174 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. L. No. 1286 



■ground hydrograpliy of our country. The In- 

 .stitute of the "Eegio Magistrate alle Acque " 

 of Venice, similar to the one which existed at 

 ,the time of the glorious Republic, and that of 

 the. commission for the study of hydraulic 

 regulation of the Po river are examples of 

 .activity in this problem, activity which has 

 already led to noteworthy results in several 

 regions of Italy. An important study of the 

 evolution of dikes for artificial lakes in high 

 mountains has been made by Dr. L. Luiggi, 

 with interesting comparisons between the 

 dikes constructed in the various countries of 

 the world, especially in the United States, and 

 conclusions on the mountain dikes in the high 

 valleys of the Alps and Apennines. In these 

 valleys it may be possible to make numerous 

 artificial lakes, in order to utilize better our 

 hydraulic resources, whether to create electric 

 energy, destined especially for the electro- 

 metallurgical and electrochemical industries, 

 or to fertilize arid ground which, if irrigated 

 properly, would produce more and better, or 

 merely to drain unproductive or malarious 

 regions, which with mechanical drainage could 

 rapidly be put under cultivation. 



The steel industry, which can not be at- 

 tempted by us on the vast scale it is in other 

 nations rich in iron and coal, has increased 

 noticeably. During the war the siderurgical 

 production of Italy was almost doubled in 

 comparison with preceding years. We did not 

 need to make changes in technical processes, 

 but we completed plants for producing metal- 

 lurgical coke and furnaces with apparatus for 

 the extraction of by-products, increased the 

 number of electric furnaces for steel, and con- 

 structed new hydroelectric plants or made use 

 of energy from other societies already estab- 

 lished. 



In the medical sciences, the mobilization of 

 the whole personnel and all the scientific re- 

 sources in the comitry has met admirably the 

 needs of the war; in our organized medical 

 service, which is considered one of the best in 

 existence, we have also found the time and 

 means to make interesting researches and 

 publish reports on them. The physiologists 

 occupied themselves essentially with the prob- 



lem of alimentation, and a scientific com- 

 mittee which applied itself to the various 

 questions connected with the subject was ap- 

 pointed. During the war the studies and ex- 

 periments of the physiologist Lo Monaco of 

 the University of Eome were made on the 

 action of sugar on the bronchial secretions. 

 According to these studies, sugar in solution 

 inoculated under the skin of those suffering 

 from respiratory diseases, determines a rapid 

 decrease in the quantity of bronchial secre- 

 tion, which is gradually reduced imtil finally 

 it ends completely. 



In the field of the economic and political 

 sciences, our studies and discussions on the 

 principle of nationality are especially inter- 

 esting at this moment. Senator Francesco 

 Rufiini brought to light and discussed in one 

 of his lectures another lecture given January 

 22, 1851, by Pasquale Stanislao Mancini, while 

 exiled by the Bourbons, with which he in- 

 augurated the first course in international law 

 given in Italy. The title of Mancini's lecture 

 is " On Nationality as Foundation for the 

 Law of the People," and it has remained 

 famous in the history of International Law, 

 constituting probably the most modern and 

 original page of the science of public law 

 which has been written by an Italian hand in 

 the past century. The economists and the 

 men of letters of " Italia irredenta " have con- 

 tributed in an efiicient manner to the study 

 and knowledge of all the problems which 

 should find their natural solution in these 

 times. 



In the geological and geographical sciences, 

 publications for actual and immediate use 

 have been edited, such as the Report of the 

 Commission for the study of Albania, and the 

 studies on Dalmatia and Alto Adige. The 

 Royal Italian Geographic Society has pub- 

 lished the studies and conferences of Baratta, 

 Taramelli, Martelli, Dainelli, Vinassa, Sillani 

 • and Tamaro, showing the Italian character- 

 istics of those regions and presenting the 

 justice of our aspirations. 



Although this review is necessarily incom- 

 plete, yet it may be an incentive to look into 

 the future and foresee what must be done to 



