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NATURE 



[September 8, 1910 



"bore-holes, with the depth, the technics, and practical 

 importance of the same for geological prognosis, with refer- 

 ence to new measurements in Mexico, Borneo, and in 

 Central Europe, Drs. J. Koenigsberger and M. Miihlberg ; 

 experiments illustrative of the inflammability of mixtures 

 of coal-dust and air. Prof. P. Phillips Bedson ; some 

 memoranda concerning coal-dust and the essential prin- 

 ciples of the coal-dust theory, Mr. H. W. G. Halbaum ; 

 the use of concrete for mine support, Prof. W. R. Crane ; 

 ■fire-damp caps and the detection of fire-damp in mines by 

 means of safety-lamps, Messrs. E. B. VVhalley and \V. M. 

 Tweedie ; equipment for the study of flame-caps and for 

 miscellaneous experiments on safety-lamps. Prof. G. R. 

 Thompson. 



The second International Conference for the Study of 

 ■Cancer is to be held in Paris on October 1-5 under the 

 jjresidency of Prof. Czerny. French, EngUsh, and German 

 are to be the official languages of the conference. Intend- 

 ing members should give notice to the treasurer. Dr. A. 

 •de Rothschild, 6 rue Saint-Philippe de Roule, Paris 

 Vine. 



The ninth International Conference on Tuberculosis will 

 iake place at Brussels on October 5-8. Among the sub- 

 jects likely to be brought under consideration are : — 

 flereditary tuberculosis contagion ; the pre-disposition to 

 the disease ; the protection of children against tubercu- 

 losis ; tuberculosis and the school ; the part of women in 

 the campaign against tuberculosis. Reports on the pro- 

 gress of the war against tuberculosis in different countries, 

 milk supply, solar radiation, international statistics, and 

 international jnarks indicating the condition of the lungs 

 will be presented, and a paper will be read by Dr. Nathan 

 Raw on the general measures recommended by the' Inter- 

 national Conference to the public authorities for the pre- 

 •vention of the spread of tuberculosis in different countries. 

 The address of the Secretariat of the conference is Avenue 

 Van Volxem, 253, Forest-Brussels. 



In connection with the Turin International Exhibition 

 .to be 'held in 191 1, there is to be a competition in the 

 transmission and reception of messages with Morse, 

 Hughes, and Baudot apparatus. According to the 

 Electrician, the tests will begin on August 22, and will be 

 open to members of either sex of the staffs of telegraph 

 administrations and army or navy telegraphists. The tests 

 will include twenty minutes' transmission and thirty 

 minutes' reception of messages by the Morse apparatus, 

 the receiving being done with either the sounder or the 

 writing instrument ; and one hour of transmission by 

 Hughes apparatus, mechanical or electrical, and with 

 «ither E or \V key ; and one hour of transmission by 

 Baudot quadruple apparatus. The te.xt will be in 

 languages suitable to the operators, will be printed on 

 sheets containing fifty words each, and will consist of 

 words, groups of letters, and figures. The text will be 

 •different for each system, but the same for competitors 

 in the same system. A special test for reception by 

 ■sounder and the writing of the text by a writing machine 

 (the writing machine being provided by the competitor) 

 •will also be held, if not less than ten competitors belong- 

 ing to three different administrations apply by June 15, 

 191.1. The transmission will be effected in .accordance 

 ■with the International Telegraph Regulations. There will 

 be a championship cup, which will remain the property 

 -of the successful competitor, and be competed for 

 by competitors who gain a prize in each of the three 

 systems (Morse, Hughes, and Baudot). There will also 

 Nj. 21.32. VOL. 84] 



be an international representation prize cup to be com- 

 peted for by groups of three competitors who all represent 

 one State, and have between them won prizes in all the 

 three sections. There will also be individual prizes — ten 

 for the Morse, eight for the Hughes, and eight for the 

 Baudot tests. Applications must be sent by June 15 next 

 to .the Secretariat General, Bureau du Concours Inter- 

 national de Telegraphie, Rome. 



In Man for August Mr. C. M. Woodford describes a 

 remarkable stone-headed axe from Rennell Island which 

 he has been fortunate enough to acquire. He shows that 

 this weapon is in type quite different from the examples 

 with which it has been compared found in Malaita, in 

 which a nodule of iron pyrites is attached to a handle 

 ornamented with nautilus or pearl shell. In the Rennell 

 Island example, the head, formed apparently of a basaltic 

 stone, is star-shaped with eight projections, and is attached 

 to a plain handle made of a hard, dark wood, probablv 

 Afselia bijuga. The union is effected by an ingenious 

 system of rattan lashings, which pass through holes in 

 the handle. 



Mr. T. Sheppard, the energetic curator of the Hull 

 Museum, in his annual report for 1909 records important 

 accessions to the valuable- collections in his charge. On 

 the antiquarian side, the most important addition is the 

 famous Brigg boat, constructed from a single trunk of 

 oak, 50 feet long and 6 feet broad. From the 'caulking 

 Mr. .Slaler has been able to identify a good list of mosses 

 and hepatics, these being the earliest records of the kind 

 for the county. ■ This boat has formed the subject ;of no 

 fewer than forty monographs prepared by members of 

 various learned societies, and Mr. Sheppard has in hand 

 a descriptive handbook of this important object. A grey 

 ware jar from North Lincolnshire has also been received, 

 containing coins of the Emperors Valens, Julian II., 

 Gratianus, Valentinianus, and Constantinus 11. , all of the 

 fourth century .a.d., with a curious ring bearing an image 

 of the dove and olive branch, probably of Christian origin, 

 and dating from the fifth century. The museum has also 

 been fortunate in acquiring two important collections of 

 birds, one that of Mr. Fortune, of Yorkshire birds, occupy- 

 ing forty cases ; the second that of Sir H. Boynton, from 

 Burton Agnes Hall, in 200 large cases. Both these 

 important collections are now being catalogued and 

 arranged for exhibition. 



Mr. VV. C. Farabee reprints from the Proceedings oi 

 the American Antiquarian Society for October, 1909, an 

 account of the strange race known as the Machyengas, 

 who inhabit the region lying between the base of the 

 Cordillera and the Upper Ucayaali and Urubamba rivers 

 in eastern Peru. The most remarkable fact about them 

 is that they have no fear of the dead, and do not hesitate 

 to touch the corpse and dispose of it without any cere- 

 mony, simply 'flinging it into the river to be eaten by fish. 

 This results from the absence of any belief in the return 

 of the soul, which after death enters the red deer. This 

 animal, though not regarded as sacred, is not used for 

 food. When asked what becomes of the spirit, they reply, 

 " Nothing; that is the end of it when it enters the deer." 

 Their deity Idioci, " the big man of the sky," is otiose, 

 and has little concern with the world except that he 

 thunders and sends rain. He is treated with indifference, 

 receiving no prayers, offerings, or dances ; they have no 

 charms or fetishes, and are controlled by no power or 

 influence outside themselves. This is a remArkable picture 

 of a tribe bound by no conventions or rpstraintii of rnh'g'on 

 or custom. 



