Juty 18, 1912] 
NATURE 
505 
advance information supplied by Mr. Barker, with | 
Prof. yon Fedorow’s kind permission, in the 
writer’s “Crystallography and Practical Crystal 
Measurement ”’ (Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1911), 
the account now definitely published in German 
requiring nothing to be corrected in that forecast. 
Am Eeebin DUTTON. 
MALARIA IN INDIA. 
al Bat fourth number of Paludism (Proceedings 
of the Committee for the Study of Malaria 
in India), published last March, begins with an 
interesting account of , the proceedings of the 
second meeting of the general Malaria Committee 
held in Bombay on November 16-17, 1911. This 
meeting appears to have been of a very important 
nature. The president was the Hon. Surgeon- 
General Sir Charles Lukis, C.S.I., the new 
Director-General of the Indian Medical Service, 
and his introductory address is well worth the 
close attention of all sanitarians in tropical coun- 
tries. After some preliminary remarks, he pro- 
ceeded to say that he viewed with concern the 
tendency amongst malaria workers to divide into 
two camps, namely, those who advocate anti- 
mosquito measures, and those who pin their faith 
on quinine prophylaxis. He directed attention to 
a previous speech of his, in which he said that 
“whilst agreeing that quinine prophylaxis, properly 
carried out, was one of the most valuable weapons in 
the fight against malaria, and whilst admitting that 
in rural areas it might be the only weapon at the 
disposal of Government, I felt bound to express my 
opinion that, if they were to place sole reliance on 
this measure in Indian villages, they were doomed to 
disappointment. Quinine prophylaxis should go hand 
in hand with general sanitation and with the destruc- 
tion of anopheles breeding grounds wherever this can 
be accomplished at reasonable expense, and it seems 
to me that recent observations justify us in thinking 
that this destruction is not likely to be as costly as 
has hitherto been supposed. Quinine has un- 
doubtedly conferred inestimable benefits upon the 
individual; but it never has, and never will, be of 
equal value to the community as a whole, and you 
cannot get away from the fact that if there were no 
mosquitoes there could be no malaria. I fully realise 
that in some of the hyperendemic areas mosquito 
destruction may be a counsel of perfection, but even 
there much good may be done by reducing the 
numbers of the special species which acts as the 
carrier, and, I ask you, should we halt in our activity 
because we cannot attain to an ideal perfection? I 
recognise the fact that no one method will suffice as 
a general anti-malarial measure; I recognise the 
power of each in its proper place, but I hold strong'y 
that wherever possible anti-mosquito measures must 
be carried out. I also recognise the importance of 
preliminary investigation, but it must not be carried 
to extremes; the time has come for definite action on 
well-considered and practical lines.” 
This official pronouncement will be looked upon 
with gratitude by all those who have been urging 
the wider policy in India for years past, and will, 
we hope, prove to be the starting point of a new 
era. The Director-General proceeded to give some 
NO. 2229, VOL. 89] 
| garden-party 
good advice on many other points; for instance, 
that actual operations may with advantage be 
carried out in conjunction with investigation 
(page 6), and that, indeed, in certain instances the 
former may be the only method of investigation— 
a point which has long required emphasising. He 
added that— 
“if we wait until our experts have made a complete 
| investigation of all the problems connected with the 
epidemiology ana endemiology of the disease, there is 
the danger that India will remain for many years 
practically untouched. We require then two classes 
of men—the scientific experts and the practical 
workers.” 
The other proceedings at the Conference showed 
that this advice is already being largely followed 
in India. The various provincial organisations for 
dealing with malaria are described, and several 
good articles and discussions are given. Both Sir 
David Semple and Major Robertson (the new 
Sanitary Commissioner for the Government of 
India) strongly supported the Director-General’s 
remarks. Captain McKendrick, the Statistical 
Officer of the Indian Sanitary Department, fur- 
nished a very interesting paper on the pathometry 
of malaria according to the mathematical studies 
which were discussed by myself and Mr. A. J. 
Lotka in Nature of October 5, 1911, and Febru- 
ary 8, 1912, respectively. Captain McKendrick, 
who is a capable mathematician, has also added 
some interesting remarks on the subject, but these 
cannot be discussed except at some length. 
References were made to Major Christopher’s very 
interesting researches in the Andaman Islands and 
to Dr. Bentley’s Report on Malaria Prevention in 
Bombay; and Colonels Dyson and Adie, Majors 
Wilkinson, Glen Liston, and Robertson, and 
others added original information on details. I 
have only one fault to find, and that is that the 
printing and get-up of Paludism are so very much 
inferior to the excellence of the matter contained, a 
fact which may explain why the Director-General 
has been obliged to ask for more scientific con- 
tributions. RonaLp Ross. 
THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROYAL 
SOCIETY. 
HE celebrations in connection with the 250th 
anniversary of the Royal Society opened on 
Monday last with an evening reception of the 
delegates in the rooms of the Society. On Tuesday 
there was a commemorative service in Westminster 
Abbey at noon; a formal reception of the delegates 
and presentation of addresses in the library of 
the Royal Society in the afternoon, and a banquet 
in the Guildhall in the evening. Yesterday visits 
were paid to places of interest in London; a 
was given by the Duchess of 
Northumberland at Syon House and a conver- 
sazione was held at Burlington House at night. 
To-day further visits are being paid to places of 
interest, and fellows of the Society and the 
delegates are being entertained by their Majesties 
