April 12, 1906] 



NA 1 URE 



57' 



regular scavengers, to which the dung of seals did not 

 come amiss. 



The chief food of the millions of penguins and tens of 

 thousands of petrels was the opossum shrimp (Euphausia 

 antarctica), and when one remembers the vast numbers of 

 this little crustacean consumed daily by the birds on Laurie 

 Island alone, one can only compare their numbers in the 

 sea with the grains of sand upon its beaches. 



'Hie Scottish National Antarctic Expedition is to be 

 heartily congratulated on the excellence and importance of 

 its ornithological work. Mr. Bruce, the leader of the ex- 

 pedition, has presented a complete set of the South Orkneys 



inquiry, it had been ascertained that a certain propor- 

 tion of the amount required 1< r buuuing and equipping 

 such a tank would be guaranteed by private firms and 

 public bodies. It was obvious that the condition of 

 shipbuilding at the time the proposals were formerly 

 made did not favour the movement, and it was there- 

 for 1 decided to suspend action. Since the scheme was 

 first mooted, additional private experimental tanks had 

 been either laid down or projected by some of the great 

 shipbuilding firms of the country. Such tanks as these, 

 however, could never supply the need that existed for pure 

 research. The council had therefore decided to call together 



Fig. 2. — Ringed Penguins courting (Bn 



Bay). 



and other birds collected during the voyage of the Scotia 

 to the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. 



For the loan of the blocks from which the pictures have 

 been reproduced we are indebted to the editors of the Ibis. 

 Wm. Eagle Clarke. 



INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 



THE annual general meeting of the Institution of Naval 

 Architects was held last week, commencing Wednes- 

 day, April 4, and being continued over the following 

 Thursday and Friday. A full programme of twelve papers 

 had been prepared by the secretary, Mr. R. W. Dana. 

 The subjects dealt with were of various interest, vessels 

 fitted with internal combustion motors occupying a good 

 deal of attention. There was, however, no paper on the 

 steam turbine. 



On members assembling on the morning of Wednesday, 

 the president, the Right Hon. the Earl of Glasgow, took 

 the chair, and after the usual formal business had been 

 transacted, proceeded to read his annual address. He 

 referred to the launch of the large line-of-battle ship 

 Dreadnought, and gave certain figures relating to the 

 Navy Estimates. Reference was made to the pro- 

 posed experimental tank at Bushy. There had been, 

 he said, a general appeal to members of the institution 

 for financial support, but, as the result of preliminary 



NO. 1902, VOL. 73] 



the committee that had the matter in hand, and ascertain 

 the views of the members on the present position of the 

 scheme, and the prospects of its being brought to a 

 successful conclusion. Should the shipowners of the 

 countrv be unwilling to subscribe the comparatively small 

 amount needed to build, equip, and maintain such a tank, 

 nothing would remain but to abandon the scheme and dis- 

 solve the committee. The president hoped, however, that, 

 before such a conclusion was reached, a fresh effort might 

 be successfully made to carry out upon scientific lines a 

 work of vital importance to the development of naval 

 architecture in this country. 



The first paper read was a contribution by Admiral 

 C. C. P. FitzGerald, the subject being the new scouts 

 recently designed for the Royal Navy. Details of these 

 vessels were given, and the subject of naval scouting was 

 discussed both from the strategical and tactical point of 

 view. A discussion followed, in which several naval 

 officers took part, and it was pointed out that the scouts 

 were analogous to the old 36-gun frigates, these being the 

 most powerful ships that could be detached from the fleet 

 without weakening the line of battle. 



Sir Edward J. Reed next gave an account of the vessels 

 he had designed for service in the colonies. They were of 

 various descriptions, consisting of both screw and paddle 

 boats, the former being of the ordinary or of the tunnel- 

 screw type, whilst both stern-wheel and side-wheel boats 

 were used on the shallow waters of colonial rivers. 



