458 



NATURE 



[March 7, 1901 



the inhabitants of England and of Scotland, mainly of Angla- 

 Saxon origin, voted together on this subject ; wherea? a con- 

 trary opinion regarding this same question was held by the 

 greater proportion of the people of Ireland, and to a large ex- 

 tent by the Welsh, most of whom are derived from Ibero- 

 Mongolian ancestors. It is difficult to account for the diversity 

 in the sentiments of the people above referred to unless we 

 consider it due to their racial mental qualities. Environment 

 has doubtless played an important part in the evolution of these 

 people, but their inherited racial character has had more to do with 

 the position which the Anglo-Saxon race has gained in the world 

 than the mineral wealth, climate, or protection afforded us by 

 our seagirt coast. 



The environment under which even a few generations of men 

 exist would seem capable of influencing the structure of their 

 central nervous system, as illustrated by comparing the mental 

 qualities of our rural and urban population. The conditions 

 under which the city-bred person, child and man, lives engender 

 in the course of a few generations an unstable state of nerve 

 structure, resulting in an excitable character which, if carried 

 beyond a certain point, leads to unsoundness of mind, and may ac- 

 count for the increasing number of lunatics in this and the other 

 large cities of Europe. General Sir RedversBuUer, again, in speak- 

 ing of the soldiers under his command in South Africa, refers 

 to the fact that our city-born men have imperfect sight com- 

 pared with men reared in the open plains of the Transvaal, 

 thus affording us another example of the effects of environment 

 on the race. -These are a few of the many interesting and im- 

 portant subjects which arise in connection with the study of 

 anthropology, including craniology ; and the contents of our 

 museum and library offer unrivalled opportunities to the student 

 seeking for knowledge in those branches of science. 

 : In conclusion, as already stated, much of Hunter's reputation 

 was founded on the result of his labours in those branches of 

 science which tend:to elucidate man's nature ; and during the 

 past century a succession of English surgeons has carried on 

 the work commenced by our great master, enriching our museum 

 and endeavouring to make this college, not only an examining 

 and licensing body, but, what it certainly should be, an imperial 

 institution for the cultivation and diff'usion of those departments 

 of knowledge which bear on the art and science of surgery. The 

 ideas entertained by John Hunter's immediate successors on this 

 subject were ably stated by Sir William Lawrence in his lectures 

 already referred to. He observes that "our own individual 

 credit, and the dignity, honour and reputation of our body, 

 which we are bound to maintain, demand that surgeons should 

 not be behind any other class in the possession either of the 

 cultivation of branches of knowledge directly connected with 

 surgdry or in any of the collateral pursuits less immediately at- 

 tached to it. It is only in reference to such views and objects 

 that the Hunterian collection could have been accepted or can 

 be of any use to this college." Hunter would, if he had still 

 been with us, have thrown all his indomitable energies into 

 the successful working of such an institution, and amidst the 

 turmoil, strife and competition. going on around him would, 

 as. we. see him in this picture, have been engaged in the earnest, 

 accurate, patient study of nature. It remains for our younger 

 members to emulate the example set them by John Hunter, 

 and by such service to secure for themselves lasting satisfac- 

 tion, and beyond that add to the real dignity and utility of their 

 college and their profession. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Oxford. — The 222nd meeting of the Junior Scientific Club 

 was held on Friday, February 22. Mr. H. B. Hartley (Balliol) 

 read a paper entitled, "Polymorphism ; an Historical and 

 Experimental Account," which was followed by a paper by Prof. 

 Townsend entitled, "The Conductivity of Gases." 



Cambridge. — The subject for the Adams prize in 1903 is, 

 "The- bearing on mathematical physics of recent progress in 

 the theory of the representation of discontinuous quantity by 

 series, with special consideration of the logical limitations of the 

 processes involved." The prize is open to all graduates of the 

 University, and is of the value of 225/. Essays are to be sent 

 privately to Ulie Vice-Chancellor by December 16, 1902. 



The tender for the new School of Botany, to be erected behind 



NO. ^'^36, VOT,. 63] 



the Sedgwick Museum, amounts to some 23,000/. It is recom- 

 mended for acceptance by the syndicate. 



An animated debate occurred in the House of Commons on 

 Tuesday on the attitude taken up by the Board of Education to- 

 wards higher-grade elementary schools in which science is 

 taught, leading to the judgment in the case of " Regina v. 

 Cockerton," that grants made by School Boards for scientific 

 instruction are illegal. In the course of his reply to various 

 criticisms, Sir John Gorst said that the Government proposed to 

 introduce a Bill for the creation of secondary education 

 authorities having power to provide instruction in subjects that 

 were not contained in the Elementary Day School and Evening 

 Continuation School Code. He agreed that we should not have 

 a proper system of education until one authority was established 

 in a district, having control over schools of every kind and every 

 grade. If a change of that kind were made, overlappirig would 

 cease and the existing chaos would disappear. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, February 7. — " The Boiling Point of Liquid 

 Hydrogen, determined by Hydrogen and Helium Gas Ther- 

 mometers." By James Dewar, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, and Jacksonian 

 Professor, University of Cambridge. 



In a former paper it was shown that a platinum-resistance 

 thermometer gave for the boiling point of hydrogen - 238""4 C, 

 or 34°'6 absolute. As this value depended on an empirical law 

 correlating temperature and resistance which might break down 

 at such an exceptional temperature, and was in any case deduced 

 by a large extrapolation, it became necessary to. have recourse 

 to the gas thermometer. The gases used as thermometiic 

 substances were hydrogen, oxygen, helium and carbonic acid. 



Taking the average values given by the experiments as 

 being the most probable, then the boiling point of oxygen 

 is - l82°'5 and that of hydrogen is 252''*5, or 20°"5 absolute. 

 The temperature found for the boiling point of oxygen agrees 

 with the mean results of Wroblewski, Olszewski and others. 

 If the boiling point of oxygen is raised to - 182°, which is the 

 highest value it can have ; then an equal addition to the 

 hydrogen value must follow, making it then -252° or 21'* 

 absolute. In a future communication the temperature of solid 

 hydrogen will be discussed. 



February 14. — " On the influence of Ozone on the Vitality of 

 some Pathogenic and other Bacteria." By Dr. Arthur Ransome, 

 F.R.S., and Alexander G. R. Foulerton. 



The experiments have shown that ozone in the dry state) and 

 in such strength as the authors used it, has no appreciable action 

 on the vitality of the various bacteria experimented with, and, 

 .so far, the results are in accordance with those of Sonntag and 

 Ohlmliller. Nor did a prolonged exposure to the action of ozone 

 diminish in any way the pathogenic virulence of B. tzibercuiosis 

 in sputum. Single experiments would also tend to show that 

 ozone can have little, if any, effect on the pathogenic virulence of 

 B. mallet and B. anthracis. 



On the other hand, the experiments would appear to confirm 

 the conclusion arrived at by Ohlmliller as to the bactericidal 

 property of ozone when passed through a fluid medium contain- 

 ing bacteria in suspension. 



A comparison of the inactivity of ozone as a disinfectant in the 

 dry state with its action in the presence of water suggests a 

 superficial resemblance with other gases, such as chlorine and 

 sulphur dioxide. In the absence of further experiment, however, 

 it would not be possible to press the analogy too closely. 



In the dry 5tate, and under the conditions in which it occurs 

 in nature, ozone, then, is not capable of any injurious action on 

 bacteria so far as can be judged from the experiments ; and it is 

 concluded that any purifying action which ozone may have in 

 the economy of nature is due to the direct chemical oxidation of 

 putrescible organic matter, and that it does not in any way hinder 

 the action of bacteria, which latter are, indeed, in their own way, 

 working towards the same end as the ozone itself in resolving 

 dead organic matter to simpler non-putrescible substances. 



" On the Functions o( the Bile as a Solvent." By Benjamin 

 Moore and William H. Parker. Communicated by Prof. E. A. 

 Schafer, F.R.S. 



In this paper evidence is brought forward that the bile exercise 



