Indian Science Congress Research Articles

Bombay Island

THE president of the Section of Geology and Geography at the thirty-first session of the Indian Science Congress at Delhi last January was Dr. A. S. Kalapesi, of St. Xavier's College, Bombay. Appropriately, Dr. Kalapesi chose as the subject of his presidential address a review of the geographical and geological features of Bombay Island. His discourse on its geographical aspects is of much interest to those who know Bombay, especially because in describing the evolution of the present unitary island from the earlier seven separate islands (the Heptanesia of Ptolemy) Dr. Kalapesi mentions also the derivation of many of the well-known place names. The word Bombay itself, for example, is now generally accepted as derived from the name, 'Mumba Devi', of the tutelary goddess of the first known inhabitants of these islands, the Kolis.

Medical Services for India

FOR his address delivered at the Founder's Day Celebrations of the Lady Hardinge Medical College for Women, New Delhi, on March 17, Major-General J. B. Hance, director-general of the Indian Medical Service, took as his subject the need in India for a rapid and wide development of medical services, and he discussed the part which women will play in it. His address may be compared with Dr. Krishnan's presidential address to the Section of Medical and Veterinary Sciences at the Indian Science Congress held in January (see p. 658 of this issue). There is now, said General Hance, complete agreement throughout the world that health is a basic human right. Outlining the conditions required for 'positive health', he said that it is the goal of Indian medicine to provide these for every man, woman and child in India. The task is, as he and Dr. Krishnan clearly show, a formidable one; but it is no less evident that no responsible authority in India is going to shrink from it. The basis of the effort must be, General Hance emphasized, not this or that political philosophy, but "the united and indomitable will of the whole people to place their country on the map of modern civilised progress". Like Dr. Krishnan, he referred to the medical progress made in the U.S.S.R. during the last twenty years and he insisted that this has not been due to the Marxian philosophy, but to the united will of the Russian people. Nor need the cost of the effort required be a deterrent, for Lord Keynes and Prof. A. V. Hill, secretary of the Royal Society, have both reminded us that money is the servant and not the master of policy. The Allied war policy has proved that this can be so, for, if money had governed the prosecution of this War, hostilities would have ended long ago in the victory of the immensely superior financial resources of the Allies.

Industrial Research in India

MR. J. J. GHANDY'S presidential address to the Section of Engineering and Metallurgy at the thirty-first Indian Science Congress, held at Delhi, on "Industrial Research, with Special Reference to India", reviews the development of industrial research in India and the work of the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Medical Education in India

FOR his presidential address to the Section of Medical and Veterinary Sciences at the thirty-first Indian Science Congress held at Delhi in January, Dr. K. V. Krishnan chose "Medical Education" as his subject. Progressive medical educationists in India are not, he said, satisfied with the existing medical educational institutions, and wish to reorganize them in the light of recent trends of Western medical thought. It is now more than a hundred years since the first medical college was established in India and it is time for a stock-taking. India and the U.S.S.R. are the only two countries in the world which still have a dual standard of medical education. and both have decided to abolish it. The U.S.S.R. has already done much to abolish the lower standard. Madras and the United Provinces have already abolished it. Elsewhere in India there are still the medical schools which turn out licentiates with a lower standard of education and the colleges which produce, university graduates. In the very near future, Dr. Krishnan hopes, there will be only the medical colleges.

Cold Dense Matter

FOR his presidential address to the Section of Physics at the thirty-first Indian Science Congress, held at Delhi in January, Dr. D. S. Kothari took as his subject "Cold Dense Matter". Here the word 'cold' is used in a technical sense as meaning that any free electrons present constitute a degenerate gas—the actual temperatures can range from planetary temperatures to those of the interiors of white dwarf stars. Dr. Kothari's address has now been published, and it gives us a welcome summary of the main features of temperature- and pressure-ionization of matter at high and low temperatures and at high and low densities.

The Golgi Apparatus

IN his presidential address to the Section of Zoology and Entomology of the thirty-first Indian Science Congress at Delhi, Prof. Vishwa Nath gave a general account of his own views on the nature of the Golgi element. He regards Golgi nets, dictyosomes, batonettes, rods and crescents as optical illusions, and one appearance only as genuine—that of a spherical osmiophil and argentophil cortex enclosing a spherical chromophobe core. These plainly correspond with the externum and internum of Hirsch, and although Prof. Nath is strongly opposed to the vacuome theory of Parat, yet it seems likely that the chromophobe cores correspond with Parat's vacuoles. He opposes strongly the opinion that the Golgi element is concerned with cellular secretion, and argues that, on the contrary, it is transformed into such objects as others think it secretes. He is concerned to show that in forming the acrosome, the Golgi element is completely used up, a conclusion with which many students of this cell inclusion will find themselves in disagreement. It seems possible that the difference between secretion and transformation may to some extent be a verbal one, scarcely calling for the expression of such strong opinions as those of Prof. Nath. The greater part of the address was very clearly worded. Students of the Golgi element find themselves in disagreement on several matters, and it is helpful to all concerned when views are unequivocally expressed.

Improvement of Economic Crop Plants

IN these days when our thoughts tend to be concentrated on battle areas and the production of munitions of war, it is refreshing to turn to the no less essential researches and activities which have as their aim the increased production and improvement of economic plants, an activity which will also be of benefit to the world when peace is restored. For his presidential address to the thirty-first Indian Science Congress held in January at Delhi, Dr. T. S. Sabnis chose as his topic the recent advances in botany in relation to improved crop production, and he is to be congratulated on the picture he has portrayed of the very varied avenues of botanical research which all converge and have their part in contributing to this ultimate aim.

Educational Reconstruction in India

AT the thirty-first Indian Science Congress held in January, the presidential address delivered by Mr. John Sargent before the Section of Psychology and Educational Science deserves more than a passing notice, because of the practical and comprehensive manner in which he dealt with the enormous problem of educational reconstruction in the Indian Empire.

The Fluted Scale, Icerya purchasi Mask., as a Pest of Wattle in South India, and its control by the Biological Method

Foreword The Fluted Scale, Icerya purchasi Mask., was first reported as a pest on wattle in April, 1928 on the Nilgiris, and during the years 1928-1930 measures were taken to check its spread first by the applica- tion of the Pest Act and later on by the importation (mainly from California and Egypt) of its natural enemy, the Ladybird--Rodolia (Vedalia) cardinalis Muls. A preliminary paper on this subject was prepared and read by one of the authors at the Indian Science Congress at Allahabad in January, 1930, but was not published pending the preparation of a fuller account, which, however, did not unfortunately materialise. After having been under fairly efficient control for over a decade, the scale had again in- creased in numbers by 1941, when it was reported to be causing much damage on the Nilgiris, and what was even more serious, it was detected on wattle at various places on the Upper Palnis also in 1941-42. Conse- quently, laboratories were established at Kodaikanal in July 1942 and at Fernhill in September 1943 to breed the Rodolia Ladybird. In view of the likelihood of the spread of the pest beyond its present limits and the conse- quent threat to the expanding fruit industry of India, it is proposed to present in this paper a short account of the spread of this pest in South India since its first appearance and indicate the present position in regard to its control.

Royal Society Meeting in India

ON January 3, the Royal Society of London convened a short session at the University of Delhi prior to the opening of the Indian Science Congress by the Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell. This is the first time during the nearly three hundred years of its existence that the Royal Society has held a meeting outside London. Prof. A. V. Hill, who is visiting India in connexion with scientific aspects of the. war effort, had, been appointed o vice-president for the occasion.

Science in the New World Order

THE special meeting of the Royal Society held in India on January 3 was the occasion of a message from the Prime Minister to scientific workers which should be given wide publicity. It will be remembered that, at the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society on November 30, Sir Henry Dale referred in the course of his presidential address to the visit to India of Prof. A. V. Hill, and to a proposed special meeting of the Society to be held in that country at which, Prof. Hill would be able formally to admit to the Society those Indian fellows who had not hitherto been able to sign the Charter Book. The meeting took place on January 3. On that day, in the hall of St. Stephen's College, Delhi, the Indian Science Congress Association opened its annual meeting. The inaugural ceremony was preceded by a short address by Prof. Hill, who declared the great gathering to be a meeting of the Royal Society. Dr. H. J. Bhabha and Sir Shanti Bhatnagar were duly admitted and subscribed to the fellow's obligation on a sheet of parchment to be included later in the Charter Book.

Dr. G. E. Pilgrim, F. R. S

WITH the death on September 15, at Upton near Didcot, Berkshire, of Dr. Henry Guy Ellcock Pilgrim, vertebrate palæontology has lost one of its most distinguished exponents, and the world's greatest authority on the rich Siwalik fauna of India. Pilgrim, who came of an old Barbadian family, was born at Stepney, Barbados, on December 24, 1874. He was educated at Harrison College, Barbados, and University College, London (D.Sc, 1908) ; he was appointed to the Geological Survey of India in 1902, from which he retired in 1930, having been a superintendent since 1920. He then became a member of the supernumerary staff of the Department of Geology, British Museum (Natural History). He was elected a corresponding member of the Palæontological Society of America (1925), a fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1925), and, very belatedly, a fellow of the Royal Society (1943). He was president of the Geological Section of the Indian Science Congress in 1925. During the War of 1914-18 he was attached as 2nd lieutenant to the 125th Napier's Rifles, and received war medals for service in Mesopotamia and Persia, 1916-19.

ARCHÆOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY IN INDIA

IT is just about a hundred years since an association began to be formed between archaeology and anthropology which has proved very fruitful to both these branches of human knowledge. So necessary are they one to another that no general course of instruction in one can well afford to ignore the other, and the union of the two in a common tripos in the University of Cambridge, due no doubt in the first instance to the foresight and influence of Haddon and Ridgeway, has proved incontestably satisfactory. But this association between archaeology and anthropology has been generally limited to prehistoric archaeology on one hand, and on the other to the more or less historic schools of anthropological thought ; for the more extreme, at any rate, of the so-called functionalist anthropologists profess to repudiate inquiry into the past history of the societies and institutions which they study. In his presidential address to the Section of Anthropology and Archaeology at the thirtieth Indian Science Congress held in Calcutta in January of this year, Dr. N. P. Chakravarti, of the Archaeological Survey of India, seeks to extend this association by turning epigraphy to the service of anthropological inquiry.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE LUNG

PROF. B. Narayana, in his presidential address to the Physiology Section of the thirtieth Indian Science Congress held in January last, took as his subject “The Growth of Physiology as an Experimental Science”. After tracing the history of experimental physiology from its origins with Ludwig and Claude Bernard, and giving some account of its current status, he proceeded to a review of recent work on the vasomotor and bronchomotor mechanisms of the lung, which subject he chose as an illustration of modern methods and the modern outlook in experimental physiology. This field of research has been developed chiefly by Prof, de Burgh Daly and his colleagues, first in Birmingham and later in Edinburgh. Prof. Narayana himself collaborated in some of the work in Edinburgh, and later he and his colleagues in India have made further contributions of their own.

THE OPERATIONAL CALCULUS

AT the thirtieth meeting of the Indian Science Congress, held at Calcutta during January 2-4, Dr. S. C. Dhar, president of the Section of Mathematics and Statistics, discussed certain developments of mathematics in. the last thirty years. Mathematical research is now so varied that it is difficult for an active worker in one branch to follow progress in other branches. It is, therefore, very valuable when a specialist can give an intelligible summary of the chief results obtained, in some particular subject. Dr. Dhar selected “Operational Calculus and Auto-morphic Functions”. In what appears below, Dr. Dhar's address has been supplemented by matter obtained from other sources.

INDIA'S MINERAL RESOURCES

LIKE the British Association, the Indian Science Congress Association meets annually, moving from one important centre to another ; this year the Association met in Calcutta for its thirtieth session. Mr. D. N. Wadia, owing to unforeseen circumstances, created a record by holding the office of general president for a second term. His address as general president during the first of these years was concerned chiefly with the geological origins of India (see NATURE, December 19, 1942, p. 725). His second address (see NATURE, May 15, p. 548) dealt with more general matters, only touching on the mineral resources of India. The president of the Section of Geology and Geography, however, Dr. J. A. Dunn, of the Geological Survey of India, gave an address on “Suggestions for the Future Development of India's Mineral Resources”(Proc. 30th Ind. Sci. Gong., Part II, Section IV, pp. 1-22; 1943). This is a subject of interest to all who have been concerned with Indian minerals, and one that has, therefore, been discussed previously on numerous occasions. Dr. Dunn has, however, devoted so much of his career in India to the survey and study in the field, as well as in the laboratory, of several of India's principal minerals, that his views must be of value.

CLIMATE AND ANIMAL DISEASE IN INDIA

IN his presidential address read before the Section of Medical and Veterinary Sciences of the thirtieth Indian Science Congress held at Calcutta last January, Dr. F. C. Minett, director, of the Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Muktesar, United Provinces, discussed the influence of climate on the incidence of disease.

RECENT ADVANCES IN THE THEORY OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES OF PHYSICS

AT the meeting during January 2-4 in Calcutta of the Indian Science Congress, Dr. H. J. Bhabha was president of the Section of Physics. His presidential address on the theory of the “Fundamental Particles of Physics”, to which he has himself made important contributions, has recently been received in Great Britain.

Sir Sidney Burrard

PROF. J. L. SIMONSEN writes : “In his brief obituary notice in NATUEE of April 10, p. 414, of the late Sir Sidney Burrard, Sir Gerald Lenox-Conyngham omitted to mention one very important contribution to the advancement of science in India which we owe to Sir Sidney. When the formation of the Indian Science Congress, now the Indian Science Congress Association, was under consideration in the years 1911-12, it is very doubtful if any progress would have been made had it not been for the enthusiastic support which the proposal received from Sir Sidney Burrard and Sir Henry Hayden. It was due mainly to their representations that this body was from the outset recognized by the Government of India and by the local governments. Sir Sidney was president of the Congress at Lucknow in 1916 and during the remaining period of his service in India he always followed its meetings with the greatest interest”.

Subnormal Factors in Human Personality

IN his presidential address before the Section of Psychology and Educational Science at the thirtieth Indian Science Congress at Calcutta in January 1943, Dr. B. L. Atreya spoke on the “Supernormal Factors in Human Personality”. In a rapid review of his chosen field, Dr. Atreya sketched in broad outline the history of the subject as it was known in the West and pointed out the work that had been done since the early days of the Society for Psychical Research, when investigation was hindered by lack of means and by the slight development of those statistical methods whereby results might be quantitatively analyzed.