December 30, 1922] 



NA TURE 



885 



dances are performed by Lamas, attired in fantastic 

 costumes and wearing huge masks, who represent 

 the good and bad spirits the devout will meet in the 

 next world ; devil dances, dances in which ghouls 

 carry a small dummy representing a dead body, 

 and a procession of the gods, are among the scenes 

 depicted. The whole scene is accompanied by music 

 recorded by Mr. T. Howard Somervell, who has 

 endeavoured to reproduce the actual sound of a 

 Tibetan band. As may be expected, it consists 

 largely of drum and trumpet, but there is a well- 

 marked rhythm, and Mr. Somervell, who conducts 

 the music himself, manages to keep his orchestra 

 fairly well in time with the dancing figures on the 

 screen, producing a most realistic effect. Anthro- 

 pologists will welcome this record of Tibetan dances 

 and music. The third section of the film shows the 

 actual assault on Mount Everest. The film is de- 

 scribed by Mr. Somervell, who formed one of the 

 high climbing parties. Scene after scene of in- 

 describable grandeur is shown. Many portions of 

 the film, such as those showing the final attempts 

 on the summit from the highest camp, at about 

 25,000 feet, were taken with a telephoto lens. The 

 music played in the interval and during the exhibition 

 of the film by Mr. Somervell is based on Nepalese 

 and Tibetan airs and pastoral music, and some of 

 the tunes provide very beautiful though simple 

 subjects. "Climbing Mount Everest " is more than 

 an entertainment ; it is a story of high adventure, 

 of great endeavour, which was robbed of success 

 chiefly by the bad weather encountered in the last 

 stage of the journey. 



The College Board of the London Hospital is 

 offering for competition the Liddle Triennial Prize 

 of 120/. for the best essay on "Rheumatic Fever: its 

 Cause and Prevention." The last day for the receipt 

 of essays is June 30, 1923. They should be sent to 

 the Dean of the College, Turner Street, E.i. 



The Foulerton Award of the Geologists' Associa- 

 tion for the year 1923 has been given by the Council to 

 Mr. A. S. Kennard.F.G.S. Mr. Kennard was associated 

 with Mr. M. A. C. Hinton in the paper on " The 

 Relative Ages of the Stone Implements of the Lower 

 Thames Valley," and with Mr. B. B. Woodward in 

 the production of several important papers on the 

 Post-Pliocene non-marine mollusca of England and 

 Ireland. 



The international review Scientia promises its 

 readers next year " a great international inquiry into 

 the Einstein theories." It proposes as the funda- 

 mental purpose, first, to make the theory itself access- 

 ible to all philosophically minded persons, whether 

 or not they are mathematicians ; second, to submit 

 the theory to an objective, unprejudiced, exhaustive 

 criticism, which, by making clear the weak points 

 in need of revision, shall give them their true 

 value as objections ; and third, to endeavour to 

 appreciate the value and importance of the theory 

 and the part _it has played in the general progress 

 of science. 



NO. 2774, VOL. I io] 



The following awards have been made by the 

 Society of Engineers (Inc.) for papers read or pub- 

 lished during 1922 : — President's gold medal to Dr. 

 C. V. Drysdale, for his papers " The Testing of Small 

 Electrical Plant " ; Bessemer premium to Mr. E. E. 

 Turner for his paper " The Atlantic Cruise of H.M. 

 Airship R 34 " ; Nursey premium to Dr. Herbert 

 Chatley for his paper " The Physical Properties of 

 Clay-Mud " ; Society premiums to A. S. E. Acker- 

 mann for his paper " The Physical Properties of 

 Clay " (fourth paper), and to C. H. J. Clayton for 

 his paper " The Economics of Arterial Land Drain- 

 age " ; W. Dinwoodie for his paper on " Wave Power 

 Transmission " ; Clarke premium to R. C. Hill for 

 his paper on " The Submersible Pump " ; and Geen 

 premium to A. G. Short for his paper on " Heating." 



A series of new charts of the currents of the 

 North Sea is contained in a paper by Dr. G. Bohnecke 

 (Verofflich. Inst. f. Meereskunde, Berlin, N.F. Ser. A, 

 Heft 10, 1922). The charts are based mainly on a 

 study of the data representing the variations in the 

 salinity of the area in question. 



The Library Press, Ltd., 26 Portugal Street, W.C.2, 

 will shortly publish a work entitled "Fur Dressing 

 and Fur Dyeing," by W. Austin, consulting chemist 

 to the fur industry, which is intended to cover very 

 completely the subjects treated of, and to supply a 

 want felt by workers in the industry. 



Dr. C. Davison has in preparation (for publication 

 in June next if enough copies are subscribed for) " A 

 History of British Earthquakes," in which about 1200 

 earthquakes in the British Isles from 974 to 192 1 will 

 be dealt with. The work will be illustrated by 91 

 maps and 9 diagrams, and it will cost 325. net. 

 Orders should be sent, with remittance, as soon 

 as possible to the author, 70 Cavendish Avenue, 

 Cambridge. 



A bibliography of meteorological literature, pre- 

 pared by the Royal Meteorological Society with the 

 collaboration of the Meteorological Office, is now 

 given as a separate publication for each half-year. 

 No. 2 of the series, which deals with literature 

 received from July to December 1921, has just 

 reached us. This half-yearly issue takes the place 

 of the bibliography previously given in the Quarterly 

 Journal of the Society. The publication has become 

 of considerable value to a small body of workers 

 actively engaged on meteorological research and to 

 others who desire to keep abreast of advances in 

 meteorology. Meteorological science is, without 

 doubt, making considerable advance at the present 

 time, and increased activity is given to the subject 

 by such publications, especially with regard to the 

 many intricacies of the upper air, not only in this 

 country but by most countries the world over. 



Dr. T. F. Wall thinks that the comment of our 

 engineering contributor, appended to his letter in 

 Nature of December 16, p. 810, may lead to a 

 possible misapprehension as to wherein lies the 

 novelty of the condenser formed by inserting in 



