1 84 



NATURE 



[Decembei 



tory state in glands and contractile tissues, he brought 

 forward results which were, at the time, entirely novel, 

 and have formed the basis of all subsequent inv(.>>tigations. 

 His paper with Starling on the electrical phenomena of the 

 mammalian heart was the first to give the correct form of 

 the normal variation, as confirmed by later investigations 

 with the string galvanometer. 



Another subject which has engaged his attention at 

 intervals during the whole of his career has been the ques- 

 tion of the innervation of the blood-vessels. \ third group 

 of researches is represented by those on the innervation, 

 intrinsic and extrinsic, of the intestines. A fourth group 

 uf papers deals with the mechanism of the pancreatic 

 secretion. These researches, which by themselves would 

 be sufficient to justify the award of the Royal medal, were 

 also carried out in partnership with his colleague, Prof. 

 Starling. The discovery of secretin afforded for the first 

 time a convenient and easy method of obtaining pancreatic 

 juice in large quantities. The investigation of the properties 

 <)f pancreatic juice and of the activation of its chief proteo- 

 lytic ferment by another ferment, enterokinase, secreted by 

 the intestinal mucous membrane, has led Bayliss to a 

 further series of researches on the mode of action of 

 enzymes and on the closely related questions with regard 

 to the nature of colloidal solutions. The vrilii<> of thi« 

 work has been universally recognised. 



Davy Medal. 



The Davy medal is this year assigned to Prof. Henry 

 Edward Armstrong, F.R.S., on account of his researches 

 in organic and in general chemistry. 



For many years he has been engaged, partly alone and 

 partly in collaboration with many of his students and 

 others, in the investigation of a number of important 

 problems in organic chemistry. His series of memoirs on 

 the terpenes, on the chemical and physical relationships 

 which obtain among the isomerides of the naphthalene and 

 the benzene series, and on physiological chemistry, have 

 established a strong claim for recognition. 



In addition to his direct scientific work, he has taken 

 an active part in the discussion and criticism of current 

 theories, and has put forward views on chemical change 

 and on other subjects which have suggested fruitful lines 

 of inquiry. Gifted with a scientific imagination, interested 

 in the work of others, exceptionally well informed as to 

 recent progress, not only in chemistry, but also in cognate 

 sciences, he has had a stimulating effect on his fellow 

 chemists, and has done much to bring together for their 

 mutual benefit the workers in different fields. 



Hughes Medal. 



The Hughes medal has been assigned to Charles Thom- 

 son Rees Wilson, F.R.S., in recognition of the value of his 

 contributions to our knowledge of the nuclei produced in 

 dust-free gases, and of his investigations upon the nature 

 and properties of ions in gases. Following up the well- 

 known work of Aitken on dust nuclei, Mr. Wilson devised 

 a special apparatus for producing a sudden cooling of a 

 gas saturated with water vapour, .\fter completely free- 

 ing the gas from dust particles he found that water was 

 condensed on a few nuclei after an expansion of volume 

 greater than 1-25, and that a dense cloud was formed when 

 it exceeded 1.38. This work was in progress at the time 

 of the discovery of X-rays. He immediately tried the effect 

 of passing this radiation through the gas in the expansion 

 chamber, and found that a dense cloud of fine water drops 

 was produced for all expansions greater than 1-25. In this 

 way he showed that the charged ions produced in gases by 

 the X-rays became nuclei for the condensation of water at 

 a definite supersaturation. 



This condensation property of ions, discovered by Wilson, 

 was utilised by Sir J. J. Thomson to count the number of 

 ions present, and to determine that fundamental electrical 

 unit, the charge carried by an ion in gases. Recently Mr. 

 Wilson has perfected the expansion method to detect the 

 effects of individual a and /3 particles. 



A further study by this extraordinarily delicate method 

 promises not only to afford a practical means of counting 

 the a and /3 particles in a gas, but also to throw light 

 upon some of the more important and recondite effects pro- 

 duced by the passage of different types of ionising radiation. 



NO. 2197, VOL. 88] 



liOTES. 



The Birstall I'rban District Council initiated abo.. 

 twelve months ago a movement to commemorate, in h 

 native town of Birstall, the distinguished philosopher ar 

 man of science Dr. Joseph Priestley, the discoverer "i 

 oxygen. The town of Birstall, which is the birthplace of 

 other distinguished men and women, including Margetson. 

 Primate of Ireland, Curwen, of tonic sol-fa fame, ai 

 others, was a fitting birthplace for a man of clear vi«;!oi . 

 cool thought, and high speculation such as Pri> -:' 

 Backed by the high .Adwalton Moor on the north and nuriiv 

 east, the Priestley homestead of Fieldhead looked out i^ 

 a fine panorama, with Castle Hill, Huddersfield, and 

 smaller Yorkshire towns rising high on either side of 

 Batley and the stretch beyond. For many years the in 

 habitants of Birstall have been desirous that somethiiu 

 should be done to express by permanent memorial tl 

 town's pride in her illustrious son, and the present mov- 

 ment is the outcome. It is proposed to erect a lif 

 figure of Dr. Priestley on a handsome pedestal, to be 

 in the most prominent position in the large market-plai 

 For this purpose 1000/. is required, and already about 450.' 

 has been secured ; but the local committee is now desirou 

 of appealing to a wider public, and especially to .'1;; 

 interested in the various branches of chemistry. Th*^ 

 London City and Midland Bank, Batley, are the bank*»r< 

 of the " Priestley " Fund. 



On Tuesday, December 5, a deputation of aeroplan- n •! 

 aeromotor manufacturers, with representatives from th 

 Royal .\ero Club and the .Veronautical Society, waited en 

 Colonel Seely in connection with the proposed Militar 

 Aeroplane Competition. The deputation, which was intn 

 duced by Sir Chas. D. Rose, asked for immediate con 

 ditional orders so that manufacturers might have sonv 

 guarantee of return for the outlay necessary for enterin. 

 the competition, pointing out that they, representing ■■- 

 struggling and unsupported industry, were asked to compel 

 against flourishing and State-aided industries from abro.i' 

 in an international competition. Colonel Seely in his repl\ 

 stated that, with the exception of the principal prize, not a I 

 the prizes would be open to the world, and intimated th;i 

 some orders would be given before the competition. IL 

 further said that the answer to the question whether order- 

 would be given for all machines passing the tests would Iv 

 found in the specification for machines and the rules of tli- 

 competition, which would be published in about a fort- 

 night's time, and that it was the intention that aeroplan»-< 

 selected for Government service, which would not be con- 

 fined to one type, should be manufactured in this counfrv 

 by the civil industry and not in Government factories. H' 

 intimated that large orders would be given for the chos»'i; 

 machines, and that if the consensus of the manufacturer- 

 opinion was against holding the competition early in th- 

 summer (June) he would see that recommendations to that 

 effect were made in the proper quarter. The deputation 

 subsequently decided to forward a resolution that it would 

 be in the best interests of thf rompetition to poitpon-- it 

 until September. 



ka interesting demonstration in connection wuu •■•-lih- 

 chemical culture will be given on Saturday, December 9, a; 

 4 o'clock, at the Royal Botanic Society's Gardens in 

 Regent's Park, when practical demonstrations will be made 

 with an electric apparatus to show the effect of electricity 

 on the germination of seeds. 



The Physical Society's annual exhibition, which is to 

 be held on Tuesday, December 19, at the Imperial College 

 of Science, South Kensington, will be op»n in both th^ 



