May 5, 192 1] 



NATURE 



3^7 



Glass and Porcelain. With regard to the production 

 of chemical reagents the council states that a great 

 advance has been made during the war and since by 

 our manufacturers, and this has already enabled pro- 

 fessional chemists to obtain practically the whole of 

 the reagent chemicals necessary for their work. 

 Many instances have proved that British manufac- 

 turers are capable of producing chemicals in a state 

 of purity fully comparable with that of pre-war sup- 

 plies from abroad, and the council emphasises the 

 importance of encouraging home production. It is 

 not suggested that chemists should be hampered for 

 lack of chemicals if they cannot be obtained in this 

 country in sufficient quantity and of the right degree 

 of purity, but the council urges that users of 

 chemicals should make themselves acquainted with 

 what is available as the result of the very substantial 

 progress made by British manufacturers, and con- 

 sider the ultimate effect of failing now to aid in 

 building up a stable chemical industry in this country. 

 In respect of glass apparatus, members of the council 

 are aware that many complaints are made with 

 respect to the quality and quantity of laboratory glass 

 sold as of British origin, "but, so far as they have 

 been able to obtain evidence at present, the com- 

 plaints regarding glass of recent manufacture marked 

 with the names of known makers have been few in 

 number." The council repeats and emphasises the 

 appeal recently issued by the institute to users, urging 

 them to purchase only laboratory glassware which 

 bears the manufacturer's distinctive marks, and it 

 adds that " if botia-fide British manufacturers who are 

 i prepared to guarantee their productions by their own 

 f marks do not receive proper encouragement, the 

 opportunity of establishing firmly the British scientific 

 glassware industry will be lost, and this at a time 

 when through enterprise and research success in 

 respect of manufacture and technique has been 

 attained." 



The Times announces that Sir Ernest Cassel has 

 devoted the munificent sum of 225,000?. to the object 

 of founding and endowing a hospital or sanatorium 

 for the treatment of functional nervous disorders, and 

 has purchased a fine mansion and park at Penshurst, 

 Kent, for the purpose. The King and Queen have 

 consented to become patrons of the new institution. 



A NUMBER of distinguished civil, mining, metal- 

 lurgical, mechanical, and electrical engineers of the 

 United States will arrive in England near the end of 

 next month, and will hold a joint meeting with British 

 engineers in July. The American engineers will 

 present Sir Robert Hadfield on June 29 with the John 

 Fritz medal, which was awarded to him recently in 

 recognition of his invention of manganese steel. 

 Previous recipients of the medal have been Lord 

 Kelvin, Mr. Edison, and Dr. Graham Bell. 



A DISCUSSION on "The Structure of the Atmosphere 

 up to Twenty Kilometres " will take place in the 

 rooms of the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington 

 House, London, on Friday, May 6, at 5 p.m. The 

 chair will be taken by Dr. G. C. Simpson. Sir Napier 

 Shaw will open the discussion, which will be con- 



NO. 2688, VOL. 107] 



tinued by Col. E. Gold, Mr. W. H, Dines, and Mr. 

 F. J. W. Whipple. 



The President of the Board of Trade, by arrange- 

 ment with the Lord President of the Council, has 

 appointed Mr. J. E. Sears, jun., to be Deputy Warden 

 of the Standards in succession to Major P. A. Mac- 

 Mahon, who has retired under the age-limit. Mr. 

 Sears is superintendent of the metrology department 

 at the National Physical Laboratory, and will con- 

 tinue to hold this post in addition to that at the 

 Standards Department of the Board of Trade. 



The award of a Moseley studentship for research in 

 molecular physics or some allied branch of science 

 will shortly be made by the council of the Royal 

 Society. The studentship is of the value of 300?. a 

 year and tenable in the first instance for one year 

 only. It may, however, be renewed for a further 

 year if the student's work be considered satisfactory. 

 Applications must be made to the Secretaries of the 

 Royal Society, Burlington House, W.i, before June i. 



Applications for two Mackinnon research student- 

 ships, each of the annual value of 150]!., are invited 

 by the Royal Society. One of the studentships is for 

 research in physical science and the other for research 

 in biological science. The appointments are for one 

 year, but are renewable for a further like period. In 

 exceptional circumstances they may be extended to a 

 third year. Full particulars and forms of application 

 are obtainable from the Assistant Secretary' of the 

 Royal Society. The latest date for the receipt of 

 applications is June i. 



The Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers 

 has made the following awards for papers read and 

 discussed during the session 1920-21 : — A Telford gold 

 medal and a Telford premium to Mr. George Ellson 

 (London); Telford gold medals to Sir Murdoch Mac- 

 Donald (Cairo) and Dr. T. E. Stanton (Teddington) ; 

 a George Stephenson gold medal to Mr. R. G. C. 

 Batson (Teddington); a Watt gold medal to Mr. S. A. 

 Main (Sheffield) ; and Telford premiums to Mr. 

 Algernon Peake (Sydney, N.S.W.), Mr. L. H. 

 Larmuth (London), Mr. H. E. Hurst (Cairo), Prof. 

 T. B. Abell (Liverpool), and Mr. Percy Allan (Sydney, 

 N.S.W.). The council further records its apprecia- 

 tion of the paper contributed (jointly with Mr. Main) 

 by Sir Robert A. Hadfield, a member of the council. 



It is announced that the annual meeting of the 

 British Medical Association will be held at Newcastle- 

 upon-Tyne on July 15-23, under the presidency of 

 Prof. David Drummond. On the occasion of the 

 president's address on July 19 the gold medal of the 

 association will be presented to Sir Dawson Williams, 

 editor of the British Medical Journal since 1898, in 

 recognition of his distinguished services to the asso- 

 ciation and the me<lical profession. In connection 

 with the annual meeting in 1922 to be held at Glas- 

 gow, Sir William Macewen, Regius professor of sur- 

 gery in the University of Glasgow, is announced as 

 president-elect. The council of the association has 

 recommended that the annual meeting in 1923 be 

 held at Portsmouth. 



