488 



NATURE 



[August io, 1916 



The worl^ by which he is best known, his researches 

 into the nature of fossil apes and men, he began rela- 

 tively late in life. At the end of last century he had 

 accumulated such masses of observation dealing with 

 the anatomical evidence bearing on the origin of man 

 that he founded and issued a journal- the Zeitschrift 

 fiir Morphologic und Anthropologic — for the publica- 

 tion of papers dealing with the evolution of the higher 

 mammals. 



Among the promising young geologists who have 

 given their lives for their country we regret to note 

 the name of Lieut. Richard Roy Lewer, King's Royal 

 Rifle Corps. He died on July 21 of wounds received 

 a few days previously, at the age of twenty-six. He 

 was the elder son of Mr. H. VV. Lewer, of Priors, 

 Loughton, Essex, and was educated at Denstone 

 College, and afterwards at Wren's. On the outbreak 

 of war he was carrying on geological exploration at 

 Calgary, but at once returned to England to take up 

 military duties, and was gazetted second lieutenant 

 on September 24, 19 14, and lieutenant on February 

 22, 1915. He was elected a fellow of the Geological 

 Society in 191 1, and joined the Geologists' Asso- 

 ciation in 1914. His principal geological work had 

 consisted in professional oil exploration, which he had 

 carried out in Burma, Russia, Asia, and Western 

 Canada. 



The death is announced, at the age of sixty-nine 

 years, of Mr. Morton A. Smale, for many years dean 

 of the Royal Dental Hospital, examiner in dental sur- 

 gery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 

 and joint author of " Injuries and Diseases of the 

 Teeth." 



At the annual meeting of the British Pharma- 

 ceutical Conference, held on July 12, the president 

 (Dr. David Hooper) devoted his address chiefly to an 

 account of the drug resources of India and the Colo- 

 nies. India is rich in drugs ; our ancestors long ago 

 sailed thither to fetch "spices, precious stones, and 

 drugges for the Poticaries." Amongst the products 

 to which attention was directed are cinchona, senna, 

 strychnine, opium, turpentine, and thymol, not to 

 mention frankincense and rayrrh, which are still sold 

 from the godowns of Bombay. Thousands of acres 

 of cinchona are now grown near Darjeeling and in 

 the Nilgiri Hills, and this is noted as "a grand result 

 in acclimatisation," due to the pioneer work of the 

 late Sir Clements Markham. Indian henbane has 

 been found to give a high yield of mydriatic alkaloids, 

 which are now becoming very valuable. Cantharidin, 

 too, is furnished in high proportion by Indian species 

 of Mylabris. In the Malay States ipecacuanha is suc- 

 cessfully cultivated, whilst aloes, buchu, belladonna, 

 and monsonia are exported from South Africa. 

 Coriander and caraway are cultivated by farmers' 

 wives in the latter country for the sake of pin-money, 

 and it is suggested that this example might be followed 

 here as an inducement to grow medicinal herbs. 



M. Chambrelent has studied statistically the sub- 

 ject of still-births and deaths of infants within three 

 days of birth in France. He finds that the annual 

 mortality from this cause is 4 per cent, of births, 

 that it is much greater in the towns than in the 

 country, and that it is higher the more populous the 

 town. This difference between town and country he 

 considers to be due to the less hygienic conditions 

 obtaining in the towns, to alcoholism, and to chronic 

 maladies, particularly syphilis and tuberculosis, which 

 are more prevalent in towns than in the country. The 

 male sex is more affected by still-birth than the female 

 sex- It is particularly at birth and the few days 

 following birth that this mortality among boys is so 



NO. 2441, VOL. 97] 



marked, and to a considerable degree it is prevent- 

 able. Illegitimacy, as might be expected, consider- 

 ably augments this mortality. The older the mother, 

 also, the greater the mortality, while it is much higher 

 at the first pregnancy than in subsequent pregnancies. 

 This mortality is a factor which is by no means 

 negligible in bringing about the depopulation of 

 France {Revue scientifique, July 1-8, 1916, p. 391). 



The Indian Journal of Medical Research for April 

 (vol. iii.. No. 4) contains a number of papers on bac- 

 teriology, parasitology, and public health. Capt. 

 Morison discusses the dose of alum necessary for the 

 purification of water by precipitation. He finds that 

 the best dose of alum for the perfect clarification of 

 a soft water is obtained by adding half the equivalent 

 weight of alum necessary to react completely with 

 the alkalinity calculated as calcium carbonate. For 

 a hard water the same rule holds good ; but an 

 equally good clarification can be obtained by the use 

 of a smaller dose and a mechanical filter. A watery 

 solution of haematoxylin gives a reddish colour when 

 the correct dose has been given. 



In second series, part ii., vol. xvi., of the Journal 

 of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 

 Mr. C. B. Moore presents an elaborate memoir on 

 the exploration of aboriginal sites in the Tennessee 

 River valley. The report would have been more valu- 

 able if it had been accompanied by a summary and 

 some attempt to assign the remains to a particular 

 tribe or group of tribes ; but it contains abundant 

 materials for a study of Indian mortuary customs. 

 The district has suffered much from the depre- 

 dations of curio-hunters, and the trade of " fak- 

 ing " flint implements seems to be a thriving 

 one. The finest thing found is a splendid 

 native pipe, cut in Catlinite or some similar red stone, 

 representing a figure bent on pjie knee, the bowl and 

 place for the mouthpiece being in the back of the 

 carving. It would be difficult to exaggerate the im- 

 portance of this admirable specimen, which may be 

 regarded as one of the best examples of the art of the 

 aborigines. He also found specimens of a reel-shaped 

 decoration in copper, which seems to have served as a 

 pendant or breast ornament. Only one other speci- 

 men of this type appears to be in existence. We have 

 also the record of the first discovery of cowrie shells 

 in an aboriginal mound. The date and mode of their 

 introduction are questions of some difficulty, and Dr. 

 W. H. Dall, writing to the author, says : — " Your 

 cowries may have come off one of Columbus's own 

 ships ! " 



In vol. Ixiv., No. 3322, of the Journal of the Royal 

 Society of Arts, Sirdar Daljit Singh, of the India 

 Council, gives a good account of the Sikhs. The sect 

 at present numbers about five millions. It is well to 

 have a description by an expert of the remarkable rite 

 of pahul, or initiation. An iron vessel is brought intoj 

 the assemblage, in which a mixture of water and 

 sugar is placed. This is stirred with the point ' 

 a sword while the Japji and a collection of sayini: 

 of Guru Govind, who died a martyr in the time > 

 the Emperor Aurangzeb, are recited. Some of tb 

 mixture is poured over the heads of the candidate 

 for initiation, and the rest is drunk. The Sirdr: 

 rightly directs attention to the fact that Sikhism is 

 literary religion, and to the beauties of the Granth, ( 

 Scripture, of the sect. He also pays a well-deserve., 

 tribute to the loyalty and bravery of his brethren in 

 the present war. 



The apparent ease with which the ancient Eg\'ptiar 

 cut so stubborn a material as granite has long occupie 

 the attention of Egyptologists. In part iii. of Anciei. 



