NATURE 



[November 9, 1905 



The fifteenth International Congress of Americanists 

 will be held at Quebec on September 10-15, 1906. Papers 

 in each division of the congress will take precedence in 

 the order of the receipt of abstracts. Copies of regulations 

 referring to papers may be obtained from Prof. F. Boas, 

 department of anthropology, Columbia University, New 

 York. The names of intending members or associates 

 should be sent to Dr. X. E. Dionne, Librarian to the 

 Legislative Assembly, Quebec. 



Science reports that the Alvarenga prize foi 1905 has 

 hern awarded to Dr. Chalmers Watson, of Edinburgh, for 

 his essay entitled " The Importance of Diet ; an Experi- 

 mental Study from a New Standpoint." This prize is 

 given by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and 

 consists, each year, of the income of the bequest of the 

 late Senor Alvarenga, amounting to about 36/. The next 

 award will be made July 14, 1906, provided that an essay- 

 deemed by the committee of award to be worthy of the 

 prize shall have been offered. Essays intended for com- 

 petition must be received by the secretary of the college 

 on or before May 1, 190!'. 



We regret to learn that Mr. William Henry Greenwood, 

 the eminent metallurgist, died on October 31 at fifty-nine 

 years of age. He was educated at the Royal School of 

 Mines, and at various periods in his career he held im- 

 portant positions at the works of Sir J. Whitworth and 

 Co., the St. Petersburg Ordnance Works, and the 

 Birmingham Small Arms Works. From 1885 to 1889 he 

 was professor of metallurgy at Sheffield. He was the author 

 of a well known manual of metallurgy, of a treatise on 

 steel and iron, and of a series of metallurgical lecture 

 diagrams, and contributed various papers to the Institution 

 of Civil Engineers, the Iron and Steel Institute, and other 

 technical societies of which he was a member. 



The Society of Arts will commence its 152nd session 

 on November 15 with an opening address from the chair- 

 man of its council, Sir Owen Roberts. Among the papers 

 set down for the Wednesday evenings before Christmas 

 is one on the commerce and industries of Japan, by Mr. 

 W. F. Mitchell, at which the Japanese Minister will pre- 

 side. Sir William Preece will give an account of the 

 recent meeting of the British Association in South Africa, 

 and Mr. F. Martin-Duncan will describe recent applications 

 of the kinematograph for scientific purposes. A course of 

 Cantor lectures by Prof. J. A. Fleming on electric 

 waves will also be given before Christmas. Among the 

 courses of lectures announced for the meetings after 

 Christmas is one under the Cantor trust on modern 

 warships, by Sir William E. White, and one under the 

 Howard trust, by Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, on high- 

 speed electric generators. The usual course of juvenile 

 lectures will be given this year by Prof. Herbert Jackson, 

 the subject being flame and combustion. 



Baron Erlan'D Nordenskjold has published through 

 Reuter's Agency some details of his eighteen months' ex- 

 pedition to the Andes, which was undertaken for the pur- 

 pose of penetrating the northern forests of Bolivia and 

 studying the Indian tribes along the various tributaries of 

 the Amazon in practically unknown districts. Baron 

 Nordenskjold left England in January, 1904, his intention 

 being to travel via the Peruvian port of Mollendo to Puno 

 on Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of 12,000 feet, and thence 

 to La Paz, the Bolivian capital. He visited in all three 

 tribes, the Yamiacas, Guarayos, and Atsapuacas, who, 

 until a couple of years ago, lived like people of the Stone 

 NO. 1880, YOL. 73] 



Age. The two last mentioned, in the main, still retained 

 their original customs. No white man had ever previously- 

 visited the Atsapuacas, but yet they were in possession of 

 tools, which they had obtained through other tribes. The 

 expedition was unable to get into contact with a fourth 

 tribe. The explorers marched through their territory and 

 were constantly watched by the people, who, while abstain- 

 ing from molesting the strangers, would not have any 

 dealings with them. Baron Nordenskjold states that the 

 Quichuas and Aymaras, living round Lake Titicaca and 

 in the fells of the Andes, are an interesting study for the 

 ethnologist, as they have retained many customs unaltered, 

 or but slightly modified, since the time of the Incas. 



From a report in the Times we learn that the old 

 students of the Royal School of Mines resident in South 

 Africa held their annual dinner at the Rand Club, 

 Johannesburg, on October 7. Mr. J. Harry Johns pre- 

 sided, supported by Mr. A. R. Sawyer and Mr. H. H. 

 Webb. In proposing the toast of " The Royal School of 

 Mines," the chairman emphasised the importance of teach- 

 ing students to put scientific knowledge to practical use. 

 He laid stress upon the importance of training in 

 mechanical engineering and electricity, and congratulated 

 the Government upon choosing a thoroughly practical 

 engineer to fill the chair of mining at the Royal School 

 of Mines. Mr. Brodigan, in replying, endorsed the general 

 opinion that, considering the national importance of the 

 mining industry to Great Britain, the Government should 

 endow more liberally the leading mining school of the 

 world. A Ntter was read from the Commissioner of Minis 

 (Mr. H. Weldon), in which he offered a scholarship of 

 32/. to be competed for by the mining students of the 

 Transvaal Technical Institute. Mr. Webb proposed that a 

 register should be kept of all old School of Mines 

 students residing in the country, and stated that the Con- 

 solidated Gold Fields of South Africa would always be 

 ready to provide work _for a certain number of students 

 who had finished the graduation course at the Royal School 

 of Mines. The students would earn enough at such work 

 to maintain them while they were gaining practical ex- 

 perience. In connection therewith, those who have studied 

 at the Royal School of Mines are requested, should they 

 come to South Africa, to send their names and qualifications 

 to Mr. C. B. Horwood, Rand Club, Johannesburg. 



The tercentenary of the birthday of Sir Thomas Browne, 

 author of the " Religio Medici," "Urn Burial," &c, 

 physician and philosopher, who was born in Xorwich on 

 October 19, 1605, was celebrated in Norwich on October 19 

 with a remarkable display of enthusiasm and interest. 

 A statue by Mr. Henry Pegram, A.R.A., has been placed 

 in the Haymarket at Norwich, close to the site of Sir 

 Thomas Browne's house, and was unveiled by Lord Ave- 

 bury in the presence of a distinguished company, including 

 representatives of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and 

 Surgeons, London, and of several of the universities and 

 learned societies, who were afterwards entertained at 

 luncheon by the members of the memorial executive 

 committee. 



In the University Review for October (ii., No. 6) 

 Viscount Mountmorres writes on the development of the 

 tropics. The article is an indictment of our colonial policy 

 on the west coast of Africa, and the energy of other 

 nations in developing their possessions in this region is 

 contrasted with the lethargy exhibited in our treatment of 

 our own colonies. This applies not only in commerce but 

 in scientific investigations, and, save for several excellent 



