2:6 SAFETY JX WINDING OPERATIONS. 



the failure of power has taken place, the regeneration control 

 will not be absent, because the winding motor, acting as a 

 generator, will raise the speed of the converter set, thus assisting 

 the brakes to pull the hoist up. 



It appears, therefore, that in any winding proposition in 

 which the downward load at any period of the cycle overl)alances 

 the upward load, the \\ ard-Leonard type of hoist is preferable, 

 but when the upward load predominates throughout the whole 

 wind, the three-phase motor is the more suitable. 



The autliur, in conclusion, expresses the hope that the statis- 

 tics, facts, and opinions cjntained in this short paper will tend to 

 stimulate the " safety-first " movement, not only in tlie winding 

 engine-room, but in the office of the consulting engineer. 



Atmospheric Nitrogen. — According to The Ameri- 

 can Fertiliser * a very important syndicate has been formed in 

 Great Britain in connection wth a large chemcal company which 

 proposes to utilise the hydrogen — at present a waste product 

 from the company's plant — for the fixation of atmospheric 

 nitrogen, and also for the manufacture on a large scale of 

 ammonia and nitrates. The company's waste hydrogen has been 

 found to be of high purity and suitable for the manufacture of 

 svnthetic ammonia. 



The WORLD'S Wheat Crops. — TheBulletin of Agri- 



eiillural and CoiiiDiereia! Statistics, pul^lishefl by the International 

 Institute of Agriculture. Rome, states that Canada estimates its 

 191 8 wiieat cro]) to yield 70,045 ([uintals, about one-tenth more 

 than in 1917, atid very nearly equal to the average yield during 

 the five years from 1912 to 1916. In the United States a cro|) of 

 242,495 quintals is the estimate. The aggregate yield of the four 

 countries, Canada, United States, British India, and Tunis, of 

 which three arc quite the largest exjiorters of wheat at present, 

 was 418.574 quintals in 1918. against .HS-'^SO in 191 7 and 387,905, 

 the average from 1912 to 1016. As regards rye. the yield in the 

 United .States will this year attain 20.'/2'j (iiu'ntals. 



Research Grants. — The Council of tlie Royal 

 Society of .South Africa has recently awarded the following grants 

 in aid of research : — Prof. M. M. Rindl. Ing.D., £40, for continua- 

 tion of investigation of the active princii^les of toxic and medicinal 

 indigenous plants. Mr. I. .'^. van der Lingen, R.A.,£too. for continu- 

 ation of researches in radiology and cr) stallography. Mr.C. R.Har- 

 denl)erg. M.A.. £40. for a study of the fann"lv Psvchida- ;md other 

 I.epido|)tera. Mr. .S. H. Tlaughtou. P>.A.. £40. for investigation 

 of the vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of the .'^t. »rmberg Reds, 

 mainly in the north-eastern portion of the Ca|)e Colom . Mr. 

 R. W. P. Tucker. R..A.. £40. for the stu(l\- and collection '>f the 

 Arachnid fauna in tlie Pastern Transvaal. Pxdenburg I)istrict, 

 Selati Region. 



*49 (tot8^ f.^1. 152. 



