100 YEARS AGO

In the Atti dei Lincei, ix. 5 . . . Prof. Grassi describes experiments carried out by a committee with the assistance both of the Italian Government and of the Mediterranean Railway Company, with a view to the prevention and cure of malaria in infected districts. The experiments were carried out in the plains about Paestum, which have long been known as a hotbed of malaria (“malaricissima” is the epithet Grassi applies to the region), and fell into two categories, namely, cure of the disease by the use of quinine, and protection from the bites of Anopheles claviger by the use of wire gauze as a covering for windows, doors and even chimneys of houses, the inhabitants of which were required to remain indoors from before sunset till after sunrise, or to go about covered with veils at night. By thus preventing mosquito bites, it was found that the malarial regions could be safely inhabited even at the season when the fever was at its height, and under such conditions the district might be made as healthy as any part of Italy.

From Nature 25 October 1900.

50 YEARS AGO

An article in the South African Archaeological Bulletin (5, No, 18; June 1950) makes sad reading. At Saulspoort, in the Bethlehem district, rock-shelter paintings occur and an important 'gisement' was identified... The work of excavation was begun; but during a period of the workers' absence intruders arrived who just 'hogged' the site and left a yawning pit where the section should have been. The problem of controls is a difficult one. Too rigid rules defeat their own object. It is, in a subtle way, the general interest in archaeology among all classes that makes the subject live and enables the few professionals to continue the study. Without this general interest the subject would in practice wither. A certain freedom to explore must therefore be given to the amateur; but, of course, stories such as this one are major tragedies. Perhaps the problem could best be tackled through the schools. If the young folk were taught to realize that Stone Age sites are not innumerable and should be respected, that 'hogging' sites is a crime and that excavations should only be attempted either under a competent excavator or after having already had experience in digging, then such grievous happenings as occurred at Saulspoort would no longer occur.

From Nature 28 October 1950.