26 



NA JURE 



[July i, 1922 



Manchester. — Mr. E. D. Telford, lecturer in 

 practical surgery in the University . and a member of 

 the Honorary Staff of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, 

 has been appointed professor of systematic surgery. 



By the will of the late Sir William Lorimer, who 

 died on April 9 last, the Court of the University of 

 Glasgow will receive the sum of 10,000/. 



It is announced in Science that, by the will of the 

 late Amos F. Eno, Columbia University, New York, 

 will receive a bequest of about four million dollars. 



The Beaney Scholarship in Materia Medica at Guy's 

 Hospital Medical School is vacant. It is of the 

 yearly value of about 50/. and tenable for three years. 

 It is open to candidates who have received at least 

 part of their medical education at Guy's Hospital. 

 The latest date for receiving applications is July 7. 

 They should be sent to the Dean of the School, S.E.i. 



The Gull studentship in pathology and allied 

 subjects, of the annual value of about 250/. and 

 tenable for three years, is being offered by Guy's 

 Hospital Medical School. The studentship "is open 

 to candidates under 35 years of age who have studied 

 in the school. Applications must reach the Secretary 

 to the Board of Electors, Guy's Hospital Medical 

 School, S.E.i, by, at latest, July 7. 



The summer meeting of the Association of Tech- 

 nical Institutions will be held at Oxford on Friday and 

 Saturday, July 7 and 8. The sessions on Friday and 

 Saturday mornings will commence at 10.30 o'clock, 

 when trie president, The Right Hon. Walter Runci- 

 man, will occupy the chair. The Rev. L. R. Phelps, 

 Provost of Oriel College and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, 

 will welcome, on behalf of the University, the members 

 of the association at the opening of the conference. 

 Papers will be read by Rev. W. Hardy Harwood 

 (Chairman of the Council) and Principal J. F. Hudson 

 (Huddersfield) on " The Relation of Technical 

 Education to the Question of General Education." 

 Principal J. Quick, on " Central Schools and their 

 part in the Preparation of Scholars for Higher 

 Technical and Junior Technical Schools," and by 

 Mr. E. C. Kyte, Secretary of the Library Association, 

 on " Technical Libraries — How to Start and Develop 

 them." 



The annual report of the Livesey Professor, Prof- 

 John W. Cobb, at the University of Leeds, gives an 

 account of the work done in the department of coal gas 

 and fuel industries (with metallurgy) for the session 

 1920-21. The number of students (41) reached the 

 highest figure in the history of the department ; 

 one third (14) taking the fuel and metallurgy course, 

 the remainder (27) the course in fuel and gas engineer- 

 ing. The special evening classes included courses 

 on the distribution of gas (Mr. Walter Hole), coke 

 oven practice (Mr. W. Greaves), steaming in vertical 

 retorts (Dr. A. Parker), and metallurgy (Mr. P. F. 

 Summers). These courses were attended by 49 

 external students in addition to the full-time registered 

 students. Researches were carried out on the libera- 

 tion of nitrogen from coal and coke as ammonia, 

 the structures of cokes prepared at different tempera- 

 tures, the losses of ammonia in coke oven practice, 

 a laboratory apparatus for coal distillation, the 

 expansion of refractory materials, the trustworthiness 

 of recording gas calorimeters, and the efficiency of 

 production of blue water gas. The endowment 

 funds of the department have benefited by substantial 

 donations from the South Metropolitan Gas Companv, 

 the South Suburban Gas Company, and from Mr. 

 A. G. Glasgow. 



NO. 2748, VOL. I IO] 



Societies and Academies. 



London. 

 Royal Society, June 15. — Sir Charles Sherrington, 

 president, in the chair. — H. M. Evans : The defensive 

 spines of fishes, living and fossil, and the glandular 

 construction in connexion therewith, and observa- 

 tions on the nature of fish venoms. The gland in 

 the groove of the spine of the sting-ray (Trygon 

 paslinaca) consists of two portions — the deepest part 

 of the groove contains an alveolar-connective tissue 

 structure, which is separated from the true glandular 

 epithelium by a pigmented capillary layer. The 

 dorsal fin-spines of the spiny dog-fish Acanthias are 

 grooved, and the groove is occupied by a gland with 

 definite follicles. Cestracion also has a well-developed 

 gland at the base of the dorsal fin spines. The 

 spines of Chimaera and of the Pleuracanthidae show 

 structures which suggest a specialised function. The 

 nature and properties of Weever venom are described ; 

 the filtration of venom profoundly affects its hsemo- 

 lytic properties. Experiments are described on the 

 native use of abrin as an antidote to fish venoms. — 

 D. W. Cutler, L. M. Crump, and H. Sandon : A quanti- 

 tative investigation of the bacterial and protozoan 

 population of the soil : with an account of the proto- 

 zoan fauna. The results of 365 consecutive daily 

 counts of the numbers of bacteria and of six species 

 of protozoa in a natural field soil are given. Large 

 fluctuations occur which cannot be correlated with 

 meteorological conditions. Fourteen-day averages 

 of the daily numbers show marked seasonal changes 

 superimposed on the daily variations in numbers. 

 In general, both bacteria and protozoa are most 

 abundant at the end of November, and fewest during 

 February. The changes are not directly influenced 

 by temperature or rainfall. An inverse relationship 

 is found between the numbers of bacteria and certain 

 amceba?, and a two-day periodicity obtains for the 

 numbers of the flagellate Oicomonas termo which are 

 active. — D. W. Devanesen : The development of the 

 calcareous parts of the lantern of Aristotle in Echinus 

 miliaris. All the calcareous elements of the lantern of 

 Aristotle, with the exception of the teeth, are deposited 

 as triradiate spicules. A " compass " arises from two 

 rudimentary spicules. It is the only element of the 

 lantern absent in the " echinus-rudiment." A tooth 

 is a paired structure in consequence of its composition 

 of a double row of lamelke. A pair of lamella? is its 

 ultimate unit. A remarkable stage in the consolida- 

 tion of these lamellae is the cone-in-cone arrangement. 

 The carina is formed by the beaks of the serially fitting 

 cones. The ossicles of the lantern are compared with 

 those of the mouth-frame of star-fish. — A. Lipschutz, 

 C. Wagner, R. Tamm, and F. Bormann : Further 

 experimental investigations on the hypertrophy of the 

 sexual glands. 



Zoological Society, June 13. — Prof. E. W. Mac- 

 Bride, vice-president, in the chair. — Miss J. B. 

 Procter : A study of the remarkable tortoise Testudo 

 loveridgii Blgr., and the morphogeny of the Chelonian 

 carapace. — J. T. Carter : A microscopical examina- 

 tion of the teeth of the primates. — H. G. Jackson : 

 A revision of the isopod genus Ligia, Fabricius. — W. 

 R, B. Oliver : A review of the Cetacea of the New 

 Zealand seas. — F. Wood Jones : On the dental 

 characters of certain Australian rats. 



Linnean Society, June 15. — Dr. A. Smith Wood- 

 ward, president, in the chair. — A. B. Rendle : Seed- 

 lings of horse-chestnut from which the terminal bud 

 had been removed by cutting through the epicotyle- 

 donary stem. Minute buds appeared on the cut 

 surface corresponding in position with the cambium- 



