November 19, 19 14] 



NATURE 



323 



which considerable attention has been paid in Aus- 

 tralia, and very complete meteorological statistics 

 from all parts ot the country are available. Wet- and 

 dry-bulb records of temperature, rainfall, and other 

 particulars were furnished by the authorities, and the 

 climatic conditions of Northern Australia in particular 

 have already been analysed locally with a view to 

 determine the possibility of the settling of these 

 regions by a white population. Australians are deter- 

 mined to people their country with none but a white 

 population, and one of the problems of the country 

 is how to bring this about successfully under the 

 diverse conditions which prevail in the large tropical 

 areas of the north. 



The time at the disposal of the section was reduced 

 by alterations in the train arrangements between 

 Melbourne and Sydney, and .Sydnev and Brisbane, and 

 by the numerous interesting excursions and hospi- 

 talities so lavishly provided by the local committees. 

 The conditions created bv the war, too, naturally 

 deprived the meetings of the interest which thev 

 would otherwise have occasioned. In spite of this 

 the meetings were very successful, especially in Mel- 

 bourne, and it was only towards the close in Svdnev 

 that interest in the business of the section slackened. 



A very full programme was presented and carried 

 out in >Iclbourne. Prof. B. Moore opened the pro- 

 ct-edings of the section by an address upon the value 

 of research in the development of national health, and 

 put in a strong plea for the wider application of 

 modern scientific discoveries to tlie promotion of the 

 liealth of the race. Sir Edward Schafer exhibited a 

 number of lantern slides of sections of the niammary 

 gland, and pointed out the presence around the alveoli 

 >t non-striped muscle fibres. It is to the contraction 

 : these fibres that he ascribes the laciagogue effect 

 •J. injections of pituitrin. Prof. Halliburton, in colla- 

 boration with Dr. W. E. Dixon, gave an account of 

 their recent investigations into the physiology of the 

 t-rebro-spinal fluid. Numerous lantern slides were 

 -hown illustrative of the response to intravenous in- 

 jections of various extracts by the production and 

 pressure of the cerebro-spinal fluid. They find ex- 

 tracts of dried choroid plexus to be especiallv active 

 in increasing its production. Certain anaesthetics, 

 and excess of COj in the blood particularly, are also 

 powerful stimulating agents. Evidence was adduced 

 to prove that cerebro-spinal fluid is a true secretion, 

 and that it is largely formed by the cells of the choroid 

 plexus. The hormone may be a product of nervous 

 metabolism, and the cerebro-spinal fluid may be an 

 important agent in the rapid elimination of C'O,. A 

 number of interesting observations upon the changes 

 of cerebro-spinal pressure relative to the arterial and 

 venous pressures were illustrated, a full account of 

 which is given by the authors in recent numbers of 

 the Journal of Physiology. 



Prof. W. A. Osborne described experiments per- 

 formed by himself, and in conjunction with Mr. 

 Basil Kilvington, in Melbourne, upon pseudo-motor 

 action, recurrent sensibility, and central neural re- 

 sponse. Mr. Basil Kilvington also reported an experi- 

 mental method of bringing about a successful 

 collateralisation after occlusion of the abdominal 

 aorta, a procedure which might be useful in surgery. 

 Dr. E. H. Embley contributed a paper upon evidence 

 of co-ordinate action in the circulatory system. 



The second day's meeting in Melbourne was begun 

 by a general discussion upon anaesthetics. Prof. 

 A. D. Waller demonstrated a portable apparatus for 

 the administration of chloroform, and dwelt upon the 

 chief dangers to be feared in anaesthesia, and upon 

 the question as to what are the real causes of danger. 

 Dr. E. H. Embley, whose work in Melbourne upon 



NO. 2351, VOL. 94] 



anaesthetics is so well known, discussed the causes 

 and treatment of syncope, excessive intoxication, 

 shock, and various accidental conditions. Prevention 

 of syncope and shock he believes to be best attained 

 by the pre-anaesthetic injection of morphine and 

 atropine, and bv the use of ether, or ether and oxygen, 

 instead of chloroform. Dread of operation by the 

 patient is also largely mitigated by the preliminary 

 use of morphine. Prof. Osborne and Prof. Milroy 

 continued the discussion, the latter describing the 

 effect of anaesthetics upon the electro-cardiogram. 

 Prof. R. F. C. Leith showed lantern slides of the 

 pathological changes in a case of delayed chloroform 

 poisoning, and Prof, ^\'aller summed up the dis- 

 cussion. 



Dr. J. W. Barrett then contributed an important 

 paper upon the vision of persons engaged in naviga- 

 tion and railway services. He strongly advocated the 

 thorough testing at the earliest possible time of the 

 eyesight of all who contemplate entering either ser- 

 vice, so that if the candidates are unsuitable rejection 

 will take place before they have spent time and money 

 in their training. Legislation is required for the 

 purpose. Dr. Barrett instanced a series of acci- 

 dents which were clearly due to defective vision, and 

 which would have been avoided if a thorough exam- 

 ination of the sight of the men in charge had been 

 carried out. The committee of the section passed a 

 resolution recommending the Council of the Associa- 

 tion to print Dr. Barrett's paper in extenso. 



Miss Kincaid read a paper upon the biochemical 

 significance of phosphorus, and claimed to have shown 

 by analysis that there is a general deficiency of 

 phosphorus in the soil and flora of Australia. Further 

 work upon this question is to be done and reported 

 to the Association. 



Dr. S. Sewell contributed a paper upon the 

 mechanism of micturition control in human beings. 



The reports of several research committees were 

 presented. Very little discussion of the individual 

 contributions was possible owing to the shortness of 

 time at disposal. 



The work of the section was continued at Sydney. 

 Sir Thomas Anderson Stewart demonstrated a num- 

 ber of interesting models illustrating physiological 

 processes, e.g., the functions of the corpora Arantii, 

 the nature of sound waves in air, the action of the 

 stapedius muscle, and the effect of simultaneous con- 

 traction of the intercostal muscles. A cvclograph, or 

 apparatus for quickly marking microscopical slides 

 for the identification of any part under the microscope, 

 was also shown. 



Prof. W. A. Osborne was to have opened a dis- 

 cussion upon climate, but as there w-ere no other 

 speakers on the subject he confined his observations 

 to a consideration of the methods of taking tempera- 

 ture by wet-bulb thermometers. The ordinary wet- 

 bulb thermometer is not so sensitive to changes in 

 wind velocity as the human body, and Prof. Osborne 

 described a method of jacketing wet-bulb thermo- 

 meters so as to render them much more sensitive to 

 changes in air currents. He also emphasised the 

 importance of wet-bulb temperature records from a 

 physiological point of view. 



Prof, B. Moore gave the section the results of his 

 repetition of some of the experiments of Dr. Bastian 

 on inorganic colloids. He showed numerous slides 

 illustrating the appearance of branching networks 

 and hyphae. There were no micrococci or other signs 

 of life. Prof. Moore believes that the appearances 

 are merely precipitation forms, the solutions are iso- 

 electric, and give no signs of life. Considerable dis- 

 cussion followed, especially upon the question of 

 infection of the solutions, and upon the methods of 



