July 3, 1913] 



NATURE 



469 



tures were caused by small strain explosions taking 

 place inside these bones. Yet there is no alternative 

 explanation to offer. For I do not think it is imagin- 

 able that any known forces of electric attraction or 

 repulsion could exert enough violence to break bones. 

 ■\t any rate, the physicists appear to know nothing 

 of electric forces of the magnitude that would be 

 required here. In a few well-recorded instances which 

 are extraordinary almost to the point of being in- 

 credible, strokes of lightning have effected amputa- 

 tions. , , ... , 



Unless sudden death follows, the probability that a 

 person struck bv lightning will recover is large; 

 Dechambre collected 365 instances in which the imme- 

 diate effects of the stroke were survived, and found 

 that only fifteen of these victims died subsequently 

 from late effects of the lightning. It seems to be 

 very generally assumed that immediate treatment 

 would improve the prognosis considerably, and that 

 manv of the people killed bv lightning are only appar- 

 ently dead, and still capable of recovery if properly 

 treated during the next few minutes. I do not know 

 1 im statistical evidence to prove this point. 



\t the present day only general advice can be 

 given, as the accumulated records have shown that 

 no plaee above ground is completely protected against 

 lightning. It is certainly safer to be indoors than 

 out, and a large house is much safer than a shanty. 

 The windows and doors of the room in which one is 

 should be shut, and one should keep away from the 

 walls, and particularly from the fireplace, because, 

 when' a chimney-stack is struck, the contents of the 

 chimney and the fireplace are often blown out into 

 the room and cause bodilv injuries. A great many 

 people have been struck in sheds and barns, espei ially 

 when they have been near doors or windows, or in 

 currents of air. Turley recommended the centre of a 

 railway carriage at a distance from the engine as the 

 securest place of all; Schefcik, a feather bed. To 

 take refuse in the cellars merely to avoid a thunder- 

 storm is not necessary as a routine, though in excep- 

 tional cases it may be advisable. 



The advice given by various authors to persons 

 caught out of doors in a thunderstorm is contradic- 

 tory. It is probablv unwise to take shelter in a shed 

 unless one can get out of the way of doors, windows, 

 and draughts while one is in it. A shed containing 

 domestic animals is certainly more dangerous than 

 the open. If one has to remain in the open, there are 

 certain things that should be avoided at any cost. 

 The first of these is the proximity of wire fences, 

 because when such a fence is struck the electric dis- 

 charge may be carried along the wires and cause 

 death at a" distance from the place actually struck. 

 The second is proximity to such things as hedges, 

 ponds, and streams, isolated trees, crowds of people, 

 and herds of domestic animals. Crowds of people or 

 animals seem to have a mild attraction for lightning, 

 very possibly by virtue of the warmth and dampness 

 thev impart to the atmosphere immediately round 

 them. It has often been said that to have had the 

 clothes thoroughly wetted by rain and rendered con- 

 ducting gives some protection to people who are 

 struck bv diverting the path and violence of the light- 

 ning from the body to the clothes. I have found 

 seven well-recorded instances in which the effect of 

 the stroke was to blow all, or practically all, the 

 wetted clothes off the body, by the generation of 

 steam as I believe. There can be no doubt that a 

 part of the enerev of the lightninsr was expended on 

 the clothes in these cases, but three of the seven 

 victims were killed notwithstanding. So the protec- 

 tion of wet clothes cannot be considered at all com- 

 plete. 



So far as treatment is concerned, persons struck 



NO. 2279, VOL. qi] 



and apparentlv killed by lightning should at once be 

 given plenty of fresh "air, their clothes should be 

 loosened, and artificial respiration by Schafer's or 

 Sylvester's method should be applied and should be 

 continued until either recovery occurs or cooling of 

 the body and rigor mortis show conclusively that death 

 has taken place. In the medical writings of from 

 fifty to two hundred years ago one often sees bleeding 

 recommended, and this might well be of service in 

 those cases of lightning-stroke in which the heart goes 

 on beating while the respiration stops. If it were 

 immediately— within a few minutes— available, to give 

 strong electric shocks to the pra;cordia would be well 

 worth trying in desperate cases. As regards other 

 remedies— such as stimulants in all forms, hot or cold 

 applications, the inhalation of pungent vapours— very 

 many have been recommended, but none seem to have 

 met with anv success. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Sheffield.— Mr. W. G. Fearnsides, fellow and lec- 

 turer in natural sciences at Sidney Sussex College, 

 and demonstrator in petrology in the University of 

 Cambridge, has been appointed to the Sorby chair 

 of geology. 



-\ccoRDi\r, to an announcement in the "Political 

 Notes" of The Times, there is reason to believe that 

 the Government has abandoned the intention of intro- 

 ducing this session the Education Bill which was to 

 have 'embodied the scheme under consideration by 

 Lord Haldane's Cabinet Committee. Every effort is 

 bein« made to lighten the Government programme so 

 that Parliament " may be prorogued at a reasonable 

 date in August. 



It is announced that their Majesties intend to invite 

 to a garden-party at Buckingham Palace on Saturday, 

 lulv 10, representatives of the teaching profession in 

 London. We understand that invitations will short y 

 be issued to responsible head-teachers and principals 

 of schools, institutes, and colleges of every type con- 

 stituting the public system of education in the county 

 of London. A special choir of children selected from 

 public elementary schools will sing before then- 

 Majesties. 



In support of the foundation of a Western Univer- 

 sity in Central China, a meeting of members of Par- 

 liament was held in the House of Commons on June 

 26 Canon Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil said that 

 nothing is being asked for out of the pocket of the 

 British taxpayer. The suggestion is that the Bntish 

 Government should forgo part of the Boxer in- 

 demnity. We learn from The Times that it was 

 pointed out that the Boxer indemnity claimed 

 bv Great Britain amounted to more than 

 7"ooo,oooL, and of that amount only 109,000/. 

 has been paid. A sum of 250,000! spread 

 over a long period would meet the cost of the new 

 University. A motion that a deputation be appointed 

 to ur£?e upon the Prime Minister the desirability ot 

 a Government grant, either out of the Boxer indemnity 

 fund or otherwise, towards the establishment of the 

 proposed University was agreed to. 



The Board of Education has issued (Cd. 6866) the 

 regulations, which will come into force on August 1, 

 for university tutorial classes in England and Wales. 

 The Board will be prepared to make special grants 

 in aid of part-time courses in subjects of general as 

 distinct from vocational education, given under the 

 educational supervision either of a university or urn- 



