564 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1455 



tural and Mechanical College as professor of 

 v.efcei'inary medicine and state veterinarian. In 

 1899 lie also became professor of zoology and 

 experiment . station bacteriologist. He gave 

 himself up entirely to his work not only in the 

 departments in which he was interested but to 

 the school as a whole. That he was highly 

 esteemed was manifested by the fact that in 

 1900, in addition to his other duties, he was 

 made dean of the School of Veterinary Medi- 

 cine, and, in 1913, was also made dean of the 

 School of Science and Literature. During the 

 year 1915 he was made acting president and 

 director of the experiment station. In 1921 

 he was made dean of the faculty. 



Dr. Lewis was for a time a member of the 

 American Association and was a working mem- 

 ber of many scientific societies. Although 

 quiet and retii-ing in pereonality, he was always 

 ready to do his part in any enterprise of edu- 

 cational value for public welfare. 



His research work was directed chiefly 

 toward :the diseases and the improvement of 

 the livestock industry. In his earlier work he 

 was .much interested in parasiticides, anthel- 

 mintics and disinfectants. Later, he carried 

 on a great deal of work toward the prevention 

 and control of hog cholera and the prevention 

 of tuberculosis in livestock. His most recent 

 experimental work has been with the problem 

 of sterility in domestic animals. In this con- 

 nection he has shown some of the inflaiences of 

 a concentrated pretein diet upon the potency 

 of germ cells. 



Dr. Lewis was at His best in his work about 

 his laboratory surrounded by his students and 

 associates. His personal interests were the last 

 to be considered and he made it easy, and a 

 source of pleasure, for his associates who 

 worked with him. His own high ideals of 

 service and love for the truth were the source 

 of inspiration for many college generations. 

 Many students went forth from his classroom 

 filled with the love of science and guided by 

 thei example of his calm and thoughtful leader- 

 ship to meet the problems of life with the same 

 determination, standards and ideals that he 

 imparted to them. Mere words can not sum- 

 marize services such as he rendered to the 



school and state. He left an inspiration in the 

 field of altruistic endeavor which will always 

 be held in high esteem by his students, friends 

 and colleagues. 



John E. Guberlet 

 Oklahoma Ageicultubal 

 Experiment Station 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



PRECISE STANDARDIZATION OF RADIO 

 FREQUENCIES 

 The Bureau of Standards has developed a 

 very precise method of standardization of 

 radio wave lengths and frequencies, which is 

 the fundamental basis of radio measurements 

 in this country. By the process used, the fre- 

 quency of radio waves is compared with that 

 of an audible musical note. A tuning fork is 

 mounted in such a way that it may be made to 

 control the frequency of an oscillatoi'y circuit. 

 The frequency of another oscillatory circuit 

 operating at much higher frequencies is then 

 compared with it by means of a cathode-ray 

 oscdllograiph. 



This latter instrument consists of the 

 cathode-ray tube, a special kind of vacuum 

 tube in which the narrow stream of electrons 

 is subjected to the action of electric fields ap- 

 plied by the two alternating-current genera- 

 tors. When neither generator is operating, the 

 electrons, impinging on the active screen at 

 the end of the tube, cause a single luminous 

 spot. If one generator is connected, the spot 

 is deflected back and forth along a single line, 

 horizontal or vertical as the case may be, with 

 such rapidity that it appears as a solid line. 

 If both generators are applied simultaneously, 

 the spot oscillates both horizontally and verti- 

 cally and appears, in general, as a blurred 

 luminous rectangle. If, however, the frequen- 

 dies of the two generators bear a simple ratio, 

 such as four to one, the spot traverses and 

 retraverses a definite simple path, forming a 

 figure by which the frequency ratio may be 

 recognized. It has been found possible to com- 

 pare frequency ratios as high as twenty-one 

 to one. 



The (bureau is at present engaged in the 

 standardization of a high precision standard 



