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THE death is announced, on February 20, of Dr. Ed. C. Seaton, consulting medical officer of health to the Surrey County Council. We are indebted to the British Medical Journal for the following particulars of his life and work. He studied medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, and took the degree of M.D. at the University of London in 1871. From 1886 to 1908 he was lecturer on public health at St. Thomas's Hospital, and was at different times examiner in State medicine in the Universities of London, Oxford, and Cambridge, and at the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of London. He was the author of the article on vaccination in Quain's "Dictionary of Medicine." He delivered the address in public medicine at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association in 1891, taking as his subject the evolution of sanitary administration in England. He read a communication on diphtheria before the International Congress of Medicine at Budapest in 1894, and delivered the Milroy Lectures at the Royal College of Physicians in 1896. His Chadwick Lectures at the University of London on "Infectious Diseases and their Preventive Treatment," published in 1910, may be taken as containing a summary of his matured views on subjects to the study of which he had given his professional life. Dr. Seaton took an active part in promoting legislation for the compulsory notification of infectious diseases, and was the author of numerous reports and papers on the subject. He was a Fellow of the Royal Sanitary Institute and a member of the Society of Public Analysts. For more than forty years he was a member of the British Medical Association.

SHORTLY after the commencement of the war, the British Science Guild referred to two of its committees the question of the supply of laboratory and optical glasses, most of which had been obtained from Germany and Austria. The reports of these committees have now been completed, and will be issued shortly. The Institute of Chemistry took up the subject about the same time, and appointed a Glass Research Committee, the main purpose of which was to determine, by experiment, the constitution of glasses suitable for various purposes and to communicate the formulæ to manufacturers. The research has been carried on at King's College, London, and formulæ have been arrived at for an aluminasoda glass suitable for the manufacture of chemical laboratory ware and for a glass which is a satisfactory substitute for Jena glass in respect of its resistance to water and reagents. Provided with these and other formulæ, the only question left for manufacturers contemplating the laying down of plant for the production of laboratory glass to consider was the prospect of the industry after the war. In order to obtain information upon this point, the British Science Guild, acting jointly with the Association of Public School Science Masters, sent a circular letter to local education committees throughout England, councils of universities and technical institutions, and governors of the chief secondary schools, including all the public schools represented on the Headmasters' Conference. The result of the inquiry has been most satisfactory.

In general it may be said that about three-quarters of the bodies concerned have undertaken to use Britishmade laboratory glass during the war, and for a period of three years after, provided that the price is not prohibitive. Two scientific organisations, on their own initiative and without any assistance, financial or otherwise, from the Government, have thus been able to do most valuable work for British glass manufacture. It is to be hoped that official recognition will be given to the service they have rendered to national welfare.

THE question of the origin of culture, through direct transmission by migration or trade from a single centre, or by independent evolution in more than one area, is in the air at present. A useful contribution to the controversy is provided by Mr. Eldson Best in the January issue of Man. One of the most beautiful of the several types of greenstone pendants made by the Neolithic Maori is that called the Tautau. The existence of this type has been, at various times, advanced as proof of American and Asiatic relationships in Maori art, and Mr. Hamilton, the best authority on the subject, states that this form is as yet unexplained. Mr. Best now brings forward evidence to show that this type is indigenous and not genetically related to objects of similar shape found in other parts of the world. He traces its origin to a form of fish-hook consisting of a bone barb, sometimes beautifully carved, fitted into a hole which passes through the lower end of a straight wooden shaft. A series of illustrations indicates the phases through which the ornament was gradually developed from this form of fish-hook.

MR. A. S. F. Gow contributes to the Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. xxxiv., part 2, a valuable paper on the evolution of the plough of Greek and Roman days. It starts with those ploughs in which the main timbers are of one piece. Then follows the plough which has stock and pole in one piece, but the tail inserted artificially. The next step in complexity is when all the three main members are separate timbers artificially joined. Fourthly, comes the variety in which pole and tail rise together from the hinder part of the stock, stock and pole have lost the exaggerated solidity seen in the earlier examples, and the pole, not the stock, is now the most important member in the implement. The accounts of the plough in Virgil and Hesiod are carefully discussed, with other classical references, and the paper is illustrated with a good series of photographs from the monuments and of modern Greek and Italian ploughs. The writer does not seem to be acquainted with the important article by Sir E. Tylor, "On the Origin of the Plough and Wheel-Carriage," in vol. x. of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute (1881).

WE have received from Mr. E. J. Brill, of Leyden, a catalogue of books and pamphlets dealing with the geology, botany, zoology, etc., of the Dutch East Indies, together with others relating to tropical diseases and medicine and climatology.

AT the monthly general meeting of the Zoological Society, held on February 17, it was stated in the

report of the council that thirty additions had been made to the menagerie during January, of which twenty-two were acquired by presentation, one by purchase, and two by exchange, while three were received on deposit, and two were born in the gardens. Amongst these was a sing-sing waterbuck, a squirrel-monkey, a kinkajou, two Senegal genets, and a spotted firefinch (Lagonosticta niveiguttata), the last a species. new to the collection.

IN the reports on the Hunterian Collections in the University of Glasgow for 1913-14 it is stated that, in addition to a considerable number previously identified, many type-specimens of insects described by Fabricius have been recognised recently, as well as a number of the specimens figured in Drury's "Illustrations of Natural History," and Olivier's "Entomologie," 1789-1808. These the curator hopes may eventually be housed in a fireproof building. All the collections are reported to be in good condition; and in some instances have received considerable augmentation during the period under review.

NEXT time the editor of My Children's Magazine requires a picture of a whale he would be well advised to send his artist to the Natural History Museum instead of allowing him to evolve from his own mind the grotesque caricature of a sperm-whale (with upper teeth!) which forms the frontispiece to the March issue of that journal. The picture is intended to represent a whale stranded at Greenwich in the time of John Evelyn, by whom it was seen and measured. There is no proof that this was a sperm-whale, and it was much more probably a common rorqual (as is suggested by Evelyn's mention of a "picked snout"), a species of which, a female, was stranded some twenty years ago at Woolwich, where it gave birth to a couple of young. Another error in the same issue is the statement that the wool used in the manufacture of "cashmere" is the product of wild goats.

MR. C. F. JURITZ contributes a paper on plant poisons of South African plants in vol. xi., No. 4, of the South African Journal of Science, which is of value in pointing out the pharmacological possibilities of the rich native flora. Interesting particulars are given of the toxic properties of the fruits of the Cycad, Encephalartos, various Liliaceæ, and Amaryllidaceæ, which are so numerous at the Cape, and of many other plants under their respective natural orders.

THE pocket-book for 1915 issued by the Royal Botanic Society of London is a mine of miscellaneous and very useful information, giving not only the various horticultural fixtures for the year, but also such things as the different weights and measures and their conversion from one system to another, physical constants, chemical constituents of gems, the composition of soils, manures and their uses for different kinds of trees and plants, and so on. Several pages are devoted to lists of economic plants with their botanical names, natural orders, and uses, which form a very handy source of reference. At the end there is a plan of a tennis-court and croquet-lawn, but the Badminton court, which might have found a place, is not included.

JAPANESE primulas form the subject of an illustrated article by Mr. Takeda in No. xxxviii., vol. viii., of Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Though China is the home par excellence of the genus, Japan, according to the present paper, possesses eleven native species. Of these P. Sieboldii and P. japonica are the best known. Hybridisation, which is uncommon, as a rule, in the genus, is common among the Japanese species, and P. Sieboldii is conspicuous as a parent of many hybrids. In the same number of the Notes fifty new Chinese plants are described, collected by G. Forrest or F. K. Ward in West China at altitudes of from 12,000 to 16,000 ft. Draba alpina, var. involucrata, from the Lichiang range at 15,000 to 16,000 ft., has been grown at the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. Other high-altitude plants are the gentians and saxifrages collected by F. K. Ward on the borders of Yunnan and Tibet up to 16,000 ft.

THE Hawaiian Volcano Research Association is a society founded in 1909 and supported by voluntary contributions. Its objects are to record volcanic outbursts and earthquakes in the Hawaiian Islands, and to offer opportunities to scientific men to pursue special studies in connection with volcanic action. The association possesses a volcano observatory near the edge of the crater of Kilauea, and a seismological station at a short distance which is furnished with two BoschOmori tromometers, an Omori tromometer, and an Omori seismograph. Weekly bulletins are issued in which the continual changes within the craters are described and lists are given of the numerous earthquakes recorded. An appeal for funds has recently been issued by the board of directors, partly for scientific objects, partly for the construction of stone refuge houses along the north-east rift line of Mauna Loa, as it is almost certain that an outflow of lava will shortly take place along that line.

ATTENTION has been directed on more than one occasion in these columns to the need of journals publishing summaries of current mathematical work in

the form of lists of new books and of the contents of periodicals. This has been a feature of the Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, which, however, has up till now reached us considerably out of date. The Tohoku Mathematical Journal (vol. vi.), published in Sendai, Japan, now publishes these lists, and although some of the printed matter is scarcely likely to be intelligible to the majority of English readers, the titles of many papers are at any rate printed in the language of publication, and the references are to recent work.

IN his "Notes on Some Focometric Apparatus" in the December, 1914, number of the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, Mr. F. J. Cheshire states that he has found the following modification of Blakesley's arrangement for determining the focal length of a short-focus system by the method of magnification, most convenient for the ordinary requirements of the microscopist. An achromatic system of focal length 26 cm. is mounted in the middle of a tube having a millimetre scale at its lower and a slit

a millimetre wide at its upper end, the slit and scale being at the foci of the system. The tube is fitted under the stage of a microscope with the slit in the plane of the stage. The eyepiece of the microscope is provided with a graduated scale, and on focussing the lower scale, the number of eyepiece divisions corresponding to a lower scale divisions is read. The system the focal length of which is to be determined is then introduced between the objective and the slit, the microscope again focussed, and the number of eyepiece divisions covered by a division of the lower scale again read. The quotient of the two readings gives the focal length of the system. By a proper choice of scales the focal length may obviously be read at one operation in any desired unit.

THE Bureau of Standards, Washington, U.S.A., has issued a circular (No. 51) describing the method adopted for testing watches and timepieces, and detailing the conditions under which the bureau is prepared to issue certificates showing the quality of the performance. The tests naturally do not differ greatly from those that experience has proved to be practical and satisfactory in other observatories and institutions, where regular tests are carried on. An omission of some importance, as it seems to us, is the failure to mention the connection between this testing department and any observatory of repute. No information is provided

as to the manner in which the time determinations are made, or how the errors of the mean time clock are eliminated. The bureau may be in connection with the U.S. Naval Observatory at Washington, and the authorities in charge of that observatory may be responsible for the accuracy of the time record. More distinctness on this head would have been welcome, as in the last report from the Naval Observatory it was stated that an insufficient number of chronometers and watches were submitted for trial, and that every effort was being made to induce makers to submit instruments for test. Some useful information is provided concerning the care and treatment of accurate timekeepers, and a table is given showing the main centres on railways, etc., where the change of time is made in passing critical meridians. Where so many abrupt changes occur between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, this table should prove valuable.

IN No. 1, vol. iv., of the Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, Harrison and Subramania continue the account of their work on the gases of swamp rice soils. In the first paper on this subject it was suggested that the gases formed in the soil had an important connection with the aeration of the roots of the crop. This theory is now elaborated, and a detailed investigation is made of the mechanism by which the organised film, in contact with the surface of these swamp soils, utilises the soil gases for the production of oxygen. It is shown by experiment that the film can oxidise both methane and hydrogen, and, further, that the resulting carbon dioxide is decomposed, with evolution of oxygen, by the green algæ and diatoms which are always present in the film. Crude cultures of bacteria have been prepared capable of bringing about the first of these changes, but no

specific organism was isolated having the power to oxidise either methane or hydrogen in pure culture. A mixed culture of two organisms, however, is stated to oxidise hydrogen to water in the presence of very small amounts of nitrogenous organic matter. The film may be looked upon as fulfilling the duty of an oxygen concentrator at a point which enables the maximum oxygen concentration to be produced in the water entering the soil. The practice of green manuring increases the production of soil gases, which is otherwise comparatively small, leading to an increased oxygen output by the surface film and better root aeration. Hence there is deeper root development resulting in sturdier and more productive plants. A further paper dealing mainly with the bacteriological side of the investigation is to be published shortly.

THE Isthmian Canal Commissioners decided some time ago that the requirements of the Panama Canal necessitated the provision of two large floating cranes capable of handling such heavy loads as the largest lock- and dock-gate leaves. Tenders were asked for two floating cranes, each of 250 tons capacity, and the contract was awarded to the Deutsche Maschinen Fabrik A.-G., of Duisburg, because "the proposal of the German firm was so much lower in price than any other, and the experience, facilities, and reputation of best of those received." The quotation is from the this firm so excellent, that it was unquestionably the official records, and Engineering for February 26 aptly puts the question as to whether this opinion is still held in view of what happened to the first of the cranes when undergoing its test loading. The load was not quite out to the specified distance when the jib collapsed. Our contemporary publishes photographs of the crane after the accident, from which it appears that the jib was insufficiently braced, and that the accident might have been avoided by the presence of a few additional members. The damage is estimated at about 120,000 dollars, and the work will take about six months to put right.

THE Engineer for February 26 gives an illustrated description of an enormous locomotive built for the Erie Railroad by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. The engine is of the 2-8-8-8-2 type in wheel arrangement, and has six cylinders; two of the cylinders are high-pressure, and each of these exhausts into two low-pressure cylinders. All the cylinders are of the same size, viz., 36 in. diameter and 32 in. stroke. The wheel base is 90 ft. in length, and 89 per cent. of the weight of the engine and tender is carried on the driving wheels. The boiler is 8 ft. diameter at the smoke-box and 9 ft. diameter at the dome. A Schmidt superheater having 1584 sq. ft. of surface is fitted, and is said to be the largest yet made for a locomotive. The total weight of the engine and tender is 380 tons (long). The engine will do duty as a banking engine on a long gradient of 1 in 95, where at present the standard goods train, hauled by a 2-8-0 engine, requires two 2-8-0 engines and a Mallet engine as combined banking engines. The new engine will do the work of the three present engines on the bank. It will be coupled into the middle of the train, thus reducing the stresses on the couplings and drawbars

and avoiding any tendency to buckle the train in the middle due to excessive pushing forces in the rear.

THE forthcoming books of Messrs. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (New York), include:-Elementary Chemical Microscopy, E. M. Chamot; The Examination of Hydrocarbon Oils and of Saponifiable Fats, D. Holde, translated by E. Mueller; Text-Book of Geology, L. V. Pirsson and C. Schuchert; A Meteorological Treatise on the Circulation and Radiation in the Atmospheres of the Earth and of the Sun, F. H. Bigelow; Manual for Health Officers, J. S. MacNutt; Constant-Voltage Transmission, H. B. Dwight; Field Book of Railroad Engineering, W. G. Raymond; Materials of Construction: their Manufacture, Properties and Uses, A. P. Mills; Steam Power, C. F. Hirshfeld and T. C. Ulbricht; The Railroad Taper: the Theory and Application of a Compound Transition Curve based upon 30-foot Chords, L. Perkins; Working Data for Irrigation Engineers, E. A. Moritz; A Shop Mathematics for Machinists, R. W. Burnham; Interpolated SixPlace Tables, H. W. Marsh; Masonry, M. A. Howe; Plain and Reinforced Concrete Arches, J. Melan, translated by D. B. Steinman.

OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN.

THE RETURN OF METCALF'S COMET?-In NATURE of February 25 reference was made to a telegram received by Prof. Strömgren relative to the discovery of an object by Miss Leavitt believed to be Metcalf's comet. The Morning Post of February 23 published the following paragraph relative to this discovery: "A telegram from Prof. Pickering has just been received stating that the object reported as Comet Metcalf turns out to be a minor planet. This must be a disappointment to Miss Leavitt, but it accounts for the failure of astronomers to find the comet when better placed. The question of priority of discovery, as evidenced by the Southern comet of last year, which was discovered independently at Johannesburg, Arequipa, and Christchurch, New Zealand, on the very same day, has been already responsible for premature publication. Prof. Pickering is, however, generally prepared to take the risk and is sometimes fully justified."

THE CANADIAN 72-INCH REFLECTING TELESCOPE.Dr. J. S. Plaskett communicates some very satisfactory information about the large Canadian mirror which is in process of being worked up. (Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Nov.-Dec., 1914.) The mirror is actually 739 inches in diameter and 13 inches thick, weighing 4962 pounds, or a little more than two tons. An excellent idea of the size of this vast piece of glass will be gathered from the illustration accompanying Dr. Plaskett's note, showing the disc with Dr. John Brashear sitting beside it. Already the edge has been ground, the labour occupying three weeks, and the more delicate and dangerous work of drilling the central hole has been satisfactorily completed. The latter involved first boring a hole of 9 inches diameter, then enlarging it to 10 inches, and finally smoothing and squaring it up and bevelling off the top edge. The next procedure is the figuring of the upper and lower surfaces to make each plane in order to choose which surface is the more suitable for shaping into parabolic form. It is satisfactory to read that "the more the disc is examined the better it seems to be, and hopes are high that it will prove a great success."

ANOMALOUS DISPERSION IN THE SUN.-No. 93 of the Contributions from the Mount Wilson Observatory' contains a communication from Mr. Charles E. St. John, entitled "Anomalous Dispersion in the Sun in the Light of Observations." Mr. St. John first directs attention to recent publications by Prof. Julius, who has considered the displacements of the Fraunhofer lines at the centre and limb edges of eccentrically located sun-spots from the point of view of his theory of anomalous dispersion. In these Prof. Julius has set forth "a new deduction from the theory of anomalous dispersion-the "mutual influence" of the Fraunhofer lines upon each other; in particular, that a weak line on the violet side of, and near to, a stronger line is displaced less, but if on the red side more, than the average amount." The above deduction affords Mr. St. John, as he says, an opportunity of making a quantitative test of the rôle played by anomalous dispersion in the solar atmosphere, and this he does in the present paper. It may be remarked that Prof. Julius used the data published by Mr. St. John in his paper, "Radial Motion in Sunspots." In the present discussion, which covers more than forty pages, it is impossible to refer even briefly to any of the details here stated. Mr. St. John sums up in eleven paragraphs the results of his investigation, and the reader must refer to the article itself for further information. The general result may, however, be expressed by reproducing the last paragraph of the summary. "The general conclusion from this review of solar observations is that the deductions from the anomalous dispersion theory which are susceptible of definite and quantitative tests are not supported by the observational data, and that observations are outstanding which have not yet been explained by the theory."

GREAT DETONATING FIREBALL IN SOUTH AFRICA.Some of the South African newspapers just received give particulars of a fireball which appeared nearly over Cradock and Queenstown on January 9 last at 1.20 a.m. It vividly illuminated the heavens for several seconds, and was followed shortly after by a series of loud explosions.

The meteor evidently came from the N.N.W., passing between Cradock and Queenstown, and finally disappearing to the S.E. of the former place at a distance of about 24 miles, but the exact figures are doubtful. The estimated interval between the flash and the detonation was variously given by different persons at Cradock between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. The meteor may have fallen to the earth in the region S.E. of Cradock, and it is to be hoped that a thorough search has been instituted for the object. Its flight appears to have been directed from the position of the radiant of the January meteoric shower from Quadrans, the maximum display from which is usually developed on January 3. But the shower is certainly prolonged until January 9. The meteor, however, more probably owed its origin to a radiant in the constellation Draco.

The recent meteor startled a large number of persons by its loud detonation. Houses are said to have been shaken, and the visitation was ascribed by many people to an earthquake. The real path cannot be satisfactorily computed from the observations, which are not of a suitably exact character. The period from January 9 to 14 is notably rich in fireballs, and it merits further investigation. There are evidently a number of radiant points active at this epoch, and among those best pronounced will be found positions at 120°+0°, 148° - 12°, 230°+52°, and 332°+36°.

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IT T is a matter of importance to the representatives of the chemical profession that their aspect of the great coal-tar colour industry should be kept well to the fore in the Government scheme and in any other scheme that may hereafter be put forward. We desire to see the restoration of the industry to this country, and not only restored, but also permanently retained after the war. The discussions of the Government schemes in various parts of the country by dye-consuming organisations, chambers of commerce, and so forth, have all centred round political or economic questions; the vital principle, viz., adequate chemical control, has been subordinated or left out of consideration altogether. While there has been much wrangling over the question as to the method by which the industry may be established and maintained here, whether by free trade or protection, or subvention, or by any other device, the consideration of the questions whether a few years hence there will be anything in the way of dyestuffs worth protecting; whether there will be a sufficient basis of material products left for the politicians and economists and business people to wrangle over has been overlooked. It is not a purely business problem which the Government has undertaken to solve; it is primarily a chemical problem.

THE profession can view with favour is the distinct recognition of research as a necessity for the development of the industry. The Government will, for ten years, grant not more than 100,000l. for experimental and laboratory work." That is certainly a concession which marks an advance in official opinion. It will be for the satirist of the future to point out that it required a European war of unparalleled magnitude to bring about this official recognition of the bearing of science upon industry. Who is to direct this research? A directorate of purely business people will certainly be incompetent; a board composed of dye users can do no more than indicate what dyestuffs were needed. True, it is proposed that the company should take powers to secure the assistance of a committee of experts, but this appears to be simply a reversion to the policy of "drift." The experts are, as usual in this country, to be subordinated and their assistance is to be invoked at the discretion of a board the members of which can have no real knowledge of the conditions necessary for producing the materials they require. Will they be competent to point out dangers ahead? The "staple products upon which they are asked to stake their capital may a few years hence be superseded by the products of later discovery. The policy of attempting to run a highly specialised and rapidly developing branch of organic chemical industry by a company of business people with expert assistance when required is fatal if it is intended to establish the industry permanently here. The group of industries which has arisen from the products of the tar still is not going to remain stagnant after the war, and it is scientific guidance and not mere assistance that will keep them alive. It is the expert, and the expert only, who can foresee the course of development, who can keep in touch with the progress of research, and direct with intelligence the campaign against competitors. If such scientific direction is withheld, all schemes are sooner or later bound to end in failure.

The conditions which have to be met if this country is to be once more the home of the colour industry are imperfectly understood by the public. Even those most concerned-those who are invited to subscribe to the capital-appear in most cases to have an idea that all that is necessary is to find the money, secure Government aid, appoint a board of business directors, and lo! the industry will forthwith spring into existence ready to cope with all emergencies. What are the facts of the case? About five hundred different dyestuffs of definite composition have been given to tinctorial industry as the products of chemical research. Of these a certain number only can be, and are being, made in this country. The total output of our factories is, at present, inadequate for the requirements of our textile industries. The first step to be taken, therefore, is to enlarge and develop existing factories so that the dyes which can be made here may be turned out in larger quantities. This necessity has been provided for in the Government scheme, and "so far so good." If the extension of the existing factories still produces insufficient supplies, new factories must be erected and equipped. That also is provided for in the scheme; but if we want to establish the industry here permanently we must look beyond all this. Where shall we be left after the war? We shall be in possession of processes for making a certain number of dyes, and the supply of their products may possibly be sufficient for the particular purposes for which they are required. But there will still be an outstanding number of other products which have never yet been made here, and for the working out of these processes no combination of "business" talent is of the slightest value. It is not a business question, but a chemical question, and it is by chemical research alone that our colour industry will be saved. The German colour industry has been built up by the utilisation of the results of research carried on in the factories and universities and technical schools for a period of more than forty years! To suppose that we can retrieve our position by starting a company the directorate of which was to consist solely of business people is ludicrous.

One feature of the new scheme which the chemical From the presidential address delivered to the Institute of Chemistry on March 1, by Prof. Raphael Meldola, F.R.S.

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To other branches of manufacture in which our dependence upon foreign products has been forcibly revealed by the war, professional chemists have been able to render considerable service. It has long been known that laboratory glass and porcelain apparatus and filter paper have been mainly supplied from abroad, and that large quantities of pure chemical reagents and of the special chemicals required for analytical or research work have borne non-British labels. This state of affairs called for prompt action, and the councils of the Institute of Chemistry and the Society of Public Analysts have acted conjointly as a committee for dealing with this matter of such vital importance to the profession. The inquiries instituted by this committee soon brought the fact that failure in the supply of laboratory glass apparatus would not only cripple the work of the chemists, but would also influence to a serious extent certain important industries the dependence of which upon supplies of suitable glass had not at first been foreseen. In connection with these inquiries, it was at a later period considered necessary, in view of the great national interests involved, that the institute should take part in giving practical aid to would-be manufacturers. For this purpose a Glass Research Committee was appointed, and is still carrying on its work. Formulas supplied by members of the committee have been made in the laboratory of the institute and submitted to the recognised tests. The experiments have perforce been carried out on a small scale, but the co-operation of a number of glass manufacturers has been secured, and the results will be tested on a fairly large scale under complete expert control. Not the least important of the glass problems is the production of a suitable glass for miners' safety-lamps, the necessary protecting

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