February io, 192 i] 



NATURE 



767 



■f- 



ance rarely left him without feeling that they had 

 gained by hearing his opinion. The view which 

 lie took of the functions of the National Museum 

 was a broad one. Its obvious purposes were to 

 -.ervc as a treasure-house for the accumulation of 

 specimens and to educate students and the general 

 public in all that pertains to natural history. But 

 he thoroughly realised the importance of making 

 it a centre of research, and there can be no ques- 

 tion that his initiative was responsible for many 

 new departures which have materially assisted in 

 the advancement of knowledge. In his opinion. 



Ill institution supported out of public funds had 

 ihe responsibility of giving practical service to 

 the nation, and he welcomed opportunities of 

 showing that this could be done. The consulta- 

 tive functions of the museum have been increas- 

 ingly appreciated in recent years, and particularly 

 iluring the war', a result largely due to his influ- 



iice. Its advice has been repeatedly sought by 



'ther Government Departments in such matters 

 as the protection of birds and other animals in 



our Colonial possessions, the part played by in- 

 sects and arachnids in the spread of disease, and 

 the extraordinary development of the whaling in- 

 dustry during the last fifteen years, in questions 

 relating to fishery problems, and in many other 

 practical applications of zoology, botany, geology, 

 :iiid mineralogy. 



On many occasions Mr. Fagan was specially 



oncerncd in promoting scientific expeditions, 

 imong which may be mentioned those to Ruwen- 

 /ori, 1907, and to Outch New Guinea, 1909-1 1 

 and igi2-i3, the collections in the museum being 

 largely augmented in these ways. By his per- 

 sonal influence he was responsible for inducing 

 private benefactors to present numerous collec- 

 tions and important specimens. He was hon. 

 treasurer to the International Ornithological Con- 

 t^ress in 1905 and to the Society for the Promo- 

 lion of Nature Reserves, British representative on 

 the International Committee for the Protection of 

 Nature in 1913, and a member of the Council of 

 the Royal Geographical Society and of other scien- 

 tific bodies. He organised the exhibits of the 

 British section of the International Shooting and 

 Field Sports ({xhibition, Vienna, 1910, of the 

 Festival of Empire and Imperial Exhibition (game 

 fauna section). Crystal Palace, 1911, and of the 

 British .section, Ghent Exhibition, 1913, illustrat- 

 ing the relation of entomology u< tropical 

 'li>'ca«cs. 



At the age of twenty-one Mr. Fagan married 

 >liss Stronarh, who died in 1905, and Ix- leaves 



lie son. Mis career was one long record of 

 -iiigle-minded .service, strenuou.sly and successfullv 

 [x-rformed. His influence on the Natural History 

 \fusrum, from the commencement of its existence 

 '^ an independent branch of the British Museum, 

 iias left a permanent mark on its character. His 

 disposition was essentially sympathetic, and he 

 never permitted himself to express uncharitable 

 opinions of others. He is deeply mourned bv his 

 \M. :.(•,-(,, vol.. 106] 



many friends, and particularly by his colleagues, 

 who'recognised his lovable qualities and the great 

 value of his services to the museum and to 

 science. 



Sidney F. H.xkmer. 



C. SiMMONUS. 



We regret to announce the death, on January 15. 

 of Mr. Charles Simmonds, one of the Superin- 

 tending .\nalysts in the Government Laboratory. 

 Born at Stourbridge in 1861, Mr. Simmonds was 

 educated privately, and, selecting the Civil 

 Service as a career, secured one of the chemical 

 studentships at South Kensington established by 

 the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for train- 

 ing the staff of their laboratory, then at Somerset 

 House. This was afterwards raised to the status 

 of a separate Government Department under Sir 

 Edward Thorpe as the first "Government 

 Chemist." Mr. Simmonds was entrusted (infer 

 alia) with the investigation into the composition 

 of "Pottery Glazes and Fritts " for the informa- 

 tion of the Royal Commission appointed to report 

 on that subject, and contributed an article under 

 this title to Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied 

 Chemistry, as well as several papers of a kindred 

 nature to the Journal of the Chemical Society, 

 viz. " Lead Silicates in relation to Pottery " 

 (1901); "Constitution of certain Silicates " (1903): 

 "Reduced Silicates" (1904); and (in conjunction 

 with Sir Edward Thorpe) " Influence of Grinding 

 upon the .Solubility of Lead in Lead Fritts" (Man- 

 chester Memoirs, 1901). Mr. Simmonds was also 

 the author of a treatise on "Alcohol," published 

 by Messrs. .Macmiltan and Co., which is adinittcdly 

 the most up-to-date and comprehensive work iti 

 English on the subject, and he was up to the 

 last a frequent contributor to the pages of 

 Nature. 



Mr. Edward C. Boi'SFIEi.d, who.sc death is 

 announced, received his professional training at 

 St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and after qualifying 

 spent a number of years in general practice, at 

 the same time carrying out a good deal of research 

 work in microscopy and bacteriology. He was 

 one of the first to take up photomicrography, and 

 published a useful manual on the subject. He 

 afterwards established a clinical research labora- 

 tory, and became bacteriologist to the metropolitan 

 boroughs of C'amherwell and Hackney. 



It was reported from Copenhagen on Feb- 

 ruary I that the olhcial Soviet Press Agenc> 

 had denied the report of the death of Prince 

 Kropotkin, whose obituary notice we pub- 

 lished last week. We have been hoping 

 that later messages would confirm this news; 

 but a wireless Press rejwrt from Moscow 

 states that Prince Krop«»tkin died there on Tues- 

 day, Febriiarv 8. 



