542 



NATURE 



[December 23, 1920 



wealth of illustration which have made the remark- 

 able series of examples of prehistoric art familiar to 

 archaeologists who are not fortunate enough to be able 

 to visit the cave in person. 



Much interest has been aroused by the registration 

 on December 16 of one of the greatest earthquakes of 

 recent years, and the interest has been increased by 

 the mystery which at present attends the position of 

 its origin. The first preliminary tremors reached 

 West Bromwich at lah. 17m. 14s. p.m. ; the second 

 tremors arrived nine minutes later, indicating an epi- 

 central distance of about 68° of arc. The oscillations 

 at this station were so violent that Mr. J. J. Shaw's 

 seismograph was thrown out of action. The epicentral 

 distance from Oxford was estimated at 67°. From 

 the American records it would seem that the distance 

 from Washington was about 43°. Various positions 

 have been suggested for the origin — China, beneath 

 the Pacific Ocean to the north of Japan, the Atlantic 

 between Sierra Leone and Brazil, or the South 

 Pacific. Prof. H. H. Turner, writing in the Times 

 of December 21, suggested that the place of origin 

 was in the Gulf of Mexico, but since then he has 

 seen evidence which indicates an Alaskan origin 

 for the earthquake. No seismic sea-waves have 

 been reported from any place, and this absence seems 

 to favour an origin that is, at least in part, terres- 

 trial. On the other hand, an earthquake so violent 

 must have been felt to a distance of some hundreds of 

 miles from its origin ; and thus, if the origin were 

 terrestrial, it must either be in a country from which 

 outgoing messages have been censored or one with 

 few observers or inadequate means of communica- 

 tion — such; for instance, as Yakutat Bay, in Alaska, 

 which is, however, only about 64° from the British 

 stations. 



The announcement that the King has approved of 

 the appointment of Prof. J. C. Irvine as Principal of 

 the University of St. Andrews has been received with 

 feelings of much satisfaction by men of science 

 throughout the country. This is not the first occasion 

 when the chief administrative office in the oldest 

 University of Scotland has been filled by a man of 

 scientific eminence, for Sir David Brewster occupied 

 the Principalship of the United College from 1838 to 

 1859, and his successor was J. D. Forbes. After a 

 period of years, during which the University was 

 guided by those men of distinction in the world of 

 letters, John Campbell Shairp, Sir James Donaldson, 

 and Sir John Herkless, it now falls to the lot of a 

 chemist to direct the policy of the University of the 

 grey city by the northern sea. The new Principal 

 was a pupil of Prof. G. G. Henderson in Glasgow 

 Technical College before going to St. Andrews as an 

 undergraduate. He afterwards spent a couple of 

 years in Leipzig, where he came under the inspiration 

 of Wislicenus, returning in 1901 to his alma maler. 

 On the retirement of Prof. Purdie in 1909 the chair 

 of chemistry in the United College was filled by his 

 assistant. During the past twenty years Prof. Irvine 

 has devoted himself to research on the chemistry of 

 carbohydrates, in which branch he may now be 

 regarded as the leading living authority. He has been 

 particularly successful in imparting much of his 

 NO. 2669, VOL. 106] 



enthusiasm to his students; many of the men asso- 

 ciated with him in his publications in the Journal 

 of the Chemical Society are graduates in arts who, 

 with no scientific predilections, were attracted to the 

 study of chemistry by the personality of the pro- 

 fessor. Principal Irvine's scientific work was recog- 

 nised by his election as F.R.S. in 1918, whilst his 

 valuable war services earned for him his C.B.E. in 

 the present year. His many friends in academic circles 

 both in St. Andrews and in Dundee have full con- 

 fidence that in his hands the best interests of their 

 University are in safe keeping. 



The recent reports relative to a fall of rock involv- 

 ing the summit of Mont Blanc, however improbable 

 they might appear to those who have knowledge 

 of the ground, have naturally aroused general atten- 

 tion. The Daily Mail of November 27 published a 

 communication from Geneva correcting the idea that 

 the summit had suffered change, but recording the 

 fall of the face of a rock-precipice on to the Brenva 

 glacier, and the sweeping of an ice-avalanche from 

 this glacier through the woods of " Portud " (La 

 Pertu). The Journal des Dihats for November 29 

 quotes information given by M. Vallot, director of the 

 Mont Blanc Observatory, to the Eclaireur de Nice. 

 M. Vallot points out that the summit is composed of 

 an ice-mass of variable level, and that the source of 

 the avalanche could not have been determined from 

 the Italian side. Presumably this refers to dwellers in 

 the Val di Veni. M. A. Lacroix, permanent secretary 

 of the Paris Academy of Sciences, very kindly informs 

 us that accurate details are not yet to hand, and that 

 the matter may resolve itself into an avalanche of 

 ice rather than a fall of rock. 



A SMALL expedition is being organised in the Univer- 

 sity of Oxford to visit Spitsbergen next summer with 

 the view of conducting researches in ornithology, 

 botany, and palaeontology. Work will be confined 

 mainly to the west coast, but if ice conditions permit 

 the northern and north-eastern shores of the mainland 

 will be visited and an attempt made to cross New 

 Friesland and to ascend some of the unsealed peaks in 

 that part of the country. It is proposed to charter 

 two or three sealing sloops in Norway to accommodate 

 the expedition. The first sloop would arrive in Spits- 

 bergen early in June, making for the bird rookeries on 

 the north and west coasts of Prince Charles Foreland ; 

 the others would arrive later for work on the north 

 coast. The explanatory side of the expedition's pro- 

 gramme depends largely on weather conditions, but the 

 other researches can certainly be carried out. The 

 staff of the expedition has been selected, and will, we 

 understand, include the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, who 

 is chairman of the organising committee. Expert 

 advice is being taken in the preparation of the plans 

 and in the selection of the equipment. The Times 

 understands that the cost of the expedition is estimated 

 at about 3000J., towards which several generous con- 

 tributions have already been promised. The expedition 

 has the official sanction and support of the University 

 of Oxford. 



The Forestry Commission was established in order 

 to secure an adequate supply of home-grown timber, 



