February 26, 1920] 



NATURE 



;oi 



merely extending its scope. He added a deep 

 interest in the aborigines to his earher pursuits, 

 and wrote, among other works, valuable memoirs 

 on the dingo and on the sculpturing of sacred 

 trees. 



Etheridge was always absorbed in his science, 

 and shunned ordinary social life, so that his real 

 good nature could be appreciated only by a very 

 small circle of intimate friends. His scientific 

 worth, however, was widely acknowledged, and 

 he received the WoUaston Fund from the Geo- 

 logical Society of London in 1877, the Clarke 

 medal from the Royal Society of New South 

 Wales in 1895, and the Mueller medal from the 

 Australasian .'\ssociation in 191 1. His name is 

 also associated with the Etheridge goldfield in 

 North Queensland, a high peak on the Kosciusko 

 tableland, and a glacier in Antarctica. 



A. S. W. 



NOTES. 

 Thk report of obst-rvations of a gigantic dinosaurian 

 reptile in the Congo region of .Africa, which was mado 

 the subject of sensational articles in December last, 

 proves, as we surmised (Nature, Decemlx^r 18, p. 396), 

 to be without foundation. Mr. Wentworth D. Gray, 

 .\cting Representative of the Smithsonian .Vfrican Ex- 

 pedition in the Katanga, writing from Eli.sabethville on 

 January 21 to the Times of Februarv 23, says : — " I am 

 authorised to contradict the statement that the members 

 of the Smithsonian .\frican Expedition who proceeded 

 to this territory came here to hunt the Brontosaurus. 

 There is no foundation for this statement. I mav 

 also state that the report of the Brontosaurus arose 

 from a piece of practical joking in the first instance, 

 and, as regards the prospector ' Gapelle,' this gentle- 

 man does not exist except in the imagination of a 

 second practical joker, who ingeniously coined the 

 name from that of Mr. L. Lc Pago." 



The first meeting since 1914 of the International 

 Council for the Exploration of the Sea will be held 

 in London on March 2. Delegates will be present 

 from Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Holland, 

 Norway, and .Sweden. Russia and Germany are not 

 represented, and France sends delegates for the first 

 time. The German investigations, it is now known, 

 have been resumed, and the steamer Poseidon has been 

 working at sea since last September. The council, it 

 is expected, will consider arrangements for the 

 resumption of the pre-war investigations, and will 

 devote special attention to tracing the effects of the 

 restrictions on fishing during the war period on the 

 abundance of fish in the North Sea. Proposals for 

 the closing of certain North .Sea areas against steam- 

 trawling are, it is understood, to be considered. 

 -Arrangements are being made by the British Fishery 

 Departments for an early beginning of an extended 

 programme of research. The question of the inclusion 

 of Germany has not yet been considered, but it is 

 believed that there is a growing feeling in this country 

 that she should be invited to participate. 

 NO. 2626, VOL. 104] 



The Home Secretary, Mr. Shortt, announced in the 

 House of Commons on February 24 that it is proposed 

 that summer lime shall begin on March 28 and end 

 on September 27. 



W'k regret to announce the death, at seventy-five 

 years of age, of Prof. J. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., 

 professor of chemistry and chemical philosophy in 

 Dublin L'niversity from 1875 to 1903. 



Mr. J. S. Di NKKKi.EY, of the University of Glasgow, 

 and Mrs. E. W. Sexton, of Plymouth, have been 

 appointed Ray Lankester investigators at the MaHne 

 Biological Laboratory, Plymouth. 



The lecture entitled " Some War-time Efforts in 

 Chemical Industry at Gretna," arranged to be given 

 by Mr. J. C. Burnham before the fellows of the 

 Chemical Society on March 4, has been unavoidably 

 postponed. The usual ordinary scientific meeting for 

 the reading and discussion of papers will be held on 

 that day. 



-At the meeting of the Chemical Society held on 

 Thursdav, February 19, it was stated that the fol- 

 lowing changes in officers and council had been pro- 

 po.sed by the council : — .As secretary. Dr. H. R. Le" 

 Sueur vice Prof. S. Smiles. .As vice-presidents. Prof. ' 

 J. B. Cohen and Prof. .S. Smiles vice Prof. A. 

 Smithells and Prof. S. Young. .As new ordinary 

 members of council, Prof. .A. J. Allmand, Dr. E. F. 

 .\rmstrong, Mr. F. H. Carr, and Dr. J. T. Hewitt. 



-V Dep.\ktment,\i. Committee has been appointed by 

 Dr. .Addison to consider the present state of the law 

 with regard to the pollution of the air by smoke and 

 other noxious yapours, and to advise what steps are 

 desirable and practicable to diminish the evils still 

 arising from such pollution. The members of the 

 Committee are : — Lord Newton (chairman), Capt. 

 Hamilton Benn, Prof. J. B. Cohen, Mr. S. Curphey, 

 Sir John Lithiby, Mr. J. F. MacCabe, Mrs. Gilbert 

 Samuel, Mr. E. D. Simon, Bailie W. B. Smith, and 

 Mr. F. J. Willis. Mr. E. C. H. Salmon, of the 

 Ministry of Health, will be secretary, and any com- 

 munication should be addressed to him at the 

 Ministry, Whitehall, S.W.i. 



The officers and council of the Physical Society 

 elected at the annual meeting on February 13 are 

 as follows: — President: Prof. W. H. Bragg. Vice- 

 Presidents: Dr. H. S. Allen, Prof. W. Eccles, Prof. 

 .A. S. Eddington, and Dr. R. .S. Willows. Secre- 

 taries: Dr. D. Owen (Birkbeck College, Bream's 

 Buildings, London, E.C.4) and Mr. F. E. Smith 

 (National Physical Laboratory, Teddington). Foreign 

 Secretary : .Sir .Arthur Schuster. Treasurer : Mr. 

 W. R. Cooper (82 Victoria .Street, S.W.i). Librarian: 

 Dr. .\. O. Rankine (Imperial College of Science and 

 Technology). Other Members of Council: Mr. C. R. 

 Darling, Prof. C. L. Fortescue, Dr. E. Griffiths, Dr. 

 E. H. Ravner, Dr. .A. Russell, Sir Ernest Ruther- 

 ford, Dr. G. F. C. Searle, Mr. T. Smith, Dr. J. H- 

 A'incent, and Mr. F. J. W. Whipple. 



