some of those that eontain chromatophores and were hitherto supposed to be holophytic are now found to contain ingested foreign bodies in the cyto- plasm. What is known of the life-cycles, includ- ing encystment, spore formation, binary and multiple fission, and possibly conjugation—and the effects of parasitism in some forms—are all discussed, but it is evident that much has still to be discovered in regard to these matters. In regard to the evolution of the group, our authors show that it probably arose from the Cryptomonads, and the Dinoflagellata of to-day represent the terminal twigs of a phylogenetic branching. The attempt to find ciliate affinities through the remarkable genus Polykrikos is rejected as a misinterpretation. A new form, Protodinifer, is regarded as bridging the gap between the two main groups of Dinoflagellates, the Diniferidea and the Adiniferidea, but it may be pointed out that ‘“Protodinifer” is clearly identical with the Pelagorhynchus marinus of Pavillard (Comptes rendus, January, 1917). Amongst notable changes in the more familiar classifications of the text-books are the removal of Noctiluca from the Cystoflagellata and its inclu- sion in the Gymnodinoide, and the abolition of the Pyrocystacezee of Murray, Apstein, West, and others, as these latter organisms are now to be regarded as merely phases in the life-history of other Dinoflagellates. In addition to the nematocysts in Nematodinium and Polykrikos and the ocellus in Pouchetia, etc., , the most remarkable further specialisation is seen in the highly developed appendage or ‘“‘ prod,’’é with protractile and retractile fibrille, which reaches its climax in the genus Erythropsis. The authors, in pointing out the ccelenterate resem- blances of the nematocysts and the tentacle placed on the edge of the sulcus or mouth, and also the tendency to a multicellular condition seen in the ‘“chains ’’ of Ceratium and the two-, four-, or eight-celled ‘‘ somatella’’ of Polykrikos, suggest that ‘‘ pelagic Dinoflagellata may have given rise 132 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 2, 1922 to simple pelagic Coelenterates in which cell boun- daries and cell layers may have played only a secondary and belated part as the size of the organism increased.”’ The economic importance of these organisms is great, both as a food supply and also occasionally as a destructive agency. It is well known that they form a large percentage of the stomach con- tents of sardines and other small fish. At times they are the dominant forms of the plankton, and have been recorded by Kofoid as. the cause of out- breaks of ‘‘ red water ’’ on the Californian coast and elsewhere which may be a menace to the health and life of slow-moving. or bottom-living animals which, being unable to escape from the infested area, die in quantity and are cast up in masses on the shore. Such discoloration of the water, due to species of Gymnodinium and Gonyaulax, are recorded as extending sometimes (August, 1917) for a hundred miles or more along the coast. To Point out a few slips in such a splendid memoir may seem ungracious, but Prof. Kofoid would probably prefer to have friendly criticism : In the phylogenetic diagram on p- 84, have not Protodinifer and Oxyrrhis exchanged places, should not Protodinifer be Pelagorhynchus, and, near the top of the diagram, should not Nemae- topsis be Nematodinium? The text-figure on P- 509 is evidently printed upside down, and in Fig. F (p. 30) the numbers 2, 3, and 4 are mis- placed. Some of the references to figures in the text are not correct, but the careful reader will notice these for himself and will readily discover what is intended. So many species are described, redescribed, or Cr eted ee synonymy and history are given tee een aps Le is truly a monograph of ; e found indispensable by all who work at these important lower organisms, . W. A. Herpman, The Theory of Probability. A Treatise on Probability. By J. M. Keynes. Pp. xi+466. (London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1921.) 18s. net. es KEYNES’S book is a searching analysis of the fundamental principles of the theory of probability and of the particular judgments in- volved in its application to concrete problems. He adopts the view that knowledge may be relevant to our rational belief of a proposition without amount- ing to complete proof or disproof of it, and treats the probability as a measure of this relevance. NO. 2727, VOL. 109] Otherwise he does not attempt to define ‘‘ prob- — _ability,’’ regarding it as a concept intelligible with- — - out further definition. In this respect, as in several. others, he is in agreement with the views expressed — by Dr. Wrinch and the present reviewer (Philo-— sophical Magazine, vol. 38, 1919, pp. 715-31), and _ some comparison of the two presentations may not be out of place. Sa Previous writers have practically all assumed that — probabilities can be expressed by numbers, and this : assumption was put into precise form in the paper mentioned. tradition on this point. Defining an “‘ argument ”’ as the process of passing to knowledge about one proposition by contemplation of it in relation to — another of which we have knowledge, he denies not. Dr. Keynes departs completely from — * only that the probabilities of all arguments can be expressed by numbers, but also that they can be arranged in a one-dimensional series at all. Thus the probability of one argument may be neither greater than, equal to, nor less than that of another. The difference in actual application between this theory and ours appears likely to be slight, for the — definitions and hypotheses are such that practically ~ any two probabilities that one needs to compare are comparable. From these the formal theory is_ soundly developed. The principle of non-sufficient reason, or in- difference, asserts that we assign equal probabilities to propositions if. we have no reason to do the — contrary. The author criticises severely many pre- vious applications of this principle (so severely that an unprepared reader is likely to be betrayed into expecting him to reject the principle altogether). He finally modifies it by saying that neither of the propositions deemed equally probable may be ex- pressible as the disjunction of two mutually incon- sistent propositions, of the same form as itself, and both consistent with the data. His precise state- ment of this important principle makes it possible to evaluate a large class of probabilities that could otherwise be only estimated, and is a most useful advance. Dr. Keynes rejects definitely the view of Jevons and others that if any two alternatives are ex- haustive and mutually exclusive, and we have no reason to prefer one to the other, the probability of each is 4. His reasons for believing that this’ view leads to contradictions, however, appear in-— correct. He says on p. 43: ‘‘ If, for imstance,. having no evidence relevant to the colour of | this book,. we could conclude that 4 is the probability of ‘This book is red,’ we could conclude equally that the probability of each of the propositions, ‘This book is black’ and ‘ This book is blue,’ is also $. So that we u te - ye] - FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE £33 = faced with the impossible case of three ex- ive alternatives. all as likely as not.’’ It appears that each of these estimates is based on dif- evidence, and, therefore, that it is quite pos- that the sum of the probabilities should be than unity. A person who could recognise one colour, say, blue, all others appearing e to him, would estimate the probability that the book is blue at $. A person who could recog- se only red. would make a similar estimate for But one who could distinguish red, blue, and i and no others, would estimate each as having a probability of 4. In each case we follow the im assuming no previous knowledge of the tions of different colours among books. point is worth insisting upon, for we believe the author has for such reasons refrained from ting prior probabilities. in many cases where estimates would have been useful. In his dis- on of sampling inference, for instance, he s to admit that any. plausible estimate of the le composition of a sample can be made, large a sample has already been examined, have further evidence that no disturbing xists. Admittedly the inference depends on chi t probabilities of different compositions, ut we have shown that in ordinary cases a wide © of variation of the prior probability produces -Yariation in the inference made with regard composition of a large sample, and we think the only justification required. The acquire- f knowledge about a disturbing cause pro- additional data and is valuable for that , its absence is no reason ‘for denying a lity inference not based on it. _author’s. insistence on the desirability of testing of the sample to see whether different asses from it have compositions similar to the € is, however, very important on other grounds, his careful discussion indicates the precise use- ss of. a kind of additional information that often. obtainable and valuable. His con- m (p. 426) that. ‘‘ sensible investigators only oy the correlation coefficient to test or confirm clusions at which they have arrived on other inds ’’ is an exaggerated statement, but perhaps utary one. | form of the frequency definition is. discussed rejected on the ground that it does not give any is for induction. According to this the proba- ity of a proposition ~ on evidence g is to be ained by selecting a large number » of instances q- If m of these are also instances of 9, the bability of ~ given g is defined to be m/n. e ‘his. theot 7 is taken too seriously ;, it would be sufficient objection to. point out that, unless m/z is o or 1, the probability would necessarily be NO. 2727, VOL. 109] changed. by. having +1 instances instead of mn, and, would therefore be conventional. .In the form of the frequency theory discussed (and also rejected) in our paper the probability is defined as the Limit -of this ratio when xz tends to infinity. This view, though it has been seriously advocated, is not mentioned by: the author. The faults attributed to the book above are all on the side of excessive caution, and the positive contributions are extremely valuable. It is clearly - written, with a good index and a copious biblio- graphy. The misprints are few. Whitehead and Russell’s ‘‘ Principia Mathematica ’’ is, however, mentioned a few times as if it were by a single writer. The work should be read by every student of science who aims at a real understanding of his subject: HaroO_Lp JEFFREYS. The Royal Society Catalogue. Catalogue of Scientific Papers, Fourth Series (1884-1900). Compiled by the Royal Society of London. Vol. 17, Marc—P. Pp. v+1053. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) gl. net. ; “YT *HE high standard set by the volumes already published in this series is fully maintained in the seventeenth volume of the Royal Society’s “Catalogue of Scientific Papers.” The work of preparing the material for the press and of proof- reading was carried out by Miss Vagner and. Miss Barnard, and until December 1920 Miss Chapman was also engaged upon the work. The Cam- bridge University Press is to be congratulated on the typographical excellence of the volume, the small type which had to be used being quite easy to read: The papers indexed are those published during the seventeen years 1884 to 1900 by authors whose names begin with the four letters M, (from Mare onwards), N, O, and P. No less than 10,662 names.are indexed, the number of separate papers being 57,474. Thus, on an average, each author has published one paper every three years. The volume brings up the total number of authors’ names already’ printed for the period 1884-1900 to 49,750, and the total number of entries of papers published. by authors whose names begin with letters from A to P inclu- sive to 279,902. The catalogue of papers by authors whose names begin with letters from Q to Z is still to be published. The Committee say that the difficulties in the printing and publishing trade, which for a time delayed the regular delivery of proofs, have now been overcome, so that they look forward with F 134 NATURE [ FEBRUARY. 2, 1922 confidence to an early completion of fe. remaining volumes. When these are published the gap between the ‘‘ Catalogue of Scientific Papers ’’ and the “International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- ture” will be filled so far as the index of authors’ names is concerned; the indexing of scientific papers under authors’ names will then be com- plete up to 1914. There will still remain the subject-index, of which we believe only the volumes for mathe- matics, mechanics, and physics have been pub- lished, and that some fourteen volumes have yet to appear. To most of us a subject-index is much more useful than an author-index. While an author-index is essential as a permanent record of work done by individual authors, it will be of little use to an investigator anxious to discover what has previously been done in a particular line of research. For such a purpose a subject- index is required. We therefore hope that the Royal Society will proceed with the production of subject-indexes for the period 1800-1900 on the plan already begun with such success. In addition to the surname of the author, the “Catalogue of Scientific Papers” gives the full Christian names so far as these can be ascer- tained. This is not merely in order to give credit to those to whom it is due, but also to make it easy for those who refer to the catalogue to dis- tinguish between an acknowledged master of a subject and a little-known author who may chance to have the same surname. We commend the printing of titles in the original language, fol- lowed, when necessary, by an English translation. Those who have attempted to render a foreign language into English know how difficult it is to convey the exact meaning of the author; it is better, therefore, to let him speak for himself. In some of our abstracting journals we may find titles of foreign papers not only translated but so altered that no one could reconstruct the original. Nevertheless we think the compilers of this volume would have done well to add the English equivalent of some of the titles which they have printed without a translation. This would apply, for example, to many papers published in Swedish. “The Royal Society, representing, as it does, all branches of science, is clearly the body best able to carry to a successful issue any work indexing the whole field of science; all who take an interest in science will therefore feel that they owe the _Society a debt of gratitude for having undertaken the great work of making a complete catalogue of the scientific papers published Bartig sees tana NO. 2727, VOL. 109] and for showing its intention to continue the work to a successful issue. A monumental work of this kind will never be out of date, but will be treasured as a permanent record of the marvel- lous achievements in the domain of science curiae : the nineteenth century. Our Bookshelf. Handbuch der biologischen Arbeitsmethoden. Edited by Prof. Dr. Emil Abderhalden. Abt. 5, Methoden zum Studium der Funktionen der einzelnen Organe des tierischen Organismus. (1) Teil 3, Heft 1, Lxtwicklungsmechantk. Pp. 218. 66 marks. (2) Teil 3, Heft 2, Eut- wicklungsmechanik. Pp. 219-440. 72 marks. Abt. 9, Methoden zur Erforschung der Leistungen des tierischen Organismus. (3) Teil 1, Heft 1, Lieferung 34, Allgemeine Methoden. Pp. 96. 30 marks. (Berlin und Wien: Urban und Schwarzen- berg, 1921.) (1) THE five articles which form this ‘‘ Heft ”’ are concerned with the technique of experimental em- bryology. In his account of micro-surgery Prof. Spemann deals with the operations for the examina- tion of eggs—for dividing them either incompletely, e.g. by means of a looped hair, or by actually cutting the egg into two—with transplantation of parts of embryos to unusual positions, etc. Prof. Barfurth discusses the technique for the inquiry into heteromorphosis and regeneration in various groups of animals—embryos as well as adults. In this part Fig. 48 is printed without reference letters or description. Prof. H. Przibram gives methods for investigating the influence on development of heat, light, gravity, etc.; Dr. Karl Herbst deals with the methods of modifying development by means © of various salts in solution, and Dr. describes the instruments and technique of a number of operations. The work forms a useful source of reference for research workers and ad- vanced students who desire to ascertain the methods which have been most successful in practice. (2) The memoir by Prof. Rhumbler deals with the methods of imitating or producing ‘‘ models ”’ of living processes by physical devices—e.g. amee- boid movement, the ingestion of food as by an amceba, the formation of a test as in the Rhizopoda, cell-division, fertilisation, etc: The volume is a helpful and concise contribution to the literature - of the physics of vital phenomena. ‘Both these parts would have been inproeed if they had been provided with ¢ an | index or a ere of contents. (3) In this, the first article of a new volume, Prof. Przibram gives many useful suggestions as to. the methodical beginning and carrying through of research in experimental zoology. The selection and clear statement of the problem to be attacked, the economical use of living specimens —and also of time—by carrying out, wherever pos- sible, more than one line of research on the same Neumayer — _ FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE E55 terial, care in labelling all specimens—on these | other cognate matters the author draws from ‘extensive experience, and the article is one in ch those who are beginning research will find that is helpful. micipal Engineering. By H. Percy Boulnois. nan’s Technical Primers.) Pp. vii+103. mdon: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., ims). 2s. 6d. net.: clear from the matter in this little book that thor has had yery extensive experience in ipal engineering, and the list of important ntments he has held—as noted on the title-page ‘gives ample confirmation of this impression. He refore usually a safe guide in the matter of ig advice to young men who intend to enter profession. The position, appointment, and ng of the municipal engineer are explained, and special responsibilities he has to accept are fully sed. A considerable number of examinations to be passed ; these provide, or should provide, ce of a sound training in the scientific and subjects requiréd of the municipal engineer. therefore, unfortunate that the author, whilst ng “‘cramming,’’ suggests on p. 44 that there umerous coaches or crammers who can assist a idate. We should rather have expected advice kind which would have led young men to spend few years in following a course in engineering | special attention to municipal engineering. 1 courses are now available at several colleges, when combined with a pupilage for the sake of iring practical experience will produce properly ified men. That the author fully understands is clear from other pages in the book, and it nfortunate that the blemish on p. 44 should ar in this otherwise excellent and _ helpful ory of the Great War, based on Official Docu- menis. By Direction of the Historical Section of | Committee of Imperial Defence: Naval )perations. By Sir J. S. Corbett. Vol. 2. Pp. xi+ 448417 plans. (London: Longmans, een, and Co., 1921.) 21s. net. s volume, the second of Sir Julian Corbett’s erly series on the naval operations of the great covers the six months from November, 1914, ay, 1915. It is based primarily on the official cuments of the British Admiralty, but the in- formation supplied by these has been supplemented mm other sources, notably the revelations of dis- sioned German seamen, such as Admiral Scheer | Admiral Hugo von Pohl. The narrative is inating in its interest. It displays in their en- sty the operations of which at the time of their ppening we obtained but partial glimpses. Here can’ read—and, if-we once start, must continue _ to read—about the raid on Scarborough and Hartle- 1 (December, 1914), the loss of the /ormidadle anuary, 1915), the early attacks on the Dardan- ss (February, 1915), and the sinking of the Zwst- tania (May, 1915). The maps and plans are numerous and excellent. _ NO. 2727, VOL. 109] A Sketch-map Geography: A Textbook of World and Regional Geography for the Middle and Upper School. By E.G. R. Taylor. Pp. viii+ 147. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 5S. : A SERIES of sketch-maps presenting the funda- mental geographical facts of regions and places, with brief explanatory text. The author claims three advantages for this method. In his first claim, that pupils will acquire the habit of work- ing out the geography of a place for themselves, instead of reading up the facts, we think that he is over-Sanguine. Boys, at any rate, will just learn up his sketch-maps by heart as they formerly did the written facts. Probably, however (as he claims next), they will remember these facts better, and will find the diagrams more interesting than solid paragraphs. Also the third advantage may be realised—the pupils will become accustomed to illustrate their work with sketch-maps, and this is an excellent habit. The book is in itself too ‘‘ sketchy ’’ for a youth- ful student. It is meant to be used in conjunction with a good atlas, but should also be supplemented by a more detailed text-book. It may then be a valuable aid to teachers. Pneumatic Conveying. By E. G. Phillips. (Pit- man’s Technical Primers.) Pp. xii+ 108. (Lon- don: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. PNEUMATIC conveying is one of the so-called labour- saving devices, the usefulness of which has been recognised only comparatively recently. In the little book under notice Mr. Phillips sets forth the prin- ciples underlying the construction of pneumatic con- veying systems and gives an account of some of the various uses to which this means of transport can be adapted. The first portion of the book deals with the different systems in use, and pumps, dischargers, pipe lines, suction nozzles, and other details of the necessary plant are described. Then follow chapters on grain and coal-handling plants and on the induc- tion and the steam-jet conveyor. The .concluding chapter recounts some of the multitudinous uses to ‘which this extraordinarily adaptable and flexible _ method of transport can be put. Small Single Phase Transformers. By Edgar T. Painton. (Pitman’s Technical Primers.) Pp. x+ 95. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 25. 6d. net. Tue scope of this practical little volume is suff- ciently indicated by the sub-title, ‘‘ Explaining a Commercial Method of Design. Making Possible Economy of Material and Accurate Predetermination of Characteristics, and Giving Information Enabling the Amateur to Design and Construct a Transformer Meeting his own Requirements.’’ The same atten- tion does not appear to have been given hitherto to effecting economies in the design of very small transformers as to that of large apparatus, and the author’s way of attacking the problem should prove of use in this respect. 136 NATURE [Frpruary 2, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspend with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NaTURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Fossil Buttercups. It is remarkable, as Prof. Cockerell points out in Nature of January 12, p. 42, that until his discovery of a Miocene buttercup no species. of the family Ranunculacez should have been recorded among the fossil plants of Norih America. More especially is this the case because the carpels of Ranunculus are among the commonest fossils found in deposits of Pleistocene and Pliocene age in’ Britain and the neighbouring parts of the Continent. Among the many lists ‘of fossils determined by my husband and myself from such deposits, in one only, the Pliocene of Bidart (Basses-Pyrénées), is the genus not repre- sented, and in this deposit very few species of any kind were found. ; The oldest carpel I have seen is that of an extinct batrachian Ranunculus (R. gailensis, E. M. Reid), very thick-walled and globose, from the base of the Pliocene of Pont-de-Gail (Cantal). From the same horizon, but another locality in Cantal, M. Pierre Marty recorded R. atavorum, Sap., which he con- siders nearly related to R. fluitans. It is quite probable, though it has not been proved, that carpel and leaf belong to the same species. In the latest Pliocene of the Cromer Forest-bed, with the exception of twe undetermined carpels, all are British species.: In the Upper Pliocene of Tegelen (Holland) R. aquatilis and R. repens are found asso- ciated with R. nodiflorus, a species of Central Europe and the Orient, and with a single specimen of a peculiar form of R. sceleratus found more abundantly at Castle Eden. In the Middle Pliocene of Castle Eden no definite West European species is found, though the form of R. sceleratus already mentioned and a’ peculiar batrachian Ranunculus, both probably extinct, occur associated with two Central European species, R. nodiflorus and a varietal form (perhaps extinct) of R. lateriflorus, also an extinct species of which the affinity has not been discovered. In the Lower Pliocene of the Dutch-Prussian border the only West European species is R. nemorosus ; it occurs associated with R. nodiflorus, R. lateriflorus, var., and the South European species R. brutius. In the lowest Pliocene of | Pont-de-Gail one specifically in- determinable carpel and the batrachian R. Lailensis, already referred to, were found. Among the hundreds of Pleistocene and Pliocene specimens examined none has shown indications of two seeds, but I have not been able to carry the record of the genus so far back as Prof. Cockerell. In the work here referred to the carpels were in every case obtained by ‘t washing’ the material and sieving away the matrix. Were this method applied to some of the North American Pleistocene and Ter- tiary deposits I should anticipate that they might yield, not only abundant carpels of Ranunculus, but the fruits and seeds of many other herbaceous plants. ELEANor M. Ret. Pinewood, Milford-on-Sea, January 23. The Accuracy of Tide-predicting Machines. In the article in Nature for November 24 last ap- pearing under the title “ British Research on Tides ” ‘there occurs a statement which may, perhaps, leave an erroneous impression with those not familiar with NO. 2727, VOL. 109] | tide-predicting machines. The statement in question —"a_ test of the accuracy of the tide-predicting machines used by the Admiralty and the India Office has indicated some serious errors in their results, and it is concluded that the labour of reading the curves afforded by the machines, with any pretence to accuracy, is comparable with the labour of direct com- putation, while the value of the results is greater in the latter case ’"—although made définitely with refer- ence to particular tide-predicting machines, might, nevertheless, leave the impression that tide-predicting machines in general were subject to ‘‘ serious errors in their results.”” It therefore appears of value to discuss briefly the subject of the accuracy of tide-pre- dicting machines and to refer to some tests made with a direct-reading type of tide predictor. : Tide-predicting machines, or tide predictors as they are frequently called, make use of the harmonic tidal constants, and are contrived for the purpose of summing a number of terms of the form A cos (at+a), in which for each harmonic constant A is the ampli- tude, a the speed per unit time t, and @ the initial phase. For any given port, therefore, the height of the tide at any time is the instantaneous sum of the simple constituent tides represented by the harmonic constants. And in the tide predictor this instantaneous summation is effected by means of a flexible chain which passes alternately over and under a series of pulleys the motion of each of which represents the changes in elevation of a particular simple tide. The accuracy of a tide predictor is therefore to be measured by the accuracy with which it sums the simple constituent tides represented by the harmonic constants. It is necessary to emphasise this, for not infrequently one meets with the assumption that the accuracy of the tidal predictions tests the accuracy of — the tide predictor. Tidal predictions are the product of the tide predictor, and for any given port aim to give in advance the times and heights of high and low water.. And the test of the accuracy of these tidal predictions is, obviously, the closeness of agreement with the tides as they actually occur. It is to be noted, however, that the times and heights of the normal or predictable tide are subject to the disturbing effects of variations in wind, atmo- spheric pressure, rainfall, and seiche. Hence, alto- gether apart from any imperfections in the tide pre- dictor or in*the harmonic analysis which separates out the simple constituent tides, tidal predictions may differ from the observed times and heights of the tide, due to the disturbing effects just mentioned, the times of occurrence of which cannot be foreseen at the time the tidal predictions are made. It is, therefore, obvious that, while in a measure the accuracy of the ‘tidal predictions tests all the processes entering into their making, it does not strictly test the accuracy of the tide predictor. Tide predictors are of two types, which we may denominate respectively as curve-tracing machines and direct-reading machines. In the former there is traced, to a suitable scale on a sheet of paper, a curve of the predicted tide from which the height of the tide at any given time or the times and heights of high and low water may be scaled. In the direct- reading tide predictor the height of the tide at any time, and also the times and heights of high and low water, are indicated on dials from which they are read. off directly. It is obvious that the prediction of tides can be carried out more rapidly with a direct-reading tide predictor than with the curve-tracing type, for reading figures from two or three dials is less time-consuming than scaling these same values from a curve. But FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE 137 sven apart from its greater economy in time, the direct- sading machine has a ‘still further advantage in that t is possible to secure more accurate results than with the use of the curve-tracing type. The dials on the st-reading tide predictor are graduated to single utes and to single tenths of a foot; it is, therefore, t difficult to estimate to within half a minute or hundredths of a foot. To estimate as closely _a curve drawn to a moderate time-and-height cale is well-nigh impossible. Since the tide. predictor sums a number of con- ious functions, it cannot be made to give the exact s of an adding or a multiplying machine. And se of the large number of moving parts that ‘er into the construction of a tide predictor, we can- hope to secure the accuracy that may be obtained -a planimeter. In fact, the errors of the tide or may be ascribed almost wholly to the vary- aSions on the numerous moving parts, but it ‘s that these errors should not be large enough i910 the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey put “operation a direct-reading tide predictor which been constructed in its instrument division. Prior the use of this machine for the prediction of tides ® annual tide tables it was carefully tested, one e tests consisting in the comparison of the hourly hts of the tide as given by the machine and as puted analytically ‘“‘by hand.’’ The machine was with 30 components for Hong Kong, China, muary I, 1912, and run through to December 31. that day hourly heights of the tide were read e entire twenty-four hours. he beginning of this year, after it had been in about twelve years, the machine was again set for ng, January 1, 1912, and run through to 31, and the hourly heights read off. 1 was chosen so that all errors due to the t accumulate. The table below shows *s between the computed and the pre- P Heights of Tide, Hong Kong, China, ' December 31, 1912. icted in Differences 1922. Computed. IgT0O. 1922. Feet. Feet, eet. Feet. 4:30. 4:32 0-04. —0-02 4-67 468 . —0-03 —O-01 4-78 4:80 —0-02 —0-02 4-61 4°59 +o-01 +0-02 4:08 4:05 +0-02 +0:03 3:27 3°22 +0:05 +0:05 2-32 2-28 +0-04 +004 1-42 1:37 +0°05 +005 0-70 0:66 +0-04 +0-04 0-31 0-27 +0-04 +0-04 0-33 0°33 +0-01 0-00 0-78 o-81 —0:05 —0:03 1-52 1-56 0:05 —0-04 2:32 2-37 =0-06 —0-05 3:01 3:06 —0:06 —005 3°48 3°53 — 0-05 0:05 3°68 3°73 —0-03 0:05 3°63 366 —0-02 —0:03 3:38 3°40 —0-02 —0-02 306 3:07 —-0-:03 © —OOo!I : 2°74 2-75 =002" —o-01 jie. 2-52 2:51 , 601 +o-01 ie _ 2-46 2470 247 —O-0r 0-00 Paee! 2-66 2-67 —0:03 . —O0-O0! al eer) foe} rast ate ne “i : > ¥ % ‘ i gin rs ar ; ; It is to be noted that the height-scale on the tide NO. 2727, VOL. 109] ability of the speeds of the various com-, predictor is graduated to tenths, so that the hun- dredths were estimated. The differences between the heights as predicted and as computed are relatively small, in no case exceeding 0-06 ft. It is also in- teresting to note the close agreement between the pre- dictions made in 1910 and those in 1922, these pre- dictions being-made not only twelve years apart, but also by different persons. It is only proper to add that these predictions were undoubtedly carried out with more than ordinary care, owing to the psycho- logical effect of the knowledge that a test was involved. Furthermore, it must be stated that with a single- component tide the accuracy attained was not so gratifying as in the example given above, the reason being that with a number of components there are compensating tensions of the moving parts, while with a single component there are no such compensa- tions. It is to be borne in mind, however, that in the prediction of tides there is always a considerable number of components involved. It would be unfortunate if the impression that tide predictors are subject to serious errors gained cur- rency, for, apatt from the use of such machines for the prediction of tides for the tide-tables, there are numerous tidal problems involving time-consuming computations which may be very easily made with the tide predictor. In the elimination of the effects of short-period tides on daily mean sea-level, in the com- putation of the changes in sea-level due to tides of long period, in the elimination from the observed tide of the tide due to a number of constituents, and in similar problems, the tide predictor should very materially lessen the laborious computations involved. H. A. Marmer. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D.C., January 5. Tue errors found in the British tide-predicting machines referred to in the article were more serious than those ‘described by Mr. Marmer. The machines were of the curve-tracing tvpe, and therefore inevit- ably less accurate (with the time and height scales ordinarily used) than direct-reading machines; they had zero errors, and alsc diminished the apparent range of the tide. The direct-reading machine used by Mr. Marmer is both more accurate and quicker in use; for many purposes, though perhaps not for all, such a machine is a valuable substitute for numerical computation. THe WRiTER OF THE ARTICLE. The Oxidation of Ammonia. Tue following details of the early history of the oxidation of ammonia, a process which became of great importance during the war, do not appear generally to be known, and may be of interest. The first clear statement of the oxidation of ammonia which:I have seen is contained in a paper by the Rev. Isaac Milner, B.D., F.R.S., president of Queens’ Col- lege, Cambridge, published in the Philosophical Trans- actions for 1789 (vol. 79, pt. 2, pp. 300-13), and re- agen aeeg e Annalen (1795, pt. 1, pp. 550-62). title of the English paper is ‘“‘On the Production of Nitrous Acid ‘and Nitrous Air,’? and the German paper is a translation, in which “nitrous acid”’ is rendered. ‘‘Saltpetersdure ’? and ‘nitrous air’? (i.e. nitric oxide, NO) ‘ Saltpeterluft.”’ Milner remarks: that; although the relation between nitrous acid and the volatile alkali was known, there ‘Was no known case in which the latter was used in the production of nitrous acid or nitrous gas. In 138 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 2, 1922 March, 1788, he tried the experiment of fitting a retort containing caustic volatile alkali to a gun-barrel filled with crushed pyrolusite (maganese dioxide), and heating the latter to redness, whilst the retort was also heated. Signs of nitrous acid and nitrous air soon made themselves manifest, and by continuing long enough nitrous gas was obtained. The experi- ment was repeated many times; its success depended on the nature of the pyrolusite, the temperature of the furnace, and the patience of the experimenter. Full details are given as to the best way of carrying out the experiment. It frequently happens that the ammonia passes over unchanged. Red lead was found, unexpectedly, not to be active, but green vitriol burnt white gave better results. The changes are correctly explained by Milner as due to oxidation. With burnt alum he obtained the curious result of the evolution of a large amount of inflammable gas mixed with hepatic air (sulphuretted hydrogen) and sulphur, whilst sulphur remained in the gun-barrel. It is, therefore, not sufficient merely to bring the volatile alkali in contact with a substance containing dephlogisticated air, but another substance is also necessary which has a strong attraction for the combustible substance. It is also noteworthy that Black in his ‘‘ Lectures on Chemistry ’’ (edited by John Robison, Edinburgh, 1803) states that ‘“‘our newspapers inform us _ that the French chemists procured saltpetre for the Army by blowing alkaline gas, and even putrid steams, through red-hot substances which readily yield oxygen "’ (vol. 2, p. 245); and there is a statement that “Mr. Milner of Oxford (sic) published a paper in the 79th volume of the Philosophical Transactions . . . but he did not attempt to ascertain how much of the nitrous acid might be produced from a limited and known quantity of the volatile alkali” (vol. 2, p. 455). Black (ibid.) gives a clear explanation of the process; the ammonia ‘‘is a compound of hydrogen and azote, we need only suppose that part of it is totally decom- posed and destroyed by the action of the oxygen con- tained in the manganese. Part of it, uniting with the hydrogen, forms water or watery vapour; and part, uniting with the azote, forms vapours of nitrous acid.”” I have not traced the reference to the ‘‘ news- papers,’’ but a footnote on the same page (455) reads: “January, 1796. There is a rumour that the French have manufactured saltpetre, during a part of the war, by obtaining nitrous acid from the vapours of volatile alkali, forced to pass through red hot manganese. Author.’’ Many strange names have of late been given to the process of ammonia oxidation; we have heard of the ‘““Ostwald-Mittasch process"? and others. The first use of platinum as a catalyst appears to be due to Kuhlmann, of Lille, in 1839. J. R. Partincton. 45 Kensington Gardens Square, W.2. A Specimen of Wrought-iron Currency from the Kisi Country, Sierra Leone Protectorate, West Africa. A SPECIMEN of iron currency from the Kisi country was obtained by one of us (E. R. M.) while on service in West Africa in 1915 through the agency of his servant, Ali Badara, the son of a chief in the adjoining Momo-Fullah country; and a description of it may be of interest to readers of NaTuRE. As this form of currency ceased to be used after the establishment of the British Protectorate in 1787, the age of the specimen may be estimated at not less than 130 years, and probably more. The ‘coin ”’ (Fig. 1) is of rough workmanship, and consists of a strip of roughly forged rectangular sec- NO, 2727, VOL. 109| tion, one half being twisted and. the ends hammered out into thin blade-like projections, the broad end serving to prevent the “coin ”’ slipping through the belt in which it is carried. Analysis shows the metal to be wrought-iron of — good quality, probably made by the direct process of reducing an oxide ore. by carbon in presence of a basic slag containing much iron oxide to prevent car-. burisation of the iron, most of the slag then being B A Fic. 1,~-Photomicrograph X 1/5. expressed by hammering the pasty mixture of iron and slag. The percentage composition is as follows : Carbon, 0-095; silicon, 0-103; manganese, nil; sul- phur, 0-024; and phosphorus, 0-046. For the analysis drillings were taken from the wider part of the speci- men and fragments from the narrow end. These were washed in benzene to remove the coating of black grease from the surface of the metal. The metal is extremely soft and easily bent, the Brinell hardness at the point A being 121 (using a Fic. 2.—Photomiciograph x 275. ball 1 mm. diameter and a load of 10 kilograms). A small fragment was cut from the point B, em- bedded in solder, polished, etched with 2 per cent. nitric acid in alcohol, and photomicrographed. The photomicrograph (Fig. 2) shows the typical crystalline structure of a pure iron, together with elongated inclusions of slag. R. C. Gare. E. R. MAcPHERSON. Chemistry and Metallurgy Branch, Artillery College, Woolwich. Molecular Structure of Amorphous Solids. ¥ , A QUESTION of fundamental importance in the theory of the solid state is the nature of the arrangement of the ultimate particles in amorphous or vitreous bodies, of which glass is the most. familiar example. Is it to be supposed that the molecules are packed _ Fesruary 2, 1922] NATURE 139 ther at more or less uniform distances apart, as of molecules being, howéver, arbitrary? the other hand, is the spacing of the mole- itself irregular, the solid exhibiting in a more ss permanent form local fluctuations of density to those that arise transitorily in liquids owing movement of the molecules? The physical pro- amorphous solids, notably their softening is flow below the temperature of complete auld tend to support the latter view, but the of a closer approximation to the crystalline should not entirely be ruled out, especially in of the very interesting recent work of Lord ed silica (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1920, p. 284). A deal might be expected to depend on the nature material, its mode of preparation, and heat t. A material formed by simple fusion and re- tion of comparatively simple molecules, such dioxide, might stand on a different footing material ‘such as ordinary glass built up by action and formation of complex silicates. arrangement of molecules in a vitreous body egular, the local fluctuations of optical density result in a strong scattering of a beam of light through it, the intensity of such scattering comparable with that occurring in the liquid the temperature of fusion of the material (see sent writer in Nature of November 24 402). On the other hand, if the arrangement ecules approximated to the crystalline state ng of light would be merely that due to mal movements of the molecules and would |} smaller. As a matter of fact, glasses exhibit y strong — scattering of light, some 300 to 500 rong as in dust-free air, the Tyndall cone i beautiful sky-blue colour and nearly, but , completely polarised when viewed in a » direction. (Some glasses exhibit a green, pink fluorescence when a beam of sunlight within them, and cannot be used for the purpose ; the fluorescence, even when very n be detected by the difference in colour of images of the Tyndall cone seen through a age prism.) Rayleigh, who observed the fering in glass, attributed it to inclusions, which he assumed must be comparable in size - wave-length (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1919, p. 476). sest scrutiny through. the microscope under dark-ground illumination fails, however, to e the presence of any such inclusions, and it $s more reasonable to assume, in view of the fore- remarks, that the scattering is really molecular. gnitude is of the order that might be expected —_ of a non-uniform distribution of the er observations with specially prepared glasses fused silica would be of great interest to gate the influence of the chemical constitution heat treatment on the molecular texture of the C. V. Raman. Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, December 29. Forecasting Annual Rainfalls. Nature of September 1. last, p. 12, in com- on the remarkable rainfall at Blue Hill tory, Mass., in July, 1921, departures from monthly amounts were given to show that the ty was experiencing a period of excess of rain- Furthermore, it was intimated that the annual nt for 1921 would exceed the 35-year normal by NO, 2727, VOL. 109] als, the orientation of individual molecules or on the feeble double refraction exhibited - used in expressing inertia forces, re eae — 150 mm, bes, in.). The excess actually was_136 mm. (5°35 in.) aah etait a verification. Many things must be considered in forecasting annual rainfalls, even after the year is well advanced, and no one appreciates the uncertainties better than the professional forecaster. All forecasting is hazardous, but weather forecasting is especially so, Perhaps the most important factor in estimating the seasonal trend is the strength and location of the North Atlantic infrabar (the ‘centre of action ”’ of Teisserenc de Bort). In “The Winds of Boston’? (Harvard College Observatory Annals, vol. 73, pt. 3, and vol. 83, pt. 1) the relation between surface-flow of the air and rain- fall is given in some detail. A preponderance of east and south-east winds is evident during a rainy season. The rainfall of 1921 supports the views there given. There was a marked deficiency of west-north-west wind and a marked excess of north-east to south-east wind, The average durations, 37-year normal, are: West, 1708 hours; north-west, 1543 hours; and ‘north, 835 hours. In t1921 these values were decreased 14 per cent., 34 per cent., and 20 per cent. The excess of east wind is even more noticeable. Average durations are: East, 617 hours; south-east, 560 hours; and north-east, 838 hours. The deficiencies were : East, 57 per cent.; south-east, 47 per cent.; and east, 27 per cent. A just estimate of the character of a season or of a year cannot be based absolutely on the quantity or duration of rain. One torrential rain lasting a few hours can offset weeks of rainless weather. At Blue Hill, fortunately, such occurrences are rare. A striking illustration of the untrustworthiness of rainfall as a criterion of season is found in the recent flood in Texas. At Taylor, on September 9, 1921, following two months of drought, there was a rainfall of 587 mm. in twenty-four hours. This is the greatest daily rainfall yet reported in the United States following two months without any rain. This city had as much rain in one day as London gets ‘in a year, yet the mean annual rainfalls of the two localities are not markedly different, being 620 mm. for London and about 970 mm. for the Texas city. Note that the latter locality received 60 per cent. of an annual rainfall in twenty-four hours. Such an accidental fall must be eliminated, or any effort to correlate pressure distribution, surface flow, and rain becomes futile. Furthermore, it would seem that efforts to link up variation in solar output and seasonal conditions as de‘ermined by the amount of rain are open to question. ALEXANDER McApIE. Harvard University, Blue’ Hill Observatory, Readville, Mass., January 7. Units in Aeronautics. THE present writer’s original letter was phrased with scrupulous care to limit consideration to the single proposition. that consistency cannot be. main- tained in dynamical. equations if gravity units are in particular not by merging explicit g in the slug. An example was given so conclusive as to elicit, it was hoped, Prof. Bairstow’s own explanation of the statement cited from his text-book. No opinion was then offered on the validity of the relation R=kpSV’, or on the merits of the poundal and dyne. The courtesy of this column would scarcely stretch to the detailed statement of the _writer’s position in respect of opinions attributed to him by implication on these and other apparently _ digressive poitts raised. by Mr. Rowell and Sir George ' Greenhill. ye | Low. 140 NATURE [FEBRUARY 2, 1922 Some Problems of Long-distance Radio-telegraphy.? By Dr. J. A, Fiemine, F.R.S. ee rt HE achievement of transatlantic radio-telegraphy in 1901 and 1902 was of interest to physicists chiefly by reason of the fact that they did not see clearly why it should have been possible at all. The mystery of it was increased when at later dates radio signals were transmitted a quarter of the way round the world, and finally, with high-power stations and thermionic valves detected even at the Antipodes. The.wave-length of the waves used in the earliest work at Poldhu was about 3000 ft. The earth, roughly speaking, is a sphere 42 million feet in diameter. Hence the ratio of wave-length then used to earth diameter was about 1 : 14,000. In the case of light there is a small bending or diffraction of the wave round an opaque obstacle. In other words, there is some small amount of illumination within the boundary of the geometrical shadow. ‘The ayerage wave-length of light waves is about. 1/2000th of a millimetre, and a sphere having a diameter of 7 mm. would be 14,000 of such wave-lengths. Now if an exceedingly small source of light were placed on the pole of a sphere 7 mm. in diameter in a dark region, it is certain that there would be no illumination at the equator of — the sphere. In other. words, there would not be any sensible diffraction at an angular distance of. 90°. Modern long-distance radio-telegraphy con- ducted with waves of wave-length approximating to 1o miles or so can communicate even with the Antipodes. ; The mathematical treatment of the problem of the diffraction round a conducting sphere of electric waves which are radiated from. a transmitter at its. pole consists. in expressing the magnetie and electrie forees at any angular distance @)in the form of a series of harmonic terms. It is in the summation of this series to obtain the integral effect at the receiver that the chief difficulties and differences of opinion occur, and.most analysts haye employed only an approximation. In 1918 Prof. G. N. Watson effected a new and complete summation which en- ables the value of the forces to be calculated for any point on an imperfectly conducting sphere. The result.of eighteen years’ work on this problem by mathematicians. of the highest rank has been to give us a formula for the current in a receiving aerial of given resistance determined in terms of wave-length, aerial heights, and distance which repre- sents the result of pure diffraction acting round a spherical earth of perfect conductivity. On the other hand, when we come to compare the results of this diffraction formula with actual observations in practice we find an enormous discrepancy. The actual received currents in the case of long-distance 1-Abridged from two sections of the Trueman Wood lecture on ‘‘The Coming of Age of Long-distance Radio-telegraphy and Some ofits Scientific Problems,” delivered before the Royal Society of Arts on November 23, r9o2t. The,complete lecture is published in the Journal of the Society for December 9 and 16; 192r. NO. 2727, VOL. 109] .L, W. Austin gives the the predicted current. stations for the usual sending aerial currents are hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of times greater than the received current predicted by the theoretical formula. ‘Thus, to take a case quoted by Dr. Van der Pol from observations made at Darien Radio Station, on the Panama Canal, on radio signals sent from Nauen, near Berlin, Dr. I,=150 amperes, X=9-4 km., a@,4;=120 metres, aj2=146 metres, Rg=29 ohms, and d=g400 km. Now the actual received current was I,=1-3 microamperes, but the value predetermined by the formula is only 06 of one millionth of a microampere. In other words, the actual received current in this case is two million times greater than The upshot of the whole matter then is this: Long-distance radio-telegraphy, say, round one- quarter of the circumference of the earth, would certainly be quite impossible but for some cause, other than diffraction, operating to compel the waves to follow round the earth’s curvature and not quickly glide off it. ee Oliver Heaviside in 1900 suggested that an upper conductive layer on the atmosphere might act as a guide to the waves, radio-telegraphy being, in fact, conducted in a thin spherical shell of non-conductive air bounded by. a conductive earth and a conductive upper air. He did not furnish any valid reasons to explain why this upper air conducts and how its conductivity is preserved, and although the sug- gestion has been very generally accepted by radio engineers, it has been taken without sufficient There. has criticism of. its difficulties and details. Th been in the intervening twenty-one years an immense, accumulation of facts, all showing, however, that long-distance radio-telegraphy is conditioned by the. physical constitution of our atmosphere and is very far removed indeed from being simple electro- magnetic waye propagation. in empty space. An important epoch in this.connection.is the year 1902, when. Senatore Marconi discovered during one. of his. early voyages across: the Atlantie in the s.s. Philadelphia in February, 1902, that: radio signals from Poldhu could be received at night about thrice the distance they could be read in day- time, being detectable only up to 700 miles, by. day, but readable up to 2099 miles by night. oe It was at once surmised that the difference was due to ionisation of the air by sunlight, which, by liberating electrons from atoms, gives to the air con- ductivity. It was some years before this vague / suggestion was converted by Dr. W. H. Eccles into a more definite ‘scientific theory, many speculations in the:meantime being found wanting in adequate basis, such as that which regarded the sunlit air as haying an absorption for. the energy of electro- magnetic waves similar to that: of foggy or misty air for- visible: light: aK R following figures: Re gi lhe. Cee Oi NATURE I4I __. Before entering into further discussions of the _ facts, it will be convenient to mention a few of the generally accepted views as to the constitution of terrestrial atmosphere and its ionisation by light. y the use of hydrogen-filled sounding balloons « arrying self-recording meteorographs, it has been jossible to explore the atmosphere up to a height of bout twenty miles. One of the results is to show at our atmosphere may roughly be divided into In the lower layer, called the ¢ropo- @, the atmospheric gases are kept well mixed winds and convection. This layer extends to sht of six or seven miles or so, and in it the erature falls regularly with increasing height at ite of about 6° C. per kilometre of ascent until emperature of about —55° C. is reached. Above is is a zone called the stratosphere, of unknown lickness, in which the temperature remains con- nt. Above a height of about seven miles water sour is absent, and at higher levels convection to operate and the atmospheric gases arrange ves in order of densitv. The outer and highest above a height of sixty miles (=100 km.) iefly composed of helium and hydrogen with ly some small admixture of the rarer atmo- ic gases neon and krypton. _ The volume composition of the atmosphere at the arth’s surface is as follows :— itrogen ... 78°05 per cent. ye aeons wi OO ” . ec1ons. oe O83 dioxide 003 ,, -... Ito 1o vols. in a million of air. con fic eee 10 ” ” liu ne orto. 2 Se ia yptor EeVOR: 2 5, A enon 0°05 ” ” gen is almost entirely absent at a height of km., but nitrogen is still present in a sd form. The presence of hydrogen and helium e high levels has been indicated by an observa- of Pickering on the spectrum of a meteoric entering the earth’s atmosphere, which showed hydrogen and helium lines. xt, as regards the action of light on the gases atmosphere. Light waves of high refrangi- ility impinging on nearly all substances, especially ‘those containing electropositive atoms, liberate from them electrons. The atom is now considered to be collocation of negative electrons arranged in con- centric shells, possibly in orbital motion, round a ral positively charged nucleus in which the gravi- ative mass of the atom chiefly resides. Light of t wave-length causes one or more of these nega- electrons to be detached and projected with a 1 velocity. The more electronegative an atom is > higher must be the frequency of the light to t it. The electrons so detached are called photo- ons and the action photo-electric. the case of sodium or potassium, which are nly electropositive metals, photo-electrons are ted under the action of visible light, about the dle of the spectrum, but for less electropositive e.g. zinc and magnesium—the action takes NO. 2727, VOL. 109] place only with ultra-violet light. Hence it follows that a plate of zinc illuminated by light from an electric arc or by the spark between aluminium balls loses a negative charge readily, and if insulated, becomes positively electrified owing to the loss of negative photo-electrons. The velocity with which these photo-electrons are projected is considerable, and may be 500-1000 km. per sec. For most metals the ionising potential is about two to four volts, hence the maximum wave-length of ionising light is just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum. But for atmospheric gases, when pure and free from dust or moisture, the ion- ising potential is much higher, being approximately as follows :— Nitrogen ... 7°5 volts Argon 12 volts Oxygen’ «. 9) on Neon 6.45 165: Hydrogen... 11 bs Helium ... 20°5 ,, It follows from this that the atmospheric gases cannot be ionised by light of longer wave-length than 1350 A.U. Rays of this short wave-length are not transmitted by quartz but only by certain samples of fluorite, and are absorbed by a very small thickness of air. No sunlight of shorter wave- length than about 2950 A.U. reaches the ‘earth’s surface, as shown long ago by Huggins and Cornu. Hence the conclusion is forced on us that pure dust-free atmospheric gases cannot be ionised at the lower levels of the atmosphere by the direct action of sunlight, but at the higher levels above 60 to 100 km. doubtless there is direct ionisation. Nevertheless, ionisation does take place in the lower atmospheric levels, as shown by the small finite electric conductivity possessed by the air, which proves that there are negative ions, either free electrons, or electrons attached to neutral atoms, and also positive ions present in the air, even over wide oceans. Thus, Boltzmann found in tests made in mid-Atlantic 1150 positive and 800 negative ions per c.c. of air. A. S. Eve found 600 to 1400 positive and 500 to 1000 negative ions per c.c., the posi- tive being slightly in excess. This ionisation may be produced either by photo- electric action on dust or ice particles in the air, by radio-active matter in the soil, by photo-electric action upon complex gaseous molecules in the air, or generated by the light and called condensation nuclei. Such agericies, however, cannot account for the far larger and permanent ionisation necessary to give the required electric conductivity in the higher atmosphere if it is to act as a guide to long electro- magnetic waves. A consideration of the terrestrial radio-telegraph problem shows that if there is any conductive layer in the upper atmosphere which can act as a guide to long electromagnetic waves round the earth, it must possess the following properties :— (x) Tt must be permanently ionised, which means that its ionisation must not vanish in the night-time since, so far as we know, its guiding powers are not suspended on the shadow side of the earth. This seems to imply that the ionisation must be predominantly of one sign or that the lus and 142 NATURE | FEBRUARY. 2, 1922 minus ions are so far separated that they do not readily recombine. True gaseous photo-ionisation always produces ions of both signs in equal number: mixed up together, and the conductivity quickly dis- appears when the ionising agency is withdrawn. (2) The resulting electric conductivity must be sufficiently high, say, as good as that of ordinary fresh water, to act‘as a true wave guide. This implies that the ions must be very numerous per c.c. and very mobile or have high ionic velocities under unit electric force. Bearing in mind that the upper regions of the earth’s atmosphere above the 1oo km. level prob- ably consist chiefly of hydrogen, and that the velo- city of ions in hydrogen under unit electric force is, according to measurements, from two to three times that in oxygen or nitrogen at the same pressure, it is easily seen that in the upper hydrogen levels of the atmosphere a very moderate amount of ionisa- tion, say, 107 ions per c.c., might give a conduc- tivity of the order of that of fresh water, or about 700,000 ohms per c.c. Another quality this conducting layer must possess if it is to act as a true reflector of long waves is a somewhat sharply defined lower surface. - It has already been remarked that observations . On signal strength over long distances show an enor- mous difference between the actual measured values and those predicted by a simple diffraction formula. Attempts have been made to find an empirical formula for the received current in terms of the other quantities involved. At first these efforts started with the erroneous assumption that the attenuation might be regarded as due to an “‘ absorption ”’ caused by the atmosphere, and therefore mathematic- ally represented by an exponential factor appended to the simple Hertzian expression for the magnetic or electric force at a known distance on the equa- torial plane of a small oscillator. Prof. G. N. Watson finds that if in place of a perfectly conducting spherical earth in free space we assume an earth having a conductivity about the same as sea water, enclosed in a spherical sheath or shell of material having a conductivity of about 1-44 x 10-!) E.M.U., equal to a specific resistance of 700,000 ohms per c.c. or not far from that of ordinary fresh water, the interspace being about 100. km., then the diffraction: formula for the receiving aerial current would have to be modified and the exponential factor becomes’ €~9°6/VA_ Watson therefore considers that if we are able to assume an upper conducting layer in the atmosphere at a height of about 100 km. having a fairly sharp under-surface and a specific resistance of about 700,000 ohms or, say, 0-75 megohm per c.c., then guided wave propagation through the included spherical shell of insulating air would account for the observed attenuation in actual terrestrial long- distance radio-telegraphy. We have then to consider what are the probabili- ties and possibilities for the existence at a height of 1oo km. or so of such a conducting layer and how it may be supposed to become ionised. Gaseous conductivity is always and only due to the presence NO. 2727, VOL. 109] of ions, and in the above case these are created by the strong electromotive forces brought. into play. In gases contained: in glass vessels there are always. some few free’ ions or electrons present for some reason. If a high frequency magnetic field is made — to act on the gas these ions are driven with great force against the gas molecules and ionise them, thus producing very quickly a copious supply of ions and giving the gas high conductivity. We cannot, however, say that a rarefied gas is a good conductor per se for very feeble impressed electro- motive forces as we can say that a metal is a good conductor. Hence mere rarefaction due to height will not bestow the required electric conductivity on the atmosphere. Neither can the required ionisation be produced by solar light, because then it would vanish in the night-time by recombination of the ions. ety The suggestion I.wish to make as to the cause o this ionisation is based’ upon a modification of hypo- theses already advanced by S. Arrhenius, K. Birke- land, and W. J. Humphreys concerning the pro- jection of dust by light pressure from the sun. We know that the sun’s photosphere is in:a con- tinual state of disturbance due no doubt to violent explosions in regions beneath this light-giving locality. Above this photosphere lies the so-called reversing layer composed of metallic vapours which produce the Fraunhofer lines in the spectrum. These eruptions carry up not only metallic vapours, but also vast masses of the superlying chromosphere composed chiefly of hydrogen and helium gases in the form of solar prominences or red flames which are often seen rising to a height of several hundred thousand kilometres in a few minutes, thus indi- cating velocities of several hundred kilometres per second. When these solar metallic vapours are thus carried up into colder regions they must be con- densed into a metallic mist or rain composed of particles of various sizes. We know also from ex- periment as well as theory that light exercises a pressure on solid objects and that this pressure. per square centimetre for totally absorbing or black bodies is numerically equal to the light energy in the cubic centimetre. | Measurements made of the so-called solar constant at the earth’s surface when corrected for atmospheric absorption give a value of 2-5 gram calories per sq. cm. per min. MHence the energy ‘of light per c.c. is nearly 6/10° ergs and the light pressure therefore 6/10° dynes per sq. cm. on a black surface. But at the sun’s surface this pressure is 46,000 times greater, or 2-75 dynes per sq. cm. As this pressure varies as the square of the linear dimensions of the particle whilst gravitation varies as the cube, it is clear. that as the dimensions of a particle decrease a limit will be reached at which the light pressure will overbalance the gravitation attraction. aiete! It is easy to. prove from known data that at or near the sun’s surfaces black particles of the density of water would be just repelled if they had dia-— meters of 15,000 A.U.=150/108 cm. e If their density is 5-5, then the critical diameter _ FeEpruary 2, 1922] NATURE 143 vill be 2700 A.U. If, however, the particles ave diameters of only 1600 A.U. and unit density 2 light pressure will be nineteen times greater than gravitation attraction. For sizes still smaller light pressure would decrease again, and for sters less than 500 A.U. gravity would once re preponderate. ' f, then, the solar eruptions drive up into colder ms vapours which are condensed to liquid or | particles, a sorting action will at once come to play. Particles above a certain diameter will irawn back into the sun. Particles below a diameter will be repelled away with great wee by light pressure, and particles of a certain al diameter will remain suspended in space. solar corona may perhaps be in part composed ar dust of this critical diameter, as Arrhenius ‘suggested. Now, as regards that dust which is yelled by the sun, it is easy to calculate the time cles of certain sizes will take to travel to the orbit and the velocities they will then possess. s the particles to have unit density and three viz. 1600, 5000, and 10,000 A.U., and ¢ projected from the sun with velocities of km. per sec., I find that the times to travel to the earth’s orbit will be respec- twenty-two hours, forty-two hours, and ty-six hours. The velocities with which they arrive will be 1700 km. per sec., 780 km. per ‘sec., and 350 km. per sec. respectively. A These minute particles, composed, it may be, carbon from the photosphere or metallic dust the reversing layer or volcanic ash or other ‘materials will in general carry electric charges. igh temperature will cause emission of elec- trons from the metallic particles, as also will the fierce ultra-violet radiation to which they are ex- posed. The metallic vapours will also be in a state of ionisation, and the free electrons emitted will con- dense round them gases or vapours from the chromo- sphere as they pass through it. Hence the particles which are repelled by light may be either positively or negatively electrified or neutral. Owing to the greater tendency of negative electrons to condense vapours and attach themselves to groups of mole- cules, the negatively charged particles may be less dense and smaller than those positively charged. It-should be noted, however, that isolated molecules or electrons are far too small in diameter to be repelled by light. It is only groups of molecules of at least 500 A.U. in diameter which can be re- pelled. Hence these dust particles will travel out- wards from the sun with very different velocities. Some will come with great velocity and others with small speed. In short, we may say that the sun, like a good housemaid, dislikes dust, especially dust of a certain degree of fineness, and pushes it away from it with great force. ‘The moment that this electrified dust enters the earth’s magnetic field with high velocity forces will be brought to bear on it tending to separate the negatively and the positively charged particles. If H is the magnetic force of the earth and v the particle’s velocity, and e its charge, then the separating force is Hev where H is that com- ponent of magnetic force at right angles to the direction of v and the separating force is also at right angles to the plane of H and v. (To be continued.) Sir Ernest SHAcKLeETON, C.V.O. | sudden death of Sir Ernest Shackleton on 4 board the Qwest at South Georgia on inuary 5 stopped the career of the most brilliant f Anta:ctic explorers just on the threshold of the uth Polar regions which he was entering for the time with his third expedition. That such a ageous and indontitable explorer should die a ral death after a lifetime of hair-breadth apes from perils of ice, of starvation, of ship- eck, and of war is a grim stroke of Nature’s , Great as his loss is to geographical ex- ration, we cannot but recognise his end as happy, his life was arrested in the full course of the usiastic pursuit of a great and crowning adven- _ The sympathy of all who appreciate high- ed deeds will flow towards his wife, to whose ration much of his success was due ; towards ‘shipmates, who have nobly resolved to carry on voyage; and towards Mr. John Q. Rowett, ose friendship for Shackleton made him under- e the main financial burden of the expedition. Ernest Henry Shackleton was born at Kilkee, in Treland, in 1874, removed to London with his father hile still a schoolboy, and at an early age insisted NO. 2727, VOL. 109] Obituary. on going to sea instead of following his father’s profession of medicine. After voyages to South America and other parts of the world, he entered the service of the Union Castle Co., where he was during the stirring-days of the Boer War. He had become an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve before the plans of the Antarctic expedition on the Dis- covery fired him with the desire for exploration. His application for a post on the expedition was refused, persisted in, and finally accepted, and he had a strenuous time on board as junior watch-keeping officer. The expedition sailed in August, rg01, and from the outset Shackleton was eager to undertake every piece of voluntary work. He assisted in the chemical and oceanographical observations, assumed the editorship of the South Polar Times, and read up the history of polar exploration. When Capt. Scott was making up his party for the great southern journey of 1902-3 he included Shackleton, who thus took part in establishing the ‘‘ farthest south ”” of lat. 82° 17/ S., and saw the great range of mountains bordering the Ice Barrier on the west and stretching far to the southward. On the return journey Shackleton broke down from an illness which was probably scurvy, but he struggled on to 5 NATURE [FEBRUARY 2, 1922 the end without giving in, and only. last year he refuted with the utmost indignation a published statement that he had been dragged on a sledge. by his comrades on that occasion. He was much dis- tressed at the decision that he should return home by the relief ship, and it may well be that this fact was the germ of the. determination to return to the Antarctic with an. expedition of his own, Shackleton had more than recovered by the time he reached England, and his health never gave way again. In 1904 he became secretary of. the Royal Scot- tish, Geographical Society and took up his residence in Edinburgh after his marriage to Emily, daughter of the late Mr. Charles, Dorman. It is scarcely too much to say that the breezy energy of the new secretary. electrified the society. Unheard-of innova- tions were installed, unprecedented expenses under- taken, and. a harvest of new. members justified every reform. At the general election of 1906 he appeared as.the Unionist candidate, for Dundee and conducted a vivacious though unsuccessful campaign. After this, secretarial duties. proved too common- place, and for a time Shackleton found a freer vent for his energies in business life, taking part in one of the great shipbuilding and engineering works on the Clyde. But-all the time unseen lines of force were holding his ambition true to the south, and. silently but. solidly he laid his plans. He bought an old whaler, the Nimrod, raised a con- siderable sum of: money under his personal guar- antee of repayment if the expedition. proved a success, and, profiting by the mistakes of the Dis- covery expedition, he had all his provisions pre- pared, packed, and stowed under his personal in- spection. He had no committee and no orders, but held himself free to carry out his own plans in his’ own way at his own risk. He decided to base his transport on ponies and motor haulage, methods never used before in polar exploration, and although the motor broke down at an early stage, the ponies brought the expedition to a point on the barrier beyond that reached in the Discovery expedition, and but for the loss in a crevasse of the last pony, the South Pole would have been reached. An ascent to the plateau was found by the Beardmore Glacier, and when it was clear that the provisions could not carry the party all the way and back, Shackleton turned in lat. 88° 23/ S. Had-he pushed on for another day before turning he would have met the fate which afterwards befell Scott, and, indeed, he very narrowly missed it. On this expedition there were many innovations in food, in lighting, and for the first time it carried a kinematograph into the polar regions. On his return in 1909 the recognition of the epoch-making advances in methods. and results. was widespread, if not universal, and the splendid achievement of David and Mawson in reaching first the summit of Mount Erebus and then the Magnetic Pole, together with the biological, meteorological, and geological work of: all the parties, gave. the expedition, as a whole, high scientific - value. Shackleton received a shower of gold medals from NO. 2727, VOL. 109] the . geographical societies of the. world and the . honour: of knighthood. He passed a strenuous year © or two lecturing in Europe and America to pay off — the debts of the expedition and the expense of the — cal scientific reports. The attainment of the South Pole by Amundsen i ‘ and Scott in 1912 turned Shackleton’s attention to the project of crossing the Antarctic continent by — landing on the shores of the Weddell Sea and marching via the Pole to his old quarters on the Ross Sea. Again his word was sufficient security for the advance of funds, and again the plan was his own. The war broke out after his start in the first week of August, 1914, and he at once placed ships, stores, and men at the disposal of the Government for military service. The. offer was | declined, and the expedition sailed. The Ross Sea party. carried out its programme and laid a chain of depots from Macmurdo Strait to the Beardmore Glacier, but the men were imprisoned at their winter quarters by the drifting away of their ship, the Aurora. Meanwhile, Shackleton, in the Endurance, | had carried the exploration of Coats-Land farther - south: than its discoverer, Bruce, or his German fol- lower, Filchner; but just when a landing was almost in sight the ship was caught and drifted northward fast in the ice step by step with the - Aurora on the other side of the world. The Endurance was crushed and sank, but Shackleton and his party kept up their courage. ' through a dreadful year of inaction. Where reck- less daring was the only course everyone knew. that he would dare all; but it was a revelation to most of us to find that when safety lay in caution he could command the eager spirits of his companions to patience. L Tsland he at once decided to make for South Georgia, 800 miles away, in a little open boat with a few volunteers, and seek help for the others, who remained under the charge of Frank Wild. He made the almost. impossible voyage, well knowing that if he survived and the party on Elephant Island — perished he would be charged with deserting them and seeking his own safety, and to face this possi- bility was a greater test of courage than the Southern. Ocean itself. He succeeded after three failures in, bringing every man who sailed in the Emdurance back alive to South America in August, 1916. Hurrying to New Zealand, he found that the — authorities who had repaired and equipped the When a landing was made on Elephant — Aurora to rescue his Ross Island party refused to allow him. to take charge of his own ship to look for — his own men ; but he felt his responsibility. so keenly that with an almost unbelievable magnanimity he sailor on the relief voyage. accepted the situation and shipped as a common — Never was a case: where, failure was so nobly retrieved, and the failure had - occurred. only because. the forces of Nature are. stronger than the resources of the most heroic man. For two years Shackleton served in the army as epg ne officer in charge of the supplies for the British force — operating in- the White Sea, and Northern Russia. Then for another feverish spell he threw all his energies into lecturing on his last expedition to enable A _ FEBRUARY 2, 1922] a ideas a ‘NATURE 145 m to repay the advances which had been made to n. Once! out of debt, he fourid the call: of. the ssistible. He meditated a dash to the vn centre of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic ions, and had gone far to mature his plans when umstances barred the way, and he resolved on ‘more Antarctic voyage. - m from financial worries. His plan was id; the Enderby Quadrant which he was to lore was practically unknown; his old comrades ed to him from the ends of the earth; but the P was ‘small though stout, and he was forty- years old, though a boy at heart. He sailed he Quest in September, 1921, had a grievous ing- on the voyage to Madeira, a long and s delay for refitting in the- heat of Rio de iro; again a stormy voyage: to South Georgia, 1en the sudden seizure in the midst of apparent h, and the career of the most. Elizabethan: of ern explorers had an end as abrupt as the clash blind Fury with the abhorred shears.”’ leton lived like a mighty rushing wind, and strength of his nature made him enemies as: friends.. He resented injustice and they only spurred’ him on to show by evements how baseless they were. He himself to his friends, and was adored by ‘mates, who saw in “‘ the Boss’” a kindly able authority. _-He loved applause loried in the limelight ; but he was applauded s that no one else was able to accomplish. ourer is worthy of his hire, and no one has a quarrel with a good workman if he likes to ne of his pay in the form of praise and we SLIOT Shackleton’s most characteristic quality was ler courage nor resolution, both of which he red with other heroes of exploration. It was his inctive judgment. Whenever he had to make a cision between two.courses of action, no matter y suddenly the necessity arose nor how quickly ad to be met, he invariably did the right thing. in and again the wrong decision would have | ant certaii death -or irremediable disaster. This wer of decision. was not an effort of reason, but apparently instinctive impulse which can perhaps ccounted for by a peculiar balance of percep- Indeed, it is to the balancing of ineeadittery ities that much of Shackleton’s success was due. $s mind was. not essentially scientific, though he ied science and made most generous provision for in his expeditions. He was both impulsive and tious, yet he was never irresolute. He revelled in ry and seemed to breathe the air of romance, e same. time he was a methodical organiser te Noon, brotnoss man. His imagination was zingly fertil and it seems as if'in planning an dition he. imaged to himself everything that ld possibly happen’ in any set of circumstances d them set himself: to work to provide: for each ency. Whatever may have been its secret, sonality: was his greatest power, and it marked it as a commanding figure. He might well “NO. 2727, VoL. 09} - is time the munificence of friends secured him have been a Drake or a Ralegh; in no time and in ' no conditions could he have been commonplace. The greatness of his loss may be judged by the things he did and the way he did them. Hues Ropert Mit. Sir WitiitAm Curistigz, K.C.B., F.R.S. Witit1aMmM Henry Manoney Curistie was the youngest son of Samuel Hunter Christie, pro- fessor. of mathematics in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and secretary of the Royal Society from 1837 to 1854. He was born in 1845, the same year as George Darwin and two years later than David Gill. Educated at King’s College School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was fourth wrangler in 1868, and in the following: year was elected to a fellowship-of his college.. On the recom- mendation of Airy, Christie was, in the autumn of 1870, appointed chief assistant at the Royal Obser- vatory, Greenwich, At that time the activity of the Observatory. was largely concentrated on its tra- ditional duty of the regular observation of sun, moon, planets, and fundamental. stars, the stars being regarded as points of reference for the planets, and: especially the moon, and serving also for the determination of time. The observations were made with the transit circle erected by Airy in 1850. Christie made a careful study of (1) the most suit- able value of the refraction constant at Greenwich, (2) the corrections to be applied for a. well-estab- lished and persistent difference between the zenith distances of stars when obseryed by reflection from mercury and when observed directly, and (3) the value of the latitude at Greenwich—data-required to deduce the declinations of stars free from systematic errors. In this involved and somewhat indeter-— minate problem his judgment was correct, as is shown by the smallness of the systematic corrections applicable to the Greenwich catalogues of 1880, 1890, and 1900 to bring them into accord with the mean of other observatories. The extension of the field of work. of the Observa- tory was pressed on Airy by Warren de la Rue, who advocated continuous. observations of sun spots, and by Huggins, who advocated spectroscopic observa- tions of sun and stars. In a letter to Airy in May, 1872, Huggins writes : ‘‘ I understand Mr. Christie, who is zealous in the matter, to say that you would be agreeable to this course.” Government sanction was. obtained, and Mr. E. W. Maunder was ap- pointed assistant for photographic and spectroscopic observations. Christie was in sympathy with both these extensions of the activity of the Observatory. The photo-heliographic work was carried through very successfully, and arrangements. made with the Solar Physics Committee, and later with the Cape» and Kodaikanal Observatories, resulted in a uniform. and continuous. series of photographs of the sum being taken day by day, which were. afterwards measured and discussed at Greenwich with reference to the positions and areas of sun spots. _ The spectroscopic observations for velocity in the line of sight were not successful. It was not until the introduction of photography by Vogel that any reliance could be placed on line of sight determina- 146 ‘NATURE [FEBRUARY 2, 1922 tions of velocity, and not until the Mills spectrograph at the Lick Observatory was got into operation in 1895 by Campbell that thoroughly trustworthy re- sults were obtained. But the earlier observers in the field, as in the parallel case of parallax determina- tions, deserve credit for attacking an important problem, though they did not succeed in overcoming the great difficulties which it presented. On the retirement of Airy, in 1881, Christie was appointed Astronomer Royal. His tenure of office is notable for the large additions he made to the equipment of the Observatory and to the introduction of stellar photography. The first extension of the buildings was an additional computing room, and with it a pier and dome, which served later for the astrographic equatorial. In 1885 he represented to the Admiralty the desirability of increasing the optical means of the Observatory, and received its assent to the purchase of an object-glass of 28-in. aperture and 28-ft. focal length. In co-operation with Stokes an object-glass was proposed which might be used for visual or photographic observa- tions. This telescope, constructed by Sir Howard Grubb, was completed in 1893 and installed on the equatorial mounting which until then had carried the Merz 12%-in. telescope. ‘The drum-shaped dome covering the Merz refractor was worn out, and was replaced by an Oriental-looking dome designed by Christie to contain the longer telescope. This tele- scope was for many years in charge of Mr. Lewis, and has been utilised for a valuable series of obser- vations of double stars. : The provision of the photographic refractor of 13 in. with a r1o-in. guiding telescope, to enable Greenwich to take part in the photographic mapping of the heavens, was sanctioned in 1888. The instru- ment, constructed by Sir Howard Grubb, was mounted in the 18-ft. dome over the computing rooms in 1890. The Greenwich section of the astrographic chart and catalogue and the observations of Eros for solar parallax were made with this telescope. Christie took a share in the deliberations and arrange ments for this international undertaking. He de- signed a micrometer for use at Greenwich which faci- litated the comparison of neighbouring plates. He was also the discoverer of a very useful empirical formula connecting the magnitude of stars with the diameter of their photographic images. The largest. addition to the Observatory was com- menced in 1890, but not completed until 1898. It is a cruciform building, with office rooms on the ground floor, libraries and workshop in the basement, rooms for preserving records and photographs on the upper floor. The central octagon is used as a store room, and is surmounted by a 36-ft. dome originally built to cover Lassell’s 2-ft. mirror presented to the ‘Observatory by the Misses Lassell. Before the ‘building was completed Sir Henry Thompson gener- ously offered to. provide a 26-in. photographic re- fractor and a 30-in. reflector, both on the same equa- torial mounting. | The equatorial and the refractor were constructed by Sir Howard Grubb and _ the mirror by Dr. Common. observations of Eros, observations NO, 2727, VOL. 109] of Neptune’s ‘died in childhood. The refractor was used in ~ ship. reached Gibraltar. satellites, and for various other purposes, while the reflector was used in photography of nebulz, obser- vations of small planets, comets, faint satellites, — etc., and was instrumental in the discovery of the eighth satellite of Jupiter. i About the samie time Christie designed a new altazimuth. The instrument is essentially a transit — circle which can be mounted in any azimuth. It re-— placed Airy’s altazimuth, which did not give suffi- — cient accuracy. ‘The new instrument usefully supple- — ments the observations of the moon made with the — transit circle. These various extensions to the Observatory build-— ings cramped the space for meteorological observa- — tions, and the iron in the domes affected the magnets, — which were housed in a wooden building a few yards to the north of the new observatory. A plot of ground in Greenwich Park was lent to the Admiralty by the Office of Works, where a magnetic pavilion — was erected for taking absolute magnetic observa- — tions. | Christie took a good deal of interest in the obser- vation of total eclipses. He went to Japan in 1806, to India in 1898, to Portugal in 1900, and Tunis in 1905. With the equipment arranged by him in 1896 an excellent series of large-scale photographs of the corona were taken at the eclipses of 1898, 1900, I9OI, 1905, and. 1914. Christie retired from his office on his sixty-fifth RAS Sect se Se Sy te“ birthday, October 10, 1910, with the good wishes of his staff. He maintained his interest in the Observatory, and came regularly to the annual visi- tation. He was also frequently at the meetings of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society, serving on the council of the Royal! Society six years and on that of the Royal Astro- nomical Society forty-one years, being president in the years 1888-1890. Several foreign academies. also accorded him honours. He received the distinc- tion of C.B. on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and was promoted K.C.B. in 1904. He married in 1881 Violette Mary, daughter of Sir Alfred Hickman, of Wolverhampton. Mrs. Christie died in 1888, leaving two sons, one of whom i His elder son, Mr. Harold Christie, lived at the Observatory until his father re- tired, when they went to live first at Woldingham and afterwards at Downe. Sir William was of a courteous and hospitable disposition, and would always invite some members of his staff to meet a foreign astronomer who might be visiting the Obser- vatory. He thoroughly enjoyed astronomical con- ferences and eclipse expeditions for the op- portunities they afforded of meeting astronomical colleagues. He acquired in these expeditions a love of sea voyages, and after his retirement made several trips abroad in the winter. In the early part of 1921 he went to Jamaica, and paid a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Pickering at the observatory of Mande-— ville. This year he started for Mogador a few days after meeting many of his friends at the Royal Astronomical Society Club. He was then apparently in fair health, but died on January 22, before the F. W. Dyson. NATURE 147 _ FEsRuary 2, 1922] Dr. EMILE CarTAILHAC. s regret to record the death of Dr. Emile ailhac on November 25 at Geneva, where he ad just completed a course of lectures delivered at le invitation of the University. Emile Cartailhac as born at Camarés in 1844, and for more than ty years had been one of the dominant figures in dy of prehistoric archzology in France. His in archeology began when the discoveries of x de Perthes were still the subject of con- y, and he threw himself with characteristic into the discussion. He settled early at se, and founded there in.1866 a museum of paleontology. His success as a lecturer was mediate, and eventually led to his appointment fessor of prehistoric archeology, the only tment of the kind in France. From 1869 _he edited the well- known publication, iaux pour servir 4 l’Histoire primitive et elle de 1’Homme,”’ with conspicuous ability ; it his greatest contribution to prehistoric arche- O was his synthetic study of the prehistory of e which appeared in 1889 under the title, | France. préhistorique d’aprés les sépultures monuments.’’ This book, the first of its kind, gone through numerous editions. Of his other which were numerous, the most important , Ages préhistoriques de |’Espagne et du Por- igal,”’ the volume dealing with the rock paintings : Altamira in the series published under the ices of the Prince of Monaco, written in con- ion with the Abbé Breuil, and the arche- al section of ‘‘ Les Grottes de Grimaldi.” 2. Manset Loncwortu-Dames, whose death _Seventy- -second year is reported, entered the Civil Service in 1868. He served in the unjab for twenty-eight years, with an interlude in 879, when he was on duty with the troops in the d Afghan war. While he was stationed in the “Indus districts he i a good knowledge of the Baluch tribes and of their language ; he pub- lished a Baluchi grammar and reading-book, which were for many years used by students; an account of the Baluch race, issued by the Royal Asiatic Society; and ‘‘ The Popular Poetry of the Baluchis,’’ published by the Folklore Society. He made a large collection of Buddhist art, which ‘ passed into the hands of the Berlin Museum, and he helped to arrange the Buddhist rooms of the British Museum. He was an active member of the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he was vice-president. He knew Arabic, Persian, and Portuguese well, and this knowledge he utilised in his new translation, with copious annotations, of ‘‘ The Book of Duarte Barbosa,’’ published last year by the Hakluyt Society. His death leaves a gap in the small circle of oriental scholars. WE regret to report the death of Mr. C. F. T. HapriLy, clerk in the General Library of the British Museum (Natural History). Seized on January 12 with influenza while on his way home from the Museum, he succumbed to its effects within four days, on the evening of January 16. Mr. Hadrill first took service with the Trustees in the Copyright Office at the British Museum, Blooms- bury, in 1888. Thence he was transferred to the General Library at the South Kensington division of the Museum in 1895. Save for the period of his war service (1915 to 1919), he held his position con- tinuously up to the day of his death. Thoroughly interested in his work, in which he took great pride, he was intimately acquainted with the books under his charge, as all who came into contact with him, whether Museum officials, or students, or casual visitors, soon realised ; and his services, always most willingly, obligingly, and efficiently rendered, were consequently in perpetual demand. His loss will be felt as a personal one by a large circle of scientific workers, including those connected with the ‘‘ Zoo- logical Record,” for which he was one of the researchers. ih Tue Bakerian lecture of the Royal Society will be ir. 'S. Barratt on “The Spectrum of Hydrogen.”’ R6ntgen Society will be delivered by Sir Oliver e at the Institution of Electrical Engineers on ssday, March 21. _ Ar a meeting of various sections of the welding W society, to be known as the Institution of Welding ngineers, be formed. The society will embrace all systems of welding, and anyone who is interested in yelding and allied industries will be eligible for rembership. The hon. secretary (pro tem.) is Mr. . . Raggett, and the temporary home of the new ution is at 30 Red Lion Square, London,’ W.C.1. NFORMATION has reached us from Mr. D. H. Cain, Duke Street, St. James’s, S.W.1, that an English NO. 2727, VOL. 109] elivered on March g by Prof. T. R. Merton and | ! | | | | } _ to treat the ore on the spot. _ radium spas in this connection is also foreshadowed. istry. held on January 26 it was resolved that a | Notes. company, known as Radium Ore Mines, Ltd., is to re-open the Tolgarrick radium mine situated near Truro. According to this announcement, the mine A ' was abandoned at the outbreak of the war, but is Tae fifth Silvanus Thompson memorial lecture of — already installed with all the plant necessary for im- _ mediate resumption of work. Two rich lodes of uranium ore are to be worked, and the intention is The development of Two noteworthy prizes for the discovery of a cure for cancer have recently been announced, namely, one by Lord Atholstan of 100,000 dollars, and the other by Sir William Veno of 10,0001. Both prizes are limited to students and graduates of recognised universities, and they will be awarded to the first investigator who within the next five years succeeds in discovering a non-surgical effective cure for cancer. The awards will be made on the decision of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons in London. 148 NATURE | FEBRUARY 2,.1922 At the monthly meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held on January 18, the secretary reported that seventy-nine additions had been made to the society’s menagerie during the month—thirty by pre- sentation, thirty-nine deposited, and ten by purchase. The most noteworthy addition ‘to the collections is a pair of lions from India, presented by H.M. the King. The number of visitors to the gardens during 1921 was 1,386,745, and the receipts for admission amounted to 46,5091. Four hundred and seven new fellows were elected to the society during the year, and while this number is 123 fewer than in the previous year, it is 95 above the average for the last ten years. These figures are eloquent of the popu- larity of this institution. A MOVEMENT has been set on foot to erect a fitting memorial to the great sanitarian, William Crawford Gorgas, through whose labours it became possible to complete the construction of the Panama Canal. ‘Inaugurated by Dr. Belisario Porras, the President of the Republic of Panama, the scheme aims at the erection of a hospital and laboratory for tropical and preventive medicine. The Panama Government has provided a site, a building, and modern equipment valued at half a million dollars, as well as the use of the two-million-dollar Santo Tomas Hospital, which is just being completed. It is hoped to increase the initial sum available by another four and a half mil- dion dollars by means of contributions from the public and the Governments which have benefited from the work of Gorgas. A provisional board of directors for the United States has been appointed. buildings in Washington, while Dr. R. P. Strong, of the Harvard School of Tropical Medicine, is to be the -scientific director of the memorial. SHORTLY after the retirement cf Prof. P. F. Frank- dand from the Mason chair of:physics in the Univer- sity of Birmingham a fund was opened with the object of providing some permanent memorial of his work in the University. The money subscribed was devoted in the first place to a portrait of Prof. Frank- land (painted by Mr. Bernard Munns), which now hangs in the great hall of the University at Edgbas- ton. The balance of the fund has been applied to the institution of a Frankland medal, which, together with a prize of books, is to be presented annually to the best student in practical chemistry. The medal is of bronze, bearing on the obverse a profile portrait of Prof. Frankland, and on the reverse the arms of the University. A handsome book-plate has also been designed to be placed in the prize-books. The name of this distinguished chemist will thus be kept green in the memory of future generations of students, -and the prize will doubtless act as a stimulus to the attainment of excellence in the practical study of -chemistry, on the importance of which Prof. Frank- ‘land so wisely insisted. THE ‘Gypsy Lore Society, founded in 1888 by Mr. ‘David MacRitchie to promote the study of the lan- guage, history, ethnology, and folk-lore of the gypsy NO. 2727, VOL. 109] The labora- ‘tories to be built will resemble the Pan-American | race, continued its useful career until its publications were ‘suspended in 1892. After fifteen years it was revived under the direction of Mr. R. A. Scott. Macfie, : but its work again ceased owing to the war in 1914. We are glad to learn that the society has now been revived again under the presidency of Mr. Ww. Ferguson, with Mr. T. W. Thompson as nooo secretary. The address of the honorary treasurer, to whom the subscription of il, per annum is pay-— able, is 7 Macdonald Road, Friern Barnet, London, — N.11. The society in its new form has received the support of several-eminent scholars interested in the — subject, and many valuable contributions have been promised. ‘The study of the gypsies is to be com- — mended from many points of view and we trust that : the society will receive generous support and meet — with the success which it deserves. i In 1821 some residents of New South Wales of a scientific turn of mind founded the Philosophical — Society of Australasia, the first scientific society ‘to be — formed in Australia. The society did not continue its meetings for long, and while other societies devoted to ‘agriculture, horticulture, botany, etc., were formed, it was not «until r850 that a society for general science known ‘as the Australian Philosophical Society, with ‘Sir Thomas Brisbane as president, came again into. existence. Only two'members of the original society — were also members of the 1850 society, namely, Alexander Berry and Dr. H. G. Douglass, the latter of whom ‘was honorary secretary of both societies. In 1855 the name was changed to the Philosophical — Society of New South Wales, and in 1866 this name gave place to that of the Royal Society of New South Wales, which it still bears. To commemorate the’ centenary of the foundation of the parent society, members of the Royal Society of New South Wales visited Kurnell on December to last, where the presi-— dent and members of the original society had erected a brass tablet in memory of the landing of Becta Cook and Joseph Banks.”’ INFLUENZA in London had very appreciably decreased according to the deaths given in the Registrar- General’s return for the week ending January 21; the decrease compared with the preceding week was — 108. In the ninety-six great towns of England and Wales the deaths had increased in the corresponding period by 164, but there seems a good prospect that the improvement shown in London will extend to other parts of. England. Of the total deaths from influenza in London during the week 56 per cent. occurred between the ages of forty-five and seventy- five. In London there have been with the present attack thirty-one epidemics since 1890, considering a. well-established 20 or more deaths per week as epi- demic. The only years without an epidemic are 1896 and 1901, and of the thirty epidemics preceding the present, twenty-seven have occurred in March, twenty-four in February, eighteen in April, and seven- teen. in January. Not one has been existent in Sep- tember, only one in August, two in July and October, and ‘three in June. The complaint is essentially epi- demic in winter and spring, but there-seems little NATURE 149 Pisatract for the electrification of the South an Railway between: Pietermaritzburg and Glen- | be given to the Metropolitan-Vickers Co., of ch r, In the early days of the electrical in- - in South Africa German competition was felt, but much of the foreign-made plant then has given great trouble to the users, due to faulty design, but also to the fact that it too hot at full load. English machines were be more desirable. The contract will involve uction of seventy locomotives. The line y heavy mineral traffic on its way to the Natal and goes through a hilly district. It fore, very suitable for electric traction, as live braking can be used on the descending In addition to pumping back into the line the potential energy lost, it obviates all the d tear on wheels and brake-shoes inevitable m traction. Each of the locomotives will ped “with four large electric motors, and the less the unforeseen happens, provide employ- many workpeople in Sheffield and Man- irteenth meeting of the Pitetiationa) Geo- Congress is to be held in Brussels on August Excursions. to places of. geological interest in will be held before the congress, on August eeewrands from August 21-September 3. An programme of geological discussions on s incuding tectonics, the geology of the Car- system and of petroleum, and the geology -a subject to which Belgian geologists have greatly. The committee of organisation _ not to admit ‘*. . . nationals of those lately at war, in defiance of Treaty obliga- heed ”—a phrase which only an inter- ionz ral lawyer: could confidently interpret. It might 1ded to exclude Germans only, but might admit siderable extension. The admission of Germans dl Austrians to the social functions of the congress _ tesbemetagd regarded as. premature, but their nplete exclusion from an international scientific ngre ss will be regretted by many British geologists. le president of the organising committee, who will iturally pe president of the congress, is M. J. eqz, Director-General of Mines, and _ president ' the Geological Council in Belgium. The secre- r is M. Renier, the head of the Geological Survey i There will be five excursions before the “Re ss to examine respectively the central and districts, the Tertiary beds, the Devonian, and oe materials. There will also be ten local ex- sions, most of which are for a single day, during € congress. Five excursions after the congress ill be devoted to the study of the Cretaceous and rtiary rocks near Mons, the metamorphic rocks at ie, the Palzozoic tectonics, the Carboniferous es, and the Westphalian. These excursions from four to twelve days. _ NO. 2727, VOL. 109] tion of these and the necessary control gear Tue Secretary of State for Air, Capt. Guest, re- ceived a deputation from the council of the Royal Aero- nautical Society: on January. 17 and heard views for safeguarding the applied scientific research of the Air Ministry. Attention was directed to the danger of dealing exclusively with the needs of .the moment, particularly by routine methods, and to the fact that present and future economy called for systematic inquiry on scientific principles. The high insurance rates re- quired to cover aviation risks and the loss of the air- ship R38 are instances which will occur to readers of NATURE as matters needing more than passing atten- tion. The deputation consisted of Col. M. O’Gorman (chairman), Prof. L. Bairstow, Sir Mackenzie Chalmers, Prof. B. M, Jones, and Lt.-Col. A. Ogilvie, and represented the council of the Royal Aeronautical Society, except that Service members felt that their appointments debarred them from expressing an opinion. A marked distinction was made between ‘applied scientific research’? and ‘tad hoc experi- ments,’? and it was stated that experience showed that the latter take precedence and tend to the extinction of research on the ground of urgency when both are under a common direction, The cessation of airship research both on the full scale and in. the laboratory and the proposal to close the Aerodynamics Department of the National Physical Laboratory (happily not being fully pressed) indicate how serious has been the position in the past year. The deputation suggested that the remedy lay in the appointment of a scientifically trained head of a department specially devoted to applied: scientific research. As applied to a new science the difficulties are great; but it is under- stood that: the proposals are receiving the serious. and sympathetic consideration of the Secretary of State for Air. Tue report of the ‘Wireless’? Telegraphy Com- mission which has just been issued is of value, as it represents the reasoned and deliberate judgment of three well-known experts. In his preface Dr. Eccles comments on the ‘‘severely technical ’’ nature of the report, but as the terms of reference definitely ask for advice on the preparation of specifications for machinery and. apparatus this. was unavoidable.. The Commis- ‘sion is to be congratulated on the thoroughness with which it has done its work, As in all engineering projects, however, unless the scheme is begun at once further discoveries may make it advisable to alter appreciably. the detailed specifications. It recom- mends that.a radio-chain be established, none of the steps being greater than about 2000 miles. The radio- telegraphic energy is to be generated by thermionic valves. The first step is to be from Leafield to Cairo, which the Post Office will shortly operate by means of Poulsen arcs. Then valve stations will be erected at Poona, Singapore, Hong Kong, and in Australia at either Port Darwin or Perth. Valve stations would also connect England and Canada. The stations are to be capable of delivering at least 120 kilowatts to the antenna. They will be larger, therefore, than the Carnarvon station of the Marconi Company. It has been. found that there is a considerable loss of 150 NATURE [FEBRUARY 2, 1922. energy due to the induced currents in the earth under the antennz, The Commission therefore advises that _ efficient earth-screens made of grids of copper wire be used at all the chain stations. It is suggested that the Marconi Company be invited to tender for earth. screens, antenna tuning coils, and thermionic-valve sets. It also suggests that if their tender be not acceptable, suitable plant could be designed by the Commission after the conclusion of the work now being undertaken at Horsea. Tue last annual report from the Field Museum of Natural History at Chicago deals with the highly successful removal of the collections from the build- ing in Jackson Park to a new building in Grant Park. The Section of Plant Reproduction continued to turn out those beautiful models of vegetable structure on which we have commented in previous years. In addition to several fruits and flowers, the reproduc- tions include the green alga, Gidogonium and Ulo- thrix, enlarged tip of a frond of the alga, Bryopsis plumosa, a cotton plant, and a cycad, Zamia floridana., Another reproduction illustrated, but not otherwise mentioned, in this report is a restoration of the New Zealand moa, 13 ft. high. We do not know which species of Dinornis this professes to represent, but it seems to have an abnormal number of cervical vertebra, a mammalian back, and pantomime legs. In ‘La Cité des Termites ’’ Dr. J. Feytaud gives a very interesting account of the social habits of Leuco- termes lucifugus, Rossi. The author has had excel- lent opportunities to study this species of white ant (one of the two species of the family found in Europe) at first hand in the south-west of France, and he has made good use of them. The brochure contains one of the most complete studies of the life and habits of the termites that we have. Much of the informa- tion has appeared in scientific journals, but now that the author has brought his studies together into one volume the intricate and elaborate social life that exists amongst termites should become more widely known. A chapter is devoted to the ravages and means of destruction of termites. SomE interesting anthropological data relating to the Pitcairn Islanders, the descendants mutineers of the Bounty, are contained in an ap- pendix by Dr. D. Colquhoun, of Dunedin, New Zealand, to a report ona visit paid in June last to Pitcairn Island by Sir Cecil Rodwell, High Commis- sioner of the Western Pacific (Colonial Reports— Miscellaneous: No. 93). The present inhabitants, who number 174, are the descendants of forty of the islanders who, in 1859, returned to Pitcairn from Norfolk Island, whither the whole population of 190 had migrated in. 1856... Dr. Colquhoun. describes the islanders as lighter in complexion than pure Maoris, and says many would pass for southern Europeans. The hair is generally dark and straight, although one individual had the frizzy hair, dark skin, and thick lips of a Melanesian type, and two children had fair hair and blue-grey eyes. Generally the eyes are dark NO. 2727, VOL. 109] of the ; ‘the interior of the coil. brown, rarely bluish-grey. All the dolichocephalic. No stigmata of the degeneration through in-breeding, which was anticipated from the islanders are — evidence afforded by Admiral Palliser’s visit to the island in 1898, were observed, and the island is sin- gularly free from disease. Copies of the report may be obtained from H.M. Stationery Office, nT House, Kingsway, W.C., price tod. Z + : Réseau MonpliALe, 1914, has recently been in 4 by the Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry. The — preface to the work is written by Sir Napier Shaw. The present volume completes five years of the publication, 1g1o to 1914, which will afford some idea of the value of the compilation of meteorological data for the whole globe which it has been the ambition of meteorologists to achieve for a long time past. Data for 1914 were not obtainable until some time after the war, and information for many of the Siberian stations is still lacking. The number of stations . recorded for the present volume is 392. Two stations are chosen for each ten- degree square, and the results are given for each month and for the year. For barometric pressure the mean is shown with the difference from the normal. For temperature the mean maximum and mean mini- mum values, are tabulated with the mean of the maximum and minimum and the difference from the normal, together with the absolute maximum and absolute minimum temperatures experienced. For rainfall the total precipitation is given’ and the differ- ence from the normal. Tue report of a general discussion on the physics and chemistry of colloids, held jointly by the Faraday, Society and the Physical Society of London, has been issued by the Stationery Office at the price of 2s. 6d. It includes nearly thirty formal papers on colloids, in addition to the discussions arising there- from. Special attention may be directed to the bril- liantly lucid ‘‘ Survey of the Physics and Chemistry of Colloids,’’ by Prof. Svedberg, of Upsala, with which the proceedings were opened. The essential outlines have been drawn with a clearness and firmness of touch that has never before been equalled, whilst the bibliography at the end of the paper shows where the details required to complete the picture may be found. Tue demand for very penetrating X-rays for pur- poses of medical therapy has led to the construction of high-tension apparatus capable of giving a con- tinuous output for several hours of current at an alternative spark-gap up to about 18 in. This has caused considerable modifications in the design of both induction coils and interrupterless transformers. A circular on ‘‘ Deep Therapy Apparatus, Section 2b,” issued by Messrs. Newton and Wright, Ltd., gives a description of an induction coil designed for this type of work. of two symmetrical coils mounted side by side, the ‘whole being immersed in oil; this latter avoids breakdowns due to insulation troubles pro- duced by the high-tension discharges in the air in The coil really ‘consists. A useful feature of the double- © FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE 151 design is that it allows the milli-ampere meter to serted at the mid-point, which is at zero potential, hence the instrument can be brought to an low-tension. switchboard. account of the discussion on the future of geo- al optics which took place at the Cambridge of the Optical Society in May last is given ; 5 of the Transactions of the society for the session. On the whole, the representatives janufacturers were in favour of retaining the ep trigonometrical method of tracing rays the system under design in order to get rid ations rather than changing to the analytical , which give the aberrations of the first order of a certain quartic in the magnification and the second order in terms of M(1+AM)/(1+BM), A and B are constants and M is the square of lination of the ray to the axis. It was, how- iggested that some attempt should be made thematicians to reduce the complexity of the ulz involved by bringing the subject into line th the wave theory. It was pointed out that the itish optical trade must in the next four or five ars improve its optical designs if it is to be able in future to sell its products against the better red articles offered by manufacturers of other List of American research chemicals has been as No. 23 of the Reprint and Circular Series of National Research Council, Washington. The - includes biological stains and indicators, and _in- ides a very large number of fine bieuicals: ‘The sr is larger than that in the corresponding list tish research chemicals, issued by the Associa- eaitiat Chemical Manufacturers, but the latter mplete, and although not dated, was issued ne tcite before the American list. The American also includes many very simple derivatives, such ; acetyl and benzoyl compounds, which swells its ilk. One noticeable feature of the American list is it includes a large number of rarer inorganic icals likely to be required for research purposes, the British list is largely made up of organic nicals. It is desirable that a new and more com- edition of the latter should be issued as soon s possible, and that requirements in inorganic, as ell as organic, chemicals should be kept in mind. provision of a works Ghoratery is now ised as an essential part of the organisa- | of any large engineering firm. The equipment vill, , of course, depend upon the kind of work arried out by the firm. The laboratory at the Bed- wd works of Messrs. W. H. Allen and Sons, Ltd., the subject of an illustrated article in is Perens for January 13, and its equipment may ken as an excellent example of what is required 1 firm) manufacturing a wide range of high-grade anical engineering products. There is a main ical testing-room, a chemical laboratory with ce-room and stores, a recalescence room, a photo- NO. 2727, VOL.. 109] micrographic room, dark room, and office. The mechanical testing equipment includes a Brinell hard- ness machine, a Sankey autographic bending machine, machines for repeated impact testing of the Eden- Foster and Stanton types, an Izod impact machine, a 30-ton Buckton machine with a Ewing extenso- meter, and a Shore hardness testing machine. The same room contains a number of machine tools for the preparation of specimens. The chemical labora- tory has also a very complete equipment; the recalescence furnace is a modification of the one in use in the National Physical Laboratory. It is perhaps unnecessary to add that this laboratory has exercised a very effective control over the quality of the firm’s products. AN introductory address to his lectures at University College on waterways, harbours, and docks was delivered by Dr. Brysson Cunningham on January 24. The great value of the ocean as an international water- way and the facilities it affords for traffic, with far fewer difficulties than in the case of land routes, were emphasised. Before the war railway construction in England had cost something more than 50,000l. per mile, including expenses of promotion, while in the United States the cost averaged only about one-fifth of this sum; the outlay for track formation proper was about 5oool. or 6oool. per mile. In both cases there is, in addition, the expense of maintenance, whereas in a waterway on the high seas there is neither cost of construction nor of upkeep. This is true, though in a lesser degree, of the rivers and inland waterways. Dr. Cunningham also discussed ports, pointing out that few modern ports have kept pace with the requirements of the naval architect in regard to ship design. Rational developments in shipbuilding are impeded by lack of depth of water at the principal ports and in the Suez Canal. The following table shows the actual rate of expansion in the dimensions of vessels in the mercantile marine during the past forty years :— Average dimensions of the twenty largest steamships in each of the years mentioned. 1881. r89r. Igor. IQIr. 1921. Feet. Feet: . . io ‘ 4 cannot be ascribed to the presence of free resins. A resin isolated by a new method from two | bituminous coals has a molecular weight of about 450, agreeing with the empirical formula C,,H,,0,; its properties correspond with those of a resene i Tschirch’s classification of resins. The usual pyridine- chloroform method of extracting coals does not effect a complete separation between the resinous con- stituents and the degradation products of the cellulose — of which coal is conglomerated. It yields an admix- ture of resins with a predominance of non-resinous substances of cellulosic origin, provisionally designated _ ‘humic ’”’ bodies. These substances may amount to — 4 per cent. of the coal substance. The strong coking — propensities of some coals are principally due to the presence, or formation in them by heat, of such non- — resinous ‘‘humic”’ substances of cellulosic origin the fusion temperatures of which are below those at which they undergo rapid decomposition ; the more complex — substances of cellulosic origin, which form the main portion of the-coal substance and decompose without ~ fusion, have little or no influence upon’ the coking properties.—J. A. Crowther and B. J. Schonland; The scattering of f-rays. The scattering of a homo- geneous beam of f-rays has been measured for various elements, and at various angles with the beam. The results obtained are compared with the nuclear theory of scattering of Sir Ernest Rutherford, a correction being applied to allow for the variation _ of the mass of the -particle with velocity. Scattering is due to single encounters between the B-particle and the deflecting particles as. postulated by the theory until the thickness of the scattering material reduces the radiation to half value. The scattering by goldisin _ numerical agreement with the theory when measured’ _ at very small angles with the primary beam. It in- — creases rapidly as the angle is increased, and finally — attains a value approximately four times that given by the theory. This high value is given by the lighter elements at all’ the angles investigated. Present theories of scattering require modification when the collisions. between the f-particle and the deflecting nucleus are closer than a certain critical distance which is of the order of 10-*° cm. im the case of — gold.—Ann C. Davies: The minimum electron — energies. associated with the excitation of the spectra — of helium. The lines of the orthohelium and. par- helium series are simultaneously excited when ionisa- tion of the helium atom has occurred. The limiting voltages for excitation are 20-4 and 25-2, according to whether ionisation by multiple impacts can occur or not. The corresponding voltages in the case of the enhanced line 4686. are 542 and 80-0 respectively. This line can also be excited from the helium positive — ion without further ionisation of the atom at 50:3. volts, the value deduced from Bohr’s theory. The — minimum voltage for the appearance of the helium band spectrum is 20-4, and the conditions indicate that it is emitted by He, molecules. Orthohelium and parhelium lines and the band spectrum are maintained as. the voltage is backed down. to. 13 volts at high pressures.—C. N. Hinshelwood, H. Hartley, and ~ —— es” a eae eo ed ee -- FEBRUARY 2, 1922] NATURE 157 ye modes of decomposition of formic acid. Formic- id vapour in contact with glass surfaces between 9° and 300° C. decomposes mainly in the following ri (a) H-COOH=CO,+H, (b) H-COOH=CO+H,0O. ‘two modes of decomposition proceed at approxi- y equal rates, but the critical energies calculated he temperature-coefficients of the respective ty constants are so different that one reaction predominate almost entirely unless a phase iction is introduced. In this case molecules with he necessary critical internal energy do not react ‘at once unless they are in a certain phase.—C. V. man; The molecular scattering of light in water ind the colour of the sea. _ Geological Society, January 4.—Dr. G. T. Prior, vice-president, in the chair.—W. D. Lang, L, F. Spath, and W. A. Richardson; Shales-with-beef, a sequence ie Lower Lias of the Dorset coast. Pt. 1: Strati- hical, by W. D. Lang. The shales-with-beef lie tween Table Ledge below and the Birchi Bed above, consist of an upper 30 ft. of brownish paper- es with selenite, ‘‘beef,’? and limestone-nodules s were given. Pt. 2: Notes on the ammonites, -L. F. Spath. The genera of ammonites found in e shales-with-beef are recorded, and remarks made their classification and phylogeny. Pt. 3: Petro- gical Notes, by W. A. Richardson. During sedi- mentation, calcium carbonate gradually accumulated in solution in the water-logged deposit, and a system _ of limestones and calcareous nodules was precipitated _ thythmically during the initial stages of desiccation. _ Later, veins of fibrous calcite were deposited at levels _ of low pressure. On the final drying of the deposit _ the remaining solutions of calcium carbonate were ultimately deposited as a cementing material. Optical Society, January 12.—Mr. R. S. Whipple, _ president, in the chair.—C. J. Peddle: The manufac- _ ture of optical glass. The history of the manufacture _ of optical glass can be divided into four epochs, _ Guinand’s discovery of the stirring process in 1796, _ the work of Abbe and Schott about 1882, and the _ development in England during the great war being _ the outstanding features in this history. The method _ of manufacture is practically the same at the present _ time as in Guinand’s day, any improvement being _ one of degree rather than of kind. For successful pro- _ duction of the various types the effects of composi- tion upon density, refractive index, melting properties, _ durability, freedom from colour, and devitrification _ tendencies have to be studied upon a small scale and _ the results translated into terms suitable for works _ practice.—J. W. French: The Barr and Stroud 1oo-ft. _ self-contained base range-finder. This range-finder _ has a new type of triple field. It is carried upon a _ mounting comprising two trucks running upon a roller _ path of 50 ft. diameter, the trucks being connected by __a rigid horizontal framework. Upon the trucks are _ carried cantilevers, from the ends of which are sus- _ pended cradles having special bearings within which _ the range-finder rests. Training is done by power or _ by hand. During extensive tests the uncertainty of __ observation at a range of 31,000 metres did not exceed 20 metres.—T. Smith: The optical three-apertures _ problem. In such an instrument as a submarine peri- scope, where broad beams of light have’ to be trans- mitted down a long tube from a wide field, the relation NO. 2727, VOL. 109] s =k between the length and diameter of the tube and the number of lenses is considered. Various types of construction are indicated, together with the relative advantages offered by them. SHEFFIELD. Society of Glass Technology, January 18.—Dr. M. W. Travers, president, in the chair.—W. L. Baillie: An examination and extension of Zulkowski’s theory of the relation between the composition and durability of glass. Zulkowski’s theory assumes that the essential reactions involved in the founding of glass are the formation of simple silicates of the alkalies and alkaline earths which combine to form double silicates. In these reactions the bases are regarded as competing equally for the acids, and it is assumed that all the materials of the batch enter completely into reaction. If one type of base be molecularly in excess, simple silicates remain in the glass, and are regarded as the prime cause of instability. The dif- ference between Zulkowski’s original theory and that now proposed is essentially in the different quantities deduced for the number of molecules of simple sili- cates present. The term ‘basic excess ’’ is replaced by a more complete function, for which the term ‘reactivity coefficient ’’ is suggested. Glasses of satis- factory resistance have reactivity coefficients of under three units. Negative values were generally asso- ciated with the most stable glasses, though very large negative values are probably undesirable.—W. E. S. Turner; A critical note on the methods of determining the durability of glass. The method of stating the loss in weight due to the attack of reagents is not a trust- worthy check. It is better, where possible, to determine either the amount of alkali liberated or the total weight of matter extracted. With boiling re- agents flasks gave different results from beakers, and results differed according to the weight or volume of the reagent they contained; pieces immersed gave results different from those obtained where one surface only was in contact with the reagent. Four modes of testing were discussed :— (a) The static method with flasks and beakers, (b) the use of slabs and discs immersed in the reagent, (c) the autoclave test, and (d) a rapid method by grinding glass to pass mesh 20-30. The autoclave test was regarded as uncertain. For speed and convenience ~ test (d) was advocated.—Miss C. M. M. Muirhead and W. E. S. Turner: The effect of magnesia on the durability of glass. Lime and magnesia glasses were compared. Resistance to attack by water was determined from tests on glass crushed to mesh 20-30 and boiled for one hour. The amount of sodium oxide set free was greater in the case of the lime glasses than in the case of the magnesia glasses. The results of tests on boiling discs in hydrochloric acid for six hours showed that a glass containing small amounts of magnesia was more resistant than the corresponding lime glass, but the difference between the resistance of the glasses is small when they contain 8 or more per cent. of lime or magnesia. Magnesia glasses are less resistant than lime glasses to attack by both sodium carbonate and caustic soda after boiling for three hours. Paris. Academy of Sciences, January 16.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—The president announced the death of M. Ciamician, foreign associate.—F. E. Fournier : The relations between the form of the hull of a ship, the relative displacements of its satellite wave. ‘its aptitude for sneed, its most economical speed, and the resistance of the water to its translation.—C. Guichard: The §2,, networks.—P. Montel: An exten- 155 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 2, 1922 sion of a theorem of M. Landau.—M. Auric: The generalisation of complex integral numbers,—M. d’Ocagne: The reduction of the fourth dimension to a plane representation.—G. Tzitzéica: Networks of points.—P. Salet: The pressures of the atmospheres of the stars and the sun. The iron lines of the types a, b,.c, d of Gale and Adams being unequally dis- placed towards the red by the effect of pressure, and this displacement being sensibly proportional to the pressure, it is possible, measuring only the difference of displacement of lines of different types, to deter- mine the pressure of the medium in which the lines are produced. The spectra of Procyon, Arcturus, and the sun have been studied from this point .of view, and it has been found that the pressures of the atmo- spheres of the two stars are very slightly higher (1 to 2 atmospheres) than that of the sun. The pressure of the reversing layer of the sun would appear to be only some tenths of an atmosphere.—E. Brylinski ; An interpretation of .Michelson’s experiment.—H. Chaumat: The application of the ballistic galvano- meter to the testing of iron.—G, Claude: The acci- dents observed in the synthesis of ammonia by hyper- pressures and on the means of avoiding them. —M. Taffin: Annealing and the mechanical pro- perties of glass. The phenomenon of annealing of glass would appear to be only a viscous deformation under the action of internal stresses—P. Woog : The velocity of extension of thin layers of oil on the sur- face of a sheet of water. From experiments on mineral and fatty oils a connection is traced between the velocity of extension of the oil film on water and the acidity, carboxyl groups of the glycerides, double _linkages, and viscosity.—A. Kling and Mme. A. Lassieur: An apparatus for the determination of the concentration of a solution in hydrogen ions. Application to the detection of mineral acids in vinegar. A compensation method dispensing with the usual standard cell and capillary electrometer and making use of a millivoltmeter.—E. Grandmougin : _ Diphenylsulphone. Considerable quantities of di- phenylsulphone, formed as a by-product during the sulphonation of benzine, were accumulated during the war. The author gives an account of some deriv- atives made with a view to their possible utilisation in the dye industry.—P. Lemay and L. Jaloustre : Some -oxydasic properties of thorium-X. Thorium-X acts as a powerful catalyst in the oxidation of adrena- line and of morphine; on the other hand, no oxidation of the alcohols of the fatty series could be proved.— M. Muguet: Lead in the uranium minerals of Mada- gascar. In the course of the extraction of radium from the Madagascar mineral betafite, lead has been isolated in quantities representing about 0-6 per cent. of the mineral treated. This lead probably arises from the atomic disintegration of uranium; its radio- activity has increased regularly for six months.—M. Leriche: Vestiges of the Lutetian in the Quaternary of the north of France.—C, Jacob: The structure of north Annam to the north of Thanh Hoa.—L. Joleaud: The age of the calcium phosphate deposits of southern Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis.—H. Joly and N. Laux: The fauna of the middle and upper layers of the Aalenian of the Grand Duchy of Luxem- burg.—A. Boutaric : The diurnal radiation of the atmo- sphere at Mont Blanc.—C. Dufour: Values of the magnetic elements at the Val-Joyeux station at Ville- preux (Seine-et-Oise) on January 1, 1922.—M. Bridel : The presence of a glucoside giving rise to an essential oil in the stems and roots of Sedum telephium. The glucoside extracted from this plant hydrolysed with emulsin gives glucose and an essential oil smelling of roses. Hydrolysed with dilute sulphuric acid the essential oil undergoes a change, and the smell NO. 2727, VOL. 109] aptitude for military service. resembles eucalyptol or terpineol.—A. Goris and H. Deluard :; The influence of solar radiation on the cul- ture of belladonna and the formation of alkaloids in the leaves. Insolation’ favours the production of allka- loids in the leaves of belladonna, and also the size of the leaves.—C. Oberthiir and C. Houlbert: Some new views’ on the classification of the Melanargia (Lepidoptera : Satyridz).—C. Champy: The deter- mination of the sexual characters in Tritons. get ae A eg By W. -_ Pp. ii+7. 2 annas, Bulletin No. 121: Contagious Abortion in Pony and Donkey Mares. By R. hei (Caleutta: Government d T. M. Doyle. Pp. ii+12. 5 Printing Office.) meee ue s ports of the Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Re f the Imperial Dairy Expert and the 920-21. A epee tye plates. (Cal- ' 1 upees 1.8. Communic sical Laboratory of the University Leiden. to Nos. 157-168. Pp. 74. ti By G. G. Auchinleek. Pp. 18-+2 plates. Bulletin No. 50. The Cultivation of Pineapeics in Savion: Report of the Director of (Peradeniya: Department of Agri- _, Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India. Chemical ae: » Vol. 6, No. 2. September. 1s. 3d. Nos. 4 and 5, October. ~ 28. 9d. and Co . NO. 2727, VOL. 109] "aga Thacker, Spink and Co. ; London: W. Thacker ' Diary of Societies. ‘ THURSDAY, Feervary 2. OyaL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Napi ys Droughts and Floods (1). fate ad Roya. Socrery, at 4.30.—C. Shearer: The Oxidation Processes of the Echinoderm Egg during Fertilisation—J. Schmidt: The Breeding Places of the Eel.— J. Gray: The Mechanism of Ciliary ‘ Movement.—J. Gray: The Mechanism of Ciliary Movement. Parts 1 and 2.—J. 8 Huxley and L. T. Hogben; Experiments on Am- phibian Metamorphosis and Pigment Responses in Relation to Internal Secretions. LinNnEAN Socrety or LonpoN, at 5.—F. Johanssen: The Canadian Arctic Expedition.—Dr. J. O. Willis and U. Yule: Some Statis- ties of Evolution and Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance.—Mrs. E. M. Reid: Note on Fossil Floras. Royat Socrery or Mepicine (Medicine Section), at 5.—Sir William Hale-White, Sir William Willcox, Sir Berkeley Moynihan, ‘and Mr. Sherren: Discussion: The Treatment of Gastric Uleer, INsTITuUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—L. J. Romero and J. B. Palmer: The Interconnection of A.C. Power Stations. Cuemicat Society, at 8.—E. J. Hartung: The Action of Licht on Silver Bromide.—C. K. Ingold: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part I. Intra-nuclear Tautomerism.—C. K. Ingold: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part II. Synthetic Formation of the: Bridged Modification of the Nucleus.—C. K. Ingold and H. A. Piggott: The Structure of the Benzine Nucleus. Part III. The Suppression of Intra-nuclear Change. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 3. Institute oF Cost AND Works Accountants (at Holborn Restaurant), at 2.30.—Costing Conference on the Necessity for Scientific Costing. f Roya Socrrty or Mepicrne (Laryngology Section), at 4.45. Royat CoLitece or SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. K. M. Walker: The Nature and Cause of Old Age Enlargement of the Prostate (Hunterian Lecture). INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—H. S. Denny and . V. S. Knibbs: Some Observations on a Producer-gas Power Plant. Eveenics Epucation Society (at Royal Society), at 8.—Prof. H. J. Fleure: Some Social Bearings of Race Study. Juntor INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Major W. Gregson: Utilisation of Waste Heat from Internal Combustion Engines. Royat Socrery or Mepicrne (Anesthetics Section), at 8.30.—Dr. A. L. Flemming and others: Discussion: The Uses and Limita- tions of NeO and O» Aneesthesia. Royrat Instrrvutron or Great Britarn. at 9.—Sir Francis Young- husband: The Mount Everest Expedition. MONDAY, Fersrvary 6. Vicroria Institute (at 1 Central Buildings, Westminster, S.W.1), at 4.30.—Dr. A. T. Schofield: Some Difficulties of Evolution. Royat CoLtteGe orf SURGEONS oF ENGLAND. at 5.—Prof. A. H. Todd: Orthopedic Aspects of Rheumatoid Arthritis (Hunterian Lecture). Roya Institution or Great Britarn, at 5.—General Meeting _ Society oF En@rinerrs, Inc. (at Geological Society), at 5.30.—T. J. Gueritte: Presidential Address. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), vat K Cony J. Joseph and others: Discussion: Some Practical Applications of the Thermionice Valve. ARISTOTELIAN SocteTy (at University of London Club, 21 Gower Street, W.C.1), at 8—A. H. Hannay: Standards and Principles in Art. - Royat Soctrery or Arts, at 8.—C. Ainsworth Mitchell: Inks (Cantor Lectures) . Ue : Society or Cuemtcan Inptstry (London Section) (at Chemical Society), at 8. E : Surveyors’ InsrituTton, at 8.—Adjourned Discussion on paper by W. R. Davidge: The Problems of Greater London. ~ RoyaL Instirute or British ARCHITECTS, at 8.30.—President’s Ad- dress to Students. : Royat GeoGRaPHicaL Soctety (at olian Hall), at 8.30.—Brig.-Gen. _ G. K. Cockerill: Byways in Hunza and Chitral. TUESDAY, Frsrvary 7. Royat InstitvT1on or Great Britain, at 3.—Prof. H. H. Turner: Variable Stars (2), Long Period Variables. Royat Society or Arts (Dominions and Colonies Section), at 4.30.— W. Turnbull: The Timbers of British Columbia. ZooLoeicaL Society or Lonpon, at 5.30.—The Secretary: Report on the Additions made to the Society’s Menagerie during the months of November and December, 1921.—A. H. Evans: Some Deductions from a Set of Cuckoo’s Eggs taken near Cambridge, and now Exhibited.—Lord Clifford of Chudleigh: Nototherium mitchelli.-—Miss L. E. Cheesman: (1) Sense-organs of the Fresh- water Orab, Cardisoma armatum. (2) Position and Function of the Siphon in the Amphibious Molluse, Ampullaria vermiformis. —C. W. Hobley: The Fauna of East Africa and its Future.—Dr. J. Stephenson: Contribution to the Morphology, Classification, and Zoogeography of Indian Oligocheta.—IV. The Diffuse Pro- duction of Sexual Cells in a Spevies of Chaetogaster (Fam. Naidide). V. Drawida japonica (Michlsn.), a Contribution to the Anatomy of the Moniligastride. VI. The Relationships of the Genera of Moniligastride; with Some Considerations on the Origin of Terrestrial Oligocheta. INSTITUTION OF Civit ENGINEERS, at 6.—Dr. H. F. Parshall: Hydro- electric Installations of the Barcelona Traction, Light, and Power Company. , Roya PHorograruic Society or Greav Britarn, at 7.—O, J. Wilkin- son: The Application of Flashlight Photography to the Study of Natural History Subjects. 160 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 2, 1922 Rénteen Socrery (at Institution of Electrical Engineers), at 8,15. : —W. H. Wilson: A New High-tension Generator for X-ray and other work.—H. 0. Head: Canny Ryall Diathermy Apparatus; Ionostat; A New Iontoquantimeter; New X-ray Protective Material.—_H. E. Donithorne: Oscillograph; A New Design of Gold Leaf Andrews: A New Boiling-water X-ray Tube.—F. Co., Ltd.: Diathermy Apparatus.—E. E. Burnside: of X-ray Table. Electroscope.—C. WEDNESDAY, Ferxsrvary 8. Roya, Connece or SurGEONS or ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. A. G. T. Fisher: A Research into the Pathology and Atiology of Osteo, . arthritis, with Observations upon the Principles underlying its Treatment (Hunterian Lecture). . INsTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS (at Institution of Mechani- eal Engineers), at 8—E. L. Bass: Engine Lubrication. Roya, Socrery or Ars, at 8—E. V. Evans: Unsolved Problems in Gas Works Chemistry. Meproan Society or Lonpon (at 11 Chandos Street, W.1), at 9.— Sir Leonard Rogers: Amocebic Liver Abscess: Prevention, and Cure (Lettsomian Lectures) (2). THURSDAY, Frsrvary.9. Roya Instirvurion or Great Britain, at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: Droughts and Floods (2). Royrat, Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—Sir J. A. Ewing: The The Taylor Jones Electrostatic © R. Butt and | A New Model | Some Solved and. Its Pathology, — Atomic Process in Ferro-magnetic Induction.—Prof J. W. Nichol- son: Problems relating to a Thin Plane Annulus.—Prof. Havelock: The Effect of ShaJlow Water on Wave Resistance.— R. H. Fowler and .§. N. H. Lock: The Aerodynamics of a Spin- ning Shell. Part II.—F. P. Pidduck: The Kinetic Theory of a Special Type of Rigid Molecule-—J. BE. Jones: The Velocity Dis- tribution Function and the Stresses in a Non-uniform Rarefied Monatomic Gas.—H. Bateman: The Numerical Solution of Linear Integral Equations. Lonpon Marnemarican Society (at Royal Astronomical Society), at 5—H. Hilton: Conics on the Pseudo-sphere.—W. F. D ac- Mahon: The Theory of Closed Repeating Polygons in Euclidean Space of Two Dimensions.—G. H. Hardy and J. E. Littlewood: Dirichlet’s Series with a Barrier of Singularities. INsTITUTION oF CiviL ENGINEERS (Students’ Meeting), at 6—E. J. Kingston-McCloughry: The Design of Modern Water-turbines. OpricaL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30.—Annual General Meeting. —F. W. Preston: The Structure of Abraded Glass Surfaces.—A. J. Dalladay and F. Twyman: The Stress Conditions Surrounding a Diamond Out in G@lass.— Lt.-Col. J. W. Gifford: A Supplementary Note on Achromatic One-Radius Doublet Eyepieces.—F. Twyman and A. J. Dalladay: Change in Refractive Index at the Surfaces of Glass Melts. Cuemicat Socrety (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 8.— Sir Ernest Rutherford: Artificial Disintegration of Elements. InstTiruTE oF Metats (London Section) (at Sir John Cass Technical . Institute, Jewry Street, E.0.3), at 8—R. T. Rolfe: Gun-metal. FRIDAY, Fesrvary 10. Puysicat Society or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.—Annual General Meeting.—Dr. E. A. Owen and Bertha Naylor: The Measurement of the Radium Content of Sealed Metal Tubes.—Sir William Bragg: The Orystal Structure of Ice.—Dr. K. Grant: A Method of Exciting Vibra- tions in Plates, Membranes, etc., Based on Bernouilli’s Principle. Royat Astronomicat Soctery, at 5.—Anniversary Meeting. Royat Corneee or SurGEons or ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. A. ©. Pan- nett: Hydronephrosis (Hunterian Lecture). Kine’s CoiteGe ENGINEERING Socrery (Anniversary Meeting) (at Institution of Civil Engineers), at 5.30.—F. W. Macaulay: Water Engineering. _ Junior INSTITUTION oF. ENGINEFRS, at 8.—Questions and General Discussion. Royat Institut1on or Great Britain, at 9.—Prof. W. D. Halli- burton: The Teeth of the Nation. PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in @ series.) THURSDAY, Fesrvary 2. Inrants’ Hospiran (Vincent Square, .§8.W.1), at 4.—Dr. W. M. Feldman: The Physiology and Pathology of Ante-natal and Early Post-natal Life (1). Kine’s CoLiece, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (3). Sr. JoHn’s Hospitan FoR DISmASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.C.2), at 6—Dr. J. L. Bunch: Drug Eruptions (Chesterfield Lecture). Crvic Epucarton Leaguer (at Leplay House, 65 Belgrave Road, 8.W.1), at 8.15.—Miss Barbara Low: Psycho-analysis in relation to Civics. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 3 METEOROLOGICAL Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (3). University Coitece, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (1); at 6.—Miss E. Jeffries Davis: London and its Records. Kine’s Cortece, at 5.30.—Rev. Dr. F. A. P. Aveling: Matter, Mind, and Man.—Dr. H. W. Williams: The Peoples of the Caucasus (3). Tavistock CLINIC ror FuNcTIONAL NERVE Cases (at the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (2). SATURDAY, Fesrvary 4. Satters’ Hatt (St. Swithin’s Lane, E.C.4), at 10.30 a.m.—Dr. M. O. Forster: The Relation between Pure and Applied Chemistry. NO. 2727, VOL. 109] Lonpon Day TRAINING CoLteGcE, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (8). * HORNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—E. Lovett: The Folk-lore of Natural History. MONDAY, Frsrvary 6. ; University Contre, at 5.15—Sir Gregory Foster: The Universi of London: Its History, Present Resources, and Future Possi- bilities (1). Ciry or Lonpon (Bors’) ScHoor, at 5.30.—Miss Rosa Bassett: The Dalton Plan of Self-education (1). :/ i Kine’s Cortece, at 5.30.—Prof. 0. L. Fortescue: Wireless Trans- mitting Valves (3).—Dr. J. Steppat: Recent Developments in, — German Education and Student Life (38). TUESDAY, Frsrvary 7. E Kine’s Ootnece, at. 5.30.—F. H. Rolt: Accurate Measurements in Mechanical Engineering: The Use and Testing of Gauges (2). WEDNESDAY, Frsrvary 8. ScHoo, or ORrEeNTAL Stupres, at 5.—W. Doderet: Racial Types in the Bombay Presidency. : HorNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 6—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (3). THURSDAY, Fersrvary 9. UNIversity Contrce, at 5.15.—Prof. J. E. @. de Montmorency : Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (1). Kin@’s Cortrge, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Conerete (4). —M. Beza: Nereids in Roumanian Folk-lore. Tavistock CLINIC FoR FuNcTioNAL NERVE Oases (at the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H Jrichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (3). Sr. JoHNn’s Hospirat ror Diseases OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.C.2), at 6—Dr. W. Griffith: The Skin Eruptions of Syphilis (Chesterfield Lecture). z FRIDAY, Fesrvary 10. MeTEoROLOGICAL Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorolo gy of the Globe (4). ; : : SATURDAY, Frsrvary 11. Lonpon Day TRAINING CoLtzGe, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (4). Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30—Miss M. A. Murray: — The Domestic Life of the Ancient Egyptians. CONTENTS. PAGE The Influenza Problem. ..). ... <2 0 susie eee An Elusive Group of Marine Organisms. By Sir W. A; Herdman, C.B.E., F.R.S. 2.2%. 6 seme 130 The Theory of Probability. By Dr. Harold SORTEYR 6 2% godee a) e b ec ie a ig ea The Royal Society Catalogue |. =>. (ges Our Bookshelf... cg a ny 0 be helo ie ea ee Letters to the Editor:— Fossil Buttercups.—Mrs. Eleanor M. Reid .. . 136 The Accuracy of Tide-predicting Machines.—H, A. Marmer; The Writer of the Article. . , . . 136 The Oxidation of Ammonia.—Prof. J. R. Parting- jos BL ee A Specimen of Wrought-iron Currency from the Kisi Country, Sierra Leone Protectorate, West Africa, (lilustrated.)—R. C. Gale and Capt. E, R. - Macpherson. . |... .\s +i. se Molecular Structure of Amorphous Solids.—Prof, C.V. Raman... ait so ete en Forecasting Annual Rainfalls.—Prof. Alexander McAdie tahoe Padre ai sre eh) Units in Aeronautics. —A. R. Low...) = « s « 139 Some Problems of Long-distance Radio- telegraphy.—I. By Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. . 140 Obituary :— Sir Ernest Shackleton, C.V.O. By Dr. Hugh Robert Mill «4 teh pa ae OP AE PEGS Sir William Christie, K.C.B., F.R.S. By Sir | FF. W. Dyson, FUR, S20 35s ie ee Dr; ‘Emile Cartailhac:.: 236. ae ee ee 147 Notes SiS Ie Ng, gfe esta U.N ep dd ea £ Oe Our Astronomical Column :— i The Total Solar Eclipse of next September. . . . . 152 The Pleiades . Reteereeirn err Chemistry at the British Association ...... 153 Rehtia, the Venetic Goddess of Healing. .... 154 British Mycology .-°.° 2 454.2 Ja casei eee University and Educational Intelligence .. .. £55 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers .. ......+ + 156. Societies and Academies . ......... + 156 Official Publications Received ......+-+4-: os 72 eS ee Diary of Societies ... ' (INDEX.} NATURE 161 _ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. = Advertisements and business letters should be &s addressed to the Publishers. - Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. British Water Power and its q Administration. | TS OLLOWING almost immediately upon the publication of the Third and Final Report of the Water Power Committee of the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies, there has recently ap- peared the Final Report of the Water Power Re- sources Committee of the Board of Trade. To a certain extent it may be said that the two Reports : cover common ground, but there is this important _ distinction, that, whereas the Water Power Com- mittee of the Conjoint Board addressed itself to the widest possible survey of the resources of the British Empire, the Board of Trade Committee has been limited by its terms of reference to the _ resources of the United Kingdom. The investiga- _ tions, therefore, of the latter body within this re- _Striected area have naturally been more searching and more detailed, and to that extent more complete. _ The Report of the Board of Trade Committee confirms, in general, the views which were expressed 3 in a leading article in Nature of December 8 last _in reviewing the earlier Report, particularly as re- _ gards the necessity of conserving the national re- sources of water power, of taking steps without _ delay to ascertain accurately their full extent and _ availability, and of providing effectively for their economic and judicious development in the interests _ of industrial enterprise. The Committee states, as a _ result of its researches, that it is estimated by the development of certain specified water-power fees NO, 2728, VOL. 109]. schemes in Great Britain (a by no means exhaustive list) that a continuous output of 210,000 kilowatts could be obtained at an economic rate, and that this would result in a saving in coal consumption for steam-raising purposes of nearly three million tons per annum. : The statement is impressive as an instance of the prodigality with which the country’s power resources are allowed to run to waste. But while the desira- bility of effecting so appreciable a reduction in the national coal bill must be clear and unmistakable to all who give a thought to the matter and realise the limitations of our stores of solid fuel, yet the suggestion put forward in the present Report as to the primary step to be taken towards this end will perhaps not receive such unquestioning assent. The Committee, with two dissentients, recommends the establishment by Act of Parliament of a Water Commission with controlling powers over the water resources of England and Wales, and authority to compile proper records, to allocate supplies, to adjust conflicting interests, and to recom- mend suitable development schemes. The public, restive after a long and irksome imposition of bureaucratic control, will, we feel, be inclined to express sympathy with the minority view of Mr. Sandford Fawcett and = Mr. W. A. Tait that the appointment of such a Com- mission is unnecessary, and that it must necessarily prove a source of further expense to the taxpayer. | Mr. Tait, in his separate memorandum on the pro- posal, utters a justifiable warning on the inherent defects of a permanent official body vested with statutory powers. ‘‘ Such a Commission,’’ he says, ‘“ however well constituted and however open- minded its members at first may be, will inevitably in course of time become bureaucratic in its outlook, and will in this respect be less fitted to adapt itself to circumstances, as these vary from time to time, than independent Committees of -Parliament, who, from the nature of things, approach any subject with fresh minds and unbiased views.’’ We confess that, to a considerable extent, we share Mr. Tait’s apprehensions. There is undoubt- edly a tendency on the part of all official bodies to become stereotyped and perfunctory. Imbued with a sense of immunity from criticism, they not infre- quently adopt autocratic methods, and this does not endear them to the public mind. For our own part, while cordially agreeing as to the urgent desirability of carrying out each and all of the functions and duties enumerated for the proposed Commission, we are inclined to suggest that the collection and col- 162 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 lation of data could be assigned at less expense 10 some existing department, such as the Ordnance Survey, as is the case in the United States, where the work is carried out by the Geological Survey, and that as regards jurisdiction and oversight of sources of supply these could be exercised without undue strain by County Councils or similar provincial bodies, while sanction for new schemes in the public interest should be obtained by application to Parlia- ment in the customary way by private Bill as at present. We see no occasion for departmental in- itiative in industrial enterprise. Such a policy leads to the preparation of grandiose and untimely pro- jects like that recently put forward for the River Severn by the Ministry of Transport. British com- mercial enterprise is not dead, and if a scheme be reasonably practicable and remunerative it is sure to receive support. We therefore range ourselves alongside Mr. Fawcett and Mr. Tait in deprecating the creation of an additional Government depart- ment with a retinue of salaried officials. ‘There is a significant suggestion in the Report that the ex- penses of the proposed Commission should be de- frayed in part by a levy on water undertakings in England and Wales. We imagine that this will give rise to some demur. Into the more detailed recommendations of the Committee we do not feel it necessary to enter at the moment. The Report is a lengthy one, running to 165 foolscap pages, with maps and diagrams. In addition to the primary and principal recom- mendation, upon which we have commented above, there are subsidiary recommendations, such as that all hydrometric data collected in the United King- dom should be compiled on a uniform basis (a schema is exhibited in an appendix), and that. the widest publicity should be given to the information obtained in these surveys. With both these sugges- tions we are in complete accord. ‘There is also the interesting statement that, ‘‘ leaving out of account the question of availability, the schemes in-our pos- session relate to potential water-power of a total capacity in excess of 250,000 kw. (continuous). The aggregate power involved in the various parts of Great Britain is as follows : Scotland, 194,965 kw. ; Wales, 35,900 kw.; England, 20,440 kw. The Irish Sub-Committee estimates that the total avail- able potential water-power resources of Ireland amount to 280,000 kw. (continuous).”’ The purview of the Report is comprehensive and includes a consideration of tidal power, canals, salmon fisheries, pollution of underground water, and land drainage. We do not propose to discuss these features. Our immediate object will be NO. 2728, VOL. 109] achieved if we succeed in focusing attention on — the urgent necessity for a systematic compilation — of the water resources of the country and of the Empire, to be followed by some means of ensuring a judicious application of the available power in the most economical manner so as to reduce the ~ present excessive demands on our reserves of solid fuel. American Organic Chemicals. HE production of synthetic organic chemicals for use in research is being developed in America on the same lines as in this country. Laboratories have been specially equipped for the purpose by the Eastman Kodak Company, which makes a number of compounds and purifies others yielded by the chemical industry of the country. In that way some eleven hundred different chemicals are at present available. Although this is only half the number of substances offered by one of the English manufacturers, the effort is meeting with — enthusiastic support from men of science in America, and those concerned feel thereby greatly helped and encouraged. supplies is not forgotten. In that country, at least, the war-time — resolution of independence in the matter of scientific _ Much complaint is made in this country concern- ing the prices of such chemicals. interest to compare Kahlbaum’s pre-war prices and the present prices of a well-known English manu- facturer with those of the Eastman Kodak Com- pany. A comparison extending to four pages of the Eastman list gives the ratio: Kahlbaum, 100 ; B.D.H., 135; Eastman, 171—not so great an in- It is therefore of | — ——— crease on pre-war prices as the increase in cost of © labour would lead one to expect. In a paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry last August, C. E. K. Mees and H. T. Clarke gave some account of the chemical work of the Eastman Company. They said it had been con- ducted hitherto at a very considerable loss, the first year’s working showing a deficit of about 3000/., although no rent or overhead charges were debited. This loss was generously borne by. the company. — If American users and producers continue to work — in the same spirit, not only will they gain the immense advantage of national independence in the matter of organic chemicals, but also the business will become self-supporting and in the end remunera- tive. At the same time, laboratories in which such organic compounds are made should provide a useful training-ground for young technical chemists. EBRUARY 9, 1922 | NATURE 163 - Elie Metchnikoff. ‘ Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916. By Olga onikoff. Authorised translation from the Pp. xxiili+297. (London: Constable Sihtc., 1921.) 21s. net. 1 introductory chapter Madame Metchnikoff lates how, some years ago, one who scarcely her husband had asked permission to write graphy. Metchnikoff wanted his biography for he held that the story of the evolution aind and character in relation with its en- onment, if faithfully set down by one knowing d comprehending, is always an interesting psycho- tical document. The idea of the story of his g related by one who neither knew nor was, however, repugnant to him.: So was born in 1845 _Kharkoff, where he was career: and then at the university. ited as a progressive school, in the pro- educated The and 2 ’s “‘ History of Civilisation,’’ and we mn n the biography that the idea of the de- ‘that work. This belief became ze as he grew older, and ultimately it ‘intensity of a religious faith. At fifteen > had been brought up, and so ardently ched atheism to his fellow-pupils that he re- e nickname ‘‘ God is not.’’ Although’ he to have devoted most of his time at school to ing books on science, religion, and philosophy, nevertheless passed out from the lycée with the t honours and entered the university. This ribed as a stagnant and reactionary institu- _ His teachers were uninspiring, and exerted influence upon him. hile at the university, however, he read _ Origin of Species,’ which he had back with him from a visit to Ger- Metchnikoff was fascinated by the splen- ‘of the horizon it opened, and considered it ‘more influence upon his later career than NO. 2728, VOL. 109] any other book he read. He seems to have planned to devote himself to searching for further support of Darwin’s great generalisation. With this object he decided to undertake the study of intermediate types with a view to disclosing the genetic relation- ships between different orders of animals. This programme could not be carried out at his own university, so as soon as his undergraduate career was completed he went to Germany. After- wards he removed to Naples, where he met Kowalevsky. Both young men became engaged in a comparative study of the embryology of inverte- brates. Metchnikoff discovered embryonic layers ‘ similar to those of vertebrates in Arthropoda and Cephalopoda, thus helping to bridge the gap between the higher and lower animals. It was at Giessen in 1865 that intracellular diges- tion by the cells of the alimentary canal of a land- planarian (Geodesmus bilineatus) was observed. It is explained that this was the first time that he had encountered this phenomenon except in protozoa and very simple metazoa. He was much impressed, and afterwards regarded the observation as the basis of his phagocytic theory, although at the time its full significance was not appreciated. Returning to Russia full of enthusiasm for science, Metchnikoff was appointed a docent at Odessa, but, finding the university backward and reactionary, he removed to St. Petersburg, where he hoped to find conditions for work more congenial. He was, however, disappointed. There was no laboratory for him to work in, his time was con- sumed by teaching for a subsistence, his eyes became troublesome and his health bad. He was lonely, and during an illness he was nursed by a young lady in the house of a mutual friend. Craving for affection and sympathy, he not unnaturally became engaged to be married. Unfortunately, the lady was phthisical and developed alarming symptoms immediately after marriage. The next few years are described as a tragic struggle against disease and poverty. The serious affection of his eyes prevented the use of the microscope, and his young wife’s health became so precarious that he was obliged to resign his appointment and take her to Madeira, where she died. After his wife’s death Metchnikoff started on the return journey to Russia in blank despair, and, seeing no issue to his situation, attempted suicide at Geneva. Fortunately, he took too large a dose of morphia, was violently sick, and recovered. On his return to Russia Metchnikoff was ap- pointed to the chair of zoology at Odessa, which he occupied for nine years. He threw himself with enthusiasm into the duties of his post. At Odessa 164 NATURE | [FEBRUARY 9, 1922. he met Madame Metchnikoff, who was then a schoolgirl. Finding that she was interested in zoology, he undertook to teach her, and shortly after they married. His second marriage was a happy one; his wife, although more directly in- terested in art than in science, became a willing disciple. Madame Metchnikoff thus describes their work together:— _ “It was both delightful and profitable to work with him, for he opened out his ideas unreservedly and made one share his enthusiasm and his interest in investigations ; he could create an atmosphere of intimate union in the search for truth which allowed the humblest worker to feel himself a collaborator in an exalted task.’’ Metchnikoff appears to have exerted a great influ- ence in the university, especially upon the young men, but was regarded with some suspicion by the authorities, owing to the independence of his ideas and the directness with which they were expressed. After the assassination of Alexander II. in 1881 the government of the university became more and more reactionary, and the independence of the uni- versity was threatened. Though not greatly inter- ested in politics, Metchnikoff seems to have become unavoidably involved in these quarrels, and _ ulti- mately, finding the conditions intolerable, resigned. His resignation of the Odessa chair and the cir- cumstances which led to it preyed upon his mind. Another period of ill-health ensued associated with intense depression, during which suicide was again attempted. In order not to harrow his family by a suicide that was too obvious, and at the same time to put the occasion to the use of ascertaining whether relapsing fever could be transmitted by inoculation, he injected into himself some blood from a patient suffering from that disease. He had a prolonged attack of the fever, but this shock treat- ment cured his pessimism, and after his recovery he had a renascence of vital energy such as he had not enjoyed for years. Moreover, thanks to the inheritance of landed property, the Metchnikoffs were now in a position of modest independence and able to live where they liked. Accordingly in 1882 they repaired to Messina to take advantage of the opportunities for study afforded by the sea fauna of the Mediterranean. It was at Messina, at Christmas of that year, that what Metchnikoff regarded as the great event of his scientific life occurred. It is described by him in his own words as follows :— ‘“One day, when the whole family had gone to a circus, I remained alone with my microscope, observing the life in the mobile cells of a trans- parent starfish larva, when a new thought suddenly flashed across my brain. It struck me that similar cells might serve in the defence of the organism against intrudeis. I felt so excited that I began NO, 2728, VOL. 109] striding up and down the room, and even went to — the seashore to collect my thoughts. ‘‘T said to myself that, if my supposition was — true, a splinter introduced into the body of a star- fish larva, devoid of blood-vessels or of a neryous — system, should soon be surrounded by mobile cells, as is to be observed in a man who runs a splinter — into his finger. This was no sooner said than done. ‘“T fetched some rose-thorns and _ introduced them under the skin of some beautiful starfish larvee as transparent as water. ‘“T was too excited to sleep that night in the expectation of the result of my experiment, and very early the next morning I ascertained that it had fuliy succeeded. } ‘‘ That experiment formed the basis of the phago- cyte theory, to the development of which I devoted © the next twenty-five years of my life. ‘‘ A zoologist until then, I suddenly became a pathologist. ”’ It appears that the discovery of phagocytosis first disclosed to him the possibility of utilising his talents to intervene advantageously in human affairs. A moral purpose in life was found, and thenceforth ~ Metchnikoff became an optimist and a scientific philanthropist. His future researches, although conducted in the laboratory, were essentially directed towards the improvement of the health and happi- ness of mankind. Possibly his scientific work suffered occasionally from his impatience to apply results to the benefit of his fellow-creatures, for, like most philanthropists, he exhibited some in- tolerance of criticism of his efforts. z } In 1882 phagocytosis as a curative force was still only an hypothesis, but an opportunity for putting it to the test of experiment soon occurred. Water fleas (Daphnize) were observed to be subject to infection by a fungus (Monospora bicuspidata) the spores of which, sharp like needles, traversed the gut of the insect when introduced with food. Watching the process in these transparent creatures, Metchnikoff saw that, immediately after the entrance a ee ee ae of a spore into the body cavity, it was attacked by — mobile phagocytes and englobed. If the phagocytes succeeded in digesting all the spores, the daphnia recovered, otherwise the spores germinated, and the fungus, spreading throughout the body, killed the insect. Recovery or death depended upon the issue of the battle. The next question to be decided was whether this method of defence was common to all animals. That some diseases of higher animals were attri- butable to invasion by microbes had recently been _ established, and it is explained how Metchnikoff’s previous training and experience as a zoologist had led to the conviction of the essential unity of struc- tural plan and physiological behaviour throughout ; FEBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 165 vanimal kingdom. Metchnikoff was .convinced the case of such a fundamental mechanism he had discovered in invertebrates this would to be true, and shortly afterwards he suc- in establishing the generality of the pheno- ' experiments upon higher animals infected anthrax bacillus. In this case the bacilli cked and eaten by the white blood cor- which wander everywhere. Two other ons recorded deserve special mention be- they opened up new country, the exploration h occupied Metehnikoff and his pupils and ers for the next twenty years. : t of these was that active phagocytosis only in animals refractory to anthrax, thus a possible interpretation of the natural nd was that animals naturally sensitive to could be induced to respond like naturally ‘ones by vaccination, an indication of the of acquired immunity. entirely new conceptions were not readily d in, and even encountered hostility. Two n, Virchow and Pasteur, however, were y impressed by them, and in 1888 the vited Metchnikoff to come to the Pasteur The invitation was accepted, and there ned until the end of his life, occupied eal conditions in developing the conse- f his discovery at Messina. Pasteur Institute he found every facility researches, and was undisturbed by adminis- or academic work. He enjoyed the com- hip of wise colleagues, themselves actively in inquiries in bacteriology and pathology, : pene surrounded by willing pupils ready take investigations dictated by his fertile was a time of immense activity, mainly to exploring the whole subject of ty which he had illuminated by the ry of phagocytosis. This prolific period ‘career is skilfully dealt with in broad and details which, being of a highly 1 character, would be tiresome to the general are omitted. The theories current regarding mity when Metchnikoff approached the subject a naturalist’s point of view are briefly and the influence of his work and that of rs in the development of our present views is eae rch lec 1900 Metchnikoff presented an account of ‘his rches to the International Congress of Medi- at Paris, and fought his critics for the last Then, convinced that his deductions were , he proceeded to expound his views at length NO. 2728, VOL. 109] of some species of animals to a disease. under the title, ‘‘ Immunity in Infectious Diseases,’’ which appeared a-few years later. Metchnikoff’s greatest scientific achievement was undoubtedly the discovery of phagocytosis and its manifold significance in biology and pathology, and it is clearly brought out in his biography that he would not have made these discoveries had it not been for his previous training and research in zoology. Perhaps the best way to appraise this, his contribution to science, is to try to think what our present know- ledge of inflammation and immunity would be with- out it. At the age of fifty-three Metchnikoff turned his - attention to the subject of senility. Regarded from a long biological view, man’s imperious instinct for life m the later years of existence, notwithstand- ing obvious breakdowns, must, he considered, be a pathological coincidence. How, otherwise, was the fear of death, a general and inevitable occurrence, to be explained? Metchnikoff imagined that this lack of harmony exists because senility is premature and partial and arrives before the natural instinct for death has had time to develop. If this supposition were correct, the greatest of life’s disharmonies might be remedied, for he be- lieved that it was within. the power of science not only to preserve the body from the depredations of disease, but also to maintain the equilibrium of the tissues. In such a case happiness and contentment should be the lot of man for a period far exceeding the usually allotted span. Upon such ideal physio- logical existence or ‘‘ orthobiosis’’ a quiet satiety with living should, he supposed, ultimately super- vene and death be welcomed as. sleep at the end of a long day. The consideration of the changes in the tissues in old age led Metchnikoff to the conclusion that, apart from the damage done by diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, and other chronic infections, the principal cause of premature degeneration of the important cell elements was a prolonged in- toxication by the products of the activities of the innumerable bacteria which inhabit the large in- testine. For this hypothesis he obtained anatomical and experimental support. The former he tersely summarised by the phrase, ‘the longer the large intestine, the shorter the life,’? an aphorism which is to some extent respon- sible for the depredations of some of our famous surgeons. Having arrived at the conviction that unlicensed bacterial activity in the colon was harmful, Metch- nikoff essayed to control it by implanting into the alimentary canal a special microbe which produced much lactic acid from carbohydrates, and was itself G 166 NATURE [FEBRUARY 9, 1922 capable of surviving in high concentration of this acid. To this end he recommended, and himself practised, the imbibition of large quantities of soured milk. Metchnikoff’s preoccupation with the disadvan- tages of senility have been misunderstood and mis- interpreted. Although his attention was becoming unpleasantly directed in his own person to the effects of a life of intense activity and mental excitement, coupled with serious cardiac mischief, it is not to be ascribed to the morbid introspection of an in- valid. Old age is a legitimate subject for scientific inquiry. It is not unnatural, but unfortunate, that nobody becomes sufficiently interested in the prob- lems of senility until their own age well-nigh pre- cludes the possibility of a successful enterprise. It was approached by Metchnikoff with ideas based on broad biological principles, and most of his late work was really concerned ‘to find’ justification for- them. Elie Metchnikoff’s enthusiasm for his theory of orthobiosis was maintained actually until the end of his life, and the last chapter of the biography contains many records of his mental attitude on contemplating death at short range. He was anxious that these should be recorded as so few with the capacity to analyse their mental processes retain their intellectual powers until the end of life. His wishes have been piously complied with, and his observations, when confronted with impending dissolution, are faithfully recorded as his final con- tribution to his theory of the development of the death instinct. The book is more than an account of the interest- ing discoveries of Elie Metchnikoff and their far- reaching importance in natural history; it is a human document, an account of the mental adven- ture of a striking personality, with contemporary science as a setting, told with a maiveté reminiscent of Marie Bashkirtseff. The translation is excellent, and little if any of the charm of the original French is lost. The bio- graphy contains as frontispiece a characteristic pic- ture of Metchnikoff in his laboratory, and concludes with a useful bibliography of all his published writings. Electrical Measurements. Absolute Measurements in Electricity and Mag- netism. By Prof. A. Gray. Second edition, re- written and enlarged. Pp. xix+837.- (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 42s. net. LL physicists are familiar with the first edition of this important work, which, completed in 1893, has long been regarded and used as a standard NO. 2728, VOL. 109] treatise on electrical measurements. In introducing the second edition Prof. Gray refers at the outset to a certain lack of interest shown by physicists at the present time in the theory and practice of absolute measurements, and it is undoubtedly the case that, in our universities at any rate, the subject receives less attention than was formerly devoted to it. The principal reason for this change may be traced to the nature of such work as the experimental deter- mination of absolute electrical units, and the accu- rate comparison of secondary standards with them, and also to the great importance which work of this kind possesses. Few, if any, of our university laboratories are sufficiently well equipped for the prosecution of researches in which the construction of apparatus and the carrying out of measurements of the highest precision are involved ; and so neces- sary is this work recognised to be that special labora- _ tories, such as the National Physical Laboratory in this country, and the Bureau of Standards at Wash- ington, have been established, at which it can be more effectively organised and carried out, and at which the research worker in any of the universities may have his measuring instruments accurately stan- dardised. ‘Thus the apparent decline of general in- terest among physicists in methods of absolute measurement is not due to any diminution in the im- portance of the subject, but to the fact that the practice of these methods is now more concentrated in institutions specially equipped for the purpose. A second reason for the change may be found, as suggested by Prof. Gray, in the fact that new and fascinating subjects of study, mainly consequent upon the discovery of the X-rays and radio-activity, have arisen which have been taken up with enthusi- asm in our universities, and have to some extent diverted attention from absolute measurements of the While it is of the greatest import- classieal kind. ance that research into the problems of modern physics should be pursued as vigorously as possible, it is no less important to the future of the science that the endeavour to attain greater accuracy in our standards and methods of measurement should not be relaxed. It may well be that the future trend of physical theories will be largely influenced by the degree of accuracy with which some of the important constants can be determined. The new edition of Prof. poe s book will be welcomed as a full and clear statement of the present position regarding accurate _ electrical measurements. There is probably no other book which contains so full an account of the classical experiments for the determination of electrical units and constants, and the many detailed abstracts of original memoirs give the book a special value as a work of reference. The principal changes found in the new editian 3 Pimnoany 9, 1922] NATURE 167 the theory of absolute electro-dynamometers and ent balances, a domain of the subject to which Gray has himself so largely contributed. His ‘known calculation of the mutual inductance of ingle layer coils the axes of which intersect at ny angle has led to the realisation of an absolute ctro-dynamometer, constructed at the Bureau of tds, the constant of which can be calculated high degree of accuracy. It was shown by Be Cry that if the coils of the instrument are tric and have lengths ./3 times their radii, terms between the first and the seventh vanish zonal harmonic series for the mutual induct- and the couple between them, and the remain- - terms amount to only a very small correction if nensions of the inner coil are small in com- with those of the outer. Consequently the is given very accurately by the first term the series—that is, it can be calculated on umption that the inner coil is suspended in sctly uniform field equal to the field at the of the fixed coil. shown how the values of the mutual induct- “two coaxial. single-layer coils (including the portant case of a helix and a coaxial circle), the lf-inductance of a single-layer coil, and the utual attraction of two coaxial coils, such as those current balance, can also be deduced from the al formula. Many other cases are worked out chapter on the calculation of inductances, is much extended in the new edition, and the tion and illustrations of the current balances National Physical Laboratory and the Bureau Standards, and the electro-dynamometer of the institution, form a valuable feature of the her portions of the book which are much ex- ed are those dealing with magnetometry, ements in alternating current circuits, the tribution of alternating currents in cylindrical juctors, the comparison of resistances, and the ute measurement of resistance. The recom- ations of the International Conference on Elec- Units held in London in 1908, embodying the tions of the international ohm, ampere, and t, and the specification of the Weston normal cell, given in appendices. Much that was in the old edition has of necessity n omitted from the new; the omitted portions, yever, mainly of a theoretical nature, are not ectly connected with methods of measurement, have been fully treated in Prof. Gray’s ‘‘Treat- on Magnetism and Electricity.’’ The result is a ‘e complete and a better arranged account of thods of electrical measurement and the calcula- s connected therewith. NO, 2728, VOL. 109] ’ os the calculation of the constants of cojls, | In its new form the book is in one volume, and the larger page, the absence of small type, and the numbered sections will make the book more accept- able to the reader. Typographical errors are re- markably few for a work of this size, and in the few cases where results are stated erroneously (as, for instance, the expression for the capacity of a condenser on p. 749) the reader will find no diffi- culty in supplying the correction. Of the great value of the book there can be no question, and it may be confidently anticipated that the new edition will be appreciated as highly as was its predecessor. 1 es ee & The Art of Prehistoric Man. Prehistory: A Study of Early Cultures in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. By M. C. Burkitt. Pp. xx+438. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 35s. net. URING the last two decades great progress has been made in our knowledge of pre- historic man, especially by discoveries in the caves of France and Spain. Most of the results are published in technical memoirs in serials not easily accessible, and it is difficult to follow them without -much previous study and extensive reading. Mr. Burkitt has therefore done good service by the pre- paration of his volume on ‘‘ Prehistory,’’ which summarises the whole subject and enables both the student and the general reader to appreciate its present position. He himself has taken an active part in much of the research, in association with the Abbés H. Breuil and H. Obermaier ; he thus writes from personal knowledge, and adds sufficient details of some of the most interesting localities to make his text-book a useful guide for those who wish to visit them. Other English books, especially those of Lyell and Boyd Dawkins, have already given a good general account of the discoveries of early man in the caves of this country, so that Mr. Burkitt has done well in devoting attention chiefly to France and Spain. His ‘‘ outline of the history of the subject,’’ however, fails to give due credit to the English pioneers, whose systematic work in Brix- ham Cave, Kent’s Hole, and Wookey Hole is not even mentioned. MacEnery and Pengelly are over- looked, and Mello’s discovery of the drawing of a horse’s head on a piece of bone from the Cresswell caves is wrongly described, thus throwing doubt on its authenticity. On p. 76 bone is said to have been ‘first utilised in Upper Mousterian times,’’ and when this statement, based on French and Spanish experience, is contradicted on p. 89 by a casual reference to the English discovery of a large bone 168 NATURE | FEBRUARY 9, 1922 implement with early Paleolithic flmt implements at Piltdown, the latter is briefly dismissed as ‘‘ pos- sibly the only exception.’’ England has indeed played a prominent pioneer part in unravelling the problems of prehistoric man, and deserves full acknowledgment. Mr. Burkitt begins with an excellent concise account of man’s relation to the glacial period in western Europe, and shows how far the successive The latest phases farther south in Europe must therefore have been somewhat earlier. How long before the glacial period man first appeared here remains uncertain, but both the Abbé Breuil and Mr. Burkitt are agreed that Mr. Reid Moir’s dis- coveries of worked flints in the Red Crag prove his presence in the Upper Pliocene. x Most of the volume is devoted to flint and ‘bone implements and art, and Mr. Burkitt traces the successive developments in a more exhaustive manner than has hitherto ‘been attempted. He classifies the flints, and not only records the order of their succession, but also de- scribes exactly several places of discovery which prove their relative age. He shows how bone har- poons may be treated as fossils, and points out the minute differences which Fic, 1.—Incised drawings rom caves ~ on the wall of the cave of Comb ‘Cultures in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.” races may be correlated with the mild intervals in this period which are marked by the retreat of the glaciers in the Alps and Pyrenees. He also refers to Baron de Geer’s counting of the annual layers of sediment which the ice of the last glacial episode in Scandinavia deposited in the sea during its retreat northwards. From this it is inferred that man cannot have reached southern Scandinavia until it was uncovered twelve thousand years ago. NO. 2728, VOL. 109] in Dordogne and Cantabria. A. A feline,a bear, anda mammoth engraved lles, Dotdog B ead of a deer engraved.on the wall of the cave of Castillo, Cantabria, with a similar engraving on a piece of bone from the same cave. horse engraved on the wall of the cave of La Pasiega Cantabria, From “‘ Prehistory: A Study of Early mark the_ successive periods to which they belong. He also de- scribes palimpsests among the cave-pictures which ex- hibit the superposition of different styles of art. He is thus prepared to determine the relative age prehistoric human handi- work. On the whole the school of ‘‘ prehistorians ’’ "ales if Q probably right, but it makes no allowance for sporadic outbursts of genius. The study of the cave- pictures is — especially fascinating, and Mr. Burkitt treats it in great detail. Besides the incised C. A hog-maned figures on the rock, there are paintings in ochre, oxide of manganese, carbon, and kaolin, all mixed with fat. Those of Paleolithic age are isolated drawings, not grouped in scenes, and the majority are in comparatively inaccessible parts of the caves rather than in ordinary living chambers. They were therefore probably not designed for ornament, but in con- nection with some ideas of sympathetic magic. ‘‘ No doubt the wonderful naturalistic animals, sometimes , ease ee oS Ga et i a” of almost any discovery of. to which he belongs is NATURE 169 sessful hunt.’’ The incised sketches on bones 1 in the earth of the floor of the caves were bly in some cases the preliminary studies for ork on the. walls and roof. e volume is illustrated by forty-seven plates, ich we reproduce one (Fig. 1) showing a r 1 of incised drawings from the caves of ne and Cantabria. All these plates are well 2d, but they would have proved more useful hey had been referred to in the text. In this er respects, indeed, the editing of the volume uch to be desired, but the work is a unique to the literature of prehistoric archeology, 1 cannot fail soon to reach a second edition, ch will: afford an ay for some useful A. S. W. The Science of Ancient Greece. gacy of Greece. Edited by R. W. Living- Pp. xii+424. (Oxford: Clarendon , 1921.) 7s. 6d. net. S book redresses in a remarkable way the pular works on the subject. Reference to any t history now in use, such as Bury’s, or even to fine work as ‘‘ Hellenica ’’ of the last genera- will show that the author finds ‘the legacy 7? in the city-founding activities of the Ge _above all, in the internecine con- ce to the Periclean ideal and the philosophic s of Plato and Aristotle. There is ut literature, less about art, and nothing at it science. Mr. Livingstone, in planning this e, has deliberately and rightly set himself to this and to put the really substantive achieve- t of the Greeks in the realm of thought in its lu ue place. The result is that a good third of the Ok is given to science, and if we include Prof. ’s article on Philosophy, which shows its con- 1 with science, we get a larger proportion _ It is most welcome evidence of a change of nind in the university which stands more than any it c among us for Greek studies. _ The effect is amazing to those accustomed to the lc ae) mainly political outlook, and it will be very esome. We see that in every branch of science, ology and medicine as much as in mathematics, coal built ever since. Sir T. L. Heath well brings this t in his article on Mathematics and Astronomy, : is a complete review of the Greek work from NO. 2728, VOL. 109] 1e Greeks laid the foundations on which mankind > es to Diophantus ; while Dr. Singer is equally » full on Biology and Medicine. The reader will probably share one impression which was borne in strongly on the present reviewer. The writers who describe the newly admitted branches of the legacy of Greece are so full of their subjects, and so eager to display their richness and wonders, that their essays suffer somewhat in comparison with those which deal more allusively with the more familiar topics. Hence the most readable papers, which leave the clearest impression, are Prof. Burnet’s on Philo- sophy, Mr. Livingstone’s on Literature, and Mr. Percy Gardiner’s on ‘‘ The Lamps of Greek Art.”’ These are altogether admirable ; the leading features are emphasised, and no attempt is made to be exhaustive. But the fault—if it be a Fault—4in the essays on science is entirely in the right direction. We have here for the first time in a compendious form the main steps of the Greek construction in mathematics, astronomy, biology, and medicine, and the book is well worth buying for this part of it alone. A charming essay by Prof. D’Arcy Thompson on the Science of Aristotle adds to the attractiveness of the volume, but somewhat disturbs the balance of Dr. Singer’s excellent articles on biology and medi- cine as a whole. The supreme merit of the book is that it puts in unmistakable prominence the intellectual quality of the Greek mind in its prime, its desire to know, and its power of arranging the material it acquired in that connected form which we call scien- tific. This is equally salient on the mathematical and the biological side. Sir T. L. Heath shows us how the Greek philosophers had quite early hit on the fundamental equations in geometry ; within the seven hundred years of their flourishing they had founded trigonometry through the necessities of their astronomy, anticipated the integral calculus by their method of exhaustions, and laid the basis of algebra in the first generalised notation of Diophantus. In the sciences of life Aristotle had given the first rational classification of living things and an incom- parable mass of faithful and detailed description ; while the sound principles of Hippocrates in the fifth century in tracing health and illness to natural causes were far in advance of medical theory and practice until the revival of science a thousand years later. It is by these achievements, more than by any other, that the Greeks still rule us from their tombs, and we are deeply grateful to Mr. Living- stone and his coadjutors for putting them in such a clear light without ignoring the due proportion of political theory, art, and psychological philosophy. The well-chosen illustrations add greatly to the value of the volume. F.-S. Marvin. 170 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 Jute and Silk in India. Imperial: Institute. Indian Trade Inquiry: Re- ports on Jute and Silk, Pp. ix +90. (London : John Murray, 1921.) 5s. net. HESE reports embody the: results of the work of special committees, formed, in response to the invitation of the Secretary of State for India to the Imperial Institute Com- mittee, to inquire into the possibilities of further commercial usage of the principal Indian raw materials in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the Empire. The commercial production of jute is confined to Northern India, including Assam. The fibre is obtained from the inner bark of the stems of two annual plants, Corchorus capsularis and C. oli- torius, members of the family Tiliaceae, and the crop is raised on small holdings by the Indian ryot. More than 60 per cent. of the total crop is consumed in the Indian jute mills, the remainder being exported to the United Kingdom, various Continental countries, and the United States. In its recommendations the committee has kept in view two main objects, namely, to make use of our practical monopoly of jute to further the interests of the Empire, and to increase the output, and thereby steady and keep at a mode- rate level the price of the raw product. It recommends an export duty on raw jute leaving India with a rebate in full to consumers within the Empire, the revenue from the duty to be de- voted to the establishment of a scheme for the investigation of problems affecting the produc- tion in India of jute and allied fibres. As soon as seed-selection experiments are sufficiently ad- vanced the Government should provide each grower with seed sufficient for the season’s crop and adopt means to ensure that none but approved seed is sown. Machinery should be set up to deal with the situation arising from a short crop. The production of Bimli jute (the fibre of Hibiscus cannabinus) should be encouraged, and means adopted to improve the condition in which it reaches the market. The position of India among the silk-producing countries is unduly low; natural advantages are not fully utilised, and, at present, the industry is not able to meet local demands. For many years the mulberry silk industry in India has been steadily deéelining. The committee recommends the establishment by the Government of India of a central Sericultural Institute, the functions of which should include the training of men to develop sericulture in India, the supply of disease- free “seed” of approved native and foreign races NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | of worms, the testing of new races and the pro-— duction of hybrid races, and the investigation of © silkworm and mulberry diseases. Smaller institu- tions should be established in all important seri- cultural districts. The committee considers that” the enhanced value of Indian silk that would result — from a radical improvement in its quality should — render it possible for the Indian product to com- | pete successfully with Japanese and Chinese silks. a aegar Valency and Atomic Structure. Valenzkrafte und Réntgenspektren: Zwei Auf- — sitge iiber das Elektronengebaéude des Atoms. — By Prof W. Kossel. Pp iv+7o. (Berlin: — Julius Springer, 1921.) 12 marks. HE literature on atomic structure has received an interesting addition by the publication of this little work, which consists of two essays, the first being entitled ‘‘ The Physical Nature of Valency Forces,’’ and the second ‘‘ The Signifi- cance of X-rays in the investigation of Atomic Structure.’’ Berzelius first put forward the — theory of the electrical nature of valency forces, but the difficulty of explaining homopolar com- bination by means of it had led to its being dis- credited. It has now come to the fore again as the result of our knowledge of the relation between atomic number, the charge on the nucleus of the atom, and the place of the atom in the periodic ~ series, and in its recent developments Kossel has — played an important part. In the first paper, after referring to the various atomic models which have been pro-- posed from time to time, Kossel points out that we can explain many of the chemi- cal properties of the elements if we assume a tendency on the part of the atom to lose or gain electrons, so as to revert to more stable electron configuration. In losing or gaining electrons the atom becomes a charged ion, and without know- ing anything further of its structure it is possible to explain the formation of a large number of compounds. The valency forces correspond to an electrostatic field surrounding the ion, such as would arise from a charge placed at the centre of the atom. The molecule as a whole must be electrically neutral, but neutral molecules may have oppositely charged atoms at different points in their structure, and so may attract other neutral molecules with the formation of complex com- pounds. Kossel makes no attempt to éxplain the way in which homopolar compounds are formed ; he merely indicates the lines along which investi- gation may be possible. He emphasises the point, however, that the study of organic com- EBRUARY 9, 1922] NAIURE 171 unds has led to an excessive importance being ached to valency phenomena in homopolar com- ;, whereas a complete theory should cover y large class of inorganic heteropolar com- is formed by the majority of the elements. second essay is a short review of the work +h has been done on X-ray spectra and the rit te X-rays, with particular reference to the tioning of electrons into shells surrounding he iuthor’s style is somewhat involved, and for ider who is not a good German scholar the ler t is sometimes difficult to follow. Our Bookshelf. dged Callendar Steam Tables, Centigrade By Prof. H. L. Callendar. Pp. viii. q ged Callendor Steam Tables, Fahrenheit my prot, HH. L. Callendar. Pp. 8. dar Steam Diagram, Centigrade Units. ndar Steam Diagram, Fahrenheit Units. (London: E. Arnold, n.d.) vo ets of abridged tables (1) and (2) will nd to contain all that is required for engi- calculations. Table 1 in each set contains erties of saturated steam for pressures rang- 28. 98 in. of vacuum up to 535:31 lb. per . gauge pressure. Table 2 gives the total ' dry steam (superheated or supersaturated), ‘tal le:3 contains the entropy values for dry steam vi ris ous degrees of superheat and supersaturation. h e first and last pages will be found notes of ymbols and equations employed. The tables 1 arranged and clearly printed, and will be t service to students and engineers in practice. 3) The Centigrade steam diagram is also well red and has convenient scales. (4) The curves t Fahrenheit steam diagram are copied from on the Centigrade diagram; the numerals on them are the corresponding Fahrenheit _ Hence the scales on the Fahrenheit dia- are not so convenient, and we think it would een better had this diagram been drawn inde- itly of ‘the Penierade diagram. and Arc Welding. By H. A. Hornor. iffin’s Technological Handbooks.) Pp. vii+ (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 15S. application of electric welding processes to steel construction, such as obtains in ship- ig, forms the main topic of this book. The of extensive tests conducted during the war United States with the object of testing the ssses are also given. This work was, unfor- tely, discontinued at the time of the armistice, from the results it was shown that trustworthy NO. 2728, VOL. 109] electrically welded joints can be made of greater strength than corresponding riveted joints, and that consequently some economy in material can be ex- pected. Special designs for all-welded ships are discussed, and a good deal of interesting informa- tion is given on other applications of both spot and arc welding and the training of welders. Small all- welded craft have already. been constructed in England, and the author shows that the technical knowledge now available is sufficient for a consider- able extension of this method of ship construction. Handbuch der biologischen Arbeitsmethoden. Edited by Prof. Dr. Emil Abderhalden. Abt. 5, Methoden zum Studium der Funktionen der einzelnen Organe des tierischen Organismus. Teil 7, Heft 1, Lieferung 12, Sinnesorgane. Pp. 195. (Berlin und Wien: Urban und Schwarzenberg, 1920.) 30 marks. THe ‘‘Handbuch der _ biologischen Arbeits- methoden,”’ edited by Prof. Emil Abderhalden, will consist of forty-eight parts, in which chemical, physical, biological, psychological, and many other methods are treated at considerable length. The section under notice, by E. Budde, is devoted to the mathematical theory of audition. The first division of this contains a very full discussion of free and forced small vibrations of a point, fol- lowed by systems under non-linear forces, includ- ing combination tones. The second division deals with strings and membranes, while the third refers to plane-waves in air. Having thus laid the foundation, the author passes to the detailed treat- ment of human audition, in which he reviews the interpretations of the phenomena put forward by. the chief workers on the subject, but dwells espe- cially on the parts played by the basilar membrane and the endolymph. Turbines. By A. E. Tompkins. Third edition, entirely revised. Pp. viii+180. (London: S.P.C.K.; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1921.) 8s. net. Tue early part of this book is taken up with his- torical notes and some explanations of the principles involved in the working of turbines. ‘This is fol- lowed by three chapters on water-wheels, turbine pumps, and water turbines. The remainder of the book deals with steam turbines. For the most part the book is descriptive, and the simple language employed, together with the many excellent draw- ings, will render the volume of interest to the general reader. The author has had considerable experience _ in the working of turbines, and _ his treatise on ‘‘ Marine E ngineering ’? is well known. It is therefore rather surprising to find on p. 21, in reference to a rotating wheel, that ‘‘every particle of the wheel also tends to fly away from the axis in a radial direction, due to centrifugal action or force.’? This statement is somewhat misleading. There are one or two misprints, and the accepted notation for British thermal unit is B.Th.U., not b.t.u. 172 NATURE [| FEBRUARY 9, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 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. ] The Antitrades. Tue long series of pilot-balloon ascents made at and near Batavia (lat. 6° 11’ S., long. 106° 50’ E.) during the years 1909-17 has given a fair knowledge of the system of air-currents over West Java up to great heights. The general outcome of this inves- tigation has been communicated to the Royal Academy of Science of Amsterdam.’ My endeavour to explain that system led to a controversy between Dr. Braak and .myself and Prof. van Everdingen.* After re- newed consideration of the problem I have come to oe results: which I propose to set out provisionally ere. In the memoir presented to the Amsterdam Academy is inserted a synoptical table containing the mean directions and velocities of the wind for each month and for height-intervals of 1 km. up to a height of 24 km. In it the principal air-currents have been made conspicuous by letter colouring and framing. They aré :— First, the west monsoon prevailing during the southern summer in the bottom layers up to 5-6 km. Above it, up to ro-13 km., blow easterly winds with southern components, which I would call trade- like winds. In the winter season such winds blow in the bottom layers up to 3 km. ; Above these tradelike winds blow antitradelike winds, i.e. easterly winds with a northern component, Their upper limit reaches to 18 km. from December until March; it goes down to 12 km. in June, and again rises to the maximum height of 21 km, in October. The velocities show two maxima: in February at a height of 15 km. (i2 m./sec.) and in August at 14 km. (22 m./sec.): in April they are very weak. Not only is their velocity a maximum, but also the transport of air-mass. Over the antitradelike current appear again currents of tradelike character; however, from March until September an eastward moving air-mass is embedded in them, reaching heights of 24 km. in, maximo.’* Very high balloon flights in March and September revealed the existence of strong (30-40 m./sec.) easterly winds up to 30 km. Considering these results, three principal questions arise :—(1) Are the tradelike winds real trades? (2) Is the antitradelike current a true deflux from the equator towards the sub-tropics? (3) Whence do the great velocities of the high antitradelike and upper tradelike winds originate? The currents mostly possess a stationary character, and consequently their directions will be in close agreement with the trend of the isobars in their level. For Java the latter will be conditioned by the neigh- bourhood of the Australian continent. As in the southern winter over Australia is settled a circular High, we may expect over Java the trend of. the isobars to be E.N.E.-W.S.W. and the gradient to be towards the equator. However, by friction with the earth surface the air blows across the isobars and takes an E.S.E.-W.N.W. direction. This means real 1 Proceedings, April 16, 1978. 2 Tijdschrift v.h. K. Aardrijkskundig Gen., vol. 35, 1918, No. 1, and vol. 36, 1919, No. 4. 3 Owing to a typographical error in the synoptical table the velocities at the levels 18, 19, and 20 km. for June have wrongly been given as 1 m./sec. instead of 10 m./sec. NO. 2728, VOL. 109] — outflow to the equator; thus the tradelike wind men-— tioned above is a trade. s) In the southern summer over Australia lies a Low, | causing the west monsoon, but above this Low the | gradient is reversed and a High prevails. This causes | in the same manner as mentioned above a tradelike wind. The friction required for it, 1 presume, is | caused by the streaming one over another of the two currents with contrary directions (the west-east | below, the east-west above). Thus, I think, the | first of the three questions put forward has been | answered in the affirmative: the tradelike winds are — trades. S As to the second question, we may consider first the southern winter season. In it the gradient Australia— Java is reversed at the level of +5 km. But — does it change too in the other season at 3 km.? — Apparently not, because, going upwards, the easterly | winds do not then change to westerly ones; they | back only from E.S.E. to E.N.E., while the velocity does not vanish. Now, admitting the absence of — friction in these layers, and consequently assuming the current to follow the course of the isobars, we come to the conclusion that this course remains — mainly the same when going upwards, or the Aus- tralian High subsists in these higher layers, though — perhaps shifting somewhat to the eastward. — he iy Accepting this, we may ask: Might it be that the antitradelike current flows around the Australian High, bringing about thus the deflux towards the sub- tropics ? teas Ne In that case the antitradelike current should be a — true antitrade, although of local character. But then we are obliged to admit that a flux towards the equator will also occur at the opposite side of the oval — system of the Australian High; only the deflux — should surpass it by the mass of air (or part of it) — which ascends from the surface in the equatorial belt. This influx, too, may give us an answer to our third question: What is the cause of the great east~ | west velocities of antitradelike and upper tradelike winds? Exner‘ points to the fact that ascension of air at the equator is able to increase its east-west velocity only by a fraction, and, therefore, tries to explain the great velocities of high equatorial east — winds by shifting of air from higher latitudes towards — the equator with preservation of rotational moment. A meridional shift from tatitude + 15° causes velocities from 30-40 m./sec. — ; My result for the antitradelike current over Java is the same as that obtained by Sir Napier Shaw when calculating isobars for the level at 8000 metres.* He, too, finds long-stretched Highs, and he speaks of the flowing of air around these Highs, by which the east-west wind velocities of the equator act on the opposite currents of the sub-tropics as by chain- drive pulling. x : However, through lack of data Sir Napier Shaw had to calculate his isobars by means of one and the ~ same set of vertical temperature-gradients for the whole hemisphere, which, of course, makes the results somewhat doubtful for the equatorial belt, because there the critical pressure-differences at the 8000- metre level are small only. Ps For that reason I have sought for another inde- | pendent way to solve the antitrade problem, and Ff think I have found it by mapping the average direc- tions of cirrus drift as observed in the equatorial belt. " ba Cirrus floats there at levels of about 11 km., and 4 ‘‘Dynamische Meteorologie.” 1917, p, 182. } 5 Rede Lecture, NaTuRE, July 21, 1921. p. 653. Sir Napier Sega kindly provided me recently with a copy of the unpublished isobaric ¢ which he constructed for the northern hemisphere _ Feprvary 9, 1922] NATURE 173 th height over Java the antitradelike winds blow . May until October, while during the rest of the ar winds with tradelike character prevail. “*he mean directions of cirrus drift which were at + disposal (mostly borrowed from H. Hilderbrand- = yong separately for winter and summer, sh they are very sparse I made an en- ie construct lines of flow. The result is in- ated in the accompanying maps (Fig. 1). Id be regarded as a first trial; e.g. no attention S given to the density of the lines. of flow, only ir direction. For three stations (Hawaii, , and Congo) only annual means were given, ney have been used for both summer and winter. ying to design the lines of flow, it was apparent ‘ould be done only by assuming oblong systems xis Sat both sides of the equator, together with 1 stream winding about the equator. Of these t lying over Central America, Northern Opes 4, and Southern Asia correspond fairly well with | ic Highs found by Sir Napier Shaw at the | | ie They | Emre mean amount of seasonal shifting found above, e. 10°, fairly agrees with the corresponding shifting a these high-pressure belts at the surface :— Northern Belt Southern Belt. January 32° N January. a" S July 390° N July 28° S Shift 7 mo SS 50 Resuming, it seems probable that in high levels above the equator and winding about it flows a zonal east-west current of stationary character, which is fed by ascending surface-air and locally by air streaming in from higher latitudes, which, moreover, maintains its east-west motion. Also, that from it flows off in other places air to the sub-tropical belts; these cur- rents of deflux bend from an east-west to a west-east direction. This communication may prove anew that the know- ledge of the direction of the cirrus drift in the equatorial belt is important for the investigation of atmospheric circulation ‘between the tropics, but that Se = eo 120 ES ~~ Hon ° fe) 20 40 ating roughly he latitudes of the centres of Latitude. of centre Seasonal Winter Summer shift America 20 N. 28.N. 8 ern Africa ene J BIN. 25N. ¥7 i Bes ? 18 S. — Bek uc: oO —_— ws N. — _ i 17 N. 30 N. 13 tralia $5; 10 S. 3 Mean 10 mean latitude of the northern ovals is about , that of the southern about 15°. At the of the. earth pressure is highest in latitudes . and go° S.; aecordingly, when identifying the ent-ovals with ‘pressure Highs, the latter are 15° re r to the equator at the 11-km. level than at sea- _ This shifting is in agreement with the con- tions of Teisserenc de Bort and Exner (loc. cit., “ according to which the high-pressure belts creasing height move towards the equator. ‘Bases de la Météorologie resents; Il. Also Nova Acta R. e. Upsaliensis, ser. 4, vol. 5, No NO, 2728, VOL. 109] ~ Fic. 1.—Lines of flow of cirrus drift. the observations at our disposa! are few and rather insufficient. For that reason I appeal to those who are in the position to make these observations to supply this need. To observe in what direction cirrus floats is easy and requires simple means .only; moreover, observa- tions are not confined to fixed hours or days. Thus they are particularly adapted to be made by amateurs living in the tropical regions. | W.vAN BEMMELEN. Emmastraat 28, Haarlem, Holland, ‘December. Some Problems ‘in Evolution. Tue controversy between Sir Archdall Reid and the ‘biologists is partly concerned with the meaning of terms and partly with the understanding or misunder- standing of ysiological processes. Sir Archdall insists on certain interpretations or definitions of the terms “‘inherited’’ and ‘acquired.’’ These terms were first used by the biologists, and Sir Archdall should not give them meanings of his own different from those which they originally bore. He insists that there are two kinds of variation, but only one kind of character. The word “variation ’’ has been used to mean the small differences always found 174 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 between individuals of the same species, and also the larger, more conspicuous departures from the average type or normal character. The former are now called ‘* fluctuations,’’ the latter ‘‘mutations.’’ Sir Archdall agrees that a variation may result either (a) from germinal or (b) from nurtural differences, but he repeats his assertion that all characters are alike with respect to acquiredness and inheritability. Now I presume that when a variation of germinal origin is inherited it is correctly called a ‘‘ character.”’ For example, the rose-comb in fowls is a character, and we may suppose that it arose as a variation of germinal origin. We know that it is inherited. But Sir Archdall asserts that when it appears in an indi- vidual it is also ‘‘ acquired ’’ because it was not present in the new-laid egg. Here then he is merely, without any justification, giving a new meaning of his own to the term ‘“‘acquired,’’? which was applied by bio- logists to those differences which were not of ger- minal origin. He insists on substituting in this case the term ‘‘ acquirement ’’ for the term ‘‘ development.”’ On the other hand, if a man rows much he develops first blisters, and then corns, on his hands. According to Sir Archdall, this character is inherited because a son would reproduce the character under the same conditions as the parent produced it—that is, under the stimulus of friction due to the handling of the oar. Here again Sir Archdall is giving a meaning of his own to the term ‘inherited ’’ different from that which biologists originally intended and understood. Supposing the rowing man’s father never had such corns, still, according to Sir Archdall, the corns would be inherited. Biologists would say that the corns were acquired as the result of the external stimulus. What I wish to point out is that this alteration in the meaning and definition of terms is due to a funda- mental misunderstanding of biological processes. Sir Archdall states that a fowl reproduces the comb in response to nurture similar to that of its parent, and the man reproduces the corn in response to nurture similar to that under which his parent would have produced it; therefore both are inherited and both are acquired. What is the resemblance between the two cases? The fowl is nourished by the yolk of the egg before hatching and by its food after hatching; it has a supply of oxygen and temperature within certain limits, and ‘tin response’’ to these conditions the comb develops. The man is nourished by nutriment. before birth, by food after birth, requires oxygen and warmth, and then his hands are subjected to friction and the corns develop. It ‘is a manifest absurdity to say that the two cases are of the same kind or analogous. It is easy enough to reduce two different phenomena to the same form of words and then assert that they are of the same kind; it may show ingenuity, but it obscures the truth, and is contrary to the methods of science. ‘The fallacy of ‘Sir Archdall’s argument lies in the words “‘in response to.’”’ After admitting the differ- ence between two kinds of variation, he maintains that the comb, or, taking the more special character, the rose-comb, develops in the offspring in response to similar nurture, i.e. the same conditions as in the parent, and that precisely the same may be said of .corns produced by rowing. But th’s is not the truth; it is the exact opposite of the truth. The rose-comb is -not a ‘“‘response” to any of the conditions of the nurture. We may take cocks and hens which are the produce of a cross between rose-comb and _ single comb, and which all have rose-combs; when we breed from them some of the chicks develop single combs and some develop rose-combs. Which -comb-character is the ‘‘response ’’ to the similar nurture, parents and offspring having all had the same nurture? NO, 2728, VOL. 109] ‘biolog two kinds of characters; for what is a character but Sir Archdall fails to perceive the difference between a condition or stimulus in the nurture which has a direct relation to a structural feature and conditions — which have no such relation. In the case of the corns due to rowing, the increased growth is a definite response to the stimulus of friction. In the nurture of fowls there is no stimulus to which the comb or any comb-character is a response. A character is inherited, not necessarily under the same conditions, but under a great variety of conditions, and vast numbers of different characters are inherited under the ~ same conditions. Consider the various plants in a garden: their characters cannot be said to develop in response to nurture. No stimulus or treatment will produce a purple sweet-pea from a white sweet-— pea; apart from variations, the different varieties of plants develop the characters of their parents in the same garden under the same conditions. When a stimulus is found which produces a certain change, then that change is an acquired character. — ae It is an essential point that the fowl develops in response to nurture, but not the comb-character or any other inherited character. Heat at a certain temperature is a necessary stimulus to the development of the egg, but it is not a stimulus to any particular character. The eggs of all the various breeds with all their remarkable colours and other characters can be incubated at the same temperature. It is a fallacy to place the relation of heat to general development in this case in the same category as the relation of friction to corns in the other. The question is: What determines the character? Friction of the hands pro- duces a particular structural change; heat in incuba- tion has no effect whatever on the characters of the breed to which the eggs belong. % Sir Archdall has stated that the corns due to rowing are inherited, and has treated them as a character. In this case, what becomes of the differ- ence between a character and a variation? We may suppose a family of people who have not practised rowing; one adopts the practice and develops corns. Are these a character or a variation? Is the rose- comb a character or a variation? Sir Archdall has tried to show that the two are characters of the same kind with regard to acquirement and inheritability. But if they are variations, what becomes of the two kinds of variation? ii Readers of Nature are probably as weary of this controversy as I am, but Sir Archdall Reid is doing much harm by leading many who have no special knowledge of heredity and evolution to distrust the work of those who are engaged in research on these subjects. Prof. Bayliss recently stated that it was clear from this correspondence that the actual mean- ing of the terms used was in dispute. I feel that it is necessary, therefore, to criticise Sir Archdall’s statements. J. T. CunnincHamM. East London College, Mile End, E., January 28. In his recent letter to Nature (January 26, p. 104) Sir Archdall Reid restates his belief that “all charac-_ ters are alike as regards innateness, acquiredness, and inheritability.”’ His difficulties in this matter, appear to be largely of his own creation, and they” might be dissipated if he paid less attention to words and greater attention to the facts of experimental Sir Archdall Reid admits that there are “two kinds of variation: (a) those which result from germinal, and (b) those which result from nurtural, differences.’” That being the case, it surely follows that there are e | -Fesruary 9, 1922] NATURE 175 difference which has arisen at some time through a variation? We can determine characters only by comparing related organisms and noting their differ- mees. Jo say that all characters are alike, then, is jay that all variations are alike, which Sir Archdall id himself admits is not the case. aps an experimental instance will make this learer. Some years ago a fasciated specimen of an Enothera was sent io me. The plant was in seed; “stem was about 2 in. wide at the widest part as flat as a ribbon. It was, of course, impossible say with certainty, from inspection, whether this eter would be inherited or not, although the bilities were somewhat against it. I sowed the large numbers of them, and they all gave rise erfectly normal plants with round stems. The er was therefore non-inherited in this particular ise. It is, of course, well known that fasciations ay be produced by excessive nutrition, and that the iliarity is then, as a rule at least, not inherited. there are other instances in which this character ited. For example, in the common coxcomb dens, Celosia cristata, fasciation is one of the ic characters, distinguishing it from such species is Celosia plumosa, in which the stems do not fasciate inder ordinary conditions of cultivation. I have often rown these two species in quantity side by side in ve greenhouse, and compared the extreme fasciation f C. cristata with the ordinary branched character Mf the other species. It should be mentioned, how- , that C. plumosa does sometimes show slight tion at the tips of the branches, and this can be erated by growing the plants under conditions y high temperature and moisture. But it never aches the degree of fasciation found constantly a specific (and therefore inherited) character in cristata, ae same character, fasciation, is therefore clearly rited in C. cristata, but it was not inherited in particular instance in CEnothera which I tested. _also clear that the fasciated Celosia must have nated at some time as a variation from plants . normal stems. Innumerable similar instances be known to experimental biologists, and it is cases which they have in mind when they speak characters as of two kinds, inherited and non- inherited. When a particular new character appears as the result of a variation no one can predict with ertainty whether it will be inherited or not until the anism which shows it is tested. But, of course, obabilities may be stated by comparison with similar characters the hereditary behaviour of which is already known. In the face of such experimental facts, are well known to all geneticists, it is futile to ite that all characters are equally acquired and ally inherited. When Sir Archdall Reid implies that combs and s are equally inherited he forgets a whole class f experimental facts such as those above cited. One nust refuse to consider corns as inherited, because ere always remains the possibility that a case may se where, through a germinal change, they are erited without any special stimulus to produce . The inherited condition known as keratosis is, indeed, .an epidermal thickening of similar character. It seems clear that moles are not usually inherited, but if the writer in Nature is correct (see Nature, January 109, p. 78), then there may be tances in which even a mole is inherited in the itimate sense in which the term ‘inheritance ’’ is tomarily used by biologists. f 1. : . Ruceres Gates. King’s College, University. of London, | ae January 27. NO, 2728, VOL. 109! - SiR ARCHDALL Reip’s letter in- Nature of January 26 will render considerable service if it induces students of evolutionary phenomena accurately and precisely to define their- terms. If one may, at the beginning, set forth two general statements, the ground will be cleared for a discus- sion of Sir Archdall Reid’s points :— (1) Genes or factors are inherited, characters are not, (2) A gene conditions the appearance in the organism of a character or group of characters, (3) The effect produced by a gene in the organism depends on the environmental conditions which prevail during the life-history of the organism and on the other genes which the organism possesses. To show that characters are not inherited, the example of ““abnormal abdomen ”’ in Drosophila may be cited. The gene for “abnormal abdomen” causes the condition in moist cultures only. In dry cultures the flies hatch out normal in appearance. The statement that rose comb and single comb are not more inheritable than corns on oarsmen’s hands is obviously correct. Any capacity for reacting to a stimulus may be considered as being represented in the chromosomes by a gene or genes. In this case we may assume that the capacity for responding to the frictional stimulus of the oar by forming a mass of proliferated tissue on the palms of. the hands is inherited. Certain other points raised by Sir Archdall Reid may be dealt with briefly : (1) The impure dominant does not inherit any trait. It inherits the recessive gene from one parent which may Or may not interact with environment and with other genes to produce an effect. The terms ‘dominant ’’ and “recessive ’’ are purely arbitrary, and used only. for convenience. (2) The pure extracted recessive inherits a recessive gene from one parent and a similar recessive gene from the other. The germ-cells of an impure dominant carry either the dominant or the recessive gene. (3) The ancestral condition obtained in some pigeon crosses is due to the interaction of the two sets of genes contributed by the two parents. The interaction of genes may be illustrated by an example from the cow-pea. A red cow-pea crossed with a.white may give a black in. the. first hybrid generation. White possesses a gene for black which is without effect except in the presence of the gene for red present in the red parent. At least eight different genes in the cow-pea are known to depend for their expression on a single colour-conditioning gene. S. C..Harvanp. [Sir Archdall Reid began this correspondence with a letter in Nature of November 25, 1920; and we have now invited him to close it.—Epitor.] The Radiant Spectrum. Dr. HArtTRIDGE’s objections to my explanation of this phenomenon (Nature, September 1, p. 12, and December 8, 1921, p. 467) seem to be based on an im- perfect appreciation of ‘Brewster’s observations on the subject. Brewster brings out two facts clearly in his paper: First, when a very small and intense source of white light is viewed directly by the eye it appears surrounded by a system of radiating streamers which appear to diverge directly from it; secondly, when a prism of small dispersive power is interposed in front of the eye the streamers are deviated and now appear to diverge from a point lving beyond the violet end of the spectrum into 176 NATURE ’ [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 which the source itself is drawn out. It is clearly illogical to suggest, as Dr. Hartridge does, that the prism is responsible for the radiant phenomenon in view of the fact that, in its essential features, the effect is observed even before the introduction of the prism. ; Using a sufficiently intense source of light and a prism of small angle with optically good and clean faces, and making the observations in a dark room, it should be easy for anyone co satisfy himself by simple tests of the kind referred to by Dr. Hartridge that he is in error, and that Brewster’s phenomenon really arises from. the scattering of light in the eye, the prism merely acting as a dispersive apparatus modifying the colour and disposition of the streamers in the halo surrounding the source. Judging from the statements made in his letter, Dr. Hartridge would appear to have been particularly unfortunate in his choice’ of experimental conditions. Any notice- able imperfection in the optical surfaces of the prism would, of course, give rise to scattering, masking the true phenomenon due to the eye itself. This is indeed clearly suggested in Brewster’s own paper. A further and absolutely crucial test is, also avail- able. refractive media of the eye (Phil. Mag., November, 1919, p. 568), I have described the character of the diffraction-halo arising from this cause in considerable detail. With a source of white light the halo shows a radiating fibrous structure and clearly marked alternations of colour and intensity in its outer parts. A monochromatic source, on the other hand, exhibits a halo with a granular structure and a succession of bright and dark rings. These features are explained in my paper as due to the diffraction of light by cor- puscles of more or less uniform size included within the structure of the eye. On this view we should expect one half of the first diffraction ring outside the central portion of the halo to be partially achromatised on the introduction of the prism and to appear as a detached semi-circular arc lying beyond the violet end of the spectrum and the displaced position of the achromatic centre. No mere imperfec- tions or irregularities in optical surfaces could, on the other hand, give rise to such a phenomenon. Actual trial confirms the expectation from theory and puts its correctness on an unassailable basis. C. V. Raman. _ 21@ Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, January 4. The Naming of the Minor Planet No. 907, Barnardiana. In Nature for September 8 last (vol. 108, p. 69); at the end of “Our Astronomical Column,” attention js directed: to the naming by Dr. Max Wolf of two of his asteroids in Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 5116. They are No. 834, Burnhamia, and No. 907, Bar- nardiana. In commenting on these asteroids NATURE infers that they were named after two American astro- nomers. While it is true that Prof. _Burnham’s memory named after me, but in memory of Mrs. Rhoda Calvert Barnard, who died on May 25, 1921. This is evident from the following quotation from a letter to me by Dr. Wolf on the subject :— ‘‘ Wenn ich den Vornamen Ihrer Gemahlin gekannt hatte, und—vorausgesetzt, dass er nicht schon: ver- wendet worden ist—wiirde ich ihn einem meiner In my paper on the scatteriag of light in the- is thus honoured, Barnardiana was not. Planeten zur Erinnerung an Ihre liebe Frau beige-— ‘geben haben. Da das nicht ging, so taufe ich den Planeten' 907 1918 EU; .auf.den Namen: Bar- ‘nardiana.”’ BC ily “lp, SEN For some reason No. 5116. of the. Astronomische Nachrichten | containing these mames has only NO.:2928, VO dOO) { e very recently reached the Yerkes Observatory. I was unaware until then that it did not distinctly state the planet was named after Mrs, Barnard. Though not actively engaged in astronomical work, in her long Zi life in astronomy she had endeared herself to the many astronomical people she had met by her thought- — ful and unselfish interest in them and in their work. Hers was a life of love and sympathy. I am grateful to Dr. Wolf for thus perpetuating her memory. : : E. E. BarNarb. Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, January ir. The Resonance Theory of Hearing. ‘ Dr. HartrRipGE imputes to me great absurdities which, either in irony or by an excess of courtesy, he terms “slight errors ” (Nature, January 19, p- 76). Under (1) he takes my plain words, the result “‘must always be of the same nature,”” to mean that the result must always be the same! Of course, the harmonic analysis of his obce and flute combina- tion will not give the same result as in the case of violin and cornet, but in both cases the result will be of the same nature, in that there will be only one fundamental tone. If the data supplied to the sen- sorium from the cochlea are simply the result of an harmonic analysis, the two notes must appear to the ear inseparably blended in one note. I have not left binaural audition out of consideration. The abilit to distinguish two concurrent notes of the same abt and different quality seems unaffected by both sources being equidistant from either ear. Under (2) Dr. Hartridge should know as well as I know that the pitch of a note depends solely upon the period of its fundamental tone. The example which I proposed eliminates the possibility of beats, the two notes being in perfect physical unison. And, further, since the note made by the teeth is generated by the other note, it cannot be heard except in the , combination. Its perception is, therefore, a cogni- tion, not a recognition. At any instant during the production of the two notes (which may be sustained for twenty seconds easily) it is possible to turrf the attention to the note made, by the teeth and to hear that its pitch is that of the hummed note. At no instant. could the resonators which Dr. Hartridge, outstripping Sir Arthur Keith, “finds ” in the cochlea furnish the data for anything but a change in the quality and intensity of the hummed note. This objection remains untouched by Dr. Hartridge’s animadversions. It goes to the root of the matter, and cannot “fall to the ground ’’ as a superstructure _ W may. . PERRETT. University College, Gower Street, W.C.1, January 26. Aurora Borealis of January 30. Hapreninc to look out at 11.30 last night I per- ceived a strong auroral glow extending from N. by E. through N. to W. ~The light was quite bright, and on going into the garden I noticed that my body cast a shadow and that I could read the headlines of the Times quite readily. several luminous patches, especially due N., where a blunted cone of greenish light rose vertically up from the horizon to a height of 10°. Ree sf The sky was partially, and later almost totally, covered by thin clouds, which drifted up from S. under the influence of light airs. The atmosphere was misty and the temperature decidedly warm, Sa . _.. Cuartes S. Lear. ~ Grange Road, Cambridge, January 3% ce tae There were no streamers, but \ ‘EBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 477 oe bey ‘a paper read at the Linnean Society under the oe title on February 2, the statistical s long employed in ‘‘ Age and Area ’’ were | to their final conclusion. Age and area y in Ann. of Bot., October, 1921, p. 493) is me given to a principle gradually discovered my years of work upon the flora of Ceylon, in brief, affirms that if one take groups “not less than ten allied species and compare a with similar groups allied to the first, the = total areas occupied in a given country, or "world, will be more or less proportional er directly or not we do not yet know) to their e total ages, within that or absolutely, as the case y be. The longer a group has the more area will it 4 Tens are compared in to eliminate chance differ- as much as possible, and groups to avoid as far as the complications introduced ecological habit, etc. for example, probably fread much more rapidly than es, but both will obey Age and ea. It is of course obvious that itself cannot effeet dispersal,. ut inasmuch as as predictions as to listribution of species, occurrence i Ss, etc., can be success- ally made upon the basis of age ‘ome, it is clear that the average te of spreading of a _ given ies, and still more of a group of “allied species, is very uniform, id therefore affords a measure of re. The result of the work is to that in general the species and genera) of smallest areas are 1¢ youngest, and are descended TC ae more widespread that usually occur beside Flora of Ceylon. n phipodous Crustacea x 5.8 OD 6 A oe ——Endemics of all Islands xk Number of book (or species) Monospecific Genera at this end of curve - Some Statistics of Evolution and Geoeraaiiiia Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance. By Dr. J. C. Wits, F.R.S., and G. Upny Yure, C.B.E., F.R.S. geographical distribution. These. two phenomena should. therefore show similar expressions. But the characteristic feature of geographical dis. tribution, as indicated in all the work upon Age and Area, is that species, whether of endémic or of non-endemic genera, are arranged, as regards their areas of dispersal, in ‘‘ hollow curves.’?* They show (cf. last curve of Fig. 1) many on the smallest area-(here one island), fewer on the area next larger (here two islands), and a tail of a few on areas larger again. This type of distribution is practi- cally universal ; if one take, for example, a large and widely distributed genus like Cyrtandra, one finds Bo) .2f oO: sit are <5 by =Endemic Com) az 7 ofGalapages @ = GN Spi! Pian noderms. x fa lemics demics of - ew Babanes ai British Brazil. Fi fo) E “3 —SimarubaceaexlO. od Birds of British India. T- 19000 . the number of species gives a straight line. Fig. 2 shows the results of this method of plotting ~m for all the flowering plants of the world. The dots give the data, graduated ; some process of gradu- ation had to be used, as the statis- tics were based on the figures given nera log (N2 of genera) in the ‘‘ Dictionary of the Flower- ing Plants and Ferns,’’ which are rounded off in doubtful cases to the nearest 5 or ro (or greater Number of ge number in the large genera). It will be seen that, up to genera of some thirty or forty species, there is an excellent fit to a straight line, 6 8 16 I 1-0 1:2 14 log (N° of species) Fic. 2.—Log. curve for all flowering plants. curves are plotted together in Fig. 1, and show that this type of curve holds not only for all the genera of the world, but also for all the individual families both of plants and animals, for endemic and for non- endemic genera, for local floras and faunas (as may be verified in an hour), and even for very local floras, such as that of Cambridge- ; shire; it holds even for Wicken though there is a marked deficiency of the larger genera—a point on which further investigation is re- quired. Single families show pre- cisely the same rule, the lines not differing very greatly in slope: Fig. 3 gives an illustration of the chart for the Rubiacee. Nor is the law one con- fined to plant life, as is shown by Fig. 4, for the family of Chrysomelide amongst the beetles. - It follows from the conception stated that the N° of species 10 30 100 Fen and other strictly local asso- T ciations of plants. It obtains, too, as Mrs. Reid showed in a note read the same evening, for all the deposits of Tertiary fossils exam- ined. For the first three numbers it . shows very clearly, but as the num- bers become smaller they tend to be irregular, though always diminish- } ing towards the end. If one take only the tens, twenties, etc., one log (N° of genera) obtains a practically smooth curve. But now, if species of very limited area and genera of one species (which also have usually small areas) are, with compara- tively few exceptions, the young beginners in the race of life, and are descended in general from the species of wider dispersal and the larger genera, and if the number of species in a genus is, broadly speaking, a measure of its age, the idea at once suggests itself that a given stock may be regarded as ‘‘ throwing ”’ generic variations much as it throws offspring, so that the number of genera descended from one prime ancestor may be expected NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | to that of species. 6 8 7-0 12 r+ _ log (N2 of species) : _ Fic. 3.—Log. curve for Rubiacer. ‘ eee : excess of the slope of the line over unity should measure the ratio of the rate of increase of genera The slope should always, there- fore, lie between the limits 1 and 2, for a slope of less than unity would have no meaning, and a slope exceeding 2 would imply. that generic variations On such a very rough conception it is found that the form of fre- genera plotted to the logarithm of — _ \ a a woh, i NATURE 179 m re ip equent than specific variations. Hitherto exception has been found to the required rule. ie group of fungi tested (Hymenomycetinez) gave 2 with a slope very little exceeding unity (1-08), > figures found for flowering plants lie between narrow limits 1-38 and 1-64, with an average of out 1-43. Snakes and lizards both give a figure r tmear 1- 50, and the Chrysomelidz about 1-37. = development of a more com- Guppy’s theory of differentiation, the larger genera, and the species of larger area, being the parents of the smaller : 7.e. it must have proceeded on the whole in the reverse direction to that postulated by the Darwinian theory, as one of us has long maintained. Finally, it is clear that geographical’ distribution has been largely mechanical, the general effect of the many factors that are operative being to cause “theory. y in some degree : ify conceptions and interpreta-— is, but the results so far ob- 2 ned suggest that the basic prin- le put forward is correct. [n much as all families, both ats and animals, show the of curve, whether or logarithmic, it would that in general the manner evolution has unfolded has been relatively little d by the various vital and °o omg these only causing this way and that from “4 inant plan. And_ since, log (Number of genera) » _ that genera ‘ . throw ”’ ected that the logarithmic : would be straight lines, ) 2 an it was then discovered then not only but must also have been, as one of us has led for many years, by mutations that were es of rank sufficient to give rise to Linnean ecies, genera, or even families. Not only so, but vO ution must Rave proceeded on the lines of S See d I: aes o> VS hB 8 2 3 0 log Number of species) ~ Number of species Fic. 4.—Log. curve for chrysomelid beetles. 5 species to spread at a fairly regular speed (differing for each), so that spread forms a measure of age. Space does not permit of detailed argument, which must be left for forthcoming books ; but a couple of hours’ work at statistics of genera (by sizes) will suffice to make clear the general position’ taken up. EX: NOTHER cause operating to effect a separation 41 of the positively and negatively charged dust is found in the viscosity of the atmosphere. _ Roughly aking, the viscosity of a gas is that quality of it in moving through it. Maxwell showed long ; the viscosity of a gas is independent of the over wide limits. Crookes continued these and demonstrated that between atmo- eric pressure and a pressure of about one ten- isandth of an atmosphere the viscosity remains stant, but that when the pressure falls below this figure the viscosity very rapidly decreases to o. Again, both Maxwell and Crookes found that viscosity of hydrogen is about half that of gen or nitrogen. The viscosity of air at 760 mm. 0-00018 C.G.S. units. Sir George Stokes proved that if a small sphere diameter d and density o is falling through a 1 Continued from p. 143. ‘NO. 2728, VOL. 109] d ches Some Problems of Long-distance Radio-telegraphy.? By Dr. J. A. Fremine, F.R-S. gas of density p and viscosity m under the action of gravity it will attain a final velocity v such that where g is the acceleration of gravity. This ex- plains the extremely slow rate of fall of water particles constituting clouds, and also the very slow settlement of fine dust particles through air. The positively-charged solar dust particles are probably larger than the negatively-charged par- ticles, as the latter consist of electrons having con- densed round them molecules of gases, probably hydrogen and helium, gathered from the solar chromosphere. Accordingly the negative ions will be brought to rest before the positively-charged particles and gas viscosity will assist the separation. But Stokes’s expressions apply to smooth spheres and not to irregularly shaped particles. Also, if the diameter of the particle is much less than. the mean free path of a gas molecule, the expression 180 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 for the frictional resistance, 3dy.v, must be divided by 1+20l./d where L is the mean free path of a gas molecule and a is' a constant depending on the nature of the particle and its form. If, then, particles of dust enter the highly rarefied upper hydrogen levels of the atmosphere, they will experience very little retardation until they reach that level (about 100 km.) at which viscosity begins to increase rapidly to its normal or full value, but then they will be very quickly brought to rest even in spite of their high initial velocity. Hence none of this dust will penetrate .below a certain level in the atmosphere, probably from 60 to 80 km. It will be stopped and held by air viscosity. ‘The moment its velocity falls off the forces tending to separate the oppositely electrified particles will also decrease, and the oppositely charged particles may then neutralise each other. The result will be, as I think, to give the highly con- ‘ductive layer in the earth’s atmosphere a tolerably well-defined under-surface determined by the very rapid rate at which air viscosity rises with increasing air-pressure. Hence it is clear that when the dust particles reach a certan level their earthward pro- gress will be practically arrested. Meanwhile the region above this will be left im- pregnated with the smaller and lighter negative ions which are moving slowly or quickly in directions oblique to the earth’s magnetic meridians and wind- ing their way spiral-fashion towards. the regions of the magnetic poles. The explanation of numerous astronomical, meteorological, magnetic, and atmo- spheric electric phenomena by the aid of this hypo- thesis of electrified solar dust projected by light pressure from the sun to the earth. has been worked out in great detail by S$. Arrhenius, K. Birkeland, W. J. Humphreys, and others. This solar dust hypothesis seems to be supported by the observations of Newcomb, Yntema, Abbot, and W. W. Campbell on the fact that on clear moonless nights the sky sends to us more light than can be accounted for by the sum total of starlight, and that this extra. light ‘is notably greater near the horizon than at the zenith, and also by the spectroscopic observations which show the green auroral line in all parts of the tropical sky on moonless nights. ‘In addition to this hypothesis of a permanently conducting upper region of the atmosphere we are compelled to postulate that beneath this there must be a region of variable ionisation due to solar light, which is ionised during the day above the level of — clouds, dust, and water-vapour, but more or less dis-ionised during the night. Dr. Eccles has worked out the consequences of assuming an atmospheric region in which ions of molecular mass are present, possibly formed by the action of ultra-violet light on molecular groups which are photo-electric. The presence of these heavy ions acts so as to produce what is in effect a reduction in the dielectric coefficient and therefore an increase in the velocity of electric waves through the ionised region. This action may be illustrated..by a’ magnetic Tf iron spheres were placed ina magnetic | parallel. NO, 2728, VOL. 109 | field they would be magnetised, but owing to the reverse action of the free poles the magnetic force in the iron would be less than the force at that point Hence the magnetisation produced is not that which. corresponds to the ex- | ternal impressed magnetic force, but to‘the reduced if the iron were not there. magnetic force. In the same manner if heavy ions are present in the air the orderly arrangement of them by the impressed field reduces the effective electric force | in the space occupied by them, and this is equivalent | to a reduction in mean dielectric constant. velocity of the wave is inversely as the square root of the dielectric constant, and therefore the wave speed is increased. From this it follows that if there is a gradually increasing density of heavy ions of both signs as we rise higher in the atmosphere, there will throughout that region be a gradually — increasing electric wave velocity with height, and therefore an effect which has been called zomic re- fraction in virtue of which the higher levels of a plane electromagnetic wave advancing over the earth will advance more quickly than the lower parts. Hence the wave track will follow round the earth’s curvature and an obliquely rising ray may even be brought down again to eanth by an action resembling that of an inverted mirage. The very complicated phenomena connected with | freak signalling, the great effect on signal strength of the sunset and sunrise periods, the curious ano- malies in the difference between daylight and night- time radio-transmission for various wave-length, and the variation in range between north-south and east— west transmission have all received. certain plausible explanations on the theory of a variable ionisation by sunlight of the atmosphere, and its irregularities at the bounding surface of the earth shadow cone as it sweeps through the atmosphere. The atmo- spheric ionisation at this surface will tend to become ‘€ patchy,’’ and will therefore bestow a certain in- creased opacity and’ increased reflecting power on that region for electric waves just as small air bubbles in water give it a certain opacity for visible light. The general increase in range of radio-communica- tion by night is accounted for on this theory as due to partial removal of the ionic refraction which in the daytime brings the ray down again to earth at But the — spate abet Ass a ek, a Pa i ee ranges less than that due to the guiding properties of e the permanently ionised higher layer. There are, however, curious exceptions to this in _ the case of certain long-wave transmission. Se Marconi long ago pointed out that with certain wave- lengths from 5000 to 6000 metres transatlantic radio signals are often stronger by day than’ by night. These anomalies and others recorded by Dr. Eccles seem, however, to meet with reasonable explanations on the ionic refraction theory. has On the other hand, our difficulties are great in bringing these hypotheses to critical test. The atmo- spheric region in which the phenomena take place | is far beyond the reach of our meteorological sound- ‘ing balloons or possibilities of’ testing the actual ionic distribution... We can only, therefore, patiently oF _ Fenavary 9, 1922] NATURE 181 i ae to collect the facts and trust to cautious ictive reasoning and observations to give us the interpretation of them. All the phenomena , however, to point to the existence of three imposed layers in the atmosphere: one, the , beginning perhaps above 80-100 km., . is permanently ionised with — negative v _ The other, the middle, which has in part b ionisation, depending on the position of ‘part with regard to the sun. The third or r level has a relatively small ionisation, but magnetic, waves travelling in it may have their rgy considerably affected and reduced by the ture of the earth’s surface over which they are ¢. Powerful absorption is caused by some ils and by vegetation for certain wave-lengths. _ From the earliest days of long-distance wireless phy the difficulties in reception due to vagrant tural electric waves and atmospheric electric larges passing down the receiving aerial have the bane of the wireless telegraphist. These create sounds in the telephone in aural recep- hich often drown completely the signal sounds make false records in the case of printing or ae reception. In the case of telephone eception, these noises have been classified into 1) cinitliong. or grinding, (2) hissing, (3) clicking or snapping, and (4) crashing noises. These last two eem to be associated with thunderstorm conditions. Pring: regard to the fact that the positive atmo- electric potential gradient of the earth in- at the rate of abou* 1oo volts per metre of _ it is not surprising that aerials several d feet high may be traversed by quite currents, due to this cause alone, which utterly swamp the feeble signal currents. The th of a signal or noise in the telephone is ly estimated by its ‘‘ audibility,’’ and this i s measured by ascertaining the resistance S of the shu which must be put across the telephone of istance R just to render the sound inaudible to a mal ear. The audibility A is givem by the ex- : _A=(R+S)/S. Hence the audibility is ity ye a just audible sound. We can in this y measure the audibility of a signal on a back- ad of disturbing noise, and a readable signal generally obtained if the ratio of signal audi- ility to stray audibility is more than 25 per cent. | ae to the serious extent to which these strays der regular reception, especially at certain times the day and year, an enormous amount of atten- n has been given to their study and to the problem eliminating them. They are most troublesome in » summer and during the night, and more-severe tropical than in temperate climes. Even in our latitudes they hinder reception at times immensely. Dr. L. W. Austin has stated that receiving at Wash- ington, U.S.A., with a simple loop aerial. from high- wer radio stations in Europe with aerial sending rents up to 300 amperes, signals were unreadable ‘about 2000 hours a year. In tropical countries long-distance circuits the power required to get si through may be often from six to eight es that which must be used at favourable times, NO. 2728, VOL. 109] and there are short periods when signalling is abso- lutely impossible. Having regard to the effect such interruptions have upon the earning power of a com- mercial station or upon certainty of communication in time of war or other urgent occasions, the problem of elimination of strays is perhaps the most impor- tant of all the practical questions connected with long-distance wireless telegraphy. It has been the subject of countless patents already. Early attempts went on the supposition that the strays were highly damped vagrant waves or had particular frequencies and could be eliminated by giving the receiving system a very pronounced resonance and making it a so-called stiffly-tuned circuit. These methods had a very limited application, for the reason that any impulse given to the receiving aerial sets it in electric vibration with its own natural period. Then, again, a number of inventions depend upon the peculiar properties of certain detectors, such as crystals and thermionic valves, in limiting the current which they pass or rectify. One most practically useful dis- covery was that by giving to the spark or wave train in the case of spark systems, or to the beats in the case of C.W. heterodyne reception, a regular fre- quency of 500 or 600, thus imparting a rather shrill musical sound to the signal, the ear could much more readily fasten attention on it even against a background of irregular but louder noise due to atmospherics. Dr. de Groot made an immense number of ob- servations on stray strengths at various hours of the day and months of the year about 1916 in the Dutch East Indies, and prepared diagrams showing the mean stray strength for various hours for each month of the year. From these he prepared a diagram giving the hourly stray strength during the day averaged: throughout a year. The results were that in general the strays were more numerous and stronger during the night than during the day. We have seen that there must be a certain inter- mediate but high-level region in the atmosphere. in which the gases are ionised by the ultra-violet sun- light during the day, but re- -combine. again during the night. This region lies beneath the permanently ionised layer. In this permanently ionised layer there are drifting collections or masses of positively electrified and negatively electrified solar dust. If these masses are drawn together by their electric attractions or commingled, it is highly probable that electric recombinations will occur, which would generate electric waves. Suppose, then, that we assume the origin of a certain part of the strays to be in the upper permanently conductive layer of the atmosphere, these natural waves would find a certain obstacle to their downward transmission in the conductivity produced by the ionisation of the middle layer of the atmosphere by day. But at night-time this middle layer ionisation largely dis- appears and the natural clectric disturbances in the upper layer would more easily find their way down to the earth. In other words, there would: be a more unhindered access for the strays to descend. Hence im the night-time they would be more numerous 182 NATURE | FEBRUARY 9, 1922 and more apparent in the effect they produce on receiving appliances. The view that the strays which produce continu- ous rattling or grinding noises in the telephone have their origin in the high-level permanently conductive layer of the atmosphere was also put forward by Dr. de Groot, and he has employed ingenious argu- ments to obtain an estimate of the height of this layer, which he places at between 180 and 200 km. These estimates must, however, be brought into comparison with the observations which have been made on the heights of the aurora. Stérmer has made precise measurements of the parallax of the beams and arches of aurore by photographic ob- servations at places connected by telephone, and found, out of 150 observations, that the lowest occurred at 40 km. and the highest at 260 km. Much, however, depends upon latitude and the height of the region ionised by cosmic dust may be greater at the terrestrial equator than at the poles. The whole subject is of great importance in con- nection with meteorology and terrestrial magnetism, and invites the co-operation of physicists, astro- as well as radio- — ee nomers and meteorologists, engineers. The matter is, however, of such immense prac- tical importance in radio-telegraphy that improye- ments or inventions connected with it are generally kept as carefully-guarded secrets, at least, for some time. Senatore Marconi spoke recently of inventions due to himself and his technical staff which promise a great advance in overcoming the interruptions of service due to strays, but details are at present with- held. The problem of eliminating altogether the effect of strays on the receiver is at present the paramount one in long-distance wireless telegraphy, as they are a source of far greater difficulty than in short- distance working. A Journal for Physical Measurements and Instruments. i Seeger of Nature, whether physicists or others, will be interested to learn of the steps which are being taken and the progress which has been made in connection with the proposed new journal dealing with physical instruments, the first important task which the newly founded Institute of Physics has set itself to accomplish. At the National Physical Laboratory the need for such a journal has long been felt; accordingly in 1919 the director addressed a letter directing attention to the needs of a number of Government departments and workers in various branches of science. The response was most gratifying. The Admiralty, War Office, Ordnance Committee, engineering department of the Post Office, and other important bodies, all wrote approving the sugges- tion and in many cases offering support, while men of science—physicists, physiologists, miscroscopists, zoologists, and engineers—warmly commended the scheme, which also received the support of some leading instrument makers, including the British Optical Instrument Makers’ Association and the British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers’ Associa- tion. As a result the ‘Institute of Physics brought the proposal before the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. A meeting was held between representatives of the department and of the institute under the chairmanship of Sir J. J. Thomson, at which a suggestion was made that a single number might be prepared and issued as a specimen with the view of seeing what support could be obtained. This suggestion was, at a later date, conveyed in a more formal manner to the department and approved by their advisory council, and a joint committee appointed by the department, the National Physical Laboratory, and the institute has been formed to give effect to it. The institute has accepted financial responsibility for the publication of the journal provided scientific and industrial associations and individuals to whom the journal will be of service are prepared to furnish adequate guarantees for its support. ‘The department will make a grant towards the cost of printing the specimen number. The institute is to have the assistance. of the staff of the National Physical Laboratory in the prepara- tion of this number, and Dr. Rayner has, at the request of the committee, undertaken the duties of editor. An announcement of the proposed journal has been prepared and will be widely circulated along with a request for support, and it is hoped that the response will be such as to enable the in- stitute to continue the task it has set itself and produce a work which will fill the acknowledged need. Obituary. Str Henry JONES. Lo Sir Henry Jones, professor of moral philo- sophy in the University of Glasgow, who died on February 4 at his home in Argyllshire, we lose one of our greatest teachers and, since Edward Caird, the leading representative of the Hegelian influence and tradition in English university life. A pathos surrounds the last few years of‘ his life NO, 2728, VOL. 109] or even to slacken, his regular work. and also throws light on his personal character and strong mentality. He struggled against the painful disease which has proved fatal with a courage nothing short of heroic. He refused to give up, He perse- vered with his last undertaking, the Gifford lecture- ship, under conditions which few could have en- dured. He lectured even when speech was becoming E : a a: oe, st #g 29 EBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 183 yhysically difficult, and he succeeded in delivering the first course. ‘The second course has been inter- rupted by death, but the series of lectures is written nd about to be published under the title ‘‘ A les. In his twenty-third year he obtained the s to enter as a student in the University of gow, and there came under the influence of sm of which he was throughout his life an siastic and consistent exponent. In 1878 he luated with first class honours in philosophy d became Prof. Caird’s assistant. After various app ointments, and when Prof. Caird became Master Balliol in 1894, he was appointed his successor nd has held the chair since. He was an LL.D. of he University of St. Andrews, a D.Litt. of the Jniversity of Wales, and a fellow of the British cademy. He was knighted in 1912. He served the Commission of Inquiry which preceded the Act for the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales. His name was included in the last New Year’s honours list. _ It is as a teacher that Sir Henry Jones will live ‘in the memory of the many students who were in- “spired by him. As an author the value of his work is literary and social rather than scientific or philosophical. His books are popular expositions, marked, indeed, by keen appreciation and insight, but motived by strong moral enthusiasm rather than any theoretical interest in investigating scientific or philosophic problems. His most important work in philosophy was a small volume on ‘‘ The Philo- sage of "Lot ede published i in 1894, which was for many years the chief source for English readers of their knowledge of the philosophy of the German professor. Pror. V. GrurrripA-RUGGERI. Dr. VINCcENzZO GIuFFRIDA-RUGGERI, professor of anthropology in the University of Naples, one of the leading anthropologists in Europe, died on Decem- ber 21, after a brief illness. He was born at Catania, Sicily, in 1872, became a doctor of medicine in the University of Rome, 1896, and was thereafter appointed assistant to the professor of anthropology in that university, G. Sergi. He then commenced a career of extraordinary industry, contributing year after year some eight or ten original papers to the current literature of his chosen subject. Although Prof. Giuffrida-Ruggeri neither initiated any form of revolutionary idea nor opened any new chapter, yet his voluminous. writings reflect more fully than those of any other writer the anthropological problems discussed by his con- temporaries in Europe and America. The papers of his earlier years were devoted to studies of the skull, particularly of the face, but as time went on they broadened out into a study of human races in all parts of the world. He made a close study of the fossil remains of man, and in more recent years devoted himself to the evolution of man and to the origin and relationship of modern human races. The conclusions he had reached are set forth in two of his more recent books, ‘‘ L’Uomo Attuale, Una Specie Collettiva ’’ (1913), and ‘‘ Su 1’Origine dell’ Uomo,”’ 1921. By his death modern anthropology loses one of its most imposing and interesting figures. mass eg ah _ Mme. Curie was elected a free associate member of the French Academy on Tuesday—an event which marks a red-letter day in the history of feminism, and _ is a richly merited recognition of the memorable _ achievements of a woman who, although not French _ by birth, has conferred imperishable lustre on French science. So signal a distinction—unique in the his- tory of that particular section of the Academy of ; ‘which Mme. Curie becomes a member—is but the just - reward for services rendered, not only to France, but also to the whole world, and brings honour to the illus- trious body that has bestowed it. It was significant of ‘the universal sentiment of approval with which Mme. Curie’s candidature was greeted that her several male competitors should, cre after the other, have waived _ their claims in her favour—a circumstance which adds a measure of grace to her triumph. On behalf of British workers in science—men and women—we beg to tender our warm congratulations to the new _ Academician, and trust she may long enjoy her well- earned fauteuil among the Immortals. _ Tue address of the president of the Paris Academy _ of Sciences, M. Georges Lemoine, published in est Comptes rendus of December 12 last, refers to oe NO, 2728, VOL. 109] Current Topics and Events. matters which must be kept in mind in England also. After pointing out the growing necessity for costly apparatus and laboratories in the progress of physical and natural science, M. Lemoine deplored the fact that the most important factor of all, namely, the man of science himself, is being more and more tempted to forsake the domain of science and to devote himself to industrial pursuits. Although the general ‘rise of prices may partly account for this fact, it does not justify it. The supply of research workers from the universities and colleges is insuffi- cient for national needs. It is absolutely necessary for the production of good work that the material conditions of existence should be assured for a much larger number of young men of science, at all events for a period of a few years. But there must also be an adequate number of posts, teaching and otherwise, free from anxiety as to the supply of daily needs and affording time for individual work, to which the young investigator can look fo.ward as a future career. The address closes with an eloquent appeal to young people not to place too high a value on material wealth, but to remember the incomparable satisfaction which awaits the discoverer of new know- ledge. 184 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 Tue recent offer of a prize of 22,0001. by Lord Atholstan to the discoverer of a medicinal cure for cancer has been followed by one of 10,0001. by Sir William Veno for the same purpose. These offers have naturally created a good deal of interest, not only among the general public, but also among those engaged in the organisation and prosecution of cancer research. If successful treatment of this disease is going to be secured, it is certain that more financial support must be given to investigators than has been’ provided in the past. The present difficulties of this provision are so acute that Lord Athlone, the chair- man of the Board of the Middlesex Hospital, has directed the attention of these intending benefactors to the urgent need of supporting existing researches. We are glad that this suggestion has been acted upon, for it is now announced that Lord Atholstan has given an additional 22,o00l., to be used for re- search work in cancer, and Sir William Veno has agreed that his gift should be used for research. It is pos- sible that some further financial help may come for cancer investigation in this country as well as in others. Should this eventuate, it might well be the opportunity for some concerted action among the dif- ferent cancer research centres. At present investigations upon causation or cure are unco-ordinated, and some- thing might be gained by intensive work along avenues which a collective opinion would indicate. An earthquake of great interest, though by no means of the first order of magnitude, occurred on January 31 at th. 17m. 30s. p.m. (Greenwich mean time). In the United States the oscillations were so large that seismographs at Washington and Harvard ‘University were temporarily put out of action. The origin was about 600 miles from San Francisco, :2420 from Ottawa, and 5140 from Oxford. In a letter ‘to the Times of February 3 Prof. H. H. Turner ‘locates it im lat. 42° N., long. 125° W., or about -sixty miles from the coast where Oregon joins Cali- ‘fornia. The shock is said to have been felt at. many places along the Pacific coast as far as the Canadian “border, and this seems to point to an elongated focus ‘parallel, or nearly parallel, to the coast-line. It is ‘interesting to notice that the epicentre lies along, or «close to, the continuation, some two or three hundred “miles to the north, of the San Andreas fault. Except “for three .short interruptions by the sea, this great ‘fracture has been traced from Cape Mendocino on ‘the north to the Colorado Desert on the south, a dis- ‘tance of more than 600 miles, and it was along its ‘northern thalf, from ‘Cape Mendocino to San Juan «(about :290 miles), that the remarkable displacement ~accurred which gave :rise to the San Francisco earth- «quake of 1906. ‘SoME ‘disappointment has been expressed in Glas- ‘gow regarding the refusal of the managers of the !Royal Infirmary to undertake the permanent retention .on its present site of the old ward which was for- ‘merly occupied ‘by Lord Lister, and in which his first -successful experiments in antiseptic surgery were ‘carried out. The infirmary has been largely rebuilt, -and the old ward is said to obstruct the lighting and NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | - ventilation of the newer structure. The Lister Memorial Committee proposed to preserve the ward in per- petuity and fit it up as a museum of relics, portraits, — etc. decided to devote its funds to the erection of a statue of Lister, near that of Lord Kelvin in the Kelvingrove Park, on the slope adjoining the Uni- versity, in which they were colleagues as professors. The Lister relics collected by the committee will be displayed in the hall of the Pathological Institute at the Royal Infirmary. Meanwhile, no immediate steps are likely to be taken for the demolition of the old ward. At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday, February 6, the presideni announced that . this year’s Mount Everest Expedition is already in movement. The definite sanction of the Tibetan Government has just been received, and Gen. Bruce has left England for India to make all the initial preparations, especially the organisation of a corps of Himalayan porters at Darjeeling. Lord Rawlinson has particularly attached himself to the expedition, and through his interest it has been possible to secure the services of Capt. Geoffrey Bruce, of the 6th Gurkhas, to help his cousin in the very important work of training, equipping, clothing, and feeding these porters. A second Gurkha officer has also been asked for. Besides these there will be six climbers, Lt.-Col. E. L. Strutt, Mr. Mallory (from last year’s expedition), Mr. George Finch, Mr. Somervell, Dr. Wakefield, and Major Norton—all in the ‘first rank of mountaineers. The veteran Himalayan climber, Dr. T. G. Longstaff, will accompany the expedition as physicist and naturalist, and Major J. B. Noel will act as photographer. Before the end of March these will all have arrived in Darjeeling, and a start will be made in time to reach the base camp near Mount Everest early in May. Tue National Institute of Industrial Psychology was founded in 1919 by the co-operation of Dr. C. S. Myers and other psychologists, with representatives of several well-known industrial firms, and it was finally incorporated in February, 1921. We now welcome the appearance of the first issue of the Journal of the institute, which is to appear quarterly. ‘This journal aims at describing in non-technical language the methods and results of applying scientific knowledge to the human aspects of industry. It will publish accounts of research and propaganda work carried out, not only by the institute, but also by other similar bodies and by individual investigators, and will contain abstracts and reviews of books, reports, and periodicals. Amongst other contributions the present issue contains accounts of investigations on tin-box manufacture and on chocolate packing, in which it has been possible by the introduction of simple im- provements in the methods of work to improve output by 30 to.40 per cent., and at the same time to diminish the ° fatigue of the workers. The assistant director of the institute, Dr. G. H. Miles, discusses vocational guid- ance, and Mr. Eric Farmer describes the reduction of Failing in this purpose, the committee has now — ; FEBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 185 ¢ through the adoption of rhythmical methods rls in various industries. . UGGESTION has reached us from Mr. F. Jf. W. ve, St. Peter’s House, Chichester, that fine con- might be used for making mirrors of large size accurate surface such as are employed in large ng telescopes for astronomical work. Dr. J. W. of the firm of Messrs. Barr and Stroud, to we submitted the communication, is of the 1 that such a surface would not be satisfactory. yering shows up minute defects very plainly; in ’ » tustless steel is the only material other than which gives reasonably good results, and to a plaster surface with the necessary accuracy be almost impossible on account of the way ich*all plasters absorb water. The greatest ity to be met, however, is the distortion which when plaster sets. Both at the time of setting afterwards there are rapid crystalline changes may continue for at least one year. Any x containing unslaked lime will undergo dis- changes which would make the production of d optical image impossible. This defect might nedied by using a blend of cements, but, un- ately, they are not of a kind that could be to give a good continuous surface. report to the Mercantile Marine Department Board of Trade on the proposed standard of tion of seamen for colour-blindness, Dr. Edridge- areen States that 5 per cent. of men have diminished jour perception. As there is a gradual change from to absolute colour-blindness, it is difficult to point at which it shall be considered that colour- ’ss incapacitates a man from work as a sea- The Nautical Advisers of the Board of Trade that a man who can distinguish between red, en, and white lights a mile distant shall be con- ered competent. Dr. Edridge-Green finds that the who fail under this test can see only three or distinct colours in the spectrum, while those pass the test see four or more. He therefore es the line of demarcation between those who can ‘inguish red, yellow, green, and violet and those » see only red, green, and violet in the spectrum. ¢ a very encouraging Second Report (1920-21). : ing the year the headquarters at Cambridge were completed and came into use, the official Seed Testing _ Station being transferred thereto in September last. Within a month a private visit was paid by their Majesties the King and Queen and Princess Mary, > expressed their appreciation of the importance of work carried on. In order to bring the institute © closer touch with the agricultural community a lowship is being established (annual subscription / guinea), in which Mr. Lloyd George has asked > be enrolled as one of the first life fellows. For ne welfare and progress of the work it is essential it a considerable income be raised by annual dona- ons and subscriptions, and it is hoped that very many agriculturists will avail themselves of the oppor- tunity of assisting in this by becoming fellows. In NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | the crop improvement. branch, field-trialg of cereals have been established, ‘preliminary trials” being made to provide seeds for ‘‘full trials’? which will last for two years. A collection is also being made of stocks of varieties of cereals, especially of historical varieties of wheat, some of which are rapidly dis- appearing. An interesting feature of the current year’s work will be an exhibition of yield trials of growing cereals and potatoes on the Royal Agricultural Show ground in Cambridge. At Ormskirk the immunity and maturity trials of potatoes have been continued; they indicate that the system of experiment used promises to lead to satisfactory results when modified and extended over a longer period of time. The official Seed Testing Station reports a considerable increase in the year’s work, in spite of the dis- organisation due to the transfer from London. It is proposed to hold a summer course for the training of seed analysts, and a handbook of seed-testing methods is in preparation. An International Con- ference. on Seed Testing at Copenhagen was attended by representatives of the institute, and it is hoped that the next conference in 1924 will be held partly at Cambridge. In the French newspaper Savoir for December 24 last Prof. Capitan discusses Mr. Reid Moir’s dis- coveries of worked flints at the base of the Crag near Ipswich and in the Forest Bed near Cromer. He concludes that the simple chipping round the edges of these flints is undoubtedly the work of man or one of his precursors. He therefore agrees that Mr. Reid Moir has found definite evidence of Pliocene man in Britain. Sir Ontver J. Lopce will deliver the fifth Silvanus Thompson memorial lecture at a special meeting of the R6ntgen Society to be held on Tuesday, March 21, at the Institution of Electrical Engineers. On Thursday next, February 16, Prof. Arthur Perkin will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on “Dyeing: Ancient and Modern ’’; and on Saturday, February 18, Prof. Ernest Gardner will deliver the first of two lectures on ‘‘ Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture.’’ The Friday evening discourse on February 17 will be delivered by Prof. D. S. M. Watson on “The History of the Mammalian Ear.” THE annual general meeting of the Institute of Metals on March 8-9 will be held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. On the opening day of the meeting the new president, Mr. L. Sumner, will deliver his inaugural address, and in the evening the annual dinner of the institute will be held at the Trocadero Restaurant, Piccadilly Circus, W.1. Papers on the constitution and properties of copper and aluminium and their alloys will occupy the scientific sessions of the meeting. In the annual report of the Physical Society to be presented at the annual meeting to-morrow, | February 10, it is stated that Prof. A. Fowler has prepared for the society a report on “Series in Line Spectra,’’ which will shortly be issued. A second 186 NATURE [FEBRUARY 9, 1922: report on ‘‘Atomic Structure,’ by Prof. Bohr, is in preparation. An appeal for funds for a Duddell memorial medal resulted in a sum of about 6so0l. being raised. The committee dealing with the memorial has asked Mrs. Mary G. Gillick to undertake the preparation of the medal, which it is hoped will be ready during the early part of 1922. Tue following lecture arrangements have been made by the Royal College of Physicians of London :—The Milroy lectures on ‘‘ The Influence of Industrial: Em- ployment on General Health,” by Dr. Major Green- wood, on March 9g, 14, and 16; the Goulstonian lec- tures on “ The Interpretation of Symptoms in Disease of the Central Nervous System,’ by Dr. A. Feiling, on March 21, 23, and 28; the Lumleian lectures on “Diseases of the Thyroid Gland,’? by Dr. H. Mac- kenzie, on March 30 and April 4 and 6. The lecture- hour in each case will be 5 o’clock. IN a paragraph in Nature of February 2, p. 151, it was suggested that the list of British research chemicals issued by the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers should be revised and issued as soon” as possible. Mr. W. J. U. Woolcock, general manager of the association, informs us that the sug- gestion has been anticipated, and that a_ revised and enlarged edition of this list is at the moment in- the press. Not only will this second edition contain a larger number of organic chemicals, but inorganic chemicals will also be included. Many libraries doubtless contain duplicates of astro- nomical periodicals and books that are needed in other institutions. For the purpose of facilitating their pur- chase, exchange, or gift, the National Research Council contemplates the compilation of a list of all duplicates that can be spared. This list will be mimeographed and widely distributed. Those who have duplicates to dispose of are asked to send a list of them to the National Research Council, Division of Physical Sciences, 1701 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. A copy of the complete Nist will be sent on application. Our Astronomical Column. CONJUNCTION OF Mars witH A Star.—Mr. W. F. Denning writes :—The planet Mars will make a very near approach to the star @ Scorpii (third magnitude) on the night of February 22. Mars will rise at 1.35 a.m. on the morning of February 23, and the planet may be observed if the sky is clear from that time until sunrise, with the star lying slightly to the nerth-west. It will be interesting to watch the gradual approach of the two objects from the present time up to the date of conjunction, and then to follow them as the distance between them becomes greater from night to night. On February 10 Mars will be 7° west of the star, and on March 7 7° east, its motion carrying the planet daily about half a degree eastward. The near approach of the two objects may be followed with the unaided eve, though the view will be much improved by means of a field-glass or telescope. Comet Notes.—H. Mahnkopf gives the following search ephemeris for comet 1916 I (Taylor), due at perihelion about 1922 June 13. It is for Greenwich midnight. Magnitude about 15: R.A. S. Decl. R.A. S. Decl. Pe caer erase ; ‘ h.. m. ‘ Web; 10,1261 421% Heb. 26. 154-5 6 5 Tf 0 BBB 318 N. Decl. i: 2:960.. 244. Mat. 2 > 92° Ya $23 ee 28 6. 2102 255 Log 7, log A, February 2, 0-303, 0-357; February 18, 0-284, 0-368; March 6, 0:264, 0-376. A new very faint comet, 1922a, was discovered by Mr. W. Reid at the Cape on January 20; its place on January 24d. gh. 343m. G.M.T. was R.A. gh. 54m. 30-9s., S.. decl. 33° 46’ 31"; daily motion | minus 56s., south 4, INTERNAL MOTIONS IN THE SPIRAL Neputa M 81.— The Astrophysical Journal for December contains Mr. NO. 2728, VOL. 109] van Maanen’s discussion of the internal motions in this spiral deduced from two photographs taken with the 60-in. reflector at Mount Wilson at an interval of eleven years. The results of an earlier discussion based on a six-year interval are in all cases con- firmed in sign, but the numerical values are consider- ably increased. Taking 0-001” as unit, the mean of 104 points measured gives the rotational component as 38, the radial component outward as 13, the stream. motion (along the whorls of the spiral) as 39, and that transverse to the whorls as 7. The indicated periods of rotation about the centre for four spirals are :— For M tro1, 85,000 years; for M 33, 160,000 years; for M 51 (Canes Venatici), 45,000 years; and for M 81 (Ursa Major), 58,000 years. These figures are all much smaller than any possible period of rotation. of the Galaxy, and seem to indicate an entirely dif- ferent character for these objects. The only possible way of avoiding this issue would seem to be the adoption of Dr. Jeans’s suggestion that the Galaxy was originally much more compressed than it is now, so that its period of rotation would have been shorter. ’ It is, however, emphasised, that the motion is -not pure rotation, but outward along the spiral arms. The figures given have been corrected for foreshortening, the plane of the nebula being inclined 49° to the celestial sphere. The proper motion of the nebula referred to fourteen faint comparison stars is +0-014” per annum in R.A. (great circle) and —o-005” in dec. Sixty-three stars in this region, of about the ninth magnitude, have a mean motion of —o-0014” in R.A. and —o-0047” in dec. (Greenwich Astrog. Cat., vol. 4). It is therefore probable that the greater part of the motion of the nebula in R.A. belongs to it, and not to the stars. rr The author considers that the character of internal motion established in several spiral nebule supports Dr. Jeans’s theory that the spiral form is due to tidal. action arising from the approach of two nebulous masses. pes FEBRUARY 9, 1922| NATURE 187 CuLtuRE oF ANcIENT Peru.—One difficulty in _ sequence-dating of the textiles of ancient ‘tu, which, with the pottery, are the best evi- ice of the pre-Spanish culture, is that Peruvian $ are very scarce in museums, and, when found, usually incomplete, and almost invariably undat- even in accordance with the sequence-dating at taccepted. In Man for December last, Mr. T. A. reports that a vase presented to the British m in 1913 by Sir Herbert Gibson shows a de- and indisputable correlation between a certain of loom and a certain type of pottery. This which definitely belongs to the Proto-Chimu that is to say, the earliest period of any sort loped culture on the northern Peruvian coast, ents a scene showing the weaving of tapestry on m without a treadle, and associated with pottery » belonging to the same early period. It does not ve, but it suggests, that the principle of the treadle unknown to the Proto-Chimu weaver; if so, the treadle belongs to a comparatively late period South American culture. Much further inquiry is d before the significance of this discovery can sed as a proof of sequence-dating. ‘ARASITIC WoRMS FROM ANIMALS.—Dr. G. A. eCallum gives (Zoopathologica, vol. 1, No. 6, 1, published by the New York Zoological iety) an account of parasitic worms from animals _ the New York Zoological Park and Aquarium, ith a figure and brief description of each species; me of the descriptions, however, are too brief and not ether serviceable. A new species of Heronimus is viviparous—the uterus contains miracidia. The hor, who is pathologist to the New York Zc 0 ogical Society, deserves commendation for his al in searching for and recording the parasites of e animals which pass through his hands. InpIAN Marine Potycu@ta.—A further instal- t of the reports on the fauna of the Chilka Lake has been published in vol. 5, No. 8, of he Memoirs of the Indian Museum. This part _ contains a systematic account of the Polycheta by Mr. R. Southern, who -also reports on collections om the Gangetic delta and from the Cochin back- ater. The majority of the species live either in brackish water of low salinity or are euryhaline, i.e. can live in water the salinity of which varies between wide limits. Euryhaline forms appear to be relatively more numerous in India than in Europe, and Mr. Southern suggests this adaptation may be correlated with the sharp division of the climate into wet and _ dry seasons, one result of which is that the littoral ' region, especially in bays and estuaries, is periodically coded with water of low salinity. Mr. Southern 0ints out that there are so few records of Indian ttoral marine Polychzta that there is no basis for nstituting a comparison between the Polychzta of the ake and those of the seashore. Of the twenty species from the lake, eighteen are described as new. The collection has a typically marine facies, and probably represents an impoverished remnant of the Polychzta which inhabited the open bav before the present lake vas almost completelv cut off from the Bay of Bengal v the spit of sand which forms its eastern boundary. _SeLection Experiments with Crapocera.—Dr. A.M. Banta has published (Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 305) the results of NO. 2728, VOL. 109] rie ae Research Items. extensive selection experiments with Cladocera. He chose responsiveness to light, as measured by reaction-time, and selected simultaneously in different strains for increase and decrease of this physiological character. Pure lines of Simocephalus and Daphnia have been bred parthenogenetically for more than eight years. In such parthenogenetic eggs there is only one maturation division, and in the absence of a reduction division there is apparently no oppor- tunity for segregation or recombination of genetic materials. In the course of the experiments a great deal has been learned about the biology of the organisms, and their reactions to varying environ- ments. Selection experiments produced a significant difference between plus and minus strains in only one of fifteen distinct lines studied, although there were indications of an effect in several others. The nature of this effect of selection is discussed at length. The change appears to have been a gradual one, which can scarcely be accounted for by the occurrence of a few marked mutations. The two strains ob- tained differed only in reactiveness to light, and this difference was maintained for at least 112 generations after selection ceased. These results would appear to limit the universal application of Johannsen’s law that selection within the pure line is of no avail in modifying its genetic properties. GROWTH AND MULTIPLICATION.— FACTORS OF» Two recent papers (Biochemical Journal, vol. 15, pp. 595-612) by Prof. Brailsford Robertson contain some important observations on the mutual influence of individual organisms in promoting growth and multiplication. Working with the ciliated protozoon Enchelys, he shows that it feeds mainly upon bacteria, and that its rate of growth is much influenced by some soluble thermostable ~substance which arises from them. During the early stages of development of a culture the multiplication rate increases progres- sively with each division, and partakes of the auto- catalytic character which has been previously described in various animals and plants from man downwards. This has nothing immediately to do with its food, but depends on the contiguity of the infusoria, and in a special series of experiments Prof. Robertson shows that a culture started with two individuals will pro- duce, not twice, but about five times as many descendants in twenty-four hours as a culture started with a single Enchelys. Conjugation was never seen under the conditions of the experiments, and the effect appears to be due to some accelerator substance produced by the protozoa in the presence of the accelerator arising from the bacteria. It would be of much interest to determine whether the same pheno- mena accompany the growth of an organism feeding only on soluble substances such as the bacteria-free race of the ciliate Colpidium described by Dr. Peters (Journal of Physiology, vol. 55, p. 1), where the condi- tions are much simpler than those examined by Prof. Robertson. Mrixep Propucts or Granitic InTRUSION.—Mr. Charles H. Clapp, in his study of ‘‘The Geology of the Igneous Rocks of Essex County, Massa- chusetts’? (U.S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 704, 1921) makes a noteworthy claim for regarding several un- usual types of rock as products of the intermingling of an invading granite with material derived from the cover into which it penetrates. He recognises a gravi- 188 NATURE | FEBRUARY 9, 1922 tational differentiation during crystallisation as accounting for the production of an _ underlying gabbro-diorite and an overlying granodiorite from an original basaltic magma; but granite afterwards in- truded into the more basic of these masses, and has produced a number of ‘hybrid’? rocks. The gabbro- diorite was cold at the time of this intrusion, and thus lent itself to extensive shattering, and the de- tached blocks have been melted up on an extensive scale. From analogy with undoubted composite pro- ducts, the author considers that the well-known ““essexite”? of Salem Neck, consisting of the minerals of gabbro side by side with species more. rich in sodium, has arisen from similar intermingling and recrystallisation. : PETROLEUM REsOURCES OF CALIFORNIA.—The geo- logy ‘and petroleum resources of North-Western Kern County, California, have been dealt with in a bulletin of the United States Geological Survey (No. 721) recently to hand. New information concerning this interesting region is always welcome, and the oil prospects of this part of the San Joaquin Valley, with its bordering hilly country, would seem to be decidedly favourable. The area described em- braces the already developed fields of Belridge and Lost Hills, which produce oil from Miocene beds, the structures being essentially anticlinal; prospective areas are suggested in the Temblor Valley (hill region) and in the San Joaquin Valley itself, though in the latter instance ‘ wild-cat ’’ drilling will probably have to be resorted to on account of the thick covering of alluvium masking the solid geology. The detailed work of the California State Mining Bureau on the study of underground structural conditions as affecting development and production of existing fields is now in progress, and as results accrue some further valu- able information should eventuate which may have a far-reaching influence on the progress of development of the untested areas here described. Day and Nicut DistripuTion oF RainraLt.—The differences between’ summer daytime and night-time precipitation in the United States are the subject of a communication by Mr. W. J.. Humphreys in the Monthly Weather Review for June last. A chart based on about 175 Weather Bureau stations is given showing the percentage of average precipitation that occurs at night, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., for the season April to September over the United States. The various percentages of the twenty-four hours’ rainfall that occur at night in different portions of the United States during the summer are shown by curves for each 5 per cent. from 25 to 65. between the day and night distribution of summer rainfall, and accepting this as due to the distribution of thunderstorms, it is stated to be consequently in substantially the same proportion as is the strong vertical convection of tolerably humid air. The map shows very markedly that in the south-east ‘portion of the United States the summer rains are most fre- quent during the day, and the author states that most of these rains are due to heat thunderstorms | resulting from convection induced by strong surface heating. The excess of rains in the daytime in some other parts of the United States is similarly ex- | plained. Consideration is also given to the regions in which the summer rain is most abundant by night, | and various causes are put forward. The movement of cool anticyclones is asserted as exercising consider- | able influence in the main by ‘breaking ’’ the “hot waves ’’ of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio valleys, — thunderstorms being developed. NO, 2728, VOL. 109] In parts the cooler Referring to the inequalities — air is said to overflow the warmer, and thereby estab- lishes that convectional instability essential to the genesis of the thunderstorms. In this way the author is of opinion that in parts at least -the thunderstorm a is more frequent and the summer precipitation more | abundant during the night than during the daytime. __ Gravity OxsERvatTions.—The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey has issued as a Publication (No. 69) a report by Mr. Clarence H. . Swick on ‘‘Modern Methods for Measuring the Intensity of Gravity.’’ The instruments and methods, which are dealt with in usefully great. et Survey for — The determinations are detail, are those employed by the their gravity expeditions. made with half-second (quarter-metre) pendulums, which in 1890 replaced the metre pendulums former] used. This step marked an epoch in the gravity wor of the Survey; the change not only greatly reduced the cost of transport and of preparing the stations, ; but also increased the accuracy so much as to render the observations prior to 1890 obsolete as material for investigations into the theories of gravity and isostasy. The observations made are relative, the time of oscil- lation of the pendulums measured at each station being compared with the corresponding times at the pendulum-room of the Survey in Washington, where the absolute value of gravity has been carefully deter- mined. The pendulums are swung at low pressure in an airtight case, and corrections are applied for tem- perature, pressure, arc, flexure, etc. An interfero- meter is used to determine the flexure of the support. Up to 1920 the number of gravity stations “occupied ’’ with the modern instruments was 276, of which 230 were established since 1909. In 1920 a further important instrumental improvement was introduced by the construction of pendulums with invar ‘instead of bronze; the reduction of the temperature- coefficient to one-fifteenth its former value greatly simplifies the observing conditions. Another advance is the use of wireless signals for determining the chronometer rates. The report closes with an interest- ing appendix instructing the observer in the art of justifying his work to the lay citizen of the United States, by explaining briefly the purpose and value of gravity observations. } by Mr. W. W. Hackett read before the rasdgeen of Automobile Engineers gives an account of a large number of alternating stress experiments on Tests oF Wetpitess STEEL TusBinc.—A pa weldless steel tubing such as is used in motor- cycles and on components, e.g. motor-cycle forks, These experiments enable the author to make several suggestions for improvements in constructional details. He also makes out a case for the use of tubes made from steel containing a higher percentage of carbon than has formerly been accepted. From experiments carried out during the war period on aeroplane tubin it was found that excellent results could be obtain by using 0-5 per cent. carbon steel tubing, giving in the bright or blued state a yield of 40 to 45 tons per sq. in. and an ultimate stress of 45 to 50 tons per sq. in.; when annealed, the steel should give 23 tons per sq. in. yield and 35 tons per sq. in. ultimate. The author has found that in the motor trade there was no inclination to use these high-carbon steel tubes, for it was feared that they would be brittle. The author’s tests were carried out on joints brazed in | his shops in a commercial. manner, and show con-, sistently that the o-5 per cent. carbon steel has always © been superior to 0-3 per cent. steel, and that the latter has always been better than o15 per cent. steel. | FEsRuary 9, 1922] NATURG 189 (a) The Oldest Land Flora. E Edinburgh meeting will be long remem- among botanists as that at which a ation of the oldest land flora, namely, that of ynie Chert beds, took a prominent place. This bulked largely in the president’s address; it med the basis of a series of papers presented to a int meeting of the Sections of Botany and Geology, | it was fully illustrated by a marvellous series of be preparations demonstrated’ by Dr. Lang ‘Kidston in the laboratory of the Royal 8) Rhynie Chert beds of Devonian age contain ble remains of alge, fungi, and bacteria, but interest attaches to the forms which, though little more differentiation than a seaweed, deed, show many resemblances to some of the seaweeds of the present day. They are leafless otless forms bearing sporangia scarcely differen- from the vegetative portion of the axis. Never- , they are undoubted land plants, as shown by le presence of water-conducting tissue and stomata y manifestly air-borne spores.” The function fs was apparently performed either by root- or by special branches of the rhizome. The Were usually borne on terminal sporangia were evidently fertile branch endings. sang described the plant remains found in these , and more particularly those of the vascular forms ituting the family of the Rhyniacez, viz. a fila- s alga probably allied to the modern blue- ; another form which appears to be connected the Characez; and a fragment of the supposed eed Hematophyton, showing for the first its external characteristics, together with al members of the fungi. The Rhyniacez include nia major and R. Gwynne Vaughanii, Hornea evi, and Asteromyelon Mackei, the latter with its investing leaves being the most complex. The vascular tissue is of a very simple order, the water- conducting elements being spirally thickened and the elements large and thin-walled with oblique The latter tissue is continuous with a central heads, recalling the 4 = 1O0eT -ayiaag i. on in the sporangial lumella of the mosses. The vertical distribution of the various forms in the aty beds of the chert indicates that petrifaction ed in the lower parts of the bed while plants re still growing on the higher parts. Probably the ating action of vapours from a volcanic fumarole on bourhood caused the necroses and swell- observed on the plants. r. Horne stated that recent work pointed to the vontinental origin of the deposit and indicated that the Rhynie plants actually grew where they were pre- _ Dr. Kidston concluded that if Asteroxylon were fi ed out and preserved as an impression it would nble very closely the middle Devonian species led Thyrsophyton Milleri, and he believed that the act afforded some indication of the Middle Old Red ndstone age of the Rhynie bed. everal of the later speakers directed their remarks re to the theoretical importance of these dis- fies and their relation to modern theories of tion. This had been dwelt upon at some length Dr. Scott, who emphasised the present-day lack unanimity with regard to the nature and extent variation as the material upon which evolution NO. 2728, VOL. 109] d as vascular cryptogams, present in many,. Botany at the British Association. works. Dr. Lotsy pointed out the dilemma summed up in the phrases “‘like breeds like’ and “like may breed unlike.”” He thought that the great phyla were widely separated, and had possibly separate origins, and while for classes of plants, as generally con- sidered by the palzobotanist, the first phrase em- phasised the truth, when the smaller units or species were considered it was clear that frequently “like breeds unlike.” (b) Forestry and its Problems. A whole day was devoted to forestry, the Botany and Zoology Sections holding joint session during the part of the programme concerned with insect problems. Mr. J. Sutherland, Assistant Com- missioner for Forestry in Scotland, gave a very com- plete account of the past and present position of forestry in Great Britain, and enumerated in an ex- haustive manner the advantages of a consistent State policy of extended afforestation. The new forestry policy now provides that the 3,000,000 acres of 1914 shall be increased during the present century by 1,750,000 ‘acres of coniferous trees, and that two-thirds of the programme shall be completed during the next forty years. This programme cannot, however, be put into actual effect without the co-operation of land- owners and State. A large proportion of money ex- pended in forestry becomes available as wages, and consequently it provides a great stabilising influence in keeping workers in rural areas. He quoted the increase of population from 69,000 to 289,000 which has taken place in the Landes Department of France as a result of afforestation. He further indicated the immense importance of forests in time of war. Prof. Stebbing traced the history of Indian forestry since 1850, when a committee of the British Associa- tion was set up at the instigation of Dr. Cleghorn “‘to consider the probable effects from an economic and physical point of view of the destruction of tropical forests in India.’’? The result of the efficient management of the Indian Forest Department shortly afterwards set up has been a plentiful supply of forest products and a considerable annual revenue. Dr. Borthwick and Prof. Henry both urged the importance of selecting the varieties most suitable to the climatic conditions found in the country, and expressed the opinion that the State might reasonably undertake the protection of forests from devastating fires. (c) Quantitative Analysis of Plant Growth. The discussion on “The Quantitative Analysis of Plant Growth’? was introduced by Dr. Lawrence Balls, who illustrated his points largely by reference to the cotton plant. The problem of plant growth is a physico-chemical one, and therefore must be ex- plored by quantitative methods and checked by statis- tical treatment. Dr. Balls hinted at the possibility of elucidating geometrical constructions in the cell parallel to those established by Dr. Church for ex- ternal form. This would furnish developments akin to those which the study of atomic structure has brought to the physicists. The recent advance in physiological thought as well as in actual technique gives us reason to expect rapid increase of knowledge even in so intricate a problem as that of growth. Contributions to this discussion were made by Messrs. Briggs, Kidd, and West on ‘‘ The Quantita- tive Study of the Growth of Helianthus annuus,” and by Prof. Priestley and Miss Evershed on “‘ A Quantita- tive Study of the Growth of Roots.” Igo NATURE. [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 (d) Some other Papers. The papers delivered before the Section dealt with a diversity of subjects. Mr. Matthews contributed a paper on ‘The Distribution of Certain Elements of the British Flora.’’ These show peculiarities of geo- graphical distribution in Great Britain which, when studied cartographically and compared with their occurrence on the Continent, seem to furnish addi- tional evidence in favour of the views of some of the earlier students of the problems of plant re- population after the Glacial period. The Palzarctic flora of post-Glacial times is now confined to the highest Scotch mountains, and has been replaced else- where in Great Britain by a temperate flora from the Continent. Mr. Hamshaw Thomas gave an account of his in- vestigations into the structure of some angiospermous fruits discovered in the Middle Jurassic rocks of York- shire. Each fruit, which shows traces of what may be a stigma, contains about eight small seeds clothed with a double fibrous integument. While the speci- mens are obviously Angiosperms in that the seeds are developed inside a fruit-wall, the seeds themselves show resemblances to some of the primitive Gymno- sperms or Pteridosperms, and may yet throw light on the origin of the flowering plants, that difficult problem referred to by Charles Darwin as an ‘‘abominable mystery.”’ Prof. McLean Thompson, in his account of the floral development of the cannon-ball tree and its bearing on the floral morphology of the Mvrtales, put forward the view. that the -gigantism of cells and sterility of pollen found associated with the floral lop- sidedness had arisen as a mutation. Dr. Batten gave an account of the organs of attach- ment in Polysiphonia; Miss Saunders put forward a theory of the morphological nature of the Dicotyledon shoot, viz. that each internode consists of an axial core clothed with a skin of the extended bases of the leaves immediately above. Major Hurst’s paper on ‘‘The Origin of the Moss Rose ’’ raised many interesting problems, particularly in view of the recent cytological work on this genus. Tackholm and. Blackburn and Harrison ascribe hybridity as the cause of the irregular distribution of unpaired chromosomes found to be associated with | abortive pollen. Darwin’s view that the moss rose is a bud variation of the familiar cabbage rose (Rosa ng. centifolia) seems to be confirmed. The moss rose would appear to have arisen as a mutation, and to have been in cultivation only since the end of the seven- teenth century, while the cabbage rose has been cul- tivated for more than two thousand years. In con- clusion, Major Hurst expressed his views thus :—‘In terms of the recent development of the chromosome theory of heredity it may be said that the moss muta- tion arose through the presence of an additional factor in a single locus of a single chromosome of a somatic cell.”’ ‘“The Behaviour of the Somatic Nucleus in Develop- ment’? formed the subject of a paper by Prof. McLean, who described briefly the discovery of the binucleate phase, and discussed its significance in relation to senescence, normal histogenesis, and somatic segregation of characters. The eminent Dutch botanist, Dr. J. P. Lotsy, fur- nished a paper on ‘‘ Factors of Evolution.’’ He depre- cated the custom of tracing the course of evolution through the genealogy of species which exist only as a conception. Nature produces individuals, some of which interbreed freely and may be termed “syn- gameons,’’ and these have been mistaken for species. The course of evolution should rather be traced by the genealogy of the gametes, and the ques- tions of fundamental importance are: Can a gamete vary by itself without loss of chromosomes? And are such variants. transmissible? The only trans- missible changes proved to occur are the results of crossing, and they transgress the limits of the Linnean species. Not enough attention has yet been given to the crosses between gametes differing in the number of chromosomes and the consequent irregular distribution which causes changes that may even simulate Mendelian segregation. E. N. M.T. Mont Blanc Meteorological Observations. HE seventh volume of Annales de 1’Observatoire Météorologique Physique et Glaciaire du Mont Blanc (altitude 4350 metres) has now been published, under the direction of M. J. Vallot, founder and director of the observatory, following the sixth volume which was published in 1905 (tome 7, Paris, G. Steinheil, éditeur, 1917). It records the death of Janssen in 1908 and the transformation of the provisional society of his observatory at the summit (4808 metres) into a société définitive which placed that observatory also under the direction of M. Vallot. Both were utilised in 1908, but that on the summit became not merely uninhabitable, but dangerous, and it was there- fore demolished in 1gog. Since that date work has been carried on only at M. Valot’s observatory, which he had placed at the disposal of the society. The volume referred to deals only with the work accom- plished before the union of the observatories. The researches made at the cost of the society have been published en résumé in the Comptes rendus; those which cannot find a place there, as well as reports in extenso, will appear in later volumes of the Annales. The publication of the seventh volume has been delayed by M. Vallot’s ill-health and by the war. It contains two papers by M. Henri Vallot, one on some modern maps of the massif of Mont Blanc, NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | the other on the progress made with the map on the scale of 1: 20,000 by the brothers Vallot; also some ‘‘Notes expérimentales sur le mode d’action des cures d’altitude,”’ by M. G. Kuss, of the Sana- torium d’Angicourt. The greater part of the volume is occupied by an elaborate discussion by M. J. Vallot of the barometric calculation of altitudes, particularly on the correction for the diurnal variation of the temperature of the air, which with the ordinary formula may cause differences of as much as a hundred metres in the estimation of a difference of level of 2800 metres. The discussion leads up to the suggestion for correcting the value of the difference of height obtained by the ‘‘ classical ’’ tables by a cor- rection based on the mean temperature of the day for the base station, on a temperature for the upper station obtained from the base temperature by subtracting one degree for every. 154-5 metres, and on a special correction for diurnal variation of temperature based on a month’s observations in 1887 of Mont Blane with reference to Geneva. Suitable winter values have still be to be ascertained. Examples of the applica- tion of the method are given and a defence of the procedure in view of recent work on the subject, which is of practical importance for meteorological maps as well as for Alpinists. It is, however, full FEBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 191 difficulty in consequence of the changing thermal acter of the air column between stations at different Is. Perhaps the diurnal variation of pressure fi the best line of approach. A proper formula ssularly applied to observations at the top ought © give a diurnal variation of pressure at the base aparable with that obtained from direct observa- at the bottom. What M. Vallot calls the sical’? method would certainly not do so. There interesting paper by Buchan on experiences at evis which bears upon the subject. NapPIER SHAW. Sponge- spicules. OF. DENDY’S memoir (in Acta Zoologica, 1921, PP- 95-152, 50 figures) on the evolution of the onid sponge-spicule will appeal equally to those ted in problems of evolution or in sponge- s from the point of view of form and of their taxonomic value. It is not only possible to e these spicules in an apparently phylogenetic with a degree of completeness which is perhaps in any other group of the animal king- » but the structure of the spicule itself, and the ent forms which it assumes, are relatively so le and definite that the problem of accounting them in terms of physiological or physico-chemical ycesses seems far more capable of solution than lar + cai among the higher animals. Prof. dy escribes the forms of spicules of the primi- lakinidz, showing that they can all be derived rom the tetract, and discusses concisely the evolu- ion of megascleres (tetract, diact, and monact) and microscleres (polyact and diact) and the development of spines leading to the pseudopolyact forms. He also puts forward provisional conclusions as to the development of a spicule. Two kinds of cells—initial Is and silicoblasts—are concerned in spicule forma- ; the former cells secrete the organic material iculin) which forms the axial thread or proto- bd around which the silicoblasts collect and de- it silica. A growing spicule may come to be com- pletely enveloped by a silicoblast, which has accord- ingly been regarded by nearly all observers as the mother-cell in which the spicule originates. In many ‘eases the number of initial cells increases by cell- division as the spicule grows, and the development of spines and other outgrowths on the primary spicule ffected by the establishment of secondary growing s at the places where spiculin is deposited by tial cells. The causes which determine the form of the spicule are briefly considered, and though some of the. characters of spicules are adaptive the vast ajority are non-adaptive; for adaptation in spicule- form, where such exists, no satisfactory explanation seems to be forthcoming. To say that some “instinct ’” directs an amceboid silicobiast containing a spicule towards the gemmule or towards the sur- face of a sponge is, as the author remarks, not an planation. — ___-Iron Production in India. ‘HE Journal of Indian Industries and Labour for November last (vol. 1, part 4) contains, amongst er interesting matter, a summary of the present tion of iron production in India which deserves the ous attention of all engaged in iron and steel in- tries. The large and rapidly developing coalfields, enormous deposits of high-grade hematite iron NO. 2728, VOL. 109] ore, ample supplies of limestone and of refractory materials, abundant and low-priced labour, all com- bine to place India in the position of a very serious potential competitor in the world’s markets. Two firms are producing iron to-day—the Bengal Iron Co., with works at Kulti,, on the Barakar River, comprising five blast furnaces, each with an output of 450 tons of pig-iron per twenty-four hours, and the Tata Iron and Steel Works at Jamshedpur, in Singbhum, with three blast furnaces having a capa- city of goo tons of pig-iron per diem; the latter firm also possesses a steel works with seven furnaces capable of producing 17,500 tons of ingots per month, whilst extensions to both the blast-furnace plant and the steel works are in course of erection and a plate- mill has just been completed. A number of new works are being projected; the Indian Iron and Steel Co. is building blast furnaces for an output of 600 tons of pig-iron per diem at Hirapur, the Eastern Iron Co. is building blast furnaces close to the Jharia coalfield, whilst the United Steel Corporation of Asia is to establish works producing both iron and steel at Manoharpur; this last works intends to use coal from the new Karanpura coalfield. The Kirtyanand Iron and Steel Works, near Sitarampur, does not at present propose to make pig-iron, but is confining itself to the production of iron and steel castings. In connection with the Tata works a group of subsidiary concerns have been, and are being, formed at Jam- shedpur to work up the iron and steel produced by these works; they comprise the Calcutta Monifieth Works (for producing machinery for jute manufac- ture), Enamelled Ironware, Ltd., the Tinplate Co. of India (which will supply the Burma Oil Co. and other Indian oil companies), the Agricultural Imple- ments Co., the Indian Steel Wire Products, Ltd., the Enfield Co., and the Hume Pipe and Con- struction Co. University and Educational Intelligence. CaMBRIDGE.—The governing body of Emmanuel College offers to a research student commencing resi- dence at the college in October next a studentship of the annual value of 150l., which shall be tenable for two years and renewable, but only in exceptional circumstances, for a third year. The studentship will be awarded at the beginning of October, and applications should be sent so as to reach the Master of Emmanuel (the Master’s Lodge, Emmanuel Col- lege, Cambridge) not later than September 18. The following grants from the Gordon-Wigan Fund are reported :—For plant-breeding experiments, 5ol. ; for museum cases, 35/.; for apparatus for studying marine organisms, 35!.; for the preparation of rock slices, 20l.; and for the preparation of sections of fossil plants, tol. The annual report of the General Board of Studies for the academic year 1920-21 refers to a distinct relief in the congestion in the scientific departments on account of the completion of new buildings. Fresh accommodation for chemistry and engineering has improved the position of affairs in those departments, and is easing it also in other departments. Several laboratories are faced with serious deficits on the year’s working, and complaints are made of the effect of the 100 per cent. tax charged on certain things only procurable abroad. Valuable loans are announced of sound-ranging apparatus from the War Office and of radium from the Medical Research Council. 192 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 Lonpon.—The three following courses of free public lectures are announced :—'‘‘The Crystallisation of Metals,’’ by Col. N. T. Belaiew, at the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington, S.W.7, on Tuesdays, February 21 and 28 and March 7 and 14, at 5.30; “Some Recent Developments in Pharmacology,’’ by Dr. H. H. Dale, at the London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women, Hunter Street, W.C.1, on Wednesdays, February 22 and March 1, 8,-and 15, at 5; and ‘Certain Aspects of Fresh-water Algal Biology,’’ by Prof. F. E. Fritch, at the East London: College, on Wednesdays, February 15 and «22 and March 1, 8, 15, and 22, at 4. Oxrorp.—An examination for a natural science scholarship at Keble College is to be held on March 14. The annual value is 8o0l., with 2ol. extra for laboratory fees. Applications should be made to Dr. Hatchett. Jackson, Keble College, Oxford. Pror. T. MATHER is retiring from the chair of elec- trical engineering in. the City and Guilds (Engineering) College at the end of the present session after. more than thirty-seven years’ service in the college, first as assistant_to the late Prof. Ayrton and then as his successor. Tue AsSociation of Heads of Departments in Pure and Applied Science in Technical Institutions has forwarded a letter to the London County Council Education Commiftee directing attention to some anomalies arising from the revised scales of salaries following on the Burnham ‘Report. It is pointed out that on the new scales the salaries of am assistant will rise automatically to a maximum which approximates to that of the head of a department, a state of affairs which gives an assistant little incentive to work for higher appointments involving additional responsibili- ties and qualifications. A PAMPHLET entitled, ‘‘The Handicap,’ has been issued by the University of Glasgow as an appeal for support in an attempt to develop what may be termed the social, as opposed to the academic, side of _ uMiversity training in Glasgow. Benefactors in the past have contributed generously for the provision of professorships, scholarships, and laboratories—as much as 180,000l. has been given for such purposes during the past five years—but few have thought of pro- viding for the well-being of the student outside the classroom. A notable exception was Dr. John M‘Intyre, who, in 1889, presented a Students’ Union to the university, but in spite of extensions, this | building cannot accommodate more than soo of the 3300 men students now in Glasgow. Another step towards the provision of a liberal education might be achieved by an extension of the hostel system in the hope of capturing some of the spirit of the older residential universities. At the present time hostel accommodation can.be found for 40 men and 50 women, while 1016 men and 310 women students have to find such lodgings as are available in the city. It is for providing hostels and contributing in other ways to the welfare of the student that the appeal is being launched; grants and. gifts amounting to some 40,0001. have already been pro- mised, but it is considered that 150,000l. is really required. Contributions, which should be forwarded to Dr. A. E: Clapperton, secretary of the University Court. Glasgow, are therefore earnestly solicited. and it is hoped that a generous response will be forth- coming, particularly from the graduates and alumni of the university. NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. “| February 10, 1886. Edward Williams died.—First forge and mill master at the Dowlais Iron Works, South Wales, where under Menelaus he rolled the | first steel rails from an ingot supplied by Bessemer, | Williams was afterwards connected with the Cleye- | land iron trade at Middlesbrough, and for ten years was manager to Bélckow and Vaughan. He assisted in founding the Iron and Steel Institute, and in 1879-81 served as president. ee February 10, 1912. Louis Delaunay Belleville died.— — From the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Navale — Delaunay Belleville in 1867 entered the 2 Engineering Works in Paris, and there brought out ~ his well-known water-tube boiler for steamships. — First fitted in French despatch vessels and cruisers it was afterwards extensively adopted in the French, — Russian, and British Navies, allowing of the use of | very high steam-pressures. Its use in our own Navy led to a vigorous controversy, and the Belleville boiler — has since been superseded by others of simpler con- struction. , 0 ie ae =F February 11, 1907. Léon Serpollet died.—A great French automobilist and a pioneer of the modern steam car, Serpollet brought out an im form of flash boiler which in 1887 he used in a steam- propelled tri-car. Four years later he was the first to obtain authority to run his cars in the streets of Paris. His statue stands in the Rue Brunel. _ February 12, 1874. Sir Francis Pettit Smith died.— The most prominent among the many inventors of screw propellers, Smith began life as a farmer. His patent was taken out in May, 1836, and during the next two years his screw was tried in the Francis Smith and the Archimedes. The success of the latter led Brunel to adopt screw propulsion for his trans- Atlantic liner, the Great Britain, while the Admiralty ordered the building of the H.M.S. Rattler, the first screw-driven man-o’-war. In 1845 the screw was adopted for all war-vessels. Smith remained Adviser to the Admiralty for a few years, and from 1860 until his death was curator of the Patent Office Museum. February 13, 1824. Pierre Louis Guinaud died.—An improver of the manufacture of optical glass, Guinaud | was a Swiss clockmaker. He was the first on the Continent to make flint-glass discs suitable for achromatic telescopes, and his success led to his co- operation for some years with Fraunhofer at Munich. _ Guinaud’s methods were communicated by his son — to Bontemps, who about 1848 was engaged by Chance, _ of Birmingham. SEES February 13, 1913. John Fritz died—One of the great pioneers of the American steel industry, Fritz was born in Pennsylvania in 1822, his father being — a native of Germany. He was intimately connected — with the introduction of the Bessemer process into America, in 1857 erected the first three-high milf ever seen, and three years later became general - superintendent of the Bethlehem Company. The John Fritz medal of the United Engineering Societies was February 14, 1831. Henry Maudslay died.—The founder of the firm of Maudslay, Sons, and Field, — which during last century held a pre-eminent | place among the builders of machinery for steam- ships, Maudslay, after working under Bramah, set — up for himself in London, and in 1810 opened the works at Westminster Bridge Road. He patented a “table engine,’ built some of the earliest marine engines, constructed measuring machines, and im-) proved machine tools. Many -well-known mechanical - engineers were trained in his shops. ae. Top fd CT _ founded in 1902. aa oe el — Ee ere We ee ee ne eee le FEBRUARY 9, 1922] NATURE 195 Societies and Academies. LonDoON. al Society, February 2.—Sir Charles Sherrington, nt, in the chair.—C. Shearer: The oxidation es of the echinoderm egg during fertilisation. Oxygen consumption and the carbon dioxide out- of the eggs of the sea-urchin E. microtubercu- during fertilisation have been measured by means special form of the Barcroft differential mano- An immediate consumption of oxygen and a onding output of carbon dioxide take place on xerm being added to the eggs. At the end of nute this increase is equivalent to a rise in the rate of the egg of more than 8000 per cent. s of fixed material preserved during different als of the process of fertilisation show that this aught about by the contact of the sperm with ial surface of the egg-membrane. The fusion male and female pronuclei in the later phases fertilisation is without any influence on the curve oxygen consumption. The dipeptide glutathione sent in both ripe germ-cells of the sea-urchin miliaris, but one minute after fertilisation it is in much greater quantity in the egg in reduced fm, and evidence shows that it plays a very im- t, if not the chief, part in the oxidation pro- taking place—J. Schmidt: The breeding-places £- 18 e common or fresh-water eel (Anguilla iguilla or A. vulgaris) of Europe has only one breed- ig area, as determined by the distribution of the rv, situated in the western Atlantic, south-east of muda. The larve are pelagic, and are carried to ve east and north-east by the Atlantic current; their rowth and the metamorphosis into the “‘elver,’’ or foung eel, are described; the elvers are three years old. The breeding area of the American eel (A. tysypa) is south-west of that of the European eel, it overlaps it; in the American eel growth of the -is much more rapid than ia the European ot , and the elvers are only one year old. This ‘plains why the European eel is not found in \meri rivers or the American eel in Europe; f larvae of the American eel are carried. eastwards, he metamorphosis takes place in the middle of the tlantic; if larve of the European eel go north or lorth-west, they reach the American coast two years efore the metamorphosis is due.—J. Gray: The nechanism of ciliary movement. Pts. 1 and 2. The ate of beat of the cilia on the gilis of Olytilus edulis tan be controlled by adjusting the hydrogen-ion con- sentration of the cell interior. The amplitude of the eat can be controlled by an alteration in the osmotic wessure of the external medium. The cilium is essen- tially a bundle of elastic fibres the tension of which yaries during the different phases of the beat. The tivity of cilia and muscle-cells depends on similar ‘Onditions and mechanisms. The normal properties f the cell-membrane are maintained only in the wesence of divalent cations. iliated cells are ermeable to monovalent cations, but not to anions. Siliary activity may persist when the normal semi- ermeable properties of the cell-wall have been lestroyed—J. S. Huxley and L. T. Hogben: Experi- nents on amphibian metamorphosis and pigment ponses in relation to internal secretions. Sala- ie : | merical ~ mmersion in a dilute solution cf iodine. f erature at first causes increased growth of the gills. Sexually mature Axolotls can be made to undergo combination, and fresh glandular substance of the prostate and pituitary anterior lobe, are without effect on the metamorphosis of the Axolotl. Pituitary feeding produces a marked temporary dilatation, fol- lowed by excessive contraction of the dermal melano- phores in albino Axolotls. Adrenal medulla extract produces, temporarily, complete contraction of the dermal melanophores in the Axolotl. Pineal adminis- tration rapidly causes a striking transient contraction of the dermal melanophores in frog tadpoles, but has no effect on the melanophores of the Axolotl. Seven months’ thyroid feeding was not accompanied by any noteworthy somatic changes in Necterus. Royal Meteorological Society, January 18.—Mr. R. H. Hooker, president, in the chair.—R. H. Hooker: The weather and the crops in eastern England, 1885-1921. ‘The objects of the inquiry were: (1) To determine by the method of correlation, on the basis of the thirty- five years 1885-1919, which were the critical periods in the growth of farm crops; (2) to ascertain how far each such period was responsible for the actual crops harvested in each year. Wheat is most seriously affected by wet weather at sowing in autumn and winter, while warmth in winter is beneficial. The chief requirement of barley is a cool, dry early summer, whereas for oats the same period should be wet and cool. Turnips need rain about June, but cool weather is even more important; for hay the fundamental necessity is rain in the late spring. A cool summer is more important than rainfall for almost all crops except hay, and even that is the better for cool weather. The requirements of potatoes are practically the opposite of all other crops. For quality of seed, absence of rain, and in some cases warmth, is desirable. One feature strongly emerges, viz. that so far as regards bulk of corn the east of England is too wet (except for oats and beans) and too warm. The worst years, particularly 1893 and i911, were due to hot, dry summers, and the | same feature was the cause of the generally bad crops of 1921, though wheat, which withstands heat and drought well, was a record. As a type of a good all-round year 1902 was selected; it was charac- terised by prolonged cool weather throughout the spring and summer, accompanied by rain until June, and followed by dry weather. In the east of Eng- land 1920 had a cool summer, only partly spoilt by rain in July, and the resultant crops were mostly good. The fifteen years 1895-1910 were mostly a period of good crops, but in the last seven or eight years there have been a succession of very unfavour- able weather conditions, notable chiefly for dry, warm springs. Geological Society, January 18.—Mr. R. D. Oldham, president, in the chair.—A. C, Seward and R. E. Holttum: Jurassic plants from Ceylon. The plant- impressions are from a shale resting upon Archean rocks at Tabbowa, in the North-Western Province of Ceylon. These are the first fossil plants recorded from the island. The plant-bearing beds coincide, both in the composition of the flora and in their relation to the older igneous rocks, with those of Madras.— F. S. Wallis: The Carboniferous Limestone (Avonian) of Broadfield Down (Somerset). Lithologically and palzontologically the area holds an_ intermediate position, and forms a link, between the developments of the Bristol and the Mendip districts. A well- marked faunal assemblage is described from the top of S,. It constitutes a very usefu! field determination of the datum-line between the S; and S, sub-zones. Pustula elegans (M‘Coy) from the S, sub-zone and the sub-zones Z, and D, are recorded for the first time from this area. 194 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 Linnean Society, January 19.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- ward, president, in the chair.—A. B. Rendle: Speci- men of wood of Orites excelsa, R. Br. (family Proteacez), one of the Australian silky oaks. The tree, which is a native of northern New South Wales and Queensland, is of unique interest from the deposits of aluminium succinate which occur in Cavi- ties of the wood. Aluminium is very rarely found in flowering plants, and only in small traces; but Orites excelsa absorbs alumina from the soil in large quanti- ties, as shown by analysis of the ash. Occasionally the amount taken up is excessive, in which case the excess is deposited in cavities as a basic aluminium succinate.—E. Marion Delf and Miss M. M. Michell : Studies in Macrocystis pyrijera. After describing the distribution of the alga, the authors reviewed recent accounts of it. The fertile fronds are completely sub- merged, smooth, dichotomously branched, and usually borne on special shoots. They bear sori on both sides of the frond. Exceptional cases were described of dis- continuous sori occurring in the grooves of fronds — with wrinkled surface and borne on the long swim- ming shoots, and usually without a swim bladder at the base. The zoospores do not appear to have been previously described. Material brought from the shore in the morning and examined in the laboratory in the evening showed swarming zoospores, the next morning swimming actively, and more slowly. The authors consider that the species occurring at the Cape is Macrocystis angustifolia, Bory, from _ its rhizome-like attachments.—J. L. Chaworth Musters : The flora of Jan Mayen Island. The flora of Jan Mayen may be divided into four main groups. The floras of the seashore, of the bird-cliffs, of sheltered places in the ‘‘tundra,’’ and the mountain flora. The most luxuriant flora, which consists of Taraxacum or Oxyria, grows either under the bird-cliffs or in places where tuff has been re-assorted by water. The limit of flowering plants seems to be about 3000 ft. The total phanerogamic vegetation consists of about forty-three species, all of which are common to both Norway and East Greenland. The origin of the flora presents a very complicated problem. Seeds have probably been brought there on the feet of wading birds which migrate to and from their breeding- grounds in East Greenland. It is highly improbable that Jan Mayen has ever been connected with either Iceland or Greenland. Many plants have. probably reached Jan Mayen during very recent years. Paris. Academy of Sciences, January 23.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—The president announced the death of M. Camille Jordan, member of the Academy.—D. Riabouchinski: Some considerations on the form of the solid and the kinetic energy of the fluid which surrounds it.—A. Perot: The variation in the wave- length of the telluric lines. From measurements made in 1914 and in 1920-21 on the atmospheric lines of the B group the wave-length has been found to vary with the height of the sun above the horizon, nearly proportional to the sine of the angle. The hypothesis that the variation of the wave-length as measured was caused by an unsvmmetrical widening of the line has been examined and rejected as in- sufficient to explain the observed facts.—H. Colin and Mile. A. Chaudun ; The law of action of sucrase: the velocity of hydrolysis and the reaction of the medium. It is well known that the activity of the hydrolysing diastases, especially sucrase, depends on the acidity of the medium. Results are given of the velocities of inversion of cane-sugar by sucrase in solutions of varying alkalinity and acidity. The velocity of inversion attains a maximum for.a given NO. 2728, VOL. 109] being further studied.. acidity, and then falls off with further additions of acid. The addition of acid corresponds with a_ diminution of the quantity of the enzyme taking part | in the reaction. ‘The apparent immobilisation of a | part of the diastase is most readily explained by the hypothesis of the formation of a sugar and enzyme complex of a physical nature.—C. F. Muttelet: A | new method for the detection of coco-fat in butter. — The cholesterol and phytosterol are precipitated by digitonin and converted into acetates. The cholesterol acetate melts at 113-6° to 114:2°, the phytosterol ~ acetate at 125°, and mixtures at intermediate tem- © peratures.—P, Lemoine and R. Abrard: The existence ~ of the Upper Cretaceous in the central cavity of the — Channel from the dredgings of the Pourquoi Pas? A — map of the Channel is given showing the points at — which soundings have been taken and distinguishing — between spots where Cretaceous deposits have been ~ obtained and spots where the specimens of rocks do — not belong to that period. The deposits from the — bottom of the central cavity (fosse centrale) clearly — belonged to the Cretaceous period.—L. Dussault; The — geology of the province of Sam Neua (Eastern Haut Laos).—R. Bourret: The massifs of the north-east of Tonkin.—P. Russo: The structure of the Trias of the regions of Meknés, Innaouen (northern Morocco).— — S. Stefanescu: The practical and phylogenetic import- — ance of the T, of the’molars of mastodons and elephants.—A. Allix: Observations on relief sculpture by ice. An account of the direct study of rock erosion — by ice in the large crevasses of Mont Pelvoux. The views of W. D. Johnson and of B. Stracey on rock erosion by ice action are confirmed.—G, Dubois: — Modifications of the seashore at Sangatte resulting — from the storms of December, 1921.—L. Besson and — H. Dutheil: The displacement of rises and falls of — the barometer and the direction of movement of cirrus — clouds.—_R. Combes: The formation of anthocyanic pigments. A criticism of recent communications on this subject by Kurt Noack and St. Jonesco. The colouring matters obtained by these authors are regarded as derived from phlobatannins, and not from y-pyronic pigments: a red coloration with alkalis is | not sufficient proof of the presence of an anthocvanic pigment.—G. Hamel: The algz of Rockall. In June, © 1921, the Island of Rockall, 240 miles north-west of — Ireland, was visited by the Pourquoi Pas?, and M. — Le Conte and three sailors effected a landing and — secured specimens of the alge. The only brown alga was Alaria esculenta: neither Fucus nor Laminaria were noted.—E. Chemin: The parasitism of © Sphacelaria bipinnata.—W. Koskowski: The. action — of histamine on the secretion of the gastric juice in — pigeons. Histamine is not destroyed in the blood, and © is not transformed in the blood into a substance — stimulating the gastric secretion, but it undergoes — this transformation in other tissues, principally in the skin.—C. Levaditi and S. Nicolau: A pure cerebral vaccine: its virulence for man. Vaccine virus, cultivated in the brain of the rabbit for eight months (110 passages), retains its affinity for the human skin. It produces normal vaccination without any complications, and has the advantage over ordinary vaccine of being absolutely pure without the addition of antiseptics.—A. Donatien and R. Bosselut : | Acute contagious encephalitis of the ox. In 1921 a contagious disease caused the death of nine cattle in’ the neighbourhood of Algiers. Some of the symptoms suggested rabies, but this was proved not to be the case. The disease was transmissible to cattle, rabbits, and guinea-pigs, and was proved to be neither rabies nor Aujesky’s disease. It appears to be new, and is: 4 _ Fesrvuary 9, 1922] NATURE; 195 z. Official Publications Received. ica. Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for ended 3lst December, 1920. Pp. 29. (Kingston, Jamaica: ent of Agriculture.) its Settlements. Annual Report on the Raffles Museum and or the Year 1920. By Major J. C. Moulton. Pp. ii+21, Science Congress. Handbook for the Use of Members the Ninth Meeting to be held at Madras from the 30th ry to the 4th of February, 1922. Pp, x+165. (Madras : Newcomb, Chemical Examiner.) paged of Bristol: The Bristol Museum-and Art Gallery. the Museum and Art Gallery Committee for the Year Pp. 20. (Bristol.) Geological Survey. Bulletin Pp. ii+85+12 plates. Memoir : Sedimentation of the Fraser River - iv+46+maps. Geological Survey, Pp. 87+maps. (Ottawa.) y- : Annual Report, 1916, with accom- vili+568+12 plates+maps. (Des Moines.) elo Observatorio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. Anno 38. Pp. xiv+443+ plates. (Rio de Industria e Commercio, 1921.) Surrounding Johannesburg: An (Johannesburg). By Dr. E. T. Mellor. ological Survey.) 5s., including map. on the Crocodile River Iron Deposits. By P. A. Wagner. No. 17.) Pp. 70+1 plate. Pretoria: Geological Survey.) of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Report Conditions and Progress of the Museums for the Year ber 31 By W. H. Fox. Pp 62. (Brooklyn, isonian Institution: United States National Museum. liz: The Distribution of Bird Life in the Urubamba of -Peru. A Report on the Birds Collected by the Yale -Nation aphie Society’s Expeditions. By F. M. m Rp. 138+9 plates. (Washington: Government Printing rnell University: Agricultural Experiment Station. Memoir ‘The Orane-Flies of New York. Part 2: Biology and Phylo-- By C. Ps Alexander. Pp. 691-1133. Memoir 39: The Genetic of Plant Colours in Maize. By R. A. Emerson. Pp. 156 lates. (1 , N.Y.: Cornell University.) 3 ‘s of the Peabody Museum of American Archeology and _Harvard University. Vol. 9: A Maya Grammar. with phy and Appraisement of the Works Noted. By Alfred peta t of 1 (Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum.) the Interior: Bureau of Education. Bulletin, istics of Universities, Colleges, and Professional Prepared by the Statistical Division of the ion under the Supervision of H. Bonner. ington: Government Printing Office.) 20 cents. ent of the Interior: United States Geological Survey. 6: The Iron Ore Resources of Europe. By Max Roesler. plates. Bulletin 714: Mineral Resources of Alaska. of Investigations in 1919. By A. H. Brooks . 24447 plates. Bulletin 725-A: Deposits of ornia, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. By and others. Pp. viiit84+5 plates. Bulletin 725-B: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. By e and J. V.. Lewis. Pp..iv-+85-139+plate 6. Bulletin ‘its of Manganese Ore in Montana, Utah, Oregon, and ‘s . Pp. viii+141-243+4 plates 7-10. Bul- nh. yi: ves. Pp. iv+41-85+plates 6-12. ng Office. United States Geological Survey. : Surface Water Supply of the United- North Atlantic Slope Drainage Basins.- upply Paper 476: Surface Water Supplv Part 6: Missouri River Basin. Pp. 266 -! Paper 490-B: Routes to Desert Watering ces in ave rt Region, California. By D. G. Thomp- Pp. viii+269+13 plates. (Washington: Government Print. rtment of the Interior: United States Geological Survey. al Resources of the United States in 1920. (Preliminary ry.) Introduction by G. F. Loughlin. Pp. 123. (Washing- Government Printing Office.) cords” Indian Museum. Vol. 21: Catalogue of the ‘lanorbide in the Indian Museum (Natural History), Calcutta. y Louis Germain. Part 1. Pp. ii+80. (Calcutta: Zoological vey.) 2 rupees. Diary of Societies. THURSDAY, Frsrvary 9. Institution or Great Britain, at 3.—Sir ‘oughts and Floods (2). IAN Society or Lonnon at 430.—Clinical Napier Shaw: (at St. Mary’s Hospital, Padding- Meeting. TETY, at 4.30.—Sir J Ewing: The Atomic J. W. ee oe F Tocess in Ferromagnetic Induction.—Prof. Problems relating to a Thin Plate Annulus.—Prof. elock: The Effect of Shallow Water on Wave Resistance.— &. H. Fowler and 8. N. H. Lock: The Aerodynamics of a Spin- NO. 2728, VoL. 109] ning Shell. Part II.—F. P. Pidduck: The Kinetic Theory of a Special Type of Rigid Molecule.—J. HK. Jones: The Velocity Dis- tribution Function and the Stresses in a Non-uniform Rarefied Monatomic Gas.—H. Bateman: The Numerical Solution of Linear Integral Equations. Lonpon MarHematica, Society (at Royal Astronomical Society), at 5—H. Hilton: Conics on the Pseudo-sphere.—W. F. D. Mac- Mahon: The Design of Repeating Patterns in Euclidean Space of 3 Dimensions.—G. H. Hardy and J. E. Littlewood: Dirichlet’s Series with a Barrier of Singularities. Institution oF O1vit ENGINerRs (Students’ Meeting), at 6.—E. J, Kingston-MeCloughry: The Design of Modern Water-turbines. OpticaL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30.—Annual General Meeting.—F. W. Preston: The Structure of Abraded Glass Surfaces.—A. J. Dalladay and F. Twyman: The Stress Conditions Surrounding a Diamond Out in Glass.— Lt.-Col. J. W. Gifford: A Supplementary Note on Achromatic One-Radius Doublet Eyepieces.—F. Twyman and A. J. Dalladay : Change in Refractive Index at the Surfaces of Glass Melts. CuemicaL Society (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 8— Sir Ernest Rutherford: Artificial Disintegration of Elements. Institute or Metats (London Section) (at Sir John Cass Technical Institute, Jewry Street, E.C.3), at 8.—R. T. Rolfe: Gun-metal. Society or ANTIQUARIES, at 8.30. Roya Socrety or Mepictne (Neurology Section), at 8.30.—Dr. F. Buzzard: Some Varieties of ‘Traumatic and ‘Toxic Ulnar Neuritis. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 10. Puysicat Socrety or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.—Annual General Meeting.—Dr. E. A. Owen and Bertha Naylor: The Measurement of the Radium Content of Sealed Metal Tubes.—Sir William Bragg: The Crystal Structure of Ice—Dr. K. Grant: A Method of Exciting Vibra- tions in Plates, Membranes, etc., Based on Bernoulli’s Principle. Royat Asrronomica Soctrty, at 5.—Anniversary Meeting. Roya CotrrGe or SuRGEONS oF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. A. ©. Pan- nett: Hydronephrosis (Hunterian Lecture). Krne@’s CorieGk ENGINEERING Socrety (Anniversary Meeting) (at Institution of Civil Engineers), at 5.30.—F. W. Macaulay: Water Engineering. Royat Socirery or Mepicrne (Clinical Section), at 5.30. MaracoLoeican Socrrry (at Linnean Soviety), tS. Jcunton INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Questions and General Discussion. ; Roya Socirry oF Mrpicine (Ophthalmology Section), at 8.30.— Miss I. ©. Mann: The Morphology of Certain Developmental Structures associated with the Upper End of the Choroidal Fissure.—Dr. H. J. May and F. A. Williamson-Noble: Three Cases of Choroidal Sarcoma, with Notes on the Microscopic Appearances. Roya Institution or Great Britatn, at 9.—Prof. W. D. Halli- burton: The Teeth of the Nation. MONDAY, Frarvary 13. Royai GroGRAPHicaL Socrety (at Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore), . at 5.—Lt.-Col. M. N. MacLeod and A. R. Hinks: Stereographic Survey. . RoyaL CoLteGe OF SuRGEONS or ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. V. Z. Cope: The Nerve-supply of the Parietal Peritoneum and the Subperi- toneal Tissues, with Remarks on its Clinical Significance (Arris and Gale Lecture). Royat Socrery or Meptcine (War Section), at 5.30.—Lieut.-Colonel C. R. Sylvester-Bradley: Stature in relation to Phvsical Fitness. Mepicat Socrety or Lonpon (at 11 Chandos Street, W.1), at § 30.— Prof. H. Hartmann: Inflammatory Strictures of the Rectum. TUESDAY, Fersrvary 14. Rorat Instrrurron or Great BRitatn, at 3.—Prof. H. H. Turner: Variable Stars (3); Our Sun. Royat Soctery or Meprctne (Therapeutics and Pharmacology Sec- tion), at 430—Dr. H. H. Dale and Major CG. E. White: An Experimental Method of Determining the Therapeutic Efficiency of ‘‘ 914”’ Preparations.—Dr. R. L. Mackenzie Wallis: Tests for Hepatic Insufficiency after Arseno-benzol Treatment. Roya, PHoTogRarnHic Society oF Great BRITAIN, at 7.—Prof. The Svedberg: (1) The Relation between Sensitiveness and Size of Grain in Photographic Emulsions (Part 2); (2) The Reducibility of the Individual Halide Grains in a Photographic Emulsion.— Dr. 8S. E. Sheppard and A. P. H. Trivelli: Note on Prof. Svedberg’s Method of Grain Analysis of Photographic Emulsions, —K. ©. D. Hickman: An Optical Method of Testing Washing Devices. ; Qvurxett Mrcroscortcan Crvs. at 7.30 (Annual General Meeting).— Dr. A. B. Rendle: Presidential Address. : Royat ANTHROPOLOGICAL INstituTE, at 8.15.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Brain of Rhodesian Man. Rorat Society or Merpicine (Psychiatrv Section), at 8.30.—Dr. Helen Boyle: The Ideal Clinic for the Treatment of Nervous and Borderland Cases. WEDNESDAY, Fesrvary 15. Royat Soctery or Mepictne ‘(History of Medicine Section), at 5.— Dr. ©. Singer: Recently Discovered Inscriptions recording Ancient Cures.—Dr. F. Crookshank: The ‘ Trousse-galland.’’—Dr. H. D. Davis: A Very Early Illustration of a Skin Disease. Roya CoLLRGr oF SurGrons or ENGLAND, at 5.—Dr. F. W. Edridge- oe New Researches in Oolour-vision (Arris and Gale Lec- ture). Rorat Socrgery or Arts, at 8.—Cloudesley Brereton: The Necessity of Speech Training, and the Need of a National Conservatoire. Royat Mrcroscoproat Socrery, at 8.—Prof. B. L. Bhatia: Fresh- water Ciliate Protozoa of India.—A. L. Booth: The Micro- structure of Ooal from an Industrial Standpoint.— Capt. F. Oppenheimer: A Portable Microscope 196 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 9, 1922 THURSDAY, Frsrvary 16. Royat Institution oF GReAT Britarn, at 3.—Prof. A. G. Perkin: Dyeing: Ancient and Modern (1). Royat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—Prof. L. Hill, D. H. Ash, and J. A. Campbell: The Heating and Cooling of the Body by Local Application of Heat and Cold.—Prof. J. B. Cohen, C. H. Browning, R. Gaunt, and R. Gulbransen: Relationships between Antiseptic Action and Chemical Constitution, with Special Reference to Compounds of the Pyridine, Quinoline, cag as and Phenazene Series.—D. T, Harris: Active Hypersemia, B. Sarkar: The Depressor Nerve of the Rabbit.—Prof. A. Lipachite, Dr. B. Ottow, OC. Wagner, and F. Bormann: The Hypertrophy of the Interstitial Cells in the Testicle of the Guinea Pig under Different Experimental Conditions. LINNEAN Soctrety oF Lonpon, at ; Royat Society OF MEDICINE (Dermatology Section), at 5 Roya MerroronioGica, Society, at 5. Roya AERONAUTICAL SOcreTy (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— Sqdr.-Ldr, OC. F. A. Portal: Methods of Instruction in Aeroplane Flyin et ie OF MINING AND METALLURGY (at Geological Society of London), at 5.30.—J. M. Bell: The Occurrence of Silver Ores in South Lorrain, Ontario, Canada. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—F. P. Whitaker: Rotary Converters, with Special Reference to Railway Electri- fication. Cuemicat Socrery, at 8—A. Lapworth: A of the Principle of Induced Alternate Polarities.—W. ermack and R. Robinson: An Explanation of the Property of Induced Polarity of Atoms and an Interpretation of the Theory of Partial Valencies on an Electronic Basis. Socrery ror Consrrvuctive Birth CoNnTROL AND RacIAL PROGRESS Theoretical Derivation (at Essex Hall, Essex Street, W.C.2), at 8.—E. B. Turner: Sex Relationships. FRIDAY, Fesrvary 17. GroLoaicat Socrety oF Lonpon (Annual General ‘Mectingy, at 3.— Presidential Address. Royat Society or Mepictne (Otology Section). at 5. Royat CoLneGe oF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. Swale Vincent: A Critical Examination of Current Views on Internal Secretion (Arris and Gale Lecture). INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Annual General Meeting), at 6—A. T. Wall: Electric Welding applied to Steel Con- struction, with Special Reference to Ships. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS (at Caxton Hall), at 8.—W. J. Leaton: Water Purification for Boiler Feed Purposes. SocikTé -INTERNATIONALE DE PHILOLOGIE, SCIENCES ET oe (Celtic Section) (at 8 Taviton Street, W.C.1), at 8—Dr. W. J. Scott: The Mines of El Dorado: an Historical Account of in Maritime Trade of Spain with Ireland, 2000 to 700 B.c. (2). Royat Society oF MeEpiIcrne (Electro- therapeutics Section), —Dr. G. W. ©. Kaye: Radiology. and Physics (Mackenzie- seria ial son Memorial Lecture). Royat INstrruTion OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Prof. D. 8. M. Wateon: History of the Mammalian Har. SATURDAY, Frrrvary 18. . Roya Institution oF Great Britatn, at 3.—Prof. E. Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture (1). A. Gardner : PUBLIC LECTURES. (4 number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in @ series.) THURSDAY, Frsruary 9. UNIversIty CoLLeGe, at 5.15.—Prof. J. E. G. de Montmorency : Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (1). Kine’s Coniece, at 5,30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (4). —M. Beza: Nereids in Roumanian Folk-lore. Tavistock CLINIC FoR FuNncrionaL Nerve Cases (at the Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (3). Sr. Jonn’s Hospirat ror DISEASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.0.2),. at 6—Dr. W. Griffith: The Skin Eruptions of Syphilis (Chesterfield Lecture). FRIDAY, Fesrvary 10. METEOROLOGICAL Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (4). SATURDAY, Fesrvary 11. Lonpon Day TRAINING CoLtear, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: School Class (4). Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—Miss M. The Domestic Life of the Ancient Egyptians. MONDAY, Fesrvuary 13. UNIVERSITY CoLLeGe, at 5.15.—A. G. R. Foulerton: Administrative Measures for the Improvement of the Public Health. City or Lonpon (Boys’) ScHoorn (Victoria Embankment), st 5.30.— Miss Rosa Bassett: The Dalton Plan of Self-education (2). Kine’s Coiiece, at 5.30.—Dr. J. S. Steppat: Recent Dovelopaieete in German Education and Student Life (4).—Prof. C. L. Fortes- cue: Wireless Transmitting Valves (4). TUESDAY, Frsrvary 14. OF ECONOMICS. AND POLITICAL ScreNcE, at 6.—Sir Stamp: The Administrative Factor in Government (1). WEDNESDAY, Frsrvary 15. East LONDON CorteGe, at 4.—Prof. F. E. Fritch: of Freshwater Algal Biology (1). NO. 2728, VOL. 109 | The A. Murray: Lovpow ScHooL Josiah C. Certain Aspects ae: OF ORIENTAL Srupies, at 5.—Dr. L. D. Barnett: ains 2 Horniman Mvseum (Forest Hill), at 6.—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (4). aN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 8.—The Current Work of the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratories (1).—Prof. Karl Pearson: on the Evolution of Man: From the Knee-joint. THURSDAY, Fesrvary 16. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (2). KinG’s CoLtree, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber : Heinesen Concrete (5).— M. Beza: Nereids in Roumanian Folklore (2) St. JoHn’s Hosprtan ror DISEASES OF THE SKIN. (Leicester Square, W.C.2),. at 6.—Dr.. W. (Chesterfield Lecture). FRIDAY, Fesrvary 17. Metrorotocican Orrice (South Kensington), Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (5). Kine’s Coiiecr, at 5.—Prof. R. Robinson: Orientation and Con- jugation in Organic Chemistry from the Standpoint of the Theories of Partial Walency and of Latent Polarity of Atoms (2). UNIverRSITY Oo.ieGe, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (2). TAVISTOCK CLINIC FoR FuNncTronaL: Nerve Cases (at Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (4). SATURDAY, Fesrvary 18. Royat Socrery or Arts, at 10.30 a.m.—Prof. J. A. Thomson : The Migration of Birds (Lectures for Teachers). - Lonpon Day TRAINING Cortecr, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams : The School Class (5). Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—Dr. E. Marion Delf: A Botanist in South Africa. K. Sibley: Seborrheea and Psoriasis CONTENTS. PAGE British Water Power and its Administration. . . 161 American Organic Chemicals ........+. 162 Elie Metchnikoff . . ok le a he es Electrical Measurements. By EL hs 2 eee The Art of Prehistoric Man. (Ji/ustrated.) By A. S. W. eer ee The Science of Ancient Greece. By F. S. Marvin 169 Jute and Silk in India... 2). a) aes el eae Valency and Atomic Structure . . eae eat O Our Bookshelf NueetreReN ey i, 171 Lettes to the Editor:— The Antitrades, (Wzth Diagram.)—Dr. W. van Bemmelen .. » -¥72 Some Problems in Evolution. —Dr. a T. Cunning- ham; Prof. R. Ruggles Gates; Dr. “i Cc, Harland : 173 The Radiant Spectrum. —Prof, Cc. Vv. Raman . Se SORT ST The Naming of the Minor Planet No, Beals Barnar- diana.—Prof. E. E. Birnard . . . 176 The Resonance Theory of Hearing. 176 - Aurora Borealis of January 30. —Charles S. Leaf . 176 Some Statistics of Evolution and Geographical Distribution in Plants and Animals, and their Significance. (With Diagrams.) By Dr. J. ©. Willis, F.R.S., and G. Udny Yule, C.B.E., F.R.S. SU ar poe ata Lye Some Problems. of Long-distance ” Radio- telegraphy.—II. By Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. 179 A Journal for Physical Measurements and instruments .-.... . he ee eee Obituary :— 5 Sir Henry Jones . Bree Cee hr Prof. V. Giuffrida-Rugegeri. By A. BK. ce ees Current Topics and Events ......-.+.- + 183 Our Astronomica] Column :— Conjunction of Mars witha Star... 2 + ++: > 186 Comet Notes . a ee Internal Motions in the Spiral ‘Nebula M82... + 186 Research Items 187_ Botany at the British Association. By ‘EN. M. 7: 1&9 Mont Blanc Meteorological Obecivatee: By Sir Napier Shaw, F.R.S..0 0 3\0 SP ie a Sponge- -spicules 2 wig hee oe bn ate ae Iron Production in India . 0 1,450 Pulser heal University and Educational ‘Intelligence PP ae any Vn Calendar of Industrial Pioneers ......++-+-+ 192 Societies and Academies . ......+4++4+ + 193. Official Publications Received ........-. + 195 | Diary of Societies oo. 52.05 5 sos eie eee Side-lights | at 5.15.—Prof, J. E. G. de Montmorenay +a at 3.—Sir Napier 3 eat Oe » es ory ve NATURE 197 Editorial and Publishing Offices: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ; BST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. _ Editorial communications to the Editor. _ Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. ch and Education in the Geddes a Report. T HE first and second sections of the interim _ Report of the Committee on National Ex- iture, presided over by Sir Eric Geddes, were I ished on February to (Cmd. 1581, 4s. net; ad: 1582, 35. net), and the particulars of expendi- e and proposed economies in the various supply vices are receiving much public attention. roughout the Report reductions are recommended expenditure on education and research, on the = e1 el principle that the reduced resources of the tion at the present time make all possible econo- es essential. Thus we have such sweeps of the :—Research for Army purposes to be reduced mm 625,000/. to 312,000/.; Naval scientific ser- Benen .cce!- ) to one-half ; aviation research from 560,000/. to 500,0001. The rareibide SE tie Committee towards education d research, which is disclosed in the supercut of ,000,000/. in the Board of Education Vote, is r = ted by the narrow commercial view of s to be delivered for money expended. The emiptible sum doled out to agricultural educa- n and research before the war, when compared 1€ amounts spent in foreign countries—notably United States—was notorious. During the r reconstruction, as we noticed at the time, tt administrative reforms were introduced, mainly to the future recruitment of the cientific talent, which justified the hope that 0. 2729, VOL. 109| this country would regain the pre-eminence in agri- cultural science which it once enjoyea. In England and Wales the cut proposed involves a drop from 365,0001. to 250,000/. ; in Scotland from 112,000/. to 62,c00/. In the former case the provision for research is reduced from 109,000/. to 75,000/., and if carried out literally will involve the dismissal of staff holding pensionable posts, and, possibly, the abandonment of land and_ buildings ‘specially equipped for scientific purposes. In some respects these recommendations are as astonishing as any contained in the report ; for under the provisions of the Corn Production (Repeal) Act of 1921—passed, be it noted, after the economy campaign was begun—a sum of 1,000,o00/. was voted for additional expenditure on agricultural education and research. It would almost seem that the Committee, which professes to exclude this sum from consideration, has deliberately aimed at open- ing an abyss into which this million shall disappear. For it should be noted that, in terms, the cut includes the Development Fund, and as that fund is almost on its last legs (the balance now in hand will little more than suffice for one year’s normal require- ments), the operation suggested is one which, in the vernacular of some members of the Committee, is known as “‘ taking the breeks off a Highland man.”’ Even if the Development Commissioners, in the exercise of the discretion which the Committee leaves them, use the Corn Production Fund to fill the gap created in the old fund, the remedy would be tem- porary only, and, in any event, would create the anomaly of giving preferential treatment to agricul- tural education and research. What does business acumen think of adding a top story to a building and at the same time destroying the ground floor? The activities of the Forestry Commission are threatened with extinction by the Report, which recommends that the scheme of afforestation by the State shall be discontinued, that the vote of 275,000/. for the ensuing financial year shall not be allowed, and that steps should be taken to cancel the remaining 2,822,000/. of the 3,500,000/. author- ised for the decade following 1919, the date of the Forestry Act. In the Report no complaint is made about the work or the administration of the Forestry Commission. It simply says: ‘‘ We recognise the enthusiasm and public spirit of the Commissioners, but in the present state of the country’s finance we cannot recommend that this expenditure—which will _ always show a heavy loss, and which cannot reach full fruition for something like eighty years—should be continued.’’ Foresters believe that afforestation will show a 198 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 profit rather than a loss, but this is not the real issue. The Committee ignores the main argu- ment for afforestation in Great Britain—namely, national security. This country, without an ade- quate supply of timber within its own shores, is exposed to great peril in time of war. During the Great War the expenditure incurred on foreign timber was 200,000,o00/. more than if the prices of 1913. had prevailed, and the enormous cargo space needed for such a bulky import endangered our food supply from overseas, and at’ one time brought us to the brink of starvation. The insur- ance against such a calamity—350,ooo/. annually —is a trifle. No heed is given in the Report to the cheapness of the afforestation, which is carried out in many cases on leased land, no capital ex- penditure for land purchase being required. ‘The Government in November last actually allotted to the Forestry Commission an extra 250,000/. out of the Unemployment Fund, which puts 5000 idle men at work in replanting the woodland areas felled during the war. .The Forestry Commission has acquired large areas of land; it has entered into many leases and contracts; it owns millions of seedling trees ready for transplanting ; it has estab- lished schools for woodmen and instituted research. It is evident that the ‘‘scrapping’’ of such an efficient service would result in an immediate great - loss of money and be a waste rather than an economy. The section of the Report dealing with education is of special interest in so far as it carries to ex- treme limits that separation between the finance of education and education proper which is the char- acteristic tendency of the business man of to-day when he considers such matters. The obvious danger of this tendency is that finance comes to be looked upon as the only thing which matters in education, and this danger is particularly ex- emplified in the Report. It should be clearly understood that the Report is the product of business men accustomed to deal with affairs on a large scale, especially in respect of railways and shipping. They are men who have made their reputation mainly in transport services, but apparently know little or nothing about educa- tion from the inside, and, so far as we are aware, make no claim to any expert or special knowledge of the subject. For example, their recommendation that children should not be taken into State-aided schools until they have reached the age of six is based, as they are careful to. explain, upon the opinion of others. Obviously they do not pretend NO. 2729, VOL. 109] Report deals with finance, and only incidentally or to understand the educational bearing of the ques=| tion, and wisely throw the onus upon others wh om still more wisely, they carefully omit to name. “a All the same, we naturally expect them to show a masterly grasp of finance, and we are not dis appointed. They handle figures running hundreds of millions with an ease and freedom. anc a dexterity which cannot but provoke our deat tion. Occasionally—but only occasionally—the: lose their balance and their business acumen, and in their desire to cut down the Estimates, suggest proposals which would actually increase the public cost of education. A flagrant instance of this is their recommendation to withdraw Parliamentar y grants from a certain type of secondary — school, regardless of the fact that local education authori-— ties have helped to support such schools ‘ because it was cheaper for them to do so Rese to. set up secondary schools of their own.’? Even a com-— mittee of business men can be too solicitous of the. Exchequer ! 4 In the main, then, as regards edueaticl, ‘the by implication with education per se. The task of the Committee is to cut down the Estimates, and the net result of the proposals, if adopted, would be, as we have said, to reduce the education grant by 18,000,000/. This is to be achieved by reducing” the salaries of teachers and making them contribute 5 per cent. of their reduced salaries for superannua- tion purposes; by increasing the number of pupils for each teacher in elementary schools ; by ads the number of those granted free secondary edt tion ; by a reduction in the number of scholarships by discontinuing the State scheme of scholai at the universities ; and by cutting down the annua grant to the universities. In addition, the Com- mittee recommends the abolition of the percentage grant system, which it characterises as a money spending device. ‘‘ The vice of the percentage grant system,’’ so runs the Report, ‘is that‘ t local authority, which alone can really” practise economy in these services, loses much of its incen- tive to reduce expenditure, especially when — ‘the larger properhion is paid by the taxpayer through: the Exchequer.’’ As a substitute, fixed grants or grants based on some definite unit are recommended. In this way the Committee hopes that the loca education authorities will be discouraged from. spending money on education, and is not ashamed to avow this. No charge of wanton waste or of use- less expenditure is laid against local authorities. — The danger of disscciating the finance of educa BRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE at n education is obvious when a Committee e such drastic proposals without giving urance that the recommendations would not ational efficiency. It may be easy to deal itional finance on the shipping and rail- but it is not possible to deal with educa- he same plan. Education means something man business accountancy. It means know- on, a sense of humanity, and some recog- ‘spiritual aspects of civilisation. m considerations such as these, Sir Eric ; and his Committee have made one or two I blunders. Even as business men they have Ives singularly short-sighted. To de- iversities of 300,000/. a year may re- income tax of one-twentieth of a penny for nt, but in the long run the effect will be “This is just the sort of policy which d industry. Similarly, as business men it to know that, in a profession such as 4 a salary limit below which it is impos- ‘recruit the profession with men. During ity years the statistics show a serious e in the number of men teachers. If ee: the Committee are adopted, the 1 be. still, more serious. In another ne possible, at a lower cost to the it has failed to do this. and one might very reasonably begin Zoard of Education itself, which, to a , seems to have escaped the financial the Committee. Nor are we disposed ely, Sere: another and wider tribunal upon the larger questions of policy in- | the Report, and, in the light of know- e recommendations. There is little doubt verdict ; most assuredly these recommenda- tions will not be endorsed in their entirety by Parlia- ment or by the more thoughtful section of the com- munity outside Parliament. National efficiency and progress must be the first consideration, and any action which would lower the standard of either of these may be immediate retrenchment, but would not be economy. The Supply of Gaseous Fuel. Modern Gasworks Practice. By Alwyne Meade. Second edition, entirely rewritten and_ greatly enlarged. Pp. xii+815. (London: Benn Bros., Ltd., “Eg@aee) - 555. Aa the many truths brought home to the country by the two national struggles in which it has recently been engaged, the importance of the coal distillation industry stands out conspicu- ously. The rational treatment of coking coal by such means before its combustion (a process which has been carried out in our chief cities for more than a century) provided during the world war enormous quantities of material for belligerent use. It was no less effective as an instrument of social peace during the coal war, for our town-dwellers of all classes throughout the length and breadth of the land satisfied much of their requirements for the cooking of food, and in most cases for lighting © their homes, by a mixture consisting chiefly of the lightest of the common gases, hydrogen, fortified with carbon in various combinations, produced in the main by the direct or indirect gasification of coal. Its centrally organised provision has now become a necessity of modern life in all our towns and most of our villages, just as are those for the supply of water and electric energy, and for the disposal of sewage. These have been almost wholly developed as engineering problems, though in the three latter cases the mathematician and the chemist, the physicist and the bacteriologist, have from time to time laid down certain principles to be followed. It will not, however, be denied that the finger of science was too often disregarded in working out the processes ancillary to the production of town’s gas, and it is interesting, therefore, to observe that a change of this attitude is indicated in the pages of this latest work upon the subject. In this exhaustive compilation, profusely illus- trated with diagrams and working drawings, the technologist’s debt to science, whether in the com- pounding of refractories or their usage, the com- position of the coal or of its treatment in the cold 200 ‘NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 or by heat with the view of obtaining the highest yields in products, is fittingly acknowledged. The general public is becoming aware that there is in progress a complete revolution in the computation of gas charges, arising out of Sir George Beilby’s suggestion that thermal value be substituted for mere volume as their basis (a therm of 100,000 B.Th.U. constituting the standard). A curious commentary upon these proposals is that they were carried only in the face of considerable opposition on the part of the administrators of gas undertakings. In Mr. Meade, however, they find a doughty champion whose support for them in the volume under review proclaims a teaching as sound as his practice is progressive. It is, however, un- likely that his doubt as to the intention of the gas referees substantially to prescribe the installa- tion of continuously recording calorimeters is well founded. « This body of men of science (among whom is Prof. C. V. Boys), now entrusted with the regulation of gas supplies; would probably be the last to admit that the design of such instru- ments offers insuperable obstacles, or that their use is not at least as necessary as the recording volt- meters of the suppliers of electric energy. The nickel process for the purification of the finished gas from carbon disulphide by its conver- sion to hydrogen sulphide with subsequent removal by iron oxide is discussed in conjunction with other proposals for effecting this widely sought object. The nickel process, which it has taken something like ten years to bring to its present condition, has now become almost a complete replica of the experi- mental laboratory apparatus used by the late Prof. Vernon Harcourt. ‘The general attitude towards gas lighting might have been a very different one had an earlier generation of gas engineers exam- ined with a more intelligent sympathy the proposals of this chemist. A town’s gas yielding on com- bustion only carbonic acid and water (such as to- day appears possible) would have occupied another vole in the lighting of our houses than that fur- nished by the variable mixtures of gaseous combust- ibles with more or less deleterious diluents and ‘sulphur-compounds endured by a_ long-suffering public with patience during the war. The author uses the therm expression freely throughout his pages, and his calculations of effici- encies have thus an added value, especially those of the yields of the several systems of gasification. The importance of such a basis of comparison had been frequently overlooked until Sir Dugald Clerk drew forcible attention to it in discussing the rela- tive values of the conversion of coal into electric and gaseous energy. The author rightly classes naphthalene and NO. 2729, VOL. 109] cyanogen as impurities, not because they influence — the products of combustion, but because of t . harmful effect upon distributing systems. The y of Dr. J. S. G. Thomas upon the vapour tension — of naphthalene finds its appropriate place in the ) chapter devoted to hydrocarbons, and the influence of this research upon the methods adopted for deal- ing with the difficulty is another instance of the ~ value of scientific investigation in the laboratory | as a guide to the large-scale practice of industry. — Indeed, the most encouraging aspect of the volume yi under review is not only that a practical man has — produced it, but that it has been produced for his practical confréres. Naturally consulting it for its | wealth of technological information, they cannot — fail to be impressed with the fact that each of the — processes, in which as technicians they are inter-— ested, is shown to depend upon a foundation of ~ science. Mr. Meade has thrown himself into his — task with enthusiasm and has produced a com- — pendium invaluable to those concerned in present- — day gas supply, and one which is certain to affect considerably their future outlook. It is not his_ fault if it is to this class of reader that his work — must mainly appeal, for, as has been said, he is a practical man writing for practical people. Yet there is room for another study upon altogether _ broader lines, which would lift up from the some- what narrow circle of the literature of gas under- takings this remarkable example of industrial’ chemistry practised so long and so widely, yet so severely neglected by investigators and thinkers — outside the pale of the gasworks. An unlimited supply of pure gas at low prices would revolutionise _ the aspect of, and the conditions pertaining to, life | in all our towns. But the average member of the 4 public judges town’s gas by what it has done, not = by what might be expected when some part of the : time and thought bestowed upon _ its cone ea service is given to gas supply, now well on the road of its second century of usefulness. 4 Mathematical Recreations. New Mathematical Pastimes. By Major P. A. — MacMahon. Pp. x+116. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 12s. net. AJOR MACMAHON, the author of the pens known ‘‘ Combinatory Analysis,” presents I here, as a pastime, certain problems in tessela- tion and designing. Everything that he writes © is carefully finished, and recreations invented by him are sure to be worth attention on their merits, while in this book the numerous scraps of poetry, with — which, like Sylvester in former days, he adorns his ~ pages, add a distinctive personal touch. DD ae nn ns ey a he lee Pe ti i a Bd f _ Fesrvary 16, 1922] NATURE 201 work 3 is divided into ‘ree pata: In the first rtain rules, a defined area by polygons all of the ame shape. and. size, but each coloured or numbered, ke dominoes, according to a different scheme. In id part arrangements made according to the expounded in the first part are ‘‘ trans- '”-so as to give a number of pieces of the colour but of shapes which are all different ; It is the production of a jig-saw puzzle. In | part we deal again with pieces all of the and shape, and the object is to design patterns which can be used to cover an n of how to fill in a certain way a prescribed th wood or cardboard polygons, which may be d.as super-dominoes. The shape of an ordi- 1) with two ends or faces, on which numbers can be inscribed, and, if we like, each number taken to indicate a particular colour: by numbers we can get m(m+1)/2 different ! s. If our dominoes are triangular in from some central point within the tri- we lraw lines to the angular points, we get ith three faces, on each of which numbers can be inscribed, and as before each number be taken to indicate a particular colour: by colours we can get (n+ 2)/ 3 different tri- s. Similarly, by using x colours can get n(n+1)(n?—n+2)/4 different square n(n* + 4)/5 different pentagonal dominoes, mn. ee each of these sets we can make ~t lar instance will illustrate the kind of stiol treated. Consider the case of equi- triangular dominoes. If four colours are we get a set of twenty-four different dominoes, nd these can be put together (preferably fitting in : box cut to the right size) to make a regular centre, ‘thus dividing each triangle into three compartments, and facilitating the formation 1 patterns. A consideration of what ns can be imposed for arranging the dominoes ‘For example, we may require the gement to be such that the colours of adjoining shall be alike, as also those of all the exterior 2s; the solution, subject to this condition, is, others, given. e patterns formed are elegant, and the puzzle of g the dominoes together according to some im- d condition is sure to interest a good many people, 1¢ of whom are likely to become enthusiasts _ NO, 2729, VOL. 109] longest of them the object is to fill, subject to’ first part of the book involves the con-~ is a rectangle (the breadth of which is — in the game. In the book the colours are indi- cated by numerals, and thus the results appeal to the mind rather than to the eye ; this is a loss. If the dominoes are right-angled triangles, we get a hexagon arrangement of a different shape. Further, we can play with sets selected from a par- ticular full set and arranged in suitable geometrical figures. Similar problems arise from the use of square dominoes, hexagonal dominoes, etc. In the second part, the author concerns himself with ‘‘ transformations,” necessarily unlimited in number, of arrangements like those above described. This is, in effect, an exposition of a method of making jig-saw puzzles of a certain type. Probably this has never before been reduced to a system, and it may be doubted whether those who cut out such puzzles will care to proceed by rule in the matter ; but, if they do, here are hints and directions for their use. In the third part, the previous investigations are applied to the formation of ‘‘ repeating patterns,” built up by arranging sets of pieces which fit to- gether. Here the author enters on a field of deco- rative work in which there are already excellent tech- nical books. He says that he has developed this subject much further, and that he has in hand a work entirely devoted to it. ‘The subject. is of im- portance to architects and pattern-makers, and is a recognised branch of arts and crafts. The results of the problems set out in the first part of this book are singularly effective when colours are used, and provide numerous novel and interesting recreations of a certain type. We share the author’s disappointment that the cost of printing nowadays has rendered it impossible to produce the book in colour. The questions considered in the second and third parts are of a more technical character, and are likely to appeal to the specialist rather than to the general reader : to the former they will open new and interesting lines of development. _ Naturally the point in each domino from - The Fishing Industry and Scientific Research. Great Fisheries. By Pp. 220+ 20 plates + 3 charts. 18s. Ocean Research and the G. C. L.. Howell. (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1921.) net. HE reconstruction spirit of the years 1918~9 was nowhere more evident than in its relation to the fishing industry. Even before the date of the armistice the owners of trawling and drifting vessels had met repeatedly and prepared a very noteworthy memorandum, which was presented to the President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries later on. At that time emphasis was very H 202 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 naturally placed on the importance of a_ highly trained fishing population in regard to questions of national defence, and the immediate object of the memorandum was to interest the Government in this and other purely economic questions. In 1919, how- ever, a series of committees met at Fishmongers’ Hall under the presidency of Sir Edward Busk, and detailed recommendations dealing with administra- tion, publicity, education, and scientific research were prepared, printed, and circulated. _A begin- ning was made with the work of consolidating the statutes relating to fishery. Later on the British Trawlers Federation was formed, and proposals for the ‘creation, by Royal Charter, of a British Fisheries Society were drafted. ‘The author of the book under notice was mainly responsible for all this organisation. Throughout the whole move- ment scientific research was kept in the foreground, and its absolute necessity in any possible scheme of fishery reconstruction was recognised .by everyone concerned. It was understood that the industry itself was prepared to back financially a sound pro- gramme of scientific and industrial research, and, without doubt, such programmes of education and research would now have been in practice but for the wholly unexpected partial collapse of the fishing industry that occurred in 1920. These remarks will make clear what is the attitude taken up by Mr. Howell in writing his book. It is an account of the life-histories and economic signifi- cance of the various species of marine fishes, and it is very well done indeed. Apart from a few errors, inevitable, perhaps, in a work of this kind, it is a trustworthy account of the material of the marine fisheries, written in a plain but very attractive manner, fortified with clearly constructed statistical statements, very well illustrated and _ beautifully printed. But, much more than all that, it is a plea, on almost every page, for the further prosecution of marine research in relation to the fisheries, and it aims at the communication of the results of such work to the fisherman and owner of fishing vessels. It is'a useful protest against the pedantry of the fisheries investigator. Little of what has been dis- covered has ever been presented in such a manner as to be understood by the industry in general— though this is quite practicable, as the book itself proves. Men of science almost always write for other men of science, though sooner or later their results must receive application, and this application would come all the more quickly if there were a true liaison between the administrators, the scien- tific workers, and the industry. The furtherance of such a working agreement is, all the way through, the main object of Mr. Howell’s admirable book. AR NO. 2729, VOL. 109] Wegener's Displacement Theory. Die Enstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane. Von Prof. Dr. Alfred Wegener. Die Wissenschaft : | Sammlung von Einszeldarstellungen aus den Gebieten der Naturwissenschaft und der Technik. — Herausgegeben von Prof. Dr. Eilhard Wiede- — mann. Band 66. Zweite ginzlich umgearbeitete Auflage. Pp. vilit+ 135. (Braunschweig : Friedr. Vieweg und Sohn, 1920.) 30 marks. HIS book makes an immediate appeal to physicists, but is meeting with strong opposi- tion from a good many geologists. This opposition is to be expected, for the author replaces the whole theory of sunken continents, land bridges, and great _ changes of earth temperature by a displacement theory. ; Prof. Wegener’s thesis is that the continents are of lighter material, and float like icebergs on a heavier plastic which reaches its highest level at the bottom of the oceans ; the poles are not fixed relative to the ‘plastic, and have occupied widely different positions, as, for instance, when Central Europe was a Sahara, or, again, when the great coal fields were laid down along a great circle (equator); land masses under gravitational influence move ey, from the poles and westwards. Thus the Americas in their wesw drift have heaped up the Andes and the Rockies. The South © Atlantic opened early, but the northern portion did — not exist until much more recent times. At the great Ice age, in fact, the glaciation in both hemi- spheres was due to an ordinary polar ice cap. India once stretched down over the Indian Ocean, being united to Africa and Australia. Since that time the Himalayas have been piled up, and Aus- tralia has left New Zealand far behind. Actual measurements of continental and sea levels establish the fact that instead of there being a random distribution about one level there are two well-marked averages, a fact difficult to explain on any subsidence theory. Again, it was shown by Wilde that the earth’s magnetic field can be closely imitated on a globe where iron sheets are placed over the ocean areas. ~On the present theory this is _ due to the plastic interior being richer in iron and rising higher under the oceans, where there is thus a thicker layer below the temperature at which iron loses its magnetic properties. Recent astronomical work has shown that the latitude of North American and _European stations is increasing, but in the absence of measurements from the Far East we cannot prove that this is not due to a displacement of the pole. i The book brings forward a mass of geological FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 203 corroboration, although the author only claims to h have “‘ got it up’’ since the idea came to him. [he revolution in thought, if the theory is substan- ated, may be expected to resemble the change in stronomical ideas at the time of Copernicus. It is > be hoped that an English edition will soon The Earliest Forms of Society. Primitive Society: The Beginnings of the mily and the Reckoning of Descent. By Dr. -S. Hartland. Pp. v+180. (London: fhuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 6s. net. imitive Society. By Dr.'R. H. Lowie. Pp. +453. (London: George Routledge and is, Ltd., 1921.) 21s. net. is interesting to place these two books side by side in order to contrast the methods of ng the problems involved in the study of tive society which have been adopted by the tive. schools to which the authors belong. . Hartland is one of the leading exponents view that there is a reasonable presumption at in the evolution of society wherever the patri- il system now exists it has been preceded by : matriarchate. In the volume under notice Drcstates this view and summarises the evidence i n which it is based in popular form. (2) Dr. wie, however, maintains that this theory is id upon an a priori assumption, and that forgan and his followers, in their desire to formu- ate a logical scheme of social evolution, have dis- orted the facts by confining their attention to a ingle group of data. Pouring scorn on the heads of f “the older school of anthropologists,” he in- ist: $ upon the empirical character of the evidence, d would have each case taken on its merits, ubjected to intensive study, and treated as a vhole. a _ After a review of the evidence on these lines, 4 ir. Lowie concludes that the theory of unilinear svelopment is entirely fallacious and unwar- anted. So far from the group organisation of sib or clan being the foundation of primitive Co ciety, it is only one, and that frequently not | most important, of a number of forms of ga nisation to which the individual may belong. Vhile he is prepared to allow that duplication of onditions may produce duplication of a sequence, Bin the relation of polyandry and female infanti- de, he formally abjures independent reproduction "the same series of “stages.” He goes so far s to. say that he is “not convinced of the reality | the totemic phenomenon,” and for him the _ NO. 2729, VOL. 109] | problem of totemism resolves itself into a “series of specific problems not related to one another.” If, however, he believes in independent develop- ment only in the very limited degree indicated, neither is he a whole-hearted supporter of dif- fusion; while attaching full weight to diffusion, particularly in continuous areas, he recognises that it does not necessarily preclude independent in- vention within a limited scope. It must be acknowledged that if Dr. Lowie’s argument in favour of empiricism fails to carry conviction, he has done good service in empha- sising the necessity for intensive study of all the facts of a given area as a whole. By concentra- _tion on the group organisation of the kin, the supporters of the evolutionary theory have some- times been led astray. The existence of the family as a social unit at an early stage has been obscured by the view that the family emerged from the group. Dr. Hartland, indeed, speaks of “sexual promiscuity—relieved perhaps by temporary unions in the nature of monogamy.” At the same time, owing to his preoccupation with kin organ- isation, he is unable “to bring Andamanese society within any category at present known.” This fact does not, however, suggest to Dr. Hartland a modification of his conclusions, as might perhaps be expected; he prefers to await further evidence. Our Bookshelf. The Calendar: Its History, Structure, and Improve- ment. By Alexander Philip. Pp. xii+ 104. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 7s. 6d. net. Tuts is not the kind of work that we expect from the Cambridge University Press. It contains numerous historical errors, and is not free from astronomical errors also. The author has endea- voured to guard against criticism of the latter by stating in his preface that his astronomical facts have been derived from the commonly available sources, and that he has dis- regarded ‘‘ qualifying refinements known to modern astronomy but irrelevant to a calendrial purpose.’ This ambition has not prevented him, however, from stating the length of the tropical year to hundredths of a second, or the length of 4000 tropical years to an exact number of minutes. The introduction of these refinements, ‘‘ irrelevant to a calendrial pur- pose,’’ might have been pardoned, if they were accurate, which, unfortunately, they are not. But it is in the history of the calendar that the defects of the book are particularly displayed. The author ignores the two most valuable treatises on the sub- ject, Ideler’s ‘* Handbuch der Mathematischen und Technischen Chronologie,’’ and Ginzel’s_ work which bears the same title. He writes in an easy way of Egyptian, Chaldean, and Chinese calendars ; 204 NATURE | FEBRUARY. 16, 1922 but his knowledge of things ‘‘ Chaldean ’’ may be | Zhe Chemistry of Colloids and Some Technical gauged by a footnote on p. 4, part: of which is Applications. By. Dr..W. W.. Taylor. Second — repeated in a footnote on p. 48. We quote the fuller edition. Pp. viit+332. (London: note: ‘‘ The 365-day year appeared at Babylon from Egypt after the overthrow of the Assyrian Empire by Nabonassar ; but Chaldea subsequently developed a luni-solar, Egypt a solar, calendar.’’? Comment is superfluous. Bartholomew's General Map of Europe, .showing Boundaries of States according to Treaties, 1921. Size 35 in. x 23 in. (Edinburgh: J. Bartholomew and Son, Ltd., 1921.) 1s. net. Tuis map of Europe, on a scale of 1 to 5,500,000, is designed to show the political boundaries and the chief lines of communication by land and sea. It makes no attempt to show the surface features of the land, and in that respect is open to criticism, although the adequate depiction of relief would certainly necessitate a reduction in the number of names. As regards boundaries, railway lines, and place-names, the map is full and accurate. We note, however, that the small States San Marino and Liechtenstein are shown by distinct colours, but are not named, while the principality of Monaco is named, but not indicated as an independent State. The map extends no farther north than about lat. 60° N., with the result that the new Finno-Russian boundary with the: Finnish outlet. to the Barents Sea cannot be shown. On the east its limits ex- clude the greater part of the Caucasus and the new States in that region. There is a small inset map showing the boundaries in 1914. The excellence ’ of the colour printing and the legibility of the - names make this a useful map for general reference purposes. Oil. Firing for Kitchen Ranges and Steam Boilers. By E. C. Bowden-Smith. Pp.. ix4 102. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd., 1920.) gs. net. Tue bulk of this: book is taken up with descriptions of the Scarab burner and its application.during the war to kitchen ranges in Egypt. The relative’ prices of coal and oil fuel ini Egypt make it.a big advan- tage to employ) the Jatter,. and the Scarab burner appears to have been .of: great service on account of its: simplicity of: construction. In the hands:of quite unskilled persons: kitchen ranges: fitted with this burner: have given very little trouble, and show a large: saving in: the cost) of: fuel. Thus the Turf Club at Cairo spent: 4£E13-75 per week on coal and wood, and after conversion: to oil fuel the weekly expenditure amounts to f;E5:92. The drawing and deseriptions of. the: burner: and of. the methods. of fitting. it’ tov ranges will be: readily followed even by non-technical readers; Some chapters: are in- cluded on oil-firing steam boilers. It may be well to mention that'a supply of compressed air is re- quired ; this: presented: no. difficulty in: Cairo, since there is a public service of compressed air: in con- nection with the main drainage system; and_ air was taken from the: mains. NO. 2729, VOL. 109 | Arnold and Co., 1921.) tos. 6d. net. Tue second edition of this work, like the first is | well adapted to introduce the general student to the | subject, the theoretical portions and the accounts ~ of experimental procedure being well balanced.” The amount of revision, however, appears, On exam: a ination, to be rather less than the author’s remarks ~ Thus the - ‘‘Valency Rule ’’ still appears in its old and, as © recent shattering criticism has shown, very spurious ~ ‘* complex’’ theories — are given, Pauli’s later and more thorough work is — Recent results-on protection and — anomalous adsorption might also have found a With a subject in constant flux it is of course difficult to draw the line, but the author appears to have done so distinctly on the sidé of — In spite of these defects the book is still — in the preface lead one to- expect: simplicity. Although earlier not mentioned. place. caution. one of the most useful general text-books. tae chemistry available in English. Edward ai 2 Bele The Fireman's Handbook and Guide to ifs F Economy. By C. F. Wade. Pp. vili484. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., ee 2s. 6d. net. ‘ A coop deal of information which will be of ib wide 4, f to firemen in helping them to understand what goes on. in furnaces and boilers will be found in this : q i little book. The author, however, is not quite happy ~ 4 in some of his fundamental explanations. ‘Thus on p. 3 we read that ‘‘heat is a form of energy that can be measured as to quantity by means .of a thermometer.’’ Again, on p. 7 appear the follow- ing curious statements: ‘‘ The only heat of the steam that does useful work is the amount: added - to the water to bring it just to boiling point.”’ ‘“‘ It is much more economical to work at the highest possible pressure so that the latent heat may be low and the useful heat as high as possible.’? The sketches given in the book are clear, and will be understood readily by stokers. A First German Course for Science Students: Second edition, revised. By Prof. H. G. Fiedler and Prof. F. E, Sandbach, Pp. x+99. (Lon- don : Press, 1920.) 45. 6d. net. To many students of science an introductory. course © in German constructed to meet their special needs will be very welcome. Humphrey Milford: Oxford hie aco The first portion of the work — under notice consists of a number of passages de- scriptive of chemical and physical phenomena and 5 experiments by means of which German technical phrases and words are introduced to the reader. Each passage is based on numbered paragraphs — appearing in the outline of German grammar which constitutes the latter portion of the book. Here the examples given are, so far as possible, of a scientific f nature. A useful vqpaalery capi the ae _ FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 205 Letters to the Editor. 2 Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions pressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected cripts intended for this or any other part of NatTuRE. notice is taken of anonymous communications.] ates for Microscopes and Microscopic Definition. ATURE of September 1 last (vol. 108, p. 10) I ed that dry films of some of the aniline colours prove suitable surfaces on which to rule the fine lines required for test-plates. Since that I have made some trials with films, using jous dyes and various materials for the ruling- _ The dyes were eosin, saffranin, cyanine, green, methyl-blue, and methyl-violet. The ' these gave the most uniform films, leaving, evaporation of the solvent, a bright surface n structure. Cyanine gave good films, though sO Opaque as the methyl-violet for the same s. The others, either from a tendency to se or from drying with a dull surface, were points for ruling were of steel, garnet, car- , and diamond. In all cases, except that of natural points found among broken frag- were chosen, and I doubt whether, without a at elaborate grinding tool, an artificial point made so sharp as that given by the natural Por little assistance in determining their real al shape. The only apparatus which was at for ruling purposes was a Cambridge rocking >, and the minimum interval between the ric nds, of course, with the thinnest could cut) was somewhat greater than of an inch. No great accuracy in the spacing 1es could be expected, but it is to the credit of of this microtome that there was no diffi- have to be selected by trial, as the micro- >roto of the point-holder. only real difficulty in close ruling is that of a fine enough point and applying it to the 3 a small enough force. mentioned in my previous communication, this ce must not exceed a small fraction of a grain, nd should remove the film but not scratch the glass. A the trials the point-holder was made as shown in s. 1, the materials being reed and split-cane put r with silk splicing and shellac cement. light and rigid frame could rock on the needle- , one of which entered a conical pit, and the _a V-shaped groove in a fixed fitting which re- the knife of the microtome. The whole forms dulum the effective weight of which (a few ains) is, say, w, of length L, which if displaced by 1 amount a exerts a force wa/L in the direction posite to the displacement. Thus by placing the te to be ruled. at a suitable distance from the rbed position of the ruling-point the force can justed as required. e the film is being advanced for a fresh line ng-point is withdrawn by means of a silk fibre g from the swinging frame to a_ bell-crank ted on the fixed su od few photographs of bands ruled with this ap- Ss are given in Fig. 2. Ail these were made 1 diamond points. With a newly ground hardened NO, 2729, VOL. 109] Ror steel point the 30,000 band was: well shown, but the tool soon became too blunt for any spacing less than 15,000 per in. Garnet and carborundum points lasted fairly well for: 30,000. per inch lines, but, as might be expected, were inferior to diamond so far. as wear was concerned. In the earlier: trials from ten to sixty lines were ruled for each band, but later it was found that four or five lines were quite sufficient to show all the effects which various kinds of stage illumination have on the definition. It is only with opaque and. very, thin objects that Fic. 1.—Holder for ruling point. A, Reed; BBB, split cane; CC, needle points; D, fixed support ; E, diamond point; F, aniline film; G, silk fibre ; H, bell-crank. these can be examined to any advantage, thinness in this case being in comparison with the wave-length of light, The methyl-violet films from which the photographs were taken» were less than one-tenth of a wave-length in thickness, and, though not quite opaque, trans- mitted only a)deep blue with some little red. The measurements of thickness were made by noting the displacements of the Newton’s rings formed between a lens and the film at a place where part of the latter had been removed. Test objects, such as diatoms, are much thicker than this, and, with them, what is seen in the field a b Cc te da eC as Fig. 2,—Photograph of bands ruled on films of methyl-violet. @, ro lines about 15,000 per in. X 350; é, 4 lines about 37,000 per in. X 600, E vinan’ g* 20,000 ” ” 35,000 ” ” 17,500 ” ” ’ ” ” 5 ’ c, be os g, Intersection d, ” ” 25,000 ” ” of bands 17,500 ” ” The photographic lines are not nearly so well defined as they appear when examined by the eye. ” 9? is merely a phenomenon in which the thickness and wave-length are both concerned. I think that the late Lord Rayleigh was the first to emphasise the fact that optical definition in general depends on the difference of the optical length of the paths of the rays the convergence of which forms the images of contiguous objects. Let A,, A, (Fig. 3) be two objects in a line making an angle 8 with the focal plane of the lens, B,, B, their images, and f, f, the conjugate focal lengths. 206 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 16, 1922 The difference of length of the paths A,, B,, A,, B, of rays making an angle i with the principal axis is asin (i+), and unless the average of this for all values of i exceeds. A/4, the images B,, B, will appear connected, and will not be clearly separated until the average is about A/2. From this it may be seen that not only is it impossible to separate the images of objects in the focal plane which are much closer together than A/2, but also that the same limit defines the distance out of focus at which objects may be placed without altering the character of their images. This is a point which is well brought out by the lines on the aniline films. : FIG. 3- ‘It may be asked what is the greatest magnifying power which can be usefully given to microscopes? Since objects closer together than A/2 cannot form separate images, the greatest useful magnification is that which makes A/2 visible to the eye. A very good eye can just distinguish minutes of arc, or say objects separated by 1/350 in. at the distance of the eye from the stage. Then, taking the half- wave-length as the 1/100,000 of an inch, all. details would be visible with a magnification of 100,000/350, or a little more than 280. Not all eyes, however, are capable of distinguishing minutes, and for conveni- ence of observation, magnifications of twice this amount or more are used in practice, but the extra power reveals no new detail. Le A N x Fic. 4.—Form of plano-convex lens for the conversion of divergent rays into a parallel beam. O, Radiant point; OX, principal axis ; PA, section of lens surface. An idealised lens is merely a means of changing the radius of curvature of a wave-surface from f, to f, while preserving the constancy of the optical length of all the rays from focus to focus. From these conditions the form of the lens which will achieve the result may be deduced. As a simple example, find the form of a plano-convex lens which will convert spherical waves originating at O (Fig. 4) into a parallel beam. Let the. convex surface of the lens cut the prin- cipal axis OX at A, and let the refractive index o NO. 2729, VOL. 109] the material be u. The form of the surface is deter- — mined by the relation OA+»AN=OP. Elementary algebra shows that the curve PA is a hyperbola the ~ asymptotes of which make an angle tan-'/¥y*—1 with the axis of the lens. The complexity of actual objec- — tives arises from the necessity of effecting the change of radius of curvature by means of spherical surfaces. A. MALLOCK. 9 Baring Crescent, Exeter. The Antitrades. I am glad to support the appeal for observations of the motion of cirrus-clouds in the inter-tropical region and elsewhere made by Prof. van Bemmelen in his letter on the Antitrades (NATURE, February 9, p. 172). It is very interesting that the results which he has obtained by direct observation, with only such addi- tional information from dynamics as may be got from a consideration of the general character of the Australian pressure, should coincide so excellent! with results which we obtained here from the cal- culation of the distribution of pressure at various levels, and the assumption that the wind flows along the isobars. There are some details in Prof. van Bemmelen’s maps which indicate a flow of air across the equator which I should be disposed to modify in view of the peculiar conditions under which such a transference of air must take place. I hope to give the details of the information that we have compiled about this subject at some future time, and confine myself for the present to saying that the atmosphere seems to be able to use the circulation of air round a strip of doldrum region as a means of providing for currents which flow westward on the south side, and eastward on the north side, of the equator in a general slope of pressure from south to north across the equator. Thus the doldrum region becomes a sort of elongated clockwise ‘‘centre’’ for the winds of the monsoon north and south of the equator. I would add also to Prof. van Bemmelen’s appeal for observations of cirrus a plea for the extension of observations with pilot balloons. Methods are now so well understood that the authorities could easily provide a technique which could be followed by those accustomed to surveying and others, and would pro- vide invaluable information The committee of the British Association which concerns itself about the upper air has already taken up the question, and if anyone who is in a position to help in this matter would communicate with me or with the secretary of the committee, Capt. C. J. P. Cave, of Stoner Hill, Petersfield, we shall be greatly obliged. Napier SHAW. School of Meteorology, Roval College of Science, South Kensington, S.W.7, January 12. . The Isotopes of Mercury. Ir appeared to. be so definitely one of the funda- mental assumptions of physics that pure mercury has a constant density under given physical conditions — that when Brénsted and Hevesy announced that they had separated it into fractions of different density (see NaTURE, September 30, 1920, p. 144) it appeared desirable that. the separation should be confirmed by other observers. One of us finds. that when mercury (purified chemically and by distillation in a vacuum) ~ is distilled in a very high vacuum the first sixth of the original mercury condensed is of lower density than the last sixth. The difference in density found for these fractions was 44 parts in 1,000,000. This_ et oa ie ee _ Fesruary 16, 1922] NATURE 207 ty determinations for the mass found in different ments, for a constant volume of the same imen of mercury is constant to one part in a iillion, and with special care it is constant to a few arts in ten millions. These experiments indicated, too, that any process ation would give some separation of the of mercury, and the question naturally arose : what evidence has the density of mercury been d as constant? The matter had been inves- at the International Bureau of Weights and es by M. Marek in 1883, and he writes of the which he obtained: ‘Ii is noticed in com- these figures that the density of mercury varies htly from one sample to another according to the hod of purification. This result has already been d by Dr. H. Wild in a study of this subject ly undertaken.’’ The results which Dr. Wild hed in 1874 are not available to us. M. Marek, er, quotes results communicated to him by Dr. which, although ambiguously stated, make it as not improbable that Dr. Wild more than years ago separated mercury into specimens erent density. T. H. Lasy. 4% W. MeEpHaM. atural Philosophy Department, University of Melbourne, December 30. Where did Terrestrial Life Begin? HE question raised by Dr. Macfie in his letter in RE of January 26 concerning the place of origin of earth is not one which directly concerns the ‘ologist, but Prof. J. W. Gregory’s comments it seem to call for discussion from the meteoro- point of view. Dr. Macfie suggests that in the al cooling of the earth mountain-tops would reach a temperature to make them habitable for 1 life, while the sea would tor further centuries | above the critical temperature. Prof. Gregory hesitation in accepting the conclusion reached iat life would first be found on the mountains, con- dering that while “‘the mountain summits: would we stood like islands above a sea of hot mist... wind would have at times submerged the moun- ‘summits beneath the lower atmosphere, and they would have been subject to violent fluctuations in emperature and moisture which would have been infavourable to primitive life.” _ Now with an atmosphere of homogeneous composi- on it is impossible to warm a mountain summit by mmersing it in warm air drawn from the lower ayers; if the conditions are initially stable, adia- yatic cooling sees to it that the warm bath of air becomes a cold one before the summit is reached. We must therefore assume that in these arly days the earth’s atmosphere was not homo- eneous, but that hot layers of dense. gas occupied ne lower levels, while lighter constituents of low emperature floated above. In these circumstances a stirring up of the lower layers might raise the smperature at higher levels temporarily, but is there re ce that such a condition existed? No » of separation and stratification of the different Ss under gravity is found in’ the troposphere at present time, atmospheric turbulence being suffi- ient to maintain a similar constitution at all heights. the gases were stratified in the manner suggested ild afford proof that vertical turbulence did not pecur, and thus the very existence of stratification Would show that the layers below never rose to the intain-tops _ NO. 2729, VOL. 109] | es ifference does not appear to be due to error in the | Meteorological evidence does not seem to support Prof. Gregory’s conclusion that the mountain-tops would be subject to such violent fluctuations of tem- perature as would render life impossible. J. S. Dives. 66 Sydney Street, S.W.3, February 6. Dr. Macrisg’s letter (Nature, January 26, p. 107) accepts the common idea that the surface of*the earth was formerly very hot—an assumption which is probably not well founded. If the earth was formed by accumulation of meteoric matter, it began its exist- ence as a cold body the interior of which afterwards became heated by condensation, aided by atomic dis- integration, while its surface was kept at a moderate temperature by radiation. It is difficult to believe that a globe so small, comparatively, as the earth ‘could produce enough heat to raise its surface tem- perature anywhere near to the melting point; all igneous rocks are probably formed at some distance beneath the surface. I imagine the first beginnings of life to have occurred at a very early epoch in the earth’s evolu- tion, namely, as soon as (1) the surface became warm enough and (2) elements capable of forming labile energy-storing compounds were present. It is not certain that solar radiation was necessary at first; the kinetic energy (heat and electricity) may have been derived from the earth itself. Life at this stage would be of the humblest kind; we should scarcely recognise it as life nowadays. There would be no definite organisms, only diffuse substances trading in energy. Between this stage and the development of cellular organisms an immense period may have elapsed, and that period may have witnessed many intermediate stages. The achieve- ment of the cell-form in living organisms must have marked a most important epoch in the history of life. Chlorophyll may have been evolved at quite a late stage, as the culmination of a series of attempts at the formation of energy-fixing pigmentary bodies, most of which probably had iron as an essential ingredient. The high stage of development shown in the earliest known fossils suggests that the geological period occupied by their evolution was vastly greater than the period since. The dawn of life may have occurred before there were either mountains or seas; all evi- dence of such early life has been obliterated by the metamorphosis and fusion of the deeper rocks. Further discussion on this subject may be found in a paper by the present writer in the Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society, vol. 11, pt. 1. F. J. ALLen. 8 Halifax Road, Cambridge, January 28. Rainfall and Drainage in 1921. I HAVE read with interest the letter of Mr. W. D. Christmas in Nature of January 26 concerning the rainfall and drainage at Rothamsted during the very dry year 1921. A few years ago three rain-gauges were installed at Craibstone, the experimental farm of the North of Scotland College of Agriculture. Like the Rotham- sted gauges, each of these is one-thousandth of an acre in area, and contains a block of soil which has been enclosed in its natural condition without disturbance. The soil at Craibstone differs greatly from the heavy loam of Rothamsted, and is composed of sharp granitic drift which is easily pervious to 208 WATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 water. Each of the, gauges is 4o in. in depth. The rainfall alongside them is measured by an ordinary 5-in. Snowdon rain-gauge. ‘The total rainfall recorded for the year 1921 was 17:86 in, In 1920 it Was 32:25 in.; the average is probably about 30 in., but we have not yet obtained a record over a sufficiently long period to establish a trustworthy average. No. 1 drain-gauge is unmanured, and the figures quoted below refer to it. The drainage for the year from this gauge was 4:93 in. No drainage at all came through from early June to nearly the end of October, and during seven months, from the middle of May to the middle.of December, the total drainage was 0:046 in., or less than one-twentieth of an inch. On the other hand, in 1920, when the rainfall was 32:25 in., the drainage was 18-09 in., and there were only two months, July and August, when there was no drainage. In many parts of this district springs failed which were never known to. have failed before, and there was great difficulty in many places in obtaining a sufficient water-supply. The reason for this is apparent when we find that. from the middle of May until the end of the year practically no water passed through the subsoil. Although the total. rainfall for the year was so low, it was well distributed throughout the year and rain fell in every month. Quite a good crop was grown upon Craibstone Farm. The drain-gauges themselves as well as the surrounding field were under turnips, and both yielded a good crop. The year 1922 so far.as it has gone provides a great contrast to 1921. During the month of January more drainage came through No. 1 gauge than during the whole of the previous year. The rainfall recorded was 5-61 in., while the drainage from No. 1 gauge was 5:69 in. There were only two days during the whole month on which rain or snow was not recorded. The underground water-supplies are now being . well replenished, and, although all the springs have not yet responded, there is no doubt that after the rainy month of January they should soon begin to recover. James HENDRICK. Agricultural Department, Marischal College, Aberdeen, February 3. Scientific Literature: for Russia. At the beginning of last year a British committee was formed with the object of sending books and other publications to men of letters and science remaining in Russia. The committee was assured that any such works, if addressed to the House of Science or the’ House of Literature and Art in Petrograd, would reach their destination and would be much appreciated by. literary and scientific men meeting there who were cut off from the intellectual life of the rest of the world. An appeal was therefore made for funds to purchase works of a non-political type for dispatch to Petro- grad, and Prof. Oldenburg, permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences, furnished a list of books and other publications much needed by Russian savants. | The books particularly desired were those which in- cluded accounts. of current problems. and developments of pure and applied. science. As the result of this appeal the sum of 4481..17s. 5d. was subscribed, and several scientific societies, in- cluding the Royal Society, entrusted the committee with their publications for transmission to Petrograd. | The Russian Trade Delegation undertook the dispatch of the books, and ten cases have been. forwarded. Prof. Oldenburg, writing on December 21 last, NO. 2729, VOL. 109 | dium and Melicertidium in the aquaria, and Clava, relations of physical: factors in the sea it is extremely expressed the, deepest gratitude of scientific work in Petrograd for this stimulating intellectual aid, ar says that they have been placed in a special reading- room at the House of Savants, where they are con- | sulted by a large number of students throughout the day, and have been the means of reviving scientific _ interests and work. He sends the most cordial thanks | of men of science in the city to all who have con- — tributed towards the stimulus to scientific inyestiga- tion which the new publications have given them. Having thus established contact with scientific men | in Russia and enlightened them as to the progress of ~ research from which they have been separated by — political circumstances beyond their control, the com- — mittee is of the opinion that its task has been accom- — plished. Of the fund remaining in its hands the — sum of sol. has been expended upon books desired by the University of Latvia, and a small balance will be handed over to the. Universities Committee of the ~ Imperial \ War Relief Fund. ‘an The committee gratefully acknowle the\o3 generosity of the response to its appeal, and believes that the. intellectual relief thus afforded will do much | to strengthen Russian scientific life. Se} A statement of accounts, audited by Messrs. W. A. Browne and Co., chartered accountants, will be sent to anyone who. desires a copy. she *e R. A. GREGORY, Chairman. t C. HacBerGc WRIGHT, iB Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. 4 British Science Guild Offices, 6 John Street, Adelphi, London, W.C.2, February 11. Cyclic Conditions and Rejuvenation in Hydroids. ‘SEVERAL colonies of Tubularia indivisa which have lived in the aquaria for three years are noticed as exhibiting alternating periods of activity and rest. Broadly speaking, the hydranths die off about mid- summer and reappear about midwinter, the times in one particular case for the growth of new lengthsof hydrocaulus and for the formation of new hydranths _ being December, 1919, January, 1921, and January, 1922, and in another January, 1920, January, 1921, and December, 1921, the hydranths in each case’ ty t} dying off in the intervening periods between the end of | May and July. Colonies obtained from moderate depths in January generally show clearly marked new ends to their hydrocauli, such new growth often being an inch or more in length. ; aa At the same season died down colonies of Stauri- oe Syncoryne,:Campanularia, Antennularia, Plumularia, — Halecium, etc., in the sea are found showing signs of rejuvenation. ji 3 -In a paper on ‘The Effect of Hydrogen-ion Con- — centration and Oxygen Content of the Water on Regeneration and Metabolism in Tadpoles ”’ (Journ. Exper. Zool., 1920), M. E. Jewell shows that rate and amount of regeneration increase with increase of oxygen content of the water, but decrease with decrease in temperature, and that the optimal Py for — regeneration is at or near neutrality. In connection — with these experimental results it is interesting to — note. that the above regenerations begin when the sea - temperature is approaching its minimum, at which — time the oxygen content is greatest, and continue with increasing rapidity during spring, when increasing alkalinity further stimulates growth and an ever-. increasing food supply is available. ay In view of our incomplete knowledge of the inter- — fire Seal ak NATURE 209 a FEBRUARY 16, 1922] zardous to make binding statements, but it seems robable that increase of light stimulating photo- mthesis will tend to set back the incidence of maxi- jum oxygen content, especially in a partly closed ea like the Clyde Sea area, so that it does not tually coincide with minimum temperature, in ch case it would appear that light and high en content are the primary factors influencing € tions. RicuHarD ELMutrsT. ine Biological Station, Millport. Tin Plague and Arctic Relics. NN view of the apparent public interest in my letter Nature of January 19, possibly a further note on € subject may be permitted. One letter I have eived was from a Government Department con- ned with food supplies for the Navy, and I was ed a number of questions. The first one (to my ise) was “The name of the firm who produced 2 article referred to.”” That had never occurred to ‘1! However, in an endeavour—which proved suc- ssful—to reply to that query, I found a note which ems worthy of reproduction here. an “‘Appendix to the Narrative of a Second e in Search of a North-West Passage and of a dence in the Arctic Regions during the Years 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, by Sir John Ross,”’ . CxXi-cxiv, is ‘‘an analysis of fluids, etc.,’? from hich the following extract is made, in addition to hich is a report on brine, wine, rum, lemon-juice, d mustard, from Fury Beach :— “Tam indebted for the following article to my ‘fiend, Mr. Thomas Rymer Jones, who, in conjunc- on with Mr. Hemmings, submitted the articles I ave them to a careful examination, and made the lowing report, which requires no comment, as the ements of these gentlemen are known to qualify em Bighly. for such an investigation :—The provi- ms, of which the following account is given, had een lying exposed to the climate for eight years, in latitude of seventy-three degrees and forty-seven linutes north, and longitude of ninety-one degrees d forty-seven minutes west, and very little above igh-water mark. The preserved meats, with few xceptions, were the manufacture of Messrs. Gamble nd Co., and being enclosed in tin cases, could not be scovered by animals who depend on the sense of m 55 were cylinders of various sizes, the nds of each becoming concave or convex, according > the degrees of contraction or expansion caused by ¢ climate, secured them against bursting from its fects, and the contents. were found to be in nearly le original state;: these consisted. of beef, roasted nd boiled; veal, mutton, spiced meat of various kinds, turnips, parsnips, and carrots, all of which ere found to be in excellent preservation. The oups, which were preserved in quantities from a wart to a gallon, eh “gg age nage left a a0 able quantity behind, but no meat of any kind. flour; which was preserved in iron-bound casks, ad ;had been likewise exposed for eight years to the I was found to be in good condition; for though in many cases the hoops had slackened, so as to admif moisture into the cask, it penetrated but short way, while the whole of the interior was per- sctly sound. The bread, of which there were many asks, was in a good or bad state, according to the soundness of the cask which contained it, and we employed ourselves in separating the bad from the 90¢ eg Ab ‘all into repaired ‘casks. A part of this, and also of the flour, is sufficient with the addition f the remaining soup to sustain 'the life of twelve NO. 2729, VOL. 109] © +o . ote 4 Se imate, 1 men for a year. Owing to the pickles being also in cask they had suffered much, the vinegar having leaked out of most of them: fifty of these, and twenty-five of lemon-juice, are also left, at a little distance south of the house, and covered with coals, as the most effectual way of preserving both.” T. SHEPPARD. The Museums, Hull. A New Series of Spectrum Lines. WitH a long hydrogen tube, viewed end on, as a source, lines have been observed at 4-0°% and 2-6°u, which, according to Bohr’s theory, may be explained as due to an electron falling from: the fifth to the fourth and from the sixth to the fourth rings respec- tively, forming the first two members of a new series. Lines have been observed at wave-lengths 1-8°u, 1-2", 10%, I-o*w, and og’. These form the first five members of the Paschen series due to an elec- tron falling into the third ring from the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth rings respectively. The first two of these were observed and accurately measured by Paschen. The first line of the new series is approximately one-fourth the intensity of Has the first Paschen line, more intense than Ha in the ratio 4: 3. F. S. Brackett. Johns Hopkins University, January 24. Araucaria imbricata. REFERRING to the note in Nature of January 10, p. 87, about this archaic tree ripening seed, may I say that it will do so regularly in this country if it gets a chance? But whereas it is dicecious, seed is produced only where male and female trees are planted near enough to each other for the wind to carry the pollen from the male catkins to the female cones. In 1906 I took Dr. Augustine Henry. over*to Castle Kennedy. There had been a heavy gale a few days before, and the ground about the fine avenue of Araucaria was thickly strewn with ripe seed, whereof we collected a bagful. Some we ate, treated like chestnuts, and found them excellent. Others I caused to be sown, and’ have now a hilltop planted with more than twelve hundred monkey-puzzles, some of _ which are 12 ft. high. The female tree produces seed only in alternate years as the cones take two seasons to ripen. _ Herpert Maxwe tt. Monreith, Whauphill, Wigtownshire, N.B. Some Problems of Long-distance Radio-telegraphy. In the portion of the abridgment of my Trueman Wood lecture on the above subject published in Nature of February 2, p, 140, I quoted an instance taken from- a paper by Dr. Van der Pol of the ratio between the observed receiving aerial current and that calculated by the diffraction formula for the case of the Nauen-—Darien transmission. It appears, however, that a numerical error was made in Dr. Van der Pol’s original calcula- tion, which, however, he corrected in the Phil. Mag. for July, 1920. This correction, unfortunately, I over- looked. It appears that the correctly: calculated value of the received current is not 06x 107** amp., but 19x Io7"*, Hence the actual current is only seven thousand times. that predicted. by the diffraction formula, and not two million times. This discrepancy does not, however, invalidate the conclusion that wave-diffraction alone cannot account for long-distance wireless telegraphy. J. A. Fremre. London, February 14. . 210 NATURE | [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 Flowering Dates of Trees along Main British Railway Routes. By J. Epmunp CLark. r A FEW months ago the Editor of NATURE sent me, as joint editor of the Phenological Reports published by the Royal Meteorological Society, an interesting problem. He said :— ‘“It has been pointed out on several occasions that in travelling from the West of England (Devon and Cornwall) to London, fruit trees are usually seen to be much more forward as regards flowering nearer London than in the Westin was therefore asked whether. I had, among the ‘‘ phenological observations, records of such flowering dates arranged according to, longitude so as to determine whether fruit trees do, normally, bloom earlier near London than far away, and whether this is true also in passing from London to the East.’’ ‘ Our thirty years’ records give no basis for a direct reply, since of set purpose garden flowers and fruits were excluded by the late Edward Mawley from the thirteen selected blossomings. These begin with the hazel (mean for the British Isles, February 13) and close with the ivy (Octo- ber 2). The many varieties of most of our fruit trees is the obvious ground for their exclusion. It seemed, however, worth attacking the problem indirectly, even though at first the sup- posed earliness appeared to be improbable. The four fruit-time plants in our list, blackthorn, garlick hedge-mustard, horse chestnut, and haw- thorn, average two and a half days earlier in England, S.W., than in England, S.E. and E., in eur thirty years’ means. . . The basis for investigation required :— (1) Sufficient stations. For the first time in the thirty years 1920 supplies these, thirty-five being available. (2) The blackthorn gives us the opening, the other two trees the closing, stages of fruit flowering. (3) Unfortunately 1920 was abnormally early, and therefore prolonged. This is shown by the following table, giving the days early compared with the mean :— 1920 S.W. S.E. E Blackthorn, early days 30 24 20 Chestnut and may, early i Sten ro} 18 I2 Prolongation, fruit flowering... _,, The possible results on relative conditions may well be serious, especially as to insolation. Obviously any such effect would be most marked in England, S.W. (4) The isophenes (lines of equal flowering date) have for the first time been tested for agreement with Prof. Hopkins’s Bioclimatic Law, recently formulated and found to hold well in the United States. Starting from a given station, this postu- lates a retardation of four days in flowering for every additional 400 ft. of altitude, 1° of latitude 1 See‘our Phenological Report to the Royal Meteorological Society for 1920 (Part 3), 1921. NO. 2729, VOL. 109] and 5° eastward in longitude? ; the reverse for nega- Both he and we have found it fairly | trustworthy for the British Isles, and he for © This has enabled me to reduce | the records to sea-level, so as to see whether there | is any factor other than the higher elevations along ~ tive values. Western Europe. most of the way until London is approached. (5) Since it is most difficult faithfully to record © the average date of first flowering, after taking — the mean of the three trees for each of the thirty- — five stations available (those within twelve to — fifteen miles of the selected railway routes), the — i In this way we have fifteen | mean of two or more adjacent stations was taken, so far as possible. sets of records available. . ae (6) Unfortunately the L.S.W.R. route from Exeter to London was useless, no records being available between Exeter and Fleet. The results are shown in the following table :— Mean Flowering Date, Sloe, Chestnut, May, 1920. Stations Date | I. Penzance, Camborne, Falmouth April 8 © II. Polperro (2), Duloe a é cs 6 t ae ee III. Launceston, Hexworthy, Tavistock .. a 6 IV. Tiverton, Wellington, Taunton .. . March 30 V. Winscombe, Portishead .. aa ep 2 VI. Falfield, Bath os ra stg nd B tf VII. Winsley, Marlborough .. i ae ee cet | VIII. Oxford (2) ey aes era im Ped IX. Fleet, Farnham, Hampton Wick March 29 X. a. Harrow, Watford He vs .. April 9 B. Purley (Surrey) (2) .. Tg a os 3 XI. a. New Barnet, Woodford Fp HOES ate B. Hayes and Bromley (Kent) .. .. March 28 XII. a. Maldon, Hatfield Peverel, Lexden .. April 5 B. Maidstone BR 2°: I. to IX. closely follow the G.W.R. from Penzance to London; X.a, XI.a, and XII.a continue on north of the Thames Estuary to Colchester ; south of it to Maidstone; Of I. to IX. the earliest date is just before reaching London; the latest in the foot of Corn- wall. East Devon and Somerset fall little behind London; whilst East Cornwall, West Devon, and North Wilts are nearly as late as I. Hopkins’s lati- tude and longitude corrections, however, intensify the contrast, the date relative to London working out to April 18. Eastwards from London flowering dates north of the Thames are retarded, but to the south scarcely at all, Hayes and Bromley (Kent)— March 28—having the earliest date of all. X.B, XI, and XiEs- +} Before considering possible explanations, two — cautions must be reiterated. The transfer here of Hopkins’s Law values is still only tentative, and the dates of observation may well be subject to a margin of error of a day or two. Making full allowance for these, we may still believe that general observation is verified, the more so that, | 2 As a fact, the law is more general, governing all seasonal plant phenomena; the regressive phases, of course require the reverse of the above statement. FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 2II E : noted already, the earliness of 1920 was most ongly marked in England, S.W. We therefore clude that London is at least a week earlier n Penzance in its fruit flowering; also that, at rate in an early season, while further advance tward south of the Thames estuary results in change, there is a decided retardation on the site bank as one proceeds in a north-easterly jon. It is difficult to account for the ow-Watford delay. Further on the cooling nce of the North Sea and of east winds may ome into play. The isophenes cut the East Coast, ie direction varying N.E. to N. East-wind osure may partly account for the retarda- at Purley (Surrey) and on the Wilt- downs. It is not easy offhand to , which must be largely influenced by ocean ions. One would expect the fruit-flowering to share in the relative earliness shown by eans of all twelve flowers (omitting ivy), ng from February 6 to July 15. One may, ver, note that, for the first six months, iso- and isohels taken together slightly favour London area, but in April the reverse was the The East Devon and Somerset earliness was y expected. Each year the isotherms show a arkable uprush of warmth along the Severn and watershed and a corresponding lie of the henes. In 1920 the isotherm bulge reached borders of Yorkshire. ‘Having thus considered the query raised, an ‘tension of the subject may be of interest along two other lines through London, which I have ‘worked out for the sake of comparison. These rs fares (1) The L.B.S.C.R. from the Isle of Wight and on by the East Coast route to Edinburgh and idwchice: (2) from East Sussex and on by the West Coast route to the Glasgow district. val ‘ound London much the same stations come in along all three lines. The comparison is best made by placing the two series side by side, _ arranged roughly by latitude (508° to 572°). The ‘numbers in brackets show the number of stations phe group. | (43°, est the reason affecting the extreme south- As one expects, both series give a decided delay with latitude and longitude: Hopkins’s corrections for these from London to Ardross Castle (+ 64° and +4°) give the relative date for the latter April 18. For Glasgow (44° and 4°) we get April 26, the value round the Firth of Forth 3°) being April 12. Either Hopkins’s Law needs modification for the period in question, more than is indicated by the whole period, or there are special influences at work, such as oceanic effects, prevalence of east winds, and propinquity of hill and mountain masses. Nor need these be mutually exclusive. To investigate them more complete data are required. _ For instance, we hope shortly to have mean values for a considerable number of stations over the thirty years of our records. The most obvious effect at present is perhaps the retarda- tion for the spring period in question, due to high elevation, and even more the propinquity of hill and mountain masses. Is this due to the lag effect of their winter cooling? Snow would still be lying on the Welsh mountains in blackthorn days. May I, in conclusion, direct the attention of readers of Nature to the need for yet further observers, especially in the districts indicated by the lacune in the tables and the fact that the L.S.W.R. from Exeter could not be used? Either my colleague, Mr. H. B. Adames (33 Holcombe Road, Ilford), or myself (Asgarth, Purley) will gladly give further information, . or observing forms can be had direct from the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Meteoro- logical Society, Cromwell Road, S.W.7. When we see the prominent position elsewhere, especially in the United States, taken by pheno- logical work in its bearing on hortfculture and agriculture, we realise the need in this country for greater unification in and concentration on its investigations. Since the above was in print Prof. Hopkins has sent us the typed copy of an unpublished exhaus- tive discussion of the bioclimatic association Mean Flowering Date, Sloe, Chestnut, May, 1920. \ East Coast Route (41 stations) Latitude West Coast Route (45 stations) Date Groups . Date Haat aud Ww: Sussex coastal (9) April 4 503° Sussex, etc. (4) April 8 .W. and S. London area (6) . March 31 S.E. and S. London (3) - ‘ Ae Erle 4 . London area (3)... i April 5 514° N.W. London (3).. P i as Balke ‘. Herts (4) .. og fae ik 50 _ Herts to Northants (4) NS Fae aS ay 54 Bucks and Oxon (4) 4 ae OS a 52}° $.E. Warwick, etc. (7) .. ot ee mS . Birmingham district (3) eke N. Welsh coastal (4) quartz fusion processes in Germany. . Bottomley was married in 1913 to Miss thy Couves, and leaves a widow and two ildren. .He was an outstanding example of the ntage of giving administrative and business ! vonsibility to a man of character and scientific ¢ R. A. S. PAGET. Pror. Max VERWORN. free: the death of Prof. Max Verworn at Bonn on Yovember 23 last, a notable figure, who could ill be spared on account of the breadth of his outlook, has n lost to biology. Verworn had just completed is Ph gg year, having been' born in Berlin on No st 4,:0863. He received his school and early paiey education in his native city, and graduated hD. in Berlin in 1887, and later M.D. in Jena in _ After graduation in medicine, his interests a tian ely zoological, he paid a long visit Villefranche and Naples, and later continued his investigations along the coast of the Red Sea. On Ah eebuci, to Jena Verworn was appointed assistant jin the Physiology Institute, and in 1891 was duly with ebay Privatdozent. After a few years’ rk, including a second visit to the Red Sea, he extraordinary professor of physiology in Jena in 1895. In 1901 he was called to Géttingen _as professor of physiology, and in. 1910, on the death & Pfliiger, he became the professor of physiology at “Bonn. Verworn received many academic distinc- ns. In this country he was an Sc.D. of Cam- sridge and an LL.D. of St. Andrews. He was also ‘an honorary or corresponding member of many of the Continental scientific societies, in Moscow, Vienna, Rome, Halle, etc. Twice he was invited _ to visit America, on the second occasion as Silliman ; lecturer in the University of Yale. ‘Verworn owed his special, almost unique, position ‘ in physiology to the catholicity of his interests. He had been impressed from his earliest student ehuys with the value of zoology, and much of his _ best and most original work was done in the physi- = of the invertebrates of all classes, although _ perhaps those of the marine fauna engaged his ‘warmest attention. He used this material with skill and ingenuity in his interpretation of. physiological _ problems in general.: Undoubtedly the work by which NO. 2729, VOL. 109] . a LL Verworn‘is best known. is his ‘‘ Allgemeine Physi- ologie,’” -which was ‘translated into’ English. by Prof. Lee. -This book, which is a mine of informa- tion in’ the lesser-known aspects of general physi- ology, appeared in 1894, and was immediately recognised as a work of outstanding merit. It has gone through many editions. His Silliman lectures on irritability brought together his special views on the nature and function of the nervous system, a subject which had interested him from the first ; indeed, one of his earliest contributions (in 1889) to attract attention bore the title ‘‘ Psychophysi- ologisch Protistenstudien.’’ He also held very defi- nite views on the functioning of living tissue in general, and his name will always be associated with his interesting biogen hypothesis. That Verworn’s interests were not confined to the study, in any strict sense of the word, of ordinary, physiology ‘and zoology is evidenced by his writings on the psychology of primitive art and on the evolu- tion of the human spirit. Certainly for many years before the war he:was very interested in archzxo- logical and ethnological problems, and ‘the writer has a most vivid: memory of a conversation with Verworn, in which he gave an ‘extraordinarily enthusiastic account of a visit to several of. the Indian tribes resident in the south-west of the United. States. He had visited these tribes to study the nature of their art, more particularly their colour combinations. Verworn also had a profound know- ledge of the history of early art in:‘Europe, and a very genuine interest in numismatics. In spite of his: many interests, Verworn managed to edit, with success, two physiological journals, one the Zettschrift fir Allgemeine. Physiologie, founded by himself, and later, after his appointment «to Bonn, the famous Pfliiger’s Archiv. E. P. C. Cor. WiILLouGHBY VERNER. Cort. Wittiam \WILLouUGHBY COLE VERNER, who died on January:25 at his home at ‘Algeciras, was in many ways aremarkable man. He was a product of the Army: at its best and a living denial of the too- often-quoted saying that Army officers think little and have no interests beyond sport and their ‘‘ shop.’’ Col. Verner will be remembered not only as the writer of the history of the Rifle Brigade and as the inventor of the luminous magnetic and: prismatic compass and of other aids. for military sketching and surveying, but also as an authority on the wild birds of South Spain and the discoverer of many of the rock shelters in South-West Spain that had been painted and decorated by Neolithic or Eneolithic man. ~ Articles on the latter were published by him in the Saturday Review, and these brought him into relationship with the Abbé H. ‘Breuil. The result ‘was a careful survey of the whole district with regard to prehistoricman. Col. Verner, while bird-hunting near Ronda, had once noticed paintings on the walls of a cave near the top of the ‘‘sierra.’’ This led to .the publication by Breuil, Obermaier, and Verner of the first of an interesting group of Paleolithic cave paintings, which recall the northern group of France and Cantabria. But the memory of Col: ‘Verner 214 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 will always live in the hearts of those who were privileged to be with him for a time at his little shooting cottage near the Laguna de la Janda. His kindness, knowledge, and interest in everything were especially noticeable, but at the same time his soldierlike love of order was never absent. Woe betide the guest who returned the salt-jar to the place where the pepper-pot should have been! The ~ Army has lost a competent officer who continued to | work for it in many ways after being physically ~ incapacitated during the South African War from | active service ; science has lost an earnest follower; © but, above all, some of us have lost a real friend. M. C.. BuRKITT, a Current Topics and Events. Sir Francis GALTON was born on February 16, 1822, in the same year as Mendel. The Eugenics Education Society is celebrating the anniversary in a dignified way with addresses on Galton’s contribu- tions, not only to eugenics, the cause that was nearest his heart, but, to statistics and geography as well. Galton was in more than, one striking way the com- plement of his cousin, Charles Darwin, but especially in this respect: that his imagination was fired with the idea of man’s evolution going on. Darwin thought more perhaps of the descent of man, Galton of the ascent; but it is very interesting that the doyen among eugenists should be Darwin’s own son. The Eugenics Education Society has been fortunate in having had Major Leonard Darwin for many years at its helm. Of course, Charles Darwin and Francis Galton were entirely at one, though the angle from which they regarded man was a little different. What Galton grasped so firmly was the idea of man evolving, and that no longer mysteriously, but under the in- fluence of factors which are discoverable by, and amenable to, scientific methods. He had the vision of the control of life, of applying our knowledge ‘of the factors in evolution to the guidance and accelera- tion of that evolution. This was to him, as he said, ‘‘a virile creed, full of hopefulness, and appealing to many of the noblest feelings of our nature.’”’ In celebrating the anniversary there is reason for con- gratulation and encouragement, for Galton’s doctrines have made rapid headway. It must be confessed, however, that the need for more enthusiasm is great. Thus we see from Prof, Karl Pearson’s letter to. the Times of January 18 that although the Galton Labora- tory is nobly housed, its undertakings—especially in the way of publication—are sadly hampered by lack of funds. The same hindrance affects the Eugenics Education Society, and it is plainly a matter for regret that new knowledge of high importance should be lying unpublished and that educational efforts . to diffuse the ‘‘ virile creed ’’ should have to be slackened when they are so urgently needed. On February 19 occurs the tercentenary of the death of Sir Henry Savile, to whom Oxford owes the foundation of the Savilian professorships of geo- metry and astronomy. Accounted by his contem- poraries—among whom were Casaubon and Scaliger— ‘“a man of admirable skill in the Greek and: Latin languages and‘a laborious searcher and generous pub- lisher of the remains of venerable -antiquity,’’ Savile. was. one of the first scholars of the age. Born near Bradley, .Yorkshire, in 1549, -he matriculated at Brasenose College, became a_ fellow of Merton | NO. 2729, VOL. 109 | College, was elected a proctor of the University, and at one time taught Greek to Queen Elizabeth. From — 158s he was Warden of Merton, and from 1596 : Provost of Eton, holding both positions until his | death, which took place at Eton. The chairs of geo- — metry and astronomy were founded by him in 1619, — Briggs being appointed to the former and Bainbridge © to the latter. Among the distinguished men who have — held one or the other have been Halley, Sir Christopher — Wren, Bradley, Baden-Powell, Pritchard, H. J. S. — Smith, and Sylvester. Before Briggs took over the © duties of the chair of geometry Savile himself delivered thirteen lectures upon the first eight pro- positions of Euclid’s ‘‘ Elements,”’ and these were pub- lished in 1620. Though Savile’s contemporary, Sir Henry Billingsley, sheriff and Lord Mayor of London, — had published the first English translation of Euclid’s — **Elements’’ in 1570, and the chair of geometry at — Gresham College had been founded in 1596, the ~ preamble to the deed of foundation of the Savilian professorships stated that ‘‘ geometry is almost totally unknown and abandoned in England.”’ . A Britt was introduced in Parliament on February 8 providing that summer time should begin on the last Saturday in March (or, if that is Easter Eve, on the preceding Saturday) and end on the first Sunday in ~ October. These dates have been fixed in agreement with France and Belgium, as a difference in the dates causes confusion in through services. Many astro- nomers suffer some inconvenience from the use of summer time, but probably most of them would make little of this if they were persuaded that the majority of the community recognised it as a boon. All must agree that, if used, it is well to have its beginning and end fixed in a regular manner. On theoretical grounds, of course, the principle of summer time does not differ from that accepted long ago, when Greenwich time was introduced for the whole of Great Britain. This involved the use of a standard meridian, differing for some places 7° from the local one, and the increase from 7° to 22° is a matter of convention; the first has no more basis in theory than the second. On scientific grounds the main — objection to summer time is the confusion due to the — varying standard, and the measure now proposed | should do something to remove the difficulties thus caused. On January 24 Mr. T. East Lones, of the Patent Office, read a paper before the Newcomen Society on ‘‘Mechanics and Engineering from the Time of Aris- | totle to that of Archimedes.’’ Aristotle contains little of interest to engineers, but it was the extraordinary FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 215 belief in his views that led to the trouble after Galileo, _ by his experiments from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, ong ‘shown the falseness of Aristotle’s dictum that he velocity of a body falling in a given medium was e sportional to its weight. The works of Archimedes re of a much more valuable nature. His solution f problems regarding floating bodies, his determina- of the centre of gravity of various sur- his invention of the Archimedean screw, his investigation of the lever place him mg the greatest pioneers in the acquisition knowledge. Though it is generally believed that chimedes asserted that he could move the earth a lever had he a place to stand upon, it appears Archimedes contemplated the use of compound evs for this purpose, and not the lever. After erring to the engines of war of those days, Mr. gave interesting details of the two great aque- which led water into Rome, the old Roman , and other civil engineering works. He also erred to the tools used by the ancients in the tion of their works. N an article in the Quarterly Review for January . E. Howell discusses at length the problems con- ted with river control in Mesopotamia. The Tigris Euphrates are exceptional rivers in the way that ir lower reaches break down, throwing off effluents, h though eventually they unite and enter the Persian Gulf through a single mouth. Between Bagdad and ‘Bara’ s Tomb, a distance of some four hundred miles, the Tigris receives only two tributaries, but throws channels. The Euphrates in the same portion of its ’ length shows even more marked degeneration, break- 4 ing into a thousand petty waterways in the tract known as Shamiyah, reuniting near Shamawah, and again spreading into a waste of shallow waters in teks: Hammar. There seems to be much evidence that this state of affairs is the outcome, not of natural ~ causes, but of man’s interference with the rivér ting through long ages and accentuated by the difference in both rivers between the levels of low 4 water and high flood. It is suggested that if this interference is scientifically regulated the rivers will 4 revert to former conditions, in which their value to man will be greatly enhanced in respect of definite _ channels and deeper beds. Unregulated riparian cul- tivation for ages has resulted in the formation of a many effluents and the blocking of the river-bed by silt dug from the channel at low water in the con- struction of the irrigation canal from the shrunken river to the squatter’s date-grove. Mr. Howell, _ quoting Major Walton, explains the process in full, : c and contends that the remedy lies in the control of _ riparian cultivation, the regulation of the course and _ nature of irrigation channels, and the construction of 4 ‘dams or locks on the chief effluents. Some work of _ this nature carried out from 1916 to 1919 has had _ noticeably beneficial results on the navigability of the ae pepetis. From the yepeet on the adiainintration of the _ Meteorological Department of the Government of NO. 2729, VOL. 109] ff five huge effluents besides innumerable smaller India in 1920-21 it appears that the suspension of wireless telegraphy from ships at sea during the war has rendered, it more difficult to give information as to the development and path of storms. The system was started again in May, 1920, although it will necessarily take time to regain the former efficiency. The absence of such wireless information apparently led to wrong deductions relative to the movement of a storm in the Arabian Sea between June 6 and 13. There was, fortunately, little loss of life, but in Junagadh State the storm did a large amount of damage; 16,000 houses are said to have fallen, 22,000 trees were uprooted, and 7700 cattle died. Upper-air observations are being made in connection with military flying on the part of the Royal Air Force and for the use of civil aviators when the route Bombay-Calcutta-Rangoon is opened. The number of special forecasts and warning messages sent from Simla during the year was 2994, and from Calcutta 929. In connection with cases of heat- stroke among British soldiers, information was sup- plied to local medical authorities when the wet-bulb temperature rose above 75° F. Registration of rain- fall has been carried out during the year at 2915 stations, for which the returns are published. The growth in departmental activity and changes ‘in total cost are shown by diagram for the last thirteen years. Mention is made.of the loss to the Indian Service of Dr. G. C. Simpson through his appointment as Director to the Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry. Tue Royal Astronomical Society. was founded as the London Astronomical Society in February, 1820, but did not gain the prefix ‘‘Royal’’ until 1830. At the annual general meeting of February, 1920, the president, Prof. A. Fowler, gave an address on the origin and early days of the society, which had Sir W. Herschel for its first presideni. There was some opposition to its formation on the part of the Royal Society, but this did not last long. The centenary of the society will be celebrated next June; it will open with a conversazione on th: evening of June 8. On June 9 there will be an historical meeting in the morning and a scientific one in the afternoon; at the former three addresses will be given, one introductory by the president, an historical address by Dr. Dreyer, and a biographical address by Prof. Turner. The society will dine together in the evening. A volume dealing with the history of the society is in course of preparation, and may be issued during the year. It is divided into ten decades, and is the work of several collaborators, but Dr. Dreyer, who is well known as an astronomical historian, has contributed the largest share. It will be illustrated by portraits of some of the more celebrated presidents of the society. Tue Times of February 13 makes the following announcement :—A Committee has been appointed to discuss the co-ordination of the work of the various Admiralty chemical laboratories. It will consider the scope of all work now carried out at the various’ laboratories in the Admiralty service, and will report 216 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 whether any changes can: be made with due regard to the requirements of each department interested: in the work to avoid dissipation: of energy, overlapping of duties, and unnecessarily different. conditions: of ‘ser- vice. Mr. W. J. Evans, Director of Establishments, is chairman, and Mr. J. Lang, of the Admiralty C.E. Branch, is secretary; the other members being. Eng, Vice-Adm. Sir George Goodwin, Engineer-in-Chief ; Capt. R. R. C. Backhouse, Director of Naval Ordnance; Comdr. L. E. H. Llewellyn, Chief Inspec- tor of Naval Ordnance; Mr. F. E. Smith, Director of Scientific Research; Mr. W. J. Berry, Director of Warship Production; and Mr. F. Ward, Deputy- Director, of Armament Supply. Tue Fuel Research Board of the Department of Scientific and’ Industrial Research has appointed’ a Committee to advise upon the sampling and analysis of coal. The personnel of the Committee is as follows :—Prof. T. Gray (chairman), Prof. J. W. Cobb, Mr. J. T. Dunn, Dr. J. S. Flett, Mr. G. Nevill Huntly, Mr. S. Roy Illingworth, Mr. J. G. King, Dr. C. H. Uander, Dr: R. Lessing, Mr. C. A. Seyler, Mr. F. S:. Sinnatt; and Prof. R. V. Wheeler. Secretary, Miss N. Renouf. It is intended that the methods recommended by the Committee shall be adopted in connection with the physical and chemical survey of the national coal resources. Communications for the Committee should be addressed to the secretary at 16 and 18 Old Queen Street, Westminster, London, S:W.1. WE are glad to see that the Portsmouth Literary and Philosophical Society, which was established in- 1869 but was afterwards discontinued, has been revived. There must be many citizens of all classes in such a place as Portsmouth, with the adjacent residential district of Southsea, who will find interest and stimulus in the activities of the new society. The programme for the current session includes descrip- tive lectures, field excursions, and sectional meetings of students and workers in various departments of knowledge, such as literature, history, geography and geology, botany and zoology, psychology, and. social "science. The president; Sir Richard Gregory, will deliver his: presidential address: on ‘‘The Influence of Science’ to-morrow, February 17. Mr. E. Heron- Allen, F.R.S., and Sir: John Brickwood are vice- presidentsof the society, Lt.-Col. J: H. Cooke chair- man of council, and Mr. C. W. Ball, Whittington Chambers, King’s Road, Southsea, honorary secretary. ConTINUING its discussion of the State and pro- vincial museums, the Museums Journal in its February issue suggests that this country is not merely falling behind others, but has even taken a step backward. ‘*The post created ‘for dealing with, provincial museum work at the Board of Education has now been vacant for more than a year.” The regulations formerly “laid before Parliament annually, as part of a Board of Education command paper, setting forth the condi- tions upon which loans of objects and grants of money were made to provincial museums, were last issued in’ rg10."° These alleged facts‘ seem curiously incon- sistent with the activity of discussion on the educa- NO. 2729, VOL. 109| Daimler premium for awarded, Lt.-Col. D. J. Smith was elected’ president tional use of museums that prevailed a few years ago — A at the Ministries of Reconstruction and: Education, This is not altogether to be explained by the necessity — i for economy, since what is wanted is not so much fresh expenditure as the co-ordination: and utilisation of the means ready to hand. Donations to the Maidstone Museum during the 4 past year include an albino specimen of the American — grey squirrel, shot near Maidstone; a lower jaw of the woolly rhinoceros found in Maidstone, and remains of the cave lion and the mammoth from the s river-drift at Aylesford; a miscellaneous collection calcined ‘flint nodule (? a pot-boiler) found at Borough Green; three pieces of Late Celtic pottery from the Cherry Orchard Estate, near Maidstone; and a copy of William’ Smith’s ‘Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales, etc.,’’ published in 1815. The large number: of other donations bears witness to the confidence placed in the curator, Mr. J. H. Allchin. As from April 1 next, the importation into the United Kingdom of the plumage of birds not ex- pressly excepted under the Importation of Plumage: (Prohibition) Act, 1921, will be prohibited. The Board of Trade may, however, under section 2 (4) of the Act, “grant to any person a licence subject to such conditions and regulations as they may think fit authorising the importation of plumage for any natural history or other museum, or for the purpose of scientific research or for any other special purpose.”” All applications for licences under this sub-section should be addressed to the Imports and Exports Licensing Section, Board of Trade, Great. George Street, Westminster, S.W.1. THE annual meeting and excursions of the Somerset- shire Archeological and Natural History Society will be held at Clevedon on July 4-6. The president- elect is Sir William Boyd Dawkins, \ Mr..G. V. CoLcHEsTER has. been appointed to the post of geologist on the Geological Survey of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. in succession to Mr. C; T. Madigan, who now holds a lectureship. in geology at. Adelaide University. At a meeting of the Institution of Automobile’ Engineers on February 8 Mr. E. L. Bass read his paper on “Engine Lubrication,’?’ for which the the session 1920-21 was for the session 1922-23. On Tuesday next, February 21, Sir Arthur Keith will begin a course of five lectures at the Royal In- stitution on ‘‘ Anthropological Problems of the British Empire,’ Series 1: Racial Problems in Asia and Australasia. The Friday evening discourse on February 24 will be delivered by Prof. J, Joly on “ The Age of the Earth.” Tue thirty-first annual meeting of the Royal Society” for the Protection of Birds will be held atthe Middle- sex Guildhall; Westminster, S.W.1, on Tuesday, FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 217. February 21. The chair will be taken at 3 p.m. by ‘the Duchess of Portland, and an address on the work ‘of the society will be delivered by Viscount Grey of ydon. the annual general meeting of the Royal rdlogical Society on January 18 the following ‘were elected :—President: Dr. C. Chree. esidents : Mr. C. L. Brook, Mr. W. W. Bryant, . H. Hooker, and Dr. E. M. Wedderburn. rer: Mr. W. Vaux Graham. Secretaries: Mr. Dines, Mr. L. F. Richardson, and Mr. Gilbert omson. Foreign Secretary: Mr. R. G. K. Lemp- - Council: Dr. J. Brownlee, Mr. D. Brunt, Mr. P. Cave, Mr. J. E. Clark, Mr. R. Corless, Mr. -Druce, Mr. J. Fairgrieve, Col. H. G. Lyons, Henry Mellish, Sir Napier Shaw, Dr. G. C. on, and Mr. F. J. W. Whipple. Communica- should be addressed to the secretaries at mwell Road, South Kensington, S.W.7. _ Tue following officers and members of council of he Royal Astronomical Society were elected at the i sary meeting on February 10:—President: A. S. Eddington. Vice-Presidents: Dr. J. L. E. , Sir F. W. Dyson, Prof. A. Fowler, and Prof. . Newall. Treasurer:'Col. E. H. Grove-Hills. ecretaries: Dr. A. C. D. Crommelin and the Rev. E. R. Phillips. Foreign Secretary: Prof. H. H. ner. Council: Prof. A. E. Conrady,’ Dr. J. W. L. sher, Mr. P. H. Hepburn, Mr. J. Jackson, Dri H. eys, Prof. F. A. Lindemann, Dr. W. H. Maw, f fee Merton, Prof. J. W. Nicholson, Mr. J. H. fa Reynolds, Lt.-Col. F. J.:M. Stratton, and Mr. H. Thomson. Tue annual, general meeting of the Physical Society of: London was held on February 10, and the follow- ing officers and members of council were elected :— President: Dr. A. Russell. Vice-Presidents: Lord Rayleigh, Prof. T. Mather, Mr. T. Smith, and Prof. G. W. O. Howe. Secretaries: Mr. F. E. Smith, ‘*Redcot,’’? St. James’s Avenue, Hampton Hill, and Dr. ‘D. Owen, 62 Wellington Road, Enfield. Foreign Secretary: Sir Arthur Schuster. Treasurer: Mr. W. R. Cooper. Librarian: Dr. A. O. Rankine. Other Members of Council: Mr. C. R. Darling, Prof. C. L. Fortescue, Dr. E. Griffiths, Dr. E. H. Rayner, Mr. J. H. Brinkworth, Mr. J. Guild, Dr. F. L. Hop- wood, Dr. E. A. Owen, Dr. J. H. Vincent, and Dr. G. B. Bryan. A TRANSLATION of the Nobel Prize address delivered by Prof. ‘Max Planck before the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on ‘‘The Origin and Develop- ment of the Quantum Theory” will be published at an early date by the Oxford University Press. REApERS in search of book bargains should see Catalogue No. 454 of Messrs. William Glaisher, Ltd., 26s High Holborn, W.C.1, and Catalogue No.. 424 of Mr. F. Edwards, 83 High Street, Marylebone, W.1, in which are to be found the titles of many science books offered at greatly reduced prices. The works in the first-named list are publishers’ remainders; those in Mr. Edwards’s are second-hand. REBALL OBSERVED IN SunsHiNE.—Mr. W. F. nning writes that on February 7, at 3.55 p.m., he _ observed a brilliant fireball descending in the northern . The sun was shining at the time, and the firma- ‘was almost cloudless. The fireball moved with lerate speed, varying in size and lustre as it fell, its motion was directed to the north-north-west it of the horizon, but it disappeared. when 21° in >. Its brilliancy was such that had it appeared tht the heavens would have been - strikingly _ illuminated. The fireball was observed from other _ places, and it appears certain that it was moving fron a radiant point near the star Capella. There __ is a well-known shower of brilliant meteors from this 1 in the month of February. It is hoped that further observations of the recent fireball will come to hand: so that its height, velocity, and exact direc- : may be computed. : A Printinc Curonocrapx.—the printing chrono- _ graph was invented by Prof. G. W. Hough, of _ Dearborn Observatory, in 1885. It is briefly described by Prof. in the Monthly Notices, R.A.S., for April, 1903. Its use leads to a decided increase of accuracy in the recording of transits or other time observations as compared with older forms of ; ph. This becomes: of particular importance now that the use of the recording micrometer has ‘considerably reduced the errors in the signals sent from the telescope to the chronograph. The Société’ Genevoise, 95 Queen Victoria Street, -C.4, is now showing a new printing chronograph. There are threeodiscs, marking minutes, seconds, and ie NO. 2729, VOL. 109] ae hundredths, which revolve in an hour, a minute, and Our Astronomical Column. a second respectively; the first has to be set by hand to agree with the clock; the adjustment of the others is effected automatically. When a signal is sent the discs are pressed. momentarily against a typewriting ribbon, behind which is a paper tape; the tape is moved automatically after each signal; there is thus no waste of paper between the signals, and a night’s record is comprised. in moderate limits; this counter- balances the greater awkwardness of a tape record as compared with a cylindrical one for a long night’s work. The discs are electrically driven by a motor the E.M.F. of which is 12 volts, supplied by secondary cells. The net weight of the installation is 66 Ib., and gross weight 110 Ib. Nova Puppis 1902.—The Gazette Astronomique for December last records the discovery of a new star by Miss Woods from. the negatives taken at the Harvard Observatory. The position of the nova was R.A. 8h. gm. 36-4s., decl. —26° 15-8’ (1900); the star was thus situated on the fringe of the Milky Way, the region in which nove are usually found. The fol- lowing is a summary of the facts recorded :—1901 (invisible), <16 mag.; 1902, September 24, <103 mag.; November 19, 7 mag.; December 6, 7 mag. ; 1903, June 3, 105 mag.; and 1905, <145 mag. (in- idbiaaipecmards). More than 400 negatives of. the region were ‘examined. Judging from the ‘facts recorded, it looks as if the nova reached its maxi- “mum ‘some time before November 19, 1902, because it is not usual: for new stars to maintain their maxi- ‘mum magnitude for such a long period as seventeen days. No photographs of the spectrum were taken. 218 NATURE | FEBRUARY 16, 1922 Research Items. BIRTHDAYS IN RELATION TO INTELLIGENCE.—In_ the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (vol. 41, No. 17) Mr. M‘Callum Fairgrieve discusses the annual incidence of intelligence. He experi- mented with 368 boys, using chiefly the American Army tests, supplemented by some of the tests used by Dr. Cyril Burt. His object was to see whether the time of year of birth bore any relation to intel- ligence. The results seem to show that boys born in the late spring months are in danger of developing less intelligence than those born about October. It is pointed out that naturally there are exceptions, some of the clever boys having birthdays .in the less intelligent period, but that on the whole, and his ages range from ten years to eighteen years, the generalisation is correct. The author suggests that it would be valuable if the test were repeated in other districts. Certainly it is a problem worth studying systematically. ApoGaMous ReEpropuctTion.—In a_ short account of experiments in. apogamous reproduction with some species of Hieracium,. Dr. H. Ostenfeld (Journal of Genetics, vol. 11, No. 2) describes the occurrence of several apogamic mutants which remain true in apogamous reproduction. It is be- lieved that the numerous microspecies in the sub- genus Archieracium have been produced in this way, being the after-effects of earlier crossing. ‘The cyto- logical studies of Rosenberg with species of this group have shown that there are irregularities in the chromo- some distribution during the reduction divisions. The occurrence of apogamic mutants is plausibly accounted for on the assumption that some such irregularity may occur in the development of the egg-cell, thus pro- ducing an aberrant individual which will breed true later by apogamous reproduction. SEX-REVERSAL.—In a very interesting paper on sex-reversal in frogs and toads Mr. F. A. E. Crew (Journal of Genetics, vol. 11, No. 2) dis- cusses all the recorded cases of females exhibit- ing all intergrades towards the male condition. In extreme cases the transformed animal appears as a typical male, but may retain the Miillerian ducts or a few ova amid the spermatic tissues. Such an animal behaves and functions as a male, but that it retains the germinal constitution, i.e. the chromosome complex, of a female has been shown by crossing such a transformed female with a normal female. The young (774) were all females, showing that the chromosome complex of these ‘‘ somatic ”’ males had remained unchanged. The transformation acts through the internal secretions of the gonads, and the process of sex-reversal is very similar to that which causes the production of freemartins in cattle, as. described by Lillie. The general opinion that Bidder’s organ in the frog is a rudimentary ovary is questioned on the basis of these experiments. Cotton IN THE FRENCH SupDAN.—The shortage of raw cotton for the mills. of France, due largely to the decreasing export from the United States, has directed attention to the possibility of large-scale cotton pro- duction in the French Sudan. With this end in view the Comité du Niger has been formed. Some details of the schemes which this committee proposes, to- gether with a large-scale map, are given in La Géo- graphie for December last. Briefly, the idea is to irrigate certain areas along both banks of the Niger in the vicinity of Segu, which it is proposed to con- nect by rail with both Grand Bassam and Dakar. NO. 2729, VOL. 109] line from Dakar. A barrage would be erected at On the left bank the Nyamina irrigation canal would dal leave the Niger near Bamako, the railhead of the = Sotuba and another at Sansanding, some twenty-five P miles below Segu, from which the Sansanding Canal — would run eastward for about 140 miles. Land on the right bank is to be irrigated by the Segu Canal and its branches, which leaves the river at the Sotuba barrage. These schemes, if carried out in full, would give some 10,000 square miles of irrigated alluvial ground. Farther east along the Niger towards Tim- buctu vast areas of useful land could also be reclaimed for cotton-growing. PotasH IN Mart AND GREENSAND.—The value of glauconitic marl and greensand as sources of potash is once more raised in the Annual Report for 1920 of the Department of Conservation and Development, New Jersey. At Elmwood Station, where green marl is 49 ft. thick, an acre of land covers approximately 9400 tons of potash. The average potash-content of the marl over a wide area is as high as 6-60 per cent. ; but commercial development, unfortunately, awaits new methods of extraction. Antarctic GroLocy.—Mr. J. M. Wordie’s report (Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. 53, pt. 2, 1921, 4s. on ‘Geological Observations in the Weddell Sea Area,’’ in connection with the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17, is specially notable on account of its photographic illustrations. The view of South Georgia in Plate 1 provides an exceptionally fine pic- ture of a land escaping from glacial control, with its high cirques in the background, frost-sculpturing on > the arétes, a valley glacier still pushing out to sea, and the bared bed of another, preserving the very form of the terminal fan, though the ice itself has shrunk back towards the hills. RAINFALL IN Mysore.—Rainfall registration in Mysore for 1920 is the subject of a report by Mr. N. Venkatesa Iyengar, Meteorological Reporter to the Mysore Government. observed at 226 stations. The greatest rainfall re- corded in one day was 11-88 in. at Agumbi, in the Shimoga. district, on July 24; in the previous year the heaviest fall was 15-40 in. at Nagar on June 20.” The mean rainfall for the year in the State was 28-96 in., whilst the average is 36-07 in.; in 1919 the mean for the State was 38-97 in. ere was a deficiency of rainfall in 1920 in every district, ranging from 6 per cent. in the Shimoga district to 49 per cent. in Tumkur. Data are given showing the monthly rainfall for the several districts and the mean percentage departure from the average. Similar in- formation is given for the seasonal rainfall, the four seasons into which the year is divided being cold- weather period, January and February; hot-weather period, March, April, and May; south-west-monsoon period, June, July, August, and September; and the retreating south-west-monsoon period, October, November, and December. monsoon period there was a general shortage of rain. Rainfall is collated for the several river-basins for 1920 and compared with the average fall for twenty- seven years, 1893-1919. given for each station. The average rainfall for the year ranges from 316-59 in. at Agumbi, in the Shimoga district, to 15-61 in. at Nayakanhatti, in the Chitaldrug district. The geographical distribution of rain in 1020 and the average are well shown in two maps at the end of the report. ° ' During the year rain was In the hot-weather period, the south-west-monsoon period, and the north-east- The monthly average fall is. FEBRUARY 16, 1922] - NATURE 219 _ Burst TusBes IN THE CLAUDE Process.—In the ynthesis of ammonia under pressures of 1000 atmo- spheres and at reaction temperatures of 500°-550° C., s in the Claude process, many working difficulties aight have been anticipated One of these is ribed by M. Georges Claude in the Comptes ws of the Paris Academy of Sciences for 16. In the reaction between ‘the hydrogen nitrogen large amounts of heat are produced, and e were removed by the circulation of molten lead id the vertical reaction tubes. This system has to accidents through bursting tubes, and it has found that the crack starting the break in the ibe always commences on the outside, and the effect s shown to be due to the difference of temperature etween the inside and the outside of the thick-walled This difference, about 200° C., causes the warmer internal layers to exert an enormous pressure mn the cooler outer layers, and this is in addition to the normal pressure of working. The tubes are now sacked in kieselguhr to prevent this dangerous tem- perature-gradient, and other means will have to be ted to remove the heat set free in the combina- of the two gases. DusTRIAL Motion Stupy.—Most of our know- e of “time and motion’’ study comes from erica, and is chiefly dependent on the inves- tigations of F. W. Taylor and F. B. Gilbreth. The object in view was the standardisation of human industry. Taylor picked out his best work- men and determined the shortest times taken by them to perform the various stages of the industrial opera- £ under investigation. The times were added sether, and, after the addition of a certain allow- ce for unavoidable delays, they formed the standard time or task. This required the workman to do three or four times as much work per day as he had done previously without much regard being paid to his state of fatigue. Gilbreth gave more attention to the methods of work, and endeavoured to ascertain what were the quickest movements possible in the various steps of an industrial operation. These he, regarded _as the best. In Report No. 14 of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board Mr. Eric Farmer gives a _ full summary of previous work on time and motion study, and subjects it to severe criticism. As the result of his own observations in industries such as that of sweets production, he concludes that the most _ important principle of motion study is rhythm rather than speed. The best set of movements is not the quickest set, but the easiest set. The quickest set _ may cause too much strain on the workers and pro- _ duce undue fatigue. It is better to make the move- _ ments of the hands required in an industrial opera- _ tion in curves, without sudden changes of direction, rather than in straight lines. Increased production _ Was not specially aimed at, though, as a matter of fact, it invariably occurred when a proper system of _ movements was jntroduced. In the instances quoted _ it went up from 38 to 50 per cent. _ Atconor as A Motor Fuer.—A brief survey of the work of the Fuel Research Board in regard to power alcohol since the publication hal as of the Board’s interim memorandum in _ 1920 is iven in the second memorandum on ‘Fuel for otor Transport,’’ which has recently been issued. _ This publication contains the results of inquiries _which have been made as: to the possibility of pro- _ ducing commercial quantities of alcohol within the _ Empire at a price which would render its use prac- _ ticable as a motor fuel. The facts that nearly all the vegetable substances proposed as raw materials _ for the manufacture of spirit are already in great NO. 2729, VOL. 109] demand as foodstuffs or for industrial purposes, and the usually high cost of production, provide the key to the main results of the inquiries. So far as the British Isles are concerned, there is little prospect of adding materially to the supplies of power alcohol from home-grown raw materials. The utilisation of molasses, however, in overseas coun- tries where this by-product is not yet fully employed for other purposes, and the cultivation in the tropics of cértain roots and tubers with a high starch content, offer prospects of a limited production of alcohol which may be equal to no more than local demands. Synthetic production on a commercial scale in the British Isles is unlikely, but in Canada and Australia, especially in the latter country, the process is not impossible with the development of available sources of cheap electricity. .The best chance of the production of power alcohol on a large scale for export appears to lie in the perfection of a chemical or bacteriological process for the production of alcohol from the inexhaustible supplies of vegeta- tion in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The re- searches to this end initiated by the Board have not yet resulted in a practical commercial process, but some progress has been made, especially on the bacteriological side. EnpurANce Limits ofr Metats.—During the recent war the question of the strength of aeroplane parts and other problems of materials under repeated stress brought the whole subject of ‘fatigue’? phenomena of metals to the attention of the National Research Council, U.S.A. The result was the organisation of an investigation by the co-operation of this body with the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois. We have received Bul- letin No. 124 from the University entitled ‘‘An Inves- tigation of the Fatigue of Metals,’’ which is a pro- gress report of the first part of this investigation, having for its object the determination whether or not there exists any clearly defined relation between static properties and the ability to resist repeated stresses. The work has been carried’ out by H. F. Moore and J. B. Kommers. Two types of rotating- beam testing machines were used, one reversed bend- ing testing machine, and one reversed-torsion testing machine. The materials tested consisted of both carbon and alloy steels, the range of composition in the former case being considerable The authors con- clude that for metals tested under reversed stress there is a well-defined critical stress at which the rela- tion between unit stress and the number of reversals necessary to cause failure changes markedly. Below this critical stress the metals withstood 100,000,000 reversals, and, so far as can be predicted from test re- sults, they would have withstood an indefinite number of such reversals. The name ‘‘endurance limit ’’ has been given to this critical stress. No simple relation was found between this and the elastic limit. Rather curiously, the Brinell hardness test appears to fur- nish the best index of this figure, the reason for which is by no means clear. The authors find that the endurance limit for ferrous alloys can be predicted with very fair accuracy by the measurement of the rise of temperature under reversed stress applied for a few minutes. This is the development of a test proposed by Mr. C. E. Stromeyer. In none of the alloys tested did the endurance limit under completely reversed stress fall below 36 per cent. of the ultimate tensile strength; for only one alloy did it fall below 4o per cent., while for several alloys it was more than 50 per cent. The tests reported indicate the effective- ness of proper heat treatment in raising the endur- ance limit of ferrous alloys. 220 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 The Air Conference. [? is yet too early to judge of the effects on the future of aeronautics of the official and unofficial speeches made in the course of the Air Conference at the Guildhall, London, on February 7 and 8, but there can be no doubt as to the seriousness of the various speakers or the representative character of the gather- ing. The dominant note of the Air Minister’s address was lack of belief in the future of civil aviation in Europe, an expression of opinion not shared. by the members of the conference. It was asserted by more than one speaker that a subsidy is needed by the London-Paris air service only because France has given a large measure of assistance to her désigners, constructors, and pilots. Whilst the British aircraft companies have carried six passengers per machine on each journey, the corresponding figure for French aeroplanes is two; on the other hand, the major portion of the goods traffic has been taken in the air- craft of other countries. The conference was opened by the Secretary of State for Air, Major F. E. Guest, but for the greater part of its proceedings Lord Weir was in the chair. Matters relating to the Air Force were not under review, as at the previous conference—a development towards secrecy in the new fighting Ser- vice which may be noted. Provision was made for the reading of papers on the first day, the morning being devoted to civil transport and the afternoon to technics and research for both aeroplanes and airships. The second day was fully occupied by discussion from the assembled experts from the various branches of aero- nautics. The depression produced: by Major Guest was not removed by the carefully prepared paper read by Lord Gorell, the Under-Secretary of State for Air, and speaker after speaker was moved to! protest. Lord Gorell’s paper showed that air activity is great in many. parts of the world, and that other countries are spend. ing more money on development than is Britain. Probably Lord Weir voiced the general sentiments when he indicated a better quality for the endeavours of this country, and suggested that enough had been learnt to justify the development of the Imperial air route, England-Egypt-India. A permanent committee is now being formed to deal with the matter, and the only resolution put to the conference endorsed the view and was acceptable to the Air Ministry. Col. Bristow, with an intimate knowledge of the working of the London-Paris air service, remarked that ‘‘it is lamentable in the extreme that in this year, the fourth. after the Great War, the British commercial air fleet should consist, all told, of fewer than twenty aeroplanes; in fact, on the day the paper was written there were only six or seven.”’ The exhibits on the aerodrome at Croydon on the day preceding the conference must then have con- stituted the whole of the existing commercial air fleet, and. the number may be contrasted with an output of tooo aeroplanes per week at the close of the war: The smallness of the civil, as compared with the military, side was. referred to by Sir Samuel Instone, of the Instone Air Line, on the-fol- lowing day, when he mentioned the fact that the subsidy for civil aviation is 200,000]., whilst the ex- penditure on. the Air Force has been 18,500,0001.; of © the. 200,000l. it is proposed that the spending of half on new craft should rest with the Air Ministry, and not with the transport companies. The discussion on this section of the subject (civil transport) turned on the importance of civil aviation to. progress. There was a strongly expressed view that the new system of transport has come to stay, NO. 2729, VOL.. 109 | commercial airships were immediately possible as and the president of the Federation of British Indus- tries attended the conference to give the blessing of the business community and to announce adherence to the theory of a sound subsidy in the early. stages 0: development. That the industry will ultimately sup- port itself on a commercial footing was not doubted, ~ but no one accepted as satisfactory the statement of the Air Minister that in certain directions Britain could wait for ten years and then start again. a Where is the principal. stumbling-block? The — Director-General of Civil Aviation indicated it as ‘“‘the ~ military be-all and end-all of aviation.”’ The present complete stoppage of airship. work and the unsym- | pathetic attitude of the Air Ministry add further argu- ments in the same sense. Major Scott’s paper on ~ airships finished with an expression of opinion that — technical devices, and support was given to this view _ in the discussion. Another instance Air Force dominance is furnished by the experiments on a heli- copter, mentioned by Lord Gorell and Gen. Bagnall Wild; it appears tu be regarded by certain Air Force officers as important and a subject for immediate ex- periment and research; technical experts and men of science regard expenditure of money on the helicopter as waste owing to the lack of promise of success for very many years to come. The Brennan helicopter at Farnborough is being built in secrecy, and, so far as can be gathered, the Aeronautical Research Com- — mittee has not been consulted. This lack of balance between military wishes and technical possibilities gave point to Col. M. O’Gor- man’s reference to the need for more scientific know- ledge in high quarters at the Air Ministry. He pointed out that fighting now depends on technical complications beyond the understanding of military commanders, and that dependence on their opinions alone will necessarily lead to an unbalanced policy. The need for such remarks was shown by Lord Gorell when he said: ‘‘I do not speak in the least degree as a technical expert; probably in the position which I — happen to hold it would be a disadvantage to pretend to any degree of technical qualifications.”” Col. | O’Gorman was unable to see why technical and scientific knowledge should be a disqualification in a Minister. . : During the discussion on civil transport much refer- ence was made to the need for research, but in the afternoon the theme was research and yet more re- search. A deep impression on the conference was pro- duced by Sir Richard Glazebrook’s references to R38. Lord Gorell’s paper contains the passage: ‘Since the decision of the Dominion Premiers was taken, the conquest of the air has suffered one of the greatest — disasters of its history in the terrible accident to R38. It ought to be decisively said that the disaster has not affected, and will not affect, the belief in the future of airships. We are not so faint-hearted a race as to allow ourselves to be deterred even by such an event; it is the toll that Nature inevitably exacts from those who seek to probe her secrets—and it has been paid.”” Sir Richard Glazebrook asked: ‘‘Was the loss of the airship R38, with its crew of officers, technicians, and men, necessary? Was it one of those dreadful and. seemingly inevitable incidents in the evolution of a new craft?’ and answered his questions by saying that ‘knowledge existed from experiments in the air tunnels which would have enabled the collapse of the: ship to be foretold.’” The knowledge had not been applied because of a gap between model and full-scale experiments; attempts by the designers and the Aero-. FEBRUARY 16, 1922] NATURE 221 nautical Research Committee to obtain facilities for full-scale experiment on R31, R32, and R33 had A He urged as a partial atonement for the sacrifice of the lives of brave men that the remnants of the airship fleet should be devoted to correcting, by ull-scale experiments, the knowledge given by model failed. Ta e situation with regard to aeroplanes was. also ‘to be unsatisfactory. Prof. L. Bairstow pointed 3 lence of accidents in aviation, the risks of g being so great that life insurance companies are repared to cover them in a standard policy. This jal rate was attributed in part to a number of s not needing more knowledge for their remedy. failure of rubber joints in petrol pipes and the kage of ignition cables were given as instances of remediable defects. The danger of such imper- comes from the necessity for landing at once, the engine ceases to turn, in country which is unsuitable. So soon as an aeroplane can take the air it leaves the designer for the user, and its minor defects have not then developed. New design light be encouraged by placing responsibility for such tatters on the designer, and not on an Air Ministry a, ther causes of failure in flight were said to need knowledge before they could be removed. All lanes are tricky at low speeds, and it does not accord wholly with fact to attribute an accident to ‘‘had piloting causing the aeroplane to lose flying speed near the ground.”’ Important research work is here called for, the conduct of which may be hindered by an unsuitablé organisation as much as by lack of funds.. It is reported that the Secretary of State for Air has the matter of the reorganisation of the Air Ministry under review, and hias afforded the council of the Royal Aeronautical Society an opportunity for expressing the scientific and technical view of essential requirements for the carrying on of research. It is encouraging to note that Lord Gorell told the Air Conférence that “success in the air, whether Service or-civil, must depend ‘primarily upon constant scientific research,” and that the report of the Geddes Economy Committee, whilst asking for a reduction on the vote for experiment and research, accepts that view. If research and care in design can reduce the acci- dents now occurring to one-third of their present amount—a very moderate estimate of early possibili- ties—the saving of money on flying risks, replacement of aircraft, ete., will very greatly exceed the cost incurred. The position is unusual in the fact that the effects of research on the final product are so clearly seen; such a state is largely due to the infancy of the science, but an important additional element: arises from the unparalleled degree of freedom of the motion of aircraft as compared with that of other vehicles. HE unit of the photographic plate is the single grain of silver salt as it exists in the sensitive n. It is-matural, therefore, that after many years much labour had been devoted to the properties sensitive films.as films, attention should be turned the unit. A great deal of work has already been e in this.direction, but many problems, some of thich seem to be of an elementary character, remain be solved. uesday, February 14, Prof. The Svedberg, of psala, communicated to the Royal Photographic ty two papers containing important results that has obtained. It is customary in such investiga- tions to dilute the emulsion and so produce a film _ that contains only a single layer of grains. The _ characters of the grains are registered by photomicro- _ graphy, using apochromatic objectives of the maxi- _ mum practical aperture. As the photography of the grains before treatment must not affect their sensitive- _ ness, Prof. Svedberg used a very deep red light and Ilford special rapid panchromatic plates. After ex- _ posure and development the plate may be photo- phed again, then either the metallic silver pro- du or the unaffected grains may be dissolved _ away, as desired, to facilitate the examination of the Ve _ Evidence in favour of the view that the halide _ grain is either wholly reducible (developable) or not _ reducible at all is accumulating, and this Prof. Sved- _ berg finds definitely to be the case. By dissolving _ away the silver grains nothing whatever was left of _ them, except to the extent of about 1 per cent. of the thousand or so grains observed, which showed _ traces of incomplete reduction (development). __ This independency of the grains is further proved by the unchanged appearance of the undeveloped is and their unchanged sizes as measured. This iolds even. when the film is: partly solarised by a ffong light, when the grains are separated by only Tu, and wh developer is employed. The author intends to try - ~ NO. 2729, VOL. 109] ether ferrous oxalate or metol-hydroquinone | The Grain of the Photographic Plate. other conditions to see if, as appears to be the case, these results. are general, and that feeding of: the reduced silver: grains-at the expense of the undevelop- able grains does not, in fact, take place. In Prof..Svedberg’s second communication he sug- gests that the larger and the smaller grains in one and the same emulsion are equally sensitive and “are built up of the same kind of light-sensitive material— just ‘as if they were fragments of different sizes.from one homogeneous silver bromide crystal.”’ He assumes that by exposure (light action) ‘‘ developable centres ’’ are produced, and shows experimentally that the distribution of these “‘centres”’ takes place ac- cording to the laws of chance, so that there is no need to assume a superior sensitiveness of those grains that are made developable. The author is to be congratulated on using the term ‘centre,’ which expresses all that is known and is non-committal, rather than “‘nucleus.’’ Nuclei have been shown to serve, but the crystallisation of sugar on strings is not evidence of the presence of strings wherever sugar crystallises. This by the way. < The present writer in 1911 (Journ. Roy. Phot. Soc., p. 159) showed that by stopping development at: a very early stage it was possible to get particles of silver too smallito be visible microscopically. They were shown to be present by the colour imparted to the film, and were further demonstrated and measured by adding mercury to them in known and progressive proportions and measuring the enlarged particles. Prof: Svedberg by stopping development at a little later stage gets particles that are just definitely visible microscopically, and shows photographically the rela- tion of these to the original grains of silver haloid. He thus demonstrates that ‘“‘centres of development ”’ are produced by exposure.. A single developable grain may contain one or more (so far up to four) of these ‘*centres.’? He treats also of other: matters, such as the effect of Réntgen rays when used instead of ordinary light. : C.. Je 222 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 16, 1922 Building Materials and Heat Insulators. PRE Department of Scientific. and Industrial Re- search. has issued two special reports an floors and thin walls, the result of work undertaken by an ad hoc Building Materials Research Committee appointed to investigate new materials and _ constructional methods in connection with housing schemes. (H.M. Stationery Office, 1s. 3d. net and 6d. net respectively). Some eight types of floors were dealt with, comprising hollow tiles, brick and tile, reinforced concrete, ash concrete, and ordinary wood joists. Suitable sections or units of these floors were erected and tested for carrying capacity to destruction. The results are sum- marised in tabular form, showing the weight of the floor, load carried, deflection, breaking load, age on testing, elastic limit, and so on. These results are also plotted diagrammatically, and drawings are given showing the construction of each floor to scale. The ash concrete proved weak, and the ordinary joisted floor, though possessing obvious disadvantages from some aspects, appeared to hold its own in the matter of strength. .The experiments on thin walls included the testing of brick and concrete blocks and slabs and coke-breeze materials. Consistent results showed that the crushing strength of the walls varied from 67 to 83 per cent. of that of cubes of the materials respec- tively employed. Lengths of wall of 14 in. and 3 ft. 6 in. and 2% in. to 43 in. thick were dealt with. These strips were 8 ft. 6 in. high, and the horizontal pull necessary to make the wider strips collapse was measured. The materials built in lime mortar on account of early failure under test give rise to criticism of lime as a binding agent, but surely the behaviour of walls so built after only twenty-four days cannot be fairly compared with that of similar walls built in cement which sets in a day or two. Lime was used in all our national buildings until comparatively recent years; it is cheaper in actual cost and labour than cement, and its wider use merits revival. These experiments are valuable and interesting; it has to be remembered, however, that the country builder usually — fears new methods, and is apt to put unduly high prices on’ unknown forms of construction. ee. | The fifth special report of the Food Investigation — Board, issued by the Department of Scientific and — Industrial Research, consists of an account of experi- — ments on heat insulators suitable for use in cold stores. The work has been carried out at the National | Physical Laboratory by Dr. Ezer Griffiths, and so far has been devoted to the determination of the thermal conductivity of a number of materials adapted to low- _ temperature insulation. In the experiments a warm surface, consisting of a metal plate electrically heated, was maintained at a steady temperature and placed opposite to a similar plate cooled by brine circulation, the material under test filling the space between the two plates. Special precautions were taken to eliminate errors arising from edge effects in the warm plate and air convection in the material, and when a steady temperature had been attained in both plates the heat passing through the lagging was deduced by measuring the watts furnished to the warm plate. The results obtained show that the conductivity in C.G.S. units for slab cork is 0-oo011; granulated cork, 0-00011 to 0-00019; slag wool, o-ooo102; and dry char- coal, 0-000122. A number of other substances giving higher values were also tested, and mention is made of a cellular form of rubber which from preliminary tests appears to be superior to any other material examined, its conductivity being about o-000085. As an appendix to the report, a description is given of the apparatus devised by Dr. Griffiths for determining the specific heats of the materials under notice. Although other factors, such as moisture absorption and liability to organic growths, have to be taken into account in choosing a lagging for a cold store, the figures obtained by Dr. Griffiths should prove of much practical value to those engaged in the re- frigerating industry. Industrial Fatigue. "THE Industrial Fatigue Research Board, which has recently been reconstructed as an advisory body under the Medical Research Council, is to be congratulated upon the publication of two highly valuable and most interesting reports. These -are doubtless a legacy to it from the older Board the wider sphere and greater liberty of action of which were recently brought to an end by the Treasury under the pretext of economy. They are published by H.M. Stationery Office at 1s. and 2s. respectively, Report No. 12. being on vocational guidance and Report No. 15 on motion study in metal polishing. The former of these reports, written by Mr. B. Muscio (who has since accepted a professorship in the Uni- versity of Sydney), gives a detailed review of the literature on vocational selection. The list of nearly sixty books and papers at the end of the report indi- cates the diligence which the author has brought to bear on his task. The report is divided into three sections: (1) introductory, (2) summary of special investigations, and (3) future investigations. The second section, filling forty-two of the fifty-seven pages, contains a most able and critical account of the psychological tests that have been applied to clerical, engineering, and metallurgical occupations, music, printing, salesmanship, telegraphy, telephone NO. 2729, VOL. 109 | exchange work, transport work, war experiments, etc. Prof. Muscio indicates in his last section the wide field which is now open for future investigations con- ducted on a broader scale and on a more systematic basis than hitherto. Not less valuable is the Board’s Report No. 15 on motion study in metal polishing by Messrs. E. Farmer and R. S. Brooke. These investigators prove very con- clusively what an enormous wastage of effort now occurs in the ‘buffing ’? (spoon and fork polishing) trade owing to the lack of a systematic course of training for newly entering workers. They indicate the principles on which such a course should be based, and give data derived from the actual application of those principles, which ‘prove conclusively that a beginner, given adequate training, can become an expert dollier within a very few days, but left to her- self, without proper instruction, she probably will never become highly skilled, and will continue all her life to waste her energy in unnecessary and unpro- ductive movements.’’ The influence of fatigue was ingeniously studied by means of a recording watt- meter which they applied to the machines employed for removing scratches and other imperfections from spoons and forks. It was found that as towards the end of the day the girls’ output diminished and their _ FEsrRuary 16, 1922] NATURE 223 atigue increased, they tended to give more vigorous and more numerous strokes, to pause longer between 4 stroke, and to take a longer time over each oke. In other words, Messrs. Farmer and Brooke ve that the tired ‘‘rougher ’’ is ‘‘not only working »wer than when she is fresh. but is also expending energy extravagantly.” sity and Educational Intelligence. iOoN.—The Franks research studentship in ology, value tool. for one year, is offered. tions must reach the Academic Registrar, the sity of London, South Kensington, S.W.7, by, , March 2. 1FFIELD.—The council of the University has made ollowing appointments :—Mr. Douglas Hay to be sor of mining; Mr. A. J. Saxton, assistant lec- in physics; Mr. L. W. Cole, assistant lecturer demonstrator in botany; Mr. H. W. Southgate, irer in pharmacology; Dr. E. F. Finch and Mr. Townrow, assistant curators of the Pathological 3; and Dr. A. G. Yates, demonstrator in pathology. st year the Civic Education League organised a interesting Easter visit to Belgium for the pur- of civic study. This year a similar visit to Hol- is being arranged. Anyone interested in civic ies may join the party, and early application to Margaret Tatton, secretary, Civic Education gue, Leplay House, 65 Belgrave Road, S.W.1, Id be made. Members of the party will have ial facilities for first-hand contact with the work personnel of the chief social and economic institu- ms of the country. . Tue annual prize distribution at the Sir John Cass chnical Institute, Aldgate, E.C.3, was held on ednesday, February 8, when the prizes were dis- tributed by Prof. William Rothenstein, principal of the Royal College of Art. The/ chairman of the erning body, the Rev. J. F. Marr, in giving summary of the work of the institute during the past session, stated that the increase in the number of students had been more than maintained, and that the capacity of the institute, especially in the science departments, had been taxed to the utmost. Twenty students had been engaged in research work during the session, and the total number of investigations published from the institute O ment of the present session, is one of the institute’s _ advise the governors in respect to the courses of study _ which have been provided, and the chief oil companies of the London area have given generous support towards the equipment and maintenance of the depart- ment. In the course of an address on ‘‘ Education and Industry ’’ Prof. Rothenstein said he regarded every kind of education as something in the nature of a pursuit after truth. Whereas there was much lip- homage to science and art and the crafts by our mer- _ chant princes and captains of industry, these employers did not have the same faith in them as their em- ees. Commercial men in past civilisations some- ow knew how to ask for the best, but that was not true of our own civilisation. What we required was a standard of commerce which knew how to utilise what was best in the arts and sciences, for he refused to believe that people, in general, did not value that _ which was good and beautiful in production. NO. 2729, VOL. 109] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. February 16, 1890. William Jarvis McAlpine died.— Trained under Jervis, the chief engineer of the Dela- ware and Hudson Canal, McAlpine became State Engineer for New York, and was also State Railroad Commissioner. At the request of the Austro-Hun- garian Government he prepared plans for the improve- ment of the Danube. He was the first American to become a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and in 1886 was president of the sister institution in the United States. February 18, 1888. Thomas Turner Tate died.—In conjunction with Sir William Fairbairn, Tate was the author of memoirs on the vapour tension of super- heated steam and on the strength of materials in relation to the construction of iron ships, and was the inventor of the double piston air-pump. For some -years he was mathematical master at Battersea Train- ing College, and was known for his educational works. February 19, 1816. Jean Pierre Francois Guillot Duhamel died.—An early student at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, Duhamel accompanied Gabriel Jars in his extended industrial tour throughout Europe, and on his return to France did much to improve the manufacture of steel. He afterwards be- came Government Inspector of Forges and Furnaces, a professor of metallurgy at the Ecole des Mines, and a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. February 20, 1825. Joseph Marie Francois Cachin died. —One of the most distinguished French civil engineers of his day, Cachin was intimately connected with the improvements of the harbour of Cherbourg, and in 1820 published his ‘‘ Mémoire sur la digue de Cher- bourg comparée au breakwater, ou jetée, de Ply- mouth.”’ February 20, 1826. Matthew Murray died.—With Fenton and Wood, Murray founded a mechanical engineering works at Leeds which became one of the rivals of Boulton and Watt. The firm built flax- making machinery and constructed some of the earliest Blenkinsop locomotives, and Murray is generally credited with the invention of the short D-slide valve for steam engines. February 20, 1913. Sir William Arrol died.—The builder of many famous bridges, Arrol between 1882 and 1887 reconstructed the viaduct over the Firth of Tay, and between 1883 and 1890 built the Forth Bridge. This bridge, designed by Fowler and Baker, has always been regarded as one of the greatest engineering structures in the world. With a_ total length of 8295 ft., of which the three cantilevers account for 5349 ft., the bridge contains 51,000 tons of steel, while the towers rise to a height of 360 ft. and the line is carried 150 ft. above the. water at high tide. Arrol was knighted at the opening of the bridge by Edward VII. February 21, 1888. George Henry Corliss died.—The greatest steam-engine builder of America, Corliss about 1848 entered into partnership with Nightingale at Providence, Rhode Island. Adopting the trip gear of Sickells, he brought out the Corliss form of steam engine, which on account of its improved economy and: regular turning movement became known all over the world. February 21, 1912. Osborne Reynolds died.—For nearly forty years professor of engineering at Owens College, Manchester, Reynolds made many investiga- tions of importance to engineers and shipbuilders, such as those on screw propulsion, the flow of liquids, the condensation of steam, the transmission of heat, and lubrication. He was the inventor of the compound turbine. E. C. S. 224 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, February 9.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair.—Sir J. Alfred Ewing: The atomic process in ferromagnetic induction. In the old model representing the process of ferromagnetic in- duction, the Weber elements or ultimate magnetic particles were represented by pivoted magnets the alignment of which, in the absence of an impressed field, was determined by. the forces which they exerted on one another. The model is unsatisfactory; when the range of stable deflection is sufficiently narrow the stability becomes too great. In the new model the idea of magnetic control is retained, with a Weber element in each atom, but the controlling force is supposed to be exerted between the electrons of the atom itself, namely, between the shell, which is held more or less fixed by its relation to -neighbouring atoms, and an inner electron system which con- stitutes the Weber magnet. The control depends on the difference between two nearly equal opposing forces; this characteristic permits the model to com- bine a sufficiently weak. control with a narrow range of stable deflection. In one model considered the structure is based on the grouping of electrons sug- gested by Hull in connection with his X-ray analysis of iron crystals; in another the electron orbits are assumed to have the nucleus of the atom at their common focus.—J. W. Nicholson: Problems relating to a.thin plane annulus, Only first approximations of solutions of problems relating to a thin plane annulus appear to have been used hitherto. Higher approximations have now been obtained, and the actual difference of radii of the circles bounding the annulus is of comparatively small significance in such magnitudes as the electrical capacity of the annulus. The whole investigation is carried to the second order of significance by treating the annulus as a special case of the elliptic anchor ring, but it can be extended. The convergence of ‘such approximate solutions appears to be analogous to the degree of convergence found by Lord Rayleigh in certain solutions of problems of vibration of discs in which eccentricity is taken into account.—T. H. Havelock: The effect of shallow water on wave resistance. An analysis of the wave resistance of a surface pressure symmetrical round a point and moving over the surface of deep water is.extended so as to include the effect of finite depth of water. The wave resistance is given by a definite integral which is evaluated by numerical and graphical methods. ‘The cases intermediate between deep water and shallow water show the effect of limited depth in lowering the principal wave-making velocity and in increasing the effects near the velocity of the wave of translation—R. H. Fowler and C. N. H. Lock: The aerodynamics of a spinning shell. Pt. 2. Of the shells fired from two guns giving different degrees of axial spin, those fired from the gun giving the more rapid spin were all stable, most -of the others being unstable, as shown by the larger yaw developed. For yaws up to 35° a solution of the equations of motion can still be obtained in elliptic functions which proves adequately general.—F. B. Pidduck : The kinetic theory of a special type of rigid molecule. The methods of Chapman and Enskog in the kinetic theory of gases are applied, with modi- fications, to a type of rigid molecule to discover how viscosity is affected by energy of rotation, and the relative transport of translational and rotational energy in thermal conduction. The molecule model is considered as a sphere which grips at each collision and rebounds without dissipation of energy. The results support Eucken’s’ views on Chapman’s con- NO, 2729, VOL. 109] stant f for polyatomic gases.—J. E. Jones: The velo- city distribution function and the stresses in a non-— uniform rarefied monatomic gas. From Boltzmann’s~ equation a symbolic solution of the velocity distribu- tion function is obtained; from the new equation, by | an analogous treatment, the exact nature of the func- tion is deduced. The rate of change of molecular | properties by collision follows more directly from this | equation than from that used by Maxwell. To illus- trate the present method, the results obtained by | Chapman and Enskog for a normal gas are cal- culated anew. The treatment is extended to a rarefied — gas and expressions are obtained for stresses due to ~ non-uniformity of temperature. The special Maxwellian model is considered and Maxwell’s result confirmed. | The molecular model of a gas consisting of rigid | elastic spheres is then considered in detail, The | numerical coefficient in this case differs by about ~ 20 per cent. from that of the Maxwellian gas——H. | Bateman : The numerical solution of integralequations. An approximate solution of an integral equation of Fredholm’s type is obtained by using an approximate representation of the kernel by means of a double series of known functions. One such series is written down immediately in the form of a deter- minant, and the solution of the integral equation with the approximate kernel is .also written im ‘the form’ of a determinant. The kernel of the integral equation can also be represented approximately by a polynomial.—_W. B. Hardy and Ida ‘Doubleday Boundary lubrication: The paraffin series. The lubri- cating properties of normal paraffins and their related acids and alcohols have been studied under the condi- tions of boundary friction. Amonton’s law, that fric- tion varies as the loads and is independent of the — areas, is rigorously true for the same bearing surfaces and lubricants. The friction is independent of the — quantity of lubricant present. It is a linear function of molecular weight, so that »=friction+load=a—bM, where M is molecular weight and b a pure function of chemical constitution; the slope of the curve is greatest for acids, and sensibly the same for paraffins and alcohols. Changing from one acid to another shifts the curves parallel to themselves, so for ~ the same chemical series a is a pure function of the nature of the solid faces. Each solid face contributes one-half of a, ‘and each molecule of lubricant fur- nishes a constant quantity to the total effect indepen- dently of the total number of molecules present. Aristotelian Society, January 16.—Dr. F. C. S. Schiller, president, in the chair.—H. J. Paton: Plato’s theory of eixacia. In Plato’s account of the Line and the Cave in the ‘‘ Republic” he distinguishes two sub- divisions of opinion (eixaoéa or intuition, and miotts, or belief) and two sub-divisions of knowledge (diavoia, or mathematical reasoning, and voyos, or philosophical reasoning). This must be understood as implying a difference of objects in each of the four subdivisions, just as the objects of opinion and knowledge are different—the changing individuals as opposed to the unchanging universals. The parallelism or. analogy between the. objects of the two main. divisions and those of the sub-divisions is meant to be taken — seriously throughout. In particular, the objects of the eixagia, or intuition, are the many appearances whether given in what we call sense or memory or imagination, from which we pass to the objects of miotts, or belief—the solid bodies of the ordinary con- sciousness and of science, things relatively permanent and relatively intelligible in comparison with their many appearances, although changing and unintelligible in comparison with the really permanent and really intel- ligible eiéy,.or universals. It is.a complete error to Fespruary 16, 1922] rd ¢ixcoia and its objects as of no metaphysical rtance, and an understanding of the nature of section is necessary if we are to grasp Plato’s ral theory of knowledge. Even Plato’s theory art must be classified under this first cognitive ‘ity of the spirit is in its essence sound, in spite fact that some of the conclusions which he from it were mistaken. Prain, president, in the chair.—E. P. Stebbing : portance of scientific research in forestry and tion in the Empire. In India a research insti- is formed at Dehra Dun in 1906, and the fully ed building completed by 1914. It has now necessary to decentralise research work to ie extent, and a fine institute is already in exist- at Coimbatore, in Madras. Elsewhere in the ®, with the exception of Canada and at home, orest services are only in the initial stages of the itroduction of the wofk. A start should be made in e branches of forest botany and forest economics. 2 a well-equipped research institute is most ly needed which would work in collaboration the educational centres the staffs of which have available to devote to research work. Until a research institute is established full use should de of centres the equipment of which is adequate carrying on research on the lines which the try Commission may suggest. ysical Society, January 27.—Sir William Bragg in chair.—T. H. Littlewood: The diffusion of solu- s. An optical method is described for finding the entration at various depths in a diffusing solu- _ The solution is contained in a closed vessel, the p and one side of which are of glass. On the glass e is a vertical scale. This vessel is immersed in containing a mirror which can be rotated, and osition of which is read on a graduated scale by. _ telescope which carries a horizontal wire illuminated sodium light. The mirror is adjusted so that the se of the wire, after twice passing through the , is seen on the cross wires of the telescope, and reading on the vertical scale is also observed. concentration can be determined at different _ depths with an accuracy of about 0-05 gr. per litre. From a series of measurements at different times the coefficient of diffusion can be calculated. Sufficient data can be obtained in less than a day.—H. R. ettleton: A special apparatus for the measurement _ at various temperatures of the Thomson effect. The Short wire under test (S.W.G. 18) passes through electrical heaters which may quickly be brought to, _and maintained at, steady temperatures differing by e 50° C. over the range 20° C. to 250° C. A coil of the finest double silk-covered copper wire _ (S.W.G. 44) acts as the Thomson-Joule heat detector.— Jj. J. Manley: A defect in the Sprengel pump: its _ Causes and a remedy. A plan whereby the limitations and irregularities of the Sprengel pump resulting from the presence of air skins upon the interior sur. faces may be made negligible is described. The effi- ciency of the new pump is superior to that of the older forms, and appears to be constant. we . Dustin. Royal Dublin Society, January 24,—Mr. G. Fletcher the chair.—H. H. Poole: Some notes on the dis- bution of activity in radium therapy under different ditions of screening. Tests were made of the ening erfect of various materials on the complex ation emitted from a thin-walled emanation tube. From these the activity at various depths in the _ lssues were calculated for several arrangements of surface applications and for emanation needles. NO. 2729, VOL. 109] q Ps a i . Z. NATURE iation of Economic Biologists, January 27.—Sir 225 EDINBURGH. Royal Society, January 9.—¥rror. F. O. Bower, presi- dent, in the chair.—k. A. Moustoun; A new method of investigating colour-blindness, with a description ot twenty-three cases. ihe method was based on Max- well’s colour diagram, and consisted in testing the power of discriminating between contiguous tints of colour as the tint was varied continuously by stages from, say, red to green by an increasing admixture of green with red. The results for each observer were represented by contour lines on the triangular colour diagram. ‘The ability uf the observer to dis- criminate between any pair of colours could be seen from -his diagram at a glance, irrespective of the terminology of any particular theory. More than 1400 students of Glasgow University had been tested during the last four years. All the cases of colour- blindness investigated seemed to be trichromatic in Maxwell’s sense, not dichromatic as stated in text- books. Also, two observers who confused ordinary greens and reds were found, on the whole, to have quite as good a power of discriminating colour as the normal. Their trouble was apparently due to their colour-vision being extra sensitive to changes of wave- length in the green part of the spectrum, and not sensitive enough to changes of wave-length in the yellow.—W. Gordon Brown; The Faraday-tube theory of electromagnetism and other notes. The author met his death in France in 1916 at the age of twenty-one, and these papers were written in 1915-16 while he was convalescing after his Gallipoli experiences. He had just finished school in 1914, and he joined the Forces immediately war was declared. In the prin- cipal paper he established, on the assumptions of moving tubes of electric force, the equations of the electromagnetic field, and in a shorter quaternion in- vestigation he worked out certain results on the hypo- thesis that the mass operator which changes velocity to momentum is a linear vector function. A few months before his death he was treating the problem of the tubes of force along the lines of the four- dimensional analysis developed by Minkowski, and communicated his results in a letter written to Prof. Whittaker.—T. Bedford Franklin: Some simple ex- periments on the colloidal content of soils. The inechanical analysis of a soil is no guarantee of its physical behaviour, for although the soil colloids are mainly contained in the finer fractions, yet the col- loidal content of these fractions, as shown by analysis, can vary over a very large range. The paper described simple experiments for estimating the colloidal con- tent. Thus a soil is probably highly colloidal if (1) it takes up a high percentage of water on the dry weight of the soil before reaching ‘‘maximum plasticity ’’; (2) its rate of evaporation declines slowly with diminishing water content; (3) it freezes well below o° C.; (4) it takes up, after drying or freezing, much less water before reaching ‘maximum plasticity ”’ than in its natural condition; and (5) it absorbs and retains for a long time farmyard or artificial manure. Paris. Academy of Sciences, January 30.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—C, Lallemand: The comparative advan- tages of the hexagonal abacus and the abacus with aligned points.—C. Moureu and C. Dufraisse: Auto- oxidation, The anti-oxidisers—G. Gouy: The pres- sure in magnetised or polarised fluids.—M. Maurice d’Ocagne was elected a free academician in succes- sion to the late M. J. Carpentier.—T. Varapoulos: A theorem of M. Montel.—A. Angelesco: The zeros of certain functions.—A. Cahen; Differential equations of the first order with fixed critical points.—M. Auric : The development as a continued fraction of algebraical numbers.—R. Jacques: Surfaces such that the axes 226 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 16, 1922 of the osculating circles with one family of lines of curvature belong to a linear complex.—E. Belot : The periodicity and the movement of the sun-spots in lati- tude explained by the pulsation of the nucleus. Assum- ing that the dense nucleus of the sun (barosphere) has a pulsation with a period of eleven years, the conse- quences are worked out and give an explanation of the currents from north to south in the perisphere, observed, but not explained, by Oppolzer; the move- ment of the spots towards the equator (Spoérer); and the displacement of the latitude of the maximum number of spots, which, according to Faye, should be in latitude 37° 38’, and is, in fact, about. 17%.— H. Chaumay: The measurement of insulation resist- ance by the method of accumulation.—M. Dufour ; The relation between aberration and astigmatism for a point situated on the axis of a centred optical system.—J. Rey: Range obtained by a beacon light of great power fitted with metallic reflectors. This light is installed on the Island of Galiton, north-west of Bizerta, and is 165 metres above sea-level. The cal- culated range was 30 miles. It can be frequently seen from Tabarka, 33 miles away, and in clear weather at Ras-Enhelah (41 miles)—H. Weiss and P. Henry : The influence of temperature on the velocity of interpenetration of solids. The alloy studied was silver containing 14 per cent. of antimony; the results are given in a series of curves.—E. Darmois: Two new molybdo-malates of ammonium. Gernez. has shown that the rotatory power of malic acid under- goes considerable variation when increasing quantities of ammonium molybdate are added. to the solution. From a study of the rotation of solutions of malic acid and ammonium molybdate two definite compounds, MoO,°2C,H,O,-2NH, and MoO,-2C,H,O,-4NH,, were indicated, the first being the more stable. The isolation of these two compounds is described.—MM. Seyewetz and Vigmat: The action of sodium sulphite on nitrobenzene. Nitrobenzene is reduced by a boiling Io per cent. solution of sodium sulphite. The main product of the reaction is p-amidophenol sulphonic acid.—C. Jacob: The structure of North Annam to the south of Thanh Hoa.—F. Blanchet and E. Chagny : New observations on the dislocation of the Montagne de la Bastille, near Grenoble.—C. Corroy: Some Neocomian fishes of the Haute-Marne and the Meuse. —L, Joleaud: The area of dispersion of Dyrosaurus, a fossil crocodile from North-West Africa.—A. Boutaric ; Observations carried out on Mont Blanc. Details of polarimetric and actinometric observations made hourly, between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., at the Vallot Observatory between July 31 and August 7, 1921.—L. Gentil: The climatology of Morocco. In the absence of extended meteorological observations the study of the vegetation furnishes a valuable guide to climatic conditions. The rainfall chart in eastern Morocco of M. Augustin Bernard cannot be accepted without reserve.—P, Schereschewsky and P. Wehrlé: The signification of cirrus clouds in the prediction of weather. Cirrus clouds have often been considered as indicating the approach of rain; the authors show that the cloud system must be studied as a whole. Cirrus clouds are always indications of the proximity of a cloud system, but it does not necessarily follow that the system will pass over the observing station. It is necessary for the meteorologist to be able to determine the position of the cloud system in relation to the observing station, its direction cf motion, and its velocity of displacement, before utilising cirrus clouds as a means of weather prediction.—Mlle. C. Veil: The relation between the chlorine index and the nitrogen content of plant-soil: The chlorine index is given by the amount of active chlorine absorbed by the soil from a solution of sodium hynochlorite. It is shown NO. 2729, VOL. 109] that there is a relation between this figure and the amount of nitrogen in the soil_—P. Dangeard: The — origin of the vacuoles at the expense of the aleurone — grains during the germination of the Graminaceae.— W. Kopaczewski: Surface tension and narcosis. As _ a general rule narcotics and anesthetics lower the sur-_ face tension of the blood-serum, and there is a parallelism between the amount of lowering and the © narcotic power. There are exceptions, morphine being ~ the most notable.—R. Jeannel: The variation of the — copulating organs in the Coleoptera.—L. Léger and E. Hesse: Microsporidia resembling bacteria in form, and an attempt at a systematic classification of the — group.—Mme. Anna Drzewina and G, Bohn; The ~ phenomena of auto-destruction and auto-agglutination in the Convoluta.—M. Aron: The morphological signification of the endocrinian glandular tissue of the testicle in the crested triton. i SYDNEY. : Royal Society of New South Wales, December 7, 1921. —Mr. E. C. Andrews, president, in the chair.—C. A. Sussmiich: The geology of the Gloucester district. The ‘strata of the Gloucester district (N.S.W.) belong to the Devonian Carboniferous and Permo-Car- boniferous periods. During the Devonian period a thick series of shales, radiolarian cherts, and tuffs was laid down on a sea-floor. Submarine voleanic activity and important crustal movements took place during and at the close of this period. At the be- ginning of the Carboniferous period (Burindi stage) the region was under relatively shallow water. Long- continued slow subsidences allowed of the depositing of a very thick series of shales, limestones, con- glomerates, and tuffs, aggregating 12,000 ft. in thick- ness. Later an uplift took place, and during the Kutting stage which followed volcanic activity was the most striking feature. The land flora (Rhzopteris, etc.) at this time consisted largely of ferns. Towards the close of the Permo-Carboniferous period a subsi- dence began which led to the formation of a large shallow lake. At intervals conditions became stable, the lake became a swamp covered by dense vegeta-_ tion (the Glossopteris flora), and during these periods” coal-seams were formed. There are at least eight coal-_ seams in the Gloucester district, the largest of which is 32 ft. thick. At the close of the Permo-Car- boniferous period the region was subjected to intense folding forces, forming big mountain ranges. Since then there have been a succession of uplifts, the last of which took place at the end of the Tertiary period, and produced a tableland 2000 ft. in altitude.— O. U. Vonwiller The conduction of electricity in molybdenite.—G. J. Burrows and E. E. Turner: The preparation of certain ferrioxalates.—J. H. Maiden: An additional blue-leaf stringybark. A blue-leaf stringybark already described is E. laevopinea, R. T.— Baker; the new species is more closely allied to E. Blaxlandi, Maiden and Cambage, and E. capitellata, Sm. It is a large tree, with sessile heads of small compressed spheroid fruits, which is confined, ap- parently, to New South Wales.—W. L. Waterhouse : The production in Australia of the ecidial stage of Puccinia graminis, Pers. Inoculations on barberry shoots with rust on wheat grown at Glen Innes, N.S.W., gave numerous infections from which zcidio- spores were used to reinfect wheat.—A. R. Penfold ; The essential oil obtained of the leaves of Doryphora sassafras, Endlicher. The yield of oil from leaves of — the New South Wales sassafras tree was about I per | cent., and it possessed the fragrance characteristic of sassafras oils. The principal constituents identified © are safrol, camphor, pinene, sesquiterpenes, eugenol, and alcoholic bodies. NATURE 227 Official Publications Received. eeeneique et Technique des Péches Maritimes. Notes et 12: La Coopération de la Navigation Aérienne aux Pecritincs. Extrait des Rapports sur les sorties en eable et en Avion effectués les 25 Aofit et ler Septembre, Par H. Heldt. Pp. 8. 3 francs. Notes et Mémoires, No. 13: es sur la Variation de l’Iode. Chez les principales heed la Céte bretonne. Par M. P. Freundler and Mlle. . 24. 4 francs. (Paris: Ed. Blondel la Rougery.) of the Department‘of Fisheries, Bengal and Bihar for the ned ending 3lst March, 1921. Pp. vi+10+2 ; 1 Fishery Department.) 5 annas. of Interior: Department of Refugees. Publication The br ae of Nations and the Greeks and Armenians in A (Constantinople.) Tenant of Agriculture for the West Indies. Sugar- eriments in the Leeward Islands. Report on Experiments din Antigua, St. Kitts-Nevis, and Montserrat in the Part 1: Experiments with Varieties of Sugar- Part: 2: Manurial Experiments with Sugar-Cane. Pp. iv Department of Agriculture.) 1s. 3 of oe Department of Agriculture, Trinidad and Tobago. 2). By e of the Trinidad Lepidoptera Rhopalocera 8 6d z Kaye. Pp. 163. = sees the (Trinidad.) 2s. ss OME 1920-21) submitted by the Executive stees on 8th February, 1922. Pp. iv+83. The Carnegie Trust, Merchants’ Hall.) ee es Poids < Mesures. Procés-Verbaux de uxiéme ie, Tome 9, Session de 1921. Pp. viii+110. Ga cae Y tikrs et Cie.) - é . es Department. Bulletin No. 12: Administration 1918.19, and The Outrigger Canoes of Indonesia, by James oe ae of an Inshore Fishing Experiment , ro omg Ramaswami Nayudu; Reports on the the Nieiric: by the late H. C. Wilson: Notes on the of Malabar, by N. P. Panikkar. Pp. iv+166+16 : Government Press.) 4 rupees. _ Diary of Societies. bese THURSDAY, Fesrvary 16. - Semasison or Great Barirarn, at 3.—Prof. A. G. Perkin: os spa Seay Modern (1). 4.30.—Prof. L. Hill, D. H. Ash, and * the Heating and Cooling of the Body by of Heat and Cold.—Prof. J. Cohen, ag" Gaunt, and R. Gulbransen: Relationships isep Action and Chemical Constitution, with nee bind Compounds of the Pyridine, Quinoline, Phen: Series.—D. T. Harris: Active Hyperemia. ‘ihe Depressor Nerve of the Rabbit.—Prof. A. : Ottow, C. Wagner, and F. Bormann: The : se Interstitial Cells in the Testicle of the under Different Experimental Conditions. (at | School of Oriental Studies), at 5.—Miss EB. G. inal Tribes in China. Gates: The In- NDON, at 5.—Prof. R. R. rf in Plants.—W. Dallimore: Exhibition Trees, showing Wind Effect on Rocks at Llandudno.— SS eietisetion of the Soja Bean, rg hae Soja. MEDICINE Were ere Section), at 5 ‘ Socrety (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— F. A. Portal: Methods of Instruction in Aeroplane -Mrntne Eg METALLURGY (at Geological Society of .30.—J. M. Bell: The Occurrence of Silver Ores in Silo Canada. i 1CAL ENGINEERS, at 6—F. P. Whitaker : with Special Reference to Railway Electri- UTOMOBILE Engineers (London Graduates’ Meet- . Watson: Mechanical Efficiency. 1 ‘at. 8.—A. Lapworth: A Theoretical Derivation viabinson: Induced Alternate Polarities—W. 0. Kermack germane of the Property of Induced retation of the Theory of Partial an Electronic Basis. NSTRUCTIVE BirtH CoNTROL AND RACIAL PROGRESS , Essex Street, W.C.2), at 8—E. B. Turner: Sex , Socrery | or Tropicat, MepICcINE AND Hyciene (at 11 Chandos vWD, at §.15.—Major k. W. Cragg: Relapsing Fever in "oF ANTIQUARIES, at 8.30. _ FRIDAY, Frsrvary 17. rca Soctery or Lonpon (Anniversary), at 3.—Presidential > So or Mepictne (Otology Section), at 5. oF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof Swale Vincent: tical Examination of Current Views on Internal Secretion s and Gale Lecture). ION caL EnGineers (Annual General Meeting), oA. T. Wall: Electrio Welding applied to Steel Con- on, with gee a Reference to Ships. ELECTRICAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (at Chartered In- e of Patent Agents, Staple Inn Buildings, W.C.2), at 7.30. on: Salesmanship in Relation to Electric Lighting. 0. 2729, VOL. 109] for the Universities of Scotland. Twentieth JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS (at Caxton Hall), at 8.—W. J. Leaton: Water Purification for Boiler Feed Purposes. Société INTERNATIONALE DE PHILOLOGIE, SCIENCES ET BEeAUX-ARTS (Celtic Section) (at 8 Taviton Street, W.C.1), at 8—Dr. W. J. E. Seott: The Mines of El Dorado: an Historical Account Be the Maritime Trade of Spain with Ireland, 2000 to 700 B.c. (2 Royat Socrery oF MEDICINE (Electro-therapeutics Section), ae 8.30. —Dr. G. W. C. Kaye: Radiology and Physics (Mackenzie-David- son Memorial Lecture). Roya. Instiretion oF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Prof. D. 8. M. Watson: History of the Mammalian Ear. SATURDAY, Frervary 18. Roya INSTITUTION OF GREAT Britain, at 3.—Prof. E. A. Gardner: Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture (1). PuysioLoGicaL Society (at School of Medicine for Women, Hunter Street, W.C.1), at 4.—J. aldane: Working Model to Illus- trate a Theory of Muscular “eyelet da Fano: Permanent Golgi-Cox Specimens.—-W. W. Waller: The Microscopic Appear- ances of Red Blood Corpuscles in Hypertonic Saline.—W. Cramer : Slides Demonstrating the Functional Activity of the Suprarenal Medulla.—W. D. Halliburton and D. H. de Souza: Secretin by the Portal Route—J. W. Pickering and J. A. Hewitt: Some Physico-chemical Aspects of Blood Coagulation.—J. A. Hewitt and Dorothy B. Steabben: Note on the Fermentation of Inositol. —M. Bond: (a) ie Soluble A Content of Bacon Fat; (») Food Value of Dried Egg-white——E. E. Hewer: Some Observations on the Results of Suprarenal Inoculations.—M. O. P. Wiltshire: Oxygen Intake of Women during Muscular Work.—W. C. Cullis and M. Ross-Johnson : Periodic Variations in Temperature in Women.—W. C. Cullis: Oxygen Consumption as a Test of Fatigue. —G. V. Anrep and R. K. Cannan: ‘the Blood Sugar Metabolism of the Submaxillary Gland.—A. N. Drury: The Effect of Vagal Stimulation on Intra-auricular Block produced by Cold (Mam- malian Auriele).—J. Trevan and E. Boock: Note on the Effect of Section of the Vagus on the Respiratory Centre of the Cat.— H. W. Haggard and Y. Henderson: Hemorrhage as a Form of Asphyxia. MONDAY, Frsrvary 20. ie or ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7.— ‘E. Hetherington and others: Discussion on The Kmergency Use 4 Oil Fuel during the Recent Coal Strike. RoyaL Institute oF British ArcuHitects, at 8.—A. J. Davis: Internal Decoration of Ocean Liners. ARISTOTELIAN Society (at University of London Club, 21 Gower Street, W.C.1), at 8—Prof. H. Wildon Carr, Dr. Dorothy Wrinch, Prof. T. P. Nunn, and Prof. A. N. Whitehead: Discussion on the, Idealistic Interpretation of Einstein’s Theory. Roya. Society or Arts, at 8.—Prof. A. F. C. Pollard: The Mechani- eal Design of Scientific Instruments (1) (Cantor Lecture). RoyaL GeoGrapuicat Society (at AMolian Hall), at 8.30.—A. Wollaston: Natural History of South-westéern Tibet. TUESDAY, Fesrvary 21. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 3.—Meeting in commemo- ration of the First Meeting of the Society of ‘Telegraph Engineers on tote 28, 1872. Roya InstiruT1on or Great Britatn, at 3.—Sir Arthur Keith: Anthropological Problems of the British Empire: Racial Problems in Asia and Australasia (1). RoyaLt Society FOR THE PRotTECTION oF Bixps (at the Middlesex The Guildhall, Westminster, S.W.1), at 3.—Viscount Grey of Fallodon: Address on the Work of the Society. Royat Sratisrican Sdécrety, at 5.15. ZooLoeicaL Society or Lonpon, at 5.30.—Dr. R. Broom: The Temporal Arches of the Reptilia.—Dr. H. Blegvad: Animal Com- munities in the Southern North Sea.—Dr. CU. F. Sonntag: (1) The Vagus and Sympathetic Nerves of the Edentata. (2) The Vagus and Sympathetic Nerves of Hyrax capensis.—C. Tate Regan: The Cichlid Fishes of Lake Victoria. InstiruTion oF Civit ENGINEERS, at 6.—Discussion on paper by Dr. H. F. Parshall on: Hydro-Electric Installations of the Deroninan Traction, Light and Power Company.—A. C. Walsh and W. F. Stanton: The Improvement of the Port of Valparaiso. Women’s ENGINEERING Society (at 26 George Street, W.1), at 6.15. —Mrs. H. Irving: Model Experiments in Aeronautics. Institute OF Marine ENGINEERS, at 6.30.—D. R. Hutchinson: Types of Large Marine Engines. Royat PHoToGRAPHIC HocieTyY OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 7.—G. A. Booth : Natural History Photography. WEDNESDAY, Feprvary 22. INsTITUTION OF ELEcTRICAL ENGINEFRS, at 3.30 and 8.30.—Meeting in Commemoration of the First Meeting of the Society of Tele- graph Engineers on February 28, 1872. : GroLocicaL Sociery or Lonpon, at 5.30.—Dr. C. W. Andrews: Description of a New Plesiosaur from the Wealden Clay of Sussex.—T. Landell-Mills. with Notes on the Petrography by Dr. A. Gilligan, and on the Paleontology by Dr. A. Smith Wood- ward: The Carboniferous Rocks of the Deer Lake District of Newfoundland. ; Roya Society oF ARTs, at 8.—Dr. A. Scott: The Restoration and Preservation of Objects at the British Museum. THURSDAY, Fesrvary 23. Rovan Instirvr1on oF Great Britarn, at 3.—Prof. A. G. Perkin: yeing: Ancient and Modern (2). InsvrnOneast or ELecrrican ENGINEERS, at 3.30 and 8.—Meeting in Commemoration of the First Meeting of the Society of Tele- graph Engineers on February 28, 1872. Roya Socrery, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—C. D. Ellis: §f-ray Spectra and their Meaning.—Prof. A. E. Conrady: A Study of Mo Balance.—Dr. J. S. Owens: Suspended Impurity in the Air.— . V. Southwell: The Free Transverse Vibrations of a Uniform 228 NATURE [FEBRUARY 16, 1922 Circular Disc clamped at its Centre, and the Effects of Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 6.—W. W. Skeat: The Living — Rotation.—A. E. Oxley: Magnetism and Atomic Structure. Past in Britain (5). I. The Constituti of the Hydrogen-palladium System and I ne Cons on 2" G. a Hardy: other similar Systems.—T. Carleman and Prof. Mod mae: Fourier’s Series and Analytic Functions.—Prof. A. Multenions and Differential Invariants. 11. and ITI. CuILp-Stupy Soctrty (at Royal Sanitary Institute, 90 Buckingham Palace Road, §.W.1), at 6.—A. E. Hayes: Phonoscript. Concrete InstituTr, at 7.30.—H. K. Dyson: What is the Use of the Modular Ratio? FRIDAY, Fesrvuary 24. : Association oF Economic Bronogisrs (in Botanical Lecture Theatre, Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 2.30 — Dr. J. Rennie: search; (b) Demonstration Species. Royat Society or Arts (Joint Meeting of the Dominion’ and Colonies and Indian Sections), at 4.30.—Prof. W. A. Bone; Brown Coals and Lignites : Their Importance to the Empire. PuysicaL Society or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science and Technology). at 5.—Dr. H. Levy: The Number of Radio-active Transformations as Determined by Analysis of the Observations.— Prof. C. H. Lees: A Graphical Method of Treating Fresnel’s Formule for Reflection in Transparent Media.—Research Depart- ment of the General Electric Co., Hammersmith: Demonstrations of a Sensitive Method of Determination of Density, ete.—¥. C. Dvehe-Teague: Demonstration of the Physical Properties of Cellactite. Royat PHoroGraPHic Society oF GREAT Britain, at 7.—H. Main: A Pilgrimage to Provence. (a) The Present Position of Bee Disease Re. of Polyhedral Disease in Tipula JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—E. G. Coker: Curved Beams, Rings, and Chain Links. Royat INstirceTron or GReaT Brrivarn, at 9.—Prof. J. Joly: The Age of the Earth. SATURDAY, Frsrvary 25. Roya InstirvuTion or Great Britain, at 3.—Prof. E. A. Gardner: Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture (2). : PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicutes the number of a lecture in @ series.) THURSDAY, Frsrvuary 16. Inrants’ Hospiran (Vincent Square, S.W.1), at 4.—Dr. Feldman: Feetal Physiology and Foetal Nutrition. University Coitrce, at 5.15.—Prof. J. E. G. de Montmorency: Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (2). Kine’s Coutece, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (5).— M. Beza: Nereids in Roumanian Folklore (2). St. Joun’s Hospitan FoR DISEASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.C.2), at 6—Dr W. K. Sibley: Seborrhcea and Psoriasis (Chesterfield Lecture). FRIDAY, Fersrvuary 17. Mrrrorotocican Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The — of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (5) ‘ Kine’s Corer, at 5.—Prof. R. Robinson: Orientation and Con- in Organic Chemistry from the Standpoint of the We, Ms jugation Theories of Partial Valeney and of Latent Polarity of Atoms (2). UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (2). Tavistock CLINIC ror FunctionaL Nerve Cases (at Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.0.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (4). SATURDAY, Frsrvary 18. Rorat Socrrry or Arts, at 10.30 a.m.—Prof. J. Migration of Birds (Lectures for Teachers). Lonpon Day Training Couiece, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (5). HOoRNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—Dr. E. Botanist in South Africa. MONDAY, Fesrvary 20. University Coiuege, at 5.15.—Sir Gregory Foster : of London: Its History, Present Resources, bilities (2). City or Lonpon (Boys’) ScHoon (Victoria Embankment), at 5 Miss Rosa Bassett: The Dalton Plan of Self-education (3). Krn@’s CoiirGe, at 5.30.—Prof. C. L. Fortescue: Wireless Transmit- ting Valves (5). TUESDAY, Fesrvary 21. Cancer Hospiran (Fulham Road, S.W.3), at 4.—Sir Charles Ryall: Cancer of the Tongue. A. Thomson: The Marion Delf: A The University and Future Possi- -30.— ScHOOL OF ORIENTAL Srvpirs, at 5.—Col. T. C Hodson: The Primi- tive Culture of India (5). Imper1aL CoLteage (Royal School of Mines), at 5.30.—Col. N. T. Belaiew: The Crystallisation of Metals (1). Krine’s Coiiece, at 5.30—F. H. Rolt: Accurate Measurements in Mechanical Engineering: The Use and Testing of Gauges (3). London ScHooL, or ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL ScIENCcE, at 6.—Sir Josiah C. Stamp: The Administrative Factor in Government (2). WEDNESDAY, Fesrvuary 22. ScHooL or ORIENTAL Srupies, at 12 a.m.—Miss Alice Werner: Bantu Mythology and Folklore (3). At 5.—C. O. Blagden: Matriarchy in the Malay Peninsula. East Lonpon Coutecr, at 4—Prof. F. E. Fritch: Certain Aspects of Freshwater Algal Biology (2). Lonpon (R.F.H.) ScHoon or MEDICINE FoR WomeN (Hunter Street, W.C.1), at 5.—Dr. H. H. Dale: Some Recent Developments in Pharmacology (1). NO. 2729, VOL. 109| University Coiiege, at 8—The Current Work of the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratories (2) -—Miss Ethel M. Inheritance of Intelligence. THURSDAY, Fresrvuary 23. : Inrants’ Hosviran (Vincent Square, S,W.1), at 4.—Dr. W. ‘a Feldman: The Physiology and Pathology of the New Born; Initial Loss of Weight; Icterus Neonatorum ef University Cottrer, at 5.15 —Prof. J. E. G. de Montmorency : Welsh and Trish Trihal ‘Dastese (3). Kina’s Cortecr, at 5.30—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Conerete (6). Sr. Jonn’s Hosprrar, - FOR DISFASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.C.2), at 6—Dr. W. Griffith: The Bullous Eruptions (Chester- field Lectnre). Birreeck Contecr, at 8.—G. Bernard Shaw: The Failure of Edu- cation. FRIDAY, Fersrvuary 24. Mertororocicat Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier haw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (6). Cancer Hosprrat (Fulham Road, S.W.3), at 4—W. E. Miles: Cancer of the Rectum. University Cotrer, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (3). Tavistock OLINIC For Frnctronan Nerve Cases (at Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 530.—Dr. H. Orichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (5). SATURDAY, Frsrvary 25. Loypon Day Tratnine Cortrcr, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School: Class (6). Horniman Musevm (forest Hill), at 3.30.—Dr. W. A. Cariningten: Man’s Sphere in Sayage Africa, CONTENTS. Research and Education in the Geddes Report . 197 The Supply of Gaseous Fuel .. (= Mathematical Recreations 200 The Fishing Industry and Scientific "Research. By J. J. fee Se +. 8 won Wegener’s Displacement Theory. es i The Earliest Forms of Society. ....... «4 23 Our Bookshelf . ; ; : arene Letters to the Editor:— Test-plates for Microscopes and Microscopic Definition. (Ziustrated.)--A. Mallock, F.R.S. 205 The Antitrades,—Sir Napier Shaw, F.R. eae 3 ; The Isotopes of ates —Prof. T. H. Laby and W,. Mepham ., . 206 Where did Terrestrial Life Begin tae 's. Dines ; Dr F.J. Alen ... 207 Rainfall and Drainage in " 1921.—Prof, ‘James : Hendrick... 207 Scientific Literature for Russia.—Sir R. A. ‘Gregory and Dr. C. Hagberg Wright. . . . 208 Cyclic Conditions and Rejuvenation in Hydroids.— k ‘Richard Elmhirst . . ea a Tin Plague and Arctic Relics. cat ‘Sheppard » sas A New Series of Spectrum Lines. —F. S. Brackett 209 Avaucaria imbricata.—Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart.. F.R.S. . . 209 Some Problems of Lome -distance Radio- -telegraphy.— Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. 2c9 Flowering Dates of Trees along Main British Rail- way Routes. By J. Edmund Clark. ...... 210 Obituarv :— 4 De).-F. eee By Sir R. A. S. a i Bart. Be BI sss 8: Prof. Max Verworn. By EPG Rey | Col. Willoughby Véiner By M., roe Burkitt «2k Current Topics and Everts ..... 2 ae ee Our Astronomical Column :— Fireball Observed in Sunshine .......... 217 A Printing Chronograph. «>. 2. 5 4 ey ee Nova Puppis1902. . «6 + + ee ee he ew we SIZ Research Items wy eh eee. vag The Air Conference . . . cet Mee a eee The Grain of the Photographic Plate. By C. J. . 221 Building Materials and Heat Insulators .... . 222 Industrial Fatigue . Sam Clg cw cae ee University and Educational Intelligence wine oan ep eee Calendar of Industrial Pioneers ......... . 223 Societies and Academies 3 oe JR Official Publications Received. ste eee 227 Diary of Societies.) 659 ss see are Elderton ; The NATURE 229 Editorial and Publishing Offices : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., . MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Sidistetiinwnenes and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. ‘: pe Ree! communications to the Editor. ction of English in Scientific Education. eport of Mr. Fisher’s Committee on the ching of English in England (pp. 394, » 1921, 1s. 6d. net) has a refreshing outlook. As the serious study of English chools has an even shorter history than that this Committee is little affected by peda- dices and vested interests, so that it is to treat all subjects taught in schools ‘within one or other of two groups, Science. eae calls for wide definitions ; it n that “‘ in school, science must be, for for student, the methodical pursuit of 1 the conquest of the physical world by lligence and skill.’’ The term ‘‘ English’’ past been interpreted in many ways. hoo! master of thirty or forty years England, and a little analysis and pars- and accidence. The Committee’s ibauexe, but with the English language is of communication, oral and written, the content of books written in English house of ideas, whether native or trans- nd as an agent of emotional and esthetic Thus education is divided into ‘‘ the train- ‘the will (morals), the training of the intel- cience), and the training of the emotions (ex- or creative art),’’ corresponding to the hat ‘‘the three main motives which actuate > human spirit are the love of goodness, the love truth, and the love of beauty.’’ NO. 2730, VOL. 109] A separation of function of this kind has some value, if only to make us realise the necessity of each of the different components of a complete education. In practice, however, any one subject of study can and does perform several functions, overlapping those of other subjects which are akin to it. Thus some aspects of the study of English are of essential utilitarian value to a man of science, such as training in the power to write or speak - clearly, lucidly, without ambiguity or prolixity, and if possible with a sense of style such that the reader may be attracted as well as instructed. But this power cannot be developed in the student without traversing much of the same ground as would be covered if the chief aim were the development of other faculties. So there will be economy of time and effort if English is used as the vehicle for an education in the humanities. It is universally agreed that, even for full efficiency in his own department, the science specialist must have such an education ; it is the chief concern of the Com- mittee to show how completely English can be made to fulfil that function. The Committee mentions with approval the methods which have been developed at Osborne and Dartmouth in the training of naval cadets for their future career, which may be regarded as predomin- antly scientific, but in which they will need all the faculties of a liberally educated mind and char- acter. For they may have to be diplomatists, tac- ticians, and strategists, and must certainly be leaders of men no less than practical scientific workers; they must be equipped for controlling minds as well as machines. This problem is not peculiar to the Navy, though perhaps it is more obvious there owing to the close contact, under one controlling authority, between those who train and those who employ the product of the naval college, a contact closer than is practicable, for example, between schoolmasters and leaders in the business world. Hence the experience of Dartmouth may be of more than local interest. It says much for the prescience of the Admiralty that it should have committed itself, so far back as 1903, on the advice of the eminent man of science, Sir Alfred Ewing, who was then Director of Naval Education, to the faith that, given ade- quate time and skilled treatment, most of the values hitherto judged to accrue solely from a classical education were to be derived from the study of English. . The experience gained during the past eighteen years in acting on this belief has gone far to justify it, and it is satisfactory to note that the methods which have been elaborated are in close 230 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 23, 1922 agreement, both in principle and detail, with those recommended by the present Committee. There is little necessary connection between the study of the humanities and the teaching of lan- guages; the latter properly falls under the head of a science, and the traditional connection. arises from both having formerly been the province of one group of men. Before the days of the con- flict of studies, the time devoted to Latin and Greek was far greater than was needed for the languages themselves, and the remainder was well spent on Litere Humaniores. The present Report deals admirably with the question of the scientific and grammatical study of language ; sections 254 to 266 are well worth reading in their entirety; but we are not concerned at the moment with the training of language specialists; we are, however, deeply interested in the .problem of transferring to the teacher of English the functions formerly performed by the classics master in connection with the humani- ties. The first requisite for this transfer is to pro- vide teachers adequately cultured; the next is to ensure the right use by them of the material avail- able. The Committee, therefore, had to decide what are the right methods of teaching; it also had to consider what modifications in these methods are appropriate to public elementary and preparatory schools, continuation, commercial, and _ technical schools, teachers’ training colleges, and the universi- ties ; in addition, it felt constrained to prove that too little importance at present attaches to the study of English in all these institutions. Hence the Report covers so much ground that some search is needed to discover the teaching methods advo- cated. A few extracts may, however, give some idea of the Committee’s views. In commending recent pro- gress it says: ‘* Exercises in both descriptive and imaginative writing, as well as practice in verse composition, in letter writing, and in dialogue, are common in the early stages. Many interesting experiments have been tried with a view to encouraging self- expression. ‘These include debates, improvised dia- logues, and dramatic scenes, and ten-minute lectures by pupils, in class as well as in out-of-school hours.’’ ‘‘ There is a far wider range of reading than. formerly. Rapid and enjoyable reading is no longer an exceptional thing ; the class them- selves take more part in the lesson and express their likes and dislikes freely.’ . . . ‘‘ Not less important than the art of writing is the art of speaking, which includes practice not only in framing questions and answers, but also in reading aloud, recitation, debating, and drama.’ te reasonable study of phonetics by the teacher should NO. 2730, VOL. 109] enable him to give guidance and to correct some of the most common and jarring mistakes of pronuncia- — tion.’’ ‘‘ The rendering of literature by the voice is not a mere matter of mechanical correctness, but — is the final result of sympathetic entry into the spirit of the writer, and without it no education in 7 letters can be complete.’’ The interest in lessons on such lines need never flag; but a note of warning is sounded. Since the . reading and writing of English have an intimate and personal touch for the Englishman, they form a perfect medium for a humane education, but there is a possibility that an enthusiast may press this advantage too far and thrust himself unbidden into an inner sanctuary of the adolescent soul. of this danger from headmasters of public schools, and not from other teachers, for a man who works in boarding-schools is apt to know more of the real boy and his reticences than the master in a day school. Hesitation on these grounds differs funda- mentally from the objections of the conservative teacher whose sense of the ludicrous is stimulated by the thought of his class criticising a great author or acting scenes from a play, or of the disciplin- arian who prefers the rigidity of dullness to the apparent disorder of a vividly interested class, or even of the man who feels that literature would — | be spoiled for the student by being read in school ; but the Committee is probably right in holding that the danger is not great, and that in any event the gain is worth the danger. In fine, to discover a medium of education in the humanities which is applicable to all sorts and con- ditions of Englishmen has been a vexed problem for many years, and the Committee has made an excellent case for leading us from the Abana and Pharpar of the classics to wash in the Jordan of English in order to secure a ripe and truly national system of education. Calcium Carbide and the Board of Trade Wuat’s A Worp WortTH? ““« THe question is,’ said Alice, ‘ whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ “©The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘ which is to be master—that’s all.’ ”’ T is written : smell as sweet ’’; perhaps, yet there are occa- sions when a name may be costly to play with. One of these occurred recently, an amount running into thousands of pounds having, it is said, changed It is. significant that the Committee has received warning © ‘“‘ A rose by any other name would — hands in the effort to disestablish the meaning of a_ name. Called upon to interpret the Act, christened by our Legislature the Safeguarding of Industries Act but more appropriately described as an Act for 7EBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 231 sterilisation of Scientific Inquiry, the Re- n of Industry and the Stay of Progress in , ’ an Act which penalises all our scientific the lawyers have been disputing over the nical and have practically decided that it aning. They have toyed with the doublet Reneical and their dialectics have landed p of ‘* toves’’: ” are something like badgers— ng like lizards—and they’re some- rews.”’ ll synthetic organic chemicals . . . agents, all other fine chemicals and ur actured by fermentation processes.’’ 1 of Trade, putting its own interpreta- words, has produced a very long list micals ; but this is deemed so imper- al hundred applications have been dit. One of the articles not on the varbide and an inquiry has been held, ing over many weeks, into the legiti- im that this substance is a synthetic 1, to be ranked in the army of the learned in the law but without know- stry, sitting unassisted by an expert _ hearing many witnesses for and one of whose testimony, it is obvious, appraise, without attempting to deal ve ‘‘ synthetic,’’ has pronounced that i justice in cases into which purely s entered. Still, the decision is n his failure to think and speak only Unfortunately the ‘‘ Ignorance —Hazlitt’s memorable phrase—is ople to-day know, gives acetylene as sole ‘when water is dropped upon it, the of the water being exchanged for the hydrogen at the temperature of the electric arc, was first effected in 1859 by Berthelot. That the distin- guished French ehemist had no doubt of the organic nature of the compound is clear from the fact that he describes the method in his ‘‘ Chimie Organique fondée sur la Synthése ” and also in his ‘‘ Legons sur les Méthodes générales de Synthése en Chimie Organique ’’ (1864). Practically speaking, it is the fundamental synthesis of organic chemistry, the foundation upon which the vast series of construc- tive processes which render the science so remark- able has been developed. If there be one word in use in chemistry which, after long dispute, has a defined and accepted mean- ing, it is the word ‘‘ organic.’”? The dispute began with Wohler’s discovery, in 1828, that urea—the organic compound which every human being voids daily in considerable quantity—could be made by a purely artificial process: the birth of synthetic organic chemistry is to be dated from that moment ; structural chemistry became possible only after Frankland had introduced the conception of valency (1852). Then system began. The prince of system- atists, Kekulé, in 1851, first defined Organic Chemistry as the Chemistry of the Carbon Com- pounds. Others followedhim. When Schorlemmer, considerably later, suggested as the better definition —The Chemistry of the Hydrocarbons and their Derivatives—he took care to point out that ‘‘ com- pounds containing one atom of carbon such as COs, COCIl,, CS, HCN, which are commonly described in the inorganic part, are as much derivatives of marsh gas, CH,, the most simple hydrocarbon, as methyl alcohol and formic acid.’’ In his ‘‘ Rise and Development of Organic Chemistry,’’ in dis- cussing a series of organic syntheses, he makes special reference to that of acetylene and imme- diately afterwards remarks: ‘‘after this the syn- thesis of organic compounds made rapid progress.”’ What does it matter where the chemist may choose to describe a carbon compound, as a matter of convenience and policy, to-day? To put port into a lower instead of into an upper bin does not change the wine to sherry. No legal dialectics can depose a substance from its proper place in the chemist’s system. In fact, the decision of the Board of Trade Referee is an offence against both chemical tradition and our chemical conscience. Appeals, with refer- ence to chemicals, under the Act, if they are to be heard justly, should be submitted to a tribunal of chemists learned in chemical science, not to an arbi- trator only learned in the law, whose attitude can but be that of ‘‘ Humpty Dumpty.”’ H. E. A. NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922. 232 The Pioneer of Non-Euclidean Geometry. Girolamo Saccheri’s ‘‘ Euclides Vindicatus.”’ Edited and translated by G. 8B. Halsted. Pp. xxx +246. (Chicago and London: The Open Court Publishing Co., 1920.) ros. net. HIS work is an important classic, which is well worthy of inclusion in the valuable series brought out by the Open Court Publishing Co. Sir Henry Savile, in his lectures of 1620 on Euclid I., published at Oxford in 1621, ‘had ‘said that in his judgment there were two blemishes (naevi) or blots (dabes), and no more, in the fair body of geometry, the first being the parallel- postulate, and the second the definition of ‘‘ com- pound ratio’’ in Book VI. (a definition now known to be interpolated). Saccheri’s ‘‘ Euclides ab omni naevo vindicatus ’’ dealt with both zaevz in parts 1 and 2 respectively, and from the wording of his title we may fairly infer that it was the Englishman who gave the Italian Jesuit the motive for his epoch-making treatise—that of defending Euclid and proving (if he could) that Euclid’s work con- tained zo flaw. The present edition is confined to part 1, on the parallel-postulate, which is alone important. Saccheri must be called the pioneer of non-Euclidean geometry, for, although it was his object to establish the truth of the Euclidean postu- late once for all by showing that all hypotheses other than that of Euclid are false, he was the first to contemplate the possibility of such other hypotheses and to follow them out to a number of consequences. He is therefore, as Beltrami observed, a true precursor of Legendre and Lobachewsky, and, it might be added, of Riemann also. Saccheri starts with a quadrilateral formed by a given straight line as base, two perpendiculars of equal length erected from the extremities of the base on the same side of it, and the straight line joining the other extremities of the equal perpendiculars. The angles made by the latter straight line with the perpendiculars respectively are easily proved to be equal. There are then, says Saccheri, three pos- sible suppositions—the two angles may both be (1) right angles (the Euclidean hypothesis), or (2) obtuse angles, or (3) acute angles. Saccheri calls these the hypothesis of the right angle, the hypothesis of the obtuse angle, and the hypothesis of the acute angle respectively, and the object of his treatise is to prove the absolute falsity of the last two hypotheses. His proof in the case of the obtuse angle depends on the universal validity of Euclid I. 16 (which excludes the Riemann hypo- thesis), while his proof in the case of the acute angle is even less successful. He nevertheless proves certain important propositions afterwards proved by Legendre, Lobachewsky, and Bolyai. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] -in Camerer’s Euclid (vol. Saccheri lectured on philosophy and theology, as” well as mathematics, and he wrote an important 4 logical work, the ‘‘ Logica demonstrativa,” | brought to light by Giovanni Vailati in 1903. He ~ was otherwise an interesting personality. We are ~ told that he had a passion for truth, and in his ~ pursuit of it he would (like Archimedes) neglect his s person, his food, his clothes, and his comforts. As — a boy of five he was a calculating prodigy. Later ~ he became a great chess-player, being able to play — (and generally to win) three games simultaneously without seeing the boards, and, as if this were not — enough, to talk to people around him and also to — think out some abstruse geometrical problem at the 4 same time; afterwards he would repeat all Bree : games from memory. ¥ Prof. Halsted has important qualifications for j editing Saccheri’s treatise. He is himself an authority on non-Euclidean geometry, and has an © unbounded enthusiasm for his author, which we welcome even when it leads him to write such sen- tences as ‘‘ So flowered the beauteous body of a — new geometry, mermaid-like, the latter portions — somewhat fishy, but, oh! the elegant torso.’”’ It is — all the more unfortunate that his execution of his — task proves in many respects disappointing. The — introductory matter, mainly historical, is fairly — adequate, but even here there are sins of omission and commission. When he says that Father Manganotti, S.J., ‘‘ accidentally discovered’” — Saccheri in 1889, ‘‘ re-discovered’’ would be a better word. For Saccheri’s work was thoroughly examined in Kliigel’s dissertation, ‘“* Conatuum ~ praecipuorum theoriam parallelarum demonstrandi _ recensio ’’ (1763), certain details about it are given — 1, 1824), (Goa aks Jacobi mentions it (1824), and it can scarcely haye been unknown to Gauss and Lobachewsky. On pp. xviii-xix Prof. Halsted pays the editor of ‘“The Thirteen Books of Euclid’s Elements’’ the compliment of quoting word for word (without in- verted commas) a whole page from his description of Saccheri’s ‘‘ Logica demonstrativa.’’ Almost in the same breath (p. i of preface) he charges the same editor with supposing that Saccheri’s ‘* Euclides ab omni naevo vindicatus’’ was a ‘* Latin edition of Euclid,’’ a baseless charge which he need not have made if he had read the other — passages of the raided work where the editor gives — not only a detailed description of the book now in question, but also three long citations of proofs by Saccheri of his own propositions with diagrams, which certainly never appeared in any “edition ’’ of Euclid. Nor is there any excuse for Prof. Halsted’s omission to mention the German trans- lation of Saccheri in Engel and Stickel’s ‘‘ Die — BRUARY 23, 1922] der Parallellinien von Euklid bis’ Gauss ”’ 1905), a better translation, and better ed, than his own. ome to the translation: Prof. Halsted quotes aark by ‘‘ one of the foremost classical scholars .’’ that the Latin of Saccheri is almost 1 and is remarkably clear. It is a pity that not have been translated into equally nglish. The translation is, in fact, the it is clear that the translator was not pped for this part of his task. He seems acquainted with the force of ‘‘ quin,”’ islating it completely ; apparently he yw the meaning of ‘‘ morem gerere,”’ slates ‘‘ ut morem gereret tot Magnis by ‘‘as made a custom with so many ”’ (1); he renders ‘‘ in rem suam ”’ is affair ’’ instead of ‘‘ for his purpose,”’ etur ab”’ by ‘‘ would exceed ’’ instead of be exceeded by,”’ ‘‘ liquet ’’ by ‘‘ it flows ’’ is clear,’’ ‘‘dico . . . manifestae edargui inimicam hypothesim’”’ by ‘‘ I proved the hostile hypothesis by a y’’ instead of ‘‘I say I have con- ile hypothesis of manifest falsity,”’ liquas Definitiones ’’ by ‘‘ regarding s’’ instead of ‘‘ for the purpose of ier definitions.’’ He is habitually ods and tenses, commonly translating by the indicative, future by present, that are we to say of such a sentence as ut here (vice versa) in fact is permitted ition of however most small an acute e point A while still the sect AB to : erected the indefinite perpendicular en of any length whatever ’’? The must make of this what he can. For and in many places, we find it a ort to be able to turn for light to n the opposite page. 4 Valleys and Geology of East Africa. By . J. W. Gregory (with ten appendices by mis authors). Pp. 479+20 plates+5 maps. lis work in East Africa, begun so brilliantly venturously in 1892-3. Returning to the r a short visit in 1919, under favourable and vastly improved conditions, he was collect much new information in rapid NATURE _ history of the region throughout the ages. 433 now reminded, on his previous journey his researches had been curtailed by the truculence of drunken warriors, or by drought, scarcity of game and ferocity of lions, or other such amenities of the cld ‘‘ safari’’ travel. Meanwhile there has been con- siderable exploration of this and neighbouring regions by other observers, and Prof. Gregory has essayed in the volume before us to combine what is known of the geology of East Africa into a coherent whole. That he has performed the task with courage and skill need scarcely be said ; every scrap of information finds its appropriate place in his scheme and helps to consolidate it, so that we have a clear and logical account of the geological All the rocks are classified into formations with local names and placed in position in the geological scale. With the present meagreness of our knowledge of these vast spaces, there may seem to be a premature positiveness in the method of presentment, but the author defines his attitude explicitly in his preface : ‘‘ Progress in East African geology requires a scheme by which new facts may be classified. The classification adopted is tentative and must be amended as well as amplified. Pioneer geology has to choose between the rashness of using imperfect evidence or the sterility of uncorrelated, unexplained - facts.’”? These sentences must be remembered by the reader ; otherwise he may sometimes be startled at the big leap, taken with a bold ‘‘ therefore,’’ from the narrowness of the stated fact to the breadth of the deduction. Used in accordance with the author’s suggestion, as an adjustable framework to accommodate new information, the book will be of particular service to every future worker in the same field, while to the geologist at large it provides the readiest means of gaining a general idea of the eastern portion of the African continent. As implied by the title, Prof. Gregory’s well- known and much-discussed conception of ‘‘ the Great Rift Valley ’’ runs as a leading theme throughout, and monopolises the shorter two of the four parts into which his book is divided. This is, however, largely a repetition, with some modification, of matter already published, here conveniently reas- sembled. It is parts 2 and 3, with the technical appendices, that constitute the major and most serviceable portion of the work. ¥ In part 2, consisting of twenty-two chapters, the author describes the geology, mineral resources, etc., of British East Africa (now Kenya Colony). This part contains the details of the new observations ‘made by the author in his recent traverses; hard reading for anyone unacquainted with the ground, but invaluable to the next investigators in exhibiting the evidence on which the generalisations and classi- I 234 NATURE [ FEBRUARY -23, 1922 fications are based. The recently issued first Annual Report of the Geological Department of the Uganda Protectorate prepares us for future keen discussion on several points in the proposed ‘classi- fications. Some notes on prehistoric man and on caves, water supply and soils, at the end of part 2, with further information in the appendices, are of general interest. ‘The numerous geological sketch- maps and sections in the text, though effective in a broad way, are roughly drawn and poorly printed, so that the deciphering of their detail its often troublesome. Though unavoidable, the big ex- aggeration of the vertical scale in all the sections, with the consequent severe distortion of the slopes, should be constantly borne in mind, since it may profoundly affect the interpretation of the struc- tures, particularly where questions of faulting are concerned. In part 3 our present knowledge of the strati- graphy of the neighbouring countries of East Africa and of other regions supposed to be linked up with the ‘‘ Great Rift ’’ is usefully summarised in short chapters dealing successively with Uganda and the lakes, Tanganyika Territory, Nyasaland, Madagascar, Somaliland, and Abyssinia, with some reference also to the Nile Valley and Red: Sea and to the Palestine trough. A full bibliography, thirty pages in length, forming one of the appen- dices, adds to the value of the volume as a book of reference. The book is embellished by some excellent repro- ductions of scenic photographs as plates. The dia- grammatic folding-maps are adapted from those in the author’s paper on African rift valleys in the Geographical Journal (July, 1920), and have no geological detail. With respect to the main theme, Prof. Gregory has presented in his final chapter a lucid and con- cise retrospect of his opinions. He still holds that a great rift valley, stretching for more than one- sixth of the circumference of the earth, was formed by the subsidence of strips of the earth’s crust between parallel tension-faults, consequent upon the breakdown of a precedent broad arch of elevation. He believes that this structure can be traced in the features of the present surface all but continuously from Palestine, by way of the Red Sea and Abys- sinia, across East Central Africa, southward to the south-east coast beyond the Zambezi ; with branches, eastward into the Gulf of Aden, and westward, by way of the Central Lakes, into the Upper Nile valley. The production of the ‘‘ Great Rift?’ is assigned to movements affecting the entire earth between Upper Cretaceous and Pliocene times, and the whole story of these movements is outlined. It may be so. Anyhow, the idea has its value NO. 2730, VOL. 109 | as a clear-cut working hypothesis. . But we really do not know much that is definite yet about the _ structural features on which the hypothesis rests; and as closer investigation is now in progress at | many points along the supposed course of the ‘‘ Rift,’’ we may expect soon to have better grounds — for judgment. Already the existence of the ‘‘ Rift”? along the Red Sea has been called in question by ~ the officers of the Egyptian Geological Survey; and — in Uganda the features of the ‘‘ Western Rift’”’ are — pronounced by their latest investigator to be indica- tive of movements of compression and not of ten- sion (Geograph. Journ., November, 1921). It is. generally agreed that the deep troughs of Central and East Central Africa are due to tectonic moye- ment, with which severe faulting is associated ; but — it remains to be seen whether the troughs can be strung together into a continuous chain of the length and character assumed on the ‘‘ Great Rift ’’ hypo- thesis. Meantime let it be acknowledged that in this volume Prof. Gregory once more proves himself to be the capable champion of a bold conception which has already served, and will further serve, for fertile controversy and the increase of earth-know- ledge. Gi Wei The Quantum Theory. Die Quantentheorie: Ihr Ursprung und ihre Ent- wicklung. By Fritz Reiche. Pp. vi+231. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1921.) 34 marks. HIS is an admirable account of the whole field of the quantum theory, and should be very useful to anyone who has not followed it from its origin. In a subject like this, which is not yet organised into a consistent whole, it is often ex- ceedingly difficult to judge the importance of any particular branch of the theory. One reads a paper, but cannot form an estimate of its real value, because there is not at hand all the in- formation on cognate subjects. true of the quantum theory, for the literature is very predominantly German, and it is customary in Germany to permit the publication of much more speculative ideas than is usual in other countries, and the result is that the truth tends to get lost in the mass of paper. The great merit of the present book is that it brings together all the threads of the argument and criticises them, so that a just view can be obtained of the whole theory without struggling through a vast quantity of literature of which a good deal is of little value. It is not a mere compilation of all the views which — all writers have held at all times, but a critical estimate of the opinions at present generally accepted. CRN | Po se This is especially _ RUARY 23, 1922| NATURE 235 book contains 161 pages of text. The tics are relegated to a further seventy f notes, and the arrangement of these is tiresome, for the majority of the notes are ‘in the text to distinguish between these mathematical calculations. of treatment of subjects is mainly and radiation therefore comes first. bably the best arrangement possible at xh when the theory has been reduced form it is to be presumed that such question will fall into a much later posi- re follows a short discussion on the of breaking away from ordinary me- d then a description of Einstein’s hypo- t quanta, and the ingenious deduc- ses from the fluctuations in radiant he fourth chapter gives an account of theory in relation to the physics of uestions as specific heats and Born’s dynamics of crystals. The next with gases, where the theory is not itisfactory. The rest of the book is pied with the Bohr theory. ‘It includes recent ideas, such as the correspond- , and also a certain amount about little to criticise in such a fair account theory, but we may venture to say uthor is perhaps inclined to favour econd hypothesis rather more than general consensus of present opinion. hesis seems to give rather better agree- riment in the theory of gases, but nck’s hypotheses has yet been made facts in a really convincing manner. hand, the second hypothesis is quite he principles of spectrum theory, which dingly accurately with experiment. this, anyone wishing to get.a just view tum theory cannot do better than read ‘Our Bookshelf. Genetics: A Study of the Biological, , and Psychological Foundation of y. By Dr. M. M. Knight, Dr. lya L. and Dr. Phyllis Blanchard. Pp. xv+ (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd. ; ork: Moffat, Yard, and Co., 1921.) net. ‘ $ survey of the institutions connected with Hl life and the family falls into three sections. biological section Dr. M. M. Knight gives a uw y of recent work on sex, drawing the XO, 2730, VOL. 109 | ferences to original papers, and there is | conclusion that the difference between the sexes is quantitative rather than qualitative. In the second section Dr: Iva Peters surveys the ethnological evi- dence for the taboo of women, and concludes that the modern form of monogamous marriage is essen- tially a survival of a compromise between man’s erotic desires and his fears of woman’s mana, which has produced an ‘‘ ideal woman,’’ a type out of harmony with modern developments. This is perhaps the least satisfactory of the three sections, By dwelling too exclusively on taboo and its results it ignores equally important factors in the various social complexes which influence the institution of the family, Dr. Phyllis Blanchard, in dealing with the psychological side of the question, has pro- vided the most stimulating section of the book. By a skilful analysis she places before her readers the chief elements which are responsible for disharmony in modern marriage and the causes which, partly through the increased social activities and individual- ism of women, are bringing about the exclusion of a large body of the female population from participa- tion in carrying on the race. . Sulphur and Sulphur Derivatives. By Dr. H. A. Auden. (Pitman’s Common Commodities and Industries.) Pp. xviiititor. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., n.d.) 3s. net. Dr. AUDEN gives a very readable and accurate account of the manufacture and uses of sulphur and its derivatives, especially sulphuric acid, and his book should prove useful to students and general readers. Although two illustrations of the Gill furnace are given, its mode of operation (which can- not. be seen from the illustrations) is not mentioned. The changes observed on heating sulphur are not quite correctly described (p. 5). Moreover, the statement (p. 29) that ‘‘ almost the whole supply of ammonium sulphate is at present derived from the distillation of coal ’’ refers only to English practice ; in more progressive countries very large quantities are produced from atmospheric nitrogen. Although the earlier history of the contact process is given, the real commercial process (p. 61) is not ascribed to any particular inventor—the work of the Badische Co. would seem worthy of mention, and diagrams of the apparatus would also be useful. Examples in Optics. Compiled by Dr. T. J. VA. Bromwich. Pp. 16. (Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1921.) 2s. net. ; Dr. BromwicH has collected sixty questions in optics for use in class-room at St. John’s College, . Cambridge, and has given references to eighty-four Tripos questions sét between 1910 and 1921. The examples printed in the pamphlet cover a fairly wide range, and have evidently been selected by an ex- perienced teacher. In many cases the questions have a direct practical. application, or point towards a method of making some important optical measure- ment. Special attention may be directed to the examples connected with the cardinal points of a system of lenses or refracting surfaces, which should prove a useful supplement to practical work in the laboratory. K 236 NATURE [| FEBRUARY 23, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 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.] Transport of Organic Substances in Plants. Tue older writers and modern text-books affirm that the organic materials (carbohydrates, etc.) manufac- tured in the leaves of plants are transported down- wards by means of the bast through their organs to places of consumption and storage. This belief seems to be based entirely on ringing experiments. A priori the bast appears to be very unsuitable for carrying out this function. Even in the most rapidly assimilat- ing plants its cross-section is small. It is formed of short cells and comparatively short, narrow tubes, so that many cross-partitions must be traversed by the stream carrying these organic substances if they use it as a conduit. Furthermore, its resistance must be greatly increased by the fact that a large proportion of its cross-section is occupied by viscid contents— protoplasm and proteins. Evidently, in such a con- duit we could only expect that velocities of transport comparable with diffusion velocities could be attained. Assuming that a Ito per cent. solution of sucrose were supplied by the leaves and that this was completely converted into an insoluble carbohydrate in a storage organ 50 cm. distant, then we might expect, after a steady state had been attained, a rate of transport, from diffusion alone, of about 2 milligrams per sq. cm. per diem. This would be equivalent to a Io per cent. solution moving at the rate of o-2 mm. per diem. Although this diffusion rate of transport might be somewhat accelerated by protoplasmic streaming, it is quite evident that diffusion in the bast is inadequate to account for the observed rate of trans- port of carbohydrates in plants. The insufficiency of diffusion to transport carbohydrates is strikingly borne out by those experiments in which cut floating leaves exposed to conditions suitable for photosynthesis accumulate carbohydrates, while only negligible quanti- ties find their way into the water. Close approximation to the velocity of transport in the bast, if that channel alone is used, may be obtained. For example, a potato weighing 210 grams was attached to a stem by a slender branch about 1-6 mm. in diameter. In this branch the bast had a total cross- section of 0-422 sq. mm. This figure is a maximum, as no allowance was made for cell-walls or any non- functional element in the bast. Through this conduit, ex hypothesi, all the organic substance has passed during the growth of the tuber, viz. in about 100 days. According to analyses, more than 24 per cent. of the tuber is combustible; therefore we may assume ‘that approximately 50 grams of dissolved carbohydrate has passed a conduit 0-422 sq. mm. in cross-section in 1oo days. The concentration of this solution was probably not more than 10 per cent. Thus 500 c.c. of solution must have passed in too days, and the aver- age rate of flow must have been 5/0-00422 cm. per diem, i.e. more than tooo cm. per diem, or about 40 cm. per hour. This is evidently a much greater velocity than could be attained by diffusion in the bast, even when assisted by protoplasmic streaming. Another way of arriving at the velocity of transport in the bast demanded by this view may be obtained from such recorded results as those of Brown and Morris on the depletion of leaves. When these results NO. 2730, VOL. 109 | are combined with actual measurements of the total — cross-section of the bast strands in the petiole we arrive at similar figures for the velocity of transport, i.e. if carbohydrate moves as a Io per cent. solution — the velocity of flow must be approximately 50 cm. per hour. of plants. The same arguments seem to apply in ruling out the cortex as the conduit for the general The greater cross-section transport of carbohydrates. available would still be insufficient to allow the quan- tity transmitted by diffusion alone to account for the quantities observed. In this connection a fact pointed out to us by Prof. Seward is of peculiar interest. In several species of tree-like Lepidodendra there is no tissue in the stem which presents the structural ‘characteristics of bast, yet we cannot possibly assume that no transport of organic substances back from the photosynthetic organs took place in Lepidodendron. Many observations indicate that the wood is the tissue in which this transport is effected. Hales, in 1727, published accounts of experiments showing a reversed or downward current in the stem of trees. One of us and Dr. Joly experimented with inarched branches and demonstrated a reverse current, and pers These considerations irresistibly force one to con-— } clude that the cross-section of the bast is not adequate to transmit the amounts of carbohydrates actually known to travel downwards in the stems and petioles ‘ quite recently Ricca’s brilliant work on the transport — of the hormone in Mimosa renders the same phenomenon obvious (Boll. della Soc. _ bot. Ital.,~ Ott., 1915, ‘‘Soluzione d’un Problema di Fisiologia,’? Firenze, 1916). Many observers have proved the presence of carbohydrates in the water of the trachez during spring, and one of us, with Dr. W. R. G. Atkins, has shown that these substances are present in a greater or less degree during the entire year (H. H. Dixon and W. R. G. Atkins, Notes from the Botanical School of Trinity College, Dublin, vol. 2, pp. 275 et seq.). It is only reasonable to assume that they will travel with the water current whether it moves in an upward or downward direc- tion.* Some very striking evidence for the existence of this reversed current may be obtained with plants of Solanum tuberosum. Thus a large potato plant was dug up from the soil with as little injury as possible to its underground stems and roots. After a short exposure to the air, but before any visible wilting had taken place, the apex of one of the leaves was cut off under a solution of eosin by means of a pair of scissors. In an hour the veins of all the leaves, the stems, and the roots were tinged with eosin. Even the roots on the far side of the tuber showed this colora- tion. When sections of the tuber were examined next day the strands of tracheze in the bundles showed out with great clearness owing to their injection with eosin. This experiment was made in September. A similar result was obtained with a specimen of Chrysanthemum macrophyllum left undisturbed as it grew. The tip of one of the leaves was cut off and the cut surface immersed in eosin solution at 4 p.m. on an October afternoon. Next morning the eosin was apparent in all the veins of the leaf and could be traced in the bundles of the petiole. The transmission of clogging and poisonous sub- stances by a reversed transpiration current has been 1 Lately Curtis has criticised this view, basing his attack on the results _ of ringing experiments. He does not, however, seem to have taken into account the blocking of the trachee which results from morbid changes spreading inwards through the wood parenchyma and medullary rays from the injured region. These effects have been discussed at length by Strasburger, “ Leitungsbahnen in den n.” NATURE 257 onstrated by one of us (H. H. Dixon, Notes from Botanical School of Trinity College, Dublin, vol. 2, 5 et seq.) in the case of Tilia microphylla, Syringa aris, Salix viminalis, and Philadelphus sp. ilarly, Luise Birch-Hirschfeld (Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot., 59, pp. 171 et seq.) has shown that a solution of um nitrate may be carried considerable distances nwards in the reversed transpiration stream of trees, shrubs, and herbs. turally the question obtrudes itself as to how a ward current of dissolved carbohydrates is pro- in the wood which is also the normal channel ® upward transpiration current. The subject gently for investigation, and it may not be out ice to mention some of the hypotheses which be tested. could be shown that the wood of the vascular meable partitions into isolated tracheal strands, ght suppose that the tension developed in the _ some of these strands by transpiring cells, - raising the sap in these, might draw down solu- ejected by adjacent cells in neighbouring strands. such vertical partitions have been described, unless e summer wood or the vertical plates of ma in the leaf veins and petioles be regarded _ With such longitudinal partitions a con- and contemporaneous upward and downward t might be developed. ntermittent downward flow might be explained could obtain evidence of a periodic or occasional nent of permeability in the protoplasmic of the transpiring cells. This might be de- in response to any stimulus, e.g. the mounting in the adjacent sap above a certain limit. — periodic mounting of tension with consequent on of the stem, which is indicated in the nent on the potato plant quoted above, has been shed by the elegant observations of Mallock Roy. Soc., 1919, vol. 90, B, pp. 186-91) and Jougal (“Growth in Trees,’’ Carnegie Institu- Washington, Washington, 1921). These latter ‘aphically the change of volume of the woody _ forest trees corresponding to the diurnal the deposit of dew on the transpiring cells, tion with a high tension, might determine nward flow in the trachez, and, with suitable tion of the permeability of these cells, this stream might be charged with dissolved Ares. _ _ It is quite evident that the tension assumed here lay be developed by temperature changes of the water the woody tissues and by recovery from flexure } well as by evaporation. That tension is really ible is indicated by the experiments quoted and also by the fact that no transport occurs cut leaves floating in water. _ If the view that the longitudinal transport of organic substances takes place in the trachez is established, lation naturally arises as to the function of the _ While the form and arrangement of this tissue to preclude any important longitudinal trans- within it, its large peripheral surface and the of its contact with the cambium and medullary seem to suit it for the transmission of organic bstances in a radial direction. In this connection the medullary rays may have the function of discharg- ing into, and extracting from, the trachez organic sub- _ Stances which are transmitted to and from them by _ the bast. The observations made by Atkins and one of us that the concentration of carbohydrates in the conducting tracts often diminishes from below up- wards suggests that these substances may be extracted NO. 2730, VOL. 109] es were divided longitudinally by more or less_ from the transpiration current in its upward move- ment (H. H. Dixon and W. R. G. Atkins, Notes from the Botanical School of Trinity College, Dublin, vol. 2, pp. 335 et seq.). The presence of starch in the medullary-ray cells in many plants at all times of the year suggests that the carbohydrates are fixed in these cells as starch. Solution by enzymes of this starch in response to an upward or a downward movement of the water in the tracheze would provide a mechanism for the upward or downward transport of these sub- stances in the transpiration stream. It is hoped by experiments which are now in pro- gress to throw some further light on this fundamental problem of plant physiology. Henry H. Dixon. Nicet G. BALt. — Trinity College, Dublin. Lunar Periodicity in Reproduction. Ir is a common belief in many fish-markets around the Mediterranean and in other parts of the world that the amount of edible matter in sea-urchins and certain other invertebrates varies with the phases of the moon. The animals are said to be “ full ’? when the moon is full and ‘‘ empty ’’ at new moon. This belief was recorded -by Aristotle, Pliny, and other classical writers, and was stated by them to apply not only to sea-urchins, but also to oysters and other molluscs. During the summers of 1920 and 1g21 I made syste- matic examinations of the gonads of an Echinoid (Diadema setasum) at Suez with the object of testing the truth of the popular statement. I found the latter to be founded on fact to a surprising degree. There is a periodic reproductive cycle in this species of Echinoid which is correlated with the lunar period, the genital products being discharged into the sea at about each full moon during the breeding season. An examination of the testes and ovaries of a number of individuals between the first quarter and full moon shows the majority to be swollen and full of mature spermatozoa or eggs, while a_ lesser number are ‘‘ spent,’’ i.e. show evidence of having lately extruded their genital products. A week later the relative proportions are reversed. Some _ in- dividuals have gonads still full of spermatozoa or eggs, but most are now ‘ spent.’’ Between the third quarter and the new moon all gonads are shrunken in size and contain nothing but developing spermatocytes or oocytes. From now onwards until the first quarter .of the next moon these cells show progressive stages in development into spermatozoa and eggs which are to be spawned at about the time of full moon. This lunar cycle is repeated throughout the breeding season. In seeking a causal connection between the reproductive rhythm and the lunar month an influence of the tides first suggests itself. But whereas there is a single reproductive cycle in each lunation, there are two spring and neap tidal periods, i.e. a double cycle. However, during the summer months at Suez the new moon spring tides have a greater range than those of the full moon, so that the maximum tidal range is attained only once during each lunar month. The higher and lower water at the new moon spring tides might conceivably react on the Echinoids by the different hydrostatic pressure (affecting, e.g., the ten- sion of dissolved gases) or by causing the animals to be at a greater or less distance than usual from the source of oxygen or of light. But the average excess tidal range at new moon spring tides over that at full moon spring tides during the period studied was only 58 cm. This small difference could scarcely affect the 238 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 _urchins, for they are not sessile animals, but move ! actively, their vertical range of migration during the course of an hour being far in excess of this figure. The possibility of tidal influence could be tested by keeping urchins in a floating cage. If the lunar reproductive cycle were thereby abolished, the tidal connection would be demonstrated; a contrary result from the experiment, however, would not dispose of a possible influence of the tides, for an. established rhythm in a physiological process is often persistent after the original cause has been removed. Unfortu- nately the experiment was impracticable with Diadema owing to its size. Full-grown specimens measure more than one foot from tip to tip of the spines, and it was impossible to obtain large enough floating boxes to contain a hundred or more individuals. 1 intend, however, to seek further evidence regarding the possible effect of tides by studying Echinoids in localities with greater and smaller tidal ranges than at Suez. I am convinced, though, that if a similar lunar reproductive cycle exists in the sea-urchins at Naples or at Plymouth it is very little pronounced; for I have made use of the Echinoids at these places to obtain spermatozoa and ova for other experimental purposes for months on end without ever noticing a rhythmic variation in the condition or quantity of the genital products. month when spermatozoa and eggs are unobtainable “would necessarily force itself upon the notice of the investigator. The possibility of a direct effect of the light of the moon on the Echinoids could be tested by keeping specimens in the dark. Although the large size of Diadema again precluded this experiment at Suez, ! - intend to carry it out in another place with a smaller Echinoid. If the light has an effect it must necessarily be more constant in the cloudless summer nights of Egypt than in Europe. It was thought possible that the light of the moon might act by causing the urchins to feed either more or less than usual on moonlit nights. A systematic examination of gut contents ‘showed that this was not the case. Other marine animals popularlv believed in Egypt to vary with the moon are mussels and crabs. Con- trary to the case of the sea-urchins, I have found these ‘beliefs to be without foundation. __ Now it is obvious that the periodic spawning of Diadema must be reflected in the plankton of the Gulf of Suez. The plutei must vary in quantity and in ‘stage of development with the phases of the moon. By an examination of plankton from different parts ‘of the world I hope to discover which of the animals. having pelagic larvae show a lunar reproductive cycle. The best known example of lunar _ reproductive periodicity at the present time is the Palolo worm. In the South Pacific these Polychétes swarm at the surface of the sea to discharge their genital products at the third quarter of the October and November moon (Friedlander, Biol. Centralbl., 1898-1901). Japan another Palolo swarms at both full and new moon, i.e. at the spring tides (Izuka, Journ. Coll. Sci. Tokyo, 1903), while in the Atlantic a third species has similar habits (Mayer, Carnegie Inst. Pubs., 1909). Odontosyllis in Bermuda (Gallowav and Welch, Tr. Am. Micr. Soc., t9tr) and British Columbia {Potts, Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc., 1913), and Nereis (Lillie and Just, Biol. Bull., 1or3) (Tust, Biol. Bull., 1914) at Woods Hole, Massa- chusetts, have been shown to swarm at one definite phase of the moon, whereas Nereis at Naples (Hempel- mann, Zoologica, 1911) swarms: at about the first and third quarters. The latter bi-lunar, i.e. apparently tidal, periodicity is remarkable, since the tidal range at Naples is much smaller than at Woods NO. 2730, VOL. 109 | At Suez the period in each lunar curring at full moon. In° and Platvnereis . Hole. Another Polychzte, Amphitrite, lays its eggs at mew and full moon spring tides at Woods Hole ~ (Scott, Biol. Bull., 1909), as does also the Turbellarian Convoluta in Brittany (Gamble and Keeble, Quart. — Journ. Micr. Soc., 1903). : ee To my knowledge the only other case of reproduc- tive periodicity in animals correlated with the lunar Arrhenius (Skand. Arch. period is in the human race. f. Physiol., 1898) showed statistically that there exists — a low correlation between the menstrual period and the (tropical) lunar month. In addition, he found traces of a consequent tropical lunar periodicity in birth frequency. ; The only authentic cases of lunar rhythm in the reproduction of plants seem to be among the In North Carolina Dictyota produces one crop of sexual products in each lunar month (Hoyt, Bot. Gaz., 1907). The same plant at Naples (Lewis, Bot. Gaz., 1g10), and at Plymouth and Bangor (Williams, Ann. Bot., 1905), has a tidal reproductive rhythm, t.e. two cycles per lunation, as is also the case with Sargas- sum (Tahara, Bot. Mag., Tokyo, 1909). Popular beliefs in the influence of the moon on plant growth are world-wide, although most of them are probably on a par with the superstition that a waxing moon increases and a waning moon “decreases any process, such as ‘the acquisition of wealth, the growth of corns, nails, hair, ete. In Egypt it is said that melons and other fruits of the Cucurbitacezee grow most rapidly on moonlit nights. The belief that sowing and planting must be done in a waxing, and reaping and cutting in a waning, moon is very widespread. As regards cutting, experiments made recently in Trinidad by Rorer have proved the superstition to be without foundation. It is conceiv- able, nevertheless, that moonlight may have a photo- synthetic effect. Kofoid (Bull. Ill. State Lab. of Nat. Hist., 1903 and 1908) and Allen (Univ. Cal. Pubs. ‘Zool., 1920) have found a maximum frequency of plankton alge in certain North American rivers oc- Kofoid attributes this to lunar photosynthesis, quoting experiments of Knaute (Biol. Centralbl., 1898) in support. of his hypothesis. Owing to the great importance of this possibility, and Knaute obtained a surprisingly large amount of photo- synthesis in moonlight, I am at present repeating his work. fake Ss J should be grateful if readers of NaTurE wou communicate to me popular beliefs in lunar in- fluence on animals or plants. It is possible that some of them may prove upon investigation to be as well founded on fact as the case of Diadema. H. Munro Fox. | School of Medicine, Cairo, January 25. Research Degrees and the University of London. THERE are at present four degrees in the faculty of science of the University of London which may be granted for a research’ thesis, namely, D.Sc., Ph.D., M.Sc., and (in exceptional cases only) B.Sc. If a recent report by a sub-committée of the Academic Council should be finally adopted by the University, | a - these four will be reduced to two, D.Sc. and Ph.D., — while a new series of examinations will be introduced for M.Sc. As I feel very strongly (with many of my geological colleagues) that this would be a mistaken policy,-I venture. to ask for space in the columns of J Nature to state my reasons for that feeling. It would scarcely be necessary to refer to the case — of B.Sc. by research but for the serious ‘misconcep- tions on the subject shown in the sub-committee’s report. The granting of this degree is a very rare ‘event, and I have no personal knowledge of any’ case FEBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 239 ; being granted, but I have always understood it was reserved for the exceptional case of a scientific investigator whose academic career interrupted after the intermediate stage and oa study necessary for the passing of the final examination cannot reasonably be required of If there is any reason to fear possible abuse means of graduating, it would be a simple fix a minimum age-limit for it—say thirty- ather than to abolish it. immediate importance of the B.Sc. by research, , is that it gives the sub-committee an oppor- ' to exaggerate the number of standards of which examiners have to keep in their The report says: ‘“‘We do not consider it ' that there should be as many as three, less four, degree standards of research.’’ ‘no fourth standard. I cannot conceive any recommending the B.Sc. degree for a thesis would be rejected for M.Sc. if offered by a On the contrary, I can easily imagine ‘sity making it a rule to accept no thesis which it would not accept for Ph.D., or , if this means of graduation is reserved exceptional cases. The conditions under _B.Se. by research should be granted for- standard from making a fourth with the rds of post-graduate research degrees. As standards, as an examiner I have not difficulty in framing three standards in my or in agreeing upon them with my col- _ On the contrary, I find that the introduc- Ph.D. degree has made it easier to define s of the two others. It the M.Sc. by re- e abolished, the Ph.D. standard will inevit- to sink, until in a few years it will be o the present M.Se. i y not speaking for myself alone when myself as strongly in favour of the retention Sc. by research; but if the University Je to abolish it, I should very much prefer on to be complete rather than that the uld be granted by examination. The work date for M.Sc. by research must neces- st very largely (in some cases entirely) in of the knowledge already acquired on the which he proposes to investigate. This the intensive study of original works of re- sibly going far back into the early history and extending into various branches, all together by their bearing on some one 1. In geology, for instance, such an investiga- nay often include portions of the several 2s— petrology, stratigraphy, palzeontology, and geo ate studying for M.Sc. by examination will d on very similar work, but,its boundaries bitrarily determined for him by the defini- of some particular subject which he chooses from lished list. He will be warned off side-issues may attract him by the fact that they will not part of the subject-matter of his examination. ‘be much more inclined to rely on text-books on original papers, and any tendency to run m obscure questions for himself in the literature of ‘subject or by personal observation and research be positively disadvantageous to him, since he will t wantin facts probably unknown to his examiners. _ Examples could easily be found of able investigators e life-work originated as a side-issue from an y line of study. At the beginning of post-graduate a man cannot be expected to choose irrevocably main line of work. _ NO. 2730, VOL. 109] hes to resume it at an age when the con-— As an examiner I am convinced that the Honours B.Sc. stage is the highest at which examinations are of value, except as an altogether subordinate part of the qualifying test. After this stage every incentive should be given to the student to work on lines deter- mined by his particular interests and opportunities, and not by what must be, even when every effort is made to avoid it, an arbitrary pigeon-hole sub-division of the sciences. . Morey Davirs. Imperial College, S.W.7, February 9. The Accuracy of Tide-predicting Machines. I sHoutp like to make a few comments on Mr. Marmer’s letter in Nature of February 2, p. 136, as | was responsible for the tests made on the British machines referred to in your review of ‘“ British Research Work on Tides.” In his last paragraph Mr. Marmer states the various uses that can be made of tide-predicting machines in addition to their normal use. Most of these are quite likely to be well within the capacity of any machine, since relatively small quantities only are involved and the full scale of the machine can be used. But their use in ‘the elimination from the observed tide of the tide due to a number of constituents ” is precisely that which was shown to be undesirable so far as the British machines were concerned. It has been found very advantageous in research work to subtract known constituents from the tidal record and to examine the residue, but for such work it is of prime importance to know that what we have actually removed is exactly what it professes to be. It is not desirable to spend time and energy on the examination of fictitious residues due to machine errors, and it was found that the British machines were subject to systematic errors of about o5 ft. in hourly heights (though not in heights of high and low water), with a spring range of 18 ft. Such errors entirely prohibited the use of these machines. It is quite probable that the performance of th British machines can be improved, but the labour of reading the curves will be great. In this respect the U.S.A. machine has a notable advantage, and I should be very glad to know that one could obtain from it hourly heights with an accuracy suitable for research work, say to within 005 ft. for a spring range of 30 ft. But in fairness to the British machines, and not with a desire to impeach the work- ing of the U.S.A. machine, I must say that I am not convinced by the tests recorded by Mr. Marmer. At Hong Kong the spring range of tide is only 4:5 ft., and if the full powers of the machine have been used, as is reasonable to suppose, then we should expect a pro rata error of 0-4 ft. with a spring range of 30 ft. It is fervently to be hoped that such is not the case, though I must confess that certain comparisons I have made between direct calculations and U.S.A. predictions show discrepancies of this magnitude, even in high- and low-water heights. Further, the differ- ence in predictions between the U.S.A. machine and one of the British machines is much greater than is to be expected, if it be due to the errors only of the latter. It is very noteworthy that the performance of the U.S.A. machine in 1922 agrees very well with its per- formance in 1910, indicating that its errors are trulv systematic: but this is no consolation to a research worker unless he knows what the errors are. It is easy to see that the errors have not any obvious relfa- tionship to the actual tide predicted. The tests iflus- trate the difficulty one would have in dealing with the residues, for of the thirty constituents used about half are individually less than the error of the machine. 240 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 = If only the largest constituents had been used the task of analysing for the remainder would have been made more onerous by the presence of this error, and much more so if there were unknown constituents to deal with, I quite agree with Mr. Marmer that the only satis- factory method of testing the machines is to compare their results with the results of numerical or ‘‘ hand ”’ calculations, but such tests should be exhaustive and convincing. A. T. Doopson. Tidal Institute, University of Liverpool, February 9. The Brittleness of Ice at Low Temperatures. Sir GeorcE Beirpy (“‘ Aggregation and Flow of Solids,” 1921) has recently directed attention to the impossibility of explaining the flow of glaciers at temperatures much below 0° C. on the regelation hypothesis, and the necessity for assuming a deformation of the ice- crystals by displacement along internal-glide planes or at the crystal boundaries. From his experiments on the behaviour of metals and minerals under pres- sure he suggests that in ice a vitreous modification will be produced at the plane of displacement, and that above a certain temperature—the ‘crystallisation temperature ’’—this will immediately revert to the crystalline state, the process being repeated indefinitely during movement. Should the temperature of the ice fall below this point it is predicted that the flow will be retarded, as the vitreous modifications of metals are harder than the crystalline, and their presence promotes rigidity. It seems that here we have an explanation of the brittleness of ice at low temperatures. Navigators in the pack have noticed that the development of the pressure ridges is noiseless in summer, but accom- panied by loud detonations in winter. Another con- sequence of the existence of this state at low tem- peratures is well known to every ski-runner in a dis- tinct loss of gliding power. Sir George Beilby has shown that the ‘‘crystallisation temperature ’’ for ice must lie somewhere below —12° C. There is general agreement in Norway that the ‘“fgre,’? though deteriorating slowly as the temperature falls below —5° C., receives a marked check at about —17° C., and Nansen’s observations in the pack are fairly consistent with this figure. To test the validity of the explanation offered we must await the experi- mental determination of the ‘“‘crystallisation tempera- ture ’’ of ice. L. Hawkes. Bedford College, Regent’s Park, N.W., February 4. Age Incidence of Influenza. Was not the unusual age incidence of deaths in the influenza epidemic of 1918-19, referred to in NATURE of February 2, p. 130, due to the special circumstances of that time? With few exceptions, all civilians in this country at that date between the ages of twenty and thirty-five could have been placed in one of three classes :— (1) Persons engaged in war-work on the land, in factories, offices, etc. All these were doing a full man’s working day (judged by the standard of normal times), and many were seriously overworking. (2) Ex-Service men discharged on account of ill- health. (3) Mothers of young children, who in many cases went short of food themselves in order to ensure an increased ration for their families. None of these would have been so resistant to infection, or so well able to throw off disease when contracted, as they would have been in normal times. ANNIE D. Betrts.. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] Miss Betts suggests that the exceptional incidence of influenza mortality during the pandemic of 1918-19 © may have been caused by the exceptional war- — conditions, leading to the greatly increased occupation — of women, to overwork of these and of men, and to | To these sug- gested causes may be added the effect of the rationing the state of health of ex-Service men. of food, which might affect to an exceptional extent the mothers of young children. ; These explanations of the strangely inverted age incidence of influenza mortality have been often debated. They cannot explain the course of events more than to a minor extent. For (1) with such an infectious disease as influenza domestic infection of older persons, even when they had escaped extra- domestic infection, must have been the general rule. War-conditions must surely have told heavily on aged — persons. (2) Curves given on p. 41 of the Registrar-General’s Report on Influenza (Cmd. 700) show that this change in age incidence was unparalleled in the history of the disease, and that the changed age incidence characterised the beginning of each of the three con- secutive waves of the disease. With the progress of each there was a diminishing youthfulness of decedents. (3) This change in age incidence was not confined to this country or to other belligerent countries especially affected by war-conditions. It occurred, for instance, in Scandinavian countries and in America. (4) The explanation that those attacked in the 1889-91 epidemic—the older section of the population —were relatively immune is not supported by any adequate body of evidence. In short, the altered age incidence of influenza in the recent epidemic remains an unsolved problem. An easy way out of the difficulty, though a way probably not according with facts, would be to assert that the recent pandemic was a different disease from that of 1889-92. THe WRITER OF THE ARTICLE. Dr. Frank Bottomley. May I be permitted to make a correction of an error in Sir Richard Paget’s obituary notice of my cousin, Dr. Frank Bottomley, in Nature of February 16, p. 212? Sir Richard states that Frank Bottom- ley’s stepmother was ‘‘the widowed sister of Lord Kelvin.”’ Frank Bottomley’s father, being a son of Lord Kelvin’s sister Anna, could not possibly have married another of the sisters. Lord Kelvin had three sisters, namely, Elizabeth, widow of the Rev. David King (she never remarried); Anna, Mrs. Wil- liam Bottomley, who was Frank Bottomley’s grand- mother; and Margaret, who died in early childhood. As a matter of fact, Frank Bottomley’s stepmother was a sister of Lord Kelvin’s second wife. \ : James THOMSON. 22 Wentworth Place, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, February 19. Thermo-electric Instrument for Measuring Radiation from the Sky. In the note on Mr. W. H. Dines’s memoir on ‘Observations of Radiation from the Sky ’’ (NaTuRE, January 12, p. 54) you attribute to me the final design of the instrument. Permit me to say that Mr. Dines greatly elaborated and improved the thermo-electric instrument after I left it. Lewis F. RICHARDSON. Westminster Training College, Horseferry Road, S.W.r. FEBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 241 LE del’s Two Laws of Heredity and their Mechanism. time when Mendel discovered his two jamental laws of heredity, no mechanism own in plants or animals that would ex- such processes as those invoked by be brought about; but between 1900 (when Mendel’s “‘ Principles ”’ covered), the study of the ripening pro- aturation) of the egg and sperm-cell had d. first law—the law of segregation— strated by the following example: A pea crossed to a short pea gives tall spring. These, if self-fertilised, pro- an average three talls to one idel pointed out that a very simple will account for this ratio of 3:1 in generation (F,). The original tall tributes one element (T), and the ent another element (t) to the hybrid. time when its germ-cells mature these sparate (segregate), so that half the to contain the element for tallness (T), er half the element for shortness (t), vilar process takes place in the pollen rid (half the pollen grains bearing T |, then chance fertilisation of any egg by grain will be expected to give three individuals, namely TT, Tt, tt, in the 32:1. The first two kinds (TT and tall plants, because the one (TT) is pure and because in the other (Tt) tallness shortness as seen in the hybrid. Hence generation will be made up of three short. feature of the situation, the segrega- germ-cells of the hybrid of the elements each parent, finds a parallel in the ion of the maternal and paternal chromo- f the hybrid. For example: every cell of id contains one chromosome (a) from one and one chromosome (A, the mate of the er) from the other pirent. But this con- not permanent in its germ-cells, for when e at the final ripening stage, the two mes (aA) come together, conjugate, and segregate,’’ i.e. they pass into oppo- -As a result, half the eggs contain ome a, half chromosome A. They __like Mendel’s pair of ‘‘ characters.’’ e if the materials responsible for the difference en T and ¢ are carried by the members of the ir of chromosomes, A and a, they must -Mendel’s first law. endel’s second law applies to the independent ur of two or more pairs of characters: the NO. 2730, VOL. 109} so far that such a mechanism was. The Mechanism of Heredity. By. Pror. T. H. Morcan, Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. members of each pair assorting independently of the members of other pairs. It has been gene- rally supposed by cytologists that at the ripening of the germ-cells the members of the pairs of chromosomes separate independently, in the same way that Mendel supposed the individual pairs of characters to be distributed. Proof was diffi- cult to obtain from direct observation, but recently this evidence has been abundantly and convincingly obtained by Miss Carothers. If then the chromosomes carry the materials (genes or differentials) for the hereditary characters, they behave in such a way as to ensure the success of Mendel’s second law. Had we only this parallelism to go upon we should be justified, I think, in accepting the chromosome theory of heredity as a working hypo- thesis, but further evidence has been steadily accumulating. It may be briefly summarised, yet 2 ro) Diploid Nuclei if \ Gametes xX p eae Fertilization | OS / Zygotes XX XY must be given in some detail; for it is the exact correspondence between fact and theory that fur- nishes the essential data for the conclusions arrived at. (x) In some groups of animals it has been shown that one pair of chromosomes (XY) acts as a differential with respect to sex determination (Fig. 1). The female has two like chromosomes, called X and X; the male has one X, and often another chromosome called Y. Thus XX=2; XY=d. These chromosomes segregate at maturation, as do the others. Every egg elimi- nates one X in one of its polar bodies; half the sperms are X-bearing, half Y-bearing. Any egg (X) fertilised by an X-sperm=XX (9); any egg (X) fertilised by a Y-sperm=XY (d). Thus sex is here determined by a process that automatically gives equal numbers of males and females. A son always gets his single X from his mother ; a daughter gets one X from her mother, another from her father. Certain characters follow in their heredity the course taken by these chromosomes. For instance, if the mother is aa, and the father is A, each son will be a, each daughter will be aA. 242 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 23, 1922 Many examples of this sort could be given, and further tests of the different kinds of individuals | that appear in such crosses could also be cited to | show that the distribution of the sex-linked char- acters follows the distribution of the X-chromo- somes. This evidence is so significant that it may be further illustrated by a concrete case. If a white-eyed female of the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is bred to a red-eyed male (Fig. 2), the sons are white-eyed, and the daughters are red-eyed (red dominates white). If these are in- bred there appear in the next generation white- eyed daughters, red-eyed daughters, white-eyed sons, and red-eyed sons in the ratio of St Es7 22, The distribution of the X- and Y-chromosomes is illustrated by the rods in the middle of the diagram. The white rod stands for the X that carries the differential for recessive white eyes. The black rod stands for the X that carries the Fic. 2. differential for dominant red eyes. The Y-chromo- some is represented by that letter. It is obvious from the way in which these chromosomes are distributed that there should be both red-eyed and white-eyed grandchildren in equal numbers, * The reciprocal cross gives a different result (Fig. 3). Thus, when a white-eyed male is bred to a red-eyed female, both the sons and the daughters have red eyes. If these are inbred, there appear in the next generation red-eyed daughters, red-eyed sons, and white-eyed sons in the ratio of 2: 1:1. Here also it is-evident from the distribution of the X’s why, in the second . generation, the only white-eyed flies present are males. These carry a single white-producing X that traces back to the grandfather. All the grand- daughters have red eyes, but are of two kinds, one pure for red, and the other carries both a red and a white rod. If these second-generation females are tested it is found, in fact, that half of NO. 2730, VOL. 109| them carry two red-producing chromosomes, and — the other half a red and a white one. Evidence | like this from sex-linked inheritance, where both | the genetic and the chromosomal histories are known, furnishes by itself very strong evidence in | favour of the chromosomal interpretation of © heredity, but there is further evidence that makes ~ the case even stronger. This evidence may now | be briefly stated. = (2) Individual females of the fly Drosophila are ~ 4° * Seed frat FIG. 3. sometimes met with that break the rule for sex- linked inheritance. A genetic study by Bridges of this exceptional behaviour led to the prediction that they must have an extra sex-chromosome. Cytological examination showed, in fact, that there is in these females an X- and another X- and a Y-chromosome (Fig. 4). The genetic be- haviour of the ‘“non-disjunctional” females is so — important for the chromosome theory that it must — be followed through carefully. It will be simpler — to give the genetic and the chromo- = some histories together. ae When an egg containing the three an chromosomes XXY matures, the a \) a two X’s may conjugate, leaving ¥ A x the Y free to go to either pole of the ex > polar spindle (this happens in 92 per Sek cent. of the cases), or else an X and xxY Q. the Y may conjugate, leaving the a Se other X to go to either pole. As ei shown in the diagram (Fig. 5), four kinds of eggs. result (and four kinds of polar bodies are ex- truded). If the non-disjunctional female in ques- tion has white eyes, the history of her white-bear- ing X’s can be followed when she is fertilised by a. male with a red-bearing X-chromosome. — Con- sidering first the fertilisation of her four kinds of | eggs by the red-producing X-sperm of the male, it _ is evident that there will be produced four kinds of individuals, viz) XXY, XX, XXX, and XY. RUARY 23, 1922]. NATURE : 243 sperm and give rise in this way to non-disjunc- tional daughters (XXY). This, in fact, has been shown to occur. these red-eyed females are both hybrid for one of them should be a non-disjunctional Y) and repeat the same process. Such The single class_ of females that appears in this series arises from the fer- - tilisation of the XX-egg by a ‘‘male-producing’’ (Y) x4 OK Vf sperm. She has white eyes and ‘‘breaks the rule.’’ 46 7 47, 4% She must, furthermore, ; from her origin, be herself a non-disjunctional female, X and, in fact, has been shown | ae to behave as such. Finally, | : ett Z ert the YY individual in the dia- es | = gram is not found, and prob- Ae ’ ably dies, as is to be ex- i 4 > OX XY pected, since it contains no X-chromosomes. RED ? DIES REDo (excertion) (3) From an entirely dif- 9 a 4 - ferent source. new proof ; of the chromosome theory . has been found. This, too, involves the sex-chromosomes. We have a stock that gives results diametrically opposite to ordinary sex-linked inheritance. The females oe Fic, 5. females with three X’s generally mally one emerges that can be iden- by certain peculiarities, and when the a female ces | wr a). (OM EM: (OQ, are pre- BODY . am 5 y ; eee ms | YY Te oY Soar since ‘ had_ white 46% 46% At Az we ‘$0- SPERM - meee + producing | : re such a co a aa ; abination of quite irrespece = WHITES WHITES WHITE @ (excerrin) DIES ‘ ees of 5 a 4 8 ee Fic. 7 vincingly rm normally gives rise to a female | are yellow (recessive), and give, when bred to a es an X (the egg supplying another | normal grey male, yellow daughters and grey because its X is carried by a | sons. A study of this stock by L. V. Morgan, ““ female-producing ’’ sperm. who discovered it, showed that all the results _ There remains to be considered | could be explained by the assumption that two the case where the same series of | X-chromosomes, bearing yellow, had become eggs is fertilised by the other kind | stuck together. Sections of these females verified sperm, the Y-bearing sperm. In | the prediction. Two united X-chromosomes and the lower line of Fig. 7 the outcome | a Y are present in the yellow females (Fig. 8). At is shown. Two kinds of males | maturation of the eggs both X’s pass out together _ appear, both white-eyed, but one | into the polar body at the reduction division, or -XYY and the other XY. The | else both remain in the egg. Thus the mature , is found to be a normal male; the | eggs are XX or Y. _ Fertilised by a normal expected, in some cases, totransmit both | “grey” X-sperm, the XX egg gives an XXX a Y through his “‘ female-producing”’ | grey female (which dies as a rule) and an XY 0. 2730, VOL. 109] es 244 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 grey male. Fertilised by a Y-sperm, the two kinds of eggs give XXY yellow females and YY individuals (which die). Thus, of the four kinds of individuals expected, half the females (XXX) and half the males (YY) die, and a sex ratio It has been stated above that of 1:1 remains. XXX females appear at rare intervals. These are grey and are recognisable as XXX _ in- dividuals by certain stigmata, and have been shown in sections to possess the three X’s. (4) Drosophila, and presumably other animals belonging to the XX—XY type, are so constituted that they can develop with one X or. with two X’s, provided the other chromosomes are present in duplex. In short, sex determination has been a. < > Fic. 8. regulated along these lines. Failure to obtain similar situations in the case of the other chromo- somes led us to suppose that an individual lacking one or both members of a pair could not “come through ”; but we had no actual proof that this was the explanation of their absence. Neverthe- less, it was anticipated that it might be possible for individuals lacking one or containing three of the very tiny 1V-chromosomes (Fig. 9) to survive. Recently Bridges has found such individuals, and we now realise that they must have been rather frequently met with in the past, but were not recognised as such. A fly with only one of the IV-chromosomes is small, pale, hatches late, has small, slender bristles and a dark trident. The 4 XX 0 Fic. 9. wings are blunt and slightly spread, and the eyes large and roundish. If a female, it is expected to contain two kinds of mature eggs (i.e. eggs after the polar body has been extruded)—one kind with, the other kind without, a IV-chromosome. The egg with one IV-chromosome gives a normal result when fertilised. The egg without a IV- chromosome, if fertilised by a sperm carrying a recessive [V-chromosome character, produces an individual (¢ or 2) showing the recessive char- acter of the father, because the single I1V-chromo- some of this individual came from the father that carried the recessive in question. A male that has only one [V-chromosome in its cells produces two kinds of sperm, one with IV and one without IV. Mated to a normal female, the results are in NO. 2730, VOL. 109] principle the same as above. A male and a female, each with only one 1V-chromosome, when — mated, might be expected to give some individuals (25 per cent.) without a IV. None such appear, — and the ratios show that they die. Individuals with three IV’s are also known. — Their characteristics are the opposites of those — For example, they are _ dark with a very faint trident, long-bristled, and shown by the haplo-IV’s. have small, smooth eyes. Their wings are long and narrow. Females of this kind produce two kinds of eggs, one kind with two IV’s, the other — kind with one IV. Mated to a normal male, with a IV-chromosome recessive character, such females produce daughters and sons of two kinds, namely, one kind with three IV’s, like the mother, and the other kind normal. If these males and females, triploid for IV, are — mated, the recessive character appears in only 4 per cent. instead of the Mendelian 25 per cent. of the offspring, as would be expected when one recessive and two dominant characters are in- volved. Many combinations between triploids and hap- loids are possible, and unique ratios are expected: These have also been worked out. Cytological preparations of triplo- and haplo-IV’s show in AY x x Fic. 10. one case three small chromosomes, and in the other only cne. (5) Complete triploid individuals having three of each kind of chromosome have recently been found by Bridges (Fig. 10). The triploid flies are larger and coarser than normals, and also have large, rough eyes. Their eggs, as shown by genetic tests, contain all possible combinations of chromosomes, behaving as though non-disjunction takes place independently i in each set of three. Amongst the offspring of a triploid female (mated to a normal male) there is one class that has three II’s, three III’s, and three IV’ ’Sy but with two X-chromosomes. This individual is an inter- sex, more like a male than a female. There is another class that has three II’s, three III’s, but only two IV’s. It also is an intersex, but more like a female. Thus sex itself, in this animal, is shown to be an expression of a balance between the X-chromo- somes and the rest of the chromosomes. The results show that the differentials which determine sex are not confined to the sex-chromosomes alone. Some appear to be in the II- and III-chromo- somes, and others in the [V-chromosome. (To be continued.) - 2 ’ the death of Prof. Giacomo Luigi Ciamician, of the University of Bologna, Senator of the t year, Italy has lost one of her most dis- hed men ©: science, and modern chemistry the most assiduous and most successful of its cian’s work was characterised by the h and originality of its grasp. It ranged y over every department of the science— analysis, electrolytic dissociation, organic by plants, chemical action of light, spatial but it was mainly concerned with prob- n special fields of this branch that he will y remembered. One of his earliest investi- as an inquiry into the chemical nature and ion of the resins and gum-resins—a con- difficult and complicated subject forty-five ago when he first attacked it. By distilling e acid, the main constituent of colophony or rosin, with zinc-dust in a current of hydro- reduction-process which had been already to be of general utility—he obtained a - of aromatic derivatives, notably toluene, thylmethylbenzene, naphthalene, methylnaphtha- d methylanthracene. Gum-benzoin simi- ted yielded similar products, together with quantities of xylene. Elemi-resin also toluene, and ethylmethylbenzene and ethyl- thalene, but no naphthalene or methylanthra- Gum-ammoniacum gave both para- and meta- and meta-ethylmethylbenzene, and_ the her of ortho-ethylphenol, but no naphtha- v vatives. These observations are of con- interest, but they do not necessarily throw ae the constitution of the terpene-resins, as f the products may be the result of second- tions. In fact, aldehyde-resin, obtained rdinary aldehyde ‘and therefore not an aro- derivative, on reduction with zinc-dust, was to yield ethylbenzene, meta- and para-ethy] , and methylnaphthalene. 1881 Ciamician attacked the chemistry of _ a constituent of the fetid-smelling product d by heating bones in the preparation of charcoal, and hence termed bone-oil or ’s oil, from the name of the chemist who, so as 1711, first attempted to get an insight nature. This product has been known for at four centuries, and has been the subject of d inquiry. e investigation of pyrrole, first isolated by in 1834, its congeners and derivatives, occu- Ciamician, at intervals, for upwards of a r of a century, and he published, partly , and partly in conjunction with Dennstedt, el, Anderlini, Magnaghi, Magnanini, Silber, Zanetti, no fewer than sixty communications on chemistry. In 1904 he reviewed all this work a lecture delivered to the German Chemical _ NO, 2730, VOL. 109] organic chemistry, and it is by his labours’ FEBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 245 Obituary. Pror. Gracomo CIAMICIAN. Society, afterwards printed in vol. 37 of its Berichte. It forms a remarkable chapter in the development of a section of organic chemistry with which Ciamician’s name will always be associated He established the nature of pyrrole as a secondary amine, its carbon and hydrogen atoms forming a closed chain, the hydrogen atoms being symmetri- cally situated with respect to the carbon atoms, as suggested by Baeyer. Its formation from succini- mide by distillation with zinc-dust, and the fact that it yields succinaldehyde dioxime by the action of hydroxylamine, conclusively established this view of its constitution. Ciamician’s work on pyrrole had many side issues. He elucidated its relations, not only to the substances with which it is associated in bone-oil, such as pyridine, into which he showed it might be converted, but also to indole and indigo. He was naturally led to the study of the products of the destructive distillation of gelatin, and, with Weidel, discovered pyrocoll, which he regarded as a quinone of the constitution CO CHING | >CuHN, or as the anhydride of carbopyrrolic acid, of which, with Silber, he prepared a number of derivatives, and eventually effected its synthesis by heating a solution of carbopyrrolic acid in acetic anhydride, when pyrocoll, with all the properties of that obtained from gelatin, sublimes. Pyrrole derivatives are concerned in vital pro- cesses. They have been found in plants, and certain of them have been shown by Willstatter to exist among the decomposition products of chloro- phyll and of hemoglobin—one more illustration of - the remarkable analogies which exist between these substances so important in their physiological functions. Ciamician was early attracted to plant chemistry, and made important contributions to our knowledge of the nature and constitution of substances pro- duced by photosynthetic processes in the vegetable organism. He determined the constitution of apiole, a substance found by von Gerichten in parsley seeds, and of the analogous compounds safrole, the chief constituent of the essential oil of sassafras and found in other natural oils, leaves, and fruits, and eugenol, a still more widely dis- tributed natural product. With Silber he investi- gated the constituents of coto- and paracoto-bark, substances of pharmacological interest, and derived from plants growing in Bolivia and Venezuela. A growing plant is a living laboratory in which synthetic processes may be directed, controlled, or modified, as in the human organism, by external means. In conjunction with Ravenna, Ciamician studied the effect of the introduction of various natural organic products into plants, with the view of determining their fate, or their influence on the life- history or development of the plant. They showed that plants will tolerate and utilise glucosides, such 246 NATURE | FEBRUARY 23, 1922 as amygdalin, salicin, and arbutin, but will quickly die when the aromatic constituents of these glucos- ides are separately introduced. They found that plants are capable of transforming saligenin, benzyl alcohol, and vanillin into glucosides, saligenin, for example, being converted into salicin. They studied the effect of the inoculation of pyridine, piperidine, and pyrrole derivatives on the formation of alkaloids ; they found that the amount of nicotine in the tobacco plant could be considerably increased by the intro- duction of dextrose. Their results lent support to the view that vegetable alkaloids have their origin jn amino-acids, and that bases, such as lysine and ornithine, formed from amino-acids, are utilised by plants in the synthesis of alkaloids. The chemical action of light has long been a special study with Italian chemists. Blessed with sunnier skies than we enjoy in these latitudes, they have had ampler opportunities than we possess to ‘observe its effects, and, thanks to their long-con- tinued and systematic work, a considerable body of information has been accumulated. Some of Ciamician’s earliest observations had reference to this subject, and it continued to interest: him to the endof his days. He noticed the conversion under its influence of quinone into quinol ; of an alcoholic solu- tion of nitrobenzene into aldehyde, aniline, and quin- aldine; and of a@-nitrobenzaldehyde into o-nitroso- benzoic acid, the nature of the changes and the character of the products formed being affected by the vehicle in which the substances under examina- tion were contained, and the refrangibility of the light-rays. Unsaturated compounds tended to poly- merise. An aqueous solution of acetone yielded acetic acid and methane ; maleic acid was converted into fumaric acid; vanillin, piperonal, salicylalde- hyde, and cinnamaldehyde yield the corresponding acids; lzvulic acid forms propionic acid; many cyclo-ketones are broken down and fatty acids and aldehydes formed ; benzaldehyde is resinified, and. may be condensed with many different compounds ; solutions of benzophenone in aromatic hydrocarbons yield benzopinacone, and the hydrocarbon undergoes condensation ; camphor in dilute aqueous alcoholic solution yields acetaldehyde and campholenalde- hyde; fenchone forms carbon monoxide and fenchone hydrate. Aromatic hydrocarbons in presence of water and oxygen are partly oxidised to the corresponding carboxylic acids. Pyrrole by prolonged exposure is completely decomposed, one of the products being succinimide, which may be regarded as the ketonic form of the quinol of pyrrole. This is but a bald and imperfect summary of an intensely interesting and most important chain of observations, the full significance of which is scarcely yet realised. ‘The potency of ‘light has, of course, long been recognised, but no such evidence of its power to induce.chemical action -had hitherto been adduced as that afforded by Ciamician’s work. Ciamician was an accomplished, well-informed man, of great personal charm, whose influence on the chemistry of his epoch will long be felt. His merits- were widely recognised. He was a foreign associate ‘of the French Academy and an honorary NO. 2730, VOL. 109] he took mathematics and law. fellow, since 1911, of our Chemical Society. He | was minded follower of the science he has done so much to enlarge and adorn. T. E. THORPE, WE regret to see the announcement of the deathon Saturday, February 18, of Sir JoHn McCrurE, © who for the’ past thirty years has been headmaster of Mill Hill School. Sir John McClure, who was born in 1860, received his education at Cambridge, where acted as lecturer in astronomy and other scientific subjects under the Cambridge University Extension Syndicate, while from 1888-94 he was professor of astronomy at Queen’s College, London. It was in r891 that he received the appointment of headmaster _ at Mill Hill School, a post which he filled with con-. spicuous success for more than thirty years. The school, which was founded in 1807 for the educa- tion of Nonconformists when the older universities were not open to them, was reconstituted in 1869, and flourished for a time; but when Sir John McClure arrived in 1891 there were only sixty-one boys. reconstruct the school, with the result that last yez he was able to announce that the number of boys under his charge had grown to 361. Sir John McClure was also active in the cause of education — outside his school. From 1904-13 he was honorary — secretary of the Incorporated Association of Head- - masters, and later became president, and it was mainly in recognition of these and similar services to _ education that he received the honour of knighthood in 1913. ORIENTAL learning has suffered a grievous loss by the death, at the age of eighty years, of SiR ARTHUR NayLor Wo taston, K.C.1I.E. Appointed toa post — in the India Office at the age of sixteen, Wollaston — served for forty-eight years in that Department. In © 1898 he succeeded the late Mr. F. C. Danvers as registrar, and he was so successful in arranging the voluminous series of records that they became readily accessible to students. In this task he was suc- ceeded by his pupil, Mr. W. Foster, who has done — valuable work in calendaring the collection. © Wollaston, in addition to his official duties, became an admirable Persian scholar, though he never had the good fortune to visit the East. He translated the Fables of Bidpai, and edited Sir Lewis Pelly’s ‘Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain.”’ But the work by which he will be best remembered is his great English—Persian Dictionary. At Walmer, where he resided for many years, he took an active - share in the local administration. — _ Tue death is announced of Pror. Erich ESLER, professor of inorganic and analytical chemistry in the newly founded University of Frankfort-on- Main. Prof. Ebler, who was forty-two years of age, was appointed only in 1920, after service with the Army in the field. an occasional visitor to London, and per- i sonally known to some British chemists who will — long cherish his memory as an earnest and single- ~ From 1885-91 he a He immediately set to work to develop and — (a FEBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 247 We are ny to ae able to announce that representa- es of British science are included among those who ‘eceived their Majesties’ invitation to the mar- ' Her Royal Highness Princess. Mary on next, February 28. Fr G. Hopkins and Dr. W. H. R. Rivers elected members of the Athenzum Club rule which empowers the annual election amittee of a certain number of persons “of peenence in science, literature, the arts, li > service.” ‘Prof. Stanley Gardiner directed attention to s effect of the German Reparations (Re- ; upon scientific workers and institutions in try in regard to the duty of 26 per cent. on publications; Prof. Gardiner at the same 6 strenuously to the Board of Trade. is now received a reply in which the Board that an Order has been made under section 5 \ct referred to granting exemption from the ir pe ste of certain periodical publications in man language. The Order, which is dated wu reads :—‘‘Any article of the following on shall be exempt from the provisions of Act—that is to say, any article being a pub- the German language which is proved to action of the Commissioners of Customs and to be a periodical publication of a German ‘society or other scientific or philosophical 1 publication.’? Communication should be th the Secretary, Custom House, Lower Street, E.C.3, for particulars as to the in which to apply for the exemption of any 1 consignment. tives of the late Sir Ernest Shackleton that the most appropriate burial-place for the sjlorer was the sub-Antarctic island of South vhere he died and on which he performed feat of crossing the unknown ridge of ns on his way from Elephant Island to the at of whalers in 1916. The body, which had ought from South Georgia to Monte Video by Hussey, the meteorologist to the Shackleton- Expedition, was accordingly conveyed on the. British whaler Woodville at that port on ry 15, the late explorer’s birthday, and Capt. r sailed with his old leader on the following g. The Uruguayan Government, with charac- ‘ic sympathy and generosity, arranged the funeral ion as a State function, particulars of which ed in the Times of February 16. The body rough wooden coffin made by the South jian whalers was taken to the English church in te Video, where the funeral service was read by Blount. The coffin, placed on a gun-carriage covered with the Union Jack and many wreaths, ding one in bronze from the Uruguayan Govern- » was taken to the British Club, the British | NO. 2730, VOL. 109 | Current Topics and Events, Chargé d’Affaires and many members of the British colony, including some from Buenos Aires, following. At the club the Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs joined the procession, which moved on to the wharf accompanied by a guard of honour of Uruguayan Lancers, and the streets were lined with troops. At the wharf the Uruguayan War Minister delivered a sympathetic address, which was replied to by the British Chargé d’Affaires. When the Woodville sailed she was accompanied to the limit of territorial waters by the Uruguayan cruiser Uruguay, and on parting she fired a salute and ranged alongside the Wood- ville, with all hands lining the ship in farewell. The burial will take place on March 1, and a memorial service will be held in St. Paul’s Cathedral on March 2. A soMEWHuaT startling paragraph recently appeared in the Times giving an account of petroleum “divining” of an extraordinary nature by means of laboratory experiments carried out in France. Dr. Henri Moineau and M. Regis have apparently been at work on an apparatus for which it is claimed that by “‘harnessing Hertzian waves ’’ the composition of subterranean solid, liquid, and gaseous matter may be indicated, quite irrespective of distance! Experiments are at present being carried out at the Puy du Déme, in the Clermont-Ferrand region, and already this mys- terious apparatus has detected petroleum deposits in Alsace, Saxony, Hanover, Czecho-Slovakia, Italy, the Rocky Mountains, the Allegheny Mountains, and finally in the Andes. No account whatever is given of the nature of the apparatus itself, though it is suggested that X-ray photography plays an important réle in the determinations, particularly in the elucida- tion of underground structures. It is further alleged that with the apparatus it is possible to discern, not only oil, but also coal, minerals, and water occurring in remote parts of the world, the idea being that once such occurrences are located all that is necessary as a preliminary to successful boring is an aerial recon- naissance for the purpose of taking ‘“‘ X-ray photo- graphs’’ of the selected areas. We cannot refrain from remarking that, although first impulse may dic- tate a dismissal of the matter as extravagant, present knowledge of electromagnetic wave propagation, though limited, is sufficient to promote realisation of possibilities, and caution before condemning prema- turely their utilisation in the present connection. Ar a celebration which took place in the chemistry lecture theatre of the Sorbonne on January 22 Prof. Henry Le Chatelier was presented with a gold medal in commemoration of his fifty years’ work of scientific and technical research. The chair was occupied by M. G. Noblemaire, president of the Comité Jubilaire, who recalled the various stages in the career of the illustrious savant and outlined the series of remarkable discoyeriés made by him, most of which have received important industrial applications. Eloquent speeches were also made by M. Molliard, dean of the Faculté des Sciences, and by M. Bertin, president of the 248 NATURE | FEBRUARY 23, 1922 Académie des Sciences. Prof. Trasenster, representing the University of Liége, handed Prof. Le Chatelier the diploma of engineer honoris causa of the ‘‘ Faculté | Technique Wallonne,’’ Surrounded by eminent men of science, engineers, and students, Prof. Le Chatelier, after thanking the members of the committee, declared that he was happy ‘“‘to have been able to add a few links to the solid and durable chain of scientific dis- coveries, science being essentially a collective work, forged by the continuous and methodical labour of the savants,”’ Tue search for the two missing men, Tessem and Knudsen, of Amundsen’s Arctic Expedition who left the Maud in October, 1918, in the vicinity of Cape Chelyuskin carrying dispatches to Europe leaves no room for hope that they are alive. The Times of February 18 announces that Capt. Jacobsen, who has been searching the north-west coast of Siberia in the Heimen, found a note from the men near Cape Wild (long. 91° 30’ E.) to the effect that they arrived there in the middle of November, 1918, and found their provi- sion depét much damaged by sea-water, but that they were leaving under favourable conditions for Port Dickson, at the Yenisei mouth. Beyond Cape Wild, at a distance which Capt. Jacobsen does not specify, he found. the remains of camp-fires and indications that a human body had been cremated. He believes that one of the men died there and that the survivor burnt his body lest it should be devoured by. bears. No further traces were found. Tue first volume of the Dictionary of Applied Physics, of which Sir Richard Glazebrook is the editor, is announced by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., for March, and the remaining four volumes may be expected before the end of the year. The successive volumes are to be devoted to mechanics, engineering, and heat; electricity ; meteorology and metrology; optics, sound, and radiology; and metal- lurgy and aeronautics. The arrangement of the articles in all the volumes is to be alphabetical, and each article is written by a specialist. The list of con- tributors shows that the editor has succeeded in securing actual workers in each branch, and that.the articles will therefore be thoroughly up to date. As the first attempt to place before the public in a con- venient form the methods-and results of recent re- search in applied physics, the Dictionary will be welcomed by all engaged in industries in which physics plays a part, as well as by scientific workers generally. THE annual dinner of the Illuminating Engineering Society on February 1o aptly illustrated the variety of work with which the society is now concerned, Sir John H. Parsons, president of the society, pre- sided. Sir Herbert Jackson, representing the Royal Society, proposed the toast of ‘The Illuminating Engineering Society,’ and Mr. J. B. Lawford (chair- man of the Council of British Ophthalmologists) joined him in expressing appreciation of the pro- gramme of the society, notably in promoting discus- sion of the effect of light on the eye. The toast of “Kindred Societies’? was proposed by Mr. F. W. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] Geddenough. Mr. T. Hardie (president of the Institu- — tion of Gas Engineers) and Mr. A. A. Campbell — Swinton (vice-president of the Institution of Elec. — trical Engineers and chairman of the Royal Society | of Arts) pointed out how those associated with both forms of lighting had found a common interest in — illuminating engineering. The toast of ‘The Guests” — ) Mr. R. E. Graves — (H.M. Chief Inspector of Factories) and Mr, William Brace (Mines Department), in responding, referred was proposed by Mr. L. Gaster. to the activities of the society in connection with industrial lighting and conditions of illumination in mines, and Mr. H. E. Blain emphasised the import- ance of good illumination in the interests of safety, both in relation to traffic and in industry, TuHRouGH the generosity of the Fertilisers Manu- facturers’ Association and of the British Sulphate of Ammonia Federation, a special member has been — appointed on the staff of the Rothamsted Experi- mental Station for the purpose of explaining the plots to farmers and others. Mr. H. V. Garner, of the School of Agriculture, Cambridge, has accepted the new post. The director, Dr. E. J. Russell, will now be glad, therefore, to arrange with secretaries of farmers’ clubs, Chambers of Agriculture, and other bodies in- terested for visits to the plots. Among important items of interest are experiments on the manuring of arable crops, especially wheat, barley, mangolds, and potatoes; the manuring of meadow hay; the effect of modern slags and mineral phosphates on grazing land, hay land, and arable crops; crop diseases and pests; and demonstrations of good types of tillage imple- ments, tractors, etc. At any convenient time between May 1 and October 1 there is sufficient to occupy a full day, and provision is being completed for assur- ing that the time shall not be lost, even if the weather turns out to be too bad to allow of close inspection of the fields. Ir will be remembered that Dr. Saleeby, writing in Nature of December 8, p. 466, urged the importance of a co-ordinated inquiry into the action of sunlight — in health and disease, under the auspices of the Medical Research Council. We are glad to see that the council has now appointed the following Com- mittee to report upon the promotion of researches into the biological action of light with the view of obtain- ing increased knowledge of the effects of sunlight and other forms of light upon the human body in health or disease :—Prof. W. M. Bayliss (chairman), Mr. J. E. Barnard, Dr. H. H. Dale, Capt. S. R. Douglas, Sir Henry Gauvain, Dr. Leonard Hill, and Dr. J. H. Sequeira. Dr. Edgar Schuster is secretary of the Committee. At the monthly meeting of the Zoological Society of London held on February 15 twenty-four new fellows wete elected to the society and thirty. pro- posed for the fellowship. The secretary stated that the additions to the society’s menagerie during January numbered 151—52 by presentation, 76 de- posited, and 23 by purchase. The most important accessions included a Macedonian wolf (Canis lupus), a Dybowski’s deer (Cervus hortulorum), eleven plumbeus quails (Synaecus plumbeus), and two angle # hg: aa) SS 7 ae ee See ee “vr NATURE 249 sh (Pterophyllium scalare), the last two species new he collections. The report of the secretary re- a considerable decrease in the number of to the gardens in January as compared with mbers of the corresponding month last year. meeting of the council of the National Institute icultural Botany held on February 9g the first jon of fellows of the institute took place. A dred and ten candidates were elected, among m were the following :—H.R.H. the Duke of <, the Prime Minister, the Duke of Bedford, the guess of Crewe, the Earl of Ancaster, the Earl y, the Earl of Crawford, Viscount Milner, iton, Lord Bledisloe, Lord Ernle, Sir Gilbert Sir Harry Verney, Sir Matthew Wallace, E. G. Strutt, the Right Hon. E. C. Prety- .P., the Right Hon. Sir A. Griffith- 1, Sir Thomas Middleton, Mr. Charles , Mr. Samuel Farmer, Mr. R. R. Robbins, y Margaret Boscawen. icers and other members of council of the al Society of London for the ensuing year ted on February 10 as follows :—President: A. S. Kennard. Vice-Presidents: Mr. J. R. le B. in, Prof. A. E. Boycott, Mr. G. K. Gude, and Oldham. Treasurer: Mr. R. Bullen Newton. for: Mr. B. B. Woodward. Secretary: Mr. A. E. uury. Other Members of Council: Dr. A. H. ‘Mr. H. O. N. Shaw, Lt.-Col. A. J. Peile, Iredale, Dr. E. W. Bowell, and Mr. Hugh On Thursday next, March 2, Prof. H. M. Lefroy will deliver the first of two lectures at the Royal Institution on (1) ‘The Menace of the Insect Pest ’’ and (2) “The Balance of Life in Relation to Insect Pest Control.’’ On Saturday, March 4, Sir Ernest Rutherford will begin a course of six lectures on radio- activity. The Friday evening discourse on March 3 will be delivered by Dr. C. Morley Wenyon on “ Micro- scopic Parasites and their Carriers.” Dr. W. Bateson, director of the John Innes Horticultural Institution, Mostyn Road, Merton, S.W.19, is giving a demonstration of the genetics of Primula sinensis at the institution to-day, February 23, at 3 p.m. All interested in the subject are invited, and in particular those who attended Dr. Bateson’s lectures on genetics in November last. Admission is free, without ticket. Tue ninth election to Beit fellowships for scientific research will take place in July next. Applications must be received by the Rector, Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, S.W.7, not later than April 19. Forms of application and all information respecting the fellowships are obtain- able from the Rector of the Imperial College of Science and Technology upon written request. Tue first award of the Meldola medal, referred to in Nature of January 12, p. 49, has been made by the council of the Institute of Chemistry, with the concurrence of Dr. Percy E. Spielmann, represent- ing the Maccabeans, to Dr. Christopher Kelk Ingold. ATING FIREBALL IN SunsuInE.—Mr. W. F. writes that this object observed by him on 7 at 3:55 p-m. appears to have been seen aratively few observers, although the loud is which followed it were heard by large of people, chiefly in Warwickshire, over county the fireball passed. It seems to have the loudest reports near the middle section light, in the region of Quinton, Feckenham, Hall, and Droitwich. At some places there was One sound heard, at others two, but all the rs agree that the concussion and_ vibration of startling intensity. The detonations were i along a line directed from S.E. to N.W. ‘adiant point of the meteor was at 60°— 11°, and height from 56 to 32 miles; the length of lous flight was 82 miles, and velocity about 10 ‘ second. The position of the object was over Oxfordshire to Shropshire. "EMENTS IN SpirRAL NesuLta.—In this column anuary 12 reference was made to the movements iral nebulae which Dr. Jeans described at the Astronomical Society when exhibiting slides by Dr. van Maanen. Dr. van Maanen has now hed the fifth paper on this subject in the issue Astrophysical Journal for December last, show- the results of his investigation with regard to the nebula Messier 81. This paper contains the Jence on internal motions derived from the four ule which Dr. van Maanen has now measured, fi ly, M tot, 33, 51, and 81, and he summarises results in a table of which the following is an NO. 2730, VOL. 109] Our Astronomical Column. abstract. The second column gives the interval in years between pairs of photographs he has compared, and the following four columns the motions as indi- cated at the heads of the columns. The last column gives the number of nebular points the positions of which were independently measured :— (Units for Motions 0-001".) Interval Rota- Trans- maha Object inyears tional Radial Stream verse points M to1 Seeeot 5. +2 oS . By M tor aaneot. + 6. 2a ~~ 3 69 Moiepe ee ie + 7 IA tH 2 46 Mate ao + 6 +24" 2 30 M 33 aveeee, ES +38 + 4 21 Mier F190. * + 8) +ar + 3 79 M 81 G6 +90 +17 +25. +16 52 Men eit- 38° +13 +39 «+ 7 (104 It will be seen that all pairs of plates show the same type of motion, and, as Dr. van Maanen points out, the agreement in the values of the motion for each nebula derived from different pairs of plates is as satisfactory as could be expected. In addition to the rotational components, which correspond to the periods in the order of the nebule in the table, namely, 85,000, 160,000, 45,000 and 58,000 years, they all show a large outward radial component. The close agreement of the displacements in direction with the spiral arms of the nebule suggests, as he states, ‘a realisation of the motions described by Jeans in ‘Problems of Cosmogony and Stellar Dynamics.’ ” 250 NATURE [| FEBRUARY 23, 1922 Research Items. JuventLe DeLINQuENCY.—In Psyche (vol. 2, No. 3) Dr. Cyril Burt discusses the causes and treatment of juvenile delinquency.. In studying crime, he points out, we encounter at the outset the fact of multiple determination. Crime in any given person usually proves to be attributable, not to some one all-explain- ing cause such as ‘“‘inborn criminality,’’ but to.a con- verging number of alternating factors. Usually some predominating factor can be singled out as-° chiefly responsible, which factor may be a legitimate label for classification, but in: treatment it is never safe to deal with one factor only, however crucial it may be. In all‘cases it is necessary, for any scientific appreciation of the disturbance, to make a complete and comprehensive survey of the whole child and his surroundings; we must know the child’s physical characteristics as well as its emotional and _ intel- lectual endowment. The author, while assigning a due position to mental defectiveness, does not sup- port the view that all or most criminals are mentally defective. Various methods of diagnosis and of treat- ment are discussed. The article will be extremely valuable to all those who, whether from the point of view of theoretical psychology or of practical life, are interested in the individual and social consequences of delinquency. CRANIOMETRY IN THE BritisH IstEs.—Prof. F. G. Parsons has done good service to anthropometry by collecting in the February issue of Man all the avail- able records of the cephalic index to be found in these islands. The record of 3000 criminals is of special interest, as they show the very high cephalic index of 785, and the size of their heads is very low. This suggests that our recent immigrants from Cen- tral Europe have contributed even more than their fair share of crime. It is also remarkable that the average index of a group of Cambridge students is 796 as compared with the Oxford average of 780; possibly some mistake has crept into the arithmetic, but the question deserves further investigation. Other interesting deductions from these figures are that the average head-shape of people in England differed very little between Saxon times and the eighteenth century, the trifling variations being probably due to immigration from the Continent; and that these records do not supply any reason to believe that the size of the modern Englishman’s head is increasing with its increasing rotundity; in fact, both the Saxons and the Long Barrow folk, from the fusion of whom most of our blood is derived, seem to have had rather larger heads than the average modern Englishman, and there is no reason to believe that physically they were larger men. Unfortunately, these records, confined to the cephalic index, take no account of head height, which is a serious loss. Further, this collection, large as it is, is inconclusive when compared with a population of some forty millions. In the past, as, for instance, in India, the evidence from craniometry has led to unfounded theories because the number of the subjects was insignificant as compared with the total population. If it is to succeed in justifying its claims, provision must be made for a much larger number of measure- ments, and these must not be confined to the cephalic index. SAFFLOWER-SEED O1L.—Bulletin 124 of the Agricul- tural Research Institute, Pusa, contains an account of safflower oil. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, L.) is widely cultivated in India, both as an oilseed and, to NO. 2730, VOL. 109] a much smaller extent, for the reddish (carthamin) in the flowers. The crop is extensively grown in the driest areas of the Deccan for its oil- seed. The oil is edible when clarified, and is used as an adulterant for butter. The sweet-oil of Bombay is made by mixing safflower, earth-nut, and til seeds and expressing the oil. After boiling, safflower oil forms a gelatinous mass, and it is a drying oil. This form is used as ‘‘roghan,’’ or Afridi wax, for the preparation of wax-cloth. The oil is also suitable for the manufacture of soap. It is suggested that safflower-seed oil could become a valuable commercial product on the home markets. : Date CULTIVATION IN THE ’IRAQg.—Under the aus- pices of the Agricultural Directorate, Ministry of the Interior, Mesopotamia (Memoir 3, 1921), Mr. V. H. W. Dewson has published a very interesting and valuable report on date cultivation on the Shat el Arab, the river which conveys to the Persian Gulf the joined waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. The Shat el Arab is the most important. area of date cultivatic in the world; both banks are lined with dat for a distance of 108 miles, with an average width on. either side of about a mile, representing about 138,000 acres. In the Iraq the date-palm flourishes wherever it is watered and cared for, from Ana on the Euphrates and Samara.on the Tigris southwards; north of these towns the winters are too cold. Mr. Dowson describes in detail the methods of cultivation and marketing, and also enumerates the chief uses of the palm and its products—in the last instance he refers to an old Tamil song which enumerates eight hundred and one uses of the Palmyra palm, and remarks that the number of uses of the date-palm and its products is probably but little short of this number. Compared with many fruit-trees, the date- palm suffers but little from disease; portant enemy is the larva of a Gelechiid moth, the adult of which is unknown. Preventive measures against the ravages of this pest, which causes the young green dates to turn brown and drop to the ground, have still to be devised. In a sec part of the memoir the author gives a statistical summary. of his investigation into the yield of the different varieties, and in a third part (in preparation) he will deal generally with the varieties of date- palms of the ’Iraq, which includes also the Bagdad area, the next largest date-cultivation centre in the country, comprising about twenty miles of date- gardens lining both banks of the Tigris. The memoir is illustrated with numerous photographic reproductions. BritisH Myco.ocicat Society.—In pt. 3 of vol. 7 of the Transactions of this society Mr. Petch, of Ceylon, continues his studies in entomogenous fungi, writing learnedly of the Nectrie para- sitic on scale insects. A number of new species are described, but it is very unfortunate that no cultural data are given. An interesting account of the recently founded Imperial Bureau of Mycology, with a sug- gestive résumé of its functions, is contributed by the director, Dr. E. J. Butler. The establishment of this bureau is somewhat of an epoch-making event: in phytopathology, and all support possible should be rendered to it. Messrs. Brooks and Searle give an account of the fungi responsible for certain tomato diseases, emphasising what should be so obvious : the necessity of cultural data in specific determinations. There are also an interesting paper by Miss Mounce— on homothallism and the production of fruit-bodies by — dye its one im- -FEBRUARY 23, 1922} NATURE 251 Osporous mycelia in the genus Coprinus, and a ms after sixty-seven years’ preservation as a rium specimen. ‘The issue is well produced and ated by five plates, two’ of which are beautifully gp Prant Remains.—The Middle or Lower m flora discovered by Dr. Mackie at Rhynie, deenshire, was generally reviewed by Prof. Bower in 1920 (Nature, vol. 105, pp. 681 and Dr. Kidston and Dr. W. H. Lang rans. Roy. a., vol. 52, pt. 4, 1921) now describe the es occurring in the remarkable silicified and discuss the conditions of accumulation. uence is due to continued growth on a land- that was at times submerged in lake-waters for the silica, and it is pointed out that the vth of cyanophacez and bacteria in modern hot gs is known to promote a deposition of colloidal sa. We may note that Prof. W. N. Benson (Proc. Soc., New South Wales, vol. 45, p. 315, 1920) 1e silicification of remains of gymnosperms in miferous beds on Mount Cobla, New South _ to contemporaneous hydrothermal solutions ted with the deposition of keratophyric tuffs. y of climatic changes in the past, the possibility of siliceous waters derived from laterisa- st not, of course, be overlooked. an MetEoroLocy.—Meteorological statistics Australian Colony of Victoria have recently ublished, based on all the available records ob- at 1046 official stations from January, 1856, to uber, 1907. They have been prepared under the on of Mr. Pietro Baracchi, Government Astro- from 1895 to 1915. Observations were ced at Melbourne in 1840 and continued 51, When, in consequence of Government there seems to have beer a break for about r years. From 1855 observations were made at Ibourne and at some twenty stations in different ricts of the Colony. All observations were con- led by the authorities at Melbourne Observatory itil 1907, when the meteorological duties were taken * by the Government of the Commonwealth of istralia under the control of the Commonwealth eteorologist, Mr. H. A. Hunt. The observations cluded in the volume received are a summary of ts to 1907, when the responsibility of Melbourne atory ceased. This volume of the early Aus- weather observations is of great value as g data for seasonal changes and _ possibly ‘ing meteorological irregularities of interest in tion with more recent observations. A detailed y is given of the development of the system of ng and showing the requirements and value steorological observations, especially a thorough ledge of rainfall distribution. in the introduction are of extreme value, and 'most thorough supervision and great alertness the utility of special observations. At Melbourne ‘vations are given for a period of fifty years. The lean and extreme values for the several elements and r the a regions of observation are of high entific value. ANDARD CeELts or Low Vottace.—In the issue ovember, 1921, of the Proceedings of the ico-Mathematical Society of Japan Mr. J. Obata ibes the investigation he has carried out on the ility of -constructing standard cells of -low tage for testing purposes. Nine types of cell have __—NO. 2730, VOL. 109] e by Mr. Collet describing viability in Fumago - ated with silica. A volcanic source is sug-— Many details | been studied, in all of which cadmium or cadmium amalgany formed the negative, and cadmium or lead amalgam the positive pole. The electrolytes were ‘solutions of lead or cadmium sulphate, chloride, bromide, or iodide, and the cells were given the H form. The two cells which proved most suitable for standards were the cadmium amalgam/cadmium iodide /lead iodide/lead amalgam cell with an electro- motive force at 20° C. of 0-09838 volt and a tem- perature coefficient of o-o0024 volt per degree, and a cadmium amalgam (10 per cent.)/cadmium sulphate solution/eadmium amalgam (dilute) cell with an electromotive force of about oor volt and a tem- perature coefficient of about 0-0004, according to the strength of the dilute gmalgam. MaGNEsIUM IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.—Mr. H. Hep- worth describes in the issue of the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry for January 16 the recent applications of magnesium in organic chemistry. The ‘‘Grignard reaction,’’ since its discovery in 1900, has found numerous applications in organic synthesis, and this paper is an interesting résumé of much recent work. The following examples will serve to illustrate the new lines of research made possible by the use of magnesium compounds. Cyclopentamethyl- stannines, in which the ring contains an atom of tin replacing carbon, have been obtained. Tin diaryl- compounds exhibit an intense colour. Lead tetra- alkyls, lead triaryls, apparently analogous to tri- phenylmethyl, and mixed tin and lead compounds have been prepared, and I-phenylchloroacetic acid is converted by magnesium phenyl bromide into d-di- phenylsuccinic acid. The use of ether in preparing the Grignard reagent is not essential, but the early view that an additive compound was formed seems to have received confirmation by the isolation of a crystalline compound, 2(C,H,),PO,CH,MgI, when _ tribenzyl phosphine oxide is used instead of ether, and of crystalline (C,H,,),0,MgCH,I with amyl ether. In- stead of the oxonium structure for such compounds, a formula in which magnesium is the central atom with co-ordination number 4 has. been proposed, the ether being attacked by subsidiary valencies. VisraTIONS OF VeEnIcLEs.—According to an article by M. A. Boyer-Guillon in the November issue of the Bulletin of the Société d’encouragement pour JIndustrie nationale, the Auclair and Boyer-Guillon accelerometer is to be used in the near future in a detailed study of the oscilla- tions, shocks, or vibrations to which the rolling stock of the French railways is subjected. The Auto- mobile Club of France and the Society of Architects propose also to use it in a study of the vibrations of buildings. The instrument has already led to the solution of problems connected with the failure of machines apparently well designed for the stresses they were expected to withstand. In most cases it has shown that the accelerations to which parts of the machines were subjected were far in excess of those contemplated. Used on autocars in Paris streets it gives the vertical accelerations on irregular wood and on good stone pavements as between 6 and 7 metres per sec. per sec. at a speed of 27 km. per hour. The instrument itself consists of a heavy mass held up by springs attached to the ends of rods which project radially from it. The springs are of graduated strengths, and each holds the rod to which it is attached against a stop with which it makes elec- trical contact until the down acceleration breaks the contact, and the break is registered on the revolving drum of a chronograph. 252 NATURE { FEBRUARY 23, 1922 The Standardisation of Radium Ampoules for Therapeutic Use. A’ apparatus for the routine standardisation of ampoules containing radium compounds and emanation by the y-ray ionisation method was in- stalled recently at the Institut Curie. It consists, as Fic. 1.—Apparatus for the standardisation of radium ampoules (one-tenth full size). shown in Figs. 1 and 2, of a screened ionisation chamber A connected directly to a gold-leaf electro- scope B. The ampoule to be tested is placed in an aluminium tray on the support C, which can be slid along a graduated rule D. The intensity of the ionisation current is deduced from the rate of fall of the gold-leaf. A novel feature of the apparatus is the method of charging the electroscope by means of a variable multicellular condenser E, which obviates the need for a high-voltage battery. The fixed plates of the condenser are connected to the frame, whilst the movable plates are mounted on a spindle actuated by an ebonite of the condenser is at its minimum and the potential proportionately increased (about thirty times). The gold-leaf is observed by means of a micro- scope K the eyepiece of which is fitted with an ' angular scale ; a small mirror L serves to illuminate the field of the micro- scope. The ionisation chamber con- sists of a cylindrical brass box con- taining a thin aluminium dise M, which is connected to the electro- scope through the amber-insulated rod N. The end of the box faging the ampoule is closed by a screen consisting of two lead plates each 5 mm. thick. A modification of the apparatus is used for measuring the radio-activity of ores, earths, etc. The electro- scope, the charging condenser, and the substance to be tested occupy separate compartments of a cylin- drical brass box. The radio-active substance is placed on a tray immediately underneath a rounded stem, the upper end of which forms the pillar of the electroscope. The latter is charged by means of a variable condenser identical with the one previously described, but it can, if desired, be charged indepen- dently or connected to a separate ionisation chamber. 4 va lwearewee. Et ~, knob. When the condenser is in the position of maximum capacity a projecting finger F brings the movable plates momentarily into contact with the stem H, to which is connected a low-voltage battery (10-20 volts). On turning the movable plates through 180° the same finger comes into contact with another stem J con- nected to the electroscope; at this instant the capacity Fic. 2.—Sectional view. The electroscope is ‘“‘earthed’’ by turning a milled - head. Both instruments were designed by M. Holweck, of the Institut Curie, in collaboration with the manu- facturer, M. Beaudouin, Paris. Life-cycles of Bacteria. [N a preliminary communication published in 1916 Dr. Loéhnis expressed the view that all bacteria pass through a definite life-cycle, and the present publication * is an extensive review of the literature in support of that contention. The volume also includes a chapter on methods, an extensive bibliography, and more than 350 microphotographs of the forms ob- served. © Briefly, the life-cycle is as follows :—Under cer- tain conditions the cells come together and fuse, forming an amorphous mass—the symplastic stage— in which the protoplasm undergoes a thorough mix- ing. The symplastic stage is formed not only in cultures in artificial media, but, in the case of the 1 Part 1, Review of the Literature (1838-1918). By Dr. F. Léhnis. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, vol. 16, second Memoir. Pp. 252+41 plates. ; NO. 2730, VOL. 109] pathogenic organisms, in the body of the host as well. It forms the connecting link between the various sub- cycles of which the life-cycle of the organism may be composed. All kinds of vegetative cells, as well as all the varieties of reproductive organs described by the author, can give rise to the symplastic stage. From the symplasm the so-called regenerative units always arise, and these either grow into new cells or several of them unite to form new cells directly. Six distinct types of reproductive organs have been described by the author. These are :—{1) Gonidia, two to four or more in each cell. They are generally motile and. slightly more resistant than vegetative cells. Many are filter ‘passers. They grow into vegetative cells. (2) Regenerative bodies, distinct from regenerative units. They are spherical, oval, _ FEBRUARY 23, 1922] NATURE 253 ear- or kidney-shaped or more or less irregular, rod- A and branched. ‘They are readily stainable, motile, and fairly resistant. They may by fission or budding, are formed from tive cells or from the symplasm, and may give vegetative cells or to the symplastic stage. ores, unstainable regenerative bodies. (4) s, produced by vegetative cells or by re- tive bodies. Conditions for formation are lar to those for the formation of regenerative es. (5) Arthrospores, easily stainable, but with- drying better than heating. They are formed 1¢ segmentation of vegetative cells and trans- n of the joints into fairly resistant spherical 5) Microcysts, very similar to arthrospores. e formed by vegetative cells growing and spherical with a thickened membrane. S' od they may become vegetative cells, 2 like spores, or may break up into two, r four segments, which become vegetative in addition to their reproductive function exo- res, en , arthrospores, and microcysts are, 2 first place, resting-stages. YS Besides the formation of the symplasm a second mode of interaction between the protoplasmic bodies in bacterial cells has been observed. This consists in, the union of two or more cells, and is termed ‘conjunction ’? by the author. Conjunction is most common in cultures two to four days old, and generally precedes the formation of gonidia, repro- ductive bodies, exospores, and endospores. The publication brings together an overwhelming amount of evidence as to the existence of the various forms distinguished by the author. The arrange- ment of these forms in the life-cycles of the bacteria is a point on which further information is desirable, but this will, doubtless, be provided in the later pub- fication in which the observations of the author are to be dealt with in detail. From the point of view of the student of bacterial morphology the publica- tion must be regarded as one of first-rate importance. The general worker on bacteriological problems will also find in it much information of a highly valuable nature, and doubtless will be able to confirm the existence of many of the forms observed from the results of his own experience. Miners’ e years there has been a tendency on the rt of makers of miners’ safety lamps to em- in sheet-metal, perforated with holes of small to serve the same purpose as wire gauze— say, with holes large enough to admit of ge of the necessary volume of air through small enough to arrest the passage of t will be recalled that the lamp invented by Stephenson depended upon perforated sheet- for its impermeability to flame. A further n that has recently been gaining ground is of a short glass cylinder, known as the istion tube,’? to the lower end of a metal suspended directly above the flame of the his contrivance promotes a better circulation in the lamp, keeps the products of combus- arate from the incoming air, and, as a con- , produces a brighter flame and enhances the power of the lamp. chimneys have long been employed with this otably in the Mueseler lamp—the only kind of lamp permitted in Belgian mines—but as the of the metal chimney canrot be brought lower than the top of the flame without obstructing ines Department. Miners’ Lamps C it Me dum No. 4: ord of research on the passage of flame through perforated plates and ongh ed tubes of small diameter. Pp. 12+6 plates. (H.M.S.O.) ‘net. Memorandum No. 5: Record of research on the passage of the an explosion from within miners’ | fitted with chi 3 (H.M.S.O.) 6d. net. 68 Ae cde pat nega Lamps.! the light, the benefit derived from their use is limited. In this respect the glass extension is distinctly beneficial. Having regard to the changes of this kind which were taking place in the construction of safety lamps, the Home Secretary appointed the Miners’ Lamps Committee in 1919 to inquire into, and report on, various questions relating to safety lamps, and the Secretary for Mines re-appointed the same Committee in January, 1921. Up to the present the Committee has issued five Memoranda, of which the last two, Nos. 4 and 5, issued in the end of last year, deal with the use of perforated metal plates and chimneys respectively. The experiments described in Memorandum No. 4 were made to ascertain the relative resistance to the passage of flame possessed by metal plates of various thicknesses perforated with holes of various diameters ; and those described in Memorandum No. 5 to ascer- tain the relative resistance of chimneys of various lengths and diameters at top and bottom and extend- ing to higher or lower levels above and below the wire gauze diaphragm by which they are supported. The results are tabulated in both memoranda and in the letter to the Secretary for Mines which accom- panies each the chairman of the Committee makes certain recommendations and suggestions founded on these results. The total cost of the Committee’s inquiry to date (November, 1921) is given as 5550l. Pébrine in interesting report on pébrine in silkworms in dia (Memoirs Dept. Agric. in India, Bacterio- Series, vol. 1, No. 8, November, 1920, pp. 75, tes), Mr. C. M. Hutchinson gives an account of mental work on methods of infection. He infected ova in the pupal ovary, and the infec- is traced in the egg, larva, and pupa—and re- s the life-history of the causal organism, Nosema cis. The Pasteur method of searching for the lism, devised more than fifty years ago, con- in crushing the body of the moth in a mortar, examining, under a magnification of about 600, small fraction of the resulting powder in a drop NO. 2730, VOL. 109] Silkworms. of water, to ascertain if the characteristic spores of Nosema are present. This method, according to the author, has not been attended in India with any approach to the measure of success which has been attained in Europe. The chances of non-detection of infected moths, and the risk of spreading the spores (due to careless application of the method) in the rooms u for examining the moths, are consider- able—the author states that he has seldom failed to find Nosema spores in the floor dust from these rooms, even in cases where the floors were of concrete. In Europe a period of several months elapses between oviposition by the moth and hatching of the eggs, so 254 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 that the examination of the moths can be undertaken | when they have undergone natural desiccation, and the Nosema, if present, is likely to be in the form of the readily recognisable spores. In India the eggs hatch out within eight days after they are laid, and during this period all the moths must be examined, Rapid desiccation prevents the Nosema forming spores, and the number of spores present in a rapidly dried moth may be so small as to escape detection by the Pasteur method. The author’s revised method, depending on the fact that infection is chiefly in the chyle stomach, is to remove with needles a por- tion of this organ to a slide, rub it up in water, and examine it microscopically. Incidentally he remarks on the inefficiency of the copper sulphate solutions usually employed for sterilising rearing houses and appliances in Bengal, but he found that formaldehyde, employed as vapour or in 1 per cent. solution, com- pletely destroyed the infective power of Nosema spores. A hopeful line of inquiry seems to be opened up by experiments which indicate that resistance to infection is increased by hill rearing. University and Educational Intelligence. BiRMINGHAM.—A post-graduate course of lectures on *“*Medical. Aspects of Crime and Punishment” has been arranged. The council of the University has appointed Mr. Alfred Piney to be lecturer on pathological histology. Acting on the recommendation of the Senate, the council has approved of the following grants in aid of research for the current year :—Physics, t1ool.; chemistry, 250l.; and zoology, 2ool. The Vice-Chancellor, Treasurer, Principal, and Vice- Principal have been appointed representatives of the University for the Conference of Universities to | be held in London on May 13 next. Board of Studies it has been decided that Mr. C. G. Lamb shall be appointed reader in electrical engineer- ing, and that, subject to confirmation by the Special Board for Mathematics, Sir Gerald Lenox-Conyngham shall be appointed reader in geodesy. It is proposed to confer the honorary degree of Se.D. upon Baron A. A. A. von Hiigel, Trinity Col- lege, late curator of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology. A visiting fellowship of the annual value of 2000 dollars, tenable for not more than three years, has been founded at Princeton University by Mr. William Cooper Procter for residential study and investigation in the Graduate College of Princeton University. An un- married male graduate who is a citizen of this country, and not more than thirty years of age, is eligible for appointment, and the visiting fellow must give himself wholly to study and investigation in one of the purely liberal arts and sciences while holding the fellowship. Applications must be made to the Vice-Chancellor not later than the end of March. It is notified that the Royal Commission for 1851 has decided to establish certain senior studentships of the value of 4ool. a year, for which nominations may be made by the University of Cambridge, amongst others. Applications will be made through the professor or head of a laboratory or department under whom the candidate has already carried out research. , The Royal Agricultural Society has offered for the Agricultural School at Cambridge the income of the Hills Bequest for the investigation of the value and uses of the rarer forms of ash in the cultivation of crops. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] pointed Mr. A. Wormall demonstrator in chemistry. Ree ’ Leeps.—The council of the University. has - ap | bio- | 4 Lonpon.—The following doctorates have been con- & ferred :—Ph.D. (Science):. Mr. H. T. Flint, for a thesis entitled ‘‘ Integration Theorems of Four-dimen- sional Vector Analysis ’’; Gametogenesis: Pt. 1, Contributions to the Study of © the Oogenesis of Patella, containing the Mitochondria and Gogli Apparatus in relation to Vitellogenesis in Patella; Pts. 2 and 3, Dictyokinesis in Germ-cells, and the Gogli Apparatus during Cell-division ’’; Mr. H. Moore, for a thesis entitled ‘‘The Season-cracking of Brass and other Copper Alloys’; and Mr. S. H. Tucker, for a thesis entitled ‘‘Carbazole.”’ : St. ANDREWs (UNITED CoLLEeGe).—The Gray prize in logic for an essay on Kant’s ‘‘ Deduction of the Norman McLeish, and the — Tyndall Bruce logic prize for an essay on ‘The Con-— ception of Substance ’’ in Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, — Categories’? to Mr. and Hume to Mr. Norman McLeish. Turex fellowships, each of the yearly value of 200, Ry tenable for two years, are offered by the University of Wales to graduates of that University. Mr. R. J. Ludford, of Uni- | versity College, for a thesis entitled ‘“‘Studies in | tion respecting the fellowships can be obtained from s the Registrar, University Registry, Cathays Park, Cardiff. The latest date for the receipt of applications for the fellowships is May 31 next. Mr. L. P. W. Renour, assistant lecturer in zoology in the Technical College, Bradford, has recently been | elected to the professorship of zoology in University College, Cork. Prior to his appointment at the Technical College, Mr. Renouf was lecturer and examiner in zoology in the University of Glasgow and CAMBRIDGE.—On the recommendation of the General director of the Bute Laboratory and Museum: THE annual general meeting of the Association of Technical Institutions will be held at the Leather. sellers’ Hall, St. Helen’s Place, London, E.C., on Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4. On the Friday morning the president, Viscount Burnham, will intro- duce the president-elect, the Right Hon. Walter Runciman, who will deliver an address. P be presented are :—‘‘ Diplomas,’? Dr. Clay; “C ficates for Evening Students,” Principal Hogg; and “A oe ‘l- hes ¢ 0 Mechanical Engineering Diploma,” Brig.-Gen. Mowat. Sir Alfred Keogh, Rector of the Imperial College of Science and Technology and a past-president of the me: association, will attend the meeting on Fri after. noon and speak on the subject of diplomas for higher technical education and work of a university stan Tue report for 1921 of the Association of Science Teachers contains the findings of a sub-committee appointed to consider the new regulations relating to the examination for the clerical class of the Civil Service. Referring to the science syllabus, the com-— mittee is of opinion that, in view of the fact that pupils of secondary schools are expected to take the First School Examination at the age of 163 years, it is to be regretted that the science syllabus in the Civil Service regulations is not more in accordance with that adopted for the First School Examination ; further, that teaching along the lines laid down in the new Civil Service syllabus would tend to the acquisition of a superficial knowledge of useful facts in modern science without necessarily affording a training in scientific method. The report also in- cludes an account of the general meeting of the asso- ciation held in London on January 3 last, and referred — to in NaTurE of January 12, p. 57. FEBRUARY 23, F922 | NATURE 255 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. 23, 1860. Joseph Miller died.—Trained as ical engineer at Boulton and Watt’s, Miller with Barnes established one of the most suc- arine engineering works on the Thames. He promoter of screw propulsion, and for H.M.S. mm built the first set of direct-acting screw placed below the water-line. 24, 1815. Robert Fulton died.—Famous as r of steam navigation in the New World, was born in 1765, and in early life attained as an artist. Afterwards in England and turned to mechanical pursuits; in 1800 he d a submarine, and in 1803 experimented steamboat on the Seine. He returned to in 1806, and the following year built the which, driven by an engine constructed m and Watt, ran _ successfully between : and Albany. Among other vessels built was the Demologos, the first steam man-o’- 24, 1875. Mare Seguin died.—A nephew of t Montgolfier, Seguin was the first to an iron-wire suspension bridge and one liest of French railway engineers. In 1827 ed the tubular boiler, and the same year to a locomotive for the railway from St. } Lyons. He also made scientific investiga- endeavoured to develop the mechanical at. 26, 1834. Alois Senefelder died. The inven: 1798 of the art of lithography, Senefelder, -youth was connected with the stage, was discovery through seeking for a cheap of reproducing his comedies. He established phic establishment at Munich, and after- s Director of the Bavarian Royal Litho- nce. wary 27, 1794, Jean Rudolphe Perronet died.— has been called the Telford of France. From of the City Architect of Paris he entered the lent service, and in 1747 became the first the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées founded ne. He was the first to introduce bridges roadways, and among his most notable ; the bridge across the Seine at Neuilly. 27, 1913. Sir William Henry White died.— apprentice at Devonport Dockyard White be Chief Constructor of the Navy, a post he om 1885 to 1902. During this period he was ible for the construction of 245 vessels costing 000,000l. A great master of his profession, much to the literature of naval architecture, presidencies of various technical societies, instrumental in forming the Royal Corps of onstructors. — y 28, 1875. Sir Goldsworthy Gurney died. One uoneers of the steam road carriage, Gurney as a surgeon at Wadebridge and then in _ He was the inventor of the Drummond > steam blast, and a _ water-tube boiler, 829 went from London tc Bath in a steam- rriage at 15 miles an hour. 1, 1911. Robert McAlpine died.— McAlpine is ded as the father of wood-pulp paper. Emi- g from Scotland to Massachusetts at the age 1, he mastered the business of paper-making, -1867 produced the first sheet of paper made ground wood-pulp, the initial step in the pro- of abundant supplies of cheap paper. ee eG. S. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, February 16.—Sir Charles Sherring- ton, president, in the chair.—L. Hill, D. H. Ash, and J. A. Campbell: The heating and cooling of the body by local application of heat and cold. When the hands are heated or cooled by water the amount of heating or cooling is large, but not constant for a given range of temperature. The degree of heating or cooling is obtained from the temperature of the skin-over the median vein at the elbow, the thermo- meter used being coiled and insulated from the air. Loss of 20 to 25 kilo-calories of heat from the hands in thirty minutes, i.e. a loss almost equal to the basal metabolism, does not appreciably affect the body metabolism.—J. B. Cohen, C. H. Browning, R. Gaunt, and R. Gulbransen: Relationships between antiseptic ‘action and chemical constitution, with special refer- ence to compounds of the pyridine, quinoline, acridine, and phenazine series. Certain acridine derivatives, salts of diamino-acridine and the methochloride of this base, are extremely potent antiseptics. Pyridine and quinoline derivatives (‘‘ fragments ’”’ of the acridine molecule), a number of acridine derivatives, and some phenazine compounds were also investigated, but none approximate to diamino-acridine in antiseptic pro- perties. Dealing with the acridine group, the presence of amino-groups increases antiseptic power, and effec- tiveness in serum is a characteristic of compounds with unsubstituted amino-groups, and especially of their methochlorides. Other radicals replacing the methyl group in the methochloride do not alter the antiseptic action, but substitution of alkyls in the amino-group tends to diminish antiseptic action, while acetylation or replacement of the amino-group destroys it. Antiseptic action on organisms of different types shows marked irregular variation.—D. T. Harris: Active hyperzemia. The lingual nerve contains true vaso-dilator and the sympathetic vaso-constrictor fibres ; both are equally in- dependent of the intervention of metabolites. Experi- ments show that increased blood-supply during mus- cular activity is due entirely to the products of meta- bolism, and of the metabolites estimated carbon dioxide and a-hydroxy organic acids were increased. Vaso-dilator nerves are concerned with the control of body temperature; active hyperzmia in the dog’s tongue may be induced by reflex excitation of the vaso-dilator nerves through the stimulation of heat receptors in the skin.—B. B. Sarkar: The depressor nerve of the rabbit. The depressor nerve of the rabbit is connected in part with a special collection of ganglion-cells in the vagus, distinct from the ganglion of the trunk, which may extend into the superior laryngeal or the vagus trunk. These cells probably give rise to the afferent fibres of the depressor. The nerve is usually formed by two branches, one from the superior laryngeal and one from the vagus, and is connected with the inferior cervical ganglion, the * root of the aorta, and the base of the heart. * The left nerve of the pair is generally larger and contains more fibres than the right. The depressor contains medium-sized and very fine myelinated fibres, and others which are non-myelinated. Probably it is not wholly formed of afferent fibres, for these — fine myelinated and non-myelinated fibres presumably belong to the autonomic nervous system and are efferent.—A. Lipschiitz, B. Ottow, C. Wagner, and F. Bormann; The hypertrophy of the interstitial cells in the testicle of the guinea-pig under different experi- mental conditions. Partial castration often causes enormous hypertrophy of the interstitial tissue. This hypertrophy is not compensatory, for the tendency to 256 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 23, 1922 hypertrophy of interstitial cells is more marked in fragments with improved blood-supply. Hypertrophy appears to be independent of the internal secretory function of the testicle in its relation to the organism as a whole, and is a response to local conditions. Linnean Society, February 2.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- ward, president, in the chair.—F. Johansen: The Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-18. The expedi- tion started from Vancouver in the Karluk for. Nome, in Alaska, where the equipment was procured. One party, under Mr. Stefansson, on the Karluk was caught in the ice in September, 1913, and carried westward until the vessel sank, in about 73° N. lat. and” 160°-165° W. long. The party camped on an ice- floe, and the survivors reached Siberia in March, 1914, and Nome in May. Stefansson later organised a new search-party to proceed by sledge across Banks Land; he explored Parry Islands, dis- covering coal in Melville Island. Coasts hitherto un- mapped were surveyed, and much geological and bio- logical material was gathered, as well as many im- plements used by Esquimaux.—J. C. Willis and G. U. Yule: Some statistics of evolution and geographical distribution in plants and animals and their signifi- cance. The general result seems to show that evolution and geographical distribution have proceeded in a chiefly mechanical way, the effects of the various “other”? factors that intervene—climatic, ecological, geological, etc.—being only to bring about deviations this way and that from the dominant plan. Every family and every genus, and in every country, be- haves in the same way. Strong evidence is thus given for de Vries’s theory of mutation and for Guppy’s theory of differentiation (see Nature, February 9, p. 177).—Mrs. E. M. Reid: Note on the hollow curve as shown by Pliocene floras. The material was that published from Tegelen, Castle Eden, etc. Fossil floras take their appropriate place alongside living floras, bringing direct evidence from the host to show the universality of the law of hollow-curve dis- tribution. Aristotelian Society, February 6.—Prof. Wildon Carr in the chair.—A. H. Hannay; Standards and principles in art. The problem of standards and objectivity in art is usually debated on the basis of standards and objectivity or no standards and subjectivity. Each new and individual work of art carries with it its own individual and original awareness. This view does not necessitate a lapse into subjectivism if it is realised that the awareness or taste is itself a striving for objectivity and rightness. The search for stan- dards is the outcome of this incessant quest for right taste. It is a process, a constructing, and can be differen- tiated from other processes such as history, science, and philosophy. Actually, modern criticism is full of psychological analyses which definitely involve reflective principles, but they are distinct from the old standards, for they do not pretend to anticipate the indivjdual content of works of art. But do they precede, accompany, or follow upon esthetic creation and appreciation? It is accepted that they are a later product, and this view has been stated very lucidly by Benedetto Croce. Yet history does not confirm it, and it does not explain the fact that criticism clarifies taste. It is suggested that the process imagination-principle is not a passage from one in- dependent activity to another, but a development which requires both activities and in which a modifica- tion in one means a modification in the other. The critic emphasised the universal element, while. the artist emphasised the individual element. Zoological Society, February 7.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- ward, vice-president, in the chair.—C. W. Hobley: NO. 2730, VOL. 109 | Beauty is not entirely unique and indefinable. The fauna of East Africa and its futsire, f Special _ attention was directed to the need for immediate action to preserve the herds of big game from total | extinction.—Miss function of the siphon in the amphibious mollu Ampullaria vermiformis.—J. Stephenson : Contributior to the morphology, classification, and zoogeography of Indian Oligocheta. IV.: The diffuse production of Naididz). V.: Drawida japonica, Michlsn., a con- of sexual cells in a species of Cheetogaster (fam. L. E, Cheesman: The position and tribution to the anatomy of the Moniligastridze. VI.: The relationships of the genera of Moniligas. of tride, with some considerations on the origin terrestrial Oligocheeta. Physical 10.—Dr. Society, February their true radium content. and (b) that in which the active deposit is unifo distributed over the inner wall of the tube. . . constant wall-thickness the correction incre increase of external diameter the increase of corr A. Russell, president, in the chair.—E. A. Owen and Bertha © Naylor: The measurement of the radium content of — sealed metal tubes. Tables have been compiled giving the corrections to be applied to the observed radium — content of sealed platinum and silver tubes to obtain Two cases have been con- — sidered: (a) that in which the active deposit is uni- — formly distributed throughout the volume of the tube, the external diameter of the tube, and for the same — correc- tion is more pronounced for the ‘“‘empty ”’ than for — the full tube.—Sir William Bragg: The crystal struc- — ture of ice. The methods of X-ray analysis have been applied to ice by Ancel St. John and by D. M. Den- — lattice nison. The former refers the structure to a composed of right triangular prisms of side 4-74 A.U. — and height 6-65 A.U.; the latter to a similar lattice of dimensions 4:52 A.U. and 7-32 A.U. respectively. The arrangement of the atoms was not found. On certain suppositions the arrangement can be found independently of direct X-ray analysis. Assume that each positive ion is surrounded ye i the negative ions, and vice versa; and, in view low density of ice, let the number of neighbours be in each case as small as possible. The crystal is to be hexagonal and to have the right density. Then | each oxygen atom is at the centre of gravity of four — neighbouring oxygens, _ separated. by a hydrogen atom. The dimensions of — the structure agree with Dennison’s figures, and the calculated intensities of reflection agree well with the observed intensities recorded by Dennison.—Kerr from each of which it is Grant: A method of exciting vibrations in plates, 3 membranes, etc., based on the Bernoulli principle. — A plate placed close to a flanged orifice from which — a stream of air or liquid is issuing is attracted — If the plate be mounted as a towards the orifice. diaphragm it can be suitable blast, and a efficiency. excited to strong vibration by a Faraday Society, February 13.—Prof. A. president, in the chair.—J. R. Partington : of gaseous molecules. The energy loud sound is produced with high The translational and rotational | energies of gases are, at ordinary temperatures, ap- — proximately represented by the theory of equipartition, and any excess of C, over 6 may be put down to internal motions. This excess is parallel to the activities of the gases. The translational energy may be represented on the quantum theory with a fre- quency equal to the collision frequency. The value of n in the equation n=n)(T/.;s)",. representing the effect of temperature on the viscosity, is related to the critical pressure (p, in atm.) by the empirical equa: tion n=0-642+0-00116 $,+0-0000399 p,?. The mole- cular heat of hydrogen may be represented empirically | NALURE 257 _ Fepruary 23, 1922] Debye’s formula with a frequency v=6541/ JT. 1e molecular heat of nitrogen is very approximately by a molecule based on Bohr’s theory, with a sncy given by the gyrostatic formula.—U. R. : Passivity and overpotential. (1) Where a is corroded by a liquid yielding an insoluble n product, the latter may either cling to the forming a thin protective covering (often in- or it may become dispersed in the solution ; latter case it will not seriously interfere with ; It is probably the relative values of the | tension between the metal, corrosion- and solution that determines which will (2) The activation of passive metals by s is related to the known peptising action of iydroxides by chlorides; the passivication by f chromates is connected in part with the § action of chromates. (3) The fact that th basic oxides are rendered active by acids ve by alkalis, whilst those with acidic oxides become passive in acids and active in alkalis, that the invisible protective layer is ‘‘of the of an oxide-film.’’ But it seems wrong to t with any oxide known in the massive ybably we have to deal with a layer of oxygen connecting the metal on one side to the solu- the other. (4) Likewise, at a cathodically electrode we probably have to deal with a of hydrogen nuclei connecting the metal to the . The hydrogen is probably in a state inter- te between the elementary and the ionic, and ming a link between metal and solution it serves ase the energy of the interface. Overpotential due to the energy needed to desorb the —A. W. Porter: Note on the vapour-pressure mixtures. The equation proposed for y mixtures in a previous paper is here applied case of mixtures of toluene, .carbon_tetra- de, and ethylene bromide; and is found to be rye Meteorological Society, February 15.—Dr. C. president, in the chair.—C. E. P. Brooks and yoole : The drought of 1921. The general rain- ngland and Wales was the least in 1921, so ; can be ascertained, since 1788. Individual records indicated that over a considerable part south-east of England 1921 was the driest year - least a century and a half. The months of were not individually so remarkable as was by a comparison with the driest months known ve occurred in the British Isles generally. As | by a map of standard deviation of annual rain- , 1881-1915, for the British Isles, the least fluctua- s of annual rainfall occurred along the coast in orth-west, increasing to a maximum in the h-east and centre of the land masses. Construct- charts showing the distribution of barometric re over the globe during and preceding each of great droughts, beginning with 1864, it is found he conditions which commonly prevail during ells are high pressure over the British Isles, the est deviation from normal being usually over east England; low pressure over the Arctic ‘gions, especially near Spitsbergen; and, generally, pressure over the tropics. The first factor is ed to the eleven-year sun-spot cycle, occurring frequently two years after sun-spot minimum hree or four years after sun-spot maximum, so it tends to recur every five or six years. Low sure over the Arctic is related to ice conditions, tends to recur every four or five years. Great ights occur only when both these factors are va NO. 2730, VOL. 109] floral structure of Napoleona imperialis, Beauv. yvourable. With pressure low over the Arctic, two or three months’ warning of a drought would be given by the development of high pressure over northern Russia.—T. Kobayasi: A cyclone which crossed the Korean Peninsula and the variations of its polar front The cyclone passed over a mountain range in Korea on March 25, 1918. It induced a secondary on the farther side of the range along the steering line, which extended upward until it joined with the primary; the secondary gradually grew stronger, and the original centre disappeared. The existence of the polar front was very distinctly marked, but complicated in character. There were two or more squall lines for one steering line. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, February 6.—Prof. F. O. Bower, president, in the chair.—J. M‘Lean Thompson: The The flower structure of this curious African plant of the Myrtle family has remained a puzzle since the dis- covery of the plant in 1786. The flowers possess inside the corolla a series of petal-like growths, which it was held were produced during descent by trans- formation and replacement of cycles of stamens of a myrtle type of flower. These petaloid growths and the persisting cycle of stamens, which themselves are now partly sterile, are associated with a massy fleshy disc which surrounds the base of the style. The disc, stamens, and petaloid growths in question have now been shown from developmental study to have a common origin from a ring-like outgrowth which normally in the Myrtle family bears numerous groups of stamens, and were held to be the results of replacement of stamens during descent.—G. W. Tyrrell: The pre-Devonian basement complex of Central Spitsbergen. The rocks described constitute the basement which underlies the flat-lying Devonian and Carboniferous sediments in the region about the head of Klaas Billen Bay. Thev form the southern continuation of the extensive Wijde Bay region of Urgebirge, where these ancient rocks begin to be covered unconformably by a_ sedimentary mantle. Lithologically, they fall into a western zone of ““Archeean ”’ facies, consisting of quartz-schists, gar- netiferous mica-schists, hornblende-schists and gneisses, lit-par-lit-gneisses, and augen-gneisses, with crystalline limestones; and an eastern zone consisting of slates, quartzites, and limestones similar to those of the Hecla Hoek system, the type-locality of which (Hecla Hoek, in Treurenberg Bay) lies exactly on the northern continuation of the line of strike of these rocks. Hence this group is believed to be of Hecla Hoek (probably Ordovician) age. The western schists and gneisses, while showing great similarities to rocks involved with the Hecla Hoek of the north- western mountains, may be much older, possibly even Archean, MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, November 1, 1921. —Mr. T. A. Coward, president, in the chair.—S. ys Hickson: Some early autographs of John Dalton. Variations in Dalton’s handwriting were examined and attention was directed to certain family records. —R. W. James: The distribution of the electrons in atoms. When X-rays fall on an atom each electron of the atom probably becomes a source of scattered X-radiation; the waves scattered by the electrons in the direction of the incident light will be in phase, and the total amplitude scattered in this direction will be proportional to the number of scattering electrons. If the electrons in the atom lie at distances from the nucleus comparable with the wave-length of the X-rays, the waves scattered from the different 258 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 electrons in any direction making an angle with that of the incident radiation will not be in phase. Measure- ment of the intensity of the radiation scattered in different directions gives the diffraction pattern for the atom. The K, doublet of rhodium falling on a crystal shows that each electron in the atom scatters independently. On the average, three or four electrons lie in the region near the edge of the atom, and the main concentration is much closer to the nucleus. November 15.—Mr. R. L. Taylor, vice-president, in the chair.—S. Chapman; Certain integrals oc- curring in the kinetic theory of gases. In the kinetic theory of gases, if molecules are regarded as _ point- centres of force, the calculation of the intensity of the force from experimental determinations of gaseous viscosity depends upon numerical factors which have not hitherto been evaluated except in one case. The factors concerned have now been calculated in other cases.—J. E. Jones: The dynamics of collision of diatomic molecules. By the application of Maxwell’s kinetic theory, a simple relation between the velocity with which the points of contact approach each other and the velocity with which they separate has been found; a simple relation between the impulse acting on each body at collision and the velocity of approach of the points of contact has been deduced and the impulse on collision calculated. The velocities after collision are then deduced from the ordinary dynamical equations of momentum. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 6.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—L. Lecornu; Some remarks on rela- tivity—_M. Hamy: The determination by interference of the diameters of stars the superficial brightness of which is not uniform.—C, Richet, E, Bachrach, and H. Cardot: The tolerance of the lactic ferment to poisons. It has been shown that the lactic acid organism gradually grows accustomed to poisons present in the culture media. It is now proved that this is specific, in the sense that a ferment grown tolerant to the presence of one poison still remains sensitive to another. The lactic ferment may be made to tolerate the presence of two different poisons simul- taneously.—F. Widal, P. Abrami, and J. Hutinel: Re- searches on the proteopexic insufficiency of the liver in dysenteric hepatitis. The test previously described by the authors (enumeration of the white blood corpuscles after drinking a glass of milk, fasting) proves whether the liver is completely arresting in- completely disintegrated proteids, and this has proved to be a most sensitive test of the proper functioning of the liver. In dysentery the liver may be exten- sively attacked without affecting the proteopexic function.—M.. d’Ocagne: The comparative examina- tion of various nomographic methods.—A. de Gramont and G, A. Hemsalech: The evolution of the spectrum of magnesium under the influence of increasing elec- trical actions. Applications to astrophysics. From a detailed study of the effects of temperature and of the strength of the electric field on the lines of the magnesium spectrum various conclusions of interest in astrophysics are drawn. It is dangerous to conclude that a star possesses a high temperature because the spark-lines predominate in its spectrum. It is important to study the character of each line.—C. Guichard: Networks which are several times (,,.—J. Timmermans, Mlle. H. Van der Horst, and H. Kamerlingh Onnes: The melting points of pure organic liquids as thermometric standards for temperatures below 0° C. The tem- peratures were determined by a platinum resistance thermometer, standardised against the helium thermo- NO, 2730, VOL. 109 | ee meter, of nine carefully purified liquids. The range © ‘covered is between —159:6° Gevrey: Remarks on quasi-analytical functions.—G. Julia: Series of rational fractions and integration.— 4 C. (isopentane) and —22-9° C. (carbon tetrachloride), with an error of less than 0-19 C. Specimens of these standard liquids ~ will be distributed to other institutions later on—M. ~ T. Carleman; A theorem of M. Denjoy.—G. Sagmac: ~ The projection of the light of periodic double stars- — and the oscillations of the spectral lines.—D. Coster : The L series of the X-ray spectrum. The X-ray spectra of a large number of elements (from Ta to Rb) have been remeasured. In general, the new results confirm earlier work, and also give support to the theory of structure of the Bohr atom. Details’ — are given in cases where the new measurements are not in agreement with the earlier observers.—M. Bedeau: Measurement of the dielectric constant of gases and vapours by means of circuits with sustained waves.—C. E. Guye and R. Riidy: A new mode of determination of the molecular diameters by the electromagnetic rotation of the discharge ‘in the gases. Earlier work had shown that whilst the molecular diameters obtained by this formula were of the same order of magnitude as those obtained by the viscosity method, the results were greatly influenced by the presence of traces of impurities. In the present work great care was taken in the purification of the gases, and comparative figures for the molecular diameters obtained by the electromagnetic rotation and the vis- cosity methods are tabulated for oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon monoxide. ‘The two sets are in fair agree- ment.—L, Guillet and J. Cournot: The variations of the mechanical properties of metals and alloys at low temperatures. Results are given for the resilience and Brinell test at 20° C., —20° C., —80° C., and —190° C. of electrolytic iron, steels, and alloys.—P. Jolibois and R. Bossuet: The relations between the different oxides of uranium. At 500° C. in a vacuum the oxide UO, loses oxygen, giving rise to U,O,, and the reaction is irreversible. The same oxide is formed by heating UO, in oxygen.—P. Lebeau: The oxides of uranium. The only oxides of uranium which have a certain existence are UO,, U,O,, and UO,. The green oxides prepared at temperatures below 800° C. contain variable quantities of uranic anhydride, and change in composition in contact with moist air.—H. Pélabon: The action of selenium on gold. Gold is slightly attacked by selenium; the metal fixes a little selenium, and the selenium itself takes up a little gold.—E. Grandmougin; Some new derivatives of sulphobenzide.—G. Dupont: The composition of Aleppo essence of turpentine. This turpentine con- tains 95 per cent. of pinene, 1-14 per cent. of inactive bornyl acetate, and 3-8 per cent. of sesquiterpene.— G. Mouret: The eastern limit of the granitic massif of Millevaches.—P. Glangeaud: . The Saint-Flour Oligocene basin. The Miocene Truyére flowing into the Allier.—P. Négris: Glacial phases in Greece.—R. Bourret : The strata in the north-east of Tonkin.—l. Dussault: The geology of western Tonkin.—E. Saillard: Composition of the wild beetroots.—R. Stumper: New observations on the poison of ants. The concentration of the formic acid in Formica rufa was found to varv between 21 and 73 per cent. of pure acid. Formic acid is always present in the Camponotine, but absent in Myrmicinze and Dolicho- derinz.—M. Doyon: The incoagulability of the cir- culating blood provoked in the frog by iniections of nucleic acids. Duration of the phase. Comparison with various anti-coagulants.—A. A. Mendes-Corréa : The asymmetry of the skeleton of the upper EBRUARY 23, 1922 | NATURE 259 M. Alezais and Peyron: The histogenesis gin of the chordomes.—E. Burnet: A new ‘of diagnosis of Mediterranean fever. The »posed is the intradermal reaction produced by »p of a broth-culture of Micrococcus melitensis.— Léger and A. Baury: The shrew, Crocidura i, and the plague in Senegal. This animal proved to carry plague, and also fleas. Its tion should be carried out systematically along rat. DAS Research Institute, Pusa. Bulletin No. 123, 1921: and Cottons: arent in their Improvement by election. By B. C. Burt and Nizamuddin Hyder. Pp. iv tta: Government Printing Office, 1921.) 4 annas. .) Department of Agriculture in India. Entomo- Vol. hryracep Hearseiana, Westw. By S. K. Sen. Pp. ii es 4 and 5. (Pusa: Agricultural Research Institute.) the Transvaal Museum. Vol. 8, Part 3: New South L. B. Prout and A. E. Prout. Pp. 149-186. the University Press.) rtment of Mines: Mines Branch. Annual Report Production of Canada during the Calendar Year (Ottawa.) the Department of the Naval Service for the Fiscal March 31, 1921. (Sessional Paper No. 39: A. 1922.) awa. Te 1 of the Institute of Metals. Edited by G. Shaw Svott. 6. Pp. x+760+34 plates. (London: Institute of Metals.) d Edition of Tide Tables for Vancouver and Sand Heads, ek Water for First Narrows and Active Pass, with ifferences the Strait of Georgia. Pp. 45. (‘)ttawa: and Current Survey, Naval Service Department.) i rs of the Department of Agriculture in India. Chemical 6, No. 2: The Effect of Environmental Factors on the Content and Yield of Latex from the Opium Poppy Somniferum), and the Bearing of the Work on the of Alkaloids in Plant Life. By Dr. H. E. Annett. _ (Caleutta: Thacker, Spink and Co.; London: W. 1d Co.) 2 rupees; 2s. 9d. ngs of the Rochester Academy of Science. Vol. 6, No. 2: eae. Priagare Limestone of Western New York. Bv per 57-72. Vol. 6. No. 3: The Fungi of our Common I iv By C. E. Fairman. Pp. 73-115+plates 15-20. » No. 6: Life-Histories of Indian Insects. Diary of Societies. certs THURSDAY, Fesrvary 23. ITUTION OF GREAT Brirain, at 3.—Prof. A. G. Perkin: Ancient and Modern (2). — on or ExscrricaL ENGineErs, at 3.30 and 8.—Meeting in memoration of the First Meeting of the Society of Tele- Engineers on February 28, 1872. ciety, at 4.30.—O0. D. Ellis: -ray Spectra and ining.—Prof. A. E. Conrady: A Study of the se.—Dr. J. 8. Owens: Suspended Impurity in the Air.— Southwell: The Free Transverse Vibrations of a Uniform Dise clamped at its Centre, and the Effects of -—A. E. Oxley: Magnetism and Atomic Structure. _ Constitution of the Hydrogen-palladium System and eed cee i Eo mara oe G Hardy: es an nalytic Functions.—Prof. A. McAulay: pes Sites distkees II. aoe ITt. . MEDICINE (Balneology and Climatology Section), of dig J. Llewellyn and others: Piamaden on The Soctrry (at Royal Sanitary Institute, 90 Buckingham eee 8-2, at nt fue aeet ae ee : ), NAUTICAL ENGINEERS (a oyal Society of at 7.30.—Lt.-Col. Moore-Brabazon: The Early Daye of (Presidential Address). oongthiy at 7.30.—H. K. Dyson: What is the Use of 0? TY OF Mepicine (Urology Section), at 8.30.—Prof. P. J. ge: The Source of the Amylolytic Ferment of the Urine. G. A. Harrison: Glycosuria in Renal Disorders. FRIDAY, Fepsrvary 24. ATION oF Economic Brotocists (in Botanical Lecture e, Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 2.30 — J. Rennie: (a) The Present Position of Bee Disease Re- NO. 2730, VOL. 109] search ; of Polyhedral Disease in Tipula Species. Roya Socrery or Arts (Joint Meeting of the Dominions and Colonies and Indian Sections), at —Prof. W one : Brown Coals and Lignites: Their Importance to the Empire. Royat Socrery or Mepicrne (Study of Disease in Children Sec- tion). at 5.—Dr. OC. P. Lapage and Dr. W. J. 8. Bythell: Tonic and Atonic Hearts in Children (with Radiographic [llustrations). Puysica, Society or Lonpon (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.—Dr. H. Levy: The Number of Radio-active Transformations as Determined by Analysis of the Observations.— Prof. C. H. Lees: A Graphical Method of Treating Fresnel’s Formule for Reflection in Transparent Media.—Research Depart- ment of the General Electric Co., Hammersmith: Demonstrations of a Rapid Weighing Balance, and an Electrostatic Voltmeter.— F. ©. Dyche-Teague: Demonstration of the: Physical Properties of Cellactite. Royat PHoroGRaPHic Socrery or Grrat Britain, at 7.—H. Main: A Pilgrimage to Provence. INSTITUTION OF PRopuCTION ENGINEERS (at Institution of Mechani- cal Engineers), at 7.30.—G. W. Eastwood: Intensive Production of Automobile Bodies. Junior INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Prof. E. G. Coker: Curved Beams, Rings, and Chain Links. Royrat Society or Mepicrne (Epidemiology and State Medicine Sec- tion), at 8—Dr. Evelyn Brown: The Relation between Puerperal Septicemia and other Infectious Diseases, with Reference to the Admission of Maternity Cases into Isolation Hospitals. Roya, INstirctTron or Great Britany, at 9.—Prof. J. Joly: The Age of the Earth. (bv) Demonstration SATURDAY, Fesrvary 25. Royat Insrirurron or Great Brivarn, at 3.—Prof. E. A. Gardner: Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture (2). MONDAY, Fesrvary 27. Instirvte or AcTuARIES, at 5.—C. H. Maltby: Results of an Investi- gation into the Effects of Different Valuation Bases upon Sur- lus. Inerirneiee oF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Graduates’ Association Meeting), at'7.—Sir Henry Fowler: Metallurgy in Relation to Mechanical Engineering. ; Royat Society or Arts, at 8.—Prof. A. F. ©. Pollard: The Mechani- cal Design of Scientific Instruments (Cantor Lecture) (2). Royat Socrery oF Mepictne (Odontology Section), at 8.—Clinical Evening. MEDICAL oa or Lonpon (at 11 Chandos Street, W.1). at 8.30.— G. G. Turner, Sir Lenthal Cheatle, W. H. Clayton-Greene, W. James, and W. G. Howarth: Discussion on The Treatment of Tuberculous Glands. TUESDAY, Fersrvary 28. Royat INnstirvuTron or Great Brivarn, at 3.—Sir Arthur Keith: Anthropology of the British Empire: Series 1: Racial Problems ~ in Asia ped Australasia (2). Royat Socrery oF Meprcrne (Medicine Section), at 5.30.—Dr. E. I. Spriggs and O. A. Marxer: A Review of Sixty-one Cases seek- ing Relief after Short-circuiting Operations. Royal PHoToGraPHic Society oF Great BRITAIN, at 7.—T. Bell: Present-day Portraiture. : ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING Soctety (at Royal Society of Arts), at 8—L. Gaster and others: Discussion on Industrial Lighting: Ideal Requirements (legislative and otherwise) and Practical Solutions. : Rorat ANTHROPOLOGICAL InstrTUTF, at 8.15.—Miss R. M. Fleming: Sex and Growth Features in Racial Analysis. : INSTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting) (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 8.30.—Demonstration of, and Discussion on, Various Recording Instruments used on Motor Cars. . WEDNESDAY, Marc# 1. Newcomen Socrety (at Caxton Hall, Westminster), at 5.—R. Young: Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive. Roya. Society or Mepicine (Surgery Section), at 5.30.—Informal Discussion on The Treatment of the Acute Obstruction resulting from Carcinoma of the Colon. . INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Wireless Section). at 6.— EK. B. Moullin and L. B. Turner: The Thermionic Triode as Rectifier. Royan Soctery or Arrs, at 8.—E. Moor: The -Duplex-aoupler Pianoforte. Society OF PuBLIc ANALYSTS AND OTHER ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS (at Chemical Society), at 8—R. V. Wadsworth: The Theobromine Content of Cacao Beans and Cocoa.—A. H. Bennett and F. K. Donovan: The Determination of Aldehydes and Ketones_ bv Means of Hydroxylamine.—R. E. Essery: The Value of Fisk Scales as a Means of Identification of the Fish Used’ in Manu- factured Products.—N. Evers and G. D. Elsdon: The Examina- tion of B.P. Ointments. THURSDAY, Marcu 2. Rorat Instirverron or Great Brian, at 3.—Prof. H. M. Lefroy: The Menace of the Insect Pest: The Balance of Life in Relation to Insect Pest Control (1). : Roya Soctrery, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—Prof. L. N. G. Filon and H. T. Jessop: The Stress-optical Effect in Transparent Solids strained beyond the Elastic Limit—W. E. Curtis: The Structure of the Band Spectrum of Helium.—S. Datta: The Spectrum of Beryllium Fluoride.—W. G. Palmer: The Catalytic Activity of 260 NATURE [FEBRUARY 23, 1922 Copper. Part III.—Dr. G. B. Jeffery: The Motion of Ellipsoidal THURSDAY, Marcu 2. if Particles immersed in a Viscous Fluid.—Dr. G. B. Jeffery: The Invants’ Hosritat (Vincent Square, §.W.1), at 4.—Dr. W. M. Feld. } Rotation of Two Circular Cylinders in a Viscous Fluid. LINNEAN SocreTy or LonDON, at 5.—R. E. Holttum: The Flora of Greenland.—J.._ Walton: The Ecology of the Flora of Spitzbergen. —Sir W. A. Herdman: ‘‘ Spolia Runiana,’ Royat AERONAUTICAL Soctery (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— W. D. yh Se Testing Aircraft ‘to Destruction. INSTITUTION ‘ BLecrricaL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Discussion on Starters : inlvodantons Papers by C. H. Wordingham: The B.E.S.A. Specifications for Starters —J. Anderson: Electric Motor Starters.—W. Wilson: Some Notes on the Design of Liquid Rheostats. CueMIcAL Soctrery, at 8. Royat Socrery or Mepicrne (Obstetrics and Gynecology Section), at 8—G. Luker: A Wandering Silk Suture oye from the Urethra as a Sequel to Cesarean Section.—Dr. C. Lochrane : Decidual Reaction in Adenomyoma of Vaginal Wall. —Dr. A Gibbons: Sterility with Reference to the State. FRIDAY, Marcw 3. Royat Socrery or Mepicine (Laryngology Section), at 4.45.—E. M. Woodman, Dr. Reginald Morton, and others: Discussion on The Treatment of Malignant Growths of the Nasal Accessory Sinuses. Royat ASTRONOMICAL Soctery, at 5.—Geophysical Discussion on The Depth of Earthquake Foci. Chairman: Sir Frank Dyson. Speakers: Prof. H. H. Turner, Dr. J. W. Evans, Dr. Dorothy Wrinch, Dr. H. Jeffreys. INstTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7. —A. P. Bale: Spiral Bevel v». Straight-tooth Bevel. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8 —E. T. Elbourne: Administration. Roya Society or Mepicrne (Anesthetics Section) (Annual General Meeting), at 8.30.—Dr. Z. Mennell: Anesthesia in Intracranial Surgery. Royat Instrrutton’ or Great Britarn, at 9.—Dr. O. M. Wenyon: Microscopic Parasites and their Carriers. SATURDAY, Marcu 4. abhi or Locomotive Enetnerrs (at Caxton Hall, S8.W.1), at 2.15.—J. Clayton: Lubrication of the Modern Locomotive. Royat Instrvrurron or Great Britain, at 3.—Sir Ernest Ruther- ford: Radio-activity (1). Factory PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in @ series.) THURSDAY, Fresrvary 23. Inrants’ Hosriran (Vincent Square, S.W.1), at 4.—Dr. W. M. Feldman: The Physiology and Pathology of the New Born; Initial Loss of Weight: Icterus Neonatorum. University Courece, at 5.15—Prof. J. E. @. de Montmorency: Welsh and Trish Tribal Customs (3). Kine’s Coitrce,. at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (6). Sr. Joun’s Hosprrat For T)1spases or THE SKIN (Leicester Square, W.C.2), at 6.—Dr. W. Griffith: The Bullous Eruptions (Chester- field Lecture). Brr«seck Cortecr, at 8—G. Bernard Shaw: The Failure of Edu- cation. FRIDAY, Frsrvary 24. MrrTroroLocicaL Orrick (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (6). Cancer Hosprrat (Fulham Road, §.W.3), at 4.—W. E. Miles : of the Rectum. University Coniece, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (3). Tavistock CLINtc ror. Frncrtionar Neryr Cases (at- Marv Ward Settlement. Tevisteck Place. W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H. Crichton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (5). Cancer SATURDAY, Fesrvary 25. Lonpon Day Tratnine Cotter, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (6). Horniman Museum (Forest Will). Man’s Sphere in Savage Africa. MONDAY, Fesrvary 27. City or T.onpon (Boys’) ScHoor (Victoria Embankment), —Miss Rosa Bassett: at 3.30.—Dr. W. A. Cunnington: at 5.30. The Dalton Plan of Self-education (4). TUESDAY, Frsrvuary 28. Imprrtat Corrrce—Royat, Scuoon or Mines. at 5.30.—Col. Belaiew: The Crystallisation of Metals (2). Loxpon ScHoon or EcoNoMICS AND PortticaL Science, at 6 —Sir Josiah Stamp: The Administrative Factor in Government (3). WEDNESDAY, Marc 1. East Lonpon Cortncr. at 4—Prof. F. E. Fritch: Certain Aspects of Freshwater Algal Biology (3). Lonpon (R.F.H.) ScHoot or MEDICINE FOR WomMeEN, at 5.—Dr. H. H. Dale: Some Recent Developments in Pharmacology (2). HoRNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 6.—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (6). University Cortrer. at 8.—The Current Work of the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratories (3).—Dr. Stocks: Scheme of Anthropometric Measurements in the Biometric Laboratory. NO. 2730, VOL. 109] bs Rea man: The Physiology of the Infant, (1). A ScHOOL OF ORIENTAL repre: at 5.—Dr. L. D. Barnett : The Hindu | Culture of India (1). Universiry Cortece, at 5.15.—Prof. J. E. G. de Montmoreney : Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (4). At 5.30.—Dr. "Pelliea ; Giardano Bruno in Inghilterra (In Italian). KinG’s OCotiecE, at 5.30.--Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (7). fe JoHN’s HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THE SKIN (Leicester Batre, W.C.2), at 6.—Dr. W. Griffith: The Treatment of Skin Di aeasena ‘ (Chesterfield Lecture). nl Civic Epvucation Leacur (at Leplay House, 65 Belotare: Road, — 8.W.1), at 8.15.—Miss Margaret Tatton and others: Discussion on Art in Relation to Education. FRIDAY, Marcx 3. Mergorotocicat Orrice (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Moteosdhias of — the Globe (7). ; UNIVERSITY Coutece, at 5.—Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The Evolution of Man (4). z ge, ror Functionan Nerve Cases (at hl Ward % Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H richton Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (6). SATURDAY, Marcu 4. a 3 Potyrecunic (Regent Street, W.1), at 10.30 a.m.—Prof. A. Harden : Vitamins. Lonpon Day TRAINING Cottecr, at 11 a.m.—Prof. J. Adams: The School Class (7). Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—F. Balfour-Browne: Dragon-flies and their Life-history. PAGE| nt CONTENTS. The Function of English in Scientific Education 229 Calcium Carbide and the Board of Trade. By ee A ge ees we eee The Pioneer of Non-Euclidean Geometry i eee The Structure of East Africa. By G. W. L. . . 233 The. Quantum Theory... > 6/002..." So3 Our Bookshelf .- 5 6.5 2 Se ee eee Letters to the Editor:— é Tiseevest of Organic Substances in Plants,—Prof. - Henry H., Dixon, F.R.S., and Nigel G. Ball . 236 Lunar Periodicity in Reproduction.—H. Munro Rox: phe oS is + Sere eae Research Degrees and the University of London.— Dr, A. Morley Davies 238 abe Accuracy of Tide- -predicting "Machines. —Dr. . T. Doodson . 239 — a Brittleness of Ice at hop Temperatures, —L. y Hawkes. 240 Age Incidence of Influenza. —Annie D. Betts ; ‘The Writer of the Article .. 240 Dr. Frank Bottomley.—James Thomson aE ah 240 Thermo-electric Instrument for Measuring Radiation from the Sky.—Lewis F. Richardson .... . 240 The Mechanism of Heredity.—I. (With Diagrams.) By Prof. T, H. Morgan. .°.°. . 2s eee Obituary :— Prof. Giacomo Ciamician, if Thorpe,’ C. B,,° F. Ri S206 cs es Current Topics.and.. Events: <9. 2 3s eee, Our Astronomical Column :— Detonating Fireball in Sunshine ........ . 249 Movements in Spiral Nebule . 2 2 2.0. 4 ee 240i Research Items ... Perret nesc ae thy The Standardisation of Radium sey for Therapeutic Use. isc ape +3) De eae. Life-cycles of Bacteria . ony Comat se: eee Miners’ Lamps oie oie ue be ee Pébrine in Silkworms . ever yo er University and Educational Intelligence Seadisers 254. Calendar of Industrial Pioneers .. ....... 255 Societies and Academies . ... ane tee Official Publications Received... ..... . 259. Diary ‘of ‘Societiés. .. 5-65 Se eee ee NATURE 261 - Editorial and Publishing Offices : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. _ Advertisements and business letters should be : addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. phone Number: GERRARD 8830. Cycles in the Yield of Crops. five-and-twenty years have elapsed since rthur Schuster, by devising the orderly and ve a great stimulus to the investigation of in natural phenomena. Solar and mag- omena provided the first fields of application, data have since been attacked by gators. It seems fitting that crops, which ly dependent on the weather, should be ) the same test. urse of last year Prof. H. L. Moore, of University, published a series of three articles erican Quarterly Journal of Economics, which : summarised as indicating that, in the a for periods of three to twelve years, there ed maximum at eight years in the cycles of of crops and corresponding cycles in the pro- f the raw materials of industry. This appears to correspond to what is known economic cycle ” in trade, and it is suggested : periodicity in crops is the generating cycle of movement—a movement which is very clearly n prices. Prof. Moore’s data refer, for the , to the years 1882-1918 only, with the ex- Sauerbeck’s data for prices in this country, , available from 1818, and of wheat prices in , which are utilised for the years 1870-1916. latter part of his third article we return briefly . O021Cad the meantime, in an article published in the h Economic Journal for March 1920, Sir William idge suggested, on evidence which, to many 's, did not seem at all adequate, the existence of NO, 2731, VOL. 109 | brief process known as the “ periodogram a period “ between 15:2 and 15-4 years.” In the same journal for December 1921, a further paper was pub- lished in which the original conclusion is completely vindicated. By the aid of overlapping data as to wheat prices in a large number of places in Great Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, an index- number of wheat prices for Western Europe is con- structed running from 1500 to 1869. The index-num- ber for each year is then expressed as a percentage of the mean of the thirty-one years surrounding it, and the results are submitted to periodogram analysis over the three centuries 1545-1844, for periods running from two years to thirty-six. Data are also given separately for 1545-1694 and 1695-1844. For the whole 300 years and for the last 150 years the greatest intensity, taking only integral periods, is at fifteen years, the maximum being well marked ; for the earlier 150 years the intensity at 15 (70) is slightly exceeded by the intensity at 11 (76), 13 (80), and 18 (73). Testing fractional periods on the series as a whole, the intensity at 15 (47) is raised to 82 at 154, and to 80-at 153. The dominant period appears, therefore, to be fairly closely 15°3. But, Sir William Beveridge suggests in an interesting analysis that follows, the period thus found is probably not a real one—z.e, is not the period that exists in the operative cause, the weather. If a certain cycle exists in the weather tending to give, say, abnormally heavy rain at its maximum, it will nevertheless not have any adverse influence on the harvest unless the maximum and its accompanying deluge fall within the limited period of year during which the crop is growing, Hence what will be observed in the crop is not neces- sarily the period of the weather cycle, but the period in which its maximum tends to recur during the critical months. We have not space to follow the author’s reasoning in detail, but it is suggested that there are at least two weather cycles operating, if not four— (a) with a period of approximately 4°37 years (30°6/7), which corresponds to a cycle identified by Sir Arthur Schuster in sunspots ; (b) with a period of about 5:11 years (30°6/6), which has been found in temperature and rainfall records; and two of less certainty, (c) with a period of 2°74 years (30°6/11), and (d) with a period of 3°71 years, both of which also appear to have been identified in meteorological or astronomical data. The period observed, it is argued, arises from a temporary compounding of the effects of these four cycles. All four “are due to return to a maximum phase between February and September 1923,” and this may mean an exceptionally bad year for harvests in Europe. “In the excessively improbable event of my arithmetical analysis being complete and accurate in every particular,” Sir William Beveridge continues 262 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 ““t923 is destined to repeat something like the ex- periences of 1315, the year of the worst and most general harvest failure known in European history.” To the crowd, if not to the man of science, the fulfil- ment of a prophecy always seems to give more adequate support to a theory than any number of agreements with past events, and the year 1923 may be awaited with an interest mingled with anxiety. On the face of it, the evidence seems sound, and the reasoning careful and critical. Sir William Beveridge does not attempt to trace the physical causation of the observed periodicity further than to show that it may be accounted for by cycles already noted in meteorological or astronomical data. The eight-year period gives only a small maximum in his periodogram with an intensity of 12. Years after 1844 were apparently omitted in part because during the nineteenth century the character of the curve visibly alters, the “credit cycle” acting as a “ disturbing influence.” It may, however, be questioned, in view of Prof. Moore’s work, whether the credit cycle can be treated in this way as an extraneous disturbing cause. An eight-year cycle, as he says, was isolated in the barometric pressure of the United States, and has also been traced in rainfall, and these cycles appear to be congruent with the economic cycle. When Prof. Moore goes beyond this and seeks for a cosmic cycle that may be regarded as the “ generating cycle,” he lights on an hypothesis for which, we think, a good deal of further evidence will be required before it can win acceptance; it is suggested that the period in _question is that between conjunctions of the earth and Venus. No proof, however, is given that the periods coincide with any precision, the periodograms for economic data having been calculated only for integral periods. Analysis must be carried further before a true con- sonance of the periods can be predicted with any confidence. The point brought out by Sir William Beveridge, moreover, that the period in the weather may not be that in the yield of the crop, must be borne in mind. If a “maximum” of some kind in the weather is vital to the crop only provided that it occur at some critical period of the year, the determination of this critical period becomes of interest, and we would suggest that such work as that of Mr. R. H. Hooker, of the Ministry of Agriculture, whose presi- dential address to the Royal Meteorological Society on the correlation in eastern England between yield and the weather in successive months of the year was summarised on p. 193 of NaTurRE for February 9, might help to elucidate the matter. Crop prediction is a matter of the highest economic importance, and all lines of investigation should be considered together. NO. 2731, VOL. 109 | A Searchlight on Solids. Aggregation and Flow of Solids: Being the Records of an Experimental Study of the Micro-structure and Physical Properties of Solids in Various States of Aggregation, 1900-1921. By Sir George Beilbya 4 Pp. xv+256+34 plates. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 20s. net. : . is. a book that will hold a true child of science like any fairy-tale, and it would be difficult — to overstate its fascinating interest. In form, in substance, and in all its auspices it is so highly in- dividual. It is a story, a connected story, of the leisure pursuits of one of our leading and most en- lightened industrialists, who for many years, and pre-eminently in the stress of war, has rendered great Fic. 1.—Globules of zinc dust picked up on the edges ofa thin steel blade (x60). From “ Aggregation and Flow of Solids.” services to his country. But it is a record that would adorn a life wholly devoted to the pursuit of science. All who are seriously concerned with physical or chemical science must know something of the con- tributions which Sir George Beilby has made to the subject dealt with in this book, but the rush of scientific -discovery makes it very difficult to realise the full sweep and significance of much.that is going forward. Probably every one knows that Sir George Beilby has demonstrated the existence of a vitreous state in metals and other solids where that state had never been suspected, and to most of us he has become permanently “featured”? on the transparent surface film of polished solids. In his papers from time to time he has discieaet 4 in some degree the theoretical accompaniment and the connecting threads of his experimental work, but it is probable that few will have seen the extraordinary breadth and comprehensiveness of the ideas which have developed as the work proceeded, or have realised Marcu 2, 1922] NATURE 263 extent of their implication in matters of great ntific and practical importance. work under notice now tells the whole tale in which leaves nothing to be desired, and adds t one new chapter. It is not difficult to under- ow much it must have cost of resolution and re Beilby to the point of setting out on his whose help, along with that of Mr. W. D. a howe aphic. Not one of them is uninteresting, and most ‘them are remarkable. In the letterpress the topics cohesion among minute solid es and between these particles and flat surfaces ; 1, the result of surface flow ; the crystalline and s states in solids; influence of the crystalline NO, 2731, VOL, 109] pe ea Pailleaois polished by emery and rouge and etched with potassium open or) flowed metal covering pits. From ‘Aggregation and Flow of Solids.” : and vitreous states on the physical and mechanical properties of ductile metals ; influence of the crystal- line, mobile, and vitreous states on the ‘flow of rocks and ice; molecular pulsation cells: a tentative hypo- thesis ; extension of Faraday’s work on the optical and other characteristics of thin metal leaves ; phos- phorescence of crystals effected by the change from the crystalline to the vitreous state. The general nature of Sir George Beilby’s work can probably be best understood by thinking of the conditions under which it was carried out. We have to picture a man of scientific taste and talent, whose lot has been cast in the industrial world, eager to devote his leisure to the advancement of fundamental knowledge and compelled to select a topic that can be cultivated experi- mentally under home conditions, that do not give any very exceptional facilities for experimental work. Under these limits, what better than to take up the study of some topic of micro-chemistry or micro-physical | chemistry? Able to provide himself “with the best appliances for his pur- pose, and skilled in the manipulative art of the chemist, he develops a highly special technique, and with all these resources applies himself to particular problems of his subject. The result is a series of refined observations _and delicate manipulations which has disclosed many things never seen before and established many new facts about the structure and behaviour of solids. It is really very difficult to give a summary of what is contained in this book. It would be rather like writing a short para- graph summarising the incidents of an Antarctic ex- plorer’s voyage of discovery. No doubt it is possible to say, in a word, that the centre of Sir George Beilby’s doctrine is the vitreous film of solids, but: the great interest of the book lies. in the record of successive experimental steps by which the facts have been established and amplified. To the student of molecular physics, the metallurgist and engineer, the geologist, the fine artificers of glass and metal, the records have something of first-rate im- portance to say. The present writer is probably not singular in having felt surprise on first learning that the final perfect polish of glass or metal was produced by the use of an abrading agent. One could understand the finer and finer scratches of grinding giving a greater and greater smoothness, and it was possible in the 264 NATURE [MARCH 2, 1922 mind to conceive the ad infinitum refining of scratches to the attainment of a perfect sheen. But in actual practice, with a last abrasive even so fine as particles of rouge, it seemed as if there must somehow be a jump at the end between these earthy scratches and the perfect polish of speculum or plate glass. The practical attainment of such a polish seemed much Fic. 3.—Etched calcite surface showing the untouched skin and the under surface at 500 and 1000 wp. From ‘ Aggregation and Flow of Solids.” more easily understood when a custodian of some of the finest old silver at Cambridge, on being asked how the brilliance was produced, simply exhibited the flesh side of an ample thumb, with a gesture and mien indicative of a flattening pressure exerted steadily through the ages. Sir George Beilby now tells us, and it is a relief to know it, that the microscopically differentiable particles of rouge are smaller than we thought, that they are also much harder, and that when they are spread over a leather they present a layer such that when the leather is passed over the glass or metal surface, this is seized as a whole, the mobility of a liquid is temporarily produced, and when the leather has passed, a film is left with all the qualities of matter that has set like melted glass. Not only so, but “whilst to produce ‘ mass flow’ in the hardened steel of which a razor is made a differential pressure of hundreds of tons per square inch would be required, yet the ‘surface flow’ necessary to keep the edge of the razor in perfect cutting condition can be effected by lightly stropping the blade on the bare hand a few times daily, before and after use ! ”’ These examples are perhaps sufficient to indicate why and how this work on the surface leads to a study of the hard and soft state in metals, the flow of rocks and ice, the phosphorescence and tribolumin- escence of solids, and many other things besides. A word must be said about the magnitudes dealt NO, 2731, VOL. 109] with in the investigations. The study,.of a calcite surface will suffice as an illustration :— “When a condensed beam of sunlight was used to give oblique illumination of the surface, it was possible to detect the effect of a drop of acid which contained only o:ooor25 per cent of HCl. The depth of the layer removed did not exceed 0°62 pp... . If it is correct to assume that the solvent effect of the acid was uniformly distributed over the whole surface of the pit, then it follows that a roughening of the surface not more than two molecules in depth has been detected.” Again, “ the mechanical disturbance caused [on calcite] by the polishing agent penetrates to a depth of 500 to 1000 py.” “: The frame of reference of Sir George Beilby’s think- ing has been almost wholly that which preceded sub- atomism. Ina short chapter he sketches his tentative working hypothesis of molecular “ pulsation cells.” Of this it must suffice to say that it has clearly served its purpose, for it has worked—it has led to a solid output of new knowledge. “Cohesion” is isolated in the old way as a force sui generis, and a fine picture is made of cohesion holding matter together in a dead world until there comes the advent of heat “ like the first breath of approaching spring into the sleeping buds.” Sir George Beilby has brought his rich gift of facts up to the frontiers of the newer physical Fic. 4.—Microscopic crystal of antimony. From “ Aggregation and Flow of Solids.” science. It must obviously engage the interest of those on the other side. There are especially to be mentioned the Braggs, the work and views of Lang- muir, and the new light on lubrication coming from W. B. Hardy’s experiments. But whatever may be added, the facts remain as a remarkable addition to scientific knowledge. In conclusion, one or two suggestions may be made. Marcu 2, 1922 | NATURE 26 } (mn of the book in reference to the characteristic of the boiling-point. There is no index, and though one 5.—the crystal of Fig. 4 flattened by a single blow from a small drop- ; hammer; the thin plate was in a highly strained condition and the a _ eracks | developed in 24 hours. From ‘Aggregation and Flow of “issued so that they could be framed and hung on room walls. em, A last suggestion, offered to teachers, is that this nce. It seems very important in times with so ig an atmosphere of relativity and with quanta d see how much may still be accomplished by hful, indefatigable experimenter, who, with full wledge, yet without prejudice, will scrupulously mine what lies positively and immediately in front him. A. SMITHELLS. Pictish Stone Circles. t Some Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Dunecht _ House, Aberdeenshire. By the Rt. Rev. Dr. G. F. Browne. Pp. xiv+170+63 plates. (Cambridge: At _ the University Press, 1921.) 63s. net. UNECHT HOUSE, Aberdeenshire, became known to science by the researches of Drs. Copeland and Lohse at an observatory established there by the Earl of Crawford. The district so thoroughly examined by the distinguished author of this superb book is that of Lady Cowdray’s Scottish estate and the immediate Surroundings, a district known as “’twixt Don and Dee.” NO. 2731, VOL. 109] _ As to faults, there is need of revision at the beginning me of us almost more than suff., that students. Confining my remarks to the subject which is given the largest space in the book, there is in the district of Dunecht a “large number of stone circles unique in type” (p. 1), the characteristic feature being a tangential alignment, generally in the south-west quadrant, made by a recumbent stone and its upright flankers. Of these circles Sir Norman Lockyer examined twenty-nine, and in fifteen instances he found a clock-star alignment at right angles to the recumbent stone. He discovered, in fact, the key to this unique type of circle. In my opinion, the glory of Dr. Browne’s work on the Dunecht circles shines in the fact that in it the typical Pictish temple thrown open by Sir Norman Lockyer may now be inspected to the smallest detail. A happy imspiration led the author to appeal to the Principal of the University of Aberdeen for a survey to be made of three circles, using the recumbent stone and flankers as a tangential base line, and measuring the alignment made by each stone with the middle of the recumbent stone. The survey was made by Drs. Fyvie and Geddes, and the circles were those of Midmar, Castle Fraser, and Sin Hinny (Sunhoney). It is most fitting that the three plans form Plate I. Realising the importance of Dr. Browne’s con- tribution to science, I have examined the seven plans of circles given in the book, and find that the alignments of the other four are also to be interpreted from the recumbent stone, the evidence being alignments in pairs at right angles to each other. The whole truth, partly discovered by Sir Norman Lockyer, seems to be this: In the Pictish type of circle all alignments must have been originally made in pairs at right angles to each other. Finding this first, or fundamental, principle of circle-building fully established in each of the seven cases examined, I have applied that principle to test the present condition of each circle. By such a test six circles are found to be defective, and I think it is quite possible, theo- retically, to restore the defective parts. It is most fortunate that one circle is perfect accord- ing to the revealed Pictish standard, and that is Auchquhorthies (p. 69). It consists of a recumbent stone and flankers and nine other stones (the three stones on the inner side of the recumbent stone had probably some supplementary use). The outer sides of the flankers are aligned with the recumbent stone, but on their inner sides they have separate alignments which rank in the rectangular scheme of the circle and, with those of the nine out-lying stones, have a common base at the middle of the recumbent stone. The twelve separate alignments made by the twelve stones of the circle proper present six pairs of comple- mentary measures. To obtain this result it is necessary LI 266 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 to measure the angular width of each stone from the observational base, and both the side measures and the average measures thus obtained should be studied. The following are averaged measures :— I. N.W. 72° S.E. (base line) . . N, 10° Re 2. East point : ; ; UN. 2° Bie a> es , i ; 7 N. 13° 0% te INy OF 15 akoctss ; - . IN. 28° ae Ba N 4S up A. ie ; A . N.- 42° 06 Gio iGIN. 3 3e 45 nbs. ‘pled ON 57°: Ne The average angle for the series is about~89° 30’. In two instances, side alignments form perfect right angles. In other instances it seems highly probable that the angular width of a stone was utilised for two alignments. Thus, of the side measures averaged as N. 42° W., the one on the north side of the stone is 38° and the one on the south side is 46°. By the table of solstitial azimuths for lat. 57° N. given on page 381 of “Stonehenge”’ (sec. ed.), 46° would be sunset at the summer solstice with a horizon of 2° high, and 38° would be sunrise at the winter solstice with the horizon a trifle higher. It is a great thing to know that the position of each stone in a Pictish circle is, or was intended to be, at right angles to some other position. If the observa- tional base of other types of circles could be discovered it is extremely likely that the same fundamental principle would be found applied. Given a number of rectangular alignments, with horizon measures, it is practically certain that for each circle a star cast, like that of actors in a drama, could be made out, making the determination of the period involved comparatively easy. Without horizon measures, the solar alignments of the Dunecht circles are easily recognisable. Judging by the one complete circle described, we are warranted in assuming that both the May-year and the solstitial year are provided for. Regarding the base line as of first importance, we have May-year, solstitial, and stellar circles of one and the same cultural type. For an explanation of this variety in unity we need, for one thing, a new survey of all the’Pictish circles on the plan suggested by Dr. Browne. Joun GRIFFITH. Thorpe’s Dictionary. A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. By Sir Edward Thorpe. Assisted by Eminent Contributors. Vol. 2: Calculi to Explosion. Revised and enlarged edition. Pp. viii+ 717. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1921.) 60s. net. HE “ Dictionary of Applied Chemistry ”’ has now become so indispensable to workers in pure as well as in applied chemistry that it can be stated without fear of contradiction that no library either NO. 2731, VOL. 109] in the university or in the works can be regarded as — complete without it. The appearance of the second — volume of the new edition following so closely on that — of the first will therefore be welcomed, and will be taken as an indication that the remaining volumes will be published with equal rapidity. The first feature _ which is noticeable in the new volume is the decrease — in size and the increased handiness compared with the corresponding volume of the last edition. This result has been attained by reducing the number of — pages by about eighty and by using a thinner paper, the general effect being to produce a volume which can be held in the hand readily without fatigue. It follows, although it is not specifically stated, that the publishers intend to issue the dictionary in six or more volumes instead of the five which have hitherto sufficed. The subject-matter in the volume vada tediew therefore comprises part of that issued in vol. 1 of the last edition and part of that which appeared in yol. 2- The last edition of the dictionary was reprinted in 1917 from the revised edition of 1912, but despite the comparatively short time which has elapsed—a period ~ during which little scientific work was done—it has been found possible to introduce much new matter; this is shown by the fact that the subjects dealt with in the present volume occupy 717 pages, whereas in the last edition they filled 547 pages only. ” On the whole there is little call for criticism. The article on carbohydrates—one would like to see this name abandoned because, obviously, the sugars of the rhamnose group, C,H,.0;, are not carbohydrates—by E. F. A. is altogether admirable and stands out by — itself as an illustration of what can be done by a master — of his subject to make a highly complex chapter in — organic chemistry interesting to expert and lay-reader alike. On the other hand, the article on camphor is — very disappointing. It is difficult to understand what — useful purpose can be served by publishing an article on the chemistry of this substance which does not contain one single graphic formula. Had this edition been published thirty years ago there might have been some justification for the inclusion of this article. The articles on carbolic acid and cellulose remain — practically unaltered ; it is doubtless too soon to expect. to find a full description of the many important uses to which these substances and their derivatives were — put during the war. : The article on chlorine has been entirely rewritten by H. B., and is an exhaustive account of this element. It contains a vigorous reference to the use ee NN ee of poisonous substances by the Germans during the ‘war, and gives a list of some of those employed. One would like to have seen, however, an article on chemical NATURE 267 re (it is not too late, because it can still come under ) in which this important subject would receive tment and in which the activities of British mists would obtain recognition. It is a curious that the need for such an article was emphasised Sir ‘Edward Thorpe himself in the review he wrote he book published recently by Prof. Moureu in is distinguished French chemist describes the his own countrymen. In the next edition on chemical warfare might well follow that | affinity. ad to note that the old article on vegeto- be abandoned, and the different subjects ted*under their own heads ; thus there t article on cinchona alkaloids by B. F. C., which gives a full account of these bstances. The articles on the natural ers and allied substances by A. G. P. y noteworthy, as are those on certain fall within this section, by G. B. It such as these which render the dictionary to the research worker, because they 4s : chemistry of the substances dealt with ot confuse the issue by a mass of irrelevant sually difficult to find information of this r articles on subjects of general interest, thon, coke manufacture, and recovery of | by W. A. B. and E. R., copper cyanides tillation by S. Y., and gaseous explosion B. and R. V. W., have been brought up otherwise retain the features which have 1 so useful in previous editions. ‘some completely new articles, and, of on colour and chemical constitution by is particularly interesting. Most chemists miliar with the book on this subject which the - contributed to the series of monographs 1 chemistry edited by Sir Edward Thorpe, they may not all agree with many of the ssed therein, they cannot but acknowledge count given is a fair and clear description of position in regard to this very complex _ The present article may be described as a book, and is well worth perusal. Another is that by J. N. F. on the corrosion of This is a subject which this chemist has made and there are few who can write on it with authority. It is well written, and presents the m a point of view which cannot fail to be ig. The article on dyeing remains much the in former editions. _One wonders if the tables tecting colours on the fibre, which occupy fifteen No. 2731, VOL. 109] J -and concise manner all the essential pages, are really worth the space. It may be noted in passing that although the excellent article on cholesterol is signed I. S. M., the name of this distinguished lady does not appear among those of the eminent con- tributors at the commencement of the volume. SS ee A New View of Fertility. The Law of Births and Deaths: Being a Study of the Variation in the Degree of Animal Fertility under the Influence of the Environment. By C. E. Pell. Pp. 192. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., 1921.) 12s. 6d. net. N the issue of Nature for September 22, 1921, p. 105, appeared an article on “ Causes of Fluctua- tion of the Birth-rate,” the statements and speculations in which are usefully supplemented in the present volume, which is a valuable contribution to the dis- cussion of this important problem. The main thesis of the book is that the decline of the birth-rate is not explicable on the hypothesis that it is due to the deliberate evasion of child-bearing, but that it can be explained as the result of a natural law the function of which is to adjust the degree of fertility to suit approximately thé needs of the race. Much ingenuity is displayed in arriving at the conclusion that the response to the action of the environment in the degree of fertility bears an inverse proportion “ to the intensity of the nervous charge,” and that the principle involved is a law governing the union of sperm cell and ovum. Unlike Doubleday, whose theory was that a plethoric condition of the organism is unfavourable to fertility, Mr. Pell regards food as only one factor and thinks there is good reason for believing that cerebral develop- ment and mental activity are far more important than the supply of food. In this respect his theories approxi- mate to the well-known views of Herbert Spencer as to the inverse relationship between ability to maintain individual life and the ability to multiply. The arguments by which the above propositions are supported are ingenious and suggestive, although occasionally weak and doubtful points are presented with as great confidence as strong arguments. Thus the author argues from very imperfect data that the sale of contraceptive articles does not take place on a scale large enough to account for the lowered birth- rate, and he assumes the accuracy of the limited data available as to sterility and small families in circles where contraceptive methods are or are not practised. Such data would need to be corrected for age distribu- tion of the married couples under comparison and for the duration of marriage before valid inferences could -be drawn. Even then it would scarcely be practicable 268 NATURE [ Marcu 2, 1922 to correct for the varying prevalence of gonorrhoea, a chief cause of sterility, and of syphilis, a chief cause of still-births and miscarriages. On the other-hand, the author makes valuable use of illustrations given by Darwin and others of the varying fertility of animals under domesticated con- ditions. It is evident that there is in this direction a line of valuable investigation into the laws governing fertility which has hitherto scarcely been explored. The evidence is none the less valuable because through- out this book it is pressed into service in support of the author’s hypothesis that increasing nervous energy, high feeding, and diminished physical labour reduce fertility, whether in mankind or in the highly bred racehorse. Travel and Exploration. (1) Hints to Travellers. Scientific and General. Tenth edition. Revised and corrected from the ninth edition, edited for the council of the Royal Geo- graphical Society. By E. A. Reeves. Vol. 1, Surveying and Practical Astronomy. Pp. xv+47o. Vol. 2, Meteorology, Photography, Geology, Natural History, Anthropology, Industry and Commerce, Archaeology, Medical, etc. Pp. viit+318. (London: The Royal Geographical Society, 1921.) 21s. net (two vols.). (2) Camping and Woodcraft : A Handbook for Vacation Campers and for Travellers in the Wilderness. By H. Kephart. New edition, two volumes in one. Pp. 405+479. (New York: The Macmillan Com- pany; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 16s. net. OTH these books are written for the traveller, but they look upon his needs from different points of view. In their scope and appeal, no less than in their style, they differ widely. The first may be said to minister to the intellectual needs of the traveller, the second to his material wants. (x) “Hints to Travellers,” which now reaches its tenth edition, has been known for many years. as an almost indispensable volume for the traveller who aims at doing any useful scientific work. Mr. Reeves’s volume on surveying and practical astronomy must have found its way into more remote corners of the world than any other book except the Nautical Almanac. The present edition has been revised, particularly as regards the second volume, but the general plan of the book remains unchanged. The addition of a few pages devoted to marine invertebrates would not be amiss in the natural history section, and might help to direct attention to an aspect of collecting which many travellers are prone to overlook, (2) Mr. H. Kephart’s aim is to teach the traveller NO. 2731, VOL. 109] how to live rather than to take observations and record facts. The two volumes, which are bound together, — deal respectively with camping and woodcraft. They have grown from an earlier single volume which was — published in 1906 and was devoted entirely to travel The author now appeals to a wider public, and devotes much attention to the growing — class of holiday-makers who camp, not from necessity, — in the wilds: but by choice. For the benefit of the latter there are chapters on fixed camps and camp furniture. The chapter on camp cookery is most elaborate. Mr. Kephart expects campers to live well—his dishes and recipes take us far from the simplicity of oatmeal, — bacon, and tea, which are so often the staples of camp — life—but evidently the amateur camper in America does not risk any hardship or privation. The chapters on tents, bivouacs, clothing, camp-fires, packs, and cave exploration, to mention only a few, are full of useful hints, even if some of them are too obvious to merit inclusion. There are useful remarks on axeman- ship, and well-illustrated notes on knots and hitches. The notes on accidents and emergencies are most practical. Altogether Mr. Kephart’s book makes fascinating reading, and, even if primarily designed for life in the forests of North America, it should prove useful to campers all the world over, and should certainly find a place in every boy scout library. © R. NN. Re ae Our Bookshelf. Introduction to Textile Chemistry. By H. Harper- (Life and Work Series.) Pp. ix+189. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 3s. 6d. LARGE extensions in the work of elementary education, provided in the Education Act of 1918, have given rise to the necessity for providing books of a new type. Whether the increased facilities for education offered by the Act are ever to materialise cannot yet be stated, but the series in preparation by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., three volumes of which have been issued, seems to provide a type of book which should have a very beneficial influence on education beyond the elementary- school standard. One of the arguments against educa- tion is that it unfits the “ worker ” to perform his daily routine. Even the least intelligent critic would prob- ablv admit that a workman is not less useful when he hits something about the material he handles and the machinery which manipulates it. The “ Life and Work Series ” will assist education which, without being narrowly utilitarian, takes as a basis the life and work _ ) of man—a wide enough scope for any educator. The present volume is evidently the work of an experienced teacher. The reviewer has taught students of a textile centre on similar lines, and he is of opinion that the book should be most successful. doubt on account of the locality of the author's school, a more prominent place than cotton, which will make Wool has,no ta 2, 1922] NATURE 269 e book less useful in Lancashire. In the reviewer’s inion it would be better to have a separate book ealing with cotton in more detail. The paper, print- illustrations are excellent. A Collection of Folk Pp. 193+ix plates. tos. 6d. net. it Tales from Many Lands : tes. By R. N. Fleming. on: Benn Bros., Ltd., 1922.) @ together this collection of tales Miss as cast her net wide. Japan, China, India, _ America, Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, he British Isles, to name only some of the sources, ibuted to a whole which, viewed merely as a of folk-tales, is charming both in subject- in style. The author has, however, had view than to provide a pleasant pastime for ur. Her aim has been to present in these stories, in which the spirit of the original 1 as nearly as possible, a picture of the culture of thought of primitive and early historic form that can be utilised and interpreted her, whether of history or social geography, same time appreciated by the child. Miss $; in an appendix three essays in which she philosophy of the use of the folk-tale in cation were needed of the thought, wide id experience which have been laid under bution i the omg of this book, it would be rs’ Raw Materials : Their sae Modes of ‘ion, Chemical Composition, the Chief Im- and Adulterations, their More Important Uses, er Points of Interest. By J. Grant. Pp. (London: Edward Arnold and Co., = 6d. net. r of this little volume set himself no light empting to provide a handbook suited to the of students taking organised courses of instruction e principles governing confectionery practice. > students usually possess little or no knowledge ary science, while, on the other hand, their tiers many and varied fields of scientific th which it is by no means easy to deal in In our opinion the author has skil- ssed into a small volume and in a readable s of information, hitherto available only in d and relatively difficult literature, which é of much assistance to the students concerned. . eeeeeeetion i is followed by chapters on alco- verages used as flavouring agents, carbo- ) fies, essential oils, eggs, and egg products ; also a useful outline of the methods employed is of raw materials. The book is by no without imperfections. The sections dealing subjects need revision by a botanist, ‘commendations would certainly include sug- for alternatives to some of the illustrations on Again, a bibliography which gives as consecu- ies “ Bolton and Revis—Faity Foods,’ and a -acydopaedia.” clearly needs drastic . Further, the sub-title could easily be a . fanIlCad NO. 2731, VOL. 109] and the principles of selection. If any Cocoa. By Edith A. Browne. (Peeps at Industries.) Pp. viiit+88. (London: A. and C. Black, Ltd., 1920.) 2s. 6d. net. We have had much pleasure in reading this well- illustrated little book, which is a notable addition to a useful series. Miss Browne, who has first-hand knowledge of the Gold Coast, takes her readers on a personally conducted tour through the cocoa-growing districts of the Gold Coast Colony and Ashanti, which, as most people know, now form the premier cocoa- growing region of the world. The information con- veyed in this interesting fashion is complete, accurate, and well arranged, and is supplemented with admirable glimpses of West African life. Balance is given to the book by an account of cocoa-growing in other countries, followed by a description of the manufacture of cocoa products in two well-known English factories. Miss Browne finds opportunity to warn the West African cocoa industry of the potentialities of South American cocoa-growing countries now deprived of their former pride of place. The warning is well timed and merited, not solely on the grounds mentioned by the author. A Star Atlas and Telescopic Handbook (Epoch 1920) for Students and Amateurs. By A. P. Norton. Pp. 34+16 maps. (London : Gall and Inglis, 1921.) ros. 6d. net. ‘A NEw edition of this useful atlas and astronomical handbook has been published. The maps are clearly printed on a scale of 8° to the inch, and they include stars down to the sixth magnitude, with many fainter objects of interest. The letterpress contains an explanation of all ordinary astronomical terms and much information on both the solar and the stellar systems, together with hints on the use and care of the telescope. There is a clear lunar map, with the names. of the principal formations. A few errata may be noted: on p. 6, along the circles of 6h. and 18h. R.A. declination and latitude have the same direction; on p. 1o the annual P.M. of Groom. 1830 is 7”, not 17”; the magnitude of the Barnard star in Ophiuchus is 10, not 13; and on p. 11 the object entered in the nova list at the date a.D. 389 was certainly a comet and never went near the con- stellation Aquila. The information given, however, is full and accurate with very few exceptions. ACD, -C: The Practical Electrician’s Pocket-book for 1922. Twenty-fourth annual issue. Edited by H. T. Crewe. Pp. Ixxxiii+558+54. (London: S. Rentell and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 3s. net. WE can recommend this pocket-book to all who are practically engaged in any of the industries in which electricity is used. This edition has been revised and contains new sections dealing with tungar rectifiers, railway signalling and current limiters. The latter are devices which either cause the consumer’s lamps to flicker in an intolerable way or to become dim if he tries to take more than his permissible current. The Age of Power: A First Book of Energy, its Sources, Transformations, and Uses. By Riley. Pp. vili+248. (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 1921.) 45. net. DESIGNED originally for use in continuation schools, 270 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 this book will be found equally suitable for the middle forms of secondary schools. Containing, as it does, excellent descriptions of the mode of working in wind- mills, the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, hydraulic, steam, and internal combustion turbines, etc., it cannot fail to interest boys and to increase their interest in their physical studies. There is enough, but not too much, speculative matter included to stimulate the thoughtful reader. We can thoroughly recommend the volume as providing a useful addition to the ordinary school course. An Introduction to the Physics and Chemistry of Colloids. By E. Hatschek. (Text-Books of Chemical Research and Engineering.) Fourth edition, entirely re- written and enlarged. Pp. xiv+172. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1922.) 7s. 6d. net. Mr. Hatscuex’s book is one of the best introductory text-books on the subject in any language, and is widely appreciated. The present edition has been rewritten and enlarged, and embodies much of the recent work on the subject. It should be in the hands of all students of chemistry, and for this reason it is much to be regretted that the price is not lower. The Manufacture and Uses of Explosives, with Notes on their Characteristics and Testing. By Dr. R. C. Farmer. (Pitman’s Technical Primer Series.) Pp. xli+116.- (London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. ALTHOUGH interest in the military applications of explosives has probably waned to a considerable extent in most countries, it is perhaps not generally realised what an important part these products of chemical invention play in the arts of peace. The name of the author of this small book is sufficient to guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in it, and it is only necessary to state that Dr. Farmer has compressed into about a hundred small pages a surprising amount of up-to-date material. The style is easy, but the treatment is such that the book is far from being merely a “ popular” account of the subject: it is a small encyclopaedia, which may be read with advantage by all students of chemistry as well as by those more directly interested in the manufacture and uses of explosives. The very important source of sulphur at Louisiana should have been mentioned on p. 37. Directive Wireless Telegraphy: Direction and Position Finding, eic. By L.H. Walter. (Pitman’s Technical Primer Series.) Pp. xii+124. (London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. It is now thirteen years since Bellini and Tosi read their paper on “A Directive System of Wireless Telegraphy ” to the Physical Society of London. Although Marconi and Fleming had previously done good work on directive radio-telegraphy, it was this paper that first showed British physicists how directive signalling could be obtained by using a fixed aerial and only rotating a small coil of wire. The method, however, lay almost dormant until the war proved its great practical utility. Mr. Walter was one of the pioneers of the Bellini and Tosi system, and in the volume under notice a résumé is given of most of the useful practical information available. The author has utilised much of the theory recently published by the Bureau of Standards and by the Signal Corps of the NO, 2731, VOL. 109] United States War Department. The mathematics given is of the most elementary description, and will — be readily understood by every physicist and engineer. — We can commend this book. Fuel and Lubricating Oils for Diesel Engines. By W. Schenker. Pp. xii+114. (London: Constable and — Co., Ltd., 1921.) 155. THE title of this book is apt to convey a wrong impression, as its contents in the main are of a general — character, and not specially devoted to Diesel engines. There are three sections, the first of which deals with — the origin and preparation of various kinds of fuel oils, — with special reference to the varieties which may be used for Diesel engines; the second section treats very briefly of lubricating oils; whilst the third — consists of a description of the commercial tests applied — to these oils. The book would have been of greater — service to British consumers of oil had the author — included a fuller account of the methods of testing — and forms of specification used in this country instead — of confining himself to Continental practice in these — particulars. Thus Redwood’s viscometer, the British — standard instrument, is dismissed in a dozen lines, — and Abel’s flash-point apparatus is not mentioned. Descriptions of other appliances are sometimes too — meagre, the bomb calorimeter being given only eleven — lines, whilst a purifying apparatus, illustrated on p. 66, — is entirely undescribed in the text. In spite of these — drawbacks, however, the book contains much useful — information of a practical kind. CRP Be: The Wonder Book of Science. By J. H. Fabre. Pp. — 287. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., n.d.) 8s. 6d. net. THE object of Fabre in writing the series of essays under notice was to impart general knowledge about things that are familiar to the eyes, though not necessarily to the understanding. The first seven essays deal with insect-life, and these are followed by a number on birds, on some of the facts of plant- — life, on the various forms of water and the application — of steam, on the elementary phenomena of electricity, etc. These essays, which touch on so many subjects, — illustrate Fabre’s method of arousing the interest of young people in the phenomena around them. In all, — forty-eight essays are reproduced, but the name of the — translator does not appear. More Hunting Wasps. By J. H. Fabre. Translated — by A. T. de Mattos. Pp. vuiit+376. (London: ~ Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., n.d.) 8s. 6d. net. : THROUGH the energies of the late Alexander de Mattos a number of Fabre’s most interesting studies in insect- life have been rendered accessible to the general reader in this country. The present volume consists of fourteen chapters, which complete the essays in the _ “Souvenirs Entomologiques” devoted to wasps. — The remainder have already been translated in two — earlier volumes entitled “The Hunting Wasps” and “The Mason Wasps.’’ Two of the essays in this book, which form chaps. 2 and 10, have already appeared in previous translations, while the remainder are rendered in English for the first time. Most admirers of the writings of the French savant will welcome the appearance of this book and revel in the fascinating "EY MARCH 2, 1922] NATURE 271 of insect behaviour that are recorded in its Fabre is admittedly a difficult writer to te, and the charm of his diction only too readily s if too much freedom be exercised. Mr. de ’s task, therefore, has not been an easy one, has carried it out conscientiously and with care for accuracy. Book of Applied Electricity. By S. R. Roget. Books of Science.) Pp. viii+143. (London: an and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. has made a very successful attempt to mentary principles which underlie the useful s of electricity and magnetism without reader with academical definitions and The book has what we think is a great , that it is entirely independent of the of examinations. It is therefore more the ordinary treatise, and covers a field. - recommended to the general reader anxious asily acquired, accurate, and useful know- electrical matters. The ordinary student examinations will also find it a useful to more advanced treatises. mes, Essential Oils and Fruit Essences used for and other Toilet Articles. By Dr. G. Martin. of Chemical Technology.—X.) Pp. vii+ ndon: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1921.) net. iN’s book is of a severely practical character ; ns much information in a very condensed should be useful as a work of reference to sted in the manufacture of the class of of which it treats. A large number of scipes is given. The section on analysis, only four pages, is too brief to be of real references to the literature are given beyond jon of a few patents and a list of ten books cts treated. Ss” Practical Refrigeration. Compiled by the Staff of Power. Pp. viii+283. (New London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Ltd., Ios. net. practice of ammonia refrigeration, including a e account of the theory and tables of useful is discussed in this volume. A number ical hints for users of refrigeration plant, a colloquial style, forms about half the book, ould be useful to persons in charge of such y of Pulp and Paper Making. By E. Suter- Pp. vii+479+31 plates. (New York: Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman all, Ltd., 1920.) 36s. net. mical aspects of paper-making are dealt with volume under notice, the mechanical processes g described only in so far as they are necessary | understanding of the chemistry. Although ned chiefly with American practice, and less ste than the standard English treatises, the e should be of service to chemists in paper- ‘ para It is clearly written and well ted. , | _ NO. 2731, VOL. 109] . by flotation. Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondenis. Neither can he undertake 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. | The Directive Tendency of Elongated Bodies. Tuts letter deals with several topics, perhaps somewhat remotely related to one another, but all suggested by previous letters on the same general subject in Riruee of October 20, November 24, December 1, and December 22, 1921. In my letter of December 22 it was suggested that Mr. Reeves’s results might be explained by the pecul- iarities of the gravity field at the place where the experiments were made. The letter was written before Mr. Reeves’s letter appeared and while I was -under the impression that his experiments were all made at one place. The suggestion might be plausible as regards any one place, at least until measurements had been made there with an E6étvés balance, but would be highly improbable when applied to every one of the widely scattered places where Mr. Reeves made his tests. Col. Grove-Hills in his latter in NaturE of Novem- ber 24 directs attention to an important difference between the turning effect of the earth’s field on an elongated body supported at its centre of gravity and the turning effect on a similar body when supported He attributes quite undeserved credit to me, however, in stating that this matter is fully treated in my article in the September (1921) issue of the American Journal of Science. Only a very special case of the turning effect on a floating body is there treated, and that case is scarcely analogous to the one considered in recent issues of NATURE. There are two kinds of forces acting on a floating body, namely, the force arising from the earth’s gravity field, which is a body force, and the normal pressure of the fluid on the wetted surface. By well- known theorems concerning the transformation of surface integrals into volume integrals it may be proved that the effect of the fluid pressure may be replaced by the body force arising from the earth’s field reversed and applied to a solid bounded by the wetted surface and by the free surface of the fluid extended in imagination into the floating body, the density of this solid being the same as that of the . fluid. This theorem is proved in very elementary fashion in the ordinary theory, in which gravity is assumed to be constant in intensity and direction, but is equally true when gravity varies in intensity and direction from one part of the region considered to another. In dealing with the turning effect on a floating body of the earth’s field and of the fluid pressure, it is necessary to make some assumption regarding the depth to which the body is submerged; a natural assumption is that the body is submerged to such a depth that the downward pull of the earth’s field is just balanced by the upward thrust of the fluid press- ure or of the equivalent body force. Let us consider the case of an elongated body symmetrical about a vertical axis through the centre of mass of the body, and let us suppose the earth’s field to be also sym- metrical about the same axis; there is then no moment tending to turn the body about any horizontal axis. Several terms disappear from the general ex- pression for the earth’s field on account of the assumed symmetry, but those remaining represent the com- ponent of a force that turns the suspended elongated body about into the prime vertical for a normal field 272 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 of force, or in any case into the vertical plane where the curvature of the equipotential surfaces is a mini- - mum. The turning moment of the direct effect of the earth’s field about a vertical axis is precisely the same for the floating body as for a like body when suspended. For the total effect of the floating body we must consider also the turning moment of the fluid pressure, or of the equivalent body force, and this, in general, opposes the direct turning effect of the earth’s field. For a body like an elongated right cylinder the two turning effects practically cancel each other, so that the resultant is an infinitesimal of higher order, so to speak, than either turning effect by itself It is possible, however, by varying the shape of the elongated body to make one or the other tendency prevail. Ifthe body overhangs the fluid considerably, like the bow of a racing yacht, the direct effect of the earth’s field has the advantage of position in producing a turning moment, and in the normal case the tendency of the body is to turn into the prime vertical, just as for the suspended body. If the body has its extreme end submerged, thus resembling the mirror images of the ends of the overhanging body, then the contrary tendency will prevail, and in the normal case the body will tend to set itself in the meridian. This tendency to seek the meridian would not, however, be true of all elongated floating bodies of dimensions comparable with those of the Eétvés balance, as Col. Grove-Hills would seem to imply. My own interest in the effect of the earth’s gravity field on floating bodies was due originally to an attempt to account for certain hypothetical displace- ments of each continental mass as a whole towards the equator. These displacements are believed by a well-known geologist—who for the present, however, does not wish to be quoted by name—to be estab- lished almost beyond question. His ideas differ soméwhat from those of Prof. Alfred Wegener, of Marburg, who has published much regarding sup- posed continental displacements. The problem of the equilibrium of the mass of self-attracting gravitating fluid rotating about an axis, with a mass of lighter matter floating in the fluid and projecting out of it, is apparently one of considerable difficulty, especially if we consider the gravitational effects of the floating body on the field of force. Considerations of sym- metry would lead us to suppose, however, that the floating body would not be in stable equilibrium at any random point on the surface of the body; the equator of the rotating fluid seems a natural place for stability, and a calculation of the forces acting shows that there is, in fact, a tendency for a floating body to move towards the equator—a tendency stronger, in general, the higher the body floats above the free surface of the fluid. The difficulty with this equatorward tendency as an explanation of the supposed movements of the con- tinental masses is that the movements appear to have occurred after the earth’s crust was well consolidated and there could be no longer any question of floating continental blocks. There is, to be sure, a region of weaker and softer crust around the edge of each con- tinental block, where a sort of syncline dips into the warmer regions nearer the centre of the earth. (All this geology is at second hand, or worse, and should be accepted only with appropriate reserva- tions.) There would be also the weakness under- neath the continental mass due to the heat there. In a way this condition resembles that of a floating body, and if for any reason the continental mass should move, the region of weakness around its edges would move with it. However, it does not seem especially probable that the weak gravitational field that tends to move a floating body towards the NO. 2731, VOL. 109 | - for the Meteorological Committee, third edi _ with wall-sides and to have only one-eighth of t equator could accomplish very much in moving a continent that forms part of a fairly well consoli- dated crust. Even though the equatorward force on a floating — body may not be manifest in the displacement of — continents, it may perhaps be discernible in the ~ motions of much smaller floating bodies, namely, — icebergs. The higher the iceberg the stronger this — force. The acceleration may be written approxi- — mately for the normal case as § Ag sin 2¢, ie where d is the distance between the centre of gravity — of the floating body and its centre of buoya 4 Ag the difference between the acceleration of gray at pole and equator, ¢ the latitude, and a the rac of the earth. An iceberg 200 metres in hei rather exceptional for Arctic latitudes, but in Antarctic waters a height of 500 metres (1700 ft.) has been reported (see ‘“‘ The Seaman’s Handbook of — Meteorology,” published by H.M. Stationery Office — If we suppose the icebergs to be plate 132-35). masses above the water, the values of d co: mdins a to visible heights-of 200 and 500 metres would be roo metres and 250 metres respectively. eae ae The value of Ag is 5:18 cm. and of a 6:37x1I0® cm. The maximum value of the equato: i = celeration on the two icebergs, which occurs in latitude _ 45°, would be o-oo0081 and 0:000203 cm, pet pec. per sec. respectively. At latitude 60°, the latitude of Cape Farewell in Greenland, these figures would be reduced to 0-000070 and 0-000176 cm. respectively; but even the smallest of the four accelerations 3 for an entire day would, if unresisted, set the iceberg in motion, give it a velocity of more than 6 cm. pe sec. at the end of the day, and move it 2-6 km. At the end of twenty days the velocity would be 1-2 metres per sec. and the displacement 1050 km., or more than nine degrees of latitude. With greater acceleration the effects would be greater in p ion. It is fairly certain, however, that the resistance of the water would prevent the iceberg from actually attaining any of the larger velocities. Probably the terminal velocities from these small forces are of the _ order of magnitude of a very few centimetres per second. The dominant forces are the winds and — currents, but these small forces arising from the earth’s field would act more effectively on the higher — icebergs and bring them more rapidly into low © latitudes. One gets the impression in readi : accounts of ice observed in low latitudes that large _ icebergs are the rule there rather than the exception. There are some obvious reasons for this. The large icebergs are less apt to be overlooked and better able to survive the warm weather than are the small ones. The selective effect of the earth’s field is merely an additional reason for the frequent occurrence of large __ icebergs in low latitudes; to say how importanta reason it is would seem to require more data than we now have. WALTER D. LAMBERT. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D.C., January 20. : i i. = 4 = Revival of Sporophores of Schizophyllum commune, Fr. * As has been pointed out by Prof. A. H. R. Buller (‘‘ Researches on Fungi,” 1909, p. 113), sporophores of Schizophyllum commune which have curled up as the result of definite xerotropic action can be revived by suitable treatment in a moist chamber. The | following illustrations afford interesting photographic confirmation of Prof. Buller’s experiments :— Marcu 2, 1922| NATURE aot ate Fig. 1 shows a group of dry sporophores on their ” original matrix, bark of Populus sp., four months - after collection, and Fig. 2 a similar group of the same gathering after revival. It has been remarked, but not further emphasised by Prof. Buller (Joc. cit.), that the pileus of S. com- - mune is of an absorbent nature. Indeed, the pileus Shows a remarkable avidity for water, and the hairs “composing the woolly covering of the pileus enable it Fic. 1.—Xerotropic form of Schizophyllum commune. to absorb moisture with a greater rapidity than is _ usual in fungi, so far as I am aware. _ The moist condition of the edge of the pileus Temote from the matrix, immediately after wetting the latter, and rendered evident by the transition from Snow-white to a silvery-grey colour, led to several _ experiments. It was found that the application of a _ drop of water to one edge of a dry pileus resulted in an immediate, and apparently uniform, diffusion of ‘moisture throughout the woolly covering of the whole pileus—about 1-5 cm. diameter. The rate of absorp- tion is much greater than that seen in the absorption fi after revival. Natural size. _ of ink by blotting-paper, and this fact was more con- _ vVincingly demonstrated by the use of a dilute aqueous _ solution of methylene-blue. ' It seems reasonable to suppose that the possession _ of this property will enable the fungus, in its xero- _ tropic condition, to take the fullest advantage of any ' faindrop that may fall upon it by instantly absorbing ' it. This supposition was tested by allowing drops Similar in size to tropical raindrops to fall from a height on to the pileus, and it was observed that each drop was immediately absorbed, without splash, until saturation point was reached. Were its absorbent power less, much water would be lost to the fungus on account of its sharply convex outline. Conservation of water, in the case of a group, is NO. 2731, VOL. 109] Natural size. assured by the imbricate habit of S. commune. The pileus of a plant growing at the top of a group of sporophores collects all the raindrops that reach it until it becomes saturated, after which the surplus drips on to the pileus of a plant below, and so on, until a whole group has obtained its full requirements without the loss of a single drop. The moisture-content of the fully expanded fungus and of the xerotropic form respectively are given below. ‘They are the results of one de- termination only in each case. The specimens were dried in a water-oven at g9°-100° C. for five hours with all the precautions usually taken in the estimation of moisture. water =84°3 per cent. water=16-0 per cent. Normal sporophore Xerotropic form I am indebted to Messrs. Murphy and Son, Ltd., for the use of the accompanying photographs, and to Mr. W. N. Cheesman, of Selby, for the specimens, which were collected at the Worcester foray of the British Mycological Society in September last. F. A. Mason. Bureau of Bio-Technology, Leeds. Statistical Studies of Evolution. I sHoULD like to suggest that the curves shown by Dr. Willis and Mr. Udny Yule in their article in Nature of February 9, p. 177, are capable of a different interpretation from that which the authors place upon them. It is possible that the curves are not, so to speak, a function of the organisms themselves, but rather of their environment. Consider a habitable area of large size such as a continent. The environment will vary in character in different parts of the continent, the variation being due to the presence or absence of environmental limitations such as warmta, moisture, particular food, etc. In the continent considered, the greater the number of environmental limitations in any area the greater will be the number of possible combinations of these limitations. Thus there will be in the continent a great many different kinds of environment with a large number of limitations (such as mountain peaks, deserts, salt marshes, etc.), far fewer kinds of environ- ment with a moderate number of limitations, and still fewer with a small number of limitations. Since the continent we are considering is large, we can consider it to be divided evenly between areas with many limitations down to areas with few limita- tions. But we have already seen that there are many kinds of environment possible in areas with many limitations, and therefore each of these areas with one particular environment will be of small size. Conversely, the areas with fewer possible kinds of environment and few limitations will be large in size. In fact, could we plot the number of kinds of environment possible in any one size of area against size of area, we should obtain the same type of hollow curve as that obtained by Dr. Willis. Assuming, as is legitimate, that, on the whole, organisms are adapted to their environments, it follows that areas with many limitations will require many adaptations in the constitution of the organism, and therefore few organisms will live in these areas, and these will be highly adapted types or species. _ Hence the small areas with many limitations will each possess a few characteristic species ; and since L 2 274 NATURE [ Marcu 2, 1922 there are very many such small areas, we see that there will be very many species which occupy small areas. We can obtain, in fact, Dr. Willis’s (number of species) against (size of area) curve simply by assum- ing (1) that in any very large area the distribution of different kinds of environment is random, and (2) that organisms are adapted to their environment. I therefore come to conclusions exactly opposite to those of Dr. Willis, for I think we have in his curves direct evidence that :— (1) Evolution has proceeded almost entirely by natural selection adapting a species to the limitations of iis environment. (2) Animals are so closely adapted to their con- ditions of existence that it is impossible to conceive of evolution proceeding by the large mutations suggested by Dr. Willis. Space prevents me considering here Dr. Willis’s (number of genera) against (number of species) curves, but these also are susceptible of a similar interpreta- tion in terms of natural selection. C. F. A. PANTIN. Christ’s College, Cambridge, February 16. WE find it very difficult to follow the hypotheses made by Mr. Pantin in his interesting letter, and cannot agree that they accord with reality. We can- not see how, for example, the hypothesis that natural selection is the dominant factor affords any explana- tion of the fact that the numbers and proportions of local species increase towards the south; nor how it can explain the fact that in New Zealand (cf. Ann. of Bot., vol. 32, 1918, p. 339) a great many families show their maximum number of endemics in every genus at the far north, all these families being Indo- Malayan ; while a second group of families, character- istic of the northern hemisphere, show their maximum number at the south of New Zealand, and a third group at the centre. The northern families and genera diminish as one goes southward in New Zealand, and pass over, without paying any attention to, the regions where the maxima of the central and southern groups occur. These groups in the same way show no unusual change when they reach the fegion where the northern maximum occurs. Are the environmental conditions so peculiar at these points that those of the north should cause a multi- plication of species only in Indo-Malayan families, and those of the south only in families of the northern hemisphere. ? J. C. Wits. G. UpNny YULE, Columnar Structure in Sandstone Walls of a Glass Furnace. In the issue of Nature for December 29, Gam: p- 567, I described the occurrence of columnar struc- ture in optical glass and in fireclay. Through the courtesy of Mr. Currie, of the Scottish Central Glass Works, Alloa, I had recently an oppor- tunity of examining columnar structure that had developed in the lowest sandstone course of the side walls of a small tank glass furnace. The walls com- prised two upper courses of fireclay blocks, in which no columnar structure developed; and the bottom course of rough-grained sandstone blocks obtained from the Penshaw Quarries, Durham. Their cross- section was about 1 sq. ft. Firebrick jack-arching formed the floor of the tank, under which was situated the regenerator. The sandstone course was laid in August 1913, and taken down in November 1921, during which opera- tion the structure was observed. NO. 2731, VOL. 109] When emptying the tank the floor failed, and the glass discharged itself through a space between the floor and the regenerator roof. Thus while the walls were rapidly chilled the floor was maintained at a comparatively high temperature. he accompanying photograph (Fig. 1) is of one typical fragment taken from the inner surface ; other portions showed curvature of the columns, which at Fic. 1. the upper end were nearly normal to the corroded A-shaped surface of the joint, and at the lower to the bottom surface of the block. The similarity between these sandstone specimens and those of optical glass previously illustrated is worthy of remark. JAMES WEIR FRENCH. Anniesland, Glasgow, February 13. The Action of Sunlight: A Case for Inquiry. READERS of NATURE are no doubt aware that the Medical Research Council has just appointed a Committee on the action of light upon the human body in health and disease, thus meeting the need which I have been allowed to urge in these columns under the above heading (NATURE, December 8, 1921, and January 5). I see no end to the inquiries in which we are now at last to participate in England, the country the smoke-darkened cities of which need them most. Before me now is a series of papers which I owe to Dr. A. F. Hess, of New York, who has demonstrated that sunlight can cure or prevent rickets in human infants and animals irrespective of the absence or presence of the supposed anti-rachitic vitamin. Again, along this coast, from Cannes to San Remo, I find French and Italian clinicians at work curing what I have called the diseases of darkness by sun- light ; also a voluminous literature, as yet entirel unknown in England, which raises questions of hig racial, genetic, and eugenic importance, such as the influence of sunlight, or the lack of it, upon the normal development of the reproductive system and its functions during adolescence. But clinicians else- where had assured me—and I fear I may have repeated their statements in these columns—that the sun-cure cannot be practised on the Riviera ! Never henceforth, I predict, will the columns of NaTuRE cease to bear records of the new study of the biology of light now to be begun. C. W. SALEEBY. H6tel Royal Westminster, Menton, February 19. ae oat = Kate A PERL SES ‘Marcu 2, 1922] NATURE 275 eae Linkage and Crossing-over. *S second law has been found to be re- ed in its application. , Two pairs of | not always assort independently. This observed by Bateson and Punnett in d gametic coupling—not that gametes 3) are coupled, but that when certain ether from one parent they tend to hold though coupled, in later generations. will serve to illustrate this kind of pea with genes for purple flowers and ns is crossed to a pea of another strain ; and round pollen, the expectation for of genes would be in F, 9:3:3:1. ‘ratio there was found approximately . Purple long and red round have second generation in unexpected ratios, words, the results are explicable only on is that the genes that went in together ng is often spoken of to-day as linkage, » it applies not only to two genes, but to any fthem. A few further cases may be given ; . characters, as in the pea, are not sex-linked, > other they are. There is a strain of Droso- a that is black. It gives with the the second generation a 3 : 1 Mendelian ratio. another strain that has vestigial wings. It, with the wild fly a 3: 1 Mendelian ratio. It ssible to make a strain that is pure both ) and for vestigial (vv). Ifa black vestigial mated to a wild female (B V) (grey long of the offspring are grey long (Fig. 11). If -F, sons is mated to a black vestigial female ack, only two kinds of offspring are obtained ; 2m are black vestigial, and half are grey long. words, the two recessive characters that went r (black vestigial) have come out together. racters are completely linked in the male. nay be said, in exactly the same sense, that the r two characters, the dominant ones, namely, ¢ (which went in together from the other side), linked. Now if the genes for black and for are carried in the same chromosome, then or allelomorphs (grey long) lie in the chromosome of the same pair, and if these omes remain intact the result is what is 1 to take place. ge is also excellently illustrated in the case -linked characters. As has been shown, white- s red-eye colour of Drosophila gives a Mendelian Another sex-linked character, yellow colour, es the same result. If a strain is made up white eyes and yellow colour, and if a female strain is mated to a wild-type fly (red eyes, FLOP aS] Wtne;rs br 1 Continued from p. 244. NO. 2731, VOL, 109], a tendency to stay together instead of | The Mechanism of Heredity.' By Prof. T. H. Morcan, Columbia University, Néw York City, U.S.A. grey colour), all the sons will be white-yellow, and all the daughters red-grey (Fig. 12). If these are inbred, the great majority of the offspring (98-5 per cent) are yellow-white and grey-red (half and half). In other words, these characters are linked, but only in 98-5 per cent. of the cases. The remaining 1°5 per cent. is composed of two kinds of individuals, red-yellow and white-grey. It may be said, therefore, in this case, that the white eye of the yellow type has crossed over to the grey type, and in exchange the red eye of the grey type has crossed over to the yellow type. The four kinds of offspring obtained in this cross - can be accounted for, if once in a hundred times an interchange has taken place between the two X- Fic. 11. chromosomes of the F, female, in such a way that the part containing the gene for white eye is interchanged for a corresponding part of the other chromosome with the gene for red eye. Another example of crossing-over may be given, one involving the same characters, black and vestigial, which were used to illustrate complete linkage. It is possible to use the same combinations of characters to illustrate both absolute linkage and crossing-over, because in the male of Drosophila there is no crossing- over, but in the female crossing-over occurs. There- fore, in the first case above, in which this combination was utilised, an F, male was back-crossed, while in the present case an F, female will be employed. If, as shown in Fig. 13, a black vestigial fly be crossed to a wild-type fly (long wings, grey), the F, female will be wild-type. If she is back-crossed to a black 276 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 ' vestigial male of pure stock, the F, offspring will be of four kinds, in the proportions given below :— Cross-overs Black long Grey vestigial 85 per cent. 8°5 per cent. Non cross-overs Black vestigial Grey long 41°5 percent. 41°5 per cent. — 83 per cent. 17 per cent. In this experiment 17 per cent. of crossing-over occurs in the F, female. As before, the relation of these facts to the chromosomes is illustrated by the rods in the centre of the diagram. ‘The two pairs of elements (genes) involved are indicated by the letters inside the rods. ¢ ay WY) que: Nizeas') tae?) \ A ise Al Fic. 12, Many examples of linkage and crossing-over are known at the present time. Linkage is said to be strong when, as in the yellow-white case, crossing-over takes place in a small proportion of cases. Linkage is said to be weak when crossing-over takes place frequently. Crossing-over may be less than 1 per cent., or even not take place at all (complete linkage), as in the case of the black vestigial male given above. It may take place in nearly 50 per cent. of the individuals of a back-cross, which means that about half of the flies show linkage, and half show crossing-over. This would be, of course, numerically the same result as when the two pairs of characters involved freely assort. A case of this kind could not, in fact, by itself alone be distinguished from a case where the pairs are carried by different chromosomes. It may appear, therefore, NO. 2731, VOL. 109] incorrect to speak here of linkage, and this would be true were there no other evidence showing that the two characters involved are in the same chromosome, — But whenever a number of other characters are known © in the same group the linkage of the two characters — giving 50 per cent. of crossing-over can still be shown, ~ for if each of the characters is found to be linked to a third one they must be linked to each other. In Drosophila there are more than one hundred If their linkage relations are — sex-linked characters. studied im series an important result comes to light. a This may be illustrated by the following example. — It has been stated that crossing-over takes place in ‘5 per cent. of cases between yellow colour and white eyes. There is another eye character, called echinus, Fic. 13. (Fig. 14). If, now, the position of echinus is represented as 5°5 units of distance from yellow, then its “ distance ” from white must be either 5*5+1°5 =7:0, if it lies to the “north” of yellow, or else 5*5—1°5=4:0 if it lies to the ‘“‘south.” In fact, when the experiment is made, the percentage of crossing-over between white — and echinus is found to be 4:o. : There is another sex-linked character, ruby, that gives 7°5 per cent. crossing-over with yellow. If it — lies to the north of yellow it must give with echinus — 7°5 +5°5 =13; or if to the south of yellow, 7°5 —5*5 =2°0. It is found to give 2 per cent. of crossing-over. Hence, lying south of yellow, it should give with white 6:0, and this is what is found. Such a method of analysis can be followed step by - that gives 5°5 per cent. of crossing-over with yellow — & oe 2 ; Pele aia L Mil Anata at Wc" ROT mh ey RY as) 2 On ee ty Pert red Oe step until the whole of the sex-chromosome is plotted. This procedure has a twofold significance. First, if a new mutant character is found, its “ linkage-group ” is first made out ; then its “ distance” from any one NATURE : 277 of that group is determined. It is then y to find its position with respect to another ember of the group (preferably one near by) termines whether it is north or south of the Once this has been done, the method of the new character with all other its group can be worked out on paper from g-over data, plotted as distance. In other 1e heredity of this new mutant, with all the ywn characters of Drosophila, can-be predicted, h its normal allelomorph, it will give a 3:1 ith any character in another group it will 23:1 ratio; and with other members oup it will give a definite result which culated from the “distance” of the UDC « d point of significance concerning the e genes in terms of distances is as follows : ed relation of genes, as expressed in dis- e that holds for points in a line. This the genes in question are represented in relation to each other is that of points in a line is a chromosome, then the chromo- be thought of as made up of a single line The reasons for referring the genes to the shave already been given. The possi- bility of explaining crossing-over on _ achromosome basis will be discussed later. There is one situation where, on superficial examination of the data, an apparent disturbance of the linear order may appear, namely, _ when crossing-over takes place at two levels in the same linked series at the same time (double crossing- over). But by marking intermedi- _ ate points between the extreme ones all double cross-overs can be de- _ tected and the distances corrected for them. When this is done, it at once becomes apparent that _ the linear order is the correct arrangement of the genes. In fact, far from throwing doubt coxa. these cases, where double crossing- furnish a strong corroboration of the of the hypothesis. of the word “ distance’ as an expression percentage difference in crossing-over values Ss, unfortunately, lend itself to misunderstanding, ng knows just what méaning is attached to when used as defined above. An example e this clear. If crossing-over is more likely in one region of the linear order than in other the plotted “distances” will be relatively rt in comparison with the distances of the nder of the series. Distance, therefore, must be tood in a relative, not in an absolute, sense. e been aware of the necessity of this restriction beginning of our studies of the linear order of genes, and have warned others of the danger in ‘ous publications, but apparently without com- “success. It has also been shown that the per- e of crossing-over changes under external ) and internal (Bridges) conditions. As the ‘NO. 2731, VOL. 109] - UL aise female gets older, crossing-over becomes less in some cases, hence the “ distances ” appear to become less. It has also been shown by Sturtevant that genetic factors may exist that affect the crossing-over in certain regions of the linear series, in one case shortening that region to zero, since all crossing-over is suppressed. But the significance of this result, from our present point of view, is that when the shortening factor is removed (by a definite genetic procedure) the original distance of the genes in this region reappears, and the genes are shown not to have changed their original order. This reassures us that the linear order stands on a firm basis.. A recent attack on the theory of the linear 0 = YELLOW 00 + STAR 00 + { 00 YELLOW + 0 + ROUCHOID 00+ BENT T 09} EYELESS 55 + ECHINUS - 15 T AG 90 + TRUNCATE 13.7 + CROSSVNLSS 140 + STREAK | 200 + CUT T Tt 253 | SEPIA 25.8 HAIRY 27. in + 57! 290 + DACHS 330 + VERMILION 361 } MINIATURE f 38.5 — DICHAETE 430+ SABLE. 42.0 ¢ SCARLET ‘ 4 t : 524+ PURPLE i be 565} FORKED : 540 SPINELESS 1. if 500 $ CLASS 635 4 DELTA 650 + CLEFT 650+ VESTICIAL 655+ HAIRLESS 680 + BOBBED ; es 675 = EBONY 70.0 + LOBE- + 0+ WHITE-OCELL! mae coven OE TENOceLt if 865 + ROUCH 954 | CLARET AT Pec 9g7'# MINUTE 985 + PLEXUS 101.0 + MINUTE-23 1030 + 8ROWN 1050 = SPECK Fic.15. order is based on evidence that shows that “ through selection ” the distances between certain genes changed. The result really has no bearing on the point, because the order of the genes was not shown to have been affected. Moreover, Sturtevant’s case, more thoroughly worked out, shows that where even greater changes of distance had taken place the order of the genes had not ch : The plotting of the linear order of the genes in the four chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster is shown in Fig. 15. The four great groups of linked genes are represented by straight lines with the approximate positions of the genes indicated by short cross-lines. The numbers opposite these cross-lines give the dis- tances from a base chosen as far “ north ” as possible. _The location of some of the genes rests on an immense 278 NATURE [ MARCH 2, 1922 amount of data; other genes are less accurately placed. Still others, not so well determined, have been omitted from this diagram. The localisation of the genes has been calculated from numerical data independently of any assumption as to how crossing-over takes place in the animal. Perhaps it might be safer to let the matter rest on the genetic evidence alone in the present uncertain frame of mind of most cytologists concerning the conjugation of the chromosomes at maturation; but there are at least certain facts admitted by a number of cytologists concerning the maturation of eggs and sperm that : | seem to fall into line with the simple mechanism that the genetic evidence for crossing-over calls for. evidence may next be considered. (To be continued.) Science in Poland. URING the past seven years Poland has ‘suffered all the miseries of war. Amid the desolation in which the country was plunged, the votaries of science did their best, until 1919, to uphold the interests of study and education against inimical and contending Governments ; since the Polish State was resuscitated they have been engaged in laying the foundation of the work of the future. In 1914 only two Polish universities (Cracow, Lwéw) were in existence; in 1922 five large State-endowed universities are actively IS SS (5 eu) Fic. 1.—Interior Court of the Library of the Jagellonian University, Cracow, with the statue of Copernicus. at work; the University of Warsaw was started in 1915, those of Poznan and Wilno in 1919. Centres of technical teaching and research are springing up ; in Warsaw and Lwow important colleges of mechanical and electrical engineering, of applied chemistry, of architecture, etc., are well attended, and in 1919 a High School of Mines was established in Cracow. These institutions are sufficiently equipped with appliances required for practical teaching. Agricultural science also receives a good deal of attention ; in addition to faculties or other schools of university rank existing in Cracow, Warsaw, Lwéw, and Poznan, a National Institute of Agricultural NO. 2731, VOL. 109] Research was founded in Pulawy in 1917. This institute is under the direction of Profs. Godlewski and Marchlewski, and shows a remarkable completeness of arrangement. For the study of the mineral re- sources of Poland, a National Geological Institute was created in 1920 in Warsaw, under Prof. Morozewicz ; a branch institution in Cracow, under Dr. Nowak, has for its object the investigation of oil-bearing regions. An Epidemiological Institute, a Central Meteorological __ Office, and a Natural History Museum have been constituted ; but within the brief compass of an article it is impossible to do more than refer simply to the fact of their inauguration. At the head of Polish educational institutions ses the Jagellonian University of Cracow, founded by Casimir the Great, King of Poland, in 1364. In 1400 the university was restored and enlarged by Ki Ladislas Jagello, who thus complied with the last wish of his universally honoured and beloved wife, Queen Jadwiga. At the end of the fifteenth century the university was at the height of its influence and fame ; there was probably no contemporary school in Europe where mathematics and astronomy were prosecuted with more zeal and success. An undergraduate matriculated in the university in 1491 who was to transmit his name to the remotest posterity. At that time Wojciech Brudzewski (Albertus de Brudzewo) _ had attained a wide and established reputation as an — astronomer, and it was probably by him that young Copernicus was taught to employ his genius. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the university suffered much from the insecurity~of the times, and for many years was on the decline. A new epoch began about 1870; an impulse was given to study, and research, although hampered by financial embarrassments, had greater importance assigned to it than at any previous period. Among the mathe- maticians of that period are Mertens, Baraniecki, and Zrawski ; Rudzki did creditable work in geophysics, especially seismology ; Zygmunt Wroblewski and Karol Olszewski, by their activity in the domain of low eh: temperature research, achieved success that shed lustre on the Cracow laboratories ; Witkowski, by the pains he took to ensure accuracy, paved the way for much subsequent thermodynamical investigation ; Smoluchowski (whose untimely death, in 1917, was a matter of universal regret) accomplished brilliant work, largely influencing progress towards a kinetic theory of matter. Within the precincts of the Jagellonian University, Janczewski, E. Godlewski, Sen., Rostafinski, — Raciborski, Rothert, Kulczynski, Prazmowski, Wier- zejski, Jentys, Adametz, Majer, Kopernicki, and Talke- Hryncewicz — names well known to students of ~ Marcu 2, 1922] NATURE 279 tanical, zoological, or anthropological science— engaged in teaching and research. The medical will always be associated with the names of Teichmann, Cybulski, Browicz, Jordan, Pieniazek, ynski, Jaworski, Mikulicz, Rvdygier, Wicher- b, and others. rh Jagellonian University always consisted, and ow consists, of four faculties. The faculty of theology s nine 1¢ professors 5 the faculty of jurisprudence has professors and four lecturers ; while the faculty dicine includes twenty-six professorial chairs teen lectureships. The philosophical faculty embraces literature and philology, history and philo- sophy, mathematical, physical, and natural science ; in connection with this faculty there is a college of agriculture, a department of pharmaey, and a teachers’ training school. No less than sixty-eight professors and twenty-two lecturers are engaged in the work of this faculty. The total number of matriculated students during the session 1921-22 is 4631. Space will permit only of a reference to the library of the university (Biblioteka Jagiellonska), renowned for the precious MSS. it contains. L. N. = Satins) manifestation of rejoicing on the of the marriage of H.R.H. Princess Mary to nt Lascelles on Tuesday, February 28, is a f the secure place which the Royal Family in the hearts of the British people and also, and believe, a token of national unity. In with all classes of the community, workers ific fields marked the occasion with affec- terest and shared with much satisfaction in us of good wishes by which the nation ex- itself in perfect harmony with a happy event. EtG Deg, De Ss Prof. A. J. Ewart, Dr. A. Hutchinson, Ww. Lanchester, Mr. J. Mercer, Prof. S. R. _ Prof. M. S. Pembrey, Prof. F. Lee Pyman, A. Schott, Dr. N. V. Sidgwick, Mr. D. M. S. Sir Alfred Yarrow, Bart. ‘Report of the Aeronautical Research Com- on the causes which led to the loss of the » R. 38 was issued by the Air Ministry on ry 23. The Committee has come to a number findings and has summarised them at the end report ; it has concluded, from an examination evidence available, that the airship broke in as a result of defects in design, but that the ss of life was to be attributed largely to a subse- ent fire. It appears that the only calculations by the designers were of the type used in general ¢ and had little special reference to airships. ite dition, no account was taken of the aerodynamic which an airship might reasonably experience in _usage. Information as to the importance of forces is said to have existed from experiments ing was not acted upon even to the extent of ng the problem to the Aeronautical Research mittee. Shortly expressed, the result of the enquiry s the marked deficiency of rule-of-thumb as ared with scientific methods as an instrument of The accounts of the accident in America to ‘he obvious fundamental fact in engineering design is the details of a structure should depend on the s it has to withstand. In an airship the bending ses in part from the distributed weights and in NO, 2731, VOL. 109], . semi-rigid airship, Roma, further point the moral. | Current Topics and Events. part on aerodynamic loading, the former being ‘independent of the speed of flight and the latter to its square. Hence an airship moving at 30 knots may have the stresses due to weight and buoyancy twice those due to aerodynamic causes, whilst at a speed of 60 knots the proportions are exactly reversed. The accident to R. 38 appears to have occurred when the air loading was at least five times that provided for by the designers on the basis of weight alone. There is great difficulty in introducing improvements into aircraft with the present official organisation, ‘and it is to be hoped that the report will receive due consideration from the point of view that it is desirable to provide for scientific progress rather than for a process of trial and error on a large scale and at great expense in life and money. THE third and final Report of the Committee on National Expenditure (Cmd. 1589, price 4s.), issued on February 24, deals, among other services, with the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Wallace Collection, London Museum, Imperial War Museum, Geological Museum, and National Galleries (Scotland). The Estimates for 1921-22 and the Provisional Estimates for 1922-23 are respectively £506,771 and £405,864. Over 80 per cent. of the Estimate is in respect of the cost of personnel. The Committee thinks that further economies might be produced by a close investigation into the size of the warding staff, especially in the case of the British Museum and the Natural History Museum. It recom- mends that there should be four paying days a week for all National Museums and Art Galleries without distinction. The Committee is of opinion that the net sum of £405,864, which is asked for in the Provisional Estimates for 1922-23, should be reduced to £392,264, a saving of £13,600. With regard to the ‘grants for scientific investigation, amounting in all to £200,423, it is recommended that the grant to the Medical Research Council—{130,o00o—should be as proposed by the Treasury. As regards the smaller grants, the Committee says: “‘ We are averse from an arbitrary and uniform reduction on a percentage basis on the ground that the saving to the Exchequer would be small compared with the detriment which would be caused to the activities of the learned and scientific world and the discouragement which would be given to private subscriptions and donations if the Ex- chequer grants were reduced. We therefore recom- 280 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 mend that the Provisional Estimate, as framed by the Treasury, should be accepted, with the qualification that it may be possible, under the terms of the Irish Settlement, to omit {£2200 proposed for the four Academies and Societies in Ireland. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was instructed, in May last, to effect at least a 20 per cent. reduction on expenditure. The Department succeeded in effecting this, and presented a Provisional Net Estimate of £330,287. Since arriving at that figure the Department and the Treasury have agreed-on an additional cut of £17,700, and, as the result of a further review, the Department have intimated that a still further reduction ‘can be made, which will bring their Net Estimate down to £298,071. We are unable to recommend any further reduction beyond the saving of £32,216 already effected.”’ Tue Minister of Health announced last week that the Rockefeller Foundation had offered a sum of two million dollars (approximately £454,000 at the present rate of exchange) for the provision of an institute of State Medicine in London—site, building and equipment—on the understanding that the British Government accepted the responsibility for staffing and maintenance. At present public health teaching is given at some seven or eight institutions in London, which instruct about 120 students per annum for the examinations for the Diploma of Public Health; for toxicology and medical juris- prudence practically no advanced course is available. The need for an Institute of State Medicine has long been recognised, and some years before the war the Board of Hygiene of the University of London formulated a scheme for the provision of such an institute, but funds for its establishment were never forthcoming, and in 1921 the Committee for post- graduate medical education in London made a ' similar recommendation. The offer of the Rockefeller Trustees has been gratefully accepted by the Minister of Health, and the Government proposes, we believe, to allocate a sum of £25,000 annually for the mainten- ance of the Institute, the work of which will be devoted . both to education and to research in all branches of State Medicine. On Wednesday, March 1, there was opened at the British Museum a special exhibition of Greek and Latin papyri presented at various dates by the Egypt Exploration Society. This body (formerly the Egypt Exploration Fund) is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of its Graeco-Roman Branch, the excavations of which at Behnesa (Oxyrhynchus) and elsewhere have made so many additions to our stock of Greek literature and to our knowledge of the political, economic, and social history of Graeco-Roman Egypt; and it is in honour of the anniversary that the Museum is arrang- ing its exhibition. A guide-book to the exhibition, with introduction, detailed descriptions of the papyri shown, a preface by Sir Frederic Kenyon, and one - photographic facsimile, is being published by the Society, and will be on sale at the Museum, price Is. The exhibition, which will be found in the MSS. Saloon, Case A, includes many interesting Me of NO. 2731, VOL. 109] various kinds, selected to illustrate the wide range of papyrological discovery. There are examples of famous additions to Greek literature, like the Paeans — of Pindar, the poems of Cercidas, and the Oxyrhyn- © chus historian ; theology is represented by the Sayings — and the economic and social life of Egypt s, of Jesus ; finds illustration in many non-literary docu several of them rich in human interest. THE Referee, under section 1 (5) of the Safeguaxiiinnel of Industries Act, has given judgment against beak complaint of the British Cellulose and Chemical Manu-— facturing Company, Limited, that calcium carte had been improperly excluded by the Board of Trade — from the lists published by them of articles charge- — able with duty under Part I. of the Act. The effect of the award is that calcium carbide is not ‘to be - subject to import duty. St ~THE ambitious project for opening up a nav: ab channel of sufficient width and depth to enable ocean- going vessels to reach the group of inland por i. fringing the shores of the Great Lakes of Ne lor 1 _ 4 oe if Peeled Ui a = . a America, and there to ship and discharge their Ci argoe: pes direct without any intermediate handling, is being urged in influential quarters, and, strong and determined opposition, appears to ‘be | gaining ground. The report of the foes ty Commission, which has been holding an inquiry into’ the feasibility, necessity, and cost of the scheme, has just been presented to the respective Governments — at Washington and Ottawa. The position may be briefly summarised as follows :—At the present time vessels loaded with grain at the great depéts of Port Arthur, Fort William, Duluth, and Superior, on Lake Superior, and of Chicago and Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan, are unable, on account of the rapids on the St. Lawrence, to proceed further than Buffalo, at the lower end of Lake Erie, where the grain has to be transferred either into barges to proceed along . the Erie Canal to New York for reshipment or into small ships capable of traversing the Welland Canal — as far as Montreal, where again reshipment is required te for the ocean journey. This repeated handling of the cargoes means increased cost of carriage, ei ; and dearer bread for the countries to which the grain is consigned. The necessity for transhipment can be avoided only by the formation of a waterway of — sufficient capacity for ocean-going vessels, and, as contemplated in the proposed scheme, this means the enlargement and deepening of the Welland Canal from a depth of 25 ft., to which it is at present being increased, to a depth of 30 ft., and the construction of four lateral canals and impounding dams at the rapids on the St. Lawrence River, together with the . deepening of the river-bed itself. There is an addi- tional advantage attaching to the scheme in that by — the construction of the dams a very considerable amount of hydro-electric power could be developed, and it is claimed that on this ground alone the project should prove a sound and profitable enterprise. WE learn from Science that Capt. Roald Amundsen has made arrangements for co-operative work in a 2 2 a ; q a Marcu 2, 1922] NATURE 281 erres magnetism and atmospheric electricity ith the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of Carnegie Institution of Washington throughout is forthcoming expedition to the Arctic regions. uring the North-East Passage, 1918-21, the en Expedition made a series of highly valuable ¢ observations at rather more than fifty t points, and Capt. Amundsen’s chief scientific Dr. H. U. Sverdrup, has been associated Department of Terrestrial Magnetism since ober in order to complete the reduction and on of the magnetic observations thus far by the expedition. He will rejoin the apt. Amundsen’s vessel, early in March at It is expected that Capt. Amundsen will his Arctic expedition, the chief object of to obtain scientific data relating to geography, raphy, meteorology, gravity, terrestrial mag- sm, and atmospheric electricity, about June 1. The Duke of York will open the Research ies of the British Cotton Industries Research n, Shirley Institute, Didsbury, Manchester, y, March 28. The opening ceremony will at 3.30 P.M. Société Genevoise d’Instruments de Physique us that it has not at the London address, m Victoria Street, E.C.4, a specimen of the chronograph referred to in Our Astronomical n on February 16, p. 217. . trustees of the Percy Sladen Memorial Fund given a substantial grant towards the expenses - expedition to S.W. China by Prof. J. W. and . Gregory, who are leaving for Rangoon at of March. The expedition will therefore be d as one of the Sladen Trust Expeditions. PROFESSOR Nits Bour, of the University of Copenhagen, will give a course of five lectures on the ‘‘ Quantum Theory of Radiation and the Structure of the Atom” in the Cavendish Laboratory, Cam- bridge, on March 6, 7, 10, 13, and 14, at 4°45 P.M. The last two lectures, of a more advanced character, will deal with “Selected Problems in the Theory of Atomic Constitution.”’ THE members of the Geologists’ Association of London are about to entertain at dinner their retiring President, Mr. William Whitaker, F.R.S. Mr. Whitaker, who is in his 86th year, joined the Geological Survey in 1857 and the Geologists’ Association in 1875. He has frequently served as a member of the Council and has -conducted innumerable excursions. He was President from 1900 to 1902, and has recently completed a second term of office. The dinner will be held on Saturday, March 25, at Stewart’s Restaurant, 50 Old Bond Street, W., at 7 o’clock. ig) SeRS Rae 5 Lee Nee re a Ye et be © REN Com err ne, |) anny Marcu 2, 1922] NATURE 285 ced by high-frequency currents in cylindrical wires. most important discovery, however, was that of he distortionless circuit, a discovery which led to ost important practical developments in long-dis- ance telephony both in land and in submarine cables. erences were made to the-discovery os grey’, of telegraphy, andof theatomicnature of electricity. Mustitation of Electrical Engineers has been ate in having so many eminent men of science ssidents in its early days. Lord Kelvin was + three’ times, and ee Hopkinson was + twice. Amongst others we may mention illiam Crookes, Sir Joseph Swan, and D. E. Hughes. The wonderful physical insight of Sir William Crookes is only now being fully recognised. Many years ago he had visions of electrons and even considered the possibility of isotopes. The Institution was founded in order to promote the general advancement of electrical and telegraphic science. In its Journal many important scientific and mathematical papers have been published. In conjunction with the Physical Society of London it has published, at considerable expense, Science Abstracts for the past 24 years. Its activities are ever widening and we congratulate it on its well- merited success. second Toronto meeting of the American ssociation for the Advancement of Science of the associated scientific societies, which was ing the last week of 1921, at the invitation University of Toronto and of the Royal n Institute, was the seventy-fourth meeting - association. It was successful in every way, ust go on record as the most satisfactory thus far held, apart from the greater four- ly meetings. Fourteen sections of the associa- were represented and twenty-six associated . About nine hundred addresses and papers resented, and the official registration showed adance of 1832 oe The sessions were the buildings of the University, which are tly adapted for such purposes, while the y of those in attendance were very con- y housed in the University dormitories. These nents proved to be unusually convenient and le afternoon of Monday, December 26, the re the official opening, the secretaries of the s met with the general secretary and the per- t secretary to discuss some general problems of sociation. On Tuesday afternoon Dr. F. R. Ss “iain of astronomy in the University of _ showed some very fine motion pictures on subjects, illustrating the use of motion es in education. e meeting was formally opened on the evening uesday, December 27, under the able presidency Ir. E. H. Moore, professor of mathematics in niversity of Chicago. The president was intro- by the retiring president, Dr. L. O. Howard, of the Bureau of Entomology of the United es ent of Agriculture, who was _ per- of the association for many years. Ibert Falconer, president of the University, ered an admirable address of welcome, emphasis- he close and friendly relations that have so long ed between Canada and the United States. was followed by the address of the retiring presi- . In the first part of his address, among other sting things, Dr. Howard directed attention e fact that the average age of the presidents of British and of the American Associations since is about the same, sixty-one years and eleven s for the British and sixty-one years and five hs for the American. The second part of Dr. d’s address dealt with the topic ‘‘ The War ust the Insects.’”’ It was pointed out that un- easing warfare must be waged by mankind against the almost countless and omnipresent forms of insect- fe, which threaten the very existence of the human ee. A report of the latter part of the address ppeared in Nature of Jan 19,. p. 79. The ning sessions were followed by a reception in the NO. 2731, VOL. 109] -‘Doubts.” The American Association at Toronto. room behind Convocation Hall, where members and ‘their friends had an opportunity to meet one another and to examine the fine series of exhibits of scientific apparatus and products brought together by the local sub-committee on exhibits, of which Prof. E. F. Burton was chairman. The Wednesday evening session in Convocation Hall was of a twofold character. Dr. W. Bateson, director of the John Innes Horticultural Institution, Merton Park, Surrey, who was present at Toronto by joint invitation of the American Association and the American Society of Zoologists, delivered a stimulat- ing address on “ Evolutionary Faith and Modern He clearly emphasised ‘the point that students of evolution harbour no doubts as to the . fact of evolution, but the exact mode of evolution remains still an unsolved problem. He dwelt on the important progress recently made in America in relation to inheritance and the problems of genetics, especially with reference to chromosomes. At the close of this address the session was trans- formed into a convocation of the University of Toronto, Sir Robert Falconer presiding, and the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa was con- ferred on Dr. Bateson, Dr. Howard, and Dr. Moore. A reception followed the convocation. Sir Adam Beck, chairman of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, addressed a general session on Thursday afternoon under the auspices of Section M (Engineering). His subject was ‘‘ Hydro- Electric Developments in Ontario,’ and he showed a series of moving pictures illustrating the various hydro-electric projects in Ontario. The Thursday evening conversazione in Hart House was one of the greatest social functions ever held in Toronto, and was unique in the history of the associa- tion. For three hours the two thousand guests of the University and the Royal Canadian Institute enjoyed the entertainment facilities of the magnificent students’ social centre in Queen’s Park. The weather throughout the meeting was fine, though cold enough to be stimulating, and with an almost unclouded sky. The necessity for using arti- ficial ice for winter sports in Toronto furnished an agreeai surprise to those who had anticipated arctic cold. The Toronto meeting was especially international in character. It emphasised the point that the American Association is an international organisa- tion. Although the majority of its members are now residents of the United States, it was clearly seen at Toronto how much the future of the association depends upon Canadians. The meeting was an occa- sion for a pronounced increase in the Canadian membership, and it is hoped that the time will soon come when Canadian men of science will all regard the association as theirs. A wonderfully fine 286 NATURE [Marcu 2, 1922 spirit of international good-fellowship and under- standing prevailed throughout the meeting. | Sixteen well-attended dinners were held during the meeting by the various groups of scientific workers. The programmes of the sections and of the societies associated with them were generally extensive, and all were interesting and important. Many vice-presi- dential and presidential addresses were given and many symposia held. Special mention should be made here of the fine programme of Section M (Engineering) and of the symposium on an inter- national auxiliary language, which was arranged for Toronto under the auspices of Section K (Social and Economic Sciences). The engineering programme was unusually excellent in many ways. Arrange- ments for this were due to the very efficient work of Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of Toronto, vice-president of Section M. The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education met with Section M. The social and economic sciences (Section K) had no separate programme, but through the enthusiastic and efficient work of Dr. F. G. Cottrell, of the U.S. National Research Council, a symposium on an inter- national auxiliary language was arranged. This was held at a joint session on Friday afternoon of Sections K and Q (Education). The symposium was _ pre- ceded by the address of the retiring vice-president of Section K, Dr. F. L. Hoffman, of the Prudential Life Insurance Co, of America, on ‘‘ The Organisation of Knowledge.” A programme of great general and cultural interest was presented by the Committee on the History of Science in a session held on Thursday morning. Among others, Dr. J. P. McMurrich—after- wards elected president of the association for 19g22— gave a paper on the artistic anatomical work of Leonardo da Vinci. The extraordinary success of the meeting was due mainly to the tireless and varied activities of the members of the local committee under the chairman- ship of Prof. J. C. Fields, who foresaw all needed arrangements and added many pleasant and con- venient details. Especially was praise given to the very artistic official badge, which will serve as a worthy commemoration of one of the most satisfactory meetings of the association. The very onerous and pressing work of caring for the publication of the general programme was undertaken by Dr. J. P. MeMurrich, who handled this very difficult and con- fusing complex of details with very great skill. The University of Toronto Press gave very efficient service in this connection. Publicity was unusually well handled. The recently organised Science Service co-operated with the asso- ciation in arousing public interest in the meeting through the daily press. Dr. E. E. Slosson, editor of Science Service, and Mr. Watson Davis were ses * sent throughout the meeting on behalf of Science vice. Besides the valuable publicity work of Science Service, which is under the control of the American Association, the U.S. National Academy, and the U.S. National Research Council, and which operates for — the sole purpose of disseminating scientific knowledge _ through the newspapers, just as valuable and efficient — publicity work was accomplished by the local Sub- Committee on Publicity, of which Prof. A. G. Hunts- man was chairman. At the council meeting of the association the sum of 4000 dollars was allocated in grants for re- search, according to the recommendations of the committee on grants. Prof. B. Amherst, Mass., and Prof. E. A. Smith, of the University of Alabama, were elected to emeritus life-membership on account of the Jane M. Smith — Endowment Fund. On a vote by the council the president appointed the following committee to con- — sider the subject of reciprocity between the United States and Canada so far as this concerns scientific work :—E. L. Nichols (chairman), F. D. Adams, T. C. Chamberlin, J. C. Fields, and J. C. Merriam. It was Emerson, of — = decided that the next annual meeting of the associa- — tion should be held at Boston, Mass., on December 26-30, 1922, and the 1923-24 meeting at Cincinnati, Ohio, in December 1923. Dr. J. P. McMurrich, professor of anatomy in the University of Toronto, was elected president of the association. The following vice-presidents of the several sections were elected :—A (Mathematics), G. A. Miller, University of Illinois; B (Physics), Frederick A. Saunders, Harvard University; C (Chemistry), W. Lash Miller, University of Toronto; D (Astro- nomy), Otto Klotz, Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Ontario; E (Geology and Geography), Charles P. Berkey, Columbia University ; F (Zoological Sciences), Maynard M. Metcalf, Oberlin College; G (Botany), Francis E. Lloyd, McGill University ; I (Psychology), and Raymond Dodge, Wesleyan University ; K (Social Economic Sciences), Henry S. Graves, ve a, D.C. ; L (Historical and Philological Sciences), Wil- liam A. Locy, Northwestern University ; M (Engineer- ing), George F. Swain, Harvard University; N (Medical Sciences), Francis W. Peabody, Harvard Medical School ; and O (Agriculture), R. W. Thatcher, University of Minnesota. Burton E. Livincston. The Use of Light as an At the meeting of the Illuminating Engineering Society on January 31, Lt.-Col. L. F. Blandy, who is associated with the Air Ministry, delivered a paper on “ The Use of Light as an Aid to Aerial Navigation.”’ Gen. Sir Frederick Sykes, Controller- General of Civil Aviation, presided. In the introduc- tory portion of the paper the author described the lighting of the passengers’ accommodation and crew’s quarters, etc., on a modern airship, the light being derived from electric lamps fed from a generator driven by the engine. Small candle-power lamps are used for illuminating the dials of instruments, etc., on some machines. The external lighting of aircraft has been closely studied by the International Air Con- vention, which has defined precisely the equipment of a forward white light of 8-km. range, a red light of at least 5-km. range on the left hand, and a green light of similar range on the right. Special arrange- ments must be made to prevent the green light being NO. 2731, VOL. 109] | Aid to Aerial Navigation. seen from the left side or the red light from the right. A white rear light is also provided. In navigating the air, principles similar to those in use at sea are thus being adopted for external es re but owing to the motions of aircraft and their high speed the arrangement of navigation lamps demands special care. The relative speed of approaching machines may attain 200 m.p.h., 7.e. 3:3 miles per minute. able may be only go seconds, and it looks as though the range of navigation lights may have to be in- creased. Lights used by aircraft to facilitate landing may be either chemical or electric. Gas-filled electric lamps of 1000-2000 c.p. have been developed for this - purpose, and appear to have some advantages over flares, notably as regards ease of control and extinc- tion at will. Aerodrome lighting includes lights used to define the positions of buildings and other obstruc-_ Cy, SR poe eo, aT wees From the time of sighting head- lights to the moment of collision the time avail- NATURE 287 Marcu 2, 1922] illumination of the actual ground, and fixed ated signs to show the position of wind, etc. \t Croydon the lighting of high wireless masts, which 9rm dangerous obstructions, has been effected by acing 1000-c.p. gas-filled lamps, screened red, on the »p ofthe masts. These forma good recognition mark. and illumination requires special care to avoid ng the eyes of pilots at some angles. A special rement recommended at the International Air tion is the-use of lights arranged in the form .‘“L’s” to indicate positions for ‘“‘ taking off ”’ nding. Such lights were originally mounted in reflectors covered by flat glass discs in such a way that they were readily visible from above, but in- visible at close range. Better methods of diffusion, enabling lights to be seen at all angles, have since been devised. Searchlights appear helpful, but have to be used with care to avoid confusing shadows when the machine is near the ground. An appendix to the paper contains particulars of the recommendations of the International Air Convention in regard to signals of distress, etc. Much has_yet to be done in this new field, but the paper affords a useful review of existing procedure. RE to the Royal Society of Arts on the e subject by Mr. Noel Heaton is published arnal of the society for December 30 last. urer gave an account of the various attempts uve been made to solve the important problem ting the decay and disintegration of stone- 1 buildings. e great majority of modern buildings, and a still greater proportion of buildings, are constructed of limestone or ne, and the problem centres around these rather than about the more resistant granite, to a limited degree. The causes of dis- n may be natural, depending on fluctuations erature, on rain, on erosion by wind, and, in ginous sandstones, on oxidation. Minute differ- n structure often cause great differences in dura- The growth of vegetation on stone usually s decay. The most potent cause of decay is, , the “ unnatural”’ action of sulphuric acid, d from coal-smoke, coupled with the accumula- soot and grime. Sir Frank Baines, who intro- the lecturer, stated that, roughly, 80,000 tons of ric acid are thrown annually into the London osphere. Strain set up by the rusting of iron is oa contributory cause of decay. The lecturer then ned to the means of preventing decay. \n indirect method of preventing decay is to fur- every possible means, the campaign against nospheric pollution. The stone may be treated | preservatives, which were divided into three _ (a) those acting merely as surface coatings ; 9se impregnating the stone without chemical .; and (c) those operating by chemical reaction the stone. In the first class are paint and lime- , the latter being useful where the stone is ected to a moist atmosphere, but protected from or gelatinous precipitates formed on the stone. fluorides, introduce The Preservation of Stone. rain. In the second class are mineral wax applied by heat or in solution in benzene, drying oils, creosote, The first process is very old, and is effective for certain purposes. Treatment with alum solution, followed by soft soap, which results in the precipitation of an aluminium salt of the fatty acids, is recommended. In the third class treatment with baryta is effective in repairing a stone disintegrated by sulphuric acid. A common method is the deposition of silica or sili- cates. Treatment with waterglass leads to unsightly efflorescence. This may be reduced by treating with a solution of arsenic acid after the waterglass, but the most satisfactory results are obtained with silico- in France by Kessler in 1883. A solution of magnesium silicofluoride reacts with limestone : MgSiF, +2CaCO,=SiO, +MgF, +2CaF, + 2CO . The solution, known as “ Fluate,’’ is manufactured in France, and the lecturer stated that, although the results were conflicting, it appeared to be beneficial. In America the double salts of magnesium and zinc were preferred. The use of the solution has recently been investigated by Prof. Desch, in conjunction with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and, although the detailed results have not yet been published, the conclusions appear to be that too strong a solution should not be used (not stronger than 10 per cent.), and that the mode of application should be adjusted to particular conditions. The method is most useful on new work. The use of nostrums of unknown composition is strongly condemned, as they may cause great injury. Sir Frank Baines also con- tributed some valuable information in the discussion on the lecture. cimens of their national painting and 1 fore they were ieuancel by foreign hods and ideals. sides this, there were paint- gs by some of their modern artists who adopted ‘estern methods and conventions. The contrast was very striking, and in some respects not very satis- milar reflections are suggested by the present state apanese mathematics, as shown, for example, in ious mathematical papers recently received from - University of Tokyo. Circumstances are dif- nt because mathematical science is now cosmo- itan, and no single nation can afford to neglect various developments. At the same time, like ‘nationality in drinks, there is a kind of nationality NO. 2731, VOL. 109} Mathematics in Japan. in science, art, or any other human activity, which is justifiable, and even instructive, if it is not carried to excess. We may notice it, for example, in the papers and treatises of the leading mathematicians, such as Klein and Dedekind on one hand and Poincaré, Hermite, and Darboux on the other. The elegance of the best French text-books is scarcely equalled, if at all, by those of any other nation; at the same time, the corresponding German works are distin- guished by thoroughness, method, and fulness of references. The treatise on elliptic modular functions by Klein and Fricke and Poincaré’s memoirs on Fuchsian functions illustrate the point. It is difficult to be sure how far Japanese mathe- matics is entirely original. They had various ap- proximations to 7, some of which, at any rate, seem to have been of their own invention. They had an extraordinary gift for solving numerical equations of high degrees by approximation, and one Japanese writer appears to have anticipated many of Steiner’s 288 NATURE { Marcu 2, 1922 theorems on poristic systems of circles. Besides this, they discussed elegant problems: more or less sug- gested by familar objects, such as fans, toys, etc. It would be a pity if all truly Japanese charac- teristics were to become obliterated. Apart from aesthetic considerations, if they avoid falling into the rut of Western methods there is a chance of their producing something really novel and suited to their genius. They might, for instance, solve some of the outstanding problems of group theory or make some notable advance in Diophantine analysis—a subject which seems to have lost its fascination for most European mathematicians. The attitude of an individual towards_ foreign mathematics is sometimes peculiar, and even amazing, Not very long ago an English lady spending a holiday at Utrecht was introduced to an eminent Dutch mathematician. Having a mathematical friend in England, she asked the professor his opinion of English mathematicians. The answer was to the effect that their work was so strangely insular that he could not spare the time to make himself familiar with it. This was after Cayley, Sylvester, and Salmon had published much of their best work on invariant theory. G. B. M. University and Educational Intelligence. CAMBRIDGE.—In connection with the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Cambridge in the coming summer, honorary degrees are proposed for H.R.H. Prince Albert, the President of the Society, Mr. C. R. W. Adeane, Sir Gilbert Greenall, Sir A. Daniel Hall, Mr. E. S. Beaver, Mr. A. E. Humphries, Mr. Ernest Mathews, and Mr. G. P. Hawkins, An open Fellowship, for which all graduates of the University are eligible who took their first degree not earlier than June 1919, is announced by King’s College. Any one who wishes to offer himself as a candidate should communicate with the Provost as early as possible. LrEps.—Prof. Sir Berkeley Moynihan has given to the University an endowment for the annual award at the Leeds Medical School of a gold medal to the best student of the year in Medicine and Surgery. In accordance with Sir Berkeley Moynihan’s wish the gold medal will bear the name of William Hey in commemoration of the work of that great Leeds surgeon. The Council of the University in accepting the endowment have recorded their thanks to Sir Berkeley Moynihan for his generous gift. William Hey (1736-1819) was one of the pioneers. of modern surgery. A brilliant operator and teacher, he estab- lished the tradition of surgical skill which has ever since been one of the chief distinctions of Leeds. He was a friend of Joseph Priestley when the latter was Minister of Mill Hill. Lonpon.— The following course of free public lectures is announced: At King’s College, Strand, at 5.15 on Wednesdays, March 8, 15, and 22, “ The Quantum Theory of Radiation and the Constitution of the Atom,” Prof. Nils Bohr (in English) THE bearing of improved means and methods of education receives striking confirmation in the figures adduced by Mr. Percival Sharp in his address in January at the annual meeting of the Association of the Directors and Secretaries for Education held in the County Hall, London. Dr. Sharp submitted official statistics for England and Wales showing the NO. 2731, VOL. 109] curve of crime from 1870, when the population of England and Wales was 22,000,000, down to 1919, when it had reached nearly 37,000,000, In 1870 107,621 men and 39,604 women above sixteen years 4 of age—a total of more than 147,000 persons—were committed to prison. 22,289 men and 8718 women—a striking difference, having regard to the great increase in population. There are no figures available earlier than 1893 con- _ cerning indictable offences tried at the Quarter Sessions. the number of women convicted declined from 1245 in 1903 to 826 in 1919. The number of men tried summarily for indictable offences fell from 20,000 in 1893 to 16,000 in 1919, and of women from 5000 to 3900. The figures for non-indictable offences feli from 133,000 to 73,700 for men in the same years, and from 43,000 to 18,000 for women. The Home Office has decided to close eight prisons and to shut down the female wings of six other prisons at the end of March next. So far as a great industrial and commercial area like Manchester is concerned, two large industrial and reformatory schools have recently been closed, and the returns available show that between 1907 and 1921 the number of children under maintenance shrank from 659 in 1909 to 209 in Ig2T. These figures are conclusive as to the value and influence of education in the training of the children © of the nation, and condemnatory of any p legislative measures of economy with regard to the restriction of such training. Rather they enforce the necessity for continued development and improvement. A ist of students from the King’s Dominions over- seas and from foreign countries studying in the universities and university colleges of the United Kingdom has been compiled by the Universities Bureau of the British Empire. The following figures gleaned from the list are of general interest, which would, however, be greatly enhanced if to them could be added statistics of the very numerous students from abroad who are studying at the Inns of Court, in other professional and technical institutions not included in universities and university colleges, and. privately :—Of the total number, 4470, Asia contri- buted over a third (1576), Africa 1187, America 781, Europe 645, and the Pacific, 281. Of the Asiatics 1240 are from India, Burma, and Ceylon; this in- cludes 446 at London, 173 at Edinburgh, 171 at Cam- bridge, 170 at Oxford, and 65 at Glasgow. The Indian Students’ Department of the Office of the High Commissioner in 1921 estimated that there were 1500 Indian students at the universities and technical colleges and 600 at the Inns of Court. From China came 143,.0of whom 49 are at London, 25 at Edin- burgh, and 17 at Cambridge. Of 73 from Ja 55 are at London. South Africans and R PH number 832, including 327 at London, 178 at Edin- burgh, 95 at Dublin, 82 at Oxford, and 42 at Cam-— bridge. Of 294 from Egypt, 88 are at London and 52 at Birmingham. The U.S.A. contributed 400, of whom 210 are at Oxford, a large proportion being Of 200 from Canada, 87 are at — Rhodes scholars. Oxford. South America contributed 75 and the West Indies 101, of whom 33 are at London and 23 at Edinburgh. Of the Europeans, 91 are from Russia, 61 from Switzerland, 62 from France, 52 from Greece, 7o from Scandinavian countries, 49 from Rumania, and 48 from the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Of 178 Australians, 50 are at Oxford, 41 at In 1919 the numbers fell to — The number of men convicted shrank in — . Igtg to 5200, as compared with 8200 in 1893, whilst — > ‘ ft gi a Bae edt ie ce cei aad © London, 36 at Edinburgh, and 35 at Cambridge ; | while of 102 New Zealanders, 27 are at London, 25 at Edinburgh, 24 at Cambridge, and 20 at Oxford. NATURE 289 Marcu 2, 1922] . - Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. March 2, 1892. Sir John Coode died.—A pupil of -M. Rendel, Coode became resident engineer, and en engineer-in-chief, of the Portland breakwater, mpleted in 1872, and afterwards rose to be the most nguished harbour engineer of his time. Among greatest works were those at Cape Town, Fre- >, and Colombo. From 1889 to 1891 he served sident of the Institution of Civil Engineers. March 3, 1895. Alfred Giles died. March 4, 1847. ancis Giles died.— Both the Giles, father and son, successful civil engineers. Francis Giles was >d under Rennie, and later carried out various nt harbour and canal works; while his son ely concerned with railway projects in Den- rance, Canada, Galicia, and other countries. Alfred Giles was president of the Institution Engineers. ch 4, 1902. Bryan Donkin died.—The grandson an Donkin (1768-1855), known for his pioneer- ork in paper-making machinery, Donkin suc- to the business founded by his grandfather. ss, however, best known for his study of thermo- ‘ics and the scientific testing of steam engines, stigation of steam jacketing and condensation, work on gas and oil engines. th 6, 1900. Gottlieb Daimler died.—A native of : , Daimler became a practical engineer, d in England under Whitworth, and about 1870 > associated with the gas-engine pioneer Nicolas ‘In the ’eighties he constructed small internal- ustion engines, one of which he fitted to a le, and in 1890 he founded the Daimler Motoren- ischaft at Cannstadt, where he died. _ March 7, 1809. Francois Blanchard died.—One of e most celebrated of the early aeronauts and a yuted inventor of sn Pear Blanchard made > sixty ascents. anu 7, 1785, with Dr. Jeffries, he was the fist te nae the Channel balloon. His wife, Sophie Armant, was also an d aeronaut, and perished in a balloon accident 9. e tech 8, 1803. Francis Egerton, Duke of Bridge- , died.—The Duke of Bridgewater has been called ounder of British inland navigation. Succeeding family estates at an early age, he settled in hire, and to develop his collieries engaged dley to construct the canal from Worsley to lanchester and that from Manchester to the Mersey, rch 8, 1887. James Buchanan Eads died.—Born | Indiana in 1820, Eads’s whole life was bound up with ry ippi. He made a fortune by raising steam- oats sunk in the river, achieved a great reputation during the Civil War by the rapid construction of gunboats for its defence, in 1867-74 constructed the ‘great steel arch bridge which spans it at St. Louis, and later oy soseeg the jetties at its mouth for im- 58 g the el. He was the first American to be warded the Albert medal of the Royal Society of _ March 8, 1889. John Ericsson died.—A fertile in- ventor, a noted engineer, and one of the foremost constructors of warships, Ericsson was a native of Sweden. From 1826 to 1839 he was in England, where he gam the first steam fire-engine, con- Structed the locomotive ‘‘ Novelty,” and built the i w-driven vessel Robert F. Stockton. The re- nder of his life was spent in America, where ng the Civil War he inaugurated the era of the noured turret battleship. The great fight between csson’s Monitor and the Merrimac took place on h 9, 1862. | Sangh 8 NO. 2731, VOL. 109] Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, February 23.—Sir Charles Sherring- ton, president, in the chair—C. D. Ellis: j-Ray spectra and their meaning. A method of finding the wave-lengths of y-rays of too high a frequency to be measured by the crystal method depends on the fact that y-rays are converted into f-rays according to the quantum relation. If the energies of the groups of electrons ejected by y-rays be added to the work done in removing the electron from inside the atom to the surface, hy is obtained. The work is found from: observations of the energies of corresponding groups excited in different substances, and the method is applied to find the wave-lengths of the y-rays emitted by radium B, radium C, and thorium D. - The energies of the $-ray groups of thorium D have been measured for this purpose. The y-rays are emitted from the nucleus and the numerical values of the wave-lengths suggest that the quantum dynamics applies to the nucleus and that part of the structure can be expressed in terms of stationary states. Suggestions for the energy of these stationary states in radium B and thorium D nuclei are given.— A. E. Conrady: A study of the balance. The first weighings by the Gaussian method of exchange made with an inexpensive analytical balance gave a prob- able error of only 0-004 mg. A constructional fault ‘in the suspensions was remedied and the probable error fell to 0-o013 mg. A further systematic error, depending on the sequence of pointer readings in successive exchanges was attributed to imperfect elasticity and irregular curvature of knife-edges. A method of double exchange of loads which, by close adjustment of a light rider, caused all readings to fall on two alternating positions of rest, brought the probable error to 0-0008 mg., and it seemed now largely due to irregular air-currents. Arrangements allowing manipulation of loads without opening of balance case reduced the probable error to an average value of 0-0004 mg. If the centre of gravity of the moving parts falls in the supporting line of the central knife-edge (“ autostatic’’ state), the reading of the pointer becomes independent of levelling of the balance case, and highly accurate results can be obtained on very in supports.—J. S. Owens: Suspended impurity in the air. The essential part of a new instrument for measuring impurities is a fine jet of air which strikes a glass surface with high velocity, depositing its dust thereon. The velocity of jet affects the operation of the instrument. The adhesion of dust to the glass has suggested applica- tions which indicated (a) that visibility is usually a function of amount of suspended impurity ; (b) that suspended dust travels over great distances ; records being described of dust from the Continent; (c) that the microscopical examination of such records in- dicates differences depending upon wind direction.— R. V. Southwell: On the free transverse vibrations of a uniform circular disc clamped at its centre ; and on the effects of rotation. An analysis of the in- fluence of rotation upon the normal modes and fre- quencies of free transverse vibration in a uniform circular disc, complete freedom from constraint being assumed, is extended to cover the effects of constraints which prevent, along a small circle concentric with the free edge, the occurrence either of finite trans- verse displacement w, or of finite slope 6w/ér. The constraints are assumed to have no effect upon the centrifugal stress-system. Clamping a non-rotating disc along a small circle produces only slight changes of frequency in modes characterised by two or more 290 NATURE [MaRcH 2, 1922 nodal diameters, but is important in its effect on the ‘symmetrical ’’ modes and on modes having one nodal diameter. In the other extreme case, when the flexural rigidity may be neglected, the central constraint has no effect upon the natural frequencies. In the general case, in which both flexural and centri- fugal stresses are considered, the gravest frequencies in modes which have nodal diameters may be calcu- lated by the formula previously given; a special investigation is made of the gravest frequency in a symmetrical mode.—A. E. Oxley: Magnetism and atomic structure. II.—The constitution of the hydrogen-palladium system and other similar systems. The susceptibility of palladium black charged with hydrogen is less than that of pure palladium black. From this it is concluded that the occluded hydrogen is neither in the atomic nor molecular state. The results agree with the existence of a chemical com- pound, probably Pd-H. In the hydrogen molecule, each atom thrusts its electron into the other atom, the bond being represented by a pair of electrons held in common. The palladium atom has 46 electrons, the hydrogen atom 1 electron, the latter being thrust into the outer shell of the palladium atom. If these 47 electrons take up a configuration like that of the silver atom (atomic number 47), which is diamagnetic, the fall of susceptibility may be accounted for. Paramagnetic manganese fused in hydrogen becomes ferro-magnetic. The occluded hydrogen atoms prob- ably thrust their electrons into the outer shells of the manganese atoms, producing in them electron configurations analogous to that of the iron atom.— T. Carleman and G. H. Hardy: Fourier’s series and analytic functions. If f(\) is integrable in the in- terval (0, 27), and the associated function ¢(u)= 4if(a +u) +f(a —u)}, where o the most readily melted. With lime-containing es, the melting is assisted by the addition of fi amounts of other oxides, particularly of mag- Tn the case of glasses containing about 12 per of lime, the slaked lime containing batches tally melted most readily. A discussion followed Paper, and the remainder of the meeting was ‘Ken up with a debate on the subject of ‘The ting of Glass.” A number of questions on the ect had been submitted by members, and formed basis of the discussion ; this being continued from he Leeds meeting in November 1921, at the general quest of members. NO. 2731, VOL. 109] | “eee and the tiger are used symbolically, we must. Diary of Societies. MONDAY, MARcu 6. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 5.—General Meeting. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7.— E. Ambrose and others: Discussion on E.H.T. Cable-testing. ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY (at University of London Club, 21 Gower Street, W.C.1), at 8.—S. N. Dasgupta: The Logic of the Vedanta. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS, at 8.—Special and Business Meetings. . Royat Society of ARTs, at 8.—Prof. A. F. C. Pollard: The Mechanical Design of Scientific Instruments (3). Society or CHEMICAL INDUSTRY (at Chemical Society), at 8. SURVEYORS’ INSTITUTION, at 8.—B. P. Davies: The Analysis of Building Costs. ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SocreTy (at Aolian Hall), at 8.30.—C. E. N. promeneaa The Influence of its Geography on the Development of ondon. Society oF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY (London Section) (at Chemical poctety sae 8.—W. Cullen: Gold Metallurgy of the Witwatersrand, Tansv: . TUESDAY, MARCH 7. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Arthur Keith: Anthropological Problems of the British Empire. Series I.—Racial Problems in Asia and Australasia (3). ROYAL Socrmty OF ARTS (Dominions and Colonies Section), at 4.30.— Major Sir Humphrey Leggett: Tanganyika Territory (formerly German Hast ca). ANGLO-SWEDISH SocrmmTy (at Swedish Hall, Harcourt Street, W.1), at - 5.30.—Dr. F. A. Bather: The Sea-lilies of Gotland and Dudley. : ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 5.30.—N. S. Lucas: Report on the Deaths which occurred in the Society’s Gardens during 1921.— F. Balfour Browne: The Life-history of the Water-Beetle Pelobius tardus Herbst.—Dr. R. Broom: The Temporal Arches of the Reptilia.— F. W. Urich, Dr. H. Scott, and Dr. J. Waterston: Note on the Bat-Parasite C; ‘ia greeffi, and on a new Species of Hymenopter- ous (Chalcid) Parasite bred from it—S. K. Montgomery: Direct Development in a Dromiid Crab. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, at 6.—A. C. Walsh and W. F. Stanton: The Improvement of the Port of Valparaiso. ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN (Technical Meeting), at7. H.W. Lee: A Chart for finding the Depth of Focus ofa Lens.— H. Farmer: Direct pe gi a fully efficient alternative and - addition to our present system. ——. : RONTGEN Society (at Institution of Electrical Engineers), at 8.15.— L. H. Clark and B. D. Watters : Comparisons between the Thera peutic, Photographic and Ionisation Effects of Ultra-Violet and of aoe Radiation —E. E. Burnside: Apparatus for deep X-ray erapy. — WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8. INSTITUTE OF METALS (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 10 a.M.—Dr. G. D. Bengough : Notes on the Corrosion and Protec- tion of Condenser Tubes.—At 2.30.—F. Adcock: ‘The Internal Mechanism of Cold-Work and Reerystallization in Cupro-Nickel.— Research Staff of the General Electric Company: The Effect. of Impurities on Recrystallization and Grain Growth.—Dr. H. Moore and §. Beckinsale: Further Studies in Season-Cracking and its Prevention. Condenser Tubes. GEOLOGICAL SocteTy oF LONDON, at 5.30.—Baron F. Nopsca: The Geological Importance of the Atavistic Reptilian Fauna of the Upper Cretaceous of Transylvania. Roya Socmety or Arts, at 8.—W. A. Appleton: The Proper Functions of Trade Unions. INSTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 8—A. A. Remington: The Design and Function of Laminated Automobile Suspension Sp: " THURSDAY, MARCH 9. INSTITUTE OF METALS (at Institution of Mechanical Engineers), at 10 A.M.—Prof. C. A. Edwards and A. J. Murphy: The Rate of Combination of Copper and Phosphorus at Various Temperatures.— Dr. W. Rosenhain : Some Cases of Failure in “‘ Aluminium ” Alloys.— Prof. F. C. Thompson and E. Whitehead: Some Mechanical Pro- perties of the Nickel-Silvers.—Dr. D. Hansonand Marie L, V. Gayler: A Further Study of the Alloys of Aluminium and Zinc.—A. West- wood: The Assay of Gold Bullion. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof, H. M. Lefroy: The Menace of the Insect Pest: The Balance of Life in Relation to Insect Pest Control (2). : 292 NATURE [MakcH 2, 1922 RoyAL Socrery, at 4.30.—Prof. T. R. Merton and S. Barratt: The Spectrum of Hydrogen (Bakerian Lecture). LONDON MATHEMATICAL Soorery (at Royal Astronomical Society), at 5. . Young: The Theory of Functions of Two Complex Variables, —Col. R. L. Hippisley: The Nodes of the Three Bar Sextic.—R. F. Whitehead: The Number of Solutions in Positive Integers of the Equation yz+ze+ay=n.—T. Stuart: The Determination of the Criterion to prevent “ Hunting” in Hartnell’s Governor.—N. Wiener : The Average Value of a Functional,—Lt.-Col. A. Cunningham: On Least Primitive Roots. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, at 5.—Dr. M. Greenwood: The Influence of Industrial Employment on General Health (Milroy Lectures) (1). CHILD-STUDY Society (at Royal Sanitary Institute), at 6.—Miss Coombs, Mrs. Bottrill, and others : Discussion on the Family Group System in Infant School Ss. OPTICAL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30.—T. Smith and J. 8. Anderson: A Criticism of the lea Slide as an Aid in Testing Photographic Lenses.—A. J. Bull: Non-polarising Spectrophotometer.—J. Guild: The Photometry ot Optical Instruments.—T. Smith: A Projective Treatment of the Submarine Periscope.—A. J. Dalladay : Some Measurements of the PH, Sieg Produced at the Surfaces of Glass by Grinding with Loose rasives. INSTITUTE OF METALS (London Section), (at Sir John Cass Technical Institute), at 8.— Dr. D. Hanson: Microstructure and Physical Properties of Alloys. FRIDAY, MARCH 10. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. PHYSICAL SocreTy oF LONDON (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.—R. L. Smith-Rose : The Electromagnetic Sereen- ing of a Triode Oscillator.—Dr. H. P. Waran: A New Form of High Vacuum Automatic Mercury Pump.—W. N. Bond: Viscosity Determinations by means of Orifices and Short Tubes. MALACOLOGICAL Socrmty OF LONDON (at Linnean Society). ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Prof. T. R. Merton: Problems in the Variability of Spectra. SATURDAY, Marcu 11. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Rutherford : Radioactivity (2). PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in @ series.) MONDAY, MARCH 6. City OF LONDON (Boys’) ScHOooL, Victoria Embankment, at 5.30.— Miss Rosa Bassett: The Dalton Plan of Self-education (5). UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.30.—A. R. Powys: : The Preservation of Ancient Buildings. TUESDAY, MARCH 7. IMPERIAL COLLEGE—ROYAL SCHOOL OF vv at 5.30. —Col. Navid Belaiew : The Crystallisation of Metals (3) KING’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—F. H. Rolt: ‘sieaiate Measurements in Mechanical Engineering : The Use and Testing of Gauges (4). LONDON SCHOOL OF Economics, at 6.—Sir Josiah C. Stamp: The Administrative Factor in Government (4 (4). WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8. HAST LONDON COLLEGE, at 4.—Prof. F. E. Fritch: Certain Aspects of Freshwater Algal Biology (4). Lonpon (R.F.H.) oe OF MEDICINE FOR WOMEN (Hunter Street, -C.1), at 5.—Dr. H. H. Dale: Some Recent Developments i in Phar- macology (3). Kine’s CoLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. N. Bohr: The Quantum Theory of Radiation and the Constitution of the Atom (1) .-HORNIMAN MUSEUM (Forest Hill), at 6.—W. W. ‘Skeat : The Living Past in Britain (7). UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 8.—The Current Work of the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratory (4). E.C. Rhodes: The Relation of Caries in the Teeth of School Children to Health and Home Conditions. THURSDAY, MARCH 9. INFANTS’ HOSPITAL (Vincent Square, 8.W.1), at 4.—Dr. W. M. Feld- man: The Physiology of the Infant. SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, at 5.—Dr. L. D. Barnett: The Hindu Culture of India (2). - UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Sir Robert vee: Programme of the Labour. Party.—Prof. J. E Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (5). ‘Kine’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber: Reinforced Concrete (8). FRIDAY, MARCH 10. “METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE (South Kensington, S.W.7), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw: The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (8). NO. 2731, VOL. 109] The Education . G. de Montmorency : TAVISTOCK CLINIC FOR FUNCTIONAL i CASES £m Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), H. The New Psychology and its Bearing Bi anoation | (7). SATURDAY, MARCH 11: coy “not ag TRAINING COLLEGE, at 11.—Prof. J. Adams: The soles HORNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30.—Miss M. A, Murray: — Cleopatra’s Needle and Sun-worship. CONTENTS. PAGE Cycles in the Yield of Crops . : , : . 261 A Searchlight on Solids. (///ustrated). By Prof. A. Smithells, C.M.G.,F.R.S. . |. 3 ; The Use of Light as an Aid to Aerial Navigation The Preservation of Stone. : ‘ rete Ga Mathematics in Japan. By G. B. M. gees University and Educational Intelligence . wieeee Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. . Pa oS : Societies and Academies . . . . eines, Diary of Societies . og Of en For Subscription and Advertisement. 5 f Rates of NATURE see p. Ixxi. if NATURE 293 THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices : MACMILLAN €& CO., LTD., . MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. _ Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. ~ Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830, Awards for Discovery and Invention. example of the changed conditions brought about by the policy of Government encouraging plication of science to industry will be found in Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee ed to consider the Methods of dealing with ions made by Workers aided or maintained from Funds” (pp. 25, H.M.S.O., price 6d. net). re the War this subject was dealt with by Depart- in a manner which frequently caused workers to arbitrators who, if not more sympathetic, might have knowledge of affairs, and act in accordance 1 some guiding principles. There were three which might be adopted by Government ‘ments, involving complete control, control by rm ent with delegation of its rights to its con- tors but leaving commercial use to the inventor, L “finally release from any obligation, with freedom to deal with invention as the inventor pleased. In ose days, however, the cases coming up for decision few, and the number of individuals affected small, as now Government employs a large body of sons on scientific and technical work, any of whom T bs y, a any time, produce an invention. The import- of such an invention, although emanating from laboratory belonging to the Fighting Services, may i ) be produced by the Department of Scientific and Research. Regulations had already been . nNaust®riée res salts of an assisted worker who has hibsen some field for extending knowledge, are under no restriction NO. 2732, VOL. 109] as to publication, an obligation was imposed on him to consult the Department if he desired to make commercial use of his investigations. A patent might then be taken out in the joint names of the inventor and of an Imperial Trust, and the proportional interests of the Department, of the inventor, and of any co- operating bodies were determined by the Department. The inventor assigned all rights in the patent to the Imperial Trust, which it is understood found a difficulty in exploiting patented inventions commercially. Varia- tion in treatment of the subject and the unsatisfactory nature of some of the prevailing conditions thus called for a settlement of the method of treating inventors aided or maintained from public funds, and of the method of utilising their inventions in industry. The Report proceeds to consider the difficult sub- ject of the ownership of inventions made in Govern- ment employment. It deals first with the case of research workers, and secondly with persons not specially employed on research, expressing the view that in connection with such questions as rewards and the enjoyment of commercial rights each case should be decided on its merits. It is clear from the context that, as regards inventions made by research workers, divergent views have been expressed by the numerous witnesses who have been called before the Committee, and the result of a consideration of these views is embodied in the following passage :— “In the case of a research worker employed by Government, the view has been expressed that, since he is employed for the purpose of making investigations and is provided with equipment, accommodation and other facilities at the cost of the State, he should not, as a general rule, be entitled to a reward or to any rights in any invention made in the course of his duty. On the other hand, there is a feeling amongst scientific men that rewards for specially meritorious work would have the effect of encouraging further effort. While we are, on the whole, in agreement with the former view, we consider that these are questions which should be decided in the light of all the circumstances in each case, the general principle being that the invention is the property of the State, and that the reward to the inventor (either by way of a money grant or of a share of patent rights or otherwise) should be increased or diminished in proportion to the remoteness or proximity of the invention to the work for which he was engaged or for which he had special facilities or knowledge as the result of his employment.” From this statement it is apparent that the Com- mittee appreciates that it would be unwise to lay down a rule governing all cases, and that in dealing with the question of rewards the merits of each individual case should be taken into consideration. To bring the matter to an issue certain principles are enunciated, the chief features of which are that a competent authority should define in the light of all the circum- 294 NATURE [ MaRcH 9, 1922 stances of the case the respective rights of the Govern- ment and of the inventor, and decide any reward to which he may be entitled ; that where the rights in an invention capable of commercial exploitation belong to the Government, it should be exploited commercially for the benefit of the Government ; and that the system of dealing with these matters should be uniform for all Government departments. The mechanism for dealing with these matters is next sketched, and from the preceding argument it clearly has to take the form of a central organisation for all Departments of State. Accordingly it is recommended to set up an Inter-Departmental Patents Board having two main functions, one on the lines of the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors, for the purpose of dealing with awards, deciding as to the extent of the assistance due to the inventor’s position in a Department, and determining the share of the Govern- ment in commercial profits, and the other to arrange for the exploitation of patents to the best advantage. The Board itself would fulfil the former function by acting as an Awards Committee, but for the latter, which deals with commercial matters, it would estab- lish an independent Exploitation Committee with its secretary as intermediary. In order to secure the full confidence of the inventor, it is recommended that the Inter-Departmental Patents Board should be a neutral and impartial body, on which are to be found neither representatives of the Departments concerned nor of the technical workers, but that it should have a permanent chairman of sound legal training and experience, and members character- ised by their knowledge of the application of research and invention to industry. As this aspect of the work of the Board is judicial, it is deemed well to keep separate from the commercial aspect, which would be delegated to a committee of a different type—the Exploitation Committee—composed of nominees of the Departments, of the Treasury, and of business men with suitable experience and willing to assist in the exploitation of patents. The Report proceeds to consider more closely the proposed mode of working of the Inter-Departmental Patents Board, this Board sitting as an Awards Com- mittee, and of the Exploitation Committee. The Inter- Departmental Patents Board would have a permanent Chairman, and a small staff, under the Chairman’s direction, would co-ordinate the work of the two Committees. Its cost would be borne by the Treasury, part of whose functions it would have delegated to it ; its awards, however, would not be subject to revision by the Treasury on the ground of amount, but only on questions of principle. An inventor would, in the first place, be deemed to-hold in trust on behalf of the NO. 2732, VOL. 109] Government all rights relating to his invention, but — would be entitled to obtain from the Board a decision — defining his rights, and he would undertake to assign _ his patent if called upon to do so, or the Board might decide to leave the completion of the patent to the inventor for his sole benefit. All non-secret patents in which the State has an owning interest would be assigned, not as at present to a Secretary of State, or to a Departmental Trust, but to a single organisation. The Board would also consider the case of the Govern- — ment servant who was not specially engaged on research — or development work, but who produced an invention. — The Awards Committee would consider the rights of — the inventor in the light of the principles enunciated — above. Except only in respect to awards would this — Committee or the Board itself deal with secret patents — for which the inventor has no possibility of securing — commercial rights and the use of which is limited. De-_ cisions as to maintaining their secrecy must remain in — the hands of the respective Departments, who, if they — desired, could consult in private with the Board. To — avoid an undue burden being thrown upon the Inter- — Departmental Board, it is provided that the Depart- — mental Awards Committee of any Department should 5 act as a committee of the Main Board and have power — to deal with minor cases, forwarding to the Main Board only such cases as appear important as involving principles, or as being likely to result in an award © exceeding roool. ‘ Indications are given in the Report as to the mode . of treatment by the Awards Committee of inventions which are a result of work by a team of part-time workers, and by workers aided by grants given for the sole purpose of increasing the bounds of knowledge. The work of the Exploitation Committee is a matter — of peculiar difficulty, seeing that this Committee would © have to advise as to the advantage of completing protection by patents and exploiting them commer- — cially when patented, and arrange with their business — agents for placing them in the most favourable manner. — It is hoped from experience during the War that men — engaged in industry and commerce would still be — willing to place their services at the disposal of the — State for the achievement of these national aims. It — would be the duty of this Committee to secure profits _ from the useful application of the patents under its | charge, whether from their sale or from licences for — their use. It would have the power of making a final decision, as this is vital in order that business dealings may be brought to an issue quickly and satisfactorily, — and would employ sales agents paid on commission. If demonstrations on the semi-industrial scale, or works: trials on the large scale, appeared desirable, this Com- | mittee would be empowered to carry them out. The f \RCH 9, 1922] NATURE 295 ation Committee would also advise on the out of foreign patents, to be sold outright, so as to avoid the inconvenience of a ent organisation having to maintain a question -y in a foreign country. other matters of interest in this Report may y mentioned. Doubt is expressed as to the s of the practice obtaining in one Department of stopping short at provisional protection se of inventions of value for the preservation of life, or the general use of which could be y a Government Department ; completion is now advised on the ground that very ommercial use can be made of an invention encouragement of meritorious research is recommended in the Report that the ] investigators, or to secure for them ses of salary, within certain limits, and motion out of their grade. The opinion rded that the remuneration of scientific nable security of tenure. 1e Committee states it has not found that Departments are more reluctant than ms to allow the publication of the results of national interest, and it proceeds to point the Government will secure the services of entific ability and reputation, only if such is not withheld except under exceptional node of procedure is recommended to secure for er the opportunity of lodging a provisional on at the Patent Office without submitting his superior officer, who would, however, ed with a copy from the perusal of which he de as to whether the invention should be secret. Attention is directed to the import- advertising to all concerned the conditions regarding the taking out of patents. the main features of this important Report. be denied that there existed an urgent need sd consideration of the whole patent question different Departments of State had varying s and regulations. The matter is one of difficulty, on account of the personal associa- worker with the idea which ultimately leads success ful patented process, while at the same time NO. 2732, VOL. 109] he is in receipt of maintenance and facilities. In spite of one phrase in this Report where the position of Government servants not specially engaged on ex- perimental work is being discussed, in the words that “it was no part of the bargain made between them and the Government Department concerned when they entered into its employment, that they should make discoveries or inventions,” it can safely be said that no such contract of service could reasonably be de- manded. By maintaining a well-equipped establish- ment with adequate facilities and conditions for a well-chosen investigating staff, the employer has a good ground for belief that an atmosphere will be created in which at any time striking new ideas may arise, but he cannot claim to expect more than this in the way of striking developments. It is to this balance of interests that the Committee has applied itself, and in the passage quoted earlier in this notice has defined the position of research worker maintained by the Government, with regard to his claim to owner- ship in inventions. While laying stress on the general principles that the invention of such a worker is the property of the State, and that the reward to the inventor is contingent on the connexion of the invention with the work for which he was engaged, the Report makes clear that in settling the question all the circum- stances of the case will be taken into account, having in mind, no doubt, such matters as the case when a Department desires to keep the invention secret, the merit and importance of the invention, together with any peculiarity in conditions of employment. The tribunal suggested to adjudicate on such points, in view of its neutral character, should go far to- wards securing the confidence of the inventor, more especially as he should no longer be able to point to lack of uniformity in treatment by different branches of the Service. From the body of decisions of this tribunal there will, no doubt, gradually emerge suffi- ciently definite guiding principles to enable new appli- cations to be dealt with expeditiously and fairly. Much will depend on the interpretation of the principles described above in the first decisions arrived at by the Patents Board, and the extent to which encouragement to the scientific worker, one of the objects laid down in the terms of reference, is to result will be watched with interest. Up to this point the Report is fairly clear, and there is no reason why its recommendations should not be carried out satisfactorily. It is to be hoped that it will be equally successful in the much more difficult task of exploiting inventions. Although, under the existing system in some Departments, a Government servant may be able to obtain permission to have reassigned to him the non-Governmental rights of an 296 NATURE [Marcu 9, 1922 invention made in the course of his work in order to exploit it commercially, he is rarely in a position adequately to carry this through, either from want of time on account of his normal duties, or from want of business ability. The inventor had the alternative in the event of a process proving an important one either to leave the Government Service and devote himself to his patent, or to remain in the Service and see the success of his invention jeopardised in its civil applications. The exploitation of Government-owned inventions by business men who have had experience in work of this kind is the only other way out of the difficulty that can readily be seen, and it is to be hoped that the confidence of the Committee will be justified by suitable public-spirited men coming forward to take up the work. The Report bears internal evidence of much thought and consideration of diverse opinions, and thanks are due to members of the Committee for their hopeful effort to suggest an organisation which, by settling claims and disputes definitely and rapidly, will thereby remove. an impediment to progress in investigation and at the same time afford the worker the opportunity of stating his case. Principles and Problems of Aeronautics. The Mechanical Principles of the Aeroplane. By Dr. S. Brodetsky. Pp. vii+272. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1921.) 21s. net. “HE entry of Dr. Brodetsky into the ranks of workers on aeronautical topics marks an important development in the higher study of aerial navigation. Why the achievements of modern aviation have not from the outset been built up on a sub- structure of purely abstract mathematical theory such as has arisen concomitantly with other branches of physics and engineering is difficult to- understand. The behaviour of laminz and other bodies moving through a medium under assumed laws of resistance, whether artificially propelled or otherwise, opens up a vast collection of problems which might well have occupied the attention of mathematicians and been illustrated by experiments with models long before the evolution of the full-sized aeroplane. this being done, flying machines have been built, flown, wrecked, and their pilots killed, by designers who have not even fully appreciated such elementary facts as that when an aeroplane is moving with uniform velocity the forces acting on it must be in equilibrium, that three forces in equilibrium must meet in a point, that an aeroplane has six degrees of freedom, that stability and equilibrium are not the same thing, and so forth. Whether the Tarrant triplane could have NO. 2732, VOL. 109] Instead of been saved by a full appreciation on the part of its” ¢ pilots of the validity of the equation of initial angular acceleration, Id?6/dt? =M, or numerous aviators saved from death by a better knowledge of the forces and couples on which longitudinal and lateral stability depend, are debatable questions. Meanwhile mathe- maticians of repute have attacked the writer of this review for intimating that a fuller theoretical study.) of the problem should be undertaken. q The National Physical Laboratory and si? Royal - Aircraft Establishment have absorbed many of the most enlightened of our university graduates who are competent to study aeronautical problems, afd — they are doing excellent work there. But, unfortun- — ately, the amount of constructional work. that had — been going on while the mathematicians of our univer- _ sities were making and marking examination questions, — with their eyes shut to the outside world, has thrust — on our Government institutions vast arrears of ques- tions arising out of the engineering and physical ¥ difficulties associated with aviation. It is therefore — not surprising that scarcely any one previous to” Dr. § Brodetsky has started at the opposite end and tried ; to fathom the capabilities of pure mathematical reason- ing as distinct from experiment in throwing light on 4 the study of aeronautical problems. “a A notable exception is afforded by Mr. Lanchester; a whose two volumes certainly represent a genuine : attempt to investigate the behaviour of aeroplanes — as deduced from a priori reasoning. But the subject — was bristling with mathematical difficulties of a cut- and-dried character quite outside the scope of Lan- chester’s resources, and no mathematician would take up the challenges so oft repeated in NATURE until — Dr. Brodetsky came on the scene. Contrast this : state of affairs with the past history of electrical engin- — ] eering, in which subject mathematical tripos candi- _ dates were being worried with solutions of Laplace’s — equations for infinitely long charged cylinders and condi- { tions for solenoidal and lamellar magnets long before — Lord Kelvin presented Peterhouse with its electric light. 4 In recent years nearly every publisher has decided — that there is a demand for an up-to-date book on — : aeronautics, and has got some one to write one. In — all these books the effects of the policy of “ putting — the cart before the horse” is painfully evident. The mathematics is usually of a very elementary and insufficient character until we are confronted with the invariable chapter headed “ Stability, Mathe- — matical Theory.” This is usually nothing more or less _ than a sre copy of part of the “Science Mono- — graph ” “Stability in Aviation” by the present writer, sacligienied by a misuse of signs and symbols | and a total disregard for all the accepted doctrines ; : peat 9, 1922] NATURE 297 ding elegance of mathematical style and form are calculated to produce chaos and confusion study of stability for years to come. “presenting students of aeronautics with the satise that is thoroughly imbued with the ideals ‘of the best mathematical school of Cam- Dr. Brodetsky is performing for aviation what Bay of Biscay, depending principally on the ic right whale, can also be traced back to an date, since it was at its apogee in the twelfth and enth centuries (p. 61). The Basques appear to yaged to Newfoundland as early as 1372 (p. 64), icipating Columbus by more than a century. haps surprise the general reader to learn that a name derived from the Dutch ¢raan, a tear . is mentioned as a material “to the great - and benefit of this our Realm of England,” by Queen Elizabeth, 1576-7 (p. 303). ly three centuries the Greenland whale occu- position of special importance in the industry, at the neighbourhood of Spitsbergen (from about later in Davis Straits (from 1718), and in the ific and the Arctic Ocean beyond Bering later (from 1846). The sperm whale had meanwhile become so important as to based on the Greenland whale, starting off nd about 1614 (p. 223), and afterwards g into the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian The Pacific grey whale was hunted for a short period off the coast of California, an al method of capture having previously been by the Indians. The operations off Iceland, dland, Japan, the British coasts (on a larger 1 is generally recognised), and Spain are the concluding chapter, which also deals specially important modern development of 1g carried on since 1905 in the neighbourhood ctic continent, as well as off the coasts Africa and South America. This subject, public interest, deserved fuller treatment. does not sufficiently emphasise in the deplorable reduction in the number of way it explains the history of the study of on the basis of international agreement, the al specification of ten cloud types, the inter- al atlas of 1895, the revision at the International rence at Innsbruck in 1905 and the republication atlas in 1910, which included the ten types and variants with a special note on clouds of a type lenticularis,” the importance of which be- increasingly evident. In the meantime (1907) e M. Vincent, of the observatory at Uccle, s, had published an atlas of cloud-forms with more elaborate classification, which had been by Dr. Loisel, of the observatory of Juvisy in 1911. The suggested classification includes species, comprising twenty-one varieties of lower _two species, twelve varieties of middle cloud may further require one of the adjectives latus,”’ “ striatus,’ or ‘“‘mammatus”); and jur species, nineteen varieties of high cloud, which lay require further discrimination as “ undulatus,” her fifty-two forms of cloud to be discriminated, yards of one hundred if discrimination by ad- tives is included. Of the many additional variants are thus introduced, two—namely, pallio-nimbus, . seems to be a good formula for a rainy day, NO. 2732, VOL. 109] and alto-cumulus castellatus, a sign of approaching thunder—seem to have acquired merit. Signor Taffara accepts this classification as being the most complete, and in his atlas gives forty-nine photographs (includ- ing three autochromes), most of them by himself, but some by Mascari, Loisel, Gamba, Ponte, Peret, Neuhaus, a pastel by Scalla, and two water-colour drawings, which illustrate thirty-six of the hundred examples, and one more type in addition, which is defined as “lenticularis.” It does not occur in the list quoted from Vincent. The reproduction of the photographs is excellent ; the art of photography of clouds is the subject of a special chapter of the text. The collection forms a beautiful book. Among the pictures are two very definite types of cloud which belong to the region of Mount Etna and are admirably represented by reproductions of Signor A. Marcari’s photographs ; these are “la serpe,” a long serpentine cloud shown straggling along like a snake, low on the mountain; and “Contessa del vento,” a stationary cloud of the Valle del Bove, of which no fewer than five examples are given. These clouds are disposed of in the classification as being ‘“‘ cumulus humilis,” in association with other cumulus of low level; but the obviously lenticular nature of the “Contessa del vento” marks it out as’ being something entirely different from any of the hundred forms. It looks like a gigantic white turban, the crown of which merges into other clouds, and it suggests the core of an eddy, possibly formed mechanic- ally by the mountain, since-all lenticular clouds seem to be associated with peculiar dynamical conditions due to the unevenness of the surface. If the lenticular shape indicates the locus of formation of cloud in wind that blows through the cloud, not with it, as it appears to do in other cases, we have apparently in these clouds an opportunity for studying the con- ‘ditions at close quarters. We are scarcely yet in a position to make a final classification of clouds, and the elaborate classifica- tion into some hundred forms is somewhat premature. Presumably we should begin by drawing a dis- tinction between individual clouds and cloud-groups. Cumulus is a cloud, alto-cumulus a cloud-group. It is questionable whether a vast layer which discloses small cumulus on its margins is fairly classified by the. appearance of the cloudlets there. We have no sufficient principles of classification, and for that reason a multitude of discriminatory characteristics scarcely helps us at this stage. The contribution to our knowledge of different forms which the Ufficio Reale has made through the agency of Prof. Taffara is a valuable addition to the material from which classification will at some time emerge. It seems 302 NATURE [ Marcu 9, 1922 desirable that the path should not be encumbered beforehand with: too many adjectives, though it may be confessed that Latin adjectives have a peculiar fascination. They trip so lightly off the tongue that when one begins to use them one scarcely knows where to stop. NAPIER SHAW. Prehistoric Western Europe. (1) The New Stone Age in Northern Europe. By Prof. J. M. Tyler. Pp. xviiit+310. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) © 15s. net.. (2) Man and His Past. By O. G. S. Crawford. Pp. xv+227. (London: Oxford University Press, 1921.) tos. 6d. net. E gladly extend a welcome to these two books as real signs of a publishing revival as well as of the widespread interest in the far past due to the diffusion of the idea that, when some day we find the right clues, prehistoric Western Europe will become almost as fascinating as the prehistoric A’gean has become through the great advances of knowledge in the last generation. Both writers have in view the general public, but their aims are very different. Prof. Tyler has striven to interpret the results of research up to about 1912 so as to give the reader a fairly connected story, but in spite of cautious reserve, here and there he unfortunately obscures many difficulties, and suggests that knowledge exists where the careful worker knows only the depths of ignorance. Mr. Crawford, like Prof. Tyler, has also an annoying habit of discursive remarks on things in general, and these irrelevancies make his book larger than it need have been ; but his valuable purpose is evidently to stimu- late the local archeologist and to enlighten him as to methods in those provinces of study which he can legitimately occupy. It is a sign of progress that both books look back to Déchelette, the acceptance of whose work now marks any book that claims serious attention, at any rate if it deals with Paleolithic times. But Prof. Tyler carries over a great deal from far older and less trustworthy sources into the new period and gives us a most danger- ous sketch of the coming of the ‘“‘ Indo-Aryans,”’ that name of ill omen in archeology. Moreover, he has not taken Déchelette’s maps to heart, and needs to learn the lesson Mr. Crawford sets out to teach, namely, that finds and prehistoric remains of all kinds need to be mapped accurately for serious geographical study. Mr. Crawford will not think it amiss if we say that among his papers (e.g. Geog. Journ., 1912) are many things that. teach the lesson more effectively than this NO. 2732, VOL. 109] present book. None the less, precept does come with a certain appropriateness from a well-known practician, _ and Mr. Crawford’s suggestions about road tracing imply that he is going to develop the archeological data a on our ordnance maps in his new and appropriate zl position as Archeologist to the Ordnance Survey. (1) After reading Prof. Tyler’s book, one is more than | ever convinced of the need for a careful resurvey of all the evidence for the periods that are commonly sup- posed to intervene between the Magdalenian and the — Some megaliths almost certainly belong to the Bronze age even if bronze finds _ beginning of the Bronze age. do not occur in them, and some of the finds of polished stone axes, and so on, are in danger of being shown to — belong to the Metal ages. On the other hand, some finds of flints of Azilian and perhaps earlier types are likely to be shown also to belong to later dates and even to the Iron age. In other words, survivals of late Paleolithic cultures seem to have lingered on into the Metal ages in N.W. Europe, and metal seems to have come in gradually, locally, and partially, so that the so-called Neolithic period, while still acknowledged to be real enough, is seeing both its limits fade away. Prof. Tyler is perhaps justified in neglecting these — refinements, but a more definite consciousness of them, as well as a study of the files of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, especially for Mr. H. J, Peake’s papers, would have helped him over many a stile. . Perhaps his chapter on Megaliths is the most in- adequate in a book that must be considered, broadly, a failure, in spite of several points which are at any rate suggestive. Take, for example, the contrasts in dis- tribution between so-called dolmens and allées couvertes, and the similarities between the spread of the latter and that of menhirs. The peculiar localisation of holed dolmens, the relation of the allée couverte to the English long barrow and the Scottish long cairn, whether holed or not, as well as to the Ganggrdber of North Germany, are all points for serious study by the next person who tries to make a prehistoric synthesis. The views of Perry and others about the relation of dolmen building to metal seeking—prospecting for gold, copper, and tin —should have been studied critically ; while Aber- cromby’s “‘ Bronze Age Pottery,” with its discussion of the beaker, should have been brought into relation With such study, a much more — vital view of line of movement round about the end of | with the loess zone. the Neolithic age would have been gained. We greatly need a synthetic statement of the diverse movements of that transition time heralding the opening of the age ~ Guérin’s amplifications of Déchelette’s views on nt incised figures and idols. @ movements outlined above must be taken account by linguists who wish to find a link archeology, and it will probably be through ging of that link that the great advance we ¢ for will occur. It is possible to argue for the ead of at least some elements of the languages older philologists along the lines of distribution cer pottery, but it is quite likely that those re elements travelled far later, with other ical correlatives, along the line determined measure by the presence of loess and the ent weakness of forest and swamp. One may ' the statement that probably rather by such aan by the more exclusively philological ones ed by Prof. Tyler will our knowledge of the of the European languages be improved, and ws as to their adoption, with modification, by who were not bred with them, made precise. t, it seems more than likely that our great es of European languages in several cases illustrate yption of a language-basis from foreigners rather differentiation of languages by process of time m a single common ancestor. The references to ly religion that Prof. Tyler gives seem specially werous in the dim light of present-day doubt. Mr. Crawford’s book shows he has been trying is thoughts in order after the trials and diffi- of war service, and, in the midst of discursive ties, one does frequently come upon points for the student who wants to take his arche- y and to see man at each period in his relation to the local environment of that period. tely, Mr. Crawford is alive to the fact that the nent changes with the period even after the of the Ice age. He sees that the clearing of rests and the draining of swamps have made vast iona of communication, and he understands the Ities of argument on these complex problems. an impassioned eulogist of old roads and of the of tracing them, and the beginner in prehistory anxious to get hold of method, rather than of will find Mr. Crawford’s book interesting ‘and ble, though he may be left wondering why the t did not omit a good deal of general talk and = student a or deal more help along his - e Se a ‘No. 2732, VOL. 109]. forty years ago. mces to men’s opportunities for movement and Rosenbusch’s Petrology. Mikroskopische Physiographie der petrographisch- wichtigen Mineralien. By H. Rosenbusch. Band 1. Erste Halfte. Untersuchungsmethoden. Fiinfte, vollig umgestaltete, Auflage. By Prof. E. A. Wilfing. Lieferung 1. Pp. xvi+252. (Stuttgart : E. Schweizerbart’sche poenee achbandiong (Erwin Nagele), 1921.) 16s. LL who are interested in petrological studies will welcome a new edition of this familiar text-book, which made its first appearance nearly Every subsequent edition has ex- ceeded its predecessor in size and completeness, and the fifth, to judge from this instalment of the first half of the first volume, is not likely to prove an exception. It is true that some of the topics dealt with in earlier editions, such as the principles of stereographic projection, are omitted as being now sufficiently familiar to the student, but the space thus saved, and more, is required for the develop- ments during the seventeen years that have elapsed since the previous edition was published. This issue is the work of Prof. E. A. Wiilfing, the author of the admirable account of the methods employed in the microscopical examination of minerals in the fourth edition of the book, and the successor of Rosenbusch at Heidelberg. It has been to a large extent rewritten, and there is a decided advance in the clearness with which the fundamental principles are explained, even if the mathematical aspect of the subject is perhaps still somewhat over-emphasised in places. The first forty pages are haainiy devoted to a detailed description of the most up-to-date methods of cutting, grinding, and mounting thin slices of rocks. This is followed by an exposition of the author’s views on the nature of light and an account of its properties in both isotropic and anisotropic media, including the phenomena of absorption and pleochroism. There is also a useful section devoted to the methods of producing polarised light in which the different forms of prism that have been devised for the purpose are described, and another to the production of mono- chromatic light. The text is accompanied by numerous clearly drawn illustrations, many of which appear for the first time, and there is a handsome coloured plate giving the succession of Newton’s colours, the amount of relative retardation corresponding to the different tints, and the usual graphic representation of the relation between birefringence, thickness, and relative retardation. Joun W. Evans. 304 NATURE [Marcu 9, 1922 Our Bookshelf. An Agricultural Atlas of Wales. Made on behalf of the Institute for Research in Agricultural Economics, University of Oxford, by J. Pryse Howell. Pp. iii +23 maps+3 maps in pocket. (Southampton: Ordnance Survey, 1921.) 5s. net. It is to be hoped that the enterprise of the Ordnance Survey in publishing an agricultural atlas of Wales will be rewarded sufficiently to facilitate the publica- tion of similar atlases for regions of England. © Mr. J. Pryse Howell has worked at agricultural surveys for years at Aberystwyth and at Oxford, and the present atlas does considerable credit to his care and industry. It is based on parochial returns, and consists of twenty- three maps, one for each agricultural product. There are also three loose maps in colour giving the orography, geology, and rainfall of Wales, and as the agricultural maps are on translucent paper they can be super- imposed on the loose maps in order to trace correlations. It is a pity that the revision of Welsh geology is not yet sufficiently complete to give a better representa- tion of the stratigraphy of West Wales based onthe work of Prof. O. T. Jones and the correlation with geological facts. The correlations traceable often depend more on the drift than on the solid geology, though these maps of Wales are mostly of a kind simpler than one would find in England, for in Wales the greater part. of the surface is impervious soil on hard rocks, and agriculture is dominated by oro- graphical conditions which so greatly influence rain-- fall. In England the influence of soil would be more complex. The agricultural relations of the belt between the Vale of Clwyd and the Dee at Corwen, of the lower Montgomeryshire Severn, the parallels between pigs and potatoes, and many other points, stand out clearly, while the curious distribution of lucerne, sainfoin, clover, and grasses under rotation prompts a number of questions. The atlas should be used widely by agriculturists and economists, by persons interested in local administration, and by teachers, especially teachers of geography. The Silver Bromide Grain of Photographic Emulsions. By A. P. H. Trivelli and S. E. Sheppard. (Mono- graphs on the Theory of Photography from the Research Laboratory of the Eastman Kodak Co.) Pp. 143. (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. ; London: Kodak, Ltd., rg21.) 15s. TuE research laboratory of the Eastman Kodak Co. has in preparation a series of monographs on the theory of photography. The time is ripe for the presentation in a connected sequence of the work done and the results obtained, for these are very numerous and very scattered. The present volume ‘is the first issued, and presumably may be regarded ‘as a sample of those that are to follow. The company, the laboratory, and the authors are to be congratulated in that théy have made so good a beginning. The authors have been engaged for some years in the ‘practical study of the subject with which they deal, and they give some results that have not been pub- lished: before. A study of the relations that exist between the sizes of the grains and their photographic NO. 2732, VOL. 109] properties is reserved for a future monograph, though it is by no means neglected in the present treatise. 2 The first half of the volume deals with the influence — of ammonia on photographic emulsions and a theory of ripening ; von Weimarn’s theory and the determina- tion of the dispersity of silver bromide precipitates ; accessory factors influencing the dispersity of me ’ and * capillarity and crystalline growth. The intimate — relation between grain structure and photographic — properties is, however, fundamentally a matter of — crystallographic investigation, and the remainder of — the volume is devoted to this matter in five chapters. — The authors state that “when the experimental con- — bromide emulsions; crystallisation catalysis ; ditions regulating the three primary factors, (z) dispersity-distribution, (2) recrystallisation, and (3) sorption (both adsorption and desorption), are com- 4 pletely known, scientific control of the characteristic curve—z.e. of speed, latitude, and density—will be possible.” The book is copiously illustrated and well indexed; it has many summaries, all necessary references, and an extensive bibliography. Cat Indian Science Congress: Handbook for the Use of Members attending the Ninth Meeting to be held at Madras from the Thirtieth of January to the Fourth of February, 1922. Pp. x+165. (Madras: Capt. Clive Newcomb, Chemical Examiner, 1921.) Tue Indian Science Congress has held annual meetings in various parts of India yearly since 1914 much on the lines of the British Association for the Advance- ment of Science, and the handbook issued for this year’s meetings contains a number of interesting articles by experts, including a brief history of Madras and its Corporation, descriptions of the museum and Connemara Public Library, the Madras Harbour, the new city waterworks and the chlorination purification of the supply, and an interesting account of places of historical interest within twenty miles of the city. General education in Madras is dealt with by the principal of the Presidency College, and medical education by the principal of the Medical College. The remainder of the little book is occupied with accounts of scientific work in the Presidency in different branches of knowledge, and includes the work of the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, situated several _ miles from the city and concerned chiefly with hygiene, and an interesting account of the valuable practical investigations being carried out at the Agricultural and Research Institute at Coimbatore by the Director of Agriculture. Contributions on prehistoric arche- 3 ology, the anthropology of Southern India, marine zoology, the geology of Madras, and biological work 7 there, complete an instructive handbook which is very " suitable for the purpose for which it has been designed. ; De Treatise on Fractures in General, Industrial, ‘and Military Practice. By Prof. J. B. Roberts and Dr. J. A. Kelly. Second edition, revised and entirely reset. Pp. x + 755. Tue authors of this volume have set out, as they claim in their preface, to present a lucid view of the subject : (Philadelphia and — London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1921.) 42s. net.. i Dee ¢) 3 a Le gestalt here Mace 9, 1922] NATURE 395 1 the light of recent discoveries, to point out an te scientific procedure, whether operative or a ocdine to the character of individual injuries, urge the general practitioner, as well as the specialist, to the study of methods which, as ence indicates, have given the best results. consequence of experience gained during the > treatment of gunshot and other wounds of been revolutionised, because the distinction septic fractures with unbroken skin and those of bone which have been exposed to infection fully ped. The authors insist that much d teaching as regards the treatment of fractures ids good, as, for example, Lucas-Championniére’s i as to early mobilisation and gentle massage valuable for restoring contour and function in ‘of shafts and joint-ends of bones. They urge 1, intelligent, and frequent examination of instead of a too absolute reliance on radio- Tbe lustre by inexperienced laboratory _ The illustrations so very necessary in a book of this nature are, without excep- f ellent , and will be found a great help in ing - the text. Indeed, it is the most complete Ir ipreher sive book on a very important branch ry that we have yet seen and it may be regarded of the few good results of the world-war. Materials of Perfumery: Their Nature, ce and Employment. By E. J. Parry. itman’s Common Commodities and Industries.) .ix+112. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, » n.d.) 3s. net. the last half-century perfumery has in part a branch of synthetic organic chemistry. . the odoriferous constituents of natural per- (e.g. vanillin and heliotropine) are prepared tically in a pure state, and some substitutes “artificial musk,” trinitrobutyl xylene) for 1 perfumes are now in use. The rare natural nes such as musk have not yet been produced t-tube. With the production of the materials, the perfumer’s art has made only a beginning depends on the skilful blending of the con- mts. Mr. Parry has given a simple and interest- ecount of his subject. It is non-technical, and FE ge have included a little more of the By involved. The latter is of so complicated =e eter that it would perhaps not have been in- e to the ordinary reader. The address of the ent of the Chemical Section of the British Associa- st year (NATURE, October 20, 1921, p. 243) shows, Tr, that something can be done in this direction. ischen Arbeitsmethoden. Edited by r. Emil Abderhalden. Leiferung 45, Abt. 5, zum Studium der Funktionen der einzelnen e der tierischen Organismus. Teil 7, Heft 2, , . Pp. 197-260. (Berlin und Wien: Fund Schwarzenberg, 1921.) 28.80 marks. section on the analysis of sounds in Prof. Abder- en’s tensive “Handbuch ” is written by. Dr. E. It contains accounts of the use of mechanical ors for the analysis of a periodic curve, and of thod of calculating the terms of the Fourier ‘NO. 2732, VOL. 109] series from ordinates at regular distances apart. Tables are given to facilitate the calculation when seventy-two ordinates are measured per period. It is not often that so many ordinates are taken, but when it is necessary or desirable the tables will save much time and trouble. A Course of Practical Organic Chemistry. By Dr. T. Slater Price and Dr. D. F. Twiss. Third edition. Pp. xiv+239. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1922.) 6s. 6d. In this edition minor alterations have been made to bring the subject-matter up to date. The methods of preparation of typical organic compounds and the quantitative analysis of compounds of carbon, hydro- gen, nitrogen, the halogens, sulphur, and phosphorus, are well described. The scheme given for the identifica- tion of ‘‘an organic compound ” is too incomplete to satisfy ordinary requirements, and could usefully be extended in future editions. Mixtures should also be considered. Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other: part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | The Langley Machine and the Hammondsport Trials. THE leading articles in NATURE of November 3 and January 26 last appear to have missed the point of my discourse on the Langley Machine and the Ham- mondsport Trials. My paper was written to expose a fallacy in which officials of the Smithsonian In- stitution had used their great opportunities for im- posing upon the public a false belief that the Langley machine had been flown in 1914. The leading articles in NATURE, instead of making any denial of the charge that vital changes were made in the Langley machine at Hammondsport before any flight was attempted, contend that my “ paper tends to give an erroneous impression of the import- ance of the part played by the Wright Brothers ” in the producing of the first man-carrying fpecion ae NaturRE suggests that it was Langley who did the laborious work of preparing the scientific data upon which the first aeroplane design was based, and that the Wright Brothers merely contributed the system of wing warping—the final step or “ keystone ’’—in the problem of flight. The writer of the articles in NATURE refers to Sir Richard Gregory’s book “‘ Dis- spvery® ’ from which he makes two quotations. I agree with the author of ‘’ Discovery *’ that many great inventions are based upon pure science, and that often the person who receives the credit for an invention is the one who has added some mechanism which turns the scientific knowledge of another to practical use. In the facts in regard to the invention of the aeroplane, however, the author of “ Discovery ” and the writer of the leading articles in NATURE are in error. The real truth of the discovery of flight is that the Wright Brothers first established a scientific basis for aeroplane design ; they then invented the mechanical means for putting this scientific know- ledge to practical use. The spectacular nature of the latter has blinded the public to the importance of the former, M 2 306 NATURE [Marcu 9, 1922 In 1914, when I was beginning the preparation of my paper on the “ Life and Work of Wilbur Wright,”’ which was read in 1916 as the fourth Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, I: visited America to collect material for this lecture. During my stay, which extended over several months, I also studied the practical side of aviation and, at the age of forty- seven, made over a hundred flights on the “ unstable ” Wright machine. While in Dayton I was allowed to examine, with the privilege of copying, much of the personal correspondence and diaries, as well as the records of the early purely scientific work, of the Wright Brothers. I saw the original balances and twenty or thirty (out of the great number) of the original test surfaces with which the Wright Brothers in 1901 made thousands of measurements in a wind tunnel of the lift and drift and the travel of the centre of pressure on plane and curved surfaces. Copies of the tables obtained from these tests were also given to others who. were interested in the problem of flight. These laboratory measurements (Century Magazine, September 1908, pp. 646-647) covered a field many times greater than had been covered by the work of all other experimenters together. But the importance of the measurements lay in their accuracy. These tables did not agree with the measurements made by Langley or by any of the other experimenters. The Wright Brothers, finding that all marine propellers at that time were based upon empirical formule, made a study of propellers by analysing the various dynamic reactions. From these studies they evolved a theory. The propellers used on their first power machine were probably the first ever designed from theory and not from experiment. They made ex- tended studies into the principles of equilibrium, ard in this field made important scientific discoveries. Their mechanical means for carrying some of these principles into effect were patented, and the resulting litigation attracted so much attention as to cause the scientific work upon which the patents were based to go without notice. It was upon their own tables and other scientific work that the Wright Brothers built their first power machine. These scientific experiments were made entirely at the expense of the Wright Brothers themselves, and with no thought or expectation of any other reward than the satisfaction of discovering things unknown before and the honour that naturally comes as a result. It was not until they attempted to build a power machine to carry this scientific knowledge into practical use, an expense too great for their small means, that they took out patents. My address on the “‘ Langley Machine and the Hammondsport Trials ’’ was not a criticism of Langley nor of his scientific work. This was not a point at issue in my paper. But since the writer of the articles in NATURE now brings this into the discussion, I feel that some of his statements should not b allowed to pass uncorrected. : NaTuRE is in error in attributing the discovery to Langley of the inherent stability effect of the dihedral angle of the wings adopted by Langley in his models. This method of maintaining lateral stability in calm air was published by Sir George Cayley a hundred years ago, and was used by Penaud in his flying models in 1870 and 1871. It has never yet been solely relied on for lateral balance in actual human flight, having been always supplemented by aileron control. The writer in NATURE says: “So far backas July 23, 1891, a paper on his (Langley’s) experimental re- searches is to be found in Nature, showing that the flight of a man-carrying aeroplane was possible, and enunciating the fundamental principles for obtaining NO. 2732, VOL. 109 | a design.’”’ The demonstration referred to as ‘‘ show- ing that the flight of a man-carrying aeroplane was possible,’’ was stated on page 107, ‘‘ Experiments in Aerodynamics,’’ where Dr. Langley says, “such mechanical flight is possible with engines we now possess, since . . . one horse-power rightly applied, can sustain over 200 pounds in the air at a horizontal velocity of over 20 meters per second (about 45 miles an hour) and still more at still higher velocities.” This statement was based upon the mistaken prin- ciple published’ by Sir George Cayley in Nicholson’s Philosophical J ournal of November, 1809, and accepted by most experimenters thereafter, that the pressures on a plane were normal to the surface of the plane, and that the drag was equal to the lift multiplied by the tangent of the angle of incidence. Langley’s actual measurements did not confirm this theory, — but he assumed (page 65, ‘“‘ Experiments in Aero- dynamics ”’) that if he had made certain modifications — | in the planes he was measuring other results would have been secured which would have confirmed it. It was this assumption that formed the basis of his demonstration that one horse-power would sustain 200 pounds at a speed of 45 miles an hour. As a matter of fact his actual measurements (page 64) showed that one horse-power could carry only 60 pounds at 45 miles an hour. 5 The other fundamental Langley in 1891 was that known as the “ Langl Law,” which was that the faster an aeroplane be flown the less will be the power required to sustain it. The fallacy of this law is well known to all aeronautical engineers to-day, but up to 1910 this was generally considered as Langley’s chief contribu- tion to the science of aerodynamics. In that year when the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution decided upon the placing of a bronze tablet in the Institution commemorating Langley’s work in aero- dynamics, they ordered the following legend to be inscribed upon it :— a ie SAMUEL PIERPONT LANGLEY 1834-1906 SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1888-1906. AERONAUTICS: 2 LancLtey Law: ‘‘ These new experiments show that if in such aerial motion there be given a — plane of fixed size and weight, inclined at such ~ an angle, and moved forward at such speed that it shall be sustained in horizontal flight, then the more rapid the motion is, the Jess will be the — power required to support and advance it.”— — Langley, ‘‘ Experiments in Aerodynamics,” 1891, _ Pp. 3. “T have brought to a close the port, 1900, p. 216. FLIGHTS : Steam model, May 6, and November 28, 1896. Gasoline mode], August 8, 1903. . Before the tablet was cast, the Wright Brothers. a -were consulted as to the advisability of using this — inscription and they, not wishing that anything dis- creditable to Langley should appear on the tablet, Mr. Wilbur Wright wrote a letter to Secretary Walcott, from which the following is quoted :— capes ‘“T have often remarked to my brother that Prof. Langley was ill-fated in that he had been especially principle enuncié ted by rtion of the — work which seemed to be specially mine—the ~ demonstration of the practicability of mechanical — flight.’’-—Langley Aerodrome, Smithsonian Re-~ i i = ee tee et ta si Nac ns : 2 Se ae Satin os tee tic een ay ‘allt som/ Ries ty. oer +a q he Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE 397 ised by his enemies for things which were de- ng of highest praise and especially praised by friends for things which were unfortunate lapses scientific accuracy. I should consider it both and unfair to him to specially rest his reputa- aerodynamics upon the so-called Langley Law, n the computation which gave rise to it, as ) not seem to represent his best work. The ar computations which led him to enunciate y are found on pages 63-67, ‘ Experiments in odynamics.’ A careful reading shows that he r actually tried the experiments of which he to give the result. . . . It is clear from the tement that he never demonstrated by riment that weight could be carried at 200 pounds per horse-power at 20 meters nor that the power consumed decreased ise of speed up to some remote limit not in ig He merely assumed that _ have done it by varying the experiments a nd based the so-called Langley Law on this en assumption.”’ gents of the Smithsonian Institution adopted Sg and the Langley Law was not inscribed ticle in NATURE of November 3 states that tight Brothers are equally clear in their dgment of Langley’s work,’ and gives a from them to support this idea. This , taken in connection with the suggestion e writer in NATURE, may have carried to some the erroneous impression that the Wright acknowledged an indebtness to Langley for tific work. This was not the fact. The _ given makes no reference whatever to scientific work. It is simply a generous ment by the Wrights at the time of leath for the inspiration received from his he ey of human flight, and contain- expression of gratitude for information as on the subject of flight other than those Iready read. The Wright Brothers have wledged their indebtedness to Chanute, and others, but have always made it clear greatest debt was to Lilienthal. ‘a GRIFFITH BREWER. ry Lane, London, W.C.z2. ME difficulty is felt in continuing a discussion of tive merits of the gréat pioneers in aviation, ngley and the Wright Brothers, ‘since they entitled to our esteem, and comparison seems ns. Mr. Griffith Brewer does not dissent from such a general statement, but uspects that his enthusiastic admiration for the the Wright Brothers has led him to make int claims. nage ss very surprising to hear that ‘“‘ the Wright s first established a scientific basis for aero- design,’ and that their laboratory measure- ““ covered a field many times greater than had covered by the work of all other experimenters ner.” The only publication cited in support s contention occurs in two pages of the Century zine in 1908, and readers of scientific literature nautics will realise that they do not know to look for data based on the work of the Brothers. Indeed, Mr. Brewer indicates that ist be so when he says, ‘“‘ While in Dayton (in was allowed to examine, with the privilege ing, much of the personal correspondence and Ss, as well as the records of the early puiely ‘ific work of the Wright Brothers’; apparently ‘NO. 2732, VOL. 109] the work was not publicly available. Is it then strange that one should look to Langley as the scientific pioneer, since he took the normal steps of a man of science and published complete accounts of his results as he obtained them ? Mr. Brewer refers to the “‘ Langley Law ” that the faster an aeroplane be flown the less will be the power required to sustain it. He says: ‘The fallacy of this law is well known to all aeronautical engineers to-day, but up to 1910 this was generally accepted as Langley’s chief contiibution to the science of aerodynamics.” The inadequacy of the law is evident now, but it is still at least partly true; in the case of the most modern aeroplanes the horse- power-for flight decreases as the speed increases from the least at which support can be obtained. The increase of power required to increase the speed of the modein aeroplane above a certain limit is due to the light-weight engine, a factor which did not come into consideration in early practice. The error of unsound extrapolation outside the experience of the day was made, but only superficial observers could regard the enunciation of the law as “ Langley’s chief contribution ”’ to aeronautical research. One can only disagree with Mr. Brewer in his review of the situation and regret that this aspect of pioneer work in aviation was introduced in the tone of the paper on “ The Langley Machine and the Hammonds- port Trials.” The point of the paper was not so much missed, as suggested by Mr. Brewer, as countered owing to the fact that the statements therein did not carry conviction. One of the articles in NATURE intimated this in the suggestion that the Royal Aeronautical Society should take up the matter and after full investigation issue an official report. The views on the Langley aeroplane expressed by M1. Brewer cannot be accepted as final although given in all good faith. THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLES. Some Biological Problems. Dr. CUNNINGHAM (NATURE, February 9, p. 173) cannot be more weary of this discussion than I. It is many years since I, becoming doubtful, first tried to discover the precise meaning of certain biological key-words. To this day I have not succeeded. It has been my misfortune to encounter authoritative people who, instead of perceiving that I was genuinely puzzled, thought I might do “ much harm by leading many who have no special knowledge of heredity and evolution ’’—e.g. Professors Goodrich and Bayliss— “to distrust the work of those who are engaged in research on these subjects.’’ May I suggest that in this matter authority and regard for public opinion are out of place. Most biologists profess to know the meanings of their terms; but there is no agree- ment, and no definitions can be framed which cover the whole of common and accepted usage. A science which lacks a precise and significant means of expres- sion labours under paralysing difficulties. Dr. Ruggles Gates thinks that a variation is a character. Surely he is mistaken. When one in- dividual varies from another (e.g. child from parent) the difference is revealed in a character. If this new character becomes established in the species, it re- mains a character; but, even colloquially, it ceases to be a variation. How then can a variation be a character? A variation cannot be thought of without a comparison, explicit or implicit, between two sep- arate individuals ; a character can always be thought of without suchcomparison. Evidently, then, a varia- tion is not a character, but an unlikeness between two individuals which is displayed in a character. When we 308 NATURE [ MARCH 9, 1922 say that a variation is innate or acquired we know exactly what is meant—i.e. that a difference between two individuals is germinal ov somatic, a product of nature oy nurture. For example, if B differs from A in that he has a sixth digit and a scar, he varies innately (not by acquirement) in the case of the digit, and by acquirement (not innately) in the case of the scar. But when we say that the digit itself is innate (not acquired) and the scar itself acquired (not innate) what can we mean? We are now comparing not separate individuals, but two characters of the same individual. Obviously the digit as such is no more germinal, no more a product of nature and evolution, no less somatic, no less a product of nurture than the scar. How then is the one more innate. or acquired than the other? Our terms “‘innate’’ and “‘ acquired”’ are now unmeaning or else they have new meanings. But, as 1 say, no new meanings can be thought of which cover the whole of established usage. All this would not matter were it not for its consequences. When it is said that an innate variation is in- heritable we know exactly what is meant—e.g. that the descendants of B will tend to reproduce the digit (will tend to differ from A) even when reared under the same influences as A. Again, when it is said that an acquired variation is not inheritable, we know exactly what is meant—that B’s descendants will not repro- duce his scar when reared under the same influences as A. But when it is said that innate characters are inheritable and that acquired characters are (or are not) inheritable, what is meant? Either the word inherit has now no meaning, or in this single séntence it has two directly contrary meanings—inherit when applied to innate characters, and non-inherit (7.e. vary) when applied to acquired characters. We are now fully immersed in that fog of words in which, except for a brief interlude in Darwin’s time, biology has strayed for a century. | The trouble began in the popular notion that, like Topsy, some (?.e. innate) characters “‘ just growed,” while others are acquired through some influence or other and may become, through ‘‘centuries”’ or “‘genera- tions’ of experience, “innate ’”’ in the race. Lamarck formally introduced this popular notion to science. His second law has been disputed and shown to be inconsistent with the first, but the first has been accepted without question. Yet it is crammed with obviously erroneous assumptions. It is not true that “In every animal that has not passed beyond the term of its development, the frequent and sustained use of any organ strengthens it, develops it, increases its size, and gives it strength proportionate to the length of time of its employment. On the other hand, the continued lack of use of the same organ sensibly weakens it; it deteriorates, and its faculties diminish progressively, until at length it disappears.” (1) No character is in any clear sense of the words more innate or acquired than any other. (2) In our own bodies are many characters—e.g. hair, teeth, ex- ternal ears and genitals—which do not develop in the least in response to use, or atrophy in the lack of it. Only some characters develop in response to use, and only such characters atrophy in the lack of it. There is no evidence that the development of any characters in low animals is influenced by use. On the contrary, the power of so developing appears to be, relatively speaking, a late and a high product of evolution. But as to that I shall have something to say -when trying to trace evolution from the physio- logical standpoint. (3) Lamarck’s first law dimly implies that which is more clearly implied in the writings of succeeding biologists—that although all characters develop somewhat in response to use, no characters develop greatly in that way; the actual truth being that, from birth onwards, much the greater NO. 2732, VOL. 109 | fellows agree. part of the growth of the higher animals is made in response to that influence. For millions of years Nature fashions a species to _ develop in response to an influence (e.g. injury or use). | The race persists because its individuals grow in that way when need arises. observes such a character—e.g. scar, or blacksmith’s muscles. are products of evolution. mental error, not the special acquiredness of the char- acter, but only its inheritability. Thereafter, con- troversy, founded in the best scholastic style on ~ three misused words and a number of unverified assumptions, rages for half a century. Presently a majority are convinced that acquired characters are not transmissible. Thereupon some biologists devote their energies to discovering what characters are in- nate and therefore inheritable, and others to discover- _ ing what characters are inheritable and therefore innate. kindred sciences and studies—physiology, Psy chology t medicine, history, pedagogy, and the like. Of w use is it to the students of these studies to learn thata character is innate or acquired ? They want to know what causes it to develop. Of what uses is it to the biologist to know how a character develops? He wants — to know whether it is innate or acquired. Meanwhile many problems, mainly psychological, social, and medical, of vast importance, on which the whole future of the race depends, await solution and the driving home of the truth by the weight of scientific proof and united scientific conviction. But all these problems are too big for the subsidiary — sciences. Their students are too few in number. Moreover, in every case the evidence is derived from more than one science. Only biology, which sits at the hub whence radiate all the studies that deal with life, is in a position to deal with them, and then only if it has a clear and precise medium of expression. I daresay many biologists think Iam vapouring. But, if they wait, I think they may perceive a method in my madness. This much I will permit myself to say: that unless biology awakens from her long sleep, our modern civilisation is likely to smash, just as old Rome smashed and for the same reason—because there is not enough intelligence left to run a society grown very complex. According to Dr. Cunningham, biologists bestow the descriptions ‘“‘ innate ’’ and “ acquired ” on char- | acters which develop in response to internal and external stimuli respectively. That is to say, “ in- nate’ and “‘ acquired’ are supposed by him to be — technical terms which have meanings quite other than their ordinary dictionary meanings. But:— ~ (1) Before this discussion began no one ever thought of such technical meanings. On the contrary, as attested by all literature, biologists have genuinely believed that some characters are really innate and others really acquired. Hence the synonyms—ger- minal, blastogenic, plasmogenetic, somatic, somato-— genetic, and the like—which were coined to give i definition and emphasis to this belief. (2) Light, heat, moisture, gravitation, food, injury, and the like are all external influences ; and of them, the only one which is commonly regarded as evoking acquired characters is injury. On the other hand, hormones and functional activity (use) are internal At long last a_ biologist qj For no particular reason he calls it “ac- | quired,’”’ and supposes that evolution results from the ‘transmission’ of such traits—a wonderful thought, for | he must.know that regeneration and use-acquirements For half a century his — Then some one denies not the funda- — Hedged about by her extraordinary termin- — ology, biology becomes isolated from a number of — Te Fee ee On paar he influences ; and since hormones act from outside the | characters they influence, whereas use acts from — within, the latter is the most internal of all stimuli. But use is supposed to be more especially the influence Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE 309 _ which evokes acquired characters. Clearly internal, ust as much as external, stimuli evoke what are called acquired characters.” 3) As a fact, biologists when classifying characters | “innate ”’ and “ acquired’ have not in practice n influenced by the kind of stimuli which have ked them. As again all literature testifies, they e, in accordance with popular usage, called all racters which develop in response to any very ingly obvious stimulus acquired. For example, y do not call the musculature of the child, the th, and the ordinary man “ acquired’; but they bestow that name on the musculature of the sksmith, though the latter develops in response to cisely the same influence. Any number of similar mples might be named. ai G. ARCHDALL REID. ‘9 Victoria Rd. South, Southsea, Hants, amy February 25, 1922. A Rainbow Peculiarity. eRY one has observed a brilliantly coloured rain- and also the secondary bow situated some ance on the outside of the primary. Is it a fact general observation that the whole area of the ag 2 the primary bow is brighter than the region ide P ‘was not until the winter of 1913 that this bright sr region was brought to my notice on a photo- Fic. 1.—Rainbow photographed on December 1, 1913. ih I secured on December 1 of that year. On the nin hg that day one or two heavy showers passed m S.W. to N.E., traversing the ground to the north the Norman Lockyer Observatory. The primary y in question was distant about one mile to the h of the observatory, as could be judged from the spot where the rainbow ended on the ground. An attempt was made to photograph the bow with a 45 screen focus Kodak using the ordinary Eastman ‘film, and on development it was found that the light from the interior area of the bow had acted on the m in a much more actinic manner than that on the tside—or, in other words, the area inside the bow NO. 2732, VOL. 109] was brighter than that on the outside. The accom- panying illustration (Fig. 1) gives a reproduction of the photograph. I somewhat doubted the reality of this appearance Fic. 2.—Rainbow photographed on December 22, r92r. until I had taken another photograph of a similar nature, and an opportunity occurred in December of last year. On December 22 numerous showers were passing to the northward of the observatory, and I photo- graphed three different rainbows during the morning. They were not so brilliant as that photographed in 1913, but yet sufficiently bright to record the same phenomenon. One of these photographs is repro- duced in Fig. 2, and a comparison of the intensity of the distant landscape inside and outside the primary bow corroborates the previous photograph. These photographs thus establish a fact in Nature which appears to have been rarely noticed visually. Kamtz in his ‘‘ Lehrbuch, der Meteorologie”’ (vol. 3, p. 158), a book which was published so long ago as 1836, writes on the subject as follows :—‘‘ When a rainbow with very pronounced colours is projected against a dark cloud, the sky above the first bow is darker than that underneath. If we follow the path of light in our spherical drops and remember the limiting values which have been given above, we receive none of the inner surface reflected rays from any drops which lie higher than those in which we found the maximum and which form the bright bows ; lower-lying drops also send out rays from the inner back surface, and, although these more or less diverge, they tend to produce an undoubted brightness under the bow. The drops lying above the bow also send out reflected rays from their near sides, while from the drops lying under the bow we receive rays from the far side.” Following this extract Kamtz states that he has to thank Brandes for directing his attention to this phenomenon, and gives a reference to Gehler’s “‘ W6rterbuch,” Nach. Asir., vol. 7, p. 1324. WittiaM J. S. LOCKYER. Norman Lockyer Observatory, Salcombe Hill, Sidmouth, S. Devon. 310 NATURE | MARCH 9, 1922 | Flowering Dates of Trees. REFERRING to Mr. J. E. Clark’s interesting article on the above subject in Nature of February 16, I would suggest that a consideration of the different variations of temperature between Falmouth and London will help to solve the problem. From pheno- logical observations I have made at Falmouth for many years past, it would appear that on an average this district is earlier than nearly all other parts of England in January and February by about a fort- night, but that after those months the lead is lost and the flowering and leafing of trees, etc., are re- tarded by our situation being near the coast line, where the waters of the European current play such an important part in lowering the land temperatures in summer and raising them in the winter. It is not always sufficiently realised how much longer the sea requires than the land to gain its summer heat and then to lose it again. Thus we find from the records of 41 years that the mean temperature of the sea in December is 50°1°, whilst in January, February, March, and April it is less, viz. 480°, 47°0°, 47°3°, and 49° respectively. The following table (1920 being taken at random) shows that in January and February our mean tem- perature is higher than about London, but during March, April, and markedly in May, it falls behind and it is only natural that the effect on the flowering and leafing of trees, etc., should be as described by Mr. Clark. FaLmoutH. KEw. Mean of Mean of ‘ Mean for | Mean of ; Mean of dail s : dail ' fone, | Max, and] 3 este | Cay, | Max, and] Quit, January 444 | 43°4 | 493 | 42-7 | 47:5 February 40-I | 43°4 | 50°7 | 43°4 | 49°8 March 45°5 | 43°99 | 51-5 | 46°6 | 54en April 48:7 | 47°5 | 541 | 493 |7ame May 53°4.-| 52:2. | 593 | 55°6 | Gare WiLson Lioyp Fox. Falmouth, February 24, 1922. Where did Terrestrial Life Begin? In reference to Mr. Dines’s letter in Nature of February 16, if the diurnal variations in temperature and humidity on a mountain summit in the early earth would have been smaller than at sea-level, my objection to Dr. Macfie’s theory would certainly not hold. But Mr. Dines remarks that, assuming some stratification of the atmosphere, the stirring up of the lower levels might cause a temporary raising of the temperature at higher levels, which is the basis of my objection. Mr. Dines points out that if the early atmosphere had been homogeneous, mountain summits could not have been warmed by ascending air, while if the air had been stratified vertical move- ments would have been impossible ; but that dilemma does not seem applicable to the conditions likely when the earth had just cooled down to a temperature at which life was possible. My conception of the probable geographical con- ditions at the dawn of terrestrial life is that the seas would have been small, but were growing from water discharged from steam vents, which would have kept the lower air hot and saturated. Above the steam-charged layer the air temperature would NO. 2732, VOL. 109] - have fallen quickly (as the surface would have — received less heat from the interior and have lost — more by radiation), so that the cooling by expansion” of air rising up a mountain side would have been — small and might have been largely counteracted by latent heat set forth by the condensation of moisture. — Distrustful of my own capacity in thermodynamics, some years ago I asked an expert on that subject, in reference to another problem in primeval geography, — whether the last condition was possible, and he replied — that it was. The geographical conditions which — would seem most favourable for spontaneous genera- tion from some inorganically formed carbohydrate would be in a moist atmosphere in which the | Unless ; ee ture would have been practically uniform. Unless — those conditions held on a mountain summit, some — lower position for the origin of life would seem more — probable. J. W. GREGORY. February 20, 1922. -: . \s8 The Name of the Gid Parasite. _ a In 1910 (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of | Animal Industry, Bull. 125) Dr. Maurice C. Hall + published a most interesting historical account of the gid parasite, a cestode worm which is exceedingly . destructive to sheep. He showed that the first aoe ¥ iste able specific name for the worm was Taenia multi. of Leske, 1780. At the same time he rejected the ~ familiar name Coenurus of Rudolphi because Goeze in 1782 had said that the parasite might be called ~ ‘“ Vielkopf (multiceps).’’ I protested at the time to — Dr. Hall that ‘‘ multiceps ’’ could scarcely be taken — as a valid generic name. Goeze was not a binomial — writer; he actually called the gid parasite Taenia vesicularis cerebrina. Multiceps seems to have been introduced simply as the Latin form of the common name proposed, vielkopf. Now, after the passage of years, I again have cccasion to refer to the gid parasite and I find no ground for altering my opinion, Apparently the animal should be called Coenurus multiceps (Leske). The matter is important, on account of the injuries caused by the parasite, and consequent frequent references to it. .I observe that Railliet and Henry (1915) and Railliet and Marullaz ~ (1919) accept multiceps as a valid generic name. sh T. D. A. COCKERELL. | University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, —s_— ~ The Weathering of Mortar. ae ‘In regard to statements in NATURE of June 23 and © July 21, 1921 (vol. 107, pp. 523 and 652) to the effect that the curious ridges and furrows which occur — in mortar in walls are due to the segregation of lime, — I would invite attention to a note in Proc. Dorset Nat. — Hist. and Antiq. Field Club, 1906, vol. xxvii. p. xxxii, — giving an account of an exhibit of mine of a series — of pieces of mortar from a wall showing the early — stages of the development of this phenomenon. — The appearance is caused by the growth of moss — in minute shrinkage cracks in the mortar, the sides of the cracks being gradually disintegrated by the ~ roots of the moss, until the final stage of ridge and ~ furrow is reached and the moss, not having sufficient — root-hold, falls out when dry. 3 I may add that since then I have tested the mortar — in the ridges and also some from the general body — below the surface, and can find no difference in the {x proportion of lime contained in the two. Netson M. RICHARDSON. 4 Montevideo, near Weymouth, February 24. Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE 311 URING the last twenty or thirty years the above title has been very frequently the text for $, summaries and editorial articles, and might circumstances be regarded as covering an itten subject. The wide interest taken in is diseases—an interest stimulated by the tly increasing toll of this malady which the figures of the Registrar-General reveal— ts that the editorial request for a further article same theme should not be neglected. Recently sral Press has contained the announcement of tholstan’s offer under certain conditions of a 22,0001. for the discovery of a medical cure , whilst this has been followed by Sir William rize of 10,0001. The final form in which these vill be applied to the stimulation, and perhaps ibvention, of cancer research has "probably not been definitely decided, but both gifts can be ‘upon as concrete examples of the importance ‘men attach to a solution of the problem of the present time we have in this country two tant and outstanding diseases, namely, cancer d tubercle, both of which are creat destroyers of life. The latter is certainly the more important economic and social sense for it attacks people much earlier age, but nevertheless it does not to have the same hold as cancer on the imagina- the public. It would almost seem as if the , the illusory hope of recovery often ned by the almost moribund consumptive, had from the victim to his fellow-man. The prime of tuberculosis has been known for forty years, tment is still very unsatisfactory ; in cancer the is still unknown, and a wider field for investiga- presented, as well as one offering the attraction e unknown. ysicians and surgeons are not alone in entertain- 2 interest thus awakened, but share it with a army of pathologists, physiologists and biologists, may regard cancer as a perverted form of growth ps induced by an aberrant type of metabolism. If we restrict our survey to the period of the war and the following years, we find that although research was greatly curtailed, especially in Europe, it did not cease ely ; since the war, work has been resumed and L ess made. To-day, work is being done in impoverished Austria, and from Japan in the t to the United States in the West, from Denmark the Argentine Republic. Investigation into the re of cancer is almost as widespread geographically the disease itself. is at no time easy to formulate a working othesis for attacking a biological problem, and it especially difficult in the case of the ill-defined one we are considering; but if the attempt be made to analyse the different lines of inquiry adopted, his might profitably be done by arranging them according to their bearing upon the theory that cancer is caused by an extraneous parasite. The parasitic theory has been in the field for many years, NO. 2732, VOL. 109] Cancer Research. By Dr. J. A. Murray. but from the opening of the present century it did not claim so many adherents until about ten years ago, when its advocates had their view strengthened by the discovery of-a peculiar sarcoma in fowls which could be transmitted by a porcelain candle filtrate, and presumably contained one of the filterable viruses. The exact relation of this chicken sarcoma to the true neoplasms is still a matter of uncertainty, but the failure to repeat this experiment with tumours from other animals leads one to suppose that their nature is essentially different. A similar comment applies to ‘the infective venereal tumour of dogs, a sarcoma-like growth transmitted by coitus, especially amongst bull- dogs. Here, again, it is no easy matter to define the relationship with the infective granulomata on one hand, or with the true neoplasmata on the other. A great many of the opponents of the parasitic theory of cancer believe in the efficiency of “ chronic irritation”? as an actual inducer of the cancerous transformation of a tissue. By chronic irritation they usually mean a prolonged succession of chemical or physical insults to a group of cells, these insults being of a degree which does not destroy the vitality of the cells but serves to excite their powers of growth and reproduction. That cancerous disease may supervene in tissues maltreated in this way is shown in a wide variety of cases, of which there may be cited chimney- sweeps’ cancer, “‘ kangri” cancer, the cancer of X-ray workers, and the cancer developing at the site of a long-standing ulceration. All these instances lead directly to the attempt to produce cancer experimentally, but it is only within the last few years that any measure of success has attended the experiments. The production of cancer has been most successful in rabbits and mice in which a small skin area has been painted for a period of six to twelve months with coaltar. About half the animals thus treated show tumour growth at the treated site, and the method promises to be exceedingly useful for studying the conditions affecting tumour origin. Another method of producing cancer experimentally is less straightforward than the preceding, but about equally efficacious. In-this a chemical or physical agent is not applied but the irritation produced by the presence of a gross parasite is employed. The artificial infection of rats by a species of nematode, Gongylonema neoplastica, leads to the overgrowth of the squamous portion of the stomach and in a fair percentage of cases to the development of cancer. Sarcoma of the liver of rats can also be produced with ease by the simple expedient of infecting the animal with ova of the cat tapeworm, Taenia crassicollis. All three methods seem likely to further our knowledge of the etiology of the disease. The search for the cause of cancer in a developmental (embryonic) abnormality does not appear now to command many followers ; it is at best a very fatalistic line of thought, and discouraging to all but the most robust-minded. Starting from an already established tumour, much work has been done upon observing the characters of 312 NATURE [MArcH 9, 1922 the growth exhibited and the nature of the differentia- tions displayed by the tumour cells. The discovery of the transplantability of tumours of the lower animals has provided much material for this line of research, ° but the many attempts made to fix on any one out- standing character of tumour cells differentiating them sharply from normal cells have been unsuccessful. As _ before, we are confronted with the unexplained and unco-ordinated powers of proliferation shown by the tumour cells. The discovery that animals could be rendered resistant to transplanted tumours raised hopes that it might be possible to elicit an immunity-towards cancer in an animal affected spontaneously, but these hopes are now considerably abated. A start has also been made to ascertain the food requirements, general and special, of the tumour cells, but these experiments are still too slightly advanced for us to know whether any result of positive value will be obtained. Research into the treatment of cancer other than surgical has produced many empirical experiments and observations, but, apart from the extended knowledge of radio-therapy, nothing of importance has come to light. In the field of radio-therapy, the manner of action of the rays used, and the way in which they induce destruction of cancerous cells, still offers an unsolved problem of high importance. In conclusion, it may be predicted that progress in cancer research will in large measure be closely co-ordinated with that in the ancillary sciences. The Mechanism of Heredity.’ By Prof. T. H. Morcan, Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. III. Further Relations between Chromosomes and Heredity. N examining the chromosomes for a stage when “crossing-over ”’ might be possible, we turn naturally to the time when the members of each pair come together. This occurs once in the history of every germ-cell. In many accounts it has been shown that the members of each pair come to lie side by side throughout their length. Even more interesting is the fact that just prior to this union the chromosomes have spun out into long, thin threads. There are also Fic. 16, several detailed accounts showing that at this time the two chromosomes of each pair may actually twist about each other in one or more turns (Fig. 16). They then come to lie side by side and appear as a single thread that shortens preparatory to entering upon the first maturation division. Here, apparently, we find realised a condition that might make interchange possible between the members of a pair of chromosomes, for if the threads fuse where they cross each other and the ends on the same side unite, the interchange of pieces will be accomplished. From the nature of the 1 Continued from p. 278. NO. 2732, VOL. 109] case it would be almost impossible to demonstrate that the twisted threads do break and make new unions at the crossing point. certain later stages that lend, perhaps, some support to the view that breaking and reunion have occurred, as Janssens has pointed out, but it cannot be claimed that this evidence does more than give, on such an assumption, an account consistent with certain con- figurations he describes. Here the case must rest for the present. The genetic evidence is clear and far in advance of what the cytologist is able to supply. But, nevertheless, it is very important to find that, so far as the cytological evidence goes, it furnishes a great many of the facts essential to the kind of process that the genetic evidence calls for. The Number of the Linkage Groups and the Number of the Chromosomes. When Sutton in 1902 directed attention to the fact that in the behaviour of the chromosomes at matura- tion there was supplied a mechanism for Mendel’s two laws, it was evident that the number of independently assorting hereditary characters would be limited to the number of the chromosome pairs characteristic of each species of animal and plant, provided the chromosomes remain intact from generation to genera- tion. The integrity of the chromosome was held, in fact, by a few leading cytologists at that time, notably by Boveri, on evidence which, if not complete, was the best then obtainable. In the circumstances, the later discovery of the agreement between the number of chromosome pairs of Drosophila melanogaster and the number of its linkage groups was of paramount importance for the chromosome theory. In this species the number of known hereditary characters is so large (more than 300 in all) that this relation can scarcely be due to a coincidence, especially when the whole evidence concerning chromosomes and heredity is taken into account. It is true, with the possible exception of the garden pea (where there appear to be as many independently It is true that there are | MARCH 9, 1922] NATURE : 31 = 3 endelising pairs as there are chromosome pairs, amely, seven), that this relation has as yet been stablished' only for species of Drosophila. But it is © true that not a single animal or plant has yet been nd in which the number of known hereditary ups of genes is greater than the number of chromo- ne pairs. It is to be anticipated that some one will ‘ore long announce such a discovery, for it is very ble that if two linked genes happen to be so far t as to give 50 per cent. of crossing-over, they appear to be in different groups. But such a tion need cause no alarm when (or if) it arises, will not, of course, refute the correspondence of ge and chromosomes, unless it can be shown that ‘such member belongs to a different linkage m. Furthermore, it is to be anticipated that compound groups of chromosomes exist, such have been described in some grasshoppers and _ peculiar relations are likely to be found. e evidence from two species of Drosophila other han D. melanogaster should also be taken into account. In D. obscura Lancefield has shown that there are five airs of independently assorting characters. There re also 0 five pairs of chromosomes. " at least five independent loci. The fact that rossing-over takes place in the male makes the a particular kind of heredity dealing with char- s that are due to losses of wild-type characters. view ignores some significant facts and considera- ) ss To argue that because a character is lost or odified there must be a corresponding loss in the m-plasm is clearly a non sequitur. Each organ of - body is the end result of a long series of stages in bryonic development. Any change in any one of 2 stages would be expected to alter the end product. ere are no grounds for assuming that such changes mus necessarily be losses, although losses also might ‘sometimes produce such effects. The argument has all the: earmarks of reasoning by analogy. peepee the discussion need not rest any longer m_ philosophical grounds, since we have crucial ex- imental data which show that loss of a character not necessarily due to loss of a gene. One case will fice. In addition to the white-eyed mutant of osophila there are ten other eye colours that lie in the same locus. Obviously there cannot be ten kinds of absences. The only other possible explana- n of ten absences would be that there were ten es here so close together that crossing-over does take place. Hence they appear to be in the same sus. Now, fortunately, the origin of these ten itations is known, and shows—if they were really closely linked nest of genes—that when the last one ed there must have been at the same time ' , | Mutation i in nine other genes in order to get the results. NO. 2732, VOL. 109] tion. In D. virilis Metz ~ The rareness of mutation precludes such an interpreta- Attempting to save the interpretation of reces- sive characters as due to absence of genes, it has been argued that perhaps only a part of the wild-type gene is lost when a new recessive character appears. It is, however, not obvious why the hypothesis needs to be saved. It is simpler and suffices to cover our ignorance to say that a change has taken place. There is another question connected with these multiple allelomorphs—changes in the same locus— that is very important. Any given individual may normally have at most any two of the genes (one derived from the father, and one from the mother), but never more than two. When there are two such mutant genes present they behave towards each other in the same way as does any mutant gene towards its wild-type allelomorph. It follows that the Mendelian behaviour is not a peculiar relation of a mutant gene to a wild-type gene. It would seem, therefore, highly probable that wild-type genes behave in this way towards each other, and, in fact, where two wild types exist in Nature ‘that differ in a ‘single allelomorph, they are found to give a Mendelian segregation when brought together. The discovery of a large number of mutants in the same species may be expected in time to furnish some idea of the number of hereditary genes that exist in a species, or, in other words, to tell us how many different kinds of genes plus the cytoplasm constitute a species. At present, even in the case of Drosophila, we are far from being able to make such a calculation. There are, however, one or two rough estimates which seem to indicate that the number of genes is more than several thousands. The upper probable limit cannot even be guessed. How the genes bring about their effects, which are shown as modifications of the protoplasm (or by- products of it), is entirely unknown. If it seems desirable at present to limit the definition of heredity to cover only the distribution of the genes in successive generations, the result of their effects on the proto- plasm becomes a problem of embryology. To many geneticists, however, no such limitation seems desirable, because it may appear that the ultimate constitution of the genes themselves can be discovered only by working backwards, through the effects produced, to the nature of the material that furnishes the first stage in the elaboration. With this pious hope I heartily agree, but in the meantime I do not think it desirable to let premature attempts in this direction interfere with clear-cut methods of research that Mendelian results supply. Finally, the question as to whether all hereditary characters arise, or have arisen, through mutational changes in the germ-plasm similar to those found occurring to-day, can be settled only by future evidence. Guessing is scarcely worth while. One point, however, seems fairly well established—namely, that in several cases where differences in wild species have been subjected to the experimental analysis employed by geneticists for variation arising by mutation, they give the same kind of results. NATURE — [Marcu 9, 1922 Obituary. Sirk GEORGE CarTER, K.B.E. B* the death of Sir George Carter, there passes one of the greatest figures in the shipbuilding industry of the last twenty years. He had been in ill-health for rather more than twelve months, but had not formally retired from his position of managing director of Messrs. Cammell Laird’s famous shipbuild- ing and engineering works at Birkenhead. Sir George Carter was trained at the Royal Dockyard at. Ports- mouth, and furnishes another name on the list of great shipbuilders who have come from that excellent nursery, the Dockyard Schools. Soon after completing his training at Portsmouth Sir George Carter proceeded to the well-known Tyneside firm of Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co., where his uncle, Sir Philip Watts, was naval architect. A man of extraordinary vigour and of sound judgment, he was quickly given the important post of shipyard manager, and his tenure of this position for eighteen years witnessed the production of some very notable and epoch-making ships as well as a large extension of the firm’s premises at their merchant. shipyard at Walker. Though always an important figure in the industry, it was during the last ten years that Sir George Carter came very prominently before the public, when in 1912 he became managing director of the Merseyside firm. He succeeded in extending the firm’s business and premises in a remarkable manner, and when the war came in 1914 he was able to devote his whole energies to, and to utilise to the full the firm’s great resources in the construction of warships. Sir George Carter’s activities were too numerous for mention in a short notice of his career, but reference must be made to the very important part he played as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Merchant - Shipbuildmg under the Shipping Controller in the fateful days of the early part of 1917. It was this committee that evolved the standard ship and made a supreme effort to organise the whole industry in order to simplify manufacture and increase output. Sir George also occupied many positions of im- portance, being a member of the council of the Institu- tion of Naval Architects, of the Committee of Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, and of the Court of the University of Liverpool. All those who knew Sir George Carter intimately and were familiar with his work during the war will agree that he spent himself in the service of his country and sacrificed some years of his life in its behalf. T. BoB Dr. H. Lyster JAMESON. We regret to announce that Dr. Henry Lyster Jameson died at his home at West Mersea, Essex, on February 26, of hemorrhage of the lungs, at forty-seven years of age. Dr. Jameson was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he took the degrees of B.A. and D.Sc. He spent a year at the Royal College of Science, London, and then worked at the University of Heidelberg, where he studied zoology under Biitschli. Afterwards he went to British New Guinea, where he had charge of a pearling station, and this gave him opportunities for research into the NO. 2732, VOL. 109] causes of pearl-formation, an investigation which ri he continued at the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Station in Piel, Barrow-in-Furness. parasitic theory of pearl-formation in the common sea mussel, and he extended the research later into a study of the various processes by which the orient pearl is formed, publishing a series of papers in the Pro- ceedings of the Zoological Society and elsewhere. About this time his health broke down, and, threatened with pulmonary phthisis, he went to South Africa, where he was, for a time, on the staff of the Natal Education Department and, later, a lecturer at the Technical College in Johannesburg. Some few years before the war Dr. Jameson edtiteined to England and was appointed to a post in the Board of Education, becoming a Senior Examiner. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he was seconded for special — service in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, — and, later, became District Inspector for the South- Eastern Coast. At that time the slipper-limpet was becoming a pest to the oyster fisheries, and Dr. Jameson There he established the ‘dy , a ee ee ee eee ne es organised a system of collecting and disposing of this noxious mollusc. A very successful factory for the preparation of shell-grit from the limpets dredged up in the course of the oyster fishing was set up at West — : Mersea, and he was in charge of this up to the time of his death. In 1918 he became Adviser on Inshore Fisheries to the Development Commissioners and his work became largely administrative, but lately he was very active in the investigation of vitamins in molluscan shell-fish, working on this subject in col- laboration with Prof. W. Bayliss. « Such was Dr. Jameson’s persistent ill-health that any form of physical activity became impossible, but under this strain he developed a strong and most engaging personality and wide interests in social and economic reform movements. He was a man of great general culture, a very accomplished field zoologist, and a most lovable friend to those who knew him well. He leaves behind him a widow and two daughters. 4 Str Epwarp Gonner, K.B.E. WE record with great regret the death, on Feb- ruary 24, in his sixtieth year, of Sir Edward C. K. Gonner, who was for more than thirty years the Pro- fessor of Economic Science in the University of Liver- pool, and whose skill and power of organisation have done much to earn for that University the high position it holds as a centre of economic teaching. The view which he entertained of the difficulty and of the import- ance of economic study, and which inspired him in his work, is well expressed in the address he wrote for the Toronto meeting of the British Association in 1897, as President of Section F: part in the direction of the destinies of a country.” Again appointed President of that Section at the Australian meeting in 1914, he enforced the same moral, He published some valuable text-books on economic subjects. mission on Shipping Conferences. As chairman of the War Savings Committee for Cheshire he also rendered public service, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the British Empire. TRANS oe me om a, eI cme “This is needed by all — those who, either by action, word, or vote, have a — I Pe RIS eT. He served on the Royal Com-.° He was promoted to a - Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE 315 ehthood of the same Order last year. Sir Edward yner’s early death was due to an attack of influenza. time like the present when the inculcation of | economic principles seems to be more than ever sary, the loss of so good and practical a teacher ‘Edward Gonner will be deeply felt. Mr. GEorGcE Cussons. T is with regret that we record the death on February the age of seventy-five years, of Mr. George s, the founder of the well-known firm of scientific as makers of Lower Broughton, Manchester. ssons in his early manhood gained a studentship oath School of Mines, London, and upon the tion of the course became a drawing- -master © a teacher of geometry and mechanical sub- 1 evening classes in towns near Manchester. considerable mechanical skill, acquired in the of his apprenticeship, he devised a variety of and apparatus, which he employed effectively monstrate the problems arising in the course of ing. Finding great advantage accruing there- oes induced to enter business life as a manu- of apparatus to be used in the demonstration bjects of geometry, theoretical and applied and of physics. Among other excellent s he designed and patented a much-improved d’s machine to demonstrate the laws of falling His firm gained well-deserved repute among | Institutions for the excellence and adapt- ‘its apparatus. Cussons, whilst he was a student at the r — of the Owens College, Manchester, acquaintance of Osborne Reynolds, : posit Professor of Engineering at the Col- e, and Sanaa to his notice certain models for use in Descriptive Geometry. He suggested various improvements which were adopted, and the models were exhibited at the National Health Exhibition of 1884, where they gained a medal for excellence. Since that time the firm has been awarded medals for the superior character of its apparatus at exhibitions held at home and abroad, and has supplied scientific equip- ment to practically every country in the world. It furnished a large number of models for geometrical and mechanical drawing, together with a considerable equipment, for the extensive mechanics laboratory of the Manchester College of Technology, which have proved of eminent service. Mr. Cussons was in close touch with all the principal science institutes, and was always ready to discuss any new suggestions for apparatus, and to place his practical training and his knowledge of the teaching of mechanical and physical science at the service of those concerned. Tue death occurred on January 28, in his 52nd year, of Dr. Charles Baskerville, who had been pro- fessor of chemistry at the College of the City of New York since 1904. Dr. Baskerville had previously occupied a similar post at the University of N. Carolina. He did notable work on the rare earths, and carried out many investigations in the chemistry of anes- thetics. His inventions included processes for refining oils, hydrogenation of oils, plastic ae Maint reinforced lead, etc. WE notice with much regret the announcement of the death on March 3, at fifty-five years of age, of Prof. Benjamin Moore, Whitley Professor of Chemistry in the University of Oxford. TuE Chemtker Zeitung reports the death on February 13 of Prof. Theodor Liebisch, of the University of Berlin, well known for his work on physical crystal- lography, especially in the department of crystal optics. n ~ took the form of a special service in The clergy and was short and simple but e and of great beauty. It included some nees from the Burial Service, the twenty-third ‘the lesson from 1 Corinthians xv., the anthem him in perfect peace,’ and two hymns, as Eternal Father, strong to save” and ing effect by the shrill sounding of “ The Last by the boys of H.M.S. Worcester. It was sible amid the splendour of the ceremonial the distinguished congregation representative of he most refined civilisation not to picture in contrast rough chapel on South Georgia and the toil- ed whalers who surrounded Sir Ernest Shackle- s grave, and the little Quest carrying on the ion on which he perished, tossing in the huge ves of the Southern Ocean or beset by the Antarctic . The congregation at St. Paul’s included the dow and three children of the explorer, several his sisters and other relatives, representatives of the King, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales, NO. 2732, VOL. 109] parent Topics and Events. the Duke of Connaught, the Colonial Secretary, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Trinity House, and the diplomatic representatives of Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Argentina, and other countries. The Royal Geographical Society was represented by its Pre- sident, a large number of the Council, and the principal officials, and many othe societies and institutions sent representatives. Amongst those with’ special interest in the Antarctic regions were Mr. John Q. Rowett, Sir John Scott Keltie, Dr. H. R. Mill, Dr. H. Q. Forbes, and a strong muster of Sir Ernest’s old comrades, including Captain C. W. R. Royds, R.N., and Mr. L. C. Bernacchi of the Discovery expedition, Capt. W. Colbeck of the Morning, Sir Philip Brocklehurst of the Nimrod expedition, Mr. J. M. Wordie, Mr. Greenstreet, and Mr. Rickenson of the Endurance expedition, and Mr. Mason, who had sailed on the Quest, but had to return on account of his health. No doubt others were present who were not recognized in the great congregation. Mr. CAMPBELL SWINTON gave some very interest- ing reminiscences at one of the meetings recently held to celebrate the Jubilee of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. In particular he recalled some of the experiments carried out in 1879 by David 316 NATURE TMarcu 9, 1922 Hughes, whose widow, who died recently in America, has bequeathed some of his notebooks to the British Museum. These have been examined by Mr. Swinton. They prove that Hughes undoubtedly noted some of the effects now known to be due to high-frequency waves. He used a small spark coil as a generator, and a Bell telephone and a battery generally con- nected in series with a microphone as a receiver. The microphone apparently acted sometimes as a coherer and possibly sometimes as a thermocouple rectifier. He ieceived signals up to distances of about a hundred yards. He noted that the effects produced were very uncertain at the distance of half a mile. When he earthed one or both ends of his transmitting and receiving circuits he got enhanced results. It has to be remembered that all this was done about nine years before Hertz’s memorable discoveries. Hughes, however, seems to have had no conception that he was dealing with electro- magnetic waves. He thought that the effécts were due to electric conduction through the air. In a letter to The Electrician on May 5, 1899 (vol. xliii. p. 40), Hughes himself describes his experiments. It appears that he showed his experiments to a number of leading men of science in 1879 and was profoundly discouraged by their comments on them. In particular Sir George Stokes stated that the effects were due to ordinary electro-magnetic induction. It would be interesting to speculate what might have happened had they encouraged him to proceed with his researches. But in any case a great deal of further experimental work would have had to be done before the art of radio-telegraphy was achieved. Str RoBert Horne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the House of Commons on March 1, surveyed the proposals put forward by the Geddes Committee on National Expenditure, and indicated the general views of the Government concerning some of them. The two items which in the main make up the “ cut” of £18,000,000 recommended by the Committee as regards education are the reduction of teachers’ salaries and the exclusion from school of children below the age of six years. The Government has decided that neither of these proposals can be put into operation. The reductions adopted amount to £6,500,000 instead of the £18,000,000 recommended by the Geddes Committee. It is proposed that teachers should contribute five per cent. of their salaries towards their superannuation fund, and this will bring in a sum of more than £2,000,000. The Department of Mines is to become an integral part of the Board of Trade, and the Minister who at present acts as secretary of the Department is to be one of the under- secretaries of the Board. The. Forestry Department is to be carried on and will not be abolished as re- commended by the Geddes Committee. As to agri- culture, the Government has decided that the grant made available by the Corn Production Appeal Act | cannot be used to make up the reduction upon education and research recommended by the Geddes Committee, but has to be additional to the amount already devoted to these purposes. NO, 2732, VOL. 109 | THE first Scientific Reunion of the Natural History Museum Staff Association for the current year, which took place on March 1, attracted an exception- ally large attendance. Many interesting exhibits were on view, among which may be mentioned the following: Fine group of Alaskan Bighorn Sheep, consisting of a male, female, and young, recently presented to the Museum by Mr. T. R. Hubbock ; selection of the mammals, birds, and insects collected by the Mt. Everest Expedition in 1921; original plaster cast prepared by Mr. F. O. Barlow of the brain cavity of the Rhodesian Skull; model made by Mr. G. C. Robson of the curious triplicate re- spiratory mechanism in the Ampullariidz ; specimens and model of the gigantic frogs which swallow crabs and even small mammals whole ; the flower-mimick- ing mantid from East Africa; Cichid fishes from Lake Victoria and certain Crustacea illustrating mutation ; samples of wool treated with lichen dyes with or without mordants; specimen of Orvites excelsa from Australia showing deposit of aluminium succinate in the cavities of the wood; a meteoric stone, weighing 44 Ibs., one of the hundred that fell on October 16, 1919, at Bur-Gheluai, Bur-Hagala District, Italian Somaliland ; and a series of minerals from Zermatt. demonstration of their most recent microscopes and ancillary apparatus. Tue Air Ministry announces that the Civil Aviation Advisory Board, the creation of which was announced by the Under-Secretary of State for Air at the recent Air Conference, has now been set up with the following terms of reference :—‘‘ To advise generally on the development of Civil Aviation and to report upon any specific point which may, from time to time, be referred to the Board by the Secretary of State for Air.”’ The constitution of the Board is as follows :— The Under-Secretary of State for Air (Lord Gorell), . chairman ; The Controller-General of Civil Aviation: Air Ministry (Major-General Sir Frederick H. Sykes) ; The Director-General of Supply and Research, Air Ministry (Air Vice-Marshal Sir W. G. H. Salmond) ; representatives of General Post Office (Brigadier- General F. H. Williamson), Air League of the British Empire (Major-General Sir W. Sefton Brancker), Association of British Chambers of Commerce (Mr. Edward Manville), Federation of British Industries (Mr. H. James Yates), Lloyds (Lieut.-Colonel Sir Frederick Hall), Royal Aero Club (Brigadier-General Sir Capel Holden), Royal Aeronautical Society (Lieut.-Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman), Society of British Aircraft Constructors, Limited (Sir Henry White Smith). The secretary of the Board is Mr. F. G. L. Bertram, Air Ministry. WE learn from Science that Dr. I. C. White—who has been State Geologist of West Virginia since 1897, and is distinguished for his contributions to the geology of coal and petroleuam—and Mrs. White have given to the University of West Virginia and | the city of Morgantown rg1r acres of Sewickley coal, situated in Marion County. It is estimated that Messrs. Watson & Sons gave a | Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE . 317 the tonnage of the acreage will be approximately ,000,000, and should yield at least 800,000/. over period of years, of which the city and the University have equalshares. The income which the Univer- y will derive from the gift is to be devoted solely equipping and maintaining a geological depart- at in the State University in the city of Morgan- , West Virginia. Western Reserve University hhas also received a noteworthy gift from Mr. Samuel y at ler, of Cleveland, who has announced that he wovide funds for the erection of the new building ne School of Medicine. The estimated cost of about 506,000/. meeting of the council of the British Medical ation held on February 15, the gold medal of the tion was awarded to Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, Professor of Physic in the University of idge, for his long and distinguished services to ie profession and the association, and in commemora- n of his five years’ presidency of the association a the time of the great war, 1916-1921. In propos- ig the award, the Treasurer of the Association, Dr. G. E. Haslip, said that on all the three grounds for lich the medal was customaiily awarded no more g recipient could be found. Alike for his ‘ific attainments, for the measure in which he lad enhanced the honour and dignity of the profession, nd for his devoted services to the British Medical \ssociation, Sir Clifford Allbutt richly merited this sti It was agreed that an engrossed testi- onial, stating the grounds of the award, should be pared and presented, together with the medal, t the Glasgow meeting in July next. Ehave received from The City Sale and Exchange, Aldersgate Street, E.C., the sole British agents, the ogue of microscopes and photomicrographic atus of the Koristka Optical Co., Milan. Kor- a microscopes are obtainable for all classes of k; the objectives have a reputation for being of highest quality, and are of the apochromatic, -apochromatic (fluorite), and achromatic types. binocular form and a light aluminium travel- ig stand are supplied. The photomicrographic paratus includes both vertical and_ horizontal is, half-watt lamps of 100-300. candle - power ‘ituting the illuminant. Dark - ground con- 8, blood-counting apparatus, microtomes, hot mechanical stages are also listed. The micro- e stands included in the catalogue can be supplied 1 stock, and are approximately only half recent erman prices for similar models. Tue Annual Conversazione of the Institution of ical Engineers will be held at the Natural isto Museum, South Kensington, $.W., on ursday, June 29. Tue Guthrie Lecture of the Physical Society will be delivered on March 24 at 5 o'clock, at the Imperial College of Science, by Prof. N. Bohr, who will take _as his subject “ The Effect of Electric and Magnetic - Fields on Spectral Lines.” | __NO. 2732, VOL. 109]. THE Chemical Manufacturers’ Sub-Section of the London Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting held on February 28, unanimously adopted a resolution, “ that this meeting is of opinion that the Safeguarding of Industries Act is of great potential value, and records its conviction that the establishment in this country of a Fine Chemical Industry is of the utmost national importance.” At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on March 6 the president announced that all the members of the Mount Everest Expedition have now left Eng- land, and General Bruce with his two assistants from the Gurkha Regiments of the Indian Army, Captain Geoffrey Bruce and Captain Morris, must be by this time at Darjeeling making preparations for the start of the expedition at the end of this month. They will be especially concerned with the two most im- portant matters, firstly, the organisation of the special corps of Himalayan coolies enlisted from Nepal, and the borders of Sikkim, and Tibet, and, secondly, with transport arrangements which will require very careful and methodical planning, for the expedition is larger this year than last, and is more fully equipped. - THE following weie elected at the annual general meeting of the Geological Society on February 17 :— President: Prof. A. C. Seward; Vice-Presidents : Prof. E. J. Garwood, Mr. R. D. Oldham, Dr. G. T. Prior, and Di. H. H. Thomas; Secretaries: Mr. W. Campbell Smith and Mr. J. A. Douglas; Foreign Secretary: Sir Archibald Geikie ; ‘ Treasurer: Mr. R. S. Herries; Other Members of Council: Mr. F: N. Ashcroft, Dr. F. A. Bather, Prof. P. G. H. Boswell, Prof. W. S. Boulton, Mr. T. C. Cantril, Dr. J. S. Flett, Mr. J. F. N. Green, Dr. F. H. Hatch, Prof. O. T. Jones, Mr. W. B. R. King, Prof. S. H. Reynolds, Sir Aubrey Strahan, Prof. W. W. Watts, and Mr. H. Woods. At the annual general meeting of the Association of Economic Biologists held on February 24, the following officers and council were elected for the year 1922 :—President: Prof. E. B. Poulton; Vice- Presidents: Prof. V. H. Blackman, Dr. G. A. K. Marshall; Tveasurer: Dr. A.D. Imms; Editors: Dr. Wm. B. Brierley (Botany), Mr. D.* Ward Cutler (Zoology) ; Secretaries: Dr. Wm. B. Brierley (General and Botanical), Dr. J. Waterston (Zoology) ; Council : Prof. V. H. Blackman, Dr. G. A. K. Marshall, Dr. S. A. Neave, Dr. W. Lawrence Balls, Mr. F. T. Brooks, Dr. E. J. Butler, Dr. E. J. Russell, Prof. J. Percival, Dr. W. F. Bewley, Mr. A. W. Bacot, Dr. J. W. Munro, Mr. A. B. Bruce. On Thursday, March 16, Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on “‘ The Cinema as a Zoological Method.”’ The Friday evening discourse on March 17 will be delivered by Prof. A. P. Laurie on “ The Pigments and Mediums of Old Masters,’ and on March 24 by Prof. F. G. Donnan on “ Auxiliary International Languages.” 318 NATURE [Marcu 9, 1922 Our Astronomical Column. SATURN.—This planet is now very favourably situated for telescopic study. The luminous rings are now only slightly inclined, as seen from the earth, and present but a small extent of surface and detail. The ball, however, with its various dusky bands and bright zones of different intensities, will furnish interesting features under high magnify- ing powers. Occasionally, white spots and other irregularities are to be seen in the belts, and mark- ings of this kind are important and should be utilised for redetermining the rotation period. Mr. W. F. Denning points out that Saturn is akin to Jupiter in presenting a number of surface currents which differ considerably in their relative velocities. In 1903 a number of light and dark spots became visible in the north temperate region of the planet, and these indicated a rotation period of 1o hours 37 minutes and 52 seconds. Saturn will be in opposition to the sun on March 25, and situated at a distance of 794 millions of miles from the earth, METEORIC FIREBALLS.—A magnificent fireball is described as having passed over the southern hemi- sphere on January 11 last. Its flight was witnessed from the Liverpool liner Vauban, which arrived at New York on February 20. The fireball is described as being as large as the full moon and moving very slowly from 10 degrees above the western horizon to the eastern horizon. It occupied three and a half minutes in its flight and all the while emitted a blaze of light sufficiently powerful to illumine the sea and ship in an extraordinary degree. On February 17, at 11-32, a brilliant meteor was observed from many places, including London, Barnet (Herts), Stowmarket, Droitwich, and Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. As seen from places not remote from the object it appeared to be many times brighter than Venus, and its flight was fortunately witnessed by several observers who apply themselves to celestial studies, including Mr. A. King, Mr. J. P. M. Prentice, Mr. A. N. Brown, Mr. Gheury de Bray, and others. Computation shows that the meteor had a radiant at about 125° +13° in Cancer, and that its height was from 62 to 29 miles from over Yarmouth to Win- chester, Hants. Its luminous course extended over 41 miles and its velocity was 14 miles per second. It is remarkable how many fireballs displaying ex- ceptional characteristics have appeared during the period from February 7 to 22 in different years. COMPARISON OF SPEED OF BLUE AND YELLOW Licut.—Harvard College Observatory Bull. No. 763 contains an investigation of the difference in the times of the phases of the short-period variables in the globular cluster Messier 5 in Libra, as determined from photographic plates sensitised for blue and yellow light respectively. On the average the times were later in the blue light by 35 seconds, with a probable error of 7o seconds. The distance of the cluster was found by five different methods to be about forty thousand light-years, making it follow the Hercules cluster, Messier 13,,as the second in nearness of those north of the equator. Accepting this distance, the speeds of blue and yellow light in the intermediate space do not differ by more than one part in ten thousand million as a maximum possible. Since any absorbing medium would cause the speeds to differ, this affords an upper limit to its amount. NO. 2732, VOL. 109] THE ILLUMINATION OF THE ECLIPSED Moon.—The B.A,A. Journal for January contains an important article by L. Richardson discussing the action of | the terrestrial atmosphere in refracting sunlight on | Tables and diagrams indicate — the amount of refraction of light at various heights to the eclipsed moon. above the earth. The values at heights of o km., 10 km., 20 km., 30 km., are 68’, 22’, 5’, and 1’ re- spectively ; thus to reach the centre of the shadow the sunlight has to pass fairly near the earth’s surface, and high mountains or clouds would intercept a good deal of it; .an irregularity in the outline of the shadow in the eclipse of 1888 was plausibly attributed to cloud in the Amazon basin, or else to the Andes. The strange distortion that the sun would undergo to an observer on the moon is described. The author deduces from theory that the centre of the shadow should be slightly brighter than the surrounding regions, and finds some support in the observations of May 1920. He constructed a model lens of concave section in printers’ roller composition, with an opaque disc in the middle ; when this was placed over a source of light, the brilliant ring could be seen round the dark disc, also the increase of illumination near the centre of the shadow. The bluish or greenish fringe often seen in the outer parts of the shadow is explained by stating that the sunlight that has passed oe igh above the earth’s surface would be much less reddened than _ that which passed low down. It is also pointed out that the varying distance of the moon from the earth is an important factor in altering the illumina- tion in different eclipses. When the moon is in apogee it is further from the earth’s “‘ black shadow,” and gets more light. After allowing for these factors, and for the mountain ranges that lie along the earth’s terminator, the illumination of the moon should afford a useful index of the clearness of the zone of atmosphere that lies near the terminator. ; PARALLAXES AND PROPER Mortions.—Mr. Van Maanen deals with this subject in Contributions from Mt, Wilson Observatory. No. 204 contains two important investigations, the first being a set of parallax determinations of specimen objects of various types made with the 60-inch reflector. The terms to reduce to absolute parallax have been de- rived from comparison with the spectroscopic parallaxes of Adams, etc. The mean parallax of 11 planetary nebulz is of the order of 0-01”, the mean absolute magnitude is 8-4, and the mean diameter 0:06 light-year. Two Cepheids give small parallaxes of the same order as those found by Shapley from the proper motions; T Cassiopeiae, a long-period variable, has the considerable parallax 0-027”; its absolute magnitude varies from 3:9 to 9:7; two stars, Boss 500 and RR Lyre, are notable for their high velocities, each about 200 km./sec., their absolute magnitudes being near 0; the value o-o19” found for Nova Aquilz is nearly the same as the accepted value for Nova Persei, 1901, while Campbell’s hydrogen-envelope star (type O) and Boss 3322 (type N) are assigned parallaxes of 0-005” and — 0-002”. The radial velocity of the double cluster in Perseus is found to be —40 km/sec. and its proper motion +0°:003” in R.A. and +0:003” in Decl. These values are so small that it is impossible to pick out cluster stars with certainty unless they are bright enough to permit their radial velocity to be deter- mined. Tables are given of the individual motions and magnitudes of over 1500 stars. Marcu 9, 1922] NATURE 319 _ THE Tasoo oF WOMEN AMONG GyPsIES.—The _ Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, now happily _ revived with good prospects of success, publishes in its opening number an article by Mr. T. W. Thompson “The Uncleanness of Women among English y ,’ which brings us back, in this England of irs, to savage taboos which Sir James Frazer has iously illustrated in the “‘ Golden Bough,” and inds us that the Gypsies are a foreign, oriental established in our midst. Women, not only at iodical seasons, are treated as impure. s will destroy any piece of crockery or any utensil touched by a woman’s skirt: no 1an may walk over a stream or spring from which ing water is taken, lest it may become defiled : this power of contamination without contact s to things like crockery: ‘‘ Suppose now,” a girl, ‘my mother or one’m the girls had stepped e tea-things as we was getting our teas, think my father’d ha’ eaten another bite?” men engaged in cooking never touch “ red meat ”’ f, mutton, or liver—but roll up their sleeves and mut the meat into the pot with a fork. Men object to women using for washing up the crockery the soap ‘they use for washing themselves. The article deserves ideration as describing a remarkable survival of 00 among a civilised race. . vpsies Tue Toms or Conrucius.—The Museum Journal, issued by the University of Philadelphia (vol. xii., No. 2), is devoted to an article by Mr. C. W. Bishop on “ Shantung, China’s Holy Land,” and the tomb of Confucius. The cult of T’ai Shan, holiest of mountains, belongs to Taoism, the real creed of the common people, contrasted with that of Confucius, v teachings. represent the ideals of character nd conduct of the ancestor-worshipping feudal aristocracy to which he belonged. There is also a goddess of T’ai Shan, but the most striking fact about the religion of China in feudal times is the entire absence of female divinities. Some forty miles ‘south of the holy mountain, at Chu’u-fu, is the tomb Confucius, a splendid temple within which is gigantic seated figure of the sage, arrayed in al robes, and round him statues of his principal disciples. The cemetery, said to be thirteen miles in ‘circumference, contains tens of thousands of the graves of his descendants, perhaps the most wonderful gtaveyard in the world, continuously occupied by the descendants of a single man for more than two thousand 7 dra The excellent photographs accom- -panying article enable us clearly to realise this in eS Holy Land. - Naruratistic Art 1n Ecypr.—Under the heading “A New Chapter in the History of Egyptian Art,” in the February issue of Discovery, Dr. A. M. Black- ‘mann describes a new development of naturalistic art found in the tombs of the barons of Cusae, the ‘modern Kusiyeh, about 200 miles south of Cairo. It is possible that this school of art did not originate locally, but at Heracleopolis Magna, the capital during the Ninth and Tenth asties, which lasted from about 2500 to 2220 B.c. There is nothing quite so Tealistic and vigorous in the art of Memphis as the Cusite sculptor’s representations of the lion catching a bull by the muzzle, the hartbeests, antelopes, and azelles pursued by the hounds, and, more wonderful ‘still, the tense, nervous figure of the noble hunter, raising himself on the toes of his right foot as he leans forward to discharge an arrow from his NO. 2732, VOL. 109] ma Research Items. bow at the flying deer. Equally remarkable are the figures of two fellahin binding a bundle of papyrus reeds, the ical hulking Upper Egyptian yokels, the butt of the town-bred clerk in a_ coffee-house. Dr. Blackmann’s review of this notable chapter in the art of Egypt is in every way to be commended. Mount Everest Maps.—During the Mount Everest expedition of last year Major Morshead and his plane- tablers mapped the whole country traversed on a scale of 4 miles to 1 inch, with the exception of the area within to miles of Mount Everest, which was surveyed photographically by Major Wheeler. On the return of the expedition this map was rapidly reproduced in colours by the Survey of India. The Geographical Journal for February contains a reduced reproduction on a scale of 1: 750,000 of Major Mor- shead’s map in outline, time being insufficient for the preparation of a hill shaded or hachured plate which has now been taken in hand. On this sheet the area around Mount Everest has not been taken from Major Wheeler’s photographic survey, which did not reach London in time, but has been filled in by a map ‘constructed at the Royal Geographical Society from panorama photographs. The positions of certain stations east and west of the mountain were resected from the few peaks the positions of which had been triangulated from the plains of India. When these stations were fixed other points could be inter- sected, and a framework was thus constructed on which the topography was sketched from photo- graphs. This map is also reproduced, but on a scale of I : 100,000. NEw SuRVEYs In KERGUELEN.—Considerable addi- tions to the chart of Kerguelen were the outcome of Capt. R. Rallier du Baty’s expedition in the Curieuse in the southern summer of 1913-14. Previous surveys of the coasts were very incomplete in many parts and little of value had been done since the visit of the Challenger in 1873. Capt. du Baty’s work, the pub- lication of which was delayed by the war, now appears in La Geographie (January 1922) in a revised large- scale chart of Kerguelen, on which many new sound- ings appear, and two sheets of harbour plans. Six harbours were surveyed in detail, including Port Curieuse, an unexpected discovery on the smooth storm-beaten west coast. Three other harbours were partly surveyed. The charts are admirably repro- duced in colour. Some meteorological data for six. months are appended to the paper. NucLteaR Division In Opatina.—Prof. R. W. Hegner and Dr. Wu (American Naturalist, vol. 55, PP. 335-46, 1921) have analysed the relation between growth and nuclear division in the well-known multinucleate ciliate Opalina, from the frog’s rectum, based on the study and measurements of 455 speci- mens. The investigation was undertaken with the view of affording further evidence on the nucleo- cytoplasmic relation theory, according to which an increase in the amount of cytoplasm as compared with the amount of nuclear material furnishes the stimulus which initiates nuclear division. The multi- nucleate condition and the absence of cell-walls make Opalina a favourable object for such study. By comparing the area of specimens in various stages with the number, size, and state of division of the nuclei the authors have been able to determine approximately the amount of increase of cytoplasm which stimulates nuclear division in Opalina. Nuclear 320 NATURE [ MARCH 9, 1922 division in this multinucleate organism is not syn- chronous ; one nucleus is usually stimulated to divide before the others, and this division is, for the time, sufficient to re-establish the normal relations between nuclei and cytoplasm. VARIATIONS IN ORGANS OF AURELIA.—It has long been known that considerable variation occurs in the number of radial canals and tentaculocysts in Aurelia, but only recently has investigation been made as to whether the ephyre produced by individual strobile were always normal, or, if abnormal, were similar in their abnormalities. Mr. J. W. Low has published (Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edinburgh, vol. 20, Ppp. 226-35) an account of his observations on twenty- seven productive strobilz, each of which was kept in sea-water in a separate vessel. The ephyre were examined in the order in which they were produced. The largest number of ephyre given off by one strobila was twenty-eight ; the average production per strobila was about ten, and the total number of ephyre examined was 278, of which 90 showed major or minor abnormalities. Six of the strobile produced only normal ephyre having the usual eight arms and tentaculocysts, four pairs of gastric filaments, and four mouth-lappets. The remaining strobile produced ephyre some or all of which exhibited departures from the normal. The same strobila may give rise to normal ephyre and to ephyre having more or less than the normal number of arms, and in particular cases there was found to be abrupt dis- continuity, e.g. from a four-rayed to a twelve-rayed form. The extremes of variation were represented by three-rayed and fourteen-rayed examples. MicroscopE OBJECTIVES.—The problem of im- proving the design of microscope objectives in the near future has been taken up seriously in the last few months, and three suggestions have been made for the more accurate measurement of the errors to which such objectives are subject. It is rightly felt that better methods of testing must be introduced before the objectives themselves can be improved. Mr. Martin at the November meeting of the Optical Society suggested a modification of the Hartman test by transmitting the.beam from the objective through separate small holes in a screen; Mr. Twyman in the November number of the Philosophical Magazine suggested a modification of his interference method, and Dr. Hartridge in October showed to the Cambridge Philosophical Society the curves he had obtained by a third method. ‘He restricts the beam entering the objective to a small area and determines by means of a micrometer the lateral change of position of the image of a small object. The change is reduced to unit magnification and plotted against the portion of the aperture used, expressed as a fraction of the numerical aperture of the objective. The shape of the curve obtained gives the curvature of the field, and the magnitude of the spherical and chromatic aberrations present. TREATMENT OF SURRA IN CAMELS.—Antimony salts such as tartar emetic are frequently curative for diseases caused by protozoal and other animal parasites, e.g. in oriental sore and kala-azar caused by Leishmania, bilharziasis caused bya fluke (Schisto- somum), etc. Capt. H. E. Cross finds that injections of tartar emetic cures camels affected with surra, a ‘disease caused by a trypanosome. Different methods of administration were tried, and of 51 animals treated, 31 were cured (Dept. of Agriculture, Punjab, Veter. Bull. No. 2 of 1920). NO. 2732, VOL. 109 | ENZYME ACTION AND X-Rays.—In the Archives of Radiology and Electrotherapy for January (No. 258) Mr. R. D. Lawrence records experiments on the effect of X-rays on enzyme action. The diastatic ferment of human blood and urine was chosen for the investigation. Radiation was performed with a Coolidge tube at 9 inches from the anticathode, with — a 54-inch gap and unfiltered radiation at 2 milliam- peres in the secondary. The radiation was carried out for from 1 minute up to 20 minutes. In no case had the radiation any effect on the enzyme — action. ANTI-OXIDATION.—During the study of the changes undergone by acrolein on long standing, it was noted by C. Moureu and C. Dufraisse that the spontaneous oxidation: of this substance by an “ Autoxidation ”’ was influenced in a very marked manner by traces of impurities. Further investigation of this process (Comptes vendus, January 30) led to the une ted discovery that the autoxidation of a large num substances is prevented by the presence of certain bodies, named by the authors anti-oxidisers (anti- oxygénes), and this property is connected with the r of. presence of the phenol group. Thus, the oxidation : of benzaldehyde is prevented by the addition of a twenty-thousandth part of hydroquinone. Hydro- quinone, pyrocatechol, and pyrogallol are especiall active in preventing oxidation; ordinary phenol, resorcinol, guaiacol and the naphthols also act as anti-oxidisers, but the proportions required differ in | each case. As an exception, phloroglucinol is with- out action, and in this connection it is recalled that phloroglucinol often reacts as a ketone. In the pres- ence of a suitable proportion of an anti-oxidiser, fur- furol remains colourless, acrolein gives no precipitate of disacryl, styrolene gives no resin on standing, lin- seed oil exposed in thin layers to air retains its fluidity for three years, fats (including butter) do not go rancid. Mineral substances, such as phite and hyposulphite, are sensitive to the action of anti-oxidisers. The authors also consider the bear- ing of these facts on biology: phenols are fairly common in plants, generally absent in animals. It was found that the action of haemoglobin was not affected by phenolic anti-oxidisers. Tue EFrect oF MoIstuRE CONTENT UPON THE EXPANSION OF CONCRETE.—Bulletin No. 126 of the sodium sul- | University of Illinois contains the results of a series of _ experiments upon the expansion of concrete carried out by Mr. T. Matsumoto, who has had some years of experience on harbour works at Formosa. The temperature coefficient of expansion of concrete is about the same as that of steel, so that these materials expand or contract together on heating or cooling. Concrete expands when it absorbs moisture and con- tracts when it is dried; the contraction causes stress in the concrete unless it is permitted to take place freely, and this stress appears to be not as small as is generally supposed. In reinforced concrete, the contraction may set up stresses in the steel which may reach the usually accepted working stress of steel — when the reinforcement is less than 1°5 per cent. With 1 : 2: 4 concrete and reinforcement greater than — I°5 per.cent., shrinkage may produce stresses in the concrete approximating to its ultimate tensile segck and such concrete is liable to develop cracks ess proper provision is made. The author does not con- sider that reinforced concrete is likely to be a durable material in places where a corrosive influence on steel, q ii Ahead is et palit bo : such as sea air, is active, unless proper protection _ against shrinkage cracks is made. MARCH 9, 1922] NATURE 321 ‘4 eA T the Royal Society of Edinburgh on February = ~~ 20, Sir J. Alfred Ewing read a paper on _“ Models of Ferromagnetic Induction,” giving a _ detailed account of his most recent work in magnetism. In this paper Sir Alfred Ewing develops the theory magnetic induction put forward by him in 1890, d discusses the reasons which have led him to dify the theory in an important particular. The ry was based on Weber’s conception that a ubstance capable of strong magnetisation, such as nh, Owes its magnetic quality to the presence thin it of ultimate magnetic particles capable of ge turned, and that the process of magnetising ists in compelling these particles to face more or s completely in one direction. When all the Weber i gi acing one way the iron is magnetically What the author showed in 1890 was that the ntrol under which the Weber particles turned was ‘magnetic control, and that in turning they fell over one position of stable equilibrium to another, ough an unstable phase, thereby producing the enomena of magnetic hysteresis. This funda- tal feature of the theory is retained but the author has now abandoned his further idea that the control of the particles was due simply to their mutual _ magnetic forces, acting from atom to atom, because a quantitative examination of the forces produced _ in that way has convinced him that other forces are _ also involved. These other forces are those which _ exist within each individual atom, between the Weber particle and the rest of the atom. We now know the atom to be a very complex whole, compris- ing many moving electrons. In a substance such as iron cach atom contains a Weber particle—a thing that turns under the influence of an external magnetis- ing force. It is not the atom as a whole that turns, but only a part of it. According to the author’s _ view there is magnetic control exerted between the or sad that turns and an outer shell which is held fixed _ in relation to neighbouring atoms. He now shows _ that all the characteristics of the magnetising process _ ean be accounted for on this basis, and may be re- _ produced by means of illustrative models. ___ The first part of the paper is a study of the equili- _ brium of pivoted magnets, undertaken with reference _ to the author’s model of 1890, in which the Weber _ particles were represented as rows of little magnets _ controlling one another by their mutual forces only. It is shown that this model fails quantitatively _ because when the magnets are placed near enough _ together to give the correct form to the curve of _ magnetisation, in its several stages, the deflecting _ force which is required to break up the row is _ enormously greater than that which suffices to a produce strong magnetisation in iron. Iron acquires NO. 2732, VOL. 109] Ewing’s Theory of Magnetic Induction. only about one per cent. of its magnetism of saturation during the first or quasi-elastic stage in the deflection of the Weber particles, before irreversible turning sets in. This means that the magnets of the old model had to be set with so small a clearance between them that the stability of the row was far too great. In the new model the stability can be reduced to any Fic. 2. desired extent, for it depends on the balance of attracting and repelling forces due to the action of opposite portions of the outer shell of the atom on the Weber particle within. Several forms of the new model were exhibited, some with pivoted magnets to represent the Weber particles and fixed magnets to represent the con- trolling portions of the atomic shell. Thus in the model of Fig. 1 a pivoted magnet in the centre turns between four fixed magnets all of which present towards it poles of the same name. In the model which is shown in Fig. 2, the Weber particle is a group of eight magnetic poles, turning as a whole within a group of eight fixed magnets. The arrange- ment is a cubically symmetrical one appropriate to a metal such as iron, in the crystals of which the space-lattice is known to be the centred cube. In another model (Fig. 3) the Rutherford-Bohr con- ception of an atom with large electron orbits is realised. The orbits are represented by elliptically shaped coils with the nucleus of the atom at their 309... NATURE [ MaRrcH 9, 1922 common focus: one of them is circular and turns under the control of the others, which are fixed. Sir Alfred Ewing went on to show that with these models it is possible to imitate known features in the magnetic behaviour of metals, including effects of stress and temperature, and also effects due to the presence of non-magnetic atoms in a ferromagnetic substance, whether these were impurities or were present in combination with the metal. It was pointed out that the new model preserves all the advantages in this respect of his model of 1890 and at the same time escapes the quantitative discrepancy which had made it necessary to ameud the former theory. The Profession At the forty-fourth annual general meeting of the Institute of Chemistry held on March 1 the presi- dent, Mr. A. Chaston Chapman, presented ‘the first Meldola medal to Dr. Christopher Kelk Ingold. The medal, which is the gift of the Society of Maccabeans, has been instituted as a memorial to Prof. Raphael Meldola, a past-president of both the Institute and the Society, and is awarded for meritorious original work in chemistry conducted by British subjects under thirty years of age. In the course of his presidential address Mr. Chaston Chapman said that owing to a variety of causes—foremost among which must be placed the intensive educational effect of the great war— the importance of chemistry to the national well- being was daily becoming more widely and more clearly recognised, and with that recognition had come a great development of the work of the Institute. The roll of members had increased during the past twelve months by 371 to more than 3540, and the students by 84 to 883. \The organisation of the profession) of chemistry was thus being steadily effected. The older members had the satisfaction of seeing the Institute placed on a sure foundation and its position as the body truly representing professional chemistry in this country, acknowledged alike by chemists, by the general public, and by the Government. Referring to the scheme recently inaugurated under arrangements made with the Board of Educa- tion for the award of National Certificates in chemistry to students in technical schools in England and Wales, the president remarked on the advantage of bringing such students at an early age into touch with the professional qualifying body. Later, when the scheme was in operation, the council of the Institute would consider whether, and to what extent, the certificates should be allowed to rank towards the fulfilment of the conditions required for admission to the examination for the Associateship of the Institute. In an open and comparatively young profession such as chemistry it was necessary that the public should understand clearly the nature of the work in which the members were engaged. He did not believe that any single cause had contributed so greatly to retarding in the past the progress of the profession of chemistry in this country as the mis- application of the word chemist. In no other country was there any confusion between the person who practised chemistry and the person who followed the profession of pharmacy, and continental chemists often expressed their inability to understand what they no doubt regarded as one of our many national peculiarities. For the present the members had to be content to express the hope that their friends the pharmacists, without relinquishing their rights, would, wherever possible, refer to their ancient, important, and very honourable calling by the word waich mote accurately defined and described it. The power— he might say the tyranny—of a word was often very great, and he appealed to the press, as a very im- portant factor in the enlightenment of the general public, to assist, so far as it could, by employing the terms chemist and pharmacist respectively in the correct signification. It was to be deplored when NO. 2732, VOL. 109] of Chemistry. such confusion was the unfortunate consequence of the poverty of a language ; but, in this instance, the correct and distinctive words were readily available and the confusion was, therefore, easily avoidable. If ‘chemists themselves used the word without qualifying adjectives, it would be an effective step towards establishing the proper meaning of the word. The war had proved a very powerful factor in informing the public of the activities of the chemical profession, which occupied a position in the public esteem such as he (the president) would not have thought possible in his own lifetime; but every member should help to the best of his ability to consolidate the position they had gained, and to keep alive in the public mind the enormous national importance of the profession. Whether we regarded chemistry as a subject of study, essential to an under- standing of the world in which we lived, as an agent which had done so much to transform the life of man, as one of the most powerful factors in the — creation of material wealth, or, finally, as that de - ment of natural knowledge on which our national prosperity and our national security so largely depended, its supreme importance was equally manifest. Commenting on the production of British laboratory glassware, porcelain, and fine chemicals, the president ‘said that the view taken by the council of the Institute and by many others who were desirous of seeing those industries firmly established in this coun was that it would be a mistake of the first magnitude to revert to the position of dependence on foreign— and possibly enemy—nations. The whole chemical industry (including those essential to successful conduct of war), the prosecution of scientific research with all that it implies, and the practical teaching of science in schools and universities, all depended upon a supply of laboratory glassware, porcelain, and chemicals, adequate in quantity, suitable in quality, and reasonable in price. On national grounds, it was obviously desirable that the country should be ever directing its activities to production and to the increasing development of its internal resources. There was, moreover, the further consideration, which was much in the minds of the council, that the establishment of these essentially chemical industries demanded the services of property qualified chemists. British manufacturers had made great progress under difficult circumstances, and there appeared to be no good reason why we should not be self-supporting in all the requirements of the profession. After complimenting the local sections of the Institute on their activity and acknowledging the help they had given to the council in connection with the work of the Institute, the president com- mented on the fact that, at a time of almost un- paralleled industrial depression, less than two per cent. of the members were without employment. He thought they might draw from this the comforting inference that employers were looking more and more to science to help them in overcoming technical difficulties and in improving their manufacturing operations. He concluded his address, however, with wee ea MARCH 9, 1922] NATURE 373 a note of warning. Many parents still retained the _ impression that chemistry afforded a rapid road, if not to wealth, at least to a comfortable competence, ‘and that it involved a less expensive course of prepara- tion than for other professions. A keen love of the “subject was essential to success ; but those who were attracted to chemistry should be prepared to face a great deal of hard and often unattractive work, and to make the very real sacrifice which a professional ci inevitably involved. The course of training ‘of the average chemical student was of a university aracter and made the same demands upon the resources of parents as that for medicine the law. he present position of the profession should in- > its members with feelings of pride and deep tion, and should stimulate them to increased endeavours to raise it still higher towards that position of pre-eminence which it was surely destined to occupy.: There was scarcely a department of human activity which was not influenced more or less profoundly by the discoveries and developments of chemistry, nor was there a single individual in the community whose comfort had not been increased and whole daily life had not been made happier—or, at least, more tolerable—through the beneficent operations of that science. What discoveries in chemistry the future might hold, and in what way those discoveries might still further modify the material life of man, none could say, but it was not unlikely that if any distinctive term should be applied by the historian of the future to the era on which we were now enter- ing, he would describe it as the ‘“‘ Age of Chemistry.” AN interesting memoir on the biology of Danish +* Culicide has recently been completed by Dr. C. Wesenberg-Lund (Mem. Acad. Roy. Sc. et Lettres de emark, Section des Sciences, Series 8, vol. 7, I, 1921). Forty forest-ponds were subjected to ular fortnightly exploration for some years, and from them twenty-five species have been obtained, twenty of which have been reared from larve. mong these are four species of Ochlerotatus known om America, but not hitherto found in Europe. oserve ani on the habits of the larvz lead the author e recent workers t the anal gills are best developed in those larve which feed at the bottom of the water. The pupe are, as every one knows, capable of move- ment, but they are much more stationary than is usually believed ; indeed, the author goes so far as to say that usually there is no locomotion during the . of the pupal stage. An attempt has been made to work out the life-history of each species of Culicine from the laying of the egg onwards, and the author records many interesting observations. For stance, Ochlerotatus communis was found to lay its gs singly on withered leaves or on the ground under- I n4 og al the eggs are hatched in midwinter or early spring—many of them in April—and the imagines emerge in the first half of May. Mating takes place shortly afterwards, but the craving for blood does not arise until the latter part of June. Eggs posited upon dry bottoms from August _to December, but do not hatch until they have passed t h a period of frost. The biology of Taenio- vhynchus Richardii also presents features of special ‘interest; the siphon of the larva pierces the sub- merged roots of aquatic plants and gains access to the air in the intercellular spaces; the siphons of the pupe are brought into close apposition at their tips and are inserted into submerged roots. _ In an important concluding chapter on the three SuDDO! wn WiLolie a eneral conclusion reached by other: Biology of Mosquitoes and the Disappearance of Malaria in Denmark. species of Anopheles— A. plumbeus, bifurcatus, and maculipennis, the species found also in this country— the author deals especially with the biology of A. maculipennis, well known as the chief carrier of malaria in Europe. He states that in Denmark this species sucks blood from domestic animals—pigs, cattle, horses—that it is seldom seen in the open, but is found, often in incredible numbers, hanging, sluggish and blood-filled, from the ceilings of pig- sties, cowsheds, aad stables. Only exceptionally does it suck the blood of man, whereas in Mediterranean countries it is an outdoor species feeding largely on human blood. Dr. Wesenberg-Lund considers that in Denmark A. maculipennis, which is there living near the northern limit of the range of the species, has ceased to be an outdoor species sucking the blood of man, and has taken to an indoor life and restricted its attacks to farm animals. In his opinion, this change in habits has been the main factor in the disappearance of malaria, the last great epidemic of © which took place in Denmark in 1831. The change in the habits of the mosquito followed an alteration in agricultural methods about a hundred years ago. Whereas previously the swine had been driven to the woods to feed ‘on mast, they and other farm animals were thenceforward housed. The stables, etc., form so many traps which attract mosquitoes by the odour and heat of the animals within, and once within the stable the mosquitoes find all they need until the time arrives for pairing and egg-laying. Thus the connection between man and A. maculipennis has been broken in Denmark, and malaria was therefore bound to disappear. The author remarks that if the measurements of the length of this mosquito given by Meigen (1818), when the species presumably fed in the open and largely on. man, are correct, there has been an increase in size during the intervening century, though the species is there living near‘the northern limit of its range. _A\T the annual meeting of the Royal Anthropo- sg logical Institute on January 24 the president, Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, delivered the presidential ad dress, taking as his subject “‘ The Unity of Anthro- _ The aim of the address was to show the unity which underlies the apparently diverse interests of the various branches of anthropology. No student of ‘simple societies can fail to recognise this unity, for the different aspects of culture which are readily NO. 2732, VOL. 109] The Unity of Anthropology. distinguished from one another in advanced civilisa- tions are in the simple societies so intertwined and interdependent that it is hopeless to understand any one aspect without studying the whole. It is from the students of more advanced forms of human society that we need a more complete recognition of the unity of anthropology. The unity of ethnology and archeology was illus- trated by means of recent discoveries of the Rev. C. E. Fox in the Solomon Islands, where after the 324 NATURE { Marcu 9, 1922 bodies of the chiefs have been eviscerated they are interred within flat-topped pyramidal mounds, from the surface of wuaich a shaft leads to the recess in which the body is placed. A dolmen is erected on the mound, by the side of which is placed an image in human form designed to receive the soul of the dead chief. These, together with other features, such as the belief in two souls, a cult of the sun with the idea of marriage with the sun, and a tradition of descent from an incestuous union, all connected especially with the chiefly clan, form a body of evi- dence which shows so many points of resemblance with ancient Egypt in detail that it cannot. be neg- lected by the Egyptologist. It suggests. that the rapidly increasing material provided by ethnographical research may help to elucidate some of his most difficult problems. It was pointed out that it is only in such remote regions as Melanesia, which have not been overrun by later invasions, that we can expect to find survivals of tne culture of early voyagers. The relation between philology and ethnology was illustrated chiefly by reference to phonetics, It was pointed out that in such a region as Melanesia the philologist can now study living examples of transi- tions and interchanges for the existence of which in — Europe his chief evidence is drawn from dead languages, impeded by the limitations which are the It @ was also shown by examples from Melanesia how ~ features of grammar and syntax can be explained ~ necessary result of fixation by means of writing. as the result of social interactions. The present barren state of physical anthropology, a in so far as it deals with living races, was ascribed to — the neglect to utilise the findings of ethnology as work- — ing hypotheses and stimuli to new lines of research. The address concluded with a consideration of the — means whereby the Royal Anthropological Institute — might promote the recognition of unity. It was pointed out that a scheme, already under considera- — tion, whereby societies dealing with different aspects of human culture should be housed under one roof, with the common use of libraries and lecture-rooms, — would contribute to this end; and it was suggested that the Institute itself might give much more atten- tion than it does at present to papers and discussions which would bring out the common more specialised studies. Geology and the History of London.! ‘AT UMEROUS small streams now “ buried ’’ under London are indicated on the new 6-in. Geo- logical Survey Maps constructed by the author, and the historical research involved in tracing them has led to an appreciation of the connection between the _ geology and topography on one hand, and the original settlement and gradual growth of London on the other. The reasons for the first selection of the site have been dealt with by several writers: below London the wide alluvial marshes formed an impassable obstacle ; traffic from the Continent came by the ports of Kent, and, if destined for the north or east of Britain, sought the lowest possible crossing of the Thames. This was near old London Bridge, where the low-level gravel on the south and the Middle - Terrace deposits on the north approached close to the river-bank. A -settlement was obviously required here, and the northern side was chosen as the higher ground. The gravels provided a dry, healthy soil and an easily accessible water-supply ; they crowned twin hills separated by the deep valley of the Walbrook, bounded on the east by the low ground near the Tower and the Lea with its marshes, and on the west by the steep descent to the Fleet ; the site was, therefore, easily defensible. The river-face of the hills was, naturally, more abrupt than~it is now, owing to the reclamation of ground from the river ; the most ancient embankment lay 60 ft. north of the northern side of Thames Street. The first definite evidence of a permanent settle- ment is the reference in Tacitus. The early Roman encampment lay east of the Walbrook, and the brick- earth on the west around St. Paul’s was worked. Later the city expanded until the St. Paul’s hill was included, the wall being built in the second half of the fourth century. The great Roman road from Kent (Watling Street) avoided London, and utilised the next ford upstream—at Westminster—on its way to Verulamium and the north-west. The earliest Westminster was a Rorhan settlement beside the ford, built on a small island of gravel and sand between two mouths of the Tyburn. This settle- ment could not grow, as did London, since the area of the island, known to the Saxons as Thorney, was 1 From a lecture delivered before the Geological Society of London on February 1 by C. E. N., Bromehead. NO. 2732, VOL. 109] small. St. Albans road at Hyde Park Corner, running along the “‘ Strand,’’ where the gravel came close to the - river ; a spring thrown out from this gravel by the London Clay was utilised for the Roman Bath in Strand Lane. Throughout medieval times London was practically confined to the walled city, a defensible position being essential. The forests of the London-Clay belt on the north are indicated in Domesday ok and referred to by several writers, notably Fitzstephen, — whose Chronicle also mentions many of the springs and wells and the marsh of Moorfields, produced largely by the damming of the Walbrook by the Wall. The same writer mentions that London and Westminster are ‘‘ connected by a suburb.” This was along the “ Strand,’ and consisted first of great noblemen’s houses facing the river and a row of cottages along the north side of the road; this link grew northwards, at first slowly, but in the second half of the seventeenth century with great rapidity. By the end of that period the whole of the area — covered by the Middle-Terrace Gravel was built over, — but the northern margin of the gravel was also that of the town for one hundred years, the London-Clay : belt remaining unoccupied. The reason for this arrested development was that 3 the gravel provided the water-supply. In early days the City was dependent on many wells sunk through _ the gravel, some of which were famous, such as ~ In’ the =4 same way the outlying hamlets (for instance, Putney, Roehampton, Clapham, Brixton, Ealing, Acton, Pad- dington, Kensington, Islington, etc.) started on the — In the City the supply 3 dd,” a Clerkenwell, Holywell, and St. Clement’s. gravel, but later outgrew it. soon became inadequate, or, as Stow says, “ decaye and sundry means were adopted to supplement it. — The conduit system, bringing water in pipes from London Bridge — umped water from the Thames by water-wheels from 1582 to 1817, while the New River was constructed in 1613, and is still in use. It was distant springs, began in 1236; Waterworks not until the nineteenth century that steam-pumps and iron pipes made it possible for the clay area to b occupied, thus linking together the various hamlets. 4 that now form the metropolitan boroughs of Greater London. purpose of the The road from London to the west joined the : ~ Saf ¢ 2) \ Sa oe * ‘ NATURE 325 Marcu 9, 1922] ersity and Educational Intelligence. CHESTER.—-Prof. H. R. Dean, having been d to the Chair of Bacteriology in the Univer- London, has resigned his appointment as - Professor of Pathology. . _ University Colston Society has decided to , with the aid of industrial firms, a number Research Fellowships in the faculties of lence, medicine and engineering of the Univer- ‘Bristol. It is proposed to approach firms in 2a served by the University with the view of ing support for fellowships by the payment of sums of 150/., in return for which it would be for the donor to earmark the award for a - branch of study, subject, or person, subject pproval of the University faculty involved. fellowships, which will be of the annual value will be awarded to graduates of the Univer- ristol and be tenable for one year. Should le graduate of the University present himself hip may be awarded to a graduate of another ity or to any approved person. This scheme as an addition to the numerous grants which ; have been made by the Colston ee catceragement of research in the yy of Bristol. Association of University Teachers, the presi- which is Prof. J. Strong, of the University s, has issued the first number of a publica- e University Bulletin (6d.), which it is intended uce terminally. Its primary object is to serve organ of the association, and an editing com- com of Prof. J. Strong, Mr. R. D. m and Mr. F. Smith, isin charge. In an editorial in the issue before us it is stated that the Bulletin x to the notice of its readers the doings and the council of the association, and will ir to foster the effort to extend the influence universities in the life of the nation. Other which the first issue contains are by Sir Michael on the threefold allegiance of university s to their institution, to the university life of tion and of the world; an article by Prof. on the aims and activities of the Association ity Teachers ; and an historical sketch by of the movement which led to the forma- the association. There are also critical notes niversity Grants Committee’s Report, Parlia- y representation of teachers, superannuation or university teachers, and similar topics. ‘OLLOWING the lines of previous years, Mr. F. S. _ has arranged, in conjunction with Dr. Charles a course of lectures on “‘ Science and Social ‘ 3s,’ for the Unity History School, to be held it Woodbrooke, Birmingham, from Thursday, July 27, to Friday, A 4. A sketch in broad outline will de given of history of science, especially in its on to the contemporary social evolution, and is will be followed, in the latter half, by discourses n the problems that are being raised to-day by the th of science. First the historical retrospect, the living problem, and the whole looked at the completely human point of view. The rs will Epo, J, i... Myres, Dr. J. L. E. Dre: , Prof. J. A. Platt, Dr. C. Singer, Prof. A. N. Whitehead, Prof. C. H. Desch, Prof. J. A. Thomson, fr. Julian Huxley, Mr. A. E. Heath, Prof. F. G. Jonnan, and Mr. F. S. Marvin. Communications mcerning this holiday school should be addressed to Mr. Edwin Gilbert, 78 Mutley Plain, Plymouth. All letters requiring reply shou!d contain stamps covering he necessary postage. . NO. 2732, VOL. 109] . Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. March 9, 1908. Henry Clifton Sorby died.— Sorby came of an old Sheffield family of cutlers. He was of independent means. Devoting himself to scientific investigations, he became known among geologists as the father of microscopical petrology, while his microscopic study of iron and steel opened out a field of research of immense importance to the metallurgist. March 10, 1874. Moritz Hermann Jacobi died.— German by birth, Jacobi became a professor at Dorpat and St. Petersburg, where in 1837 he dis- covered the art of electrotyping. He also improved the voltaic battery, and made a trial on the Neva of a boat driven by an electro motor. - March 10, 1902. Charles Yelverton O’Connor died.— An eminent civil engineer, O’Connor held important positions in New Zealand, and in 1891 became engineer-in-chief to Western Australia. He con- structed the harbour at Fremantle, and was re- sponsible for the Coolgardie Water Supply Scheme, in which water is conveyed 328 miles through 30-inch . steel pipes, an undertaking costing 2,660,000/. March 11, 1916. Erasmus Darwin Leavitt died.— Trained as a mechanical engineer, Leavitt served in the United States Navy during the Civil War, and afterwards as a consulting engineer was responsible for many of the most important steam-engine in- stallations in America. He was a founder of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and in 1883 served as its president. ; March 12, 1898. Ferdinand Hurter died.— After serving an apprenticeship to a Swiss dyer, Hurter studied chemistry under Bunsen, and in 1867 settled in England, finally becoming principal chemist to the United Alkali Company. He was a pioneer in the application of mathematics to technological chemistry; and with Driffield carried out a long and fruitful investigation of the chemistry and physics of photography. March 12, 1914. George Westinghouse died.—A great industrialist, the president of no less than thirty companies, Westinghouse first gained a reputa- tion by his invention of the compressed-air brake for railway trains. Tried in 1868, the brake was made automatic in 1872, and has been universally- adopted. Westinghouse was a pioneer in the develop- ment of alternating current electric machinery, he assisted Tesla in his work on the induction motor, and made the first ten generators for Niagara. March 13, 1719. Johann Friedrich Bottger died.—The discoverer of the method of making porcelain from the reddish clays found in the neighbourhood of Meissen, Béttger began life as an apothecary’s ap- prentice in Berlin, but his discovery was largely the outcome of his alchemical experiments. For many years he was maintained as a sort of prisoner by the Elector of Dresden. March 15, 1898. Sir Henry Bessemer died. — The greatest metallurgist of the nineteenth century, Bessemer, by the invention in 1856 of his direct process of converting pig-iron into malleable iron or mild steel, provided mankind with abundant. supplies of a superior structural material at a diminished cost. Several notable metallurgists contributed to the success of the process, which reached its perfection in 1879 by the discoveries of Sidney Gilchrist —— E.C. S. NATURE [ MARCH 9, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, March 2.—-Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair—L. N. G. Filon and H. T. Jessop: On the stress-optical effect in transparent solids strained beyond the elastic limit. The stress- optical effect in glass under simple pressure exhibits no time-effect at ordinary temperatures, but in celluloid under simple tension there is a marked creep in both stress-optical effect and strain even under very moderate loads. The observations can be explained on the assumption that celluloid consists of a mixture of two constituents having different elastic and plastic properties and different stress- optical coefficients, the optical-effect in each being strictly proportional to the stress.—W. E. Curtis: The structure of the band spectrum of helium. Measurements of grating photographs of three of the principal helium bands show that the chief features of their structure are accounted for by the quantum theory of band spectra. In each of the three bands a new type of series is found. The spectrum is considered to be due to an unstable helium molecule, having a moment of inertia of about 1-8 x 107“ gm.cm.?.—S. Datta: The spectrum of beryllium fluoride. The spectrum of beryllium fluoride consists of six groups of bands, all in the ultra-violet between 2800 and A 3400, and all fading off towards the red. The strongest band at X 3009 includes three series of lines, which depart considerably from the usual type of formula. The groups of bands are similar to one of the groups given by magnesium fluoride.—W. G. Palmer : The catalytic activity of copper. Pt. III. The effect upon the catalytic (dehydrogenating) activity of copper of adding to the metal varying proportions of weak dehydrogenating catalysts, ferric, manganous, zinc, and magnesium oxides, is described. Magnesium and manganous oxides enhance the activity of the copper, if present in quantity greater than 1 to 2 per cent., while zinc and ferric oxides reduce the activity. It is considered that small proportions of oxide (less than 1 to 2 per cent.) destroy the activity of the copper, owing to solution in the metal leading to diminished adsorption of the alcohol attacked.— G. B. Jeffery: (1) The motion of ellipsoidal particles immersed in a viscous fluid. (2) The rotation of two circular cylinders in a viscous fluid. (1) Einstein has shown that the viscosity of a fluid containing solid spherical particles in suspension is given by m (L+2-5 V), where yu is the viscosity of the pure fluid and V is the total volume of the particles per unit volume of the suspension. This result is ex- tended to ellipsoidal particles and it is shown that the factor 2-5 is reduced but always lies between 2 and.2-5 and depends upon the shape of the particles. (2) The problem of the rotation of a circular cylinder in a fluid contained in a non-concentric cylindrical vessel which may itself rotate about its axis can be solved in finite terms; that of the rotation of two parallel cylinders in an infinite fluid is in general insoluble ; i.e. there is no steady motion for which the fluid is at rest at infinity. ParIs. _ Academy of Sciences, February 13.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.— Maurice Janet: The characters of the moduli of forms and systems of partial differ- ential equations. — Witold Wilkosz: A fundamental point in the theory of potential.—E. Cartan: A geometrical definition of the energy tensor of Einstein. —M. Auric: The resolution of an indeterminate linear equation.—V. Dolejsek: The Ka lines of the NO. 2732, VOL. 109 | lighter elements. The Ka lines have been measured for thirteen elements, ranging between chlorine and zinc.—A. Dauvillier : The complexity of the K series of the light elements and its theoretical interpreta- tion. K series of copper and molybdenum.—C, E. Guye: The extension of the law of Paschen to polarised Harmonic synchronisation of Calculation of — the elements which determine a centred system formed — by any number of surfaces.—A. Zimmern: The in-— fluids. — _M. Mercier: electrical oscillators. —R. Bouloch: fluence of temperature on the sensibility of emulsions in radiography. Over the range 15° to 80° C. the sensibility of a photographic plate to light varies slightly, if at all. With X-rays, on the other hand, the sensibility increases with rise of temperature, and this effect can in some cases be utilised with advan- tage. Results and details of measurements in the © € mu e of the Urticacee. ucilage is widely ributed in this order, and its presence in the s organs of these plants constitutes a character value, and should be taken into account along other ‘anatomical peculiarities. —-H. Jumelle : *s canals—Eugéne Bonnet : The action of soluble of lead on plants. The plants studied included = pees, and beans, and the lead solution sur- s the rootlet between one-thousandth normal valf that amount of lead. Lead arrests the rowth of the stem and diminishes the length of the s.— Gabriel Bertrand and Mme. M. Rosenblatt : variations in the proportions of manganese in eee age.—Gustave Riviére and Georges The partial sterilisation of the soil. Ex- 1 nts on the use of sodium arsenate for the al sterilisation of the soil. Used in the propor- of between 21 and 42 kilograms per hectare ‘protozoa are destroyed and the useful bacteria iply. This indirect fertilising action is shown by wid Sago which on the large scale have been 1 20 per cent. to 50 per cent.—Auguste and Henri Couturier : ‘ees resistance of es during pregnancy to anaphylactic and anaphy- oid shock. Female guinea-pigs during pregnancy ¢ immune from shock caused either by the injection f serum or of flocculent inert material. The cause f the immunity has been traced to the increase in 1¢ volume of the blood: the immunity could be destroyed in females by bleeding and conferred on ales by injecting physiological serum.—M. Champy : conditions of the genesis of the sexual harmozone satrachians.— Henri Jean Frossard: Respiratory nastics and the tests of Valsalva and of Muller.— u de Courmelles: Combined radiotherapy of the and the ovaries against tumours of the breast. Official Publications Received. Meddelanden fran Statens Skogsfirsiksanstalt. Hilfte 18, Nr. 4: } orms-Undersékningar en Sammanfattande Analys ay Norr- A pa de Faktorer som Bestiimma } oe a 2A ag stg n okies Tees y Sven Petrin 165-220. Hiilfte 18, Nr. 5: Till Kannedomen om Forhailandet lan och § bladens Kolhydratsproduktion. By alfte 18, Nr. 6-9: Sko; kternas i n der Forstinsekten im nt Reco ce.) | ' ual Report on the Forest r Re tletretion for the Ann ear 1920 and period ist January to 3lst March 1921. Pp. 24. 3 Department.) ‘Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 45. On. the Distribution of the Ants of the Ethiopian oat Malagasy 3 m. M. Wheeler. The Ants collected by the : By Wm. M. Wheeler. Pp. -) ees ure: Bureau of Biological Survey. , No. 45: A Biological Survey of Alabama. as Physiogra y and Life Zones. 2: The Pp. 88+11 plates. (Wi mn: Government Printing The Carnegie cece gpg for the Advancement of Teaching. Six- Annual Report of the President and of the Treasurer. Pp. New York City. ) ¢ Survey of India. Vol. 3: Triennial Report, with Forecast of the bsstgil Power Resources of India, 1919 1021, ob, , oe eares. Pp. ix+199. (Calcutta: Government rt on the here Tractor t he bastante Apel i981, Pak : ma urs +55+plates, (Cairo: Government Press.) P.T. 1 2 4 NO. 2732, VOL. 109] | Department of Agente, oi oy Mysore Agricultural Calendar 1922. Pp. iii+56 lor Government Press.) 1 anna Teipexial Department 0 rctiitaes for the West Indies. on the Agricultural Department, St. Lucia, 1920. Pp. (Barbados.) Trinidad and “Tobago. Council Paper No. 100 of 1921. Depart- ment of Agriculture. Administration Reports of the Director of Agriculture for the Years 1919 and 1920. Pp. 84. (Port of Spain: Bulletin, Government Printing Office.) 2s. 3d. Department of t Interior: Bureau of Education. Facilities for Fisaian Students in American Colleges Capen. Pp. 269. (Washington : 1920, No. 39: and Universities. By oe i - U.S. Geological Survey. Water- Surface Water Supply, of Lp United States, Report iv +28. Government Prin’ eeeiok +xxxiii. Water- oe Pp. Supply Paper 460: Surface Water Supply of the United States, 1917. Part X.: The Great Basin. Pp. 277+xI. Pie pater’ Paper Lik Surface Water’ ‘Supply of the United States, 1918. Part V.: Hudson Bay and Upper roo hh) River Basins. Pp. 153 + xxx. (Washington : Government Printi Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian In- stitution, sho the O a Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year en ding June 30, 1919. (Publication 2590.) Pp. xii+557. (Washington.) Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, MARCH 10. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. PHYSICAL SOCIETY OF LoNDON (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.— . Smith-Rose: The Electromagnetic Screening of a Triode Oscillator.—Dr. = P. Waran: A New Form of High Vacuum Automatic Merc Pump.—W. N. Bond: Viscosity Determination by means of Orifices and Short Tubes. MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON (at Linnean Society). ROYAL Society OF MEDICINE (Clinical Section), at 5.30.—Prof. H. Maclean and Dr. I. Jones: Some Observations on the Production of Lactic Acid in Stomach Diseases. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—C. H. Plant: eer ROYAL ee OF MEDICINE LY apa ea ar Section), at 8.3 Po e: Coloured Vision.—R. A Series “of Syosnathie Eyes examined Deincnicans ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Prof. T. R. Merton: Problems in the Variability of Spectra. SATURDAY, MARCH 11. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Rutherford ; Radioactivity (2). MONDAY, MARCH 13. ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY (at Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore, .W.7), at 5.—C. ©. Fagg: A Description of the Regional Survey of the Ccoyeeal Natural History and Scientific Society. ; RoyAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (War Section), at 5. 50. —Squadron —— Whittingham: Observations on Sandfly Fever in INSTITU OF TRANSPORT (at Institution of Civil ey oe at 5.30.— R. Johnson: Railway Problems in China and Austra. Mapr0as, Fr re or LONDON (at 11 Chandos Street, w. 1), at 8.— E. Goodall: The Differential Diagnosis of the Common Tran tiene TUESDAY, MARCH 14. RoYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Arthur Keith: Anthropological Problems of the British Empire. Series I. Racial Problems in a _— Australasia (4). RoyYAL SocmtTy ICINE ao and Pharmacology Section) (at Duteauiis College), at 4 EUGENICS EDUCATION SOCIETY (at Royal Society), at 5.—H. Cox The Reduction of the Birth Rate as a Necessary Instrument for the Improvement of the Race. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, at 5.—Dr. M. Greenwood : The Influence of Industrial Employment on General Health (Milroy Lectures) (2). rig eo InstitUTE (90 Buckingham Palace Road, S.W.1), 5.30.—A Barker, and others: Central Heating in "Relation to Donalae Pet other Buildings. Woune S ENGINEERING Society (at 26 George Street, W.1), at 6.15.— F. 8S. Button: Women’s Place in Industry. INSTITUTION OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGISTS (at ch na ae. of Arts), at 6.30.—Prof. J. S.S. Brame: Presidential Addr ROYAL Puorognarac Society OF GREAT BRITAIN, at ra gate OE General Meeting QUEKET? Mionosco COPICAL CLUB, at 7.30.—B. S. Curwen: Mounting in Glycerine with Wax Seals, with Special Reference to Entomostraca. ace ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—J. P. Mills: The ota Nagas. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Psychiatry Section), at 8.30.—Adjourned Discussion on the Ideal Clinic for Nervous and Borderland Cases, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (History of Medicine Section), at 5.— F. Romer: A Short History of Bonesetting. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (Students’ Meeting), at 6.—G. FitzGibbon : The Great Ship-Canals of the World (Vernon Harcourt Lectures) (1). ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL Socrety, at 7.30.—Dr. E. M. Wedderburn : ce and the effect of Wind and Atmospheric Pressure on Inland Lakes 328 NATURE [ Marcu 9, 1922 RoyaL Socrty or ARTs, at 8.—O. T. Falk: Certain Aspects of the Problem of Exchange Stabilisation. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 8. ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL Soormty, at 8.—J. E. Barnard: The Future of the Microscope in Medical Research.—Dr. H. Hartridge : Mono- chromatic Illumination. A Low-Power Eyepiece with Large Field, THURSDAY, MAROH 16. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Dr. P. C. Mitchell : The Cinema as a Zoological Method (1). ROYAL Sooty, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—Dr. H. H. Dale and C. H. Kel laway : Anaphylaxis and Anaphylatoxins.—J. C. Bramwell and Prof. Hill: The Velocity of the Pulse Wave.in Man.— A. Flowing: i New Bacteriolytic Element found in Tissues and Secretions.—Dr. J. W. Pickering and Dr. J. A. Hewitt: The Action of ‘‘ Peptone ”’ on Blood and Immunity thereto. LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 5.—B. M. Griffiths : The Heleoplankton of Three Berkshire Pools.—C. EB. Salmon: Three British Plants.—Rev. F.C. R. Jourdain: Bear Island and Spitzbergen, with especial regard to their Bird-life. elo COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, at 5.—Dr. M. Greenwood : he Influence of Industrial Employment on General Health (8). olen ABRONAUTICAL SOCIETY (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— Dr. V. E. Pullin: Radiological- Examination of Materials. INSTITUTION or MINING AND METALLURGY (at Geological Society), at 5.30.—L. C. Stuckey: Notes on the Valuation of Ores, Concentrates and Smelter Products.—L. H. Cooke: Methods of Measuring Hori- zontal Angles involving Steep or Precipitous as Se INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—J. Hiil: Phantom Telephone Circuits and Combined Telegraph and ‘Telephioal Circuits worked at Audio Frequencies. CHEMICAL Socipry, at 8.—H. B. gg Change of Properties of Substances on Drying.—H. Burton and J. Kenner: The Influence of Nitro-Groups on the Reactivity of Substituents in the Benzene Nucleus. Part VI. ‘The Elimination of Halogen during the Reduction of Halogenated Nitro-Compounds. Society FOR CONSTRUCTIVE BIRTH CONTROL AND RACIAL PROGRESS (at Essex Hall, Essex Street, W.C.2), at 8.—Open Meeting. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Dermatology Section), at 8.30.—Dr. J. Darier: Des cancers épithéliaux de la peau. FRIDAY, MARCH 17. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Otology Section), at 5. INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT (at Royal Society of "Arts), at 5.—F. Pick: The Operation of an Omnibus Company, with reference to Capacity and Cost under Given Conditions. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6. ne a Dewhurst : British and American Locomotive Design and Pract INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (London Students? Section), at 7.—C. C. H. Wade: The Electron Theory. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—G. H. Ayres: Factor Improvement. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Electro- -therapeutics Section), at 8.30. —Dr. M. Legge and others: Discussion on the Pathological Changes produced in Subjects rendered Unconscious by Electric Shock, and the Treatment. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9. gi A. P. Laurie: The Pigments and Mediums of the Old Masters SATURDAY, MARCH 18, ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Rutherford : Radioactivity (3). PuYaroLoaroay SocinTY (at University College). ° Power PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a series.) FRIDAY, MAnRc#H 10. METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE (South Kensington, S.W.7), at 3.—Sir Napier Shaw : to Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology of the Globe (8) TAVISTOCK CLINIC FOR FUNCTIONAL NERVE CASES (at Mary Ward Settlement, Tavistock Place, W.C.1), at 5.30.—Dr. H.C. Miller: The New Psychology and its Bearing on Education (7). SATURDAY, MARCH 11. oer ad TRAINING COLLEGE, at 11.—Prof. J. Adams: The School ass HORNIMAN MUsEUM (Forest Hill), at 3.80.—Miss M. A. Murray : ; Cleopatra’s Needle and Sun-worship. TUESDAY, MARCH 14, IMPERIAL COLLEGE (Royal School of ae at 5.30.—Col, N. T. Belaiew : The Crystallisation of Metals ( WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15. EAst LONDON COLLEGE, at 4.—Prof. F. E. Fritch: Certain Aspects of Freshwater oo Biology (5). LONDON (R.F.H.) SCHOOL OF MEDICINE FOR WOMEN (Hunter Street, W.C.1), at 5.—Dr. H. H. Dale: Some Recent Developments in Pharmacology (4). ; Kin@’s COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. N. Bohr: The Quantum Theory of Radiation and the Constitution of the Atom —" HORNIMAN Mod A (Forest Hill), at 6—W. W. Skeat: The Living Past in Britain (8) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 8.—The Current Work of the Biometric and Eugenics Laboratories (5). Julia Bell: The Inheritance of certain Types of Blindness, THURSDAY, MARCH 16. SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, at 5.—Dr. L. D. Barnett: The Hindu Culture of India (3). UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. J. E. G. de Montmorency : Welsh and Irish Tribal Customs (6). NO, 2732, VOL. 109 | KING’S COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. O. Faber : LONDON DAY TRAINING COLLEGE, at Aluminium and its Alloys. FRIDAY, Marcu 17. METEOROLOGIOAL OFFICE (South Kensington), at 3.—Sir NW The Structure of the Atmosphere and the Meteorology .—Prof. R. ' Robinson : Reinforced Concrete (9). 6.—Dr. W. Rosenhain Nepier ee es KIN@’ S$ COLLEGE, at 5 SATURDAY, MARCH 18. THE POLYTECHNIC ce ai Bre. W.1), at 10.30 A.m.—P. A. Best: The Romance of Comm = HORNIMAN MUSEUM Cioreat: Hill), at 3.30,—H. N. Milligan: The Natural History of Elephants. , CONTENTS. PAGE Awards for Discovery and Invention . ‘ fy ne 293 Principles and Problems of Aeron By Prof. 34 . H. Bryan, F.R.S. : «+ 2965! The History of Whaling .. 298 — Inorganic Chemistry as a Science. Donnan, F.R.S. - Cloud-Forms. By Sir jhe Shaige EE R. Ss. : ty jor Prehistoric Western Europe. By H. J. F. a oy Prof Pee 3 | " Rosenbusch’s ome 2 - Dr. a W. Evans, F.R. ‘S. 303 Our Bookshelf . Letters to the Editor :— The Langley Machine and the Hammondsport Trials, _ g —Griffith Brewer ; The Writer of the Articles 305 — Some Bsological Problema She G. Archdall Reid, 4 K.BE. | A Rainbow ‘Peculasity (Wustrated, i Major William J. S. Lockyer. 27, 309 Flowering Dates of Trees. — Wilson Lioyd Fox «310 Where did Terrestrial Life ae ?—Prof. J. W. ; Gregory, F.R.S. 310 The Name of the Gid Pas estes: _Prof. Tr, D. A. Cockerell . ; 310 The Weathering of Mortar. —N elson M. Richardson 310 Cancer Research. By Dr. J. A. Murray. . . 311 The Mechanism of Heredity. (With diagrams.) : By Prof. T. H. Morgan . : eee : a STS Obituary :— ‘i Sir George Carter, K.B.E: By T. B. AL enact hE Dr. H. Lyster Jameson ; ‘ : «ba figs TAC Sir E. C. K. Gonner, K.B.E. — . ; oo age Mr. George Cussons . ‘ : ‘ : «315% Current Topics and Events. 315 Our Astronomical Column :— ; - Saturn . : : ; : : : so grtes Meteoric Fireballs ; 3 Pras} tf: Comparison of Speed of Blue aS Velie Lit ak The Illumination of the Eclipsed Moon . : . 318 Parallaxes and. Proper Motions “ i , 6 318 4 ‘Research Items . niu Se Se Ewing’s Theory of Mecnhets indaeiiela (Lllustrated) 321 The Profession of Chemistry . ‘ ; 322 : Biology of Mosquitoes and the Disappearance ol : Malaria in Denmark : age a The Unity of Suithrapblors : a } We. so Geology and the History of Licdons , ‘ ek University and Educational Intelligence . ‘ a R05 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. . . - «+ 325 Societies and Academies . ; i : . 326 Official Publications Received .. é i eee ee Diary of Societies ; : : : Sag eee NATURE 329 : IURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices : _ MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., “MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. dvertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. _ Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. “elephone Number: GERRARD 8830. Melbourne University Bill. BOURNE University early took high rank cial distinction of many of its staff, the dard of its degrees, and the harmonious n between it and its affiliated colleges. as, however, been a feeling in recent years educationists in Victoria that the university of the same standing, as it had not kept progress elsewhere. To remove the causes h decline the Government of Victoria has 1 a Bill raising the statutory grant to the ity from 21,000l. per annum to 30,000l., the eee necessary by the university council. a tie degree of doctor or master. This body ‘some legislative powers and elects practically the the university council, which is the executive inistrative organ of the university. To give ity to the senate was probably the soundest lable at the foundation of the university, no longer necessary. The new Bill therefore to replace the senate by a convocation which consist of all the graduates, would act through tee, and would elect twelve out of the thirty s of the council. The Bill reconstitutes the yuncil to make it more widely representative. The w council would consist of thirty members, seven pointed by the Government, two by the university and one by the students, and would include irector of education and the president of the ial Board ex officio. These members and the ~ NO. 2733, VOL. 109] twelve elected by convocation would co-opt the six remaining members. The new Bill assigns to the university three additional branches of work, a school of commerce, research at the university in applied science, and a university extension department ; and it allots for these purposes an extra grant of 7oool. per annum. The allocation to the university of the proposed educational extension work would seem to be to its advantage as well as to that of the State. There is a widespread reaction towards various forms of affiliation as a means of widening the influence of universities on national education ; but this system often imposes a severe burden on a university, and is better not employed if some other way of organising higher provincial education be available. In the case of Victoria, failing the scheme proposed in the Bill, the alter- natives are the organisation of super-secondary classes by the Education Department, or the award of university degrees to external students by ex- amination, the course recently adopted in Western Australia and Queensland. The proposal in the Bill for the admission of fifty free students a year to the university would therefore seem to be to its ultimate benefit, by lessening any claim for affiliation that might be put forward in future by provincial in- stitutions. The lines of the new Bill follow the present general trend of university reform. The University Associa- tion of Teachers, of which Prof. W. A. Osborne, the . president of the Professorial Board, is chairman, has, however, issued a statement expressing great anxiety and disappointment at some of its features. The criticisms complain especially of the inadequate repre- sentation of the university staff on the new council, and of the disregard of the principle that a university should not be called upon to undertake new duties until the old duties are properly provided for. The statement points out that the gooo/. added to the annual grant for general university purposes would be so reduced by new expenses and loss of revenue from fees and public examinations that the university would gain at the utmost only an extra 1200l, If these estimates be correct, this additional income is obviously quite insufficient to enable the university to cope with the inrush of new students, who in- creased in numbers from 1296 in 1914 to 2607 in 192. This criticism is less against the Government than against the university council, which, according to the Association of University Teachers, has failed to protect the interests of the university by not raising fees and by asking for an inadequate increase of the State grant. The Government has given the amount 330 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 said to be necessary, and has probably under-estimated the effects on the university income of some of the proposed changes. If these effects be demonstrated, the raising of the general university grant may be expected. ; The discussion of the new Bill shows that university teachers in Australia are profoundly anxious as to the present conditions, are doubtful of the possibility of maintaining the university work at an appropriate level, and are alarmed at the discontent rife among all grades of the staff. It is impossible for any one not intimately acquainted with existing conditions in Australia to judge the financial estimates, but it is obvious that if a university staff is thoroughly. dis- contented its efficiency is bound to suffer. Teachers who are not paid a living wage must supplement their income by outside work which, except perhaps in departments of applied science, inevitably detracts from their usefulness to the university. Those interested in the progress of the universities of the British Empire will hope that the Victorian Government, before the new Bill is passed, will allay the distracting anxieties of the university staff by making sure that the nominal increase of 30 per cent. in the general purposes grant is an actual increase of this amount, and by amending the regulations relating to the council so as to guarantee a larger representation of university teachers. The provision that one of the six members to be co-opted by the council and two of the twelve to be elected by convocation must be university teachers would give a staff representation of one in five, which is the average in the younger British universities. If by such changes the new scheme gained the confidence of the staff the reforms would restrengthen the university, which has hitherto been a glory to the State of Victoria and an important asset in the development of Australia. Greek Mathematics. A History of Greek Mathematics. By Sir Thomas Heath. Vol. 1, From Thales to Euclid. Pp. xv +446. Vol. 2, From Aristarchus to Diophantus. Pp. xi+586. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921.) 2 vols., 50s. net. ERE this book only for the mathematician it would be no book for me; but it is a great deal more. It is for all who care for the historical aspect of science; it is for all lovers of Greek, for mathematics is a true “‘ Legacy of Greece,” and is interwoven through and through with Greek thought and philosophy. A couple of accidents in boyhood (if I may be allowed the reminiscence) made this subject curiously attractive NO. 2733, VOL. 109] to me. George Johnston Allman, pioneer in this country of the renewed study of Greek geometry, belonged to the little band of scholarly professors who taught in those days in Galway College ; he had more of mathematics and more of fine historic sense than of Greek letters, and here his colleagues—‘ Tom ” Maguire the Platonist, Davies the editor of the — Eumenides, and my father, who was his kinsman— combined to help him. In our quiet Galway life we heard for months together little else than of Allman’s book and. the long discussions which went to the making of it. . About the same time I had for schoolmaster in Edinburgh (and long after for a close friend) Dr. John — Sturgeon Mackay, as deeply versed in Greek mathe- matics as Allman himself. scarcely known save to his schoolboys, and lived a life as neglected as that still greater Hellenist Veitch vacations reading Greek MSS, in the great libraries, and in Paris he was intimate with Paul Tannery and the scholars of the day. Mackay’s life-task was to edit Pappus, the one great Alexandrine omitted by the Oxford editors of the eighteenth century. After twenty years’ work the thing was done, and lay in his desk with every diagram exquisitely drawn and every page and footnote written and rewritten. He went one day into Williams and Norgate’s bookshop, then in Edinburgh, and the manager said: “I have In Edinburgh he was_ -(of the “‘ Greek Verbs”) had done; but he spent his — something that will interest you to-day, Dr. Mackay” ; | and he handed him the first volume, fresh from Leipzig, of Hultsch’s edition of Pappus. The two men must (as Mackay told me afterwards) have been following one another unawares from library to library, collating the same MSS., noting the same minute textual details, and Mackay’s intimacy with the French had helped doubtless, in those long-ago post-war years, to keep him unacquainted with the German and his work. Anyway, there was an end of the matter. Some might have hurried into print, trusting to little points of their own, claiming something of the reward—but not Mackay. The work: was done and well done. Pappus was edited. It was a scholar’s tragedy—and nothing more ! Sir Thomas Heath has produced one important work after another, while living all the while a life of strenuous official toil and responsibility. His Diophantus, his Apollonius, and (greatest perhaps of all) his Euclid are part of the solid foundation of this “ History of Greek Mathematics.”” He has had more to build on by a long way than Allman and Gow had fifty years ago ; new texts have been edited, and men like Heiberg, Tannery, Zeuthen, Aldo Mieli, and (last but not least) Gino Loria have dealt with the matter in part and at a ox, ; 3 ie Ae oe Sie © Senn ~ Marcu 16, 1922] NATURE 331 e; but the essential difficulty remains of piecing r the broken stones. our first glimpse of ancient mathematics two sures, Pythagoras and Plato, stand out above rest: not as the greatest mathematicians, but greatest landmarks in history and tradition, - Descartes and Leibniz in another age. ito on, the story runs fairly smooth; we : tradition behind and enter upon history ; mathe- cs becomes a science of its own and slowly dis- gles itself from philosophy; the “ polymath” ng place to the specialist. With Euclid we the “Golden Age” of geometry cradled in demy, and though some of the minor men edes and Diocles) remain shadowy figures, ive a solid inheritance in Euclid and Apollonius ar Archimedes—“ ordine quidem tertius” (as i said), “dignitate facile princeps.” On the ‘side the astronomy of Eudoxus, the Optics l, the astronomy again of Aristarchus—the icus of antiquity ’—may be taken as “nails place *” ; and when we come to the “ Silver Diophantus, Pappus, Ptolemy and Theon, we ealth of historical material. ) to Plato’s time it is a very different story, simple reason that very few of the earlier ers and mathematicians (say down to ever wrote at all. Their teaching was r even secret, and only oral tradition carried Two things men will continue to discuss but now for sure—the debt the first Greek mathe- 3 owed to Egypt and the East, and the real, ‘ainments in mathematics of men like Thales, hagore s, Archytas, Democritus and Plato. Pytha- as is the strangest case of all, for no wise man’s 2 since Solomon’s has so fascinated the world. litior , and tradition alone, tells us that he invented ‘seventh proposition, and tells it no more confi- n the Dancing Dervishes of Constantinople tell sy are the descendants of his holy Brotherhood ! there is nothing but tradition to go upon, orian is lost. The imaginative man begins z two and two together, arguing what must een known in order to know this or that, and ust have followed as soon as this or that was ood ; and so the story grows. The construc- the Pentagon “must” have implied a know- of the Golden Section, and this and thé rem” itself must have involved the concept ? Irrational ; the triangle of the Pentalpha and must have led on to the logarithmic —even to the Limagon of Pascal! In some | way eee for instance, discourses on what agoras “must” have known and what he may NO. 2733, VOL. 109] r 9mons have known ; it is pleasant, even suggestive, reading, but it is a long, long way from history. At the other end stand the sceptical critics, to be taken more seriously—like Eva Sachs, whose book, by the way, n “ Die fiinf platonischen Kérper,’ Heath does not seem to quote. She, for example, holds that up to Philolaus we know nothing at all; that he and later Pythagoreans were chiefly bent on ‘aerthind each new thing to the old master of their school ; that there is no proof that Pythagoras knew anything of irrationals, little that he was acquainted with the regular solids, and none at all that he associated them, more Platonico, with a theory of the Elements. Between such opinions Sir Thomas Heath steers a careful middle course, and what he has to tell he attributes to ‘“‘ the Pythagoreans ” rather than to Pythagoras. Again, as to alien sources behind early Greek mathe- matics, one school will tell you that Greece had nothing or next to nothing to gain from the land-surveyors or “ rope-stretchers ” of Egypt, nor from Mesopotamian astronomers and calendar-makers. Others eagerly pick up little stray hints of a community or descent of ancient learning. They remind us ‘that it was in Ionia that Greek philosophy arose and the special sciences, even medicine, began—in a “mélange de races d’émigrés, d’origine diverse,” as Heiberg called the Ionians the other day; that Ionia was in close and constant touch with Lydia ; and that Ionian science appeared after a clash of empires and fall of cities, as a later Renaissance followed the fall of Constantinople. Or they catch hold of straws which point, or seem to point, to Far Eastern intercourse, such (for instance) as that mode of reckoning by myriads and myriads of myriads which the Japanese are said to have used about the time (say) of Thales, which exists in China to this day, and seems identical with Archimedes’ famous numeration of the Avenarius—where he began by supposing a myriad grains of sand in the space of a poppy-seed (or rather surely a poppy-head), and went on to myriad-myriads of units, and of orders, and of periods. Heath discusses the broad question briefly and fairly, and is content in the end to agree (as we all must) with Plato, that whatsoever the Greeks had borrowed, were it much or little, they it was who improved on it and carried it towards perfection. The Greeks at least knew well what not to borrow, and striking above all else is their choice of themes. It is they who best exemplify what Sir John Herschel laid down (perhaps rightly) as a general proposition—that men delight to escape from the trammels of earth: that not practical problems but “ the abstractions of geometry, the properties of numbers, the movements of the celestial spheres, whatsoever is abstruse, remote and extramundane, become the first objects of infant 332 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 science.” The useful applications, mechanical inven- tions, follow later on ; and David Hume put it neatly when he remarked that “‘ we cannot reasonably expect a piece of woollen cloth to be brought to perfection in a nation that is ignorant of astronomy.” Two things attract the general student, I think, more than any others connected with Greek mathe- matics—the Pythagorean arithmetic and the matter of the Platonic bodies. The former begins with the notion, characteristically Greek rather than peculiarly Pythagorean or Platonic, of arithmetic as something apart from mere calculation or the doing of sums —as, in short, a “ theory of numbers’; and not the least curious thing about it is that that arithmetic was studied (or so it is said) for generations before the Greeks had signs, even alphabetic ones, for the numerals. We may go to Sir Thomas Heath for a clear and full account of all the curious sorts of numbers, figurate and other, odd and even, square, triangular, and pyramidal, friendly numbers, perfect numbers, and so forth, which fertile imagination along with true mathematical insight was able to discover. It is not without a deep meaning, I believe, that we find on the very threshold of Mathematics this instinct for the symmetry of numbers, this sense of the intrinsic beauty, the comparative perfection, of one number or another. It is the way the calculating boy begins ; we had it exemplified in the highest degree, only the other day, in Ramanujan’s extraordinary but too short-lived talent. The theme, in Greek hands, leads on and on by many roads. By way of the “ means,’ it is at the root of the theory of music itself, of the ‘‘ acous- 2? matic” side of the Pythagorean philosophy ; by the theory of “gnomons” it is close-linked with the “theorem” of Pythagoras; it carries us, though more in contrast than identity, to the Euclidean treatment of arithmetic; and at last it brings us straight to the Neo-pythagoreans, to the “ Theo- logumena,” and to later writers down even to Kircher, who dealt more and more extravagantly (much after the fashion of the Cabbala) ‘de abditis numerorum mysteriis ’’—with the physical, the “ ethical” and the -“ theological ” properties of numbers. The other matter, that of the Platonic bodies, is a long story. We know that Plato did not discover them but we may still be curious to know whether Pythagoras did; and here we must distinguish the mathematical side of the question from the physico- philosophical one—from the deeper meaning which Plato and others found in these five symmetries. It has been amply shown, I think, that their association with the elements was not due to Pythagoras, and it is not likely that Pythagoras knew very much even about their construction and properties. To suppose him NO. 2733, VOL. 109] geometry, which studied the triangle, the square, the © to have understood these is to credit him with too much ; the main teaching of Euclid would have bee ) already his: “ Le cadre était déja celui,” as Tannery says, ‘que remplissait les Eléments [d’Eucli But who were the great mathematicians who in gated them? Theztetus was probably the outstand: man—he who “described,” that is constructed, the | solids, according to Suidas—though Heath hesita (curiously) over the meaning of éypave. Heath que also the Euclid-scholion that Theaetetus added the octahedron and icosahedron to the other three, but do not think he mentions that this has (or so it migh: seem) a textual flaw ; for surely the octahedron was as old as the Syeaniids, while the dodecahedron would be one of the last, probably the last of all, to be con- — structed and explained. Plato, then, may have taken his mathematics in this matter from Theaetetus, partly (some would say) from was and some- but very beautiful, of these five figures, all ins ck a in spheres, not really solids but hollow shells w. filmy surfaces, made out of tiny triangles—as the gold- — beater begins with little three-sided patins of gold— the figures being, as it were, molecules with the facets — for atoms, and the whole forming a sort of foamy, — cellular structure, like a froth of soap-bubbles, out of — which to build the material of an harmonious world. — Indeed, one wonders whether Plato had not in his mind’s — eye the homely but exquisite configuration of a froth of soap-suds ! The theme is kindred to our last. For ies as an ~ arithmetic grew up regardless of practical reckoning and dealing only with the symmetrical properties of _ numbers, so did a geometry arise which thought nothing of practical mensuration, only of the abstract properties, — the essential symmetries, of planes and solids. This pentagon, etc.,then the “Platonic” and “Archimedean” bodies, the regular and semi-regular solids, the perfect, the less perfect and the imperfect geometrical forms, — was own sister to that arithmetic which investigated — the triangles, squares, polygons, pyramids and cubes, the “‘ perfections and imperfections,” which lie hidden Jf among the mysterious properties of numbers. And ~ all the while these theoretical studies of configuration — were being applied along somewhat narrow but very important lines to music, to optics and to astronomy, — as we should say to problems of sound, light and 3 periodic motion—in short, to the three great recognised — groups of harmonious natural phenomena. This, then, — in a word, was the concept of Greek mathematics as it occupied the wit of man, the intellect of Philosaphents for just a thousand years. ‘16, 1922] NATURE 333 medean bodies, by the way, Heath deals fully, but he might perhaps have told us these (Kepler’s “ truncated octahedron ’’), e been known to Plato, is no other than aidekahedron which Lord Kelvin showed slight modification) the typical “cell” neous froth. He might even perhaps a little of how Kepler (true disciple of and of Plato) used both Platonic and bodies in that treasure-house of elegant he “ Harmonice Mundi”; and how he only the five Platonic bodies (as Euclid Archimedes’ thirteen were all there are, series of their respective families. vast deal of information in Heath’s set forth and orderly arranged; we to compare with it in English, and Gino mze esatte”’ is its only serious rival inclined to think that Loria paints a broader brush, while Heath excels t of individual mathematicians ; but thinking that Heath, who has attained and acknowledged success in his editions the rest, must have found that in this struck a harder task than any he had We may know more of the history of than of any other science, but the lacune and tradition is poor material for the Moreover the historical aspect is somewhat the mathematician, if only because (as s) history deals with das Werden, and ics with das Sein ! Thomas Heath deals with Euclid, Apol- medes, Diophantus, Hero or Pappus, ‘in a few pages all we could expect by me of the trend, ‘the method and the heir labours. But his book pursues its ictive course with little digression, anecdote, and with curiously little biblio- information such as he puts abundantly er books. Surely one of the objects of a to guide the student to what it does not t contain! Some of us, I think, would have /more digression or even gossip. When has told us that the Pentalpha was the symbol of Health he ‘is well-nigh done ; S gives us a dozen pages of learned gossip traces it through Boetius and Thomas Brad- the Margarita Philosophica and Father Kepler himself, and ends with Poinssot’s sur les Polygones”! The Shoemaker’s beautiful and simple construction in easy of great antiquity—an ancient proposition, calls it—and Heath tells us doubtless all that (2733, VOL. 109] is essential for us to know ; but a short footnote might have told us how Jacob Steiner investigated and elaborated it, or how J. S. Mackay epitomised its many properties, or how Sir Thomas Muir added a pretty corollary. Again (as a random instance) Heath discusses at length the simple but important rule of Thymaridas (simplicity itself in our notation) for solving certain simultaneous equations, where the sum of X1+%_+ ... %, is known, and also the successive sums Of %,+% , %,+%3, etc.; but of Thymaridas he only tells us that he was “‘ an ancient Pythagorean, probably not later than Plato’s time.” If we be limited to a phrase I do not know that we could say a safer thing; but why should we not have some little sign-post, even a footnote, to Tannery’s dis- cussion (in “ L’Arithmétique pythagorienne ”) on who Thymaridas was and when he lived, or to the many discussions by Cantor, Martin, Nesselmann, and even Fabricius ; for “ il y a un assez grand intérét ee a. déterae Vage ou vivait Thymaridas.” Heath tells us that this rule of his was called by the special name of érav@ypa, and he translates it “ the ‘ flower’ or ‘ bloom’ of Thymaridas.” He qualifies this by a parenthetic remark that the name was not, after all, confined ‘to this particular proposition, but what it really means he does not explain; Tannery, I think, has shown fairly clearly that it was a name (“ pour ainsi dire”) “ pour les matiéres non exigées du pro- gramme de larithmétique pour les étudiants en philosophie.” It was again Thymaridas who defined (as Heath tells us) ‘fa unit as ‘ limiting quantity,’ ” moaétns. It was a very important definition, but was it not a definition of “unity” rather than of “a unit,” and is a limiting quantity a fair and full translation of roodrns? Turn towards the other end of the volume, to ground that is peculiarly Heath’s own, and see Euclid’s famous definition (V. 3) of ratio, which Heath renders “a sort of relation in respect of size (xnAcxdrns) between two magnitudes of the same kind.” I cannot help thinking that, between the two, we lose the fine and even crucial distinction between woodrys and mnAixdryns. The one mathematician was talking of a relation between numbers, the other of a ratio between any two magni- tudes ; I think they both picked their words accord- ingly, and I should like at least to give them the benefit of the doubt. Of Euclid’s definition Heath tells us that “it was probably inserted for completeness’ sake, and in order merely to aid the conception of a ratio.” All the same, I should rather like to hear what Barrow had to say of its metaphysical character ; or what an older school meant when they translated NI TEPO ivovea. 334 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 mAtkorns by quantuplicity ; or even to be referred to that very curious imaginary discussion of this very point, by Euclid, Eutocius, Theon and the rest, in the pages of Meibom’s “ De Proportionibus.” The simple fact is that Sir Thomas Heath has given us so much, and it is all so good, that he makes us ask for more. D’Arcy W. THOMPSON, Entomology and Malaria. The Prevention of Malaria in the Federated Malay States: A Record of Twenty Years’ Progress. By Dr. Malcolm Watson, with contributions by P. S. Hunter and A. R. Wellington. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. xxviii+ 381. (London; John Murray, 1921.) 36s. net. R. WATSON’S book shows clearly the wide range of scientific knowledge which is required by those who work in the tropics either as physicians Fic. 1.--Kapar Drainage Scheme. or as sanitarians. It is unnecessary nowadays to insist upon the importance of the control of malaria in the development of those vast areas from which is derived so much of the food supplies and raw materials of manufacture of all civilised countries, but only those who have had practical experience of the methods used to deal with the disease can appreciate how many and how varied these must be. Until about the middle of the nineteenth century medical men were almost always naturalists as well, and it is regrettable that the old traditional associa- tion of medicine and natural science has been so largely broken off. In modern times the older teaching of natural history has been replaced by an inadequate course of so-called biology which may, indeed, enable NO. 2733, VOL. 109] One of the main drains, with rubber-trees on both sides, ‘‘ The Prevention of Malaria in the Fedérated Malay States.”’ the student to recognise the appendages of the cock- roach, or a section of the rhizome of a fern, but scarcely qualifies him to name correctly the commonest insect or plant when he sees it in the field. The need for a more practical knowledge of the forms and bionomics of animals, and especially of insects, is brought home to one again and again during the perusal of Dr. Watson’s very interesting and readable book. It was indeed no light task which confronted the author when in rgor he began his service in the Malay States. The new knowledge of the mode of trans- mission of malaria by certain mosquitoes had to find a practical application in a country where physical conditions are very diversified and little or nothing was known about the insect carriers. Large com- mercial interests, too, were involved, and no doubt there were many interested persons ready to criticise adversely any failure, and reluctant to spend money From on what they regarded as the doctor’s theories. Here were the most favourable conditions imaginable for mosquitoes—an equable, warm, and moist climate ; a large rainfall almost equally distributed throughout the year; abundance of pools, swamps, and _hill- streams. As to the prevalence of mosquitoes, Dr. Watson relates that, in a small patch of jungle in the town of Klang, Anopheles umbrosus, a natural carrier of malaria, was present in such large numbers that three persons caught about two hundred in a quarter of an hour ‘‘and simply could not stand the biting any longer.” At the same time, three other species of mosquitoes were present “in considerably greater numbers than the anopheline, so it can be imagined a quarter of an hour in that jungle was unpleasant.” Marcu 16, 1922] The book abounds with interesting details concern- ing the natural history of various mosquitoes, and shows how necessary such knowledge is before any attempt can be made to mitigate the malarial scourge. The case of Anopheles Ludlowi is a good vindication— if amy were needed—of the practical importance of ‘the taxonomic work of the syste- matic entomologist. There three species, A. Ludlowi, A. Rossii, and A. indefinitus, so similar to one another that the experience of an expert is required to distinguish between them. Yet of these three only one, A. Ludlowi, is known to be a natural carrier of malaria. Moreover, it differs entirely from the others in its habits, breeding mainly along the coast and often in brackish water. In connection with this mosquito Dr. Watson gives a good account of the. mangrove- swamps, and explains how engineer- ing works on the coast may cause an imerease of malaria by interference with the tidal flushing of the swamps. As the prevalent mosquitoes vary in the plains and in the hills, so the methods of dealing with malaria differ in each locality. As the jungle is cleared and drained in the plains malaria disappears ; whilst in “the hills drainage and the opening up of the jungle alone fail to influence the prevalence of the disease. The explanation of this is that in the plains the mosquito which carries malaria is Anopheles umbrosus, which breeds in pools in the jungle; in the hills the mos- quito chiefly concerned is A. macu- latus, the breeding-place of which is the running water of springs and hill-streams. A method which may be quite successful in diminish- ing the numbers of one species may yet fail to lessen the incidence of are malaria, since it may lead to conditions suitable for | the breeding of another species. How all these different problems were dealt with satisfactorily will be found in the volume under review. The book appeals to other than medical men. Many interesting sidelights are thrown on the inhabitants, on life in the Malay States, and on the development of rubber planting ; a good account also is given of NO. 2733, VOL. 109] NATURE continues in an open drain. Malaria in the Federated Malay States. ui 99 IOI the physical features of the country, with its mangrove- swamps, ‘‘ flat land,” coastal and inland hills. The book is written in an attractive style, and such a large amount of knowledge is so pleasantly and modestly displayed that it will certainly add much to the high reputation of the authors; and, since Fic. 2.—The end of the subsoil pipes in a ravine on the Seafield Estate; from this point the water Photograph taken in dry weather. From ‘The Prevention of the methods for the prevention of malaria, which were used so successfully in the Malay States, are of general application, this lucid account will be of the utmost value to all medical men practising in tropical and subtropical regions. The book is well printed and illustrated by a large number of excellent photo- graphs, two of which are here reproduced. H. J. WALTON. 330 NATURE | [Marcu 16, 1922 ae Berber Surgery and Sport in the Aurés Mountains. (a) Among the Hill Folk of Algeria: the Shawia of the Aurés Mountains. Hilton-Simpson. Pp. 248. (London: Unwin, Ltd., 1921.) 21s. net. (2) Shooting Trips in Europe and Algeria: Being a Record of Sport in the Alps, Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Corsica, and Algeria. By H. P. Highton. Journeys among By M. W. T. Fisher Pp. 237. (London: H. F. and G. Witherby, 1921.) 16s. (1) HE gregarious nature of the British tourist is illustrated by Captain Hilton-Simpson’s claim that during his excursions among the Algerian hills near Biskra, which he describes as one of the most popular tourist resorts of the whole world, his wife was the first European woman to be seen by many of the people of the adjacent hills. _ His journeys in the mountains of Aurés, the Mons Aurasius of the Romans, were conducted mainly to study the native surgery and make a collection of the instruments used for the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford. The most valuable chapter in his book is the account of Berber surgery, which is not easily studied, as the French apply to the Northern Sahara the law that a fatal operation conducted by a man who is not medically qualified is manslaughter. Captain Hilton-Simpson, by gifts of drugs and surgical instruments, was able to gain the confidence of some of the native practi- tioners. He secured admission to some operations, and. has collected much interesting information as to the methods of treatment. success is in trepanning. The author has made seventeen visits to Algeria, so he knows the country well, and his book is'a valu- able record of contemporary native life in the remoter villages of the Southern Atlas. He refers to indications of a greater rainfall at the time of the Roman occupa- tion, though the general evidence given in the book indicates that the climate in Roman times was much the same as it is to-day. (2) The same district has been described from a very different point of view by Mr. H. P. Highton, a science master at Rugby. He, also, discarding the ways of the ordinary tourist, has devoted many of the genérous holidays allowed at the public schools to shooting trips, in one of which he visited the moun-- tains of Southern Algeria in quest of the Barbary sheep and the Dorcas gazelle. Other journeys were in chase of chamois in the Alps and the Pyrenees, of elk and reindeer in Norway and Sweden, and of moufflon in Corsica. Chamois-hunting he calls the prince of sport. His narratives are brightly written. He con- NO. 2733, VOL. 109] ‘cludes with a defence of shooting based on the nature- The most remarkable red-in-tooth-and-claw principle, and the claim though animals suffer greatly from mental ang when chased, as presumably i in fox-hunting, they little physical pain. This line of argument is aln the opposite to that adopted by Roosevelt, based on quickness with which wild animals forget sudden @ The Work of the Royal Engineers in the European J jee 2 1914-19. aes (t) Water Supply. Part I.: General Development of 4 Organization, Plant, and Works. Pp. 54a * +4 2 maps.. Part II.: Operations. - pls.+8 maps. _ (2) Bridging. Pp. 87+ 33 pls.+3 maps. (3) Supply of Engineer Stores and Equipment. Pp. tog. j (4) The Signal Service in the European War of 1914 1918. (France.). By R. E. Priestley. Pp. x 359 + 20 pls. ee (Chatham: Secretary, R.E. Institute; W. Mackay and Co., Ltd., 1921.) (1) By the last year of the war operations inv “concentrations of unexampled density could be successfully undertaken at short notice in any — es areas, and at the points most desirable for strategical — or tactical reasons, without reference to the presence = of water in or near the surface.” The ways and means by which this result was achieved are well set forth in the work under review. Amongst them may be mentioned the erection of semi-permanent and exten- a sive supply systems with head works and pipe-lines, — g such as those at Roosbrugghe, the free use of mechanical transport, and the extensive use of boring: plant. Drills were used on a small scale in the chalk | area In 1915, the air-lift pump soon giving a great impetus to boring operations. Portable air- compressor plants. é mounted on lorries visited a borehole and worked ~ so long as was necessary to fill the local storage plants. 2 Scarcely less important than the supply of. water was the purification of it, and full details of the methods used are given. Large purification plants did excell i work of a pioneer nature in supplying potable va from canals—in some cases through pipe-lines sev miles in length, . i (2) The need for heavy bridges was first pay 3 on the Aisne. From that time the history of bridging during the war was determined largely by the in creasingly important rdle played by the heavy artillery: re and tanks, the maximum axle load to be carried ri from thirteen to thirty tons. With the aid of i te and some excellent photogrepns, the various star re vhs 4 cu 16, 1922] NATURE 337 bridges evolved in the adil are passed view. One of the most remarkable types, point of view of lightness and ease of erection, Inglis bridge of identical bays of weldless steel pter on temporary bridges is a really stirring typical bridging operations during the final August to November, 1918. A succession vays had to be forced before each serious ment. In one case a field company erected a > of 80-ft. span within 500 yds. of the completing it four hours before the attack _ No fewer than 539 heavy bridges were n August and November, 1918. pply of stores necessarily developed not , but also in variety, for “it came R. B. were early regarded as the universal : everything that was not authorised equip- y March 1919, more than 1,800,000 tons of the most diverse nature had been sent estern front. Road metal, camouflage, installations, and propaganda balloons, in the lists. Constantly increasing experi- ; on new devices was also carried out, and it of the results achieved is of considerable a of the nervous system of the Army it war is the story of a service constantly with ever fresh developments and re- $: sometimes failing, more often succeed- vays improving and learning.” The need adjustment of ideas and nimbleness of the part of those directing the policy of not ended with the war. Just as “the the magneto telephone by the General as probably responsible for a revolution in staff $ great as any that has ever occurred in the war,” so may the developments of wireless and telephony bring many new problems officer of the future. While recognising strangle-hold that code and cipher exercised 2 of wireless during the greater part of the r Priestley points out how, as shelling and ir ag more intense, wireless forced its way hag into use and recognition. It is clearly w that the signals of the future will be mainly Boat , $ supported by line telegraphy and visual arks Sictve more light on the extent to S$ grew in complexity during the war and qualifications came to be required by front- ps than the statement that at the end of the xe battalion and battery signaller was expected More qualifications than those possessed by ie 0. 2733, VOL. 109] the line telegraphists of the Royal Engineers at the commencement of the war. For its system of hastily improvising a large army this country paid the penalty that must needs accom- pany such a process. Had we been better organised to make full use of man-power and brain-power on a national emergency, Moseley could scarcely have been allowed to go to his gallant death at Gallipoli. He could have been so much more profitably employed in his corps either in developing wireless or in examining and combating the overhearing of telephone signals. Our slowness in the recognition of enemy overhearing, with all the unnecessary loss of life that it involved, is a natural sequel to aur general unpreparedness for the great emergency of 1914. Granted that we were not always first in the field in the early days of the war, we can, however, recognise fairly that lost time was well made up before the end. The close of the war found the Signal Service “‘ efficient in its day and generation, as the personnel of the highly trained units of the original Expeditionary Force had been in theirs.” Our Bookshelf. Nut Growing. By R. T. Morris. Pp. x+236. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 13s. net. THERE is little of the dry manual about this useful volume. The author has a “ message” to give to a world seeking new foodstuffs, and though he occupies forty pages in introducing the subject, his preliminary remarks are to the point and well worth reading by those interested. Briefly, the book is a practical guide to the commercial cultivation of trees bearing edible nuts, and is addressed to growers in America, where in recent years much attention has been given to this industry. The nuts dealt with include hickories, walnuts, hazels, chestnuts, pine nuts, and almonds. - Reference is made to the devastation caused in the forests of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) by the fungus Endothia parasitica, which threatens to destroy the species unless resistant stocks can~be discovered and successfully propagated. The author claims to have produced hybrids between this tree and the chinkapin (Castanea pumila) which are highly resistant to the fungus, and bear nuts of good size and quality. An important section on propagation deals with the practical aspects of nut cultivation, and has been written mainly with the object of describ- ing a special system of grafting, which is clearly illustrated in a series of excellent plates. A Handbook on Cotton and Tobacco Cultivation in Nyasaland: A Guide to Prospective Settlers. By J. S. J. McCall. Pp. 85. (Zomba, Nyasaland : The Government Printer, 1920.) Ir is greatly to be regretted that the late Mr. McCall did not long survive his promotion from the post of 338 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 Director of Agriculture in Nyasaland to the corre- sponding directorship in the newly acquired Tangan- yika Territory. His little book is a useful summary of practical information on cotton and tobacco growing in Nyasaland, and contains just those particulars which experience shows are required by would-be planters with little or no previous knowledge of these crops. The greater part of the book is devoted to cotton, a crop of which Mr. McCall had much experience. Nyasaland long-staple cotton has gained a high reputa- tion and finds a ready market. A controlling factor in production is transport, and on this point the author expresses the view that “‘ the progress of cotton growing in Africa to-day depends more than ever on railways and mechanical transport. The cultivation of tobacco has become one of the most important planting industries of the Protectorate, and the.leaf (Virginian type) is well known in this country. The information given regarding the growing and curing of this crop forms a useful first guide to a subject requiring careful study. A Popular Chemical Dictionary: A Compendious Encyclopaedia. By C.T. Kingzett. Second edition. Pp. viiit+539. (London: Bailliére, Tindall and Cox, 1921.) 215. net. THE first edition of this useful book has been exhausted in less than one year, thus proving that it filled a vacancy in chemical literature. A careful perusal of the new edition shows that much new material has been added which enhances considerably the utility of the book. In particular the chief constants of most of the chemicals named have been added, and the work now forms a handy and popular book of reference embracing in one moderately sized volume a mass of up-to-date information on practically every branch of chemistry and allied sciences. The information is imparted in a clear and inter- esting manner, freed so far as possible from techni- calities. Consequently any one wishing to ascertain the meaning of a term or definition, or the nature of any material or subject in the scope of chemistry or mineralogy, will find without difficulty and within a few seconds the information required—information which is often difficult to lay hands on immediately when embedded in the pages of a large text-book. G. M. The Adjustment and Testing of Telescope Objectives. Third edition. Pp. 123+3 plates. (York and London : T. Cooke and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) THis volume is the third edition of a book first pub- lished in 1891. The favourable reception accorded to the earlier editions, and the extent of their circula- tion, have encouraged the publishers to re-issue the work with the amplifications necessary to bring it up to date. The book deals with the simplest and most effective means of detecting flaws in telescope objectives, as well as the various maladjustments and imperfections of mounting, which may prevent an observer from obtaining the best results from his telescope. Different types of objective are treated separately, a special section being devoted to the Cooke triple photo-visual NO. 2733, VOL. 109] objective. The points to which attention is given — include squaring-on, achromatism, astigmatism, spheri- cal and zonal aberration, mechanical strains, and other | smaller, but equally important, matters. There is also a short chapter on the general treatment of objec- The volume concludes with reprints of three papers by Mr. H. Dennis Taylor, originally presented tives. to the Royal Astronomical Society, dealing with achromatism and the secondary colour aberrations of refractors. The book is very clearly written, and should prove : of great use, not only in detecting faults in imperfect — objectives, but also in enabling an observer to deter- mine whether defects in star images are due to the a objective or to the manner of its setting. It should — appeal especially to the amateur astronomer possessing a small refractor. The directions for testing and — adjustment are of the simplest possible character, — and involve keen observation rather than mechanical — skill. “Aas ee The publishers have done a great service to astro- nomy in preparing such a useful little book. Bibliographia Agrogeologica: Essay of a Systematic — Bibliography of Agro-Geology. By Adolf Wulff. (Mededeelingen van de Landbouwhoogeschool en van de Daaraan Verbonden Instituten, Deel 20.) (Wageningen: H. Veenman, 1921.) Pp. iv+ 285. 4°50 florins. THE study of the soil has developed so rapidly in 2 recent years that’no student can keep pace with the output of papers, nor can the best card index of an individual worker be relied upon as being complete. The necessity for such adventitious aid as is afforded by a bibliography has long become pressing, and this is now supplied by Dr. Adolf Wulff. No fewer than 3300 titles are given, the papers being drawn from more than 600 journals, and the list goes up to Novem- ber 1, 1919. A satisfactory classification is adopted, so that the student will have no difficulty in finding his way through the bibliography even if he has to consult it only occasionally. Although the title suggests to English ears only the geological or mineralogical side, the index covers the whole ground dealt with in this country by soil investigators, including soil organisms, soil organic matter, and the relations of soil to the growing plant. The English is remarkably free from errors, and the few misprints will cause no difficulty. Prof. J. van Baren contributes an interesting dis- cussion on soil problems, bringing together a con- siderable amount of work which is little known, and _ Lay Pe batt ends eS ee OVC deve ae ea 3 forming a useful introduction to the whole volume. 3 Altogether the book is one which can safely be recom- _ mended to students and investigators in the subject. be Bi Patents and Chemical Research. By H. E. Potts. Pp. x+198. (Liverpool: University Press, 1921.) 8s. 6d. net. A PATENT, like any other form of contract, depends very largely for its value upon the skill with which it has been drawn up. The form of wording, in fact, may be quite as important as the subject-matter. | RCH 16, 1922] NATURE 339 rly is this so in the case of a patent for a invention, where the scope of the monopoly defined in chemical terms and generally gut reference to drawings. Clearly, then, it is e advantage of the patentee to obtain the fullest co ation in drafting the specification for a al invention. ‘ts makes this his theme, and in the tion of his book he develops it by lay- the principles upon which to construct patent that will procure maximum pro- stent with security against possible in- nt or invalidation. His observations should nct] helpful both to the research worker in a ileshistry and to the patent agent, though erhaps to exaggerate a little the function r. Whether, for instance, the patent d be capable of diagnosing chemical © the extent indicated in chap. 3 is rather ubt. D-Ope can be no question of the author’s e fundamentals of patent law; the dis- n with which he has selected his lead- when discussing the validity of patents 3 this. On the business aspect of patents, hor’s views are well worthy of attention, regards their value, individually and , in commercial warfare. E. J. | | Photography for Amateurs. By H. H. Pp. iv+93+v plates. (London: Gall , n.d.) 6s. net. possessing small telescopes may, with the , their disposal, secure good astronomical s, and the volume under notice is an handbook intended to explain in a simple low good results may be achieved. The not go beyond this stage, so that none of uses to which astronomical photographs are touched upon. be regretted that the amateur’s share in ic methods of observation should be as being confined solely to obtaining records. But, even accepting this limita- re is much that the amateur may do escopes of small aperture. As an instance can be accomplished with a small instru- the hands of a skilled observer, it may ioned that many of Prof. Barnard’s superb s of the Milky Way were secured with a of less than 2-in. aperture. To amateurs attempting something in this direction, ating through lack of experience and for a guide, this book can be recommended. It n by one who has had some success in this is full of practical hints and directions as to thods of working, the type of camera necessary, exposures and apertures most suitable for various objects. This is just the sort k which a beginner requires. It includes five with reproductions of astronomical photographs ned by the author. These are printed on a paper 0 r quality, with the result that they are practically $s as indications to the beginner of the results h he should be able to obtain. n.S. fj: NO. 2733, VOL. 109] PAP IUTIO ‘Personal Beauty and Racial Betterment. Philosophy and the New Physics: An Essay on the Relativity Theory and the Theory of Quanta. By Prof. L. Rougier. Authorised translation from the author’s corrected text of “La Matérialisa- tion de lEnergie” by Prof. M. Masius. Pp. vi+159. (Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Son and Co., 1921.) La Matiére et Energie: Selon la Théorie de la Relativité et la Théorie des Quanta. Par Prof. L. Rougier. Nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée. Pp. xili+112. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie, 1921.) 9.50 francs. Tue French title is a better indication than the English of the contents of this little book. The only philosophical question discussed at any length is that of the relation between matter and energy, regarded as an extreme example of the fundamental problem of a substance and its properties. By far the greater part of the space is devoted to a simple exposition of the theory of relativity and the quantum theory, which is as well suited for those whose interests are primarily scientific as for philosophers. The exposition is quite adequate, but it is not superior to all others of the same scope. The author has not solved the insoluble problem of giving a true account of mathematical theories without assuming familiarity with the mathematical ideas from which they derive their value and meaning; but he has succeeded in avoiding the distortion of meaning that is frequently a result of such attempts. We can recommend the book to any one with philosophical inclinations who wants to make one more attempt to “ understand Einstein,’ but we are not sure that it was worth translation. However, the translator has done his work, except in the title, with unusual competence. ° By Prof. Knight Dunlap. Pp. 95. (London: Henry Kimp- ton, 1920.) 6s. net. Pror. DUNLAP’S essay on racial betterment consists of two parts. In the first he analyses the elements which go to make up the ideal of personal beauty as a basis of sexual selection ; in the second he deals with its conservation as a means to the improvement of the race. Personal beauty, he maintains, on the negative side is the absence of deformity and of devia- tion from the accepted type towards that of an inferior race, while on the positive side it is the sign and expression of the potentiality of the individual, not in his own interests, but in the interests of the species. Prof. Dunlap meets possible objections that his view of the factors making for racial betterment is entirely physical by maintaining that that is the primary ideal essential for “the attainment of ultimate ideals.” This is somewhat vague, but apparently he means that mental and moral qualities may be neglected in sexual selection without detriment—a somewhat large assump- tion. He discusses the question of the unfit and the desirability in their case of sterilisation, as well as the various causes operative in checking the fertility of those who are best fitted to perpetuate the race. Though he maintains that some fundamental reform is necessary and cannot long be delayed, he himself has no practical programme to propose. 340 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 1 Letters to the Editor. [Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of rejected manuscripts intended for this, or. any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications.] A Magnetic Model of Atomic Constitution. Tue following preliminary description of a new magnetic model atom is given on account of the remarkable coincidence between the results we have obtained experimentally and the views which Dr. Aston has put forward with regard to the atomic constitution of certain of the lower elements. An attempt has already been made by Sir J. J. Thomson to draw a parallel between atomic structure and the arrangements into which. Mayer’s magnets group themselves ; but this parallelism suffered from the fundamental flaw that there was no numerical relationship between the strength of the central pole and the united strengths of the floating magnets. In order to have a true parallel, it is essential that the strength of the central pole should increase pari passu with the number of magnets afloat at one time ; for only in this way can a “‘ magnetic neutrality * “be obtained which will represent the electrical neutrality of the atom. In our preliminary work we achieved a close approximation to this state of affairs by using a series of equal magnets. A single magnet was fixed vertically at the bottom of a lead tank filled with water, above the surface of which a second vertical magnet was held in a glass tube. On the water surface, a third vertical magnet was floated by means of a cork disk. All the magnets had their north poles upward. Since both poles of a floating magnet repel those of another floating magnet, it is necessary to have two fixed magnets for each floating one, in order to establish neutrality. When two floats are in the dish, two magnets are placed at the bottom and two magnets in the glass tube, and so on. In this way, the strength of the central pole is always exactly equal and opposite to the combined powers of the floating magnets. When this arrangement is tested with numbers of floating magnets corresponding to units of atomic weight in the various elements, the following results are obtained. The magnets arrange themselves into two sharply defined and clearly separated groups, the central one of which may for convenience be termed the nucleus, whilst the second group may be named the ring. In the table below are the experimental results showing the distribution of the magnets into the two groups :— Total minus Magnets. In Nucleus. Niclens. Corresponds to I I oO Hydrogen. 4 2 2 Helium. 6 3 3 Lithium-6. O; 4 3 Lithium-7. 9 5 4 Beryllium. Io 5 5 Boron-to. II 6 5 Boron-rr. I2 6 6 Carbon, 14 7 Fe - Nitrogen. 16 8 8 Oxygen. 19 Io 9 Fluorine. 20 Io ro Neon. Inspection will show that this series of groupings corresponds exactly to the suggestions put forward by Dr. Aston. He regards each unit of atomic weight NO. 2733, VOL. 109] . centric triangles. as a proton carrying one positive charge ; and the - atomic number of the element is, as Prof. Soddy suggested, the algebraic sum of ‘the positive anata negative charges in the atomic nucleus. In the new atomic model, it will be seen, the systems arrar themselves spontaneously so as to form a perf analogy to the hypothetical atomic structures. Ee in the case of Boron-10 the central pole eae ten magnets; five of these are “ neutralised ” by — the five floating magnets of the nucleus, leavi net “ charge’”’ of five, which is the atomic numb of boron. In the case of Boron-11 there are alee 4 magnets in the central pole; six floating 3 ‘neutralise ’’ six of them, leaving free five— atomic number of both isotopic forms of boron, = All the known elements and isotopes in the series find their exact parallel in these magnetic models ; and the coincidence, if it be merely coincidence, is certainly surprising. : It should be pointed out that hydrogen is anoma lous, since obviously a single magnet cannot simul- taneously form part of two groupings, nucleus and ring. If the floating magnet in this case be reckoned — as a ring magnet instead of a nuclear one, hydrogen would have the atomic number If. It seems worth while to point out that the of magnets in the ring is always equal to the m valency of the element plus two units; and occurrence of two magnets in the ring of the corresponding to helium suggests that all the elements up to fluorine are built up with two res: Bee ee electrons in the ring. In the c he which ovidentty has some con- ; nection with atomic structure. It appeared of interest to examine the cases of the 2 atomic weights 2, 3, 5, and 8, which have at present — = no corresponding elements. With two floating mag- _ nets, one forms the. nucleus and the other the ring ~ group, which gives an atomic number 1. This sub- stance would therefore by analogy be an rags hydrogen with an atomic weight 2. With magnets, one again forms the nucleus, with two others in the ring: this corresponds to the atomic number 2, so that the element, if it exists at all, — may be an isotope of helium. Five magnets give ee system of two in the nucleus and three in the ring— — an isotope of lithium. In the case of eight magnets _ there are two possible groupings, almost equally _ : stable. Four in the nucleus and four in the ring would correspond to an isotope of beryllium. ive i in the nucleus and three outside is the analogue of — a fourth lithium isotope. These two groupings would | be isobaric systems. : It would occupy too much space to. discuss the regularities of the magnetic groupings within the nucleus, but one point of interest may be mentioned, — In the case of Boron-11 and carbon, both contain six magnets arranged in two oped In view of the gene in physical characteristics between boron and carbon, and especially of the fact that in its hydrides boron is quadrivalent like carbon (yielding B,H, like C,H, and not BH, as might be expected from its position 3 in Group IIL), this peculiarity seems not without meaning. 3 We propose to extend this investigation imme- 3 "4 diately with improved apparatus which we hope will — surmount some of the obvious experimental difficulties _ in the case of more complex systems. K. MarsH. ‘A. W. STEwart. The Sir Donald Currie Laboratories, Queen’s University, Belfast. NATURE 341 [arcu 16, 1922] Nature of Vowel Sounds. following observations as to the nature of the ' sounds of a single voice (my own)—details of orm the subject of a separate communication of the International Phonetic Associa- ay be of interest. ; uunds were observed by ear, first, for the vowels, and afterwards with a larynx note sed. In the whispered series it was found h of the separate vowels was characterised by nant notes, an upper component ranging Gd” (608~) to e”” (2579~), and a lower : ranging from $d’ (304~) to ga” (gr2~). er components are produced in a manner to that of whistled notes, and their pitch controlled by the distance of the tongue palate and teeth. The same note may be with almost any degree of opening of the bout one octave of the scale can be pro- h the nose—with the mouth closed notes, for convenience, are referred stle notes.” components appear to depend, like the Helmholtz resonator, largely on the area uth opening—they are referred to as re- ot series are independent of each other, so example, an ascending scale of resonator 1 a descending scale of whistle notes may be (whispered) simultaneously. tacteristic whistle and resonator notes for _ sound are not absolutely fixed (for an oice), but may vary in some cases over as 5 semitones without loss of the vowel 1 lem of “ neighbouring ’’ vowels often overlap, different vowels may have the same resonator note, but in such cases the other 1t will be substantially different. two cases, such as “‘ii’’ (eat) and ‘‘i’’ (it) of both components overlap, and the differ- en these vowels may be produced in some ily by difference of stress. a larynx note is added—as in singing or the pitch of the resonator note Bec dot to be affected at all by variations of pitch of note. histle notes generally are not affected, so e pitch of the whistle note in question differs iciently widely—say by 2 to 3 octaves—from that larynx note. pitch of the larynx note is further raised that of the whistle note, the latter tends to if or “‘ draw ”’ towards the nearest harmonic larynx note which lies within its characteristic the vowel in question. a chromatic scale be sung to a given vowel resonator note will remain constant, but ote sung approaches within say 2 octaves note, this latter may be heard to alter- een or jump from one to another of 3 or 4 uring semitones at each change of pitch of nx note. 1 Og anaregag has, I find, been already ob- Mr. Perrett. these observations it would appear to be to make an exclusively acoustic classification : vowel sounds depending on the range of their and resonator notes respectively. Lee R. A.-S. Pacer. t India House, 74 Strand, London, W.C.2, March 3, 1922. VOL. 109] No. 2733, Protective Colloids—A Pretty Lecture Experiment. As the result of a large number of experiments carried out in the Chemistry Department of this School by Messrs. Vallance, Dennett, Trobridge, Ham- mond, and Tidmus in conjunction with the writer, it appears to be a general law that protective colloids or organic emulsoids tend to retard the velocities of such reactions, whether chemical or physical, as in- volve a change of state in one or more of the com- ponents. Thus it is found that the rates of solution of metals in acids, of corrosion in neutral media, of solution and precipitation of salts, of replacement of one metal by another, as, for example, in the familiar lead-tree experiments, etc., are all retarded by protective colloids. In many cases the rate of retardation con- forms to the requirements of the adsorption law. Details of these experiments will be published in due course elsewhere. A very pretty lecture experiment illustrating this retardation is afforded by the precipitation of mercuric iodide on addition of the chloride to potassium iodide. If this is effected in fairly dilute aqueous solution, the unstable yellow form is first precipitated and rapidly turns from orange to red as it becomes con- verted to the more stable variety. If, however, the reaction is carried out in the presence of gelatin, say one per cent., the liquid first turns momentarily yellow, due to the formation of colloidal mercuric iodide, then becomes turbid, and a beautiful can colour develops, which remains practically unchanged for half an hour or more, according to circumstances. Only very slowly does it change to the red polymorph. The protective colloid retards the growth of the yellow particles. Sunlight accelerates the change markedly. With the aid of the ultramicroscope (th inch oil immersion) these changes may be seen beautifully. Drops of gelatin and dilute potassium iodide are mixed under the coverglass and the ultramicroscope focussed as usual. A of mercuric chloride solution is_ brought to the edge of the coverglass and is drawn under by capillary action. The field of the ultra- microscope becomes swept with a stream of luminous particles moving with dazzling velocity—the Brownian movement of the colloidal mercuric iodide. The velocity slows down as the particles increase in size, until the colloid range has been passed, and in a few minutes a fine precipitate is obtained evincing scarcely any movement. J. NEwToN FRIEND. The Municipal Technical School, Birmingham, February 27, 1922. A Problem in Economics. MANy economic applications of meteorology depend upon the use of forecasts in deciding whether or not to incur expense by taking precautions against some particular phenomenon which would cause damage. A good example is provided by forecasts of ground temperature in deciding whether to pay men to spread sacking over newly-laid concrete road surfaces which would be injured by frost. In the simplest form of such problems the three possible lines of action are (1) to take precautions only on occasions .when the phenomenon is forecasted, (2) to take pre- cautions on all occasions, (3) to take no precautions at all, It is of interest to examine the circumstances under which (1) is the most economical line of action. Let a be the cost of precautions against an event whose probability is P and which will cause damage b if it occurs in the absence of precautions. Suppose the forecast to take the form of a plain ‘‘ Yes” or “No,” and let p be the probability that an occurrence of the event will be preceded by a forecast of ‘‘ Yes.” N2 342 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 With an unbiassed and experienced forecaster it may be assumed that in the long run “ Yes ”’ occurs among the forecasts about as frequently as the event occurs. In a large number » of trials, “ Yes ’’ will therefore be forecasted on Pn occasions and the expenditure on precautions will be a. Pn. The event will occur on Px occasions of which p. Pn will have been forecasted. The remaining unfore- casted occasions will number agli —/) and will entail an expenditure of b. Pu(1—p) by damage. The total expenditure will therefore be a.Pn+b.Pn(i-p). (1.) The cost of the forecasts is assumed to be negligible i in comparison with a and b. If precautions are always taken the expenditure will be a.n. E (II.) If precautions are never taken the expenditure will be b.Pn. (IIT.) We have now to compare the amounts involved by I., II., and III. and see which is the least. t. may be written b. Pu- (b.Pn.p-a.Pn). The condition for I. to be more economical than III. is therefore ; b.Pnp-a.Pn>o0 or p>alb. That is to say, the probability of a correct forecast must be greater than the ratio of precautionary ex- penditure to possible damage. Unless forecasts are very bad or precautions very expensive this condition will be very easily fulfilled. The condition for I. to be more economical than II. is b.Pn(i-p) deny, pes Marcu 16, 1922] NATURE 345 on the mechanism utilised by the living plant ng it out, and also on the general problem otosynthesis of vegetable products. Although ; thesis of formaldehyde has been carried out photo- sally in the laboratory with light of wave-length this is certainly not the case in the plant, for present in sunlight no radiation of this wave- The plant must in some way carry out the tion with the absorption of visible light, for it is snown that visible light only is necessary for the ssimilation of carbon dioxide. It has been | experimentally that, if a visibly coloured basic 1 ye added to the aqueous solution of carbon formaldehyde is produced on exposing the visible light. The coloured substance, being as a complex with the carbonic acid, and *h a complex the components possess an infra-red frequency; that is to say, the quanta of the two are identical. The energy by the coloured component is radiated at this infra-red frequency and re-absorbed by the e component. The necessary increment of ; thus gained by the carbonate component, converted into a molecule of formaldehyde and e of oxygen. This type of reaction has been hotocatalysis, the coloured substance acting otocatalyst. It has been proved that malachite- 5 ‘methyl-orange, and -nitrosodimethylaniline S$ photocatalysts in this reaction, and in the of carbon dioxide give formaldehyde on to visible light. . been shown by Willstatter that chlorophyll irs in the plant combines with carbonic acid, e there is little doubt that it. functions as a ulyst. The green-coloured complex absorbs ht, and the energy so absorbed is transferred ‘bonic acid through the identity of infra-red , with the result that formaldehyde and are produced. Although this gives a satis- lanation of the mechanism by means of plant is able to produce formaldehyde : » aid of visible light alone, the story is far from : ete, for there are yet to be considered the forma- Bf carbohydrates from the formaldehyde, and the ied the process whereby the oxygen set free in Prethests i is ' transpired by the plant as gaseous wa: ea S Méore and Webster. that aqueous s of formaldehyde on exposure to ultra-violet "are polymerised to reducing sugars, but no ence was given of the nature of these sugars he wave-length of the light required. It has shown more recently in Liverpool that the wave-length of the light is 29oyp, which establishes the fact that the polymerisation tochemically distinct from the synthesis of dehyde. It has also been shown indirectly t the polymerisation of formaldehyde can be > alyséd ; but this is of scientific interest only, se there i is no need to postulate such a mechanism plant. On exposure to ultra-violet light the m nal hyde molecules are activated, and it is these ited molecules which undergo polymerisation to s, since it is well known that ordinary formalde- yde does not polymerise in this way. When the wmaldehyde molecules are first produced by photo- NO. 2733, VOL. 109] synthesis they are in the activated form, and may therefore lose energy in one of two ways, either by change of phase to produce ordinary formaldehyde or by polymerisation to give sugar molecules. But it has been proved that the photochemically activated molecules at once polymerise to sugar, and therefore the photochemically synthesised molecules do the same. There is thus no need to consider the activation of the formaldehyde in the plant, for it is already acti- vated when produced. The absence, therefore, of free formaldehyde in the growing leaf is explained by the fact that the photosynthetic process from carbonic acid to sugar takes place without a break. (Baly, Heilbron, and Barker, Trans. Chem. Soc., vol. 119, Pp. 1025, 1921.) The mechanism of the process whereby the oxygen, which is produced with the formaldehyde in the photosynthesis, is transpired as gaseous oxygen is one of great importance in view of the energy changes involved. Willstatter has shown that chlorophyll is in reality a mixture of two substances, chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B, and that a mole- cule of chlorophyll B contains one atom of oxygen more and two atoms of hydrogen less than a mole- cule of chlorophyll A. Two atoms of oxygen, therefore, are required to convert a molecule of chlorophyll A into a molecule of chlorophyll B, and since this is the exact relation required in the photo- synthetic operation it is impossible to believe that it is not utilised. It is in the highest degree probable that a molecule of chlorophyll A combines with a molecule of carbonic acid, and that this complex on exposure to light gives a molecule of activated formaldehyde and a molecule of chlorophyll B. Willstatter hesitates to accept this view, because he found that the ratio of chlorophyll B to A is not altered during photosynthesis; but since he also proved that the velocity of transpiration of the oxygen is equal to that of the absorption of carbon dioxide, this cannot be accepted as evidence. It means only that there is present in the leaf some mechanism whereby the chlorophyll B is deoxidised and recon- verted into chlorophyll A. Willstaétter has further proved that an aqueous solution of chlorophyll, satu- rated with carbon dioxide, decomposes on exposure to light, no measurable photo-assimilation of carbon dioxide taking place. This affords an additional proof that there is present in the living plant a mechanism for maintaining the chlorophyll équilibrium. In the living photosynthetic cell there exist, along with the chlorophylls, two more pigments, carotin, C, )Hsg; and xanthophyll, C,H;,0,, the relation be- tween the two as regards oxygen being the same as that between chlorophyll A and B. It may therefore be suggested that carotin has the power of reducing chlorophyll B to chlorophyll A, itself being oxidised to xanthophyll. This is supported by Willstatter’s observation that the ratio of xanthophyll to carotin is increased during the photosynthetic operation. This increase, though perfectly definite, is not large enough to decrease materially the amount of oxygen transpired. The complete reaction, H,O+CO,=CH,0+ 0g, is highly endothermic, and is accompanied by the ab- sorption of about 150,000 calories per gram-molecule of formaldehyde produced ; and it is interesting to note that one quantum of energy absorbed in the 346 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 visible region by chlorophyll is not sufficient to induce the complete reaction, since 150,000 calories per gram-molecule is almost exactly one quantum per molecule at A=2o0onp. Certain quantitative experi- ments have shown that a possible explanation of this is to be found in the fact that the carbonic acid is partly activated by combination with the chlorophyll. Alternatively, it is possible that, whilst one quantum of energy at A=20o0pup is required for the complete reaction with the escape of free oxygen, one quantum of visible light as absorbed by the chlorophyll is suffi- cient to induce the reaction Chlorophyll A+H,CO,=chlorophyll B+CH,O. It is scarcely necessary to point out that either of these alternatives amplifies the principle of photo- catalysis as previously defined. In either case the completion of the reaction, whereby the oxygen is abstracted from the chlorophyll B and transpired into the atmosphere, must require a further supply of energy. This second amount of energy is doubtless absorbed by the carotin and xanthophyll, the absorption bands of which lie in the visible region and between those of chlorophyll, so that each can absorb’ visible light simultaneously and independently. This suggested explanation is now being investigated. Reference may be made to some other work now in progress at Liverpool which has already given most promising and suggestive results. By the action of ultra-violet light on aqueous solutions of formaldehyde, several hundred grams of concentrated sugar syrup have been prepared. Analysis of this syrup has shown that the sole products of the polymerisation are hexoses, no trace of a triose or pentose having been found. _ This result is very striking in view of the greater possibility on the kinetic theory of the formation of sugars con- taining fewer than six carbon atoms. There can there- fore be no possible doubt that the sole products of the polymerisation of the activated formaldehyde as photo- synthetically produced in the living plant are also hexoses. Not only does this afford a ready explanation of the storage of starch in the chloroplast during the period of photosynthetic activity and its subsequent hydrolysis to hexoses, which are utilised by the plant in later syntheses, but it also establishes the fact that pentoses must be formed from hexoses, possibly through furane compounds; further, it opens the door to most promising theories of the synthesis of other plant products, every stage of which is attractive in its simplicity. Then, again, there is the question of the production of the various nitrogen compounds in the plant, which is one of considerable interest, since it would seem that the principal source from which the plant derives its nitrogen is potassium nitrate. It is well known tha metallic nitrates are readily converted to nitrites by material catalysts as well as by ultra-violet light. Baudisch has shown that an aqueous solution of potassium nitrite and methyl alcohol, on exposure to” ultra-violet light, gives formhydroxamic acid, the alcohol first being converted to formaldehyde. This has been confirmed at Liverpool by investigation of the action of ultra-violet light on aqueous solutions: of potassium nitrate or nitrite containing formaldehyde, and it has been proved that an activated molecule formaldehyde combines with a molecule of potassium — nitrite according to the equation CH,0+KNO,=— CH(OH): NOK +O, since the reaction takes — only in the light. ‘It has also been found that if the activated formaldehyde is in excess formhydroxamic — acid and hexoses are simultaneously and independently _ : produced. This condition is doubtless that which — obtains in the plant, and it may be conclu the two syntheses take place in the leaf without influence. It is worthy of note that the photosynthesis _ of formaldehyde and the synthesis of formhydroxamic cd acid are both accompanied by the setting free of oxygen. — Experiments are also in progress on the reaction — between activated formaldehyde and ammonia, and — although these are not yet complete, they have already — established the great reactivity of activated formalde- : hyde towards ammonia. Whatever, therefore, may be -t the starting point on the nitrogen side, potassium — nitrate or ammonia, there is no question that, in the — presence of activated formaldehyde such as is produced photosynthetically in the plant, compounds are formed in which carbon and nitrogen are united, thus securing the first step towards protein, pyrrole, and alkaloid synthesis. Finally, one very important deduction may be made. — The sole photosynthetic process in the living peat < would seem to be the production of activated formalde- — hyde from carbon dioxide and water. These activated — molecules either polymerise to hexoses or react with © potassium nitrite or ammonia. Any further reactions — are not photochemical except in so far that the firsts : synthesised nitrogen compounds combine with more — molecules of activated formaldehyde to give complex nitrogen derivatives. Pe Ele em The Migration of British Swallows. By Dr. A. LanpsBoroucH TuHomson, O.B.E. ‘* Sister, my sister, O fleet sweet swallow, Thy way is long to the sun and the south.” SWINBURNE, ROM time immemorial the Swallow (Hirundo rustica, Linn.) has been a proverbial type of summer visitor to our northern lands, but age-long familiarity with the fact of its seasonal appearance and disappearance has not served to bring us complete knowledge or understanding : there are many secrets, both matters of fact and questions of interpretation, to which we have as yet no clue. Nevertheless we-are NO. 2733, VOL. 109] es FEELS PAE ar suai see bit uh ‘> 4 | Pe in a better position to appreciate the problem than were Gilbert White and his contemporaries, who were obsessed with the idea that hibernation, particule in regard to this species, might play an important part 3 as an alternative to migration. White was particu- — larly influenced by the frequent phenomenon of the — few “ early swallows ” which appear some time before : the main contingents arrive, and are no more seen if : wintry weather should recur in the meantime. The ~ theory of hibernation dies hard even to-day, and every now and then some imperfect piece of evidence in its Pr [ARCH 16, 1922] NATURE 347 is recorded—cases, for instance, of birds linger- autumn being overtaken by hard weather and found in a comatose condition, really moribund than dormant. The further idea that the place ration was in the mud at the bottom of reedy was regarded with sufficient seriousness in the John. Hunter, the famous anatomist, for him ine it scientifically; with a truly modern m of experimental methods, he confined in a conservatory one autumn, providing water, reeds, and mud, and the result - confirmed his scepticism. uys we know enough of migration to have no xplore alternative theories, but it still remains t we see migration actually in progress com- y seldom, although perhaps we do so more n the case of swallows than in that of most small The writer recalls one fortunate occasion, for when he spent the morning of a bright autumn ng at the extreme northern apex of the isle of goland watching the swallows coming in over the in the teeth of a southerly gale. For hours there eady succession of small bands of from half-a- score of swallows, all flying low over the sea 2 into sight as they rose to the level of the “All the birds kept to the same course, the following the line of the western cliffs and ¢ the island again at its south-western corner. 1 occasional bird circled round for a few minutes, seemed inclined to break its journey so early vy in spite of the adverse conditions. But a > of this kind is only seeing in momentary cross- ion, so to speak, one tiny rivulet of the great ‘ a ory stream of swallows from Northern Europe. 1 has been learnt, however, by the careful ins B Socether of observations collected from many places, notably from the lighthouses and s round the British coasts. From these data e Clarke was able to give us some years ago, th A of the special committee appointed by tish Association, an elaborate summary of the v ents which usually take place in the British a, and more recently this has been supplemented by labours of a committee of the British Ornitho- ‘Club. A few early birds may appear in March, e average times for the arrival of the vanguard ir summer visitant swallows are:—for south- ie ern England the beginning of the first week in for Ireland the end of that week, for south- rm England early in the second week, for south- Scotland the end of the same, for south- | Scotland the middle of the third week, for 1ern Scotland the fourth week, and for the Orkney the second week of the following month ; the influx usually begins some ten or twelve days in each case. The earlier dates for the western ; ==, latitude being equal, are noteworthy, and it s that the immigratory waves arrive along the = length of the south coast of England, but first ced on its western half. Before this immigra- 1 of our native birds has been completed—at the ry end of April—there begin the passage movements swallows traversing the eastern seaboard of Great tain en route for northern Europe, and these move- nts may be prolonged until almost the middle of NO. 2733; VOL. 109] Decided southerly movements within the British area begin towards the end of August, and early in September actual cross-channel emigration sets in and continues for nearly two months, after which only stragglers are as a rule recorded. From the middle of September onwards there is also the return passage of swallows from Northern Europe, and the two sets of movements are not easily distinguishable. There is also a passage movement from Central Europe, first observed by Dr. Eagle Clarke from the Kentish Knock Lightship, the line of flight being roughly from east to west ; the existence of a corresponding spring passage on this line has not been definitely established. A very few instances are on record of swallows surviving in this country throughout exceptionally mild winters. Within the last few years the method of marking birds with numbered aluminium rings has been widely employed in this country, under the auspices both of the magazine British Birds, edited by Mr. H. F. Witherby, and of the University of Aberdeen. The proportion of marked swallows recovered is un- fortunately very small, for out of 1198 marked during the Aberdeen scheme only five, or 0.4 per cent., were recovered. The British Birds scheme, which is still actively in progress, has nevertheless yielded a very interesting series of records for the species, represent- ing a vast amount of energy in marking ; 7597 had been marked up to the end of 1920, and 60 (or 0.7 per cent.) have been recovered. A brief summary of the results of this work, taking the published data of the two schemes together, may accordingly be given with advantage. There are, to begin with, various records of swallows marked as nestlings and recovered within a few miles a little later in the same season, but these are without special significance. The European stages of migra- tion are indicated by records of birds marked as nestlings and reported in their first year, as follows : one marked in Lancashire from the Isle of Wight late in October ; one marked in Lancashire from Indre-et- Loire, in the centre of France, in September; one marked in Staffordshire from Charente-Inférieur, south-western France, in October ; and one marked in Staffordshire from Brittany in December, but without information as to how long it may have been lying dead before it was discovered. Further, a swallow marked as a nestling in Staffordshire was recovered at Bilbao, northern Spain, in March of the following year. Four swallows marked as nestlings, all under the British Birds scheme, have been recovered in South Africa during their first winter: a Lancashire bird in Cape Province in February, an Ayrshire bird in the Orange Free State in March, a Yorkshire bird in East Griqualand in February, and a Stirlingshire bird in the Transvaal in January. A swallow marked in Staffordshire as an adult, also, was recovered in Natal in December of the second winter thereafter. Mr. Witherby has directed attention to the suggestive fact that all these five records of his are from the eastern portion of South Africa. A swallow marked in Schleswig - Holstein was obtained on. migration at Bregenz, on the Lake of Constance ; another, marked as a nestling in Overijsel, Holland, was recovered on October 1 of the same year at Tangier, Morocco. Of great interest, also, are the records which indicate 348 NATURE | MARCH 16, 1922 the return of swallows to their native districts in subsequent summers. Seventeen marked as nestlings have been so recorded, sixteen in the following summer and one in summer two years after marking, the localities ranging from Hampshire to Kincardineshire. Six marked as adults have been similarly recorded, three after one year and three after two years, the localities ranging from Staffordshire to Peeblesshire. In some of the foregoing cases the return to the same place was very exact—even to the self-same porch or outhouse. In others the place of recovery was a few miles from the place of marking ; a swallow marked as a nestling at Beaulieu (Hampshire), for instance, was recovered in the following May at Ringwood, in the same county but 18 miles distant. There are other cases, still to be mentioned, in which swallows marked as nestlings returned in the following summer to parts of the country rather more widely separated from their. respective birthplaces, the distances being from Hampshire to Sussex (30 miles), from Hampshire to Middlesex (7o miles), from Stirlingshire to Yorkshire dwellers migrate furthest south, while the breeding (170 miles), and from County Kildare to County E 3 Armagh (75 miles). Migration of swallows from Great Britain to So th Africa is thus clearly established, and it is also now certain that the birds commonly return to the sa summer quarters, often with great exactness, subsequent years. Much still remains to be lee and some of this the marking method may give us time. What route is followed between Great Britain and South Africa, for example, and are the identical winter quarters repeatedly sought out in the same way as breeding-places ? Further, how do the migrations of British swallows compare with those of swallows native to other countries: can we, for instance, c firm Dr. Hartert’s suggestion that “the most northerly birds of the Atlas Mountains probably go the oases of the Sahara for the winter”? These questions strike at the very roots of the nature ee migratory instinct, one of the great wonders bes x6 animate world. : \Obituary. Pror. BENJAMIN Moore, F.R.S. B” the death of Prof. Benjamin Moore, at fifty-five years of age, science has suffered the loss of an original and daring thinker. Moore was born, and studied, in Belfast, and the first degree he took was Bachelor of Engineering. At one time he thought of following that profession. He received a travelling research scholarship, and studied physical chemistry under Ostwald in Germany, and then came to London and studied physiology under Sharpey Schafer. From thence he went to fill a chair at Yale Medical College, but returned a few years later to be lecturer in physiology at Charing Cross Medical School, and at the same time to qualify himself as a medical man— a double task requiring much nerve, energy and courage. Moore was then elected to the newly-founded Johnston chair of biochemistry at Liverpool—the first chair in that subject to be founded in this country. He tooka most active share in the development of the Medical School at Liverpool University, and jointly with Mr. Whitley founded the Biochemical Journal. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1912. In 1914 he accepted an invitation to join the Department of Applied Physiology under the Medical Research Council, and after rendering valuable services to industrial medicine during the War, was elected, in 1918, to the newly-founded Whitley chair of bio- chemistry at Oxford. There he quickly inspired several of his honour school students to carry out pieces of research work, and all too soon he has passed from thence, the victim of influenza. He took the greatest interest in Public Health, and a State Medical Service, as shown by his book “ The Dawn of the Health Age.” Moore was a man of impetuous imagination, conceiv- ing brilliant ideas, and stimulating others by these and his enthusiasm ; he was impatient under the necessarily slow accumulation of results required for confirming his ideas—an impatience which sometimes led him to be too hasty in publication, and to subject himself to criticism whereby his spirit was vexed and his energy wasted in controversy. He was perhaps sometimes wild, sometimes wrong, but often the pioneer in visions of great value. To him we owe the first attempts in this country to apply the results of physical chemistry NO. 2733, VOL. 109] to the intricate problems of biology. .The by Moore published in “ Recent Advances in Ph logy,” edited by L. Hill, and last year elaborate and republished in book form, did much to found | British school of physico-chemical physiology. Seen Moore was fascinated by the problem of the origin of life, and formed conceptions of the first steps in the evolution of life by the synthesis of inorganic com- pounds. He was able to show the formation of — formaldehyde from CO, and H,O under the influence of sunlight on a commonly occurring substance like iron oxide. This was the beginning of a series of papers on photosynthesis, on which a value higher than at present will probably be set in future time. He recently demonstrated the production in the air of oxides of nitrogen by the action of sunlight, and conceived the ~ assimilation of these when dissolved in rain and dew by the green leaf. He was a pioneer in the work which is now given so much attention among physiologists, — namely, on the normal reaction of body fluids and the maintenance of this normality, acidosis, etc. tee Tackling the problem of trinitrotoluene poisoning, LF which was working havoc in munition factories during _ the War, Moore found that the chief danger was due to the absorption of this material through the skin—a view which met with considerable opposition, — and led to controversial strain upon his sensitive nature. — This discovery, when fully accepted, enabled thousands of workers to be preserved from poisoning during the _ War, and saved the country paying out hundreds of — thousands of pounds in the settlement of employers’ : liabilities. The sudden death, from appendicitis, of Moore’s wife, _ who was devoted to his care, was an irreparable loss to him, and made a vast difference to the happiness and _ health of his last years. He leaves one son—a chemist in training—and two daughters. li aa et ater eee : ; Dr. A. D. WALLER. We record with much regret the death on March 11, _ at fifty-five years of age, of Dr. A. D. Waller, director of the physiological laboratory and professor of physiology in the University of London, See Te Te o~% Tee Sede: Fin NATURE 349 RCH 16, 1922] M. CAMILLE JORDAN. ‘the recently announced death of Camille Jordan mathematical world has sustained the loss of f its greater modern analysts. Born in 1838 eeded Chasles (1881) in the geometrical sec- the Paris Academy of Sciences. Later he was chair of mathematical analysis at the Ecole que, from which he retired a few years ago. earlier part of his career Jordan’s mathe- york was mainly geometrical. An important concerned with polyhedra and the attendant ry of position. In another paper he obtained dition that two flexible and extensible surfaces be applicable to one another without tearing ng over. His work on symmetry and dis- pups anticipated later research on trans- has been used in theoretical | Jordan left his deepest impression, however, by his _ work on substitutions and algebraic equations. In his “Traité des Substitutions”’ he followed up Galois’ ideas, obtaining fundamental results on primitive, transitive, and composite groups, and on the com- position-factors of a group. These investigations enabled him to settle a question proposed by Abel, viz. to decide whether a given algebraic equation is soluble by radicals or not. Other work of Jordan’s is concerned with algebraic forms and linear groups of finite order, with their applications to algebraic in- tegrals of linear differential equations. Some of Jordan’s more recent work was on the theory of functions of a real variable. His name will be remembered as the discoverer of Jordan curves, the most general curves which cut a plane into two distinct portions. W. E. H. B. for economy in the Civil Service has number of letters in the correspondence f State Technology, the journal of the on of Professional Civil Servants, from srs who do not belong to the administrative of the service or to the clerical section from e administrative is recruited. The object letters is to show that great saving might d by making better use of the professional, and technical officers of the service. At : often happens that progressive scientific ent is hampered by the existence of a rithout knowledge of the scientific work on = professional members are engaged. Such | tends towards a stereotyped system in n member of the service becomes a mere without inspiration or initiative, and to the n of clerks into secretaries, deputy secretaries, secretaries, etc., at salaries out of all pro- the value of their services to the State. ters in the February number of the journal s probable that some of these facts are to d in Psa daily yer in the near future. ‘Field fiscen of Natural History, Chicago, Ss several collecting éxpeditions. Mineral- visit the gem-producing and the gold- and producing districts of Brazil, the silver- and ‘producing districts of Peru and Bolivia, > nitrate and vanadium deposits of Chile. vertebrates will be sought in Patagonia, mn Argentine, and Brazil. Zoologists and ts will be associated in the Sierras of Central I id round the sources of the Amazon. Archaeo- st ey visit the Isthmus of Panama, the State olombia, and the Colorado Desert. Dr. Fay- Cole is to study the races of the Malay Penin- to explore the interior of Borneo. Dr. d Laufer proposes to study the aboriginals li-nan, and to make archaeological collections -kien and Manchuria. NO. 2733, VOL. 109] Current Topics and Events. A VIOLENT gale traversed the southern portion of England during the night of March 7 and the fore- noon of March 8. The storm arrived from the Atlantic and was first experienced on our south-west coasts, whence it travelled across the south and eas* of England to the North Sea. In the English Channel and at the southern English stations the south- westerly and westerly winds attained hurricane force. At Scilly the wind blew with the velocity of 108 miles an hour at 4 A.M., a speed which has only once previously been exceeded in the United Kingdom, the wind in a gale on January 27, 1920, registering 110 miles an hour in Co. Clare, Ireland. The storm. was accompanied in most parts by heavy rains, and the violence of the wind occasioned a large amount of damage. UNnbDER the title ‘‘ Research Laboratories in In- dustrial Establishments of the United States, includ- ing Consulting Research Laboratories,’ a Bulletin of the U.S. National Research Council (1921, vol. 3, Part I., pp. 135) has recently been issued. The report gives an alphabetical list of 526 industrial establishments in the U.S.A. having research labora- tories, the name of the chief worker, the number of the staff, the nature of the work, and the special equipment, together with a subject classification and index, and a list of the directors of research with addresses. It is a most interesting compilation, furnishing useful details not only of the enormous staffs of such companies as E.I. du Pont de Nemours, Eastman Kodak, Goodyear Tyre, General Electric, and Western Electric, but even of the small labora- tories. with only one or two workers. It is very plain, however, that the term “‘ Research ” has been generously applied, for the vast majority of the laboratories would be modestly referred to in this country as “ works laboratories.” The equipment catalogued is also quite conventional in most cases, but it is amusing to read that the Edison laboratory has a “large scrap heap from which to rob to build 359 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 other apparatus,’ and some scientific workers may envy the lot of the two members of the staff of a sugar company who have a “candy kitchen” at their disposal. It is flattering to the chemist to find how largely he preponderates in the various staffs, but many an industry would be better served by the co-operation of other scientific workers, especially physicists. Amon the pioneers of the locomotive a high place is deservedly given to Timothy Hackworth, who was born December 22, 1786, and died July 7, 1850. No complete biography of Hackworth has yet been written, and his merits apparently escaped the notice of the compilers of the ‘‘ Dictionary of. National Biography.’’ This rendered all the more welcome the interesting review of his work which Mr. Robert Young, a grandson of Hackworth, gave to the Newcomen Society at the meeting held on March 1. Hackworth’s youth was spent at Wylam Colliery, where Hedley built his ‘‘ Puffing Billy.”’ By 1824 he was sufficiently well-known to take charge of Stephenson’s works at Newcastle, and the following year he became engineer and manager of the famous Stockton and Darlington Railway. For this line he built the “Royal George,’ which definitely asserted the superiority of steam over horse traction, and a year or two later the ‘“‘Sans Pareil,’’ a powerful com- petitor with Robert Stephenson’s ‘“‘ Rocket ’”’ in the Rainhill trial of October 1829. If for nothing else Hackworth deserves recognition for his discovery of the proper manner of discharging the exhaust steam up the funnel so as to create a powerful draught through the furnace. He was, however, far more than a successful inventor. For fifteen years he managed the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and his workshops at Shildon became a training ground for locomotive engineers. He was also a great captain of industry and set an example in his treatment of his workmen. All these matters were touched upon in Mr. Young’s paper, and in- formation was given about many of the engines Hackworth constructed, among them being the first locomotive to be sent to Russia, and also the first to be run in British North America. Pror. B. BRAUNER, professor of chemistry and director of the chemical laboratory, Bohemian University, Prague, has sent us an article, which we hope to publish in a week or two, on work done by Bohemian men of science during the war and after. He has been a reader of Nature for forty-two years, and has on a number of occasions made original com- munications to its columns. We particularly appre- ciate, therefore, the following reference to this journal in an article contributed by him to the leading Bohemian periodical, Ndvodnt Listy, of December 21 last :—‘‘ My favourite reading is the London journal Nature, circulating over the whole world and bring- ing articles about all acquisitions of the human spirit, from bacteria to the Egyptian ‘ Book of the Dead,’ from the structure of atoms to the structure of the universe, The magnificent work of my teacher Bunsen and of Kirchhoff on spectrum analysis, NO. 2733, VOL. 109] together with the principle of our Doppler (who lived — in Prague), which led us to understand of what and — how the stars are formed and how they move ; work of Kekule ze Stradovic, a descendant of Protestant exiles of Bohemia three hundred years ago, — on the structure of matter ; photography, Darwinism, — theory of evolution, Mendeléeff’s periodic system, — R6ntgen’s discovery, Becquerel’s discovery of radio- — activity and the great chemical and electrical dis- — coveries connected with it, which led to our know- — ledge of the innermost constitution of the atoms—of — all these discoveries and their evolution and progress — NaturE brings each week the most recent informa- — tion. Everything described is connected together as — a whole and yields a magnificent picture of Nature — on the earth and in the universe. It is our religion— reverencego the One Who all this, and also ourselves, : 4 created of the original nebula, i.c. almost of nothing, and at the same time admiration of the human ee i which investigated and conceived it.” ; ; On Wednesday, March 1, there was opened 2 gee British Museum a special exhibition of Greek and Latin papyri presented at various dates by the Egypt Exploration Society. .This body (formerh ‘ the Egypt Exploration Fund) is celebrating | me i twenty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of its Greco-Roman Branch, the excavations of which at Behnesa (Oxyrhynchus) and elsewhere have made so many additions to our stock of Greek literature — pe and to our knowledge of the political, economic, and social history of Greco-Roman Egypt; and it isin honour of the anniversary that the Museum is arrang- ing its exhibition. A guide-book to the exhibition, with introduction, detailed descriptions of the papyri shown, a preface by Sir Frederic Kenyon, and one photographic facsimile, is being published by the Society, and will be on sale at the Museum, price Is. The exhibition, which will be found in the MSS. Saloon, Case A, includes many interesting papyri of various kinds, selected to illustrate the wide range of papyrological discovery. There are examples of — famous additions to Greek literature, like the Pzans of Pindar, the poems of Cercidas, and the Oxyrhyn- chus historian ; theology is represented by the Sayings © of Jesus ; and the economic and social life of Egypt © finds illustration in many non-literary documents, » several of them rich in human interest. a: wo yet SE pte: oe eee i neo In the middle of fae the first issue of a new — technical publication appeared entitled Oil Engineer- ing and Finance, a journal intended for the producer — and user of petroleum and also for the investor. A — feature of the enterprise is the division of the paper into sections, each dealing with a particular phase © of the industry, such as oilfield development, oil © refining, fuel and lubricating oils, oil fuel, heavy oil engines, and the home oil industry, each section being under the editorship of a specialist in the particular branch under discussion. The first issue is almost entirely devoted to a comprehensive review of the petroleum industry in 1921 under the above headings, and, as such, is a most useful number. It | is well put together, carefully printed, and theillustra- tions are good, and we can only express the hope ss cae lata ok oo dae ARCH 16, 1922] NATURE 33! ture issues will conform to the standard aimed e promoters, and certainly achieved at the The entire absence of an endeavour to in- “the purchase of particular oil shares—an ate feature of so many petroleum publica- ; a sound policy which, if adhered to rigidly, far to establish this journal on a firm basis. = Annual Report for 1921 of the Council of stitution of Mechanical Engineers it is 1 that the Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal for the best paper published in the society’s gs of the previous year has been awarded -G. Coker for a paper written in conjunction K. C. Chakko and Mr. M.-S. Ahmed on tact Pressures and Stresses.’? Other awards ts of 20/. each to Mr. R. L. Smith and Mr. \dland from the Sir Robert Hadfield prize “e of determining the Hardness of Mctals, ilar reference to those of a High Degree s.’ Prizes from this fund will not be in, and the unexpended balance of the al sum will be used for assisting research. It ynounced that a scheme has been established stion with the Board of Education for the National Certificates and Diplomas on the group part- and full-time courses at technical schools and colleges. ond annual report of the Industrial Fatigue _ 1922, Is. 6d. net) is far more than a ort of the Board; only fourteen of its ive pages are devoted thereto. The remainder an, instructive and valuable analysis of etc. ; (iii.) other conditions of work, such as ire, humidity, ventilation, and lighting ; iods of work, including vocational selection dance, and time and motion study; and (v.) points, e.g. organisation, human and | factors in efficiency. The Secretary of the r. D. R. Wilson, is to be congratulated most on the report and on his successful organisa- ts varied activities. Of these it is noteworthy large proportion (one half of the reports issued Board and of papers based on work done for been contributed by investigators who have special training in experimental psychology. RE has recently been issued ‘‘ A List of Seismo- Stations of the World” as vol. 11, No. 15, of Bulletin of the National Research Council S.A.). It was compiled under the auspices of the n of Seismology of the American Geophysical , with the co-operation and assistance of the ch Information Service of the National Re- Council. This list is incomplete owing to con- S prevailing generally after the world-war, and desired to correct and complete the information e files of the Research Information Service in NO. 2733, VOL. 109] the Medical Research Council (pp. 65,- preparation for a revised edition of the publication, To that end a further revised questionnaire is being distributed with the printed list. Extra copies of the questionnaire are available, and will be sent to all who have additional information to contribute. It is requested that every one who notes errors or omissions in the list as issued should bring these to the notice of the Section of Seismology of the American Geophysical Union, addressing communica- tions in care of the Research Information Service, National Research Council, 1701, Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It is hoped, further, that complete as well as accurate information may be supplied concerning all stations not now fully described. BrieF statements on the position of the various research committees appointed by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers from time to time appear in the Report of the Council for the past year. The Committee on Alloys Research under the chairman- ship of Sir John Dewrance has completed its work on aluminium alloys and is continuing that on the alloys of iron. Research work on the stresses in tools and material cut has been carried out by Prof. E. G. Coker, using polarised light and transparent models, for the Cutting Tools Research Committee, also under the chairmanship of Sir John Dewrance, and Col. Compton has experimented on the simplest form of cutting. Work for the Hardness Tests Research Committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. W. C. Unwin, has been carried out by Dr. T. E. - Stanton at the National Physical Laboratory on the comparison of ball and cone tests and of scratch and indentation tests for very hard steels. The Steam - Nozzles Research Committee, under the direction of Capt. H. Riall Sankey, has investigated the efficiency of Parsons’ nozzles; the expenditure of this committee during the year exceeded goo/., and a balance of less than 200/. remains. Work for the Wire Ropes Research Committee, of which Mr. C. W. James is chairman, has been carried out by Dr. W. Scoble on repeated bending tests of wire ropes. THE representative meeting at Glasgow of the British Medical Association will begin on July 21. The statutory annual general meeting commences on July 25, and the presidential address will be delivered by the president-elect, Sir William Macewen, during the same evening. Prof. J. Graham Kerr is to give a popular lecture on the evening of July 28. The following have been elected presidents of sections: Prof. T. K. Monro, medicine; Dr. G. M. Robertson, neurology and psychological medicine ; Mr. A. S. Percival, ophthalmology ; Prof. R. Muir, pathology; Prof. H. A. Thomson; Mr. R. MacN. Buchanan, microbiology (including bacteriology) ; Prof. J. A. McWilliam, physiology; Dr. A. K. Chalmers, public health; Prof. A. Macphail, anatomy ; Prof. J. Glaister, industrial diseases and. forensic medicine; Mr. L. A. Rowden, radiology; and Sir Robert W. Philip, tuberculosis. The honorary local general secretary is Dr. G. A. Allen, 22 Sandyford Place, Glasgow, W. 352 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 Our Astronomical Column. THe PartiaL SOLAR EcLipsE OF MARCH 28,— This eclipse is a successor, after twelve lunations, of the large eclipse of last April. On this occasion the central line has moved southwards, crossing Brazil and the Sahara. The whole of the British Isles enjoy a partial eclipse, the magnitude of which diminishes from o-20 at Greenwich to zero at the Shetlands. At Greenwich the eclipse begins at 1.19 P.M. at the lowest point of the disc, attains its greatest phase at 2.15, and ends at 3.8. The only observations of importance that can be made are the timing of the contacts and the watch for lunar mountains at the edge of the moon. PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE ULTRA-VIOLET SOLAR SPEC- TRUM.—MM. Charles Fabry and H. Buisson give an account of their work in this field in the Astrophys. Journ. (December). They state that existing material on this region is unsatisfactory ; Rowland’s map is disturbed by a spectrum of another order; that of Higgs stops at \3000 ; and Cornu’s map was made by hand from Simony’s photographs. Fabry and Buis- son’s photographs were taken at Marseilles in May and June1g20. They used two quartz spectrographs, the prism edges in them being perpendicular to each other, and state that they thus eliminated diffuse light of longer wave-length, which is one of the chief difficulties in this region. Another difficulty, due to the rapid increase in exposure-time as the wave-length grows shorter, was overcome by using an occulting screen, which was moved by hand at a calculated rate along the spectrum during exposure; the extreme exposures were in the ratio of 1 to 1000. They state that they were able to estimate the varying amount of ozone present in the air by its absorbing effect on these short waves. They give the mean amount of ozone in the air as 0-4 c.c. per cubic metre; as this is much larger than the amount near the ground, they conjecture that it is mainly at a great height (say 50 km.). Two reproductions are given of the spectrum from \2898 to 3150; the definition is good and numerous lines are shown, the wave-lengths of which are promised shortly; they include the lines designated vST/U. The region (2965 to \3030 appears on both photographs, the agreement being good, but with differences in the relative intensities of lines. The authors note that the intensity of spectrum at the sun’s limb is about half that at the centre, this factor remaining nearly constant throughout the region studied. They conclude that the fairly abrupt termination of the spectrum at \2898 is due to the terrestrial, not the solar, atmosphere. A CRITICISM OF MAJORANA’S THEORY OF GRAVITA- TION.—The Astrophys. Journ. for December contains a criticism of this theory by Prof. H. N. Russell. It will be remembered that the theory, which was based on the apparent alteration in the weight of a mass of lead when surrounded by mercury, asserts that gravitation is subject to absorption by intervening matter. Prof. Russell shows that a sphere composed of homogeneous spherical layers would still attract external bodies according to the inverse square law ; as though its mass were concentrated at the centre ; thus it would not give rise to any motion of perihelia, as some have supposed. However, the apparent mass of the sphere, as measured by its attraction on ex- ternal bodies, would be less than its true mass, the deficiency increasing as the central condensation of the matter in the sphere increases. It is then proved that a massive planet would be considerably nearer to the sun than a planet of small mass with identical period. Jupiter, in particular, would be nearer to the sun by 1 per cent. than the accepted distance; but NO. 2733, VOL. 109| this is inadmissible, since it would produce an er; of 7’ in the geocentric place when the planet was quadrature. Another test applied is the difference between heights of the tides when the sun and moon res tively are above and below the horizon. It is shi that the theory would give results totally at vari with observation. Lunar theory supplies a fu test, since the attraction of the sun on the moon would produce an acceleration greater by 1-6 per cen than that experienced by the earth. Prof. Russell concludes that Majorana’s theory must be abandoned he suggests tentatively that the phenomena observed by Majorana might be explained on the assumption — that the presence of a large mass itself diminishes the masses of neighbouring bodies : “ the space-curvature ~ produced by one mass of matter might be modified — by the superposition of that due to another.” He admits, however, that this theory also gives rise to difficulties. ae? © .THE DEFINITION OF A Nova.—The Rev. J. G Hagen directs attention to the advisability of formu- lating a definition of a nova which takes into account our present knowledge of the nebulous material sur- rounding new stars, and also class a eo nd planetary nebule (Astrophysical Journal, 54, No. 4, p. 229). Seeliger, so long ago as 1886, put forward the idea that temporary or new stars originated from collisions between stars and cosmic nebule, and this theory is now generally adopted. Dr. Hagen’s view is that by assuming that the nebule are cometary—that is, become luminous at — the approach of stars—many facts of observation are — explained. Thus the observations account for nearly all the peculiarities of new stars, especially the range of magnitude, shape of the light-curve, character of the spectrum, and the rarity of occurrence ; also show a physical similarity to the O stars an planetary nebule. ; The collision between the star and the nebula is discussed and the possible results of four types of encounters are given. Then it is shown that a transit without contact might produce a nova with a rela- tively small range of variation. If the star grazed the nebula and the occurrence was repeated occa- sionally an irregular variable would be the result. The passage of the star through the nebula might result in a nova of the ordinary type and in a star with a nebulous envelope like an O star. If the star were captured by the nebula a variable of the 6 Cepheid type or a planetary nebula would be — evolved. The definition of a nova is thus given: “ A ~ cometary nebula brought temporarily into close proximity or contact with a bright star.” ; THE STELLAR MAGNITUDE OF THE RINGLESS SATURN.—Mr. J. van der Bilt investigates this subject in Bull. Astron. Instit. of Netherlands, No.6. Capella, Vega, Procyon, Spica, Pollux, Regulus, and Polaris were used as comparison stars, their magnitudes — being revised by the author’s observations. The — value obtained for Saturn in opposition (Ringless) is 084 mag., that given by Miiller being 0-877. The — chief value of this work lies in the deduced value — of the planet’s albedo. Similar determinations made — when the rings are wide open will give a determina- tion of their albedo, and may give a clue to the constitution of the ring-particles. Mr. van der Bilt has also investigated the effect of phase angle on magnitude, and found the change for 1° of Saturni- centric angle between sun and earth to be 0-050 ~ magnitude, which is in good accord with the mean ~ of other observers. bs eee os vee Wore ny ese os a ae at as die MY tein baer saa NATURE 353 Marcu 16, 1922] SIFICATION OF NEMATODES.—Dr. H. H. Cobb in Nematology (8) a classification of des “‘ based on a study of several hundred * and depending chiefly on the characters aouth and related organs ; and in the follow- art (9) gives systematic descriptions of about one ed, mostly free-living, new species of nematodes, n the type-species of nearly as many new \ e morphological points may be ge percentage of species seta in some species indicating their sensory e, and the Y IN SwEDEN.—The Forestry Research kogsférsoksanstalt) of Sweden, with the cing its scientific publications better known eral public, has recently begun the free issue es entitled Skogliga Rén, which gives the pints of the larger memoirs, emphasising direct practical importance. No. 1, b m, deals with the constitution of the soil primeval forest of Northern Sweden. The e, in addition to its periodical Skogen, publishes of which we have received Flygblad No. 23, Wibeck, on some new forest-cultivating , such as root ploughs and sowing apparatus, ad No. 24, by O. Tamm, discussing the ence of forest growth on the mineral con- n of the soil. Those interested can obtain nentalfaltet, Stockholm. sport for the year ending June 30, 1921, of re Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats, is devoted to an account of trawling investigations out in the inshore waters of the coast of berland, which were suspended in 1913 and in 1920. Prof. Meek concludes, from an on of the rings on the otoliths of the plaice, Spawning season of 1917, and probably also of 1916, was a poor one, and that the fry result- 9m it were subjected to unfavourable conditions. iks that this may perhaps be due to the of the inshore waters with oil, which occurred = war, during the pelagic period of the eggs _ fry. The trawling investigations of 1920 are sared in detail, especially as regards plaice, with lose carried out before the war, from 1892 to 1913, d an account is given of the results of marking eriments made with the same fish. An interest- ; discussion on the migrations of the plaice and her fishes in the area is added. The important sure of the remainder of the Report is Mr. Storrow’s r on herring shoals. Samples from shoals ex- ng from Stornoway and the Shetlands in the to Yarmouth in the south were analysed as ds age and maturity, and samples of Irish fish treated in the same way. Attention is directed e fact that heriings in their fourth year form most important constituent of the summer y along the east coast of Britain, and the author udes that the fluctuations in this fishery depend y upon the success of the spawning and rearing ‘season four years before that of fishing. wey IrtsH Eskers.—Mr. J. de W. Hinch, in a paper on he Eskers of Ireland ”’ ( Ivish Naturalist, vol. xxx ‘NO. 2733, VOL. 109] © ublications on application to the Institute at: Research Items. . 137, 1921), criticises the recent memoir by Prof. 3 W. Gregory (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., Section B, vol. ccx.), in which it is maintained that a large part of Ireland was submerged under the sea during the formation of the boulder-clay that now occupies the plainland. Mr. Hinch points out that this revival of an old view, which was very natural in its day, ignores the work done in glacial geology in Ireland for the last thirty years. If it is necessary, as some writers think, to regard eskers as deposited in water, a lake must be postulated ; but the problem of the marine shells found in abnormal positions has been successfully met without demanding a submergence, in accordance with the widening of our knowledge of the behaviour of ‘ continental” ice-sheets. Tuer Post-GLAcIAL CLIMATIC OPTIMUM IN IRELAND. —Mr. J. de W. Hinch, of the Geological Survey of Ireland, has recently discussed ‘‘ The Post-Glacial Climatic Optimum in Ireland’”’ (/vish Naturalist, vol. xxx. p. 85, 1921). He regards the warm damp epoch when the Littorina sea prevailed in the Baltic area as representing an optimum which declined towards present-day conditions. The hazel, for in- stance, had then its most northern fossil boundary, and regions of high arctic vegetation became sub- arctic. The oak and the elm have now a more southerly limit than at this optimum. Mr. Hinch now shows that the marine fauna of the estuarine days, overlying submerged peat on so many parts of the Irish cost, contains a number of molluscan species that have similarly migrated southward, but which were formerly present in abundance in a more northern habitat. The improvement in climate at the epoch of the submergence which gave us the estuarine clays may thus be regarded as an optimum, or near an optimum, which has not been maintained in more recent times. LABRADOR AND NEw QueEeBEc.—Memoir 124 of the Geological Survey of Canada, by Prof. A. P. Coleman, deals concisely with the “ North-eastern part of Labrador, and New Quebec,” and will be useful to geographers who wish to gain an insight into a territory that embodies many late glacial features, though it lies on the latitude of the Orkneys. The landscapes in the Memoir are excellent, and among them there is an example of the most puzzling feature of solifluxion in cold tundra lands, where the poly- gonal areas of soil become surrounded by walls of stones coarser than the average in the soil. As the author remarks, the effect produced is “ as if the finer materials, sandy or gravelly rather than muddy, ascended and spread out from the centre, crowding the coarser blocks to the edge.” No strate inter- vene in N.E, Labrador between sediments that are probably Huronian and glacial deposits that are referable to an early stage of the Pleistocene ice-age. The later glaciations from the Labrador centre seem never to have reached the Atlantic coast. The raised beaches occur below the, 400 ft. contour-line, and are attributed to the depression of the land by the continental ice, which here was probably only 2000 ft. in thickness. Prof. R. A. Daly’s study of the post-glacial warping of the region immediately to the south, including Newfoundland, was published in the American Journal of Science, vol. ccl. p. 381, 1921, and in it he corrects previous statements, referred to by Prof. Coleman, that raised beaches occur in Newfoundland above 500 ft. The famous 354 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 labradorite -rock of Paul Island comes within the area described by Prof. Coleman. For this, Sterry Hunt’s unfortunate name anorthosite is retained ; even so acute a recorder as Dr. A. Holmes has been led astray by this term, and has stated that anorthose is the French equivalent for plagioclase. SULPHUR IN ILLINOIS CoaL-BEDS.—The University of Illinois Bulletin, vol. xviii. No. 36 (Bulletin No. 125) contains the results of an investigation by Messrs. H. F. Yancey and Thomas Fraser upon the mode of occurrence of sulphur in certain of the coal- beds of Illinois. It is shown that the sulphur is present partly in the form of pyrites and partly in certain organic compounds; the former may be either macroscopic or microscopic. The technical importance of these distinctions lies in the fact that it is practically only the sulphur present in macro- scopic pyrites which can be separated by washing. In some cases a certain amount of sulphur is present as sulphates, but there were only traces of these present in the coals examined. Pyritic sulphur is characterised by extreme irregularity of distribution in the coal-bed, mainly due to the concentration of the pyrites in coarse bands or lenses. On the other hand the vertical distribution of organic sulphur is comparatively uniform at given points in the same bed, though in the mine as a whole the variations may be considerable; nevertheless it is more uni- formly distributed than pyritic sulphur. There is no definite relation between the occurrence of organic and pyritic sulphur. The amount of the former is quite important, the percentages in three mines being :— I. II. II. Pyritic Sulphur . 47°3 47°7 60°5 Organic Sulphur 52-7 52°3 39°35 In 104 face samples taken in the three beds, organic sulphur exceeded pyritic sulphur in 49 samples, EVAPORATION FROM LARGE EXPANSES OF WATER. —This subject is dealt with in the Meteorological Magazine for January and February. In the January issue reference is made to Dr. H. Jeffreys, who submitted the problem to mathematical analysis in 1918, and who adopted the simple hypothesis that the rate of evaporation depended only on difference of vapour pressure. It is mentioned that Mr. M. A. Giblett in Proc. Roy. Soc. A, vol. 99, 1921, makes a further advance by allowing for the strength of the wind. Valuable information is given as to the total amount of evaporation under various circumstances. It is asserted that the same amount of air picks up less moisture if it crosses the ocean quickly than if it goes slowly; the more vigorous evaporation does not make up for the shorter time of passage. The February Meteorological Magazine deals with ‘The Evaporation from the Sea,” by G. Wist (Institut fiir Meereskunde, Berlin, Oct. 1920). This publication was taken for discussion at the Meteorological Office at the evening lecture on February 6 last. An estimate is given of the zonal distribution of evaporation, which is said to be most rapid between the latitudes 10° and 20° north and south. Comparison between the estimates of evapora- tion and the rainfall over the ocean indicates that evaporation exceeds precipitation between latitudes 40° N. and 40° S., except in the cloudy equatorial belt, whilst outside these limits precipitation is in excess of evaporation. METEOROLOGY IN MEDICINE.—At a meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society in the University, NO. 2733, VOL. 109] . American states. Edinburgh, on September 7 last, a paper on Meteor- ology in Medicine, with especial reference to the © occurrence of malaria in Scotland, was read by Dr. paper is printed in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society — Angus G. Macdonald. The for January. Meteorology is described as a science, and medicine as a consummate art—the practical © exploitation of the data of all the sciences for the conservation of mankind. Referring to the re-— appearance of malaria indigenous in England in the years 1917, 1918, and 1919, temperature results — are given for the months of June-September in each — year. It is mentioned that it would appear to be safe to infer that any month having a mean tempera- — ture of 60° F. may suffice to produce malaria in England, given other conditions favourable. conditions in the years mentioned were associated with the presence of a large mass of infection imported — in soldiery from the East. The recent period of malaria is contrasted with the last previous recorded outbreak of malaria in England in the years 1856-59, when a period of abnormally high temperature is shown to have occurred. This period also coincided — with the return of infected soldiery from Eastern Europe, this time from the Crimean War. An abnormally cold year followed in 1860 which brought — the infection to an end. In relation to the matura- tion of the infection especial reference is made to the mosquito associated with high temperatures. These general considerations a1e applied to occurrences of — malaria in Scotland, and much valuable information — is given. INDUSTRIAL LIGHTING.—In a paper read before the Illuminating Engineering Society on February 28,'Mr. L. Gaster discussed ‘‘ Ideal Requirements in Industrial Lighting and Practical Solutions.’ Ideal lighting conditions should enable work to proceed by night as safely and efficiently as by the best daylight. Practical possibilities were illustrated in the recom- mendations of the Home Office Departmental Com- mittee on lighting in factories and workshops and the codes of industrial lighting adopted in various The latter, while more detailed and elaborate, were based on the same general principles, namely, sufficient illumination, avoidance of glare, and elimination of inconvenient shadows. stress on the fact that sufficient illumination was only part of the problem. A distinction must be drawn between recommendations and legislative measures. Any form of code must be so framed as to prevent abuse of industrial lighting and yet impose no hard- ship on manufacturers. The Home Office in this country had proceeded wisely step by step, adopting the principle of ‘“‘ government by consent.” eir first report, besides recommending general statutory provision requiring adequate lighting, proposed certain values of illumination, easily obtained, in the interests of safety and general convenience. Their second interim report proposed a simple rule for avoidance of glare, which could be met in various ways. future it was intended to study values of illumination In and conditions of lighting necessary for efficient work — in various industrial processes, co-operation being invited from representatives of the industries con-— cerned. This process might take some time, but would ensure decisions being taken on a sound and scientific basis. In conclusion Mr. Gaster mentioned that industrial illumination was becoming a subject for international treatment. It was being considered by an international committee appointed at the recent technical session of the International Illumination Commission, and it was also receiving attention from the International Labour Office operating under the League of Nations at Geneva. . a Mr. Gaster laid | Marcu 16, 1922] NATURE 355 y following paragraph appeared in The Times for hg 11, under the heading “ Carbon i: oxic e eril.”’ he Board of Trade has drafted a special Order the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, relating to carbon de in gas used for domestic purposes. The vides that: No gas undertakers as defined Gas Regulation Act, 1920, shall supply any r domestic purposes containing carbon monoxide s such gas possesses the distinctive pungent l of coal gas. The Order requires the approval th Houses of Parliament.” announcement needs some explanation, as ly nobody in this country has ever come across dlic = supply without a very distinctive and 1en Sir George Beilby and the Fuel Research were called upon by the Board of Trade, ‘ o, to make recommendations for the ulation of public gas supply, they recognised fect that radical improvements and economies we gas manufacturers could be secured by the cation of the fixed carbon of the coal by some ocess as that of the steaming of vertical gas or the gasification of coke in external genera- with steam—the so-called water-gas process. fhe increase in the carbon monoxide content of gas so involved depended upon the extent to h the fixed carbon was gasified. The recom- dations then made form the basis of the Gas vas decided that the Board of Trade should in- ute inquiries on two special points, one of which whether it is necessary or desirable to prescribe 1e the position was not so simple as might at first sight. Any danger from carbon ide had to be placed against the improvement of ulation Act of 1920, but when the Act was passed - Carbon Monoxide in Gas. By Pror. JoHN W. Coss. public health which would result from the progressive abolition of smoke as gas replaced raw coal for heating purposes, and it had to be realised that in no circumstances would it be practicable to supply gas containing little or no carbon monoxide, since ordinary “ straight’ coal-gas might contain Io per cent or more. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Committee recommended against statutory limitation of carbon monoxide in public gas supply. It was, however, possible that the conditions of manufacture might at some time or place be changed to such an extent that the gas: then supplied to the public would be nearly odourless unless some means were taken to confer a smell upon it, and to meet that possibility ot the future it was recommended that the distribu- tion of an odourless gas should be made an offence. The Board of Trade Order, which has just been drafted, will carry that recommendation into effect. It is no doubt hoped that it will also have on the public mind the beneficial effect of a psychological antitoxin, which seems to be needed at the present time. During the last two months of severe weather, the number of accidents from gas poisoning un- doubtedly increased. Various factors have been operative in bringing this about, including the tend- ency to restrict ventilation owing to the cold, and to use gas heating appliances of all kinds, in all sorts of places, and particularly in bedrooms. Public atten- tion, however, having been directed to the fact that carbon monoxide in public gas supply might increase considerably in the future owing to the Gas Regula- tion Act, people have arrived at the mistaken con- clusion that such increase had already taken place and was solely responsible for these accidents. It would, as a matter of fact, greatly surprise the present writer to learn that the carbon monoxide content of gas responsible for any one of these accidents was— above the oibiennedes limit recommended by the advocates of restriction before the special Committee to which reference has been made above. In the gas supply of Leeds, which has come under the writer’s own tests, the percentage of carbon monoxide has been actually considerably lower than it was during the summer months of the coal strike, and no higher than in the preceding winter. Nor is there any reason to suppose that the condition so described is exceptional. a meeting of the Royal Anthropological Institute held on February 14, Dr. W. H. R. , president, in the chair, Prof. G. Elliot Smith ‘ ed the brain of Rhodesian man. The excellent endocranial cast which Mr. Frank irlow, of the Natural History Museum, has been to obtain from the Rhodesian skull is of ex- tional im ce. In the first place, it affords idence which settles once for all the position of mo vhodesiensis in the human family and its ng degrees of affinity to the different members me 4 ~ iC AG lamily ; and, secondly, it provides very precise mation concerning the size, shape, and stage of evelopment of the brain of Rhodesian man, so when the endocranial casts of Pithecanthropus, thropus, and Homo Neanderthalensis are com- d with it and the whole series is considered in the light of the new information, a fuller under- tanding of the process of evolution of the human NO. 2733, VOL. 109] The Brain of Rhodesian Man. brain is attained. Moreover, the endocranial cast enables us definitely to settle the dispute as to the posture of Rhodesian man, or at any rate as to how he carried his head. Prof. John Hunter, of the University of Sydney, has made a series of exact orthogonal projections of the endocranial casts of the extinct types of the human family and of the anthropoid apes, and has shown that Rhodesian man’s head was thrust forward on his tremendously massive neck at an angle almost exactly intermediate between that of the gorilla and modern man—a degree of obliquity almost identical with that of Gibraltar man and probably a little more than that of the man of La Chapelle-aux- Saints. The peculiarly distinctive features of the base of the skull of Rhodesian man corroborate this interpretation. The cranial capacity is 1280 c.c., which is roughly equal to that of the Gibraltar skull, but much smaller than all the other members of the 356 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 Neanderthal species. It is definitely bigger than — the Piltdown cast. Like the endocranial casts of Pithecanthropus and Eoanthropus, that of the newly discovered skull reveals a marked deficiency in the prefrontal and inferior temporal areas. But as in all these primitive members of the human family, there is an obtrusive prominence in the auditory territory which suggests that the cultivation of the acoustic symbolism necessary for the acquisition of articulate speech was a very important, if not the dominant, factor in the attainment of the human status. This localised expansion in the superior temporal area is responsible for the peculiar form of all primitive human brains, i.e. their relatively great width and flatness. The expansion of the cortex has been carried a stage further than in the Piltdown brain and has led to a fuller development of the inferior parietal territory, but the superior parietal area is still ill-developed and flat: Thus the Rhodesian cast reveals a stage definitely more primitive than that of Neanderthal man and helps us to understand the features of the latter. The significance of the peculiarities, so far as they shed light upon the evolution of the human brain, was discussed, and the speaker expressed his gratitude to Dr. Smith Woodward of the British Museum for affording him the opportunity for studying the Rhodesian skull and the endocranial cast obtained from it. The president, in opening the discussion, said that he had been particularly struck by the demonstratia of the development of those parts of the brain are connected with mind, and it was interesting note that those parts which were latest in deve ment of the child were those in which Rhodes man stood intermediate between the gorilla modern man. Dr. Smith Woodward regretted the absence geological or paleontological data which might throw light upon the age of the skull. Any attempt to- determine its age must depend upon the character of the skull itself. Prof. Elliot Smith had made a ~ beginning of the scientific study of this evidence, — and it should be possible to determine its position - in the human series apart from geological evidence. ~ Prof. W. Wright said that Prof. Eliot Smith had ~ given a clear demonstration of the development of — the brain from the lowest primates to Dean Swift. ~ Would it not be possible to go a little further and prophesy that the future development of the brai would be in the direction of filling those parts of the cranial cavity which were at present ill-filled? Hi agreed that the author was justified in now placi Pithecanthropus definitely within the human Egat Prof. Parsons said that the present communication indicated the value of the endocranial cast in ethn logical investigation, and that this method of study should be applied to the investigation of the problems connected with modern races. ert | Evolutionary Faith [8 a notable address on the above subject at the Toronto meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is printed in Science for January 20, Dr. William Bateson dis- cusses particularly the changes in point of view which have followed each other since the Darwinian period and the end of last century. The morpho- logical school worked itself out, and was followed by the development of genetic experiments. It was seen that the gradual transformation of species over large areas was an unacceptable doctrine. From field studies of pairs of species it was concluded that both could not have come from an intermediate ancestor through gradual divergence by natural selection, nor could either have given rise to the other by such a process. Then Mendelism seemed to furnish an explanation of the discontinuity of species—a discontinuity which had long been denied by those evolutionary philo-_ sophers who were not systematists. Nevertheless, the result has been disappointing, and the attempt to explain evolution in Mendelian terms has finally been dropped. This is because evolutionary concep- tions have dealt with zygotes, or the bodies of plants and Modern Doubts. Jo % <2 and animals as we see them, while genetic research — has revealed the interactions of an inner world of — gametes upon which the zygotes depend for their — origin. Dr. Bateson further records his full con- version to the belief that the chromosomes are directly _ associated with the characters of the zygote. “The — transferable characters borne by the gametes have been successfully referred to the visible details of nuclear configuration.” , Although we see variations in abundance on all hands, the origin of species is still obscure, and genetic analysis has not enabled us to account for certain phenomena, especially the origin of new dominant characters and of sterility. The question ~ of species-origin is believed to be concerned with the base upon which transferable characters are implanted, but of this base we at present know nothing. Dr. Bateson concludes a remarkable survey with an appeal for closer co-operation between geneti- cists and systematists, and finally points out that the fact of evolution is not in doubt, although the manner of the origin of species remains a mystery. nak The Teeth of the Nation.! ‘THE lecturer began by directing attention to a series of skulls exhibited, kindly lent for the occasion by Sir Arthur Keith. Skulls of Neolithic date showed perfect dentition, though the teeth were worn a good deal by attrition ; the skulls of to-day exemplified the ravages of dental caries, or of the equally prevalent disease of gums and jaws called pyorrhcea. One modern skull with a perfect set of teeth was the rarest specimen he could show. Caries was not unknown in past ages, and even the teeth in the Rhodesian skull exhibit it. The seriousness of © 1 Abstract of a discourse delivered at the Royal Institution in February 10 by Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F,R.S. NO. 2733, VOL. 109] Committee to investigate its causes and prevention. ; : r) the increase in dental decay in recent times is such. that the Ministry of Health has appointed a special — Cleanliness is a necessary duty, and the tooth-brush, © unless supplemented by antiseptic mouth-washes, is an imperfect instrument. The danger is the accumu- lation of food-débris in chinks and crevices and ~ the formation of acids such as lactic acid by bacteria, — especially if the food is soft and sticky and contains — easily fermentable sugars of the glucose type. Such — acid has a solvent action on the protective layer of — enamel, and in time on the dentine which it covers. — The teeth, however, are not mere ornaments to be AS vipa ea a ah le il i ie eae aoe CAL eee 17 RCH 16, 192 2] NATURE 357 eben locally. They are ‘living structures, and power of resistance varies with the general and this, like the health of the teeth, mainly on a supply of natural foods in proper , especially in early life when tooth-formation Early life means especially embryonic life, gia feeding of expectant mothers is a Miiet fe thon oe and patent foods are ] or they, as a rule, lack the neces- - Anescag 3 which were then described in out- teeth in their turn undermine the general b, |, by forming foci of infection, lead to ill-health, indigestion, blood-poisoning, rheu- affections, and the like, and so a vicious ee the abolition of which becomes a After a general account of what is called “ calcium metabolism,’”” a series of lantern-slides was shown to illustrate not only the structure of the various parts of a tooth, but also the stages in their develop- ment, in which ‘the cells responsible for the elabora- tion of the enamel prisms and the layers of dentine with its tubules and the nerves, etc., within them were seen. Occasion was taken to press home again the possibilities of injury and the necessity for care, especially in early stages and in early life, the word early’ including foetal life. In conclusion, the lecturer looked forward to a time in the not far distant future when the teeth of the nation might be its pride, and not a source of lamentation and pain, tha aay: years of rubber planting in the considerable optimism prevailed in certain as to the powers of the Para rubber-tree brasiliensis) to resist disease in its new home. ne of such great areas with a single crop was practically certain to result later in fungal disease, to say nothing of tack ; and, although little was (and still is) 3 to the functions of latex in plants, it was that the regular withdrawal of con- quantities of latex from the trees would joi shysiological disturbances which might in a of commercial importance. Events d these views to be well founded. As com- visitations, but several fungal diseases are nised and insect pests are not unknown ; isease hitherto ascribed to physiological , and known as “ brown bast,” has attained nportance as er constitute the most dangerous ‘oa to the rubber-planting industry at nt ) Bast is 2 a disease of the bark® of tapped but it does not involve the death of the tree, | of the affected bark. The disease may be sed by a difficulty in obtaining latex on tapping usual depth, followed ultimately by the cessa- latex flow (when the tree is said to be “ dry ’’), further characterised by a brownish or olive- discoloration of the middle and inner bark, may show a definite brown line on the tapping cambium. External signs of the disease be lacking, but in the more severe cases the bark often scales and splits longitudinally and dation of latex occurs. This condition some- results from the secondary development of * burrs,” nodules, or plates within the diseased “ Brown, — of Plantation Rubber, its Cause and Pre- ) Ley R. mand 2 Sag gee en van het si eeadel, voor ‘a en van het Instituut voor t van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel, No, 40 Brown Bast : wt Investigation into‘ th pe and Methods of t.” By A. R. Sanderson and H. Pp. 5 rg plates. The Rubber ¢ Growers’ Association, eae n. re) 7s. 6d. net. “ Over den Steencellenying in de Schors van Hevea.” Door Johannes van het Besoekisch Proefstation, Rubberserie, t uit het Archief voor de Rubbercultuur, Jaargang 21). I Bat mas its Immediate Cause.” By J. B, Farmer and India-Rubber Journal, vol. 61, No, 25, June 18, 1921. Necrosis (Brown Bast Disease) in Hevea brasiliensis.” By Ss. ete: Annals of Bolany, vol. 3s, No. 139, July 1921 2 “bark” is here used in the planter’s sense of the tissue involved in the temsiee operation. NO. 2733, VOL. 109] id R. ge Mededeeling Departemen many crops, rubber has been comparatively. The Brown Bast Disease of the Para Rubber-tree.! By Dr. S. E. CHANDLER. tissue, and, unless the case is dealt with, these bodies may cause the bark ultimately to become so knotted and irregular as to be useless for tapping purposes. The formation of burrs and nodules, however, is not necessarily associated with brown bast, as has been shown by Bateson, Bryce, and others. Brown bast was widely reported as an epidemic in the plantations during 1916-18, and a satisfactory method of treatment became a matter of prime im- portance. Pending exact knowledge as to the cause of the disease, the methods recommended were based on the observations that affected latex-vessels do not again function, that the diseased portion of the bark is useless for further tapping, and that the disease “spreads ’’ in the bark. Planters were therefore advised to remove the diseased tissue, either by ‘ scraping ’ ’ the brown bast tissue from the bark, or by carefully “stripping ’”’ off the bark down to the cambium. In the latter case, especially, measures should be taken to protect the delicate exposed sur-. face so that a satisfactory regeneration of the bark by the cambium may take place. The removal of the superficial layers of the affected bark, followed by the application of warm tar to the exposed surface, has also been practised. It was early recognised, however, that the best chance of devising adequate measures of control would result from a correct understanding of the nature of the disease, and considerable research on this subject has been carried out by British and Dutch botanists in the East. So far, attempts to associate the disease definitely with bacterial or fungal attack have failed, and at the present time brown bast cannot be ascribed to any causal organism, though it has been claimed by Keuchenius that bacteria are present in the diseased tissue. With the bulk of evidence against a parasitic origin of the disease, most investigators have fallen back on the theory that brown bast is a physio- logical disease, the result of metabolic disturbances as to the nature of which, however, little or no in- formation is available. Recently a series of important publications on the etiology of brown bast have appeared almost simultaneously. The results obtained are of ex- ceptional interest, inasmuch.as the work has been carried out by investigators widely separated and work- ing independently on material derived from several different planting countries. Rands (1) and (2) has dealt with the disease in Java and Sumatra ; Sanderson and Sutcliffe (3) in British Malaya; Gandrup (4) in Java; while Farmer and Horne ( 5) and (6), in London, have examined diseased material from British North Borneo and Malaya. These in- 358 NATURE ae bol a ee [Maxcu 16, 1922 vestigations throw much light on the anatomy of the diseased tissue and the probable immediate cause of brown bast, while in the case last mentioned it seems probable that a valuable advance has been made towards a correct understanding of the nature of the disease. The two papers of Rands (1) and (2), who pub- lished preliminary reports in 1919 and 1920, are complementary. The first-mentioned paper contains a full statement to date of the results of the author’s investigations commenced in 1918 at the instance of the Director of the Government Rubber Estates in the Dutch East Indies, and still in - progress. Rands’s results support the view of the non-parasitic origin of the disease, and indicate that the repeated withdrawal of the latex from the same tissues is the chief causal factor concerned. The drained tissues. respond by secreting a gum, which in its effects prevents a further loss of latex. The time- interval between successive tappings and the system of tapping adopted appear to be the most important predisposing factors; in the author’s experience a heavy occurrence of the disease is invariably associated with a drastic system of tapping. The second paper records the botanical (anatomical) evi- dence on which the results are based. According to Rands, brown bast appears to be a special type of wound-gum secretion favoured by conditions which promote the vital activity of the tree. The character- istic brown discoloration of the diseased bark is stated to be due to the deposition of a yellow plastic ““ gum ” in the cavities of the latex-vessels and in many of the intercellular spaces of the bark (phloem) parenchyma, thus recalling similar observations made by Bobilioff. The gum is formed, not by the breaking down of cell-walls, but as a secretion of the protoplasts of the parenchymatous cells adjacent to the latex- vessels. It passes into the latter through the common cell-wall (which is thereby stained yellow), and also into the existing intercellular spaces or into such spaces formed and enlarged under the stimulus of the secretion. It is secreted in largest quantities during the wet season, and is most abundant in vigorous trees in full growth. Investigation showed that the gum is practically identical with the ‘“‘ wound- gum ”’ formed locally as a result of artificial wounds made in the wood and bark of the tree, and is similar to the corresponding product in other plants. It differs from the true gums, however, in its chemical reactions. The clogging of the latex-vessels appears to be the chief factor in arresting the latex flow, but the coagulation of the latex within the vessels is also indicated as a contributory factor. Under the highest powers the gum is seen to possess a well- marked alveolar structure which is not an artefact. Rands was unable to determine whether the gum- formation results from enzyme action, as has been suggested in the case of the gummosis of Prunus. As regards the burrs, Rands’s results in general con- firm the previous work of Rutgers, Bateson, Bryce, and others, and especially the suggestion of Bateson that burr-formation is favoured by excessive tapping. The woody burrs arise from the activity of a second- ary cambium formed about a group of gummed latex-vessels ; the varied form of the mature structure (pea-shaped, knobby, or plate-like) depends upon the disposition and extent of the secondary cambium. The book by Sanderson and Sutcliffe (3) is primarily intended as a practical guide for estate managers in diagnosing the disease and in treating affected trees. The authors lay special emphasis upon the desirability of early treatment, and recommend “ stripping ” of the bark, not only as curative in effect, but also as the simplest and cheapest procedure. A _ considerable portion of the book, however, is devoted to the results NO. 2733, VOL. 109] of a microscopical study of the disease, and the authors claim their work to be the first attempt to describe the pathological anatomy of brown bast and — to formulate a theory by which the observed facts may be explained. They regard brown bast as physio-— logical in origin, and consider tapping to be its prime cause. As regards pathological anatomy, Sanderson and Sutcliffe find that the constant and characteristic — feature is a meristematic activity of the parenchyma ~ cells of the bark. Other characters described by them, — viz. the deposition of ‘‘tannins’’ and crystals of — calcium oxalate, the occurrence of abnormal numbers — of stone-cells at unusual depths in the bark, the deple- — tion of starch, and the presence of globules of “ oil or — fatty matter ’’ (suggested possibly as a substitution — product for starch, or as the result of a breaking © down of that substance), are regarded as seconda symptoms arising from the meristematic activity. Elsewhere, however, the authors state that the — occurrence of “ tannins’ is not characteristic of the disease, while large numbers of oily globules are not constantly present. The meristematic tissue origin- ates at a point roughly corresponding to the depth of tapping, and occurs almost invariably in the imme- diate vicinity of the latex-vessels. The result is a partial displacement of these vessels, which, in con- sequence, are often ruptured, the latex percolating into the intercellular spaces, where it coagulates. The latex within the vessels also appears to be coagulated in situ (cf. Rands), possibly through the agency of the by-products of the metabolism of the actively — dividing cells. The coagulated latex is considered to ~ be an additional source of irritation, stimulating the surrounding tissue to further meristematic activity. The views put forward by these authors as to the immediate origin of the disease are interesting. They consider that the abnormal meristem may be due to the stimulus arising from the wound meristem formed just beneath the surface of the tapping cut, or it may be a secondary effect of the abnormal vigour of the cork cambium which early arises over the a tapped surface to form the renewal bark. Sanderson and Sutcliffe regard it as ‘‘ highly probable ’’ that the growth of this cork cambium “ provides the stimulus for starting meristematic activity at an equal, or almost equal, depth in the cortex below the tapping cut, i.e. in the untapped portion of the cortex below.” Such induced cambial activity spreading from the renewal bark was first described by Lock, but it is not quite clear from the present paper whether Sanderson and Sutcliffe have independent evidence of a similar phenomenon in the case of brown bast. As regards burr-formation, the case is put that, while the meristem of brown bast may remain as such, it may also give rise to woody tissue internally _ and unlignified elements externally. It is in this — latter manner that burrs originate, and the degree and character of the burr-formation depend upon the _ amount and disposition of the meristem concerned. Sanderson and Sutcliffe ascribe considerable import- _ ance to the production of stone-cell tissue as a second- ary character of brown bast. In this — they are supported by other writers. The cells on the ~ outer limits of the meristem may be largely converted into stone-cells, which sometimes form extensive — scleritic masses resulting in the scaling of the outer \ bark. The observations of Gandrup (4) are interest- ing in this connection, since this worker shows that ~ in the young Hevea plant the stone-cells arise among the thickened prosenchymatous pericycle fibres (bast fibres), which later are almost completely replaced by a ring of stone-cells. ~ ma The papers of Farmer and Horne (5) and (6) give the results of a research carried out in the botanical laboratories of the Imperial College of Science and o> he Leib agus ou oceans dal a Marcu 16, 1922] NATURE 359 nology on material received from British North 9 and Malaya. The work formed the subject f an exhibit at the Rubber Exhibition of 1921, and as briefiy noticed in NaTuRE of June 16 last, p. 499. t is understood that further work is in progress, nd that a full illustrated account of the results will _ published. These authors have concentrated tention upon the earliest stages of the disease, and tained results which definitely advance the problem ‘step towards solution. In transverse sections of iseased bark, numerous minute golden-yellow spots rregular outline were observed in the phloem from ambium outwards. Under high magnification coloured areas sometimes appeared to resemble lular spaces (cf. Rands’s work), but on careful mation the golden areas were found to be 1s of necrotic sieve-tubes, the waved outlines in my cases being clearly transverse sections of the f vertical sieve-plates characteristic of Hevea em. In the young phloem the disease is con- 0 the sieve-tubes, but in the older tissue phloem arenchyma, medullary-ray cells and latex-vessels ve been involved in the local tissue degeneration. only, a di area was found to be more or completely surrounded by an active meristem nd-cambium ’’), which in some cases gave rise ified elements and constituted the initial stages will be seen that this investigation emphasises ct that, quite apart from the latex-vessels, its (sieve-tubes) of vital importance in the nutri- of the plant are injured during tap- ng. The sieve-tubes cease to function and, in disorganised, initiate the condition known brown bast. The disease, therefore, is primarily ue to phloem necrosis analogous to the cases of milar di reported in the potato and in Liberian ffee. Observations were also made regarding the igin of burr development. It is stated that, as a sult of the activities of the wound cambiums, ed groups of cells become enclosed in ‘‘ pockets ”’ ne-cells. Sanderson and Sutcliffe also refer to cells derived from the pathological meristem encbabgy this f for the fi i is series of papers for the first time difficult to believe that the authors are dealing the same problem. No evidence for a parasitic of the disease is brought forward in any case, their a investigations lead the authors differ in their views as to the immediate origin the disease. Sanderson and Sutcliffe point to an duced meristematic activity in the bark as the laracteristic feature of the pathological anatomy. Rands the disease is a special case of gummosis hich is the outcome of a wound response resulting ym tapping; while Farmer and Horne regard iloem necrosis as, “‘ ao doubt,” the immediate use of the disease. The present writer carefully xamined Horne’s remarkable preparations and mera-lucida drawings shown at the Rubber Exhibi- on last year, and recently he has been allowed to ompare er the drawings with the illustrations companying the papers of Rands and of Sanderson nd Sutcliffe. He considers that the true relations the seemingly conflicting results are apparent on view that a difficult piece of anatomy has been fied out to varying degrees of finality by the spective workers. In the case of Horne’s work 1ere is little doubt that his investigation has shown iat the immediate cause of brown bast is a degenera- ion of the sieve-tubes and neighbouring elements, weccompanied by the more or less complete localisation le necrotic area by an active meristem. Rands’s a appears to have fallen just short of complete NO. 2733, VOL. 109] . . . Title i success. In spite of his histological methods to prove his “‘ intercellulars’’ to be such, comparison of his drawings with those of Horne strongly suggests that they are the necrotic sieve-tube areas illustrated by the latter worker. It is remarkable that throughout Rands’s anatomical paper he uses the word “ sieve- tube ”’ twice only, though in the only diagram in which sieve-tubes appear each of the two sieve-tubes figured is blocked with “‘gum.”’ Rands’s view that the disease is a type of “‘ gummosis ”’ is by no means beside the mark; it may well be so regarded in its ultimate symptoms, but he failed to detect the primary cause. The abundant meristematic activity emphasised by Sanderson and Sutcliffe would appear to be a secondary character, and is possibly a develop- ment of the pathological meristem referred to by Farmer and Horne. It may be significant in this connection that the bark examined by Sanderson and Sutcliffe was from trees which “ had been taken out of tapping for some little time owing to brown bast,’’ and in which, therefore, there may have been time for the meristem to reach considerable develop- ment. The suggestion that the pathological meristem is formed as a result of the stimulus afforded by the activity of the cork-cambium of the tapped bark above the diseased area is interesting, and the authors might usefully have given further evidence in support of the contention. There would appear to be some difference of opinion as to the condition of the starch reserves in the diseased bark. Sanderson and Sutcliffe report that starch is usually absent, or present in small quantities only, and regard this depletion as accounted for by the demands for food materials made upon the neighbouring tissue by the meristematic cells. Rands, however, states that evidence based on observations of the starch reserves indicates that the response of the tissues, resulting in the “ disease,’ is more the effect of a stimulus connected with a loss of latex than of an actual depletion of (starch) reserve food, though he suggests the possibility of effects caused by the temporary depletion of other food substances; e.g. the proteid constituents of the latex which are known to suffer a reduction as the consequence of hard tapping. If the initial occurrence of phloem necrosis is confirmed, there will remain the problem of the cause of this condition. The solution of the problem is inseparably connected with the general question of phloem necrosis in plants. Thus light may be thrown on brown bast by the recent work of Quanjer, who claims that phloem necrosis in the potato can be transmitted from one plant to another. As pointed out by Farmer and Horne, the current investigation of brown bast disease points clearly to the urgent need for a wider understanding of the general physiology of Hevea, in which, of course, the laticiferous system would call for special attention. The present writer ventures to suggest that before this question (of which little is as yet known) can be dealt with successfully, it is essential that fuller knowledge of the anatomy and histology of latici- ferous tissue in general should be available. Useful pioneer work has been done by Meunier, but the papers under review show how far from complete such knowledge is at present in the case of Hevea alone. There is little doubt that, as in zoology, comparative anatomy would be highly suggestive and helpful. The study should extend at least to carefully selected arboreal laticiferous plants, of which the various “‘ rubber-trees ’’ which have been cultivated or exploited commercially would probably be suffi- cient, since the character of their laticiferous systems varies greatly in important features. The essential 360 NATURE. [Marcu 16, 1922 q difference between the laticiferous systems of Hevea and Funtumia, and the presence in Castilloa, Fun- tumia, and Landolphia of a striking development of laticiferous tissue in the xylem (medullary rays), connecting the latex-tubes in the phloem radially with those in the pith, are but instances of a significant state of affairs. A thorough study of this question could not fail to lead to important scientific knowledge which, in competent hands, might well result in practical applications. Again, such striking facts’ as the occurrence in Funtumia elastica of an excellent latex rich in caoutchouc, while in the closely related F. latifolia (often found growing with the former — species) there is a commercially useless latex conte ing abundant “ resins ’’ in place of caoutchouc, pre: problems, difficult indeed, that might well re more attention at the hands of biological chem The preliminary anatomical work would be carried out in the tropics, but with a little organise much might be accomplished in this country, as evident from the fact that observations which m prove to be the key to the correct understanding o: pe disease of Hevea have recently been made London. ig Dairy Cattle and Milk Production. > A iS Geers urgency of the problem of milk supply has of late years caused much attention to be de- voted to the improvement of dairy cattle, and to the increase of milk supply on an economic basis. During the last twenty-five years the Danish Milk Recording Societies (Journ. Min. Agric., October and November 1921) have been working towards the improvement of herds by the gradual elimination of unproductive cows, and Government grants have been made to aid them in the formation of strains of dairy cattle producing a higher yield of butter. The keeping of private and official handbooks is encouraged, and a special feature is made of two-year competitions between entire herds, the best herds being awarded prizes and officially recognised as breeding centres. The earlier work dealt entirely with the yield of cows, but later it was realised that the character of the bull was of equal importance with regard to milk pro- duction, as high milk-yielding capacity is a character that can be inherited through the sire as well as the dam. By close observation of records and careful breeding, attempts have been made to obtain bulls with a good influence on the milk yield, with con- siderable success. As Denmark is chiefly a butter- producing country, the main object of the milk- recording societies has been to raise the percentage of butter fat, thus aiming at improvement of quality more than at increase of quantity. _ The milk problem is by no means confined to European countries, but various aspects of dairying are being investigated elsewhere, as in the Madras Agricultural College, India (Bull. No. 79). Special consideration is given to business aspects as well as to the technical methods of dairying. Approved methods of selection are applied to the dairy herd, unprofitable cows being weeded out, and pedigree registers are maintained. A creamery is also for the preparation of butter on a commercial scale milk being purchased from outside to supplement home supply. The prospects of success are good, and a future seems to be before the dairy industry of - India if it is managed with scientific and business knowledge. ithes a One point which has a close bearing on dairy- — farming is the varying cost of milk production, which — has ranged from 34d. to 4s. 74d. per els since 1908 on Yorkshire farms for which records are avail- able (Scottish Journ. Agric., vol. 4, No. 4). Some the factors concerned are not under the control of the — producer, and are due to increase in the labour and : food bills, and to the increased depreciation of t cows. In pre-war time the cost of attention per coy per week varied from ts. 6d. to 2s., but owing to the rise in agricultural wages it is now 4s. 6d. to 6s., an increase which is estimated to have added 4d. per gallon to the pre-war cost of milk Pe The cost of food has risen on every han ar sie is far more expensive owing to increased cost o: manure and upkeep, home-grown food costs at least — twice as much to produce, and, above all, purchased © food has risen so much in price that it is pape e the one factor more than any other which h been — responsible for the high prices of milk during recent — poor: During the war, too, the difference in value — etween in-milk and dry cows greatly in and this depreciation in value has had its effect upon the cost of milk production. The tables drawn up — indicate that in some cases the total costs have ex- — ceeded pre-war costs by 300 per cent., but happily — there are indications that the inflated prices are easing 4 off, and they show signs of being still lower in the © near future. W. Bee University and Educational Intelligence. CAMBRIDGE.—The Smith’s prizes have been awarded to E. A. Milne, Trinity College, for an essay on “Studies in thé Theory of Radiative Equilibrium,” and to G. C. Steward, Gonville and Caius College, for an essay on “‘ The Aberration-Diffraction Problem.” A Rayleigh Prize has been awarded to T. A. Brown, Trinity College, for an essay ‘‘ On a Class of Factorial Series.”” J. A. Carroll, Sidney Sussex College, has. been elected to an Isaac Newton Studentship, and the Studentship of W. M. H. Greaves, St. John’s College, has been renewed for a year. Regulations have been proposed for the degrees of M.Litt. and M.Sc. The chief difference from the Ph.D. regulations are that a student must for these degrees do research for two years as against three ’ for the Ph.D. The Board of Research Studies publishes its second annual report. There have now been 143 research students admitted, of whom have already taken the degree of Ph.D. Of these NO. 2733, VOL. 109] 95 are working in scientific subjects—physies 22, chemistry with 16, and botany with 12, head the list. Fe ee hi Lonpon.—The under-mentioned French professors — in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of — Paris will lecture (in French) at the Rooms of the — Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, W.1, — at 5 P.M., on the dates stated :— a March 20, Prof. H. Roger (Dean of the Faculty), — “Les fonctions du Poumon”; March 23, Prof. — A. Chauffard, ‘‘ Syndrome Humoral de la Goutte” ; — March 27, Prof. P. Duval, ‘‘ Données actuelles de la — Chirurgie Intra-Thoracique.”’ pe eae Pror. H. R. Dean has been appointed as from ~ June 1 next to the University Chair of Bacteriology — tenable at University College Hospital Medical School: — Since 1915 Prof. Dean has been Professor of Patho- — logy and Pathological Anatomy in-the University of — Manchester. He has been Horace Dobell Lecturer — for the Royal College of Physicians, and is the author — of numerous papers on pathological and bacterio- — logical subjects. ye Pg a NATURE 361 ‘ch 16, 1864. Richard Roberts died—A man of ition, whose genius did not save him from ate poverty, Roberts was the son of a Welsh laker. He worked at various trades in different rts of Englaad, and in 1816 settled in Manchester, ere he made improvements in engineers’ machine such as planing machines, and in textile ery. His self-acting mule was patented in 1825. 16, 1908. William Petrie died.—Sent at the nineteen to study at Frankfort -on- Main, = devoted himself to electricity and magnetism, | in 1847 invented one of the first self-regulating | 99 which in the following year was displayed r. portico of the National Gallery. His ing financially unsuccessful Petrie turned tion to the management and equipment of il works. 17, 1806. David Dale died.—A notable Scotch alist, Dale began life asa Paisley weaver. He a fortune, however, as an importer of yarn, 1783, by the establishment of spinning mills at ark, founded the cotton industry of Lanark- [ 17, 1887. William Denny died.—The son of ter Denny, one of the founders of the Dumbaiton n of shipbuilders and marine engineers, William any was one of the most scientific naval architects his day, and at his Leven shipyard constructed first privately-owned experimental tank, over ch he placed an inscription to Froude, ‘‘ The atest of experimenters and investigators of hydro- March 18, 1899. Sir Douglas Strutt Galton died.— captain in the Royal Engineers, Galton did valuable rk in connection with the application of iron to ways, structures, and the laying of the Atlantic le, and was well known for his writings on sanitary ience. He held various public offices, was made honorary member of the Institution of Civil gineers, and in 1895 served as president of the tish Association. Mz -I9, 1888. Thomas Russell Crampton died.— n assistant to Gooch in the Great Western Rail- ray, Crampton in 1848 set up in business for him- If, and in that year constructed the locomotive rpool,” one of the most powerful engines of he time. It embodied many special features and yas adopted as the type of locomotive for some of we French railways. Crampton also laid the first tactical submarine cable from Dover to Calais, nd with Fox carried out the Berlin water-works. March 21, 1888. Ludwig August Colding died.—From ie Polytechnic School at Copenhagen Colding passed nto the public service and became an inspector 4 . While thus engaged, in 1843 he wrote is “Theses concerning Moving Forces,” a hich entitles him to a place among the founders ee cs. He published other scientific nemoirs rose to be chief engineer of Copenhagen. h 21, 1914. August Wohler died.—One of the est and most distinguished of Prussian railway neers and a pioneer in the testing of materials, Vohler began his investigations on railway axles in 852, and in 1859 established at Berlin an experi- tal station for the testing of iron and steel under paper » M. 22, 1831. William Symington died.— The laker of the first practical marine steam engines, Symington by his work for Patrick Miller in 1788 and for the Earl of Dundas in 1801 solved the problem of driving boats by steam, but failing to obtain ‘ erp for his projects he sank into poverty and ‘died.in London a disappointed man. He is buried St. Botolph’s, Aldgate. Ba C...S. NO. 2733, VOL. 109] JIC Societies and Academies. LONDON. Geological Society, February 17.—Mr. R. D. Oldham, president, in the chair.—R. D. Oldham: The cause and character of earthquakes (Anniversary Address). The term ‘‘ earthquake ”’ is here applied only to a disturb- ance which can be felt, and as such, it is a form of elastic wave-motion of extreme complexity ; this may be distinguished as the orchesis of the earthquake. In addition there is, in some cases, a molar, permanent displacement of the solid rock, which forms the mochleusis, which is ‘ guseoe 4 the secondary result of a more deep-seated disturbance, which has been distinguished as the bathyseism. The origin of the elastic wave-motion must be a sudden disturbance not more than ten miles down, and in this outer portion of the earth’s crust the only sudden disturb- ance conceivable is fracture. In certain cases such fracture, accompanied or not by displacement, has been recognised at the surface, and measurements of the displacements show that a state of strain must have existed before actual rupture took place, but give no indication of the rate of growth of the strain. This problem can only be attacked through the variation in the frequency of earthquakes, and only one existing record, the Italian one, is available. From this the rate of growth of strain is, at slowest, such that the breaking-point will, on the average, be reached in a year at most, and, at the quickest, may be of such rapidity as to be analogous to a separate explosion for each earthquake. Changes producing such strains are probably to be referred to the material below the crust. Researches on the change of bulk resulting from a change in the mineral aggregation of the same material indicates one means by which the effect may be brought about. The cause of the great majority of earthquakes is a rapid growth of strain, due to changes in the material underlying the outer crust of solid rock. February 22.—Prof. A. C. Seward, president, in the chair—C. W. Andrews: Description of a new Plesiosaur from the Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex). The parts preserved are the posterior region of the skull, numerous cervical and dorsal vertebre, the shoulder girdle, and the humeri. The bones lay mixed up, in an intensely hard matix. The skull is very imperfect: it resembles the skull of Plesiosaurus capensis, Andrews, from the Uitenhage Series of South Africa. The cervical vertebre are also very similar to those of the African species, having ‘te central portion of the articular surfaces deeply cupped ; they have also inter-vertebral discs, possibly of calcified cartilage, between successive centra. The clavicular arch in the shoulder girdle is large and well developed, being very similar to that of some Lower Liassic forms. The retention of this primitive condition in this and other Wealden Plesiosaurs may be the consequence of their com- paratively sheltered life in a fluviatile or estuarine habitat. The name Leptocleidus superstes is sug- ibe for the specimen.—T. Landell-Mills, A. Smith oodward, and A. Gilligan: The Carboniferous rocks of the Deer-Lake district of Newfoundland. The Carboniferous rocks form a synclinal flexure with its longer axis trending north-east and south- west. Underlying these is a limestone series of un- determined age resting on highly-folded gneisses and schists of Archean age. . A thick mantle of Pleistocene deposits covers the whole region, but deeply- trenched valleys give good exposures of the Carboni- ferous rocks. Fishes and plant-remains occur abun- dantly at several horizons in the Lower Carboniferous shales, but no fossils have been found in the Upper 362 NATURE [Marcu 16, 1922 Carboniferous. The mineralogical constituents of the deposits are remarkably like those making up rocks of similar age in the north of England, hence it is inferred that the deposits on both sides of the Atlantic were derived from the same land-mass, The fish-remains are fragmentary; they represent three species closely related to those found in the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland. A group of ribs with the caudal fin and scattered scales belongs to a Dipnoan fish; a new species of Uronemus and some specimens of a Palezoniscid fish are also found: Zoological Society, February 21.—Prof. E. W. MacBride, vice-president, in the chair.—Miss L. E. Cheesman: (1) The position and fuaction of the siphon of the amphibious mollusc, Ampullaria vermiformis. (2) The habits, in captivity, of the fresh-water crab, Cardisoma armatum.—H. Blegvad : Animal communities in the southern North Sea.— C. Tate Regan: The Cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria. —C, F. Sonntag: (1) On the vagus and sympathetic nerves of the Edentata. (2) On the vagus and sympathetic nerves of Hyvax capensis. Physical Society, February 24.—Dr. A. Russell, president, in the chair.—H. Levy: The number of radio-active transformations as determined by analysis of the observations. The expression for the mth product of a series of radio-active transformations is represented as the sum of m terms of the type a,e-i, When x is known, the coefficients a, and A, can be determined. A criterion for determining nm, the number of transformations, by successive evaluation of a system of determinants constructed from the observations is given. The value of n is found from the order of the particular member of the system that vanishes.—C. H. Lees: A graphical method of treating Fresnel’s formule for reflection in transparent media. The directions of the reflected and refracted rays having been determined by known graphical methods, a construction, based on Fresnel’s formule, is given for finding the amplitudes of the electric vectors of these rays, i1 and normal to the plane of incidence. Aristotelian Society, ‘March 6.—Prof. J. S. Mackenzie in the chair.—S. N. Dasgupta: The Logic of the Vedanta. The earliest Upanisads, forming the concluding part of the Vedic literature, were completed certainly before 500 B.c. The main doctrine found in them is that self is the ultimate reality. This self is not the Ego but pure conscious- ness, which was regarded as supremely unchangeable. The early Buddhist philosophy sought to prove that everything was changing and that there was nothing which could be regarded as permanent. The nihil- istic school of Buddhism as interpreted by Nagarjuna and Aryadeva (A.D. 100) demonstrated, by critical and dialectical reasoning of the type which Mr. Bradley has used, that our ordinary conceptions of experience were absolutely relative and were there- fore indefinite and indefinable. The idealistic Buddhists accepted this position and held that all worldly experience is due to mental construction. The Vedanta, as explained by Sankara, and as interpreted by Sriharsa and Madhusudana Sarasvati and others, held that pure consciousness, as revealed in immediate experience and as distinct from its particular form and content, was self-contained and absolutely real: Particular forms are relative and mutually interdependent. They are definable either as being or as non-being for they participate in the nature of both. They are the modifications of a separate logical category called the indefinite and have the same sort of logical status as illusions. They appear as existent by virtue of their relation with pure consciousness which is absolutely unchangeable NO. 2733, VOL. 109] ‘currents in some abnormal cases.—M. Galibourg: and_ self-contained and immediate. Eve which has any form or content is thus a joint m festation of the absolutely real, 7.e. the consciousn and the category of the indefinite. The nature all that is relative is that it has being in some se and it has no being in another, and it cannot fore be regarded either as positive or negative. h necessitates the acceptance of the indefinite as a separate logical category which explains the logical — status of all that is relative. re ee Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 20.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—E. Borel: Functions of a real — variable capable of differentiation without limit.—H. — Douvillé: The Nummulitic to the south of the ~ Pyrenees.—G. Gouy: The tensions and pressures ~ of Maxwell in magnets and dielectrics. Maxwell has given two expressions involving the field (H) and the induction (B), one for magnets and a second © for dielectrics. Only the first of these, a tension of I 47 : in all directions of ( ; > 3503) The Brown Bast Disease of the Para Rubber-tree. By Dr. S. E. Chandler. ; S457. Dairy Cattle and Milk Production. By w. E. B. . 360 University and Educational Intelligence . : - 360 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . . = : Ey SOS Societies and Academies . pier oe a? : Ae SS Official Publications Received . 4 ¢ +: eee gOS : Diary of Societies. 5) as WALOSKE 365 THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 10922. Editorial and Publishing Offices : _ MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., . MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. _ Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD: 8830. T € Universities and Colonial Scientific ; Services.! HE unfortunate shortage of trained men at the vend of the war, at a time when many of the ies were especially anxious for expert help in isation and further development, led to various uggestions for the increase in the supply. Lord ner, as Colonial Secretary, accordingly appointed Committee in 1920 to investigate how the univer- ties could best help in training men for the scientific rvices abroad and in securing the research necessary r the protection of the inhabitants of the Colonies st disease and for the development of their nary, agricultural, and mineral resources. The n aes consisted of Lord Chalmers as chairman, ir Henry Birchenough, Sir John Rose Bradford, Sir M. Fletcher, Prof. E. B. Poulton, Sir David in, Sir H. J. Read, Sir Stewart Stockman, and Sir rey Strahan. The Committee has now issued its port. It concludes that the universities can help ainly in two ways—in the fuller training of students and in the building up of a corps of advanced workers vi 9 would be available for the solution of especially complex problems. _ The Committee’s conclusion that the universities must impart to the students who desire to enter the olonial services more than ‘“ book knowledge”’ will e universally approved, but the suggestion that some in iversities still give scientific courses without labora- ory and practical instruction will be read with surprise. [he Committee further insists that the men required ust have “ a training in the methods of research, and chis involves post speperen study. ” It concludes ay a Committee in the Colonies. ‘(His Majesty's § siationery Off Office, 1921.) 2d, NO. 2734, VOL. 109] ) (Cmd. 1472.) therefore, that the universities can assist most usefully and directly by encouraging post-graduate study, and for this purpose urges that an increase of research fellow- ships and studentships would be of primary importance. The Report implies that appointments in the scientific departments of the Colonies should be re- stricted to men who have been through post-graduate courses, but this limitation would be attended by serious drawbacks, especially in tropical colonies. The men would begin their service later and would retire when older or with a smaller pension, and the men who have taken the extra years of post-graduate work would be lower in seniority than those who had joined the service at the end of the ordinary university course. The better-trained men would thereby be debarred, as a rule, from securing the head appointments, with probably much consequent jealousy and friction. The attempt to correct this evil by dividing the staff of a small department into two grades and restricting the upper grade to men who have had post-graduate training would lead to even greater difficulties. The Committee’s conclusion implies that the courses -for university degrees do not include training in the methods ofresearch,although that training is the essential of university education. Research training should be improved, not by lengthening the time at the university, but by earlier specialisation in the case of students re- quiring a professional scientific qualification. The universities provide for two sets of students, whose re- quirements are different. They have to teach the pedagogic methods and general principles, by knowledge of which teachers may widen the mental outlook of their pupils and inculcate habits of scientific thought. They must also teach students who intend to adopt science as a profession, other than in secondary educa- tion and medicine, how to use the methods by which the various sciences have achieved their present position and may be further advanced. Now that a four years’ course for the honours B.Sc. is becoming the rule, the university science courses should provide training in the methods of research for at least two of the four years for students who require it ; and men so trained should be able to give useful service in the ordinary research work required in most colonial departments. The desired increase in the output of men trained for research would be even better secured by encouraging the universities to provide further teaching in research methods in the course for the B.Sc. without adopting the principle that such training “involves post- graduate study.” The second problem which the Report considers is the provision of experts to solve the specially intricate problems that would be met with from time to time. The university staffs might be expected to help in such 366 NATURE [MARCH 23, 1922 work, men being seconded for service as required. The Committee, however, expects such problems to be so numerous that the universities could give adequate help only if their scientific staffs were greatly enlarged. To secure this increase the Report adopts Lord Milner’s suggestion that research departments should be established at those universities to which the subject would appeal by local interests or environment. Lord Milner has promised that if the universities would endeavour to collect funds from local industries for such departments, the Colonial Office would support the appeals by testifying that the establishment of new chairs and the enlargement of the professorial staffs in the departments of science throughout the universities would be a great and permanent service to the Empire. Sir Walter Fletcher, in a reservation appended to the Report, regrets that its proposals regarding appeals for such endowments are so indefinite. He remarks that it leaves untouched the practical questions as o “‘ Who will make the appeal ? What appeal? By what mechanism or in what modes? And on what occasions ?”’ He says that no steady cultivation of university resources for the ends proposed can be, effected without a general scientific staff, and recom- mends a special advisory committee in each of the de- partments of science concerned. Sir Herbert Read replies to this criticism, in a covering letter annexed to the Report, that the Colonial Office has already the help of adequate advisory committees, and that in some subjects there are, indeed, too many. Thus, dealing with tropical medicine there are the Tropical Diseases Bureau, the Tropical Diseases Research Fund Committee, the Advising Medical and Sanitary Com- mittee for Tropical Africa, and the Schools of Tropical Medicine in London and Liverpool. Sir Herbert Read remarks that in this case the machinery should be simplified and not enlarged; but, despite this ex- perience, the establishment of scattered research in- stitutes is the system which the Committee recom- mends. Laboratories for special researches attached to university departments are subject to the risk of lack of continuity between the work of one pro- fessor and that of his successor. This drawback may be reduced by the establishment and endowment of research chairs to superintend such laboratories; but, even if the funds could be obtained, such chairs might soon outlive their usefulness owing to changed industrial conditions. The establishment of these independent research institutes might prove an extravagant method of con- ducting much of the ordinary research necessary for colonial development. A central institution, which could call on the university staffs to help with special _ problems, might be a far more economical method NO. 2734, VOL. 109] Sibi enitne We sg of organising this work. There is already such an institution—the Imperial Institute. The Report does. not mention it, though reference is made to its work, for a letter by Lord Milner which is printed with the Report, illustrates the great economic value of scientific investigation by the discovery of the Udi coalfields in Nigeria, which was due to a survey organised by the Imperial Institute under a man whom it enlisted. The Imperial Institute is under the management of — the Colonial Office, and its extensive laboratories, staff, — and resources should be available for the investigation — of problems connected with economic biology, geology, © and mineralogy, in any part of the Empire which has not adequate scientific departments of its own. As — the Committee was appointed to consider the relations of the universities to research, the Imperial Institute may have seemed outside its province. Its scheme is, however, attended by the danger of overlap of the kind which, as Sir Herbert Read remarks, has already de- veloped not only between different independent de- — partments, but also between all the proposed research — institutes and the Imperial Institute, which was founded expressly to investigate the economic resources of the ; British Empire overseas. : (ita pitas MF) Marg aW ks pate he A Monograph on Wheat. The Wheat Plant : A Monograph. By Prof. J. Percival. Pp. x+463. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1921 ) 63s. net. ROF. PERCIVAL’S monograph fills one of the many great gaps in English agricultural litera- ture by providing, for the first time in our language, — a comprehensive account of the wheat plant, the most | important of the cereal crops. Some idea of the magnitude of the work involved in the production of this book is derived from a statement in the preface that it is based on the study of what is “ probably the most representative collection in existence,” since it | “includes all the races of wheats, numbering nearly — 2000 forms derived from almost all wheat-growing regions of the world,” whilst a brief glance at any section of the book is sufficient to convince the reader, : especially perhaps the reader familiar with the crop, that this study has been peculiarly exhaustive. Part x is devoted to the results of investigations — on the morphology, anatomy, development, and growth — of the wheat plant. When the importance of the crop is. taken into consideration the existing literature on these subjects is singularly scanty, and the detailed accounts, covering some 140 pages, will save trouble to.many future investigators. Further information~ on the cytology of the chief races of wheat and on the Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 367 of fertilisation is still required ; but, apart from 2 now possess sufficient knowledge of the minute re and of the development of the wheat plant t purposes. eater portion of Part 2 consists of a series s dealing with the classification of the numer- ns,’ many of which the author has had under m for as many as twenty years. At the wild species, Triticum aegilopoides, Bal., and gjides, Korn., are recognised, together with ces” or cultivated species. Eight of the mall Spelt, Emmer, Macaroni, Polish, Rivet d wheat, Club wheat, and large Spelt, are races ; whilst three, 7. orientale, Khorasan pyramidale, Egyptian cone wheat, and 7. m, Indian dwarf wheat, are new creations. these consists of a couple of Emmer-like differing only in awn-colour, which are ed by the possession of long glumes and second consists of a group of five Egyptian ing close to the Rivet wheats in most of teristics, and in leaf colour, shortness of ear shape strongly reminiscent of segregates es between 7. turgidum and T. vulgare. ng near 7. compactum. The further sub- f these races into “ varieties” follows the n system in Kérnicke and Werner’s ‘“‘ Hand- treidesbau.” his system is not slavishly adhered to, and 1 there noteworthy departures are made from instance, several forms placed by Kérnicke are rightly transferred to the Emmer h has puzzled more than one systematist—is also n this group, to the satisfaction of those in the genetics of this important mildew- heat. smaller groups the sub-division of the varieties ms is a comparatively simple matter, but occur in the large races, such as 7. vulgare. of example, one takes the first of the beard- eties of the bread wheats, 7. v. albidum, one tailed descriptions, under either a name or a of a dozen forms from various parts of the upplemented by excellently reproduced photo- of the more distinct types. But the forms ves are capable of further sub-division. Under iption of Wilhelmina, for instance, is the state- “Similar to this is Willem I. from Holland, Stand Up, Essex hybrid. . . .” Some of these most unquestionably synonymous, whilst some stinct wheats, and a classification failing to differ- > these will disappoint many who grow wheat. NO. 2734, VOL. 109] _ an equally small group of round-grained. p, 1. dicoccum. Persian Black, too—a form _ But, whatever the needs of the wheat-grower for a still finer differentiation of forms, one feels that the day for these elaborate descriptions is passing and that it is unlikely that many attempts will be made in the future to bring together and catalogue the world’s numerous wheats. Even now, when the subject of wheat-breeding is in its childhood, the geneticist foresees the possibility of an accession of new forms which would reduce Prof. Percival’s collection to the dimensions of a dwarf. Such a feature as the winged glume figure in Plate 179 is known to him only in one form. But it is inherited as a unit character, and though scores of forms with similar glumes are in existence at the Plant- Breeding Institute at Cambridge, many more could easily be raised. Much the same is true of that still rarer feature, the purple colour of the grain, seen in T. d. arraseita, which has in the hands of the hybridist given rise to a series of purple-grained Macaroni and Polish wheats, in addition to other forms of Emmers, To cope with such a “ flora,” the systematist of the future will probably have recourse to brief formule expressing the genetic constitution of each form—a system which would have many of the merits of that used in the classification of bacteria. The systematic portion of the monograph is followed by a chapter of considerable interest on the origin and relationship of the races of wheat. Evidence from various sources—archeeological, ecological, pathological, genetical, etc.—is skilfully marshalled to show their probable lines of development. The story is too long to discuss within the limits of a review, but Prof. Percival’s conclusions on the origin of the bread wheats (T. vulgare) are too interesting to pass over. At present, as is well known, no wild.species even sugges- tive of this group has been found. A study of the morphology of the wild and cultivated wheats has led the author to the conclusion that “there is not nor has there ever been a prototype of the bread wheats.’ And further: ‘‘ The characters of T. vulgare and its allies appear . . . to be those of a vast hybrid race, initiated long ago by the crossing of wheats of the Emmer series with species of A.gilops.” It so happens that many crosses have been made between the reputed Egilops parents, 42. ovata and 42. cylindrica, and forms from practically all the races of wheats; but such crosses yield, at the most, sterile hybrids. The signifi- cance of this fact is recognised, but disposed of by the assumption that natural hybrids between the wild Aigilops and the Emmer prototype are more fertile under their native climatic conditions than in Central or Western Europe. A chapter on yield follows a useful summary of most of the more important literature dealing with the hybridisation and improvement of wheat. In this 368 NATURE [MaARcH 23, 1922 the effects of soil, cultivation and manuring, seed rate, variety, time and methods of sowing, and size of grain are considered. One can but regret that it is not followed by a chapter on quality, in which the effects of these factors on the milling and baking properties of the bread wheats is brought under review. Such a chapter would be peculiarly welcome to both wheat-breeders and millers, . even if it did no more than summarise the scattered literature on the subject. It would, moreover, go some way to justify the statement on the wrapper of the book that it is “essential to . . . plant-breeders and millers.” Prof. Percival will lay workers on both these subjects under a still greater obligation if such an addition is made when a new edition of this useful volume is called for. R. H. B. The Subjectivity of Psychology. The Psychology of Everyday Life. By Dr. James Drever.. Pp. ix+164. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 6s. net. HE present generation is witnessing a sustained and persistent effort to raise psychology to the status of a science. Hitherto it has been a part of philosophy, and it is felt by psychologists that success depends wholly on their being able to detach it. There is something curiously instructive in the fact that the task is avowedly difficult. It is curious because the data of psychology are more immediate than any other data of science, and for that reason alone we should expect them to be the most easily known and the most susceptible to treatment. But the instructive thing is that this very intimacy of our relationship with the data militates against scientific treatment. All the trouble in regard to the matter arises from the fact that the objects of a science of psychology are more difficult to abstract from the subject of experience, more difficult to reify or set up with an independent status of their own, than are the objects of any recog- nised science, mathematical, physical, or biological. This is obvious at once if we compare psychology with its nearest neighbour in the hierarchy, physiology. We have no trouble in presenting the functions of anatomical organs, and the processes of secretion, circulation, innervation, and the like, as objective. They are capable of mechanistic interpretation in complete detachment from anything which depends on the experience of the subject, although we are ready to acknowledge that without such experience the apparent purpose of the mechanism would be wanting. But when we try in the same way to present instincts, impulses, emotions, feelings, memory, wishes, trains of reasoning, we seem to be in a peculiar NO. 2734, VOL. 109] ~Vérité.” difficulty, for it is impossible to avoid not merely subjectivity, but a certain vexatious personal and individual subjectivity. Yet there is no obvious reason for this, and the more we reflect the more we are driven to recognise that while we know as_ matter of fact that it is so, we do not know and are unable to imagine the reason why it should be so. The difficulty goes back at least to Berkeley. It is quite easy to imagine perfect cubes and circles and other geometrical figures existing entirely inde- pendently of the mind which knows them and to found ~ a science on the assumption that they may or do so exist. physical and biological sciences. a thought, absolutely refuse to be detached, and will not let us imagine an abstract existence for them independently of the subject. tage which is lacking to psychology. The little manual by Dr. Drever, which is fhe | occasion of this reflection, is an excellent classification and general survey of the nature of the entities with — which the modern science of psychology is attempting — to deal. What seems to qualify the author for his, task is his thorough knowledge of the older and philo- a The same is true in some measure of all the ae But a wish, a pain, © Now Berkeley’s conten- — tion was that every object of knowledge is in the same ~ case, and therefore the physical sciences have no — advantage over psychology. This, however, gives no — satisfaction to the modern psychologist, for whatever — be the truth of Berkeley’s doctrine he knows that — physics and biology possess at least a pn advan i sophical treatment of the subject, in particular with its treatment in books like Descartes’s “‘ Les Passions - de ’Ame’”’ and Malebranche’s ‘‘ Recherche de la Dr. Drever is in thorough sympathy with the — scientific end, and is working towards it, yet with full: consciousness and complete understanding of its origin in philosophy. H. WiLpoN Carr. The Study of Earthquakes. A Manual of Seismology. By Dr. Charles Dayison. (Cambridge Geological Series.) Pp. xii + 256. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 21s. net. IME was when the meaning of seismology was clear and unmistakable; it was the study of earthquakes, and by earthquakes was meant the © disturbance which could be felt, and, when severe, | caused alarm and damage. It was known that there was a central area where the earthquake was most severe, fringed by zones of decreasing violence, until a region was reached where it was insensible to the - unaided senses, though still recognisable by suitable ARCH 23, 1922] NATURE 369 ents, and when, towards the end of last century, found that, at distances far away from the region by the sensible shock, disturbances which were connected with great earthquakes could be | by suitable instruments, it was natural. to that the origin was the same for both. Only years has it been recognised that the earth- per, caused directly by fracturing of the ks, is but a secondary effect of a more deep- urbance, or bathyseism, which, and not the e proper, is presumably the origin of the hatic I tceentsd j in the preliminary tremors of t record. | seismology has developed on two dis- and in reality into two distinct sciences, method, means, and requirements. On we have the newer seismology of the long- ecord, in which personal observation counts *; some mechanical ingenuity is required ign of efficient instruments, some care in the ce of them and their records, but after that, n and interpretation are purely a matter r mathematics. On the other hand, we 2 two recent text-books, both nominally of ; first we have the “ Modern Seismology ” te Dr. G. W. Walker, which appeared some 4 als incidentally, to the piebidbake proper ; 1 we have this book, by Dr. C. Davison, which is ed a manual of seismology and devotes only a part of pter to the subject of Dr. Walker’s book. The ce accounts for, and is. indicated by, the fact ne appeared as a Monograph on Physics, the r as part of the Cambridge Geological Series. fhe object, as well as the scope, of Dr. Davison’s rk accounts sufficiently for the fact that he devotes y part of a chapter to the newer seismology, and the tment is adequate, in so far as it gives that amount mation which a student of the older seismology pnot afford to ignore. As a manual of that older smology the book fills a much-felt want, for we had tisfactory introduction to the study of the earth- e proper. Well arranged and clearly expressed, NO. 2734, VOL. 109] the only adverse criticism which can be made is that the ground is possibly too fully covered, and that some matters which might have been omitted from an introductory text-book have necessarily received too brief a treatment; but this fault—if such it be— is counteracted by the references to other works in which the subject is more fully dealt with. These references to previous literature add very greatly to the value of the work; not large in number, they are very judiciously selected, form a satisfactory basis for advanced study in all branches of the subject, and, without exception, are such that no one wishing for a mastery of the subject could afford to leave them unstudied. RiD..O. Chemical and Physical Constants. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. A Ready- Reference Pocket Book of Chemical and Physical Data. By Prof. C. D. Hodgman, assisted by Prof. M. F. Coolbaugh and Cornelius E. Senseman. Eighth edition. Pp. 711. (Cleveland, Ohio : Chem- ical Rubber Company, 1920.) 3 dollars. HIS compact little volume contains a vast array of chemical and physical constants. Since the first publication in 1914 it has passed through eight editions in the United States—a sufficient proof of _Its utility as “a comparatively comprehensive reference book for use in the laboratory or classroom.” The tables on the properties of inorganic and organic compounds are very complete, and chemists will appreciate particularly the tabular information on the solubility of inorganic salts in water. The data on the “‘ Dehydration of Metallic Sulphates ” and the “ De- composition of Anhydrous Metallic Sulphates” are distinctly novel features. In the qualitative analysis scheme it is somewhat difficult to follow out the behaviour of chromium. A very complete table is given of heats of formation and solution, but it is to be regretted that no indication is given as to the sources from which the data have been compiled. The section devoted to physics is fairly complete, and one notes with pleasure that the table for the reduction of psychrometric observations refers to the ventilated type of wet and dry bulb thermometer only. At the end of the volume eight pages are devoted to problems, the utility of wh h in a book of data is doubtful. The book has some blemishes, for the most trust- worthy data have not always been chosen. To take one example only, in the table of “ Fixed Points for High Temperatures ” the melting point of nickel is given as 1427° and that of platinum as 1775°. Ten years ago the Carnegie Institution published a memoir on High Temperature Gas Thermometry, and the values OO! 379 NATURE ; [Marcu 23, 1922 there given (1452° and 1755°) have since been almost universally accepted. Also, in view of the thorough work of Prof. Callendar on the specific heat of water, it is somewhat surprising to find that the values given are “the mean of various determinations, including Calendar and Blonsfield, 1912”; one frequently observes that the names of observers are misspelt as in this quotation. It is hoped that before the next edition is issued the various sections will be submitted to expert scrutiny, for the value of the book would be greatly enhanced if the user could feel sure that the most trustworthy data are quoted. E. GRIFFITHS. Our Bookshelf. Illustrations of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Falkland Islands. By Mrs. E. F. Vallentin. descriptions by Mrs. E. M. Cotton. Pp. xii+64 plates+text+1i. (London: L. Reeve and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 84s. net. Since the publication of Sir J. D. Hooker’s “ Flora Antarctica ” much progress has been made in the study of the Falkland flora and from a taxonomic standpoint it may now be said to be well known. Nevertheless, a well-illustrated compact flora has been a desideratum and it is thus additionally unfortunate that owing to a serious breakdown in health the completion of Mrs. Vallentin’s work has been indefinitely postponed. The volume now under notice contains 64 plates illustrating in colour, and with excellent dissections, many of the. most characteristic Falkland plants. Each plate is accompanied by a short description of the family, genus and species. It seems a pity that with the space available fuller descriptions and more detailed ecological notes have not been provided. The repetition of the description of the family appears to be unnecessary ; thus the same diagnosis of the Composite is repeated eleven times. The work as a whole illustrates many of the essential features of the Falkland Islands flora. The predomin- ance of dwarf herbaceous and subshrubby perennials, especially characteristic of steppe and heath forma- tions, is emphasised both by the plants chosen for illustration and by the small number of therophytes and the absence of phanerophytes, except for a few nanophanerophytes. We have no doubt that this work will prove most useful to inhabitants of the Falkland Islands who take an interest in the natural history of their country by enabling them to identify easily many of the common plants around them, and that it will also be used in a more general manner by workers in systematic and geographical botany in other countries. W. B. Turriqt. The Microscope: Its Design, Construction and Applica- tions. A Symposium and General Discussion by many Authorities. Edited by F. S. Spiers. Pp. v+260 +plates. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1920.) Price 2ts. net. Tue addresses and papers given in 1920 at the con- joined meeting of the Faraday, Royal Microscopical, NO. 2734, VOL. 109] With Optical and Photomicrographic Societies and Technical Optics Committee of the British Science Guild are gathered together conveniently in the volume under notice. All the papers are by specialists in their respective branches and the whole constitutes a valu- able contribution to microscopical science. The Presi- dent, Sir Robert Hadfield, in his introductory address — traced the history of the development of the micro-- scope, and papers on the earliest steps in the invention of the microscope and on the history and design of ] ; photomicrographic apparatus are contributed by Dr. — Singer and Mr. Martin Duncan respectively. The future of the microscope is dealt with in suggestive papers by Mr. Barnard and Mr. Schneider, while Profs. Cheshire, Conrady and Porter discuss the mechanical — design and optics of the instrument. Many experts in their particular subjects give practical details on the application of the microscope in fermentation industries, in petrology, metallurgy, engineering and metrology. Methods of illumination, the testing of objectives, and - optical glass and its manufacture are other subjects dealt with. In addition to the papers themselves, a summary of the discussions following their reading is — included and the volume is illustrated with many plates and figures. The work, which has been ably — edited by Mr. Spiers of the Faraday Society, is indis- pensable to any one desiring to follow the trend of the © modern developments of the microscope and of micro-— scopical science. RTH Introduction to the Study of Minerals and Guide to the Mineral Collections in Kelvingrove Museum. By Prof. P. MacNair. Second edition. IS. Pror. MacNair is to be congratulated on having intro-| duced many improvements in the second edition of his Pp. vilito4+z_ plate. (Glasgow: Hay Nisbet and Co., Ltd., 1921.) useful guide-book. The figures illustrating the crystal-— forms are much more accurate than those published in the first edition, though there are still a- few which should have been replaced. The part dealing with crystallography has been much increased and the systems have been subdivided into groups, the intro- duction of which in place of the classes of the accepted systems of crystallography is rather confusing. The guide includes a clear account of the optical and other properties of minerals, a description of some of — % the commoner species, a glossary of terms, and a list — of species in the collection. much on the lines of Fletcher’s “‘ An Introduction to the Study of Minerals,” of which the fifteenth edition is still used as the guide to the Mineral Department of the — British Museum (Natural History). It will be noted — that Prof. MacNair in Glasgow has produced his book ~ The book is based very — at sixpence less than the price of the British Museum — Guide. The Secrets of the Self. (Asrdr-I Khudi.) A Philo- — sophical Poem. By Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal. Translated from the Original Persian with Intro- duction and Notes by Dr. R. A. Nicholson. xxxi+147.. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1920.) Price 7s. 6d. net. THis poem has an interest beyond that of its artistic form or esthetic content, for it reveals the effect on the - Pp: oriental mind of contact with the culture and philo- Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 371 of the West. The writer is a firm and devout in Mahomet. He has studied Bradley and rgson, he has taken degrees at Cambridge and at ch, and he has returned to Persia, more ardent ever in the vision of a world-triumphant religion, ic kingdom of God on earth.| ings of the Aristotelian Society. New Series— xxi. Containing the papers read before the during the Forty-second Session, 1920-1921. +246. (London: Williams and Norgate, 25s. net. a the papers in this volume are philosophical chnical meaning, several of them are of un- ntific interest, and all of them show how the pure scientific research are influencing philo- cal speculation. of. Montague’s paper on “‘ Variation, Heredity and jousness ” is described as a mechanist answer ve vitalist challenge. It develops an ingenious according to which it is possible to trace the ation of the potential energy acquired by brain, through the kinetic energies of sensory nerve nts, into all the phenomena of mind and conscious- _ In the whole process no factor is admitted which inable in purely physical terms. The Dean t. Paul’s in his Presidential address “Is the time s reversible?” finds it impossible to keep out and the principle of relativity. Miss Oakeley 1 ex t critical account of the recent work of riesch in “ Philosophy of Life and Knowl lungs they swim up the air passages and down hagus, so reaching the small intestine. This arke e life-history was worked out by the Austrian is Toes: in Cairo, and, although at first received ne scepticism, it has now been fully confirmed. the roundworm, on the other hand, the egg _ swallowed before it will hatch, and this : (unfortunate from man’s point of view) lace through the consumption of vegetables on infected soil, on which eggs have been ed, or as the result of eating with unwashed ds after working on contaminated land. When egg arrives thus passively in the small intestine n, it hatches, and a little larval worm emerges. recently it was supposed that this larva remained 1 the small intestine and simply grew to adult size ithout further adventure, but the present writer has n able to show that this is not so. The larva bores the wall of the bowel, enters a vein, and, passing gh the liver and heart in the bloodstream, reaches lungs ; from the lungs it migrates to the intestines a route similar to that adopted by the hookworm. n the hookworm one object of the migration is ious, since the larva is merely taking the most and direct route to its goal—that is, from the NO. 2734, VOL. 109] Parasitic Worms of Man and Methods of Suppressing Them. By Major F. H. Stewart, Indian Medical Service (Retired). first point at which it comes into contact with man, be this the skin of hands or feet, or of any other part of the body, to the small intestine. It is true that from the finger-tips it might be carried to the mouth and so reach the intestine directly, but only a small percentage of those larvee which have succeeded in finding man could count on this fortunate chance. By skin penetration, on the other hand, a high per- centage should succeed, and it must be remembered that only a few of all the larve which have hatched ever succeed in finding man, while only a few of the eggs reach such favourable surroundings as allow the larvee to form or to hatch. There is, however, a second object for the migra- tion of the hookworm, the one which is the only motive in the case of Ascaris—namely, that the young larva is not adapted to survive among the strong digestive juices. The young Ascaris lacks not only a stout cuticle, but also that power of chemical defence by which the older parasite resists digestion by its host. Both cuticle and constitutional resistance are developed during the migration, while the larva is being nursed by the blood and lymph, by the bland and nourishing juices of its host. It seems that direct invasion through the skin was the line of attack by the primitive ancestral parasitic worms, and that the present physiological necessity of the migration is due , to inheritance. In geographical distribution Ascaris lumbricoides is cosmopolitan, occurring in all lands both temperate and tropical. The hookworms are also very widely distributed, being absent only from the colder parts of the temperate zones.. Even there they occur sporadically in artificially warm situations, such as mines and tunnels; the well-known outbreaks of “ miners’ anemia,’ both in the mines of England and the Continent, ¢.g., in the St. Gothard tunnel, were due to this cause. The proportion of the popula- tion affected, especially in the tropics, is extraordinarily high, figures of from 40 to 98 per cent. having been recorded in various countries from the examination of large numbers of the populace. The degree of infestation is highest in the Far East—in China, Indo- China, the Dutch East Indies, and particularly in the tropical Pacific islands. The West Indies and tropical South America also return high percentages, while the southern States of the American Union yield figures which prove that it is not only among dark-skinned races that the parasites become very, numerous. Even in Europe 20 per cent of the adult population of Italy and one-half of the children of Central Europe carry the roundworm. The flukes are flattened oval worms which live in the veins of the abdomen (Bilharzia), in the bile- ducts and gall-bladder (Clonorchis), and in the tissues of the lungs (Paragonimus). Bilharzia occurs over large areas of the tropics and sub-tropics.. Three species are known from man, one of which occurs in Mesopo- tamia, Egypt, and East Africa, the second in Central and South America, the West Indies, and West Africa, and the third in Japan, China, and the Philippines. The association of the West Indies and South America 380 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 in one geographical area with West Africa also occurs in the distribution of Necator americanus, but is due, not to an old Atlantic connection between the two continents, but to the spread of African parasites to America by the slave trade. In Egypt more than one-half of the population are affected by Bilharzia. Clonorchis and Paragonimus are limited to the Far East—Indo-China, the Philippines, China, and Japan. The life-histories of all the flukes are similar. The eggs are passed out with the faeces, and if they reach water, the embryos which they contain emerge and swim about actively in search of some particular small mollusc (the intermediate host) into which they must penetrate in order to undergo their first metamorphosis. The intermediate hosts are different in various’countries, and for: the several worms concerned ; for Bilharzia, in the Far East, it is the small water snail, Katayama nosophora. This fact was first established by Miyairi and Suzuki, and was confirmed by Leiper and Atkinson ; later Leiper and his colleagues identified the inter- mediates in Egypt as Bullinus contortus, B. Dybowskt, and Planorbis Boissyi. From the snail Bilharzia escapes as a more advanced free-swimming larva, which can bore through the skin of man should he venture into infected waters, and, once within the body, it migrates through the tissues to the veins of the liver and abdomen. For Clonorchis and Paragonimus the first inter- mediate host is also a small snail, Melania libertina. They do not transfer themselves directly and actively , irom this animal to man, but to a second intermediate— *Clonorchis to various species. of carp, and Paragonimus to freshwater crabs. In these animals, the second intermediate hosts, they remain passive until they are swallowed by man in food. The filarias are long, threadlike worms which live in the connective tissues of various regions of the body. They are associated with the disease known as elephan- tiasis. Geographically they are spread throughout the whole of the tropics. The larve circulate in the blood in enormous numbers, and are taken up by blood- sucking insects, in which they grow in size; after the lapse of several days they wander into the proboscis, from which they are injected into the skin of man when the infected insect again feeds. The pioneer work on this subject was done by Manson, and later extended by Low, James, and Leiper. The most important species are Filaria Bancrofti, the larve of which are carried by various mosquitoes (Culex, Anopheles, and Stegomya), and Loa loa, carried by the mangrove fly Chrysops. The guinea-worm, Dracunculus medinensis, is common in India, Turkestan, Persia, Arabia, and tropical Africa. It lives under the skin, and when mature gives rise to a small ulcer, generally on the leg or foot, from which one end of the worm projects. A stream of larve is discharged through this ulcer into water when the patient bathes. The next stage of its life is passed in a water flea, Cyclops, and it is by drinking water containing these minute crustacea that man is infected. Apart from local disease such as abscesses, elephan- toid swellings, hematuria, etc., the more important helminths produce generalised disease of a very im- portant nature which is surprisingly uniform, whatever be the causal animal. The primary symptom is aay NO. 2734, VOL. 109] anemia, and the secondary symptoms are such as accompany this condition, namely, general weakness, | inability for work or any exertion, disturbance of the heart and circulation, and finally dropsy and death. .: In mild cases, which fortunately are the most common, the anemia is not great, and the patient is merely reduced to a lower level of activity, happiness, and efficiency. But when we consider the enormous — prevalence of these pests, we can realise the extent — of the harm inflicted on mankind by them. It must — also be remembered that in most tropical countries the people live only just above starvation level, and that ~ any additional burden will quickly depress them below — it. The means by which this anemia is produced is not ~ clearly understood, but recent work points to the ~ formation of poisonous secretions, toxins, by the worms, which damage both the blood and the blood-forming — organs. Bedson has shown that the injection of worm extracts produces acute inflammation of the Doroid, 4 suprarenal capsules, and spleen. > Our armament for offence and defence against these enemies is at present incomplete, but it is becoming more effective. Offensive measures consist in attack- — ing the parasites directly in the bodies of their human ~ hosts, and the main advances have been in the use of oil of Chenopodium against the intestinal worms, — ! Ascaris and Ancylostoma, and the intravenous injection ‘ of tartrate of antimony against Bilharzia. The former drug can be used on an enormous scale with great safety and efficiency, and if the inhabitants of a badly — infected country can be educated to the point of under- going treatment en masse once a year, a great reduction _ of disease should result. The second discovery, which | we owe to Christopherson, has, at least in aoe. | entirely changed the future of whole nations. A disease — which was previously incurable, and in Egypt, for instance, affects one-half of the people, can now be cured with certainty in a few months. In dealing with ignorant and suspicious native races, however, the rapid adoption of such strange and terrifying methods cannot be expected. = For defensive measures reliance is placed on im-- provements in sanitation and in the personal cleanli- — ness of the people, advances which will necessarily _ be slow. No practical means of destroying eggs or larve on a large scale in the outer world have yet been discovered. Where an intermediate host exists a reduction of the disease would follow wholesale destruc- tion of, or protection against, the intermediate. In this connection, mosquito destruction has of course already been carried out ona large scale in anti-malaria work in many regions, and it may be extended with the ad- ditional object of fighting worm disease. For the destruction of the snails associated with fluke disease periodical drying of canals and irrigated fields has been _ advocated by Leiper. The knowledge that Clonorchis — and Paragonimus are introduced in food should also ; make the avoidance of these parasites easy. Three things are above all necessary for the con- — quest of these plagues: (1) Continued and intensified research into the many points of the intricate life- histories of these parasites and their intermediate hosts which are still obscure ; into new methods of destruc- — tion, chemical and physical, of both these groups of f a ~ Pree ee ae TaN Pees ie © Bey animals, whether as eggs, larve, or adults; and into Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 381 y methods of medical treatment for infected man. ystematic instruction and tactful control of the es affected. This will be the duty of the medical teaching professions of the stricken countries. me who has watched the increase of well-taught “capable physicians in such a country as India in ‘ad last twenty years will base great hopes on the growth of this influence. (3) And most important, a common and indignant consciousness that these plagues are not inevitable, that by combined effort they can be cast off, and that it is a disgrace to humanity that one-half of its members should be harbouring these loathsome parasites. interesting criticisms of the theory of rela- y have been advanced recently by M. Paul in two papers in the Comptes rendus de ie des Sciences de Paris.2 M. Painlevé attacks y as it at present stands, on grounds which scientific interest. He criticises the ression for ds, the element of length adopted by alr) — 7°(d82 + sin? 6d¢*) — dr*/(1— alr), that it is one of a very large number which satisfy the Einstein conditions. He e of the other possible forms for the relation the length element and the four co-ordinates 4), and indicates the various consequences which according to the particular form adopted. this point we encounter, as M. Painlevé points , a serious difficulty ; but it is a difficulty which in all scientific investigations. The botanist on paper the résults of experiments which to discover the relation between two and y, is faced by the same problem when ? j dP (1 — ry sate (%y, Vi), (2, ¥2) - - (r Yr) - ae, roughly speaking, the resulis of his mts. But the number of his observations is Sfenite * and it is evident that there are at “toany functions satisfying these conditions as are points in the mathematical continuum. This y of choosing between a set of functions all of satisfy the data of the problem presents itself U critical points of the Einstein theory. It is y plain that if science is to be possible, some er principle is required. ‘Tue Simp.Liciry PostuLate. the face of this difficulty, it has been the practice ‘scientific writers to choose the simplest function able. The question of what constitutes simplicity, in another, is a difficult one, but in ordinary scientific rk, and especially in biology, the term is considered a e well understood. In selecting the simplest alter- tive, no one, of course, would hold‘that the other natives are impossible. Indeed, the simplicity - ee 29, ty =, et la théorie de la relativité,’’ October 24, Mécanique “La ‘Gravitation dans la mécanique de Newton et dans la mécanique ”” November 14, 1921. NO. 2734, VOL. 109] rather the question of when one function is simpler. The Theory of Relativity in Relation to Scientific Method. By Dr. Dorotuy Wrincu, Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. criterion arranges the various possibilities in serial order. If the first of this set afterwards proves un- suitable, the next one is taken, and so on. Thus, in outline, we may say that the procedure of science is to attach probabilities to the various functions in such a way that the probabilities of functions arranged in order of simplicity decrease rapidly to zero, so that there is little probability of any of the more complicated functions which could be devised being the correct one. In criticising this procedure from a logical point of view, it will be of no avail to demand, at the outset, a definition of the relation involved in the proposition that one function zs simpler than another. Common sense uses the notion of simplicity, and we cannot go behind common sense. The business of the logician is to interpret it and relate its various beliefs zuter se, eliminating when necessary the less fundamental beliefs in favour of those which are held more firmly and the, deductions which can be drawn from these beliefs. But this absence of definition makes it important to consider the way in which the simplicity postulate is used in relativity theory. M. Painlevé discusses some of the alternative forms for the length element, to which he sees no objection. He shows that some of them carry with them consequences as to the change in dimensions of a moving body which are mutually inconsistent and in direct contradiction to the Einstein theory. It may therefore be possible to make a choice between some of them by means of data of this kind, and consequently to settle the controversy as to the form of ds, at least to the extent of eliminating those forms which give certain types of change in the dimen- sions of bodies in motion. M. Painlevé states that he considers some of his forms to be as simple as the form adopted by Einstein. In the absence of a de- cision being reached by means of further data, the objection of M. Painlevé will fall to the ground only if it is established that the form which Einstein has used for the length element is the simplest one which fits the facts of the external world. THE VALUE OF COMPREHENSIVENESS. There is another logical property which enables us to assign a value to rival scientific theories. In choosing between various ways of relating facts inter se, we shall evidently prefer theories which group together the largest number of facts under one set of assumptions. Comprehensiveness is, indeed, an im- portant test of the value of a theory, for as the number of facts which are linked together by a theory increases, the theory grows in importance as a \ 382 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 hypothesis, and is of greater value as a guide to the selec- tionof futureresearches. The recent developments of the theory of relativity due to Profs. Weyl and Eddington are of considerable importance as examples of the value of increasing the range of a theory. Weyl has generalised the geometry used by Einstein in order to produce a function which can conveniently be made to represent the electro-magnetic energy tensor ; and Eddington, in accordance with the -methodological considerations mentioned above, has suggested still more radical generalisations, with the view of pro- ducing, if possible, some function which can be used as an electronic energy tensor. By this we mean a function which contains at least analogues of the main properties of the electron. Towards this very im- portant result Eddington has taken several significant steps, though the physical aspect of this part of the energy of a system, associated with the non-Maxwellian forces, is by no means clear at present. It will ob- viously be a matter of the greatest importance if it proves possible to cover the electronic phenomena as. well as the gravitational and electro-magnetic by a few perfectly definite general assumptions of the same type as those already introduced in relativity theory. Among the results obtained by Eddington, we may direct attention to the fact that a natural unit of action has made its appearance in terms of which both the energy tensor and the electro-magnetic tensor can be expressed. It appears that this unit of action is roll4 times the quantum required in the quantum theory, but the fact that the two energy tensors, which so far have been treated on the lines of world geometry, can be given in terms of the one unit of action may well suggest further developments which may accomplish ultimately the introduction of a tensor to represent the electronic or non-Maxwellian forces. But let us consider how these advances have been brought about. On Weyl’s theory, it is possible that comparisons of length at different times and at different places may yield discordant results according to the route of comparison. In fact, a particular standard of length should apparently be used only at the time and place where it is, for in general, a vector wili change its value on describing a circuit. The funda- mental apparatus required for measurement is there- fore no longer, as in the days before relativity, a unit standard, or indeed, a set of standards, one for each point of space, but a set containing a unit for each point of the fourfold manifold of space and time. Such a system of measures, comprising a fourfold series, is called a “ gauge system ” In this analytical scheme, however, zero length is unique, and involves no specification of route. But Eddington, with his idea that it may be possible to introduce non-Maxwellian forces into the schema, further generalises this theory by allowing that zero length may not be unique. In allowing the generalised idea of measurement of Weyl, and of course, still more in countenancing the suggestion of Eddington, we are abandoning a well- established belief in common sense ; and indeed, this is the crux of the matter from the point of view of ordinary life. But this is, of course, not the first time that the theory of relativity has asked us to throw NO. 2734, VOL. 109] in Weyl’s theory. - away the beliefs of everyday life. sense data. The difficulties, from a common-sense point of view, of the theory of relativity, of which we — unfortunately hear so much, are due in great measure to the fact that, owing to the extensive analytical — development, the postulates from which it starts have no obvious connection with the physical facts which — the theory is designed to correlate. Tensors, for example, involve quantities to which no simple physical significance can at present be atfached. But even the — concept of energy, which has long since taken its place as a physical idea, must at one stage of history have been a difficult idea to the natural philosopher previously limited to concepts such as force. The concept of action, as used in the quantum theory at the present time, is scarcely one which the physicist, — left to himself, would readily employ, unless it is regarded as being invariably an angular momentum. The Lagrangian idea of generalised co-ordinates in — dynamics is another case of the same kind. The con- | cepts employed in relativity are at present remote from physical ideas in exactly the same way, though perhaps to a greater extent. em Tue Tueory or RELATIVITY AND COMMON SENSE. In mathematical theories, not infrequently the logical links between the premises of the problem and the These theoretical developments-—and, in fact, the whole of relativity _theory—have attained so great a degree of complexity that they have far outstripped the powers of deduction possessed by naive common sense ; and this is so in spite of the fact that they, in common with all other — branches of physics, started from ordinary common- — results deduced from them are so many in number — that no connection can at first sight be seen between them. In fact, the greater the number of links the more valuable the theory becomes. The purely mathe- matical background of the theory of relativity consists — largely of developments which belong to highly special- ised domains; and it is not to be expected that common sense can foresee the results obtainable from specified assumptions which the data of common sense ~ have been found to require. Indeed, we might point out that it is apparent from the mere fact that the — tensor theory has been built up into an extensive branch of mathematics (which, of course, happened long before its applications were dreamed of) that the — connection between the premises and the results is too complicated to be dealt with without the aid of a specially elaborated technique. It is therefore im- politic to advance common-sense criticisms of the various assumptions as to length which may pro- visionally be advanced in the theory of relativity with the definite object of effecting further comprehensive correlations of physical facts. For common sense, having provided the jumping-off ground, has a severely restricted part to play in the more technical analysis which the logical development of these assumptions requires ; and it is at once the marvel and the allure of the science of our day that mathematics, which is but the child of common sense, has been able, owing to the masterly researches carried on by the pioneers of the nineteenth century, to transform the crude views of her parents into the triumph of modern physics. | Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 383 Tue Rothamsted Experimental Station has taken yer the Stackyard field, Woburn, which for many ears was held by the Royal Agricultural Society of ingland, and proposes to continue the experiments and barley in close association with the at Rothamsted. Although the Royal Agri- Society thus gives up its experimental farm, end fo ying to know that the Society does not d to break its connection with scientific research ; | s set up a Research Fund and a Committee to ® or receive schemes for investigation, and it ses to carry out its experiments on the farms of aes, __ In the first instance four problems will ed :—(1) The value of ground mineral phos- more particularly in the improvement of e. (2) The use of various forms of lime on and tillage crops. (3) The use of wild white r, wild red clover, bird’s-foot trefoil, etc., in down land to grass. (4) The profitable utilisa- whey. We welcome this further evidence of nition now widely accorded by farmers to ssity for further research work in agriculture, 1 we trust that fruitful means of carrying out such rk will be found. There are certain difficulties should be pointed out. Unless the programme k and the actual experiments are closely super- d by scientifically trained men, there is great yer that the results may be incomplete, giving ich information than might otherwise be ain Without a carefully-drawn-up programme stigations lost opportunities rarely recur. More- , there is a real danger of overlapping; at the nt ‘moment there are already two separate bodies ying the effects of mineral phosphates on grass- fortunately they have co-ordinated their G3 Neither of these difficulties i is insuperable and per come them. ARCELY any OES of scientific research is ch general interest as that which concerns pre- : toric man, his development during the Ice Age and he changes then taking place in the conformation of dandsea. Yet, with the exception of the Institute Pttoman Paleontology in Paris, which was gener- usly endowed by Prince Albert of Monaco, there las been hitherto no special centre for the investiga- ion of this deeply interesting and important period. A public institution for study of the Ice Age has low been established in Vienna in connection with > Natural History Museum of the Austrian Republic, nd every effort will be made to investigate the momena of the Ice Age on a broad scientific basis. e geographical position of Vienna renders it well K da pted for this purpose, since the land structures ss sciated with the glaciation can be studied in the hear vicinity and observed in their ancient relations the environment of pre-historic man. Lower Stria has already furnished a rich store of ancient mne implements and weapons. The Vienna Insti- NO. 2734, VOL. 109] g vitally important i is liable to be left undone, Current Topics and Events. tute is under the able,leadership of Dr. J. Bayer, director of the anthropological and ethnographical collections. Dr. Bayer’s papers, in which he demon- strates the existence of no more than two distinct periods of glacial conditions, may be said to have created a new basis for this field of research. Dr. Bayer is assisted by a distinguished group of col- leagues, and it is hoped to extend the circle of workers to include those in other countries who are devoting themselves to research on this period. Any such are freely invited to enter into communication with Dr. Bayer at the Natural History Museum, Vienna, who will be pleased to give fuller information as to the present activities of the Institute. THE Daily News for March 3 contained an article of three columns by W: B. W. on the constitution of the atom according to the nuclear theory and the disintegration of the atoms of the lighter elements which has been effected recently by Sir E. Rutherford and Dr. Chadwick. The results of their work were recorded in the November issue of the Philosophical Magazine, and Sir E. Rutherford gave an account of them in his address to the Chemical Society a few days. ago. We welcome the appearance of articles on scientific subjects in the daily press, as they furnish one of the best means of keeping the public acquainted with the interesting work which is being done. There is a tendency, however, in such articles to represent each development as a sensational one, and the public gets the impression that the foundations of science are overturned every month or two. It is not in the interests of science that such a false impression should » be produced, and we see no reason why a sensational turn should be given to an article on a scientific subject while an archeological discovery is allowed to speak for itself. There is toom in the daily press for a regular series of articles on scientific subjects to maintain the tradition established by Lord Rayleigh and Sir Ray Lankester a dozen years ago. Tue British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Associa- tion has just issued its second annual report. During the past year the membership of the Association has increased very largely, the principal trade associations having joined it. The programme of research work which has been undertaken is very extensive and has been divided among various university and national laboratories and individual firms having the necessary equipment. The influence of impurities on copper, the polishing of metals, atmospheric corrosion and methods of joining metals, are among the subjects now being investigated, and considerable progress has been made in dealing with some of them. At the second annual meeting, held in Birmingham on March 3, and preceded by a luncheon, the progress of the Association was surveyed. Vice-Admiral Sir George Goodwin, Dr. Rosenhain, Sir Henry Fowler, and Sir Frank Heath were’among the speakers, who emphasised the importance of co-operative research of this kind to the metal industry. The policy of the Association is not confined to the solution of imme- 384 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 diate works problems, but involves a thorough study of the fundamental properties of the principal non- ferrous metals and alloys. far-sighted policy it is certain that the Association has taken a wise step, since the more important ad- vances in industrial progress are usually the result of research on fundamental problems rather than on the overcoming of minor difficulties. AN explanatory statement on the Navy Estimates has been issued by the First Lord’ of the Admiralty as a White Paper (Cmd. 1603). In a detailed account of the reductions in the various votes which go to make up the estimates, Lord Lee announces that the expenditure on education and _ scientific services in the Navy is to be reduced by 122,000). The Admiralty is of opinion that a more drastic reduction would be undesirable at a time when it is hoped that the Navy will make up in quality of personnel and superiority of technique for the lead that has been surrendered in respect of matériel. The importance, and the previous inadequacy, of scientific research was clearly demonstrated during the War, and the Admiralty is convinced that the measures which it has taken are not more than sufficient to maintain research and experiment on a sound though economical basis. THE Summer-Time Bill was read for a second time in the House of Lords on March 9. The measure provides that summer-time shall begin on the night of the last Saturday in March (unless the next day be Easter Sunday), and come to an end on the first Saturday in October. This year, therefore, summer- time will come into force at 2 o’clock G.M.T. on the morning of Sunday, March 26, and will continue until 2 o’clock G.M.T. on the morning of October 8. The French Chamber of Deputies on March 9 voted against the adoption of summer-time, but afterwards accepted an amendment to introduce it this year on account of arrangements already made with Great Britain and Belgium. The Senate agreed on March 14 to adopt this course, but prefects are to have local opEee of following the old time. Pror. M. PLANCK has been elected a kopctns member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm. Sir ERNEST RUTHERFORD, Cavendish professor of experimental physics in the University of Cambridge, has accepted the nomination of the council of the British Association to be president for the annual meeting to be held at Liverpool next year. On Tuesday next, March 28, at three o’clock, Dr. J. W. Evans will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on ‘ Earth Movements.” The Friday evening discourse on April 7 will be delivered by Sir Ernest Rutherford on ‘‘ The Evolu- tion of the Elements.” WE record with deep regret the death on March 19, at sixty-one years of age, of Dr. G. B. Mathews, formerly professor of mathematics, University College of North Wales, and for many years a much esteemed contributor of reviews and articles on mathematical subjects to our columns. NO. 2734, VOL. 109] In the adoption of such a> Dr. O. Starr, who has been keeper of the Her- barium and Library at the Royal Botanic Gardens, ; Kew, since 1908, retired on February 28, having © reached the age limit. He is succeeded as keeper | by Mr. A. D. Cotton, formerly a member of the Herbarium staff and lately mycologist to the Minstya of Agriculture and Fisheries. x Tue following were elected fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh at the Ordinary Meeting on — March 6 :—Mr. C. L. Abernethy, Prof. G. Barger, Sir Dugald Clerk, Dr. F. A. E. Crew, Dr. W. O. Greenwood, Mr. W. A. Guthrie, Prof. R. K, Hannay, © Prof. E. Hindle, Dr. C. F. Juritz, Prof. J. C. Meakins, — Mr. M. Macgregor, Dr. Bijali Behari Sarkar, Prof. H. W. Turnbull, Dr. J. Walker, Mr. J. Wilson, Mr. q J. M. Wordie, THE Anglo-Swedish Society has awarded its — travelling scholarships for this year to Miss Joan — Evans, librarian at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, to enable her to study the collections of early gold work — in the Swedish museums ; and to Mr. W. N. Edwards, — of the Geological Department of the British Museum a to enable him to study the fossil plants in the museums 5 of Stockholm, Upsala, and jLund. 3 = A CoMMITTEE has been appointed by the Minister ? of Health to advise on the preliminary steps to be taken in regard to the site and planning of the School | of Hygiene, in London, towards the building and equipment of which the Rockefeller Foundation — recently promised a gift of two million dollars. The members of the Committee are :—Sir Arthur Robin- — son (chairman), Sir Frank Baines, Dr.’ H. H. Dale, Sir Walter Fletcher, Sir William Leishman, Sir George — Newman, Sir Cooper Perry, Sir Herbert J. Read, and ~ Dr. H. Meredith Richards (secretary). Art the annual general meeting of the Ray Society on March 9 the following officers were re-elected :— President, Prof. W. C. McIntosh; Tveasurer, Sir Sidney F. Harmer ;. Secretary, Dr. W. T, Calman. Dr. B. Daydon Jackson was elected a vice-president. and Mr. E. T. Browne, Prof. E. B. Poulton, and Dr, A. Smith Woodward were elected new members of council. In the report of the council regret was — expressed that it had not yet been possible to issue — the first part of the fourth volume of Prof. McIntosh’s ‘“‘ British Marine Annelids,’’ due to subscribers for 1920, owing to delay in the execution of the coloured plates. It is hoped to publish it in the near future, — and the second part of the volume, which will com- — plete the work, will be taken in hand at once and will a form the issue to subscribers for 1921. ; i 4 ‘ i 3 At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Soteby " on March 20, the president announced that H.M. | the King has approved the award of the Royal — Medals as follows :—The Founder’s Medal to Lieut.- | Colonel C. K. Howard-Bury]} for his distinguished — services in command of the Mount Everest Expedition — of 1921; The Patron’s Medal to Mr, Ernest de K. Leffingwell for his Surveys and investigations on the coast of northern Alaska. The Council has awarded The Victoria Medal to Mr. J. F. Baddeley for his~ great work on the Historical Geography of Central Asia; The Murchison Grant to Mr. Charles Camsell ; ; Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 385 is Explorations and Surveys in northern Canada ; Back Grant to Khan Bahadur Sher Jang for his ys on the Indian Frontier and in adjacent The Cuthbert Peek Grant to Mr. F. H. d for his Explorations in Northern Rhodesia ; we e Annual General Mesting: of the Optical held on February 9, the following officers mbers of council were elected :— President : nk Dyson. Vice-Presidenis: Prof. F. J. , Mr. T. Smith, Mr. R.S. Whipple. Treasurer: O. Henrici. Secretaries: (a) Business Secre- . Alan Pollard, Imperial College, South . (b) Papers Secretary—F. F. S. Bryson, arch Association, 50 Bedford Square, W.C.1. : Mr. J. H. Sutcliffe. Editor oe Trans- Dr. J. S. Anderson. Council: Seat . Instr.-Comdr. T. Y. Baker, Mr. “4 Booth, /. Cheshire, Dr. R. S. Clay, Dr. J. W. French, Gamble, Mrs. C. H. Griffiths, Mr. J. Guild, ‘Martin, Dr. R. Mullineux Walmsley, Prof. Porter, Mr. J. Rheinberg, Mr. A. Whitwell. ‘A. Michelson, of the University of Chicago, M. von Rohr, of Messrs. Carl Zeiss, Jena, - elected Honorary Fellows of the Society. Annual Report of the Delegates for Forestry d shows a large number of students in this during 1921, no less than 52 (including 2 having been awarded the Diploma in Forestry. f these 45 obtained Government appointments. work was carried out by the students in n woods of Dean, Tintern, and High Meadow id in Bagley wood near Oxford. THe list of nec papers: by members of the staff shows h mainly in insect and fungus pests. annual report of Livingstone College for the 920-21 has recently been issued. The College g excellent work in training missionaries in the ents of medicine, and 36 students entered for g periods during the session. There is now an ulated deficit of ro21/. on the working of the >, and subscriptions are earnestly asked for, 2 is great need for bursaries of about 50/., which | be offered to missionary societies or to suitable ates to enable students to enter for the full oe: the College. a the January number of The Fight awe Msease, published by the Research Defence Society, 4 prcount is given of the Nottingham outbreak of ullpox down to November 21 last. The number of s was 81, none of which proved fatal. Of these, 5 “occurred in unvaccinated persons, and in none aa e others had vaccination been performed within y-three years of the attack. All members of the pital and Health Department staffs in contact nh the smallpox cases—some 120-130 in number— ie recently vaccinated, and no member of these fs contracted the disease. Messrs. BurRouGHS WELLCOME AND Co., of Snow Buildings, E.C.1, have just issued another let, which may be had free on application. : NO. 2734, VOL. 109] . “The Right Way in Photography ”’ gives instructions that reduce the process of taking photographs to a mere matter of routine. The booklet will prove of interest and use to those who do not need elementary instruction by reason of the various tables it contains, showing the times of development required at various temperatures, using various tanks, and various strengths of solutions; and a very long list of plates, classified according to the multiplier of the time indicated that is necessary for each. Tue Journal des Débats states that during a visit to the National Porcelain Factory at Sévres the President of the Republic and Mme. Millerand were shown the operation of an experimental oil-fired porcelain kiln. Hitherto the kilns have been fired by wood (oak for the small and birch for the large furnaces), but it is pointed out that the Copenhagen factory has, for some time past, been using oil-fuel, which affords better control and necessitates only one man per kiln instead of two, The results of the experiments at Sévres have been fully satisfactory, and although fuel oil is costly in France at present, it is thought that its application to pottery and porcelain firing may sooner or later revolutionise the ceramic industry. THE Spanish Nature (I[berica) continues to make rapid strides, and the recent double number (January 21-28) is a remarkable production in every way, many of the advertisements being excellently pro- duced in colours. Among the contents may be mentioned a full description, well illustrated, of the new commercial university at Deusto, which is laid out and equipped on modern lines. Another interesting description is that of the largest quicksilver minefield in the world at Almadén, in the province of Ciudad Real, which comprises to-day twelve separate mines having an annual output of some 20,000 bottles of mercury of 11-5 kilos each. There are notes on the New Metropolitan Railway in Madrid ; an interesting article, illustrated in colours, on geometrical anaglyphs and stereoscopic vision ; a brief historical account of developments in locomotive design ; some notes on the progress of railway electrification in Italy; and the usual notes from foreign sources. WE have received a circular announcing the pub- lication in Italy of an Encyclopaedia of Science and Arts. The work, which will be entirely new and contain twice the number of articles of the present edition of the ‘‘ Encyclopaedia Britannica,’ is to be under the direction of Prof. Giorgio Giuseppe Ravasini da Buie d’Istria, and will be prepared in collabora- tion with the foremost scientific authorities in Italy. Articles and information from private individuals will be welcomed and paid for, according to their value and number, in money or in one or more sub- scriptions to the complete work. The encyclopaedia will be copiously illustrated by ordinary and coloured plates, maps, plans, etc. The publication of the work is being undertaken by the publishing house of the Accademia ‘‘ Scienze ed Arte,’’ and all inquiries regarding subscriptions or contributions should be addressed to Accademia ‘‘ Scienze ed Arte,’’ Sezione Enciclopedia, Via Ugo Foscolo 2, Trieste (Italy). 386 NATURE [Makcu 23, 1922 Our Astronomical Column. THE APPROACHING OPPOSITION OF Mars.—Mars will be closer to the earth next June than it has been since 1909; the opposition of 1924 will, however, be still closer, the distance being then almost the absolute minimum. The high south declination next June of 26°, making its meridian altitude at Greenwich only 12°, will prevent any useful work from being done in this ‘country. The nearest approach to the earth, 0-45 astronomical units, is on June 18; a week later the autumnal equinox of the northern hemisphere will occur, so that both polar caps should be visible. The earth will remain to the north of the Martian equator till mid-September. PLANETARY OBSERVATIONS AT SétTIF.—M. Jarry- Desloges established an Observatory at Sétif, N. Africa, specially for planetary and lunar observa- tions, and he has lately published a large illustrated volume. containing studies of the moon and all the planets. Mercury was found a fairly easy object by day, the spots being nearly as well-defined as those of Mars. The results confirm those of Schiaparelli and Loweil, making the period of rotation 88 days, equal to that of revolution. Other observers have concluded that the low albedo, and the absence of an external ring of light when the planet is entering on the sun in transit, negative the idea of an appreciable atmosphere; this volume, however, supports the presence of occasional mist or cloud veiling some of the markings and altering their aspect. It is pointed out that the light and heat received from the sun at perihelion and aphelion are in the ratio of 9 to 4, which would make much difference in the precipita- tion or dissipation of cloud. Most of the markings are broad, curved, dusky streaks, some 60° in length ; there are a few larger spots. The colour of the disc was generally rosy. Drawings of Uranus show markings not unlike those of Saturn; there is a bright equatorial belt, and fairly bright belts in each temperate zone, with darker regions between them and round the poles. The markings are much inclined and curved, but exact measures are not given. It was noted that the direction of the belts changed during the night, showing that they cannot be quite parallel to the equator. Dark belts were also seen on Neptune, making in 1914 an angle of some 40° with the east- west line, and slightly curved. Neptune’s satellite Triton was generally easier to see than Mimas; two fainter stars were seen on February 15, 1914, between Triton and Neptune. There are also interesting drawings of Saturn, showing notches in the outline of the Cassini division, and in that of the crépe ring. The markings seen on Venus were so vague and difficult that no deduction was made of the rotation period. Stars OF CLAss A IN THE SOLAR CLUSTER.—Both Sir J. Herschel and Dr. Gould noticed a zone of bright stars, the medial line of which makes a small angle with the Milky Way. Later on, the local cluster of B stars studied by Prof. Charlier was found to mark out nearly the same great circle. Dr. Harlow Shapley and Miss Annie J. Cannon, in Harvard Circular No. 229, describe the distribution of the stars of spectral type B8, Bo, Ao, Az, A3, of magnitude 6:5 or brighter. The stars, 2450 in number, are plotted in galactic co-ordinates on an equal-area projection. The median galactic latitudes of the stars in each 10° of longitude are then found and marked NO. 2734, VOL. 109] with crosses. The resulting smoothed curve shows maxima and minima as follows: long. 50°, lat. +5° ; long. 195°, lat. —- 6°, long. 300°, lat. +7° ; long. 335°, — lat. -4°. These results are considered to co the existence of the local cluster, but also to show ~ the presence of some disturbing factor, possibly a | _ separate cluster about the region of Corona Austrina, ~ It is intended to pursue the investigation with stars — for which spectroscopic — parallaxes can be found. 4 of “‘later’’ spectral types, “THE PERTH SECTION OF THE ASTROGRAPHIC CATA- — —35° of this | r. Curlewis was noticed in this column — Zone — 33° has followed it after LOGUE.—The publication of Zone catalogue by a few weeks ago. a very short interval, the arrangement being in all respects similar. It appears in 4 parts, each contain- ing 6 hours of R.A.; they contain respectively 7393, 25,882, 21,163, and 16,365 stars. The yariation in star-density with galactic latitude is again very strik- ing; it will be remembered that the south galactic pole is in Decl. —29°, so that these zones embrace practically all galactic latitudes. 3°5, 5°7, 5°7, 4°6 respectively. Actually the extreme ratios are 2 in poor fields near the 8 in rich galactic fields. ie ; The places of the reference stars have been taken from the recent Perth Catalogue; the tables for re- — duction from rectangular co-ordinates are in the same form as those in the Oxford Astrographic Catalogue. — Tue Licut-CurvE oF Nova CyGnt,* '1920.—An exhaustive discussion both of the light-curve and of the colour variation of this Nova is given in Publica-. tions of Urania Observatory, Copenhagen, 2nd Series, No. 3. The Nova was of special interest from its comparatively slow rise to maximum and its early visual detection, which enabled observations to be made on the up-slope of the curve: two photographs taken before discovery, at Kvistaber, by Mr. Tamm, and at Harvard, fully confirm the leisurely nature of the increase of light. The apex of the curve, at mag. 1:8, is very sharp. The fall of light was at first very rapid, amounting to 2} mags. in ten days ; it then became slower but still uniform for 3 months. — Here it began to be oscillatory; after another 3 months the oscillations grew larger and the diminution _ of light slower; in the year ending 1921 Sept. the mean magnitude fell from about 8-6 to 9°7. The colour determinations are much less consistent than those of magnitude, but they suffice to indicate — that at discovery the colour was less than 2, while — three months later it rose to 6 or 7, on a scale ex- The colour at | tending from o (white) to 1o (red). maximum was yellow. A table of photographic magnitudes for the first six months is also included — in this publication. This indicates a fall of light from magnitude 2-12 (at maximum) to magnitude 10 ; — a comparison of this table with that giving the visual — magnitudes fails to indicate the rapid increase in | redness after maximum which the observers noted. © SLIDES OF PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT YERKES OB- SERVATORY.—The beauty of the slides taken with the 40-inch refractor at Yerkes Observatory is well known, and a selected list of a hundred slides is now being offered for sale. ee The ratios of the numbers of stars in each volume to those given in — the same areas in the Cape Durchmusterung are galactic pole and - Tes Sar Saeed pee i & 3 4 P ‘ & ; " ie Seba lt ratty ae I a ee The price asked is 62} dollars in - addition to carriage ; 75 cents is charged for single — slides, and double this amount for coloured slides. ef! Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 387 — Butt Acrosats aT Knossus.—In the Jourual ellenic Studies (vol. xli. part 2) Sir Arthur Evans bes a remarkable bronze group from Knossus te, representing an acrobat jumping over a bull in the arena. The high action and modelling of this animal are altogether unique the relics of Minoan metallurgic craft, and yur and beauty this far exceeds two repre- ons of such feats discovered by Schliemann ers. The full stretch of the bull’s legs con- to what is known as the “ flying gallop” me, and the small figure of the acrobat, apart 1 the conventional attenuation of the waist, is y executed, and even his features, though ab- diminutive and incompletely brought out casting, with the sinewy development of due to athletic training, are well indicated. er examples of feats of this kind the performer ly a girl, but there can be no doubt that this gure is a male. In a representation of the same s on the bull rvhyton it is clear that at the epoch yhich it belongs, that is, about 2000 B.c., the long- Urus breed of cattle had been already intro- sd into Crete. The earlier indigenous variety, a n of shorthorn, Bos Creticus of Boyd Dawkins, well adapted for such a form of sport. PaLzouitHic AGE IN Inp1A.—The discovery : implements in India began with an implement by Mr. Le Mesurier in 1861, and since that many imens have been found. But only > cases are known in India where stone implements e been found associated with the remains of animals, in the Nerbudda and Godavari and further evidence of their occurrence in the date of which can be established, is much desired. teports the discovery of flint workshops in overhanging the North Indus valley! These t of cores and broken chips, with a yellowish- rown fabrication and lustre. In the ravines of vese hills flint knives and other tools of a white whitish colour are found in considerable numbers. r. Vines suggests that the strata in which these nents are found correspond with the area in where implements of the same type have been ered by Prof. om a (Journal Royal Anthro- ical Institute, vol. li. p. 115). The area to vhich Mr. Vines refers well deserves examination, s its geological character may form the basis of xing an = a aratad age for manufacture of these AN IN THE Paciric.—At the meeting of the | Association held in Australia in 1914 the ssirability of fuller knowledge of the Pacific was advocated. In response to this en the Legis- ture of Hawaii appropriated funds to be used by 1¢ Pan-Pacific Union in defraying the cost of a Pan- acific Commercial and Educational Congress to be id at Honolulu in 1920. The Bernice P. Bishop sum has now issued, as No. 7, Part I., of its ublications, a full 1 pol of the Proceedings of the ongress, which are of peculiar interest. The papers ow published are devoted to the question of Race ns. In a valuable paper on “Man in the ic,” Dr. Clark Wissler remarked on the need x such investigations as ‘‘ the old Polynesian is the last mile-post of his career.’’ “‘ First, we need a geological survey of the several island groups; for the backbone of man’s chronology is ‘geological chronology. Further, we need data upon e fauna and flora of the respective islands. It is realisation of this inter-relation of problems NO. 2734, VOL. 109] = ela cin a SoSliie In the March issue of Man Mr. T. H.. Research Items. that underlies the conception of this congress and is its only excuse for being. You tell us the history— a relative chronology—of such plants as taro, bread- fruit, the paper mulberry, etc., and the story of such mammals as the pig and dog, and of the chicken, in the islands of the Pacific, and we will soon fill in the gaps in the chronological scheme for the Polynesians,’ THE AMERICAN INDIANS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE Mastopon.—In Natural History, the Journal of the American Museum of Natural History (vol. xxi. No. 6), Mr, J. L. B. Taylor, under the heading: ‘‘ Did the Indian know th2 Mastodon ?”’ describes a bone bearing an incised elephant-like figure, found in the Jacobs Cavern, Ozark Country, near Pineville, Missouri. Dr. Clark Wissler, who has examined this bone, regards the work as what might have been expected from the hand of an American native ; three attempts to represent living forms, apparently by the same artist, are identified—‘‘ Two have the distinctive lines of elk and deer, while the lines of the third characterise elephant kind, and this favours the interpretation that an elephant, mastodon, or mammoth was intended. At once the objection will be raised that the bone is recent. Though the mastodon and the mammoth are characteristic of Pleistocene time, it is not known when they became extinct: for all that is known to the contrary these great mammals may have held out within 3000 years ago. . . . No one in authority seems now prepared to deny that man was in America 3000 years ago.” Dr. Wissler regards this discovery in Jacobs Cavern as of great importance; “‘it is to be hoped that at last we are on the trail of early man in America.” BEHAVIOUR OF STOMATA.—In a significant paper on the behaviour of stomata (Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publ. No. 314) Mr. J. V. G. Loft- field has made important additions to our knowledge of the action of stomata in relation to the environ- mental and physiological conditions of the plant. He used the method of fixing strips of the epidermis in alcohol, supplemented by direct microscopic observation of the living, attached leaf. Many of the observations were continued every hour through- out the day and night, microphotographs showing the condition of the stomata on the upper and lower epidermis of leaves being ingeniously arranged in circles for comparison with the corresponding con- tinuous circular records of light, ‘temperature and humidity. Many plants were studied under different climatic conditions, and it was found that while illumination affects the action of stomata, as has long been known, yet weather conditions also control the size of the openings, and with varying water supply the stomata may change their behaviour from day to day. Some of the movements were quite rapid, from fully open to closed in less than an hour. w morning temperatures caused the stomata to open very gradually, and even moonlight affected the size of aperture. The great majority of the stomata on a leaf behaved alike, but about 2 per cent. were functionless and 3 per cent. superfunctional, opening to twice the normal maximum. The plants studied fell into three groups. In céreals the stomata are very sensitive and never open at night. In another group, as conditions become less favourable the stomata open at night and close for a time about midday. In the potato and other plants the stomata are normally open at night and close only under conditions of high evaporation or low water-content. Light induces the opening of stomata by causing the conversion of starch in the guard-cells into sugar and so increasing their osmotic pressure. This work 388 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 shows that stomata are regulatory in their action, a fact on which earlier investigations had thrown some doubt. It indicates that there are considerable fluctuations in the water-content of a normal leaf, and that the regulation of water-loss by the stomata is very effective when they are nearly closed. SILK WEAVERS AND THEIR OutTputT.—In Report No. 17 of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board, Mr. P, M. Elton analyses the differences in the output of individual silk weavers. Silk weaving is a highly skilled occupation, and it takes at least two years to teach a girl to weave quickly and well. Hence it is very important that unsuitable girls should not waste their own time, and that of their employers, in undergoing training. Training has often been faulty in the past, and in consequence bad methods of work are acquired which are never eradicated. So important is the human factor for success in silk- weaving that the quickest operatives consistently produce about twice as great an output as the slowest. Mr. Elton analyses the causes of these wide variations in detail, and his report should be of great value to those engaged in teaching young weavers. A weaver has to have good eyesight, be dexterous with both hands (for in weaving both hands are .simultaneously employed on very different operations), and have a delicate sense of touch. Mr. Elton has not en- deavoured to determine the most suitable tests for would-be apprentices to the weaving industry, but there should be no difficulty in the choice of some of the necessary tests. A thoroughly adequate selection can only be made gradually, after much experiment, but few more fertile fields for the applica- tion of the principles of ‘‘ vocational selection ”’ {can offer themselves than that of weaving. ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATION IN INDUSTRY.—In the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry for February 15, Dr. H. J. Bush gives an account of the industrial applications of electrical precipitation. In 1884-86 Sir Oliver Lodge carried out experiments on the electrical deposition of fog and smoke, and patents were taken out in England and other coun- tries during those years. In 1884 Dr. Karl Moeller, in Germany, obtained an independent patent. In 1906, Dr. F. G. Cottrell, Director of the United States Bureau of Mines, then professor of physical chemistry in the University of California, repeated Lodge’s experiments in connection with the removal of acid mists, and in his hands the process has been largely developed. During the war a very large Cottrell plant was in operation at the Queen’s Ferry works, and an installation was designed by the Lodge Fume Co. for cleaning blast-furnace gases. Dr. Bush gives an account of these and other plants. The principle is very simple. An insulated wire hangs inside a metal tube, both being connected with a high voltage transformer, or special electrodes are hung between metal plates. The fume passes through the apparatus, and the electric discharge brings about its precipitation. The mechanism of the process appears to be somewhat obscure, and the account given by Dr. Bush is very empirical. Further scientific work will probably throw light on this interesting process. Electrical precipitation has a large field of possible applications. SEPARATION OF IsoTOPES OF MERCURY.—In the January number of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Prof. W. D. Harkins and R. S. Mulliken describe the experimental separation of mercury into isotopic fractions by evaporation in a vacuum. same periodical Mr. Rudolph Beer makes of the cytology and genetics of Fuchsias, h partial sterility of pollen and supernumerary n-grains are ee sor tole to occur. He finds a pure species, F. arborescens, produces a large tion ‘of sterile pollen, while . cross between tinct species F. pumila and F. alpestris shows pollen-development and very few bad grains. results have an interesting bearing on the esis that bad pollen is in itself a criterion of ty. Some of the crosses result in “ false ds ’’ similar to those obtained in strawberries. _ interesting case in which ratios are altered rough zygotic sterility, or rather weakness in velopment of a zygotic type, is described in the me journal. Mr. Bungo Miyazawa describes a varf type of barley which apparently arose as a utation, and without exceptional care is capable Surviving only in the heterozygous condition. dwarf plants when self-pollinated gave 2 dwarfs : _ but by careful germination of the seeds the Izygous type was enabled to survive, and was ad to be an extreme dwarf which was sterile, no flowers. . Prof. E. M. East (Genetics, vol. 6, p. 311) has ed the partial sterility in hybrids between tana rustica varieties and N. paniculata. Nearly il the F, plants resemble rustica, a few are almost entice with paniculata, while many.expected com- ations of the parental characters are missing. The NO. 2734, VOL. [og] UUCIT Gametic and Zygotic Sterility. sterility varies from almost complete abortion of pollen and seeds to nearly complete seed fertility. This followed a condition of high sterility in F,, in which only about 3 per cent. of the ovules were functional and only 35-55 per cent. of the seeds would germinate. The pollen-sterility of F, plants is even higher, probably not more than o-1 per cent. of the possible grains from the pollen mother-cells reaching functional maturity. Many break down in the reduction divisions, and many apparently perfect grains dry up when the anther opens. Nearly all the F, plants show an increased fertility. The results are explained in terms similar to Goodspeed and Claussen’s hypothesis of reaction systems. In brief, certain chromosome combinations are non-viable or produce offspring in which again only certain recom- binations can survive. Prof. East suggests that many cultivated plants have originated from similar crosses in which a high degree of sterility has been followed by greater fertility in certain surviving strains. Further light has been thrown on the sterility in wheat hybrids by the fact that the different types of wheat fall into three groups, which appear to have multiples of 7 as their chromosome numbers. Dr. Karl Sax, (Genetics, vol. 6, p. 399) finds that the pollen-grains show a corresponding increase in size, the average relative volumes being 72 for Einkorn, 94 for Emmer wheats, and 114 for 7. vulgare. This is to be expected with an increase in chromosome- content. The results of many investigations indicate that, in general, there is fertility in crosses within each group where the chromosome numbers are the same, but more or less sterility in crosses between forms belonging to different groups. Dr. Sax finds that in fertile crosses of wheat species the F, grains (endosperm) are larger than in the parent—a phenomenon of hybrid vigour—but in crosses which are partly sterile the grains are small and wrinkled. The degree of sterility may be determined by the amount of grain set, or by the amount of aborted pollen, There is much variability in the size of pollen in partly sterile F, hybrids, which is probably due to irregular chromosome distributions. R. R. G. 392 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 4 Some Aspects of Cotton Growing. = ‘THE great importance”of the cotton crop in certain countries has led to special attention being paid to the deterioration in yield and quality that occurs in certain areas and to methods whereby improvements ma y be effected. In Egypt (Bull. Imperial Inst. 19, No. 2) the decline in yield may be attributed chiefly to degeneration of the productive power of the soil, the ravages of insect pests, and to agrarian disturbance.: To give satisfactory crops cotton, should be grown only once in a three-year rotation, but this limit has frequentl been exceeded, with the natural result that the soil ingredients have been drawn upon unevenly, thus upsetting the balance of fertility. This could have been remedied by the judicious use of fertilisers, but for various reasons this has not been carried out. Even where manures have been used much harm has been done by the introduction of noxious sub- stitutes by unscrupulous dealers. Excessive cotton cultivation has also been encouraged by the practice ef leasing land for short three-year periods, the highest rents being paid to landowners who permit the greatest amount of cotton to be cultivated within the period of the lease without insisting on the re-establishment of the fertility of the soil for future tenants. Another harmful factor is the prevalence of water- logging. Since the Assuan Reservoir came into use, more water has been available for irrigation, and in addition the water table has risen, so that the drain- age is now imperfect, and the roots of the cotton plant suffer from asphyxiation due to the consequent lack of air supply. The damage is aggravated by harmful salts which are now brought into solution near the soil level, and by surface evaporation remain within the aiea of growth of the cotton roots. Until about 1912 the cotton worm was the most serious insect pest, but was eventually brought under control. Of recent years the pink boll-worm, first discovered near Alexandria in 1911, has become of paramount importance owing to its rapid spread through nearly all the cotton-growing countries of the world. Its life-history and habits rendered impossible the production of late-maturing cotton, as the late- formed bolls are badly attacked and the lint rendered useless for spinning purposes. Legislative measures are now in force for the uprooting and burning of the cotton plants before the end of the year, and for the treatment of the seed by hot air, whereby the resting worms are destroyed while the germinating power of the seed is not affected. It is hoped that the attacks of each pest will thus be reduced, and that the yield of cotton will, in consequence, be increased. Agrarian disturbances have also caused much ’ grown in India ( Agric. Journ. India, vol. 16, part trouble, as the cultivators joined in the destruction of the means of transport, whereby difficulties arose in marketing the cotton and also in connection with seed distribution for the next season’s crop. ao Deterioration of quality has been considered in the case of Cambodia cotton (Gossypium hirsutu For some years after its introduction in 1907 quality of its lint was good, but of late years it has been asserted that the lint is shorter, weaker, and a much more stained than was the case at first. the pink boll-worm, and the loss can only be cured by the reduction of the pest. The shortness of staple, however, is due to the fact that the first seed distributed included a mixture of types. The early and more vigorous types, with poorer See Os followed at a later stage by hybridisation to a type combining in itself all the most useful characters. If a more productive type can thus be produced and the loss caused by insect pests controlled, considerable increase of yield per acre may be secured. . fa In this connec.ion attention may be directed to an article on the commercial utilisation of cotton stalks (Bull. Imperial Inst. 19, No. 1). Enormous quantities" of stalks are available after the crop is fe and as they afford harbourage for insect pests their destruction is of much importance. Locally if stalks are used as fuel, and in some districts supplies — would not be available for other purposes. A fibre resembling that of jute, however, can be obtained from the bark, and possibly the longer fibre might be used as a substitute for the lower grades of Indian jute, and would probably realise rather less than half the price - of Bengal jute. Coa Preliminary paper-making trials indicate that when treated by the caustic soda process, Indian cotton — stalks yield paper pulp of fair quality which can be | bleached to a pale cream tint, and the results are- promising enough to deserve further consideration on the spot in India. Distillation experiments have also been carried out both in Egypt and England; good quality methyl alcohol and acetate of lime have been — produced, but the charcoal and tar are of less value. ~ In India the feasibility of distilling cotton s S successfully would depend upon finding local markets for the products, particularly the charcoal and tar. — The Geographical Distribution of the Palm Pritchardia. Biko Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Honolulu has recently issued (Memoirs, vol. 8, No. 1) an elaborate monograph of the palm genus Pritchardia by the late Prof. Odoardo Beccari and Prof. Joseph Rock. It is mainly the work of Prof. Beccari, and forms part of a larger monograph which he had prepared for later publication in the. Annals of the Calcutta Botanic Garden. The material for the monograph has been largely supplied by Prof. Rock, who has discovered twenty-one of the thirty-three species described. The study of the genus is of special interest from the point of view of geographical distribution. It is one of the most characteristic genera of palms of the Polynesian flora, but has attained its greatest NO. 2734, VOL. 109] Pines. development in the Hawaian Archipelago, where it is the only palm found. It also supplies one of the most » interesting problems in the geographical distribution © of the family in the existence of a single species in the New World, namely, in Cuba and the Isle of This may be compared with the presence in South America of a representative of the African genus Raphia and of the solitary representative of the ical American Cocoinee, namely Jubzopsis, in — South Africa. How the fruits of the progenetrix of the Cuban species were enabled to cross the wide space of ocean between the nearest Polynesian islands — and the American continent is a mystery. Prof. Beccari suggests the possibility of the transfer of fruits — by means of the violent volcanic phenomena which — . ARCH 23, 1922] NATURE | 393 - have occurred during the elevation of the n ranges; at such a time a water communica- 1av have been established between the two and the fruits of a Polynesian Pritchardia ted on an island in the Caribbean Sea. the fruits, which are plum-like in structure, but 1 comparatively little flesh, vary in the different ies from the size of a large pea to that of a date. ler ones would attract pigeons, which, though own in Hawaii, may at some time, when nd connections existed between the remoter ad eastern Polynesia and those of Papuasia and western Polynesia, have contributed to stock the islands of the Hawaian group. But there is still the difficulty of explaining the presence of large-fruited Pritchardias on the most inaccessible summits of the mountains of Hawaii. Prof. Beccari suggests that these represent a surviving element of the vegetation which covered the plains before the cataclysms which resulted in the elevation of the present mountains and broke into fragments the originally much more extensive land area. The monograph is illustrated by twenty-four plates, mainly reproductions of photographs taken by Prof. Rock. Report of the Agricultural Experiment tion of Ithaca, N.Y., for 1919 contains a - of memoirs of considerable interest, especially botanical and entomological points of view. on the stimulation of growth by various compounds indicates that treatment with m permanganate may result in a very marked in the root-growth of various woody cuttings. mpounds of manganese, iron, and boron may times a slight stimulating effect, but nutrient are, as a tule, injurious to the root-growth ‘ings. In another paper the effect of man- compounds on soils and plants is discussed. meral conclusion reached is that with wheat, nese salts presented in high concentrations 1 toxic effect, but in lower concentrations a een is observable. When added to salts were found to form manganese | ion to the basicity of the soil and pa power to oxidise organic matter. genetics two papers deal with chlorophyll ance and aleurone colour in maize, and another weak awn in certain Avena crosses. In sses of awned and awnless varieties (as Burt y Day) there is an almost complete dominance > awnless condition, the factor for awning being ently prevented from operating by an inhibi- h is closely linked with the factor for yellow the variety concerned. Environment seems _the production of awns, and observations that an increase in the moisture-content of and of its organic matter and nitrogen tends crease the number of awns. conditions are dealt with in memoirs on the cation of calcium and on the reversibility of e colloidal condition of soils. In the first case it is found that the translocation of calcium through cle ry silt loam soil with a rather large lime require- t i is extremely slow, since in the experiment no ard or downward movement of this element was ‘ible twelve months after various amounts of salts had been applied to the soil. In the econd case it was demonstrated that drying a surface once produces as much effect in the colloidal Ici am Agricultural Experiments at Ithaca, N.Y. material as repeated dryings alternated with moisten- ings, the drying producing a change in the colloidal material from which it does not immediately recover on being wetted. The drying indirectly affects the reversibility of its colloidal condition, the change being directly produced through biological and chemical action. On the bacteriological side attention is directed to the effect of low temperature on soil bacteria and to the number and types of bacteria found in ice- cream during storage. In the soil there appears to be no change in the bacterial flora due to freezing, the. bacterial activities being influenced only in so far as the physical properties of the soil are affected. ~ The concentration of the medium, the length of time of exposure, and the degree of ‘cold are the three important factors that determine the power of resistance of the bacteria to low temperature. The death of the bacterial cell when exposed to low temperature seems to be due to the withdrawal of water from the semi-permeable mémbrane or outer layer of the cell. An outline is given of the life-histories and methods _ of control of various insects injurious to the hop in New York, special attention being devoted to the hop | grub (Gortyna tmmanis, Guenee) and the hop redbug (Paracalocoris Hawleyi, Knight). The hop grub causes considerable financial loss, and in years when the insects are plentiful they may cause an almost total loss to some growers. The larve damage various parts of the vine, working in the buds, stem, and roots, thus weakening the plants in various ways. For control, clean cultivation is advised, with a ploughed border several “aegis wide round the field. The use of carbon bisulphide as an insecticide is unsatisfactory, but paradichlorobenzine has been successful when added to the soil of each hill in May. The plant-lice injuring the foliage and fruit of the apple ( Aphis pomi, de Geer, A. sorbi, Kaltenbach, and A. aven@, Fab.) are described and fully illustrated, and the first part of a detailed systematic account of the crane-flies of New York is issued, dealing with the distribution and taxonomy of the adult flies. W. E. B. Bast \T a meeting of the Royal en en Institute held on March 14, Dr. W. ve oo in the chair, Mr. J. P. Mills, ‘oi Board are: Educational appointments, 143; ad- ministrative appointments in commerce and industry, 65 ; manufacturing and technical appointments, 47. Oxrorp.—Mr. A. L. Dixon, Fellow and Tutor of © Merton College, has been appointed Wasyrnilete | Professor of Pure Mathematics in succession to Prof. E. B. Elliott. ¢ ae ee THE honorary degree of Doctor of Science has been conferred on Sir Thomas Muir by the University of - Cape Town, in recognition of his researches in“ mathematics and mathematical history. Sir Thomas | Muir was Superintendent-General of Education for MarcH 23, 1922] NATURE 395 Cape Colony from 1892 to 1915, and for the greater art of that period he served as a member of the cil of the University. ‘Tue Royal Academy of Belgium announces that a mnial prize of 2500 francs, to be known as the ix Joseph Schepkens, for the best experimental ‘k on the genetics of vegetables, has been estab- elitiicad Tue Research Chair of Medical Psychology in the versity of Queensland, Brisbane, has been filled the appointment of Dr. J. P. Lowson, University monstrator in Experimental Psychology at Cam- It is expected that Dr. Lowson will arrive ne early in this month. a= Hull Corporation recently endeavoured to purchase nineteen acres of land on the outskirts of the city, adjoining the Hull Training College, for the f of a Technical College, the present building, near the centre of the city, being too small and inconvenient. The Board of Education, owing to national financial stringency, turned the matter down. The Rt. Hon. T. R. Ferens, formerly M.P. East Hull, has now purchased the land for ten ousand pounds and presented it to the Hull educa- authority. Mr. Ferens has previously given about 40,000/., for the erection of a new Art Gallery, 10,000/., for the purchase of pictures, besides other amounts for the erection and endowment of alms- houses, and in numerous other ways has placed the ens of Hull under a deep debt of gratitude. Tue interest in the eighth report of the Carnegie ited Kingdom Trust for the year ending December 1921, centres round two schemes to which the tust has definitely committed itself—(a) to provide lities for reading in the rural districts, and (b) to ipplement the resources of library authorities oughout the United Kingdom by regional centres book distribution. The launching of these two mes was preceded by a very careful sufvey of whole question of library policy, the results of h are inning to bear fruit. There are now county schemes in operation in Great Britain, e. schemes administered from county headquarters, from which boxes of books are circulated to the village centres—the distributing agent in the village _ being usually the local teacher. Thus the county library and education authorities are brought into direct connection—the local teachers working under e direction of the county librarian. This method _ has worked satisfactorily. Past experience, however, | teaches that little value is to be placed on initial _ success. When the novelty of the experiment and ' of the books circulated wears off, the interest of _ readers wanes and the system falls into disuse. m Ag this the Trust has wisely provided by the _ provision of regional book stores—of which three Coosa are already established in London, Dunferm- ’ line, and Dublin—the last named being still in its _ embryo stage. In Wales the National Library at : AD has for some years supplied this want. _ In these centres a large and well-selected stock of _ books has been accumulated which should go far _ toward satisfying the requirements of serious readers not pen the villages but also in the smaller borough and ur districts. Thus equality of opportunity _ now exists throughout Great Britain for self-educa- tion, and this result has been secured with a minimum _ expenditure on the machinery of administration. t the miscellaneous grants we note with ; * arcig that a generous, though final, donation has “e made to the Library Association in respect of _ its “‘ Subject Index to Periodicals.’”” We understand _ that the Class List ‘‘Science and Technology” for _ 1917-19 is in the press and will be issued shortly. NO. 2734, VOL. 109] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. March 23, 1875. Thomas Lloyd died.—Trained as a shipwright at the School of Naval Architecture at Portsmouth, Lloyd was detailed by the Admiralty for duty with the early naval steam vessels, and ultimately became the first Engineer in Chief of the Navy, a post he held from 1847 to 1869. He was born in 1803, and his services extended from the introduction of steam into the Navy to the develop- ment of the first mastless steam ironclad, H.M.S. Devastation. March 24, 1879. Karl Karmarsch died.—Born in Vienna in 1803, Karmarsch founded, and for forty- five years directed, the Polytechnic at Hanover, and wrote valuable works on mechanical technology. March 25, 1864. Francis Baird died.—Second son of Sir Charles Baird, the founder of the well- known works at St. Petersburg, Baird for many years was sole proprietor of the establishment, and as such carried out numerous important contracts for the Russian Government. March 25, 1905. Bruno Kerl died.—A _ distin- guished German metallurgist, for thirty years a pro- fessor at the Berlin School of Mines, Kerl was the author of valuable treatises, and for thirty-eight years edited a mining and metallurgical journal. March 25, 1912. Antonio Pacinotti died.—One of the pioueers of the dynamo, Pacinotti was educated at Pisa, where his father was a professor. He served in the Garibaldean wars, and on his return to Pisa in 1860, at the age of 19, constructed the ring- armature dynamo, a form of dynamo re-invented ten years later by Gramme. Though unnoticed at urst, Pacinotti’s work ultimately received recognition and he was awarded various honours. He held professorships at Florence, Cagliari, and Pisa, where he died. March 26, 1865. Thomas Hancock died. — The great pioneer of the British rubber industry, Hancock took out his first patent in 1820. He afterwards perfected a process of mastication, and in 1843, having seen samples of the “cured ’”’ rubber of Goodyear, patented a method of “ vulcanising’’ rubber by sulphur, and was the first to make vulcanite or ebonite. With his brothers he founded the firm of James Lyne Hancock. In 1857 he published his “ Personal Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Caoutchouc or Indiarubber Manufacture in England.” March 26, 1858. John Seaward died.—In 1824, after experience in many branches of engineering, Seaward opened the Canal Ironworks at Millwall, and became one of the principal builders of marine engines for the Navy. Assisted by his brother Samuel, he made many improvements in paddle- wheel machinery, and introduced the ‘“‘ Gorgon” type of direct-acting engine. March 28, 1919. Henry Wilde died.—Left an orphan at 16, Wilde began life as an engineering apprentice in Manchester. In 1856, at the age of 23, he set up in business as a telegraph and lightning conductor expert, achieving his first success with an alphabetical telegraph. In 1863 he began his work on the dynamo, which with his electro-chemical discoveries laid the foundation of his fortune. He retired from business in 1884, devoted much time to scientific research, and became well known for his generous gifts to scientific institutions. ECS 396 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Association of Economic Biologists, Februar 24.— Sir David Prain, president, in the chair.—J. Rennie; The present position of bee-disease research. There is a general similarity of symptoms in all adult bee diseases. With the recognition of the parasite, Nosema apis, in association with bee disease there has been at the same time a failure to appreciate a preponderance of cases of disease. from which this Organism was absent. Recent work at Aber- deen has shown that there are at least three adult bee diseases of importance prevalent in this country—all of which have hitherto been called Isle of Wight Disease. Besides Nosema disease, there are Acarine disease and Bee Paralysis. At the present’ time Nosema disease is less common than Acarine disease, but appears to be maintained to some extent by the importation of foreign bees, a proportion of which contain the parasite, Nosema apis. Acarine disease is the more formidable malady ; its causal agent is a Tarsonemid mite which breeds in the thoracic tracheze and feeds on the blood of the bee. An important feature in this disease, which has hitherto rendered control measures difficult, is the long period of infestation while the mite is being established in the colony, during which time the presence of the parasite. is unsuspected. The systematic examination for this parasite of all stocks should be the first step in control. Bee paralysis, described by the Swedish investigator Turesson as an intoxication due to phenolic acids developed in the combs and pollen by the growth of various moulds, has also been recognised in Great Britain.—J. Rennie: Polyhedral disease of tipula species. Larve of Tipula paludosa, the fat body cells of which contain polyhedral bodies in the nuclei, do not complete their development; they die before pupation. This affection, known in various Lepidopterous larve, has not hitherto been observed in Diptera. The polyhedra appear to be developed in association with a virus. Infection by feeding is readily produced, and polyhedral bodies develop within the fat body cells in some six or seven days. Linnean Society, March 2.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- ward, president, in the chair—R. E. Holttum: The flora of Greenland. During the summer of 1921 a visit was paid to Disko Island and parts of the west coast of Greenland. The most widely-spread vegetation is a low heath of Empetrum nigrum. Cassiope telvagona, etc. In _ specially protected localities a scrub of Salix glauca was found, which may reach eight feet in height, accompanied by herbaceous plants of southern type. In unfavourable situations there are isolated plants of resistant herbaceous and woody species. The flora of the whole of Greenland consists of 416 species of vascular plants, of which 18 per cent. are high arctic in type, 22 per cent. widely distributed, and 60 per ‘cent. of southern type.—J. Walton: The ecology of the flora of Spitsbergen. The largest number of species in Spitsbergen occurs where continental conditions are approached ; e.g. at the head of Klaas Billen Bay, near the centre of West Spitsbergen, an area of about 5000 square kilometres contains 90 per cent. of the species of vascular plants occurring in Spitsbergen. Three vegetational zones appear: raised shingle beach, alluvial land between mountain and beach, and scree slopes. The development of the flora of the two former can be traced to an intertidal zone which resembles the salt-marsh formation of lower latitudes. —Sir W. A. Herdman: Spolia Runiana—V. Summary of results of investigation of the plankton of the Irish NO. 2734, VOL. 109] Sea during fifteen years. The spring phytoplankton a3 maximum ranges from March to June, and is chiefly. composed of diatoms which vary greatly from year to year in maximal haul, up to over 200 millions, This immense diatom curve can be resolved into an _ earlier crest in April or May, chiefly formed of Chaetoceras, and a later in June, chiefly formed of ~ Rhizosolenia. The Dinoflagellate maximum follows — about a month later than the diatoms, and varies — ; in our records from May to July (rarely August). The Copepod maximum is later again, and ranges — from June to October. The largest hauls of plankton — are obtained, during daylight, at a level of from 5 — to 10 fathoms. The Irish Sea plankton contains — from 30 to 60 per cent. of Oceanic forms, the rest are Neritic. Mid-winter and mid-summer are more oceanic in character than the intervening months. — A comparatively small number of genera of Diatoms _ and Copepoda are the dominant organisms of the _ plankton, and these are the important food-matters — for the nutrition of higher animals in the sea. small samples of the plankton, for series of vertical 4 hauls taken at the same spot in rapid succession show variation up to 50 per cent. The distribution — of plankton in the sea is not uniform, and many animals such as Copepoda are present in swarms or _ patches. As suggested by Hjort, the survival of newly hatched food-fishes in early spring, upon which the prosperity of future commercial fisheries may — depend, is possibly determined by the amount of ~ phytoplankton present at the time. ee Institute of Metals, March 8.—G. D. Bengough: Notes on the corrosion and protection of condenser tubes. Specific recommendations are made for the guidance of manufacturers of tubes and condenser plants.—F. Adcock: cold-work and_ recrystallisation in cupro-nickel. Cast cupro-nickel, annealed until homogeneous, can withstand considerable cold working and yet be suffi- ciently hard to permit of rapid preparation for micro examination. Material subjected to reductions of 50 per cent. and 88 per cent. by cold working was examined to investigate the nature and direction — of certain strain planes passing through most of the _ crystal grains of the distorted metal. Cold-worked specimens annealed for fixed’ periods at progressively higher temperatures were also examined. The effect of annealing is at first the accentuation of the “strain ’’ markings, followed at higher annealing temperatures by the appearance of new crystal grains, which, if on the sites of the “strain” lines, are frequently elongated in the direction of these _ lines. The Brinell hardness of the cold - worked metal did not begin to fall appreciably until the annealing temperature was such that new crystal — grains were readily discernible under the microscope. _ —Research Staff of the General Electric Company (London): The effect of impurities on recrystallisation and grain growth. Tungsten wires were prepared containing known quantities of thoria, alumina, silica, lime and the alkali metal oxides, in various proportions, and changes in crystal structure on annealing at 2500° were followed. The refractory oxides, which ultimately segregate in the grain boundaries, exert a definite resistance to grain- growth. The alkali metal oxides have no influence upon grain-growth, but an exaggerated growth takes place on annealing tungsten containing a few tenths per cent. of both a refractory oxide and an alkali metal oxide. Single crystals occupying the entire cross-section of the wire, and three hundred times as long as their diameter, are formed on annealing for a It is \@ probably impossible to draw numerical conclusions — as to the population of large sea-areas from few and The internal mechanism of Marcu 23, 1922] NATURE 397 on of a minute. Crystal growth and re- allisation in metals probably depend on a dif- e in vapour pressure between neighbouring rystz ins. This explains the known phenomena elation to the effect of strain, grain-size, and perature in regulating recrystallisation and grain- th on annealing.—H. Moore and S. Beckinsale : - studies in season-cracking and its prevention : ser tubes. The properties of various con- tubes were determined before and after ng at temperatures in the range 250°-325° C. ling experiments on flat strips of condenser- astically bent to an arc of a circle and ally stressed to a known amount the effects al hardness, initial stress, time, and tempera- nm the reduction of initial stress by low - ature annealing were determined quantita- : The rate of reduction of stress at the lower eratures is rapid, but slows down when the has been considerably reduced. The higher stress the higher is the remaining stress s of the same hardness, and the higher the is the lower is the remaining stress for a initial stress. A temperature of 250°-275° very effective im restoring elasticity in the ined material. Treatment at 280° - 300° C. mins. reduces initial stress to a safe limit ut.injury to, and in some cases with marked ement in, the strength of the tube. rch 9.—W. Rosenhain: Some cases of failure aluminium alloys.” Some ‘ aluminium alloys ”’ ) distortion and disintegration ; they usually sonsist mainly of zinc and are not properly described s aluminium alloys. Such alloys, consisting largely ic and also containing aluminium and copper, unstable at ordinary temperatures and liable to es of dimension and disintegration. True light uminium (consisting mainly of aluminium), tly pre are free from any risk of serious or disintegration.—F. C. Thompson and E. d: Some mechanical properties of the vers. The effect of annealing at different tures, and the different rates of cooling after ug, upon the tensile properties, the Arnold ating stress values, and the Erichsen values of -rolled alloys nema 10, 15, and 20 per cent. were examined. hanges occur at about and 550°C. Annealing at 300° C.-400° C. in a material of very low ductility. The best g range for the 1o per cent. nickel alloy is C.-825° C.; for the 15 per cent. nickel, 700° C.- -C.; and for the 20 per cent. nickel alloy, about C. As the nickel content is raised the tensile sth is raised, while the maximum ductility is considerably reduced. As regards Brinell hardness almost the whole of the softening takes place in the first two hours. The greatest ductility and the highest E) values are obtained after annealing 1} hours for small samples. There is little to ; se between annealing for a short time at a high _ temperature and for a longer time at a low tempera- ture. The alloys can be heated to a high temperature without deterioration, especially when the sample is ected from oxidation. The Erichsen tests show 90d results even after annealing at 850° C.—D. Hanson and Miss M. L. V. Gayler: A further study of the alloys of aluminium and zinc. Alloys contain- _ Ing 70, 60, 50 per cent. of zinc when slowly cooled to 'C., after prolonged annealing at 420°C. and ° pregame are duplex in structure. A redetermination of the solidus from 81-20 per cent. zinc showed that ‘the line representing the peritectic reaction extends to a composition of 70 per cent. zinc as against 40 per cent. zinc in previous diagrams. Microscopic examina- NO. 2734, VOL. 109] tion of alloys, following special heat-treatment, dis- proved the existence of: the compound Al,Zn;, and showed that the nature of the change in the alloys at 256° C. in Rosenhain and Archbutt’s diagram is identical with an ordinary eutectoid transformation, the decomposition of the S-phase leading to the “pearlitic ’’ structure commonly found in the alloys. Below 256°C. the solubility of the a- constituent in the y-constituent decreases with the temperature. Alloys containing the §-constituent harden spontaneously at room temperature after * being quenched from above 256° C. ; those containing the y-constituent showed the same property in a much less marked degree.—A. Westwood: The assay of gold bullion. The assay sample is not cupelled but is melted and balled up under steam or an inert gas. For the usual inquartation copper is recommended in place of silver.—C. A. Edwards and A. J. Murphy: The rate of combination of copper and phosphorus at various temperatures. When using }-inch copper rod the maximum rate of increase of phosphorisation in phosphorus vapour for a given rise of temperature occurred at 640° C. Phosphorisation at this temperature is quick and safe, and the operation can be controlled so as to prevent the formation of any liquid, while it is im- possible to obtain an alloy containing more than the percentage of phosphorus which is required commercially. . CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, February 27.—Mr. C. T. R. Wilson, vice-president, in the chair.—G, F. C. Searle: (1) An experiment illustrating the conservation of angularmomentum. A horizontal board is suspended by a practically torsionless silk thread. Attached to the board is-a vertical pivot about which an inertia bar turns balanced by a suitable counterweight. The inertia bar is held by a thread in a definite position against the action of a spring and then the thread is burned. The spring turns the bar until its motion relative to the board is arrested by a stop and the board turns in the opposite direction. The ratio of the angles turned through by: board and bar is equal to the ratio of the moments of inertia of the bar about its pivot and of the whole system about its axis. This ratio is found by means of a torsion wire. (2) A focal line method of determining the elastic constants of glass. Light from a collimator, with cross-wires in one focal plane, falls on the surface of a bar of glass. The reftected beam falls on a con- verging lens system which is adjusted so that the origin point on the surface is in one focal plane. A ground-glass screen on an optical bench is adjusted to be in the other focal plane. When the bar is bent, the cross-wires are set horizontal and vertical and the position of the focal lines of the reflected beam is determined. When the bar is twisted, the cross- wires are set at +45° to the horizontal and similar measurements made. The glass bar is replaced by a concave spherical mirror and the measurements repeated. Young’s modules, Poisson’s ratio and the rigidity can be calculated.—G. Stead and E. C. Stoner: Low voltage glows in mercury vapour. The effect of varying pressures and filament tempera- tures on the glow potential of mercury vapour, and on the current changes accompanying the appearance and disappearance of the glow were investigated. The glow could be obtained in a dome-shaped form of variable length. At higher pressures the glow point occurred below the ionisation potential.—E. V. Appleton: An electric wave detector. The ther- mionic current of a diode vacuum tube in which the electrons move with very small velocity is deflected by the direct action of electromagnetic radiation. 398 NATURE [Marcu 23, 1922 The resulting reduction in the thermionic current is used to indicate the field strength —E. B. Ludlam: An attempt to separate the isotopes of chlorine. Hydrogen chloride at a pressure of about two centi- metres of mercury was passed over (a) a water surface, (b) ammonia gas, so that a small fraction was retained uncombined. The chlorine was weighed as silver chloride. Any increase in weight could be attributed to experimental error.—M. H. . Belz: The measurement of magnetic susceptibilities at high frequencies. A heterodyne beat method is described, in which changes in inductance are pro- * duced by insertion of the specimen inside one of the oscillating coils. Susceptibility is calculated from the change of beat note. The range of frequency employed was 3x10° to 4x10® per second, and the results show that, up to this point, frequency has no effect—G. H. Henderson: Note on an attempt to influence the random direction of a particle emission. On applying a magnetic field to radium emanation no change could be detected in the ionization due to beams of a rays parallel and perpendicular to the field—J. E. P. Wagstaff: Determination of the coefficient of rigidity on a thin glass beam. DUBLIN. Royal Dublin Society, February 28.—Dr. J. A. Scott in the chair.—J. Joly: A new method of finding the discharge of rivers. This is a modifica- tion of the method of chemical hydrometry. Sletten Dee pei Just as the — ee | Mi ett a % PRL Pare re RA ue pidceamg geil oie. is 4h eee lat : APRIL I, 1922] NATURE 415 ve-length of each group as we pass from one to other, series J having the shortest wave-length and uiring the highest voltage to excite it. It should added that all the constituent lines of a group are cited simultaneously at a critical minimum voltage. The work on X-ray spectra has thrown great light on structure of the atom, and, in passing, it may be led that present-day theory regards all atoms, of atever kind, as built up of two kinds of “ bricks,” 1 two me most valuable social influence. Sir Robert n’s address ought to do something towards f Zo and development with this end 7 : P. Laurie’s discourse delivered at the Institution on February 17, on Pigments and s of the Old Masters, began with the Egyptian used in Egypt from the IVth Dynasty, which identified on the wall paintings in Crete in se of Knossos. This became ultimately the for wall paintings throughout the Roman © Prof. Laurie has shown that it is formed a limited range of temperature at about when sand, copper carbonate, soda, and lime ed together for a considerable time. The ind on Egyptian paintings is formed when a is raised to a higher temperature. Frof. rie has traced the use of this blue until about end of the 2nd century, but it is not found e earliest Byzantine illuminated manuscripts the 7th century which are in the possession of British Museum, being replaced by a_ badly hed ultramarine from lapis lazuli. Prof. Laurie referred briefly to the pigments used in classical as described by Pliny, and found by Sir y Davy and other researchers on Pompeian , and traced the pigments used from 700 up 60 as determined, partly by literary evidence ni principally by the actual examination of illu- inated manuscripts, pictures, and legal rolls in the ession of the Record Office and Venetian Ducali. history of pigments brings out interesting points, as t the close agreement between the pigments on the Lindisfarne Gospels and Scoto-Irish muscripts with those used in Byzantium, the improvement in the preparation of ultra- e and the use of a green which was apparently NO. 2735, VOL. 109] verdigris dissolved in Venice turpentine. This is apparently the green found in the Van Eycks and other pictures of the 15th and early 16th centuries. Azurite was used almost universally as a blue from about 1480 to 1640, and was replaced by smalt and by an artificial copper carbonate known as blue bice. Prof. Laurie also described how tiny samples could be ‘taken from a picture without injury, and showed the scheme of analysis for the identification of blue pigments, explaining the value of such inquiries for fixing the dates of pictures and detecting forgeries. At. the monthly meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held on March 15, the Secretary directed special attention to the acquisition by the Society of two Indian elephants presented by H.H. The Gaekwar of Baroda, a lioness, bred in India, presented by H.H. The Maharajah of Magurbhanj, and an Allamand’s Grison from Pernambuco presented by Lieut..Commander Rutherford Collins. Thirty-two new fellows were elected to the Society and thirty- five candidates proposed for fellowship. During February 126 additions to the Society’s menagerie were received, 39 by presentation, 81 deposited, 5 by purchase, and one born in the gardens. Tue National Union of Scientific Workers has received a number of scientific publications from the People’s Commissary for Education in Russia among which are the following: ‘“‘ History of the World,’’ by K. N. Malinin ; “Man: his Origin, his Structure, — his Future,” by C. A. Chugunof; ‘“ The Foundations of Life,” by P. M. Schmidt; “ Life,’ by Sir Edward A. Sharpey Schafer, a translation of his presidential address to the British Association for the Advance- ment of Science delivered at the Dundee meeting in 1912; ‘‘ Outline of the History of Geological Knowledge,” by A. P. Pavlov; and ‘' Spectrum Analysis and the Structure of the Atom,” by D. C. Rojdestvinski. The National Union of Scientific Workers is willing to endeavour to arrange with the Russian Commissary for Education for the exchange of scientific publications between men of science in Great Britain and Russia. In issuing their new quarto catalogue of scientific apparatus Messrs. Pye and Co. of Cambridge invite special attention to the reduced prices, which they claim are now in many cases down to pre-war level. A number of new pieces of apparatus are described, including an X-ray spectrometer, a fluxmeter, a reflecting moving coil galvanometer at 3/. Ios., a Rayleigh stroboscope and a centrifugal force machine. A large proportion of the apparatus intended for the use of students has been designed by Dr. Searle. The catalogue consists of 150 pages, well printed and illustrated, and is bound in stiff cloth covers. The name of the firm on the front page of the cover is very readable, but there is no name on the back, and when the catalogue is placed on the shelf amongst others there is nothing except the colour of the cover to indicate whose it is. It is curious that our instru- ment makers should desire to render their catalogues inconspicuous in this way, but there can be no doubt about the fact, as this is the fourth case which has come to our notice in the past few months. 422 NATURE [APRIL I, 1922 Our Astronomical Column. Ratios or PLANETARY DisTaNces.—Mr. F. A. Black, 57 Academy Street, Inverness, sends us a communication in which he points out a fairly close approximation which connects the ratios of the planetary distances. Using the names of the planets to denote their respective mean distances from the , sun, then Mercury+Earth Jupiter+Uranus _ Venus+Mars —Saturn+ Neptune The logarithms of the ratios are 9°79050 and 9°78935 respectively. The approximation is sufficiently close to be interesting, though it is unlikely that it has any physical basis. It will, of course, be observed that corresponding members of the inner and _ outer planetary groups occupy corresponding places on the two sides of the equation. Rerp’s CoMET, 1922 (a).—Mr. H. E. Wood has com- puted revised elements of this comet, from Johannes- burg observations on January 23 and 30, and Feb- ruary 5. ; T =1921 October 26:40738 G.M.T. @=183°° 31" 9°4") 2=275° 6’ 26:8” +-1922-0 $= 92°" 66" 56-4" | log ¢ =0:2183570 The comet was photographed by Prof. Barnard on Iebruary 3, when it was of magnitude 10; it is now fading. The comet passed perihelion 86 days before discovery, and was fairly well placed for northern observers last autumn, reaching its maximum bright- ness (about 9} mag.) on December 1. The fact that it then escaped observation suggests that many comets may pass their perihelion undetected and also that possibly the search for them is not being carried on quite so assiduously as before the war. As the comet is out_of reach of European observers and growing fainter, it is useless to give an ephemeris. WIRELESS TIME-SIGNALS.—There are four papers on this subject in the January issue of the Mon. Not. R.A.S., from the Greenwich, Pulkovo, Uccle, and Edinburgh observatories. Prof. Sampson, in the last-named paper, brings out the facility which these signals afford for determining the errors of the individual time-determinations, for the mean of them all may be assumed to be a satisfactory datum-line. He gives curves of the errors, which demonstrate the curious fact that each observatory is liable to be in error byas much as 0:2 sec., and that the error frequently persists for some weeks in the same direction. The cause is obscure; lateral refraction, due to dis- symmetry in the distribution of atmospheric pressure is examined but is insufficient to explain the whole anomaly. Prof. Sampson infers that the observations throw grave doubts on the exactitude of accepted longitude results, which generally rest on special observations made during limited periods. It seems likely that better results may be obtained by using the whole of the clock comparisons made by wireless over periods of several years. Under the old method of observing, personal equation necessitated inter- change of observers, but with the travelling-wire method the difference of observers is reduced to vanishing point. There are two precautions to be observed: first, the time-signals, which are neces- sarily made with a predicted value of clock-rate, must be corrected by later observations at the sending observatory; secondly, the same system of. R.A. of clock stars and mean sun must be employed at both stations; it may be pointed out that the NO. 2735, VOL. 109] | with its proper motion of 0-696”). Connaissance des temps value of the R.A. of mean * sun (used at Paris) differs by 0:06 sec. from the value in the Nautical Almanac ; the former uses Le Verrier’s | solar tables, the latter Newcomb’s. ae 4) STARS OF THE 8 Canis Majoris Type.—The Journal of Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for — February contains a study of these stars by F. © Henroteau. They were at first supposed to. be simply spectroscopic binaries, with periods of 3 to 6 hours; but the author expresses doubt as to whether this is the true explanation of the changes of wave- length, as the amplitudes, shape, and periods of the velocity curves all show variations, as do also the widths and intensities of the spectral lines. A list is given of 24 stars suspected to be of this type: one of them is 12 Lacertz, which Prof. Guthnick has investigated with the photo-electric photometer : at Babelsberg, finding a small light-variation in the same period as the change of radial velocity. The suggestion is made that they may be binaries in course of formation, rotating Jacobian ellipsoids, or binaries disturbed by a third companion. The stars are nearly all of type B, which is the type where Dr. Jeans found that fission is most likely to take place. WITH OBJECTIVE SPECTROSCOPIC PARALLAXES Prism SPECTROGRAMS.—It has been thought that slit spectrograms on a large scale were necessary for the determination of spectroscopic parallaxes, but Dr. Harlow Shapley and Mr. Bertil Lindblad show in Harvard College Observ. Circ. No. 228 that gox results can be obtained using the large stock of objective prism spectrograms available at Harvard. The pair of lines most used are 4215 (ionised strontium) _ and 4326 (iron) ; use was also made of the cyanogen bands and the lines of hydrogen, calcium, and manganese. The research is at present limited to naked-eye stars of types Ko to K2. -A list of fifty parallaxes is given; the largest being \ Sagittarii 0-113”, and 6 Leporis o-og1” (this large value accords The probable error of a deduced absolute magnitude is of the order of 0-3 mag., which is satisfactorily small. THE Sun’s ROTATION FROM SPECTROHELIOGRAMS. — -The spectroheliograms used in this investigation * were taken at the Yerkes Observatory between 1903 and 1909 by Prof. Philip. Fox, Director of the Dear- — born Observatory. The conversion into heliographic longitude and latitude was effected graphically, the image being projected by a lantern on to a globe marked with circles and tilted into the requisite position. The following formule were deduced for é, the mean daily motion :— eae ee Northern hemisphere . £=11°-107+3°449 Cos? ¢. _ Southern ce —=12°143 + 2°-408 Cos? 9. The. differential motion. of flocculi round spots is investigated, and is found to indicate an anticyclonic whirl, 7.e. opposite to the rotation of the sun on its axis, in the case of single spots, while it is cyclonic round the leading spots of bipolar groups. — A diagram is given comparing Fox’s results with those of other observers. It shows that the angular speeds of the following classes of objects form an ascending series, the increase from first to last being about 1° per day: ts, Faculz, and Flocculi (present work), \4227 (Adams), Ha (Adams). : cadres aes ‘1 Publications of Yerkes Observatory, vol. iii. part 3. . Sas Reversing layer, Sun-spots, APRIL I, 1922] NATURE 423 AMERICAN Pitt-Rivers MusEum.—The famous logical collection made by General Pitt-Rivers ‘became known to students when it was exhibited e Bethnal Green Museum in 1874-75. In 1883 presented to the University of Oxford, and en, under the direction of Mr. Henry Balfour, ze has greatly increased. The distinguishing of this museum is that the exhibits are id, not in geographical or racial order, but illustrating the evolution of the chief human mms. A collection of the same kind was made authorities of the United States National for the Trans-Mississippi Exhibition held in 1898, and since then it has been developed guished anthropologists like Mason, Holmes, Hough, the author of an interesting discussing it, entitled ‘‘ Synoptic Series of in the United States National Museum strating the History of Inventions.’”’ This pam- et describes, with a good series of illustrations, c inventions in the order of their development king, torches and candles, lamps, cooking knives and forks, and so on. The vast of the American collections have produced series of examples. The present pamphlet, ‘to our collections, might well serve as the *a popular manual of ethnology. = IMPLEMENTS IN THE PERTH MusEuM.—It tter of great importance that the collections yur provincial museums should be made more y accessible to students. They often contain ’ of considerable value, either the result “of ic in some local area with its store of fies, or of the benefactions of local collectors travellers who have brought material from and are proud to share it with their neigh- The student, if catalogues are available, find stored away in some local collection link which he needs in some line of research. its museum happily possesses exhibits of type me implements locally discovered, brought from foreign countries. In the Trans- ‘the Perthshire Society of Natural Science part 3) Mr. J. Asher publishes an excellent of the collection, with full descriptive notes ographs of the more interesting specimens. also given references to works of authority, ings of learned societies, and the like, in objects of a similar type are described or d, and it is satisfactory to learn that copies the publications to which reference is made to be found in the Society’s library. The sty has set a good example, which should be | in the case of all provincial museums. [AN FISHING TRIBES IN VANCOUVER’S ISLAND.— thirty-fifth annual report of the Bureau of ean Ethnology for the year 1913-14 is some- belated owing to the war, but it contains matter =h importance. It is devoted to a monograph . Franz Boas on the Kwakiutl, a narne applied o yu ers Indians on the Pacific coast in the yy of Fort Rupert, Vancouver’s Island. Dr. has edited the material collected by Mr. G. a mixed-blood Kwakiutl. This group of 4s now numbers about 2000 souls, but it is ually decreasing. They speak languages of the 3 n linguistic stock, closely allied to the otka. Many tribes on this part of the coast, ining their livelihood by fishing, are distinct both physical characteristics and language, but their _ NO. 2735, VOL. 109] | Research Items. culture is of an uniform type, and their industries, arts, beliefs, and customs are markedly different from those of all other Indian peoples. Closer study, however, discloses many elements peculiar to single tribes, which show that this culture is the natural result of a gradual and convergent development from several distinct sources or centres, every one of these tribes having added something peculiar to itself to the sum of this development. This mono- graph will hold a high place among the publications of the Bureau, and it is full of interest to the anthro- pologist, sociologist, and student of folk-lore. In particular, the account of food and cooking, due to Mrs. Hunt, an accomplished housewife, is admirable. The detail of fishing customs is more elaborate, and there are important sections on birth, in particular on the subject of twins, and the customs of distributing the trophies of the chase. For the philologist the text is supplied both in English and in the local dialect. NEw SURVEYS ON THE ArcTic Coast or ASIA.— While exploring the North-east Passage in 1918-19, Capt. R. Amundsen wintered his vessel, the Maud, in lat. 77° 32’ 36” N., long. 105° 40’ E., in the vicinity of Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of the mainland of Asia. During the five months spent at Maud Haven a considerable amount of useful survey work was carried out in Taimir peninsula. Mr. H. U, Sverdrup, a member of the expedition, gives an account of this work, accompanied by a chart in Naturen (January-February 1922), the publication of the Bergen Museum. The previous map of Taimir Land was very incomplete, although considerable detail on the coast line was added by Vilkitski in 1913. The map now shows a long fjord on the east, where only a bay had been previously known. Toll Bay, on the south-west, also ends in two long narrow fjords. Exploration of the interior reveals a plateau-like structure where the range of the Birranga Mountains were formerly placed. Around the plateau lies a raised beach some five to twenty miles in width. Observations place Cape Chelyuskin in lat. 77° 43’ 26” N., long. 104° 17’ E. No new surveys appear to have been made in Nikolas Land and Alexis Island, although the Nor- wegians visited the latter. The paper also contains a summary of the meteorological observations taken at Maud Haven. RAINS OF FIsHES.—For just on four hundred years circumstantial stories of fish falling with rain have appeared in various parts of the world. Naturally, such strange occurrences have given rise to much speculation and many even stranger theories by way of explanation. The whole subject is admirably reviewed by Dr. E. W. Gudger in the November- December issue of Natural History—the Official Organ of the American Museum of Natural History, which has just reached us. Dr. Gudger accepts such occurrences, and rightly, as well authenticated ; he accounts for them as due to the agency of high winds, whirlwinds, and water-spouts, which could easily draw up either from the sea or rivers, shoals of small fishes swimming at the surface in the track of these uplifting agencies. As their force is spent they distribute their victims along their path. BREEDING HaABirs OF THE MERLIN.—A series of very valuable and interesting notes on the breeding habits of the merlin was commenced some time ago in British Birds. In the March issue, Mr. W. Rowan, the author, describes the rearing of the young. 424 - NATURE [APRIL I, 1922 The task of feeding them falls entirely upon the female, though the food is always brought to her by the male, who also feeds his mate. He brings her but two meals daily, one just after sunrise, the other just before sunset. But these are supplemented by small portions taken from the supply brought for the young. Titlarks formed 90 per cent. of the prey, which included also skylarks, thrushes, ring- ousel, and snipe. Invariably the victims were beheaded and deplumed at a distance from the nest. At times, however, some were brought. partially plucked, when the female would give each youngster in turn a mouthful of feathers only, the mother her- self partaking, apparently for digestive purposes. Mr. Rowan was never able to satisfy himself as to the means by which the transference of the prey from the male to his mate was effected. As he hove in sight she would fly out to meet him, then at incredible speed pass beneath him and seize the prey. But whether it was dropped, or snatched from his talons, he could never discover. SHELL-STRUCTURE IN FORAMINIFERA.—Prof. W. J. Sollas, from an examination of the widely known Car- boniferous foraminifer, Saccammina Carteri, has been led to make a detailed study of the shells of calcareous foraminifera in general (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., London, vol. Ixxvii. p. 193, 1921). He shows that the mineral in both perforate and imperforate types is calcite, and that some imperforate species have a vitreous appearance. In the ordinary vitreous fora- minifera the shell is composed of minute prisms of calcite set with their longer axes perpendicular to the wall; in porcellanous types, no such regularity is shown by the calcite “ fibrils ’’ that are present, and these sometimes pass into a granular structure. Blind canals, but not perforations, occur in the walls of Peneroplis, and it is suggested, from observations by Douvillé, that the alleged perforations of the characteristic Upper Paleozoic genus Fusulina may be of the same nature. The author removes ‘‘ Sac- cammina’’ Carteyi from the arenaceous to the calcareous imperforata, and points out that the mosaic structure of its shell finds a counterpart in Spirillina. He proposes that the genus should now be called Saccamminopsis. CLIMATES OF THE Past.—In a brief but illuminating review of the climates of past geological periods, Dr. Charles Schuchert (Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. cci., Pp- 320, 1921) concludes that climatic changes were “very slight during the middle parts of the geologic periods fas defined by faunistic changes], when the world has almost no temperature belts; and variably greatest during the earliest and latest parts. ... To-day the variation on land between the tropics and the poles is roughly between 110° and —60° F., in the oceans between 85° and 31° F. In the geologic past the temperatures for the greater parts of the periods of the oceans was most often between 85° and 55° F., while on land it may have varied between 90° and o° F. At rare intervals the extremes were undoubtedly as great as they are to-day.” The author believes that for long epochs the greater part of the earth has had an almost uniformly mild climate, with no winters; but he opposes F. H. Knowlton’s view that there was a continuous non- zonal arrangement of climate prior to the Pleistocene period. It will be remembered that Dr. Schuchert (see NATURE, vol. cvii. p. 501) connects the limits between geological periods with diastrophic events, and the influence of these, when they are of world- wide importance, is probably effective in breaking up the conditions that tend to equality of climate. In the same journal (vol. ccii. p. 187) Mr. Knowlton NO. 2735, VOL. 109] ‘the reaction tubes. replies to Dr. Schuchert, and also to a criticism by _ | Prof. Coleman. He relies on a dual control of temperature in geological times by the internal heat and also by the sun, and believes that the earth was — 4 until recently surrounded by a _cloud-envelope, maintained by the internal heat, but diminishing ‘from time to time when this heat declined. Few geologists will agree with him in minimising the evidence for the occurrence of occasional epochs of clear air and unchecked sunlight. Surely, moreover, deposits of gypsum are not usually regarded as products of marine lagoons, and the difficulties raised on this matter by Mr. Knowlton seem mostly of his own making. If his cloud-envelope could be regarded as a reality, a good deal of biological as well as physical evidence would have to be reconsidered. — RAINFALL IN Latin AMERICA.—The United States- Monthly Weather Review for October 1921 contains articles by Mr. E. Van Cleef and Mr. B. O. Weitz on “ Rainfall Maps of Latin America,” “ Some Illus- trative Types of Latin-American Rainfall,” respec- tively. The first article, when dealing with the plotting of the data, mentions that the observations - are not always for corresponding periods, and as no correction has been made for this the- results are not always comparable, although in drawing the isohyets considerable judgment has been used. ‘The author makes no pretence that the maps give a final state- ment of the distribution of rainfall, and he states that it may require another 75 years or longer before there is sufficient accumulated data to produce an accurate map. Average maps are given for the year and for the summer and winter. In addition to these there are short accounts explanatory of the rainfall Over certain areas, viz. in Mexico, Central America and Panama, and South America. The of the Jlanos of Columbia and Venezuela is dealt with, and it concludes with the statement that the cause of the apparent dryness of Jlanos and the ~ absence of trees in interstream areas must remain in the hypothetical stage. The second article is illustrated by graphs showing the annual and monthly averages of rainfall at 25 representative stations in Latin America. The article concludes by stating that the discussion has not covered the complexity of all rainfall types but only those which are most essential. A praiseworthy attempt has been made to associate the climatic controls with various rainfall types. THE CLAUDE AMMONIA PrRocEss.—In the Claude process, in which ammonia is synthesised from nitrogen and hydrogen under a working pressure of 1000 atmospheres, the heat produced in the reaction was at first removed by circulating molten lead round This was found, however, to lead to undue strain in the tubes leading to fractures (see NATURE, February 16, p. 219), and a new method has been adopted, an account of which is given by M. Georges Claude in the Comptes vendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences for March 6. Uniformity in temperature of the reaction tubes is secured by jacketing them with asbestos or kieselguhr. The heat of combination of the two gases is utilised to heat the entering gas to about 500° C. No pre- liminary heating is now required, and the tubes are so proportioned that the gases are heated in the catalytic tube gradually as required by the reaction. Among other advantages, the head of the tube carry- ing the connecting screws is almost at room tempera- ture and the external tube supporting the high ~ pressure is only heated to a high temperature at one end, which can be appropriately strengthened. The method works excellently in practice and has been in use for over twelve months. ‘oblem | os _ APRIL I, 1922] NATURE 425 “HE advance sheets of the biennial survey of educa- tion in the United States for 1916-18, which constitute Bulletin, 1920, No. 34,! contain, in addition “the statistics for the period, an illuminative parison with figures taken from the reports con surveys which leaves no doubt as to the of higher and university educa- xhaustive information is given s numerous tables, and a number of charts have . constructed which naturally make a ge er appeal to the eye and emphasise the striking ts disclosed by the statistics. For the year ending June 1918, the Bureau of cation received reports from 672 universities, s, and professional schools, the latter term i schools of theology, terina Betis dentistry, and pharmacy. Of ; total, more than half did not enrol more than 9 students, while of the bigger institutions, only ‘enrolled more than 2000. ‘Thirteen of the latter ad from 2001 to 3000 students; nine, from 3001 to 000; seven, from 4001 to 5000, and eight had more an 5000. Obviously there are many very small and universities and few large institutions. fact, 10 per cent. of the colleges enrolled 50 per t. of the students in America and a half of the total oe Renate of schools took 87 per cent. of the ee _student po That en tendencies indicated by these figures ‘are not. transitory is borne out by Bulletin, 1921, No. on higher education in 1918-20.” There it is ted that of 250 institutions supplying returns for the periods 1916-17 and ig919-20, the smallest institutions are showing the biggest percentage in- creases in enrolment; those enrolling less than 250 IgIo increased 38 per cent., those with an enrol- of 250-499, 20:2 per cent., those with 500 to 45 per cent., those with 1000 to 1999, 22°5 per cent., and those with 2000 and over, 29-4 per cent. The te teaching staff employed in 1917-18 consisted 29,509 men and 7013 women; 7.e. an aggregate of 522, of which nearly 81 per cent. are men. These , when compared with those for the public , in which men constitute 35 per cent. of teachers, and for the elementary schools, where y form 13-4 per cent. of the staff, show clearly that > tendency is for women to monopolise the element- and secondary school work while men control institutions. The argument is strengthened by the facts given in Bulletin, 1920, No. 48,3 on the statistics of State universities and colleges for the year 919-20, from which it appears that of a total of 13,951 p Broseeors and , 11,659 or 83-6 per cent.are men. The salaries received by professors and_ others > during the period 1918-20 is discussed in Bulletin, a 1921, No. 21, where it is stated that, in privately _ sup institutions, professors received on an _ average about 46o/. per annum and lecturers 240- 360/., while in State colleges the salaries averaged _ 6251. and 280-420/. respectively. Caustic comment _ is made on the fact that structural-iron workers and g E railway employees were receiving more than many ig _ assistant professors in private institutions and almost as much as those in State colleges. as 1 B letin, = 0 z poe Bite igcy-c0s, Prepared: vy the Statistical Division of he a -of Education under the supervision of H. R, Bonner. Government 4 ting Office, Washington, D.C. 1921. 20 cents. q Tp en tagbre 1921, No. 21. Higher Education, 1918-20. By G. F. Zook. Fc eets from the Biennial Survey of Education in the United ae 1918-20.) 1921. law, medicine, fy sll PO eS 5 cents, % Bulletin, «920, No. 48. Statistics of State Universities and State - Colleges for the year ended june 30, 1920. ‘5 cents. NO. 2735, VOL. 109} University Education in the United States of America. The numbers attending universities and colleges have grown from 156,449 in 1890 to 375,359 in 1918, an increase of more than 139 per cent. Enrolment has outstript the growth of population, which has increased from nearly 63 to more than 105 millions, or 68 per cent. increase, but high-school enrolment has increased at an even greater rate. Colleges and universities have not succeeded in attracting, in recent years, so high a percentage of high-school students as formerly. It 1s thought that the voca- tional courses now offered by many of the larger high-schools may account for the decrease in the proportion of high-school students who enter the universities. According to Bulletin, 1921, No. 21, an attempt is to be made by the American Council of Education, and a council for education in manage- ment composed of representatives of industry, to develop a form of vocational education in the higher institutions which will familiarise men with the technical side of industrial work and also prepare them for managerial positions in industry. The position of higher education, however, is indicated more clearly by an examination of the enrolment figures in comparison with the proportion of the population which was of college age. From this it appears that in 1898, 3-3 per cent. of the popula- tion of age 19-23 years attended college, while for 1916, 4:8 per cent. is recorded. Thereafter is a drop in the percentage, due to the war, but the curve illustrating the figures for the various two-year periods from 1890 onwards shows an unmistakable — upward trend. The curve showing the proportion of the population of 23 years of age on which bacca- laureate or first degrees were conferred shows a similar steady rise. In 1890, less than 1-3 per cent. graduated ; in 1916, almost 2-2 per cent. of this group of the population received first degrees ; in twenty-six years, therefore, the proportion of graduates was almost doubled. Moreover, the proportion of the total number of students in the universities and colleges that were graduates increased from 1:5 per cent. in 1890 to 4:3 per cent. in 1916, showing that an increasing amount of time was being spent on what a be termed post-graduate work. he personnel of the student body has also changed considerably during the past thirty years. In col- legiate a Seecente departments, the number of men increased from 44,926 in 1890 to 164,075 in 1916, an increase of 265 per cent., and the number of women from 20,874 to 95,436, an increase of 357 per cent. If all the students in all departments are included, these increases are reduced to 143 per cent. and 156 per cent. respectively ; in any case, however, it is noteworthy that the number of women students has increased more rapidly than the number of men. A striking increase has also occurred in the number of first degrees conferred yearly during the twenty- six years ending 1916. For non-professional depart- ments alone, the figures are 7319 for 1890 and 31,826 for 1916, an increase of 335 per cent., while the total population of the United States was increasing by 63 per cent. A graph constructed to compare the rates of increase in the total population and in the number of students receiving baccalaureate degrees from 1870 onwards makes this point very clear. If the number of students receiving first degrees is taken as a criterion of national education, the United States as a nation is undoubtedly becoming better educated year by year. In 1918, there were 28,052 baccalaureate, 3480 graduate, and 736 honorary degrees conferred, while 499 men and 63 women 426 NATURE { APRIL I, 1922 received the degree of doctor of philosophy by examination from 46 institutions. An attempt has also been made to calculate the proportion of the population which American graduates form. The-number of first degrees awarded in 1870- 1918 is estimated as 1,058,527, and it is calculated that 908,469 of these graduates were alive in 1918. The total population in 1918 is estimated at 105,253,300, so there was one college graduate to every 116 persons in the country. Taking adults of 23 years and over, the figures become 1 in 61. The extent of the work undertaken in the colleges and universities is indicated to some extent by the size of their libraries. In 1890, the average number of volumes in a college library was less than 7000. In ro18, this figure had grown to 42,000, while two universities had libraries’ of more than a million volumes each. The total number of volumes in all the libraries in 1918 was considerably more than twenty-three millions. The financial position of institutions for higher | education in the United States is of interest if only for the sake of comparison with the funds at the disposition of similar institutions in Great Britain. Some of the more outstanding figures have been converted into sterling at the rate of five dollars to the pound, and the results are given in round numbers. Endowments in 1890 amounted to some fifteen million pounds; in 1918, the total was more than -ninety- six millions, a similar increase to that shown by the growth in the libraries. During this period, however, the number of students had increased and a better measure of the increase of productive funds is given by comparing the value of such per student enrolled. In 1890, the value was 98/. per head and in 1918 it was just over 256/., an increase of 162 per cent. Thus it is doubtful if the increase per head in endowment has really kept pace with the increasing cost of higher education. This statement is borne out by the fact that the percentage of total income coming from endowment funds has steadily decreased during the past 28 years. x The gifts and benefactions reported for the year 1917-18 amounted to just over 5,500,000/.; of this amount about 1,100,000/. was for increasing plant, 1,000,000. for current- expenses, and 3,400,000/. for endowments. Thirty-six institutions received gifts of more than 20,000/., and seven of these had benefactions exceeding 200,000/. Among these latter were Yale University and the University of Chjcago, which received sums amounting to about 570,000/. and 420,000/. respec- tively. According to reports for the years 1918-20 received from 317 higher institutions, 27,600,000. was received in benefactions, of which 8,900,000/. was for current expenses, 4,800,000/. for increase of equipment and plant, and 13,900,000/. for endow- ments. During this period, Harvard University received more than 2,000,000/., Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology 1,200,000/., and the University of Chicago nearly 1,000,000/., to quote a few of the more noteworthy increases in endowment. These figures, of course, are exclusive of any grants received _ | from Federal, State, or municipal resources. The value of the: property owned by colleges x 5 ~s re 4 a and universities during the period 1890-1918 was ascertained and figures are given for the average value per student. In 1890, this was 108/., w in 1918 it had increased to 279l. The property 3 value per student in 1918 was therefore more than — two and a half times what it was in 1890, the fact that the war had reduced the number of — students slightly makes the figure for 1918 somewhat — high pat 4 The total receipts in 1918 of the universities, q colleges, and professional schools in the United States were nearly 30,700,000/., and of this sum about — 27,400,000], was reckoned as working income. The — corresponding figures for 1892 were about 5,600,000/., The average working income per — and 4,200,000/. student, however, increased from 14/. in 1892 gt ae in 1918; in other words, in 1918 it cost more an. 2 five times as much per year to provide education for — ightly accentuated by the war, the cost of higher education has been increasing at a steady rate during the — a student as it did in 1892. Although whole of this period of 26 years. The percentages of the total income obtained from _ the various sources, Federal, State, municipal, students’ ¥ fees, endowments, and benefactions, also considerably between 1892 and 1918. Students’ fees iz have contributed a fairly steady 25 per cent.; the proportion from endowments has decreased stead from 18-5 per cent. in 1892 to 14:6 per cent. in 1918, while benefactions have, on the whole, also provided a decreasing percentage. Grants ra funds increased in general, but the percent the total income derived from this source decreased steadily. The State and local authorities have — provided a very variable proportion of the income ; in 1896, it was only 10-6 per cent., but by 1918 it had risen to 27:2 per cent. Supplementary data for the year 1919-20 are given in Bulletin, 1920, No. 48, which, of course, refers solely to State institutions. The total working income of the 92 universities and colleges which furnished returns for that year was 18,200,000/]., of which some 1,800,000 was derived from students’ fees, and 1,900,000 from private Expressed as percentages, the varying » benefactions. proportions of the total income were contributed as follows: students’ fees 9-6 per cent., private bene- factions 10-3 per cent., Federal grants 9:0 per cent., — State grants 60-6 per cent., and 10-5 per cent. was from miscellaneous sources. ‘The proportion provided by the State is naturally large in State institutions, but the general trend of the figures supports the conclusion reached in Bulletin, 1920, No. 34, that — higher education in the United States is coming to depend more and more upon the State or miners teed and less on the income derived from productive private benefactions, and Federal grants. eh : Marine Borers in San Francisco Bay.! AN interesting progress report on the San Francisco Bay marine piling survey has recently been issued by a committee which affords an excellent example of co-operation between science and industry. The Committee was composed of representatives of 1 Report on the San Francisco Bay Marine Piling Survey, prepared under the supervision of the San Francisco Bay Marine Piling Comittee of the American Wood-preservers’ Association. 1921. Pp. 104+36 plates. NO. 2735, VOL. 109] the American Wood-preservers’ Association, the Forest Service, and the Department of Zoology of the University of California, and the necessary funds were contributed by interested parties in the district. Early in 1914 the activity of marine borers was noticed in the dykes of the Mare Island Navy Yard in — San Pablo Bay—the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. The shores of San Pablo Bay have attracted from Federal unds, — “TA ee cea Oe Pt el pn el a: NATURE 427 - ApRIL 1, 1922] ‘many large industries, the water-front structures ° ryehi h had been built on untreated piles because it was believed that the discharge into the bay of fresh ‘by the rivers would prevent invasion by salt and therefore the advent of marine borers. attack of 1914 appeared to be sporadic, like r ones which had been reported as far back as but in 1917, at Mare Island, attacks by the same p-worm ”’ (Teredo) again occurred, and during 7 ing years spread rapidly and increased in rity . By the latter part of 1919 the attacks had ssed to such an extent that parts of water-front s, and, in some cases, whole docks, began to nd the report of the committee appointed to gate the problem is now before us. marine borers at work in the area comprise the widely known and most destructive representa- the groups to which they belong, in addition other species which seems to be, as yet, purely n. of the boring molluscs, the first con- is Xylotrya setacea, which, when full grown, a length of two feet or more. Details are n of its external features and internal structure. ce is made to the capacious pouch opening out stomach, which serves as a receptacle for the articles of wood rasped off the burrow by the shell. e mechanism of burrowing has been carefully died, and it is shown that the contraction of the di 9 shana adductor spreads the shell- ; uo causes their edges to rasp away the the return of the shell-valves to the initial 1, ready for the next thrust, is accomplished > small, weaker, anterior adductor muscle. The valves are not attached to each other by a con- inuous dorsal hinge (as in the fresh-water mussel), but are widely separated except at two knob-shaped yrojections which meet in the middle line and serve as fulcre _for the rocking movements of the two valves. The cutting action is due to the contact of the anterior of the shell with the wood and the scraping of sly ridged edge over the wood by the outward f the shell as the powerful posterior adductor contracts. The shell is held in contact with 1e bottom of the burrow by the sucker action of the a e chips cut away are not more than o-or mm. are several times as long as wide. Prof. states that when the borers are active it is e to hear the rasping of their tools on the wood in e ear against the top of the pile. short account is given of the life-history of trya. The eggs are expelled, and fertilisation ‘place in the water; the larva forms a velum, ps a pair of shell-valves and a tongue-like pro- e foot. After swimming for about a month larva, now about 0-75 mm. long, settles down, ferably on wood, and usually near the mud-line. fastens itself to the wood by a sticky byssus thread, e ey a gland in the base of the foot, the velum absorbed, and the foot is transformed into a sucker ; e adult of shell is produced, the elongate phons are formed, and the animal begins its boring erations. ‘Thirty days after attachment it is about mm. long, and begins breeding, and by the fol- wing summer it attains the length’ of two feet. e largest burrows of this species met with were in. in diameter in their lower portions, and more an 30 in. long. A short notice is given of Teredo diegensis, the lest of the molluscan borers in this area, which distinguished from other species in 1916. It is known from the Californian coast, and is of least ortance from the economic standpoint. . The well-known ‘‘ship-worm,’”’ Teredo navalis, is considered more fully, as befits its greater importance. _ This species ‘seems to reach sexual maturity in the NO. 2735, VOL. 109] JLLOYV first year of its growth. Prof. Kofoid records a heavy death-rate in the autumn, associated with falling salinity of the water, and there is also a heavy death- rate in the crowded territory near the mud-line. The eggs are reported to be retained in the female until they develop into larve, which, on liberation, become at once free-swimming. The larva may be carried by tidal currents for long distances, but Prof. Kofoid remarks that, so far as records are available, no evidence exists to show that T. navalis has hereto- fore been found on the Pacific coast ; it is, however, only a question of time before this pest will appear in other ports on the Pacific coast. The number of larvee which may settle on a given pile seems to be limited only by the surface; 437 were counted on.a square inch. Of the three well-known crustacean borers—Lim- noria, Sphaeroma, and Chelura—which attack marine structures, only the first two have been found in San Francisco Bay. Limnoria (the gribble) produces few young, but these are not free-swimming, and are ready at once to dig in for themselves. The colony of Limnoria in timber extends peripherally and the burrows constantly deepen. A square inch of Douglas fir heavily attacked by Limnoria was found to con- tain 79 females, 82 males, and 221 young. Limnoria works at all levels in harbour waters, from near the mud-line to the uppermost tidal level, but is most active between tide-marks, often whittling away the piles to an hour-glass shape. It may be found at work even in the creosoted zone of a pile. Whether it has become slowly acclimatised to the repellent. substance or whether creosoting was defective is not known, but Prof. Kofoid states that it is possible, by gradually increasing the strength of the solution, to acclimatise Limnoria experimentally to live and thrive in solutions which originally would have been deadly. Sphaeroma pentodon is of small economic importance. In a general account of the biological indicators of Teredo, Prof. Kofoid points out that, as this mollusc enters the wood as a minute larva and there is only a pin-hole to mark its entry, a close inspection with a lens is necessary to reveal these small openings. But there are other marine animals easily identified and quickly recognised, which may be taken as indicators of conditions suitable for the occurrence of Teredo, and among these he names the barnacle and hydroids, which, from the results of the Californian survey, precede Teredo as part of an invading marine fauna. Their presence, therefore, indicates the possi- bility of invasion of the area by Teredo, but not the certainty that the latter has arrived. The occurrence of young mussels (Mytilus) on piling is also another danger-sign warning the engineer to look out for Teredo. As the result of the biological inquiry Prof. Kofoid suggests that it is necessary to restrict the uncontrolled use of untreated or unprotected timbers in marine structures, that harbours should not be used as a dumping-ground for waste wood, and that unused infected timber structures should be removed. In a concluding summary the committee directs attention to certain other practical matters. In those parts of San Francisco Bay where the attack is severe the borers destroy untreated piling in six to eight months, but in other places untreated piling may last two to four years. A life of five to eight years may be expected from paint and batten protections if the work is well done and the covering not damaged by careless handling. Properly creosoted Douglas-fir piling, if carefully handed so that there is no injury extending through the “ shell ’’ of treated wood, may last twenty-five to thirty years, but, on account of the damage liable to occur during repeated handling, storage, and rafting, the average length of life has been considerably less. Most of the attacks on 428 NATURE [APRIL 1, 1922 creosoted pilirig observed by the committee have begun. where untreated wood has been exposed by damage in handling the piles, and it is urgently re- commended that care be taken to reduce such damage to a minimum. Precast reinforced concrete piles and pile-casings which have been in serv ce for ten years show no evidence of deterioration,,and seem likely to be of use for a number of years to come. Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION. a Bes report of the Royal Commission on the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge has been published as a Blue Book (Cmd. 1588, 6s. net), and we print below some of the more important recommendations. The Commission, which was ap- pointed in November, 1919, under the chairmanship of Mr. H. H. Asquith, had as its object an inquiry into the financial resources of the Universities and the uses to which they were put, and in this respect the scope of the Commission was very different from those of 1850 and 1877. The immediate occasion for the appointment of the Commission was the application of the Universities for large-scale financial assistance, and the report is confined principally to - this’ aspect of the present position of the Universities. — The first consideration is that the numbers in> residence at Oxford and Cambridge have increased largely in recent years and the scope of the work undertaken has widened. As a consequence, the staffs of the Universities and colleges are heavily overworked in many cases and research is suffering. The Commissioners report that either (a) the number of students must be decreased, or (b) the staffs must be increased, or (c) the standard of learning must be allowed to go down. Dealing with the new relation between science and national development, the conclusion has_ been reached ‘‘that technical education does not suffice. ‘In order to get the greatest scientific results even of a practical character, investigations carried on with merely technical objects and in a merely utilitarian and commercial spirit will not achieve the highest results. The disinterested pursuit of scientific in- vestigation affords the surest means by which the nation can ultimately command the resources of nature.’’ For Oxford, it is suggested that a scheme should be drawn up for future scientific developments in the parks or on some other site near the Museum ; for Cambridge, attention is directed to the question of establishing a central institution for training and research in surveying, hydrography, and geodesy. Light and cheaply built laboratories of one storey are also suggested for elementary work. The financial difficulties which now threaten Oxford and Cambridge are ascribed to their great developments, and also to the change in the value of money. Reviewing possible methods of augment- ing the Universities’ incomes, the Commissioners are of opinion that raising fees would have the undesirable effect of turning Oxford and Cambridge into rich men’s Universities. The real hope of future prosperity and. development lies in private benefactions, but unfortunately there is no prospect of private bene- factions being obtained sufficiently soon and in sufficient quantity to avert financial disaster. A State grant is therefore recommended, and the Com-. missioners state definitely that it is an absolute necessity in the public interest that an adequate grant should be made, seven under the present financial conditions of the country. The report goes on :—‘* We recommend that each University receive, instead of the existing interim grant of 30,000/., an -annual grant of t00,000/]. a year, in addition to 10,000]. a year for special purposes (women’s educa- NO. 2735, VOL. 109] grants should be made to the University and not tion and extramural work), and a lump sum for pension arrears, in order to enable them to fulfil their functions to the nation in a satisfactory manner.” The principal purposes to which the suggested grant should be devoted are as follows :— proper salaries and pensions for University teachers; the adequate maintenance of the University libraries and museums; the endowment of research and -advanced teaching, including more professors, readers, and University or faculty lecturers, and more research — studentships for young graduates ; the most pressing needs of maintenance in respect of laboratories and departmental libraries; and the provision in both Universities of a Sites and Buildings Fund. The to the separate colleges. “ae Of the minor recommendations laid down in the report, a few only will be mentioned. Fellowships are considered to be valuable assets of the colleges, — and in consequence the Commissioners recommend that Fellowships be divided into the following classes :— (a) Restricted to those who hold certain University posts; (b) Fellowships associated with official posts in the College, or with University lectureships or demonstratorships ; (c) Old Fellows who have retired from active work; (d) Fellowships to which young graduates may be elected under conditions of research ; and (e) Supernumerary Fellowships. (b) and (d) only should be stipendiary. Dealing with pensions for members of the staffs of the Universities, the report advocates that the N “federated superannuation system of the Uni- — versities ’’ be applied, and that provision be made in College statutes for its adoption in all Colleges also, — the cost to Colleges being met, if necessary, out of increased fees. It is suggested that the retiring age should be 65 for teachers and administrative officers, and 7o for heads of Colleges. ; { On the question of the position of women at Oxford and Cambridge the Commissioners express the opinion that ample facilities should be offered for the education of women and for their full participation in the life and work of the University. The Cam- bridge Committee recommend that women be entitled to be admitted on the same conditions as men to membership of the University subject to various limitations, which include the provision that the offices of the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Proctor be not open to women. ‘ Finally, it is recommended that any facilities obtained by State grants, directly or indirectly, for the increase of College or Faculty staffs be used to secure more time for research and not to increase the provision for the individual teaching of undergradu- ates. It is also suggested that a central University Fund be created, assisted out of the general grants — from public funds, to enable a specially qualified professor, reader, or lecturer to take a period of absence exceptionally for travel and research, with- out loss of income, on the recommendation of the proposed Board of Studies and Research. Both these suggestions have been made by the Com- missioners with the idea of stimulating and increasing the value of research and advance work. t ate Mipmyraeec pe ane te Petter ee ey aa APRIL I, 1922] NATURE 429 ‘University and Educational Intelligence. _ Lereps.—The chair of civil and mechanical engi- a neering in the University of Leeds will shortly be _ vacant owing to the resignation of Prof. J. Goodman, _ who has held the chair since 1890. Prof. Goodman _ proposes to give his time to research, and the Uni- _ versity Council has assigned to him accommodation for this purpose. _ Lonpon.—-Dr. C. A. Pannett has been appointed to 2 University Chair of Surgery tenable at St. Mary’s Medical School. In 1920-21 Dr. Pannett S Hunterian Lecturer at the Royal College of bons. He is the author of numerous papers on cal operations and research. C A. Lovatt Evans has been appointed to arent Chair of Physiology tenable at St. olomew’s Hospital Medical College. He has ied out research work at the National’ Institute t Medical Research, at Freiburg, and at Cambridge ; and is. the author of numerous papers on Experi- _ mental and Chemical Physiology: Dr. G. B. Jeffery has been appointed to the University Chair of Mathematics tenable at King’s Since 1912 Dr. Jeffery has been Assistant Department of Applied Mathematics at - Raters College, and was Acting Head of the ' Department from 1914 to 1917, in Tespect of which Roe tonts intment the Senate conferred on him the title Reader in Applied Mathematics. He has con- Pancted research work in the Theory of Special _ Functions, Hydrodynamics, Elasticity, and the Theory of Relativity. — _ A resolution has one pages by e Senate expressin, eat gratification at the establishment by the Worshipful Josasin of Cutlers of five Scholar- _ ships of go/. a year for two years, to be awarded, on _ the recommendation of the Senate, to suitable candidates who have passed Part I. of the Final _ Examination for the B.Com. Degree and undertake to enter for Part II. These Scholarships will be aed for competition by young men of British ; ity who intend to adopt a commercial, _ engineering, or metallurgical career, and propose to the study of some foreign language or languages ytaics or Spain or such other country as may from “time to time be a cope aaa by the Company.” The following Doctorates have been conferred :— D.Sc. in Geology: Mr. L. Parsons, an_ Internal Student, of the Imperial College—Royal College of Science, for a Thesis entitled ‘‘ Dolomitization in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Midlands.” D.Sc. in Physics: Miss A. C. Davies, an Internal Student, of Royal Holloway College, for a Thesis entitled “The um Electron Energies Associated with _ the Excitation of the Spectra of Helium.” D.Sc. __ -4n Physiology : Miss E. E. Hewer, an Internal Student, _ of Bedford College, for a Thesis entitled ‘‘ Some Functions of the Suprarenal Glands.”’ ; _ MANCHESTER. —Prof. Arthur Lapworth, who has a ‘been, since 1913, professor of Organic Chemistry in _ the University, has been appointed Sir Samuel Hall By Eaborate of shemistry and Director of the Chemical _ Laboratories in succession to Prof. H. B. Dixon. 3 Prov. K. H. Vickers, professor of modern history Ry on the University of Durham . (Armstrong College, _ Newcastle), has been appointed Principal of Univer- * comty College, Southampton, in succession to Prof. a) e y, now Vice-Chancellor of the University of _ Bristol. NO. 2735, VOL. 109] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. - March 30, 1856. Sir William Symonds died.— Entering the Royal Navy in 1794, Symonds at the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars turned his attention to naval construction and in 1825 was permitted to build the brig H.M.S. Columbine, the success of which led.to his appointment in 1823 as Surveyor of the Navy. During the succeeding fifteen years he was responsible for the design of over two hundred vessels. He introduced various improvements leading to greater speed, more stability, and increased stowage. March 30, 1882. William Menelaus died.—Trained in Seotland as a millwright, Menelaus rose to be engineer and manager of the Dowlais Iron Works in South Wales, where some of the earliest work was -done in connection with the Bessemer process of making steel. He served as President of the Iron and Steel Institute, and in 1881 was awarded the Bessemer Medal. March 31, 1776. John Bird died.—One of the most famous astronomical instrument-makers of the eighteenth century, Bird began life as a cloth-weaver in the north of England. Coming to London in 1740 he worked for Sisson, and with Graham’s assistance in 1745 he set up in business in the Strand. He intro- duced improved methods of dividing instruments, and supplied mural quadrants to Greenwich and to many of the continental observatories. He also constructed the standard yard measures kept in the House of Commons till destroyed in the fire of 1834. March 31, 1846. Andreas Kurtz died.—Born in 1781 in Reutlingen, in Wurtemberg, Kurtz as a boy found his way to Paris, where he worked in the factories and gained an intimate knowledge of practical chemistry. After Napoleon’s downfall he settled in England, and erected: works in Manchester, Liverpool, and St. Helens. April 1, r1gto. Frederick Wicks died._-Known as one of the pioneers in the development of rapid and accurate type-casting and composing machinery, Wicks took out his first patent in 1879, but it was not till twenty years afterwards he achieved success. In 1900 the Times was printed from new-type supplied fresh every day from a Wicks rotary machine. April 3, 1667. Edward Somerset, Marquis of Worcester, died.—A zealous adherent to the cause of King Charles I., Somerset after the king’s fall resided in France for a time, but returning to England was confined in the Tower. At the Restoration he recovered his estates and then gave himself up to mechanical experiments. In 1663 he published his “Century of Inventions,” in which is to be found his plans for a steam pump, “ an admirable and most forcible way to drive up water by fire.” ‘April 3, 1871. James Sheridan Muspratt died.— A son of the founder of the alkali industry in Lanca- shire, Muspratt studied under Graham and I debig, spent some years on the continent, made various chemical discoveries, and in 1848 established the Liverpool School of Chemistry. He was the author of a standard “ Dictionary of Chemistry.” April 4, 1861. Sir James Caleb Anderson died.— Anderson took out several patents in connection with steam navigation and locomotives, and was well known as one of the early experimenters with steam road carriages. April 4, 1883. Peter Cooper died.—One of the first constructors of locomotives in the United States, Cooper had large engineering works in Baltimore, and was the founder of the Cooper Institute in New York, where some 3000 students are trained in the mathematical and natural sciences. i Oe OF 430 NATURE [APRIL I, 1922 Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, March 9.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair—T. R. Merton and 5S. Barratt: The spectrum of hydrogen (Bakerian Lecture). The secondary spectrum is characteristic of pure hydrogen and feeble discharges. Impurities weaken it and enhance the Balmer series. The secondary lines are classified in different physically related groups which depend on the pressure of gas, the conditions of excitation, etc. The Balmer series appear in most celestial spectra. There is no evidence of the secondary spectrum in the solar spectrum. Measure- ments of the widths of the lines by a new method independent of estimates of “ limiting visibility ” show that the secondary spectrum is due to the molecule. When the current density of electrical discharges through vacuum tubes is great a partial separation of the gases is effected. This may have some bearing on the interpretation of certain celestial spectra. There is much evidence for a_ specific influence of neighbouring atoms on the _ spectra emitted. Helium modifies the secondary spectra of both hydrogen and carbon. March 16.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair.—H. Dale and C. Kellaway : Anaphylaxis and anaphylatoxins. Guinea-pigs were rendered passively anaphylactic to egg-albumin by injections two days previously of the precipitin for crystallized egg-albumin. Intravenous injection of a further dose of the same precipitin, a few minutes before a dose of egg-albumin, suppressed the anaphylactic reaction. Similarly, isolated plain muscle from anaphylactic guinea-pigs suspended in saline solution, was completely protected from the stimulating effect of egg-albumin by adding to the bath the precipitin which caused the anaphylactic condition. The toxicity of so-called ‘ anaphyla- toxins,’ produced by digesting serum with carbo- hydrate sols, etc., is due to the formation of complexes which keep the foreign colloid finely dispersed. They do not act on isolated plain muscle, as the anaphylactic antigen does, but are active only in the presence of the circulating blood. Their action is attributed to exposure of the blood to a large foreign surface.— J. C. Bramwell and A. V. Hill: The velocity of the pulse wave in man. The velocity of the pulse wave, relative to the blood in the vessel, is given in metres per second, v=3-57/./per cent. increase in vol. of vessel per mm. of Hg. increase of pressure. An observation of the velocity therefore gives the degree of extensibility of the vessel, and is one criterion of an efficient circulation. It is shown that pressure has a considerable effect on the velocity and that the calculated velocity is less than that observed in man. This is .attributed to the “elastic after-action.” Experiments on an isolated human artery gave a velocity comparable with that. observed in man. The transmission of the pulse wave is purely mechanical, its velocity depending on the extensi- bility of the vessels as modified by any condition (muscular or otherwise) pertaining at the moment.— A. Fleming : On a new bacteriolytic element found in tissues and secretions. A substance termed a “microzyme”’ found in tissues and secretions is strongly bacterio-inhibitory, bactericidal, and bacterio- lytic. It is precipitated from albuminous solutions by protein precipitants, is inhibited by 1/800 normal acid or alkali, and will not pass through a collodion membrane.- Filters of porcelain, cotton wool or filter paper absorb microzyme from first portion of fluid filtered, but when saturated the microzyme NO. 2735, VOL. 109 | field when these are of normal type unless supple- passes freely. Microzyme affecting Micrococcus lyticus is present in most tissues of the human body. — Normal urine, sweat, and cerebro-spinal fluid ap- parently contain none, but tissues of dog, rabbit, an guinea-pig contain microzyme for M. lyticus. Egg white is very potent, showing lytic action at a dilution of I in 50 millions, and a small amount was found in — the turnip. Human secretions contain microzyme ~ exercising lytic action on most bacteria of the © laboratory air, on bacteria pathogenic for animals but not pathogenic for man, and on many cocci — isolated from the human body.—J. W. Pickering and J. A. Hewitt: The action of ‘‘ peptone” on blood — and immunity thereto. Typical inhibition of the coagulatioa of the blood can be obtained by the addition of ‘‘ peptone ’’ to blood in vitro, ia quantities ~~ no greater than those required to produce inhibition in vivo, provided the disturbance of the surface — conditions of the blood, incidental to shedding, is sufficiently reduced. Leucocytes play no part in the anti-coagulant action of “‘ peptone’”’ on blood. The slow injection of maximal amounts of “ peptone” into cats, with the liver out of the circulation, produces typical immunity to anti-coagulant action. A physical explanation is suggested. In the inter- pretation of the coagulation of the blood it is ~~ unnecessary to assume the existence of antithrombin, proantithrombin, and antiprothrombin, and current “ thrombin theories ’’ become untenable. ae Geological Society, March 8.—-Mr. R. D. Oldham, vice-president, in the chair.—Baron Francis Nopesa : On the geological importance of the primitive reptilian fauna in the Upper Cretaceous of Hungary. The Upper Cretaceous of Eastern Hungary can be.divided into two horizons, the Cenomanian, Turonian, and Lower Senonian strata, and the uppermost Senonian and the Danian formation. The Danian is a fresh- water deposit that passes downwards by means of | brackish-water beds into the marine strata. The es | vertebrate fauna of the freshwater beds has, despite its Upper Cretaceous age, a strikingly Jurassic aspect. It contains primitive tortoises, a Cam : saurian Dinosaur, a primitive Trachodon, a Sauro- podous’ Dinosaur, an. armoured Dinosaur, and a Pterosaurian. Isolation during the whole of the Cretaceous Period caused a dwarfing of the larger animals (Dinosaurs) but did not affect the smaller forms (crocodiles and tortoises). In consequence of a general uplift at the dawn of the Eocene and the __ cooling of the climate, nearly the whole of this fauna —__ became extinct. Crocodiles which were adapted to a warm-blooded diet survived until the Miocene Period, and only retired to the tropics when the climate became so cold that the palms vanished from Europe. ; Optical Society, March 9.—Sir Frank Dyson, president, in the chair.—T. Smith and J. 5. Anderson: A criticism of the nodal slide as an aid in testing photographic lenses. The nodal slide is only con- ~ venient for the examination of lenses over their entire ménted by suitable linkages. Collimators and lenses a should in general be so directed that all useful light passes through them as symmetrically about their axes as possible—A. J. Bull: A non-polarising — spectrophotometer. Uniform monochromatic patches __ of colour are compared, instead of the more usual arrangement of two portions of a spectrum. The upper half of a spectrum undergoes selective absorp- 7 tion by the material under test, and a region of the spectrum is selected by a slit. Asplitlensthenforms two images of the dispersing prism face which are brought together by a rhomb-like prism with slightly — unequal angles. Photometric balance is obtained by APRIL I, 1922] NATURE 431 e partial closure of the lower portion of the selecting —J. Guild: The photometry of optical instru- mts. A portable surface-brightness photometer of = polarisation type for the measurement of the ction of the incident light transmitted or reflected an optical instrument, and for the measurement of the relative brightness of different parts of a field of jew was described. The instrument is a modified _ Wanner optical pyrometer.—T. Smith: A projective treatment of the submarine periscope. The optical its occurring in a periscope may be illustrated by nocentric projection. This affords a simple means finding the relative advantages of different arrange- nts of the optical system.—A. J. Dalladay: Some urements of the stresses produced at the surfaces grinding with loose abrasives. The ses at the surface of a piece of “‘ greyed ’”’ glass re measured and the relation is shown between the e of grains of the abrasive used and the stresses duced. Linnean Society, March 16.—Dr. A. Smith Wood- ard, president, in the chair.—C. E. Salmon: (1) Sagina filicaulis Jord. It differs from S. apetala by “its tapering sepals, and by their being appressed to ote “i, Aipatceg ; gland , sepals less acute, and shorter in proportion _to the ripe capsule. (2) Cevastium subtetrandrum -Murbeck. Occurs in Orkney and in W. Sutherland. _ It differs from C. tetvandrum by being both pentamer- ous and tetrandrous; the lower bracts are smaller than the stem-leaves, sepal tips are pointed, and seeds smaller. (3) Avum italicum Mill. Found in S. and ‘'S.W. England, it differs from A. maculatum by the _ petioles being much longer in proportion to the blade, _spathes are longer compared with spadix, ovaries _ more numerous, and the spadix is differently shaped and larger. _ Aristotelian Society, March 20.—Prof. G. Dawes _ Hicks in the chair.—R. F. A. Hoernlé: Some byways _ of the theory of knowledge. In the attempt to give - scientific precision to their language, some philo- _ sophers have introduced into theory of knowledge a _ distinction between first-hand knowledge and second- hand knowledge (or knowledge mediated by symbols), alongside of the current distinctions between ‘“‘ know- _ ledge by acquaintance ” and ‘‘ knowledge by descrip- _ tion,” or “‘ immediate acquaintance ” and “ thought.”’ _ Acquaintance and immediate experience are, in _ current theory, commonly characterised by absence _ of language and of analysis, whereas first-hand know- _ ledge, e.g. a botanist engaged in research, may involve any amount of analysis and symbols. Yet there will no divorce of description from acquaintance, or of thought from immediate data, but the data will be _ ordered and acquire significance, and their meaning _ will come to the investigator as fulfilled and realised, _ in a sense in which it cannot do so to one who merely _ teads his account at second-hand. The choice of a _ terminology is no mere matter of words, for it is a _ choice of meanings, and therefore of the qualities and _ relations which we affirm as “ true” and “ real” of _ the object under discussion. Definition merely leaves q soe Mba question whether anything bearing the g defined exists. The suggestion was made _ that a comparative and systematic study of philo- _ sophical languages is much to be desired as a pre- F to rational choice, and, in any case, as a help to mutual understanding. Bes DvuBLIN. Royal Irish Academy, Febru 13.—Prof. Sydne _ Young, president, in the chaie_—= Young o The _ vapour pressures and boiling points of non-miscible and miscible liquids and the composition of the NO. 2735, VOL. 109] from S. ciliata by being more~ vapours (distillates) from such heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures. The formation of azeotropic mixtures of minimum and maximum boiling point was explained, and the case of ternary azeotropic mixtures was especially considered. A large number of these mixtures have been discovered since 1902, and by plotting the boiling points of known ternary and binary mixtures against the boiling points of the aliphatic alcohols it is possible to predict with some confidence whether the alcohols not yet examined will form binary azeotropic mixtures with benzene, normal hexane, or toluene, or ternary mixtures with one of these hydrocarbons and water. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, March 7.—Mr. Te Coward, president, in the chair.—W. M. Tattersall: The sound-producing mechanisms of Crustacea. Some species of Crustacea from the shallow waters and shores of East Africa and others from Australia exhibit mechanisms for the production of sound. Three main types of sound-producing mechanism are found. (a) Popping Type: The sound is produced by the rapid withdrawal of a tightly fitting peg from a socket. (b) Fiddle and Bow Type. Rapid motion of a sharp smooth ridge or a row of granules across a row or series of rows of regularly arranged granules or tubercles or a file-like series of ridges or vice-versa produces the sound. (c) Plectrum Type. Two series of stiff, hollow spines are rubbed together. The first type is found in the snapping shrimps (Alpheus) characteristic of coral reefs; the second type in the spiny lobster of British coasts, some shore crabs from tropical waters like Matuta, Platyo- nichus, Pseudozius and the amphibious crabs, Ocypoda and Uca ; and the third type only in certain river crabs in Africa. The stridulating organs occur in both sexes. - The sound is probably a warning-note to keep intruders from a burrow already occupied. Official Publications Received. Département van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel. “’S Lands Plantentuin”’ (“Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg’’). Treubia. hydrobiologiques et océano- . Recueil de travaux zoologiques, é par Dr. D Pp. 155. others. Pp. iii+33+ Printing Office.) Carnegie Institution of Washington. Pp. xxii+475. (Was! n.) Records of the Botanical Survey of India. Vol. 8, No. 3: Flora Arabica. By Prof. E. Blatter. Part IIL: Campanulacee-Ver- benacee. Pp. ii+ 1: A Survey of Year Book No, 20, 1921. Fletcher. Pp. xii+401. (Calcutta : 7.8 rupees. Koninklijk 3 en Meteorologisch Observatorium te Batavia. Verhandelingen No. 8: Het Klimaat van Nederlandsch-Indié (The Climate of the Netherlands Indies). By Dr. C. Braak. Deel1(Vol. 1): Algemeene Hoofdstukken (General Chapters), Aflevering 2 (Part 2) ; With English Summaries. Pp. iii+65-147+50. (Batavia.) The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Organization and Equipment. 5. (New York.) brary of Congress. Report of the Librarian of Congress and Report of the Superintendent of the Library Buildings and Grounds, for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 1921. Pp. 207. (Washington: Government Printing Office.) Publikationer ffa det Danske Meteorologiske Institut. Aarboger. Isforholdene i de Arktiske Have (The State of the Ice in the Arctic Seas . By Kapt. C. I. H. Speerschneider. Pp. 32+5 maps, (Kj@benhavn: G. EB. C. Gad.) NATURE [APRIL 1, 1922 Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, MARCH 31. ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMIC BIOLOGISTS (in Botanical ae Theatre, Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 2.30.—Dr. W. L. Balls: ae ais and Defects of Team Work in erwinenis Biology.— Kidd: Problems of Fruit Storage. Instirvitios OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Prof..H. H. Jeffcott : he Milling of Screws, and other Problems in the Theory of Screw- threads. INSTITUTION eo! ee oe ENGINEERS pose Students’ Section), at 7 8. hfield : Presidential Addre INSTITUTION OF Spy la ENGINEERS (at Royal Society of Arts), at 7.3 : .—Mr. Folland: Aircraft Design. JUNIOR INSTITUTION. OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—D. P. Dickinson: Steel Melting Shop, The SATURDAY, APRIL 1, ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Rutherford ; ivity (5). - Radioactivity (5) MONDAY, APRIL 3. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 5.—General Meeting. ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS, at ee F Radcliffe : The Constituents of Essential Oils (Cantor Lectures), aah aie CHEMICAL INDUSTRY Toad Section), (at Chemical Society), ROYAL a OF BRITISH: ARCHITECTS, at. 8.—S. C. Ramsey: London Clubs. TUESDAY, APRIL 4. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 38. —Dr. J. W. Evans: Earth Movements (2). Roya Society oF ARTS (Dominions and Colonies Section), at 4.30.— Sir Thomas Bilbe Robinson: New Zealand. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, at 5.—Dr. H. Mackenzie : Diseases of the Thyroid Gland (2). ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 5.30.—C. Tate Regan: Exhibition of lantern-slides illustrating Blind Fresh-water Fishes from Caves. —Dr. J. T. Cunningham: Mendelian Experiments on Fowls. Production of Dominant Pile Colour.—Dr. M: Khalil: A Revision of . the toe Parasites of Elephants, with a description of four new INSTETUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Sir Robert A. Hadfield, Bart. : Corrosion of Ferrous Meta. RONTGEN SOCInTY (at Institution of Electrical Engineers), at 8.15. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (Wireless Section), at 6.— is ae J. H. Whittaker-Swinton: Provision of Power for Wireless elegrap SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS AND OTHER ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS (at Chemical Society), at 8.—O. D. Roberts and H. T. Islip: The Con- stants of Indian Beeswax. —A. Chaston Chapman: Note on the Liver Oil of the “‘ Tope ’’(Galeus galeus)—A. Chaston Chapman: Note on the Examination of Foods: for. the Presence of Sulphites.—S. H. Groom: Demonstration of Artificial Daylight for Laboratory Purposes (Sheringham System).—A. Bruce: Tropical Milk Supply.—E. R. Bolton and D. G. Hewer : Certain Tropical Oilseeds. ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS, at 8.—Prof. E. R. Matthews : Sea Encroach- ment and its Prevention. ENTOMOLOGICAL Soctpty OF LONDON, at 8. THURSDAY, APRIL 6. Roya INstirvuTIon oF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. A.-M. Hind : Landscape Etchers : New and Old (2). ROYAL SOCIETY, at 4.30.—Probable Papers.—F. E. Smith: An Electro- magnetic Method for the Measurement of the Horizontal Intensity of the Earth’s Magnetic Field.—G. I. Taylor: Stability of a Viscous Liquid contained between two Rotating Cylinders. Part I. Theo- retical. Part II. Experimental.—Prof. T. H. Havelock: Dispersion Formule and the Polarisation of Scattered Light: with Application to Hydrogen.—Dr. G. R. Goldsbrough : The Cause of Encke’s Division in Saturn’s Ring.—C. i Sang ce de Correlation between Arrays in a Table of Correlations.—Dr. W. L. Balls: Apparatus for determining the Standard Deviation Mechanically. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LoNpDon, at 5.—Dr. H. Mackenzie: Diseases of the Thyroid Gland (3). LINNEAN Socinty OF LONDON, at 5.—Dr. A. B. Rendle: An Example of Regeneration of the Terminal Bud.—C,. Turner: The aoa -history of Staurastrum Dickiei, -var. -parallelum (Nordst.).— + a Borradaile : The Mouth-parts of the Shore- crab, with lantern- slides. ROYAL AERONAUTICAL Socrmty (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.— L. Bréguet: Aerodynamical Efficiency and the Reduction of Air Transport Costs. CHILD StTuDy Society (at Royal Sanitary Institute), at 6.—M. - Yearsley: A Plea for the Deaf Child. grb hae OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—J. A. Kuyser: - tective Apparatus for Turbo- Alternators, pueutoat Socimty, at 8.—Prof. .O. Forster and W. B. Saville: Constitution of Picrorocellin, a x ‘itrogenous Constituent of Roccella uciformis. . Sugden: The Determination of Surface Tension from the Maximum Pressure in Bubbles. €rvic EDUCATION LEAGUE As Leplay House, 65 Belgrave Road, 8.W.1), at 8.15.—Miss M. M. Barker: Occupational Education, FRIDAY, APRIL 7. DIESEL ENGINE UsERS’ ASSOCIATION (at Institution of. Electrical _ Engineers), at 3.—H. Moore: Some Characteristics of Petroleum Oil used in Diesel Engines. { NO. 2735, VOL. 109] Pro- Entropy as a Tangible Conception. ROYAL senna oe SCC (Students’ Section) (at 7 Albema: Street), at 6.45.—Prof. L. Bairstow: Some Aeronautical ight the Early Future. JUNIOR INSTITUTION O¥-ENGINEERS, at 8.—J. W. Maple: Engir peril in Southern Persia. a ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Sir Ernest Rutherfor Evolution of the Elements ; SATURDAY, Aprit 8. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Ruthe Radioactivity (6). PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a sree) “SATURDAY, Arrit 1, 33 POLYTECHNIC (Regent Street, W.1), at 10.30 A:mM.—Prof. H. E. Arm- strong: The. Wonders and Problems of F a - HORNIMAN Museum (Forest Hill), at 3.30. —Dr. Ww. A. Cunnington 4 Woman’s Sphere in Savage Africa. WEDNESDAY, Aprit 5. ScHOOL OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, at 12.—Miss uy Ween Mythology and Folk Lore (6). CONTENTS. Science at the Post Office i a witoere The Imperial Institute : ; ; «oc eae A Treatise on Petroleum. By Sir T. H. Holland, hea RS... wo eo (Lilustratea) « The Mass Formula of Cathode-Ray Corpuscles ._ British University Problems ae : 407 India as a Centre of Anthropological lagudeee BK: a Sir Arthur Keith, F'R:S. 0 9...) Our Bookshelf . 9°... Letters to the Editor :— ie Precursors of Wireless Telegraphy.—Sir Joseph Larmor, M.P., F.R.S. Stonehenge: Concerning the Four Stations illustrations. )—E. Herbert Stone . Improvement of Visibility of Distant Objects Prof. Henri Bénard . Sh etae Statistical Studies of Ewolotion. —C. A. F. Paitin; i 4 Dr. J. C. Willis, F.R.S., and G. Udny Yule, aea CBE,F.RS... .° . (3 Radiology and Physics. (With diagrams.) By Dr. G. W. C. Kaye j ; 3 aes - Forests in Relation to Stiehan iow and Erosion | Disintegration of Elements. sd Sir E. Rutherford, ( With eS Sees Past 2 Obituary :— Prof. A. D. Waller, F.R.S. ByW.L.S.. . Current Topics and Events é ‘ Pa : Our Astronomical Column :— ee Ratios of Planetary Distances . : : : ; - Reid’s Comet, 1922 (a). : : yee eee _. Wireless Time-Signals. eee Pies “a Stars of the 8 Canis Majoris Type. e% . Spectroscopic Parallaxes - with” ~ Objective Prism Spectrograms “te (4 hee The Sun’s Rotation from Spectroheliogtams a - 422 Research Items : : 423 a University Education in the United States of pds Ca 425 _ Marine Borers in San Francisco Bay . . . 426 .: Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Rept ro ane ae Royal Commission : : ; - 428 University and Educational iutelibeaae Mayen & - 429 q Calendar of Industrial Pioneers a Ry ON a Societies and Academies.) 208° 5 5 Official Publications Received . . . . « 431 — Dey of Societies 2. Oc 2 NALIURE 433 SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1922. Editorial and Publishing Offices : Hi MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., _ ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. _ Telephone Number; GERRARD 8830. 4 The Development Fund. e 'N a recent leading article (NATURE, February 16) i on the subject of the Geddes Report in its relation to Education and Research, allusion was made to the seemingly precarious condition of the above Fund. While it is a matter for congratulation that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreeing with the that. the funds provided by Parliament for additional research should be used to fill a gap to be created in existing expenditure, he did nothing to allay the anxiety created by the depletion of the Development Fund. A White Paper (No. 15, price 3d. net) just published contains the accounts of this Fund for the year ended March 31, 1921. It appears that the surplus at the credit of the Fund on that date was -1,170,0001.; but of this about one-third represents outstanding loans, and the amount available for current ‘needs on April 1 of last year was only 795,000l. Re- -ferring to the Report of the Commissioners for the same year we find it stated that “ against this balance must be set liabilities . . . in respect of advances recom- mended up to that date... there was a balance, ‘therefore, of 250,000]. for annual advances required to meet the cost of existing schemes.” The published accounts show that in the year 20-21 alone advances totalling 568,o0o/. were made, ind, so far as it is possible to interpret the accounts, at least 300,000. of this sum was required to meet the ecurrent cost of existing schemes. It seems doubtful, efore, whether the balance available on April 1 of t year was sufficient to meet the normal liabilities of ‘the Fund for the succeeding twelvemonths. There is, Wwever, a reserve not disclosed in the accounts, for in NO. 2736, VOL. 109] their Report the Commissioners go on to say: “In the estimates . . . for the following year (1920-21) Parlia- ment voted a similar amount [1,000,000/.] for the general purposes of the Development Fund. In view of the urgency of restricting issues from public funds, the Commissioners agreed that the grant voted should be surrendered . . . on the understanding that Parlia- ment would be invited to révote the amount in the year 1922-23.” But in the statements that have been published from time to time in connection with the economy campaign, this sum of one million has not been specified. It is to be hoped that when Parliament is “ invited ” to provide the money it will be realised that, without it, the whole organisation of research in the sciences bearing on agriculture and fisheries must collapse. With the help of the Development Fund a number | of research institutions have been established on a permanent basis, and yet there is no guarantee that the money required for their maintenance will be forthcoming even one year hence. Under our Con- stitution no continuing guarantee can be given, but it might be considered whether greater stability would not be secured by transferring the liability for all permanent schemes to a regular vote head, thus leaving the Fund for real “‘ development ” purposes. views which we expressed, rejected the suggestions | The Teaching of Physics. T the Orono meeting of the New England section of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education held recently, the question was discussed, ‘What is the matter with physics teaching?” We have received two of the opening papers, from which it appears that in American technical colleges and universities, en- gineering students dislike and even despise the physics taught them. For this the teacher is blamed, on one hand for not being sufficiently precise and exact in his definitions and reasoning, and on the other for trying to force on the engineer the C.G.S. system of units. Most of the illustrations of bad teaching are taken from dynamics, an accurate knowledge of which is, of course, indispensable to the really scientific engineer. The trouble is also traced to some extent to the academic text-book, which teems with artificial prob- lems having little relation to what is met with in practice. Students whose minds are gripping the mechanism of water-wheels, pumps, and engines are too often expected to find satisfaction in the study of levers, ‘‘ simple machines,”’ and systems of weightless and frictionless pulleys. It appears, moreover, that the text-book is being more and more neglected, and, as one writer puts it, “ physics has degenerated into interminable class-room coaching, making our teaching 434 NATURE [APRIL 8, 1922 not only very exhausting, but also frightfully expensive, and greatly weakening the moral of our students.” There is certainly an element of truth in this criti- cism. In many universities students get so much direct teaching by lecture, by tutorial expansion, and by the performance of routine experiments to printed orders, that they have little time or energy left for real effective thinking. There is a tendency to forget that a mere knowledge of apparatus and of methods of experimenting does not make a physicist. The physical imagination should be trained, and the highest powers of mind called into play, and the student should be encouraged to get into living touch with the creative literature of the subject. This, of course, is not easy, especially when the classes are large. What is wanted is an accessible reading-room fully supplied with the journals and other publications in which progressive work is recorded. _ Students, if not overburdened by an excess of class and laboratory attendance, would soon come to appreciate the value and delight of thus getting into touch with the vital problems of the day. Nevertheless, in the hands of a good teacher there is: nothing to compare with the lecture as a means of giving a systematic theoretic view of the whole science treated, and there is no better corrective to the extreme and un- scientific utilitarianism which makes many a student think that he is being taught what will be of no value to him. Technical schools may narrow their teaching to what seem at the time to be the absolute necessities, but a university is intended to give engineering students an all-round training in the fundamental sciences of mathematics, natural philosophy, and chemistry. Without these an engineer is only half equipped for his calling, The Principles of Distillation. Distillation Principles and Processes. By Prof. Sydney Young, with the collaboration of various authors. Pp. xiv+509. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1922.) 40s. net. HIS book is a new and amplified edition of the author’s well-known treatise on “ Fractional Distillation,” first published in 1903. Prof. Sydney Young is an acknowledged authority on the subject on which he writes, and for many years prior to the appear- ance of the first edition of his work, the principles under- lying the separation of substances by distillation had been investigated by him and the results communicated to various scientific societies. But his book embodied not only his own experience.. Everything that was known at that period concerning the science and art of distillation was duly recorded and discussed, and the relative merits of the various still-heads and other NO. 2736, VOL. 109] forms of apparatus employed in the processes of fractional distillation were carefully inquired into and compared. The rapiddevelopment of organic chemistry, pure and applied, during the latter half of the nineteenth — century was the immediate cause of the attention — which the subject then received. Distillation was — practically the only means available for the isolation of the constituents of mixed liquids. The art of dis- tillation is, of course, as old as any chemical process, but the principles upon which its efficient application as a method of separation of complex liquids depend, were very imperfectly understood. Prof. Young’s book was the first systematic attempt to explain these principles and to illustrate their bearing upon laboratory and technical procedure. It has not only been of great use to operative chemistry, but it has served to indicate many points of theoretical interest concerning the thermal behaviour of substances which, although they may have no immediate utilitarian value, are certain to influence practice in the future. During the two decades which have elapsed since the appearance of the first and second editions of this work, _ a considerable body of additional information hs been accumulated concerning its subject-matter, not, perhaps, so much in the elucidation of fundamental principles as in the compilation of accurately observed thermal values upon which the various mathematical formulae which seek to generalise the facts of distilla- tion depend. The present edition differs from. its | it deals more’ predecessor in one important feature : particularly with the technical applications of distilla- tion. The book, in fact, is divided into two main sections. The first is practically a reprint of the first edition on “ Fractional Distillation,’ extended and brought up to date by the inclusion of all material facts. which have been made known during the last twenty _ For much of this information we are indebted _ years. to British workers, and the results of the valuable investigations of Wade and Finnemore and of Wade and Merriman are described in adequate detail. Wade’s unfortunate death in the full tide of his intellectual vigour, when all his energies were.concentrated upon the development of an inquiry with which by training and aptitude he was specially fitted to cope, was a serious loss to science. An important addition to the work is a chapter on sublimation. As the author points out, there is no — essential distinction between distillation and sublima- tion, although at first sight the dissimilarity of the two operations would seem to imply a difference. The term distillation denotes the volatilisation of a sub- stance and its condensation and recovery, drop by drop: by sublimation is usually understood the direct — passage from the gaseous to the solid state without Apri 8, 1922] NATURE 435 ediate liquefaction. But intermediate lique- ‘may be induced by pressure. If, therefore, the be effected under pressure, liquefaction will ‘and the substance will ultimately boil, although ling the vapour may pass directly to the solid te. The conditions under which distillation and imation become identical operations were first Slained by James Thomson, though even now the point pressures of only a few substances are ely known. Indeed, there is ample room for a ended investigation on the relation of this » the other thermal constants of a body. The or describes very shortly a few typical cases of imation, such as iodine, sulphur, arsenious oxide, nmonium chloride, with illustrations of the plant yed, and explains the principles involved in the ral instances. As these are not usually indicated ‘he second ection: of the book, dealing with certain mical and large-scale operations of distillation, supies about half the volume, and the examples lected for description have been entrusted to chemists h practical experience of their working. They ) Distillation of Acetone and n-Butyl Mecho! ¢ Manufacturing Scale. By Dr. Joseph Reilly nd the Hon. F. R. Henley. (2) Distillation of Alcohol on the Manufacturing le. By the Hon. F. R. Henley and Dr. Reilly. pane Distillation as applied in the Petroleum _ By James Kewley. ene Micon) Distillation in the Coal-Tar Industry. -. T. Howard Buller. The Distillation of Glycerine. By Lieut.-Col. , it will be seen, comprise all the main ical processes with which British chemists, at tions of space preclude any detailed account se several sub-sections. The descriptions are is will appeal to the chemical engineer or works- er. They are concise, and deal mainly with the Lc aspects ‘of the various processes, and the ustrations—chiefly in the form of line-drawings—of : plant employed, will commend themselves to those ly interested in the different industries. There might be anticipated when several writers are med with the application of the same physical ples, a certain amount of repetition and over- g. This is unavoidable, and is not to be depre- d even although these matters are adequately dealt NO. 2736, VOL. 109] s § S1aAE o0ks, the attention of teachers may well be | with in the theoretical section of the work. Their restatement, in fact, is. required in any adequate account of their bearing upon the particular technical process described. The book is remarkably free from typographical errors,,and we have noticed only a few mistakes— mainly in the spelling of proper names: thus Speyer (p. 29) should read Speyers, and Dufton (p. 138) is erroneously printed Dutton.. The work indeed is a credit -to all concerned in its production, and well sustains the position it already holds as the chief authority on the subject of distillation. In its present extended form it affords an admirable illustration of the benefits which follow the intelligent application of physical principles to chemical processes on a manu- facturing scale. Mathematical Analysis. (1) The Theory of Functions of a Real Variable and the Theory of Fourier’s Series. By Prof. E. W. Hobson. Second edition, revised throughout and enlarged, Vol. 1. Pp.xvi+671. (Cambridge: At: the University Press, 1921.) 455. net. (2) Introduction to the Theory of Fourier’s Series and Integrals and the Mathematical Theory of the Con- duction of Heat. By Prof. H. S. Carslaw. Second edition, completely revised. Vol. 1, Fourier’s Series and Integrals. Pp. xi+323. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 30s. net. | (3) A Treatise on the Integral Calculus, with Applica- tions, Examples, and Problems. By J. Edwards, Vol. 1. Pp. xxi+go7. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 50s. net. (x) HE first edition of Prof. Hobson’s treatise fell naturally into two parts. The first five chapters were occupied with the theory of aggre- gates, the general theory of functions, and. the theory of integration, while the last two dealt with the theory of series, and in particular with Fourier’s series. It is the first five chapters which have developed into the present volume. It was inevitable that a great deal of the book would have ‘to be rewritten, for the theory has developed very rapidly ; there was a mass of recent research to be incorporated, and much of the older work has been definitely superseded. The preparation of a new edition must have been a very long and heavy piece of work, and Prof. Hobson is to be congratulated on the progress he has made with so formidable a task. There is a singular contrast between the two great branches of the theory of functions. The complex theory has always been popular. The power of its weapons is obvious; its methods have a striking, if 436 NATURE [Aprit 8, 1922 somewhat illusory, simplicity ; and it is fascinating to investigators, to teachers, and to students alike. It is unlikely that the real theory, more abstract and in many ways more difficult, will ever be so generally attractive. Still, times have changed, very largely through the influence of Prof. Hobson himself.. The theory is studied seriously even in England, and ignorance of fundamentals is no longer regarded as proof of physical insight or geometrical intuition. Prof. Hobson has every right to be satisfied with his share in this salutary revolution. It must be admitted that there was some excuse for the conservative mathematician of twenty years ago, and his sneers at a theory which he was too lazy to try to understand. The older theory, the theory of 1900, was not only abstract and difficult, but in - some ways really unattractive. There was too little simple and positive doctrine, too many intricate and irritating exceptions. Little could be proved, and the theorems which it was possible to prove were difficult to state in a terse and striking form. The theory of content in particular was obviously imperfect. The theory as a whole seemed dried up and infertile ; it is easy to see now how grievously it stood in ated of some refreshing storm. All this has been changed by the rejuvenating influence of the ideas of Borel and Lebesgue. The storm has broken, and the ground has become fresh and fertile once more. There is, indeed, no other region of pure mathematics that has experienced so drastic a revolution. Prof. Hobson’s book is the only English book which contains a systematic statement of the revolutionary doctrine, and it is this, above all else, that gives it its unique position. The importance of the new theories of measure and integration is generally admitted, but their effect on the theory of functions is still very widely mis- understood. They are much more general than the older theories, and it is supposed that, being more general, they must be much more complicated and more difficult to understand. The result is that many mathematicians are too frightened to make any serious attempt to comprehend them. This attitude of panic is based on a complete misapprehension. It is not true that the new theories are much more difficult than the old. It is by no means always the most general and the most abstract that is the most difficult to understand. The trouble with the older theory lay not so much in the inherent difficulty of the subject- matter as in the complexity and clumsiness of the results. The modern theory, in acquiring generality, has acquired symmetry, terseness, and to a great extent simplicity as well. It possesses the , an extent of combined knowledge and experience vese departments that is probably unsurpassed other man living. valuable half, deals with the period of creative y of the Greek genius. Sir Clifford Allbutt S, as perhaps only one of his attainments the rise of scientific medicine among the philosophers of the sixth and fifth centuries the Christian era, and that process of ation of medicine from philosophy” which “science” possible. The earlier philosophers ‘to give a picture of the universe both internal nd ext They failed because they had not as et concentrated on the parts which go to make the u But their attempt corresponded to an eternal y of the human mind. Two and a half mil- have passed. Mankind is now overwhelmed vast record in which the details of the parts -any vision of the whole. Science, philosophy, pear are each split into a hundred special partments, most of them without adequate relation the others. Eternal necessity asserts itself again, Phe wheel has turned full circle, and the philosophical, educational, and the scientific demands of the day Cc seit before the Christian era. v lived a a full life. His work stands alone the English language as an attempt to portray, h in outline and detail, the development as a s is a high theme which can no more be ab- d “xe the reviewer than can that of a great epic. etry ie make it a real addition to English literature. tt the least characteristic and inspiring of these is or Clifford Allbutt’s treatment of the idea of i inspira- itself and its relation to the ancient doctrine of ne india: * eel says the author, “as we utter the word ivation we still feel the: glow of the spirit which, NO. 2736, VOL. 109] t half of the book, and this probably the = d the human mind calls for attempts at synthesis.’ those needs that Thales sought to satisfy six from the ancient legends of the creation of life to the passages of our modern ethereal telegraphy, from the hauntings of the Great Spirit i in primeval man, through the storms of superstition, to the haven of the soul in its purest communion with the Divine, has moulded the whole story of man and embedded itself in his tongue. Yet we shall observe again nevertheless in the history of-this, as of all spheres of thought, how a living idea gradually becomes so imprisoned in the letter that its liberty is enthralled in its own formulas. Thus as the brilliant Ionian atomic hypothesis dried up into the arid formulas of the Methodists, as Hippo- cratean, wisdom into Dogmatism, as Empiricism into mere rule of thumb, rational scepticism into Pyrrhon- ism, so the idea of the pneuma was cribbed in the sectarian Pneumatism.”’ Sir Clifford will soon be entering his eighty-seventh year, but the vigour of this and many other passages in his remarkable book gives good hope that we may expect much further material from his pen, on topics which he, more than any other living man, is capable of treating with full adequacy. (2) The learned Sir Thomas Adams professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge takes up the tale where Sir Clifford Allbutt leaves off. With the fall of the Western Empire Greek science remained in the keeping of the East, and it became progressively orientalised with those changes in the outlook of the Eastern world that may be described as Byzantinisa- tion. With the spread of Christianity, and with the advent of schism within the Christian Church, Greek science moved yet further east, and, in its medical. aspects, at any rate, was cultivated especially by teachers of the Nestorian sect, by whom much Greek material was turned into Syriac. It was through such oriental versions that Greek medicine passed to the keeping of the Arab-speaking world. The over- flow from the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century, and the conquest by the Arabs of the whole of the Near East and the whole of North Africa, the Medi- terranean islands, Spain and Southern Italy in the centuries which followed, form one of the most dramatic chapters in world history. The Arabs, great as con- querors and organisers, did not, however, excel in science, and nearly all “‘ Arabian ” medical works are the products of men of non-Arab race, Persians, Moors, Jews, and others. The golden age of Arabian learning culminated between A.D. 750 and 850, the century succeeding the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate with its metropolis at Bagdad. In the thirteenth century Islamic civilisation suffered an injury from which it never recovered, through Tartar invasion, which destroyed for ever the Caliphate, the unity of the Arabian Empire, and the pre-eminence of Bagdad as a centre of learning. With this fall the hegemony 440 NATURE [ApriL 8, 1922 of the intellectual world passed to Europe mainly by means of material translated into Latin from Arabic, often through Hebrew. This material had itself been largely translated from Syriac, and the Syriac versions themselves were derived from Greek, so that Greek learning reached the West at third or fourth hand. But between the eighth and the thir- teenth centuries science and learning, literature and culture remained, like civil organisation and military power, mainly with the Arabic-speaking peoples who stretched from India and Persia to the Atlantic sea- board. The learning of this period is described as “ Arabian,” and must be carefully distinguished from the true “ Arab” material which comes only from Arabia. It is certain medical aspects of this great Arabian civilisation with which Prof. Browne here deals. It is a subject with a vast literature that can scarcely be treated, even in outline, in a hundred and thirty pages. Apart from the actual changes which the medical system of Greece underwent in Arabian hands, and besides the actual contributions of Arabian authors themselves, an adequate history of Islamic medicine would need to treat of the psychological basis of those changes arising in part from the social and political circumstances of the time, in part from the racial characteristics of the Islamic peoples, and in part from the philosophy and general outlook prevalent among them. The time is still distant when it will be possible to do this, and Prof. Browne, in this admirable little book, has essayed a smaller task. He concentrates on the work of a small number of the most important Arabian physicians, and notably on three Persians, known to the medieval Latins under the names of Rhazes, Haly Abbas, and Avicenna, whose works were the main carriers of the Arabian medical traditions to the West. Avicenna’s enor- mous ‘‘ Canon ” is especially of importance as being— perhaps with the exception of the ‘“ Aphorisms ” of Hippocrates—the most widely read work on medicine that has ever been written. More interesting perhaps to most readers will be Rhazes, whose memorable treatise on smallpox and measles was the first in which these diseases were differentiated. This work was translated by the late Dr. Greenhill in 1848, but, with that exception, Prof. Browne’s is, so far as we know, the only modern book on Arabian medicine in the English language based on first-hand know- ledge. It will be valued both on that account and as a very lucid and scientific exposition of a subject which very few besides Prof. Browne himself are qualified to treat. CHARLES SINGER. NO. 2736, VOL. 109] | watertight compartment ; the other side of the Channel. Elementary Meteorology. (x) The Rainfall of the British Isles. S. Salter. Pp. xiii+295. (London: London Press, Ltd., 1921.) 8s. 6d. net. (2) Etudes Plimehinires de Meétéorologie Pratique. Albert Baldit. Pp. ix+347. (Paris: Villars et Cie, 1921.) 15 francs net. (3) Simple Lessons on the Weather for School Use and ; Pp. vill+135 — General Reading. By E. Stenhouse. +12 plates. (London: 1921.) 45. (4) Handbook of Meteorology : operative Observers and Students. By J. W. Redway. Pp. v+294. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; Methuen and Co., Ltd., London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., rg21.) 24s. net. — “The Rainfall of the British Isles’ Mr. — (1) [* Salter gives a wealth of information that hitherto could be obtained only by searching through the volumes of ‘ British Rainfall.” The present work should therefore appeal to the large public which takes — an interest in rainfall, and as some 5000 observers read their gauges daily it will be realised how large that public — is. Almost every observer would benefit by a perusal of this work, where he will find a discussion of the problems which he himself is assisting to solve. He will find an account of the various types of gauge, and that some, still in use and still sold by instrument makers, are untrustworthy. He will find the exposure of gauges discussed, and he may improve that of his own. He will learn how the data he supplies are used, and find- maps illustrating various types of rain, some almost wholly influenced by orographical features, some by the passage of depressions, and others due to thunderstorms. : The discussion of seasonal variation and annual fluctuation will be read with much interest at the present time. Numerous maps are a great feature of the book, and are most instructive; any one who thinks that his own gauge is worth keeping should study the map of the thunderstorm rain in London on June 16, 1917, and note that there was no rain at ~ the Oval, more than 4} in. at Kensington, while one end of the Serpentine received less than 1 in. and : the other more than 3 in. The rain over the British Isles seems to fall iftc a the rainfall of the Continent, but it would be of much interest to know how our rainfall links up with that on excellence of the work of the British Rainfall Organiza- tion under Dr. Symons, Dr. Mill, and Mr. Salter himself, has made our own information so adequate that it By M. de Carlen University of 5 By Gauthier- — A Manual for Co- q pe RDET aa fli it is perhaps captious to complain that a book on our own rainfall does not discuss — Possibly the very | ata eas - PR pes eraser el ad era Apri 8, 1922] NATURE be compared in full detail with that of neighbour- @ are one or two slips; for example, “ right ind rear section ” on page 179 should be “ right hand mnt section.” The diagram in Fig. 2 is not sufficiently lained to be intelligible to those readers who are not y familiar with the theories of Prof. Bjerknes. ssary at the end is not very full: we look ain, for example, for orographical rain and for con- tion. The book fills a gap in meteorological litera- », and the concluding chapter on the economic ication of rainfall data is an indication of how 1 should be studied, not only by meteorologists, so by those outside their ranks. tudes élémentaires de Météorologie pratique ”’ the ideal arrangement of stations for a gical service, the.instruments used, including : balloons, pilot balloons, and aeroplanes, and meral procedure of such stations. d to problems of pressure and wind, and part ses forecasting. Squalls and thunderstorms for full treatment, and also the sudden clearings sky, “ éclaircies’ ; the author’s experience as of the meteorological service of the Armies of the : probably led him to study this phenomenon, thor advocates numerous observation posts, a line squall, for instance, may not pass un- system had been adopted in this country during much serious damage might have been avoided mes in the South of England. The work pretend to be a meteorological handbook, but ble for those engaged in official meteorological and it discusses interesting points, some of which ay still be rather controversial. The chief fault of the fault it be, is that it is unnecessarily full, which uld have made an index all the more useful. Mr. Stenhouse’s little book is intended for school mts and for the general reader. The subject, ding something of dynamic meteorology, is shortly 1 clearly explained. But there are a number of in- acies which ought to be corrected if the work runs ito further editions. The coldest time of day is not a ttle after midnight but a little before sunrise ; strato- us is scarcely a combination of stratus and is, nor is cumulus the typical cloud of the middle __Alto-cumulus is not even mentioned ; and the tion between cloud sheets and clouds of convec- is not brought out. There are some good photo- s, but they have not been well selected ; snow frost scenes do not teach anything in particular, j a more typical selection of cloud forms should have given ; the clouds in Plate VI. , though given as NO. 2736, VOL. 109} 441 Part 2 is- \portant for aviation and hitherto much neglected’ | between the regular stations of the service. If cumulus, are nothing of the kind ; the top picture in Plate VII. has been inverted. The diagrams of sections across weather maps make a misleading use of the term pressure-gradient. In spite of faults, however, the bock forms an attractive introduction to meteorology for beginners. (4) Unfortunately this cannot be said for Mr. Redway’s “ Handbook of Meteorology,” which contains many inaccurate statements. Hydrogen, on account of its lightness, is stated to be thrown off into space by the rapid movement of the earth; air currents “ are deflected by the rotation of the eaath on its axis easterly in tropical latitudes, and westward beyond the tropics ”; the isothermal layer separates the stratosphere and the troposphere ; the stratosphere is stated to be radio- active, indicating the presence of electrified dust particles, and the reason why cloud particles remain suspended is stated to be unknown, and electrification is suggested as a possible explanation ; these are only a few of the surprising statements to be found in this work. Ce je P. Cave: Freshwater Ciliate Infusoria and Heliozoa. (1) Etudes sur les Infusoires d’Eau douce. By Dr. E. Penard. Pp. 331. (Genéve: Georg et Cie, 1922.) (2) The British Freshwater Rhizopoda and Heliozoa. By J. Cash and G. H. Wailes. Assisted by J. Hopkinson. Vol. 5. Heliozoa. By G. H. Wailes. Pp. vit72+11 plates. (London: for the Ray Society, 1921.) (1) ‘HERE is probably no large sheet of fresh water that has been so thoroughly investi- gated, so far as its fauna of protozoa is concerned, as the Lake of Geneva. Forel, Jean Roux, Penard, and others have shown its richness in variety of form, in the number of species, in cases of parasitism, and in adap- tations to other special habits of life. They have set an example which we might well follow in regard to our English lakes, about which we still know so little. Dr. Penard has already published massive volumes on the Rhizopoda, the Heliozoa, and the Acinetaria of the lake and neighbouring waters, and the present volume on the ciliate Infusoria, not restricted in this case to protozoa of the immediate locality, is no less imposing than the others. Dr. Penard’s work will doubtless meet with a great deal of severe criticism, because his histological methods are primitive and inefficient, his illustrations badly drawn and abominably reproduced, and the arrange- ment of the text is most inconvenient for the reader. But he disarms criticism, to some extent, as regards the first defect by his frank admission that all his observa- 442 NATURE [Aprit 8, 1922 tions have been made on the living organisms, and that only in certain cases has he used some intra vitam stains for special purposes. It is a grievous pity, however, that with such interesting material passing through his hands he has not been able to employ an artist to provide at least a few illustrations of the same delicacy and accuracy as those to be found in the works of Jean Roux. There is not a single one of the three hundred figures that can be said to be a good picture of a living infusorian. They are all crude and inaccurate diagrams. But these serious defects must not be allowed to obscure the fact that there are recorded in this volume many very interesting and important observations on the natural history of these protozoa. The detailed account, for example, of the explosion of the large trichocysts of Microthorax haliodiscus, the description of the conjugation and gemmation of the new Hetero- trich Strombilidium gyrans, the discovery of the forma- tion of small copulation buds in Cothurnia, and many other records of the author’s observations are really valuable contributions to knowledge, and suggest at any rate interesting lines of research for some one who can use more modern methods of technique. Dr. Penard proposes to add to our lists the names of several new genera and many new species ;* but it seems very doubtful if these new genera and species can be established until a better and more trustworthy account of the nuclei and other details of structure can be provided. Any one who has had experience of investigations of these active minute organisms must be aware of the uncertainty of observations on the form and structure of the meganuclei that are made when the animals are still living. Such observations must be confirmed and extended by a study of properly fixed and stained preparations before they can be regarded as trustworthy. More particularly is this the case with the micronuclei, which are usually quite invisible during life and require the best technical methods for their complete elucidation ; and we may note, in this connection, that the author does not mention either the sixteen micronuclei of Bursaria truncatella or the single but remarkably conspicuous micronucleus of Spirochona gemmipara. In a group of animals such as the Ciliata, which possess so: few trustworthy characters for systematic work and vary so much as regards these characters according to environmental conditions, the systematist should not be satisfied with his description of new species until every important character that can be seen by the ordinary methods of research has been seen and described. If microscopists pass from the description of one species of Ciliata to that of another before the nuclear structures of the first have been deter- mined, as Dr. Penard has done, our literature, ia NO. 2736, VOL. 109] ordinary also that those whe are . one | possible to determine which of the several circles:in the overburdened with unnecessary specific names, will become most hopelessly perplexing and cumberso Dr. Penard’s work will be useful for reference, an perhaps suggestive of lines for further investigatio: by other methods of research, but it cannot be regai as one that excites great confidence. (2) The new volume on the freshwater Helio the British Isles published by the Ray Society gi record of genera and the species that have been fc by microscopists in this country who have been in- terested in the group, but it does not do justice eith r in text or plates to the important morpho 4 features or to the beauty of form that these remi rkably interesting BE otonOp: PORE EPE: the Heliozoa is so incomplete. For Bees very slight treatment of the reproduction of publications of the Ray Societ$ have no better: nuclei and other minute details. The purely systematic part of the work is ‘more i satisfactory, and the microscopist will find a short but _ clear description of all the species that have been recorded in this country with references to many of — the more important papers in the literature of the subject. Of the eighteen text-figures only two seem to be original, the others being either reproductions of the coarse and lifeless illustrations in Penard’s graph or taken from other authors. Figures suc these, in which the detailed structure is not clearly accurately shown, do not incite to careful and pa study, although they may assist to some extent h identification of species. The illustrations in the f plates — also, with a few exceptions, are far below the standard 2 we might reasonably expect in the publications of Ray Society. They do not represent these beautiful little organisms as spherical in shape with radiating A pseudopodia on the whole circumference, but rather as — flat discs with the pseudopodia in one plane. | Another fault which seems to be unpardonable i ina a work of this kind is the failure to give any description or — descriptive lettering of the figures to assist the reader. 4 In such a figure as that on p. 44, for example, it is im- — endoplasm of Pompholyxophrys is the nucleus and what © s the other things are supposed to represent. . And age Aprit 8, 1922] NATURE 443 illustrations of Actinophrys sol on Plates 67 and is no explanation of the different forms of the and its pseudopodia that are represented. A few on the opposite page giving the reason why six drawings of this one species are shown on the these two plates would have added immensely value and interest of the account of the species. | S. J. H. Our Bookshelf. Syntheses: An Annual Publication of Satis- y Methods for the Preparation of Organic als. Vol. 1. Pp. viiit+84. (New: York: iley and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and Hall, 1., 1921.) 8s. 6d. net. wing materials for use in research work in ¢ chemistry, much difficulty is experienced and ne wasted because adequate directions are not avail- lished, so that the work involved in discover- ; vy to make the preparation successfully is lost, and yy be repeated indefinitely in different laboratories. resent volume is the first annual instalment of a | of methods of proved merit, given in sufficient to ensure easy repetition ; the methods given been tested by being carried out from the instruc- a different laboratory from that in which thesé drafted. The substances dealt with in the first are alkyl bromides, allyl alcohol, benzine- ic chloride, benzil, benzilic acid, benzoin, naphthalene, p-bromophenol, diacetone alcohol, ol, mesityl oxide, methylene iodide, methyl- carbinol, oxalic acid, thiophenol, trimethylamine, 1ethylamine hydrochloride. In future volumes hoped to include preparations worked out in other ries and tested by repetition in one of the four laboratories which are responsible for the ion of the scheme. preparation of materials such as. these in quan- from 200 to 2000 grams offers a unique oppor- for determining their physical constants by methods, e.g. a determination of freezing points . means of a standardised thermometer rding temperature of too grams or more of fied material, instead of to about 1° by the use of a ram of material in a capillary tube attached to a lometer of unknown errors. This useful develop- it of the work may perhaps be looked for in the > volumes of the series. TM L: cee, loitation du Pétrole par Puits et Galeries. By Paul = Chambrier. Pp. 106. (Paris: Librarie Dunod, In February 1921 a paper was read before the Institute _ of Petroleum Technologists on the working of petroleum _ by means of shafts and galleries, being an abstract from a pamphlet entitled “ Exploitation du pétrole par puits _ et galeries,” written by Prof. Paul de Chambrier. This amphlet has recently come to hand, and it discusses at some length the methods employed more particularly _Péchelbronn, Alsace, in a bold attempt made to NO. 2736, VOL. 109] Moreover, the methods finally adopted are not extract oil from certain horizons already exhausted by the drill. The publication of the paper in this country created very considerable interest and even controversy at the time, and opinion was much divided as to the possibility of extending such methods to other fields. The pamphlet in its original form, however, makes most interesting reading, and there is no doubt that under certain specialised circumstances recourse may be had to this form of mining petroleum with decided proba- bility of success. Such circumstances occur when (1) the producing bed has been drained so far as boring permits, (2) when there is an absence of gas under pressure, and (3) when the percentage of oil remaining in the bed is high enough to warrant the attempt being made. One may add a further condition, namely, that the bed does not lie at too great a depth from the surface. The author contends that these methods allow the ex- traction of anything from two to five times the amount of oil obtainable by boring, and their ultimate employ- ment, where possible, considerably enhances the economic value of the property. While these conten- tions may be quite justified commercially, it is open to doubt whether, from the scientific point of view, this practice will yield solutions to the fundamental questions of origin, migration and accumulation of petroleum, as indicated in the concluding paragraphs, but we recommend the careful perusal of the pamphlet before adverse criticism of this new departure be indulged in by either academic or technical expert. H. B. MILner. The Chemistry of the Garden : A Primer for Amateurs and Young Gardeners. By H.H. Cousins. Macmillan’s Primers. Revised Edition. Pp. xxxi+147. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 2s. net. THE new edition of Mr. Cousins’s well-known little book will be welcomed by all who are interested in their gardens. In spite of the vast number of gardening books and the fact that it was first written twenty-three years ago, this book still remains one of the most useful guides that can be put into the hands of the amateur. Horticultural research does not move very quickly, and there has been less necessity for recasting than if the book had dealt with agriculture. Fuller investigation would no doubt cause modification in some of the recommenda- tions made, but until it has been carried out the advice stands as the safest that can be given at present. Above all, its basis is.sound. ‘I appeal,’”’ says the author, “to the gardeners of England to place them- selves in line with the only true and sound method known to science, and the only safe and sure means to progress and discovery—experiment.” A Course of Practical Physiology for Agricultural Students. By J. Hammond and E. T. Halnan. Pp. 106. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1920.) Price 4s. 6d. net. Tuts small book, which is not illustrated, contains exercises mainly in elementary histology for second- year students taking the course in agriculture at the University of Cambridge. Space is afforded for notes and drawings. The book will save time and labour for both student and teacher without disadvantage, as it does not pose as a text-book. 444 NATURE [Apri 8, 1922 Letters to the Editor. The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | Atmospheric Refraction. I PERCEIVE on further consideration that my sug- gestion (NATURE, January 5, p. 8) of a spherical wave-front in place of a plane one to account for the discrepancy between the coefficient of terrestrial refraction as derived by Dr. Hunter from Mr. Mallock’s proposition and the coefficient deduced from trigonometric levelling operations under ordinary conditions is inapplicable, for the reason that in practice we have to deal, not with a single point- source of light, but with an assemblage of point- sources the wave-front from which is sensibly plane. There must, therefore, be some other explanation for the disagreement between the two values of the coefficient. I find on examining Dr. Hunter’s figures (NATURE, August II, I92I, p. 745) that the almost exact two-to-one ratio between the values, which was suggestive of a simple geometrical explanation, is illusory owing to an unfortunate slip of Dr. Hunter in confusing sea miles with statute miles. The earth’s radius in sea miles is not 3960, but 3437, and the resulting value of k from Mr. Mallock’s proposi- tion is not 0-133, as Dr. Hunter states, but o-116. Using the Continental definition of k, this gives k =0-232, which agrees with the value found by Jordan’s formula (quoted in my former letter) for isothermal conditions at 0° C. As to the remaining discrepancy between 0-116 or 0-232 and the values of & (on the two definitions of it) which are usually found to hold in practice, it is clear both from Comdr. Baker’s letter (NATURE, January 5, p. 9) and from Jordan’s formula that this is readily accounted for by temperature considerations. It is only under isothermal conditions, such as seldom or never occur in practice, that Mr. Mallock’s result can be even approximately true; it was evidently incorrect to consider, as Mr. Mallock did in his reply to Dr. Hunter, that temperature effects could produce merely a difference in the result of 1 or 2 per cent. per tooo ft. The mistake of assigning an insignificant part to temperature considerations is one which is very easily fallen into by any one who first considers the isothermal condition with its accompanying re- lation between density and pressure, because of the small effect which the existence of a temperature- gradient has on the rate of decrement of pressure as distinguished from density. The great interest of Mr. Mallock’s demonstration lies in its deriving the refractional radius under cer- tain conditions in a very simple and elegant manner from the velocities of light in air and im vacuo and the height of the homogeneous atmosphere. What _ has led to some confusion is the omission from the enunciation of the proposition of the qualification that it holds true only for isothermal conditions and for air at 0° C. Putting p for pressure, p for density, and h for height, we may take the refractional radius as de- pending only on dp/dh, as Mr. Mallock does, so long as we keep to isothermal conditions. But once we depart from these conditions, as is inevitably the case in practice, we must take it as depending on dp/dh, which no longer corresponds to dp/dh. We can, however, extend the simplicity of Mr. Mallock’s reasoning to the condition of a linear temperature- NO. 2736, VOL. 109 | gradient provided we replace the height of the homo- geneous atmosphere, -pdh/dp (or ‘‘ pressure height,” ae height ’’ under ordinary conditions. Comdr. Baker lays great stress on the fact that j the path of the refracted ray cannot be a circular arc — unless the temperature-gradient is linear. This stress is justifiable, especially from the seaman’s point of — view of the problem; for the temperature-gradient in the air immediately over the sea is frequently far from linear, and in navigation horizontal sights must always be taken fairly close to the surface of the sea ; moreover, it will seldom happen that the most favourable time of day can be chosen for observations at sea. The moral is that in navigation too much reliance should never be placed on the results of observations — made on a single bearing whenever the accuracy of the tabular value of the dip has to be assumed. But the land-surveyor is much less limited by conditions than the seaman ; he can generally keep his lines well above the ground by observing between points of considerable elevation, he can choose that time for his observations when refraction is least likely to be abnormal, and-he can usually get an adequate check on his results for the elevation of a point by observ-~ ing it from a number of others at different distances — As a matter of experi- and comparing the results. ence, it is found by surveyors in many countries that during the afternoon hours, when refraction is steadiest, the assumption that the temperature- gradient is linear and the path of a nearly horizontal ray consequently a circular arc is tolerably near to the truth, at any rate for lines which do not run very close to the ground for any considerable part of their length. This follows from the close con- cordance between the trigonometric levels obtainable for the same point from stations at very different distances, when the observations have been taken under proper conditions and worked out by the usual formule. JouHN BAL. Survey of Egypt, Cairo, February 11. Diffraction by Molecular Clusters and the Quantum Structure of Light. THE investigations on the molecular scattering of x 4 _light now in progress under the writer’s direction (regarding which previous communications have been published in Nature) have brought to light some very remarkable cases in which the observed facts are in sharp contradiction with the theories of light- scattering based upon Maxwell’s electromagnetic equations. According to the Einstein-Smoluchowski formula for the scattering power of a fluid, viz. wr? RTB 18 Nat (u? —1)*(u? +2)?, as Prof. Everett preferred to call it in his “C.G.S, — System of Units ’’), by the “‘ density height,”’ -pdh/dp, — which latter may be much greater than the “‘ pressure — = Pe rally Bet Sly rae ian fae phe Pie eal le Be the intensity of the diffracted beam should be pro-— portional to the compressibility 8 of the fluid and should thus be very large near the critical tempera- ture as the compressibility is there great. Experi- ments by Keesom and Kammerlingh Onnes have confirmed this result in the case of ethylene vapour over a range of a few degrees above the critical temperature. The scattering powers of liquid carbon di-oxide and vapour for a considerable range of temperatures below the critical point have been — determined in the writer’s laboratory by Mr. Ramanathan, who has discovered that the formula is approximately valid only for a range of a few degrees below the critical temperature, and then pA | hy Aprit 8, 1922] NATURE 445 s off much more rapidly than according to the mula. ‘These observations are significant in view of observation by the present Lord Rayleigh that the “Seattering power of saturated carbon di-oxide vapour at 21° C. is only 102 times that of the gas at atmo- ‘spheric pressure, whereas according to the Einstein- smoluchowski formula, it should have been 855 2 t: me: as great. _ The failure of the formula indicated above is : ially surprising in view of its successes in other ons, namely, in the case of gases obeying Boyle’s w, in the case of liquids under ordinary conditions, nd, with certain restrictions, even in the case of olids. In attempting to find an explanation of the re, at first sight one naturally seeks to find me flaw in Einstein’s theory, or in the application | it, but the very successes of the formula in other ases would tend to discourage such an attempt. the formula was deduced by Einstein by applying ltzmann’s principle of entropy-probability in order d the magnitude of the fluctuations of density e fluid arising from thermal agitation and de- ucing the light-scattering due to these fluctuations y application of Maxwell’s electromagnetic equa- ons. It is clear that density fluctuations due to srmal agitation must occur; that their magnitude roportional to the square root of the compressibility the medium as contemplated in the theory may confirmed independently by identifying the thermal tgy of the molecules with the energy of sound- aves of all possible wave-lengths in an enclosed volume of the fluid and equating the energies. Further, he idea that the non-uniformity of the density of the nedium is the factor determining light-scattering, it, least according to the wave-theory, is confirmed yy the very complete analysis of the problem given by the late Lord Rayleigh in one of his final papers Phil. Mag., Dec. 1918, p. 449). How, then, are we to scape the difficulty ? __A very luminous suggestion made by Jeans in s “Dynamical Theory of Gases” (page 203) is of bs help. Jeans distinguishes between two ‘ clustering in fluid media, mass-clustering and ar-clustering, and points out that they tend become identical at the critical temperature. instein’s is based on the idea that the uctuations of density and the resulting scattering light are both due to mass-clustering. If, however, 2 assume that it is molecular-clustering that is of ‘ ight it and results in an increased scattering of light, it is easy to see that in the case of molecules ich as carbon di-oxide, which are ordinarily non- sociated, the clustering of molecules would only iable near the critical temperature, and that temperatures the clusters would rapidly eak up and resolve themselves into single molecules. double molecule would scatter four times as ongly as a single molecule, a triple molecule nine mes as strongly, and so on, and if we assume that the ergy-effects of separate molecules or groups are itive, and calculate the number of associated ucnoyv here —_ = | c1nds molec # olecules from thermodynamic principles, it is sy to give the theory quantitative expression and lain the increased scattering near the critical nt, and the rapid fall at lower temperatures. But the fundamental difficulty remains, why the ot ustering considered by Einstein does not, as it Should, according to the classical wave-theory of , Give rise to an increased scattering of light : To the present writer, at any rate, it appears that is contradiction of the electromagnetic theory rience may have to be classed with its ther known failures in the theory of photo-electricity and other modern fields of inquiry. We may, in fact, have to adopt the quantum theory of the i No. 2736, VOL. 109] structure of light as propagated in space (and not only when it is absorbed or emitted) in order to explain the facts of molecular diffraction. Fuller experimental data which are now being obtained in the writer’s laboratory may pave the way towards the clearing up of this fundamental question. C. V. RAMAN. 210 Bowbazar Street, Calcutta, March 2, 1922. The Radiant Spectrum. Pror. RAMAN in his reply of February 9 to my criticism of his first letter of September 1, does not refer to the fundamental difference of opinion between us. For it was the statement “‘ the phenomenon is due to diffraction by the corneal corpuscles,’ to which I took exception, because I could not find in his letter, or in Brewster’s paper, any evidence on which such a conclusion could be based. With regard to the corneal corpuscles, Schafer writes in his “ Essentials of Histology” (p. 363, edition 6), “Between the laminze (of the cornea) lie flattened connective tissue corpuscles, which are branched and united by their processes into a con- tinuous network ; there is, of course, a corresponding network of cell spaces.’’ Since, then, the corneal corpuscles lie within the substance of the cornea, their optical effect will depend on their opacity to light, or on the difference between their refractive index and that of their surroundings. Now if there was opacity, or a difference in refractive index, they should be visible under the microscope. But such is apparently not the case. Staining with hzmat- oxylem or some other suitable reagent, is necessary in order that they may be visible, and therefore their opacity, or difference in R.I., must be slight. We conclude, therefore, that they will cause but slight diffraction in a ray of light passing through the cornea. In shape the cells themselves are highly irregular, and they average in man 20-304 in dia- meter. Their nuclei in man are roughly oval in shape, about 16 in diameter. In order that these structures should produce the type of diffraction pattern described by Prof. Raman, there should be two sets of them, nearly circular in outline, with diameters of 13 and 7. respectively. But a further point arises: Prof. Raman describes slight relative movements on the part of the diffraction pattern, which he compares with those which occur when a film of milk on glass is held in front of the eye. This movement, he states, ceases if the eyelids and eyeball be kept motionless for a short time. Could the corneal corpuscles undergo this movement lying as they do in lacune in the substance of the cornea ? And even if they could, why should their motion cease when the lids and eyes are kept still ? Not only has no evidence been advanced by Prof. Raman in support of his statement that the corneal corpuscles are responsible for the diffraction pheno- mena, but also the shape, size, situation, and optical properties of these structures would appear to be antagonistic to the view. With regard to the scattering of light by a prism, the following experiment will be found to demonstrate the effect. On the bed of a spectrometer are placed, base to apex, two glass prisms of equal dispersion, with optically good and clean surfaces (see Fig. 1). ook. = SS BAN ge Sees | 5 ps N fi /. I LS.) .c% ss TV Fic. 1.—L.S., Are or Pointolite. C., Condenser. S., Slit. T.?, Lens of Collimator. P. & P.*, Prisms. T.*, Lens of Telescope. M., Metal Strip. E., Eye of Observer. The telescope eye-piece having been removed, a Q 2 446 NATURE [ApRIL 8, 1922 narrow vertical strip of black sheet-metal or card- board is fixed across the mouth of the telescope with plasticine, and the telescope is adjusted until the bright image of the slit is completely obstructed. On looking past the strip towards the prisms the observer will see parts of the latter brilliantly lit. By slightly shifting each prism in turn and watching for movement in the bright specks, those due to each prism are readily identified. H. HARTRIDGE. King’s College, Cambridge. Land Snails of the Madeira Islands. In 1892 (Journal of Conchology, vol. vii. No. 1) the Rev. R. Boog Watson published a very interesting discussion of the Madeira snails, in which he raised many questions concerning their origin and history, which he did not attempt to answer. To-day, we are still groping for light, but I believe we may reach a number of conclusions which are not likely to prove erroneous. mi (1.) It is not true that the numerous endemic snails of the islands have come “ without trace of descent.”” They are quite clearly of Palzarctic origin, and their ancestors may be looked for in the rocks of Europe. Among the European Tertiary fossils, Plebecula ramondi Brong., from the Miocene of Germany, resembles the Madeira and Porto Santo Pleistocene fossil P. bowditchiana; Pseudocampylaea insignis Klein, from the Miocene of Wiirtemberg, resembles the great P. lowei of Porto Santo, but is not so large; two species of Craspedopoma, apparently allied to Madeira forms, are found in the Eocene of France. These fossils may be seen in the British Museum. In the absence of anatomical evidence, the relationships of these fossils must remain some- what uncertain, but it is at least probable that their apparent affinity with the Madeira snails is not wholly deceptive. (2.) Considering the diversity and strong peculiarities of most of the Madeira species, it is unlikely that their ancestors arrived later than the beginning of the Tertiary, and it is not improbable that at least part of the immigration dates from the Upper Cretaceous. This postulates a greater age for the islands than our present geological information can confirm. Accord- ing to this view, the European fossils are presumably not the actual ancestors of the Madeira fauna, but derivatives from the same general stock. (3.) A comparison between the snails of Madeira and the adjacent island of Porto Santo, which is easily visible from the coast of the larger island, shows that we have two very distinct faune, with very few species in common. More than this, various genera or subgenera are restricted to one of these islands, or specially characteristic of one. It is, I think, quite certain that during the whole long history of the snail fauna, Madeira and Porto Santo were never united. On the other hand, everything indicates that the three Desertas were during Tertiary time joined together and continuous, continuous, with Madeira. The following facts are illustrative : Pseudocampylza. Two species, Porto Santo only. Cryptaxis. Three species, Madeira and Desertas (Leptaxis differs, anatomically, as I shall show else- where). Katostoma. Several forms, Porto Santo and adjacent islets. Lampadia. One _ species, Porto. Santo. (The Madeiran membranacea does not belong here.) Idiomela. One species, Porto Santo. Hispidella. One species, Madeira. Lemniscia. One species, Porto Santo. (I am NO. 2736, VOL. 109] or nearly’ satisfied that the Madeira calva and galeata are not related.) Actinella. Five species, Madeira and Desertas. Hystricella. Seven species, Porto Santo and adjacent islets. ? Geomitra. Seven species, Madeira and Desertas. This list could be extended, but it is) I think, sufficient to indicate, not only that Madeira and. Porto Santo were not united, but that they were never united with the mainland. The diversity of the genera and subgenera on the two islands might be expected as the result of accidental colonisation at very rare intervals, but could scarcely result from the breaking up of an originally homogeneous fauna. If we employ the aggregate genera Leptaxis and Geomitra (properly Ochthephila Beck, which is not preoccupied) without subdivision, the actual facts are obscured. (4.) Nevertheless, we have to account for the occurrence of a certain number of identical species in the two islands, and the fact that some of the groups, such as Discula, are well represented on both islands, with closely allied species. The identical species were not introduced by man, as they occur fossil in the Pleistocene of Canigal. As a general rule, when a group has representatives on both islands, it appears to be primarily or primitively a Porto Santo group. An apparent exception is Callina, with four Madeira species and one (rvotula) in Porto Santo. The species votula is very peculiar, and probably should not be associated with the others. snails or their ancestors crossed the 23 miles from one island to the other is unknown. Some may have been carried by birds, possibly some may have come on floating pumice or other floating objects. The reason for the apparent tendency of Porto Santo types to reach Madeira, rather .than the reverse, may be found in the fact that the arid eastern end of Madeira is well suited to Porto Santo species, while Porto Santo is unsuited to the species from the | moister uplands or coasts of the greater part of Madeira. ) The occurrence of well-defined species and subspecies on the islets around Porto Santo—some of them no larger than a large building—proves that no important oscillations of level have taken place in recent geological time. Very moderate alterations of level would submerge the islets, or unite them with the main island. The existence of these distinct forms on islets close to the main island also proves that the means of crossing the sea, whatever they are, operate at extremely infrequent intervals. (6.) With regard to the species of the Madeiras which are actually identical with those of Europe, it must be said that the presumption is in nearly every case that they were introduced by man. It is possible, however, that some of the smaller ones were brought by “ natural’? means in geologically recent times, and highly probable that Balea was so brought to Porto Santo, on the feet of birds. Records of the occurrence of European species in the Pleisto- cene deposits of Madeira and Porto Santo all break down on critical examination. That the islands are really “‘ oceanic ”’ is indicated by the total absence of indigenous mammals (except bats) and amphibians, and the general character of the invertebrate fauna and of the flora. The multi- tude of snails has seemed to suggest a former land connection, but I now believe that the snails them- selves negative this view. T. D. A. CocKERELL. University of Colorado, Boulder, March 2. 1 Experiments should be made to determine whether it is even possible for snails protected by epiphragm or operculum, to pass alive through the alimentary canal of birds, Compare Wallis Kew, ‘“‘The Dispersal of Shells,” p. 45. How these various . Apri 8, 1922] NATURE 447 >. 1.—Introduction. 4 Maes discovery of optical rotatory dispersion may _ + be said to have preceded rather than followed ‘discovery of optical rotatory power, since it was unequal rotation of the plane of polarisation of hts of different wave-lengths which gave rise to he sequence of beautiful colours which Arago described | 1811 as being produced by the interposition of tz plates between a polariser and analyser set extinction. These colours were shown by Biot 1812 to be due to a rotation of the plane of polarisa- n which increased with the thickness of the quartz te and with change of colour from red to violet. en, therefore, a beam of polarised light had passed 1 ough a quartz plate it was impossible any longer 9 extinguish all the colours simultaneously with any 2 setting of the analyser. _ Two features of Biot’s work deserve special atten- tion. In the first place, all his measurements of 0 peal rotatory power included observations of ratory dispersion; the custom of observing the Tetatory power of a substance for light of only one wave-length and thus recording a single point on a curve of unknown form is of comparatively recent q paren, and marks a distinct retrogression from the _ more thorough methods of the earlier workers. The _ second characteristic was the exact quantitative char- acter of the work. Although he had no source of ; monochromatic light except a ruby glass which gave _-a red light of average wave-length about 6530, Biot _ made a quantitative study of the influence of wave- F tength and of other physical conditions on rotatory _ power, expressing his results, whenever this was possible, by means of mathematical equations and ‘Two of Biot’s diagrams retain their interest even at the present time. The first shows, by means of a series of straight lines, the influence of dilution with water on the rotatory power of tartaric acid. This diagram enabled Biot to predict that dextro- tartaric acid when in the anhydrous glassy form would actually become levorotatory at the red end of the spectrum at all temperatures below 23° C.; a peed prediction that was verified experimentally ten later. __ The second of these diagrams was used by Biot to illustrate his discovery that the rotation of the _ plane of polarisation of light in quartz was inversely proportional to the square of the wave-lengths, using the figures determined by Newton for corresponding q regions of the spectrum. In this diagram the thick- hess of quartz required to produce a given rotation was plotted against the square of the wave-length, Pend the result was a series of straight lines. Biot f recognised that some of the readings differed from ee calculated rotations by 2 or 3 per cent., but he _ Was not in a position to decide whether these deviations a were due to experimental errors or to some inaccuracy PS his formula. Our own measurements have shown _ that Biot’s diagram represents almost exactly the hi "2 Abridged from the Bakerian Lecture delivered before the Royal Society on June 2, 1921. NO. 2736, VOL. 109] ii Optical Rotatory Dispersion.’ By Pror. T. M. Lowry, F-.R.S., and Dr. P. C. Austin. rotatory dispersion in quartz if the lines are drawn through a point a little to the right of the origin, and there can be little doubt that if more accurate methods of measurements had been available Biot’s line of thought and method of representation would have led him almost inevitably to the simple formula for rotatory dispersion which has come into general use in recent years after the lapse of nearly a century. 2.—Simple Rotatory Dispersion. As the accuracy of polarimetric work increased, the deviations from Biot’s law of inverse squares became too important to be overlooked. The result was unfortunate, since those who destroyed the original formula had not got the skill to replace it by one that was more exact. For half a century, therefore, work on rotatory dispersion was limited to the occasional plotting of a curve of unknown form to represent the relationship between rotatory power and wave-length. As a natural result interest in the study of rotatory dispersion diminished, and (following the discovery of the Bunsen burner in 1866) the D line of the sodium flame acquired almost a monopoly as a source of light for the investigation of optical rotatory power. During this period corrected formule were put forward by Boltzmann, who wrote a=A/A?+B/A‘4, and by Stefan, who wrote a=A+B/A?; but these proved to be of little value, since they could not readily be made to fit the curves, and, being obviously empirical in character, could be used only as a means of interpolation between the experimental values. This period of retrogression came to an end with Drude’s application to optics of the electronic theory at the close of the nineteenth century. His theo- retical investigations led to the enunciation of a somewhat elaborate formula for optical rotatory dis- persion which (when approximate results only were required) could be used in the simplified form shown in the equation, k eek where the dispersion-constants A,?, A,” . . . A,,?, could, be deduced from the refractive power of the medium, while k,, represented a series of arbitrary constants depending on the rotatory power of the medium. A similar formula, which actually included the refractive index, was put forward to express the influence of wave-length on magnetic rotatory power. Drude tested his formula for optical rotatory dispersion in the case of quartz, whilst that for magnetic rotatory dispersion was tested in the case of carbon disulphide and of creosote; but for some years both formule remained almost barren so far as practical applications to measurements of rotatory dispersion were concerned. In particular, it may be noted (i) that a complete knowledge of the curve of refractive dispersion was required before either formula could be applied to measurements of rotatory dispersion, and (ii) that even the approximate formula for optical rotatory dispersion contained an indefinite number of arbitrary 448 NATURE [ApRIL. 8, 1922 constants. Drude himself did not apply his formula to a single member of the vast array of optically active liquids and solutions, which have been pre- pared and studied more especially from the time of Pasteur onwards, and he can, perhaps, scarcely be blamed for this omission, in view of the fact that the rotatory power of the great majority of these media had been determined for one wave-length only. It was therefore not until the problem of rotatory dis- persion had been taken up afresh and new series of exact measurements had been accumulated that the unique merit of Drude’s formula was established. The results of these new tests were most striking. Fifty series of measurements of magnetic and optical rotatory dispersion were made and classified into groups with similar rotatory dispersion, in order to minimise individual errors of observation. It was then found (Lowry and Dickson, Trans. Chem. Soc., vol. 103, p. 1067, 1913) that the whole of these readings could be expressed within the limits of experimental error by using a single term of Drude’s equation, involving only two arbitrary constants—namely, a “ rotation-constant,’’ k, and a ‘“‘ dispersion-constant,” A,?, as set out in the equation a=/(A*— A,?). The substances examined at this stage were nearly all compounds of simple structure—e.g. secondary alcohols of the aliphatic series ; but the two methyl glucosides, each containing five asymmetric carbon atoms, were proved to obey the same simple law (Lowry and Abram, Trans. Faraday Soc., vol. 10, p- 112, 1914). A somewhat dramatic vindication of Drude’s formula, in the case of compounds of much greater complexity, has, however, been provided by the more recent work of Prof. Rupe, of Basel, who published in 1915 (Ann. der Chem., vol. 409, p. 327, I9I5) a series of measurements of the rotatory power for four different wave-lengths of some forty compounds of the terpene series. In order to determine the mathematical form of the dispersion-curves he plotted a against A, log a against 2, log a against 1/A, a against 1/A, a against 1/A? (to test Biot’s equation and Stefan’s equation), and aA* against 1/A? (to test Boltzmann’s equation) ; but in no case was there any indication of a linear relationship. The results obtained by plotting 1/a against A?, in order to test the validity of the one-term Drude equation (Lowry and Abram, Trans. Chem. Soc., vol. 115, p. 300, 1919), are, however, most remarkable, since thirty-seven of the forty substances studied by Rupe give straight lines, and only three show any marked curvature. It is, more- over, noteworthy that two of these exceptional com- pounds agree in containing the group, C: C(C,H;)s, although it is not clear why this group should be associated with the occurrence of abnormal optical properties. Further work by Pickard and others has confirmed the fact that the rotatory dispersion of a vast range of organic compounds can be represented by the simple formula a=k/(A? — A,”), and that a satisfactory classi- fication of optically active compounds can be made by distinguishing between “simple rotatory disper- sion,’ where this law holds good within the limits of experimental error, and “complex rotatory dis- persion,’ where marked deviations from the law are found. NO. 2736, VOL. 109] 3-—Complex and Anomalous Rotatory Dispersion. Amongst the substances which do not obey the 3 simple law of rotatory dispersion, tartaric acid and its derivatives have been conspicuous ever since Biot in 1837 directed attention to the peculiar be- haviour of the acid in aqueous and in alcoholic solutions. The principal anomaly noted by Biot was the fact that the rotation, instead of increasing con- tinuously with decreasing wave-length, rose to a maximum in the green, and then diminished again in the blue, indigo, and violet to values almost as low as those observed in the red region of the spectrum ; but the extreme sensitiveness of the rotatory power of the acid to changes of temperature and concentra- tion, as well as to the influence of solvents and of chemical agents, was in Biot’s opinion at least as important an anomaly as the maximum in the curve of rotatory dispersion. When, however, the quantitative basis for the study of rotatory dispersion had. been destroyed, attention was no longer directed to the deviations from the law of inverse squares (which were then recognised as being universal), but to the qualitative peculiarities of the curves, which alone were regarded as justifying the use of the term “anomalous dispersion.” The principal — anomaly thus selected for special attention was the occurrence of a maximum ; but a reversal of sign or a decrease of optical rotation with diminishing wave- length were sometimes included as anomalies of similar importance. The undue emphasis thus laid upon the qualitative anomalies has had some curious results ; in particular, Winther not only adopted the view that the maximum is the sole criterion of anomalous rotatory dispersion, but actually insisted that this maximum must lie within the visible region of the spectrum. He therefore speaks of a dispersion-curve which “becomes normal in that the maximum passes into the ultra-violet,’ whilst a curve which cuts right across the axis is described as “‘ normal with a maximum in the infra-red.” A definition of anomalous dispersion which thus depends on the physiological properties of the eye, instead of on the physical properties of the medium, can scarcely be regarded as worthy of serious consideration, but it provides a suitable anticlimax to direct attention to the value of the more precise methods of treatment which prevailed when rotatory dispersion was first studied almost a century before. A complete solution of the problem of anomalous rotatory dispersion has been found by returning to the mathematical methods of Biot and applying similar processes of analysis to curves plotted with the greater accuracy which modern physical apparatus has rendered possible. A _ series of dispersion-curves (Fig. 1) for aqueous solutions of tartaric acid of different concentrations will illustrate the typical forms of the curves that are encountered in studying the substances of this group. These curves show clearly three principal anomalies —inflexion, maximum, and reversal of sign—appearing at various points on the experimental curves as the concentration of the solutions is altered. Similar curves, but covering a wider range, are obtained when the esters of tartaric acid—e.g. methyl tartrate and ethyl tartrate (Fig. 2)—are examined as —. fe ~ - EE ar Te Ce ee ee me | ee ee ee APRIL 8, 1922] NATURE 449 om us liquids at different temperatures or in ‘series of different solvents (Lowry and Dickson, ns. Chem. Soc., vol. 107, p. 1183, 1915 ; Lowry and bram, ibid., p. 1193) ; Careful. mathematical analysis has shown that all Supersaturated So i | Ore, ution — ak Anhydrous “Se Es (Brun, S\RE ovhse s,a'l It should be noted that in this series of compounds the negative term always has a higher dispersion- constant than the positive term, so that the asymptote of the negative hyperbola is nearer to the visible region of the spectrum than that of the positive hyperbola. All the positive rotations are therefore 405 drawn over towards the negative side as * the wave-length diminishes, as in the top curve of Fig. 2, which shows a reversal of curvature on the extreme right. The curves in the upper part of Fig. 2 must therefore show, not merely one, but ali of the features which are usually regarded 4 } as characteristic of anomalous rotatory we: \\4|._ dispersion—namely, (i) an inflexion, (ii) af a +20 ‘ power with decreasing wave-length, (iv) Rotations in Aqueous Solutions of Tartaric Acid at 20°C. _ these curves can be expressed by two terms of Drude’s e uation, of opposite sign and with unequal dispersion- ts—e.g. ky - e- iL 2 PAX “The sgueement is particularly good in the case of the esters. In the case of aqueous solutions of tartaric acid the ionisation of the acid appears aS 2 to introduce an | os additional factor . A) sar Of complexity we bse giving rise to small se tac Dut — systematic ataa* deviations from = aa ¢20 the values calcu- a Estes BTC: lated by means of a is—2 rea CRIS gio” two-term formula. Ester a0°O) In cases of the es “I> ‘‘simple” _ rota- Bae Seto, tory dispersion Pe Ch i |-10" Drude’s formula Aces, No! - postulates a linear me im oor relation between Ne = t/a and \*, but | _=NVe. so’ gives a rectangular es § Ne hyperbola when a Bi Fig.2 ® _|40° is plotted against ae e A*, The corres- eee Spetery Power so’ ponding _ disper- ; eet Taperate sion-curves for gaya esos suse as0s as aad methyl and ethyl tartrates are made cig of the sum of two such rectangular hyperbolas, lying Eon opposite sides of a common horizontal asymptote, but _ working up to two different vertical asymptotes. These _ simple hyperbolas lie beyond the curves for solutions in _ formamide and in acetylene chloride, which are the highest and lowest of the series shown in Fig. 2, but every curve in this figure can be represented as a weighted mean of two such hyperbolas. SSP 7800 “4000 Fig.r ‘ a maximum, (iii) a diminution of rotatory said a reversal of sign. On the other hand, the curves at the bottom of Fig. 2 are negative through- out, since the positive term is always smaller than the. negative term of the equation. There is therefore no in- flexion, maximum, or reversal of sign. The curves obtained by plotting a against A? are, however, not rectangular hyperbolas, but the weighted means of two hyperbolas, and require two terms of the Drude formula to represent them. Although, therefore, these curves are not anomalous, they are not “ simple,’ and must be classed with the anomalous curves as “ complex.” It should be noted that a small alteration in the numerical values of the constants of the equation for a complex curve may suffice to introduce the whole range of anomalies, or alternatively to remove them, whereas, to render a complex curve simple, one of the two terms in the complex equation must be made to disappear altogether. The difference between simple and complex dispersion is therefore probably of more significance than that between normal and anomalous dispersion, in spite of the more picturesque character of the latter contrast. -5 ‘ ‘ ‘ \ —15 4.—The Origin of Anomalous Rotatory Dispersion. It has been shown above that the curves of rotatory dispersion of organic compounds may be of three types—(i) simple, as in the case of the vast majority of the alcohols, acids, sugars, terpenes, etc., to which reference has already been made; (ii) complex, but without anomalies, as in the case of the tartaric esters when dissolved in solvents such as acetylene tetra- chloride ; (iii) anomalous, as in the case of tartaric acid and its esters. What, then, is the origin of the complexities seen in classes (ii) and (iii)? Mathe- matically they depend on the same fundamental factor —namely, the introduction into the equation of rotatory dispersion of a second term of opposite sign, which is absent in class (i). From the chemical point of view it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the complexities expressed by the two-term formula are due to the presence in these liquids of two kinds of optically active molecules, differing in sign and in dispersive power, but each characterised by a simple rotatory dispersion corresponding with one term of the NO. 2736,°VOL. 109 | equation. 450 NATURE [AprIL 8, 1922 This suggestion is far from new. Biot himself, as long ago as 1836, produced an artificial anomaly when he attempted to compensate the optical rotatory power of levorotatory turpentine by means of a column of dextrorotatory oil of lemon. Similar results were obtained with artificial mixtures of turpentine and camphor’; and so long ago as 1858 Arndtsen, after establishing by his own measurements the unequal dispersive power of optically active compounds, made the following suggestions :— “ Tf one should imagine two active substances which do not act chemically upon one another, of which one turns the plane of polarisation to the right, the other to the left, and, in addition, that the rotation of the first increases (with the refrangibility of the light) more rapidly than that of the other, it is clear that, on mixing these substances in certain proportions, one would have combinations which would show optical phenomena precisely similar to those of tartaric acid, as M. Biot has already proved by his researches on different mixtures of turpentine and natural camphor. One could then regard tartaric acid as a mixture of two substances differing only in their optical properties, of which one would have a negative, and the other a positive, rotatory power, and of which the rotations would vary in different proportions with the refrangi- bility of the light.” This suggestion, made more than sixty years ago, can now be supported by two additional lines of argu-. ment: (i) the mathematical evidence that the rotatory dispersion of these substances is in fact the sum of two simple rotations—e.g. as expressed graphically by the fact that the complex curves obtained by plotting a against A? are merely the weighted mean of two rect- angular hyperbolas ; (ii) the chemical evidence that mixtures of isomers do in fact exist, which fulfil the conditions laid down by Arndtsen. Of these optically active “ dynamic isomerides ” nitrocamphor was one of the earliest examples to be studied, and it is still one of the best illustrations that ¢an be given of this group of phenomena. The existence of two forms of nitrocamphor was proved by the discovery of mutarotation—+.e. change of rotatory power with time in freshly prepared solu- tions of the compound ; but a mere trace of a catalyst, such as piperidine at a concentration of M/10,000, is sufficient to speed up the isomeric change to such an extent that mutarotation can no longer be detected. In tartaric acid and its esters similar conditions of rapid interconversion appear to prevail, since careful observations have failed to detect any lag of rotatory power after dissolution, dilution, distillation, or fusion. As in the case of nitrocamphor, however, it is possible — to recognise, in addition to the usual mixtures, a certain number of derivatives of a fixed or homogeneous character, and these are characterised by opposite rotatory powers and unequal simple dispersions, precisely as we have postulated for the two modifica- tions of the parent acid. Thus (i) tartar emetic differs from the other tartrates not only in showing a much higher rotatory power, but also in giving a dispersion- curve of the “ simple” type which is characteristic of the vast majority of optically active organic com- pounds ; (ii) on adding an excess of alkali to tartar emetic a levorotatory derivative is produced, but this - also exhibits simple rotatory dispersion ; (ili) boric acid also possesses the power of fixing tartaric acid in a dextrorotatory form with simple rotatory dispersion. In view of these observations it is difficult to resist the conclusion that tartaric acid, like nitrocamphor, can exist in two forms and yield two types of deriva- tives, and that the presence of these two types is responsible for the complex rotatory dispersion of the acid and of so many of its derivatives. The molecular structure of these two types is a fascinating problem which still awaits investigation. Obituary. Dr. G. B. Matuews, F.R.S. . recorded in NATURE a fortnight ago, the death of Dr. George Ballard Mathews occurred in a Liverpool nursing home on March 19. Born in London (February 23, 1861), of a Hereford- shire family, Mathews’ versatile intellect showed itself during his schoolboy days at Ludlow Grammar School, where the then head master instructed his boys in Hebrew and Sanscrit as well as in Greek and Latin. After a year at University College, London, where he studied geometry under Henrici, and of which body he later became a fellow, he entered St. John’s College, Cambridge, which offered him the senior scholarship of his year either in mathematics or classics. out his intention of reading for the Mathematical Tripos he became a private pupil of Mr. W. H. Besant of St. John’s. The keen competition for leading places in the Tripos of this period had brought fame to Mr. E. J. Routh as a coach and all the abler candidates went to Routh as a matter of course, for Routh had a long series of senior wranglers to his credit. However, Mathews’ name was read out first in the list of 1883, this being the only break in a succession of about thirty conse- cutive seniors trained by Routh. NO. 2736, VOL. 109] Carrying © In 1884 Mathews was appointed to the chair of mathematics in the then newly-constituted University College of North Wales at Bangor, his election to a fellowship at St. John’s taking place the same year. His colleagues at Bangor were all of the same genera- tion as himself and included such men as Professors Andrew Gray, James Dobbie, and the late Henry Jones under the leadership of Principal Harry Reichel (the last three named have all since been knighted). The Bangor chair was resigned in 1896, and shortly followed by Mathews’ election into the Royal Society and by his return to Cambridge as University Lecturer in Mathe- matics. During this period he was mathematical secretary of the Cambridge Philosophical Society for a time and also served on the Council of the Royal Society and on that of the London Mathematical Society. Resigning the Cambridge appointment in 1906 he returned to Bangor and, since 1911, held a special lectureship in the North Wales University College. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred by Glasgow University in 1915, and he again acted as professor of mathematics in Bangor during the two College sessions 1917-19. Dr. Mathews himself attri- buted the distressing series of illnesses which clouded Pa — a a a on el ia aE de bf Apri 8, 1922] NATURE 451 the last three years of his life, and ended it, to the _ enforced system of rationing during the latter part of _ the war. While thoroughly familiar with all branches of pure ethecnatics, Mathews’ main interests were in the theory of numbers and projective geometry. The _ theory of numbers which, in its widest sense, is the Eancory of discrete as opposed to continuous magnitude, has passed through four well-defined stages of develop- ment. First there came the Diophantine analysis pox per, of which the greatest exponents, after Dio- intos among the ancient Greeks, were Fermat and juler. In this the general problem is to determine 1 the solutions in rational numbers of a system of {Zn) algebraic equations. Bit, Xe, ss . Xn) =O, 7=1,.2,..... Next came the discovery of the law of sasliitie iprocity which rendered possible a discussion of _ quadratic arithmetical forms, so ably expounded by Gauss in the “ Disquisitiones Arithmetice.” Such iters as Lejeune-Dirichlet, Eisenstein, and Stephen m pe sed much to what Gauss had done, and a tholarly introduction to the whole theory was given . p Mathews in his “Theory of Numbers” of 1892. 3 cA. problem which arises in the theory of quadratic _ forms (the determination of the class-number) was ; - the forerunner of the analytical theory which is in- _ timately bound up with certain transcendental functions _ of a complex variable. It had little attraction for Mathews (though bis book contains an introduction to it), but has recently received much attention from _ Prof. E. Landau; Prof. G. H. Hardy, and the late _ §. Ramanujan. The fourth stage was marked by _ Dedekind’s discovery of his theory of ideal numbers, _ which restore completely to a system of algebraic numbers certain factorisation properties of ordinary integers that appear at first to be lost. Taking __ numbers of the type a+b/ — 5, where a, b are npg 4 integers, a threefold factorisation of 21 is possible, viz. -21=3%7=(44+/ -5) 4-V-5) stt2y-5) (0-2-5) whereas none of the factors 3, 4++/-—5, etc., is de- composable into two factors (a+b,/ — 5) (c+dy/ - 5). __ Mathews’ was probably the first mind in England ‘to realise the far-reaching effect of Dedekind’s dis- _ covery, two papers by him on the subject appearing in the London Mathematical Society’s Proceedings of _ 1892. The tract “ Algebraic Equations ” on a kindred _ topic, written fifteen years later, contains a masterly _ exposition of Galois’ theory, completed by Jordan and others, showing how the different types of irration- _ ality which can be defined by an algebraic equation _ are associated with different types of group. Written in collaboration with Prof. Andrew Gray, : the “ Treatise on Bessel Functions,” concerned mainly _ with physical applications, is still a standard work. _ The “Projective Geometry” (1914), inspired by _ Henrici’s lectures in London many years before, _ contains two unusual features: first, an exposition of the logical groundwork of the subject, and secondly, an account of Staudt’s theory of complex elements _ (whereby a real involution defines a complex point or 4 e). He also brought out a new edition of R. F. _ Scott’s “Determinants” (1904), and contributed articles on Number and Universal Algebra to the 1910 edition of the “ Encyclopedia Britannica.” NO. 2736, VOL. 109] Most of Mathews’ mathematical papers appeared in the London Mathematical Society’s Proceedings or in the *‘ Messenger of Mathematics.” A few of them are geometrical, and nearly all the rest have an arith- metical bearing. Pride of place, perhaps, should be given to a four-page note of 1897, in which he explained a method, of reducing multiple partitions to a single partition. Several papers were written on the complex multiplication of elliptic functions, a subject which had a singular fascination for Mathews. The publica- tion of a manuscript on the lemniscate functions has been delayed by the war and his subsequent illness. Ever since the mid-eighties Nature has published frequent reviews and articles from Mathews’ pen. These articles, most of which appeared over the initials “G. B. M.,” were always written in a careful and scholarly style ; they contained his considered opinion on the book or point concerned. In conversa- tion with -the present writer he once expressed the opinion that some of his best work had appeared in NATURE reviews. A man of simple tastes and naturally retiring by disposition, Mathews expressed sound judgment on both men and affairs. Some of his views, perhaps, were those of an idealist, and hardly feasible in the domain of . practical politics. His capacity for maturely grasping everything with which his mind came into contact made him unique in the experience of his friends. Only one or two sides of so versatile a man’s brilliant intellect really appealed to most people. When he was appointed professor of mathematics at Bangor, at the age of twenty-three, it was manifest that he could equally well fill four or more chairs in the college. During recent years he spent much time in reading and translating Arabic: he was also’ a competent musician. W.E. H. B. Dr. J. T. Merz. Dr. JOHN THEODORE MERz, whose death on March 21, in his eighty-second year, was announced last week, was a son of Dr. Philip Merz, headmaster of the Chorlton High School, one of the pioneer institutions of higher education in Manchester. He was an acknowledged authority upon _indus- trial chemistry and took a leading part in the industrial development of electricity supply, being one of the founders of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company. By the use of his great scientific and practical knowledge, he rendered invaluable service to the industrial community of Tyneside and the counties of Northumberland and Durham. Dr. Merz will, however, be most widely remembered on account of literary activities, which go so far back as 1864, when he wrete a paper, which was published in Germany, on Francis Bacon, and another on Kant. For a long time the work by which he was best known was a small but much appreciated volume on Leibniz, contributed in 1884 to Blackwood’s “ Philosophical Classics for English Readers.” A German translation of this appeared in 1886. These publications, how- ever, were mere preliminaries to that which he had planned as the great work of his life, ‘‘ The History of European Thought in the Nineteenth Century.” The first volume of this was published in 1896, the | fourth and last at the end of 1914. From the first 452 NATURE [APRIL 8, 192 2 the wide-ranging history, learned but never dry, was a literary ‘success, receiving praise from all sides and from thinkers of all schools. The impartiality with which the author treated the contributions made to thought by England, France, and Germany re- spectively was universally recognised. This work he was able to complete so far as scientific and philo- sophical thought are concerned. A third part to be devoted to the less systematic thought that has found its expression in belles’ lettres was projected, and was to consist, like the two parts on scientific and philo- sophical thought, of two volumes ; but this Dr. Merz finally decided, though he had collected much material, must be left for some successor. Dr. Merz’s labours, however, did not by any means cease. At the end of 1915 he published a very interest- ing essay on Religion and Science, in which he showed that the certainty of science within its limits depends on its method of abstraction. A view of things “all together,” in which the mind, without which the external world cannot be known, is restored as part of the total system of reality, leads to recognition of the religious attitude as a mode of comprehending the universe, including man. Philosophy mediates between science and religion, explaining the validity in its own manner of each mode of viewing things. In a like essay, ‘‘ Fragment on the Human Mind ” (1919), Dr. Merz showed his freedom from some prejudices of that reaction in nineteenth-century English thought which had gone to Germany for a more spiritual doctrine than the native philosophy seemed to result in. Knowing and appreciating the rule of Kant and Hegel and their successors, in the end he found in the psychological method of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume the most valid, as well as the most accessible way to show the fallacies of the “mechanical Philosophy ” when regarded, not simply as the most powerful instrument of scientific thought, but as revealing the ultimate nature of the universe. To give usa suggestion that reality is spiritual, Locke’s “ plain historical way,” namely, the method of intro- spection, remains sufficient. CoLONEL Sir Henry THuILLIER, K.C.I.E. THE late Sir Henry Thuillier, who died on March 4, was Surveyor-General of India from 1886 to 1895, and was distinguished as an able and tactful adminis- trator. His name is so generally associated with administrative work, that his success as a geodetic observer in the earlier part of his career is apt to be overlooked.. Thuillier was commissioned in the Bengal Engineers in 1857, the year of the Mutiny, and he was appointed to the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1859. In 1859-1861 he was one of the observers employed in carrying a chain of principal triangulation round the Punjab frontier along the line of the river Indus; this chain has been the fundamental base of all the later surveys, which have been extended during campaigns into Afghanistan, Waziristan, and Tirah. In 1862 Thuillier was appointed to the eastern frontier of India, and for the next six years he had the difficult task of extending the principal triangulation eastwards from Calcutta to Burma. During the first NO, 2736, VOL. 109] half of the nineteenth century the geodetic triangula-— fs tion had been carried across mountains and -plains, — deserts, fields and forests, and the observers had had ; to adapt their methods of observation to the va types of country; but in Eastern Bengal Thuillier d encountered a type of country that had not been met — with before, and which was probably the most un- suitable of all types for triangulation. the Ganges and Brahmaputra ; absolutely flat and overgrown with heavy jungle. Thuillier had to cut glades through the jungle so as to render the several stations of his triangulation mutually visible from one another. The party suffered continually from malaria ; a few feet. The exact line in which any particular glade had to be cut from one station to another was not known with sufficient accuracy to enable the men to clear the jungle in the correct direction, and numerous trial glades had to be cut in order to deter- mine the true alignment. In one year on the Brahma- putra series of triangulation, Thuillier had to clear 7oo miles of glade through dense jungle, and in the six years the total length of the cléarance lines was nearly 4000 miles. Sir Henry Thuillier had also considerable experience of surveying at high altitudes. He was trained in the famous Kashmir survey of Montgomerie and Godwin- Austen (1861), and from 1870 to 1873 he was im e | charge of the survey of the Kumaun Himalayas, including the glacial areas of Nanda Devi and Trisul. — : Many of his survey marks were above 20,000 feet. Pror. J. A. GREEN. WE are grieved to hear of the sudden death, following upon an operation, of Prof. John Alfred Green, professor of education in Sheffield University. Many of us knew Prof. Green best in connection with the Educa- tional Science Section of the British Association, of which he was for several years Recorder. He had the virtue we admire in a Tangye silent gas engine— converting all his energy into work and none into fuss— of a restrained enthusiasm, able to work in harness, but no less enthusiastic because he did not boil over into the vapid. Hence he was invaluable in the early days of the Educational Science Section, when many doubted whether there were, or could be, such a thing 4 as educational science. But Prof. Green had visions and lived to realise them. He was secretary of the Committee on Mental and Physical Factors involved in Education, and the opening pages of the Report presented at Sheffield in 1910 make his attitude clear : “application of experimental methods to the investi- gation of mental phenomena ” “study of the persons to be educated and their attitude towards methods of instruction.” If Section L still devotes a day annually to education and psychology, that is largely Prof. Green’s doing. The work was carried further by him in The Journal of Experimental Pedagogy, which he edited. us to go forward in the way which he was one of the first to tread. H. the clearing of the glades a was so laborious that their width had to be limited to In that journal Prof. Green has left — 7 us a monument and a guidepost which may encourage — He had to ~ carry chains of triangles over the deltaic swamps of — the country was — hi A gic NATURE 453 Apri 8, 1922 | = Board of Trade announces that, in connection the Safeguarding of Industries Act, judgment ot een given by the referee in arbitrations regarding following articles. Against the name of the article is shown the decision of the referee, i.e. it has been properly or improperly included excluded from, the lists of articles chargeable duty peer Part I. of the Act: Judgment. Properly excluded. Improperly included. Improperly included. eters and Integrators meter type) . ; . Properly included. i g Cylinders Properly included. Acid Properly included. © cases, viz. that of R. lactose aid that of of tartar, tartaric acid, and citric acid, the $ are against the Board of Trade, and those ances are accordingly withdrawn from the lists utiable articles as from March 25, which is the date of signature of the awards. The Chemical Age of March 25 announces that an inquiry which should have opened into a complaint that barium peroxide been wrongly included in the list had been de- | by agreement between the producers and con- ers. It is quite clear from these results that pees had not been exercised by the persons cerned in drawing up the list in the first case, and if the Sie eedeuient in the Observer of March 26, to _ the effect that the Board of Trade were to recommend the repeal of the Act, is correct, it would appear that the difficulties of working such a measure had become pre great to justify its further continuance. AN exceptionally severe frost was experienced in _ most parts of England in the early morning of April 2, ;. and the minimum temperatures reported to the © teorological Office were in many places unprece- - dented for April. The temperature in the screen at Kew Observatory was 26°, which is the lowest April reading since observations commenced more than half a century ago. At South Farnborough, Hants, and at Benson, Oxon, the sheltered thermometer _ registered 21°. In consequence of the clear sky _ which iled the exposed thermometer fell gener- ally about 10° below that in the screen, and at Shoeburyness the reading on the ground was 11° t Greenwich Observatory the sheltered thermometer 35° and the terrestrial radiation tempera- ture was 15°. The records at Greenwich, extending beck to 1841, show only one instance of a lower ; mperature in the screen in April, the thermometer 23° on April 17 in 1847. There was a ing of 25° on April 1, 1859. Very heavy snow- sto were experienced in the south-western districts Bs ine. the night of March 31 and on the following day, the ground being covered to a great depth. hi ; storm was due to a disturbance moving from ornwall across the English Channel. This storm area was followed by a region of fairly high barometric _ pressure which accompanied the cold snap. NO. 2736, VOL. 109 | SLC] LL} A * Mallory, of last year’s expedition ; Current Topics and Events. THE Council of the Optical Society is arranging a programme of papers dealing with motor head lights, having reference more particularly to the optical problems involved. The question of “glare” or ‘“‘ dazzle,” and the methods proposed for overcoming it will be considered alike from the point of view of the optician, the lamp manufacturer, and the road user. The meeting will be held at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, on May 11, and any one desiring to contribute to the discussion, to exhibit models, or to give experimental demonstrations is requested to communicate with the honorary secretary of the Society, Mr. F. F. S. Bryson, Glass Research Association, 50 Bedford Square, W.C.1. Tue Times announces that the Mount Everest expedition was to leave Darjeeling on March 26 for Tibet. Brig.-Gen. C. G. Bruce, chief of the expedition, was accompanied by Col. E. L. Strutt; Mr. G. L. Dr. T. G. Long- staff; Maj. E. F. Norton; Dr. A. M. Wakefield ; Mr. T. H. Somervell : Capt. J. Noel; Capt. G. Bruce ; and Capt. E. J. Morris. Capt. G. Finch and Mr. C. G. Crawford remained behind to superintend the transport of the oxygen outfit upon which a great part of the success of the expedition depends. It will be noticed that the party is considerably larger than the one that made the successful reconnaissance last year. No trouble seems to have been experienced in enlisting porters among the hillmen. It is hoped that by April 6 the whole expedition will have assembled at Phari Dzong ready to set out and estab- lish advanced bases in the Rongbuk and East Rongbuk valleys. A considerable time will be spent in training the porters in the use of ropes and ice axes and, in consequence, no delay is anticipated from the fact that the oxygen apparatus has not yet reached India. For the purpose of carrying on the Ice Patrol Service provided for by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the U.S. cutter Seneca has been detailed for duty off the Newfoundland Banks. According to the North Atlantic Meteoro- logical Chart for April, this vessel was to go to sea in February 6 with orders to locate icefields and keep in touch with the drift of icebergs. About April 1, when the ice has moved well south, the U.S. cutters Tampa and Modoc will join the patrol, the three vessels continuing their work throughout the season of dangerous ice conditions. On getting in touch with the ice, the Seneca will report to the Hydro- graphic Office, New York, either direct or through any vessel within reach. Daily wireless messages will advise ships at sea. All messages will be sent in plain English. Masters of trans-Atlantic vessels are asked to report to the patrol vessels the location of icebergs or drift-ice and the temperature of the water every four hours between latitudes 39° N. and 48° N. and between longitudes 53° W. and 44° W. These data are required in order to ascertain the branches of the Labrador current. 454 NATURE | APRIL 8, 1922 | A DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE has been appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries “ to inquire into the origin and circumstances of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and into the policy and procedure which was pursued in dealing with the disease, and to report whether any alteration of the methods of administrative control hitherto adopted, or any amendment of the existing law, is necessary or desirable.’’ The committee is constituted as follows: Capt. E. G. Pretyman (chair- man), Mr. A. Batchelor, Mr. David Ferrie, Mr. F. W. Garnett, Mr. H. German, Mr. William Graham, Mr. Alfred Mansell, Sir G. Douglas Newton, Prof. J. Penberthy, and Mr. W. R. Smith. The secretary of the committee is Mr. S. A. Piggott, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 4 Whitehall Place, S.W.1, to whom all communications should be addressed. Tue British Rainfall Organization has removed its quarters from Camden Square, where its work has been cariied on for more than half a century, to the Meteorological Office at South Kensington. For about three years the organization, which was formerly of a private nature, has been carried on as part of the official meteorological service of the country. It is thought that the general meteorological work will be greatly facilitated by being under the one roof in Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The Rainfall Organization was trans- ferred from March 20. ‘The absorption of the Meteorological Office in the Air Ministry has made it necessary for parts of the Office to be at the Air Ministry Offices in Kingsway. The office at South Kensington deals with climatology and instruments. Mr. ROBERT SARGEANT has retired from the Meteorological Office after rather more than 50 years’ service. He entered the office in 1871 when it was controlled by a Committee of the Royal Society, at a time when ordinary weather forecasts, initiated by Admiral Fitzroy, had been discontinued. At that time weather reports were both received and published ; they were used for the issue of storm warnings. Throughout the whole period of his service, Mr. Sargeant was engaged in the Daily Weather Report and Forecast Branch. He was also an Inspector of Meteorological Stations, and prior to his retirement had become Assistant Superintendent of the Forecast Branch. Mr. Sargeant’s claim as a forecaster was based upon long experience and was chiefly associated with empirical rules ; indeed, he is almost the last of a class which is being superseded by mathematicians and physicists who are working at the foundations of weather forecasting along strictly scientific lines. THE number of journals entirely devoted to the study of earthquakes and volcanoes is small, and we welcome the publication of a new one, Seismological Notes, issued by the Imperial Earthquake Investiga- tion Committee, Japan, and intended to contain preliminary reports on the Tokyo seismographical observations. To the first number Prof. Omori contributes two notes, one of which, on the great NO. 2736, VOL. 109] Chinese earthquake of December 16, 1920, conte reproductions of several Tokyo seismograms. H locates the origin in lat. 37° 5’ N., long. 106° 5’ E a point close to several towns at which the shock was most disastrous, and between the centres of t great earthquakes of 1556 and 1561. The form these earthquakes, by which more than 8: persons were killed, was probably the most disa of which we have any record. Tue third general meeting of the West Yorks Metallurgical Society, held in the City Mu Leeds, on Saturday, April 1, took the f symposium of papers on the electric melting of meta three original papers’ were read and discussed. Tt meeting was the last of a very successful session of this newly-formed metallurgical The membership, open to metallurgists, er students, and others technically interested refining and working of metals, is steadily and it is hoped that by next session the : contain a hundred members. The winter p consists of meetings for the reading and of papers in towns covered by the Society’s such as Leeds, Bradford, and Hudder addition to this and a summer programme ¢c afternoon visits to works of interest to the the Society hopes to carry out suitably co-operative research through its memk first president is Mr. T. E. Hull, and the hon. Mr. H: C. Dews, 17 St. John’s Road, Hudd THE second annual report for 1921 of t ‘5 Research Association contains, in addition to the officers and members and its balance sheet, a stat ment of the problems already investigated and those under test. It appears that in addition to labc now fully equipped, which the Association it possesses at 50 Bedford Square, London, WA other institutions such as the National Laboratory, the Department of Glass T University of Sheffield, the British f Research Association, and the Industrial Research Board have all undertaken problem behalf of the Association. Of the specific and det results, one may refer to an investigation detection of cords in glass, the formation of ‘“‘ b on lamp-blown glassware, the purification of the determination of the viscosity of a series of over a limited range. of (comparatively low) + ture, and the effect of the presence of chlorid: sulphates on the melting rate, working proj and development of opalescence in lead glas On these subjects reports have appeared in the Bulletin of the Association. On the subj glass-works practice, a new type of annealing lehr has been designed and erected, and-a new furnace an oil burner, and a cracking-off machine developed. References to other work and to research contem plated range over a wide field, but one of 1 subjects specially emphasised is that of glass refrac tory materials, and it is expected that co-operation with the British Refractories Research Association will carry forward investigations in this field speedily. Aprit 8, 1922] NATURE 455 EssRS. A. GALLENKAMP & Co., of Sun Street, have issued a catalogue of the latest forms of al resistance furnaces manufactured by them ious purposes. The heating element consists cial alloy in the form of wire or strip, wound silica tube or muffle, and the furnaces are so cted that the element may readily be removed user when burnt out, and replaced by a spare maximum working temperature is 1000° C., types of furnace are made for the deter- of carbon in steel, the estimation of ash in Lessing coking test for coal, and for organic ms. The ordinary patterns are suited to ations as the heat treatment of specimens , the determination of the critical points of and the checking of pyrometers against a d. The power consumed by the furnaces working at 1000° C. ranges from 400 watts for 12 inches long and 1 inch diameter to 2300 for a muffle 14x7x4§ inches. Details of such as rheostats for controlling the ri ture, ammeters, etc., are given, and the { prices are also stated—a feature often absent from modern catalogues. A NUMBER of reprints of communications made to the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association have been issued from the office of the Association in Burlington House, Piccadilly, W.1. We have received numbers 1-7 as follows: (1) Science and Ethics, by Dr. E. H. Griffiths, 9d. ; (2) The Structure of Molecules, 9d.; (3) The Effects of the War on Credit, Currency, Finance, and Foreign Exchanges, 1s. 6d. ; (4) Complex Stress Distributions in Engineer- ing Materials, 3s. 6d.; (5) Charts and Pictures for Use in Schools, 1ts.; (6) An International Auxiliary Language, Is.; and (7) Report of the Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies, which contains Sir Richard Gregory’s presidential address, “‘ The Message of Science.’”’ It will be a great convenience to have these discussions and reports in pamphlet form, and it is to be hoped that the demand for these reprints will justify the Association in publishing similar reprints of contributions to future meetings. Stupy or OsscurE NeBuLa.—There have been notes in recent years. on regions of the sky ; there is a deficit in the star-density as com- Mabaso poe Pouring Peon, the explanation ally as ing an obscuring veil of dark pebalcaity. We : : ; Mon. Not. R.AS. for November 1920 dealing with some barren regions in Taurus as shown on the Franklin Adams Rev. J. G. Hagen, S.J., ; regions for the last ten years with the at the Observatory. He states that ' these nebulosities, not as dark objects, but luminous ones. He discusses their it as faintly non sp gat ia aoe areieere they are seen in parts of the , but are densést towards the poles, dy aetna in extent and density:as is approached. He states that they are absent in rich galactic star fields, and sup- at the nebulous material has been wholly ansformed into stars in these regions. He places the obscure nebulze outside the galaxy and asserts that their greater faintness in low galactic latitude is the result of greater distance ; this does not appear to be sound, as the surface brightness of objects of _ sensible area is unaffected by distance provided that _ the intervening ee is perfectly transparent. There _ is the further culty that in such barren fields as _ those in Taurus there is a deficiency not only of distant stars, but Beetly also of nearer ones, sug- ting a much smaller distance for the obscuring cloud. hus while the visual study of these interesting regions is thoroughly useful work, there seems to be _ need of further examination of the significance of _ the results obtained. Spectroscopic Stupy oF Procyon’s OrBIT.— Dr. Lunt directs attention in Astrophys. Journ. for to the aid that the spectroscope may render the study of this system. The companion, dis- covered Schaeberle in 1896, is a very difficult ject and observations have been scarce of late. . Lunt quotes the figures that he deduced from $ measures on plates taken between 1909 and 1912. These appear to indicate a diminution in the approach _ of the principal star to the sun, which was 3-74 NO. 2736, VOL. 109] may refer in particular to one in r of the Vatican Observatory, has been ex- ' Our Astronomical Column. km./sec. in 1909 and 3:56 km./sec. in 1912 ; he points out that observations made now will be fairly de- cisive as to the pose of the orbit-plane, as there would be a difference of 1} km./sec. on the two assumptions. As one of the nodal passages is now at hand, the conditions are more favourable than they will be till 1938, when the other node is passed. He is himself arranging for a series of plates and asks for co-operation elsewhere. The approach of the centre of gravity towards the sun is given as 3°52 km./sec.; corrected for the sun’s motion, the system is approaching with a speed of 19 km./sec. in a line inclined 14° to the line joining sun and star. RECENT MAGNITUDES OF Nova.—The appearance of a new star in the heavens at once attracts the attention of a large number of observers who follow . very carefully the changes of magnitude and the variations in its spectrum. When, however, the magnitude has dwindled down to about 8 or 9, interest greatly diminishes; the star becomes too faint for spectroscopic analysis except with large telescopes, and the small and slow changes of magnitude are not watched by many observers. It is, however, very important to follow nove so long as possible in order to keep in touch with the later variations. Great interest is, therefore, attached to the series of observa- tions made by Dr. W. H. Steavenson of six nove during the summer and autumn of 1921 (Monthly Notices, R.A.S., vol. 82, November 1921). Nova Ophiuchi (1848) gave evidence of variability in a period of about fifty days, the magnitudes varying from about 12 to 13. Nova Aquile (1918) is still slowly waning, the mean magnitude falling from 9-4 to 9-9, with a possible long-period variation. Nova Cygni (1920) is also still fading slowly, the mean magnitude during the period of observation falling from 9-4 to 10:0. Nova Cygni (1876), a star now very near the limit of visibility, exhibited practically a constant magnitude, namely, 14:81. The same is the case with Nova Lacerte (1910), which has varied only o-1 mag. from 14:1. On the other hand, Nova Persei (1901) has shown a marked variability of an irregular type, the two extremes of brightness being 12-27 and 13:36. The star was accompanied by a small patch of nebulosity about 5” in diameter. 456 NATURE [Arrit 8, 1922 Research Items. THE ORGANISM AND ENVIRONMENT.—In an article on “The Organism and its Environment”’ (Scientific Monthly, March 1922), Dr. F. B. Sumner emphasises the difficulty of drawing any sharp line between these two categories. Citing as examples the nest of a bird, the tube of a caddis-worm, the shell of a molluse or a tortoise, the varying fluids and gases which circulate in animals from sponges to fishes or seals, and the many metabolic changes of substances enter- ing or leaving the body, he shows that the distinction between organism and environment must often be difficult or arbitrary. Some of his remarks have a direct bearing on the discussion of biological termin- ology which has taken place recently in this journal. Thus he says, ‘‘ Every character has a hereditary basis ”’ and is likewise due to ‘“‘ interaction . . . with the ... environment.” He goes on to say, “‘ The familiar question, Which is the more important, heredity or environment ? is not capable of answer when stated in that form”; he points out that the question should be framed on these lines: Are the differences between related organisms in any particular case, due to diffeyences in heredity or to differences in environment ? When stated in this way it is seen that some characters or differences are primarily due to heredity and some to environment, and the quibble about all characters being equally acquired and equally inherited ceases to be of scientific value. STUDIES ON ARTHROPODA.—Dr. H. J. Hansen has issued, ‘‘ at the expense of the Rask-Orsted Fund,” under the title “‘ Studies on Arthropoda, I.’’ (Copen- hagen, 1921), three papers—one, illustrated with four plates, on a collection of Pedipalpi, etc., from West Africa, another on the post-embryonic occurrence of the median “dorsal organ” in Crustacea, mala- costraca, and a third on stridulation in decapod Crustacea. In this last paper Dr. Hansen has brought together the records of the species of decapods in which stridulating organs are present, and gives an account of two further examples which he has dis- covered in a species of Ovalipes (one of the Portunidz) and in Acanthocarpus (family Calappide). A stridu- lating organ consists usually of a regular row of small tubercles or a file-like series of ridges, e.g. on the carapace, which can be rubbed by a ridge, or a regular row of tubercles or ridges, or a sharp margin situated on some movable part of a neighbouring appendage. The sound produced by living crabs by means of the stridulating organ has been heard in the case of about half a dozen species. Dr. Hansen points out that a stridulating organ is developed in all species of Ocypoda except one, and in the Indo-Australian Ocypoda ceratophthalma one of the two series of ridges is composed of ridges of two sizes, coarse and very fine, so that the tone produced is deep or high, according as the coarse or fine ridges are rubbed. In discussing the use of the stridulating organ Dr. Hansen quotes Col. Alcock’s view that this organ serves the crab to give warning to trespassers of its own species about to enter its burrow, but he suggests that some naturalist who has at his disposal living examples of Ocypoda should carry out investigations with the view of elucidating further the use of these organs. HyGROMETRY.—The report of the discussion on hygrometry which was held by the Physical Society of London in November last has been issued with the Proceedings of the Society for February 15. It extends to 95 pages and is the most comprehensive publication on the subject which has appeared for NO. 2736, VOL. 109 | many years. For some time one of the principal — problems of hygrometry has been to develop a method which would determine, with an accuracy of I per — cent., the fraction of saturation of air at tempera- | tures below the freezing- point of water. The | chemical method of absorbing the moisture is quite satisfactory at ordinary temperatures, but at tempera- _ tures below the freezing-point, the weight of moisture present is small and the method becomes difficult — owing to the deposition of dew on the weighing tubes — and other apparatus used. The dew-point method — in its various forms is applicable at all temperatures and has been employed at the National Physical — Laboratory as the standard of reference. The wet — and dry bulb instrument fails at temperatures below — the freezing-point, while the hair hygrometer con- — taking the decrease in length of the hair fromitslength — when saturated as proportional to the logarithm of — the relative humidity down to a relative humidity of — Io per cent. 4 | ee ee Liguip INcLuUsIons IN GLAss.—Some interesting ; experiments on the production of liquid inclusions in glass, made by Mr. Charles E. Benham, are ~ described in the Geological Magazine for March. Although liquid inclusions in crystals of sodium — chloride, alum, and other salts resemble in many ¥ respects those in quartz and exhibit Brownian movement of the more minute enclosed bubbles, — there is reason to believe that their origin is not — the same. Artificial inclusions approximating more ~ closely to the cavities in minerals were prepared by — boiling resin in water tinted with ares Some — of the cavities produced contained s quickly moving bubbles, and in others the gamboge particles _ were in rapid motion. In order to form similar © artificial inclusions in glass approximating more nearly to those found naturally in quartz, a small glass tube about 3 inches long and a quarter inch external diameter was partially filled with water and sealed at both ends. It was enclosed within an unbaked brick and submitted to the usual process of firing in a brick _ kiln at a temperature of about 1200° C. After this — treatment the glass was found to contain microscopic _ liquid inclusions with vapour bubbles comparable — with those found in quartz. The experiment was repeated with similar results. alee ¢ Fag, THE Atomic WEIGHT OF CHLORINE.—From the researches of Dr. F. W. Aston it is known that ordinary chlorine, atomic weight 35-46, is a mixture of two isotopes of atomic weights 35 and 37. The constancy of this ratio has been proved by the con- | cordance between the determinations of the atomic weight made in different laboratories. This chlorine, — without exception, came from minerals deposited by sea water. There is a possibility that the ratio might not be the same in chlorine arising from primary ~ minerals not deposited from sea water, and this question has been taken up by Mlle. Ellen Gleditsch and B. Samdahl (Comptes rendus, March 13). They prepared salt from an apatite (calcium chloro- — fluophosphate) found in primary rocks, and after — careful purification from fluorine, bromine, and — iodine, found the atomic weight of the chlorine to be ~ 35°49, 35°45, 35°46, the same as that of ordinary ~ chlorine. Hence at the time of the formation of th the minerals of the primary magma, the two chlorine ~ isotopes were in the same ratio as at the present time. Vea at oer i ee Te Bi Cine! fi 5 x us _ AprIL 8, 1922] NATURE 457 *T HE new laboratories of the British Cotton Industry Research Association, at the Shirley Institute, Didsbury, Manchester, were formally opened by H. the Duke of York, K.G., on March 28. His 1] Highness was welcomed by the Chairman of Council, Mr. Kenneth Lee, and the Director of esearch, Dr. A. W. Crossley, in the presence of 1500 guests, including representatives of most f the Universities. Mr. Kenneth Lee gave a brief r of the development of mechanical skill in cotton trade, and explained how it was that the ent leaders in the industry had become so con- ed of the need for scientific inquiry on a large that, with the help and encouragement of the tment of Scientific and Industrial Research, y had established an Association for research on —CO-O tive basis. He spoke appreciatively of help which University laboratories could con- HpNov a The British Cotton Industry Research Institute. centres of industry.’’ These conditions are admir- ably fulfilled in the Shirley Institute, to which brief reference has already been made in NATURE (1920, vol. cvi. pp. 411-413). The house and laboratories are nearly 250 yards from the main road, the grounds are bounded on the south by open fields, the prevailing winds leave the air free from the smoke clouds of both Manchester and Stockport, and the centre of the city can be reached in about half an hour. The new laboratories have been designed to secure maximum adaptability, since it is almost impossible to predict which will be the predominant department in a few years’ time. A “ unit size’’ room has been created, and the separate laboratories are made in multiples of this unit. All the equipment is, so far as possible, uniform in design, and future extensions of the laboratories will be carried out on the same - tribute, and pleaded for their sympathetic co-opera- tion, but he explained that the application of scientific methods and discoveries which were so much needed _ by the industry could be rendered most effectively _ by a group of scientific workers making their experi- _ ments in a special institution where they could obtain a closer knowledge of the processes involved than can _ be gained during an academic career. is Royal Highness, in declaring the Institute open, congratulated the Association on securing the loyal support of the vast majority of the firms _ engaged in the industry and the various organisations _of Labour, and emphasised the Imperial value of the close union which existed between the Research _ Association and the Empire Cotton-growing Corpora- tion. 4 : fs * - So far back as May 23, 1917, the opinion was __ expressed at one of the meetings of the provisional com- _ mittee which organised the Cotton Industry Research _ Association that “ the site of the Research Institute should not be less than five acres in extent; that it should be in pleasant surroundings, free from _ vibration due to traffic, and easily accessible both _ from the University (of Manchester) and from the NO. 2736, VOL. 109] = Fic. 1.—The Shirley Institute for Cotton Research. plan, so that the. physics department, for example, could be moved to another portion of the building with the knowledge that all its furniture would fit into the new rooms. The ground plan of the new laboratories, repre- senting two-fifths of the projected scheme, is given in Fic. 2. The completed portion is a one-storey building, divided into a central block 170 ft. x 54 ft., and an end block 83 ft. x32 ft., the former being subdivided by the entrance hall and a long corridor into four departments each 22 ft. wide, which are partitioned off by breeze-block walls into one-, two-, or three-unit rooms as best adapted to the special re- quirements of the department. . The outer walls, 21 in. thick, and the walls of the corridor bear the weight of the saw-tooth roof, which provides for north lighting. The span of each section of the roof is to ft. 6 in., and therefore the “ unit room ”’ is 22 ft. x ro ft. 6 in. All the supply lines, including 4-in. gas and water mains, hot-water, steam, and compressed air circuits, electric lighting and power cables, lead from the special battery of twenty two-volt ‘“‘ Exide”’ cells, and telephone wires are carried along a passage 5 ft. high under the central corridor. The branch lines for the different rooms of the central block are 458 NATURE [APRIL 8, 1922 brought under the floors, the secondary mains for gas and water being closed circuits with control valves at each end. The drainage pipes also pass first into the sub-floor, the height of which is 3 ft. 6 in., so that all vital supply and waste systems are acces- sible at any time. The laboratories are heated by radiators at the floor level, and hot-water pipes are also conveyed around the ceilings to prevent down- draughts from the glazed roof. With the exception of the main chemical laboratory and balance-room, none of the rooms have fixed benches. In most cases the supply-lines and small sinks are held in position by a narrow shelf attached to the walls at the standard height of the window sills, and working accommodation is provided by tables of the same height, which are arranged in accordance with the needs of the work in progress. In the physics department stout battens are screwed to the walls at two different heights from the floors and the gas connexions and any apparatus which is to be ETM for research into the physical and mechanical pro- | perties of single cotton hairs, carded cotton, slivers, | yarns, and fabrics. y electric power points, and is wired for six independe circuits from the battery. Two of the rooms, havi concrete floors paved with wood blocks, are reser for experiments with delicate pieces of which demand freedom from vibration. chemical laboratory, 40 ft. x30 ft., is a very bright | room with walls covered with white tiles up toa height of 8 ft. Furnaces, thermostats, and large pieces — of apparatus are accommodated on a tiled, concrete — shelf, and a special bench is reserved for distillations. — The working benches, 27 ft. long, are made of pitch- — pine with teak tops. : at each end, and the drainage from the taps and — filter-pumps which range along the benches is taken — by glazed channels. loose mixing traps before emptying into the drains. Each room is well supplied with 5 Sap ti Large glazed sinks are provided — All the sinks discharge into a The importance of the subject of colloids for the 3 eg ia ee a a oes ed ee | | - Es 2 A Es Ee a 7 Es Ei ‘ eee Fic. 2.—Ground Plan of New Laboratories. A. Department of Physics. B. Department of Botany C. Department of Colloids D. General Stores. Ey. Balance Room, Below D is the boiler-house, and under E; a machinery room. mounted for a considerable time are attached to these battens. Fume cupboards, where necessary, are built into the window spaces, and mounted on wide concrete shelves covered with Ruabon tiles, the draught being induced by gas-burners placed in the flues at the floor level. Bright metal taps and electric switches have been avoided entirely so as to minimise the labour of cleaning. The work of the botanical department is chiefly microscopical, and special attention has been given to various forms of artificial illumination. Each microscopist has at his disposal two gas leads, a small sink, an electric power point for microscope illumination, an electric lighting point for bench lamps, and low-voltage currents from overhead wires for warm-stage work and incidental illumination. A fire-proof and sterilisable room is reserved for bacteriology, and contains electric incubators and sterilisers mounted on concrete benches, and a gas autoclave under a ventilating hood. The department has a very large number of samples of cultivated and semi-wild varieties of cotton, and obtains further material for study from an experimental greenhouse in which about 300 cotton plants can be grown at one time. The physics department is fully equipped NO. 2736, VOL. 109] Ej. Main Chemical Laboratory. Es. Unoccupied. E4. Optical Room. E;. Photographic Dark Room. cotton industry has been recognised by the creation of a separate department of colloid chemistry and physics. The three rooms are well equipped for physico-chemical research, one with a concrete floor — being reserved for experiments which demand freedom — from vibration or cause chemical fumes. Special accommodation for optical work is provided in a large — room which has the roof lights completely obscured, — the windows fitted with roller blinds, and all the walls, woodwork, and furniture painted a dead black. One corner of this room has been partitioned off and fitted © as a photographic dark room, both parts being © ventilated by a light-tight electric fan. tay. The coach-houses and stables of the estate have — been converted into workshops for the construction — and repair of instruments used in the laboratories — and for the general maintenance of the Institute. 4 Ample accommodation has been secured for smith’s — and carpenter’s work and general machining on the ~ ground floor, and for a scientific glass-blower above. — These experimental workshops have already proved ~ to be of enormous value to the Institute in equipping the new laboratories and making new devices for — the testing of cotton yarns. : 1 c3e5 ‘nhdtalbien Sad Ms es eS ae oy Aprit 8, 1922] NATURE 459 LARGELY attended meeting of the National nstitute of Industrial Psychology was held Mansion House, London, on March 27, at which principal speakers were Viscount Haldane, Mr. Hichens (Chairman of Messrs. Cammell Laird : gua and Dr. C. S. Myers (Director of the The chair was occupied by Mr. H. tor of Messrs. Harrisons and Crosfield, and Chairman of the Institute). The following ition, moved by Dr. Myers and seconded by Mr. was carried unanimously : view of the present serious economic situation ' the necessity to reduce costs of production increase the total national output, this meeting the opinion that: (a) a more complete and ific development of the nation’s human resources reduction of wasteful and misapplied energy e matters of urgent national importance; (b) the thods adopted by the National Institute of Indus- Psychology have been shown to reduce costs of tion, to promote the development of individual , to eliminate unnecessary effort and fatigue, (c) it is imperative that a national fund ould ee immediately established to enable the titute to extend its sphere of usefulness and to = the necessary researches into the scientific =ms involved.” followin letter was read from Mr. Seebohm am sorry I cannot be present, for hould have been glad of an opportunity to speak ) ae services of the institute to the cocoa works at ork. We have felt for some time that benefits ald accrue if some of the human factors affecting ciency were studied on a more scientific basis. was advantage to be able to turn to an trained worker to make actual observations among workmen, but the services of a skilled psychologist direct him. It has shown us how important are ie researches still to be made in our own factory by OLO} gical ex me Barty Salmon (Managing Director of Messrs. Lyons iol Co., Ltd.), in proposing a vote of thanks iscount Haldane for his address, expressed his sure and satisfaction at the work carried out by institute in the factories and depots of his firm. e ayes of the packing department of the chocolate ce been increased by over 35 per cent., and the same time the amount of effort and fatigue the workers had been reduced. Similar results e go “sey nt in other departments of the firm. Dr. M mphasised the value to the employees he fnstitute s work. Many workers, he said, have expressed their gratitude spontaneously to the vestigators for the reduced fatigue felt at the end the day. The form of the daily output curves and after the investigations has actually strated the reduction in the workers’ fatigue. The institute, he said, also aims at guiding the ng worker in the choice of his occupation, submit- x him to detailed examination by applying to n a series of mental, physical, and medical tests, i considering the results in conjunction with school ords. These tests serve also to guide the employer selecting the most capable applicant for a vacant ag Bi are not intended to replace the ordinary t to su Fk Sgn it by the measure they ord of the candidate’s general intelligence, and of endowment with the special abilities required for a te job. The institute has already, to the investigations of Mr. Cyril Burt, NO. 2736, VOL. 109] to improve the health and well-being of the- tute ike yours and to secure from you not only The National Institute of Industrial Psychology formulated satisfactory tests for shorthand writers and typewriters. Mr. Muscio’s tests for selecting compositors, published by the Industrial Fatigue Research Board, have proved equally valuable. In the United States numerous bureaux of voca- tional guidance are scattered over the whole country. Occupational tests are to-day being applied in America for the selection of sales clerks, proof- readers, clerical workers, inspectors, assemblers, and other types of factory workers. Mental tests have been introduced in place of, or as complementary to, the ordinary entrance examinations in several important universities of America. At the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (in the Uni- versity of which there are over 2000 students of psychology) the Bureau of Personnel Research is maintained financially by a number of industrial and commercial firms, who thus obtain information relating to the selection, training, organisation, and supervision of their personnel. Single firms or groups of firms arrange with the Carnegie Institute for special research on the problems arising in their factory, office, sales, or executive organisation. Instruction and research on vocational psychology are carried on in most of the American universities. _In Barcelona, the Institute of Vocational Guidance is supported entirely by the city and by the province of Catalonia. Over a thousand applicants for advice pass through its hands every year. In Brussels a similar rate-supported vocational guidance bureau is doing most valuable work, abolishing the huge number of occupational misfits and thus reducing not only the vast expense of a needlessly large labour turnover but also the overstrain and unhappiness of the misguided worker. In Germany laboratories concerned with industrial psychology and physiology have been established in Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzic, Munich, and other large centres. The Allgemeine. elektrische Gesellschaft, the Osram Company, the Berlin Tramways, Siemens and Halske may be mentioned among the firms which have availed them- selves of the services of such institutes, especially in the selection of workers in their principal depart- ments. It is stated that during twelve months the Grosser Berliner Strassenbahn has saved over twelve million marks as a result of the application of voca- tional selection, proper training based on motion study, etc. Indeed, Germany hopes to secure a lead in commerce and industry by paying attention to their human aspect, just as in pre-war days she advanced by paying attention to their material aspect. Her trade unions are likewise recognising the value of vocational guidance and of systematic training in approved methods of work. Viscount Haldane, in the course of an eloquent address, stated that there was no problem more menacing than that of unrest arising out of the relations of Labour to Capital. We had reached a stage at which the merely mechanical work was being done more and more by the machine, while the worker was becoming more and more engaged in the directing of the machine. In other words, mind was becoming of ever-increasing importance ; indeed it was not capital that created wealth, nor labour, but mind. One of the objects of the institute was, so far as possible, to relieve labour from the feeling that men and women were only machines. The aim of the institute was not to secure increased output at all costs to the worker, but to improve the mental, physiological, and physical conditions under which he worked and by this means to increase his efficiency. We were beginning to realise that the workman, 460 NATURE [AprIL 8, 1922 although he is not a machine, needs to be studied with the same scientific care and methods as are now applied to a machine, and within twenty years, he imagined, the expert im psychology and physiology would be at the elbow of every manager of a great business. If this were done we should have taken a step towards securing the contentment of the workers, because they would, at the end of their day's work, be fresh enough to turn their attention to that spiritual refreshment and knowledge which would give them the full meaning of life. Gas Cylinders Research. ap BE first report of the Gas Cylinders Research Committee has just been published by the Stationery Office. The Committee was appointed in 1918 to inquire into the whole question of cylinders for the storage and transport of compressed gases other than acetylene, but the present report deals only with the material for cylinders for the so-called permanent gases which are not liquefied at the pressures pre- vailing in the cylinders. The main question under discussion was the advisability of using steel of higher carbon content than has hitherto been per- mitted in this country, the regulations based on the recommendations of the 1895 Committee requiring that the carbon should not exceed 0-25 per cent., whilst in America the carbon may be as high as 0-55 per cent. The railway companies favour the continuance of this restriction, arguing that the im- munity of this country from cylinder accidents as compared with foreign countries points to the desir- ability of using only low-carbon steel. On the other hand, it is shown that cylinders of steel containing 0:43-0:48 per cent. of carbon have given perfectly satisfactory tests at the National Physical Labora- tory, and that such cylinders are at present carried by road, whilst the railways conveyed a large number of hydrogen cylinders of this composition during the war under an indemnity from the Admiralty. The Committee was not able to arrive at a unani- mous decision. Eleven of the members sign the main report, in which steel of the higher content in a normalised condition is recommended as an alternative material, the stress tests and tests for toughness being specified. The chairman, Prof. H. C. H. Carpenter, and the scientific members of the Com- mittee are agreed on this point. The dissenting member, Mr. J. H. B. Jenkins, is of opinion that high-carbon steel is not only less tough, but also more liable to variations in quality than mild steel, and that the saving in weight which would be effected by the change is too small to justify even a slightly increased risk of accident. The report contains a long account of mechanical tests and microscopical examinations, and will be found of interest by all steel metallurgists, whether they are concerned with the immediate problem or not. University and Educational Intelligence. ABERDEEN.—At the spring graduation ‘ceremony on March 30 the honorary degree of doctor of laws (LL.D.) was conferred upon Prof. T. W. Griffith, Professor of Medicine, University of Leeds; Mr. John Masefield; and_ Dr. Turner, Dean Ireland’s Professor of Exegesis, Oxford. The follow- ing higher degrees were also conferred. Science : D.Sc., G. P. Hector, Agricultural Department, Dacca, India. Thesis—‘‘ Studies and Genetics of Rice.’’ Medicine: M.D., F. W. C. Brown. Thesis—‘‘ A Critical Investigation into the NO. 2736, VOL. 109] in the Botany Thermal Death Point of the Tubercle Bacillus in Milk, with Special Reference to its Application to Practical Pasteurisation.’’ J. G. Danson. Fever.’ M. Y. Garden. ” by Artificial Pneumothorax. Thesis— _ ‘‘ Anaphylaxis : its Relationship to Asthma and Hay Thesis—‘‘ Observations on _ the Treatment of Diseases of the Lungs and Pleura ~ R. D. Lawrence. - = a Thesis—‘‘ The Estimation of Diastase in Blood and Urine and ‘its Diagnostic Significance.” Dr. W. Brander: Thesis—‘‘ Spontaneous Rupture of the Pathological Spleen.” ; Lonpon.—The following doctorates have been 4 conferred :—Ph.D. (Science) on Mr. J. Mould for a — thesis entitled ‘‘ The Properties of Dielectrics, in- cluding the Variations of Dielectric Constant with — Frequency, the Energy dissipated therein and the © Variation in Conductivity,”’ and on Mr. G. Sheppard — for a thesis entitled ‘‘ Contributions to the Geo of Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, with detailed reference to the Stratigraphy and Structure of the Foothill Belt and its Associated Areas ”’ ; and Ph.D. (Economics) on Bal Krishna for a thesis — entitled ‘‘ Commercial Relations between India and England.”’ The Lindley Studentship, of the value of 120/., — offered every third year, will be awarded to assist — research in physiology in the physiological laboratory. Ch.M., @ Candidates should submit a statement of qualifica- — tions and the mode of research Academic Registrar by May 1. Three Research Studentships for post-graduate i work, of the value respectively of 175/., 751. (with remission of school fees in Es proposed to the | and available for two years, will be awarded in July 3 next by the London School of Economics and Political Science. Applications, upon a special form obtain- able from the director of the school, Houghton — Street, W.C.2, must be sent in by, at latest, May 31. MANCHESTER.—A Fellowship for the encourage- ment of research in preventive medicine has been instituted in memory of the late Auguste Sheridan Delépine, professor of public health and bacteriology in the university from 1891 to 1921, by the addition of the emoluments of the former Junior Research Fellowships in Public Health to the interest derived from an endowment of 1000/., made by Dr. Charles © Slater of Tunbridge Wells. The regulations which have now been approved provide for a Fellowship — of 300/., to be offered biennially and to be open for — competition by candidates who are graduates in — medicine of this or any other approved university, or who hold an approved registrable medical quali- fication. The Ashby Memorial Research Scholarship in Diseases of Children, value troo/., is being offered this session. Applications for the scholarship, with information as to the subject proposed for investi- gation and the qualifications of the candidates, should reach the Internal Registrar of the university before June 30. , WE referred in these columns on ‘March 6; BD. 325,” to a scheme put forward by the Colston University — Research Society, of Bristol, for the establishment — of Colston Research Fellowships in the University of Bristol. Already the Society announces that Messrs. J. S. Fry and Sons, Ltd., Messrs. E. S. and A. © Robinson, Ltd., and Messrs. C. Thomasand Bros., Ltd., | have each promised to contribute the 150/. annually _ necessary to found Fellowships. It is to be hoped that the lead given by these firms will be quickly followed by other local manufacturers. mist Le ee Me ae pe Pee PME vs ) : ; 4 : i q ~ Apri 8, 1922] NATURE 461 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. April 7, 1898. Otto Baensch died.—For nearly fifty ‘s nsch was in the State service of Germany did important work in connection with the avigation of the Elbe, the Upper Rhine, and the mous Kaiser-Wilhelm or Kiel Ship Canal. il 8, 1893. Vice-Admiral E. Paris died.— Joining le French Navy in 1822, Paris was one of the first aval officers in France to study steam navigation. He ‘ote manuals on mechanics and a treatise on screw sion, and contributed papers to the Institution Yaval Architects, of which he was elected an orary associate. April 9, 1870. Thomas Joseph Ditchburn died.—A ioneer builder of iron ships, Ditchburn received his ining in Chatham Dockyard and assisted Sir obert Seppings in some of his experiments. He -aiterwards was manager for Fletcher and Fearnall, _ and then with Mare established the first iron ship- building yard on the Thames. only iron sailing man-of-war ever in H.M. Navy, A.M.S. Recruit. Ditchburn later on founded the famous Thames Iron Works at Blackwall, where during ten years he constructed some 400 vessels. _ April 9, 1877. William Gossage died—A great _ industrial chemist and inventor, Gossage began life as _ adruggist’s assistant. In 1830 he assisted to found an _ alkali works at Stoke Prior, Worcestershire, and six years later he patented his well-known condensing _ tower which prevents the escape of hydrochloric acid _ gas; an invention “ which saved from extinction a _ trade, the growth of which has contributed to the _ nation’s prosperity.” Gossage engaged in copper _ smelting and other enterprises and also became the _ largest manufacturer of soap in the world. April 10, 1903. Horace Bell died—Entering the _ public works department of India in 1862, Bell rose __ to be Engineer-in-chief of the Survey of the Great _ Western Railway of India and consulting engineer for the State railways. _ April 11, 1822. Ralph Dodd died.—The projector of a tunnel beneath the Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend, Dodd was a civil engineer and was known for his writings on canals and on the water supply and docks of London; he was also a promoter of steam navigation. He died just a hundred years ago from injuries sustained by a boiler exploding. April 11, 1847. Charles Holtzapffel died.—The son _ ofa German toolmaker who settled in London in 1787, Holtzapffel became an expert mechanician, and in 1843 published a valuable work entitled ‘“‘ Turning and Mechanical Manipulation.”” He was a member of the Council of the Institute of Civil Engineers. April 12, 1840. Franz Anton von Gerstner died.— Like his father a mathematician and engineer, Gerstner _ from 1818 to 1825 was professor of practical geometry in the polytechnic in Vienna, and was one of the earliest continental railway engineers. He con- _ structed the railway from Budweis to Linz, and in _ __1834 built the first Russian line, that from St. Peters- ae to Czarskoeselo. He died in Philadelphia, whither he had gone to study the railways of America. Aimé Claude Alfred Girard died.— _ A distinguished French chemist, and a member of the _ Institute, Girard in 1871 succeeded Payen in the __. chair of,industrial chemistry in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. EC. S. NO. 2736, VOL. 109 | April 12, 1898. In 1846 he built the. Societies and Academies. LONDON Royal Society, March 23.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair.—Sir Richard Glazebrook : Specific heats of air, steam, and carbon dioxide. The values for the specific heats of these gases below 1o00° C, given recently by Womersley are higher by 5-10 per cent. than those which follow from the results given by Holborn and Henning.—A. E. H. Tutton: (1) Monoclinic double selenates of the manganese group. The manganese group of double selenates of the isomorphous series R,Mn(SeO,),* 6H,O includes only three salts, those in which R is rubidium, cesium, and ammonium. Optically these salts are precisely in line with those for analogous salts of other groups, so that if the potassium salt could be obtained, it would be the first member of a progressive series, and the general law of progression of the crystallographic properties with the atomic number of the alkali metal would be obeyed rigidly. The volume and edge- dimensions of the space-lattice cells of the crystal structures of ammonium manganous selenate hexa- hydrate and rubidium manganous selenate are nearly identical. Similar facts obtain for all analogous ammonium and rubidium salts throughout the whole isomorphous series, as well as for the rhombic simple sulphates themselves. (2) Monoclinic double selen- ates of the cadmium group. Crystals of the am- monium salt, (NH,).Cd (SeO,), - 6H,O, which were sufficiently transparent in parts for optical use were obtained on very keen frosty nights. The potassium salt appears to be incapable of existence, its limit being probably below 0° C. Crystals of the rubidium or cesium salt were obtained during the coldest nights of January, but they were quite opaque, so that only goniometrical measurements were possible. The results are in complete accord with those from other, complete groups.—F. A. Freeth: The system: Na,O—CO,—NaCl—H,0. The system is arbitrarily considered as composed of two four-component systems, namely :—Na,CO,—NaHCO,—NaCl—H,0O, and Na,CO,;—NaOH—NaCl—H,0O. Determinations have been made at 0°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 35°, 45°, and 60° C. A general treatment is given showing how the composition and quantities of the stable phases from any mixtures of the components may be deduced.— M. A. Catal4n: Series and other regularities in the spectrum of manganese. Flame-arc, arc and spark spectra of manganese have been observed and new series lines traced. Series belonging to the spectrum of the neutral atom are (a) a system of triplet series ; (6) a system consisting of narrow triplets; and (c) a pig of narrower triplet series running parallel to the preceding system. Intercombination lines be- tween the two first systems appear as two lines very prominent at low temperatures. The calculated ionisation and resonance potentials of manganese are 7°4 volts and 2-3 volts. Diffuse triplets in the spectrum of the ionised atom are composed of nine lines. At different temperatures, groups of lines of the same character and related by very exact numerical separations (‘multiplets’) have been identified. The neutral atom of manganese probably has two electrons in the outermost ring, and when it loses one electron and becomes ionised, another electron comes out to the ring. Thus, the spectra of neutral and ionised atoms would be similarly con- stituted in accordance with observations.—D. W. Dye: Calculation of a standard of mutual inductance and comparison of it with the similar laboratory standard. The windings of the primary helices and the secondary overwound coil of a Campbell type of mutual inductance standard were measured in terms 462 NATURE [Aprit o, 1622s of the length standards of the N.P.L. and the value in absolute millihenries has been calculated. Compari- sons with the similar laboratory standard at a fre- quency of ten cycles per second showed that the ratio of the calculated values of the two standards was in agreement with the ratio of the experimentally com- pared values to an accuracy of 5 in 10°.—P. E. Shaw and N. Davy: The effect of tenrperature on gravita- tive attraction. Results with a torsion balance of the Boys-Cavendish type indicated a temperature effect of gravitation of about 1x10~ per 1° C: With similar apparatus modified to eliminate small mechan- ical movements caused possibly by the raising of the large gravitative masses to a high temperature, the effect was shown to be due to such movements reversible with temperature. The temperature effect, if any, must be less than 2x 107 per 1° C. The mean effect observed is a very small diminution in attraction as temperature rises. Zoological Society, March 7.—-Sir Sidney F, Harmer, vice-president, in the chair.—N. S, Lucas: Report on the deaths which occurred in the Society’s Gardens during 1921.—R. Broom: On the temporal arches of the Reptilia.—F. V. Urich, H. Scott, and J. Waterston: The bat-parasite Cyclopodia greeffi, and a new species of hymenopterous (Chalcid) parasite bred from it.— S. V. Montgomery: Direct development in a Dromiid Crab.—F. Balfour-Brown: The life-history of the water-beetle, Pelobius tardus, Herbst. March 21.—Dr. A. Smith Woodward, vice-president, in the chair.—P. Chalmers Mitchell: Monkeys and the fear of snakes.—G. Blaine: Notes on the zebras and some antelopes of Angola.—R. I. Pocock: On the external characters of some Histricomorph Rodents.— H. R. Hogg: Some spiders from South Annam. Physical Society, March 10.—Dr. Russell, president, in the chair.—R. L. Smith-Rose: On the electro- magnetic screening of a triode oscillator. The most complete method of screening a valve set is to enclose it in a hermetically sealed box made of metal of |. suitable thickness for the frequency used. The smallest crack allows a detectable amount of the high-frequency, energy to escape. Iron is far more effective than copper of the same thickness in pre- venting direct penetration of radio-frequency mag- netic fields through the metal—H. P. Waran: A new form of high vacuum automatic mercury pump. The pump, based on a modified Sprengel action, works automatically, the mercury being removed from the lower to the upper reservoir mixed with a current of dry air which is sucked through a side tube by a filter pump. An intermediate reservoir in the middle of the fall tube, kept automatically exhausted by the Sprengel action in the lower fall, allows the upper half to exert a positive exhaustion for every pellet of mercury falling down. The absence of compression in the first fall makes it possible to use the maximum bore for the fall tube. Less than a pound of mercury is required to operate the pump.—W. N. Bond: Viscosity determination by means of orifices and short tubes. General ex- pressions for the end-corrections obtained by the method of dimensions are employed in plotting the results of experiments on the flow of mixtures of glycerine and water through pairs of tubes of equal diameter, but. of different lengths. The conditions that the flow at the ends may be purely viscous and equations for determining the viscosity are given. Royal Meteorological Society, March 15.—Dr. C. Chree, president, in the chair.—E. M. Wedderburn: Seiches; and the effect of wind and atmospheric NO. 2736, VOL. tag] . from its normal horizontal position. pressure on inland lakes. ‘“‘Seiche”’ is the name ments of the level of inland lakes. for the Scottish Lake Survey, and found that micro- baric disturbances were the most frequent cause of seiches. Other possible causes are heavy rainfall over part of the lake, rapid flooding and wind squalls. Earth tremors rarely cause considerable movements. The Scottish Lake Survey also discovered internal seiches of large amplitude. During autumn there is at the surface a layer in which there is little varia- tion of temperature with depth. Below this is a narrow layer, the discontinuity layer, in which the fall of temperature is rapid, while below this again is the bottom water of the lake in which temperature variations are small, The effect of wind blowing along a lake is to accumulate the warm surface water at the lee end, so that the discontinuity layer is di When the wind wind. moderates a standing oscillation commences at the discontinuity layer. The period of oscillation depends on the difference of density between these layers ; the amplitude may be several feet, without causing measurable disturbance of the level of the free surface. ; CAMBRIDGE. eae: British Mycological Society, March 18.—Mr. F. T. Brooks, president, in the chair.—Mrs. M. N. Kidd: Diseases of apples in storage. Moulds attacking apples in storage show a definite sequence and cause a different amount of loss. Physiological diseases are of considerable importance. Scald and probably others can be completely controlled by wrapping — the fruit in specially prepared paper.—J. Line: Parasitism of Nectria cinnabarina. This fungus is associated with a characteristic wilting of appar- ently healthy branches, the wood of which is brown to green and occluded with fungal hyphze. Pure cultures of the fungus were incapable of establishin the hyphez. in living wood or cortex but succeeded — on artificially killed plants, and finally were able to pass into healthy wood.—K. C. Mehta: Observations on the occurrence of wheat rusts near Cambridge. Puccinia graminis does not overwinter by uredospores nor by mycelium inside the host plant; its recur- rence is explained only through fresh infection by zcidiospores produced on Barbe In P. triticina and P. glumarum viable uredospores can be found during the greater part of winter, and there is con-’ clusive experimental evidence that these rusts can overwinter by means of mycelium inside the host plants.—F. T. Brooks and C. G. Hansford: Mould growths on cold store meat. Meat from the southern originally given in Switzerland to quasi-tidal move- — In 1905 the late | Prof. Chrystal investigated the seiches in Loch Earn ~ F: hemisphere showing mould growths was investigated. . Some of these fungi, particularly Cladosporium herbarum (‘‘ black spot’’), can develop at —6° C.; other moulds grow readily at temperatures about freezing-point. At several degrees above this, bacterial growth is so active as to .suppress the moulds. The fungi are only superficial and, unless accompanied by putrefactive bacteria, do not render the meat unfit for food. DUBLIN. . Royal Dublin Society, March 28.—Dr. J. A. Scott in the chair.—J. J. Nolan and J. Enright: Experi- ments on the electrification produced by breaking up water, with special application to Simpson’s theory of the electricity of thunderstorms. Different samples of water were tested. The purer water gives higher charges, the difference being very great for small degrees of breaking-up. With mare com- plete pulverisation the charge produced tends to be Aprix 8, 1922] NATURE 463 dependent of the purity. It is found that the _ purer water can be broken into finer drops. Charges are obtained about ten times as great as any reported ‘previously. The probable charge produced by the “natural breaking up of a rain-drop of 4 mm. diameter is 0-2 e.s. unit per c.c. EDINBURGH. March 20.—Prof. F. O. Bower, Royal Society, in the chair.—Address by Sir Charles S] dent, in S.C. errington: Some points regarding present-day ews of reflex action. More attention is being paid yw than formerly to the intimate nature of the esses in the nervous centres during reflex action. question has been raised as to whether the ntial elements of reflex action as unfolded in the centre itself contain any which are funda- “mentally different from the properties shown by simple peripheral nerve-muscle preparations. The “resemblance between the neuro-muscular junction and the synapse suggests that the latter, like the former, is a junctional region exhibiting decremental conduction of the nervous impulse. Then much of _ could be accounted for by such timing in the sequence _of centripetal impulses that the successive impulses fell in the conducting path at such frequency as to _ coincide with the period of supranormal phase in the _ conducting fibre. The larger impulses thus resulting _ would pass through the decremental block that suffices to extinguish smaller ones. A somewhat slow _ frequency of stimulus rhythm would thus succeed _ in making: a stimulus effective which: had been at the _ outset ineffective. Conversely a frequency of serial _ stimuli, each singly ‘effective, but so timed as to _ follow one upon another at such interval as to fall _ within the period of relative refractory phase of the _ precedent impulse, would lead to impulses: of sub- _ normal extent. These on arriving at a region of _ decrement, a synapse, would fail to pass. A neurone _ occupied by such subnormal impulses would form a complete inhibitory block to any reflex arc of _ which it formed a link. Thus central inhibition could be established by successive impulses, the interval between which lay outside the period of absolute refractory phase but not so far. outside as _ to escape that of relatively refractory phase. Lucas offers an explanation of reciprocal innervation by such rhythmic impulse adjustments as involve inter- ference of impulses of this nature. By invoking changes in the degree of decrement in the decre- mentally conducting regions the reversal of reflex action can be explained. Thus A. Forbes accounts for the changing. of reflex excitation into reflex inhibition by assuming that the intensity of decre- ment is increased by such agents as chloroform and ether. The similar reversal by fatigue lends itself to a similar explanation. Such properties, observ- able in the simple nerve-muscle preparation itself, can be made to explain the main essential features ot action of the nerve-centres. ParIs. . j Academy of Sciences, March 6.—M. Emile Bertin _in the chair.—The secretary announced the death _ of M. Max. Neether, correspondent for the section _ of geometry.—G,. Julia: New applications of con- _ formal representation with functional equations.— _ H. Villat: A new problem concerning analytical _ functions and conformal representation. — R. _ Lagrange: The application of varieties of order p _ im an # space of m order.—B. Gambier: Point corre- _ spondence deduced from the study of the three _ fundamental quadratic forms ot two surfaces.—A. Planiol: -Organic yield of internal combustion NO. 2736, VOL. 109] _ the summation observable in the nervous centre. motors.—G. Camichel: Surfaces of discontinuity.— C. Nordmann and Le Morvan: Observation of a singular phenomenon presented by the star @ of the Great Bear. From its spectrum, this star should belong to the solar type, but the intensity distribution in its spectrum corresponds with an effective tempera- ture near that of the very hot hydrogen stars.—G. Prévost: Determination of the coefficients in the development in Laplace polynomials of a function of two variables—M. Labussiére: The geometrical existence of a general invariant of pencils of rays refracted according to Descartes’ law, and its applica- tions to geometrical optics and to radiation.—E. Belin: The telegraphic transmission of photographs, drawings, or manuscripts. The original is converted into a relief photograph on bichromate gelatine paper, ‘and a stylus connected with a microphone is moved over this relief. Special arrangements are described for ensuring the synchronism of the transmitting and receiving mechanism. The efficiency of the apparatus has been proved by trials in America and in France.— G. Claude: The elimination of the heat of reaction in the synthesis of ammonia at very high pressures.— G. Chaudron and G. Juge-Boirard: The estimation of sulphur in iron pyrites. In the method in current use (solution in aqua regia) some sulphur occasionally separates. It has been found that by allowing the reaction to proceed at the ordinary temperature for 12 hours this error can be avoided.——H. de Pommereau: The reduction of ethyl benzoate and of some other benzene compounds by sodium and absolute alcohol. With ethyl benzoate the chief product is tetrahydrobenzylic acid, with a small proportion of:tetrahydrobenzyl alcohol as a secondary product.—M. Sommelet and J. Guioth: The formic hydrogenation of the quaternary salts of hexa- methylenetetramine. Hexamethylenetetramine chlor- benzylate boiled with formic acid gives a slow evolution of carbon dioxide. When gas ceases to be evolved, dimethylbenzylamine, C,H; - CH, - N(CHs)s, can be isolated, in quantity corresponding with 60-70 per cent. of the theoretical yield.—A. Allix: Observations on relief sculpture by ice.—A. Guillier- mond and G. Mangenot: The signification of the reticular apparatus of Golgi. It has been suggested that Golgi’s apparatus has no real existence in the living plant and is caused by the preparation and staining of the section. With barley root as material, Golgi’s experiments were repeated and confirmed, using not ‘only Golgi’s method, admittedly open to objection, but also. the more certain technique of Cajal and Da Fano.—P. Georgévitch: The origin of the centrosome and the formation of the spindle in Stypocaulon scoparium.—Mme, A. Pruvot: A new and remarkable type of Gymnosome (Loginiopsis). A description of a new type of Gasteropod collected during the voyages of the Prince of Monaco in the region of the Azores. At the point where the mouth is usually situated this animal carries an appendix, in length about one-third that of the body, This is expanded near the summit into three fleshy lobes.— F. Maignon: The utilisation of the tissue diastases for the determination of the organ, the functional in- sufficiency of which is the cause of a pathological state. The application of this clinical method to the study of the physiological véle of certain organs. Basedow’s disease was proved to be caused not by the condition of the thyroid gland alone, since a mixture of diastases i the thyroid, ovary, and suprarenal glands was required to abate the symptoms. Eczema yielded to treatment with hepatic diastases, either alone, or mixed with diastase from other organs.—J. Benoit: The physiological conditions relating to the periodic nuptial adornment in birds. There is a close connection between the 464 NATURE [Aprit 8, 1922 state of the testicular interstitial gland and the state of the nuptial adornment (change in colour of plumage). There is no such connection between the nuptial adornment and the intratubular seminal ‘gland.—C. Oberthiir and C, Houlbert: Convergence or parallel variation in the genus Holimede.—M. and Mme. G. Villedieu: Contribution to the study of anticryptogamic copper mixtures. The spores of Phytophthora (potato “disease ”’) germinate freely in solutions of copper bicarbonate, ‘but solutions of sodium sulphate (0-18 per cent.), potassium chigns (0-15 per cent.), sodium chloride (0-15 per cent. ace) potassium nitrate (0-2 per cent.) arrest completely the germination of mildew. It would appear that the presence of copper in Bordeaux or Burgundy mixtures is of doubtful utility—-M. Aron: The determinism of secondary sexual characters in. Tritons.—P. Nottin: The increased solubility and diastatic degradation of the nitrogenous materials of maize. Application to yeast manufacture. Official Publications Received. Department of the Interior: United States Geological Survey. Forty-second Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, aL Pp. 108. (Washington: Government Printing Office.) Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1913-1914. (In 2 parts.) Part Il. Pp. viii+795-1481. (Washington : Government Printing Office.) Annual Report of the Director, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1921. Pp. 147+36 charts. (Washington: Government Bureau of Edueation. Printing ‘Office. ) Bulletin, Foreign Criticism of American Education. By W. J. Department of the Interior: 1921, No. 8: Osburn. Pp. 158. (Washington : Government Printing Office.) Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, APRIL 7. DIESEL ENGINE USERS’ ASSOCIATION (at Institution of Electrical Engineers), at 3.—H. Moore: Some Characteristics of Petroleum Oil used in Diesel Engines. LONDON Society (at Royal Society of Arts), at 4.30.—Dr. ©. W. Saleeby : More Light vy London : or the Coal Smoke Curse and the Restoration of Daylight Foop EDUCATION SOCIETY (at Caxton Hall, Westminster), at 5.30.— Miss A. Muncaster, and others: Discussion on Feeding in Institutions, with special reference to School Diet. ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY (Students’ Section) (at 7 Albemarle Street), at 6.45.—Prof. L. Bairstow : Some Aeronautical Problems of the Early Future. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—J. W. Maple: Engineering in Southern Persia, ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Sir Ernest Rutherford : Evolution of the Elements. SATURDAY, APRIt 8. ROYAL swish ry OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Ernest Rutherford : Radioactivity (6) pie ae peo COLLEGE OF CHROMATICS (at Caxton Hall), at 3.15.— . Robinson : Trees: their Colours and Coloratian. MONDAY, Aprit 10. VICTORIA INSTITUTE (at Central Buildings, Westminster), at 4.30.— T. Roberts: Seven Decisive and Suggestive Scenes in the. History of the Secular Contest between Conscience and Power. ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY (at Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore), at 5.—C. S. Fox, and others: Discussion on Dr. Heron’s Report on " the Geology of the Mount Everest Region. ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY (at Ne a pe of London Club, 21 Gower Street, W.C.1), at 8.—Dr. G. E. Moore, Prof. G. Dawes Hicks, and iss L. S. Stebbing: Discussion on Dr. McTaggart’s “ Nature of Existence.”’ SURVEYORS’ INSTITUTION, at 8.—R. Cobb: Agricultural Valuations. TUESDAY, Aprit 11. Royat SOcmETY OF MEDICINE (Therapeutics and Pharmacology Section), at 4.30.—Annual General Meeting. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE, at 5. eGonarat “Meeting. INSTITUTION OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGISTS (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.30.—A. Millar: Galicia and its Petroleum Industr ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 7. —Dr. H. B. Goodwin : Photographic Portraiture, Pure and Simple. QUEKETT MICROSCOPICAL CLUB, at 7.30.—J. Wilson: A Short Account esd vie Genus Closterium. Lek. E. Brown : Imitative and Windowed ants. NO. 2736, VOL. 109] ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15. Age T. A. Joyce: The Paquecha of Ancient Peru. —Miss A. C. Breton: Notes on Some Peruvian Antiquities ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Psychiatry Section), at 8.30.—Dr. B. Pierce : Recovery. os _ WEDNESDAY, Aprit 12. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL Society, at 5.—Major W. J. S. Lockyer: The Relationship between the Solar Prominences phos the — GEOLOGICAL SocIBTY OF LONDON, at 5,30,—Prof, A. Seward: A Collection of Carboniferous Plants from Peru.—F, ow. Edwards : : Oligocene Mosquitoes in the British Museum, with a Sum our present Knowledge concerning Fossil Culicidea.—Miss M. ey Chandler: The Geological History of the Genus Stratiotes : an Account of the cla Snr ce Changes which i occurred within the Genus during the Tertiary and Quaternary Era INSTITUTION OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS “at Institution of parce Engineers), at 8.—A. F. Evans: Marine Engine Design as affected by Lifeboat Service Conditions. gee i OF ENGINEERS-IN-CHIEF (at St. Bride’s Institute, Bride E.C.4), at 8.—W. H. Booth: The Artesian Wells and Geo- fontcal Strata pe London. THURSDAY, APRIL 13. OPTICAL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30. g 7 Weta te ide ae Qk eR ~~ PRIDAY, APRIL 14,0 777 he MALACOLOGIOAL SocreTy OF LONDON (at Linnean Society). CONTENTS. in The Development Fund . : * Fees? Pater bi The Teaching of Physics . . © 4 \- eee ae The Principles of Distillation . ? : general knowledge to deal with satisfactorily. same time, the forensic chemist must never that he is not an advocate or a partisan ; his object should be to assist the court to a just ry kind of criminal investigation with which chemist may be called upon to deal, such as the ing of blood-stains, the analytical examination ets and other projectiles for firearms, of clothing, rfeit coins, documents, explosives and explosions, finger-prints, fires and firearms, poisons and , etc., is covered in Mr. Lucas’s book. As blood-testing in legal cases, the author rightly that it should be undertaken only by those have considerable experience of the work. The s of error are frequently many, and the issues NO. 2737, VOL. 109] may be most serious. The chapter dealing with this subject is an excellent example of the care and caution with which the author approaches any question of chemical jurisprudence. Dealing with projectiles, it is only necessary to recall the Monson trial to realise how much may depend upon the analytical examina- tion of projectiles, wads, and cartridges, the number and width of marks made by the rifling of the barrel, the direction of its twist, the presence of rust, etc. As regards clothing, the author shows how the examination of a waistcoat led to the detection and conviction of a German spy during the war of 1914-18. Counterfeit coining seems to be very prevalent in Egypt. The coins are usually struck, and many, we are told, are excellent imitations. A few illus- trative cases are given, some of which display con- siderable ingenuity in adapting primitive appliances and apparatus intended for other purposes. The examination of suspected documents in cases of sub- stitution or forgery may require the testing of the paper for the nature of the fibre, the recognition of water-marks, the analysis of the ink employed, the . style of pen used, etc. Cases met with in Egypt - evidently present difficulties not usually present in European countries. Knowledge gained during the war has undoubtedly led to a great extension of the use of high explosives for criminal purposes, especially in the form of bombs as a means of assassination, and the chemico- legal expert is not infrequently called upon to examine them in connection with attempts at murder. Such examinations are, of course, often attended with danger, and need to be made with circumspection and care. The precautions to be taken are set out in some degree of detail. Of recent years Egypt has been particularly fruitful of instances of the kind, in which Mr. Lucas or his assistants would seem to have had ample scope for the exercise of their courage, skill, and ingenuity. But the “tyranny of space” forbids any further: attempt to illustrate the possibilities of chemistry as applied to the detection of crime. For other examples the reader may be referred to the book under review. The possibilities are, in fact, boundless. Mr. Lucas shows how the chemical examination of stains and marks, dust and dirt, even of tobacco, may afford clues which may lead to the conviction of criminals. Indeed, one rises from the perusal of his book with the feeling that the ideal forensic chemist would be a combination of Sherlock Holmes with a comprehensive compendium of general and analytical chemistry such as might be embodied in a person of whom fiction has hitherto afforded no example. 472 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 The “ Index Kewensis.” Index Kewensis Plantarum Phanerogamarum. Supple- mentum Quintum Nomina et Synonyma Omnium Generum et Specierum ab Initio Anni MDCCCCXI usque ad finem Anni MDCCCCXV Nonnulla Etiam Antea Edita Complectens. Ductu et Consilio D. Prain, confecerunt Herbarii Horti Regii Botanici Kewensis Curatores. Pp. iii + 277. (Oxonii: e ' Prelo Clarendoniano, 1921.) 76s. net. HERE is probably no publication which _ is awaited with such interest and impatience as the issue from time to time of the supplements of the ‘Index Kewensis.”. Had it. not been for the interruption of the war, the list of genera and species published, or the publication of which was ascertained, in the five years 1911-15, would doubtless have been available to botanists less than six years after the second date, This delay was inevitable, but it may be assumed that Supplement 6, comprising the years 1916-20, is well on the way and will be available for workers before another five years have passed. Some names published abroad during 1914 and 1915 were not noted in time for insertion in the present supplement, but will be included in the next. A rough estimate shows that the present volume indexes more than 33,000 species-names, and a perusal of a few columns indicates the large number and great variety of the books and periodicals which have been searched during the compilation of the work, which, so far as one can judge by inspection and trial, maintains the high standard of accuracy and complete- ness of the parts previously issued. It is a great help to have a note of the date of publication of the book or periodical cited ; the absence of this was a dis- advantage in the earlier volumes. Similarly the practice adopted in the previous supplement of not attempting to distinguish between species and Synonyms, often a matter of personal opinion, has again .been followed, and the work maintains its character purely of an index. Attention is directed in the preface to the fuller geographical citations as compared with previous volumes ; thus in American species the name of the State follows the indication U.S.A, ; in Chinese, the name of the province, and so on; this additional information is a distinct gain. To the botanist a perusal of the columns is of special interest as marking the progress of botanical explora- tion generally ; thus the large number of genera and species quoted as from China, especially the south- western provinces and the Philippine Islands, suggests the important work being carried on in those areas by British and American collectors and investigators. The progress of standard floristic works, such as the NO. 2737, VOL, 109] some well-known genera to Miller instead of to Tater, a : ? “Flora of Tropical Africa,” or series of monograph: such as the “‘ Pflanzenreich,” is also recorded in th cases under the genera of families specially concern The numerous entries under certain well-kno European genera, such as Hieracium, which fills pages, and Rubus, which fills eight, recall the intensive - study of species and their segregation, which will doubt- less continue to supply material for future supple- ments. The many unwieldy trivial names, some- times running into eight syllables, indicate the difficulty of finding new names for species when these run into — the hundreds in individual genera, The occasional — appearance of names from periodicals antedating the special period shows the great difficulty of sweeping — up all the literature. Thus a harvest of new names — has been supplied by Hegetschweiler’s “Flora der — Schweiz’ (1839), previously overlooked, and the — recognition of Philip Miller’s ‘‘ Abridged Dictionary — of Gardening ” (edition of 1754), in which many genera a were carefully defined, necessitates the reference of authorities. 3 In the method of citation the recommitallaal of d the latest International Code of Rules is followed i mt the use of the capital letter only for species-names derived from a personal or a generic name. Tn the — EY manner of production, from the irreproachable Latin © preface onwards, the volume upholds the sei of the Oxford University Press. snitch Mental Measurement. ‘ (1) The Essentials of Mental Measurement. By Dr.W. Brown and Prof. G. H. Thomson. (The oe eee Psychological Library.) Pp. x+216. (Cambridge : — At the University Press, 1921.) 21s. net. 3 (2) How to Measure. By Prof. G. M, Wilson and i Prof. K. J. Hoke. Pp. vii+285. (New York: 2 _ The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan — and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 12s. net. / (1) LEVEN years ago Dr. William ies 3 published as a thesis for his doctorate a suggestive and original monograph on the use of the — theory of correlation in psychology. Later, by adding — = one or two chapters of introduction and two or three — ; others on the so-called psychophysical methods, he s expanded this monograph into a compact manual _ ¥ entitled ‘The Essentials of Mental Measurement.” as Now, in turn, after another and a longer interval, the e manual itself has developed into a guinea royal-octavo volume, extensively enlarged and exhaustively revised. . The larger additions consist for the most part of a 1) " detailed series of mathematical arguments, examining what is termed the “ hierarchical theory,” and bringing IL 15, 1922] NATURE 473 1 this subject published from time to time by frey Thomson during the war. There are, several other new insertions. There is a long chapter on the elementary theory of proba- a shorter and more abstruse one upon skew- 7 which, as indeed all through the volume, Pearson’s views and manner of a ds of individual measurement—methods ig intelligence and for estimating the capa- attainments of the mind. Instead we have prolegomena upon statistical adjuncts, and the 3 ve in view, not so much general mental x, as the testing of the mental tests themselves. opens with a general chapter headed “ Mental t,” which seems to promise the broad racteristic of a general text-book, but most es in the second portion of the book, and Sea tarsi in its two independent prefaces, , brilliant contributions to a special con- The three doctrines chiefly attacked are cted with the name of Prof. Spearman. or, highly satisfactory to learn that Dr. elements of truth in the views that he and feels himself to be “‘ more convinced than t the work of Prof. Spearman’s correlational epoch-making in its significance.” neous character of the volume has been cised by at least one eminent statistician.! s the best defence to this criticism is the cumstance that at present the whole subject measurement has itself arrived at a some- ‘ogeneous stage. In any case, the mixed versial quality of the book does not lighten or the difficulties of a topic already intrinsically . The treatment is of necessity technical. t to last the pages of the book are dotted with can at times be comprehensible. How- ‘d section to the book is promised, summaris- mathematical language both theories and the general reader. le no research student who thinks of em- the statistical methods here described and can ignore this treatise. It is, indeed, con- Yale, Brit. Journ. pogo vol. 12, pp. 100-t07—an article which importance contribution to the points at issue. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] the substance of important controversial sidering the intricacy of the subject, a work of great lucidity and compression, and, whether the criticisms urged against previous workers are insuperable or not, objections to their views certainly required statement at length and in detail. (2) The volume by Prof. Wilson and Prof. Hoke is altogether different from that by Dr. Brown and Prof. Thomson. It is written for American teachers, and describes in simple phraseology some of the methods in vogue for individual measurement. The chapters consist mainly of an account of the various tests recently standardised for measuring attainments in the chief subjects of the school curriculum—reading, writing, drawing, arithmetic, and the like. A few pages are added on the measurement of intelligence and on statistical methods and terms. The book is _ published in the hope of encouraging the teachers themselves to apply to their classes the diagnostic methods that hitherto, for the most part, have been handled by psychologists alone. It is one of the many popular volumes that have appeared and are likely to appear upon the practical educational applications of © these psychological methods. Statistical Method. A First Course in Statistics. By D.C. Jones. (Bell’s Mathematical Series.) Pp. ix+286. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 15s. net. HE needs of the student of social statistics form the prime consideration in this ‘ First Course,” but, as the author states, illustrations have been drawn from all sources, and it will serve very well as a brief introduction for students in other branches of science. The volume has been divided into two parts. Part I. is elementary in character, and in the main can be followed by a reader with little mathematical knowledge. The notions of measurement and of variables are explained, and the conceptions of the frequency distribution, of classification and tabulation are briefly discussed, and a couple of chapters follow on the simpler forms of average and the weighted mean. Dispersion comes next, accompanied by a more detailed discussion of the frequency distribution. The following chapter is on graphs, an unusual feature in this chapter being the inclusion of sections on interpolation and on supply and demand curves. A treatment of the correlation of two variables on simple lines concludes the first part of the book. Part II., though it begins simply, is of a more advariced mathematical character. The first few chapters are on probability, sampling, and probable errors. Prof. Pearson’s generalised proba- bility curves are then dealt with, and the method of moments ; two chapters on the normal curve and the 474 NATURE [APRIL 15,1922 normal correlation surface conclude the volume. An appendix of some sixteen pages deals with a number of incidental points, and short notes are given on certain current sources of social statistics and on tables as aids to calculation. The book seems very competently done, and we have noted few points for criticism that are worthy of individual comment. A criticism of a general kind may, however, be made, namely, that the author has not kept in mind sufficiently carefully the type of reader whom he is addressing. The initial chapters of Part I. are written in a very simple style, adapted to a reader of little ability and practically no mathematical knowledge ; but in the chapters on correlation differentiation is used, and in Part II., when Prof. Pearson’s curves are explained, the reader will require a fair knowledge of and ability to use the calculus. The result is that parts of the book are beyond the elementary reader, and others almost too elementary in style for the more able student. It should, however, prove a useful addition to the small, but growing, number of books on the theory of statistics, for the same ground is not covered by any other volume. The printing and general get- up of the book are admirable, but author and editor of the series are to blame for not including an index. G. Uae Surveying for Oil Geologists. (1) Field Mapping for the Oil Geologist. By C. A. Warner. Pp. x+145. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) 13s. 6d. net. (2) Field Methods in Petroleum Geology. By Dr. _ G. H. Cox, Prof. C. L. Dake, and Prof. G. A. Muilen- burg. Pp. xiv+305+11 plates. (New York and London : McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1921.) 245. net. HE great increase in the demand for combined geological and topographic mapping of oil- fields has led to the issue of books to teach the rudi- ments of geology to surveyors and of surveying to the geologist. These two manuals belong to this group. (1) The smaller, by Warner, is written with special reference to the conditions of the central oilfields of the United States, and it includes tabular summaries of their geological sections. The geology is otherwise so elementary that no oil company would be well advised to trust to geological surveys. by men whose knowledge of the subject is so limited that they would gain any help from the chapters thereon in this book, Its concise mathematical tables, simple explanations of suryeying methods, instructions for the preparation NO. 2737, VOL. 109 | of convergence maps and for the verification of oil scums on seepages, may, however, render it useful to — geologists who have had no special training in oil prospecting and may be called on to take part in thie { j work. three professors of the Missouri School of Mining and — Metallurgy, is a larger work, and its geology is more advanced. The mathematical tables are fuller, and — the account of geological structures may be read with — great advantage by students of geology in schools which do not give much attention to the structural It has an admirable glossary, — side of the subject. which explains among other facts that the term “ wild- — cat ” in oil mining is not the same term of contempt as — in metal mining, as it is applied to all well-sinking in — (2) The work by Messrs. Coe) Dake, and Muilenburg, i unproved territory. This development of the term suggests that American opinion regards all oil boring — in unproved ground as so speculative that the expression — is used for it which the metal miner adopted for forlorn — In a book in which con- hopes and reckless gambling. ciseness is so indispensable it seems unnecessary to have included the history of the mariner’s “— and of the barometer. Neither book gives any help in the use of fies: The Missouri manual refers to fossils as if their evidence : were too difficult for use by any but an expert; con- — sidering, however, the importance of fossils in oil work f and the value of the indications often given by the — soap ante simplest of paleontological evidence, some instructions — how to recognise and collect fossils might usefully have been included. The Fourth Dimension. The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained. A Colebiaot of Essays selected from those submitted in The z=) 251. —| Scientific American’s Competition. Pp. (London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1921.) 7s. 6d. net. HE fourth dimension and non-Euclidean geometry 2 haveachieved a prominencequite unprecedented : for mathematical topics. In train, bus and tram, over — lunch and at the theatre, intelligent man is discussing © the fundamentals of his physical consciousness. reason to complain. pain, the tyrannical ukases of Euclid, and, if he did not.acquire an enthusiastic love for the old Greek, he was at any rate pleased to think that the puzzles of geometry had been settled by something approximat- _ ing to incontrovertible authority; he was grateful — that he need not worry about the doctrine of parallels, or the three angles of a triangle, or about the up and i Sif) ey, : “vy, ay Mathe- _ maticians have sprung a surprise on the man in the _ street—and on one another, and the former has some A | He remembers, perhaps with _ rons Ss 4 » APRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 475 1, to and fro, right and left. Suddenly the man 1e street finds himself floundering in a morass of ical ignorance. w much good it would have done him if it had ws what would be true if certain other things cue,” if he had realised that Euclid was a guide ‘interpretation of ordinary space experience, ‘a royal promulgator of irrevocable decrees ! 1 have been spared some of the journalistic ism of the past two years, and have been pped to think clearly and without prejudice. course the fourth dimension of relativity is not ne as that suggested by the older conception r-dimensions, although it is still a common nce to hear somebody complain that it is se to suggest that time is 4/—1 times a length: heless this book of essays will be read with . The book was worth publishing if only for he clear and excellent introduction by Prof. Manning. Some of the essays are distinctly good, although they lsuffer the inevitable consequence of having a lot of ation: crammed into a small space. Several are npartial, others seem to look with favour on the ossibility of a fourth dimension, while a few speak of it scant respect. There is very much repetition, bound to be the case in such a publication, and iderable amount of the sort of speculation that Seeations of the fourth dimension in spiritualistic , that makes the fourth dimension a con- ent t of Siletorcs, that sees the fourth dimension ested in Ephesians iii. 18, and that thinks it ible that many of the small objects each of us ses disappear by rolling out of three-dimensional space into the fourth dimension! —S. BropETsKv. OID vlid Our Bookshelf. jal Institute: Monographs on Mineral Resources Special Reference to the British Empire: dleum, Prepared jointly with H.M. Petroleum artment with the co-operation of Dr. H. B. shaw. Pp. x+z110. (London: John Murray, .) 55. net. “red” book dealing with petroleum has ed recently as a small volume uniform with the ell-known monographs of the Imperial Institute. It ype of publication that was much needed, since it odies in summary form the main geographical, ological and economic features of the world’s oil-fields. the present time this information is very scattered, e particularly in connection with British resources, that a scientific discussion of the subject, at once eid and. easily accessible, forms a welcome addition a official technical literature. __ The volume is divided into three sections, the first NO. 2737, VOL. 109] reviewing briefly the more theoretical phases of oil technology, such as the origin, migration, and accumula- tion of petroleum, the second dealing with British, Colonial, and mandatory resources, and the third with foreign resources. Several statistical tables concern- ing production of oil in various countries are included, the information under this heading being brought up to 1920 in most cases; the results of distillation of typical crude oils are given, together with* certain physical characteristics. A small map of the world showing the principal oil-bearing localities and a short bibliography are appended. A somewhat unfortunate attempt has been made to tabulate the characteristics of the oil regions of the - United States, a task requiring no little care and a great deal more space than has been allocated to it; one would scarcely describe the prevalent structure of the Appalachian region as anticlinal, while the omissions in the same connection under the headings of Lima— Indiana and the Rocky Mountains are difficult to understand. With this exception, the text is remark- ably good in every way. H. B. Miter. Edited by J. A. Hammerton, No. 1. Pp. xxiv+i112. (London: The Amalga- mated Press, Ltd., 1922.) 1s. 3d. net. Tuis is the first instalment of a popular work to be issued in fortnightly parts which, when complete, will give an account of all the nations of the world in alphabetical order. It is a remarkable piece of journalistic enterprise. The whole work promises to be of great interest and of some considerable educational value as a work of reference for the class of reader for whom it is intended. In the present number Sir Arthur Keith contributes a foreword on the ‘“ Dawn of National Life,” which deals with racial origins and the development of culture. The nations described are Abyssinia, Afghanistan, written partly by Sir Thomas Holdich, Albania, in part by Miss Durham, and Algeria. Each article is divided into three parts, of which the first deals with geography and ethnology, the second is historical, each of these being by a recognised authority, and the third gives statistical and other data. In view of the limited amount of space available, the articles are extremely well done and give the salient facts in readable and attractive form. The chief feature of the publication, however, is the illustrations, which are remarkable both in number and quality. Peoples of All Nations. Tables, Factors and Formulas for Computing Respiratory Exchange and Biological Transformations of Energy. By T. M. Carpenter. (Publication No. 303.) (Wash- ington : Carnegie Institution.) 2 dollars. PuBLicATION No. 303 of the Carnegie Institution contains not only a number of tables for the expression of the results of gas analyses but also those of Benedict and his colleagues and of Aub and Du Bois for the estimation of basal metabolism. Some of these tables are inaccessible and all are scattered through a variety of journals and monographs, so it is a great convenience to the investigator to have the whole series in a single handy volume. This work will take its place beside ** Chambers,” ‘‘ Barlow,” and “ Tables for Statisticians and Biometricians,” on the shelves of most workers. 476 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the wwriters of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. | The Atomic Vibrations in the Molecules of Benzenoid Substances. SiR WILLIAM BracG has recently . suggested (Presidential Address to the Physical Society, Proc. Phys. Soc., 1921, 34, 33) that in the molecule of crystallised naphthalene the carbon atoms are arranged so that in the accompanying figure the centres of atoms at h, 1, b, g, e, c lie in a plane, whilst those at & and a lie above the plane and those at f and d an equal distance below it. If this were the normal stable arrangement in naphthalene and its simple derivatives, enantio- morphism would result in the case of all mono- substituted, and in the majority of the higher sub- stituted compounds, the special examples of symmetry being obvious on inspection. Since, however, all the available evidence tends to show that the mole- cules of naphthalene derivatives are identical with their mirror images, it follows that the structure suggested by Sir William Bragg represents a phase of an oscillation of the relatively unrestricted molecules of the fused or dissolved substance in which the pairs of carbon atoms k, a and f, d appear alternately above and below the plane containing the six remain- ing atoms. At the first glance such a process appears peculiar and unsymmetrical, but this objection dis- appears when it is noticed that an identical result is obtained if all the atoms are supposed to be in motion in such a way that adjacent atoms move in opposite directions and to an equal distance from the plane of the original ring. If the component perpendicular to the plane of the ring is x, then the condition arrived at is shown below, x and (x) signify- ing, respectively, above and below the plane of the ring. x x 7 y y 4 oy Ye 7 \foe A fs ee | Pt (4) =) Oe (y) (v) By rotating about the axis figured, the second position is obtained with six atoms in the plane of the original ring and four arranged as indicated (y>* and <2¥). A similar vibration of the phenan- threne molecule would demand in the case of an isolated phase that the atoms lie in two planes parallel with that of the original ring, and also in four parallel planes containing carbon atoms to the number of two, six, five, and one, respectively. The above argument is circular to the extent that the naph- thalene configuration was partly derived by analogy with the hexagonal rings of the graphite layers, but NO. 2737, VOL. 109] the point is that if independent evidence is forth- 4 coming that an individual naphthalene molecule in ‘ a crystal has the arrangement of atoms put fo by Sir William Bragg, then at the same time at least one mode of vibration of the benzenoid molecules © will be clearly indicated. ROBINSON. _ Chemistry Department, The University, SG Andrews. 3 2 i Transport of Organic Substances in Plants. _ In a letter in Nature of February 23, p. 236, under the above title, Prof. H. H. Dixon and Mr. N. G. Ball put forward the view that the wood of the vascular bundles provides the main: path for the removal of the organic materials formed in foliage leaves to places of storage or conversion, the structure, form, and arrangement of the bast gree an) regarded as precluding any important longitudi transmission within it. I venture to doubt if the view that the phloem may serve as an important carbohydrate-conducti tissue merits such summary dismissal as the writers of the letter would appear to suggest. CE tee In the first place, it is somewhat misleading to state that this belief . . . ‘seems to be based entirely on ringing experiments,’’ unless this statement is intended to apply only to the “‘ older writers.’ In an article on the Translocation of Carbohydrates (Science Progress, October 1910, January 1911) I attempted to bring together the available evidence from anatomical and experimental studies, and a perusal of that paper should show the wider basis for the view put forward by Czapek in 1897 that the phloem is to be regarded as the chief tissue concerned in the conduction of organic material in the plant. In later papers (Annals of Botany, 1915, 1917) I dealt with many of the points which call for considera- tion in any investigation of this problem, and indicated the nature of results obtained by the application of Senft’s method of locating sugars by the formation of their osazones. Unfortunately, the war and the heavy pressure of departmental duties have held up the work, and it has not yet been possible to pais results in detail. The following comments may be made, however, in connection with the view put forward by Prof. Dixon and his collaborator. The sugars are described. as having to traverse the cross-partitions (of phloem cells) as a stream if they use this tissue as a conduit. It may be doubted whether the movement can be compared to the mass movement of water in a tube, and other considerations have been urged in the later paper referred to above. ‘ y Experiments made by Czapek (referred to in my last paper, pp. 293, 294, 303) showed that removal of starch from an attached leaf continued if a short length of the petiole was plasmolysed (but not killed), that a killed (boiled) portion of petiole prevented translocation permanently, but that a narcotised portion only temporarily interrupted the process, which was renewed on recovery Though perhaps not altogether excluding the possi- bility of conduction in the wood, such e ' appear to point to the activity of living cells in the transportation, and I have suggested a possible explanation of the continuance of the process in plasmolysed (living) cells, assuming the sieve-tubes. to be the channels concerned (loc. cit., p. 303). Various histological features of sieve-tubes and — their associated cells appear to harmonise well with | the view that they serve to conduct carbohydrates, — e.g. their continuity, distribution, and de of development in different types of plants, the structure of the sieve-plate, the distribution of connecting- — ee € 5+ « Ae a of the tissues. ) xperiments — Prey te ee eae et PRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 477 : “the relation of sieve-tubes in the parasite to those of its host, etc. oeder, Zeitschr. f. Bot., 1911, pp. 770-71). the caterpillar had bored through strong e destruction of the tissue affected the storage in the leaf. It was found that the destruc- e xylem and the greater part of the bundle could be brought about without causing an ation of starch in the distal part of the leaf rrupting the conducting channels), but that the phloem resulted in an accumulation of portional to the extent of the injury. it has been found by Quanjer and others phloem necrosis associated with the leaf-curl es interferes with the transport of starch e leaf, with the result that the tubers fail to properly. y also be noted that in a paper on the biology ecies of Aphis, Davidson (Annals of Applied y, V. 1921, p. 60) states that the phloem ts when tapping the plant for nutriment, this Yagi is undergoing further investigation. ug ie case of Lepidodendron undoubtedly ficulties (a possible solution was suggested loc. cit., pp. 307-9), the difficulties are scarcely Prof. Dixon’s view in the case of various plants which normally produce no xylem or ntinuous traces. orward with seg A dai interest to the results, work which Prof. Dixon and Mr. Ball have in as the pean is a long-standing one. An d is for more data on which to elaborate a of translocation in general. ee Seah SYDNEY MANGHAM. Department, University College, ampton, March 28. , _ Pricked Letters and Ultimate Ratios. yurpose of this note to point out an earlier *ked letters ’’ to denote infinitesimals and ase “‘ prime and ultimate ratios’”’ than is | in our histories of mathematics. be recalled to mind that as early as 1665 ewton used “‘ pricked letters’? to denote or velocities. He did not permit his notation ar in print before 1693. Between 1693 and ‘dot came to be used by other English writers, tly all of them departed from Newton in ting x to mean, not a velocity, but an in- small quantity or increment, like the Leib- Recently the present writer has noticed that as ly as 1668 Nicholas Mercator used the dot to mark “in simal, in an article in the Philosophical ms, which contains illustrations of his motechnia ’’ of 1668. Mercator uses in his letter I with a dot over it to indicate an al difference.? This date, 1668, marks the ‘ pa! London, vol. 3, p. 759 ff. Reprinted in Maseres, Scriptores mici I, Pp. 231. ‘ ae passage in question relates to the use of the infinite series for finding ‘-1) and is as follows: “‘.Quare posito maximo O=1, et parte sima (sic) differentiae=I, et mensura rationis minimae itidem I.” $ proportions like the ing : “r—f.1::f.1+ii+i+i4 etc.” ourth term of the proportion is an infinite series ; ratio is indicated ced at the lower edge of the line. ‘ NO. 2737, VOL. 109] vascular bundles is especially sought for by” earliest use of the dot for this purpose known to us. It was long before Newton allowed any part of his fluxions to appear in print and before Leibniz began to develop his calculus. Mercator could not have regarded the dot simply as part of the letter I, for (though the type is not quite clear) it appears to have been the capital letter. Moreover, in computing logarithms he writes the dot over a number (64, for example), to serve as a reminder that 64 is the co- efficient of a power of an infinitesimal. In the same article Mercator used a terminology * resembling the famous phrase “‘ prime and ultimate ratios,’ used by Newton in his “ Principia,’ 1687 (Bk.-i. Sec. i. Lem. -xi., Scholium). Mercator writes “ratiunculae’’’ or little ratios, while Newton uses “rationes’’ or ratios. Mercator says “ primae et _ultimae ratiuncularum,’’ Newton speaks of “ rationes primae,”’ and “ rationes ultimae.’’ We observe also that in 1695 Edmund Halley (Phil. Trans.). used “ratiuncula,” and that in 1706 William Jones (‘‘ Synopsis Palmariorum,”’ p. 174) made the state- ment: ‘‘ Let x be a Ratiuncula or Fluxion of the’ ratio 1 to 1 +x.” It appears on the surface as if there had been a giv- ing and receiving. In his letter to Oldenburg, dated October 24, 1676, Newton mentions Mercator’s “‘ Log- arithmotechnia,’’ but he nowhere refers to Mercator’s illustrative article from which we have quoted. That article is of minor importance. It is not reproduced in the abridged edition of the Philosophical Trans- actions, and is not mentioned in the biographical sketches of Nicholas Mercator that we have seen. Whether in private Newton had used the phrases “prime ratios’’ and “‘ ultimate ratios’ on or before 1668 we have no means of knowing. He first used them in print in 1687. For some years after 1660 Mercator lived in London, where he became a member of the Royal Society. Newton became a member in 1672. As Newton lived at Cambridge (except during the Plague, when he was in the country), the chances that Mercator received information of Newton’s work through private channels are reduced. After 1669 both Mercator’s ‘‘ Logarithmotechnia ”’ and his illustrative article were in print. It is therefore possible that Newton may have adopted the phrase “ prime and ultimate ratios’’ from Mercator. Newton’s dot- symbol antedates Mercator’s. FLORIAN CAJORI. University of California, March 18. Einstein’s Aberration Experiment. In the Sitzungsberichte of the Berlin Academy of December 8 last, which has recently come to hand, Fic. t. Einstein describes an ingenious arrangement which he suggests might serve to decide between the % The passage in Mercator is, * . . . non nisi semisse primae et ultimae ratiuncularum a prioribus terminis contentarum, id est, ratiuncula minori, quam quae ullis numeris exprimi possit.”’ R2 478 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 classical theory of light and the theory in which light is regarded as made up of single quanta of energy emitted discontinuously from luminous atoms. Fig. 1 (reproduced from the paper) illustrates the proposed experiment. K is a stream of canal rays, L, is a focussing lens, S is a screen containing a slit which serves to isolate a definite pencil of light, and the lens L, renders the emergent beam parallel. The emergent pencil is observed through a telescope focussed for infinity, so that the image of the slit in the screen S would be seen sharply focussed in the field of view. Since the atoms in the canal rays emitting light are in motion, the Doppler effect comes into evidence, and the rays proceeding at any instant from individual luminous atoms in different directions should, according to the wave-theory of light, be of different frequencies. Einstein suggests that the rays passing through the slit S and in- cident on the upper and lower parts of the lens L, should consequently be of different frequencies. If, therefore, a layer of a dispersing medium ‘such as carbon disulphide be placed between the lens L, and the observing telescope, the different rays would travel through it with different velocities. Hence the wave-front should suffer an aberration and the image of the slit seen in the focal plane should shift through an extent proportionate to the thickness of the dispersing layer introduced. Einstein conceives that according to the quantum theory of light, on the other hand, such displacement should not occur, and he believes that the proposed arrangement furnishes an experimentum crucis to decide between the rival theories. I wish here to direct attention to a fallacy which is present in Einstein’s reasoning and invalidates it. It is clear that in the proposed experiment what would be observed are not the moving luminous atoms but the fixed edges of the illuminated slit in S, and it is easily shown that even according to the principles of the wave-theory no aberration of the image of the latter could be expected. To make this evident we may conceive the slit to be extremely narrow, or in the alternative, if it be wide, regard it as divided up into a large number of very narrow elements each of which, according to Huyghens’s principle, would operate as a secondary source of light. The light from any small portion of the lens L, arriving at the slit would spread out by diffraction in all directions in the form of cylindrical waves, so that the waves reaching L, would consist everywhere of superposed wave-fronts of all the frequencies reaching the slit, and not, as Einstein supposes, of different frequencies at different points of L,. The waves diverging from S would thus pass through L, and the dispersing medium behind it according to the ordinary laws of geometrical optics, and no shift or aberration of the image of the slit would occur. The error in Einstein’s reasoning lies in his having ignored the vitally important part which diffraction plays, according to the wave-theory of light, in the theory of the formation of images of illuminated apertures by optical instruments. C. V. RAMAN. 210 Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta, March 16, 1922. The Weathering of Mortar. Mr. RicHarpson’s letter (March 9, p. 310) anent the above calls, I think, for some further remarks. My observations never led me to conclude that the growth of moss was in any way responsible for the development of the ridge-and-ring markings upon NO. 2737, VOL. 109] the surfaces of old and exposed mortar. I have seldom seen moss growing thereon, but lichen is © very often present, covering the whole-surface, a not limited to the linear concavities. row of fishermen’s cottages at St. Ives, Cornwal] fully exposed to the sea, and the old mortar in the walls shows the markings in unusual perfection, but— there is no evidence that moss ever grew upon it. — In 1896 I suggested that the phenomenon was a physical effect due to the expansion and contraction ~ —or perhaps the former only—set up by alternations — of temperature in a substance like mortar. Strains and stresses along lines of least resistance would tend to destroy compaction along such lines, render- ing them more liable to be deepened by atmospheric erosion. Possibly the expansion and contraction in the stones themselves may also affect the stability of the mortar. Fic. 1. Pe The accompanying photograph (Fig. 1), taken many years ago, shows some ridge-and-ringed mortar at the base of an old wall near Corfe. The wall faced south, and was built of Purbeck limestone During its construction some thin pieces were placed vertically between the two masses of mortar. The penny fixes the dimensions of the mural components. The structure here was very conspicuous, but, with lapse of time, the photograph has faded somewhat. C. Carus-WILson. March 17, 1922. ; . ene oF : % \S Rs Metchnikoff (M&¢nikov) and Russian Science in 1888, _ I HAVE read with the greatest interest the review of _ the “‘ Life of Elie Metchnikoff ’’ published in NaTurE of February 9. In Nature of November 17, 1921, I gave an account of the present state of science in Russia and its “ proletarisation,’’“and I beg to be permitted to say a few words on the state of science under Russian absolutism. Se According to the above review, the book referred to says that the government of the university of Odessa | became more and more reactionary; but it was not — for political reasons that Metchnikoff left the uni-— versity—the reasons were “ scientific.” Following an invitation, I took part in the R There is a a LETT ATE ee ee ete a Cangieie™ 7: i 1 ' ae r a is , re j ™ le APRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 479 aturalists which was held in Odessa in August d of which I am the only foreign survivor. I acquainted with the most prominent professors University and found that they were first-rate science, without a trace of anything “‘ back- and reactionary.”” And yet this reproach is but it refers to the State director of the i A man, unsympathetic, gloomy, re- inch a bureaucrat, and fairly old, in- d the first general meeting with the following rds: ‘“‘ You came here to speak of science hope that you will + seme only of science!” is rose Metchnikoff and gave a brilliant of his recent and unpublished work on osis, which was received with enthusiastic by the whole assembly. atulated my Russian colleagues and the y m having such a professor, but they ith regret that he no longer belonged to ersity, and upon asking for reasons I was explanation : Metchnikoff as a professor of announced a course of lectures ‘“‘On the £ Evolution.”” And now the very reverse ce of what I described four months ago , eve € said to him: “It appears that you are lecture on Darwinism ? If it is so, then you 0: oe Nae written lectures to my censorship tell you what I allow you to say to the nd what not! ”’ -Metchnikoff did not accept ation of the ‘‘ Lehr- und Lernfreiheit,” ship. Russia was not the soil for such a it was good fortune for him and for science - for Paris and for Pasteur. ‘panties Bouus.tav BRAUNER. University, Prague, March 9. is comments on my letter that in the issue of NATURE y 2 under the same 2). The director summoned Metchnikoff to submit his notes to the curator ; he resigned ' ae In his letter Dr. Doodson states that the tide predictors at his command were found unsuitable for use in the elimination from the observed tide of the tide due to a number of constituents. Nevertheless, this does not invalidate the general proposition that in such problems “the tide predictor should very materially lessen the laborious computations in- volved.” H. A. MARMER. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D.C., March 18. Ir seemed to me that Mr. Marmer’s first letter left the impression that the U.S.A. machine is one that -is free from serious errors of the order of magnitude of those of the British machines, and I raised the question of proof. I said that I should be very glad to know that this machine could produce hourly heights to within 0-05 ft. with a spring range of 30 ft. I questioned whether it would or would not give errors of 0-4 ft. in such a case. If my doubts © are warranted, then the U.S.A. machine also is subject to serious errors, which, as I suggested, would prohibit its use for the research work mentioned above in Mr. Marmer’s last paragraph. A. T. Doopson. Tidal Institute, University of Liverpool, April 3, 1922. Pythagoras’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern. Ir may not be generally known that the Theorem of Pythagoras, Euclid I. 47, is closely connected with the Theory of Repeating Patterns in space of two dimensions. The simplest proof by dissection of that Theorem establishes at once that any two squares placed in contact as in the accompanying diagrams (Fig. 1) constitute a figure such that a number of them can be assembled so as completely “ convinced ie tests recorded by Mr. §° rmer’’ in no way invalidates any * 1e statements in my letter. ecifically stated in my letter, i prompted by a desire to . ' t the possible misconstruction, part of those not familiar with tide-predicting zes, Of a statement to the effect that tide-pre- ‘ machines are subject to “‘ serious errors in ults.’’ Occasion was also taken to direct on to the different es of tide predictors » a table showing the differences between ted 2 aisiaadot heights for one day in the f Hong Kong. h none of the statements relative to these s does Dr. Doodson appear to be in disagree- _ What he does question, however, is something the scope of my letter, namely, whether the redictor with the operation of which I am is or is not suitable for predicting hourly for research purposes within 0-05 ft. for a g range of 30 Not being concerned with question at the time, there appeared no occasion he tests, “exhaustive and convincing,’”’ that Doodson desires. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] to fill flat space. i ce ii iii iv Fic, 1. Fig. 1 (i.) shows the proof by dissection. Also the large square, regarded as a base, shows by the Principle of Transformation in the Theory of Repeat- ing Patterns that the figure formed of the two squares is a repeating pattern. The transformation consists of oe the triangles the bases of which are BC and CD and erecting them upon the sides BA, AD. This nature of transformation yields an infinite number of repeating — of a particularly interest- ing kind, because of this category each member has the property that the assemblages can be carried out in three different ways, namely, so as to exhibit 1, 2, or 4 orientations or aspects of repeat respectively. In the present case of the Pythagorean Repeat the three ways of assembling are shown in Fig. (ii., iii., and iv.). Percy A. MAcMAHON. 27 Evelyn Mansions, Carlisle Place, S.W.1. 480 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 The Age of the Earth.! By Pror. J. Jory, F.R.S. € Cggee Age of the Earth ” is a somewhat ambiguous phrase. From the geological point of view it is suabealty understood to mean the age of the ocean : in other words the age of the earth since the beginning of those geological surface changes which are due to denudation. But another meaning may be ascribed to the term. We may assume the beginning to date from the cooling of a highly heated surface to the point of solidification. In this case we include in the age those long periods of Archean time during which the attivity of water played a subordinate part and volcanic commotion prevailed among the semi-fluid, rocky constituents of the globe. Yet a third inter- pretation refers the birth time to a still more remote and indefinite epoch when the world became differen- tiated as a planet by activities, of the nature of which weareignorant. Astronomical deductions and specula- tions regarding the Age are mainly concerned with the last period. What I have to say will be restricted, almost entirely, to the first interpretation of the term. I mean by the age of the earth the period which has elapsed since its surface became the scene of world-wide denudative forces and the foundations of organic evolution were laid. In virtue of these denudative forces we find our- selves possessed of certain methods of estimating the Age which are valid upon the assumption that denuda- tion proceeds in our time at a rate not greatly differing from its mean rate over geological time. The bases of this assumption are as follows :— (a) That the chief factor in denudative activity being the rain supply falling on the land, solar heat and atmospheric circulation are primary causes. The life on the globe since very early times and the narrow temperature limits conditioning proto- plasmic existence and activity show that great extremes of solar radiation cannot have affected denudation for long periods in the past. Mere climatal extremes do not sensibly affect solvent denudation. Atmospheric circulation, being largely conditioned by the earth’s rotation and the distribution of solar heat, cannot have varied to any effective extent. (b) That a considerable percentage of the existing land area being rainless, changes in continental area cannot greatly affect the amount of denudation : the belt undergoing denudation being merely displaced outwards or inwards. The evidence derived from palzography and from the extent of sedimentary deposits in all ages shows that the present land area is not greatly different from the past mean area. c) That the minor factors affecting solvent and detrital denudation being very many and of very different character are unlikely to. combine at any time, and for any long period, in one direc- tion, so as to create a considerable departure from the mean. Time will not permit a discussion of these statements. NO. 2737, VOL, 109] I shall refer but briefly to the methods by which the statistics of solvent and detrital denudation are used "4 to afford the age of the ocean. (1) The chemistry of the ocean and of the rocks _ the key to our position. study of the primary or igneous rocks and the secondary or sedimentary rocks we find that, say, » grams of sodium are shed into the ocean for each tonne of igneous rock converted into sedimentary rock, and in the ocean we find N grams of sodium. The total denudation over geological time has, therefore, been N/n expressed in tonnes of denuded igneous rock. Our study also tells us the average total loss attending the conversion of the primary rock into sediment, and so . we get the total of the secondary rocks in tonnes. We — now go to the principal rivers of the world and availing ourselves of estimates which have been made of the amounts of sediment—7.e. of secondary rock material —which they transport from the land in a year, we. calculate the number of years which it would take to — lay down in the ocean the great mass of sediment generated in the past ages. this comes out as about 100 million years. (2) Again the total of oceanic sodium may give us the Age in another and more direct way. that by far the greater part of this sodium was carried into it by the rivers during geological time. We turn to the analyses of river water and estimate the total annual supply of this element to the ocean. Dividing _ the latter into the former and making certain allowances we find an Age which is about too million years. (3) A third and more difficult method is “independent of our knowledge of chemical denudation. We estimate the maximum thickness of the integral sedimentary deposits, and knowing the burthen of sediment con- veyed per annum by the rivers, we estimate the maxi- mum thickness of deposit annually derived from the same ; we divide the latter into the former and find oe age which, again, is about roo million years. Of these methods, that which involves the eden | modulus only is the most direct. Of course the reason for selecting this particular element as a modulus is because of its great solubility, on account of which it alone among the dissolved oceanic constituents has been preserved from organic abstraction or chemical precipitation. This method has been examined by many critics. Notably by Sollas, who, in a presidential address to the Geological Society in 1909, subjects it to searching examination. 175 millions of years may be reached upon certain assumptions, and that this must be very nearly the _ maximum allowable. My own examination of this method has led me to believe that it is possible that 150 millions of years may be indicated by it, and that 200 millions of years would not be reconcilable with our present knowledge of the factors involved. This: would, as I have already stated, apply only to the duration of sedimentation. It cannot be com with data which apply to an age dating back into — the Archean. 1 Discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, February 24. _ As the result of a comparative After certain neteenoes (3 “We know He concludes that a period of a fer aed anc ene a meer ; Aprtt 15, 1922 | NATURE 481 was, indeed, some scanty sedimentation in ean times. We cannot form any estimate of its ; either upon our numerator or upon our de- ator save that we seem entitled to conclude that were small. “The Archean was essentially a of world-wide vulcanism, and in the relative ‘tions of rocks of igneous and sedimentary origin esents a departure from the uniformity of con- of later geological time.” I quote from the h of Van Hise and Leith. 2 passing on to the results based upon radio- must refer to one point in particular which mrvteed against accepting present-day rates of 1c n as a basis of time measurement. It is said : Pi: a period of abnormal continental elevation is asserted, involves excessive solvent denuda- _ A little attention to the nature and conditions vent denudation should have sufficed to forestall ment. But a ready method of dealing with it ible. The continent of North America has a ation of 700 metres : it is being denuded at~ of 79 tonnes per square mile per annum : for merica the corresponding figures are 650 metres ytonnes. Now Europe has a much lower mean -300 metres. Its rate of denudation is, oo tons per square mile per annum. The 0! solvent denudation is, in fact, by measurement less for the more elevated land , as, theoretic- should be. The argument then, if it has any, would indicate that the age as found from tion is excessive. r to the advent of those methods for investigating th’s age, which are based on _ radio-active _the elements, no serious objections to the one by the geological methods were raised, I know. There were some, indeed, who the age as excessive. Thus Becker arrived at re by taking into account the progressive im- ent of the surface materials during geological The validity of the correction is, however, open _ Others considered that the organic changes ed in the rocks required a longer period. Sollas as I think, a clear answer to this objection in Age of the Earth.” Both Lyell and Geikie, and , had in past years upheld the doctrine of yy. But the advent of the radio-active a, -as founded on the uranium family of ele- i: seemed to point to a vastly greater Age ; in fact, to the extraordinary conclusion that sent. rate of solvent denudation is not less four times and may be eight (or even more) in excess of the average rate obtaining during L earliest suggestion of the possibility of using stored-up products of radio-active change came Rutherford. He, and later Strutt (now Lord h), applied the accumulation of helium to the on of geological time. Strutt laid out a al chronology, the first of its kind, but con- he was dealing with minor limits. Boltwood wind residual product of uranium—lead—and for an (?) materials reached as much as 1640 lior Gans. As I have already said, the denudative nod cannot be regarded as extehding to those te times: But such results as 430x108 years No. 2737, VOL. 109] for Silurian or Ordovician deposits, and 1200 x 10% years for Post-Jatulian are quite out of harmony with the denudative method. To-day the matter stands thus :—A number of results are available based upon the use of carefully selected material, and when the material is thus selected the ratio of lead to uranium —the “lead ratio” as it is termed—increases as we go downwards and diminishes as we go upwards in the strata, preserving a fair degree of agreement even for widely separated localities. Those who would rest content with this result, however, can do so only by ignoring the very interesting and suggestive fact that when we base the results on the lead ratio of selected thorium minerals, we arrive at ages which are in substantial agreement with the results reached by the denudative method. On the face of it this agreement gives strong support to the conclusions reached by methods absolutely different in nature. For long it was known that thorium minerals—such as thorite—gave persistently lower ages than uranium minerals. It became the custom with some to treat these ages as untrustworthy. But we know now that this attitude is not justified, but rather that the onus of explaining away the impressive agreement between the indications of thorium lead and denudative statistics rests with those who would reject the Age supported by both. Soddy’s determination of the atomic weight of the thorium lead isotope, in 1917, afforded material for an age determination on a very large scale, and from the nature of the research, one of special value. The material was a thorite from Ceylon; from rocks immediately overlying the Charnockite series. The latter is extremely ancient—Lewisian or Lower Archean. Upon reading in Nature Prof. Soddy’s account of his determination of the atomic weight of the lead derived from these rocks, I estimated that the quantity of lead extracted from the thorite gave an ageof 130 millions of years for the time since this mineral had been generated ; and on communicating with Prof. Soddy I found that he had reached a somewhat similar conclusion. At this time, however, there was the possibility that thorium lead was not altogether stable. Suspicion fell more especially on thallium as the final product. Two experimental results, however, laid this doubt to rest: experiments upon. a thorianite made in my laboratory by J. R. Cotter failed to detect even spectro- scopic traces of this element, and there was insufficient thallium found in the thorite dealt with by Prof. Soddy. Ina subsequent letter to NATURE Prof. Soddy states that a research carried out at the Radium Institute of Vienna supported the view that the lead isotopes derived from thorium were both stable. I shall refer presently to yet additional evidence that the transformations of the thorium family cease with lead. Writing to NATURE in support of the hypothesis then under discussion—i.e. that thorium lead was unstable—A. Holmes cited a result on a selected specimen of uraninite, showing that the rocks in which Soddy’s thorite occurred were, according to the uranium-lead ratio, 512 millions of years old. Previous uranium-lead ratios had assigned a much greater age 482 NATURE [| APRIL 15, 1922 to them. Here, then, the results join issue: the uranium result is ‘just four times as great as the thorium. We notice, too, that on the uranium-scale of time_this thorite must be older than Silurian or Ordovician, which have been determined by uranium lead as 430 millions of years ago. Probably its age dates back to Cambrian or even to pre-Cambrian time. From what we have already inferred we cannot regard 130 millions of years for early Paleozoic time as irreconcil- able with the maxima which denudative methods afford. More recently, lead derived from a Norwegian thorite of Langesundfiord—also of lower Palzeozoic age—seems to reveal an age of 150 millions of years. In this case, also, there is the added security of a determination of the atomic weight of the lead. We cannot discredit these results on the score of radio-active instability of the lead. Why, then, set them aside in favour of results reached on uranium lead, which are in hopeless contradiction with the indications of the record of the surface activities of the globe? It is, indeed, not too much to say that the whole position is now reversed and that to-day suspicion attaches to the uranium-lead ratio. And, as we shall see, there is much unknown about the earlier radio-active sequence in the uranium series ; while the discovery of isotopes opens the way to possibilities unthought of in the earlier days of radio- active science. I shall, however, now turn to the evidence of the pleochroic halo on this matter. The halo affords a means of investigating certain facts respecting the break-up of the radio-active elements in the remote past. For the dimensions of the halo—minute though they be—can be determined with considerable accuracy, and these dimensions are conditioned by the added effects of the several a-rays emitted by the transmuting elements. Bragg and Kleeman observed and measured just such integral ionisation effects in air. In the rocks the ionisation curves, owing to the great stopping power of minerals, are on a scale 2000 times as small. They are very faithful hieroglyphics, however, and carry back our knowledge over an appalling vista of time. One single a-ray produces a well-known curve of ionisation determined by Geiger. The range of the ray does not affect the general nature of the curve. If we imagine uranium or thorium as parent elements contained in a minute crystal—of zircon, for instance— we must picture the various a-rays affecting the sur- rounding substance—mica, we may suppose—in such a way as to build up concentric spherical shells more or less overlapping and corresponding to the radial distances at which the ionisation of the several rays is at a maximum. As seen in section upon cleaved flakes of the mica, we find concentric ccloured rings representing the ionisation due to the rays. In order to arrive at the theoretical location of these rings we must add up the several ionisation effects as observed in air. This involves assigning a Geiger curve to each ray according to its range and adding up the ordinates. Let us consider first the case of the thorium halo. Fig. 1 is a curve arrived at in the manner I have just described. Its ordinates are proportional to the NO. 2737, VOL. 109] for it. This part of ‘insufficient number of Fic. 1. integral ionisation effects of those radio-active elements in the thorium series which emit a-rays. And — above it I have marked, calculated into the range in — air, the positions of the coloured rings which in biotite — we observe encircling a minute mineral particle con- taining thorium and all the successive products of its transmutation. This, of course, necessitates magnify- ing the halo enormously—rather more than 2000 diameters. You perceive that the halo very faithfully conforms to the features ,¢, : of the air-curve. It ° aa! PEPE ; may be of interest to ; mention that the find- ing of the third ring led to the discovery of the prominence on the curve which accounts Nl Dates b&b &© BW oO y po] \ i the curve had originally : a ers 3 been plotted from an ° +4 # 5 \4))Scea om ordinates. This close agreement really reveals a very “q important fact. The air-curve depends for its dimen- __ sions on the ranges of the several a-rays as we measure them to-day in the laboratory. The halo- measurements refer to radio-active effects which began — their record in this mica in Carboniferous times— } possibly long before. The halo reveals no sign of change in the several ranges concerned. As you are aware, the rate of break up, the transformation constant of the element, is related to the range. We are, there- fore, in the case of the thorium family, entitled to read in these minute and ancient records a guarantee that — the accumulation of the final productthe thorit isotopes of lead—was in the remote past effec at just such a rate as we have inferred from the splendid researches of our day. The thorium halo’ gives us this guarantee. It also tells us that it is improbable that the resulting lead is unstable. For if it were we must find room for rays additional to those | we have used in deriving the ionisation curve. True,a coincidence of range might enable a ray to lie concealed: in the halo; but the fit of the halo is so absolutely faithful to every feature of the curve that this seems improbable. a It is also possible to observe the successive stages of development in thorium haloes: The first rings to appear are those corresponding to the two conspicuous crests of the curve, Fig. 1. If the central _ nucleus is small or feeble, nothing more may be — developed. We now turn to the uranium curve. The eight contributory ionisation curves are placed according to the range of each ray, and Fig. 2 shows the curve e ‘produced by adding up the ordinates. Above it are laid out the several rings observed in the uranium halo. 4 Looking at these rings, we notice that the outer features of the halo seem in fair agreement with the present-day ranges. But the innermost ring has a larger radius than would be expected from the curve. ~ Much care has been expended in verifying this point. — In the Devonian mica of County Carlow these haloes Ms are found in every stage of development according to the size or activity of the nucleus. The uranium halo — ) eee aie See ods Che ae Crane ete a ee dee Seale ai ~ eee aD _ ApRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 483 gins as a single delicate ring surrounding the minute ul nucleus. It can be measured from a stage on invisibility to a stage when its central L is beginning to darken up and the first shadowy s of the outermost ring of all—that due solely to nC—appear. A large number of readings on these nic haloes, made recently by various observers, m the mean value of is radius as cited in a paper ES: s communicated tothe Royal Tu. 37) ‘ Society in 1916. The dis- 3 ee crepancy with the theoretic LA . curve is small; 10 or 12 171 \ pei cent. of the external ja radius. The allowance for, a and measurement of, the an nucleus is sufficiently 1 SS aS difficult to introduce some i 4 uncertainty. ; 2 i This misfit may be of \ ee ae considerable significance. a | I have. already reminded you that the range of ; the a-ray emitted by a *™ transforming element is re- a ae lated to its rate of break- The range is longer for the shorter lived ele- _ Now here the first ring of the uranium halo a shows a longer range than we would expect : air-curve as observed to-day. The agreement ween the two in other cases appears to show that is not due to any unknown effect influencing the ardation in mica. The location of the first uranium ; is mainly referable to those short-range a-rays ing from the initial transformations of the uranium . We infer that one or more of these rays must d a longer range in past times and, of course, ie corresponding transformation periods must e been shorter. A specially influential ray is that t of se the rays—that which is emitted in the k-u of uranium 1. The discrepancy might be due = htt possessing a greater range in early geological whatever the cause, the nature of the evidently that formerly the rate of tion of uranium to lead was faster than it tee 0-day. tis ith some reserve that I refer here to measure- made lately on haloes of comparatively recent 1 of very remote geological ages. I say “ with serve,” for not only are the results of a nature calling r very adequate confirmation, but the measurements t considerable difficulty. The point at issue aa stated in a few words :—Is the abnormality in the dimensions of the uranium halo de- nt in amount upon the antiquity of the rock in h the halo is developed ? [ had sought occasionally for uranium haloes in younger than the Leinster granite—which is of A. nian age. The granite of Mourne, which is ce ne or early Tertiary age, for long refused to any haloes suitable for measurement. However, ently, I was so fortunate as to find a few of these l halo rings which I was able to measure. Further has revealed a few more ; but htey are excess- ively scarce and rather difficult to detect. The nuclei _ of these haloes are only rarely zircon—they seem to be N30. 277, VOL. 109] af easy ‘extremely ancient. apatite—possibly allanite—and their average size is greater than the zircon nuclei of the Carlow mica. Both the mineral nature of the Mourne nuclei and their dimensions involve, therefore, a bigger subtractive correction on the observed radius than is required in the case of the Carlow haloes. But in addition to this, there appears to be a small difference in the external radius of the Eocene halo and that of the Devonian halo. According to a large number of readings by several observers, some of whom were not acquainted with the question at issue, the external radius of the Eocene halo-ring—no allowance being made for the nuclear radius—is 00135 mm, The same observers obtained for the Devonian halo 0-0146 mm.—without allowance for the nucleus. The nuclear correction, as I have said, would have increased the discrepancy, but the correction is a difficult one. There is no reason to believe that more than 1 per cent. of this differ- ence can be ascribed to fhe chemical composition or density of the micas, both of which have been investigated. Still more recently I have found these primary ring- haloes in the micas of Arendal and Yitterby, which are said to be of Archzean age, and which are certainly These haloes appear to possess a radial dimension of o-o160 mms., or a little less. Here, again, the nature of the mica does not appear to be responsible. According to these measurements it would appear that the radius of the Eocene halo-ring must be increased by about 7 per cent. to attain the size of the Devonian halo-ring, and that this is, in radial dimension, about 1o per cent. smaller than the Archean. It would seem as if we might determine a geological chronology on the dimensions of these halo-rings ! The foregoing results, if confirmed, would give strong support to the view that some factor, variable over geological time, had affected the ranges and periods of certain elements concerned in building up the uranium halo. However, too much stress must not be placed on these measurements till they are confirmed by haloes in yet other micas. Pending further investiga- tions, I return to the fact that the uranium halo of Devonian age does not conform to the ionisation curve of the uranium family as determined on present-day: measurements. Serious discrepancy seems confined to the shorter ranges, more especially with that primary range which is most influential in determining the rate of production of uranium lead. We do not appear.to be in a position to deny the | possibility that uranium 1 may have slowed down in its rate of decay over geological time. Such laboratory observations as can be extended to the case of short- lived elements would not, probably, shed any light on the matter. It is a possibility long ago suggested by Rutherford. But if this is the explanation we must admit that in the case of thorium any corresponding effect must have been much smaller. On the whole the former influence of one or more isotopes of uranium —which possibly may almost have disappeared— seems the more probable explanation. Hypothetical isotopes of uranium have been invoked by highly competent authorities to meet the difficulties affecting the ionisation accounts of the uranium family of elements. Boltwood suggests as “not impossible ” 484 NATURE — [Aprin 15, 1922 that what we now call uranium consists of three radio- elements ; a parent element and two isotopic products all emitting a-rays (Phil. Mag., July 1920). In 1917, A. Riccard put forward the view that the parent of actinium is a third isotope of uranium not belonging to the uranium family and having an atomic weight of 240. This view is regarded favourably by Soddy and Cranston. It clears up the difficulty respecting the atomic weight of uranium and fits in with the atomic weights of radium and of uranium lead. Soddy and Cranston remark that in order to explain, in this case, the constant ratio of actinium to uranium observed in minerals we must suppose the period of uranium 1 and of the hypothetical isotope to be the same. This difficulty, however, is removed if we may assume that the ratio varied over geological time. A somewhat similar theory to Riccard’s may be invoked to explain the abnormality of the Devonian uranium halo. We have these facts to go on :—The age indicated by uranium for Lower or Pre-Palzozoic rocks is about 4 times too great as compared with the age indicated by thorium. We assume, therefore, that three-fourths of the lead as measured in uranium minerals is derived from a certain isotope. This isotope, not having been detected in our time by its primary a-radiation, we must suppose to be now sensibly exhausted. We, therefore, have a known. mass of this isotope transforming to lead in a known time—130 x 10® years. Assuming that only 1 per cent. of it is left we get its transformation constant (3°5 x 10° 8), and by Geiger and Nutall’s relation we find the corresponding range as 2-6 cms. at o° C.; or about 2°75 cms. at 15° C. To-day the a-radiation of the hypothetical body would be only zoog Of that due to-uranium 1, but during the period since the Devonian there will be about 3 a-rays from the short-lived isotope to 1 from the long-lived. The in- tegral curve of ionisation as modified by these hypo- thetical results would be in agreement with the Devonian halo. We have to assume that the ranges of the rays emitted by the successive disintegrating products of the supposed isotope were such as to leave. the outer features of the halo sensibly undisturbed. This seems not improbable. The salient facts which appear in the study of radio- active haloes are :—firstly, that the agreement of our laboratory measurements of to- -day with the features of the Palzozoic thorium halo is such as to support the view that the periods of the several elements con- cerned in its genesis have remained unchanged over 130 millions of years. This fact, taken along with the stability of thorium lead, seems to render its reading of geological time authentic in a high degree. indications are confirmed by the consistent testimony of the denudative processes which have progressed on the earth’s surface. Secondly, it appears that the uranium halo is not in conformity with the period we ascribe to-day to uranium; a disagreement which is emphasised by the failure of uranium-time to conform with the united testimony of thorium-time and denu- dative-time ; as well as by much that remains un- explained respecting the earlier changes in the uranium family of elements. The complete tale is not yet told, but I think the balance of probability is in favour of an age between NO. 2737, VOL. 109] Its. 150 and 200 millions of years for the earliest advent of — geological conditions upon the globe. be Astronomical investigation on the subject of the age of the earth deals, generally, with that greater age _ For | which must be ascribed to the earth as a planet. this age vast periods have been claimed. But it is possible to reconcile superior ages for the earth as a — : planet with comparatively brief geological time. And—to my mind—in doing so we proceed upon what is no more than a necessary deduction based on our knowledge of the radio-activity of terrestrial materials. I would go further—still, as I believe, logically,—and ascribe to radio-active energy an influence on plan and stellar evolution much greater than has hitherto been admitted. The only planet we can investigate at all chow: is, of course, our earth. And what do we find? In its surface materials there are sufficient of the radio- active elements, as Lord Rayleigh first showed, to account for the observed average temperature gradient if the surface conditions extend a little way, about 19 kilometres, inwards. It is, for many reasons, in the highest degree improbable that such a definitely defined radio-active layer exists. Nor is it probable that the earth’s interior is free from radio-active sub- stances. We find both uranium and thorium in meteorites containing a large percentage of iron and nickel, and, although they have not as yet been found in meteoric iron, we know from the mean density of the earth that its interior cannot be composed of — pure iron. It is probable that a considerable pro-— portion (some 4o. per cent.) of siliceous materials are intermingled: and when such exists in meteorites invariably we find the radio-active elements. By what conceivable activity was all the uranium and thorium separated out and brought to the surface? The view that radio-active elements exist in the earth’s interior is sometimes met by a formal denial that the earth can be getting hotter within. Upon what evidence is this denial based? If the central core of the earth for a radial distance of 2000 kilometres—say —had risen in temperature by 1000° C. over geological © time—and upon a low assumption of the interior radio-activity it might reach this temperature in 150 million years—would we be aware of the fact ? Would the day be appreciably lengthened ? Would there be any effect at all if the outer parts were cooling due to loss of primal heat? We have further to consider that only over the short period of historical time would any observations be available. The denial is quite baseless so far as my estimates go. Well, then, if oui earth is heating up within, is there not an "impending termination to our geological age? Kelvin showed how complete is the thermal isolation _ of the earth’s interior, and it is certain that interior — heat is not now escaping. The rise of temperature — within must. go on till the present epoch succumbs to the accumulated energy. ‘Then must ensue a period of vulcanicity which will end life upon the globe, and probably reverse the chemical work stored up by ages of denudative and organic activity. The whole ~ sequence of events—rapid cooling by radiation, — restoration of the oceans and, possibly, re-birth of life and of its evolutionary history—would begin all over — On this view the Age we have been studying — again. ApRIL 15, 1922 | NATURE 485 be one of many and will inevitably attain its score and ten ; terminating in labour and sorrow. there must come a iejuvenation, and the re- ation, possibly, may one day be pondered by ‘Minds than ours. Remember that after some ten thousand millions of years there still survives 50 per cent. of the heat-generating elements, and the effect of their diminution is only to lengthen out the recurring geological ages. Our planetary companions may be in various stages of such cyclical changes. ery of Hughes’s Original Microphones and Other Instruments of Historic Interest. M the perusal of David Hughes’s note-books peiently bequeathed to the British Museum by ughes, and sent to me for examination by the of the Manuscripts (see NaturRE, March 9, 1922, 16), it became obvious to me that Hughes must time have possessed numerous original instru- mostly constructed with his own hands. * been informed that the note-books had been from “an incredible accumulation of useless ” it occurred to me to try to locate this ber” if still existent, and to see whether it- ‘ised any of the instruments. To make a long Tottenham Court Road was found to be 1 Hughes’s personal effects, which had been there since his death in 1900, when Mrs. Hughes d to America. Having interested Col. H. G. F.R.S., Director of the Science Museum, in the the effects were carefully examined, when not there discovered eight more note-books—one an illustrated account of Hughes’s inven- ' the microphone—but also numerous instruments. comprise a number of microphones, of which lare eet sized i instruments of the well-known . Others consist of pointed carbon “ils i anely held at their ends between fixed carbon the whole being mounted on sounding- which in one case takes the form of an in- Japanese ash-tray. Several more consist of pencils suspended pendulum-wise by paper so as to bridge other carbon pencils mounted al sounding-boards, while others, again, consist nin: By A. A. CAMPBELL SwinTON, F.R.S. of glass tubes containing either carbon blocks held together by a light spiral spring, or carbon granules. Finally, among the microphones, there is the one consisting of three French nails that has served to illustrate many a text-book. In addition, there is an induction balance, probably the first one that Hughes made, together with the actual instruments with which he practised wireless telegraphy in 1879. They are all readily identified from the illustrated descriptions in the note-books, and include the clockwork with which currents from a single-cell battery, connected to one of the coils of the induction balance, were interrupted so as to trans- mit wireless signals. There are also two Bell tele- phones, evidently made by Hughes himself, together with two more which he says were made for him by Sax, which he used for wireless reception in con- nection with a water-tight pocket battery, and a special microphone that seems to have acted as a self- decohering coherer. This latter is contained in a glass bottle, the loose contact being made between a steel needle and a wire loop, which latter Hughes says he made more sensitive by coating it with soot from - the flame of a spirit lamp. With these simple pieces of home-made apparatus Hughes not only prepared the way for the modern telephone transmitter, but also transmitted and received wireless signals over distances up to 300 yards no less than 43 years ago. All these instruments have been made over to the Science Museum, South Kensington, by Mrs. Hughes’s trustees, and are now on view in Room No. tro. Sean from the British Medical. Journal that Dr. Harris Graham died at Beirut, Syria, on ary 27. Dr. Graham, who was in his sixtieth year, Canadian birth and was educated at Toronto and ran Universities. Going to Turkey as a mission- served four years at Aintab Medical College. closure, he was called to Beirut and joined the can University there in 1889. During various aves of absence he worked in Berlin and Vienna, and advanced evidence that a Culex mosquito is the wrier of dengue fever. He had an extensive practice ad spoke all the principal languages of the Levant. ; ham will be much missed, for he was an energetic piring teacher and a physician of great acumen, rE Chemiker Zeitung of March 25 announces the 1, at the age of eighty-four years, of Prof. A. ann. Prof. Naumann was one of the first ers in the field of what is now called physical NO. 2737,-VOL. 109] Obituary. chemistry. His researches on dissociation, thermo- chemistry, and mass action, and his text-book had great influence on the science ; his name is prominent’ in all the earlier work in this field. THE death is announced, at the age of fifty-one years, of Dr. George Vincent Wendell, who had occupied a chair of physics at Columbia ‘University since 1910. From 1892 to 1907 he held various posts at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, and from 1907 to’ 1910 he was professor of physics and head of the’ department at the Stevens Institute of Technology, ' New Jersey. WE deeply regret to record the death on April 9, at seventy-seven years of age, of Sir Patrick Manson, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., whose pioneer work on tropical - diseases opened up fields of research of profound significance both to science and civilisation. 486 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 Current Topics and Events. Tue centenary of the birth of Pasteur occurs this year, and the University and town of Strassburg, the scene of so much of Pasteur’s early work, propose to celebrate the event by organising an exhibition of hygiene and bacteriology from May to October 1923, and by setting up a statue of Pasteur before the University. The exhibition will be designed to illustrate the advances in science made as a result of Pasteur’s discoveries, and a congress for the dis- cussion of questions relating to the prevention of disease will also take place. In this country a committee, consisting of Sir Charles Sherrington (chairman), Mr. A. Chaston Chapman (treasurer), Mr. H. E. Field, Prof. P. F. Franklin, Sir John M‘Fadyean, Prof. C. J. Martin, Sir W. J. Pope, Sir James Walker, and Sir Almroth Wright, has been formed to forward the project and an appeal for support has been issued. Contributions to the memorial fund, which will be closed at the end of June, should be sent to Mr. Chaston Chapman, The Institute of Chemistry, 30 Russell Square, W.C.1, or to the general secretary and treasurer of the fund, M. T. Hering, 6 rue des Veaux, Strassburg. Prof. Borrel, 3 rue Koeberlé, Strassburg, is in charge of the arrangements for the exhibition and would be glad to hear from British firms who are interested. The Académie de Médecine has decided to celebrate the centenary on December 26 next, but representatives of the academy will be . present at the celebrations to be held at the Institut Pasteur on December 27 next and at Strassburg on June 1 of next year. Tue centenary of the birth of Gregor Mendel is to be celebrated in Briinn (Czecho-Slovakia) on Sep- tember 22-24 of this year, and subsequently, on September 25-27, a congress of geneticists is to be held in Vienna. The circular of invitation recalls the erection of a statue to Mendel there in IgIo. Since that date the significance of his discovery and the ,extraordinary importance of his work in its bearing on the fundamental conceptions of biology and the practice of breeding have been so widely recognised that international support on the present occasion is confidently invited. Those who are disposed to take part are asked to communicate with Dr. H. Iltis, Backergasse to, Briinn. WE have received from the authorities a prelimin- ary circular announcing the celebration this spring of the seventh centenary of the University of Padua, one of the oldest and most famous of the Italian universities, immortalised by Galileo and his succes- ‘sors. In connection with the celebrations a very interesting historical account of the University is published in the February number of L’Emporium, the leading urt journal of Italy, showing the bearing of the University upon education in the Italy of past centuries, and the vicissitudes through which the institution passed down the ages. In spite of its associations with the great names of the past, Padua NO. 2737, VOL. 109] is a very modern university in so far as concerns ; present-day needs, ample proof of this being the large — and well-equipped school of electrotechnics. : a S1ncE the School of Hygiene and Public Health of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, was opened in 1918, the Rockefeller Foundation has furnished funds for its maintenance from year to year. Now the Foundation has presented a sum of 1,200,000/., and the trustees of the University are to assume full responsibility for the future needs of the School. — In this new type of institution emphasis is laid upon the development of preventive medicine ands the training of health officers. Instruction is provided in bacteriology and immunology, sanitary engineering, chemical and physiological hygiene, medical zoology, epidemiology, vital statistics and public health ad- ministration, and the regular courses of study lead to the degrees of doctor of public health and doctor and bachelor of science in hygiene. The present gift, in addition to providing endowment, will make possible the erection of the new building for the School on a site adjacent to the Johns Hopkins Medical School — and Hospital. f Pror. A. Wo tr, of the University of London, delivered a lecture on the Humanism of Spinoza at a special session of the Spinoza Society held at the Hague on Tuesday, March 28. The Spinoza Society (‘‘ Societas Spinozana’’) is the offspring of an older society founded more than forty years ago when the Spinoza monument was erected in the Hague as an international tribute to the great philosopher. Among the leading spirits of both societies are Sir Frederick Pollock, of London, Prof. L. Brunschvieg, of Paris, Prof. H. Hoeffding, of Copenhagen, Dr. C. Gebhardt, of Frankfurt, Dr. W. Meyer and Mr. H. G. van der Tak, of the Hague. The Spinoza Society has now in the press the first number of an Annual to be called “ Chronicon Spinozanum,”’ to which all the above-mentioned Spinoza scholars and others have contributed im- portant essays. The promoters of the new society and its annual are prompted by the feeling that a wider knowledge of the philosophy and personality of Spinoza may be of special help in these difficult times, and they hope that the society may become a rallying point for those thinkers who still share Spinoza’s faith in the ultimate unity and rationality | of mankind. IN appointing an advisory Committee in Seis-— . mology, the Carnegie Institution of Washington has taken an important step in the promotion of the study of earthquakes in the United States. The preliminary report of the committee recognises that, as compared with England, Germany or Japan, the country has” not yet taken a sufficiently active part in seismological _ research. At the same time, in the State of California, it possesses almost unexampled opportunities for the study of crustal movements, while several public _Araiy 15, 1922] NATURE 487 2s are prepared to co-operate in such a study. > committee make several useful suggestions. ailed surveys, it is urged, should be made of the Andreas rift and other Californian faults. The aa Geodetic Survey should be invited. to take a system of primary triangulation and Pieveis in the regions most subject to move- , and to connect them with an appropriate of no movement east of the mountains, and also new lines of columns at right angles to the n Andreas and San Jacinto faults, a time like the ; t being more suitable for the measurement of drift than the months immediately following - earthquake, such as that of 1906. Southern h many of the faults are still active, and it one in which no primary triangulation has en made. The committee also indicates the lue of gravity observations in connexion with > measurement of displacements along the great ARTHUR NEWSHOLME delivered a course of Chadwick lectures at Birmingham on March The subject of the first lecture was ‘‘ Values eventive Medicine historically considered : and Specific Sanitation.” The lecturer dealt the value of various measures against disease in eir historical development. He deprecated strongly 1€ undiscriminating call for retrenchment in public ealth expenditure, though urging a careful survey of t of all measures in vogue. The epidemiology id fever, cholera, typhus fever, and others idered, and the lessons taught by the methods _ were surveyed. In the second lecture on Values in Preventive Medicine : Prevention and Treatment,’’ Sir Arthur me reviewed the possibilities of preventing f infectious diseases. The acute notifiable cause only 3-1 per cent. of the total mortality, the greater part of administrative care is d to them. In childhood more than hali the are due to infections, and in a large measure health is determined by disease or absence of in childhood. The chief object of preventive ne is to postpone death, and this would be r aided if every adult submitted himself to sal medical examination. In the third lecture, iods of evaluating public health activities were ered. Empiricism in analysis of social condi- was deprecated, as, for instance, in statements aalnutrition of school children, without further t to ascertain the cause. The amount spent lic health in large English and American towns ed 5s. per head per annum, or, in England, ‘4 to 8 per cent. of the total rates collected per The importance of minimum standards was nasised, each town to receive a government grant when it fulfilled certain minimum conditions. lecturer concluded that the greatest return in th for money expended—apart from the ordinary ation of a city—was to be had in respect of naternity and child welfare, and on the prevention d treatment of tuberculosis and venereal diseases. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] os a, especially, is a region of intricate faulting, © Relation + THE Times reports the opening on April 5 of a lock and weir at Blanchetown, South Australia, the first of a series of such structures which will ulti- mately number 26, and directs attention to the very important scheme of navigation and irrigation, of which they form part, entered upon by the States of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, with the sanction of the Federal Government. The rivers Murray and Murrumbidgee are to be regulated by a lockage system which will make it possible to navigate their waters for a distance of 1066 miles above the mouth of the former, and at the same time will increase greatly the area of irrigable land. Of the total number of locks, nine will be constructed by the New South Wales Government on the Murrum- bidgee, eight by the Victorian Government on the Murray, and nine by the South Australian Govern- ment on the same river. The Blanchetown lock, which has been named after Mr. W. R. Randell, one of the pioneer navigators of the river, is situated 170 miles from the sea, and marks the limit of free deep water, for which reason it was chosen as the initial feature of the undertaking. The work, which _was begun seven years ago, has been much impeded by floods and industrial troubles, so that the lock was only completed in September last. LectTurEs at the Royal Institution after Easter will be resumed on Tuesday, April 25, when Sir Arthur Keith will begin a course of three further lectures on “‘ Anthropological Problems of the British Empire,” Series II.: “ Racial Problems of Africa.” The Tyndall Lectures will be delivered this year by Prof. W. Bulloch on ‘‘ Tyndall’s Biological Researches and the Foundations of Bacteriology,” and Sir Percy Sykes will give two lectures on Persia. On Thursday afternoons there will be two lectures by Prof. E. H. Barton on “ Audition and Colour Vision ”’ ; two by Prof. F. Keeble on “ Plant Sensitiveness.’’ On Wednesday, April 26, Prof. D. H. MacGregor gives the first of two lectures on “ Industrial Relation- ship,”” and on Wednesday, May 24, Dean Inge begins a course of three lectures on ‘‘ Theocracy.”” On Saturday afternoons there will be two lectures by Prof. O. W. Richardson on “ The Disappearing Gap between the X-ray and Ultra-violet Spectra’’; and three by Sir Hugh Allen on “ Early Keyboard Music,’”’ with musical illustrations by Mr. Harold Samuel. The Friday evening discourses will be resumed on April 28, when Dr. Arthur Harden will deliver a discourse on “‘ Vitamin Problems.’’ Suc- ceeding discourses will probably be given by Dr. M. Grabham, Dr. H. H. Dale, Sir William Bragg, Prof. W. E. Dalby, the Hon. Maurice Baring, Mr. J. Barcroft, and other gentlemen. At the anniversary meeting of the Royal Irish Academy held last month Prof. T. H. Morgan (New York) and Prof. Jules Bordet (Brussels) were elected honorary members in the section of science. It is stated in the Chemiker Zeitung of March 23 that Prof. W. Nernst will take over on April 1 the duties of Director of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, but will continue to act as Rector of ‘the University of Berlin until October 15. 488 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 AccorDING to a brief despatch from Valdivia published in the Times of April 6, great volcanic eruptions occurred in southern Chile, to the south- east of Puerto Montt, and close to the Argentine border. They were accompanied by violent earth- quakes. Much damage was caused to grazing lands on the Argentine side of the frontier, which for thirty leagues was covered with volcanic ashes. WE learn from Science that a meeting to initiate the Gorgas Foundation Memorial, founded in memory of the late Maj.-Gen. W. C. Gorgas, who accomplished noteworthy work in connection with tropical diseases in Panama, was held at Birmingham, Alabama, on March 4 last. Among the speakers was the British ambassador, Sir Auckland Geddes, who said: ‘‘ The name Gorgas will live long after the peoples of earth have forgotten the heroes of the world’s greatest »? war. At the annual general meeting of the Chemical Society held at Burlington House on March 30, the following new members of council were declared elected : Vice-Presidents, who have filled.the office of President: Prof. H. B. Dixon and Prof. P. F. Frankland ; Vice-Presidents, who have not filled the office of President: Prof. E. C. C. Baly and Prof. T. M. Lowry; Ordinary Members of Council: UNDER its new constitution the Association ee a Assistants in Pathological and Bacteriological Labora- as associate members, tories is now admitting, laboratory assistants from laboratories other than those of pathology and bacteriology. The organisa- tion was founded in 1912, its chief object being to improve the status of the laboratory assistant by endeavouring to raise the standard of technical knowledge through the medium of an educational programme, culminating in an examination and the granting of a certificate of proficiency in laboratory technique. An official organ, The Laboratory Journal, is issued to members quarterly, and, in addition Di. # C. Dorée, Dr. J. J. Fox, Prof. I. M. Heilbron Prof. — J. W. McBain, Dr. W. H. Mills and Prof. - R- * Partington. i an to Association news, the journal contains original articles and abstracts of technical interest to labora- tory workers; there is also an employment bureau. From the first the founders had in mind the inclusion ultimately of all laboratory assistants in one federa- tion, and it is hoped that the present movement will lead to the formation of sections embracing other branches of science. The Honorary Associate Secretary is Mr. F. C. Padley, 2 Eldon Place, pea from whom further information may be obtained. - Our Astronomical Column. EVENING Stars.—After sunset the sky now presents some interesting. planets for observation. At the middle of April Venus will be brilliantly displayed in the western sky, and sets about an hour and a half after the sun has gone down. Jupiter will be visible in the south-east sky and will pass the meridian at an altitude of about 35° soon after 11 P.M. Saturn crosses the meridian 35 minutes before Jupiter, as it is situated 9° westwards. Mars will not be visible in the early hours, but rises at midnight at the middle of the month, and will remain visible throughout the morning hours. Jupiter and Saturn may now be very successfully observed in telescopes, as they reach a fairly good altitude, but Mars is very low in Scorpio and only 15° above the horizon when due south. The latter planet will continue so far south during the ensuing summer that its markings will scarcely admit of satisfactory investigation by European observers. When the planet is nearest to the earth on June 18 next, it will be only 42 millions of miles distant from us, but its greatest altitude will not exceed 12° In such circumstances good definition of delicate features is almost impossible when high magnifying powers are employed on telescopes. THE Testes OF THE SHORT-PERIOD CEPHEID VARIABLES.—Bull. No. 8 of the Astr. Inst. of the Netherlands contains an important research on this subject by J. C. Kapteyn and P. J. van Rhijn. They note that the Cepheids may be divided into two classes with periods greater and less than 16 hours. Ex- cluding those in clusters, there are 39 and 94 stars belonging to these classes respectively ; the first class shows no galactic concentration, while the second NO. 2737, VOL. 109] shows it strongly, an argument for the relative prox- imity of the former. Provisional proper motions are deduced for 14 of these stars, chiefly from astrogral plates with a time-interval of some 25 years. mean parallax deduced is 0-0065”, while the mean magnitude is 10-3 ; the parallax is 7-6 times as ip as that given by Shapley’ sformula. Itis Poulet that Schouten reached in 1918 the same factor 7:6 for Shapley’s parallaxes of the clusters ; this on the assumption that the luminosity curve for the stars in the clusters is identical with that found for the stars as a whole. It should be observed that neither method affects the relative distances of the. clusters investigated by Shapley ; it simply divides all of them bya factor. Further, the Cepheid method was only one of several used by Shapley i in deducing his distances; hence it appears somewhat unlikely that they need division by so large a factor as 7-6. , Kapteyn and van Rhijn also reinvestigate the mean parallax of the long-period Cepheids, obtaining 0-0029” from 17 stars, of mean magnitude 5: 32, which is in good agreement with Shapley’s 0-0034” from 11 stars. They express the hope that trustworthy proper motions for all the 39 short-period Cepheids will be OM available in a few years, and ask for a suspension of final judgment on the distances of hg clusters till that time. Dr. Shapley gives some evidence on the other side in Harvard Coll. Observ. Bull. No. 765. He states oat he based’ that the light curves of several short-period Cepheids _ in the Small Magellanic cloud (mean period 0-64 days) give a mean median magnitude 16-1, closely agreeing with the value 16-2 predicted by his curve. He claims that this supports his previous estimate of the absolute magnitude of these stars. APRIL 15, 1922] . NATURE 489 ARTIFICE OF NECTAR-SIPPING Birps.—In a unication sent to us by Mr. P. M. Debbarman Royal Botanic Gardens, Sibpur, Calcutta, he that the flowers of Castanospermum australe sited ae nectar-sipping bird Mirafra assamica e beak of this bird is not sufficiently reach the nectar in the calyx cups, so appears to have adopted the practice off the fleshy petals which obstruct it. is not a native of India but is of Australian d it would be interesting to know whether ar-sipping birds attack the blossoms of this ueensland, where it is native. THE ArRcTIC SEAS IN 1921.—The annual m of the Danish Meteorological Institute e 14 de Arktishe Have) shows that ice s last year in the Barents and White Seas ewhat unusual. The eastern part of the Sea was free from ice early in May, while in _ the edge of the pack was more northerly i throughout the summer. The White Sea. accessible and almost free of ice as early On the west coast of Spitsbergen, there was ee ice than usual during the winter . the fjords were frozen only for short and pack-ice did not appear off the coast in ntity before May, but throughout the summer 1s there was a belt of loose pack off the south- ‘coast, which in October increased in width to 7o miles. This occurrence was associated : prevalence of easterly winds in the Barents summer. The same winds caused the ice packed against the east coast of Greenland in id August. The distribution of ice in the nd Sea was normal except in this respect, made the east coast of Greenland singularly achable. On the Newfoundland banks ice- were very numerous in May and again in when they drifted rather far south. In the ‘Sea, the edge of the pack seems to have been lortherly than usual in spring. In the Beaufort whaler reached Banks Land in August. LOGICAL STATIONS OF THE WorLpD.—A catalogue, and the most complete so far of the seismological stations of the world . compiled by Mr. H. O. Wood under ces of the Section of Seismology of the Geophysical Union (published by the Research Council of the National Academy ciences, Washington, 1921). The total number stations is about 315, and for each is given, mown, the position and the nature of the jon, the names of the director and of the 1g institution, the types of seismographs the constants of each, and the method of 1g correct time. With regard to more than em (including all the Russian stations), how- no recent details have been communicated. ng the stations according to countries, we _that oa heads the list with 55, followed by tish Empire and Italy with 42 each, the United with 32, and Germany with 21. The instru- used are almost as diverse as the countries. 1OS tga’ is the Wiechert inverted pendulum, a there are 72 in use with masses varying from . to 17,000 kg. at Géttingen and Tacubaya ico) respectively. Then come the Omori hori- fal pendulum, extensively used in Japan, the > Seismograph, chiefly at British stations, and Vicentini seismographs, employed as a rule in y. The costly, but. effective, Galitzin seismo- NO. 2737, VOL. 109] Research Items. graphs are in working order at not less.than eight stations. Two points of some interest are the large number of stations founded during and since the war and not in neutral countries only, and the gradual replacement of the older instruments by others of more recent and accurate types. Tue CEMENT OILFIELD, OKLAHOMA.—A _ recent addition to our knowledge of the Mid-Continental Oilfield region of North America has been made by Mr. F. Reeves in Bulletin 726-B of the United States Geological Survey, wherein he deals with the geology of the Cement Oilfield, Caddo County, South- west ea ehora. The area described occurs to the ‘north of one of the main uplift masses (Wichita Mountains) which form such a conspicuous feature of the country bordering northern Texas, and the local tectonics of the field have intimate connection with this larger element of structure. The surface geology is mainly Permian (Red Beds), forming a vast plain surrounding the Wichita Mountains. This formation consists, of shales, sandstone, gypsum and limestone, and, according to the author, has a total thickness of 1500 feet. Beneath it lies the Penn- sylvanian Series, and it is presumed that the oil is obtained from the upper beds in this series, though some difference of opinion is manifest as to where the line of junction should be drawn, the transition from the older to the newer rocks being very gradual. The principal structural feature of the Cement area is the Cement anticline with its complementary synclines, the Cobb on the north and the Cyril on the south. The trend of these folds is approxi- mately N. 70° W., a strike direction characteristic of the Wichita Mountains. The wells are located practically on the crest on the Cement fold, and have an average daily production of about 100 barrels; twenty-six wells have at present been drilled. The oil is of uniform quality with specific gravity ranging from 0-84 to 0-85. The prospects of the field are good, though it is unlikely that any startling developments will take place in the future, as the productive area is not great and the tendency seems to be for the wells to give low production with slow decline, the rate of decrease averaging 2 per cent. per month. Four gas wells have been drilled and the initial production was good, but the rate of decline of these wells was very rapid. The Bulletin itself is quite up to the usual standard of Survey publications in the matter of descriptive text and particularly in the maps and plans accom- panying it, 9) i Ob ERs. a toe LAND AND SEA BREEZES IN THE GULF OF LIONS.— An article by Prof. M. Moye is given in the Meteorological Magazine for March on land breezes and sea breezes on the French and Catalonian coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. They are stated to be a distinctive feature of the summer climate in these parts, and are said to be much more marked than on the Channel and Atlantic shores. From a discussion by Prof. E. Fontséré, it is shown that at Barcelona sea breezes begin in March, when they blow on about four days out of ten, In April and May they blow on more than six days out of ten, and from July 15 to August 15, sea breezes are recorded on nine days out of ten. In September they are less frequent, and by the end of October they practically disappear. At SisatcHion sea breezes are said to be rare before mid- May and after September. The sea breezes generally begin after a short period of calm. During the night and in the early morning land breezes blow gently. The sea breeze begins from the south and south- 490 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 west, and the direction is from south-west or west- south-west in the afternoon. The land breezes at night blow from north-west or north. Sea breezes generally blow more strongly than land breezes. A normal sea breeze at Barcelona corresponds with 4 or 5 on the Beaufort wind-scale, whilst at Montpellier the breeze is rather lighter, not exceeding force 3 or 4. Land and sea breezes are said to be essentially surface currents and they are supplemented by a return circulation in high atmosphere. These points have been tested by pilot balloons and the results given are decidedly instructive. UnITED STATES TEMPERATURES. —The_ U.S. Monthly Weather Review for November 1921 has an article on ‘“‘Some Characteristics of United States Temperatures’ by Prof. Robert’ De C. Ward, of Harvard University. The author has had access to maps prepared by the U.S. Weather Bureau for the new Atlas of American Agriculture. The tempera- tures are not reduced to sea level. In the opinion of the author the isothermal maps of the United States will supersede all previous maps and will for years to come remain the “ standard set.’’ Iso- thermal lines are given for each 5° F., and those for midwinter and midsummer run fairly smoothly and symmetrically to the east of the Rocky Mountains, but the effects of the Appalachian topography warp the local irregularities of the lines. Over the western plateau and mountain area, the isotherms are most irregular, and it is there that the new charts, which show actual temperatures, are so great an advance on those previously drawn. The greatest differences in temperature in different parts occur in the winter. In January, going southwards the temperatures increase about 2°-5 for each degree of latitude. Very different conditions exist in midsummer, when the distribution of temperature is far more uniform and the difference of temperature for each degree of latitude amounts only to about 1° F. Highest and lowest “‘ record ’’ temperatures are given on separate maps produced from the results at about 600 stations. These extreme temperatures are of considerable interest, and if they do not show the world’s highest and lowest readings, they give very valuable results. In the United States, especially in the eastern parts, very low temperatures commonly penetrate far to the south into latitudes where the winters are distinctly mild. SUBMARINE PERISCOPES.—The current number of the Transactions of the Optical Society contains a paper by Dr. Alexander Gleichen on the path of rays in periscopes having an inverting system comprising two separated lenses, in which results are given of a theoretical investigation carried out by the author for Messrs. C. P. Goerz of Berlin-Friedenau. The paper is devoted generally to the design of periscopes as regards the best arrangement and sizes of the various optical parts involved, with the object of making the best possible use of the available space, which in the case of submarine periscopes particularly is very limited. The characteristics of these instru- ments are their.comparatively great length and small diameter. In particular it is shown how the magni- fication, the field of view, and the illumination in the centre and at the edge of the field of view, depend on the length and diameter of the instrument, in order to derive therefrom the most advantageous optical arrangement. A feature of submarine peri- scopes which limits the design to an important extent is the reduction of the diameter of the upper portion which may be extended above the surface. Formule for the determination of the path of the rays in peri- scopes of this type are given and also a brief statement regarding the external form of the submarine periscope. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF COMMON gives a very useful summary of the results of X- crystal analysis. dimensions is available. It was impossible to examine the structure of a large number of the © elements and simple compounds, which could be ob- tained only in a finely divided crystalline form, until the ‘ powder method ” of analysis was developed by Debye and Scherrer, and by Hull. A mass of powdered crystalline material is placed in the path of a narrow beam of monochromatic X-rays and the crystal structure is deduced from the manner in which the rays are diffracted. The technique of the powder method of analysis has been brought to a very high degree of perfection by Hull, who has examined a large number of elements and compounds. We now know the crystalline structure of thirty-five of the elements, twenty-nine having been determined by Hull himself. A number of binary compounds have recently been analysed by Davey, using the Debye -Hull method. A list of all crystals whose structures have been completely determined is given by Hull. The powder method of analysis will cer- tainly become a most powerful means of studying the It can be applied to any | structure of solid bodies. crystalline substance, and in addition, it can be used to analyse constituents of a mixture of crystalline bodies, so that. to the metallurgist it will be of the highest importance. The paper concludes with an interesting discussion of ‘‘ atomic diameters.”’ THE LIGHTING OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS.—An interest- ing paper on this subject was read by Messrs. E. H. Rayner, J. W. T. Walsh, and H. Buckley of the National Physical Laboratory, at the meeting of the Illuminating Engineering Society on March 28. The paper was devoted mainly to experiments undertaken in co-operation with H.M. Office of Works, one note- worthy installation being the semi-indirect lighting in the new Pensions Offices at Acton. The tabulated data show that the level of illumination provided in public buildings has arisen considerably during recent years, values from 3 to 4:5 foot-candles now being general. Another section of the paper was devoted to some experiments on the lighting of picture galleries, where the avoidance of reflected images in the glass on pictures is a difficult problem. Diagrams were presented showing a new arrangement of the skylights which, while occasioning some loss in light, seems to give a much more satisfactory distribution of illumination. The authors also described a special building erected at the National Physical Laboratory for the purpose of experiments on illumination, which has some interesting features. Following the presentation of the paper Capt. J. W. Liberty, Public Lighting Inspector to the City of London, showed a number of photographs of recent lighting | where _ installations in certain public buildings, architectural and decorative considerations play an important part. Amongst such interiors ama & be mentioned the Guildhall, the Marylebone Town Hall, and the new Port of London building. . Some of these interiors, notably those panelled in very dark walnut, present interesting lighting problems. ment adopted in the main office at the Port of London ELEMENTS.— In a paper published in the Journal of the Franklin — Institute for February under this title, A. W. Hull The methods of analysis which were ~ first developed (analysis by means of a Laue photo- graph, or with the X-ray spectrometer) can be used ~ only if a single homogeneous crystal of appreciable — The arrange-. — building, where gas-filled lamps giving 20,000 c.p. are — assembled in a vast white dome, is particularly striking, and it is hoped to present fuller details of this installation when completed. : NATURE 491 _ ApRIL 15, 1922] the present day the rights of all nations to unity, to the preservation and independent pment of national life and customs, are fully sed and admitted. Partly as a result of the long dormant hopes and moribund languages wakened to a new period of life and activity. ive amidst a remarkable efflorescence of national sity and national pride. the same time, the material means of inter- C ing in speed, efficiency, and cheapness. n lunch quietly and leisurely in Amsterdam and = and industry are advancing with giant strides, rapidly increasing measure all nations are in this work. The modern world is thus arena of conflict between separating and inter- forces. In the loom of life a myriad coloured s are intertwined in the strange fabric of n civilisation. But where are the integrating ces that will give us that unity in diversity all wise men seek ? is not a monotonous unison of thought that I , but a harmony of independent notes—an tion, and not a unification, of separate ideas. t is it that, while conserving the independent of nations, will produce a common liberality ijought and action? There is only one answer— intercommunication, the internationalisation of ght. Men have dreamed of a common political nisation of the world, of a human family one in Such things may > existence of an auxiliary language common to the nations of the world ; what we may therefore iliary international language. late as the eighteenth century, Latin served the ose of an auxiliary international language for the ed world, whilst French has long held sway as ‘common language of diplomacy (though recent snts have tended to give English an equal rank). may come to pass in the distant future that one of ° great modern languages will be gradually accepted all nations as a common auxiliary tongue known d used by all. Many Englishmen fondly believe this high destiny is reserved for their mother uage. The very unphonetic character of English ling presents a great difficulty in this connection. Those who have given the greatest amount of study this subject have come to the conclusion that the Id will not accept any living national language as common medium of intercommunication. Feelings national jealousy, prestige, and advantage are too g. The international auxiliary language must neutral. It must also be simple and regular, and aplicity and regularity are not qualities possessed ‘any living national language. From various points view Latin would satisfy the condition of neutrality, d there.are some who urge the claims of this lan- ye. But apart from other obstacles, the intrinsic ulty of Latin is too great. The object of an auxiliary international language is ot to displace or replace existing languages, but to otect and supplement them. These qualities of utrality, simplicity, regularity, and compatibility 1 From a discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, March 24. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] By Pror. F. G. me afternoon have tea with a friend in London. | ‘century. Auxiliary International Languages.' DonNAN, F.R.S. can be obtained only by means of an artificial auxiliary language. Now this word artificial shocks and frightens people. We are so accustomed to the historical and analytical treatment of languages that we have never dreamt of the possibilities of synthesis. The chemists and physicists have analysed nearly all the things they have found in this world. But if they had rested content only with analysis, the practical world would have much less to thank them for. We may not like = Ripe ag butter and synthetic milk, but we have no objection to synthetic soap or synthetic glass. Why not then a synthetic language ? So far as the languages of North and South America and of Western Europe are concerned, the problem is mainly one of the synthesis of existing elements, since amongst these languages there exists already a very large international vocabulary. As Dr. Cottrell has aptly expressed it, our problem is nothing less and nothing more than the science of synthetic linguistics. Looking at the matter from this point of view, we see that the word “ artificial’? is a misnomer. It is true that the first attempts to solve the problem of an auxiliary international language might be fitly termed artificial. They take us back to the seventeenth Impressed by the logical manner in which mathematical symbolism represents complex trains of thought in a form at once intelligible to mathe- maticians of all countries, some of the greatest philo- sophers and mathematicians of that century conceived the idea of an international language which would be a logical algebra of general thought. Descartes in 1629 discussed this idea in a letter to his friend Mersenne. Leibniz devoted many years to the problem, though he considered that for immediate practical purposes a simplified and _ regularised grammar applied to the word elements of Latin would provide the best solution. Language systems of this sort are called ‘“‘ philoso- phical’”’ or a priori. In their construction we might endeavour to make a list of all the primary ideas, and assign arbitrary written symbols, which may be also pronounceable sounds, to these. With the various permutations and combinations of these symbols we might then form all derived ideas. It is clear that from a very few symbols we can easily, by means of their permutations and combinations, form thou- sands of derivatives. When the number of primary ideas or elements is relatively small, such systems are of great use and are largely used. The various special codes used in international commerce are examples of this method. Another example of such an international code language may be seen in the nomenclature and symbolism of chemistry. Thus ‘“‘H,SO,” and “ para-nitro-anilin’’ are intelli- gible to chemists of every nationality. But for general purposes such systems would become exceedingly complex. Moreover it would be very difficult to draw up a simple and fixed table of primary and fundamental ideas, for although the fundamental data of sense may remain invariable, the. ntellectual activity of the human mind is constantly penetrating the screen of sense-perception. Thus new concepts and ideas in accord with our progressive discovery of the real structure ‘and activity of the world are constantly being formed. The inventors of @ priori philosophical languages have, however, usually proceeded in a somewhat different fashion, their object being to construct a vocabulary that would be based on a rational system of classification corresponding to our know- ledge of things. Thus in the seventeenth century a 492 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 Scotchman, George Dalgarno, and also the celebrated Bishop Wilkins—one of the founders of the Royal Society—produced two such philosophical systems. That of Bishop Wilkins was entitled ‘‘ The Essay towards a Real Character and a_ Philosophical Language’’ (London, 1668). In the eighteenth century the disciples of Condillac, the Ideologists, took up the problem of an artificial language con- sidered as a classification and notation of ideas ; whilst in the middle of the nineteenth century the learned Spanish professor, Bonifacio Sotos Ochando, published a very perfect system of this type, in which both the grammar and the vocabulary were very fully worked out. In his ‘“‘ Lectures on the Science of Language ” delivered before the Royal Institution fifty-nine years ago, Max Miiller discussed the possibility of an artificial language, and gave an account of the system of Bishop Wilkins. Speaking in this con- nection he said: ‘“‘ It is the fashion to laugh at the idea of an artificial, still more of a universal language. But if this problem were really so absurd, a man like Leibniz would hardly have taken so deep an interest in its solution. That such a language should ever come into practical use, or that the whole earth should in that manner ever be of one language and one speech again, is hard to conceive. But that the problem itself admits of a solution, and of a very perfect solution, cannot be doubted.”’ In order to understand the method employed by Bishop Wilkins, I give here the basis of his system of classification :— SYSTEM OF BISHOP WILKINS. A. Transcendental \ Divided into 6 Notions fj Genera. B. Substances | . . C. Quantities beste : Bye ene D. Qualities. Sages into 34 8 E. Actions oye. F. Relations These 40 fundamental genera were subdivided into numerous species, and to all these genera and species letters of the alphabet were assigned in a regular ordinal manner. Thus the genus “ element,”’ the types of ‘‘ substance,’’ was denoted by De. Bishop Wilkins followed and divided the genus earth, air, fire, and water. Now the peripatetic philosophy element into the species Substance Element = De | Fire = Deb i I Flame = Deba De =Element ; Do =Stone ; Due =elementary. Duo =stony. Fire thus became Deb, and flame, a variety of fire, became Deba. Grammatical function was indicated by appropriate letters, e.g. De=element, Due= elementary. Do=stone, Duo=stony. We can perceive here two of the fundamental objections to all such philosophical systems. In the first place all such classifications are fleeting and transient. At best they can but reflect the know- ledge and science of their day. But as this is con- stantly changing there is no finality. We no longer accept the earth, air, fire, and water of the to remember not only the symbols and their mean- ings, but also the whole ordinal system of assignment. would be very difficult to memorise. In practice we should have to learn the system empirically as we do natural living languages. Thus all the hoped-for advantages would disappear. To a child Deba might soon come to mean flame, but if we came across this mysterious word in later life we should have painfully to de-code it. The modern era, the era of synthetic or @ posteriori, as contrasted with purely d priori languages, began with Volapiik. This was the discovery of Monsignor Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest of Baden in Germany, and was given to the world towards the end of the year 1880. His vocabulary consisted of root-words, derived words, and com- pounds. Schleyer endeavoured to borrow his root- words from the international stock, so that the greatest number of persons might have the fewest unfamiliar words to memorise. He stated himself that the Volapiik Lexicon was based mainly upoe the English language, because it was spoken by 100 million people. Unfortunately for the too million, these roots were so changed by Schleyer that a very large number of them became unrecognisable in the written language. There were several reasons for this. His system was a phonetic one, but the sounds corresponding to several of his letters were so chosen as to destroy the international appearance of the roots. No stem or root which was declinable could end in the sibilant consonants c, j, s, ¥, and z, since the plural was formed by the letter s. Monsig signor — Schleyer held that the letter 7 offered such difficulty of pronunciation to children, Englishmen and Chinese —a majority of mankind—that it had to be very largely eliminated. For 7 he substituted very often the letter /. Finally he made his roots as mono- syllabic as possible. 2 The net result of these transformations was that many roots chosen from English, or other languages, on account of their internationality, became un- — recognisable. Volapiik belongs to the class of “‘mixed ” languages _ in which borrowed and arbitrary elements are more or less logically combined. Nevertheless, in spite » of its many difficulties and its d priori elements, it represented an enormous advance on the purely arti- ficial or a priori systems of Wilkins, Sotos Ochando, and many others. root-words a synthetic auxiliary international lan- guage based on an autonomous system of word- formation and on a perfectly regular inflexional grammar. In its day, it had a great success. At first it spread slowly, but about 1885 it was actively taken up in France, its chief partisan and exponent being Dr. Auguste Kerckhoffs, professor of modern languages at the School of Higher Commercial Studies in Paris. From France it spread to all parts of the world. Three international Congresses were held, the third taking place at Paris in 1889. At that time there were 283 Volapiik Clubs spread all over the world, 316 text-books had appeared, and there were some 30 periodicals appearing in Volapiik or dealing with it. ‘ The disappearance of Volapiik was due largely to the internal dissensions of its partisans, some of It presents us with the first great _ attempt to build up from a small stock of existing | whom, led by Dr. Kerckhoffs, wished to make it simpler and more adapted to the needs of commercial life. These attempts at reform were, however, resisted by the learned originator. No doubt his system APRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 493 too complicated and intricate for the majority ople. Moreover, those who took an interest in the problem of an auxiliary international language soon provided with the much simpler and more ical Esperanto. > author of this language, Louis Lazarus nhof, was born in 1859 at Bielostok, in what nm Russian Poland. Perceiving the racial and stic hostilities of his native country, as a young student in Warsaw he already dreamed of a rsal neutral language and of a universal brother- founded thereon. He graduated as a physician Sa “hag but during the six years of his university he worked constantly at his secret project. he thought of reviving Latin, or of construct- a prior: or philosophical language, It was idy of English, however, that first showed at could be done by means ‘ofa simple grammar, ow stems of different origins could be utilised construction of a harmonious and self-contained age. In 1885 his work was complete, but it only in 1887 that he found a publisher. In C2 appeared in Warsaw a _ Russian hlet describing ‘‘ La Lingvo Internacia de la Oro to”? The international language of Hopeful.”’ In 1900 there appeared the ‘ Uni- a Vortaro de la Lingvo Internacia Esperanto,” Zamenhof. In this dictionary the equivalents given in _ five languages. The pseudonym anto,”’ ed originally by Dr. Zamenhof, transferred to the name of the language. Progress of of Esperanto was at first slow. But in re rench took the lead, expansion rapid, The Marquis Louis de Beaufront > the leader of this movement. In 1914, when broke out, there were over a hundred nto periodicals, some appearing in Esperanto others in Esperanto and a national tongue. 905 an international Convention or Congress held at Boulogne. tional Congresses have been held, the thirteenth Prague in rg2t. As an international auxiliary , Esperanto has had an unparalleled success. done more to spread the idea of the need for the os gpa ity of an auxiliary international = any other project. iendaimental ideas se Zamenhof were very those of Schleyer: phonetic system, a ar method of pratifatiatin, a vocabulary of words drawn from the international treasury, 7 ages system of word-formation, and a f grammar, In other words, an a4 f ayathetic language. But in practice the was enormous. Zamenhof did not trans- m 1 and distort his international roots as Schleyer did. carried out the choice of international stems on a broader . His grammar was enormously ‘simple and practical, The inflexional richness work of the learned and scholarly Schleyer peared, and together with it most of his a and comery elements. Zamenhof’s auto- ou! of word-derivation by means of s of ve le definite meanings, and by means root-combinations, was immensely superior. The characteristic endings corresponding to a ification of ideas, a relic in Volapiik of the earlier ¢ philosophical systems, disappeared in Zamen- ‘language. The idea of using only monosyllabic , and so the international appear- ‘be much better preserved. spite. of many obvious and indeed glaring , Esperanto is undoubtedly, so far as numbers concerned, the greatest and most successful stic experiment that the world has yet seen. us not criticise too severely the work of a man NO. 2737, VOL. 109] Since then twelve other - who was neither a great scholar nor a great professional philologist, but let us rather admire the splendid effort which he made. His work has been of the greatest service in demonstrating to an indifferent world the practical possibility of an auxiliary inter- national language. - So great was the interest taken in this branch of science at the Paris Exhibition of 1900, that under the leadership of M. Leau, a French professor of mathematics, a number of men of science and delegates from learned societies were gathered together, and on January 17, IgoI, the “ Delegation for the Adoption of an Auxiliary Language’’ was founded. After a great deal of preliminary work on the subject, the matter was submitted, through the kind offices of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, to the International Association of Academies, which on May 29, 1907, declared itself incompetent , to deal with the question. The Delegation then proceeded itself to elect a special Committee to study the problem. This Committee embraced a number of distinguished authorities on science and linguistics, and included the two secretaries, Profs. Couturat and Leau. After eighteen sittings held at the Collége de France, the following decision was arrived at: ** None of the proposed languages can be adopted in toto and without modification. The Committee have decided to adopt in principle Esperanto, on account of its relative perfection and of the many and varied applications which have been made of it ; provided that certain modifications be executed by the Permanent Commission, on the lines indicated by the’ conclusion of the Report of the Secretaries and by the project of Ido, if possible in agreement with the Esperantist Linguistic Committee.”’ It appeared later that the “ project of Ido’”’ was an anonymous pamphlet proposing a number of reforms in Esperanto, the real author of which was the Marquis de Beaufront, until that time the most eminent supporter of Esperanto in the world. Messrs. Couturat and Leau had made a most exhaustive and scholarly study of all known auxiliary languages, their labours being embodied in a very masterly book entitled ‘‘ Histoire de la Langue Universelle,”’ and also in another one entitled ‘‘ Les Nouvelles Langues Internationales.”” Their Report to the Committee indicated very clearly the lines along which Esperanto could be improved. As the Esperanto Linguistic Committee declined to collaborate, the Committee of the Delegation appointed a Permanent Commission to carry out the reforms which they had in view, and as they were unable to use the name Esperanto, the reformed Esperanto was called ‘‘ Ido.” In its basic ideas Ido is a language of the same type as Esperanto. It is a great pity that all parties could not have combined at an early stage in the development of Ido. If I may be allowed a personal opinion, I will say that most, if not all of the Ido improvements appeal to me very strongly. If we are to choose a language of the Esperanto type, and if the choice lies only between Esperanto and Ido, I would choose Ido. I do not say this for any propagandist purposes, and I say it with a full appreciation of the splendid early work of Dr. Zamenhof. But at the same time I have an equally great admiration for the splendid later work of Prof. Couturat and his collaborators. Ido, like Esperanto, has had a very great success, and has been very thoroughly developed. Many general and technical dictionaries have been worked out. Before the war there appeared ten or twelve oo, Sawa dealing with, or written in, this language. he International Ido Academy has done very fine 494 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 work in bringing it to as high a state of perfection as possible. Very many Ido clubs and societies have been formed in all parts of the world, and already a very considerable literature exists. We may say that the Ido, like the Esperanto, movement, has done immense service in familiarising the world with the practicability of an international auxiliary language. Both these great linguistic experiments are of profound interest and importance. I must now lead your thoughts away from Esperanto and Ido and back to the International Academy for a Universal Language, which was founded by the two international Volapik Congresses of 1887 and 1889. This Academy continued to exist, and set itself to the task of reforming Volapik. Very important and scholarly work was done by Mr. Rosenberger, a Russian engineer, and his col- laborators (Rosenberger was Director of the Academy from 1893 to 1898). They produced a vocabulary of root-words based on the principle of maximum internationality. The greater part of these roots are common to at least four of the seven chief languages — German, English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Latin. Largely as a conse- quence of the inclusion of Latin, the result was an almost exclusively Neo-Latin vocabulary—one much more Romanic than that of Esperanto. A very simple grammar and a regular system of word- derivation by means of derivative affixes were introduced. But autonomous word formation was not allowed to exclude international derivatives. Thus was produced about 1903 the Language “‘Tdiom Neutral,” the descendant of Volapiik, though scarcely any trace of the parental features remained. Idiom Neutral has not achieved the practical success of Esperanto and Ido. This may be because it came too late. It appeals to educated people more than Esperanto and Ido on account of its more homogeneous vocabulary, which is practically ex- clusively Romanic. But it has not been so fully developed as Esperanto and Ido. As a separate and independent project, it may be said to have dis- appeared with the death of Mr. Rosenberger in 1918. A language of the Neo-Latin type, somewhat similar to Neutral Idiom, is the ‘‘ Panroman’’(or ‘‘ Universal ’’) of the German positivist and pacifist, Dr. H. Molenaar. Various attempts, such as those of Mr. Henderson and of Dr. Rosa, have been made to introduce a sort of simplified Latin. But the man who has defined most clearly the Neo-Latin principle, and who has worked not only the hardest in this field but has also grouped and organised many isolated workers of kindred views and affinities, is Dr. Giuseppe Peano, professor of mathematics in the university of Turin. In 1908 he became Director of the International Language Academy. In the ‘“‘ Discussiones’”’ of that body he has published from year to year the work of himself and many collaborators. A very large amount of scholarly work has been done in the discovery of the international vocabulary common to Latin, Italian, French, English, and German. The result of this etymological study may be seen in Professor Peano’s important ‘‘ Vocabulario Com- mune,” the second edition of which appeared in 1915. Following the indication given by Leibniz, Peano has built on an exclusively Neo-Latin basis so far as the main vocabulary is concerned, though modern words acquiring international usage may be accepted. For many scientific purposes Peano’s flexionless Latin is ready for use. He has himself employed it for many years in his own journal, The Mathematical Review. The true solution of the problem may consist in selecting the most international roots according to the NO. 2737; VOL. 109] fashion of Peano, but also the most international affixes of derivation. With these natural elements, derivatives and compounds will then be formed a Thus the — advantages of the Neo-Latin or Anglo-Latin vocabu- according to simple and invariable rules. lary of stems will be combined with the regular and autonomous word-derivation of Ido. This is the view held by Prof. Guérard, who has just published a most valuable book entitled ‘‘ A Short History of the International Language Movement ”’ (Fisher Unwin, 1922). As Prof. Guérard points out, these two sets of fundamental ideas are embodied in the language project of M. Albert Michaux, entitled ‘‘ Romanal.’ Needless to say, Romanal is not the last word on the subject, nor is it free from debateable points. But it represents the combination of an ‘‘ etymological Anglo-Latin’’ root vocabulary with regularity of word-derivation and simplicity of grammar. In the preceding discussion I have endeavoured to give a very brief account of some of the principal efforts to solve the problem. The large amount of research work already done and the practical success of Esperanto and Ido prove that the problem is not an insoluble one. At first one might be inclined to think that the production of an international auxiliary Janguage is a sort of parlour game, or at best a pure matter of caprice. Attentive study of the problem shows that this is quite a false view. Whatever may be the final solution, it is already clear that some of — the fundamental principles have been elucidated. There does exist a science of synthetic linguistics, compounded of logic, psychology, and philology. It has been argued that the field hitherto traversed, at all events in the later systems, is too narrow ; that the so-called international vocabularies are not really international and apply at best only to two groups of existing languages. What comfort, it is argued, can a word such as “‘ amico ”’ bring to the Basques, Finns, Hungarians, Turks, Japanese, Chinese, etc. ? What special comfort, I would then ask, does the learning of English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, and Russian bring to a young Japanese gentleman ? Are we then to go back to Sotos Ochando and bring comfort to nobody ? I think not. But the objection is not one to be passed over lightly. It may be that the world will require more one auxiliary language. Two, or even three, would be better than the necessity of having to learn a hundred living languages. Only time and prolonged study and investigation can settle questions of this | order. The whole civilised world must collaborate in this investigation. There is plenty of time. We have been using an alphabet for, say, eight or ten thousand years at most, and as this planet is reckoned to be over a thousand million years old, it will probably continue to be habitable for some consider- able time. : Meanwhile the problem is a very pressing one. Those who have to do with science, industry, and commerce feel this very acutely. Before the war I attended several international scientific congresses. On these occasions it was open to any one to speak in English, French, German, or Italian. When the language of the speaker or lecturer changed, one half of the audience usually adjourned to the refreshment — bar. I could follow German, but when it was a case of Italian or Parisian French I also used to get thirsty. I am going to an international scientific congress in June of this year. The representatives of at least thirteen different nations will be present, _ and I expect at least four languages will be used. As the language of the country where the congress is to be held is not one of these, one ought really to know five languages. I am glad to say that the civilised world is at last beginning to take a real interest in this _ Pe eee ApRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 495 ° aaa yblem. We may, indeed, say that, since the war, whole question has entered on a new phase. rned and scientific bodies of international influence d repute are beginning to study the matter seriously. present organised movement in this direction may considered as dating from the adoption, by the srnational Research Council at their meeting at els in July 1919, of the following resolutions : _ (a) That the International Research Council ap- point a Committee to investigate and report to it the nt status and possible outlook of the general em of an international auxiliary language. That the Committee be authorised to co-operate studies with other organisations engaged in the e work, provided that nothing in these resolutions ll be interpreted as giving the Committee any cot to commit the Council to adhesion to or oval of any particular project. his 1ittee is now at work. Its chairman is Dr. F. G. Cottrell, and its headquarters are at the ses of the National Research Council of the United s, 1701 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C. Central Committee has already done an immense gunt of work in securing the organisation of mmittees and working groups in the national demic o isations and educational institutions, in co-ordinating this work and serving as a clearing- se for the exchange and distribution of information plans. The first national response to the appoint- t of the International Committee was by the tish Association for the Advancement of Science, hich, at its Bournemouth Meeting in September te = a Committee “to study the iicability of an International Language.” This British Committee has nm very active, and at the nburgh meeting of the British Association in last, presented its report. Its conclusions ised very briefly as follows : ) Latin is too difficult to serve as an international Au Jj i a language. (2) The adoption of any modern national language confer undue advantages and excite jealousy. ) Therefore an invented language is best. Esper- to and Ido are suitable ; but the Committee is not yared to decide between them. e Committee is continuing to study the problem. _ American Association for the Advancement of nce appointed a Committee in April 1921, and Committee has presented a Report, which was the Council of the Association at Toronto r 29 last. The Committee recommended the American Association for the Advancement Science : (a) Recognises the need and timeliness of funda- : tal research on the scientific principles which must underlie the formation, standardisation, and troduction of an international auxiliary language, d recommends to its members and affiliated Societies that they give serious consideration to the eral aspects of this problem as well as direct Bichnicad i rane’ Sana help in their own special fields 3 P e LCI1ILDE . ys JLCOU Jecem ) Looks with approval upon the attempt now sing made by the National Research Council and > American Council of Learned Societies to focus nm this subject the efforts of those scholars in this untry best fitted for the task, and to transmit e results to the appropriate international bodies. (c) Endorses the heretofore relatively neglected ‘oblem of an international auxiliary language as 1e deserving of support and encouragement. _(d) Continues its Committee on International uxiliary Language, charging it with the furtherance xf the ‘objects above enumerated, and_ reporting progress made to the Association at its next meeting. NO. 2737, VOL. 109] The American Council on Education, the American Classical League, the American Philological Associa- tion, and the National Research Council of America have also appointed Committees. Furthermore, the American Council of Learned Societies has authorised the appointment of delegates to confer with the Committee of the National Research Coun- cil. Thus the national American representatives of science and the humanities are uniting to study the problem. Both the French and the Italian Associations for the Advancement of Science have also appointed Committees to examine and report on the international eng question. On September 13 last, the following resolution was presented to the Assembly of the League of _ Nations by delegates representing twelve States : “The League of Nations is well aware of the Language difficulties that prevent a direct inter- course between the peoples, and of the urgent need of finding some practical means to remove this obstacle and help the good understanding of nations ; ‘“ Follows with interest the experiments of official teaching of the international language Esperanto in the public schools of some members of the League ; ‘“ Hopes to see that teaching made more general in the whole world, so that the children of all countries may know at least two languages, their mother tongue and an easy means of international communication ; ‘“ Asks the Secretary General to prepare for the next Assembly a Report on the results reached in this respect.”’ With regard to this motion, the special Com- mittee dealing with the inclusion upon the Agenda of Motions submitted to’ the Assembly reported to that body on September 15 last, as follows : ‘The above-mentioned delegates have proposed the introduction of Esperanto as an auxiliary inter- national language into public schools, in order to facilitate direct intercourse between all nations throughout the world. “The Committee are of opinion that this question, in which an ever-increasing number of great states are interested, should be attentively studied before it can be dealt with by the Assembly.” As a result of this, the secretariat of the League have been instructed to investigate the experiments already made and ascertain the actual results attained. On November 20 last, some Swedish gentlemen interested in the question of an international language formed a Committee to promote this subject and to unite the various interests concerned. This Committee has brought the matter before the Swedish Parliament and has also addressed a request to the League of Nations. From all this it will be evident that the existence of the problem, and the urgent necessity for its study and investigation, are now fully admitted and recognised by the learned, scientific, and political organisations of the highest national and international status. Before definite action can be taken by national governments, there must be, however, another period of prolonged and exhaustive linguistic research and experiment. This work must be, as we have every reason now to hope and expect, co-ordinated and supported internationally. Those who have laboured manfully in the past, and the many who have given their adherence to this or that special solution, must be prepared to co-operate without bias and without sorrow. The subordination of self and of the most dearly held, the most beloved possessions of the mind in the interest of intellectual advance and the common good of humanity is the spirit of true science. 496 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 The Properties of Powders. ahi aa Bik jee os cose eae interest attaches, both on the scientific and on the technical side, to the study of powders which are sufficiently fine ‘to differ markedly in their properties from massive crystals, while they are sufficiently coarse to differ equally widely from colloidal suspensions. One important property of powders, namely the caking of salts (a phenomenon which was responsible for the disastrous explosion at Oppau), was discussed at a joint meeting of the London Section of the Society of Chemical Industry and of the Faraday Society on March 1, 1920. This has now been followed up by a joint meeting of the Faraday Society and the Oil and Colour Chemists’ Association, held at Burlington House on March 9g last, when the material presented was sufficiently abundant to call Bie an adjourned discussion on March 23. The principal subject discussed was the grading of powders by elutriation, a process which has proved of great value to the geologist and to the agriculturist, (a) 4 mm. (4) 5 mm. Fic. a7 Slut of Barytes. as well as to the manufacturer of pigments and of food products where artificial grinding is required in order to produce minute subdivision. The formal papers presented to the meeting were fourin number. Prof. Lowry and Mr. L. P. MacHat- ton, in a paper on “ The Grading of Powders by Elutriation,” submitted a new series of experimental data as to the diameter of the particles of barytes and of quartz which are just lifted by a vertical | current of water at velocities ranging from 4 to 8 mm. per second (Fig. 1). concordant than those for quartz, probably because the particles of barytes are, in the main, cleavage-frag- ments of fairly uniform shape, whilst in the case of quartz the natural conchoidal fracture produces much more irregular particles. In the case of barytes it was possible to show that the use of a vertical tube one inch in diameter lifts particles which are 5 per cent. smaller than when a half-inch tube is used; but. the grading is also much more uniform as a result of the more uniform velocity of the water in the tube. The temperature-coefficient was also measured and shown to correspond with a decrease of 0-4 per cent. only in the diameter of the particles for each degree of rise of temperature ; and an empirical relationship was deduced between the velocity of the water and the size of the grain of barytes lifted by it. Prof. Boswell presented a paper on “‘ The Separation NO. 2737, VOL. 109] (c) 6 mm. ' Colour Chemists’ The data for barytes are more | Klein of the Brimsdown White Lead | While Prof. Lowry had been working with a. Tange | ah particles ; conforming to it could be supplied. of the Finer Constituents of Sedimentary Rocks,” ‘a which the geological applications of elutriation au . described. One of the principal problems here is t devise a method of summarising the mechanic analysis of a sediment, containing particles of many different sizes, in such a way that the results can be expressed by means of one or two numbers. The use of a single number is impracticable, since in addi- — tion to the fineness of the material, its uniformity must be represented by a separate coefficient. — satisfactory solution appears to have been p by Dr. H, A. Baker, who makes use of the term. “equivalent grade” to express the average of the — diameters of the particles, whilst a ‘‘ grading factor ” serves to express the deviation of the particles from the average. Prof. Boswell has had much ¢€ in the practical application of elutriation ne in the mechanical analysis of the sands a used — in glass-making, and his notes on the difficulties and errors encountered in the process are of sonsigse a (e) 8 mm. per sec. . (d) 7 mm. (X 50.) ; rye value. Dr. J. W. French, who has mudate tak tse Of be water-separation for the grading of emet is car-. ae borundum for use as polishing powders in grinding 9 lenses, contributed to the same meeting a i on ; “ Abrasives and Polishing Powders for fe Dr. S. Morrell, the president of he ‘Oil. and Association, opened the discus- sion, by emphasising the value of elutriation to colour- users, as a method of controlling the materials which they purchased from the pigment-makers and grinders. The adjourned discussion was opened by Dr. C. A. of sizes down to about 0-07 mm., Dr., Klein’s ~ work had dealt with grades in which this ‘was more — nearly the maximum than the minimum size of the _ they therefore presented greater « Bi mental difficulties, more particularly as a res oe eae flocculation. In addition to describing a number of — points in connection with the practical use of the elutriator, Dr. Klein stated that a specification had actually been put forward by a user of pigments who — was calling for the supply of some hundreds of tons __ of a product in which the largest particles would have a diameter not exceeding 0-1 mm., whilst the average size of the particles was not to ‘exceed o- O27. TIM, Ge This specification was being worked to and material APRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 497 =. >. - Prof. Lowry then showed “ A New Elutriator for a be “Rapid Use,’’ especially adapted for use in factories. The gravimetric determination of the residue of coarse 4 ticles is here replaced by a simple measurement of » height of the column of grit in a narrow tube, and can therefore be made even where the ordinary lities of a chemical laboratory are not available. eut.-Col. J. V. Ramsden, of Shropshire Mines Ltd., fed (at the previous meeting) that with the help this instrument he had been able, whilst using the > grinding plant, to reduce the residue in ground tes from 6 per cent. to 0-5 percent. Prof. Lowry d that since this instrument was introduced two s ago the relative merits of British and imported aples of ground barytes had been reversed com- tely, with the result that the finest products that sae tested recently were of British manufacture. . W. J. Palmer referred to the practical im- ‘portance of fine grinding in the paint industry, both it € preparation of enamels and as a means of a tthe pe the hard setting of paint in cans which were sent abroad or stored for some years before being used. Mr. Noel Heaton contradicted the gen- _ eral impression that the ball-mill tends to produce : round particles, since when the glass was ground in this way, even to 0-003 or 0-004 mm. diameter, the ee when examined by the microscope had the the east degree of broken glass and were not in egree rounded. R. Lessing mentioned some applications of _ sae elutriation in connection with the fire-brick, coal and metallurgical industries. Its application to metal- lurgy was described by Mr. Holman in connection with tin slimes, where a loss of 10 to 15 per cent. was traced to the carrying away of very fine particles in a current of water. Mr. Tate, of the Government Laboratory, referred to elutriation as a process of analysis in the separa- tion of cocoa from husk in the ground product; a paper on this aspect of the subject was also submitted by Mr. R. Whymper of Messrs. Peek, Frean & Com- pan Mr. B. A. Keen, of Rothamsted, criticised the method of elutriation as applied to ‘the mechanical analysis of soils, largely on the ground that the shape of the particle was as important as the size in determining the velocity of water required to lift it. In dealing with very fine particles the simpler pro- cess of sedimentation was to be preferred. Prof. Porter, the President of the Faraday Society, in closing the discussion, referred to centrifuging as a means of grading fine powders, and commented on the relationship which Prof. Lowry had put forward between velocity and grain-size. He also referred to the utility of the discussion and especially to the value of bringing together workers from different fields, who could present information which, although . well known to one section of individuals, might not be known at all to other groups represented at the meeting. a. AT the ninth annual General Meeting of the ‘ Institution of Petroleum Technologists, held on March 14, Prof. J. S. S. Brame delivered his ee address, taking for his subject the Is for the re-establishment of the International Commission. International Petroleum ie eened were held in 1900, 1904, and 1908, and committees were appointed to establish methods of testing products. Little was actually achieved, and in 1909 an International Petroleum Commission of wider was established. The organisation of an English National Section was referred to the Institu- tion of Petroleum Technologists by Engler and _ Ubbelohde, but the intended meeting of the Com- admission at Bucharest in 1914 was prevented by the qgutbreak of war. At the first gausial meeting of the Petroleum Products section of the Société de Chimie Industrielle at Paris in 1921, M. Schmitz suggested the re- constitution and endowment of this Commission to * be centred at the University of Strasburg. He spoke _ somewhat bitterly of the Americans “ profiting by the general disorganisation to seek to abandon the 3a The International Petroleum Commission. analytical methods previously decided upon, in favour of their own.” Prof. Brame expressed grave doubts as to the wisdom and the justice of M. Schmitz’s address. He could not believe that the largest oil-producing country, which had created such splendid organisa- tions as the Bureau of Mines and the American Society for Testing Materials, was likely to depart from the methods of oil analysis it-had elaborated and adopted. He outlined the development of these Institutions and the standard methods of petroleum testing they had recommended, and spoke of the cordial relationship between the Standardisation Committee of the Institution of Petroleum Technolo- gists and these American organisations, from which collaboration he hoped would result an agreed system of nomenclature and specifications of the greatest mutual advantage. Such agreement he considered of much greater value to the two countries having by far the largest interests in petroleum than could be gained by the reinstitution of an Inter- national Petroleum Commission. ee. Facilities for Foreign Students in American Colleges and Universities. “HE Bureau of Education of the Government of the United States have issued under the above > ‘title, as Bulletin No. 39 of 1920, a revised and enlarged _ ¢dition of a valuable handbook by Dr. S. P. Capen a frst published in 1915. It presents in a concise _ and readily intelligible form a comprehensive survey of a subject concerning which few people in this tty have more than a very fragmentary know- After a brief account of the organisation of ben e. Eiiecation of all grades and a historical summary _ of the college and university systems, the Bulletin es a description of the parts and working of the 3 university and draws a comparison between American and other educational institutions. Next — ~—NO. 2737, VOL. 109] of colleges. and secondary schools, follow particulars of the cost of living and travel, athletics, clubs, etc., and lists of institutions of collegiate or professional grade located in the principal metropolitan centres of higher education, namely, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Washing- ton. Forty-five pages are devoted to a detailed definition of the requirements of the College Entrance Examination Board, an organisation formed by some 30 colleges together with the principal associations which holds examinations in almost every State and in several foreign countries, including Canada, England, and France. 498 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 Colleges (and the collegiate, or undergraduate, divisions of universities) have, we are informed, come by common consent to express their entrance requirements in terms of “ units,’ a unit representing “a year’s study in any subject in a secondary school, constituting approximately a quarter of a full year’s work. A four-year secondary school curriculum (the normal preliminary to admission to a college) should be regarded as representing not more than 16 units of work.’’ Accordingly the definition of requirements includes not only examination syllabuses but also outlines of secondary school courses of study. Accounts of some approved methods of instruction and typical time-tables are added. As pointed out in the article on America in the Universities Year-book, 1922, ‘‘a peculiarity of the American system of grading, both in secondary and in higher institutions, is the weight attached to the length of time spent under instruction, a degree being attainable by gradual accumulation of a specified number of “eredits’ (certificates of definite periods of time spent successfully under instruction) which thus largely replace the examinations used in other countries for testing the student’s capacity at various intervals.” More than half of the Bulletin is devoted to descriptions of 74 universities, colleges, and technical and professional schools which have already been frequented by foreign students or which give courses likely to prove of special interest to such students. The descriptions deal with courses, degrees, equip- ment, expenses, strength of staffs, number of students, number of foreign students, and miscellaneous items of special interest to foreign students. There are also statistical tables for 1918 relating to State universities and certain agricultural and mechanical colleges, schools of mines, and other technological schools, and a list of medical colleges rated as Class A by the council on medical education of the American Medical Association. A few copies of the Bulletin are available at the Universities Bureau, 50 Russell Square, and can be obtained on payment of 1s. 3d. to cover the price (15 cents) and postage. : University and Educational Intelligence. BIRMINGHAM.—The University has received from the Trustees of the James Watt Memorial Fund the sum of 5000/. towards the establishment of a Chair of Research in Mechanical Science to be known as “The James Watt Chair.”’ Mr. James Couper Brash has been appointed professor of anatomy, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the lamented death of Prof. Peter Thompson. Mr. Brash held the position of acting professor during the leave of absence granted to the late professor. The appointment of Mr. Cyril A. Raison as part-time assistant in anatomy has been confirmed by the Council. CAMBRIDGE.—The family of the late Mr. J. M. Dodds have founded at Peterhouse a studentship to be known as the J. M. Dodds studentship for the pro- motion of advanced study or research in the subjects of mathematics or physics. The first election will be held in June 1923. Lonpon.—Application for grants from the Dixon Fund for assisting scientific investigations must be made before May 15 to the Academic Registrar, University of London, South Kensington, S.W.7. Prof. J. A. Fleming has been compelled, on account of illness, to cancel all engagements for the present, and will consequently be unable to deliver the course of lectures on “‘ Modern Improvements in Telephony ”’ at University College which had been NO. 2737, VOL. 109] announced to begin on April 26. It is hoped that Prof. Fleming will be able to deliver the course in October. | MANCHESTER.—Prof. J. W. Smith has intimated — his intention to resign, as from the end of the present session, the Chair of Systematic Surgery, which he — The following appointments has held since tort. have been made in the Faculty of Technology: Lecturers in Mechanical Engineering, R. M. Anderson, H. Threlfall; Lecturer in Spinning, J. Winter- bottom ; Demonstrators in Chemical Technology, W. H. Brindley, W. Hubball, W. H. Kelly, Esther Levin, and J. D. Mounfield; Demonstrator in Metallurgy, G. Mohn. aoe SHEFFIELD.—A course of five lectures on coal will be given in the Department of Applied Science on April 27 and successive Thursdays at 5:30 P.M. The first lecture, to be delivered by Dr. Marie Stopes, will deal with the palzobotanical aspects of the constitu- tion of coal; the second, by Mr. F. S. Sinnatt, with the preparation of coal for the market ; the third, by Dr. R. Lessing, with the carbonisation of coal; the fourth, by Mr. M. Wynter Blyth, with the manufac- ture of crude benzole; and the fifth, by Prof. J. W. Cobb, with the nitrogen in coal and its recovery as ammonia. Tue Education and the Parliamentary Committees _ of the British Science Guild have had under their careful consideration the recommendations of the Geddes Committee so far as these affect education. Their report, which has received the approval of the executive committee of the Guild, embodies certain proposals with the object of effecting reduction in expenditure where it can be shown to be without detriment to the legitimate purposes of educational expenditure. They desire to suggest one or two changes in such expenditure whereby economy in time and money can be achieved. It is essential that financial control shall be the duty of both State © and local education authorities. The first considera- tion is, how much can be raised annually, both locally and Imperially, in respect of education and its ancillary needs, and next, how it can best be allocated in accordance with the legitimate claims of each department. The second essential is that the educa- tion committee to which the administration of education is delegated by the local authority shall be held responsible for the use of the funds. The present method of allotment of State moneys, namely 50 per cent. of the permitted local expenditure, is not peculiar to education but prevails in other State departments, and is under review with regard to its continuance. It is alleged that it multiplies unduly public officials, increases expense both of time and money, and that it is subversive of the principle of local control. The suggestion in the Geddes Com- mittee’s Report that the lower limit of compulsory age should be raised from five to six is commended, but with the proviso that it shall be accompanied by the institution of nursery schools for young children under the age of six years.. A modification of the present scholarship system is suggested whereby only children of exceptional capacity, and whose _ parents cannot pay for their further education, shall be eligible for free places and for maintenance grants, available in schools of widely varying type. It is recommended that the practice of duplication of inspectorships should be abolished. One set of inspectors would be found quite efficient. If these reforms were carried out, much of the time now taken by unnecessary clerical work on the part of the highly paid staff of teachers and officials would be saved, and their efforts be devoted to more fruitful educational results. APRIL 15, 1922] NATURE 499 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. April 13, 1742. John Lofting died.—Born in dland about 1659, Lofting removed to London in 88, where he became well known as a successful ventor and maker of fire-engines. April 13, 1874. James Bogardus. died.—An ican inventor, Bogardus made improvements in , constructed a delicate engraving machine, nted the dry gas meter, a deep-sea sounding nine, and a dynamometer, while his plan for ufacturing postage stamps was accepted by the itish Government. April 13, 1894. William Haywood died.—For ty-eight years Haywood was chief engineer to = Commissioners of Sewers in London, and he s also the constructor of the Holborn Viaduct. introduced the use of asphalt for city roads. April 15, 1908. J. Wigham Richardson died.—The under of an important shipbuilding firm on the mt of the building of large mercantile vessels and erved as President of the North-East Coast Institu- tion of Shipbuilders and Engineers. April 17, 1899. Sir James Wright died.—The successor of Thomas Lloyd as_ Engineer-in-Chief _ of the Navy, Wright held this position from 1872 to 1887. Trained at Dundee, he became an assistant n Woolwich Dockyard in 1845, and was transferred _ to the Admiralty two years later. He was intimately is nected with the adoption of the compound engine, twin screws, forced draught, high pressures, and the triple expansion engine: April 18, 1916. Sir John Durston died.—One of the few fellows of the Royal School of Naval Archi- _ tecture and Marine Engineering, Durston entered the s Royal Navy in 1866 as an assistant engineer and rose _ to be the Engineer-in-Chief. Taking office in 1889, _ ata time of great difficulty, Durston held office till _ 1907, and to him was mainly due the introduction _ into the Navy of the water-tube boiler and the Parsons _ steam turbine. _ April 18, 1920. Rudolph Messel died.—Educated _ at the University of Tiibingen, where he studied _ chemistry under Strecker, Messel after the Franco- _ Prussian War came to England, where he joined _ Squire. He worked out a method for the manufacture _of fuming sulphuric acid, and with Squire erected _ important chemical works at Silvertown. “a _ April 19, 1904. Sir Clement Le Neve Foster died.— _ From the Royal School of Mines Foster passed to the Mining Academy at Freiburg, and in 1860 joined the _ Geological Survey. He was an inspector of mines _ from 1872 to r1go1, and in 1890 succeeded Warington Smyth as professor of mining in the Royal College of Science. His important work on “‘ Ore and Stone _ Mining ” appeared in 1894. In 1903 he was knighted. April 19, 1914. Alfred Noble died.—After serving the American Civil War, Noble studied civil engineering in the University of Michigan, and became an eminent constructor of canals, docks, and gi He was a member of various commissions appointed to report on the feasibility of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama, and he played an iportant part in solving some of the engineering ems connected with the Panama Canal. He _ served as President of the American Society of Civil : Engineers and in r9ro received the John Fritz medal for “ notable achievements as a Civil Engineer.” :; , EC. NO. 2737, VOL. tog] ne, Richardson contributed much to the advance-_| Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, March 30.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in the chair.—The late W. G. Ridewood : Observations on the skull in foetal specimens of whales of the genera Megaptera and Balenoptera. Five foetal skulls were described. The presence of an interparietal bone in some whales, and the meeting of the parietals in a median suture in others, is of little use in taxonomy. Syncondyly is associated with suppression of the atlanto-epistropheal joint. There is no separate foramen for the hypoglossal nerve. The periotic bone shows no separate centres -of ossification, but a diffuse endochondral granular The orbitosphenoid ossifies independently of the presphenoid. In whales there is no “ external pterygoid plate’’ of alisphenoidal origin; the alisphenoid is the ossified ala temporalis. The growth of the malleus and of the tympanic bone, and the relations of the great bulla to the primary annulus tympanicus, were described.—W. L. Balls: Further observations on cell-wall structure as seen in cotton hairs. The daily growth rings consist of large num- bers of fibrils, spirally arranged, with frequent reversals of the direction of the spirals. This arrangement is predetermined for the secondary cellulose of the growth rings by the initial pattern laid down in the primary wall. The individual fibrils have a cross- sectional area of the order of 0-05 square microns. Some of the evidence suggests stereo-isomerism in cellulose.—L. T. Hogben and F. R. Winton: The pigmentary effector system. I. Re-action of frog’s melanophores to pituitary extracts. The posterior lobe of the pituitary gland contains a specific stimu- lant which, if injected into the frog, brings about a condition of general and complete expansion of the dermal melanophores. A minute dose induces a darkening of the skin readily visible to the naked eye. The pituitary melanophore stimulant is not destroyed by pepsin or boiling. It is rapidly destroyed by trypsin but not so quickly by acid hydrolysis. After cocaine, curare, atropine and apocodeine it still evokes its characteristic response, and therefore acts directly upon the melanophores. The results con- firm the endocrine significance of the condition of general pigmental contraction found by Allen and others to follow removal of the pituitary gland in tadpoles.—Agnes Arber: On the development and morphology of the leaves of palms. The leaf-stalk is the basal. or proximal region of the true petiole while the “‘ fan ” or “‘ feather ’’ limb is a modification of the distal region of the true petiole. The complex plication of the limb arises through the development of a series of invaginations penetrating the leaf-stalk tissue between the bundles. The “ligule’’ and “ dorsal scale’’ of the fan-palms represent adaxial and abaxial distal margins of the uninvaginated proximal region of the petiole. The palm leaf, as a whole, is a petiolar phyllode with a pseudo-lamina.— H. E. Roaf: The acidity of muscle during maintained contraction. Records of electrical changes by a manganese dioxide electrode in combination with a calomel electrode show that: (a) In a veratrinised muscle the acidity remains as well as the tension. (b) In decerebrate rigidity reflex inhibition is accom- panied by a decrease in acidity. Thus acidity and tension are related and a single mechanism is suffi- cient to account for both tetanus and tone. deposit. - Geological Society, March 22.—Prof. A. C. Seward, president, in the chair.—Sir Charles J. Holmes: Leonardo da Vinci as a geologist. Leonardo was the 500 NATURE [APRIL 15, 1922 first to have a large and accurate conception of the causes underlying the physical configuration of the earth. His studies of aqueous erosion, the formation of alluvial plains, the process of fossilisation, and the nature of stratification, led him to a logical con- viction of the immensity of geological time, far in advance of the dogmatic thought of his age, and exposed himself to the charge of atheism. Caution compelled him to work in isolation, and to keep his results concealed. He had no scientific instruments, no correspondents to furnish him with observations on geological conditions elsewhere; yet his grasp of the physical history of the portions of Italy which he had visited was sound, and entirely in accord with modern knowledge. Leonardo left a record of his discoveries in his paintings, generally in the backgrounds. There are found pictures of the primeval world as he imagined it, when seas and lakes ran up to the foot of the mountains, to be slowly displaced and silted up by the detritus which the rain carried down from the summits. BRUSSELS. Royal Academy of Belgium, March 4.—M. A, Lameere in the chair.—C. Servais: The geometry of the tetrahedron, Pt. 4. The cubic surface of Cayley.—P. Martens: The cycle of the somatic chromosome in Paris quadrifolia. Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, Apriu 14, MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY (at Linnean Society). WEDNESDAY, Aprit 19, ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 5.—W.T. Russell: The Relation- ship between Rainfall and Temperature as shown by the Correlation Coefficient.—R. A. Fisher: The Correlation of Weekly Rainfall.— Prof. 8. Chapman and Miss E. Falshaw: The Lunar Atmospheric Tide at Aberdeen, 1869-1919. ROYAL MICROSCcOPICAL SocrETY, at 8.—C. Beck: The Photometry of a Bull’s-Eye Lens for | Iluminating Microscopic Objects —-Dr. S. C. Harland and J. = Denham: The Use of the Microscope in Cotton Research.—Dr. 8S. Ludford: The Morphology and Physiology of the Nucleolus. = Sutcliffe: The Use of the Microscope in the Rubber Industry. THURSDAY, Apnrit 20, i ga MATHEMATICAL SocinTY (at Royal Astronomical Society), ato. sae ae OF MINING AND METALLURGY (at Geological Society), CuILD-STupy Soctery (at Royal Sanitary Institute), at 6. INSTITUTE OF METALS (London Section) (Annual General Meeting at Shaftesbury Hotel, Great St. Andrew Street. W.C.1), at 8.— H. Moore: The Ball Hardness Test. FRIDAY, APRIt 21. INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT (at Royal Society of Arts), at 5.—J_ K, . Bruce: The Operation of a Large Tramway. Undertal:ing, with -. yelerence to Capacity and Cost under given Conditions, CONTENTS. Oxford and Cambridge and the Royal Commission . ( maar By PAGE 465 The First European Civilisation. Prof. R, C. _Bosanquet 466 ‘Turbulence as a oe qanse = Sir Napier Shaw, F.R.S.. “469 NO. 2737, VOL. ol Contents—(continued). Forensic Chemistry The ‘‘ Index Kewensis ” Mental Measurement . Statistical Method. By G. U. Y. Surveying for Oil Geologists , ‘ 4 * The Fourth Dimension. Our Bookshelf Letters to the Editor :— The Atomic Vibrations in the Molecules of Benzenoid - Substances.—Prof. R. Robinson, F.R.S. . ip Transport of Organic Substances in Plants.— Prof. S. Mangham. : d . Pricked Letters and Ultimate Rata _ Prof, F. Cajori . - ‘ Me ‘ _ Einstein’s cation Raper —Prof. C. V. Raman The Weathering of Mortar. Carus-Wilson Metchnikoff (Méénikov) and Rael Science i in "1883. ( With diagram.) tf —C. —Dr. B. Brauner . ee The Accuracy of Tide - vices Machines _ H. A. Marmer; Dr. A. T. Doodson s a Pythagoras’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern.—_ Major P. A. MacMahon, F.R.S. . d The Age of the Earth. J. Joly, F.R.S. : an Recovery of Hughes’s Original Microphones and Other Instruments of Historic Interest. % A. Campbell Swinton, F.R.S. 485 Obituary pa tse bi he Os) ar ao Current Topics and Events » 0 es ele amen Our Astronomical Column :— “3 Evening Stars . : «ee The Distances of the Short- Period Cepheid Variables 488 Research Items . : : é : ie Auxiliary International Laniyeee By Prof. F. G. . Donnan, F.R.S. ; ‘ : g - 491 The Properties of Powders. (///ustrated), . 496 The International Petroleum Commission . 497 Facilities for Foreign Students in American a Colleges : and Universities : . ‘ 497 University and Educational Intelligence . . 498 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . - 499 Societies and Academies 7, 499, Diary of Societies ~ 500% By Dr. S. Brodetakeel ae has sees By Prof. For Subscription and Advertisement Rates of NATURE see p. Cxix. NATURE 501 SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1022. Editorial and Publishing Offices : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. British Dyestuffs Industry. ; HOSE who scrutinise with anxious attention the progress of the British dyestuffs industry are aware that the stage now reached is one surrounded by dangers of a character more economic than technical. The Dyestuffs (Importation) Act has been in operation during fifteen months, and at the outset of this period two main factors contributed to smooth administra- tion. As a consequence of the Sankey judgment, this country had been flooded with German dyes in quantity and variety amply sufficient to supply the normal needs of one year’s good trade; concurrently, every branch of industry was facing an abnormal depression, which reflected itself in a greatly diminished con- sumption of dyestuffs. It followed that the principal problems arising in regard to licensing imports were questions affecting identity or equivalence of the __ domestic dyes when competing with foreign products. 4g The period under review has been one of steady pro- _ gress by the British factories, and an opportunity to 3 visualise their achievement was offered lately by an imposing exhibition of synthetic colouring matters at __ the British Industries Fair. Still more recently, Brig.- _ Gen. Sir William Alexander, Chairman of the British __ Dyestuffs Corporation, invited a large gathering of _ press representatives to review the circumstances in __ which the renascence of this industry took place, and _ to apprehend the nationally fundamental need of main- _ taining it. There is grave public danger in the present risk that, as the connection between dyestuffs and explosives recedes into the background of the public mind, the more permanently important features of this industry will sink into oblivion. Failure to realise how closely the chemical industry is linked with the NO. 2738, VOL. 109] ‘Act. general manufacturing activities of the country springs from the apathy with which chemistry, particularly the organic branch, has been regarded in Great Britain, and Sir William Alexander has rendered a public service in emphasising the fact that research in the dyestuff industry creates and maintains a very highly trained body of organic chemists who, in an emergency, are qualified to apply themselves to technical national problems, whether these relate to peace or war. This admonition is a timely one, because a variety of circumstances indicate growth of opposition to the principle of the Dyestuffs (Importation) Act. At the moment, although great strides have been made by the research departments of the British factories to- wards improving the quality and diminishing the cost of their colours, prices are still in many cases higher than can be viewed with equanimity by the dyer or calico-printer, and advantage is being taken of this drawback by those who, from motives of gain, or in disregard of national interests, seek the repeal of the Owing to countless variations of detail in the application of dyestuffs to textiles, it is difficult to secure trustworthy information respecting the per- centage of cost borne by a colouring matter in the finished product ; in some cases it is trifling, in others it may be substantial, and in the general scramble to reduce cost of production, it is natural for those colour-users whose range of vision is not wide to pounce upon the dye-costs and demand relief. Meanwhile, the opportunity now in the hands of German factories owing to currency depreciation is one which they have. not been slow to use, but it would be foolish to imagine that any mercy will be shown by Germany to British colour-users if once the domestic industry is allowed to perish. Happily there are colour-users who look beyond the needs of the moment, and to such it is evident that the effort now being made to shatter the industry in adolescence must, in the interest of the whole com- munity, be faced and overcome. If this country is not allowed to establish a dye-making industry, in- calculable damage will ultimately accrue to the textile trade. In the first place, the dyer will suffer in be- coming a spoon-fed vassal of the German factories ; he will grow less and less capable of exercising his craft intelligently, and of devising novel applications to textile fabrics. This will diminish the attraction which British products offer to foreign markets, and in that degree curtail the operations of the textile manufac- turer, who will be further handicapped by exorbitant prices for German dyes. Finally, if this, the principal industrial incentive to the pursuit of applied organic chemistry be permitted to languish, this country de- liberately excludes itself from the immediate benefits, 502 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 and the potential profits, of all future revolutionary discoveries comparable with that which, in 1856, led to the displacement of natural colouring matters by the products of coal-tar chemistry. Sexual Life and Marriage among Primitive Mankind. The History of Human Marriage. By Prof. E. Wester- marck. Fifth edition, rewritten. Vol. 1, pp. xxiv +571. Vol. 2, pp. xii+595. Vol. 3, pp. vili+ 587. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) Three Volumes. 84s. net. OMPARATIVE sociology, in many of its branches, started with very simple and homely concepts, and now, after a career of imaginative and somewhat sensational spinning of hypotheses, we find it returning in its latest developments-to the position of common sense. The subject of family and marriage, of their origins and evolution, epitomises such a typical course of sociological speculation. In the views about the human family, there was first the uncritical assumption that the family was the nucleus of human society ; that monogamous marriage has been the prototype of all varieties of sex union ; that law, authority and govern- ment are all derived from patriarchal power ; that the State, the Tribe, economic co-operation and all other forms of social association have gradually grown out of the small group of blood relatives, issued from one married couple, and governed by the father. This theory satisfied common sense, supplied an_ easily imaginable course of natural development, and was in agreement with all the unquestioned authorities, from the Bible to Aristotle. But some sixty years ago, among the many revolu- tions in scientific thinking and method, the family theory of society seemed to have received its death- blow. The independent researches of Bachofen, Morgan and MacLennan seemed to prove beyond doubt, by the study of survivals and ethnographic phenomena, by methods of linguistics, .comparative study and antiquarian reconstruction, that the whole conception of primeval monogamous marriage and early human family was nothing but a myth. Primitive humanity, they said, lived in loosely organised hordes, in which an almost complete lack of sexual regulation, a state of promiscuity, was the usage and law. This, the authors of this school concluded, can be seen from many survivals, from the analysis of classificatory systems of relationship, and from the prevalence of matri- lineal kinship and matriarchate. Thus, instead of the primitive family we have a horde ; instead of marriage, promiscuity ; instead of paternal right, the sole in- NO. 2738, VOL. 109] ‘fluence of the mother and of her relatives over the children. Some of the leaders of this school con- structed a number of successive stages of sexual evolution through which humanity was supposed to have passed, Starting from promiscuity, mankind — went through group marriage, then the so-called con- — sanguineous family or Punalua, then polygamy, till, — in the highest civilisations, monogamous marriage was reached as the final product of development. Under this scheme of speculations, the history of human marriage reads like a sensational and somewhat scandalous novel, starting from a confused but interest- ing initial tangle, redeeming its unseemly course by a moral dénouement, and leading, as all proper novels should, to marriage, in which “they lived happily ever after.” After the first triumphs of this theory were over, there came, however, a reaction. The earliest and most important criticism of these theories arose out of the very effort to maintain them. In the middle eighties of last century, a young and © then inexperienced Finnish student of anthropology started to add his contribution to the views of Bach- ofen and Morgan. In the course of his work, however, the arguments for the new and then fashionable theories began to crumple in his hands, and indeed to turn into the very opposite of their initial shape. These studies, in short, led to the first publication by Prof. Westermarck in 1891 of his “ History of Human Marriage,” in which the author maintained that mono- gamous marriage is a primeval human institution, and that it is rooted in the individual family ; that matri- archate has not been a universal stage of human de- velopment ; that group marriage never existed, still less promiscuity, and that the whole problem must be approached from the biological and psychological point of view, and though with an exhaustive, yet Ks with a critical application of ethnological evidence. The book with its theories arrested at once the atten- tion both of all the specialists and of a wider public, and it has survived these thirty years, to be reborn in 1922 in an amplified fifth edition of threefold the original size and manifold its original value. For since then Prof. Westermarck has developed not only his methods of inductive inference by writing another book of wider scope and at least equal importance, ‘“ Origin and De- velopment of Moral Ideas,” but he has also acquired a first-hand knowledge of savage races by years of intensive ethnographic field work in Morocco, work which has produced already numerous and most valu- able records. : Where does the problem stand now? First of all, the contest is not ended yet, and divergencies of opinion obtain on some fundamental points, while controversy APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 593 _ has not lost much of its uncompromising tone. But the issues have narrowed down somewhat. There is no longer a question of accepting the naive theory which _ regarded family as a kind of universal germ of all social evolution ; nor, on the other hand, does any com- _ petent sociologist take very seriously the fifteen suc- 5 fully aware of the importance of matrilineal descent, the maternal uncle’s authority, and of the various ‘kinship anomalies connected with matriliny. The classificatory terms of relationship are, moreover, not considered by Prof. Westermarck as mere terms of _ address, but as important indications of status. _ The representatives of the opposite school had also and grudgingly. Scarcely any one nowadays would be so irreverent towards our ape-like ancestors and ancestresses as to suspect them of living in a general state of promiscuity. But there is still a formidable list of a _ names, among them some of the most eminent repre- sentatives of modern anthropology, quoted by Prof. "promiscuity as “not improbable,” “ plausible,” “ by _ no means: untenable, ” and use this hypothesis con- 3 stantly as a skeleton-key to open all questions of : _ sex. Group marriage is still, though somewhat faint- - heartedly, affirmed to have existed, and even some _ savages are forced to live up to their evil reputation— in the speculations and bare assertions of some writers. _ The Punalua family leads an even more shadowy ex- F ‘istence, merging into a combined polyandry and poly- gamy. The most tenacious survival of the Bachofen- _ Morgan-MacLennan theories seems to be the kinship __ terms, themselves a most fecund er for all kinds of survival theories. _ Thus Prof. Westermarck in this new edition is not altogether relieved of the necessity of dealing with the hypothesis of promiscuity, and in chapters iii.-ix. he examines the various classes of evidence adduced in its favour. There is a number of statements affirming directly the existence of promiscuous conditions among his or that tribe or people. Some of them come from _garrulous and credulous writers of antiquity and have to be discarded as pure fables ; others, from modern travellers, equal them in untrustworthiness and futility. On this point no one will certainly controvert the author when he says “ that it would be difficult to find a more untrustworthy collection’ of statements.” The in- vestigation then turns to that remarkable group of ethnological facts—Jus Primae Noctis, licence of festive _and religious character, prenuptial and orgiastic sexual -intercourse—in which the powerful instinct of sex, NO. 2738, VOL. 109] _ Westermarck (vol. 1, p. 103 7.), who consider primitive to make some concessions, though rather reluctantly } 4 curbed and fettered by social regulations, takes, in its own time, revenge on man by dragging him down to the level of a beast. Prof. Westermarck fully admits the importance and extent of these phenomena; his survey indeed shows the extreme range and the often astounding perversity of these deviations. But he declines resolutely to see in any of these facts a sur- vival of pristine promiscuity, for in all cases the facts reveal most powerful motive forces, and can be attri- buted to definite psychological and social causes. The theory of survival is moreover irreconcilable with the fact that we find side by side with licentious tribes, savages who maintain strict chastity ; that some of the most primitive ones are virtuous, whilst the most luxuriant growth of licence is found in more advanced communities; that, finally, civilisation instead of abolishing these phenomena only modifies them. The chapters on customary and regulated sexual licence are full of penetrating suggestions, and the facts, skilfully marshalled, are made to speak for them- selves, and will supply a lasting compendium for students of sexual psychology. But what appears most valuable in this, not less than in other parts of the work, are the methods and implications of the argument. Prof. Westermarck has an abhorrence of the now fashionable tendency of explaining the whole by its part, the essential by the irrelevant, the known by the unknown. He refuses to construct out of meagre and insufficient evidence a vast, hypothetical building, through the narrow windows of which we would have to gaze upon reality, and see only as much of it as they allow. The obvious, common-sense and essentially scientific way of proceeding is to get firm hold of the fundamental aspects of human nature—in this case the psychology of sex, the laws of primitive human group- ing, the typical beliefs and sentiments of savage people—and, in the light of this, to analyse each fact as we meet it. But to construct the unverifiable hypotheses of primitive promiscuity and interpret facts in terms of figments is, as Prof. Westermarck shows, a method which leads nowhere and lures us from the true scientific path. Some of the other chapters of Prof. Westermarck’s book give us another approach to the psychology of sex and to the theory of human marriage. Sex is a most powerful instinct—one of the modern schools of psychology tries to derive from it almost all mental process and sociological crystallisation. However this may be, there is no doubt that masculine jealousy (chap. ix.), sexual modesty (chap. xii.), female coyness (chap. xiv.), the mechanism of sexual attraction (chap. xv. and xvi.) and of courtship (chap. xiii.)—all these forces and conditions made it necessary that even in the most primitive human aggregates there should 504 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 exist powerful means of regulating, suppressing and directing this instinct. There is no doubt that all the psychological forces of human sexual passion, as well as the conditions of primitive life, must have tended to produce a primeval habit of individual pairing. We have to imagine a man and a woman forming more or less permanent unions which lasted until well after the birth of the offspring. This, Prof. Westermarck develops in the first chapter of his work. A union between man and wife, based on personal affection springing out of sexual attachment, based on economic conditions, on mutual services, but above all on a common relation to the children, such a union is the origin of the human family. This primeval habit, according to the “ tendency of habits to become rules of conduct,” develops with time into the institution of family and marriage, and “ marriage is rooted in the family, rather than the family in marriage.” Marriage, indeed, right through the book, is con-’ ceived in the correct sociological manner, that is, as an institution based on complex social conditions. The greatest mistake of the writers of the opposing school— a mistake which, I think, they have not corrected even in the most recent publications—is their identification of marriage with sexual appropriation. Nor is this pitfall easy to avoid. For us, in our own society, the exclusiveness of sexual rights is the very essence of marriage. Hence we think of marriage in terms of individual sexual appropriation, and project this con- cept into native societies. When we find, therefore, groups of people living in sexual communism, as un- doubtedly happens among a few tribes within a limited compass, we have a tendency at once to jump to con- clusions about “ group marriage.” To the majority of savages, however, sexual appro- priation is by no means the main aspect of marriage. To take one example, there are the Trobriand Islanders, studied by the present writer, who live in the greatest sexual laxity, are matrilineal, and possess an institution which is probably the nearest approach to “ group marriage” that exists or could ever have existed. Indeed, it resembles it much more, I think, than does the celebrated Pirrauru of the Dieri in Central Australia. These natives satisfy their sexual inclinations through all forms of licence, regulated and irregular, and then settle down to marry, decidedly not only or even mainly to possess a partner in sex, but chiefly out of personal -attachment, in order to set up a household with its economic advantages, and last, not least, to rear children. The institution of individual marriage and family among them is based on several other founda- tions besides sex, though sex—naturally — enters into it. Space does not allow me to follow Prof. Westermarck NO. 2738, VOL. 109 | into his dialectic contests with the most eminent of his contemporaries—with Sir James Frazer and Dr. Rivers about the kinship terms (chap. vi.) ; with Sir © James Frazer and Mr. Hartland on matriliny (chap. viii.) ; and with all of them, as well as Spencer and Gillen, on group marriage (chap. xxvi.). Inall these arguments we find the same extensive use of ethnological material, the same breadth of view and moderation of doctrine, above all, the same sound method of explaining the detail by its whole, the superstructure by its foundation. In the treatment of kinship and matriliny, too little concession is perhaps made to the important. theories of Sir James Frazer and Mr. Hartland, whose views, unquestionably correct, that ignorance of paternity is universal and primitive among savages, Prof. Westermarck cannot accept. Nor can he see perhaps sufficiently clearly the enormous influence‘of this savage ignorance on primitive ideas of kinship: As Sir - Frazer says : “Fatherhood to a Central Australian savage is a very different thing from fatherhood to a civilized — To the European father it means that he to the Central European. has begotten a child on a woman; Australian father it means that the child is the offspring of a woman with whom he has a right to cohabit. . . . To the European mind the tie between a father and his child is physical ; to the Central Australian it is social ” (‘ Totemism and Exogamy,” i. p. 236). The distinction between a physiological and a social conception of kinship is indeed essential. But, on the whole, Prof. Westermarck’s views do not diverge so much from those of Frazer’s, who, on the other hand, occupies a moderate position among the supporters of the sh theories. . Prof. Westermarck’s explanation of exogamy, and of the prohibition of incest—which I think will come to be considered as a model of sociological construction, and which remarkably enough seems to find favour with no one—can only be mentioned here. The excellent chapters. on marriage rites (chaps. xxiv.- xxvi.); the analysis of what could be called the numeric varieties of marriage, monogamy and poly- gamy (chaps. xxvii.-xxviil.) ; polyandry (xxix.-xxx.) ; duration of marriage (xxxii.-xxxiii.), stand’ somewhat _ apart from the main argument of the book. Each division is a monograph, a Corpus Inscriptionum Mairi- monialium, a treatise in itself. The book is and will remain an inexhaustible fount of information, a lasting contribution towards the clearing up of some of the most obscure aspects of human evolution, and it marks an epoch in the development of sociological method and reasoning. B. MALINOWSKI. Re Pe an iS ar APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 595 Some Chemical Treatises. of. C. Moureu. Authorised Translation from the th French Edition by W. T. K. Braunholtz. _ Xvili+399. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1.) 12s. 6d. net. _ Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry. Edited by J. La Friend. Vol. 9, part 2, [von and its Com- mds. By Dr. J. N. Friend. (Griffin’s Scientific t-books.) Pp. xxv+265. (London: Charles _ Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 18s. . WF Pictionary of Chemical: Solubilities. Inorganic. : edition by Dr. A. M. Comey. Second edition, ed and revised, by Dr. A. M. Comey and Prof. ae Hahn. Pp. ny a (New York : . cS “organic chemistry constitutes a very real 1 formidable difficulty to the instructor in that of science. It is calculated that up to the ne more than two hundred thousand organic nces have been discovered and described, and the being steadily added to week after week. usly impossible for any lecturer on the subject chemica. Nor is there any reason why he ‘Fifty or sixty years ago organic chemistry was taught in our universities, and, even when S treated i ina lifeless, unsystematic manner. rik am methods of preparation, and physical es, which sa made up the substance of “under law and order. The whole has been and, for the most part, reduced to fundamental ples. The view of the village is no longer ob- with these Srdcntital principles alone, based upon the co-ordination of facts, or groups of facts, that a er of organic chemistry to-day can concern | if, if he would seek to convey any adequate con- ion Rok the field of study occupied by that depart- = Of science. In the hands of a capable, well- ed man, gifted with philosophic insight and ed with the faculty of exposition, tuition in chemistry can be made a most fascinating ation. To supplement the teacher’s work in the re-room, however, the students should be provided | a well-ordered text-book, dealing with the prin- NO. 2738, VOL. 109] Fundamental Principles of Organic Chemistry. By- with more than a very small fraction of this _ a ciples concerned. Such a book is that under review. In its original form it has already been noticed in these columns. Since that time it has gone through many editions, and has found its way beyond French univer- sity circles. The sixth French edition has now been translated into English by Mr. Walter T. K. Braunholtz, and appears with an introduction from Prof. Sir William J. Pope, of the University of Cambridge. We heartily commend Prof. Moureu’s book to all— both teachers and taught—to whom the philosophic aspects of organic chemistry appeal. No more interest- ing work on the subject has appeared within recent years. It-is written with that clarity, logical sense, faculty of arrangement, and sense of proportion which are such striking characteristics of French scientific literature. We trust that in its English dress it will have a reception commensurate with its great merits. (2) As was mentioned in a former notice in NATURE of vol. 9 of Dr. Newton Friend’s great work on in- organic chemistry, it has been found necessary to treat the subject of iron in a separate part of that volume, on account of the great importance of the metal and the voluminous literature which has grown round it. This has been found so great that it has been deemed desir- able to subdivide the volume still further. The part now under review treats of the chemistry of iron and its compounds, its metallurgy being relegated to part 3, which is being dealt with by the editor in collaboration with Mr. W. H. Hatfield. The general plan of part 2 is similar to that of the preceding volumes. It opens with an account of the early history of iron as a metal, beginning with the use of meteoric iron by prehistoric man, and of smelted iron by the Egyptians, Ethiopians, Assyrians, and Israelites. According to authorities quoted by Dr. Friend, India acquired her knowledge of iron from Babylon. The famous pillar at Delhi is far from being so old as is usually surmised. It dates back probably to about A.D. 300. Greece was the first country in Europe to use iron—probably about 1400 B.c. It was known in Britain about a century before the Roman invasion, when, as mentioned by Cesar, it was used in the form of bars for currency. Specimens of these bars are in the British Museum and in the Worcester Museum. Chap. 2 is concerned with the mineralogy of iron, and gives an account of its ores and other ferru- ginous minerals, many of which, of course, are of no importance as sources of the metal. It is noteworthy that the mean percentages of ferrous and ferric oxides contained in American igneous rocks are considerably less than in similar British rocks. Chap. 3 treats of the preparation and properties of pure iron, the pass- ivity of iron, its action as a catalyst, etc. A short section on its atomic weight is contributed by Mr. SI 506 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 Little. The final value 55-84 is sufficiently far from a whole number to suggest the existence of isotopes, for there is every reason to believe that this value is well established. In view of Dr. Aston’s work, and the resuscitation of Prout’s hypothesis, it will be interesting to learn how the difference from the integer is to be accounted for. Chap. 4 deals with the important subject of the corrosion of iron, of which the editor has made a special study. It is, however, remarkable, in spite of the large amount of work which has already been done on this subject, how much remains to be ascertained. The remaining chapters, five in number, deal with the general properties of iron salts, of its compounds with hydrogen and the halogens, and with the elements of Groups VI., V., IV., and III. of the Periodic Table. The whole concludes with a chapter on the detection and estimation of iron. As in the case of the entire work, a special feature is a wealth of bibliographical reference. Practically every statement can be verified by reference to the original source of information. This, of course, adds greatly to the value of the treatise as a compendium, but it ‘is naturally not of much service to the student without access to a well-found library. There is probably no single library in London in which all the books thus referred to could be found. A new feature in the work is the inclusion of a table giving a list of important journals and periodicals deal- ing with chemical matters, with the dates of issue of their several volumes, from the year 1800 down to 1919. It was compiled by Mr. Clifford, the librarian of the Chemical Society, and occupies some eight pages of the book. Its value to the book itself is not very apparent, since the date of publication in the case of any particular reference is invariably given in the footnote. The table has no special appropriateness to the volume under review ; its proper place would be either at the begin- ning or the end of the completed work. (3) The ‘“ Dictionary of Chemical Solubilities,’ by Drs. A. M. Comey and Dorothy A. Hahn, is a revised and enlarged edition of a work by the first-named author which appeared in 1895, and which, in its turn, followed the well-known “ Dictionary of Solubilities ” compiled in 1864 by Prof. F. H. Storer on a plan indicated so far back as 1731 by Peter Shaw. Storer’s book is long since out of print, and no attempt has been made to bring it up to date and to reissue it. During the quarter of a century which has elapsed since the first edition of Dr. Comey’s work a large amount of addi- tional matter relating to the solubilities of inorganic substances, with which the book is alone concerned, has made its appearance. This has been carefully brought together by Dr. Dorothy A. Hahn, of Mount Holyoke College, and forms the material upon which NO. 2738, VOL. 109 | the present edition is based. It constitutes a volume — of 1140 closely printed pages, and its subject-matter -has been brought down to 1916. Its printing and — a a publication have been delayed by circumstances ansing 3 out of the war. In a work of this kind easy reference is of primary importance, and opinions may differ as to the best arrangement to adopt. The one used is practically alphabetical, but it will be obvious that such a scheme leads to occasional anomalies, which could be obviated only by elaborate cross-referencing, thereby adding considerably to the bulk of the volume. In the case of discrepant statements by different observers, no attempt at a critical selection has been made, which we think detracts from the value and authority of the work. A careful examination of the original papers and of the methods and apparatus employed would have enabled a satisfactory judgment. to be reached, and thereby obviated much unnecessary printing. Methods of determining the solubilities of gases, for example, have been improved greatly since Bunsen’s time, and many of his estimations have been superseded by more accurate observations. It serves no useful purpose to retain them, and indeed only confuses the searcher, who is not in a position to discriminate between the several observers. The compilers may rightly say they have done their best to deal with the enormous mass of material they have collected, but they can scarcely have escaped the conviction that much of the numerical data rests upon a very insecure experimental basis. The fact is, it is only within quite recent times that methods ~ of estimating solubilities have reached the necessary — precision, and that sources of error hitherto overlooked have been obviated. In spite, however, of these difficulties and imperfec- _ tions, the present work is the most comprehensive — compilation on the subject which has yet appeared in any language, and a word of commendation is due to Dr. Hahn for the patience, care, and assiduity with which she has collected the vast amount of material with which she has had to deal. Formal and Philosophical Aspects — of Logic. Logic. By W. E. Johnson. Part 1. 16s. net. Part 2. Demonstrative Inference: De- ductive and Inductive. Pp. xx+258. 14s. net. _ (Cambridge : At the University Press, rg2t, 1922.) LOGICIAN is a person who takes infinite pains to solve problems which present no manner of difficulty to ordinarymortals. Thismay be, and nodoubt Pp. xl+255- is, because ordinary mortals live and die unconscious of wy See ol tad) lf q APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 597 - inconsistencies of general theory. The logician is therefore of necessity a very serious person, and to uspect a twinkle in his eye when he is propounding : roblem is to undermine his authority. But there another reason why he must be serious. If he d make formal logic a distinctive science he must parity between the devil and the deep sea, for > one hand he has to beware of falling into pure tters of grammar, the use and misuse of the parts speech, and on the other hand he has to avoid the ; of metaphysics. Indeed if one were to take a 1 be difficult to be sure that anything would _ There used to be a subject, taught at uni- dias called rhetoric, and many chairs of it still _ but it would puzzle any one now to say ‘ly what a professor of rhetoric is expected to It looks as though logic may some day and h é two parts before us are exceedingly well written. very sentence is a model of clearness and lucidity. . “i the reader may be when he discovers even. i they had been discovered to exist. Sa Johnson makes a very important point of a ion he proposes between propositions, verbally into primary and secondary. Truth and yy he tells us, can be predicated of propositions te different senses according as they are one or ner. ‘‘Some fairies are malevolent ” if it is a y Meiotatics: is necessarily false because fairies ‘do not exist. But if it applies to “ descriptions ” of s then, as descriptions exist, it is true, and it is ‘ica! on we are asked to consider propositions such opposites. “An integer between 3 and 4 is ” and “ Ani integer between 3 and 4 is composite.” » we ‘are told that though one is contradictory other, neither is true because both have a non- t subject. This is in keeping with the endless rest Mr. Russell discovered in the question of the 1 or falsity of the proposition “ The present King ‘France is bald.” All one can say is that if any ensical content becomes a proposition once it is NO. 2738, VOL. 109] The “typical paradox ” ndary proposition. Similarly, in the chapter on - invested with the propositional form, then logic had better be abandoned to those for whom games are the serious business of life. The author’s main purpose, however, seems to be a more exact classification and an improved terminology. He thinks the serious objection urged against the correspondence theory of truth can be got rid of by substituting the terms “ accordance” and “ dis- cordance ”’ for correspondence and non-correspondence. We may admit that the new terms are in a sense non- committal, but is that a gain? Another proposal is concerned with the subject of Modality. It is to substitute “certified and uncertified,” for the term problematic, and to distinguish the certified into formally certified and experientially certified, appar- ently in order to have technical terms in logic for the old philosophical distinction between truths of reason and matters of fact. Also for ‘“‘ necessary ”’ he would substi- tute two pairs of terms, nomic and contingent, and, epis- . temic and constitutive. The peculiat character of proper names he proposes to designate by the term “‘ostensive.” In all this we seem to be hearing the echo of Mr. Russell’s complaint that we shall never make progress in science aintil we construct and use a scientific language. Perhaps the most novel thing in the logical theory expounded in Part 1 is the Paradoxes of Implication. is certainly not what we ordinarily designate by that term, and the author is aware that his use requires justification. A paradox in the ordinary meaning is the affirmation of a proposi- tion the actual terms of which include its negation, as for example, ‘“ Whoso loses his life shall save it.’ The } essence of the paradox is that despite its apparent contradiction in form it contains defensible philosophic truth. The logical paradox here discussed is very different. You may be led by implication (p implies q) technically correct, to the form “if p then g” where p may stand for the proposition 2+3=7 and g for the proposition “it will rain to-morrow,’ then you have the paradox. At this point no doubt the ordinary person would lose interest, but if you are a logician it is here the problem becomes engrossing. One very interesting discussion, also in Part 1, is the famous Leibnizian principle of “the identity of indiscernibles.”” No one can fail to see that meta- physically the principle is an essential part of the concept of substance, yet logically there seems no way of keeping this in view, and the author reaches the conclusion—which is quite correct on his prin- ciples—that it seems to him in any case to have no logical justification whatever. In Part 2 there is a distinct increase in the philo- sophical interest. The difference between the aspect of a problem to the philosopher and to the logician 508 NATURE [ APRIL 22, 1922 becomes more marked, and the author is sometimes at pains to show that the doctrine he is discussing has reference purely to formal logic. The subjects dealt with are of the first importance. For example, the relation of logic to mathematics is discussed with very penetrating criticism, and Mr. Johnson finds that he differs from Mr. Russell on the fundamental concept of this relation. The mathematical function is for Mr. Russell a description derivable from the pro-— positional function of logic, whereas Mr. Johnson argues that the propositional function of logic is nothing but a particular case of the mathematical. In dis- cussing functional deduction generally Mr. Johnson says “the essential purpose of symbolism is to economise the exercise of thought; and thus symbolic methods are worse than useless in studying the philosophy of symbolism or of mathematics in particular.” There are many new distinctions discovered and new terms proposed. In particular we are to dis- tinguish two direct principles of inference, the ap- plicative and the implicative, each with a counter principle ; we are to add to the distinctions of magni- tudes as extensive and intensive an intermediate form termed distensive ; and, more important still, we are to distinguish between the question of the absolute- ness or relativity of space and time and the question of their substantival or adjectival nature. But perhaps the most astonishing distinction of all (is it a new discovery ?) is that of the syllogism and the antilogism. The antilogism like the syllogism has its four modes AETIO, and, in the illustration given, simply by altering the mode we can present the argument for new realism, the argument for Hume’s scepticism, or the argument for Kant’s formalism. Verily formal logic may be in the way of becoming a formidable weapon in the hands of a philosophical controversialist. Terrestrial Magnetism in the Antarctic. British (“ Terra Nova”) Antarctic Expedition, 1910- 1913: Terrestrial Magnetism. By Dr. C. Chree. _Pp. xii+548+60 plates. (London: Harrison and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) OTH of Captain Scott’s Antarctic expeditions included observations of the earth’s magnetism in their programme of scientific work, and the experi- ence gained in the first was turned to good use in the second. The two magnetic observers were Dr. G. C. Simpson and Mr. C. S. Wright, to whom is due the credit for the fine work done at the base station. A noteworthy improvement was made by Dr. Simpson in the method of time-marking on the magnetograph sheets, which has since been adopted in some regular. NO. 2738, VOL. 109] magnetic observatories. The magnetographs were in operation for nearly two years (February 1911 to November 1912) ; at the beginning of the second year Dr. Simpson was recalled to his official duties in India. Besides the continuous record of the three magnetic elements at Cape Evans, a considerable number of — oe 4 absolute measurements were made by the naval — officers of the expedition, both in the “ field ” (prin- cipally at Cape Adare) and at sea. The important task of preparing a report describing and discussing all these observations was entrusted, as in the case of the former expedition, to Dr. Chree. This report has just been issued, in the form of a large q E : q quarto volume, prepared and published at the cost — of the fund raised by public subscription in memory of Captain Scott and his companions. Apart from the observations taken by the naval officers, which were mainly reduced by themselves, not only the discussion but also the reduction of the observations — has been executed by or under the supervision of Dr. Chree; the measurement of the magnetograph curves, the reduction of the measurements, and the a discussion of the important but somewhat tedious — instrumental questions which arise, involve an amount of labour which can be but little appreciated by those unfamiliar with the subject. Of the 548 pages of letterpress, about one hundred are devoted to the tables, giving hourly values of the three magnetic elements, while about one-quarter of the volume is occupied by a valuable set of plates, mainly reproducing actual magnetograph records, from the Antarctic or elsewhere. . Following out his characteristic plan, Dr. Chree _ has kept strictly to the comparison and discussion of facts as facts ; the echoes of theoretical controversy = can be at most remotely perceived, and speculations — as to the cause of the phenomena reviewed with such — painstaking care are expressly deprecated by the author. Whether or not it is best at all times to restrict the discussion within these severe limits of certainty, few can disagree with the adoption of the course in preparing a report of this kind. In the spirit with which he has approached the task Dr. : * Chree has shown, not only his devotion to his chosen science, but also his personal appreciation of the work — done by those who obtained the observations, or made — the observations possible, in the inhospitable regions — of the Antarctic. _~ a The general plan of the volume is similar to that — of the one dealing with the earlier expedition. The first six chapters describe the reductions which lead to the monthly mean values, non-cyclic changes, diurnal inequalities (with Fourier coefficients), daily % range, and daily maxima ahd minima of the magnetic APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 509 elements ; the rest of the discussion is on more in- dividual and less standard lines. Dr. Chree devotes reat attention to the important subject of the magnetic activity ”’—its variations from day to day and from to hour, and its connection with other magnetic : sristics. He finds, for instance, that the markable differences existing between the Antarctic jurnal magnetic variations on quiet and on disturbed 's are by no means merely proportionately intensified ns of the corresponding differences in temperate tudes. Again, he investigates the tendency for ven state of magnetic activity to recur after twenty- en days, a phenomenon long ago suggested by un and others, and independently established and ght into prominence more recently by Mr. Maunder. Chree uses his own admirable method based on y character figures, and finds the tendency to be clearly shown by the Antarctic as by the Kew rds. The variation of the magnetic activity jughout the day, and even over short periods of hour or so, has also been studied, the latter with 1e aid of the quick-speed records arranged to be en simultaneously for ‘term hours” at the Antarctic and at many co-operating observatories. Vhile these records have proved useful for the purpose named, Dr. Chree expresses doubt as to the desirability of including this arrangement in the programme of future polar expeditions. _ Another subject discussed in much detail is magnetic disturbance of various kinds, including “sudden _ commencements,” whether followed by a magnetic _ storm or not, large disturbances (studied from Antarctic and other records) and short-period disturbances. Some. cases of the repetitions of disturbances at about the same hour on successive or adjacent days, such as were first noticed by Sefior Capello in the Lisbon ‘curves, were found in the Antarctic records, and are illustrated ; it is to be regretted that the corresponding ‘curves from other observatories were not obtained for these as well as for the larger disturbances discussed. - With the co-operation of Mr. C. S. Wright, an teresting chapter on the relation between aurore and magnetic disturbance is included. In this chapter ous definite numerical criteria are applied to test view generally held that there is a close connection ween the two phenomena. It is so difficult, on ount of daylight, clouds and moonlight, to get ecords of aurorz at all comparable with the magnetic records i in continuity or completeness that it requires some: ingenuity to devise satisfactory numerical tests the connection ; Dr. Chree’s tables succeed in : it, as they show that 41 per cent. of the “ first-class” aurore observed were associated with days of character-figure 2 (connoting a magnetically NO. 2738, VOL. 109] disturbed day), while no single aurora of the fourth class was so associated. It appears also that aurore are probably rarely, if ever, totally absent, even at the times most quiet magnetically. In order to utilise the results to the best advantage, Dr. Chree has not shrunk from entering upon enormous pieces of arithmetical computation, and the preparation of this report has been an enterprise which even those naturally most inclined towards numerical work might: have shirked. The volume is_ necessarily restricted in its appeal, but magneticians will every- where be grateful to Dr. Chree for the clear and accurate way in which he has ascertained and presented so many of the leading facts regarding the magnetic phenomena of the Antarctic. The Analysis of Drugs. The Chemistry and Analysis of Drugs and Medicines. By H. C. Fuller. Pp. ix+1072. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and v Hall, Ltd., 1920.) 55s. net. ‘HE number of drugs in use at the present day runs into thousands, and each of them is a component of one or more, often many more, ‘“ medi- cines.” The materials used as drugs include such diverse products as plants the constituents of which are unknown, elementary substances such as colloidal copper and sulphur, and complex but well-defined compounds like “salvarsan.” To prepare a com- prehensive account of the analysis of drugs and medi- cines is therefore a difficult task, and one may doubt Mr. Fuller’s wisdom, but not his courage, in tackling it. He has produced a book which is inclusive rather than useful, and is unnecessarily large, owing to faults in the arrangement of matter and to needless repeti- tion ; thus the assay of the principal crude drugs is described in chap. 2, and drugs which contain alkaloids or glucosides are discussed again in the chapters devoted to these constituents, with the result that the determination of morphine in opium is dealt with on pp. 53-60, and a second set of processes for this operation is given on pp. 211-13, a cross-reference being provided in neither case. Many authors inadvertently repeat themselves, but it must be unusual to find such a case as that of sali- genin in this book, which is described twice, each time under a central heading in heavy type on the same page (553), and a third time on p. 787; the headings are different each time, viz. ‘‘ ortho-oxybenzy] alcohol,” “salicyl alcohol,” and “ saligenin,’ but a chemist, with his daily experience of vagaries in nomenclature, should be prepared for such pitfalls. 510 NATURE In writing names of chemicals the conventional plan of writing all the parts of a name together—e.g. acetylbenzoylaconine ”—is sometimes adopted ; at other times they are separated by hyphens, as in “ Para-hydroxy-phenyl-ethylamine ” ; but. occasion- ally they are disconnected completely, as in “ Benzoyl Ecgonin.” The defects of the book are, unfortunately, not limited to matters of arrangement and. nomenclature. Thus the jaborandi alkaloids are wrongly grouped with the derivatives of pyridine, and the attributions in some other groups are doubtful, whilst the alkaloids of physostigma and anhalonium should not be described as.“ of unknown composition.”’ In the section relating to solanaceous alkaloids the information is given that “hyoscin, which was formerly reported as a naturally occurring constituent of henbane, has now been virtually relegated to oblivion.” In spite of this it is resurrected four pages further on in the curious form “ Scopolamin, hydrobromate (Hyosin),” and is apparently reconsigned to oblivion, since it fails to appear in the section devoted to scopolamine. Though Hyoscyamus muticus has probably been the chief source of atropine for more than twenty years, the only reference to it is as follows: ‘“ Hyoscyamus muticus is often offered for import as true H. niger.” Cotarnine, in spite of its importance in medicine, is not mentioned, though each of the minor alkaloids of opium has a paragraph to itself. The resin of podophyllum is described as contain- ing both podophyllotoxin and _ picropodophyllin, whereas only the former is present, the latter being an isomeride formed by the action of alkalis. The section on Indian gum may include all that is known about this commodity in the United States, but it is misleading as regards the sources and character of this gum as it appears in European markets. In the portion relating to resins no attempt is made to deal critically with the numerous doubtful data published regarding the chemistry of these products; thus the formula C,H4,0, is assigned to abietic acid, though it is described as containing hydroxyl, and is presum- ably a hydroxy-acid, while sandaracolic acid is men- tioned, as a constituent of sandarac, though the author of this acid withdrew it years ago. Enough has perhaps been said to show that Mr. Fuller’s book should be used with discretion. As it deals with nearly everything, including chewing gum, that has been used or can be regarded as a drug, and gives references copiously, it is at least a useful guide to the all too voluminous literature on the analysis of these products, though even in this respect it would be improved if the index were more complete and always strictly alphabetical. TS Ai NO. 2738, VOL. 109] [APRIL 22, 1922 South African and Indian Floras. (1) An Introduction to the Flora of Natal and Zululand. By Prof. J. W. Bews. burg : City Printing Works ; Wesley, Ltd., 1921.) 15s. (2) The Flora of the Nilgiri and Pulney Hill-Tops. Prof. P. F. Fyson. Vol. 3. London : Wheldon and Pp. xviii+ 581. (Madras: Government Press, 1920.) 15 rupees : 6 annas. . . (1) HE volume by Dr. Bews, who is professor of — botany inthe Natal University College, Pieter- maritzburg, was written mainly for the purpose of assisting students of plant ecology and those engaged in botanical survey work in Natal. The flora of that country received for many years the devoted attention — of the late Dr. J. Medley Wood, who-published among — several other works a ‘‘ Handbook to the Flora of Natal” in 1907, and a “‘ Revised List of the Flora of Natal ” in 1908, to the latter of which two supplements were issued. The Handbook is now out of print, and the Revised List is not easy to procure, while both are — incomplete. Dr. Bews’s work, therefore, supplies a need and will be welcomed. It contains 478 species of flowering plants that are not included in Wood’s Revised List. to the families and genera, short descriptions of the former, and enumerations of the species, with a few words on their distribution and here and there a native name ; the Cryptogams are excluded entirely. A very important omission from both Dr. Wood’s Handbook and Dr. Bews’s Flora is some means for the identification of the species. We realise that to have provided keys to the species would have increased the size of the volumes very considerably, but it would have © Some of the Natal — made them infinitely more useful. genera are rich in species; Panicum has 35, Schizo- glossum 41, Indigofera 44, Crassula 49, Senecio 84, — while Helichrysum has as many as 92. With the best of keys it is difficult to determine the specific name of a plant belonging to any large genus, but Dr. Bews affords no help at all in the matter. While Dr. Bews’s book will no doubt be of service to those for whom it was chiefly intended, it does not go farenough. Much had already been done on the plants — of Natal, and it might reasonably have been thought — that the time had come when a work of more general usefulness could have been produced. It may be ~ mentioned that Dr. Bews has arranged the families in his book according to Engler and Prantl’s system, and that he has followed the practice observed by zoologists generally and by certain botanists of using a small — initial letter for all specific names. Pp. vi+248. (Pietermaritz-_ 7 By Like Wood’s Handbook it gives keys — APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 511 _ (2) Volumes 1 and 2 of Prof. Fyson’s work were _ published in r9r5, and were reviewed in NarurE, vol. 96 p _ (February 3, 1916), p. 615. These dealt with the flower- ‘ing plants-found above an elevation of 6500 feet around e hill-stations of Ootacamund, Kotagiri, and Kodai- kanal. The present volume is supplementary, and ‘includes the plants of the country around Coonoor ve an elevation of 5000 feet. > numerous outline drawings are an important ire in this volume as well as in the preceding ; certainly add considerably to the usefulness of the work, ‘though, as they are full-page size, they have ‘rendered it rather bulky and expensive. Notwith- ing that the text is in large, much leaded type it mly 154 of the 599 pages in vol. 3 ; the other pages used for the illustrations. These might have been sed in size and the text might have been in smaller, Stout type. By these means the matter in the e volumes could have been compressed into one. A a model might have been found in the late lonel_ Sir Henry Collett’s ‘Flora Simlensis.’’ In of. Fyson’s Flora we have another instance of the of a small initial letter for all specific names. hether this method of dealing with such names is isable or not seems to be a matter of opinion ; it has lany (1921, pp. 159, 295-296). Some additions and emendations in the volume under notice have been necessitated by the publication of Ir. J. S. Gamble’s “ Flora of the Presidency of Madras,” which the fourth part, carrying the work as far as the ing of the Ebenaceae, appeared last August—too " recent, therefore, for Prof. Fyson to have derived any 4S assistance from it. He has been able to use Mr. Gamble’s work only as far as the end of the Caprifoli- _aceae. It is probable, therefore, that the families from ‘the Rubiaceae to the end will need some revisional treatment by Prof. Fyson, in order to bring his work 0 agreement with one that will be recognised for a g time to come as the authoritative Flora of Madras. ‘Science of Industrial Psychology e Psychology of Industry. By Dr. J. Drever. Pp. xi+148. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) ial Fatigue and Efficiency. By Dr. H. M. (Efficiency Books.) | Pp. viii+264. G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 6d. net. * ‘~WO entirely different methods of approaching , the science of industrial psychology are repre- ‘sented by the two volumes under notice. Dr. Drever’s NO. 2738, VOL. 109] cently received some attention in the Journal of book is an attempt to cover the whole field of industria] psychology, and to accomplish such a task in a book of 148 pages must lay itself open to the charge of being somewhat superficial. He devotes a short chapter to each of the sub-divisions of the science, and quotes, in a not too critical spirit, certain well-known experiments which have been carried out. These examples are mostly taken from the writings of American efficiency engineers, and, interesting as they may be, they are not sufficient to form the foundation of a whole science. They must be submitted to a much more critical examination than Dr. Drever gives them if they are to form even part of the subject-matter of the science at all. Dr. Vernon’s book is of a very. different type. Its object is not to write an introduction to a science which "at present is so young that any such attempt must concern itself mostly with saying what can be accom- plished, rather than what has already been done. His book is an attempt to deal with one aspect of the science and concerns itself more with facts than theories, and for this reason alone is far more scientific than Dr. | Drever’s book. In his preface Dr. Vernon says, “I have not attempted to discuss scientific management for I have no first-hand knowledge of it, and, moreover, the subject is so large a one that it needs independent treatment. For similar reasons I have not attempted to deal with Vocational Selection in industry.” This passage is really the keynote to the whole book, for although the author quotes copiously from the works of other writers in the same field, yet his main argument depends on the first-hand information which he and his colleagues have collected from the various factories they have visited. Throughout the reader feels him- self in touch with reality rather than in the some- what theoretic atmosphere prevailing in Dr. Drevet’s book. It is true that Dr. Drever’s object is somewhat different from that of Dr. Vernon, for he tells us that the book was written primarily to awake interest in the ordinary man, and so help to spread knowledge of the service psychology can render to industry. Even so it may be doubted whether it is wise to spread knowledge in the way Dr. Drever has done. Those who are working in this field of applied science have two great practical difficulties with which to contend. One is the ignorance or antipathy of the ordinary man as to the possibility that physiology or psychology can render any appreciable services to the problems of industry, and the other is that he sometimes expects great results with comparatively little effort on the part of the scientific worker. Dr. Drever’s book un- doubtedly does much to remove the first difficulty, but in so doing it does a great deal toi ncrease the second. 512 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 A book that devotes a chapter of fourteen pages to intelligence tests, and then gives in an appendix a foot- rule for intelligence testing, is bound to give the im- pression that any one with a certain degree of intelligence but without any special knowledge is in a position to apply such tests with fruitful results. Any such impression is erroneous in the extreme, and pays little respect to the psychologists who are experimenting in this field of research and are trying to overcome scientifically some of the difficulties inherent in the subject, which are either not mentioned or passed over so lightly by Dr. Drever. The fundamental difference between these two books is that the author of one is mainly interested in industrial psychology from the point of view of the lecturer ; while the main interest of the author of the other is that of the research worker. Industrial psychology has a long way to go before it can offer much scope for those who wish to lecture profitably about its principles, for most of these have to be dis- covered by the research worker and tested in various fields before they can claim to rank as truly scientific. It is because Dr. Vernon has attempted this that his book marks a definite advance in the science and should be read by all who are interested in the human side of industry either from the practical or the scientific point of view. Glacial Climates. Das Klima des Eiszeitalters.. By Prof. Dr. R. Spitalen Pp. iv+138. (Prag: from the author, Smichow, 379. 1921.) 65K. R FELIX OSWALD (NarurzE, vol. lxxv. p. 197) performed a remarkable feat when he printed his “ Treatise on the Geology of Armenia ” on a hand- press at Beeston in 1905. Prof. Rudolf Spitaler has reverted further, and has issued his work on glacial climates in a written script. The reproduction of this by lithography secures a uniformity that was not always possible among the ancients. He thus shows us a way out of the apparent impasse that has threatened scientific publication. The lodging in suit- able libraries of, say, a hundred copies of a quarto memoir such as this would go far in the dissemination of ideas, and the process lends itself to tabular matter, freely used by Prof. Spitaler, and also to much delicacy of illustration. Authors in the days of imperial Rome were not dissatisfied with a manuscript mode of publi- cation. The monumental “ Naturalis Historia” of the elder Pliny, in thirty-seven books, gained a handsome circulation, and the author was engaged on a supple- ment—how well we know those supplements !—in the NO. 2738, VOL. 109] tragic year of 79. The genial Martial directs a would- be borrower to the shop of Attractus opposite Ceesar’s forum, in the certainty that a copy of his latest poems could be bought there for five denarii. Allowing for the exchange, Prof. Spitaler asks little more, and we must remember that Roman publishers had the advantage of slave-labour. In the beautiful script of his amanuensis, Prof. Spitaler supports the astronomical explanation of the climatic changes that produce or abrogate an ice-age. He divides the globe into zones of latitude, and shows how each would be affected by the variation of the perihelion position of the earth, combined with varia- tion in the obliquity of the ecliptic. He lays stress on the distribution of land and water within the zones ; climate is greatly affected by “ continentality ” and “oceanity.” This, however (p. 29), does not account for the higher average temperature in January as against July at the equator, which is attributable to the occurrence of perihelion when winter reigns in the northern hemisphere. A maximum excentricity of the orbit and a high obliquity of the ecliptic provide extreme conditions and promote glaciation ; but Prof. Spitaler contends that even in these circumstances there need not be a reversal of the climate of each hemisphere every 10,500 years. He urges (p. 111) that a glacial climate, when promoted in the north, may affect the equator and still more the south, so that simultaneous glacia- tion over the whole earth, as postulated by A. Penck, is possible. Cool summers and mild winters (p. 94) favour snowfall, while hot summers and very cold winters are unfavourable. The maximum of the last warm period for the northern hemisphere (p. 57)> when the summer took place in perihelion, is held to have occurred about 8500 years ago, an epoch that coincides presumably with the rapid melting back of the northern ice. The author (p. 131) looks forward to a continuance of a warm period, controlled by the excentricity, for nearly 500,000 years, when a great ice-age will again begin to affect the earth, unless tectonic changes intervene, such as have no doubt acted in the past. The Permian ice-age (p. 137) may be referred to the greater coolness of the large sea- area lying to the north of Gondwana Land, at an epoch of high excentricity, high obliquity of the ecliptic, with perihelion, as now, in the winter of the northern hemisphere. In view of recent progress in physics, many peck will prefer the hypothesis of variations in solar radia- tion as a possible explanation of great climatic changes ; but this will not lessen their interest in Prof. Spitaler’s detailed calculations. G. Aad. Gs, APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 513 | Our Bookshelf. ‘Zoologica. WVerhandelingen op Systematisch- Co gologisch Gebied. Onder Redactie van Prof. Dr. __E. D. Van Oort. Deel I, Aflevering 1, Nouvelles Recherches sur les N ématodes libres terricoles de la follande. Par Dr. J. G. De Man. Pp. 62+14 to guilders. Deel I, Aflevering 2, Studien Rhizostomeen mit Besonderer Beriicksichtigung “Siege des Malatischen Archipels nebst einer | LEG vision des Systems. Von Dr. Gustav Stiasny, e Pp Dili + 176+5 plates. (’s Gravenhage: Martinus _ Nijhoff, r921.) 16 guilders. iN these aces of drastic economy it is becoming ever » difficult to find means for the publication of Cl ier tific work, especially when it has little or no t bearing upon utilitarian problems. The system- ic zoologist i in particular has to content himself as a with as little as possible in the way of paper, ress, and illustrations, and it will probably be i long time before we see again in this country a series ‘f zoological monographs comparable with that which embodies the results of the Challenger Expedition. ther countries, however, appear to be somewhat less embi ed as to ways and means, and we are glad to velcome the appearance of a new Dutch periodical led Capita Zoologica, under the editorship of Prof. E. D. van Oort, Director of the State Museum of ural History at Leiden. This publication will onsist of a series of large quarto memoirs on systematic ology, which will be issued separately as complete orks as occasion requires. The first two are already ished, dealing respectively with the free-living icolous Nematodes of Holland, by Dr. J. G. De , and with the Rhizostomatous Medusz, by Dr. tav Stiasny. Both memoirs are fairly copiously, “the ough by no means extravagantly, illustrated, and they form solid and valuable contributions to our knowledge of the groups with which they deal. be A, D Bent: lieliawey, Rectification, and Uses. ByS.E. _ Whitehead. With an Introductory Note by the Rt. Hon. Lord Moulton. (The Gas World ea Pp. xiv+209. (London: Benn Brothers, _ Ltd., 1920.) Price 12s. 6d. net. TRING the war the gas industry received a great Impetus from the increasing demand for benzol and toluol for military requirements, and methods of , y and production were adopted on a scale which was little appreciated at the time. One result of this 3s to pave the way for the foundation of a far greater zol industry in this country than was previously ent, and the present volume has been written as a 2 to the rinciples and practices engendered. he text is most thorough, and while essentially tical, it does not ignore theoretical criteria cognate he technicalities of the subject. The book is built } of exhaustive discussions of the recovery of benzol mM gas, its rectification, and the uses to which it and ¢ derivative products may be put. Probably the oS interesting sections are those dealing with dyes, 0S! ives, and the use of benzol as a motor fuel, which, gh in the former connections modestly regarded the author as summaries, are none the less useful NO. 2738, VOL, 109 | D ‘Same name. and comprehensive. It is obviously important that, in view of this country’s dependence on foreign resources of petroleum as a motor fuel, every effort should be made to ease the position by the establishment of a vast benzol industry, and in this effort the utmost encourage- ment should be given to those engaged in coal-gas pro- duction ; the present volume is a valuable contribution to this end, and both for educational and technical purposes merits a wide circulation. H. B. MILNer. The Analysis of Mind. By Bertrand Russell. (Library of Philosophy.) Pp. 310. (London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921.) 16s. net. Tue title of Mr. Russell’s book may raise expectations that it is an exposition or development of his philo- sophical theory. It cannot, however, take rank with his great works. It is a course of lectures, to all appearance a verbatim report, which has been subj ected to the very minimum of revision. It is brimming over with casual witty remarks which pass well with an audience, but will not bear reflection. The lectures show Mr. Russell under the influence of two com- paratively recent popular movements in philosophy and psychology, both of which seem to have attracted him powerfully, and neither to have convinced him completely, namely, William James’s Neutral Monism and Prof. J. B. Watson’s Behaviourism. One lecture deals at some length with the question, “ Does Con- sciousness exist?’ The answer reminds one of the famous pronouncement that Shakespeare’s plays were not written by Shakespeare but by some one else of the It is easy enough to argue that conscious- ness does not exist, but then there is something we are talking about when we affirm its non- -existence, and it is difficult to find any other name for it. In regard to Behaviourism Mr. Russell thinks it a beautiful theory and an ideal method, but then—there are images, and the theory cannot account for them. (1) Aspects of Plant Life, with Special Reference to the British Flora. By R. L. Praeger. (Nature Lover’s Series.) Pp.208. (London: S.P.C.K. ; New York ; The Macmillan Company, 1921.) 6s. net. (2) Mountain and Moorland. By Prof. J. A. Thomson, (Nature Lover’s Series.) Pp. 176. (London: S.P.C.K., 1921.) 6s. net. THERE are many educated persons who are conscious that they miss much of the beauty and interest of the world around them through lack of knowledge and of the seeing eye that knowledge alone can give, To all such these two small volumes : published by the S.P.C.K, will prove most acceptable. In an easy and non- technical fashion (1) Prof. Praeger sets forth the condi- tions under which various types of flowering plants exist, the problems by which they are confronted, and the devices by which they triumph. He brings forcibly to mind the deep philosophical nature of the questions that may be raised by the occurrence on hill or in valley of even the humblest plant. (2) Prof, Arthur Thomson’s book is a delightful com- panion for any one who wishes to enjoy intelligently a holiday among our moors and mountains. It touches in a stimulating and suggestive way on almost every branch of natural history in these favourite districts, and opens out numerous fields of research for the reader. $2 514 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 Practical School Gardening. By .P. Elford and S. Heaton. Second Edition. Pp. 224. (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1921.) 35. 6d. net. Messrs. Elford and Heaton have had very con- siderable experience in organising school gardens and making them fit into the educational scheme, and they have produced a volume which has already proved its usefulness, so that it now passes into a second edition. The authors insist that the combination of School Gardening and Nature Study when properly co-ordi- nated with the rest of the work in the school can be, and often are, a valuable means of education. Most teachers would agree, but difficulties do undoubtedly arise when an attempt is made to put this excellent general principle into practice. Given a plot of ground, a class, and a limited but definite time each week, how is the teacher to proceed in order that the children may derive the maximum educational benefit? The practical details that need attention, the pests, weeds, and other troubles that are likely to cause trouble, and the many difficulties that crop up as soon as one begins to cultivate the soil, are effectively dealt with. The authors urge that a school reference library might with advantage be formed, but they give no suggestions to this end. In a future edition a list of suitable books might well be added. Laboratory Manual of the Technic of Basal Metabolic Rate Determinations. By Dr. W. M. Boothby and Dr. Irene Sandiford. Pp. 117. (Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Company, 1920.) Price 24s. net. THE authors consider that the results of indirect calorimetry should not be thrown into general discredit — as a means of clinical diagnosis, by neglect of details requisite for a true basal metabolic rate. well-illustrated book they have certainly set a good example in the matter of detail. They describe the method in use at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The patient inspires the atmospheric air through a mask, and the expired air is collected and measured ina gasometer (Tissot) from which samples of air are taken for analysis of carbon dioxide and oxygen by the Haldane gas analysis apparatus, the calculations being carried out as usual. The advantages of this method, and perhaps the disadvantages of other methods, are somewhat emphasised. The authors deserve credit for the very careful directions for all stages of the technique. The book contains a special note for calcula- tion of metabolic rate of a diabetic, a bibliography, an appendix with all the tables required for calculations, and an index. Indirect calorimetry has certainly proved its value in cases of thyroid disease, Some Account of the Oxford University Press, 1468- 1921. Pp, 112. (Oxford; Clarendon Press, 1922.) 5s. THIS is a charming monograph describing the work of a great institution. The book is a masterpiece of typography, and is embellished by a number of repro- ductions of old woodcuts and recent photographs. Special chapters are devoted to its most important publications—the Oxford English Dictionary and the Dictionary of National Biography. The vast oe No. 2738, VOL. 109] In their tions of the Press may be judged by the fact that its — warehouses at Oxford are estimated to contain 34 From _ these vaults was drawn into the upper air, in 1907, ei the last copy of Wilkins’s ‘ Coptic New Testament,” published in 1716, the paper scarcely discoloured and ~ During the — million copies of about 4500 distinct works. the impression still black and brilliant. War, the Press carried out much confidential work for — the Naval Intelligence Department, and supplied — during three years 4} million copies of the New Testa- ment for use in the field. The relations of the Press — to its servants have always been amicable, and the case of the late Mr. J. C. Pembrey, one of the proof- readers, is probably unique: in 1847 he read Wilson’s “ Sanskrit Grammar,” and in 1916 the “ Vedic Gram- ar’ of Prof. Macdonell. Animal Life of the British Isles : Woodland. By E. Step. (The Wayside and Wood- land Series.) Pp. vii+184+111 plates. (London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co., Ltd., 1921.) os. 6d. net. A Pocket Guide to the — Mammals, Reptiles, and Batrachians of Wayside and — ie i ee a Tuis handy little volume will be welcomed by a large — number of amateur naturalists, and can be cordially recommended to all who ae for full and accurate _ knowledge of the habits, life histories, and appearances — of those members of the British fauna that are included in the three classes specified in the sub-title. Hitherto it has not been possible to secure such information — within the covers of a single small volume, nor in any ~ one work at solowa price. The illustrations are excel- lent, the plain being from the work of our best naturalist photographers, such as Messrs. Douglas English, Oxley Grabham, and others, while forty-eight photographs in the natural colours are to the credit of Mr. W. J. Stokoe. The co-operation of these talented artists with the author results in a very satisfactory pocket guide. British Insect Life: A Popular Introduction to Ento-— or, mology. By E. Step. Pp. 264+32 plates. (Lon- — don: T. Werner Laurie, Ltd., N.D.) ATTEMPTs to give “ tos. 6d. net. popular ” acl of the several — orders, families, and other subdivisions into which — insects are classified almost invariably fail from lack of the courage needed to set before the general reader — those details of structure that must be mastered in order to discriminate order from order, genus from genus, and, still more, species from species. In the — absence of such information books such as this by Mr. — Step become, except to those already versed in ento- mology, meaningless in many of their pages. Weshould welcome statements which would enable the enthusiastic beginner to determine whether the specimen in his hand was, say, a stone-fly, a may-fly, a lacewing-fly, or a caddis-fly ; and others rendering clear the structural — differences between, say, the pierid and the nymphalid butterflies ; and so on. We decline to believe that shirking the difficulties will ever popularise or in any way benefit the science of entomology. ‘The figures in the plates of this book are unfortunately not numbered ; thus the uninstructed reader is left in doubts as to the application of the numbers given in the ree legends. % APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 515 Letters to the Editor. [ Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions eapressed by his correspondents. Neither he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for is or any other part of NATURE. Wo notice ts of anonymous communications. ] Mind. THERE seems to me now to be some prospect of agree- it that, since all characters are equally products _ nature ee ty capacity, predisposition, thesis) and fitting nurture, all must be equall , acquired, germinal, somatic, and inheritable. t be the case, the problem of inheritance is . Doubtless some biologists will continue such things as the transmission of char- and the intensity of inheritance, but the sibility of defining their terms and explaining they mean will always vitiate their labours. hatever other tasks Rislbey has before it, two of prime importance: (a) to determine what cters are evoked in individuals by such influ- as food, moisture, light, temperature, hormones, jury, and the like, and (b) to trace the evolution es, which implies tracing the changes in their res (i.e. in germ-plasms as indicated by changes characters), which, since the nature of every race sum of its potentialities, in turn implies tracing ses in potentialities for development. > tasks biology must seek its data from the sub- y sciences of physiology and psychology. The kinds of nurture with which we are most ar, and which we’can most easily observe in m, are inj and use. Here, therefore, we are able to note to what extent individuals are pable of developing in response to given influences, nd to what extent species have altered with respect their capacities for development. Both injury use n'y on the individual. Injury not detain uslong. Many plants and some lower animals are >, sen of developing greatly in response it. Thus a begonia or a sponge may be completely nerated from a fragment. A lobster can regener- claw and a lizard its tail. Higher animals ly heal injuries by means of scars. In them capacity has undergone retrogression and has replaced (or supplemented) by that which much more adaptability—the capacity of ing in response to use. would seem that the power of developing in mse to use is a late and a high product of evolu- _ At any rate, since it is inappreciable in low, progressively more evolved in higher, animals, mmably it must have had a beginning somewhere the scale. Presumably also, since a structure mot be used before it exists, the individual re- apitulates in this particular, as in others, the volution of his race. The evidence is much clearer as regards mind. take it that mind is associated with movement ; s function is to cause the individual to take action. . CuSS will the action is not reflex. Reflex actions, there- e, may be defined. as those which are initiated by uli other than will. On the other hand, an net is always and altogether a mental thing—a ntal impulse, an emotion, an inclination, a desire do a certain action, the instinctive action. Like NO. 2738, VOL. 109] -Auide for, its present and its future. though the word is used somewhat vaguely. reflexes, it develops in the individual apart from mental experience which merely awakens it to activity, but does not create it. In other words, an instinct is not learned ; -it is not a product of the functional activity of the mind, but develops in response to quite different influences (e.g. hormones). It is not a complex reflex; some reflex actions (e.g. sneezing) are quite as complex as some instinctive actions (e.g. infantile crying). An instinctive action differs from a reflex action in that it is always voluntary. The individual performs the action because he wants to do so. If there were no desire, there would be no action. I am aware that all this is unorthodox. Nevertheless, it is true, as any one may discover by examining his own instincts. Does he not, for example, eat, and drink, and sport, and make love through desire? Did he /earn to feel these desires ? I am aware also that at this stage it is customary to discuss the metaphysics of mind and will. I have tried to do so elsewhere, but it is unnecessary here. It is enough that mind, including will, exists and appears to influence the body as gravitation appears (as incomprehensibly) to influence the planets. In- stinct may be defined as desire which develops in response to influences other than functional activity. Habit, intelligence, and reason are in a different category. They are all products of learning, of mental growth due to the functional activity of the mind. An animal is intelligent in proportion as it profits mentally from experience—that is, in pro- portion as its past sheds a light on, and serves asa The animal then stores experiences and vecollects them. Thus its mind grows. We have given a special name to the power of growing mentally in response to use, We call it memory. We speak of a man with a good or bad memory, with good or poor powers of learning. There are two sorts of memory, conscious and sub- conscious. Again I am unorthodox, but my words have real meanings. We learn two sorts of things: (a) facts and the like, which we can recall to mind and which belong to the conscious memory, and (bd) skill and facility in thinking and doing (mental habits) which cannot in the same sense be recalled, and which, therefore, belong to the subconscious memory. For example, I can recollect a good deal about golf clubs, balls, courses, and adventures; but all this is quite distinct from other sorts of learning, which I cannot in the same sense recall, and, therefore, can- not describe, which enable me to play skilfully (to a humiliatingly small degree). The greatest golfers do not know the very names of the muscles which they have learned to co-ordinate with such exactness and facility. Consider the caterpillar. He comes out of the egg and, equipped with instincts, at once sets about the business of life. He seeks his food and devours it; he hides from enemies ; at the proper time and place he builds a cocoon, and as a butterfly does all sorts of new actions of which also he can have had no previous experience. Apparently he learns nothing ; he has little or no memory. Learning would be use- less to him ; for, unprotected and untaught as he is, he must always act correctly and at once, or perish. He can “ bear in mind ” for a little while, as a sound lingers on a harp-string. But he cannot recall, as a sound is reproduced by a gramophone. He can feel (e.g. pleasure and pain, desire and aversion), but he cannot think (compare, associate, imagine, and the like) ; for without learning he has nothing to think about. Because his past is a blank he cannot fore- cast his future, which, therefore, is a blank also. He lives only in the immediate present—a knife-edge of time. Since he has little or no power of profiting by 516 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 experience, he is not adaptable; he moves in much the same groove as did his ancestors of a million years ago. Higher than the caterpillar in the animal scale, the power of growing mentally in response to functional activity is clearly in being. Animals are able to recognise mates and offspring, and the latter are able to recognise their guardians. Family life begins. The offspring, more or less helpless at birth, but protected by their guardians, have ability and oppor- tunity to develop physically and mentally in response to functional activity until they are able to fend for themselves. They begin to think, they become adaptable. This evolution culminates in man, who is born so helpless that he cannot even seek the breast, but who learns so enormously that he becomes rational. Reason is merely intelligence im excelsis. A vast and complex store of experience then lights a complex, and perhaps distant, future. Compare three human individuals—an idiot, a newly born baby, and a normal man. The idiot cannot learn, and has not learned ; the baby can learn, but has not learned ; the normal man can learn, and has learned. There in a nutshell is all the mental difference between them, except that the baby has not yet developed a few instincts. The idiot has these instincts, but, probably because he has lacked some hormone, has reverted by mutation (himself or by some progenitor) to an enormously remote ancestry in which the power of learning was defective. One day I think we shall cure idiocy by the injection of the proper glandular extract. Compare a man with a dog: how enor- mously greater is the human power of learning, and, therefore, of thinking. Compare him with a house- fly: the fly settles on the hand; we strike at it; impelled by instinct, it shoots away; a moment after, having ceased to “ bear in mind,” it is back again, unmindful of a danger the recollection of which would set a man shuddering for years. We are able to domesticate animals only when they have the capacity to learn to tolerate, to obey, and, when the intelligence is very great (e.g. dog), even to love us. Savage man is so intelligent that he has invented language by means of which he is able to hand on the accumulated traditions of generations. Civilised man differs from him in that hehasinventedaids tohis powers of remembering (e.g. books of reference), of thinking (e.g. mathematics), and of doing (e.g. tools). The retrogression of instinct and its replacement by intelli- gence is well illustrated by maternal care among brutes and men. Among the former it is instinctive, but women have to learn how to tend their young. Again, while insects walk instinctively, men learn. Among the higher animals the number of offspring is controlled by the number which can be protected and taught. This or that naturalist may disagree as to this or that detail of what I have written about mind, but with the main argument I think all must agree. Already, in practice if not in theory, actions which are not initiated by the will are called reflex ; those which are initiated by the will, but in which learning plays no part, are called instinctive; while those which are both initiated by the will and result from learning are called intelligent. As to the evolution of the potentiality of developing in response to use, the truth is glaringly obvious. Even a schoolboy knows that he can teach a beetle nothing, a cat a little, a dog more, and a child much. But all this is incompatible with Lamarck’s first law, which has met with such general acceptance. As regards body, the evolution may be more difficult to trace, At any rate, it has not been studied, But as regards mind it is as clear as sunlight. Plainly, an animal is in- telligent in proportion as it is able to profit from NO. 2738, VOL. 109] experience ; man’s reason and intellect depend wholly on his power of learning; and, as well as I can judge, whenever an animal is capable of learning it is also — capable of developing physically in a corresponding _ degree in response to the stimulus of use. G, ARCHDALL REID, 9 Victoria Road South, Southsea, Hants. Pencil Markings in the Bodleian Library. In a former communication (NATURE, 1920, vol. 105, p. 12) I described a method of distinguishing microscopically between the markings made upon paper with different kinds of pencils, and gave some account of the characteristics of early pencil writings in the British Museum. I am now indebted to the Librarian of the Bodleian Library and to Dr. Craster for their kindness in giving me facilities for studying similar early specimens of pencil writing in that library. In Schénemann’s work on the examination of early MSS. (‘‘ Versuch eines. Systems der Diplo- matik,” 1818, vol. ii. p. 108) it is stated that the ruled lines in various documents of the eleventh and twelfth centuries are in a graphite pigment. Refer- ring to this statement I pointed out (loc. cit.) that, since graphite was only discovered in 1560, it was obvious that Schédnemann must have mistaken ordinary metallic lead for graphite. The historical basis for my criticism is to be found in Gesner’s “De Rerum Fossilium Lapidum et Gemmarum Genere,’”’ 1565, vol. ii. p. 105, and in Beckmann’s “ Beitrage zur Geschichte der Erfin- dungen ”’ (1780). It appears, however, that graphite must have been known long before that time, for, after reading my communication, Prof. Flinders Petrie informed me that he had discovered a lump of graphite at Ghorub, which must have dated back to a period between 1500 and 1200 B.c., although there was no evidence that graphite was ever used as a pigment in ancient Egypt. This unique specimen of graphite, a portion of which Prof, Flinders Petrie has kindly given me for examination, is a decidedly coarse, impure mineral, containing only 39:4 per cent. of carbon, and the amount of silicious impurities present is plainly indicated by the pronounced irregular striations in the markings on paper. This proof that graphite was known ages before its reputed discovery in 1560 in the Borrowdale mine, gives an added interest to the examination of the earliest pencil markings available in this country. The earliest known instance of pencil marking in the Bodleian is a vellum MS. Commentary on the Book of Job of the thirteenth century (Auct. D. iii. 14), This has vertical lines, ruled with a stylus down the sides of the writing, and the microscope shows that the pigment of these is lead or other metal. In the “‘ Opuscula Varia SS. Augustini et Bernardi’ of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (Hatton MS. 102), the ruled lines surrounding the text are in a red ink in some of the MSS., whilst in others they are in a metallic pigment. In another Hatton MS. (No. 107) of the fourteenth century, no pencil mark- ings are present, the ruled lines at the side and the annotations being in a pale brown ink. The “‘ Opera Johannis Dastyn”’ of 1590 (Bodl. MS. 485). is written in ink, and shows pencil strokes at the side written in graphite, but there is no evidence that these markings were contemporaneous with the body of the MS. | An Italian MS. on paper, ‘‘ Geomantia’”’ (Digby MS. 133), written in ink prior to 1634, shows fine ruled lines at the side in a brilliant metallic pigment ; > _ APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 517 — the annotations in a Hebrew MS. “ Jad Chazaka”’ . 235) of about 1650 are also in lead or a lead he notebook of the Swiss scholar Casaubon, aubon MS. 61), written about 1613, is particularl eresting. The leaves of the book are of thic n and are covered on each side with minute ing, which is in a metallic pigment, showing h finer spicules than is usual in the writing with a metal style. It resembles the pigment in the drawings of the Stowe MS. “ Arms ent Nobilitie ’’ of the early seventeenth century k oper gate series of anacs interleaved and containing my Wood’s Diary from 1676 to 1685 (Wood’s S 20-29, 742), shows ruled lines in a metallic nt, while the entries in the diaries are either or, less frequently, in pencil. Referring to the r entries, the Rev. Andrew Clark remarked (“‘ Life Times of Anthony Wood,” I. 3 Oxf. Hist. c., 1891): ‘‘ Wood’s pencil, I assume, was not hite, but actual lead. It has left a faint mark, s gi yaa except for the indentation of the .”’ Microscopical examination of these entries n to ‘1685 showed that this assumption was ect, none of the writing having the characteristics hite. ae -§ later date, however, Wood appears to have a graphite pencil. ‘‘ A Collection of Poems on rs of State,’ London, 1689 (Wood, 382) has a on its flyleaf in the writing of Wood: “‘ Bought Oxon. 26 Feb. 1688.’’ (The discrepancy between = dates is explained by the use of the old style for e of them.) This writing has the appearance of inary graphite, the masses of black pigment being iformly distributed, and none of the particles nowing the lustre or striation of lead or its alloys. With the very doubtful exception of the markings the MS. of Johannis Dastyn (supra), this is the arliest writing in graphite pencil noted in the Bodleian Library. “ae It will be recalled that the earliest graphite writing nd in the British Museum was in two Notebooks of Sir Thomas Cotton, one of about 1630-1640 and the other 1640-1644. © | i C. AINSWORTH MITCHELL. 195 Victoria Street, S.W.1. _ Haloes and Earth-History : A New Radioactive Element. N the Archean black mica of Yitterby, very ll, colourless, spherical, halo-like forms occur. mica is, as it were, bleached within these halo- show a central opaque particle or e case of others it is difficult to be eae of a nucleus, or it may take the impid refracting particle. The optical est that in these spheres the re- the mica has been raised. are very small. A cluster of these minute ™ i ‘ agg ad to many as Splgpre presents with a low power the appearance of a sta sky. The average diameter appears to be o-o1 man. a4 allow- ice being made for the nucleus. The greater mber are remarkably uniform in diameter. Thus, ( gs of 23 of these haloes, taken at random, ige from 50 to 59 scale divisions of the micrometer. -A’few larger ones are present, but, as in most cases their greater size is directly referable to an aggrega- tion of nuclear particles occupying a large central NO. 2738, VOL. 109] “glacier. volume, it seems safe to conclude that these limpid spheres are in reality of one size only. The mica flake in which this cluster occurs is o-or8 mm. thick, or perhaps a little less. The minute spheres are located at various depths in the mica—some below the surface, some more or less truncated. Many are sharp and easily measured ; others, as would be expected, are diffuse upon the edge. : I have been for some years aware of the existence of these haloes—since a period before the war— but, during the occupation of my laboratory by troops in 1916, among other things lost was the specimen of Yitterby mica from which my slides were obtained. A few other samples of this mica did not appear to contain them. Nor could I form any probable theory to account for them. Their uniform size convinced me that they were radio- active. The hypothesis that they might be due to slow §-radiation had really nothing to support it: no similar effect having been found in any other mica. Later I concluded that they must be reversed haloes such as I found in the Devonian mica of Co. Carlow. There were other appearances to support this view. Thus in the very similar Archean mica from Arendal, bleached uranium haloes in various stages were found. Again, in both the Yitterby and Arendal mica, semi-bleached bands occur having a centrally placed line of what are probably radio- active particles disposed like a central moraine on a But with these appearances of reversal were vigorous haloes in all stages of development. Recently, Dr. Prior was so good as to send me some flakes of Yitterby mica. In them I found all .the appearances described above, including a few of the minute bleached halo-spheres. The idea that this bleaching of the Archean micas might be due to former high temperature conditions led to a test of the behaviour of the Carlow mica at different temperatures. It was found that a halo- rich specimen of this mica after an hour’s exposure to a temperature of about 730° C. had acquired many of the characters of the Archean micas. Most of the haloes had disappeared, and some had left a bleached area giving quite-characteristic readings. Bleached bands, also, had taken the place of linear radioactive staining; and the originating radioactive particles were exposed to view forming a central line. There is, I think, no doubt that these (and other) appearances show that the Yitterby and Arendal Archzan micas were at some remote period subjected to a temperature probably not much exceeding 700° C. during which a prior-existing crop of haloes were obliterated or reversed, and that, therefore, the existing haloes are a second crop which originated from the same nuclei when the thermal conditions permitted their development. This history has a good deal that is fortuitous connected with it. Some three hundred additional degrees of temperature would have reduced the mica to a slag. But what is to be inferred as to the nature of the minute halo-spheres ? A chance find seems to bear upon their origin. In the mica of Arendal uranium haloes are fairly abundant ; they occur in every stage of development, Within some of the earliest rings having radial dimensions reading from 0-0150 to 0-0160 (correspond- ing to rings which in Devonian mica read 0-0145) a very minute ring is sometimes seen. It is a difficult object and needs good lighting and good sight to detect. This ring surrounds the point-like nucleus with perfect centricity, an intervening band of unstained mica being apparent. The radius of this ring has been read from o-0049 to 0-0057. The effect of the nuclear dimensions on a ring so small 518 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 is considerable. I make no correction for it here. Presumably we are dealing with an a-ray of the same range as that which must have been concerned in the genesis of the Yitterby haloes. This range, if taken as 0-005 mm., would correspond . to about I cm. in air at 15° C. The radioactive element concerned, although associated with the uranium family of elements in the Arendal mica, cannot be a member of that family. This appears from the value which in such a case we must ‘ascribe to . It would decay at a rate some billions of times slower than uranium according to an ex- terpolation on the Geiger-Nutall curve. Now the ring in the Arendal mica. must have been formed since early Archean time and from a nucleus of point-like dimensions, C From all this there seems good evidence that a radioactive element exists (or .formerly existed) emitting an a-ray having a range of about one centimetre in air. So far no evidence of its further disintegration has been found. It seems probable that the development of the small Yitterby halo-spheres represents a very con- siderable period of time. It will be of interest to see if similar evidence for what appears to be a very long period of Earth-history, seemingly preceding early Archean time, will be forthcoming from material found elsewhere. It is possible that this period preceded the thermal conditions which gener- ally prevailed during Archean time and that the survival of the evidence contained in the Yitterby mica was due to local fortuitous conditions. These haloes would, in that case, be a record carried from one geological age to the next. I wonder am I justified in naming an element from such evidence as I have found—the range of an a-ray? I think it has been done before. If ever it is isolated I would ask the finder to call it Hibernium after this beautiful but most unhappy country. J. JoLy, Trinity College, Dublin, April 8. —— The Helmholtz Theory of Hearing. ON a visit to the Cambridge Physiological Labora- tory not long ago Dr. Hartridge demonstrated an apparatus of his design that showed the effect of a repeated sinusoid vibration on a series of pendulums of different periods. Each of a series of weights was suspended from a horizontal bar. The strings were all of different lengths; each pendulum had thus a different period. ‘The horizontal bar was connected with a wheel so that it could be moved back and forth harmonically. When the wheel was started, all the pendulums began to vibrate. As the wheel continued its rota- tions, the pendulums gradually came to rest—except one, namely, that one the natural period of which corresponded with that of the rotating wheel. This proved that with a continuous series of vibrations only a pendulum with a harmonic period would be maintained in vibration. It also proved that a single vibration set all pendulums in vibration no matter what natural periods they might have. Dr. Hartridge has thus demonstrated that if the ear possesses a series of resonating organs every one will respond to the first vibration and will come to rest only when this vibration has been several times repeated. When a person sings a glide from one note to another, his voice produces vibrations that are all different. Every one of these vibrations is the first NO. 2738, VOL. 109] of its kind, and at no moment is there a succession ~ of waves of the same period. Consequently at every P single vibration ali the resonators in the ear are set — in vibration, and this vibration of all of them con-* tinues throughout the glide. never still for an instant. Every vibration from the larynx differs from the one before. Therefore in perceiving speech every resonance organ of the ear must act at every instant for every vibration of the voice. Dr. Hartridge has given a complete and final proof that, if the ear possesses a set of resonating organs, they must all respond together for each new vibra- tion; as the changing tone of speech has a new vibration at every instant, they must all respond alike at every instant and for every tone. According to the Helmholtz theory each vibration acts on a different resonator in the ear. In the sliding tone always used in speech each single vibra- tion must, according to Helmholtz, pick out a cor- responding resonator. It is easy mathematically to show that this cannot be true and that each single vibration of the voice in speech must set all resonators in action. Nobody seems to have thought of this, and it has remained for Dr. Hartridge’s highly in- genious apparatus to kill finally the Helmholtz theory of hearing. In the April number of the British Journal of Psychology, Dr. Hartridge gives as the fundamental reason for supporting the Helmholtz hypothesis that | the experiments described by him show that there are resonators somewhere. As pointed out above, they show exactly the opposite, namely, that there cannot be any resonators anywhere. If there cannot be any resonators, then the hypothesis that the ear acts as a resonating apparatus becomes an impossible one. E, W. SCRIPTURE. Boyle’s Experiments on Capillarity. In Mr. Hardy’s interesting “‘ Historical Notes upon Surface Energy and Forces of Short Range,’ NATURE, March 23, p. 375, he says that “ Boyle tried, but — failed, to observe whether the (capillary) rise took place in a vacuum.”’ Boyle writes in Experiment XXXV. of the ‘‘ New Experiments Physico-Mechani- cal” that after showing the capillary rise in open air, “‘ We tried indeed, by conveying a very slender pipe and a small vessel of water into our engine (air pump receiver), whether or no the exsuction of the ambient air would assist us to find the cause of the ascension we have been speaking of; but though we employed red wine instead of water, yet we could scarcely perceive through so much glass, as was interposed betwixt our eyes and the liquor, what happened in a pipe so slender, that the redness of the wine was scarcely sensible in it. But, as far as we could discern, there happened no great altera- tion to the liquor; which seemed the less strange, “because the spring of that air, that might depress — the water in the pipe, was equally debilitated with | that, which remained to press upon the surface of the water in the glass.”” Boyle was a very careful and_accurate experimenter, and he was trying to find whether there was an alteration in the capillary height 7” vacuo. His experiment was quite accurate and is worthy of his great reputation. SIDNEY SKINNER. South-Western Polytechnic Institute, Chelsea, London, S.W., April 6. : . In speech the voice is — re NATURE 519 By Prof. THomas T has been known for many years that the radia- "2 tions which an element emits in the state of a =n minous gas are not invariable but depend on the sence of other elements, the manner in which the ance is excited to luminosity, and other circum- ces. It was recognised in some of the earliest tigations that many band spectra were to be ciated with compounds and that a spectrum might due partly to such compounds and partly to un- ubined atoms. Thus, for example, if strontium chloride is introduced into the flame of the bunsen burner we find lines associated with the element, _ bands due to strontium oxide, and also bands due to ‘the chloride, and when strontium bromide is substi- ited for the chloride the spectrum is the same as “a age ds the lines due to the element and the oxide bands, but bands peculiar to the bromide are found to ave replaced those due to the chloride. _ Minute quantities of substances can sometimes be d by means of these characteristic bands due = to compounds, a familiar example being the blue flame which is seen when common salt is thrown onto a @ from the chlorine in the common salt, and the minute _ trace of copper which is present in the coal. A number of different elements are present in most flames, and _ the reactions which occur are probably very complex. In gases contained in vacuum tubes which are excited _ to luminosity by electrical discharges it is possible to work with pure substances, and a discussion of the spectra observed is simpler. In the case of gases in vacuum tubes the spectrum sometimes consists of bands, and the band spectrum from the negative pole may be different from that seen in the positive column. Thus nitrogen, when excited _ by uncondensed discharges, shows in the visible regions _ two band spectra, one known as the positive band _ spectrum, which appears in the capillary of a vacuum _ tube of the conventional type, and the negative band a , found in the neighbourhood of the cathode, which constitutes an important part of the spectrum of the aurora. Both these band spectra, and indeed all band spectra, are generally attributed to molecules rather than atoms, __ but if a condensed discharge i is passed through nitrogen the spark spectrum associated with the nitrogen atom is obtained, and this is capable of further modification when discharges of great intensity are employed. The action of the condensed discharge is almost certainly due to the greatly increased current density which _ obtains during the very brief periods while the discharge _is passing. Its first effect is to break up the mole- 4 _ cules into atoms, and the further stages brought about a _by an increase in the intensity of the discharge are ~ Senerally supposed to be due to the removal of suc- cessive electrons from the atoms. There are other a. ~ methods by which the current density can be increased j with similar changes in the spectrum; the effect . of an increase in the current density is to increase the __ number of charged particles in a given volume of the ' 4 From a discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, March ro. NO. 27 38, VOL. 109] coal fire and is due to the copper chloride formed + Problems in the Variability of Spectra.' F.RS. gas, with the result that a large number of the radiating atoms are subjected to intense electric fields due to neighbouring charged particles. Similar results are observed in the spectra associated with carbon. There are at least six spectra due to compounds of carbon with hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, and special experimental conditions are neces- sary for the production of some of these spectra, In addition to these band spectra carbon shows line R. MERTON, spectra, and with the most intense discharges which can be employed in the laboratory a number of new lines appear which are also found in the spectra of the hottest type of stars, known as the Class O, or Wolf- Rayet stars. All these changes can be reasonably accounted for, but there are a number of other changes which are more difficult to explain. For many reasons the spec- trum of hydrogen is of particular interest, because the atom of hydrogen is the simplest known atom and is supposed to consist of a positive nucleus and a single electron. There are two spectra associated with hydro- gen, one of which, the Balmer series, is found in almost all celestial spectra and also in vacuum tubes in the laboratory unless the most rigorous precautions are taken to exclude all traces of hydrogen. The explana- tion of the origin of this spectrum has been one of the most striking successes of the quantum theory of spectra developed by Bohr and by Sommerfeld. The other spectrum of hydrogen, known as the secondary spec- trum, consists of an enormous number of lines and differs in its mode of production from the Balmer series in that the secondary spectrum is characteristic of pure hydrogen. In the purest hydrogen obtainable the secondary spectrum may be as bright as the Balmer series, but if the smallest trace of impurity is present. the Balmer series gains in intensity and the secondary spectrum becomes very much weaker. In a vacuum tube containing water vapour the lines of the Balmer series are extremely intense whilst those of the secondary spectrum are relatively very faint. The investigations of Michelson and Lord Rayleigh, and of Buisson and Fabry have shown that under certain conditions the masses of the atoms or mole- cules from which the spectrum originates may be de- duced from a knowledge of the widths of the spectrum lines, and recent investigations, in which the widths of the lines of the secondary spectrum of hydrogen have been measured to a high degree of precision, have shown that the secondary spectrum is to be referred to the hydrogen molecule. The presence of impurities in vacuum tubes con- taining hydrogen not only enhances the lines of the Balmer series but also brings about changes in the relative intensities of the Balmer lines themselves. Some of these changes are very striking, but there are other variations of a more subtle kind which are only discovered when accurate quantitative measurements are made of the relative intensities of the lines. A most striking effect is observed when a relatively large quantity of helium is admitted to a vacuum tube containing hydrogen. Under these conditions the 520 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 relative intensities of some of the lines of the secondary spectrum alter in a surprising manner, some of the lines being greatly enhanced whilst others become very weak. From a theoretical point of view the spectrum of helium is second in importance only to that of hydrogen. The lines of helium are prominent in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the sun and of many stars, and their relative intensity varies under different conditions of excitation in the laboratory and in different celestial spectra. There are six chief series of lines in the spectrum of helium, three of which are usually referred to as the “helium” and three as the “ parhelium ” series. The helium series are the stronger in vacuum tubes containing the gas at pressures exceeding a few millimetres, whilst at very low pressures the parhelium series are predominant. Since the chief visible line of the helium series is yellow and that of the parhelium series green, the colour of the discharge is changed from yellow to green when the pressure is reduced. There is another spectrum associated with helium which is analogous to the secondary spectrum of hydrogen in that it appears with any considerable inten- sity only when the gas is exceedingly pure. This spec- trum is known as the band spectrum of helium, and its occurrence in a gas which is known to be incapable of forming molecules in the chemical sense of the word is very remarkable, in view of the fact that band spectra are generally attributed to molecules. It may perhaps be suspected that there is some temporary association of atoms during the passage of the electric discharge which cannot be referred to as a molecule in the chem- ical sense of the word. Prof. A. Fowler has shown that the arrangement of the heads of the bands in this spectrum resembles that found in series of lines which are due to atoms, though the arrangement of the lines which constitute each band is of the type usually found in band spectra. When powerful condensed discharges are passed through helium a spark spectrum is developed. Two series in this spectrum are known as the 4686 and the T Puppis series, and their discovery by Prof. Fowler has led to some of the most important developments of theoretical spectroscopy. These spark lines of helium are found in the nebule and early type stars, and are attributed to helium atoms which have lost an electron. The energy required to produce spark spectra varies widely with the nature of the gas under investigation, and for elements of the same chemical group is, as a rule, smaller the greater the atomic weight of the element. Thus in the case of helium powerful dis- charges are required for the production of the spark spectrum and the lines of the arc series are always bright. In the case of argon a much less intense discharge is required to produce the spark lines, and with very powerful discharges the arc lines disap almost entirely from the spectrum. In addition to the production of these spark spectra one of the effects of powerful condensed discharges is to alter the relative intensities of the arc lines. Generally speaking, the effect of an increase of energy on a particular series of lines is to enhance relatively the more refrangible members of the series, but the effect varies in degree for different series. Experiments of this kind enable us to imitate to some extent in the laboratory the distribution of intensity amongst the lines which is found in the nebular and stellar spectra. It will be seen that whilst many variations in can be referred to different compounds, to aaa and to uncombined atoms in successive stages of ionisation, there are a number of other changes’ for which there is at present no obvious theoretical ex- planation. The possibility of some specific influence of one gas on the spectrum of another must now be recognised apart from the formation of chemical com- pounds, which, in the action of helium on the spectrum of hydrogen, for example, appears to be excluded. There is also other evidence, based on a study of the broadening of spectrum lities, of a specific action on neighbouring atoms. We are still awaiting a. satis- factory theoretical explanation of phenomena of this kind, though it is now forty years since what is perhaps the first known example, the action of sodium on the absorption spectrum of magnesium vapour, was observed by Prof. Liveing and Sir James Dewar at. the Royal Institution. Mathematics and Public Opinion. ERHAPS few well-known mathematicians have escaped an experience which would be amusing if it were not so exasperating. Mr. Brown (let us say) is introduced to Prof. Smith, who teaches mathe- matics at a provincial college. "After the usual expres- sion of pleasure at the introduction, Brown generally adds “‘ Of course, although I haven’ t had the pleasure of meeting you before, I know you well by reputation.” Then, without so much as pausing to take breath, he proceeds to explain that he was always a dufier in “maths ” at school, and that he has now forgotten everything about the subject they tried to teach him as a boy. Now Brown doesn’t act in this way to every celebrity. If introduced to Dr. Lasker, and unaware that he is a distinguished mathematician, he does not seize the first opportunity of telling him that, although he occasionally plays draughts with his wife i in the evening, chess was always beyond him, NO. 2738, VOL. 109] and he could not remember the simplest openings. Still less does he act in this way if his new acquaintance is a sportsman or an epicure. Moreover, in making his lamentable confession, Brown shows no sign of regret or humiliation; on the contrary, a sort of satisfied look steals over his face, suggesting that he is glad to be free once for all from the study of such a repulsive and useless subject. England is perhaps the only country where such an occurrence is fairly frequent ; and this fact suggests some very unpleasant reflections. One thing clear from Brown’s attitude is that he evidently fears lest Smith should introduce some mathematical topic during the conversation. Of course this is the thing Smith is most unlikely to do, If this were all, it would be as harmless as the cari- catures of professors and policemen which we see on the stage. But there is a very serious additional — DN a ee Apri 22, 1922] NATURE 521 » Teason for Brown’s behaviour. An admirable Report _ has just been published in which it has been thought _ necessary to emphasise the obvious fact, that an _ English student who intends to pursue a course in _ the humanities must, first of all, have a sound and fairly extensive knowledge of his own language and literature. Unless this foundation is well and truly - laid, the student’s equipment is imperfect, and he is 7 severely handicapped at every turn. _ Now, mathematics occupies a precisely similar _ position with regard to a course in science. To give a full justification of this statement is, of course, ible here ; but an attempt to do so partially be made by putting an imaginary case. Let us _ suppose that progress in mathematics had stopped _ abruptly at the end of the r5th century, a compara- tively recent date in the history of the science. The result would be that physics would be almost entirely empirical ; there would be no theories at all to account _ for the motions of the heavenly bodies, for the trans- formations and indestructibility of energy ; no general eories, capable of verification, in physical optics, heat, or electricity. It is extremely unlikely, not to say ‘impossible, that instruments like modern tele- _ scopes, microscopes, spectroscopes, or electric and 2 magnetic meters of various kinds, could have _ been invented. Some, at least, of the consequences involved in this can be seen by everyone who considers the matter. _ To turn to more banausic or, if the reader prefer z it, practical considerations : a single example must suffice. Let us suppose that “ practical’? engineers __had succeeded in constructing a steel steamship, approximating to the modern type. (This in itself _ is taking a good deal for granted.) The induced _ variations of its compass would have to be corrected by a blind and tedious process of trial ; the skipper would have no Nautical Almanack, no means of deter- mining the exact local time (and consequently his true longitude), no rules to guide him in keeping a great circle course from one given port to another. _ Similarly biologists and chemists are indebted to _ physicists and mathematicians for the perfection of their instruments ; and such topics as heredity and Mendelism require ‘for their full discussion a good deal of mathematics. Physiology, too, is becoming daily _ more dependent on physical theory and mathema- 4 tical formule ; for instance, a full explanation of the rise of sap in trees must involve a mathematical theory Such examples might be multiplied indefinitely. Let us now turn to another aspect of the question. Benjamin Disraeli, who was by no means the chara which some people suppose him to have been, i reported to have said that the best way of cous _ the commercial prosperity of a country was to find _ Out the condition of the chemical market. We may venture to assert that the intellectual state of a country _ may be estimated fairly well by its attitude towards _ Mathematics and its progress therein. In this respect __ England is much inferior to other and smaller nations. _ For instance, in England many private libraries have __ been either given to the nation or placed at the dis- _ posal of genuine students: very few of these are wholly or mainly mathematical. Contrast with this NO. 2738, VOL. 109| ar ¢ the Mittag-Leffler endowment, of which an account will be found in Nature of July 6, 1916, p. 384. The founders expressly emphasised the supreme importance of pure mathematics from a national point of view. Again, no one can dispute the practical efficiency of the American nation; compare their treatment of mathematical professors with ours. An American university teacher may be a specialist devoted to the most abstract and “ unpractical ” parts of his science ; he is left perfectly free to pursue his researches ; he is provided with a sufficient staff of assistants; the university library contains an ample store of mathe- matical books, and all other necessary equipment is supplied. Every seventh year the professor is relieved ‘of his official duties ; and the use which he generally makes of his respite may be illustrated by the “ History of the Theory of Numbers ” (now in course of publica- tion), by Prof. L. E. Dickson. His special subject is the highly abstract one of group-theory : but he spent ‘his sabbatical year in ransacking the libraries of Europe, as well as of the United States, for works on the higher arithmetic. The result is an "extraordinary display of laborious and accurate research: the first volume alone contains summaries, almost all of them based upon the author’s personal examination, of thousands of papers. The value of the work, when _complete, can scarcely be overestimated. Finally, it is dangerous to neglect mathematics in schemes for a course of general education. From a school teacher’s point of view the subject naturally falls into two divisions : (a) computation, drawing (including graphs), mensuration, and surveying ; and (d) the theoretical treatment of the elementary parts of the subject. No attempt should be made at premature specialisation ; the needs of the exceptionally gifted pupils may be met by giving them free access (with occasional advice as to choice) to the school library, which should contain books beyond the scope of the school course, and also biographies of mathematicians and works on the history of the subject. The main results to be desired, in the case of an average student, are these, among others: at the end of his course he should have a correct idea of the importance of mathematics and some acquaintance with its aims and methods, whatever his actual acquirements may be. Above all, he should have acquired the habit of intellectual honesty. A mistake in a mathe- matical exercise cannot be concealed by fudge, or argued about, as in the case of a historical essay or the like. It is most disheartening to find that an organised attempt is being made to restore the study of Greek and Latin to its old position of prestige; fortun- ately, a number of eminent classical scholars have taken up a reasonable attitude, so that the danger may not be so great as it seems. Moreover, the report already alluded to should convince everyone that even with regard to the humanities it is not Latin-Greek but English that should be made the . principal subject in English schools. The great Greek writers had not been condemned, in their school days, to wearisome lessons in Arabic or Hieroglyphics, although everything now argued in favour of Latin- Greek might have been urged equally well in favour of such preposterous procedure. G. B. M. 522 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 Applications of the Thermionic Valve. By J. JosEpu. ‘THE control of energy at distances of thousands of miles without any other medium than the zether has been made possible by the evolution of the thermionic valve. This remarkable invention can be described briefly as a highly exhausted glass bulb, in which is mounted a tungsten or tantalum filament heated by a battery giving about 6 volts. Electrons are emitted by the heated filament. The filament is surrounded by a grid or gauze cylinder, which is insulated and kept at the negative potential of the filament, while a plate of metal mounted inside the bulb is kept at a high potential of from fifty to several hundred volts by means of a battery or some other source of continuous current. The ‘bulb is highly exhausted, and while the grid is kept at a normal negative potential, steady current passeg from the filament to the plate or anode, but as soon as the grid is made slightly positive or negative, the current passing between the filament and anode by virtue of the electronic conductivity is increased or decreased. A valve can be used as a rectifier, as it can be made unilateral in conductivity by suitable adjustments of “orid potential.” It can also be regarded as an inertialess relay, it being only necessary for the grid to be affected by the most minute change of potential for the valve to become more or less conductive, when it may be used indirectly to close a circuit and control magnetic or electrical operations. One of the most important applications of the valve is the amplification of telephone currents in long- distance telephone trunk lines. Here, owing to the length of the cable and to the electrical constants in- volved, speech becomes greatly attenuated, and thermionic relays or repeaters are introduced about every thirty miles which amplify the speech to its original degree of loudness. In addition, cable of much smaller diameter and weight can be employed, as currents producing almost inaudible sounds can be . amplified to any degree of strength. The introduction of these valve relays has effected a saving of thousands of pounds in many of our trunk telephone lines. Another recent application of the valve is the magni- fication of the sound of the heart-beat. This is effected by means of a special transmitter, which rests by its own weight over the heart of the patient under examina- tion. _The heart creates vibrations in an air-chamber which reproduce exactly the complex action of the blood when passing through the valves of the heart. When connected to a thermionic valve amplifier and a special receiver attached to a large horn, the beat of the heart can be made audible to a number of people in a lecture-room. The valve has also been used for the simultaneous reproduction of speech with the projection of a film on a screen, both picture and sound vibrations being photographed simultaneously on the same film, thereby ensuring perfect synchronisation. The vibrations of the voice are, by means of microphones, made to agitate a small mirror fitted on the camera adaptor, 2 Substance of a contribution to a discussion at the tInstitution of Electrical Engineers on March 6. NO. 2738, VOL. 109] and a shaft of light passes from the mirror through — As the mirror vibrates, the band of — light is reflected at constantly changing angles, and — a wave form is produced which corresponds to the — a narrow slit. vocal sounds of the person speaking, as in the oscillo- graph. The wave form appears on the side of the film and is reconverted into sounds by means of a selenium cell, which, as is wéll known, possesses the peculiar property of resisting the passage of electricity in proportion to the intensity of light to which it is subjected. The variations in resistance caused by the passage of the film through the cinematograph are amplified by thermionic valves and made audible through a loud-speaking telephone. There are wide — possibilities in this application of the valve. An important feature of the valve is its great adaptability to the production of sounds of any frequency from one to many millions per second. A valve can be made to generate oscillations if the grid and anode are coupled to coils so as to form a transformer, the circuit of the coils being completed through a battery of 150 volts or more. necting a condenser across the anode coil, oscillations are set up, the frequency of which depends on the capacity of the condenser. If a third coil is coupled magnetically to the anode circuit, a note will be emitted corresponding to the frequency of the circuit, and by varying the capacity of the condenser, a wide range of frequencies can be generated for various testing purposes. The note emitted by the receiver is very clear and sharp, and the ease and rapidity with which the frequency can be changed renders the method particularly suitable for aural surgery, where frequencies covering a range of 200 to 3000 are often required. It is well known to aural specialists that certain people have what is known as a silent zone at particular frequencies. For instance, a patient’s hearing might be normal for fre- quencies 200-500 and although he is deaf to frequencies 500-520. The aural appliances at present in use are not suitable for the rapid and accurate production of frequencies of any desired value. With a thermionic generator and a calibration chart, however, the frequency can be varied at will, and if a telephone head-receiver is worn by the patient and connected in series with a variable air condenser and the output or coupling coil, it can be determined readily what frequencies are inaudible to the patient. Further, by varying the capacity of the condenser the sound can be reduced gradually to inaudibility and, by — calibration, a scale obtained which will give positions | for normal hearing, imperfect hearing, and soon. By — this means the effect of treatment can be determined — to a very fine degree. The human ear will not easily respond to frequencies greater than 3000 per second, although frequencies of 18,000 can be detected and instances have been known where 30,000 to 40,000 have also been heard. ‘The fre-_ t, A'S By con- | ee ge ee eS Ree ete semnady ae, feo ¥ sia sy : ce Pere eae miler ee ere Pre Ne quencies used in wireless telegraphy are governed bythe wave-length, and values of 500,000 per second, which correspond to a wave-length of 600 metres, are quite common. In spark telegraphy, the wave trains are APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 523 @ up into groups which are rendered audible to the wireless operator by means of a telephone receiver, . ich gives a click for every wave train, the signal _ being, of course, first rectified by the valve, so that a _ succession of musical sounds are heard in the telephone “receiver corresponding to the Morse alphabet. The termediate or high frequencies in each wave train d. The wave generated by the valve is, however, 4 continuous one, that is to say, every time the sending sy is pressed a group of continuous waves are sent it at a frequency determined by the wave-length: nated them audible in the telephone at the re- ‘© notes is heard in the telephone receiver. ws of exceedingly fine tuning, fo: the frequency od the local generator being under the control of the _ receiving operator, the difference in pitch is adjusted : to tooo cycles, the best value for human reception. It _ will therefore be seen that frequencies of as low as _ Ican readily be detected, although, when the difference very small, there isa tendency for one oscillator to pull the other into step. = beyond human audibility, and are therefore not | : _ diaphragms at the receiving end are correspondingly g end, a local valve oscillator is used for generating | “ encies slightly lower or higher than the received | znal and, by heterodyning or superimposing one on — other, a frequency equal to the difference of the — This | Probably, the most interesting application of the thermionic valve is its use in radio-telephony. Here the valve is used to generate continuous waves in a suitable circuit and, by means of a microphone, the voice of the speaker is made to vary the amplitude of this wave at the different audible frequencies which are used in speech formation. These modulations are then conveyed to the aerial, and the telephone stimulated and reproduce the speech exactly as trans- mitted. Numerous other uses have been found for the thermionic valve, among which may be mentioned direction finding, the navigation of aeroplanes in flight, its use as a rectifier for charging batteries, communication between moving trains, and the control of energy at great distances. In the latter direction mention may be made of communication by radio- telephony having been definitely established between England and Australia. Wherever a succession of . signals can be received, they can always be amplified and made to operate selective electrical or mechanical relays for controlling power of any magnitude. The future holds a wonderful vision of vast operations at one end of the earth, being controlled by mankind at the other without any other medium than the ether. Pror, PHiLippe A. GUYE. 2Y the death of Prof. Philippe Auguste Guye, on zy , 27, Switzerland loses one of the most 4 = eantitent of her savants, and the world of science _ is the poorer by the passing away, in the full matur- iy of his intellectual powers, of an assiduous and -— successful cultivator of natural philosophy, distin- _ guished alike for the range and profundity of his know- , the force of his genius, his originality, his ; ingenuity and remarkable experimental skill. Geneva has long been a home of science ; some of her citizens are among the most honoured of its votaries, and Guye ji illustrious by the names of Saussure, De La Rive, and if Philippe A. Guye was born at Saint- Christophe em on June 12, 1862. His earliest scientific studies made at the University of Geneva, where he worked inder Graebe, with whom he published papers on -diphthalyl and on naphthalene hydrides—a modest enough theme for the ’prentice hand—mainly a repeti- ‘tion of Graebe’s observations of ten years previously, which seemed to have been called in question by the ‘subsequent work of Agrestini. After taking his doctor- ate he ired to Paris, where he remained some years, working in the laboratory of Friedel. Here he appears | have come under the influence of ideas on spatial chemistry which science owes to Le Bel, and much of his york during the next few years was devoted to their levelopment. In 1892 he was recalled to Geneva to eecupy the chair of theoretical and applied chemistry in ee nversity, of that city, to which he remained } ed for thirty years. \ During this. period Guye, by NO. 2738; VOL. 109} now assumes his due position on a roll already made . Obituary. his energy and personal influence, his organising power, and the catholicity of his scientific aims, made an indelible impression on the academic life and activities of the university. He surrounded himself with a body of earnest and enthusiastic workers, attracted from all parts of the world, to whom he gave freely from a wealth of ideas which ranged over every department of chemical and physical science. It is estimated that upwards of 600 communications emanated from the Geneva laboratory while under his direction, some 200 of which bore his own name alone, many others being joint contributions by himself and his pupils. His own work was characterised by a rigorous sense of accuracy, by caution and a recognition of possible sources of error, amounting almost to intuition, com- bined with a capacity for generalisation and a flair for fruitful hypothesis which seemed, at times, like divination. Although Guye began his scientific life under the guidance of Graebe, and at a time when the theory of organic chemistry and its technical applications were developing with extraordinary rapidity and success, systematic organic chemistry of the type with which the name of his eminent teacher is asso- ciated had few attractions for him, and it is doubtful whether Graebe’s teaching and example had any per- manent influence on his career. At all events, on his election to the Geneva chair he embarked upon the long series of investigations on problems of physical chem- istry on which his fame mainly rests. He was early attracted to the many issues to which the molecular theory of Van der Waals gave rise. He discovered a series of new relations between the physical constants of liquids and their molecular magnitudes, and he greatly * « 524 NATURE [Aprit 22, 1922 extended the conception of molecular association in liquids.. He devised new methods of determining the molecular weights of substances in the liquid state and at the critical point. He attacked the study of molec- ular dissymmetry, and traced the connection between optical activity and homology in liquids, between isomerism of position and rotatory power, and with the aid of his pupils he accumulated a great mass of experi- mental material which served to extend and substan- tiate his generalisations. In 1903 Guye turned his attention to the study of atomic weights, and, in particular, to a critical examina- tion of the experimental basis upon which these magni- tudes rest. He thereby followed and perpetuated a tradition with which the fame of the Geneva school of chemistry, as personified by Marignac, will always be connected. Practically the greater number of the 100 contributions to the literature of chemistry which we owe to Guye’s pen during the past twenty years are devoted to this subject, upon which he lavished all the powers of his matured intelligence, his experience, ingenuity, and manipulative skill. Thanks to his organising capacity and the ability and enthusiasm of his collaborators, we have been furnished with a series of fiduciary values which are probably among the best determined of physical constants, in which every known source of error has been rigorously scrutinised, and, so far as possible, eliminated. Naturally the trend of modern developments of ideas concerning the essential nature of the elements, and their fundamental relations and possible interdependence, attracted Guye’s alert intelligence, and at the Brussels meeting of the International Conference in June last he pointed out their significance in connection with the proposed re- organisation of the work of the International Committee on Atomic Weights, of which he was an enthusiastic advocate, and on which, had he lived, he would cer- tainly have made his influence felt as a member. It might be supposed from Guye’s mental character- istics, and from the nature of his studies, that he would have little sympathy with the technical applications of chemistry. No such surmise could be further from the truth. Although not a professed technologist, he had a considerable knowledge of manufacturing chemistry, and he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the leaders of chemical industry throughout Switzerland, to whom he was always accessible, and by whom his counsel and advice were highly appreciated. His name will always be associated with the extraordinary development of electrochemical synthesis in Switzerland, to which his lectures and writings largely contributed. Guye exercised great influence in scientific circles in Geneva, and took a leading part in the organisation of Swiss science. He presided over the Swiss Physical and Natural History Society, was a member of the central Committee of the Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences, and president of the Swiss Chemical Society and of the Council of Swiss Chemistry. In 1903 he established the Journal de Chimie physique, in which the greater number of the communications from his laboratory after that year were published, and he was mainly instrumental in placing Helvetica Chimica Acta—now the leading chemical journal in Switzerland—upon a sound and permanent foundation. Guye’s merits as a man of science were widely RPE NO. 2738, VOL. 109] nised. He was a member of the Scientific Ackacsad of E Petrograd, Madrid, and Bucharest, an honorary member _ of the Chemical Goaieting of Frarice and England, a — corresponding member of the French Institute, and a foreign associate of the Reale Accademia dei Lincei, and he shares with his countryman Marignac the honour of being a Davy medallist of the Royal Society. To the great regret of his many friends in England, the illness which ended in his death prevented him from coming to London to receive the medal in person. He has another association with the memory of Davy, who died at Geneva, which British chemists will not forget. They are grateful to Guye for his pious care of the tomb which holds the remains of the great chemist. T, E, THORPE. Pror. W. B. BoTTOMLEY. Pror. Wit11AM B. Botromiey, Emeritus Professor of Botany at King’s College, University of London, died at Huddersfield on March 24, aged 58, after a long and trying illness which began in April 1918 with a seizure resulting from thrombosis. During the four succeed- ing years these seizures returned at intervals until the end. Prof, Bottomley was born at Apperley Bridge, Leeds, on December 26, 1863, and was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Lancaster, and at King’s College, Cambridge. He then studied at Heidelberg, where he received the Ph.D. degree. He was lecturer in biology — at St. Mary’s Hospital from 1886 to 1891. In the latter year he was appointed professor of biology at the Royal Veterinary College, and at the same time served as assistant in botany to Prof. Oliver at University College, London, and as a Cambridge University Extension lecturer. In 1893 he was appointed to the professor- ship of botany at King’s College, London, which post. he held until his resignation in 1920. In 1905 Prof. Bottomley made a journey round the world in connection with University Extension work, He did a great deal of extra-mural lecturing under various auspices, and was well known as an excellent lecturer before either a scientific or a popular audience. — Prof. Bottomley’s chief scientific interests were in connection with plant nutrition and the relation of these problems to agriculture. Towards the end of the nineteenth century he actively concerned himself with various co-operative agricultural movements, such as the Agricultural Banks. Association and the English Land Colonisation Society. He was a man of great enthusiasms, and it is much to be regretted that he was unable to complete the important work with which his investigations were concerned. His name will always find a place in the history of plant nutrition, along with those of Boussingault, Lawes, and others. His most important contribution to the subject of plant nutrition was probably the discovery of what he called auxi- mones, or growth-promoting substances, in materials such as peat which had been subjected to the action of nitrifying bacteria, The acidity of the raw peat had first to be neutralised by the action of ammonifying organisms, Experiments at Kew and the Imperial Apri 22, 1922] NATURE 25 College of Science, as well as King’s College, showed _ that a striking increase in growth occurred when small _ amounts of this bacterised peat were added to the soil. _ This led to the chemical fractionation of such treated peat, the extract being used to test the stimulus to pen of the aquatic plant Lemna, and other plants, in culture solutions. It was found that 368 parts per _ million added to the culture solution gave in six weeks "an increase in weight of 62 times the control plants. Other equally remarkable results were obtained. Various papers on the subject were published in Proc. oy. Soc. and the Annals of Botany. The method was patented, and in the early years of war great hopes were entertained that peat deposits many parts of the world could thus be made of direct _ service in stimulating food crop production. The con- _troversies to which this commercialising of the process _ led, together with the loss of a son in the war, no doubt _ contributed to Prof. Bottomley’s subsequent break- __ The discovery of auximones will remain a landmark in the long history of plant nutrition. These sub- _ Stances differ from vitamines in that they will with- _ stand a temperature of 150° C., while the latter are _ largely destroyed by boiling. Moreover, unlike vita- _ mines, auximones apparently have no effect on animals. _ Theyare probably derivatives of nucleic acid,and appear to be generated in soils through the activity of soil _ bacteria. Their presence indicates that these bacteria _ stand in somewhat the same relation to plants that _ plants do to animals ; for the auximones appear to be _ bacterial products stimulating plant growth, while the _vitamines are plant products which are essential for healthy animal development. It is greatly to be hoped that these remarkable _ growth-stimulating substances can be isolated, their composition determined, and the method of their pro- _ duction standardised. They would then be of the - utmost value to agriculture. Prof. Bottomley was a member of the Council of _ the Royal Botanic Society, Regent’s Park, where some _ of his experiments were carried out. He leaves a _ widow and two sons at Huddersfield, where the family _ removed from Hampstead a few months before his death. R. R.G. Dr. H. N. Dickson, C.B.E. Henry Newron Dickson, born in Edinburgh in _ 1866, studied at the University of Edinburgh and came under the influence of the remarkable activities _ in experimental physics, meteorology, and ocean- _ ography directed by P. G. Tait and G. Chrystal in the _ University and by A. Buchan and John Murray out- _ side. Like many other Edinburgh students of the __ later “eighties of the last century Dickson seized the _ opportunity of acting as volunteer assistant in the __ work of the Challenger Commission, the Scottish Marine _ Station, and the Ben Nevis Observatory, and by this _ practical training in physiography he was fitted to _ take up the reviving study of geography on a basis _ of sound physical science. Thus, while his researches _ dealt exclusively with the special fields of meteorology _ and oceanography, his appointments were mainly in NO. 2738, VOL. 109] / complete years 1896 and 1897. the teaching or the application of geography in its wider aspects. In 1891 Dickson was engaged at the Marine Biological Association’s laboratory at Plymouth in investigations on the salinity and temperature of the English Channel, and on his removal to Oxford in 1893 he extended this work to the whole surface of the North Atlantic. The water-samples were obtained by the officers of Atlantic liners and analysed by Dickson in the Univer- sity chemical laboratory. It took several years to bring the methods of collection and discussion to perfection, and finally, with the co-operation of the Meteorological Office, Dickson produced his most im- portant work, “ The Circulation of the Surface Waters of the North Atlantic Ocean,’ which appeared in the Philosophical Transactions for 1gor, and included monthly maps of temperature and salinity for the two This won him the Oxford D.Sc. degree in physical geography. At Oxford Dickson joined the lecturing staff of the School of Geography and was very successful as a teacher. He moved to Reading in 1906, where he acted as professor of geography in the University College until 1920. During the war he gave practically his whole time to work at the Intelligence Division of the Naval Staff, where, amongst other duties, he “undertook the preparation of an important series of handbooks descriptive of regions in which military operations were being carried on or where they might occur. For this he was decorated with the C.B.E. In 1893 Dr. Dickson published a small volume on ‘‘Rlementary Meteorology,” which showed originality in conception and presented the principles of weather study in a very attractive form. This was followed in 1912 by a little book on “ Climate and Weather,” which was equally happy. He also wrote a book on “Maps and Map Reading.” Dickson devoted much time to the study of underground water in the chalk formations near London, and the outbreak of war interrupted a most important investigation on which he was engaged with regard to the evaporation from an exposed water-surface. For this purpose he devised an automatic recording evaporimeter, which, so far as can be ascertained, was never made available for general use. For many years Dr. Dickson was regular in attending the meetings of the British Association, acting as Secretary and Recorder of Section E, and in 1913 he was President of the Section. He was also a member of Council of the Royal Meteorological Society for many years and was President of the Society for 1911-1912. His last work was in the Editorial Department of the additional volumes of the “ Encyclopedia Britan- nica” for the 12th edition. Into this, as into all his other work, he threw his whole heart, and probably the most remarkable feature of his character was his indefatigable energy in whatever he undertook. He was married in 1891, and leaves a widow, a son in the Royal Navy, and a daughter. H. R. M. WE much regret to learn from the Lister Institute that Mr. A. W. Bacot, head of the department of entomology, died at Cairo from typhus on April 12. 526 NATURE [APRIL 22, 1922 Current Topics and Events. No British statesman of our times is more closely associated with scientific activities, or has done more to promote scientific interests, than Sir Arthur Balfour, upon whom the King conferred the honour of knighthood a few weeks ago and invested him with the insignia of the Order of the Garter. . therefore, with much satisfaction the announcement that the King has been pleased to approve that the dignity of an Earldom of the United Kingdom be conferred upon him. Sir Arthur Balfour was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1888 and was president of the British Association at the Cambridge meeting in 1904. He has been Lord Rector of St. Andrews University and of Glasgow University, is Chancellor of Edinburgh University, and in 1919 he succeeded his brother-in-law, the late Lord Rayleigh, as Chan- cellor of Cambridge University. He is president of the British Academy, and Lord President of the Council, and by the latter office is concerned with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, in the work of which he takes active interest. Sir Arthur Balfour possesses a sure faith that no attempt to acquire and improve. knowledge is vain, and a reasoned belief in the power of science to. help and elevate mankind. He is a peer among philosophers and a trusted leader among statesmen, and the honour which has now been conferred upon him has given particular pleasure to all who work for social, intel- lectual, and scientific progress. THE retirement is announced of Sir I. Bayley Balfour, Regius Keeper of the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, Regius Professor of Botany in the University there, and King’s Botanist for Scotland. Sir Bayley Balfour succeeded Dickson as Regius Keeper in 1888 and soon initiated that enlightened policy of friendly co-operation between the Com- missioners of Works and the Regius Keeper which prevailed throughout his tenure of office. He placed the garden in the unique position it occupies to-day, and made it fruitful of result to botany and horticulture. His strength as Regius Keeper lay in more than one direction, and we may safely place his -lovable human qualities and his knowledge of men in the centre of the arch, with his broad-minded, scientific outlook on one side and practical knowledge of horticulture on the other. As an administrator, his knowledge of men and affairs was never exhibited to better purpose than in the happy relations he established with one after the other of a succession of official chiefs who rightly trusted him implicitly. It is scarcely necessary in these columns to refer to Sir Bayley Balfour’s position as a scientific botanist, but there is still much for him to do along lines of research he has made peculiarly his own, such, for example, as the differentiation of the great Rhodo- dendron genus, by the characters of the leaf indu- mentum. As a practical horticulturist, he stands alone in the profundity of his knowledge of plants and their ways. Of late years, taking up the work where Franchet left it in 1900, he has taken. the leading part in this country in the enumeration of NO. 2738, VOL. 109 | We notice, the discoveries which have been going on for 40 years in the flora of the Western Chinese Alps, and which, in Rhododendron alone, far transcend the epoch-making results of Hooker’s exploration of the Eastern Himalaya in the ’fifties. The consideration of the material already to hand, in the discovery of which George Forrest, an old member of the Edin- | burgh garden staff, has latterly played a major part, has resulted in the publication of a series of in- valuable monographic ‘‘ Notes’ on Rhododendron, as well as Nomocharis, Chinese Gentian and Primula, all couched in the lucid style with which many previous publications of Sir Bayley Balfour’s have made us familiar. THE King, on the recommendation of the Secretary for Scotland, has approved the appointment of Mr. W. W. Smith to succeed Sir I. Bayley Balfour as _Regius professor of botany in the University of Edinburgh, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and King’s Botanist in Scot- land. Mr. Smith has been assistant to the Regius Keeper for several years. SIR HumpHury Rorieston has _ been elected president of the Royal College of Physicians of London. Sir F. W. Duxe, Under-Secretary of State for India; Sir Berkeley G. A. Moynihan, professor of Clinical surgery, University of, Leeds; and Sir Ronald | Ross, have been elected members of the Athenzum Club under the provisions of the rule which em- | powers the annual election by the committee of a certain number of persons “ of distinguished eminence in science, literature, the arts, or for public services.”’ Tue latest news from the Mount Everest expedi- tion reports an uneventful march from Darjeeling through Sikkim and over the Jelepla pass into Tibet. The road then lay along the Chumbi valley to Phari Dzong, to which place stores and grain had been despatched in advance. Gen. Bruce reports that on April 8 the expedition left Phari Dzong for — Khimbajong. A message from the Pope wishing the expedition success was received before leaving Darjeeling. On Tuesday next, April 25, Sir Arthur Keith will begin a course of three lectures at the Royal Institu- tion on ‘‘ Anthropological Problems of the British Empire.’ Series II. ‘‘ Racial Problems of Africa ”’ ; on Thursday, April 27, Prof. E. H. Barton will deliver the first of two lectures on (I.) ‘‘ The Resonance Theory — A Syntonic Hypothesis of Colour — of Audition,” (II.) “ Vision ’’ ; and on Wednesday, April 26, and Saturday, May 6, Prof. D. H. MacGregor will deliver two oui a ee lectures on ‘“‘ Industrial Relationships ’’—(I.) “‘ The | Historical Interpretation,’’ (II.) ‘‘ The Problem of Structure.” The Friday evening discourse on April 28 will be delivered by Dr. Arthur Harden on “Vitamin Problems,” and on May 5 by Dr. M. Grabham on “ Biological Studies in Madeira.” THE special arrangements for Easter made by the French Physical Society include an address by Prof. — APRIL 22, 1922] NATURE 527 _ PP. Weiss on the Strasbourg Physics Institute on _ Wednesday, April 19, and one by Sir E. Rutherford on the artificial disintegration of the elements on the _ following day, both delivered in the physics theatre _ of the science faculty of the University of Paris. On _ Friday a visit is to be paid to the new wireless station _ at Sainte Assise where the 2-kilowatt Paris-London station will be seen in operation; the continental _ too-kilowatt station is just about to begin work, and _ a transcontinental station of 1500 kilowatts is being _ constructed. On the Thursday and Friday there _ will be an exhibition of apparatus at the rooms _ of the Society. At this exhibition British scientific _ apparatus makers have a joint exhibit. A number of _ French instruments not well known in this country | will be displayed, as for example the Yvon spectro- 4 photometer, a direct-reading micro-balance, and _ several wireless telegraphic appliances. _ Tue second triennial meeting of the Astronomical - Union will be held at Rome on May 2-10. The _ opening address by the president, M. Baillaud, will be delivered at 3 P.M. on May 2, at the Reale Acca- _ demia dei Lincei. The following are some of the _ proposals on the agenda paper : to make simultaneous observations of the variation of solar radiation, including the ultra-violet rays; expedite the completion of the astrographic catalogue ; _to organise observations of stellar parallax ; to open a variable-star bureau at Lyons in collaboration with that at Harvard; to use plates sensitised for the infra-red in order to extend the spectral range and possibly to discover stars hitherto invisible; to organise the re-reduction of older star-catalogues, with a view to proper-motion determinations; to make arrangements for observing the near approach of Eros in 1931; and calendar reform. The Munici- pality of Rome will receive the delegates on May 4 and they are invited to Florence at the close of the meeting. Visits to Messina, Stromboli, and Etna have also been arranged. Prof. A. Fowler, Royal College of Science, South Kensington, is the General Secretary, and it may be mentioned that Messrs. Cook _ have arranged on favourable terms for a party leaving _ London on April 29, and returning on May 13. Tue council of the Institution of Civil Engineers has made the following awards for papers read and ___ discussed during the session 1921-22: Telford Medals _ to Sir Henry Fowler (Derby), Mr. H. N. Gresley (Doncaster), and Dr. H. F. Parshall (London); a _ Watt Medal to Mr. W. Willox (London) ; an Indian _ Premium to Mr. F. G. Royal-Dawson (London) ; _ Telford Premiums to Mr. A. W. Rendell (Bourne- mouth), Mr. W. F. Stanton (Chile), and Mr. A. C. Walsh (Chile). The council has also made the following awards for papers printed without dis- cussion in the Proceedings for the session 1920-21: _ pge: ae The Anatomy of the Drill (Mandrillus leucopheous).— R. Broom: The Persistence of the Mesopterygoid-in certain Reptiian Skulls.—A. Loveridge: New Reptiles from Tanganyika erritory. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (Annual General Meeting), at 6. ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIBTY OF GREAT BRITAIN (Annual Genera] Meeting), at 7; at 7.30.—-Dr. T. S. tgags i aoe ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8 ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY (at Queen’ $ ral, at 8.80.—Lieut.-Col. C. K. Howard-Bury : The Mount Everest Country and People. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. D.’H. MacGregor : Industrial Relationships (1). The Historical Interpretation. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS (at Olympia), at’ 6.—Sir Lawrence Weaver: Modern Domestic Architecture; Fashion and yle. ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS, at 8.—Dr. re F, Crowley: The Uses and Advantages of Electric "Power in the Factory, as illustrated by its Application to the Jute Industry.} ETHURSDAY, APRIL 27, ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. BE. H. Barton: Audition and Colour Vision (1). The Resonance Theory of Audition. CHILD-StTupy Society (at Royal Sanitary Institute), at 6.—Dr. Octavia Lewin : ‘The Natural Defences of the Upper Air Passages. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—J. A. Kuyser: Pro- tective Apparatus for Turbo-Alternators. CONCRETE INSTITUTE (Annual General Meeting), at 7.30.—W. N. Twelvetrees : Reinforced Concrete Piers and Marine Works. OpticaAL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, 8.W.7), at 7.30.—Prof,~-A. Pollard: The Mechanical Construction of the Microscope, from a Historical Standpoint. OIL AND COLOUR CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION (at Food Reform Club, Bos Furnival Street, W.C.1).—F. H. Jennison: Studies of Precipita- ILEUMINATING ENGINEERING Soctety (at Royal es, of Arts), at 8.—Discussion on the Use of Light in Hospita ls (including the illumination of hospital wards and operating-tables and some other applications of light). HARVEIAN SOCIETY (at Town Hall, Paddington), at 8.30.—Discussion, by Sir Humphry Rolleston and others, on Influenza. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Urology Section), at 8.30.—J. Swan and others: Tests of Renal Function. FRIDAY, APRIL 28. ZOOLOGICAL SoctETY OF LONDON, at 4.—Anniversary Meeting. ROYAL Socrery oF ARTS (Indian Section), at 4.30.—F. G. Royal Dawson: The Need of an All-India Gauge Policy. PHYSICAL SocreTY OF LONDON (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 5.—T. Smith: The gic of Best Focus in the Presence of Spherical Aberration.—F. Twyman and J. Perry: The Te ay of the Absolute Stress-variation of Refractive Index. —C.I.8 : An Experimental Comparison of the Viscous Properties of (a) aoe Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide, and (6) Nitrogen and Carbon Monoxide.—F. Twyman: Demonstration of the Optical Sonometer. ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith: Demonstration of Museum Specimens illustrating the Forms of Inguinal Hernia. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Study of air ixeod in Children Section), at 5.—Sir Robert Jones: Presidential Address. NO. 2738, VOL. 109] G. Coker INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 6.—Prof. E. An Account of some Experiments on the . and Dr. K. C, Chakko: Action of Cutting Tools. ; ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Epidemiology Section), at a Re Dittmar: Outbreaks of Enteric Fever associated wi th Carrier ases. § ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Dr. A. Harden's Vitamin Problems. PUBLIC LECTURES. . 2 (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a series.) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26. ’ UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Dr. D. H. Scott: The Early History — of the Land Flora (1). Ae ety >) APRIL 27, 2 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, va 5.15.—Sir Joseph J. Thomson: Ato } Molecules, and Chemistry (1).—A. T. Walmisley : The Bridges one 3 the River Thames at London. , FRIDAY, Bae BEDFORD COLINGE, at 5.15 —Prot. ntieeasetie’ : L’Intelligence et — la Volonté (1). (In French.) Z Kin@’s COLLEGE, 5.50.—Dr. J. Hijort: Biological Aspects of Oceanography (1) CONTENTS. PAGE British DyestuffsIndustry . . . . . « 501 Sexual Life and Marriage among Primitive Man- kind. By Dr. B. Malinowski. ‘ : i Re: 502 Some'Chemical Treatises . . |. “ieee S08 Formal and Philosophical Aspects of Logic . - 506 Terrestrial Magnetism in the Antarctic . : . 508 The Analysis of Drugs. By T. A. H. : ; - 509. South African and Indian Floras ‘ ‘ 510 Science of Industrial Psychology : : : > tea Glacial Climates. ByG.A.J.C.. : . Pagid Our Bookshelf . : ; ; : ; Paetin Ae oes ie Letters to the Editor :— , Mind.—Sir G. Archdall Reid, K.B.E. . 515 Pencil Markings in the Bodleian Library. — C, Ainsworth Mitchell . 516 Haloes and Earth-History : A New Radiguctien Element.—Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S. a 517 The Helmholtz, Theory of iene —Prof. E. w. Scripture. 4 518 Boyle’s Experiments on Capillarity. Silas Skicasr 518 Problems in the Variability of Spectra. By Prof. T. ae eettoes, F.RS. oo. o: ahaa Mathematics and Public Opinion. By G.B.M. . 520 Applications of the Thermionic Valve. By J. Joseph 522 Obituary :— Prof. Philippe A. Guye. By Sir T. E. Thorpe, aS Pe ee 3 529 Prof. W. B. Bottomley. By R. R. G. ; - 524 Dr. H. N. Dickson, C.B.E. By H. R. M. wes Current Topics and Events: ... é ‘ . 526 Our Astronomical Column :— The Shower of Lyrids . ; : : a 2525 The Position of Neptune’s Equator 4 528 Determination of Star Magnitudes by a Thermopile . - 528 Research Items . 4 é % - 529 A Unique Long-period Variable Star. (Zilustrated. ) By Major W. J. S. Lockyer . ; : : - 530 Marine Invertebrates . : 2 : - EEE ie) Water-power Resources of India < op Sah niuaegt University Pensions . ; F ‘ : eS? University and Educational Intelligeries Z ; see ee Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . ; : 3 Pek zz Societies and Academies .. . . : Sh & Official Publications Received .. é ese | Diary of Societies ; . : ; - ; <> 590 > NATURE 537 education amounts to 1,916,307/. on 36,900,0001., which works out as a cut of about 5 per cent.; Bas Editorial and Publishing Offices : Et MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., 4 ‘ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. _ Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. “4 Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. The Education Estimates. HE Estimates for Civil Services for the year ie ending March 31, 1923, have been issued, and it is ‘expected that Class IV., which deals with Education, . Science, and Art, will be discussed'i in Parliament almost _ immediately after the Easter recess. While it is now _ clear that the drastic cuts recommended by the Geddes Committee will not be made, the Estimates in this class still show a reduction of 7,979,154l. for Great _ Britain—Ireland being omitted from this calculation. We propose to examine three items in which economies _ are indicated. First, the estimate for the Ordinary Services of the Board of Education shows a reduction of 4,898,970. on the corresponding estimate for the year 1921-22, _ which means a cut of rather more than ro per cent. Next, the estimate of the grant in aid of Universities _and Colleges for the year 1922-23 is 300,000/.! less than the sum granted to these institutions for the year 1921-22, which means a cut of 20 per cent. And, thirdly, the estimate for Scientific and Industrial Research is reduced by 118,4861.—a cut of 28 per cent. It will be observed that the cuts for higher education and research are proportionately much greater than for the’ Ordinary Services of the Board of Education, and it would seem that this is the considered policy of the framers of the Estimates. A closer examina- _ tion of the estimate for the Ordinary Services of the ‘Board of Education seems to confirm this opinion. Here we find that the proposed reduction in the grants to local education authorities for elementary ~ 1 The proportion of the decrease for Great Britain is estimated at 247,000/. NO, 2739, VOL, 109] | the salaries of school teachers. whereas the proposed reduction of grants to local education authorities for higher education amounts to 954,9201. on 6,647,920/.—a cut of more than 14 per cent. If further confirmation were needed it is to be found in the treatment of technical colleges and the grant towards students’ fees. The grant to the former is to be reduced from 50,000/. to 40,000/.—a cut of 20 per cent.; while the students’ fees grant, from which scholarships, studentships, and exhibitions tenable at the universities are drawn, is to be reduced from 15,000], to 12,6001. Obviously these facts point to the conclusion that higher education and research are bearing a greater proportion of the proposed reductions in the Education Vote than the remaining educational services. Such a discrimination requires further consideration. At the outset we may say that we have no fault to find with the rejection of the Geddes proposals regarding In our opinion there was ample justification for refusing to adopt proposals of that character. Rather are we concerned to point out that the proposals regarding higher education and research, if carried into effect, will, in the long run, be most injurious to education and the development of our national life. In the debate on the Consolidated Fund Bill in the House of Commons on March 28, Mr. Asquith warned the Government of “ the extreme and criminal inexpediency at this time of cutting down the Education Estimates.’’ He then proceeded to ask “Was there ever a moment in our history when it would be more suicidal to cut down the facilities which were not by any means ample enough for this great national purpose of securing the best intellectual life for the boys and girls who were most fitted to profit by it?” Far from the facilities being ample enough, we understand that at the present time 20,000 children, well qualified for higher education, are excluded from secondary schools for lack of accommodation. Yet at this particular juncture the Education Estimates, as we have indicated above, show a reduction of more than 14 per cent. in the grants to local education author- ities for higher education. While the attack upon secondary education is bad, that upon the universities is worse. A cut of 20 per cent. will have far-reaching effects. Already one university is proposing to reduce its staff, and others are preparing to follow suit. This will mean impaired efficiency and the sacrifice of future. developments. A temporary and trivial economic gain will cripple the universities for many years and inflict irremediable hardships upon many deserving students. We cannot understand 538 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 how a Minister of Education can agree to a reduction of 300,000/. to the universities when in the debate just referred to he stated that the universities “ making contributions to learning and science exceeding in quality and amount that ever given before,” and further that ‘it was within his knowledge that there was work proceeding in the laboratories of this country which, if the hopes of scientific men engaged upon it were realised, would repay the country over and over again for the cost.” know that such a reduction in the grant cannot be made without serious consequences. The sum may be small in comparison with the. Education Vote as a whole, but it is most certainly large in comparison with the funds at the disposal of the universities. The President of the National Union of Teachers in his address to the Annual Conference on April 17 was at pains to point out that money spent on scientific and technical education was productive expenditure which would become the very source of national income. And he is right. He insisted were that more money was required to enlarge our . control over the resources of nature. ‘We shall want,” he says, “more money to build and equip our technical schools and colleges. We shall want more money to. train our scientists and technicians, for we could not float a world trade on scientific ignorance and technical inefficiency.” Again he is right. Yet the Government is proposing to reduce its grants for such purposes ! Already thoughtful men and women are realising that the hope of the future in commercial life, as well as in intellectual life, lies largely with our universities and colleges, and that any action which will prejudice their development will mean a national loss.. While we hold to the same opinion we are not prepared to say that the educational system of this country is run on sound economic lines or that the system itself from a purely educa- tional point of view is beyond criticism. Any one with inside knowledge would have no lack of material for criticism. Our point is that the proposed economies in higher education and research are specious economies which in the near future will entail losses out of all proportion to the slight temporary gain they effect. On the other hand, we believe it would not be a difficult matter to discover ways of economising which would not entail such serious consequences as those proposed. We can only hope that Parliament will show a real appreciation of the inevitable con- sequences of the proposed drastic cuts, and that proper means will be taken to prevent so great a calamity to higher education and research. NO. 2739, VOL. 109] Mr. Fisher must surely Studies in Symbiosis. Tier und Pflanze in intrazellularer Symbiose. Prof. P. Buchner. Pp. xi+462+Tafel 2. (Berlin: Gebriider Borntraeger, 1921.) 114 mk. HE extent and significance of symbiosis are matters of general interest. The delicate adjustments that enable yeasts to interpenetrate the tissues of insects, algae those of corals, and bacteria those of cuttlefish, resulting in mutual advantages to both partners in each association, form an evolutionary topic of no little importance. But the subject assumes practical and economic value when it is realised that the nutrition of our domestic ruminant animals is carried out not solely by their own enzymes and tissues, but is due partially to the activity of symbiotic bacteria (and probably to Protozoa also) which live within the cattle. So great has béen the increase of our knowledge of these associations in the last fifteen years, that the large volume under review does not cover the whole ground, but deals only with those animals in which the invading micro-organisms take up positions within certain cells of the other partner. The no less interesting cases of symbiosis in which the invader lies in the cavity of its partner’s body (as in cattle) are, with one exception, deliberately omitted. Accustomed as we are to think of each being as working out its own salvation and that of its race, the thought of deep-seated infection of diverse animals by myriads of alien microscopic yeasts or bacteria which invade even the very germ cells and are con- veyed to children’s children, has in it something repulsive. Such cases, we are inclined to conclude, are exceptional. The bulk of life stands on its own ground. Symbiosis is at best a secondary phenomenon of the struggle for subsistence. It is not evenasafe com- promise. Co-operation may mean litigation. Mutual benefit gives place only too easily to one-sided benefit or to mutual harm. The ‘“ symbiote” becomes a parasite. Requiring such a delicately adjusted balance, symbiosis, we argue, can never have been an evolu- tionary factor of real and widespread significance. In opposition to the entrance of such foreign corpuscles, the body would exert all its antigens as against foreign proteids or as it does against the entrance of pathogenic spores. The struggle would lead to the survival of those forms which repelled the invaders or which By ~ ‘ r a init tn ail taste ae tolerated their presence whilst maintaining an mieed mastery. The facts of biology, toes imperfectly known as they are and still more imperfectly apprehended in their full significance, show that the more carefully animal life is studied, the more numerous and intimate are the cases of symbiosis that investigation discloses. a Be APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 539 _ Many of the blood-sucking flies, probably all, are cases i of symbiosis. The whole vast order of sucking insects known as Hemiptera—the green fly, scale insect, body louse—is another. The ant and the death-watch beetle, the cockroach and the leaf-miner are examples of other orders that show the same or similar associations. _ The first section of Dr. Buchner’s book deals with - marine plant-animals, and provides a welcome and critical summary of our knowledge of the algal associa- tions in Protozoa, Coelenterates and Turbellaria. ‘The second, and perhaps the most valuable, part. of 3 “the work gives a full, illustrated discussion of symbiosis insects, with especial reference to the transmission of the bacteria or yeasts to the egg and the “ infection ” neglected by English entomologists, and _ its ficance is as yet scarcely grasped. Some indication the i importance of insect symbiosis may be gathered from the fact that Peklo has shown the symbiotic & organism of green-fly to be an Azotobacter modified _ by residence in the tissues of the insect. The only _ important omission in this part of the work is that of _ the recent discovery of a symbiotic organism in the 3 aa ubad a - Native Life in the Highlands of Assam. The Angami Nagas, with some Notes on Neighbouring Tribes. By J. H. Hutton. Pp.xv+480. (London : _ Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 4os. net. R. HUTTON’S excellent monograph on the ; _ Angamis is a more than welcome accession . to. the series of monographs dealing with the Naga { _ and other indigenous tribes now under the control of the Government of Assam. The volume is a very _ valuable contribution to the ethnological literature of the Naga Hills, and reflects great credit both upon a the author, who has made full use of his opportunities, _and upon the Government under the auspices of which it has been published. Ethnologists, local adminis- trators and many others will feel’ grateful to the authorities for their praiseworthy encouragement of the scientific study of the natives for whose welfare they are responsible. Such detailed study is not only of value from the ethnological point of view, but has also a practical bearing upon the administration of native affairs. Accurate knowledge of the habits, ‘customs, beliefs and culture-environment in general primitive peoples promotes sympathetic and equit- _ able treatment and control, and prevents those mis- _ understandings and unintentional acts of injustice _ which are due to ignorance of the native point of view, _ ethics, and social organisation. NO. 2739, VOL. 109] aye. This aspect of insect physiology has | The present monograph, while it deals in detail with the various phases and features of the life of the Angamis, has the merit of being brightly written 1g iniagapessent with touches of humour. It is “readable ” as well as instructive. Mr. Hutton, during several years of close contact with Naga tribes, has developed a sympathetic interest in them which has gone far towards winning their confidence. Much of the information which he has gleaned could have been acquired only by breaking down. those barriers of reserve and distrust which are too often. interposed between the representatives of Fic. 1.—Viswema youth in ceremonial dress. From ‘‘ ‘The Angami Nagas.” government and the governed. The facts which he records have been collected mostly at first hand, being the results of his own observations. Where he depends upon the data collected by his predecessors in the field, he has endeavoured to check off their statements and, so far as possible, to verify or correct them. Many of the practices recorded by Butler, Woodthorpe, Davis, Peal, and other pioneer observers are no longer followed, and must be accepted at second hand or studied through the imperfect memory of the “ oldest inhabitant.” The time-honoured practice of head-hunting is rapidly becoming extinct in the administered area, and the passing of this prominent and absorbing feature in Naga culture involves the atrophy of many other cultural items and the modifica- 540 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 tion or abolition of many status-grades in Naga society. Even those striking and elaborate ornaments (Figs. 1 and 2), which were formerly guarantees of prowess on the war-path, have, to a great extent, now lost their significance, and may be worn by those who have not earned them under the rules of the old régime. While recognising that changes are inevitable and, no doubt, even desirable, the ethnologist views with concern the supplanting of traditional customs by *‘ civilisation,’ at any rate before they have been studied and recorded in detail. Similar regrets are felt by the naturalist when some interesting zoological rar Fic. 2.—Mozema youth in ceremonial dress. From “‘ The Angami Nagas.” type becomes extinct and is no longer available for research into its life-habits. Mr. Hutton’s careful record has done much towards minimising the mourning over obsolescent customs. How rapid are the culture- metamorphoses which are being effected in the Naga Hills is well reflected by the author’s statement that a considerable portion of his MS. was “ typed by an Angami”’! Truly, there is no time to lose, and it is to be hoped that he will continue his researches without interruption. There is much to be or’ in praise of the Angami, whom Mr. Hutton describes as intelligent, self-reliant, honest, good-humoured, and devoted to their families. While they may be declared swashbucklers and exagger- ators, they are, nevertheless, fairly truthful. Under- NO. 2739, VOL. 109] - methods. lying these characteristics there run a vein of sadness and a considerable fear of death. Their villages, built for defensive purposes on the high ground, | testify to the inter-tribal feuds, vendettas, and head- hunting raids which have hitherto retarded progress and rendered the life of every man, woman, and child somewhat precarious. The Angamis are prominent as agriculturists, and in this industry they are ahead of the neighbouring tribes, inasmuch as they practise, for rice-growing, a very elaborate and striking system of terrace- cultivation (Fig. 3) involving complex irrigation Their irrigation channels extend some- times for miles, and water-rights are jealously guarded. This terracing of the hill-sides reminds one of that of the Bontoc-Igorots of the Philippine Islands, and it contrasts with the crude and wasteful system of jhuming so prevalent among Naga agecnieet, including the Angamis themselves. These natives are skilled in several somieeancis processes, in weaving, iron-working, etc., and exhibit great artistic feeling in decorating their weapons and houses and in making their often elaborate personal ornaments. But, in spite of skill and ability to progress, severe restrictions upon culture-advancement are imposed by the complex and inexorable system of magico-religious gennas, or prohibitions, which play a very important part in the Angami social ritual, and exercise a retarding effect upon the pro- secution of industries. The various kinds of gennas and their application and social significance are dealt with very fully by the author. He explains the dis- tinction between kenna, which is a prohibition laid upon an individual unit of the community, and penna, one which involves the whole community and relates chiefly to non-working days; the latter are very numerous. Further, there is manizi—which embraces any prohibition and the whole of the active ceremonies connected with it. It is impossible in a review to deal with these social restrictions, but their dominating influence upon the whole life of the natives is very far- reaching, and their detailed study of prime importance. The religious beliefs are vague and ill defined. There is belief in the souls of the dead and, it would seem, of the living also, and these often take the form of butterflies, as in Burma and in the Greek legend of Psyche. The reality of dreams and their value in divination are also recognised. Omens and divination to a considerable extent regulate pro- cedure. Certain major and minor deities or spirits (terhoma) of greater and lesser power exist and are propitiated, and sometimes even. defied, but their exact nature is but little understood. The chief of these is Kepenopfii, variously referred to as male or APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 541 + % _ female, who is the reputed creator of living things _ and whose abode is in the sky. Animatism prevails, 4 and were-tigers and were-leopards are a feature in the popular beliefs. With all these matters Mr. _ Hutton deals interestingly and in some detail, though these ingredients are not referred to in the description of the brewing of this staple drink, and one remains uninformed as to their function in the process. On p. 94 the reasons given for the food-genna to women are far from clear, and require further elucidation to show the connection of ideas. From ‘‘ The Angami Nagas.” wisely assumes a cautious attitude in describing 1 native beliefs in view of the uncertainty of the The is, industries, amusements, and_ general SScrctotic life, the laws and customs and other culture- phenomena all receive adequate attention, and a number of traditions, legends, and songs are recounted. _ An important chapter deals with the Angami language, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group. There are also several valuable appendices concerned with special points, including a series of anthropometric measurements. It is to be hoped that the Stone Age of the Naga Hills may be the object of further re- “searches. Our knowledge of it is mainly, almost _ exclusively, derived from stone celts which are locally ieved to be thunderbolts, and are valued as such by s natives. One assumes that other types of stone “implements, which may be revealed by careful search, “must have been associated with the celts. They - should throw light upon the archzology of the region, subject which as yet remains obscure. it few words of criticism are called for. Some of Mr. Hutton’s descriptions are by no means clear. Dk nstance, on p. 68 mention is made of a “ trumpet ” upon which military bugle-calls are-reproduced, but which is not “ blown with a loose lip.” If this is so, : the instrument should not be described as a “ trumpet,” and one wonders how bugle-calls can be imitated with- out the “loose-lip” method of sound-production. “Again, on p. 93, we learn that “millet and ati tears... are... used for making rice beer,” but NO. 2739, VOL. 109] Fic. 3.—Viswema village showing terraced fields. In a future edition of this ex- cellent book it will be well if all native words and place-names are accented throughout, so as to assist the uninitiated in their correct pronunciation. This should be a general rule in all works of this nature. The illus- trations are mostly good, several are very good, and they are well placed in reference to the text, but references to particular figures should appear in the letterpress. | Three useful maps are added. Mr. Hutton’s enthusiasm and industry in recording the details of native life in the Naga Hills are evidenced notonlyin his book upon the Angamis, butalso in his more recently published work on the Sema Nagas. These books are so full of information in regard to this important ethnological region that one thirsts for more, and can only hope that other Naga tribes (the Aos, Rengmas, Konyaks, etc.) may be described in a similar manner. “The Angami Nagas” may well serve as a model for further monographs. We congratulate Mr. Hutton and his readers upon a valuable and enlightening piece of work. _ . Henry BAtrour. - The Manufacture of Explosives. Ministry of Munitions and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research : Technical Records of Explosives Supply, 1915-1918. No. 1: Recovery of Sulphuric and Nitric Acids from Acids used in the Manufacture of Explosives: Denitration and Absorption. Pp. vilit+ 56. 12s. 6d. net. No. 2: Manufacture of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its Intermediate Products. Pp. vili+116. 17s. 6d.net. No.3: Sulphuric Acid Concentration. Pp. vitg1. .12s. net. No. 4: The Theory and Practice of Acid Mixing. Pp. vit+93. 12s. net. (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1920- 1921.) HE first four of the series of publications dealing with the technical records of explosives supply now to hand form a valuable addition to the literature of technical chemistry. The work of preparing the ae 542 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 information was begun by Mr. W. Macnab under the Ministry of Munitions, and thanks are due to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for arranging for his retention to complete it. Denitration.—The first volume deals with the re- covery of the nitric and sulphuric acids from the waste acid produced in the nitration of toluene and glycerine. Not only is the proportion of waste acid a large one— 650 tons for roo tons of trinitrotoluene. produced— but the efficient recovery of the sulphuric acid in a condition suitable for concentration, and of the nitrogen oxy-acids as nitric acid, constitutes one of the principal economic factors of the manufacture. The chemical reactions involved in denitration have been the subject of discussion both earlier and as a result of experience in war factories, and the position is summed up in the introduction to this volume. It may briefly be said that by considering the behaviour of nitrosylsulphuric acid when it acts on nitric acid, and when it breaks down on dilution with water, a fairly coherent explanation is afforded of what goes on during the progress of waste acids down a denitrating tower as they meet an ascending current of steam. The treatment of the subject of the absorption of the nitrous fumes coming from the towers to form 55 per cent. nitric acid is of importance at the present time, when this problem confronts any manufacturer proposing to make nitric acid by the catalytic oxida- tion of ammonia. The experience recorded is that a go per cent. conversion of nitrogen peroxide to nitric acid can be secured with a ratio of free tower space to rate of passage of nitrogen peroxide, which is less than a tenth of that in large towers erected for the same purpose in connection with the oxidation of ammonia. The relative effectiveness of the small towers with the most advantageous conditions of concentration and velocity of gases and free space, temperature, and concentration of nitric acid, is clearly indicated, and forms a basis for modification of the present practice of installing immense absorption towers which are obviously inefficient and very costly. Full detailed drawings are given of the plant for the processes of denitration, absorption, and storage of acids, and its applicability to the manufacture of organic nitro-bodies should make the report of interest and importance to a wider field than that of the explosive manufacturer alone. Trinitrotoluene Manufacture-——No. 2 of this series gives the history of processes for making trinitro- toluene and for its purification, and describes plant and manufacturing methods. An account is given of the experimental work at the Research Department, Woolwich, which established the conditions necessary for nitration, the advantaye of the extraction of waste NO. 2739, VOL. 109] acids (“ detoluation ’”) by mononitrotoluene, itself to be nitrated later, and the benefits of a cyclic system of nitration in stages in order to conserve acids. These — features were embodied in the processes followed in the large factories erected for making trinitrotoluene, an important variation, however, being the elaboration at Oldbury of the counter-current method into a con- tinuous process, which had a high capacity combined with low labour and capital cost. In the process as carried out at the largest factory, Queen’s Ferry, mononitrotoluene, made separately either by nitrating gas-works toluene or the toluene contained in Borneo petroleum, was used to detoluate waste acids which had themselves been detoluated by once-used mononitrotoluene, brought up to nearly — dinitrotoluene in the last-mentioned operation, and this dinitrotoluene was then nitrated to trinitrotoluene. The next process, that of freeing the crude tri- nitrotoluene from acids, underwent some elaboration, for in addition to agitation of the molten trinitro- toluene by hot water it was found efficacious to chill it by pelleting it in cold water, and to use weakly basic hydrolysable salts for the hot washing ;. a continuous — system of hot washing was also developed. But although it became possible latterly to push the process of nitration until nearly all the dinitro- toluene had been converted into trinitrotoluene, there remained about 4 per cent. of its unsymmetrical isomerides resulting from the nitration of the meta- nitrotoluene. While the crude trinitrotoluene, after having been washed and dried, could be used in large quantities for making the bulk of the amatol for filling shell, there were certain purposes for which a purer pro- duct was demanded, when, for example, the ammonium nitrate was not fiee from pyridine and thiocyanate, or when it was necessary to avoid the low melting-point eutectics formed by the isomerides. Purified trinitro- toluene was prepared at first by crystallisation from, or by washing with, organic solvents, and large factories were erected for these purposes. Later, a process was adapted from the French, safer from the point of view of fire-risk, and characterised by treating the crude trinitrotoluene with sodium sulphite solution which under suitable conditions selectively dissolves out the other isomerides, leaving the pure symmetrical trinitro- toluene and any dinitrotoluene that has escaped further nitration. As this process was one which — could readily be embodied in: the scheme of manu- | facture, it was carried out in the trinitrotoluene factory. The plant at Queen’s Ferry, which in every detail is stamped with the genius of Mr. K. B. Quinan, is described in this volume in all relevant particulars NT as to the main features of the manufacture. reproductions of the working drawings, the diagrams APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 543 and flow-sheets, the detailed sketches of parts and of ‘special devices, and the examples of methods of statistical control, constitute a body of information a unique character. The description forms a manent record of these matters in a connected , but again its usefulness is by no means ‘confined to the explosives manufacturer, since many ‘of the methods used and devices for overcoming ulties are subject-matter for numerous projects hemical engineering. ve tration of Sulphuric Acid.—In the third ume will be found a useful study of the thermal obtaining in the Gaillard tower system. e methods used before the war in this country for trating the sulphuric acid of 70 per cent. strength g from processes of nitration were for the t part the Kessler and the cascade systems, both which are operated with comparatively small units. results both as regards efficiency and low : of working were obtained with the large Gaillard rers erected in the large explosives factories such via Ferry and Gretna. The feature of these towers is the conversion of the weak acid into a spray, whi ch in falling by gravity down a tower of about ft in. height, meets ascending hot gases from a er, and so becomes concentrated to a strength of 5 per cent. sulphuric acid. As the fuel consump- ‘ nai of dilute acid, and weight of concentrated can be measured with fair accuracy, the oppor- tunity is taken to calculate the efficiency of the plant rom a ig of the various thermal data available, ncluding those of Porter for sulphuric acid and oleum. - various factors are considered in detail which will ‘til the study of technical students, and a tis: heat balance is made out in which the bent eseeted into the system is contrasted with that which is lost by water evaporating, by radiation, and by being carried away in the hot acids. As the ioned source of loss amounts to nearly a arter of the heat put into the system, its recovery -counter-current lines by suitable constructional fications would appear to be worth attempting. A short study follows of the Gilchrist concentrating alant, which worked on a process analogous to that e Kessler plant, but with a high capacity. nditions LOELICi) me;yn) A? ie trating plant mentioned that the gases finally discharged into the air carried with them a mist of ate sulphuric acid in water, involving a certain s of acid and considerable inconvenience to those ing in the neighbourhood. It was also objection- e in explosives factories where many large-scale rations have to be conducted in an acid-free atmo- Accordingly it was determined to precipitate NO. 2739, VOL. 109] this mist electrically by the Cottrell electrostatic process, of which full details are given and also a description of all the electrical parts and their mode of maintenance. As about 3 per cent. of the acid fed into the concen- trating plant was recovered in the Cottrell precipitating plant, it will be seen that besides the advantages mentioned, a useful addition to the yield of acid was obtained. ; Acid Mixing.—In No. 4 of this series is described the working of that important section of a nitration factory in which the acids are adjusted as regards their quantity and composition. In such a factory as Queen’s Ferry, where 7oo tons of trinitrotoluene a week could be made, the magnitude of the problems of production, handling, and conveyance of acids may be judged from the vast quantities—about 43,000 gallons—of nitric and sulphuric acids occurring in many stages of dilution. It is essential to secure that the various acids are in balance for controlling the cycle of production and recovery in manufacture. An example for a given output of explosive is worked out, and a diagrammatic acid balance figured, which includes a set of factors by which the quantities of acid at various stages must be modified to compensate for variations in working of the units composing the acids cycle. In this way the proper quantity of mixed nitrating acids of a definite composition and the economical utilisation of spent acids are kept under strict control. As variations in dilution and in strength of the concentrated sulphuric and nitric acid inevitably creep in, calculations must be made of the adjust- ments necessary to bring the contents of the large mixing vessels to the desired composition. The methods for doing this are explained, and it is of interest to note that the presentment of the necessary data in the form of graphs was abandoned in favour of a series of simple tables by means of which the necessary additions for obtaining a correct mixing could be found. A description is given in detail of the plant for storing and mixing these acids, and this completes the account of the manufacture of trinitrotoluene contained in vol. 2. Apart from its value as an exposition of scientific method applied to the control of acid mixing for a nitration process on the largest scale, there will be found other subject-matter, such as descriptions of the mechanical details, methods of controlling undue rise of temperature, prevention of wear of parts, and methods of distribution of acids by pipes, which will be found to have a wide interest among those con- cerned with the erection of plant. It is clear that the publication of the data which 544 3 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 have accrued in the operation of these factories will | description of it, be it by the most distinguished — form a permanent record of the application of scientific | musical critic. The symphony must be heard. The | method to problems of chemical industry, as well as | more we analyse it note by note, and the more deeply affording typical examples for the use of students as | we understand the relations of the notes, the more do well as of manufacturers. It is to be regretted that | we come into the real meaning of the work.” Queen’s Ferry factory, which embodies so much That is the feeling which emerges after going one after — original work in plant construction, is now for dis- | another through many attempts to describe this new — posal, but it is understood that while there is yet | theory without asking the reader that he should first time the Disposals Board have acquiesced in an | equip himself for the act of appreciation by an intimate arrangement for students to study the plant. A | study of the technique and terminology of geometry, of -course of this kind with Mr. Macnab’s volumes as | the significance of Newton’s theory of gravitation and text-books should prove a very valuable means of | his system of mechanics both as an explanation of instruction. known phenomena and as forming the whole basis of — the further development of physical science. Buteven — ee ects _. | granting these prime requisites, the reader is desired, — on the strength of the reading of a few simple pages, to — Popular Expositions of Relativity. readjust the whole of his outlook on the world to an ~ degree even greater than that required for one brought — up in a classical school of art to comprehend the — strivings of the moderns to find a new mode of rer ; sion for the thoughts of a new age. This much is certain, that there is no short-cut to an understanding of Einstein’s achievement. What is the most that we can expect from these many attempts to supply the public with some answer to their inquiries — for light on this latest achievement of the imagination and intellect in co-operation? We may legitimately ask for some presentation of the historical setting. But even here we are faced with a great difficulty in’ providing an account which is free on the one hand from technical difficulties and on the other from mis- leading vagueness. For the precise statement of the actual achievements of Newton is in itself a matter requiring so much detail that the majority of our university students would not show up well in an | examination on this subject. They are content with a parrot-like learning of the conventional language in — which the laws of motion are expressed, and a false — 4 facility in doing problems without any reference to — their physical significance. Meanwhile the Newtonian 4 Relativity and the Universe: A Popular Introduction into Einstein’s Theory of Space and Time. By Dr. _ Harry Schmidt. Authorised Translation by Dr. Karl Wichmann. Pp. xiii+136. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 5s. net. The Ideas of Einstein’s Theory: A Theory of Relativity in Simple Language. By Prof. J. H. Thirring. Translated by R. A. B. Russell. Pp. xv+167. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 5s. net. An Introduction to the Theory of Relativity. By L. Bolton. Pp. xi+177. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 5s. net. Relativity and Gravitation. Edited by J. Malcolm Bird. Pp. xiv+245. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 8s. 6d. net. The Rudiments of Relativity: Lectures delivered under the Auspices of the University College, ] ohannesburg, Scientific Society. By Prof. J. P. Dalton. Pp. vit 105. (London: Wheldon and Wesley, Ltd., 1921.) 5s. net. Die Einsteinsche Gravitationstheorie: Versuch einer allgemein verstandlichen Darstellung der Theorie. Von Prof. G. Mie. Pp. iv+67. (Leipzig: S. Hirzel, 1921.) 7 mk. 7 were strictly obvious, whereas the mere fact of the 7 H ERE are six accounts of the Relativity theory | existence of Newton’s definitions of absolute space and 2 designed for the general reader. The first | time shows that after all his investigations he found — four hail from Messrs. Methuen, who had the enterprise | himself bound to postulate something which his reason — to secure an English translation of Einstein’s own | and conscience could not justify. Newton’s absolute ‘ popular exposition, and have also recently published space, like Euclid’s axiom of parallels, were last con- a translation of Weyl’s “Space, Time and Matter.” | fessions of remaining mysteries rather than prepay \ The fifth is published in Johannesburg by the Council | statements of the obvious. of Education, Witwatersrand. The last comes from Yet it is not possible to appreciate the bearing of the the pen of an eminent German professor of physics. relativity theory without appreciating first the point — In surveying such a collection it is appropriate to | at which the classical mechanics is unsatisfactory, — quote from the last named. “ We cannot penetrate | For it is perhaps the greatest merit of Einstein’s work into the thought-world of a symphony by reading a | that it gives us something which is more satisfactory NO. 2739, VOL. 109] ye reise cease! + aS rate eg APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 545 just at this point. Einstein has met the greatest of _ all objections both to Newtonian mechanics and to Euclidean geometry. He has satisfied the logicians, " and it so appears that, beginning with this sole end in _ view, he has found the explanation of the outstanding discrepancy with observation. After the historic setting the most important ent in an exposition of this theory is an ysis of the nature of measurement and of exact srvation. The new element in the general wy of relativity is directly concerned with this. insists on the fact that the use of co- ates to distinguish between events is a piece of athematical machinery; that the physical facts e there, and are the same, whatever descriptive ethod we may employ. On the other hand, measure- nt is simply a particular part of physical observation. i this point much more exact thinking is needed. © expositions of relativity, on the other hand, almost out exception encourage more than usually loose inking. The strictest logical analysis cannot be oided. But after all the test of a popular exposition is _ whether it is really illuminating to the amateur reader. The reviewer is not entitled to pass hasty judgment. or is he entitled to compare these books on the score x their strict accuracy in detail. For the success of _the author’s attempt is relative to the previous know- oh ge and habit of thought of the reader. _ One or two words of reference to the par.icular Phscaves of these publications may, however, be made. _ | Dr. Schmidt’s account is colloquial and entertaining, 7 _ and shows that the author feels the story of physical science to be part of the wonder book of the universe. Dr: Thirring i is more severe and academic ; but at the _ same time is lucid and free from exaggerations and mis- leading illustrations. Mr. Bolton’s essay is interesting ; the expansion of the 3000-word essay which won . prize offered by the Scientific American. Mr. alton remarks in his preface that the general drift of e theory was a greater obstacle to an understanding the subject than the details of the advanced mathe- tical work, and he has written the book with a y recollection of his own troubles. The fourth of s. Methuen’s publications is the most interesting. It is a collection of the best portions of the essays sent n for the Scientific American prize. This book will hours of interesting reading from a multitude of s of view. . Dalton’s Lectures in Johannesburg have been produced attractively and are very readable, while _ Prof. Gustav Mie gives us the point of view of one who * has himself contributed a good deal to the discussion of fundamental physical theories. NO. 2739, VOL. 109] Ae yLC IT The Induction Motor. The Induction Motor and other Alternating Current Motors. By B. A. Behrend. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. xxiii+272. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1921.) 245. net. FULL discussion is given in this book of the practical theory of the induction motor and of several of the main types of alternating current moto.s. The author also gives a historical account of the invention of the induction motor and of the development of its theory, He attributes the inven- tion to Nikola Tesla in 1888. In England it is generally attributed to Ferraris, who certainly made an induction motor, the rotating part of which was a solid copper cylinder, in the autumn of 1885. In this connection also, Baily has some claim to be called the inventor, as he showed a disc revolving in a rotating magnetic field to the Physical Society of London in June 1879. Tesla and the Westinghouse Co., however, were the first to make a motor similar to those used to-day. They had great difficulties to contend with, as the standard frequency of alternating current supply in America in 1888 was 135. In 1895 the author first developed his theory of the induction motor. He showed that in an ideal motor the locus of the extremity of a vector repre- senting a phase current is a ciicle, and that from this circle the engineer can foretell the working of the machine. This circle diagram has proved of the greatest value to the designer and is in world-wide use, although it is known that in consequence of certain assumptions made in the course of the proof it is only an approximation. An immense amount of ingenuity has been expended in trying to make it more accurate, but we are very doubtful of the value of these corrected diagrams. Very often the authors unwittingly in- troduce new assumptions—for instance, that all the vectors lie in one plane—which may introduce appreciable errors into their results. There are two parts in an induction motor, the stator or fixed part containing the windings carrying the polyphase currents which produce the rotating magnetic field, and the rotor, which is rotated by this field and from which mechanical power is taken from a pulley on its shaft. The induced alternating currents in the rotor are quite distinct, and have a different frequency from the alternating currents in the stator. The mutual inductance coefficients between the stator and rotor windings are not constants, and the induct- ances of the windings are only approximately constant. The problem is therefore difficult, and great credit is due to the author for discovering that the speed, 546 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 torque and efficiency at all loads can be found very simply by constructing a certain circle and drawing various lines. Theory shows that the torque developed when switching one of these motors into circuit is greatly increased by increasing the resistance of the rotating circuits. Many inventions have been devised, so that the resistance of the rotor circuits automatically diminishes as the speed increases, thus securing high initial torque with economic working. It is interesting to learn that in the rotors of the two-phase motors used in the U.S. battleship New Mexico there are two windings. The outer is made of a high-resistance alloy and the inner has low resistance. The outer winding produces the initial torque, but the inner produces the greater torque at normal speed. The author defines the leakage factor of a motor as L,L,/M?—1, where L,, L, are the inductances of a stator and rotor winding respectively and M is the mutual inductance between them. We much prefer Behn-Eschenburg’s definition, namely, 1-—M2/L,L.. The latter is always a fraction lying in value between o and xz. The former varies between o and infinity. We also think it better to talk about motors being “in cascade” rather than “in concatenation.” We regard this book as an important contribution to the practical theory of alternating current machinery. A. RUSSELL. Our Bookshelf. Memoirs of the Geological Survey.. Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain. Vol. xxiii. : Lead and Zinc Ores in the Pre-Carboniferous Rocks of West Shropshire and North.Wales. Part 1, West Shropshire. By B. Smith. Part 2, North Wales. By H. Dewey and B. Smith. Pp. iv+95. (South- ampton: Ordnance Survey Office; London: E. Stanford, Ltd., 1922.) 35. net. Reports on the lead and zinc ores of Scotland, of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, of the Lake District, and of the carboniferous rocks of North Wales have already appeared, and the three remaining volumes of the series, dealing with British lead and zinc ores in the remainder of the country, are promised shortly. It is of the utmost importance in the interests of economic geology that this work should be done now, before it is too late; but unfortunately it is becoming only too clear that the interest is a purely academic one, and that the industry of lead and zinc mining in Britain is in a moribund condition. It is obviously impossible that our relatively small deposits, some of which have probably been worked for 2000 years, can compete in the world’s markets against the vast masses of mineral, the development of which is of quite recent date, which are to be found in the United States, Australasia, Burma, etc., and it must be regretfully admitted that it is impossible to bolster up an industry NO. 2739, VOL. 109] that has to contend with such crushing disa ¢ both natural and artificial. For reasons that are well — known to all students of mineral deposits, our veins of — lead ore were richer and more easily worked at the out- crops than they are to-day ; we are far indeed from the © days of Pliny, according to whom lead was found in Britain near the surface of the ground in such abund- — ance that it was found necessary to limit strictly the — output. : The volume before us describes the occurrences of lead and zinc in two districts, which have probably been thus grouped together on account of their marked — geological similarity, the ores in both occupying fault — fissures in the older rocks of Cambrian, Ordovician — and Silurian age. The individual mines are described — accurately and minutely, and the description is in — many cases supplemented by sections taken from the — actual mine plans. It is only to be regretted that more — attention has not been paid to the introductory — chapters dealing with the districts as a whole, parti- — cularly as regards the statistical portion. Nosummary — of district statistics is given for North Wales, and — that for Shropshire is indicated only by means of a — small graph, which shows the general features of its — rise and fall, but from which it is impossible to obtain i exact figures. : Elementary Chemical Microscopy. By Prof. E. M. Chamot. Second edition, partly rewritten and en- — larged. Pp. xvi+479. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) 255. net. THE first edition of this work was reviewed at some _ length in NaTuRE in 1915 (vol. 96, p. 84) shortly after its appearance. The subject of chemical microscopy, however, received a great impetus during the war, many new applications revealing themselves in the special war industries, which resulted in a more extensive use of the microscope in applied chemistry than at any — time during the last quarter of a century. Hence, a new edition of this book was found necessary in America, and it is somewhat disappointing to find that practically no new methods or processes, and but little — new apparatus, are described. The lack of photo- micrographs of typical microscope fields of character- istic crystals produced in the tests described is still very obvious, but the author on the one hand promises a second book to make good this deficiency, and on the — other states that this present book is primarily in- — tended as a text-book (especially for the students of — Cornell University), and not as a book of reference, and that the method of instruction in the Cornell course is _ intentionally one which leads to the best results when the student is encouraged to discover for himself (under — guidance) the characteristic morphology of the materials studied. * The same more or less antiquated crystallography is retained, in which such terms as “ optical elasticity,” “ hemihedral,” and “ tetartohedral ” constantly occur, _ and the confusion between trigonal and hexagonal crystals is so complete that the former term is not even - mentioned. This second edition is, however, an improvement, for several obscure portions of the first edition have been : : z 2 Ot a ey 76 \ APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 547 _ rewritten, and some of the inadequate practical details _ have been amplified. The chapter on the ultramicro- } oan stands out,as before,as one of the best in the book, ha png the later apparatus of Zsigmondy is here described. ___ Moreover, the book is clearly printed in good-sized type, _ and the illustrations, although only the reproductions _ of line drawings, are unusually good for this class of x ‘ A. E. HoT. (a) Photo-Engraving Primer : Concise Instructions for et ice Engravers or for those seeking simple yet wactical knowledge of Line and Half-Tone Engraving. By S. H. Horgan. Pp. xvi+100. (London: P. Lund, Humphries and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 5s. net. ) Byepaths of Colour Photography. By O. Reg. ___ Edited and with an Introduction by William Gamble. _ Pp. xii+116+xili-xx. (London: P. Lund, Hum- _ phries and Co., Ltd., rg2r.) 5s. net. Bors these volumes are by “ practical men,”’ and they are characterised to the full, if we may say so, by the _ advantages and the disadvantages that might be _ expected to result from this fact. Each has a critical and, to a certain extent, supplementary introduction by Mr. W. Gamble, so that the reader may feel fully _ assured that he is in safe hands. (1) Mr. Horgan goes _ clearly and concisely over the subject as he has practised _ it, and as he is aman of great and prolonged experience, his instructions cannot fail to be of value to the student, _ whether or not he has arrived at the stage of workman. But it is not a treatise on the subject. The author _ leaves theory quite on one side, though here and there __ he justifies his directions by a shrewd statement of the _ trouble likely to follow variations of them. Perhaps the chief matter to notice is that Mr. Horgan uses _ collodion, while in this country gelatine plates have gely replaced it. (2) Mr. Reg clearly describes his own system in which he uses a one-exposure camera, with one reflector and _ one compensator, and plates specially sensitised. He ane full details as to the making of the camera, _ formulz for sensitising the plates, and instructions for __ the general procedure. Rather more than half the _ volume is devoted to throwing what he calls “ side- _ lights” on certain notions of previous inventors. _ Here he is not always lucid, and his excursions into _ theory are not always fortunate. But he has been a _ diligent searcher with regard to the methods of other _ workers in this field, and gives many useful dates _ and references to patents, with illustrations of _ apparatus. He calls his volume “ byepaths,”’ and in _ this sense it is both useful and interesting. Ci fi 4 Forestry for Woodmen. By C. O. Hanson. Second edition. Pp. 238+13 plates. (Oxford: At the _ Clarendon Press, 1921.) 6s. 6d. net. _ Durtne the ten years that have elapsed since the first _ edition of this book was published, much progress in _ the art of forestry has been made in this country. _ The necessity of having within our shores an ample _ Store of growing timber to meet the possible emergency of war, is now admitted by statesmen. The F orestry a: ission established in 1919 has been busily 4 ed in acquiring land for new plantations and in fforesting the extensive areas which were denuded NO. 2739, VOL. 109] of timber during the war. Municipalities are awaken- ing to the useful work of covering their water-catch- ment areas with trees, as evidenced by the new scheme of the Glasgow Corporation, which, if carried out, will create around Loch Katrine a magnificent forest, such as that owned by Liverpool at Vyrnwy in Wales. The interest in forestry is increasing, and there is a demand for elementary instruction on the subject. This has been met by the publication of the second edition of this useful manual. It is well adapted for the purpose, being cheap in price, handy in form, and simple in language. Scarcely any change has been made in the original text, but two chapters have been added. One deals with the Forestry Act of 1919 and the Forestry Commission, and gives a summary of recent developments. The other new chapter treats briefly the afforestation of waste land, and gives a sketch of the survey necessary before any planting scheme can be decided upon. The book is brought up to date by the intercalation of a new paragraph here and there, and it may be recommended to land- owners, as well as to agricultural students and forestry apprentices, as a satisfactory guide to elementary forestry. The index is, however, incomplete, and should be enlarged to double its present size in a new edition. Problemi di Filosofia Botanica. By Antonino Borzi. Pp. 344. (Roma: G. Bardi, 1920.) 60 lire. THE introduction of this posthumous work contains a short historical sketch of vegetable biology, as fore- shadowed by the elder Agardh, Delpino (to whose memory the book is dedicated), Haeckel, and others. The scope of the book itself is best indicated by the chapter headings: I. General conceptions and limits of vegetable ecology; II. Ecological principle of vegetable organisation ; III. Ecological principles of vegetable associations ; IV. Ecology of dissemination ; V. Aerophylactic function in the vegetable kingdom ; VI. Hydrophylactic function in the vegetable kingdom ; VII. Form and evolution of the earliest vegetable life. VIII. Ecological conception of the evolution of the vegetable kingdom. The author, a specialist on Cyanophycez, sums up very ably in chap. vii. his observations on the evolu- tion of that group, and describes their extraordinary adaptability to varying ecological conditions. Con- tinuous vegetative reproduction means a progressive development, from which no return to an earlier stage ever occurs ; but development of the sexual function arrests such indefinite evolution and lays the foundation of constant characters. ‘‘ Mutation ” occurs before the development of sex. The polyphyletic origin exem- plified in Cyanophycez is also manifested in the scheme of the entire vegetable kingdom. The view generally held, that subaqueous life repre- sents the primitive condition of terrestrial vegetation is regarded as unproved. Hydrophytes and aerophytes are probably two distinct stocks, the former represent- ing primitive vegetation, the latter originating as Vascular Cryptogams at the period of land-emergence. That Bryophytes may possibly be survivals of a transitional stage between Hydrophytes and Aero- phytes is not sufficiently clear. These views are set forth in detail. — 548 NATURE [ APRIL 29, 1922 40 Blitter der Karte des Deutschen Reiches 1 : 100,000 | ‘Contribution a Etude de la Flore du Katangar. Par — ausgewahlt fiir Unterrichtszwecke. Erlauterungen E. de Wildeman (Comité Spécial du Katanga), Pp. — bearbeitet von Dr. W. Behrmann. Verd6ffenlicht vili+cxliv+264. (Bruxelles: D. Reynaert, 1921.) von der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin. Zweite Auflage. Size 17 in.x15in. Handbook, Pp. 62. (Berlin: R. Eisenschmidt, 1921.) Germany, 60 marks ; England, 180 marks. THE portfolio of forty maps under notice consists of reprints of German surveys on the scale of 1-to 100,000. The first edition, published some nine years ago, was essentially the same except for three sheets, Metz, Gebweiler, and Oltingen, which have been omitted since the regions they cover are now outside German territory. Three other sheets have been substituted. The collection has been made for educational purposes, and with this end in view illustrates as many types of land forms and geographical features as possible within the limits of the country. The sheets, which are in black and white, are finely printed and leave no ground for criticism as regards reproduction. Surface features of relief are shown by hachures only. This method, excellent as it may be for a general impression, gives no absolute information and precision of detail. It has also the disadvantage of making the map so dark. on the steeper slopes that other symbols, and parti- cularly the names, are almost illegible. In fact, if these sheets have any great fault, it is one common to most German maps, namely, the attempt to show more than the scale will allow. In spite of this, however, the collection should prove extremely useful, and might well be imitated for the British Isles by the Ordnance Survey. A pamphlet giving a description of the sheets accompanies the portfolio. Physical Map of England and Wales, 1 : 1,000,000. Size 344 in. x 26 in. (Southampton: Ordnance Survey Office, 1922.) 2s. (Not less than 20 copies for educational purposes, 1s. each.) Tue Ordnance Survey has produced a_ beautifully printed map which leaves little to be desired in the way of cartographical skill and excellence in repro- duction. Surface relief is shown by layer colouring in green and brown. The contours are at 200, 400, 800, 1200, and 2000 feet. Rivers, lakes, and water names are in blue; other names are in black. No submarine relief is shown. The addition of this would improve the map for educational purposes. Some criticism may be offered with regard to the names. These are comparatively few in number; this is certainly an advantage, but a few more names of physical features might have been inserted. The fine black type used for these names does not obscure the map, and we miss such names as Charnwood Forest, Solway Plain, Fenland, Forest Ridges, or Aire Gap. The system on which the town names, printed in heavy black, have been selected is not very apparent. Such towns as Oldham, Sunderland, Gainsboro’, Yarmouth, and Goole, to mention only a few large places, are omitted while many relatively unimportant names are to be found. The nearest towns to Man- chester to be found on the map are Buxton, Liverpool, and Northwich, while in other less populated parts of the country the names are more crowded. No administrative names:and no communications are marked. The low price is noteworthy. NO. 2739, VOL. 109| n.p. THE large district of Katanga forms the south-eastern corner of that part of Africa which is now under Belgian rule. It is governed by the Comité Special du Katanga, under the auspices of which this account of the vegetation of the country has been prepared and . published. Four districts are recognised in considering the flora, namely, the Kasai, the middle Katanga or Upper Congo, the district of the great lakes, or the Tanganyika region, which forms the eastern limit, and the Upper Katanga district. A sketch is given of the botanical geography of the two last-mentioned districts ; and Dr. de Wildeman dissents from Scott Elliot’s view that the Tanganyika basin forms botanic- ally merely a part of the great western Congo-Niger area, but regards it as an area with very special characters. The Upper Katanga is described in greater detail, and some features of its vegetation are illustrated by a number of photographic reproductions. Dr. de Wildeman insists on the importance of the conservation of the forests ; the number of useful species at present _ known is not great, but forestry investigations will probably reveal others. A large portion of the volume is occupied with a systematic enumeration of the flower- ing plants already known from the area ; these number about 1900, but probably represent less than half the actual flora. A map of the whole district, indicating its relation to surrounding districts, would have been a useful addition. Technique des Pétroles. By R. Courau. Pp. 406+ 19 Plates. (Paris: Octave Doin, 1921.) Price 16 francs. Bs PRACTICALLY every phase of petroleum technology is covered by this volume, and as a general text-book it will be of considerable utility. Much of the subject matter is treated somewhat summarily, particularly in the geological section ; in fact this suffers from undue brevity when contrasted with the engineering and chemical aspects of the science. The arrangement of the text is systematic, and it is primarily divided into two books, the first dealing with the geology and economic development of petroleum, and the second with its chemical and physical properties, methods of refining, storage, and transport. Unlike many books of this description, there is no overcrowding with tables of constants, statistics, etc., and space is therefore available for a consideration of certain — technical operations which either receive scanty treat- ment or are omitted altogether from similar publications elsewhere. We should have preferred, however, the inclusion of the figures in the text rather than in their less convenient form of plates at the end of the book, while the omission of a detailed index is also rather unfortunate. Apart from this and the fact that the present rate of exchange makes the book an extremely" cheap purchase in this country, it is well worth reading, if only to obtain the French view of current oilfield development and refinery technique. me H. B. MILNner. e Nidhi ied peslecurginncez | | 2 VE Ph thls fan Nigaihi >P libata _ APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 549 Letters to the Editor. The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with 2 writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for is or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. | Discoveries in Tropical Medicine. Ir is a matter for regret that the obituary notice of lil-known medical man should be used to put ‘ard a statement of his share in the progress of sdge which is misleading. It is necessary to t such a statement when it is conspicuous and y to be accepted astruthful. Ina brief biography e late Sir Patrick Manson in the Times of April ro, ‘stated that “‘ modern tropical medicine ” was when he suggested that the Filaria sanguinis inis—discovered some years previously by Dr. othy Lewis in persons afflicted with elephantiasis taken from one person to another by mos- es.’ On the ground that this was the first estion as to the carriage of disease-germs by quitoes, and was well founded, the chief merit in later discoveries of the part played by those ts in the transmission of malaria and of yellow is attributed by the Times to Sir Patrick via _ This, however, is a misapprehension, the propaga- n of which must do injustice and falsify history. e fact is that Manson’s “suggestion ”’ that the ia of elephantiasis is actually carried by mos- oes from the blood of one person to that of cher remains to this day a “‘suggestion.’’ It has been established as a fact. Another important misconception enunciated in Same article is that no suggestion as to the mode ntry of the malaria parasite into the blood of hu ngs was made until Manson, fourteen years after their discovery by Laveran, “ suggested” mosquitoes as the carriers. The fact, on the con- 3 y, is that Laveran himself had stated this to be a ssible and not improbable mode of transmission, and the notion was long ago prevalent in India. The in who actually ‘‘ discovered’’ the fact of the fe of malaria germs by a mosquito and the cular species (Anopheles maculipennis) so con- rned, as well as im nt facts as to the multiplica- of the malarial parasite in the gnat’s body, is 4 Ross. . Finally, the Times states that General Sir David ace is a disciple of Sir Patrick Manson. This is a iarly unfortunate assertion, for it makes it ary to state the fact, well known to their col- , that Bruce, so far from being a disciple of son, disapproved of his suggestions and of his ods. The man of genius who discovered and ily abolished Malta fever, who by laborious years of in Africa gave us solid and absolutely new know- e of the Tsetze fly and Trypanosome diseases, na and sleeping-sickness—not to mention his work in conjunction with pupils and colleagues stanus and on trench fever—was not in any way, or indirectly, influenced by or associated Sir Patrick Manson. The attempt to associate discoveries of Bruce with the Manson legend is a assertion regardless of fact and of the pain which ist cause to the friends of both. E, Ray LANKESTER. NO. 2739, VoL. 109] Atmospheric Refraction. In Nature of August I1, 1921, p. 745, appeared my letter in which I criticised a result stated by Mr. Mallock in NATURE of June 9, p. 456; and also a further brief letter by Mr. Mallock. Further letters have appeared by. Dr, Ball (January 5, p. 8) and Instr. Commander Baker, R.N. (January 5, p. 8 and January 26, p. 105). In his second letter Mr Mallock says that “the pressure gradient near the ground, and the density and refractive-index gradients also, decrease linearly at such a rate that if the linear relation continues to hold, the pressure and density would be zero and the refractive index unity at height H.” This statement is incorrect as regards _the density and refractive-index gradients, except in the special case when the temperature gradient is zero. The relation between density and refractive index, &#—1I=Kp, where K is constant (=222-16 for sodium line D), shows that du/dh=Kdp/dh, and so it is only necessary to consider the density gradient. Using suffixes ,, » to indicate values at sea level and at the upper limit of the atmosphere, the height H of the homogeneous’ atmosphere is given by re pgadh= AagiH=p, Hence pl pi81, and by the ordinary mechanical law of equilibrium this is equal to —(dp/dh),, proving Mr. Mallock’s statement as -regards the pressure gradient. Now if the absolute temperature near the level considered (sea level) is given by ¢=#,(1—ah), then p=Ctp=Ct,(1-—ah)p, which differentiated logarithmic- ally gives for h=o, (dp/dh),=-—p,(1-—Ha)/H. This result agrees with Mr. Mallock’s only when a=o, that is, when the temperature gradient is zero, The curvature 1/o of a ray inclined at an angle ¢ to the vertical is derived from ur sin ¢=constant, dy= d¢+sin ¢ds/r, whereby 1/¢ =dy/ds=—K sin ¢dp/dh= (1— Ha) sin ¢. Ke/H=(1— Ha) sin ¢(u—1)/H, a result applicable to any point of the ray if H is understood to mean the height of the homogeneous atmosphere, of density p at the point, above the point. Here again agreement with Mr. Mallock is obtained if a=o and ¢=90°, 1.e. for a horizontal ray. Introducing the temperature gradient f=t,a, we see that Ha=C8/g,=29-288g,;/g. Also (u—1)/H varies as Bg/i?, B being the barometer reduced reading. Hence <= 3°665 X 10 : rat ‘ at)-*(1 = 29°285"s) sin ¢, where a= 1/273, 8’ is fall of temperature ¢ per metre, and ¢ isin kilometres. No mention has been made of humidity for the reason that its action is chiefly to modify the temperature gradient, which has been allowed for. If we multiply 1/* by the earth’s mean radius, 6371 km., we obtain 2, according to the Indian definition of coefficient of refraction k ; or k, according to the continental definition. The result is to change the numérical factor in 1/¢ into 0:2335. This agrees well with Jordan’s formula quoted by Dr. Ball, which I had not previously seen and which, I believe, has never been used by surveyors. For B=760 mm. and latitude 45° we can write o= 27285 (1 +at)?(1—29-288’)- cosec ¢ kilometres. The following table gives values of the radius of curvature ¢ in miles of a horizontal ray at level B=760mm.,, and the coefficient of refraction as defined in India. T2 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 55° Gradient. Degrees : py S : Centigrade per metre. g in miles. k (Indian), t=0°° | F=10° | ¢=0° Peeegar 0-000 (isothermal) 16,980 | 18,220| O-II7 | O-109 0-006 (average) 20,600 | 22,100] 0:096 | 0-090 o-or0 (adiabatic) 24,000 | 25,760] 0-082 | 0:077 003414 infinite . zero Mr. Mallock’s value, 14,900 geographical miles= ~ 17,150 miles, agrees nearly with the isothermal value for t=o°. (In my former letter I had not recognised that Mr. Mallock’s result was in nautical miles.) The result is too small as a usual value, because he takes the temperature gradient as zero and the surface tempera- | ture to be freezing point. Dr. Ball’s explanation is incorrect as pointed out by Commander Baker (January 26); and further in that he states in his second paragraph that the difficulty is not to be got over by any consideration of temperature gradient. Commander Baker, in his letter (January 5) has arrived at a similar result, for a horizontal ray, as I have. The temperature gradient, however, of 1° C, per 200 feet, which he says will give my results, is in error ; it should be per 600 feet. In the second paragraph of this letter, Commander Baker says that neither Mr. Mallock nor I give an adequate presentation of the facts, in that the assumption is made that the ray is circular. I do not think that this deduction can be made rightly from my former letter of August 11. I may say at once that I entirely agree that the ray is not in general circular, especially when the ray is close to the earth or sea surface. However, in cases met with in land surveys (excepting rays which continue very close to the ground) one may compute the refraction practically by the use of a coefficient of refraction which represents the curvature at height (2h,+h»)/3, as stated in my letter. The use of different coefficients of refraction for different heights essentially involves the idea of a ray of varying curvature except in the case of a truly horizontal ray. Now work on the diurnal change of refraction on inclined rays shows up the importance of the varying conditions of temperature gradient in the layers near the earth. I have not yet been able to reduce the case of rays, which lie mostly or largely in these lower layers, to a formula, though I think there is fair hope of doing so in some cases. Extreme cases, in which there is obvious and varying mirage, will not be amenable to treatment: but I think a ray, 20 feet above the surface, probably will. But I gather that Commander Baker is chiefly interested in rays over the sea, at a height of 30 feet or less. In the Survey of India such cases naturally do not arise, and I have not had any observations of this: kind to consider. However, in my Professional Paper No. 14 (Survey of India) I have given some deductions as regards dip of the horizon (vide pp. 96-100), arriving at the formula Dip in seconds from point at height 4= 56°33(h’ — 15-1340’)? where At’=FAt, h’=h(1—0-2204F)/0-7796, F=519-4/t, t+Azt and ¢ being the absolute temperatures at levels of observer and sea respectively. This formula is based on cos(dip)=(1+h/r)"*49/“ which involves only the terminal values of u. I have tabulated the corresponding dip in Tab. LIII. loc. cit. for various values of h’ and A?’, and I° should be very interested to hear from Commander Baker or others to what extent my formula represents the facts of observations. J. DE GRAAFF HUNTER. Survey of India, Dehra. Dun, U.P., India, March 2. NO. 2739, VOL. 109] I AGREE with Dr. Hunter that my letter of January 5 contained a numerical error when I stated that a © temperature gradient of 1° C. per 200 feet would give a ray curvature corresponding to the refraction co- — efficient given in his letter of August 11, 1921. cay Dr. Hunter also takes me to task for my comment — that both he and Mr. Mallock assume the refracted — I think I have a certain amount of justification for this, as in his letter of August1Izr ray to be circular. he speaks of the curvature of the ray “ tacitly assumed to be circular,’’ although later it is true that he states that the coefficient of refraction has different values at different heights. : It was rather in connection with the formule up | which the nautical tables for the dip of the sea horizon are based that I take exception to any assumption that adequate results can be obtained unless varia- tions of curvature are considered. 2 As stated in my letter of January 5, it is impossible to draw a circle which touches the surface of the sea and also becomes horizontal at a height of say 30 feet above the sea, and unless consideration is given to a form of ray path that can satisfy these conditions it is impossible to get a zero value for the dip. Dr. Hunter quotes from his Professional Paper No. 14 (Survey of India) a formula which he has set — : out there from which the dip is to be evaluated, and temperatures of the sea level and at the bridge, but S on theoretical grounds I cannot admit that this formula is correct. It will be seen that the di becomes zero whenever /’ =15+13At’, which is valent to saying that, if the temperature rises uniformly 1° F. per 15 feet, the dip is zero at all heights. Con- sider now what will happen to a ray of light which is starts off from the surface of the sea tangentially. In an atmosphere of uniform refractive index that i ray would proceed in a straight line and ultimately depart from the earth entirely. With a refractive index that diminishes with height the ray will be bent towards the earth, and if the rate of diminution is great enough that ray will at some point become horizontal and the dip will be zero. Let us say that this point is at a height of 30 feet above the sea. Dr. Hunter’s formula requires that the tem ture should be 2° more at 30 feet than at sea level, and if the rise of temperature is uniform in this 30 feet his — formula also requires that the dip should be zero, and therefore the ray horizontal, at all heights below 30 feet. This is obviously a fallacy, for if the ray was always horizontal it would never reach the height of 30 feet at all. [ The fact is that in an atmosphere where the layers — a | of uniform refractive index are spheres concentric with the earth, the dip can only be zero, if at all, at one 3 height. Below that height the dip will be positive with a maximum value at some lower level; above that height no ray tangential to the earth’s surface can be seen at all, and the depression or elevation of the — q sea horizon requires an entirely different explanation. The equation upon which Dr. Hunter’s formula is based brings out this point quite clearly. This equation 1s Cos (dip) =,7/u(r +h). In an atmosphere in which u(y +h) is, at some height, less than 4 the dip becomes imaginary, for its cosine is greater than unity. The dip could only be zero for all heights for an atmosphere in which u(7v +h) is constant, and in such case a ray would remain horizontal for a complete circuit of the — earth. Tuos. Y. BAKER. Admiralty Research Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, April 6. equi- once horizontal — : APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 551 Memory. Memory i is the power to learn, to grow mentally in = to functional activity, to profit from experi- ec, and so to become intelligent. It has its counter- in the power to develop physically in response to Its evolution occurred especially among the er animals, and was accompanied by a general ession of instinct. Nevertheless, at least four stincts were evolved, each of which incites to g, and without which little or no intelligence 1 develop, no matter how great the capacity to The parental instinct incites to the protection training of offspring. It wanes when offspring t to fend for themselves. The instinct of sport impels the individual to »p both body and mind in exactly the right Thus the kid climbs and butts, and the stalks and pounces. This instinct wanes as ividual reaches maturity and ability to battle existence. It lingers longest in human beings remain capable of some mental development even ase age. But the character of human sport ally changes from those contests of strength and ance which developed the boy ,to those which y: maintain. physical development, or else are contests of skill and wit. Thus the mature man : s to wrestle, and amuses himself instead with Z bowls, cards, and the like. ay The instinct of imitation incites the individual oO “song the exam y ge furnished by his com- anions) to act and what to think. It often ‘ks in combination with play (for much play is y), and wanes in the individual even more y and in a greater degree than the latter. While in strength the individual is termed s It is best developed in man, who learns gh imitation not only such habitual actions as ing and g a language, but also the habits Sponge the general outlooks on life, the ambitions, und the emotional convictions as to what is true and that distinguish the community (or section of which he is reared, savage or civilised, Christian Catholic or Protestant, lowly or and so on. In this way he fits himself for that icular environment. Thus, mainly, is oned w. is termed his “ character,’ his general ition. As the twig is bent, so the tree mee the importance of good homes, com- , and schools. As this. instinct wanes the x sets. The same kind of things are no longer ed, on any rate to the same extent and with equal y. Compare language as learned by a child y an adult. It follows that the traits created ation tend to be very stable, for they are not irds displaced by others of the same kind. becomes the father of the man. The instinct of curiosity impels the individual for, and learn from, evidence. Unlike imita- with relatively little diminution even 1 age. To it (and to labour) the individual owes ‘main part of his mental development after child- id, his intelligence, his reason. It creates, not mental, but intellectual convictions. Since it is during life, the ideas acquired through it tend be unstable—apt to be fa a by others which founded on superior evidence 5) Apart from instinct, man, ot eg civilised has invented labour, to which he is impelled ‘ the intelligence created through his memory, and 9m which he learns to become yet more intelligent, icient, and Jaborious. Thus, as indicated by Prof. odrich, in the mental, as in the physical, world NO. 2739, VOL. 109] . CTSIStS ~) ” Lic, ohammedan, each stage of development furnishes the basis for the next until full development is achieved. Labour commonly lacks the pleasure and interest which accompany the instinctive activities. Thus, while men never delegate the latter (e.g. eating, sporting, and love-making) to others, they often delegate the labours to which they are prompted by intelligence. Like play and imitation, but unlike curiosity, labour tends to create habitual “ physical ’’ dexterities— which are really mental, for the (subconscious) mind co-ordinates the muscles. On the other hand, the intellectual traits created by labour resemble those created by curiosity. We are concerned especially with the products of imitation and curiosity. All the rest of the ‘‘ make- up’ of man’s mind is relatively simple and obvious. ‘His instincts, few in number and definite in character, are identical in kind for all men. At most this man or this race may have this instinct or that (e.g. the sexual or parental) more or less developed than this or that other. Again, all men except idiots are eminently educable. They differ in capacities for learning, but yet more in the way in which the capacity is used. Apart from play and labour, the results of which are glaringly obvious, men learn only through imitation and curiosity ; ‘and accord- ingly as they acquire more through the one than through the other, their characters are shaped and the fates of nations decided. Here must the parent and the pedagogue learn or be impotent. Here must the man of science labour, or charlatans and fanatics will for ever dominate the body politic. The mental traits created by imitation and curiosity differ sharply. Not only are convictions derived from example very stable, but they are tinged with emotion, and even passion. The reverse is the case with those derived from evidence. Compare moral and religious convictions, which belong to the former category, with business and scientific beliefs, which belong to the latter. A religious and ethical system may conflict daily with common sense (i.e. evidence), and yet persist for a hundred generations. But the knowledge and ideas acquired through curiosity change in every man with every year. When men believed on grounds of faith (i.e. through imita- tion) that the world was flat they burned dissentients ; to-day, when they believe on grounds of fact (7.e. on grounds of evidence) that it is round, they are con- temptuously indifferent. Every missionary knows the ease with which the children of non-Christians may be trained to his beliefs and ideals, and the difficulty and danger of trying to convert adults. A child who is taught that honesty is right will for ever hold that opinion; an adult taught that honesty is the best policy may easily change. If there be such things as absolute right and wrong, the human mind is incapable of knowing them ; for the conscience, chameleon-like, is a product of imitation. Thus. at different times and places everything, from pro- miscuous sexual intercourse to rigid abstention from all intercourse, has been held holy, or permissible, or damnable, and conscience has pricked ‘men corre- spondingly. The traits created by imitativeness—habitual emo- tions and ways of acting—resemble closely the in- stinctive emotions and actions. Thus men and horses walk, men and ants are social, men and bees defend their communities ; but while the men have learned, the others have not. The love of a human mother for her baby is instinctive, that for her mature offspring is habitual; yet the one passes insensibly into the other. Did we not know that the children of Mohammedans could be trained to other beliefs and ideals we might think the fanaticism of the adults instinctive. So closely do habitual actions and 552 NATURE [ APRIL 29, 1922 emotions -resemble their instinctive prototypes that they are often thus described—as when a woman shrinks from untruth or a caterpillar, or when a boy dodges a blow. Habits are, in fact, pseudo- instincts ; they have the same function; they are substitutes. Unlike real instincts, they are not in- fallibly useful, but, on the whole, they are superior, for they fit the individual to his particular environ- ment, and, since they may change in future genera- tions otherwise than by slow processes of natural selection, may be improved more rapidly. — On the other hand, the traits created by curiosity bear no resemblance to instincts. They are intel- lectual, not emotional. In the little child the two instincts work hand in hand, but in the adult they are often opposed ; for the traits derived from imita- tion (faith, right belief, and morality, as we term them in ourselves; bias, prejudice, fanaticism, and superstition, as we call them in others) may prevent the development of those traits which curiosity should bestow—as is best seen among Savages, creatures of custom and emotion, who, following from age to age in the ancestral footsteps, add little to their command over nature. Among modern civilised peoples the ecclesiastical mind is especially a product of imitation, the scientific mind of curiosity. Con- sider how unlike they are, and how different all societies trained mainly through imitation (e.g. medieval Chris- tians and modern Mohammedans) are from those trained through curiosity (e.g. ancient Greeks and the more “ enlightened moderns ’’). G, ARCHDALL REID. 9 Victoria Road South, Southsea, Hants. Walaeus and the Circulation of the Blood. Ir has been my good fortune to come across two epistles written by Johannes Walaeus (1604-1649), professor of medicine in the University of Leyden in the year 1640. The two epistles occur at the end of Bartholini’s ‘‘Anatomy,” published by Nich. Culpeper, Gent., and Abdiah Cole, Doctor of Physick : printed (in English) by Peter Cole; London, 1665. Walaeus was greatly interested in the discovery of the circulation of the blood by Harvey, and in order to confirm it performed a large number of experiments on dogs, cats, rabbits, and monkeys. Having arrived at the conclusion already reached by Harvey, that the blood does not move itself, but is driven, he asks the questions ‘‘ How is it driven ? ”’ and ‘‘ What is the mechanism ?’’ The answer is given in these two epistles written by Johannes Walaeus to his friend Bartholini, the professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, and is as follows :— “ And that the Blood is driven by the Vena Cava into the right Earlet of the Heart, I have manifestly seen in the dissection of live Creatures: for in all motions of the Heart, the first beginning of Motion is so or no, because the Cava was knit to the Earlet [i.e. Auricle] and the Heart, we cut the Heart and the Earlet quite off in living Dogs, at the Vena Cava, and we observed, that even then the Vena Cava did a very little pulse, and at every time did send forth a little Blood. And therefore the Vena Cava hath certain fleshy fibres, for the most part about the Heart, which elsewhere you shall not find in Vena Cava. Now the motion of the Vena Cava is most evident near the Heart.”’ Writing in 1913 Sir James Mackenzie says: ‘ Until very recent times no definite remains of the sinus NO. 2739, VOL. 109 | venosus had been found. Keith and Clark have 4 described a small node of tissue—the sino-auricular — node—at the mouth of the superior vena cava, — This tissue consists of fine, delicate, pale fibres faintly striated.” Thomas) Lewis tells us that “‘ the wave of contrac- tion starts in a small and newly discovered mass of _ tissue the sino-auricular node, which lies embedded — in the upper and anterior end of the sulcus terminalis,”’ “a On the subject of auricular fibrillation Walaeus is also very interesting for he tells us that “‘ the Impulse into both Earlets and into both Ventricles happens + at one and the same moment of time; save in Creatures ready to die, in which we have observed that both Earlets, and both Ventricles do not pulse at one and the same time. Heart hath no motion evident to the Eye, but putting our Finger upon the Heart we eive something to enter into the Heart, and t the Heart becomes fuller, which also Harv observed. Yea, we have observed that the Earlet hath pulsed seventy, sometimes an hundred pulses before any motion of the Heart followed.” Boise: what similar observations had, however, already been made by Harvey (‘‘ De motu cordis et sanguinis,” - 1628, Chapter IV.). ; ; be G. ARBOUR STEPHENS, ce Consulting Cardiologist, King Edward VII. Welsh National Memorial Association. — 61 Walter Road, at Swansea, . Apri] 2. Transcription of Russian Names. SoME 35 years ago I made in the columns of NaTuRE _ ¢ the proposal to adopt for the transcription of Russian names a few letters from the Bohemian alphabet. My letter was submitted to the authority of the editor of the Journal of the Chemical Society (for I was at that time Abstractor of that Journal for Russian literature), but he did not agree with my proposal, though later he accepted it for the preemie Deal In the same year Dr. (now Sir — But when the Blood is — thus driven into the Ventricles of the Heart, the hath | I beg to repeat my old proposal; for a great part of r Prague, al Russian scientific life is concentrated in Pra the Bohemian mode of transcription has, moreover, been accepted by philologists and by many geo graphers. independent State. It is necessary to the following few letters: ¢=tch, ch=kh, i=nj, §=sh, t=tj, and z=zh (joli) ; a, and if you add the Bohemian fF which pronounciations: rz and rs, all Bohemian names, — . i The following comparison between the old and new pe ig on mode of spelling shows that the latter has also the — advantage of a great economy in printing : ce Tchitcherine (12) = Ci€erin (7) Zhemtchuzhnyj (13)=ZemtuZnyj (9) Mendeleeff = Mendéléjev Konj (4) = Koti (3) Tatjana (8) = Tatana (6) Pushkine (8) = PuSkin (6) Djadja (6) = Dada (4) Metchnikoff (11) | .=Méénikov (8). Bouustav BRAUNER. _ Chemical Laboratory, ey poy Bohemian University, Prague, March 9. Bohemian is now the State-tongue of an 4 =dj, €=yée, a=long — two you can pronounce also — APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE u1 on we VISIT Canada for the first time in delightful circumstances. After a period of dangerous tion, intercourse between the centres of scientific , Jopment is once more beginning, and I am grate- to the American Association for this splendid ortunity of renewing friendship with my western agues in genetics, and of coming into even a jorary partnership in the great enterprise which “have carried through with such extraordinary i that relates to the theme which I am about to der we have been passing through a period of fter a week in close communion with the wonders of _ Columbia University, I may seem behind the times in _ asking you to devote an hour to the old topic of evolu- But though that subject is no longer in the forefront of debate, I believe it is never very far from the threshold of our minds, and it is with pleasure that find it appearing in conspicuous places in several rts of the programme of this meeting. Standing before the American Association, it is not . Tn 1883 I first came to the United States to study the . t of Balanoglossus at the Johns Hopkins : summer laboratory, then at Hampton, Virginia. This _ ereature had lately been found there in an easily accessible place. With a magnanimity that on look- ing back I realise was superb, Prof. W. K. Brooks had _ given me permission to investigate it, thereby handing _ over to a young stranger one of the prizes which in this feos more highly developed patriotism, most teachers _would keep for themselves and their own students. At _ that time one morphological laboratory was in purpose and aim very much like another. Morphology was studied because it was the material believed to be most Gccenrrr for the elucidation of the problems of evolu- and we all thought that in embryology the quint- essence of morphological truth was most palpably a ‘Therefore every aspiring zoologist was an , and the one topic of professional conversa- n was evolution. It had been so in our Cambridge school, and it was so at Hampton. oa | wonder if there is now a single place where the emic problems of morphology which we discussed — with yeuch avidity can now arouse a moment’s concern. _ There were of course men who saw a little further, notably Brooks himself. He was at that time writing a book on heredity, and, to me at least, the notion on which he used to expatiate, that there was a special physiology of heredity capable of independent study, came as a new idea. But no organised attack on that was begun, nor had any one an inkling of how <. - set about it. So we went on talking about evolu- _ tion. That is barely 4o years ago; to-day we feel atice to be the safer course. Systematists still discuss the limits of specific dis- in a spirit which I fear is often rather scholastic than progressive, but in the other centres of biological eT aes delivered before the American Association for the Advance- of Science at Toronto on December 28, 1921. NO. 2739, VOL. 109 | - We got on fast. Se ackivity and fruitful research. Coming here. that I should begin with a personal reminiscence. | Evolutionary Faith and Modern Doubts.' By W. Bateson, F.R.S. research a score of concrete and immediate problems have replaced evolution. Discussions of evolution came to an end primarily because it was obvious that no progress was being made. Morphology having been explored in its minutest corners, we turned elsewhere. Variation and heredity, the two components of the evolutionary path, were next tried. The geneticist is the successor of the morphologist. We became geneticists in the conviction that there at least must evolutionary wisdom be found. _ So soon as a critical study of variation was undertaken, evidence came in as to the way in which varieties do actually arise in descent. The un- acceptable doctrine of the secular transformation of -masses by the accumulation of impalpable changes became not only unlikely but gratuitous. An examina- tion in the field of the interrelations of pairs of well- characterised but closely allied “‘ species ’’ next proved, almost wherever such an inquiry could be instituted, that neither could both have been gradually evolved by natural selection from a common intermediate pro- | genitor, nor either from the other by such a process. Scarcely ever where such pairs co-exist in nature, or occupy conterminous areas do we find an intermediate normal population as the theory demands. The ignorance of common facts bearing on this part of the inquiry which prevailed among evolutionists was, as one looks back, astonishing and inexplicable. It had been decreed that when varieties of a species co-exist in nature, they must be connected by all intergrada- tions, and it was an article of faith of almost equal validity that the intermediate form must be statistically the majority, and the extremes comparatively rare. The plant breeder might declare that he had varieties of Primula or some other plant, lately constituted, uni- form in every varietal character and breeding strictly true in those respects, or the entomologist might state that a polymorphic species of a beetle or of a moth fell obviously into definite types, but the evolutionary philosopher knew better. To him such statements merely showed that the reporter was a bad observer, and not improbably a destroyer of inconvenient material. Systematists had sound information, but no one consulted them on such matters or cared to hear what they might have to say. The evolutionist of the ’eighties was perfectly certain that species were a figment of the systematist’s mind, not worthy of enlightened attention. Then came the Mendelian clue. We saw the varieties arising. Segregation maintained their identity. The discontinuity of variation was recognised in abundance. Plenty of the Mendelian combinations would in nature pass the scrutiny of even an exacting systematist and be given “ specific rank.” In the light of such facts the origin of species was no doubt a similar phen- omenon. All wasclearahead. But soon, though know- ledge advanced at a great rate, and though whole ranges of phenomena which had seemed capricious and disorderly fell rapidly into a co-ordinated system, less and less was heard about evolution in genetical circles, and now the topic is dropped. When students of other 954 NATURE [APRIL 29, 1922 sciences ask us what is now currently believed about the origin of species we have no. clear answer to give. Faith has given place to agnosticism for reasons which on such an occasion as this we may profitably consider. Where precisely has the difficulty arisen? Though the reasons for our reticence are many and present themselves in various forms, they are in essence one ; that as we have come to know more of living things and their properties, we have become more and more im- pressed with the inapplicability of the evidence to these questions of origin. There is no apparatus which can be brought to bear on them which promises any immediate solution. In the period I am thinking of, it was in the char- acteristics and behaviour of animals and plants in their more familiar phases, namely, the zygotic phases, that attention centred. Genetical research has revealed the world of gametes from which the zygotes—the products of fertilisation—are constructed. What has been there witnessed is of such extraordinary novelty and so entirely unexpected that in the presence of the new discoveries we would fain desist from speculation for while. We see long courses of analysis to be travelled through and for some time to come that will be.a sufficient occupation. The evolutionary systems of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were attempts to elucidate the order seen prevailing in this world of. zygotes and to explain it in simpler terms of cause and effect : we now perceive that that order rests on and is determined by another equally significant and equally in need of “explanation.” But if we for the present drop evolutionary speculation it is in no spirit of despair. What has been learned about the gametes and their natural history constitutes progress upon which we shall never have to go back. The analysis has gone deeper than the most sanguine could have hoped. We have turned still another bend in the track and behind the gametes we see the chromosomes, for the doubts—which I trust may be pardoned in one who had never seen the marvels of cytology, save as through a glass darkly—cannot, as regards the main thesis of the Drosophila workers, be any longer maintained. The arguments of Morgan and his colleagues, and especially the demonstrations of Bridges, must allay all scepticism as to the direct association of particular chromosomes with particular features of the zygote. The transferable characters borne by the gametes have been successfully referred to the visible details of nuclear configuration. The traces of order in variation and heredity which so lately seemed paradoxical curiosities have led step by step to this beautiful discovery. I come at this Christmas season to lay my respectful homage before the stars that have arisen in the west. What wonder if we hold our breath? When we knew nothing of all this the words came freely. How easy it all used to look! What glorious assumptions went without rebuke. Regardless of the obvious consideration that ‘‘ modification by descent ” must be a chemical process, and that of the principles governing that chemistry, science had neither hint, nor surmise, nor even an empirical observation of its working, professed men of science offered positive opinions very confideritly on these nebulous topics which would now scarcely pass NO. 2739, VOL. 109] muster in a newspaper or a sermon. suspended. Biological science tae returned to its rightful place, — investigation of the structure and properties of the — concrete and visible world. We cannot see how the — differentiation into species came about. Variation of many kinds, often considerable, we daily witness, but ‘ no origin of species. Distinguishing what is known from what may be believed, we have absolute certainty that new forms of life, new orders and new species have arisen on the earth. That is proved by the palzonto- logical record. In a spirit of paradox even this has been questioned. It has been asked how do you know for example that there were no mammals in paleozoic times ? May there not have been mammals somewhere .on the earth though no vestige of them has come down to us? We may feel confident there were no mammals then, but are we sure? In very ancient rocks most of the great orders of animals are represented. The absence of the others might by no great stress of imagination be ascribed to accidental circumstances. Happily, however, there is one example of which we can be sure. There were no Angiosperms—that is to say, “higher plants” with protected seeds—in the % It is a wholesome — sign of return to sense that these. debates have been p: carboniferous epoch. Of that age we have abundant — remains of a world-wide and rich flora. The Angio- sperms are cosmopolitan. they must immediately have become so. Their remains are very readily preserved. If they had been in existence on the earth in carboniferous times they must have been present with the carboniferous plants, and must have been preserved with them. Hence we may be sure that they did appear on the earth since those times. We are not certain, using certain in the strict sense, that the Angiosperms are the lineal descen- dants of the carboniferous plants, but it is very much easier to believe that they are than that they are not. Where is the difficulty ? If the Angiosperms came By their means of dispersal — from the carboniferous flora why may we not believe _ the old comfortable theory in the old way? Well so we may, if by belief we mean faith, the substance, the foundation of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In dim outline evolution is evident enough. From the facts it is a conclusion which inevitably follows. and nature of species remains utterly mysterious. We no longer feel as we used to do, that the process of variation, now contemporaneously occurring, is the beginning of a work which needs merely the element of time for its completion ; for even time cannot complete that which has not yet begun. The conclusion in — % which we were brought up, that species are a product of a summation of variations, ignored the chief attribute : of species, that the product of their crosses is frequently _ sterile in greater or less degree. Huxley very early in the debate pointed out this grave defect in the evidence, but before breeding researches had been made on a large-scale no one felt the objection to be serious. Ex- tended work might be trusted to supply the deficiency. It has not done so, and the significance of the negative oe evidence can no longer be denied. When Darwin discussed the problem of inter-specific , sterility 1 in the “ Origin of Species ” this aspect of the But that particular and essential bit of the — theory of evolution which is concerned with the origin ~~ APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 555 “Matter seems to have escaped him.! He is at great pains to prove that inter-specific crosses are not always sterile, and he shows that crosses between forms which _ pass for distinct species may produce hybrids which Ta from complete fertility to complete sterility. e fertile hybrids he claims in support of his argument. species arose from a common origin, clearly they ld not always give sterile hybrids. So Darwin is erned to prove that such hybrids are by no means s sterile, which to us is a commonplace of every- epeence. If species have a common origin, = did they pick up the ingredients which produce sexual incompatibility ? Almost certainly it is a tion in which something has been added. We come to see that variations can very commonly— not say always—be distinguished as positive and tive. The validity of this distinction has been ted, especially by the Drosophila workers. Never- ss in application to a very large range of characters, satisfied that the distinction holds, and that in sis it is a useful aid.- Now we have no difficulty finding evidence of variation by loss. Examples nd, but variations by addition are rarities, even if “are any which must be so accounted. The to which inter-specific sterility is due are yusly variations in which something is apparently al to the stock of ingredients. It is one of the on iences of the breeder that when a hybrid tially sterile, and from it any fertile offspring can beep the sterility, once lost, disappears. This s been the history of many, perhaps most of our ated plants of hybrid origin. Juction of an indubitably sterile hybrid from tely fertile parents which have arisen under cal observation from a single common origin is the t for which we wait. Until this event is witnessed, of evolution is incomplete in a vital t. From time to time a record of such an obser- m is published, but none has yet survived criticism. — Mean , though our faith in evolution stands un- Besa we have no acceptable account of the origin of os tIONS 1 enough, it is at the same point that the lity of the claim of natural selection as the main 2 force was most questionable. The survival thie’ fittest was a plausible account of evolution in a | outline, but failed in application to specific rence. The Darwinian philosophy convinced us t every species must “ make good ” in nature if it is mn very sharply fixed—which we recognise as ific, do in fact enable the species to make good. > claims of natural selection as the chief factor in the m ir ation of species have consequently been dis- side. The under surface of the plate is roughened, 3 ‘\ and its relatively large surface (it is about 1 cm. wide) quickly takes up the temperature of the rock by conduction and radiation, and conducts the heat rapidly to the glass bulb. The upper surface of the plate, and the plated surface of the bulb, are polished _— to prevent radiation to or from the ap tea objects. The bulb is further insulated by a polishe reflector which covers it almost entirely, and prevents radiation while also reducing conduction of heat by — air currents. The reflector is gilt in order that it shall not become tarnished. The mass of the bulb is small, so that it possesses little thermal capacity and scarcely disturbs the condition of temperature existin before placing the bulb on the rock; the therm inertia is also small for the same reason. The makers state that on holding the bulb near to the side of the radiator with the polished surface facing the radiator, the thermometer shows no change of reading, but on turning it round so that the flat copper plate faces the radiator, the column at once begins to move. ae all af ban es ', regions of Italy ; # pep and : and followed APRIL 29, 1922 | NATURE 563 The Aryan Problem. (YN March 28, Mr. Harold Peake made a communi- cation to the Royal Anthropological Institute ; ‘on the subject of Bronze Swords and the Aryan - Probl . He began by describing a type of sword, Bags a long tang cast to fit the hand, the Type II. _ of Naue, which is believed to have originated in the Danube basi _ various forms to that of a flattened oval, and how its _ convex outline had then gradually become concave ; _ he then divided the swords into a progressive series He showed how the butt of the blade from a depressed semicircle through He explained how the first of these _ of seven types. __ had developed from a dagger, while the last had been found in the Hallstatt cemetery, where iron weapons had been the rule. Mr. Peake next considered the distribution of the ___ series, showing that type A was of Hungarian origin ; rpe B ranged thence northwards to Denmark ; type D was found in Greece and Egypt and in certain type E ranged across France, reland; type F was absent from and was confined to the mountain region ie sentral Europe; while type G, the Hallstatt was also absent from the Hungarian plain } but widely distributed to the west and north. It was suggested that the Egyptian specimens were Yelics of the Ek-wesh, who invaded Egypt in 1220 B.c., and that those from Greece had been introduced the Achzan invaders, who were, Mr. Peake ought, only a few wandering heroes, of Thraco- ian origin, who made themselves masters of city states in Greece. This gave an approximate date to D of 1250-1150 B.c., while type G could not be earlier than 1000-900 B.c. ; he suggested that A was evolved after 1400 B.c. t was ed that the distribution of these swords must be referred rather to invasion than to trade, and it was suggested that peoples emerging from the Hungarian plain and adjoining mountain regions had passed thence, in 1350 to Denmark, in 1250 to Greece and Italy, and in 1150 to France and Britain. Mr. Peake then discussed the absence of types F and G from Hungary, and showed evidence of the of some of these people through the Dukla , across Galicia and Podolia to the Koban. ig aicvered how they learnt the use of iron from tribes on the southern slopes of the Caucasus and suggested their return to Hungary with their new weapons. Some of these invaded Greece as Dorians, while others ony up the Save to the iron-fields and to Hallstatt the gelkgaises ; they destroyed the lake-dwellings in the mountain zone, whence refugees fled down the Rhine to Holstein, to the east of England and to Ireland, while others passed through the Belfort gap into France and thence down the Rhone, Loire, and Seine. Other invaders crossed the Predel pass Italy, destroyed the terra-marva culture of the Valley, and settled north of the Apennines near Bologna, introducing the Villanova culture, while i by the old route into France, the refugees down the Rhone and Loire but not down the Seine. Thus there were two movements of peoples allied but in some ways distinct. The first waves had bronze swords and included the refugees from the lake-dwellings of the mountain zone; the second wave had iron swords and were the Dorians, Villa- -nova, and Hallstatt peoples. Turning to the linguistic side, Mr. Peake sketched in outline the Aryan hypothesis and referred to a NO. 2739, VOL. 109] paper published in 1891 by Sir John Rhys. In this paper it was suggested that two waves of similar people had dispersed from central Europe, westward and southward, the first speaking Q and the second P tongues. To the first belonged Gaelic, Erse, Latin, and Ionic Greek, to the second Welsh, Osco-Umbrian, and Greek. Sir John Rhys had suggested that the second wave consisted of non-Aryan people, probably from the Swiss lake-dwellings, who had learnt Aryan speech from their subjects. Mr. Peake pointed out that Sir John’s theory had not been well received, especially in Germany, and ‘that certain of his conclusions could not be accepted. The Ionic dialect of Herodotus was not an archaic form, though perhaps Thraco-Phrygian might repre- sent the Q form of Greek speech. Again, evidence was against the Swiss lake-dwellers being the conquer- ing labialisers. Still archeology showed evidence of two dispersals, and it might be that Sir John’s theory was correct in the main though erroneous in some of its details. The case was tested in Italy, where Mr. Peaké showed that the bronze swords were confined to a definite region, mainly around Fucino, while the Villanova culture centred chiefly north of the Apennines, He exhibited a map of the Latin or Q dialects, which coincided very nearly with the distribution of the bronze swords, except in one or two particulars, and to account for these he related a story told by Dionysius of Halicarnassus how the Aborigines dwelt in this area, but one night the Sabines, a P people, issuing from Amiternum, dislodged some of them, pees eventually marched towards Rome and settled ere. Mr. Peake suggested that the Italian test seemed to prove that so far as this peninsula was concerned the archeological and philological evidences agreed. In Greece the first wave consisted of a few heroes only the second wave was the only true invasion ; here, as would be expected, we had only P speech. In France both waves covered the same ground, except that in the valley of the Seine the latter was lacking. It was in this valley that we had the best evidence of Q speech in Gaul, the river Sequana and the tribe Sequani. He maintained, therefore, that the equa- tions all round were as clear as could be expected, and that the main features of Sir John Rhys’ hypothesis were justified. British swords for 25 years and that he agreed with Mr. Parker Brewis said that he had been studying the typological scheme proposed by Mr. Peake. He was also ae to accept the dates, though type G lasted in Britain to a much later date. Mr. E. C. R. Armstrong also agreed with the typology and chronology, but said that the philologists of Dublin would not accept the view that the Q people had ever settled in England. After some remarks by Mr. Parkyn, Mr. Peake replied that his chronology referred to central Europe and not to Britain, and that he was well aware of the views of the Dublin philologists. He was prepared to admit, at any rate for the sake of argument, that there was no linguistic evidence for the early presence of Q people in England, but that such negative evidence was not conclusive in the light of the positive evidence he had adduced. At the request of the chairman, Dr. A. C. Haddon, he then outlined his views on the racial affinities of the people he had been discussing, and on the original dispersion of the: Aryan people. 504 NATURE. [APRIL 29, 1922 Woollen and Worsted Research. ‘THE annual report of the Council of the British Research Association for the Woollen and Worsted Industries for the year 1921 gives details of the progress which the Association is making, and includes some lines of its future activities. The Association is now in its fourth year, though it is only during the past year that its building and equipment have been sufficiently completed to furnish the re- search staff with reasonable facilities for extensive development of its work. The main activities of the Association during the year have resulted from the work of the research, education, and sheep-breeding committees of the Council of the Association, on which expert advisory members are co-opted. As the publications of the Association are circulated to its members only, and to certain.allied associations and institutions, it is difficult to estimate the actual extent of the work of the Association. One interim report has, however, been published dealing with faults caused by oils, effect of light on oil stains, photomicrographic work on raw wool, standard condi- tions for measuring wool fibre diameters, cross-sections of wool fibre, polarity of the worsted sliver, construc- tion and control of the humidity room, and the effect of oilstainson dyeing. Two reports including observa- tions on the elasticity and setting of wool by time, heat, and moisture, and work on the dyeing and burldyeing of union cloths have also been published. In view of its importance in the textile industry, it is surprising to find that the effect of light on the oils themselves does not appear to have been — studied. ! Reports are also in preparation on the fastness of | dye-stuffs on woollen material, the sorption of neutral — soap by wool and its bearing on scouring and millin, processes, and on the methods of estimation ane analysis of soap in cloth and yarn. In addition the research committee has sketched out a bold and com- prehensive programme of research. The programme includes problems presenting themselves in’ most sections of the textile trade, and of its allied branches. The committee has obviously attempted to avoid “the short-sighted policy of confining research organi- sations to the search for results of immediate com- mercial value,’ and if results in some only of the branches named in the programme are forthcoming in future years, the Association should render help of the greatest value to the industry. ‘as The education committee of the Association has been active in its efforts to co-ordinate textile educa- tional work. As a result of a joint meeting with the Board of Education, the National: Wool (and Allied) Textile Industrial Council, and the City and Guilds of London Institute, a Joint Advisory Education Com- mittee has now been formed, which will assist the Board of Education and the City and Guilds of London Institute in textile educational matters. The educa- | tion committee of the Association has itself drawn up syllabuses of textile courses, and has secured the provision of some research fellowships for textile work. Coal Resources of South Africa. NDER the title “Recent Additions to our Knowledge of the South African Coalfields,’’ Dr. E. T. Mellor has contributed a paper to the Transac- tions of the Geological Society of South Africa, vol. 25, which supplies a much-needed summary of the coal resources of South Africa. The Witbank or Middleburg coalfield is the most important, and owing to the fact that it is compara- tively readily accessible to the main line of the Transvaal-Delagoa Bay railway, it has been more extensively worked and more thoroughly prospected than any of the others. It is comparatively free from disturbances of any great importance, and the continuity of the seams has now been fairly well proved for a length of some 45 miles. There are five and in places six seams, the two most important being the No. 2 Seam, averaging 16 to 20 feet in thickness, and the No. 4 seam, averaging 24 feet, and in places reaching a thickness of 27 feet. All these coals are somewhat variable in character, there being some areas, fortunately quite extensive, in which the coal is of good quality with a relatively low ash, whilst in others the ash is much higher, owing, according to the author, to certain conditions that prevailed at the time of its deposition. In one block of 7000 acres, a tonnage of over 214 million tons has been proved, and the whole field is esti- mated as being capable of yielding at least 1000 million tons of coal of an evaporative power of 12°5 or over. The Komatipoort coalfield has disappointed the expectations that were at one time formed of it and, in Dr. Mellor’s words, “‘its prospects as a coalfield must be regarded as very doubtful.” In Swaziland recent boring operations have proved the existence of several seams, mostly thin, of coal of high quality, though the total tonnage likely to NO. 2739, VOL. 109] be developed does not: at present appear to be very considerable. ’ In the Waterberg district several seams of good coal have recently been discovered, but owing to the distance from any line of railway, this field cannot be looked upon as of any value in the immediate future. Pt aber $ The Natal coalfield differs in many respects from that in the Witbank district; the coal seams are thinner, rarely exceeding 5 feet, and they have been broken up and greatly affected by intrusions of dolerite. Moreover, they lie relatively deep, and for these reasons are gassy and present greater working difficulties than the coal of the Transvaal field. The quality of the coal is good, but the prevailing impression as to the available quantity appears to be greatly exaggerated. It is now estimated that the best Natal coal is likely to be exhausted in another 40 or 50 years. Tres These statements show that the Witbank coalfield must be looked upon as the main source of South African coal supplies, and this field presents numerous advantages, amongst them being the shallowness of the seams and the ease with which they can be worked. South Africa may therefore be reasonably expected to become a formidable competitor in the - world’s coal markets, and to develop an important coal export trade. Coal is also likely to play an important part in the development of local industries, amongst which iron manufacture will probably be one of the most important. The main obstacles at present are the inadequacy of railway transport to the coast and the want of proper shipping facilities. It is obvious that both of these difficulties can easily be overcome, and when they are, South Africa will be ready to take full advantage of this additional source of wealth. Hs : je bh aah Vl s ee io _ National Council for Mental Hygiene. _ sional committee consists of Sir Courtauld Thomson £ “ogeemgly Sir Norman Moore, Sir Charles Sherring- ton, Sir John Goodwin, Sir George Newman, Sir _ Walter Fletcher, Dr. C. H. Bond, Dr. Bedford Pierce, formed in various countries on the - important bridge is activities. _. Mr. H. G. Carter has been appointed Curator of the _ Herbarium. - ; _ _ The Linacre Lecture will be delivered on Saturday, _ May 6, at 5.15 p.m,, by Sir Hum _ the subject of “ Medical Aspects of Old Age.” APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 565 A National Council for Mental Hygiene. JA. GENERAL meeting will be held at 5 o’clock on Thursday, May 4, in the rooms of the Royal Society of Medicine, Wimpole Street, in order to decide on the constitution, officers, etc., of the new The provi- Prof. George Robertson, Dr. C. S. Myers, Dr. G _ Ainsworth, Dr. Helen Boyle, Dr. Edwin Bramwell, _ Dr. Farquhar Buzzard, Sir Maurice Craig, Lord _ Dawson of Penn, Sir Horatio Donkin, Prof. Elliot _ Smith, Dr. Edwin Goodall, Dr. Henry Head, Dr. ' Crichton Miller, Sir Frederick Mott, Dr. W. H. R. _ Rivers, Sir Humphry Rolleston, Dr. T. A. Ross, Dr. _ Tredgold, and Dr. W. Worth. A letter, signed by Sir Courtauld Thomson, in the Times of March 29 which describes appeared = BRE caurncees for, which the new Council is being establi . It will co-ordinate and encourage the The work of the various existing societies which are in promoting the study of mental dis- _ orders, the welfare of the insane, the problems of _ industrial psychology and the various aspects of mental deficiency ”’ ; _ psychological clinics in general hospitals for the _ early treatment of mental disturbance, and at improv- it will also aim at establishing ing the education of the medical student in normal and abnormal psychology. In addition, it will attempt _ to lessen the popular ignorance at present prevailing in regard to the nature and prevention of mental illness, which results in an enormous amount of needless unhappiness and wastage of energy. . Such National Councils have been and are being Continent, moulded largely according to the pattern of the well-known United States National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which has done so much to raise the standard of the care and treatment of mental dis- orders in America, and to remove the widespread prejudice of the public towards these diseases. In America it has given birth to smaller Societies for Mental Hygiene in the various States and to an adian Committee. Ample work awaits the formation of a National Council in Great Britain, and we extend to it the cordial welcome which it - merits. & ‘University and Educational Intelligence. _ CAMBRIDGE.—The Report of the Financial Board on the expenditure of the current academic year points out that, despite the Emergency Grant of a 30,000/., the University depleted its balances by 3975/. during the past academic year; and it is anticipated that there will be a further deficit of _ 76501. in the current year. The Report of the Royal Commission has not come any too soon unless Cam- to increase its fees or to cut down its hry Rolleston, on Lonpon.—The following are among the Public _ Lectures to be given at University College during the Mi 8 e esent term :—‘‘ Atoms, Molecules and Chemistry,”’ iree lectures by Sir J. J. Thomson; “ Insects and ” ,’ four lecturés by Sir Arthur Shipley ; _ * Recent Discoveries in Egypt,” by Prof. Flinders NO. 2739, VOL. 109] . Petrie; and “The Expansion of European Civilisa- tion,’”’ four lectures, by Prof. W. R. Shepherd, of Columbia University. A copy of the full programme may be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the Secretary, University College, London, W.C.1. It is announced by the Royal Academy of Belgium that a prize of 1000 francs has been established, which will be awarded biennially, under the name of the Prix O. van Eytborn, for the best work on geology. Pror. E, MELLANBY will deliver the Oliver Sharpey lectures at the Royal College of Physicians of London on Tuesday, May 2, and Thursday, May.4, at 5 o’clock. The subject of the lectures will be ‘‘ Some Common Defects of Diet and their Pathological Significance.” THE Ramsay Memorial Trustees will, at the end of June, consider applications for two Ramsay Memorial Fellowships for chemical research. One of the Fellowships will be limited to candidates educated in Glasgow. The value of the Fellowships will be 250/. per annum, to which may be added a grant for expenses not exceeding 50/. per annum. Full par- ticulars as to the conditions of the award are obtain- able from Dr. Walter W. Seton, Secretary, Ramsay Memorial Fellowships Trust, University College, London, W.C.1. New regulations have recently been made by the Trustees of the Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research. The date of the election of Fellows has been changed from December to July, so that Fellows may commence work on October 1, instead of January I, in each year, In future there will be three classes of fellowships, namely, (1) junior fellowships, 350/. per annum, Not more than six junior fellowships will be awarded annually. The usual tenure of a junior fellowship is for three years. (2) Fourth-year fellow- ships, 400/. per annum. On the recommendation of the advisory board, a junior fellowship may be extended for a further period of one year. (3) Senior fellowships, 600/, per annum. A limited number of senior fellowships may be awarded. The usual tenure of a senior fellowship is for three years. No change will be made in the emolument of any fellowship held at the date of coming into force of these amended regulations on May 1, 1922. All correspondence of candidates and fellows should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Beit Memorial Fellowships, 35 Clarges Street, Piccadilly, W.r1. THE annual report for the session 1920-21 of University College, London, contains some interesting facts which may well be placed on record. The total number of students enrolled for full time courses was 2408, of which 1506 were men ; in addition there were more than 700 attending part time courses. In the full time courses, arts and science claim about equal numbers. During the year, donations to the College amounted to a little more than 3000/,, a total which includes sums of 1500/. from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust for the school of. librarianship ; 500. from the Worshipful Company of Drapers, an annual grant to the biometric laboratory which will continue until 1924; and a grant of 250/. from the Chadwick Trustees for the departments of municipal engineering and hygiene. The London County Council made a capital grant of 5000/. towards the cost of the com- pletion and equipment of the department of engineer- ing. As in past years, the College has taken an active share in the promotion of adult education by the provision of free public lectures by men of note. In all, some seventy lectures and courses were given and it is estimated that more than 8000 persons attended. 566 NATURE [ APRIL 29, 1922 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. April 27, 1885. Joseph d’Aguilar Samuda died,— Entering into partnership with his brother Jacob, Samuda built marine engines, laid down railways worked on the atmospheric principle, and became an eminent builder of iron steamships and armoured men of war. In his works in the Isle of Dogs’ he introduced labour-saving machinery, and with Reed, Woolley, Scott Russell, and others he helped to found the Institution of Naval Architects. , April 27, 1891. Loftus Perkins died.—Known for his bold experiment of fitting the yacht Anthracite with an engine supplied with steam at 500 Ibs. pres- sure, and for his invention of the “ arktos’’ cold chamber refrigerating apparatus, Perkins was the son of the inventor Angier March Perkins, and the grand- son. of Jacob Perkins, who came to England from — America in 1827 and in 1828 constructed what was | probably the first triple compound steam engine. April 28, 1865.—Sir Samuel Cunard died.—The founder in 1839 of the famous British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Cunard was a native of Nova Scotia. His first transatlantic liners were built on the Clyde, while the first passage was made in 1840 by the Britannia, a wooden vessel of 1154 tons and 740 horse power, which took 14 days 8 hours to cross. Jron steamers were introduced in 1855, and the paddle wheel abandoned for the screw in the early ’sixties, April 28, 1914. Robert Kaye Gray died.—After passing through University College, London, Gray became an assistant to Charles Bright, subsequently | superintended the laying of many important sub- marine cables for foreign governments, and became the head of the Telegraph Works Company at Silver- town. He assisted in founding the National Physical Laboratory and served as President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. May 1, 1895. John Newton died.—Graduatirg from the United States Military Academy in 1842, Newton was employed on engineering duties and saw active service during the Civil War. He was afterwards responsible for the improvement of New York harbour, and during the removal of the notoriously: dangerous rocks at Hell Gate solved many new problems. May 2, 1857. Frederick Scott Archer died.—The discoverer of the collodion process in photography, Scott started life as a silversmith and then became a sculptor. It was while trying to obtain pictures of his work that he made his noteworthy discovery. May 3, 1888. Sir Charles Tilston Bright died.—A most eminent telegraph engineer, Bright in 1847 at the age of fifteen, through Cooke, entered the Electric Telegraph Company, and in 1856 with Brett and Cyrus Field initiated the movement for an Atlantic Sub- marine Cable. Appointed engineer to the Atlantic Cable Company he was on board the U.S.S. Niagara, which jointly with H.M.S. Agamemnon laid the first cable from Valentia to Newfoundland, and.in 1858 he was knighted. Bright afterwards carried out im- portant cable work in the Mediterranean, in the Persian Gulf, and in the West Indies. One of the original members of the Institution of Electrical | Engineers, he served as president of the society in 1886-87." May 3, 1909. Thomas Aldridge Weston died.—The inventor of many things, Weston was known all the world over for his differential pulley block and lifting tackle, a simple contrivance of great usefulness. Born in Birmingham in 1832 he was for a time associated with the firm of Tangye, but his later years were spent with the Brown Hoisting Machinery Com- pany of Cleveland, Ohio. He died in New York. Bet. S: NO. 2739, VOL. 109] Societies and Academies. LONDON. Optical Society, April 6.—Sir Frank Dyson, pre- 7 sident, in the chair—H. H. Emsley and E. F. Fincham: Diffraction haloes in normal and glaucoma- tous eyes. Every normal eye, under appropriate conditions, sees diffraction rings or haloes encircling bright sources of light. Similar haloes are seen by eyes in certain abnormal pathological conditions, particularly in the case of eyes suffering from glaucoma,.. Tests are specified by means of which the different phenomena in the two cases may be identified—E. W. Taylor: The effect of changes of surface curvature at the focus ‘of an astronomical object glass. . The balancing of the components of a large object glass is difficult, and the effect at the focus of a similar alteration of curvature at each of the four surfaces is different. If the effect of an alteration at each surface is known, the one most suitable may be chosen, having regard to the nature of the aberration to be overcome. Paris. Academy of Sciences, March 27.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—The president announced the death of M. Louis Ranvier, member of the section of Anatomy and Zoology.—E. Goursat: A classical theory of Cauchy. Comments on two recent communications by M. Mittag-Leffler—H. le Chatelier: The manu- facture of soda with ammonia. A discussion by a graphical method of the bearing of some experiments of.M. Toporescu (see below) on the ammonia soda process.—C. Richet, Eudoxie Bachrach, and H. Cardot: Studies on the lactic fermentation... Memory in micro- organisms. Culture of the lactic bacillus is made for one day in a medium containing traces of three poisons (arsenate, cadmium, copper) and then seven successive daily inoculations are cultivated on normal media. The strain of organism thus produced is sensitive to the action of each poison: The authors conclude that when two cultures of micro-organisms of the same species have lived, even for a short time, in slightly different media, they are different from each other.—C. Lallemand: The parabolic wage. The system of wage payment described, which has been tested in practice over a period of 34 years, is based on a formula S =S, +AT?, where S, is the minimum wage, T the work done, S the actual wage paid, and k a constant. It is in effect a compromise between pay- ment by time and by results. It has been applied in the ‘‘ Service du Nivellement général de la France ”’ since 1888, with the result that while the wage in- creased in four years from 6-30 francs to 12:25 francs, the cost per kilometre decreased from 40 to 33 francs. —P. Montel: A theorem of algebra.—G. Giraud: Non-linear partial differential equations of the second order of elliptic type.—P. Lévy: The véle of the law of Gauss in the theory of errors.—E. Cartan: Gen-_ eralised conformal space and the optical universe.— _ A. Planiol: Study of the friction losses in internal — Experiments were carried out combustion motors. é ona specially constructed 30 H.P. gas engine by three methods differing in principle. The results showed that the resisting couple of the motor due to — friction was a linear function of the mean pressure shown by the indicator diagram. The constants obtained were shown to apply to another (35 H.P.) — gas engine, and hence it is found possible to calculate the field of an internalcombustion engine without taking © indicator diagrams.—H. Roussilhe : The applications APRIL 29, 1922] NATURE 56 a | of aerial photography and the photo- restitution tus—H. Chaumat: A new wattmeter.—O. Ee in: The kinetic study of alkaline solutions of iodine. In alkaline solutions, iodine is transformed _ into iodate by different reactions depending on the deere of alkalinity.—E. Toporescu: The preparation of sodium Sitarbonate. the reaction NaCl +NH,HCO,_ = NaHCO, + NH,Cl. _ The solubilities of the salts at 15° C. were taken first y: then in pairs, and finally omitting one con- only. The results are plotted on the square n due to M. H. le Chatelier (see above).—A. he : : The catalytic decomposition of oleic acid. vapour of oleic acid passed over copper-aluminium 3 contained in a copper tube maintained at *-650° C. gives a gas rich in olefines (10 per cent.) an acid liquid. The hydrocarbons, freed from . commenced to distil at 40° C. (amylene) and ed Sah 50 per cent. of olefines. These were ~NH 4Cl+NaNO,.—Prof. E. C. C. Baly and H. M, Duncan: <- ' The Reactivity of Ammonia.—Prof. E. ©. C. Baly, Prof. I. M. ~ Heilbron, and D. P. Hudson: Photocatalysis. Part II. The Photosynthesis of Nitrogen Compounds from N itrates. and Carbon e. civic "EDUCATION LEAGUE (at Belgravia Hotel, Grosvenor Gardens, 8.W.1), at 8.15.—W. de la Mare: Characte FRIDAY, May 5. TRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE. (at Institution of Civil Engineers), at 10.30 A.M+=—D. Selby-Bigge: Recent Developments in Pow Production.—A.: Westgren and G. men:;. X-ray Studies < a the Crystal Structure of Steel.—N. T. Belaiew : The Inner Structure of the iy ea Grain.—J. H. Whiteley : Formation of Globular Pearlite.—A. Hallimond: Delayed Crystallisation in the Carbon Steels: the Parmatien of Pearlite, Troostite, and Martensite.— K. Honda : The Constitutional Diagram of the Iron-Carbon System : based on Recent Investigations.—K. Honda and T. Kikuta: The Ste ped Al Transformation in Carbon Steel during Rapid Cooling. — amada : The Heat of Transformation of Austenite to ‘Martensite, and of Martensite to Pearlite. Roya. Society OF ARTS (Dominions and Colonies and Indian Sections), : at 4.30.—Prof. W. H. Eccles: Imperial Wireless Mec oui es apres: ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (Geophysical Discussion), a ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir hake Keith : Demonstration of Muséum Specimens illustrating Umbilical and Diaphragmatic Hernia. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (London Students’ Section), at 7.—R. P. Howgrave-Graham : Electrically Oscillatory Discharges. bso. bea OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7.— “y oy ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN; at 9.—Dr. M. Grabham: - Biological Studies i in Madeira. SATURDAY, May 6. RoyAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. D. H. MacGregor: “ Industrial Relationships (2). The Problem of Structure. PUBLIC LECTURES, (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a series.) FRIDAY, APRIL 28, BEDFORD COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. E. Claparéde: la Volonté (1). (In French.) KIN@’s COLLEGE, at 5.50.—Dr. J. Hiort: - Oceanography (4). L’Intelligence et Biological Aspects of MONDAY, May 1. BEDFORD COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. E. Claparéde : la Volonté (2). (In pis ) Kine’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. J. Hjort: Oceanography (2), NO. 2739, VOL. 109 L’Intelligence et Biological Aspects of | TUESDAY, May 2. is ioeaast COLLEGE, at 5.—Sir Arthur Shipley: Insects d sease (1). BEDFORD COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Prof. E, Claparéde : L'Intelligence D la Volonté (3). (In French.) Kine’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. J. Hiort: ee Oceanography (3).—Prof. H. Wildon Carr : Principle Method of Hegel (1). The Real and the Patdale - WEDNESDAY, May 8. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE, at 5.—Prof. C. Winkler: The E Neo-Cerebellum UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.15.—Dr. D. H. Scott: The Early Her of the Land Flora (2). THURSDAY, May 4, St. MARY’s gar Uagittote of Pathology and Research), af: pee: Sir Archibald E More Inborn gph a Metabolism, ROYAL SOCIBTY ay yk at 5.15.—Sir Lawrence Weaver: Rural LP ienpceta and its Relation. to Public Health (1) (Chadwick: ecture). FRIDAY, May 5, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.—Prof. T. Borenius: The nodes of we See Sg (Admission by Invitation only) ) ree 5. CONTENTS.. The Education Estimates . : : ; : Studies in Symbiosis . ; ‘ a ene Native Life in the Highlands of Avene (dllustrated, ) By Henry Balfour . . i ‘ ‘ ‘ > The Manufacture of Explosives. : Popular Expositions of Relativity . < Sie The Induction Motor By Dr. A. Russell . - « $45 4 Qur Bookshelf. . >» » | wpe Letters to the Editor :— Discoveries in Tropical Medicine <7 5m E. si Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S. 549 Atmospheric Refraction. '—Dr. de Graaff Hunter ; Instr.-Commandet Thos. ; Baker R.N. + 549 Memory.—Sir G. Archdall Reid, K. BIE: 551 Walaeus and the Circulation of the Blood, —Dr. G. Arbour Stephens ; 552 Transcription of Russian Namen —Dr. B. “Brauner. 552 Evolutionary Faith and Modern Doubts. By Dr. W. “ Bateson, F.R.S. A aves » ‘ - SSSSua Alternating-Current Mineral Sepasabeae By Prof. - S.J. Truscott . : , : ; pee. . Obituary :— Sune Prof. J.C. Branner . os Ne aS Dr. Andrew McWilliam, C. B. E. rat 3 Current Topics and Events ; : a é 5 Our Astronomical Column :— The April Meteors, 1922. : ‘ ; . ; - Eccentricity of Double-Star Orbits . Son oe F Progressive Latitude Changes . : $ ‘ ; Effective Temperatures of Stars. . : : y Research Items . é : ‘ ; ; ‘ : The Aryan Problem . : : : : ; ; Woollen and Worsted Research : ‘ ; et Coal Resources of South Africa. ByH.L. . . A National Council for Mental Hygiene . : : University and Educational Intelligence . ‘ ‘ Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . ; eure ‘ Societies and Academies . + +. + «+ + Official Publications Received. . ; “ 5 oe Diary of Societies. 2 7 : oy eee - NATURE 569 - CONTENTS. ian _ Government Scientific Services. By A.S.. . 569 _ _The Design of Electric Power eR. te Dr. A. Russell Bn Et Witch-Craft in Western Europe ee ‘ - 572 The Riddle of Bird Migration. By Dr. J. Ritchie . 573 Modern Chemistry . S74 Text -Books of Elementary Mathematics. By MAG. ae 574 $ Studies in Symbiosis. By Prof. F. Ww. - Gamble, 4 F.R.S. 576 q Our Bookshelf * 577 Letters to the Editor :— : The Buoyancy of the Sun-fish.—Capt. G. C. C. : Damant and Prof. A. E. Boycott, F.R.S. . 578 : Haloes and Earth History.—Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S. 578 é Og deli Theorem as a pepeetne. F Pattern. —J. ‘3 . - §79 : Man.—Sir G. Archdall Reid, ‘K.B.E. aa { cone TK of Molecules of Benzenoid ‘Substances. i Kenner i d eS : The Spee of l.ight.—Dr. E. H Kennard . 1 ee On the N-Series in X-Ray Spectra.—V. DolejSek . 582 A Proposed Laboratory Test of the Theory of . Relativity.—Dr. Harold S. King 582 Safeguarding of Industries Act, 1921. -—Major A. G. Church 583 Discovery of Gold in Devonshire. (Uustrated. as Prof. W. T. Gordon . a 1s 38983 Artificial Disintegration of the Elements, By Sir Ernest Rutherford, F.R.S. : shee: Bee The Royal Academy, By J. S. D. 586 me Sir Patrick Manson, G.C.M.G., F.R. 2 ByA.A. 587 Sir A. B. Kempe, F.R.S. By P. A.M 588 Sir Wm. Phipson Beale, Bart., K.C. By H.E. A. 589 Sir A. P. Gould 589 Current Topics and Events 590 Our Astronomical Column 591 Research Items 593 os Breeding and ‘Ancestry. (Uustrated.) By _ The eel TS of Knowledge : bre The Centenary of Naval aes, 596 British Research Chemical : 597 University and Educational Intelligence : 597 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . ; 598 Societies and Academies. 598 Official Publications pemraua 600 Diary of Societies 600 Editorial and Publishing Offices : : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. . Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | Government Scientific Services. N a presidential address to the WashingtonAcademy of Sciences! Mr. Alfred H. Brooks deals with the “ Scientist in the Federal Service,” and incidentally provokes comparison of Government scientific services in Britain and the States. The field to be covered, as he remarks, is continental in dimensions, and the needs of upwards of one hundred millions of people have to be met. So vast a proposition is beyond the powers of private enterprise and demands the system- atised efforts of national bureaus. Washington, as the city of Government, formed the natural centre of Government research, and only during the last two decades became the home of other scientific institutions. In Paris, Berlin and London, science was fostered by old universities and learned societies, and it was only in researches for which co-operation on a large scale, and the maintenance of a permanent staff, were necessary, that the Government lent its aid. The Federal scientific worker, we are told, giving his whole time to science, may tend to lose enthusiasm, and Mr. Brooks expresses a regret, with which we fully sympathise, that the non-professional man of science, with his enthusiasm and power to vivify science, is almost unknown in Washington and would fail to find there a congenial atmosphere. But in his fear that organised science leaves no place for the amateur and that competition with highly organised corps of pro- fessionals is impossible, surely he is unduly pessimistic. In Britain, at any rate, the amateur not infrequently leads the way and indicates the channels along which professional effort should be directed. The Federal scientific service commenced about 1816. Now there are about forty institutions and up- wards of 1500 investigators. At first the obtaining of funds depended largely upon the personality of the bureau chief. Pay was scanty, regulations were few, and appointments were made too largely under political influences. As practical applications of science in- creased, the bureaus were enlarged, and business methods were introduced, especially after 1906, as a result of the recommendations of the Keep Commission. Still more important was the realisation by the higher Government officials of the value of science in national economic problems. The demand for men began to exceed the supply, and whereas a bare living and a God-given love for his subject had been the scientific worker’s only motives, the service became a profession for which the Universities graduated scores of highly trained specialists. The tendency of a Federal service to collect facts without providing adequate interpretation, is inevitable. Organisation leads to uniformity, and, though a good 1 Journ. Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. 12 (1922), pp. 73-115. 579 NATURE [May 6, 1922 administrator may encourage individual effort in con- structive thought, more consolation is found in the fact that the rare scientific genius cannot be sup- pressed, though there may be some danger of his applying his originality to financial and routine matters. Familiar indeed are the difficulties which scientific workers find in complying with the regulations con- trolling their expenditure, or accepting the limitations which a Treasury finds, or may think, necessary to place upon it. Regulations and limitations are re- garded as personal insults, for the purpose only of hampering research. The direction of a group of strongly individualistic investigators, including, it may be, a master mind, and almost certainly several hewers of wood and drawers of water, is no light task. Originality of thought has to be encouraged, but unity of purpose must be main- tained in order to achieve the results demanded under the grant. The delinquents in such a group are usually unconscious of any delinquency, as for example the dilettante who flits from one problem to another and believes that he fulfils all obligations if he merely remains on the pay-roll; the brilliant mind that is so undisciplined that it cannot be made to formulate conclusions ; or the hard-working procrastinator who dare not put forward his conclusions for fear of omitting some detail. Less deserving of sympathy are the pests who are as quick as a hair-trigger in publishing, and rush into print where more experienced men fear to tread, or the self-selected mouthpiece, who, unwilling to hide his light under a bushel, constitutes himself the agency by which science reaches the average man, and is too often taken at his own valuation. The “ pro- fessional prominent scientist,’ another familiar type, at one time formed the popular authority in Washing- ton. His dictum on any new problem was final, but he was more highly ae by the public than by his colleagues. A criticism aoe on all men of science, not only by Mr. Brooks but also by literary men in Great Britain, relates to the form in which science is presented. The greatest need of the average American, and we may add of the British man of science, is to write clear English. He conveys his message to the people in language they cannot understand, and often he and his colleagues fail to understand one another. The development of such curiously similar types on the two sides of the Atlantic is interesting. On the outbreak of war the Federal service proved its true worth. The bureaus formed the backbone of war service, for they were immediately available as storehouses of scientific facts and their great corps were quickly turned on to war problems. One result was to reveal the high commercial value of science, with the NO. 2740, VOL. 109] consequence that the ranks of the Federal service have been most seriously depleted. The best-trained men are now tempted away by the financial prospects of a commercial career, and the second choice only is ] to the Government. It is suggested that the che may be due to the lowering of the ideals of the stud for the professor who is compelled to eke out a s salary by taking commercial work or writing tem for peat has not the same influence as a “ rever master” in research. Without disparaging the high ideal attributed to the student, one is tempted to t that the possibilities of far higher emoluments commercial service than could be justified in a Govern y q ment bureau, are the principal inducement. ; - Pay, however, is not everything. Mr. Brookes re- 3 minds us that the young investigator who has obtained — a post in the Government service, finds himself a q member of a corps of well-trained enthusiastic pro- a fessional men, whose actions earnestly express public duty and self-sacrifice. He will enjoy among them and in the non-professional societies congenial scientific companionship, and he will realise that the mere mass" of such an army of investigators, whose ideals are not less lofty because they include the welfare of mankind, — give an inspiration not excelled elsewhere. AS: The Design of Electric Power Stations. Power House Design. By Sir J. F. C. Snell. (Long- mans’ Electrical Engineering Series.) Second edition. Pp. xi+535. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1921.) 42s. net. HE second edition of this important work will be welcomed by all engineers who are interested in power-station design. The author is the chairman of the Electricity Commissioners ; he has been both a distributing and a consulting engineer, and has — therefore studied the problem from all points of view. — The book is a storehouse of facts which will be of great — value to the designer. The general principles which — should be followed are laid down and illustrated by clear. descriptions of many modern power stations. It is interesting to note that these stations are of very varied design. This is doubtless due partly to the individual experience of the designers, but it also — bears out the author’s contention that every case — must be considered on its own merits, and so the ~ solution applicable in one case may be unsuitable in _ another. The apparatus inside a power station should — 3 be standardised as much as possible, but at the present time it would be inadvisable to attempt to standardise — the station itself. he The modern fashion is to concentrate censrecee Ny ; May 6, 1922] NATURE 571 plant in large stations. This necessitates having a large supply of circulating water in the neighbourhood _ and it follows that capital stations are not necessarily situated near a pit’s mouth. The most economical engines for driving dynamos are steam-turbines, ded they are worked at a very high vacuum, and order to secure this we must have a supply of cold \ wo equal to seventy times that required by the _ boilers. It is this consideration that rules out practi- cally all the colliery sites in this country. _ The author thinks that there should be at least two main generating stations to supply a large district. n addition he says that it generally would be found economical to generate part of the load at the points where the demand is greatest. It seems to us that _the author does not lay sufficient stress on the fact that the cost of the network of cables required in a _ large distributing scheme may be 70 or 80 per cent. _ of the total cost of the undertaking. The main factor in determining the sites, therefore, will be the cost of the cables required. The cost of fuel transport and of the arrangements for circulating water may _ not vary much for different sites, but in general for _ a given supply the cost of the requisite cables will vary largely with the position of the power station. _ For commercial success it is very important that the capital cost of the cables should be as small as possible, and this can only be secured by a close study of the _ nature of the load required for industrial, domestic, and transport purposes, and then choosing the sites so that the cost of the cables is as small as possible. If the undertaking is to be a success, it is also necessary that the power-houses be capable of continual extension, so that the power available need never be much in excess of the demand. In the early days of the in- dustry many of the stations built were much too large for the demand, and consequently years had to pass _ before they could pay dividends. It was difficult, therefore, to finance new schemes. The following interesting comparison is made between the relative value of steam- -engine and gas- engine plant. A boiler can easily evaporate 7:5 lb. of steam per lb. of coal consumed ; a ton of coal will therefore yield 16,800 lb. of steam. A modern steam- turbine requires 8-2 lb. of steam per brake horse power hour developed. Hence a ton of coal will produce 2049 B.H.P. hours. With a gas producer operating _ on an average at a thermal efficiency of 75 per cent., _ a ton of coal of the same calorific value will yield power gas capable of producing 20,160,000 British thermal ’ units. We may assume that on an average a modern gas-engine requires 9500 B.Th.U. per B.H.P. hour, and hence a ton of coal utilised in this way will produce 2122 B.H.P. hours. There is not much difference, NO. 2740, VOL. 109] <<. se therefore, in the amount of the mechanical energy obtained. from the coal by the two methods. It is pointed out that in certain cases an economy in fuel consumption can be obtained by using both steam and gas plant in the same station. The gas plant is almost immediately available, and so can be used to cope with any sudden temporary increases in the load, with consequent economies. It has often been urged that it would be more economical to extract the potential by-products from the coal first of all and then utilise the resulting fuel products for power purposes. The author makes a careful examination of this procedure. He points out that serious thermal losses are involved in treating coal. for by-product recovery and converting into coke or power gas or both. These losses range from 25 to 50 per cent. In the case of a power-house equipped with ammonia recovery producers for gasi- fying the whole of the coal, the total coal consumption would be from 70 to 80 per cent. greater than that of a corresponding coal-fired station. Considering it from the commercial point of view, he concludes that the prospects of obtaining through the medium of by- product recovery processes bulk supplies of electrical energy at a lower cost than coal firing are practically negligible. Owing to the increasing attention devoted to the question of fuel conservation during the past twenty years, important developments in the utilisation of thermal products, which were formerly wasted on an enormous scale, have taken place. In particular, the surplus fuel gases produced at iron and steel works have been successfully utilised ; for instance, at the important coke-oven works of Messrs. Pease and Partners, Durham, the waste heat is transformed into electrical energy by the supply company, and is “pumped ” into the high-tension transmission mains for utilisation throughout the district, The concluding chapter discusses hydro - electric power-houses, and important stations in America, Mexico, and Sweden are described. The attraction of cheap electric power has caused flourishing towns to spring up in the neighbourhood of some of the American waterfalls, but there are few cases where the hydro-electric power generated is transmitted to a considerable distance. The author assumes that the reader is an engineer. The general reader, therefore, will occasionally have difficulty in understanding his nomenclature. The importance, for instance, of the load-factor of a station is emphasised, but even the engineer would appreciate being reminded that the load-factor is the ratio of the average load to the maximum possible load. The higher this factor, the more promising the com- 572 NATURE [May 6, 1922 mercial outlook of the station. Later on the notion of the diversity-factor is introduced, defined as the ratio of the sum of the maximum loads on the separate substations to the maximum load at the power-house. It is generally assumed that the higher the diversity- factor, the load-factor remaining the same, the better it is from the commercial point of view. It seems to the writer that these definitions should be examined from a rigorous mathematical point of view to find how far their numerical values can be considered as trustworthy guides of the commercial practicability of a projected scheme. A “silo” is generally considered to be a pit or cave for storing fodder in the green state. Engineers apparently call a coal-store a “silo,” and that at the Greenwich power-house has a capacity of 2000 tons. The coal is fed from the bunkers, into which the silo is divided, into gravity bucket conveyors, which carry it to the overhead bunkers feeding the furnaces. The weight of the coal is checked on weigh-bridges with five-foot dials. It is stated that with a load of 5 tons the maximum inaccuracy is only about 3 Ib. ! A. RUSSELL. Witch-Craft in Western Europe. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe : A Study in Anthro- pology. By M. A. Murray. Pp. 303. (Oxford: At the Clarendon Piess, 1921.) 16s. net. N her study of witchcraft in Western Europe Miss Murray has endeavoured to show, first, that the witch-cult was a definite organised religion, and secondly, that it is possible to deduce from the records the character of its ritual. The problem which Miss Murray has set herself is entirely new and has not hitherto been considered, much less attacked. As regards the evidence upon which Miss Murray’s investigations are based, her aim has been to arrive at an impartial statement by quoting the ipsissima verba of the witches in their confessions and at their trials as recorded by contemporary chroniclers, all comments of those who compiled the records being omitted. Early accounts of witchcraft, as she points out, are apt to be vitiated by too great credulity or an excess of scepticism. . Exception is not infrequently taken to the evidence of the witches themselves on the ground that it was elicited under toiture, but Miss Murray meets this objection by pointing out that in the English trials and in many of the Scottish trials legal torture was not employed. It is true that she is concerned principally with witchcraft in this country and deals with the NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | French evidence only for purposes of elucidation and . amplification ; much’ of. the French evidence was the q result of torture, and even in this country in some of | the most important cases torture was employed. In — the case of the North Berwick witches, who were — accused of a conspiracy against James VI. in which — Bothwell was implicated, two were subjected to the q ordeal of having their nails pulled out with pincers, pins were stuck into the quick, and they were tortured _ with the boot. It is to be noted, however, that the confessions, whether elicited under torture or without it, display a remarkable uniformity in detail, although drawn from a wide area and spread over a considerable period of time. This lends strong support to the view that the evidence may be accepted as it stands. Taking the evidence at its face value, Miss Murray has arrived at the conclusion that the witch-cult was a definite organised religion and, as such, was a survival of the primitive religion of Western Europe. sents, she holds, the religion of a pre-agricultural people who celebrated their religious festivals in accordance with a pre-solstitial calendar. She argues, reasonably enough, that the wholesale conversions to Christianity in the early days of tribes and peoples were merely superficial and that the bulk of the people continued to follow their old beliefs and to practise their traditional ritual, more or less in secret. If it be conceded that the witches in their accounts of what took place at the Sabbaths were describing, not furtive assemblies for malicious evil practices and unlimited debauchery, but gathe1ings for performing the rites of an organised religion, their evidence takes on an entirely new signifi- cance. Taking this point of view Miss Murray is able to deduce from it the character of the god they wor- shipped, the nature of the rites, and the organisation by which the religion was carried on. The god, who was confused with the devil by Chris- tians, was regarded by his worshippers as incarnate — in man, woman, or animal. The animal form varied, being sometimes a bull, sometimes a dog, a cat, a horse, or a sheep. The goat, common in France, does not occur in this country. Further investigation of this point might throw light on the early history and dis- tribution of the cult. circle or council, the “ coven,” thirteen individuals. . Miss Murray is of the opinion that in certain instances it is possible to identify these leaders, and cites, among others, Bothwell, Joan of Arc, and her companion in arms, Gilles de Rais, the French - Her suggestion that the god was sacri- — “* Bluebeard.” ficed at stated intervals would account for certain peculiar features in the trials, such as, possibly, the line taken by Joan of Arc under examination, and the — It repre- The god incarnate acted as the _ leader of the association in which there was an inner consisting apparently of _ pe ee \ hn ae, eS oo May 6, 1922] NATURE 573 solicited confession of Major Weir, who was burned a witch at Edinburgh in 1670. The evidence on this would not be strong in itself, if it were not fully with Miss Murray’s view of the witch-ritual. ; well known the central features of the Sabbath a feast and sexual licence. This suggests in- bly that it was a fertility rite of the type familiar thropologists. It was only at a later date, and in instance by popular perversion that the function witch became the blasting of crops and herds as - forth in the famous Bull of Innocent VIII. Many other topics are discussed in this important idy which are of the greatest interest to anthropolo- and it bristles with points which call for further eration did space allow. It has, however, one to which reference must be made, and that is t ¢ upon medieval history. From this point of Ww re is a book which no historian or student can ford toneglect. The position of the Church and its re- tion to witchcraft before the beginning of the fifteenth ary must be reconsidered first in the light of Miss wray’s conclusions and, secondly, with reference to “a numerical strength the cult could command as an yanisation—a point upon which Miss Murray does . PDI The Riddle of Bird Migration. Ratzel des Vogelzuges. Ihre Lésung auf experi- Wege durch Aeronautik, Aviatik und ingung. Von F. von Lucanus. Pp. vili+ (Langensalza : H. Beyer und Séhne (Beyer | “und Mann), 1922.) 30 marks. x HE migration of birds remains one of the most _ tangled problems, as it is one of the greatest marvels of the zoologist’s world. In the old days known sts were few and hypotheses were correspondingly iple (and as a rule erroneous), but with multiplicity of a, theories, guesses and suggestions have so increased number and complexity that they form in themselves new problem for the seeker after truth. In the matter of precision of data the present generation holds a great advantage over its predecessors. The institution of bird-ringing in Denmark by nsen in 1899, and its subsequent development in ny by Thienemann and others, and in this country the University of Aberdeen and Mr. Witherby, ised hopes of an early solution of many difficulties ; “while the development of air-craft and of their use in bird-watching, in which von Lucanus himself was a Barer. has led to information which appeared once 5" be beyond man’s grasp. -—'NO. 2740, VOL. 109] “~ In the light of the results of these new methods, von Lucanus restates the problems of the origin and causes of migration, of its direction, height and speed, of its meteorological relations, and, most subtle of all, of the pathfinding of the birds, and re-examines the solutions which have been suggested. It may be said at once that there are here many new facts, and that in many respects the work of the former generation of observers has been superseded ; but with it all, the reader is left with the feeling that while precision has been gained in problems of observation, the great problems of inter- pretation remain still beyond ken. Time after time the author is driven back for explanation upon an incom- prehensible “migratory instinct” or “impulse” (Zugtrieb). Thus, having rejected, on account of their inadequacy as imminent causes of autumn migration, the fall of temperature, the shortening of the day, the lack of food, the changed atmospheric conditions due to the passing of the summer solstice, he concludes, “a bird departs as soon as the time for its departure has come and the migratory impulse has been awakened, without requiring any particular external stimulus. Or again, having found tradition, warmer zones, anti- cyclonic conditions, wind guidance, a supposed magnetic sense, power of vision, each and all insufficient to account for the orientation of a bird’s migratory flights, he says, “on its journey a bird requires no particular guidance, but follows an instinct which decides the direction automatically.” Von Lucanus has long been recognised as the champion of migration at comparatively low levels in the air, as against the idea of high-level migration which Gitke made popular. Many observations by airmen have been added to his early balloon observations, and he still regards the general height of migration to be under 400 metres, and flight at rooo metres or over to be exceptional. Many records support his view, but conflicting evidence involves us in difficulties, for the author makes no mention of the observations of such of our airmen as Capt. Collingwood Ingram, who saw a flock of five hundred geese or ducks at about 11,500 feet, cranes (possibly) at 15,000 feet, birds resembling linnets at 10,000 feet, sandpipers at 12,000 feet, and so on. (Ibis, 1919, p. 321-5.) The riddle of migration is not solved, but this volume, rich in observations and analyses, gives an excellent synopsis of the present state of knowledge, and points the way for future research. We may express the hope that the German bird-watching stations, disorganised owing to post-war conditions in Germany, may soon be able to resume their activities and add to the vast contributions they have already made to a fascinating study. J. RivcHIE. Ul 574 NATURE [May 6, 1922 Modern Chemistry. Traité de Chimie Générale. Par Prof. W. Nernst. 2° édition francaise, complétement refondue d’aprés la ro® édition allemande par Prof. A. Corvisy. Premiére Partie: Propriéiés Générales des Corps— Atome et Molécule. Pp. viiit620. (Paris: J. Hermann, 1922.) 30 francs net. ROF. NERNST’S monumental treatise on general chemistry is so well known in this country and in America that no commendation of it is needed. It is a standard work in Germany, where it has already gone through numerous editions. In its French dress it has established a position in other parts of Europe and in Latin America. The volume under review— a large octavo of more than 600 pages—is the first part of the second French edition ; it has been thoroughly revised in conformity with the latest German edition. It deals with the general properties of matter and with atomic and molecular theories in the light of contemporary knowledge. In effect it is a treatise on the application of the fundamental principles of modern physics to chemistry, with due regard to inquiries wherever the study of chemical physics is - actively pursued. Indeed, the wealth of biblio- graphical reference is one of the most commendable features of the work. This, of course, is as it should be. Science knows no national boundaries. This was not always so recognised in Germany. In times not so very remote it was not unusual to notice a tendency to make the world believe that the study and develop- ment of physical science, and particularly chemistry and physics, had become almost the exclusive function and prerogative of German professors. Instances were not unknown of actual appropriation of other men’s work or of the wilful suppression of all mention of their labours. No such charge could possibly be brought against the author of this work. He ap- parently keeps his eyes open to all sources of know- ledge and welcomes evidence from any quarter. Although the general plan of the work is unchanged, the alterations and additions in the present French edition are very considerable. Many of the paragraphs have been greatly modified, and in some cases wholly rewritten ; others have been added ; some of the less important have been shortened and even discarded, so as to keep the book within bounds. Theoretical conceptions and new developments which found no mention in the first edition, such as the quantum theory, the constitution of the atom, the new thermo- dynamical theorem, the theory of relativity, atomic numbers, equations of state, the molecular theory of the solid state, the frequency of atomic vibrations, the elucidation of crystal structure by X-rays, radio- NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | activity, isotopism, etc., now find their appropriate — place and are dealt with at due length. The book is eminently readable, and vhe mathematical treatment — Prof. Nernst’s excellence as an expositor has in no sense suffered by the clarity and — precision of Prof. Corvisy’s rendering. The book is — in no wise deterrent. remarkably free from typographical errors, although, as might be expected in a volume of its size, a few mistakes occur here and there. It will be news to many readers that a Lord Rayleigh developed a certain , formula relating to gaseous mixtures so far back as 1587. Text-books of Elementary Mathematics. (1) Elementary Calculus. By Prof. William F. Osgood. Pp. ix+224. (New York: The Macmillan Com- — pany; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) — 12s. 6d. net. (2) Calculus for Beginners : A Text-book for Schools and Evening Classes. By H. Sydney Jones. Pp. ix + 300. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 6s. (3) A First Course in the Calculus metric and Logarithmic Functions of x, etc. By Prof. William P. Milne and G. J. B. Westcott. (Bell’s Mathematical Series for Schools and Colleges.) Pp. Xv + 181-402 +xv-xxxix. (With answers.) (Lon- don: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1920.) 55s. (4) Exponentials Made Easy, or The Story of “Bp stlon.” By M. E. J. Gheury de Bray. Pp. x+253. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 4s. 6d. net. (5) Mathematics for Technical Students : Junior Course. By S. N. Forrest. Pp. viii+260. (With answers.) (London: Edward Arnold, 1920.) 7s. 6d. net. . (6) Elementary Algebra. Part 2. By C. V. Durell and R. M. Wright. Ixxxv. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 5s. 6d. net. (7). A Concise Geometry. By Close v. Durell. (Cambridge Mathematical Series.) Pp. vili+3r19. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1920.) 5s. net. (8) Co-ordinate Geometry (Plane and Solid) for Be- — £ ginners. By R. C. Fawdry. (Bell’s Mathematical — Series for Schools and Colleges.) Pp. vilit+2z5. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 5s. (9) Elements of Practical Genmnttegs A Two Years’ Course for Day and Evening Technical Students. By P. W. Scott. Pp. v+185. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., r921.) 5. net. (z) ROF. OSGOOD’S supplies a need—the need of the young mathematician for a sound introduction to the differ- Part 2, Trigono- (With answers.) (Cambridge ; F: Mathematical Series.) Pp. xxilit+253-551+xlvii- “Elementary Calculus” — i A s May 6, 1922] NATURE 575 ential calculus. The treatment is almost without ‘blemish and is so simple and clear that the beginner should have no serious difficulty.' Chaps. 1-4 intro- duce only algebraic functions; chaps. 5-8 are con- cerned with trigonometric and exponential functions and the corresponding inverse functions. The treat- 1ent of infinitesimals and differentials in chap. 5 is cially to be commended. The author has one or hobby-horses. One that he ought not to have ‘idden here is the denial of the existence of “ in- y.” He says (p. 27): “ We should not read ‘Z roaches infinity,’ . . . but ‘Z becomes infinite’ ; _ ,.. the statement sometimes made that ‘ Z becomes : i peester than any assignable quantity’ is absurd. There is no quantity greater than any assignable gantity.” This last remark contains a certain mis- erstanding, and, in any case, such subtleties are suited to beginners. Among minor points it is curious to note that there is no definition of a limit in the book. Some proof, or at least a reference, should ye given for the proposition quoted on p. 113: “A ‘convex curved line is less than a convex broken line ch envelops it and has the same extremities.” (2) It is a pity that authors who do not “make reference to difficulties which seldom arise in the ‘minds of elementary students” generally manage to make their subject so uninteresting. We do not ask for proofs. Mr. Sydney Jones effectually sup- word “proofs” in inverted commas in his preface. But could we not have a little colour? Let us take ‘MacLaurin’s theorem as a sample (p. 158). Mr. _ Jones says: “Assuming that a function f(x) can _ be expanded in positive integral ascending powers of .... f(x) =Ay+Aw+Age/t.2+ ... to determine the coefficients A,, Aj, a peUEee then differentiates the series and determines the co- _ efficients, as if this were a most ordinary and most _ dull proceeding. His pupils no doubt wonder vaguely, learn their lesson by rote, and pass on. If he would _ only pause to tell them what a wonderful theorem this is, or point out how great are the assumptions he is making, it would be well worth the space. Judg- ing the book from the author’s own point of view, there is little to find fault with in it. But he should not call a differential coefficient a “ differential” (p. “es 18, etc.). (3) This misuse of the word “differential” is a bad habit that appears to be gaining ground. The authors of “ A First Course in the Calculus ” are also addicted to it (preface and p. 215). Their text-book _ is mainly manipulative ; it contains the usual treat- ment of the infinitesimal calculus, and concludes with _ NO. 2740, VOL. 109] chee such an unreasonable desire by putting the. a chapter on differential equations. The proof, depending on the area of a circular sector, for the limit of sin 6/@ (p. 181), is open to the objection that students are generally taught to use the limit in question for finding this area. It is not necessary to use a formula for an area at all (see, for example, Levett and Davison’s “ Plane Trigonometry,” p. 82). Many mathematicians would be pained by the author’s statement on p. 343: “If we proceed indefinitely, taking only a fractional part of a given object, it is perfectly plain that the fractional portion will soon be very small indeed.” There is no doubt that an in- telligent person can convince himself that the limit of x” is zero, if x is less than unity, but a more exacting logician demands a proof of the proposition. The authors hope that “the student will have nothing to unlearn if he afterwards . . . proceeds to a rigor- ous course of modern analysis.” But it would be a pity if he learnt to regard analysis as the proving of the “ perfectly plain.” ~(4) Mr. Gheury de Bray calls his book a “little brother” of “Calculus Made Easy.” We do not know whether the late Prof. S. P. Thompson would have been pleased with this facetious little relative. The only portion of the work that we can unreservedly recommend is a long preliminary quotation from Henri Fabre (pp. 1-12). There follow part 1 on indices, binomial series, etc., and part 2 on the ex- ponential series, the equiangular spiral, the hyper- bola (because its area is a logarithmic function), the catenary, the parabola (because it resembles a catenary), the probability curve, and “ exponential analysis.” The method consists in “ talking round ” the subject ; something may be said for it, but it requires skilful handling, and in this author’s hands it is often long- winded and obscure. The unwary should be warned that the method, which is stated on p. 55, is not “‘ mathematical induction,” but a kind of sampling ; the statement on p. 147 that the centroid of a catenary arc is its middle point is, of course, incorrect. The last chapter is interesting, but too difficult for any one who would care to read the rest of the book. In sum the author had an excellent idea, which he has not quite managed to realise. (5) “Mathematics for Technical Students” is designed for the first two years’ work following on an elementary school course. The treatment is apt to be rather too formal in places—Mr. Forrest teaches algebra in the old style like a game of patience with x’s and y’s for playing cards, and only hints that algebra has something to do with the workaday world after his pupil has learnt to play the game. The treatment is, of course, still quite defensible, but it is now generally thought better to reverse this order 576 NATURE [May 6, 1922 with technical students, who are only too apt to regard mathematics as a game instead of an essential part of their business. The book is, for the rest, well proportioned and quite suitable for its purpose. (6) The subject known as “ Elementary Algebra ” has been so metamorphosed in the past ten or twenty years that its name ought to be changed. Graphs, differentiation, integration, and nomography are not algebra as understood by Salmon, Chrystal, or Weber. A little trigonometry and as much geometry as is required should be added and the whole called ele- mentary mathematics. The breaking down of the watertight compartments into which school mathe- matics used to be divided is a development in the right direction. The scheme of this book is interesting. The book- work is only given in outline in the text or hinted at in the introduction. It remains for the teacher to fill in this framework according to his own lights. And then the text-book gives him examples that are both numerous and apposite. The scheme has much to recommend it, and will be welcomed by teachers who are accustomed to do their work thoroughly. The authors need not apologise for introducing a chapter on nomography, although this chapter will be found difficult without a much fuller treatment. (7) It is a melancholy fact that examinations dominate and thereby spoil much of the education that they are intended to test and encourage. A considerable part of the education in this country has no higher purpose than the passing of a public examination at some future date. Mr. Durell, who is capable of much better things, says quite frankly that he has compiled a cram book, and we can recom- mend it for that purpose. The range is roughly that of the Cambridge schedule. (8) The syllabuses for the Army entrance examina- tions and those conducted by the Oxford and Cambridge Joint Board have been assimilated, in the hope that Army classes at public schools may thereby be dis- continued. This is a little unfortunate for Mr. Fawdry, whose ‘Co-ordinate Geometry ” is written for Army candidates. But the book should prove quite suitable for the general classes into which the Army classes may be merged. Mr. Fawdry has the humanity to insert one or two historical notes (pp. 29 and 75). They are slight, but it is wonderful how much interest they add to the reading. We should like to see more of them. (9) One of the difficulties of the teacher of modern elementary geometry is the devising of life-like examples. He will solve this difficulty if he gets Mr. Scott’s text- book on practical geometry. The text-book is meant for young draughtsmen, and is full of such things as NO. 2740, VOL. 109] draughtsmen have to draw. The only general criti- 4 cism we would make is that, while Mr. Scott gives — clear instructions, he never justifies them, and we cannot believe that rule of thumb is a good rule even” for draughtsmen. Chap. 8, about which the author — is a little apologetic, is rather out of place. It con- tains some methods of constructing a “true length,” when plan and elevation are given. The chapter is good in itself, but it stands at a different level from the rest of the book. The subject should be either — left out or treated more fully. Standing alone, it will not be understood by the majority of readers. H. Bue oe Studies in Symbiosis.! Tier und Pflanze in intrazellularer Symbiose. Prof. P. Buchner. Pp. xi+462+Tafel 2. Gebriider Borntraeger, 1921.) 114 mk. HE third section of Dr. Buchner’s book deals with the highly controversial thesis that symbiotic bacteria are the cause of luminosity in many insects and marine animals. In this discus- sion, the author’s critical faculty is at fault. He does not set out clearly the opposing lines of evidence nor does he do full justice to the work of Dubois, the protagonist of the ‘‘ enzyme-theory ” of animal luminosity. Sen! | Briefly, the issue is between the enzyme and the — bacterial modes of light production. According to Dubois and Newton Harvey (whose work was reviewed in NatuRE, October 6, p. 174), luminous animals contain two substances, one of which, when oxidised in the presence of the other, gives rise to light — of an extremely “ efficient” kind. The firefly’s light is the standard—the most efficient light known, so far as the amount of light in relation to the expenditure of energy is concerned. One of these substances is a heat-stable, dialysable, oxidisable light producer, the other is not heat-stable, is non-dialysable, and is ap- parently a proteid. These substances are obtained by “ dissolving ” whole animals or their phosphorescent mucus in water or alcohol and precipitating with — ammonium sulphate. No attempts appear to have been made to test the solutions for the presence of — bacteria. An aqueous emulsion boiled in 20 per cent. _ hydrochloric acid for three hours retains the power of producing light when added to a cold-water emulsion. In the former the heat-stable “ luciferin” has been separated from the unstable catalyst “ luciferase,” ¢ while both are present in the cold-water extract. — The presence of the activator is necessary for light 1 Continued from p. 539+ . - _ May 6, 1922] NATURE 577 _ production which in that case accompanies the ‘rapid oxidation of luciferin; otherwise the process occurs without the evolution of light. The cold-water extract glows for a time until its luciferin is completely ‘oxidised, and it may be made reluminescent by adding some of the hot-water extract. __ The bacterial theory of animal light, though possibly consistent with the enzymic one, is based on entirely _ different data. In its modern form, as an explanation ~ of the phosphorescence of fireflies, glow-worms, and “such marine animals as Pyrosoma and certain cuttle- fish, it is due to Italian zoologists, and especially to the work of Pierantoni. Dr. Buchner is a convert to this view and is a worker in this field. He gives a very interesting account of the evidence, which is of a logical, and not, as in the case of the enzyme school, a chemical character. According to these observa- tions, the luminous organs of cephalopods, be they a never so complicated, are essentially cultures of bacteria _ in media suitable for their nutrition, and in situations ‘@ favourable for obtaining oxygen. In the common Sepia, for example, the organ 4 Pibitherto called the accessory nidamental gland and a ‘regarded as part of the egg-producing mechanism) consists of a modified part of the mantle within which _ different kinds of bacteria occur. Some are luminous, _ others are not. They also occur in the egg membrane _ before development, and Pierantoni describes the _ infection of the embryo by bacteria derived from those of the egg capsule. In a similar manner he explains the relationship between the luminosity of the egg of the glow-worm and that of the larva and adult beetle. The cells of the luminous organ of Pyrosoma contain structures that are also apparently symbiotic organisms. Noctiluca, however, has not yet been examined from this point of view. The difficulty that many will feel in regard to this _ or the rival solution of an admittedly complex problem is the incompleteness of the explanation hitherto __ given of flash and occultation and of the apparent trans- mission of a mechanical stimulus from one part of a luminous animal (as in Pyrosoma) to another, lighting the “lamps” as it travels along. The solution seems to lie in the phases and disturbances not only of _ respiration, but of other controlling factors leading ___ to continuous or alternating evolution of light. Dr. Buchner has performed a signal service by collating much of what is known of intracellular symbiosis in animals, and his book is one that is most Suggestive for further experiment and observation. It indicates the fruitfulness of border-line investigation, and should be widely known amongst biologists to whatever section of organic science they may belong. F. W. GAMBLE. id NO. 2740, VOL. 109] ‘development of power. Our Bookshelf. Industrial and Power Alcohol. By Dr. R. C. Farmer. (Pitman’s Technical Primer Series.) Pp. x+110. (London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 2s. 6d. net. THE author has certainly contrived to include a very large amount of information regarding alcohol in this little book; which contains clear descriptions of the properties of the alcohols and the methods of pro- duction. There are interesting chapters on the technical applications and the use of alcohol for the By no means the least in- formative part of the book is the numerous references to government regulations and restrictions. Thus, after a statement of some of these restrictions, we read on page 31 :—“‘ Plant is stereotyped, and there is no encouragement to introduce improvements in method or in apparatus. Transport by tank is for- bidden, and no distillery is permitted to be more than a quarter of a mile from a market town, whereas it would frequently be better to situate the distillery near to the raw materials.” We can commend this b6ok to any who are interested in the development of alcohol as a fuel. Les Combustibles liquides et leurs Applications. Par le Syndicat d’Applications Industrielles des Com- bustibles liquides. Pp. iii+621. (Paris: Gauthier- Villars et Cie, 1921.) ONE may liken this volume to the many similar pocket- book issues extant in this country as compendious guides to the various branches of applied science. It serves a double purpose as an epitome of petroleum technology and as a standard work of reference for immediate requirements in the field, refinery, and office, and although written essentially for the use of the French industries concerned with inflammable liquids, it deserves a much wider sphere of utility. This type of publication, though frequently condemned as inimical to the best interests of scientific work and commercial production, commands a degree of popu- larity for which it is not, perhaps, difficult to account. H. B. MILner. The Development of Institutions under Irrigation ; With Special Reference to Early Utah Conditions. By Prof. G. Thomas. (The Rural Science Series.) xi+293. (New York: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 16s. net. Pror, THoMAS aims at tracing the evolution of water legislation in Utah from 1847, when the Mormon pioneers founded Salt Lake City, to the present time. He shows how the Mormons, if not the first people in America to practise irrigation, were certainly the first to establish it on an extensive scale, the whole of their civilisation practically resting on this type of agriculture. They showed the way to reclaim vast areas of arid land and on their pioneer attempts have been based the methods utilised in other parts of the United States. He also traces the influence of this type of agriculture on the plan and design of the cities of Utah. The book would have been improved by the addition of a map. 578 NATURE [May 6, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake 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. | The Buoyancy of the Sun-fish. Axsout the end of August numbers of sun-fish (Orthagoriscus mola) make their appearance off the north coast of Ireland floating passively on the surface of the sea. The positive buoyancy, while not so great as to prevent the fish from submerging when attacked, constitutes a constant upward drag which brings it back to the surface as soon as it stops swimming. So far as we know, the bodies of all other fish have a specific gravity greater than that of sea-water, and the swim-bladder, where it exists, contains the necessary amount of gas to compensate for this and bring the body of the fish to neutral buoyancy. The sun-fish has no swim-bladder, and on cutting up a fish and throwing pieces of the various organs overboard, it was found that everything sank except the liver and the skin. The liver floats no doubt because of the large quantity of fat it contains. The skin is 2-24 inches thick and, the fish being flat, forms a large proportion of the body: it is evident that the fish floats passively on account of this buoyant jacket. The skin is made of a tough elastic material, slimy to the touch, resembling rather soft cartilage : as a whole it is stiff enough to form what may be described as a rigid coat. For more detailed ex- amination a number of slices were preserved in sea- water formalin: the slices had not changed in their appearance or proportions, and this pickled material probably represents fairly the fresh condition apart from such features as the solubility of the mucus, etc. The epidermis is 1-2 mm. thick; internally the skin is bounded by the very thin parietal peri- toneum: the rest is uniform in appearance and shows microscopically a felted mass of thin wavy fibres arising stellately from connective tissue cells. There are a few rather thicker straight fibres but nothing of the nature of trabecule or struts. A few canals—presumably mucous ducts—are found here and there. No stainable fat is present, nor can an be obtained from dried material by extraction ad ether, chloroform, or petrol. After washing ‘out the salt in distilled water, the specific gravity of the substance of the skin was found to be 1013 to 1016 with a mean of 1014 by weighing in air and water and floating bits in salt solutions of different strengths. It is difficult to get very precise results since one has to start with pieces in the rather indefinite state of being ‘‘ surface dry.” The specific gravity of pieces soaked in 0-9 per cent. NaCl solution was 1021. This may be taken to be somewhat near the natural gravity since it is known that the concentration of the body fluids of teleostean fish corresponds with that of mammals and is much less than sea-water. Taking the gravity of sea-water as 1026, these figures are compatible with the observation that the whole fish is just buoyant. The most remarkable thing is that the percentage of solids in the skin washed out in distilled water is only about 3*7 per cent., figures varying from 3-5 to 4:2 being given by different pieces while the loss of weight on drying in vacuo over sulphuric acid is practically NO. 2740, VOL. 109] the same as the loss in an oven at 95° C. Histo- logically the larger part of the skin Hee a a: a : to be made of connective tissue fibres, an Pes extraordinary that 2 per cent. or less of the muca material can give, when it is swollen with wate a tissue the mechanical firmness and rigidity of the skin. The specific gravity of the dried solids, by floa’ in chloroform-petrol mixtures, was 1-335. a . tion from this gives a specific gravity of 1010 or there- abouts for the undried material. Thedifference between this and the determined value of 1014 (involving value of about 1:6 for the solids) may be an of observation or indicative of a condensation the mucoid material when it is swollen in war 4 such as is known to occur with starch, gelatine, and ~ proteids (Chick and Martin, Biochemical Journals vii. (1913), 92). b - After formalin fixation, the mucus is not soluble in dilute sodium carbonate, and once the skin rene been dried in vacuo it will not swell up again in — 3 water, dilute acid or alkali. on G. C,C. DAMANT, A. E. Boyvcotr, aa Thursford, East Cowes. é : Haloes and Earth History. In continuation of my letter on this subject in - Nature of April 22, p. 517, fifty additional measure- — ments of the small Ytterby haloes have been made. — The same consistency among the readings is note able. The mean result is a radius of ©-0052 mm. — Introducing two corrections not previously eel | . (for the somewhat higher stopping power of this — mica and for the fact that in such measurements we do not generally deal with the extreme range) — I find that the range in air might be as much as 1-4 oreveni+5cm. The nuclear correction would teduce’ this a very little. The consistency of measurements among ise | haloes is, I think, even greater than would be found - to obtain among normal haloes. The law prevail- ing among halo-dimensions is only apparent upon comparison and classification. It is by no means ; prima facie evident. It was just for this reason that 2 it for so long escaped notice. 4 There is evidence that some of the larger aes ee: Ytterby haloes deserve consideration as constituting a true radioactive development. Their radius is consistently 0-0086mm. The nucleus is far too — small to account for the difference. With all allow- ances (save that for the nucleus) this comes out as 2-4 cms. in air at 15° C. This is suggestively like that of Ur (2-50). But we seem debarred from the tempting conclusion that hibernium may be a Prvey : uranium by the time-difficulties involved. 4 The paragraph in my letter referring to the possi- bility that the Ytterby haloes might date back to — a prior geological era requires some explanatory — amendment. It would be better to speak of the Archean as what (as I believe) it really is—the record of a past geological era; a material record finally brought to an end by thermal changes sufficient to evaporate the oceans... The reading of the halo— could we read it. aright—would then assign a date to the formation of the containing mica. Upon the prima facie evidence this date is very remote. That is all I have to say upon this point. There are, as I have intimated, possible alternatives to the view that very great time intervals are involved. The element responsible may emit a-rays the con- — . nection of the range of which with the radioactive - ae an are env, a May 6, 1922] NATURE 579 constant may involve a very different constant from t which, with small modification, applies to the ee known radioactive families. Still more funda- would be the discovery of some other than a tive origin for these haloes. I have considered alternatives. One naturally thinks of a influence emanating from the nucleus. from the difficulty of accounting for the stent measurements, the existence of bleached s in this mica, which possess the characteristic ons of uranium and emanation haloes, seems idable difficulty. The relation between the tive staining and the bleaching is everywhere as to suggest that the latter is a modification of former. A quantitative difficulty also exists. volume of the nucleus varies from the ;,45; to the part of the halo-volume which it has affected. the nucleus may be a limpid particle revealing no xe of loss or decomposition. Only radioactivity confer on one atom the energy requisite to ionise ny hundreds. course some one of the known elements may be sponsible for these haloes. Geiger and Nutall long ppoerted out the difficulty which would attend the of radioactivity in elements having a dioactive constant proportional to such ranges. ut here we have an integration such as far transcends i resources of the laboratory. Until this point is od—if it ever will be possible to settle it—a stinguishing name seems desirable. To this name e addition of numerals would suffice to deal with F halo-developments as may be ascertainable. : J. Jory. Trinity College, Dublin, April 25. Pythagoras’s Theorem as a Repeating Pattern. Tue interesting communication from Major MacMahon on the above subject reminds me of a which I discovered over the chessboard a few 3 ago, of the well-known fact, that if the lengths of > sides of a right-angled triangle are 3 and 4, the of the hypotenuse will be 5. pawns at A, B, and C (Fig. 1), we require to "prove that A is equidistant from B and C. We put NTNEIN \ \\3 \= WS \ ISS Fic. x. ‘two more pawns at D and E, when it will be readily seen, even by a mn unacquainted with Euclid, _ that A, D, E are in line and that CEBD is a square. 43 any point on a diagonal of a square must, by "symmetry, be equidistant from the extremities of the other diagonal, AB =AC. _ The corresponding general proof of Pythagoras’s Hheorem i is as follows. Given x*+y*=2*, we get Z+x-Y atYtzZ ee +y-2 s+y-x%* (t) rs Gy algebra. Taking horizontal and vertical axes of _ reference through an origin O (Fig. 2), we mark downa joint A the co-ordinates of which are }(z+%-y), (x+y—z), and a point B the co-ordinates of which are edie 3(z+y-—-%). By the given relation (1) OAB a straight line. Through A and B draw ordinates PQ, NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Then, drawing the ordinate DN, SR, each equal to PS, and in the square PORS inscribe the square ADBC by marking oe RD =PC=SB. we have DN=PS=4(4+yt+2)—4h(2+4%-y) =y, ON=OP+PA=}4(2+4-y)+4(4+y—-2) =%, OD =OC=OP+SB=}(2+4-y)+3(e+¥- x)=2, which proves the theorem. It is to be noted that in any special case where *, y, 2 are given integers (as in the case given above), it can be easily shown that OAB is a straight line Ro D R O Fic. 2. without knowing anything about proportion. Thus in such cases Pythagoras’s theorem is proved without introducing areas. It has, I believe, been suggested that the ancient Egyptians must have been acquainted with goras’s theorem, since they knew that a triangle with sides 3, 4, 5, is right-angled. But they may possibly have known only the special proof here y, it may be noticed that Euclid’s axiom about parallels is tacitly assumed when we allow that a repeated pattern of squares can be constructed. J. R. Cotter. Trinity College, Dublin, April 15. Man. MAN is a social animal through habit, not isatinnt: Religions, morals, -taboos, customs, conventions, which he learns through imitation, supply him with rules of thought and conduct. Without them human society could not exist. But there are two sorts of rules. The one kind binds the body, limits action, supplies rules of conduct, and impels men to “play the game ”’ fairly. The other sort binds the mind, limits thought, impels men never to question the rules. When the rules that bind the mind are many and strait, men tend to regard lightly the rules that bind to conduct. All this may seem far-fetched, but consider universal history. Is it not the fact that communities have been inefficient, stagnant, and tur- bulent in proportion as their minds have been bound ? I may be afflicted with racial prejudice, but to me it seems that the men of English speech owe their predominant position in the world to the fact that they more than others “ play the game’ scrupulously, and yet have been freest of all in their thoughts, and so, while obeying their existing rules, have most readily altered the rules both of conduct and of thought. We English may have only one sauce, but, fortunately, we have a hundred heresies. Modern English history tells of continuous evolution, but of only one revolution. Compare the histories of more orthodox countries. Men cannot get away from habit, and mental habits depend not so much on the things that are learned as on the way in which they are learned. Through imitation we _ get emotional convictions and closed habits of mind ; through curiosity, intellectual convictions and open, reflective habits of mind. en a man is mentally “too old at forty” his mind has been artificially closed. It can no longer profit from experience, 580 NATURE [May 6, 1922 He has become unintelligent. Consider the unlike results which would follow the teaching of science on the grounds of faith and of evidence. In the former case there would be stagnation, passionate and unending controversy, with deference to this auth- ority and hatred of that ; in the latter case, contempt for mere authority, efficiency, progress, cool dis- cussion, and ultimate agreement. Always it is not so much the thing that is taught that matters, but the way in which it is taught, through imitation or through curiosity. Consider how inefficient were such nations as Russia and Turkey in the late war, and how they are smashed-beyond repair. Had the peoples of the world been less prejudiced and more intelligent there would have been no war. The sub- ject is immense, and desire for compression has made me didactic; but readers of NATURE may fill lacune, and perhaps forgive my manner. Men learn, through imitation, unlike standards. Among us are people who regret the Dark Ages: as before them there were doubtless those who regretted the manly times of Saxon piracy, and before them those who grieved for painted savagery. But, obviously, if we desire intelligence, efficiency, a contented and prosperous population, and a pro- gressive civilisation, we must teach our youth as much as possible through evidence. We cannot help imparting some things through imitation (¢.g. our ideas of right and wrong), but our special aim should be to create through curiosity an open, reflective habit of mind. This is, of course, the way in which ‘science has been created, and which its workers constantly advocate. But it is vain to express mere opinions. Many people who professedly, indeed sincerely, seek the same ends think it primarily essential to close the mind to evil by teaching especi- ally the emotional convictions they may happen to hold, and to expend the rest of the pupil’s time by causing him to learn through labour other things (e.g. languages) which are commonly acquired through imitation. A man may learn all the languages in the world and yet not part from a single prejudice. Fortunately, the history of society furnishes crucial examples in abundance. For example, the modern world, like the Graeco-Roman, but unlike every other, has been prolific in men great in thought or action. In these two worlds men have learned especially through curiosity. With very rare exceptions, only Christians (who more than others have abandoned mere imitation) have produced great men; and among Christians great men have been almost limited to the less orthodox (i.e. less imitative) sects, or to defaulters from the more orthodox. Consider Newton, Darwin, Napoleon and his con- temporaries, Garibaldi, Bismarck, and the rest. The crime-rate of modern communities, ranging from civil war and rebellion, through brigandage and murder, to acts of petty violence, is immensely higher among the more orthodox, who, both peoples and individuals, usually occupy inferior positions and attribute their misfortunes to oppressors, native or foreign. But emigration to other lands leaves such people unchanged, as witness the alien population of Great Britain and the United States, with its emotionalism, tendency to corruption, and high crime- rate. Government by the orthodox is invariably corrupt or inefficient, or both, as in Russia, Turkey, and medieval England. Efficient modern Governments, hoping to obtain peace, are often pathetically anxious to confer self- government on the orthodox. But you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. As object-lessons, compare Russia and Germany in defeat. The latter, wrecked. by an emotional despot and his Byzantine Court, is cleverly reconstructing her prosperity. NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Russia was, and is, and will long continue, an auto-— cracy or lapse into chaos. People with the degree of intelligence permitted by the Orthodox Church could not possibly evolve a free and orderly State. Con- sider all the nations of the world. Invariably yo will find that the men whose rules limit thought are — inferior to those whose rules, relatively ee , limit only action. Many empires have perished in the past from internal decay or external pressure. — In the former case the decay has always coin with an increase of training through imitation; in the latter, rival nations have increased their training — through curiosity. We may confer self-government — on populations in India, Egypt, and nearer home; but very certainly these populations will then only — reproduce societies like those which people similarly — trained have produced elsewhere. a Science has endowed humanity with a vast com- — mand over Nature, but has been less successful in establishing the scientific spirit. Within the limits — created by his prejudices, facts may be taught to the ~ adult, but frames of mind, as a rule, only to the very young; and science has neglected to consider the ~ education of the latter. It is one thing to discover — the shape and age of the earth or the origin of o—. 4 and quite another thing to persuade men y biassed to accept the intellectual consequences. It is one thing to invent explosives and aeroplanes, and quite another thing to make men, already made ~ creatures of emotion through imitation, tolerant, reflective, open-minded, rational, so that discovery shall not be used for evil. The world is seething wi 2 passionate hatreds, the offspring of prejudices, which are derived from imitation. Consider the moral and ~ religious differences which are indelibly impressed on the minds of children, and are the root-causes of — nearly all the trouble that ferments from Galway to © Singapore. Knowledge, the child of Science, has — outgrown her twin Wisdom, and in the hands of © violent and intolerant men may easily bring our civilisation to ruin. Consider ancient Rome and how 4 exactly her decline coincided with the rise of fanati- — cism. Compare, as revealed in their literatures, the — minds of the fervid saints with those of the common- ~ sense pagans. But at least we may try to guard our © own land. We have a unique opportunity; for * among the British, the least prejudiced of moderns, are many who would accept crucial evidence con- — cerning the development of society if it were offered — fearlessly and insistently, and only the followers of © science can so offer it. The main difficulty liesin the beginning: it will be hard to move scientific men, — especially biologists, to action. From the nature — of their training they lack enthusiasm (which is an emotion), and therefore organisation, and therefore power. Compare Salvationists. The little finger of General Booth is thicker than the loins of the president — of the Royal Society. But probably, were the move- — ment in favour of a right method of mental training _ well started, the laity would supply the enthusiasm. — However, all that is on the knees of the gods. I now conclude my letters to NatuRE. They may, ~ perhaps, have achieved some small success in things — about which I care little, but probably none at allin — the things about which I care much. I think they — have been misunderstood. I am not wildly con- — cerned about biological terminology per se, or about ~ chromosomes, or whether groups of naturalists limit — their facts to those furnished by zoology and botany, — or experiment, or biometry, and so forth, or whether © they bring a wider range of evidence from other ~ sciences and studies into court by means of crucial — testing. If the public be uninterested or stupid, it — matters not how biologists divert themselves. Ifitbe © interested and intelligent, it matters supremely ; but — q May 6, 1922] NATURE 581 the latter case biologists will be compelled, by sure from outside, especially from the followers other sciences, to adopt the right methods, what- > they may be. But I am concerned with mind i education, and the moment one tries to reach in such matters one finds oneself in biological ands. One is told that some characters are and some acquired, but not the distinction en the innate and the acquired. It is under- that things that are learned are acquired, but y no one has tried to ascertain how much ed or how it is learned. Seemingly, all fs are eed that, in themselves, acquired ters are trifling things ; but while Lamarckians ink them important through their cumulative acts, neo-Darwinians, conceiving them as transient, mk them unworthy of study. Both parties mean thing when they apply the word “ inherit” to te’ characters, and the exact opposite when it to “‘ acquirements.”’ is the educable animal, say some biologists. not educable, say (in effect) others who declare in his mental make-up nature is four, perhaps ‘times more potent than nurture. One admires ecision of statement, but wonders what is . As I understand it, man’s nature is such that particularly responsive to the nurture of mental It is as if a physicist had stated that the steam ur, perhaps nine, times more potent than the ve. And so on. Meanwhile, prejudice controls tion and society flows towards the cataracts. ay be very ignorant as to facts and mistaken 7 opinions, but in that case my demolition should oliday task to the trained and learned intellect. ig demolition, I cannot help believing that zists do not realise how very great their science * might be, and how vitally and immediately rtant their labours are, or should be. In- uly, I have sought in these letters of mine to te ‘the high importance, as it appears to me, sifying characters, not as innate and acquired, as physiologists do, according to the stimuli cause them to develop. So far as I am able idge, unless scientific men ascertain precisely mental characters are developed, and then tion, modern society will soon be on the G. ARCHDALL REID. ‘ 9 Victoria Road South, Southsea, Hants. of Molecules of Benzenoid Substances. 2ROF. ROBINSON’s remarks (NATURE, April 15, 6) on Sir William Bragg’s representation of the thalene molecule, as it occurs in crystals, lead to invite attention to results obtained recently Mr. G. H. Christie and myself. In a paper which be published in the forthcoming number of the nal of the Chemical Society, the resolution of -6 : 6’-dinitro-diphenic acid into optically active ponents is described. This, with the fact that @ tly homogeneous brucine salt has been fained from the cis-form of the acid, indicates that 2 separate molecules (as distinguished from their talline aggregates, to which Sir William Bragg’s is apply) of these compounds the two benzene ei are not coplanar. this be so, it follows that the direction of the valency of each of the carbon atoms through which these nuclei are united is not, as represented in the usual formule for benzene, exerted in the plane of ‘the benzene ring, and ‘further, that this condition is - astable one rather than a phase of an oscillation of NO. 2740, VOL. 109] rously apply their knowledge for the betterment _ the type referred to by Prof. Robinson. It ma be possible to determine to what extent, if at all, this stability involves a modification of the normal benzenoid properties associated with two benzene nuclei. Differences between diphenyl itself and benzene in respect of their molecular refraction, and behaviour on catalytic reduction and towards ozone, are already on record, so that it will also be pertinent to inquire whether the fixity of configuration is a general property of diphenyl derivatives, or is dependent on the nature of the substituents present, and connected, for example, with the observations of Baly and Collie (Trans. Chem. Soc., 1905, 1339) on the modification of the ultra-violet absorption of benzene by the introduction of a nitro group. In any case, our result would appear to supply the first direct experimental proof that other con- figurations of the separate benzene molecule may exist than the plane (Kekulé) type. For the great majority of chemists, who also recognise the merits of the Kekulé formula, or some modification of it, this will involve the acceptance of some dynamic conception, such as, for example, has been advocated by Collie and by Bloch. It will be noted that one phase of Bloch’s formula corresponds closely to that deduced by Sir William Bragg from his observations on the diamond and on naphthalene and its derivatives. ; It should perhaps be pointed out that the above suggestions depend for their validity on the assump- tion that the relationship between the isomerides is stereochemicalin the ordinary sense. There isalways a possibility, which, however, will perhaps be generally considered remote, that the difference may be rather one of structure, in that the two compounds contain, for example, different types of nuclei. ° J. KENNER. The University, Sheffield, April 21, 1922. The Speed of Light. In a discussion in Nature last year (March ro, vol. 107, p. 42) Majorana’s experiment was cited as direct proof that the velocity of light is independent of. the motion of the source. In reality, however, there is a disadvantage in his method which seems to the writer very greatly to lessen the value of his results. Majorana measured the wave-length of the green light from a moving mercury-vapour tube by means of a Michelson interferometer, and detected the change of wave-length that is required by the usual Doppler theory (Phil. Mag., 37, p. 145, 1919). Now it is easily seen that the frequency of the waves arriving at the receiving apparatus will undergo the usual Doppler change whether the speed of propagation is altered (moderately) or not, and speed equals wave- length times frequency, hence Majorana concludes that the speed of the light from his tube was the same when the tube was moving as when it was at rest. But obviously he measured the wave-length only after the light had suffered one or two reflections or transmissions in stationary apparatus, and its velocity might easily have been altered by these processes. Any conclusion from his results must therefore rest, at best, upon very indirect reasoning. We may freely admit that a satisfactory emission theory consistent with all the facts that are known to- day, including Majorana’s result, would be difficult to construct. Yet it does seem regrettable that we have still no simple direct proof of the second postulate of Relativity. U2 582 NATURE [May 6, 1922 Perhaps the simplest way to test the postulate directly would be to observe the Doppler effect with a concave reflecting grating so set as to form the image on the normal to the surface of the grating (cf. Tolman, Phys. Rev., 35, p. 136, 1912); the retardation then occurs entirely before reflection, and it is the wave-length of incident light which is measured by the deviation. Any uncertainty as to the relative speed of the reflected rays can be removed by making the line of motion of the source pass through the centre of the grating, and then observing the effect of the motion upon the position of the central image when the grating is turned so as to bring this image into the position formerly occupied by the diffracted one. In these circumstances, for reasons of symmetry the speed of the incident waves along two rays equally inclined to the direction of motion must be the same; if it then turns out that the position of the central image is unaffected by the motion, it will follow that the speed must likewise be the same along | the two corresponding reflected rays. This conclusion will hold also for the two diffracted rays which take these paths in the main experiment. E. H. KENNARD. Department of Physics, Cornell University. On the N-Series in X-Ray Spectra. WitH the new and very powerful X-ray-spectro- scopic outfit constructed by Prof. M. Siegbahn (described in Comptes rvendus, 1921, p. 1350) I have endeavoured to find a weaker group of lines in the X-ray region than the lines previously known as M-group. I have been able to find some lines which most probably must be referred to the N-series of the elements uranium and thorium. Hitherto, the measured wave-lengths for these lines lie for uranium between , 8:6-12:0 A.U. and for thorium between 9°4-13°5 A.U. From the theoretical and experimental work done by Coster and others, we are able to estimate the wave-lengths of the lines in the N-series. For the elements uranium and thorium we really find that some of these lines must have wave-lengths of about the measured value. For bismuth, however, and the elements in its neighbourhood, all the N-lines must have a wave-length of more than 13 A.U. so that in the present state of spectroscopy it will be very difficult to measure the wave-lengths for these elements. ‘ JT am continuing these researches. V. DOLEJSEK. Physical Laboratory, The University, Lund, March 31. A Proposed Laboratory Test of the Theory of Relativity. WitH the present interest so strong in devising experiments to test the theory of relativity, it may not be amiss to suggest the possibility of yet another method. According to recent hypotheses, it seems that the stars are the factories producing com- plex elements from simpler structures. Inside the stars, hydrogen atoms may unite to form helium, and with hydrogen and helium as intermediates, the more complicated atoms may be built. As pointed out by Harkins, Eddington, Perrin, and others, the synthesis of an atom of helium from four hydrogen atoms necessi- tates the loss of 0-774 per cent. of the mass of the hydrogen atoms. Since we cannot conceive of mass being annihilated, the only obvious solution is to say NO. 2740, VOL. 109] that mass is electromagnetic in origin and that, in the helium nucleus, the four protons are brought near to the two electrons that their fields overlap a neutralise each other to some extent, accompanied a loss of mass. According to the theory of relativi I gram of matter is equivalent to 9x10” ergs 2:1x 10" calories. Both Harkins and Perrin ha: calculated the amount of heat that must be produ by the transformation of four gram atoms of hydroger into one gram atom of helium. It has the enormous value of 0-0078 x 2-1 x 107 or 1:6 x 10" calories. __ It may be possible for several helium nuclei to unite to form heavier nuclei, such as oxygen for example, — without such a great evolution of heat. More accu- — rate determinations of the atomic weights of the so- — called “‘ pure” elements would be necessary before — we could say much concerning the energy relations in such sub-atomic reactions. : ~ fan When the nuclei become so large that they are — unstable, then the process of synthesis in the stars — would stop. But there might be an over-shooting of — the mark. With the enormous amount of energy free _ in the interior of the stars, some of this energy might — be absorbed, according to the theorem of Le Chate at in the formation of nuclei which would be unstable in an environment not containing so much energy. Energy would be considered as one of the terms in a mass law equation, to use a well-known chemical analogy. The result would be the radioactive ele- ments—uranium, thorium, etc. We Now let us calculate with the aid of the above equation, derived from the theory of relativity, the effect on the mass of a radioactive substance that — : would be caused by this addition of energy. Ruther- ford, in his book ‘‘ Radioactive Substances and their Radiations,” p. 582, states that 1 gram of radium in disintegrating to lead gives off 3-7 x10® calories. If — I gram of mass = 9 x 10° ergs = 2-1 x 108 calories, then 1 gram of radium in disintegrating to lead would — 3 give off 0-oo0017 gram and I gram atom of radium, 0-038 gram in the form of energy. If the atomic weight of RaG (radium-lead) is taken as 206 exactly, _ then the atomic weight of its parent, radium, may be _ calculated as follows : # I gram atom of RaG . 5 gram atoms of He 20:000 ie 4 gram electrons . 0:0005 ,, 3:7 x 10° calories . 0-038 Ef 226-038, pee Therefore the atomic weight of radium should be ' 226-038. Calculations of this type for radioactive substances have been made by Harkins, but he does not state that they may be applied as a test of the theory of relativity. 4 This calculation involves six assumptions: (1) that the weight of one gram atom of G is 206-000, (2) that the atomic weight of He is 4-000, (3) that — the weight of 4 gram electrons does not exceed 0-0005 by any great extent when incorporated in the nucleus of Ra, (4) that the amount of energy given off in the disintegration of Ra is substantially that calculated by Rutherford (a 20 per cent. decrease in the value _ given by him would not change the value for energy in grams in the second decimal place), (5) that the 3 relativity equation connecting mass and energy holds, and (6) that the energy given off in radioactive dis- integrations is derived from the atoms themselves and not photochemically from Perrin’s hypothetical radia- tions of extremely short wave lengths. In trying to © verify the results of such an equation, there are two more assumptions necessary : that the atomic weights _ of RaG and of Ra are determined for the pure sub- stances, that there are no contaminating isotopes. ~ 23 F hs eile” = fa Sct a May 6, 1922] NATURE 583 The lowest atomic weights of RaG that have been obtained are those of Richards and H6énigschmid, and are 206-08 and 206-05 respectively. These may be a little high due to admixture of other isotopes of lead. The best value for the atomic weight of radium is 225-97 by Hénigschmid, but the difficulties due to incomplete purification and small quantities of _ material worked with probably make this value less - accurate. Nevertheless, if this figure for radium is accepted provisionally, one must conclude that either ' radium-lead (RaG) has an atomic weight less than x the whole number 206, or that the energy is derived aay aes oe : : from outside sources as suggested b _ the equation connecting mass an weight of Ra. _ minations of the atomic weights of Ra and RaG ' cannot be made with sufficient accuracy due to diffi- Perrin, or that energy is not Now I will suggest a more exact method of testing imentally the above calculation of the atomic It is evident that the chemical deter- ‘culties inherent in such determinations and to the probable presence of isotopes in the samples used. 3 When the method of positive ray analysis is extended so that it is accurate to 1 part in 10,000, then we _ would have a method of determining the masses of - Ra, RaG, and He with sufficient accuracy. This re- _ finement does not seem utterly impossible. Though the method is relatively in its infancy, yet Aston claims in the case of helium an accuracy of 2 or 3 in 1000. By the positive ray analysis all diffi- culty with contaminating isotopes in the case of RaG and Ra would vanish. The calculated atomic weight 3 of Ra could be checked by data thus obtained, and the conclusions ought to show whether the relation of mass and energy based on the theory of relativity holds. In any case, the results would be valuable. Harotp S. KIN. Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., March 13. Safeguarding of Industries Act, 1921. From time to time complaints have been made in Nature and received at the offices of this Union against the ration of the Safeguarding of In- dustries ed cast. It has been asserted that the Sed gene increases the running cost of laboratories, whi are still, to some extent, dependent upon other countries for supplies of scientific apparatus, laboratory ware, and fine chemicals; and this in- creased cost has fallen upon research and teaching institutions at a time when the Government is aepeicting grants. ‘In consequence of the complaints received, this Union approached the British Medical Association, and a joint committee of the two organisations was formed, with the view of exploring the ground, and making representations in the proper quarters. If sufficient intormation is forthcoming, it is the intention of these two associations to arrange for a deputation to wait upon the Rt. Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, Minister of Education, following upon the suggestion made by Viscount Peel in the House of Lords on November to last. It is intended that this deputation should be representative of all scientific and educational bodies, and we are already assured of the support of some of them. A letter has been addressed to the Deans of the Faculties of Science and Medicine of all British Universities and University Colleges, to Deans of Medical Schools, to Principals of Technical and Agricultural Colleges, and to the Institutes of Physics and Chemistry, and the various teachers’ associations. NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | This has asked for information under the five follow- ing headings :— ‘“‘t, The difficulties experienced by members of your’ [University, society, etc.] ‘in obtaining British materials and laboratory ware of the requisite quality and quantity. “2. The difficulties experienced British scientific instruments. ‘3, Detailed particulars of instances where diffi- culties and delays have been experienced through the action of the customs authorities, in obtaining consignments from abroad, (N.B.—It would be well to indicate here from which countries the greater bulk of the goods are obtained.) “4, The increase in the running costs of laboratories which can be directly attributed to the operation of the Act. “5. Details of cases where researches have been hindered or had to be definitely abandoned owing to the difficulties of obtaining materials from abroad or their excessive cost in this country.” A fair number of replies has been received, though in many cases the information given is not in sufficient detail. I should be glad, therefore, if all scientific workers, including those engaged in industry, would supply me with detailed information under these five headings at the first opportunity. A. G. CHURCH, General Secretary. National Union of Scientific Workers, 25 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W.tr. in obtaining “ Discovery of Gold in Devonshire. I HAD occasion recently to conduct a party of my students from King’s College, London, over the Devonian rocks in the neighbourhood of Torquay, Devon, and had the good fortune to discover an interesting occurrence of gold in the fault-rock of a small fault cutting the limestones near Hope’s Nose. As it may prove of some interest, I take the op- portunity; of recording the find in the columns of NATURE. (X3.) Fic. 1.— Dendritic gold in Devonian limestone, The fault-rock is a limestone-breccia cemented by crystalline calcite, through which the gold is dis- tributed in a dendritic fashion, as indicated in the accompanying figure (Fig 1). It is premature to dogmatise on the possible commercial value of the gold, since time did not permit of a thorough examination of the locality, and a former find at Daddy’s Hole roved too poor to work, but it is intended to proceed urther with the matter in case it may prove worth exploitation. W. T. Gorvon. 584 NATURE [May 6, 1922. Artificial Disintegration of the Elements.1 By Sir ERNEST RUTHERFORD, F.R.S. = aphen the development of the atomic theory on an experimental foundation by Dalton, the progress of chemistry has been based on the central idea of the permanency and indivisibility of the atoms of the elements. The whole experience of chemistry for nearly a century had shown clearly that it was impossible to break up the atoms of the elements by the application of ordinary chemical and physical processes. This idea has had to be modified to some extent by the rapid growth of our knowledge during the last twenty years of the inner constitution of the atoms. It is now generally accepted that the atoms of the different elements have all the same general type of structure. At the centre of the atom is a positively charged nucleus of minute dimensions which is re- sponsible for most of the mass of the atom. This is surrounded by a distribution of electrons held in equilibrium by the forces from the nucleus. The electrons occupy rather than fill a region the diameter of which is of the order of 2x 107-8 cm. The nuclear charge of the atoms follows a very simple rule first clearly brought to light by Moseley. The resultant nuclear charge of an atom is equal to its atomic or ordinal number, and varies from 1 ‘‘ atom” of elec- tricity in the case of hydrogen to 92 in the case of uranium. These ordinal numbers represent also the number of “ planetary ” electrons, as they have been called, which surround the nucleus of the atom, On this view of the atom, its ordinary physical and chemical properties, apart from its mass, are governed entirely by the nuclear charge, for this controls the number and arrangement of the external electrons on which these combining properties mainly depend. The mass of the atom is a property of the nucleus and exercises only a second order effect on the distribution of the electrons and so on the ordinary properties of the atom. This point of view offers at once a simple explanation of isotopes, which consist of atoms of the same nuclear charge but of different nuclear masses. By the action of light and electrical discharges, we can readily remove one or more of the external planetary electrons from the atom, while by the action of X-rays and swift B- rays we may even eject one of the more strongly bound electrons of the system. In this way, we can effect, in a sense, a transformation of the atom, but it is merely a temporary one, and a new electron is soon captured from outside, and the atom is as before. The general evidence indicates that, even if a number of the planet- ary electrons were removed by suitable agencies, the stability of the nucleus would not be disturbed and the atom would in a short time regain its original structure. In order to effect a permanent change in the atom, it appears to be necessary to disrupt the nucleus itself. When once a charged unit of the nuclear structure is removed, the nuclear charge is altered permanently, and there i is no evidence that this process is reversible under ordinary experimental conditions. The discovery of the instability of the radioactive 1 A Lecture delivered before the Chemical Society on February 9. _ NO. 2740, VOL. 109] elements was the first severe shock to the idea of the This radiating property if permanency of all atoms. however, confined mainly to the two heaviest elements, — uranium and thorium, and their long series of descend- : ants, and is shown only by two other elements, potas- — sium and rubidium, and then only to a minor extent. Apart from these exceptions, the great majority of the — atoms appear to be exceedingly stable structures, and — to remain unaltered under ordinary conditions in this — earth for periods of probably thousands of millions of — years. and is shown generally by the emission of a swift a-particle or helium nucleus and, occasionally, a swift electron or f-ray from the nucleus. The number and velocity of emission of these particles appear to be quite uninfluenced by the most powerful physical or chemical agencies, and to be an inherent property re-— sulting from the instability of these very complex nuclei. - These results show clearly that the nuclei of heavy y atoms contain both positively charged helium nuclei — and negative electrons, and lead to the general view — that the complex nuclei of all atoms are built up of | It is also | hydrogen and helium nuclei and electrons. generally supposed that a helium nucleus itself is a secondary unit composed of four hydrogen nuclei and two electrons. If this be the case, we may suppose the nuclei of all atoms to be composed ultimat hydrogen nuclei, or “protons,” as they have termed, with the addition of negative electrons. The property of radioactivity belongs to the nicl: a F yo 3 ‘ Radioactivity has thus not only provided us with — the key of the structure of the elements, but has at the same time given us in the swift a- and f-particles a powerful method of probing the inner structure of the — atom. By firing a-particles into the atoms of matter, we are able, by following the deflexions of the path of the a-particle, to find out the magnitude and law of — the: forces close to the nucleus and to form some idea of the dimensions of the latter. The general results suggest that the diameter of the nucleus of heavy atoms is of the order of 4x 10712 cm. or about 1/5000 of the — diameter of the whole structure of the atom. The law of the inverse square of repulsion between electric charges is found to hold for a considerable region surrounding the nucleus. No doubt the size of the nuclei of light atoms is even smaller, and in the case of helium appears to be of the order of 5 x 10748 cm, It is thus clear that the nuclei of atoms, although of — very complex structure, are of exceedingly small dimensions. It is probable that the forces which bind together the : components of the nucleus are exceedingly powerful, and that consequently a large amount of energy will be required to disrupt its structure. most concentrated source of energy known to us, seems’ the agent most likely to succeed in an attack on the strongly-bound nucleus. The a-particle is expelled from radium with a velocity of about ten thousand miles per second, and thus has a speed twenty thousand | The swift o- particle from radium or thorium, which is by far the — May 6, 1922] NATURE 585 times greater than that of a swift rifle bullet. Mass R mass, its energy of motion is four hundred million r ter than that of the bullet. “Whilst no doubt an a-particle fired directly at a vy nucleus may penetrate its structure, its energy y a that stage be too small to cause a ‘disruption. e attack on the lighter atoms is much more promis- for the repulsive forces are so much smaller that s-particle may still retain much of its energy on ‘ing the nuclear structure. 3efore, however, considering experiments on this ‘tion, it is desirable to say a few words on the lision of a-particles with hydrogen nuclei, where no sstion arises of the disruption of the atom. When rticles pass through hydrogen gas, there are occasional close collisions between the a-particles and pi ti hydrogen nuclei, resulting in the appearance of high speed H-nuclei. These H-particles travel about r times the distance of the bombarding a-particle, | can be detected easily by the scintillations they duce on a zinc sulphide screen. From the ordinary rinciples of mechanics, the maximum speed given to ‘H-nucleus is 1-6 times that of the colliding a- e; whilst the maximum energy communicated it is 0-64 of the energy of the a-particle. It is found t the number of these swift H-atoms is far in excess that to be expected if it be supposed that the a- ticle and hydrogen nucleus behave as point charges the very small distances involved in these violent collisions. In addition, the variation of the number with the velocity of the «-particle and the number shot off at different angles with the direction of the a-particle differ markedly from the results to be expected As the simple point theory. It seems clear that not only has the a-particle a “structure, but that the law of force at very short "distances i is entirely different from that of the inverse As a result of a careful investigation, Chad- “wc and Bieler concluded recently that the results of the collisions could be explained by supposing that the which the complexity is ascribed— hekaves like a spheroid of axes 8 x 10°18 and 5 x 10-8 em. Outside this surface, the law of the inverse square applies, but the forces increase so rapidly when _ the H-nucleus enters the spheroidal surface that it is rapidly turned back. This model of the helium nucleus s, no doubt, quite artificial, but it gives us some idea its probable dimensions and the extent of the region which new and powerful forces come into play. _ We should consequently anticipate that, in a close _ collision of a swift a-particle with the nucleus of an atom more complex than that of hydrogen, the ordinary of force would break down when the distances Separating the particle and nucleus became very small. ; t must be remembered that gigantic forces come into 4 ay in these nuclear collisions, and only very stable peeures may be expected to survive the encounters. _ The first observation which has to do with the main EP aibject of my lecture was made some years ago. When | the a-rays from a strong radioactive source pass through peed gases like oxygen or carbon dioxide, a small number _ of weak scintillations are observed on a screen beyond the range of the a-particles. These “natural ” scin- tillations are believed to be due to atoms of hydrogen _ coming from the source, and probably result from a NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | ” . slight hydrogen contamination of the source during exposure to the radium emanation. If, however, dry air is substituted for oxygen or carbon dioxide, the number of scintillations is increased three or four times. This additional effect was found to be due to the pre- sence of nitrogen, and was shown in a correspondingly greater degree by chemically prepared nitrogen. By suitable arrangements, it was found that the particles causing these scintillations were bent by a magnetic field to about the extent to be expected if they con- sisted of swift, charged H-atoms. It seemed probable from the beginning that these additional H-atoms, which appeared only in dry nitrogen and not in oxygen or carbon dioxide, must have their origin in a dis- integration of the nitrogen nucleus by collision with a swift a-particle. With the original counting arrangements, the scin- tillations were small in number, weak in intensity, and difficult to count with accuracy. Further progress has depended mainly on improvements in the counting microscope, with the object of increasing the intensity of the scintillations and the area of zinc sulphide screen under observation. By the use of wide-aperture ob- jectives and special eyepiece lenses of low magnifying power, the counting of these scintillations has become much easier and more definite. We shall now consider the methods adopted to in- vestigate in more detail the effects observed in nitrogen and to test whether other elements behave in a similar way. The apparatus required is of the simplest character and consists merely of a brass tube, 3 cm. in diameter, provided with stopcocks by means of which dry gases may be circulated through it. At one end of the tube is a hole covered with a thin silver. plate. The zinc sulphide screen is fixed 1-3 mm. away from the opening, leaving a slit in which absorb- ing screens of mica can be inserted. The radioactive source is fitted on the end of a rod so that its distances from the screen can be varied at will. In order to reduce the luminosity due to the f-rays from the source, the whole apparatus is placed in a strong magnetic field. Jt may be of interest to give a few details in illustration of the magnitude of the effects to be expected under different conditions. Suppose that the radioactive source, consisting of a brass disk coated on one side with an invisible layer of radium-C corresponding in y-ray activity to 4o milligrams of radium, is placed 3-5 cm. from the screen and that a current of dry hydrogen is passed through the ap- paratus. Suppose the stopping power of the materials between the source and the zinc sulphide screen corresponds to 20 cm. of air, that is, it would suffice to stop an a-particle of range 20 cm. in air. The passage of the a-particles, which in this case have a range of 7 cm., through the hydrogen liberates a large number of high-speed H-atoms, which produce scintil- lations on the screen. Their number, seen through a special microscope which has a field of view of 40 sq. mm., is so great—thousands a minute—that it would be impossible to count them without reducing the activity of the source. As additional absorbing screens of mica are added, the numbers fall off rapidly, and for an absorption of, say, 30 cm. not a single H-scintillation can be observed per minute. A similar effect is shown if oxygen is substituted for hydrogen 586 NATURE [May 6, 1922 and a thin strip of paraffin wax or other hydrogen material is placed over the source. The number of H-scintillations observed for a given absorption depends only on the amount of hydrogen, and is quite in- dependent of chemical combination. This is to be expected, for the forces required to set the H-nucleus in rapid motion are enormous compared with the weak forces involved in chemical combination. We thus conclude that, for a-particles of range 7 cm., no H-atoms from hydrogen in the free state or in chemi- eal combination can be detected for an absorption greater than 30 cm. of air. The oxygen which gives no scintillations is now replaced by dry air. At once we observe for an absorption of 30 cm. more than too scintillations per minute when for hydrogen we did not observe one. By adding mica screens we find that the scintillations eease for an absorption of 4o cm. _ It is clear that these particles, which come from nitrogen, have a greater range than free H-atoms bombarded by a-rays, so that the effect observed beyond 30 cm. cannot be ascribed to any hydrogen impurity in the nitrogen. The air is now replaced by neutral oxygen, and thin foils of say copper, iron, silver, gold of stopping power eorresponding to about 3 cm. of air are placed suc- cessively over the source. Nota single H-atom can be ebserved for an absorption of 30 cm. A piece of aluminium foil is substituted and at once the number of scintillations jumps to more than roo per minute. Some of the scintillations are very bright, and we find that some of the particles are so swift that the absorption must be increased to 90 cm. before the scintillations vanish. It is clear that aluminium must give rise to a number of very long-range particles. Thus if we examine the number of scintillations beyond the range of ordinary H-atoms, we are quite independent of any possible contamination of hydrogen in the material under examination. This is a great advantage, for we need not concern ourselves about the purity of the material as regards hydrogen. In this way, Dr. Chadwick and I have examined a large number of elements to test whether they emit particles of range more than 32 cm. When the element was hot available, a compound of the element with an “inactive”? element like oxygen was used. The material in the form of a fine powder is dusted on a thin gold foil, an adhesive film-being used so that the average absorption of the material corresponded with’ 3-4 cm. of air, and was then exposed to the soure of rays. With the exception of helium, neon argon, all the elements up to atomic weight 4o h been tested. No element of atomic weight great than phosphorus, 31, was found to give any although it should be said that only a few of t elements of higher atomic weight have so far be examined. Bee A list of the elements examined in this way, from lithium to sulphur inclusive, is given in the following table. The second column gives the number of — scintillations per minute per milligram activity of the : source, namely, radium-C, for an absorption of 32 cm. of air. These numbers afford only a rough comparison — of the effects given by different elements, for the con-— ditions of the experiment, for example, the thickness ~ and distribution of the film of material, varied from — element to element. The fourth column gives the i approximate range of the particles. a No. of particles Maximum range a Element. Material. ego Lewis of particles in scope used, cm. of air. Lithium Li,O a ~ Glucinum G10 — — Boron B Orl5 ca. 45 Carbon CO; — ee Nitrogen Bees ATE 0-7 40 Oxygen . F ial 8 F — —_— Fluorine =o, Cab. O"4 over 40 Sodium . Na,O 0-2 ca. 42° Magnesium . MgO —. _ Aluminium . . Al,Al1,0, I“ 90 nae et A anleomae— | _- _— Phosphorus . P (red) o ca. 65 Sulphur. porte = — In addition to ee, the following elements of higher atomic weight were examined: chlorine as MgCl, ; potassium as KCl; calcium as CaO; titanium as — Ti,O, ; manganese as MnO, ; iron, copper, tin, silver, and gold in the form of metal foils. In no case were any particles observed of range greater than 32 cm. — of air. The question whether any of these elements — give particles of range less than 32 cm. has not been — examined. It will be seen that the elements which give scintilla tions for an absorption of 32 cm. are boron, nitrogen fluorine, sodium, aluminium, and phosphorus. The — numbers for boron and sodium were distinctly less than a for the other elements. : (To be continued.) The Royal a representative of Nature looking for points of scientific interest amongst the fourteen hun- dred or so annual exhibits at the Royal Academy may be excused if he sometimes feels depressed and is reminded of the proverbial searcher after a needle in a haystack, in so few of the pictures do objects having any direct connection with science appear. It has in past years been remarked that purely scientific work does not yet appeal to the Academy artist, and it is necessary to turn for points of interest to nature scenes such as may be found in pictures of sea, sky, snow, and country life. NO. 2740, VOL. 109 | Academy. In snow scenes J. Farquharson frequently has suc cessful effects and ‘‘ The Edge of the Forest ” 5 this year is quite up to his standard. Another snow effect, in this case associated with water, is con- tained in © & Yorkshire Bridge in Winter,” by F. E Horne (884). .A successful landscape somewhat of the Leader type, the central feature of which is a group pine trees, is shown by Frank Walton in 591. It isa pity that ‘there is only this one example of his work in the exhibition. The title which A. J. Munnings chosen for No. 111 does not lead one to expect landscape, but the setting of the portraits whic ene _ May 6, 1922] NATURE 587 the name to the picture is a wide expanse of country th distant blue hills in the background showing de- ful lights and shades. The effect is spoilt rather improved by the somewhat wooden sitters so ously posing in the foreground. rning to agricultural scenes, the two ploughs seem ae alongside the rick in “ Farm Lands in (459) while hay still lies in the field uncarted. in “ Harrowing ” (827) the crop seems to consist eather, surely a somewhat unusual occupation. “A Summer Gale” (610) R. G. Brundrit has failed to convey the impression of a gale, ordinary alo-nimbus which might be associated with a rer being all that is indicated in the picture. The ne a gale is introduced more effectively in Sir ur Cope’s “ An Evening in October ” (750), though is not mentioned in this case. A very direct ence to the work of the Meteorological Office is 2 in “The South Cone” (250), though it is not ated which of the two hundred gale warning tions round the British coasts is referred-to. The rning seems to have been successful, judging from flag at the masthead and the spray dashing against shore, but the sea in the foreground, curiously gh, is scarcely rippled. The reference to a fore- in the title of 175, “‘ A Hopeful Forecast,” suggests er possibilities of reference to the work of the teorological Office, such as a forecaster studying 1 > movements of Bjerknes’ Polar Front, or plotting ships’ observations received by wireless telegraphy _ from the Atlantic and deducing the probability of a week of fine weather. But any such expectations are destined to be disappointed, since what the picture = veals is a young lady with golf clubs tapping an old | dial type of barometer, the hand of which is hard ‘over in the “ Set Fair ” position. Rain falling at a slant owing to the difference in ; velocity of upper and lower wind currents is a common a but Norman Wilkinson has shown the increase f wind aloft i in a striking manner through the agency of falling rain in his picture of the King’s yacht Bri racing in a squall (395). The wind is blow- ing across the picture from left to right and making the yacht heel over until the mainsail is awash, while -in a shower near by the rain slants backwards as it falls through air of diminishing velocity. One is almost tempted to commence calculating the rate of change of velocity with altitude. An optical phenomenon figures prominently in “‘ The Charcoal Burner’s Hut ” (632), where bright coloured rings surround the moon at a radius which is too small for a halo, while of unusual size for a corona; but such varied optical forms have been seen in the sky from time to time that it is unwise to dogmatise upon the unreality of this representation. . Adrian Stokes’ “‘ Sunset ” (188) is suggestive of a sun pillar in the bright vertical extension above the sun, though it is improbable that a real sun pillar was the source of his inspiration. The moonlit scene in 80, “ The Dead of the Night,” is curious from the whiteness of the tower and wall in the moonlight and yet the absence of shadows where these would be expected under the trees. Much interest naturally attaches to W. L. Wyllie’s picture of the towing of the old Victory into her resting- place in dry dock. The execution of the water in Portsmouth Harbour is so good that the frame at the lower edge of the picture causes quite a shock, the eye being deceived by the reality of the representation. J. Olsson has a pleasant sea and island scene in the Scillies (42), which gains greatly over some former works by restraint in the use of brilliant colouring. This year’s exhibition is conspicuous for the number of portraits it contains, these forming a more than usually high proportion of the whole. It is gratifying to notice in a place of honour in one of the principal galleries, and adjacent to a painting of the Royal Wedding, a portrait of Sir Charles Parsons by Sir W. Orpen. Men of science are not numerously represented, and careful search was needed to disclose a tablet of Sir William Ramsay destined for Westminster Abbey and a silver medallion of Prof. James Thomson for _ Belfast University. 1. S.0. Sir Parrick Manson, G.C.M.G., F.R.S. death of Sir Patrick Manson, which occurred _ in London on April 9, has taken from the medical fession one of its most distinguished leaders. Born 1844, and educated at his native University of erdeen, Manson decided to follow his calling in the - East, and in 1866 went to Formosa, whence in 1 he moved to China, where he continued during nm years. From the very beginning of his career Ma made the causation of disease his study. He was naturally interested in the elephantiasis so pre- valent around him, but it was not until 1874, when he came home to marry a wife, that he learned fully of wis’s discovery of a microscopic filaria (now known ‘Microfilaria bancrofti) in the blood of Indian sufferers a the chyluria often associated with that disease. __On his return to China he settled down to the study of “ elephantoid ” pathology, and began with a survey NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Obituary. of the blood of a thousand Chinamen. Having satisfied himself that the microfilariz found in the blood are the issue of parent filariz locked up in the lymphatics of the host—a discovery in which, however, he was anticipated by Bancroft of Brisbane—and that they are embryos incapable of any further development in the blood, he saw that the series of events by which the microfilariz living in the blood of one man became the adult filariz living in the lymphatics of other men must take place in the outside world, and might pos- sibly be initiated by some such free-ranging, blood- sucking insect as a mosquito. His selection of the mosquito was decided by his further discovery that the microfilarie make their show in the cutaneous blood of their host only after sunset, when mosquitoes are active; in the daytime they flock to the host’s lungs and central blood-vessels. In 1877, with the compliance of an infected Chinaman, he put his theory 588 NATURE [May 6, 1922 to the proof and found that it corresponded with fact : the microfilariz were sucked into the stomach of his mosquitoes, and some of them migrated into the insects’ tissues and there underwent definite changes of growth and development, and were thus set on their course, via the infected mosquito, for infecting other human beings. It must be borne in mind that Manson was_a busy medical practitioner working, far off and alone, as he could find time, and without particular appliances. It is not surprising, therefore, that he did not follow the exact course taken by infected mosquitoes in trans- ferring their infection to man. He was content to have demonstrated the essential realities of a great original conception, and to have established the great pathogenetic discovery—so pregnant with further pos- sibilities of “knowledge, so abundant in its practical applications to human welfare—that a common blood- sucking insect is the essential factor in the maintenance and dissemination of a widely-diffused parasitic disease. In 1894, when he had left China, Manson found his opportunity of applying this great principle to the problem of malarial infection. He had followed all the work that had been done on the parasites of malaria since their discovery by Laveran in 1880, and he had come to the conclusion that the secret lay in the motile filaments extruded from forms of the parasite now known to be male gametocytes. Other observers re- garded these filaments as degenerations : Manson inter- preted them in the light of his filaria observations. He argued that as the forms that produce them are so persistent and resistant, the filaments must have some vital meaning ; that since they are not produced until the blood has been shed, their destiny lies in the outside world; and that since they cannot get out spontaneously, they possibly are extracted and nursed —like the microfilarie—by mosquitoes. This is Man- son’s mosquito-malaria theory, that inspired and guided Ross in his wonderful discovery of the sexual cycle of the malaria parasite and final solution of the problem of malarial infection. The theory has sometimes been referred to as if it were one of the several ingenious speculations that have attributed the spread of malarial fevers to mosquitoes : quite otherwise ; it stands apart as a closely-reasoned working hypothesis based on known facts in the history of the malaria parasite and legitimate inferences from the history of Filaria ban- crofti. Ross, writing with all the combined authority of an historian and a malariologist, says of it (NATURE, vol. 61, 1900, p. 523): “‘ Manson’s theory was what I have called it—an induction—a chain of reasoning from which it was impossible to escape. . . . I have no hesita- tion in saying that it was Manson’s theory, and no other, which actually solved the problem ; and, to be frank, I am equally certain that but for Manson’s theory the problem would have remained unsolved at the present day.” - Manson had retired from China in 1890 and settled in London. In 1894 he joined the staff of the Seamen’s Hospital, and in 1897 was appointed Medical Adviser to the Colonial Office. He was now able to realise his lifelong dream of a school in London where medical men going to the tropics could acquire all the necessary craftsmanship that he himself had yearned after in his early days in China. In this design he happily ob- NO. 2740, VOL. 109] _ lated on the pathogenetic possibilities—or even proba- tained the countenance of Joseph Chamberlain and the co-operation of the Seamen’s Hospital Society, and in 1899 the London School of Tropical Medicine was established under him at the Albert Dock. Here, until his retirement from all active practice in 1913, he radiated rather than imparted wisdom and inspiration to many hundreds of his younger professional brethren ; and here, under his sage and benign influence, there — grew up a sort of Mansonian tradition that for useful — work in the tropics a medical man, though always a ~ clinician at heart and a sanitarian in his general out- — look, must be a biologist in his attitude to pathology and etiology. 4 Manson’s place in the history of medicine can be — estimated only when we consider how much of what for — convenience we speak of as “ tropical disease ” is due ~ to animal and animalcule parasites, and to what extent those parasites are fostered and diffused by blood- — sucking arthropoda. Men before Manson had specu- bilities —of predaceous insects, but no man before — him had followed—or gone near following—a specific — pathogenic organism into a specific predaceous arthro- — pod and discovered what happened to it there. ‘‘ The light of humane minds,” says Hobbes, “is perspicuous — words, by exact definition snuffed and pur, from — ambiguity”: it is Manson’s pre-eminent distinction to have been the first to discover a connected series" of facts and to have recorded them in exact definitions — purged and snuffed from ambiguity—which is the — acquisition of science. With Manson’s high achieve- — ments as an original investigator and a teacher we ~ have to consider also his extraordinary influence as a most prescient clinician—and_ a clinician who never forgot the comfort of his patients: in all this, as in — his large humanity and his benevolent attitude to his — fellow-workers, he worthily upheld the ideal of Hippo- — crates ; and I have often thought that, as the Father of Tropical Medicine, his name may, perhaps, have a same lasting fragrance as that of his immortal arche- type. \ oe ‘at ry, AL AS Sir A. B. Kempe, F.R.S. Sir ALFRED Bray Kempe, whose death occurred on q April 21, was born in 1849, and educated at St. Paul’s — School and at Cambridge, where he was twenty-second — Wrangler. His first contribution to the science of — mathematics was in 1876, when, in a paper ona general © method of describing curves of the mth degree by link-work, he laid the foundation of the excellent dis- — coveries he was destined to make in “ linkages ’—a subject in which he took a lifelong interest. In 1877 he gave his well-known lecture, “How to draw a — straight line,” in which he traced the history of the — connection between the straight line and linkages from ~ the partially successful attempts of Watt, Richard Roberts, and Tchebicheff, to the practical solution of the problem by Peaucellier in 1864. Together with © Hart of Woolwich Academy and Sylvester he had added — much to the knowledge of the subject, and these addi-_ tions he described with models. aa A paper on conjugate 4-piece linkages followed in — 1878, and some smaller papers, but Kempe’s principal — BY a May 6, 1922] NATURE 589 Gpaiibutions appeared in the years 1885-86. , The “Memoir on the Theory of Mathematical Form” is a 4 oe piece of work. Its avowed object is to ‘separate the necessary matter of exact or mathematical from the accidental clothing—geometrical, aical, logical, etc.—in which it is usually presented ite variety which that necessary matter exhibits. This long and thoughtful research shows that as a inker Kempe perhaps resembled W. K. Clifford more in any one else has done in the world of science. is indeed was recognised by Spottiswoode, who, ming into possession of ‘‘ Mathematical Fragments ”’ rich had been reproduced in facsimile from the papers - by Clifford, decided to send them to Kempe. He t with them, and finding inspiration in the graph eory which they contained he wrote a very valuable _and suggestive paper upon the “ Application of Clifford’s graphs to ordinary binary quantics.”” Clifford had not at the time of his death succeeded in effecting this, and it required a man like Kempe who was well versed i the rapidly growing theory of invariants to accom- it. ~ In 1894-96 Kempe was president of the London P Mathematical Society. In his valedictory address he dealt in a thoughtful and learned manner with the _ question of defining the subject matter of mathematical science. He finally suggests the statement, “ Mathe- "matics is the science by which we investigate the _ characteristics of any subject matter of thought which "are due to the conception that it consists of a number of . differing and non-differing individuals and pluralities.” Here we can trace the influence of his studies of mathe- . matical form. He always tried to behold the objects ' of his thoughts in their lowest terms freed so far as _ possible from all extraneous matter, and it is greatly _ to be that, shortly after vacating the chair, | he became so busy with the duties thrown upon him by tance of the position of chancellor to several dioceses that his direct contributions to science, from ’ which much might have accrued, came to an end. Indirectly, however, Kempe was for the remaining ' years of the greatest service to science. Those which _ he rendered to the Royal Society as treasurer have been described elsewhere. It must be added that from _ that position he was ex officio treasurer of the National BD Physical Laboratory from its foundation until April 1918, and he was able to do much for that great institu- _ tion and for its director and executive committee. f " He never failed to attend particularly the finance committee, and was always fully informed as to the _ details of finance. His help and advice, often sought, _ Was given ungrudgingly, and it may be said that it was _ Owing largely to him that the funds necessary for _ Maintaining and developing the laboratories were obtained. In the scientific life of the country he took a notable position. He was universally popular and ; F, A. M, ‘ respected Str Wm. Putpson Beate, Bart., K.C. _ _ $rr Wit11AM BEALE died at Dorking while on a visit _ to friends, on Thursday April 13, at the ripe age of _ eighty-two, in full possession of his faculties. His remains were cremated at Golders-green on April 19; a service in his memory was held in Lincoln’s Inn NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Chapel on April 26. His qualities had endeared him to a wide circle of intimates, in scientific, legal and political society, by whom his loss will be deeply mourned. Beale’s early training was that of a chemist, the intention being that he should enter an ironworks at Rotherham in which his family was interested. He made a beginning in the laboratory of Mr. Hill, a well- known consulting chemist in Birmingham ; he then studied in Heidelberg and Freiberg, finally in Paris. At Heidelberg he was brought into contact with a number of chemists who afterwards became well-known —NMatthiesen, Mond, Roscoe, Russell and others. After but a short stay in the ironworks, Beale turned his attention to the law as offering better prospects ; he entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1867. Throughout his life, however, he retained his scientific interests and long acted as honorary legal adviser to the Chemical Society. He was one of the most popular and active members of the now defunct B club, a club of chemists whose doings have been chronicled by Dr. A. Scott in one of his Presidential addresses to the Chemical Society. At Freiberg Beale became interested in mineralogy and crystallography. When, in later years, the subject was developed and he desired to modernise his knowledge, I was able to hand him over to William Pope, then active as demonstrator of crystallography in my department at the Central Technical College; they contracted a firm friendship. Later on Beale even wrote a treatise on the subject, in which he put forward an original graphic method of presenting the facts of crystal symmetry. He was many years Treasurer and finally President of the Mineralogical Society. He also took an active interest in the Royal Institution. Beale entered Parliament, after several ineffective attempts at Birmingham, as Liberal member for South Ayrshire, in 1906, retaining his seat until he resigned in 1918. He enjoyed a high reputation in legal and political circles, on account of the breadth and accuracy of his knowledge and his wonderfully balanced sane judgment. Of late years he spent much of his time, always surrounded by friends, at his Scotch home, near Barrhill in Ayrshire, most beautifully placed on an open grouse moor in sight of the Galloway Cauldron, Merrick, the highest peak in South Scotland, being a prominent feature in the view. Geikie’s ‘‘ The Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain’? was not infrequently taken down from his shelves. H. E. A. Sir A. P. Goutp. Sir ALFRED PEARCE GOULD, whose death at the age of seventy years we announced last week, had been a member of the honorary staff of the Middlesex Hospital since 1882, and was a consulting surgeon at the time of his death. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Master of Surgery at the University of London, of which he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine 1912-16, and Vice-Chancellor 1916-17. His publications include the “Elements of Surgical Diagnosis,” which went into five editions, and the Bradshaw Lecture on Cancer (1910). He was joint author of the “ International Text-Book of Surgery.” Though a surgeon of wide interests, Sir A. P. Gould devoted much work to the study of the clinical treat- ment of cancer, and was early in recognising the valuable 590 NATURE adjuncts which X-rays and radium were to prove in the treatment of malignant disease. At the Middlesex Hospital he acted for a number of years as chairman of the Cancer Investigation Committee, and thus held a watching brief for any new remedial agent likely to prove of benefit in the treatment of cancer. He was an excellent teacher and did not spare himself in the [May 6, 1922 many services which he was asked to undertake. He was at some time president of the clinical section o the Royal Society of Medicine, of the Medical So of London, and of the Réntgen Society. Throug’ the period of the war he acted as Officer-in-Charge the Surgical Division of the 3rd London Ge: Hospital at Wandsworth. Current Topics and Events. Dr. E. H. Grirritus, the General Treasurer of the British Association, informs us that Sir Charles Parsons has conveyed to the Trustees of the Associa- tion a gift of ten thousand pounds 5 per cent. War Loan Stock, which he has placed unreservedly at the disposal of the Council. This generous gift comes at a very opportune time, as the finances of the Associa- tion have suffered depletion during the past seven years, and there was a danger that the activities of an association which has rendered such notable services to science in the past might suffer restric- tion. It is interesting to note that the total sum granted in aid of research by the Association, since its foundation in 1831, exceeds 83,0001. THE Mount Everest Expedition, with the exception of Messrs. Finch and Crawford, who are delayed by the transport of the oxygen apparatus, arrived at Khampa Dzong on April 11. General Bruce’s despatch to the Times describes the march from Phari Dzong. Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining a sufficiency of transport animals. The ‘Tibetan authorities did their best, but owing to the earliness of the season many of the animals were in very poor condition. The expedition travelled in two divisions and found the march very trying. On the Dongka pass, where ridges of 17,000 ft. had to be crossed, low temperatures were experienced, but fortunately the blizzard experienced on the previous day had ceased. All members of the expedition are in good health, the trying experiences having affected neither the white men nor the hillmen. THE Bessemer Gold Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute for the year 1921 has been awarded to Mr. Charles Fremont, in recognition of his services in the advancement of the metallurgy of iron and steel and the technology of the testing materials. The following grants from the Andrew Carnegie Research Fund were made during the year by the council of the Institute : rool. to Dr. L. Aitchison, Birmingham, for the investigation of the low apparent elastic limit in quenched and work-hardened steels, with particular reference to fatigue strength, proof stress, and con- stitution ; rool. to Prof. C. O. Bannister and Mr. A. E. Findley, Liverpool, for the investigation of the mechanical properties and heat treatment of very low carbon high chromium steels ; 1oo/. to Mr. F. C. Langenberg, of Watertown Arsenal, United States, for research on impact testing ; and 50/. to Mr. jJ.N. NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Greenwood, Sheffield, for research in open data of — steels and steel-making materials necessary: for correcting temperature measurements of molten steel : taken with an optical pyrometer. Tue Third Hurter and Driffield Memorial lecture of © the Royal Photographic Society is to be delivered at the Royal Society of Arts, at 8 o’clock, on Tuesday, May 9, by Prof. The. Svedberg, who will take as his subject “‘ The Interpretation of Light Sea ba P Photography.” At the annual general meeting of the Mancha Literary and Philosophical Society held on April 25, — the following officers and members of council were elected :— President: Mr. T. A. Coward; Vice- Presidents : Sir Henry A. Miers, Mr. W. Henry Todd, © Prof. Arthur Lapworth, and Mr. C. E. Stromeyer ; Hon. Secretaries: Dr. H. F. Coward and Prof. T. H. Pear; Hon. Treasurer: Mr. R. H. Clayton; Hon. Librarians : Mr. C. L. Barnes and Dr. Wilfrid Robin- ~ son; Hon. Curator: Prof. W. W. Haldane Gee; Members of Council : Dr. W. M. Tattersall, Prof. F. E. Weiss, Mr. Francis Jones, Miss Laura Start, Prof. S Chapman, Prof. W. L. Bragg, the Rev. A. L. Cortie Mr. R. L. Taylor, and Mr. William Thomson. A PROVISIONAL programme has been issued of the annual general meeting of the Society of Chemical Industry to be held in Glasgow on. July 4-11 next. On the first day of the meeting, formal business will be discussed and Dr. R. F. Ruttan will deliver his presidential address. During the morning of July 5, Prof. H. E. Armstrong will give the Messel Memorial lecture, while on the following day a novel feature — will be introduced in the form of a demonstration — of kinematograph films showing the manufacture _ of rubber, the production of sulphur, and the prepara- — tion of paper from wood. The Chemical Engineering © q Group of the Society will hold two sessions on July 6, — at which papers on the design of ammoniacal liquor. stills, tar and glycerine distillation, and the general problem of evaporation will be read. Visits to various works, among which are the Nobel Industries, Ltd., and several excursions, will occupy the reat portions of the meeting. At the fifth annual general meeting of the Society of Glass Technology held on April 26, Prof. W. E. S Turner was elected president. In his presidential address entitled ‘“‘ The British Glass Industry: i £ May 6, 1922] NATURE 591 elopment and Outlook,’ Prof. Turner gave an sunt of the growth of the British glass industry n the time of the Roman occupation onward. aking generally, there was a steady growth up the year 1875, after which time the number of began to decrease and the imports of ed glassware increased. This steady decline arrested on the outbreak of war in 1914, and = the last few months of 1914 and 1915 the istry was revived. New branches were created der “0 stress of war for the production of chemical sware and for lampworking. They grew to such n rent that during the last twelve months of the ar period more than two million pieces of chemical ware were made at the furnace, and some 39 n lampblown articles and more than a million ads of glass rod and tubing were manufactured. . porent of electric lamp bulbs exceeded 43 millions, as compared with four million bulbs of pre-war years. Turning to the future, Prof. Turner ac edged that the immediate outlook was not rful, but claimed that the industry was much I ety equipped than at any other time in Wy NOV WE have received a communication, dated March from Mr. Y. Venkataramaiah, Calcutta, in which hh states that the plastic sulphur separating in the ) action of concentrated nitric acid on a crystal of sodium thiosulphate, which is ordinarily yellow, distinctly green if a little colloidal gold or . "platinum solution is added to the acid before the | addition of the thiosulphate. Sometimes small blue ‘spots are visible on the separated sulphur. Colloidal gold appears to be more effective than colloidal platinum, The sulphur dissolves in carbon disul- _phide forming a light greenish solution; when treated with absolute alcohol it becomes yellow. It dissolves in hot methyl salicylate, and nacreous sulphur separates on cooling. 3% -beco! LLiCcs Iw a lecture delivered to the Société de Chemie hysique in February 1921, M. Edmond Bauer gave . bas excellent account of the present state of atomic physics, and the lecture has now been published by the society, in a pamphlet of about 50 pages entitled ea Théorie de Bohr, la Constitution de l’Atome et la Classification périodique des Eléments.” It starts with the various atomic models, contrasting the rival merits of the static and the dynamic.. There is then a description of the work on atomic numbers, both that originating with the X-ray work of Moseley, and that from Rutherford’s theory and the work on the collisions of a-particles, and there follows a discussion of the periodic table. Next comes the photo-electric effect, and this is followed in due course by Bohr’s theory. The lecture ends with a short reference to Born’s work on the dynamics of crystals. It is remarkable how large a field the author has thanaged to cover in so small a space, and the whole is a very good sketch of the present condition of physical theory. Dr. P, D. StRACHAN, Serowe, Bechuanaland Pro- tectorate, S. Africa, writes to us stating that in his experience it is necessary to tune the octaves of the upper register of the piano sharp in order that the notes may not sound dull and flat. Professional tuners apparently do the same, giving as their reason that it adds brilliancy to the tone. Dr. R. S. Clay informs us that tuners regularly make the upper eight or ten of a piano a trifle sharp, but there is a difference of a few vibrations only from the true frequency. He suggests that there may be a physio- logical explanation, or it may be due to the fact that the overtones of the upper notes of a piano are sharp and so produce a desire for corresponding sharp- ness in notes sounded with them. The effect would become marked with high notes, for the ratio of the restoring force due to the stiffness of the wire becomes — progressively important as the length of the vibrating segment becomes shorter. In other instruments, such as the flute, in the use of which Dr. Strachan states he has had a similar experience, it is suggested that the effect may be due to variations in the pitch caused by changes in the method of blowing. THE City Sale and Exchange, of 54 Lime street, E.C.3, are issuing gratis and post free a catalogue of hand cameras that includes a very large number of items, and apparently every variety of pattern and price. It is gratifying to know that the prices have been very considerably reduced. ~ Torar EcLIpsE oF THE SuN.—The Lick Observatory arranged an expedition to Wallal, on the north- ‘west coast of Western Australia, to view the total solar eclipse of September 21. The station offers ‘inet favourable meteorological conditions com- ’ with a duration of totality of 5 mins. 18 secs. vee Sy pebeapry ae observations will be under- special cameras are being constructed for tion. the Einstein displacements of the stars. _ The members of the Signe are Prof. and Mrs. _ Campbell with Drs. J. H. Moore and R. J. Trumpler _ (of the Lick Observatory), Prof. A. D. Ross (of the NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Our Astronomical Column. Western Australian Observatory), Dr. and Mrs. Adams (of the Wellington Observatory), and Mr. J. B. O. Hosking (of the Melbourne Observatory). The party will be the guests of the Australian Commonwealth Government conten their visit. Walla] will also be occupied by a party organised by Prof. C. A. Chant of Toronto, w ile “Australian expeditions will view the eclipse from Goodiwindi in Queensland and from the north-east corner of South Australia. UPITER AND HIS MarkiIncs.—Mr. W. F. Denning writes that a number of interesting observations of 592 NATURE [May 6, 1922 features on Jupiter have been obtained recently by Mr. Frank Sargent at the University Observatory, Durham. The Red Spot Hollow was observed in transit across the central meridian on various dates and its longitude determined as follows: 1921, Dec. I2 =260°-9, Dec. 22 =259°°7, 1922, Feb. 21 =257°-4, March 10 =256°-o, March 31 =256°1, April 10 =254°2. These positions show a slowly decreasing longitude - equivalent to a rotation period of 9h. 55m. 38-48. This is a decidedly lower rate than the spot exhibited about four years ago when the period was.9 h. 55m. 348. The south tropical disturbance, which is now about 140° long, was central on April 6 in longitude 46° so that it follows the Red Spot Hollow by about 152°. Its rate of rotation during the present year has been about 9 h. 55 m. 32s. or 6 seconds less than that of the Red Spot Hollow. In 1gor the difference of rota- tional velocity in the two objects amounted to 22s. but since that time the motions have been gradually approaching uniformity and may possibly in a few years become identical. Mr. Sargent has recently dis- covered a somewhat abnormal dark marking on the northern ‘edge of the southern equatorial belt, and finds its rotation period to be 9h. 51m. 6s. from 27 rotations performed from March 31 to April 11. He is continuing to follow this and other interesting features with his 10}-inch reflecting telescope. OBSERVATIONS OF VENUS.—Pop. Ast. of March contains a study of this planet by Mr. Alfred Rordame. He has observed it regularly for 20 years with aper- tures between 4 and 16 inches. In 1921 he took several photographs during daylight with a 9-inch Alvan Clark refractor. Some of these are reproduced, and show some indubitable spots, which are confirmed on more than one negative. Naturally the chief interest concerns the rotation period. He notes that at first he accepted Schiaparelli’s value, but now he has come to think that a value near 24 hours is correct. As illustrating the difficulty of the observations, he notes that on less than fifty occasions has he seen definite markings, and on six only has a positive movement of the spots been observed. Some drawings showing this are reproduced. One pair, taken on October 8-9, 1916, tend to confirm De Vico’s period of 23 h.21 m.; Mr. Rordame thinks that those spectro- scopic determinations which were made in daylight are liable to error, owing to the blending of the sky spectrum with that of the planet. He considers that the planet is normally covered with dense clouds, the height of which is probably very great. The same number of Pop. Ast. contains a note by Prof. St. John on a photograph of the red end of the spectrum of Venus; the dispersion was so great that the telluric lines would have been separated from those due to Venus’s atmosphere by the Doppler effect. No companions, however, were visible to the telluric oxygen bands; it is concluded that oxygen a practically absent from the upper atmosphere of enus. SOLAR RESEARCHES.—The February number (vol. 34, No. 197) of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific contains several communications on solar work. The first is a general article on the sun by:Ferdinand Ellerman. ‘‘ The Zeeman Effect on the Sun ”’ is the title of the next article by Adrian van Maanen, written and translated from the Dutch journal Physica, the October (1921) number of which was dedicated to Dr. Zeeman in recognition of his discovery, 25 years ago, of the separation of spectral lines in a magnetic field. This article is of great NO. 2740, VOL. 109] series of notes, mainly by Mr. Jackson, the character interest, summing up the fine work done at Mount Wilson after Hale’s important discovery of magnetic fields in sun-spots. Hale himself contributes a not on “ Invisible Sun-spots,’”’ this term designati invisible stage of spots which are usually vi: during the greater part of their existence. By m of the apparatus which he describes, Hale indi the importance of making a systematic search fo local magnetic fields which may betray the presence of incipient or dying spots. Seth B. Nicholson giy a summary of Mount Wilson magnetic observation of sun-spots for November and December last, and describes the scheme of classification une the, tables he produces. Systematic observations of the magnetic polarities of sun-spots have been made daily with the 150-foot tower telescope since 1915, and preparations are being made to publish all this valu- able new work in detail. Spot groups are divided into three classes and designated unipolar, bipolar, and complex, and some interesting facts ab~ut their appearances are given. ; 3 t wy PROPOSED 50-FOOT REFLECTOR.—A somewnat wild — scheme is said to be contemplated by Prof. Todd and Mr. McAfee. This is the construction of a 50-foa reflector of 1200 feet focus, by utilising a mine-shai of this depth at Chauaral, Chile, in the Andes, in the © locality where Mars will pass exactly overhead at opposition of 1924. The reflector will consist rotating mercury, and there must be conside: incredulity about the possibility of keeping sufficiently free from tremors and eddies to ae tolerable definition. The plan ascribed to Prof. To is to use a flat, which throws the image into a cave at — the side of the shaft, where the camera would be put. ~ But clearly, with such high magnification, the shortest practicable exposure would give a blurred image on a stationary plate. A much better plan would seem to be to put a girder across the mouth of the shaft, carrying a plate-holder or eyepiece which could be moved by clockwork at the appropriate speed (about 1 inch per second). This is known as the Schaeberle ~ method in eclipse photography, and has given satis- — factory results. Prof. Todd is well known for b and striking experiments, and all will wish him w though without much"expectation of success. A” CATALOGUE OF DouBLE Stars.—A Greenwich volume has lately been published containing the measures of double stars made with the 28-inch refractor between 1893 and 1919. Earlier observa- — tions are given for many stars, and in an exhaustive ~ of the motion is discussed and the deviations from published orbits indicated. There are also 25 new orbits, computed by him, many of which deviate con-— siderably from earlier determinations. Hypothetical parallaxes are deduced for all stars for which orbit elements are available, and also for other stars which have been observed over an arc sufficiently long indicate the amount of curvature. The assumed mass of each pair is twice the solar mass; this assumption gives a solar velocity of 19 km./sec., ~ which is in close accord with the spectroscopic value. — Comparison of the hypothetical parallaxes with the spectroscopic ones shows perfect accord, in the main, in the case of orbit-stars, but in the arc-stars the hypothetical parallaxes exceed the spectroscopic by 30 per cent.; this is not an excessive error for suc! small parallaxes -(0-07” to 0-02”). There is so indication of mass varying with spectral type, this has not been used in obtaining the results. May 6, 1922] NATURE a93 EHISTORIC COOKING-PLACES IN NorFoL_k.—At ent annual meeting of the Prehistoric Society ia, the president, Miss N. Layard, well for her archzological investigations, particu- the neighbourhood of Ipswich, delivered an son prehistoric cooking-places in Norfolk. Inthe Buckenham Tofts, the discovery of what seems been a tribal cooking-place was due to rabbits ing to the surface a number of cracked and rked flints. The term usually applied to such is “ pot-boilers,” but more probably the stones were dropped into water-filled troughs ade of the skins of large animals, either suspended rom poles or used to line pits in the ground. Water nd meat are easily boiled in these circumstances y peeping up the supply of heated stones, and the esult, as shown by experiments made by the lecturer, a mixture of charcoal, dirt, and ashes, with well- d but discoloured meat. Earty Iron-AGE VILLAGE NEAR DEVIZES.— of the Marlborough College Natural ry Society for 1921, Mrs. Cunnington describes y Iron-Age village discovered by chance on ’ asc Cross Farm, about 6 miles east of Devizes. e chief interest and importance of the site lies in the fact that the pottery as a whole seems ” to belong to the Hallstatt period, and to be through- out of the Hallstatt type. The site seems to have m occupied for a comparatively short and definite iod, perhaps for some three centuries. Not a sle fragment of anything Roman has been found, 9 that the occupation seems to have ended well before the Roman conquest, perhaps even some cen- turies earlier. A full report of the excavations will ” be found in the Antiquaries Journal, January 1922. . Misstonaries AS AninxvuroLoGIsTs.—Sir James \ Frazer in his introductory lecture of a course on the ' Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead | in Polynesia, published in Science Progress for April, | discusses the general principles of anthropological | inquiry, and notes that missionaries, men of educa- ’ tion and character, who usually live for years among ' people of the lower culture, learn their language, and _ gain their confidence, have —. opportunities for observing and recording the He refers in icular to Anthropos, edited by an Austrian priest, Father W. Schmidt, and composed mainly of articles contributed by Catholic missionaries in many parts of the world. ‘It is much to be _ desired that the various missionary societies of Eng- _ land would combine to produce a journal of the same ‘scope and the same scientific character. Perhaps, in _ view of our sectarian differences, that is too much ope for. But in any case it is highly satisfactory that our Protestant missionaries are awaken- 1g more and more to the importance of anthropology the training of missionaries and are taking active eps to remedy what till lately was a most serious fect in their mental equipment.” bits of savage races. A HuMAN CRANIUM DREDGED FROM THE RIVER _ Trent.—In the March issue of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (vol. li.) Prof. L. Glad- _ stone describes a human cranium which was dredged | from the bed of the river Trent, near Hatfield, in 1916. It differs considerably from the average type | of skull found in recent and medieval burial-grounds in England, and from the average living types. The NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Research Items. circumstances of its discovery indicate that it has affinities with the type of skull found in round barrows associated with bronze implements and pot- tery of the Beaker class. This race is believed to have made their appearance on our eastern and southern coasts about 2000 B.c., and these large- headed, brachycephalic invaders mingled with the indigenous small and narrow-headed Neolithic popula- tion and with subsequent invaders, including the Romans and those from the adjoining European shores. ‘Asa result of inter-marriage of individuals belonging to these races, we find descendants from the original stocks who possess the characters of either one or the other of the ancestral races, in a more or less modified form, or intermediate types.” The mid-European or Alpine stock and the broad- headed people of south-west Norway are modern representatives of the Bronze-Age race, modified by intermixture, change of environment and conditions of life, the eating of soft food affecting their jaw form and facial type. SELF-FERTILISATION IN Moti_usca.—In NATuRE of January 5, p. 12, Mr. G. C. Robson directed atten- tion to some records of self-fertilisation in Gastropod mollusca and pointed out their importance. Stress was laid in the letter on the desirability of further investigation of this phenomenon. We have lately received an apparently unpublished communication from Mr. S. Manavala Ramanujam, of the Zoological Department, Madras Christian College, in which he describes what appears to be a structural adaptation for self-fertilisation in a family of Pulmonate Gas- tropoda. In the Vaginulidze a connection is found between the vas deferens and the receptaculum . seminis in the same animal. This connection (the ““canalis receptaculo-deferentinus’’’ of Keller) has been described by previous authors (Keller, Pelseneer), but, so far as can be ascertained, without comment. Mr. Ramanujam does not advance any objective evidence that self-fertilisation is effected through this canal, but he is probably right in suggesting that it is used to conduct the animal’s own sperm to the re- ceptaculum seminis, if it should fail to. receive a supply from another individual. The existence of this connection perhaps indicates that self-fertilisa- tion is of common occurrence in the family. THE DIRECTION OF THE First MOVEMENT IN AN EARTHQUAKE.—It has been known for some years that the first impulse in an earthquake may appear as a rarefaction at one station and as a condensation at another. Mr. S. Nakamura (Journ. Meteor. Soc., Japan, February 1922) has studied recently several examples of such variations in Japan. In an earth- quake at Miyosi (near Hiroshima) the disturbed area was divided into four quadrants by two slightly curved lines. In the south-east quadrant the direc- tion of the first movement was inwards, and in the north-east and south-west quadrants outwards, the remaining quadrant being ‘ee Bem mostly by the sea. In the Tokio earthquake of December 8, 1921, the distribution was somewhat similar, the curved bounding lines, however, being not quite at right angles ; in two opposite regions acetic oust and south- west) the movement was inwards, in the other two regions outwards. The great Chinese earthquake of December 16, 1920, seems also to belong to this type, the impulse being outwards in Formosa and inwards in Japan and at Zi-ka-wei. A second type was 594 NATURE [May 6, 1922 illustrated by an earthquake near Oomati (Shinano), in which the first movement was inwards on the south-eastern side of the epicentre and outwards on the north-western side. There appears also to be a third type, though not yet well established, in which the first movement is mainly inwards in all directions from the epicentre. THE Eartu’s INTERIOR.—The planetesimal hypo- thesis of the aggregation of the earth is now so justly associated with the name of T. C. Chamberlin that his “‘ Study of fundamental problems of Geology ” (Carnegie Institution of Washington, 15th Ann. Rep., p- 412, 1921) has a very wide interest. Continuing his arguments as to the structure and behaviour of a contracting globe formed of solid mineral aggregates, he remarks on the effects of pressure in generating silicates of high density even within the limits of the earth’s outer layers. Without actually predicting the occurrence of still denser compounds, formed of familiar types of crustal molecules, towards the earth’s interior, he states that ‘‘ there seems no need to assume the presence of an amount of metal, or other intrinsically heavy material, greater than is implied by the planetary evidence already cited.” i TERTIARY Fossirs oF BurMAa.—Comparative dia- gnoses of Pleurotomide, and of Conidze and Cancel- lariide from the Tertiary formations of Burma form two consecutive papers by E. Vredenburg in the Records of the Geological Survey of India, vol. 53, 1921, pp. 83-141, illustrated by four excellent photo- gravure plates by S. C. Mondel. These two papers are in continuation of a previous one on the Tere- bride, by the same author, that appeared in vol. 51, and consist mainly of descriptions of new species. One of these, Mangilia [sic] (Clathurella) quinque- angularis, it is claimed ‘‘ does not resemble any previously described shell either fossil or recent.’ To the paleontologist this work will be invaluable, but the systematic conchologist will wish that the writings of later authors than Cossmann, whose big publication Vredenburg has evidently followed, had not been entirely ignored. Both Prof. Dall in America, and Iredale in this country, have advanced our knowledge of these groups since Cossmann dealt with them. OI1L SHALE AS A SOURCE OF GASOLINE.—The Journal of the Franklin Institute for March 1922 contains a paper by Prof. R. H. McKee on Gasoline from Oil Shale, in which he outlines the processes of extraction of petroleum from shale, and the possi- bilities of developing a successful industry in the United States. The text of the paper is not new; as usual, the Scotch Shale Industry is described as a “‘ type,” and modifications of method and practice are suggested for the treatment of American raw material. The significance of the paper lies not so much in the principles it seeks to enunciate, but in the warning it contains regarding the gradual decline in production of natural oil in America, and the corresponding need for activity in development of the oil-shale resources of that country. The importation of petroleum from Mexico into the United States, for example, increases annually, in order to help meet the demand both for motor spirit and for petroleum products; as Mexico is regarded by many (and evidently by the author) as a short- lived field, the position in America is likely to become critical within the next decade. Sooner or later a drastic scheme of conservation of the oil resources of the United States for national requirements must NO. 2740, VOL. 109] eventuate, and before this happens the oil-shale industry and the utilisation of other material as a source of fuel, must be well established in tk country. It is well known that there are ma technical difficulties arising in connection with t extraction of oil from shale, and that the metho shale, especially some of the western American varieties. It is to the solution of these difficulties — that American experts are now turning their attention, and research 1s being assiduously carried on in the — Chemical Engineering Department of Columbia Uni- versity, New York City, under the author’s direction, with the view of studying the fundamental factors on - which the industry must be based. Similar work is © also in progress at the Colorado School of Mines, — under the direction of Dr. V. C. Alderson, the well- known authority on oil shale. AGRICULTURE IN INnDIA.—The thirty-sixth issue of the Agricultural Statistics of India, for 1919-1920, sets forth most comprehensively the details relative to the position of agricultural affairs. The rainfall on the whole was normal or excessive, no deficit — being reported for any area. Following on a marked — depression in 1918-1919, the period under review — shows a general recovery, though the high-water — mark of 1916-1918 was not reached. The area sown was 255 million acres, of which 211 millions were under — food crops and 44 millions under others. A consider- able increase in the area sown occurred in the North- © west and West and in Burma, which more than — counterbalanced a drop in the Central Provinces and — Bengal. There was less variation in the acreage of rice, cotton, and jute than in other crops, no less _ than 79 million acres being under rice. ile the © majority of crops are distributed more or less through- out the country, the larger part of sugar-cane and wheat, is grown in the Punjab and United Provinces, tea in Assam, and practically the whole of the jute in Bengal. — During the past ten years an increase of 18 millions — in livestock has been recorded, due entirely to the larger number of bovine animals reared. In the © appendix to the report a useful list of crops is given, with both vernacular and botanical names. Fen. 4 METEOROLOGY IN THE NETHERLAND INDIES.—, general summary of ‘“‘ The Climate of the Netherland Indies’ is given by Dr. C. Braak—Verhandelingen No. 8, vol.i., partstand2. A short English summary is given with each part. The most prominent feature of the climate is said to be its monotony or its w formity from day to day, for the moving low-press: systems common to the higher latitudes whi make the weather variable are practically unknown. The most important weather changes are the vari: tions of rainfall, and the monsoons cause a yearly variation in the climate which is rather small in north but considerable in the south. It is stated t the Malay Archipelago is the most typical mons region of the world, the trade-wind systems being disturbed by the influence of the continents of Asia — and Australia. Pilot balloon observations at Batavia show that the west monsoon from December to April reaches on an average to a height of 5000 m., ~ whilst from May to October easterly winds blow at all‘levels up to 7 km. The monsoon wind on . mountain tops is stronger at night than during day. Near the coast the land and sea breezes said to have a strong influence. Monthly charts given of the isobars and winds over the Archi which show a complete reversal of meteorolog conditions during the year with the change of monsoon. May 6, 1922] NATURE 595 WN the report referred to below, Prof. Ewart first briefly reviews the facts and beliefs about sheep, and, under nine concise statements, summarises our 10wledge of the origin and development of present- URIAL. MOUFFLON, AW ME DIE VAL=-MIXED-SOAY. #y EARL Y= EUROPEAN-AND-AF RICAN-BREED S. = Fic. 1. _ day types. Much of the work upon which this ' summary is based is attributable directly to the ' extensive researches, extending over many years, ' which Prof. Ewart himself has conducted. In Figs. | AMMON. URIALSOAY MOUFFLON=SOAY FAT-TAILED. FAT-RUMPED. FAT-TAILED X FATRUMPED, EARL Y-EUROPE AN=AND=AF RICAN-BREEDS, Sheep-Breeding and Ancestry. _these types cross freely with long-tailed sheep. The modern sheep would seem to have obtained both its taii and its fattening characteristics through the fat-tailed and fat-rumped sheep of Asia. It is further conceivable that the Soay x Fat-tailed or Soay x Fat-rumped sheep followed two lines of migration across Europe—one to the north, coming eventu- ally into the British Isles through the kingdom of Scandinavia, and the other along the shores of the Mediterranean, developing eventually into the Merino sheep of Spain, and in this form taking part in the formation of the British “Down” breeds. In Fig. 2 this latter suggestion is illustrated diagrammatically and the ancestry of present-day sheep indicated. : There is still a “ drift ’’ southwards of sheep from Scotland and a “ drift’ north- wards of sheep from the south of England. It may be that these two drifts are a relic of the drifts of the Nordic and Medi- terranean races across the British Isles; but such a theory would need many more facts than are at present available to support it. There is, how- ever, direct support for Prof. Ewart’s suggestion respecting our present-day sheep having a fat-tailed ancestor. In Fig. 4 is illustrated the normal head and ears of the Suffolk Down type of + ad | LATE RMOUNTAIN-BREEDS ) LUSTRE-BREEDS, MOUNTAIN-BREEDS. DOWN-BREEDS. Fic. 2. | t and 2 the results of these researches are represented diagrammatically. _ From Fig. 1 it will be gathered that the primitive ) sheep of Europe was of the Soay type, this type Fic. 3. Fic. 4. ; sheep and the Moufflon or hornless sheep. Both | these types are in evidence to-day in Soay flocks _ and both are still short-tailed. Nevertheless, both 1 Report on Sheep-breeding Experiments. By Prof. J. Cossar Ewart. British Research ation for the Woollen and Worsted Industries, Torridon, Headingley, Leeds. NO. 2740, VOL. 109] - EARLY=MERINO-BREEDS MERINO-BREEDS, FINE*MERINO-BREED S. having a double ancestry in the Urial or horned | sheep. In Fig. 3 is given a photograph of a lamb discovered among a number of this year’s Suffolk lambs ; and in Fig. 5 an illustration of a sheep with the fat- tailed head. The 2 similarity is very strik- ing. Further, the suggestion that at the base of English Down breed is the Merino is illustrated Fic. 5.—Head of a 21-days’-old extracted Fat-tail ram lamb, From the Scottish Journal of Agriculiure. By permission of the Board of Agri- culture for Scotland. in Fig. 4, a Suffolk Down lamb with “ crinkled skin ’’—this crinkled skin being very characteristic of sheep of the Merino type. In further support 596 NATURE [May 6, 1922 q of the fat-tailed ancestry of present-day sheep, Prof. Ewart noted some time ago a Border-Leicester sheep with the tip of the tail turned up following the lines of the tail of the fat-tailed sheep. Thus it would appear that the nine brief statements with which the report starts are of quite extra- ordinary interest, and in addition may usefully be kept in mind when studying present-day types of sheep. Mendelian principles—particularly involving the reshuffling of “‘ characters ’’—are then” insisted on and the value of crosses beyond the first cross emphasised. This is really essential, as so many breeders fail to realise the importance of the F, cross. Australian sheep-breeders, however, say “‘ three generations to obtain the cross and thirty to fix it’! The report is then divided into two sections: modern breeds; and (2) experiments with primitive breeds. It is pleasing to note the assistance accordec¢ by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon and his agent Mr. R. A. Dawson, Mr. R. Macmillan, Captain Stirling, Mr. Dyson Perrin, Sir John Ramsden, Malcolm Macgregor, Mr. Gordon, and the veteran of experimental sheep-breeders, Mr. J. Elwes of Colesborne, Cheltenham. ; The Scottish Board of Agriculture is also i deep and broad interest in experiments here partially - recorded. Ten photographs of typical sheep and their crosses add materially to the value of the report. — The report concludes with references to the a el g ments in progress under the direction of Prof. ite in Wales and to the experiments on British wool — a characteristics at present being carried out at the © (I) experiments with Highland blackface and other | University of Leeds. AB, The Organisation of Knowledge. (" URIOUS reflections. on the present state of ; Dr. Williamson, professor of chemistry in University scientific knowledge are suggested by the | College. Herbert Spencer had written to him to ask — extraordinarily interesting address of Dr. F. L. | him whether certain specified chemical experiments Hoffman to the social and economic science section | could be relied on as correct. In his reply he added © of the American Association, at the Toronto meeting | to the information asked for his own interpretation, 3 last December, on ‘‘ The Organisation of Knowledge,”’ | only to receive by return a sharp rebuke pointing ~ published in Science of March 1oand17. Dr. Hoffman | out to him that his business was to observe and report has been for thirty years a very practical organiser | facts; it was for the philosopher to theorise con- of knowledge in connection with his management of | cerning them. It is perhaps needless to add that the the Prudential Insurance Company of America. He has been reading Prof. Whitehead’s ‘“ The narrator saw no humour in the story. er The fact gatherer, Dr. Hoffman tells us, should be — Organisation of Thought,’ and it seems to have impressed him with a sense of the remoteness of the fact user. It is the reason he gives for this, — however, that deserves particular attention. Fact mathematical principles, mathematical methods, and | gathering is impossible without imagination, and — mathematical research from any organisation of science which is serviceable in practical life. imagination is what the mathematician is ever Mb ; and _ The problem Dr. Hoffman deals with is a profound to get rid of. The ideal of science is forecasting, one, and carries us back to the old distinction between in the business of insurance we have the most — complete development of it. In the organisation — truths of reason and matters of fact which in some form has been the problem of modern philosophy of knowledge for insurance the whole principle is since it first arose with Bacon and Descartes. It is that all facts are regarded in their interrelation or — interdependence for useful purposes. Dr. Hoffman — contrasts this with Prof. Whitehead’s appeal for a — first-hand knowledge which has ‘‘ never been scared _ by facts.” Progress and discovery depend upon a disciplined imagination, and Dr. Hoffman quotes ~ Karl Pearson, “‘ the man with no imagination ay collect facts, he cannot make great discoveries,” What we want to forecast are the sort of things mathematics is helpless before, things like the inter- — national war, or the influenza epidemic. 3 Dr. Hoffman concludes his address by outlining — the general scheme of his own organisation of the © library and information service of his business ~ office. a interesting to look back on the confidence with which some of the leaders of philosophic thought in the nineteenth century supposed they had solved it. The confidence appears first in Comte and afterwards in Spencer, who devoted a great part of his intellectual energy to an attempt to give it practical effect. It rested on the idea of a division of labour. It was to be the business of scientific workers to observe and collect facts, guided of course by certain rules of classification and arrangement, but it was to be the special business of philosophers to systematise and generalise. An amusing illustration is a story related to the present writer many years ago by the late ae i The Centenary of Naval Engineering. U NDER this title an interesting paper was read | the water could be blown through the hand pump, at a meeting of the Newcomen Society on | or, according to Murray, ‘‘a usual plan is to knock ~ March 30 by Engineer-Commander Edgar C. Smith. | out a rivet from the bottom of the boiler.” Feed ~ Among other matters treated was the development | heating came into use early, an annular tank being — of paddle-wheel vessels, and a notable feature is | placed round the funnel. o. presented by two tables giving particulars of steam The first vessel in the Navy to have a vetoed . vessels added to H.M. Navy during the period 1820- | condenser was the Megaera. She had the five-fold — 1850. combination of an air-pump, a circulating pump, a ~ During the first twenty years all Navy boilers | surface condenser, an evaporator, and a steam saver. © were of the flue type and were box-shaped. | This vessel was wrecked in 1843. The oscillating — Leakage was very frequent; Dinnen remarks on | engine was invented by Murdock, improved by ~ the numerous “weeps”? of which no notice was | Manby, taken up by Maudslay, and its fina] success taken.. These boilers were suitable for low pressures | was due to Penn. Since all warships had to retain ~ only, and it was forty years before the working | their sailing qualities, special attention had to be pressure increased from 3:5 to 20 lb. per sq. in. paid to devices for preventing interference from the Great care was necessary for working these early | paddle-wheels whilst the vessel was under sail. a boilers with salt water. Ships at sea put out the | We are indebted to the Engineer for the ioe s fires every third or fourth day and emptied: the | details, and trust that the author will complete : boiler. Afterwards, blowing down every two hours | work by another paper dealing with the development became the rule. If the blow-down cocks jammed, | of screw propulsion. ; a _ NO. 2740, VOL. 109] May 6, 1922] NATURE 597 4 Pe British Research Chemicals. WE have received a pamphlet entitled “ British _¥¥ Research Chemicals produced by Members of the Association,’’ issued by the Association of _ British Chemical Manufacturers. This is a revised edition of the association’s earlier pamphlet, and now tains inorganic as well as organic chemicals. In list of inorganic chemicals, however, there are many which cannot fairly be called research chemicals, can be obtained from almost any dealer. These ude alum, ammonium chloride, barium chloride, muth subnitrate, and the like. It is evident that Association had research chemicals in mind in ng up the list, since such substances as ferrous ammonium sulphate are omitted. This inclusion of " common chemicals swells the bulk of the list without _ Although the preface states that there are certain hemicals on the list a permanent supply of which not be guaranteed unless there is sufficient demand hese “ao have been indicated in some way), it is — eviden t considerable progress has been made _ since the issue of the first edition, and the manufac- _ turers are to be congratulated heartily on their efforts to supply from home sources materials which were _ obtained formerly from abroad. The list is far from _ complete ; the present writer sought in vain for four _ not very rare substances he requires for research and _ used to obtain from Germany. With such an ex- cellent beginning, however, the by no means small _ difficulties of research workers at the present time _ should rapidly be alleviated. _ We notice that the manufacture of new chemicals may be undertaken by one or other of the firms hy ing todemand.’”’ We wish to point out, how- . ever, that this will scarcely meet the case satisfactorily. e¢ are some materials which could formerly be _ obtained from German firms for which the demand ' must have been extremely small. If the research ’ worker is to be told that the materials he requires _ cannot be made in this country because there do not : to be a hundred other people working on the same subject, he will not derive much comfort from | thestatement. We offer these criticisms in the hope ) that they may be of assistance, and not in any way as | detracting from the ae which is due to the firms ’ for what they have already accomplished. j _ University and Educational Intelligence. _ Lereps.—At a meeting of the Court of the Uni- versity of Leeds, held on April 26, it was decided to confer the following honorary degrees among others : D.Sc., Sir Dugald Clerk; Sir Frank Dyson, Astro- nomer-Royal; Sir Richard Gregory; Sir Charles Sherrington, President of the Royal Society, Wayn- flete Professor of Physiology in the University of _ Oxford; and Sir Harold Stiles, President of the _ Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, _ Professor of Clinical delat in the University of Edinburgh. M.Sc., Mr. R. W. Haydon, until recently Lecturer in Agriculture in the University. | of the United Kingdom will be held on May 13 in the _ Botanical Theatre, University College, London. The | subjects and the openers of the discussions are as | follows: the urgent need for the provision of enlarged | _ Opportunities for advanced study and research (Dr. NO. 2740, VOL. 109] | | Ve i _ A CONFERENCE of representatives of the Universities J. C. Irvine) ; the increase of residential accommoda- tion for undergraduate and other students (Sir Michael E. Sadler) ; specialisation in certain subjects of study by certain universities (Dr. L. R. Farnell) ; and the organisation of adult education as an integral part of the work of the universities (Sir. Henry A. Miers). Tue Melbourne correspondent of the Times announces that the Universities of Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide have agreed to invite Prof. Einstein, when he visits Java, to continue afterwards to Australia and visit the principal cities. Sydney and Melbourne will contribute 80/. each towards his’ expenses, and Adelaide 6o0/. Ir is announced in the Chemist and Druggist that under the will of the late Mr. Henry Musgrave sums amounting to 57,000/. have been bequeathed to Queen’s University, Belfast. The Senate requested the Academic Council to make the consequential regulations for awarding “‘ The Musgrave Research Studentship.” IN a new magazine, The Beacon, for April, Mr. E. H. Dance writes on “‘ The Channels of Education: a Suggestion for Remuneration Economy.” He admits that economy is as necessary in education as in other national activities, and he remarks that the Scripture lesson is the most unfruitful in the whole curriculum ; he also states that the advantages of commandeering a large proportion of the time allotted to it and transferring it to geography would be incalculable. It is suggested that economics might largely take the place of Latin. Science teaching in its present form he condemns because its matter is of little real utility, ‘.even when. the canon of utility is educa- tional . . . in spite of recent developments, educa- tion continues to lay undue emphasis on deductive reasoning.” Science teaching, as now carried out, might, he thinks, be replaced by a more suitable medium: ‘‘ that medium lies ready to hand in the modern treatment of history. History may be de- scribed as the laboratory of politics.” “‘ The inculca- tion of a general esthetic sense is perhaps the most obvious need of modern education.”” Some of us may find it difficult to accept the writer’s conclusions, ‘but the article is well written and suggestive. In the course of his presidential address, delivered on April 20 at the annual general meeting of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Mr. S. J. Speak referred to the part which the Institution has Ey in the development of technical education. peaking of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and particularly of the Royal School of Mines, he said that the Institution had ‘aimed always at securing recognition for the College as ‘‘ the technological centre of the Empire.’’ The work of the College was, however, hampered seriously by lack of the power to grant degrees, and for this reason it is advocated that the status of the College should be raised to that of an Imperial University of Science and Technology. Opposition to this sugges- tion comes mainly from two sources: first, from the University of London, which naturally desires to absorb vigorous local institutions into itself and fails to see that facilities for obtaining London degrees do not meet the case. The second source of opposition is found in those educated on the classical side of existing universities, and to them a University of Science and Technology is unthinkable. Mr. Speak protested against this as suggesting that the study of the ‘“‘ humanities ’”’ is a higher form of education than the study of science. 598 NATURE [May 6, 1922 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. May 4, 1879. William Froude died.—‘‘ The greatest of experimenters and investigators in hydrodynamics,” Froude began his researches on the motion of ships among waves in 1856. They were made at the re- quest of I. K. Brunel, who was then engaged with the building of the Great Eastern. Froude had been employed under Brunel on the Great Western Rail- way. His work led to the construction by the Ad- miralty of the experimental tank at Torquay, the first of its kind ever built. He carried out experi- ments on the effects of bilge keels and on the re-. sistance and propulsion of ships, and he is also known as the inventor of a dynamometer. May 4, 1886. James Muspratt died.—After an ad- venturous youth, a part of which was spent in the Navy, Muspratt settled in Liverpool and began the manufacture of soda according to the Leblanc pro- cess. Six years later he was joined by Gamble and new works were erected at St. Helens. Afterwards he had works at Widnes and Flint. He has been called the father of the alkali trade in Lancashire. He was a great friend of Liebig. May 4, 1908. Gustav Friedrich Herman Wedding died.—A distinguished writer on metallurgy, Wedding studied at the Mining Academies of Berlin and Frei- burg and ultimately became professor of metallurgy at the Technical High School at Charlottenburg. His works were regarded as of exceptional value and in 1896 he was awarded the Bessemer Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute. May 5, 1909. Bindon Blood Stoney died.—For many years chief engineer to the Dublin port authority, Stoney attracted attention by his use of huge concrete monoliths of 350 tons weight. He made an elaborate study of stresses in girders, contributed many papers to the scientific societies, and in 1871 was president of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland. May 6, 1897. Jedediah Strutt died.—A Derbyshire farmer, Strutt in 1758 and 1759, with his brother-in- law, took out successful patents in connection with stocking machines. He also suggested improvements in the spinning frame of Arkwright. May 7, 1890. James Nasmyth died.—An eminent mechanical engineer and inventor, Nasmyth in 1829 became the personal assistant of Henry Maudslay, and four years later set up in Manchester as a maker of machine tools. To him we owe the steam hammer, the steam pile driver, the nut making machine, a hydraulic punching machine, and the coiled spiral wire flexible shaft now so largely used. May 8, 1916. John Edson Sweet died.—The re- cipient of the John Fritz medal for his ‘“‘ achievements in machine design, and pioneer work in applying sound engineering principles to the construction and development of the high-speed steam engine,’’ Sweet was at one time professor of mechanical engineering in Cornell University. To him was due the initial step leading to the founding of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, of which he became the third president. May 9, 1914. Paul Hérault died.—Born in 1862, Hérault studied at the Paris School of Mines and at the age of twenty-four brought out his electrolytic pro- cess for the production of aluminium, a discovery made independently in America by C. M. Hall (1863-1914). May 10, 1864. Alphone René le Mire de Normandy died.—A pioneer in the modern practice of distilling fresh water from salt water, Normandy brought out his invention in 1851. A native of France, he became a practical chemist and settled in England in oe ” E; NO. 2740, VOL. 109] Societies and Academies, LONDON, 2 Geological Society, April 12.—Prof. A. C. Seward, president.—F. W. Edwards: Oligocene mosquitoes in the British Museum, with a summary of our pre a the knowledge concerning fossil Culicidae. A specimens are from the Oligocene of the Isle of $ Wight. The genera appear to be inseparable from those of the present day, and some of the species suggest a fauna similar to that of Ethiopian and Oriental regions. No peculiar forms occur. The genus Anopheles has not been found, probably because of its comparative rarity. Three species from the © Oligocene of the Isle of Wight, described by Prof. Cockerell, are referred to the genus Aedes; and two new species, one of Culex and one of Tzeniorhynchus, are described. No fossil that can be positively referred to the Culicide is yet known from the Mesozoic.—A. C. Seward: On a collection of Car- boniferous plants from Peru. The plants described were collected by Mr. J. A. Douglas in 1911 from coal- bearing strata on the south side of the Peninsula of Paracas, a few miles south of Pisco on the coast of Peru. They are mostly fragmentary ; whether they are of an Upper or a Lower horizon is not certain. Hitherto no fossiliferous Paleozoic rocks have been recorded from the Peruvian coast.—Miss M. E. J. — The geological history of the genus — Chandler : Stratiotes: an account of the evolutionary changes which have occurred within the genus during the Tertiary and Quaternary eras. Stratiotes, a mono- typic genus of European and West Asian water- plants, can be traced back to the Eocene. The recent seed was described and an account given of the — modifications which have occurred in the genus since the Eocene period. Of nine species described, S. aloides alone is still living. Seven appear to be direct | ancestors of the recent plant, while two perhaps represent a branch-line of evolution. The fossil species occur in great abundance, are widespread geographically, and each seems to have a limited range in time. They may therefore serve to correlate isolated freshwater deposits in Europe. Royal Meteorological Society, April 19.—Dr. C. Chree, president, in the chair.—W. T. Russell: The relationship between rainfall and temperature as shown by the correlation coefficient. The tempera- ture of any two successive months over a series Of years is correlated to the extent of approximately +0:3. Since the mean monthly temperatures for the twelve calendar months follow very closely a sine curve, the coefficient of correlation should be — unity. Rainfall in alternate months shows some high correlation coefficients, e.g. the coefficient between — the rainfall in June and August in London is +0°55. There is a negative correlation of 0-5 between rain- ; : fall and temperature in the same month in summer— evidence of the effect of solar radiation—while gait Bs eg change is attributed to the influence of the ocean in — coefficients are found for the winter months. maintaining a temperature in excess of that due to latitude and season.—R. A. Fisher and Winifred A. — Mackenzie: The correlation of weekly rainfall. The ~ weekly rainfall for the past forty years at York, Aberdeen, and Rothamsted has been examined with a view of exploring ‘the main features of weather — Probably. simple laws connect these — quantities over considerable areas, which will give an idea of the accuracy of meteorological estimates A well- — marked annual periodicity in the rainfall correlations — rises relatively slowly in the autumn, and the autumn localisation. based on a limited number of stations. ———— _ May 6, 1922] NATURE 599 _ values commonly remain for about three months close _ to the mean value for the year—S. Chapman and ' Miss E. Falshaw: The lunar atmospheric tide at Aberdeen, 1869-1919. Methods similar to those rmerly employed for the Greenwich records were used. e om of the tide at the two stations agree as well as can be expected considering that berdeen is more disturbed, and the amplitude appears be slightly greater at Aberdeen than at Greenwich. Paris. cademy of Sciences, April 3M. Emile Bertin in chair.—The president announced the death of . Ph. A. Guye, correspondent of the Academy for section of chemistry.—A. Lacroix: A syenite taining corundum and sillimanite formed by endo- ‘phism of granite—M. Hamy: The determination the diameter of stars by the interference method. e telescope objective is covered by a screen carry- g two narrow slits, and if the latter are sufficiently ar, Young’s fringes are seen. When the distance een the slits increases, the fringes diminish in earness and vanish at a distance which is a function the diameter of the star. The formule for the determination of the star diameter are given, and the uumerical constants worked out.—C. Moureu and A. pape: The estimation of krypton and xenon in solute value by spectrophotometry. A simplifica- m of the method described in 1911. Standard ixtures of pure krypton and xenon in argon have been pared and the pressure determined, in the Phi tube, at which the intensity of a given krypton (or xenon) line is equal to that of a fixed argon line. These pressures and proportions are given ‘in two tables. —F. Mesnil and M. Caullery: The maxillary a tus of Histriobdella homari; the affinities of Histriobdellz with the Eunicians.— -M. René Baire was elected correspondent for the section of geometry in the place of the late M. Noether. _—WN. E. Noérlund: The interpolation formula of Stir- _ling.—B. Gambier: Isothermal surfaces with spherical hi representation.—J. Le Roux: The curva- ture of —S. Millot: Calculating balances. A plate oscillating on two knife edges and having various _ scales ruled on it perpendicular to the axis of oscilla- tion can be used as a generalised calculating machine. A ical example of its use in a complicated cal- } culation is given.—G. Rémoundos: Plane deforma- | tions and the problem of the thrust of earth—M. Frontard: Law of the dangerous height of clay _ cuttings—A. Perot: The measurement of pressure in the atmosphere of the sun. The method is based on the variation with pressure of the ratio of the _ wave lengths of two lines of the spectrum, the co- efficients of .variation with pressure of which are : ent. The present data are based on five iron lines and give a mean pressure of 34 cm. of mercury, or just under half an atmosphere.—J. Mascart: Observations of the partial eclipse of the sun of 28, 1922, made at the Lyons Observatory _ (Saint-Genis-Laval). Observations of the times of _ contacts by six observers are given, and these differ peony from the calculated times given in the | onnaissance des Temps.—E. Esclangon: Observa- | tions of the eclipse of the sun of March 28, 1922, | made at the Observatory of Strasbourg.—T. Moreux : | Observations of the eclipse of the sun of March 28, | 1922. Observations made at Bourges under un- _ favourable conditions.—G. Bruhat and A. Delaygue: | Determination of the upper point of inversion of the specific heat of the saturated vapour of benzine.—M. | de Broglie: The corpuscular spectra of the elements. | A continuation of previous researches carried out with NO. 2740, VOL. 109] larger apparatus. Reproductions are given of the spectra obtained with silver, tin, gold, and uranium. —C. Gutton: The simultaneous maintenance of an oscillating circuit and harmonic circuits.—P. Job: The hydrolysis of the roseocobaltic salts——A. Wahl, G. Normand, and G. Vermeylen: The monochlor- toluenes. Pure ortho- and para-monochlortoluenes were prepared and the melting point curve for mixtures of the two constructed. This curve can be used in the analysis of mixtures. In the chlorination of toluene, a new catalytic effect of lead chloride is noted, which has a bearing on the industrial prepara- tion of benzyl chloride.—Mlle. G. Cousin: Tectonic observations of the secondary strata of the southern border of the Vosges.—L. Dangeard and Y. Milon: Contribution to the study of the Tertiary basin to the south of Rennes. Discovery of beds containing fishes and plants in the black clays at the summit of the Chattian.—P. Bugnon: The hypocotyl of the Mercurialis.—H. Jumelle: A great palm tree from the centre of Madagascar.—A. Policard and Juliana Tritchkovitch: The mechanism intervening in the fixation of fats by the cortico-suprarenal gland.—P. Lecompte du Noiiy: The superficial equilibrium of the serum and of some colloidal solutions. A de- scription of a new apparatus for studying the con- tinuous variation of the surface tension of a liquid. With this it has been shown that, at constant tem- perature, the surface tension of solutions of sodium oleate, glycocholate and taurocholate, of saponin and of blood serum diminishes spontaneously with time, rapidly during the first ten minutes then more slowly, the results being expressed by an exponential curve. —E. Roubaud: The winter hibernation in the larvae and nymphs of the flies —E. Grynfeltt: The per- forating fibres of the bone of mammals.—P. Bouin: The parallel conjugation of the chromosomes and the mechanism of the chromatic reduction.—H. Bierry, F. Rathery, and F. Bordet: Experimental azotemia | and hyperproteidoglycemia.—E. Burnet: A type of arthritis frequently observed in guinea-pigs infected with Micrococcus melitensis. CAPE Town. Royal Society of South Africa, March 15.—Dr. J. D. F. Gilchrist, president, in the chair.—B. de C. Marchand and B. J. Smit: The soils of the Harte- beestpoort irrigation area (Pretoria and Rustenburg districts)—-H. E. Penrose: The trend of radio- development. The various methods adopted for wire- less transmission were described and compared with the three electrode thermionic valve method. The possibilities of transmitting a beam of wireless waves in any given direction and direction finding were also discussed.—W. S. H. Cleghorne: A study in charcoal : being a research on charcoals made from exotic woods grown in the Union of South Africa. Charcoals were classified by the following methods: (a) proximate analysis ; (b) measurement of the fuel consumption per brake horse-power on suction gas engine trial at constant given load for six hours’ run; (c) analysis of the gas from the gas producer while the engine was on the trial; (d) measurement of the weight of a given volume of charcoal. Charcoal from Acacia saligna, the common Port Jackson Wattle of the Cape Flats, gave excellent results —F. G. Cawston: Some notes on the differentiation of closely-allied Schisto- somes. Fresh-water snails are infested occasionally with the cercariz of more than one species of trema- tode. There are conditions under which schistosomes may develop in other than their common intermediary host. A determination of the number of pairs of mucin glands is one of the best means of determining the species to which a cercaria belongs. 600 NATURE [May 6, 1922 Official Publications Received. Part ‘1. Pp. Lees? ee plates. 2 " rupees + ee Botanical Series, Vol. 11, No. 6: The Influence of Atmospheric Condi: tions upon the Germination of Indian Barley. By W. Youngman 9 annas; 1s. (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. : 0. Union of South Africa. Report of the South African Museum for the Year — 81st December 1921. Pp. ii+12. (Cape Town: bi 4 Times, Ltd.) ciété francaise de Physique. Procés-Verbaux et Résumé des communications faites pendant l’année 1921. Pp. 112. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie.) Third Annual Report of the Governors of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau. Pp. 72. (London: The Bureau, 2 Queen Anne’s Gate Buildin Annali della Facolta di Medicina gs.) Univarnith, anol Studi di Perugia. e Chirurgia (Organo Ufficiale dell’ Accademia Medico-Chirurgica di Perugia). Vol. 26, Serie V. Pp. 302. (Perugia: G. Guerra.) Papers and Proceedings of ta Royal Society of Tasmania for the an 1921. Pp. iv+222+30 plates. (Hobart: Tasmanian Museum.) gs nee Proceedings of 7 Roe Society of South Australia, Edited by Pro . Howchin. Pp. vii+316+22 plates. (Adelaide : Royal Society of South Patrelis. ) Os. Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, May 5. IRON AND STEEL INSTITUTE (at Institution of Civil Engineers), at 10.30 A.M.—D. el gag Recent Developments in Power Production.—A. Westgren and G. Phragmen: X-ray Studies on the Crystal Steaovare: a Steel.—N. T. Belaiew: The Inner Structure of the ae Grain.—J. H. Whiteley : Formation of Globular Pearlite.—A. F. Hallimond: Delayed So eon pages in the Carbon eh — Formation of Pearlite, Troostite i Hon i on. Recent Investigations.—K. and Kikuta: The Stepped Al Transformation in Carbon Stoel during Rapid Cooling.— N. Yamada: The Heat of Transformation of Austenite to Martensite, and of Martensite to Pearlite. ROYAL SocrigeTy OF MEDICINE (Laryngology Section), at 3.—Annual General Meeting and Special Clinical Meeting. pies SOcIETY OF ARTS (Dominions and Colonies and Indian Sections), 4.30.—Prof. W. H. Eccles: Imperial Wireless Communication. Mh ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (Geophysical Discussion), at 5 ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Sir Arthur Keith : Demonstration of Museum Specimens illustrating Umbilical and Diaphragmatic Hernia. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS (London Students’ Section), at 7.—R. P. Howgrave-Graham : Electrically Oscillatory Discharges, INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (Informal Meeting), at 7.— Failures. JUNIOR INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—E. N. Ching: Casting under Steam Pressure. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Dr. M. Grabham: Biological Studies in Madeira SATURDAY, May 6, ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS-IN-CHIEF (at St. Bride’s Institute), at 7.30.—Discussion on Uniflow v. Multiple-Expansion Steam Ey MONDAY, May 8. Royal INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 5,—G. ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, is pia Me ahettock : Demonstration of Museum Specimens illustrating Tuberculosis. genes SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (War Section), at 5.30.—Annual General ROYAL BOcmrY OF ARTS, at 8.—F. F. R : “ Ehotography (2 (Cobb ‘Hectures). enwick: Modern Aspects of : TITUTION, at 8.—R. Cobb: A ROYAL Prt aa Socrery (at Asolian Hall 135 New Bond Street, W.1), at 8.30.—R. Bryce: The Klagenfurt Piebise MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 9.—H.. 1: Waring: are Oration. TUESDAY, May 9. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir Arthur Keith: Anthropological Problems of the B Anthropolog Aiea ae e British Empire. Series II. Racial N&STITUTION OF PETROLEUM TRCHNOLOGISTS (at Royal Society of Arts) at 5.30,—E. H. Cunningham Crai Th 1 : Zoouoerca Soorry oF anon, ia e Oil Shale of Esthonia. OYAL SOCIETY OF DICINE (Psychi — : General Mecting (Psyc beers Section), at 5.30.—Annual UEKETT MICROSCOPICAL CLUB, at 7.30.— a he eg Varieties of pe Z oolo B Comer: Anes YAL PHOTOGRAPHIO SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN (at Royal Societ; of Arts), at 8.—Prof. The. Svedberg: The inter ecatane of Light Sensitivity in Photography (Hunter and Driffield Memorial Lecture). RoyYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTH, at 3.15. —Capt. M. W. Hilton pyre rie Some Ethnographical Researches among the Berbers of WEDNESDAY, May 10. ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof, H. B 1: The Results and Treatment of Gunsh 2 Bloo Vessels (1) (Hunterian: Lectures), ahs Wounds ‘of #ae_ Bie04 NO. 2740, VOL. 109] ns The Constitutional a 2 the tron-Carlae System, : GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 5.30,—Prof. E. J. Garwood nd Wayland and Dr. A. Morley Davies: The Miocene of Ceylon, ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Surgery: Sub-section of 5.80.—Annual General Meeting. a ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS, at 8.—Major P. A. MacMahon: he Design ~ of Repeating Patterns for Decorative Work. gga OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERS (at Institution of Mechani Engineers), at 8.—J. Watt: Automobile Calculations ; Methods f Re the Designer. pei ne THURSDAY, May 11, q ROYAL {NSTITUTION OF ee BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. F. Keeble: Plant Sensitiveness. I. To + ROYAL Socrety, at 4.—Election “Of Fellows, 4.30.—. ee — Lord Rayleigh : A Photographic Spectrum of the Aurora of Ma 13-15, 1921, and Laboratory Studies in come with it. Lord ; Rayleigh : "A Study of the Presence or Absence of Peg | 7 in the Auroral Spectrum.—Dr. ©. Chree: The 27-day = ‘Gn 7 terval) in Terrestrial Magnetism.—M. Barker : The Use of all Pitot-tubes for measuring Wind bec ge i —E. T. Paris: resonated Hot-wire Microphones.—Prof. Cc, McLennan ‘and D Ainslie: The Structure of the Line of Wavelength A=6708 A.U. of the Isotopes of Lithium ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, at 5.—Prof. H. Burro e Results and Treatment of Gunshot Wounds of the Blood Fassia (2) (Hunterian Lectures). LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY (at Royal Astronomical Society), at 5. —Prof. G. H. Hardy : The Elements of the Analytic Theory of of Num- bers (Lecture).—L. J. Mordell: The Integral Solutions of the tion y!=a2z +ba?+ca+d.—wW. 'P. Milne: Sextactic Cones and Tritan gent Planes of the same System of a Quadri-cubic Curve.—A. C. Dixon: : An poe ag pears —E. L. Ince : On Harmonic Equations and in articular the Equations associated with Parabolie and Circular oundary Problems. OpTIcaL Society (at Imperial College of Science and Technology), at 7.30.—Discussion on Motorcar Head-lights. ROYAL Society OF MEDICINE (Neurology Section), at 8.30.—Annual General Meeti2g.—Dr.4F. Bramwell: Some Features of Myopathy.j F arb: May 12, “f ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, a a _ PHYSICAL at gi oF LONDON gh Imperial College of Sciencefand Technology), a ROYAL toad A MEDICINE Clinical Section), at 5.30.—Ann ual General Meeting. MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON (at Linnean ge 2 ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—Dr. H Search for Specific Remedies. 1 SATURDAY, May 13, ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Prof. O. W. Richardson: — The peorais Gap between the X-ray and Ultra-violet Spectra. I. Grating Results . Dale: The PUBLIC’ LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a@ series.) FRIDAY, May 5, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.—Prof. T. Borenius : of the Primitives (Admission by Invitation on ) at. md W. R. Shepher e Expansion 0 eg soe Kine’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. J. Hort Lerrery in Aspects of Oceanography (4). —R. F. Young: The University o f Prague. TUESDAY, MAY 9. ' 4 ba onan Contner, at 5.—Sir Arthur Shipley: Insects and Dise = KIN@’s COLLEGR, o MS .30. cae The Advance of Peery, id Dr. Ww. Saleeby . 663 The Universities aad the Publication of the Results of Research in erica : 664 _ University and Educations! lutlilgetics ; 664 Calendar of Industrial Pioneers . : 665 Societies and Academies 666 Official Publications Received 667 Diary of Societies 668 Editorial and Publishing Offices : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2, Advertisements and business letters should be _ addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor, Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] Imperial Aspects of Comparative Medicine. HE Advisory Committee on Research into Diseases in Animals was appointed in November 1920 by the Development Commission “to report on the facilities now available for the scientific study of the diseases of animals, to indicate what extension of those facilities is desirable in the immediate future in order to advance the study of disease whether in animals or man, and to advise as to the steps which should be taken to secure the aid of competent scientific workers in investigating diseases in animals.” The Committee comprised Sir David Prain (Chairman), Prof. O. C. Bradley, Captain W. E, Elliot, M.P., Sir Walter Fletcher, Sir William Leish- man, Sir John M‘Fadyean, Prof. C. J. Martin, and Mr. F, B. Smith, C.M.G. The report which has now been issued (H.M.S.O., 1s. 6d. net) affirms that the problem of disease and of health, whether in man,animal er plant, is in reality one, and that the acquisition of the greater part of our knowledge of human and of veterinary medicine, both curative and preventive, has resulted from the use of identical scientific methods, Moreover, the vast overseas trade of the United Kingdom in live-stock gives it a vested interest in the wealth annually at hazard from preventible causes throughout the Empire. With this broad -interpretation of its terms of reference, the Committee has had to deal with essen- tially the same problem as that of the Colonial Office “Committee on Research in the Colonies,” to the report of which reference was made in the issue of Nature for March 23, p. 365. Whereas the Committee of the Colonial Office looked to the Universities as training grounds for future investigators, that of the Development Commission has concentrated attention on the Veterinary Institu- tions and Laboratories. It found that in the United Kingdom the only independent institution devoted to the investigation of animal diseases to which the name ‘“‘ Research Institute ” could be applied was at the Royal Veterinary College, London. The aggregate State subsidy received by the five Veterinary Colleges during the year 1920-21 for research purposes totalled only 3696/. This condition of affairs renders impossible the proper payment of workers or the maintenance of laboratories or of field inquiries, and is stigmatised by the Committee as a national disgrace. In its survey of the facilities available overseas the Committee was embarrassed by the limited information at its command, but after excepting the Veterinary Labora- tory at Onderspepoort on account of its valuable work for the Union of South Africa, the Committee adopts the dictum of the editor of the Tropical Veterinary 634 NATURE [May 20, 1922 Bulletin that the state of research into animal diseases in the tropics is at present lamentable. Affirming that the facilities available in the British Empire in men, laboratory accommodation and equip- ment, are totally inadequate for the interests at stake, the Committee recommends the gradual creation of a cadre of research workers under an advisory organisa- tion of scientific experts. On both scientific and political grounds it is desirable that no demarcation should be drawn between research work in the United Kingdom and that in other parts of the Empire. The Committee is of opinion also that, should financial conditions become less stringent, assistance from State funds would be justified towards the creation of one strong Institute to serve the needs of the United Kingdom and possibly of the Empire. In such an institute, research would be made into the comparative aspects of disease as a whole, and workers in different branches of the subject—veterinary, medical, botanical —would be brought into association. It is unfortunate that the Committee terminated its labours before the announcement of the gift to the Government by the Rockefeller Foundation of _ two million dollars for the creation of an Institute of Imperial Hygiene in London. It is understood that the Government has already accepted the responsi- bility of providing staff and maintenance of the Insti- tute when established. Moreover, the “ Shakespeare Memorial” site adjoining the area recently acquired for the University of London has been purchased. This new development must enhance profoundly the position of London as the post-graduate centre of the Empire. It is understood that the Ministry of Health favours the integration of certain activities of various bodies like the London School of Tropical Medicine with those of the proposed Institute. In view of the enormous advantages which would ensue to the whole science of medicine from the intimate association of research workers in human and animal disease, it is to be hoped that serious efforts will be made to meet the legitimate aspirations of the veterinary profession for better facilities for research and post-graduate study in connection with the new Institute. The General Theory of Relativity. Trans- Pp. xi Ltd., 1922.) Space—Time—Matter. By Hermann Weyl. lated from the German by Henry L. Brose. +330. (London: Methuen and Co., 18s. net. ROF. WEYL’S work is the standard treatise on the general theory of relativity. It is the most systematic and penetrating book on the subject ; it is also by far the most difficult. The reader must not NO. 2742, VOL. 109] solves the same problem. expect a helping hand over difficulties which are merely analytical ; only the barest indication of intermediate a steps is given in passing from one formula to another. — The book is not suitable for a first introduction to the — mathematical theory ; but those who have already acquired some familiarity with the methods and mani- pulations required will find here a deeper insight and a more general view of the logical coherence of the theory than is possible in more elementary text-books. We think too that Weyl, more than other continental writers, approaches the outlook natural to an English student. The subtle distinctions between the Cam- bridge and the continental schools survive the revolu- tion which has overtaken scientific thought. Even with Einstein we feel a need to anglicise his mode of thought, and this is still more necessary with some other German writers. But Weyl strikes just the right note for us; and though he is often too far ahead for us to follow, we pay him the (perhaps doubtful) com- pliment of claiming him as one of our own school of thought. In some branches of applied mathematics the analytical methods have obviously no connection with the physical processes. The lunar theory is a notable instance ; we cannot conceive that the processes by which the moon finds out where it ought to be are in any way analogous to those by which the computer It is part of the charm of Einstein’s theory that the mathematical methods cor- respond step by step with physical processes, so that not merely the result but also the form of the analysis is significant. The deeper our comprehension of the mathematical tool (the tensor calculus) the deeper will be our insight into the structure of the world. There are perhaps some who cherish the hope that ultimately simpler mathematical methods of treating these prob- lems will be devised ; but even if this hope were ful- filled the simplification would cost us dearly. If to our minds it seems simpler to solve the problems of Nature for her by methods other than those which she herself follows, that only accentuates our unfittedness to comprehend her processes. In Weyl’s treatment the physical significance of each analytical si Anoipsttg is most strongly emphasised. A distinctive feature of Weyl’s work is his use of the conception of tensor-density in addition to tensor. These differ by a factor 4/g. In any region of the world, we can always choose a system of co-ordinates such that +/g=1 everywhere; from the analytical point of view the factor is a useless complication which can be omitted without loss of generality, so that tensors — and tensor-densities become equivalent. But this com- putational simplification plays havoc with the physical _ significance of the formule. Intensity-measures and Ea 4 7 i +e & ue ae iret May. 20, 1922] NATURE 635 quantity-measures become hopelessly confused. Wey! seems to have been the first to insist on keeping these distinct. He brings a meaning into formule which had _ previously appeared to be artificial combinations. The _ student who has with difficulty acquired some skill in _ Operating with tensors has to learn in addition how to E _ manipulate tensor-densities ; but the results repay the extra labour. Einstein has amalgamated for us geometry and mechanics. He has shown that if we have given an ‘exact specification of the geometry of a region of space _and time, that specification will also determine all the ‘mechanical properties. existing in the region—gravita- tional field, inertia, momentum, and stress. Einstein accepted for this purpose the geometry of Riemann. 1 1918 Weyl showed that Riemannian geometry con- tains a limitation which makes it appear inappropriate . the description of a physical continuum from which ‘{ all: action at a distance is excluded. He generalised _ the geometry and so gave to the state of the world additional degrees of freedom. Actually four addi- ~ tional quantities had to be fixed in this more general specification of geometry ; and he identified these with the four electromagnetic potentials. In this way the ; whole electrodynamic scheme is associated with the __ mechanical scheme, both being amalgamated with the 4 eae of the world. There is, however, an element oe speculation in Weyl’s unification which does not S aaseit in Einstein’s ; the mechanical and geometrical _ properties of the gravitational field are aspects of the same phenomena ; the electrical and geometrical pro- _ perties of the electromagnetic field are not shown to be the same phenomena though they are supposed to originate in the same source. Nearly half of Weyl’s book is devoted to the de- velopment on a logical basis of a system of geometry. In this part we have to be content with laying a _ foundation, with scarcely a hint of the well-known __ phenomena of relativity which will follow. Knowing _ Weyl’s great reputation as a pure mathematician, we some apprehension lest he should approach the study of space as though it were a matter of pure geometry. The fear was groundless. He recognises fully that he is dealing with a physical subject ; and in his geometry space is recognised at the outset as a form of phenomena (p. 11), not a mere continuum of nm dimensions. Among the most novel investigations is a justification of the Pythagorean metric (the quad- ratic formula for the interval) by an argument involv- ing the theory of groups. The reasoning is difficult to follow. As the changes made in successive German editions bear witness, Prof. Wey] is still developing his ideas. We think that near the end of the present edition he NO. 2742, VOL. 109] fn ae has reached conclusions which were not in his mind at the beginning. Four pages from the end, after some illuminating remarks on the two modes of transferring a quantity from place to place by “ persistence’ and by “ adjustment ” respectively, he decides that actual transference by clocks and measuring-rods corresponds to adjustment. Whilst this conclusion seems to be undoubtedly correct, the reader has scarcely been pre- pared for it, and indeed the existence of anything with respect to which adjustment can be made has only been demonstrated a few pages earlier. But the beginning of the book needs reconsidering in the light of this conclusion. How are we to reconcile the two following statements ? (1) The same object, remaining what it is, could equally well have been in some other place. The cor- respondence between the portions of space occupied in the two positions is called congruent transference (p. 11). (2) A measuring-rod even in a statical field does not in general undergo a congruent transference (p. 308). _, These are not the exact words, but I think that they convey the sense intended. It would seem to follow that a measuring-rod at another place and time is not precisely the thing it was. But it must be remembered that the statement (1) was enunciated as an axiom, which we were expected to accept as a matter of common experience ; it is no place for metaphysical subtleties, which indeed Prof. Weyl is not likely to indulge in.’ There is, I believe, a direct contradiction between the initial premises (1) and the final con- clusion (2) which can only be removed by revising our ideas as to the status of Weyl’s ultra-Riemannian geometry. In spite of its specialised character the geometry of Riemann is the geometry of space and time (“‘ the form of phenomena ”’), as Einstein assumed. Weyl’s generalisation does not refer to actual space and time; but it gives us the needful mode of treat- ment in graphical guise of those fundamental relations which underlie the world of space and time and things. Not until the last third of the book do we enter on the general theory of relativity. Then in a hundred pages we hasten through all the main results, including the re-formulation of mechanics to which Wey] has so largely contributed. De Sitter’s and Einstein’s rival views of a curved world are compared, and we gather that the author is not so hostile as most continental writers to the former. In either case, by noticing that G?4/g (not G»/g) is the fundamental scalar-density of zero dimensions, he is able to show that the cosmical curvature-term appears naturally and _ inevitably. Much of the more advanced theory depends on the Hamiltonian method of stationary variation of a volume-invariant. This is applied in two forms— (r) Variations arising from changes of the reference- 636 NATURE [May 20, 1922 . frame vanish on account of the invariance. Equations so derived are mathematical identities which cannot be controverted. (2) The vanishing of the variation for all small changes of the parameters is a possible form for a law of nature. Equations so derived rest on a particular hypothesis which challenges criticism. We wish that the author had kept the-results of these two applications distinct. We believe that most of the ascertained laws of physics are derivable by the first application, and the second is responsible for some additional results which cannot be tested and do not appear to us particularly probable. The translator of such a book as this has our sincere sympathy. He has done a useful work which yet falls far short of complete success. There are many passages in the original which we have turned to again and again, and only very slowly grasped their meaning; others still defeat us. It was not to be expected that the translator would penetrate the thought behind them, and he has evidently given up the attempt to make his rendering convey any possible sense. We would not recommend any one to make a profound study of this work without having the German original at hand to consult when a difficulty is encountered. There are other mistakes harder to excuse. Weyl’s treatment of space turns on the two conceptions of affine and metrical geometry, and it is impossible to proceed without mastering these. But the exposition of affine geometry on p. 18 refers continually to postulates I and II, and the reader will search in vain for any postulates so indicated. In the German edition a mis- print of 1 for I is comparatively harmless ; but in the English edition the further substitution of 2 for II extinguishes the reader’s last hope of discovering what the argument refers to. On pp. 141-2, two axioms are printed as though they were headlines of the paragraphs following. Absurd mistranslations such as “mass of the earth” for “mass of the world” on p. 296 will probably not do much harm, though they shake our confidence. All the same, there is much good work in the translation, and those who: are struggling to master Weyl’s indispensable treatise will welcome the partial aid which it affords. A. S. E. New Methods of Arctic Exploration. The Friendly Arctic : Regions. By Vilhjahmar Stefansson. 784+plates. (London: 1921.) 305. net. O such original and assertive explorer of the Arctic regions as Mr, Stefansson has appeared since Dr, Nansen startled the admirals by dispensing NO. 2742, VOL. 109] Pp. xxxi+ Macmillan and Co., Ltd., ‘will henceforth be purged of some errors and fortified The Story of Five Years in Polar with a line of retreat. Mr. Stefansson’s views are however, far more upsetting than those of Dr. Nansen, for he denies practically every theory and many reputed facts regarding the North Polar area, and contemns almost all the long-established methods of Bigs Pi travel. +y aa We cannot go on to Mr.: Stefansson’s vindicate his own powers as a pioneer without first, deprecating his contemptuous tone with regard to arm-chair geo- graphers and their views. Those harmless drudges do their best to follow the published narratives of explorers and to reconcile the contradictions between successive travellers’ reports. If they say in their compilations that the Arctic Sea in‘its farther recesses is devoid of life it is because explorers have told them so, and if they dwell upon the hardships.and dangers of Arctic explorations it is because earlierand less expert explorers did suffer and perish in the attempt to do, amid diffi- culty and pain, what proves easy and pleasant to Mr. Stefansson. We gladly acknowledge that Mr. Stefansson treats Peary as a great and successful — explorer, and does full justice to McClintock’s mar- _ vellous sledge journeys on the Franklin search; but he would have thought so much more of them if they had seen how easy it was to “ live off the country ” ! In pp. 30-32 much is made of the assumed ignorance on the part of Sir John Murray that sea-ice after long exposure on the surface of a floe can yield drinkable water. It seems to us that Sir John Murray probably controverted Mr. Stefansson’s statement on this point not from ignorance but merely in order to test his character, for it was a common thing with Murray to see if a young man who knew something could beshaken __ in his confidence as to his own knowledge by the weight _ of an older man’s authority. If Mr. Stefansson had wavered, as we are very sure he did not, Sir John Murray would have thought the less of him. As — a matter of fact, we know that Murray was greatly — impressed by the young Canadian’s knowledge and _ fitness. With this book before them we are sure that the works of oceanographers and arm-chair geographers by many new facts ; but the whole load of learning left by the old heroes of the North will not, on that account, be thrown into the sea like Stefansson’s despised canted ' : goods. y In 1913 the Canadian Government took over ade R financed an Arctic expedition which Mr. Stefansson had been organising in co-operation with the National ~ Geographic Society of Washington and the American _ Museum of Natural History. These institutions. with- — drew their claims and so Stefansson’s third Arctic oe expedition was purely Canadian. A great programme — was prepared for work in two divisions, a northern ina _ May 20, ‘192 22] NAT URE 637 Pes simula; the Karluk, under Mr. Stefansson himself with a large staff and complete oceanographical equip- _ continent under Dr. Anderson, who was second in ‘command, and provided with a smaller vessel. The ‘southern party proceeded on the whole according to plan ; but the Karlwk forced her way into the ice north of Alaska on August 13, 1913, and remained fast, drift- ing westward. On September 20, when the ship was _ ten miles off the land Stefansson thought it right to go shore for a few weeks’ caribou hunting ; but the ship 1d disappeared when he was ready to return, and after quite old-fashioned difficulties and hardships, including the crushing and sinking of the ship, most of ye men succeeded in reaching Wrangel Island off the st of Siberia and were ultimately saved. Mr. James tay, the biologist, and Dr. Mackay, both of whom been with Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Antarctic, vere amongst those who perished on the ice. . Ignorant of the fate of the Karluk, and deprived by her loss of all the carefully prepared equipment and i trained assistants, Stefansson had to decide whether he should accept failure or put to a test his long-cherished idea of living on the resources of what he had come to look on as a friendly Arctic. He chose the latter alternative, found two old friends amongst the Arctic traders, named Storkerson and Andreasen, who were willing to take risks, got together some sledges and dogs, ; a few instruments, and a large quantity of ammuni- 4 tion, and on March 22, 1914, started on a great journey over the sea-ice from Marten Point in 70° N. No one ‘on shore expected to see him again. A support party was sent back on April 5, when fifty miles from shore, and the three men with six dogs and provisions for ‘thirty days marched northward over the floes along the ‘meridian of 140° W.. By May 5, they had reached 74° N. in 135° W., and seals and bears kept them in food _ and fuel in an eastward march until they landed on Banks Land on June 25, after travelling a thousand mils, never having been hungry, cold, or tired, and the dogs i in better condition than at the start. _ The summer was spent hunting and exploring in . the unknown interior of Banks Land ; the ship ap- | pointed to bring supplies arrived, and the winter over Stefansson started again north-westward over the sea-ice, reaching almost 77° N. in 130° W. early in May 1915. From this point he travelled due east to _ Prince Patrick Land, skirted its north-west coast, and to the north-east of it discovered a new land _ (Borden Island) in 78° N. 115° W., and the summer being then so far advanced as to shake travel over the sea-ice very difficult he hurried back almost 600 miles ___ by the west coast of Melville Island to his old base in _ Banks Land. Thence opportunity. was. taken of a NO. 2742, VOL. 109] ‘ment ; and a southern for work on the coast of the dhiniiée cinder, Whose ship Sieckesad purchased as a matter of course, to pay a brief visit to the comparative civilisation of Herschel Island, but on returning to Banks. Land the party made an interesting journey eastward to visit the Copper Eskimos of Victoria Island. After wintering in Banks Land, Stefansson in the spring of 1916 made a journey across Melville Island to Borden Island, thence north- eastward to 80° N., where another new land, Meighen Island, was discovered in 100° W., and on his way back he found a third new land, Longheed Island, in 77° N. 105° W. _The winter quarters for 1916-17 were in Liddon Gulf, Melville Island, classic ground of the Franklin search. Early in 1917 Mr. Stefansson was again on his way north, this time-along the eastern coast of Borden Island‘and onwards over the sea-ice almost to 81° N. in t10° W. Here his two companions, who were new hands on this occasion, broke down from scurvy, due to their surreptitious diet of tinned foods during the previous winter, and the most promising of all these wonderful journeys had to be cut short. The return journey reads like a sheer romance, and Stefansson well says that if Stevenson had only known of facts like these he would never have had to invent the plot of “Treasure Island.” The accumulating interest of chapters 59 to 63 is tremendous, and will prove to most European readers a revelation of what is possible in Arctic America. On September 13 Stefansson landed from his stranded steamer at a little harbour in Alaska, and here his luck deserted him, for after planning another trip into the Beaufort Sea he was attacked successively by typhoid fever, pneumonia, and pleurisy, and 1918 was well advanced before he could leave the hospital in Fort Yukone that nothing but his indomitable spirit enabled him to reach. His old friend Storkerson undertook an eight months’ journey over the Beaufort Sea north to 74°, then drifting on a floe to follow the currents, and he returned safely, showing that he also could | live on the natural bounty of the friendly Arctic. We have given a condensed narrative, for the book is confused by digressions which obscure the sequence of events. The digressions, however, are full of interest, telling much of the habits of caribou, musk-oxen, seals, polar bears, and Arctic foxes, and more of Mr. Stefansson’s own special subject—the habits and beliefs of the Eskimo, and the prejudices as to diet of all sorts of men and dogs. The scientific results are being worked out at Ottawa, and we can refer here only to the unique value of the soundings taken by Stefansson and Storkerson in the Beaufort Sea. These determine the position of the Continental Shelf on several lines at right angles to Yeu 638 NATURE [May 20, 1922 the coast of America and to the western islands of the Arctic archipelago. They also point to great possibilities in the way of more detailed oceano- graphical work by sledge journeys in the future. Hucu RoBertT MILL. An Epic of Science. The Torch-bearers. By Alfred Noyes. Pp. Ilx+281. (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood and Sons.) 7s. 6d. net. PIC is perhaps too large a word to apply to this beautiful book, though Mr. Noyes himself suggests it in his preface. There is, as he says, ‘‘ an epic unity—a unity of purpose and endeavour ”’—in the story of scientific discovery, and “the great moments of science have an intense human interest and belong essentially to the creative imagination of poetry." The world of science and of poetry, therefore, both owe Mr. Noyes a great debt of gratitude for his attempt—the first of the kind—to bring them together ; and, apart altogether from the high scope which he announces, every reader who submits himself fairly to the influence of his verse will be carried away by the charm of the language, the human, sometimes humorous, touches of character, and the triumphs, mixed with pathos, of the story. We are told in the preface that this volume is the first of a trilogy, though the subjects of the two which are to follow are not revealed. This one deals with the pioneers of astronomy, and the other two might well be given, one to the discoverers of physics and chemistry, ending in the marvels of the electrons, and the other to the story of evolution, linking the record of geology with the gradual establishment of the continuity of organic structure. These we shall await with intense interest, and with full confidence that Mr. Noyes will do justice to the broad outlines of the theme and its human bearings, without too much concern as to the absolute accuracy of his account in details. Of course there are mistakes here and there ; Kepler’s laws are not quite accurately given. But what a tour de force to present them at all, approxi- mately and attractively, in poetic form! Of course, too, there are plenty of prose-like lines, about which some of the critics in the press have made merry. But at the most they are a very small proportion of the whole, far smaller than in any of the long narrative poems of Wordsworth. Speaking of Wordsworth, it is a little strange that Mr, Noyes does not invoke his great authority in favour of his enterprise in this trilogy. He invokes NO. 2742, VOL. 109] Matthew Arnold, who prophesied forty years ago that — poetry would carry on the purer fire of human thought — and express in new terms the eternal ideas of faith a hope which must be the constant stay of the hu race. But Wordsworth, in the Preface to the seco edition of the “ Lyrical Ballads,” came nearer still to Mr. Noyes’s idea. He showed how the Poet, being i in. that respect the Man, par excellence, looked awed “ before and after ” and held our human ideals together. _ He carried everywhere relationship and love, and wove ~ into the fabric of his vision all that mankind has ever — done or known or dreamt. Thus the material of science — is just as fit an object of the poet’s art as any upon — which it is more usually employed. “If the time — should ever come when what is now called science, thus familiarised to men, shall be ready to put on, as it were, a form of flesh and blood, the Poet will lend his divine spirit to aid the transfiguration, and will welcome the Being thus produced - a dear and genuine inmate of the household of man.’ q More than a hundred years have passed since Words- worth made that prophecy. The volume of the poetry ~ written, either in this country or abroad, with that — inspiration is but slight. Tennyson gave us some — thoughts suggested by the doctrine of evolution, — Matthew Arnold some others. On the whole, Sully — Prudhomme has come nearest to Wordsworth’s ideal of the poet inspired by science, but it takes with him ~ the guise of a stern, sad doctrine of resignation and | fortitude under inexorable laws. It remained for — Mr. Noyes to strike a new note, of triumph in the growth of the human spirit, of patient search for ~ truth, of romantic beauty in the linking up of relation- _ ships between the heavenly bodies, which have inspired fe the worship and wonder of man since he first looked _ upwards. . The figures Mr. Noyes has chosen for the protagonists of his drama have all some points of personal interest, ; as well as permanent importance in the building up of science. These personal aspects he rightly stresses. ] Copernicus is described upon his death-bed, waiting — for the issue of his long-delayed work. Kepler is the — fantastic poet, visited by Sir Henry Wotton, who — quotes verse for verse. The trial of Galileo—dramatic- ally the most effective thing in the poem—is given — in the form of letters from his daughter Celeste and — from others, friends and foes, somewhat i in the manhes: of Browning. It is tempting to quote some of the most telling lines. in the poem; one reviewer, at any rate, has read some of them several times already. Two extrac only shall be given, not by any means as among the most beautiful, but as conveying the dominating spirit ‘of the whole. The Prologue raises the question, is there Bay 20, 1922] NATURE 639 po not one to touch za with beauty this long battle for the light ? . The blind, blood- battered aos Have yc you no song, then, of that nobler war ? : . for, in these wars, The first effect of the new was to dwarf the importance of man, to make creep like ants upon our midget ball of dust, immensity.” But this is not the true or final _ This new night was needed, that the soul _ Might conquer its own kingdom and arise To its full stature. F. S. Marvin. Biochemistry. : A Study of the Origin, Reactions, and ia of Living Matter. By Prof. Benjamin Pp. viit+340. (London: Edward Arnold, Ig2I.) 21s. net. AS is pointed out in the préface, this book does . not claim to be a general text-book of bio- smistry. Hence, it is necessary, in the first place, indicate the nature of its contents. The first two fers are new; they deal with “ biotic energy ” with the relation of life to light. There is much and of suggestive thought for workers in field of vital phenomena discussed in these chapters. author’s views on “ biotic energy ” are well known. e may note that, while being an independent form of energy, this is supposed to be quantitatively con- -yertible into the “ inorganic” forms of energy and to obey the laws of energetics. This being so, it is difficult to see what is gained by the assumption, unless it implies the function of a directing agency or “entelechy.” Perhaps the author has in his mind p something of the kind, since he speaks of “biotic 3 ” as controlling the chemical reactions in the - iving cell. A mild criticism may be made in this connection of the somewhat hazy and unintelligible nature of occasional statements in the book. This is doubtless due to oversight ; but if one were able to attach a more definite meaning to certain expres- sions, it is likely that they might prove more useful than appears at first sight. ___ The following six chapters deal with photo-synthesis. es _ They are practically reprints of the author’s papers in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. While these ~ experiments are of much interest, and will repay perusal, some doubt may be expressed as to the need teres 1 This review was written before the lamented death of Prof. Moore, the author of the work to which it refers. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] for repetition of experimental detail, since the original papers are accessible elsewhere. With regard to the formaldehyde theory of carbon assimilation in plants, it may be remembered that Prof. Moore’s experiments did much to give reasonable ground for holding this view, which has recently been made still more accept- able by the work of Baly, Heilbronn, and Barker. The assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen by the cell of the green plant under the influence of light, how- ever, requires more convincing evidence than has been brought forward as yet. _ The remaining chapters are reprinted and re-edited from “‘ Recent Advances in Physiology ” and “ Further Advances in Physiology.” The reader will be glad to have these articles again made available, but it is to be regretted that the opportunity was not taken to bring them more adequately up to date by correct- ing statements which no longer represent what is known on the subject. It may savour too much of “ asking for more” if the opinion be expressed that readers would have been grateful for some account of the views of Langmuir on adsorption and catalysis, and of those of Bancroft on the latter. The application of the modern conception of “ activity coefficients ”’ to physiological phenomena is also a matter worthy of consideration. Prof. Moore gives much Seterictive criticism of the assumption of a semi-permeable membrane on the surface of cells. It may be pointed out here that physiologists at the present day do not suppose such a membrane to be a permanent inert structure, but to be formed from the protoplasm in equilibrium with it and therefore liable to be affected by all kinds of functional change. Thus it becomes permeable in the state of activity of the cell, and most of Prof. Moore’s arguments lose their weight. There are certain interesting papers by the author which might well have been included in the present volume of reprints, such as those dealing with the osmotic pressure of colloids. This would have been a convenience to many workers. When we find a section on the nervous mechanism of secretion amongst the questions dealt with in the book, we are naturally led to ask, what does the author understand by “biochemistry”? His bio- chemistry appears to be identical with what is properly called “ physiology.” The latter, however, as taught in the medical schools, is apt to be more or less limited to human or applied physiology, so that it was natural to institute a body of doctrine which should include the chemical phenomena of the lower animals and plants. But a complete physiological science includes these. Indeed, it is impossible to consider apart from one another the chemical and physical aspects of vital 640 NATURE _ [May 20, 1922 | phenomena. However convenient for practical pur- poses a separate department of biochemistry may be, it would be a matter for regret if this part of physiolog b became dissociated from the remainder. Indeed, may safely be said that no physiological oul ean carry on effectively any part of its work without the provision of a chemical department. Hence, bio- chemistry, as well as biophysics, must be included. What is needed seems to be the establishment of more chairs in what might properly be called “ general” physiology, as distinct from “special” or human physiology. Since the term “ general physiology ”’ is sometimes misunderstood, and limited to the lower animals, perhaps the title of “‘ biodynamics,” sug- gested by the writer in another place, might be more appropriate. This name distinguishes the science of function from that of structure. Although, of course, one cannot exist apart from the other, such a separa- tion is more scientific than that of the chemical from the physical departments of physiology, for the methods of both the fundamental sciences are needed for the proper investigation of vital problems. At the same time, there may be said to be a more purely chemical branch of biochemistry, that devoted to the study of the properties of various compounds prepared from or by the living organism. This is really a special part of organic chemistry, and is obviously more related to the science of structure than to that of function, although it may conveniently be studied in connection with physiology. There is, however, an unfortunate tendency to call a man a “ biochemist ” who may be devoid of any acquaintance with vital phenomena. Another tendency, also apt to lead to confusion, is that of including pathological chemistry under biochemistry. This should surely be the chemical side of pathology, dealing with disease as physiology deals with normal processes. These remarks are not in any way intended to undervalue the pursuit of biochemistry, but as an attempt to make its position clear. Prof. Moore’s book takes into consideration more than the chemistry of vital pro- cesses, so that the title is not altogether an appropriate one. W. M. B. Morphological Aberration. The Echinoderms as aberrant Arthropods. By Austin H. Clark. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 72, No. 11. Pp. 20. (Washington, July 20, 1921.) OR some years past Mr. Austin Hobart Clark has been flirting with the idea that the Echino- derms were derived from the Arthropods, but we all NO. 2742, VOL. 109] _geologically late family of cirripedes] (inherent also ‘ pretended not to notice. Now that he has come inte 7 the open with a paper published by no less a body than the Smithsonian Institution, and that he has ; sent us a copy for review, we are obliged to i ste such goings-on. What Mr. Clark suggests is not merely such consis tion of the Echinoderma with the Arthropoda as others find with the Protochordata; he is “convinced that — they are undoubtedly closely allied to the crustaceans, and especially to the barnacles.” No one can have failed to remark some resemblances between crinoids- and cirripedes, due to a somewhat similar mode of life: normally both are attached—whether by a stem — or immediately sessile ; the body is encased in plates, and from it project soiacad and often branched ap- pendages used for collecting food. It is not easy © to gather precisely how much importance Mr. Clark | attaches to these and other adaptive resemblances : we may give him credit for the statement that “there ~ can be no question of any direct homology between” them, and confine him to the. suggestion “that it is a not impossible to regard them as parallel manifesta- % tions of the same ancestral appendicular plan.” ‘The 4 trouble is that he will keep dragging in, not merely the highly specialised sub-class Cirripedia, but the ~ most modified forms of that sub-class, thus :—“ A ) combination of the asymmetry of the Verrucide {a @ in very many other crustaceans, and especially notice- able in the Paguride and Bopyride [hermit-crabs _ and parasitic isopods]) carried to its logical conclusion — in the complete atrophy of one side, with the modifica- . tions of the body seen in Spherothylacus or Sarcotaces. [problematic parasites] in a less extreme form, roots of the Rhizocephala [parasitic cirripedes], a skeleton formed after the manner of the plates the shell of the Operculata [sessile barnacles of late — origin], furnishes all the elements needed for recombina-_ tion to form the crinoid.” It is fairer to Mr. Clark to ignore these and similar comparisons of incomparables, — and to consider only the fundamental parts of his argument. . The ‘outstanding features ”’ of the echinoderms | are, says Mr. Clark, “the presence of a vascular, a _ respiratory, and a superficial skeletal system, the last composed of articulated (calcareous) elements, the absence of gill clefts, and the sharp division of the body externally into (five radial) segments. In these features they agree only with the arthropods.” Prob- — ably he means: “‘ In the combination of these features.” But, take the characters singly, and what is the . resemblance ? The so-called vascular system of echinoderms is most feebly developed and posse no heart or other means of causing its contents May 20, 1922] NATURE 641 circulate. The arthropods have a heart (except in _ some modified groups), a pericardium, and a large _ System of hemoccelic spaces; the crustacea have definite arterial vessels. The arthropods, again, breathe by gills borne on the limbs or by trachee. ut what Mr. Clark means by the respiratory system of the echinoderms is not clear: they aérate their dy fluids in so many ways; such structures as lex 5 when developed, are not much like anything pods. As for the crystalline skeleton of the 1s, deposited in the spaces of an inter- etrating mesoderm and resorbed as need arises, ‘ean only be contrasted with the chitinous cuticle the arthropods, hardened by the deposition of norphous lime salts, and incapable of modification through moulting. Lastly, how can the radial smentation of echinoderms be homologised with the me ic segmentation of the arthropods? Mr. ark does not tell us. He does, however, accept the general view that “ the echinoderms are derived from bilaterally symmetrical ancestors,” and he does later on quote Patten’s hypothesis that the original meta- meres of the ancestor were suppressed on one side, and the remainder of the body bent round into a ring, so that the half metameres with their segmental organs became arranged in radiating lines—a hypothesis which places a very strained interpretation on the facts of embryology, and seems inconsistent with Mr. Clark’s own views as to the relations of larva and No one pagel wish to assert that a study of the ; eben: and mode of life of the cirripedes can have no bearing on the origin of the echinoderms. _ There is much that is suggestive in the comparisons drawn by Patten and by Clark. But if those writers mean to conclude that the echinoderms were derived _ from the cirripedes by way of. the crinoids, then as- _ suredly they have been misled by adaptive resemblances. o If. they mean only that these resemblances imply a % likeness of ancestral material no less than a likeness 3 of external conditions, then we must ask them to “indicate the connection between the ancestor of the Crustacea (nauplius-, Apus-, or trilobite-like, as they choose) and the bilaterally symmetrical ancestor - (Dipleurula or what not) of the Echinoderma. It is quite possible that there was a primitive group of ceelomate animals from which the early echinoderms and the chetopod ancestors of the arthropods both arose ; but to imagine that the arthropod type, once evolved on the “appendicular plan,” as Mr. Clark calls it, retraced its steps towards anything that could have become an echinoderm, is contrary to all ascer- tained principles of evolution; and the alternative dream, that an arthropod, once recognisable as such, : NO. 2742, VOL. 109] he could progressively change into an echinoderm, is a baseless and unsubstantiated vision. Mr. Clark will not, it is to be hoped, think we dis+ miss him in summary fashion. Many will say we ought to have done so. But there is a reason for treating the matter seriously. Any one has a perfect right to discuss the origin of the echinoderms and to main- tain what views he pleases. Mr. Clark, as a distin- guished authority on one class of echinoderms, certainly may claim a hearing. But whoever discusses morpho logical problems should have regard to the recognised principles and methods of morphology. He should have a sufficiently wide knowledge of comparative anatomy to be able to estimate the relative values of the.facts that he adduces. There is at the present time a real danger that this discipline may be for- gotten in the rush after alluring discovery in genetics, biochemistry, and other novel branches of biology. Among many examples of loose thinking in morphology, this of Mr. Clark occupies a bad eminence, exaggerated by’ the place of its publication and by the high merit of its author in his own field. F. A. BATHER. Physics for Students. (1) An Outline of Physics. By L. Southerns. Pp. xv+202. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 6s. 6d. (2) General Physics and its Application to Industry and Everyday Life. By Prof. E. S. Ferry. Pp. xvit+ 732. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) 24s. net. (3) Laboratory Projects in Physics: A Manual of Practical Experiments for Beginners. By F. F. Good. Pp. xilit267. (New, York: The Mac- millan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1920.) 9s. net. (4) An Introduction to Physics for Technical Students. By P. J. Haler and A. H.Stuart. Pp.240. (London: Library Press, Ltd., 1921.) 4s. 6d. net. (5) Experimental Science. 1, Physics. By S. E. Brown. Section 5, Light. Pp. viit+273-424. (Cam- bridge: At the University Press, 1920.) 6s. net. (6) Elements of, Natural Science. By W. Bernard Smith. Partz. Pp. viiit+207. (London: Edward Arnold, 1921.) 5s. net. (x) R. SOUTHERNS has faced the difficulty, which many university lecturers have experienced, of providing a course in physics for college students in their first year.. Not only are there great differences in the preliminary knowledge with which the students are equipped, but also different groups— say, €ngineers and medicals—look at the subject from very different angles. The first year should be a year 642 NATURE [May 20, 1922 of inspiration. Broad outlines should first be pre- sented in an elementary but scientific manner. Part 1 of this book, which is intended to be used in conjunction with a theoretical text-book, aims at giving such a general sketch in which new knowledge is incorporated as an essential part of the course. Part 2 comprises a course of laboratory work suitable for general pur- poses. In an interesting preface Mr. Southerns has some suggestive observations as to the methods of dividing students into classes, with the view of allowing the better students to undertake more advanced work. Such subdivision is advocated in connexion with both tutorial and practical work. The book has been well thought out, and may be recommended to teachers who have similar problems to solve. (2) In this new volume Prof. Ferry, who is known as the author of a useful handbook of practical physics, has placed teachers of physics under fresh obligation by providing a text-book for college students “in which especial emphasis is laid on the diverse relations of physics to Nature, agriculture, engineering, and the home. Much of the. motivation and illustrative material has not appeared heretofore in any text-book.” Even if we do not fully grasp what is implied by the term ‘“‘ motivation,” we may admit the general accuracy of this claim. A lecturer on physics in search of novel or up-to-date illustrations should certainly consult this volume. graphs of a freely falling cat and the accompanying letterpress he will learn why the cat alights on its feet. “ The recent war has produced many highly important and interesting devices, some of which are here pre- sented to students for the first time.” We find, for example, descriptions of acoustic goniometers, based on binaural hearing, for locating invisible submarines and aeroplanes, and of the “‘ radio-compass,” by means of which the position of a vessel at sea may be found by wireless signals. ' The amount of information that has been packed into these 7oo pages is remarkable. But it must not be supposed that this is merely a popular or descriptive book ; it is a scientific treatise, and every page bears evidence of the fact that it is the work of one who has considered with care the theory of each subject and the best method of presenting it to the student. A few points of interest may be mentioned. For the familiar “latent heat of fusion ” the term ‘‘ heat equivalent of fusion ” is suggested. The paragraph dealing with the black-body temperature scale seems to us to make a simple matter complicated by its treatment of “the black-body temperature of a non-black body.’’ There seems no good reason for speaking or thinking of this as the temperature of the non-black body itself ; it is simply the temperature of a black body which emits NO. 2742, VOL. 109] By studying the series of kinetoscope photo- . radiation at the same rate. Electric resistance is dis- cussed before electromotive force or Ohm’s law, being measured by the amount of heat developed in conductor. by the passage of unit current for —_ time. a There are interesting chapters on the elect 4 hypothesis (including a description of the three- a electrode vacuum tube) and on electromagnetic waves. _ The section on light is excellent ; the cardinal points — and the aberrations of lenses and lens systems are well treated, as also are various optical instruments. Physical optics claims attention in three interesting © chapters. The statement on p. 626 that it is impossible — to have a blue sea when the sky is overcast has been — contradicted recently by Prof. Raman (NATURE, vol. 108, p. 367). The volume contains numerous solved problems in the text, and nearly 7oo unsolved problems with answers in an appendix; the illustra- tions deserve a special word of commendation. 4 (3) Space is lacking for a full account of the high ideals which have inspired the author of this manual. — Suffice it to say that the physics course in a modern (American) high school “should proceed toward an ~ organisation of practical situations, activities, and phenomena, the value of which will be recognised and approved by teachers, students, parents, administrators _ of education, and others who are responsible for the _ work which boys and girls do in the high school” ! Hence these ninety-five “‘ projects” include the con- struction of “a model of a kitchen hot-water heater” (sic) ; studies of methods of heating or lighting a room ; _ experiments on electroplating, saucepan conduction, and wireless ; studies of the camera, the kerosene stove, the phonograph, and the sewing machine ; and lastly a section headed “automobile work” dealing with carburettors, ignition systems, and the engine of a Ford car. Here is a course “ organised according to the recognised function of education in a democratic — society”! .We cannot help feeling a certain amount of envy of the boys and girls in the modern high school. _ (4) Messrs. Haler and Stuart have produced an intro- duction to physics based on experiments which can be carried out with simple apparatus. The scheme is intended to cover a two-years course for technical or trade schools, when two or three hours a week are devoted to the subject. Questions and numerical exercises are plentiful. It is scarcely logicaltosay that the absolute zero of temperature would be reached at — 273°C. when the only scale of temperature that has been described is that of the mercury thermometer. — ia (s) Mr. S. E. Brown has prepared a useful course on light to occupy two terms for pupils about fourteen — years of age. There are plenty of experiments and illustrations, and the Barr and Stroud range-finder is — VE ya: “+ s May 20, 1922] NATURE 643 | __ shown as a frontispiece. Teachers will welcome the | large collection of examples and revision questions. | 4 (6) Part 1 of the “ Elements of Natural Science ”’ | fachudes mechanics, chemistry, heat, properties of & matter, light, and sound. With part 2 the course is intended to cover the “general science” syllabuses of - School Certificate and Army Entrance Examinations. The treatment of the subject-matter, together with the experiments in illustration, should prove success- ful i in exciting and maintaining the interest of the H. S. A. Parasitism and Symbiosis. Parasitisme et la Symbiose. Par Prof. M. Caullery. " Générale.) Pp. xiii+400+xii, (Paris: Gaston Doin, _ 1922.) 14 francs net. EW zoologists are so well qualified as Prof. _ .Caullery, who is editing the series of works on general biology to which the volume under notice belongs, to survey the range of parasitism and sym- biosis. He is the pupil and successor at the Sorbonne __ of Alfred Giard, and like him is distinguished by a _ remarkable versatility, having brilliantly investigated __ the life histories of parasites belonging to many phyla. In his laboratory, too, there was largely carried out _ the work of Guyenot on aseptic life, which is funda- & “mental for future attempts to solve the problems of symbiosis. _ There are good modern treatises on medical para- _ sitology, but these naturally concern themselves with a much narrower field than that required by the student of general biology for whom this book is designed. Throughout, it is characterised by an admir- able lucidity, and the vast amount of information it contains does not interfere with the well-balanced _ arrangement. Recent research which has a general _ bearing on parasitism is presented with great care, __ and the bibliography is complete and invaluable. _ Commensalism, parasitism, and symbiosis are dealt With successively as related phenomena. The series _ of more or less modified parasites which exist in many animal groups offer perhaps the most striking illustra- tions which can be given of the reality of evolution. Prof. Caullery has treated the groups he knows best in detail from this standpoint. The adaptation of the parasitic isopods (especially Entoniscidz) to their j diverse hosts, the evolution of the Rhizocephala in the cirripedes, and the clear series of parasites in the gasteropods are given the attention they deserve. There might also have been included with advantage an account of the passage in the nematodes from forms with a perfect alimentary canal through the NO. 2742, VOL. 109] in the Mallophaga, occurring on birds. intermediate group of the Mermithidae to those complete parasites which absorb food only through the skin. Passing over the very useful chapters on the various types of parasitic life-history, the migrations of “ heter- oxenous ” forms, and the adaptations for reproduction in parasites, there follows an interesting discussion of specificity of parasites, especially in connection with human interference with the distribution of insects and the parasites they convey. We miss a reference to the very rigid specificity which is stated to exist Here the association of host and parasite apparently took place at an early stage in the evolution of both groups, and the well-marked systematic relationships of the different Mallophaga actually throw light on those of the bird genera on which they are found. In the chapters on symbiosis reviews are given of the large number of cases recently described where unicellular symbiotes are found in different inverte- brate groups, and then of the extraordinary extension of research on these lines by Pierantoni and Portier. The claim of the.latter that every living cell contains symbiotic organisms was seriously considered and rejected by a committee of French biologists, but interest in research on symbiosis is still intense in France. F, A. Ports. Our Bookshelf. Anleitung zur mineralogischen Bodenanalyse. Von Dr. Franz Steinriede. Zweite umgearbeitete und er- weiterte Auflage. Pp. vilit+24o. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1921.) 60 marks. THE original appearance of this book in 1889 marked the first serious attempt to apply petrological methods to the study of the minerals of the soil. During the thirty-two years that have since elapsed, petrological methods have undergone considerable development, while, on the other hand, our knowledge of the soil has similarly been enormously extended. The develop- ment of these two subjects, however, has proceeded mainly on quite separate lines, particularly in this country, where soil investigators have studied chiefly the chemical and biological aspects of soil fertility, That our present methods of examination of soil frequently fail us in accounting for observed differences in fertility is an indication of the need for new methods of attack, among which mineralogical analysis is un- doubtedly of importance. The appearance of the new edition of a book by a pioneer in the subject is thus welcome; especially .as no similar book exists in this country. The author gives a succinct but adequate account of all the important aspects of the subject, including elutriation and flotation methods of separation, optical and other physical as well as chemical methods of examination. The data for the application of these methods are collected in a series of useful tables, together with a 644 NATURE [May 20, 1922 detailed classified description of all minerals likely to be met with in soils. Finally, there is a systematic scheme for the detection and identification of the commoner of such minerals, and a bibliography of 136 references. This book and its subject merit the atten- tion of all soil investigators. Hef. Py Webbia: Raccolta di scritti botanict. Edita da Prof. U. Martelli. Vol. Quinto, Parte 1°. Pp. 355+xiil plates+maps. (Firenze: Mariano Ricci, 1921.) THE portrait of Odoardo Beccari which serves as frontispiece to the most recent instalment of “‘ Webbia”’ reminds men of science that the death of that eminent traveller and botanist at the age of 77, on October 20, 1920, meant the loss of the chief authority on the natural history of Palms. Much of this part (pp. 5-198) is devoted to two important articles left complete when Beccari died. A “ Review of the Old World Cory- phee”’ is an epitome of the monograph prepared by Beccari for the Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, in continuation of those on “ Asiatic Palms” published in 1908 and 1g1z. An account of “ The Palms of New Caledonia” is of exceptional interest because the palms of this group of islands, though few in number, are all endemic species. In “La Culla del Cocco” (pp. 201-294) Prof. E. Chiovenda reviews the evidence available as to the home of the coco-nut. Historical and ethnological considerations may be adduced in favour of either the Asiatic origin accepted by P. Miller (1752), R. Brown (1818), and A. R. Wallace (1853), or the American origin suggested by von Martius (1840), considered at first by A. de Candolle (1855) to be probable, and regarded by B. Seemann (1873) as assured. The taxonomic judgment of von Martius turned the scale in favour of America until Beccari (1877) showed that this judgment was contrary to morphological facts. These facts, indeed, contraindicate an American origin so that Beccari suggested instead a Polynesian one, while A. de Candolle (1883), writing now ‘“‘ with more informa- tion and greater experience,” favoured a Malayan rather than an American origin. The renewed ad- vocacy of an American origin by Dr. O. T. Cook (1900 and 1910) left Beccari (1916) indisposed to modify his earlier view. Careful consideration of all the evidence leads Chiovenda to agree with A. de Candolle’s later belief. “Webbia”’ since its inception has contained many important results of Beccari’s botanical studies, and the editor, Prof. U. Martelli, fittingly concludes this part with a sympathetic “ Memoir” (pp. 295-343) of that eminent man of science, to which is appended an in- valuable bibliography (pp. 344-353) of Beccari’s con-_ tributions to botanical literature. The Journal of the Institute of Metals. No. 2, 1921. Vol. xxvi. Edited by G. Shaw Scott. Pp.x+760+ pl. xxxiv. (London: Institute of Metals, 1921.) 31s. 6d. net. THE growth in size of the half-yearly volumes of the Journal of the Institute of Metals is a striking indica- tion of the increasing attention that is given in this country to the study of the non-ferrous metals. The lecture on the casting of metals by Prof. Turner, which occupies the first place in the present volume, directs attention to the comparative neglect of this important NO. 2742, VOL. 109] subject of casting by scientific workers, in spite of the high degree of practical skill that has been acquired by foundrymen, proceeding by a method of trial and error. The remaining papers deal with varied questions. A note on the characteristic defect which — appears in some bars of extruded. brass led to an interesting discussion at the meeting of the Institute, — in the course of which laboratory experiments with ~ wax models were cited in illustration of the mode of flow during extrusion. A second note on the casting _ of brass ingots shows the desirability of an exchange of information between ferrous and non-ferrous metal- lurgists, the device proposed having been long adopted in steel works. Other subjects treated are gun-metal, cold-working, scleroscope hardness, nickel-aluminium- copper alloys, etching methods, and the properties of rolled zinc. An important research by Dr. Hanson — and Miss Gayler definitely connects the ageing of duralumin and similar alloys with the varying solu- — bility of magnesium silicide in aluminium, The number of abstracts shows an increase on previous years. C: ee, (1) A Short Course in Commercial :Arithmetic and — Accounts. By A. Risdon Palmer. (Mathematical Series for Schools and Colleges.) Pp. x+171+xXv. © (London : G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) 2s. 6d. (eee). (2) The Use of Graphs-in Commerce and Industry. By A. Risdon Palmer. (Handbooks of Commerce and ~ Finance.) Pp. ix+47. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) 2s. net. ong (1) Mr. Patmer’s books on the application of ele- mentary mathematics to commerce and industry are a welcome addition to the literature on the subject. His “Short Course” is a brief account of the most important arithmetical methods and processes required incommerce. Those who know Palmer and Stevenson’s ~ ‘“‘Commercial Arithmetic and Accounts ” will expect to find the new volume useful and interesting, and they will not be disappointed. There is a touch of © real life about most of the chapters, especially that on “‘ The Home Trade”: one only misses the Public — Receiver and the creditors’ meeting. But are con- tracted methods really used in commercial life ? — = (2) Graphical representation is a useful and important _ process in industrial and commercial life; its vogue — is increasing, and we have already had the case of a ~ Cabinet Minister using a graph in the House of Commons ~ to illustrate the activity of his department. While — the methods are not exactly the same as those used in mathematics as such, the ideas are of course similar. One often wonders whether and how the ordinary — newspaper reader understands the diagrams used in connection with price fluctuations or statistical reports. — Mr. Palmer’s little book will certainly be useful to all — ‘who have to deal with such pictorial information: it — is indispensable to the business man and economist. = The book is the third of a series of handbooks of — commerce and finance. Co-ordinates are explained — and applied to the broken straight-line diagrams used — by commercial and other journals, and the rectangle method and the sector method of representation used — in books on geography, economics, and ‘commerce are then discussed. There are a number of useful exercises. S. BRODETSKY. May 20, 1922] NATURE 645 . | Ministry ‘of Munitions and Department of Scientific Industrial Research. Technical Records of sives Supply, rors-1918. No. 8: Solvent Recovery. Pp. iv+22. (London: H.M. Stationery in practically all arms in warfare, a mixture of sllulose and nitroglycerin is incorporated with a ent,” consisting of ether and alcohol, and the mass is extruded through dies to form the = strands. ‘These are dried on trays in closed ery Stoves, where the solvent is evaporated in a t of warm air until only a small amount of ¢ matter remains, which is finally expelled in ; stoves. The solvent-laden air may be treated absorbers for the recovery of the solvents. The ent report deals with the use of sulphuric acid, and cresol as absorbents, the last being found satisfactory. The air and absorbent were brought ther in a Whessoe ones such as is used in a § { Manual of Selected Biochemical Methods as Applied to Urine, Blood, and Gastric Analysis. By Prof. OF P. Underhill: Pp. xiv+232. (New York: . Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London: Chapman and , Ltd., 1921.) 17s. 6d. net. COLLECTED account of the various ingenious methods é by American workers in the field of urine, ood, and gastric analysis will be found in this useful tory manual. Although doubtless the methods 2 adequate for the purposes described, it is some- at surprising to find no reference to the Barcroft ratus for determining oxygen capacity, nor to the almost indispensable comparator of Cole or Walpole a= use with indicators in coloured solutions. Mett’s tube bes require more cautious criticism in quantitative ae than is suggested by. the author. These are x ~~ perhaps minor blemishes, and, apart from them, the book can be highly recommended. It is to be feared, however, that the price will militate somewhat against ae pilesee. sale in this country. The Commercial Apple Industry of North America. By -C. Folger and S.M.Thomson. (The Rural Science _ Series.) Pp. xxii+466+xxiv Plates. (New York: _- The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 18s. net. A FULL account of the growing of apples on a com- mercial scale in North America is given in this work, and much information that could be obtained only - with difficulty elsewhere is embodied in the text. It would prove useful to any English grower or student of horticulture who wished to obtain information as to the way in which this important industry is carried on. ‘The authors state in their introduction that they have visited practically every important apple-growing county in the United States, first in connection with an investigation into the cost of production, and later in connection with attempts to organise a system for estimating the apple crop of the United States. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] Letters to the Editor. [Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice ts taken of anonymous communicalzons.| On Immediate Solutions of Some Dynamical Problems. As a branch of science advances and its principles become more familiar to the mind of the investigator many things which before appeared involved and “mysterious become simple and clear, and it is possible to find proofs of theorems so obvious and brief as to merit the name intuitive in a very real sense, though not that in which the term is frequently applied. For to say that a theorem or principle is intuitively perceived is often tantamount to saying that it is not perceived at all. By an intuitive proof of a proposition I mean a proof which is natural and direct, and it may be almost instantaneous in that the restatement of some element of the proof transforms the whole so that the proposition is at once recognised to be true. But the proof must be complete and rigid to be valid, and completeness and rigidity are qualities which have come to be aimost denied by calling a proof “ intuitive.” I have amused myself from time to time with endeavouring to devise what I venture to think are properly called immediate proofs of dynamical pro- positions, and some of these, with historical notes here and there, may be of interest to readers of Nature. Many of the ideas of attractions have become so familiar, not to students generally by any means, but to those who have pondered over the connection between the theory of gravitational attraction and the mathematical theory of electro- statics for example, that the subject has acquired a very special interest and fascination to the minds of such workers. Accordingly I give here some propositions in attractions. It is undoubtedly the case that Newton delayed the publication of the discovery of universal gravita- tion until he had discovered a proof which satisfied him that a uniform spherical shell attracts an external particle, as it would if the whole mass of the shell were comprised in a particle situated at the centre. For if this proposition were established, the earth, which there was reason to believe was a nearly spherical body with a distribution of density ap- proximately symmetrical about the centre, would attract external matter as if its whole mass were collected at the centre, and this therefore was the point from which distances were to be measured in the numerical comparison of gravitational forces; for example, the comparison of the two unital attractions of the earth, that on a. particle at the surface and that on the moon, The et sande given by Gauss that the surface integral of normal force taken over a closed surface drawn in the field is equal to 47k times the whole quantity of the attracting matter which is contained within the closed surface, is capable of many applica- tions. This proposition may be more precisely stated as follows: Let dS be an element of area of the surface and N be the component of the field intensity at right angles to the surface (taken positive when acting outwards). Then the integral JSNdSs, taken over the closed surface, is called the surface bee 646 NATURE [May 20, 1922 integral of normal force, more properly normal field intensity, and we have the equation JS NdS =k4rM, where M is the whole quantity of matter inclosed by the surface, and & is the so-called gravitation constant, the force between two unit masses at unit distance. Take an example: Let the field be produced by a uniform spherical shell of radius a, and describe a sphere of radius R concentric with it. Consider a point P on this sphere; the field due to the shell must by symmetry have the same intensity at every such point as P, and the resultant intensity at P, which we call F, must be at right angles to the surface; thus we have for the surface integral of normal force 47R*F; the whole quantity of matter within the surface if p be the density of the shell, and da the.shell’s thickness, is 4rpa*da; thus by the theorem we have ; 47 R?F =4rk(4rpa'da), that is, mpa*da Fi that is, the field intensity is the same as if the whole mass of the shell were collected at the centre. The only parts of this proof which are not altogether satisfying are those which depend on considerations of symmetry; but it will be tolerably clear that any distribution of matter must attract a distant particle after the manner stated, and no valid exception to them can be taken. I shall return to this theorem of Gauss for a proof of another proposition. No doubt it can be applied, though Gauss its discoverer does not seem to have done so, to establish other propositions in attraction. We may prove the proposition with which we have just been dealing by the following discussion, which shows that the potential of a spherical shell at an external point is the same as if the whole mass were collected at the centre of the shell. The idea of potential was given in the treatment of attractive forces set forth in the “‘ Mécanique Céleste ’’ by Laplace: the name potential was given by Green, who made considerable use of Laplace’s idea. It is remarked somewhere, though I cannot remember by whom, that it is perhaps easier to show that the attractive force of a spherical shell on an external particle is the same as if the whole mass were collected at the centre than to prove the same proposition for the potential. The proposition for the attraction is proved in Thomson and Tait’s ‘‘ Natural Philosophy ’’ (a classic which, like the other great treatises, nobody now has time to read) by a reference to the point which is the inverse,* with respect to the sphere, of the external point. The proposition is proved also by direct integration in the ‘“‘ Natural Philosophy.”’ 'paper on the historically famous problem of the ‘attraction of an ellipsoid I have shown how the reference to the inverse point, in the case of the sphere, may be dispensed with, and the proposi- tion as tothe force established by what is practi- cally an instantaneous proof. I shall here modify the method to give a proof of the theorem of the potential. Use of the inverse point for the potential was first made by my friend Mr. C. E. Wolff, and I have here adopted his idea of dealing with the attrac- tions of two elements at once, the two intercepted by a small cone with its vertex at the point which I call the point corresponding to the external point P. This is the point A in the diagram (Fig. 1) in which the 1 The idea of using the inverse point in attractions of spheres seems to be due to Newton. See the ‘‘ Principia,” Book i., Proposition Ixxxii., in which the attraction at an internal point of a spherical shell is deduced from that at an external point when the law of attraction is any function of the distance. In the text the law of the inverse square is alone considered. . NO. 2742, VOL. 109] In) 4a line CP intersects the shell so that A and P correspond — to one another, as do two corresponding points on — confocal ellipsoids. _Of course the concentric spherical © surfaces on which P and A lie are a particular case. of confocal ellipsoids. ah Let the circle EAE, (centre C) be a section of the shell by the paper, and P be the external point. Through P describe a sphere, radius f, concentric with the shell. Consider an element of area dS of the shell at E. If k be the gravitation constant, — and ¢ the surface density of the’shell, the potential at P due to the element is kedS/ry. Produce all the radii to the boundary of dS to meet the concentric spherical surface, and give a new element of area dS’ (=dS . f?/a*) on the concentric surface at E’. From — the points of the periphery of dS’ draw lines all passing through A. These lines will include a cone of small solid angle » with vertex at A, meetin the outer surface in the two elements dS’ and dS,’ at E’ and E,’ respectively. The element dS, at E, / Fic. t corresponds to an element dS,’ of the shell at E,’ at — distance 7, from A. ! We have dS’ = wr?/cos 0, dS,’ = «r;?/cos 0. ihe The potential ‘at P due to the two elements at Eand E, is equal to the potential at A (the intersection of CP with the shell) due to the elements dS’, dS,’ at _ E’, E,’, multiplied by the ratio a?/f?. ae Thus if dV be the potential at P due to the pair — of elements at E’, E,’ we have | & a? (9 FNoe GP hs av =hot ye (| +O) soso = hepate since (r+7’)/cos 6=2f. The potential at P produced ~ by the whole shell is thus given by § a? . Vane, | 7: since the whole solid angle subtended at A by the external concentric sphere is 47. ; The proof of the theorem for the force is curiously different from that for the potential. Consider only a single element E in the diagram, and draw radi through all the points of the periphery of the element to meet the concentric surface through P ; an element of this latter surface will be intercepted at E’. Let: dS be the area of the element at E, and dS’ that of the element at E’, and f the radius of the concentric ~ sphere through P, and a as before the radius of the > : shell. We have then | > May 20, 1922] NATURE 647 2 Now from the diagram it will be seen that /CE’A _ =ZCPE=8, say, and EP=E’A=yr. The attraction due to E at P is equal to kodS cos 8, but this is clearly, if y=EP, kot, 2S COS 8 “a, Se f* eee Now the factor dS’ cos 0/r? is clearly the solid angle _ subtended at A by the element dS’... The whole force exerted at P by the shell is thus, to a constant factor, equal to the solid anglesubtendedatA by the whole con- ntric surface of radius f, which is 47. The attraction the shell on a unit particle at P is thus k4rca?/f?, t is, it is the same as it would be if the whole ss were collected at the centre. If the point P be internal to the shell the concentric _ subtended by the shell at A is zero so that the attrac- tion is zero. This process extended to an ellipsoid and the onfocal ellipsoid through an external point is made give the force due to the shell at the point. he integration is made immediate by the use of a theorem of solid geometry which holds, as I pointed out, for confocal conicoids. The theorem may be ted here. Let A and P, E and E’ be pairs of corresponding points; then the distances AE’ and PE are equal, also if p and p’ be the lengths of the perpendiculars from the centre on P and E’, @ the & e which PE makes with the perpendicular #, _ the angle which E’A makes with the perpendicular _ ’, then the theorem holds— | eee cos@ cos 6” _ This theorem shows the result of the integration over ___ the ellipsoid to be, to a constant, equal to the solid _. angle subtended at an internal point by a closed _ surface in the manner just illustrated by the spherical _ Shell. It is curious that this geometrical theorem which enables this result to be obtained is, as I have __ found, generally unknown to writers on geometry, and _ is not contained in any of the treatises which | have ____Thenext problem is one of which, I believe, the only rae ge solution given before 1900, was due to the late _ Prof. Tait, of Be ebarch. The problem was the deter- - mination of the pull between the two halves of a *, tr ose sphere due to gravitational attraction. _ Prof. Tait’s solution was a quasi-hydrostatic one, and I believe that he held the opinion that the only choice was between this and straightforward sextuple in- _ tegration. There are, however, at least three other _ methods of attacking the problem, and one of these ____ which occurred to me a long time ago I will indicate _ here. This has only been published so far as 1 ___ know in a collection of exercises lithographed nearly aie stage 4 years ago by the late Dr. Walter Stewart, who was then my assistant, for the use of students in Glasgow. It makes use of the theorem of Gauss referred to above. . Consider the homogeneous sphere of radius a and let a closed surface be described consisting of a plane part dividing the sphere into two segments, and a _ spherical part fitting close to the smaller segment of sphere. The surface integral of normal force over this surface will consist of two parts, I, the integral over the plane, and = the integral over the spherical portion. The mass M of the enclosed segment can - easily be calculated and 47kM is equal to 1+; of course > is also easily calculated, and thus I is obtained. If vy be the radius of the plane section, z the distance of that section from the centre, p the density of the A eRe the mass of unit area of a disc of radius ry and ickness dz is pdz. Multiplying this by I, we see that NO. 2742, VOL. 109} bat face with A falls within, and the total solid angle | the product Ipdz is the force due to the whole sphere on the disc of radius vy and thickness dz, and if this be integrated from z=a to z=0 we obtain the attraction of the whole sphere on the hemisphere throughout which the integration has been carried ; this attraction of the whole sphere on the hemisphere includes the attraction of this hemisphere on itself, which, of course, is zero. Thus the integration gives the attraction of one hemisphere by the other. The mass M of the segment within the closed surface is easily seen to be . sre(2a® — 3472+ 2°) ; the integral of normal force over the curved part of this segment is z ~=2rka* (: 36 =) 34 i thus é od a) OG, | a Pet ee Pare 1+ shonta® (1~ 7) Sher (2a3— 3a%z +23), that is argh as) — a*). We have therefore for the product of I by the mass per unit area of the disc coinciding with the plane surface of the segment ~ Ipdz= Teptate (22 — a®)dz. Integrating from z=a to z=o we get for the pull P on one hemisphere exerted by the other, : ite I pwtptat, 3 or 3kM?/16a?, where M is the mass of the sphere supposed of uniform density p. A numerical estimate of P for the earth must be very rough, for the earth is not of uniform density, and there are other causes of inexactitude. But by the formula an estimate can be made in any units that may be preferred. Inc.g.s. units # is 6-7 x 10-8. The force between the two hemispheres of a body of such great dimensions as the earth must be almost entirely due to gravitational attraction (for cohesion must be negligible in comparison), and this figure may be taken as giving an idea of its amount. : ANDREW GRAY. The University, Glasgow. The Conquest of Malaria. THE obituary notice of Sir Patrick Manson, in NATURE of May 6, concludes with the hope that his memory may ever be kept alive as the Father of Tropical Medicine. As to this it is not difficult to forecast that the medical profession will fully concur. To the enthusiasm and inspiring teaching of Manson is due the existence of tropical medicine as a speciality, and the ever extending benefit tropical races receive at the hands of men trained on the lines indicated by him. In the present day, the views of the medical pro- fession are apt to change rapidly in accord with accumulated investigations and experiences of world- wide origin; opiniens rigidly adhered to for fifty years may be rendered taboo by a single telegram received from some expert at a remote corner of the earth. If the new view stands the test of criticism the practical results are grasped; but few care to memorise how the change was effected. If this be so with the profession specially concerned with disease 648 NATURE [May 20, 1922 prevention, it is not surprising to find that certain lay journals, in their biographical notes of Sir Patrick Manson, have given erroneous views of his connection with malaria prevention. Although, obviously, the well-informed writer of the obituary notice in your columns has no such intention, it seems to me that his quotation from NaTuRE (Vol. 61, 1900, p. 523) of matter by Sir Ronald Ross, unless considered side by side with other historical facts, is liable to accentuate the popular assumption that Ross, having been in- structed by Manson as to what he would find in the mosquito, forthwith? performed the necessary hara- kiri—and the key to the etiology of malaria was found ; and, therefore, to Manson and not to Ross is due the credit of the epoch-making discovery of malaria transmission. Yet Manson, with no less courtesy and frankness than displayed by Ross in elevating (in the matter quoted by your writer) what Manson himself termed a hypothesis to the rank of an induction, expressly disavowed any such claim. | In thus acting, Manson was fully aware of the great value to the British Empire and the world generally of the solution of the malaria problem which had been secured by Ross. In his paper read before the Royal Institute of Public Health Congress at Aberdeen, in 1goo, he said: “I feel safe in asserting that malaria is far and away the most important of the many problems of tropical empire—that empire on which so much of our present and of our prospective national prosperity depends. The politician and the soldier may not think so. They are wrong. Such people habitually magnify their offices. . . . Our little wars and rebellions in their effects and importance are in- significant in comparison to the great natural pheno- mena, disease—to malaria for example.” ‘‘ M purpose ... is to state... the... leading facts of the new knowledge which dawned only some twenty years ago with the discovery by Laveran of the cause and nature of malaria, and which culminated only two years ago when our countryman Ross showed how the infection is acquired, and in doing so clearly indicated in what way it is to be prevented.” To understand Manson’s position it is necessary to indicate what was the actual ‘ induction” he placed at the disposal of Ross. The following is found at pp. 16 and 17 of the first edition of ‘‘ Tropical Diseases,” by Manson: “I consider that the flagella—which as already stated are to be regarded as flagellated spores (sic)—are endowed .. . with locomotive powers, in order that they may be able to pass from the blood in the mosquito’s stomach to the tissues of the insect. . . . The plasmodium, I hold, is an intracellular parasite both outside as well as inside the human body, and that when outside the human body it is parasitic in the mosquito... . The mosquito generally dies in the water beside the eggs she. has deposited. When the eggs are hatched the young larve commonly devour the body of the parent and consequently her parasites. On the infected larvee becoming mature insects the plasmodia they have swallowed continue, I conjecture, to develop. These insects, in their turn, infect their larvze and so on... . Man, I conjecture, may become infected by drinking water contaminated by the mosquito ; or, and much move frequently, by inhaling the dust of the mud of dried-up mosquito pools ; or in some similar way.” (Italics not in original.) Whilst, then, it is true Manson’s induction of 1894 strengthened the hypotheses of Dr. A. F. A. King and Laveran as to mosquito agency, and this resulted in an inquiry by Ross as to possible extra-corporeal existence of the plasmodium, it is equally true that ? Unaided by public funds, Ross devoted years of laborious experiments to the soluticn of the problem. 4 NO. 2742, VOL. 109] the work of Ross proved Manson’s theories in essential E details incorrect and misleading. Holding in mind the Manson hypothesis, as stated _ by himself, if the quotation used by your writer be — placed side by side with Manson’s disavowal, it is no apparent there was any intention of Ross to say more — than that the Manson hypothesis proved an incentive — probable — to action, and that in its absence it is research on the subject would have lapsed : Ross. MANsoN, (Vol. 61, 1900, p. 523.) ““T have no hesitation in saying it was Manson’s theory, and no other, which actually solved the _ pro- blem ; and, to be frank, I am equally certain that but for Manson’s theory the problem would have re- mained unsolved at the present day.”’ 1900, p. 21.) es “Thus by direct observa- tion and analogy Ross dis- that the extra -corporeal site is. passed in particular species of mosquitoes, and, by analogy, that the para- site is transferred from man to man by the mosquito.” (Italics not in the original.) It need not be said that sanitary efforts based upon the mosquito contamination water theory of Manson could have secured no conquest of malaria. . W. G. KING, Transcription of Russian Names. THE system for transcribing Russian names advocated by Dr. Bohuslav Brauner in the issue of Nature for April 29, namely, by the adoption of a_ ‘ few letters from the Bohemian alphabet, is open to serious objection. Lot In the first place, Bohemian is not the only Slavonic “‘ State-tongue of an independent State.”’ If Russian is to be transcribed into Latin characters as used b Slavs, the obvious model is Serbo-Croatian, whic employs both Cyrillic and Latin characters, with regular rules for transcription. The Bohemian and Croatian alphabets are by no means identical; for instance, ch, which has in Bohemian the same sound -(“ Tropical Diseases,” ed. > tinctly, and first, proved 4 phase of the malaria para- oe i a as in German and Gaelic, would convey to a Croat — some such sound as éskh ; and he would not r isi some of the Bohemian letters bearing diacritical marks. But if we are trying to abolish the Germanised and Gallicised forms of Russian names, why substitute — : These Slavonic letters with another foreign form ? the diacritical marks are as unfamiliar to the ordinary Briton as the Cyrillic letters themselves,—vide Dr. Brauner’s examples ; and from this follows a practical difficulty in adopting his system in this ewan namely, that very few printing presses and certainly no linotype machines have the necessary type, and the cost of introducing it would be prohibitive. Dr. Brauner’s “‘ advantage of a great economy in printing’’ is outweighed by the disadvantage of impracticability in printing. There is no reason why Russian personal names Pa Thus — should not fall into line with Russian place-names, — many of both being identical. Names for British Official Use has adopted the system that has been in use for many years at the War Office, and also, except in one or two particulars, at the : Admiralty. This is a system of transcription without — the use of diacritical marks, which are undesirable in maps; the vowels have Italian values (e.g. e, 7, wu), and the consonants English values (e.g. ch, sh, y), the And for Russian place- ‘ | names the Permanent Committee on Geographical — only exception being 7 which has the French value and _ is preferable to the un-English zh for this sound. If — lished by i May 20, 1922] NATURE 649 it is desired to represent the Russian “ soft sign,’ the apostrophe may be used. To take Dr. Brauner’s examples, the Permanent Committee for Geographical Names would write Chicherin, Jemchujni, Mendeleev, Kon’, Tatyana, Pushkin, Dyadya, Mechnikov. Complete tables, not only of transcription from Russian but of the English values of other European and Near-Eastern alphabets, may be found in “‘ Alpha- _ bets of Foreign Countries transcribed into English according to the R.G.S. II. System,” recently pub- i and now obtainable at the Royal Geo- graphical Society. EDWARD GLEICHEN, j j Chairman, Permanent Committee on Geographical Names. _ Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, ‘ - London, S.W.7, May 7. The Helmholtz Theory of Hearing. Dr. E. W. Scripture, in his letter on the above subject in Nature of April 22, p. 518, has dealt with the case in which the note is continuously changing, and shows that when this is so every resonance organ of the ear must act at every instant for every vibra- tion of the voice. Now suppose a pure fundamental note (7.e. one without harmonics) to be started and continued. At the start it would, on the principle of the apparatus designed by Dr. Hartridge, cause all the resonance organs of the ear to act, and we should hear a certain quantity of sound. Then gradually all, except one, of the resonance organs would cease to act, and we should hear only by means of the one which was synchronous with the pure note, and if this were so, presumably the quantity of sound would then appear to us much less than at the start. Has such an effect ever been recorded ? If not, there would appear to be something wrong with the hypothesis. A. S. E. ACKERMANN. 17 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, $.W.1, April 27. we PROF. SCRIPTURE has advanced in his letter in Nature of April 22, p. 518, an argument which, if it were sound, would indeed necessitate the abandon- ment of the resonance theory. He must, therefore, excuse me if I point out what I consider to be the weak links in his chain of reasoning. The first statement in his letter with which I find myself at variance is that according to the resonance theory only one resonator should respond to one tone. This is not only in disagreement with what Helmholtz wrote, but is also in disagreement with experiment. The resonance model referred to by Prof. Scripture, of which a photograph is reproduced in Fig. 1, showed that beside the intune resonator marked C being in vibration, there is also obvious movement in the one to the right-hand. side as well. If there had been other pendulums of intermediate length mounted on either side of “‘ C,”’ there is no doubt that a number of these would also have been set into vibration, the actual number varying with the degree of damping applied to each. Helmholtz worked out the case of the ear resonators by means of calculations which appear to apply equally to all types of oscillating systems. He estimated that for tones about the middle of the musical scale, resonators having natural periods different from the incoming vibration by one semitone would be performing forced vibrations, the amplitudes of which would be approximately one- tenth that of the strictly intune resonator. Now I have already stated (Brit. Journ. Psych., April 1922, p. 370) the reasoning on which is based the estimate that some 600 resonators correspond to each octave in the musical scale. One semitone on NO. 2742, VOL. 109] either side of the intune resonator would, therefore, include about 1too resonators, and all these must be vibrating with one-tenth the amplitude (or more) of that of the intune one. We see then how completely this estimate is at variance with Prof. Scripture’s suggestion that according to the resonance theory only one resonator should be in vibration. The second statement with which I cannot agree is that every vibration in a glide (since each vibration is different from the one which preceded) or every Fic. 1. spoken word (since the voice tone is continually changing) must therefore set every resonator into motion from the highest to the lowest, and I have never observed any behaviour on the part of my resonance model which would give any basis for such a supposition. I have attempted to calculate what would happen to a series of resonators which are set into vibration, not by a fixed tone, but by a tone changing in pitch. I find that, as in the case of a fixed tone, a group of resonators is set swinging, but that this group is larger than that set swinging by a pure tone, and I infer that the centre of this group moves up the scale with the same rate per second as does the incoming sound, but with a small time lag. For example, if the pitch of the tone is changing by as much as one octave per second the group of resonators appears to be only two or three times as large as that set swinging by a pure tone. Presum- ably then the tone will be quite recognisable, although it will not have the purity that a fixed tone possesses. This latter effect may possibly be correlated with the unpleasant character of a rapidly changing tone, e.g. the commencement of a steam syren blast. Whereas there does not appear to be any evidence at present by which the above estimate can be checked, yet I think that it must be at variance with the facts to state, as Professor Scripture has done, that when the pitch of the incoming vibrations vary, all resonators irrespective of length must be set equally into vibration. I regret that it was my model which raised these doubts in Prof. Scripture’s mind concerning the resonance theory. I should have made it quite clear to him that there was roughly a semitone difference of pitch between each pendulum and its neighbour. The model was not designed to demon- strate the better-known phenomena of resonance, but to elucidate the effect of interrupting temporarily a musical tone ; for this purpose a few rather widely spaced pendulums sufficed. If the number of pendulums in the model had approximated more closely to the number apparently to be found in the ear, then Prof. Scripture would, I feel sure, never have criticised the resonance theory as he has done. H. HARTRIDGE. King’s College, Cambridge, April 26. 650 NATURE [May 20, 1922 Directive Radio-telegraphy and Navigation. cal foggy weather, sound-signalling stations have proved useful as an aid to navigation. The sounds heard, however, cannot be trusted to give accurate indications either of the distance or direction of the station. Their range also is very limited. It is not surprising, therefore, that many suggestions have been made for utilising the electric waves used in radio- telegraphy to enable a navigator to find his bearings. The propagation of electric waves is unaffected by fog and, unlike sound or light waves, can be transmitted to any distance. Moreover, the apparatus required for radio- -signalling is very cheap, requires little skilled attention, and can easily be installed in lighthouses and lightships. Until two or three years ago the radiophares —or radio-beacons as they are called in America—were purely stations for giving ships their positions. In order to find its bearings a ship must send a message to two or more stations, and its direction ‘is located by direction- finding coils. The stations then communicate with one another and so, by the help of triangulation, find the position of the ship, which is communicated to it by radio-telegraphy. In practice the whole operation takes about five minutes. The most extensive chain of direction-finding stations is that controlled by the United States Navy. There are at least thirty stations on the Atlantic seaboard and several on the Pacific coast. France has about ten radiophares and this country has six. valuable time may be lost in getting into communica- tion with the radiophares and in getting the information back to the ship. A new and very promising method has been recently developed by the Bureau of Standards at Washington in co-operation with the Bureau of Lighthouses. In this method lighthouses and lightships the locations of which are accurately shown on sailing charts are equipped with radio fog-signalling apparatus. A direction-finder operated by the navigating officer is installed in the ship. It is then easy to find the directions of the various radiophares within his range and thus work out his position on the chart. The results obtained by this method have been very successful, and it seems to be much preferable to the ordinary method of using the direction-finder at the fixed stations. It seems prob- able that every important lighthouse in America will soon become a radio fog-signalling station. The Bureau of Standards suggests that radiophares should be divided into three classes. The first, or long-range class, has a radius of action of 300 miles. The second, or ‘short- range class, can signal to 30 miles ; and the third class comprises the lightship stations which can signal to ro miles. The method has been made possible by the perfecting A drawback to the method is that’ of a new radio direction-finder. The principle on w it acts is that the signals received by a flat coil their maximum intensity when the direction from which they come is in the plane of the coil. When certain precautions are also taken in arranging the apparatus, the signals are of practically zero intensity when the plane of the coil is per- pendicular to the direction from which they come. As Fig. 1 shows, it is designed to be installed over the ship’s binnacle carrying themagnetic compass. The radio-bearings are read directly on the mag- netic compass card. An addi- tional scale, marked with the corrections obtained when calibrating the instrument, is attached to the top of the binnacle so that the true reading can be obtained at once. When taking a bearing the only operation necessary is to rotate the direction-find- ing coil until the sound is a minimum. The ordinary type of direction-finder for use on shipboard consists of a coil of ten turns of insulated copper wire wound on a wooden frame four foot square, which is mounted so that it can be rotated about a vertical axis. Suitable receiving apparatus is used in connection with this coil, namely, a variable air condenser for tuning purposes, a six-tube amplifier having three stages of radio-frequency amplification, a detector, two stages of audio-frequency amplification, batteries, and suitable telephone receivers. The Bureau of Standards have issued a pamphlet by F. A. Kolster and F. W. Dun- more giving a full description of the direction-finder, point- ing out some of the difficulties that had to be overcome in developing it, and giving many Be det results, a foal Frs.'1.—Magnetic compass with. direction - finder attach: for reading the radio-beari directly on the mag rest compass. ~ The Cause and Character of Earthquakes.! By R. D. O_pHaM, F.R.S. HE study of earthquakes, using that word in the restricted, and original, sense of the disturbance of the ground which is sensible to human feelings, which causes alarm and destruction, and is properly that seism 1 Abridged from the. presidential address delivered before the Geological Society of London on February 17. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] of the ancient Greeks, from which our modern term seismology is derived, has always been recognised | = as one of the departments of geology. This limitation is necessary, for, of late years, seismolog has been extended to the study of a phenomenon oe different character,,the long-distance records of dis- May 20, 1922] NATURE 651 a Widtasices, only to be detected by very sensitive instru- ments of special construction ; in some cases these are clearly connected with great earthquakes—as_ the ‘word is here used—and by inference have been pre- ‘sumed to be so in all cases, even when there is no independent evidence of the earthquake proper. The records, regarded as records of the progressive enfeeble- _ ment of the larger disturbance of the true earthquake, rite would represent the cryptoseism, or unfelt earth- _ quake, and be described correctly in the observatory tecords as earthquakes. That they are correctly _ So described is indisputable, if the word is taken in its literal interpretation as a quaking, however feeble, of the earth ; but if the implication is added that they ___ have the same origin as the greater disturbance, the _ correctness of the description becomes doubtful. Some dozen years ago the results of a study of the records of the Californian earthquake of 1906 led me to point out that, while the immediate origin of the nge juake proper may be traced to occurrences which take place in the outermost parts of the earth’s crust, Py these are but the secondary result of a deep-seated ss Sng or bathyseism, which gives rise, at the same _ time, to the disturbance which is recorded at long by suitable instruments. Later work and & | has more and more confirmed both the correct- “ness of this interpretation and the conclusion that the : _ proximate cause, of great and destructive earthquakes, be 1s distinct from that of the long-distance records, . ae the two origins are connected with each other mg effect and cause. ____In the present state of our ignorance of the nature of the bathyseism, it is difficult to give a clear and pre definition of the mode of connection between and the earthquake proper ; the subject is an inter- € one, and a review of the evidence, together with ‘oe deductions which can be drawn from it, would fill _ the time available, but it is not my intention to do _ more_ than to attempt, by analogy, to illustrate and the nature of the connection of the bathyseism _ with its two independent results. Not many years have passed since, in the south- eastern corner of England, we heard what were known as the guns of Flanders; and the description was correct. The sound—it was more a sensation than a ‘sound—which was heard in Kent and Sussex was rely produced by the report of great guns, by the explosion, that is, of the charge in the gun itself ; i - but had the explosion done no more than give rise __ to the sound waves which travelled far in every direction : it would have little troubled the enemy. Simultane- ously, however, with the production of the report, and : by the same explosion, a projectile was sent flying through the air which exploded after a trajectory of some miles, causing the damage which was the purpose of its despatch. The effect of this second explosion was severe but local, and at a short distance away _ neither sound nor shock was sensible. j Here we have a very complete analogy ; the explosion _ Of the gun represents the bathyseism ; the report and sound waves travelling afar, correspond to the dis- turbance which, propagated through the substance of the earth, gives rise to the long-distance records : ; the explosion of the shell to those dislocations in the outer crust which produce the destructive earthquake ; NO. 2742, VOL. 109] and the trajectory to the connection, of which the character is as yet unknown, between the bathyseism and the surface shock. If this interpretation be accepted, it becomes evident that the distant records represent something which is distinct from the earthquake, as originally understood, and that the study of records, with the deductions drawn from that study, have little or no bearing on the problems of geology, as we usually limit the scope of that science. It is otherwise with the earthquake proper ; originating in, and affecting, the outermost crust of the earth, it has long, and rightly, been regarded as one of the departments of geology, both as regards cause and character, and it is with this aspect of the subject alone that I shall deal. The character of earthquakes is known to an extent sufficient for my purpose; they are elastic waves, transmitted through the substance of the earth, not, as was once supposed, merely waves of elastic com- pression, but of most complicated character, and, in all but a small minority of cases, nothing but this vibratory movement, the orchesis, can be recognised. Occasion- ally, however, and only in the case of some earthquakes of destructive violence, there is also a bodily and permanent displacement of the solid ground, and this mass, or molar, movement has been distinguished as the mochleusis of the earthquake, as distinct from the elastic displacement, accompanied by return to the original position, which constitutes the orchesis. Now the elastic waves can only be initiated by some sudden impulse or disturbance, such as might be produced by the fracture of rock, and as, in those earthquakes where mochleusis can be recognised, there is usually evidence of sudden movement along some pre-existent fault- plane, or of rending and fissuring of the solid rock, faulting or fracturing has come to be regarded as the cause from which the vibratory disturbance, propagates through the unfractured rock, originates. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the proximate origin of the shock can almost always be placed at a moderate depth from the surface. It is, unfortunately, impossible to give any precise figures, for none of the methods which have been suggested for determining the depth of the origin can be trusted, some because they depend on assumptions which the progress of knowledge has shown to be erroneous, others because they demand data which cannot be supplied with the requisite precision, if at all; but there is another way in which some idea of the depth of origin may be reached, based on the fact that there is usually a well-defined area of maximum intensity of shock, surrounded by regions of diminishing intensity, as the distance from the central area increases. Since the violence of the disturbance will decrease with the increase of distance from the origin, it follows that, the nearer the origin lies to the surface the more closely does the variation of surface distance from the epicentre approximate to the variation in actual distance from the origin ; hence it is evident that the rate of variation of intensity of the disturbance will give some notion of the depth of the origin. In this way, quite apart from any numerical estimates which have been made, it becomes clear that, excluding a small minority of earth- quakes which will be referred to later, the origin lies 652 NATURE { May 20, 1922 at a very moderate depth below the surface, probably seldom over ten miles, and usually less, that is to say, within the limits of the solid outer crust of the earth ; and in this region it is difficult to conceive of any cause, sufficient to originate the elastic wave-motion of the earthquake, other than the sudden fracture of the solid rock, where strain has outgrown the power of resistance. : Apart from this general reasoning from observation, there are cases on record where considerable displace- ments. of the ground have been measured by the comparison of careful and accurate surveys made before and after the earthquake. In three of these—the Cutch earthquake of 1819, the Sumatran of 1892, and the Californian of 1906—the largest movements took place close to the line of fracture, and in opposite directions on opposite sides of it, the displacements decreasing on either side till a region was reached in which no change, from the condition before the earth- quake, could be recognised. As this is precisely what would take place if a solid body, capable of elastic deformation, was strained until fracture took place, the conclusion is justifiable that such was in fact the origin of the dislocation and displacements. So far the conclusions, which may be drawn from observation, as they have been briefly outlined, belong rather to the domain of physics than of geology, but when we go on to consider the cause to which the strain is to be attributed, and more especially the rate of growth, we are brought into contact with problems and deductions which are intimately connected with geology proper, and to which I propose to confine attention in the remainder of this address. cause: this is usually attributed to what are known as the tectonic processes, a term which may approxi- mately be described as the processes by which the folding and faulting of rocks were produced, and, in accordance with this attribution, the class of earth- quakes with which we are concerned is referred to as tectonic. The rate of. growth of strain has almost invariably been accepted as very slow, yet when the subject is looked into, it will be found that there is really no evidence to support the acceptance; in part it must be attributed to the general belief that - all geological action is necessarily slow, and in part to the conclusion that the Earth is a solid inert and highly heated body, cooling slowly by radiation, with ‘the subsidiary deduction that all deformation of the outer crust must be referred to contraction, consequent on that slow cooling. The latter of these reasons is now abandoned by those who forced it on us, and the former, though true in general, must not be treated as an unchangeable law, for there are many cases where a process, slow on the average, and as a rule, is occasionally subject to temporary acceleration of rate. The evidence, too, which has been regarded as con- firmatory of the slow growth of strain, is, in truth, more properly described as an interpretation of observed facts in accordance with an hypothesis. In the report on the Californian earthquake of 1906, for instance, the displacements caused by that earth- quake and an earlier one in 1868 are explained by a slow growth of strain, extending over a century or so, partly relieved by fracture in 1868, and again in 1906. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] As regards . ' variation in the frequency of earthquakes. of harmonic analysis, which has proved so fertile in ~ The argument is conclusive in so far as it shows that the effects are consistent with the hypothesis, but it — was not noticed that they would be equally consistent _ with a condition of quiescence throughout the whole period, with the exception of two short intervals immediately preceding the two shocks, respectively. The same may be said of all the supposed evidence in favour of a slow growth of strain; it is true that in those earthquakes which have been investigated in detail, and in which the observations allow of any definite conclusion, the indications point to the conclusion that the proximate cause is fracture result- ing from excessive strain, but there is in no case any evidence of the rate at which that strain accumulated ; nor is it possible that any such evidence could be found. The after-effects may satisfactorily establish the conclusion as to the cause, but they can give no indication of the time occupied in preparation; the earthquake comes and passes, it leaves certain records behind it, but these records would be the same whether __ the preparatory growth of strain was secular or in- stantaneous in duration. ee Yet the problem is not insoluble, for there is another _ line of attack, which has only become practicable within the last few years. If we regard the growth of strain as continuous, there will be a certain increment which will lead to fracture, earthquake, and partial relief ; then with a further increment the process will be repeated, and so we reach the concept of a mean- strain interval for each shock, which may be regarded — as constant, on the average, for any given region, provided that the average is taken over a sufficiently long period. Any variation in the rate of growth of strain must be accompanied by a corresponding — We have, then, four quantities so related to each other that if three of them are known the fourth can be deter- mined. Of these four, two, namely the mean frequency and the variation from that mean in any chosen period, can be obtained from observation, and if the variation from the mean rate of growth of strain is also known, for the selected portion of the whole period, that mean rate which is the object of search can be obtained by a simple rule of three sum. So that if there were any external cause which, acting periodically and alternately in increase and. decrease of the rate of growth of strain, and if it were possible to disentangle the variations due to this from those due to other causes, we would have a means of framing a numerical estimate of the general rate of growth of strain. (a One such cause of periodic variation is to be found = in the tide-producing stresses set up by the sun and the moon. It is true that many attempts have been made at different times to detect some connection =~ between the frequency of earthquakes and the position = of the moon, and that no such connection has yet been established, but these attempts have all been based on very imperfect records. In time it may, perhaps, be possible to apply to an earthquake record the method = the case of the ocean tides, but the day is long distant : when a record of sufficient completeness will be avail- ce : able. Meanwhile there are some simpler relations, of “May 20, 1922] a< NATURE 653 which a discussion is feasible, and the most promising of these seems to depend on the fact that the downward pressure is greatest at the time when the attracting body is on the horizon, and least when it is on the meridian. If, then, we divide an earthquake record into two groups, one containing all shocks which occur _ within, six hours before a meridian passage, and the other all that happened within six hours after, one 3 of the two groups will cover a period during which 4 the downward pressure is, on the average, increasing, _ while the other will cover the period during which it 4s __ is decreasing. As the amount of the change so intro- is known, with sufficient accuracy for the present i pies and as it should, on the hypothesis being used, : uence the frequency of earthquakes, it follows that we have here a method, which should enable us to make an estimate of the rate of growth of the strain, — to which fracture is due. ___ Although simple in principle, the method is difficult _ in application. To begin with, a record is required of ome extent and continuity to give a trustworthy average, not merely of the general frequency, but also of the frequency in each of the two sections into which _ it is divided, and this in practice means that the record 3 must contain at least two thousand shocks and ought _ to contain double that number or more. Then it must _be reasonably accurate as to times and complete as to ~ occurrences, or at least must be fairly uniform in its _* incompleteness over the whole period investigated. _ There are not many records which fulfil these primary requirements, but there is another even more important. ___Imall records there is a noticeable variation in frequency at different times of the day, moreover, the nature of _ this diurnal variation has been found to vary in different - regions, but appears to be constant and characteristic, in each region, over the period of record. The cause of this periodicity may reasonably be attributed to ‘some effect, meteorological or other, connected with the daily course of the sun, but its nature, no less than its variability, shows that it can only be attributed in part, if at all, to gravitational attraction. It is only, therefore, by a conversion of the record from solar to lunar times that the influences: of these other effects can be eliminated, and the gravitational attrac- tion of the moon be detected and estimated, and, for the satisfactory application of this method, it is necessary that the record should cover a complete lunar cycle, or a period of nineteen years. There are only two records extant and available which fulfil this requirement, and of these the Italian is not only the most complete and accurate, but is the only one to which the conversion into lunar times has been applied. From the summary of the figures obtained, published. in our Quarterly Journal, it appears that in the six hours preceding and following a meridian passage the mean departure, from the general average for six lunar hours, is almost exactly 1 per cent. of the mean. Passing over details of calculation, the average rate of growth of strain is found to be such that the breaking point would be reached in about two months from the start, with a wide variation on either side. Some other relations between the frequency of earthquakes and the diurnal variation of the tidal stresses might be, and have been, investigated ; all give fairly con- firmatory results, the longest period indicated as required for reaching the breaking strain being just about a year. It must not be supposed that value can be attached to the precise figures. As is invariably the case, in all calculations regarding physics of the earth, many considerations are involved of a very uncertain nature, but the reasoning does show that the increase of strain must have taken place at such rate that the breaking point was reached in a period measurable at most by months, and shows that the period could not have been of such length as to be measurable by years or decades, for, had this been the case, the disparity dealt with would have been much greater than that actually found. (To be continued.) Pror. G. S. BouLceEr. os BY the death of Prof. G. S. Boulger on May 4, . botanical science has lost an accurate and advanced observer who did much to popularise the study of his favourite science, and left his impress on several generations of devoted students. He was an active botanist to theend. On April 26 he attended, as chairman, the meeting of the Botanical Section of the South-eastern Union of Scientific Societies, and he _ himself was struck by the difficulty in breathing which he experienced in mounting a number of stairs to the meeting-room. Almost his last words on _ his . death-bed had reference to the preparation of the 4 report to be presented to the Congress of the Union at Southampton in June. He died literally in harness. Prof. Boulger was born in 1853, and was educated at Wellington and Epsom Colleges ; at an early age he became Professor of Natural History at Ciren- cester College, holding the chair for thirty years. Among other appointments which he held were those NO. 2742, VOL. 109] Obituary. of professor of geology and botany at the City of London College, and in recent years he was a guide at the Imperial Institute. But his students were a wider public than institutions afforded. He was in con- siderable request as a public lecturer, and frequently visited, as such, various local natural history societies, He was closely. connected with the Selborne Society, of which he was a vice-president, and the magazine of which, Nature Notes, he edited for some years. In recent years he was much interested in what has come to be known as Regional Survey, and in this connection did good work for the Gilbert White Fellowship, an up-to-date survey of Selborne being now in progress. As an author Prof. Boulger had an attractive style. For some time he edited the Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. His knowledge of geology enabled him to throw considerable light on the origin of the British flora. His ‘‘ Biographical Index of British and Irish Botanists,’ with Mr. J. Britten, is a valuable book of reference. His ‘‘ Familiar Trees,” 654 NATURE [May 20, 1922 and “The Country Month by Month,” with J. Owen (Mrs. Owen Visger), brought him into touch with a wide public, and his edition of Johns’ “ Flowers of the Field ” has proved invaluable to. thousands of amateur” botanists. Other works of his were ‘‘ The Uses of Plants,” ‘‘ Elementary Geology,” and “ Plant Geo- graphy.” He was for a long time the Kew Gardens correspondent of the Zimes. He always faced troubles cheerfully, and, constantly active, it is to-be feared that overwork may have had much to do with his regretted death. His loss will be greatly felt by workers in many fields. By the death of Dr. C. W. Waidner on March 10, the Bureau of Standards lost the third member of its original staff within the last year. Dr. Waidner was born in Baltimore in 1873, graduated at the Johns Hopkins University in 1896 and remained there, engaged first in research and afterwards in teaching, till he was appointed to the staff of the Bureau on its foundation in 1901. Ina short time he became head of the Heat and Thermometry department, and organised the testing of thermometers of all kinds from clinical instruments to optical pyrometers. In conjunction with various members of his staff—most often with Dr. G. K. Burgess—he published a number of papers which did much to increase the precision with which temperatures could be determined. Of these papers a it is only necessary to mention those on a comparator for thermometers, on radiation pyrometry, on the high temperature scale, on standards of light, on the platinum — a thermometer and the melting-point of platinum, and on the possibility of detecting the presence of icebergs _ by the temperature of the ocean, to show the nature and extent of his work. In recent years his interests — have centred mainly in the applications of physics to problems of refrigeration and to the production of __ fire-resisting structures. In these fields his loss will be severely felt. eo i ‘ In the Chemiker Zeitung of April 15 the death is announced, at the age of sixty years, of Dr. F. Voigt- lander, emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Hamburg. THE U.S. Public Health Service has lost; by his death at the age of forty-eight, the skilled assistance of its assistant epidemiologist, Dr. David G. Willets. He had spent several years at Manila, at first in the ~ biological laboratory of the Bureau ‘of Science and. @ afterward on the staff of the University of the Philippines. He had written many bulletins and — monographs on pellagra, intestinal parasites, and other | tropical problems. Current Topics and Events. TuHeE one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Academy of Belgium will: be celebrated in Brussels on May 23-24. More than ninety delegates, representing forty-five academies in eighteen different countries, in addition to foreign associates. of the Belgian Academy, are expected to attend the function. France is sending a number of representatives ; the Institute of France alone will ‘have thirty-six delegates. Secretary of the Academy that the learned societies of Great Britain will be represented as follows: Royal Society, Sir William Leishman and Prof. H. Lamb (also representing the Cambridge Philosophical Society) ; Royal Society of Edinburgh, Sir George Berry; Royal Academy, Sir George Frampton, Sir Reginald Blomfield, and Mr. H. Hughes-Stanton; Royal Institute of British Architects, Sir John Burnet, Mr. J. Simpson, and Mr. P. Waterhouse ; Royal Geographical Society, Sir Frederick Sykes ; Royal Historical Society, Mr. G. M. T. Omond; British Academy, Sir Frederic Kenyon and Mr. H. Stuart-Jones ; Chemical Society, Sir William Pope ; Zoological Society, Dr. G. A. Boulenger and Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell; Asiatic Society of Bengal, Sir Thomas H. Holland and Dr. Pascoe. The follow- ing British Associates of the Belgian Academy will be present : Sir Frank Dyson, Sir T. Erskine Holland, Sir Frederick Pollock, Sir Thomas Jackson, Sir John Lavery, and Mr. J. Pennell. The learned societies of Australia and New Zealand and the Royal Irish Academy have sent congratulatory addresses. NO. 2742, VOL. 109] We learn from the. THE Times of May 9 records the siniktige of petroleum (on the previous day) in a well put down at Darcy, near Dalkeith, on the property of Lord Lothian. The well was originally one of the two selected sites in Scotland in accordance with the — Government’s drilling programme of 1918, the other, __ at West Calder, having since been abandoned after, _ being drilled to a depth of 3923 feet. The Darcy well is producing from a sandstone at a depth of 1810 feet, and the oil, though inferior both in quality and quantity to that obtained at Hardstoft, is of paraffin base, somewhat viscous, and carries much gas. Previous to the flow, 8-inch casing had been set in the hole and the oil accumulated afterwards for several hundred feet within it. The bringing in of this well is an event of scientific rather than economic importance, as the initial yield is, commercially speaking, insignificant, while the prospects of the area as a whole are geologically unfavourable to the development of a large oilfield. Hardstoft, the only other producing well in this country, makes an average of 20 barrels per week ; the Darcy well is = said to yield considerably less pro vata. The same — +" number of the Times contains the report of a serious announcement concerning the world’s oil supplies, made by Prof. Arrhenius, at the close of a course of lectures given at the Sorbonne. Prof. Arrhenius stated that at the present rate of consumption the existing oilfields in the world would, in his opinion, ~~ be exhausted within 15 years, an opinion shared by many experts both in this country and in America. x ty Pech iaety Be ete hn May 20, 1922] NATURE 655 _ ‘The natural corollary to such a prediction is the recognition of the need for conservation of the __ world’s petroleum resources, especially those of the United States. The development of other sources of fuel, more particularly oil shale, and the ultimate harnessing of forms of energy such as Prof. Arrhenius S suggested (plants, watercourses, winds, and the heat of the sun), are matters demanding the assiduous g ppetention of scientific investigators. _ ‘THE Governors of the Imperial College of Science _ and Technology have appointed Sir Thomas H. _ Holland to be Rector of the College in succession to Sir Alfred Keogh, who is retiring at the close of the by his work in India. Among the many important positions filled by him there were the directorship _ of the Geological Survey, the presidency of the Industrial Commission and of the Board of Munitions, and more recently membership of the Governor- - General’s Council. Apart from his important ad- “ministrative experience his scientific interests centre - round geology and oil. He has been a member of _ many commissions and committees concerned with oil, and for ten years was professor of geology and mineralogy at the University of Manchester. His _ appointment is also interesting in that he is an old _ student of the Royal College of Science, having been awarded his associateship in geology of that College, _ which is now an integral part of the Imperial College, in 1888; and also in that in 1910 he was president _ of the Old Students’ Association of the College, and later a member of the governing body representing the Indian Empire. Tue annual visitation of the Royal Observatory, _ Greenwich, will be held on Saturday, June 3. = SIR RicHARD GREGORY has been elected president of the Decimal Association in succession to the late _ Lord Belhaven and Stenton. 0 AT the meeting of the Royal Society on June 1, the Croonian lecture will be delivered by Prof. T. H. _Morgan on “ The Mechanism of Heredity.”’ _ THe annual Conversazione of the Institution of Electrical Engineers will be held on Thursday, une 29, at 8.30 P.M. at the Natural History Museum, th Kensington, S.W. Tue annual general meeting of the People’s League of Health will be held at the Mansion House on Thursday, May 25, at 3. 30 P.M. The Lord Mayor will preside, and among the speakers will be Sir Bruce Bruce-Porter, Dr. Farquhar Buzzard, Sir Gilbert Garnsey, Miss Olga Nethersole, and Dr. Saleeby. Tue Linnean Society has recently elected the following as Foreign Members: Lucien Cuénot, professor of zootechnic, entomology, and parasitology in the University of Nancy ; Gustave Gilson, director of the Royal Museum of Natural History, Brussels ; Jakob Wilhelm Ebbe Gustaf Leche, professor of zoology in the High School, Stockholm; and Dr. Benjamin NO. 2742, VOL. 109] _ Summer term. Sir Thomas Holland is best known > Lincoln Robinson, Asa Gray professor of systematic botany, and curator of the Gray Herbarium, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. W. BATEsoN, director of the John Innes Horti- cultural Institution, Merton, Surrey, has been elected a trustee of the British Museum, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lord Harcourt. Other Fellows of the Royal Society who are among the elected trustees of the Museum are Lord Rothschild, Sir Henry Howorth, Sir Archibald Geikie, and Sir J. J. Thomson. THE Meteorological Magazine for April has a note on wireless apparatus for Tristan da Cunha. The Rev. H. M. Rogers, who sailed from South Africa in March to take up the chaplaincy of Tristan da Cunha, has taken with him apparatus with a range of more than 1000 miles. The instruments were presented by the people of Cape Town, who have always shown a keen interest in the loneliness of the island. A meteorological equipment was also presented by the Government, so that Mr. Rogers may send reports of weather conditions in the islets by wireless telegraphy to South Africa and to passing ships ; it is thought that ‘the messages will greatly aid weather forecasting. THE sixtieth birthday of Prof. David Hilbert of Géttingen has been celebrated by the publication of a special number of Die Naturwissenschaften (January 27). Opening with a portrait of Prof. Hilbert, it contains an admirable account of his life work by Herr O. Blumenthal, of Aachen. There follow five more specialised appreciations, by different writers, of his work as an algebraist, a geometer, an analyst, a physicist, and a philosopher. Finally, appears a list of Prof. Hilbert’s memoirs, eighty-three in all, accompanied in many cases by short abstracts of the results contained in them.. Among the ranks of living mathematicians no name is more honoured than Prof. Hilbert’s, and this tribute to his fame is well worthy of the occasion it celebrates. In July this year, Mr. E. Grey, Field Superintendent of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, will complete fifty years of continuous work at Rothamsted. To mark the widespread appreciation of his valuable services during this long ‘period, it has been decided to raise a fund for a testimonial which shall take the form most agreeable to Mr. Grey himself. There are probably many readers of NatuRE who may wish to associate themselves with this testimonial. The director and staff of the station therefore invite subscriptions, which should be sent as soon as possible to the Secretary, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts. Mr. Grey’s_ book, entitled ‘‘ Reminiscences, Tales, and Anecdotes of the Rothamsted Experimental Station Laboratories, Staff, and Fields, 1872-1922,’’ is now in the press and copies can be obtained from the Secretary, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, or from Mr. E. Grey, Laboratory Cottages, Harpenden. Price 5s. 9d. post free. All profits will go to Mr. Grey. From the Report of the Board of the Institute of Physics for the year 1921 we learn that the Institute 656 NATURE [May 20, 1922 i ; now has 400 members, 250 of whom are fellows. The income from subscriptions was a little over 5001. and the office salaries 500/. During the year the Board formulated a scheme for the publication of a Journal of Scientific Instruments, and the ‘Institute has received a grant of 250/. from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to enable it to produce the first number. The Institute has provided 50l, for the expenses of distribution of the 10,000 copies which have been printed, and in a short time the number will be in the hands of those likely to be interested in such a Journal. The price will be 30s. per annum if sufficient support is provided by instrument makers, research associations, scientific societies, and the public to justify the regular issue of such a periodical. THE Board of Education has isdued a memorandum. on the effect of the Summer Time Act on the health of school children. All Local Education Authorities in England and Wales were circularised in May 1921, and only 16 authorities, representing about 127,000 children, failed to reply. Of the 299 authorities from which replies were obtained, 183 authorities, representing 3,227,842 children, are definitely in favour of the Act; 8g authorities, representing 1,600,429 children, consider the Act detrimental, while 27 authorities, representing 232,402 children, have not formed a definite opinion. It should be added that nearly all authorities who hold that the Act is prejudicial to children, state that this is due, not to any defect inherent in the Act itself, but the fact that parents do not use it rightly. parental control were properly exercised nearl every authority in the country would approve the Act. The actual (though not the necessary) rest of the Act appears to be that large numbers of children lose a valuable hour of sleep, because they go to bed at dusk as before, but have to get up an hour earlier, as the working part of the family rises by the clock. The Board is therefore issuing a circular to the parents of school children, pointing out how important _ adequate sleep is for the growing child, stating the amount of sleep necessary at the different ages, and ~ supporting the arguments by some common-sense appeals to the parents. Aue ., 2 Ir is announced that the British Association oe 4 the Advancement of Science will publish, early next — : month, “ The British Association: A Retrospect, 1831-1921,’ by the Secretary of the Association, Mr. O. J. R. Howarth, which will present a summary review of the activities of the association in every department of science since its foundation. The: production of this volume has been rendered possible 4 through the generosity of Sir Charles Parsons, ex- i@ president, at whose suggestion it was undertaken, . Our Astronomical Column. A NEw VARIABLE IN CyGnus.—The star B.D. + 34° 4217 (position for 1900: R.A. 20h. 54m. 12s. Decl. + 34° 47’:4) has been discovered by Mr. Stanley Williams to be a short-period variable (Monthly Notices, R.A.S., vol. 82, p. 300). He com- menced visual observations on this star with a 6$-in. reflector in October last, and has deduced a light curve which at first appeared to be of an Algol type, but later was found closely to resemble that of 6 Lyrae. The period is about 15h. 9m. and the range of magnitude 10-42 to 9-93, cre magnitude at secondary minimum being 10-15. THE SPECTRUM OF THE CORONA IN 1918.—The expedition sent from the Lowell Observatory to observe the eclipse of June 8, 1918, was stationed near Syracuse, Kansas, and obtained some interesting results in spite of rather unfavourable weather. The -equipment consisted of two single-prism and two three-prism spectrographs (one being a slitless instru- ment). The distribution of coronium was found to be very different from that of hydrogen and helium. The line at 5303-0 showed that it extended to a distance of about one solar diameter above the sun’s surface, and the condensations in the green coronium ring as shown by the objective-prism plates indicated a distribution which was not in any way related to. individual prominences. There appeared to be a general correspondence in the distribution of coronium and the main features of the corona, since it was faint or absent in the regions occupied by the polar “streamers”? and abundant beneath the main extensions of the corona. The arches over pro- minences were unusually well developed, but the presence or absence of coronium in them could not be NO. 2742, VOL. 109] “verified. The principal results are described he Slipher in the Astrophysical Journal, 55, p. 73. 2 DETERMINATION OF LUMINOSITIES BY SPECTRO-- PHOTOMETRY.—TIwo new methods for determining stellar absolute magnitudes are described by Lind- — blad in the Astrophysical Journal, 5 85. The — first of these is applicable to stars of Riches spectral — type than those for which Adams’s spectroscopic _ method is available, and is based on the variations, — with absolute magnitude, of the energy distribution of the spectrum between H, and Hg. Thetworegions — \A3889-3907 and d3907-3935 are compared, and ~ faint stars found to show a considerable relative decrease in intensity of the former region when compared with bright stars. This is probably due to the widening of Hg and of some arc lines of iron and silicon. The actual measurements are made k taking a series of exposures of each star on the same ae plate with decreasing exposure-times. In the series of images thus obtained two are selected such that — the intensity of \3889-3907 in one is equal to that — of \\3907-3935 in the other; and the ratio, E, of — the two exposure-times is plotted against the absolute _ magnitude, M, of the star. Curves are given shi ae the relation between log E and M for different types, and it is claimed that for types B,-A,; absolute —~ magnitudes may be found (with the dispersion used) with a probable error of only +0-4 mag. 8 The second method is similar to the first, but is only applicable to stars (types G-M) in which there | is appreciable cyanogen absorption. The relative density on either side of \3889, and between the — regions \\4144-4184 and \\4227-4272 are found and ~ compared as above with the absolute magartuaeery of the stars. & _ tive indication of some mental trait. maximum daylight. ee por NATURE 657 May 20, 1922] ~ Research Items. _ MENTAL TEsTs AND MENTALITY.—At the present time when, owing to the exigencies of practical life, some method is needed whereby individuals can be selected rapidly and effectively for specific tasks, the question of mental tests is a serious problem. Selec- tion by examination, by influence or personal opinion been found to be inadequate, and so there is a ; _ tendency to expect too much from the alternative own as mental tests. In Psyche (Vol. II. No. 4) Prof. Pear raises some very interesting roblems connected with such tests. He insists that intelligence tests indicate only one kind of mental capacity ; they are an attempt to provide a quantita- In practical testing, however, the tester often ignores the charac- teristic apparatus possessed by the examinee; even though two people may be assigned like marks for a test, in actual life it may matter seriously whether __ the result was attained by the use of visual imagery, kinesthetic imagery, verbal formule, or imageless g. Again, the attitude of mind of the _ examinee must be considered ; a genius might display apparent lack of intelligence because he saw in the problem many more complications than the ordinary 1, and the typical extrovert will react quite differently from the typical introvert. Lastly, the author discusses the problem of stupidity both intellectual and emotional, the latter type having been very much neglected. The paper is both critical and suggestive, and will be of interest to workers in this field whether from the educational or industrial ast LicHT REQUIREMENTS IN Hospitrats.—At a joint meeting of the Illuminating Engineering Society and the Royal Society of Medicine on April 27 the light- ing of hospitals was discussed. The subject presents many interesting problems, and has not yet received sufficient attention. Mr. J. Darch, who presented the introductory iad showed a variety of illustrations of methods of lighting wards devised to avoid glare lights shining in the eyes of patients—apparently a common fault in hospitals. He also discussed the _ lighting of operating tables where somewhat complex requl uirements exist, including a very high illumination, freedom from troublesome shadows cast by the person of ge: Segre and elimination of the possibility of dust ing from the fixture during an operation. A value of not less than 25 foot-candles on the operating table was suggested. Reference was also made to natural lighting, the somewhat revolutionary Sy aes being made that the operating theatre should ted at the top of the building so as to secure L A number of medical men and ophthalmic surgeons joined in the discussion. Mr. Garad Beck contributed an analysis of the require- ments to be met in microscope illumination. The ‘Suggestion was made that “ artificial daylight ’’ units would prove very serviceable in cases where correct appearance of colours forms an important feature in diagnosis. Mr. J. B. Reiner showed some compact forms of inspection lamps where the provision of a sufficiently bright and uniform illumination, without Striations, presents difficulties. Prior to the discussion a series of queries relating to problems met with in ara lighting had been drawn up and circulated, and Mr. Gaster suggested that these might form the Subject of study by a small joint committee. _ THE ORIGINS OF EXISTING CoRALS.—Prof. P. C. Raymond (“ The History of Corals and the ‘ limeless oceans,’’’ Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. 202, p. 343,-1921) traces the hexacoralla back to Walcott’s Mackenzia NO, 2742, VOL. 109] costalis from the Middle Cambrian of Burgess Pass, British Columbia, a limeless form first described as a holothurian, and referred to the actinians by H. L. Clark. Its modern representative is found in Ed- wardsia, an inhabitant of sandy shores. Prof. Ray- mond regards all the Palzozoic corals that adopted the habit of secreting—or, from the present point of view, excreting—calcium carbonate as tetracoralla. These were killed off in the cold waters of the Permian glacial epoch, leaving the Edwardsian line to pass on into’ a large number of hexacorallan types with calcareous skeletons, which first become prominent as reef-builders in Middle Triassic times. At this period, the warmer waters contained more salts, and the sedentary habits of the actinians decreased their power of elimination. These seem large conclusions to found upon the impress of a soft-bodied organism of Cambrian age ; but paleontology at present glows warmly through the use of well-controlled scientific imagination. GEOLOGY OF WESTERN SOUTHLAND, NEW ZEALAND, —The Geological Survey of New Zealand continues, in Bulletin 23, its admirable practice of combining geo- logical description with illustrations of the scenery of the country. The fascinating South Island bids fair to be as well “ visualised ’’ by those who cannot travel as are the west central States of North America ; and each new Bulletin issued by Mr. P. G. Morgan makes one wish that New Zealand could be floated nearer to its antipodal colleague on some favouring current of the “‘ sima’’ (see Wegener’s views, NATURE, vol, 109, p. 202). Prof. J. Park in No. 23 describes part of Western Southland, including Lake Te Anau, which simulates a fjord among the mountains. The deep dissection of the early Cretaceous peneplain that was worn across the folded masses of the New Zealand Alps has formed noble ravines like that of the Clinton River (Pl. III.), where intrusive diorites and granites, probably of Permian age, come to light. These valleys have been carved along Pliocene lines of fracture. Though Prof. Patk gives a general summary of the geological history of New Zealand (pp. 25-28), he touches very briefly on the formation of the arc of which the axis of the islands forms a part. He significantly refers the folding and fracturing to com-~ pressive stresses set up by the sinking of the adjacent troughs ; but he inclines to regard these troughs as very ancient and persistent features. One would like to know if the present islands, as a ridge between the great eastern and the shallower western deeps, owe their existence above sea-level to a Pliocene creep of the ocean-floor resisted by an unseen extension of the Australian block. Croup Forms.— An article by Prof. W. J. Humphreys of the U.S. Weather Bureau on “ Inter- national definitions and description of cloud forms, and supplementary remarks ’’ is given in the March number of the Journal of the Franklin Institute. The article, which is continued from the February number, is based on a lecture on “‘ Fogs and Clouds,’”’ given before the Section of Physics and Chemistry of the Franklin Institute on ‘sorbent 5 last. The different forms of cloud are well illustrated from photographs, many of which are new so far as cloud illustrations published on this side of the Atlantic are concerned. Cirrus clouds, from their light formation, are usually very difficult to represent in published form, but the illus- trations given are good. Cirrus, which is the highest cloud, is said to occur at a height, approximately, of 5 miles in polar regions, 7 miles in middle latitudes, and 9 miles within the tropics. Many of the photographs 658 NATURE [May 20, 1922 were taken from Mount Wilson and other heights. A cumulus formed by convection over fire is exceed- ingly good, and several lenticular cloud specimens are of interest; types are given of the funnel cloud or tornado cloud. The height of clouds is discussed, and it is said that they are lower during winter than during summer, due to the difference in relative humidity. The extension of our knowledge of the upper air has added much to the better understanding of cloud development. ELECTROLYTIC DissocIATION.—The Journal of the American Chemical Society for April contains an interesting paper by Prof. T. W. Richards and A. W. Rowe on the heats of neutralisation of alkalies with monobasic acids at various dilutions. As is well known, the approximate equality of the heats of neutralisation of strong acids by strong bases, indicating that the same reaction took place in all cases, namely, the union of hydrogen and hydroxide ions to form undissociated water, was one of the strong arguments for the theory of electrolytic dissociation put forward by Arrhenius. The careful measurements described in the paper show that the heats of neutralisation are slightly different, but since they all tend to the same limit with increasing dilution ’ this is almost certainly the result of slight differences in the extent of ionisation of the different acids, bases, and salts. In solutions containing Ioo grm. molecules of water to one of acid and base, the heats of neutralisation varied from 13°75 to 14:09 kilogrm.-calories. The heat of formation of water from its ions is found by slight extrapolation to be 13-62- 13°69 kilogrm.-calories at 20°, in good agreement with the value 13-7 adopted by Arrhenius. These results would seem to rule out the assumption made by Ghosh and others that these electrolytes are all equally dissociated at the same dilution, and in a paper in the same journal by Prof. J. Kendall the theory of Ghosh is also adversely criticised from other points of view. THE British BEET-SuGAR INDuUsTRY.—In 1745 the Berlin chemist Margraaf discovered sugar in the beet, and in 1812 Napoleon laid down 75,000 acres for the cultivation of beet and established six centres of instruction. This was the result of the Continental blockade. Immediately before the outbreak of war in 1914, France and the United States each had half a million acres under sugar-beet, Germany had a million acres, and Austria, Belgium, Denmark, and Holland also made important contributions to the industry. Great Britain had only one factory, at Cantley in Norfolk, under Anglo-Dutch control. In the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry for April 15 an account, with excellent illustrations, is given of the beet-sugar works at Kelham, Notts, owned by Home-Grown Sugar, Ltd. This works, which was designed by a French firm, and is almost entirely staffed by French workmen and managers, was the result of a grant of money from the Treasury. Up to date there has been a large deficit on the working of the factory, but as a result of the arrangement with the Government to remit the duty until the company is in a position’ to produce a total of 50,000 tons of sugar a year, it is hoped that progress will be made. The process is identical with that used in the North of France. Sugar-beet has been cultivated on 230 acres, and some 2300 acres have been grown locally by farmers, an average of 5:5 acres each. The sugar content of the roots has reached 15-92 per cent. The roots are washed, sliced mechanically, and treated with water in diffusion apparatus at about 70°C. The extract contains about 12-5 per cent of sugar, and the residue, after drying and mixing with molasses, is sold for stock NO. 2742, VOL. 109 | _distinguished by its well-equipped substage. feeding. The aqueous extract is treated with milk — of lime and then with carbon dioxide to precipitate — The clear liquor, after filtration, is treated — with sulphur dioxide, evaporated in vacuo, cooled, — the lime. and the crystals drained in centrifugal machines. A New DESENSITISER.—We learn from the British Journal of Photography of May 5 that Dr. E. Kénig, — of the Hoechst firm of Meister, Lucius, and Briinin who was associated with Dr. Liippo-Cramer in his work on desensitisers of photographic emulsions, has continued the work on this subject. The practical result is that he has obtained a desensitiser fully equal in its effects to phenosafranine and without some of its disadvantages. The new desensitiser is called “ Pinakryptol ”’ and is a greenish-grey mixture of two desensitisers. One part is dissolved in 5000 parts of water for use, and its notable advantage is that it has no staining action on gelatine or celluloid or the fingers _ or nails of the user. PETROLOGICAL MICROSCOPES.—We have received from Messrs. James Swift and Son, Limited, a cata- logue of their petrological microscopes. The excel- lence of their work has earned them a well-deserved reputation which is still maintained. A number of types are described in the catalogue, some with a — rotating stage and others with rotating nicols as originally designed for the firm by Mr. Dick. The former include the ‘‘ Primex ”’ for the tise of element- ary students, the ‘‘ Advanced Student,” the “‘ Petros,” and the ‘“ Survey.’”’ The.“ Petros” has a hinged analyser, which can be brought into position above the ocular. This has the advantage that a quartz- wedge can be introduced in the focus of the ocular. In the remainder the analyser is inserted in the lower - end of the body tube, but a second analyser, which can be placed above the ocular, can be purchased as an accessory. In the ‘‘ Advanced Student” the convergent system fits into a sleeve above the polariser, but the top lens can be removed if a less convergent system be desired. This arrangement can, however, be replaced by the convenient swing-out screw focussing adjustment which is fitted to the more expensive ‘‘ Petros’? model. The “Survey” Be n except the “‘ Primex”’ there are two Bertrand lenses for the observation of interference figures, one at the upper end of the tube for measuring comparatively small crystals, and the other just above the objective, giving a much larger image. A more advantageous course is to employ, instead of a Bertrand lens, an auxiliary lens. above the ocular. The light coming from a small crystal or part of a crystal, which it is desired specially to examine, can first be isolated by a perforated diaphragm in the focus of the ocular and the auxiliary lens then placed in position, when the interference figures can be observed unaffected by extraneous light. by a committee of the British Science Guild, and excellent auxiliary lenses of this description have been prepared by Messrs. Swift, which might have been expected to have had a place in this catalogue. Two types of microscope with rotating nicols are described, the well-known ‘“‘ Dick ”’ microscope, and © the ‘‘ Grabham-Dick,’’ distinguished by the triple nose- piece beneath the stage, which makes it possible to place three different types of condenser in position in turn. Full particulars are given, in the concluding pages of the catalogue, of different objectives, nose- pieces, centring objective changes, and other necessary — or commonly employed accessories manufactured by the firm: It should have been stated in the case of quartz-wedges whether they are graduated to show i the relative retardation at different points. = This procedure was recommended ~ 2 . e ; [ ( « a E ness, a tail which serves a variety ag ee ee animal in E May 20, 1922] NATURE 659 The Rat and its Repression. By ALFRED E, Moore, Hon. Director of the Incorporated Vermin Repression Society. R4ts have for more than three thousand years : been regarded as noxious vermin by man. Boelter* reminds us that the Egyptian cat, F. Caffra (Caligaia or Maniculata) was a domestic t twenty centuries B.c. and that it was held in the highest reverence as a natural pro- tector of grain from rats and mice. Boelter relates how, when Ptolemy was doing all he could to conciliate _ the Roman power, a Roman accidentally killed a cat, and Diodorus Siculus, an eye-witness, tells how nothing, not even the terror of the Roman name, could save the unlucky Roman from punishment. To-day, when the rat army numbers almost countless ___ legions, we find an apathy that is appalling, a stagna- _ tion of effort which is allowing the rat to encircle ___ the earth, and like a creeping paralysis to leave death and destruction in its trail. _ It is not so important to fix geographically or historically the origin of the rat, as it is to realise the fact that this rodent now inhabits practically every place where man has a dwelling, and that of ail ‘animals it is most fitted by nature to serve as a human scourge. Apart from the astonishing pro- lificacy of the rat, the animal is furnished by nature with first-class engineering and excavating tools in the shape of wonderful hand-like paws, a pair of incisor teeth of razor-like cutting power and hard- of uses, and a brain nimble, cunning, and educable. These ad- vantages plus a courageous and adaptable disposition = have served to make the rat ubiquitous. It has been urged that all rats are cannibals and that the brown rat (Rattus Norvegicus) in England. has driven out the black rat (Rattus Rattus), but too much reliance cannot be placed on _ these assumptions, for rats are cannibals only when driven by unsatisfied appetite, and it is doubtful if the number of black rats in any area in England is such as to diminish the food supply of the brown rat and force it to become an active cannibal, or, on the other hand, that the sexual appetite artificially stimulated under the Rodier system can diminish a sly the number of rat hordes. _ It is, of course, fairly easy to invite a charge of exaggeration when dealing with the rat, for the pest is without doubt a grave menace; it has been said by Dr. Khunart that the rat must be destroyed, or it will destroy man. Insistence on the serious character of the problem makes it extremely difficult, ver, to wage an effective war on the animal; aly is easy to secure the label ‘‘ crank”’ and to the man-in-the-street to remark that, if it be true that the rat is such a terrible fellow, “it’s a wonder we are alive.’”’ Prominent leaders of thought in the veterinary world regard the rat as a disease carrier par excellence, and I am convinced that further research will establish the rightness of many suspicions, but for the moment let us consider the nature of proven charges. We know, for example, that rats transmit plague, trichinosis, malignant jaundice, parasitic mange, and rat-bite fever, and we know that these maladies are serious diseases. They are, of course, calculable in effect, but there are other human ills directly attributable to the presence of the rat, such as loss of sleep through nervousness, 1 “The Rat Problem,” by Wm. RBoelter. ohn Bale, Sons d Danielsson, Ltd. 5 ? € ten NO. 2742, VOL. 109] fright, etc., and these ills are burdensome in so far as that they contribute materially to the sum of factors in physiological fatigue and therefore occasion incalculable loss of human efficiency. Economically, the rat is a charge upon the resources of the nation, which is only measurable in figures too great to be comprehended by the casual student. We know that rats commence to breed when three months old, that the female litters from 6 to 12 times a year, and that the litter consists of from 6 to 12 young; therefore, we have a population of about 1000 rats from one pair of rats in 15 months, and as a rat costs approximately 14d. per day for food it will readily be seen that we are paying too dearly for this pest. How much we are paying will be more clearly realised when we remember that it is generally agreed that the number of rats equals the human population ; in some cases the rat population is considerably greater, as at a sugar _ plantation in Porto Rico, where the population numbered less than five hundred people and a six months’ rat drive accounted for 25,000 rodents killed. Bearing these numbers in mind, and taking the population of the British Isles as being about 47,000,000, we get a rat cost of as much as 75,000,000/. per annum after deducting 4d. per day per rat for garbage eating. This is not, however, the total amount of taxation the rat imposes upon us, for it is my experience that the animal does an enormous amount of damage in pursuit of its food, and in poultry yards its depredations are very considerable. ‘“‘ Lantz (U.S.A.) quotes a Washington merchant to the effect that rats gnawed a hole in a tub containing 100 dozen eggs, and within a period of two weeks carried away 71 dozen without leaving either shell or stain.” Cases are not rare where rats have disposed of half a lamb in a night, and it isan undoubted fact that if meat is condemned as tuberculous or unfit for food, rats seem to have. an uncanny instinct for finding and consuming such portions of the carcases as are diseased. It must not for one moment be imagined that fear of the rat is a fad, nor is it peculiar to the medical profession : medicine, hygiene, and commerce all have contributed men with international reputations— Crichton-Browne, Andrew Balfour, Arthur Shipley, Glen Liston, Mark Hovell, Akin, Pasteur,. Creel, Emil Zuschlag, Hinton, Bruce Bruce-Porter, James Cantlie, Frederick Hobday, Banister Fletcher, Castel- lani, Nathan Raw, Sydney Hickson, Tanner Hewlett, and Lords Denbigh, Aberconway, Lambourne, Ernle, and others too numerous to mention have joined their voices to those of the informed public and members of Parliament in a call for rat repression, as a measure of public safety. It is significant that the first determined effort to deal with the rat in England found definite shape in ordinances made in various parishes in 1740-and again in a Bill introduced into the House of Commons by Sir Chas. B. McLaren in March 1909, and reintro- duced by him into the House of Lords, some ten years later, where he sat as Lord Aberconway, Although in common with America, Japan, Den- mark, Sweden, Barbadoes, Antigua, and Hong Kong, we in England have now an anti-rat law, there is much amendment required to make it effective. 660 WATURE [May 20, 1922 There are no financial provisions for the Rats Act’s working to be found in the Act; it is punishable with a fine to harbour rats, yet reinfestation of a cleared habitation is not punishable, nor is trafficking in rats a crime. . These weaknesses are being remedied in a Bill being drafted by the Incorporated Vermin Repression Society to amend the existing Act. The I.V.R.S. memorialised the League of Nations, and incidentally the memorial was signed by leaders of all shades of thought, with the view of securing an International Conference to deal with rats and shipping (the existing regulations being chaotic and tending to discriminate against this country) and to give a ruling on the vexed question of the employ- ment of virus. The virus question is one that should be settled without delay. Those—like the I.V.R.S.—who oppose its use, argue that it is unsound in principle to permit the unrestricted use of living virus, or germs, of mouse typhoid or any other disease which might possibly become communicable to man, and that, moreover, it is a waste of money and opportunity to create a race of rats immune to the effects of virus in the process of killing what is, after all, an infinitesimal proportion of the rat population. Attempts to get manufacturers interested in the production of virus to agree to a round table con- ference with unbiassed bacteriologists, pathologists, Government representatives and business men, have unfortunately, so far, been unsuccessful. : The question is often asked—‘‘ What is the best method of destroying rats?’ There is only one answer—‘‘ There is no best method of destroying these pests.’’ Rat destruction is a problem of urgency, and also one of extreme difficulty, and a -moment’s reflection shows that this difficulty cannot be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders, because the rat is far too clever to be caught except in negligible numbers by any crude method. It is an omnivorous feeder, and since the rat’s diet compre- hends bacon, bananas, eggs, lamb, young chicks, offal, bread, sponge-cakes, young rabbits, young game, biscuits, human flesh, apples, sweetbreads, corn, bulbs, and other eatables too numerous to mention, it is hopeless to pin one’s faith to poisoning, since all poisoning, that is to say, effective poisoning, is a matter of baits. Again, this method of destroy- ing rats demands fool-proof preparations, which limits the field in this respect; obviously it is dangerous to place poisons such as arsenic, strychnine, antimony, phosphorus and the like in places accessible to children or domestic animals; therefore, for all practical general purposes we are limited to barium carbonate, squill, and sodium fluoride. Cats and dogs are very useful, but it is a mistake to assume, as does one port authority, that an excellent sufficiency of cats is a good insurance against rats; as a matter of ex- perience it is nothing of the kind, for, like practically all domesticated animals, the cat is companionable, and unless it has a spare diet, and is deprived of the association of too many of its kind, it becomes a hunter after the fleshpots of Egypt rather than a menace to rats. Ferrets are useful only in the hands of practical rat-catchers ; for in unskilled hands they get lost. Nevertheless, since they are useful in skilled hands, they may render excellent service to the community when they are associated with a game terrier in an anti-rat club, and such clubs should be’a feature in every village and rural town. Gassing, too, has its advantages, sulphur dioxide being perhaps the safest to use, but as a lethal agent it is inferior to chlorpicrin gas. The U.S.A. Government report favourably on a gas called cyanogen-bromide. There is much to be NO. 2742, VOL. 109] said for the raising of the status of those- who are engaged in the war against rats ; for modern drain- age systems, while aiming at efficient sanitation, undoubtedly provide excellent facilities for rat locomo- tion, and tend to defeat the object of rat-weeks by allowing the hard-pressed rats of one district to escape to another district where the rat-week is next week. The vast emporiums, too, provide problems in rat repression which no ordinary rat-catcher can grapple with effectively. To sum up, if rats are to be appreciably diminished in number it is imperative that— 4 (1) An International Commission be created to extract the best of all existing rat laws and codify them in such a manner as to ensure their being concurrently effective in all countries, and in all ships and vehicles of water transport. (2) Our own rat laws be amended: (a) to make rat trafficking a crime; (b) to make rat reinfestation a crime; (c) to make financial provision for the carrying out effectively of the rat law; and (d) to make it an obligation upon the Ministry charged with the administration of the Act to enforce its being carried out by the authority concerned. — (3) All bona fide rat-catchers be registered and given instruction in elementary pathology, sanitary engineering and hygiene, and certificates be issued to competent and honest persons engaged in this business, withdrawable publicly in the Press in the event of petty larceny, offences against the Rats Act, or for other specified reasons. - # (4) The question of the use of virus should be settled, and whatever conclusion is arrived at in this | regard be given the widest publicity. (5) Twice a year all British authorities be compelled to co-operate and synchronise their efforts in rat destruction, and during the period, public lectures on rat destruction, rat proofing, and the necessity for eliminating possible rat- breeding. grounds, be organised by the authorities. (6) The authorities responsible for the zoological — laboratories of all universities, colleges, and institutes — be invited to set apart a portion of their time for the | teaching of economic biology in so far as it concerns the rat, the diseases it carries, its movements, the. nature and extent of its depredations, its natural enemies, and the known poisons which are safe to - use, this with the view of discovering improved methods of ensuring its destruction. eves (7) In all elementary schools pupils be taught the life-history of the rat, regarding the rat as man’s natural enemy, the toxicity of the various raticides in common use, the value of the barn owl (Sivix Flammea), the ferret, the weasel, the common kestrel, and the pine marten, the use of baits, varnishes, traps, the progress made by gassing as a method of rat destruction in ships and in places where it is possible to confine the gas, and the best methods of destroying rats (by water-flooding) in their runs, an effective method of killing rats in the country. si (8) All local authorities should frame their bye- laws so as to encourage rat proofing, and all employers of labour should exhibit in canteens, etc., a card, i 12in. x 10in., warning their employees against leaving about the debris of food, and a reminder: ‘“‘ No SCRAPS, NO RATS.”’ It cannot be urged too strongly that of all remedial measures against the rat, the most important are | rat proofing and the withholding of food and water, — especially water, for rats can exist much longer without food than without water. i May 20, 1922] NATURE 661 A ] LOOK upon it as a great honour to have been invited to come here to-day, and I appreciate the compliment which has been paid me. It was my privilege to be associated with many of the leading British men of science during the war, and, : - if I may say so without presumption, I regarded them with the greatest admiration. I was intimately connected with certain phases of their work, and I was also brought into contact with the war work a (carried out on the same lines) of most of our allies, as well as of our late enemies: and while implying nothing derogatory to the latter, I have no hesitation _- The war was one in which science played a part which increased progressively in importance: and _ the Empire owes a debt, the extent of which perhaps it - does not fully realise, to the able scientific workers who gave their services—often in an honorary _ capacity—in solving the various vital problems which were put before them—problems in preventive medicine, optics, sound-ranging, aeroplane design, - chemical warfare, and so on: and to the scientific institutions all over the country which provided them : with facilities for their researches. ___. It is not surprising to find that this College, with its Imperial associations and great record of public service, took a leading part in this work—the work of winning the war. A prominent feature in the _ Nominal Roll of the College is the variety of the _ service which was given by its past and present students. Their names appear in every department of army activity, but more especially in the various branches of my own Corps, the Royal Engineers. as We have been called the scientific Corps; but while not pretending that this is an accurate description, __we are, and always have been, at any rate the link - between the army and the scientific world, and I _ think I can claim that we are very receptive of all _ scientific proposals and alive to their developments. ‘Many of the students of this College served in that branch of the Corps with which I was most intimately concerned, and the names of some of them are se: ot on this tablet. — Owing to the secrecy which it was necessary to maintain during the war, the general public has still, I believe, little idea of the prominent part which chemical warfare played on the field of battle on the Western Front. Between the Battle of Loos, in September 1915, and the armistice, the activity of the lg Brigade was almost incessant, and gas attacks were carried out on an average on two nights out of every three during the whole period. Some 800 separate attacks were made—against about 25 by the Germans against us—and nearly ten thousand tons of gas were liberated, quite apart from the work of the artillery: and many were the variations practised in the form of attack, as regards tactics, mechanical appliances, and meteorological conditions. The enemy’s casualties from these gas attacks probably numbered between 100,000 and 200,000, - amongst whom the percentage of mortality was very ' high. These operations were carried out, for the most part, by young students fresh from civil life, who had had little preparation for the work and practically no military training whatever. In spite of the heavy artillery bombardments to which they were subjected—the retaliation for which each gas discharge was the signal—these young men combined 1 Address by Col. C. H. Foulkes when unveiling the War Memorial of the Royal College of Science on March 29, NO. 2742, VOL. 109] in declaring that in the matter of practical achieve- ment British men of science were second to none. . - Science and Gas Warfare.! with their technical skill a standard of personal courage worthy of veteran soldiers: and many distinctions were conferred on them, including the Victoria Cross, But it was not only in the front-line trenches that British men of science distinguished themselves in France. When the Germans launched their first gas attack against us in April 1915 our soldiers were unprepared and quite unprotected : and it must remain one of our proudest memories that they stood at their posts, and hundreds of them died there: it was due to the initiative and the energetic action taken by your Rector, Sir Alfred Keogh, then the head of the Medical Service at the War Office, and the steps devised by Prof. Haldane of Oxford, Prof. Baker and the late Prof. Watson of this College, and Prof. Jones of Manchester—then a private in the London Scottish—that the lives of thousands of British soldiers were saved in the course of the next few weeks. The protective appliance then extemporised was gradually developed in efficiency, chiefly by the late Lt.-Col. Harrison, until it became eventually a very perfect apparatus, millions of which were issued to the American and Italian armies as well as to our own. This, however, was not the only scientific work undertaken for the protection of our troops. Know- ing that we were only on the threshold of scientific discovery in its relation to gas warfare, we were always keenly sensitive to the appearance of any new chemical substance on the field of battle. In order to recognise it immediately it appeared, and to take the necessary steps to combat it, a very efficient chemical intelligence department was organised—quite separate from that which served the General Staff. A gas officer was appointed to each division in the field, one of whose duties it was to report all German gas attacks and bombardments —by telephone, and during its actual progress if it was an important one. If any novel symptoms of gas poisoning appeared anywhere on the front an able physiologist, who made a speciality of this - work, went immediately to investigate them. If a new gas shell was suspected, samples of earth and water from the shell craters were collected for analysis, and an unexploded shell-case was located and dug up as soon as possible and sent in to a central laboratory for examination. Opening these shells, the contents of which were often under pressure, was difficult and dangerous work: and I have little doubt that it was owing to his personal devotion to it, and the complete disregard of his own safety, that the late Prof. Watson, who was the Director of this laboratory, sacrificed his health, and eventually his life. I think it would interest you to hear that such was the efficiency of this chemical intelligence service that when the Germans first introduced mustard gas— then practically an unknown substance—warnings were telegraphed to all our armies, tabulating the injuries caused and the precautions which should be taken to avoid them, while an approximate analysis of the contents of one of the shells had also been made—all between 24 and 48 hours of its first use. When we came to summarise our knowledge of mustard gas at the end of the war, after a further 18 months’ experience of it, it was found that there was little that could be added to the statement originally issued. In conclusion, I ought not to omit reference to the devoted work done at home in connection with chemi- cal warfare in the various research laboratories and munitions factories all-over Great Britain. _One of 662 NATURE [May 20, 1922 our gas factories was closed on certain occasions for days at a time because most of the workers were put out of action, suffering from gas poisoning : there were other similar incidents, and in a number of cases men lost their lives ; which shows that service at home was by no means without its risks. In fact, I might almost say that work in a poison gas factory entailed suffering from gas poisoning sooner or later. In research work, Profs. Baker and Thorpe were very prominent throughout the whole period of. the war. They, with other eminent men, gave themselves whole-heartedly to this work, to their own financial disadvantage, and without the prospects of reward which the successful soldier has in view. In science, at any rate, there was no profiteering. A lady of this College, Dr. Whiteley, introduced the use of “S.K.” —symbolising South Kensington—a substance that was largely used against the Germans—as well as a new explosive. In all the preliminary physiological tests, of course, animals were used; but volunteers were never wanting for the more important experiments in the _ lethal chamber: and at one time many of the © experimental staff at Porton were in a constant state _ of ill-health owing to the trying nature of this work, _ One gallant action worthy of record was that of Mr. — Barcroft of Cambridge, who, in order to confirm a theory which had an important bearing on our gas tactics, entered the lethal chamber together with a — dog, both being entirely unprotected, and remained - there while exposed to prussic acid gas until the dog died. phat All honour, then, to the distinguished scientific workers of our nation in general, and of this College in particular, staff and students, who re- sponded to the call of patriotism on the battlefield, in the committee-room, the research laboratory, and the munitions factory ; but, above all, let us hold in grateful remembrance those whose names are in- scribed on this tablet, who not only served their country to the best of their ability, but who gave their lives in doing so. The Evolution Boa paper by Prof. Ewart referred to below con- tains much good and new matter, but the good observations are not exactly recent discoveries, whilst the new conclusions and speculations are rather con- testable, or at least startling. The bulk of the paper is very technical, but some of the generalisations concerning the evolution of the coat or coats of feathers of birds never fail to interest a wider circle of readers. The first coat of the young chick is composed of structurally rather simple little feathers, the Neossoptiles or nestling feathers; the final or finished feathers were called Teleoptiles. The first set is structurally continuous with the next grow- ing set or generation. Then it was found that in the majority of birds not one but two nestling coats were successively developed, both in structural continuity with each other (henceforth distinguished as Proto- and Mesoptiles; and the latter passing into the - Teleoptiles). These several sets or generations vary much in relative importance, time of their emergence or growth, size and temporary functions, in the different groups of birds. For example, whilst the first set forms the duckling’s first and effective jacket, it is the second set which in the penguins makes a very woolly and warm coat which lasts the youngsters many months, until these fluffy down-like feathers are supplemented by typical adult feathers. Moreover, in the duckling this second set is in the interesting condition of re- duction, being practically crowded out of existence between the first and the third set. It depends upon the group of birds whether and how and to what extent these Mesoptiles become vestigial. Again, while in ducks and penguins—#in fact, in the overwhelming majority of birds—the difference between their nestling coat and the final dress is. enormous (let us remember the callow blind-born nestling of a thrush, with a few large wavy tufts, before the final feathers begin to sprout), in the casso- waries and emus the differences between the successive coats are reduced to a question of mere size. In short, the variations are almost endless and still promise many new discoveries, all the more interest- ing when correctly correlated with the bird’s ecology. Indeed, here is a wide and fertile field for fascinating speculation. Let us see how Prof. Ewart has tackled the matter. The chapters dealing with a more general 1 “Nestling Feathers of the Mallard,” by Prof. ceedings, Zoological Society of London, 1921,*p. 609. NO, 2742, VOL, 109] J. Cossar Ewart, Pro- of Plumage.? account of the evolution of the plumage are an in- stance of that kind of ‘‘ Natur-Philosophie ” which, entranced by the new Darwinism, did not allow itself é to be hampered by facts nor to be checked by the perhaps equally sanguine speculations of others. ie Although the earliest birds known are the two specimens of Archzeopteryx from the upper Jurassic, our author states that at the beginning of the Jurassic age the coat of birds may have consisted only of — Protoptiles ; and the scene of the dawn of feathers of such low order is set in a land with desert climate, cold and dry, atmospheric conditions which would engender feathers. The dryness would cause the hypothetical feather “‘ filaments ’” or cryptoptiles to split or fray into a kind of brush, and ‘‘ whatever bird — or beast became warm-blooded would appreciate an overcoat.’’ Presumably the creature became heated by _ its attempts to flutter, and the increased temperature __ made it liable to catch cold and call for a feathercoat. Thus a teleological unscientific notion is preferred to the suggestion that a gradually improving coat (and frayed brush-like scales would be less heat-conductive | _ than ordinary reptilian scales) might induce first stable and then permanently increased blood-tem- perature. Surely the important feature would be the thermostatic result, resulting incidentally from the development of a better non-conducting coating. In any case this first set of little Protoptiles formed at best a poor sort of flimsy overcoat. When, how- ever, the climate changed from cold and dry to cold and damp, ‘‘ during perhaps a cold phase of a glacial epoch,” the coat was changed into the Mesoptile coat by the lengthening of the previously existing branches, or barbs, of the brush, and by the sprouting of new additional barbs. At any rate thus was evolved the : thick, fluffy, warm coat of the young penguins, and = it ‘‘is probably as useful now to the penguin chicks hatched within or near the Antarctic circle asit was when originally acquired during perhaps a cold stage of a glacial epoch.”’ ae Later, as the climate improved [interglacial] this yi fur-like second coat was in most other birds more or less suppressed [perhaps it proved too hot] and a third coat was constructed out of what gradually improved into feathers proper, which in turn were differentiated _ into downs and contour feathers, and some of these __ became, through use, etc., specialised into remiges —_ and rectrices. At last there was a chance for a flying r bird. Ostriches and similar birds perhaps never di aes Bh a a \ ‘ sae » May 20, 1922] NATURE 663 ; live in a cold damp climate, and consequent never went through the intermezzo of a “ Britis But which glacial epoch wrought all these miracles ? _ The author, surely, does not mean the Permian glacia- _ tion; and certainly geologists tell us there was none until towards the end of the Tertiary. Perhaps the _ penguins had a Jurassic glacial epoch in their Ant- _ arctic realm, while owls and petrels, which, by the _ way, have as thick and fluffy and long-lasting Meso- tile coats as any penguins, owe these coats to our _ Pleistocene bad times. We can scarcely date these birds back into early Jurassic times like the penguins, _ which until their first interglacial ease-off must have _ waddled about without feathers proper, all their lives _ long moulting from one thick Mesoptile coat into _ the next, generation after generation. This truly startlin, ots results- from the confusing of genera- tions of feathers, which are ontogenetic items, and _ stages in the evolution of the plumage, which are _ phylogenetic conceptions. Archzopteryx likewise does not fit into this view, with its highly specialised remiges and rectrices, of late Jurassic date, and certainly long before penguins came into existence. Apropos of the question of the origin of feathers - from scales, we are told that the conversion of his Cryptoptiles (consisting apparently of hollow epidermal cones) into the Protoptiles took place ‘‘in some incom- prehensible way,” and that the Protoptiles ‘“‘in some way soon acquired the chief characteristics of true feathers.’’ Perhaps it was a case of miraculous muta- tion ? But why incomprehensible, considering that there are at least two reasonable possible explana- tions, the only difficulty being which to choose. What is less comprehensible is that the author did not refer simply to that résumé (itself a large essay) ‘by that experienced referee Prof. Keibel, in “‘ Ergeb- nisse .. ., 1896, supplemented more recently by Schleidt (1913) and- Steiner (1918), who adds a literature list well-nigh complete and appalling by its-size. H. F. G. The Advance By Dr. C, ‘THE treatment of disease by sunlight is the 4 - newest of old things. It was systematically _ practised by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, ae | haps we need not trouble ourselves with ed A ge of priority in our own times. At any rate, _ the first clinic for the heliotherapy of surgical _ tuberculosis was opened by Dr. A. Rollier at Leysin _ in 1903, and at last it would appear that his methods are to be followed throughout the world. Already _in France and Italy the sun cure is practised, and I recorded lately in Nature (March 2) the finding of - many heliotherapeutic institutions on the Riviera, _ from Cannes to San Remo. The city of Lyons wisely sends its sick children to the Villa Santa Maria at Cannes, and the Italians have recently established the Istituto Elioterapico which I found outside San Remo a few weeks ago. In our own country we have Sir Henry Gauvain at the Treloar Hospital, Alton and Hayling Island, and Dr. Gordon Pugh, at Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children at Carshalton. In the United States, Rollier is being followed at Perrysburg, near Buffalo. Now there comes an admirable volume? which clearly ge the advance of heliotherapy into Spain. e number of the journal in question is - devoted to a series of articles in Spanish by Dr. Rollier and his assistants at Leysin. First of these is a paper by Dr. Rosselet, a physicist, on the scientific bases of heliotherapy, and Dr. Amstad contributes a eae on the sun cure of non-tuberculous diseases. We shall do well not to associate the sun cure ex- clusively with tuberculosis nor solely with the proved antiseptic power of sunlight. The recent American work, both at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins Hospital, has shown that sunlight has potent in- fluences upon nutrition and metabolism, and is a” for instance, of preventing and curing rickets in a fashion hitherto unsuspected. Amstad refers to rickets, of course, but he is evidently not uainted with this new American work. , e publication is completed with a series of well- produced plates which illustrate Rollier’s methods and show, in several “‘ before and after ’’ photographs, 1 Archivos Espafioles de Tisiologia, Num. 4. Barcelona, Calle de Aragon, nim. 282.) NO. 2742, VOL. 109] (Enero 1922, vols 2. of Heliotherapy. W. ;SALEEBY. the all but miraculous results which he habitually obtains. Madrid, like Munich and Mexico City, is a city which teaches us that abundant tuberculosis may occur even at high altitudes. Even ‘‘ Sunny Spain.” needs the lessons of heliotherapy. At Mentone, a few weeks ago, myself in broad and ravishing sunlight, I saw a cobbler at work in a dark room, lit by a miserable oil-lamp, the rays of which ill served to illuminate . his work. Answers of this order serve as reply to those who ask why, for instance, if the sun be such a preventive, there is any tuberculosis in India. In his fine article in this present publication, Dr. Rollier insists, as ever, upon the superior value of the early morning sun. This point needs perpetually to be made. We tend to associate light and heat ; so that, last year, the late Prof. Benjamin Moore actually asked, in the Times, whether “too much light and heat ’ may not be bad for us. The question is illegitimate. Light and heat must be distinguished. In Canada, according to my own observation there, it is the combination of light and cold that contributes to the superb Canadian physique and vitality. In Switzerland the same is true, and Leonard Hill has shown us the physiological basis of this valuable combination. But when thoughtless clinicians expose cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, for instance, to sun- light in warm weather, perhaps in the afternoon, perhaps even with exposure of the chest, and achieve only fever and hemorrhage for their unfortunate patients, we are told that heliotherapy is useless in phthisis. It is certainly high time that the fundamentals of the biology and physiology of light should be well and truly laid. Dr. Rosselet, in his interesting con- tribution; does not convince us that any one, as yet, really knows how sunlight achieves its results, but we shall expect to place heliotherapy upon broad and deep foundations when the committee lately appointed by the Medical Research Council gets to work. Meanwhile we must hope for English translations of ‘La Cure de Soleil ’’ and the rest of Rollier’s works, so that the present tragic farce of the treatment of tuberculosis in this country, with its desolating results, may yield to the intelligent use of sunlight. 664 NATURE [May 20, 1922 — The Universities and the Publication of the Results of Research in America. (NE of the principal subjects dealt with by the Association of American Universities in their conference last November was the publication of the results of research. Scientific and learned periodicals are numerous in the United States, and there has until the present been but little co-ordination. “The American Chemical Society,” says the editor of the Yale Review, ‘‘ now has under its management three journals; a monthly devoted to tne theoretical aspects of the subject, another monthly devoted to industrial chemistry, and Chemical Abstracts, which reviews twice a month all publications carrying new contributions to chemistry in its various phases, The question of a similar consolidation has reached at least the stage of discussion in several other National Societies in order, not only to avoid duplica- tion, but also to reduce overhead costs, and to bring together where it may be readily examined material that now lies hidden in hundreds of places and so may be easily overlooked.’’ He suggests that universities might support periodicals published by such national societies in preference to establishing their own separate periodicals, and in particular, that instead of requiring dissertations for the doctor’s degree to be published im extenso they should cause them to be “‘ cut down to the bone ”’ and the skeletons thus obtained to be given to the national societies for publication in their journals. The societies on their part might, he suggests, have their printing done by the University Presses. An‘ interesting sketch was given by the Director of the Wistar Institute for the Advancement of Biological Science of the operation since 1908 of a “plan for assembling and publishing a number of national zoological journals under one central manage- ment.’’ So successful has this proved that the combined annual sales of five journals has increased from 1410 to 5286 copies, while the income has been gradually overtaking the cost, notwithstanding a lavish distribution of free copies, notably 5000 dollars’ worth to the principal libraries of Europe— a-policy begun immediately after the armistice was signed and to be continued for five years. The factors of success are thus summarised: a ' whole-hearted co-operation of the: men of science interested, whether as author, editor, publisher, or, reader, a centralised management looking ever to prompt publication and extensive distribution with efficiency and economy, concentration on a group of journals limited to one field of research, and guarantee both financial and scientific of an endowed institution devoted to the same field of science. A feature of the Institute’s methods of publishing the results of research is the system of ‘“ Bibliographic Service Cards.” These include the author’s abstract as well as complete bibliographic references, and an announcement of the date when the complete article will appear. They are issued fortnightly to sub- scribers to all the Institute’s journals, and extra copies are often distributed for advertising purposes. University and Educational Intelligence. MANCHESTER.—The Council of the University has appointed Dr. Robert Robinson to the chair of organic chemistry which was vacant owing to the appoint- ment of Prof. A. Lapworth to the chair of chemistry. Prof. Robinson graduated at Manchester University in 1905 with first-class honours in chemistry and was a graduate scholar and Le Blanc medallist. As NO. 2742, VOL. 109] _ chemistry. research student, and later as a lecturer in organic chemistry in the University, a remarkable series of — papers on natural plant products were produced conjunction with Prof. W. H. Perkin and others. synthetic work has also been singularly skilful. work has been often concerned with the proc taking place in the living organism and has in me directions shown the way to development in bic In addition to his academic work, Prof, — Robinson, as Director of Industrial Research to the _ British Dyestuffs Corporation, has gained experience — of working conditions especially valuable to such an important centre of the dyestuff industry as Man- chester. Prof. Robinson has previously held chairs — of organic chemistry at Sydney and Liverpool, and — the chair of chemistry at St. Andrews. He was — elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1920, 4 THE Delegacy of the City and Guilds (Engineering) — College has appointed Prof. C. L. Fortescue, of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, to succeed Prof. T. Mather, who is resigning the chair of electrical engineering in the College at the close of the present session. 4 Tue Dr. Edith Pechey Phipson post-graduate — scholarship of the London (Royal Free Hospital) — School of Medicine will be awarded in June. It is — open to all medical women, preferably coming from _ India, or going to work in India, for assistance in — post-graduate study. It is of the annual value of ~ tool., for a term not exceeding three years. Applica — tions for the scholarship must reach the Warden — and Secretary of the School, 8 Hunter Street, W.C.r by May 31. aa: RECENT appointments to the staff of the Technical _ College, Bradford, include Mr. R. E. Stradling, as head of the department of civil engineering in the ~ college, and Mr. H. J. B. Chapple, as lecturer in _ electrical engineering. 3 APPLICATIONS are invited for the Ray-Lankester Investigatorship at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth. The post is of the value of 1oo/. and is tenable for fifteen months, out of which the in- vestigator will be required to devote five months at _ the laboratory to some subject of marine research, Applications should be addressed to the Director. | A CONFERENCE of representatives of the Univer-— sities of Great Britain and Ireland was held on Saturday last, May 13, at University College, London, under the presidency of Sir Donald MacAlister, vice- chancellor and principal of the University of Glasgow. _ The discussion on advanced study and research was opened by Dr. C, Irvine, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of St. Andrews. Dr. Irvine expressed the opinion that research should be _ controlled in every university by a board or standing committee, with power to recommend changes in the _ teaching staffs of departments actively engaged in research, to allocate money voted for research pur- — poses, and to consider such questions as travelling — and publication grants. Le Dr. L. R. Farnell, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, who opened the discussion on specialised study, stated that the idea of having one university for physical science and another for the humanities would be fatal to the cultivation of both branches of | knowledge. On the other hand, it must be recognised that by reason of their surroundings, some universities ~ were peculiarly fitted for certain studies, Mr. Fisher | joined in this discussion, emphasising the growing — need for co-operation between the universities, in ~ respect of the distribution of studies according to the particular advantages of each. It was suggested that EN Ah Saree. Ty See re oy c a . all i il a _ the Board of Education will ~ ,) " x 4 _ May 20, 1922] NATURE 665 — _ a committee of vice-chancellors should investigate claims for additional endowments by special depart- ments and inquire whether the transference of trust funds to different subjects within the university was desirable or whether the migration of students requiring special subjects could be facilitated. Sir ny Miers, vice-chancellor of Victoria University, Manchester, was emphatic on the point that higher a _ €ducation of the right type could be given only by universities or institutions of similar standing. _ Ir the number of suitable applicants is sufficient, ne ill provide during the ‘summer, courses of instruction of two weeks’ duration 4 _ for teachers of engineering science and electrical engineering in technical schools. The standard of the work will be that of the ‘‘ National Certificates ”’ in engi g of ordinary grade, but advanced treat- _ ment will be accorded to certain sections of the work. ‘The courses will start on Saturday, July 22, and will _ end on Saturday, August 5. The courses will be held _ in Oxford, in the University Engineering Building, the University Electrical Laboratories, and in the new laboratories of the City of Oxford Technical School. _ The instruction in engineering science will be P . the ductless thyroid gland had a most potent action _on the health and appearance of the body. That the pituitary gland has an infinen on the 4 __ under no delusion as to the revolutionary effect of the discovery of the “ hormone” ' “ secretin.” i ; ‘ i a May 27, 1922] NATURE 671 growth and moulding of the body became apparent after Marie recognised the disorder which he named acromegaly in 1886. Following these events, Dr. Berman duly notes the discoveries relating to the action of substances formed in the adrenal and pituitary glands by Sir E. Sharpey Schafer, described by our author as “ Schaefer, the Scotch physiologist, who has done more than any other living man to stimulate _, study of the internal secretions.” Then follows a mere mention, as if it were a mere minor or parochial event, _ of the discovery announced by Bayliss and Starling in E _ the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1904, namely, | _ that the pancreas was set into action by a substance ‘a oe, formed in the mucous membrane of the duo- _ denum, is carried by the circulating blood to the site of its action. For Dr. Berman the discovery made by Bayliss 2 Starling was but a parochial affair of John Smith ; the writer of this notice it is the John aaa episode leading to a revolution which is transforming the whole field of biology. One has only to turn to the Croonian Lecture given by Prof. Starling at the Royal College of Physicians in 1905 to realise that he was which he named He realised that the discovery had revealed Nature’s most ancient mode of co-ordinating the action of living units; that a new and potent _ factor had been placed in the hands, not only of physiologists but also of every man or woman who was working at any department or aspect of living matter— one which gave them a working theory to explain myriads of obscure phenomena. It was the merit of Dr. J. T. Cunningham to apply the new theory to heredity and evolution. The hormone theory as propounded by Starling in 1905 has had an effect on all branches of medicine— in surgery, medicine, obstetrics, and particularly on psychology. For many thousand years, men of nearly all countries have realised that the removal of the genital glands produces a profound change in the nature and behaviour of all kinds of domesticated animals. The ancient Egyptians must have been aware of these effects. It is the intricate and multitudinous action of hormones on the nervous system which has enlisted the particular enthusiasm of Dr. Louis Berman. In this book he has set out in full detail not only all that can be said in sobrietyrelating to the réle of internal secretions in regulating behaviour and temperament, but also a great deal which may be true but at present is entirely imaginary. It is with no hint of disrespect that thereviewer suggests that, after all, theunnumbered myriads of nerve cells which make up the brain have something to do with behaviour and personality ; the NO. 2743, VOL. 109] qualities of a man or woman are not determined by internal secretions alone. The thesis maintained by the author is best given in his own words (p. 23) : “ The life of every individual, normal or abnormal, his physical appearance, and his psychic traits, are dominated largely by his internal secretions. All normal, as well as abnormal individuals are classifiable according to the internal secretions which rule in their make-up. Individuals, families, nations and races show definite internal secretion traits, which stamp them with the quality of difference. The internal secretion formula of an individual may, in the future, constitute his measurement which will place him accurately in the social system.” In the latter chapters of this work Dr. Berman proceeds to explain, on an endocrine formula, great or uncommon figures in history such as Napoleon, Cesar, Florence Nightingale, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Oscar Wilde. No doubt there is much to be said for many of his contentions, but when we find Napoleon classed as a “pituitary centred, ante-pituitary superior, post-pituitary inferior, with an instability of both, that would lead to his final degeneration,” we have to own that the ordinary historian is not likely to find endocrinology as here presented really helpful to him. We should not do Dr. Berman and his book justice unless we mentioned the vigour of his style. Every sentence has a “ punch” in it—indeed the reader often longs for a plain statement of fact. It is a book which compels one to think as well as to criticise. A. KEITH. Positive Rays. Rays of Positive Electricity and their Application to Chemical Analyses. By Sir J. J. Thomson. (Mono- graphs on Physics.) Second edition. Pp. x+237+ ix pl. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1921.) 16s. net. LL physicists and chemists, with many who, though less directly, are yet no less deeply interested in the subjects opened up by the study of the phenomena of the discharge tube, will rejoice that Sir J. J. Thomson has found time, amid his many preoccupations, to bring out this second edition of his well-known monograph on rays of positive electricity. The output of scientific work is now so enormous that it is difficult to keep pace with it even in one’s own special line of study. It would be practi- cally impossible, if it were not for the assistance given by books such as this, ever to come abreast once more of a subject in which one has once fallen behind. In writing this clear and authoritative account of the 672 NATURE [May 27, 1922 present state of a subject which he has done so much to develop, Sir J. J. Thomson has performed a real service to science. Although the intervention of the war delayed for some time the fulfilment of the prophecy made by the author in his preface to the first edition, that the method of positive rays would be of service in con- nection with important chemical problems, it has since been so signally verified that the scientific world has been shaken, and the distant reverberations have re- echoed even through the columns of the daily press. The discovery, made by means of the positive rays, that the chemical elements are in many cases mixtures of substances of almost identical properties but of different atomic weights is, indeed, one which may well justify the distinguished author of the method of positive ray analysis in his conviction ‘‘ that as yet we are only at the beginning of a harvest of results which will elucidate the process of chemical combina- tion, and thus bridge over the most serious gap which at present exists between physics and chemistry.” In addition, however, to advances of which no one could be completely. ignorant, many of us were aware that a considerable volume of research of a less startling, but not necessarily less important, character had accumulated in the eight years which have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of “ Rays of Positive Electricity,” and will welcome this well- balanced account of the present state of the subject as a whole. The growth of the subject is indicated by the size of the present volume, which is almost twice that of its predecessor. So much has been added to the text and so many sections have been rewritten, that although here and there a critical reader may detect, by some imperfectly concealed join, that a portion of the old text still survives, the book is to all intents and pur- poses a new production. It cannot be said that the present volume is quite so easy to read as its pre- decessor. The subject has grown not-merely in size, but also in complexity, and all the author’s well-known powers of exposition are required, at times, to guide the reader through the very complicated phenomena of the discharge tube. The journey is, however, lightened by the skill with which the author succeeds in visualising the most abstruse physical phenomena, and is illuminated by the frequent flashes in which, rising from the particular to the general, he links the happenings in his discharge tube with some of the outstanding problems of physics and chemistry. Thus new light is thrown, not only on such problems as the disintegration of metals and the production and absorption of gases in the discharge tube itself, but also on the origin of spectra, the mechanism of ionisation, NO. 2743, VOL. 109] the varieties of chemical combination, and the structure of atoms and molecules.. An. interesting account is given of ‘iw various : ‘i methods which have been evolved for producing and |3 measuring the positive rays, including, of course, the — mass-spectrograph employed by Dr. Aston for the investigation .of isotopes. It is thus possible to com- pare the relative advantages and limitations of the different methods. The excellent plates at the end of the volume leave little doubt that, when accurate measurements of the masses of the particles are re- quired, the much greater dispersion which the mass- spectrograph makes possible gives it undoubted advan- tages over other methods. It is, however, not adapted for the investigation of the intricate phenomena of the discharge itself, and it is mainly to the latter problem that Sir J. J. Thomson has devoted his own re- searches. The reproduction of some of the author’s more recent photographs shows the considerable — advance which has been made in the technique of the experiments, while new methods of measuring the plates, indicated in the text, add greatly to the accuracy of the measurements. In addition to the now well-known parabolas, the author directs particular attention to the existence of numerous other secondary lines of very varied appear- ance and to the remarkable variations in brightness r “ beading ” seen on many of the parabolas in the photographs. Considerable space is given to the elucidation of these appearances, and from them the author derives, not only many practical hints for eliminating some of the ambiguities which previously existed as to the nature of the particles to which a given line on the plate must be ascribed, but also much interesting and valuable information as to the pro-— cesses going on in the discharge tube itself and the mechanism by which the positive rays are produced. It is impossible to pursue the argument in a review, but it forms by no means the least wget part of the work. In one respect we fear that the author may un- intentionally be misleading his readers, and that is in the statement that the technique of the subject is not difficult. Here we feel that Sir J. J. Thomson is, unconsciously, undervaluing the very exceptional experimental skill which he and his able assistants have shown in this prolonged and difficult series of researches. In particular the electrical method of measuring the rays, which alone seems capable of giving those metrical results which are so desirable — for the solution of many of the outstanding problems, — has not until the last few months found any successful exponent since the original experiments of the author | himself. We can, however, cordially agree that any Se ae) eet a 4 Me eee?) sve a Pity i. ee ome ap ae E pa co 7 - SA ee BN ye Te Ue eee Fey Nee ee ee ae) ee ee re . al ee jhuks ee eee So x Yeu ~~ — May 27, 1922] NATURE 673 chemist with the necessary scientific insight, who would In the mhieity. of insects, however, whether they be take the time and pains required to become master of the method, would find in it a weapon of research of no mean value. _ Some misprints, one or two of which may at first sight rather puzzle the reader, occur. The collection of the whole of the plates at the end of the volume is _ @ great convenience, as the same plate is frequently referred to in different parts of the text. One sug- gestion we should like to offer in this connection, and _ that is that the author should provide some key to _ these very beautiful reproductions of his photographs. It is sometimes extremely difficult for one not versed in the art of reading positive ray photographs to pick out the particular lines referred to in the text from _ the considerable number which often appear on the corresponding plate. _ may be prevailed upon to make this concession to We hope that Sir J. J. Thomson human weakness when, at some date which cannot be very far distant, he makes a further revision of the book for its next edition. em C- Metamorphoses of Insects. Insect Transformation. By Prof. G. H. Carpenter. _ Pp. xi+282+4 plates. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 12s. 6d. net. ETAMORPHOSIS in the animal kingdom may be approached from two angles of vision. We may regard it solely as a preparation for the adult condition that follows upon it, or we may consider it _ from the point of view of recapitulation. of racial ancestry. In reality it is the result of the working of both those factors. Among insects, the higher one ascends among the orders of that class, the more the evidence of recapitulation becomes obscured by secondary changes. Divergence in evolution has occurred between the preparatory and final stages of life. The more highly specialised the perfect insects become the more their larve degenerate. It is the inert, legless, eyeless, and often headless maggot that gives rise to the highest expression of insect life. The active “ intelligent ” type of larva, endowed with limbs and well-developed organs of special sense, is destined to produce an imago lower in the scale of evolution than that which arises from the degenerate larva previously mentioned. ‘In the springtails there is no metamorphosis. In the locust and the plant-bug metamorphosis is clearly evident, although the young are not very different from their parents. Such insects pass through no pupal stage, and their wings are formed externally. NO. 2743, VOL. 109] beetles, butterflies, bees, or flies, the young or larve are vastly different from their parents and a pupal stage has become intercalated in the ontogeny. In insects of this kind the wings arise as impushed imaginal buds and reveal themselves outwardly only when the pupal stage is assumed. In Prof. Carpenter’s book we have a lucid account of the various aspects of the above phenomena. It is elementary, but not unduly so, and there are few biologists who will not benefit by assimilating its contents. The author devotes about two dozen pages to describing the essential features of the morphology of an adult insect. These pages contain nothing that is new to the entomologist, but they enable the more general reader to obtain a better understanding of the book as a‘whole. The following chapter.is devoted to the discussion of the metamorphoses of insects with the open type of wing-growth. This is succeeded by a detailed treatment of the higher orders of insects the wings of which develop from concealed imaginal buds. The remaining chapters treat of wingless insects, the significance of metamorphosis in classification, the surroundings of developing insects, and the various problems of metamorphosis. The author has marshalled his facts into a continuous whole with conspicuous success. He leads the reader, step by step, through the increasing complexities of metamorphosis in what we believe to be their true evolutionary sequence. He attempts no new theories nor does he throw fresh light on existing theories. He prefers to draw extensively upon the results of recent research and show them in their true perspective. The book consequently represents very completely the present-day point of view. The discussion of larval and nymphal stages naturally occupies a large part of a work of this nature. Prof. Carpenter evidently does not concur with Comstock in his use of the term nymph, and rather adopts the definition that applies it to all exopterygote insects when the latter are in a stage in which the wing rudiments can be distinguished clearly by the naked eye. The expression nymph, however, is a conventional one, and in reality all nymphs are, in the zoological sense, larvae. : The book is one which imparts a true appreciation of how the details of the life-histories of different types throw light on the development of insects as a class: It is well printed and adequately illustrated with figures largely borrowed from the writings of con- temporaries, or from Prof. Carpenter’s own publications. Few scientific works have been issued since the war at so reasonable a price, which is a matter for con- eee to the author and publishers alike. A. D. Imns. ZF 674 NATURE [May 27, 1922 Chemical Disinfection and Sterilisation. Chemical Disinfection and Sterilisation. By Dr. Samuel Rideal and Dr. Eric K. Rideal. Pp. vii+313. (London : Edward Arnold and Co., 1921.) 218. net. N the year 1909 the third and last edition of “ Dis- infection and the’ Preservation of Food” was issued. It was a well-known and valuable work written by Dr. S. Rideal, and the many who consulted it will be struck, after perusing the volume under review, with the similarity between the two publica- tions. The new title “Chemical Disinfection and Sterilisation ” is a little misleading—for the methods of disinfection described are not always chemical, and the authors have much to say upon the subject of antiseptics, which is neither “disinfection”? nor “¢ sterilisation.” There is no one in this country better qualified to treat of the general subject of disinfection than Dr. S. Rideal, so those who consult this book for informa- tion on the science and art of disinfection may do so with confidence. But often there will be felt some regret that the information is not more detailed, although the following extract from the preface dis- arms criticism under this head. ‘Some apology is needed for the method of presentation. Although some of the problems which are briefly discussed are already dealt with im extenso in a wide and varied literature, others, equally important in their respective fields, are scarcely mentioned in current text-books, and it was felt that the inclusion of even a brief sum- mary between the covers of one volume would appeal to those whose interests cover this wide field, but who have neither access to, nor leisure to study, the very scattered literature on the subject.” A valuable feature of the work is the bibliographical information at the end of each chapter, supplemented by many useful footnotes. _ Chapter r is introductory and contains some interest- ing historical references. Here the statement that “cats and dogs have been shown to carry Diphtheria ” is open to challenge. Chapter 2 deals with the dis- infection of air ; the reference here to the employment of formic aldehyde vapour is particularly good. In chapter 3 the sterilisation and preservation of food is discussed. The inclusion here of the subject of metallic contamination seems inappropriate ; and the poisonous products of decomposition, the chemical preservatives employed, and the pasteurisation of milk are far too lightly touched upon. Chapter 4, upon the sterilisa- tion of water, is perhaps the best and most helpful chapter in the book and the authors are to be congratu- lated upon an excellent and up-to-date statement. Chapter 5 deals with public disinfection. The field is NO, 2743, VOL. 109 | comprehensively surveyed, but the survey is not detailed enough in many parts. For example, the dozen lines devoted to the practical disinfection of excreta are inadequate for the purpose of dealing with this important and difficult subject. Chapter 6, dealing with personal and internal disinfection, contains much useful information. soaps is very full—fuller perhaps than their value, as disinfectants, under the usual circumstances of their employment, would seem to justify. Chapter 7, upon non-bacterial parasites (lice, scabies, ringworm, fleas, etc.), is full of useful information. The parasites of the lower animals are also dealt with in this chapter. In chapter 8 the complex and difficult subject of the preservation of wood is appro- priately treated, while chapters 9 to 13 deal with the chemicals employed in disinfection. The relationship between chemical and physical constitution and germicidal activity is briefly but clearly treated. Chapter 14 deals with methods of analysis and testing ; and the Rideal-Walker evaluation test is of course very fully considered, for it is a method wae has become widely adopted. One sympathises with the decision of the sities to make no special reference to those disinfectants which are proprietary articles, and yet the statement seems incomplete when they are excluded, seeing that some of the best liquid disinfecting agents in pate use come into that category. Full indices of subjects and authors close a book which, despite certain defects (always of omission), is a useful and authoritative statement upon the subject with which it deals. y 7/ Electrical Diagnosis. _ The Diagnosing of Troubles in Electrical Machines. By Prof. M. Walker. (Longmans’ Electrical Engineer- ing Series.) Pp. xii+450. (London: Be iain Green and Co., 1921.) 325. net. — HEN an electrical machine is not wirkne satisfactorily it is necessary for the engineer to diagnose the trouble and, if possible, suggest a < remedy. The engineer in the works when testing the finished machine has every scientific instrument at his command. On the other hand the engineer responsible for running machinery has only a few voltmeters, ammeters and wattmeters available. Both engineers, however, will probably find what they require _ 4 It would be impossible in the book under notice. within the limits of a single book to deal with every case that might arise, but there are several general The reference to disinfectant: as i * 4 " - > ¢ ¥ : 7 Ls ¥ — - : ‘ > methods of procedure given by the author which if sparking at the brushes, etc. ‘mining the efficiency of an electric generator by air _ which are in everyday use. therefore a highly complicated function. 5 interest, but are not very practical. May 27, 1922 | NATURE 675 followed will so limit the position or nature of the fault that its detection becomes easy. Prof. Miles ‘Walker has had exceptional experience with machinery during the last thirty years and so lays the greatest stress on those faults which occur most often ; in some cases the faults are due to abstruse causes which make great demands on the expert’s knowledge of physical science. _ The subjects are well divided, chapters being devoted to break-down of insulation, over-heating, low efficiency, The method of deter- calorimetry—a method first devised and put into practice by Sir Richard Threlfall—is commended and the various methods of measuring the velocity of the stream of cooling air are described. The author attri- butes to Kennelly the discovery that the heat con- aS vection from a thin wire increases as the square root of the air velocity. It is true that Kennelly discovered _ this law experimentally, but the complete law had been deduced mathematically from physical principles several years previously by the French mathematician Boussinesq. He also proved theoretically Newton’s law of cooling; namely, that the heat convected is proportional to the difference of temperature between ‘the wire and the cooling fluid. This law, generally assumed as obvious by engineers, has been verified in the most satisfactory way by physicists. In chapter 5 the practical application of vector ick: is described, but the author does not dis- tinguish clearly between the various kinds of vectors He begins by considering the vectors of two alternating functions which do not follow the harmonic law. The cosine of the angle between the two vectors is defined as the ratio of the mean value of their product to the product of the effective or root-mean-square value of each. It is It can be *shown that in accordance with this definition, when we have three alternating functions, their vectors can be represented by three lines drawn from a point in space. Hence, contrary to what the author says, a knowledge of the angles between the first and third and the second and third vectors does not enable us to give the angle between the first and second. The author then proceeds to describe rotating vectors, but he does not state explicitly that he is now making sine curve assumptions. The diagram representing as vectors the fluctuating part of the electrical power taken from the various mains requires more explanation. The comments made on balanced loads are of It seems to the writer that a polyphase load is only balanced when the magnitudes of the volt-amperes taken from each NO. 2743, VOL. 109] ', générale.) Pp. main and the phase differences between the volts and amperes of each main are the same. In a few cases where the author gives formule, as, for instance, the formule for eddy current losses, it would be a help to many if the proof were indicated. The limitations also of the formule should have been stated. A few new words are introduced. The phrase “ wattful load ” is used to indicate the power expended on the load. It is complementary to “ watt- less load,” a phrase used almost universally by engineers to denote the magnetising power required by the load. Although many diagrams are given showing ripples in waves, harmonic analysis is barely mentioned. The ‘causes of these ripples, however, are described, and many ingenious remedies are suggested. The Inner Impulse. essai de dynamique de la (Bibliothéque de Culture (Paris: Ernst Flam- La Forme et le Mouvement : vie. By Georges Bohn. xli+175. marion, 1921.) 4 fr. 50 net. THE title leads one to expect a discussion of the effect of movement on the form of animals, perhaps new evidence for Lamarck. Nothing could be further from the author’s intention. He seeks to show that the laws regulating the reproduction and growth of living creatures are the same as those which govern their movements, and that these are the laws of chemical physics. The conception of an organism as a whirlpool is at least as old as Cuvier, but remained little more than a useful analogy till F. Houssay superimposed on it the idea of vibration. But for him both the vortex and its vibrations expressed the effect on the creature of its environment. Prof. Bohn starts with molecules of living substance, the inherent vibrations of which produce a system not merely vortical but polarised, manifesting its internal forces through oscillations in space and intime. That sentence, so far as possible in Prof. Bohn’s own words, will scarcely be intelligible to one who has not read the book. Nor, we are warned; will perusal of the book profit an inquirer unacquainted with the fundamental ideas of physics and mechanics. It may therefore be due to some gap in our knowledge that we rise from a second reading provoked ues puzzled, interested but unconvinced. It needs no very close acquaintance with modern biological research to realise the importance of chemical constitution. We have learned that every species has a chemical charactér of its own ; we are familiar with the part that catalysers, hormones, and other more hypothetical substances, play or are supposed to play in all the functions of the body, in growth, and in the hereditary transmission of form. The study of 676 NATURE [ May 27, 1922 tropisms and other movements of living beings has revealed how greatly these depend on purely physical forces. A mechanistic theory of life may not be correct, but is at least intelligible. Prof. Bohn, however, goes much further than this. He would explain the mani- fold variety of living form, past, present and future, by physico-chemical processes within the creature, in- fluenced from outside only by corresponding chemical or physical factors acting directly. For selection or adaptation he has no use, holding a structure to be a consequence as inevitable as any precipitate in a laboratory test-tube. Let. us illustrate by two of. Prof. Bohn’s inferences. Stockard has shown that, in sea-water containing an excess of magnesium chloride, the eggs of the fish Fundulus develop cyclopic young to the extent of 50 per cent. These young are as vigorous as the controls, and swim with equal facility. ‘‘ This fact shows that the evolution of the eye is effected not only, as the Lamarckians believe, under the influence of light, but that it may depend on a chemical factor.”’ Similarly, the fact that various salts, or excess or deficiency of oxygen, favour or inhibit the growth of wings, leads Prof. Bohn to conclude that the insect fauna of oceanic islands must owe its wingless condition to some chemical agent. Wingless insects cannot well have migrated to, say, Kerguelen, but blind cave animals have, in Prof. Bohn’s view, sought the seclusion which a cavern grants because they were already blinded. Failure to follow such tenuous argument need not preclude a welcome to this little book for its insistence on facts and ideas that should certainly prove fruitful, if not on the precise lines imagined by its author. His conclusions seem to ignore that aspect of the unity of nature which is revealed in the myriad interrelations of living things, the delicate balance of life, and the inti- mate adjustment of successive generations to the changing surface of the Earth. If Prof. Bohn would lock his laboratory door and spend a year in the open field, he might there be exposed to some influences, which, though not purely chemical or physical, would change his mental attitude. Economic Aspects of Human Wastage. Waste in Industry. By the Committee on Elimination of Waste in Industry of the Federated American Engineering Societies. Pp. xii+4o9. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Ltd., r92r.) 20s. net. RIEFLY to review this book is an almost impossible task, and the only way to accomplish it at all, while doing justice both to the writers and the public, is to give an indication of its contents and the NO. 2743, VOL. 109] methods employed, at the same time pointing out the fundamental importance. of certain of the aa oa discussed. The book is the report of a committee which made a 4 detailed inquiry into certain industries with a view of finding out how waste of human effort occurred, and, _ so far as possible, to appraise the responsibility for such waste. The first part is a summary of the detailed reports, and may be taken as the general conclusions at which the committee arrived. The second part contains the detailed reports of the investigations into the building, clothing, boot and shoe, printing, metal,'.and. textile trades. The third part contains general reports on such specific problems as unemploy- ment, labour troubles, accidents, industrial hygiene, etc. This arrangement of the matter makes it extremely easy for the reader in search of special information to find what he needs with the least possible trouble. An attempt is made to determine the amount of waste due to inefficient management, want of planning, labour turnover, seasonal fluctuations, accidents, etc., and it is clear that a large proportion of the responsibility is due to management. This is necessarily the case, since any improvement reducing wastage from such causes as labour turnover and accidents must at least be initiated by those who are responsible for the general policy of industry. A criticism that may be passed upon this works is that its outlook is narrow, for, with the exception of a_ few sections by medical men, attention is confined — almost entirely to the economic aspect of human wastage. industrialism and human nature. . science psychologists, physiologists, doctors, statis- ticians, and engineers are all contributing, and we must not blame any specific piece of work if one particular — aspect of the question is somewhat over-emphasised. — The very existence of such a science is a confession that these problems can no longer be regarded as the preserves of philanthropy or politics, which have both failed to remove any but the crudest abuses, while many of their endeavours to improve matters have done harm because they have been undertaken without knowledge of the scientific factors involved. For example, unemployment has too often been regarded merely as a problem of insurance, and various schemes have been worked out based upon the arguing power of the parties concerned rather than upon scientifically ascertained facts. Unemployment, as is pointed out in this book, has far wider ramifications, and cannot be treated from one point of view alone. However unemployment occurs, it involves a great national and This is not really a serious criticism. A — new science is growing up in all civilised countries — which seeks to investigate the interaction between — To this infant May 27, 1922] NATURE 677 international waste, and any system which is concerned primarily with alleviating the suffering entailed rather than removing its cause must be inadequate. By proper planning of work so as to meet seasonal fluctua- tions, by a wiser use of the competitive system and certain methods of standardisation, much can be done to remove a social evil which is probably doing more to destroy the vital energy of the industrial population than any other one cause. _ The book contains a great deal of carefully arranged ‘ statistical matter which provides useful data for 3 those wishing to study certain problems independently. _ Many of the recommendations made are naturally o more applicable to American conditions than to British, and it is to be hoped one outcome of the publication of this book will be that a similar inquiry * ; will be undertaken in this country. eae Our Bookshelf. _ A Text-Book of Inorganic Chemistry. By Prof. A. F. _ Holleman. Issued in English in co-operation with H.C. Cooper. Sixth English edition, revised. Pp. vili+528+1 plate. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1921.) 19s. net. _ Pror. HoLitEMAN’s text-book is well known as one of the best introductory treatises on the subject, and Jit is only necessary to point out that the new edition has been revised and brought up to date. In this operation a few minor inaccuracies have escaped notice. Thus, on p. 133 it is stated that of the nine oxy-acids of sulphur (one is omitted), only sulphuric acid has been obtained in a pure state, whereas on p. 146 the two yersulphuriec acids are described as crystallising in the _ pure state. The descriptions of preparations are some- times so condensed as to be almost inaccurate, e.g. (p. 54) hydrogen peroxide ‘“‘in a very concentrated state can be obtained by direct distillation in vacuo of _ a mixture of sodium peroxide and sulphuric acid,’’ and on p. 69, in connection with the preparation of hydro- bromic acid, the usual method is scarcely adequately described as “the decomposition of a bromine com- pound with a hydrogen compound, phosphorus penta- bromide and water being employed.” The statement (p. 29) that “ the atomic weights of most elements are determined from the composition of their oxygen com- pounds,” although common, is quite incorrect, and should be compared with the true state of affairs, given on p. 306. Typical Flies: A Photographic Ailas. By FE. K. Pearce. Second series. Pp. xiv+38. (Cambridge : At the University Press, 1921.) 155. net. THE atlas of photographic illustrations of typical British Diptera under notice is supplementary to the one published by the author in 1915. It consists of a series of well-executed half-tone figures arranged on 36 pages. The difficulties experienced in photograph- ing such objects as flies really effectually are consider- NO. 2743, VOL. 109] able. In photographing on the enlarged scale required, no amount of “ stopping down ” will produce an image sharp all over, since all the parts of an insect do not lie in the same plane. Many of the figures are excellent examples of what can be executed by this method. On the other hand, those of the larve and pupz are not very successful: Fig. 16 of the larve of Coretha, for example, is far inferior to a good line drawing. It is difficult, however, to understand why some of the specimens used for illustration were not better chosen. Why, for example, figure a Trypetid fly the abdomen of which is so distorted as to appear to be missing ; or, in other cases, utilise specimens in which the legs have never been displayed in the process of setting. We gather the object of this work is to stimulate the study of this neglected but highly important order of insects and, by means of suitable illustrations, to guide the beginner in relegating his specimens to their respective families. In the latter respect this atlas will probably prove of distinct service. The Yearbook of the Universities of the Empire, 1922. Edited by W. H. Dawson and published for the Universities Bureau of the British Empire. Pp. / xv+653.. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) 7s. 6d. net. THE changes which have been made in this valuable handbook since last year’s issue was published are due mainly to an increase in scope and therefore in size. Nearly two hundred pages of useful information have been added, in spite of the fact that the price has been reduced to one-half. Brief accounts are given of the universities, together with lists of their staffs, of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, followed by similar statements for the universities of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Malta, and Hong-Kong, in the order given. The appendices, which formed a valuable feature of previous editions, have been extended, so that now most of the learned and professional institutions are dealt with. There are also brief notes on continental universities and uni- versities in the United States of America, as well as information on the subjects of inter-university scholar- ships and grants for research both at home and abroad. The text is reduced to a minimum, but the essential facts are given, and it is difficult to find any other single volume which will serve so effectively as a refer- ence book on institutions for higher education in the British Empire. Mémoires sur l Electromagnétisme et l Electrodynamique. Par André-Marie Ampére. (Les Maitres de la Pensée Scientifique: Collection de Mémoires et Ouvrages. Publiée par les soins de Maurice Solo- vine.) Pp. xiv+ir1. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars et Cie, 1921.) 3 francs net. THE two memoirs given in this volume have been taken from Ampére’s wonderful “ Recueil d’observa- tions électrodynamiques,” published in 1822. (Ersted had described a few years previously the action of an electric current on a compass needle, and in the first memoir under notice, the mutual action of two electric currents on one another is described. The author then describes the apparatus he made and the 678 NATURE [ May 27, 1922 experiments he carried out. Finally he formulates the laws which we use to-day. In the second memoir the formula for the mutual action between two infinitely small elements of conductors carrying currents . is proved. Ampére’s researches paved the way for much of Faraday’s work, and Clerk Maxwell makes full use of his results in his treatise. Clerk . Maxwell well called Ampére the Newton of Electricity. The guiding experiments and the theory seemed to start fully equipped from his brain just as Pallas Athene was born fully armed from the head of Zeus. Small Talk at Wreyland. By Cecil Torr. Second series. Pp. vit120. (Cambridge: At the Univer- sity Press, 1921.) 9s. net. In his second series of ‘ small talk,” Mr. Torr, pro- ceeding on the lines followed in his first volume, has brought together a number of pleasantly written discursive jottings on various matters drawn from his own recollections and from the letters and diaries of his father and grandparents. An antiquarian and a scholar, he writes with a light and pleasant touch on such matters as local lore and history, as well as of events in the larger world. The value of these notes lies in the light they throw on the social habits and customs of the middle of the last century ; they deal with those illuminating details which are apt to evade the more formal historian. Interspersed are observa- tions of and reflections on happenings which have befallen Mr. Torr during his travels in the Mediterranean and in Palestine. All topics, whether of a serious or a lighter character, are touched upon in a manner which can only be described as urbane. On one subject alone does Mr. Torr’s urbanity desert him, and that is when he is moved to comment upon the Government regulations for the cultivation of the land during the war. Chemical Reactions and their Equations : A Guide and Reference Book for Students of Chemistry. By Prof. I. W. D. Hackh. Pp. viii+138. (Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Son and Co., 1921.) 1.75 dollars. “THE inability to balance a chemical equation is a most common difficulty to students of chemistry.” The author has attempted to remedy this very common weakness, and in addition to a concise explanation of chemical notation, including difficult cases of oxidation and reduction and ionic reactions, has provided a list of more than four hundred classified and indexed chemical] equations. The book should prove a useful companion to degree students. In.the list of solubilities ‘‘ to be memorised ” one finds: ‘‘ BoRATES are SOLUBLE,” which is not strictly correct, since most borates are insoluble. The Practical Chemistry of Coal and its Products. By A. E. Findley and R. Wigginton. Pp. 144. (Lon- don: Benn Bros., Ltd., 1921.) 125. 6d. THE analysis of coal, coke, ammonia liquor and am- monium sulphate, tar and its distillation products, gas (including calorimetry), pyrometry, and water analysis, are the topics dealt with in this book. The volume is very attractively printed and illustrated and should prove most useful in works laboratories. : NO. 2743, VOL. 109| Letters to the Editor. . ’ 4 [Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible for Netther — can he undertake to return, or to correspond with intended for — opinions expressed by his correspondents. the writers of, rejected manuscripts this or any other part of NATURE. taken of anonymous communications. | . Definition, Resolving Power, and Accuracy. In scientific writings the term “ definition ’’ most often refers to the clearness with which details are shown by optical instruments ; but by a convenient generalisation it might be taken to mean the ratio of the greatest to the least quantity which any kind of apparatus can render apparent at the same time, being thus distinguished from “ sensitiveness”’ or ‘resolving power,’’ which is determined simply by the smallest quantity measurable without reference to the size of the field. ep In this sense the question of “‘ definition ” enters into every kind of measurement. In telescopes and microscopes, for example, it would denote the angular or linear size of the field of view compared with the smallest corresponding quantity which can be clearly distinguished ; or, in a balance, the greatest arc through which it can swing compared to the least angle of swing giving a trustworthy measure of change of weight. Since all measurements have in the end to be recorded by the senses either of sight, hearing, or touch (smell and taste have not yet been examined quantitatively), it is of interest to inquire what kind of definition can be expected in their case, and the following notes contain some of the results of various observations on the subject made at intervals during many years. Sight and hearing are both dependent on wave- motion, and the sensations produced vary with the intensity, frequency, direction, and duration of the waves. such noises as thunder or great explosions. intensity must be of the order of millions. Although, however, the perceptions of intensities have such wide limits, the differences which can be recognised at any one time or in any constant condi- _ ae tions are much more limited. In many respects the senses may be compared witha musical instrument which, while of restricted compass, can be tuned to almost any absolute pitch, so that though for any one tuning comparatively few notes can be sounded, yet by adjustment these notes ma take any desired position in the audible scale. Eac sense, in fact, seems to adjust itself to some kind of te level suitable to its surroundings, and to be able (so far as my own observations go) to discern differ- ences of from 5 to 4 per cent. of the range then appreciable. The same order of definition was found not only ~ for each sense but also for the co-ordination of the senses with muscular action. The following experiment on the greatest difference __ between the intensities of light which can be perceived _ at the same time always gave fairly consistent results. A long tube AB, Fig. 1, about two inches in diameter, and well blackened inside, was provided with a white _ paper flange at A, and a movable piston, C, also — A disc of white paper, D, of rather less diameter than the tube was placed at — covered with white paper. No notice ts The total range of sensible intensities is — enormous ; for it is seldom that a night is so dark, © or a silence so complete, that absolutely nothing can — be seen or heard, yet the eye can work without injury in bright sunlight, and the ear can hear with _ In these | cases the ratio of the greatest to the least appreciable — May 27, 1922} ‘NATURE 679 a cet distance bua: eos Gaciee, and could be The same sort of memory which enables a definite 5 illuminated by sunlight or other means. A small | colour or pitch to be recognised without any external _ hole in the disc allowed the eye to look in the direction | standard of comparison is requisite also for the * the axis of the tube, and when the piston was | mental division of intervals of space or time. I have known people who could mark off inches and count Gest ‘ seconds by memory with errors of not much more 4 mH than one per cent., but they could not deal with feet : f or minutes with anything like the same accuracy. In estimating fractions of a second a good transit Pepe observer will approach a two per cent. standard, but flush with the. flange the view obtained was of a Lye “= Fhe. eisetioned. a oe ty white surface lit by the light scattered As regards the division of space by estimation I may mention the following simple experiment which ; whe « experiment consisted in withdrawing the piston | [| have often repeated at intervals of years and always until it e invisible, the relative intensities of |.with the same result. the illinmination of the flange or piston face then On a sheet of ruled foolscap draw two straight lines being DC*/DA*. For sunlight the ratio was about | intersecting near one end of the sheet, and about 220 to 230 and for candle-light about 170, thus | six inches apart at the other (Fig. 2). . Mark the inter- indicating a definition 0-45 and 0-5 in each case. ous experiments were tried on sound by the use of two lever clocks placed at some distance apart. The distance was then noted at which the _ ear had to be placed from each in order that one set of “‘ ticks ’’ might be drowned by the other. Musical sounds of the same pitch and loudness were tried It is always difficult to make in- experiments on sound on account of the echoes from walls and furniture, but on the whole it appears |’ that the definition for the intensity of sound was not so , though of the same order, as for light: regards the definition for wave-length, that is, a3 Tt at I t t tv t \ Fg 4 Tt x + y T 43 Tt * Bi T t 32 7 ba Fs uf t xt Be + t the recognition of colour and pitch, the range for + + visible t + + t Ps y 7 RIBS \ rg eae ER ia SH 6B Vy ¢ _ in the same way. waves is much narrower than that for sound. e lengths of all the visible rays lie within the ratio of two to one, while in sound a compass of more than ten octaves is audible. Few people when bite, Be whole spectrum at once will distinguish seven or perhaps eight colours, but when a small portion covers the visible field, the varia- Vv Gee of tint are much more marked. I have been told ri one well-known observer that he could dis- between the yellows a very short distance on either side of the D lines. This would correspond | sections of these lines with the ruling by well-defined to a difference of wave-length of five or six parts in | circular black spots, and from another sheet cut out a thousand, but since wave-lengths at the orange and | a slot about six and a half inches long and half an fe coon end of the yellow do not differ by more than a | inch wide. This when superposed on the first will parts in a thousand, the definition implied | allow one pair of spots to be visible at the same time. is not better t than five per cent. Now, always keeping the eye at the same distance from the paper, mark in succession the point esti- mated to be midway between each pair. Few ears are so unmusical as not to be able to distinguish intervals of a semitone (wave-length ratio about ten per cent.), but fewer still can at once dis- tinguish betw een a major and minor semitone (about These marks should all lie on the bisector of the angle between the first drawn divergent lines. one per cent.), and even fewer between the true In all my trials I found that so long as the subtense semitones and their equal temperament substitute. of the pair of spots was small enough to allow of both _ The sensibility of the ear to change of pitch varies | being seen clearly at the same time, the angular error ly in different parts of the audible range, and is | in the estimation of the bisection was more or less _ at its best in the two octaves above and the octave below the middle C. constant and ranged from 1/500 to 1/1000 (7.e. from #5 to $s inch at ten inches, the distance of the eye from In both light and sound the judgment is improved | the paper). _ if there is a fixed standard for reference. The error, however, increased rapidly No standard | when the spots were so far apart that they had to be would be required by the normal eye to determine i i whether an o viewed in succession. This occurred when their sub- ject was red, yellow, or blue, but doubt | tense was about 20°, and the best bisections were might easily . felt as to the exact shade of the colour | made with a subtense of 1 5° to 12°. if the objects were seen separately at considerable For smaller angles the definition was not so good, intervals of time, and the longer the interval the less | for though the linear error on the paper did not change as a rule is the judgment to be trusted. much, it had to be compared with the smaller distance _ The relation of musical notes sounded in succession | between the spots. In my own case, for angles greater in the same way is less correctly estimated when the | than 20° the error in the bisection was always to time intervals between them are long than when they | the left, but this probably is a personal matter. are short, except for those who have the sense of As for space, so for time, there must be some par- absolute pitch. I have no good data as to the range over which this rather rare sense extends, but have ticular interval which is best suited for division of 3 estimation, and my impression is that this is some- ~ reason to believe that in some cases and in the vocal | what, but not much, longer than a second. As an compass it is accurate to within one per cent. example of the importance of the correct estimation NO. 2743, VOL. 109] 680 NATURE [May 27, 1922 of the bisection of a space, I may refer to the results of the recent eclipse expedition which were supposed to confirm Einstein’s theory regarding the effect of gravity on light. According to the account given in the Report (Phil. Trans. A, vol. 220) only one of the sets of eclipse photographs was quite satisfactory, and this was taken by a 4-inch object glass having a focal length of 19 ft. At this distance one-thousandth of an inch would subtend one second of arc nearly, anda 4-inch lens would be just sufficient to separate objects this distance apart. Thus if the lens and photographic plate were perfect, the image of a star would be represented by a circular spot o-oo1 in diameter surrounded by one or perhaps two faint rings. In the actual negatives, from irradiation and other. causes, the star images were easily visible to the naked eye, and were (speaking from inspection only) about a hundredth of an inch across. The object of the photograph was to determine the position of the stars to within a small fraction of 1”, so that ro per cent. in the estimate of the bisection of the o-or inch image would represent an angular error several times as great as the whole deviation of the ray suggested by the theory. The image of a star on a gelatine plate is not a sharply defined disc, but a group of dots crowded together towards the centre but more- sparsely scattered round the circumference. This is illustrated by Fig. 3, which is the enlargement ( x 300) of the Fic. % direct contact print on a slow “ Imperial” plate of a hole 0-0015 in diameter pierced through thin copper foil, and is therefore probably rather more sharply defined than an image formed by a lens. Thus the evidence for Einstein’s theory (so far as the eclipse results are concerned) turns on the question of how much closer than ten per cent. can the bi- section of such an area as the figure shows be esti- mated by the eye. What magnification was used in the measuring apparatus is not stated in the Report, but assuming that it was between 20 and 40, Fig. 3 would have to be held between 25 and 50 inches from the eye in order that it should appear of the same size as the star image would in the measuring microscope. Another matter of some interest is the acuteness with which the senses perceive vertical or horizontal acceleration, or in other words the variation of the intensity and direction of the forces acting on the body. In the inquiry into the vibrations caused by trains in the London Tube Railways, it was found that residents in the neighbourhood began to complain when the vertical movements at the rate of 15 per second amounted to so little as one-thousandth of NO. 2743, VOL. 109] -found that, in playing at a ball under the cushion - an inch (amplitude 0-0005), corresponding to maximum acceleration of g/t2, but that much smaller accelerations could be felt. Up toa frequency of 40 per sec. or thereabouts, the quicker the vibration — the smaller was the amplitude which was perceptible. — With frequencies sufficient to give rise to an audible note, the character of the sensation gradually changed. _ Church towers rock when the bells are rung, and _ on one tower rather celebrated in this respect I measured the maximum horizontal amplitude of yz of an inch, the frequency being rather less than 3 per second. The maximum acceleration in this case also was about g/12 and produced feelings of sea-sickness in many people. Accelerations of less than a tenth of this amount, however, were quite noticeable. : I have no notes on the effects of vibrations of long period, but I should expect that any periodic motion which involved an acceleration of g/200 would not pass unnoticed, if the conditions were favourable and the attention directed to the subject. The following are a few examples of the accuracy with which the senses can direct muscular action. In match-rifle shooting sequences of 100 bulls’-eyes (24 inches) at 1000 yards are not unknown. In this case the symmetry of the sight and the target are an assistance in aiming, and since part at any rate of the deviations of the shots are due to wind, etc., the actual alignment of the sights cannot be much greater than 1 in 4000. By the assistance of a champion billiard player I i from balk, he seldom missed the centre aimed at by more than inch. This is equivalent to an accuracy of rin 1000. The trials were made by using a paper disc, backed with carbon-tissue and a hard wood support, as the target, the disc being of the same diameter as a billiard ball. The point of impact was shown by the black dot left by the carbon on the reverse side. Es Be: A good bowler can generally hit a single stump at 22 yards. A cricket ball has, I believe, a diameter | of 2% inches, so that taking the thickness of the stump into account the accuracy in this case is about — I in 380. a As regards archery, the best of modern archers? — will scarcely keep his arrows within a 3-ft. circle at 100 yards. If he did the accuracy would be id 1 in 200. 1) For a game-shot who can bring down 75 per cent. of his birds at 40 yards, the implied accuracy of aim is about 1 in 7o. ee In all these cases the attention is concentrated on a field of only a few degrees, and the effect of the restriction of the field on the accuracy of the estima- tion of the position of objects within it is worthy of more investigation than it has yet received. A In judging the qualities of the instrument with which measures are made, a distinction should be — = drawn between accuracy or resolving power and — definition. The accuracy with which a weight-can be determined by a balance, or a resistance by a Wheatstone bridge, is greater than one part ina million, but the definition is, for the balance, the length of the arc in which it can swing compared to the least angular motion which gives a trustworthy indication, and, for the bridge, the length of the resistance wire on which contact is made compared =~ with the least variation of the position of contact —~ Ee 2 ol are eee Vere eee Se ee - Vibe? A 1 How oldis the legend of the pole, string, and bird, as a test of an archer’s | skill? Tom Sawyer, it may be remembered, ps sans on tbis, saying that. Robin Hood ‘‘ would take his yew bow and plug a ten cent piece every = time—mile and a half.’’ In Joshua ,»x. 16 there is a reference to seven hundred left-handed men of Benjamin. ‘‘Every man could sling stones a at a hair’s-breadth and not miss.’’ This, I think, is the only Biblical refer- é i ence to accuracy of marksmanship. ; EP hee - distances from May 27, 1922] NATURE 681 which can be shown with certainty on the galvano- meter. Accuracy will depend, among other things, on the accuracy of the weights and balancing resist- ances employed, while the definition is decided by the workmanship and design of the instrument alone. _ In optical instruments, resolving power is judged by the smallest angular or linear quantities which can be distinguished by their means, and definition by the relation which these quantities have to the size of the field over which they are distinguishable. If a telescope, for instance, can distinguish seconds of _ arc, its resolving power is 206,000 nearly, but if the _ field over which this resolution extends is only half a degree, the definition would be 206,000/57 x 2). Although the performance of any combination of real depends on design and workmanship, it is not difficult to find the limits beyond which even perfection in both does nothing to increase resolving 1800 _ (i.e. power. _ The function of a perfect lens is to change the _ radius of curvature of a spherical wave surface. Let D (Fig. 4) be the diameter 2 of the lens where the change is effected, f the new radius of curva- ture, and o the geometrical focus. From every part of the wave surface at D partial waves may be sup- posed to spread, all of which will reach o in the same phase. Confining Le) the attention for the moment to yy those rays which start from _ the opposite ends of a diameter of the lens, the partial waves from either end will be in opposite phases at a distance a, in the focal plane, from o if 2a sin a/2=X/2, where a is the angle subtended at o by D, and X the wave-length of the pent. Also, since sin a/2 = D/2f,a/f=/2D and a=f\/2D. hus 4/2D and f/2D are the least angular and linear Fic. 4. the geometrical focus at which a total bsence of light can be found. _ If the partial waves are received from the whole marginal annulus of the lens, in place of those from the extremities of a diameter, the value of a, is i increased, and the image about o of a distant _ point of light is a bright circular area surrounded by a series of rings. (The rings are caused by recurring coincidence of the phases of the partial waves at certain distances from o greater than a.) The bright centre and rings are identical with those seen in the well-known experiment in which a bright point appears in the centre of the shadow of a disc, illumin- ated by a bright distant source. If the whole area of the lens is employed the diameter of the bright centre is further increased, but the intensity of the rings is much reduced. This case, as it applies to telescopes, has been considered by aged in a paper on “ The Intensity of Light in the Neighbourhood of a Caustic,” published about the middle of the last century. In whatever manner, however, the lens is used, whether with a central stop, or with its whole area uncovered, a/f and a are the least angles and distances which separate the geometrical focus from the truly dark boundary of the image, although, owing to the rather rapid dioin inution of intensity from the centre to the circumference of the image, it is possible to recognise angles smaller than /2D (this applies to telesco in which a is always small), or distances less than \/2 by the use of microscopic objectives of large angular aperture, where sin a/2 approaches uni The appearances presented at the focus when two NO. 2743, VOL. 109] objects in such close proximity are examined can scarcely be described as the images of the objects, but rather as interference phenomena which require interpretation. A. MALLOCK, 9 Baring Crescent, Exeter. Discoveries in Tropical Medicine. In Nature of April 29, p. 549, Sir E. Ray Lan- kester criticises an obituary notice on Sir Patrick Manson which appeared in the Times of April ro. The statement chiefly objected to is that “‘ modern . tropical medicine was born the day that Manson discovered the part played by the mosquito in the transmission of Filaria sanguinis hominis.”’ But all parasitologists know that it was Manson who, forty- four years ago, proved by experiment the part played by mosquitoes in the propagation of filariasis. This discovery is not only the pride of tropical medicine, but the very breath of modern medicine and one of the most glorious achievements of British science. Strange to say, Sir Ray Lankester to-day repeats, almost word for word, a mistake he published twenty yéars ago in the Times. He says: ‘‘ The fact is that Manson’s ‘ suggestion’ that the Filaria of elephantiasis [sic] is actually carried by mosquitoes from the blood of one person to that of another remains to this day 2 “suggestion.” It has not been established as a act.” It is surprising that a naturalist of repute, who writes frequently on matters medical, should make this mistake. Surely Sir Ray Lankester must have come across books on parasitology written within the last twenty or thirty years. How can he say that the agency of the mosquito, in the dissemination of filariasis, has not yet been established ? Was it not surmised by the Chinese ages ago? Was it not suggested by Bancroft of Brisbane (Queensland) in 1877? Was it not independently and experiment- ally proved by Manson, in China, that very same year? Only one thing remained uncertain for some years, and that was the actual method by means of which the young filarie, after reaching a certain stage of development within the body of their insect host, left the mosquito to invade man; but this was fully established and admirably demonstrated between 1899 and 1900 by Manson, Low, Bancroft, Annet, and Dutton, James, Noé, Grassi, myself, and others. Dr. Low’s beautiful celloidin sections of infected mosquitoes showing the worms, either quiescent between the massive thoracic muscles of the insect, or actively migrating to the latter’s mouth parts and fixed while passing beneath the cephalic ganglia, gliding down within the labium, or escaping through a rent between the labella, at the distal extremity of the labium, have been exhibited repeatedly, not only at the Royal Society and elsewhere in this country, but also, on several occasions, in France, Italy, and Belgium. Moreover, they have been photographed and even reproduced in colour by skilled artists, and both photographs and drawings have appeared in books on tropical medicine and para- sitology published since 1900. : Sir Ray Lankester refers to two other vexing questions, a the discovery of the part played by mosquitoes in the propagation of the intermittent fevers and that of tsetse flies in the transmission of certain trypanosome diseases of animals and man. such as nagana and sleeping sickness. With regard Z2 682 NATURE [ May 27, 1922 to malaria, he says: ‘‘ The man who actually ‘ dis- covered ’ the fact of the carriage of malaria germs by a mosquito and the particular species (Anopheles maculi- pennis) so concerned, as well as important facts as to the multiplication of the malarial parasite in the gnat’s body, is Sir Ronald Ross.’’ This short statement includes several mistakes. In the first place, Anopheles maculipennis is not the only anopheline concerned in the transmission of malaria, because several species belonging to the genera Anopheles, Myzomyia, Pyretophorus, Myzorhynchus and Cellia play an active part in the transmission of the inter- mittent fevers, within their respective habitats. Then again, Anopheles maculipennis was unknown to Ross in India for the simple reason that it is not to be found anywhere within the Indian triangle. Anopheles maculipennis is a Holarctic species ranging over North America and throughout Europe and extending round, the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and its islands, but otherwise absent from both the Oriental and Ethiopian regions. Sir Ray Lankester states that Prof. Laveran, the discoverer of the malaria parasites of man, had already previously suggested mosquitoes as_ the carriers of paludism. I can adduce much older evidence to prove that in malarial stations the natives long suspected the mosquito as the probable cause of infection, just as the tick was suspected of being the carrier of relapsing fever and the body louse the vector of typhus, because the name of the dread “ Fever-fly’’ is inscribed in cuneiform characters on a Babylonian clay tablet of thousands of years ago, now preserved in the British Museum. But Sir Ray Lankester ignores Manson’s: brilliant interpretation of the “ flagellating ’’ malarial parasite, looked upon by the Italians as a form of degeneration ; by Manson as the prelude to a further all-important developmental stage outside the body of man. He overlooks the fact that Ross’s investigations were inspired by Manson, and that Ross was all along instructed, aided, and supported by Manson. but quote Ross’s own words in the paper he sent to the French Academy of Medicine, January 24, 1899: ‘‘ Pour éviter tout commentaire erroné, qu’il me soit permis de déclaver ici que mes travaux ont été entiérement divigés par Manson, et que j’at eu Vassis- tance de ses conseils et de son influence a toute occasion.” During the whole period of Ross’s work in India, I was almost daily at Manson’s house, where I had the privilege and good fortune of being able to follow step by step the unfolding of one of the most wonderful chapters of tropical medicine. I was allowed to read the correspondence, examine the specimens sent by Ross to Manson, and discuss every detail. I do not wish to minimise in any way the importance of Ross’s work. Humanity and science are greatly indebted to Ross for his splendid researches and no one appreciated this more than Manson, but all the world knows that Manson was the man at the helm ; Ross himself has stated it quite frankly and honourably in his writings. It was Manson who first clearly grasped the problem, it was Manson who planned the modus operandi, it was Manson who chose the man who should carry out his ideas and do the work, and, when failure threatened, as in the case of the Italians, when they attempted to solve the problem, it was again Manson who saved the situation, by suggesting that the researches be continued with the Plasmodium parasites of passerine birds. Indeed, the life cycle studied and unravelled by Ross was that of Plas- modium danilewskyi, a blood parasite of sparrows and not that of any of the malarial parasites of man. It was in Italy, by Profs. Grassi, Bignami, and NO. 2743, VOL. 109] I need : Bastianelli, that it was actually proved that the © malaria parasites of man go through exactly similar — transformations and migrations as those of Plasmodium danilewskyi ; not, however, in any of the Culicine, — as Ross had proved for the bird parasites, but in a different subfamily of mosquitoes, the Anophelinz. — Finally, the experiments carried out by Manson in ~ London and by Dr. Low and myself in the Roman — Campagna, in 1900, put the last brick in the structure of proof and were especially important in proving that, under natural conditions, the intermittent fevers cannot be contracted in any other way than through the stab of Anopheline mosquitoes. However, it is only right to say that Ross’s experiments were undertaken at Manson’s request, for the sole purpose of elucidating the etiology of human malaria, that Ross began by using the plasmodium parasites of man, and that the first mosquitoes he infected and examined were ‘‘ dappled-winged ’”’ mosquitoes, that is to say, in all probability, Anopheline mosquitoes. Great discoveries are seldom made by a single man. Ross would never have done this work had he not: come across Manson, and probably Manson might have had long to wait for the establishment of his ~ theory had he not found Ross. : ‘ With regard to sleeping sickness, Sir Ray Lankester is no better informed. Sir David Bruce did certainly prove that “‘ nagana,’’ the horse disease of Africa, is caused by the same kind of parasite—a —discovered by Evans, eleven years previously, in anosome — “ surra,’’ the horse disease of India, and he repeated _ very fully the experiments previously made by Dr. David Livingstone and by others to ascertain whether the African natives were right in suspecting the tsetse flies as carriers of the infection, but, un- fortunately, Bruce gave wrong interpretations to his own experiments and to those of others, contend- ing that the fly acted merely as a passive carrier, “just as a vaccinating needle ’’—these are his very words. Sane It was Prof. Aldo Castellani who first demonstrated the true causative agent of. sleeping sickness—a trypanosome which he found not only in the blood, but also, and chiefly, in the cerebro-spinal fluid of sleeping-sickness patients. At the same time, Prof. E. Brumpt of Paris and I, independently, simultaneously, and some months before the publica- tion of Bruce’s work, incriminated a tsetse fly as the carrier of sleeping sickness. Prof. Brumpt suggested Glossina morsitans as the probable vector, basing his belief partly on Castellani’s discovery and partly on his own extended field work in the French Congo. I incriminated the dusky tsetse fly (Glossina palpalis), basing my opinion on a careful study of the peculiar topographical distribution and other striking epi- demiological features of the disease, on analogy with the better known epidemiology of nagana, and on the bionomics and distribution of the then known species of tsetse flies. At the International Con- ference on Sleeping Sickness (London, 1907) and at | several meetings of. the British Medical Association, TL IL AEM, ae We eee Th sy pie ene er aes Yas ee ee ee eee we I endeavoured to prove that the “‘ sexual’ dimor- phism noticed first by me in the trypanosomes of sleeping sickness (specimens forwarded by Dr. Low - to the School of Tropical Medicine) and a critical study of Bruce’s experiments on both nagana and sleeping sickness showed that the respective trypanosomes go through a necessary cycle of development (sporogony) within the body of their definitive insect-hosts, — analogous to that of malaria parasites in the body. of mosquitoes. Six years later (1909) Klein’s careful researches in Africa fully proved the justice of my interpretations. ; Louis W. SAMBON. y f 3 . . ps" a * Ee) May 27, 1922] NATURE 683 The Blue Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire. It is sometimes stated that the blue flame which is seen when common salt is thrown on to a coal fire is due to traces of copper in the coal. It is much more - likely that this flame is that of carbon monoxide produced’ by the cooling of the hot coal by the salt, and certain observations lend support to this view, _ such as the following : ' _ (t) The blue flame is visible under proper condi- tions without the addition of salt (and is commonly held to portend frosty weather). _ (2) The addition of salt to a fire consisting of white- hot embers—that is, one from which most of the carbon has been burnt—gives no blue flame, which it should do if the flame is due to copper chloride. (3) The addition of other substances than sodium chloride produces the same effect, a spent filter paper for example. ____(4) The colour of the flame seen is apparently _ identical with that of the carbon monoxide flame but not with the green copper colour. __. (5) The sodium flame is never observed in this case _ because the temperature is too low to volatilise the sodium chloride. For a similar reason it is unlikely that the copper flame can be observed. _ Possibly I am wrong, but the matter is interesting, and deserves to be made clear. an W. HuGHEs. _ 63 Goldington Avenue, Bedford. Mr. Hueues’s letter raises some interesting < questions regarding the conditions under which the “blue flame ”’ of the coal fire appears. There is no _ reason to suppose that under appropriate conditions the flame of burning carbon monoxide cannot be seen in a coal fire, but it would be difficult to identify since the s m is, in the main, continuous. On the other d, the blue flame of copper chloride, which is distinct from the green flame of the oxide, has a very characteristic spectrum, and there is no difficulty in its identification. There is no doubt, however, that for the appearance of the spectrum of a compo tain accessory conditions have to be fulfilled, and in many cases their effect is by no means obvious. Perhaps one of the most striking instances of this is to be found in the appearance of the spectrum associated with burning sulphur in the flame of an rdi bunsen burner when the gases of the flame are c , e.g. by holding a thick plate of cold metal in the flame. Im this case the sulphur occurs as an pepesity in the coal gas but is not seen in the spectrum of the burning gases unless they are cooled. : 2 . R. MERTON. Winforton House, Hereford. Pilot Lamps in Laboratories. Types of neon vacuum tubes recently placed on the market as low candle-power glow lamps for household electric lighting circuits, apart from other uses, have several convenient applications in laboratories as indicators to show when the supply current is flowing in any given circuit. These lamps, which are said by the makers to give only } c.p., have a very high resistance and small current. con- sumption: one type tested on a 200-volt circuit took either 3 or 10 milliamperes, according to the polarity of the connections, while another type took 12 and 30 milliamperes under the same conditions, though individual lamps of the same type vary considerably. In each case the lamp behaved well NO. 2743, VOL. 109] with a resistance of more than 20,000 ohms in series, and a current consumption of less than one milli- ampere. In the case of electric furnaces, muffles, etc., one lamp in parallel with the heating winding serves to show when the current is “‘ on,’’ obviating the chance of the apparatus being left under load when the laboratory is closed at night, and effecting obvious economies by indicating the consumption of current at other times. With electrically heated thermostats, incubators, constant temperature ovens, etc., where the H means of heating are not directly \ | visible, a neon lamp serves usefully \ \ to indicate contact when making adjustments, while the use of a u R second lamp shunted across the | contact breaker reduces arcing and removes any doubt as to the supply of current when the other lamp is out. Fig. 1 shows a simple method of placing the two lamps in such a circuit. H is the heater winding, B the break, Li and L? the two neon lamps, while R is a high resistance of 20,000 ohms or more, made by drawing pencil lines on a piece of ebonite between two terminals until a satisfactory glow is given by the lamps. The working of such an arrangement is self- explanatory, one of the two lamps always being alight while the current is on. The current con- sumption on 200 volts is only 4th watt—or 5000 hours’ service for the cost of one unit. Where these lamps are required as “ pilots’”’ for a large number of circuits, advantage may be taken of the special types designed for advertising purposes, where the electrodes are given the form of letters and other symbols. The makers are prepared to manufacture these in any form if necessary, and such simple words as ‘‘on”’ and “off” could be provided if required. For details of other uses of these interesting lamps reference may be made to a communication in NATURE, March 16, p. 343. H. J. DENHAM. Botanical Laboratory, Shirley Institute, Didsbury, May 8. Fic. 1 ‘ The Speckled Wave Front of Light. In view of Sir J. J. Thomson’s suggestion (quoted by Reiche, ‘‘ Quantentheorie,’’ p. 2 5) that the wave front of light may have a speckled structure, it may be asked whether anything peculiar happens when two specks, belonging to different waves, collide. They might, for example, be deviated from their courses. If so, one light wave would cause some scattering of another wave with which it collided, and the direct light in the second wave would be dimmed. This effect, if it exists at all, must be small or it would have been noticed. Evidence as to its existence might be obtained in the following way. The supposed dimming of the second ray would be likely to depend on the angle between it and the first ray. On this supposition the brightness of a star lying on the ecliptic would vary slightly with the angle between it and the sun, as seen from the earth. Russell (Astrophys. Journ., vol. xliii, 1916) has shown that the brightness of the moon does so vary, but that has been explained otherwise. On the Maxwellian view of light the reduction of observations which is here suggested appears so mean- ingless that it has possibly never been tried. Lewis F. RICHARDSON. Westminster Training College, S.W.TI. , 684 NATURE [May 27, 1922 The Royal Academy of Belgium. . By Professor CHARLES SAROLEA, LL.D., Foreign Member of the Royal Belgian Academy. freedom. Unfortunately from the end of the sixteenth : [* connection with the celebration this week of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Royal Academy of Belgium a volume has been prepared recording the varied activities of the Academy since its foundation in 1772.1 Each section of the volume has been allotted to a specialist. M. Paul Pelseneer, the Permanent Secretary, contributes a luminous general introduction and a history of the Prize Founda- tions of the Institution. M. Stroobant contributes the mathematical and physical section ; Prof. Massart writes on the biological sciences and M. Fourmarier on the mineral sciences.» The historical sciences have been undertaken by Prof.. Pirenne, the philological sciences by Prof. Thomas, the juridical sciences by M. Cornil, the philosophical sciences by Prof. Leclére, the economic sciences by Prof. Mahaim. M. Lucien Solvay and M. Paul Bergmans deal with painting, sculpture, engraving, and architecture. The celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Academy is deservedly an event of national import. The Royal Academy of Belgium has been closely identified with the intellectual and artistic life of the Belgian people, much more. closely perhaps than any similar body on the Continent, because in Belgium the Academy has been the only important public institution discharging the function of intellectual leadership. The commemoration will be all the more enthusiastic- ally celebrated because during the war the Royal Academy, although its corporate life was interrupted for four years, incarnated the patriotic conscience of the Belgian people. During the war the German invaders took possession of the imposing palace which the Academy has occupied since 1874, polluted its premises, stole its books and archives, and imprisoned or deported several of its most illustrious members. The reply of the Belgian Academicians was to raise again and again indignant and courageous protests against the brutal policy of the enemy ; and their fitting revenge was the recent publication by the Academy of a collection of photographs illustrating the shocking acts of vandalism perpetrated by the apostles of German Kultur. When the Belgian Academy was founded in 1772 under the reign of Maria Theresa, literary and scientific life was virtually extinct in the Belgian provinces. Historians have often emphasised the contrast between the intensity of artistic life in Belgium and the sterility of literature and science. In the sixteenth century, Belgium still produced men of science of world-wide fame such as Mercator, Ortelius, Simon Stevin, von Helmont, Vesalius, just as Belgian literature in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries produced a Froissart and a Commines. But from the end of the sixteenth century for two hundred years Belgian literature and Belgian science are almost barren, at the very time when Belgian painting enters its golden age. The explanation of this contrast between the prosperity of art and the paralysis of literature and science is obvious. Art may flourish under conditions of political servitude. On the contrary literature and science demand political 1 L’/Académie Royale de Belgique depuis sa fondation (1772-1922). Pp. 343. (Bruxelles: M. Lamertin; M. Hayez, 1922). NO. 2743, VOL. 109] century the Belgian provinces, unlike the Dutch, were reduced to a state of political slavery. The foundation of the Belgian Academy in 1772 coincides with the political awakening of the Belgian people. After two centuries the Belgians prepare to shake off the foreign yoke. They are only linked with Austria by a loose political connexion. Un- fortunately the Academy is scarcely launched when the French Revolution and the Civil War which follows suspend its activities. Nor can the new Institution be restored under Napoleon. The Emperor had had too many unpleasant relations with the French Academy and with the ideologists of the French Insti- tute to feel disposed to encourage abroad independent scientific or literary institutions. Moreover, apart from his suspicion of Academies in general, he looked upon Belgium as a conquered province and as a mere department of the French Empire. The Academy was restored in 1816 after Waterloo, by the Dutch Government; and it is interesting to note to-day, at a time when the conflict about the use — of the Flemish and the French languages has become acute in Belgium, that even under Dutch supremacy French did remain the sole official language of the Academy of Brussels. But it was not merely the French language which retained its supremacy; the very organisation of the Academy tended to follow French models rather than German or English. When the constitution of the Academy was finally adjusted in 1845, its organisation came to resemble very closely that of the French Institute. It contained the three anal Li uN en tee) Sa ye go en eee Te classes, physical and mathematical science, fine art, — and letters. This third class was itself eventually subdivided into the two sections, the historical and philological sciences, and the moral and _ political sciences. The three classes and four sections of the Belgian Academy therefore answer exactly four of the sections of the French Institute. The chief difference between the two institutions is that there is nothing in the Belgian Academy corresponding to the fifth and most famous section of the French Institute, namely the French Academy. The French Academy mainly represents pure literature, whereas literature pure and simple is excluded from the Belgian Academy. To do justice to the claims of literature, the Flemish Men of Letters constituted themselves in 1888 into a separate Flemish Academy. In 1921, the Franco- Belgian writers followed their colleagues by establish- ing an Academy of French Literature. There is one essential feature in which the Belgian | Academy resembles the French Institute rather than — the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; we — refer to the strict limitation of its membership. A sure instinct convinced the founders and organisers of the Academy that its influence must needs be in | inverse ratio to its numbers. The membership of each class has therefore been restricted to thirty Belgian f members with an equal number of foreign associates. — It is probable that if the numbers of the Belgian Royal Academy had been increased to some seven or eight hundred as in the case of the Royal Society‘of Edinburgh, May 27, 1922] NATURE 685 its authority and prestige would have been very different. It is a high honour to be selected one of a small élite. It is a doubtful compliment to be included in a miscellaneous crowd, and one may not feel very proud to add the letters F.R.S.E. after one’s name. It is not too much to say that the history of the Royal Academy of Brussels for the last hundred years is the history of Belgian science and Belgian learning. Nothing is more remarkable in its activities than the universality of their range. The Academy may claim among its members men of world-wide reputation in every branch of activity. It has produced mathe- _ maticians and physicists like Quetelet and Stas ; naturalists and chemists like van Beneden and Spring ; - ists like Willems and Thonissen ; historians like , Kurth, Cumont, and Pirenne. Looking at the. ‘record of those eminent men, Belgium is entitled toa high place amongst the smaller powers of Europe. In one important respect the Royal Academy of ium has set an example even to larger and more ancient institutions. It has encouraged research and _ learning not only by the number and value of its publications. The publications of the Academy con- stitute indeed a considerable library and are perhaps only rivalled by the editions of that illustrious national seat of learning, the Academy of Cracow. It has published over two hundred volumes of Memoirs, one hundred volumes of bulletins, a collection of about one sphere of scientific and literary usefulness. hundred volumes of the national writers of Belgium, including the Chronicles of Froissart and Commines and Jehan le Bel. In addition it has published a Dictionary of National Biography of which twenty-two volumes have already appeared, and last but not least, it has issued one hundred and thirty volumes of Belgian Chronicles. The literary activity of the Academy has been all the more useful because Belgian writers, owing to the exiguity of the national territory, can appeal only to a smallaudi- ence and are generally depending on the support of the French reading public. That activity has been all the more creditable because hitherto the Belgian Academy has had no legal status and for that reason it cannot administer directly any funds or property which may be left to it. There are good reasons to hope that in the near future the Belgian Academy will at last be endowed with its civil and legal personality. Under that new regime, under the patronage of an _ enlightened sovereign, and with a national conscience which has been quickened by the tragedy of the war, the Royal Belgian Academy may look forward to an enlarged The present historical record of the. institution may therefore be accepted not only as a fitting tribute to the past, but as the promise of an even more brilliant future. The Cause and Character of Earthquakes.! By R. D, Otpuaw, F.R.S, 8 ius stress-difference required to produce fracture in average hard rocks, as they are met with at the surface, is round about 1,000,000 grammes per centi- metre square, and, allowing for the greater strength at depth, which is indicated by the experiments of Prof. Adams and the computations of Prof. Barrell, we may put the breaking strength of the earth’s crust _ atabout double this quantity,so that to reach this point _ in one year from starting, the strain would have to increase at the rate of about 1400 grammes per centi- metre square in each quarter of a day. According to the late Sir George Darwin the stress-differences set _ up by the moon in the latitude of Italy would amount to about 20 grammes per centimetre square in an incompressible Earth, and in a compressible Earth with an incompressible crust, a condition much more akin to what we have reason to suppose is the reality, the stress-differences would be many times this figure ; but even the lower amount is nearly 14 per cent. of the growth required to reach breaking point in one year ; it would be close on 15 per cent. if the period is increased to ten years, and, with anything approach- ing this proportion, a periodicity would result which could not have escaped detection before now. The figures, therefore, give us a lower limit of the rate of growth of strain ; it must have been something faster than that needed to reach the breaking point in one year from starting, if the differences on which the argument is based are real. But are they real ? The actual amount of difference, barely one per cent. of the mean, is so small that it may well be fortuitous, and the true interpretation may be that the gravita- 1 Continued from p. 653. NO. 2743, VOL. 109 | tional stresses, and the stress-differences produced by them, have no effect whatever in determining the time of occurrence of an earthquake. If this be so, then the rate of growth of strain becomes infinite, and each earthquake becomes the result of a development of strain, akin to an explosion in its suddenness. The truth may le anywhere and must lie some- where between these extremes, so we reach the con- clusion that there is no support for the commonly accepted notion of a continuous, slow growth of strain, extending over years, decades, or even centuries, before the breaking point is reached; on the contrary, it appears that the cause of earthquakes must be a rapid growth of strain. This strain cannot be developed without some deformation, but the magnitude of this has no relation to the frequency or magnitude of the earthquakes ; if change of form is slow and prolonged, relief may be provided by gradual yielding, if rapid, a very small amount of distortion may lead to fracture, and on the extent, form, and position of this fracture will depend the character of the resulting earthquake. This study of the rate of growth leads to the question, which is the really important one in its bearing on geology, of how the strain is produced. It can scarcely be the result of those tectonic processes which result in folding, for these must necessarily be slow in their action ; the change of form involved in the bending of solid rock from its original shape into complicated folds, without breach of continuity, can only have been a slow one, and, as we have seen, the deformation which produces earthquakes must be a rapid one. . With faults the case is different ; many 686 NATURE [May 27, 1922 earthquakes are known to have been accompanied by movement along pre-existing fault-places, in others the origin evidently agrees in position with known faults, and in all of these the distribution of the intensity of disturbance is closely correlated with the faults, being greatest in proximity to them and decreasing as the distance becomes greater. So much is indisputable, yet in spite of a general acceptance of the explanation that the earthquake was a result of the same process which gave rise to the formation of the fault, it must be recognised that the proof is not logically complete, for it might be that the cause and process, which gave rise to the earthquake, were wholly different from, and independent of, those which produced the fault, the only connection being that the weakness, resulting from the fault fracture, served to localise the yielding and so controlled the distribution and intensity of the earthquake. In a study of the Californian earthquake of 1906, where the greatest intensity of disturbance ranged along the line of the San Andreas fault, and was accompanied by considerable displacement ‘and dis- tortion of the surface along the fault-line, I was able to show that the earthquake was due to some cause quite distinct from that which produced the fault, and that neither was the fault the cause of the earthquake, nor the earthquake an incident in the formation of the fault. Much more weighty and suggestive evidence is to be derived from some other great earthquakes which have been studied in detail.. The conclusion drawn from the Californian earthquake is more fully exempli- fied by the Indian earthquake of 1897. Here there was no single leading fault and zone of maximum intensity of shock, but a complicated network of lines of extreme destructiveness ramifying over an area not much different in area from that of England, and extending right across a series of great tectonic features, across the great monocline of the southern face of the Assam range, across that range itself, across the alluvial plain of the Brahmaputra Valley, the great boundary faults of the Himalayas, and probably even across the main axis of elevation of the range. A. still more instructive instance is the Charleston earthquake of 1886. There, in a region as devoid of any great structural feature, either of folding or faults, and as little subject to earthquakes, as could be found in our own country, there suddenly occurred a great earthquake, of destructive violence in the central area, and felt over an area measuring: about 1500 miles across. ‘It was an earthquake of first-class magni- tude, whether we regard the maximum violence of shock, or the extent of area affected, yet there is nothing in the structure of the surface rocks which would suggest its origin being in any tectonic process, and equally nothing which could lead to its classification as volcanic. If we accept the con- clusions of Col. Harbée, regarding the character and extent of earthquake origins, the absence of any connexion between the origin of the earthquake and the tectonics of the surface rocks becomes absolute, for, according to this interpretation, the origin becomes almost coextensive with the seismic area, and the diminution of violence in the outer portions is not due solely to enfeeblement, resulting from the elastic propagation of the earthquake wave, but very largely NO. 2743, VOL. 109] to a diminution in THA grtayae of the originating impulses. The interpretation is, I believe, in the main, welk founded, and, if it be true that earthquakes of great | extent are due to systems of fracture, or analogous dis- — turbance, ramifying over, and practically coextensive — with, the seismic areas, of which the dimensions in — any direction may be measured in’ hundreds of miles, it becomes more than ever necessary to recognise that earthquake: origins cannot be the result of processes and displacements recorded, and indicated by, the tectonics of the surface rocks. The real and ultimate origin must be more deep-seated, and involve either a displacement of, or a change of volume in, ag material underlying the outer cH This is no occasion to enter into detail, so I lieve merely indicated the general character of ‘the studies which have gradually forced me to the conclusion that great earthquakes, and also to a large extent those lesser ones which are commonly classed as tectonic, do not owe their origin to the tectonics of the outer crust, but to processes and changes which take place in the material below it. What these processes may be we cannot know with the certainty which comes from direct observation, for such knowledge as we think we have comes from inference, deduction, and, to some extent, simple assumption, but suggestions have been made which possess a considerable degree of — probability. Among these, and especially apposite to present considerations, may be placed Dr. L. L. Fermor’s studies of the ‘changes i in mineral aggregation which may take place in the solidification of a magma ; he has suggested that the determining factor in deciding the form in which the rock finally solidifies is the inter- relation of pressure and temperature, and has shown that the change of volume, consequent on the change from one-mode to another, may amount to more than 20 per cent. in extreme cases. Mr. W. H. Goodchild has also studied the subject from another point of view, and suggested that some of the changes, especially the separation of metallic sulphides, take place with great, even explosive, rapidity. It is not improbable that, in the material beneath the outer crust, changes of ‘this character are taking | place, some slow and gradual, others more rapid and sudden, but all accompanied by a greater or less change of bulk, either of increase or decrease ; and if this be accepted we find an explanation, not only of the forms and origin of earthquakes, but of many other phenomena which are difficult of explanation on any hypothesis of contraction and compression alone. On one hand, slow movements of elevation such as that of the northern Scandinavian region may be attributed to slow and gradual change, involving the whole bulk of large masses; the lesser earth- quakes may be due to more rapid changes in smaller portions ; the greater to transformation involving a larger bulk of material, and possibly a more abrupt — change of combination and density ; while the greatest earthquakes, of first-class magnitude, similar changes involving still a larger bulk of material and greater change of bulk. a YC ee pre ee result from at a) bh wat De Nd tN oe To elaborate these considerations forms no part of *. 3 my purpose ; enough has been said to show that, even Slilen -— F - been working in France for some time. ee fa May 27, 1922] NATURE 687 — in our very fragmentary knowledge of what goes on within the substance of the earth, we have means of explaining and interpreting the greater part of the facts known to us regarding the character of earthquakes. I shall, therefore, conclude by summing up the con- clusions which have been put forward as to origin and cause. These are, first, that earthquakes are not due to any slow-acting process of secular duration, but to a rapid development of strain, which may, in extreme cases, be almost instantaneous—a conclusion which I believe to be true of the greater part at least of those usually classed as tectonic, and of all those of great magnitude; and, secondly, that the development of strain is not the result of processes which have pro- duced the tectonic structures, recognised by surface observation, but of changes and displacements in the matter which lies below the cooled and solid outer crust. Telegraphic Transmission of Photographs. A. NUMBER of experimenters have attained varying : measures of success in solving the problem of transmitting photographs, drawings, handwriting, etc., _by line and wireless telegraphy, and a good deal of attention has been directed recently to the latest developments of the system on which M. E. Belin has His apparatus has been used with good results between the large French wireless station near Bordeaux and a naval station in the United States, as well as over land telephone circuits, etc. A brief description of the included in a suitable circuit, arranged so that a current of varying strength is produced, owing to the variations of the resistance of the microphone according to the thickness of the part of the film that is being passed over. This varying current can either be sent directly over the line, or can be employed to control the strength of the waves sent out, in the case of wireless trans- mission. The manner in which the variations in the signal current, or wave train, are retranslated into a photo- graph by the receiving apparatus is scarcely more et Fic. 1.—Portable apparatus for the telegraphic transmission of photographs. latest form of the apparatus appeared in the Comptes vendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences of March 6, from which the accompanying illustration is reproduced (Fig. 1). As in most of the experimental systems of “ tele- photography;* synchronously rotating drums are made use of in the sending and the receiving apparatus respectively, with a simple arrangement of correcting signals to keep them in step. Mounted on the cylinder of the sending apparatus is a print of the photograph to be transmitted, made on a special bichromatised film which gives an image in appreciable relief. It is not necessary, however, to metalise this image to render it conducting, as is necessary in some systems, and it will be seen that the use of selenium cells, which forms a feature in other systems, is also avoided. A stylus, in a holder which is given a slow axial feed, is caused to pass over all portions of the relief film in succession, after the manner of the needle of a phono- graph. This stylus is attached to the diaphragm of a simple but sensitive form of carbon granule microphone, NO. 2743, VOL. 109] complicated. The varying current from the line (or the wireless receiving apparatus) is passed through a delicate reflecting galvanometer such as a Blondel oscillograph, the mirror of which is deflected by an amount depending on the strength of the current, 7.e. on the thickness of the film where it is being passed over by the stylus of the transmitting apparatus. The light from the mirror passes through a screen of graduated capacity, and the optical system is arranged so that an image of the mirror, varying in brightness according to the deflection, is projected on to a photo- graphic film on the drum, which is moving synchron- ously with that in the transmitting instrument. The photographic effect produced at any point is therefore always proportional to the thickness of the original film, so that a duplicate photograph formed of a screen of fine lines, but with a full range of “ half-tones,” is produced. In a simpler form of the apparatus, for pure black and white or “line” work only, a contact- maker replaces the variable resistance microphone in the transmitting apparatus, and a diaphragm, which 688 NATURE [May 27, 1922 cuts off the light altogether when the mirror is deflected, is used in place of the graduated screen in the recelving apparatus. M. Belin has perfected a portable form of the trans- mitting apparatus for connection to any telephone line. Considerable possibilities, both in illustrated journalism and in police work, by the prompt transmission of — portraits, finger-prints, handwriting, etc., are opened — up by apparatus of this kind, and obviously the system _ preserves secrecy, as regards all ordinary listening-in — apparatus, as the actual signals sent furnish no clue to the nature of the picture being transmitted. Current Topics and Events. On May 17 the House of Lords, again prompted by Lord Sudeley, asked the Government to encourage the educational use of museums, and the Govern- ment, by the mouth of Lord Hylton, expressed the willingness of the Treasury ‘‘ to consider in a very sympathetic spirit any further requests’’ for the appointment of guide-lecturers, also its own “ desire to encourage all steps that can be taken to develop the sale of ”’ photographs and other reproductions of objects in the national museums. Fair words! And progress has been made since the debate initiated by Lord Sudeley fourteen months ago. How does the Government translate word into act? It has just cut down the grant for the production of these popular publications, and, if its threat to reimpose admission by payment be enforced, it will deal a severe blow at the whole business and at the usefulness of the guide- lecturers. Never was anything so ridiculous per- petrated in the name of economy. That the sale of publications is a source of income is admitted by the Treasury. At the British Museum (Bloomsbury) an advanced policy has raised the receipts under this head from 3400/. in 1920-1921 to 6200/. in 1921-1922, thus more than paying for the whole cost of guide- lecturers. The introduction of pay-days will in- evitably check this sale, and what will it bring in ? The average receipts from admission at the Victoria and Albert Museum during the twelve years the system was in force were about 650/. perannum. At the Natural History Museum an expensive stall has just been fitted and saleswomen engaged, and now the authorities expect to have to spend 250/. on turn- stiles and to lose 400/. on sales. One after the other the leaders of industry tell us that the secret of _recuperation is more production; yet the Govern- ment, when it has a paying business, proposes to economise by checking production. THE Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd.,which has a large works at Trafford Park, Manchester, de- voted to the manufacture of electrical machines and apparatus, proposes to take up the manufacture of radio receiving equipment, and for this purpose will work in conjunction with the Radio Communication Co.ofLondon. The Radio Communication Co., which is associated with the Indo-European and Eastern Telegraph Cos., was formed in 1919 to carry on business in connection with the establishment of radio telegraph and telephone installations and is well known for its important work during the war. The manager of the Metropolitan-Vickers Co.’s Re- search and Education Departments, Mr. A. P. M. Fleming, has been negotiating during the last few months with the Postmaster-General with reference NO. 2743, VOL. 109] to the establishment of broad-casting stations, and the companies propose to establish two stations im- mediately, one at Trafford Park, Manchester, and the other at Slough. Other stations are projected as required. Immediately the official arrangements are made with regard to the areas to be covered and sites - of the broad-casting stations, active steps will be taken to provide suitable programmes for broad-casting and to manufacture the necessary receiving equipment. casting of information and entertainment by radio telephony and has very extensive experience in con- nection with it. The Metropolitan-Vickers Co. is technically very closely associated with the Westing- house Co. and will be able to draw upon this unique experience, which with the utilisation of a number of fundamental patents in connection with wireless telephony, the experience of the Radio Com- munication Co. and its own selling, manufacturing, and research organisation, should place the Company in an exceptionally favourable position in entering this new field. A TELEGRAM has been received from Fiji reporting the successful treatment of more than 12,000 hook- worm cases by carbon tetrachloride with 90 per cent. of cures with one dose, and the removal of 98 per cent. of the worms. This method was tried first on dogs by Dr. Maurice C. Hall of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, who found that 0-3 c.c. of the drug for every kilogram of live weight expelled all the hookworms of those animals, a result he had never previously obtained by any other method of treatment, while it could be given after fasting in hard gelatin capsules without purgation being neces- sary. As the new drug is much less toxic and far cheaper than either thymol or oil of chenopodium, the last of which has given rise to a number of fatalities owing to the uncertain amount of the active principle in different samples, these are matters of great practical importance, and the remarkable success of the trial now reported will, if confirmed by further observations, prove a notable advance -in dealing with this the most widespread health- and labour- — destroying scourge of immense areas of the world. WitH reference to the reported discovery of a stage of the Leishmania donovani parasite of kala- azar in the salivary gland of a bed bug in Assam, information has now been receivéd that Lt.-Col. Christophers, I.M.S., has reported the specimens ‘of Ef Mrs. Aidie to show only a normal parasite of the bed bug, which has no relationship to the organism of kala-azar, so the solution of the problem of the carrier of that disease is still incomplete. The Westinghouse Co. of America initiated the broad- May 27, 1922] NATURE 689 -] _ THE revised scheme for poultry research of the of Agriculture, which was foreshadowed by Sir Arthur Griffith Boscawen at the Poultry Club im er last October, has been approved by the evelopment Commissioners. Of the grant of oo0/., 19,500/. will be devoted to capital expendi- and the balance to maintenance during five s. The grant is conditional on the sum of 6500/. provided by the industry, and apparently any ther grant will depend on results. So that the g will have to be planted, pruned to shape, and ught into profit in five years. The provisional » includes: (a) An experimental section at Harper Adams College, capital 15,000/., mainten- grant 2000/. a year; (b) experiments in egg uction, 2500/. and 725/.; (c) experiments in the uction of table poultry, 1500/. and 725/.; (d) rch at the Cambridge School of Agriculture, . and 300/.; (e) experiments in nutrition at the ‘school, 500/. and roool.; (f) diseases research Ministry’s Addlestone Laboratory, 1500/. and Much will depend on the personnel of the ory committee.’’ Sections (b) and (c) will be _by representatives of the local poultry It is hoped that the scheme may lead to ane tage in British methods of < Semma HE Commissioners announce that a ze of five thousand dollars is offered by Mr. Frank D. Barnjum of Montreal for a practical method of ting and suppressing the spruce bud worm, d beetle, and borer, which have caused such ous damage in the forests of Eastern Canada the United States. The Province of Quebec has suffered a loss during the past ten years of 9,000 cords of standing pulpwood by these which represents a market value in pulpwood ; Dillion dollars, or if manufactured into paper, of seven billion dollars. This represents a loss of wood sufficient for forty-five years’ requirements for _ newsprint for the North American continent. The competition will close on August 1, and the 5000 _ dollars will be given for the successful suggestion that _ «ds accepted by the judges, who will be Sir William _ Price of Messrs. Price Bros., Quebec; Dr. C. D. _ Howe, Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, Toronto Be: University; Mr. Fred A. Gilbert, Great Northern _ Paper Company, Bangor, Maine; Mr. G. C. Piche, Chief of Forest Service, Quebec, and Mr. Ellwood Wilson, Laurentide Company, Grand Mere, Quebec. Competitive suggestions should reach Mr. Frank _ Jj. D. Barnjum, New Birks Building, Montreal, _ Canada, before pages x _ . ONE encouraging sign after the war is the increased _ interest being shown in the Yorkshire Philosophical __ Societies, most of which were founded about a century _ ago. The Whitby Society has just had its most _ successful year; the Scarborough Philosophical Society is also picking up; the Hull Society is celebrating its centenary this year, and the York _ Philosophical Society next year. This last has issued a pamphlet and an appeal for 75,o00/. in order to NO. 2743. VOL. 109] extend its museum and properly to preserve the wealth of archzological material within its grounds. Fortunately, through the generosity of the late Dr. Tempest Anderson, the society was recently very much relieved of its financial anxiety, and under the regime of the new Keeper, Dr. Collinge, efforts are being made to enlarge the museum and to take the necessary steps towards preserving St. Mary’s Abbey and the Hospitium. The pamphlet accompanying the appeal contains illustrations from photographs of St. Mary’s Abbey, the galleries devoted to mammalia and birds, and the unique bronze mortar belonging to St. Mary’s Abbey which is dated 1308—probably one _of the earliest dated pieces of this kind in the country. We notice one of the objects gf the appeal is to provide ‘a Yorkshire museum up to the standard of modern requirements.” Seeing that most of the important towns and cities in the county now have their museums, the museum at York will probably have more than sufficient for its requirements if attention is confined to the antiquities of the city and its immediate area. _ Tue thirty-third annual conference of the Museums Association will be held at Leicester on July 1o—July 14 next, under the presidency of Mr. E. E. Lowe, Director of the Museum, Art Gallery, and Libraries, Leicester. The subjects for discussion at the con- ference are to deal more particularly (though not entirely) with the practical and technical side of museum work, and the secretary (Dr. W. M. Tatter- sall, The Museum, The University, Manchester) will be glad to receive offers of papers of this nature as early as possible. An exhibition of appliances, fittings, apparatus, and cases appertaining to museum work, by commercial firms who supply these things is being arranged with a view of the mutual inter- change of ideas between Curators and business men. Visits will be made to the Museum, the Art Gallery, the Library, and the newly founded University College, and it is hoped that arrangements will be possible whereby the members attending the con- ference will be able to inspect one of the staple manufactories of the town. Excursions to the pre- Cambrian area of Charnwood Forest and to the granite area of Mount Sorrel are contemplated. The duties of hon. local secretary have been undertaken by Mr. W. Keay, 6 Millstone Lane, Leicester. Tue annual report of the Zoological Society of London for 1921, presented at the annual general meeting on April 28, records a net increase of 129 in the number of fellows of the Society, while the number of visitors to the gardens, though nearly 200,000 less than the million and a half of 1921, is still the third largest in the history of the Society. The scheme of lectures to school teachers, arranged in 1910 in co-operation with the London County Council, was continued, and Mr. F. Balfour-Browne conducted two courses of four lectures with lantern demonstra- tions and three tours of the gardens, each course arranged for 150 teachers. The future of the ‘‘ Zoo- logical Record”’ has received the serious considera- tion of the Council, and the volume for 1921 has been 690 NATURE {May 27, 1922 started in the hope that the support appealed for will be sufficient to justify publication and so save this valuable compilation for zoologists both in this country and abroad. Special mention is made of the valuable collection of water-colour drawings of ornithological subjects bequeathed by the artist, the late Major Jones, a collection of almost unique artistic beauty and ornithological interest. The collections of animals from Nepal and Malaya presented by H.R.H. Prince of Wales, will be exhibited in a special part of the gardens during the summer of 1922. Among the proposed new works for 1922, the most important are the provision of better accommodation for the refreshment department and the suggested aquarium on the Mappin Terraces for fresh-water and marine animals. A proposal to place coloured labels on the cages and enclosures containing different species, as a means of identification for visitors, is one that will commend itself. Experiments with coloured drawings painted on tiles and afterwards fired promise success in the production of a form of label which is weatherproof. There can be no doubt that the provision of such labels will prove of great service to visitors to the gardens. On Tuesday next, May 30, Sir Percy Sykes will deliver the first of two lectures at the Royal Institu- tion on (1) ‘‘ Travel in Persia,’ (2) ‘‘ Foundation of the Persian Empire.”” The Friday evening discourse on June 9 will be delivered by Mr. Joseph Barcroft _ it useful to chemists. Sue eS on “ Physiological Effects at High Altitudes in Peru.’ Tue following have been elected officers and members of council of the Institution of Electrical Engineers for 1922-1923: President, Mr. F. Gill; ; Vice-Presidents, Dr. W. H. Eccles, and Mr. A. Ae Campbell Swinton ; Honorary Treasurer, Sir. Jeary Devonshire ; Ordinary Members of Council, Mr. J. W. Beauchamp, Mr. R. A. Chattock, Mr. F. W. Crawter, Mr. D. N. Dunlop, Major K. Edgcumbe, Mr, A. F. Harmer, and Mr. W. R. Rawlings. At the annual general meeting of the Chemical ' Section of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical © Society held on May 5, the following officers and a members of committee were elected: Chaiyman, Mr. Leonard E. Vlies; Vice-Chairman, Dr. H. F. — Coward; Hon. Secretary, Mr. David M. Paul; — Committee, Dr. David Bain, Dr. W. H. Bentley, Mr. David Cardwell, Mr. R. H. Clayton, Dr. J. A. R. Henderson, Mr. Harold Moore, Miss Rona Robinson, — Prof. F. C. Thompson, and Dr. J. C. Withers. We have received from the Eastman Kodak © Company, Rochester, New York, their latest price list — of Eastman Organic Chemicals. Several new chemicals — have been added. The list is noteworthy in that it ~ now includes melting- and boiling-point data for the © majority of the chemicals determined from actual — laboratory observations. This feature should make ~ Our Astronomical Column. + ape g NEw Comet.—A faint comet, 1922 b, was discovered by Mr. Skjellerup at the Cape on | May 174: 6b- G.M.T., in R.A. 7} 53 44°, N. decl. 19° 32’. Daily motion +6™- gos, N. 1° 28’. The comet is an evening object, and its motion is bringing it into a more favourable position for observation. CHANGES ON THE. Moon.—In a paper by Prof. W. H. Pickering in Popular Astronomy for May two drawings are reproduced of the lunar crater Erato- sthenes by Dr. Maggini. Prof. Pickering shows that these corroborate strongly his own work, and establish fully the reality of the changes of aspect. He notes that the markings cannot be shadows, since they are visible at full moon, and one of them approaches the setting sun, instead of receding from it; but he has not, perhaps, considered sufficiently the possi- bilities arising from the different changes of reflective power, according to the angle of incidence, that are shown by different substances. It is generally agreed that at least two lunar phenomena—the increasing visibility of the bright rays as the sun’s altitude increases, and the darkening of the floor of the crater Plato under the same conditions— arise in this way. Prof. Pickering estimates the density of the lunar atmosphere as ;3, of that on earth, and supposes that enough water vapour and carbon dioxide might be emitted from the craters to support low forms of vegetation. ProF. BRown’s NEw Lunar TaBiLeEs.—Prof. Brown in his tables, which are used for the first time in the Nautical Almanac for 1923, deliberately adopted the secular acceleration arising from the change in NO. 2743, VOL. 109] \ the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit, regarding the — larger value deduced from ancient eclipses (generally ascribed to the tidal retardation of the earth’s rotation) as too uncertain. to use. Many will consider that in — this respect he showed some lack of judgment, for ; Dr. Cowell’s discussion of the old eclipses was avail- | able before the tables were put into final form, However, he now admits his conversion to the lar acceleration, which has been effected by Dr. Fothering- 3 ham’s papers on the old eclipses and occultations, — and the researches of C. I. Taylor and Dr. H. Jefir 4 (misspelt Jeffries by Prof. Brown) on tidal friction — in the Irish Sea and similar semi-landlocked waters. — In a paper in the Astronomical Journal, No. 799, he gives the results of an increase of the moon’s q secular acceleration from 7-12” to 11:91”, with the ~ resulting changes in some other. constants. He 4 notes that the change makes little difference in 3 his tabular places up to the year 1890, but that it~ makes a decided improvement since that date, which is another argument, though not a very — strong one, for the larger acceleration. Brown’s tables thus modified represent the moon’s Jongitads (a correctly for the end of 1905; after that the moon went ahead of the tables, reaching a maximum of 5 nearly 5” in 1918; it now shows signs of diminish- e! ing again. A small table enables the new correction 7 to be applied to Brown’s longitudes of the moon mee to the year 1940, when its value is 7-44”. / table will be of use in predicting eclipses, or cae : other purposes where an accurate prediction is ne a 3 desirable. The paper also gives a list of the errata | detected in the new tables; these are chiefly in- q By aa am the explanatory matter, but one refers to the ‘ane themselves. May 27, 1922] NATURE 691 _ Sex DEVELOPMENT.—Miss R. M. Fleming, of meayowyth University, publishes in the May issue of Man the results of her measurements of a large _ number of women and children, which throw valuable _ light on the problems of sex development. The _ results, so far as they admit of tabulation, indicate a _ decided difference in the rate of development between ES boys and girls, which may prove of use in their © soe ge and grading for educational purposes. _ Until the age of 8 years, girls showed rapid increase in cephalic index and marked changes in colour, while from 9 years onward, the changes were much slower and ss marked. - Boys showed only slight alterations in colour or in increase of cephalic index until the age of but from ro years onwards changes were rapid nd marked. In the change in the shape of the fore- d, boys and girls differ more than in any other ture. The continuous frontal boss of infancy ms to disap in girls a year or two earlier than boys, resolving itself in the case of the latter often 9 two bosses, which mark the nuclei of growth in > frontal bone and interrupt the general tendency che forehead to recede. It is hoped that the study ' these data may help by making it possible to "suggest to boys and girls who are undecided about _ their future careers, lines of thought which will 4 — wasting time in trial of a wrong scheme of __ Lire Tasies.—Dr. Major Greenwood dealt with __ the scientific value of life tables at a recent meeting _ of the Royal Statistical Society. He submitted that the value of a life table as an instrument of research has been over-estimated ; a life table is an artificial ‘product and its population is a fiction. It is not correct, for instance, to say that the average length life of an English male is given by the ‘‘ expectation of life’ of any national table. An “ expectation of life” is deduced from the rates of mortality of con- tem usly observed lives and the comparison _ of such constants for different life tables is open to criticism. Dr. Greenwood is of opinion that a Medical Officer of Health can learn little more from a life table than from death rates at ages. _ THE DIALECT OF SOMERSETSHIRE.—The Somerset Folk Press has started a movement for preserving the local dialect by the publication of a series of handbooks, the first of which is entitled ‘‘ Selected Poems in Somerset Dialect.” It contains a number _ of poems and ballads by James Jennings, born in 1772; George Parker, who died in 1888, aged 92; and other local writers. In an interesting foreword _ the editor, Mr. Walter Raymond, points out the value of the county as a field for research. Within _ its million acres it contains a richer variety of natural features than almost any part of England. The variety of its natural structure is the reason for the abundance of its flora and bird life. There is a wealth of local legend, both early Christian and Arthurian. “‘Many races—since forgotten tribes _ raised tumuli on the crests of our hills—have made their contributions to our lore. Briton, Scandinavian and Saxon all left their mark on the beliefs and superstitions which still linger amongst our folk. __ Even the lake-dwellers at Glastonbury may have cast their mite into our treasury of folk-lore.’’ Roman roads and masonry, feudal castles, and ancient Christian remains carry on the story. It would be well if other counties followed the excellent acm of Somerset in preserving folk-lore and ialect. NO. 2743, VOL. 109] Research Items. EARTH SMOKING-PIPES.—Convicts in Indian prisons and coolies marching with their loads through passes in the hills, in the absence of the common hukka or water-pipe, indulge their craving for tobacco by making a small tunnel in the earth; a little tobacco is set alight at one orifice, and the smoker, kneeling on the ground, sucks up the smoke from the other end. Mr. Henry Balfour, in the May issue of Man, publishes examples of various types of earth-pipes from South Africa and Asia. In South Africa the pipe is either built up on the ground-surface or excavated below it. In Baltistan the tunnel is constructed by thrusting in and then withdrawing a stick from the earth which has previously been patted down, A further extension of the method is illustrated from Natal and Rajputana, where the pipe is a tapering tube of baked clay, sun-dried mud, or camel dung; the wider end serves as “ bowl,” the narrower as mouthpiece, and there is no demarca- tion between the two, the bore tapering gradually from one end to the other. Mr. Balfour inclines to suppose that the similarity of practice between Africa and Asia represents a culture-link between the two widely separated areas ; but it seems not impossible that similar needs may have suggested this simple method of supplying them. The publication of this paper may lead to the discovery of further examples which may settle the origin of this curious practice. THE ExTERNAL WorRLD.—Physicists and_philo- sophers interested in the problem of the hypothesis of the external world as it is discussed in the works of Helmholtz, Mach, and Einstein may be glad to have their attention directed to two articles by Karl Gerhards of Aachen in the Berlin scientific weekly Die Naturwissenschaften for April 28 and May 5, entitled ‘‘ Der mathematische Kern der Auszenwelts- hypothese.”’ It is impossible to explain the author’s scheme without his diagrams, but it is certainly in- genious, however unconvinced it may leave us in regard to its theoretical or practical value. He attempts to relate the two parallel series, the flow of sensible appearances and the flow of physical reality, by constructing a mathematical model on the analogy of the kinematograph camera. For the observer behind the camera there is a series of “‘ phanograms ”’ ; these correspond, of course, to Mach’s series of sensa- tions. The author then correlates these by a mathe- matical device with the reality presumed to lie beyond the kinematographic panorama in a three-dimensional world and obtains a series of ‘“‘ ontograms.’’ What he claims is that by his purely mathematical scheme, or as he terms it by this mathematical kernel of reality, he has got rid of the arbitrariness of the parallelist hypothesis, and shown the actual relation between appearance and reality. THE STEEL INDUSTRY OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE.—In an article in the Sociological Review for April, Prof. C. H. Desch traces the geographical and other factors which have led to the origin and growth of the steel industry in and around Sheffield.. The article is of value because these factors are often misstated and their persistence is assumed. The use of local iron ore was encouraged in early times by the abundance of timber for charcoal in the forested valleys, and by the hill-top sites where open furnaces could catch the prevailing winds. These conditions were not con- fined to this particular part of England, but later, when artificial replaced natural draught, the abundant water power of the five streams converging on Sheffield gave unique advantages for bellows driven by water- wheels. The hammer ponds and the ruins of the 692 NATURE [May 27, 1922 £ forges can be seen in most of the valleys to-day. When the manufacture of cutlery was established higher grade iron ore had to be imported. This occupation demands a high degree of skill, and it became a domestic manufacture. Many survivals of those economic conditions still exist and give a peculiar character to the organisation of labour in Sheffield to-day. Steam power eventually replaced water power, and the industry as a result has crowded on the lower ground. Coke replaced .charcoal as metallurgical fuel. Local coal, firestone, and ganister all helped to retain the industry in Sheffield, but as potent a factor as any other is the traditional skill of the workers. This factor still holds the industry to the district, although few of the former advantages of its localisation are now of value. ° TERTIARY MOLLUSCA OF SANTO DoMINGO.—A “‘ Re- vision of W. M. Gabb’s Tertiary Mollusca of Santo Domingo,’”’ long wanted by students of tropical American paleontology, has now been published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1921, Pt. II., pp. 305-435, pls. xvi.- xlvii., and text figs.). It is the work of the well- known conchologist Dr. H. A. Pilsbry, to whom great praise and thanks are due. Gabb’s investiga- tions were conducted in the years 1869-71 and his observations and descriptions published by the American Philosophical Society (Trans. xv.) in 1873. His fossils were presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, but unfortunately were not figured, while the descriptions were not always suffi- ciently full to ensure recognition. Prior to Gabb, Mr. T. S. Heneken had brought fossils from the island to London, and these were described by Moore, G. B. Sowerby, and later by Mr. R. J. L. Guppy. The present work was begun in co-operation with Mr. C, W. Johnson and submitted for publication in 1917; printing had, however, to be deferred and only an extract containing descriptions of the new species appeared at the time. The full work is now presented with some modifications entailed by the work of Miss Maury. The nomenclature has inten- tionally been left uniform with the 1917 paper, but surely even at that date the use of Pteropoda as a class apart from the Gastropoda was antiquated. A few further new species are included, but the value of the work lies in the more careful diagnoses of the species and the excellent figures, over 480 in number, which do infinite credit to the artist, Helen Win- chester. AUSTRALASIAN NATURAL History.—The Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for the year 1921, recently received, include some articles of great interest and importance. H. H. Scott and C, E. Lord, writing on ‘-Nototheria and Allied Animals,’’ are convinced that several groups of more or less generalised animals lived in the Australian zoogeographical province and “that the names Diprotodon, Nototherium, Phascolonus, Euryzygoma, etc., stand as outpost flags of a largely unexplored realm,”’ and “ that the most generalised groups have yet to be reconstructed.” Dr. R. W. Shufeldt describes “‘ Skeletons of the Monotremes in the Collections of the Army Medical Museum at Washington [U.S.A.].”’ Two skeletons of Ornitho- rhynchus and one of Echidna are described at some length and figured, on the ground that these animals are now becoming rare. W. L. Crowther and C. Lord give a “ Description of Two Tasmanian Aboriginal Crania,”’ which will intrigue anthropologists. Pre- historians of the school to which Mr. Reid Moir belongs will find much support from the figures and descriptions of ‘“‘ The Concave Stone Implements of the Tasmanian Aborigines,” described by Dr. -G. NO. 2743, VOL. 109] Horne. The Tasmanian specimens are compared with similar ones from south-east Victoria and their mode of use illustrated by reference to the methods « the aborigines of the latter district. Judging fi the figures these implements are of the crudest ch acter even when allowance is made for the natur the material from which they have been chippe “A Preliminary Sketch of the Glacial Remains pri served in the National Park of Tasmania,” by A. N Lewis, with ‘‘ Some Geographical Notes on a Model of — the National Park at Mt. Field, Tasmania,’ from the — pen of Prof. G. Taylor, furnish together an interesting — account of the physical geography of a district — which, although small, abounds in features of remark- — able character, especially the parallelism of the valleys and the arrangement of some of the lakes therein. Some AUSTRALIAN DipTtERA.—G. H. Hardy contri- — butes to the Papers and Proceedings of the Royal — Society of Tasmania for the year 1921 a monograph on 4 ‘ Australian Bombyliide and Cyrtide (Diptera).” — This catalogue contains a key to the genera, — and descriptions of two new species belonging to — genera in which no previous species have been de- — scribed from Australia. Also there are numerous © synonyms suggested, and a number of species have — been ‘placed in the genera they more readily conform to than those in which they were originally placed. __ METEOROLOGY AT FaLmoutTH.—Falmouth Observa- — tory has published meteorological notes and tables for ~ the year 1921. The work is carried on under the © auspices of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society — by Mr. J. B. Phillips. Observations are supplied to — the Meteorological Office, and the Observatory is assisted financially by the Government. The mean — pressure for the year was 30-126 in., which is o-15 in. — above the average and a record for the past 50 years. Bright sunshine was registered on 315 days, which is — rr days more than the average, and the total duration | was 1817 hours—64 hours above the average. Every — month had an excess of temperature, the mean for — the year being 53°-6 F., which is 2°-9 above the normal ~ for 50 years. Rain was measured on 186 days, a — total 22 short of the average, and the total measure- — ment was 28-9 in., which is 16:7 in. less than the | normal for 50 years. The highest hourly wind © velocity was 55 miles in a south-westerly gale on March 28, and the strongest gust was at the rate of ~ 77 miles an hour. a. 4 AN EFFICIENT SOUND PRopDUCER.—In our issue of April 12, 1917, p. 132, attention was directed to the © work of Prof. King of McGill University on the ~ efficiency of the compressed air syren used at Father Point, Quebec, for signalling during fog. Of the roo- horse power used only 2-4 was converted into sound. From a paper by Prof. Kerr Grant, of the University of Adelaide, published in the April number of the Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, there appears to be some possibility of producing sound ~ more efficiently. The new apparatus makes use of — the vibrations set up in a thin metal plate a foot in — diameter. A stream of air or liquid issuing from a flanged pipe, the flange of which is placed near and ~ parallel to the plate, impinges on the latter. The arrangement is a reproduction on a mechanical scale of the scientific toy illustrating Bernouilli’s law of | flow of fluids, in which a sheet of paper is placed on — the end of a flanged pipe and attempts are made to — displace the paper by blowing up the tube. In the : sound producer, the surface of the flange is made _ convex to the plate, and the edge of the latter is — provided with a strong rim to which the pipe and ~ flange are attached in a way to provide for adjustment of the distance separating flange and plate. Ny ree) Pees bt (allem Las, val a 1 Te seawin a Bs ; May 27, 1922] NATURE 693. I ' "THE first of the two annual conversaziones of ee the Royal Society was held at Burlington _ House on May 17, when Sir Charles Sherrington and _ the officers of the Society received the fellows and guests. A few of the exhibits were shown last ear, and it is an invidious task to select some of ‘remainder for mention. We have therefore _grouped the exhibits on related subjects and propose _ to describe briefly a few of the items in each group. ' Sir Almroth Wright demonstrated methods of _ measuring the bactericidal potency of the blood fluids and leucocytes. With regard to the microbes _ that give rise to “ blood eon veg cng *®, capacity for growing in the blood fluids depends “pcre earitd for Roeecainiae the normal anti-tryptic _ power of the blood and digesting its albuminous - substances. Increased destruction of microbes can _ be obtained by the vaccination of the blood in vitro. _ This is important, for where the patient is unable to - respond to a vaccine he can be transfused with a normal blood which has by vaccination in vitro _ been furnished with the protective substances _ required. The lysozymic action of tissues and - secretions was demonstrated by Dr. Alexander _ Fleming. This inhibitory effect on bacteria is so by. ea that with tears diluted 1 in 100 it is complete ina few seconds, and it is shown even with tears diluted I in 5,000,000 or egg white diluted 1 in 50,000,000. _. Specimens of giant frogs were exhibited by the _ Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum s = ag C. Tate Regan). Rana goliath, from S. Cameroon, _ is the largest known frog, attaining a length of nearly _ 12 inches, without the limbs. Rana guppyi, from the _ Solomon Islands, is remarkable in that it feeds almost _ exclusively on crabs, which are swallowed whole. Some results of researches on the biology of _ aphides, with particular reference to Aphis rumicis, were lnstrated in the exhibit of the Entomological spon, t, Institute of Plant Pathology, Rotham- ak (Dr. A. D. Imms and Dr. J. Davidson). Breed- _ing experiments have shown the relationship between the agamic and gamic generations, and the appear- ance of winged and apterous forms; the changes associated with these phases are due to internal factors. Variations occur in the same species. on different plant hosts. - Internal casts of a gigantic freshwater gastropod from Wealden Rocks, near Silver Hill, Hastings, were exhibited by the Department of Geology, _ British Museum (Natural History). Twenty-three _ whorls, including the body-whorl, are traceable, with a total length of 7 ft. 3 in. The affinities of the - mollusc are probably with the Tiaride. Astronomy was represented by exhibits from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Photographs with the 30-inch reflector were used to show a relation between _ the effective wave-lengths of stars and their spectral type. When a coarse grating is placed before an object- ive, short diffraction spectra are produced in the focus on either side of a central image, the distance between the diffracted and central images being a function of ' the wave-length of the light. This furnishes a con- venient means for determining the colours of the stars as defined by the wave-length of maximum photographic intensity. A chart of variation of titude at the observatory during I91I—192I was also shown. The curve can be analysed into two principal components, one with a period of 432 days, and the other with a period of one year. The amplitude of the first component is about twice that of the second. NO. 2743, VOL. 109] The Royal Society Conversazione. Sir William Bragg and Prof. W. L. Bragg exhibited a number of models, on a scale of 108: 1, illustrating crystal structure. By X-ray analysis, the size of the cell containing the unit of pattern of the crystal is found accurately. The distance between the centres of neighbouring atoms is also known and accurate models can be constructed which, in the case. of organic crystals, are based on the principle that benzene and naphthalene molecules are frameworks of definite dimensions. Prof. H. B. Baker gave a demonstration of the changes produced by prolonged drying on the boiling- points of liquids. Dried benzene does not boil when immersed in boiling water, and other liquids including mercury, bromine, alcohol, and ether show a rise in boiling-point which varies from 26° to62°C. The sur- face tension also increases, indicating that the change may be due to increase in the size of the molecules. The National Physical Laboratory had a number of exhibits. A precision bridge for platinum ther- mometry designed by Mr. F. E. Smith was shown by Mr. W. F. Higgins and Mr. F. H. Schofield. The resistances of the two variable arms of the bridge system used are of the order of 100 times that of the thermometer, so that brush contacts can be used ealtiont appreciable sacrifice of precision. The steps on the lowest dial correspond to o-oo1° C. The Research Department, Woolwich, Radiological Branch, exhibited a metal X-ray tube of novel form, with an iron target. The tube is of the hot cathode type, and is constructed chiefly of metal, the insula- tion between the anode and the case being secured by a glass sleeve. Both the anode and the metal case are water-cooled. The tube is self-shielding, only a narrow pencil of X-rays escaping from an aluminium window. It is designed to give very soft radiations, and to run continuously with a heavy current. The Cambridge and Paul Instrument Com- pany, Ltd., showed a micro-indicator for taking diagrams from high-speed engines. The vertical movement of the end of a small indicator piston deflects a strong triangular spring carrying a stylus which scratches a micro-diagram of a single com- plete cycle upon a disc of transparent celluloid. The actual size of the diagram is approximately 3 mm. base (time) by 2} mm. height (pressure). Mr. W. M. Mordey demonstrated some ‘striking effects of alternating magnetism. Magnetic materials, including finely divided iron, nickel, cobalt, magnetite and specular hematite, show a steady movement or migration through or from a multiphase field in a direction opposite to that due to eddy currents. In a multiphase field vertical ‘“ planes of force ”’ are formed, but there is no movement of finely divided aluminium nor lead shot. Water containing any of these materials may be driven uphill in a multiphase field, an effect which is probably due to surface-tension. The method can be applied to the concentration or separation of certain minerals, wet or dry (NaTuRE, April 29, p. 556). During the course of the evening Lord Rayleigh gave an account of his recent spectroscopic investiga- tions of the aurora borealis, with particular reference to its occurrence on ordinary nights in the South of England. It is impossible in the space of a short article to do more than indicate some of the many interesting and important exhibits which were displayed. There were several novel pieces of physical and electricalapparatus which have not been mentioned, and the whole com- bined to form a noteworthy and interesting display. 594 NATURE [May 27; 1922 Motor Headlights. DISCUSSION took place on the above subject at a meeting of the Optical Society on May It. Mr. J. W. T. Walsh, of the National Physical Labora- tory, in his opening paper, recalled that the design of headlights had been much discussed recently, for example, at meetings of the Illuminating Engineering Society from 1911 onwards. The problem resolved itself into a compromise between the needs of the motorist, who required a sufficiently powerful beam to distinguish objects in time to pull up or slacken speed, and the desire of the pedestrian or driver of approaching vehicles not to be dazzled by glare. In discussing the nature of glare, essentially a physio- logical problem, Mr. Walsh showed diagrams relating contrast sensibility of the eye and brightness, and the effect of obliquity of the bright source in the field of view. Attempts had been made to fix a “ glare limit’? for a field of a given brightness, and it was generally recognised that glare was largely a matter of contrast. The limitation of the powerful driving beam below a certain plane, so as to obviate intense light striking direct into the eyes of approaching persons, had been advocated and embodied in various codes, but it is recognised that, in addition to the main beam, moderate diffused general illumination is desirable. Requirements for headlights had been somewhat fully dealt with in American regulations. For instance, it had been prescribed that the illumina- tion measured 100 yards away should not fall below a certain value, and in the latest specifications drafted by the American Illuminating Engineering Society minimum values for the main beam-candlepower, and maximum candlepower values at other angles (with the view of limiting glare), had been stated. Some polar curves, showing the distribution of light from typical modern headlights, were shown, a maximum candlepower of 5000 being attained in some cases. Another device for testing the power,of the beam, intended to be applied on the road and where photo- metric measurements were impracticable, was the Royal Automobile Club standard disc, which com- prised patterns of white lines on a black background, the requirement being that the patterns should be distinguishable by the available illumination at a specified distance from the car. The disc was.referred to in the latest report of the Ministry of Transport Committee on Lights on Vehicles. It was generally agreed that legislation was a difficult matter but much could be done to improve conditions by making the fundamental principles of design well known. In the ensuing discussion Commdr. T. Y. Baker (Admiralty Research Dept.) described a simple apparatus for measuring brightness, the object to be tested being viewed through a tube, and its brightness compared with that of a lamp emitting light down a side-tube. Mr. Leon Gaster (Hon. Secretary of the Illuminating Engineering Society) remarked that the subject had been much discussed in various countries, not only by the Illuminating Engineering Society in the United States (as Mr. Walsh had mentioned) but in recent proceedings of the German Illuminating Engineering Society. At the first technical session of the Inter- national Illumination Commission in Paris last year it was resolved to appoint an international technical committee to deal with the problem. The Illuminating Engineering Society in this country had formed a joint committee on motor-headlights, and he gladly took the opportunity of inviting the Optical Society to nominate a representative. Mr. Gaster also pointed out that regulations prescribing a certain illumination at a specified distance ahead NO. 2743, VOL. 109 | of the car depended essentially on the speed driving. The distance was presumably based on length of road in which a car driving at 20 miles hour could pull up. With the removal of the sp limit such requirements might need revision. The Chairman (Mr. Whipple), having thanked Gaster for the invitation conveyed to the Optic Society to appoint a representative on the Illumin ating Engineering Society joint committee, called — upon Mr. J. S. Dow to continue the discussion. _ Mr. Dow pointed out that glare was mainly a matter of contrast and should therefore be con- sidered in relation to street lighting. He believed — that in certain cases a device had been employed to — direct light on the front of a car, enabling its outline a to be seen more clearly and diminishing the contrast _ between the brightness of the headlight and its — surroundings. It had also been suggested that glare — depended to some extent on colour, and that a slight yellow tint, though involving some loss of — light, was preferable in this respect, as well as _ giving somewhat better definition of distant illumin- — ated objects. . ee ae Sir Wm. Barrett, in the absence of Sir Howard — Grubb, described and demonstrated the Grubb head- _ light, of which he had had favourable personal experi- — ence. The primary principle now usually aimed at in modern headlights, is that the main beam should be confined below a height of 3 feet above the road- way, so that the beam did not shine in the eyes of persons approaching, a milder and more diffused ligh being distributed outside this limit. The original headlight utilised two ‘‘ D ’’-shaped lenses 2 by a strip of grooved glass to effect this division, but more recently the design has been improved, two — horizontal strips being inserted, and the arrangement _ of the lenses has also been modified. Sir Wm. Barrett presented a table summarising the require- ments of the code for headlights adopted i aness| chusetts, including a maximum beam-candle 5000, and showed that these had been compli in this form of headlight. i In the ensuing discussion a great variety of heac lights was demonstrated. Generally speaking, t aim was to provide a powerful beam, but to restrict the candlepower in directions above a certain hori. zontal plane. It was evident, however, that the dis- tribution of light effected by the various devi differed considerably. One ingenious device com prised the use of a supplementary concave reflector covering the upper half of the headlight whereb light-rays in the upper hemisphere were directed bac on to the main reflector and added to the main beam. Various devices to assist the provision of suitable side-illumination, in addition to the main beam, wer also described. Thus in the Zeiss headlight there i a special annular reflecting surface which furnishes diffused illumination on either side of the car. An other feature is the use of a Bowden wire arrangem: to enable the motorist to cut out the dazzling effec of the headlight while retaining sufficient light for shortened track. This effect can be produced at an time, and is recommended for use in the well-lighted streets of large towns, where there -is considerable — traffic. . ary ae One other device that may be mentioned is the Kent glare screen, which consists of a small plate o coloured glass, which can be attached to the wind. screen so that the driver, by slightly moving his can bring an opposing headlight within the field covered by this screen and thus reduce its dazzli effect. : ° Std) ~~ way easily. _ prevent vacant seats being seen; strap-hanging is -arrangements have to be considered. Ye ee ee ee ary May 27, 1922] NALURE Some Post-War Problems of Transport. IR JOHN ASPINALL’S long and unique ex- perience in transport problems renders his * James Forrest ”’ lecture—delivered at the Institution of Civil Engineers on May 2—of importance to the general public, all of whom are interested in passenger a and affected by the cost of the carriage of S. , Sir John Aspinall dealt first with London passenger traffic. In the-early days of the lay-out of railways the short distance passenger was scarcely considered, and it was only by degrees that his demand for greater facilities was met. Other lines of way have been _ added, and the notable addition of the tubes has been very effective. Travel has been helped also by attention to details. The modern station with its escalators is a vast improvement on the older types ~ with lon and tortuous passages, and plain, well- lighted directions enable passengers to find their In the carriages, high backs to the seats ferable to pillars, which are apt to produce kages. The necessity of quick loading and un- loading of a car means that the doorway and platform It is a matter of common knowledge that getting into and out ofa wriage during the rush hours at present is an ingly trying operation. Sir John Aspinall suggests the use of three platforms, two outer and an island platform. Passengers from both trains alight on the island platform and the trains are loaded from the outer platforms. This. plan should be very effective in separating the streams of . . Proposals have also been considered by the tube companies for deeper tubes with fewer stations, suitable for quicker long distance travel. The excellent reports and maps prepafed by the London traffic branch of the Board of Trade indicate that future provision for the growing population will require to be made towards the north-west and south-west, both of which have much blank travel spaceonthemap. Admirable as may be the organisa- tion which cuts down time spent in the steam opera- tion of suburban trains, it would appear that London traffic must henceforward rely on electrification to make more frequent service possible. Traffic on the roads follows the same lines as the > railway traffic. Here the motor bus helps. greatly. In 1921 the London General Omnibus Company handled 761,250,000 passengers, which is nearly half the number dealt with by all the railways in Great Britain. The total passenger mileage on all the railways was 227,397; 353, and the buses ran 87,000,000 miles, approximately one-third that of the railways. The improvement of the motor bus has been so great that it is safe to assume that the much more expensive tramway system will not be greatly extended. — _ Notwithstanding the help of the most modern buses, the extension of railway facilities in London is urgent. The engineering world has not been backward in proposing new means of dealing with London traffic. Most of the schemes prepared before 1903 represent an enormous waste of money, not because they were bad, but because of our methods of private bill legislature, which often result in the defeat of well-planned proposals on grounds which subsequent events showed to be unsound. Sir John spinall does not despair of some first-rate scheme being adopted for future gradual development if it were in the first instance considered and’ proposed NO. 2743, VOL. 109] by a strong committee of those who are engaged in handling London traffic to-day, and then legalised. Hitherto so much harm has been done by dealing with this problem in bits that it becomes the more desirable to deal with it as a whole. There has been great architectural objection to the continued existence of certain railway bridges over the Thames. On the other hand, the daily number of people crossing these is much larger than could pass over road bridges. Hence their abolition would inconvenience the travelling public. The objection on account of unsightliness is legitimate, and can be avoided. A well-known engineer has shown how a double-decked bridge can be constructed at Charing Cross with all those architectural features which our architect friends desire. In this bridge therailways cross at the same level as at present ; the roadways are at a higher level and descend with easy gradients on both sides of the river. So far as we have gone, it appears to be true that passenger traffic facilities have never been in advance of London requirements. Sir John Aspinall gives strong evidence in favour of long distance electrification on main-line railways. The train capacity of any railway and particularly of any terminal station is vastly increased by electrifi- cation, and thus the capital cost of extensions and widenings can be postponed for years. Shunting is very costly ; of a total of 288,000,000 freight engine miles run in Great Britain, half was on remunerative work and 117,000,000 miles on shunting. The ultimate ownership of all wagons by the railway companies—thus cutting out the private owner— will eliminate much shunting expenditure. Much economy may also be anticipated from the new group system. Sir John Aspinall has also something to say about local rates. There are many country districts through which railways run but have no stations and therefore are not road users, where the railways have to pay from 5 to 90 per cent. of the parish rates. The equity of the case appears to demand that those who do the damage to the roads should pay the cost. On the Great North Road the “tons per yard width of road per day ’”’ was 77-7 in 1912 and 300°8 in 1920, and of the latter figure 51-5 per cent. ‘was due to heavy motors and tractors, for which the figure was 16-9 per cent. in 1912. Goods trans- port by road involves 300,000 vehicles at present, and road maintenance costs 50,000,000/. per annum. There is not a great deal of water power available in this country for the production of electric current, and we must still largely rely on coal. There seems to be much misunderstanding as to the merits of canals. The fact is, however, that the days of the small barge canal are gone. The greater canals, which permit of the passage of large cargo steamers, are on an entirely different basis. Sir John suggests the conversion of disused canals into roads, which of course would be level excepting where there are locks. Many modern writers have pressed that civil aviation should receive considerable national assist- ance, but the same methods of gradual and persistent investigation which have been applied for so many years to the ships of the sea must be applied to the ships of the air. There will probably .be common agreement that at no time in the history of this country has national transport been so intimately connected with the necessities of national defence. 696 NATURE [May 27, 1922 — Colston University BRISTOL is peculiarly fortunate in possessing a unique organisation for the encouragement of research at its University. Originally founded in 1899 and named in honour of the famous philan- thropist, Edward Colston, its funds were at first applied to the support of the then University College in connection with its proposed expansion to a Uni- versity. This accomplished, the Colston University Research Society undertook the distinctive function of supporting research work within the University, and since 1910 some 3700/, have been raised and applied to scientific investigations, which in most cases could not otherwise have been carried out ; these include contributions to medicine, engineering, and to the general advancement of knowledge. ; The essential importance of scientific research, realised a generation ago by Germany, was brought prominently before every citizen during the Great War. The serious industrial difficulties of the past two years have brought home to most people the fundamental interdependence of production and prosperity. For cheap production we need to-day increased invention in every direction. Modern invention is based on scientific research, and it is to the development of scientific research that all who are engaged in industry must look for the permanent revival of British industrial supremacy. Every process we employ, every device and invention of which we take daily advantage, is the result of some former, maybe forgotten, research. Enlightened opinion recognises that some seed corn. must be returned if the future is to repeat the successes of the past. It is a sign of the times that men should now rally to the support of the most essential function of our universities. The Colston University Research Society consists of members of the public and of industrial firms of Bristol and the west of England who subscribe the necessary research funds. On May 23 each year the annual dinner is held, at which the City of Bristol, the Society of Merchant Venturers, and the Bristol Chamber of Commerce are represented. The chief guests include oneor more distinguished educationists orinvestigators. This year the Minister of Education and Prof. G. Elliot Smith were two of the invited guests of the evening. Research Society. The society affords an opportunity for every citizer to give direct support to research work for th vancement of knowledge, and similar organisa might with great advantage be established i university towns. The society accepts the “ Research ’’ in the widest sense, and looks fo: also receive assistance through the society fror community at large. A new departure under this year’s president, Ernest Walls, is the establishment of Colston res fellowships, whereby it is hoped that the Univ may render service to local industries. Industrial are invited to endow post-graduate research fellow- ships at the University, the fellow receiving 15 annum. The fellowships may be carina particular faculty or branch of research or to a ticular research problem. In the last case, t subject to the approval of the professor agreeit supervise the work, and if it is an industrial pro the donor bears all expense. A form of agree ‘between the University, the donor, and the res fellow may be required. ee The donor of a fellowship will have access research work and will receive the results of the twelve months prior to publication. Five firms already undertaken to endow fellowships, three ii chemistry, one in engineering, and one not earmarkec These fellowships should serve to link the Uni more closely to the life of the city without sa academic freedom, and, apart from the adve accruing to the firms, will undoubtedly lead - manent industrial appointments for some of the graduates. ‘ wey It will be interesting to see whether this plan not suit the conditions of the British Uni better than the well-known system of ind fellowships of the Mellon Institute in the United States. Mpa et A record annual collection announced at the Colston University Research dinner at Bristol on Tuesday amounted to 939/. ts., the largest individual amou being 25/. In addition, r1roo/. were collected Colston Research Fellowships. ii Active Hydrogen. i N ashort communication by Mr. Y. Venkataramaiah, read before the Science Association, Maharajah’s College, Vizianagram, S. India, in January 1920, and published in the Proceedings of the Association for July 1921, the formation of active hydrogen by pass- ing hydrogen through an ozoniser is described. The active form combined with sulphur and phosphorus at the ordinary temperature. In a previous com- munication to NATURE (of September 9, 1920, p. 46) the same author described an active form of hydrogen, formed by the explosion of oxygen with excess of hydrogen, which reduced potassium permanganate solution rapidly at room temperature. These dis- coveries were, apparently, made independently of those of Wendt and Landauer (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1920, 42, 920), who obtained active. hydrogen by the action of the corona discharge on hydrogen at low pressure, and by the action of a-rays on hydrogen. : The American authors now describe (Journal of the American Chemical Society, March 1922) the produc- tion of active hydrogen by the action of the silent discharge (as previously described by Venkataramaiah), NO. 2743, VOL. 109] by the action of a high-frequency Tesla discha: and by the action of thermionic emission, on hydrog In all cases only small amounts of active hydra are formed, and it is rapidly decomposed. Since it is formed with contraction, and is condensed in lic air, the authors consider it to be represented by the — formula H;, although they give no evidence for this — particular composition. They do not accept the su gestion, made by E. C. C. Baly (“ Annual Reports the Chemical Society,’ 1921), that their product : identical with the purely hypothetical “ iso-h gen of Harkins, which, although represented by the symbol H,, is supposed to consist of a single atom with an atomic weight of 3 units. She aig This use of chemical symbols with an unusua meaning, as in the similar case of the isotopes of chlorine, which: are often described as Cl,;, etc., in fact, most confusing, and it is very desirable t some less objectionable notation should be adop We suggest that the symbol Cl(35), for example, wh could be adapted to formule such as Cl(35)CI would meet the case. ae ne . a . ‘ : : } 5 ee Cp eT ee ese May 27, 1922] NATURE 697 - University and Educational Intelligence. CAMBRIDGE.—The Council of the Senate has ap- proached the President of the Board of Education, cae eg ; ome the immediate appointment of a Statu- tory Commission for Cambridge would be welcome on the understanding that the University and Colleges would have an opportunity of bringing their views on the detailed recommendations of the present Commission before the Statutory Commission. A welcome bequest to the Fitzwilliam Museum from the late Mr. S. G. Perceval of Trinity Hall is announced. His collection of pictures, books, manu- scripts and objects of art at present on loan to the museum is now bequeathed to the Museum, and an estate with an income of 400/. a year. _ Mr. W. W. Rouse Ball of Trinity College offers the _ University the sum of 500/. to constitute a Trust Fund for the provision of occasional lectures dealing either with some particular development of mathe- matics or < eo of mathematics to science. Dr. G. P. Bidder of Trinity College has offered 5000 lire, subject to equal help from the Balfour Trustees, in order that a research student may be sent to- the Stazione Zoologica at Naples for six months in the coming autumn. Dr. E. Lloyd Jones, Downing College, has been reappointed demonstrator of medicine. It is pro- ed to appoint Mr. E. A. Milne, Trinity College, university lecturer in astrophysics. Mr. B. K. Martin, Magdalene College, has been nominated to hold the Princeton Visiting Fellowship for the year 1922-23, and there has been recently notified a visiting scholarship at Yale University to be held preferably by a man who has not completed “his course at Cambridge but intends to return to Cambridge at the end of a year at Yale. The Joseph H. Choate Memorial Fellowship at Harvard University will also shortly be filled. > A grant of 150/. is to be made to Mr. J. M. Wordie, St. John’s College, towards the expenses of an expedition to Greenland for work in geology, botany, zoology, and ethnography. _ Lerreps.—The Council of the University has elected Dr. Albert Gilligan to the chair of geology. ‘Dr. Gilligan, who was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and University College, Cardiff, has been lecturer in economic geology and reader in logy in the University. He has published important researches on the Carboniferous rocks of the north of England and upon the petro- graphy of the Millstone Grit in Yorkshire, and has awarded the Murchison Fund by the Royal Geological Society. Dr. Gilligan succeeds Prof. P. F. Kendall, and the Council of the University has placed on record its appreciation of the value of the work performed by Prof. Kendall during his irty years’ connection with the Yorkshire College and the University of Leeds. | Mr. S. Barratt has been appointed assistant lecturer and demonstrator in chemistry. Mr. Barratt was educated at Clifton College and at Balliol, Oxford, where he obtained a first-class in the Honours School of Chemistry and a research scholarship which enabled him to work for two years with Prof. T. R. Merton. He was joint author with Prof. Merton of a paper on “ The Secondary Spectrum of Hydrogen,’”’ which formed the Bakerian Lecture of the Royal Society delivered on March g last. Mr. Alexander Hamilton Thompson, reader in medizval history in the University of Durham (Arm- strong College), who has edited the Archeological ese since 1919 and has published work on orkshire antiquities, including the Ecclesiastical NO. 2743, YOL. 109 | ce History of the county contributed to the “ Victoria County History,”’ has been appointed reader in medizval history. The following appointments have been made from the staff of the University :—Mr. W. Godden, for a number of years lecturer in agricultural chemistry and advisory chemist in agriculture, to be head of the Biochemical Department of the Rowett Institute for Research in Animal Nutrition at Aberdeen ; Mr. D. B. Johnstone-Wallace, district lecturer in agriculture, to be agricultural organiser for Devon- shire. ' QUEEN’s COLLEGE, London, which was founded by F. D. Maurice and other King’s College professors in | 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853, was the first institution devoted to the higher educa- tion of women. It represents, therefore, the begin- ning of a movement which has enlarged the sphere of women’s activities far beyond anything contem- plated in the middle of the nineteenth century. All who have broad and liberal conceptions of education appreciate the value of the pioneer work done by the College and the distinguished men associated with it, such as Charles Kingsley, Edward Forbes, D. T. Ansted, H. G. Seeley, Rev. G. Henslow, W. B. Carpenter, Sterndale Bennett, W. H. H. Hudson, J.D. McClure, and W. A. Miller, to mention only a few scientific leaders whose names are among those of past professors. Throughout its existence the College has stood for independence and true learning, and all are now gathering fruit from the tree which it planted. The appeal which has just been made for the sum of 20,000/. to enable the College to pur- chase the adjoining house in Harley Street, and thus extend and consolidate its activities, ought, therefore, to meet with a ready and generous response. “At no time in our history,’’ says Lord Askwith, chairman of the Appeal Committee, “‘ has it been so important that women should be able to have guidance in their new powers and keen desire for knowledge’ ; and we | hope that a college which has done so much to realise the highest physical, intellectual, and moral ideals will be provided with the resources desired to continue its valuable work. The wg has the support of Mr. H. H. Asquith and Sir James Frazer among others, and it is one which we particularly commend to all who are interested in the place of women in a reconstructed world. Donations should be sent to: The Queen’s College Extension Appeal Fund, London County Westminster and Parr’s Bank, Ltd., Caven- dish Square, London, W. THE Board of Education has approved an arrange- ment whereby students of University College, Read- ing, receiving grants under the Board’s Regulations for the Training of Teachers, will be permitted, if suitable for a course of agricultural study, to take the London University External B.Sc. degree course in agriculture as an alternative to a course in arts or pure science. Students wishing to follow this course must enter the training department of the College for a course of three years, which, if success- fully completed, enables them to obtain the degree and also to secure recognition by the Board of Educa- tion as Certificated Teachers. The training in teaching ordinarily proceeds concurrently with the degree work throughout the three years, but a student who has passed the Intermediate Science (Agri- culture) examination before admission to the College devotes the first two years to the final degree course and the third year to a post-graduate course in the theory and practice of teaching. Further particulars of the course of training can be obtained from the Tutorial Secretary of University College, Reading. 698 NATURE [May 27, 1922 = Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. May 28, 1831. Henri Grégoire died—Famous as an ecclesiast and a politician, Grégoire played a conspicuous part in the great events of the French Revolution, and through him the Convention sanc- tioned the decree of October 10, 1794, for the formation of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers and its installation in 1797 in the old priory of Saint-Martin- des-Champs. The Conservatoire is one of the most im- portant scientific and industrial museums in the world. May 29, 1864. Georg Bodmer died.—A mechanical inventor who greatly aided the progress of manu- facturers, Bodmer was born in Zurich in 1786. He introduced breech-loading cannon and _ percussion shells, improved cotton-spinning machinery, and assisted in the construction of the Austrian railway over the Semmering. May 31, 1831. Sir Samuel Bentham died.—Born May 11, 1757, Bentham was the elder brother of Jeremy Bentham the writer. Apprenticed to the master shipwright at Woolwich Dockyard, he studied naval architecture, and, after serving for some years under the Russian government, in 1795 was engaged by the British Admiralty to introduce machinery into the dockyards. He invented the caisson method of closing docks, designed steam dredgers, and assisted Brunel in his block-making machinery. May 31, 1898. Sir Robert Rawlinson died.—Trained by his father, who was a builder in Lancashire, Rawlinson worked on the’ London and Birmingham railway under Robert Stephenson, became engineer to the Bridgewater Trust, and from 1848 to 1888 held the important post of chief engineering inspector to the Local Government Board. In 1894 he served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. June 1, 1835. Thomas Charles August Dallery died. —One of the pioneers of screw propulsion, Dallery was an organ builder of Amiens. In 1803 he con- structed a steam boat driven by a screw, or “‘ escargot”’ as he called it, and placed it upon the Seine at Bercy. Imperfections in the machinery, which included a tubular boiler, led to the abandonment of the project. June 2, 1891. Sir John Hawkshaw died.—A native of Leeds, where he was born in 1811, Hawkshaw gained experience on some of the northern railways and then became a consulting engineer in London. He was responsible for the stations and bridges at Cannon Street and Charing Cross, and was engineer to the East London Railway and the Great Severn Tunnel. With Brunlees he was connected with the scheme for a tunnel beneath the English Channel, and with Barlow he completed the Clifton Suspension Bridge. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the British Association. June 2, 1895. George W. Brown died.—Known in America as “ the father of the corn planter,’ Brown was born in New York State, October 29, 181 5. oie began life as a farmer, then became a carpenter and assisted in the building of the second railway in New York. He brought out his first corn planter in 1851, and by 1866 there were 3000 in use. The invention and development of the corn planter was largely responsible for the prosperity of the middle west of America. : June 2, 1910. Edward Locher-Freuler died.—A celebrated Swiss engineer, Locher erected factories, water works, railway bridges, and power stations, and in middle life joined the firm of Brandt, Brandan and Co. With his partners he was responsible for the construction under the Alps of the Simplon Tunnel, 12} miles long, which was opened on June 1, 1906. . 20.9. NO. 2743, VOL. 109 | -magnetism for disturbance to follow disturbance, Societies and Academies. LONDON. Royal Society, May 11.—Sir Charles Sherring president, in the chair.—Lord Rayleigh: (1) photographic spectrum of the aurora of May 13-1 1921, and laboratory studies in connection wi A photographed spectrum of the aurora on the ni ‘of May 14, 1921, shows the negative bands of nitroge in detail, and the green aurora line which, how is subordinate. With atomic ray excitation nitrogen in the laboratory, and better, in the nar positive column (capillary tube) at low pressure, development of the negative bands can be imita but»other nitrogen spectra (line spectrum and | positive band spectrum) persistently appear addition. The cathode ray spectrum is free the latter, but the negative bands produced are developed like those in the aurora, the intensit being much more concentrated in the first bai of each group. Hard and soft cathode rays behav alike in this respect. Assuming that helium is” main constituent of the atmosphere above 130 kilom., as the theory of diffusion indicates, then it is difficult, — on the hypothesis of positive ray excitation, to explain its absence from the spectrum of this i aurora, which at Christiania reached to 470 kik Experiments on artificial mixtures indicate that should be visible. With cathode ray excitation, — this difficulty would be lessened, but the different — development of the nitrogen bands remains.—(2) A study of the presence or absence of nitrogen in the auroral spectrum. Spectra of the “ Norther Lights” taken in Shetland are compared with spectra of the ordinary night sky at Terling near London. Most of the Shetland spectra show nitrogen bands. None of the ordinary Terling spectra show these bands, though, owing to the long exposure given, the Terling plates show the green aurora line as-strongly, or more strongly, than the Shetland spectra. On the occasion of the great magnetic — storm and world-wide auroral display of May 13-14, © the nitrogen bands were strongly developed at Terling. —C. Chree: The 27-day period (interval) in terrestrial magnetism. There is a tendency in tortoateeny and calm to follow calm, after an interval does not depart much from 27 days. The absolute daily range of declination at Kew Observatory from 1858 to 1goo and the international “character” — figures from 1906 to 1920 both show the phenomenon. Generally, it is more clearly exhibited in years when sun spots are few in number or are situated in low solar latitudes. The season of the year seems to have little, if any, influence.—M. Barker: On the use © of very small Pitot tubes for measuring wind velocity. The finite pressure in a one-sided Pitot tube for — infinitely small openings is comparable with that at — the nose of a sphere, of diameter equal to the breadth of the opening, placed in a stream moving with a velocity equal to that at the centre of the pitot — opening. This indicates a breakdown in the p=4pu? — law for Pitot tubes, when the dimensions of the pitot — are very small or the velocity very low, p being the density and v the velocity of the fluid and p the — pressure difference. The value of v/v below which the 4pv? law ceases to hold, 7 being the radius of the circular Pitot tube and v the kinematical viscosity of the fluid, has been determined. For values Of 28 vu|v<30, pipv? is greater than 4; below this value ~ there is a viscosity effect in the form of an additional pressure comparable, as before, with that at nose of a certain sphere.—E. T. Paris: On doub resonated hot-wire microphones. The properties « a“ 0-128 a strong arcs, \=6708 leucopheus).—A. Loveridge : Tanganyika Territory.—Miss L. E. Cheesman: May 27, 1922] NATURE 699 double resonators for use with hot-wire microphones in order to increase sensitivity and also, if desired, to widen the range of response were investigated. Two types of resonator were dealt with: (a) The “ Boys double resonator,’’ consisting of a ‘‘ stopped pipe ’ in series with a Helmholtz resonator ; and (b) the “Helmholtz double resonator,’ consisting of two Helmholtz resonators in series.—J. C. McLennan and D. S. Ainslie: On the structure of the line \=6708 A of the isotopes of lithium. A vacuum arc in the vapour of the metal together with Lummer plates and a 30-plate échelon grating crossed with a Lummer plate to effect the resolution were used. With consists of two doublets, with separation 9f the doublet components of and 0-165 A respectively. The, mean dis- placement of the two doublets is 0-32 A, which is 3-4 times that demanded on Bohr’s theory for isotopes of lithium having atomic weights 6,and 7. Merton and also Aronberg in studying \= 4058 -A, in the spectrum of ordinary lead, and in that of lead having a radio-active origin, found that the observed difference in wave-length was between 80 and go times as great as the difference to be expected from Bohr’s theory. With both lead and lithium, in what would appear to be isotopic spectral displacements, the value found by observation is about the atomic number times the value obtained by calculation on the basis of Bohr’s theory. Zoological Society, April 25.—Sir S. F. Harmer, vice-president, in the chair.—A. Loveridge: Lions at their kill—R. J. Ortlepp: A new species of the nematode genus (isophagostomum from the rodent Xerus setosus.—R. Broom: On the persistence of the mesopterygoid in certain reptilian skulls.—C. F. Sonntag: On the anatomy of the drill (Mandrillus New reptiles from Observations on the land-crab, Cardisoma armatum, with especial regard to the sense organs. May 9.—Dr. A. Smith Woodward, vice-president, in the chair.—C. F. Sonntag: The comparative anatomy of the tongues of the Mammalia.—vVII. Cet Muscular Efficiency. In Nature, April 15, 1920 (vol. 105, p. 197), there is a letter of mine on this subject, and the proposition there given relating to maximum efficiency is in the following applied to the case of the most efficient speed for a bicycle. The values chosen for the ‘constants are merely guesswork, but the result is more or less in accordance with the facts. The assumptions made are : (1) The total power developed remains constant. (2) All the power used in the acceleration of the limbs is lost. (3) There is a perpetual leakage of power when a muscle is exerting any force. I do not suppose that (1) is strictly true, but the tendency is in that direction. 712 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 I believe that (2) is correct, for no energy is restored when a contracted muscle is again extended either by the action of outside forces or by the contraction of other muscles. - (3) also is true, but in what way the leakage varies with muscular stress is not known. It probably lies between “as the force”’ and ‘‘ as the square root of the force,’’ and in this note I shall assume the latter hypothesis. If P, Pas, Pi are respectively the total power developed and the powers lost by acceleration and leakage, then, f and v being the force and velocity, P=fv, Ps=A/f*, and P.=Byi?. The useful power is -Pe=P—Pa-—Pi, and the FatPr Differentiating E with re- spect to f it will be found that the minimum of Pa+ Pz occurs when f= (22) 4 The constants A and B may be determined by the conditions that, when the whole power is expended in accelerating the limbs A=f,’P, where f, is the force which can be maintained at the greatest practicable velocity, and B=P/f:?, where fi is the greatest average force which the muscles can apply. In the case of the bicycle I will assume (1) that the gearing is 70 with a 7-inch crank; (2) that the power available is 40 ft. lb. per sec. (about 1/14 H.P.); (3) that the greatest speed attainable with that power and in the absence of air resistance is 40 ft. per sec. (about 28 M.P.H.); and (4) that the greatest average force which can be continuously exerted on the crank is 30 lbs., from which it may be deduced that A =5000 and B =-24. These values were used in computing the curves in Fig. 1. The minimum of Pa+P, is 12°5 ft. lbs. per sec., thus leaving 27:5 ft. lbs./sec. for useful work, which, with the assumed length of crank and gearing, would efficiency E=1— ft. Ibs. 120) Scale sg ‘sec. I : rsec, 100 as! 10 80 8 60 ‘ 6 40 4 Ww 20 aug 2 ping 0 2 4 6 8 10 2 14 16 18 heart Fic. 1. Curve I isthe hyperbola fv=P; / in lbs., w in ft. per sec. », II Pa, the power lost in acceleration of the limbs. », Ill Pu, the power lost by leakage frem the strained muscle. » IV P.zt+P1, which has a minimum value of 12:5 ft. lbs./sec. suffice to lift a load of 200 lbs. (weight of rider and machine) up a gradient rather less than one in thirty. Hence even with this gentle gradient it would pay to ascend the hill obliquely, i.e. in a series of tacks. The Pa+Px curve, however, is very flat near the minimum, so that a considerable increase of gradient would not do much to diminish the efficiency. Whether the assumed maxima of speed and force are anywhere near the truth I do not know, and it would be interesting to have laboratory experiments on these quantities. A. MALLOCK. 9 Baring Crescent, Exeter, May 10. : NO. 2744, VOL. 109] +, Be i? I FIRST saw the late G. B. Mathews on June 4, 1884, at the Queen’s Hotel, Chester, when the staff of the newly founded University College of North Wales was © appointed. He was chosen for the Chair of Mathe-— matics, and almost from that time we were linked together in friendship as well as in our offices as teachers of intimately related subjects in the same institution. I well remember his youthful and strik- ing yet attractive appearance. hard in the hope of founding something like a school of mathematical study in North Wales. But alas! these hopes were dashed. Perhaps he was a little . impatient, and I certainly did my best to counsel him to wait, and to find out the effect of the new Welsh university on the studies of the place, but without — effect. The best of the Welsh students were at that time attracted by the Neo-Hegelian philosophy, and — some of them, as seems to be the way of such students, seemed not a little proud that their mental tendencies were not mathematical. To this curious of intellectual pride Mathews referred eloquently in the posthumous paper published in Nature of April 22. In that paper he lamented the revival of the falla- cious arguments for the supremacy of the Latin-Greek classics as an educational instrument; but he in no way undervalued classical culture, only he thought © that to an Englishman, the inheritor of a copious and flexible language, and of a literature unequalled in — the past, a training in Latin and Greek was far from indispensable, and might have its disadvantages. Cer- tainly many classical people, tutors of colleges and old-fashioned classical schoolmasters, often write Eng- lish which can scarcely be regarded as a model to be imitated, as any one can convince himself by reading the prefaces and introductions to editions of classical texts. He always thought Greek more important for students of science than Latin. And truly the tech- nical language of zoology and physiology, and in a less degree that of physics, is much more exclusively of Greek than of Latin derivation. . Mathews had a knowledge of Latin and Greek as — minute and accurate as that generally possessed by professional classical scholars. He wrote pure and elegant Latin. I remember his amusing himself by turning into Latin prose an original philosophical dis- sertation which happened to come into his hands and arrested his attention. I remember also some Latin verses which he published anonymously and which were much praised by a very eminent scholar. He wrote also charming English essays in the style of Charles Lamb, of whom he was a great admirer. These I fear are lost, but one of them, ‘“‘ Ona cock-loft,”’ was a perfect gem, a charming piece of the most natural and simple prose, somewhat after the manner exemplified more recently by Kenneth Grahame in his ‘‘ Golden Days.’’ He gave much time to Arabic in later years, and it is to be hoped that his transla- tions of Arabic poetry will ultimately be published. I have seen some of them, which certainly seemed very remarkable. His most valuable work was done in mathematics, and this has been-well appraised by a mathematician who knew him well in later years. It — is, I think, a pity that the variety and strength of his interests distracted him from mathematical work, and prevented him, until it was too late to take it up again, from finishing his work on the Theory of Numbers. He was the senior — wrangler of the previous year, and came full of eager — enthusiasm for the teaching of mathematics and for — original mathematical work, and for ten years laboured — But in his NaTuRE articles his extraordinary wealth of knowledge and his keen and yet genial criticism must have helped innumerable students. A. GRAY. The University, Glasgow. a oer NATURE 7433 JUNE 3, 1922] Half Quanta. THE Wilson-Sommerfeld principle when applied to the case of a rotating molecule, supposed rigid, leads to the expression mh/2r (m integral, h Planck’s constant) for the angular momentum of the molecule, and on this basis, with the help of several other assumptions, it has been found possible to account very satisfactorily for the main features of the struc- ture of band-series. The theory is found to apply not only to ordinary bands in the region of the visible m but also to absorption bands of: very erent appearance, such as those due to the halogen acids which occur in the infra-red. In the latter case, however, a discrepancy exists which has given rise to a good deal of discussion. The observed . _ bands consist of a number of lines distributed, to a first approximation, according to the formula v=Vet moe, _ where m takes successive positive integral values _ and » is a constant. i = 7% a m =o) is invariably absent. The line of wave-number e theoretical expression, on the other hand, is of the form v=v_+ (m—1/2)o, which, it will be noted, represents a similar set of lines displaced through a distance w/z. The reality of the discrepancy is therefore dependent upon the correct identification of »», and as this is not entirely beyond question some workers: have preferred to take the value indicated by the theory, although by doing so fresh difficulties in the interpretation of the results arise. Einstein, however, pointed out (quoted by Reiche, Zeitschr. f. Phys., 1920, p. 283) that theory and observation would agree if instead of the usual value mh/2m for the angular momentum one assumed it to be given by (m+1/2)h/27r. The evidence from the infra-red absorption bands seems scarcely strong enough to warrant such a revolu- tionary change, but other data bearing on the question have recently become available. In the band spectrum of helium, for example, series exist which show this same peculiarity, and here its existence is indubitable, for the normal (i.e. theo- retical) series are in this case also present, and a trust- Fo up Einstein’s suggestion, I have found that the abnormal series may in all cases be very simply derived from the normal group by displacing the quantum number by one-half. As an illustration of the sort of | seca which is obtained I may cite the case of the \5730 band (see Curtis, Roy. Soc. Proc., 101, 1922, p. 38), which consists of six series, only three of which satisfy completely the theoretical requirements. The “half-quantum series’”’ calcu- lated from these three are as follows :— 17430°6 —31°5m +0-95m? 17436°6 +31°5m +0°95m? 174306°6 +0°95m +0:95m* The remaining three observed series are represented by the formule :—. . 17437°3 —30°0m +0:87m? che 17430°8 +29°5m +1-09m* ' 17437°3 + 115m +0:87m* — value for ») can be determined from them. The correspondence is very close, having regard to ; the approximate character of the formule upon which the calculation is based. It is certainly good enough to justify the proceeding as an empirical method of expressing the relationship between the two groups and to encourage theoretical inquiry into its physical significance. As the matter stands at present, the inference— NO. 2744, VOL. 109] illusory though it may be—is that the molecules fall into two classes, according to whether their angular momenta are given by mh/2r or by (m+1/2)h/2z. Transitions between the two classes do not occur (or, if they do, give rise to no radiation), since there are no lines corresponding to changes of one-half in the quantum number. That is to say, whether or no the half-quantum may be involved in the determination of the possible states of a molecule, it does not appear to play any direct part in the radiation process. W. E. Curtis. Wheatstone Laboratory, King’s College, W.C.2. Fossils in Burmese Amber. AMBER mines have long been known in Upper Burma, or rather in the adjacent “‘ unadministered tracts.”” In 1916 Mr. R. C. J. Swinhoe, of Mandalay, began to send me specimens of Burmese amber (Burmite) containing insects. As opportunity has offered, he has continued to obtain such material, all of which has been transmitted, after investigation, to. the British Museum (Natural History). Up to the present time I have been able to describe 38 species of insects, three arachnids and one diplopod. Many other species, which I did not feel competent to deal. with, or which could not be seen properly, exist in the amber, and will, I hope, eventually be described by others. On the whole, the fauna is very remarkable, containing a large preponderance of types which are usually considered primitive. The amber was said. to come from Miocene clay, in which, however, it was presumably of secondary origin. Judging from the fossils, I suggested as early as 1917 that the amber might be actually very much older than Miocene, conceivably even Upper Cretaceous (Amer. Journ. Sct., Nov. 1917, p. 360). Recently, information has been received which tends to confirm the suspicion that the amber is much older than Miocene. Dr. F. A. Bather of the British Museum has kindly transmitted a letter from Dr. E. H. Pascoe, Director of the Geological Survey of India, dated July 20, 1921. Dr. Pascoe states that Dr. M.- Stuart, in his recent journey down the Hukong Valley, saw something of the amber mines, and reported that the shafts were sunk in beds which appeared to be identical with the Tipam sandstone or the Irrawaddy series.. Whether they passed through into underlying rocks could not be determined, but from the evidence obtained by Noetling and others it seemed probable that they frequently did. The, Tipam sandstone is unconformable on the underlying beds, and frequently contains fragments of them in its lowest horizons. Such fragments may very well include lumps of amber derived from the underlying clays. Dr. Pascoe continues: ‘‘ Among the debris. of some pits sunk into these clays, which are the true, home of the amber, Dr. Stuart found a fragment of chalky nummulitic limestone. The pits had been sunk into the clays, not to obtain amber, but flint from the chalky limestone lying in them. Dr. Stuart describes the clays as totally unlike any Disang beds that he had seen, and he is inclined to accept the view that they are Eocene in age. If it is possible to deter- mine the species of the nummulite, I will let you know; but it is, of course, not certain that this- nummulitic limestone occurs im situ within the clays.’’: On August I, 1921, Dr. Pascoe wrote that Dr. Stuart thinks the nummulite is Nuwmmulites biaritz- ensis d’Arch., characteristic of the uppermost zone: of the Lower Khirthar. The Khirthars correspond approximately, according to Mr. E. Vredenburg, to the Lutetian. The Lutetian represents the earlier part of the Middle Eocene, below the Bartonian, foot 2Ac2- Fe 4 714 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 Thus, the evidence seems to indicate that the Bur- mese amber fauna is Eocene, and older than the Eocene (Bartonian) beds which have produced fossil insects in the south of England. At this point, however, a new problem is introduced. A few days ago I received from Mr. Swinhoe a number of beads of extremely pale and pellucid amber con- taining well-preserved insects, all different from those previously described. These insects include a small bee, which seems not to differ at all from the common living Indian Tvigona leviceps. Smith. The other, amber contained no ants, but this includes a worker of Crematogaster, workers of Pheidole, and males of Monomorium. I also find a winged termite, a psyllid, a fly of the genus Phlebotomus, some acalyptrate muscoid flies, a mycetophilid, some small spiders, etc. So far as can be seen, this is a modern series of types. Mr. Swinhoe found that the beads, when he purchased them, had been artificially coloured to enhance their value, and he had this colouring matter removed. He learned that*several stained necklaces had been imported from China, so he could not be sure that the material was really from Burma. At one time he even wondered whether the specimens could have been included in artificial amber, as is some- times done. He decided that this last suspicion was unfounded, and I quite agree. His letter ends: ““Probably this light amber comes from a locality a few miles off.”” My own opinion is that this light amber (or copal) is of very recent origin, not earlier than Pleistocene, and contains a fauna which doubtless consists mainly (at least) of species still living. The bee which I recently described as Meliponorytes (?) devictus probably belongs to this material, and not to the Eocene amber. We may surmise that we have the product of some Diptero- carpaceous tree allied to Vateria; something similar to Miss Ruth Holden’s Dipterocarpoxylon burmense, based on fossil wood from Burma. More exact information on this matter is greatly to be desired. T. D. A. COCKERELL. University of Colorado, May 1, 1922. on Radium Synthesis of Carbon Compounds from Air. Now that photo-synthesis is attracting special attention it may be interesting to record some recent preliminary experiments on the production of syn- thetic carbon compounds by the action of radium rays on atmospheric air. Under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, it seems evident that this radio- synthesis 1s capable of producing carbon compounds apart from living cells, and without the agency of solar radiation. The experiments arose from an observation, made some nine years ago, during an investigation: of the curvature of thin plates of mica when acted upon. by radium. After long exposures—some weeks in dura- tion—I noticed a deposit of brown patches, mere specks, on the uppermost side of the thin strips, that is, the side which became concave during a-ray bombardment. As this deposit was found not to be responsible for the bending, it was not mentioned in the resulting paper (Journal R6ngten Society, No. 44, vol. xi., * Alpha Ray Effect Mechanical ’’), but left for future investigation, which eventually had to be abandoned on account of urgent war work. Having recently made further experiments, I find that the deposits can be detected more quickly, and better observed, by using freshly drawn fibres of quartz or glass, diameter about 0-04 millimetres. Several of these may be spaced about I mm. apart, supported on a framework immediately over the NO. 2744, VOL. 109] radium salt, about one-eighth of an inch above the uncovered radio-active surface (one or two milli- grammes of radium or mesothorium is sufficient). The whole arrangement should be put into a clean _ cardboard box (about one litre capacity, to reduce — convection currents), with loose fitting lid, which is — then put away ina dark room. After remaining un- — disturbed for a week, it will be seen, using a Codding- ton lens (or better if transferred to a microscope with one-inch objective), that the fibres are covered with a clear white viscid liquid film, which is beginni gather up into beads, or droplets, at more or less regular distances. After a further exposure of a few days, it will be found that all the droplets have increased in size, some having reached a pale sherry colour, Further exposure leads to increase in size, eventually resulting in dimensions about double the diameter of the fibre. The colour changes may be from white to sherry, red, then dark brown, after about six weeks’ exposure ; later a little irregulari of contour*of the brown droplets may be noticed, showing that the liquid is tending to solidify with irregular contraction; fresh deposits may appear in the interspace between old droplets, so that a fibre may contain droplets in all stages. It is evident that the first liquid product, colourless at the beginning, is soon oxidised in the ozone which is produced by the a-rays. By reason of the time required and the minute quantity of the first product, it is difficult to make tests before oxidation has taken place to some extent. Preliminary microscopical examination of the final dark brown product, which becomes a strongly ad- herent scaly deposit, on a mica strip (after nine yee demonstrated that the brown deposit was insoluble in alcohol and chloroform but dissolved in hot water. On evaporation of this solution a brown film was formed which cracked into scales on drying. This film became carbonised on heating, at about the same temperature as a particle of gum acacia, on the same electric hot-plate. So far, I have not obtained deposits by using a- p- or y-rays, either separately or in combination. The to 4 gaseous emanation of radium seems to be necessary, _ which points to the probability that the radium pro- ducts of short period are chiefly concerned in the synthesis, or in facilitating condensation on solids. On this point, and on the physical aspects, further. experiments are in progress, but it is very desirable that the chemical examination of the products should be made by others with better facilities than those I possess for dealing with very minute quantities, | Possibly increased production may be obtained by . increasing the proportion of water vapour and carbon dioxide in the air. I should be very glad to know of. any work already done bearing on the subject. Have. such products ever been found in the atmosphere ? If ultra microscopical, rain may contain some. _ F. Harrison GLew.: 156 Clapham Road, London, S.W.9. Cephalic Index and Sex. In Nature of March 23, p. 389, I find the state- ment—in a summary of a paper by Miss R. M. Fleming —that ‘‘ British women show more development of pigment, brachycephaly, and prognathism than do men.” ; As to the cephalic index I see quite the same in- Arthur Thomson and Randall-MaclIver’s interesting account of skulls from ‘“‘ The Ancient Races of the Thebaid ”’ (Oxford, 1905) ; and probably this “‘ more — development of brachycephaly ” in women is a general law. ss Nap eS, agai ’ ee EE eee 1 : Fite _ In this short letter I need not enter into the various JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 715 But, as I pointed out in 1907, in my Danish paper, “Om Kortskaller og Langskaller’’ (Oversigt over D. K. ‘Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger, 1907) —also published in a German translation in ‘‘ Archiv fiir Rassen- und Gesellschafts biologie ’’ (IV., 1907) —such indications need correction because of the correlation between absolute length of skull and cephalic index: the index diminishing greatly with increasing length. I will here reproduce only one of the concluding tables of my paper in which I have given computations of the English authors’ splendid material. The whole _ of the material (775 males and 754 females) gives for _ the skulls : these averages : Males: L., 18-426 Br., 13-536 Index, 73-48 Females: L., 17-682 Br., 13-187 Index, 74-58 i.e. showing ‘“‘ more development of brachycephaly ” in - women. But if we compare what ought to be compared, namely, the skulls having the same lengths, we find quite different results. _ Comparisons of the cephalic index in men and - women within the same classes of absolute length are _ given in the following table: Index of Skulls. * . . Diff _| Limits of Length-Classes. Mean peasy Male. Female. Zz cm ae - 77°34 75°86 1-48 +0-+47 tg 75°40 74:28 I-I2+0:29 18 ” 73°88 73°18 Oo 70 --0+30 a4 7 72°42 7T1*24 1-18 -Lo-51 The same a, a runs through all special series of the material. The same class of absolute length of head (again correlated with the height of body and so on) shows more development of brachycephaly in in women ! uestions concerning cephalic index and heredity, i W. JOHANNSEN. 1, etc. University of Copenhagen. THE point which Prof. Johannsen raises is interest- ing, though absolute measurements on men and women are scarcely comparable. .Absolute measurements on women are not only smaller than those on men of the same , but also differ in their relationships. As pointed out in a summary of our measurement re- sults in Man for May 1922, a range of absolute head length 181-193 mm. in women of a certain race type corresponds with a range of absolute head length 194-204 mm. in men of that race type. It will thus be seen at once that a comparison of a man and a woman ween, A same absolute head length means a comparison between two people not only of different sex, but also of different race type. In such a com- ison one gets a woman towards the long headed end of the series compared with a man towards the short headed end of the series for that sex. The smallest absolute measurements for head breadth are among women, for all women’s measurements are small, but at the same time these heads need not necessarily be narrow proportionately to their length, which may also be very smali. Classifying race types on the basis of summation of characters our thousands of measurements undoubtedly show that women’s heads show greater relative breadth (i.e. are not so oval in shape) as those of the men nearest to them in general features. | n conclusion, may I refer to Prof. Johannsen’s NO. 2744, VOL. 109 | mention of length of head correlated with height of body. Our results have gone to show that on the whole the greatest absolute length of head is to be found in a race type the height of which is distinctly sub-normal. The longest headed man I have meas- sured is of this type and is under five feet in height. This of course may not apply to the race types Prof. Johannsen has measured, but it would be interesting to have his observations on the point. R. M. FLEMING. The Organisation of Knowledge. REGARDING the remarks made in NAtuRE of May 6 on the address of Dr. F. L. Hoffman at the American Association, it might be suggested that the organisa- tion of facts for commercial uses is of a different order than the organisation of knowledge for the purpose of understanding the .operations of Nature or of ascertaining a particular law of cause and effect. A man who collects data may, or may not, have imagination. A man may also classify facts quite mechanically according to a scheme laid down. The successful ‘‘ business organiser,’’ however, usually has a new plan and sets others to work to collect facts for him to organise or re-organise. He knows at the start why he wants the facts and how to use them. Imagination is required by such an organiser because he has to adjust: his methods not only to his data but to human beings and a changing world. Mathematics, however, in the Pythagorean sense of Mathesis, certainly is not necessary for the actuaries’ arithmetical operations. But, so far, neither actu- aries nor the inductive method of inquiry alone have been able to predict epidemics of disease, revolutions or wars, not to mention earthquakes and _ tidal waves; nor have they anticipated discoveries of fundamental laws, such, for example, as that of Dalton’s doctrine of atomic proportions or Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. Dalton, we know, was a mathematician and was not personally engaged in collecting evidence ; his laboratory work was in- significant. Faraday himself stated that he had reached his conclusion by a process of thought and knew it must be true before he obtained the evidence by experiment. Who, even then, suspected the industrial results that followed in later years through the application of the principle by others? It is to mathematics in the original Greek sense of principles or proportions (not calculation merely) that we owe the really epoch-making discoveries of science. Even inventions are not the result of examining facts. A mechanical genius has a knowledge (instinctive or mathematical) of a law he tries to demonstrate practically ; he does not attempt to formulate a law from a collection of facts. The evidence proves the law to the senses; but a law is not created nor even discovered by evidence. Inductive science has been necessary in order that we should become acquainted with the different kinds of materials and variety of species, etc., in the world, for, before Bacon’s instruc- tions had been carried out, there was no opportunity to apply the laws of Nature (understood, without doubt, in a general way by Bacon himself) even when a genius with mathematical imagination saw them in his thought. Inductive and deductive methods are each ineffective without the other. Again, the history of modern chemistry and physics does not support the contention that the laws of mechanical engineering were evolved by rule-of-thumb experiments amongst primitive peoples before, for instance, the pyramids could be built. Modern hydraulic engineering arose in the mind of one Carnot, a mathematical genius who demonstrated its laws * 716 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 by symbols on paper. Industry and business have benefited considerably from the application of this unbusinesslike mathematical method ! The fact is that the most practical sciences, and the only sciences that have been applied industrially, are the exact sciences of chemistry, physics, and engineer- ing—sciences which can predict effects from known causes. No statement of evidence is really a fact until all the factors are known, and, therefore, statistics cannot predict, and man cannot forestall disease or economic distress, in spite of the sciences of biology and medicine and the “ science of economics.”’ W. WILson LEISENRING. In a notice (NATURE, May 6, p. 596) of an address by Dr. Hoffman, the words are used: ‘“ Imagination is what the mathematician is ever trying to get rid of.””. As such misconceptions.as this are unfortun- ately rather widespread, it may be useful to protest against them. Imagination is essential to mathe- matics. The work of the great mathematicians affords many striking examples of creative imagina- tion, and for the proper understanding and apprecia- tion of even the elementary parts of the subject the use of imagination is necessary. One of the most important qualities of a good mathematical teacher is the power of stimulating the pupils’ imagination, and it is, perhaps, the neglect of this faculty.by. some teachers which is responsible for the dulness and life- lessness of what is too often taught in schools under the name of mathematics. F. E. Cave: - Girton College, Cambridge, May tro. Dr. HoFFMan’s charge against the mathematicians was not that they lack imagination but that they set before them as the ideal of their science the getting rid of it. The quotation from Prof. Whitehead, who certainly is not lacking in that faculty, makes the meaning clear. There is, however, a drawback in our language in the fact that we use the same word for imagination when we mean esthetic creation, what the Italians call fantasia, as we do when we mean the anticipation which is pure reproduction, what the Italians call immaginazione. It is of course the esthetic creation the mathematician aims at dispensing with in order to preserve the purely logical character of his ideas, Even Kant repre- sented it as a kind of handicap that mathematical concepts should require sensuous intuition for their expression. THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE, The Elliptic Logarithmic. Spiral—a New Curve. Ir, in an elastic system with one degree of freedom, and friction proportional to the velocity, the relation of the “ free ’’ force to the displacement be considered, an interesting curve results. — Thus if the displacement be «= ae-* cos nt the force is given by F=be-* cos (ni+e), and by eliminating the cosines we have 2 2Fx F? : 5 ~ os Aa eae sin? «, 3 which may be termed an elliptic logarithmic spiral or a damped Lissajous’ curve. If the vibrations are maintained or forced by a: force of harmonic character, the force displacement curves become ellipses. NO. 2744, VOL. 109 | The same equations, hold for the compounding of two damped harmonic motions of equal periods at right angles, so that the path of a body at the lower part of an oiled sphere or of the bob of a conical — pendulum in a viscous medium would be, in plan, an elliptic logarithmic spiral. H. S. RowE Lt, Director of Research. — Research Association of British Motor / and Allied Manufacturers, 15 Bolton Road, Chiswick, W.4, May 3. Intelligence Statistics. I was interested in a short note in Nature of February 16, 218, on the dependence of the standard of intelligence of individuals on the part of the year in which they were born. Statistics appear — to show that the standard of intelligence is higher in individuals born in the autumn (say October) than in those born in the spring (say April). At first sight this result may seem rather unexpected, as one might expect that the influence of summer would be beneficial to a child born in the spring, whereas, in the case of a child born in the autumn, it would not be surprising if the succeeding winter were to have a deleterious effect on the mental growth. ' It appears to me that the chances of a child sur- viving the first year of life are greater for a child born in the spring than for one born in the autumn, and I do not doubt but that statistics have shown that this.is so. the general ‘‘ fitness’’ of the survivors of the first year of life would be greater for individuals born in the autumn, because the weaklier members have been weeded out by the severity of winter in the first few months of life. This would appear to be sufficient to explain the result mentioned at the beginning of this letter. We should thus expect that, in the southern hemisphere, children born in the spring (April) would in later life have a higher average standard of intelligence than those born in the later months of the year, Statistics from the southern hemisphere would thus be of value in this connection. Coupled with this one would expect that — It is possible that this aspect of the problem has — already been dealt with. As the papers on this work are not accessible to me, however, I have not seen the explanations offered for the above-mentioned interesting phenomenon, ROBERT W, Lawson. The University, Sheffield. A Rainbow Peculiarity. In Nature of March 9, p. 309, Major Lockyer asks if it is a fact of general observation that “ the whole area of the inside of the primary bow is brighter than the region outside,’ and he refers to the pheno- menon as ‘a fact in Nature which appears to have been rarely noticed visually.’”’ The following quota-. tion from ‘‘ The Divine Adventure,’’ by Fiona Macleod (William Sharp), shows that the mystic poet not only saw clearly into the heart of Nature, but was also a keen observer of her outward mani-, festations : -It is not Love that gives the clearest sight : For out of bitter tears, and tears unshed, Riseth the Rainbow. of Sorrow overhead, And ’neath the Rainbow is the clearest light. 55) ; Probably the phenomenon’ was commonly known — amongst the Western Isles he loved so well. Joun P. DaLTon. ; ‘University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Qi ake y , a ie Se gees ete ae JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 717 Non-Specific Therapy. By Dr. J. STEPHENSON. : Sy inoculation against typhoid fever, dead typhoid bacilli are injected subcutaneously or into a muscle. Inoculation against plague consists in the injection of an emulsion of dead plague bacilli artifici- ally grown in broth. These are prophylactic measures _ for the protection of persons who are likely to be - exposed to infection. Hydrophobia vaccine, used in _ order to prevent the development of the disease in persons who have been bitten by a rabid animal, is according to a definite system from the spinal cords of rabbits inoculated with the disease. Anti- _ diphtheritic serum, used in the treatment of patients actually suffering from diphtheria, is the blood-serum of a horse which has had diphtheria toxin (the broth in which diphtheria bacilli have been grown, and from _ which the bacilli have been filtered off) repeatedly injected into it. _ In using vaccines the object is ‘to stimulate the individual to produce protective substances in his _ own body; in using sera, the protective substances, elaborated by some other animal, are themselves supplied to the patient. But in all the above instances, and in numerous other similar modes of treatment,— whether the treatment takes place before infection (i.e. is prophylactic), or is carried out during the incubation period, or during the actual disease ; whether bacilli are used, or a serum free from bacilli but containing an antitoxin,—the implication is that certain substances are protective against one disease, certain other substances against another; in other words, the treatment is specific. The idea of specifi- city may go even further, as where a patient is treated by means of the particular strain of micro- organism, or the particular mixture of them, that he himself harbours (the use of autogenous vaccines in asthma, acne, boils, etc.). As Sir Almroth Wright has recently written :— “That immunisation is always strictly specific counts as an article of faith; and it passes as axiom- atic that microbic infections can be warded off only by working with homologous vaccines, and that we must in pacts case, before employing a vaccine peng porn y, make sure that the patient is harbour- corresponding microbes.” To attempt treatment on a non-specific basis would seem therefore at first glance to be a step backward, and investigation of such a subject illogical, if nothing worse. But while reason, working on the accepted lines, was all against the idea, facts have cropped up repeatedly which seem to give a value to non-specific treatment. At first these were ignored; but a time has come when this method of disposing of them is no longer possible. Thus, to quote Wright again :— eta | confess to having shared the conviction that im- munisation is always strictly specific. Twenty years ago, when it was alleged, before the Indian Plague Commission, that anti-plague inoculation had cured eczema, gonorrhoea, and other miscellaneous infec- tions, I thought the matter undeserving of examina- tion. I took the same view when it was. reported in connection with anti-typhoid inoculation that it -. rendered the patients much less susceptible to thalaria. Again, some years. ago, when applying NO. 2744, VOL. 109 | pneumococcus inoculations as a preventive against pneumonia in the Transvaal mines, I nourished exactly the same prejudices. But here the statistical results which were obtained in the Premier Mine demonstrated that the pneumococcus inoculations had, in addition to bringing down the mortality from neumonia by 85 per cent., reduced also the mortality rom “‘ other diseases ”’ by 50 per cent. From that © on we had to take up into our categories | the fact that -inoculation produces in addition to “ direct ”’ also “ collateral’” immunisation. This once recog- nised, presumptive evidence of collateral immunisa- - tion began gradually to filter into our minds. From such cases hints are conveyed to us that there may exist a useful sphere of application for collateral immunisation ; . we should discard the confident dogmatic belief that immunisation should be strictly specific, and that we should in every case of failure endeavour to make our immunisation more and more strictly specific. We should instead proceed upon the principle that the best vaccine to employ will always be the vaccine which gives on trial the best immunising response against the microbe we propose to combat.”’ 'The present position of non-specific therapy is explained in .a recently published volume by Dr. Petersen of Chicago, from which the above quotation from Wright is taken. When we come to inquire into the rationale of the procedure, we find that a theoretical basis to account for the results has been lacking,—the treatment has been empirical. With Petersen, we may perhaps put the matter broadly thus : the reaction of the body is fundamentally the same in all cases of injury ; there is an effort to dilute the noxious agent (increased flow of lymph), to remove it (phagocytosis by leucocytes), to neutralise it (manu- facture of antibodies) ; ; these failing, to wall it ‘in. We may, in trying to influence this process, adopt one of two avenues of approach ; we may proceed against’ the cause of the inflammatory reaction by fostering the production of an antibacterial agent or an anti- toxin ; treatment on these lines must necessarily be specific, must be directed against the particular micro- organism or toxin. Or we may endeavour to alter the inflammatory reaction of the body itself,—to stimulate the potential forces, latent or held in abeyance until the non-specific stimulation brings them into activity. This is somewhat vague; Wright has, in a recent lecture (see the Lancet, May 6), described one way, at least, in which the activation works. He has dis- covered that “‘ the intravenous injection of a vaccine is immediately followed by the appearance of bacteri- cidal substances in the blood, which are not specific: but can act upon various types. of organisms. F The late result of an inoculation with, say, a typhoid vaccine, is the production of antibodies which are specific for the typhoid bacillus, but the immediate result of such an inoculation is the appearance of non- specific antibodies. Inasmuch as leucocytes _Possess: the power of inhibiting the growth of organisms on. culture media, it seems likely that these non-specific’ substances exist ready-formed in the leucocytes which: yield them in response to the immediate demand,” 1 Protein Therapy and Nons By Dr. William F. Petersen. Pp. xviii+31r4. _ (New York: The, Macmillam :Company ; London: Macmillan and Co,, Ltd., 1922.) 21s. net. cific Resistance. 718 NATURE Already a large number of substances have been used as non-specific agents.; in many cases, of course, these remedies were employed long before any explanation of their action had been formulated on the above lines. Of the long list of agents given by Petersen only a few can be mentioned. First comes counter-irritation by means of thermo- cautery, seton, blisters, etc. Each of these procedures has for object the production of a focus of inflammatory exudation, suppuration, or necrosis; the absorption of the pathological exudates must lead to a tissue stimulation similar to that which follows more modern non-specific injections. Our non-specific therapy is thus but part and parcel of this older practice of counter- irritation. Normal animal sera have been used,—horse, beef, goat, sheep, chicken, and other sera ;. these were first injected subcutaneously, and in more recent years into a vein; as much as 250 c.c. of beef serum have been given in anthrax without injury. Antibacterial sera and antitoxins have been widely used,—diphtheria and tetanus antitoxin, antistreptococcic, antipneumo- coccic, antidysenteric serum, etc. ;—as remedies, that is, not in the homologous diseases, but in other morbid conditions, e.g. diphtheria antitoxin against strepto- coccus infection, tuberculosis, lupus, etc. The numer- ous vaccines, prepared in the first place as specific agents,—typhoid, dysentery, streptococcal, pneumo- coccal, influenza vaccines,—have also been used with a non-specific object. Various native proteins have been given,—solution of egg albumen and serum albumen injected subcutane- ously, milk by intramuscular injection, casein, gelatin ; of protein split products, proteoses (albumoses) pre- pared from different proteins sometimes give a very prompt and satisfactory reaction. The enzyme treat- ment of cancer, exploited some years ago, consisted in the subcutaneous injection of a trypsin solution; a general reaction, —chill, sweating, and rise of tempera- ture,—followed the injection, and the patient would have several days of comparative comfort. Colloidal metals constitute another group of remedies; these are active catalytic agents, and it is supposed that they act therapeutically in virtue of this property as inorganic ferments; they whip up the organism, which responds, if response is possible, by producing more leucocytes. endocarditis, rheumatism, trench fever, etc. The use of light, Réntgen rays, and radium must also be mentioned. ‘These agents first stimulate tissue cells, and later, with prolonged exposure, cause their death. In both cases substances enter the blood stream which produce a general reaction ; this may be mild, or accompanied by severe fever. After moderate reactions of this type, if the patient is in good condition and able to respond, improvement of appetite, nutri- tion, and general well-being may set in, just as after other non-specific agents. least a partial explanation of the effect of heliotherapy in tuberculosis, as used, for example, at Leysin in Switzerland, of which the public has heard much in the last few months. About half of Dr. Petersen’s book is occupied with an account of the methods used and the results obtained in the numerous diseases for which non-specific therapy has been tried. The last chapter, on indications and — contra-indications, gives much useful advice. We are reminded that the method can only be applied intelligently if we recognise that by it all the forces of cellular and humoral resistance are for a short period of time keyed to the highest pitch; stimulation of this kind is useless when the cells of the body are profoundly fatigued, and hence injections must be given early in the course of the disease. But “ the non-specific method of treatment should under no circumstances be considered as a rival or a substitute for the proven specific measures that we have at our command. That a non-specific factor is at times and possibly often associated with the specific reaction may be true, the more reason that both should be studied and both utilised in their proper time and place.” The bibliography runs to no less than fifty pages, and must, one would think, be complete up to date. The book as a whole forms an interesting, convenient, and comprehensive account of a recent development of medical thought and practice. The Solvay Institute of Chemistry. a, Dyers first meeting of the “ Institut International de. Chimie Solvay ” was held in Brussels on April 20-27, under the presidency of Sir William Pope. It will be remembered that before the war M. Ernest Solvay set aside a capital sum to be expended in the course of thirty years by the International Institute of Physics, and that meetings under the auspices of this Institute have been held in Brussels both before and since the war. More recently M. Solvay has set aside a further capital sum of one million francs, also to be expended in thirty years, for the promotion of the science of chemistry. The meetings of the Institute are attended by dele- gates from different countries, the number being limited to about thirty, so that the discussions may be as NO. 2744, VOL. 109] free and as informal as possible. The recent meeting was devoted to the consideration of a number of those questions which affect the foundations of modern chemistry, and its programme included the presentation of papers on isotopes, by Soddy, by Aston, and by Perrin and Urbain ; structure, by W. H. Bragg ; on the electronic theory of valency, by Mauguin ; on optical activity, by Pope and by Lowry ; and on chemical mobility, by Job. . In connection with the papers on isotopes, consider- able discussion was aroused as to the possibility of two’ dissimilar arrangements of planetary electrons around — The possibility of such an- isomerism in the external domain of the atom was conceded, although at present only as a hypothesis ; — the same type of nucleus. [June 3, 1922 A number of colloidal metals have been prepared for therapeutic employment ; the ‘. colloidal silver preparations have been in use longest, ‘a but arsenic, zinc, gold, manganese, iron, mercury, — and other metals, as well as sulphur and iodine, have — been employed with varying success in septic conditions, : Here, then, we have at on X-ray analysis and molecular JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 719 - but, in view of the fact that radiation by the atom is _ attributed to the movement of electrons from one orbit a to another, the prospect of realising two different stable - configurations of the orbits appears somewhat remote. _ Another possibility, that atoms may exist of equal 1 & a 2 ca 4 amongst the common elements. atomic weight as well as of equal atomic number, has been discussed in connection with certain members of the radium and actinium series or radio-elements. The supposed necessity for recognising this subtle type of distinction between atoms is based on the assumption that radium and actinium are derived from a common parent and that all the members of both series of radio- elements ‘must therefore have atomic weights of the type (238 — 4n). If, however, radium and actinium are Bees from isotopic forms of uranium, the two series _ of radio-elements may well prove to differ in atomic _ weight, e.g. by one unit. . paper dealt largely with the question of how an ment ” The discussion on Aston’ S “ele- should be defined, in view of the discovery of isotopes not only amongst radio-elements but also Aston appeared to voice the feeling amongst physicists by suggesting that each atomic number should represent one element ; - but he was opposed by a number of chemists, who > argued that the word “element” carried with it an idea of homogeneity which could not be reconciled with the proposal to describe as an element a mixture of _ isotopes, the separation of which might at any time _ become a practical possibility. The paper on the va "was to have been prepared by the late Prof. Guye. _ certainly served to emphasise the extreme difficulty of _ the separation, since nearly all the methods derived _ from analogy with rare earths or isomeric hydrocarbons have been shown, both by theory and by experiment, to be impracticable. separation of isotopes, presented by Perrin and Urbain, It Bragg’s demonstration of recent results obtained by the X-ray analysis of crystals was greatly aided by, models, which could be not only viewed at close quarters, but handled and studied during the whole period of the conference. Some discussion arose in connection with his demonstration of the relationship between the crystal structure of diamond and of graphite, and of the two kinds of relationship between carbon atoms which are shown by the model of graphite. Two different kinds of linkage were also. shown between atoms of bismuth, corresponding perhaps to co-valence and electro-valence respectively. The principal sub- ject of discussion arose, however, from the application of X-ray analysis to organic compounds and a be- wildering array of chemical problems was suggested, in connection with which X-ray analysis might lead to useful results. A modification of Barlow and Pope’s theory of crystal structure, in which a quadrivalent atom is represented by an aggregate of four unit spheres, was described, and shown to present many points of close agreement with the crystalline structure actually recorded in organic compounds. The discussion on the electronic theory of valency which followed Mauguin’s paper included perhaps a larger proportion of adverse criticism than is usually accorded to it. In particular, the lack of any adequate explanation of variable valency, and the indeterminate character of the valency equations (which do not admit of a unique mathematical solution) were the subjects of much comment. The discussion-on optical activity dealt mainly with the usefulness or otherwise of retaining the idea of the asymmetric carbon atom. It was agreed that the asymmetry of the molecule was the only thing that mattered ; but expression was given to the view that the term was of value as enabling the organic chemist to recognise at once the existence of many cases of molecular asymmetry, although this might still be looked for in many cases where no asymmetric atom was present. [In the discussion on rotatory dispersion the idea was expressed that liquid media which gave rise to complex dispersion-curves might be suspected of containing more than one type of optically-active molecule ; in the case of coloured compounds, however, a looped ‘curve might result from the presence of an absorption band in the region under investigation. The discussion on chemical mobility was for the most part focussed on the radiation theory of chemical action. The lack of agreement between the predictions of the theory, and the results obtained in seeking to verify it, was emphasised. Thus, the observed temperature coefficient of the thermal dissociation of phosphine leads to the conclusion that an absorption band should appear in the violet region of the spectrum. No such band is found, and the theory has therefore been modified in a way which suggests that the active radiations may be found at lower frequencies, e.g. in the infra-red region of the spectrum. Actually, how- ever, the change is very sensitive to ultra-violet radia- tions, and a further modification of the theory would be needed to account for this persistent deviation from the experimental. facts. Universal Wireless Telephony. by view of the. great technical progress that has been made during the last few years in the development of the wireless telephone, and the atten- tion that has been given by the Postmaster-General to the framing of regulations for its orderly use in this country, a considerable popularisation of wireless 8 telephony appears imminent. It is therefore of some _ interest to examine briefly the facilities as well as the limitations which exist regarding its use. It is _ obvious that anything like secrecy in conversation over the radio-telephone, as it is now often called, is out of the question, as any one in possession of a half- NO. 2744, VOL. 109] guinea licence and a receiving set, which can be tuned. to the wave-length employed, can “listen in” and pick up the message irrespective of the station for which it. was primarily intended. On account of the publicity which thus attends the utterances’ of the wireless telephone, its field, except in such special cases as aeroplane work, is practically limited to the dissemination of public information, news, music, and other entertainment items, or as it is now com- monly called, “ broadcasting.”’ Unless, however, these broadcasting stations are rigorously controlled, they will not only defeat their own ends by drowning each 720 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 other’s messages in a confused babel of sounds, but will interfere with other forms of radio-communication, as already happens to a considerable extent in America. The most important consideration is that of wave- length, as simultaneous messages at or near the same wave-length mutually ‘jam * one another, and it may be mentioned that the margin of wave-lengths within which wireless telephone apparatus can be made to “ tune out” other messages is not so fine as it is with the best class of wireless telegraph receivers. In order to avoid interference with other established services, the Post Office has allotted the. range of 350 to 425 metres to the broadcasting stations. In this connection it should be recalled that the greater part of ship and shore Morse communication is on a 300 to 600 metre wave, and that amateur stations are allowed a wave-length of 440 metres. The well-known Writtle station will work in future at 400 metres, and the Air Ministry wave-lengths are 900 metres for the Croydon aeroplane serviceand 1400 metres for long-range weather reports, etc., while most: of the powerful stations use longer waves up to the 2500 metres of the Eiffel Tower. Possibility of interference will also be limited by allow- ing broadcasting only between the hours of 5 and 11 P.M. on week-days or any time on Sundays. Further considerations are the locality. and range of the transmitting stations. To avoid too much overlapping, one station will probably be allowed at each of the following points: London, Cardiff, Ply- mouth, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, and arrangements will be made between the licencees at these stations as to wave-lengths and times of operation within the allotted limits. . With the view of circumscribing to some extent the field of each station, its power will be limited to that corresponding to: an input of 14 kw. The actual distance over which a station can be heard, however, depends more on the receiving than on the transmitting apparatus, but with modern delicate equipment an approximate idea of the possible working range is given by taking about 4 mile for every watt input. Thus, although a simple set may only be able to hear the nearest of such a group of stations, a really sensitive set, say in London, could readily pick up all of them. ~ The cost of a receiving set for private use in picking up whatever programmes are to be broadcasted, varies. considerably with its sensitiveness. Roughly, the minimum that need be expended will depend on the distance from the nearest public station, assuming ~ that to be the only one the owner desires to hear. A set of this kind with a range of 25 miles or so wo ld cost from 5/. to rol. complete with the simple aerial that would be necessary. Actually, however, the cost of the equipment selected for any particular case’ will depend upon whether the apparatus is required ~ to be used to pick up waves from longer distances as well, such as to hear the wireless concerts already being radiated from the Hague, and the time and other — signals from the Eiffel Tower. In this case a detector — of the thermionic valve tube type must be em- — ployed, with one or more degrees of amplification and — a greater range of tuning inductances, etc., and a multicell dry battery or other source of voltage for. the tubes, as well as the two-cell accumulator, which — would otherwise be sufficient. A moderately sensitive — apparatus of this kind, with a range of 75 miles or — more, would cost about 2ol., and further requirements | . of sensitivity could easily ‘bring the price to, say, 751. Another point influencing the cost of the equip- — ment is the class of aerial which it is convenient to - use, as the more sensitive the set the smaller is the aerial with which it will work over a given distance. — As a rule, the simple crystal set will require some — form of outside aerial, whereas the more delicate set 3 with amplifying valves will give surprising. results _ with a portable aerial, inside a room, composed of a — few turns of wire on a rectangular frame. eS Although. probably the best results are obtained — with these sets by the. use of headpiece telephones, | loud-speaking sets, audible to a number of persons at once, can be used with all the better-class apparatus, — and this feature will doubtless add greatly to the popularity of wireless telephone reception. A number of firms are devoting themselves to the manufacture of this kind of apparatus, including, of course, such well-known establishments as the Marconi Co. The Radio Communications Corporation is also — well to the fore, and, as we have already announced, special arrangements are being made at the Trafford: Park Works of the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Other firms specialising in wireless receiving ap- paratus suitable for these purposes include Radio — Supplies, C. F. Elwell, Ltd., and the R.M. Radio’ — Company. We hope before long to have the oppor-' — tunity of publishing some particulars of the actual 5 apparatus made by some of these firms. Obituary. T. SANDMEVER.! © RAUGOTT SANDMEYER, well known to all chemists as the discoverer of the reactions which bear his name, was born at Wettingen in Aargau in 1854. Left an orphan by the death of his father the day after his birth, his mother had to resume her former occupation as a school teacher. His father, who was a science teacher, left a library of scientific books, the perusal of which led young Sandmeyer to interest himself in scientific apparatus, and after 1 This account is mainly gathered from an interesting obituary notice by Dr. Fierz in the issue of the Journal of the Society of Chemical eny, for May 15. NO. 2744, VOL. 109] spending some time in an engineering workshop, entered the employment of Mr. J. F. Meier, of Zurich, — a manufacturer of physical apparatus. Sandmeyer : afterwards started business on his own account, and — supplied apparatus to the Polytechnic institution. — He became in this way connected with the staff of the — institution, and in 1882 was appointed lecture-assistant — to Victor Meyer. a The story is often told how Victor Meyer, i in attempt- _ ing to show his class what was then known as the “indophenin reaction” with coal-tar benzene, used — benzene obtained by distilling calcium benzoate with: lime and failed to produce the expected result. It is oy ae, OR ci ae JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 721 - not so well known that Sandmeyer directed the atten- tion of the professor, who had forgotten the incident, to this remarkable difference between the two kinds of benzene, which subsequently led to the discovery of thiophene and its numerous congeners. When Prof. Meyer was transferred to Géttingen in 1885, Sandmeyer accompanied him, but very shortly re- turned to Zurich, where he became assistant to Prof. Hantzsch. In 1888 he joined the firm of J. R. Geigy, manufacturers of dyestuffs of Basle. Apart from the Sandmeyer reactions and his re- markable synthesis of indigo from thiocarbanilide in 1899, Sandmeyer’s discoveries are little known to __ chemists unconnected with the synthetic dye industry, in which his later activities lay, and where his greatest successes were achieved. He was a man of reserved _ habits and made few friends outside the small coterie _ of his collaborators and fellow-workers, but is described __ by one, formerly associated with him, as a colleague who was always ready to help and advise. _ as an expert mechanician, his scrupulous care as an _ experimenter, and his powers of observation often led him to discoveries which others had overlooked, and _ the long list of new and valuable dyestuffs of which His skill he was the author placed him in the forefront of colour chemists. p In recognition of his work the University of Heidel- berg conferred upon Sandmeyer the degree of Ph.D. honoris causa in 1891, and in 1915, at the celebration of the r5oth anniversary of the firm of J. R. Geigy Co., of which he had meantime become a director, he was made an honorary doctor of the Zurich Technical School. On his retirement in 1919 Sandmeyer left a portion of his wealth to the pension fund of the firm with which he had been so long associated. Pror. H. M. Howe. . Pror. Henry Marion Howe, whose death was recently announced, in his seventy-fifth year, was the ‘doyen of American metallurgists. He was well known both here and on the Continent. He was born at Boston on March 2,'1848, the son of Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, who was one of the earliest to assist the Greeks in their struggle for freedom. His mother, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, was the author of the famous “ Battle Hymn ” of the Republic. Prof. Howe graduated at the University of Harvard in 1869 in arts, and two years later in science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then engaged in metallurgical work in Pittsburg, Pa., and Troy, N.J.,and soon became known as a keen observer and investigator. In 1880 he designed and built the works of the Orford Nickel and Copper Company ~ at Capeltown in the province of Quebec, and at Bergen- point, N.J. From 1883 to 1897 he resided at Boston, and set up in private practice as a consulting metal- lurgist and expert witness in metallurgical patent suits. ‘With this he combined the position of lecturer on metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology. He was an original member of the American Institute of Mining Engineering, founded in 1871, and soon contributed to its transactions. His first paper was on “ Blast-furnace Economy,” which was followed by ‘“ Thoughts on the Thermic Curves of NO. 2744, VOL. 109] © What is Steel ? ” Blast-furnaces”’ and ‘‘ Nomenclature of Iron,’ the latter a remarkable contribution to the discussion inaugurated by A. L. Holley in his famous paper, His first book, published in 1885, dealt with copper smelting. This was followed in 1891 by “ The Metallurgy of Steel,” a book which did much to lay the foundations of scientific steel metallurgy, and created for him an_ international reputation in the subject. In 1897 Prof. Howe was called to the chair of metal- lurgy at Colombia College, New York, a position which he filled for some fifteen years. On his retiring to become a consulting metallurgist, he was appointed professor emeritus. He was one of the small band of metallurgists who helped to lay the foundations of the science of metallography, and his name will always be remembered in connection with those of the late M. Osmond, Martens, H. Le Chatelier, Tschernoff, Anossov, Stead, Roberts-Austen, and Arnold. In this connection, his principal contribution is his book entitled “‘ The Metallography of Steel and Cast-iron,” a monumental work, which displays a remarkable grasp of the subject and an unusual power of weighing scientific evidence. Prof. Howe was not primarily an’ experimentalist, although in his later years he published several papers with the late A. G. Levy, dealing particularly with the iron-carbon equilibrium. He was, however, a prolific writer, and in all published more than 300 papers. He was vice-president of the Taylor Wharton Iron and Steel Company, and intro- duced the manufacture of manganese steel into the United States in 1890. Prof. Howe was president of the American Institu- tion of Mining Engineers, honorary vice-president of the Iron and Steel Institute, chairman of the engineer- ing division of the National Research Council, con- sulting metallurgist of the U.S. Bureau of Standards, and research associate of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Many honours came to him from various countries. In 1895 he was awarded the Bessemer Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute, later the Elliot Cresson gold medal of the Franklin Institute, a special prize and gold medal from the Société d’Encourage- ment pour |’Industrie Internationale, and finally, in 1917, the John Fritz gold medal, the highest honour in the gift of the engineering institutions of the United States of America. He also received several foreign orders, including the Legion of Honour and the Russian order of St. Stanislas. Prof. Howe was a frequent visitor to this country, and his genial personality will be greatly missed by metallurgists over here. Dr. RoBEertT Bruce-Low. Dr. Ropert Bruce-Low, the distinguished epi- demiologist, died on May 11 after a brief illness. Born in Edinburgh in 1846, he was educated at the Royal High School and University of that city, and graduated in medicine in 1867. After a year spent in post-graduate study in London and Germany, he settled down as a general practitioner, first in Lincoln- shire and afterwards at Helmsley in the North Riding, becoming the medical officer of health of the latter district. This nineteen years of general practice gave him 22 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 an insight into the conditions of rural hygiene which was most useful to him in after life. So valuable did the central health authority of those days consider Bruce-Low’s work in Helmsley that he was invited in 1887 to become a medical inspector of the Local Govern- ment Board, an invitation which he readily accepted. Here he came into intimate association with Buchanan, Thorne-Thorne, and Power, who, as successors to John Simon, were engaged in building up the English public health service. Bruce-Low conducted several inquiries and wrote many important reports for the Local Government Board, the best known of which are those on the progress and diffusion of plague, cholera, and yellow fever, the epidemiology of typhus fever, acute anterior poliomyelitis (1916), and smallpox (1918). Through his epidemiological studies Bruce-Low acquired an intimate knowledge of port sanitary administration, and in reply to an inquiry, furnished the Rockefeller Institute with a statement on the facts which led to the abandonment of quarantine in the United Kingdom. After holding many examinerships for the diploma of public health, he was appointed by the General Medical Council their Inspector of Examina- _ tions for degrees and diplomas in public health, work — which occupied him for the greater part of the two years of his life, and the outcome of which was ; 3 valuable report and a revised scheme of examinati now under consideration. 1900, retiring in 191I. Anti-typhoid Inoculation Committee, 1904-12, and on the outbreak of war he was recalled to the Local Government Board, finally retiring in 1920. Bruce-Low was always ready to help his colleagues, to whom he was a true friend ; he was proud of being a Civil Servant, and his distinguished services to his country and to the science of preventive medicine were officially recognised in 1919, when he was ap- pointed C.B. BR. T. WE notice with much regret the announcement in the Lancet of the death, on May 18, of Prof. Charles Louis Alfonse Laveran, FE oreign Member of the Royal Society, at the age of seventy-six years. , Current Topics and Events. THE Royal Academy of Belgium celebrated the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its foundation on May 23 and 24 in the presence of a large number of its members and of delegates from other academies and learned institutions. On the Wednesday after- noon, May 24, numerous congratulatory addresses were presented at the Palais des Académies, and the members and visitors were afterwards received at the Hotel de Ville by the Mayor of Brussels, M. Adolf Max, and his Aldermen, MM. Steens, Vande Meule- brouck and Coelst; a reception was held at the Palais des Académies in the evening, where an exhibition of medals and portraits connected with the history of the Academy had been arranged. The anniversary celebration itself was held in the large hall of the Academy on the afternoon of May 25 in the presence of the King, the Minister of Arts and Science, M. Hubert, formerly Rector of the University of Liége, Cardinal Mercier, and the English, French, Dutch, _ Spanish, and Japanese Ambassadors. The president, M. Vauthier, in an address of welcome, briefly sketched the history of the Academy and its influence on the intellectual development of Belgium. The Minister of Justice, M. Masson, tendered the congratulations of the Belgian Government, and Monseigneur Baud- rillart spoke in the name of the Institut de France. Sir William B, Leishman, as vice-president of the Royal Society, represented the British universities and learned societies; he referred to the activities of Belgian bacteriologists and paid a high tribute to the work of M. Jules Bordet. MM. Lameere, Pirenne, and Verlant, representing respectively the classes of science, of letters, and moral and political sciences, and of fine arts, contributed summaries of the activities of their several sections of the Academy. Later the visitors were received by the King and the Queen at the Palace of Laeken, and in the evening a panquek was held at the Hétel Astoria. NO. 2744, VOL. 109] THE Council of the Museums Association has addressed an emphatic protest to the Prime Minister against the proposal to reinstitute charges for admis- sion to the National Galleries and Museums. It is only in recent years that the importance of Museums and Art Galleries as factors in the educational machinery of the country has been fully recognised, and this is due largely to the progressive action of the Govern-' ment in advocating consistently the policy of free admission and in providing guides which have advanced materially the popularity and usefulness of our National Institutions. The Association feels that the proposed reversal of a policy adopted after many years’ experience will be a serious set-back to Museum work, both in regard to the wider education of the nation and the provision of wholesome recreation for the people. If the proposal is adopted it is bound to have an influence on the policy of provincial Museums, the governing bodies of which are largely influenced by the example set by the State. The Association suggests that the far-reaching injury likely to follow the imposition of admission fees would greatly out- weigh the small additional income, 1ro,oo0o/., which is expected to accrue. _ Tue highly controversial subject of the college- trained engineer was chosen by Prof. Frederic Bacon for his presidential address to the Swansea Engineer- ing Association of Students of the South Wales Institute of Engineers. Prof. Bacon had a good deal to say about the conditions which the student is likely to find in works after he leaves college, and the kind of experience which he will then acquire. One of the least satisfactory features of the pre-war — position was that scarcely any British firms were undertaking new development work; nearly every innovation in engineering practice was imported from the continent or the United States, a state of affairs Bruce-Low became assistant — medical officer of the Local Government Board in — He served on the War Office i SS a a a ee en inclusive. JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 723 ‘extremely damaging to the prestige of British engineer- ing and very unfair to the scientifically trained engineers of this country. The war showed the capabilities of British men of science and engineers when they work hand in hand and with the necessary resources placed at their disposal. It is the duty of college-trained men to show their faith in science, and to champion her cause when it is unfairly attacked by men who are ignorant of her methods and mission. The engineer can never lose sight of utilitarian ends, but he should know enough of the Spirit of science | 7 and the recent history of industry and invention to _ fespect and encourage the work of the investigator ___ in pure science. Tue third International Congress of the History of Medicine will be held in London on July 17 to 22 The congress will be opened at 10.30 A.M. on July 17 by the Minister of Health at the Roya! _ Society of Medicine, where the delegates will be _ feceived and an address will be delivered by the _ president, Dr. Charles Singer. __ there will be a reception and an address by Sir _ Norman Moore, President of Honour, at the Royal College of Physicians. In the afternoon In the evening the President and Mrs. Singer will receive the members of the congress at the Royal Society of Medicine, when an address will be given by Prof. Elliot Smith. The sessions of the congress will be held on the following days from 10.30 A.M. to 12.30 P.M., and from 2.30 P.M. to 4.30 P.M., at the Royal Society of Medicine. A committee of ladies has been organised to con- duct ladies attending the congress to various places of interest in London. The Wellcome’ Historical Museum, 544 Wigmore Street, where a_ special _ exhibition will be held, will be open from 1o a.m. to : 5-30 P.M. daily. Objects of interest will also be on view in the library of the Royal Society of Medicine. Arrangements have been made for visits to the Royal College of Surgeons, the Society of Apothecaries, the Barbers’ Hall, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and other places of medico-historical interest. Further in- formation can be obtained on application to the general secretary, Dr. J. D. Rolleston, 21 Alexandra Mansions, King’s Road; S.W.3. EXCEPTIONALLY hot weather for the time of year was ienced over the south-eastern and central portions of England on the four days from May 21 to 24, and record temperatures occurred in many places. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, observations of the highest order are obtainable for the past 80 years, since 1841, and approximately trustworthy observations can be obtained for as far back as 1814, embracing in all a period of 109 years. In the recent hot spell the sheltered thermometer _ at Greenwich registered 90°-2 on May 22 and 90°-6 on May 24. The previous records for May since 1841 show only eight days with a temperature so high as 85°, the maximum being 87°-5 on May 26, _ 1880, followed by 87°-o on May 19, 1868, and 86°-5 on May 25, 1920, while a temperature of 90° has occurred only seven times during June since 1841, and once only since 1897. The mean maximum NO. 2744, VOL. 109] shade temperature for the four consecutive hot days was 88°-8, and the mean solar radiation temperature was 148°-5, the maximum being 151° on May 23. In May 1913 there were five consecutive days with the temperature above 80°, the highest temperature being 84°-t and the mean for the period 82°-2; this is the record for consecutive hot days and also for the number of hot days in the month, the total days being five, the same as this year, which includes May 8 last. In 1870 there were four consecutive days with the temperature above 80°, the mean for the four days being 82°-4. On three consecutive nights during the hot spell the minimum temperature was above 58°, the temperature on the warmest night being 58°-9, and the lowest temperature for four days was 57°-9. Previous records from 1841 show three instances only of warmer nights, 61°°5 on May 25, 1841, 61°-3 on May 24 and 60°-3 on May 29, 1847. The mean daily temperatures at Greenwich for the three days May 22 to 24 were 74°:5, 73°°5, and 74°-8 respectively, which is 20° above the average. The previous highest day mean in May since 1841 was 71°-3 on May 28, 1841, and going back to 1814 the highest day mean was 72°-4 on May 15, 1833. Since the extreme heat of 90°-6 at Greenwich on May 24 the day temperatures steadily decreased, reaching 73° by the end of the week. Thunder-storms ac- companied by a heavy fall of hail and rain were associated with the recent hot spell. At the annual general meeting of the Institute of Physics held on May 23 in the rooms of the Royal Society, the following Officers and Board were elected to serve for the year beginning October 1, 1922: President, Sir J. J. Thomson; Past-President, Sir R. T. Glazebrook; Vice-Presidents, Sir Charles Parsons, Prof. W. Eccles, Prof. C. H. Lees, Mr. C. C. Paterson; Non-Official Members of the Board, Dr. “B.S. Ciages Prot. C.-L... Fortescue, - Prof... A: Gray, Major E. O. Henrici, Sir J. E. Petavel, Dr. E. H. Rayner, Sir Napier Shaw, Mr. R. S. Whipple ; Representatives of Participating Societies: Physical Society—Mr. C. E. Phillips, Mr. F. E. Smith ; Faraday Society—Mr. W. R. Cooper; Optical Society—Mr. John Guild ; Réntgen Society—Dr. G. W. C. Kaye ; Royal Microscopical Society—Mr. J. E. Barnard. The Annual Report stated that there were 408 Members of the Institute at the end of the year, of whom 258 were Fellows. The Institute is watching the possibility of establishing a central library for physics, although the financial difficulties in the way of its realisation are stated to be considerable. In the course of his presidential Address, Sir J. J. Thomson, after dealing with the project to establish a Journal of Scientific Instruments, spoke of the present depression in industry, but he made the reassuring statement that out of 67 students who graduated with distinction in physics and chemistry in 1921, 46 had obtained suitable positions, while 14 were doing research work. He hoped that the series of lectures on physics in industry which had been established would act to some extent as “ Re- fresher Courses.”” Speaking of the difficulties which 724 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 the Safeguarding of Industries Act had, in many instances, placed in the way of research, he char- acterised research itself as a ‘“‘ Key Industry,” and he hoped that the Government would put every facility in the way of research workers to enable them to obtain without delay the apparatus they-required. THE idea of establishing an International Hydro- graphic Bureau was suggested some years before the war, and the project took definite shape when the Admiralty called an International Hydrographic Conference in London in July 1919. Twenty-four of the maritime states of the world were represented and steps were taken to establish a permanent bureau. A committee was appointed which, after nearly two years’ work, devised an organisation that proved acceptable to the states represented. Captain Spicer-Simson, the secretary-general, gives some details regarding the Bureau in the Geographical Journal for April. The aim is to establish close and permanent association between the hydrographic services of various states, to co-ordinate their efforts with the view of rendering navigation easier and safer, and, so far as possible, to obtain uniformity in hydrographic documents. The Bureau is consult- ative only and has no authority over national hydrographic offices, which remain entirely inde- pendent. It will have a collection of all charts and works published by the various hydrographic and other offices, and will collect papers bearing on hydro- graphy and navigation. An important duty of the Bureau will} be the collection and distribution of information on the subject of hydrographic surveys and other publications which are being prepared in the various national offices, and it will also undertake the organisation of an International Hydrographic Conference, if possible, every five years. The Bureau is directed by a board, of which the present members are: Vice-Admiral Sir J. Parry, president ; Rear-Admiral J. M. Phaff (Netherlands); Captain S. H. Miller (Norway), and Captain G. Spicer- Simson (Great Britain). The address of the Bureau is, 3 rue du Port, Monaco. > Tue British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Associa- tion has just issued, in its Quarterly Bulletin, a Union List of periodicals of interest for reference on industrial metallurgy. The service provided by 14 libraries in London, Birmingham, and Manchester is clearly indicated, so far as concerns the 118 periodicals which have been selected. Since one of the main functions of the Industrial Research Associations is to serve as distributing centres for scientific and technical in- formation to their members, such a key-index should prove of great value and will doubtless be followed by other bodies for their own special subjects. It may also be taken as an indication of the interest that is likely to. be taken in the proposed World List of Scientific Periodicals of the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies. Mr. Harry ALLcocK, in a pamphlet entitled “The Power of the Penny,” advocates a system of decimal coinage of which the shilling would be NO. 2744, VOL. 109 | the unit, divided into ten pennies of a new series, each of which would be worth 14 of the existing — penny; in other words, an existing sixpence would — His view is that — represent five of the new pennies. the present time is specially favourable for a reform of this kind, which would contribute to the reduc- tion of postal and other charges, which have been raised from 1d. to 14d., to a penny of the new issue. One thing is obvious, that the currency is at present in an unsatisfactory condition requiring the careful consideration of experts, and the possi- bility of adopting a decimal system might well form part of such an inquiry. Mr. Allcock has not dealt with the question of fractions of a penny. Each of his new pennies would have to be divided into ten smaller coins, representing ,; of the existing penny in value: in other words, the old-fashioned halfpenny would have to give place to.a new coin of higher value. TuaT well-known optical toy, the kaleidoscope, is occasionally used to illustrate the principles of reflection and to study symmetrical patterns. A simple modification has appeared under the name of a “‘ patternscope ’”’ in which two metallic reflectors and a glass window form the three sides of a hollow triangular prism about 3 in. long and closed at both ends. A number of small curvilinear pieces of celluloid and glass of different shapes and colours are enclosed, which together with their reflections form an endless variety of beautiful patterns which can be seen through the window more comfortably than is possible through the eyepiece of the kaleido- scope, and also can be seen by more than one person — at one time. Either end of the prism may be used as the base, each having a different coloured design on the inside and so adding to the number of patterns obtainable. The instruments are sold by Messrs. ‘“ Patternscopes,” 85 Duckett Road, Harringay, London, N.4. \ Dr. L. SILBERSTEIN, mathematical physicist of the Research Laboratory, Eastman Kodak Company, has been appointed an associate editor of the Journal of the Optical Society of America. ¥ Sir WILLIAM PuHIpson BEALE, who died on April 13 last, bequeathes, on the death of his wife, sums of 5000/. and 200/. to the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the Mineralogical Society respectively. Dr. Gorpon Hotmes will deliver the Croonian Lectures of the Royal College of Physicians of London, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 8, 13, 15, 20, at 5 o'clock, at the College, Pall Mall East. His subject, will be: ‘‘ The Symptoms of Cerebellar Disease and their Interpretation.” At the anniversary meeting of the Royal Geo- graphical Society held on May 29, the following — officers were elected : President: Lord Ronaldshay ; Vice-presidents: Sir Francis Younghusband, Col. Sir Charles Close, Dr. D. W. Freshfield, Lord Edward Gleichen, Sir T. H. Holdich, and Sir J. Scott Keltie ; , JUNE 3; 1922] NATURE 725 Treasurer : Mr. E. L. Somers Cocks; Trustees: Lord Curzon of Kedleston and Mr. H. Yates Thompson ; Hon. Secretaries : Dr. A. P. Maudslay and Lieut.-Col. E. M. Jack; Foreign Secretary : Sir Maurice de’ Bunsen ; Members of Council : Mr. Henry Balfour, Prof. R. Beazley, Sir Sidney Burrard, Mr. Oliver Bury, Lord Chelmsford, Prof. J. Norman Collie, Sir W. Martin Conway, Sir C. L. Des Graz, Sir Henry Galway, Sir Sidney Harmer, Dr. D. G. Hogarth, Col. C. K. Howard Bury, Admiral Sir Edward Ingle- field, Mr. P. Lake, Sir Henry McMahon, Prof. J. L. Myres, Capt. C. W. R. Royds, Major-Gen. Sir Frederick _ Sykes, Brig.-Gen. Sir Percy Sykes, Dr. A. F. R. - Wollaston, and Mr. J. M. Wordie. _ Messrs. Durau anv Co., Lrp., 34 Margaret Street, _ W.41, have just issued a catalogue (No. 93) of second- hand books in zoology offered for sale by them. Upwards of 3000 works are listed under the following headings : entomology and Arachnida; conchology and Mollusca; minor classes; general zoology ; Mammalia, fishes, reptiles, etc. ; ornithology and oology. Messrs. BERNARD QuarRitcnH, Ltd. (11 Grafton Street, W.1) have just issued a catalogue (No. 370) of important and rare second-hand books on natural history. Upwards of 2000 titles are listed under “General Works’”’ and eleven classified divisions. Mr. F. Edwards (83 High Street, Marylebone, W.1) has just circulated Catalogue No. 431, which is largely ‘devoted to publications of learned and scientific societies, and to works on the topography of the English counties. Our Astronomical Column. LARGE FIREBALL.—On May 21, at 12.32 G.M.T., a _ large meteor was observed by the well-known variable _ Star observer, M. Felix de Roy, at Antwerp, Belgium. _- The object moved slowly among the stars of Leo, and left a tail of sparks like a rocket. Its path was from 169° +9° to 155° +18°. The same meteor was observed by Mr. J. P. M. Prentice, at Stowmarket, and he recorded the path from 203° + 13° to 179° + 154°. The duration was estimated at six seconds. Compar- ing the two observations the radiant point is indicated at 280° -33° in Sagittarius. The height of the object was from about 60 to 57 miles and the velocity 15 miles per second. The meteor passed over the region from the south-west of Surrey to south of Warwick. It is possible that the object radiated from Scorpio at 250° —27°, and that its height was 60 to 42 miles, but the observations are not quite conclusive, and more data are required. _Comets.—There is great difference of opinion as to the magnitude of Skjellerup’s comet; Dr. Steavenson makes it mag. 9; other observers, ) ee: 12. The following approximate orbit has been deduced from observations at Heidelberg, Yerkes Obs., and Milan, on May 20, 21, 22. T 1922, May 19, 22 G.M.T. w ; shi 25. 55” Q 207 56 17 P.12t 19° 4 log g 9:94569 < eeeuameary FOR GREENWICH MIGNIGHT. A. A San ig. N. Decl. log r. log A. June 2 9 38 28 36° 34’ . 9°9638 9°5856 6 Io 18 28 40 58 9°9747 9°5680 to Il 4 53 44 39 9°9871 9°5592 14 II 57 13 47 5 O-oorr 95600 18 12-5F: 8 48 2 O-O161 9°5695 The comet should be looked for as soon as the sky is dark; its path lies through Lynx (near Alpha on May 30), Leo Minor, and Ursa Major (near Mu on June 6, near Psi on June 10). Mr. G. Merton points out that the orbit closely resembles that of comet 1830 1; identity does not seem to be possible, but the two comets are probably portions of a primitive single comet. The Annals of Tokyo Observatory, Tom. v., fasc. , contains an investigation of the perturbations of olf’s periodic comet from 1884 to 1918, by M. Kamensky, Director of Vladivostock Naval Obs., who has revised the work of M. Thraen, finding several small corrections, which produce a marked NO. 2744, VOL. 10g | improvement in the comparison with observation. Definitive elements are given for each return, the perturbations by all planets except Mercury, Uranus, and Neptune having been computed. M. Kamensky notes that there will be a close approach of the comet to Jupiter at the end of 1922; “it will experience such large perturbations that it is doubtful whether its seventh return to the sun—provided that it takes place—-will be capable of being connected with the six preceding ones by a common system of elements.”’ It is interesting to note that Brooks’s periodic comet (1889 V) also makes a close approach to Jupiter this year, about the middle of June. Lick Observatory Bull. No. contains an investigation by H. M. Jeffers of the orbits of the two components of Taylor’s comet, 1916 I, which was discovered at Capetown on November 24, 1915, as a small nebulosity 20” in diameter, with an eccentric nucleus. On February 9, Barnard found the comet to be double, the two components being 10” apart; the northern component was at first fainter, but afterwards became the brighter, and remained visible for two months after the southern one had disappeared ; the following are the definitive elements found for the two components ; perturba- tions by Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn have been applied. They are for the equinox of 1916-0. Northern Component. Southern Component. Epoch and Osc, 1916, Jan. 21,0G.M.T.° 1916, Jan, 21,0 G.M.T. M ae ge 1O°s4 Oe nic 7 Sei ge w 354 47 57°7 354 47 21:8 2 II3 54 10-2 IIl3 54 25°1 a I5 31 40°6 I5* 31 27:8 p 33 7 29°6 33 6 366 557°°274 5577695 log a 0°535959 0°535740 The linear distance between the components was least at perihelion, when it was 0-000047 astr. unit. Four months later it was o-o00168. It is noted that in the case of Biela’s comet the distance was a maximum at perihelion. The elements show some resemblance to those of Daniel’s comet of 1909, but identity is not possible. Taylor’s comet is due at perihelion about June 13, 1922, but the conditions are unfavourable for observation ; it may, however, be detected in the autumn. The splitting of Taylor’s comet does not appear to have been caused by Jupiter; the nearest approach in the revolution preceding 1916 was II unit, which is scarcely close enough to explain disruption. 726 NATURE — [JUNE 3, 1922 Research Items. Knots IN ANCIENT EGypt.—Miss M. A. Murray contributes to Ancient Egypt (Part I., 1922) an interesting article on the representations of various kinds of knots on early Egyptian monuments. a remarkable fact that in the early dynasties knots were never represented, but in the Middle Empire, though the same prejudice still existed, there was a movement towards an accurate presentation of the knot, showing that there was a change, and that the old ideas were beginning to pass away. Miss Murray does not propose an explanation of this curious taboo of the knot on the ancient monuments. It may be suggested that it was based upon the use of knots in magic. Among many races, knots, real or symbolical, are used as a magical means of obstruct- ing some special action. Thus the use of knots at marriage is often disapproved. However this may be, the paper, with good illustrations of various forms of knots and their uses, is of considerable interest. THE PILTDOWN SKULL.—An important contribution to the controversy over the Piltdown Skull was made by Profs. Elliot Smith and Hunter at a meeting of the Anatomical Society held on May 12, when they exhibited a reconstruction of the skull and _ its endocranial cast. The reconstruction has been made by a careful and minute examination and correlation of the anatomical points of the fragments of the skull. The result confirms generally the reconstructions made by Dr. Smith Woodward and Mr. Pycraft when first the skull was discovered, and agrees in showing the remarkable breadth of the skull and its low capacity, which is, in each case, placed below 1300 c.c. This later reconstruction, however, differs in one important particular. The occipital fragment assumes a more vertical position, with the effect that the skull is brought into closer relation with the’ skull of the anthropoids. As a result, the cranium falls into complete harmony with the chimpanzee-like jaw, and the paradox which has hitherto been a stumbling-block to the acceptance of the jaw as indubitably belonging to the fragments of the cranium now disappears. SAND- AND MUD-BINDING PLAnts.—An interesting exhibit is made in Museum IV., at Kew, of plants used for binding sand- and mud. Erosion of bare sand dunes.and mud flats by wind and tide is so serious in some coastal regions that the services of engineers and forest officers are constantly engaged upon protective work. Violent winds disturb large quantities of sand, the contour of dunes is constantly changing, and sand encroaches upon cultivated land or is piled in positions that interfere with the domestic and business life of the people. Bare mud flats also undergo constant change by tidal action, and adjacent agricultural land is imperilled. Protective work takes the form of barriers to check scour, and the insertion of such plants as are capable of. binding sand or mud. After sand dunes have been fixed by low, dense grasses, other plants soon appear, and the forester assists by planting pine trees, thereby changing desert areas into pleasant places of residence. Mud flats that become overgrown with coarse grasses collect debris and, rising gradually above high- water mark, are turned into rich pasturage. The most satisfactory sand binder is ‘‘ Marram Grass ”’ (Ammophila arundinacea) (Kew Bulletin, No. 9, 1913, pp. 363-366, “ Marram Grass for Paper-making’’) NO. 2744, VOL. 109] ? Its’. and the best grasses for binding mud flats are species _ Articles on Spartina in connection — with coast erosion appeared in the same journal — of Spartina. (No. 5, 1907, pp. 190-197, and No. 1, 1918, pp. 26-31). ADDITIONS TO THE INSECT FAUNA oF BRITAIN.— Recent issues of the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine contain records of several interesting and, in some cases, important additions to the insect fauna of Britain. In the March number, Mr. K. G. Blair mentions the occurrence of the beetle Carpophilus ligneus, Murray, in several widely separated localities, ranging from the Isle of Wight northwards to Liver- pool. In each case it was discovered associated with merchandise. from Mexico, and has also occurred in Central America, but does not appear to have been noticed hitherto in Europe as a possible pest of commerce, although its congener, C. hemipterus, L., is an almost cosmo- politan species affecting dried fruits and other provisions. In the April issue, Mr. H. St. J. Donis- thorpe records the beetle Nebria iberica, Oliv., which appears to have been confused hitherto with the very common N. brevicollis. Dr. G. Enderlein publishes in the May number of that same journal the — description of a new genus and species of scaly-winged Psocids, specimens of which came from Crowborough, Sussex (F. J. H. Jenkinson). The insect, which he designates as Pteroxanium squamosum, belongs to a sub-family previously known only from New Guinea and Ceylon; the occurrence of a representative in Europe is therefore very remarkable and suggests the possibility that it is not indigenous but has been imported by some means or other. In the same issue Mr. F. W. Edwards describes a new genus and species of gall midge from North Sussex, the early stages of which are passed among bark-encrusting fungi, upon which blister-like swellings are caused. It appears to be the first record of an Cecidomyiid fly producing a fungus gall. in Bulletin of Entomological Research, Feb. 1922, describes a new genus and species of aphid, Laingia psamme, from marram grass and meadow foxtail in Kent. It was preyed upon by numerous ladybirds, particularly the common two-spotted species. INCREASING THE SENSITIVENESS OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PLaTES.—M. Clerc, in his ‘“ Paris Notes” in the British Journal of Photography, May tg, refers to M. F. Monpillard’s success in 1912 in increasing the sensitiveness of autochrome plates about 30 times. The process was also applicable to ordinary plates, increasing their colour sensitiveness as well as their ordinary sensitiveness. The defect of the method was that the treated plates would not keep in usable condition for more than a day at the very longest. Hoping to overcome this difficulty M. Monpillard did not publish the details of his method, but deposited a sealed packet with the French Photographic Society. As he is unable to continue the work, he has now desired the Society to open the disclose the information given therein. e veers consisted in adding a small quantity of silver chloride dissolved in dilute ammonia to the mixture of the usual isocyanine and carbocyanine dyes (pinaverdol, pinacyanol, etc.). As soon as the sensitising bath has been used, the liquid that adheres to the plate must be quickly removed with a whirler, and the plate then dried by a rapid current of air. aS The species was originally described cket and © = Prof. F. V. Theobald, | en iti in i a rn et JUNE, 3, 1922] NATURE 727 HE meeting of the International Astronomical Union at Rome on May 2+10 must be considered an unqualified success. The unique interest of the __ selected meeting-place was doubtless a useful auxiliary in drawing together so large a number of delegates ; rey of 100 were present, representing England, trance, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, _ Norway, Sweden, Poland, Egypt, S. Africa, Australia, _ New Zealand, Canada, United States, Japan, etc. Lhe inaugural meeting of the Union at Brussels in _ July t919 was mainly occupied with questions of 4 ure; the way was thereby cleared for more y _ purely astronomical discussions on the present _ occasion. The main aim underlying these was the ___ co-ordination of various branches of observation and _. ea so as to obtain as large an output as ble without waste of energy through unnecessary plication ; there was also consideration of methods of observation and reduction, and of the unification q of notation. Much of the credit of the success obtained is due to the presidents of the various committees, who had drawn up careful and thorough programmes, after correspondence with their mem- ers ; these served as a basis for discussion, and were + oe oa most cases endorsed with small changes. i” The g meeting was held in the Campidoglio : in the presence of the King of Italy ; it was addressed by the Mayor of Rome, the Minister of Public In- struction, the president ‘of the organising committee (Prof. Volterra) and by the presidents of the astro- _ nomical and Be etiees unions (MM. Baillaud and - Lallemand). e subsequent meetings were in the _ beautiful rooms of the Ateale Accademia dei Lincei, Palazzo Corsini. The Union met in full conference at the beginning and end of the meeting; the more Pen sda discussions were carried on in separate _ committees, the conclusions of which were reported to _ the final meeting of the Union. : Asum of the more important conclusions may be of interest 7 the matter of notation the Harvard system of spectra was considerably amplified; the aes Cc, i ae are used to denote super-giants, giants, e to denote the presence of emission al P, 4 to denote peculiarities tending in the direction of Nova spectra; s, m denote that the _ spectral lines are sharp and diffused respectively (” was used by Rowland to denote nebulous lines in the solar spectrum) ; r denotes reversal, i.e. bright lines with a dark centre ; k denotes stationary calcium lines. It is pro to use Mo, M3, M8 instead of Ma, Mb, Mc, and to drop Md, it being suspected that the -underlyin spectrum in ‘the latter case is not of M t jeeet union, Slo No and N3 replace Na and Nb. S is ‘pe be a for a new type of red stars, to which R Cygni and - R Andromedae belong; Q is used as before for Nova oo a they are subdivided by the suffices, a, b, c, %#, y, 2, in which the absorption spectrum grows Pee weaker, and the bright-line spectrum er; in general a star traverses these types in ve order in the weeks or months succeeding bros eitbeerst: Another point of notation decided was that the con- _ stellations should be given their Latin names, which Lge ‘has been done in En but not in France. As = the Carte du Ciel, special votes of thanks were et to Cardinal Maffi and to the Nizam of Hydera- x ay their great assistance in carrying out the ae work at the Vatican Observatory and an at yderabad. Representations were sent to the ve governments concerned, urging the com- nm of the work of photography and of printing at the observatories of Catania,; Melbourne, and NO. 2744, VOL. 109] International Astronomical Union. Sydney. The progress of work at the other observa- tories is good or hopeful, though it was much retarded by the war. Prof. Turner reported that the maps of the lunar surface had been completed, and the list of crater-names prepared, but not yet inserted on the maps. M. Lecointe announced that the Uccle Obser- vatory would not continue the distribution of astronomical telegrams after the end of 1922. The offer of M. Strémgren to send them from Copenhagen (as he did for some years after the outbreak of war) was accepted. The variable star committee met under the chair- manship of Prof. H. Shapley; it is in this section, above all, that co-ordination of work is imperative. It was decided to print several appendices, giving bibliographies of variables, lists of those needing observation, and determining centres of publication for various classes of stars; the Cracow Observatory undertook the preparation of ephemerides of eclipsing variables ; attention was also directed to the useful reprints of. Father Hagen’s charts of the fields of several variables. Regarding the nomenclature of Novae, it was recommended to use the constellation name followed by the year of discovery ; the method of giving numbers I, 2, 3, etc., to the Novae in each constellation leaves a doubt as to which early observa- tions to include; their status as Novae is sometimes doubtful. It was decided to continue to give the grants in aid of the distribution of wireless time-signals, at least for the next three years. Prof. Sampson, the presi- dent of the committee, spoke in support of the great value of these signals both for longitude determina- tions and for checking the time determinations at different observatories ; he discussed these recently, finding that each observatory had frequently a large discordance that remained nearly constant for some time. These discordances were the subject of an interesting debate between the astronomers and geodesists ; the latter stated that they did not find these discordances in their field work, and ascribed them to irregularities of refraction due to the walls surrounding the observing room. The committee on calendar reform reported in favour of continuing the Gregorian calendar, and of omitting one day in each year (two in leap-years) from the weekly reckoning ; however, the latter point was not adopted by the general meeting of the Union. The committee on stellar parallaxes expressed the hope that workers would photograph each parallax field at ten years’ interval, in order to determine the proper motions in each element of the comparison stars. Great praise is due to the Italian astronomers for their excellent arrangements for the meeting, and the help they afforded to the visitors ; mention may be made in particular of Prof. Abetti, who showed great skill as an interpreter. The next meeting was fixed for 1925 (probably in August) at Cambridge, with Prof. W. W. Campbell as president.. The Geodetic and Geophysical Union will meet in Madrid in 1924. The members of the Astronomical Union were received in audience by the Pope on May Io, being individually introduced to him by Prof. Pio Emanuelli, secretary of the Vatican Observatory. The Pope briefly addressed them, expressing the hope that the meeting of so many nations for a common object would tend to the pacification of the world, and that their studies of the marvellous structure of the heavens would lead to increased knowledge of and reverence towards the Creator. A. C, D, CROMMELIN. ¢ 728 NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 British Science Guild. yas success attended the annual dinner of the British Science Guild, which was held at the Prince’s Restaurant, Piccadilly, on May 23, with the president of the Guild, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, in the chair. After the loyal toasts had been given by him, Sir Arthur Mayo-Robson, in proposing “ The British Science Guild,’’ said he was sure that there is a wider and deeper interest among the public in regard to recent scientific work, and. this interest would be far greater if only scientific discoverers would put their discoveries into works that were more accessible to the public. In nearly all cases techni- calities could be very much modified in description, and it would be a great advantage if some of the wonderful discoveries could be put in plain language. Thinking people of various parts of the Empire are just as anxious to learn of these matters because they see much of the application of science. The Guild would be doing very valuable work if it could establish centres in those distant places. The toast was supported by Commdr. L. C. Bernacchi, who spoke of the appeal which will shortly be launched with the object of raising funds to enable the Guild to carry out its legitimate and laudable-aims, the encourage- ment of research and the application of scientific method to all public affairs. Lieut.- General Sir Alfred Keogh, proposing “‘ Science and Industry,’’ said it had been the custom to rail at industries as having no appreciation of science, or modern discovery, and of being slow to adapt themselves to new developments. However true this may have been in the past, there is no truth in it now. The leaders of industry are fully alive to the importance of science, and that is due partly to the wonderful work of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Research Associa- tions which had been formed in connection with the great trades. Sir Edward Boyle, replying, said that we were faced to-day as never before by political, social, industrial, economic, and ethical questions. We can face them with hopes of success only in the spirit in which men of science have fought disease; that is, if we face them logically, by investigation, by experiment, impartially, thoroughly, accurately; in a word, if we face them scientifically. Prof. Huxley, who was fighting the battles of the Guild thirty and forty years ago, said that science was nothing more than organised common-sense. The president gave the toast of ‘‘ The Guests,’’ and referred to the way in which science was solving modern problems. In one direction with which he was associated, the making of roads, we had only just . begun to apply the teachings of science. The chemist is just as necessary to-day for making roads, for example, in deciding the proper mixture of bitumen and sand to make the surface or carpet of the road, as he is for making dies, explosives, or medicines. The toast was acknowledged by Principal Ernest Barker, Mr. H. G. Wells, and Mr. F. W. Sanderson. Mr. H. G. Wells, who was called upon unexpectedly, said that science was to him a thing so great, so all- important, so entirely such salvation as man had before him, that it was with a feeling of irreverence that he found himself talking about it in an un- prepared fashion. By science is meant a process of human intellectual energy which is exhaustively and reverently criticised, leading, it is hoped, to action exhaustively criticised .before it is exhaustively planned. In that he expressed the whole of his faith, the whole of his belief in human life. An un- charitable person might entertain the view that the NO. 2744, VOL. 109] library not being large enough to meet its growing Guild had some idea of monopolising science or claiming science for the purposes of the British Empire, but there was something bigger in their minds than that. Science is a great thing which is going to carry human affairs above those levels, and — when we think of science and of the Guild, it means that we of the British community hope to contribute our share to the bigger human process, and to play our part to the best of our ability, with no national and imperial aggressiveness, in the huge task of humanity which is involved in the scientific process. : University and Educational Intelligence. CAMBRIDGE.—Dr. Searle, Peterhouse, has been re- appointed University Lecturer in pag ot roa 7 Physics, Mr. S. Lees, St. John’s — niversity . Lecturer in Thermodynamics, and Mr. Lavington, — Emmanuel College, Girdlers’ University Lecturer in : Economics. 3 The Botanic Garden Syndicate invite the attention of the University to the very critical financial position — of the garden. They have received generous gifts to help in restoring the garden to its pre-war efficiency, but unless the income of the garden can be consider- ably increased drastic steps will have to be taken — which must involve a diminution in its educational value. It is proposed that a site of seven acres belonging to King’s and Clare Colleges and lying between West Road and Burrell’s Walk should be purchased for the erection in due course of a new library, the present requirements. Lonpon.—The Senate has made the following appointments :—Dr. R. W. Chambers to the Quain Chair of English language and literature, tenable at University College, in succession to Dr. W. P. Ker, resigned. ; At the meeting of the Senate on May 24, Dr. R. M. Walmsley took his seat for the first time since his election as Chairman of Convocation in succession to Sir Edward Busk. In this connection a resolution was adopted in the following terms: “ That on ‘the occasion of Sir Edward Busk’s retirement from the Chairmanship of Convocation the Senate desire to place on record their cordial appreciation of the services which he has rendered to the University — during the past thirty years.” ; Mr. N. B. Jopson has been appointed to the University Readership in Comparative Slavonic Philology, tenable at King’s College, and Mr. R. B.. Forrester, to the Sir Ernest Cassel Lectureship in Commerce, tenable at the London School of Economics. A course of four lectures on “‘ Phanomenologische ~ Methode und phanomenologische Philosophie ”’ will be given in German by Prof. Edmund Husserl, professor of philosophy in the University of Freiburg, at University College, on June 6, 8, 9, and 12 at 5.30 P.M. At the Imperial College of Science and ~ Technology (South Kensington, S.W.) Dr. A. F. Holleman, professor of organic chemistry in the University of Amsterdam, will lecture in English’ benzene nucleus, on Wednesday, June 7, at 5.15 P.M. The following lectures will be given by professors on recent investigations on the substitution in the . - of Dutch Universities at the Royal Society of Medicine (1 Wimpole Street, W.1): On Monday, — June 12, “ Injurious Agents and Growths,” by Dr. M. Jansen (of Leiden) at 5 o’clock. On Wednesday, June 21; “The Pathology of Hemoglobin,” by Prof. Dr. A. A. Hijmans van den Bergh (of Utrecht). JUNE 3, 1922] NATURE 729 a Both lectures will be delivered in English. Admission to all the above lectures is free without ticket. _ Apprications fora Mackinnon Research Studentship must of the annual value of 300/. will be received by the Secretaries of the Royal Society until June 19. The studentship, which is awarded in the first instance for two years with a possible extension, is for the furtherance of natural and physical science, and for original research and investigation in pathology. _ Particulars and forms of application can be obtained _ from the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society, _ Burlington House, W.1. ‘ * APPLICATIONS are invited by the Ministry of griculture and Fisheries for a number of research a: larships in agricultural science, each of the annual _ walue of 200/. and tenable for three years. _ must be honours graduates of a British University _ with special qualifications in chemistry, botany, _ zoology, physiology, or economics. _ the scholarships is to train agricultural research _ workers, and the work undertaken must be approved __ by the Ministry. Scholars may be required to spend _ apart of their time at an approved foreign laboratory or university. Conditions of the award and copies Candidates The object of the form upon which oe es must be made are obtainable from the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Whitehall Place, S.W.1. Nominations for scholarships, which must be signed by a professor or lecturer of a university or college, received by July 15. THE Chemiker Zeitung of May 11 reports that Prof- K. Freudenberg is to succeed Prof. Pfeiffer at the Technische Hochschule, Karlsruhe. ’ Tris announced in Science that Miss Kate C. Garrick, daughter of the late Sir James Francis Garrick, for ten agent-general in London for Queensland, has q es her will bequeathed 10,000/. to the University of 24 Queensland to found a James Francis Garrick pro- essorship of either law or medicine, as may seem best to the University, in memory of her father. ' On Saturday, May 6, the undergraduates of Aberdeen University concluded a week’s “ Carnival ”’ on behalf of the local hospitals with a sand-castle ate on the beach and a pageant in the Mitchell Hall. There were 20,000 spectators at the building of the sand castles. More than 3000/. was collected in the city and surrounding towns to which artistes ‘were dispatched in the early days of the week. Ph: FurTHER Research Studentships, about four in number, are being offered to university graduates by _ the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation and the British Cotton Industry Research Association. The studentships are each of the value of 250/., with certain additional allowances, tenable for one year with a possible renewal for a second year. They ‘are intended to provide opportunities for further training in scientific research bearing on plant genetics and physiology, entomology, physics, etc., or in special subjects relating to administration and ins on in tropical agriculture. One studentship is offered for a candidate having special interest in bacteriology. Further particulars and forms of ‘. (ora are obtainable from the Secretary of the og ire Cotton Growing Corporation, Millbank House, ot ‘Millbank, S.W.1, not later than June 19. Prof. A. Gutbier, Rector of the WE learn from Chemiker Zeitung of April 22 that echnische Hoch- schule, pret. has succeeded Ludwig Knorr as professor of chemistry at,the University of Jena, NO. 2744, VOL. 109] Calendar of Industrial Pioneers. June 3, 1803. William Reynolds died.—The son of a successful ironmaster at Ketley, Staffordshire, Reynolds invented a method of raising boats from one level to another by inclined planes, with Telford constructed a cast-iron aqueduct at Longden, Shrop- shire, and in 1799 patented a method of preparing iron for conversion into steel by the use of manganese. June 3, 1899. John Nixon died.—The pioneer of the steam-coal trade of South Wales, Nixon was born in Durham in 1815 and was trained there as a mining engineer.. In 1839 he removed to South Wales and then to France. His observations on the steaming qualities of Welsh coal led to his shipping a cargo to Nantes, and to a contract for the supply of coal to the French Navy, steps which led to the foundation of the great trade in this coal. June 4, 1907. Sir Charles Mark Palmer died.— The. founder of the great shipbuilding and iron- works at Jarrow, Palmer, who was born in South Shields in 1822, was the son of a shipowner. He early became partner in a colliery business, and in 1851 built the first iron steam-collier for carrying coals from Newcastle to London. During the next. forty years no fewer than 600 vessels were built at Jarrow. June 4, 1906. Francis William Webb died.—A rominent locomotive engineer, Webb was an assistant first to Francis Trevithick and then to John Rams- bottom of the London and North-Western Railway, and in 1871 succeeded the latter as chief mechanical engineer, a post he held till 1903. He was a pioneer of the compound locomotive, and in 1881 with the Experiment introduced three-cylinder compound engines, and in 1897 with the Black Prince intro- duced the four-cylinder compound engine. June 6, 1878. Robert Stirling died.—Stirling, who was born in 1790, was for 53 years minister of the parish church of: Galston, Ayrshire. Ordained in 1816, the same year he took out his patent for an engine which produced motive power by means of heated air. June 7, 1884. Richard March Hoe died.—The well-known New York firm of printing-machine makers, Messrs. R. Hoe and Co., was founded by Robert Hoe, an inventor who was born in England in 1784, emigrated to America in 1803, and died in 1833. His son, Richard March Hoe, born in -1812, was the inventor of the high-speed printing press, He devised the means of holding the type on the cylinder, and built machines having ten cylinders and capable of printing 20,000 newspapers per hour. These machines were used in London in 1858. Many improvements were added by Richard Hoe and by his nephew Robert Hoe (1839-1909), who became head of the firm, and it has been said that ‘‘ to think of 166,000 sixteen-page newspapers printed in an hour, all folded ready for delivery, a feat made possible by the combination of distinct machines, is to think of the name of Hoe.”’ - ‘ June 8, 1882. John Scott Russell died.—One of the most eminent naval architects of last century, Russell: was born in Glasgow, May 8, 1808. An original investigator, he made experiments on the resistance of water to the motion of floating bodies, discovered the wave of translation, and developed | the wave-line system of construction of ships. Removing to London he became secretary to the Society of Arts, and a commissioner of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and established shipbuilding works at Millwall, where Brunel’s Great Eastern was built. This remarkable vessel, begun in 1854 and completed in 1859, was 680 feet long, 82 feet beam, and of 27,384 tons displacement. 6 ea 73° “NATURE [JUNE 3, 1922 Societies and Academies. LonpDon. Royal Society, May 18.—Sir Charles Sherrington, president, in. the chair—T. B. Wood and J. W, Capstick: The progress of metabolism after food in swine. Using a calorimeter recording electrically the main loss of heat, the resting metabolism of a hog has been recorded at intervals after feeding, varying from a few hours to six days. The excess of the resting metabolism above the basal, at any moment, is independent of temperature, weight, and age of animal. This excess falls off according to the equation logy +At=C, y being the excess, ¢ time since meal, and A and C constants. This equation is identical with Guldberg and Waage’s Law of Mass Action, that the rate of decomposition of. a substance at any time depends on amount remaining undecomposed. Analysis shows that the excess depends on the pressure in the body of sub- stances resulting from digestion and affecting the rate of metabolism, which are themselves metabolised according to the mass-action law.—J. A. Gardner and F, W. Fox: The origin and destiny of cholesterol in the animal organism. Pt. XIII.—On the autolysis of liver and spleen. The autolysis of pulped spleen and liver, during periods varying from one day to a month, shows that the cholesterol content remains constant, within the limit of experimental error, and the addition of pure cholalic acid has no effect. Autolytic experiments afford no evidence that these organs are concerned with the synthesis or destruction of cholesterol in the organism.—C. G. Lamb: The geometry of insect pairing. Cases of asymmetrical hypopygium found in certain dipterous families, and in other insects would necessarily result if the usual vertical position of pairing was adopted subsequent to a primitive linear position.—G. E. Briggs: Ex- perimental researches on vegetable assimilation and respiration. Pt. XV.—The development of photo- synthetic activity during germination of different types of seeds. The seedling leaves of Helianthus showed practically full activity immediately after germination, both when light and when temperature were limiting. Other plants showed practically none. In the type showing the lag between germina- tion and development of photosynthetic activity, the seedling possesses a specialised photosynthetic organ separate from the storage organ, while in the other type the same organ serves the dual purpose. Pt. XVI.—The characteristics of sub- normal photosynthetic activity resulting from deficiency of nutrient salts. Phaseolus vulgaris was grown in a complete culture solution, and in culture solutions devoid of potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus, respectively. The assimilation of leaves from the plants was measured by determining their output of oxygen. Two types of determinations were made: in one the intensity of illumination was so small that light was limiting; in the other, the intensity was increased until assimilation was limited by temperature. Plants grown in normal solution showed greater photosynthetic activity, and in the others the depression was the same when light was limiting as when temperature was limiting. Probably the factor inside the plant involved is the amount of “‘ re-active chloroplast surface.’’ Therefore activity should be sub-normal when carbon dioxide is limiting, a condition for which some evidence exists. Geological Society, May 10.—Prof. A. C. Seward, president, in the chair—E. Garwood and Miss E. Goodyear: The lower Carboniferous succession in-the Settle District and along the line of the Craven NO. 2744, VOL. 109] — Faults. Detailed mapping of definite faunal horizons was employed. Two distinct facies can be recognised, the North Country and the South Country types. The whole of the country north of the North Craven Fault belongs to the North Country type. The beds show a deeper water origin than those of corre-_ sponding horizons in Westmorland. There is no Bryozoa band, but the Porcellanous Bed which also occurs at that horizon is taken as the base of D,. The Main Limestone is less fossiliferous than is the case in Wensleydale, while both the Cyrtina-septosa band and the Girvanella nodular band are well developed, and constitute admirable horizons for mapping. A second nodular band occurs in the Lower Lonsdalia Bed. The strip of country between — the faults belongs, as a whole, to the Nor: Country type, and marks the southern margin of the North- Western Province. The Orionastroea band forms an important horizon here, and represents the summit — of the Hardraw-Scar Limestone round Ingleborough ; — below it occurs a Bryozoa_ band. north-westwards and south-eastwards ; thrusts. At three places, between the faults, patches of rock belonging to the South Country type occur. The change in the faunas is everywhere accompanied by an abrupt lithological change, which usually takes place along the line of the Middle Craven Fault. There is no evidence that the change was influenced by faulting during Lower Carboniferous times. The “knoll-reef ’’ limestone represents a special type of deposit. The two facies were probably laid down some distance apart, and brought together by thrusting ; the patches of rock of the southern type lying between the faults are portions of an overthrust mass from the south which have escaped denudation. The Middle Craven Fault is a normal fault which © took place subsequent to the thrusting—E. J. Wayland, and A. M. Davies: The Miocene of Ceylon. Arenaceous and calcareous strata of Miocene age are found over an extensive area in the north and north-west of Ceylon, and in a small part of the southern coast, at Minihagalkanda. place the beds rest upon Archean rocks. The whole series appears to constitute a cycle of sedimentation, beginning and ending with areno-argillaceous deposits, and consisting mainly of fossiliferous limestones, The area is traversed by numerous normal faults trending usually — but, near — -Ingleton, the beds are repeated on themselves by At the latter © The fossils consist of Foraminifera, corals, echinoids, — and molluscs. kanda is characterised by Ostrea virleti, Deshayes, and is dated as Vindobonian (probably Tortonian), while the higher horizon of the northern area contains Orbiculina malabarica, Carter, and may possibly be Pontian. The transgression of the sea on the continental area of Southern India and Ceylon is thus contemporaneous with its recession from the Himalayan geosyncline, in accordance with Haug’s principle. The lower horizon of Minihagal- | Physical Society, May 12.—Dr. Alexander Russell, — president, in the chair.—S. O. Pearson and H. St. G. Some electrical properties of neon-filled — Anson: lamps. The lanfp is shunted by a condenser and connected in series with a high resistance to a D.C, — voltage supply. When cold no _ current passes — through the lamp until the E.M.F. reaches about — 171 volts. : ( lamp is glowing, current continues to pass until about 140 volts is reached. When, therefore, an E.M.F. of 200 volts is applied, some time elapses— while the condenser is charging up to the necessary 171 volts. Then the lamp begins to take current, — the current increases, and the voltage across the lamp_ falls to the limit of 140 volts, when the lamp goes out. $ ¥ Yea + ‘os If the voltage be reduced when the — _ magnitude as JUNE 3, 1922] | NATURE 731 _ The cycle repeats indefinitely. The arrangement _ might be used at low frequency for flashing signs, at audio-frequency for telephonic measurements, and at high frequency (up to about 15,000 ~) for radio- ‘si i A. Griffiths and W. T. Heys: A new apparatus for the measurement of the polarisation capaci of platinum plates in sulphuric acid. Corrections can be made for leakage and self- depolarisation of the cell. It gives results consistent to one or two per cent., and of the same order of ose obtained by other observers.— Chatley: The molecular forces involved in _ cohesion. Cohesion may be expressible as a function _ Of molecular masses or of electronic charges. _ either case it will also comprise a space-function, _ and attention may be concentrated on the latter. In The r* law suggested by Sutherland’s theory and Van der Waal’s rule, would indicate a greater difference in strength than exists in practice between amorphous substances and crystals. The crystal lattice elucidated by Bragg implies a very gradual space-gradient of as compared with non-crystalline matter. The ‘y* law is also inconsistent’ with the Cavendish experiment. obtained with an 7-* law. Results more consistent with facts are Association of Economic Biologists, May 19.— a Prof. E. B. Poulton, president, in the chair.—W. _ Rushton: Further contributions to the biology of freshwater fishes. A short account is given of the effects of the effluents from a series of distilleries, a woollen-mill, and from town sewage on the sper- matozoa of trout. The life of the sperms is affected, but the —— be fertilised in the presence of the effluents. e effects of tree felling on the water supply to a trout hatchery was an increased acidity caus the appearance of a ‘“‘ bloom ”’ on the sides and gills of the young trout, together with a coagula- tion of the mucus, which resulted in death.—J. H. Priestley: The toxic action of illuminating gas on plants. It has been known for many years that the _ presence of very small traces of unburnt coal gas in the atmosphere may produce a harmful effect upon gr plants under certain conditions. German observers were the first to notice how very sensitive “ etiolated ’’ shoots (the shoots of plants grown in continuous darkness) of the pea or potato or many other plants are to the presence of traces of gas. American workers have since extended these observa- tions, and have shown that traces of coal gas in the atmosphere or the fumes from cigarette smoke or smouldering paper might have a very deleterious action upon plants, especially upon such etiolated shoots. Both German and American workers agree that the deleterious effects of coal gas or these other fumes can be traced to the gaseous unsaturated ms, such as ethylene, always present in such fumes. If etiolated shoots or roots are placed in an atmosphere contaminated with coal gas or pure ethylene they cease to grow in length and expand in girth instead. These changes in form can be associated with changes in internal structure, notably with the di _ sgeengs of the functional primary endodermis. is endodermis forms close behind the growing grog in both the etiolated shoot and in the root, and its disappearance seems to account in measure for the other structural changes ro and abnormalities of growth seen in plants poisoned by traces of coal gas. The disappearance of the endodermis in the presence of fumes containing unsaturated hydrocarbons can be attributed to the displacement by these substances of the unsaturated fatty acids which normally accumulate upon the walls of the developing endodermis and give this tissue its characteristic properties. The normal leafy stem NO. 2744, VOL. 109] growing in the light does not develop such an endo- dermis, and proves relatively insensitive to the presence of these gaseous unsaturated hydrocarbons. These results are of some practical interest in that they suggest diagnostic features by which the occur- rence of gas poisoning in horticultural practice may be recognised. The effect is produced by such very low concentrations of ethylene—of the order of one in a million—that although normal British illuminating gas contains very small quantities of ethylene, toxic effects may be produced by traces of the gas too small to be detected by smell. In fact the most delicate test we have for a gas leak possibly consists in the behaviour of etiolated shoots growing in darkness in the contaminated atmosphere. These results may also be of some interest to municipalities interested in the growth of shade trees along urban routes. The gas leaking from the pipes in the soil may be retained around the roots long enough to do damage because of the impermeable nature of the macadam or asphalte of the road surface. ParIs. Academy of Sciences, May 8.—M. Emile Bertin in the chair.—The President announced the death of M. René Benoit, correspondent for the section of general physics, and of Sir Patrick Manson, corre- sporident for the section of medicine and surgery.— A. Haller and Mme. Ramart: The dehydration of 2-methyl-2-phenyl-1-propanol and of 2-2-dimethy]l- 3-phenyl-1-propanol. The product varied with the method of dehydration (passage of vapours over infusiorial earth at 300°-400° C., action of SOCI, with or without pyridine). Substituted ethylenes were obtained, the physical and chemical properties of which are given, together with the oxidation products establishing their identity—C. Guichard : The asymptotic lines of surfaces. The study of a particular case.—P. Montel: A new theorem of - algebra.—J. Sudria: A demonstration and the generalisation of Menabrea’s theorem.—D. Riabou- chinski: Some cases of plane movements of fluids round solids with vortices—Th. De Donder: An electromagnetic field comparable with the corre- sponding gravific field—L. Roy: The _ electro- dynamics of homogeneous isotropic media in repose. —A. Bigot: Kaolins, clays, bauxites, etc. Porosity and loss on heating. The loss on ignition of bauxites and kaolins of different origin at temperatures up to 900° C. are shown graphically, and a second diagram shows the changes in porosity of the same materials. M. Palfray: Neutral homocamphoric esters and their reduction products.—J. Froidevaux: The estimation of ammoniacal nitrogen in nitrogenous organic material, particularly in proteid materials, and their products of hydrolysis. The liquid is treated with a large excess of concentrated caustic soda solution, and the ammonia removed by a purified air stream without heating, with subsequent correction for ammonia formed from the proteid.— A. Schoep: Becquerelite, a new radioactive mineral. This is found as a yellow crystalline crust on pitch- blende from the Kasolo Mine (Belgian Congo). Its composition is VO,.2H,O.—A. Gruvel: The fluvial origin of the bay of Lévrier. The discovery of two species of Potamides proves that the bay of Lévrier is the ancient estuary of a large river.—P. Thiéry: The limit of the Bathonian and the Bajocian in Lorraine.—J. B. Charcot: The temperatures at different depths in the chasm of Cap Breton. Ob- servations on the variation of the. temperature of the sea in the neighbourhood of this gap in the sea- floor.agree with the views recently put forward b M. Gorceix, but are opposed to the results of P. E. ‘ pe NATURE ‘[une.3, -Dubalen.—Mlle. Yvonne LBoisse de Black; The ‘Wurmian in the high valleys of the Cére and the Goul (Cantal).—J. Thoulet : The distribution of the chalk in deep-sea sediments. A study of the sedi- aments from soundings taken in the region of the ‘Azores and Canaries shows that the depth has little ‘influence on the composition of the deposits arising from Globigerina.—G, Bertrand, M. Freundler, and Mile. Ménager: The variations in the chemical ‘composition of sea-water and the evaluation of salinity. From determinations of chlorine, calcium, and magnesium in sea-water from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the authors conclude that the relative chemical composition of sea-water is not constant.—L. Mayet: The Viilafranchian fauna of the Chagny Sands (Sadne-et-Loire).—J. Stoklasa : The influence of selenium on plant evolution, in the presence or absence of radioactivity. Radium emanation exerts a very favourable influence on plant growth, and can (in daylight) neutralise the toxic properties of selenium as dioxide.—F. Lecomte du Nouy: The surface equilibrium of serum and of certain colloidal solutions.—P, Béhague and J. Beyne: Study of the times of tactile psycho-motive reactions in normal man.—L. Roule: The ontogenesis of the Scombriform fishes belonging to the family of the Luvarides. The young of this ‘species at first re- semble, not their adult parents, but other families (Coryphenides, Lampridides, Stromateides). . The metamorphosis is of long duration and the principal changes do not take place in the very young fish, so that the latter might easily. be mistaken for individuals of a distinct species.—F. Ladreyt: The histogenesis of the basocellular epitheliomas.—H. Plotz: Contribution to the study of the culture -in vitro of the vaccine virus. A rabbit is inoculated with vaccine pulp, and after a suitable interval is bled. Its serum is cultivated in vitro in glucose- broth medium. After the fifth passage, the, culture fluid inoculated into the skin of the rabbit gives lesions similar to those produced by vaccine pulp. The animals vaccinated in this way are immune to the virus of vaccine pulp. Official Publications Received. . Agricultural . Research Institute, Pusa. Bulletin No. 129: The Preparation of Anti-Rinderpest Serum, using Animals_ of Moderate eas Peat as Virus Producers. By W. A. Pool and T. M. Doyle. Part 1: Buffaloes. Pp. 44, (Calcutta:. Government Printing Office.) 12 annas. Amnales de l’Observatoire - Astronomique de Tokyo. Université Impériale de Tokyo, Collége. des Sciences. Tome 5, 5 Fascicule : Recherches sur ce mouvement de la cométe Wolf. Par M. Kamensky. Pp. ii+65. (Tokyo: Université Impériale.) Commonwealth of Australia. Institute of Science and Industry: Bulletin No. 22: A Classification and detailed Description of the Barleys of Australia. Being the Second Report of the Special Com- mittee on Seed Improvement. Pp. 33. (Melbourne.) € Diary of Societies. FRIDAY, JUNE 2. DIESEL ENGINE oa ASSOCIATION (at Institution of Electrical - Engineers). —H. F, P. Purday : Marine Diesel Engines. bay eat ~ SATURDAY, JUNE 3. ddacousieks OF TEACHERS IN TECHNICAL mire (Annual - Conference) (at Polytechnic, Regent Street), at 10.30 A Royal INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3. —Sir Hugh. ‘Athes' Early 7 pyboard: “Music (2). MONDAY, JUNE 5, ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS (Annual : Conference). (at. ee ta Regent Street), at 10 A. M.—J. Paley Yorke: Presidential Add Socrbty OF CHEMICAL IxDUstey (London Racine) (at Chemical ~ “sone at. 8 TUESDAY, JUNE 6.. ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS (Annual ~ Conference) (at Biglegtaira Regent Street), at 10 A. ah teovoutene - Burnham: Addres ROYAL INSTITUTION oF ‘GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir awd Sykes : : ‘The - Foundation of the Persian Empire. NO. 2744, VOL. 109] _ IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, at 5. 15.—Pr | UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Prof. E. Husserl: ‘Phinomenol WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7. ROYAL Soctmty OF MEDICINE (Electro-therapeutics Secti BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF RAD PHYSIOTHERAPY (at 1 Wimpole peerey at 10 AM, a Congress of Radiology and Physiotherapy. ROYAL SOCIETY OF wh te (Surgery Section) ) Greene, D. Harmer, Dr. E P. Cumberbatch, and others i on Diathermy in Surgical Practice. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL Lest er (Wireless Sectio . Lea: The Performance of a ae ee Trar Special Reference to the New Installation at North Prof, C. F, Jenkin: A Dynamic Model of Tuned E SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS AND OTHER ANALYTICAL Chemical Society), at oe —Dr. J. C. Thresh': The Acti Waters on Lead.—Dr. H. E. — do we MN. Bose THURSDAY, JUNE 8. ‘ROYAL Socrmty OF MEDICINE (Electro-therapeutics § BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF PHYSIOTHERAPY (at 1 Wimpole Street), at 10 Congress of Radiology and Physiotherapy. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Very Rev. Theocracy (3). The State Invisible. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS, at 5. —Dr. ty What is Architectural Design ? LONDON MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY (at Raye Astro. at 5.—L. J. Mordell: (1) Gauss’s Sums and the Reciprocity in any Field. @ The Integer the Ded ey'=a2* +ba'+ca+d—J. E. Cam The D Ground-form of Einstein’s Statical ee Expression for the gies form in J. L. Burchnall and T. W. Chaundy : ee Differential Operators. ka Hardy and Fourier’s Series and a ee Series. —Lt.-Col. A. D Pellian Chains.—H. W. Turnbull; On the General In of Quadrics.—J. Vint : Surface Waves on Limited § —D. K. Picken: The Euclidean Geometry of Ane ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, Holmes: The Symptoms of Cerebellar Disease pretation (Croonian Lectures) (1). OPTICAL SocrETY (at Imperial College of Science and 7.30.—Joint Conference between Ophthalmologists ne: Oy on Spectacle Constrtiction. CHEMICAL SOCIETY (at Institution of Mechanical Dr. Dale : Chemical and Physiological Pro; OIL AND COLOUR CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION, ; FRIDAY, JUNE 9. ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (lecttg ea § BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF RADIO PHYSIOTHERAPY (at 1 Wimpole Street), at 10.30 A.M, anc Congress of Radiology and Physiotherapy. PHYSICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, at 3.30.—Visit to the National Laboratory, Teddington. : ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS (Dominions and Colonies ie Major Sir Humphrey Letgett : Tanganyika Terri tory. ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIBTY, at 5, MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON (at Linnean Society). ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE (Ophthalmology Section), at Annual General Meeting. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 9.—J. Bareroft : logical Effects at High Altitudes in Peru. ; SATURDAY, JUNE 10. ROYAL Society OF MEDICINE (Hlectso Saeieeaae Section) BRITISH ASSOCIATION Age! THE ADVANCEME » ee PHYSIOTHERAPY (at 1 Wimpole Street), at 710 A.M. and Congress of Radiology and Physiotherapy. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN, at 3.—Sir aes . Early Keyboard Music (3). PUBLIC LECTURES. (A number in brackets indicates the number of a lecture in a se: TUESDAY, JUNE 6. Kine’s COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Dr. D. Subotié: via: of Ge on the Economic Conditions of J ugo-Slavia (2) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Prof. E. Husserl : Phiinomeno Methode ‘und phanomenologische Philosophie (1). (In @ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7. F. Holleman : Substitution in Recent Investigations on the Benzene Nucleus. : (In English.) : ; THURSDAY, JUNE 8. mi; St. MARY’s Perera (Institute of Pathology and Research), an Prof. W. Bulloch: The Historical Development of the Doctrit Croup and Diphtheria. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, at 5.30.—Prof. E. Husserl : Phasiomenslaa ‘ Methode und phanomenologische Philosophie (2). (In ae FRIDAY, JUNE 9. (In ea Methode und idaedaletiaiet Philosophie (3). NATURE _ SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1922. - CONTENTS. PAGE cal Terminology 733 :s and Isotopes 736 ta: Pure Mathematics. By Dr. Ss. Brodetsky 737 nea Physica. By N.R.C. . - 739 er’s Text-book of Botany. By R. J. T. . 740 \ Mono on ny. By are rthur Harden, F.R.S. . 741 okshe i ; ; 742 } to the Editor :— Rat and its ad lange oo Hon. Lord berconway 744 he Blue Flame Shoduced by Ramah Salt on a ae Fire —Prof. A. Smithells, F.R.S. . 745 1 Resolving Power and Definition.—T. Smith 745 h , Difference between Series Spectra of Isotopes. — 3 —Prof. P. Ehrenfest ; Prof. N. Bohr 745 The Destruction of Mo. uito Larve in Salt or Brackish Water.—John F. Marshall. . . 746 Teaching of Natural History in Schools.— E. W. Shann; A. G. pesraedy . 747 -Particles as Detdnstors. —G. H. Sfenderson 749 _ Active Hydrogen and Nitrogen.—Dr. Gerald L. _ Wendt; Dr. F.H. Newman . 749 ppos 4 Ancestral Man in North aedive. By . Smith Woodward, F.R.S. 750 sb Pe Antiseptics and Chemotherapeutic Prof. C. H. Browning : 750 i Mgalteseasy of the -eiteanime of Padus. By F E. W. Scripture : we 752 ent Topics and Events “ee ae 753 h Items 756 ‘national Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. ; . 75 | Conference of Giieersities 759 ie Centenary of the Royal Astronomical Societ By Dr. A. C. D. Bromcnatin ; ‘ r 760 niversity and Educational Intelligence . peta eee of Industrial Pioneers . ‘ 762 ties and Academies . 762 (Publications Received 764 of Societies 764 Editorial and Publishing Offices : a MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. Advertisements and business letters should be addressed to the Publishers. Editorial communications to the Editor. _ Telegraphic Address: PHUSIS, LONDON. Telephone Number: GERRARD 8830. NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Biological Terminology. HE long-drawn-out discussion on __ biological terminology which has been a feature of the past year’s numbers of Nature has certainly supplied some food for thought. The state of Denmark may not be so rotten as Sir Archdall Reid believes, but no one who shares his enthusiasm for lucidity will maintain that biological terms are as crisp and unambiguous as could be wished. The reasons for vagueness are not far to seek. The first applies to all the sciences: that concepts change their content from age to age while the words remain the same. This applies to chemistry and physics, and even to mathematics; it must a fortiori apply to a young science like biology. Fresh facts demand that some alteration be made in the frames in which they have to be included—terms like ‘organism,’ ‘development,’ ‘variation,’ ‘heredity.’ The terms must remain, but their content requires con- tinual readjustment. Sometimes, no doubt, new terms are needed, but the invention of good terms is a rare gift. The second reason for biological vagueness is that biologists are not addicted to philosophy, using the word to mean a criticism of categories. Biologists are plain people dwelling in tents ; they are not disciplined in methodology and the art of formulation. To many of them it has not occurred that there is any particular difficulty in terms like ‘organism,’ ‘ individual,’ ‘development,’ ‘ differentiation,’ ‘evolution.’ Some -of them use the word ‘ development’ in the forenoon and the word ‘evolution’ in the afternoon, meaning the same thing both times. Others use the term ‘variation’ in almost as many different senses as Herbert Spencer gave to the word ‘ force,’ or the older economists gave to the word ‘ value.’ An outsider, reading Sir Archdall Reid’s exposure of biology as ‘morass,’ ‘a tumbling-ground for whimsies,’ and so forth, may feel somewhat disturbed. Biologists are accused of playing with undefined terms like ‘characters,’ ‘acquired,’ ‘ inherited,’ ‘ innate,’ ‘transmitted, and the impression made on _ the innocent reader’s mind is that biology is in a very unsatisfactory state. But things are not so bad as they seem. A term like ‘acquired character’ has entered the scientific dictionary as a technical term ; it is not happy, but it is not ambiguous ; every biologist who knows his business uses it in the same sense ; it may be dropped—the sooner the better—but it cannot be re-defined ; if we use it at all we must use it as Spencer and Weismann did, meaning a structural change in the body imprinted in the individual lifetime as the direct result of some new peculiarity in functional, nutritional, or environmental nurture, and taking such 734 NATURE * i [JUNE 10, 19 grip that it persists after the inducing conditions have ceased to operate. It may be advisable to drop the term ‘acquired character’ in favour of ‘ somatic modification,’ or the like, but there is not in the mind of the competent biologist any confusion whatsoever in regard to what ‘ acquired character’ means. He ‘uses it as he might use a symbol ‘ A.C.’ It may be of use to try to state in outline the meaning which biologists attach to the terms they use in de- scribing the facts of variation and heredity. When we compare a thousand descendants of two parents of known pedigree (we are evading the difficult question of ‘ species ’), we may find that they are far from being all alike. They may differ from one another and from the norm of the stock to which they belong. These individual peculiarities can be measured and registered, and they might be called ‘observed divergences,’ ‘observed differences,’ ‘new departures,’ and so forth, so as to avoid any question-begging term. They are changes, at any rate, and many biologists apply to them the general word ‘ variations.’ When we begin to study the observed differences critically, we find that some of them are directly due to nurtural peculiarities. They are novelties due to novel conditions,—of use and disuse, or of food, or of surroundings. This individual has been imprisoned and that one has been overworked ; this individual has been starved and that one overfed ; this one has been brought up in a cave and that one exposed to the sun. The resulting differences are somatic modifications or acquired characters. They are exogenous, imprinted from without, what Weismann called ‘ somatogenic,’ what might be called dints in colloquial biology. The goldfish kept three years in darkness loses the rods and cones of the retina ; the tropical explorer becomes per- manently tanned ; the peach-trees taken to Reunion became evergreens, though it took some of them twenty years. Every character is the product of hereditary ‘factors’ and a certain minimum nurture—food, oxygen, water, and a succession of liberating stimuli ; but ‘ modifications’ are lasting changes wrought on the body of the individual as the direct result of some peculiarity in the conditions of life. A modifica- tion is more than a response to liberating stimuli ; it is an imprint, a dint, a parry to a nurtural thrust. The development of the head will only occur within certain limits—the primary conditions of viability ; but the racial peculiarities of the skull are in a different category from deformations imprinted before or after birth. Sir Archdall Reid. says this is a distinction without a difference. But we think he is making fun of us. Of course none of these distinctions is abeofataly NO. 2745, VOL. 109 | hard and fast, for we are dealing with the comples of life. Thus it is not easy to draw a firm line b ot temporary adjustments like sunburning, and last modifications like tanning. On the other side, t are great differences in the degree in wh developmental expression of hereditary — demands particular nurtural conditions. ~ certain point the development of the lung embryo chick proceeds without functionin gramophone of the inheritance continuing to after the spring has been released: But certain point the actualisation of the hered: ‘factors’ will not go unless the chick breathes. short time an embryo rabbit ‘will go on develo side the mother; which shows that the envi dependence is not so narrowly limited as o think. On the other hand, there are several w mutations in the fruit-fly Drosophila which never expression unless there is some particular condition, such as humidity. As the next g shows, the primordium of the character is se be reasonably interpreted as modifications and subt ) them from the total of observed differences, we ‘get’ a remainder—variations as opposed to modification or, if the term variations has been already used r widely, germinal sealiocseat as opposed to- Lamarck : “« changements acquis.’ They occur among individuals — living under the same nurtural conditions. They arise ; from within, endogenously, centrifugally ; ; they are ‘8 : blastogenic ’ in Weismann’s phraseology ; they are expressions of new permutations and combination among the germinal ‘factors,’ ‘genes,’ or * deter minants’; they nny. be expressions of changes in th coneginetp of a ‘gene’ itself. We know very lit as to the origin of these germinal variations sem stricto, but there is no confusion in our concept. Th we may proceed further to distinguish quantitativ gametogenic fluctuations from qualitative gametogenic — mutations, meaning by the former a little more of this and a little less of that (a longer feather, a higher crest), meaning by the latter a discontinuous or transilient variation, such as a laciniate condition in the Greater — Celandine leaves or hornlessness of calves in a horn race. But in the present state of ignorance the cate gories of variation are necessarily very debatable. The scheme runs thus :— =: ; oo GAMETOGENIC FLUCT UAE OBSERVED VARIATIONS ae | DIVERGENCES | SOMATIC MODIFICATIONS What terms are used does not seem urgently important 5 there has often to be a long struggle for existence among NE 10, 1922] NATURE 735 What is important is that biologists understand other, and, in spite of Sir Archdall Reid, we that they do. One expert may say, “I prefer term fluctuations not for slight intergrading but for certain kinds of modifications ” ; y say: ‘‘ What you diagnose as ‘ fluctuating are really ‘ fluctuating modifications,’ though s I cannot put my finger on the peculiarity in that induces them.” Both may be right; yy be wrong ; but there is not in either of them ion of thought. Prof. MacBride finds each-trees ; we think that the results may have Lies nests that we cannot get rid of the yicion | that he has been laughing up his sleeve all Darwin let us say, it has been clear that words “inherit ’ and ‘transmit’ are metaphorical, but convenient term for the genetic relation between = generations,—a relation in which the persist- specific organisation is secured through the of the germ-plasm, and yet not so rigidly to shut out the possibility of new germinal 4 gestent colloquially, the antithesis is not re frend variation, but between complete The inherit- an Pitagonistic microbe. vehicles of the specific organisation are ‘substances in the cytoplasm. What the genes cisely are remains uncertain ; they are the germinal sentatives or initiatives of Ditaagueht differentia- _ in a few cases already it seems possible to say t é ee ictas gene, e.g. one affecting eye-colour in d-so, lies about the middle of the third chromo- A character in the fully-formed organism is ly the expression of several genes, and the same may affect several characters. Every biologist with Sir Archdall Reid that the inheritance is up of factors for characters, not of the characters selves, for a character is the product of nature and But just as Darwin sometimes spoke, for _ NO. 2745, VOL. 109] jue to antenatal infection with certain metabolites, short, of an adaptation as the result of selection, when he meant, of course, selection acting on successive crops of heritable variations, so it seems unnecessarily purist to insist always on speaking of hereditary factors rather than of hereditary characters. Gerould has shown that conspicuous blue-green caterpillars (of Colias philodice) may arise as mutations in a pure race of inconspicuous grass-green caterpillars, and the offspring of the adults into which two blue-greens develop will breed true. But what is inherited is not the coloration of the blood, for that is due to the xanthophyll and chlorophyll of the food-plant. What is inherited is some subtle gene (a nuclear enzyme perhaps) which acts as a decoloriser or inhibitor of the xanthophyll. Yet would it not be a trifle pedantic to insist that the blue-green character is non-heritable. Whether the specific organisation which persists in the germ-cell lineage can be added to in a definite way by nurtural changes or modifications wrought in the body of the parent, remains a question for legitimate discussion (see, for instance, Mr.. Cunningham’s in- teresting “ Hormones and Heredity”), but it is not playing the game to say that “there is absolutely no meaning in the neo-Darwinian statement that acquired characters are not transmissible.” Some _ biologists find convincing evidence that a novel somatic modifica- tion can affect the germinal organisation in a manner so specific that the offspring show some representation of the acquired character. Others remain unconvinced | by any of the evidence that has been as yet adduced. What is wanted is not a rumpus about terminology, but more facts, and more critical interpretation. Sir Archdall Reid complains that biologists are thirled to a particular classification of characters into ‘innate’ and ‘acquired,’ whereas they ought to take a leaf from the physiologist’s book. But this is simply another of the windmills at which the Quixotic knight tilts. When thinking along a particular line biologists must distinguish characters as expressions of an in- tactly persistent germinal organisation, or as expres- sions of germinal rearrangements—shufflings of the factorial cards, or as dints directly due to peculiarities in nurture, and this does not exhaust the classification sub specie hereditatis. But at another time, the biolo- gist is just as open as any physiologist to classifications of characters from other points of view. Are they generic, specific, or varietal ; are they adaptive or non- adaptive ; are they the outcome of natural selection, or of sexual selection, or of neither ; are they exhibited at birth or do they appear in the course of later develop- ment (like the curlew’s bill); are they activated by hormones or by more general constitutional changes ; are they progressive or involutionary, do they illustrate differentiation or de-differentiation? There is no 736 NATURE [June 10,8 restricted outlook in the biologist’s classification of characters. Sir Archdall Reid expostulates with biologists for writing down to the ‘nature’ account what should be put to the ‘nurture’ account, but the biologists agree with him in not keeping two accounts. The mistake of making an antithesis between ‘ nature’ and ‘nurture —two components of one resultant— is not one to which a biologist can plead guilty. But the biologist understands the difference between hereditary nature realising itself in its normal nurture, and hereditary nature being indented by novel peculiarities. It need not be a ‘glaring’ nurtural peculiarity, as Sir Archdall Reid says,—a minimal change, e.g. in salinity, may serve. It must not be supposed, however, that it is easy to distinguish, especially in mammals and seed-plants, between what are antenatal modifications and what are normal expressions of the inheritance. Much is congenital that is not hereditary. If we only knew the wan newt Proteus in the dark waters of the Dalmatian caves, we should surely conclude that the power of producing pigment was not in its inheritance. Yet we should be wrong. The power of producing pigment has not been lost ; it expresses itself whenever the Proteus is exposed to the liberating stimulus of light. Similarly, as to various ‘ specific characters ’ of animals, e.g. parasites, which we know only from one environment, it may be that some of them are purely modificational, like the green of the Colias caterpillars, and imprinted on each successive generation. Further knowledge may show that many characters which we now regard as ‘innate’ are only ‘imprints’ on an innate susceptibility or receptivity. But our inability to say “ yea ’ or ‘ nay’ in regard to such questions is due to our ignorance, not to any confusion of thought. No doubt Sir Archdall Reid has made many true statements, e.g. that, to begin with, the organism and the inheritance are one and the same; that the in- heritance consists of potentialities or factors, not of characters ; that a specific character’ is always the product of ‘nature’ and ‘nurture,’ which are com- plementary, not antithetic ; that it is not always easy in practice to distinguish the hereditarily inborn from an antenatal modification; that functioning often counts for much in development. But with these statements all competent biologists are in agreement. To a large extent Sir Archdall Reid has indulged in bogey-hunting and in the pastime of re-editing the scientific dictionary and then importing fallacies into biological argument. To accuse biologists of not dealing with realities is as absurd as indicating that Lamarck’s first law is not sense. When a man pulls his bow so. tightly as all that, he hits nothing. ) NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Elements and Isotopes. Isotopes. By Dr. F. W. Aston. Pp. (London: E. Arnold and Co., 1922.) 9s. net R. ASTON’S book on “ Isotopes ” is very far being a mere reprint of his published p it constitutes a masterly review of all th of the subject with which he deals. As a res who are already familiar with the principal : which have appeared in the Philosophical Magaz: will find in the book much that is both inte: instructive. Thus, the author’s account of alternative form of the mass-spectograph is ] interesting ; and Dr. Aston has rendered a to readers who are not specialists by bring in one volume all the methods and results. isotopes. His summary of the investigat have been carried out on radioactive particularly concise and readable. The discovery of isotopes, and particularly which are not radioactive, has brought into the necessity for considering afresh the 4 an element. In practice two methods have adopted. In the radioactive series each isc been regarded as a separate element, and h given a separate name and a separate symbol practice has arisen naturally in view of the fact th the isotopes, although having the same atomic n differ not only in their atomic weight, but also source from which they are prepared, and stability as measured for instance by the he period. On the other hand, it is equally in accordan with traditional methods that chlorine, which h been described as an element ever since the appea of Davy’s celebrated Memoir in 1810, should s treated as an element in spite of the fact that | now known to contain two isotopes, the atoms \ which differ from one another by two units of atom: weight. This alternative view is supported ee Aston, who recommends that all atoms having the sé atomic number shouid be regarded as isotopes ta ; element, the number of elements being thus limit to 92. Having regard to the fact that inactive isot (with the exception of lead) occur in nature in cons proportions, and that the alteration of these propor- tions is a matter of very great difficulty, it is unlikely that any complications would arise amongst pract chemists if chlorine and bromine were still to described as elements instead of as mixtures of elen It is, however, clear that the two alternative 1 which have been described above cannot both p and that we must either adopt some common s and name for each group of radioactive isotopes, for the three radioactive emanations, or adopt NATURE 237: E 10, 1922] 1 symbol and name for each of the ient isotopes of chlorine or bromine, e.g. as on has suggested, Cl®5, Cl8?, Br?79, Br81, etc. subject was discussed at the recent meeting Solvay Institute in Brussels, and the latter iv 2 appeared to find favour among the of the chemists who were present. In this 1 it is of interest to notice that the last m which it became necessary to reconsider jal definition of an element arose from the m of Dalton’s atomic theory. In _ his ystem of Chemical Philosophy” (Part I., blished in 1808, Dalton puts forward the lu iot n that “the ultimate particles of all homo- bodies are perfectly alike in weight, figure, ff this statement be applied to the nucleus Rutherford, it would appear that the atoms nogeneous element must be alike both in id in the configuration of the protons and of which the atom is composed. Modern ions have shown that it is possible to find, hand, isotopes composed of atoms which like configuration of the planetary electrons er domain of the atoms, but which differ in the the nucleus ; on the other hand, isobares are .g- Ne* and Ca*®) the atoms of which are alike but differ in configuration. It is of course that, in the future, atoms may be discovered alike both in weight and in the.configuration planetary electrons, but differ in their radio- erties as the result of a different arrangement le protons and electrons in the nucleus, giving rise of nuclear isomerism. One such case has ed amongst radioactive elements; but ‘d, of Brussels, has suggested that this n need not be made if the actinium series of ve bodies be assumed to have its origin in > of uranium, instead of in the element which rise to the radium series. s hypothesis odd atomic weights may be ned to the radio-elements of the actinium series, C retaining evenatomic weights for those of the un 1 anc thorium series ; under these conditions iso- members of the actinium and radium series would differ i in atomic weight and the occurrence of ric isotopes would be impossible. Prof. Piccard es that this conclusion is supported by recent urements made to test the application to actinium Geiger-Nuttall relationship between the pene- power of the rays and the life of the atoms ing them. There is therefore at the present time d objection in regarding as the criterion of a neous element the fact that its atoms must NO. 2745, VOL. 109] ike both in “weight” and in “figure” (as. indicated by identical atomic weights and atomic numbers) and using this as a basis in constructing a working definition of the element. Elementary Pure Mathematics. (1) An Introduction to Projective Geometry. By Prof. L. N. G. Filon. Third edition. Pp. viii + 253. (London: Edward Arnold and Co., n.d.) 7s. 6d. (2) Elementary Analysis. By Prof. C. M. Jessop. Pp. viili+ 175. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 6s. 6d. net. (3) The School Algebra (Matriculation Edition). By A. G. Cracknell. Sixth impression (second edition). Pp. viii + 456 + Ixviii. (London: W. B. Clive: University Tutorial Press, Ltd., 1921.) 6s. 6d. (4) A First Book in Algebra. By Dr. F. Durell and E. E. Arnold. Pp. v+339+xli. (New York and Chicago: C. E. Merrill Co., n.d.) n.p. (5) A Second Book in Algebra. By Dr. F. Durell and E, E. Arnold. Pp. v+ 330+xlili. (New York and Chicago : C. E. Merrill Co., n.d.) n.p. (6) Plane and Solid Coney: By Dr. F. Durell and E. E. Arnold. Pp. 503. (New York and Chicago: C. E. Merrill Co., n.d.) n.p. (7) Plane Geometry: Practical and Theoretical, Pari Passu. By V. Le Neve Foster. (Bell’s Mathematical Series for Schools and Colleges.) Vol.1. Pp. xi+229 +xi. Vol. 2. Pp. xii + 230-423 + xi. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1921.) 3s. each. (8) Plane Geometry for Schools. By T. A. Beckett and F. E. Robinson. Part 1. Pp. vilit+239+Vv. (London: Rivingtons, 1921.) 5s. (9) Wightman’s Secondary School Mathematical Tables. Edited by F. Sandon. Pp. 96. (London: Wight- man and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 6d. (1) “HE fact that a third edition has been issued of Prof. Filon’s book on projective geo- metry is a sufficient indication of its usefulness and merit. There is little to record as regards changes or innovations. One would only like to say that while from chapter 2 onwards the book reads fairly plainly, the first‘chapter is not at all easy reading. Why need the student be frightened off by such an introduction to a subject full of fascination? If a further edition is called for, perhaps the author could see his way to simplify this chapter and improving the illustrations so as to make it more palatable. (2) A text-book should avoid two extremes: the tendency, on one hand, to include all possible , cases that are likely to arise, and all kinds of questions that an examiner is likely to set; and the danger, on the other hand, of presenting the subject-matter of the book in the form of an almost ‘ bald and uncon- | 2B 1 738 NATURE vincing narrative.” Prof. Jessop’s ‘‘ Elementary Analysis” is so short that on occasion it seems to err in the direction of the second extreme. Yet it is a very clear and useful account of what the average student needs to know if he is to benefit by further work, where the calculus and the methods of analytical geometry are required. University courses continue to become more and more inclusive, and many students will be grateful to the author for the brief presentation he offers them. The straight line and circle are dis- cussed in about fifty pages, differential and integral cal- culus occupy about a hundred, and about twenty pages are devoted to the general equation of the second degree and the properties of the ellipse, parabola, and hyper- bola. The last chapter is almost tabloid in character. (3) This, like the other publications of the University Tutorial Press, seems to be just the book required for “learning up” for an examination. Nothing, appar- ently, is left to chance, and the student who has mastered its contents should be able to defy any examiner to do his worst. On reading this book one feels inclined to exclaim: Did I know all this when I passed the matriculation examination? For a class text-book a shorter book with more emphasis on principles and less on the examination spectre would be preferable : but for private students—and they are more numerous than many suppose—this book has its obvious advantages. In the second edition chapters have been added on indices and logarithms. (4) and (5) Elementary mathematics is gradually being released from the burden of manipulative skill and the bogey of the examiner. Students are no longer expected to do jig-saw puzzles with mosaics of simple, square, and double brackets, with pluses and minuses peppered about like the charges in the modern chemist’s atom. This release is well symbolised in Messrs. Durell and Arnold’s two books on algebra, written for American schools. Each book represents a year’s course, developed with skill and knowledge of pedagogical methods. In the first book each chapter is divided into two parts, the first for the beginner in his first half-year, the second for revision during the second half-year. It is doubtful, however, whether revision by complete repetition is an ideal educational process. being “‘a reservoir of extra work for bright pupils.” The complete course is very suitable for the standard of matriculation. (6) Messrs. Durell and Arnold’s “ Geometry ” con- tains a full and competent account of all the pure geometry that is required by pupils of higher schools. The sequence is reasonable, and the treatment is practical although the book is essentially a course on formal geometry. NO. 2745, VOL. 109 | The second book is in two parts, the second: [JUNE 10, 1922 The subject-matter comprises the usual p geometry and a rather extensive course on § geometry. The sphere is dealt with in some and an interesting feature of the book is the account of the properties of spherical tria regards congruence and area. This is a very innovation that English books might co advantage. Spherical figures are of impo: many branches of knowledge and the stud somehow pick up a little knowledge about th like hydrostatics, spherical trigonometry is child of the modern mathematical teacher. As the authors use algebraic symbols, it wo been an advantage to introduce numerical metrical methods. The historical sketches dull. ; (7) Books on practical geometry usually little justification, if any. Books on formal aim at giving a systematic and logical cou subject: occasionally a lapse into real place, but the main object is to build up a of reasoning based on a few fundamental noti postulates. Where the theoretical and combined, one usually has the two more or sociated. Mr. Foster’s idea is to combine the a tages of both the practical and the formal by w them into an organic whole ; he tries to inculcate geometry of the class-room by means of the obs tion of outdoor and home life. He has aches con-— siderable success. The separate formal proposition: are reduced to a very small number—and this i an advantage. In the two parts already issue the ordinary plane geometry is covered, up to and including proportionality and_ similar aor third part is promised on solid geometry. (8) Like Mr. Foster, Messrs, Beckett and Robin make it their aim to combine deductive with practic: geometry. They commence with a number of practica constructions without proofs, even such complicated problems as the drawing of common tangents to twe unequal circles. The student is then introduced t to notions of area and to solid figures, thus completing th preliminary section. Section I. gives the fo tad geometry of triangles and parallelograms, with exercis ; from life, mechanics, and physics. In Section II. ar given the properties of circles in formal order, w Section III. deals with areas and Pythagoras’s theo Cartesian co-ordinates are introduced, contours — plained, and a brief course on numerical trigonom completes the first part. It will be interesting’ to the second part. Pythagoras’s theorem is too late in book: the student usually feels quite excited ab this theorem, and the sooner he gets excited ¢ NE 10, 1922] NATURE 739 try, the better. The gradient is too steep in the ometrical portion. Why does Mr. Sandon use the title ‘‘ Mathe- Tables” ? In reality the booklet seems to nded as a pocket cyclopedia of much, if not wledge. In 96 small pages we get treatises thmetic, algebra, mechanics, calculus—gamma is are also included—astronomy, insurance, , philology, chemistry, earthquakes, the Morse the size of wall-paper, ship watches and bells, folk and Essex measures of butter and cheese, e only a selection. The book may be useful, mathematical portions are hopelessly marred S. BRopETSKY. Miscellanea Physica. Loi de Newton est la Loi Unique: théorie uque de VUnivers. Par Max Franck. Pp. oressenz und Phosphoreszens im Lichte. der ueren Atomtheorie. Von P. Pringsheim. Pp. +202. (Berlin; J. Springer, 1921.) England, marks ; Germany, 48 marks. . Pipsigue théorique nouvelle. Par Dr. J. ot Pp. vilit+182. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars Ce, asi.) 12 fr. net. mt: communs aux phénoménes disparates. Prof. M. Petrovitch. (Nouvelle Collection que.) Pp. v+279. (Paris: Félix Alcan, 8 fr. net. Z Ather und Urdather. Von P. Lenard. Pp. eipzig: S. Hirzel, 1921.) 9 marks. ikal ische Rundblicke. Gesammelte Reden und Von Max Planck. Pp.iv+168. (Leipzig: Brel, 1922.) 60 marks. Physique élémentaire et théories modernes. Par Villey. Premiére Partie, Molécules et Atomes : ts d’équilibre et mouvements de la matiére canique, Statique des fluides, Chaleur, Elasticité et Acoustique). Pp. x+197. (Paris: Gauthier- ‘illars et Cie, 1921.) 15 fr. THE following are the first and the last _ Statements in M. Franck’s “loi unique.” : ‘out volume est composée d’une somme de positif ai est son potentiel et de négatif qui est sa masse. . . . es variations de potentiel dans 1’éther sont elles- nes déterminés directement ou indirectement par prit.” This law “ nous supposons capable de tout liquer ’’—everything, from the origin of the universe, ough Boyle’s law, to the constitution of electricity. uch books are the despair of the reviewer. If they frankly denounced as nonsense, a cry is raised NO. 2745, VOL. 109] about an obscurantist hierarchy impervious to all new ideas ; while a careful analysis of them with a view of discovering whether anything valuable is concealed in the tangled mass of verbiage requires an enormous expenditure of time and labour. We announce there- fore that we have not read M. Franck’s book, and do not intend to read any book which aims at subverting the foundations of physics unless the author tells us, in terms of its language and concepts, exactly in what respect he finds its conclusions unsatisfactory. (2) At the other extreme in this miscellany is Dr. Pringsheim’s monograph. It is a summary of all important work on phosphorescence and fluorescence between 1908 (the date of the summary in Kayser’s Spectroscopy) and March 1921, the experiments being interpreted so far as possible according to Lenard’s theory modified and expanded in accordance with that of Bohr. The author’s name is a sufficient guarantee of excellence, and it is unnecessary to say more than that the work is worthy of his reputation and of the traditions of German book - production. The book has a special and melancholy interest in that it is the product of the author’s internment for five years in Australia, whither he had gone to attend the British Association meeting as a guest of the Australian Government. He is naturally bitter about his treatment, and every one must agree that the . incident was exceptionally unfortunate; but alas! war is a succession of unfortunate incidents. (3) Intermediate between these extremes is M. Pacotte’s volume, which is “un essai historique, critique et méthodologique”’ on the new physics. M. Borel in his preface suggests that nobody has the right to criticise an attempt to compress so much matter within 200 pages who is not prepared to per- form the task better himself; and we accept his suggestion in so far as we shall make no attempt to discuss whether, in his capacity as historian, M. Pacotte has always traced the true line of develop- ment. But criticism and “methodology” imply a point of view, and it is open to any one to suggest that the point of view is mistaken, without falling under M. Borel’s ban ; for if the point of view is wrong the book is not worth writing. We have no intention of declaring categorically that it is wrong, for science may be viewed from many standpoints, all of which are equally legitimate. But we think it right to indicate that M. Pacotte’s standpoint is not that of the average physicist, nor yet that of the average philosopher ; both of them will experience some difficulty in understanding what exactly is the task that M. Pacotte is trying to perform. His standpoint is perhaps more nearly that of the mathematician; but if the book is addressed to mathematicians it is surely a defect 740 NATURE [JUNE 10, 1922 and not a merit that it should be wholly free from mathematical symbolism. However, it is clear that M. Pacotte has read and thought deeply, and if we have to confess that the results of his labours are not very helpful to us, we are most ready to admit that they may be very helpful to others. (4) Prof. Petrovitch here pursues the suggestive train of thought which he has started in earlier works. He begins with the familiar observation that physical metaphors are used in connection with the most diverse events ; thus we speak of the cooling of enthusiasm or the oscillation of public opinion. Such metaphors indicate that the most diverse phenomena follow tendencies (allures) characterisic of mechanics. He seeks accordingly to classify these tendencies into a few well-marked groups and to place all phenomena of all kinds whatsoever within these groups according to the nature of their tendencies. These ideas (of which the briefest outline must suffice here) lead naturally to a scrutiny of the whole range of knowledge ; M. Petrovitch’s knowledge is wide and, so far as we can test it, accurate; yet he carries it easily. Ac- cordingly his book will appeal to many who are not immediately interested in his epistemological theses. We are inclined to think, however, that he overrates the importance of the resemblances he studies. Thus he maintains that when he has analysed any phenomenon according to its tendencies and displayed its mechanical analogies, he has explained the phenomenon in the sense used by Kelvin when he said that to explain a phenomenon was to construct a mechanical model of it. Such a doctrine we think might lead to the most dangerous fallacies if applied to psychology and politics ; and though M. Petrovitch, confining himself to analysis and not to construction, seems always to stop short of the precipice, he approaches it very nearly. and might well lead shallow thinkers over it. (5) Prof. Lenard has republished in pamphlet form an article which appeared in Stark’s “ Jahrbuch.” It is one more attempt to avoid the principle of relativity and quantum theory, and seems, as usual, to forget that it is impossible to avoid them entirely, because, since they are formal theories in accord with experi- ment, any other physical theory so in accord must be formally in accord with them. The basic idea of Prof. Lenard’s theory is that every body has its private ether, disturbances in a private ether being transferred in some way (undefined) to a primary ether (Urather) for transmission to a great distance. To those so attached to ethers that the idea is attractive of an infinite number of coincident ethers all moving at any point with different velocities, the idea will prob- ably appeal. But we confess that we see no need for the Uriither ; so far as we can see, private ethers would NO. 2745, VOL. 109] suffice, together with the assumption that each obsery can only perceive disturbances set up in his fp i ether. (Cf. Phil. Mag. 19. 189. 1910.) (6) Prof. Planck publishes here a collection semi-popular lectures and essays, partly on r a and quantum theory, partly on scientific prinei All that he says here will, of course, be familiar to serious students, while for the general read in a foreign tongue are seldom useful. No comi therefore seems’ necessary ; to praise Shi. work would be impertinent. (7) Finally, we come to M. Villey’s very ir volume, of which the first part only is pub yet. Its intention is “A ceux qui possédent connaissances normalement enseignées dans | de physique élémentaire, exposer les mémes sous une forme assez renouvelée pour stim curiosité et élargir leurs points de vue ” and qui veulent acquérir ces connaissances en m profit leur loisir, les présenter non sous Va manuel pédagogique, mais sous une forme p trayante et de lecture plus facile.” It is the object which appeals more directly to us al think, to the author. It is impossible for a sional physicist to decide definitely how far the a has been achieved ; we must “try it on the dog ” we are certain that if the author has failed, his - impossible and that the fault lies not with him with the audience he is addressing. The book model of that simple, lucid, and logical exposition which the French language—or at least the Fre people—alone seems capable. Every one, howe deeply versed in physics, will find in it something stimulate his interest and imagination. M. V deserves the thanks of all who desire a wider diffusi 0 of scientific knowledge ; we hope that an Eng translation will soon appear—if only somebody ; be found with the courage and ability to undertake i N. R.C. Te eR el Al OO ap a ot em ty A 6 a cee SI 0: ec mt Strasburger’s Text-book of. Botany. Strasburger’s Text-book of Botany. Rewritten by Dr. H. Fitting, Dr. L. Jost, Dr. H. Schenck, Dr. G. Karsten. Fifth English Edition Revised with I e Fourteenth German Edition by Prof. W. H. Lang. Pp. xi+799. (London: Macmillan and Co., - 1921.) 315. 6d. net. HE last English edition of this well-known tex book was published in 1912, and the appeare of the present volume will be welcomed by the lar number of students and teachers who are alre familiar with its many excellent features. This edi appears under a new title, as ‘‘ Strasburger’s T UNE I0, 1922] NATURE 740 00k of Botany,” to commemorate the original founder work. The general plan of the book remains the The first part, entitled “General Botany,” es morphology and physiology ; ; the second part, ial Botany,” is also in two divisions, the first g with Thallophyta, Bryophyta, and Pterido- and the second with the Spermatophyta. division on morphology, which is contributed . Fitting, has been entirely rearranged and “rewritten. It now begins with a consideration cell, tissues and tissue systems, and then under ding of “Organography” deals with the al form and internal structure of the members plant. This arrangement permits of a logical evelopment of the subject, in which some considera- m is given to form in relation to function. It is ar, however, that the subjects included in this son cannot be adequately treated in the 206 pages ad to it. Such subjects, for example, as leaf structure of the hypocotyl, and the phylogeny vascular system, receive very scanty treatment. new section six pages are devoted to the theory cent and the origin of new species. It is doubtful ‘such a condensed account of this subject will value to the student even for examination 2s. It is true that, as in other sections of the ;, there are references to the more important ications on this subject, but since both here and 1¢ sub-section of physiology dealing with heredity variability the references are almost exclusively man authors, these will be of limited use to the h student. section on physiology, by Prof, Jost, is on the general lines as that in the fourth edition. It wever, been very carefully revised and brought > ate, and provides an excellent survey of the T the Cryptogamic section, for which Prof. Schenck ponsible, the most recent additions to the subject been brought under review. Among the Thallo- es, alternation of generations is described and i in the Laminariacee, and Kniep’s work on the menomycetes is included. The treatment of the iS r cryptogams has been much improved by the se rtion of the more important fossil forms in their ural positions among the existing families. work as a whole presents a comprehensive and ate account of the subject. Its main defect is in including so much within the limits of a single , the treatment of the various sections has ered from undue compression. The book was tten for German students and it cannot fully isfy the requirements of English teachers, since does not give prominence to those aspects of the NO. 2745, VOL. 109] subject with which the English School of botanists has been identified. Nevertheless, it has already established itself as a standard text-book, and in its present revised form and at its extremely moderate price it will meet the needs of many different typés of student. ae ay German Monographs on Biochemistry. Die Biochemie in Einzeldarstellungen. Herausgegeben _ von Dr. A. Kanitz. (t) Temperatur und Lebensvorginge. Von Dr. A. Kanitz. Pp. x+175. 54 marks. (2) Uber kiinstliche Ernéhrung und Vitamine. Prof. Dr. F. Réhmann. 42 marks. (3) Uber partielle Eiweisshydrolyse. Siegfried. Pp. iv+64. 15 marks. (4) Die Einwirkung von Mikroorganismen auf die Etweisskorper. Von Dr. P. Hirsch. Pp. x+256. 63 marks. (Berlin: Gebriider Borntraeger, 1915-1918.) Von Pp. vi+150+2 plates. Von Prof. Dr. M. HE present may be emphatically termed the period of Monographs of Science. The vast accumulation of facts has long passed the bounds prescribed by the general treatises on physics or chemistry, in which it was formerly possible to find a readable and critical treatment of the subject as a whole. These were succeeded by _ encyclopedic dictionaries, of the type of Beilstein, which, however useful and indeed invaluable for reference, make no claim to be readable or even critical. In all branches of science, however, the demand is insistent for a comparatively brief and comprehensive account of the present state of knowledge, and it is to meet this that the various series of sectional monographs have sprung up. Among the first of these were the admirable monographs on biochemistry edited by Hopkins and Plimmer from 1908 onwards, and in the series now under review we have the German equivalent of these. Originated as late as 1915, comparatively few volumes have as yet been issued, but the promised list of publications indicates, both by the subjects proposed and the distinction of the authors, that they will form a valuable addition to the biochemist’s bookshelf. (x) The effect of temperature on life processes is here discussed in great detail. After a general introduction in which the physical chemistry of the subject is considered the characteristic optimum effect produced in living organisms is fully analysed. A special part follows in which a summary of the literature is made and the data are incorporated in tables, each class of phenomenon, such as the heart-beat, the action of 742 | NATURE [JUNE 10, 192 poisons, the duration of life, etc., being separately discussed. This provides a very valuable compendium of the existing information on the subject. Among the most remarkable results recorded are the enormous values of the temperature coefficient (Q,)=1000-— 4000) in many cases of the duration of life, especially among invertebrates. In this connection the sugges- tive fact must be borne in mind that high values of Q,) are also characteristic of the denaturation of proteins and the inactivation of enzymes. These high values are the more remarkable as in the majority of cases physiological phenomena fall into line with ordinary chemical reactions, the rate of which is increased 2 or 3 times by a temperature rise of 10° C., although in many cases the coefficient falls with increasing temperature. ; (2) Criticism, especially of the fundamental proposi- tions enunciated in a new and rapidly expanding branch of knowledge, is useful because it prompts the investigator to re-examine the experimental foundations on which he has based his conclusions. In this way Dr. Réhmann’s work has doubtless done good service, but the theses which he maintains, that accessory food factors or vitamins have no existence in fact and that “‘ deficiency ” diseases such as beriberi and scurvy are due to prolonged and one- sided feeding with “‘ imperfect ” proteins, can no longer be seriously maintained. The author’s experimental material has already been very carefully analysed and criticised by Osborne and Mendel, who have pointed out in what directions the “ purified ” diets of R6hmann fell short of the standard which is now known to be required. Since the date of publication of this book (1916) overwhelming evidence has been produced—largely in this country and America—that Hopkins was fully justified in his original conception of accessory food factors which cannot be synthesised by the animal but are necessary for the proper utilisation of its diet, however complete this may be in the fat, carbo- hydrate, protein and salts which form its main con- stituents. R6hmann has turned his face back towards the ideas of the older physiologists and his book remains as a monument beside the path by which the newer doctrine has been reached. (3) The hydrolysis of proteins by enzymes is a highly complex process, the exact course of which is by no means fully understood. In the present work a full account is given only of the later stages of this decom- position, commencing with the peptones and pro- ceeding downwards through the kyrines to the peptides. The term peptone is often used vaguely to designate various mixtures of the hydrolysis. pro- ducts of protein, often including*the albumoses. We NO. 2745, VOL. 109 | are here given an excellent account of the work, due to the author, by which the peptones, narrower sense, have been isolated from the p not precipitated by ammonium sulphate, and been characterised by their chemical and » properties. Their composition varies with the but is always relatively simple, although the hints at the existence of modes of union betwee constituents other than the characteristic linkings to which so much importance has — in the structure of the proteins. (4) The physiological importance of many bases formed by the action of bacteria on the acids has made them of great interest to 1 chemist. English readers have already at h Prof. Barger’s monograph on “ The Simpler Bases,” a work which includes a great part matter dealt with by Dr. Hirsch. In the volume the subject is approached from the view of bacterial action and a full account of t products which have been recognised is given. addition to descriptive matter, practical methods also included and a considerable amount of attenti is given to the physiological properties of the substan concerned. Interesting sections treat of the patho logical effects of bacterial products derived from proteins and of their therapeutic application. car The author also includes a short but suggesti chapter on the relation between these products an various substances of a basic character which o in animal and vegetable organisms. There is lit doubt that many of the latter have been formed fron amino-acids by reactions similar to those produced micro-organisms, if not actually by their active inter vention. A copious bibliography is appended the work. ARTHUR HARDEN. Our Bookshelf. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of all known Students, Graduates, and Holders of Office the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Time. to 1900. By Dr. J. Venn and J. A. Venn. Part L., From the Earliest Times to r75z. Vol. 1, Abbas—— Cutts. Pp. xxviii+437. (Cambridge: At ‘the Uni- versity Press, 1922.) 150s. net. THE President of Gonville and Caius College and his — son have undertaken an immense task in the prepara~ tion of the volumes, the first of which is under notice. — Dr. Venn has by previous work on the archives of his — own College prepared himself for this _investigation, - and it is as much due to him as to the wise rules of Dr Caius that the Caius records of past members can described as ‘‘ much the best of the series.” There a 76,000 names dealt with up to the date 1751 cove by Part I., and details have been gathered toget! from many sources. For instance, i Ward NE I0, 1922] NATURE 743° mbridge is shown by an Institution Book to have m appointed a rector in 1673; a visitation of 1677 tes that he was ordained priest at Norwich in 1672 ; hop’s Register there states that this ordinand i. of Jesus College ; by this he can be safely , and the Jesus books give his parentage and rally not many details can be given even when e of most of the persons named in the book. at majority entered the Church ; and the Re- , the Commonwealth, and the Restoration ely in the doings of the Cambridge graduates. professions are represented, such as physicians , and more rarely statesmen and diplomats. y careers ended in the stake, the block, or le outlawry. Amongst names in the present that will interest men of science are William in memory of whom was founded the Croonian Isaac Barrow, “ famous as a mathematician, eek and Latin scholar, and above all as a ian’; Peter Barwicke, Censor of the R.C.P., he few doctors who worked through the Plague n; Licius Bomelius, physician, astrologer, ian to the Czar, who died in prison; and vendish, chemist, physicist, and mathe- 2, who left a fortune of more than a million. eatly to be hoped that Part I. of this work will be published. atalogue of 1068 “ Intermediate”? Stars situated between 51° and 65° South Declination for the Equinox 1900: From Observations made at the Sydney Observatory, Vew South Wales, Australia, during the Years 1918- ‘919, under the Direction of Prof. W. Ernest Cooke. . vii+29. (Sydney: W. A. Gullick, 1921.) ZAT novel lines have been adopted in this ue. Prof. W. E. Cooke has endeavoured to the resolutions of the Paris Astrographic of 1909, which divided the stars to be observed three classes—Fundamental, Intermediate, and ce—the second class being deduced from the _ by differential methods, and in turn serving as ndards for the third class, which are to be used to e co-ordinates on the Astrographic Plates. . The si of the Fundamental stars in the zone were from the Cape Catalogue, 1900, using the proper s given there. The new Catalogue reproduces ‘assumed places with mean discordances of o-oo1® 02”. The probable error of a catalogued position id to be +0:006% sec 6, and +0°13”. Collimation errors and errors of division are determined the ordinary way, but all other corrections, including e instrumental ones and those due to clock error, cession, nutation, and aberration, are applied by erential formule described in Mon. Not. R.AS., 79, No. 1. It is claimed that this method facili- s the correction of the catalogue places for any s in the adopted places of the Fundamental The pivot errors of.the circle are given, but not been applied, as the method of reduction ld eliminate them. The transits were observed the travelling-wire method, except for some faint which were observed over fixed wires. A constant ction was applied to these to reduce them to the system. ACD. C. - NO. 2745, VOL. 109] sufficient support to enable Part IT. (1752-1 goo) | The Serbian Epidemics of Typhus and Relapsing Fever in 1915: Their Origin, Course, and Preventive Measures employed for their Arrest. (An Aitiological and Preventive Study based on Records of British Military Sanitary Mission to Serbia, 1915.) By Col. William Hunter. (Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1919, vol. xiii.) (Section of Epidemiology and State Medicine.) Pp. 29-158. (London: John Bale, Sons, and Danielsson, Ltd., 1920.) 7s. 6d. net. In this account of the Serbian epidemics of typhus and relapsing fever in 1915, Col. William Hunter makes a very interesting and valuable contribution to the medical literature of the war. The R.A.M.C. Mission arrived in Serbia at the worst period of an uncontrolled epidemic of lice- borne diseases. Its principal task was not the supply of extra clinical assistance, but the arrest of the epidemic by administrative and sanitary measures. The chief of these measures were the temporary cessation of railway traffic, the suspension of leave from the army, and the introduction of a widely applicable method of disinfection. The author demonstrates clearly the striking effect on the epidemic of both the cessation and ‘the resumption of the movements of people. By numerous charts and tables a large number of statistics of considerable scientific interest is recorded, and this, with the details given of the sanitary and preventive measures adopted, will be of value to all connected with the prevention of lice-borne and water- borne diseases in dealing with any future outbreaks on the Continent or elsewhere. : Benign Stupors: A Study of a New Manic-Depressive Reaction’ Type. By Dr. A. Hoch. Pp. xli+284. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1921.) 14S. net. Aucust Hoc recognisea tne coitusion arising out of the classification of certain functional psychoses as Manic-Depressive Insanity ; he therefore set out to show that the elation and depression (from which the name has been derived) are of no more theoretical importance than other moods which characterise the group. The volume before us, edited by Dr. J. MacCurdy after the death of Hoch, is designed to show that the symptom-complex associated with apathy is as distinct as that of mania, and the book introduces the functional psychoses characterised by benign stupor. The essentials of the stupor reaction are (1) more or less marked interference with activity ; (2) interference with the intellectual processes; (3) affectlessness ; (4) negativism. These and other symptoms which make up the clinical picture of the benign stupor are discussed in great detail and illustrated by numerous cases. Of particular interest is the peculiarity of the ideational content in its preoccupation with the theme of death, often to the complete exclusion of all other ideas. A brief chapter is devoted to treatment, and stress is laid on the importance of stimulating the patient to exert as much effort as possible. The book is one of the most valuable contributions of recent years to psychiatric literature, and its editor is to be con- gratulated on the success with which he has carried out the task laid upon him. 744 NATURE [JUNE 10, 1922 Nerve Exhaustion. By Sir Maurice Craig. Pp. 148. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1922.) 6s. In introducing the subject of nerve exhaustion, Sir Maurice Craig makes it evident that he is writing for the general practitioner rather than for the student of psychology. He particularly emphasises the import- ance of the prevention of nerve exhaustion, which is defined as “‘ a state in which there is undue physical, nervous, or mental fatigue.’’ The author considers that the essential factor leading to such a state is “¢ hypersensitivity,” which may be physical or psychical, and the recognition of which may enable one to prevent _ the onset of nerve exhaustion. It follows from the definition that the condition has a very wide etiology and symptomatology, each of which is discussed under numerous headings. A separate chapter is devoted to sleeplessness and to the individual hypnotics which are used in the treatment of insomnia, but there is no mention of bromural, which is a safe and efficient sedative for most of the milder cases. In the last chapter it is urged that the treatment of mental disorder should be freed from the legal restric- tions which hamper it—restrictions which may have been necessary many years ago, but are now obsolete. The author considers that there are numerous cases of functional nervous disorder which should be allowed institutional treatment without the necessity of being certified, and he instances strong evidence in support of this. The book will be of considerable value to the practi- tioner in the recognition and treatment of minor functional nervous disorders. Guide to the Reptiles and Batrachians exhibited in the Department of Zoology of the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7. Third edition. Pp. 56. (London: British Museum (Natural History), 1922.) 15. Tuis publication is intended more for the general public than for the student of zoology. The author, whose name does not appear, has obtained a good balance in the treatment of the different groups of animals with which the little book deals. Exception must be taken to the statement that the Opisthoglypha, or back-fanged snakes, are, although poisonous, not dangerous. This is not always the case: the South African boomslang, Dispholidus typus, for instance, having in recent years been proved to be an extremely dangerous snake, there being more than one record of its bite having caused death in man. Experimentally it has been shown that the boomslang is more venomous than the cobra, puff adder, or any other justly dreaded South African snake. Excellent in so many respects, it is a pity that so little pains have been taken in the correction of the proofs, some of the sentences, owing to lack of punctua- tion, being almost incomprehensible. This little guide, which is profusely illustrated by photographs of specimens in the museum, and by _ illustrations reproduced from the Cambridge Natural History, is, however, well worth the shilling asked for it. NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Letters to the Editor. [Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsible fi opinions expressed by his correspondents. Netth can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice taken of anonymous communications. | The Rat and its Repression. I HAVE read with great interest the very able and exhaustive article by Mr. Alfred E. Moore in NATURE — of May 20, p. 659, on the rat and its repression. © As I have taken great interest in the question of rat suppression, I should like to add a few words to what — Mr. Moore says. Y If the campaign against these vermin were in such q iB hands as his we should go a long way towards © exterminating them, but the public does not take sufficient interest in a matter which they always — think affects other people more than themselves. — The result is that where one man makes a raid against — his rats, twenty do nothing to suppress them, and — perhaps ten others actually encourage their propaga- — tion by the carelessness with which they leave food — and consumable stores unprotected. w One could have hoped that the Ministry of Agri- culture would have taken up the matter seriously. — The amount of damage done to food-stuffs is in- — calculable. Not only do rats raid our storehouses, — but they also attack the crops almost before they are sprouting in the ground. Those who know — Norfolk and Suffolk and any grain-growing district — are familiar with the squeals of rats nesting in the hedgerows as they go along the roads, and when the — seed-corn has been planted fields are covered with well-worn rat tracks, from which these rodents — start to grub up the seeds from the ground and — devour them. In December and January every field is covered with rat scratchings, which means t so much corn has been devoured. The loss to the farmer is very great and, of course, the public participates t 7 in this. Piecemeal suppression is of little use, as rats are : great travellers, but if a sufficient effort were made — by the Ministry of Agriculture to stir ap local — would © authorities and to provide some funds, whic = not amount to very much, to help them, we should — have a remarkable result in the clearing from our fields and our food stores of these destructive vermin. — The Treasury will sanction millions for unproductive — expenditure. Any minister can get practically what — he wants for his own particular hobby, but in this — matter of real usefulness where capable local ad- = ministration is at hand, our custodians of the public — purse refuse to assist in any way. a Individual philanthropists cannot be expected to — find money for a public cause when the representa- — What remedy ~ Only one; which is that we should — tives of the public stand idly by. have we for this ? put pressure locally upon our parliamentary repre- — sentatives and send up communications to the ~ urging upon them the ~ Ministry of Agriculture, necessity of some sort of action. I hope this advice will not fall upon barren ground. _ There are plenty of men in both Houses of Parliament — who will be very glad to help in pushing this agitation — forward. - 43 Belgrave Square, London, S.W., May 24. ie 8 ABERCONWAY. UNE 10, 1922] NATURE 745 e Blue Flame produced by Common Salt on a Coal Fire. az blue flame produced by sprinkling salt on a ing coal fire is a good example of common know- which, not finding a niche and an explanation t-books, becomes a recurrent topic of inquiry scussion in scientific journals. It may perhaps interest if I add a historical note to what Prof. has stated in NATURE of May 27, p. 683. blue flame in question appears to have been treated from the spectroscopic standpoint by > late Dr. J. H. Gladstone in 1862 in a letter to ie Philosophical Magazine (ser. iv., vol. 24, p. 417). being quite conclusive he seems to have arded copper chloride as the source. The matter iS Te in by an anonymous letter to NATURE in 1876 (vol. xiii. p. 287), and a discussion has recurred rom time to time in these columns from that date 1thouw 890. Full references to this are to be found ser’s ‘‘ Handbuch der Spectroscopie,’’ vol. v. . A communication to Nature by T. N. ler in “1876 (vol. xiii. p. 448) seems to have hit the ark. He recognised the flame as being like that of er chloride, and, surmising that the source of cc PP er lay oy in the pyrites of the coal, hat the blue flame did not appear when salt on a glowin sprinkled fire of charcoal. The was clinched by tter let in 1890 (Comptes id. 110, p. 282), who identified the spectrum with t of copper chloride as carefully mapped by Lecoq oisbaudran, and he actually isolated metallic from the fuel ash. ; blue flame given by salt always seems to me aishable from that of carbon monoxide, and pears very bright by contrast with the yellow-red ow of the fire. It is somewhat surprising to see ww far the yellow sodium flame is suppressed. eee ARTHUR SMITHELLS. University, Leeds, May 28. Optical Resolving Power and Definition. YATURE of May 27, p. 678, Mr. A. Mallock is as a quantitative measure of “ definition ” ical instrument “ the angular or linear size s field of view compared with the smallest ponding quantity which can be clearly distin- ed,’ and ds to extend “‘ definition ’’ on uivalent general basis to a number of. other uments. ther or not this proposal will serve a useful rpose in other directions need not be discussed ‘e, but in the case of optical instruments the easure Pp! sed will not commend itself to opti- ns, for it involves a radical change in the accepted ing of ‘“ definition’’ in this connection. The gestion in fact amounts to nothing more than the asurement of the angular field of view in terms of init which varies with the aperture of the lens id the wave-length of the light which is used, a sal which surely carries its own condemnation enunciation. That the ratio in question is worth! as a measure of “ definition ’’ is obvious rom the consideration that in many instruments, at say the centre of the field, the resolving power and the “definition’”’—that is the degree to which letails of an object are clearly discernible in its iwe—may remain unaffected while the field of w is greatly changed by an alteration in the size a suitably placed stop. Conversely in apparently milar instruments the “ definition’’ may vary »preciably from one instrument to another while he field of view and the resolving power are alike in cases. “NO. 2745, VOL. 109] LLICSS - words. The distinction between resolving power and definition is real but not easily defined in a few The former deals with the discernment of separate sources of such apparent minuteness that it cannot be claimed that the image indicates with any accuracy the shape of the source itself. The latter is concerned with the sharpness of the apparent image outline of larger objects. The former depends primarily on the dimensions of the first dark ring in the image of an apparently point source, and the conditions of observation require the range of wave- lengths of light forming the focussed image to be limited. The latter depends more upon the broad light distribution in the diffraction pattern than upon. the alternations of light and darkness, and the range of wave-lengths is not an important factor. As the size of the rings is not greatly affected b small amounts of aberration, the resolving power is not a suitable measure of the correction of a lens system, but it is precisely upon the degree to which aberrations are removed that definition depends. Of two photographic lenses with the same resolving power, and the same field of view, one may give brilliant pictures because the definition is good and the other comparatively flat pictures because the definition is poor. To the user of simple instruments definition is of great importance, resolving power does not concern him. This is not a suitable occasion on which to. discuss the measurement of “‘ definition’ or the standards which are suitable for application to various types of instrument. The subject is one of great difficulty particularly in view of our ignorance of the extent to which it is possible to eliminate aberrations in systems of simple construction. Lest, however, readers of NATURE should be misled it cannot be too emphatically stated that in omitting from “ defini- tion’”’ its most essential factor and substituting therefor an independent conception, Mr. Mallock’s attempted generalisation is likely to prove only a cause of confusion to those who hope to measure the merits of optical instruments by its means. T. SMITH. The Difference between Series Spectra of Isotopes. Pror. P. ZEEMAN mentioned to me recently some new measurements of the absorption spectrum of lithium which he undertook in order to prove the presence of both isotopes. It seems to me, that at the present time it is not certain what one should expect here theoretically. Bohr’s formula for the change in the frequency v due to the motion of the nucleus has been applied by him only to the cases in which a single electron moves around the nucleus; namely, to H and He*. Recently the formula has been also applied by various authors (see F. W. Aston, ‘“ Isotopes,”’ p. 123—London 1922) to the calculation of the difference between series spectra of isotopes; this means to atoms in which several electrons move around the nucleus. So far as I know there are as yet no investigations on the equation which must for these cases replace Bohr’s equation M, 6206 ee (M,, M., m are respectively the masses of the nucleii of the isotopes and of the electron; »}, 2, are the frequencies of corresponding lines). In the case of one electron only, (1) follows immedi- ately from the well-known transformation of the ‘‘preblem of two bodies” from absolute to relative co-ordinates (see, eg., Whittaker, ‘‘ Analytical 2B 2 746 NATURE [JUNE IO, 1922 Dynamics,”’ § 46). For several electrons there is no similar simple transformation. The “radiating ’”’ electron compels the remaining electrons to execute motions of treaction, which also influence the nucleus. Probably it will be possible to derive a sufficiently approximate formula for the case of the p- and d- motions of lithium. This must be very difficult, however, for the case of the 1-5 S-path. The fact that at all events equation (1) cannot be true in general for atoms with several electrons will be shown by the following example (though of course on account of the Principle of Correspondence not representing a process really occurring in nature) : two electrons move around the nucleus in a centrally symmetrical configuration, at first in a two-quantum and then in a one-quantum circle. By symmetry the nucleus remains continually at rest. In this case therefore the liberated energy and, consequently, the radiated v would, contrary to (1), be exactly independent of the mass of the nucleus. P. EHRENFEST. The University, Leyden, Holland. I SHOULD like to add a few remarks to the interesting letter of Prof. Ehrenfest about the contents of which he was so kind to inform me before publication. As pointed out in his letter, the effect of the mass of the nucleus on the spectrum of an atom, containing more than one electron, is a complex problem which depends on the electronic arrangement in the states of the atom, involved in the emission of the lines, in a way which has hitherto not received sufficient attention. Not only may the mass effect disappear completely in such cases, where several electrons move round the nucleus in equivalent orbits, but, as indicated by Prof. Ehrenfest, this effect may also in case of the motions which we actually meet in the emission of the series spectra be different from that calculated for an atom with one electron. Although in the emission of these spectra we are concerned: with motions whereby a single electron moves in an orbit different in type from the orbits of the other electrons, the problem differs essentially from the problem of two bodies in celestial mechanics. Thus according to the picture of atomic constitution, outlined by the writer in two letters to NATURE (March 24, 1921, October 13, 1921), we shall assume that the electron connected with the emission of the series spectra, although during the larger part of the revolution it remains outside the configuration of the electrons in inner groups, it will nevertheless in certain states penetrate into the interior of the atom during its revolution. The fact that the electron in the inner loop of its orbit. is subject. to large forces is of pre- ponderant influence as regards the fixation of the energy in the corresponding stationary states of the atom. For such a motion the effect of the nuclear mass might differ essentially from that estimated from an examination of the mechanical properties of the motion in the outer loop only, and the question arises, whether the mass effect is sufficiently large to account for the discrepancies, observed by Merton, in the wave-lengths of certain lines in the spectra of lead isotopes, which although very small are yet much larger than those to be expected from the simple formula quoted in Prof. Ehrenfest’s letter. Although this question seems difficult to settle without a closer investigation, it would scarcely appear probable that the answer will be affirmative. On the other hand, it cannot be excluded that the discrepancies in question are due to a slight difference in the field of force surrounding the nucleus, arising from the difference in the internal nuclear structure NO. 2745, VOL. tog] spectra, which are of the order 1078 cm. or larger. This difficulty may disappear, however, by consi ing the circumstance mentioned above, that in ce: states the series electron during a short interval of revolution penetrates deeply into the interior of the atom. In fact, we must assume, that this electron in the states corresponding to the S-terms of the series spectra penetrates to even smaller distances from the nucleus than the electrons in the innermost group of the atom, the dimensions of which are in lead smaller than 107! cm. To the possible im- portance of this point in connection with the spectra _ of isotopes my attention was kindly directed by Dr. Kramers in a discussion about Prof. Ehrenfest’s letter. N. Boner, © University, Copenhagen. : : The Destruction of Mosquito Larvee FE in Salt or Brackish Water. = A NUMBER of experiments on the destruction of mosquito larve by the well-known system of “surface - oiling,” carried out at Hayling Island during the year 1921, supplied further evidence of the fact that this method is not one of universal application. — The production of an unbroken film of a sufficiently lasting nature is sometimes an impossible task, notably in cases where the water surface is broken up by growths of reeds, etc., or is too freely Rect to the wind. In cases of this kind it is necessary to discard the oil film in favour of a “‘ larvicide,” that is to say, a substance which, by mixing with the infested water, will destroy the larve. a Unfortunately, however, practical information concerning larvicides is difficult to obtain. In the literature of the subject references are to be found to a number of suggested substances, but the vast — majority of these stand self-condemned owing to the — prohibitive cost that would be entailed by employing - them in the prescribed “ strengths ”’ on any practical — scale. A large number of these larvicides are, moreover, admittedly ineffective when added to brackish or salt water, and are consequently of little value in districts such as Hayling, where the ~ salt-water mosquito, Ochlerotatus detritus, is the principal offender. a A number of tests have recently been carried — out in the laboratory of the Hayling Mosquito Con-— trol, in the hope of discovering a larvicide which — could be used successfully (and at a low cost) in ~ salt, or partly salt, water. It was found that a liquid containing 15 per cent of soluble cresol, sold © as a disinfectant under various names, gave very promising results in the laboratory. This liquid, at_ a dilution of I in 16,000, was found to kill the larva ~ of Ochlerotatus detritus in one hour; at a dilution © of. 1 in 32,000, in one and a half hours; and at a_ dilution of 1 in 48,000, in three and a half hours, — In the majority of these experiments the water containing the larve was of a salinity about half that — of sea water. SS In order to test this larvicide on a larger scale, a — shallow stretch of brackish water adjoining the Hayling Golf Links was selected for experiment. — This water was very heavily infested with the larve 4 ? JUNE 10, 1922] NATURE 747 Ochlerotatus detritus, together with a large number pupe. Titration experiments carried out by Mr. 1 Turner showed that the salinity of the water 49 per cent. that of pure sea water. After estimating the volume of the water as 900 gallons, it was decided to use the larvicide in : rtion of 1 in 16,000, the quantity required erefore 1:25 gallons. The result of the . Shute (Ministry of Health Laboratory). wo other ponds badly infested with the larve Ochlerotatus detritus, and containing a large ber of pupz, have since been treated with like ess, a thorough examination of both ponds ~ made on the following day without a single larva or pupa being found. It was noticed during the experiments that the dition of the larvicide to one of the ponds in which water was only slightly saline, produced the acteristic “‘ milkiness ’’’ associated with the use infectants of this class. In treating the other where the water was of greater salinity, this dy ges ges was not produced, although the tS i in all the three experiments were qually successful. A series of laboratory tests owed that the “ milkiness’’ occurred whenever 4€ proportion of sea water to fresh water was less han 1 in 7, the cloudy appearance being uniformly stributed through the water treated. When the cide was added to water of greater salinity, it sed in the form of minute globules. ~ It was ted by Mr. P. G. Shute that, in cases where the ortion of sea water exceeded one-seventh, the milkiness (and the accompanying uniform diffusion of the larvicide) might possibly still be produced if the larvicide were diluted with a small quantity of fresh water before use. Experiment showed this > the case, and this preliminary dilution is sly to be recommended whenever the larvicide stion is to be added to water of appreciable is probable that successful results will be ( ned with even smaller proportions of the larvi- cide than those employed up to the present, since the effects produced with dilution of 1 in 48,000 indicate 1at the limit has been by no means reached. Further sxperiments in this direction are now in progress. _ It is important to note that water treated with this vicide in the aay mentioned is quite harm- to human beings or animals drinking it ‘identally. The comparative cost of “ larviciding’”’ and affining ’’ in any given case depends, of course, the depth of water to be treated. In cases where the water is shallow there is little to choose a é expense, even when the larvicide is used in as large a proportion as 1 in 16,000. If d be the depth of any particular sheet of water in inches, m the “ dilution” (or the number of parts of water ch can be treated by one part of the larvicide), _¢ the ratio of the cost of the larvicide to that araffin, then the ratio of the expense of “ larvicid- ” to that of “ paraffining ’’ has been shown by (Science Progress, January 1922, p. 468) be given by the expression é (1500 xc x d)/n. Im the case of the first pond referred to above, d was 3 inches and » was 16,000. The price of the NO. 2745, VOL. 109] fluid was 5s. 9d. a gallon, so that ¢ may be taken as 4. Hence the relative cost of the operation, compared to paraffining, was (1500 x 4 x 3)/16,000, or 1-125, the actual cost of treating the 1420 square yards of pond being about seven shillings. It should be noted, moreover, that as the water surface in this case was much exposed to wind, paraffining car- ried out on previous occasions had proved quite ineffective. Since a cubic yard is the space occupied by 168 gallons, it will be found that the number of gallons in any piece of water is (A x d)14/3, where A is the surface area in square yards and d is the depth in inches. So that, if the larvicide is to be used in the proportion of 1 in », the number of gallons required will be 14/3(Axd)/n gallons. This is a_ useful formula for calculation, particularly when a definite value of » has been decided upon for treating a number of ponds. Joun F. MarsHALL, Seacourt, Hayling Island, Hants. — , The Teaching of Natural History in Schools. In an article which appeared in Nature, May 13, p. 628, dealing with the memorandum of a British Association Committee on this subject, the following statement occurred: ‘It devolves on the teachers of zoology to show in detail the kind of zoological syllabus that can be put into operation in schools as a basis for zoological teaching.” May I be allowed, as one whose privilege it has been to teach zoology to some hundreds of boys, to offer one or two sugges- tions for such a syllabus ? The writer of the article was entirely favourable to the spirit of the memorandum, as indeed are a great number of persons responsible for the direction of education. With regard to the younger generation, the learners, the question is answered with no un- certain voice. I have put the choice of zoology or botany to forms of boys of all ages from 14 to 18, and have found invariably that 90 per cent. or more vote for the teaching of zoology. It may be that the boys scent my personal leaning towards zoology (though I try to be impartial) or, again, that they regard the study of animals as a more masculine pursuit than the study of plants. At the same time, it is evident that the boy’s mind shows a genuine thirst for a knowledge of animal life. — There are two aspects of the application of zoology to the school curriculum. On one hand, there are the older boys who are being trained for some definite profession—medicine, agriculture, biological research, and so forth. On the other, there are large numbers of younger boys, very few of whom Wi equire zoology as a professional subject, who are being taught- biology as part of their general education. Zoological syllabuses for the professional examinations are issued by the various universities ; moreover, in the Higher Certificate Examination zoology may be offered as a group subject. Thus, in the case of senior boys the biology master has ample guidance in the general requirements of a zoological education, and can develop and extend his teaching accordingly ; but in teaching zoology to younger boys the master has to evolve his own syllabus and to form his own standard of attainment. It is with the latter aspect of the subject that I propose to deal. The boy of fourteen when he comes to the study of biology requires something more substantial than 748 NATURE [JUNE 10, 1922 what is generally implied by “‘ nature study.”’ He is perfectly capable of appreciating the elementary conceptions of anatomy and physiology. He is, moreover, fully alive to questions of sex, and is ready to assimilate a clean scientific view of its meaning. Personally I should find it very difficult to teach either botany or zoology apart from one another to these young boys. Botany may be offered as a subject both for the Lower and School Certificates; but there is no indication from higher authority as to what should be included in a course oi zoology for boys of this standard. It has been necessary, therefore, to sub- stitute special syllabuses in biology of our own making, in order to enforce the inclusion of zoology in the examinations. Two examples are quoted below of the zoological content of biological syllabuses for the Lower Certificate : A. Boys of 144-154, working four hours a week for three terms. : Elementary outlines of anatomy of following: Earthworm, Frog, Rabbit. Prevention and destruction -of insect pests, Elaters (wireworms), Tipulide (leather jacket), Aphidide (woolly aphis). Special scheme of Research Work. (a) British Bird Life: (i.) Embryology; (ii.) General Anatomy of Birds. The mounting of specimens, examination of beaks and crops in connection with cultivation. (0) Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, (c) Anatomy of Farm Animals. (d) Diseases of Animals; Blood. (e) Insect Pests of English Fruit Trees. One group only has been taken by any boy. Special work has been done by the whole form in preparation of charts, recording agricultural] operations, bird life, etc., during the different seasons, and meteorological observations taken daily. B. Boys of 14-15, working two hours a week for three terms. A general knowledge of the Natural History of animals, with special reference to British forms (e.g. Rabbit, Pigeon, Frog, Snail, Butterfly, Spider). The study of pond life. The general facts of fertilisation, and embryology _ of the frog and chick. Use of the microscope for the study of Protozoa and Crustacea, also for parts of higher animals (e.g. scale of fish, feather, squamous epithelium from human cheek). A general idea of organic evolution. The above syllabuses, and others of a similar nature, have been successfully carried out. They are, however, open to criticism as not being suitable for wide application, especially in schools where monetary considerations constitute a limiting factor. In the absence of a recognised syllabus for a first introduction to zoology, and with a view of showing how the subject can usefully be introduced in any school, the writer has prepared a small text-book, the zoological syllabus of which is as follows: Frog—External features, mode of life, respiration, alimentation. Development; breeding, segmenta- tion, tadpole life, metamorphosis. Earthworm—Habitat, mode of life, external features, general dissection, reproduction, soil action. Fishes—Dogfish and Cod; habitat, mode of life, external features, development. Scales as a means of age-determination. Arthropods — Crayfish, Bluebottle Fly, Spider; habits, external features, NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Garden life-cycle. Comparative table and summary of characteristics of each class. Insect Pests—(An introduction to economic zoo Cabbage White Butterfly, Winter Moth, ¢ chafer, Bean Weevil, Click Beetle (wirew Bean Aphis, Crane-fly (leather jacket), Saw-fly. Skeleton of the Vertebrate Fore-limb—Perch Pigeon, and Rabbit. Comparative table. Elementary conceptions of Variation and He Evolution. The Microscope—Its use ; suitable objects for obs: tion. The nature of living matter; the (For schools where the microscope is availab This syllabus is in close accordance with general scope of teaching advocated by the Bri Association Committee, but is so condensed as to b covered by one hour’s work a week throughout school year. Types which, either through th limited distribution cr their expense, may be diffi to obtain have been omitted ; it is fatal to begin study of zoology from a book instead of from a animal. i Finally, although a precise syllabus is necesse for the successful prosecution of class work dui school hours, the best interests of zoology will ne’ be served by that means alone. The museum an the aquarium must be going concerns, continually renewed and augmented by voluntary labour cheer- fully given out of play-hours. im E. W. SHANN, — The School, Oundle, May 16. ae Every teacher of biology in public schools will naturally welcome both the original memorandum of the British Association and also the article signed F. K. in Nature of May 13, p. 628. The greatest difficulty in the teaching of biology at public schools at the present time is the position of the teacher. Unlike the teacher of so many other subjects the biologist is not turned out more or less a master of his subject, but is just in a position to begin to learn it, and the subject or subjects are so vast that if he is to do his work conscientiously he has a life’s task before him. Of course this is more or less true of every other subject, but I think I am n in serious error when I say that a man with a good classical degree probably finds himself sufficiently well equipped to cope with the really intelligent boys of the upper sixth of the average public school. — So vast is the subject of biology, however, that the teacher cannot hope to cope with the really clever boy unless he is a real student of his subject, and even then of course his influence is that of < slightly superior but at the same time a fellow student, and not that of a master. (— The teacher of biology, if he is to carry on his worl successfully, must have an average knowledge of < great deal besides his text-book of botany or zoology He must have a practical working knowledge 0: microscopy, pond-life, marine biology, field botany. including a reasonable knowledge of mosses, lichens rusts, and other fungi. One knows, of course, tha the mind of the average schoolboy is somewha limited, but there are always a few that are capabli of doing really good work, and for such boys thi position of the master must be either one of sup pression or that of a fellow-student, and one i seriously led to think that too often the work of thi teacher is an act of suppression. 2s ay JUNE 10, 1922] NATURE 749 _ To sum up the whole position, a teacher of biology must be prepared to make his subject his life’s work. is lamentable, however, that even in some of the eatest of our public schools there is little room r the progressive student. The chief form of cognition or promotion consists of extra duty, and is just this extra duty that puts an end to the sa of study. Ifa man is to teach biology properly cannot hope to satisfy the demands of the head- ster who looks for a colleague who will take an e part in the games of the school and a com- sion in the Corps, etc., and yet unless a man does these things his chances of success in the scholastic orld are r. Of course things are improving the high standard of work demanded by uni- rsity scholarships is making the position of the ue teacher a more important one. I do not think, however, that F. K. is quite just hen he advocates a vigorous protest against the pinions of examiners. The universities are naturally ious to get hold of the best boys available, and y are surely the best men to select their material. fe know that all examinations are more or less atisfactory, but they are the only possible method. The chief fault lies in the lack of co-ordination veen the university and the public school, and is is not altogether the fault of the university. A. G. LOWNDEs. — a-Particles as Detonators. icle passes through matter it may ‘considered that the matter in the proximity of the es of the swiftly moving particle is momentarily aised to a high temperature. Looked at in this light _ the action of an a-particle may be likened to that of a _ detonator and it may be possible to detonate a ficiently unstable substance by the action of these ticles. This has been found to be the case with amiliar explosive compound, nitrogen iodide. The experiment forms a rather striking lecture ion. Nitrogen iodide is prepared in the sual way by the mixture of finely ground iodine and _ strong ammonia and allowed to dry overnight in the _ open air. On bringing a fairly strong radioactive ssl ped the active deposit of radium) within 3 or 4 Bo cms. e compound the iodide explodes. It may _ readily be shown by the use of screens of suitable thickness placed over the source that the result is ue to a and not to § or other rays. Detonation is not caused by the first a-particle which bees to strike the substance, but seems to be a probability effect. With a button of nitrogen iodide of about 0-1 cm.” area a source of radium-C ca eaid in y-ray activity to about 3 mg. of radium I cm. away causes the button to explode in about 20 seconds, i.e. when between 107 and 10* -a-particles have struck it. Increasing the size of the button or the strength of the source decreases the time necessary. Quantitative measurements are not very accurate, as it is difficult to ensure identical conditions ‘experiment. Doubtless other unstable compounds ight be found which would also be exploded in this 1er. G. H. HENDERSON. _ Cavendish Laboratory,{Cambridge, May 23. ot. Active Hydrogen and Nitrogen. Two brief comments are suggested by the interest- _ ing work of Dr. F. H. Newman on the activation of _ hydrogen and nitrogen described in the Philosophical NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Magazine for March. The failure of the reaction pro- duct of the active nitrogen with sulphur, phosphorus, and iodine to give a test for nitrides is not evidence of the absence of a chemical reaction between those elements and nitrogen, for all three are more electro- negative than nitrogen and the compounds formed would be sulphides, phosphides, and iodides, re- spectively. That this is in fact the case is shown in some experiments of mine with Dr. A. C. Grubb, which are now in process of publication, in which tests for sulphides and phosphides were “actually obtained after exposing the corresponding elements to a stream of active nitrogen formed in the corona discharge. Our experiments did not include iodine. Further, the evolution of gas when the bulb, in which these same three elements had been exposed to active hydrogen, was heated from -4o0° C. to 100° C, is not evidence of the failure of these elements to react with the active hydrogen, for the compounds formed would be hydrogen sulphide, phosphine, and hydrogen iodide, all of which are gaseous at the latter temperature though liquefied at the former, and would thus be evolved in the gaseous form when heated to increase the pressure as‘ noted. Here again my experiments with Dr. R. S. Landauer and with Dr. William Duane, already published, show that phosphine and hydrogen sulphide are actually formed, the latter being confirmed by the dynamic method of Dr. Newman. GERALD L. WENDT. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. In reply to the comments made by Prof. Wendt, although no traces of the nitrides of sulphur, phos- phorus, and iodine were found in the experiments on the activation of nitrogen, this was not unexpected, as it was considered highly improbable that any chemical compounds formed would respond to the nitride test. As the absorbed gas was not reliberated on heating, it appeared that chemical combination had taken place, the compounds so produced ne very stable. Several other elements actually forme nitrides with the active nitrogen. These two facts suggested that chemical compounds were produced. The experiments of Prof. Wendt, now in the course of publication, seem to confirm this view. As regards the action of active hydrogen on these ~ three elements, it was found that at temperatures above o° C., absorption of the gas occurred, although at a decreased rate. At these temperatures, if the chemical products formed are hydrogen sulphide, phosphine, and hydrogen iodide, they must be present in the gaseous state. There are other factors to be considered in order to account for the dis- appearance of the hydrogen, for the production of these gases will not explain the decrease in pressure. They are probably “trapped” within the solid pees in the tube, and only reliberated on heating. ome of the gas which was evolved on the application of heat was re-absorbed when an electric discharge was passed through it, or when exposed to a-ray radiation. This re-absorbed gas was _ hydrogen, which may have been produced by the dissociation of the chemical compound formed originally, or it may have disappeared originally by occlusion within the solid.. Although chemical action does account for the disappearance of some of the hydrogen, other processes, such as occlusion, have to be taken into account. , F. H. NEwMAN, University College, Exeter. 750 i NATURE [JUNE 10, 1922 A Supposed Ancestral Man in North America.1 By Dr. A. Suira WoopwarD, F.R.S. ROF. H. F. OSBORN has just described a water- worn small molar tooth from a Pliocene forma- tion in Nebraska, U.S.A., as. the first evidence of an anthropoid primate discovered in the New World. The specimen was found in the Snake Creek beds by Mr. Harold J. Cook, who has already made known numerous important remains of Pliocene mammals from Nebraska, some showing marked Asiatic affinities. With the aid of Drs. W. D. Matthew, W. K. Gregory, and M. Hellman, Prof. Osborn has determined the tooth to be a second upper molar, and he has named the unknown genus and species to which it belonged Hesperopithecus haroldcookit. It is nearly as large as the second upper molar of an American Indian, and its two diameters are almost equal. The kind of wear shown by its evenly concave coronal surface ‘“ has never been seen in an anthropoid tooth.” In type the tooth is “ very distant’ from the corresponding tooth of the gorilla, gibbon, and orang; it is “still very remote ”’ from that of a chimpanzee. It is also “excluded from close affinity to the fossil Asiatic anthropoid apes” represented by teeth found in India; and “it cannot.be said to resemble any known type of human molar very closely.” Indeed, “it is a new and independent type of Primate, and we must seek more material before we can determine its re- lationships.”’ The statements quoted make it difficult for one who has not seen the tooth to understand why Prof. Osborn even refers it toa Primate; and the published figures are not very helpful. The crown may be described as nearly triangular in shape, with bluntly rounded angles, a slightly raised and partially crimped rim surrounding a gently concave surface. The root 2H. F. Osborn, ‘‘ Hesperopithecus, the first Anthropoid Primate found in America,” American Museum Novitates, No. 37 (reprinted, without figures, in Science, vol. 55, pp. 463-465, May 5, 1922). is very massive, and at a considerable distance the crown it becomes bifid, the smaller portion extend beneath one margin of the crown, the larger portion beneath and inclined towards the opposite apex. On one side of the root, between the bifurcation and the crown, there is an irregular indentation, from which Prof. Osborn supposes a third root-fang has been broken away. No stump of this third fang, however, is shown in the drawing. In determining the tooth to be an upper molar, Prof. Osborn regards the edge with the smaller portion of root as external, and the tapering opposite end — with the larger portion of root as internal. The — hypothetically restored piece of root thus becomes posterior. It is, however, equally reasonable to in- — terpret the so-called external border as anterior and — the tapering end as posterior. If, then, the indented — lateral portion of the root never bore another fang, — the tooth becomes a lower molar. If this interpreta- tion be admitted, comparison should be made not — with any Primate tooth, but with the last lower molar _ in the primitive bears. In general appearance and shape the crown is very suggestive of that of the last molar in the lower jaw of some species ascribed to Hyenarctos and related genera; and as primitive bears of this group are already known by several fragments from the Pliocene of North America, material will eventually be available for comparison. The — root of the last lower molar of Hyznarctos unfortun- ately appears to be unknown; but in the modern Ursus, in which the tooth in question is extremely variable, the root is often bifid, as in the new fossil from Nebraska, while between the bifurcation and — the crown there is a hollowing of its outer face. There — is, indeed, some reason to suspect that Hesperopithecus — has received an inappropriate name. Era $288 * VE pee Synthetic Dyes as Antiseptics and Chemotherapeutic Agents. By Prof. C. H. Browninc, University of Glasgow. i com enares interest in this subject has been recently stimulated by accounts in the daily press of a communication to the Society of Chemical Industry at Manchester by Messrs. Fairbrother and Renshaw.! The fact, however, ought not to be overlooked that much work has been in the past devoted to these problems by a number of investigators. That certain dyes of the triphenylmethane class possess marked antiseptic properties has long been known. Thus Stilling? in 1890 noted the powerful effect of ethyl violet on staphylococci (one of the commonest group of organisms which cause suppuration). He suggested the use of a mixture of allied dyes in the treatment of infective conditions, especially of the eye. But Stilling’s suggestion found little favour with practical surgeons. As compared with phenol or mercuric chloride, the antiseptic dye-stuffs in general exert their lethal action on bacteria relatively slowly ; thus, when tested by the usual method, in which only a brief period of contact between the. organisms and the NO. 2745, VOL. 109] chemical agent is permitted, these dyes appear to act very weakly. It is probably for this reason that they were neglected. The fact was overlooked that from the beginning of contact very high dilutions of antiseptic dyes may inhibit bacterial activity and that such “ bacterio- static”’ action can be utilised advantageously for thera- peutic purposes. Churchman,® however, in America — has investigated more recently the allied product, gentian violet, and has emphasised its value in the _ treatment of certain local pyogenic infections. The ~ diaminotriphenylmethane dyes, malachite green and brilliant green, were shown to be actively antiseptic by — Drigalski and Conradi* in rgo2, and brilliant green has _ been applied with success in the treatment of infected wounds. Investigations carried out with the view of compar- — ing the antiseptic properties of various classes of dyes _ by Browning and Gilmour® confirmed the fact that a considerable number of basic compounds showed MONAT TAWA fee Oe a eg ee OY Oe ana a i q tA rat JUNE 10, 1922] NATURE 751 h action; the series of compounds which they vestigated included the acridine group, triphenyl- ethane group, indamines, azine dyes (safranin), opyronin, and thiazines (methylene blue). time being, but is rarely more serious, and in- stations of this kind are very common during hot notice with deep regret the announcement [ Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, distinguished by his iant work in anthropology and _ psychology, on June 4, at fifty-eight years of age. Tr is announced that Mr. C. T. Heycock, Gold- ths’ Reader in metallurgy at the University of NO. 2745, VOL. 109] Current Topics and Events. Cambridge, has been appointed Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company. Tue centenary of the death of René Just Haiiy, “the father of crystallography,’ occurred on June 3. Haiiy, who was of humble parentage, was born at Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, Oise, February 28, 1743. After great privations and extraordinary exertions, at the age of twenty-one he became a teacher in the ~ College of Navarre in Paris. Here he began the study of botany. An accident, however, with a crystal of calcareous spar attracted him to the examination of minerals and led him to the discovery of the law of crystallisation. The happy issue of this was that he gained the favourable opinion of Daubenton and Laplace, and in 1783 was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. Though as an ecclesiast he stood in some danger at the Revolution and was indeed committed to prison, his numerous friend- ships and the esteem in which he was held secured him from serious trouble. He afterwards became one of the first members of the National Institute, was secretary to the commission on weights and measures, lectured at the Ecole Normale, and held a chair at the Jardin des Plantes. Edward Stanley, the well-known Bishop of Norwich, when visiting the Jardin des Plantes in 1814, wrote: “‘ Here as every- where else the utmost liberality is shown to all, but to Englishmen particularly, your country is your passport. . . . Haiiy, you know, is the first mineral- ogist in Europe and I never looked upon a more interesting being. When he entered the lecture room everyone rose out of respect, and well they might. He is 80 years of age apparently, with a most heavenly patriarchal countenance and silver hair... he looked like a man picked out of a crystal, and when he dies he ought to be reincarnated and placed in his own museum.” Haiiy’s brother, Valentin, was the inventor of raised type for the blind, and in 1903 a monument to both of them was unveiled at Saint- Just. There is also a monument to the Abbé Haiiy in Paris. In his presidential address at the anniversary meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on May 29, Sir F. Younghusband, the retiring president, dwelt briefly on the need for more intensive geo- graphical examination of the homeland. The spade- work of this form of exploration has of course been completed in topographical and geological surveys, faunas and floras and so forth, but the true geo- graphical description is still far from complete. The 754 NATURE bare facts are not enough: it is necessary to be able to seize the essential characteristics of a country and, discarding unimportant details, to bring those essential characters together in a connected whole, in order to give a clear and definite impression that, will readily implant itself upon the mind. This-work, Sir F. Younghusband said, does not involve the problem of transport: it can be done far better on foot, and the homeland explorer does not even require the qualifica- tion of youth. “‘ We [must] gather to us men with eyes to see, and hearts to feel, and heads to think, who will be fired with enthusiasm to explore round about their own homes and then come here and describe to us what they have seen.”’ THE March number of the Tvopical Agriculturist contains an account of the work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Ceylon, the centenary of the establishment of which occurs this year. In 1810 Sir Joseph Banks drew up a plan for a botanic garden which was established two years later at Colombo. In 1822 the work was transferred to Peradeniya, near Kandy, the site of the late Kandian king’s garden, under the superintendence of Alexander Moon. The first plan of the garden, which was 147 acres in extent, is now in the Library of the Royal Horticultural Society in London. Work of development, begun in earnest in 1844, with the appointment of George Gardner, received a temporary check on Gardner’s death in 1849, but in the next thirty years, under the superintendence of G. H. K. Thwaites, the gardens attained considerable fame. Thwaites was succeeded in 1880 by Henry Trimen (1880-1896) who, con- tinuing Thwaites’ investigation of the flora of the island, brought out the well-known ‘‘ Handbook of the Flora of Ceylon.’’ J.C. Willis succeeded Trimen, _ but retired in 1911, when the gardens were placed under the newly constituted Department of Agri- culture. Peradeniya has played an important part in the agricultural development of the colony in connection with the introduction and acclimatisation of plants of ornamental and economic value. The chief interest was coffee until the industry was ruined by the coffee-leaf disease, when it was replaced by cinchona and subsequently tea. The rubber industry of the East owes much to the work in Ceylon, where seedlings were transferred from Kew in 1876; in 1906 the first of the World’s Rubber Exhibitions was held in the Peradeniya Gardens. In 1887 a small botanical laboratory was fitted up in the gardens, and many British and Continental botanists have taken advantage of the facilities thus afforded for the study of botany in the tropics. In 1900 this was replaced by a larger well-equipped building. THE third annual report of the Governors of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, which has recently been issued, contains. much interesting information. It is gratifying to see that at last a serious attempt is being made to adopt a unified system of mineral statistics applicable to the whole of the British Empire. This reform is long overdue, and it is to be sincerely hoped that the present effort will meet with success. The greater part of NO. 2745, VOL. 109] | the report is devoted to a general review of - mineral industry of the British Empire and foreis countries for the year 1921, and the impo: ANCE the industry of such a comprehensive review relatively early a date can scarcely be overestimz Even if the figures given are only approximé the general trend of the industry. Unfortunately the picture is a very gloomy one, being a praes uniform chronicle of world-wide depression ; @ st the only exception is to be found in the coal produ ti of Germany, which shows an appreciable improvement ~ on that for 1920, and in the words of the report, ‘Considering the loss of the coal production of the Saar, the approach of Germany’s fuel production in - 1921 to the pre-war figures is significant.” A LECTURE on the mechanical construction of the microscope from a historical point of view, given by Prof. Alan Pollard before the Optical Society on April 27, dealt with the evolution of the instrument from the earliest times until about the middle of the nineteenth century. Prof. Pollard divided his subject — into two main periods—the non-achromatic, in which the early history of the single lens or simple micro-— scope was dealt with, and the achromatic. The mechanical details of outstanding historical compound — instruments of these two periods which marked the — progress of mechanical construction to the modern compound microscope, were described. Many famous instruments of the first period, such as Joba Marshall’s- ‘“New Invented Double Microscope’ of 1693, Culpeper’s ‘‘ Double Reflecting Microscope ”’ of 1735, Cuff’s ‘‘ Double Constructed Microscope” of 1744, B. Martin’s simple and compound instruments of 1765, Bleuler’s ‘‘ Universal ’’ of 1788, Jones’ “‘ Most — Improved ” of 1798, by Dollond, Gould’s “ Pocket Microscope’ of 1828, by Cary,-as well as Lister’ 'S famous compound microscope, by James Smith in 1826, which marked the opening of the second period in this country, were set up with histological specimens — so that their mechanical and optical performances — could be compared. In addition, early catoptric © : instruments were shown, including Amici’s reflecting - microscope, made for Dr. Wollaston in 1830. The development in particular of the modern English — limb from the Lister and Jackson designs, and the so-called continental limb from the early forms of — Oberheuser and Nachet, was traced and described. THE gold medal of the Linnean Society of London, | which is given in alternative years to a botanist and a zoologist, was this year awarded to Prof. E. B. he Poulton at the anniversary meeting on May 24. In making the presentation, the president, Dr. A. Smith Woodward, referred to Prof. Poulton’s long labours jn entomology, and his keepership of the Hope Collection at Oxford, transformed by him into a great museum, illustrative of variation, mimicry, and evolu- tion. Prof. Poulton, in replying, mentioned the fact that half a century had elapsed since his matriculation at Oxford. At the same meeting of the Society the following officers were elected: President : Dr. A, Smith Woodward; Treasurer: Mr. Horace “ : Jone 10, 1922] NATURE 709 fonckton ; Secretaries: Dr. B. Daydon Jackson, #. E. S. Goodrich, and Dr. A. B. Rendle; embers of Council: Prof. Margaret Benson, Dr. ; P. Bidder, Mr. E. T. Browne, Dr. W. T. Calman, of. F. E. Fritch, Prof. E. S. Goodrich, Dame Helen mne-Vaughan, Sir Sidney F. Harmer, Dr. Arthur Dr. B. Daydon Jackson, Mr. Gerald W. E. ir. Horace W. Monckton, Mr. Frank A. Potts, hn Ramsbottom, Dr. A. B. Rendle, Baron thschild, Dr. E. J. Salisbury, Mr. Charles Edward Imon, Mr. Thomas Archibald Sprague, and Dr. mith Woodward. Among the Vice-Presidents ated for the present session appears the name e Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, the first woman to that dignity, although it is nearly eighteen since women were eligible for the fellowship, - the last fifteen years they have been elected Council of the Institution of Electrical En- has made the following awards for papers ed during the session 1921-22: the Institution m to Mr. J. G. Hill, the Ayrton Premium to ‘H. A. Carr, the Duddeil Premium to Mr. T. L. kersley, the Fahie Premium to Mr. E. S. Byng, John Hopkinson Premium to Mr. F. P. Whitaker, , Kelvin Premium to Mr. R. Torikai, the Paris € ium to Mr. J. A. Kuyser, extra premiums to Anderson, Mr. F. J. Teago, and Mr. W. Wilson, S premiums to Mr. E. B. Moullin and Mr. L. B. , and Mr. C. S. Franklin; and the Willans n, which is awarded triennially alternately by ers, to Mr. K. Baumann. British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Associa- 1 Temple Row, Birmingham, has carried out ensive research on the influence of gases on brass. A further investigation is now started by the Association at the Research =. Woolwich, in which the support of the ing Co-ordinating Board of the Department 1 fi and Industrial Research has been secured. e object of the present work is to study the iitio necessary for securing both surface and nal soundness of strip brass ingots such as are ed for cold rolled sheet metal. The investiga- should also throw light on other types of casting non-ferrous alloys and should be of interest to a circle of manufacturers in the metal and en- ng trades. Dr. Harold Moore and Mr. B. lers will have charge of the research, which will nducted partly in the works of members of the ation and partly in the Woolwich laboratories. 2FORE the war the United States did not under- ke the manufacture of optical glass; thus the disc the r1oo-inch at Mt. Wilson was made at St. in France. The exigencies of war, however, home-manufacture necessary, much help being _by the geophysical laboratory at Washington, work was at first limited to the small lenses ed for military purposes, but after the Armistice was greatly extended, and electric furnaces were ucted for annealing the glass, the rate of cooling = No. 2745, VOL. 109] being carefully controlled. In an article in Popular Astronomy ot May, D. E. Sharp states that a 40-inch disc for a reflector for the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, has now been completed by the Spencer Lens Co., Hamburg, N.Y. The glass employed has a low coefficient of expansion, and it is hoped that changes of figure due to change of tempera- ture will thus be minimised. A BRONZE medal to be designated the Faraday Medal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the first ‘Ordinary Meeting of the Society of Telegraph Engineers (now the Institution of Electrical Engineers). The award may be made by the Council not more frequently than once a year, either for notable scientific or industrial achievement in electrical engineering or for conspicuous service rendered to the advancement of electrical science, without restriction as regards nationality, country of residence, or membership of the Institution. INVITATIONS have been issued by the Lawes Agri- cultural Trust Committee (Chairman, Lord Bledisloe) to inspect the experimental fields and laboratories of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, on Wednesday, June 14, when the Minister of Agri- culture (The Right Hon. Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen) and the Parliamentary Secretary (the Earl of Ancaster) will be present. THE seventy-seventh general meeting of the Institution of Mining Engineers will be held on June 20-22 at Sheffield. A preliminary programme has been issued, which provides for papers and discussions on stainless steels, rock temperatures in coal-measures, coal-mining methods and apparatus, and the absorp- tion of carbon monoxide by the blood. A number of visits to works and collieries in the neighbourhood have also been arranged. A PUBLIC meeting of the National Union of Scientific Workers will be held in the Botanical Theatre, University College, Gower Street, London, on Thurs- day, June 15, at 5.30, when an address will be given by Mr. F. W. Sanderson, Headmaster of Oundle, on “‘ The Duty and Service of Science in the New Era.” The chair will be taken by Mr. H. G. Wells. Admission will be free. Ir is announced in the Chemiker Zeitung of May 18 that Prof. Dupare of Geneva has, at the invitation of the Soviet Government, undertaken the organisation of the platinum industry of Russia. THE movement for “birth control” has now assumed considerable proportions, and the Malthusian League, which numbers many persons of eminence in medicine, science, and literature among its vice-presi- dents, issues monthly the New Generation, a publica- tion devoted to this subject and to problems of _ population. The ‘‘ Mothers’ Clinic,” for information and advice on the subject, has been established and is open daily, and issues monthly the Birth Control News, which ‘‘ intends to present to those who desire to see them shorn of the ephemeral, the real prob- lems facing national and international statesmanship to-day.” 750 NATURE [JUNE Io, 1922 Research Items. THE SACRED HERAKLEOPOLITE NOME TREE.—In Ancient Egypt (Part 1, 1922), Dr. F. F. Bruijning concludes his interesting paper on the sacred tree of the Egyptian Herakleopolite Nome. From numerous representations of this famous tree on the monuments, he reaches the conclusion that it may be identified with the wine-palm, Raphia monbuttorum, which has since then retreated southward, keeping its place longest where the special conditions for its growth, a warm, damp air, and soil, as in the oases, were favourable. Most of the so-called “‘ artichokes ”’ represented among the funeral offerings undoubtedly represent the palm-cabbage, and older interpreta- tions, such as the theory that they represent pine- cones, must be set aside. A clear distinction must be drawn between palm-wine, obtained from the sap of various species, drawn by incisions in the spadix or head, or by cutting off the spadix, and date-wine in which, as with other fruits, the ripe fruit is mashed, pressed, or boiled, and then fermented. THE OsAaGE TRIBE OF AMERICAN INDIANS.—The Bureau of American Ethnology in its thirty-sixth Annual Report, 1914-15, publishes a fine, illustrated monograph on the Osage tribe by Mr. F. la Flesche. Marquette first visited them in 1673, and thus a trading relationship was established with Spanish and French merchants. In 1806 began the crisis in their history, by which they gradually relinquished their territory to the United States, and in 1825 they gave up their ancient home and removed to a reservation in Kansas. Their present quarters are in Osage County, Oklahoma, where they removed in 1872. They are rapidly, as a tribe, approaching extinction, not by death but by absorption by the whites, and only a small minority are now of pure blood. They belong to the great Siouan linguistic family, their nearest kindred tribes being the Omaha, Ponca, Quapaw, and Kaw. The volume contains, both in the tribal dialect and an English translation, a full account of their tribal rites—the Rite of the Chiefs, which records their traditions in a cryptic form, and the Hearing of the Sayings of the Ancient Men. They were accustomed to appeal daily to Wakonda for a long and healthful life. ‘‘ Therefore at dawn, when they saw the reddened sky signalling the approach of the sun, men, women, and children stood in the doors of their houses and uttered their cry for divine help: as the sun reached mid-heaven they repeated their prayer: and their supplications again arose as the sun touched the western horizon.” BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH RICE AND OTHER CEREALS.—Starch is prepared from tubers and cereals, and of these rice probably holds the first place as a source of starch. The raw material is washed, steeped, and ground with water, so that the starch separates from other constituents of the grain, and the milky suspension is allowed to stand in tanks in which the starch is deposited. Fermentation due to bacteria is liable to occur, particularly during steeping and settlement, and may cause serious loss. The chief source of bacterial irfection is the grain itself. It is found that “‘ polished ’’ rice carries more bacteria than “‘ unpolished ’”’ (¢.e. unhusked) rice, due apparently to the removal with the protective epidermis of the grain of an alkaloidal substance which has antiseptic properties. When not required for seed the grain may be sterilised by means of sulphur dioxide. Ordinary “‘ paddy,” rice grain as it comes from the fields, carries sporing bacilli which are capable of fermenting the starch with the pro- NO. 2745, VOL. 109] duction of acetone and butyl alcohol—as much 8-9 per cent. of acetone on the weight of rice tak being obtained (G. J. Fowler and Dhiresh Zobha Sen, sete Indian Inst. of Science, Vol. 4, Pt. p. I19). MIGRATION INSTINCT IN Brrps.— Mrs. Langworthy of Claygate, Surrey, raises the q of the migration of young cuckoos as an exa of “inherited memory.”’ The adult cuckoos, bei free from family cares, emigrate very early and ha’ all left the country some weeks before the young ones, which they have never seen, are ready for the journey. The young must thus find their w. unaided. There is no evidence that the fost parents’ example plays any part; indeed the la are frequently birds of sedentary habit. A similar — phenomenon also takes place in the case of many other migrants, such as the starling, for example, — but with the order reversed; the young migrate separately when only a few weeks old, the adults — following later after completing their autumn moult, | These cases are scarcely easier to explain than that anything equivalent to theoretical instruction befo: | : - ii! « of the young cuckoos, for it is difficult to imagine hand. Migration is a very regular phenomenor occurring year after year according to the same ; much of it, too, takes place before the need has become really apparent, and thus it cannot be explained simply as the result of immediate stimuli — and of the pressure of external circumstances. It is therefore difficult to escape the conclusion, not only that the migratory habit is an inherited instinct, but that some foreknowledge of the journey to be performed is in some way inborn. i New Dinosaur FROM NEw Mexico.—Mr. C. wW. Gilmore describes ‘‘A new Sauropod Dinosaur [Alamosaurus sanjuanensis, n. gen. et n. $ 4 from. the Ojo Alamo formation of New Mexico” C mith-— sonian Miscellaneous Collections,” vol. Ixxii., No. 14). The remains so far recovered consist of a left scapula and a right ischium, both in a good state of preserva- tion. The great importance of these particular bones lies in the fact that the remains of sauropodous dinosaurs have not previously been known to occur above the Lower Cretaceous in North America, so that the extension of their geological range into the Upper Cretaceous is of the greatest paleontological — and geological interest. Much doubt attaches, in Mr. Gilmore’s opinion, to the proper identification, or exact geological position, of the reported finds in — other parts of the world of sauropod remains of © Cenomanian age or later, although such dinosaurs” doubtless continued to exist until after the Cenomania and even into the Danian. 4 New Surveys IN ArRABIA.—The Geographical Journal for May contains a new map of northern Arabia prepared by the Geographical Section of th General Staff. The map incorporates the work o the late Capt. W. H. I. Shakespear, especially his grea journey across Arabia in 1914 from Koweit on the Persian Gulf to the Egyptian outpost of Kuntilla in~ Sinai. These observations were utilised during the © war in the construction of the 1/M map of Arabia, © from which the present map is reduced to the scale of 1/1-5 M. Mr. D. Carruthers, in an article accom- panying the map, points out that Capt. Shakespear's — trans-Arabiari journey covered about 1200 miles of — unknown country and that for the whole distan 1810 miles, he kept up a continuous route tray checked at intervals by observations for latit rt JUNE 10, 1922] NATURE 757 sometric readings for altitude were also taken. new work included the first complete traverse if Wadi er Rumma in its lower course, el Batin ; ie region southward to Zilfi and thence to Riyadh ; new detail between Riyadh and Buraida ; and pletely new route from Buraida to Jaut and en Jauf and the Wadi Araba on the frontier thern Palestine. uw VALLEY.—An article is given in the U.S. ly Weather Review of January last by Mr. vy H. Palmer of the U.S. Weather Bureau on ‘wee ther at the Bureau’s substation at Greenland . in Death Valley, California. The valley from north to south for a distance of about 5 tniles, and lies between high mountain ranges. 1e width varies from two to eight miles, and it is he deepest depression in the United States. The strument shelter is 178 feet below sea level, and the and minimum thermometers with the ermometer screen, as well as the 8-inch rain gauge, re fent by the Weather Bureau. Unbroken weather r s are now available for more than ten years. ~ y every summer the highest temperatures served in the United States occur in Death Valley. e extreme maximum temperatures recorded during > last eleven jyears, to 1921, range from 134° F. 1 1913 to 120° in 1912; the extreme of 134° F. ed on July 10, 1913, is said to be the highest | air temperature ever recorded on the earth’s e by means of a tested standard thermometer d in a standard louvered screen. Tempera- s of 100° or higher occur almost daily during 2, July, and August ; in July 1917 the mean ature was 107°-2. Not infrequently six con- tive months have passed without measurable In 1917 the total rainfall was less than half n inch, and the annual average precipitation is than two inches. There is said to be some 4 ishine during practically every day in the year. panape of a are gathered each year. : LOGICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN CoNn- cuTt.—The Connecticut State Geological and | i History Survey has collected its bulletins between 1915 and 1920 as volume vi. of pe ations, which are distributed gratuitously “ libraries, colleges, and scientific Hdotitetiona scientific men, teachers, and others who require ar bulletins for their work, especially to those are citizens of Connecticut.’”” The present thick easily opened volume contains over 1100 pages, | abundant plates, maps, and other illustrations. gis ts will welcome Prof. R. S. Lull’s treatise on ssic Life of the Connecticut Valley,’’ as a record conditions on the land at thé opening of Meso times. We are present, as it were, at the rise of the dinosaurs, and the original restorations erve admirably to impress the characters of these ominant forms on the minds of every teacher in re schools. Podokesaurus, recently discovered and escribed by Miss M. Talbot, is fully discussed and lustrated, for comparison with its Upper Jurassic ~ Compsognatis, A complete review is given footprints that abound in the shales and sand- , especially in the upper beds of the system ; may represent amphibia, but the a ciated show that many must. be ascribed to dirfosaurs. in 26, by Prof. V. W. Kunkel, describes the ag amphipod and isopod Crustacea of the State, Dr Britton gives a list of the insects, pying 400 pages. HE FLOTATION OF CONTINENTS.—Prof. Wegener’s on continental movement were stated in a NO. 2745, VOL. 109] XIU recent review (NATURE, February 16, p. 202) of the ce second edition of his work on ‘‘ Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane.”’ His daring suggestions were formulated in 1912, and we cannot quite dismiss them as Prof. L. Kober does, by saying ‘“‘ im Bau der Erde hat die Theorie der )grossen Kontinental- verschiebungen keine Stiitze.’”’ However much we may doubt the horizontal movement of masses of ‘sal’? across uncrumpled “sima’”’ areas, the pro- position that has arisen in the mind of a geographer can be met only by argument on the part of the geologist. Prof. Wegener has contributed to Discovery (vol. iit. p. 114, May 1922) a lucid summary of his conceptions, accompanied by maps, showing, among other wonders, the transference of the Deccan to the antarctic region in Carboniferous times. _A polar ice-cap, spreading across the conference of con- tinents here cunningly arranged, would not explain the movement of an ice-sheet from north to south in southern Africa. Mr. A. L. du Toit, however, in two notable ee dealing with former land-con- nections and the glaciation of South Africa (S. African Journ, Sci., vol. xviii., Dec. 1921, and Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Africa, vol. xxiv. p. 188, 1921) welcomes the new hypothesis. His map of Gondwanaland as promoted by flotation, with its arrows showing the direction of ice-movements, seems to require a snow- dome near the south of Madagascar, and a separate glaciation of Australia by the polar cap. We should like to study Prof. Wegener’s explanation of the arid climates of the Trias, and of the cold conditions . prevalent over the whole earth in the latest glacial epoch. For him, New Zealand (see NaTurRE, vol. 109, p. 657) has been left behind by the westward drifting of Australia, and his “Old Quaternary ”’ map does not explain its glaciation on geographic grounds. The Carboniferous map shows a general submergence of Eurasia, so that his seeming repudia- tion of vertical movements in accounting for changes | on the earth’s surface may be something like the waving of a red flag at the head of an orderly industrial procession. We shall hope for a thorough discussion of his proposals in the light of what is known as to marine tranegeeesions across the continents. Errect oF LIGHT ON MUSEUM SPECIMENS. — The Museums Journal for April contains a detailed account by the Director of the Natural History Museum of the careful experiments that he has conducted there for many years, with the help of the late W. G. Ridewood, on the fading of colour in museum specimens. Direct sunlight is, says Sir Sidney Harmer, far more injurious to colours than | any other method of illumination, and diffused daylight appears to produce more fading than any form of electric light used. This statement applies to oil-colours as well as to water-colours and the colours of various animal coverings, and suggests caution to those who, on the advice of Sir M. H. Spielmann, would put their oil-paintings in a blaze of sunlight. The various glasses designed by Crookes and others to cut off the more deleterious rays were not found sufficiently satisfactory to warrant the expense of their installation. The practical conclusion of the whole matter is that direct sunlight should be avoided at all costs, and that even diffused daylight should be shut out at all hours when exhibition galleries are closed to the public. At other times the light, if at all bright, should be moderated by ellow blinds. A gallery lighted entirely by electric light, preferably in the form of. half-watt lamps, would have great advantages. The paper is one that should be studied by all directors of museums, including art galleries. “SI on CO NATURE [JUNE 10, 192 The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. a HE first meeting of the General Assembly of this Union, which was held at Rome at the beginning of May, was attended by delegates from the fourteen countries which at present form the Union, and also by a number of representatives from several other countries which, though belonging to the International Research Council, have not yet joined the Union. The Union, which was constituted at Brussels in t919, has for its object the promotion of the study of geodetic and geophysical problems and of inter- national co-operation in research. It covers not only the ground with which the former International Associations of Geodesy and Seismology dealt, but its sections provide for similar activities in meteor- ology, terrestrial magnetism, physical oceanography, vulcanology, and scientific hydrology. The meetings of the Union and its constituent sections were held in the rooms of the Reale Accademia dei Lincei on May 3-10, and were preceded by an official reception of the delegates and members of the Astronomical and of the Geodetic and Geo- physical Unions by the Minister of Public Instruc- tion at the Capitol, at which His Majesty the King of Italy was present. As the meeting in Brussels in 1919 was held for the special purpose of constituting the International Research Council and the Unions which are related to it, no scientific discussions took place there ; since then the organisation of the Union and its sections has entailed a considerable amount of work. At Rome, therefore, each section had to prepare its plans for international work, and in the case of geodesy and seismology, to review the progress which had been made since the last international meeting. In all sections good progress was made, and plans were adopted for the work which will be put in hand in the period which will elapse before the next meeting of the Union in 1924. In geodesy the programme was a heavy one, for ten years have elapsed since the last meeting of the International Geodetic Association at Hamburg in 1912. Very interesting summaries of the work which it has been possible to carry out during this period were presented by the delegates of the various coun- tries, and these will be published in the report of the section of geodesy. It had been suggested at Brussels that the study of variation of latitude should be con- fided to the Union of Astronomy instead of to that of Geodesy. The question was fully discussed at Rome by a committee representing the two Unions, and it was decided that the subject should remain with the Section of Geodesy, a joint committee of geodesists and astronomers, with Prof. Kimura as chairman, being appointed to direct the work. To carry out the decisions of the Section, and to deal with any matters which might arise, an executive com- mittee was appointed, as well as a General Committee, on which each country adhering to the Section will be represented. The General Committee will be consulted on matters which go beyond the powers of the executive committee in the interval between two meetings. For each principal branch of technical work a reporter was appointed who will prepare a statement on the progress made in it for the periodical confer- ences, and will also facilitate co-ordination between workers in different countries. Mr. W. Bowie of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey continues as president, with Lieut.-Colonel G. Perrier of the French Geodetic Service as secretary. As the International Seismology Association was still in being at the time of the Conference at Brussels, no change could then be made, and the No. 2745, VOL. 109] Section of Seismology was only constitu Rome, when Prof. -H. H. Turner, of Oxford elected president, with Prof. Rothé of Strasb< as secretary. The subjects for discussion includ study of microseisms, the depth focus of eartha and proposals for studying explosion phen and wave propagation. Much work was done organising the Section, and in planning work to undertaken before its next meeting. The ‘ke: being done at Oxford and at Strasbourg is to be carried on, and to this the Section will give suc assistance as it can. ty Meteorology is represented in the Union by Section which is a new organisation in so far as does not replace a pre-war institution of a cor sponding character. Its relations to the Int national Meteorological Committee, which has in existence for many years, came up for discussio: this committee consists of a certain number of Directors of meteorological services, and at its periodical conferences, such as that which met at Paris in 1919, many questions are discussed which arise from the relations existing between the meteoro- logical services of different countries. It was agreed that, in addition to questions of this char- acter, there were many investigations for whic " international co-operation was essential, which directors of meteorological services might find it difficult to include in their work. Such investigations might with advantage be initiated by the Section, | and at Rome plans were discussed for work of this character. The composition of the atmosphere at high altitudes, and the physical conditions prevailing in the stratosphere, were specially considered as being subjects in which an increase of our knowledge is highly desirable, and plans for work upon them were adopted. It is clear that the two organisations | would in no way overlap, but that the work of each would usefully supplement that of the other. Sir Napier Shaw was elected president of the Section, with Prof. Eredia of the Italian Meteorological Service as secretary. \e The Section of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity was fully occupied with a long programme dealing largely with methods of observation and with the reduction of results; no particular method of scale- value determination was agreed upon in view of the diverse types of instruments in use. The selection of one observatory in each country which ho take part in the international comparison of instru- ments was advocated, and a committee was appoint to formulate a scheme for such intercomparison: Other committees were formed to deal with polar-_ light observations, with earth currents, and observa- tional work in atmospheric electricity. Dr. C. Chree was elected president, with Dr. L. A. Bauer secretary. re The Section of Physical Oceanography had held one meeting in Paris in January 1920, at whi committees were nominated to facilitate co-operatio in oceanographical work in the Atlantic, in Pacific, and in the Mediterranean. At Rome these were confirmed, and the recommendations of 5 Tidal Committee for improving the collection tidal imformation and data, and for attaining um formity in their reduction, were adopted. Medieval Cartography. Legendary Islands of the Atlantic: A Study in M edieval Geography. By William H. Babcock. (American Geographical Society, Research Series, No. 8.) Pp. v+196. (New York: American Geographical Society, 1922.) n.p. HE migration of man across the ocean has differed considerably from his movement overland. On one hand, he has succeeded in taming animals by way of improving on the exertion of his own muscular effort, and in consequence he has per- force followed natural routes determined in part by a minimum of physical obstacles and a maximum or, at any rate, sufficient food supply for his animals, Moreover, through carelessness or accident he has dropped implements or weapons which give clues to the routes he followed and the sites of his settlements, On the other hand, the passage of the sea has called forth a different effort in the art of shipbuilding and seamanship, and the hungry ocean has swallowed up the remains of many a goodly ship which, through storm or adventure, passed over the trackless deep. Moreover, the wanderings of a people leave deeper marks on the historical record than the deeds of the men to whose individual prowess the opening of the sea-ways was largely due. The author of “ Legendary Islands of the Atlantic ” attempts to sift legend from fact and vision from observation, in islands depicted on medieval maps of the North Atlantic, and to obtain thereby the links in the story of Atlantic exploration. Yarns of the western sea no doubt became the stock-in-trade of mariners and enabled cartographers to fill with shoals and islands the blank of the Sea of Darkness. Though more recent observations have shown that many of 804 NATURE } [JUNE 24, 1922 E the islands do not exist as charted, the author estab- lishes his reason for regarding them. as indicative of early ocean voyages. Europe and the North Atlantic are complementary, perhaps even supplementary, in their influence on the migration of peoples westward to populate a New World with the race stocks of the Old. Both the northern and southern seas emphasising the penin- sular character of Europe are themselves the nurseries of boatmen, and with their special archipelagoes have invited and facilitated, from before the dim dawn of history, the maritime adventures which in succeeding ages led men to pass beyond the limits of the main- land to the oceanic islands, ever gazing towards the setting sun and wondering on the hidden mystery of the western horizon. The physical form and phenomena of the ocean have not changed essentially since the dawn of history. Roughly circular in shape, the northern arc from the seas of north-west Europe to the entrance of the St. Lawrence is marked out by the island stations of the Shetlands, Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland. The southern arc swinging between the western coast of Africa with the island groups of Madeira, the Canaries and Cape Verde, and the eastern trend of South America with Trinidad and the Antilles, is emphasised in the intervening regions by prevailing Trades and equatorial currents. It is therefore not surprising that reasonably accurate knowledge is shown of the various island groups that form the thresholds of the North Atlantic from the Mediterranean and the Northern Seas respectively. But within the central region of southern weed and northern storm and fog, and towards the west, casual, and it may be involuntary, voyages might be made. Here deceptive phenomena, begotten in part by un- usual scenes and in part by fear and presentiment, or by stress and hunger, caused mythical and legendary islands to appear, with perhaps Rokel Rock or the Azores as nuclei, and produced enigmas for solution by later cartographical students. We need not stay with Babcock’s treatment of Atlantis. Few will disagree with his finding that every solution of the problem must be conjectural, and many will urge the same conclusions against the other islands upon which the author bases his argu- ments for the discovery of America in pre-Columbian times. Legendary islands, such as Brazil and Antillia, are not always located in the same regions of the Atlantic, but, like archeological remains, lie scattered over the map. It would have been extremely valuable if the author had plotted as accurately as possible on a modern map the various sites of some of these islands. On many maps, of which the Catalan map of 1375 NO. 2747, VOL. 109] is a type, Brazil is shown as an annular island 4 it numerous islets within. This, it is contended, re sents the pear-shaped Gulf of St. Lawrence with containing islands. Reference is made to the Syl map of 1511 in support of this contention. ‘ “ Nobody doubts that it [the Sylvanus map| i trates the St. Lawrence Gulf region, though there been much speculation as to what unknown explore has had his discoveries commemorated here, thirteen years before the first voyage of Cartier. Why should not a like episode of discovery and imperfect record have happened at a still earlier date ? ” (p. 65). . Antillia and its related islands as they appear ‘on 4 the Beccario Map (1435), the Pareto Map (1455), and others, are considered by Babcock to be the islands — hitherto regarded as the special discovery of Columbus _ and his companions. “There are two names still in common use for - American regions which long ante-date Columbus, and most likely commemorate achievements of earlier — explorers. They are Brazil and the Antilles, The — former is earlier on the maps and records; but the — case for Antillia as an American pre-Columbian. TRAD item is in some respects less complex and more obvious ” (p. 144). “Surely some mariner had visited Cuba — and some of its neighbours before 1435 3 ea sas and again: “We may be reasonably confident that Antillis a 1435 was really, as now, the Queen of the Antilles.” There is little record but the maps, and it is extremely ~ difficult to determine whether these cartographical — approximations are intelligent anticipations or based — on experience. The Laurentian portolan (1351) with — its broad sweep of Guinea and the distinctly non- — Ptolemaic conception of South Africa, Schéner’s globe — (1515) with its Atlantic-Pacific passage, may with Brazil and Antillia fall into that voluminous class of — verbal and cartographical descriptions from Homer until modern times which suggest that all recorded voyages and journeys are the outcome of innumerable — . “ feelers,” the experiences of the many upon which the a triumphal entry of the discoverer is made. : 3 The contention that these fourteenth- and ecaians 4 century maps record adventures and voyages in — western waters reopens in a new form the question of the trans-Atlantic voyages of Columbus and of Cabot, — and it is to be regretted that Babcock merelymentions in _ passing the researches of Vignaud, and omits altogether — the contention of Biggar for the second Cabot voyage. The study of Greenland on the maps is somewhat — inadequately dealt with, and students of these ear maps would have welcomed ‘a chapter on the relations and adjustment of the names of areas carrying such titles as Norbergia, Engronelant, Labrador, Bacallaos etc., as shown on the Pilestrina map a 503-5) and others of a slightly later date. _ | June 24, 1922] NATURE 805 _ The author deals with many other legendary islands, such as St. Brendan, Mayda, and Buss, the last two surviving until the opening of the nineteenth century, hile the chapter on Markland reviews briefly the alleged discoveries of the Norse. The book contains an excellent selection of repro- ctions and is welcomed as a contribution to the of early cartographical efforts and their value the story of geographical discovery. W. H. Barker. Pasteur’s Scientific Career. and his Work. By L. Descour. Translated a Babar Haji. Ltd, nS 4 yy. the translation of this work Drs. A. F. and pH. Wedd have made available to the English- s of brilliant researches which gave birth to the ce of microbiology, culminating in that triumph : Perhaps those actively interested in science, will act as a errent to the general reading public. The first two ters in particular, dealing with Pasteur’s work on eraphy, require a degree of concentration | which even at this early age bore the stamp of ius. They do not form a consecutive part of the iant investigations which follow and they can well assed over. are familiar to most, and it would be out of place e to deal with them in any detail. Suffice it to say hat in the first ten chapters or so we are given an ecount of his researches on fermentation, the question spontaneous generation, putrefaction, aerobiosis and anaerobiosis. Here also an account is given of his study of diseases of wine and beer. Although perhaps Tess dazzling than his subsequent researches in the realms of animal pathology, this early work of Pasteur is the more interesting in virtue of its fundamental NO. 2747, VOL. 109] value. These are the foundations on which has been erected the edifice of microbiology. Without the knowledge gained by this work he would not have been able successfully to attack those future problems the solution of which obtained for him undying fame. The remaining two-thirds of the book are concerned chiefly with his investigation of disease; diseases of silkworms, anthrax, furunculosis and _ puerperal septicemia, chicken cholera, swine erysipelas, and finally rabies. Every one of these chapters is enthral- -ling, but perhaps it is the study of chicken cholera which is of the greatest interest. Although his dis- coveries in this case did not lead to any practical application of great import, it was during these studies that a chance observation paved the way to protective inoculations. He had isolated the causal organism of this disease and shown that it was pathogenic for hens. Returning to his laboratory after vacation and wishing to continue his studies, he inoculated some hens with his cultures. To his surprise the birds remained perfectly well; his cultures had become avirulent. A fresh strain was isolated, and what was still more surprising, the hens which had received the avirulent culture were found now to be resistant to the new strain which control experiments showed to be virulent. Here was the starting-point of his work on virus vaccine and protective inoculation. It is perhaps unavoidable that in a book of this nature one reads little of the man himself. However, one does catch a glimpse here and there. A man of great single-mindedness and power of concentration, he had a love of honesty which served him well through- out his work. His mind was of the well-ordered, clear, logical type which has characterised French science. These qualities bred in him a positive contempt for anything slipshod or ill-reasoned in experimental work, and when occasion called for criticism of work of this nature, Pasteur did so with a force and vehemence which showed little consideration for personal feelings. It was, however, nothing mean or little in his make-up which led him to do this, but merely anger at what he considered unpardonable blunders. He was not of those who suffer fools gladly. One is given an insight also into Pasteur’s attitude to religion. Despite his success in the probing of nature’s secrets, he retained unshaken to the end the faith given him by his parents. The following words taken from his speech on the occasion of his reception at the Académie Francaise reveal this side of Pasteur’s character: “‘ The great- ness of human action is measured by the motives which inspire them. Happy are those who carry with them a God, an ideal of beauty which they obey: the ideal of art, the ideal of science, the ideal of country, the Gospel idea of virtue. Those are the living sources of » 0 Bp Gan 806 NATURE ‘[JUNE 24, 1922 great thoughts and great actions. All are lit by the reflections of the infinite.” The translators are to be congratulated. Their task was by no means easy, but they hawe accomplished it in an eminently successful manner. 2. ee History of Organic Chemistry. Geschichte der organischen Chemie. Von Carl Graebe. Erster Band. Pp. x+406. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1920.) England, 84 m.; Germany, 28 m. HE history of a science has often been compared to the erection stone by stone of some great edifice ; but it appears to the writer that the metaphor is ill chosen inasmuch as the complete building is already planned when the foundation is laid. A closer analogy is that of a jig-saw puzzle in which the separate, irregular bits are slowly fitted into their several places whilst the ultimate result remains hidden until the whole is complete. This is certainly true of organic chemistry, and although the general plan seems to be taking shape in a marvellous fashion, who would declare the puzzle to be near completion or attempt to forecast its final development ? Looking now at the ordered arrange- ment of its several parts it is difficult for some of us to realise the difficulties of the early investigators, who had to make a_selection from an ever-increasing mass of disconnected observations and laboriously to piece them together. It is perhaps one of the remarkable facts in the history of organic chemistry that from the publication in 1832 of the classical research of Liebig and Wohler on “ the radical of benzoic acid,” which Berzelius greeted as proclaiming the dawn of a new day, few revolutionary changes in fundamental principles have occurred to retard the steady growth of the science. Even the electrochemical theory, which engaged Berzelius and his opponents of the French and German laboratories in a somewhat embittered controversy, only served to stimulate research and add new facts to the science. It is interesting to trace the many ‘new theories which owe their inception to the study of organic chemistry. The theory of valency was developed by Frankland in studying the organo-metallic compounds ; that of catalysis was formulated by Berzelius in explana- tion of the ether process. Isomerism was conceived by Faraday in examining the compressed hydrocarbon gases of the Portable Gas Co. The relation of vapour density to molecular weight elucidated by Gerhardt and Cannizzaro, the theory of atomic linking advanced by Kekulé and Couper ; of stereoisomerism by Pasteur, NO. 2747, VOL. 109] story forward in a second volume. van’t Hoff and Le Bel, and in recent years of dyna isomerism, enzyme action, steric hindrance and ma other phenomena, which have helped to throw light on molecular mechanics and structure, all orlees ated with this branch of the science. ; In the volume before us, which is printed in cl type, Prof. Graebe describes in considerable detail and in simple and attractive language the history — of organic chemistry from 1770 to the ’eighties of — last century, and tells us that arrangements have already been completed with Dr. Hoesch to carry the — In the arrange- — ment the author has recorded the results not only of. : experimental and theoretical investigations but has — attempted to show by quotations from the original 4 sources the manner in which the new ideas were given — to the world, while numerous, brief biographies of, 4 chemists are introduced as their names a to! ‘ occur. 4 q The volume has evidently been prepared” with Ca parental thought and care which the author expresses — by the word Vorliebe, a feeling which can well be under- stood in one who, during a long and active career, has himself played no insignificant part in the story he relates. We can cordially recommend the book to all chemists ee are interested in the history of their science. 1 Be. Early British Botanists. Early British Botanists and Their Gardens, based on — Unpublished Writings of Goodyer, Tradescant, and — Others. By R. T. Gunther. Pp, vilit+417. ~ (Oxford: Printed by the University Press, 1922.) n.p. Va GOODYER, until recently known only as the contributor of rare plants to Dr. Thomas - Johnson, the editor of the second edition of Gerard’s “ Herball” in 1633, and further commemo- 3 rated by Robert Brown’s orchid genus Goodyera, — is the central personality in this absorbing volume. __ About twelve years ago Canon Vaughan, rector of Droxford, a Hampshire village famous as the retreat — of Izaak Walton when he retired from London, printed — an article embodying fresh information, which was a followed later by a longer notice by Dr. G. C. Druce f : in the Report of the Botanical Exchange Club for 4 1916, pp. 523-550, drawn up from papers in the library — of Magdalen College, Oxford. Now, thanks to the — assiduity of the author of the volume under notice, he, as librarian, has had the’ scattered notes arranged * and bound, and from them has presented a picture a of the man, which is a revelation. He is shown | ss oe oe Tre a | ee oe a JUNE 24, 1922] NATURE 807 ‘as an active and accurate botanist, a successful cultivator, and generous in imparting his treasures Be his friends. For instance, Willem Boel, the rieslander, gathered seeds in Andalusia for Goodyer, “Coys, and Parkinson, which were distributed to friends; again, from one tuber of the Jerusalem artichoke from Franqueville he raised “a peck of rootes wherewith I stored Hampsheire ” in 1617. Upon the death of Johnson, in 1644, Goodyer was unquestionably the foremost botanist in the kingdom, and his life overlapped the first anonymous essay of John Ray, his Cambridge flora, in 1660; but he was dead six years before Ray’s “ Gitatogas ” saw the light i in 1670. In addition to his knowledge of plants Goodyer Bice enough Greek to translate the two works of Theophrastus, “De plantis” and “De causis plan- tarum”’; of the former we have now an English version. by Sir Arthur Hort in the Loeb . Library, ut the latter has never been printed in our language. Later, he began copying out the Greek text of the _“ Materia medica” of Dioscorides and to interline it with an English translation. ‘s Nearly half of Mr. Gunther’s volume is devoted to ' Notes on contemporary botanists, mostly from — Gooc yer’s Books and Papers.” We thus become acquainted with his relations with other botanists, everht of whom are unfamiliar, while many more are ri y slightly known to us, and from these pages we gain much. Among 1 these may be mentioned William Coys Stubbers in Essex; William How, the author of sia British flora pa editor of Lobel’s last issued ; John Parkinson, the last of the herbalists; the R Walter Stonehouse, and William Brows of a Magdaten, to whom his college probably owed the post by Goodyer of his books and papers, the foundation of the volume now under discussion. The limits of this notice forbid any further dwelling _ on the contents of a volume of the greatest value and a _ treasure-house to everybody who is interested in "British botany. | _ One unimportant error may be mentioned as occur- on page 84,namely, that of Mattioli’s Commentaries the “ Materia medica” of Dioscorides: seventeen ions were said to be published ; the actual number nearly seventy, for Saccardo speaks of sixty at least, and he was not acquainted with all. But we close the volume with feelings of gratitude to the author; his zeal and devotion have added greatly 9 our appreciation of the Hampshire and Sussex botanist, whose record does so much to redeem the _ time when he lived from being considered a barren "period for the science of botany. B. D. J. No. 2747, VOL. 109] Functions of Industrial Research. Research in Industry : The Basis of Economic Progress. By A. P. M. Fleming and J. G. Pearce. (Pitman’s Industrial Administration Series.) Pp. xvi+244. (London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1922.) ros. 6d. net. HE case for research and education as the best - means of assuring progress in industry is most ably demonstrated by Messrs. Fleming and Pearce, who are well known for their association in directing the Research Department of the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd., of Manchester. The book covers a very wide field, and should be read by all who are engaged either in scientific work or in industrial ad- ministration. The social aspects of the subject are kept well in view and the great importance which the scientific study of the human factor in industry is destined to take in the resettlement of industry is duly recognised, although the work of the Industrial Fatigue Board receives less attention than it deserves. The various types of research laboratories and methods of research organisation, including the com- paratively new co-operative method illustrated in British Reseatch Associations, are dealt with in detail. Considerable space is devoted to the planning, equip- ment, and staffing of works research laboratories, and the financial aspect is dealt with more fully than in any previous publication. An interesting chapter deals with the collection and distribution of information for research and industrial purposes. The problem of making an in- telligence department of a works library efficiently productive might with advantage have been elaborated further, in view of the authors’ special experience. Although there is need for greater co-ordination among the many agencies for collecting and abstracting scientific information, the necessity for its distribution to and absorption by the industries is infinitely more important. The British scientific worker is, perhaps, less thorough than his fellow-workers abroad in survey- ing the field of previous work on the problem he is investigating, and, indeed, excessive zeal in this direc- tion may tend to limit originality and initiative. In industry, however, numerous examples of wasted opportunity and moribund conditions could be quoted which are due largely to ignorance of similar industrial practice in other countries. The awakening of in- quisitiveness as to foreign methods of manufacture might prove the starting-point for a still greater re- ceptivity among employers, and from this the step to a conviction of the desirability of actual original research is relatively small, as American experience has abundantly shown. Europe, in fact, in competing 808 NATURE [JUNE 24, 1922 — for world markets, has more to fear from American receptiveness to new ideas than non any other single factor. In this country the support of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in the foundation of Research Associations is already more than justified by its success in bringing together all types of employer, engaged in particular industries. Contact with outside scientific workers and their more enlightened com- petitors will inevitably result in a greater appreciation of the advantages of science by the majority of in- dustrial leaders. Finally, the authors deserve credit for their just appreciation of the special requirements of scientific workers engaged in pioneer research, and particularly of the ways in which such men may be encouraged to prepare for research as a vocation and to follow it without being repressed by works routine. The necessity for supporting pure science work for its paramount object of increasing the sum of human knowledge is strongly. emphasised. The book is admirably produced and includes a 16-page biblio- graphy, which should be of service to all interested in the subject. Ris. Hy Our Bookshelf. Physico-Chemical Problems relating to the Soil: a General Discussion held by the Faraday Society. (Reprinted from the Transactions of the Faraday Society, Vol. 17, Part 2, February.) Pp. iii+217- 368. (London: Faraday Society, 1922.) 10s. 6d. net. Tue Faraday Society is to be congratulated on the issue of this volume, reprinted from its Transactions ; soil investigators in this country now have, in accessible form, a study of one important branch of work from a number of aspects. The volume contains the subject- matter of the general discussion held by the Faraday Society in 1921 on ‘‘ Physico-Chemical Problems relating to the Soil.” There are sixteen papers grouped in the following five sections: (1) Intro- duction and General Papers, (2) Soil Moisture, (3) Organic Constituents of the Soil, (4) Adsorption Phenomena, and (5) Colloidal Phenomena. The student of soils will find much of interest, not only in the papers themselves but also in the verbatim report of the discussion which followed. Recent work on soils from the standpoint of physical- chemistry has followed twoor three main lines, which are discussed in an introductory paper by Sir E. J. Russell. The examination of the soil solution and its relation to soils on one hand and plants on the other, has been much stimulated by the method of the freezing- point depression. American investigators have done much in this direction, and the paper by Prof. Hoagland (California) gives an interesting account of the ‘work to date. Certain assumptions are made in applying NO. 2747, VOL. 109] this method to the soil solution, and the dedu which follow are discussed by B. A. Keen (Rotham in the course of a paper on soil moisture. — Shull (Kentucky) reviews various theories on intake of soil solution through the osmotically @ membranes of the root hairs. The part played by colloidal material in soil n forms the subject of several papers. N. M. Ce (Leeds) discusses the flocculation of silt and clay the assumption that the latter is protected h siliceous emulsoid, and C. G. T. Morison ( reviews the theories of pan formation. Dr. ] (Stoke-on-Trent) deals with the plasticity of tclaya| used in the ceramic industry. The organic matter ine soil is of obvious importance in any discussion | of colloidal properties. A general review is given by H. J. Page (Rothamsted), and Prof. Odén (Upsala) describes his own important investigations. on humus, which have proved the existence of humic acid and shown that the hypothesis of selective adsorption not a complete explanation of soil acidity. With regard to soil acidity itself there is one review paper by E. M. Crowther (Rothamsted), while Dr. ei (London) discusses the ecological aspects. a 3 Besides acidity, many other phenomena shown ‘by soils have been interpreted on the basis of adsorption. E. A. Fisher (Leeds) presents an able critical review of work on absorptive processes in soils, with especial reference to inorganic substances. ul Finally, there are some papers dealing with more purely physical questions. Prof. Odén gives a detailed — account of his elegant method of mechanical analysis’ and a note on the hygroscopicity of clay, Dr. Hackett) (Dublin) discusses the rate of ascent of liquids in’ granular media, while G. W. Robinson (Bangor) specifies certain physical properties of soil in relation to surveys 2 work. oe a A Text-Book of Aeronautical Engineering : The Problem a 4 i of Flight. By Prof. H. Chatley. Third edition, revised. Pp. xiit+31so. (London: C. Griffin. and Co., Ltd., 1921.) 15s. net. A sEconpD edition of Prof. Chatley’s bode appeal in rgto, and during the war, when interest in aeronautics — attained great heights, this book, like many others on — the subject, was bought in large ‘numbers, thus neces- sitating a third edition. Not very much was known — about the subject of aeronautics before the war; systematic treatises had not yet appeared; and Prof. Chatley’s book achieved a deserved popularity. q Now that a third edition has been issued, claiming | to be “revised,” the opportunity should have been. taken to make the book a more proportioned, authori- tative, and modern exposition. There is scarcely room — in a text-book for a detailed account of the ornithopter — —not because it is a priort clear that one should not — continue to make attempts at producing machines based on the flapping-wings principle, but because a_ text-book should contain what is more or less per it should give a safe (not necessarily orthodox) accou of the principles used in practice, with some atte at justification. Pee A brief introduction on the problem of flight. followed by a useful statement of essential principl Then comes a chapter on the propeller, treated by € - JUNE 24, 1922] NATURE 809 Tather rough-and-ready methods. Much of the chapter _ on the aeroplane is out of date ; it is scarcely correct _ to say that the air-pressure results for plane surfaces _ can be corrected so as to apply to curved surfaces by slight charges in the constants, and in any case there are plenty of experimental data for giving a correct eepount. of cambered wings. The chapter on the ics of aeroplanes is not very full, while a treat- ment of the parachute by means of differential equations ced for little reason, in a book which is not really ‘a mathematical treatise. In addition nearly three a total of less than 150 pages are occupied with °s analysis of the motion of the balloon—with ‘note that it has little practical value! After the iapter on ornithopters we get a short account of gibles and the bodies of aeroplanes, etc. There is so a brief account of stability. _ Some of the appendices are useful, although the ‘* cng is disarranged. Foreign names are mis- _ Spelt a #8. an umlaut on the “a” in Lilienthal. The author has the ability to eradics a real text-book on aeronautics, but’ the present volume is disappointing. te S. BRODETSKY. Eeieidalitions Theorie. Von Prof. Dr. H. Simroth. Zweite Auflage. Pp. xvi+598. (Berlin: Konrad Grathlein, 1914.) 13.50 marks. RED by a new view of the shifting of the polar axis re earth the speculative mind of a distinguished ologist, Simroth, conceived the idea of a relation etweel earth oscillation and organic development. The merit of this oscillation theory of organic dis- ution was its reduction of the rise and spread of anic forms to a single process in relation to recurring secular change. Simroth assumed that the earth forms an oscillation system of a peculiar kind, such that one _ maximum line of stress runs north and south through orway, Germany, the line of elevation of the Alps, and across the western Sahara, while the other companion ess line passes through Bering Strait and the Pacific, tt of the American coast. Assuming also perman- ce of the general configuration of the oceans and continents, Simroth then makes his grand assumption, which is that the evolution of genera has recurred ng the European line of maximum oscillation (which therefore the region of creative evolution) in response to secular changes of environment. From this area of distribution those forms that are primitive migrate eastwards or westwards to areas of less disturbance, _ whilst the progressive forms adapt themselves to the Id of polar uplift or the warmth of equatorial depres- m. In this way Simroth accounts for the occurrence allied forms in widely separated parts of the world. Beings are what they are and where they are, as a function ” of the oscillation system. The new édition of this work does not remove the _ difficulties of those who refuse to accept Simroth’s hypothesis. The new matter consists merely of 33 pages appended to a reprint of the first edition and contains no references to criticisms such as those of Prof. G. C. Bourne (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1911, pp. 802-805) that refer to a fundamental objection—the secondary _ nature of marine organisms. If Dr. Simroth has not converted his fellow-zoologists, he is not likely to make _ converts in other biological fields. Granted that we __ have no simple alternative to his view, yet the assump- | NO. 2747, VOL. 109] s _modern geological opinion ; tions on which it rests are not in accordance with and if that is so, biological speculation on such a weak basis is only misplaced ingenuity. The earth as a system of stresses is likely to prove a much more complex theme than the one Simroth vaguely describes, while the relation between maximum stress and biological progress requires far more critical examination than he gives to it. F W. G. Edited by the Swiss Tourist Information Office. Summer Season, 1922. Pp. 112. (Olten, Switzerland: O. Walter, Ltd.; London: - Swiss Federal Railways, Regent Street, 1922). Tuts book is a reminder that Switzerland is ready once - more to become “ the playground of Europe,” and it is especially an appeal to English visitors. ‘The numerous signed essays include one by Mr. A. Latt on “ English influences on Swiss intellectual life,’ recalling many pleasant details of rapprochement in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mr. Schaederlin writes finely of the brave hardihood of alpine trees. Good and readable as the essays are, the great charm of the book liés in its illustrations. The well-known scenes of tourist gatherings are relegated to the advertisement pages at the end, and throughout this modestly styled Almanac we are given an exquisite series of eee’ graphs, printed in brown, of “trees and woodlands ” the Alps. Each of these appeals delightfully to the naturalist, who will promptly consult the calendar and the tables of exchange. tes AL Handbook of Commercial Information for India. By C. W. E. Cotton. Pp. viii+ 383. (Calcutta : Super- intendent Government Printing, India, 1919.) I rupee : 2s. Mr. Corron’s book is a useful volume which gives in a condensed form, and well arranged for reference, notes on all the principal exports of India, including origin, district of growth, processes of preparation, and conditions of export. It does not profess to be a scientific work or in any sense a rival to larger and more complete gazetteers of Indian products. It has been compiled for traders, and with this end in view notes on ports and commercial organisations are added. Among the State departments connected with trade we find a reference to the geological survey but none to the Survey of India or to the Royal Indian Marine. Does this imply that maps and charts have no bearing on trade? It is to be hoped that the demand for this book will result in the publication of an annual edition. Das Problem der Genesis des Actiniums. Von M. C. Neuburger. Sonderausgabe aus der Sammlung chem- ischer und chemisch-technischer Vortrdége. Heraus- gegeben von Prof. Dr. W. “Hertz. Band XXVI. Pp. iii+64. (Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke, 1921.) 5 marks. Tue author discusses the experimental work done on the origin and transformations of actinium, and the various hypotheses which have been put forward as to the successive changes in the actinium series. He concludes that at some stages, besides a-and £-particles, particles of mass 3 and charge 2 are emitted. There is a detailed list of references, including some so recent as the year 1921. Swiss Travel Almanac. 810 NATURE [JUNE 24, 1922 Letters to the Editor. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts ~intended for this or any other part of NATURE. . Wo notice is taken of anonymous communications. | On the Continuous Radiation found in some Celestial Spectra beyond the Limit of the Balmer Series of Hydrogen. In the account of his observations of the eclipse of January 22, 1898, published in the Philosophical Transactions, A 197, pages 389 and 399, Mr. Evershed directed attention to a curious continuous spectrum emitted by the solar chromosphere and prominences. This spectrum begins near the limit or head of the Balmer series of hydrogen lines, and extends with gradually decreasing intensity in the direction of shorter wave-lengths. Evershed referred to the early observation by Huggins of an absorption in the corresponding region in the spectra of Vega and other stars having especially strong hydrogen lines (stars of Class A), and advanced the opinion that the spectrum, like the Balmer series which it so curiously supplements, is due to hydrogen. The grounds for this view were afterward strengthened through the discovery by Wood of a continuous spectrum occurring beyond the limit of the sodium series of dark lines, under conditions of laboratory experimentation that favoured the development of the higher members of the sodium series.? More recently an emission spectrum, apparently identical in character with the one observed by Evershed in the chromosphere, has been found to be characteristic of the planetary nebule.* The spectrum seems also to occur in the diffuse nebula N.G.C. 1499, and has been a conspicuous feature in the radiation of the nove. It may therefore be regarded as rather a commonplace phenomenon pertaining to the spectra of celestial objects which appear to exist under conditions of strong thermal or electrical excitation. For the purposes of this note I shall use the term outlying spectrum in referring to it in order to dis- tinguish it from the general continuous spectrum of more uniform distribution which is found even in the gaseous or “ bright-line ”’ nebule. The outlying spectrum, as an emission phenomenon, has not, that I am aware, been observed in the laboratory, except possibly by Dufour,> who found an ultra-violet continuous spectrum which, however, he associated with the secondary spéctrum of hydrogen, and not with the Balmer series. In view of its general occurrence in a large group of extremely interesting and important celestial spectra, it would seem desirable that serious effort be directed toward its development in the laboratory, with the view of establishing the circumstances of its origin. As a preliminary step in estimating the conditions likely to prove favourable for its emission it may not be out of place to recall a theoretical explanation that has been advanced to account for it. In a paper read two years ago before the American Philosophical Society,® the present writer suggested that the spectrum might be explained on the basis of the Bohr theory, as resulting from the capture of 1“ An Atlas of Representative Stellar Spectra,” p. 85. For a more complete investigation of the absorption in the Class A stars, see Hartmann, Physik. Zeit., 18, 429, 1917. 2 Astrophys. Jour., 29, 100, 1909. 3 Lick Obs. Bull., 9, 54, 1917; also Publ. Lick Obs., 13, 256, 1918. 4 Hubble, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific, 32, 155, 1920. ; 5 Ann. Chim. et Phys., (8), 9, 361, 1906. ® Proc., 49, 530, 1920. NO. 2747, VOL. 109] In describing the phenomenon — free electrons by hydrogen nuclei. Although the ide was developed from independent considerations, © cannot be regarded as an original one, since Bohr, it his first paper,’ had suggested the reverse p to account for the sodium absorption referred to as having been found by Wood. Inasmuch, hoy as he had not applied the consideration to the ex tion of an emission spectrum in that region as was known to exist in the spectrum of the chro sphere), it seemed appropriate at the time to direct attention to that aspect of the theory, and I venture | to revert to it here, both on account of its theoretical — interest, and because it may possibly prove suggestive — of the conditions under which the spectrum should be ~ sought in the laboratory. Re oa Briefly outlined, the argument is as follows: The — mechanism which Bohr sets up for the hydrogen atom is a positive nucleus surrounded by an infinite series of fixed orbits in which it is possible for an — electron to revolve.. A line of the Balmer series is — formed when an electron ‘“‘ jumps ’”’ from one of the — outer orbits to the second one, and the complete series — of lines results from the totality of transfers or jumps — from all of the outer orbits. The frequency of — vibration is in each case proportional to the energy © set free in the transfer from the outer to the second ~ orbit, and the frequency at the head, or limit, therefore — corresponds to the energy set free in the fall of an electron from rest at infinity. An electron with an ~ additional velocity of its own will of course give up — more energy in its capture than one starting from — rest, so it will have to be manifested by a radiation — of proportionately greater frequency, that is to say, — of less wave-length, than that of the series limit. © The exact position of the resulting line will depend ~ upon the amount of the initial kinetic energy, and ~ since this must, in general, vary from one on to another, the totality of these radiations should — make up a continuous spectrum beginning at the ~ Balmer limit and extending into the ultra-violet. — It is thus seen that, by this theory, the Balmer series is caused by the falling inwards of electrons © forming part of the atomic system, while the outlying © spectrum is due to the capture of extraneous electrons. — It is scarcely necessary to point out that the reasoning ~ applies with equal force to the Ritz and Lyman series, and to other series of like character. P Preliminary to discussing this explanation it is well — to calculate the initial kinetic energy required to produce the observed spectrum. he outlying © spectrum can be followed in a number of planetary ~ nebule to about 3340A. This is of course an — extremely rough estimate, for the spectrum is faint, — and on this side fades gradually to invisibility. The — energy required to develop a line here may con- ~ veniently be expressed in terms of that needed at ~ the Balmer limit. (3646A) as a 365/334 X ¥st = 305/334 x Nh/4, <4 where v, is the frequency at the Balmer limit, N the series constant, and h is Planck’s element of action. Of this energy the amount Nh/4 has been developed — in capture, leaving the remainder as the original — kinetic energy of the electron. Calling this Ek, we- have. ty “f Se lili a ce ae mai ey ene of st Ek = 31/334 x Nh/4, a substituting the numerical values: h=6:547x10-%7 — and N=3:290x 10+, ae Ek=5:00x 107, + (ty This is the amount of kinetic energy which must have — been possessed by the electron before coming under the action of the capturing nucleus in order that it should be able to develop a line at 3340A. ee 7 Phil. Mag., 26, 17, 1913. > a _ JUNE 24, 1922] NATURE 811 If we regard the speed of the electron as having acquired through intermolecular reactions making for the equipartition of energy, the above quantity should be comparable with the energy of molecular agitation. For a temperature of 1000° Abs. the mean kinetic energy of a molecule is ale : E(t000)=2-06x10"*, =... (2) ' Comparing (1) and (2) it is apparent that a gas _ temperature of about 2500° will be required if an _ electron of average energy is to develop a line at tir, Le That position, however, marks the extreme end of the spectrum, and radiation in the neighbour- ___ hood is therefore tobe regarded as due to the capture _ of electrons of exceptionally high speed. According ' to Maxwell’s law an appreciable proportion of the _ molecules have three or four times the mean energy, ___ and it is therefore permissible to divide our 2500° by _ Some such figure as that. It accordingly seems _ reasonable to assume that 1000° Abs. Cent., or even _ a less temperature, in the presence of the proper __ degree of ionisation, would suffice to produce the _ Observed spectrum.' The temperature of the chromo- _ sphere is of course very much higher than that. With _ fespect to the nebule, while we have no general fey knowledge of their thermal states, it will be recalled _ that Buisson, Fabry, and Bourget have estimated Et '- the oe eagle of the Orion Nebula to be of the order o 15,000° Cent.2 In the light of such an estimate, the theoretical requirement of ro00° cannot ____ be regarded as extravagant. ____ The foregoing considerations related to the sug- _ gestions that the electron acquires its speed through _ €quipartition of molecular energy, according to the _ kinetic theory; that is to say, the spectrum has ___ been regarded as a ‘“‘ temperature effect.” It is of course quite conceivable that the electronic velocity might be acquired in some other way, for instance, a through the action of an electric field, or photo- _ electrically, as has been suggested to me by Prof. _ Frederick A. Saunders in a personal letter. The __ presence in the Class A stars of absorption beyond _ the Balmer limit may be taken as evidence that __ photoelectric ionisation is going on in their atmo- _ spheres, and as most of the planetary nebule have nuclei that are powerful radiators ‘of ultra-violet light, the suggestion is an attractive one. However, ___ unlike the Class A stars, the nuclei show no perceptible _ falling off in strength near the head of the Balmer series. If absorption through photoelectric action _ takes place it is probably higher in the spectrum. ______ The above remarks refer very largely to the upper, or more refrangible limit of the outlying spectrum ; Of greater importance is the lower limit, since here _ contact is established with the line series. The _ spectrum fades gradually to invisibility at the upper _ extremity; at the lower the termination is, on the _ other hand, quite abrupt, and should, according to _ what has been said, lie at the theoretical limit of _. the Balmer series. As a matter of fact it has been __ found, I believe in every case, to be perceptibly to _ the redward of that point. We recall that this outlying continuous spectrum comes down to the _ junction from the more refrangible part of the _ spectrum, and the line series reaches up from the other or redward end. The series limit is at 3646A, while the edge of the outlying spectrum in the chromosphere, according to Evershed, lies at 36684 ; _ that is to say, the outlying spectrum overlaps __ the series limit by about 22A; more than that, it extends 7A beyond the highest series line observed op re estimate of the required temperature was given in the earlier have not at hand the computations on which it was based, but it 5? . De ee Se ae ee “ 5s a. ‘ 4 tA ~ |. paper. seems to have been affected by some numerical error, probably the use of 3 oo place of N/4 for the coefficient of h in the equations preceding (1) of paper. 2 Astrophys. Jour., 40, 258, 1914. NO. 2747, VOL. 109] by Evershed (3661A). In the radiation of the nebule the end of the outlying spectrum is difficult to measure, but it lies quite certainly to the redward of the Balmer limit. In N.G,C. 7009 it has been estimated to be at about 3650A, in other nebule it is at a greater wave-length. More marked is the discrepancy for the absorption spectrum in the Class A stars. Thus in the spectrum of a Cygni the, absorp- tion spectrum may be said to ,.begin at 3710+ A, and to reach full strength at 3660+A,? while for Vega* the corresponding positions are 3800+A and 3710+A. In the latter case we have then the beginning of absorption 150A to the redward of the series limit, a disparity between theory and observation that might raise a doubt as to whether the absorption bears in reality any relationship to the Balmer series. A consideration of the influence of density will, however, show that an inequality of that order is to be expected. It is probably significant that in the spectra of a Cygni and of Vega the last of the recorded series lines falls in each case in the neighbourhood of the point where the outlying absorption attains its full value. Thus for Vega the series is lost at 3687A, and the estimated position of the attainment of full absorption is 3710+A; for a Cygni the highest line is 3608A, with full absorption estimated to begin at 3060+A. The estimates of the position at which full absorption begins are difficult to make, and the: positions given are only roughly approximate, but it is quite evident that the series of dark lines which lie to the redward, and the continuous spectrum which extends in the other direction, merge one into the other, and that the second begins at the actual and not at the theoretical limit of the first. The inference that the continuous spectrum should begin at the theoretical limit is based on the assump- tion that the atomic orbits extend to infinity. Bohr has pointed out that the size of the orbit system is necessarily limited by the density of the radiating gas, and has explained the absence of lines of a very high order as a consequence. Applying this con- sideration to the theory of the outlying spectrum it seems necessary to substitute for the “ orbit at infinity ’’ adopted in our former reasoning, the largest orbit in effective operation. Into the atomic system, as circumscribed by this orbit, electrons may be conceived to enter with speeds from zero upward. Now an entering electron of speed zero has less energy than one moving in the outer effective orbit— less by just the kinetic energy of orbital motion. In dropping into the second orbit therefore it sets free a smaller amount of energy, and consequently produces a line of lower frequency (or greater wave- length) than that of the series line which corresponds to the outer effective orbit. But the line formed by this electron must mark the more refrangible edge. of the outlying continuous spectrum. We should, therefore, expect the continuous spectrum to begin somewhere on the less refrangible side of the highest visible member of the Balmer series. In other words, there should be an “ overlapping ” of the bright-line and continuous spectra such as is actually found. The margin of overlap should be proportional to the kinetic energy of the eléctron in the outer effective orbit, and on this assumption is expressible by the relation : 5 Mer hg = 01 Ma, ace eg, meleet lee * Lick Obs. Bull., 10, 103, Fig. 1. * Publ. Lick Obs., 13, 257, Fig. 2. The positions for both Vega and a Cygni are scaled from the intensity curves in the respective references. They are subject to great uncertainty. Compare stellar intensity curves by Hartmann, Phys, Zeit., 18, 431. 5 The expression follows at once from the RORREOCY-Soesty relation assumed by Bohr. Let the mth be the largest effective orbit of one of bis atomic systems ; then for the highest line we have : Vg=N(1/2?—1/n?). The second term in the parenthesis represents the energy lost during the 812 NATURE [JUNE 24, 1922 where », is the frequency at the theoretical limit of the Balmer series, v, is the frequency of the highest line that can be formed, v, is the frequency at the redward edge of the outlying spectrum. This expression tells us that, expressed in frequencies (and the relation holds approximately for wave- lengths), the margin of overlap of the continuous and line spectra should be equal to the interval between the highest observable line of the Balmer series and the theoretical limit. There are two factors tending to modify the above conclusion. One is that, by the kinetic theory, comparatively few electrons of approximately zero velocity are to be expected. Since these determine the redward edge of the outlying spectrum, that edge should be faint, and the effective limit might be of slightly less wave-length. The other is the fact that all the atomic systems will not at any one instant be reduced by molecular interference to outer orbits of exactly the same order. In these circumstances we should expect the large systems to determine the highest visible lines, and the small ones to establish the redward edge of the outlying continuous spectrum. The effect here would be to introduce a “ blurring ”’ factor, and increase the overlap. While these two. factors operate against each other, it seems quite impracticable to attempt an estimate of their net effect. To check the conclusions, the data on the emission spectrum of the chromosphere and the absorption spectra of a Cygni and Vega are collected in the accompanying table. Unfortunately the emission spectra of the nebulz have not been measured accur- ately enough to establish their limits. In our theo- retical discussion we have regarded the problem from the point of view of emission, and it is perhaps not entirely justifiable to check the conclusions through recourse to absorption spectra, for absorption and emission cannot, in such a case, be regarded as exactly complementary. It is necessary, however, to use the stellar spectra, since, with that of the chromosphere, they constitute the only radiations that have been sufficiently well observed. Highest line Connnenes of Source. of Prcessrieg Poca cate spankin: Observed. Observed. Computed. Chromosphere (em.) . 3657* 3668 3668 a Cygni (abs.) ¢ 3668 3700 + 36901 Vega (abs.) . 3687 3800 + 3729 * The most refrangible line observed by Evershed was 3661A. Mitchell, on the occasion of the 1905 eclipse (Astrophys. Jour., 38, 431, 1913: also Publ. Leander McCormick Obs., 2, 49), photographed six additional lines, the highest being at 3656.8A, the value adopted here. Evershed’s plates were taken with a prism spectrograph and Mitchell’s with a grating instru- ment of considerably greater power. The greater extent cf the latter’s spectrum is no doubt due to that fact. . The last column contains the positions of the lower edge of the outlying spectrum computed from the frequencies of the highest visible lines, using equation (3). The discrepancy between the observed and derived values for Vega is rather large and undoubtedly exceeds the error of measurement. It should be remembered, however, that in the atmo- sphere of a star absorption must take place throughout a considerable range of density, corresponding to different levels. The higher lines of the series, on transfer from infinity to the mth orbit. This is also equal to the kinetic energy of the electron due to motion in its orbit, so that an electron at rest at the mth orbit will have lost twice that amount. Therefore Vg =N(1/2?—2/n?). Remembering that v;=N/2?, the relation (3) follows. NO. 2747, VOL. 109] _ astronomical problems. _mission have yet to be ascertained. which the computations rest, probably originate i the upper and rarer atmosphere, where the conditi are favourable for their formation, while we sho expect the edge of the outlying spectrum to be determined in a region of comparatively high density. This would account for a divergence such as the one shown. Considering the numbe: of extraneous factors that have a bearing on the problem the agreement is probably as good as might be expected. The measurements show the progress of the edge of the outlying spectrum toward the redward as he highe members of the Balmer series fade out, and this is f 4 in general accord with the theoretical deductions. — z Summary of Conclusions.—The outlying continuous — spectrum found in certain celestial spectra beyond (a the limit of the Balmer hydrogen series is, as was suggested by Evershed, almost certainly due to ee. hydrogen. It should be more completely studied — astronomically, and serious effort should be directed _ toward developing it in the laboratory, on account — 4 bag of its theoretical interest and of its bearing on ~ Be I) The spectrum is explicable, on the basis of the Bohr theory, as resulting from a change of state, as’ between a free electron and one in the second orbit. Bohr’s original application of the principle to the case of absorption through photoelectric action on hydrogen atoms, is extended to the con- ception of emission as resulting from the capture of ~— free electrons by hydrogen nuclei. Raa : Theory and observation are in accord in placing the beginning of the outlying spectrum, not at the theoretical limit of the Balmer series,. but to the redward of it, the amount of the displacement being _ greater as the number of observed series lines is less. It seems possible, to account for the spectrum on the basis of either thermal or electrical excitation. Regarded as a heat effect, it indicates for the planetary nebule a temperature of the order of 1000° Abs. Cent. or more. (The figure is not, however, offered as an estimate of the temperature of the nebulz.) W. H. WRIGHT. Mount Hamilton, California, April 21, 1922. Discoveries in Tropical Medicine. =~ I HAVE never thrown any doubt upon the influence of the suggestions made by Manson to Ross which led to the close study by Ross of the carriage of the malaria parasite (of both birds and man) by mos- | quitoes, and the discovery by him that mosquitoes of the kind known as Anopheles and not those of the kind known as Culex are the “ intermediate hosts,’’ in which the parasites causing malaria in man undergo necessary and remarkable stages of their development. I was a member of the Committee of the Royal Society with which Ross was in constant communica- _ tion during his work in India, and followed that work step by step in the reports sent home by him. My — knowledge of the work of Laveran, of Labbé, Dani- — lewski, and of Celli and of Grassi and the Italian school] | does not support the claims to ‘‘discovery” put forward ~ on behalf of Manson by some of his friends. They > are exaggerated and inaccurate—though Manson’s influence and enthusiasm need no such mistaken advocacy in order to receive recognition. It is the fact, in spite of assertions to the contrary, that Manson did not discover the part played by. the mosquito in the transmission of Filaria sanguimis hominis. Important details as to the part played by the mosquito—of whatever kind—in that trams- They are still— — ea ee a ee toe 3 7p wee VI MNT ee tt Tae ee ate lyt at the present moment—a subject of investigation.” See JUNE 24, 1922] NATURE 813 _ The kind of statement put forward in order to do honour to Manson, but really of a misleading nature, is exemplified in the following from Dr. Sambon’s - Tetter in Nature of May 27. He writes: “Sir _ Ray Lankester ignores Manson’s brilliant interpreta- tion of the ‘ flagellating’ malarial parasite, looked _ upon by the Italians as a form of degeneration ; eee Manson as the prelude to a further all-important _ developmental stage outside the body of man.” _ The reader of Dr. Sambon’s letter would suppose _ that Manson had in this matter had “a happy thought ” and had put forward a successful specula- _ tion. Such isnot the case. The nature and signific- ance of the flagelliform bodies developed by the malaria __ parasite were first discovered by Dr. W. G. MacCallum, _ published by him at the meeting of the British A iation in Toronto, August 1897, and more _ fully set forth with admirable illustrations in the _ Journal of Experimental Medicine, vol. iii., 1808. _ He describes the rapid formation of these bodies _ in the Halteridium of birds (crows) as others had __ already done both in that case and in the malarial ‘parasites of man. What is of capital importance in MacCallum’s paper is the careful description and drawings of the active—even violent—union of the liberated a bodies with certain granular sp) emale gametes. A single flagelliform body was thus seen to fuse with one female gamete. allum, having once recognised this sexual process, pserved it daily, and then observed the same process in the estivo-autumnal parasites taken from two ases of malaria in a human subject. _ In discussing the significance of his discovery, MacCallum writes that the whole Italian school believed the flagelliform bodies to be due to degenera- tive changes. “Manson,” he writes, ‘as is well known, has advanced the idea that the flagellate bodies represent the forms in which the parasite _ exists outside the human body, that the flagella _ penetrate from the stomach into the body of mos- “- a -which have sucked the blood of infected human beings, and that, after a further unknown RA agen of development, they come again (through __ the water in which the mosquitoes deposit their eggs _ and die) into the human body.” This and other _ suppositions were entirely set aside by MacCallum’s _ discovery. MacCallum insists that Manson’s idea 4 is not based on any observations, but is pure _ hypothesis! Manson’s interpretation of the flagel- lating malarial parasite was, though erroneous, _ a legitimate hypothesis, but it certainly was not eS nt,”’ although we are asked by Dr. Sambon to os am it as being so. E. Ray LANKESTER. _. June 5, 1922. The Isotopes of Tin. _ ‘THE insensitivity of the photographic plate in __fecording positive rays when compared with its _ sensitivity to light has long been observed, and has ___been accounted for by the fact that the action of __-~positive rays is purely a surface effect. There has, therefore, always been the hope that considerable improvement could be made in this direction by increasing the concentration of the bromide particles _ on the surface of the gelatine. This hope has now ___ been realised to some extent by the use of a method ___ which, I-understand, has been devised for the pro- duction of Schumann plates. It consists essentially in dissolving off more or less of the gelatine by means of acid. I have not yet succeeded in obtaining certain or uniform effects, but in the most favourable cases the sensitivity of the ‘‘ Half Tone ”’ plates used NO. 2747, VOL. 109] _ of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and in the mass-spectrograph has been increased ten to twenty times without seriously altering their other valuable properties. The immediate result has been the definite proof of the complex nature of the element tin which had been previously suspected (Phil. Mag. xlii. p. 141, July 1921). Tin tetramethide was employed, and a group of eight lines corresponding approximately to atomic weights 116 (c), 117 (f), 118 (b), 119 (e), 120 (a), 121 (h), 122 (g), 124 (d) was definitely proved to be due to tin. This conclusion was satisfactorily confirmed by the presence of similar groups corre- sponding to Sn(CH;), Sn(CH;), and Sn(CHs;)3. The intensities of the various components indicated by the letters in brackets agree quite well with the accepted chemical atomic weight 118-7, and incident- ally preclude the possibility that any of the lines, with the possible exception of the extremely faint one at 121, are due to hydrides. ‘ - The spacing of these eight lines, which are only just resolved, show that their differences are integral to the highest accuracy, but the lines themselves compared with known lines on the plate give atomic weights always tending to be 2 or 3 parts in 1000 too light for the above whole numbers. That this remarkable divergence cannot be explained as . experimental error is very strongly indicated by the following consideration. The discharge tube had been used previously to investigate some very pure xenon. ‘The line due to Sn (CH;) should therefore have appeared exactly halfway between the two strong xenon lines 134, 136. It was actually quite unmistakably nearer the former, so much so that the two were only partially resolved. The same irregular grouping repeated itself in another portion of the field in the following spectrum. It seems, therefore, difficult to resist the conclusion that the isotopes of tin have atomic weights which are less than whole numbers by one-fifth to one-third of a unit of atomic weight, but satisfactory settlement of this important point will probably have to be deferred till a more accurate mass-spectrograph has been made. Incidentally I may add that the presence of the two faint components of xenon 128 and 130 previously suspected has now been satisfactorily confirmed. F. W. ASTON. Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, June 7. The Spiracular Muscles of Hymenoptera Aculeata. I pEstIRE to direct the attention of entomologists to a recently discovered muscle (see Bee World, vol. iii. p. 282, April 1922) present in the honey bee (Apis mellifica), and probably in many others of the Hymenoptera Aculeata. The abdominal (respiratory) muscles of Apis mellifica were described by Carlet (Comptes rendus, Acad. Sci., Paris, 1884, vol. 98, p. 758). His list is incorrect ; it misplaces the posterior attachment of the internal oblique muscle and omits the interdorsals and the spiracular muscles. To the latter it is desired to direct attention here. They run from the lateral sternal apophysis to the larger of the two cones of the spiracle on the tergum of the same segment. Thus, when the abdomen is expanded, this muscle is under tension, and will pull open the closing apparatus of the spiracle. During expiration, the abdomen is contracted ; the spiracular muscles will therefore be slack during this process, and it appears highly im- probable that the spiracles actuated by them can open during expiration. The expired air must therefore pass out of the system mainly through the thoracic spiracles ; a fact which renders comprehensible 2D2 814 NATURE [JUNE 24, 1922 the immediate ill effects of blocking of the prothoracic spiracles by Tarsonemus woodi, the causal parasite of Isle-of-Wight (Acarine) disease. : : : Spiracular muscles (apparently similar in function to those of Apis mellifica) have been found in Vespa sp., Bombus sp., and a wild bee (? Prosopis). Ina modified form, they are present in Formica sp., being there apparently attached to the anterior edge of the tergum, and not to the sternal apophysis. To see these, as well as the other abdominal muscles of the bee, I may mention that material preserved in equal parts of methylated spirit and formalin, deeply coloured with light green so as to stain the muscles, is excellent. Dissect in water. Annie D. BETTS. Hill House, Camberley, Surrey. Symbiotic Bacteria and Phosphorescence. In Prof. Gamble’s review of Buchner’s “ Tier und Pflanze in intrazellularer Symbiose’’ (NATURE, May 6) reference is made to the work of Pierantoni, according to whom the luminous organs of cephalopods are ‘“‘ essentially cultures of bacteria in media suitable for their nutrition and in situations favourable for obtaining oxygen.” The claims which are made for the existence of similar symbiotes in fire-flies and many other phos- phorescent organisms may be extravagant, but Newton Harvey’s recent announcement in the Year-book (No. 20 (1921), pp. 196-97) of the Carnegie Institution of Washington is exceedingly important in this con- nection. Harvey worked on two fishes with very large luminous organs—Photoblepharon and Anoma- lops—at Banda in the Dutch East Indies. He found bacteria always present in the organs, and emulsions of these organs behaved exactly like emulsions of _ luminous bacteria. The light continues night and day without ceasing, independently of stimulation. This is characteristic of the light due to luminous bacteria and fungi alone among organisms. Harvey did not succeed in growing the bacteria artificially, however; but considering the conditions under which they apparently live, this would, naturally, be a task of great difficulty. Dahlgren (see the same reference) sea to have confirmed Harvey’s discovery in other shes. Luciferin and luciferase could not be demon- strated, which is also characteristic of luminous bacteria. F. A. Potts. Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Stone Preservation. May I throw out a suggestion, which, I believe, is new, as to a method for preserving decaying sand- stones from further decay ? Certain compounds of alcohol-radicles with silica, when exposed to moist air, hydrolyse, deposit hydrated silica in a coherent form, and thus act as a cement. The ether can be thinned with alcohol, and is a very stable body so long as it is not exposed to moisture, and if a piece of rotten sandstone is treated with it, in the course of a few days the sandstone hardens up and the resulting cement resists the attacks of acids. Unfortunately, this process does not solve equally well the important problem of preserving limestones, since, though it binds the particles of limestones together, it does not protect the particles themselves from attack. A. P. LAURIE. Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh, May 31. NO. 2747, VOL. 109 | Oscillation Circuits for the Determination of Di-electric Constants at Radio Frequencies. DurR1nG the last year or so a number of investigators have made use of the underlying principles of the heterodyne system of wireless telegraphy in the de- termination of di-electric constants. The extreme sensitivity of this method, and its freedom from some — ; of the weaknesses which have rendered _ precise measurements by the older methods difficult of attainment, are rapidly increasing its popularity, and any changes which make for simplicity and for still greater certainty are of interest. =a For no apparent reason circuits of the type used only for receiving signals have, so far as the writer is aware, been employed, though greater efficiency is to be expected from the use of a transmitting circuit in conjunction with such a receiving circuit generating local oscillations. In either case it is preferable that the oscillation circuit, of which the condenser containing the material under investigation forms a part, should not rectify, as rectification is necessaril accompanied by distortion of wave form. Instead of using the two electrically insulated cir- cuits hitherto employed the writer prefers that — shown in Fig. 1, in which simple transmitting and ~ receiving circuits are combined in such a way that = tee = FIG. "2. oscillations of two different frequencies can™ be generated although both valves are fed from the same filament-heating and anode batteries. An additional reason why only one valve should be used for rectification with this particular arrangement lies in the fact that, if both valves were rectifying, the unidirectional pulses of current of audible frequency produced in each of the circuits by the rectification of the interfering oscillations would tend to produce a steady current, since they would be quite out of phase with each other. As is well known to workers who have had experi- ence of apparatus of this kind, changes in the value of the filament-heating current by altering what is virtually the resistance of a valve affect, to a certain extent, the frequency of the oscillations generated. This trouble can be lessened to a very great extent by taking the heating current for both filaments from the same battery of accumulators. ments can be connected in parallel, but there is more to be gained by connecting them in series, as will be apparent from the figure. with respect to earth, their potentials with respect to the heated filaments are quite different; in the case of the valve shown in the lower half of the figure the potential difference is such that it can ‘oscillate’? only, while the other valve can both oscillate and rectify. In conclusion, it should be stated that this letter — is written with the kind permission of the Director of Artillery, War Office. P. A. COOPER. Explosives Branch, Research Dept., Woolwich, April 15, 1922. The fila- | It will be seen that, — although the two grids are at the same potential — , Spano f Evento ene ee ee % | : those signa _. June 24, 1922] NATURE 815 A Century of Astronomy.* By Prof. A. S. Epprncton, F.R.S. i) eg celebration of a centenary is an occasion for retrospect over the past and for hopeful outlook towards the future. We have here representatives of many different sides of astronomy who view it from ‘many different aspects, and I should not be surprised if there are wide differences of opinion as to which are the outstanding landmarks in these hundred years. Like selecting the hundred best books, the selection of, let us say, the six great landmarks of astronomical in the century is a pastime which need not. be taken too seriously. I shall venture to try my hand at a selection :— (x) 1839. The first determinations of stellar parallax of 61 Cygni and a Centauri, giving for the first time a _ definite idea of the scale of the stellar universe. (2) 1846. The discovery of Neptune. An event perhaps more highly celebrated outside astronomical circles than among professional astronomers, but _ producing an incalculable moral effect. (3) 1864-68. The early spectroscopic discoveries of Huggins and Lockyer, and the rise of spectroscopic astronomy. (4) 1882-87. The beginnings of stellar photography, starting with Gill’s photograph of the great comet of 1882 and leading to the inception of the astrographic chart in 1887. (5) 1904. Kapteyn’s discovery of the two star- , the beginning of the modern era of investiga- tions of the sidereal system. Coming to events so near to the present that we cannot yet put much trust in our perspective, I would tentatively include 6) 1920. The measurement of the angular diameter ‘of Betelgeuse by Michelson’s interferometer method. I would not venture to predict how great or how im- ‘mediate may be the influence of this last on the progress of astronomy ; but it seems to me to be worthy of ; a. place in this select list as a triumph of scientific It is one of 1 instances which convince us that the word “impossible” must be banished from the vocabulary. This is a record of continuous advance—not in great waves followed by periods of exhaustion. A new impetus has always been found before the last one has begun to fail. Even the allied science of physics has not, I think, had such a continuous record. I am told that there was a period shortly before X-rays and electrons came to the fore, when the physicist had given up anticipating any radical advance; he thought that the big discoveries were already garnered ; and the feeling, so present with us to-day, that we are on the verge of something greater than our dreams can shape, had not yet disturbed his placid progress. The centre of most rapid progress has shifted from time to time, and the various branches of astronomy have had their ups and downs. I suppose that in recent years the department of planetary astronomy has been in the depression of a wave. At least it seems to be so in comparison with the more sensational achievement which is second to none. 1 From the presidential address delivered before the Royal Astronomical Society on May 30. NO. 2747, VOL. 109] progress in our knowledge of the sun and stars. Whether we regard the physical observation of the surfaces of the planets or the study of their motions, the openings for advance seem to be few and difficult. But the depression has by no means reached stagnation. We have the remarkable advance in planetary photography, exhibited at several recent meetings of the Society ; the discovery of new satellites, including Jupiter’s two pairs of twins, and the specially significant phenomenon of the retrograde motion of the outermost satellites of Jupiter and Saturn; the determination of the rotation period of Uranus by Slipher ; and the Trojan group of minor planets, the principal merit of which is that they have beneficently prevented the once great science of dynamical astronomy from grow- ing altogether rusty. Renewed interest is added to the exact and regular observation of the positions of ‘planets by Einstein’s explanation of the anomalous motion of Mercury; the same observations reveal _ interesting irregularities in the longitudes of the planets which perhaps reflect inequalities in the rotation of the earth as standard time-keeper. These observa- tions, which else might have seemed to be mere survivals of traditional routine, are seen to be full of importance for the future; and for the same reason we welcome the revival of observations of occultations of stars by planets. On the theoretical side, we have Taylor’s important investigation of tidal friction in the Irish Sea, which, true to its name, is responsible for a considerable proportion of the friction and dissipation of energy on this planet; and Jeans’s researches have given us new ideas of the origin of the planets which attend the sun, and of the singular (perhaps even unique) character of this system. Many other researches in this field could be mentioned. If the department of planetary astronomy is now the Cinderella of our science, she yet has dreams that her Prince is waiting for her. It is startling to-day to read a passage from Huxley’s “Essays ” which runs :—‘‘ Until human life is longer and the duties of the present press less heavily, I do not think wise men will occupy themselves with Jovian or Martian natural history.” Martian—and I almost fear to mention it—lunar natural history are no doubt thorny subjects, but notwithstanding Huxley’s censure, probably the most sceptical among us would admit that the observation of seasonal changes of what is presumably some kind of vegetation on Mars is a recognised astronomical pursuit. In reviewing the general advance of astronomy during the century, we cannot but be struck by what I may call its centrifugal tendency—the tendency to leave the little system ruled by the sun and penetrate deeper and ever deeper into the vast world outside. In the older books, the author leads us deliberately through the planets one by one, and it is with difficulty that the account of the stellar universe can be spun out to any respectable length. Before the first meeting of this Society in 1820 an introductory address was circulated, which contains the paragraph : Beyond the limits of our own system, all at present 816 NALURE [JUNE 24, 1922 is obscurity. Some vast and general views on the construction of the heavens, and the laws which may regulate the formation and motions of sidereal systems, have, it is true, been struck out; but, like the theories of the earth which have so long occupied the speculations of geologists, they remain to be supported or confuted by the slow accumulation of a mass of facts; and it is here, as in the science just alluded to, that the advantages of associated labour will appear more eminently conspicuous. While much obscurity still remains, this vast terri- tory has been definitely annexed and occupied. From the planetary system we have passed to the stellar system ; and I am not sure if even the study of that great aggregation of stars which we used to think was the whole universe is not becoming a little old- fashioned, and the really up-to-date young astronomer would refuse to bother about anything nearer than a globular cluster. At least it is one of the most startling features of recent research that so much exact knowledge has been obtained of the conditions of stars in globular clusters, not one of which is nearer * than 10,000 light-years—knowledge which in many respects far surpasses in precision that which it has been possible to obtain for the much nearer denizens of our own star-cloud. It may be of interest to examine how this centrifugal tendency is reflected in our Monthly Notices, and I have prepared a table to show how the subject-matter of the papers has changed. The figures claim no great accuracy, because it is often difficult to classify the papers clearly and uniformly ; and, of course, the statistics do not distinguish important papers or long- continued observations from trivial notes and con- troversies. But on the whole the figures seem to be truly representative. CLASSIFICATION OF Papers IN Montuty Notices, R.A.S. 1840. 1860. 1880. 1900. I9t9. 1920 (3 years.) Instrumental | 6 II 3 6 5 Solar System . 5 fi 39 69 73 56 14 2I Stellar universe. . . 18 13 22 aI 49 40 Geodesy, navigation, seis- mology, etc. . : : 14 3 6 a 5 II Ancient observations ‘ 2 I Bey aD I I Mathematical (not classed above) . : : 4 “ is 2 A I 12 (Ditto, omitting ephemerides, tabular observations, etc., and formal reports of phenomena.) Solar system . ; : 9 38 34 21 Ir 17 Stellar universe. a 2 7 II 16 12 33 32 It appears that the serious change did not begin until after 1900. Although it shows itself quite sud- denly in the statistics, it had been steadily prepared for during a long period. It must be remembered that much of the heaviest work on the stars is by its nature excluded from the Monthly Notices, and appears only in the more voluminous publications of observa- tories. Solar, lunar, and planetary observations are not usually too bulky to include. Much long-continued preparation for proper motions, spectral classification, radial velocities, stellar magnitudes, etc., began to come to fruition between 1900 and 1910. But I think the great impetus to sidereal astronomy came from Kapteyn’s discovery, which I have mentioned among the six landmarks of the century. The two star- streams were the first taste of the many amazing results contained in the statistics collected or being collected. They were the first indication to us ‘of something like organisation among the myriads of NO. 2747, VOL. 109 | stars. Paradoxical as it may seem, the duality of the stellar system was the first clear indication to us of its In the earlier years most of the papers classified — in the table as referring to the stellar universe dealt with particular objects—variables, rapid binaries, unity. Novae. It was a period of individualism. But from 1900 onwards the great democracy of the stars was brought into prominence, and a great wave of stellar socialism began. Kapteyn is the typical pioneer of a numerous body of investigators who view the heavens in the spirit of Xavier le Maistre in “ Voyages autour de ma Chambre ”’ : The most brilliant stars have never been those which I contemplate with most pleasure; but the tiniest ones, those which, lost in immeasurable distance, appear only as barely perceptible points, have always been my favourite stars. Yet perhaps in the very latest years there has been a reaction towards individualism.- The statistical mill is no longer working overtime. The queer stars, such as Cepheids, runaway dwarfs, special binaries, are beginning to contribute more largely to the general perfection of the whole scheme. Strange objects which persist in showing a type of spectrum entirely out of keeping with their luminosity, may ultimately teach us more than a host which radiate according to rule. It is noticeable that in the early years the dis- proportionate excess of papers on the solar system compared with the outside regions of the universe was not so marked as it afterwards became. This is no accident. The founders of the Royal Astronomical Society, while confessing almost complete ignorance of this domain, were resolved that it should be attacked, and had the conviction that patient research would make the advance possible. Indeed, it was just this’ which was placed among the most prominent reasons for banding together. With regard to eclipses, planets, and comets, it might be possible to struggle along individually ; but the problems involving thousands. of stars were too vast for one man or for one generation. They saw that the observations were being piled up, but without uniformity and without system. To quote again from their address :— One of the first great steps towards an accurate knowledge of the construction of the heavens is an acquaintance with the individual objects which they present : in other words, the formation of a complete catalogue of stars and of other bodies, upon a scale infinitely more vast than has yet been undertaken, and that shall comprehend the most minute objects visible in good astronomical telescopes. To form such a catalogue, however, is an undertaking of such overwhelming labour as to defy the utmost exertions of individual industry. It is a task which, to be accomplished, must be divided among members; but so divided as to preserve a perfect unity of design. . . . The intended foundation of an Observatory at the southern extremity of Africa, under the auspices of the Admiralty, may serve to show the general sense entertained of the importance of this subject, and the necessity of giving every possible perfection _ to our catalogue of the fixed stars. Deeply impressed also with the importance of this task, and fully aware of its difficulty, the Astronomical Society might call upon the observers of Europe and of the world to — lend their aid in its prosecution. Should similar aie te, ee of pen i . penny A SESE (ero ee ._—- a eee ae ee ey oo, — ae, -—s TG Pe ee ee Se ? Se ee ee ee ee Supplement to “ Nature,” June 24, 1922 1 THE ‘HOW TO IDENTIFY’ SERIES OF POCKET NATURE VOLUMES Well bound, fully illustrated throughout, 1s. 6d. net each. The new vol. is SEA AND SHORE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. By R. H. W. Hopces. Other popular titles are: BIRDS’ EGGS AND NESTS. By S. N. Sepewick, M.A. WILD FLOWERS. By Hitperic FRIEND. BULTERFLIES. y S. N. 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REFERRING to a paragraph in NAtuRE of June 10, p- 755, Dr. Marie C. Stopes writes :—-‘‘ May I correct the impression your paragraph creates that the Clinic and the Birth Control News are activities of the Malthusian League, as this is not thes case? The Society for Constructive Birth Control and Racial Progress, with which the clinic and news are associated, ‘to several well-known long-distance stations, includ- initial station of the Imperial Chain at Leafield. is a distinct society with a different basis. The policy of the Clinic and the Birth Control News is that _ of constructive and scientific control, as distinct from — what is commonly understood as Malthusianism,”’ WE have received from Messrs. C. 'F. Elwell, Ltd. (Craven House, Kingsway) a handsomely produced catalogue relating to apparatus for wireless com- munication. A readable introduction deals with the immensity of the field of wireless telegraphy and the superiority. of the continuous wave over the spark : system of transmission. The most interesting portion is that dealing with the Elwell arc equipment on the Poulsen system, such as the company has supplied ing Horsea, Eiffel Tower, Lyons, Rome, and the This apparatus is listed up to 700 amp. in the arc. Interesting details are also given of steel and wooden | lattice aerial towers, ship receiving sets, and various accessories. : Our Astronomical Column. ot THE METEORS OF PONS-WINNECKE’S ComEeT.—Mr. W. F. Denning writes that he regards it as highly probable there may occur a meteoric shower on about June 28. It will be a return of the display which he witnessed on June 28, 1916. If the meteors of this stream are connected with the comet of Pons- Winnecke, they will have a period approximating six years, and as the particles appear to be distributed abundantly along a lengthy section of the orbit, a repetition of the phenomenon of 1916 may be ex- pected. It is true that the cometary meteors were not seen at many stations last year, although the conditions appeared promising, but in Japan a con- siderable number seem to have been recorded. In any event it is desirable carefully to watch the heavens, at the end of June, for further evidence of this interesting display. There will be no moonlight, and the radiant point in Quadrans or Draco will be favourably placed in the earlier hours of the night. THE SEARCH FOR NEW StTars.—The period of the year is now approaching when the Milky Way will be very favourably placed for observation in northern latitudes, especially towards the end of June, and in July. The constellations Cygnus, Aquila, Ophiuchus, and Scorpio have been fruitful in Nove in past years, and they offer the prospect of further discoveries. When the moon is not bright the sky in the regions indicated should be scanned carefully for new objects. The best time to conduct the work will be near midnight, when the summer twilight will not seriously interfere. An observer who is not familiar with a large number of the naked-eye stars, should compare the heavens with a star atlas, and this method, often repeated, will soon enable him to dispense with the atlas. Certain new stars are very quick in their rise to brilliancy, and a vast difference in their magnitude often occurs in a few hours, so that it is really essential to repeat the search several times in the course of a night. Wherever the galaxy runs the observer’s eyes should diligently pursue the quest, and other quarters of the sky should occasionally receive attention. Though twelve new stars visible to the naked eye NO. 2747, VOL. 109] burst into view between 1848 and 1921, not one appears to have been recognised during the previous 158 years; but this was probably due, not so much to the dearth of such'objects, as to the want of capable eres i oS observers. 3 CoLours OF BINARY STARS.—The giant and dwarf ¢ theory of star-development gave a solution to an - astronomical enigma of long standing. This was the frequency with which the fainter component of a — binary tends to blue, while the brighter component is red or orange. On the old view this implied that — the component was of earlier type than the bright star, and hence had developed more slowly. Some Ms suggested, as a way of escape, that the blue of these stars might possibly not correspond with that — associated with spectral type A or B. It was, how- ever, found possible to obtain spectrograms of some © : of these blue components, which did not indicate * that they differed from other blue stars. As soon as_ 4 the giant and dwarf theory was mooted, it became : clear that for giant stars the blue stage was in fact later than the red or yellow one. Mr. Peter Doig examines the question from this point of view in Mon. Not. R.A.S. of April, and finds that it gives much the same line of demarcation between the giant and dwarf binaries as that given by the absolute magnitudes, based on all available parallaxes, including the spectroscopic ones.. He gives 33 pairs in which the stars are giants, and 75 in which both are dwarfs. The former list includes Polaris, Regulus, Antares, 8 Cygni, € Bootis, etc. ; the latter includes Castor and a Centauri. Mr. Doig notes that in some cases of great difference of mass the companion might have become a dwarf of a redder type than the primary, while the latter was still a giant. He then ventures to extend the principle to give estimated parallaxes for some systems not on the list. For example, a Librae is given as a | dwarf, with parallax 0-045” ; the parallax of Praesepe is estimated as o-o10”. The paper makes an appeal for the substitution of other terms for “‘ early ’”’ and “late’’ as applied to spectral types, which are “ misleading in the case of giants. Prof. Turner ~ suggested the terms ‘‘ hotter’ and “cooler” as preferable. see race eee ae ee a ae ee eC / JUNE 24, 1922] NATURE 825 Research Items. FRAZER MEMORIAL LECTURES.—Some admirers of _ Sir James Frazer’s work in social anthropology have contributed to a fund for the establishment of an annual lecture at Oxford. The first lecture in the ‘course was recently delivered by Dr. E. Sidney Hartland, who naturally selected as his study a subject which he has made his own, ‘“ The Evolution of Kinship,” based upon the important monograph by Edwin W. Smith and the late Andrew M. Dale on “‘ The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia.” The Ba-ila, or Ila people, inhabit the very centre of _ the continent, on the,banks of the Kafue, a tributary 7 flax flea-beetle (Longitarsus parvulus Payk.). and makes her home there : of the Zambesi, being descendants of more than one stream of Bantu immigrants from the north and north-east, coming probably by different routes and at different times. The social organisation of this accept and hitherto little-known community has skilfully investigated by Dr. Hartland. Like all Bantu tribes, their civilisation is based on the matrilinear clan, the family being a newcomer into the social field, which is struggling with the clan for influence. on marriage a wife goes to her husband’s dwelling he does not come to that of her kindred. Thus the developmental uence, as among the Australian tribes, is from mother to father right. If succeeding contributors to this foundation maintain the high level of Dr. _ Hartland’s inaugural lecture, the Frazer Memorial _ Lecture marks an important extension of the study of social anthropology in this country. An Insect DEstTRUCTIVE TO FLax.— In the Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society, vol. xvi., April 1922, Mr. J. G. Rhynehart contributes an interesting and well-illustrated paper on the This _ §pecies is a serious enemy of flax and one responsible _ for considerable loss. to growers of the crop in Ireland. It is commonly found throughout Ulster, and of recent ears has become a pest in flax-growing districts in ». Cork. The adult beetle kills many of the seedlings by devouring the cotyledons and growing-point of the flax, but will also eat clovers, grasses, and wild species of flax. The larve bore into and feed on e roots of the flax plants, but do not appear to Cause any appreciable hindrance to growth. Preven- _. tive measures consist of the production of strong, _ vigorous-growing brairds by the employment of suitable cultivation, seed, and manure; in the destruc- tion or removal of all material likely to afford means of hibernation for the adult beetle; and in the stimulation of attacked seedlings by the application of a light dressing of nitrate of soda. Preliminary experiments indicate the possibility of the use of Bordeaux mixture as a deterrent. New Fossit Sea Cow rrom Fioripa.—The hinder part of the right maxillary of a species of Metaxy- _therium, from the phosphate beds of Mulberry, Florida, is described and figured by Mr. O. P. Hay under the trivial name of M. floridanum (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. Ixi.). ‘Its exact geological horizon is uncertain: it belonged probably to the Upper Miocene or Lower Pliocene, while European species belong to the Miocene or in part to the Oligocene. PALZONTOLOGY OF THE BURMA OILFIELDS.—For some years Mr. E. Vredenburg has been accumulating data regarding the marine fauna of Tertiary age in NO. 2747, VOL. 109] Its development into a patrilinear in-_ _ stitution is plausibly accounted for by the rule that Burma, and the large quantity of material collected by officers of the Geological Survey of India, as well | as by the geologists of the principal oil companies, now permits of a marked advance on the results as they were left by Dr. F. Noetling in 1897.