854 
lipoids. 
bacillus, and there can be no doubt that, so far as 
this microbe is concerned, he has proved his point 
experimentally. From his protocols he appears to 
have done what has not been done before, namely, 
the arrest, clinical and histological, of tubercle in 
guinea-pigs. It has always been felt that any 
method which could bring this about offered great 
hopes in the treatment of tuberculosis. Itis necessary, 
however, at this stage to adopt an attitude of caution 
as regards the treatment of human pulmonary 
tuberculosis, for it will be a long time, probably 
years, before the full value of the method can be 
assessed. 
‘In the issue of Science for May 18 prominence 
is given to a communication entitled “ Problems in 
the Field of Animal Nutrition,’ issued by the sub- 
committee on Animal Nutrition of the United States 
National Research Council. The paper is an endeavour 
to indicate problems and fields of research worthy of 
study in relation to animal nutrition. It is note- 
worthy that under this heading are included such 
diverse subjects as human dietetics, animal and 
forage husbandry, judging and food requirements of 
farm animals, and diet in relation to reproduction. 
There are undoubtedly great advantages in describing 
and defining the objects of scientific research, but it 
is, perhaps, permissible to stress the fact that, in the 
last resort, the organisation of research depends 
upon the supply, and, what in this connexion may 
be termed, the “‘ nutrition,’ of qualified scientific 
workers! So far as Great Britain is concerned, it 
would appear that the majority of the problems 
indicated (with the exception, perhaps, of the scientific 
judging of farm animals) are the subject of study in 
one quarter or another. For example, at Cambridge 
great additions to the knowledge of nutrition continue 
to be made at the School of Bio-chemistry under 
Prof. Gowland Hopkins, and at the School of Agri- 
culture, under Prof. T. B. Wood, workers on nutritional 
calorimetry and the physiology of reproduction 
continue to make progress. The most prominent 
consideration, however, before workers on the scien- 
tific aspects of nutrition in Great Britain is the need 
for the careful study of what may be termed the 
balance of essential food substances, as distinct from 
the absolute amounts of each of such, and it would 
appear that a great deal has still to be learned as 
to the interplay in nutrition between the relative 
quantity of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and 
even vitamins, which may be contained in diets, both 
in health and disease. On the applied side of the 
subject, the ultimate (and most difficult) problem is, 
undoubtedly, how effectively to introduce science 
into a subject so much at the mercy of fashion and 
prejudice as the feeding of animals. 
A PAPER by G. McCready Price on “‘ The Fossils as 
Age-markers in Geology” (Princeton Theological 
Review, vol. 20, p. 585, 1922) affords interesting 
evidence, even in its place of origin, of the campaign 
that is being carried on in the United States against 
the recognition of organic evolution. The author 
states that he is a geologist, who has convinced him- 
NO. 2799, VOL, IIT] 
NATURE 
The bulk of Dreyer’s work refers to tubercle 

[June 23, 1923 


self that no true sequence of faunas is traceable in the 
rocks, and that zoological provinces may have existed 
in which trilobites, nnmmulites, and ammonites lived 
simultaneously in various portions of the globe. The 
apparent absence of eroded surfaces between stratified 
series that are judged, by thé@ir fossil contents, to 
differ widely in their age is regarded as a proof that 
no gap in the sequence has occurred. On this matter 
the author should study L. F. Noble’s paper on the 
succession in the Grand Cafion of Arizona, which was 
recently noticed in Nature (April 7, p. 480). It is 
alleged that thrust-planes and reversals by folding 
have been called in as explanations by those who still 
cling to the views put forward.by William Smith. It 
may be noted that the pioneers in the establishment 
of faunal sequences had no concern with doctrines 
of evolution ; but Mr. Price states that those geologists 
who are “ acquainted with scientific methods ’’ have 
recently changed their views and accept a “ new 
geology.”” When we find that the new geology 
accounts for an imaginary mingling of strata by the 
occurrence of a universal deluge, we realise that its 
scientific outlook is not younger than that of the 
Chaldees. 
THE Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, 
which was instituted in 1862 as a memorial of the 
Prince Consort, and is given annually for “ distin- 
guished merit in promoting Arts, Manufactures, or 
Commerce,’’ has been awarded this year in duplicate 
by the council, with the approval of the president, 
H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, to Sir David Bruce 
and Sir Ronald Ross, in recognition of the eminent 
services they have rendered to the economic develop- 
ment of the world by their achievements in biological 
research and the study of tropical diseases. 
AT a meeting held recently at the Mansion House, 
a committee was formed with the object of providing 
a national memorial to the late Sir Ernest Shackleton. 
The aim is to establish some suitable memorial of 
a permanent nature, but the first object of the 
committee will be to provide for the education of 
Sir E. Shackleton’s children and to take his place 
in supporting his mother. The balance that remains, 
after meeting these two obligations, will be devoted 
to the encouragement of exploration. The hon. 
treasurer of the memorial fund is Mr. Howard 
Button, 61/62 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, W.C.2. 
Subscriptions may be sent to him or to any branch 
of the National Provincial and Union Bank of 
England. 
In order to commemorate the late Dr. W. S. 
Bruce, the polar explorer, a Bruce Memorial prize 
has been founded by subscription among his friends 
and admirers. The prize, which will take the form 
of a bronze medal and money award, is to be given 
from time to time for notable contributions to 
natural science in the nature of new knowledge 
resulting from personal visits to polar regions. The 
prize will be open to workers of all nationalities, 
with a preference for young men at the outset of 
their careers as investigators. Arrangements are 
being made to leave the selection of the recipients 
