193 

 NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION REPORT. 



For more years than we care to remember we have been 

 drawing attention to the desirability of publishing the Report 

 of the proceedings of the British Association during the same 

 year that the meeting was held, and we have pointed out 

 that nearly all of the report is in type when the meeting takes 

 place. We have been assured, in reply, that such prompt 

 publication would be impossible. Anyway the ' impossible ' 

 was nearly achieved in connexion with the Report of the 

 Cardiff meeting, as it appeared within a month of the close of 

 1920* ; and we have reason to hope that the report of the 

 Edinburgh meeting of 1921 may appear before December 

 31st next. But — and we are sorry there is a ' but ' — for 

 the first time in the history of the Association its Report has 

 appeared in paper covers, and may easily be overlooked or 

 mistaken for one of John Murray's periodical publications. 

 Surely the Annual Report of the principal Society of its kind 

 in the world should appear in a worthy case ? It is not 

 creditable to the Association. True, possibly a hundred 

 pounds or so may have been saved, but every member who 

 values his ' set ' of reports, every library and institution, 

 must now go the expense of binding. We find that cloth 

 cases are on sale at 2/- each. After writing for this, it costs a 

 further and greater amount to have it put on the paper 

 pamphlet. Would it not have been better to have sent. a 

 postcard round informing those who wanted to have their 

 Reports bound in cloth to send the necessary extra cost — 2/6 

 at most ? As it was we had to send a card saying whether we 

 wanted the Report at all or not, and for the credit of British 

 Science the volumes sent to colonial and foreign institutions 

 might have had a decent cover. We don't want to see ' Hull, 

 1922,' printed on a thing like the envelope of a telegram, 

 when the Association next visits Yorkshire ! 



THE MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE. 



The Mineralogical Magazine for March contains ' Identity 

 of Trechmann's " ^-tin " with stannous sulphide,' by 

 L. J. Spencer ; ' A refractometer for the determination of 

 liquid mixtures,' by H. H. Thomas and A. F. Hollimond ; 

 ' A method of constructing rock-analysis diagrams on a 

 statistical basis ' ; 'A valuable Appendix of Mineralogical 

 Abstracts,' and the Report of the Committee on British 

 Petrographic Nomenclature. This last is most valuable ; 

 the complete rejection of several names is recommended, 

 and no new names are proposed. 



* The title-page is dated 1920 in erroi". 

 1921 June 1 



