Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

Dorsey, Minnesota, who emphasized the close relationship of genetic investigations on applied problems with other sciences, cooperation being particularly necessary to secure the greatest results. All who entered the discussion of this topic thought that cooperation should not go on so far as to attempt to direct another's research and that the success of any cooperation of this kind is limited by the mutual confidence of the workers.

At the close of the meeting it was agreed that no permanent organization should be formed but that informal meetings such as this should be arranged for whenever desirable. Professor L. J. Cole, who was elected chairman of the meeting, was voted to act as secretary ad interim.

D. F. JONES, Secretary pro tem.

NATIONAL PARKS1

WHILE a small number of scientific societies were represented, the conference was well attended, especially by those interested in natural parks for recreation purposes. Their aim is to secure more parks and protect existing ones. Very few of the existing parks and preserves are free from liability to extensive modification through recreation activities, scientific forestry, fires, or exploitation. Even the National Parks must be watched and defended against external aggression. There are now only a few areas aside from the National Parks which have been set aside with the intention that they should be left in a natural state. Most areas have been and probably will continue to be set aside primarily as recreation parks, or as forest preserves. The main business of those interested in areas to be held in an original state, must of necessity be to get areas set aside within these forest preserves and parks.

The following was made evident by the conference.

1 Report of the delegate of the American Society of Zoologists to the National Conference on Parks, Des Moines, Iowa, January 10-12, 1921. This report will be submitted to the American Society of Zoologists at their next annual meeting. -W. C. ALLEE, Secretary-Treasurer.

1. That the forces interested in the establishment of natural parks and forest preserves for recreation purposes-to make "better citizens through contact with nature" are well organized, and are probably the strongest force operating to secure more parks and protect existing ones.

2. Science has left them quite uninformed of its needs for natural areas and of the practical significance of scientific results which may accrue from study of natural areas. They welcome the idea of biological study as a further argument for natural tracts.

3. They are, however, without constructive plans of management of the smaller tracts which will insure them against destruction from over use as recreation parks. Such plans of management must be based on knowledge of plant and animal ecology which they do not possess.

4. They are engaged in drafting legislation and in advising legislators without the counsel of those interested in preserves for research purposes.

5. It is incumbent upon scientific societies, museums, and universities to organize and to provide funds which will serve the following purposes: (a) to place information as to the scientific uses, and scientific management of natural areas, into the hands of those individuals and organizations working for the preservation of natural conditions; (b) to make possible the representation of scientific needs before legislative bodies and officials; (c) to provide for furthering the wise selection of new areas, and (d) to make existing areas accessible to scientists by the publication of lists and guide books.

V. E. SHELFORD

SCIENTIFIC EVENTS

WORLD PRODUCTION OF COAL IN 1920

REPORTS received by the United States Geological Survey indicate that the total output in 1920 was about 1,300,000,000 metric tons. This, although a great increase over 1919, was still 42,000,000 tons short of the output in 1913, the last year before the Great War. The

[blocks in formation]

These figures are necessarily in part estimated, for official statistics are slow in coming in and for certain countries of eastern Europe notably Russia-even unofficial data are lacking. The figures are presented as tentative and subject to revision. As official reports are available for 92 per cent. of the world's output, the margin of error in the total probably does not exceed 1 or 2 per cent.

In comparing the 1920 output with that of the years before the war it must be remembered that the world's consumption of coal normally increases by leaps and bounds. The average rate of increase in the 20-year period preceding August, 1914, was 38,000,000 tons. Of course the waste and disorganization of the war have reduced the consuming capacity of many countries, but in other countries, notably the United States, requirements have been increasing at a rate greater if anything than before the war.

The present rate of production in the world is the resultant of conflicting forces; the decline in the war-torn countries is being offset in part by an increase in regions remote from the battlefields. In the belligerent countries of Europe the war cut heavily into production. Sometimes the cause of the decline was physical destruction of the mines, as in France; sometimes it was the drain upon the manpower of the nation; sometimes it was merely the economic disorganization and disruption of normal trade which attended the war. In

France the 1920 output (excluding the Saar and Alsace-Lorraine) was 46 per cent. less than that of 1913; in Great Britain the decline was 20 per cent.; in Germany (also excluding the Saar and Alsace-Lorraine) the output of bituminous coal decreased 24 per cent., a decrease which was in part, however, offset by the increased production of lignite. In eastern Europe the old Austro-Hungarian empire, Russia and the Balkans, the breakdown caused by the war was even greater than in western Europe, and the decline in output proportionately large. Of all the major European belligerents only Belgium had in 1920 practically reattained the pre-war rate of production.

While in 1913 Europe led all the continents as a producer of coal, contributing 54 per cent. of the world's output, in 1920 she had yielded first place to North America and her share of the world's total had shrunk to 46 per cent. The largest factor in filling the void caused by the war in Europe was, of course, the United States. Our production increased from 38.5 per cent. of the total for the world, in 1913, to 45.1 per cent. in 1920. In that year our seaborne exports of coal were 22,500 net tons, five times what they were in 1913.

TOP MINNOWS AS YELLOW FEVER
ERADICATORS

ACCORDING to The Fisheries Service Bulletin the success which has attended the use of the top minnow (Gambusia) in eradicating malarial mosquitoes in various parts of the United States has led to the employment of the same fish in combating an incipient epidemic of yellow fever at Tampico, Mexico.

Dr. A. R. Stubbs, of the Standard Oil Co., who visited the Washington office in March, reported that cases of yellow fever appeared at Tampico during the past summer, and there was every indication of a serious epidemic, as the conditions for the spread of the disease among the natives were most favorable. In addition to numerous outlying ponds, pools, sloughs, and marshes in which mosquitoes breed, all of the native houses have open barrels or other receptacles con

taining rain water that is used for domestic purposes and is the only supply of fresh water that the natives possess.

At the outset the oil interests organized an antimosquito campaign, conducted through a committee headed by Dr. Stubbs. About 600 men were constantly employed in oiling the ponds and other open waters, and also the receptacles in which the natives keep their water for domestic purposes. The use of crude oil on the water required by the natives for drinking and cooking naturally caused much dissatisfaction.

After some months, when an official of the U. S. Public Health Service visited Tampico, he mentioned the value of Gambusia in the antimosquito work of the Public Health Service and Bureau of Fisheries, and suggested that this fish might be available for the yellow-fever campaign at Tampico. A search was forthwith made and Gambusia was found in abundance in the vicinity. Since December 1 the top minnow has entirely replaced crude oil as an eradicator of mosquito larvæ, the natives are much pleased at the change, and the reduction in the expense has amounted to $3,000 weekly.

THE NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN1

FIVE years ago the commission of fine arts was requested to investigate and report as to the possibilities of relocating the existing Botanic Garden, at the foot of the Capitol, from its present restricted area to a more suitable site, and after surveying carefully several suggested sites in the District of Columbia decided upon Mount Hamilton and the land adjacent as the most suitable location for a National Botanic Garden. A year ago at a hearing before the joint congressional committee on the Library the plan was again thoroughly discussed. The highest scientific and botanical authorities in the country attended the hearings, and not only indorsed the site as being in location, area, variety of soil, elevation and accessibilty most adaptable for a National Botanic Garden, but asserted also the great need for such a garden as would 1 From The Washington Post.

be comparable with those of other great countries of the world.

Once the National Botanic Garden has been established and developed, it would be one of the great sightseeing places of Washington, which would be visited by thousands of persons annually. The Zoological park is 3.50 miles and Arlington National Cemetery 4.50 miles from the Capitol, yet each is visited by thousands of persons each week. The daily average attendance at the Zoological Park is 6,108, from 20,000 to 40,000 on Sundays and more than 2,000,000 for the year. The Mount Hamilton site is only two miles northeast of the Capitol, and is accessible by lines of street cars. In addition the National Botanic Garden would be a place where thousands of school children of the city could make a study of plant life and the garden would continually be a place of enjoyment for residents of the city. The Mount Hamilton site is on the main highway between Baltimore and Washington, one of the main approaches of the city. A boulevard would lead through the grounds along which a countless number of persons would travel each year in order to see the garden.

MEDICAL PRIZES

THE Journal of the American Medical Association announces the following prizes:

The Mörsel Foundation offers a prize of 10,000 marks for the best work on the etiology, diagnosis or treatment of cancer, representing important progress. A second prize of half the amount will be given for the second best work. Competition is open till October 1, 1922. Competing articles are to be sent to the director of the Institute for Experimental Cancer Research at Heidelberg. The competing works must be in German and must have been published between January 1, 1921, and October 1, 1922, or be ready for publication when presented.

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh announces the Parkin Prize of £100, open to competitors of all nations, for the best essay "On the Effect of Volcanic Action in the Production of Epidemic Diseases in the

Animal and in the Vegetable Creation, and in the production of Hurricanes and Abnormal Atmospheric Vicissitudes." Particulars regarding the conditions of the contest may be secured from the secretary, Dr. J. S. Fowler, Edinburgh.

In honor of Dr. Charles Lester Leonard who died in 1913 a martyr to research with the roentgen ray, the American Roentgen Ray Society offers a $1,000 prize for the best piece of original research in the field of roentgen ray, radium or radioactivity. The competition is open to any one living in the United States, or its possessions, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and Cuba. The research work must be submitted in writing in the English language not later than July 1. The winner will read his paper at the annual meeting of the society in September. Dr. Henry K. Pancoast of the University Hospital is a member of the committee in charge of the competition.

THE COMMITTEE ON PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNDER the auspices of the Division of Physical Sciences of the National Research Council, there has recently been formed a Committee on Physiological Optics consisting of

Professor Adelbert Ames, Dartmouth College,
Professor W. T. Bovie, Harvard University,
Dr. P. W. Cobb, Nela Research Laboratory,
Mr. L. A. Jones, Eastman Kodak Company,
Dr. W. B. Lancaster, Boston,
Dr. P. G. Nutting, Pittsburgh,
Dr. I. G. Priest, Bureau of Standards,
Professor J. P. C. Southall, Columbia University,
Dr. L. T. Troland, Emerson Hall, Harvard Univer-
sity, Cambridge, Mass.,

Professor F. K. Richtmyer, Cornell University,
Chairman.

This committee recently held a meeting in New York for the purpose of organization and discussion of the problems before it. The diversity of present theories of vision was thought to be due in large part to the circumstance that the workers in the sciences contributory to to visual phenomena, such as physics, physiology and psychology, seldom,

if ever, get together to talk over problems of mutual interest and to get each other's viewpoint.

To facilitate an interchange of ideas among the various groups of workers, the committee voted to request the Optical Society of America to form a Section on Vision. Such a section has been authorized by the society and the first meeting will be held in Rochester in October, 1921. It is hoped that all those interested in the pure or applied science of vision, such as physicists, physiologists, psychologists, ophthalmologists, photochemists, illuminating engineers, etc., will join the new section and will take an active part in its work.

The committee will also immediately make a survey of present research in progress. Later will be issued a report on the present status of physiological optics with some outstanding problems for research.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS

AT the annual dinner of the National Academy of Sciences on April 26, the following medals were presented: To Dr. Charles D. Walcott, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and president of the Academy, the first award of the Mary Clark Thompson Medal for distinguished achievement in geology and paleontology. To Albert I., Prince of Monaco, the Alexander Agassiz Gold Medal for contributions to the science of oceanography; to Dr. P. Zeeman, of Amsterdam, Holland, the Henry Draper Gold Medal for eminence in investigations in astronomical physics; to Rear Admiral C. D. Sigsbee, U. S. N., retired, the Agassiz Gold Medal, the same as the medal to the Prince but awarded one year later, for eminence in investigations in oceanography; to Dr. Robert Ridgway, the Daniel Giraud Elliot Gold Medal for his studies of the birds of North America, and especially in recognition of Part 8 of his "Birds of North and Middle America"; to Dr. C. W. Stiles, the Gold Medal for eminence in the application of science to the public welfare, in recognition of his work on the hook worm disease.

THE June issue of the Medical Review of Reviews will be a special radium number, dedicated to Mme. Curie. The issue will consist exclusively of articles on radium and its uses.

As Professor A. Netter of the University of Paris soon reaches the retirement age, his friends and pupils are planning to present him with a testimonial plate.

EIGHT professors of the College of Agriculture of Cornell University will be on sabbatic leave next year. They are Professors Herbert H. Whetzel, George W. Cavanaugh, Ralph S. Hosmer, Karl M. Wiegand, Arthur B. Recknagle, Blanche Hazard, Anna B. Comstock and Earl W. Benjamin. Professor Whetzel will organize a plant pathology service for the Bermuda Islands. Professor Hosmer will make a study of the forests of England, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. Dr. Benjamin will act as general manager of a poultry-producing firm in New Jersey, making efficiency and cost studies.

THE department of medical zoology of the school of hygiene and public health of the Johns Hopkins University has recently arranged to send during the summer of 1921 an expedition to Porto Rico for the purpose of studying the malaria problem and other problems involving disease-producing protozoa and their vectors. Dr. R. W. Hegner will devote his time especially to the study of the malarial organism and other blood-inhabiting protozoa and to the intestinal protozoa, and Dr. F. M. Root, who will accompany him, will make a survey of the mosquitoes, fleas and other distributors of pathogenic microorganisms.

WALTER L. HOWARD, professor of pomology in the University of California, now in charge of the new Deciduous Fruit Experiment Station at Mountain View, California, has been granted a year's leave of absence to make a study of root stocks for deciduous fruits. Accompanied by his family, he will sail from New York to Europe on June 25, going direct to Angers, France. The field of study will include France, Italy, Spain and England.

UNDER the auspices of the General Electric Company and Union College, Professor F. K. Richtmyer, of the Department of Physics at Cornell University, has given in Schenectady, during the present academic year, a course of lectures on modern physical theories.

On April 7, Professor Edward Kasner, of Columbia University, lectured on "Einstein's theory of gravitation" at the College of the City of New York. Professor Einstein attended and took part in the discussion.

DR. GEORGE H. PARKER, head of the department of zoology at Harvard University, is in residence at Pomona College as Harvard exchange professor, from April 11 to May 6, giving two courses of lectures, on "The origin of the nervous system" and "Smell, taste and allied senses."

PROFESSOR HARRIS J. RYAN, of Leland Stanford Junior University, spoke on April 20 before the Physics Club of the California Institute of Technology and the Mount Wilson Observatory on: "High voltage phenomena encountered in the study of the insulation requirements for the proposed 220,000 volt power transmission lines."

ON April 23 Dr. Dayton C. Miller, head of the department of physics, Case School of Applied Science, and secretary of the American Physical Society, gave an experimental lecture upon "Photographing and analyzing sound waves."

DR. HARVEY R. GAYLORD, director of the New York State Institute for Research in Malignant Diseases, and Dr. Charles Cary, of Buffalo, left for Germany on April 23 to investigate methods developed in Germany for applying X-rays to cancer.

JAMES ZETEK, formerly entomologist to the Panama Canal, has been appointed specialist in tropical insects with the Federal Horticultural Board, U. S. D. A., in charge of the temporary field station at Ancon, Canal Zone, Panama.

DR. PAUL E. KLOPSTEG, who has been connected with the sales and advertising department of Leeds and Northrup for several years,

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »