May II, 1911] 



NATURE 



153 



to-day, on account of its "'weakness," only commands 

 bottom prices. Legislation in the direction suggested 

 would thus put British wheat at a disadvantage. 



Dr. Hamill does not accept this view, basing his 

 objection partly on the ground that it is not desirable 

 to make any additions to flour, partly on the fact 

 that an originally low-grade weak flour is substituted 

 for a high-grade one; finally, on the fact that since 

 strong American flours contain more protein than 

 weak British flours the food value of the bread is 

 diminished. Here it is necessary to join issue with 

 him. Bread is eaten as a source of carbohydrate and 

 as a diluent to the concentrated fat and protein foods 

 and not as a source of protein. Whether it contains 

 half a per cent, more or less of protein is quite im- 

 material to the consumer. 



It was clear to those who took part in the visit to 



Canada of the British Association that 



strong wheats will sooner or later have 



to give way to weak wheats wherever 



the two come into direct competition, 



on account of the much higher crop 



yields given by the latter. As a conse- 

 quence, the character of our bread will 



change unless science in the meantime 



enables us to produce strong flour from 



a weak wheat. To cramp progress in 



this direction at the very outset would 



appear to be absurd. 

 It is at times stated on very inferior 



evidence that bleached flour is injurious 



to health; Dr. Harden's authoritative 



statement to the contrary which is re- 

 corded in an appendix to the report 



should settle this question finally. 

 The report of Dr. Monier-Williams 



on the chemical changes produced in 



flour by bleaching is full of valuable 



and suggestive matter. At the same 



time very many of his results are open 



to technical criticism, especially those 



of the experiments dealing with 



enzymes. It is obvious that much 



work remains to be done. 



It is clear that the issues considered 



in the report are of great public im- 

 portance, but the questions raised are 



so difjficult and of such complexity that 



it is impossible to arrive at any final 



opinion on the evidence at present avail- 

 able. Tt is obviously necessary that 



the whole subject should be submitted 



to discussion from the chemical, the 



physiological, and the practical side, 



including the agriculturist, as well 

 as the miller and baker. Dr. Hamill shows a 

 very strong bias in the direction of forbidding any 

 treatment whatsoever of flour, although he is unable 

 to produce convincing evidence in support of his 

 conclusions; seeing that his experience is very limited, 



it is to be hoped that the subject will be remitted to 

 competent observers for full discussion before any 

 steps are taken to introduce restrictive legislation. 



Since the above was written, the members of the 

 National Association of British and Irish Millers at a 

 general meeting have adopted a resolution to the effect 

 that wheaten flour sold as such without any qualify- 

 ing designation should be the unbleached and un- 

 treated produce of properly cleaned and ' conditioned ' 

 wheat only." They ask the Government to appoint a 

 Board of Reference, consisting of properly qualified 

 experts, to consider thoroughly the whole question of 

 bleaching and the addition of foreign substances to 

 flour. 



ORIENTAL SILVERWORK.' 



MR. LING ROTH, who, in dealing with obscure 

 chapters of anthropology and art, such as 

 Tasmanians or Dayaks, or the brassvvorlv of Benin, 

 has already proved himself a good compiler, has 

 now, in describing Malay and Chinese silver work, 

 found a subject well suited to his powers. Few 

 people, he remarks, have ever heard of Malav silver- 

 work ; South Kensington has only half a dozen 

 specimens. The objects illustrated in this volume 

 come from private collections made by officers who 

 have served among the Malays, Messrs. Cecil and 

 Leonard Wray, W. A. Luning, and Dr. C. Hose. 



This scarcity of material is due to at least two 

 causes. In the first place, so far as the Malay Penin- 

 sula is concerned, this phase of art is practically 

 dead. The old rajahs and sultans, like the nawabs 



NO. 2167, VOL. 86] 



Fig. I. Buntal (Octagonal Pillow-end Plate), diameter 4 J inches. Lotus pattern at centre. 

 iTom " Oriental Silverwork, Malay and Chinese." 



of Oudh and other Indian princes, amidst their ill- 

 organised households and troops of retainers, used 

 t> keep in their service gold- and silversmiths, who 

 worked only for their masters, and produced nothing 

 for the market. With new tastes and wants sug- 

 gested by contact with foreign culture, this condition 

 of things has passed away. It must be said, how- 

 ever, that among the Malays the decay of the local 

 crafts cannot be attributed to the introduction of 

 European trumpery, though this seems to be the case 

 among the branch of this people in Borneo. In the 

 second place, Malays have a traditional respect for 

 their old art products, and will not sell them except 

 under extreme pressure of circumstances. In this 

 connection Mr. Ling Roth might well have quoted the 

 interesting account by Mr. W. W. Skeat of the magi- 

 cal powers ascribed to the regalia in Malay native 



i Oriental Silverwork, Mal.iy and Chinese. With over 3$o ori(;inal 

 illustrations, a Handbook for Connoisseurs, Collectors, Students and Silver- 

 smiths. By H. Lin^ Roth. Pp. iv-f 300. (London : Truslove and Han- 

 son, Ltd., 1910.) Price 3U. net. 



