32 



NATURE 



[September 2, 1920 



addfd, diatom cultures did not develop, but when to 

 such iirtiticial sea-waters traces (say i ytx cent.) of 

 natural sea-water were added, very good growth 

 occurred. Experiments indicated that probaoly an 

 organic substance in the natural sea-water stimulated 

 growth, but its composition was still quite unknown. 

 Ihe culture metnod had also Ixen used to obtain a 

 minimum figure lor the number of organisms living 

 in a given volume of natural sea-water, and ha<l 

 shown that, whereas the number obtained in the 

 usual way with the centrifuge was 14,000 jx-r litre 

 for a particular sample, there must actually have 

 been at least 460,000 per litre. 



Dr. 1'2. C. Jee directed attention to the necessity for 

 elucidating the movements of the current of dense 

 water which pours out of the Mediterranean and 

 forms an intermediate layer in the deeix'r waters of 

 the near Atlantic Ocean. It seemed to him likely 

 that the cui-rent moves northward, and in certain 

 circumstances comes to the surface within the region 

 of the jx-'lagic fisheries of the I>ritish south-western 

 area. It is important to ascertain the influence of this 

 current on the northward migration of planktonic 

 organisms and on the migrations of plankton-feeding 

 fishes, and the investigation of its boundaries would 

 throw light on the salinity variations observed in the 

 surface waters of the English Channel, which are 

 known to exhibit varying degrees of periodicity. 



Mr. C. Tate Regan remarked that the study of the 

 ocean was important in manv other ways than in 

 relation to fisheries, e.g. it was found, during the 

 war, that a knowledge of salinity and currents was 

 of great v;ilue in n'gard to suljmarine operations and 

 the course of drifting mines. He suggested that work 

 oversea should include the investigation of the seas 

 on the coasts of our colonies ; the fauna of the great 

 area within the loo-fathom line that surrounds the 

 Falkland Islands and extends northward to Monte- 

 video is known only from two hauls made by the 

 Challenger and five or six by the .Mbaiross. In view 

 of the pre-eminence of our \avy, mercantile marine, 

 and fisheries, this country should lead the world in 

 oceanographical research. 



Prof. C. .\. Kofoid pointed out that the magnitude 

 of oceanographical problems and their diversity neces- 

 sitate a definite but flexible programme and the co- 

 operation of manv investigators, for without such 

 co-operation results must be fragmentary. Stan- 

 dardisation of methods, elimination of unnecessary 

 duplication, and international co-operation are indis- 

 pensable. He rem;irked upon the need for a monthly 

 ijulletin which should contain a bibliography of the 

 subjects in this field of work together with synopses 

 of the contents of these papers — a work which might 

 well be undertaken by the International Commission 

 for the Investigation of the .Sea. He referred brieflv 

 to the project for the renewed exploration of the 

 Pacific which is under consideration by a committee 

 of the National Research Council of the United States. 



Prof. J. E. Duerden urged that in the organisation 

 of anv extensive scheme of research in oceanographv, 

 or of a new Challenger expedition, the possibilitv of 

 assistance from, and co-operation with, the various 

 Dominions should be kept in mind. He had no doubt 

 that, upon proper representation being made, the I'nion 

 of South .'\frica would take its part, both financiallv 

 and in itersonnel. 



Mr. F. E. Smith, director of scientific research 

 at the .Admiraltv, stated that his department had 

 considered the Question of a new Challenger expedi- 

 tion, and was of opinion that such an expedition wa.s 

 required, and he felt sure that (he .Admiralty would 

 take its share in the organisation thereof. 



At the clo.se of the di.scussion a resolution was 



NO. 2653, VOL. 106] 



unanimously agreed to pointing out the importance 

 of urging the initiation of a national expedition for 

 the exploration of the ocean, and requesting that the 

 council of the British .Association should take thi 

 necessary steps to impress this need upon hi-^ 

 .Majesty's Government and the nation. On the 

 following day, at the Committee of Recommendations, 

 this resolution also received vigorous support from 

 other sections, e.g. those dealing with chemistry, 

 physics, geology, and geography, in all of which, a> 

 well as in zoology, investigations are required which 

 could be undertaken by such an expedition. The 

 General Committee of the .Association recommende<l 

 the Council to appoint an expert committee 10 prepar<' 

 a programme of work and to consider the personnel 

 and apparatus required. It is the hope of all thos<- 

 who have heard the cogent reasons for the expedi- 

 tion that it may be possible for the Government, in 

 the not distant future, to undertake this great 

 enterprise. 



The New Star in Cygnus. 



P RO.M the occasional observations which I have 

 -'■ been able to make of the nova in Cygnus, I 

 have formed the impression that the star has followed 

 the normal course for such objects, except that the 

 rise to maximum may have been more prolonged, 

 and the subsequent decline in brightness more rapid, 

 than usual. On .\ugust 22, two days after discoven', 

 bright lines were not discernible with a small spectro- 

 scope attached to a 3-in. refractor, thus suggesting 

 that the maximum had not then been reached. The 

 star was seen for a short time on .\ugust 23, when 

 it had risen to nearly second magnitude, but there was 

 no opportunity of making spectroscopic observations. 

 On .August 26 observations were made by Sir Frank 

 Dyson and myself with the 12-in. reflector of the 

 Penylan Observatory, CardilT, from loh. to iih. 

 (j.>I.T. The star was then very slightly brighter 

 than (5 Cygni, but not so bright as 7 Cygni, so that 

 its magnitude would be about 28. Bright lines were 

 then well developed. Ha being conspicuous, and also 

 the group of four lines in the green assumed to be 

 H/3, 4924, 5018, and 5169. On August 28, so far 

 as could be observed with a 3-in. telescope (in 

 London), the spectrum showed no marked change, 

 though the star had then fallen to nearly fourth mag- 

 nitude. .A. Fowler. 



The announcement of the discovery of the new 

 star in Cygnus was received at the Hill Observator\', 

 Sidmouth, on the afternoon of August 21, but the 

 cloudy state of the sky prevented any observation 

 hiding made on that night. The sky was, however, 

 clear on the night of .\ugust 22, and several photo- 

 graphs of its spectrum were secured. The following 

 table sums up the observations taken since that date, 

 and shows the fluctuations in magnitude recorded and 

 the niUTiber of photographs of the spectra taken : — 



On the night of August 22 the spectra were all very 

 closely similar to that of a Cygni, the type of star 



