April 26, 19 17] 



NATURE 



109 



regulations and perhaps subsidies to leading- book- 

 sellers. The other measures proposed are iden- 

 tical with those contained in the memorandum 

 of the University of Petrograd. 



The Academy of Sciences proposes further to 

 call together soon a special congress of repre- 

 sentatives of universities, learned societies, and 

 other learned bodies in order to discuss the prac- 

 tical ways and means towards promoting a closer 

 scientific relationship with Great Britain. 



B. Menschutkin. 



The secretary to the Reconstruction Committee has 

 favoured us with the following list of the members 

 of thecommittee : The Right Hon. the Prime Minister 

 (chairman); the Right Hon. E. S. Montagu, M.P. (vice- 

 chairman); Prof. \V. G. S. Adams; Mr. J. R. Clvnes, 

 M.P. ; Sir A. M. Duckham, K.C.B. ; Mr. Richard 

 Hazleton, M.P. ; Major J. \V. Hills, M.P. ; Mr. 

 Thomas Jones ; Mr. P. H. Kerr ; Dr. Marion Phillips ; 

 Mr. B. Seebohm Rowntree; the Most Hon. the Mar- 

 quess of Salisbun-, K.G., G.C.V.O. ; Mr. Leslie Scott 

 K.C., M.P. ; Sir J. Stevenson, Bart.; Mr. J. H. 

 Thomas, M.P. ; and Mrs. Sidney Webb. ^ 



.\ SUMMARY of the Rockefeller Foundation grants for 

 1916 is contained in a pamphlet published in New 

 York on March 19. The total amount of the grants 

 made during the year was 1,649,820/. The largest 

 grants were for war relief, and these reached 518,000/. 

 in 1916, making 836,400/. since the beginning of the 

 war. To the National Health Board 122,300/. was 

 given, chiefly for the relief and control of "Hook- 

 worm" disease in the southern States, several Latin- 

 .\merican countries, and in certain British colonies. 

 The board has also made a survey of the principal 

 endemic foci of yellow fever, gnd experiments for the 

 control of malaria. The China Medical Board received 

 -during the year 213,630/. for the promotion of medical 

 education in China. Among the largest of the single 

 contributions of the Foundation to outside agencies 

 was the gift of 200,000/. to the New York Palisades 

 Interstate Park Commission towards the sum neces- 

 sarj' for the enlargement and improvement of the 

 Palisades Interstate Park. 



Prof. Emil von Behring, whose death was 

 announced in N.ature of AjM-il 5, was born at Hans- 

 dorf in 1854. He received his professional education 

 at the Army Medical College, Berlin, obtaining his 

 doctor's degree in 1878. He afterwards served in the 

 Army, and in 1889 was appointed assistant at the 

 Institute of Hygiene, Berlin, being transferred later, 

 in 1891, to a corresponding post in Koch's Institute 

 for Infectious Diseases. He there commenced his 

 researches on immunity in diphtheria, culminating in 

 1893 in the discovery and preparation of diphtheria 

 antitoxin. For this work he received prizes from the 

 Academie de Medecine of Paris and the Institute of 

 France. In 1894 he received the title of "Professor " 

 in recognition of his scientific work, and was 

 appointed to the chair of hygiene in the University 

 of Halle. In the following year he accepted a call to 

 ^larburg, where he held the post of professor and 

 director of the Institute of Hygiene. In 1895 the title 

 of. Medical Privy Councillor was conferred upon him. 

 Although Behring's name is best known in connection 

 with the discovery of diphtheria antitoxin, he also 

 carried out researches on tuberculosis, ascribing the 

 major part of tuberculosis in children to infection 

 from tuberculous milk, and prepared a form of tuber- 



NO. 247R, VOL. 991 



culin, "tulase," by the action of chloral on tubercle 

 bacilli, which, however, does not appear to have more 

 value than other forms of tuberculin. In 1913 he 

 published an investigation on diphtheria bacilli 

 carriers, and proposed to treat these with a mixture 

 of diphtheria antitoxin and diphtheria toxin. With 

 LofBer and Ehrlich, who have also died during the 

 course of the present war, Behring must be regarded 

 as one of the band of pioneers of modern bacteriology 

 and immunology. 



The permanent committee for the study of the natural 

 resources of the Russian Empire, formed by the Petro- 

 grad Academy of Sciences in 1915, has begun to pub- 

 lish the great work " Natural Productive Forces of 

 Russia," which is intended to give, so far as it is at 

 jwesent possible, a*^ complete review of the natural 

 wealth of Russia, destined to play an important part 

 in the future economic development of the country. 

 This work will form six volumes — about 2400 pages 

 large octavo — and is being printed in the Government 

 printing ofiice. The contents of the volumes will be 

 as follows: Vol. i., "Utilisation of the Force of 

 Wind." This volume is being prepared by a special 

 sub-committee (president, M. A. Rykacev), and will be 

 devoted to (i) the necessary meteorological data; (2) 

 wind-motors, their best types, cost, and uses. Vol. ii., 

 " White Coal " ; a sub-committee under the presidency 

 of V. T. Vernadskij will give (i) a geological and 

 hydrological description of different regions of Russia; 

 (2) characteristics of separate rivers and data for the 

 utilisation of their water-power. Vol. iii., "Artesian 

 Waters," by a sub-committee presided over by N. T. 

 Andrusov. Contents . (i) Geological data in connec- 

 tion with water-bearing strata of different regions of 

 Russia ; (2) artesian bores already in existence and the 

 future possibilities. Vol. iv., "Useful Minerals," is 

 prepared by the geological committee and edited by 

 K. T. Bogdanovic. It will give trustworthy informa- 

 tion about the occurrence, localities, quantities, and 

 properties of different ore deposits and important 

 minerals of Russia. Vol. v., "Plants," edited by a 

 sub-committee of specialists under T. P. Borodin : 

 botanico-geographical review of the Russian Empire 

 and a descripdon of all the cultures of different regions 

 in relation to agriculture and the utilisation of . 

 plants. Vol. vi., "Animals," edited by V. K. Brazni- 

 kov and E. F. Liskun : (i) Systematic survey of the 

 animal representatives, wild and domestic; (2) utilisa- 

 tion of wild and domestic animals. The edition is 

 limited to 5000 copies; the subscription price for alt 

 the six volumes is 10 roubles ( = 145. at the 

 present rate of exchange). The committee for the 

 study of the natural resources of Russia has also edited 

 during 19 16 twelve monographs, under the title of 

 "Materials for the Study of the Natural Productive , 

 Forces of Russia," dealing with ore deposits of 

 different metals, medicinal plants, clays, etc. ; and 

 about a hundred more are in course of printing and 

 preparation. These monographs are published by the 

 Imperial Academy of Sciences. 



The Hanbury gold medal for 19 17 has been awarded 

 to Prof. H. G. Greenish, professor of pharmaceutics 

 to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. 



The Fothergillian medal of the Medical Society of 

 London for 1917 has been awarded to Sir Leonard 

 Rogers, of the Calcutta Medical College, for his work 

 on "dysenteries, their differentiation and treatment. 



The treasurers of the Middlesex Hospital have re- 

 ceived a donation of 1000/. from Sir John and Lady 

 Bland-Sutton and 250/. from Mr. G. Vaughan Morgan 

 in response to the appeal on behalf of the research 

 fund of the pathological institute of the hospital. 



