June 30, 192 1] 



NATURE 



561 



difficulties connected with the ascents of high 

 mountains. 



This subject he was particularly fitted to inves- 

 tigate, for he had probably climbed to heights 

 above 20,000 ft. more often than anyone else. For 

 instance, in 1910, in the Sikkim Himalaya, he was 

 nine times above 20,000 ft., the highest altitudes 

 being the first and only ascents of Pawhunri, 

 23,180 ft., and Chumiomo, 22,430 ft. 



He also visited other parts of the Himalaya, the 

 Nanga Parbat district, north of Kashmir, and 

 Garwhal, where last summer he reached 23,600 ft. 

 on Kamet. It was, however, in Sikkim that he 

 did most of his mountaineering. 



From time to time he published papers and re- 

 ports in the Journal of the Royal Geographical 

 Society and in the Alpine Club Journal. But as he 

 was of a retiring disposition, there are few 

 accounts of his extraordinary mountaineering 

 record. Perhaps his most important paper was 

 on "A Consideration of the Possibility of Ascend- 

 ing the Loftier Himalaya " (Journal of the Royal 

 Geographical Society, 1917), in which he dis- 

 cussed all the factors conditioning acclimatisation 

 to high altitudes, and the question whether it was 

 possible to climb Mount Everest. His conclusion 

 was : " A man in first-rate training, acclimatised 

 to maximum altitude, could make the ascent of 

 Mount Everest, without adventitious aids (i.e. 

 oxygen), provided that the physical difficulties 

 above 25,000 ft. are not prohibitive." 



Dr. Kellas had a unique knowledge of the Sik- 

 kim Himalaya, and his death has deprived the 

 Mount Everest expedition of one of its most valu- 

 able members, for he had studied the geography 

 of the country round Mount Everest more deeply 

 than anyone else. 



We regret to report the death, on June 26, of 

 Mr. William Shackletox, at the age of fifty. 

 Mr. Shackleton received his early training at the 

 Keighley Institute, and after completing a three 

 years' course at the Royal College of Science, 



became an assistant to the late Sir Norman 

 Lockyer. By his skill and enthusiasm he con- 

 tributed largely to the success of the early work 

 at South Kensington on the photography of stellar 

 spectra. In 1893, in company with Mr. Albert 

 Taylor, he observed the total eclipse of the sun in 

 Brazil, and was one of the first to obtain photo- 

 graphs with a prismatic camera of adequate 

 power. In 1896, with Dr. E. J. Stone, he took 

 part in the expedition which was conveyed to- 

 Novaya Zemlya by Sir George Baden-Powell in 

 his yacht Otaria. Favoured by a brief inter- 

 ruption in a snowstorm, he then achieved a 

 notable success in photographing for the first 

 time the complete " flash " spectrum, with per- 

 fect definition, notwithstanding that an accident 

 to the yacht had left but little time for prepara- 

 tion. On this occasion some admirable photo- 

 graphs of the corona were also obtained under 

 his supervision. This expedition was further 

 memorable for a meeting with Nansen at Hammer- 

 fest on his return from the polar regions. 



For some years Mr. Shackleton was occupied 

 with the late Dr. Common in the design of range- 

 finders and other optical instruments, and a 

 special interest in optics was added to that in 

 astronomy during the remainder of his life. In 

 1905 he took up an appointment at the India- 

 Stores Dep6t as Inspector of Scientific Supplies, 

 and scientific workers in India have profited much 

 from his extensive technical knowledge and care- 

 ful supervision of their requirements. Mr. 

 Shackleton was elected a fellow of the Royal 

 Astronomical Society in 1893, and of the Optical 

 Society in 191 3. He was secretary of the Optical 

 Society from 1916 to 1920, and rendered valuable 

 services to the society in that capacity, besides 

 contributing papers of practical importance ; he 

 was a vice-president of the society at the time 

 of his death. Mr. Shackleton 's health had not 

 been good for several years, but his death came 

 unexpectedly, and will cause deep regret to his 

 many friends in scientific and technical circles. 



Notes. 



A chemical laboratory of a new type was opened at 

 the Imperial College of Science and Technology by 

 Mr. A. J. Balfour on June 24. The laboratory is fitted 

 with apparatus of a size which will render it necessary 

 for chemical processes to be carried out under con- 

 ditions closely resembling those which are present on 

 the large scale. Just as the ordinary scientific labora- 

 tory contains specimens of all types of apparatus neces- 

 sary for small-scale work, the new laboratory con- 

 tains appliances which will enable the student to carry 

 through the corresponding large-scale operations in a 

 manner which will render it possible for him to study 

 the influence of those factors, such as heat exchange, 

 etc., which are not of vital importance in ordinary 

 laboratory work. Students, and especially research 

 students, whether they intend to follow an academic 

 or an industrial career, will thus obtain a knowledge 



NO. 2696, VOL. 107] 



of large-scale conditions which it has hitherto been 

 possible to acquire only by actual works experience. 

 Moreover, the means for preparing initial material in- 

 large quantities will be of the greatest value for the 

 research workers in the chemistry department of the- 

 college. It is hoped that a full description of the new 

 laboratory, with illustrations, will appear in a forth- 

 coming number. The equipment was provided by Mr. 

 W. G. WhifTen, an old student of the college. 



We learn from the Times of June 24 that the West 

 London Hospital is in f>ossession of electrical plant 

 capable of delivering current at 200,000 volts for X-ray 

 purposes. The X-rays are of a penetrating character, 

 and are being used for the treatment of patients 

 suffering from malignant disease, on the lines laid' 

 down by the Bavarian doctors Seitz and Wintz. The 



