|\,r.\RY 23, [919 



NATURE 



409 



lis effect on polarised light reflet ted from small 

 polished plane Faces 1! various positions of the 



surface. The results obtained were at once a 

 beautiful tesl of the theory of magnetic induction 

 and an elucidation of the laws governing the Ken- 

 phenomenon. 



Another line ol research which engaged Dr. Du 

 Bois's attention, and on which he submitted 

 a note before the Brit ish Association in 1892, was 

 the action of thin wire gratings upon transmitted 

 light and other forms of radiant energy. In asso- 

 ciation with Rubens he published two papers on 

 this subject (Ann. J. I'liys. 11. Clicniir. 1892, 

 1893). Or. I)u Hois also gave close study to the 

 phenomena of magnetic screening, and communi- 

 cated a series of instructive articles full of research 

 i.. the Electrician (vols. xl. and xli., 1898). 

 Much of his own work, as well as that of his con- 

 temporaries, will be found embodied in his book on 

 "Ihe Magnetic circuit in Theory and Practice" 

 (German edition, i.S<)_i; Kntdish edition bv Dr. 

 Atkinson, 1896). There is probably no other work 

 in which the theoretical and practical aspects of 

 magnetism are so ably welded together as in this 

 important contribution to scientific literature. In 

 Prof, (iray's review in Nature of February J4, 

 , it is stated that the book "cannot be praised 

 ton highly as a piece of work sound from every 

 point of view." 



Dr. Du Bois did his earlier work in Strasburg 

 University, but for many years he carried on in- 

 vestigations in his own private laboratory in 

 Berlin. At the time of his death he had returned 

 to his native land and was beginning his work at 

 the new Bosscha laboratory at Utrecht. He was 

 a frequent visitor at the British Association meet- 

 ings in this country, and his tall, handsome figure 

 and charming personality will long be remembered 

 among his many friends. C. G. K. 



NOTES. 

 We understand thai Sir Lazarus Fletcher will retire 

 from the directorship of the Natural Historv Museum, 

 under the age limit, on March 31. The office was 

 made in [856, under the style of Superintendent of 

 the Natural History Departments, so that the Trustees 

 of the British Museum might obtain the services of 

 Sir Richard Owen, who supervised the planning "I 

 the new museum at South Kensington, and retired 

 shortly after its completion in [S84. Under the style 

 of director, Sii William Flower succeeded Sir Richard 

 and In retired in [898. For the next decade 

 Sir E. Ray Lankester was director, and he was fol- 

 lowed !>\ Sir Lazarus Fletcher early in 1910. The 

 task now falls on the Trustees of finding a worth) 

 -u1T1s.nl who shall maintain the high prestige of 

 the museum among the corresponding institutions of 

 the world. Public interest in the promotion of pure 

 ce has never been keener than at present, and 

 naturalists will await with unusn the 



announcement of this new appointment. 



From tin- Times of January jo we learn thai thi 

 Prime Minister is to receive a deputation which will 

 put before him the case for a separate Ministry of 

 Fisheries, We hope this deputation will gel 1 

 favourable reception than the one that waited 

 on Mi. Prothero on November 27 last, and that it 



will not repeat the mistaki madi on that occasion, 

 when it seemed to be taken for granted thai the 



Minister had mas I ii,. elaborate memorandum 



prepared bv the National Sea Fisheries Protection 

 Association, and that, in consequence, it was not neces- 

 sary for the speakers to deal with the things that 

 really mattered. 



1 in Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies has com- 

 menced the publication ol .1 fortnightly Bulletin of 

 Scientific and Technical Societies, giving a diary of 



forthcoming meetings, with title. ,,f papers and dis- 



1 iis-ions, together with a list of the constituent socie- 

 ties of the Board and their presidents. The Bulletin 

 will prove a very convenient guide to scientific meet- 

 ings being held daj by day, and bj issuing it the 

 Conjoint Board is appropriately promoting the co- 

 ordination of effort which is one of its main purposes. 



Chemists, especially those who have been engaged 

 under the Ministry of .Munitions, will be interested to 

 learn thai on the cessation of hostilities a letter of 

 congratulation was addressed to Mr. K. B. Quinan, 

 of the Munitions Explosives Department, by the presi- 

 dent and secretary of the Institute of Chemistry, 

 expressing on behalf of the fellows and associates their 

 high appreciation of Mr. Quinan's services during the 

 war. Apart from the fact thai the great organisation 

 developed for the production of explosives contributed 

 verv substantially to the success of the Allied arms, 

 the institute recognises that through the technical 

 training initiated bv Mr. Quinan many chemists have 

 gained experience which will prove of great benefit 

 10 them and to chemical industry when they come 

 to devote their energies to the furtherance of the arts 

 of peace. 



Dr. J. D. Falconer, lecturer in geography in 

 Glasgow University, who has been serving as a poli- 

 tical officer in Nigeria since 1916, has been granted 

 further leave of absence by tin- University Court, at 

 the request of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 

 in order that he may act as tin first director of the 

 Geological Survey of Nigeria. 



The Times announces that Dr. F. G. Cottrell, chief 

 metallurgist of the United States Bureau of Mines, 

 who discovered a new process for extracting helium 

 from natural gas, has been awarded the Perkin medal 

 for distinguished services in applied chemistry by the 

 American Chemical Society. 



Prof. Marty, whose death at the ripe age of eighty- 

 four was recorded a short time ago, was a member 

 of the Academic de M^decine, and to a past generation 

 was well known in France as a pioneer of hygiene 

 and food chemistry. Much of his work was carried 

 out for the information of the military authorities in 

 safeguarding the health of the French Army. For this 

 purpose Prof. Marts made numerous analyses of the 

 water supplied to military hospitals, and also of die 

 rages and foods used. lb- gave special attention 

 to the subject of "plastered" wines and to the 

 sophistication of wine with coal-tar colours and sali- 

 cylic acid. One- result of Prof. Marty's studies was 

 tin- fixing of a limit (2 -rams per litre-) for the- quantity 

 of potassium sulphate tee be permitted in French wine; 

 since 1880 this limit has been generall; adopted in 

 other winee-producing countries. Working with a co- 

 adjutor, h.- showed that hydrocyanic acid was present 

 in tobacco sme>ke. and hi' also investigated the anti- 

 septic action of air charged with phenol vapour as 

 used in Lister's sprav treatement. Mam contribu- 

 j .,111 Prof. Marty's pen. '1' aling with tb.- chemis- 

 ■ oi coffee, chocolate, water, and spirituous beverages, 

 ippi ared in tin- ■' Train' d'Hvgtene" • >f Michel-Levy. 



NO. 2569, VOL. I02] 



