especially since the beginning of this century, there is prima facie evidence for the inclusion of astronomy as a sine qua non in the equipment of the Field Archæologist.

The second part of the volume deals with particular earthworks visited in the form of a day's itinerary in each chapter. Distance, direction, state of roads, possible methods of locomotion, charming descriptions of the country and places of rest and entertainment are all given, yet never obscure the primary function of the book, the description of the earthworks. The author examines quite judicially many interesting, arguable points but never becomes dogmatic; there are also many practical hints which the amateur archæologist will find invaluable. For example, the finding of a Roman coin does not prove that the Romans Στον built the earthwork, Many each of which may have been succes

Axis.

574

etlo sively occupied by different peoples over a long period. Ano The close investigation of all finds is absolutely necessary from all points of o view, if faulty conclusions are to be avoided. A propos of this Dr. Williams Freeman relates a story concerning "Black Bar" or "Black Barrow," an oval sandhill near Linwood. Certain excavators found charcoal and Roman pottery, but as regards the latter an "old inhabitant of the district says that in his youth he used to put bits of potget the employment

The resulting book is divided into three sections, a division which adds considerably to its value and has made it far more generally useful, interesting and readable.

The first section deals with the general subject of field archæology, including earthworks, ethnology, roads, the influence of the natural features of the country on the nature of the earthworks likely to be found therein, etc. The author rightly insists on Field Archæology being the Scientia Scientarum, that all sciences are its handmaidens, and he enumerates several. But surely in the data and results accumulated, more 1 "An Introduction to Field Archæology as Illustrated by Hampshire." By Dr. J. P. William Freeman. Pp. xxi1+462. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1915.) Price 155. net

tery into the hill in order to of digging them out"!

The fifth day's journey, according to schedule, takes us from Hampshire, because, being near to Stonehenge, it would be an "unpardonable archæological sin" not to visit our most famous and grandest megalithic monument. The author carefully describes the monument and, as is his custom, judicially sifts the archæological evidence concerning its origin and date. He points out that the date astronomically determined by Sir Norman Lockyer and Mr. Penrose has been independently confirmed by two other, totally different, lines of evidence and must be accepted. But the Friar's Heel was not the index mark for

COTTON FOR GERMAN AMMUNITION.

ΤΗ

HE appointment of Mr. Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions is a sign that the reconstituted Government has at length realised the serious importance of ammunition in warfare. The complement of Mr. George's work will now surely be the exclusion of materials of ammunition from our enemies. It is now many months since Mr. Runciman, President of the Board of Trade, whose special mission was to deal with commerce with the enemy, was implored to place cotton and cotton goods on the list of contraband; it was urged that only by this course could the German troops be deprived of ammunition. But the attitude of mind which induced Mr. Runciman, some years ago, in criticising Lord Roberts' efforts to bring the nation to apprehend the danger which menaced us, to wish to "apologise to our good friends the Germans," appeared to have persisted. After much pressure, the Order in Council of March 14 was issued, apparently excluding cotton. The effect was nil. Cotton still poured into Germany, as appeared from returns chronicled in the Times of June 10, in answer to a Parliamentary question, where enormous increases in the exports of cotton and yarns into Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands in the figures for April, 1915, over those for April, 1914, were reported. Imports might have been stopped at once had cotton been declared contraband of war.

It is to be regarded as most unfortunate that Sir Edward Grey, in his letter to Dr. Page on January 14, gave the promise: "His Majesty's Government have never put cotton on the list of contraband; they have throughout the war kept it on the free list; and on every occasion, when questioned on the point, they have stated their intention of adhering to the practice." It is not going too far to say that this decision has, and will, cost Britain and her Allies many thousands of lives.

The supreme tragedy of this war is that while the patriotic and unselfish citizens of the Empire are risking all to save the world from German domination, our Government has been contributing to their destruction. To fight the enemy abroad is necessary, and calls for the utmost exertion of the manliest of our race; but to have to fight an enemy at home leads us to despair of victory. Even yet, cotton is entering Germany; and I learn from French sources that African wood (“ogoubi") and Norwegian wood pulp are being tried by the Germans as substitutes. These must all be declared contraband; that step, and that step alone, will deal a final blow to the enemy.

BY

WILLIAM RAMSAY.

MR. F. H. NEVILLE, F.R.S.

Y the death, in his sixty-eighth year, of Mr. F. H. Neville, at Letchworth, on June 5, the scientific world, and metallurgists in particular, have to mourn the loss of a singularly

gifted man and a most charming personality.

Neville took his degree in the Mathematical

Tripos of 1871, when he was bracketed fifteenth wrangler. He was elected a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in the same year. The bent of his mind was, however, in the direction of experimental science rather than mathematics, and early in 1880 he took over the management of the chemical laboratory at his college.

to

About 1888, the work of Raoult on the lowering of the freezing points of solutions was brought prominently into notice, and it occurred Neville and Mr. C. T. Heycock to see if the same laws applied to metallic solutions. A first paper was read before the Chemical Society on June 3, 1889, on the lowering of the freezing point of tin by the addition of other metals, in which it was shown that, as regards a metal like tin, the effect of dissolving other metals was generally the same, so far as the freezing point was concerned, as in the case of aqueous and other solutions. After the first paper was published, more extended experiments were made, great trouble being caused by the rapid shift of zero of the mercury thermometers. With the assistance of Prof. Callendar and Principal E. H. Griffiths, Neville and Heycock were able to use the platinum resistance pyrometer, and from that time the thermal work was comparatively rapid and accurate. The investigations on alloys were continued with but slight intervals up to the autumn of last year, but by far the heaviest piece of work, both thermal and microscopical, was on the alloys of tin and copper; this formed the subject of the Bakerian Lecture.

In 1897 Neville was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. No one knows better than the present writer how large a part Neville took in all the researches with which he was jointly associated, or how he could bring a mind trained in mathematical precision to bear on his scientific work. Only those who have dealt with the complex problems of alloys can appreciate the difficulty of disentangling the maze of experimental results and sifting out the good from the worthless, and so preventing the main problem from getting side-tracked.

Those who had the privilege of knowing Neville well were aware that he was a man of many gifts and wide reading-an excellent French, German, and Italian scholar, an authority on Italian history, and deeply interested in metaphysical speculations.

A more modest man, or one who had less push, in the worldly sense, it would be impossible to find. His death has left a deep gap, which his friends know well they will never be able to fill.

NOTES.

In reply to a question asked in the House of Commons on June 14, it was announced that the Board of Trade had decided to dispense with the wool test for colour-blindness from January 1 next.

MR. J. B. TYRRELL, of Toronto, was elected president of the Geological Section of the Royal Society of Canada at its annual meeting held in Ottawa on May 25-27.

THE Institution of Mining Engineers has awarded its medal this year to Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S., in recognition of his work on the causes of death in colliery explosions and other subjects connected with mines.

WE notice with much regret the announcement that Captain J. W. Jenkinson, late fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and University lecturer in embryology, was killed on June 4 in the trenches in Gallipoli. He was forty-three years of age.

It is announced in the issue of Science for May 28 that at its annual meeting, held on May 12, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, acting upon the recommendation of the Rumford Committee, voted: "That the Rumford Premium be awarded by the Academy to Charles Greeley Abbott for his researches on solar radiation."

A JOINT meeting of the Aristotelian Society, the British Psychological Society, and the Mind Association will be held on July 3 and 5 next. On July 3 the meeting will take place at University College, Gower Street, London, W.C., when, at 6 p.m., the annual meeting of the Mind Association will be held. Prof. G. F. Stout will contribute a paper on Mr. Bertrand Russell's theory of judgment. On July 5 the meeting will be at 22 Albemarle Street, London, W. At 4 p.m. the annual meeting of the Aristotelian Society has been arranged, and at 5 p.m. there will be a symposium on the import of propositions, by Miss Constance Jones, Dr. Bernard Bosanquet, and Dr. F. C. S. Schiller.

WE referred in NATURE of June 3 to the forthcoming sale of Stonehenge by auction. The property is under the protection of the Ancient Monuments Act, which ensures its preservation; and the auctioneers, Messrs. Knight, Frank, and Rutley, 20 Hanover Square, W., announce that Sir Cosmo Antrobus, who is only tenant for life, proposes, if his powers permit him to do so, to impose conditions providing for the public having access thereto for all time. It is hoped, however, that Stonehenge may be bought either by the Government or by a learned society, and if any reasonable proposal be made for its acquisition with the intention of preserving the monument in the public interest, the auctioneers are instructed to facilitate a sale by private treaty before the auction.

IN NATURE of May 20 we announced the death of Prof. P. Zeeman, since 1902 professor of geometry and theoretical mechanics in the University of Leyden. Prof. Zeeman was born at Hoorn (Holland) in 1850, studied in Leyden, and in 1882 became professor of mathematics at the Polytechnic School (now Technical High School), Delft, where he remained until his appointment at Leyden. He was the author of many contributions to geometry, and an admirable teacher and examiner, who won the affection of all his pupils and colleagues. Prof. Zeeman, of Leyden, has been confused with Prof. P. Zeeman, of Amsterdam. It may, therefore, be worth mention here that the professor of physics of Amsterdam is much younger than his late Leyden colleague, being born in 1865, and no

near relative of the latter. Prof. Zeeman of Amsterdam also studied at Leyden, and there discovered in 1896 the magnetic separation of the spectral lines which bears his name. In 1897 he became lecturer, in 1900 professor, at Amsterdam; and in 1908 he succeeded van der Waals as director of the Physical Laboratory. We record with much regret the death on June 15, at eighty-six years of age, of Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, K.C.B., honorary vice-president of the Institution of Naval Architects, and formerly Director of Naval Construction. From an obituary notice in Wednesday's Times we extract the following particulars of his career and work. Nathaniel Barnaby entered Sheerness Dockyard as a shipwright apprentice when fourteen years old, and in 1848 gained one of the scholarships thrown open to competition among his class by the Lords of the Admiralty. He passed through the Portsmouth School with distinction, and was appointed a draughtsman in the Royal Dockyard at Woolwich in 1852. He was afterwards transferred to the Constructive Department of the Admiralty as a draughtsman; and for thirty years he remained in that department, rising to be its head in 1870, when Sir Edward Reed resigned his position of Chief Constructor. In 1872 he was definitely appointed to the position of Chief Naval Architect, a title which in 1875 was changed to that of Director of Naval Construction. In this position he continued with eminent success until 1885, when overwork caused a serious failure of health, and he decided to retire from the public service, being succeeded by the late Sir William White. After his retirement from the public service Sir N. Barnaby took, naturally, a less active part in questions of naval construction than previously. He was, however, often seen at the meetings of the Institution of Naval Architects, of which he was one of the founders, and the Transactions of which contain a number of papers from his pen, from the first volume onwards. Sir N. Barnaby was also the writer of articles of a technical character for the "Encyclopædia Britannica," and of several books on shipbuilding and naval development. He leaves a married daughter and a son, Mr. Sydney Barnaby, who holds the position of technical director and naval constructor with Messrs. Thornycroft.

Ar the anniversary meeting of the Linnean Society. on May 29 the following officers were elected :-President, Prof. E. B. Poulton; Treasurer, Mr. Horace W. Monckton; Secretaries, Dr. B. Daydon Jackson, Dr. Otto Stapf, and Prof. E. A. Minchin; Council, Mrs. Agnes Arber, Mr. R. Assheton, Dr. W. T. Calman, Mr. A. D. Cotton, Sir Frank Crisp, Bart., Mr. J. Groves, Prof. D. T. Gwynne-Vaughan, Prof. W. A. Herdman, Dr. B. D. Jackson, Miss G. Lister, Prof. E. A. Minchin, Mr. H. W. Monckton, Dr. C. E. Moss, Prof. E. B. Poulton, Dr. A. B. Rendle, Mr. H. Scott, Prof. A. C. Seward, Dr. A. E. Shipley, Dr. Otto Stapf, and Comr. J. J. Walker, R.N. The Trail award and medal for 1915 were presented to Dr. Leonard Doncaster, and Sir George Reid, G.C.M.G., the High Commissioner for Australia, received the Linnean gold medal for transmission to Mr. J. H. Maiden, of Sydney, New South Wales. At the general

434

meeting of the society on June 3, the president announced that he had appointed Mr. H. W. Monckton, Dr. A. B. Rendle, Prof. A. C. Seward, and Dr. A. E. Shipley vice-presidents for the ensuing year.

THE Daily Chronicle published on June 9 a long telegram from its New York correspondent, quoting from the New York Tribune the chief passages in a despatch from Mr. D. B. Macmillan, of Harvard University, the leader of the American expedition which has been at work to the north-west of Greenland since the summer of 1913. The main object of this expedition was to explore "Crocker Land," which Rear-Admiral Peary thought that he sighted from the north-west coast of Grant Land in 1906. The despatch now published was written a year ago, and the most important statement in it-that the appearance of land was seen in the direction indicated by Admiral Peary, but vanished as the explorers journeyed towards it, so that they concluded it was only a mirage-merely repeats information which was made known last winter through a despatch addressed to the American Museum of Natural History by Mr. W. E. Ekblaw, geologist and biologist to the expedition. Mr. Macmillan mentions that he has recovered records left behind by the Kane expedition and the Nares expedition. He also found in good condition milk and pemmican cached by Capt. Sverdrup twelve years ago. The work planned for this year included a journey by Mr. Macmillan himself for the exploration of the region south of the islands discovered by the Sverdrup expedition, and at journey by another party for the exploration of Greely Fiord and the Lake Hazen region in Grant Land.

at a banquet held in Paris, the steel-makers of Europe united to do him honour, and he was created by the French Government an Officer of the Legion of Honour. Ten days before his death the Bessemer medal awarded him by the council of the Iron and Steel Institute was handed to a representative of the French Embassy, who attended on his behalf at the spring meeting of the institute.

AT the shrine of the saint Sháh Daula at Gujrát in the Punjab the precincts of the building are occupied by a crowd of imbeciles who, from the elongated shape of their heads, are known as “Sháh Daula's Rats." Much interest has been shown in these curious creatures, and the question has been discussed whether this malformation is hereditary or artificial. In the June issue of Man Mr. M. Longworth Dames has collected references to the literature of the subject. From inquiries on the spot he finds them to be harmless, good-natured creatures possessing only primitive instincts and absolutely undeveloped minds. He concludes that the peculiar shape of their heads is the result of pressure applied by the mother that she may be able to devote her child to the saint to whom she owes the relief of her barrenness. He quotes an interesting account of such head-shaping from Mr. Bray's "Life History of a Brahui," and he believes, with good reason, that the practice is more common in Northern India than is commonly believed.

Of all the races of existing mankind, none is so the interesting to the physical anthropologist as Eskimo. No race possesses so many peculiar structural characters. In the last Museum Bulletin (No. 9. March 6, 1915) issued by the Canadian Department of Mines, Mr. F. H. S. Knowles directs attention to the

Various

After

with iron oxide and scrap steel, his first patent being taken out in July, 1865. The actual discovery that steel could be made in this way was not new, for Réaumur had in 1722 carried out the same experiment, but only on a laboratory scale. metallurgists afterwards endeavoured to follow this method, but none of them were able to create a sufficiently high temperature in the melting hearth. M. Martin was the first to apply the principle of regenerative heating to his furnace, and in the early 'sixties he began experimenting with a Siemens furnace of one ton capacity at Sireuil in France. numerous failures and disappointments, he at length succeeded in producing open-hearth steel of regular quality and composition, and his process was taken up by two of the leading French steel works. success of the process attracted the attention of his competitors, and the validity of his patents was attacked on the strength of Réaumur's prior publication, although the latter had led to no practical result. Not having the financial means to defend the lawsuits brought against him, he was compelled, after two or three years, to give up the struggle and retire into private life, and for many years his existence was forgotten, although on the Continent the process was A few years ago always associated with his name. it became known that he was alive, and in June, 1910,

The

in

ence in the skulls of Eskimo. The fossa is shallow, while the articular eminence is flattened and extended forward direction. a Mr. The condition, in Knowles's opinion, is not unlike that seen in the skulls of Neanderthal man, and also, to a lesser degree, in the skulls of anthropoid apes. In most modern races of man, particularly in those living under the higher forms of civilisation, the glenoid fossa is deep and the articular eminence high and steep. Mr. Knowles seeks for an explanation of these contrasted forms of glenoid cavity in the nature of diet and in the movements of the lower jaw in mastication. As is well known, the diet of the Eskimo is particularly tough -the raw skin of whale, porpoise, and seal being looked upon as delicacies. Mr. Knowles regards the flattening of the articular eminence in the Eskimo, and also in Neanderthal man, as an adaptation to permit a free side-to-side movement of the jaw, such a movement being necessary for the proper mastication of tough substances.

We have received from Mr. Johs. Schmidt a paper, printed in the Comptes rendus des Travaux du Laboratoire de Carlsberg, 1915, on the amount of lupulin in plants of the hop (Humulus lupulus, L.) raised by crossing. Detailed accounts of the crossing experiments are given, and the results are set out clearly in tabular form; 21 English, Danish, Austrian, and