December 22, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



717 



matter. The old argument for the esistenee of 

 an ether because some medium is necessary to 

 transfer the radiant energy from the sun to 

 the earth has accordingly no weight. For we 

 now see that the radiation may be its own 

 medium, somewhat as the stream of water from 

 a hose acts as the medium for a wave if the 

 nozzle is shaken. 



Perhaps the only new thing in this letter is 

 that, according to the common signifleance of 

 the word, radiation must be considered a form 

 of matter. But it has seemed to me that a con- 

 sideration of this fact shows more clearly than 

 we have seen before that matter is essentialiy 

 continuous, and that the fundamental thing in 

 matter is not the positive and negative elec- 

 trons but is rather electi'ic mtensity. 



Aethue H. Compton 



Washington University, 

 St. Louis, Missouri 



RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC AID 



At the request of the Americsan Relief Ad- 

 mimis'tration, which has been receiving, repack- 

 ing and forwarding the contributions of Amer- 

 ican scientific books, journals and papers pub- 

 lished since January 1, 1915, for distribution 

 in Russia, I wis'h to ask that any further ship- 

 ments from contributors to the New York 

 warehouse (Gertzen and Company, 70 West 

 Street, New York) of tlie American Relief 

 Admimstration should be made prior to De- 

 cember 30, 1922. Up to date approximajtely 

 eleven tons of scientific literature have been 

 sent to Russia by the American committee. 

 This committee wishes to extend its wai-m 

 thanks to all donors. 



In response to the appeal for some money 

 with which to relieve the distress of the hun- 

 dred Russian intellectual exiles in Berlin,- I 

 have received np to this writing $865, of which 

 $500 came as a single gift f ix)m Princess Canta- 

 cuzene and the rest in five and ten dollar lots 

 from American seientiflc men. I have no doubt 

 that the total of $1,000 asked for will be 

 reached. 



Vernon Kellogg 

 National Research Council, 

 Washington, D. C. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



THE WATCHERS OF THE SKYi 



The romance of Science is not an infrequent 

 phrase and it describes as well as any other the 

 dramatic and striking phases of one side of 

 human activity. Its domain is modern because 

 all science is modern as a recognized pursuit 

 and one which is of good repute. It is treated 

 in many forms which vary from the fascina- 

 ting stories of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells to 

 the lurid and generally inaccurate articles in 

 the Sunday Press. In between, we have many 

 an essay or address which emphasizes the pic- 

 tm-esque features of the search for the secrets 

 of nature. But it is new for a poet of the first 

 rank amongst those living to recognize its 

 claims to ibe classed with love, war, and the 

 more obvious forms of nature's works and 

 human activities for expression in verse. In 

 one respect Mr. Noyes, who follows the great 

 poets of the past in taking a single theme, dif- 

 fers from them. Homer tells of the struggle 

 of man against man, Virgil of man against na- 

 ture, Milton of man against the unseen powers ; 

 it is always warfare or struggle in which one 

 side or the oifcher is to conquer. Here there is 

 no victory and no defeat. The Torch-bearers 

 are striving to learn not by defeating nature 

 but by cooperating with her, and the achieve- 

 ments of nature are of less importance than 

 the methods by which she works. He who learns 

 hands on his knowledge; the torch is passed, 

 not extinguished. 



Fix)m the preface we learn that the "Watch- 

 ers of the Sky" is the astronom.ical portion of 

 a trilogy the title of which "The Torch-bearers" 

 describes the main idea of the treatment. There 

 is no pretence at completeness — the poem is a 

 story not a history — -but the torch is followed 

 with some degree of conseeutiveness as it passes 

 from the hands of Copernicus through those of 

 Tyeho, Kepler, Galileo, until Newton held it 

 high for all the world to see. Later glimpses 

 show William Hersohel putting out his hand to 

 take it and Sir John bearing it for a time. The 

 setting of the whole poem places the first and 

 last word on the summit of Mount Wilson 



1 By Alfred Noyes. Published by the Freder- 

 ick A. Stokes Company. 



