856 
by, Messrs. Heape and Edge-Partington, and the 
catalogue was printed some time ago, and issued 
privately. It would be of great advantage to 
ethnology if, some day, this invaluable source of 
information should be reissued, if necessary by 
subscription. The collection contains a representa- 
tive set of Polynesian weapons. There are also 
many examples of shell-work, especially of mother- 
of-pearl, which should be of great interest, and 
much that will be of considerable use to the student 
of ornament. When the exhibits are classified and 
exhibited they will form an excellent foundation 
for the study of the material culture of Oceania. 
Ar a recent meeting of the council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society, some account was given of the 
work in hand by the Society’s Research Committee. 
Experiments are in progress in Leicestershire to 
test the value of basic slags and other fertilisers as 
measured by the increase in weight of cattle and 
sheep. Silage is to be made in clamps or pits at 
Cambridge and tower ensilage in [East Suffolk, and 
the products are to be used next winter as feed for 
dairy cows; the effects of the silage on the yield 
and quality of the milk will be watched. Pig-feeding 
is also being investigated at Cambridge, where 
experiments will be made on the effects of grinding, 
soaking, and cooking on the nutritive value of maize» 
and on feeding with barley and potatoes, while 
similar trials will be made at the Harper-Adams 
Agricultural College on the value of home-grown 
products ; in each case, the weight of flesh produced 
as well as its quality, will be investigated. The 
Research Committee of the Royal Agricultural 
Society is doing valuable work in thus supplementing 
the investigations carried out at research institutes 
and aiding in bridging the gap between the research 
worker and the practical farmer. 
TuE Société Francaise de Physique celebrates this 
year the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, and 
to mark the event the Société is organising a National 
Physical and Wireless Exhibition which will be held 
in the Grand Palais, Paris, on November 30—December 
17, concurrently with the Aeronautical Exhibition. 
The list of patrons, headed by the president of the 
Republic and the chiefs of the various ministries, 
includes leading personalities of the French scientific 
and industrial world. A guarantee fund of one 
million francs has been subscribed by eighty-two 
firms and individuals. The exhibition, which will 
embrace the principal scientific and industrial applica- 
tions of physics, is to be divided into the following 
sections: Experimental physics; retrospective dis- 
play of physical apparatus; radio-telegraphy and 
telephony; vacuum, X-ray and thermionic tubes; 
biological physics, physiology ; telegraphy, telephony, 
signalling ; various industrial and domestic applications 
of electricity ; electro-chemistry ; electric cables ; glass, 
porcelain and other insulating materials; optics; 
photography, cinematography ; illumination ; rarefied 
and compressed gases ; heating ; metallurgy ; acoustics; 
measuring and control apparatus; and instruction, 
books, reviews. 
NO. 2799, VOL. III | 
NATURE 

[JUNE 23, 1923 
Tue forthcoming meeting in London of the Inter- 
national Association of Navigation Congresses is an 
event of outstanding importance in shipping and port 
circles. The Congress will be held on July 2—July 6, 
and will be attended by numerous and influential 
delegates from all over the world, many of whom 
are contributing reports on matters of which they 
have expert knowledge. It is the thirteenth meeting 
of the Association ; normally a congress is held every 
third year, but the regular sequence was broken by 
the War. The last meeting was at Philadelphia in 
1912; consequently much interest and importance 
attaches to the revival of the gatherings after a lapse 
of more than ten years. The King has graciously 
accepted the position of patron; Lord Desborough 
is president, and there is a strong and influential 
British organisation committee. The subjects to be 
discussed include the following: (a) Inland naviga- 
tion: the utilisation of waterways for the production 
of power and its consequences and applications ; 
the influence of surface waters and subterranean 
sheets of water on the flow of rivers; and estimation 
of the water consumed for navigation and irrigation 
purposes, and the portion returned to the subter- 
ranean sheet of water. (b) Ocean navigation: the 
accommodation to be provided for ships in order to 
satisfy the future dimensions of vessels; mechanical 
equipment of ports ; concrete and reinforced concrete : 
their applications to hydraulic works ; means to assure 
their preservation and their water-tightness ; the use 
of liquid fuel for navigation and its consequences ; the 
utilisation of tides for the production of power for the 
working and lighting of ports; and the principal 
advances made recently in lighting, beaconing, and 
signalling of coasts, and standardisation (unification) 
of the languages of maritime signals. 
THE Museums Association will meet at the Guild- 
hall, Hull, on July 9-13. On Tuesday morning, 
July 10, there will be an official welcome by the 
Lord Mayor, and the president, Mr. T. Sheppard, 
will give an address on ‘‘The Place of the Small 
Museum.”’ Later, at the Hull Luncheon Club, the 
delegates will be entertained, and the president will 
give an address on “‘ The Evolution of a Yorkshire- 
man.’ A number of papers will be read upon 
various aspects of museum work, and there will be 
numerous social functions and visits to places of 
interest. On Friday morning, July 13, there’ will 
be an address on ‘‘ American Museums ”’ by a delegate 
from the American Museum of Natural History, 
New York, and also cinematograph exhibitions. In 
the afternoon one section will visit York and will 
be entertained by the Yorkshire Philosophical 
Society in the grounds there; another party will 
sail for Copenhagen on the s.s. Spevo, and from a 
preliminary programme received from Dr. C. M. C. 
Mackeprang, of the National Museum at Copenhagen, 
it appears that the members will be received on 
Monday morning, July 16, at the National Museum 
and inspect the National Collections; they will be 
then entertained to lunch in the Museum. In the 
afternoon they will visit Rosenborg Castle and later 
will attend a reception at the Town Hall. On 
ee 
