850 



NATURE 



[December 8, 1923 



Societies and Academies. 



Royal Anthropological Institute, November 6.; — 

 Prof. C. (J. Scligin.'in. president, in the chair. — Miss 

 M. A. Murray : The Percy Sladcn Memorial Fund 

 Excavations at liorg en Nadur. Malta. The apsidal 

 building found last vcar was completely excavated, 

 and further cxcavati'ons were earned on to the cast 

 and south. The main entrance to the megalithic 

 enclosure was cleared ; on each side of the gateway 

 was a tall megalith, and just within the enclosure on 

 each side was a small chamber budt of megalithic 

 blocks. In an angle of each of these chambers a pot 

 of the Bronze-age was found, evidently in position. 

 The enclosure wall curves away from the main en- 

 trance towards the south and west ; but there was 

 not time to clear this completely. The outer blocks 

 of the apsidal building were laid bare ; they occur 

 only round the west end and the north-west apse. 

 Originally, they were probably six feet or more in 

 height ; now, however, they are about three feet high, 

 as the tops have been broken off to bring them to 

 the level of the field. Numbers of small fiint imple- 

 ments were found in all parts of the site, chiefly in 

 and near the apsidal building. To the west of the 

 apsidal building the so-called " Neolithic stratum " 

 was clearly marked, the earth being of a different 

 colour from that above and below, and Neolithic 

 potsherds occurring m large numbers. As this part 

 of the excavation was at the boundary of the next 

 field, it was not possible to continue the excava- 

 tion further in that direction. It is hoped that the 

 Maltese Government will buy the fields which contain 

 the megahthic structures, and thus ensure that all 

 the buildings of Borg en Nadur may be completely 

 excavated. 



November 20. — Prof. C. G. Sehgman, president, in 

 the chair. L. H. Dudley Buxton : The inhabitants 

 of Inner Mongolia. The inhabitants of Inner Mon- 

 golia may be divided into three classes — Mongols, 

 Chinese, and Manchus. The Mongols only are dis- 

 cussed : they are usually divided into three groups — 

 the Kalmucks, the Buriats, and the true Mongols. 

 This classification is based on linguistic relations 

 alone. The majority of the true Mongols have 

 adopted the Lamaistic form of Buddhism, but a 

 number of rehcs of Shamanism survive, some of the 

 rites being strongly reminiscent of Arctic hysteria. 

 All their rites and ceremonies are in close harmony 

 with their geographic environment, and are closely 

 related to their occupations as pastoral nomads. 

 Their physique differs from that of the Kalmucks 

 and from many of the Buriat tribes. They seem to 

 stand intermediate between the Turkish tribes of 

 Central Asia, such as the Turguts and the Taranchi, 

 and the Northern Chinese, although in many ways 

 they are nearer the latter. They probably received 

 a considerable infiltration of Western blood, perhaps 

 akin to that of the Alpine race, possibly at a time 

 which was contemporaneous with the culture repre- 

 sented in Fengtien by the Sha Kuo T'un pottery, 

 altliough the actual people who occupied this site 

 seem to have been early Chinese. If we regroup the 

 Mongols on the basis of physique, most of the Kal- 

 mucks and many of the Buriats fall in a class akin 

 to many of the Turki tribes, and distinguished for 

 their extremely round heads, and to form a separate 

 class which will include probably most of the true 

 Mongols and the Buriats and possibly some of the 

 Kalmucks. These are closely allied to the yellow 

 races, although they, too. probably have a strain of 

 white blood in their veins. 



NO. 2823, VOL. 112] 



Physical Society, November 9. — Dr. Al' 

 Russell in the chair. — A. \.. Narayan: Scatt< i 

 light by Carlson dioxide, nitrous oxide, and some orgai. : 

 vapours. The light scattered laterally by the m*-; 

 cules of gases is not completely polarised, but contiii.i 

 a component polarised at right angles to thf* direct 1 1 

 which is predicted by theory for a spheri' 

 the two components being conveniently 1 

 the " wrong " and the " right " comptmcnis rc^jK' " 

 ivcly. Sunlight was used Tor illuminating gases aiul 

 vapours, enclosed in a jointless tube. The strcngtli^ 

 of the components were compared both by dirci t 

 photometry and by photometric comparison of their 

 effects on a photographic plate. Ixjrd Kayleigh's 

 results were confirmed, particularly in the case of 

 carbon dioxide and nitric oxide. The difference in 

 the scattering power of these two gases is contrary to 

 the prediction of the Lewis- Lfmgmuir theory of the 

 atom. — A. Ferguson : On the measurement of tlie 

 surface tension of a small quantity of liquid. If a 

 small quantity of liquid, i c.c. or less, be placed in a 

 vertical capillary tube, its surface tension may be 

 determined by applying pressure to the upper end of 

 the tube, and measuring the pressure necessary to 

 force the liquid into such a position that the 

 meniscus at the lower end of the tube is platie. 

 Interfacial tensions may also be deteniiined in 

 this way. 



The Faraday Society, November 12, — Sir Robert 

 Robertson, president, in the chair. — A. J. AUmand 

 and A. W. Campbell : The electrodeposition of 

 manganese. The electrodejxjsition of manganese 

 from aqueous solutions of its sulphate and chloride 

 has been studied, and the effects of changes in com- 

 position of electrolyte, current density, temperature, 

 and type of cell investigated. Pure manganese in 

 coherent form can be prepared in small quantity 

 with a current efficiency of 40-50 f>er cent., but 

 attempts to prepare larger amounts in coherent form 

 were unsuccessful. — S. Glasstone : The cathodic 

 behaviour of alloys. Pt. I. Iron-nickel alloys. — 

 A. L. Norbury : The volumes occupied by the solute 

 atoms in certain metallic solid solutions, and their 

 consequent hardening effects. \Vhen an element is 

 distributed in soUd solution as single atoms replacing 

 single atoms of the solvent in the space-lattice of the 

 latter, the hardening effect is, in general, proportional 

 to the difference in size of the solute and solvent 

 atoms. This relationship does not hold in certain 

 exceptional cases — for example, siUcon in copper and 

 sodium in lead, which appear to arise when the 

 solute has an exceptionally strong chemical affinity 

 for the solvent. In such cases the solute probably 

 exists in solid solution in the form of molecules of 

 an intermetallic comp)ound having a different space- 

 lattice from that of the solvent. WTien an element 

 forms a solid solution with another element, there 

 is a contraction or expansion which seems to be large 

 or small according to whether the chemical affinity 

 between the elements is large or small. — J. B. Firth 

 and F. S. Watson : The catah^ic decomposition of 

 hydrogen peroxide solution by blood charcoal. Blood 

 charcoal previously heated to 1 20° C. shows moderate 

 catalytic activity- in the decomp)osition of h\'drogen 

 peroxide solution, but the acrivity is considerably 

 increased by previous heating in a vacuum at 

 600° C. and 900° C, and is still further increased by 

 previous sorption of iodine from solution. The 

 activity of an activated charcoal consists of two 

 types : o activit>% which is very rapid, but ceases 

 after a few minutes, and .3 activity, which may 

 persist for several hours. In ordinary- blood charcoal 

 a activitj' is absent. The introduction of iron into 

 sugar solution prior to carbonisation increases the 



