April 22, 1922J 



NATURE 



527 



( 



p. Weiss on the Strasbourg Physics Institute on 

 Wednesday, April 19, and one by Sir E. Rutherford 

 on the artificial disintegration of the elements on the 

 following day, both delivered in the physics theatre 

 of the science faculty of the University of Paris. On 

 Friday a visit is to be paid to the new wireless station 

 at Sainte Assise where the 2-kilowatt Paris-London 

 station will be seen in operation ; the continental 

 loo-kilowatt station is just about to begin work, and 

 a transcontinental station of 1500 kilowatts is being 

 constructed. On the Thursday and Friday there 

 will be an exhibition of apparatus at the rooms 

 of the Society. At this exhibition British scientific 

 apparatus makers have a joint exhibit. A number of 

 French instruments not well known in this country- 

 will be displayed, as for example the Yvon spectro- 

 photometer, a direct - reading micro-balance, and 

 several wireless telegraphic appliances. 



The second triennial meeting of the Astronomical 

 Union will be held at Rome on May 2-10. The 

 opening address by the president, M. Baillaud, will 

 be delivered at 3 p.m. on May 2, at the Reale Acca- 

 demia dei Lincei. The following are some of the 

 proposals on the agenda paper : to make simultaneous 

 observations of the variation of solar radiation, 

 including the ultra-violet rays ; to endeavour to 

 expedite the completion of the astrographic catalogue ; 

 to organise observations of stellar parallax ; to open 

 a variable-star bureau at Lyons in collaboration 

 with that at Harvard ; to use plates sensitised for 

 the infra-red in order to extend the spectral range 

 and possibly to discover stars hitherto invisible ; to 

 organise the re-reduction of older star-catalogues, 

 with a view to proper-motion determinations ; to 

 make arrangements for observing the near approach 

 of Eros in 193 1 ; and calendar reform. The Munici- 

 pality of Rome will receive the delegates on May 4 

 and they are invited to Florence at the close of the 

 meeting. Visits to Messina, Stromboli, and Etna 

 have also been arranged. Prof. A. Fowler, Royal 

 College of Science, South Kensington, is the General 

 Secretary, and it may be mentioned that Messrs. Cook 

 have arranged on favourable terms for a party leaving 

 London on April 29, and returning on May 13. 



The council of the Institution of Civil Engineers 

 has made the following awards for papers read and 

 discussed during the session 1921-22 : Telford Medals 

 to Sir Henry Fowler (Derby), Mr. H. N. Gresley 

 (Doncaster), and Dr. H. F. Parshall (London) ; a 

 Watt Medal to Mr. W. Willox (London) ; an Indian 

 Premium to Mr. F. G. Royal-Dawson (London) ; 

 Telford Premiums to Mr. A. W. Rendell (Bourne- 

 mouth), Mr. W. F. Stanton (Chile), and Mr. A. C. 

 Walsh (Chile). The council has also made the 

 following awards for papers printed without dis- 

 cussion in the Proceedings for the session 1920-21 : 

 A George Stephenson Medal to Mr. J. H. Taylor 

 (Buenos Aires) ; Telford Premiums to Mr. F. H. 

 Hummel (Belfast), Mr. E. J. Finnan (Belfast), and 

 Dr. Herbert Chatley (China) ; and a Trevithick 

 Premium to Mr. G. E. Lillie (Reigate). 



A PAPER by Sir Robert Hadfield, communicated 

 to the Institution of Civil Engineers on April 4, 



NO. 2738, VOL. 109] 



represents the beginning of a very extensive and 

 important research on the corrosion of ferrous metals 

 which forms part of an inquiry, undertaken by the 

 Institution in 191 6, into the deterioration of structures 

 exposed to sea action. It is proposed to place a 

 large number of specimens of iron and steel, 1330 in 

 all, in positions in which they will be exposed to the 

 action of sea water under certain definite conditions. 

 The present paper describes the metals selected 

 for these tests, and gives full particulars of their 

 mechanical properties, chemical analysis, and micro- 

 structure. In such an elaborate investigation it is 

 obvious that every care should be taken to determine 

 the exact conditions under which a test is made, 

 and with this object in view special efforts have been 

 made to define the properties of the test-pieces as 

 accurately as possible. The materials selected include 

 pure varieties of iron (wrought and Armco irons), 

 mild and medium carbon steels of several kinds, 

 steels containing copper, nickel, or chromium as a 

 means of lessening corrosion, and cast irons. An 

 ingenious system of numbering has been adopted, 

 so that specimens can be identified even in the case 

 of considerable corrosion taking place. The actual 

 tests will necessarily occupy a long time, and will be 

 supplemented by laboratory investigations. The 

 paper concludes with a review of some of the problems 

 and theories of corrosion, and with an estimate of 

 the annual wastage of iron-steel through corrosion. 

 For the whole world this loss is estimated to be 

 29 miUion tons, and the cost, after making allowance 

 for protection, to be in the neighbourhood of 700 

 millions sterling. 



In the March issue of British Birds the editor, 

 Mr. H. F. Witherby, gives an account of the progress 

 of the bird-marking scheme during the year 192 1. 

 The number of birds " ringed " during the period 

 was 8997, the greatest total for any year since 1914, 

 and the grand total for the thirteen years of the 

 inquiry has reached the remarkable figure of 105,435. 

 The best figures for individual species are those for 

 the black-headed gull and the song-thrush, of each 

 of which more than 11,000 have been marked 

 since the inquiry began. The whole represents a 

 noteworthy achievement, on which Mr. Witherby 

 and his co-operators are greatly to be congratulated, 

 and further important contributions to our know- 

 ledge of bird-migration are certain to result from 

 the continuance of the work on this scale. Reference 

 is made by Mr. Witherby to a useful discussion 

 which has recently been going on in the pages of 

 the magazine as to the future development of the 

 inquiry. On the one hand, there are arguments in 

 favour of concentration of effort : larger numbers of 

 certain of the more interesting and " remunerative " 

 species might be marked, and the results would be 

 augmented in value if there were large series of 

 recovery records relating to homogeneous or com- 

 parable marking groups. On the other, the oppor- 

 tunities presenting themselves to the majority of co- 

 operators in the inquiry are for promiscuous marking, 

 and these markers might merely be hampered 

 by any attempt at restriction. An account of 



