5i8 



NA 7 UHH 



[UCTOBEK 6, 1923 



to Capt. Knight's lecture, for they will thus add to 

 their knowledge besides gaining a groat deal of 



en I' 



Aiiwii'iNO to the latest estimates iyi\«M m the 

 Times for September 28 and 29), the loss of property 

 in Tokyo and Yokohama due to the earthquake of 

 September i is somewliat less than was at first sup- 

 posed. In Yokohama, about three-fourths of the 

 houses (including those of greatest value) were de- 

 stroyed ; those which remain are apparently but a 

 frin^'o of small dwellings. It was on the flat levels, 

 interne (lid by canals, in which the business and 

 shopping t|iiarters were situated, that the destruction 

 was greatest ; but on the Bluff, where the foreign 

 merchants lived, there was also much damage done, 

 many of the houses having fallen into the valley 

 below. In Tokyo, out of about 335,000 houses 

 destroyed, only n per cent, collapsed under the 

 earthquake shock ; the remainder were burned. It 

 was again in the densely crowded riverside districts 

 that the worst of the destruction took place. It has 

 been suggested that Yokohama should be rebuilt in 

 a safer district, but the site of the city is obviously 

 determined by the harbour, which has not been 

 materially damaged. Moreover, though there is no 

 absolutely safe area in such a seismic zone, the safest 

 for many years to come, and perhaps for several 

 centuries, may be the epicentral area of the recent 

 shock. 



We are glad to note that J^ritish firms are adopt- 

 ing more and more the principle, on the lines of 

 many American firms, of helping their clients 

 in every possible way — and indirectly the general 

 public as well — by the issue of thoroughly scientific 

 literature written by experts. A good example of 

 this is a recent publication, " Water Treatment," 

 by Messrs. Brunner, Mond and Co., Ltd., the well- 

 known chemical manufacturers of Northwich, Cheshire. 

 This booklet, which is a production of the firm's 

 research staff, and may be obtained free of charge 

 by writing to the above address, gives a most lucid 

 and concise explanation of the whole principles 

 underlying the hardness and treatment of water, 

 especially for boiler feed purposes, and should prove 

 invaluable to engineers and all others in charge of 

 boiler plant. It is divided into fourteen sections, and 

 particularly good are those devoted to the cause of 

 hardness, the soda ash and lime treatment, and the 

 choice and method of operation of softening plant in 

 general. Also of great interest are the sections 

 dealing with the more difficult aspects of water 

 treatment, about which the average chemist is none 

 too clearly informed, such as the presence of free 

 carbon dioxide and sodium bicarbonate, acids, 

 whether mineral or of the peaty acid variety, oil, and 

 especially the removal of the last traces of magnesium, 

 for which the use of alumino-ferric is recommended. 



In 1905 the Meteorological Office was able for the 

 first time to make some provision for the regular 

 investigation of the upper air over the British Isles. 

 Investigation had previously been carried out 

 privately, in some cases with the assistance of the 

 NO. 2814. VOL. I 12] 



British Association and of the Royal Meteor<- 

 Society, Mr. W. H. Dines, who had taken n ' 

 part in the practical development of the in 

 agreed to supervise the work for a nominal 

 provide, free of charge, the facilities whichllisresiden- • 

 afforded for work with kites and Italloons. Aft< r 

 1913 Mr. Dines removed to Benson in Oxfordshir. 

 and for the past ten years he has continued there th- 

 upper-air work which he had carried out so success 

 fully at Pyrton Hill on the Chilterns and 

 in Surrey. Largely as a result of these in\ 

 Kngland has gained a position in the forefront of tii- 

 investigation of the upper atmosphere. At the enl 

 of June 1922, Mr. Dines retired from active supir 

 vision of the work, although he continued generoush 

 to give facilities for investigation to be carried on at 

 Benson. Mr. Dines's experience indicated that open 

 country north-west of Oxford was the most suitable 

 place for a permanent observatorj', but fin 

 reasons made this impossible ; it was accor 

 arranged to utilise Kew Observatory, where the 

 disadvantage of position would be to some extent 

 compensated by proximity to the central office ai 

 contact with other branches of meteorological worl 

 The transfer will probably be made in a few da> 

 The Observatory at Benson will then be closed. The 

 regular daily reports in connexion with forecasting 

 will be made at the wireless station at Leafield by tli- 

 courtesy of the Postmaster-General, while the uppt i 

 air investigation will be continued at Kew Observator\ . 



Great activity continues to prevail on the questitr 

 of the cause and incidence of cancer. The Ministr;, 

 of Health has recently issued a circular (No. 426) in 

 which the views of a committee of experts are set 

 forth. The circular deals with the characteristic 

 features and natural course of the disease, the extent 

 of cancer mortality and its increase, the proclivity to 

 cancer, chronic irritation as a determining factor in 

 the appearance of the disease, and the diagnosis and 

 the treatment of cancer. The statements made arp 

 in harmony with the results of modem scientific 

 inquiry, and the circidar should help to counteract 

 a great deal of irrelevant matter which the public has 

 been invited to accept from quacks, cranks and well- 

 meaning persons who do not possess the requisite 

 knowledge. Local health authorities are encouraged 

 to deal with the cancer .problem in the best interr ♦^^ "'' 

 the communit5\ 



Die Naturwissenschaften for August 31 contain - 

 two articles by Arrhenius and by Freundlich on tlu 

 life and work of Wilhelm Ostwald, who reached th- 

 age of seventy on September 2, as recorded in our 

 issue of August 25, p. 289. 



A REVIEW of the adhesives industries app)ears in 

 the Chemical Trade Journal for September 14. Tht^ 

 properties, composition, extraction, and sterilisation 

 of animal glues are concisely described. YegetabU- 

 glues {e.g. from starch), waterproof glues, and variou- 

 forms of adhesives {e.g. sodium silicate adhesives 

 adhesives from cellulose waste, liquid glues, etc.) arc 

 all treated. A solution of glue in acetic acid is the 

 basis of " seccotine." 



