February 28, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



321 



sum of $2,000 for the construction of a fire- 

 proof vault within the walls of the Dudley 

 Observatory. This vault is now ready for 

 occupancy and the records will be placed 

 therein as soon as practicable. 



Nutrition Laboratory 



Although investigations began immedi- 

 ately on the establishment of the nutrition 

 laboratory five years ago, the novelty and 

 importance of its field have called for con- 

 tinuous additions to its equipment, while 

 added experience has suggested many im- 

 provements in the apparatus used. Thus 

 during the past year two balconies have 

 been added to the calorimeter laboratory, a 

 treadmill designed to measure severe mus- 

 cular work has been provided for a respira- 

 tion chamber, and numerous modifications 

 have been made in the calorimeters and 

 respiration apparatus of the laboratory. 

 More detailed studies of the bicycle ergom- 

 eter, which has hitherto proved so useful 

 in experiments on the metabolism of man 

 during excessive muscular work, have ren- 

 dered the apparatus available over a wider 

 range of experimentation and with a 

 higher degree of certainty than hitherto. 

 The importance and success of the experi- 

 ments alreadj^ undertaken at the labora- 

 tory have created a widespread interest in 

 the medical profession, and this interest 

 has led to many cooperative investigations 

 undertaken during the past year. The 

 novel equipment of the laboratory has been 

 the subject of much inquiry also, and many 

 investigators from other laboratories have 

 sought to secure copies of the apparatus 

 used and to learn more of the technique 

 developed by the director and his staff. 



One of the most interesting of the many 

 investigations under way during the year 

 is that of the metabolism of a subject who 

 underwent a prolonged fast, extending to 

 thirty-one days without food, and who 



drank only distilled water during this time. 

 This investigation required the cooperation 

 of a number of chemical, pathological and 

 psychological experts. A detailed report 

 on this elaborately observed experiment is 

 at present in preparation. Another note- 

 worthy investigation of the year is that on 

 metabolism during severe muscular work, 

 undertaken by Dr. E. P. Cathcart, of the 

 University of Glasgow, who was a research 

 associate of the institution during the win- 

 ter of 1911-12. Amongst other important 

 results of the latter research is the measure 

 it affords of the mechanical efficiency of 

 man. An account of this investigation is 

 likewise in preparation for publication. 



In addition to the numerous papers 

 which have appeared in current journals 

 from the laboratory, two volumes, Nos. 166 

 and 167 of the institution's series, have 

 been issued during the year. The first of 

 these is devoted to "The Composition of 

 the Atmosphere with Special Reference to 

 its Oxygen Content," and proves the re- 

 markable fact of the essential constancy of 

 this element in the atmosphere. 



Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 

 Highly effective progress has been made 

 by this department during the past year in 

 its magnetic survey of the globe. By 

 means of the non-magnetic ship Carnegie 

 it is now easier to make a magnetic survey 

 of the ocean areas than of the land areas, 

 for the former are now more readily ac- 

 cessible than the latter. At the end of the 

 preceding fiscal year the Carnegie was at 

 Batavia, Java. On November 21, 1911, 

 she set sail for an additional circuit of the 

 Indian Ocean, whence she proceeded to 

 Manila, Philippine Islands, where she ar- 

 rived February 3, 1912. From Manila she 

 proceeded to Suva, thence to Tahiti, and is 

 now en route to Coronel, Chili. During 

 the fiscal year she traversed about 28,000 



