June 26, 1919] 



NATURE 



;29 



Regulations have been drafted by the Society of 

 Engineers for association with other engineering 

 societies. The scheme admits members of such asso- 

 ciated societies to various privileges offered by the 

 Society of Engineers, such as attendance at meetings, 

 visits, functions, etc., the use of the library and 

 reading-room, and also of the appointments and 

 employment register. The society contributes to the 

 associated society not more than one-fifth of the 

 annual subscription paid to the society by each 

 member thereof who is also a member of the asso- 

 ciated society at the date of his election. Provision is 

 also made for the representation of associated bodies 

 at meetings of the council of the Society of Engineers, 

 but it is stipulated that the latter does not assume 

 responsibility for any acts done or liabilities incurred 

 by any associated society. It is stated that the 

 Gloucestershire Engineering Society was the first to 

 be associated with the scheme. 



The inaugural meeting of the American Society of 

 Mammalogists was held in the New National Museum, 

 Washington, D.C., on April 3 and 4. Officers were 

 elected as follows: — President: C. Hart Merriam, 

 Smithsonian Institution. Vice-Presidents: E. W. 

 Nelson, U.S. Biological Survey, and Wilfred H. 

 Osgood, Field Museum of Natural History. Recording 

 Secretary: H. H. Lane, University of Oklahoma. 

 Corresponding Secretary: Hartley H. T. Jackson, 

 U.S. Biological Survey. Treasurer: Walter P. Taylor, 

 U.S. Biological Survey. With the intention of 

 aiding research and of centralising ideas and 

 energy, committees were appointed on the life- 

 histories of mammals, the study of game mammals, 

 anatomy and phylogeny, and bibliography. The 

 policy of the society will be to devote itself 

 TO the study of mammals in a broad way, in- 

 cluding life-histories, habits, relations to plants and 

 animals, evolution, palaeontology, anatomy, and other 

 phases. The publication of the Journal of Mam- 

 malogy, in whicn popular as well as technical matter 

 will be presented, will begin this year. Membership 

 in the society is not confined to Americans, but any 

 person interested in mammals is invited to join. 

 Application for membership may be sent to Mr. 

 Hartley H. T. Jackson, U.S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Washington, D.C. 



The drought which has been so severely felt over 

 the southern portion of England came to an end on 

 June 20, when there was an inch of rain over the 

 metropolitan area due to the passage of a secondary 

 disturbance. In many parts of the country, especially 

 in the north and west, there was a break in the 

 drought on June 12 due to the passage of a well- 

 developed cyclonic disturbance across the country. 

 Over London generally the weather was absolutely 

 rainless for 25 days from May 10 to June 3 inclusive, 

 and for Kew Observatory the Daily Weather Report 

 gives no measurable rain for 32 days from May 3 to 

 June 3. For a period of 48 days from May 3 to 

 June 19 the total rainfall at Kew' was only 008 in.; 

 a partial drought, more than 28 days the aggregate 

 rainfall of which does not exceed 001 in. per diem, 

 continued for 51 days, from April 30 to June 19, the 

 total rain measurement being 043 in. At Greenwich 

 the drought lasted only 15 days, from May ia-24; 

 whilst at Portland the "drought continued for 32 days 

 from May 18 to June 18. At Dungeness, for a 

 oeriod of 46 days from May 4 to June 19, the rain- 

 fall was only 0-14 in., whilst a partial drought con- 

 tinued for 50 days from May 4 to June 22, and was 

 continuing at the time of our going to press. The 

 rainfall for the seven weeks. May i to June 18, varied 

 much in different parts of the country. At Stornoway 



NO. 2591, VOL. 103] 



the measurement was 550 in., at Glasgow 475 in., 

 and at Birr Castle, Ireland, 565 in. At the English 

 stations the Meteorological Office retifrns show that 

 fhe rainfall was very much less. The amounts 

 were :— Liverpool, 1-82 in. ; Nottingham, 1-63 in. ; 

 Yarmouth, 132 in.; Jersey, 0-85 in.; Portland, 

 064 in. ; and Dungeness, 034 in. ; whilst for the 

 London area the Rainfall Organisation at Camden 

 Square had 048 in., Greenwich Observatory 045 in., 

 and Kew Observatory 019 in. The absolute drought 

 was severe and prolonged, but the partial drought 

 was of comparatively short duration compared with 

 others in the spring of former years. 



The Government of the Punjab has recently an- 

 nounced that three great irrigation schemes, each 

 costing 1000 lakhs of rupees, are now under con- 

 sideration. They are expected to yield a financial 

 return of from 6 to 8 per cent, on the capital expendi- 

 ture. These projects are : A canal starting from the 

 Indus at Kalabagh to irrigate 5,000,000 acres, or 

 8000 square miles, of wilderness Iving between' the 

 Indus, Jhelum, and Chinab rivers; the Bhakra 

 reservoir dam, 350 ft. high, to be built across the 

 Sutlej at the debouchure from the Himalayas in order 

 to store up 110,000 cubic ft. of water for'ourposes of 

 irrigation during the winter; and the Sutlej vallev 

 project of canals from the Sutlej near Ferozepore 

 for irrigation chiefly of the territories of Bikaner and 

 Bahawalpur. 



The Moriori, who inhabited the Chatham Islands, 

 and are now practically extinct, have excited an 

 interest comparable in kind, though not in degree, 

 with that aroused by the extinct Tasmanians. They 

 have until quite recently been regarded as a branch of 

 the Maori people driven to the Chathams many 

 generations ago by tribal war. But this view has 

 been challenged on linguistic and other grounds, 

 among which are differences between the Maori and 

 Moriori vessels. The latter are carefully described bv 

 Mr. H. D. Skinner in the May issue of Man. Mr. 

 Skinner's conclusion is that "the Moriori Waka-rimu 

 may very well have combined elements derived from 

 raft and canoe, a development necessitated by the 

 absence at Chatham Islands of any timber from which 

 a dug-out canoe could be made. . . . The use of 

 rowing, as opposed to paddling, for the propulsion of 

 canoes has been recorded amongst the Maoris on the 

 west coast of the South Island, while an oar of the 

 Moriori type was found manv years ago in a cave at 

 the head-waters of the Taieri in Otago, and is now 

 in the Otago University Museum." 



The Veterinary Review for May (vol. iii.. No. 2) 

 contains a valuable bibliography on contagious abor- 

 tion of cattle. It starts from the year 1895, and con- 

 tains 225 references. The remainder of the issue is 

 occupied with abstracts, bibliography on current 

 literature of veterinary subjects, and book reviews. 



Capt. Major Greenwood discusses problems of 

 industrial organisation in a paper published in the 

 March issue of the Journal of the Royal Statistical 

 Society (vol. Ixxxii., part ii.). The advantage in 

 respect of retention of workers of the factory with 

 a welfare system appears to be considerable. As 

 regards the influence of the type of work, the younger 

 women doing heavy work do not seem to fall away 

 faster than those of a similar age doing light work, 

 but with women above twenty-two years of age there 

 is a decided difference. Contrasting day-workers and 

 continuous night-workers, the percentage inferiority 

 in output of the night-workers amounted to 17 ±4-1 in 

 winter and 12 ±3 in summer. .As regards hours of 



