April 24, 19 19] 



NATURE 



149 



NOTES. 



The Atlantic has not yet been spanned bv aircraft 

 although two aeroplanes are reported as ready for the 

 eastern flight, and at present are only waiting quieter 

 and more favourable conditions "in mid-Atlantic. 

 Towards the close of last week much snow fell at 

 St. John's, Newfoundland, rendering a start at that 

 time impossible, but the weather conditions had 

 become favourable for landing over the British Isles, 

 and have continued so for some days, the weather 

 during Easter being remarkably fine and clear. The 

 Times for the early days of the present week shows 

 by the bulletins of the weather conditions along the 

 Atlantic course issued by the Air Ministry that the 

 barometric pressure has been very high both over the 

 British Isles and in Newfoundland; but, although 

 the weather is fine and the winds are light, there is 

 much fog over Newfoundland, extending eastward so 

 far as 43° W. longitude. In central Atlantic the 

 barometric pressure is lower than on either side, and 

 the fog, together with the winds, "constitute un- 

 favourable conditions for the flight." If the Air 

 Ministry intends to say when the conditions in mid- 

 Atlantic are favourable — and from the daily bulletins 

 given there is an inference that it does— the Ministr\' 

 undertakes a great responsibility. It commonly 

 happens that with similar weather conditions to those 

 now prevailing on either side of the Atlantic storm- 

 areas are developed in mid-Atlantic, and follow a more 

 northerly track than usual, drifting towards Green- 

 land or Iceland. Before a start is made under present 

 conditions it would, therefore, be worth while to con- 

 sider the advantage of following a fairly southerly 

 route, striking northwards on approaching the eastern 

 side of the Atlantic. This would probably lengthen 

 the distance somewhat, but it might lessen the chance 

 of falling in with a storm. 



A COPY of the report of the secretary of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution of Washington for the year ending 

 June 30, 1918, has been received. From it we learn 

 that at the suggestion of the National Advisory Com- 

 mittee for Aeronautics the U.S. Council of National 

 Defence appointed a committee, now known as the 

 Aircraft Board, to consider all questions of aircraft 

 production and to make recommendations to the 

 militar>- Departments for the production and purchase 

 of aircraft and aircraft apjpliances. The experimental 

 laboratory of the Advisory Committee has been 

 erected at Langley Field, near Hampton, Va. The 

 original Langley man-carrying flying machine, after 

 several successful flights, is now exhibited in the U.S. 

 National Museum. This machine is the first heavier- 

 than-air man-carrying machine constructed, although 

 it did not have a successful flight until more than 

 ten years after its construction. The machine con- 

 firms the claim that the late Prof. Langley was the 

 first to design and build a heavier-than-air machine 

 capable of carrying a man in flight. The report points 

 out also that the institution's researches and explora- 

 tions were limited greatly during the year under 

 review by war conditions. There was, naturally, un- 

 usual activity by members of the scientific staff in 

 investigations related to .^rmy and Navy operations. 

 Several biological and ethnological expeditions have 

 been held in abeyance, although some already in the 

 field have continued in operation on a limited scale. 



Last November the London Section of the Society 

 of Chemical Industry invited M. Paul Kestner, the 

 president of the Soci6t^ de Chimie Industrielle, to 

 deliver an address in London, and advantage was 

 taken of this occasion to inquire whether it was 

 possible to promote some co-operation between French 

 and English chemists. M. Kestner, with characteristic 



NO. 2582, VOL. 103] 



public spirit, has during the last few months taken 

 energetic steps to bring this about, and the recent 

 conference held in Paris marks an important advance. 

 Among those taking part in the conference were Prof. 

 Chavanne (Belgium), Profs. Moureu and Matignon, 

 M. Kestner, and M. Poulenc (France), Senator Paterno 

 and Dr. Pomilio (Italy), Mr. Henrv Wigglesworth, 

 Col. Norris, and Dr. Cottrell (United' States), and Sir 

 Wilham Pope, Prof. Louis, and Mr. Chasten Chap- 

 man (Great Britain). It was decided to form an inter. 

 Allied confederation for pure and applied chemistry 

 which should organise permanent co-operation between 

 the various countries, and co-ordinate scientific and 

 technical knowledge as well as contribute to the ad- 

 vancement of chemistry in its fullest extent. The 

 inter-Allied council is to consist at the moment of 

 six representatives from each of the nations men- 

 tioned above. The first meeting will be held in 

 London on July 15-18, when the inter-.Mlied council 

 will be the guests of the Society of Chemical Industry, 

 the annual meeting of which then takes place. For 

 the time being the secretary of the inter-Allied federa- 

 tion will be M. Jean Gerard, 40 rue des Mathurins, 

 Paris. Particulars of the I^ndon meeting can be 

 obtained in due course from Dr. Stephen Miall, 

 28 Belsize Grove, N.W.3. 



On April 14 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 was notified that a dog suspected to be suffering from 

 rabies had been killed at Bvfleet, Surrey. Post- 

 mortem investigation proved that the dog was rabid. 

 It had wandered from a house in Ealing on April 11, 

 and during its three days' wandering is stated to 

 have bitten five persons and several dogs. Two or 

 three further cases of suspected rabies have since 

 been reported in the London area. In consequence, 

 the Board has made an Order prescribing the muzzling 

 of dogs with wire-muzzles over an area which includes 

 the whole of the counties of London and of Middle- 

 sex, nearly the whole of Surrey, and portions of 

 Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire; Berkshire, and 

 Hampshire. It is to be hoped the necessary muzzles 

 will quickly be forthcoming (at the moment of writing 

 they are difficult to procure), that the authorities will 

 rigorously enforce the Order, and that the public will 

 support their action. It may be recalled that the 

 similar Order by Mr. Walter Long in 1896-97 ensured 

 complete immunity from rabies in * this country for 

 more than twenty years. Since rabies reappeared in 

 Devon and Cornwall last September 150 cases have 

 been reported. 



At the annual meeting of the Society of Glass 

 Technology, held on April 16 in the Applied Science 

 Department of the University of Sheffield, Mr. 

 W. F. J. Wood, president of the societ\-, referred in 

 his presidential address to the Research Association 

 that has been formed in the glass industry. .\ provi- 

 sional committee has been appointed, and' at an earlv 

 date all manufacturers in the industry will be invited 

 to join the Glass Research .Association. Substantial 

 promises have already been received, and it is felt that 

 the scheme will be' a decided success. Sir Frank 

 Heath, Secretar\' of the Department of Scientific and 

 Industrial Research, also addressed the meeting. He 

 pointed out that the "lass industry had been engaging 

 the anxious consideration of the Government as much 

 as, if not more than, any industry in the country since 

 the war began. During' the war the Department had 

 been enabled to help the industry in many ways, and 

 would do so in the future. There was a great 

 call from other industries besid<'s that of glass for 

 State aid in research. Research was insurance for 

 knowledge, and he appealed to the Research Associa- 

 tion to get the best men possible for their work. Mr. 



