248 



NATURE 



[November 28, 1918 



190J he gained a first class in botany in the second 

 pari of the Tripos. 



In 1904 Mr. Gregory shared the VValsinghanl 

 medal with the late Dr. Keith Lucas, and in the 

 .same yeai he was elc ( hd a fellow of his college. 

 In 1907, after serving five years as a demonstrator 

 in the botanical department, lie was elected i<> a 

 University lectureship. In 1912 he became 

 tutor "I St. John's, an appointment which 

 he was able lii hold with the University 

 lectureship; and in the same year in- married Joan, 

 the second daughter of Mr. T. 1*1. Bisdee, of 

 Mutton Court, Somerset, by whom he had three 

 children. From July, [915, to July, mi;, he held 

 a captain's commission in an officer cadet bat- 

 talion at Cambridge, which he relinquished to 

 join the 1st 6th Battalion ol the Gloucestershire 

 Regimenl as a second-lieutenant. After about a 

 fortnight in the front line he was gassed, and 

 from the effects of this he never completely re- 

 cox ercd; he was discharged from the Army 

 in October of this year, and, though still far 

 from well, resumed his college and university 

 duties. 



Mr. Gregory was one of a group of students 

 who wen- stimulated by the teaching and enthu- 

 siasm of Prof. Bateson to take up different 

 branches of genetics; it was mainly with cyto- 

 logical problems that his researches were con- 

 cerned. He was the author of several papers, 

 some of which were published in the Proceedings 

 of the Royal Society in collaboration with Prof. 

 Bateson. His most important contributions were 

 those dealing with the genetics and cytology of 

 giant races of Primula, published in the Journal 

 of Genetics (10,11) and in the Proceedings of the 

 Royal Society (1914). His work demonstrated the 

 striking fact that some forms of Primula exhibit 

 the giant character not only in the plant-body as 

 a whole, but also in the constituent cells. The 

 results obtained constituted a definite advance 

 in our knowledge of phenomena connected with 

 the reduplication of certain terms in a series of 

 gametes. His researches also included the in- 

 vestigation of heterostylism, habit, leaf-form, and 

 flower colour in Primula sinensis, the seed char- 

 rs of Pisum, reduction-division in ferns, forms 

 of flowers in Valeriana, and other subjects. 



Mr. Gregory was a good all-round botanist, 

 who inherited from his mother (whose work on the 

 genus Viola is well known to systematists) a love 

 of natural history. He had already established 

 for himself an honourable position as an original 

 investigator, and those who knew him best lool ed 

 forward with confidence to still greater achieve- 

 ments in the future. He was a man who would 

 nsver £"rcv eld In- : ay. yed life in the best sens; 

 and endeared himself to undergraduates and older 

 associates by his unselfishness and joyous, open- 

 hearted character. His place will be hard to fill, 

 particularly in these days when there is an excep- 

 tional need for virile teachers md men of wide 

 and strong human sympathies. 



A. C. Seward. 

 NO. 2561, VOL. I02] 



NOTES. 

 In his speech at Wolverhampton on Saturday last 

 the Prime Minister made ;i noteworthy declaration in 

 regard to the application of science to agriculture — a 

 declaration which would appear to adumbrate some- 

 thing more than a passive polio of commendation. 

 !' Scientific farming must he promoted," he said; and 

 in another im^.-^i he spoke of utilising the capacity 

 of the soil to a greater extent by the application "i 

 scientifii principles. There is a certain vagueness in 

 these statements, ami until concreti proposals an pul 

 forward it is difficult to appraise their meaning and 

 value. One obvious waj of adding i" the capacity 

 of the soil would he to promote the use ol artificial 

 fertilisers, ami, seeing thai Mr. Lloyd George 

 spoki ol the need for a "national supply of fer- 

 tilisers," it seems probable that what he had in mind 

 in speaking of scientific farming was the extended 

 use "I artificial manures. The suggestion 01 is u a 

 decision!' to have a national supply of fertilisers 

 shadows a new departure in state policy of great 



import. It is to be hoped that in applying si ie 



farming the Prime Minister will hear in mind the 

 need for encouraging research in the scii m 

 on agriculture. 



A deputation from tht National Sea Fisheries Pro- 

 tection Association is to wait upon the Right Hon. 

 R. E. Prothero, President of the Board of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries, as we go to press, to urge thai the 

 evolution and general direction of a fisheries policy 

 for thr whole nation should In- entrusted to a Minister 



of the Crown who will be abli to give t" tin subject 

 his undivided interest. The industry is .if prime im- 

 portance, an 1 a strong case can he made out for the 

 constitution of a separate Ministry a. i..- concerned 

 with its interests and development. Mr. Hoover, 

 the United States Food Administrator, whom we 

 Welcome among us, has warned us time and 

 again of the fact that for many years to conn- tin- 

 world must go short of beef. The impending meat 

 famine, he tills us, started in 1907. In meat-eating 

 countries the population increased. The demand for 

 meal rose; prices rose; stockmen yielded to tin 

 temptation, raid slaughtered cows, heifers, and calves 

 which should have been kept as reproducteurs. The 

 herds have further been diminished by periods of 

 drought in Argentina, Australia, and North America, 

 and by internecine strife in Mexico and Europe. 

 Whatever happens, we shall be short of meat for 

 years to come. That is one ground on which the 

 National Sea Fisheries Protection Association has., 

 its claim for reform of the fisheries administration 

 of this country. The other considerations are : that 

 fishermen will not undertake the catching of fish — a 

 herculean lauour of unending toil unless then- is a 

 good living to be made out of fishing; that their 

 mdustr) has been so disorganised during the war 

 that nothing short of national assistance can save 

 it; and (a self-evident proposition! that this, islands 

 musl maintain their fishermen communities or go 

 under." Such, in brief, is the case which the associa- 

 tion presents to the Government. It has been wen! ed 



out in detail in a printi ; uidum which we 



commi n. I a. the stud} of out n adet s. < Jopii - 

 be obtained from the seCretan "I the association at 

 Fishmongers' Hall, E.C.4. We wish well to the 

 deputation and to Mr. Prothero. Meanwhile, we note 

 that there is a greal degree of unanimity in the 

 demand of the industn for a central Ministn to 

 supervise the work of the English and Sr.itiish 

 fisheries services, and that the fishermen of Canada, 



