26 
party crossed to Marseilles, thence via Athens, | 
Aboukir, Bagdad, Bandar Abbas, Quetta, Lahore, 
Agra, Cawnpore, reaching Calcutta on August 12. 
The passage over India was impeded by an unusually 
heavy monsoon. At Agra, Maj. Blake was struck 
down by appendicitis, and the other two members of 
the party on route to Rangoon were forced to descend 
in the Bay of Bengal, where they were fortunately 
rescued by Lieut.-Commander Canning, who had been 
sent from Chittagong to searchfor them. Maj. Blake, 
with the experience gained from their adventure, hopes 
to make a further attempt in 1923. 
THE inaugural meeting of the Far Eastern Associa- 
tion of Tropical Medicine was held in Manila in 1908 ; 
it was followed in 1910 by the first congress at the 
same place. Subsequent meetings were held in 
Hong-kong, 1912, and Saigon, 1913. The fourth 
congress was held at Weltevreden, Java, in August 
1921, and a proposal made on behalf of the Govern- 
ments of the Straits Settlements and Federated 
Malay States, that the next congress of the associa- 
tion, in 1923, be held in Malaya, was accepted. 
Dr. A. E. Horn was chosen president for the forth- 
coming session; Drs. A. L. Hoops and R. Dowden 
were elected vice-presidents for the Straits Settlements 
and Federated Malay States respectively, and Dr. 
J. W. Scharff as honorary secretary for Malaya. The 
association, which is open to all recognised medical 
men, exists to promote the science and art of tropical 
medicine in the Far East. To this end, it provides 
opportunities for intercourse among medical men 
and endeavours to assist in the enlightenment of 
public opinion on problems of hygiene and particularly 
of the prevention of disease among the natives. 
The forthcoming meeting will be held on September 
3-17, 1923. The first week of this period will be 
devoted to scientific discussions, and the following 
week to excursions to places of medical and sanitary 
interest throughout Malaya. The Governments of 
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States, 
recognising the important functions of this associa- 
tion, are contributing a considerable sum towards 
the expenses. 
THE report of the eleventh ordinary meeting of 
the International Meteorological Committee, held 
in London, 1921, has recently been published by the 
Meteorological Office of the Air Ministry. It contains 
details of the several meetings of the committee and 
of the commissions for weather telegraphy, marine 
meteorology, aerial navigation, réseau mondial, and 
polar meteorology. A general account of the work 
of the International Meteorological Committee has 
already been published in Nature (October 6, 1921, 
p. 194) shortly after the close of the eleventh ordinary 
meeting held in London in September 1921. The 
NATURE 

present report occupies 128 pages, more than one 
half of which consists of appendices giving detailed 
information of the several commissions held for 
reporting to the general meeting. Among the 
details of interest may be mentioned the recommenda- 
tion that the meteorological stations in high latitudes, 
commenced in connexion with Amundsen’s polar 
expedition, be continued during 1921 to 1925, and 
NO. 27:75, VOL. 111] 
[JANUARY 6, 1923 
if possible permanently. Other points discussed are 
the unification of upper air data so that it might be 
possible to publish, within a few hours of the observa- 
tions, a chart of upper air observations for the whole 
of Europe; the study of clouds from the point of 
view of aviation and the general application of 
meteorology to aerial navigation ; and an endeavour 
to systematise the adoption of the “ kilometre per 
hour ”’ as the unit of wind velocity by all countries 
both for land and air. An effort was also made to 
standardise instruments for registering sunshine. 
THE annual report of the Raffles Museum and 
Library, Singapore, for 1921 shows that, under the 
energetic direction of Major J. C. Moulton, these 
institutions make good progress. The number of 
outside helpers in Singapore and other parts of the 
world on whose services the museum can draw is a 
good sign. The formation of a Singapore Natural 
History Society, with headquarters at the museum, 
is recorded. Out of 240,000 visitors of various 
nationalities, 165,000 were Chinese. 
Mr. BartLEy WILLIs, in a popular paper on “ The 
Geology of the Colorado River Basin with reference to 
Engineering Problems” (Science, August 18, 1922), 
discusses the boulder-bed in the floor of the Colorado 
cafion, and the difficulties of building a concrete dam 
on such a foundation. Work can be carried on 
between flood-times only, and hence it has been 
boldly suggested that, since the floods can shift the 
boulders, more boulders shall be quarried out of the 
jointed granite and given as playthings to the floods. 
The river is to be encouraged to construct its own 
dam to the satisfaction of the engineers who seek to 
utilise its power. 
A WELCOME second edition has made its appearance 
of the admirable ‘‘ Guide to the Elephants (Recent 
and Fossil) exhibited in the Department of Geology 
and Paleontology in the British Museum (Natural 
History).’’ As before, its preparation is the work of 
Dr. C. W. Andrews, whose name is sufficient guarantee 
of its excellence. It is slightly increased, as compared 
with the first edition, by additions to the text, chiefly 
in the opening paragraphs, and by a new figure. 
There are also numerous minor emendations, while ~ 
useful sub-headings have been inserted. Economy 
has been appeased by issuing the pamphlet in paper 
covers instead of paper boards. 
WE have received a copy of the third volume of 
Messrs. Baird and Tatlock’s Standard Catalogue of 
Scientific Apparatus. This covers the more specialised 
apparatus useful in the biological sciences—anatomy, 
botany, zoology, pathology, agriculture, etc.—though 
physiology and biochemistry are dealt with in volume 
2. The abundant illustrations make it a convenient 
and useful guide to most of the apparatus which is 
available, and in turning over the pages a scientific 
worker may get useful hints towards solving 
special problems of technique familiar in some depart- 
ment other than his own. Such catalogues do some- 
thing at any rate towards bringing the different 
branches of biological inquiry together as well as in 
facilitating the daily work of the laboratory. 
