448 



NATURE 



[July 27, 1916 



An instructive example of the manner in which 

 Germany has in the past been permitted to exploit 

 British resources is provided by the management by 

 a German company of the Travancore monazite de- 

 posits. The sand was obtained in Travancore at a 

 cost of about 4Z, per ton, and shipped to Germany 

 for the use of the manufacturers of Germany. Only 

 a limited quantity of the sand was allowed to be sold 

 in the United Kingdom, and the price of about 36Z. 

 per ton was demanded. In a paper on the British 

 rare-earth industry, read by Mr. S. J. Johnstone at 

 the annual meeting- of the Society of Chemical In- 

 dustry, these and other interesting particulars were 

 given. Prof. Wyndham Dunstan, director of the Im- 

 p>erial Institute, dealt with the same subject in a paper 

 read to the Indian Section of the Royal Society of 

 Arts on June i, and printed in the issues of the 

 society's journal of July 7 and 14. Thorium, the 

 constituent of monazite of industrial importance, is 

 essential to the gas-mantle industry, which until lately 

 was under German control. Germany, having secured 

 the monopoly of the Brazilian supplies of monazite, 

 was able to dominate the manufacture of gas mantles 

 in this country. Owing to the activities of the Impe- 

 rial Institute, Ceylon was found to supply scattered 

 monazite and thorianite, the richest known ore of 

 thorium, containing more than 80 per cent, of thoria, 

 as against about 5 per cent, in Brazilian monazite. 

 In 1909 monazite sand was discovered on the coast 

 of Travancore, and the monazite found to contain 

 nearly twice as much thoria as the monazite of Brazil. 

 Thorianite has been secured by the Imperial Institute 

 for British users, by whom virtually the entire output 

 of Ceylon has been taken. Though at first Travan- 

 core monazite was worked in German interests, a 

 reconstruction since the war of the company working 

 it will secure its produce also for British industry. 



As was the case last year, the Swedish Govern- 

 ment has decided to postpone, this time until July i, 

 1917, the distribution of the Nobel prizes in physics, 

 chemistry, medicine, and literature. 



The Finsbury Technical College Old Students' 

 Association is preparing a scheme to perpetuate the 

 memory of the late Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson in 

 a suitable manner. All who wish to assist in the 

 establishment of such a memorial should communicate 

 with Mr. J. E. Raworth, Queen Anne's Chambers, 

 28 Broadway, Westminster, London, S.W. 



The death is announced, at the age of seventy-eight, 

 of Dr. Bushell Anningson, lecturer in medical juris- 

 prudence in the University of Cambridge since 1884. 

 Dr. Anningson was the author of " Evolution of 

 Human Communities in Relation to Disease," "The 

 Origin and Progress of Sanitary Endeavour," and 

 other works. 



Lieut. J. J. Ball, who was killed at the front on 

 June 27 while acting as observing officer, entered the 

 University of London, University College, as a student 

 of civil engineering in 1912, and had just completed 

 his second year's course at the outbreak of the war. 

 He was by no means a "bookworm," but perhaps 

 his distinguishing feature as a student was the quiet 

 determination with which he tackled his studies, even 

 when they were clearly distasteful. His friends and 

 teachers at University College feel that by his death 

 the war has robbed them of a promising young 

 engineer, as well as of a man they were glad to call 

 friend. 



Major (Temporary Lieut.-Col.) Boyd Robert 

 HoRSBRUGH, who died recently at his home, Oxted, 



NO. 2439, VOL. 97] 



Surrey, was well known as an authority on the birds of 

 South Africa, where he had lived for nearly seven years, 

 and had travelled extensively throughout the country ; 

 he also served with distinction in the South African 

 war. He is best known as the author of a book on the 

 " Game Birds and Waterfowl of South Africa," pub- 

 lished in 1912, a most useful work to the naturalist, 

 but mainly designed to meet the requirements of the 

 average sportsman in that country. A special feature 

 of the work is the field notes by the author and 

 artist, and the beautiful series of coloured plates by 

 Sergt. C. G. Davies, Cape Mounted Riflemen, which 

 bear evidence of being drawn from life by one who 

 had watched and studied in their native haunts the 

 subjects of his pencil. 



The death of Paul Lemetayer in Chile closes a most 

 useful career. Born at Avranches in 1849, he was 

 the pupil and later the collaborator of Paul Issidor. 

 In 1881 he was appointed director of the agricul- 

 tural station at Santiago, and held a distinguished 

 position in connection with agricultural and analytical 

 chemistry in Chile. As technical adviser to the 

 Government, Lemetayer contributed much to the wel- 

 fare and progress of Chile. The important nitrate 

 industry, the growth of sugar-beet, and the develop- 

 ment of vineyards have been specially encouraged by 

 State grants, but agricultural enterprise has also been 

 stimulated in other directions. The " Quinta Normal 

 d'Agricultura," with which Lemetayer was closely 

 connected, is regarded as the largest and best 

 organised of agricultural schools in South America, 

 and is rivalled by few similar institutions in Europe. 



Mr. Edgar Albert Smith, who died on July 22, was 

 born in 1847. His father was Frederick Smith, a 

 well-known entomologist, and assistant-keeper in the 

 zoological department of the British Museum. In 

 1867 Edgar Smith joined the staff of the museum as 

 an assistant, and took charge of the mollusca ; for 

 several years he was largely occupied with the 

 arrangement of the famous "Cuming Collection." 

 Afterwards, when the collections were transferred 

 from Bloomsbury to South Kensington, he was re- 

 sponsible for the arrangement of the shell gallery, 

 which he planned especially for the convenience of 

 the numerous amateur collectors and students of shells 

 who visited the Natural History Museum, and at 

 whose service he freely placed his wide knowledge and 

 experience. In 1895 he was promoted to the rank of 

 assistant-keeper, and in 1903 he received the I.S.O. ; 

 he retired in 1913. Mr. Smith was recognised as a 

 high authority in conchology, and he was the author 

 of more than 300 monographic and faunistic works 

 on mollusca, including the important volume on the 

 Challenger Lamellibranchs. He had held the office 

 of president of both the Conchological and Malaco- 

 logical Societies, and was a member of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and of the Linnean 

 Society of New South Wales. 



Capt. J. M. Charlton, who was killed on July i, 

 at twenty-five years of age, was an enthusiastic 

 naturalist and amateur taxidermist, and had written 

 and illustrated several short works on ornithology, 

 among them "The Birds of South-East Northumber- 

 land." He was in Uppingham School from 1907 to 

 1910. During his last two years there he was one of the 

 official "observers" of the Ornithological Section of 

 the Natural Science Society, and for his last year he 

 was secretary of the section. He was always very 

 keen on birds, spent all his spare time in observing 

 them, and would travel miles on the off-chance of 



