64 



NA TURE 



[July 14, 1923 



The Report of the Norwich Castle Museum Com- 

 mittee for 1922 gives a picture of the beautiful fifteenth 

 to seventeenth century house known as Strangers' 

 Hall. For many years Mr. Leonard G. Bolingbroke 

 has been filling this with examples of English furniture 

 and domestic appliances, as well as with many relics 

 directly connected with the history of Norwich. He 

 has now generously presented the freehold of the 

 building and his collections to the city, and there 

 was a ceremonial opening on July 4 by the Lord 

 Mayor of Norwich. 



Applications are invited for the post of Super- 

 intending Testing Officer under the Mines Department 

 of the Government. The person appointed will 

 superintend the testing work at the Mines Depart- 

 ment Experimental Station in regard to safety lamps, 

 electrical apparatus, etc., and the work of analysing 

 samples of mine dust and mine air. Applications, 

 accompanied by copies of two recent testimonials, 

 should be sent by, at latest, July 21 to the Under- 

 Secretary for Mines, ^Vlines Department, Dean 

 Stanley Street, S.W.i. 



The summer conversazione of the Natural History 

 Museum Staff Association was held in the Board 

 Room on July 4, and was attended by about sixty 

 members of the Staff and visitors. The spesimens 

 exhibited were mainly devoted to the exposition of 

 symbiosis, but some dealt with the recent eruption 

 of Mt. Etna, and a demonstration was given of 

 crystals used in wireless telephony. Messrs. W. 

 Watson and Sons, Ltd., showed their latest forms 

 of microscopes and other optical apparatus. 



The Belfast Naturalists' Field Club has issued the 

 programme of its sixty-first session, 1923-24, and is 

 to be warmly congratulated on its vitality through 

 the years of Continental warfare and the still more 

 trying years of civil disorder that ensued. Under the 

 presidency of Mr. J. A. S. Stendall, a varied series of 

 excursions has been arranged, mostly within the 

 county of Antrim, which covers so wide a field of 

 botanical and geological interest. One of the most 

 ambitious of these outings, to the majestic "and rarely 

 visited volcanic neck of Slemish, took place on June 16. 

 We are glad to note that ]Mr. R. J. Welch, on whom 

 the Queen's University of Belfast has recently con- 

 ferred the honorary degree of M.Sc, remains one of 

 the most active promoters of the educational aspects 

 of the Club, and that he is devoting especial attention 

 to the development of the junior branch. 



The Minister of Health has appointed the following 

 committee to inquire into the use of preservatives 

 and colouring matters in food : Sir H. C. Monro 

 (chairman). Prof. W. E. Dixon, Sir A. D. Hall, Dr. 

 J. M. HamUl, Mr. O. Hehner, Prof. F. Gowland 

 Hopkins, Dr. G. R. Leighton, Dr. A. P. Luff, Dr. 

 C. Porter, and Mr. G. Stubbs. The committee is to 

 report : " (i) Whether the use of such materials or any 

 of them for the preservation and colouring of food 

 is injurious to health ; and, if so, in what quantities 

 does their use become injurious. (2) Whether it 

 should be required that the presence of such materials 

 and the quantities present in food offered or exposed 



NO. 2802, VOL. I 12] 



for sale should be declared." The secretary of th- 

 committee is Mr. A. M. Legge, of the Ministry (»i 

 Health, Whitehall, S.W,, to whom all communication- 

 should be addressed. 



The annual meeting of the Chaldaean Society was 

 held at the rooms of the Royal Astronomical Societ\ 

 on Wednesday, July 4. In the absence of the presi 

 dent, the chair was taken by the treasurer. Dr. J. K 

 Fotheringham, of the University Observatory at 

 Oxford. Reports of work from various local centres 

 were presented. That from Ipswich was considered 

 a specially successful and encouraging record of th< 

 season's work. It was reported that the Chaldajan 

 Expedition to W' allal in Australia for the observation 

 of the solar eclipse of 1922 had been completely 

 successful, — being the only expedition sent from 

 England that had met with success. Mr. Clark- 

 Maxwell had now returned, but Mr. Hargreaves was 

 going on to Mexico for observation of the eclipse thi- 

 year, where Mr. Philip Myring intended to join him. 

 The editor of the Chaldcean rep>orted a growing 

 appreciation in library and scientific circles, and 

 expressed his thanks to a number of distinguished 

 astronomers for the support they had given him. 

 He would continue to pay special attention to the 

 needs of amateurs and beginners. The following 

 officers were re - elected for the ensuing twelve 

 months : President, Mr. J . Hargreaves ; Treasurer, Dr. 

 J. K. Fotheringham; Secretary, Mr. E. W. Foster; 

 Librarian, Mr. G. S. Clark-Maxwell; and editor* of 

 the Chaldcean, the Rev. D. R. Fotheringham. 



Attention may be directed to the following 

 reports w'hich have been recently received : A. E. 

 Verrill (Canadian Arctic Expedition Reports, vol. 

 viii.) describes the Alcyonaria collected by the ex- 

 pedition and gives a revision of a number of other 

 Canadian genera and species, and describes the 

 Actiniaria, adding notes on interesting species from 

 Hudson Bay and other Canadian localities. Both 

 these reports are excellently illustrated. F. Johansen 

 (in vol. vii.) contributes an account of the biology 

 of the Crustacea found in some of the Arctic lagoons, 

 lakes, and ponds, and a detailed report on the 

 Euphyllopoda of the American Arctic. 



We have received the fifth volume (1922) of 

 Experimental Researches and Reports, published by 

 the Department of Glass Technolog>' of the University 

 of Sheffield, and collected from the Journal of the 

 Society of Glass Technology. These papers have 

 been mentioned in Nature as they appeared. There 

 are papers on the action of chemical reagents on 

 glassware, the determination of the durability of 

 glass, as well as on more technical matters. The 

 presidential address by Prof. Turner dealt \vith 

 " The British Glass Industry, its Development and 

 Outlook," and contains some interesting historical 

 material. One " outlook " is interesting to the lay- 

 man : " It would not be difficult, if the glass manu- 

 facturer set about it in earnest, to write up a fearful 

 account of the many-headed hydra, reptiles, and 

 bugs that infect food not protected by glass, and, on 

 the strength of the fright so administered, soon work 

 up a trade the extent of which might be enormous." 



