November ii, 1922] 



NA TURE 



64; 



programme of the papers to be read and the works' 

 inspections arranged for the Graduate Section during 

 the current session has been issued and gives promise 

 of an interesting and instructive series of meetings. 



The tenth annual meeting of the Indian Science 

 Congress, under the auspices of the Asiatic Society 

 of Bengal, will be held at Lucknow on January 8-13, 

 1923. The congress will be opened by Sir Spencer 

 Harcourt Butler, Governor of the United Provinces, 

 who has consented to be patron. The president of 

 the congress is Sir M. Yisvesvaraya, and the presidents 

 of the sections are as follows : Agriculture — Dr. 

 Kunjan Pillai, Trivandrum ; Physics — Dr. S. K. 

 Banerji, director of the Observatory, Colaba, Bom- 

 bay ; Chemistry — Dr. A. N. Meldrum, Royal Institute, 

 Bombay ; Botany — Mrs. Howard, Pusa ; Zoology 

 — Prof. G. Matthai, Government College, Lahore ; 

 Geology — Dr. Pascoe, Indian Museum, Calcutta ; 

 Medical Research — Lt.-Col. Sprawson, Lucknow ; 

 Anthropology — Dr. J.J. Modi, Bombay. In addition 

 to the regular programme of the meetings of the 

 scientific sections, a series of general scientific dis- 

 cussions has been organised, beginning with one on 

 colloids by Dr. S. S. Bhatnagar, of Benares. A series 

 of illustrated public lectures on subjects of popular 

 scientific interest has also been arranged, details of 

 which will be announced later. Further particulars 

 regarding the congress may be obtained from Dr. 

 C. V. Raman, general secretary, Indian Science 

 Congress, 210 Bowbazaar Street, Calcutta. The local 

 secretaries at Lucknow are Prof. P. S. MacMahon and 

 Dr. Wali Muhammad of the Lucknow University. 



The British Non-ferrous Metals Research Associa- 

 tion has just issued a statement as to the investigations 

 already in hand and the work being undertaken by 

 the Association. The record is one of active work, 

 and is to be commended to other Research Associa- 

 tions as a model to be imitated. The practice has 

 been to allot the investigations to existing laboratories 

 of sufficient standing, the work being carried out under 

 the direction of the chief of the laboratory in con- 

 sultation with the Director of Research, Dr. R. S. 

 Hutton. The subjects in which progress has already 

 been made are : effect of small quantities of im- 

 purities on the properties of copper ; conditions of 

 obtaining sound ingots of brass ; methods of jointing 

 metals ; abrasion and polishing of metals ; atmo- 

 spheric corrosion ; properties of rolled nickel-silvers ; 

 influence of oxide on aluminium ; and cause of red 

 stains on finished brass. Information has also been 

 collected respecting the electric melting of non- 

 ferrous metals. In regard to the first of the subjects 

 mentioned, the effect of oxygen on copper has been 

 studied in detail and the effect of other elements is 

 now being examined. The laboratories with which 

 arrangements have been made include the National 

 Physical Laboratory ; the Universities of Birmingham, 

 Sheffield, and Manchester ; the Research Department, 

 Woolwich ; the Royal School of Mines, and the 

 Research Department of Metropolitan Vickers, Ltd. 

 The pamphlet also contains particulars of the means 

 adopted for circulating information among members, 



NO. 2767, VOL. I IO] 



and concludes with an outline of the future work 

 proposed for the Association. 



A State Institute of Radiology has been established 

 at Prague, under the direction of Dr. Felix. 



In consequence of the great demand for seats 

 at the joint meeting of the Royal Geographical 

 Society and Alpine Club for the Mount Everest film 

 lecture on November 21 at the Central Hall, London, 

 it has been found necessary to arrange two meetings 

 — for the afternoon at 3 p.m. and the evening at 

 8.30 P.M. 



A prize of 1000 guineas has been offered by Messrs. 

 Self ridge and Co., through the Royal Aero Club, for 

 the first flight of fifty miles made by a British pilot 

 on a British-built glider, the distance to be measured 

 in a straight line from a given point of departure. 

 The prize will remain open for a year from January 1, 

 and if it is not awarded, a prize of five hundred 

 guineas will be given for the longest flight of more 

 than twenty-five miles during the year. 



It is announced in Science that the Howard N. Potts 

 Medal of the Franklin Institute has been awarded 

 to Dr. Charles Raymond Downs and Mr. John Morris 

 Weiss of New York " in consideration of their notable 

 achievement in the scientific and commercial develop- 

 ment of the catalytic vapour-phase oxidation of 

 benzene to maleic acid and their pioneer work in 

 developing a commercial process for changing 

 aromatic to aliphatic compounds." 



We have referred in these columns from time to 

 time to the preparations which are being made in 

 France to celebrate the approaching centenary of the 

 birth of Pasteur. British men of science have had 

 an opportunity of sharing in the celebrations and we 

 now learn from Science that the New York Academy 

 of Medicine is organising an exhibition in com- 

 memoration of the event. The exhibition, which 

 will be opened on December 27, will consist of a 

 collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, en- 

 gravings, etc., illustrating the life and work of 

 Pasteur, and will conclude with a number of addresses 

 by distinguished members of the medical profession. 



A new Danish expedition to the Sahara is announced 

 in the Times. Under the leadership of Prof. Olufsen, 

 the expedition will shortly leave Tunis for the Shat- 

 el-Jerid. From Nefta it will go by Tuggurt to 

 Wargla in the Algerian Sahara, and thence to Insalah, 

 and endeavour to explore the Hoggar Mountains. 

 The members of the expedition will include Dr. Gram, 

 botanist, Drs. Storgaard and Kayser, geologists, and 

 Prof. Bourcart, of the Sorbonne. Dr. Olufsen expects 

 that the journey will occupy some six months. 



News from Mr. K. Rasmussen brings the story of 

 his researches in Baffin Land and the Hudson Bay 

 region down to the end of July. According to the 

 Times the winter work was carried out according to 

 programme. Surveys were made of the north coast 

 of Fury and Hecla Straits, and that part of Baffin 

 Land between Gifford Bay and Admiralty Inlet. 

 Mr. Rasmussen himself was chiefly engaged in his 



