50 Years ago

With the co-operation of the West Wales Field Society, the Nature Conservancy is purchasing the island of Skomer as a National Nature Reserve. Skomer, 722 acres, is the largest of the islands off the Pembrokeshire coast ... Each year great numbers of sea-birds breed on Skomer, as well as a strong colony of the Atlantic grey seal. Probably the most notable breeding species is the Manx shearwater ... The puffin colony is, next to that of St. Kilda in the Hebrides, probably the largest in the British Isles. The island is also well known for the Skomer vole, which differs from the common bank vole in its larger size, extreme tameness and brighter colour. Skomer is being leased to the West Wales Field Society, which made an extensive field survey of the island in 1946 ... Scientific investigations on the reserve may be arranged with the Regional Officer for South Wales of the Nature Conservancy.

From Nature 24 January 1959.

100 Years ago

Everyone who is working at radio-activity at the present time feels the need of a standard of activity in terms of which all measurements of activity can be expressed. It was suggested three years ago by Prof. H. N. McCoy ... that the activity of one square centimetre of a layer of suitable thickness of uranium oxide, U3O8, would furnish an excellent standard. In the December (1908) numbers of the American Journal of Science and of Le Radium Prof. McCoy gives an account of the work he has done ... to show that such a layer has all the properties required in a standard. The oxide is easily prepared, and samples prepared from three different sources gave identical results. A layer of thickness such that 0.02 gram goes to the square centimetre gives the maximum activity due to the α rays. The radiation due to the β rays is small.

From Nature 21 January 1909.