July 24, 1919] 



NATURE 



409 



Mrs. Menteith Ogilvie has presented to the 

 Natural History Museum the fine collection of British 

 bird-skins formed by her late husband, Dr. Menteith 

 Ogilvie. It consists of nearly 1800 specimens, many 

 of the species being represented bv large series. The 

 collection is in a very good condition, each bird being 

 carefully identified and labelled, with full data. The 

 birds of prey are particularly well represented. There 

 are three examples of the hen harrier, a decreasing 

 British species, and seven of Montagu's harrier, which 

 is a somewhat rare spring and summer visitor. There 

 is a very large series of the sparrowhawk, showing 

 every change and phmse of plumage from the nestling 

 in its various stages to the adult bird. There are also 

 good series of the great crested grebe from Norfolk 

 and Suffolk, of the Slavonian grebe, and of the little 

 auk, also from Norfolk and Suffolk. 



Dr. H. R. Mill has retired from the position of 

 director of the British Rainfall Organisation and from 

 the editorship of "British Rainfall" and Symons's 

 Meteorological Magazine, which he has carried on 

 since 1901. .Serious impairment of eyesight con- 

 sequent on overwork led Dr. Mill to make arrange- 

 ments for retiring in 1914, when the outbreak of the 

 war caused him to postpone the step ; he now finds 

 his health unequal to the strain of adapting the work 

 to post-,war conditions. The association of voluntary 

 rainfall observers in all parts of the British Isles 

 numbered 3500 nineteen years ago; it had reached 

 5500 in 19 14, and, after falling to about 5100 during 

 the war, the number is again increasing. The col- 

 lection and publication of rainfall data will not be 

 interrupted bv the changes consequent on Dr. Mill's 

 retirement. 



The sudden death on July 5 of Mr. John Hopkinson 

 at his home in Watford is a sad loss to the pursuit 

 of natural knowledge, both in Hertfordshire and in 

 wider fields. It was so far back as 1875 that Mr, 

 Ho^jkinson founded the Watford (now Hertfordshire) 

 Natural History Society, and for more than forty 

 years the promotion of its interests had been his chief 

 concern. The eighteen volumes of Transactions are 

 sufficient evidence of the success of his efforts; to 

 them he contributed frequently on meteorological, 

 phenological, and geological topics, and the whole 

 series has had his meticulous editorial care ; and his 

 sturdy Yorkshire shoulders carried a good deal more 

 than the local society. The admirable County Museum 

 at St. Albans arose from his proposal, and he was 

 the originator of the annual conference of delegates 

 from provincial scientific societies held in connection 

 with the British Association. For some fifteen 

 years he had been secretary of the Ray Society, and 

 always the helpful friend of naturalists of all kinds. 

 Mr. Hopkinson was active to the last, and few men 

 have made better use of seventy-four years. 



By the death of Dr. John Inglis on July 13 the 

 Clyde loses one of its best known pioneers in scientific 

 shipbuilding. An account of Dr. IngHs's career 

 appears in Engineering for July 18, to which we are 

 indebted for the following particulars. He was 

 born in 1842, the eldest son of Anthony Inglis, who 

 founded the firm of A. and J. Inglis in 1837. He was 

 educated at the Glasgow Academy and at Glasgow 

 University, where he came under the influence of the 

 brothers Thomson, Lord Lister, Rankine, Blackburn, 

 and others. He became manager of the shipbuilding 

 yard at twenty-five years of age. He was amongst 

 the first to adopt the principle of- progressive-speed 

 trials on the measured mile and of careful study of 

 the results achieved. Dr. Inglis was associated with 

 Dr. Froude's method of tank experiments with models 



NO. 2595, VOL. 103] 



of different forms and with comparative screw pro- 

 pellers. He was the first on the Clyde to carry out in- 

 clining experiments on completed vessels with the view 

 of determining their stability and of assisting towards 

 accurate loading. He was also a pioneer in the deter- 

 mination of longitudinal stresses, and conducted many 

 exp>eriments on a practical scale. He was vice- 

 president of the Institution of Naval Architects, and 

 president of the Institution of Engineers and Ship- 

 builders in Scotland in 1893, and of the Institute of 

 Marine Engineers in 1898. Much of his private time 

 was devoted to the advancement of the national 

 organisations and institutions in Glasgow. In 1898 

 the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon 

 Dr. Inglis by the University of Glasgow. 



As a result of the establishment of the Ministry of 

 Health, the medical staffs of the Local Government 

 Board and of the National Health Insurance Commis- 

 sion have been brought together to form the main por- 

 tion of the medical staff of the Ministry, but on a newly 

 organised system and with considerable additional 

 posts. The Minister has appointed Sir George New- 

 man as Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry, with 

 status corresponding with that of a Secretary of the 

 Ministry. By arrangement between the President of 

 the Board of Education and the Minister, Sir George 

 Newman is to retain his position as Chief Medical 

 Officer of the Board of Education. Five new posts of 

 Senior Medical Officer have been established, and to 

 these the following appointments have been made : — 

 Dr. G. S. Buchanan, Dr. Janet M. Campbell, Dr. 

 F. J. H. Coutts, Mr. A. W. J. MacFadden, and Mr. 

 J. Smith Whitaker. The whole of the rest of the 

 established medical staff of the' Ministry will be in 

 one g^rade to be known as Medical Officers. The 

 following appointments have so far been announced : — 

 Miss Irene C. D. Eaton, Dr. Major Greenwood, Miss 

 Florence B. Lambert, and Dr. Jane H. Turnbull. 

 Besides this regular staff, arrangements have been 

 made whereby the Ministry may secure the services, 

 from time to time, of specialists and others on a part- 

 time basis. -Amongst these are included at present the 

 following : — Dr. Maurice Craig, Col. L. W. Harrison, 

 and Sir David Semple. 



By direction of the President of the United States, 

 the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal has been awarded 

 to Lt.-Col. S. J. M. Auld, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 

 British Army, " for exceptionally meritorious and dis- 

 tinguished services rendered the United States Army 

 while serving as Liaison Officer between the British 

 and American Chemical Warfare Services." Col. .\uld, 

 who is professor of agricultural chemistry at Uni- 

 versity College, Reading, commanded the British Gas 

 Warfare Mission to the United States, other well- 

 knovvn members of which included Major H. R. Le 

 Sueur and Major H. W. Dudley. TTiis Mission put 

 before the Americans everything about gas warfare 

 ab initio, and Col. Auld was responsible for organising 

 the -American Chemical Warfare Service, which 

 developed into the largest gas service of all the com- 

 batant armies. When the armistice was signed the 

 United States were manufacturing nearly twice as 

 much gas as all the other combatant nations (including 

 Germany) put together. The -American respirator was 

 an improved copv of the British box respirator. The 

 field training was also based on British experience. 

 The exchange of manufacturing, design, and research 

 experience between the two nations was absolutely 

 complete, the relationship between the two Chemical 

 Warfare Services being closer than in any other 

 branch of the Service, and doing much to consolidate 

 the cordial understanding already existing between the 

 chemists of the two countries. 



