metallurgical engineering, Case School of Applied Science; John F. Eckel, A.B., chemistry, University of Kansas; Hyman Freeman, B.S., engineering chemistry, Georgia School of Technology; Frank C. Norris, B.S., chemical engineering, University of Illinois, and Harold E. White, E.M., mining and metallurgy, Lehigh University. The research fellows will begin their work on August 15 for a period of ten months. Two advisory boards, one composed of mining engineers and operators, and the other of metallurgical engineers and steel executives, will assist in selecting the problems for study. Each research fellow will conduct his studies under the direction of a senior investigator from the Bureau of Mines. At the completion of their studies they will be eligible to receive the degree of master of science from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. As in the past, reports of the investigations to be made during the coming college year will be published in bulletin form for public distribution. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NOTES By the will of Randolph McNutt, a furniture dealer of Buffalo, N. Y., Dartmouth College receives the residuary estate, valued at more than $750,000, to be used for general educational purposes. AN annual appropriation of $10,000 for five years has been given to Princeton University by the Public Service Electric and Gas Company of New Jersey for the advance of "pure scientific research." THE Burma Oil Company has offered £100,000 to the new Rangoon University, India, for a college of mining and engineering, to be associated with the name of the company. DR. BARNETT SURE, of the College of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas, has been promoted to a professorship and has been appointed head of the department of agricultural chemistry. DR. JAMES B. KENDRICK, of the department of botany of Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, has been appointed associate professor in the division of plant pathology of the University of California, at the experiment station at Davis, California. DR. G. L. CLARK, assistant professor of chemistry in the chemical engineering department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will succeed Dr. G. D. Beal next year at the University of Illinois, where he has been appointed associate professor. S. F. BIBB, of the University of North Dakota, has been appointed professor of mathematics at the Armour Institute of Technology. DR. I. DE BURGH DALY, lecturer in experimental physiology in the Welsh National School of Medicine of the University of Wales, Cardiff, has been appointed to the chair of physiology in the University of Birmingham to succeed Professor E. Wace Carlier, who has retired. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE THE STACKABILITY OF TETRAKAI DECAHEDRA IN the issue of SCIENCE for June 18, 1926, Frederic T. Lewis, in a communication entitled "An Objective Demonstration of the Shape of Cells in Masses," makes the following statement: "Meanwhile Lord Kelvin had found that a fourteen-sided figure-a cube truncated by an octahedron1-having six quadrilateral and eight hexagonal surfaces, solves the problem of dividing space without interstices into uniform bodies of minimal surface." In the issue of SCIENCE for September 3, 1926, John Millis, in a communication under the title, "The Shape of Cells in Masses," begins his paper with the above quotation from the article by Lewis. Millis continues as follows: "The statement is a correct expression of Lord Kelvin's claim as set forth in the somewhat famous Baltimore lectures of several years ago. But the claim is entirely wrong. Having been myself perplexed by so direct and confident an announcement from such an eminent source, let me ask that a definite correction of a serious error be now made in order that others may be saved from being misled and perhaps from consequent mistakes. The volume described, called the tetrakaidecahedron, does not possess the properties as stated. Equal volumes of this pattern will not fit together without voids, as a brief consideration of the dihedral angles or the angles between the faces and the relations of the faces or a practical trial with models would at once have shown." Such a positive and detailed criticism, pointing out the claimed "error" in Lord Kelvin's equally positive statement, supported by Lewis, might have settled the matter, except that the writer took the suggestion made by Millis in the last sentence quoted above and considered the dihedral angles and even constructed models as advised. If one consider the cross-sectional plane through the center of the volume (passing the sectioning plane perpendicularly through a face of the figure), the resulting section is a hexagon. If we consider the angles in the hexagon we find that they are equal to the corresponding dihedral angles of the volume in question and are as follows: 1"The edges of a regular octahedron are trisected. Each vertex of the octahedron is then cut off by a plane passing through the points of trisection adjacent to the vertex. The resulting solid is a regular tetrakaidecahedron."-Graustein. (1) between quadrilateral and hexagonal (6) between hexagonal and quadrilateral faces. It will be seen further that there are two angles of type A (between hexagonal and hexagonal faces) and four angles of type B (between hexagonal and quadrilateral faces) and these angles of the polygon (a hexagon) sum up to 720 degrees. It follows then that: A+ 2B 360 degrees. It must be evident that the volume is stackable if the dihedral angles around any and every line at the intersection of planes can be shown to be three in number, one of which is of type A and two of which are of type B. Perhaps at this stage it would be well to heed Millis's advice and construct a model. This can be rather easily done by paper-folding, or by taking a fairly stiff copper wire and a pair of pliers and weaving the desired pattern. It is then quite easily shown that, when stacked, any line of intersection in the mass is at once the side of an equilateral quadrilateral and of two adjacent equilateral hexagons. The dihedral angles are therefore: one of type A (hexagon-hexagon) and two of type B (hexagon-quadrilateral). It should be pointed out that the octahedron should truncate the cube in such a way that equilateral hexagons result, i.e., all sides of quadrilaterals and hexagons are equal. If this is not done, the 1, 3, 5 sides of a hexagon will not be the same length as the 2, 4, 6 sides. Experimentation will show that in stacking the volumes the 1, 3, 5 sides of a hexagon in one figure must coincide with the 2, 4, 6 sides of a hexagon in a second figure, etc. Obviously, if they are of unequal length, this becomes an impossibility and therein may lie a meager basis for Millis's error. There is no doubt that the figure mentioned by Lewis is stackable.2 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, POMONA COLLEGE P. L. K. GROSS 2 When the letter from Colonel Millis was brought to the attention of Professor W. C. Graustein, he wrote out a brief mathematical demonstration that Lord Kelvin was right; tetrakaidecahedrons are space-filling. Meanwhile Colonel Millis, quite independently, had arrived at the same conclusions. The publication of their letters was not requested. A further treatment of the same subject may be found in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 1927, Vol. 54, pp. 341-348.-EDITOR. EARTHWORMS AND LIGHT In a previous note printed in SCIENCE I have mentioned the effect that ordinary light, such as that emitted by a three-celled electric flashlight, has on earthworms. When such a light is thrown at close range on the anterior or pigmented portion of the worm's body it usually causes instant withdrawal of the creature into its burrow. It seems quite possible that sensitivity to light in the earthworms is associated with this pigment, which is of a purplish hue and in sunlight glistens with iridescent color. It occurs most densely on the anterior fourth of the body, which region quite obviously is most sensitive to light. Recently I have experimented with lights of various colors to determine the reaction of the worms (Lumbricus terrestris Linn.), to them and was much interested to discover that light transmitted through a red glass of the sort commonly used for photographic dark-room lamps had no visible effect on them, as apparently they did not perceive it. A 40-watt electric light bulb was used in the red lamp and even when this was brought within four inches of the worms they continued undisturbed in their ordinary occupations of feeding and dragging various objects into their burrows. Quite a different reaction was caused by rays from the opposite end of the spectrum, as when a blue light of a dark shade was flashed upon them they withdrew rapidly to the earth. By use of a suitable red light it is possible to observe accurately the behavior of such worms, and I am publishing this information for the benefit of those investigators who are interested in the problem of the origin of the sounds recently discovered to be emitted by earthworms. WASHINGTON, D. C. W. R. WALTON RESPIRATION OF INSECTS 1 IN SCIENCE for May 6, 1927, appeared a note under the above title by D. A. MacKay. The general conclusions drawn in this note would not seem to be warranted by the data presented, especially in view of the fact that contrary results have been reported previously. In reference to the idea that in the grasshopper air is alternately inhaled and exhaled through all of the spiracles, the statement is made that "the same thing is probably true of all insects." As a matter of fact in a number of species of insects (the blowfly, Dytiscus and Cybister beetles), in which the mechanics of respiration have been studied, certain spiracles have been shown to be inspiratory and cthers expiratory. 1 Lee, M. O., Jour. Exp. Zool., 1925, XLI, 125. The one experiment described by MacKay which would indicate that the thoracic spiracles serve equally well for inhalation and exhalation, does not seem to be conclusive. In this the head and thorax of a grasshopper were placed under water and the abdomen left out. The bubbles of air which came from around the thorax may have escaped through the injured valve of a spiracle or may have been carried under the water adhering to the waxy chitin. I have made such tests repeatedly on grasshoppers, cockroaches, walking sticks and representatives of every other family of Orthoptera, and have never seen air pumped out of the thoracic spiracles of normal animals. Sometimes when the head and thorax of the insect are thrust under water some air is held around the head and legs. This air may collect as bubbles and float to the surface, and might seem to have come from the spiracles. Also, if the spiracular valves are held or torn open, air bubbles may escape at each contraction of the abdomen. In such an experiment with the head and thorax submerged, the abdominal spiracles which normally open during the collapse and close during the expansion of the abdomen, remain open continuously, evidently serving both for inspiration and expiration. It is true that in such a case the respiratory movements go on and complete asphyxia does not occur. is, however, some evidence of partial anoxemia in the lessened irritability of the animal. There A few other data bearing on the question might be reviewed briefly. The movements of the valves of the spiracles indicate clearly their actions in inspiration and expiration. The valves of the anterior four pairs of spiracles very plainly open during the inspiratory phase of the cycle (enlargement of the abdominal cavity) and close during the expiratory phase (collapse of the abdomen). The thin, membranous portions of the neck and thorax may be seen to bulge out during each expiration, and this does not occur if the valves of any thoracic spiracles be held open. Further, if the valves of the thoracic spiracles are held open while under water, air bubbles escape at each contraction of the abdomen. That the abdominal spiracles do not function normally as inspiratory orifices is indicated by the fact that with the abdomen submerged in water, bubbles of air appear over the spiracles and become noticeably larger at each contraction of the abdomen. The size of the bubble is not noticeably decreased during the expansion of the abdomen, as must surely occur if the abdominal spiracles acted as inspiratory orifices. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MILTON O. LEE FUNDAMENTALISM IN PHARMACY PROFESSOR GRIER's letter in a recent issue of ScrENCE has acquainted the scientific public with the change that has occurred in the management of Des Moines University. The issue of The Gospel Witness (a publication in the interest of the American Baptist Bible Union) for July 21 contains an account of the investigation of the faculty of the department of pharmacy at the university as follows: Two excellent gentlemen were in charge of the college, but the head was a Unitarian. After meeting him we were not surprised to learn that he was very popular with the students. He is a delightful man, whom we all coveted for the Lord Jesus Christ, but, under the circumstances, it became necessary for the faculty to find a new head for the institution. HENRY LEFFMANN QUOTATIONS EPIDEMIC ENCEPHALITIS IN ENGLAND THE Minister of Health stated the other day, in a written answer to a question, that during the past five years nearly 5,000 persons have died in England and Wales of epidemic encephalitis, the so-called sleepy sickness. During the same period 11,420 cases of the disease have been notified, so that the melancholy fact emerges that nearly half of all those stricken by epidemic encephalitis in this country have succumbed. The fate of those who have escaped death was not referred to by Mr. Neville Chamberlain, but a long series of researches, extending over the known "history" of the disease, suggests that recovery, in the true meaning of that word, is the exception rather than the rule. Epidemic encephalitis leaves behind it, in the majority of instances, damage to body or to brain of a more or less severe kind. As is well known, it possesses the power of transforming character, and this transformation is nearly always. from good to bad. It possesses also the power of inducing that form of paralysis known as "Parkinsonism." So grave a malady merits, without doubt, the close attention of the public, especially since it seems to have become established in this country. The Minister of Health pointed out that there were 2,267 fresh notifications of epidemic encephalitis in 1926, 2,635 fresh notifications in 1925, 5,039 fresh notifications in 1924, 1,025 fresh notifications in 1923, and 454 fresh notifications in 1922. The epidemic wave, which reached its highest point in 1924, has therefore by no means subsided, though it has been reduced in magnitude. It is a temptation in these circumstances to urge that research work on the unknown origins and ease. means of transmission of this disease should be extended. In fact, however, suggestions of this kind are not helpful, because a prolonged and special training is necessary before any scientific worker can address himself usefully to the study of epidemic encephalitis. All those who possess the necessary qualifications are at present engaged in one or other of the branches of research which have a bearing on the prevention, causation or treatment of the disThe public has a duty to see that the work now being carried on is not hampered by any lack of resources, but beyond the discharge of that duty it can not properly intervene. It can, however, and should, insist that the after-care of the victims of the disease shall be undertaken by those best qualified to conduct it. Provision for the care of mental deficiency arising as a consequence of epidemic encephalitis is still woefully inadequate. Moreover, the means are not always available to afford persons convalescent from the disease the prolonged and careful attention which they require. The London County Council deserves all praise for its effort to provide treatment of partially recovered cases, an effort which has already yielded valuable additions to the knowledge about the disease; but this isolated example of public spirit is not enough. As Dr. A. F. Tredgold, speaking on behalf of the People's League of Health, pointed out to the Home Secretary two years ago, it is an urgent necessity to provide an institution where all child victims of epidemic encephalitis, whose minds have been unbalanced, may receive continuous and special treatment. The same idea without doubt informed the statement of the medical officer of Brixton Prison in his report for the year ended March 31, 1925, that "we have had one or two post-encephalitic delinquents who resemble congenital defectives in their mental characteristics. Those cases are, apparently, hopeless, and it is feared that their number will increase unless some method of curing or protecting against (the disease) is discovered."-The London Times. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Neuzeitliche Bekämpfung tierischer Schädlinge. By K. ESCHERICH. Berlin. Julius Springer, 1927. To Dr. K. Escherich, of the University of Munich, more than to any other individual is probably due the revival of interest in economic entomology in Germany and its present high standing. Under the Carnegie grant, and while he still taught forest entomology at the well-known Forest School at Tharandt, he visited the United States in 1911 and made the studies described in his book "Die angewandte Entomologie in den Vereinigten Staaten." On his return to Germany, he was instrumental in founding the German Society for Applied Entomology and was its first president. His entomological work was largely interrupted by the war, as he was brought into the medical service of the army, but on its conclusion he was transferred to the University of Munich and has been promoting actively the purposes of the new society and furthering the cause of economic entomology in every possible way. He, with some of the other members of the society, started two admirable journals. He has written many papers and delivered many addresses but none of broader scope and more convincingly phrased than the present one which was delivered before the eightyninth meeting of the great German Association of Naturalists and Physicians at Düsseldorf in September, 1926, and which has been reprinted the present year from Die Naturwissenschaft. He gives the great war the credit of showing the German people, thrown practically entirely on their own productive resources, that crops are not gathered in proportion to what has been sown and cultivated, but to what has been left over by the insect pests. This is his own expression. Could it be more perfectly put? As a forest entomologist, it is natural that his illustrations should be drawn from the forest, but the generalizations which he makes apply in many cases to other cultures. While in America he became much interested in the subject of natural control, and he dwelt upon the features of this aspect of economic entomology in his book on his American experiences. Naturally, as a skilled and broad forester, he thinks of the forest as an entity-as a biocoenosis-and considers philosophically the necessary interrelations of the multitudinous organisms that constitute forest life. He draws from these considerations the inevitable conclusion that change of a mixed forest into a one-type forest can not fail to have a most disastrous effect upon certain of the very important elements of the forest's existence; and in working this out he considers especially the interrelations between the destructive insects and their parasites, following out the idea that many of the most important parasites of destructive insects are not specific to one host but have several hosts of differing food plants. Thus, the presence of a certain variety of trees is necessary to insure the supply of some of the most important parasites. The reestablishment of mixed forests to replace monocultures is therefore desirable. In the course of his address he brings out a number of very interesting points. Under the head of parasites, he suggests the desirability of keeping on hand large quantities of strongly polyphagous species which may be reared easily in large numbers. He states that Haase has been rearing an egg-parasite of the genus Trichogramma in Petri dishes, where it can readily be secured in very large numbers. It may be mentioned incidentally that the same idea has occurred to American workers and that insects of the same genus are now being reared in this way in California for use against the codling moth, especially in the walnut groves. He treats of the control of insects by diseases, and mentions good results obtained by Schwangart with fungi that destroy the larvae of Cochylis. He also treats of resistant plants and of the desirable qualities of insecticides in general. It is interesting to note that, even before the war, a German forest warden named Zimmerman obtained a patent in Germany on the process of combating insects by means of airplanes, a method which has been developed in this country since the war and which is entering into a promising commercial phase. The address closes with a strong plea to his audience, which he stated comprised the largest forum of German scientists, to turn their attention toward applied entomology and to assist in manifold ways in the work against injurious insects. It is a strong paper and quite worthy of Escherich. He realizes that the insect problem is a world problem, and is trying to prove this to the scientific men of Germany. L. O. HOWARD PALEONTOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE JOHN DAY REGION OF EASTERN OREGON A COORDINATED program of research, rather unique in the range and the detailed nature of the studies included in it, is being conducted in the John Day region of eastern Oregon. Through investigations in vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany and physical geology, an attempt is being made to construct as completely as possible the history of the development of animal and plant life and of geologic and climatic changes in this part of the northwest in the later eras of geologic time. President John C. Merriam, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is both directing the project and participating actively in the field and laboratory investigations. The studies are an extension of researches initiated in this region by Dr. Merriam more than twenty-five years ago. The program is being prosecuted under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; other institutions which have been cooperating are the University of California, the University of Oregon and the California Institute of Technology. Mammalian fossil remains in important quantities have been collected in the John Day Basin from three formations, of Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene age. In the thirty-five years beginning in the late sixties quite large collections were made and studied by Condon, Marsh, Cope, Scott, Merriam and Sinclair. In the last quarter-century many others have contributed to our knowledge of these faunas, largely through study of materials gathered in the field during the earlier period. As part of the present program of research notable additions have been made to the fossil material through further collecting; these furnish an adequate basis for a revision of the faunas from the John Day formation and for a better understanding of the mammalian assemblages from the Miocene and the Pliocene Rattlesnake deposits. These faunas are being studied by Dr. Merriam and by Dr. Chester Stock of the California Institute of Technology, and several preliminary reports are either in preparation or have already appeared. In addition to indicating the age and correlation of the formations and aiding in determining the climatic and topographic conditions under which the rocks were deposited, these rather large collections give a vivid picture of the animal life which existed in this region during certain periods of the Cenozoic era. The paleobotany of the region is being investigated by Dr. R. W. Chaney, research associate of the Carnegie Institution. Large collections of fossil plants have been made and studied, representing the forests and smaller associated plant life of Clarno, John Day, and Mascall time. Results already published contribute to the taxonomy of Tertiary fossil plants, and the ecology of the floras. Important interpretations of the fossil plant assemblages have been made on the basis of the ecologic relationships of certain modern floras. Significant facts regarding the age and the climatic and other conditions of deposition of the formations which contain them have been brought to light. The invertebrate paleontology of eastern Oregon, especially of the older horizons lying beneath the Tertiary continental deposits, is being studied by Dr. E. L. Packard, of the University of Oregon, who has secured excellent collections of cephalopods and other marine invertebrates. Numerous new forms have been recognized in these faunas, and are being described. The last invasion of the sea into eastern Oregon occurred apparently in Chico Cretaceous time, and Dr. Packard is attempting to ascertain from these isolated strata-the only Pacific Cretaceous exposed east of the Cascades-something of the position of the Cretaceous shorelines and the topography and climate of the adjacent land masses. Pre-Cretaceous horizons bearing faunas probably not recognized here |