Royal Ixsini tiox of Great Britain. 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, January 26, 1917. 



His Geace the Duke of Northumberland, K.G. D.C.L. F.K.S., 

 President, in tlie Chair. 



Professor Gilbert Murray, M.A. LL.D. Litt.D. F.B.A. 

 Epicurean Philoso(3hy. 



[No Abstract.] 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETIN 



Friday, February 2, 1917. 



Sir James Reid, Bart., G.C.V.O. K.C.B. M.D. LL.D., 

 Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Professor Charles S. Sherrington, M.D. LL.D. D.Sc. F.R.S., 

 FuUerian Professor of Physiology. 



Recent Physiology and the War. 



This theme, kindly suggested by Professor Sir James Dewar, is 

 sufficiently large to preclude more than a succinct treatment of some 

 outstanding points in the time permissible in a single lecture. But 

 these points are of considerable interest and have a more than 

 fleeting importance. 



The first is that of fatigue, its measurement and incidence in 

 factory employees. The indices taken have been speed of output 

 and quantity of output by groups of \Yorkpeople working under the 

 conditions of a munitions factory. An inference of practical value 

 drawn from the observations is that when the number of working 

 hours per week was reduced from sixty-two to fifty-six the output 

 actually increased. The reduction of the length of the working day 

 by one hour per diem gave a rise of the total output of the week 

 from an amount stated numerically as 6150 to an amount expressed 

 as 6759. The output per hour increased 22 per cent. The kind of 

 work in this case was " heavy," namely, deep screw-cutting by hand. 



Vol. XXII. (No. 111)^ ' b 



