September 30, 191 5] 



NATURii- 



\-i<^ 



accordingly. We salute with reverence this big- 

 hearted Englishwoman, but we begf of her that she 

 will not do it again. 



We regret to learn of the death, on September 8, 

 at eighty-one years of age, of Dr. Ugo Schiff, pro- 

 fessor of chemistry in the R. Istltuto di Studi 

 Superiori, Florence. 



Dr. C. H. Wing, professor of chemistry at Cornell 

 University from 1870 to 1874, and at the Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology from 1874 to 1884, 

 died recently at the age of seventy-nine. 



The death is announced, in his fiftieth year, of Dr. 

 K. E. Guthe, professor of physics at the State Uni- 

 versity of Iowa from 1905 to 1909, and at the 

 University of Michigan since the latter date. A 

 native of Hanover aqd educated in Germany, he went 

 to the United States in 1892. He was a member of 

 the jury of awards (electricity) at the St. Louis 

 E-Xposition in 1904, and had made several contribu- 

 tions to the literature of physics. 



Naturalists, and especially ornithologists, through- 

 out the British Islands are the poorer for the sudden 

 death on September 15 of Mr. R. M. Barrington, of 

 Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Though In his sixty- 

 seventh year, he was still full of activity and uf 

 enthusiasm for his favourite studies. An admirable 

 example of the " all-round " naturalist, Mr. Barrington 

 will be especially remembered for his work on the 

 migration of birds. From 1880 he collected specimens 

 forwarded to him by llghtkeepers around the Irish 

 coasts, and the results of these observations were pub- 

 lished in a substantial volume in the year 1900. Many 

 birds were thus recognised for the first time as Irish 

 species— such as the yellow-browed warbler, the 

 aquatic warbler, the barred warbler, Pallas 's grass- 

 hopper warbler, the short-toed lark, the shore-lark, 

 the mealy and Greenland ledpolls. The specimens 

 accumulated were either passed on to the National 

 Museum in Dublin, or preserved in Mr. Barrington's 

 beautifully kept private museum at Fassaroe, in 

 which he took great pride and pleasure, and which 

 he was always ready to show to friends, expounding 

 the while from the wide experience with which his 

 1 memory was stored. He was a keen botanist, having 

 in his younger days paid especial attention to the 

 Alpine plants of Ireland. He threw himself heartily 

 into many enterprises for extending biological know- 

 ledge and interest, having been one of the founders 

 of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, and a valued 

 member of council of the Royal Irish Academy, the 

 Dublin Society, and the Zoological Society of Ireland, 

 To his wide knowledge of natural history there were 

 added a personal charm and a kindly humour which 

 will make the memory of his friendship a high 

 privilege. 



It has been found that at the present time there 

 are three main causes which delay the production 

 and repair of aircraft and their parts, namely, lack of 

 co-ordination between those engaged in aeroplane 

 construction, difficulties of finance, and shortage and 

 wastage of labour. To remedy these disadvantages, 

 NO. 2396, VOL. 96] 



it is proposed to establish a central body under the 

 title "Aeronautical Production Committee" or some 

 similar name, the functions of which will include the 

 promotion of co-operation and co-ordination in the 

 aeronautical industry, the provision of technical 

 assistance otherwise unobtainable for financial institu- 

 tions, and the development of arrangements for the 

 better utilisation of the existing labour and the train- 

 ing of as many men for aeronautical work as the 

 situation demands. It is estimated that an expendi- 

 ture of about loo^ per week would enable the com- 

 mittee to supply the Army and Navy with seven more 

 aeroplanes every week, and It Is suggested that the 

 sum might be raised partly by a Government subsidy, 

 partly by a small fee charged to the makers for the 

 benefits they would derive from the central bureau, 

 and partly by voluntary subscriptions. The scheme 

 has received the support of many eminent authorities, 

 and further particulars can be obtained from the 

 temporary secretary, Mr, L. Blin Desbleds, 39 Victoria 

 Street, Westminster, S.W. 



Just before five o'clock on Thursday morning last, 

 September 23, a fire was discovered In the Technical 

 School buildings. Market Street, Newton Abbot, and 

 although the firemen succeeded In confining the out- 

 break to one room, much damage was done to the 

 school museum, which Included the life-long collec- 

 tion of the late Mr. W. Vicary, of The Priory, Exeter, 

 bequeathed some years ago to his nephew, Mr. W. 

 Vicary, chairman of the governors of the Technical 

 School. The collection was considered to be one of 

 the finest out of London, and many specimens were 

 believed to be unique. It included thousands of speci- 

 mens of minerals, some being very fine and rare. 

 There were also some fine old flints from Dartmoor, 

 stone implements, and a valuable collection of corals. 

 Specimens from all parts of the world were included 

 in the collection, and many cannot be replaced. 

 There was also an extensive collection of butterflies 

 of numerous varieties, and some magnificent examples 

 of sampler work, some dating from the sixteenth 

 century. The massive cases, valued at about 300Z., 

 were completely destroyed, and it is probable that the 

 bulk of the collection is rendered useless by the great 

 heat. Other things lost are the records of the school 

 from 1868, the year of its inception, and a collection 

 of photographs, most of which cannot be replaced, of 

 people who have been connected with the school. 



A Home Grown War Food Exhibition, organised by 

 the Daily Mail, was held at the Horticultural Hall, 

 Westminster, last week. When it is considered that 

 the growth, development, and power to function of 

 all the tissues of the body are derived directly from 

 the foodstuff's ingested, there need be no apology for 

 Investing these substances with an importance of the 

 first order. To say that the exhibition was a success 

 falls far short of the whole truth It has demon- 

 strated that British people in their thousands (there 

 were more than 20,000 competitors) can produce 

 wheat, vegetables, eggs, butter, cheese, honey, and 

 jams in quality as fine as any other nation in the 

 world. Whether most of these foodstuffs can be pro- 

 duced as cheaply in this country as In France and 



