March i8, 1909] 



NA TURE 



69 



tion would have been immeasurably retarded. The con- 

 ditions under which the invention of patentable inventions 

 is stimulated do not necessitate an inventor relinquishing 

 the pursuit of any trade, occupation, or profession in which 

 he may be engaged. He is under no obligation to satisfy 

 anyone as to the direction his labours inay take, and he is 

 free to devote his talents to the w^ork of invention at such 

 limes as .he may for himself determine. Moreover, forms 

 of judicial procedure are made available for him by viihich 

 he can defend his claim to be described as " the true and 

 first inventor " of his invention, whether that be disputed 

 by rival inventors, or opposed on false or fraudulent 

 grounds, or be the subject of official objection. 



My scheme for the promotion of scientific research forms 

 the subject of an article in Nature of January 21. The 

 principles of the scheme, which are generally indicated 

 in the article, admit of substantial grants being made out 

 of public monies for discoveries prescribed by Parliament 

 under conditions analogous to those upon which patents 

 for inventions may be obtained, and these conditions would, 

 it is submitted, enlist in research directed to the making 

 of these discoveries many minds possessing the capacity 

 and true genius for this work, which existing methods 

 wholly fail to attract. .Allocations of grants may be made, 

 on tlie conditions specified in the scheme, to discoveries 

 which advance our knowledge of physical and chemical 

 phenomena, and in relation to the more deadly and 

 prevalent of the diseases which afflict humanity. 



.Allusion is made in the report of the executive committee 

 of the British Science Guild, of which extracts are given 

 in Nature of January 28, to the Duke of Devonshire's 

 Commission, which was appointed about thirty-eight years 

 ago to inquire into the means available for extending 

 scientific knowledge and advancing scientific progress. We 

 stand to-day, so far as the provision by the State of 

 pfcuniary incentives to scientific research is concerned, 

 much in the same position as we did at the conclusion of 

 th'^ prolonged labours of that commission. Since that 

 time the practical applications of physical, chemical, and 

 medical discoveries, not of a patentable nature, and for 

 which no rewards can under existing conditions be 

 obtained, have greatly contributed to the advancement of 

 commercial and industrial progress and to the national 

 well-being. The discovery of the electric waves used in 

 wireless telegraphy, and of the conductivity of certain sub- 

 stances in the state of powder or filings when these waves 

 impinge upon them, are examples of such discoveries. By 

 means of these two discoveries it was found possible to 

 construct systems of wireless telegraphy. If we confine 

 our attention to the practical applications of these dis- 

 coveries alone, we must perceive that, in addition to the 

 more general beneficent purposes that have been thereby 

 already attained, they have been the means of greatly 

 increasing the effectiveness of our naval power. 



In face of facts such as these, it is to be hoped that our 

 legislators will awaken to a recognition of the momentous 

 issues involved in the promotion of research in depart- 

 ments of science which have an intimate connection with 

 public interests. Walter R. Priest. 



I Verulam Buildings, Gray's Inn, London, March 3. 



The " Daylight Saving " Bill. 



May I point out, in addition to the recognised unscientific 

 nature of the proposals of this Bill, that the third Sunday 

 in .\pril for the putting on of the clocks is hardly consistent 

 with the third Sunday in September for putting them back? 

 The length of the day in the third week of April is con- 

 sidf-rably greater than in the third week of September, and 

 it would be much more consistent if the two equinoctial 

 months March and September were both adopted fgr the 

 alliration. The fourth Sunday in March, a little after the 

 vernal equinox, has about the same length of day as the 

 third Sunday in September, a little before the autumnal 

 equinox. If it be urged that the temperature of the air 

 in March in this country is too low for summer habits of 

 life, one may reply that it is still too low in April, and 

 even May, despite the long days and high altitude of the 

 sun. ' L. C. W. BoN.\ciNA. 



Northwood, March 13. 



Fireball of February 22. 



The observations of this unusual object are e.xceedingly 

 numerous, but some of them are discordant, and occasion 

 doubts as to the exact path which the meteor traversed 

 in our atmosphere. The radiant point being inaccurately 

 defined, the direction and height are also to some extent 

 uncertain. Apart from the determination already men- 

 tioned in Nature, I have worked out two others, which 

 do not differ very materially except in the elevation at 

 the end. ■ Further descriptions from France of a trust- 

 worthy and precise nature will enable the real path over 

 the English Channel to be more certainly ascertained. 

 Radiant point ... =I77°+I3° •■• 190° -1-20° 

 Height at first ... 50 miles ... 56 miles 

 Height at end ... 26 ,, ... 41 ,, 



Length of path .. 155 ,, ... 155 ,, 



Velocity per second 25 ,, ... 25 ,, 



In the event of the position at iqo° + 2o° being the correct 

 one. the meteor was really a Coma; Berencid, and several 

 fairly good observations from France and the Channel 

 Islands indicate that it is entitled to some degree of con- 

 fidence. W. F. Denning. 

 Bristol, March 14. 



Unusual Condition of Nasal Bones in Sphenodon. 



In the osteological collection here there is a skull of 

 Sphenodon with lour nasals. In the position of the usual 

 single nasal, right or left, are two bones side by side. As 

 this condition appears to be unusual, it would be interesting 

 to know if any of your readers have come across a similar 

 case. H. W. Unthank. 



Birkbeck College, Breams Buildings, E.C., March 15. 



NO. 2055, VOL. 80] 



ENGLISH EARTHWORKS AND THEIR 

 ORIENTATION.' 



THIS work is based upon the recommendations 

 of the Committee on .-Ancient Earthworks and 

 Fortified Enclosures. Though " written expressly to 

 further the Committee's aims, it has no claim to be 

 an autliorised representation of the Committee's 

 views." Pending the completion of the task under- 

 taken by the Committee, this work seems to be the 

 best text-book on the subject. Though the author has 

 " restricted himself to the discussion of earthworks 

 with which he is personally familiar," all classes of 

 earthworks, from the earliest period to the time of 

 the Civil War, are dealt with. 



We are too grateful to the author for the well-siftecT 

 materials he has supplied to judge the whole work 

 by any defects, especially if those defects concern 

 matters which the author may have considered as 

 lying outside his proper scope of work. But there 

 is one feature of the author's work which calls for 

 special notice. It concerns a line of inquiry which 

 the author has almost altogether left untried, appa- 

 rently, but which, nevertheless, he submits repeatedly 

 to the test of ridicule. Though he refers respectfully 

 enough to Sir Norman Lockyer's work, he indulges 

 in remarks about the astronomical inquiry which are 

 both unwarranted and inconsiderate, without showing 

 anv appreciation of the points in question. 



Beyond some vague remarks about the orientation 

 of amphitheatres (p. 589, note), the subject of 

 orientation is almost entirely ignored. Most of the 

 224 plans published in the book have the cardinal 

 points indicated, without ever a word saying whether 

 the bearings are magnetic or true. The student of 

 orientation must decide the matter for_ himself as 

 well as he can in each case with the aid of a pro- 

 tractor. Nowhere can he find the slightest con- 



1 "Earthwork of England: Prehistoric. Roman, Saxon, Dani<.h, Nor- 

 man, and Medieval." By A. Hadrian' Allcroft. Illustrated with Plans, 

 .Sections, &c. Pp. xi.\+7ii. (London: Mactnillan and Co., Ltd., 1908.) 



