July 2, 1908J 



NA TURE 



20' 



The Physico-medical Society of Vienna has made tlie 

 following appointments in connection witli the celebration 

 of the centenary of the foundation of the society : — 

 Honorary Ph.D., Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S. ; correspond- 

 ing members, Prof. J. Loeb, Dr. C. S. Minot, Prof. E. 

 Rutherford, F.R.S. , and Prof. C. S. Slierrington, F.R.S. 



The council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh has 

 awarded the Neill prize for the triennial period 1904-7 to 

 Mr. Frank J. Cole, lecturer on zoology, University College, 

 Reading', for his papers entitled " A Monograph on the 

 General Morphology of the Myxinoid Fishes, based on a 

 Study of Myxine," published in the Transactions of the 

 society, regard being also paid to Mr. Cole's other valu- 

 able contributions to the anatomy and morphology of 

 fishes. 



On Julv 2, 3, and 4 there will be on exhibition at the 

 Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C, 

 a very remarkable collection of specimens illustrating the 

 diseases, injuries, and racial peculiarities of the ancient 

 inh.-ibitants of Nubia. The collection was made during 

 the archaeological survey of the area which will be sub- 

 merged on raising the level of the Aswan dam. The 

 collection embraces specimens derived from cemeteries, to 

 which Dr. G. A. Reisner has assigned dates ranging from 

 a pre-dynastic to an early Christian period. The collection 

 has been described and arranged under the direction of 

 Prof. Elliot Smith, F.R.S., and Dr. Wood Jones. A re- 

 port of the first results of the archaeological survey of 

 , Nubia was recently published (Bulletin No. i, Cairo, igoS), 

 with an introduction by Captain H. G. Lyons, F.R.S. 



The fifth congress of the International Association for 

 Testing Materials is to be held at the beginning of 

 September, 1909, in Copenhagen, when numerous questions 

 in connection with the testing of metals, hydraulic cements, 

 and miscellaneous materials will be considered, and many 

 other important technical problems will be discussed. To 

 maintain closer contact with the members of the associa- 

 tion in the intervals between the congresses, the council 

 has decided to publish from time to time Proceedings of 

 the association. Two numbers have appeared already, and 

 the new periodical will certainly keep members informed 

 of what is being done in the subject in whicli they are 

 interested. Copies of the Proceedings may be obtained in 

 this country from Messrs. E. and F. Spon. The price of 

 each issue is, to non-members, sixpence. 



To mark the completion of the fiftieth year of the exist- 

 ence of the Geologists' Association in November next, it 

 is proposed to issue a volume dealing with the geology of 

 the -districts of England and Wales visited by the associa- 

 tion since its foundation. The volume will consist of a 

 series of articles by competent authorities on the various 

 localities visited, who will deal with the geology of their 

 district fropi the point of view of present-day knowledge. 

 The book will be edited by Messrs. H. W. Monckton and 

 R. S. Herries, be illustrated with maps and sections, and 

 probably be ready for publication before the end of the 

 year. We notice that the next long excursion of the 

 association is to be to the Berwyns, from July 31 to 

 August 7, under the directorship of Mr. J. Lomas. The 

 headquarters of the party will be at the Wynnstay Hotel, 

 Oswestry, and persons wishing to take part in the 

 excursion are requested to write to Mr. H. Kidner, 

 excursion secretary, 78 Gladstone Road, Watford. 



We learn from Science that an expedition, under the 

 combined auspices of the American Museum of Natural 

 History and the Geological Survey of Canada, is now on 



NO. 2018, VOL. 78] 



its way to the mouth of the Mackenzie River and adjacent 

 country to collect ethnological and zoological material. 

 The party is being conducted by Mr. V. Stefdnsson, who 

 is well acquainted with the Eskimos of the region, having 

 wintered with them in 1906, and Mr. R. M. Anderson, a 

 well-known naturalist. The expedition was organised for 

 the purpose of making scientific studies of the Eskimos 

 of the country, of procuring collections illustrating, not 

 only the material cultures of the uncivilised tribes of the 

 region, but also of the zoological conditions which prevail 

 there, and of increasing our knowledge of the geology of 

 the region. The expedition will commence its return 

 journey during the summer of 1909. 



The annual general meeting of the Royal Society of 

 Arts was held on June 24, Sir Steuart Colvin Bayley, 

 K.C.S.I., chairman of council, in the chair. The 

 business of the meeting was the reading the report of 

 the council on the work of the society during the past 

 session, the iS4th since the formation of the society in 

 1754. In referring to the award of the. Albert medal to 

 Sir James Dewar for his low-temperature investigations, 

 special stress was laid on the power placed at the disposal 

 of those interested in industrial applications of science by 

 the provision of temperatures so far below any hitherto 

 available, and it was suggested that before long this new 

 power would find numerous practical applications. 

 Amongst the lectures delivered under the various trusts 

 available for such purposes, the course of lectures on in- 

 dustrial hygiene, provided out of funds left some years ago 

 to the society by Mr. Benjamin Shaw, was one of the 

 most important. The award of a medal, under the same 

 trust, to Prof. W. Galloway, for his researches into the 

 action of coal dust in colliery explosions, was also re- 

 corded. 



The third international congress on the history of 

 religions will be held at Oxford from September 15-18 

 next. Prof. E. B. Tylor, F.R.S., is the honorary presi- 

 dent, Sir A. C. Lyall the president, and Prof. Percy 

 Gardner the chairman of the local committee. The busi- 

 ness of the congress will be conducted in nine sections, 

 and there will be general meetings for papers and lectures 

 of wide importance, as well as meetings of sections. In 

 addition to the addresses by the president and by the presi- 

 dents of sections, numerous important papers will be read. 

 Among these may be mentioned that of Dr. A. J. Evans, 

 on Cretan religions; M. E. Fourriire, on " le culte du 

 soleil et les - sacrifices humains chez les Grecs " ; Miss 

 Mary A. Owen, on the Messiah beliefs of the American 

 Indians; Prof. A. H. Sayce, on the influence of Babylonian 

 religion upon Asia Minor and Syria ; Mr. W. W. Skeat, 

 concerning Malay religion ; and Dr. E. Wallis Budge, on 

 some central African elements in the dynastic religion of 

 Egypt. English, French, German, and Italian will be 

 recognised as official languages. Representatives have 

 been appointed already from many British and foreign 

 universities and learned societies. Offers of papers should 

 be sent to the honorary secretaries. Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter, 

 109 Banbury Road, Oxford, and Dr. L. R. Farnell, 191 

 Woodstock Road, Oxford. 



The report of the Rugby School Natural History Society 

 for 1907 appears in an abbreviated form owing to the 

 omission of the reports of the papers read, which are issued 

 in a local journal. Steps have been taken during the 

 year to bring the observing station up to the requirements 

 of the Meteorological Office, and it is hoped that when 

 the next report appears the station will ha/e been re- 

 accorded official recognition. 



