636 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



ment of the Americans in Havana and Panama. If all British colonies and 

 possessions had shown equal interest in such work since 1899, similar results 

 would doubtless have been attained almost throughout the malarious parts 

 of the British Empire. Unfortunately the same scepticism, the same 

 ignorance, the same jealousy which has impeded all great advances 

 have impeded anti-malaria work everywhere ; and some of the oppo- 

 sition shown probably gives examples of the most utter stupidity ever 

 seen. It is amusing, as an example of our administration, that many of the 

 men who have done the best work in this line have not received any 

 recognition for it whatever, while those who have thwarted every step now 

 sit in the seats of the mighty. 



Northern Numbers. 



Probably men of science, like most other men, always feel inclined to take 

 up their hat and stick when poetry comes on the stage or the film. One 

 reason for this is the very wide prevalence of professional poetry. We all know 

 beforehand what it is going to be like — ^the usual torturing of words into 

 strange meanings, the absence of experience either in life or in thought, 

 evidence of what some may call Wordsworthian mediocrity trying to get its 

 flat feet into the winged shoes of genius, the under-flavour of incorrect academ- 

 ical theories of art, the wild desire to be original in order to attract attention, 

 and lastly the usual absence of anything to write about. Perhaps, therefore, 

 the man in the street may pause for a moment to look at special anthologies in 

 which the professional element is not so visible, and the excellent title of 

 " Northern Numbers " (T. M. Fouliss, London, Edinburgh, etc.) may possibly 

 tempt even readers of Science Progress. We cannot see, however, that 

 there is much of the Doric style in these verses — it may comfort some to know 

 this: the language is mostly simple English-Scotch or Scotch-English, so 

 that most of the sense is intelligible even to the poor Southerner. Attention 

 will be specially attracted by such an author as General Sir Ian Hamilton, 

 who is experienced indeed, and we want to know what he says in verse, 

 especially when we find his verse to be admirable. Both of his two pieces, 

 the sonorous and moving lines on Gordon and his Night at Hafton, are very 

 good ; and the latter, which describes his experiences when he was a little 

 boy and was sent to bed alone through the corridors of a great dark mansion 

 into his lonely and distant bedroom, tell exactly what many children less brave 

 than he once endured. The man of intelligence might prefer the poetry of a 

 General even to better poetry from Grub Street ; but, as a matter of fact, 

 he will in this case have to travel far before he can get better poetry. None 

 better than that of John Buchan is often seen, and the soliloquy of the monk 

 Lapidarius is very fine stuff, with a touch of real psychology. The Editor, 

 Mr. C. M. Grieve, tends to be more modern, but one of his sonnets on the 

 highland hills, namely that on Schehallion, is really prime stuff. There are 

 some beautiful bits of music, especially the sonnet on the Pewitt, by Donald 

 A. Mackenzie, and the Raiders, by W. H. Olgivie; and Lewis Spence's 

 Haschish and sonnet on Holofernes are fine bits of invention. 



Notes and News. 



The New Year Honours List included the following names : Professor 

 C. S. Sherrington, Pres. R.S. ; Professor Herdman, Professor G. E. Cory (of 

 the Rhodes University College, Grahamstown), and Dr. J. H. Parsons, F.R.S. 

 The first-named was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the 

 British Empire (G.B.E.) and Knighthoods were conferred on the others. 



The Nobel Peace Prize for 1921 was awarded to Dr. Ehs Stroemgren, 

 professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen, for his efforts to effect 

 reconciliation among the scholars of European countries. 



