October 28, 1922J 



NATURE 



a man of athletic frame can " run himself out " to 

 such an extent that he requires 10 litres of oxygen 

 at the end of exercise above his resting consumption, 

 he will absorb this amount during the 8-10 minutes 

 which follow the end of the exercise. Now the 

 amount of lactic acid which this oxygen will oxidise 

 can be calculated, and on the assumption that a 

 man of 70 kgm. weight is using 25 kgm. of muscle, 

 the calculation indicates that when an athletic man 

 is exhausted, the lactic acid present will amount to 

 0-33 per cent, of his muscle weight. But Meyerhof 

 has determined that the maximum percentage of 

 lactic acid which can be produced by stimulation in 

 isolated mammalian muscle varies from 0-3 to 0-4 per 

 cent. The agreement between the two figures is 

 very striking. 



The fact that a runner does not consume all the 

 oxygen he requires for running until the exercise is 

 over may be regarded in another light. One may 

 say that the runner gets credit for oxygen. Let us 

 suppose that before exhaustion he can get credit for 



10 litres. Then, if during exercise he breathes in 

 5 litres per minute, it follows that in running for 

 1 minute he has energy corresponding to 15 litres 

 of oxygen at his disposal. In running for 5 minutes, 

 however, the energy available only corresponds to 

 (10 +5 x5=) 35 litres of oxygen ; that is to say, it 

 corresponds to 7 litres per minute. Roughly speaking, 

 the energy available per minute when running 5 

 minutes is less than half that available when running 

 only 1 minute. 



It was found to be possible to plot a curve show- 

 ing the relation of the true oxygen consumption 

 in running various distances at a maximum rate to 

 the time taken. The distances chosen were those 

 of the customary fiat races. It was found that the 

 curve was of the same general type as that obtained 

 when the speed developed in the various world's 

 records was plotted against the time taken. In 

 other words, it was evident that the shape of this 

 latter curve could have been predicted from considera- 

 tions of oxygen consumption. 



The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Dutch Zoological Society. 



THE fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the 



' Xederlandsche Dierkundige Yereeniging, which 

 \\ as celebrated at Amsterdam on September 24 and 25, 

 was an event of much scientific interest. 



At the meeting held in the large hall of the Amster- 

 dam Zoological Gardens (" Natura magistra Artis ") 

 the president, Prof. J. F. van Bemmelen, of the 

 University of Groningen, delivered an interesting 

 address on the history of the Society. He referred 

 in the course of his address to the important part the 

 Society has played in the scientific investigation of 

 the I hitch marine fauna and flora and in the establish- 

 ment of the permanent Marine Biological Station at 

 Holder, to the activity it has shown in the movements 

 for the preservation and protection of native wild 

 animals and to its association, in an advisory capacity, 

 with Dutch Government I 'epartments on questions 

 concerning the scientific development and regulation 

 of the marine and fresh-water fisheries. 



At the conclusion of his address the following were 

 admitted Honorary Members of the Society : Prof. 

 O. Abel, Vienna ; Prof. M. Caullery, Paris ; Prof. 

 L. Dollo, Brussels ; Prof. B. Grassi, Rome ; Prof. V. 

 Hacker, Halle ; Prof. S. J. Hickson, Manchester ; 

 Prof. X. Holmgren, Stockholm.; Prof. T. H. Morgan, 

 New York; Dr. F. Sarasin, Basle; Dr. J. Schmidt, 

 Copenhagen. 



On the following day, September 25, a large party 

 of the members with their foreign guests set forth 

 from Amsterdam in a steamboat through some of the 

 most interesting and beautiful waterways of that part 

 of the countrv to visit the new Fresh-water Biological 

 Laboratory stationed in the river Yecht near Vreeland. 

 A large and commodious houseboat called the 

 Meerval has been fitted up with aquaria, dredging 



apparatus and other appliances for systematic and 

 biometrical investigations of the fresh-water fauna, and 

 there is sleeping accommodation for two or three in- 

 vestigators and the staff. The Meerval can be moved 

 about from place to place during the summer months 

 and is laid up for the winter at Helder. 



The party was received on board the Meerval by 

 Dr. Redeke, the director of the Marine Biological 

 Station and Inspector of Fisheries, who gave an 

 account of the investigations in progress and explained 

 the exhibits and apparatus that were displayed. 



One important result of the activities of Dr. 

 Redeke and his assistants will be the publication of 

 periodical reports on the fauna and flora of the 

 Zuider Zee, and particularly of that part of it which 

 is threatened with destruction by draining. An ad- 

 vanced copv of the first number of these reports was 

 shown to the visitors. 



The members of the societv and their guests were 

 entertained on the Sunday night at a banquet in 

 Amsterdam, and on the Monday were the guests of 

 Dr. and Mrs. Redeke at lunch at Vreeland. 



It was unfortunate that Prof. Caullery (Paris), 

 Prof. Dollo (Brussels), Prof. Grassi (Rome), Prof. 

 Morgan (New York), and Dr. Schmidt (Copenhagen) 

 were unable to attend the celebrations ; but the 

 foreign guests who were present thoroughly enjoyed 

 the opportunity thus given to them by their most 

 hospitable Dutch hosts of an interchange of views on 

 zoological problems with friends and colleagues they 

 had not met since pre-war days. 



We may congratulate the Dutch Zoological Society 

 on the attainment of its fiftieth anniversary, and on 

 the valuable scientific work it has accomplished since 

 its foundation. 



Processes of Rock-Formation. 



TX a long communication sent to us by Mr. J. H. 



* ' Ichild, dealing with the distribution of 



sodium and calcium, reference is made to Prof. J. 

 Joly's calculation of the age of the earth from 

 the saltness of the sea, a calculation based on the 

 assumption that the salt in the sea has been carried 

 there by streams and rivers and has been derived bv 

 solution from the land. In opposition to this view 

 Mr. Goodchild suggests that, contrary to the notions 



NO. 2765, VOL. I io] 



held at the present day by geologists, salts pass from 

 the ocean to the land, and are being fixed as new 

 mineral combinations in the rocks through which 

 they percolate. He regards sedimentary rocks, such 

 as sandstone and shale, as unstable, and liable to 

 admixture with one another as well as to modifica- 

 tion by the action of soluble substances like salt and 

 calcium carbonate. As examples of changes of this 

 sort he points to the dolomitisation of limestone, the 



