436 



NATURE 



['[June 9, 1910 



journey will be made in the From, which is thus now on 

 her third polar expedition. Among the problems which 

 Captain Amundsen hopes to solve are the extent, depth, 

 and character of the polar basin. He proposes to measure 

 exactly the temperature and salinity of the streams of the 

 polar basin, and to work at tide gauging, ice screw 

 measurement, and wind speed. Captain Amundsen is pre- 

 pared for seven years' absence. Once across the Atlantic, 

 he will return in August to Christiansand to fetch Eskimo 

 dogs. A few days later the Fram will shape its course 

 from Cape Horn to San Francisco, where coal and pro- 

 visions will be taken in. In June, igii, a start will be 

 made for Point Barrow. The Fram will follow the moving 

 ice over the polar basin, and it is hoped that the actual 

 Pole or its near neighbourhood will be crossed. The object 

 of the expedition is purely scientific. Captain Amundsen 

 expects to reach open water between Greenland and Spits- 

 bergen in 19 15 or 1916. 



In connection with the annual grant voted by Parliament 

 in aid of scientific investigations concerning the causes and 

 processes of disease, Mr. Burns, the President of the Local 

 Government Board, has authorised the following special 

 researches, (i) A continuation of an investigation into pro- 

 tracted and recurrent infection in enteric fever, by Dr. 

 Theodore Thomson, Medical Inspector of the Board, in 

 conjunction with Dr. Ledingham, of the Lister Institute. 

 {2) A continuation of an investigation into protracted and 

 recurrent infection in diphtheria, by Dr. Theodore Thom- 

 son and Dr. C. J. Thomas. (3) A continuation of an 

 investigation into flies as carriers of infection, by Dr. 

 Monckton Copeman, Medical Inspector of the Board, in 

 conjunction with Dr. Graham Smith and Mr. Merriman, 

 of the University of Cambridge, Dr. Nicholl, of the Lister 

 Institute, and Dr. Bernstein, of the Bacteriological Labora- 

 tory, Westminster Hospital. (4) A continuation of an in- 

 vestigation on the injurious gases evolved during artificial 

 illumination, by Dr. J. Wade, of Guy's Hospital. (5) A 

 preliminary inquiry into the relationship of certain special 

 types of bacteria to the diarrhoea of infants, by Dr. C. J. 

 Lewis, of Birmingham, Dr. Sheila M. Ross, of Manchester, 

 Dr. Thomas Orr, of Shrewsbury, and Dr. R. A. O'Brien, of 

 the Lister Institute. 



The summary of the weather for spring, comprising the 

 thirteen weeks in March, April, and May, just issued by 

 the Meteorological Office, shows that the mean temperature 

 for the period was nowhere very different from the, average. 

 The north-east and east of England were the only districts 

 where the thermometer in the shade exceeded 80° ; the 

 highest temperature was 83° in the east of England, and 

 the lowest 20° in the north of Scotland and in the south- 

 west of England. The aggregate rainfall for the period 

 varied in different parts of the United Kingdom, the total 

 measurement being in excess of the average in the north 

 and east of Scotland, in the east, south-east, and north- 

 west of England, whilst in all other districts there was a 

 deficiency. With the exception of the north of Scotland, 

 where there was an excess of 3 inches, the difference from 

 the average was nowhere large. The number of rainy 

 days was in excess of the average in all districts except 

 in the east of Scotland and in the Channel Islands. The 

 largest measurement of rain was i2"9i inches in the north 

 of Scotland, which fell on 60 days ; the least measurement 

 was 4-87 inches, in the Midland counties, which fell on 

 47 days. The duration of bright sunshine was nowhere 

 very different from the average ; the greatest excess was 

 28 hours in the south-west of England, and the greatest 

 deficiency 40 hours in the south of Ireland. At Greenwich 

 NO. 2 119, VOL. 83] 



the mean temperature for the three months was o'3° above 

 the average, the rainfall was 093 inch more than the 

 normal which fell on 45 days, and the duration of bright 

 sunshine was 66 hours more than usual. 



In the spring of 1909 the board of governors of the 

 Camp-Fire Club of America decided that the time was ripe 

 for instituting an active campaign for the protection of 

 wild life throughout the United States. With this object 

 in view a legislative committee, consisting of twelve 

 lawyers and a zoologist, was formed. Special attention 

 has been directed to the preservation of the grey squirrel 

 and the fur seal, and to convincing the authorities of the 

 desirability of placing all migratory birds under the control 

 of the Federal Government. We have received a report 

 showing the steps which the club has taken in the direc- 

 tion of saving the fur seal. For fully ten years the for- 

 tunes of the Alaskan fur seal, which once furnished a 

 valuable industry, have been rapidly declining. Last 

 November the club decided to appeal to Congress, the 

 President, and the Cabinet for the adoption of a policy 

 that would not only save the seals from further annihila- 

 tion, but also rehabilitate an industry that, instead of 

 yielding an income, now inflicts an annual loss. The club 

 asked for three things : — no renewal of the lease for kill- 

 ing seals on the Pribilov Islands for commercial purposes ; 

 a ten-year close season for the seals ; and treaties with 

 Canada, Japan, and Russia for the total suppression of! 

 the industry of killing seals at sea. On April 21 a Bill! 

 securing some of these ends was signed by the President 

 after having passed both houses of Congress. It is hoped 

 that treaties with the other countries interested will be 

 arranged. It may be predicted that the seal herds, now 

 reduced from 4,000,000 to about 60,000, will have a mudh 

 needed rest, and that if the killing of seals at sea, called 

 " pelagic sealing," can be stopped by treaty, in ten years' 

 time the herds will breed up to their original strength. 



In the May number of Man, Mr. N. W. Thomas com- 

 mences a series of notes on his recent work in Nigeria. Ir 

 the present instalment he describes one phase of nativt 

 decorative art, that to be seen on the walls of houses 

 secular or religious. Human figures, except that of i 

 mischievous imp, Esu, are rare ; but numerous animal form: 

 are depicted, and these, particularly when found on tht 

 walls of shrines, seem to subserve a magical purpose. 



Many suggestions have been made to explain the tern 

 Rom or Romani applied to the Gypsy race. The last I 

 that of Mr. Leo Winer in the Journal of the Gypsy Lor 

 Society for April. He points out that the name is coin 

 cident with Christian countries only, Europe, America, ant 

 Armenia. From the law of Charlemagne it appears thi 

 the Gypsies pretended to be pilgrims, and their name wj 

 usually connected with that of Rome. Ultimately, 

 thinks, it originated in the Greek Erimites, " a hermit " 

 and that when the popular etymology connected all hermi 

 and pilgrims with Rome, all other terms designatii 

 pilgrims were so transformed as to bring them into kee 

 ing with this new conception. 



Mr. C. L. Wragge announces in the Auckland Standai 

 of March 7 the discovery at Bay of Islands of a serii 

 of engraved rocks, which he supposes to be of enormoi 

 antiquity and to be connected with the monoliths of East* 

 Island, which are a puzzle to antiquaries. Another corr 

 spondent, however, states that there are rocks betwet 

 Whangaroa and Bay of Islands regarding which the Maori 

 have traditions dating back to the days of Captain Cooll 

 and that a Government geologist who examined them hil 

 found that they are naturally decayed basaltic columnf 



