
SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 1923. 
CONTENTS. 
d NATURE 


869 

Position and Needs of the Science 
Museum Collections. 
N an article in another part of this issue an outline 
is given of the present state of advancement of 
the Museum building scheme at South Kensington, 
which was approved in ror2 and started in 1973. 
The scheme was that which the Departmental Com- 
mittee on the Science Museum and the Geological 
Museum proposed in its Report of 1911 and 1912 as 
to (1) the purposes these museums should serve in the 
PAGE . ; 
Position and Needs of the Science Museum Collections 869 | National interests ; (2) the nature, arrangement, and 
Meteorological Physics. By Prof. V. —o - 871 | development of the collections required for these 
—seieauagd os Men of Science. By A. D. R. : Pi: purposes ; and (3) the buildings required on the South 
ogyin War . : : : : 
The Antiquity of Dis By Prof. . Elliot Smith, Kensington site to house these collections. This was 
F.R.S. - 874 | alogical reference, and the report dealt with it faithfully 
Our Bookshelf . + + + + + + + 875 | and effectively. 
Letters to the Editor :— eae “ 
The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat. (///ustrated.)— The discussion of the reference inevitably brought 
Prot. T. H. Lalas. m 877 | the reporting committee face to face with the problem 
The Transformation of Electronic into ectro- Spies p 
ieacnetic Energy ey A Gany . 878 of co ordinating these two museums with ane another 
Dr, Kammerer’s Alytes. — Dr. W. Babess, F. RS. 878 | and with the Natural History Museum. ‘The com- 
amd eS si 878 mittee found that there was in practice little or no 
An Einstein Paradox.—Prof. R. W. Genese_ a 880 | overlapping of the fields of the three museums, and 
The Concilium Bibliographicum.—Dr. J. Stro! 880 | ; : eae 
Educational Problems of Tropical - aaa —Prof. in the end it was able to formulate proposals by which 
W. R. Dunlop Se 880 | the buildings of the three museums would be brought 
Gravitation and Light- Pressure in Nebule.—Pro: . : aa 
CA. Linke ee gg | into direct communication, Thus the related parts 
The Heape and Grylls Rapid Cinema. —Walter a of the great national collections in the sections of 
Heape, F.R.S. I "1 : : 
Btteocoticn abd Hemoglobin. wo. L. Brown .- Sm science concerned would be brought into a continuous 
A Puzzle Paper Band.—Miss Annie D. Betts 882 | series. 
ee oe Pian eo: rare geil F. cms) 882 | Under the scheme thus initiated, the individuality 
, By Sir Janes Walkés, TRS aaa Ts 883 | of the several museums and their administration under 
Recent Contributions to Aviaticn Problems. by Prof. their existing responsible authorities would not be 
eliaali poe ee ya 886 | affected in any way; at the same time the group of 
; Canon \ W. W. Fowler. By Horace Donisthorpe sss | Museums would afford at a single centre, and in inter- 
Dr. Hans Goldschmidt. 888 | communicating buildings, a real national museum 
eee Se ae representative of science. This feature of the recom- 
Our Astronomical Column « P , F - 892 dati f th : a ‘ble by 
a ae . «893 | Mendations of the committee was made possible by an 
Museum Building at South _ Kensington. (With arrangement with the Trustees of the British Museum, 
Shae : oe Be who were willing that the new Geological Museum 
ic Geop geics . 97 By as 
Indnstrial Fatigue R ai 808 building should be placed on a part of the ground 
British University Statistics, 1921-22 899 | allotted to the Natural History Museum, and should 
University and Educational Intelligence . 899 | be a part, structurally, of the eastern extension of the 
oe é Pp y; 
acnpelon aan SU ae 902 | Natural History Museum building. 
ublications Received. . . «. «+ 904 : ; ue 
Dies of Sociction a The scheme is an admirable one. It provides for 
the mineral products of the earth complete museum 
representation as to natural history, geological 
structure, economic conditions, mining, metallurgy, 
and all physical and engineering investigations and 
appliances bearing on these. Further, it suggests lines 
for obtaining similar advantages in relation to other 
branches of science as the scheme comes to be applied 
in later stages. 
The first item of the scheme was the erection of the 
Eastern Block of the new Science Museum, and this 



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