Evening star., 1941-11-12
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science PROGRESS
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
Foundations Of a world common
wealth of science" have Just been laid
in London
"The amoebic beginning of a world
mind, as yet halting and incoherent"-
the effort is described by the official
journal of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science.
The intellectual commonwealth got
under way at gathering of many of the
foremost intellects Of war-torn Europe,
including several exiled Germans now
gathered in the British capital
The gathering was held under the lead
ership of H. G. Wells and the veteran
astronomer and philosopher, Sir Richard
Gregory.
Because of the intellectual prominence
OF many of the individuals involved in
many countries the charter of the world
commonwealth" is described by the as
sociations journal as perhaps Of as great
significance as President Roosevelts S four
lantic conference. 1t reads, in part:
During the past third of century
changes in the conditions of life have
come about more profound than any in
human history. Distance has been vir-
tually abolished. Cognizance of events
has become simultaneous throughout the
world All men have become neighbors.
Fresh discoveries have opened up almost
undreamed of potentialities for good and
evil, but their proper use demands corre-
spondingly high ethical standards.
While century ago the village was
our almost self-sufflcing unit, today the
world Is our unit. To such a disturbing
change of outlook and obligations we are
not yet attuned, and we must readjust
our ways of living, for only by the fullest
and freest adaptation of ideas to new
conditions can this readjustment be
achieved.
"All nations and all classes OF society
have contributed to the knowledge and
utilization of natural resources and to
the understanding of the influence they
exercise on human Development
All groups of scientific workers are
united in the fellowship Of the Common
wealth of Science. which has the world
for its province"
The commonwealth" it is recalled
here, actually had made considerable
unplanned progress up TO the outbreak Of
the present war Every year there were
five or six international congresses, with
Official delegates from all the major ma
tlons, which We're contributing enormous
ly TO international understanding.
Two of the largest were caught un-
aUares by the invasion of Poland. Ger
man delegates to the World Geological
Congress were marooned in Washington
and those attending the World Genetics
Congress at Edinburgh disappeared in
the middle of the night preceding the in
vasion.
A war of butterflies is in progress In
Virginia.
In 20 years the hitherto most common
and conspicuous of all Old Dominion but
terflies, the so-called yellow clover" has
become almost extinct, while close rela-
tive. which invaded the State from the
South and West, has replaced it.
This has been reported by Austin H.
Clark, Smithsonian Institution biologist,
who is making systematic study Of the
butterflies OF the region.
The invader is the orange clover"
destructive pest from California. 1t has
MT ,,ct bnuovor baoo,,,a n,,;ro,,o 10
Virginia farmers and appears to have
settled into the place Of its former DOM
inant relative without attracting much
attention
1t has even adopted Mr. Clark reports,
some of the vices of the yellow clover
particularly that of sitting in sociable
companies on mud and sucking up mois-
ture. This was first reported by the
Smithsonian naturalist few years ago.
Why one species should be replaced by
another is not known. There is no
slaughter of one by the other, although
butterflies are far from peaceful crea-
lures. Apparently one simply COM
mandeers the habitat and the other, hav-
ing no place to CO. perishes.
The orange clover, says Mr.. Clark, was
completely unknown in Virginia prior to
1920. Now it is thoroughly established
everywhere except in the highest noun
tain pastures, where the yellow clover
still is plentiful.
THE disappearance OF the yellow clover
butterfly" he reports, was only one of
the curious adjustments that took place
as result OF the immigration of the
orange form into the region In the
early days Of its occurrence in Virginia
the intruder appeared first in the latter
part of April and the earliest individuals
were orange, like those seen In summer
but somewhat smaller.
In 1881 1t appeared earlier than before
and in different color The early in
dividuals were small and clear yellow,
with slight flush of orange on the inner
and lower portion of the forewings. Since
then this small, light form has appeared
regularly in early spring-in some years
even in late March
I'm the West spring individuals are
small and yellow with slight flush OF
orange. the next brood is larger and
wholly orange, and the summer broods
are still deeper orange In Virginia few
orange individuals fly in the spring with
the small yellow ones and in summer and
autumn all three forms fly together. So
If we regard conditions in the West as
representing the standard pattern, the
butterfly has not yet become fully ad-