436 



NA TURE 



[February io, 1910 



exhibits under the microscope, as well as exhibits of 

 natural-history specimens, nature photographs, and other 

 objects of scientific interest. 



Sir Patrick Manson has been elected a correspondant 

 of the Paris Academy of Sciences' in succession to the late 

 Sir Burdon Sanderson. 



According to a Reuter telegram from Berlin, published 

 in the Times of February 3, the expedition dispatched to 

 German East Africa to collect dinosaurian remains is 

 proving successful. A femur, measuring 6 feet 10 inches, 

 is specially mentioned, on account of being nearly 2 feet 

 longer than the corre.sponding bone of the Carnegie 

 Diplodocus. 



The King has presented to the natural history branch 

 of the British Museum the skeleton of his famous thorough- 

 bred " Persimmon," which has been set up by Rowland 

 Ward, Ltd., Piccadilly. This is the first complete skeleton 

 of a thoroughbred to be exhibited in the museum, the 

 siveleton of " Stockwell," which is also contained in the 

 collection, being represented in the e.xhibited series merely 

 by the skull and the limbs of one side. In common with 

 most or all thoroughbreds with the blood of " King Tom " 

 in their veins, " Persimmon " exhibits a trace of the 

 sinuous skuII-profile characteristic of Arabs. The museum 

 previously possessed a statuette of "Persimmon," pre- 

 sented in 1905 by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. 



The first ordinary meeting of a new society, formed by 

 the amalgamation of the Society of Engineers and the 

 Civil and Mechanical Engineers' Society, was held on 

 Monday, February 7, at Caxton Hall, Westminster. Mr. 

 Diogo A. Symons, the first president of the new Society 

 of Engineers, delivered an inaugural address. Referring 

 to the examination which is to be the qualification for 

 fellowship of the society, he believes that its introduction 

 will have the same beneficial effect as has been the case 

 in the Institution of Civil Engineers. Proceeding to more 

 general subjects, he directed attention to the value of work- 

 shop training to engineering students, whether they intend 

 to take up the civil or the mechanical branch of the pro- 

 fession. Speaking of the education of young engineers, 

 Mr. Symons emphasised the importance of a thorough 

 grounding in fundamental principles before any attempt 

 at specialisation is attempted, and laid stress on the 

 advantage of gaining engineering experience with a con- 

 tractor on public works. The tendency of engineering 

 students to accept salaried appointments after too brief a 

 training was deprecated, because such appointments usually 

 involve loss of valuable instruction and experience. 



-According to the Pioneer Mail of Allahabad, a pre- 

 liminary astronomical conference was held recently at 

 Papanasanum, and another will be held later at Kaladi 

 (Travancore Native State). Astronomers from all parts 

 of India, representing the three different schools of astro- 

 nomy, viz. Siddhanatha, Vakya, and Drigganitha, are 

 being invited. It is also proposed to give a prize of not 

 less tlian Rs. 100 (.one hundred) to each of these different 

 schools of astronomy ; but if Pundits from distant parts 

 cannot come to the conference, they may send written 

 papers in Sanskrit or EngUsh. The objects of the con- 

 ferences are to check the irregularities in calculations now 

 found in the Indian Almanac, and to arrive at some satis- 

 factory solution with reference to the system of calculation 

 to be adopted in the making of future almanacs. 



The second Congrfes International du Froid will be held 

 at Vienna on October 6-12, before the close of the Inter- 

 ; national Sporting Exhibition, and the University has been 

 NO. 2102, VOL. 82] 



lent for the meetings. Briefly, the subjects to be dis- 

 cussed are the science of cold ; the industrial production of 

 cold ; the application of cold to alimentation and to other 

 industries; transport; and legislation. The Archduke 

 Leopold Salvator, at the request of the Emperor of Austria, 

 is acting as patron of the congress, and receptions will be 

 given to the delegates by the Court and by the towns of 

 Vienna, Budapest, &c. Papers must be submitted to the 

 Association International du Froid through the British 

 committee. Full particulars of the congress may be 

 obtained from Mr. R. M. Leonard, honorary secretary for 

 the United Kingdom, 3 Oxford Court, Cannon Street, 

 London, E.C. 



The scientific expedition dispatched to Dutch New Guinea 

 by the members of the British Ornithologists' Union has 

 sustained a great loss by the death of Mr. Wilfred Stalker, 

 one of its most skilled naturalists. At the present time 

 no details are known beyond the melancholy fact that he 

 was drowned on January 9. The news was received by tele- 

 gram from Batavia on February i, and had probably been 

 forwarded by steamer from the Aru Islands. With this 

 telegram Mr. Ogilvie-Grant received a long letter from Mr. 

 Stalker, written from " Amboina, December 24, 1909." 

 In this he stated that he had been successful in engaging 

 the services of 150 carriers, and was expecting the arrival 

 of Mr. Wafter Goodfellow, the leader of the expedition, in 

 a few days. He also mentioned the dispatch of various 

 cases containing collections of mammals and birds, &c., 

 which had been procured in Central Ceram, and are 

 likely to prove of great interest. Mr. Stalker left England 

 about a year ago, and proceeded to the .^ru Islands to 

 obtain living examples of birds of paradise for Sir William 

 Ingram. It had been arranged that, after completing this 

 engagement, he should join the other members of the 

 British Ornithologists' Union e.xpedition, filling up his time 

 until their arrival by collecting natural-history specimens 

 and in making the preliminary arrangements for transport 

 in New Guinea. His letter, mentioned above, states how 

 usefully he had employed his time in carrying out his 

 instructions. Mr. Stalker had already had considerable 

 experience of life in New Guinea, having spent several 

 years (between 1904-6) at the gold mines on the Mambare 

 River, in the northern part of the British territory. It 

 was then that he first began to collect specimens for the 

 Natural History Museum. Subsequently, at the suggestion 

 of Mr. Oldfield Thomas, who had disc6vered his great 

 ability in trapping and preparing mammals, he was sent 

 by Sir William Ingram and the Hon. John Forest to 

 Alexandra, in the northern territory of South Australia, 

 and in 1907 to Inkerman, in East Queensland. In both 

 these places he did admirable work, and formed fine 

 collections of mammals, which were presented by his 

 patrons to the Natural History Museum. In 1909, in 

 company with Mr. C. R. Horsburgh, he again visited 

 British New Guinea and the Aru Islands on behalf of Sir 

 William Ingram, and was successful in bringing back a 

 large number of living birds of paradise, including a male 

 of the beautiful blue bird of paradise {Paradisornis 

 rudolphi), which had not previously been brought to Europe 

 alive. Early in 1909, after a short stay in England, he 

 again started on the present undertaking, when he so un- 

 fortunately lost his life. Mr. Stalker was quite a young 

 man — only thirty-one years of age — having been born on 

 January 17, 1879, and it is sad to think that the successful 

 career of this talented naturalist should have been 

 terminated so early and in so tragic a manner. 



Dr. C. C. Hoffeus, of Shoneberg, near Berlin, has 

 favoured us with a copy of the Leipziger lagehlatt for 



