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would be welcome. One of the most recent additions is a Holmes magneto-electric generator, which has worked the lamps at the Sowter Point lighthouse continuously since 1870 until only two or three years ago, and the Gramme dynamo which lighted the Daily Telegraph offices in 1882 is also in the possession of the institution. Another relic, but of more recent historic interest, is the set of telephones employed on the Scott Antarctic Expedition.

THE Board of Education has issued a circular stating that an urgent request has been received for books for the use of the British civilian prisoners at present interned in the concentration camp formed on the racecourse at Ruthleben, Germany. The books are needed by the educational classes in connection with the Camp Education Department, which has recently been formed for the benefit of the prisoners in question. The Board of Education has sanctioned the issue of an appeal for books of the kind specified in the circular above referred to. As the number of books which can be sent to Ruthleben is limited, it will be well for intending donors to apply for a copy of the circular (which gives the titles of the works needed) to Mr. Alfred T. Davies, Board of Education, Whitehall, S.W., writing in the left-hand corner of the envelope "Books for Ruthleben." We may mention that lectures have been delivered by the Arts and Science Union of the camp on the following among other subjects:-Conic sections, differential and integral calculus, inorganic and organic chemistry, human physiology, psychology, electro-chemistry, agricultural chemistry, genetics and eugenics, mechanics and hydrostatics, physics, radio-chemistry, technical chemistry, general technology (popular), archæology, photography. The lecturers will be grateful for reference works in these subjects. Dictionaries and scientific periodicals would also be most valuable.

THE war has stimulated research in preventive and curative medicine, and announcements of the discovery of various new remedies and methods of treatment appear from time to time in the public Press. Thus the preparation of a new "polyvalent" serum, presumably made with a mixture of microbes, for the treatment of infected wounds is recorded, and for which extraordinary powers are claimed. The discovery is due to the labours of Profs. Leclainche and Vallée, of the Veterinary College of Alfort. It is also stated that Dr. Bull, of Melbourne, has found in eucalyptus a cure for cerebro-spinal fever. Details of a "new" antiseptic mixture for the treatment of wounds similarly found a place in the daily papers last week. This consists of a mixture of chlorinated lime (bleaching powder), boric acid, and chalk, but, as the Lancet points out. the claims to novelty for this antiseptic are ill-founded.

Of all manuals of good advice to the soldier, "Health in the Camp: A Talk to Soldiers," by Col. H. R. Kenwood, is one of the best. It is published by H. K. Lewis and Co., Ltd., London, and it costs threepence. Col. Kenwood, being professor of hygiene and public health in the University of London, and an officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps, writes with authority.

Moreover, he writes well, with perfect simplicity, and with some distinction of style; and he takes, as it were for a text, the plain fact that "the obedient and intelligent co-operation of every single soldier is demanded, if the sanitation of the camp is to be what it ought to be." We wish the little book were twice as long as it is. What he says of camp sanitation, and of the vital importance of clean food, pure water, and fresh air, is admirably well said. There is a good short account of the protective treatment against typhoid fever; and there is a very valuable note on the venereal diseases. Of course, sixty small pages are not enough; but he makes every word tell, and seems to have a word or two for every subject of chief interest. He avoids the mistake of throwing a list of names of things at the reader's head; and he does not let diagrams take up room, where every inch is needed for print. In brief, here is an excellent little tract for the soldier, whether in training or at the front.

"PRACTICAL Advice on the Fly Question" has been issued by the Zoological Society of London at the price of one penny. It is apparently an "official" summary of advice based on the inquiries conducted under the society's auspices, and intended to have the authority of the society. The pamphlet is devoted entirely to practical advice on how to deal with flies, how to keep them from food, how to keep them out of the house, how to catch them; it deals with the breeding of flies, the treatment of stable manure and refuse; it ends with a summary of measures recommended for private houses, for the country, for refuse tips, for stable manure, for hospitals, camps, shops, and food factories. Flies are undoubtedly important, both to the nation at large and to the miltary authorities; it is characteristic of this nation that such advice should issue from a private society, rather than from either of the Government departments the business of which this should be. The pamphlet is clearly based upon experience of dealing with flies and upon elaborate investigation on new points; the advice is given in a clear and practical manner. To those who visit the Fly Exhibition, as to all who are interested in the house-fly, this little publication should be of

use.

IN the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. viii., part i., Mr. A. Russell publishes a useful glossary of Scoto-Romani and Tinklers' Cant. Early collections of this dialect are wanting, and even the interpretation of some words found in Scottish documents of the sixteenth century is doubtful. At an early period the Scottish Romani was amalgamated with that of the Tinklers, a nomad class whose origin is still a puzzle. The most interesting words in the collection are those which have survived in the Scottish-Gypsy dialect, but have been lost in the English. There is also a difference in word forms, which has been explained by the supposition that the majority of English Gypsies of the present day are descended from a later immigration than that of those who left their mark on the Tinklers' Cant of Scotland, though the variation in vowel sounds may be partially due to the influence of local English

dialects.

DRS. J. C. COSTERUS and J. J. Smith continue their studies in tropical teratology in the Annals of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens, 2° Series, vol. xiv. Several interesting cases of malformations are described and figured, especially in ferns, palms, and orchids. Among the most interesting are two germinating coconuts. In one, three stems are sprouting from a single nut; two stems from a nut have been recorded before, though such cases are not more than one in a thousand, but the present case is one out of forty thousand, and is probably unique. The phenomenon is no doubt due to polyembryony. The other, and more remarkable, case is that of the premature flowering of a germinating coconut. The young plant had produced eleven leaves, the blade of the biggest being 56 cm. long, and a terminal inflorescence bearing both male and female flowers, the latter being at the base, as is normal. Dr. Costerus has previously noticed similar cases of premature flowering in Melia and Tectona (Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, vol. ix., p. 115).

THE number, vol. i., No. 8, issued June 22, of the Gardens Bulletin, Straits Settlements, is devoted to a paper on the Para Rubber Trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, by the director, Mr. I. H. Burkill. A detailed account of the treatment the trees have received is given, and a very good series of figures illustrate the methods of tapping adopted. The publication of the details of latex-yield will be of great service in determining which trees are the best latexyielders, and which, therefore, should be used as seedbearers for the raising of new stock. It is well known that variability is found in the latex-yield of trees in Brazil comparable to that noted in plantation trees. A large map of the rubber ground at Singapore has now been prepared, so that full details of each tree can be accurately noted. A carefully compiled history of the introduction of the Para rubber tree to the Straits, and an account of early tapping records, occupies several pages of this useful paper.

In an interesting paper entitled " Observations on the Study of Plant Pathology," reprinted from the Journal of Economic Biology, June, 1915, vol. x., Nos. 1 and 2, Mr. G. Massee considers generally the subject of plant pathology. He points out that the leading idea in dealing with cultivated plants is to intensify or develop to an abnormal extent either the flowering, fruiting, or some other desirable quality, and in so doing there is a marked tendency to upset the physiological balance of the plant and open the door to the spread of disease. A general discussion of the different types and modes of attack of the various parasitic fungi is followed by some reflections on the training needed by anyone who desires to be a competent plant pathologist, and it is very justly pointed out that a sound knowledge of cultivation and of plant physiology is an essential part of the training. The remark that "the scientific standard of plant pathology, in this country at least, is little above that of spraying to check disease, which is useful in proportion to the benefit derived therefrom," is no doubt partially true, but Mr. Massee appears to forget that a good deal of work is being done in investigating the resistant

powers of plants, in the breeding of disease-resistant forms, and in attempting to discover the factors which underlie the susceptibility of plants to disease.

A FURTHER instalment of "Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula" has just been issued, and is reprinted from the Journal and Proceedings, Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. lxxv., part iv., 1915. The part before us, No. 25, contains the families Cytinaceæ and Balanophoraceæ, from the pen of Mr. H. N. Ridley, while the Juglandaceæ, Myricaceæ, Casuarinaceæ, Fagaceæ, and Salicaceæ, by Mr. J. S. Gamble, occupy sixty-eight out of the seventy-five pages of the instalment. One One new species in Balanophoraceae and eight in Fagaceæ are described. The oaks are particularly interesting, three species of the genus Quercus, a typically northern hemisphere genus, being found in the mountains of Malaya, while there are thirty-five Pasanias and thirteen species of the closely-allied genus Castanopsis. Pasania is a genus confined to Malaya and the Pacific Islands, and the distribution of Castanopsis is remarkable since one species inhabits North America and the rest belong to tropical or subtropical Asia.

THE Gardeners' Chronicle for August 14, 1915, contains a well-written article on the Island of Java, dealing especially with the cultivated products, the more important of which are rice, sugar-cane, tobacco, coffee, leguminous crops, and cassava. Good photographs of terraced rice fields in a valley, of the planting of rice in irrigated fields are given. As in the East generally, the agricultural work is mainly done by hand, and mechanical means for carrying out tillage are few. The Dutch are at present engaged in providing a system of education for the natives which the writer of the article considers may prove to be of doubtful value, since it cannot easily be made suitable to local conditions.

PROF. SHIRASAWA describes some new species and varieties of Picea and Abies in the Gardeners' Chronicle of August 14. They are Picea koyamai, a new species discovered in 1911 on Mount Yatsugatake, in Shinano province, at 15002000 m., where it forms a pure stand in the midst of a forest of Larix leptolepis. On the same mountain occurs the new variety, acicularis, of Picea bicolor, Mayr, which has a very limited distribution. Another variety of this species, var. reflexa, distinguished by the broad and reflexed apices of the cone scales, is found in the valleys of the Oi and Haya rivers, Central Japan. Picea maximowiczii, now a rare spruce, rising to 50 m. in height, was discovered two years ago on the mountain ranges of Shinano province, its native place having been unknown, and a new variety, olive-grey cone-from the higher mountains of Central olivacea of Abies vietchii-distinguished especially by its

Japan, are also described. The account is illustrated by a set of useful figures.

THE Madras Fisheries Bulletin, No. 8, 1914, contains two interesting papers by Mr. James Hornell. The first of these is an account of fishery experiments made by an English steam trawler in 1907 for the Ceylon Company of Pearl Fishers, Ltd. The com

pany has now ceased to exist and the results of the experiments are published. There is very little good trawling ground off the coast of Ceylon on account of the extensive areas of bottom covered by corals, etc. Off Cape Comorin, to the west, south, and east, an area of no less than 4000 square miles within the 100-fathom line was investigated. All of this was good trawling ground. Two tons of fish could be obtained per day's working. The other paper discusses the irregularly cyclic nature of the Ceylon and Indian pearl fisheries. It is well known that there are periods of productive years, two to six in duration. These are followed by periods up to twenty-seven years in duration during which the fishery fails absolutely. The cause of the sterility is the destruction of the growing pearl oysters by, predatory fishes. An abundant deposit of oyster spat is soon followed by a great increase in oyster-feeding fish, and after a year or two the latter gain the ascendancy. The grounds then become almost absolutely denuded of oysters. Afterwards they are again planted with spat from irregularly distributed reproducing oysters, it may be at very considerable distances away. The distribution of spat on suitable grounds depends on a number of conditions, and it is relatively seldom that all of these are satisfied at the same time. The barren periods are therefore of

much longer duration than the fertile ones. Only by artificial culture of the pearls can a permanent fishery be expected, since it is apparently hopeless to attempt to counteract the destructive action of the predatory fishes.

ORNITHOLOGISTS will be glad to know that, in the Scottish Naturalist for August, Mr. John S. Tulloch makes a brief announcement of the fact that the gannet (Sula bassana) is extending its breeding range, four nests having been found on the Noup of Noss, Bressay. This record apart, only fifteen breeding stations of this bird are known, and of these nine are British. The only English station, Lundy Island, has of late years been forsaken owing to the merciless persecution to which the birds were subjected. Wales has one station, Grassholme, off Pembrokeshire; Ireland two, the Little Skelling, Co. Kerry, and the Bull, off Co. Cork. Scotland has five stations, all, save the Bass, on the west coast. All these stations, it is to be noted, are islands, the gannet nowhere ever breeding on the mainland.

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MR. J. H. GURNEY and Miss E. L. Turner contribute some extremely interesting Notes on a Longeared Owl Nesting on the Ground in Norfolk to the British Birds Magazine for August. Inasmuch as there were suitable trees in the neighbourhood, it is curious that the nest should have been made, as it was, in a slight depression on the ground in the middle of a small plantation. Of the five eggs which the nest contained, but three hatched. Miss Turner gives some beautiful photographs of the female brooding her nestlings, which add greatly to the value of this unusual record.

SOME new species of ectoparasitic trematodes are described in the June number of Zoologica, a publication issued by the New York Zoological Society.

Among these is a quite remarkable new genus represented by two species. One of these, Atalostrophion sardae, infests the mucous membrane of the branchia cavity and the thyroid glands of the Bonito (Sarda sarda). So far no perfect specimen of an adult worn has yet been secured, nor does it seem likely that this will ever be done. And this because, in the sexualy mature state, the body, which is about 6 in. long, and exceedingly fragile, is coiled in tangled masses among the tissues in which it lives, and since broken ends are always found when the specimens are examined in situ, it is to be assumed that it is natural for the worm to disseminate its eggs by throwing off the parted sections. Two complete specimens of imper. fect worms have, however, been secured, and these have been of the greatest service in determining the details of the anatomy of the adult, of which the largest fragments so far obtained have not exceeded 3 in. in length. The other species was obtained from the gills of a large Jew-fish (Promicrops guttatus). This differed from that just described in being more muscular and less delicate. Sufficient material, however, has not yet been secured to enable a full diagnosis of its specific characters to be made.

THE March number of Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity contains a report by Dr. W. F. G. Swann on the atmospheric electrical observations taken during the cruise of the Carnegie from Brooklyn to Hammerfest, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Labrador, and home in the summer of 1914. The average value of the vertical potential gradient was 93 volts per metre, with a general increase in the value from summer to winter. The value agrees with the 80 volts per metre found by Simpson and Wright over the South Atlantic in 1910. The electrical conductivity of the air due to both positive and negative ions was 2.52 × 10-4 in electrostatic units, and increased to a maximum in September, in agreement with the results found previously for the Atlantic. The average value of the earth-air current was 77× 10- electrostatic units per sq. cm. The radio-activity was, on the average, 23, in Elster and Geitel units, and corresponds to 12 X 10-12 curies of radium emanation per cubic metre. Some of the decay curves suggest the presence of thorium-B. None of the electrical elements observed showed any marked variations with temperature or fraction of saturation of the atmosphere.

In his paper on the equations of motion of a planekite (Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, ii, 1, pp. 25 et seq., now reprinted with additions), Prof. J. M. Bose has broken valuable ground on one of the many unsolved problems of aeronautical rigid dynamics. The assumptions on which the investigation is based lead to cubic equations for symmetric and lateral stability, instead of the biquadratics obtained for the aeroplane. This appears due to the author's assumptions (1) that the kite is a plane surface without dihedral angles or keels, (2) that the line of action of the tension of the string meets the plane of the kite in a fixed point. Mr. C. V. Raman raises valid objections to the second assumption, which certainly does not hold good if the string is forked where it is attached to the kite, as shown in Prof.

Bose's figure. We have made the necessary additions, and find a biquadratic, as was anticipated. But a more unfortunate circumstance is that the author makes the variations in the components of the tension of the kite string depend on the velocity components of the kite instead of on the angular displacements. It is to be mentioned, however, that the investigation is independent of the assumption that the surface of the kite is a narrow plane gliding at a small angle of attack, an assumption sometimes justifiable in the case of an aeroplane, but inapplicable to the old-fashioned quadrilateral kite.

THE Psychological Bulletin for June 15 contains several summaries of recent work in the different departments of sense perception. One of them deals with the factors which influence the estimation by an observer using one or both ears of the position of the source of a regular sound such as a musical note. For a person using one ear only Arps and Klemm have confirmed the belief that some factor besides the intensity of the sound heard plays a part in the estimation of the distance of the source. Myers has

shown that the timbre of a note is one of the factors which affects the estimation of distance of a source in the hearer's median plane, but not in any other direction. Another summary deals with optical illusions, amongst others with that of two or more parallel lines, one of which when crossed obliquely by short lines no longer seems parallel to the others -Zöllner's lines. Giese has shown that if one line only of a pair of parallel lines is crossed by oblique lines, the extent of the illusion is half that when both lines are crossed when one eye only is used, but that when both eyes are used the illusion is the same in each case. If the figures are presented in succession instead of simultaneously, the extent of the illusion is diminished. Practice also decreases the illusion.

OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. AUGUST METEORS.-Mr. Denning writes:-"Very unsettled weather, with thunderstorms unusually prevalent, has interfered with observation of the Perseids this year, but a fair number of them were recorded. The display appears to have been one of average character.

"On August 10 the sky was only partly clear at some places. There were about 20 meteors per hour (14 Perseids) for one observer watching uninterruptedly.

'On August 11 clouds were more abundant, and not much could be seen of the shower.

"On August 12 the sky was very favourable in the west of England, but somewhat clouded in the east. At Bristol 80 meteors (68 Perseids) were seen up to 12.30 p.m., but many others were missed, and the horary rate for a constant watch of the sky would have been about 40.

"On August 13 there were some passing clouds, but up to midnight these did not materially affect the progress of observation. At Bristol 45 meteors (29 Perseids) were counted. The number had evidently decreased since August 12.

"On August 14 several thunderstorms occurred during the night, and nothing could be seen.

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Nearly all the meteors left streaks. "The most brilliant object appeared on August 13 11h. 8m., shooting from 3410+50° to 2510+451°, where it left a streak for 30 seconds as seen from Bristol. It was seen at Bristol, and by Mrs. Wilson at Harrow. Its radiant point was at 54°+56°, and height 79 to 55 miles, path 48 miles, and velocity 40 miles per second. It moved from over Northampton to Oxford.

"A curious meteor was recorded on August 12 Ioh. 44m., shooting upwards from 30° +20° to 13°+51°. It moved slowly, and left a bright streak. Half-way along its course it appeared to stop, and then renewed its course.

"The radiant of the Perseid swarm was fully four degrees in diameter.

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Large meteors were not very abundant, but several were noticed, and will be made the subject of further investigation. Several of them were recorded by two or more observers.

"Mrs. Fiammetta Wilson at Harrow-on-the-Hill, and Miss A. Grace Cook at Stowmarket, obtained a number of valuable observations, though the atmospheric conditions were seldom very good. It will be possible to compute the real paths of many large meteors (Perseids) and of several meteors directed from the minor radiants of this period. Mrs. Wilson, with her usual perseverance, has sent the writer a list of 110 meteor-paths observed from August 7 to 15.

"One of the most interesting objects that has appeared during the recent display was a brilliant one from Musca (40°+29°) on August 10 at 9h. 33m. The meteor had a long path of about 154 miles from over London to the English Channel east of Start Point, Devonshire. It fell from a height of 68 to 52 miles.

"A feature noticed in regard to the Perseids was that they exhibited a distinct difference of velocity. This was quite apart from such discordances as might be induced by differences in position and distance. Two meteors appearing in very nearly the same region gave in several instances an apparent speed essentially dissimilar, though presumably at same height, or very nearly so."

THE DETROIT OBSERVATORY.-We have received vol. i., pp. 73-206, of the Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Michigan, which forms an impressive testimony to the activity of the staff. Thus, in about four years, no fewer than 3200 spectrograms have been secured with the 37 in. reflector, and meanwhile the Director has found time to organise and direct the work of the La Plata Observatory, which has already made a mark in cometary discovery. The long-projected Lamont 24 in. refractor, it is to be regretted, is still delayed, awaiting the delivery of the flint glass disc from the Jena makers.

The astronomical researches described in the present volume include determinations of the geographical position of the observatory, the visual light curve of B Lyræ, a paper on the characteristics of Cepheid variables, and studies of the spectra of 8 and e Orionis, all the work of Prof. Ralph H. Curtiss; the spectra of Persei and B Monocerotis, and radial velocity of Maia, treated by Dr. Paul Merrill; a study of the titanium spark as a comparison spectrum,

by Mr. Lewis L. Mellor; and observations of double stars discovered at the La Plata Observatory (13th Catalogue), by Prof. W. J. Hussey. Numerous observations of comets, including comet Daniel (1909a) and of some minor planets, are also published. The preceding part (pp. 1-72) of the volume was noticed in NATURE, vol. xci., p. 67, March, 1913.

OCCULTATION OF B SCORPII BY JUPITER (1876).—The Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of Barcelona

(vol. iii., No. 6) contains an article by Senor Vicente Ventosa, of the Madrid Observatory, describing observations he had the good fortune to secure of an unpredicted occultation by Jupiter of the brighter component of B Scorpii on February 27, 1876. In the Nautical Almanac for 1876 this conjunction was given as a very close approach with the star, o° 1' N. Jupiter was obscured by clouds when the occultation commenced, and when observations were possible B, was invisible and emersion was witnessed. This conjunction was referred to in NATURE, vol. xiii., p. 188, and described by Mr. J. Birmingham in the same vol., p. 368. Senor Ventosa, by making use of Coniel's corrections to Bouvard's tables of Jupiter, has calculated the circumstances of the occultation, and from his observations of the variation of magnitude of the star as it left the limb obtains a probable height of 2500-3000 km. for the Jovian atmosphere. An extended account of the research is to be published in the Revista of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Madrid.

In

THE FIGURE OF THE EARTH.-Many books have been written on this subject, yet the current literature is so comparatively inaccessible to non-specialists, and such meagre statements are generally given in textbooks, that there must be many persons ready to welcome the authoritative essay by Prof. W. de Sitter in the August number of The Observatory. directing the attention of our readers to this article, we may add that Prof. de Sitter comes to the conclusion that to improve our knowledge of the figure of the earth we must observe minor planets, and that the opposition of Eros in 1931 will afford the earliest opportunity. It will no doubt be recalled that last year Prof. E. W. Brown, in his opening address to the sub-section of Cosmical Physics of the British Association, stated that direct observations of the moon's parallax are likely to furnish at least as accurate a value of the earth's shape as any other method.

METEOROLOGY OF THE MOON.-An extremely interesting article under this heading appears in Popular Astronomy (No. 3, 1915), contributed by Prof. William H. Pickering. It is largely the outcome of some two and a half years' observations, for which the Jamaican station of the Harvard Observatory has evidently proved highly satisfactory. Details are given of changes observed in selected types of lunar surface, elevations, depressions, and level areas. The changes are given as being typical of what is everywhere taking place. A series of drawings of the lunar mountain Pico is reproduced. All the recorded changes are held to fit in with the hypothesis of snow or ice formation, or the reverse. The article successfully makes obvious that our satellite still offers a most fruitful field to zealous and patient work.

R CORONA BOREALIS.-This irregular variable is apparently undergoing one of its more or less sudden failures of light. Prof. A. A. Nijland (Ast. Nach, 4809, 184) reports that whilst for 2 years it has been constant at about 64m., on July 24, as estimated in opera-glass, its magnitude was 71, and on July 29

only 7.6. We find that Prof. Nijland observed secondary minima during the preceding light fluctus. tions on March 8 and May 13, 1912, the star ther fading to 10-2m. and 8.2m. respectively.

THE PRETORIA MEETING OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION.

THE South African Association for the Advanır. ment of Science held its thirteenth annual session during the first week of July, at Pretori under the presidency of Mr. R. T. A. Innes, Unica Astronomer. Notwithstanding the war, festivities and excursions took place as usual, and not the least interesting and instructive of the latter were visits to the Government School of Agriculture at Potchefstroom, to the Bacteriological Research Laboratory at Onder stepoort-said to be the finest institution of its class in the world-and to the 2100 ft. level of the Crown Mines near Johannesburg, which has subterranean galleries extending over an aggregate of 100 miles. It so happened that, on the very day when the news of the surrender of German South-West Africa was received, Mrs. Botha had arranged to visit the association in session at the Transvaal University College; she was accorded a great ovation, after which the members sang the National Anthem.

The papers read numbered nearly eighty, and outlines of some of them, as well as of the four sectional presidential addresses, are given below.

The presidential address given before Section A by Mr. F. E. Kanthack, director of irrigation of the Union, was a historico-scientific account of the development of the internal-combustion engine, the development of which is probably the greatest engineering feat the world has ever seen. This factor in the war is entirely novel, and has had more far-reaching effects than anything else. It is scarcely possible to realise and appreciate the enormous amount of scientific work and inventive genius which has been expended on the motor-car, and especially on the engine. New metallurgical processes had to be invented to produce steels of great strength to survive the shocks and strains of hard-running, and the various machine tools and manufacturing processes connected with motor-car construction are no less wonderful than the finished article. What the steam engine was to the nineteenth century the internal-combustion engine is to the twentieth, and the effect of the latter on society is probably greater and more far-reaching than was the case with the steam engine.

The president of Section B, Mr. H. Kynaston, director of the Union Geological Survey, died during the week preceding the association's meeting, and his address was read by the sectional secretary after a vote of condolence had been adopted. Its theme was Radio-activity in its Bearing on Geological Problems." The address referred to the significance of the results regarding the concentration of radio-active compounds, although the data are as yet scarcely sufficient for definite conclusions. The view was expressed that either radio-active elements are absent from the more central portion of the earth, or present to an inappreciable extent, or else some agency such as pressure is able to restrain radio-activity in depth, or altogether prevent atomic disintegration. As the latter alternative does not seem to conform to observation, it would appear that radio-active elements are confined to the crustal portion of the globe. The address then went on to discuss the bearing of meteorites on the idea of a radio-active crust, the conclusion being that the evidence certainly lends support to that theory.

Section C also had to meet without its president, Mr. C. P. Lounsbury, chief of the division of ento

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