September 2^, 1915] 



NATURE 



91 



confining themselves to a consideration chiefly of the 

 Zeppelin airship as a weapon of war. This aspect, 

 while fascinating to the layman, is to the average 

 technical mind much the least attractive avenue of 

 speculation and inquiry, seeing that difficulties which 

 can be comfortably overcome by a peace-airship are 

 quite insuperable in one for use in ofTensive opera- 

 tions. It is easy to conceive airships in the future 

 having sufficient strength to withstand all ordinary 

 weather, but it is frankly impossible to conceive an 

 airship that will stand any chance of surviving the 

 anti-aircraft gunnery of the immediate future, pro- 

 vided it can be seen by the gunner. For offensive 

 operations of value, the airship cannot avoid being 

 in sight of the ground, and consequently it will be 

 unable to undertake such operations. All war, how- 

 ever, does not consist of fighting, and there is plenty 

 of scope for the excellent qualities of lighter-than-air 

 aircraft in reconnaissance and so forth. It is a pity 

 that so much ill-informed matter has been written 

 about Zeppelins as aerial " Dreadnoughts " — in point 

 of fact, there is very little else they can do when 

 attacked but run away. The authors of this article 

 are to be congratulated on the sane aspect of the 

 case they have presented. 



During the recent meeting of thp British Associa- 

 tion, the members were invited by the Manchester 

 Literary and Philosophical Society to visit its house 

 in George Street, Manchester. Particulir interest is 

 attached to this house, since it w^as for many years 

 the scene of the labours of John Dalton, and contains 

 a collection of his apparatus, lecture diagrams, note- 

 books, and manuscripts. This collection, along with 

 other treasures belonging to the society, was set out 

 for exhibition, and was described to the visitors by 

 Prof. W. W. Haldane Gee. The apparatus, which is 

 in a remarkably good state of preservation, includes a 

 valuable collection of instruments used by Dalton in 

 his researches and in his lectures on chemistry, heat, 

 light, sound, electricity, mechanics, meteorology, and 

 astronomy. The diagrams, many of which refer to 

 the atomic theory, are those used by Dalton to illus- 

 trate his lectures. They are described by Prof. W. W. 

 Haldane Gee, Dr. H. F. Coward, and Dr. Arthur 

 Harden in a " Memoir " of the society. The note- 

 books, manuscripts, etc., which are also described in 

 the "Memoir," show the natuie and scope of Dalton 's 

 lectures, and give some interesting information about 

 his expenses The Manchester Literary and Philo- 

 sophical Society is one of the oldest scientific institu- 

 tions in the world, and has held its meetings in the 

 house in George Street for nearly 120 years. The list 

 of its past presidents includes such illustrious names 

 as James Prescott Joule, John Dalton, Sir William 

 Fairbairn, and Sir Henry Roscoe. The society 

 possesses a very valuable library, which includes a 

 collection of the publications of almost all the 

 important scientific societies from their foundation. 



A TABLET was un veiled on September 18 in Chelten- 

 ham College Chapel, and a life-size portrait by Mr. 

 Hugh Riviere in the College Library, to the memory 

 of Dr. E, A. Wilson, who perished with Captain Scott 

 NO. 2395, VOL. 96] 



in the Antarctic. The late Dr. Wilson was educated 

 at Cheltenham College. 



At the sale by auction of the Amesbury Abbey 

 estate on September 21, the historic monument of 

 Stonehenge was purchased for 6600Z. by a local land- 

 owner, Mr. C. H. E. Chubb, of Bemerton Lodge, 

 Salisbury. The estate came into the market in con- 

 sequence of the deaths of Sir Edmund Antrobus and 

 of his only son, who was killed in action last October. 

 As Stonehenge is under the protection of the Ancient 

 Monuments Act, no steps can be taken by the owner 

 to alter or remove any parts of this remarkable relic 

 of antiquity. 



According to the Morning Post correspondent at 

 Christiania, a telegram from Archangel to the Foreign 

 Office there states that the Eclipse Expedition, under 

 Commander Sverdrup, has returned, and that all on 

 board are safe Commander Sverdrup left Christiania 

 on July 15, 1914, at the request of the Russian 

 Government, with the object of seeking for traces of 

 the Russian expeditions under Brusiloff and Rusanoff, 

 which had been lost in the Polar regions. He 

 wintered in the western portion of the Taimyr 

 Peninsula, and engaged in exploration work during 

 the succeeding summer, but found no traces of the 

 missing Russians. 



Sir Frederick Donaldsom, Chief Superintendent 

 of Ordnance Factories, has been appointed to act for 

 the time being as technical adviser to the Ministry 

 of Munitions. In the meantime, arrangements have, 

 been made for Mr. V. L. Raven, chief mechanical 

 engineer of the North-Eastern Railway, whose ser- 

 vices have been temporarily placed at the disposal 

 of the Minister of Munitions by the board of directors, 

 to perform the duties of acting chief superintendent 

 of the Royal Ordnance Factories,. Woolwich. 



The Minister of Munitions of War, with the con- 

 currence of the Home Secretary, has appointed a 

 committee to consider and advise on questions of 

 industrial fatigue, hours of labour, and other matters 

 affecting the p>ersonal health and physical efficiency of 

 workers in munition factories and workshops. The 

 committee is constituted as follows : — Sir George 

 Newman (chairman); Sir Thomas Barlow, Bt., 

 K.C.V.O., F.R.S. ; G. Bellhouse; Prof. A. E. Boycott, 

 F.R.S. ; J. R. Clynes, M.P. ; E. L. Collis ; Dr. W. M. 

 Fletcher, F.R.S.; Prof. Leonard E. Hill, F.R.S.; 

 Samuel Osborn, J. P., Sheffield; Miss R. E. Squire, 

 and Mrs. H. J. Tennant. Mr. E. H. Pelham has been 

 appointed secretary to the committee; and all com- 

 munications should be addressed to him at the offices 

 of the Board of Education, Whitehall, S.W. 



The nature and limitations of portable fire-extin- 

 guishers were dealt with in articles in Nature of 

 June 3 and July 22. Sir Edward Henry, the Com- 

 missioner of Metropolitan Police, has now repeated a 

 warning issued on June 28 that chemical liquid fire 

 extinguishers should not be purchased without a 

 written g^uarantee that they comply with the specifica- 

 tion of the Board of Trade, Office of Works, Metro- 

 politan Police, or some approved fire prevention 



