May 6, 1920] 



NATURE 



301 



I 



the reduction of the magnetic observations made 

 by the Challenger expedition, 1872-76, during 

 which expedition it was discovered that the coral 

 islands of Bermuda lay over a magnetic field in 

 which the variation of the compass differed as 

 much as 6°, viz. from 4° W. to nearly 10° W., 

 the true variation of the needle being 7° W. ; this 

 was ascertained by swinging the Challenger on 

 every point in deep water close to the islands, 

 and this process was continued on board that 

 vessel in many other parts of the world, where 

 the true variation was affected by local attraction 

 on shore, so that the results of the shore observa- 

 tions were not trustworthy ; but the Challenger 

 being a wooden vessel, although not entirely free 

 from iron in her construction, better results were 

 obtained by swinging her in deep water near the 

 land. The results of the Challenger observations 

 are published in vol. ii. of the official narration 

 of the voyage, and in vol. ii. of the reports on 

 the physics and chemistry of the expedition, where 

 plans, constructed by Creak, are given of the 

 magnetism observed at the Bermuda Islands, and 

 also charts of the variation, inclination, horizontal 

 force, and vertical force for the epoch 1880, con- 

 structed mainly from the Challenger observations, 

 combined with all other observations available to 

 the date of publication. 



Capt. Creak pointed out in his magnetic con- 

 tributions that at certain positions in the world 

 magnetic shoals exist which affect the compasses 

 of vessels sailing over those shoals. One such 

 shoal near Cossack, in North Australia, was 

 crossed by H.M. surveying vessel Meda, in a 

 depth of 8 fathoms, with two shore objects 

 transit, and the compass needle was deflected 30° 

 for about one mile. 



At Funafuti, another coral atoll in the Pacific, in 

 lat. 8° 30' S., long. 179° 12' E., another magnetic 

 field exists, where the variation changes nearly 

 2", and the dip 1°, in different localities, as shown 

 by the magnetic survey of the atoll made by 

 Admiral Sir A. Mostyn Field in H.M.S. Penguin 

 in 1896, the results being investigated by Capt. 

 Creak, and published by the Royal Society in 

 1904. Capt. Creak also instructed the officers 

 engaged in the Arctic expedition of 1875-76 under 

 Capt. G. S. Nares, R.N., and prepared the direc- 

 tions and magnetic charts for the "Arctic Manual," 

 1875. He also prepared the magnetic instruc- 

 tions for the Antarctic expedition of 1901. When, 

 owing to his having reached the age of fifty-five, 

 he had to retire from active service afloat in 1890, 

 and to his not having served the number of years 

 afloat to entitle him to be retired with the rank of 

 captain, a special Order in Council was issued 

 giving him that rank, so that his important 

 services in the compass department should not 

 deprive him of the honour he would have received 

 had he served the requisite number of years at 

 sea. 



During Capt. Creak's service in the compass 

 department the late Lord Kelvin invented a com- 

 pass superior to that then in use in H.M. 

 NO. 2636, VOL. 105] 



ships, which was adopted by the Admiralty ; but, 

 owing to the increase in the size of the giins in 

 H.M. ships, this compass was eventually dis- 

 carded for a liquid compass brought out by Capt. 

 Creak, which is now the standard instrument 

 afloat, and is furnished with a special azimuth 

 circle for use in torpedo-boats, destroyers, etc., all 

 other compasses having failed to stand the vibra- 

 tion and motion and the gunfire in these vessels. 

 He also brought out a simple form of instrument 

 for correcting by magnets the heeling errors, and 

 invented the Lloyd-Creak dip and intensity appara- 

 tus, originally meant for observations afloat, but 

 which has been found very useful also on shore. 

 This instrument was fully described in Terrestrial 

 Magnetism for October, 1901. 



In 1903 Capt. Creak was president of the geo- 

 graphical section of the British Association, and 

 in his presidential address at Southport in that 

 year gave an interesting account of the progress 

 of our knowledge of magnetism both afloat and 

 ashore up to that time, which was published in the 

 Proceedings of the British Association, and also 

 in the Geographical Journal, vol. xxii., 1903. He 

 was made a C.B. in 1901, in which year he was 

 retired from the compass department at the age 

 of sixty-six. Capt. Creak also assisted the late 

 Sir Frederick JEvans and Mr. Archibald Smith in 

 preparing and publishing the " Elementary Manual 

 for the Deviations of the Compass in Iron Ships " 

 in 1870, and after the death of Sir F. Evans later 

 editions of that manual were entirely prepared and 

 published by Capt. Creak. In the ninth edition 

 prepared by him in 1895 the question of heeling 

 error and its correction was specially discussed, 

 and tables were given to assist in the correction 

 of quadrantal deviation and the application of 

 the Flinders bar, etc. T. H. T. 



Sir Edmund Giles Loder, Bart. 



The death of Sir Edmund Loder at the age of 

 seventy removes from the ranks of English 

 country gentlemen one of the cultivated members 

 of that class. Possessed of ample means and 

 abundant leisure, Sir Edmund devoted his youth 

 and middle age to field sport and travel in many 

 lands. In the pursuit of big game in four 

 continents his fine marksmanship enabled him to 

 make the very large collection of horned and 

 other trophies now preserved at Leonardslee. He 

 was among the last of British sportsmen to take 

 tDll of the dwindling herds of bison in North-west 

 America, and the first European to obtain a 

 specimen of the little desert antelope, named after 

 him, Gazella Loderi, which inhabits the Sahara 

 contentedly without access to water. 



Were that all, it would scarcely serve to raise 

 Sir Edmund Loder above the common ruck of big- 

 game shooter and globe-trotter ; but he possessed 

 and exercised the gift of accurate observation, 

 enabling him to acquire much sound knowledge of 

 the habits of wild animals, and to distinguish 

 their specific affinities. Unfortunately, he had 



