454 
NATURE 
[DeEcEMBER 18, 1913 
delegates from Germany, England, Austria, Den- 
mark, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, 
Russia, and Switzerland; the United States and 
Japan were unrepresented. In all, seventeen 
chemical societies are affiliated to the international 
association, representing nearly 20,000 members. 
Much valuable assistance was received from M. 
Tassel and from M. Heger in arranging for the 
meetings. 
It was agreed that the place of meeting for 
1914 should be Paris, with M. Haller as president. 
The business done at the Brussels meeting was 
satisfactory; steps were taken to affiliate the com- 
mittee on atomic weights; to unify the methods 
of abbreviating the names of journals; to secure 
publication of important memoirs which have ap- 
peared in one of the less known languages in 
English, French, or German; to open negotia- 
tions to diminish the multiplicity of abstracts, by 
cooperation among the various bodies which 
publish extracts; and some important resolutions 
dealing with nomenclature, and with symbols for 
physical constants, were adopted. 
The need of such an association has now been 
amply shown. - Much can be done to simplify 
methods, and, by cooperation, to diminish labour, 
and increase convenience. «There is still much to 
be done, however, and the usefulness of the asso- 
ciation will doubtless survive the period at which 
Monsieur Solvay’s gift will be exhausted. The 
assembling of chemists from various nations, 
with free interchange of ideas, cannot fail to 
stimulate all working at the science of chemistry, 
and cannot fail to promote cordial international 
relations. ‘‘La Science est sans patrie!” 
WitrrAm Ramsay. 
HEALTH IN INDIA. 
U NDER tthe title, ‘A Modern Miracle,” The 
Pioneer Mail of September 12 gives some 
striking figures of the improvement of health 
among the European troops in India—these figures 
being taken from the Army Medical Report for 
last year. With a strength of more than 71,000 
British troops in India, there were positively only 
328 deaths during the year, equal to 4°62 per 
1000. This is really a remarkable achievement ; 
and the smallness of the death-rate is not due in 
any way to an increase in the invaliding to 
England—as shown by the fact that the invaliding 
also fell markedly during the year to 6-68 per 1000, 
compared with 23 per 1000 in 1892. These are 
by far the lowest rates on record, and are com- 
parable with the great decrease in the death-rate 
and the invaliding among non-native officials in 
West Africa, as disclosed by recent Colonial Office 
Reports. 
Enteric fever, which was once: such a terrible 
pest in India, has now decreased so much that 
there were only 118 admissions to hospital for it 
among the whole British garrison. This is un- 
doubtedly due partly to the very great care now 
exercised in dealing with potential carriers of the 
disease, both human carriers and flies, and also to 
NO. 2303, VOL. 92] 
anti-typhoid inoculation. Malaria also has shown 
a very marked decrease during the year, though, 
as The Pioneer Mail points out, this may possibly 
be partly due to the usual fluctuations in the 
prevalence of the disease caused by variations in 
climate. Cholera and plague have also diminished. 
Those who are interested in the subject would 
do well to compare with this fine record a remark- 
able paper by Sir Charles Pardey Lukis, Director- 
General of the Indian Medical Service, in the 
October number of Science Progress, entitled 
“The Sanitary Awakening of India.” Sir Pardey 
Lukis describes the whole position of sanitation 
in India, and also the very extensive advances 
which are now being made in the investigation 
of disease, and the practical application of pre- 
ventive measures there. Since he has occupied 
his important post, energy has been redoubled in 
all these directions. The whole Indian Medical 
Service, and the Officers of the Royal Army 
Medical Corps now serving in India, must all be 
heartily congratulated for the splendid work which 
they are now doing. Of course, there are ideals 
still before us; but the old apathy which used to 
exist in many quarters seems now to be a thing 
of the past. 
Vaccination in India is also doing extremely 
well. Nearly two million vaccinations were per- 
formed in the Bengal Presidency alone during 
1912—13, and the total number of deaths from 
smallpox in that Presidency during the year was 
only o*21 per thousand of the population—a very 
good figure for a country where vaccination has 
been much opposed on account of “religious ” 
scruples. The lanoline lymph, which I believe 
was originally invented by Colonel King, is prin- 
cipally responsible for this good state of affairs, 
and Colonel King is to be much congratulated 
upon it. Ronatp Ross. 
THE PROBLEM OF THE UNIVERSITY 
OF LONDON. 
~INCE the article in our issue of December 11 
“7 was written, further events of importance 
have taken place. We referred in that article to 
the proposal of the Higher Education Sub-Com- 
mittee of the London County Council to recom- 
mend the London County Council to invite the 
Senate of the University of London to express 
approval of Somerset House as a place for the 
further development of the Univetsity. The re- 
commendation in favour of this site was adopted 
by the Council at Tuesday’s meeting, after 
discussion. The Council agreed, without a divi- 
sion, to an amendment proposing that, if the 
Government could not consent to the Somerset 
House suggestion, the Education Committee 
should be instructed to report on the proposal to 
establish the university. on a site on the south 
bank of the river, “where it would form an 
important feature in the beautifying of London.” 
This proposal has something to be said for it 
from the point of view of the improvement of 
