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NATURE 



[December 17, 1914 



party, while makinj^ an ascent to study the eruption, 

 was caught in a snowstorm and nearly overwhelmed 

 by snowslides almost in the path of the lava streams. 



La Nature has again made its appearance — the first 

 time since the beginning of August, when publication 

 was suspended on account of the war, most of its staff 

 having joined the colours, while its printers, photo- 

 graphers, and engravers had ceased work. The date 

 of No. 2149 of our interesting contemporary and 

 namesake was August i, and that of the next issue. 

 No. 2150, is December 12. The articles in this issue 

 deal almost entirely with subjects relating to the 

 present war, among them being armoured trains, the 

 spirit of science in the time of war, Cracow, the 

 defence of Belgium by inundations, and dum-dum 

 bullets. We trust that an unbroken and long exist- 

 ence is now in store for this weekly review of science 

 and its applications to art and industry. 



The death is announced, at sixty years of age, of 

 Mr. W. W. Rockhill, who did some valuable scientific 

 exploration in China and Tibet under the auspices 

 of the Smithsonian Institution about twenty-four years 

 ago, and was the author of several important works 

 upon this and other Oriental subjects. In 1884, when 

 attached to the U.S. Legation in Peking, Mr. Rock- 

 hill began the studv of the Tibetan and Chinese 

 languages, with the view of undertaking exploration 

 in Tibet. Four years later he started from Peking, 

 and was across the frontier in March, 1889. Though 

 he had to abandon his intention to visit Lhasa, he 

 carried out successfully a long journey through much 

 unknown country, and the narrative of his expedition 

 is described in his "Land of the Lamas," published 

 in 1891. His second great journey, described in his 

 "Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 

 1891 and 1892," earned for him the gold medal of the 

 Royal Geographical Society. During the eleven 

 months which this journey lasted, Mr. Rockhill 

 travelled 8000 miles, surveyed 3400 miles, and crossed 

 69 passes, all more than 14,500 ft. above sea-level. 

 The volume in which he describes this journey takes 

 a notable place among serious works on Central Asia. 

 Mr. Rockhill was the leading American authority on 

 Chinese matters, and he was on his way to Peking, 

 where he was going to take, a new appointment as 

 adviser to President Yuan-Shi-kai, when he was taken 

 ill. On December 4 he was removed from the steamer 

 on which he was a passenger to the hospital at 

 Honolulu, where he died from heart disease. 



The issue of the British Medical Journal for Decem- 

 ber 5 contains a statement of the schemes for research 

 drawn up by the Medical Research Committee for the 

 National Health Insurance Joint Committee, and since 

 approved by the responsible Minister. The grants in 

 aid of medical research arise from the annual revenue 

 accruing from the penny in respect of each insured 

 person (payable out of moneys provided by Parliament) 

 to be applied for the purposes of research. The total 

 amount available for 1914 is 56,000/., of which 12,065/. 

 has been spent on the purchase of Mount Vernon Hos- 

 pital, and 7533/. on repairs, equipment, and salary. 

 Administration is estimated to cost nearly 3000L, and 

 NO. 2355, VOL. 94] 



the research scheme, including a provision for addi- 

 tional grants for laboratory expenditure, more than 

 24,000?. This leaves an estimated balance of nearly 

 io,oooJ., which, it is expected, will be reduced by the 

 demands for special work needed in connection with 

 the war. This special work is the extension of exist- 

 ing facilities for bacteriological investigation of in- 

 fected wounds at the general military hospitals, in- 

 cluding Territorial general hospitals, and the organisa- 

 tion for the adequate compilation of the medical and 

 surgical statistics of the war. Among other subjects 

 of medical research for which provision has been made 

 are such matters as tuberculosis, rickets, and rheu- 

 matic infections. The research committee proposes, 

 in order that researches carried out at different centres 

 may be co-ordinated, to establish "special investiga- 

 tion committees " composed of one or more of the 

 scientific members of the research committee, of mem- 

 bers of the staff of the Central Institute, and of direc- 

 tors or workers in other research centres. The com- 

 mittee contemplates the publication of reports of work 

 done upon special subjects with assistance from the 

 research fund. 



Twenty-five years have passed since the death of 

 that eminent Russian traveller, N, M. Miklukho- 

 Maklay. An account of his researches in geography 

 and anthropology by Mr. N. A. Yanchuk has been 

 translated in the December issue of Man by M. A. 

 Czaplicka. He was a member of various scientific 

 expeditions to the Canary and Madeira Islands, 

 Morocco, New Guinea, Java, Malacca, and Australia. 

 On his return to Russia in 1887 he commenced the 

 preparation of a complete account of his travels, of 

 which only one volume was completed before his 

 death in the following year. Since then his papers 

 have remained untouched. It may be hoped that on 

 the conclusion of the war arrangements may be made 

 for the publication of this valuable material. Mean- 

 while the bibliography of numerous papers contributed 

 to scientific societies, which is appended to this article, 

 will illustrate his marvellous activity and the wide 

 range of his investigatons in geography and anthro- 

 pology. 



An account of the trout or charrs of New England 

 is given by Mr. W. C. Kendall, of the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries, in vol. viii., No. i, of the 

 Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, 

 and is rendered especially valuable by a series of seven 

 very fine coloured plates illustrating the different 

 species. Referring in his preface to these plates, 

 which have been reproduced by Werner and Winter, 

 of Frankfurt, the author says, " the paintings were 

 made by the painstaking artist, Walter H. Rich, of 

 Portland, Maine, of whose work the only possible 

 criticism is it is too conscientiously true to life." 

 The author has done his work with great thorough- 

 ness, both as regards the detailed scientific descriptions 

 of the different species and varieties, and as regards 

 the account of their habits and the conditions under 

 which they are caught. The report should be equally 

 useful to the naturalist and to the fisherman. 



The fishes obtained by the Terra Nova on Captain 

 Scott's Antarctic Expedition are described by Mr. C. 



