230 



NATURE 



[May 23, 19 1 8 



tion — but the psychological effect of extravagance in 

 lighting must be considered. A series of recommenda- 

 tions on economy in lighting, prepared by the society 

 with the concurrence of the Board of Trade, was pre- 

 sented. These explain the best methods of economis- 

 ing, importance being attached to avoidance of worn- 

 out and inefficient lamps and burners and their use 

 only when actually required, and to frequent cleansing 

 of lamps and accessories liable to collect dust. In an 

 appendix the essentials of good industrial lighting are 

 stated, and some figures given for the illumination and 

 consumption of gas or electricity considered desirable 

 for various classes of work. 



An interesting address was delivered recently by Sir 

 Robert Hadfield as president of the Society of British 

 Gas Industries, ranging over a number of matters of 

 current interest, such as the economy of fuel, particu- 

 larly coal and coal-gas, the recent development of the 

 metallurgical industry, scientific and technical educa- 

 tion, trade and patent legislation. Sir Robert Had- 

 field lays much stress upon the very important present- 

 day problem : how to bring about closer co-operation 

 and greater working facilities amongst the numerous 

 technical societies of the country. He points out that 

 some even of our largest and most important societies 

 have no homes of their own, but are, for the most 

 part, housed in offices quite inadequate to the require- 

 ments of such important organisations. He quotes as 

 an example the Iron and Steel Institute, representing 

 an industry the annual value of the output of which 

 is not less than two hundred millions sterling, which 

 has offices in Victoria Street, Westminster, with its 

 library placed in one or two small and incon- 

 venient rooms, and contrasts this with the 

 splendid library and spacious accommodation of 

 the corresponding German institution. He urges 

 wisely the need in this country for a central 

 building in which all these technical societies would 

 find a permanent home, with a common library, 

 on similar lines to the Engineering Societies Building 

 of New York, which he characterises as "the chief 

 centre of the great and small technical societies of the 

 great Republic." In addition to containing a fine 

 technical library of more than 150,000 books, as well 

 as the various offices and committee-rooms for twenty- 

 four different societies, this building is closely con- 

 nected with that of the Engineers' Club, where repre- 

 sentatives of all branches of industry are able to meet 

 each otjier ; and Sir Robert Hadfield points out the 

 real value to the technical man of such a common 

 meeting ground. 



In the May issue of Man Sir C. H. Read discusses 

 an article by Mr. More Adey in the March issue of 

 the Burlington Magazine on "The Registration of 

 Works of Art in Occupied Countries." How the 

 Germans have dealt with the art treasures of the areas 

 occupied by them is well known. The suggestion is 

 that officers and men in Palestine, Mesopotamia, and 

 the less explored frontiers of Egypt should register 

 and preserve objects of art. Sir C. H. Read remarks 

 that a large proportion of both officers and men of 

 our forces now in Africa would welcome so intelligent 

 a diversion from the routine of field or camp life. 

 "The only danger that I foresee is lest some dis- 

 ciplinarian in a high place should promptly condemn 

 the scheme as non-military and a waste of time." He 

 suggests, to avoid this, that an order should be ob- 

 tained from the War Office commending it as a 

 means of putting the leisure of our soldiers to an 

 intelligent use. 



Dr. W. L. Hildburgh describes some Japanese 

 charms connected with earthquakes in the April issue 

 of Man. When an earthquake occurs a person in 

 NO. 2534, VOL. lOl] 



danger should repeat, over and over again, as rapidly 

 as possible, the word Manzairaku, signifying "Ten 

 thousand years of happiness." The term is used 

 between persons as a form of congratulation ; either 

 on account of its congratulatory significance, or by 

 some play of words, its use during an earthquake is 

 intelligible. The Japanese, for some obscure reason, 

 believe that a privy is the safest place of refuge 

 during an earthquake. This may be due to the fact 

 that the place is a haunt of spirits, and on leaving, 

 one should throw there a piece of iron, like a nail, as 

 a protection. On the whole. Dr. Hildburgh is dis- 

 posed to connect the belief regarding the privy as 

 analogous to the well-known principle of dressing 

 children in dirty clothes as a charm against the Evil 

 Eye or similar dangers. 



Bulletin No. 172 of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station of the Rhode Island State College contains 

 the results of a, study of infections of fowls by Messrs. 

 P. Hadley and D. J. Lambert and Misses Dorothy 

 Caldwell and Marguerite Elkins. It is established that 

 Bacterium pullorum is the causative agent in an epi- 

 demic in adult fowls indistinguishia>ble in its mani- 

 festations from fowl typhoid, which is caused by B. 

 gallinarum. The two organisms may be distinguished 

 by their fermentation reactions. The B. pullorum is 

 present in 32 per cent, of the eggs of affected birds. 



The contention that isolation plays an important part 

 in the evolution of species has long been accepted as 

 a trustworthy working hypothesis, and during recent 

 years an impressive array of evidence has been accumu- 

 lated to justify this interpretation. The latest con- 

 tribution to this subject has been made by Dr. Hart 

 Merriam in a review of the grizzly and big brown 

 bears of North America (Bureau of Biological Survey, 

 Washington, North American Fauna, No. 41). In a 

 review of this group twelve years ago the author 

 recognised eight species of grizzly and brown bears. 

 He has now increased this to eighty-six. This number, 

 he remarks, "will appear to many preposterous"— 

 unless they 'have the material before them which he 

 has amassed. From the fine collection of skins and 

 skulls which Dr. Merriam has brought together 

 he has been enabled to show that no sharp dividing line 

 can now be drawn between the grizzly and brown 

 bears. Another surprising result is the discovery that 

 Admiralty Island, off South-east Alaska, appears to be 

 inhabited by no fewer than five distinct species of big 

 bears, each of which is, apparently, related to, and 

 representative of, an adjacent mainland species. In 

 the matter of sexual differences Dr. Merriam is able 

 to show that while the males commonly much exceed 

 the females in the matter of size, in some species 

 there is but little difference. A number of excellent 

 photograiphs of skulls in profile accompany this paper, 

 but, as the author remarks, they need to be supple- 

 mented by views showing the Norma verticalis, which 

 furnishes some of the most important characters. Dr. 

 Merriam's work will be read with the deepest interest 

 not only by systematists, but also by those who are 

 interested in the w^ider problems concerning the evolu- 

 tion of species. 



Bulletin No. 70 of the Agricultural Research Insti- 

 tute, Pusa, is an extremely useful summary by Mr. 

 J. N. Sen, officiating Imperial agricultural chemist, of 

 the composition of • a great variety of feeding stuffs 

 available in India, of which samples have been analysed 

 in the laboratory of the Imperial agricultural chemist. 

 The composition of each sample is set out in detail, so 

 that the range of variation can be readily deduced. 

 In addition to the ordinary analytical data, the albu- 

 minoid ratio and food units for each sample are given. 

 The tables are prefaced by a brief introduction dealing 



