March i8, 1920] 



NATURE 



83 



tained to the values of w corresponding to variations 

 of X alone. Similarly the other functional relations 

 are obtained. The idea of defining a function by 

 means of a series of corresponding values has been 

 utilised by various mathematicians ; the most obvious 

 criticism of its statistical applicability is that an 

 Immense amount of arithmetic would be required to 

 determine more than a very small number of corre- 

 sponding values. The method, however, deserves 

 further consideration. 



The Meteorological Magazine, an official publica- 

 tion of the Meteorological Oflfice, was first issued 

 under its new title about the middle of February. The 

 journal incorporates Symons's Meteorological Maga- 

 ■:ine and the Meteorological Office Circular. For 



< onvenience in reference, the serial numbers of 

 Symons's Meteorological Magazine are being carried 

 on. The change has come about through the absorp- 

 tion of the British Rainfall Organization in the 

 Meteorological Office. The cover of the new pub- 

 lication gives the portraits of four pioneers of meteoro- 

 logy, all of whom were associated with the Meteoro- 

 logical Office. Of these Admiral FitzRoy had 

 charge of the Office at its initiation, when it was a 

 branch of the Board of Trade, and Mr. Symons was 

 an assistant sixty years ago, but left after a short 

 poricKl and devoted himself to the collection of 

 rainfall returns, from which evolved later the "British 

 Rainfall Organization. Gens. Sabine and Strachey 

 were successively chairmen of the Meteorological 

 Office when controlled by the Royal Society. Little 

 change has been introduced into the style and 

 character of the publication, and it is evidently not 

 intended to make any radical alteration. In addi- 

 tion to the interesting article on "Weather in 

 the British Isles" for the preceding month, which has 

 liitherto regularly appeared in Symons's Meteoro- 

 logical Magazine, an article is now given on " Weather 

 A!)road " which will doubtless be valued by readers 

 iif the journal. 



O.N March lo Lord Moulton delivered a lecture at 

 University College on "The Training and Functions 

 of the Chemical Engineer." The lecture was presided 

 over by H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught. Lord 

 Moulton referred to the great importance of securing 

 an adequate and suitable training for those who had 

 to perform chemical operations on a large scale. In 

 a research chemical laboratory work is carried out 

 on small quantities of pure substances with every 



< onvenience at hand and regardless of cost and 



onomy. In chemical industry, on the contrary, it 

 ^ necessary to carry out operations on vast quanti- 

 ties of impure substances with no conveniences 

 and with the greatest possible regard to the matters 

 of cost and economy. The question of change of 

 scale was all-important, since it was extremely diffi- 

 cult to secure on a large scale that uniformity of 

 conditiorig easily obtained in a research labora- 

 tory and fundamental for the success of the 

 • ration. Lord Moulton laid great emphasis 

 11 the subject of costing and costs, since, as 

 lie pointed out, the success of an industrial 

 NO. 2629, VOL. 105] 



operation in the real world of chemical industry, 

 as compared with the success of a chemical 

 ojxjration in the ideal world of the research labora- 

 tory, depended entirely on its cost. It was a noble 

 and dignified business to make things cheaply so 

 that they could be utilised by large numbers of people. 

 In conclusion, Lord Moulton referred to the fact that 

 the Ramsay Memorial Committee had given 25,000/. 

 for the building of a laboratory of chemical engineer- 

 ing at University College. He earnestly hoped that 

 the further sum of 50,000/. which was required would 

 be forthcoming. A vote of thanks to Lord Moulton 

 for his interesting lecture was proposed by Prof. F. G. 

 Donnan, who referred to the great work Lord Moulton 

 had done during the war as Director-General of the 

 Explosives Supply. 



Mr. James Thin, 54 South Bridge. Edinburgh, has 

 just issued a useful and comprehensive catalogue of 

 new and second-hand books on technical and scientific 

 subjects. The prices named in the second-hand section 

 are very reasonable. A laudable feature of the cata- 

 logue is the giving of the dates of publication of the 

 volumes. 



The Oxford University Press will shortly publish an 

 English rendering, by H. L. Brose, of "Space and 

 Time in Contemporary Physics : An Introduction to 

 the Theory of Relativity and Gravitation," by M. 

 Schlick, with an introduction by Prof. F. A. Linde- 

 mann. The work is intended for the general reader. 

 It deals with the problem of the structure of cosmo- 

 logical space, discusses the relation of psychological to 

 physical space, and analyses the significance of 

 measurements in physics. 



The Reader's Index — a bi-monthly magazine issued 

 by the Croydon Public Libraries — for March and April 

 contains much useful guidance for readers, including 

 a reading list of books and periodical articles on the 

 Einstein theory. We notice references to articles in 

 Nature of June 11, 1914; December 28, 1916; March 7 

 and 14, 1918; November 13, 1919; and December 4, 

 II, and 18, 1919. 



A NEW series of books dealing with the textile indus- 

 tries has been arranged for by Sir Isaac Pitman and 

 Sons, Ltd. The editor will be Prof. R. Beaumont, and 

 one of the first volumes in the series to be published 

 will be that by the editor on " Union Textile Fabrica- 

 tion," which will contain three main divisions dealing 

 respectively with bi-fibred manufactures, compound- 

 yarn fabrics, and woven unions. Another volume in 

 the series will treat of " Flax Culture and Prepara- 

 tion." It will be the \^ork of Prof. F. Bradbury. 



Mr. D. N. Wadia writes to say that the two illus- 

 trations from his " Geology of India " reproduced in 

 Nature of January 15 were not his own photographs, 

 but from the collection of negatives at the offices of 

 the Geological Survey at Calcutta. Acknowledgment 

 of this was, unfortunately, omitted from the book, 

 and our reviewer assumed, therefore, that the photo- 

 graphs were the author's. 



