August 31, 1916] 



NATURE 



549 



ley; "Influence of Heat-Treatment on the Thermo- 

 electric Properties and Specific Resistance of Carbon 

 Steels," Prof. E. D. Campbell; "Heat Treatment of 

 Eutectoid Carbon Steels," Dr. H. M. Howe and A. G. 

 Levy; "Steel Ingot Defects," J. N. Kilby; "Man- 

 ganese Ores of the Bukowina, Austria," H. K. Scott; 

 • Influence of Elements on the Properties of Steel," 

 Dr. J. E. Stead; "Notes on (a) Nickel Steel Scale, 

 (fe) on the Reduction of Solid Nickel and Copper 

 Oxides by Solid Iron, (c) on Effect of Blast-furnace 

 Gases on Wrought Iron," Dr. J. E. Stead; "Use of 

 Meteoric Iron by Primitive Man," G. F. Zimmer. 



We regret to notice that Sir Richard Biddulph Mar- 

 tin, the chairman of Martin's Bank, died on August 

 23, in his sevent}-eighth year. Sir Richard Martin 

 was not only an eminent banker and one of the 

 founders of the Institute of Bankers, but also gave 

 much time during his long and active life to the 

 work of charitable and social undertakings, and of 

 more than one scientific society'. Of the Fishmongers' 

 Company he was twice Prime Warden, and represented 

 the company on the Executive Committee of the City 

 and Guilds of London Institute. He had held the 

 office of treasurer of the Royal Statistical Society of 

 London since 1875, '^^ longest period of office of any 

 treasurer since the foundation of the society, and was 

 elected to the presidency in 1906. He always exhibited 

 the warmest interest in the welfare of the society, 

 and was a regular attendant at council and ordinary 

 meetings until increasing lameness in recent years 

 rendered, attendance almost a physical impossibility. 

 Sir Richard was also keenly interested in the work of 

 the Royal Anthropological Institute, of which he was 

 a vice-president, and in that of the Royal Geographical 

 Society. 



A RECENT article by Dr. Saleeby on "Armoured 

 Men," published in the Daily Chronicle of August 7, 

 gives some particulars as to the construction of the 

 "soup-plate" helmet with which British troops are 

 now provided. It is really a double structure. It is 

 first a soft cap, bounded all round its edge with thick 

 rubber studs — now made hollow for greater resilience. 

 This cap has a double lining of felt and wadding, so 

 that even if the helmet be pierced at point-blank 

 range the scalp is guarded from the steel. Upon this 

 padded cap is poised the casque of steel. The interval 

 between the two serves for ventilation. The steel used 

 is that discovered some twenty years ago by Sir 

 Robert Hadfield, and known as manganese steel. The 

 helmet weighs 2 lb., and is said to be bullet-proof 

 to a Webley automatic pistol at five yards' range. 

 Every helmet now supplied to the troops is proof 

 against a shrapnel bullet, forty-one to the pound, with 

 a striking velocity of 750 ft. per second. To prevent 

 the surface from acting as a mirror it is sanded and 

 roughened. The helmet is fixed with an adjustable 

 strap under the chin, and its rim is blunted so as to 

 avert injur\' to the temples of the next men's 

 heads in the close company of the trenches. The pitch 

 of the helmet is made as low as possible. Dr. 

 Saleeby finally urges that the protection of similar 

 steel should be now applied to other vital parts of the 

 body. It is estimated that this would cause an addi- 

 tion of not more than 4 lb. to the weight car- 

 ried by the soldier, and that this addition could be 

 compensated by the temporary reduction of other equip- 

 ment, at least when the soldier is storming positions- 

 held by the enemy. 



Those who are interested in iconography will wel- 

 come the paper by Prof. Flinders Petrie on "Early 

 Forms of the Cross from Egyptian Tombs," pub- 

 lished in part iii. of Ancient Egypt for 1916. The 



NO. 2444. VOL. 97] 



numerous examples illustrated are taken from tombs 

 of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. As persecution in- 

 creased in Egypt there arose a tendency to disguise 

 the forms of the symbol, so that it should be recognis- 

 able only by the initiated. Prof. Petrie disregards 

 the so-called Tau cross, represented in some 

 dictionaries as having come from Eg>'pt. He 

 says that he has never seen it represented or described 

 there, and he does not understand why Egypt has been 

 regarded as its source. On the other hand, he has no 

 doubt of the Egyptian origin of early crosses found 

 in Great Britain and Ireland, though most of these 

 have the long form which, probably with the object of 

 disguise, was at an early period abandoned in Eg\'pt 

 and replaced by that of the square shape. 



Prof. M. Caullery's introductory "exchange" 

 lecture at Harvard on "The Present State of the 

 Problem of Evolution " is published in Science of 

 April 21 last. He surveys broadly, in this discourse, 

 the progress of biological speculation from the 

 beginning of the nineteenth century, pointing out 

 that some recent interpretations of heredity tend to 

 bring the concept of evolution into line with the 

 " evolutio " of pre-Lamarckian philosophers. With 

 these interpretations Prof. Caullery admits imperfect 

 sympathy, and promises his hearers " support of a 

 transformism more or less Lamarckian." From this 

 introductory lecture they may look forward to a stimu- 

 lating course, and Prof. Caullery's graceful tribute 

 to American workers in biology — from Louis and 

 Alexander Agassiz to E. B. Wilson, Loeb, and Castle 

 — must have been welcome to bis hearers at Harvard. 



On the other hand. Dr. Chas. B. Davenport,, xnnrit- 

 ing in the American Naturalist (1., No. 596, August, 

 19 16) On "The Form of Evolutiqnar)' Theory that 

 Modern Genetical Research, seems to Favour," ex- 

 presses belief in "internal changes chiefly independent 

 of external conditions " as furnishing ' the effective 

 agency in development. He adopts Bateson's sugges- 

 tion of a primitive germ-{>lasm with highly complex 

 constitution, from which factors ("genes") have be- 

 come split off and lost in the course of ages, thus giving 

 rise to new forms of life. Yet Dr. Davenport does 

 not absolutely exclude environmental influence. " There 

 is some evidence," he admits, "although not as critical 

 as might be wished, that the germ-plasm is not beyond 

 the reach of modifying agents." 



The last meeting of the session of the Zoological 

 Society of London was held on August 16, Dr. Henry 

 Woodward being in the chair. The report laid before 

 the meeting w^as most gratifying, since it showed that 

 the number of visitors to the Gardens from Januarv i 

 to July 31 showed an increase of 14,619, as compared 

 with the corresponding period of 1915, while the re- 

 ceipts during the same period showed an increase 

 of 733^- » ^s compared with the corresponding period 

 of last year. The number of new fellows admitted 

 also show^ed an increase. Among the most noteworthy 

 additions to the society's collection during the month 

 of July were a pair of Fennec foxes, Vulpes zerda. 

 This species is the smallest existing member of the 

 Canidae, and is found not only all over the Sahara, but 

 extends also into south-western Asia. 



A REPORT of considerable value and interest appears 

 in the Meddetelser fra Kommissionen for Havunders^- 

 gelser on "Marking Experiments with Turtles in 

 the Danish West Indies." by Dr. Jos. Schmidt. Four 

 species are found in this area — the leathery, logger- 

 head, hawksbill, and green turtles — and the author 

 gives a brief but extremely useful summary of their 

 breeding habits, supplemented by some excellent figures 

 of newly hatched specimens of each species. The 



