June 13, 1912] 
NATURE 
381 
Africa, and for astronomical affairs to the Astro- 
nomer, Union Observatory, Johannesburg, Union of 
South Africa. 
Pror, P. Lenarp, professor of physics at the 
University of Heidelberg, celebrated his fiftieth 
birthday on June 7, the event being marked by great 
rejoicings among his present and past students. 
Prof. Lenard is best known by his fundamental re- 
he was elected Nobel laureate in 1905; but he has 
done a great amount of work of the first importance 
on other subjects, having, in particular, elucidated | 
the various actions of ultra-violet light and the many 
phenomena of phosphorescence. His publications on 
the former have been recently augmented by a series 
of papers describing experiments carried out in 
collaboration with Dr. Ramsauer, in which the photo- 
electric action on gases and the chemical effects of 
the light were clearly distinguished, and attributed 
to definite groups of wave-lengths. The work on 
phosphorescence, begun in conjunction with Klatt, 
and since developed in great detail by Lenard and his 
students, has greatly added to our knowledge of the 
mechanism of emission of light by the atom. The 
new institute of physics now being constructed for 
Lenard at Heidelberg is rapidly nearing completion, 
and will put at his disposal greatly increased con- 
veniences of laboratory equipment. 
A Reuter message from New York reports that a 
steamer arrived at Seward (Alaska) on Sunday 
covered with voleanic dust from an eruption at 
Katmai, in the Aleutian Islands. It is stated by 
those on board that a steady stream of voleanic frag- 
ments and ash followed a terrific explosion, spread- 
ing over the countryside. The sun was obscured. 
Although the vessel was seventy miles distant, at four 
‘o'clock: on Thursday afternoon complete darkness set 
in and ash fell in a thick layer on the decks. It is 
estimated that volcanic ash covers three hundred 
square miles of fertile country. According to a tele- 
gram from Seattle (Washington State) the volcanic 
disturbance is rendering wireless telegraphic com- 
munication with Kadiak, Rospberry, and Afognac, 
three of the most important islands of south-western 
Alaska, impossible. 
Sirk Wittiam Witicocks lectured before the Royal 
Geographical Society on June 10 on ** The Garden of 
Eden and its Restoration,” a title which will be easily 
understood as referring to the great work which he 
has been planning at the request of the Turkish 
Government—the regulation of the lower Euphrates | 
and Tigris and the use of their waters to restore the 
former fertility of the territories through which they 
flow, the now desolate seat of some of the oldest 
known civilisations. He explained the difficulties of 
raging floods with which the ancient engineers had 
to contend, contrasting them with the regular and 
comparatively gentle rise of the Nile, and remarking 
that Egypt, where everything was made easy, * pro- 
duced no world ideas.” He placed the original home 
of the inhabitants of Sumer and Akkad in Arabia, 
close at hand. He described his discovery of a de- 
NO. 2224, VOL. 89] 
| monoplane, time, 2h. 26m. 39s. 
| on a 70-h.p. Gnome Blériot monoplane, was the first 
pression in the desert, containing Euphrates shells, 
just as the limits of the ancient lake Moeris are 
marked by Nile shells. He designed the Habbania 
escape to carry the overflow of the Euphrates into this 
depression. He also detailed schemes for the more 
difficult regulation of the Tigris, which the ancient 
engineers never completely effected, and showed that 
the delta of the two rivers, once the works were com- 
searches on the kathode rays, in recognition of which | pleted would be a richer agricultural region than 
Egypt or the Sudan, adding, among other proofs, 
comparative analyses of the soils in the three areas. 
Tue flight round London, the so-called “ Aérial 
Derby,” of eighty-one miles for a gold cup presented 
by The Daily Mail, and cash prizes of 250l., 1ool., 
and sol., given by Mr. Harold Barlow, took place 
without serious mishap on June 8. The starting and 
finishing points were the London Aérodrome at Hen- 
don, and the course lay over Kempton Park, Esher, 
Purley, Purfleet, Epping, and High Barnet. 
Although fifteen machines had been entered, only 
seven went to the starting line, and only five com- 
pleted the course. The official results were given 
as follows:—i1st, G. Hamel (and passenger, Miss 
Trehawke Davies), 70-h.p. Gnome Blériot monoplane, 
time th. 38m. 46s.; 2nd, W. B. R. Moorhouse, 
50-h.p. Gnome Radley-Moorhouse monoplane, time. 
2h. om. 22s.; 3rd, J. Valentine, 50-h.p. Gnome Bristol 
T. O. M. Sopwith, 
to return, but was disqualified for having turned a 
considerable distance inside the Purley mark, having 
missed his course; P. Verrier, carrying a passenger on 
his 7o-h.p. Renault M. Farman biplane, got lost in 
the clouds over Esher, and did not complete the ~ 
course; S. V. Sippe (50-h.p. Gnome Hanriot mono- 
plane) also missed his way; and M. Guillaux (45-h.p. 
Anzani Caudron monoplane) was robbed of the first 
prize by running out of petrol, and being compelled 
to descend only four miles from the finish. The out- 
standing features of the race were the awakening 
interest of the general public, who turned out in vast 
numbers all along the route, the extraordinary speed 
of a comparatively low-powered monoplane (the 
Caudron), showing very great efficiency in design; 
the fact that not a single British motor competed, 
the fact that the successful pilots steered more by 
the course indicated by the crowd of spectators than 
by maps and compass; and, finally, the urgent 
necessity for more delicate and precise instruments for 
aérial navigation. Methods for instantly determining 
the speed over land, the speed of the wind, and the 
amount of drift on an aéroplane have long been 
desired by the aviator, and until they are forthcoming 
| it is impossible to reduce aérial navigation to an 
exact science. 
Tue President of the Local Government Board has 
authorised the following special researches to be 
paid for out of the annual grant voted by Parliament 
in aid of scientific investigations concerning the causes 
and processes of disease :—(1) Further investigations 
(a) as to the distribution of tubercle bacilli in children 
having died between the ages of two and ten years, 
and the special characteristics of such bacilli; and (b) 
