May 15, 19 19] 



NATURE 



209 



at such a tate that they could produce more than 

 100 tons of "poison gas" daily, and, but for the armis- 

 tice, that) quantity would have been doubled by the 

 beginning of the present year. What this would have 

 , meant may be understood when it is stated that the 

 j total output of "poison gas" from the German fac- 

 . tories was only thirty tons per day. Indeed, as regards 

 the "mustard gas" itself, it has been learned since 

 the armistice that the largest daily quantity the 

 enemy could manufacture was from six to eight tons, 

 or only about one-fourth of the amount which the 

 American chemists alone were producing in November. 

 The Right Hon. Sir John H. A. Macdonald (Lord 

 Kinsburgh), F.R.S., who died at Edinburgh on May 9 

 in his eighty-third year, was keenly interested in science, 

 and joined the institution of Electrical Engineers 

 shortly after its foundation. He was educated at the 

 Universities of Edinburgh and Basle. Called to the 

 Scottish Bar in 1859, Sir John Macdonald soon ob- 

 tained considerable success in his profession, and 

 during a long and distinguished public career filled 

 manv important positions. He held the office of 

 Solicitor-General for Scotland during the years 

 1876-80, and four years later became Lord Advocate. 

 Whilst holding the' latter office he sat in Parliament 

 as Member for Edinburgh and St. .\ndrews Universi- 

 ties (1885-88), and carried through the House of 

 Commons an .Act which introduced considerable 

 reforms in Scottish criminal administration. In 1888 

 , Sir John Macdonald was appointed Lord Justice-Clerk 

 t of Scotland and Lord President of the Second Division 

 I of the Court of Session, an office which he held until 

 19 15. Early in his career he interested himself 

 actively in the Volunteer Force, and served in it for 

 many vears, during which he continuously and per- 

 sistentlv strove to bring about reforms in drill and 

 tactics ; eventually the majority of his suggestions 

 were adopted by the military authorities. Sir John 

 published numerous books and other works on matters 

 relating to electricity, law, and tactics, and many 

 medals and diplomas wore awarded to him in con- 

 nection with his life-saving and electrical inventions. 

 -A LARGE and distinguished gathering assembled at 

 \ the Guildhall on the evening of May 8 at the jubilee 

 banquet of the Iron and Steel Institute, founded in 

 i86q. M. Eugene Schneider, the president, occupied 

 the chair, and read messages from the King and the 

 Prince of Wales wishing prosperity to the institute. 

 In proposing the toast of "Peace, Progress, and 

 Prosperity," the president referred to the moral situa- 

 tion of the Allied nations, especially the British and 

 French, who were bearing on their shoulders the main 

 burden of peace. He said that the task of men of 

 good will was made more difficult by short-sighted 

 folk who imagined that they possessed an infallible 

 nostrum, a special device which held in every case 

 and in everv circumstance. The mass of French and 

 British working-men, however, instinctively distrusted 

 "dav dreams." They looked forward to a satisfactorv 

 social order without revolutionary crises and civil 

 wars. Was the task impossible? Some master- 

 builders would be able to rear a new edifice wherein 

 everv tenant would find pleasure to live, provided 

 social problems were dealt with bv those who were 

 worthv of the title "leaders of men." Discussing the 

 future' relations between employers and employed, the 

 president emphasised that these can be satisfactorily 

 brought about onlv bv educating both classes. Future 

 captains of indus'trv' must learn to know their own 

 men, and working-men must be able to judge their 

 employers otherwise than by hearsay. Future en- 

 gineer's must include in their training a few months' 

 probation in the workshops as ordinary working- 

 men, and not lose the benefit of mingling with them. 



NO. 2585, VOL. 103] 



The U.S. National Academy of Sciences held a 

 very successful annual meeting at Washington on 

 April 28-30. Many of the subjects discussed dealt 

 with the war, while other papers presented recent 

 developments in pure and applied science. The 

 academy is the scientific adviser of the United States 

 Government, co-operating with the different Depart- 

 ments and Bureaux in the execution of the more prac- 

 tical developments. Another function is the representa- 

 tion of the United States by academy members in inter- 

 national affairs, some of the members having served 

 as foreign scientific attaches in Europe during the war. 

 The most important of the allied branches of the 

 academy is the National Research Council, which body 

 has carried on some very valuable work for the War 

 and Navy Departments, particularly relating to sub- 

 marine defence, nitrate supply, radio communication, 

 ordnance, wireless control, searchlights, etc., features 

 of which were described during the recent meeting. 

 At the annual dinner of the academy, held on April 29, 

 gold medals were presented to Prince Albert of Monaco 

 and Prof. Charles Fabry, of the University of Mar- 

 seilles, for their contributions to the advance of science. 

 Dr. Charles D. Walcott, president of the academy, 

 made the presentations. The award of the Henry 

 Draper gold medal to Prof. Fabry was made for his 

 notable mvestigations in the science of astronomical 

 physics, particularly his researches in connection with 

 the light of the sun and other astral bodies ; while the 

 original contributions of Prince Albert of Monaco on 

 oceanography received the highest recognition of the 

 academy m the form of the .Alexander Agassiz gold 

 medal, established through funds provided by Sir John 

 Murray. This is the second award of the .Agassiz 

 medal, the first having been presented to Dr. Johan 

 Hjort, of Bergen. 



.A NEW .American .Arctic expedition proposes to 

 start in a few weeks to e.xplore the untraversed part 

 of the .Arctic Ocean between Bering Strait and the 

 North Pole. The expedition, which was postponed a 

 few years ago, is to be under the leadership of Capt. 

 R. -A. Bartlett, and will be supported by the A^ro Club 

 of .America. The Geographical Review, for March 

 (vol. vii.. No. 3) gives some details of' the plans. 

 Flying bases are to be established at Cape Columbia 

 on Grant Land, at Cape Chelyuskin in Siberia or on 

 Nicholas Land to the north "of it, and at Wrangel 

 Island. The expedition will have a large aeroplane 

 capable of making the flight of more than 1 100 miles 

 from Cape Chelyuskin to the Pole, and several smaller 

 aeroplanes for shorter flights. The main base of the 

 e.xpedition will be at Etah, in Greenland. In addition 

 to the vessels required to establish the bases, it is 

 proposed to send a small vessel through Bering Strait 

 and force her into the pack in the hope that she will 

 drift across to the European side of the .Arctic Ocean, 

 thus emulating Capt. R. .Amundsen in his expedition 

 now in progress. Capt. Bartlett's expedition is 

 planned to take three years. 



In spite of the chaotic conditions in Russia, a new 

 hydrographical expedition to the seas north of Siberia 

 is being planned by the Russian Hydrographical 

 Department. From La Geographie (vol. xxxii.. No. 4) 

 we learn that the expedition will be divided into two 

 parts : one under Comdr. Vilkitski will work between 

 the White Sea and Cape Chelyuskin, the other under 

 Comdr. Novopashenni between Cape Chelyuskin and 

 Bering Strait. The coasts are to be surveyed, coastal 

 waters sounded, and ice conditions studied throughout 

 a whole year. It is also proposed to set up several 

 meteorological stations fitted with wireless telegraphy. 

 The sites suggested are at White Island (off Yamal), 

 the north of Novaya Zemlvn. Obdorsk. Cape Chelyu- 

 skin, the mouths of the I.rna and ihr Kolima, ihe 



