484 



NATURE 



[December 30, 19 15 



It may mean some self-sacrifice, but self-sacrifice 

 just now is the duty of all. There must not be 

 recourse to expensive foods, the quantity of 

 animal food must be reduced and replaced by 

 vegetables, especially those rich in nutriment. 

 Above all, there must be no waste, no throwing- 

 away, for example, of bones and dripping. 



The little pamphlet is full of useful hints, based 

 on accurate scientific knowledge and trust- 

 worthy statistics. The nation roughly spends 

 6oo,ooo,oooZ. per annum on its food. The authors 

 estimate that it is not possible to save more than 

 a tenth of this if due regard is to be paid to 

 health and to the necessity of feeding children 

 well at any cost. Sixty million pounds saved a 

 year looks a large sum, but in these days, when 

 millions are treated almost like sovereigns used 

 to be, it will not be a very large fraction of the 

 total necessary saving if the war is to be carried 

 out to a successful end. Statisticians tell us 

 that the ordinary savings of the nation in peace 

 time amount to 400,000,000!. This will have to 

 be increased to 1,600, 000, oooZ. ; and sixty mil- 

 lions is only one-twentieth of the additional 

 1, 200,000, oooL which must go in the shape of 

 taxes and loans to war purposes. The other 

 nineteen-twentieths of this colossal sum must 

 come from savings in other directions, or else 

 the saving in food must be greater ; we can only 

 hope that Profs. Wood and Hopkins have placed 

 their estimate too low. 



SIR JOHN RHYS. 



THE wonderful romance of the life of Sir John 

 Rhys and the great work which he did for 

 Celtic learning have formed the theine of many 

 a writer during the past week. In the pages of 

 Nature it is appropriate to speak of the man as 

 he appeared to his scientific friends. The 

 dominant qualities of his mind, as they were 

 again and again revealed in intimate personal 

 contact, were a never-failing freshness and elas- 

 ticity together with the keen insight which seized 

 at once upon the larger problems. "Well, what 

 has been going on in science lately?" was his 

 invariable question when we met after an interval ; 

 and his deep interest was always there, whether 

 the subject was radio-activity, or some new light 

 upon heredity and evolution, or iVrrhenius's hypo- 

 thesis of life-bearing germs, persisting from the 

 eternal past, permeating all space, and driven by 

 the pressure of light to all the worlds. And it 

 was just the same in the province where he was 

 master. John Rhys was always looking for the 

 big, far-reaching conclusions. Place-names in the 

 Iberian peninsula were the data for inferring a 

 former southward extension of the Basques ; while 

 their northern migration was tentatively sug- 

 gested by the names of chiefs among the Picts, 

 that mysterious people of which scarcely any- 

 thing is certainly known. The present writer has 

 heard him tell of the Irish chieftain of whom it 

 is recorded in time-worn stone that he was "the 

 summoner of the fairies " — evidence for a fascin- 

 NO. 2409, VOL. 96] 



ating interpretation of an ancient folk-lore. The 

 fairies, being an older race, living in caves and 

 clinging to the hills, would still be called on by 

 their conquerors, to assist, for example, in repell- 

 ing some new invader. Such were the delightful 

 subjects of which he talked with scientific friends, 

 and those who would wish to trace, in brief com- 

 pass, the working of his master mind, cannot do 

 better than read and re-read his presidential 

 address to Section H of the British Association 

 at Bradford (1900), in which he "endeavoured to 

 substitute for the rabble of divinities and demons, 

 of fairies and phantoms that disport themselves 

 at large in Celtic legend, a possible succession of 

 peoples, to each of which should be ascribed its 

 own proper attributes." 



With regard to his methods, one little incident 

 may be recorded. About five years ago Lady 

 Rhys told the present writer of a recent journey 

 in Spain, and how the Principal, although with 

 no conversational experience of the language, 

 went up to a man, and, without any hesitation, 

 began to ply him with questions, reading them 

 out of a Spanish conversation book. In this way, 

 taking opportunities as they occurred, he made 

 remarkably rapid prepress. 



As head of a college it was always his anxiety 

 to promote friendliness and sympathy, and he 

 must, I think, have been satisfied that his efforts 

 were attended with success. The kindness of his 

 heart was well known to those of his many friends 

 who were in trouble, and they at least could dimly 

 imagine the blank left by the death, in 191 1, of 

 the comrade who had trodden with him the noble 

 journey of his life. 



It is hoped that these few sentences will enable 

 the reader to realise in part the important place 

 held by this great man in the brotherhood of 

 learning, and will reveal something of the affec- 

 tion and admiration felt for him by his friends, 

 and especially by the society to which he brought 

 such high distinction. E. B. P. 



NOTES. 



The action of the Government in assigning a sum 

 of about 30,oooZ. for the development of scientific and 

 industrial research seems likely to have an important 

 influence in British possessions overseas. The Com- 

 monwealth of Australia is apparently prepared to 

 expend whatever sum is necessary to establish and 

 administer an institution for such research, even if the 

 cost amounts to half a million. The Morning Post 

 of December 24 makes this announcement, but no 

 details are given; and it is not clear whether the 

 Premier of the Commonwealth expressed the intention 

 of his Government to put aside the amount named for 

 an institution of scientific research in relation to in- 

 dustry, or only gave a general assurance that such an 

 outlay would be forthcoming when believed to be 

 necessary. We shall look with close attention for the 

 announcement that the substantial sum mentioned in 

 the report has actually been granted for the establish 

 ment of a national laboratory in Australia. 



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