70 



NATURE 



March 28, 1918 



(2) the prosecution and punishment of animals; Lt.- 

 Col. Sir Francis Younghusband, three lectures on the 

 abode of snow : its appearance, inhabitants, and his- 

 tory; Prof. E. H. Barton, two lectures on musical in- 

 struments scientifically considered; Prof. H. F. Newall, 

 two lectures on modern j,nvestigation of the sun's sur- 

 face; Prof. C. J. Patten, three lectures on problems 

 in bird-migration. The Friday meetings will com- 

 mence on April 12, when Prof'. E. C. C. Baly will 

 deliver a discourse on absorption and phosphorescence. 

 Succeeding discourses will probably be given by Major 

 G. I. Taylor, Sir A. Daniel Hall, Sir George Green- 

 hill, Prof. F. Gowland-Hopkins, Dr. A. Barton 

 Rendle, and Sir Boverton Redwood. 



The annual report of the council of the Institute of 

 Metals, presented at the lecent annual genera) meet- 

 ing, shows that the stimulating- influence of war con- 

 ditions upon the activities of the institute has continued 

 to make itself felt during the year. The more general 

 employment of scientific metallurgists in works en- 

 gaged directly and indirectly in the production^ of 

 munitions of war has aroused the interest of technical 

 and scientific expert? and of manufacturers in the 

 work of the institute, and this has led to a large in- 

 crease in the applications for membership. The " re- 

 search work organised by the Corrosion Research 

 Committee is still being conducted with the assistance 

 of funds contributed by the Department of Scientific 

 and Industrial Research, by various associations and 

 manufacturing firms, and by the institute. The 

 Government grant-in-aid was increased during the 

 year from 650I. to loooL per annum. A further 

 Government grant-in-aid of 450Z. has been received, 

 together with a grant of a similar amount from the 

 British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion. The aggregate sum of 900L has been placed at 

 the disposal of the institute in order to carry out an 

 investigation into the cause of the corrosion of con- 

 denser tubes on land by fresh water. For the purpose 

 of conducting this investigation, a Fresh-water Corro- 

 sion Research Committee was appointed as a sub- 

 committee of the Corrosion Research Committee. 



Another Indian "miracle" has been explained by 

 scientific investigation. The Pioneer Mail of January 

 II reports a lecture by Sir J: C. Bose on "The Praying 

 Palm Tree " of Faridpur. While the temple bells 

 call the people to evening prayer, this tree has recently 

 been seen to bow down in prostration, and to erect 

 its head on the following morning. Large numbers of 

 pilgrims have been attracted to the place, and offerings 

 to the tree are said to have been the means of effecting 

 marvellous cures. Sir J. C. Bose first procured photo- 

 graphs which proved the phenomenon to be real. The 

 next step was to devise a special apparatus to record 

 continuously the movement of the tree by day and 

 night. The records showed that it fell vvith the rise 

 of temperature and rose with the fall. The records 

 obtained in the case of other trees brought out the 

 fact that all the trees are moving, each movement 

 being due to changes in their environment. 



The history of William Bullock's famous museum, 

 by Mr. W. H. Muhens, which appears in the Museums 

 Journal for March, will be read with interest by all 

 who are concerned with the rise and development of 

 museums in this country. This account, which is not 

 yet completed, is devoted to an analysis of the various 

 editions of the catalogue, or "Companion," which 

 served as the guide to the collections, and to the de- 

 scription of the final dispersal of the museum and its 

 contents by auction, which took place in 1819. This 

 issue of the Journal also publishes an appeal to 

 museums from the Ministry of Food urging them to 

 spare no effort to instruct the public as to ways and 

 NO. 2526, VOL. lOl] 



means of food production and food conservation. We 

 are glad indeed to find that the purposes of museums 

 are at last recognised by the Government as serving 

 something more than " places of innocent amuse- 

 ment," activities which, in time of war, might well be 

 suspended. But the work now suggested was put in 

 hand in most museums long since. Nevertheless, this 

 i-ecognition is a hopeful sign. Our museums will be 

 found only too willing to respond to every plea made to 

 them to enlarge the sphere of their activities. 



A VERY careful study of the nesting habits of the 

 kingfisher {ALcedo ispida), by Mr. W. Rowan, appears 

 in British Birds for March. Though brief, this essay 

 adds several points of real value to our knowledge of 

 the life-history of this bird, and, besides, sets at rest 

 one or two matters which have long been in dispute. 

 It is shown, for example, that two broods may 

 be reared during a single season, and that the 

 male takes part in brooding the young. As 

 to ^ whether they are fed at first by regurgi- 

 tation or not Mr. Rowan was not able to satisfy 

 himself, but it seems clear that the food given during 

 the early stages of development consists of small Crus- 

 tacea and not fish, for fish were not brought to the nest 

 until the young were several days old. By great good 

 fortune observations were also made on the nestlings, 

 first, while making the peculiar purring noise which 

 has been frequently described, but probably never be- 

 fore witnessed, and secondly, during the act of de- 

 fcecation. The voiding of the fluid excrement by the 

 nestlings of this species assumes importance, having 

 regard to the fact that the nest is placed at the end of 

 a long tunnel. Being fluid, it could not be carried 

 away by the parents, so that only by its forcible ejec- 

 tion from the mouth of the tunnel can the nest be 

 kept clean. 



The Madras Fisheries Bulletin (No. 4, vol. xi., 19 17) 

 consists of an interesting account of the Indian beche- 

 de-mer industry, written by Mr. James Hornell. Only 

 one species of Holothurian (Holothuria scabra) is 

 utilised commercially, the other abundant species being 

 either too small or too gelatinous to cure. The Indian 

 curing industry is of considerable antiquity, and it 

 seems to have been introduced by immigrant Chinese. 

 These men are said to be most careful and conscien- 

 tious workers, and are generally very successful until 

 they become ousted by local fishermen, who are ex- 

 ploited by Mohammedan merchants. As the result of 

 a boycott and the promotion of a rival curing-house, 

 the Chinese exporter become expropriated; the local 

 curers adopt his methods, but gradually allow them to 

 deteriorate until, in turn, the trade languishes and dies 

 out, and is revived by some other Chinaman. Mr. 

 Hornell gives an account of the successful work done 

 by the Madras Government in erecting and running 

 an experimental curing station in Palk Bay. Certain 

 improvements in methods were introduced, and these 

 are described. Statistics of the general Eastern trade 

 in b^che-de-mer during recent years are appended. 



The cheese mite is the cause of much damage to 

 cheeses, especially the unpressed, ungreased cheeses of 

 the Stilton and Wensleydale types. The attacks of this 

 pest give rise to a serious depreciation, both in appearance 

 and value, and in extreme cases nearly one-half of the 

 cheese may be eaten away. An interesting account 

 of experiments and observations on this problem is con- 

 tributed by Miss N. B. Eales, of the Zoology Depart- 

 ment, University College, Reading, to the January 

 issue of the Journal of the Board of Agriculture. It 

 was demonstrated that live mites persist in the cheese 

 room throughout the period from December to April 

 when the room is not in use, despite the greatest care 



