February 20, 19 19] 



NATURE 



493 



,r - has pi 1 senti d to the British 

 Museum the magnifii i nl colli i 



and other Celtii coins made bj his Fa ■ Si 



John Evans. I h 



mous, ami li\ its acquisi- 

 tion tli'' inn strong, is placed 

 in a position far in adva 



Idition to the Celtic coins, the gift includes a 



valuable Gaulish and I Sii Vrthur 



., in the letter in which he announces this 



did gift, explains that, " a- regards thi ulti 



ition of ili< I 1 colle Father, 



me on 

 ion. I feel, 

 however, thai in presenting th< collection to your 

 department I am fulfilling his most intimate wi 



■ tril his mi mi 1 \ 1 hat 



nected « ith the museum, 

 1 ee, hi had so Ion 

 . i s ,1, voted himsi II I he British Musi urn is to 

 ongratulated o ii sition, which will 



alw ays t the 1 minent antiqu 



b> \\ horn it has been presi 



An article entitled "The Crucial Question oi 

 Patents," bj s i' Robert lladiield, published in the 

 Engineering Rew last, directs atten- 



tion to ih' defects Of our Pat. in Law and its prac- 



ind, at the same time, makes certain recom- 

 mendations with the object of improving matters. 

 Whilst unmimit, in opinions prei ills in reliticn to 

 rig some of the reforms 

 view s exist 

 as to certain bl tr* oth< r pi 



many inventors ; introduction into this 



1 ountry #f Lhe 1 nited States " Gli ippei stem, 



which provides foi th< arguments ol the examiners 



ig with applications being open to inspection by 



illj , is likeh, to pro! e injurious to 



their interests, and max give an unfair advantage 



- - in negotiations for the purcha 



i rights from inventors or theii agents, Simi 



larlj , a gri lo nol view with 



a- any widening in the present functions of the 

 n( ( >ffice, so as to permit it to adjudii ate, 

 making a grant, upon the relative merits oi rival 

 claims; yet it is only in this way that effect could 

 sfactorily bi given to the proposal that the de- 

 partment which grants the protection should guar- 

 ii- validity. Again,' a- regards tin- proposal 

 made to increase the original term ol the patent from 

 fourth having in view th< 



that inventions are of many kinds, some being simple 

 and requiring little expenditure to place on the market, 

 whilst others are complex and require much time, 

 skill, and capital to develop, the modification in tin- 

 law likely best to me< I the needs of the situation 

 seem to b that which would facilitate the 

 gram of an extension foi varying terms according to 

 erits of the invention and the nature 

 of thi difficulties which had been overcome by the 

 inventor, the original term ol fourteen years estab- 

 lish, d by long usage being retained as at present. 

 Then is a consensus of opinion that th< need for 

 reform in our Patent f.au is pressing, and that action 

 in relation then to should l"- taken by the Government 

 without delay. 



In the January issue of Man, Mr. J. Reid Moil 

 describe- two Late Bronze age urns found near Man 

 ningtree, in North Essex, and at Ipswich. That re- 

 cently discovered in thi latter locality .... 



k nts identified by Prof, Keith as calcined 

 human bones. Both these specimens were obviously 

 2573, VOL. I02] 



try urns. Thi 1 uliar 



form of decoration, a si tig all over the 



surface, w hi. h seen 

 ol a similar kind found in Essex. 



Capt. A. T. H. Nisbei gives a description of the 



conditions found in amputation stumps by means of 



examination, removal of which is necessarj 



an artificial limb can lie fitted. These include 



sses, pieces of dead bone, inflamed nerve-ends, 



inflammation and inflammatory outgrowths of the 



I1..11. , and a. Hi. 1 . in scars. For tin examination he recom- 



111..11.U the us.- of a moderately -oft X-ray tube, as it 



out the abnormalities more clearlj than other 



of tube (Archives of Radiology and Eh 



No. 222, January, 10,19, p. 237)- 



The Hunterian oration was delivered on February 14 

 Royal 1 ollegi ..1 Surgeons by Major-Gen. Sir 

 Anthony Bowlby. "Surgery in the Field" formed 

 the subject of thi ind it was shown how 



improved methods had been introduced with con- 

 sequi nt saving of life. -Thus in the earlier stages of 

 var gas-gangreni was prevalent, but in 1017-1S 

 out of 25,000 patients al the base hospitals onl] 84 

 bad serious gas-gangrene. Each yeai of the war had 

 seen better surgical methods, better results, lessened 

 suffering, and the saving of lives and limbs in con- 

 stantly increasing nun 



Symons's Meteo-rological Maga ine foi January is 

 the index number for the preceding year; it com- 

 pli tes the fifty-third volume. A shorl notice is given 

 of the rainfall of 1918. In addition to the usual matter 

 comprised, including the man ol the Thames Valley 

 rainfall, there is an article on 'The Congress of 

 Scandinavian Geophysicists in Gothenburg, August 28 

 to 31, 191S," by Dv. Hans Pettersson. It is stated 

 thai a highly representative congress of about fifty 

 Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish geophysicists met. 

 Prof. Hildebrandsson, of I psala, was elected presi- 

 dent, and Director Ryden, of Denmark, Prof. 

 Bjerknes, of Norway, and Prof. Nordenskjold, ol 

 Sweden, were chosen as vice-presidents, Dr. Hans 

 Pettersson bring general secretary. Amongst thi 

 - read at the general and sectional meetings were 

 " Weather Forecasting," by Prof. Bjerknes, describing 

 a new method of short-range prognostics for agricul- 

 tural purposes in West Norway, based on synoptic 

 observations chieflv of the wind, the percentage of the 

 correct forecasts being stated as between 85 and 90. 

 111. a.- were also papers vn " Hydrographical Observa- 

 tions on the West Coast of Greenland," on " Some 

 Observations of the Aurora Borealis," and on 

 "Weather Forecasting for Airmen." In all, thirty- 

 papers; were read. It is intended to call together a 

 s. ...ml congress in due course. The same issue ..Is.. 

 1 ..mains the conclusion of a series of articles on 

 "Work and Water-power," In Dr. II. R. Mill. Thi 

 statistics accumulated by the Rainfall Organisation 

 are necessarily of high value in determining requisiti 

 factors. Dr. Mill says: "In this country it may In- 

 said, roughlv, that the proportion of the natural 

 water-power which it would pay to utilise depends on 

 the price of coal. As the cost of fuel rises, il becomes 

 worth while to draw on sources of water-power which, 

 from remoteness or cost of works, could never pa\ 

 while coal is cheap." 



In connection with a review in Nati ri .-t January 9 

 of Dr. Silberstein's "Simplified Method of Tracing 

 Rays through any Optical System," tin- author of lhe 

 has written to make an offer that should appeal 

 to persons engaged in optical design. Ih. reviewer 

 suggested that then- was somi doubt as to tin- prac- 



