m; 



NATURE 



[October 8, 1914 



Dr. F. W. Dyson delivered the second dis- 

 course on "Greenwich Observatory and its 

 Work." 



A number of week-end excursions were made, 

 and, owingf largely to the beau.tiful, though un- 

 seasonable, weather, were all successful. The 

 greater number of the excursionists were Over- 

 seas members, the Australian members being 

 restricted largely to the official leaders and experts 

 in what may be called "side-issues." Thus, a 

 geological excursion would be accompanied by 

 someone who could name plants, and so on. 



About forty went by special train to Bacchus 

 Marsh to inspect the Permo-Carboniferous 

 glacials. Drs. Hall and Pritchard were the 

 leaders, and Messrs. Sweet and Brittlebank, who 

 discovered and worked out the beds, were present 

 to help, and the main features were clearly seen. 



The Surveyor-General, Mr. J. M. Reed, led a 

 party by train and by coach over the dacite moun- 

 tains to Marysville. Botanists, zoologists, and 

 sightseers had a splendid, though somewhat 

 arduous, time. Dr. C. S. Sutton and Mr. James 

 Cuming, who was the host for the occasion, took 

 a very large number by train to Warburton and 

 Cement Creek. This is the home of big trees, 

 though most of the giants have vanished. A visit 

 was paid to the works of Messrs. Cuming, Smith 

 and Co., where a number of chemical products 

 from the eucalyptus are prepared on a fairly large 

 scale. The naturalists revelled in the rich fern 

 gullies with their wealth of zoological and 

 botanical novelties. 



A long day's excursion to the Macedon district 

 was made possible by the generosity of the 

 Automobile Club of Victoria, which provided cars. 

 Prof. Skeats and Dr. Summers were the leaders, 

 and the remarkable series of igneous rocks, for 

 which the locality is famous, were well explored. 



Prof. A. J. Ewart and Mr. R. Grimwade took 

 a very large party by train along the narrow 

 gauge track to Emerald. The mountain forest 

 country was seen and large nurseries for raising 

 fruit trees, and the Bosisto experimental oil-farm 

 were visited. At the latter place, Messrs. Grim- 

 wade and Co. are cultivating scent plants, and 

 have large experimental plantations of eucalyptus. 

 Botanically, the excursion was a great success, 

 as many typical Australian plants were seen. 



A large party went by special train to Ballarat, 

 the second city of the State. The mayors of the 

 twin cities were most hospitable, and Mr. Wm. 

 Baragwanath, the geological surveyor in charge 

 of the district, demonstrated the leading features. 

 The Government geologist, Mr. H. Herman, took 

 another large party to Bendigo, where the famous 

 " saddle " reefs were the chief source of attraction. 

 The structure of the field was very clearly seen, 

 and the lavish hospitality of the mayor and of 

 the leading citizens was highly appreciated. Both 

 here and at Ballarat, the plentiful loan of motor- 

 cars made the inspection of wide areas of the 

 surrounding country possible. 



An excursion to the National Park at Wilson's 

 Promontory, where 150 square miles of moun- 



NO. 2345, VOL. 94] 



tainous country is reserved as a sanctuary for 

 animals and plants, had been planned by steamer. 

 Almost at the last moment, the war troubles pre- 

 vented the loan of the vessel. However, Mr. C. 

 Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works 

 Department, the leader, and especially Mr. 

 J. A. Kershaw, curator of the National 

 Museum, rnanaged an overland transport, and the 

 visit was thoroughly enjoyed by the small number 

 who went. 



Visits were paid to the Central Research Farm 

 at Werribee under Dr. S. S. Cameron, Director 

 of Agriculture, and to the Bacchus Marsh irri- 

 gated area under Dr. Elwood Mead. 



Besides these official excursions, a large number 

 were made under private guidance, and many 

 special entertainments were given. 



The meeting was, from all points, most suc- 

 cessful; the Victorian members numbered 1998, 

 and the details of organisation were under the 

 control of Prof. Baldwin Spencer. 



T. S. Hall. 



NOTES. 



The Research Defence Society has prepared an in- 

 structive leaflet upon the subject of protection against 

 typhoid fever, dealt with by the honorary secretary 

 of the society, Mr. Stephen Paget, elsewhere in the 

 present issue of Nature. The society sends out sup- 

 plies of this leaflet, and makes arrangements for pro- 

 viding the treatment, free of charge. Application 

 should be made to the hon. secretary, Research De- 

 fence Society, 21 Ladbroke Square, London, W. 



It is reported by a Reuter message from Smyrna 

 that an earthquake which occurred at midnight on 

 Saturday, October 3, partly destroyed the towns of 

 Isbarta and Burdur in the province of Konia, Asia 

 Minor. 



The death occurred on September 30, at eighty- 

 eight years of age, of Sir Henry Littlejohn, late presi- 

 dent of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, 

 professor of forensic medicine in the University of 

 Edinburgh in the years 1897-1906, medical officer of 

 health for Edinburgh from 1862 to 1908, and the 

 author of many publications on legal medicine and 

 public health. 



The attention of our readers may be usefully 

 directed to the joint propaganda of the Fisheries 

 Organisation Society and- the National Deep Sea 

 Protection Association. These bodies have issued a 

 reprint of an article, by Mr. Stephen Reynolds, oh 

 fish-food in wartime, and a series of very practical 

 recipes and hints on cooking and buying fish, in 

 which particular attention is directed to the use of 

 cured herrings and other fish. The Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries also issue leaflets relating to 

 the further utilisation of fish and salted herrings as 

 food. It is very desirable that the propagandist 

 efforts to which we refer should be made as widely 

 known as possible. Deep-sea fishing is suffering 

 severely from the restriction of the fishing grounds, 

 from actual war losses, and from the diversion of 



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