3^ 



NATURE 



[March 13, 1919 



the explosion of 197 tons of gunpowder at Wiener 

 Neustadt in 1912 for 186 miles. On the other hand, 

 the reports of the minute-guns at Spithead in 1901 

 were heard to a distance of 139 miles, and in this 

 case seven-pound charges were fired from at the most 

 thirty men-of-war, or a total of less than two hundred- 

 weight, even supposing that the guns were fired 

 simultaneously. 



Influenza has again made a steady increase in its 

 virulence over the British Isles, and the Registrar- 

 General's return for the week ending March i shows 

 that in London (county) the deaths from the epidemic 

 were 808, and in the ninety-six great towns, includ- 

 ing London, they were 3889, both of which are the 

 highest numbers since the closing week of November. 

 The deaths from influenza in London had risen to 

 32 per cent, of the deaths from all causes, whilst in 

 the preceding week they were only 25 per cent., but 

 pneumonia had decreased from 14 per cent, to 12 per 

 cent., and bronchitis from 16 per cent, to 13 per cent. 

 In London there was some improvement in the general 

 health, the total deaths from all causes having de- 

 creased from 2643 in the preceding week to 2501, and 

 the annual death-rate per 1000 of the aggregate 

 population had decreased from 34-2 to '32-4. In 

 London 47 per cent, of the deaths from influenza 

 during the week ending March i occurred at the ages 

 from twenty to forty-five. In the twenty-one weeks 

 since the commencement of the epidemic in October 

 of last year influenza has caused 32 per cent, of the 

 deaths from all causes, pneumonia 12 per cent., and 

 bronchitis 9 per cent. 



Sir Arthur Evans in the Times of March 4 acts 

 as spokesman of an influential committee formed 

 under the auspices of the British Academy, and repre- 

 senting various learned societies interested in archaeo- 

 logical research, which has presented a memorial to 

 the Lords of the Treasury strongly urging the 

 creation of an Imperial British Institute of Archaeo- 

 logy in Cairo, with the aid of a State subsidy. Sir 

 Arthur Evans justly points out that the position occupied 

 by British archaeologists in Egypt is markedly inferior 

 as compared with the French and Germans, who 

 already possess institutes of this kind, and with the 

 Americans, who have large resources at their dis- 

 posal. It is true that the Egyptian Exploration Fund 

 and the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, in 

 spite of a very limited income, have done admirable 

 work. But they are hampered by lack of funds to 

 provide a home for their workers, instruction for 

 their students, and an adequate library. Experts 

 working under this system receive neither suitable 

 remuneration nor any guarantee that they will be 

 able to follow up their archaeological career. Hence, 

 while many of our university students are ready to 

 assist in the work, they have little encouragement to 

 make archaeology their profession. It is also probable 

 that the classes which contributed to these enterprises 

 before the war "will be unable to maintain their sub- 

 scriptions. 



A SPECIAL clinical and scientific meeting of the 

 British Medical Association will be held in London 

 on April 8-1 1. A popular lecture, on the surgery of 

 the war, will be given by Major-Gen. Cuthbert 

 Wallace. An exhibition of surgical instruments, hos- 

 pital furniture, drugs, foods, sanitary appliances, etc., 

 will be held at the Imperial College of Science and 

 Technology, South Kensington, from Wednesday, 

 April 9, to Friday, April 11, both days inclusive. On 

 the evening of April 9 the Royal Society of Medicine 

 will hold a reception at its house, i Wimpole Street, 

 W. The guests will be received by Sir H. D. 

 Rolleston, president of the society. The following 



NO. 2576, VOL. 103] 



discussions have been arranged; the names given are 

 those of the introducers : — Section of Medicine : " War 

 Neuroses," Lt.-Col. F, W. Mott; "Influenza" (in 

 conjunction with the Section of Preventive Medicine 

 and Pathology), Major-Gen. Sir W. Herringham, 

 Capt. M. Greenwood, and Major Bowman; '•\enereal 

 Disease," Brevet-Col. L. W. Harrison; and "Prog- 

 nosis in Cardio-vascular Affections," Dr. T. Lewis. 

 Section of Surgery : "Gunshot Wounds of the Chest," 

 Col. T. R. Elliott and Col. G. E. Gask; "Wound 

 Shock,'!. Prof. W. M. Bayliss and Dr. H. H. Dale; 

 and "A Review of Reconstructive Surgery," Major 

 R. C. Elmslie and Major W. R. Bristow. Section of 

 Preventive Medicine and Pathology: "The Dysen- 

 teries : Bacillary and Amoebic," Col. L. S. Duc^eon 

 and Prof. W. Yorke; " Influenza" (at a joint meeting 

 with the Section of Medicine); and "Malaria." Lt - 

 Col. S. P. James. 



The introduction of the aniline dye industry has, as 

 is well known, ruined the art of vegetable dyeing; 

 and though we possess ancient 'fabrics dyed with 

 vegetable colours, it is often not possible to trace the 

 plants which yielded them. The aborigines of America 

 were well versed in the art, and many Peruvian tex- 

 tiles are remarkable for their beautiful and permanent 

 colours. Mr. W. .E. Safford, in the Journal of the 

 \Vashington Academy of Sciences (vol. viii., No. 19)^ 

 gives an interesting account with figures of the 

 xochipalli, or flower-paint of the Aztecs, which has 

 hitherto been unidentified- The plant was described 

 and figured three centuries ago, and has been sup- 

 posed to be a species of Tagetes, but Mr. Safford 

 has proved that the plant is really Cosmos sulphureus, 

 and has verified his discovery by obtaining the rich 

 orange-red from a decoction of the flowers, which is 

 the colour of xochipalli described by Hernandez. 

 Several of the other beautiful pigments derived from 

 vegetables, used by the ancient Mexicans for the 

 picture-writing of their celebrated codices, are referred 

 to in this paper, and the names of the plants are 

 given. 



In the February issue of Man Dr. W. Crooke dis- 

 cusses the question of hut-burning in India. In recent 

 years several notices have been published of a custom 

 prevailing from the Punjab southward to the Central 

 Provinces of barren women burning pieces of thatch 

 taken from the roofs of seven huts in the hope of 

 obtaining offspring— a custom which in some places 

 has led to fires and loss of life. The practice was 

 explained by the late Mr. R. V. Russell on the 

 theory that the woman burns the thatch in the hope 

 that the spirit of one of the children of the familv 

 may be _ reincarnated in her body. It is true that 

 dead children are often buried under the threshold 

 in the belief that their spirits may be reborn in one 

 of the women of the family, but, as Dr. Crooke 

 observes, the intentional destruction of animal life is 

 repugnant to many Hindus, and examples of re- 

 incarnation, as suggested in the present case, do not 

 seem to be forthcoming. Dr. Crooke suggests another 

 explanation. A barren woman is naturally regarded 

 as being under taboo, sterility being universally attri- 

 buted to the agency of malignant spirits. He quotes 

 many instances to show that it is the custom that 

 when a man or woman is accused of adultery or other 

 offences against the laws of caste, the offender is 

 purified by passing through seven straw booths which 

 are successively set on fire. This leads to the con- 

 clusion that, in the case of barren women, the rite is 

 a form of purgation which relieves her of the impurity 

 to which sterility is attributed. 



Prof. D'Arcy Thompson, in the January-February 

 issue of the Scottish Naturalist, continues his most 



