July 14, 19 ro] 



NATURE 



THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF 

 ORNITHOLOGISTS. 



T^HE fifth International Congress of Ornithologists took 

 place in Berlin from May 30 to June 4. Like 

 all the former congresses of its kind, it was well 

 attended, although only a single American and compara- 

 tively few English ornithologists were present. 



The opening address of the president, Prof. Anton 

 Reichcnow, of Berlin, was a lucid, though necessarily 

 short, review of the progress of ornithology within the last 

 150 years and its present status. 



The Hon. Walter Rothschild delivered a lecture on the 

 former and present distribution of the so-called Ratitse, em- 

 bracing also some very interesting recent investigations by 

 Mr. C. W. Andrews on the egg-shells of certain ostriches, 

 especially some pieces of the egg of a fossil ostrich, found 

 last year by Messrs. Rothschild and Hartert in the Algerian 

 Sahara. Baron Loudon gave descriptions of the bird-life 

 in Talysch and Transcaspia ; Prof. Koenig narrated his 

 journey up the Nile to llado and Gondokoro ; Dr. Otto 

 Hermann explained the activity of the Royal Hungarian 

 Central Bureau of Ornithology ; Dr. Thienemann that of 

 the '■ Vogelwarte Rossitten," especially the method and 

 results of his experiments with " ringed birds"; while the 

 other lectures held in the general meetings were about 

 bird-protection and the preservation of " nature's monu- 

 ments " as connected with bird-life. Numerous communi- 

 cations were made and lectures delivered in the various 

 sections, their number being so great that in some of the 

 sections the time available was hardly sufficient, and dis- 

 cussions had sometimes to be cut short. Of the lectures in 

 the sections, mention can only be made of a few, as most 

 of them were only of interest to specialists. 



The proceedings of section i. (systematic, palaeontology, 

 anatomy, and geographical distribution) were opened with 

 a lecture by Dr. Hartert, on " what we ought to do and 

 what we ought not to do." The speaker pointed out many 

 .evils and shortcomings in the technical treatment of modern 

 bird-study ; he specially urged greater care to avoid new 

 synonyms, demanded better descriptions, more cooperation, 

 &c. He pointed out the necessity of liberality in lending 

 specimens to competent persons and institutions, and re- 

 garded museums which did not lend material to others as 

 behind the times. He also made clear the necessity of 

 greater care in preparing and preserving the material for 

 study, especially bird-skins, held that they should be more 

 exactly and more securely labelled, and discussed various 

 other technical details. 



Mr. Friedrich Rosenberg spoke- about the development of 

 the Colymbida?, Prof. Jacobi discussed the development and 

 systematic position of the "' Impennes," and Geheimrat 

 Prof. N'irchow gave the results of his study on the mobihty 

 of the nuchal vertebrx in the Spheniscidae. 



Prof. Neumann discussed zoogeographical problems, 

 specially referring to the necessity of careful geographical 

 study in connection with the description of subspecies of 

 birds, and their distribution. 



In section ii. (migrationi a number of lectures were 

 given, of which that of Rittmeister von Lucanus, about 

 the height at which birds migrate, appeared to be of special 

 interest. 



In section iii. (biology, oology, acclimatisation), Mr. 

 Lucanus also made very important statements regarding 

 the psychology of birds. Dr. and Mrs. Heinroth lectured 

 on the biology of certain .Anatidse, and on the breeding in 

 captivity of Caprimulgus and Locustella. 



Graf Zedlilz dealt with the breeding-seasons of .African 

 birds. 



Dr. Weigold gave interesting details about the former 

 and present status of bird-life on Heligoland, and recom- 

 mended the continuation of regular observations on that 

 island "before it would be too late." 



In section iv. (bird-protection) the necessity for the pro- 

 hibition of the introduction of feathers and bird-skins for 

 millinery purposes was urged, and the question of inter- 

 national bird laws discussed. 



Section v. was devoted to poultry and other domesticated 

 birds, and appeared to be well attended. 



At the mcetinir of the International Ornithological Com- 

 mittee it was decided that the Ornis should not be con- 



tinued in the form of a regular periodical, but of irregular 

 volumes containing the proceedings of the various ornitho- 

 logical congresses, and special scientific treatises, in the 

 event of material and means being available for the pur- 

 pose. 



In every town a congress has its peculiar features. While 

 some of the characteristics of the fourth Congress of 

 Ornithologists in London were the excursions to Tring and 

 Woburn Abbey, and the visit to the Bempton Cliffs, with 

 their breeding-colonies of sea-fowl, the congress at Berlin 

 was rentarkable for the various liberal entertainments 

 in the town. The city gave a dinner in the famous Town 

 Hall, the Zoological Garden Society a luncheon, the 

 Ornithological Society a supper, and one evening was 

 pleasantly spent in the natural history theatre, called 

 " Urania." 



An illustrated guide and excellent map of Berlin were 

 presented to every member, also a reprint of Lichtenstein's 

 very rare " Verzeichniss einer Sammlung von Saugethieren 

 und N'ogeln aus dem Kaffernlande, " of 1S42, a description 

 of the " Vogelwarte Rossitten," and various other 

 pamphlets and booklets. E. H. 



THE DANGERS OF FERRO-SILICON.^ 

 ■pERRO-SILICON, averaging about 13 per cent, silicon 

 '^ and made in the blast-furnace, has been used in steel 

 works, and to a certain extent in iron foundries, for many 

 years. Steel castings were made with about 0-3 per cent, 

 silicon to help in the prevention of blow-holes, and at the 

 same time to aid in giving the properties required by 

 engineers ; and in foundries the ferro-silicon is used to 

 add to mixtures of iron, such as those containing large 

 percentages of scrap, that would otherwise yield a hard 

 casting, as the added silicon has the effect of changing 

 the combined to free or graphitic carbon on cooling. 

 Within the last few years much richer ferro-silicons have 

 been made in electric furnaces, and have found a ready 

 sale. They are useful for special crucible steels and for , 

 certain steels for electrical work, and also for adding 

 silicon in the ladle in the case of basic open-hearth practice, 

 as there it is impossible to do this efficiently on the hearth, 

 though it is easily done in the acid process. 



With the electrically produced high-grade ferro-siUcon 

 came trouble. The present writer remembers the great 

 interest taken in the earliest recorded case of this trouble 

 as given by Dr. Dupr^ and Captain Lloyd at the Iron and 

 Steel Institute in May, 1904. Owing to a fire having 

 occurred on a vessel, the cargo, including 50 per cent, 

 grade ferro-silicon brought from Trieste, was discharged 

 on December 17, 1903. On January 12, 1904, the forty- 

 eight drums containing the ferro-silicon were removed to 

 a warehouse in Bootle, and v;hilst being rolled from the 

 truck on to the concrete floor one drum exploded. Dr. 

 Dupr^ and Captain Lloyd, after careful investigation, pro- 

 nounced the explosion to be due to PH, evolved owing 

 to the action of damp air, and gave a weighty and serious 

 warning with regard to the handling and storing of this 

 comparatively new product. 



So explosions and spontaneous ignition came in the 

 train of the new material ; but it was to make its powers 

 felt in another way. On the S.S. Vaderland, .-Antwerp to 

 New York, over a hold in which ferro-silicon was stored, 

 fifty steerage passengers were made ill and eleven died, 

 of whom nine were buried at sea, and two corpses landed 

 at New York, as plague was feared. In March, 1906, two 

 children died on a Rhine boat. On October 21, 1905, two 

 children died on board a "keel" on the Keadby Canal; 

 the father and mother were taken seriously ill, but re- 

 covered on deck. In February, 1907, on the Olaf Wyjk, 

 Gothenburg to .Antwerp, four passengers died. In May, 

 1908, on the S.S. Uleaborg, Stockholm to St. Petersburg, the 

 crew and second-class passengers were taken ill, and two 

 died. On October 29, 1908, on the keel Harry, Captain 

 Bamfield and the mate, his grandson, started from Goole 

 with ferro-silicon on board, apparently consigned as " scrap 

 iron." On the night of Friday, October 30, the mate was 



1 "On the Nature. Use?, art! Manufacture of Ferro-silicon, with Special 

 Reference to possible d.inger arising <r m its Transport and Storage." Local 

 Government Board Report, 1900 By Pr. S. M. Copeman. F.R S , .S. R. 

 Bennett, and Dr. H. Wilson Hake. Pp. viii+115. (Cd. 4958.) Price 



NO. 2124, VOL. 84] 



