536 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX. No. 1275 



towards the progress of chemistry in the 

 whole of its domain. 



JSTentral countries may be admitted later. 

 The next meeting of the conference will be 

 held in London on July 15-18, that being the 

 date of the annual meeting of the Society of 

 Chemical Industry. 



So far as Britain is concerned, the choice of 

 representatives and the supervision of the 

 arrangements for the first meeting will be in 

 the hands of the Federal Council for Pure and 

 Applied Chemistry, of which Sir William Pope 

 is president and Professor H. E. Armstrong 

 the honorary secretary. Until the various na- 

 tions concerned have chosen their representa- 

 tives, little can be done, but Sir William Pope 

 and Professor Louis are provisionally acting 

 as the British representatives, and are in com- 

 munication with their French colleagues. 



The meeting in Paris was held under the 

 auspices of the French chemical societies, 

 especially the Societe de Chemie Industrielle, 

 the president of which, M. Paul Kestner, pre- 

 sided at some of the meetings. 



THE BRITISH IMPERIAL ANTARCTIC 

 EXPEDITION 



Plans are being prepared for another Ant- 

 arctic expedition, which will sail in the 

 famous ship, Terra Nova, and be assisted by 

 the latest improvements in aviation and wire- 

 less telegraphy. The organization is already 

 in an advanced stage. 



It will be known as the "British Imperial 

 Antarctic Expedition," its leader being Mr. 

 John L. Cope. Mr. Coi)e's name is well 

 knovm in connection with expeditions to the 

 Antarctic. He accompanied the Imperial 

 Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-17 as sur- 

 geon and biologist to the Eoss Sea party, and 

 was one of the party of nine who were left on 

 the Great Ice Barrier to lay deposits after the 

 Aurora had broken away from her moorings. 

 Since returning to England Mr. Cope has 

 served in the E.IST.V.R. as a lieutenant, but he 

 has never abandoned the idea of organizing a 

 further venture at the earliest possible date. 



Arrangements are so far advanced that the 

 expedition will be able to leave England in 

 June, 1920, and Mr. Cope states that the ex- 



pedition will return in 1926. During the six 

 years continuous communication is to be 

 maintained with the centers of civilization by 

 means of wireless equipment. 



The main objects of the expedition will be: 



1. To ascertain the position and extent of 

 the mineralogical and other deposits of eco- 

 nomic value known to exist in Antarctica, 

 and arrange for their practical development as 

 a further source of imperial wealth. 



2. To obtain further evidence of the distri- 

 bution and migration of the whales of eco- 

 nomic value, and to create a British industry. 



3. To investigate the meteorological and 

 magnetic conditions of the Eoss Sea area and 

 at Cape Ann (Enderby Land) in connection 

 with their influence on similar conditions in 

 Australasia and South Africa, respectively. 

 Such results have been proved of great value 

 by the stations established by the Argentine 

 government in the South Orkneys and by that 

 established on Macqnarie Island by the com- 

 monwealth of Australia, which has been given 

 up owing to the war. 



4. Generally to extend knowledge of Ant- 

 arctica, especially with a view to obtaining fur- 

 ther scientific data of economic importance. 



Mr. Cope states that arrangements are being 

 made to take an aeroplane to assist in survey- 

 ing the interior of the continent. With this 

 machine even a flight to the South Pole is 

 contemplated. 



The reason for calling the enterprise the 

 " British Imperial Antarctic Expedition " is 

 that the efforts of Mr. Cope and his comrades 

 will be directed solely for the benefit of the 

 British Empire. The temporary headquarters 

 of the expedition are at 17, Somerset Street, 

 W-1. 



OUTLINE MAP OF THE UNITED STATES 



The United States Coast and Geodetic Sur- 

 vey has completed a new outline map of the 

 United States on the Lambert conformal conic 

 projection, scale 1-5,000,000. 



This map is intended merely as a base to 

 which may be added any kind of special in- 

 formation desired. The shore line is compiled 

 from the most recent Coast and Geodetic Sur- 

 vey charts. State names and iboundaries, prin- 



