January 27, 192 1] 



NATURE 



701 



the optics of the microscope to which he directed 

 his energies. So far back as 1898 he published, 

 in collaboration with Mr. Charles Slater, an 

 ■'.Atlas of Bacteriology " containing more than a 

 hundred plates of photomicrographs of bacteria. 

 .More recently he brought out his "Photomicro- 

 graphy," and many of his photomicrographs of 

 diatoms are of great excellence. His book on 

 ".Microscopy," the third edition of which was pub- 

 lished last year, is a general treatise on the con- 

 struction, optics, and use of the microscope. To 

 the Royal Micro.scopical Society Mr. Spitta con- 

 tributed in igii a note on VVinkel lenses and 

 oculars and a report on the value of some Grayson's 

 rulings, the latter entailing a considerable amount 

 of work, and in 1913 he reported on a collection 

 of lenses and other optical apparatus made by 

 Joseph Jackson Lister, the father of Lord Lister, 

 and presented to the Royal Microscopical Society 

 on the death of the latter. 



and the form of their wings, for which he made 

 detailed measurements of 238 skeletons. We join 

 with our French colleagues in regretting the loss 

 of an ingenious worker and a courteous colleague. 



We regret to learn of the death of Prof. 

 FR^DfeRic HoissAY, professor of zoology at the 

 Sorbonne since 1904, and dean of the faculty of 

 science since 1919. Houssay's first piece of work, 

 done under the direction of Lacaze Duthiers, was 

 on the operculum and pedal glands of gastropod 

 molluscs, and he presented this as a thesis for his 

 doctorate in 1884. The same year he left for 

 Persia as a member of the Dieulafoy mission, and 

 returned in 1886. Soon afterwards he began a 

 series of studies in vertebrate embryology, of 

 which perhaps the best known is his contribution 

 to the discussion on the vertebral nature of the 

 skull (i8go). .-Vfter following the development of 

 the skull of axolotl, he supported the view that 

 the skull is segmental and represents ten 

 segments. Houssay next turned to the study of 

 dynamical morphology, and published on this sub- 

 ject two important works, " La forme et la vie " 

 (1900) and "Morphologic dynamique" (1910). He 

 devoted special attention to the functional signifi- 

 cance of the form of the body, tail, and fins of 

 fishes, studying the movements in relation to form 

 and stability, and he published the main results 

 in 1912 ("Forme, puissance, et stabilitt^ des pois- 

 sons "). .Almost his last work was a continuation 

 of the same line— a study of the flight of birds 



We regret to announce the death, on January 5, 

 of Capt. Harold Stuart Ferguson, at seventy 

 years of age. Educated at Eton and Wimbledon, 

 Capt. Ferguson passed into Woolwich and ob- 

 tained a commission in the Royal Artillery, but 

 after a few years' service in that corps he re- 

 signed his commission and sailed for India. He 

 eventually became English tutor to the three 

 Princes of Travancore, and when they no longer 

 needed tutelage he was appointed second in com- 

 mand of the Nair Brigade of native troops main- 

 tained by H.H. the Maharajah of Travancore 

 From that time until his retirement in 1904 he 

 held various appointments under the Travancore 

 Government, including the directorship of the 

 Trevandrum Museum and Public Gardens, where 

 his great love of animals and birds ensured the 

 very careful management of the wild creatures 

 kept in captivity. His collectors at the same time 

 brought in valuable collections of animals, birds, 

 and plants. While in India he was elected a 

 fellow of the Linnean Society, and on his retire- 

 ment he interested himself greatly in the Zoo- 

 logical Society's Gardens at Regent's Park, and 

 some time before his death he was elected a 

 member of the council of the society. .\ man of 

 science, a keen sportsman, and a charming com- 

 panion, Capt. Ferguson died much regretted by 

 a host of friends. 



The death is announced of Prof. Carl Toldt, 

 who held the senior chair of anatomy in the Uni- 

 vprsity of Vienna for twenty-four years. Prof. 

 Toldt was born in Tirol in 1840, and with him 

 disappears almost the last of the great general 

 anatomists — men who worked at comparative as 

 well as at human anatomy. He was well known 

 for his " .Atlas of Anatomy," which appeared in 

 1896, and .soon ran through seven editions. He 

 contributed many papers to anatomical literature, 

 the best known being those which treat of the 

 morphology of the mandible. 



Notes. 



At the moetin^j of the Royal .Society on March 3 

 1 discussion on i.iolopes will be opened by Sir J. J. 

 I homson. 



.\ WiREUCss Press mrss.ifjp from Moscow on 



hinuary 2\ stated that Prince P. Kropotkin had con- 



tr.ictcd inflammntion of the lungn, and a fiital issue 



vv.TS feared. Prince Kropotkin 's many friends In this 



■untry will be glad to know that a later tclpf<ram 



uouragcs hope of recovery, and says that his illness 



- .ipparently due to bronchitis. 



Sir Francis Yoi'Nr.msBAsn, president of the Royal 

 I ."ojjraphical Society, announced at the meeting of 

 NO. 2674, VOL. 106] 



the swicty on January 24 that the chief of this year's 

 expedition to Mount Kverest will be Col. Howard 

 Bury, while the actu.1l reconnaissance of the moun- 

 tain will be in the charge of Mr. Harold Raeburn, 

 who will leave England for India in March. 



The Gallon anniversary mcetinf; will take place on 

 February 16 at the Connaught Rooms, Great Queen 

 Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.j. The Gaiton lecture 

 will be given by Dr. \V. Bateson, at 8.45 p.m., on 

 "Common Sense In Racial Problems," and will be 

 preceded by the Gallon dinner, for which tickets 

 may be obtained at the offices of the society, it Lin- 

 coln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.a 



