December 22, 1923] 



NA TURE 



911 



in our issue of December i. One of the subjects 

 especially referred to is the anti-gas fan, of which 

 it is pointed out that more than 100,000 were used 

 during the War. As, however, a full discussion of 

 this device as a protection from gas attacks appeared 

 in 1920 in vol. 105 of Nature, pp. 336, 422, 453, 

 and 612, and Mrs. Ayrton herself took a leading 

 part in it, no useful end would be served by going 

 over the same ground again. With regard to her 

 ork on the electric arc, it may be remarked that 

 ,n appreciation of it appeared in the Journal of the 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers for October last, 

 over the initials of a distinguished authority on 

 electrical engineering. 



In view of the high standard of the essays sent in 

 for the R. 38 Memorial Prize, 1923, the Council of the 

 Royal Aeronautical Society has decided to increase 

 the amount for this year only from 25 guineas to 

 40 guineas, and to divide the prize between the 

 papers on " The Aerodynamical Characteristics of 

 the Airship as deduced from Experiments on Models, 

 with Application to Motion in a Horizontal Plane," 

 by Mr. R. Jones, and " A Detailed Consideration of 

 the Effect of Meteorological Conditions on Airships," 

 by Lt.-Col. V. C. Richmond and Major G. H. Scott. 

 Both these papers will be published in the Journal of 

 the Royal Aeronautical Society, together with the 

 paper on " The Strength of Rigid Airships," by Mr. 

 C. P. Burgess, Commander J. C. Hunsaker, and Mr. 

 Starr Truscott, which the Council mentions as deserv- 

 ing special commendation. Intending competitors 

 are reminded that the names of entrants for the 1924 

 prize should be sent in to the Secretary, Royal 

 Aeronautical Society, 7 Albemarle Street, London, 

 W.I, on or before Dec. 31 ; the last date for the 

 receipt of the papers is March 31, 1924. 



The annual exhibition of the Physical Society of 

 London and the Optical Society, which is to be held 

 on Wednesday and Thursday, January 2-3, at the 

 Imperial College of Science and Technology, South 

 Kensington, will be open in the afternoon (3-6 p.m.) 

 and in the evening (7-10 p.m.). Mr. H. B. Grylls will 

 give a lecture on " The Heape and Grylls Rapid 

 Cinema Machine " at 4 p.m. on January 2 and at 8 p.m. 

 on January 3. Sir Richard Paget will give a lecture 

 on " The Nature and Artificial Production of Human 

 Speech (Vowel Sounds) " at 8 p.m. on January 2 and 

 at 4 p.m. on January 3. More than fifty firms are 

 exhibiting scientific apparatus, and a number of 

 experimental demonstrations have been arranged. 

 Invitations have been extended to the Institutions of 

 Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, the Chemical 

 Society, the Radio Society of London, the Rontgen 

 Society, and the Faraday Society. Admission in all 

 cases will be by ticket only, and members of the above 

 Societies should apply to their secretaries. Others 

 interested should apply direct to Prof. A. O. Rankine, 

 hon. secretary of the Physical Society, Imperial 

 College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, 

 S.W.7. 



Scientific work in Egypt has just lost a strong 

 supporter owing to the retirement of Mr. E. M. Dowson 

 from the post of Financial Adviser to the Egyptian 



NO. 2825, VOL. 112] 



Government. This post is the highest in the Eg\'ptian 

 Government Service open to a non-Egyptian. Mr. 

 Dowson joined the Service in 1901 as a member of 

 the Survey Department, and on the retirement of 

 Colonel Lyons in 1909, was made Director-General. 

 During the latter part of the War he acted as Under 

 Secretary of State for Finance and later as Financial 

 Adviser, to which post he was definitely appointed 

 in 191 9. Having been head of a scientific department 

 he knew the importance of scientific research to the 

 progress of a country and fostered it in every way 

 he could. Of the work carried out under his direction 

 one may mention the geodetic triangulation of Egypt 

 and the precise levelling of the Nile valley. He 

 was also responsible for a number of improvements 

 in the organisation of scientific work under the 

 Egyptian Government, including the formation of 

 the Cotton Research Board and the transfer of the 

 Physical Service to the Ministry of Public Works as 

 a separate department. 



A USEFUL piece of work has been done by the 

 British Industrial " Safety First " Association in 

 issuing a revised and extended version of the illus- 

 trated pamphlet by Mr. Leon Gaster on " Good 

 Lighting as an aid to Safety." The underlying 

 principles of good lighting are based on a great deal 

 of patient scientific work and somewhat complex 

 investigations, but the main conclusions are here 

 set out in quite simple terms and are illustrated by 

 many telling sketches and photographs. There are, 

 for example, pictures showing how various forms of 

 accidents may be caused by bad lighting, and charts 

 indicating how the frequency of industrial accidents 

 is greatest during the dark winter months. Examples 

 of improved output following the adoption of scientific 

 methods of lighting are quoted, and it is pointed out 

 that the cost of adequate illumination is usually less 

 than I per cent, of the cost of production. Reference 

 is also made to lighting conditions in mines and on 

 the railways. The chief recommendations of the 

 Home Office Departmental Committee on Lighting 

 in Factories and Workshops are explained, and the 

 classification of operations into two classes, " fine 

 work " (requiring not less than 2-ft. - candles, 

 and "very fine work" (requiring not less than 5- 

 ft. - candles) , is incorporated in the booklet as an 

 appendix. 



In consequence of the existence of the Colorado 

 beetle in France, and in order to prevent the intro- 

 duction of this dangerous pest into England and 

 Wales, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 deemed it necessary in the early part of 1923 to issue 

 an Order (the Colorado Beetle Order of 1922) which 

 in effect prohibited the entry into Great Britain of 

 living plants and vegetables grown in a wide area 

 in France. Following representations made to the 

 Ministry, and as a result of the visit of investigation 

 to the infected region in France which was made by 

 the Ministry's entomologist during the autumn, it 

 has now been decided to amend the regulations. 

 The Colorado Beetle Order of 1923 has accordingly 

 been issued and came into operation on December 17, 

 revoking the corresponding Order of 1922. The effect 



