680 
Tue Botanical Society of South Africa was founded 
in 1914, when with a membership of 352 it commenced 
its task, not merely of developing a general interest 
in botany in S. Africa, but also of assisting the estab- 
lishment and development of a National Botanic 
Garden at Kirstenbosch. The value of the Society to 
the work of the Garden has been repeatedly acknow- 
ledged both by the former honorary director, the late 
Prot. Pearson, and the present honorary director, 
Prof. R. H. Compton. More than 3000/. has been 
handed over to the Garden from the Society’s income, 
while special grants to specific pieces of developmental 
work have brought into being the rockery in the 
Deli, the pond in the Great Lawn, and a part of the 
Aloe Kopje. At the same time, still more valuable 
work has been done in interesting South Africans in the 
great scheme of which the shell as yet alone exists at 
Kirstenbosch, and many of the devoted collectors now 
supplying plants from all parts of S. Africa for the 
Garden were first brought into touch with the Garden 
through the Society. It is good to learn through its 
Journal (Part ix. for 1923) that its membership steadily 
increases and approaches its first thousand. The 
report for 1922 of the honorary director to the Trustees 
of the Garden has just been issued, and shows unmis- 
takably the need there is for the efforts of such a 
society, which may with growing authority press more 
firmly the claims of these gardens upon the State. It 
is plain that the lack of capital prevents essential 
developments in the proper housing of a trained per- 
sonnel, without which the real development of these 
gardens, an essential requirement for South Africa’s 
future prosperity, cannot possibly take place. 
Tue American Chemical Society has undertaken 
the issue of two series of monographs—a “ Scientific | 
Series ’’ under the editorship of Prof. W. A. Noyes, 
G. N. Lewis, L. B. Mendel, A. A. Noyes, and J. 
Stieglitz, and a “‘ Technologic Series ’’ under a Board 
of seven editors. This policy is one that carries 
with it certain risks. The mere fact that a book is 
required to be commercially successful is in itself 
some guarantee that the book is wanted, that a 
suitable author has been selected, and that the 
writing will be done carefully. When, however, a 
scheme is launched for stimulating artificially the 
production of books, there is a very serious risk that 
the standard created by these special conditions 
may be lower than when ‘no outside stimulus to 
production is used. The conditions are, indeed, 
very similar to those which prevail in the publication 
of original papers. When a society has ample funds 
for publication, and is able to take the initiative in 
inviting authors to submit papers, it is only too 
probable that the standard of publication will fall 
below that which prevails when (for financial reasons 
or otherwise) the space available is so restricted 
that a very rigid censorship of papers is necessary. 
The particularly high standard now reached in the 
Journal ot the American Chemical Society is indeed 
largely due to these limitations, which often prove a 
blessing in disguise, not merely to the readers of the 
Journal, but also to the authors of papers, who are 
compelled to adopt a high standard of clarity and 
NO. 2794, VOL. ITI] 
“e 
NATURE 



[May 19, 1923 
conciseness. In its new enterprise, the American 
Chemical Society has been fortunate in securing a 
number of contributions which will bear comparison 
with work produced under more normal conditions ; 
but there are already indications that unless a very 
stringent standard of writing and editing is maintained, 
inferior material may obtain publicity, as a direct 
result of the intervention of the Society in a field 
which has usually been reserved for private enter- 
prise. ; 
Ir is announced in Science that the City of Phila- 
delphia, through its board of directors of city trusts, 
made the annual presentation of the John Scott medal 
awards at a special meeting of the American Philosophi- 
cal Society on the evening of Aprili1o. The recipients — 
were: Sir Joseph Thomson, for his researches on the 
physics of the electron; Dr. F. W. Aston, for his 
development of the mass-spectrograph and his studies 
of isotopes; Dr. C. Eijkman, of the University of 
Utrecht, for his researches on dietary diseases; Dr. 
Arthur Louis Day, director of the Geophysical 
Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 
for his researches on optical glass. The awards, 
which are made annually by the City of Philadelphia, 
are provided from the income of the John Scott fund, 
and they are made upon the recommendation of an 
advisory committee of five, consisting of representa- 
tives from the National Academy of Science, the 
American Philosophical Society, and the University 
of Pennsylvania. : 
At the meeting of the Linnean Society held on 
May 3 Dr. John Isaac Briquet was elected a foreign 
member. Dr. Briquet received part of his early 
education in Scotland, and has always retained a 
pleasant recollection of his sojourn there. His botani- 
cal publications extend over the last thirty years, 
very largely upon Labiate and the botany of Switzer- 
land. The most important works by which he is 
known in the botanical world are the “‘ Texte synop- 
tique,’’ drawn up to guide the International Congress 
at Vienna in 1905, a quarto volume of 150 pages, and 
his ‘‘ Prodrome de la flore de Corse,’’ which began in 
1gto, and reached a second part in 1913. As director 
of the Botanic Garden at Geneva, conservator of the 
Herbarium belonging to that city (formerly ‘“‘ L’Her- 
bier Delessert ’’), and professor in the University, his 
energies have been of late years largely absorbed in 
his administrative duties. 
On March 18 the National Acclimatisation Society - 
of France conferred on Prof. A. Henry its large silver 
medal. This honour, which was bestowed in re- 
cognition of his services to forestry and to horti- 
culture, could not have had a more worthy recipient. 
Prof. Henry’s services to botany have not been less 
valuable. It is now nearly forty years since he 
began to collect plants in Central and Western 
China, largely over areas new to Europeans. Of — 
his industry and efficiency in that work all the 
important herbaria in Europe and some in America - 
contain ample evidence. By foresters and arbori- — 
culturists his name will always be held in high esteem — 
as the joint author with the late Henry John Elwes — 
