040 



NATURE 



[October 22, 1908 



Flax and hemp straws constitute an attractive mate- 

 rial, but all attempts to treat them on chemical lines 

 have necessarily proved uneconomical. There is, 

 however, every reason to expect that their successful 

 exploitation, by the mechanical separation of their 

 useful fibres in the districts where they are grown, is 

 not far distant. 



The 200th anniversary of the birth of .Albrecht von 

 Haller — anatomist, physiologist, botanist, and poet — was 

 celebrated on Friday of last week by the unveiling of a 

 statue in his native city of Berne. The celebration was 

 made the occasion of a public holiday, and was partici- 

 pated in by the State and municipal authorities, as well 

 as by the professors and students of the University. It 

 was also attended by delegates from numerous universities 

 and learned societies, especially those with which Haller 

 had been connected, the Royal Society being represented 

 by Dr. Arthur Gamgee and the Royal Society of Edin- 

 burgh by Prof. Schafer. An account of the proceedings 

 will be given in a future number of Nature. 



We are glad to notice that the King has appointed a 

 Royal Commission to make an inventory of the ancient 

 and historical monuments and constructions connected with 

 or illustrative of the contemporary culture, civilisation, 

 and conditions of life of the people in England from the 

 earliest times to the year 1700, and to specify those which 

 seem most worthy of preservation. The commission is 

 constituted as follows : — Lord Burghclere (chairman) ; Earl 

 of Plymouth, C.B. ; Viscount Dillon ; Lord Balcarres, 

 M.P. ; Sir H. H. Howorth, K.C.I.E., F.R.S. ; Sir John 

 F. F. Horner, K.C.V.O. ; Mr. E. J. Horniman, M.P. ; 

 Dr. F. J. Haverfield, Camden professor of ancient history 

 in the University of Oxford ; Mr. L. Stokes, vice-president 

 of the Royal Institute of British Architects ; Mr. J. Fitz- 

 gerald, assistant secretary to H.M. Office of Works ; and 

 Mr J. G. N. Clift, hon. secretary to the British Archaeo- 

 logical .Association. The secretary of the commission is 

 Mr. H. Duckworth, 35 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, 

 W. 



M. Henri Poincar4 has succeeded the late M. Henri 

 Becquerel as president of the French technical commission 

 on radio-telegraphy, appointed by a decree of March s> 

 1907. 



M. VioLLE has been appointed president of the Bureau 

 national scientifique et permanent des Poids et Mesures of 

 Paris, in succession to the late M. Mascart. 



Prof. T. L. Watson, professor of economic geology in 

 the University of Virginia, has been elected director of 

 the Virginia Geological Survey, and Dr. J. S. Grasty 

 has been appointed assistant geologist. 



We are requested to state that the annual " fungus 

 foray " of the Essex Field Club will be held at Theydon 

 Bois, Epping Forest, on Saturday, October 31. Mr. 

 George Massee, of the Kew Herbarium, will act as prin- 

 cipal referee, assisted by many botanists. Any botanist 

 wishing to attend the meeting should write to Mr. W. 

 Cole, hon. secretary, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, who will be 

 giad to send programmes. 



The Gunning prize, 190S, having the value of about 

 40!., will be awarded for an essay on " The Attitude of 

 Science towards Miracles." The last day on which essays 

 can be received for competition is March 31, 1909. Full 



NO. 2034, VOL. 78] 



particulars of the conditions can be obtained from the 

 secretary of the Victoria Institute, i Adelphi Terrace 

 House, London, W.C. 



The death is announced of Prof. Adolf WiJlIner, at 

 Ai.x-la-Chapelle, at the age of si.Kty-three years. Wiillner 

 was known for his work on the specific heat of liquids 

 and gases, vapour tension, refractive indices, and the 

 variability with temperature and pressure of absorption 

 and emission spectra. He was the author of a standard 

 " Lehrbuch der Experimentalphysik," which reached a 

 fifth edition. 



The death is announced of Mr. R. B. Smith in his 

 seventieth year. Mr. Smith was formerly an assistant- 

 master in Harrow School, and was a keen field naturalist. 

 Among his published works is one entitled " Bird Life 

 and Bird Lore," containing a number of interesting 

 articles upon birds and their habits. 



The fourth annual fossil-hunting expedition of Amherst 

 College, Massachusetts, has just returned from a successful 

 visit to the plains of Wyoming and Nebraska. It has 

 collected between 3000 and 4000 Indian relics, a full skele- 

 ton of an 'extinct species of camel, parts of a skeleton 

 of a huge rhinoceros, the jaws of a prehistoric dog, and 

 other bones of the progenitors of the horse, dog, camel, 

 cat, deer, beaver, peccary, &c. The expedition was led by 

 Prof. Frederick B. Loomis. 



Prof. G. Hellmann, president of the German Meteor- 

 ological Society, asks us to announce that a prize of three 

 thousand marks (150Z.) is offered by the society for the best 

 essay upon the meteorological results obtained in the ex- 

 ploration of the atmosphere by the international kite and 

 balloon ascents. The prize is open to all nationalities, 

 but the essays must be written in German, French, or 

 English, and must be sent in before December 31, igii. 

 Further particulars can be obtained from Prof. G. Hell- 

 mann, Berlin W. 56, Schinkelplatz 6. 



We learn from the Times that an International Fire 

 Prevention Conference was opened on October 14 at the 

 Conservatoire of Arts and Crafts, Paris. The conference 

 has had under consideration the formation of a permanent 

 French fire and accidents prevention committee, resembling 

 the British Fire Prevention Committee, and the equip- 

 ment of a testing station near Paris. Numerous technical 

 matters relating to fire protection have been discussed, 

 including the standardisation of the preventive measures 

 of the European countries. 



A short time ago we directed attention to an appeal 

 for a fund, formed under the auspices of Mr. H. M. 

 Taylor, F.R.S., of Trinity College, Cambridge, with the 

 object of assisting in the publication of works of a scientific 

 nature in embossed type for the use of the blind. The 

 sum of about 525Z. was subscribed, and the managers of 

 the fund have agreed that the first three books in the 

 publication of which they undertake to assist shall be 

 "Sound and Music," by Mr. Sedley Taylor; "A Primer 

 of Astronomy," by Sir Robert Ball, F.R.S. ; and " An 

 Introduction to Geology," by Dr. Marr, F.R.S. 



The council of the Royal College of Surgeons at its 

 quarterly meeting on October 16 adopted resolutions which 

 will in future admit women to the examinations of the 

 conjoint examining board in England, to the examina- 

 tion for the diploma in public health, to the examinations 

 for the fellowship, and to the examinations for the license 

 in dental surgery. This decision brings to an end an 

 agitation which has been carried on for some twelve or 



