43 2 



NATURE 



[June 26, 19 r 



railway fares in Canada and the United States, and a 

 list of hotels with their charges is provided. 



The Chemical Industry and Engineering- Exhibition 

 at the Agricultural Hall, which was opened by Lord 

 Desborough last week, is an interesting and successful 

 development of a similar exhibition held two years ago. 

 Its essential aim is to give chemical manufacturers 

 an opportunity of inspecting the most recent forms of 

 machinery and appliances rather than to display the 

 actual products of chemical manufacture, although a 

 number of the latter, of a more special character, are 

 included. The bulk of the floor-space is accordingly 

 allotted to apparatus and machinery, of which a large 

 proportion is concerned with the transport and treat- 

 ment of the products dealt with in chemical industries. 

 Acid-resisting materials of so-called "passive" iron 

 (" Ironac " and "Tantiron"), and acid-proof stone- 

 ware suitable for pipes, pumps, valves, taps, the 

 cascade concentration of acids, &c, are prominent in 

 this connection, together with a number of new forms 

 of air-compressors, boiler-furnaces, and vacuum dry- 

 ing - apparatus. Safety appliances for use in works 

 are also well represented. These include safety- 

 helmets, face-masks, respirators, &c, and a variety 

 of appliances for life-saving and first-aid in case of 

 accidents. The exhibits of chemical products com- 

 prise a well-selected collection of mercurials, bismuth 

 compounds, and other pharmaceutical preparations, 

 an exhibit designed to show the progressive stages 

 in the manufacture of coal-tar colours from the raw 

 materials to the finished dyestuffs, and such varied 

 products as china clay, hydrogen peroxide prepara- 

 tions, and materials for the generation of acetylene. 

 Good exhibits of laboratory apparatus are contributed 

 by a number of well-known firms, and an exception- 

 ally interesting collection of old glass apparatus which 

 had been in actual use by Brandt, Hennell, and War- 

 ington has been loaned by the Society of Apothecaries. 

 Mr. Walter F. Reid has acted as president of the 

 exhibition, Mr. Thos. Tyrer as chairman of the ad- 

 visory council, and Mr. F. W. Bridges as organising 

 manager. 



The Dailv Malta Chronicle of May 31 reports a 

 lecture delivered by Mr. Francesco Calleja on the 

 early culture of the island. He laid stress on the 

 importance of Phoenician influence, and quoted a 

 number of words to prove that the Greek language 

 was largely indebted to the Semitic tongues. These 

 are positions which many modern archaeologists 

 decline to accept. For instance, Mr. D. G. Hogarth 

 is inclined to regard the Phoenicians as mere huck- 

 stering traders, who followed sea-ways long before 

 opened by others ; and Dr. Farnell shows that Baby- 

 lonia exercised practically no influence upon Greek 

 cults and beliefs. On the philological side, until the 

 Minoan inscriptions collected by Sir A. Evans are 

 interpreted, it is premature to postulate the origin 

 of the .rEgean languages ; and when the new material 

 is available it will probably be found that Phoenician 

 influence is much less important than the lecturer is 

 inclined to believe. 



Naturen for May contains an obituary notice, with 

 a portrait, of Vilhelm Ferdinand Johan Storm, late 

 NO. 2278, VOL. 91J 



conservator of the zoological collections of the Klg. 

 Norske Videnskapsselskaps, who died on May 19 of 

 the present year. Dr. Storm, who was born on Sep- 

 tember 28, 1835, took an active part in the affairs of 

 the museum for more than fifty-seven years. 



As a supplement to the second edition of his 

 " Herpetologia Europaea " (Jena, G. Fischer), of which 

 a notice appeared in Nature at the close of 1912, 

 Dr. E. Schreiber has published a German translation 

 of the Latin diagnoses of the various genera and 

 species of reptiles and amphibians given in the 

 original work. 



According to the June number of The Museums 

 Journal, the executive committee of the Museums 

 Association is endeavouring to enlist the services of 

 members of that body possessing expert knowledge 

 of particular subjects — both in science and art — for the 

 purpose of naming specimens that may be submitted 

 to them by members and associates. Several gentle- 

 men have already consented to undertake these duties, 

 and it is proposed, if the scheme is well taken up, to 

 publish lists of the names of the experts in The 

 Museums Journal. 



The very remarkable success that has attended 

 the appointment of personal guides at the British 

 Museum and its Natural History branch in Cromwell 

 Road induced Lord Sudeley to inquire in the House 

 of Lords of his Majesty's Government on April 29 

 whether arrangements could not be made for a 

 similar . system of popular instruction in other 

 museums and institutions in the metropolis. The 

 motion was supported, on behalf of the Education 

 Committee of the London County Council, by Lord 

 Greville, and was also favourably received by other 

 speakers. It was, however, pointed out that there 

 were certain difficulties in the case of the National 

 Gallery on account of students' days, and in the 

 Wallace Collection owing to the limited amount of 

 standing room. 



In the recently published volume of the Journal 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society for 1912, Mr. A. D. 

 Hal! discusses the value of soil analyses to the farmer. 

 He shows the anomalous results often obtained by a 

 chemical examination of the soil, and deals at greater 

 length with the importance of a better knowledge 

 of the physical conditions in the soil. Although 

 chemical methods may indicate certain manurial re- 

 quirements of any given soil, a more trustworthy 

 pronouncement as to its suitability or otherwise for 

 the growth of particular crops can only be made after 

 a soil survey. 



A comprehensive survey of the conditions of the 

 date-sugar industry in Bengal and an account of its 

 chemistry and agriculture are contributed by Messrs. 

 H. E. Annett, G. K. Lele, and Bhailal M. Amin to 

 the Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in 

 India (vol. ii., No. 6, 1913). Covering as it does 

 such a wide range of questions, and being to a 

 large extent technical in character, it is not possible 

 to do justice here to the greater part of the paper. 

 Much interest, however, attaches to the suggestions 

 '■ for future improvements, among which may be men- 



