218 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1393 



act as messengers and keep the rooms and 

 grounds in order. 



Messrs. A. "W. Long and J. F. Skjellerup, 

 two voluntary observers, have undertaken a 

 program of observations of variable stars, and 

 an equatorial (either the 6-inch or the 7-inch) 

 has been placed at their disposal as required 

 for this purpose. The regular meridian ob- 

 servers during the year have been Messrs. 

 Cheeseman, Wilkin, Peirce, Mullis, Duncan 

 and Davis. The heliometer observations have 

 been made by Messrs. Hough and Halm. The 

 observations with the Victoria telescope have 

 been made by Messrs. Lunt, Jackson and 

 Baines, those with the astrographic telescope 

 by Mr. Woodgate. Occasional observations of 

 occultations, etc., have also been made by 

 Messrs. Cox, Power and Pead. 



THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON 

 ILLUMINATION 



The first technical session of the Interna- 

 tional Commission on Illumination, the suc- 

 cessor of the International Photometric Com- 

 mission, was held in Paris on July 4—8. 

 According to the report of the meeting in 

 Nature those interested in illumination prob- 

 lems in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, 

 Spain, Switzerland and the United States of 

 America were represented at the session, 

 which was opened by the Minister of Public 

 "Works, who welcomed the delegates in the 

 name of the French Republic. The British 

 delegates, nominated by the ^National Illumin- 

 ation Committee of Great Britain, were: 

 Major K. Edgcumbe (Institution of Electrical 

 Engineers, chairman of the National Commit- 

 tee), Mr. C. C. Paterson (hon. secretary and 

 treasurer of the International Commission), 

 Mr. A. P. Trotter (Illuminating Engineering 

 Society), Dr. E. H. Eayner (National Physi- 

 cal Laboratory), Mr. L. Gaster (Illuminating 

 Engineering Society), Mr. R. Watson (In- 

 stitution of Gas Engineers), and Mr. J. W. 

 T. Walsh (National Physical Laboratory, as- 

 sistant secretary of the International Commis- 

 sion). The subjects dealt with by the commis- 

 sion were as follows: (1) The unit of candle- 

 power at present in use in this country and 



in France and the United States was adopted 

 for international purposes, and is to be known 

 as the " international candle." It is main- 

 tained by means of electric incandescent 

 lamps at the National Laboratories of the 

 three countries named. (2) The definitions of 

 the terms " luminous flux," " luminous inten- 

 sity," and " illumination," and the units of 

 these quantities, viz. the lumen, the candle, 

 and the lux (meter-candle), were agreed upon. 

 (3) The subjects of heterochromatic photom- 

 etry (including physical photometry and the 

 characteristics of the " normal eye "), fac- 

 tory lighting, and automobile head-lighting 

 were also discussed at the meetings, and 

 sub-committees were appointed to study the 

 questions from the international point of 

 view during the next three years. The new 

 president of the commission is Dr. E. P. 

 Hyde, director of the Nela Research Labora- 

 tories of America, and Major Edgcumbe is 

 one of the three vice-presidents. The next 

 meeting of the commission was provisionally 

 arranged to be held in New York in 1924. 



CHEMISTRY AND CIVILIZATION 



The American Chemical Society, meeting 

 this week in New York City, held on Sep- 

 tember 8 a session devoted to " Chemistry 

 and Civilization." According to the an- 

 nouncement Dr. Edgar F. Smith, provost 

 emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, would 

 be in the chair, and the speakers were: 



The role of chemistry, Dr. Chas. Baskerville, 

 director of the Laboratories, College of the City 

 of New York; chairman of the International 

 Committee. 



Energy; its sources and future possibilities, Dr. 

 Arthur D. Little, chemical engineer and tech- 

 nologist, Boston. 



Tlie engineer; human and superior direction of 

 power, Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, honorary pro- 

 fessor of chemical engineering, Columbia Univer- 

 sity. 



Chemistry and life. Sib William J. Pope, pro- 

 fessor of chemistry, Cambridge University. 



Theories, Dr. Willis E. Whitnet, head of re- 

 search department, General Electric Company. 



BesearcJi applied to the world's worJc, Dr. C. E. 



