596 
him, entirely on the condition of the surface layer 
of the egg; the nature of this cortical layer deter- 
mines whether the egg be in an active or a passive 
phase, and the essential factor is a change in the 
rate of oxidation, to which the condition of the 
cortical layer directly leads. “The forces which 
induce the egg to develop are, therefore, localised 
at the surface of the cell.” * This is a somewhat 
hard saying, but in Prof. Loeb’s hands it leads to 
many suggestive and stimulating reflections. The 
whole subject is discussed in his book on “ Artifi- 
cial Parthenogenesis, etc.” (1913), and in a paper 
now before us, on the Stimulation of Growth 
(Science, May 14, 1915). 
D’Arcy W. THompson. 
SIR SANDFORD FLEMING. 
HE death of Sir Sandford Fleming on 
July 22nd at eighty-eight years of age has 
deprived the world not only of one of its greatest 
engineers, whose constructive works revolution- 
ised trade and commerce by providing increased 
facilities for intercouse, but also of one who in 
various ways proved himself a pioneer, advocat- 
ing and supporting measures the importance of 
which had not yet penetrated the public mind. 
He will be longest remembered for his work on the 
Canadian Pacific Railway and for his successful 
advocacy of a cable across the Pacific, which has 
proved of so much value to the commercial world. 
But in smaller matters he exerted himself not less 
strenuously and usefully. In a new country 
where material interests are many and pressing, 
he early saw the necessity of upholding pure 
science for the encouragement it could give to 
arts and industry, and with this view, so far back 
as 1849, he promoted the foundation of the 
Canadian Institute, which after demonstrating its 
usefulness in various directions, was recently 
incorporated under a Royal Charter. 
Not less farseeing and useful was Sir Sandford 
Fleming’s proposal in 1879 to legalise a universal 
day, beginning at mean noon of Greenwich time, 
the hours being counted continuously from o h. 
to 24 h. Five years later this suggestion bore 
fruit at the conference at Washington, summoned 
to consider more uniform methods of reckoning 
time, and at which it was resolved to adopt a 
single prime meridian for all nations in place of 
the initial meridians, favoured as this mode of 
reckoning was by international jealousies. At 
this conference Sir Sandford Fleming represented 
Canada, and it was there that the zone system of 
reckoning with which his name has been inti- 
mately connected was first ventilated. The con- 
venience of adopting a standard time differing by 
an exact number of hours from universal time was 
insisted upon, and it was shown that it was not 
necessary, aS maintained at a previous conference 
at Rome, to retain exact local time side by side 
with universal time. We have not yet achieved 
the arduous task of counting the hours consecu- 
NATURE 

[JuLy 29, 1915 
being. thoroughly explicit and rendering unneces- 
sary the distinguishing suffix a.m. or p.m., that 
we may hope the practical advantages will become 
apparent to the public as they were to ‘the 
eminent engineer whose death we regretfully 
record. 
NOTES. 
THE Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles will 
hold, at Geneva, on September 12-15, its ninety-seventh 
annual session, which will coincide with the hun- 
dredth anniversary of its foundation. On account of 
the disturbed conditions existing at the present time, 
the council of the society has#@lecided to celebrate this 
anniversary very quietly, amd not to send the usual 
invitations to foreign scientific societies, or to men of 
science residing outside Switzerland. 
Tue Toronto correspondent of the Times announces 
that the Commission appointed by the Ontario Govern- 
ment to investigate the production and shipment of 
nickel in relation to the conditions created by the war 
consists of Mr. G. T. Holloway, of London (chair- 
man); Prof. W. G. Miller, provincial geologist; Mr. 
McGregor Young, K.C., Toronto; and = Mr. 
T. W. Gibson, Deputy-Minister of Mines. It is 
understood that in the course of its investigation the 
Commission will visit England and Norway and the 
New Caledonia mines in the South Seas. The Com- 
mission will also consider if nickel can be successfully 
refined in Canada. The importance of nickel as a 
munition metal was described by Prof. Carpenter in 
an article in Nature of July 15 (p. 5309). 
A NOTABLE instance of the advantage to the State 
of calling in the aid of science in relation to difficult 
problems bearing directly on the well-being of our 
fighting forces is illustrated in the exhibit recently 
installed in the central hall of the Natural History 
Museum showing the work done in connection with 
an investigation undertaken jointly by the War Office 
and the Museum to determine the origin of damage to 
army biscuit by insect pests, and to prevent or mini- 
mise such infestation. Attention was directed to the 
matter some time ago by the fact that ration biscuits 
exported to the colonies became after a time quite 
unfit for consumption, owing to the ravages of certain 
moths and beetles—this was specially noted in South 
Africa, Ceylon, Gibraltar, Malta, Mauritius, and the 
Sudan. In answer to an application from the War 
Office, the trustees of the British Museum placed at 
the disposal of the military authorities for the purpose 
of the inquiry the services of Mr. J. Hartley Durrant, 
the expert in charge of the collection of microlepido- 
ptera at South Kensington. It is most satisfactory 
to learn that these researches, which have been carried 
out jointly by the two departments concerned, extend- 
ing over a period of three years, have ensured the 
protection of army biscuit from the possibility of such 
attacks by insects in the future. The insects met with 
during the inquiry were all widely distributed species 
tively from o to 24 h. as recommended, but the | the range of which has doubtless been greatly extended 
method. isso eminently desirable in civil affairs as , 
NO. 2387, VOL. 95] 
by commerce. 
