July 14, 1910] 



NATURE 



47 



(organised by the Institut international de Bibliographie), 

 photographic documents and legislation relating to docu- 

 mentary photograpliy. As has already been stated in these 

 columns, the correspondent for the United Kingdom is 

 Mr. Chapman Jones, n Eaton Rise, Ealing, W. 



The death occurred at Washington, on June 26, of .Prof. 

 Cyrus Thomas, a veteran authority on the diverse subjects 

 of ethnology and entomology. He was born in Tennessee 

 in 1825, and from 1850 until 1865 he practised law. For 

 the next four years he was pastor of a Lutheran Church. 

 He was then successively an assistant on the U.S.' geo- 

 logical surveys of the territories, professor of natural 

 sciences at the Southern Illinois Normal University, State 

 entomologist of Illinois, a member of the U.S. Entomo- 

 logical Commission, and (since 1882) a member of the 

 staff of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology. His earlier 

 writings were on entomological topics, but his most 

 numerous and best known works were concerned wit-h the 

 North .American Indians of prehistoric times. 



\ LIST of the Civil List Pensions granted during the 

 year ended March 31, 1910, has just been published as 

 a Parliamentary Paper. -Among the pensions granted in 

 recognition of scientific work we notice the following : — 

 Mr. Thomas Bryant, in recognition of his services towards 

 the advancement of surgery, lOoZ. ; Mrs. M. L. Gamgee, 

 in consideration of the valuable contributions to physio- 

 logical science of her husband, the late Prof. Arthur 

 Gamgee, •jal. ; Mrs. E. J. Seeley, in consideration of the 

 valuable writings on geology and palaeontology of her 

 husband, the late Prof. H. G. Seeley, 70/. ; Miss H. S. 

 Murphy, in consideration of the services rendered by her 

 father, the late Prof. E. W. Murphy, in furthering the use 

 of chloroform, 50/. ; Mr. J. Sully, in recognition of his 

 services to psychology, in addition to his existing pension, 

 95/. ; Mrs. Joanna Calder Eraser, in consideration of the 

 value of the investigations in anatomy and embryology of 

 her husband, the late Prof. A. Eraser, 70/. ; Miss Julia 

 Dobson, in recognition of the important services rendered 

 by her brother, the late Surgeon-Major G. E. Dobson, 

 F.R.S., to zoological science, in addition to her existing 

 pensions, 15/. 



Prof. T. H. Core, formerly professor of physics in the 

 Owens College, Manchester, died on July 9 at Withington, 

 near Manchester, in his seventy-fourth year. When the 

 late Balfour Stewart was appointed professor of natural 

 philosophy in the Owens College in 1870, Mr. Core came 

 from Edinburgh to take up the post of professor of physics, 

 a post which he held until his retirement in 1905. Up to 

 the appointment of a professor of applied mathematics in 

 1881, he took charge of the more mathematical parts of 

 the physics teaching, but as time went on he withdrew 

 from the more advanced work, and for several years before 

 his retirement only lectured on e.\perimental mechanics. 

 He was an e.xtremely clear lecturer, and many Owens' 

 men who have distinguished themselves ' in science owe 

 llieir first love of their subject to Prof. Core. He was in 

 great demand as a popular lecturer on scientific subjects 

 throughout the cotton towns around Manchester, and acted 

 as examiner to many of the better schools of the district. 

 He was of a retiring disposition, and . never took a 

 prominent part in university politics. Outside his teaching 

 work, his principal interest lay in astronomy, and he was 

 one of the founders, and the first president, of the Northern 

 .Astronomical Association. 



It is with regret that we learn of the death of Dr. 

 Wilhelm Winkler, who since 1887 made valuable observa- 

 tions of sun-spots, double stars, comets, &c., at his 

 NO. 2124, VOL. 84] 



private observatory at Jena. Born at Eisenberg in 1842, 

 Dr. Winkler studied at Leipzig, and developed a practical, 

 as well as mathematical, ability, which displayed. itself in 

 the making of watches and clocks. Then in 1875 he set 

 up a 4J-inch Steinheil refractor at Gohlis, and made 

 position-measures of comets, observations of occultations, 

 &c. Later, in 1878, he commenced daily observations of 

 the solar surface, communicating his results to Prof. R. 

 Wolf and then to Prof. Wolfer. As ill-health prevented 

 him from observing regularly, he directed observations 

 made by his wife, and so kept up the continuity of the 

 records. Removing to Jena in 1887, he employed a 6-inch 

 refractor, fitted with clock, circles, and micrometers, for 

 the observation of double stars. Unhappily, about two 

 and a half years ago, a sarcoma necessitated the removal 

 of his left eye, and this, with other serious complaints, 

 considerably curtailed his astronomical work and caused 

 him much suffering, which lasted until his death on 

 June 17. Dr. Winkler's genial presence and devoted 

 labours will, however, be sorely missed by his numerous 

 friends and fellow workers. 



We notice with regret the announcement of the death, 

 on July 9, of Mr. Harry W. Cox, at the age of forty-six. 

 Mr. Cox was one of the first in this country to realise the 

 importance to the medical profession of Rbntgen's dis- 

 covery, and to take up the design and manufacture of 

 X-ray apparatus. He commenced at once to manufacture 

 coils, interrupters, and accessory apparatus for the applica- 

 tion of the X-rays in medical diagnosis, and to import 

 X-ray tubes and other adjuncts to enable medical men in 

 this country to apply the new discovery. He was always 

 ready to work out new ideas and designs, and probably 

 his most noteworthy achievement was to place on a prac- 

 tical basis the stereoscopic method of localising foreign 

 bodies, with its corollary, the cross-thread method of 

 localisation. The stereoscopic method also enables a 

 picture to be obtained of the position of parts in cases of 

 fracture and dislocation. In his investigations he exposed 

 himself freely to the action of the X-rays, and, like so many 

 of the pioneers in ■ this work, he contracted X-ray 

 dermatitis in a severe form. The disease progressed 

 slowly but relentlessly, and he died after several years 

 of suffering. Now that the danger of undue exposure to 

 X-rays is understood, and efficient protective apparatus has 

 been constructed, there is no need for an operator to take 

 any risks, while patients run no risk whatever ; for the 

 exposures necessary for purposes of diagnosis are short, 

 while for purposes of treatment the dose can now be 

 accurately measured and regulated. There is thus great 

 cause for gratitude and honour to those who, at the expense 

 of permanent injury to themselves, have enabled their 

 successors to work in this field in safety. 



A TABLET in memory of Richard Hakluyt was unveiled 

 in Bristol Cathedral on Thursday last. Among those pre- 

 sent were Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., E.R.S. (repre- 

 senting the Royal Geographical Society), Sir W. Lee 

 Warner (representing the India Office), Admiral Sir Lewis 

 Beaumont (of the Navy Records Society), Mr. W. Phillips 

 (of the American Embassy), and Mr. A. Gray (of the 

 Hakluyt Society). Sir Clements Markham said that West- 

 minster Abbey, where Hakluyt was buried, or ' Christ 

 Church, Oxford,' where he was a student, would have 

 formed a fitting place for that memorial, but, on the 

 whole, Bristol had the better right. It was from that 

 ancient port that there were sent the first voyages of dis- 

 covery which occupied Hakluyt's thoughts and researches. 

 .\t Bristol he was canon for niorr- tlian thirtv rears, and 



