50 YEARS AGO

“Use and abuse of English in science” — Another problem which is causing increasing concern — to printers as well as to editors — is the frequent and indiscriminate use of abbreviations in the form of a single capital letter, or a group of capitals, to represent the name of a substance, or perhaps even an adjective or adverb. The printer is concerned because a page of text sprinkled with capital letters is not pleasing in appearance; and like other craftsmen, he feels that his efforts are being frustrated... The use of abbreviations, especially initial letters, is now becoming so fashionable among scientists that one suspects authors sometimes go out of their way to use them. ... this fashion may, if not checked, defeat its own ends and produce a veritable ‘Tower of Babel’. Indeed the time does not seem far away when high-school pupils will have to learn a new table of symbols apart from those atomic.

From Nature 5 November 1955.

100 YEARS AGO

A return has been published, we learn from the Pioneer Mail, regarding the measures adopted for the extermination of wild animals and venomous snakes during the year 1904. The total mortality among human beings reported to have been caused by wild animals was 2157, against 2749 in 1903. The most notable decrease occurred in Madras and the United Provinces, namely, from 438 and 404 in 1903 to 237 and 193 in 1904 respectively... The mortality from snake-bite rose from 21,827 to 21,880. It is reported that in the Seoul district of the Central Provinces anti-venin was used with success in two cases, and the question of introducing more generally the treatment of snake-bite by potassium permanganate is under the consideration of the local Government. The total number of snakes killed was 65,378.

From Nature 2 November 1905.