April 20, 191 1] 



NATURE 



249 



with passages giving access to cells, and store- 

 chambers, most of the houses being wholly or partly 

 underground. In this country we have examples of 

 similar constructions in the Dene-hole chalk quarries 

 of Darenth Wood and those near Chislehurst, the 

 Cornish excavations known as Fogous, the cave in 

 the Isle of Egg, one of the Hebrides, the scene of the 

 terrible massacre of the Macdonalds by the Mac- 

 leods, and that on Rathlin Island, where a similar 

 tragedy occurred during the campaign of Essex in 

 1575, of which Froude supplies a graphic narrative. 



From structures such as these Mr. Baring-Gould 

 passes on to the cliff castles occupied by the ruffianly 

 Routiers and Free-Companions in France, and the 

 many caves and similar shelters tenanted by hermits 

 and ascetics, robbers, and outlaws in other [.art-5 of 

 Europe. The church has also utilised many sub- 

 terranean excavations of the same kind, such as the 

 monolithic chapel of St. Emilion in Dordogne, and 

 the still more remarkable underground churches at 

 Plouaret in C6tes-du-Nord, and the Spanish example 

 at Cangas-de-Ones, near Oviedo, where a prehistoric 

 dolmen is used as a crypt. 



The value of this interesting, if rather discursive, 

 book is much increased by the series of excellent 

 >ketches, most of which were drawn by the author 

 on the spot in his exploration of this remarkable 

 series of monuments. 



MAJOR GEORGE LAMB, I. M.S. 



WE regret to record the death, which took place 

 at Edinburgh on April ii, of Major George 

 Lamb, director of the Pasteur Institute of India, 

 Karauli (Punjab), in his forty-second year. He was 

 a distinguished graduate of the University of Glas- 

 gow, and for some time demonstrator of anatomy in 

 that university, but resigned this post in order to 

 enter the Indian Medical Service. From the first he 

 strenuously applied himself to research, and the ex- 

 tent and nature of his published work strikingly attest 

 his great ability and originality, and his indefatigable 

 industry. Within a few years after joining the ser- 

 vice, he had made his mark by researches on Mediter- 

 ranean fever in India, typhoid fever, and anti-typhoid 

 vaccine, and other subjects connected with the scien- 

 tific treatment of disease. He was subsequently con- 

 tinuously employed in imix)rtant scientific inquiries 

 initiated by the Government of India. 



Nearly ten years ago Major Lainb was appointed 

 head of the laboratory for the investigation of 

 snake poisons, and became one of the chief 

 authorities on this subject. The results of 

 his observations appeared in about a dozen 

 papers, which deal with the venoms of Russell's 

 viper, the cobra, and the banded krait, their action 

 on the blood plasma and corpuscles and on the 

 nervous system, and with the specificity of their anti- 

 sera. He was joint author (with Dr. C. J. Martin, 

 l-'.R.S.), of the section on "Snake Poison and Snake 

 Bite" in the "System of Medicine," edited by Sir 

 Clifford Allbutt and Dr. RoUeston. 



Major Lamb's greatest work was done in connec- 

 tion with the Plague Commission to which he was 

 i|)pointed, as senior member, in 1005. He was re- 

 sponsible for the carrying out of that detailed and 

 widespread inquiry into the mechanism of the 

 epidemic spread of plague in India, the results of 

 which have been published in five reports, the last 

 i>nly recently issued. He initiated and throughout 

 bore a prominent part in the long series of experi- 

 ments and observations which resulted in the con- 

 clusive proof of the transference of plague from rat 

 to rat, and from rats to man by the agency of fleas. 

 \o. 2164, VOL. 86] 



Since his appointment as director of the Pasteur In- 

 stitute of India, which took place when the plague 

 inquiry was nearing its close. Major Lamb devoted 

 himself largely to the subject of hydrophobia, and 

 introduced important modifications in the treatment 

 of the numerous cases annually dealt with at that 

 institute. 



Major Lamb has left an enduring mark upon three 

 main lines of research — snake venoms, plague, and 

 hydrophobia — each of outstanding importance in 

 Indian medical work, to which he devoted himself 

 successively with characteristic zeal, patience, and 

 skill. His frank and genial manner, his clear grasp 

 of, and self-sacrificing devotion to, the work he had 

 in hand called forth, in those privileged to work with 

 or under him, loyal and enthusiastic cooperation. 

 His wide knowledge of medical science in its applica- 

 tion to Indian problems will be much missed in 

 medical and scientific circles both at home and in 

 India, and his friends will deplore the loss of one who 

 had a most genial and captivating personality. 



J. "H. A. 



NOTES. , 



A PRELIMINARY programme has been issued for this year's 

 meeting of the British Association, which, as already 

 announced, is to be held at Portsmouth on August 30 and 

 following days. The opening meeting will be held in the 

 Town Hall on Wednesday evening, August 30, when Sir 

 William Ramsay, K.C.B., will assume the presidency and 

 deliver his inaugural address. In the same hall the first 

 evening discourse will be delivered on Fridav evening, 

 September i, by Mr. Leonard Hill, F.R.S., on " The 

 Physiology of Submarine Work," and the second on 

 Monday evening, September 4, by Prof, A. C. Seward, 

 F.R.S., on " Links with the Past in the Plant World." 

 The reception room and administrative offices during the 

 meeting will be established in the Connaught Drill Hall, 

 which is centrally situated close to the Town Hall, and 

 within easy access of all the meeting rooms which will be 

 occupied by the sections. The president will have the 

 assistance of a strong body of representatives of the 

 administrative, ecclesiastical, naval and military interests 

 of the town and neighbourhood, headed by H.R.H. Princess 

 Henry of Battenberg and the Mayor, Alderman T. Scott 

 Foster. An afternoon reception and an evening fete are 

 announced to be given by the Mayor, and facilities will be 

 arranged for members to visit sites and objects of scientific, 

 historical, and national interest in Portsmouth and the 

 neighbourhood. 



A COMMITTEE for the study of the sea was appointed in 

 1909 by the Italian Society for advancement of science. 

 Its work was so active and promising that a few months 

 later the committee was converted by an Act of Parliament 

 into an institution of the Italian kingdom. The Regio 

 Comitato Talassografico Italiano is to be concerned with 

 investigations of the Italian seas from the physical and 

 chemical points of view as well as from the biological. 

 Great importance will be attached to practical questions 

 concerning the navigation and the fisheries. Investigations 

 of the high atmosphere will also be made in connection 

 with aviation. The president of the committee is the 

 Marine Minister, and representatives of the chief institutes, 

 academies, and societies which take interest in sea in- 

 vestigations have been appointed as members. In addition 

 the committee has a scientific staff of its own ; it receives 

 a yearly grant from the Italian Government of 60,000 lira 

 (2400/.) ; and the ships for the cruises are supplied by the 

 Italian Royal Navy. Four cruises in the Adriatic sea have 



