598 



NATURE 



[July 7, 192 1 



and from oil-shales, and alcohol are discussed, and 

 the conclusion is reached that coal is likely to remain 

 for a long time the world's chief source of fuel. 

 Brown coal and peat are dismissed on account of the 

 vast areas of land which are required in order to 

 obtain adequate supplies and prepare them for use. 

 Oil amounts to 7 per cent, of the fuel output of the 

 world, and nearly nine-tenths of this quantity is con- 

 trolled by the United States. The conclusion of the 

 chief petroleum technologist of the U.S. Bureau of 

 Mines, that after twenty years at the present rate 

 of consumption the output will decline, is therefore of 

 importance, though there is reason to expect produc- 

 tion from oilfields in other parts of the world which 

 have not as yet been tapped. The only method avail- 

 able in Great Britain for the commercial preparation 

 of alcohol is by the fermentation of vegetable materials 

 containing starch or sugar. Even, this method, how- 

 ever, is not economically possible owing to the lack of 

 available land for the cultivation of the crops required, 

 the high cost of cultivation, harvesting, and manufac- 

 ture, and the fact that the most suitable raw materials 

 . are also important foodstuffs. Some a'.cohol may be 

 produced from molasses in countries where the sugar- 

 cane is grown, but it is unlikely that more than is 

 required for local use can be made. Falling back on 

 coal, it is suggested that more efficient use may be 

 secured by careful sorting at the pitheads, by improve- 

 ments in boiler-firing, and by preliminary carbonisation 

 at high or low temperatures. 



The Daily Chronicle announces that Prof. Edouard 

 Branly, of Paris, is to receive this year's, Nobel prize 

 for physics. 



It is stated in the Times that the directors of the 

 Nobel Foundation have submitted a proposal to the 

 Swedish Government for increasing the value of the 

 Nobel prizes by transferring a sum of about ioo,oooL 

 from their building fund. 



We learn from the Times that the French Societe 

 de G^ographie is celebrating its centenary. There 

 was a reception for delegates at the house of Prince 

 Roland Bonaparte, president of the society, on Tues- 

 day night, and in the afternoon M. Millerand, Presi- 

 dent of the French Republic, presided at the opening 

 meeting of the celebration, a gathering at which 

 explorers and geographers from various parts of the 

 world were present. 



The sixty-sixth annual exhibition of the Royal 

 Photographic Society of Great Britain will be held 

 on September 19-October 29 at 35 Russell Square, 

 W.C.I. There will be three sections, devoted respec- 

 tively to pictorial photographs, to colour trans- 

 parencies and colour prints, and to scientific and 

 technical exhibits, natural history photographs, and 

 lantern and stereoscopic slides. 



A CIRCULAR has been issued by the Meteorological 

 Ofiice with reference to the summer service of fore- 

 casts of weather for agricultural purposes. Notifica- 

 tion is given by telegraph of occasions when a spell of 

 fair settled weather of several days' duration is antici- 

 pated. The progress of meteorological events and 

 warning of the break-up of the fine spell are sent to 

 the recipient as early as possible. The fee beyond the 

 NO. 2697, VOL. 107] 



telegraphic charge is extremely small. Notification is 

 also given of special conditions, such as spells of frost, 

 ground-frost, smooth sea, etc. 



By invitation of Messrs. Sutton and Sons and of 

 Prof. Percival, a field-meeting of the Association of 

 Economic Biologists will be held at Reading on 

 Thursday, July 14. Visits will be paid to the Royal 

 Seed Establishment, the Trial Grounds, and the Col- 

 lege Farm and Agricultural Botanic Gardens. It is 

 requested that all who propose to attend the meeting 

 will notify Mr. W. B. Brierley, the Rothamsted 

 Experimental Station, Harpenden, not later than 

 Monday, July 11. 



Beginning on June 15, the wireless telegraph 

 station at Poldhu is sending weather messages broad- 

 cast twice daily for the benefit of navigators. Each 

 message will consist of a forecast for the western sea- 

 board of the British Isles and the actual observations 

 taken at Stornoway, Blacksod, Holyhead, Scilly, and 

 Dungeness at 0700 G.M.T. (civil) and 1800 G.M.T. 

 (civil) respectively. The messages will be sent out at 

 0930 G.M.T. (civil) and 2130 G.M.T. (civil). Details 

 of the scheme are given on the Meteorological Chart 

 of the North Atlantic Ocean for July. 



A Norwegian scientific expedition is leaving this 

 summer for the island of Jan Mayen, in the Greenland 

 Sea. According to La Giographie for May, the ex- 

 pedition will consist of six or seven persons, under 

 the command of Mr. Ekerold. The main object is 

 meteorological research, and it is hoped that the work 

 of the party will lead to the foundation of a permanent 

 observatory on Jan Mayen. A wireless telegraph 

 station is to be erected. The last serious effort in 

 meteorological research at Jan Mayen was in 1882-83, 

 when an Austrian station, as part of the international 

 scheme, was maintained on that island. 



We are glad to learn that Lyme Regis, a town 

 classic in geolog\-, is now provided with a public 

 collection of local fossils. Three years ago a small 

 museum building was bequeathed to the corporation 

 by the late Mr. Philpot, and it is now occupied by 

 the geological collection and library of Dr. Wyatt 

 Wingrave, who has lately become a resident of the 

 town, and has devoted much labour to making the 

 museum of educational value. The fossils are 

 arranged in stratigraphical order, with appropriate 

 explanatory labels and diagrams, and Dr. Wingrave 

 gives a weekly demonstration which is well attended 

 and much appreciated. 



H.R.H. the Prince of Waces has accepted the 

 office of vice-patron of the Royal Society of Arts. 

 The following medals have been awarded for papers 

 read before the society during the past session :— 

 Major-Gen. Lord Lovat, "Forestry"; Col. R. J. 

 Stordy, " The Breeding of Sheep, Llamas, and Alpacas 

 in Peru, with a View to Supplying Improved Raw 

 Material to the Textile Trades"; A. F. Baillie, 

 " Oil-burning Methods in Various Parts of the 

 World"; Dr. W. Cramp, "Pneumatic Elevators in 

 Theory and Practice "; Sir Kenneth Weldon Goadby, 

 " Immunity and Industrial Disease " ; W. Raitt, 



