February 21, 19 18] 



NATURE 



487 



enhanced demand is coupled with a restricted 

 -apply in an uncontrolled market. Owing to the 

 ' Ifects of the war the Russian output, which is 

 normally about 95 per cent, of the world's supply, 

 was reduced to about one-quarter, and at the same 

 ime platinum was in greatly increased demand 

 or various purposes arising out of the war, such 

 • IS the contact-process for producing strong sul- 

 phuric acid, aeroplane engines, etc. The result 

 has been that the price of refined platinum in New 

 York rose to more than 20I. the troy oz. — i.e. five 

 times the value of gold weight for weight. Both 

 the high price and the difficulty of obtaining sup- 

 lilies have led to the introduction of various sub- 

 stitutes, such as "palau," a gold-iridium alloy, 

 Avhich has proved very effective for laboratory use ; 

 "' rhotanium," a gold-palladium alloy, which is 

 satisfactory for all chemical purposes except for 

 use with hot concentrated nitric acid or as elec- 

 trolytic anodes, and is even better than platinum 

 as a setting for jewels; and "amaloy, " an alloy 

 of nickel, chromium, tungsten, etc., which is 

 highly resistant to acid and atmospheric corrosion, 

 and very serviceable in dental work and for 

 surgical instruments. Tungsten appears to have 

 displaced platinum as the material for the targets 

 -of X-rav tubes. 



PROF. G. A. LEBOUR. 



BY the death, on February 7, of Prof. Lebour, 

 the scientific world loses a prominent and 

 interesting figure. Born in 1847 and educated at 

 the Royal School of Mines, he served from 1867 to 

 1873 on the Geological Survey. He was lecturer in 

 geological surveying at the University of Durham 

 College of Science (later, Armstrong College) in 

 Newcastle from 1873 to 1879, and succeeded Page 

 as professor of geology in that institution. This 

 position he occupied until his death, so that for 

 forty-five years he was connected with the college, 

 and for thirty-nine years occupied the chair of 

 geology. In 1904 he received the Murchison 

 medal of the Geological Society, and in the same 

 year was elected vice-principal of Armstrong 

 College. 



The transference of heat through the crust of 

 T: the earth occupied Lebour 's attention early and 

 * led to measurements of underground temperature 

 in northern coal-pits, and also, in conjunction with 

 Herschel, to the determination of the thermal con- 

 ductivities of a great number of rocks. This 

 work. Issued in a series of B.A. reports from 1873 

 to 1881, is well known, and many of the data 

 obtained are accepted as standard. 



Lebour's name will always be associated with 

 the geology of Northumberland and Durham. 

 Besides his official maps, he brought out in 1877 

 an excellent geological map of the county of 

 Northumberland, which is the embodiment of 

 much strenuous, clear-sighted labour. He was 

 joint author with Topley of a widely quoted paper 

 on the Great Whin Sill, which may be said to 

 have definitely established its intrusive character. 

 The stratigraphical relations of the carboniferous 

 L NO. 2521, VOL. 100] 



rocks form the subject of many papers, in which 

 the divisions of the system and the description and 

 correlation of the important limestones, etc., are 

 set forth with admirable lucidity. The economic 

 aspects of the subject find expression in papers 

 on the Redesdale Ironstones and the coals of the 

 Bernician series, especially those associated with 

 the Little Limestone. The future importance of 

 these coals, which occur in rocks below the coal 

 measures proper, is strongly insisted upon, and 

 the lapse of forty years has but added strength 

 to the views then brought forward. Of many 

 papers relating to the geology of Durham may 

 be noted those dealing with the classification of 

 the salt-measures, the breccia-filled fissures in the 

 magnesian limestone (aptly termed by him 

 breccia-gastes), and the marl slate and yellow 

 sands. 



Lebour wrote one book, the " Handbook to the 

 Geology and Natural History of Northumberland 

 and Durham," of which three editions have ap- 

 peared (1878-1889). It is a very effective monu- 

 ment to his life-work in the two counties, and 

 has the remarkable merit of increasing in value 

 the more it is used. 



This brief narration of work accomplished gives, 

 however, no true estimate of Lebour's scientific 

 activity and influence. He was a many-sided man, 

 of wonderful fluency, both in the written and 

 spoken word, and a born teacher. His papers are 

 models of clearness and skilful arrangement of 

 material ; they are written in flawless English, and 

 they often display that sense of humour which was 

 one of his notable characteristics. These same 

 qualities were, if possible, accentuated in his lec- 

 tures. He inspired a great band of workers, who 

 have carried his methods and enthusiasm to the 

 four quarters of the globe, and he was ever ready 

 to help, by his sage advice, those whose steps he 

 had directed towards scientific paths. J. A. S. 



DR. JOHN McCRAE. 

 T^HE death of Lt.-Col. John McCrae at the early 

 -•- age of forty-four is a sad loss to the 

 Canadian Army Medical Corps and to the pro- 

 fession at large. Dr. McCrae belonged to the 

 type of modern physician in whom the study of 

 disease is based on a thorough training in biology. 

 A pupil of Ramsay Wright and of A. B. Macallum 

 at the University of Toronto, he began his 

 academic career as fellow in biology, and after- 

 wards went to McGill as fellow in pathology. 

 Associated with Prof. Adami at the Royal Victoria 

 Hospital, Montreal, he became known as a popular 

 teacher and a keen investigator of problems in 

 clinical medicine. He was the joint author with 

 Dr. Adami of the well-known "Text-book of 

 Pathology." Always keenly interested in military 

 matters, he joined his old battery at the outbreak 

 of the Boer War, and in 1902 gained his majority 

 and was given command. It is to be hoped that 

 the valuable notes and sketches pf his South 

 African campaigns may be published. In the 

 present war he served with the Canadian Artillery, 



