June 24, 1922 



NATURE 



823 



was experienced some 7000 ft. below, but oiie of the 

 party, Maj. Morshead, was overcome and had to fall 

 out. In such a case long rest at a lower altitude seems 

 to be essential. The pace was very slow, but a greater 

 height could possibly have been reached if the neces- 

 sity for returning to the camp had not led Mr. Mallory 

 to believe it wise to turn before the north-east 

 shoulder was reached. 



The long drought* of 1921 has been followed by 

 excessive flowering of many kinds of trees and shrubs 

 during the present spring, but in no instance has 

 this been more noticeable than in the hawthorn, for 

 both as a cultivated plant and as a wildjng it has 

 rarely been known to flower so freely. Dr. C. J. 

 Bond, of Leicester, directs attention to this subject 

 in a letter just received. In addition to its blossom- 

 ing more freely than usual, hawthorn has been remark- 

 able from the fact that a considerable number of 

 plants have borne pink or pink-tinged flowers. This 

 has given rise to speculation as to the reason for the 

 sudden appearance of so many pink-fiowered plants, 

 and suggestions have been made that it may be due 

 to the abnormal conditions of sunshine and drought 

 obtaining last year and during the present flowering 

 time, or to a process of evolution that is gradually 

 taking place in the species. But pink-fiowered 

 hawthorns have not been uncommon in a wild state 

 in the past, and it is doubtful whether the actual 

 percentage of pink-fiowered plants is any higher this 

 year than in any previous year, but so many more 

 plants than usual are flowering that they attract 

 more attention. Pink and red flowered hawthorns 

 have been grown in gardens for a very long period, 

 and not infrequently they have been planted in parks, 

 hedgerows, and on the outskirts of woods. Seed 

 collectors in autumn are unlikely to distinguish 

 between these and white-flowered trees, while birds 

 are even less likely to discriminate. From such seeds, 

 plants bearing white, pink, or pink-tinged flowers may 

 be expected. These plants, used for field hedges, may 

 30 or 40 years later run wild and appear as trees, or 

 seeds carried by birds and dropped in uncultivated 

 ground may produce pink-fiowered trees. While 

 interesting, the appearance of pink-flowered haw- 

 thorns under wild or semi-wild conditions cannot be 

 regarded as a new phenomenon or of great botanical 

 importance, and it is unUkely that any marked 

 natural change in the colour of the flowers throughout 

 the species is in progress. 



An interesting discovery of a prehistoric village site 

 is reported from Sidmouth. During the last year, 

 workmen who have been employed in laying out the 

 grounds of the residence of Mr. D. Chambers in Sid- 

 road, have brought to light a number of objects, 

 more than' three hundred in all, and ranging in date 

 from neolithic times to the eighteenth century. The 

 finds include stone axes, arrow-heads, scrapers, flint 

 knives and cores, a quantity of pottery, objects prob- 

 ably of Saxon and Norman date, and modern glass, 

 of which one fragment is dated 1717. One object of 

 flint, about one inch in diameter, is claimed to be a 

 representation of the human face. Many of these 

 NO. 2747, VOL, 109] 



objects were found in the course of removing old 

 earthen banks, some of which may possibly have 

 formed part of the original protective works of the 

 site. The river and an adjacent brook provided an 

 ample water-supply, while the site, which is well 

 above the level of the river meadows, is situated 

 within a quarter of a mile from the old Roman road 

 from Exeter to Lyme Regis. The discovery is of 

 particular interest in view of the evidence it affords 

 of continuous occupation over such a considerable 

 period of time. The objects discovered are now on 

 exhibition in the house of the owners of the site and 

 are available for the inspection of visitors, but ulti- 

 mately a selection from them will be presented to 

 the town. 



> The Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for 

 1922 has been awarded by the Council, with the 

 approval of 'the president, H.R.H. The Duke of 

 Connaught and Strathearn, to Sir Dugald Clerk, in 

 recognition of his important contributions, both theo- 

 retical and practical, to the development, of the 

 internal combustion engine, which in its later forms 

 has rendered aerial navigation possible, and is also 

 so extensively employed in the motor car, in the sub- 

 marine, and for many other purposes. The Albert 

 medal was founded in 1863 as a memorial of the 

 Prince Consort, who was president of the Society 

 from 1843 to 1 86 1, and is awarded annually " for dis- 

 tinguished merit in promoting Arts, Manufactures, 

 and Commerce." 



The annual conversazione of the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers will be held on Tuesday, June 27, at the 

 Institution, at 8.30 p.m. 



The Jenner Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine 

 has been awarded to Dr. J. C. McVail, and will be 

 presented at the annual dinner of the Society on 

 Thursday, July 6. 



Mr. J. H. Nicholson, assistant lecturer in educa- 

 tion in the University of Bristol, has been elected to 

 an Albert Kahn Travelling Fellowship. The value 

 of the fellowship is 1000/. 



By invitation of the director of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society's Gardens, Wisley, Ripley, Surrey, the 

 annual field meeting of the Association of Economic 

 Biologists will be held in the Gardens on Friday next, 

 June 30. 



The annual general meeting of the Research 

 Defence Society will be held at the house of the 

 Medical Society of London, 11 Chandos Street, 

 Cavendish Square, W.i, on Tuesday, June 27, at 3.30. 

 The chair will be taken by the Rt. Hon. Viscount 

 Knutsford, and a short address will be given by Sir 

 Walter Fletcher on medical research and national life. 



In connection with the annual general meeting of 

 the Eugenics Education Society a conference on " The 

 Inheritance of Mental Qualities, Good and Bad," will 

 be held at the Royal Society, Burlington House, on 

 Tuesday, July 4, at 5.30. Among the speakers will 

 be Dr. Tredgold, Dr. C. H. Bond, Dr. Bernard Hol- 

 lander, and Mr. R. A. Fisher. 



