October 4, 1912] 



SCIENCE 



447 



Public and private hospitality have been lavished 

 on the visitors, and nothing that could contribute 

 to their comfort and pleasure has been left un- 

 done. The organization has been admirable, and 

 the very heavy work entailed on the honorable 

 local secretaries. Professor D'Arcy Thompson, 

 C.B., Dr. A. H. Millar, and the Town Clerk, 

 Mr. W. H. Blyth Martin, has been carried out 

 without a hitch. The history of these meetings 

 proves that their success depends in a very large 

 measure on the local secretaries, and a generous 

 meed of praise is due to those in Dundee for their 

 untiring efforts on this occasion. 



The people of Dundee, moreover, realized the 

 fact, not always present to the minds of the 

 citizens of places visited by the association, that 

 they are most heartily welcome at its meetings, 

 and the way in which they flocked to the reception 

 rooms to take out their tickets rejoiced the hearts 

 of the president and his supporters. If further 

 evidence is needed of the warmth of Dundee's 

 welcome it is to be found in the munificent dona- 

 tion of £10,000 made by Dr. Caird, a distinguished 

 citizen, to the funds of the association. This noble 

 gift, unfettered by conditions, was handed in 

 the form of a check to the president. Professor 

 Schafer, at the conclusion of his opening address. 

 Of this address, which dealt with the problem of 

 the origin of life, it is unnecessary to speak in 

 detail, since it has been reported fully in The 

 Times, and has attracted widespread attention. 

 The origin of life also formed the subject of a 

 discussion between the Zoology and Botany Sec- 

 tions. This was one of the principal features of 

 the meeting, and attracted an audience so large 

 as to necessitate the hiring of a special hall for 

 its accommodation. The social program, arranged 

 and carried out with complete success, comprised 

 a civic reception, a splendid ball, and garden 

 parties, flower shows, and excursions far too nu- 

 merous for individual mention. The admirable 

 evening discourses by Professor W. H. Bragg, 

 F.E.S., on "Eadiations Old and New," and by 

 Professor A. Keith, on "The Antiquity of Man," 

 were attended by crowded audiences; and there 

 were besides three lectures for working men, one 

 by Professor Fowler on the Sun, another by Pro- 

 fessor Gonner on Prices and Wages, and the 

 third by Professor B. Moore on Science and Na- 

 tional Health, all of which were practical, inform- 

 ing and well attended. A brief summary of the 

 work in the various sections is given below, though 

 it must be understood that it is not possible to 

 cover so wide a field exhaustively. 



SECTION A MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCB 



Interest in this section centered chiefly in the 

 discussion on wireless telegraphy, when Sections 

 A and G (Engineering) joined forces. From 

 many points of view this discussion was one of the 

 most important features of the Dundee meeting. 

 Contrary to the usual custom, practical achieve- 

 ments were almost disregarded and there was a 

 total absence of those sensational announcements 

 which have tended to become characteristic of 

 public discussions on wireless telegraphy. So far 

 as a section of the public is concerned this may 

 have been unfortunate, but it was welcomed by 

 many of the engineers and physicists present. 

 The points discussed were: the "bending" of 

 the waves to follow the contour of the earth, and 

 the so-called "day-light effect," which makes it 

 possible to transmit signals for a very much 

 greater distance by night than by day, using the 

 same power. Several distinguished physicists and 

 electricians took part in the discussion, among 

 them being Lord Eayleigh, Professor Fleming, 

 Professor S. P. Thompson, Dr. W. H. Eccles and 

 Professor Howe. 



Much time was devoted to papers on general 

 physics and mathematics. An interesting discus- 

 sion took place on the atomic heat of solids, in 

 which Section B also joined. The opening remarks 

 were made by Dr. F. A. Lindemann. On more 

 than one occasion when the section divided into 

 two parts, that part which dealt with general 

 physics fell completely into the hands of the radio- 

 activity enthusiasts, and some excellent papers and 

 discussions resulted. For example. Professor J. C. 

 M'Lennan succeeded in convincing the majority of 

 his audience that the earth's radiation is prac- 

 tically constant and does not suffer any diurnal or 

 other variation. It was interesting to observe also 

 that some attention is being paid to such matters 

 as the velocity and direction of the wind above 

 ground level, and the temperature of the upper 

 atmosphere, for these things must of necessity 

 have considerable bearing on aviation problems. 



SECTION B CHEMISTBT 



The proceedings of this section have been 

 spoken of as highly technical in character, but 

 the problems which chemists are now engaged in 

 studying are of a far more fundamental character 

 and far more closely related to the affairs of life 

 than those of most other sections. Theirs is the 

 task of unravelling some of the mysteries on 

 which the president of the association dwelt at 

 length in the opening address, and by some it is 

 held that it will rest with the chemists eventually 



