NATURE 



[June 26, 1913 



in France, to eighty miles west of Dunmore Head 

 in the south-west of Ireland. 



The following- are the resulting- heights, velo- 

 cities, &c, of the two fireballs, which have been 

 computed from a considerable number of descrip- 

 tions forwarded to me from many parts of the 

 country : — 



1913, June 14. 



G.M.T. ... ... Sh. 4m. ... ioh. om. 



Magnitude =much brighter than I brighter than D 



Height at first = 77 miles 54 miles 



end = 29 „ 54 „ 



Luminous course = 5S ,, 490 ,, 



Velocity per second = 22 ,, 26 „ 



Radiant point = 263° + 64° 282° - 23° 



Name of meteor = ( Draconid <J/ Sagittarid 



Long as the flight of 490 miles undoubtedly is 

 for the second fireball, it is probably much less 

 than the actual course. When the object was last 

 seen from Ireland it was really rising- in the air, 

 and was still burning- strongly when low apparent 

 altitude carried it behind either trees or buildings, 

 as viewed by several observers. I suppose it is 

 possible for a meteor to escape out of the atmos- 

 phere when its flight is horizontal and its material 

 capable of withstanding absolute disintegration. 

 We want more observations from the west of 

 Ireland. 



The daylight fireball at 8h. 4m. left a streak for 

 about three minutes, and several of the observers 

 state that a noise like thunder followed its dis- 

 ruption in two or three minutes. One person at 

 Watford avers that he is certain the meteor was 

 not more than twenty yards distant from where he 

 stood, for he witnessed the object descend in front 

 of some trees. W. F. Denning. 



THE STATE AND MEDICAL RESEARCH. 



A COMMITTEE with executive functions, to 

 be known as the Medical Research Com- 

 mittee, has been appointed for the purpose of 

 dealing with the money made available for re- 

 search under the Insurance Act. The Committee 

 is constituted as follows : — 



The Right Hon. Lord Moulton of Bank, F.R.S. 

 (chairman). 



Dr. C. Addison, M.P. 



Mr. Waldorf Astor, M.P. 



Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, K.C.B., F.R.S. , Regius pro- 

 fessor of physic, University of Cambridge. 



Mr. C. J. Bond, senior honorary surgeon, Leicester 

 Infirmary. 



Dr. W. Bulloch, F.R.S., bacteriologist to the London 

 Hospital, and professor of bacteriology in the Uni- 

 versity of London. 



Prof. M. Hay, professor of forensic medicine and 

 public health, Aberdeen University. 



Dr. F. Gowland Hopkins, F.R.S., reader in chem- 

 ical physiology in the University of Cambridge. 



Sir W. B. Leishman, F.R.S., professor of patho- 

 logy, Royal Army Medical College. 



The appointment of the Committee is the out- 

 come of the final report of the Departmental 

 Committee on Tuberculosis, which was summar- 

 ised in an article in Nature on April 24 

 (vol. xci., p. 191). In this report the Committee 

 NO. 22/8, VOL. 91] 



recommended the appointment of an Advisory 

 Council and an Executive Committee, and both 

 have now been constituted. The Advisory Council is 

 to make suggestions, and to submit the Executive 

 Committee's budget to the Government, and to 

 advise the Executive Committee. 



The Executive Committee is to frame a budget 

 to be considered with the Advisory Council before 

 being submitted to the Government; to determine 

 the scheme of research work; to make periodic 

 reports, and generally to organise and supervise 

 research work. 



The Departmental Committee suggested that 

 the work of research could be carried out advan- 

 tageouslv on the following, among other, lines : — 



(a) A central bureau should be established and 

 should be the headquarters of the Advisory Council 

 and Executive Committee. The central bureau should 

 have a statistical and sociological department, in the 

 work of which should be included the coordination 

 and correlation of results. With regard to statistical 

 investigations, every effort should be made to utilise, 

 where possible, and cooperate with the statistical 

 departments of the different Government departments. 

 Statistics should be so collected and framed as to be 

 comparable with the existing statistics of mortality. 



There should also be a library and publishing de- 

 partment. The central bureau should be under the 

 immediate control of the Executive Committee. 



(b) Clinical, pathological, bacteriological, chemical, 

 and other scientific researches should be carried out 

 by competent investigators employed by the Executive 

 Committee in institutions approved by it. 



(c) When the Government, on the recommendation 

 of the Executive Committee, and after consulting the 

 Advisory Council, deems such arrangements desirable, 

 researches of the same nature as those referred to in 

 the preceding paragraph should be carried out in an 

 institution or institutions (including laboratories and 

 hospital wards) which should be under the immediate 

 control of the Executive Committee to the extent and 

 for the purpose in question. 



(d) Money should be available in order that special 

 inquiries — e.g. of a statistical and sociological nature 

 — should be carried out by the Executive Committee 

 if necessary, independently of any particular institu- 

 tion. 



(e) The question whether a sum of money, not 

 exceeding 1000Z. per annum, should be available as a 

 prize or prizes for the best original research work done 

 should be considered. The money should only be 

 awarded if the discovery is of sufficient importance 

 and utility. 



As regards research workers the Departmental 

 Committee recommended that some workers of 

 proved and exceptional ability should be enabled 

 to devote their whole time to research work, and 

 should be given a definite and adequate salary, 

 and be entitled to a pension. The Committee also 

 considered that efforts should be made to retain 

 for research work young and talented investigators 

 who would otherwise tend to drift into other lines. 



The Departmental Committee computed that the 

 income for the purposes of research under the 

 Insurance Act will amount to about 57,000/. a year, 

 and the Medical Research Committee will be 

 called upon to draw up a general plan of research 

 to be entered upon at once, and to be carried 

 out year by year. But before the Minister respon- 



