Deceit BUR 2, 1909] 



NA TURE 



birds to its passage back into their blood through the secre- 

 tion of the poison gland of the insect. At the same time 

 he furnished conclusive experimental proof of the part 

 played by the insect in propagating the infection. These 

 fundamental observations have been confirmed and e.\- 

 tended in various directions by other observers, both in 

 the British Empire and elsewhere. 



.•\s a practical consequence of the discoveries of Ross 

 and those who have followed in his footsteps, and of his 

 own unceasing exertions and further investigations during 

 the last few years, scientifically directed measures for the 

 prevention of malaria have been initiated with striking 

 success in many fever-stricken districts all over the world, 

 and particularlv within the British Empire. His investi- 

 gations have also inspired similar work on the spread, by 

 means of mosquitoes or other biting insects, of other 

 formidable diseases, with the result that effective measures 

 have been devised for preventing the spread of these 

 diseases also. 



Dni'v Medal. 



The Davy medal has been awarded to Sir James Dewar, 

 F.R.S. 



Sir James Dewar has been a pioneer in the study of 

 very low temperatures, their production, applications, and 

 effects. 



For many years he has worked continuously in this 

 difTicult domain, and his investigations have resulted from 

 time to time in such achievements as the solidification of 

 oxygen, the liquefaction of fluorine, and the liquefaction 

 and solidification of hydrogen. His improvements in 

 technique have been fundamental. By the construction of 

 vessels in which thermal convection is avoided by the 

 presence of a vacuous layer in their walls, he has 

 enormously simplified the retention and manipulation of 

 matter at very low temperatures. His application of the 

 absorbent effect exerted on gaseous materials by charcoal 

 at low temperatures has placed in the hands of chemists 

 and physicists a most convenient and important method, 

 not only for the production of high vacua, but also for 

 the rapid separation of the constituents of gaseous mix- 

 tures. The modifications in the properties of matter at 

 very low temperatures have been investigated, and remark- 

 able results obtained, including the earliest exact investiga- 

 tions, jointly with Prof. Fleming, on the electric properties 

 of insulators and of metals and alloys. The determination 

 of the properties (critical points, boiling points, &c.) of 

 refractory gases at very low temperatures has involved the 

 practical downward extension of absolute thermometry, 

 with the result that temperatures in the neighbourhood of 

 the absolute zero can be determined correctly to within a 

 degree. Lastly, recent measurements of the rate of forma- 

 tion of helium from radium salt, specially purified by Sir 

 T. Edward Thorpe for his recent atomic weight determina- 

 tion, have provided exact molecular data, throwing light 

 on the nature of the spontaneous disintegration of that 

 very remarkable substance. 



Hughes Medal. 



The Hughes medal falls this year to Richard Tetley 

 Glazebrook, F.R.S. 



Dr. Glazebrook has for many years been closely identified 

 with the construction, testing, and evaluation of electrical 

 standards. Not only has he published important memoirs 

 on these subjects, but, as secretary for a very long period 

 of the Electrical Standards Committee of the British 

 .Association, and more recently as director of the National 

 Physical Laboratory, he has taken a leading and re- 

 sponsible part in this type of scientific work and in con- 

 ferences of international importance. It is thus specially 

 fitting that he should be the recipient of the Hughes medal. 



The anniversary dinner was held at the Hotel Metro- 

 pole on Tuesday evening-. Sir .Archibald Geikie 

 occupied the chair, and a large number of fellows and 

 distinguished guests was present. In proposing the 

 toast of "The Royal Society," Mr. Butcher, xM.P., 

 remarked that organised science presents the most 

 signal example of cooperative enterprise in the things 

 of the mind. Modern scientific research demands r 

 host of humble labourers in every field. The hewer.- 

 of wood and the drawers of water are as necessary as 

 NX). 2092, VOL. 82] 



the men of genius. Like the builder of a mediaeval 

 cathedral, the obscure worker in the laboratory adds 

 his stone to the fabric, and passes from sight ; the 

 individual is efTaced, and the structure that slowly 

 rises is the collective achievement of many forgotten 

 workers and even of many generations, guided, how- 

 ever, by a few master minds. \A'hile art and literature 

 bear the stamp of permanence, the movement of the 

 sciences produces another kind of effect — that of pro- 

 gressiveness and limitless expansion. Yet, in spite 

 of this irresistible forward movement, the man of 

 science, like the artist, is aware that the ideal may 

 still escape his grasp, and that the quest of truth still 

 remains the search for something that must ever be 

 pursued, that ever recedes, and never can be wholly 

 attainable. 



Replying to the toast, the president said that at its 

 foundation every side of intellectual life seems to have 

 been represented in the society. The non-scientific 

 elements which so preponderated at the start were 

 gradually reduced as years went on, but a wide and 

 liberal view of the claims of admission continued to be 

 taken, and the more distinguished in each generation 

 in affairs, in literature, and in art were elected as 

 fellows. This custom is still kept up, but with in- 

 creasing stringency, until now the number of such 

 persons is limited to two in every two years. There 

 are some fellows who believe that the general interests 

 of the society would be promoted by the introduction 

 of a larger leaven of culture which is not scientific. 



The Japanese Ambassador, responding to the toast of 

 "The Guests," said it is barely forty years since 

 Western science was transplanted into Japan on any- 

 thing like an adequate scale. For the progress being 

 made Japan owes an immense debt of gratitude to the 

 scientific men of the West, and particularly to scientific 

 men of Great Britain. 



NOTES. 

 The meeting of the Royal Irish Academy on Tuesday, 

 November 30, was occupied by a commemoration of 

 Charles Darwin, the date nearly coinciding with that of 

 the publication of " The Origin of Species " fifty years 

 before. The president. Dr. F. Tarleton, opened the pro- 

 ceedings, and the following short addresses were given on 

 the influence of Darwin's work: — geology, Prof. G. A. J. 

 Cole ; geographical distribution of animals and plants, Dr. 

 R. F. Scharff ; zoology, Prof. G. H. Carpenter; botany, 

 Prof. T. Johnson ; anthropology. Prof. A. F. Dixon. 



The Washington correspondent of the Times announces 

 that a recommendation is to be submitted to the Depart- 

 ment of Commerce and Labour by the Bureau of Fisheries 

 that the Government should bring about an international 

 conference for the formulation of an international marine 

 game law to protect from extinction seals, whales, 

 walruses, and other sea mammals. The countries which 

 would be invited by the United States to send representa- 

 tives to the proposed conference are Great Britain, Russia, 

 and Japan. 



The council of the Child-study Society has approached 

 Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., to assist its efforts to advance 

 scientifically our knowledge of child-life. Prof. Pearson 

 has drafted a schedule for studying the factors influencing 

 the social life of the child, which be desires to have filled 

 in by heads of families or by teachers intimate with 

 families. The number in the family need not be large, but 

 particulars of father, mother, and at least two children are 

 required. The schedules are being distributed through 

 branch secretaries of the Child-study Society, but it may 

 be difficult in a short time to secure the number requisite 



