NOTES 447 



up in the air. These currents begin at the base and the flow is at first of a 

 simple linear character. Over this region, which extends for, say, two feet 

 from the base, the rate of loss diminishes as the height increases owing to the 

 ascending current of air getting warmed. At a certain critical level, however, 

 the linear flow breaks up into turbulent motion, and the rate of heat loss 

 increases and then becomes constant and independent of the height. 



The Fruit and Vegetables Committee is investigating methods for storing 

 apples. Three methods are available : (i) cold storage ; (ii) storage in an 

 atmosphere of low oxygen concentration — " gas " storage ; (iii) storage in 

 the usual apple shed. A critical comparison of methods (i) and (ii) is deferred 

 until next year, but as between (ii) and (iii) it seems to be established that the 

 storage life of " gas-stored " apples is twice that of those kept without this 

 precaution. In both cases apples grown on grass-land kept better than 

 those from trees on open ground. The Meat Committee has investigated the 

 cause and effect of the " black-spot " mould due to the fungus Cladosporium 

 herbarum, which develops on meat in cold store and has decided that this 

 fungus secretes no substance in its growth poisonous to human beings, so that 

 meat so affected need not be condemned as unfit for food. This rather un- 

 pleasant conclusion is modified by the statement that " where ' black-spot ' 

 is accompanied by putrefactive bacteria it is wise (!) in the present state of 

 our knowledge not to allow such meat to be used for food " (the italics are 

 ours) . 



The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has a number of 

 other reports during the last quarter, but they are of too limited an interest 

 for abstract in these Notes. They include the first section of the Report of 

 the Fuel Research Board for 1920 and 1921, dealing with the steaming of 

 coal in vertical gas retorts ; also Technical Paper No. 4 from the same Board 

 on the Carbonisation of Peat in Vertical Gas Retorts (describing two admittedly 

 inadequate tests) ; and a Statistical Supplement to the Final Report of the 

 Nitrogen Products Committee. These are all to be obtained from the 

 Stationery Office, Imperial House, Kingsway, at prices ranging from 6i. to 

 IS. 6d. 



The Publications Department of Messrs. Cadbury's works at Bourn ville 

 has issued a most interesting pamphlet describing the conversion of eight 

 coal-fired Lancashire boilers to burning oil fuel during the coal strike. The 

 " Scarab " apparatus employed was installed so expeditiously that manu- 

 facturing operations were shut down for only four days, while the August 

 holiday enabled four of the boilers to be reconverted for burning coal. Owing 

 to the high price of oil, the oil system cost more than the coal, but in all 

 other respects was found to possess considerable advantages. One ton of 

 oil produced the same amount of steam as two of coal ; the labour required 

 was less, the flues and the boiler-house itself kept cleaner, no smuts were 

 discharged into the air, and there are no coal-dumps from which coal-dust 

 is blown where it may do harm. Finally, 15 per cent, more steam was 

 obtained from each boiler when oil was used. Messrs. Cadbury are keeping 

 the whole installation intact and, as far as possible, in position, so that, in 

 case of further strikes, or an alteration in the relative cost of the fuel, the oil 

 system may be restored with a miriimum of delay. 



We have received from the National Research Council of the United States 

 Bulletins No. 10 and No. 11. The first contains a valuable report on the 

 present state of Photo-electricity by Prof. A. LI. Hughes, of Queen's 

 University, Kingston, Canada, and the second two papers on the Scale of 

 the Universe, by H. Shapley, of the Mount Wilson Observatory, and H. D. 

 Curtis, of the Allegheny Observatory. Prof. Hughes's report is divided into 

 sections corresponding to the chapter headings of his previous book on 

 Phote-electricity (Cambridge University Press, 1914) with the addition of 

 a long chapter summarising the work carried out from 1913 to 1919 or 1920 



