November 22, 1917] 



NATURE 



225 



kctures on terrestrial magnetism at the Johns Hopkins 

 University a month or so previously." 



Because Prof. R. Gans had used the same word 

 quite early, 1 wrott- to him to ask bis aid in locating 

 its earliest occurrence. He replied to me from Argen- 

 tina, saying ; — " Auch mich interessirt es zu wissen 

 wer das "Wort ' Magneton ' zum ersten Male gebraucht 

 hat. Ich selbst habe wohl das Wort zuerst in der yon 

 Ihnen ervvaehnten Arbeit in den Gottinger Nachrich- 

 tcu. 19 lo, verwendet. Die Arbeit von Bauer, den Sie 

 /iiieren, kenne ich nicht." The article referred to by 

 Prof. Gans in Gottinger Nachrichten, 1910, p. 200, 

 was presented at the session of May 28, 1910, by C. 

 Range. In the course of the discussion we find this : 

 ■ Die lage jedes Molekularmagneten, oder wie wir 

 kuerzer sagen wollen, jeden Magnetons. . . ," ' 



Since Prof. Pierre Wt>iss conferred on the word under 

 investigation the quantitative meaning which it seems 

 likely to retain, I turned to him also for assistance, 

 He wrote me in reply:— "J 'ai imagine le nom de 

 • magneton ' a la suite' de mes recherches exp^rimen- 

 tales. L'analogie avec I'^lectron s'imposait. J'ai eu 

 connaissance plus tard que M. Gans avait fait usage 

 anterieurement du meme terme dans un sens different. 

 11 me semble que, dans ce sens, I'expression de mole- 

 cule magn^tique convient tout aussi bien. Je n 'avals 

 pas connaissance jusqu'^ present de I'emploi fait de 

 ce terme par M. L. A. Bauer et je vous remercie du 

 renseignement." 



In the Comptes rendus of the Paris Academy 

 of Sciences, vol. clii., p. 189, session of January 

 23, 191 1, occurs the first use of the word by 

 the Zurich physicist in an article called " Sur la 

 rationalite des rapports des moments magn^tiques des 

 atomes et un nouveau constituant universel de la 

 mati^re." Near the close we come upon the follow- 

 ing : — " Le nombre d'atomes dans I'atome-gramme est 

 Nz=7oxio" (Perrin). Le quotient m; ^' = 15-94x10-" 

 est le moment de I'aimant elementaire lui-meme, corre- 

 spondant k la partie aliquote des moments des atomes- 

 grammes. Je I'appelerai magneton. . . . Le magneton 

 est done un constituant universel de la matiere." 



It is surely interesting to note that three physicists 

 in as manv different countries independently introduced 

 the word within a year. Priority appears to belong 

 tf) Dr. Bauer. / 



As some uncertainty can be observed in the pronun- 

 ion of "magneton," I appealed to its sf>onsor. Dr. 

 ler, for a decision. He replied : '" I hesitate greatly 

 iring to appear competent to pass on the official 

 nunciation of the word 'magneton.' I prefer the 

 ■nt on the second syllable, and giving the sound of 

 - in * thee,' thus — magneeton. Still, I should not 

 rrel with anyone who wishes to put the accent on 

 first syllable and pronounce the e as in 'met.' 

 I -nge aloiie will decide." George F. Stradung. 



Northeast High School, Philadelphia. 



An Optical Phenomenon. 



A DESCRIPTION of the phenomenon mentioned by 

 i)t. Cave in Nature of October 18 will also be found 

 N.4TURE, vol. Ixx., p. 107 (1904), and vol. Ixxviii., 

 i I' 255, 277, and 305 (1908). J. W. GiLTAY. 



Delft, November 9. 



THE NICKEL INDUSTRY. 

 ''T^HE complete report of the Royal Ontario 

 -L Nickel Commission, of which a summary was 

 published in March last, has recently been received 

 in this country. It is a document of absorbing- 

 interest and exceptional importance. The com- 

 mission was appointed on September 9, 191 5, and 

 asked to inquire into, and investigate and report 

 NO. 2508, VOL. 100] 



upon, the resources, industries, and capacities, 

 both present and future, of the Province of Ontario 

 in connection with nickel and its ores. Its refer- 

 ence also included an inquiry into the system of 

 taxation by the province of its mines, minerals, 

 and mineral industries. There were four com- 

 missioners, Messrs. Holloway, Miller, Young, and 

 Gibson, representing metallurgy, geolog-y, law, 

 and administration respectively. They set to 

 work at once and completed their labours in 

 eighteen months— a remarkably short time con- 

 sidering what they did. Their report contains 

 nearly 600 pages, and the appendix more than 

 200. It is a model of lucidity of exposition, and 

 displays such a complete g-rasp of the subject in 

 all its bearings and details, and such shrewdness 

 of judgment in regard to its recommendations, 

 that it will certainly rank as the most authorita- 

 tive monog-raph on the nickel industry that has 

 ever been published. The commissioners have 

 rendered to Canada a service of remarkable value. 



It appears that, so recently as 1900, as much as 

 65 per cent, of the world's market was supplied 

 by nickel made from" the New Caledonia ores, 

 the balance being furnished by Canadian ores. 

 New Caledonia, although discovered and named 

 by Capt. Cook in 1774, was not claimed by any 

 European country until 1854. In that year it is 

 said that a French and a British frigate sailed 

 simultaneously from Sydney (Australia) to take 

 jx>ssession of it. The former was the first to 

 find a way through the barrier reef and thus 

 secured the island for France. The commissioners 

 comment on the striking fact that "two countries 

 so widely separated as are Ontario and New Cale- 

 donia, not only by distance, but in almost every 

 other way, should alone be rivals, not merely in 

 the production of nickel, but in that of cobalt as 

 well." 



For many years nickel from New Caledonia had 

 an established world market. It was included in 

 all British Government specifications where nickel 

 was required. When the Mond Nickel Co., work- 

 ing on Sudbury ores, entered the field, it found 

 an immensely strong prejudice both in Government 

 departments and the trade against them, which 

 was overcome only after elaborate and expensive 

 trials and tests. Moreover, the New Caledonia 

 nickel had for many years a tied market among 

 the principal consumers in Europe, owing to the 

 close business connections of the leading French 

 producer — Le Nickel — with the great armament 

 firms. This company has the financial backing 

 of the Rothschilds and is the chief rival of the 

 Canadian companies. 



Since 1900 Ontario has forged ahead with its 

 production. The world's output has increased 

 sixfold since that time, and of this Ontario now 

 furnishes about 80 per cent. The main factor 

 in this change is the great difference in the size 

 of the ore-bodies in the two countries. Whereas 

 those of New Caledonia are reckoned in at most 

 hundreds of thousands of tons, the Sudbury 

 (Ontario) deposits are measured in millions. In 

 spite of its apparently favourable p>osition, how- 



