6. 4 



NATURE 



[August 14, igi; 



number of instructive illustrations set in a right light 

 the significance of cell division for biology and the 

 spread of cancer; and afforded far-reaching insight 

 into the complicated means of curing tumours. He 

 reached the summit of his work in the last few years, 

 during which he prosecuted his studies, which must 

 be regarded as classical, in the staining of living 

 tissues. Goldmann recognised clearly that if we desire 

 to know and study the functions of the living cell the 

 staining of living tissues offers the most profitable 

 means. There were previously only a few works 

 dating from an older generation, such as those on 

 methylene blue, but they, corresponding to their own 

 time, followed an incomplete technique. Here came 

 in Goldmann's work. He succeeded in discovering a 

 method of carrying out an exact pursuit of intra vitam 

 staining in microscopic sections. The staining mate- 

 rial, pvrrol blue, possesses the peculiarity of colour- 

 ing a verv special kind of cells which are found in 

 the connective tissue and of making them visible to 

 the eye, while the dye allows certain round granules 

 contained in these cells to show up distinctly and in 

 an intensive blue. Now Goldmann was able with the 

 help of his method completely to clear up the great 

 significance of the function of these cells, and to show 

 that both in normal functions, as, for example, in 

 digestion, and also in the majority of disease derange- 

 ments, as in the case of tuberculosis and carcinoma, 

 they play a very important part. His last important 

 work also, " Ueber die Vitalfarbung am Central- 

 nervensystem," dealt with that method and arrived at 

 important conclusions concerning the nutrition of the 

 central nervous system and the circulation of the 

 cerebro-spinal fluid. 



Prof. H. C. Jones, professor of physical chemistry 

 at the Johns Hopkins University, has been awarded 

 the Edward Longstreth medal of the Franklin Insti- 

 tute of Philadelphia for his work on the nature of 

 solutions. 



The inaugural address at the re-opening of the 

 School of Pharmacy in October will, by invitation of 

 the Pharmaceutical Society, be delivered by Dr. F. B. 

 Power, director of the Wellcome Research Labora- 

 tories. On the same occasion Dr. Power will be pre- 

 sented with the Hanbury medal. 



The Paris correspondent of Tlie limes announces 

 that the expedition to Franz Josef Land, under the 

 command of M. Jules de Payer, left Havre on August 

 10. The object of the expedition is to explore the 

 little-known north-eastern corner of Franz Josef Land, 

 and a programme of scientific work has been pre- 

 pared. The base will be established in Zichy Land. 



Prof. Charles F. Marvin, professor of meteorology 

 tri tin 1 U.S. Weather Bureau, has been appointed to 



'1 Mr. Willis L. Moore as chief of that bureau. 



The new head of the office has been in the Govern- 

 ment service since 1884, and is widely known for his 

 important meteorological investigations. It is an- 

 nounced that under the new administration the 

 Weather Bureau will pay greater attention to such 

 weather reports and forecasts as are likely to affect 

 agriculture. 



NO. 2285, VOL. 91] 



The fifth annual conference of the National Asso- 

 ciation for the Prevention of Consumption was opened 

 by the Prime Minister at the Central Hall, Westmin- 

 ster, on August 4, Lord Balfour of Burleigh presiding. 

 A considerable portion of the session was occupied 

 with a discussion on tuberculin treatment, in which 

 Dr. H. W. G. Mackenzie, Prof. Sims Woodhead, 

 Prof. Sali, and Dr. Lydia Rabinowitsch took part. 

 On August 5 Sir R. W. Philip delivered an address 

 on the need for coordination of anti-tuberculosis 

 measures, which evoked an interesting discussion. 



Official tests of a system of wireless telephony 

 invented by a Japanese electrician, Mr. Torikata, have 

 led to the adoption of the system by the Japanese 

 Government, which has ordered all the shipping com- 

 panies subsidised by it to install the apparatus on their 

 principal vessels. The instructions have already been 

 followed by the three largest Japanese mail steamship 

 lines, we learn from The Japan Chronicle (July 17), 

 with eminently satisfactory results. Patent rights for 

 the invention have been secured in Japan, England, 

 and France, and others are pending in Germany and 

 the United States. It is stated that the present range 

 of audibility of the Japanese system is sixty miles. 

 The advantage claimed for the apparatus over compet- 

 ing systems is its simplicity, it being no more difficult 

 to use than an ordinary telephone. 



Asama-vama. the well-known Japanese volcano, has 

 again been displaying great activity. On June 17, 

 reports the Tokyo Asahi, an eruption occurred which 

 is believed to be the most violent on record. Dense 

 black clouds rose to a great height above the crater, 

 and two streams of lava poured forth, one flowing 

 towards Rogome Station, on the south, and the other 

 invading the forest in Kita Saku district, on the west. 

 Further eruptions occurred on June 20 and 26. A 

 heavy fall of volcanic ash, lasting three hours, took 

 place on the former date at Takazaki, thirty miles 

 east of the volcano. On June 26 Dr. Omori, the dis- 

 tinguished Japanese seismologist, with a party of 

 assistants, ascended the volcano with the view of 

 investigating the conditions, but found advance beyond 

 the ninth stage impossible. The party retired to the 

 observatory at the base, intending to await a favour- 

 able opportunity of reaching the summit. Several 

 cracks appeared in the upper half of the volcano, 

 from which issued volumes of dust and vapour, and 

 there were indications that a new crater is forming. 



We announce with regret the death, as the result of 

 an aeroplane accident, of Mr. S. F. Cody, the well- 

 known airman, while flying with a passenger near 

 Aid. 1 shot on August 7. The machine the collapse of 

 which caused the accident was the new large biplane 

 which Mr. Cody had built for the purpose of compet- 

 ing in the coming waterplane race round Great Britain. 

 It was as a kite-flyer that Cody first came into pro- 

 minence. In 1903, after two failures, he all but suc- 

 ceeded in crossing from Calais to Dover in a collapsible 

 14-ft. boat drawn by a kite. In 1906 the War Office 

 appointed Cody chief instructor in kite-flying. In 

 1907 he was largely responsible for the engineering 

 work of the Army airship, Nulli Secundus. In 1909 

 he achieved a cross-country flight of forty miles in 



