i66 



NATURE 



[September 29, 192 1 



come of the hard conditions in which thev grew, these 

 traditions have been appreciated by the rest of the 

 world. In studying stories of the origin of death one 

 sees how the essential theme varies widely according 

 to environment and experience. In certain instances 

 Miss Fleming traced the adaptation to particular en- 

 vironments of a central theme. Lastly she showed how 

 tradition grew and lingered around early trade routes. 

 The morning of September "13 closed with a paper by 

 Mr. H. M. Spink on the distribution of commercial 

 timber on the Pacific Coast of North America. In the 

 afternoon Mr. A. W. Grabham lectured on his recent 

 experiences in a journey from Lake Tana to Roseires, 

 paying special regard to the water supply. The work 

 of Section E included visits to Leith docks and the 

 cartographical works of Messrs. J. Bartholomew and 

 Co., and Messrs. W. and A. K. Johnston. 



An Automatic Recorder of Smoke Pollution. 



TN an article on "London Air" in the Times of 

 ■*• August 23 Sir Napier Shaw directed attention to 

 the clear atmosphere which was such a noticeable 

 feature in all industrial centres during the recent 

 coal strike. The article in question is, however, 

 chiefly interesting for its description of an ingenious 

 self-recording contrivance invented by Dr. J. S. 

 Owens for the Atmospheric Pollution Committee of 

 the Meteorological Office, which registers hourly the 

 amount of solid atmospheric impurities. A fixed 

 volume of air is aspirated through a small disc of 

 filter-paper, and from the depth of shade the amount 

 of deposit is estimated by comparison with discs of 

 standard shades. In London the notably dirty period 

 is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., i.e. the business hours of 

 the day. The greatest impurity is, of course, in 

 winter, that of a May day being about one-quarter 

 that of a November day. The day impurity in 

 May is of the same order as the night impurity in 

 November. The instrument should prove useful in 

 detecting any noticeable improvement or otherwise in 

 the amount of solid impurities in different towns. 

 Although Sir Napier Shaw states that these measure- 

 ments of the Committee "are noteworthy as the first 

 series of systematic observations of the pollution of 

 the air of London and other centres of population," 

 he has apparently overlooked the fact that a complete 

 series of records was made in Leeds some years 

 previously, in the course of which it was clearly 

 established not only that the domestic fireplace is 

 responsible for much the larger proportion of the 

 soot emitted from burning coal, but also, more impor- 

 tant still, that this domestic soot is much more highly 

 contaminated with tar than that from factory chimneys. 

 In his reference to possible means of smoke prevention 

 from domestic fireplaces, Sir Napier Shaw makes no 

 reference to the carefully considered report which was 

 published in the autumn of last year by the Commit- 

 tee on Smoke Abatement appointed by the Ministry of 

 Health. It was there pointed out that the ordinary 

 open kitchen range was wasteful and inefficient, and 

 the Committee strongly insisted on the advantage of 

 gas-cookers where gas was available. Low-tempera- 

 ture coke was also advocated whenever the right sort 

 of material could be placed upon the market — a 

 desideratum not yet attained. But there are numerous 

 forms of improved ranges in which coke and anthra- 

 cite can be burned much more economically than in 

 the old open range, and, of course, without the emis- 

 sion of smoke. It now remains for the Ministry of 

 Health to bring pressure to bear on those engaged 

 upon Government building schemes to adopt these 

 recommendations. It has a unique opportunity for 

 setting an example in atmospheric purification. 



NO. 2709, VOL. 108] 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Belfast. — Dr. J. K. Charlesworth has been ap- 

 pointed professor of geology in the Queen's L'niver- 

 sity. Until the present session the head of the depart- 

 ment of geology was a lecturer, but, owing to the 

 importance of the subject, the Senate has raised the 

 lectureship to a professorship. 



Birmingham. — The University has now been in 

 existence for twenty-one years, and in commemora- 

 tion of the event the Council and Senate have invited 

 a large number of friends of the University to a 

 conversazione on October 7, at which the Edgbaston 

 buildings will be open to inspection. 



London. — Mr. A. E. Webb has been appointed 

 senior assistant in the department of civil and 

 mechanical engineering of University College. Mr. 

 C. D. Burns has been appointed lecturer in philosophy 

 at Birkbeck College. 



In connection with the department of philosophy of 

 King's College a course of ten public lectures will be 

 given by Prof. H. Wildon Carr on "The Modern 

 Scientific Revolution and its Meaning for Philosophy " 

 on Tuesdays at 5.30, beginning on October 11. In 

 connection with the faculty of psychology a similar 

 number of lectures on " Psychology and Psycho- 

 therapy " will be given by Dr. \V, Brown on Tuesdays 

 at 5.30 beginning on October 18. 



St. Andrews. — Dr. \V. J. Tulloch, lecturer in bac- 

 teriology in the University, has been appointed to be 

 the first professor of the chair of bacteriology, estab- 

 lished and approved by his Majesty in Council on 

 June 27 last. 



The Salters' Institute of Industrial Chemistry has 

 awarded fellowships for post-graduate study in the 

 laboratories of the institute to Messrs. J. A. Gentle, 

 F. Raymond Jones, S. J. Saint, and F. W. Turner. 

 Scholarships have been awarded to Messrs. B. G. 

 Banks and L. G. Laws. 



Post-graduate research scholarships in naval archi- 

 tecture of 250L a year each have been awarded by 

 the Institution of Naval Architects to Mr. H. W. 

 NichoUs, of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, who 

 will carry out research on the vibration of ships, and 

 Mr. W. R. Andrew, of Liverpool University, who will 

 investigate the behaviour of ships at sea during a long- 

 distance voyage, and report on shipbuilding and condi- 

 tions abroad. 



Some bequests of noteworthy importance are made 

 in the will of Mrs. L. A. Stuart, widow of Prof. James 

 Stuart. Cambridge University Local Lecture Syndi- 

 cate will receive a sum of 5000L for a James Stuart 

 endowment in memory of Prof. Stuart's work in 

 founding the University Extension Lectures. In addi- 

 tion, Trinity College, Cambridge, is to receive 2oooZ., 

 which it is suggested should be applied to the estab- 

 lishment of Stuart scholarships or studentships, and a 

 similar sum is bequeathed to Newnham College, Cam- 

 bridge. 



On Tuesday, October 11, a dinner in honour of 

 Prof. J. C. Philip will be held in the Imperial College 

 Union, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, 

 at 7 for 7.30 p.m., when Sir William A. Tilden will 

 present to him an illuminated address and gifts from 

 his colleagues and students to express deep apprecia- 

 tion of Prof. Philip's active interest in every move- 

 ment for the advancement of the Royal College of 

 Science during his service, now twenty-one years, on 

 the chemical staff of the college. The chair will be 

 taken by Sir Richard Gregory, president of the Royal 

 College of Science Association. 



