November io, 1923] 



NA TURE 



707 



the diameter factor of the grade (least diameter in 

 mm.) and divided by loo, so as to determine the 

 " representative number " of the sample. 



The advanta.ge in this technique lies in the fact 

 that the numbers increase roughly in accordance 

 with the increased coarseness of texture of the 

 bottom. The whole method shows a great advance 

 in that it eliminates so far as possible human judg- 

 ment. It only remained to chart the grounds in 

 accordance with these " representative numbers," 

 this being the basal chart, and then in respect to the 

 percentages present of the grades it was desired to 

 consider especially closely. This has been done in a 

 series of twelve singularly informative charts, which 

 are substituted for the interminable text-descriptions 

 of many authors, a most welcome innovation here 

 with little real loss of matter. The basal chart shows 

 a considerable series of very irregular areas, especially 

 numerous and irregular towards the English coast, 

 and the rest represent the kind of analysis of the 

 bottom material such as would be necessary for the 

 understanding of the conditions, currents and other, 

 that produced these areas. The text shows the actual 

 organic and mineral constituents present in each 

 type of ground. 



Thus, while the report is eminently useful to the 

 practical fisherman in his navigation in foggy weather 

 and in telling him about the ground on which he is 

 shooting his nets — each kind of ground is correlated 

 with the abundance or rarity of different species of 

 fish — it constitutes the publication of a research of 

 basal importance in respect to the general erosion of 

 the eastern coasts of England. The bottom, while 

 influenced by land material off each estuary, shows 

 the more gradual passage from the stones or coarse 

 gravels of the English coast to the fine silt of the centre 

 and to the continental sands. The causes of this dis- 

 tribution, so far as present knowledge goes, are attract- 

 ively discussed — attrition, the grade of material kept 

 in motion by different strengths of currents, the cor- 

 relation of the areas with the currents as known by 

 independent observations of both surface and bottom 

 movements, and so on. 



To conclude, this publication is a practical fisheries 

 report and at the same time a research of very great 

 scientific importance, embodying novel methods of 

 treatment of knowledge and suggesting many further 

 lines of research ; the Ministry of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries is to be heartily congratulated on its 

 appearance. J. S. G. 



The Physicist in the 



'PHE development of the textile industries has 

 •*- been one of the greatest factors in civilisation, 

 but it has been said that the great weakness of the 

 cotton industr>^ — and this applies equally to the other 

 textile industries — is that it is not using to the full 

 the immense powers bestowed on this generation 

 by scientific discovery. In the mill, perfection of 

 manipulation seems, at first glance, to have been 

 attained. It may be said that, if such skill can be 

 developed in the past without the aid of the physicist, 

 then there is no need for him, and this, no doubt, is 

 t he attitude of some people whose conservatism 

 ^till holds them members of the " rule of thumb " 

 ^.chool. It is impossible not to admire what has 

 been achieved by such methods, but at the same time 

 one cannot help but wonder what advantages might 

 have been gained had the great skill of the operative 

 been united with the insight of a trained scientific 

 mind. For example, if an attempt is made to probe 

 the inner functions of any of the complicated, or 

 simpler, machines, one soon finds how little is really 

 known about the treatment to which the material 

 is being subjected. On inquiry, varieties of explana- 

 tion are offered, each, no doubt, a carefully weighed 

 opinion, but still, only an opinion. The reason is 

 that many of the investigations that have hitherto 

 been made took place under vaguely defined, and, 

 therefore, unscientific conditions, with the result 

 that other cxiierimenters have held contrary views, 

 and valuable imie has been wasted. 



Might not the application of scientific methods 

 settle such controversial matters, and possibly in 

 the end lead to improved machines ? 1 here is no 

 <juestion of decrying the ability of the skilled 

 operative ; his skill based upon years of mill experi- 

 ence can never be attained by a man whose younger 

 years have been spent in training for scientific work. 

 Undoubtedly the duties of scientific workers are 

 complementary to those of the operative. Here lies 

 the opportunity of the physicist — to bring scientific 

 method into the testing rooms, and even into the 

 mill, in order to ensure that tests made upon the 

 various products of the different machines shall be 

 comparable with those obtained at other times, 

 either on the same or similar machines. 



> SynopMs ot a lecture delivered before the Institute of Physics on 

 October 21 by Dr. A. E. Oxicy. 



NO. 2819, VOL. I 12] 



Textile Industries.'^ 



The textile industries offer an almost entirely 

 unexplored and unlimited field for the research 

 physicist, and it is not a question of searching for a 

 problem worthy of investigation, but one of selecting, 

 from the great number of attractive problems pre- 

 sented, a few which shall form the most trustworthy 

 basis on which to build a secure foundation for the 

 development of a progressive research programme. 

 It should be remembered that physical research in 

 the textile world is by no means in such an advanced 

 state as it is in the metallurgical world. Although 

 in the textile industries many of the research problems 

 are of a physical nature, and all have a physical 

 aspect, the number of physicists engaged is only 

 about twenty. A brigade of trained physicists 

 would be more in proportion to the problems urgently 

 awaiting solution. It is safe to say that there is 

 no other industry so much in need of co-operation 

 with the physicist as is the great textile group. 



There is one outstanding factor which must be 

 brought to the notice of the physicist contemplating 

 textile research, and this applies to textile materials 

 in general. The material he has to investigate is 

 generally of a most disturbing character on account 

 of its variability. The result is that a very careful 

 selection or sampling of the test specimens must be 

 made, and in many cases very laborious series of 

 tests are needed before a result representative of 

 tlu> l)nlk, which is the only material recognised by 

 tlif manufacturer, can be obtained. This fact 

 differentiates rather sharply the physicist of textile 

 research from the physicist in other industries. 



Slides were shown by the lecturer to illustrate the 

 types of research on which the textile physicist is 

 engaged. These included investigations on (i) 

 rigidity of the single fibre, a property of fundamental 

 importance in spinning ; (2) sorting of samples (a) 

 to examine the various fibre lengths in pure cottons 

 or mixings, and {h\ to detect what damage, if any, 

 is caused to the fibres by the different machines ; 

 (3) regularity of threads, a property of great import- 

 ance in the production of threads for weaving fabrics 

 of fine structure ; (4) oscillation stresses on threads 

 such as are met with in weaving ; and (5) the 

 measurement of the lustre in finished threads and 

 fabrics and the relation of lustre to doubling 

 twist. 



