JuLy 16, 1914] 
a consideration of that report. It must, however, 
be admitted that both the report and the resolu- 
tions are in many ways disappointing. The former 
has already been referred to in the pages of 
dations put forward are that, as an initial measure, 
a minimum international size-limit of 20 centi- 
metres (8 in.), below which it would be illegal 
to land plaice, should be imposed, and that during 
the spring and summer months (April 1 to Sep- 
tember 30 in each year) this limit should be in- 
creased to 22 centimetres. A perusal of the re- 
ports suggests that the council itself scarcely 
contends that such a small size-limit can produce 
any very marked result, since, as a matter of 
fact, a very small percentage of fish under these 
sizes is at present landed. The idea seems to be 
that by commencing with a small size-limit it 
will be possible to raise it gradually without pro- 
ducing any serious disturbance of the fishing in- 
dustry. The recommendations are, however, 
really an admission that a size-limit which would 
be effective in preventing the great destruction of 
small plaice by steam trawlers on the eastern 
grounds of the North Sea is not practicable from 
the point of view of the fishing industry as a whole, 
which is very much the conclusion arrived at by 
the various Parliamentary committees which have 
inquired into the matter in this country in past 
years. So far as one can see, the only practical 
effect of the present proposals will be to harass 
the very poorest class of fishermen, generally 
old men who get a precarious living by working 
in a small way in estuaries and inshore waters, 
and do an infinitesimal amount of damage com- 
pared with what is done by the large trawlers. 
Whether the proposals will, or ought to meet 
with greater favour at the hands of our Parlia- 
mentary legislators than their predecessors have 
done, is open to very considerable doubt. 
Apart from the question of plaice, the most im- 
portant reports in the volumes we are consider- 
ing are those by Dr. Johs. Schmidt on eel investi- 
gations for 1913, by Dr. Ehrenbaum on the 
mackerel, and by the late Dr. P. P. C. Hoek, 
whose recent death will be a cause of deep regret 
to all fishery investigators, on the pilchard or 
sardine. With regard to Dr. Ehrenbaum’s re- 
port on the mackerel, it must be admitted that the 
the new facts and observations brought forward 
are not extensive, and the fact that the author 
is dealing throughout with the reports and 
writings of other observers rather than with a 
fishery of which he has himself any great per- 
sonal knowledge somewhat detracts from its 
value. The same criticism applies to a large 
extent also to Dr. Hoek’s report. Any weakness 
of the reports due to this cause would seem to be 
due to the policy of the International Council in 
spending considerable sums of money each year 
in having such reports produced, money which 
one would imagine could be better employed in 
carrying out original investigations in the areas 
where the fisheries take place. 
In conclusion, we may direct attention to the 
N@wse3, VOL. 93] 
NATURE 
| which constitutes pp. 1-83 of vol. xvi. 
Nature (April 23, 1914, p. 201). The recommen- 
pe 
summary of the work done by the International 
Council during the ten years 1902~12, edited by 
Commander Drechsel, the general secretary, 
This 
should be of use to those who are interested in 
the work which the international cooperation has 
accomplished. 
NOTES. 
WE regret to learn of the death, on Sunday last, 
July 12, of the Rev. Osmond Fisher, the well-known 
geologist, in his ninety-seventh year. 
THE honorary freedom of Newcastle-on-Tyne was 
conferred on the Hon. Sir C. A. Parsons on July to 
in recognition of his achievements in science, particu- 
larly as the inventor of the steam turbine. It had 
been decided to confer a similar honour on Sir Joseph 
W. Swan, but he has since died. The symbols of the 
freedom—a scroll and casket—have, however, been pre- 
sented to a representative of his family. 
A RUMOUR, based on a misunderstanding of a tele- 
gram from Captain Bartlett, who is at Nome, Alaska, 
reached London last week, announcing a disaster to 
the Stefansson Arctic Expedition, which left Canada 
last year with the object of exploring the vast un- 
charted regions between the north of Canada and 
Siberia and the north pole. A party, including three 
members of the scientific staff, was said to be missing. 
Later information received from Captain Bartlett 
shows that he is not aware that any disaster has 
occurred. 
THE excavation of the Dewlish elephant-trench is 
still unfinished, but when the excursion of the Dorset 
Field Club took place on June 30 it was clear that the 
‘trench’ was not artificial. Instead of ending below 
in a definite floor it divides downwards into a chain 
of deep narrow pipes in the chalk. A few bones of 
Elephas meridionalis had been found, but no clear 
trace of man. We shall wait with interest the com- 
| pletion of this work, which is proving more arduous 
than had been expected. 
In order to provide opportunities for the more com- 
plete investigation of the nature and causes of human 
disease and methods of its prevention and treatment, 
Mr. John D. Rockefeller has just given 510,0001. to 
the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. This 
gift is in addition to a special fund of 200,000l. which 
| Mr. Rockefeller has provided in order that the insti- 
tute may establish a department of animal pathology. 
Mr. Rockefeller’s previous gifts to the institute 
amounted to about 1,800,000l1., exclusive of real estate 
in New York City, so that the endowment of the in- 
stitute amounts now to more than 2,500,0001. 
On Thursday last, Sir Clements Markham unveiled 
at Cheltenham a statue of Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson, 
who was born in that town, and perished with Captain 
Scott on the great ice barrier in March, 1912. The 
statue, which stands in a prominent position on the 
Promenade, was designed by Lady Scott, and executed 
under the superintendence of Messrs. Boulton, a local 
