422 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1134 



the large pueblo; (e) explored the cave dwell- 

 ings in the southern mesa and the caves in the 

 so-called " tent villages." No certain evidence 

 of prehistoric occupation was found in either 

 case, in spite of reports to the contrary. Nine 

 hundred and five artifacts were catalogued: 

 613 of stone, 159 of pottery, 88 of bone, 25 

 miscellaneous (fabric, rope, games, pendants, 

 etc.) together with 21 burials and 53 evidences 

 of food. Twenty-seven pieces of pottery were 

 taken out whole, including five tinajes. The 

 most important single find was that of an an- 

 thropomorphic figure of clay, originally col- 

 ored red, with turquoise eyes and a turquoise 

 in the chest. The work of excavation will be 

 continued for at least another season. 



According to the London correspondent of 

 the Journal of the American Medical Associa- 

 tion the births registered in England in the 

 fourth quarter of 1915 corresponds to a rate 

 of 19.5 annually per thousand of the popula- 

 tion. This rate is 4.6 per thousand below the 

 mean birth rate in the ten preceding fourth 

 quarters and 2.7 below the rate in the corre- 

 sponding period of 1914; it is the lowest birth 

 rate recorded in any quarter since the estab- 

 lishment of civil registration. The natural in- 

 crease of population in England and Wales 

 last quarter by excess of births over deaths 

 was 46,368, against 87,995, 89,045 and 77,394 

 in the fourth quarters of 1912, 1913 and 1914, 

 respectively. The deaths registered in the 

 same quarter correspond to an annual rate of 

 14.6 per thousand persons living; this rate is 

 0.3 per thousand above the mean rate in the 

 ten preceding fourth quarters, and 0.7 per 

 thousand above the rate in the fourth quarter 

 of 1914. During the year 1915 there were 

 814,527 births and 562,326 deaths registered 

 in England and Wales. The natural increase 

 of population, by excess of births over deaths, 

 was, therefore, 252,201, the average annual in- 

 crease in the preceding five years having been 

 378,360. The number of persons married dur- 

 ing the year was 720,052. The marriage rate 

 was 19.3 persons married per thousand of the 

 population, which is 3.5 per thousand above 

 the rate in 1914 and higher than the rate in 

 any other year on record. One of the phe- 



nomena of the present time is the war wed- 

 ding. The greater part of the young men of 

 the country have joined the army and often 

 marry before leaving for the front. The rea- 

 son generally appears to be financial. If they 

 join the ranks their wives are entitled to sepa- 

 ration allowances, and if they are killed, to 

 pensions. In the better classes, from which 

 the officers usually come, the desire that their 

 fiancees shall succeed to their property is 

 another motive. Compared with the average 

 in the ten years 1905-1914, the marriage rate 

 in 1915 showed an increase of 3.9 per thou- 

 sand. The birth rate was 21.8 per thousand of 

 the population, which is 1.8 per thousand be- 

 low the rate in 1914, and lower than the rate 

 in any other year on record. Compared with 

 the average in the ten years 1905-1914, the 

 birth rate in 1915 showed a decrease of 3.6 per 

 thousand. The death rate in 1915 was 15.1 

 per thousand, which was 1.2 per thousand 

 above the rate in 1914. Compared with the 

 rate in the ten years 1905-1914, the death rate 

 in 1915 showed an increase of 0.7 per thou- 

 sand. 



We learn from Nature that at the annual 

 general meeting of the Chemical Society held 

 at Burlington House, Dr. Alexander Scott pre- 

 sided, and a discussion took place with regard 

 to the removal from the list of those honorary 

 and foreign members who are alien enemies, and 

 it was decided to refer the matter to the council 

 for further consideration. It was with great 

 pleasure the president announced that the fol- 

 lowing donations had been made to the re- 

 search fund: (a) £1,000 from Dr. G. B. Long- 

 staff, whose father, by his gift of a similar 

 amount, was largely instrumental in founding 

 the research fund forty years ago; (b) £1,000 

 from Mrs. and Miss Miiller, in commemora- 

 tion of the late Dr. Hugo Miiller's long con- 

 nection with the society; (c) £500 from Dr. 

 Alexander Scott, to mark his appreciation of 

 the valuable work done by the research fund, 

 and in commemoration of the seventy-fifth 

 anniversary of the society. Professor G. G. 

 Henderson -and Professor A. Lapworth were 

 elected new vice-presidents, and Mr. A. Chas- 

 ton Chapman, Mr. C. A. Hill, Dr. B. H. Pick- 



