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NATURE 



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chlorine, the first poison-gas used in the War, had for 

 more than a hundred yearn previously been used as 

 a bleaching agent. Nitre, though a constituent of 

 explosives, has been used in fertilisers with such 

 success that the average yield of wheat per acre in 

 England is now 30 bushels instead of 20 bushels as 

 in the seventeenth century. The va.st development 

 in the production and export of cotton piece-goods 

 is due to science and invention. China has vast 

 stores of anthracite coal and other minerals, but 

 because of the lack of scientific knowledge and ability 

 to exploit these resources, most of the people of that 

 country live in comparative poverty. It is imf>ossible 

 to foresee the applications of di.scoveries. Minerals 

 which a few years ago were scientific curiosities, rare 

 gases like neon, argon, and helium, have now uses 

 unsuspected by the discoverers. It is our duty to 

 see that the powers which science gives to the human 

 race should be used for noble and spiritual purposes, 

 so that they may be a blessing to mankind instead 

 of a curse. 



The next Congress of the Royal Sanitary Institute 

 will be held at Liverpool on July 14-19, 1924, by 

 invitation of the Lord Mayor and City Council. 



Sir Arthur Keith will deliver the Thomas Vicary 

 lecture of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 

 in the theatre of the College in Lincoln's Inn Fields 

 on Friday, December 7, at 5 o'clock. The subject of 

 the lecture will be " The Life and Times of William 

 Clift, First Conservator." 



At the November meeting of the Royal Statistical 

 Society, the Frances Wood Memorial prize, value 30/., 

 which is offered biennially for the best investigation 

 of any problem dealing with the economic or social 

 conditions of the wage-earning classes, was awarded 

 to Miss E. J. M. Haynes, of Oxford, for an essay on 

 human power in the English pottery industry. 



The Liverpool Psychological Society has been in- 

 augurated under the presidency of Prof. Alexander 

 Mair of the University of Liverpool, supported by 

 Dr. Betts Taplin as vice-president and an influential 

 committee. The Society intends to pursue the 

 systematic investigation of the recent developments 

 of the science. Further information can be obtained 

 from the secretary of the Society, the University, 

 Liverpool. 



A JUNIOR assistant is required by the Royal Air- 

 craft Establishment, South Farnborough, Hants, for 

 aerodynamic research in wind tunnels. Candidates 

 for the post must possess a good knowledge of physics 

 and applied mathematics and an honours degree in 

 natural science or engineering. Applications, marked 

 Ref. A. 23, should be sent to the Superintendent of 

 the Royal Aircraft Establishment. 



Applications aire invited by the Queensland 

 Government for the position of Director of the 

 Laboratory of Microbiology and Pathology of the 

 Department of Public Health, Brisbane. Candidates 

 must hold a diploma in public health and have 

 had recent special laboratory experience in micro- 

 biology. The Agent-General for Queensland, 409 



NO. 2S22, VOL. 112] 



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Strand, W.C.2, will supply further information r 

 specting the post. The latest date for the receipt 

 applications is December 17, 



An Inspector is required by the Ministry' of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries in connexion with agricultu 

 and horticultural education and research. Cai 

 dates must have taken a University or Agriculti; 

 College course in science or agriculture and have }i<ui 

 special training in the science and practice of poultry 

 and small livestock keeping — including goats and 

 rabbits. Forms of application, etc., may be had 

 from the Secretary of the Ministry, 10 Whitehall 

 Place, S.W.I. They must he returned by, at latest, 

 December 8. 



The Committee of the Christie Hospital, Man- 

 chester, is offering a prize of 300/. for cancer rps«»rch. 

 The aim is to stimulate isolated work, particul 

 already in progress, apart from the research 

 of cancer research institutions; for the Commr 

 thinks that notable increase in the knowledge ... 

 cancer may come from an individual worker as well 

 as from a team of men investigating the subi "^ 

 systematically. At the same time, the Commr 

 intends to keep up its own research work at 

 University of Manchester. Since advances ma\ 

 expected from sciences allied to medicine, the 1 

 ditions attached to the prize are very wide. ( 

 didates must be qualified in medicine, or in science 

 cognate to medicine, and must produce evidence "f 

 original research on cancer done or projected, 

 documents must be submitted in English, 

 nationality is no condition of the award. Applical. 

 must reach the chairman of the Medical Bo> : ., 

 Christie Hospital, Manchester, not later than Dec^ 

 ber 31, 1924. 



In June the Canadian explorer. Dr. V. Stefans>i 

 directed the attention of the Textile Department 

 the University of Leeds to the wool of the 0\il><i 

 (musk ox), which is capable of being bred in lar.4 

 numbers in the arctic zone of Canada and might be 

 considerable asset to the Dominion. The wool, of 

 natural brown colour, is hidden by an overgrowth c 

 long hair, which is troublesome in manufacture. Th( 

 first specimen woven in the Department was brough 

 to the notice of the King at the time of the meeting 1 

 the Imperial Conference in October. Samples havi 

 been dyed successfully, and further experiments 

 in progress to eliminate the long hairs. The Cloth 

 workers' Company of London, to whom the Univer 

 sity is so greatly indebted in many ways, and par 

 ticularly for the building, equipment, and endowmen 

 of the Textile Industries and Dyeing Departmental 

 is showing a keen interest in these important experi 

 ments. 



The winter scientific reunion of the Natural Histor 

 Museum Staff Association was held in the Boar 

 Room of the Museum on November 14, and attracte 

 a large attendance of the staff and other workers i 

 natural history. Many, varied, and interesting sped 

 mens were exhibited, among which may be mentioned 

 Fossil Arachnida from the Rhynie Chert, Old Rea 

 Sandstone, Aberdeenshire (the oldest recorded instance 



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