426 



NA TURE 



[September i, 1904 



to secure that the instructions are properly carried out. 

 If the child does not appear to be progressing favour- 

 ably, the mothers are strongly advised to seek medical 

 advice. Mothers are urged to bring the children once 

 a week to be weighed. 



.As to the results of the working of these institutions, 

 it is not yet possible to speak, and there are many 

 fallacies that have to be guarded against in consider- 

 ing the statistics. Dr. Drew Harris calculated that for 

 the three years 1899-1901 at St. Helens the death-rate 

 among children attending the depot averaged 104, 

 while in the whole borough it was 173. At the recent 

 Congress of the Royal Institute of Public Health, Mr. 

 Councillor Shelmerdine stated his conclusions for 

 Liverpool as follows : — " that of the 4453 infants 

 coming very promiscuously to the dep6ts at varied ages 

 and in conditions of health below the average the 

 mortality was 78 per 1000 as against 159 per 1000 for 

 the whole city. But it must be remembered that in 

 that 159 per 1000 for the whole city and 88 to 118 for 

 the best districts, and 212 to 215 for the worst districts, 

 were included also breast-fed infants; clearly if breast- 

 fed infants were excluded and artificially-fed infants 

 only taken into account the rate of mortality amongst 

 them would be enormously higher, and would show 

 even more forcibly the advantages of the sterilised 

 food which, of course, is an artificial food, over other 

 methods of artificial feeding." 



R. T. Hewlett. 



EXHIBITION OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN 

 SCULPTURE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 

 ■\7-ISITORS to the British Museum galleries of 

 • antiquities will notice that a considerable alter- 

 ation has lately been effected in the arrangement of 

 the Egyptian sculptures of the early period, and that 

 many antiquities which have not hitherto appeared in 

 the galleries are now on e.xhibition for the first time. 

 Most of the newly exhibited monuments date to the 

 most ancient period of the Egyptian monarchy, of 

 which the British Museum has until lately not 

 possessed many specimens; some are monuments of 

 prime importance historically as v^ell as artistically, 

 and nearly all owe their appearance in London to 

 the present Keeper of the Department of Egyptian 

 and Assyrian .'\ntiquities, Dr. E. .-\. Wallis Budge, 

 who has personally superintended their removal 

 from Egypt and their exhibition in the galleries 

 of his department. The British Museum is now in a 

 fair way of making up its deficiency in larger monu- 

 ments of the older period — the " ancient " and 

 " middle " Empires — and few museums out of Egypt 

 can show so fine a collection of funeral stelae of the 

 fourth and fifth dynasties. 



These are chiefly exhibited in the vestibule at the 

 ■end of the Egyptian saloon. This vestibule is now 

 practically given up to monuments of the " ancient 

 Empire." The most important of them takes the 

 central position, and is one of the finest Egyptian 

 monuments in the museum. This is the great stele 

 which faced the doorway in the mastaba tomb of 

 Ptahshepses, at Sakkara. Ptahshepses was one of 

 the chief men of the court of Shepseskaf, the last king 

 of the fourth dynasty. He was brought up by Men- 

 kaura, Herodotus's Mykerinos, the builder of the 

 third pyramid of Giza, among the royal children, 

 and was given the king's daughter Khamaat 

 to wife. Offices of trust and honour were piled 

 upon him, and to judge by the explanatory 

 label below his monument, upon which all his 

 titles are set forth, he ought to be the patron 

 saint of pluralists. The colour of this monument is 

 NO. 18 I 8, VOL. 70] 



well preserved, and used as we may be to the idea 

 of paint laid on under the eighteenth dynasty (b.c. 

 1500) being still preserved in all its pristine brilliancy 

 of colour, it is another thing to find delicate colouring 

 applied in the days of the pyramid builders — whose 

 days were separated from those of the eighteenth 

 dynasty by nearly as much time as separates the 

 eighteenth dynasty from us — still bright and still deli- 

 cate. It is to be hoped that London fogs will not 

 sully it. 



Other monuments of the same period and type are 

 arranged round this fine centre-piece, and all are 

 interesting. Those who are interested in the work 

 of men's hands in the dawn age of civilisation should 

 not miss this important exhibition of Egyptian an- 

 tiquities of the Ancient Empire. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT 

 CAMBRIDGE. 

 A T the final meeting of the general committee last 

 ■**■ week, a report from the committee of recommend- 

 ations was received and accepted with some slight alter- 

 ations. One of the recommendations was made with the 

 object of securing the continuity of sectional committees 

 from one meeting to the next. Secondly, it was pro- 

 posed that each sectional committee should have power 

 to appoint during the annual meeting not more than 

 three vice-presidents. Another recommendation had 

 reference to the constitution of the council and the 

 appointment of assistant secretary. 



The following is a synopsis of grants of money 

 appropriated to scientific purposes by the general 

 committee : — 



Mathematics and Physics. 



*Rayleigh, Lord — Electrical Standards ^j^o 



*Judd, Prof. J. W. — Seismological Observations ... 40 

 *Shaw, Dr. W. N. — Investigations of the Upper .Atmo- 

 sphere (Kites) ... ... ... ... ... ... 40 



*Preece, Sir W. H. — Magnetic Observations ... ... 50 



Chemistry. 



Kipping, Prof. F. S. — Aromatic Nitramines 25 



Armstrong, Prof. H. E. — Dynamic Isomerism ... 20 

 *Roscoe, Sir A. E. — Wave-length Tables of Spectra ... 5 

 'Divers, Prof. E. — Study of Hydro-Aromatic Sub- 

 stances ■ 25 



Geology. 

 *Watts, Prof. W. W. — Movements of Underground 



Waters Balance in hand 



*.\Iarr, Dr. J. E. — Life Zones in British Carboniferous 



Rocks Balance in hand 



*Lamplugh, G. H. — Fossiliferous Drift Deposits 



Balance in hand 



*.Marr, Dr. J. E.— Erratic Blocks 10 



and une.xpended balance 

 *Herdman, Prof. W. A. — Fauna and Flora of British 



Trias 10 



Zoology. 



*Woodward, Dr. H. — Index Animalium 75 



*Hickson, Prof. S. J. — Table at Zoological Station at 



Naples 100 



*Weldon, Prof. — Development of Frog 10 



and unexpended balance 



*Hickson, Prof. S. J. — Higher Crustacea 15 



and unexpended balance 



Geography. 



Murray, Sir J. — Investigations in the Indian Ocean... 150 



Economic Science and Statistics. 



*Cannan, Dr. E. — Trade Statistics 2t) 



