May 19, 192 1] 



NATURE 



369 



history of anatomy and the author of so many 

 ■clarifying- expressions of what other people were 

 trying- in vain to set forth. 



As a lucid exponent and as a teacher he was pre- 

 eminent. Many young- anatomists have had occa- 



sion to appreciate his fairness and his weighty 

 help in defending themselves from attacks even 

 from his own countrymen. With his death there 

 passes away perhaps the most influential anatomist 

 of modern times. G. Elliot Smith. 



Notes. 



The large group of sun-spots which became visible 

 a few days ago has been accompanied by disturb- 

 ances of the magnetic and electrical conditions of 

 the earth, manifested by magnetic storms, interrup- 

 tions of the telephone and telegraph services over the 

 greater part of the world, and brilliant auroral dis- 

 plays. Large sun-spots often appear without pro- 

 ducing any such terrestrial effects, and magnetic 

 storms sometimes occur in the absence of sun-spots, 

 so that the relationship between the two phenomena 

 is obviously exceptionable. There is evidence that 

 solar prominences are more closely related to the 

 production of magnetic disturbances on the earth 

 than are sun-spots, which are only visible effects of 

 solar disturbances the exact nature of which remains 

 to be discovered. 



That wireless telephony is fast emerging from the 

 experimental stage into that of practical utility is 

 evidenced by the interesting demonstrations, in which 

 the Times participated last week, between stations 

 equipped by the Marconi Co. at Southwold, in 

 Suffolk, and Zaandvoort, in Holland. There is no 

 technical reason why these stations should not be 

 linked up with the ordinary telephone systems 

 of Great Britain and Holland, so that it would 

 be possible to communicate freely between any 

 point in either country to any point in the other. 

 It is interesting to note that the stations work 

 on the short wave-length of 100 metres, which makes 

 them free from interference from the 600-metre wave 

 commonly used for marine communication and from 

 the higher wave-lengths of the long-distance stations, 

 as well as less likely to be influenced by stray dis- 

 turbances than if a longer wave-length were employed. 

 Other methods of protection against interference are 

 being experimented with, and also of securing a 

 greater degree of directive effect instead of broadcast 

 emission, which, when such stations multiply, should 

 contribute very materially to freedom from mutual 

 interference. It is not generally known that wire- 

 less telephony is already employed by the Stock Ex- 

 change in Amsterdam for communicating prices to 

 points all over Holland, and that these messages can be 

 picked up in this country without difficulty. Dr. J. A. 

 Fleming, the pioneer in the applications of the therm- 

 ionic tube, upon which so much of the advance in 

 wireless telephony is due, points out, in an interview 

 in the Times, the great possibilities as well as the 

 great achievements of wireless telephony, and 

 emphasises its advantages over line-working in that 

 no distortion of the wave is produced ; as, in the case 

 of wireless, all the harmonics are attenuated in the 

 same proportion as the fundamental, because they are 

 all propagated at the same rate. 



NO. 2690, VOL. 107] 



The annual visitation of the Royal Observatory, 

 Greenwich, will be held on Saturday, June 4. The 

 observatory will be open at 3.30 for inspection by 

 invited guests. 



Prof. John Merle Coulter, of Chicago, Dr. 

 Samuel Garman, Prof. Giovanni Battista Grassi, of 

 Rome, Prof. Louis Alexandre Mangin, of Paris, and 

 Prof. Jean Massart, of Brussels, have been elected 

 foreign members of the Linnean Society of London. 



At the anniversary dinner of the Royal Geographical 

 Society, to be held at the Connaught Rooms ai 

 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, the guests will in- 

 clude the French Ambassador, General Bourgeois, Earl 

 Beatty, Earl Buxton, Viscount Chelmsford, the High 

 Commissioner for Canada, and Bishop Gore, 



In connection with the Royal Microscopical Society 

 a Paper Industries Section is in course of formation. 

 It will deal with researches relating to timber, wood- 

 pulp, paper, etc. All interested in the subject and 

 willing to assist are invited to communicate with Mr. 

 J. Strachan, 74 Blenheim Place, Queen's Cross, 

 Aberdeen. 



The Crown Prince of Japan, accompanied by 

 Prince Kan-in and a large party, which included 

 Admiral Ogouri and seven senior naval officers, visited 

 Greenwich Observatory on Monday, May 16. The 

 party was received by the Astronomer Royal, Sir Frank 

 Dyson, and the two chief assistants, Mr. H. Spencer 

 Jones and Mr. J. Jackson, and examined with interest 

 the chief instruments in the observatory. 



At the meeting of the Franklin Institute, Penn- 

 sylvania, held on May 18, the Franklin medal and 

 certificate of honorary membership were presented 

 to M. Jusserand, French Ambassador to the United 

 States, for Prof. Charles Fabry, of the University of 

 Paris, for his studies in the field of light radiation. 

 The Franklin medal and certificate of honorary 

 membership were also presented to Mr. Frank J. 

 Sprague, New York City. 



The Wild Birds Advisory Committees appointed for 

 England and Scotland by the Home Secretary and 

 the Secretary for Scotland to advise regarding the 

 protection of wild birds held their first meetings on 

 May 12, and a joint meeting on May 13, when general 

 questions of wild bird protection in Britain were dis- 

 cussed. The chairmen of the committees are Viscount 

 Grey of Fallodon, K.G., and Mr. H. S. Gladstone, 

 and the secretary of the Scottish committee is Dr. 

 James Ritchie, Keeper of the Natural History Depart- 

 ment, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. 



