December 30, 1920] 



NATURE 



575 



volume Dr. Monckton Copeman discusses the rela- 

 rionship of smallpox and alastrim in connection with 

 an outbreak of an anomalous varioloid disease in 

 Norfolk. The disease was introduced from some 

 locality in the Mediterranean area, and, although un- 

 doubtedly of the nature of smallpox, would seem more 

 closely to resemble that variety which has been studied 

 in Brazil known as "alastrim."- Sir David Semple 

 also gives a brief account of rabies and of the various 

 systems of anti-rabic inoculation. 



The Research Defence Society has published an 

 essay on "Vaccination" by Dr. Mary Scharlieb. A 

 brief history of smallpox inoculation and of Jenner's 

 work on the introduction of vaccination is given, fol- 

 lowed by a short account of the symptoms of un- 

 modified smallpox. The "Leicester experiment" is 

 next described and discussed at some length. Finally, 

 the outbreaks of smallfKJX at Dewsbury, Ravens- 

 thcrpe, Gloucester, and Glasgow are referred to, and 

 the influence of vaccination on the incidence and 

 n ortality of the disease is considered. The essay 

 should be useful to those who desire to have evidence 

 of the value of vaccination. The essay (together with 

 others on the work of the Medical Research Com- 

 mittee, on the value of experiments on animals, and 

 on the prevention of tetanus during the war, already 

 noticed in these columns) may be obtained from the 

 Secretary, it Chandos Street, W.i, price 2S. the set. 

 Ancient Oriental chemistry and its allied arts are 

 discussed in the November issue of Man by Mr. 

 .Masumi Chikashige. The author begins with a review 

 I of ancient chemistry in Japan and China, consisting 

 j, in the latter country of two parts : theories and gold- 

 making, the latter having in its turn two aims, 

 wealth and eternal life. He then passes on to the 

 question of bronze in China and Japan, and supplies 

 a series of analyses of its component elements. 

 Finally, he describes the manner in which iron swords 

 are forged. He concludes by saying: 'We may 

 recognise now some resemblance to damascened steel. 

 If the Japanese learned this method of welding from 

 the naturalised Chinese, where had the latter learnt 

 thfir art? Whether it was their own, which made 

 it>. way westward to Europe through India and cast- 

 Trd to Japan, or whether, on the contrary, they 

 irned the art from India, is not now to be settled." 

 liiE Asiatic Society of Bengal has published among 

 .Memoirs (vol. vii.. No. 3) an important paper by 

 Ir. J. Hornell on "The Origins and Ethnological 

 i;nlficance of Indian Boat Designs." Surveying the 

 ii'res of the Indian peninsula, Mr. Hornell describes, 

 ith good illustrations, the various types of boats now 

 I use and many ceremonies in connection with their 

 inching and employment, with a review of our 

 nowlcdgn of the ancient sea-trade with India. The 

 »it interesting part of the paper is an attempt to 

 iw how foreign influences have created or modified 

 ■ tvpes which exist at present. Thus he suggests 

 , . ..i,it compound masts are essentially Mongoloid in 

 Korigin, being seen to-day among Burmese, Indonesians, 

 Band the southern Chinese, and that on the west coast 

 ^the use of the outrigger for coasting vessels was dis- 

 ' "ded at a comparatively early period under the 

 luence of seamen from the Persian Gulf and the 

 NO. 2670. VOL. 106] 



Red Sea. Also, since the single outrigger and 

 balance-board designs are both Polynesian in affinity, 

 their general diffusion on one or the other of our 

 Indian coasts points to the conclusion either that 

 some of the coast-folk of India are closely allied to 

 the races of Oceania or that it is due to trade rela- 

 tions. Inland boat designs are on a very different 

 footing, the first and larger group having distinctly 

 Egyptian affinities, and the other equally well- 

 marked Babylonian relationship. 



The second volume of the Proceedings of the 

 Lahore Philosophical Society, which forms a record 

 of the papers read before the society during the years 

 1916-20, has been received. The first volume con- 

 tained papers read during 1914-16; we gather 

 that lack of funds has prevented the issue of this 

 second volume until the present time, and that pub- 

 lication has now been made possible by a grant of 

 money from the Punjab University. The present 

 volume, of eighty pages, contains records of thirty-two 

 papers, of which eight are printed in extenso and 

 the remainder in abstract. The papers are of two 

 kinds : records of original work and summaries of 

 recent researches; the mathematical, physical, and 

 biological sciences are all represented. The member- 

 ship roll is about fifty, and meetings are held every 

 month during the academical session. A society such 

 as this fulfils an important function in the intellectual 

 life of a comparatively remote and isolated com- 

 munity. While authors of original researches will 

 presumably publish them in other periodicals as well 

 as in these pages, the present volume forms an 

 interesting record of the activities of a society on 

 the successful foundation and continued existence of 

 which the members are to be congratulated. 



We have recently received a small booklet dealing 

 with a propri(>tnry fluid which has been placed on 

 the market luul. r ili^ nanii nl " Solomia." It is 

 claimed to destroy any large insect pest — aphids, bugs, 

 spiders, caterpillars, worms, etc. Further, it is stated 

 to be non-injurious to crops, fruit, or grass, and its 

 efficacy to be unaffected by weather conditions. If 

 "Solomia" can effectively carry out all that its pro- 

 moters claim for it, there is no doubt that it is a 

 verv remarkable mixture. 



Is the December issue of the Kntoiiuii'i^nt's 

 Monthly Magazine Mr. F. W. Edwards writes on the 

 British species of Dixinae. This subfamily includes 

 a small number of gnat-like insects commonly re- 

 garded as constituting a family of their own. They 

 are related both to mosquitoes (Culicidw) and to crane- 

 flies (Tipulidae), and Mr. Edwards places them in the 

 first-mentioned family. Their larv.TB and pup» are 

 exclusively aquatic, and bear a rather close resem- 

 blance to those of .\nopheles and its allies. The only 

 genus is Dixa, which enjoys the position of never 

 having had the validity of •'■= n^'iie questioned, and, 

 consequently, no synonym I'en British species 



are recognised, but they h;ivi' bcin so little collected 

 that we have only a very vague idea as to their dis- 

 tribution in this country. In the same periodical Mr. 

 J. R. Collin gives useful keys to the British species of 

 the Sylvaticus group of the genus Pipunrulus. Since 

 .Mr. Verrall dealt with them in his "British Flics" 



